Modern Times

http://westernstandard.blogs.com/shotgun/2008/05/the-sock-puppet.html

Very good article with interesting thoughts. My favorite passage:

"Modern leftism is premised upon an almost-deliberate ignorance of all of human history. It is rooted in a bizarre conviction that human nature is inherently good."

I've been reading Modern Times by Paul Johnson and think it is the best history book I have ever read. I continue to be absolutely astounded by the scale of genocide, murder, and totalitarianism that took place in the 20th Century. Every single continent with the exception of North America was plagued into chaos, terror, and unspeakable horrors through the past 100 years. It is so ignorant and stupid to believe that without a strong voice for democracy and liberty (America), the world would be in better shape, and that it is somehow our fault whenever people behave badly anywhere. Despite our Civil War, which despite the tragedy, was a fight to save the American Experiment (and also elminated slavery), was a mere blip in our genocide-free history. We owe it to our ancestors to constantly promote freedom and the value of human life around the world.

The story of the woman who planned to bicylce to the Middle East in a wedding dress is so depressingly sad. I saw her route on a map - she made it barely 100 miles into Turkey before she was raped and murdered. There are dangerous people in this world and it is our duty as lovers of liberty and freedom to stand up to them.

Failure at the UN

The first - UN is halting aid to Myanmar because the military junta is taking all the supplies and starving its people. Might be a good time to send in the tanks, right? Could there be any more justification for military intervention?

The second - The OPEC countries donate virtually no money to the UN Food Program to feed starving people. Saudi Arabia does not appear on the donor list, while the US gives five times as much as the EU. Incredible.

Steyn Article

Long article by Steyn, all over the map, but very interesting. He doesn't pull any punches.

http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110007760

I actually agree with Obama!

The retraction of the "Gas Tax" that McCain and Hillary are pandering to the American public is a terrible idea on several levels. It will hardly reduce prices, will contribute to more driving, more traffic, more pollution, and more "global warming" (assuming it exists and is a problem, the jury is still out). It also does nothing to increase innovation in alternative strategies, which the gas tax should be used to fund, and does nothing to decrease our reliance on foreign oil. It's a purely political move and should not be supported.

The failure of the United States to develop a new energy policy since 1970 will be seen as incredibly irresponsible and a travesty. It has allowed Saudi Arabia to bankroll radical Wahabbi Islam all over the planet. Fix our energy policy, and we will win the long war against radical Islam. Don't fix it, and I don't think we have a chance.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/01/opinion/01thu1.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin