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Colorblind

Last week, former president Jimmy Carter, sounding much like a man desperate to reclaim his relevance in a world that's passed him by, told NBC News: "I think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man, that he's African-American." More

The Limits of Self-Hate

It started decades ago in this country; the hammering away at the notion that ours is a noble and commendable history. From the demonization of Christopher Columbus and our founding fathers to the endless recriminations concerning reparations -- both moral and pecuniary -- for past sins that are due those who never suffered directly under them. And now our president has the uncontrollable urge to apologize for every action by the United States that may or may not have caused pain to anyone, anywhere around the globe. More

Teddy Kennedy: History Lessons

In the wake of the death of Senator Edward Kennedy, many verbal monuments have been erected to his memory. During the days-long outburst of love from a truly grieved national media, we were treated to endless references to his vaunted reputation as "the lion of the Senate," a citation of unknown origin. But I prefer a lesser known but more oxymoronically correct sobriquet; "the conscience of American progressivism." Of course, one of the strangest is the allusion to President Barack Obama as "the last Kennedy brother," a pretty risible statement, even were it not coined by the comical Chris Matthews. More

A Tribute to Martha

It was often said of George W. Bush that he was one of the most polarizing figures in this country. Of course, this was said mostly by his enemies and referred either to the circumstances surrounding his first election or to the Iraq War a few years later. But only short months into his term as president, it would be fair to apply the polarization tag to Barack Obama; a man duly elected along with significant majorities of his party in Congress. More

Man Bites Dog

The strange and sad case of Michael Vick got a bit stranger this week when the newly-signed Eagles quarterback appeared on 60 Minutes -- complete with a spokesman from the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) -- to deliver his obligatory mea culpa to a waiting world. What makes this incident stranger than most is that America's love of animals, specifically dogs, has trumped the heretofore indestructible use of racism as a defense for wrongdoing and so has not saved Mr. Vick from the wrath of millions. More

Word Play

It has been difficult to decipher some of the Beltway buzzwords in use now that Democrats are in firm control of our national government. Of course it's understandable that in attempting to sell their socialist platform they must verbally cloak their agenda, as the great majority of Americans continue identify themselves as moderate to conservative. But this has happened before. During the Clinton Administration, and in particular amid the battle over his impeachment, we were daily treated to treatises on the definition of words like, is. More

Asterisks

News was made last week in the sleepy village of Cooperstown, N.Y., at the annual induction ceremonies at the Baseball Hall of Fame. As the former stars of the game made the interview rounds afterwards, Hammerin' Hank Aaron -- who was introduced as "everyone's home run champion" -- said that he would welcome players who used performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) into the Hall, only if their plaques had asterisks reading "they did it, but here's why." More

Calling All New Americans

e news from Washington, D.C. has not been good for the president and his party this week. With his personal approval numbers dipping below 50 per cent for the first time since his election, public support for his signature programs dwindling rapidly and a Blue Dog rebellion among Democrats in Congress, things are not going as planned for Barack Obama and friends. More

Truth and Heresy

What faithful, practicing Catholic does not cringe when he hears the Kennedys referred to as "one of the United States' most prominent Roman Catholic families"? Why not single out say, the family of U. S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, a faithful Catholic with a brood of nine children, one of whom is a priest who, as his father quips, "took one for the team." Justice Scalia is a man who is not ashamed to defend his faith: More

Polling the Constitution

Once again all those who pay attention to national politics turn their eyes to Washington to witness the Senate confirmation hearings of a U.S. Supreme Court justice nominee. Now, it is to be assumed that Judge Sonia Sotomayor will be confirmed easily, with or without Republican support. Still, the hearings are always interesting, if not sadly predictable. More

Doin' What Comes Natur'lly

Lots of folks were astounded and confounded by Sarah Palin's sudden announcement that she was resigning her post as the Governor of Alaska a year and a half early. While the reaction from the mainstream media represent the all-out attack mode we've come to expect, it seems she's taking what amounts to formerly-friendly fire from those on the right. Compelled by mysterious forces to fill their bylines and airspace with negative commentary, they seem eager to jump on the "dump Sarah" bandwagon and label her a "quitter" and worse. More

The Gilded Age

Having concluded my nuptial celebration last week, my new hubby and I embarked on a short but welcome retreat up the Hudson River in New York. We chose a small hotel in the hamlet of Rhinecliff with balconies overlooking the beautiful river that flows in two directions. Surrounded by the river and the soft-shouldered Catskill Mountains, we were left to muse on the beauty and history of the region. More

Runs, Hits and Errors

This past week saw the second round of Interleague baseball and, as usual here in the New York metro area, the sparks as well as the horsehide were flying as the Yankees and Mets faced off. Now, I'm not the biggest fan of Interleague play as, in my opinion, it further dilutes the game's uniqueness, in that prior to 1997 it was the only one among the four major sports that respected league integrity. Not to mention that the artificial rivalries it attempts to create are sometimes dull. More

An American Quiz

Is it all over in America? This is a question that has been asked, I suppose, since its founding. It is reported that when Ben Franklin was asked after the Constitutional Convention in 1787, if America was a republic or a monarchy he replied, "A republic...If you can keep it." So, even at the birth of our nation, there were doubts as to the feasibility of a government whose powers were reserved to "We, the People." Never had a great nation survived without a group or groups of individuals seizing the reins and using governmental power to strip the rights from the people. More

The Hits Just Keep on Coming

Having returned to these fair shores after an overseas trip, the end of which culminated in a total of 13 hours of flight time, it was with a general sense of relief and peace that I betook myself a seat in my favorite pew in my local parish for Mass last Sunday. But, as has too often happened in the past few months, examples of our Lord’s predictions of persecution and calumny against those who believe in him came true once again as our learned pastor took to the pulpit to address us. More

Horsehide Hangover

When you're out of the country as I was for the past two weeks, no matter how wonderful your destination or how glorious the sites you visit, some homesickness tends to creep in. In my case, although daily blessed to be treading the sacred ground in the Holy Land, I found myself pining for American sports news. More

Shine the Light

With the coming defection of Arlen Specter to his rightful place in the Democratic Party, all of the talk has centered on how far "to the right" the Republican Party has moved, how the "big tent" of Ronald Reagan has closed its flaps to moderates and most of all how this further proves that conservatism is dead. More

Speaking Truth to Power

Some years ago, a priest friend of mine suggested that the legalization of same-sex marriage might be even more morally harmful to our nation than the scourge of abortion. How, I wondered at the time, could anything be more harmful than taking the lives of our innocent children. And then I realized that most people are not in favor of abortion but, as Rush Limbaugh often points out, they pity those around them who might be in need of that awful procedure. But the advent of the push for homosexual marriage goes much deeper; it represents a war on truth. More

A Fateful Trip

Only mere months into the Obama presidency and already my head is spinning. Massive chasms of debt, class warfare in the streets, government takeovers of private industry and servile shows of "respect" to foreign dictators have occurred with lightning speed. And because of a handful of Republican Senate moderates, nearly all attempts to block this agenda are dead on arrival. More

A Blessing For Catholics

In the 1960s, the American Catholic Church, like the rest of the nation, underwent a period of tremendous upheaval. Proceeding from, though not limited to, the willful misinterpretation of the Second Vatican Council by some in the clergy, thousands upon thousands left the Church; older members who could not withstand the confusion, and the younger ones who could not perceive an enduring faith amid the calamitous changes. More

If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Strasbourg

Barack Obama is now in the second week of his second overseas tour in less than a year. Not content with being the President of the United States, it seems, the chosen one has seen fit to share his oratorical munificence with the rest of humanity. Right before his last trip across the pond, where he oddly sought American votes, he famously said: "It's embarrassing when Europeans come over here, they all speak English, they speak French, they speak German. And then we go over to Europe and all we can say is 'merci beaucoup.'" More

Spring Ahead

They say it's always darkest just before the dawn and that every cloud has a silver lining. It's often easy to brush these old saws off in a world as dark and dreary as ours has been since last November. But Spring, like hope, still springs eternal and as we enter the vernal equinox, the ice in our winter of discontent may be thawing just a bit. More

The MTV President 

In America, those who exude a certain type of attraction or charisma are often christened with the sobriquet of "rock star." For those of us who've outgrown the allures of the brain-shattering, soul-stealing muck that has masqueraded as music for the last few decades, this term is not exactly a desirable one for those engaged in anything but narcissistic and immature pursuits. More

Clerical Errors

Last week I wrote about the bold incursion against the Catholic Church launched by Connecticut lawmakers who sought to wrest parish financial control from the hands of its bishops and pastors. Thankfully, this crisis was averted, as thousands of Catholics and others lovers of the U.S. Constitution marched on our state capital to rally in support of religious freedom and to protest any governmental interference with same. More

Power, Politics and Religion

The history of the Catholic Church in the state of Connecticut has never been pretty. Until 1818, the Congregational Church was the official religion, and the few Catholics who lived in the state were obliged to pay taxes toward its support. They were also forbidden to own land and under the auspices of Know-Nothing Party Governor William T. Minor, the Church suffered greatly. Yet faithful Catholics and other freedom-loving citizens of Connecticut saw to it that those wrongs were eventually righted. More

Crossing the Delaware

Despite the temporary elation delivered by a Rush Limbaugh pep talk at CPAC, conservative morale is at an all-time low. Painfully aware of the hold that Obamania has over the media and therefore the nation, those on the right who are forced to align with the GOP are feeling the winter blues more keenly than at any time in our history. Under assault on all fronts -- socially, economically and politically -- and taking the usual friendly fire from our Senate moderates, there seems little cause for hope. More

Apology of the Weak

In the past few weeks we have been treated to a flurry of national apologies. Foul and foolish deeds of various degrees of severity have been owned-up to across the fruited plain. It is a paradox that, in this permissive age, there's nothing America loves better than a heartfelt mea culpa; particularly when uttered by the rich and famous. No transgression, save those committed by conservatives, is ever too grave that the big heart of America cannot forgive; that is, after the suitable five minute period of sackcloth and ashes is observed. More

Knitting the Defeat of Capitalism

In these recessional times, we find it often uncomfortable to watch TV or read the newspapers; especially when we recognize that our fellow citizens are too often influenced by the propaganda that daily issues forth from them. Given their almost unanimous support of all things liberal, our media have furnished the socialists in Washington the ability to hide their agenda in plain sight; a heretofore unheard of development in the U.S. of A. More

Sacred Secularism

Many folks have pointed out that Barack Obama has been treated by his supporters in and out of the media like a new messiah, the savior, the chosen one. Many other folks, including me, thought that this was not only sacrilegious but a case of downright overblown rhetorical politics. Now I'm not so sure. More

March Toward Life

Last week, hundreds of thousands of Americans made their way to Washington, D.C., thronging its stately streets and avenues with messages of love and hope. They came from diverse backgrounds and represented a variety of age groups, but the majority of them were young people, filled with adoration for the Anointed One. They came together to pledge themselves to do his bidding despite the best efforts of his adversaries. More

Ho-Hum for Hollywood

My friend Ken, the innkeeper at my favorite bar, is a big movie fan as am I, but while 99% of my favorites were made before 1950, he still forks over big bucks to sit in tiny theaters and have his ears blown out watching what passes for modern entertainment. For this reason, I am forced, year after year, to watch annual ego-massaging, snore-fests like last week's Golden Globe Awards as the price for enjoying a few Sunday night drinks. More

George W. Bush, Winner

Friends, Americans, conservatives; lend me your ears. I come to praise George W. Bush, not to bury him; I'll leave that to our famously unbiased media. Now that the eight years of his presidency have come to an end, there will surely be endless shovels of dirt dumped on the legacy of our 43rd president, some even heaved by our brethren on the right; but not here. I come instead not to speak specifically of his accomplishments or his errors, but of the man himself. More

