The Madison Freedom Fighter

The last Freedom Fighter Posting

2006-12-23T03:06:00.000-06:00

This is the end of the road...Politics has no place where I am going.

-Bob

RPW Convention Recap

2006-05-22T11:36:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, I attended the Republican Party of Wisconsin's State Convention in Appleton. I was impressed that bloggers were actually welcomed at the convention. Boots and Sabers, Right off the Shore, and Lakeshore Laments among other conservative bloggers attended the convention.

Overall, the conventioneers were upbeat and optimistic. Many looked forward to the November elections, especially "dumping Doyle." Tommy Tompson's speech on Saturday summed up the conventioneers complaints about Doyle with a focus on his lack of leadership and failure to lead on a strong Voter ID bill. No matter what other pundits suggest, Tommy Tompson's speech does exhibit strong support for Mark Green. This was readily apparent in his speech and his humorous claim that the Green Bay Packers would climb out of their slump under Doyle and win the super bowl under Mark Green as Governor.

Mark Green's speech had stern criticisms of Doyle's record, such as failing to lowering property taxes and regressive position on expanding education opportunities:

...
Jim Doyle had his chance to help our taxpayers, and he failed.

He failed by vetoing a property tax freeze three times in just three years and now those taxes have risen another $600 million....

Jim Doyle is standing in the schoolhouse door, blocking thousands of families from their dreams. But you and I are going to kick the door in.

We'll support charters, we'll support choice and we'll support home schooling and we'll never settle for second best when it comes to our kids' education....

It seemed to me though that overall character of Green's speech focused on positive remarks on the character of Wisconin's citizens and ideas for reform.

You are going to hear a lot from me in the coming months about what I think is wrong about the Doyle administration, but it comes directly from a deep-seated belief in what is right about Wisconsin.

Green discussed his beliefs in the importance of family values, Wisconsin's love of the outdoors, strong enforcement of the law, and belief in a Voter ID requirement. Interestingly, Green touched on the fact that is parents are immigrants and his belief that we should honor legal immigrants by "stemming the tide of illegal immigrants."

The Attorney General's race also looks promising for Republicans with two strong candidates in J.B. Van Hollen and Paul Bucher. It is interesting to note that even though both candidates asked for a no-endorsement at the convention J.B. still edged out Paul Bucher in the endorsement process and the straw poll.

You can check out the results and other info about the convention at the Wispolitics Convention Blog.

On the flip side, there were a minor number of protestors outside of the Convention on Saturday. I only noticed one with a sign; they didn't have much of a presence.

This is going to be an exciting election year in Wisconsin.

What happened to Patriotism?

2006-04-05T13:50:00.000-05:00

Drudge links to an article from NBC San Diego where schools are starting to ban patriotic clothing--even the U.S. flag.

Beginning Monday, the Oceanside Unified School District is banning all flags and patriotic clothing. According to school officials, some students are using the garments and flags to taunt classmates.

Some critics of the move are calling it a violation of free speech protections guaranteed by the Constitution.

The American Civil Liberties Union points to the landmark Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines. In that case, school officials attempted to stop students who were protesting the Viet Nam War from wearing black armbands.

"The school has to be able to show a strong likelihood that there is going to material and substantial disruption of school, and if they donÂt meet that standard, then they can't censor student speech," said Kevin Neenan of the ACLU.

I understand that school officials want to calm tensions to put learning first and politics second. That is their job.

However, they it may be helpful to sponser open forums where students would be able to make their feelings known on the issues.

Brentlinger said he was shocked on Tuesday when marching immigration-reform protesters tore down the flag outside his business.

"Some of them just grabbed the flag, and pulled it off its aluminum pole, and it got ripped," said Brentlinger.

Last time I checked San Diego was in America. I'm sure that Americans in Saudi Arabia or China don't expect to be able to wave around the Old Glory and not have any emotional backlash. The officals and citizens from those countries would expect that their respective country's flag would have preference at their establishments.

These repeated U.S. flag desecrations show absolute disrespect for America's history and the soldiers that have fought under it.

I thought these reform protestors were for American citizenship? Apparently, by their actions they aren't for America at all.

Not Impressed

2006-04-04T22:08:00.000-05:00

The anti-war referendum passed, yes, but the numbers are not all that impressive. With only 22,000 voting yes and a population of over 208,000, they barely got over 10 percent. In a referendum where it is change vs. a status quo, this shows that people, by in large, just don't care here in Madison. With voting the easiest way to express oneself, the anti-war folks really came up short.

Read more at LIB for results.

Vote Today!

2006-04-04T11:33:00.000-05:00

Exercise your civil duty and vote today.

Information is found here for the Spring Elections.

Students make sure you vote NO on both referendums here.

New Student Government Moving Forward

2006-04-03T10:49:00.000-05:00

The Student Government Blog has just opened pressing forward with taking a cleaner and transparent approach to governance on campus.

Today the ASM referendum portion of the elections have restarted . But many students that have already voted may not be willing to vote again in the candidate portion.

The new Student Government, if it succeeds, may be beneficial for all students.

Brad V. notes:

Even if the Student Government, with its minimalist approach, did nothing while holding the reins of power, students would win. It’s far better to have a student government that does nothing for free than one that does a great deal poorly and expensively. ASM’s classic “breaking the chains” icon seems now to have been an eerie harbinger of its own demise all along. It is the weakest link.

Indeed, if anything this Student Government at least offers an alternative to ASM's multiple failure to hold proper elections.

The Badger Herald's editoral today adds that transparency in a clean government is best reached through simplicity.

The cause of transparency is also aided by simplicity. And as the only necessary objective of a UW student government — once the question of segregated fees is left to the student body itself — is the question of promoting and facilitating shared governance, we believe a minimalist structure would serve this student body best. There is no need for a complex web of committees and campaigns hell-bent on passing meaningless resolutions and bullying the chancellor into black-and-white statements on issues painted in shades of grey. Rather, a basic governmental council meant to facilitate shared governance and a small judicial board to present a much-needed check on power ought to constitute the entirety of the new Student Government.

Sol G, a current Freshman Representative, speaks of ASM's inadequacies first hand here and explain his vision and their comming plans for the future of the Student Government.

Over the coming weeks, the Student Government will be holding listening sessions for you, the students, to air your grievances against ASM. We also welcome ASM members. If you can prove there is something worth salvaging, we invite you to try. We will use your suggestions to craft a constitution that reflects a streamlined, efficient and clean vision of government.

As one of their first steps, it seems that Student Government has asked for a full disclosure of the voting procedures to the campus including how the voting program was used to conduct last week's failed elections. An article from the Daily Cardinal notes:

A group of students constituting a government that seeks to replace Associated Students of Madison demanded a full disclosure of the coding used to run ASM’s faulty elections last week.

I'm sure that many students are looking forward to the result of Student Government's listening sessions and the resulting constitution. This will be the first step to Student Government's legitimacy and promise for transparency.

Anti-war leader responds to Jenna...

2006-04-03T00:38:00.000-05:00

I just got an e-mail from Stephanie Jung (kldoscpeyes@gmail.com). In the subject line it said "Response to slander..." and it had a link to a story that Stephanie wrote "with the help of (Bill). So Stephanie, like all anti-war folks, cannot even write a simple post by herself.

First, Stephanie, slander is SPOKEN and what Jenna wrote is not even close to LIBEL. Please, at least get your legal terms down right before you accuse someone of something. So, right off the bat, you sound like any anti-war advocate, you start with an incorrect premise.

Let's look at her (and Bill's) post.

I made a point to the journalist who wrote the article, calling her back, just to clarify again that the views I expressed were independent of Stop the War. The article noted it, but the Republicans have left that part out every time they reference the article.I was at the

College Republican’ vote no panel. And the thing you all miss is that as the Marine told his experiences he was continually justifying the killing of civilians, including an 11 year old child he shot -- saying that “all Iraqis drive crazy” and that it is not easy to tell the good guys from the bad

Fine, then you are sick and demented. You want windows broken on this campus. What happened was a HATE CRIME. Those personnel were doing their job and someone through a brick through their window. Then you say that an act like that will help your movement. That is stupid!

In addition, never call a military member a "baby killer". I will not let you and others like you take us back to the days that personnel were spit on when they returned. Until you spend time in Iraq or have to make a life and death decision, you have no right to call any member of the US military baby killers.

What ideological and political reasons are given for this intimidation and coercion of a society? To "fight terrorism" and "spread democracy", but what does this entail? Indefinite subservience to the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Arresting trade unionists, and enforcing Hussein's 1987 law banning trade unions in certain industries.In addition, Steve Burns from Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice is extremely knowledgeable on the reconstruction contracts, and has been doing regular presentations on them. There was one tonight (Sunday April 2nd) at 5pm the Memorial Union Beefeater's room.

This must have been written by Bill...'nough said.

I don't know who was responsible for the broken window. But it was not part of an organized effort of Stop the War. Jenna accuses us of having done this in the past. However, this comes from a smear story by the Mendota Beacon about a complaint filed by an ROTC member from the November 2, 2005 protest. Not only did the UW administration find NO evidence of wrongdoing, but the university police were present and dragged away one high school student (who put up no resistance) to intimidate the protesters who left shortly thereafter. The high school student was not read his Miranda Rights, was detained at the UW police station and interrogated, but was never charged with anything. The complaint filed against Stop the War! by the ROTC is just part of a continued pattern of falsehoods and demonization against Stop the War!

Evidence? Do you decline the fact that members of "stop the war" surrounded the Army ROTC building and intimidated STUDENTS who were inside? No student deserves harassment and EVERY student has the right to study without any threat to their wellbeing. I don't agree with the views of several majors on campus, but I don't go protest them. You and your allies are hateful people who do not respect others and their opinions. That is why one of your comrades through a brick through that window and that is why you and your allies protest and harass your fellow students. That is wrong and you should know that.

As I listened to the Marine and other soldiers talk about their experiences in Iraq, my belief that this war needs to be ended was that much more enforced. I saw them talk about their friends dying over there and having to kill innocent Iraqis. Although it was a "vote no" panel, I can't believe more people weren't as moved as I was. And as I looked around the room and saw all those students dressed in their finest not even realizing what their ignorance is complacent in. I just can't believe that you would value your comfy "way of life" over the lives of so many others. I think we all need to look beyond our sheltered lifestyles and realize there is more to care about than ourselves--people are dying. And with that in mind... it was just a window (replaced within hours and paid for by insurance even).

Did you listen? I don't think you did. Each one of those soldiers said that your referendum was wrong. Each one said that they wanted to go back. Each one said that you would be killing hundreds of thousands of Iraqis if we left. You are the one that has to get outside of a sheltered lifestyle. Your life has been so easy. You can vote without fear of death. You can go to school without fear of death. You can dissent against the government without fear of death. That is what the Iraqis had and that is what we are trying to improve. Ms. Jung, you and your anti-war friends have lived a live style far better than 90 percent of the world. You want ignorance, look into a mirror. Stephanie, don't ever send me an e-mail with this kind of crap attached to it. If I want to read trash, I will read the Observer.

"Student Government" Manifesto

2006-03-31T19:25:00.000-06:00

Update: The Student Government has its own blog. Check it out!

Steve S. over at LIB and I have not agreed on some issues, but he has come through with one hell of a piece today in the Herald. Let’s break it apart:

The era of the Associated Students of Madison is over. ASM was a vain, bloated, corrupt and inefficient body that served no one but the resume-padding careerist hacks who profited from the corruption in which they wallowed.

Yes it was. ASM is full of students who have nothing better to do than take money from students and give it to themselves and their friends.

ASM’s bureaucracy was a corpulent mess of groups with no checks and balances in the system whatsoever. ASM holds all power — there is no appeal beyond it. The Student Judiciary can punish ASM members who break the rules, but consequences are minimal at best and can be overturned by ASM.

(snip)

The current student-fee system is also out of control. There is no mechanism to even allow ASM to reject or reduce any budget. Countless money is wasted on organizations that provide no service to students. ASM’s twisted view of viewpoint-neutrality forced representatives into a position in which they could not say “no” to even the worst student organizations.

So true. Not only are they buddy-buddy with the Administration, but they are full of corrupt, power-hungry folks who try to enforce an impossible standard: viewpoint neutrality.

Candidates and groups have attempted reform for decades. Matt Modell fought vehemently for students’ rights against ASM oppression. Numerous candidates were elected last year on a reformist platform. However, these leaders have been blocked in their efforts for reform by the careerist resume-padders.This can no longer stand.

I was their during the Modell days as a Freshman Representitive. When SSFC actually cut some budgets, the corrupt SJ kicked representatives off of SSFC and reinstated the amounts. This is sickening. There is no room to cut in ASM, only add.

We will be writing a constitution that represents you. We will institute a streamlined government that strips away bureaucracy and petty infighting. We will enact major student fee reform, ensuring transparency and integrity in funding. We will guarantee clean, honest government that is competent and honest. And, at all times, we will take your feedback, opinions and input.

Some suggestions: No salaries for ANY interns or student government leaders. No full time or LTE positions paid for by ASM. And find a way to have a REAL appeals process, not one where everyone is friends with everyone else. This is a golden opportunity that must be seized. I want the Student Government to have control over my seg-fees. Talking about seg-fees, the Student Government should keep event grants, but axe travel grants! Also, a seg-fee cap would be a nice addition.

We have only one request. In your deck of cards, there is a joker card. If you are fed up with ASM’s garbage, if you don’t care about what ASM does, if you want a fresh organization that will work for your interests — pin the joker on your bag or your clothes.ASM has forfeited its right to be taken seriously. Atlas has shrugged — Student Government.

First, an Atlas Shrugged reference…that is awesome. Second, I, for one, will be wearing the joker.

This is not a right-left issue, it is a student issue. The 85 percent of students who do not vote in ASM elections have lost all hope in their government (or never found out what it is). That is how ASM has survived for so long. They hid in the shadows and they make backroom deals. They are driven by money…MY MONEY. So begins a revolution. Overall, the article was a good one. Not just because of what it said, but because of what it did not say. There were no promises that could not be kept, like ASM has done since I have been here. They promise to keep tuition down and they raise Seg-Fees. They promise keep Seg-Fees down, and they back a referendum that will increase fees 200 dollars a year! They lie and they lie to get re-elected. And so it begins…

ASM IS DEAD.

A new "Student Government" is born

2006-03-31T00:27:00.000-06:00

It was quite a scene earlier this evening as about 30 students met in the Rathskeller to mark their departure from the Associated Students of Madison once and for all. This comes a day after ASM once again screwed up an election.

The group of people at the front of the room where from all corners of the political spectrum, but most where in the middle. They had enough with the incompetence of ASM and demanded reform. Their plan is to form their own government (cleverly named "The Student Government").

Some quotes from the meeting:

“We are going to bring students in and involve them in the process.”

“There is no binding agreement that makes them the student government.”

“A Group that is not to the left and not to the right…some were involved in ASM, some were not”

Steve S.:

“ASM is massively inefficient, its an staggeringly unworkable system, its bloated, and reform efforts over the past 20 years have failed. Things must proceed in a new direction. The new direction is Student Government capital S and capital G.”

This is going to be one of the most interesting student government stories in many years. Here we have a group of young students setting up their own government and claiming that they deserve the same rights as ASM. When it comes to a city as crazy as Madison, is it really so hard to accept two student governments at the same campus? It is very true that ASM has become beholden to special interests and their entire purpose now is to fund certain groups and propagate certain beliefs. For many years, many have tried to improve student government and to make it more transparent to all, but, even when in the majority, the structure of the government has made it almost impossible to represent STUDENTS, not just a few ORGANIZATIONS.

That has to change and the Student Government (the new organization) has a great chance to do that. If the old system is broken and it is impossible to fix it, you just have to throw it out and start over. Here at Madison, one of the most progressive places in the country, we should want to experiment and create a NEW government. One that represents STUDENTS and their interests and protects their tuition and pocketbooks, not one that is concerned about a few ORGANIZATIONS and paying stipends. The same campus that created the “Wisconsin Idea” to government currently has one that is by in far inept.

This should be a good one to follow for everyone. I will be sure to update this blog whenever some thing new comes down the pipe.

Tomorrow they are meeting with Laurie Berquam (a representative of the Chancellors office) to discuss the new government. This should be interesting.

For audio from one of the leaders of the separatist movement, visit The Slanty Shanty.

Tomorrow expect:
An objective piece in the Daily Cardinal and the Badger Herald and an Opinion piece in the Herald. As well as a follow-up concerning the Laurie Berquam meeting.

As the "Madison Freedom Fighter" I live for stuff like this. So check back here FIRST for any late breaking news concerning this story. (LIB may be a bit faster in breaking the news as Steve is a leader in the Student Government)

ASM is Chaos - NEW GOVERNMENT FORMING

2006-03-30T14:42:00.000-06:00

There is a coup at UW Madison and it could not be more apparent. I am not a conspiracy theorist and I may begin to sound like Bill A., but it is apparent that something is happening behind the scenes and it is not pretty.

I am not going as far as the SLAC folks, but one of their statements in the Herald was interesting.

“It looks awfully shady,” SLAC member Ashok Kumar said. “The election that is asking the most money out of students — the most important election [is cancelled] … by the power invested in Tim Leonard.”

It does indeed look shady. It is time that students stop just taking this abuse from the government. The power of government needs the consent of the governed and I no longer consent any power to this so called “government.”

I am by no means an anarchist, but I am a realist. This “student” government has become far too powerful and as finally broken the preverbal camel’s back. Instead of looking after all students, they protect an elite few. Instead of collecting seg-fees for the many, they collect it for the few. They are willing to do whatever it takes to pass this Union Referendum including destroying the democracy here at UW Madison. Don’t give ASM your consent any longer. Their vote is invalid and their leaders are inept (Eric Varney excluded). The day of ASM is beginning to set and in the twilight students will find a new voice.

Update: New Student Government is rising to power. The Daily Cardinal has a story that some students are getting together to form an alternative to ASM.

Citing “evident corruption and general incompetence” among other grievances against ASM, the group of students, including UW-Madison freshman and Dane County Board candidate David Lapidus, said they plan to meet tonight at the Rathskellar to formulate the new government.

Nice!

ASM chair and UW-Madison senior Eric Varney said the movement would need signatures from 10 percent of the student body to get a new student government proposal put on the ballot. If the new government wins by a two-thirds majority, ASM will be forced to disband, but only if 10 percent of the student body votes.

