Rock and Roll Conservative

ObamaCare and you

Robert Bidinotto has a good essay up looking at the similarities between the House and Senate health care bills. Short answer? Neither is good for you or America.

New at Enter Stage Right

This week in ESR we say don't worry about the kids, talk about the Middle East, offer a plan to save America, figure out the real cost of climate change plans, link H1N1 to government-run health care and argue that American conservatism is coming back.

All that and more here.

One year later

W. James Antle III has an essay up at The Guardian arguing that Republican fortunes are beginning to turn one year after Barack Obama's victory.

Pity that conservative fortunes weren't improving as well...

Can't see any potential problems with this one...

Given that almost everyone has received some stimulus money from the Obama administration it shouldn't be a surprise that those who haven't want in on the action. The latest to cry for some cake? Journalists.

In an editorial which ran in yesterday's Washington Post, Robert W. McChesney and John Nichols argue that journalism is so important that public money should be used to subsidize it.

A cynic would argue that any media organization taking money from the federal government would eventually be beholden to it but given how the majority of the press already treats the Obama administration it might not be that much of a threat.

That said, what the two editorialists failed to address was what happens after media outlets begin to rely on the money merely to survive, as eventually happens to any entity that gets access to that "free", sexy money from the Beltway? The decline in public consumption of newspapers and many mainstream media outlets is a fact confirmed by the media itself. That means their budget would gradually see a greater and greater share coming from the feds. Journalists have been bitching for years about how the Chinese Wall between the ad department and the newsroom has been slowly eroded, would they bitch too when a Democratic administration made it quietly known how they wanted a story to be treated?

We know, after all, that a Republican administration could never dictate terms to the unbiased corps of brave journalists who work in the Beltway...

Visit and visit often

In the annals of ESR there are few people who go back further than our friend Isabel Lyman. I hadn't heard from her in some time so it was nice to hear from her recently that she's started a new blog called The Castillo Chronicles.

Isabel is a huge talent and it would do you well to add her blog to your favourites.

The man behind the speechifying

John Hawkins has an eye-opening interview with former George W. Bush speech writer Matt Latimer that you really must read.

New at Enter Stage Right

This week in ESR we blame the war on drugs for the failures in Afghanistan, take aim at CF light bulbs, (kind of) defend Keynsianism, praise Bill Gates, talk climate change and worry about the food supply.

All that and more here.

Quel dommage...

A few weeks back I told you about a conference in Montreal on the future of Canadian conservatism to take place on October 29. Well, Canadian conservatism has spoken and only 40 or so people had signed up for the event.

The organizer states that he may attempt to organize a similar conference in Ottawa. Hope that one works out better.

They want you to insure your insurance

Back in ye olden tymes -- no really, the olden days of the early 20th century -- the argument was made that since the working man wasn't capable of saving for his own retirement, that employers should be encouraged to set up such systems. Thus, pensions became insurance for old age.

Sounds good?

Well, NDP Leader Jack Layton is never afraid to lard tax hikes and social spending on top of other tax hikes and social spending. The NDP announced today some "reforms" which would see all Canadians forced to buy pension insurance because of the "epidemic" of failed pension plans.

Sounds expensive? Sure is! And wait, there's more. The party wants to double your CPP contributions, toss in a another $700 million to seniors and create a new government entity to takeover "orphaned" pension funds.

New at Enter Stage Right

This week we assure our fellow Canadians that the Americans aren't trying to take us over, talk about health care, global warming and golf, fear for America's constitution and explore Freemasonry.

All that and more here.

Sigh

I must hand it to Barack Obama for knowing what his priorities should be. Before the man has decided on a policy for Afghanistan, that little thing he said he would concentrate on over Iraq, he addressed the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.

Well, he's finally made a decision on Afghanistan: No surge in Afghanistan before the election is decided. And they have the cojones to slam the Bush administration on the issue.

Hey, you elected him.

Different standards

It's Sunday so something tangentially involving football is appropriate. Mark Steyn has a good column about Rush Limbaugh, Anita Dunn and the different standards of speech. Very different standards, it turns out.

Do it already

Something you might not know about me: I'm a boxing fan. Apparently Barack Obama isn't because he still hasn't pardoned Jack Johnson for the "crime" of being romantically involved with a white woman.