Non Compos Mentis

Now that the new year is officially upon us, the time for reflection is over and it behooves us to look ahead. Normally, human nature bids us to do this with hope in our hearts, but to no one's surprise, 2009 finds us in a position where international events make it nearly impossible to do so. To put it mildly, the world has gone mad. More

Recollection

One of the many gifts that separate men from animals is that of memory. Not the sort that makes a dog shy away from a chair after being hit on the nose with a newspaper, but real, conscious memory that can make the past as real to us as the present. In some ways this gift is a curse, as it is said that man can suffer pain and anguish in a way that animals never can, because pain most keenly remains in the memory that sometimes produces the most suffering. More

A Visit From St. Hillary

'Twas the night before Christmas in 2008,
All the liberals were happy, but not quite sedate;
Their thoughts lifted skyward, their lips formed a prayer,
In hopes that St. Hillary might disappear. More

Birds of a Feather

As the year 2008 winds down and President Bush's days in office draw to a close, liberals all over the world are celebrating the Iraq shoe-throwing incident. But this only illustrates that the Bush's efforts in Iraq have proved a tremendous success, given that a member of the Iraqi press has managed to outdo even Western media types who, despite their best efforts, have never laid a glove on W. More

State of the Unions

I have a friend named Mike who is a very intelligent and sensible man. He is a strong supporter of lower taxes, the rule of law, the military, and especially of the right to keep and bear arms; he is, in fact, a long-time NRA member. This man takes the time to be well informed on current events and is always on top of pending legislation. In short, he has all the makings of a genuine conservative except for one fatal flaw: he is an ardent union member. More

Prometheus Bound

From the trans fat Nazis in the Northeast to those on duty keeping school bake-sales safe for humanity out West; from banning plastic shopping bags -- which were foisted on us by greenies to begin with -- to fines for "light pollution," one can't help but think that our once-free country is in the final stages of nannydom and well on its way toward total government control of our lives. More

Giving Thanks

We arrive once again at the time of year when our ancestors gave thanks to God for the innumerable blessings he has bestowed on our beloved country. But as time goes on, the thanks, if any, goes more and more to humans and worse yet, to a government that promises to care for its citizens from cradle to grave. More

Offensive Conservatives

Scanning through the headlines, trying to find one that does not contain the phrase "president-elect" -- does anyone remember George W. Bush being called anything but "Governor" until his inauguration? -- I happened across a piece from the BBC humorously titled, "Uncertain times for US Religious Right." In it, the left muses on its favorite dream; that humbled by defeat in the last two elections, "Christian conservatives may find themselves working alongside Democrats" on certain social issues. More

Happy Days

We have just witnessed an historical election to be sure. Not because we have sent a black man to the seat of power, but because a fortuitous confluence of economic occurrences has convinced our fellow citizens that a change in leadership was necessary. More

What We Know

So what does it all mean? As I write this on Tuesday, the presidential election is, despite media cheerleading, still in doubt. But by the time you read this, the outcome may or may not be known. What is known is that this has been an almost surreal contest. More

What Does That Make Me?

I have a brother who revels in an old joke; so that when the gender of a family newborn is announced, he asks: "What does that make me, an aunt or an uncle?" As corny as that sounds -- if you only knew my brother -- it is, like all jokes, based in part on a kind of reverse reality. More

Italian Food for Thought

For four days it was bliss. Sitting in the window of a 15th-century converted convent every morning, waiting for the sun to rise over a gorgeous valley filled with olive groves and pine trees, I was as near to heaven as I'm likely to get on this Earth. Throwing open the shutters each day and gazing on this tableau high up in the hills surrounding Florence, the resounding church bells emptied my mind of all worldly concern. More

The Class of 1939

Many movie fans consider 1939 the greatest ever in the history of American filmmaking and it would be hard to argue the point. In the days before Hollywood degenerated into the trash heap it is today, one could expect productions that would appeal in some way to different segments of society while entertaining the whole family at the same time. And 1939 was the acme and epitome of all that made up old Hollywood. More

Explaining Ourselves

As we head for the home stretch in our political season and each party reins in the votes of its membership, the focus will become those who label themselves as independents or moderates. Both sides will seek to claim them for their own. But what is meant by the political labels we attach to ourselves? More

Those Who Forget the Past

At a small party over the weekend, the subject of our presidential election arose. Living as I do in Connecticut, I was prepared for the typical onslaught a conservative is sure to endure from liberals in social situations in our state. I was, of course, not disappointed. More

America's Imperfect Servant

This, to say the least, has been one of the strangest presidential races in years; especially for conservatives. When this marathon began many months ago, the right's choices ranged from liberal Rudy Giuliani to Libertarian Ron Paul, with a handful of conservatives of differing degrees in between. And then there was John McCain. More

Convention Confusion

I, like many of you, forced myself to sit through nearly all four long days of the Democratic Convention; albeit with my trusty mute button ever ready for protection from long-winded attempts at oratory and worn-out pop-music ditties. And, as political conventions go, it was mostly a snore-fest. But every now and then, I was roused from my somnambulant state -- induced no doubt by the dulcet tones of Jimmy Carter and Al Gore -- by themes and remarks that left me bewildered. More

American Papists

John F. Kennedy was the first presidential candidate to enunciate the idea that Catholicism might somehow be detrimental toward being a good American. In seeking to distance himself from the dark powers of Rome, he promised that he would always act "in accordance with what my conscience tells me to be the national interest, and without regard to outside religious pressures or dictates. And no power or threat of punishment could cause me to decide otherwise." 

All-American Otherness

With only a week to go before the donkeys kick up their heels in Denver, the powers that be at the New York Times, acting in their unofficial capacity as mouth organ for the Democratic Party, have published what amounts to the playbook for the presentation of Barack Obama at the convention. And as usual, it is in tonally perfect accord with the liberal mindset and its overall game plan. The title of the piece, "For Convention, Obama's Image Is All-American," gives the game away. Most people in possession of a dictionary would see the use of the word "image" as the desire to present an illusion rather than an actuality; kind of like they do in Hollywood. More

Hillary Does Denver

        Hellooooooo Denver!  Thanks for that wonderful welcome.  It’s great to be here with so many of my fellow Democrats!   Makes me feel a mile high! More

Gullible Travels

Maybe it's me, but I'm still trying to understand the logic of the Obama campaign's European tour. Don't get me wrong, his obligatory trip to the Middle East and Afghanistan in his role as a U.S. senator was justified, if only by the presence of so many of his brave countrymen. But the reasoning behind "Barry Does Europe" escapes me. More

Sports Heroes?

Every Sunday night I go out to my favorite club to engage in lively conversation and enjoy some adult companionship. In the summertime, this often includes taking in ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball. This Sunday however, the Red Sox-Angels game was scheduled two hours earlier than the usual 8:00 PM start so that the network could air its annual ESPY Awards show in prime time. More

Big O Losing Big Mo

Poor Barack Obama. In the space of a few short weeks, he has gone from liberal savior with a 15 point lead over John McCain, to a mere mortal in a dead heat in the polls. He has alienated some of his base by flip-flopping on issues like the FISA vote, partial-birth abortion and most importantly, stating that he will continue to "refine" his Iraq War policy. More

Independence Forever!

During this past weekend while attending the usual round of holiday cookouts, I continued my custom of wishing family and friends a happy Independence Day and continued receiving the oddest looks in return. While it's true that many people have a vague notion of the holiday's meaning -- after all, there most be some reason for all the red, white and blue -- its true origin seems to escape most folks. More

Straight Talk on Truth

Two thousand years ago, a man told some local leaders; "The truth will set you free." Now, those who have been blessed with religious faith understand exactly what He was talking about; yet these words should be universally accepted, even by those in the secular world. After all, only a few hundred years ago, some less worthy but still wise men thought that truth, or truths that were self-evident, were not only important enough to govern a freedom-loving people, but to fight and die for. More

A Pitch for the DH

We who enjoy baseball are often lectured that today's athletes are among the finest who ever competed and that all but a few of those in ages past could hope to compete at their high level of physical fitness. We're also told that continental flights across three time zones are more exhausting than the train trips that took former Major Leaguers only as far as the Midwest. More

Happy Days are Here Again

Although much of the country dreads it like the plague, there is a chance that if Barack Obama wins the White House, Democrats would control the Legislative and Executive branches of our government, as did the Republicans during half of President Bush's two terms. But there is also the chilling prospect that they will reach the magic number of 60 votes in the Senate, which would give them the filibuster-proof power that the GOP could only dream about. More

Time Is on Our Side

Now that the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer are here, things are usually slowing down. But as temperatures in the Northeast crept toward the century mark this week, things were heating up in certain quarters. One of them is the Democrat party where, since the presidential candidacy of Hillary Rodham Clinton has been effectively snuffed by forces beyond her control, there is a sense of urgency. And why not? Time is decidedly not on its side. More

Modern History Lessons

This past weekend on my annual baseball park tour, some friends and I decided to take a one-hour riverboat excursion on the Mississippi River, which departed from the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. Having previously taken a few extended riverboat trips, I wasn't expecting much from the short tour other than a lap around the historic Eads Bridge and maybe some gentle river breezes. However, the presence of a National Park Service ranger on the boat proved most illuminating. More

Save the Umpires

Years ago, when only a triad of arbiters policed the baseball diamond, enterprising organists were fond of playing "Three Blind Mice" when the men in blue took the field. Of course, that was long ago and the mellifluous music that once wafted through ballparks has given way to the mind-numbing assault of rock and roll on the senses of horsehide fans. But Major League Baseball umpires have been under fire since some far-off fan in the 19th century shouted, "You're missing a good game, ump!" More

Right-Wing Perverts

The way things work in our country never ceases to amaze me. Just last week in Israel, President Bush committed what much of our media and all of our leading Democrats considered a great offense; comparing people who seek a rational dialogue with irrational Islamists to Neville Chamberlain and others who sought conciliation with Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. To liberals, this is the ultimate insult and one that cannot be taken lying down. More

The Love that Dare Not Speak His Name

We are lectured daily by our betters in the media and academia on the continuing dissolution of our freedoms under the oppressive reign of George W. Bush and his sneering sidekick, Richard B. Cheney. The dreaded duo and the rest of the vast right wing conspiracy have been especially vilified for curtailing free speech and accused of using nefarious methods to squelch opposition. More

It's Either Too Hot or Too Cold

At first the global warming crowd was bursting forth with glee;
Just like Sir Isaac Newton was beneath his apple tree.
They had all of the data straight from the IPCC...
But the problem for the Gore-ists, is they could not see the forests.

It's either too hot or too cold;
We can't grow our crops in a fertile way;
At least that's the news out of Turtle Bay...
The threat of global warming,
Has talking heads performing.

More

Backed Into A Corner

The Democratic dogfight for the presidential nomination is a gift that keeps on giving. Without it, we would never witness the liberal mainstream media divided between the Obama and Clinton camps. Thus we see -- with the rest of the nation for a change -- things out in the open which would have been buried had it been otherwise. And so on Monday morning, all three cable news networks showed the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's National Press Club speech on "the black religious experience," live and in its glorious entirety. More

The Pope Said What??

"God Bless America." These words began and ended the too-short visit of the true man from Hope, Pope Benedict XVI.

Before his arrival, many pundits predicted that his Holiness would rain down torrents of recrimination upon our country and its president on topics like the Iraq War, capital punishment or our failure to heed the hounds of global warming. They of course were wrong in thinking that the German Shepherd would bite the hand that feeds the world's poor or chastise the most pro-life leader our country has ever seen. But what else is new? More

The Pope In America

This week marks the first time that Joseph Ratzinger will visit the United States as Pope Benedict XVI. Many faithful American Catholics have longed for the Holy Father to address our problems, not the least of which is a pervasive attitude of selective faith, which is no doubt the result of poor stewardship by some U.S. bishops. Some indeed had hoped his visit, long in the works, would be prefaced with a "don't make me come over there" message and, in a way, it was. More

You Say You'll Change the Constitution

Gilbert Keith Chesterton once famously said, "It's not that Christianity has been tried and found wanting. It's that it has never really being tried." Part of the reason is that too many folks feel that Christianity -- with its moral absolutes and especially its prohibitions -- is outdated and unworthy of modern interest. One might also apply this gem of wisdom to those who rail against the U.S. Constitution; the product of another apparently obsolete belief system. More

There Used to be a Stadium

This week marks the beginning of the end of a significant chapter in American sports history: the 83rd and final opening day at New York's Yankee Stadium. Slated for Monday, the baseball gods, almost as if seeking to delay the onset of its final season, rained down on the storied ballpark and the game was postponed. This was fitting. Although it is not the oldest, it is certainly the most historic sports venue in the United States. More

Is Rev. Wright Right?