Here, Eric Varney is wrong. The vote only has to happen if Lapidus and the rest of the separatists hold the ASM constitution as valid. My inclination is that they don’t and therefore, they don’t have to follow ASM’s rules. Nowhere in state-statues does it say that ASM is the official Student Government of UW Madison, therefore, their rise to power is based largely on the consent of students and the lack of real competition has made them the default power in Madison. If the separatists do not recognize the ASM constitution, the “poison pill” option does not exist.

The last helicopter: why the US must stay in Iraq

2006-03-29T20:26:00.000-06:00

The Last Helicopter…

The Wall Street Journal had an excellent editorial today about the foreign perceptions of US Foreign policy. AMIR TAHERI, the article’s author, used the imagery of “the last helicopter” to set the scene.

(note: the link to the article doesn't work because it is for "subscribers only.")

To hear Mr. Abbasi tell it the entire recent history of the U.S. could be narrated with the help of the image of "the last helicopter." It was that image in Saigon that concluded the Vietnam War under Gerald Ford. Jimmy Carter had five helicopters fleeing from the Iranian desert, leaving behind the charred corpses of eight American soldiers. Under Ronald Reagan the helicopters carried the bodies of 241 Marines murdered in their sleep in a Hezbollah suicide attack. Under the first President Bush, the helicopter flew from Safwan, in southern Iraq, with Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf aboard, leaving behind Saddam Hussein's generals, who could not believe why they had been allowed (to) live to fight their domestic foes, and America, another day. Bill Clinton's helicopter was a Black Hawk, downed in Mogadishu and delivering 16 American soldiers into the hands of a murderous crowd.

I could not agree with this passage more. Every President since Ford has his “last helicopter” which pushed us out of a conflict. Bill Richardson, of the “Say No to Cut and Run”, a group opposed to the April 4th Referendum, said something similar at a panel last night. Each time we left a war zone in such a way, it has emboldened our enemies. It is time to end this cycle of running when the going gets tough.

The most interesting aspect of the piece was the fact that no foreign leader believes that the last helicopter will or could happen under Bush. But everyone in the middle east is preparing for 2008. Both allies and enemies are looking to the future and they see a President, be it Republican or a Democrat, who will leave the middle east. The new power broker is Iran in this world.

Mr. Ahmadinejad's (Iran’s President) defiant rhetoric is based on a strategy known in Middle Eastern capitals as "waiting Bush out." "We are sure the U.S. will return to saner policies," says Manuchehr Motakki, Iran's new Foreign Minister.
Mr. Ahmadinejad believes that the world is heading for a clash of civilizations with the Middle East as the main battlefield. In that clash Iran will lead the Muslim world against the "Crusader-Zionist camp" led by America. Mr. Bush might have led the U.S. into "a brief moment of triumph." But the U.S. is a "sunset" (ofuli) power while Iran is a sunrise (tolu'ee) one and, once Mr. Bush is gone, a future president would admit defeat and order a retreat as all of Mr. Bush's predecessors have done since Jimmy Carter.
Mr. Ahmadinejad also notes that Iran has just "reached the Mediterranean" thanks to its strong presence in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. He used that message to convince Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to adopt a defiant position vis-à-vis the U.N. investigation of the murder of Rafiq Hariri, a former prime minister of Lebanon. His argument was that once Mr. Bush is gone, the U.N., too, will revert to its traditional lethargy. "They can pass resolutions until they are blue in the face," Mr. Ahmadinejad told a gathering of Hezbollah, Hamas and other radical Arab leaders in Tehran last month.

(Emphasis added)
It is a sad state of affairs when Iran’s President Ahmadinejad, the same fellow who called for Israel to be “wiped off the map”, is waiting for Bush to leave office. He knows that Bush won’t bend to his tyranny, but he hopes that the next President will. This should be a lesson to every anti-war protestor out there. The truth is, and the dictators and tyrants of the middle east know it, is that George W. Bush is no match for them. Ahmadinejad even called the transformation in the middle east a “brief moment of triumph” for Bush. When his presidency is up, they expect that America will continue on its course of not caring about the rest of the world and retreat to our comfort zone.
This is why the anti-war movement in America is killing American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. All of our enemies are just “waiting Bush out.” They believe with every fiber of their essence that if they can wait just 2 more years, they will win. We as a nation must send the unequivocal message that we are in it for the long run, no matter who is President. Be them Democrat, Republican, or other, we, as a nation will not leave. This would kill the insurgency in a week, because all hope would be lost. The “last helicopter” would disappear from their dreams. But, instead, Madison is set to vote to pull out the troops, yet again, emboldening the insurgency.
We live in a dangerous world and our enemies, the ones that want to destroy America and kill Americans, are hoping that Bush leaves. It is disturbing when liberals and terrorists are on the same side of an issue: their hatred of Bush and his ideology. Well, this isn’t the first time liberals and terrorists have agreed on an issue, they both did want the patriot act defeated.

Voting...America's National Pastime

2006-03-29T12:49:00.000-06:00

I was going to post this piece this morning, but didn't publish it b/c I had class:

As we all go off and vote in the ASM elections and soon city elections concerns of election irregularities reign supreme.

ASM in the past has had problems even keeping track of the votes. My concern is with the pastime of voting socially. People used to go into the polls and vote together.

I guess I am a bit old fashioned, but I like paper ballots.

After class, I tried to get some of my friends to vote and found out that ASM messed up again.

As of Wednesday morning, an unprecedented 15% of the UW student body had already cast votes in the Spring 2006 ASM elections. Wednesday’s numbers far exceeded voter turnout projections when compared to previous elections.

While ASM is pleased to see such a rise in participatory democracy, it has created an unpredicted technical concern in the voting system. As a result ASM has announced that it will postpone elections in order to review the system and ensure that every student has opportunity to cast an equal vote and have their voices heard.

This is absolute irresponsible on the part of the ASM elections committee. They should always hope for the best and plan for the worst.

The best of course that all eligible students will vote in the election. And perhaps all of them would vote for themselves.

This failure again within a couple of years shows the repetitive incompetence of the student government here.

There should not have to be a postponement of elections. The results should NOT have had to be erased. This is not how elections are to be conducted in America and is not a good example for the future

It seems that ASM may not have been so forth comming as to the problems with the electronic election system and a full report should be made immediately as to why the problem was caused and why the system was not able to handle such a 'high' turnout.

I am frustrated by this happening again, as I was a poll worker in the fall of 2003 when the elections had to be rescheduled.

Elizabeth Conklin, manager of DoIT’s Internal Applications group, which maintains the election software said DoIT is responsible for the incident.

“DoIT accepts full and complete responsibility for this unfortunate incident,” she said. “The ballots were lost due to a failure on our part to completely reset the election system after it was successfully tested ahead of the election. We’ve taken steps to ensure that this will not happen again.”

Well it happened again...

Herald misses the point...

2006-03-29T11:06:00.000-06:00

I was mad last night after the socialists barged into the College Republican meeting and called everyone cowards, but after reading the Badger Herald this morning, I am furious.

The article, written by Drew Hamm, is all at once poorly written, extremely biased, and not based in reality.

Let’s break it down:

First the title: “Anti-war activist interrupts College Republicans”

Yeah, that did indeed happen. But that is not what the meeting was about and even though the anti-war folks were amusing and all, most of the speaking and attention was on the three Iraqi War veterans speaking to the audience. I blame this more on the news editor than the writer though. A better title: UW College Republicans hear from Veterans.

3rd and 4th paragraph:

Members of the UW Stop the War! movement attended the meeting to voice their support of the referendum. However, when Stop the War! member Chris Dols became too “disruptive,” two UW police officers asked him to leave.“It is a little hypocritical for them to publicly denounce Stop the War! when they won’t even debate us,” Dols said.

The first quote in the article is from Mr. Dols. Why is this? The event was about the anti-troop referendum they quote Mr. Dols after he is asked to leave the meeting. The writer also uses the infamous “editorial quotation” to describe him as disruptive. Well, as a witness to the event, Mr. Dols was extremely disruptive. He was physically unable to keep still when the veterans were talking and would not stop adding his two cents. It was only AFTER he called the panel and crowd cowards, after he pointed out that a veteran killed a child, after he was taken to the curb with FACTs, was he asked to leave after one of his 2 minute soliloquies. It is obvious he was never taught how to be quiet when others are talking. But the reporter found it so newsworthy to talk about it that he went on with dribble.

The overall opinion of the panelists was that they love the people of Iraq, and that the response from Americans has been overwhelmingly positive since returning home.

Don’t forget, Hamm, that they also preached time and time again that the Iraqi people WANTED THEM THERE. And that every one of the veterans said that those pushing this referendum are in fact AGAINST the troops.

The dialogue went back and forth for a majority of the meeting on whether or not the troops should leave.

No, it was more like:
Veterans: No, we should stay, we want to stay until the job is done.
Anti-war folks: No, all troops want to leave no.
Veterans: No, we want to stay and help the Iraqi people build a democracy.
Anti-war folks: You kill children and you want to come home.

The Anti-war folks must have found it disheartening and horribly ironic that the same folks that they want to bring home are willing to go back. The same folks that they want to save from this “evil war”, want to fight for the rights of the Iraqi people. Ha.

“We are all for getting these soldiers out of harm’s way,” Dols said. “I want you and all your friends home.”

Okay Chris, what if the soldiers WANT to stay in Iraq? Then what? The Reporter forgot about the quote from Mike Hahn which said that there are record re-enlistment numbers in the Army and impressive numbers in the Marine Corp. It seems that the reporter was more interested in Chris Dols than in the veterans at the front of the room.

This was one of the only topics that the two sides agreed on during the meeting.

No, they didn’t agree. Although they want everyone to come home, the veterans and all of their fighting friends still over there want to stay until the JOB IS DONE! Again, the reporter must have been outside the room at that point interviewing Chris Dols.

The College Republicans set up the “Vote No” panel to educate students on their views on the issue. Dols requested to be on the panel but was denied because he had views opposing the College Republicans’ stance.

Of course he was denied. He came to the meeting and just asked to be on the panel. Even though he was NOT on the panel, he still spoke out of turn and acted like a 5 year who no one wants to play with. He whined the entire meeting…obviously into the author’s year. This was a vote NO panel, it was designed to let the campus know the other side of the issue without the threat of rudeness and disrespect. The last time the College Republicans participated in a panel with the left, it was 1 on 5 and the conservative was hissed any time he spoke. That is not a debate, that is disrespect towards the first amendment. What right do the anti-war folks have to coming to our meeting and taking over? What right does Chris Dols have in coming into our meeting and being disrespectful. They have every right to come and listen and to ask short pointed questions, but after that, they are infringing on our first amendment rights. They by no means have or deserved the right to have a “heckler’s veto” at UW Madison. They are in the majority and they have decided to continue to oppress conservative thought. Only now, they have come to the one place that we can say something without the sighs or the hisses or the disrespect that we get in every class and in every other group on campus.

Dols and his constituents came into the meeting and called the College Republicans “cowards” for not debating him, which set off a yelling match between the panelists and Dols.

Yep, more talking about Dols. Again, the BH should be ashamed for running this piece.

Despite the differing opinions, Smith said she thought the meeting went well.

It did go well. It would have gone better if the anti-war folks would shut up and listen instead of assuming they are always right. There were 3 Iraq War veterans and instead of learning from their first person experiences, the anti-war kids “know” that their propaganda is right and the soldiers are wrong. For shame.“It is good for debate and discourse,” she said.She said she decided ahead of time that debate between the two sides would not be productive, however, as she said a “token conservative” at a Stop the War! meeting would just be “shouted down” and “attacked.”

Indeed.

This story was horrible and for the first time in a long time, the Daily Cardinal’s coverage was so much better that I cannot even compare the two. Drew Hamm should be fired…or sent to the Madison Observer, because with this kid of reporting, that is where he belongs.

From a paper who formed in opposition to the anti-war movement of the '60s, the Herald should be ashamed.

CRs Overrun by Hippies

2006-03-28T23:31:00.000-06:00

Tonight, the UW College Republicans were overrun by hippies. The CRs organized a "Vote No Panel" to get the facts out there about the anti-troop referendum that the City of Madison is holding next week. The panel was moderated by Madison's favorite radio personality, Vicki McKenna and included three Iraqi War Veterans.

As the meeting got underway, about a half dozen "Stop War Now" folks came into the room. Their leader, Chris Dols, lead the way. Of course, the anti-war folks are attracted to any form of media available and with reporters from the Herald and the Cardinal on hand, they could not resist in making a scene.

Be it calling the panel and the CRs "cowards" or talking so much out of turn that the UW Police had to escort him out of the room, Chris Dols was his normal self. Yes Chris, we get it, your parents did not pay attention to you as a kid and now you need everyone to pay attention to everything you say. Well, guess what, NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOUR OPINION. There were Iraq war veterans talking about what is happening over there and you could not keep you mouth shut for more than a minute. Shame on you!

Other than Dols, the rest of the hippies were pretty well behaved. The Vote NO panel did a great job in defending the Iraqi war and setting the record strait. The truth just hurts the anti-war folks so much that they don't want to listen.

They invited several of the veterans to a "public forum" to be held next week. As normal, any liberal forum includes 10 liberals, 1 conservative and a yelling crowd of folks who all agree with each other. It is to be held at library mall (sounds like a rally) and two of the veterans are going to participate. Odds are, they will be called baby killers and murderers.

The truth of the situation is simple: those that support this referendum are against the troops and don't understand what is happening over there. As the veterans said over and over again, if we pull out, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis will die in a horrible blood bath and the ba'athist regime will kill all of those that helped us thus far. Shame on you all!

Listen to my opinion on this and other issues at The Slanty Shanty

Saddam does not care about Iraq

2006-03-28T22:29:00.000-06:00

I'm not surprised that Saddam does not care about his own people, but for him to say it straight out is a different story.

Interviewer: This reminds me that in one of your speeches, you said that you would leave Iraq a country without a people.