New at Enter Stage Right

This week we discuss Barack Obama's Nobel Peace Prize, Arthur Laffer, journalists and lying, why China needs to look in the mirror, the role of camels in health care and the changes in Cuba.

All that and more here.

I'm sure some debate will be provoked

No, no, not about the joke from Oslo earlier today. Arkady Kamenetsky over at Right Condition has made a new political spectrum which you can check out here.

I'm not sure I quite agree with it. Libertarianism, after all, is composed of elements from the fiscally conservative right and the socially liberal left -- though for their own reasons. I'm not sure Arkady's spectrum reflects that. Still, better than what I come up with.

Here's a shock

When the U.S. Supreme Court handed down the Kelo vs. City of New London decision a few years back more than a few of us predicted that cities across the U.S. would take advantage to grab homes from their owners for whatever idiotic project they managed to dream up.

According to Leonard Gilroy, New York state is eminent domain happy.

I think they were called ACORN

According to the GAO, the U.S. Census Bureau managed to hire 200 ex-cons, and possibly many more, to help with the 2010 Census.

I've seen this movie before

So once again the Conservative Party is opening up a lead over the Liberals. Once again Stephen Harper is poised to lead a campaign against a humourless academic. And once again a lot of conservatives are dreaming of a majority conservative government.

Don't get me wrong, this is all good news. And yet I can't shake the feeling that I've seen all of this before and I know ending of this movie. The Conservatives enter into a campaign with promise, the media eventually takes aim at them and some no-name Conservative candidate makes the party look like the far right-wing wackos its struggled mightily to avoid looking like.

And once again we're stuck with a minority government, meaning yet another Conservative government that swings towards the center to ensure surviving the inevitable confidence motions.

Hardly inspiring.

New at Enter Stage Right

This week we call Barack Obama names, are not surprised Chicago didn't get the Summer Games, worry about freedom, urge the GOP to act on Iran, tsk tsk the Canadian government and talk small fish.

All that and more here.

Oh behave!

Apart from being a dated pop culture reference, the title of this entry is also what a lawyer told ACORN last year. Worried that some of the organization's actions might get it into trouble, a lawyer advised the group to put controls in place to avoid...oh, let's say...workers from advising people how to open brothels staffed with under-aged foreign hookers.

More on a leaked memo concerning the warning here and Matthew Vadum was interviewed on Liddy's show (MP3) about it.

Kind of explains itself

So why are members of Congress so resistant to joining a government-run health care system for the masses? Because the health care they get on Capitol Hill is sweeter than honey.

He was for the Afghan war before he was bored by it

Barack Obama talked big talk in 2007-08 about getting out of Iraq and concentrating on Afghanistan. Since his election? Apparently he forgot about both wars -- good for Iraq, not so good for Afghanistan. This weekend Gen. Stanley McChrystal admitted he had only talked to the Bamster once since taking command of Afghanistan in May and this article reports that people seem to be annoyed by Obama's delay on announcing new troops.

Of course, being the ahead of the curve guys we are, we've already chewed the Afghani fat twice this month alone. You can read our thoughts here and here.

I'm almost tempted to go

Forget hockey, debate should be the national sport of Canada. For decades we've seen debates on what is it to be Canadian, social democracy, the monarchy and God knows what else. So why shouldn't conservatives do it too?

In that vein, there will be a panel discussion on the "Future of conservatism in Canada" in the most beautiful city in the country, Montreal, on October 29. They have some heavy hitters on the panel -- though I think they missed some obvious names -- and it should be a good time. Find out more here.

Health care reform dummies like me

If you're like me, your eyes probably glaze over at the mention of American health care reform. Part of the problem is figuring out what plan someone is going on about and how does it compare to the others.

The Kaiser Family Foundation has done Americans a solid and has virtually every major plan -- including Barack Obama's no-plan plan -- in plain English side-by-side here. You can even create your own custom document here.

One tribe at a time

Not content with one series running on Afghanistan, Steven Pressfield has two concurrent series. His second, which debuted today, is an extensive look at Maj. Jim Gant and a report he wrote on how the U.S. Special Forces are engaging Afghani tribes. Crazy good stuff.