With all the heated feelings and rhetoric surrounding the firestorm that is Rev. Jeremiah Wright, a bit of truth telling may be in order. Conservatives have demanded that Barack Obama repudiate all of the controversial statements made by his spiritual advisor, while supporters of the Illinois senator believe that he has sufficiently distanced himself from them. But what if there is actually some truth in Wright's allegations? More

What's in a Name?

Round about this season of the year, a few friends of mine and I get together to solve some of the weightiest matters of our time: the winners of the NCAA Basketball Tournament.

Now, I consider myself fairly knowledgeable in the field of college hoops, but despite my best and well-informed efforts, I often finish out of the money in March Madness pools. So, out of the many sheets of paper I will fill with bracketed scribble, at least one of them will be determined by the team nicknames. More

Saying No to the Nanny State

Five years ago, when the smoking ban in restaurants first went into effect in my home state of Connecticut, I told a few folks who were happy about it that it was only a matter of time before the government came after their private property rights or other issues that were near and dear to their hearts. Most people scoffed at my defense of the restaurant owners' property rights and one fellow actually said, "The problem with you people is that all you care about is the Constitution." More

Sermon on the Campaign Trail

During the course of an election year, one is used to coming across all sorts of surprises. Often it's some sort of a vocal gaffe like, "I actually voted for the $87 billion before I voted against it." Sometimes it is a photo; say, of a candidate posing in the turret of a tank, or maybe in what looked for all the world like a powder blue bunny suit. More

No Country for Old Glory

Watching the Oscars Sunday night -- an indignity I endure solely for the opportunity to engage in conversation with a few friends concerning our nation's "culture" -- only reaffirmed that Hollywood remains primarily engaged in selling a bill of goods that America is a dark and dreary place, worthy mostly of derision and disdain; even if not everyone is buying it. More

The Cox Report

Word is that Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama snuck down to North Carolina last weekend to meet with John Edwards, possibly to seek his endorsement, sound him out for the vice presidency, or to brush up on his snake-oil salesmanship. After all, why wouldn't the black knight of the new Camelot go for the guy with the pageboy haircut? More

 Dear John Part I

How we got here we're not really sure, but the reality seems to be, august Senator, you will be our nominee in the 2008 presidential election. Yes, I was at CPAC and heard your well-reasoned and fairly well-received speech and yes, you did press some of the right buttons. You spoke of your lifelong commitment to pro-life issues and your intention to reduce the size of the federal government; of your opposition to nationalized healthcare and your admiration for Justices Roberts and Alito and your pledge to win the war in Iraq. More

Not Staying Home

If you're like me, you're probably sitting around somewhere in the dark, trying your best to avoid all forms of media coverage of the 2008 presidential primary season. Maybe for the first time in years, you eschewed the weekend talk shows, even Fox News. And except for the crossword puzzle or the sports section, you probably refused to even open your Sunday paper, especially if it is a liberal fish-wrap like the AP-infested publication in my hometown. More

Bill Clinton Remembered

As the incessant march for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination continues, probably the most entertaining aspect is watching the mainstream media take sides. And although many of their liberal icons -- most notably Ted Kennedy and Pat Leahy -- are endorsing Barack Obama, Hillary is still the subject of loving puff-pieces like this one from ABC News: "Is Clinton Scrutinized About Her Looks Too Much?" More

Of Rush & Reagan

This past weekend saw the vocalization of a much hoped-for wish of liberals everywhere: that, as one left-wing blogger put it, "Republicans are a collection of 'Lost Boys' right now, desperately looking for a national leader in the wake of the Bush disaster." Juan Williams on Fox News Sunday happily posited, "There's not a re-assembling of the Reagan Coalition."  More

Instant Messaging

In my ever-frustrating attempts to view TV sports events without having to cover my eyes, plug my ears and empty my brain of all adult moral content, I encountered a new low this weekend. During the NFL playoffs here in the New York tri-state area, I was treated to a mind-numbingly awful new ad from New York State Lottery that eloquently advises, "It don’t mean a thing if it ain't ba-da bling!" More

Bewitched

All of this has left a certain little lady feeling a bit down in the mouth. So somewhere up in chilly New Hampshire, a woman of a certain age and very close to tears, is feeling just a tad under the weather:

INTRO

After one whole week of voting,
Things are not what they should be.
By this time I should be gloating
All over TV.

Working for my coronation,
I've done pretty well, I think.
But this dog-gone nomination
Has me on the brink.

REFRAIN

I'm riled this time;
Reviled this time;
The Caucus I lost to a child this time;
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered am I. More

Conservative Blackout

Back in the early days of the 2000 presidential campaign, right after John McCain beat George W. Bush in the New Hampshire primary, there were many dire media predictions along the lines of, "If Bush doesn't turn things around quickly it could turn into a McCain rout." More

Hillary and Obama

With little more than two weeks to go before the 2008 presidential primary voting begins, things are finally heating up. Day after day new tales of mud-slinging arise and subterfuges unwind, while out on the hustings kindergarten kapers abound.

The biggest news is Hillary Clinton's plunge in the polls, and the question of whether or not she can rebound is on everyone's lips. Even her husband Bill conceded that she might lose in Iowa. But is she doomed to defeat because she is losing ground in the early primaries? More

Political Motherhood

Last week saw some candidates in the eternal 2008 presidential campaign trotting out various personalities in order to form a more perfect union between themselves and voters. Now this is nothing new in American politics; glad-handing candidates have hobnobbed with celebrities at least since Woodrow Wilson allegedly kept company with silent film star Florence La Badie. More

Short Hops

NBC has signed a deal to farm out a two or three hour block of primetime programming to outside producers. Although this programming will primarily consist of "adventure documentaries" that require no staff writers, the New York Times claims that this "is not related to the current strike by Hollywood writers," but is necessitated because TV networks "face a future of diminishing ratings and growing uncertainties." Sometimes life is very good. More

How to Fight for Life

Short weeks after receiving the endorsement of the National Right to Life Committee, Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson apparently ran afoul of some in the pro-life movement, when, in an interview on Fox News Sunday, he revealed that he does not support a Human Life Amendment (HLA) to the U.S. Constitution. More

Mourning in America

Each year at this time, I devote this space to giving thanks to the Almighty for his various and sundry gifts to the American people; but this year, things are different. Having been informed by the Seattle School District that Thanksgiving Day is seen by some native Americans as a "time of mourning," and "a reminder of 500 years of betrayal," I've decided to follow their lead. More

Hillary Futurity

This past weekend, the first onset of winter temperatures saw the convening of what I like to call the Unofficial Southwestern Connecticut Caucus & Cocktail Hour: a gathering of politically minded Nutmeggers who meet all too frequently over adult beverages and tobacco to discuss the upcoming presidential primary season. This elite conclave included representatives from the conservative wing (all three of us) as well as those on the Democratic side. More

Restore Al Gore

I'll admit it. As a huge fan of 1930s music and movies, I've always dreamt of being a lyricist, a la Ira Gershwin or Dorothy Fields. These folks produced songs that were incorporated by Hollywood into what are often referred to as "screwball comedies"; essentially plotless vehicles for great tunes and snappy repartee. More

Reasons to Believe

You may have been treated to an email containing a list called, "Things you have to believe to be a Republican," that's been wending its way around cyberspace lately. It's a real hoot, but not for the reasons its unknown authors intended; for it says far more about them than about us. In the interests of compassionate conservatism, I thought I'd give them a hand in reaching a better understanding of their opposition. More

The Power and the Glory

One year ago this week I boarded the first of two airplanes that took me to Calcutta, India. I traveled with a dozen or so others to volunteer for two weeks with Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity, on what the priest who runs this annual trip called, "a marvelous pilgrimage." More

America's Parks

It's been a good baseball summer for me. For the last decade or so, instead of going off for a few weeks of rest on some tropical island, I've traipsed around this great country via plane, train, automobile and paddle-wheel boat in search of the real America at her Major League ballparks. More

The Old College Try

Are you getting your educational money's worth? Are you convinced that the annual cost of sending your child to college -- probably higher than your first-ever year's salary -- is in some way improving his mind and character? Well, depending on your definition of improvement, you may be right. Or incredibly wrong. More

Imagine That

Is it any coincidence that the two entities American liberals probably hate most are organized religion and our military? Liberal groups like Moveon.org run ads disparaging military men of honor like General David Petraeus while folks like the ACLU and the "Reverend" Barry Lynn have made the elimination of God in public their life's work. More

Press, Lies and Videotape

So he's back, I suppose; Osama bin Laden. And boy, do we need him for many reasons, not the least being that he helps us draw some interesting comparisons. Many have pointed out the similarity between bin Laden's comments and those of certain members of the Democratic left, but there's more to it than mere words. They have a commonality as regards methodology as well. More

An Impoverished Debate

Are you like me? If you are, you're constantly amazed by and grateful for the bountiful opportunities this country affords to anyone willing to work for them. Living as I do in the New York metropolitan area, I've seen places that were formerly considered the ''wrong side of the tracks'' transformed into beautiful apartment complexes. And in my own previously all-white neighborhood, we have a great assortment of families of all colors and creeds living in houses that only a generation ago would have been impossible for them to afford. More

Dark Night, Blessed Morning

Much-loved by most of the world -- and nearly all of it prior to her famed condemnation of abortion in her 1979 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech -- Blessed Teresa of Calcutta has once again taken center stage in world opinion. The upcoming publication of Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light by Fr. Brian Kolodiejchuk details private letters from Mother Teresa to her various spiritual advisors, confessors and to God himself, over the span of 50 years in which she is reported to have suffered what is known as the "dark night of the soul." More

Perfect Together

The recent death of Leona Helmsley calls to mind her reputation as the "queen of mean" and her famous statement, "We don't pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes." While comparisons between Mrs. Helmsley and a current, female presidential candidate are inevitable, her words also remind one of a male entrant from North Carolina. And it is the contention here that Hillary Clinton and John Edwards belong together. More

The Brains

When I was a kid, I remember watching a B-movie on TV called, They Saved Hitler's Brain. The plot was an incomprehensible mish-mash, but the main idea was that Nazi officials smuggled the gray matter out of Germany at the end of World War II in order that it could someday be grafted onto a body, thus continuing the evil dictator's ambition of global domination. More

Pet Peeve

Having spent the last weekend in the beautiful confines of Pittsburgh, PA, I had the occasion to visit the National Aviary, home to more than 500 birds from around the world. As with most zoo-type places, the natural splendor was replete with tales of devastation and extinction befalling its denizens at the hands of evil human beings. More

Small Talk

The big news this week is that leading GOP presidential candidates are prepared to just say no to CNN's September edition of its YouTube debate series. In the aftermath of last week's unutterably awful display of what passes for modern political debate in our country, this is a most welcome and commonsensical development. In addition to the most obviously embarrassing aspects of the Democrat debate -- animated snowmen, phony rednecks, and a host of other wannabes eager for their 15 minutes of fame -- was the inordinate amount of video-questions posed by young, MTV-types. More

Vick Hunt

As Rush Limbaugh frequently says of liberal witch-hunts, it's not whether one is guilty or not that counts; it's the seriousness of the charge. The world of sports is unfortunately rife with charges, criminal and otherwise almost daily, and many of these are symptomatic of problems in our society in general. But the latest incident, involving Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, is especially instructive as it calls to mind some important ones. More

Not Their Finest Hour

Sir Winston Churchill once said, "History will be kind to me for I intend to write it." Although he did indeed write, as well as make, much history, it will be of no avail to him personally now that he has been dropped from the official list of persons required for study by English school students from the ages of 11 to 14. More

Lex Orandi 

Go find a tranquil place, close your eyes and think back. You were much younger than you are now, quite possibly a child. Your mind's eye conjures up what seemed like a vast and majestic palace with the rising wisps of sweet-smelling incense leading your gaze upward toward what you thought must surely be Heaven. The altar boys, who only hours before were your rambunctious playmates, have been transformed into cherubic servants of God. More

Declaration of Independence (From Liberals)

When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. More

The Duke of America

I had a cousin who was your typical '60s hippie. As a teenager he hated almost everything. He was disrespectful of his family, his religious heritage and especially his country. In a turbulent time, he embodied everything that modern liberalism now holds dear. But of all the things he viscerally detested, number one on his list was John Wayne. More

America's Game Gone Lame

There have been numerous changes to the game of baseball since its inception. No one expects a sport more than a century old to remain forever true to its original rules and practices, and good arguments can be made for or against particular changes. More

History's Greatest Liar

We all think we know him, or at least we're forever trying. Every Christmas and Easter, documentary makers seek to redefine him, or simply to find him. But who is the real Jesus Christ? In the Catholic Church's tradition of sharpening doctrine by answering its critics, Pope Benedict XVI has taken on the task of pushing back decades of reconstruction of the "historical" Jesus with Jesus of Nazareth, his first book since his election to the episcopal see of Rome. More

Media Muddles

Folks in the media and America in general seem confused lately. Some of the confusion stems from the Iraq War and some from recent polling in the 2008 presidential contest. Many polls are showing a rise in the fortunes of Mitt Romney and Hillary Clinton, while their main opponents, Rudy Giuliani and Barrack Obama seem to be fading a bit. How could this happen? More

Hillary's Song

By now it's not news that Hillary Clinton has been casting about for a theme song for her campaign to return to the White House in 2008. She's asking her followers to vote for the winning tune from a menu of nine songs including the Temptations, "Get Ready." That one's got my vote if for no other reason than the lyric: "If you wanna play hide and seek with love, let me remind you, it's alright. But the lovin' you're gonna miss in the time it takes to find you, it's outta sight." More

Paternal Correction

Bigotry and Sports

What a weekend in sports. At the Kentucky Derby, Street Sense blazed through the field to become the first juvenile in nearly thirty years to capture the roses. Floyd Mayweather prevailed over Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya in a split decision to retain his reputation as the "best pound for pound" fighter in the world. There was near perfection for seven innings at Yankee Stadium, while the NHL and NBA playoffs crackled with excitement. More

The Denver Derby

This past week's Democratic debate in South Carolina was a tune-up for 2008's main event: The Denver Derby, where, in August of that year, the party will choose its front-runner. Yes, the Denver Derby; the most exciting sixteen months in politics, the run for the poseurs. This contest is for thirty-five year olds and upward, foaled in the United States and ready for a step up in class. More

The Evolving Issue of Abortion

Last week was one of both celebration and sadness for who those who hold innocent life dear. Many tears have been shed for the 32 lives cruelly ended by evil incarnate in Virginia, yet the souls of the millions of unborn children -- who have been sacrificed at the altar of inconvenience -- cry out across three decades for sympathy, yet up to now have received little. More

Enough Blame to Go Around

Most conservatives have enjoyed the outcomes of two notable stories in the last week or so. They reveled in the dropping of all charges against three Duke Lacrosse players and cheered the revelation of perceived hypocrisy, if not the actual firing, of radio personality Don Imus for his disparaging remarks about the oddly named Lady Scarlet Knights basketball team. More

An American Hero

This Sunday, April 15, Major League Baseball will celebrate Jackie Robinson Day by commemorating the 60th anniversary of the breaking of the game's color barrier. In my hometown of Stamford, CT, where he spent the last twelve years of his life, there is a statue of Robinson which calls to mind the annual jazz festivals he held at his home to raise money for civil rights causes and the dignity of the man himself. More

It Must Be Easter

My father used to dread Columbus Day. As a proud, first-generation American of Italian descent, early each October he would begin to lament the airing of TV documentaries belittling the discoverer of the Americas and the publication of numerous anti-Columbian tomes. He would inevitably end with a prediction that "Viking ships will sail into our harbors." He was seldom wrong. More

Too Late?

If you're like me, you feel that The Godfather Part II is one of maybe a dozen fine movies to come out of Hollywood in the last 50 years. In it is a scene that often comes to my mind: In Cuba, Michael Corleone says to Hyman Roth, "I saw an interesting thing happen today." While he goes on to relate a tale of Castro's guerrillas, the line represents a major turning point in the plot. More

Fredheads

It appears the movement to draft Fred Thompson into the 2008 presidential race is gaining steam. The former Tennessee senator, lawyer and actor's appearance on Fox News Sunday a few weeks ago has re-energized the right in a way that no one else in the race has come close to doing. Why? Because he is truly one of us and because he can win. More

Resent or Repent?

It is not easy to be a Christian. To be perfect, as our heavenly Father is perfect, is a directive that should instill both awe and humility into its hearers. Likewise, commandments to love our neighbors and pray for our enemies are also tall orders, which, without the grace of God, would be almost impossible to obey. More

War of Words

Every time I write a column that even remotely mentions homosexuality and history's disinclination to regard it as a commendable lifestyle, I am inundated with email accusing me of hateful gay-bashing and labeled a homophobe. While I do not hate homosexuals or anyone else for that matter, I do have a problem with folks who use etymologically confused words like "homophobe." More

A Tragicomedy in Innumerable Acts

I admit it. I watched portions of the Anna Nicole Smith "custody hearing" last week. Not, mind you, because I intended to, but because I'm in the habit of keeping a muted TV set turned on in case some real news might intrude on the daily gossip roundups and grave reports of snow in February. After reading somewhere about the odd conduct of the judge in the case, when Fox News went to live court coverage, I decided to see for myself. More

Rudy Redux

Many of the emails I received regarding my recent column on Rudy Giuliani agreed with my premise that his social liberalism outweighs his important stances on national defense and fiscal conservatism. Still, many more are willing to overlook this; they remain convinced that Rudy is their guy, based mainly on his promise to appoint originalist judges and the "fact" that no other candidate can beat Hillary Clinton. More

The Rudy Dilemma

What's not to like about Rudy Giuliani? After all, he's got charisma, style, name recognition and now apparently, even sex appeal. He's from New York City, where he cut taxes and cleaned up the mobsters and petty crime. He's tough on terror; he told that Arab sheik where to get off when he offered $10 million to NYC after 9/11 and he even kicked Yasser Arafat out of a Lincoln Center bash. So what's not to like? More

War Dance

After the November elections, while most conservatives were in a dual state of shock and mourning, I advised them to turn their thoughts to the joys of congressional minority living: "And this, my fellow partisans, is where the fun begins; fun, as in watching the loyal opposition twist themselves into pretzels on the floors of Congress for a change." More

Super Bowling

At approximately 6:25 PM EST on Sunday in Miami, an expensively clad foot will meet a prolate spheroid sending it skyward; kicking off the nation's most-celebrated single day of sport. Across the country, folks will gather for their annual feast of football's finest but will be forced also to endure side dishes of poor punditry, bathroom humor, and really bad music. More

Democrat Derby

With a mere 21 months to go until the 2008 presidential election, the race is already heating up and the field ever-widening. The free-for-all atmosphere surrounding the competition is a phenomenon not seen in a long while as, for the first time in nearly 80 years, no sitting president or vice president is contending for the top prize. More

Getting Serious

All of Washington is up in arms, so to speak, over President Bush's revamped plans for securing the peace in Iraq and winning the War on Terror. As usual, those doing the yapping are parsing words the president did, and did not use, such as "surge." And as is also usual, they missed seeing the forest for the trees. More

Miracles Appear in the Strangest of Places

They say that the Lord works in mysterious ways. Last year's remarks by Pope Benedict XVI -- when he spoke of the Qur'an's commands to spread Islam by the sword as incompatible with reason -- were met with the usual rage from many in the Muslim community and their sympathizers. Though it did not immediately seem so, this might just have signaled a watershed event in the global struggle against those who are most willing to use that sword. More

The Snow Hill

I had the occasion last winter to spend a week in the picturesque Adirondack Mountains. Ostensibly a ski trip, but actually just an excuse to leave the city behind and commune with nature, a few friends and I departed the hub-bub and blackened snow of southwestern Connecticut for the unspoiled northland. More

Why Casablanca?

At this time of the year, awards are generally handed out wherein lists are compiled toting up the greatest song, athlete, movie and even TV show of all time! As if all of these have taken up even an eyeblink of history. This was most annoying at the turn of the last century, but it continues today. The "voters" are usually some pointy-headed group, or an arm of the corresponding category's media, but sometimes even the general public itself speaks.More

A Visit From St. Hillary

With sincerest apologies to Democrats everywhere and, once again, to Clement Clark Moore.

'Twas the night before Christmas, in two-thousand six;
All the lefties were bustling; their Party to fix.
The vote had gone centrist, they struggled for air,
And hoped that St. Hillary soon would declare.
As liberals awaited, awake in their beds,
Impeachable articles danced in their heads!
But since moderate Dems had prevailed in their views,
I'd just settled down to a sweet solstice snooze.

More

More Ali Rap

The other day I was watching NFL highlights on ESPN where they were showcasing the latest feats of the incomparable LaDainian Tomlinson. Apart from his great athletic talents, something else strikes you about him. After scoring a touchdown he does a strange thing; he simply hands the ball to the nearest official. No dances or similarly planned gyrations; no jersey-grabbing and no "look at me" demonstrations. More

Justice and Love

"The history of Western civilization shows us that most social and moral progress has been brought about by persons free from religion."

This statement, earth-shatteringly ignorant and historically inaccurate as it is, tops the "purposes" page at the Freedom From Religion Foundation website. The work of mostly feminists, atheists and leftists, the FFRF is one of many groups that not only seek to banish all vestiges of (mainly Christian) religion from American public life, but to soil the debate with absurd notions as above. While it is true that no religion has been free from the human weaknesses of its purveyors, organized religion has accounted for much more good than evil in the West. More

Going on the Offensive

"The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." This, the 9th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which already has its share of judicial footprints all over it, may soon be amended to add, "excepting those which may cause offense to certain groups." More

Giving Thanks

Before the holiday which dare not speak its name commences, we are visited by one that in some ways has retained its original trappings. Thanksgiving Day, whose celebration predates the formation of the United States government, has somehow managed to survive secular attacks; though the idea of exactly who we are to thank is getting a bit confused. More

School's In

November 7, 2006: Not a good night to remember. As a Republican and especially an American who supports our war efforts, I was devastated; but as a political columnist, I say, "Bring it on!" And maybe you should too. More

Dutch Treat

It wasn't the slight poke in the ribs, but the way he said, "Excuse me young lady," that jostled me out of my nap during the long flight home. I looked over at the man who addressed me in such a charming, if slightly inaccurate manner. Something about his smile and the gleam in his eyes jolted mine as I rubbed the sleep out of them: could it really be Ronald Reagan? More

Resisting the Blue Wave

The hand-wringing and moaning are as palpable as they have ever been as cowering Beltway Republicans wait for the dreaded Blue Wave of Democratic rule to crash over their heads come November 7th. The gloom and doom predictions, long a tool of the liberal media, have now reached the pens of some conservative pundits who have joined their liberal brethren in predicting that the end is near. But is it? More

Bye, Bye Bombers

As a longtime Yankee fan, I see that my October surprise again came early, as routine in recent years as the revelation of Republican skeletons in the closet and about as welcome. This year's giant-killers spring from the swing state of Michigan; fearsome Tigers whose rivalry with the Pinstripers dates back to the beginnings of the American League. More

