Archive for July, 2009

How Not To Read A Papal Encyclical

The overarching flaw of the neocons is arrogance. It was arrogance that led them to believe that we could remake the Mideast when we invaded Iraq. It was arrogance that led Catholic neocons to lecture John Paul II on Catholic just war teaching as they lobbied the Vatican to endorse our disastrous invasion of Iraq.

Dumbing-Down the U.S. Navy

“Naval Academy Professor Challenges Rising Diversity,” ran the headline in the Washington Post.

The impression left was that some sorehead was griping because black and Hispanic kids were finally being admitted.

Who Can Lead The Republicans?

Sarah Palin wants to run for president? Quick—get the butterfly net. Who in his—or her—right mind would want to strut into the economic Hiroshima that the Democratic Congress and White House seem bent on precipitating? What a fine mess!

Hands Off Honduras!

Last Saturday, Honduran soldiers marched into the presidential palace, bundled up President Manuel Zelaya and put him on a plane for Costa Rica.

The ouster had been ordered by the Supreme Court and approved by the Congress, as Zelaya was attempting an illegal referendum to change the Honduran constitution so he could run for another term.

Pirates of the Mediterranean

On June 30, the government of Israel committed an act of piracy when the Israeli Navy in international waters illegally boarded the Spirit of Humanity, kidnapped its 21-person crew from 11 countries, including former U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney and Nobel Laureate Mairead Maguire, and confiscated the cargo of medical supplies, olive trees, reconstruction materials and children’s toys that were on the way to the Mediterranean coast of Gaza. The Spirit of Humanity, along with the kidnapped 21 persons, is being towed to Israel as I write.

Credo for Conservatives Part III: Order, Tradition, and Loyalty

III. A social order, being a natural expression of human sociability, should not be undermined, overturned, or rejected on frivolous grounds.

Lincoln, the Antiwar Congressman

The only time before his presidency when Abraham Lincoln held national office was a single term (1847-49) in the U.S. House of Representatives. During that time, while debating the Mexican-American War, Lincoln zealously defended the constitutional prerogative of Congress to declare war and enact legislation against a perceived usurpation of these powers by the executive branch.

Gun Control: What Is the Agenda?

As the first successful gun-control advocates were criminals, I have often wondered what agenda lies behind the well-organized and propagandistic gun-control organizations and their donors and sponsors in the United States today. The propaganda issued by these organizations consists of transparent lies.