Seems Like Old Times

It seems as if the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy has come out of the closet. The VRWC, a shadowy entity first discovered by Hillary Clinton in 1998, which apparently planned and executed her husband's sexual peccadilloes, has emerged once again to bedevil her spouse. Now as before, the VRWC is faulted for his bad behavior; this time they caused him to throw a full-blown temper tantrum in front of the nation. More

Dirty Dancing

When I was young, we used to avail ourselves of my grandmother's basement to gather together for some sanctioned socializing with the opposite sex. This being the early '70s, we were a part of the first generation of Americans who did not know how to dance -- as defined by the Arthur Murray tradition where there are actual steps to be learned -- and the music we hopped around to was certainly not conducive to doing so anyway. More

Pope Bashing

This week marked a new chapter in the War on Terror. Events here and around the world have sharpened the differences between those who support American and greater Western culture, and those who are pledged to its destruction. More

The Blame Game

Are you tired of hearing that "it's all Bush's fault"? Do you cringe every time you attend a family function, knowing that the liberals at your table will spend most of the evening rapt in a Bush-bashing rhapsody while you, out of politeness, remain silent? Sick of every complaint, from men who don't put down the toilet seat, to acts of God, being associated with that master of disaster from Crawford, Texas? More

The Media's Military Mavens

Whenever I or other folks write or even talk about the War on Terror, liberals are quick to deliver their favorite line with the obligatory sneer: "Have you ever served in the military?" When my answer, that I don't believe in women in the Armed Forces, produces the requisite foaming at the mouth, I follow that up with, "Have you?" More

Class Dismissed

Democrats often portray themselves as a beacon to the poor and especially protectors of the sacred American middle class. They are prone at almost any time to break into song over the way Republicans "cater to the rich" by cutting taxes and "balance the budget on the backs of the poor." More

Sticks and Stones

Recent remarks by Virginia Senator George Allen may not have broken any bones but they surely bruised the tender sensibilities of some liberal operatives and their media counterparts. His videotaped comments to S.R. Sidarth, an Indian-American college student working for his Senate opponent's campaign, and the reaction to them just might be an opening volley in the 2008 presidential campaign. More

Up a Lazy River

"What's up with Lieberman?" That question was on the lips of nearly all those I encountered on the first few days of a trip I took last week aboard the Delta Queen, a gracious and glorious paddlewheel steamboat that cruises America's great rivers. More

You Can't Spell Pap Without the AP

The Associated Press, the world's largest news agency, has, since its formation in 1846, had the reputation of being a source for fair and balanced, just-the-facts reporting. Its mission statement reads: "AP's mission is to be the essential global news network, providing distinctive news services of the highest quality, reliability and objectivity with reports that are accurate, balanced and informed." More

Noncommittal Americans

Years ago I knew a man whose knowledge of history stemmed nearly entirely from what he gained through the viewing of Hollywood movies. Given the breadth of subjects covered by that medium, his knowledge seemed rather extensive. He was quite good at concealing the fact that almost all the particulars he tossed about in conversation were gleaned from the silver screen; particularly those concerning World War II. More

Democratic Generosity

Can the Democrats and their liberal wing do us any more favors? In the 2000 presidential race they ran an incumbent vice-president from a Southern state and were beaten by the narrowest of margins. In what some viewed as a conservative national tilt in 2002, they lost their Senate majority giving control of two branches of government over to the GOP. More

Mary Poppins Gone Mad

You have often read in this space of the advance in our lives of the tyranny of the nanny state. The methods of the nanny state are many but her intent can be summed up thusly down through the years: You, the American people -- you who created the world's longest-surviving constitutional republic; you whose industry has made you an economic giant; you whose love of freedom has spread that gift to millions of people around the world -- you no longer know what's good for you. More

Not-So-Free Love

Last week's twin rulings by the states of Georgia and New York against homosexual marriage caused quite a stir. The top courts in both states found that laws specifying marriage as between one man and one woman are constitutional. More

Joementum

Here in Connecticut, we don't often get to make big political news. Oh, once in a while we see some action -- Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel got twenty-to-life from a jury of his peers, Susette Kelo got the shaft from the city of New London and the Supreme Court, and Governor Rowland got his comeuppance -- but in recent times, the Nutmeg State has been so electorally true blue, that the first week in November is usually a big yawn.

This year however, all eyes are focused on the re-election bid of Democratic Senator Joseph Lieberman, where some in his own party are supporting the candidate who won the chance to challenge him in an upcoming primary. They hope that Greenwich millionaire Ned Lamont can unseat the man who is viewed as a disloyal member of the loyal opposition. Why? More

Talking Baseball

Sports in America are a funny thing. Average Americans who love sports are often dismissed by their betters in academia as rednecks and worse; especially the few yahoos who get carried away when their teams win it all. Unless of course, these celebrations take place in inner-city areas where the populace is assumed to be merely venting frustration at cruel Republican repression. More

Who's Listening?

Yes, it's been a great couple of weeks for President Bush and therefore, America. But not for some folks. It seems every time they turn around, Democrats have another cruel door of reality slam them in the face. Their efforts to paint the GOP with the culture of corruption brush met with a slim but bitter defeat in California; and at the highest levels of the administration where Karl Rove remains at large, free to plot and plan against them at will. More

Can't Win for Losing

Well, it looks like that "culture of corruption" ploy didn't work out too well for Democrats last week in California. But after Brian Bilbray won disgraced Duke Cunningham's seat, some liberals quickly changed tack to claim that he did it by using the illegal immigration issue as a "scare tactic." More

'Tis the Season

 Is Al Gore Ready for His Close-Up?

June is (just about) busting out all over and, so it seems, is Democratic interest in erstwhile presidential candidate Albert Gore, Jr. Yes, Al Gore, who in his last quest for the White House learned the hard way that a kiss is usually just a kiss, but a sigh can sometimes be more consequential. More

Speaking Ruth to Power

A few years back, Barry Bonds was thinking of a number. Not just any number, but the number 714, the home run total of one George Herman Ruth. Why, you might ask, would Bonds concern himself with a record broken 30 years ago? Why not focus on the established Major League record of 755 dingers held by Hank Aaron? Well, for what it's worth, here was Barry's answer:

"755 isn't a number that's always caught my eye...the only number I care about is Babe Ruth's. As a left-handed hitter, I wiped him out. And in the baseball world, Babe Ruth's everything, right? I got his (single season) slugging percentage, I got him on on-base, I got him on walks and then I'll take his home run record and that's it. Don't talk about him no more." More

Truth and Hollywood

"What is truth?" Such was the question asked by the Roman governor of Judea of a man who stood before him, a man whose death at Rome's hands would signify a great beginning. As they have for many, many centuries, Catholics still speak the name of Pontius Pilate when they recite the Creed at weekly Mass. Why? More

American Compassion

I remember a phrase my father used to describe certain people. He would occasionally call someone who had done a foolish but well-intended deed, "a good-hearted slob." You know the type. They lend money to indigent, ne'er-do-well relatives with no hope of repayment, or, out of common courtesy, waste valuable time listening to the spiel of any pitchman who appears on their doorstep. More

Enough Blame to Go Around

Now that the baseball season is in full bloom it has, unlike the brilliant springtime flora and fauna, spawned much unsightliness in the form of sports-radio talk. The constant yammering is almost enough to make one thankful for the intrusion of the interminable NFL draft. More

Encroachment of the Nanny State

Having first dispatched with the notion of private property rights with a "me-too" smoking ban two years ago, followed up by the lollapalooza Kelo v. New London eminent domain case, my home state of Connecticut has upped the ante to new heights of socialist nanny-statism. It took all of three hours for state representatives to pass a bill that, if the State Senate concurs, could send adults to jail for up to a year for serving alcohol on their property to those under 21 years of age. More

Flights of Fantasy

Are we ready for the Flight 93 movie? That's the question on the lips of the liberal media as United 93 nears its release date later this month. I mention the media because they seem to be the only folks who view the movie's premier with trepidation, as they do in reference to almost anything concerning the attacks of September 11, 2001. More

Whose Culture of Corruption?

One of the favorite terms of endearment employed by the left in pursuit of their return to power is that their enemies constitute a "culture of corruption." You can hardly swing a cat around Democrats these days without getting an earful about Republican corruption. Indeed, if one navigates to the Democrats.org website, they can view a rather neat graphic of file folders tied together with string called "The Corruption Files." More

Second-Term Opportunity

Sometimes it's better to be on the outside looking in. Like those on the left, we on the right are much more effective and much more comfortable on the attack than on defense. And although his enemies have been largely swinging and missing, George Bush and his conservative base are suffering an acute bout of second term-itis. More

Life After Two Deaths

This week marks the anniversary of two notable deaths: Terri Schiavo on March 31, and Pope John Paul II on April 2. Their passing led to oceans of coverage by the national media seeking typically not to report the stories but to explain it all to us. And, as usual when it comes to matters of faith, they got it wrong. More

March Madness

It's that time of year when bubbles burst and buzzer beaters ring out across the land. For many, it's an occasion for great elation, for some, bitter disappointment. But if recent news reports are to be believed, it is truly the month of March Madness for Democrats. More

Selectively Faithful

The young man walked slowly toward his place of execution. Dressed in a crumpled suit and tie, he faced the firing squad and asked permission to pray. As a Catholic priest ministering to the faithful during the purge of the Church by Mexican revolutionaries, he was condemned to death. As the photographers and riflemen took aim, he raised his arms parallel to the ground, forgave his executioners and shouted, "Viva Christo Rey!" More

Can Hillary Walk the Line?

All does not seem rosy in the world of those supporting the nascent White House aspirations of Hillary Rodham Clinton. Many have noted the rumblings of some on the far left of her party toward certain of her stances, if you can call them that. In response, she has begun to tiptoe the tightrope between the moderate and leftist camps of the Democrats' big tent. More

Racism and Sports

The word "racism" has been tossed around the past few years like so many used hankies. In nearly all spheres of American life -- from politics, to the military and the world of sports -- the term is used to excuse and condone a multitude of sins. Sometimes warranted, often not, charges of racism against minorities are almost as common today as were actual instances of it decades ago. More

Olympic Distress

I've been a lifelong sports fan. My first memory was of my father's admiration and awe while watching Gale Sayers, the Kansas Comet, perform feats of gridiron magic for the Chicago Bears. I loved boxing and enjoyed growing up in an era rife with talented and hungry fighters, and one where the heavyweight championship was still considered the greatest and most respected of all titles in the sporting world. More

The Raw Deal

The Samuel Alito Supreme Court nomination hearings are now a part of history, but snippets of the Democratic Party's accusations and name-calling live on. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) dramatically lamented that "a chill wind blows," presumably across the facade of the Supreme Court building. In actuality, the entire D.C. landscape was engulfed by great gusts of hot air emanating directly from the Judiciary Committee hearing room. More

Ahmadinejad, Hamas, and Saddam

The news from the Middle East this week has, with the exception of the wounding of two members of the media, moved away from Iraq. Attention is now focused on the two growing threats to peace in the region; the electoral victory of Hamas in Palestine and the nuclear rantings of Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. More

The West Fling

Spurred by plunging approval numbers and his failure to produce for the American people, the president's term will come to an early and untimely end on May 14. It seems the public has had its fill of liberal fantasy-land President Josiah Bartlet. More

The Wrong Side of Roe

Last week's hearings on the nomination of Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court raised many interesting issues, but none more important to certain groups than whether or not his confirmation would tilt the Court towards overturning Roe v. Wade. More

ACLU Slap-Down

Sometimes it's hard to find a ray of light in the American judicial system, but once in a while the sun comes shining through. In a shocking display of clarity and common sense, a federal appeals court judge ruled last month that the Ten Commandments may remain on a wall in a Mercer County, Kentucky courthouse. More

Welfare for Republicans

Now that the holiday that dare not speak its name is in our collective rear-view mirror, it's that time of year when the political punditry turns their weary eyes to the future. And those who dominate the media are out of the gate early, chirping optimistically about liberal prospects in 2006 and beyond.

Their talking points are already out and the main message is this: Conservatives are stupid. Not only stupid, but dense, knuckle-dragging, thick-legged sheep who will submissively go wherever liberals want to lead them. So inept are they, that they are incapable of choosing their own presidential candidates. More

A Visit from St. Hillary

Twas the night before Christmas, as in days of yore;
Not a liberal was stirring, not even Al Gore;
Our prospects were sinking, we pined in despair,
And prayed that St. Hillary soon would appear.
We Democrats waited, while snug in our beds,
Impeachable articles danced in our heads!
But with Bush in the White House and Cheney as veep,
I'd just settled down to a paranoid sleep. More

Sliding Down the Polls

Armed with their latest polling statistics, liberal Democrats frequently take to the talk shows and editorial pages to proclaim this or that anti-Bushism with steely confidence. In an effort to discredit them, many on the right then try to point out the questionable methodology used in producing such polls. More

The Ghosts of Christmas Presence II

The other night on TV, I watched a liberal talking head go ballistic in a discussion of the "war on Christmas." He ranted that there is no such war, and even if there were, it's those on the right, like Fox News, who are fanning the flames. He noted that in 1929 Henry Ford wrote that the Jews were behind such attacks and that the John Birch Society made similar claims against secularists in 1959. More

The Ghosts of Christmas Presence

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas; that is, the mercury is dropping while temperatures are rising due to the war on Christmas waged annually by the secular left and others. The "Happy Holidays" crowd does all it can to erase from sight and mind the very reason for all the December hubbub; the birth of the one that 80% of Americans call their Lord. More

In Disservice to America

William Jefferson Clinton has been on the receiving end of more magnanimity from George W. Bush than he has any reasonable right to expect. Ignoring the history of insults and slights his family has suffered at the hands of his predecessor, President Bush has repaid this ill-treatment with a large dose of Christian charity. More

Left to their Devices

Liberals are racing the clock. Less than a year separates them from realizing their dream of retaking Congress, staying even, or worse, losing more seats to the Republicans. Although the media is mesmerized by the startling fact that Democrats retained two governorships last week, recent history suggests that they are going nowhere fast. More

Beady Democrats

In a week that saw a spate of anti-Catholic rumination by the media on the nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court, others in the political spectrum were also concerned with religious issues. In their continuing confusion regarding these matters, some Democrats seek to placate the faithful, while others look to eliminate religion from the public sphere altogether. More

Good News is Bad News

What a difference a week makes. Short days ago, the liberal media were doing the Snoopy dance of joy in advance of what they were sure would be the beginning of the end of the dim-witted cowboy/scheming frat-boy that is George W. Bush. More

Not Nixon

On the salivation scale, this past week has been a veritable drool-fest for those who inhabit the newsrooms, editorial desks, and websites making up the liberal media world. The Sunday talk shows were awash in liberal glee; a level of happiness not seen since before a certain blue dress avoided a trip to the cleaners.

Tolerating the Iraqi Constitution

The look on Dick Durbin's face said it all. Involuntary muscles drew down the sides of his mouth as he attempted a forced smile but succeeded in producing only a grimace. The occasion was the appearance of the Democratic Senator on Fox News Sunday to discuss the Iraq constitutional referendum. As always, the latest good news from Iraq sits like a large lump in the throats of the president's enemies. More

Conservative Disharmony

Conservatives are cranky people by nature. Having walked in the liberal shadow for forty years as the opposition party, finding themselves in control of the government has, at times, been an even less sunny experience. For too long, they fought only liberals and their freedom-killing "progressive" ideas. Now that they are truly a major political force, they additionally must battle the mainstream media and, it seems, each other. More

Cut Her Some Slack - The Miers Nomination

The fear in the pit of the stomach was palatable; sweat oozed from the brow of every conservative with an Internet connection. On the afternoon of November 2, 2004, online reports of early exit polls posted indicated that John Kerry would likely be the next president of the United States.

In the second consecutive election-year frenzy -- recall the panic in 2000 when TV reporters initially botched the Supreme Court's ruling on Bush v. Gore -- reports of George W. Bush's demise have been greatly exaggerated. More

A Taste of the '60s

What do modern war protesters want? In the Vietnam War era, they clearly favored the Communist way of life to our own -- not for themselves, mind you, but for the millions we'd have freed had they and their media accomplices not forced a political end to what would have been a military victory. More

Shake, Rattle and Poll

News Item: The White House artfully created a continuous string of events that showed the president taking care of "the people's business." Pictures of the president hugging a disabled child, putting his arm around an elderly flood victim, or visiting an elementary school provided a soft contrast to the harsh attacks on him.

No, the above is not a recent news story on George W. Bush. It is a piece -- with names omitted -- written on the eve of the 2000 Democratic Convention, explaining Bill Clinton's handlers moved to raise his job approval numbers after the Lewinsky scandal broke. It contains one of the few instances where, in addition to mentioning Clinton's 68 percent job approval rating, his personal rating of 21 percent is also included. More

Hurricane Roberts Sweeps DC

Now that the victims of Hurricane Katrina have served their purpose for those on the left, Senate Democrats happily turned their attention to their favorite weapon of mass destruction: judicial assassination. More

Useful Victims

You wouldn't know it and you probably haven't heard it, but the American people -- unlike 90 percent of the media -- don't blame President Bush for the miserable handling of the Gulf Coast's brutalization at the hands of Hurricane Katrina. More

A City of Infamy

For years, those on the far left have repeatedly maintained that they support the U.S. military while, in reality, they oppose nearly every incidence of its deployment. Now it seems their animosity is not just reserved for our most recent forays. Apparently the Iraq War has soured them retrospectively on earlier battles for freedom as well. More

Bush Vacation Bashing - Singing' the Crawford Blues

If it's August and the press is languishing in Crawford, Texas, it's time for the annual Bush vacation media bash. This means that unless there's a kidnapping or runaway bride story to hold the nation's interest, the media will instead launch into their favorite summer pastime; turning the president's visit home into a four-week sentence of derision and contempt. More

Bill Frist: Pro-Life Lite or God Complex?

Embryonic stem cell research is once again in the news via Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's revelation that he opposes President Bush on this subject. While some believe that the president erred in permitting any funding for ESCR, Mr. Frist now thinks he hasn't gone far enough. More

Why They Fight Us

The quickly collapsing canard that Islamist rage is reserved only for participants in Operation Iraqi Freedom is still being touted by some on the left here and around the world. In some Muslim countries they practically boast of the safety they presume to possess by opposing the Iraq War. More

The GOP Fights Back

A funny thing happened on the way to the nation's highest forum last week. After Harry Reid attempted to use the well of the U.S. Senate to advance his party's frivolous attempt at ousting Karl Rove for outing Joe Wilson's wife, GOP leaders actually fought back. After four years of quietly beating the minority to a pulp behind the scenes and at the ballot box, Bill Frist and company exhibited a rare public display of political payback. More

A Guide to Liberal Supreme Court-Speak

Certain seasons or events have historically spawned their own lexicons which are unique to those events and used almost exclusively to describe them. Late in the college football season, some games have what are unfailingly called, "serious bowl implications." Likewise vice-presidential candidates must possess 'gravitas' and Super Bowls oddly acquire roman numerals. So too, does the Supreme Court nomination process require its own terminology, especially when the president is a Republican.

Over the next several weeks there are a number of ordinary words and phrases that will be used ad nauseam in reference to whomever President Bush submits to the senate for confirmation. They will however take on some unfamiliar connotations in the course of being repeated in endless web-postings, editorials and what passes for debate in the world's greatest deliberative body. More

A Bill of Rights or a Bill of Goods?

The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. If 'Thou shalt not covet' and 'Thou shalt not steal' were not commandments of Heaven, they must be made inviolable precepts in every society before it can be civilized or made free. - John Adams - A Defense of the American Constitutions, 1787

Were Mr. Adams to attempt a defense of the U.S. Constitution as its principles are applied today, he would no doubt declare that anarchy and tyranny have indeed commenced. Though the sublime document itself still remains revered and untouched in the National Archives Building, its most sacred tenets lie broken and shattered at the feet of the very justices created to adjudicate them. More

We Support the Troops But...

In what is deliciously being termed 'Durbin Warfare', another messy debacle played out last week on the floor of the world's greatest deliberative body when a leading Democrat was caught with his left-wing slip showing. More

Keeping the Twin Towers Down

Let's get something straight. There is no justification for a moral equivalency that can possibly compare the unspeakable deaths suffered by 3,000 innocent human beings with the nauseatingly overblown notion of mistreatment of a handful of terror suspects held by the U.S. military. None. More

Reagan, Bush And The Media

One year ago the nation paid a fond farewell to its 40th president in a week-long tribute filled with pride, pathos and patriotism. Hundreds of thousands of Americans turned out to file past the president lying in state in the Capitol Rotunda and to line the streets of Washington to see his cortege pass. More

Senate Moderates Deal - A House of Cards

Monday night’s deal between fourteen Senate moderates gladdened seven self-important Republicans and a whole lot of Democrats, especially their media wing. Typical comments on the Memorandum Of Understanding contained the usual words ‘courageous,’ and ‘maverick’ when referring to the leader of the coup, their icon, John McCain.

For some reason--perhaps just to annoy conservatives--the media actually believe that McCain’s antics are a stepping-stone to the 2008 GOP presidential nomination. They also believed this in 2000 and 2004 and will probably go on believing it until he either switches parties or dies. The thinking seems to be: anger Republicans and they will vote for you. More

Showdown Week in the Senate

As the foliage bursts forth into its spring magnificence, the vernal quietude up on Capitol Hill--never too peaceful in any season--will be further rent this week by howls of protest, sniveled cries of injustice and the general despair of the defeated. And that’s just the Washington press corps. More

The Peter Pan Generation

Michael Eric Dyson’s tour for his book, Is Bill Cosby Right? (Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost its Mind?) has been busting out all over radio and TV in the past few weeks. In fact there’s been lots of talk about Bill Cosby’s remarks concerning declining morality and poor behavior stemming from a lack of parental responsibility that’s holding black kids back.

Mr. Cosby laments the lifestyle of young blacks; from their dress, to their music, their views on sex, their language and their moral ethos in general. He believes that it is the fault of black parents for not checking more closely on the lives of their children and in this he comes close to the mark. More

 

GOP Whispers To Black Voters

As if America's 'loyal opposition' didn't have enough trouble, another issue is quietly trickling its way into the public eye. An editorial piece in the Philadelphia Enquirer entitled, "Black Voters Warm to GOP," overtly states what, up to now, could only be whispered within Beltway confines: some black voters are leaving the Democratic Party. More

The Pope and Andrew Sullivan

Every Catholic on Earth is a sinner. From this writer up to and including the newly installed Pope Benedict XVI. That we have the church to steer us to our redeemer through the sacrament of penance and reconciliation to forgive our sins, is a precious gift of grace from God. It is this belief, along with many others, that unites us to what we call the one true church. More

The Politics of Faith

This country was, in no small part founded from the pulpit. Many colonial ministers urged support for the American Revolution and some actually fought in that conflict. A sermon by David Jones of Philadelphia in 1775 exhorted, “We have considered the alarming call, which we have to take up arms; let us unite as men possessed of a true sense of liberty....If ever there was one time that called for more religion than another, this is the very time.”

Had Mr. Jones uttered these words today he would no doubt have been condemned as both a religious fanatic and a chicken hawk. He also would have been threatened with the loss of his church’s tax exempt status, provided of course, that his words were in support of President Bush. More

The New York Times and Its Catholic Crusade

When it comes to bashing the Catholic Church and its pope, the New York Times has lots of competition. But it has outdone even itself this week with a little number called, "Catholics in U.S. Keep Faith, but Live With Contradictions," a 1,500 word paean to what are generally known as cafeteria Catholics or, those who would pick and choose which parts of church teaching they will embrace or reject.

Seeking to portray the church as an uncaring, sexist entity that does not understand its members, the Times singles out some Catholics who show little understanding of their faith and seem to prefer a more Americanized version of same. Cited also is a ubiquitous Gallup poll which the Times evidently feels justifies flouting disagreeable church doctrine--think of the Ten Commandments as a butterfly ballot. More

Is the Pope Catholic?

Charismatic and photogenic world traveler, idol of youth, defeater of Communism, great communicator and master politician. Were these descriptions of the late Ronald Reagan? No, these platitudes were delivered at the passing of Pope John Paul II. But, as was the case with the 40th president, the media once again have failed to understand what lies behind the adoration millions felt for this man. More

Terri Schiavo: Death By Judicial Fiat

As you read this, Terri Schiavo will most likely be dead. Executed by the state of Florida at the request of noted death advocate George Felos acting in behalf of her husband Michael. Executed without trial by jury, without congressionally ordered federal appeal and most cruelly, despite her family's heroic efforts to feed and care for her.

That the termination of an innocent, brain-damaged yet otherwise healthy woman has taken place is reason enough to grieve. More mournful still is the state of our government and the cultural circumstances that brought us to this sad day. More

Save Terri, Save America

The gnawing in the pit of the stomach will not abate. The feeling that, little by little, we are seeing that which formerly made this country great slip away before our unbelieving eyes; that greatness which was represented by the notion that justice, truth and moral clarity would always prevail against tyranny in every form—especially governmental—seems to be at an end

That the founding principle of this nation—the safeguarding of the God-given rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness—has come to be regarded as so much un-nuanced corn, to be sorted out and ‘explained’ to us by our judicial betters is an abomination. More

Congress, the Courts and Baseball

While attempting to enjoy NCAA conference tournament action last weekend, in between bouts of averting my eyes to avoid the barrage of promos for ESPN's thug-fest called "Tilt," a sudden "special report" screamed, "Mark McGwire linked to steroid probe!" The reaction in the restaurant where I watched was akin to that of reports earlier in the week that Michael Jackson had dressed and acted bizarrely in court: Pass the pretzels, please. More

Hillary and the Race for '08

Less than four months after the 2004 elections some folks—particularly those whose exodus to Canada is temporarily on hold—are already slavering over the possible presidential run of she who is known by a single name.

New York’s junior senator, Hillary sometimes Rodham Clinton, is thought by many to be the early favorite in America’s quadrennial race for the White House.  Some Beltway touts see Ms. Clinton matched up against fellow one-namers; either the fetching filly Condi, or Rudy, who was scratched in their last meeting. More

The Dark Tower of Judicial Tyranny

They've done it again. It used be a shadowy penumbra, an ethereal emanation or simply the notion of a living, breathing document that enabled the Supreme Court of the United States to conform our Constitution to their schemes of social engineering. Now it is also to foreign jurisprudence that we must look. More

Terri Schiavo and the Soul of America

It is often said by abortion supporters that a fetus is not a baby until it can survive independently outside the mother's womb. This is, of course, a specious argument since this "survival" is not possible without the care and nourishment of others, either pre or post birth.

This is true not only of infants and children, but of the sick, disabled and elderly as well. But if certain right-to-death groups get their way this week, you can add Terri Schiavo's name to the growing list of disposables for whom the simple act of feeding would make her life otherwise viable. More

A Light At The End Of The Iraqi Tunnel?

After an obligatory but brief holiday from doom-and-gloom prophesizing on the matter of Iraq, liberals will presently rejoin their efforts in the War on Bush. This boggy quagmire--having been woefully escalated by the Red Army of Jesus-land--is fast becoming the Vietnam-generation’s Vietnam, except that ‘peace with honor’ is not in their vocabulary. More

Peace Through Liberty

Sometimes, when a plain man speaks, those who are paid to analyze his words are instead mystified by them. In an elegant inaugural address last week, President Bush gave words to the deeds undertaken on the world’s behalf by the United States and its military for the last hundred or so years—the spreading and defense of freedom. More

A Tough Week for Liberals

This will be a tough week for liberals. Beginning Tuesday, they must find a way to curb their seething disdain for minority conservatives while grilling Condoleezza Rice before the Senate Armed Services Committee and on Thursday, they face the unbearable darkness that is the second inauguration of George W. Bush.

Make no mistake about it though, they will pillory Dr. Rice. It's just that they will conceal their racial animus behind charges of incompetence surrounding her support for the invasion of Iraq. And it won't be pretty. More

New Years Daze

Now that the Winter Solstice and other Pagan celebrations have concluded, it’s time to shake off the effects of our annual Bacchanalian rituals and take stock of recent events with a clear head. I offer, in no particular order, a few of the most interesting. More

A Visit From St. Hillary

With sincerest apologies to Clement Mark Moore

'Twas the night before Christmas, in 2004,
Not a liberal was stirring, not even Al Gore;
Their prospects were dismal, they pined in despair,
And hoped that St. Hillary soon would appear.
The Democrats waited, subdued by their meds,
While visions of pork barrels danced in their heads.
With election-year worries and woes off my chest,
I’d just settled down for a long four-year rest.

More

Liberals Wish Us Unhappy Holidays

In an effort to assuage their latest electoral pain, some in the far left of the Democratic Party have laid siege to Ohio in hopes of reviving their flagging ‘every vote counts’ war chant, while others have enrolled in PEST-control programs to ease the suffering inflicted by the recent red-state tidal wave.

The most vocal however are those still mystified by the ‘values’ issues cited by many of the voters who re-elected President Bush. Unwilling to learn from their defeat and unable to process concepts like faith, morality, and patriotism, they have decided to throw more gasoline on their funeral pyre by attacking religion in general and Christmas in particular. More

 

Democratic Voices, Muslim Whispers: Islam For America

I usually write my own column, but recent events in the Middle East call for voices from that region to be heard among the mainstream media din. Some Muslims promote Jihad while others support democratic reform. More

Some Folks to Remember This Thanksgiving

At this festive season of the year, in between bites of turkey and bouts of pigskin on Thanksgiving Day, some of us like to offer thanks to God for the blessings bestowed on us throughout the year.  However, in special recognition of the 2004 elections, further gratitude must be extended to some others as well. More

The Mystery of the Singing Marines

They stand there at attention; impossibly young, and handsome in a way that only a man who proudly wears the uniform of his country can be. Two Marines, on the eve of the battle for Fallujah, mere days away from a fierce struggle and house-to-house fighting, captured for posterity on videotape. And what do these leathernecks do in those moments leading up to their hour of peril? They sing. More

Lame Ducks and New Canucks

When I was young, some thousands of my countrymen fled to Canada in order to avoid fighting the evils of Communism in a distant land. More than thirty years later, some thousands of liberals are planning to ascend to the Great White North to avoid fighting the evils of conservatism in their own back yard. More

Questions for the Unconvinced

You know them. You see them every day. They sit next to you on the train, in church or in the cubicle next to yours. Whenever the question of the presidential election arises, they are quick to condemn George W. Bush using talking points picked up from the media or in the union hall. But when you ask if they will vote for John F. Kerry, they waver a bit. They are not the undecided, but the unconvinced. More

John Kerry's Faith Without Deeds

This year's presidential campaign is described by some as one of the most important in our history. Towering above all the issues is that of national security and which candidate can best ensure it. Peering under the circus tent that envelops the process, one can get a glimpse into two of the most vital qualities of a Commander in Chief: faith and leadership. More

GOP Stifles Free Speech: Read All About It!

 As the days dwindle down to a precious few leading up to November second, the big three branches of the liberal election machine have kicked into high gear.  Charges have been leveled by the political, entertainment, and news divisions.  Tales of galloping woe fill the crisp autumn air as accusations of repression, suppression, and downright aggression emanate daily from the left. More

George Bush and the Cowboy Code

In a further demonstration that George W. Bush is driving the Left further round the bend, this week's Village Voice features a hit-piece by Erik Baard called, "George W. Bush Ain't No Cowboy." In it, Mr. Baard contends that, "liberals from both coasts and Europeans who derisively call Bush a 'cowboy' foolishly insult not Bush, but one of America's prime ennobling myths."

Baard then goes on to measure Bush against Gene Autry's Cowboy Code, a sort of Ten Commandments written by the Hollywood legend for all his little buckaroos who dreamed of growing up to be ennobling myths. Given the Left's disdain for cowboys mythical and cinematic (think Ronald Reagan and John Wayne), allow me to correct some of the author's distortions. More

Red State Revolution

A lot has changed since September 11, 2001. There is a ‘new’ Europe which is largely made up of former Soviet Bloc nations and those on that continent who support the U.S. in the War on Terror. We also have a ‘new’ media which mainly consists of the Internet, talk radio and Fox News. Now too, it seems, we have what I call ‘new’ Democrats, specifically those in the New York Tri-State area. More

Is There a Spin Doctor in the House?

William J. Clinton lies recuperating in a hospital in New York while John F. Kerry's candidacy continues to hemorrhage out on the hustings, badly in need of a transfusion. The causes seem eerily similar; the cumulative effects of past bad habits catching up and waylaying the two Democrats. The former apparently felled by a history of poor eating habits and the latter by history itself. More

The New Vietnam War

The American Civil War is said to have been the most divisive conflict in our nation’s history, and in terms of actual battlefield casualties, this is certainly true. However, with the exception of some tender sensibilities concerning the Confederate flag and those seeking reparations for slavery, that conflict has been laid to rest. Not so the Vietnam War. More

Anti-Warriors Then and Now

With the advent of the Republican Convention close at hand, much has been made of the various protest groups that will descend on the Big Apple to wreak havoc on that great city. Threats of violence call to mind the days when the anti-war movement was young and the similarities and differences between then and now. More

Dead Catsup Bounce

Maybe it was the ‘shove it’ incident or the NASA bunny suit gaffe preceding the recently concluded Democratic National convention. Maybe it was the four-day bait-and-switch show itself. Or it just might be candidate John F. Kerry. More

DNC 2004 - Two Conventions?

Day two of the turkey that is the Democratic National Convention is in the books which now makes it officially half-baked. As of this writing, on the afternoon of day three, I am into my seventeenth straight hour of viewing the televised coverage and fear I’ve come down with a case of acute hearing loss coupled with a touch of diversity fatigue. More

Dems Call Off the Dogs

So the first day of the Democratic convention is in the can, but what to make of it? The show opened with Terry McAuliffe wielding a gavel and trying to look legitimate in front of an embarrassingly empty hall and one almost got the sense that in between speakers he was outside dragging people to the floor. More

The Bounce Cheney Bop

"Hear the Rumor on Cheney? Capital Buzzes, Denials Aside." So blared the headline in last Thursday's "New York Times". In its continuing slide toward illegitimacy, the shady gray lady has now resorted to printing 1,200-word gossip columns on its formerly venerable front page. More

Profanity and Politics

A few weeks back I received an email from a reader who was concerned that I had failed to comment on reports that Vice President Dick Cheney had hurled a vulgar profanity at Patrick Leahy during a photo shoot on the Senate floor. I replied that he was correct, but neither had I written on the subject of John F. Kerry’s Rolling Stone interview in which he used the same word. More

The Greatest Story Never Told

This past weekend we once again celebrated the anniversary of our nation’s birth and the agent of that delivery, the sacred scripture that is the Declaration of Independence. Two days after its adoption, John Hancock sent a rider to New York to deliver it to General George Washington who read it to the troops on July 9, 1776. More

Gore, Moore, and the Dogs of Anti-War

Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war. — William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

The left this week has indeed unleashed two of its most caustic canines, both of whom are yapping at the heels of President Bush. Both were guilty of the crime they so often level at his administration: using the Iraq War for political purposes. More

The Clinton Book Companion

With the advent of the Bill Clinton book blizzard heralding the arrival of his 900-plus-page biography, I have compiled a handy reference guide for those who either didn’t know or have forgotten some of the relevant Clintonian tidbits sure to be included in this somber tome. More

The Long Goodbye

The other night as I was readying for bed, I happened to catch the second half of a 1990 Larry King interview with Ronald Reagan. As weary as I was, I sat enthralled by the sight of him; still tall in the saddle, bright-eyed and beloved by the TV camera, just as I’d remembered. More

The Seventeen Year Itch

Fifty-one years ago on a bright spring day in a sun-dappled grove, a pair of young lovers rose from slumber, spread their wings and burst into song. For the next month or so, Sam and Cindy spent their days and nights engaging in the ritualistic mating-cycle practiced by their progenitors for centuries. At the end of their courtship, Cindy Cicada gave birth to 500 or so offspring thus giving new meaning to the phrase, "making beautiful music together." More

Press War and the Public

This week's bombshell seems an awful lot like last week's and the week before: liberal reporter finds 'evidence' of a shocking story, liberal legislators conduct somber investigations demanding answers from the Administration, liberal press endlessly spins the results and the nation yawns. More

The Battle Against Right-Wing Media Bias

In support of their holy crusade to defeat President Bush, liberals have rolled out the third wave of their three-pronged attack on what they comically perceive to be conservative media bias. More

John Kerry -- Catholic Warrior

There's an old saying around these parts: If you bring your business to the bar, it becomes the bar's business. John F. Kerry has, for most of his adult life, run for political office on the strength of his Vietnam service record and, in Massachusetts where this once counted, as a professed Catholic. Now that he's in the biggest race of his life, he's feeling a bit tender toward those who are questioning the validity of both of these issues. More

America and Her Military

At several crucial times in our nation’s history, Almighty forces have intervened to aid in the course of events. From the writing of the Declaration of Independence when our Founding Fathers affirmed “a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence,” to the present day, many of us believe that because America is on God’s side, that He is on ours. More

A Summer of Discontent For Democrats

As evidenced by the raking fire laid down by their media division this week, the Democratic Party is launching their Tet Offensive on George W. Bush. From the laughably biased White House press conference--where the morning headlines should have read, "President Bush refuses to answer whether he still beats his wife"--to the deployment of veteran windbags, Ted Kennedy and Robert "Sheets" Byrd to beat the drums of Vietnam, things are heating up. More

Bombast and Bombshells - The 9/11 Commission

The witch-hunt that is the 9/11 Commission investigation reached its apex last week with the appearance of star witness Condoleezza Rice and the release of the vaunted August 6, 2001 Presidential Daily Briefing. Democrats on the Commission who ignored the old saw cautioning care in what you ask for, got exactly what they deserved. More

Crisis To Common Sense

The cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind. Many circumstances hath, and will arise, which are not local, but universal, and through which the principles of all lovers of mankind are affected, and in the event of which, their affections are interested.

This quote from Thomas Paine's introduction to Common Sense is topical for its content as well as its import in today's world. When published early in 1776, Paine's pamphlet sold over half a million copies in a country whose population numbered some three million. In Revolutionary-era America, interest in life and death issues was considered a matter of life and death. More

Monthly Musings

At month's end I like to sit back, study my notes and muse on recent events. Each month fits nicely into the passing parade with its own high and low points and March, 2004 was no exception. More

John Kerry's Sun Valley Serenade

John F. Kerry descended this week from the mountaintops and pleasure palaces of Idaho, doffed his designer ski duds, boarded his private jet and resumed his quest to be elected president on the 'common man' ticket. More

Spain's Deadly Disconnect

In scenes mixed with equal parts confusion and nauseating carnage, the world got its latest reminder last week that the War on Terror continues. Two hundred men, women and children in Madrid were blown to smithereens and thousands more wounded by what inevitably appears to be the handiwork of homicidal Islamists. More

The Politicization of 9/11?

For a man who labels himself as compassionate, George W. Bush is not engendering much of that sentiment from his adversaries, is he? In the past few years he's been called a thief, a traitor, a liar, a betrayer, a moron and a miserable failure to name a few. He's on the one hand a boobish cowboy, held on a short lasso by his wranglers and on the other a scheming, Ivy-League frat boy. More

Contradictions on the Left  

In a few weeks, after the Clintons and/or Democratic primary voters crown John Kerry as their official nominee, the feeding frenzy known as the presidential election season will be in full swing. Recent events have called to mind certain issues which seem to point to some inconsistencies in their party's mindset. The media, unbiased as always, needs to sharpen their stances on several topics as well.  More  

Gay Rights--Separate But Equal?

First Rosie O. and then the Village people of New Paltz, New York. It seems that an early spring has turned quite a few young men's (and women's) fancies to thoughts of love--and marriage to each other.

The timing of this abrupt rush toward gay connubial bliss is disconcerting to many on the left who do not want a discussion of this issue taking place during an election year but, like the groom at a shotgun wedding, they have little choice. More

A Bad Week For Bush?  

It's been a bad week for President Bush, or so they say. After all, he was accused of being a traitor by a man who accepted campaign funds from the Red Chinese, a deserter by a man who shilled for an overt draft-dodger, embarrassed by his hand-picked weapons inspector and probably most dire of all, he had a less-than-inspiring appearance on a Sunday morning talk show. Or so they say. More 

State Of The Union—GOP And Conservatives 

While Democrats fight to choose a candidate by dispersing across the country, Conservatives came together last week in Arlington Va. to fight for the soul of their movement. From its inception 31 years ago where 400 lonely souls sought to carve a niche for themselves in the political landscape, the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) saw 4000 of the faithful engage in a three-day exercise to determine if that niche can embrace all the views of the burgeoning following it has attracted. More

The Fight Ahead

There's been a lot of recent grumbling among conservatives on the subject of illegal immigration. Actually they've been pretty cranky about a lot of things lately. The usual complaint goes something like this; "If George Bush and the Republicans in Congress are selling out to the liberal agenda, why should we support them? What's the difference between Republicans and Democrats?"  More

"Charlie Hustles Baseball"  

So Pete Rose is pulling a Bill Clinton. You remember how it goes; get caught at something, then deny, deny and deny until they air the evidence. Next give a convincing teary-eyed, lip-biting admission and finally, make a good act of contrition like attending services at a black church. More  

The Greatest Political Hits Of 2003  

Here it is, another year in the books. 2003 was a year of war and peace, of one nation's redemption and another's economic recovery. Others more prescient than I have made forward-looking predictions, but I prefer to reminisce about some of the high and lowlights of the last twelve months. Therefore, in no particular order, I present my year-end awards. More

The Left's Rush To Judgment

For months now, leftists have been gleefully dancing on what they hoped would be Rush Limbaugh's grave. Most of the attacks show the same originality as is par for the liberal course. Just as the words 'Bush' and 'bravado' are required when writing about the president, so too must 'hypocrite' now become Limbaugh's middle name. More

All I Want For Christmas  

At this festive season of the year, it is often said that it is better to give than to receive, but sometimes one is able to do both. That is, occasionally a gift which benefits one can be shared to the general well being of many. And so, in the interest of the nation, I hereby submit my list to Santa, of gifts that will keep on giving.  More

A Tribute To A Marine Corps Leatherneck

I received some interesting email last week regarding my report on President Bush's Thanksgiving trip to Iraq. Mostly I heard from folks who were thrilled with W's visit, including Marci Warpness, who signed herself, 'A Proud Mother of a Marine':

I thought it was wonderful, speaking as a mother of a Marine who was over there and will have to go back. It is just what the men and women of our military need. It's important to show the troops that they are supported by one and all, not just family and friends when they are at war. More  

President Bush's Turkey
Trot Runs Afowl Of The Left  

When George W. Bush stepped from behind a curtain at a huge mess tent at Baghdad Airport to a standing ovation by six hundred of his loyal troops on Thanksgiving Day, liberals everywhere gagged on their giblets. The awful image of the President interacting with the worshipful men and women he had sent into harm's way was too much for them to stomach. Once again, the boy emperor had eaten their lunch. More

Losing Momentum In Iraq?
Only In The Mainstream Media  

Forces hostile to the occupation here apparently intended to show their increasing sophistication and firepower by exploding two huge bombs ... at police stations about 20 miles apart north of Baghdad.

The attacks on Friday offered a taste of how difficult that task is likely to be, given the insurgents' quickness in exploiting any American weakness and their readiness to resort to low-technology tactics that can help them escape detection.

Increasing sophistication and low-technology tactics? The above excerpts from two separate articles from Saturday´s New York Times, call to mind; “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Except that when it comes to coverage of the War On Terror, there is no best of times at The Times. More

Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied
Bigotry & Obstruction In The U.S. Senate

The Constitution is straightforward about the few instances in which more than a majority of the Congress must vote: A veto override, a treaty, and a finding of guilt in an impeachment proceeding. Every other action by the Congress is taken by majority vote . . . Democracy means majority rule, not minority gridlock.

Over the two days I spent last week in Washington observing the Senate special session on "Justice For Judges" I heard lots of words—but not those above. Those erudite comments were nonetheless uttered on the floor of the U.S. Senate on January 30, 1995 by current Minority Leader Thomas Daschle. They are a succinct summary of what his fellow senators on the Republican side of the aisle tried to get across to the nation over a period of 40 hours. Whether or not their attempt was successful depends on the quality and amount of press devoted to it, or I as like to say; If a tree falls in a forest and a liberal doesn't hear it, will it get media coverage? More

"Rock The Vote" - Debate — That 70s Show  

It started sometime in the late 1960s. This was the beginning of the end of America as we knew it. Up until the 'Summer of Love', there were children and then there were adults. The adults ran things, acted responsibly and were respected by children who obeyed and tried to emulate them.

This was before the 'Generation Gap' replaced the bridge which had connected the old and the young, resulting in a devastating case of role-reversal. Faced with the admonition that no one over 30 was to be trusted, parents ceded their roles as leaders and shapers of opinion to their children, and donned the love beads of same.   More

The Democrats' Great - Depression: The 2004 Elections 

The Democrats are having a Herbert Hoover moment. They've been having lots of them lately. In their never-ending quest to bring down George W. Bush, they've taken to likening his economic prowess to that of the 31st president. Typical of these statements is that of Richard Gephardt; "This president is the Houdini of economics. Three million jobs have disappeared. He has got the worst record since Herbert Hoover."

What punsters hath the Democrat Party wrought! It's a pity that they've only lately taken up historical allegory. What witticisms they might have turned in the 70's on phrases like 'stagflation', 'misery-index' and 'national malaise'. And during that Constitutional unpleasantness in 1998, I'm sure they would have had many Andrew Johnson moments.   More

An Execution In Florida —Terri Schiavo On Death Row  

According to the Florida Department of Corrections, the average stay on their state's death row prior to execution is 11.76 years. That means that convicted murderers, many of whom have signed confessions, are usually given a decade to use the legal system to pursue the means of extending their lives. Armed with teams of lawyers and abetted by anti-death penalty advocates and judges, they do not receive their due punishment until all legal processes have been exhausted, and sometimes not even then.

Terri Schiavo received her death sentence on February 11, 2000 and her time on death row may be running out. More

 Bubba At The Bat   

(With apologies to Ernest L. Thayer)

The outlook wasn't rosy for the Donkey nine that day;
The President had won the war but they had yet to bray.
So when Al Sharpton headed south and Kerry followed suit;
The other seven hit the road, down to the land of Newt.

The first to hit the stump was Al, the Reverend at large;
To beat the Bushies in oh-four would seem to be his charge.
His audience was hushed in fear, and pondering how high
The do-re-mi would have to be for Al to say goodbye

.

For though they knew that Mr. Sharpton didn't stand a chance,
His will commanded millions who they needed to romance.
His battle cry descended like a leaden ton of bricks;
"I'm going to slap this donkey 'round until the donkey kicks."  More  

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