Saddam Hussein: What is the people worth without Saddam Hussein?! What is it worth? Iraq is entirely Saddam Hussein. "Long live Iraq" means "long live Saddam Hussein." What is Iraq worth without Saddam Hussein?

Interviewer: You keep on with those slogans? You still cling to them...

Saddam Hussein: I was brought up on it. How do you want me to go back on this? Iraqis hear these things about me as soon as they come out of their mothers' wombs. [...] I repeat: Iraq without Saddam Hussein isn't worth two bits. Therefore, it will make me happy if Iraq turns into ashes.

I call to punish 'Izzat Al-Duri, because he burned my heart.

Interviewer: Why, because he published a statement without your permission?

Saddam Hussein: He gave a speech without me knowing it. The punishment that I want for him is to cut off his tongue and ears.

Interviewer: Why cutting off his tongue and ears?

Saddam Hussein: To make him the same as all the renegades whose tongues and ears I cut off. And if 'Izzat Al-Duri continues giving speeches in sign language, like the deaf do, I demand that his hands be cut off. And so on and so forth, until 'Izzat Al-Duri is finished, and we get rid of this degenerate.

Lock him up and throw away the key.

I'm Back...

2006-03-28T21:09:00.000-06:00

Although all is well over at madison.com, I have decided to resurrect the original freedom fighter blog for two reasons. First, I am going to cross link to the madison.com site which should be good all around and second, because the layout is just so bad over there. I enjoy having a side bar!!!

So...I was just at a CR meeting and the anti-war folks called marines "cowards." More to come before this evening is over.

Army Station Vandalization is Not Speech

2006-03-28T11:55:00.000-06:00

The Daily Cardinal reports that the Army recruiting station at University Square has been vandalized here.

"Army employees were startled Monday afternoon when a brick crashed through the window of the campus Army Recruiting Station, 73 University Square, around 2:30 p.m.
Army officers were in the building when the window shattered, but were unable to catch the vandal."

But what is even more ridiculus Jung's opinion on destruction of private property:

Stephanie Jung of Stop the War said the broken window could give the Madison anti-war movement the spark it needs.

“It is going to take more than people rallying on Library Mall,” Jung said. “I think actions that will eventually get people onto the streets are what we need. I think this action could be something like that.”

There is no excuse for destroying someone else's property and successful protests occur when a clear message is presented without violence and destruction. Even though there is no clear suspect as to who threw that brick, clearly the perpetrator was targeting the army station during broad daylight to send a message.

This is another clear message that people like Jung are not supporting our troops.

Where's Bob?

2006-03-27T23:12:00.000-06:00

So Madison's favorite "Red-head" conservative is AWOL from blogging. In an attempt to guilt him into blogging feel free to leave comments. To hold people off until then, check the Slanty Shanty show for some political commentary from Bob (supposedly from Freedom Fighter) and Brad from Letters in Bottles.

There is a ton of issues Bob should be speaking out against such as the Iraq referendum, securing the border debate, and the Governor's race.

Start your engines.

Vote No on Both ASM Referendums

2006-03-27T23:05:00.000-06:00

Today March 28 at 8 am voting opens online for UW-Madison students at http://vote.asm.wisc.edu until March 30 at 8 pm.

All students should vote and take into consideration extremely important issues such as tuition fees, textbook programs, and referendums among others when voting for candidates. But most importantly, two major referendums on the ballot may have drastic effects on cost of attending the University. The first is an increase of segregated fees of $96 a semester to pay for renovations at Memorial Union and a new building for Union South. The second is the "Living Wage" referendum to mandate a pay hike of $10.23 an hour for LTE workers.

The Badger Herald editoral board has come out against both referendums on the Union referendum here and the wage hike here. Mike from the Mendota Beacon has an excellent article here. Voting no is one option for students to help keep down the cost of tuition as any extra costs of attending the University.

Many students who are trying to pay their way through college work many hours a week and full-time during summers, without the help of their family, to attend Madison. They do not need the burden of working an additional month part-time to pay for higher segfees. Check out my previous blog on the Union referndum here.

This leads to the second referendum, which would artificially inflate the wages of workers.

The Badger Herald sums up the idiocy of this referendum by asking these questions: "While the imposition of a living wage seems noble in the abstract, its implications need to be considered. Do students scooping Babcock Ice Cream at Memorial Union need a living wage? Does the student swiping IDs at the SERF deserve a wage hike?"

We attend college to learn more skills and obtain higher paying jobs. Certain jobs are higher paid, because they require higher education and skills that the average high school graduate does not have.

We want a system where people are paid for the quailty and difficulty of work they do. This is a reason why college professors deserve more pay than a trash collector. Being a college professor requires more education and skills to specialize in their field to fully teach students that specialization.

People should earn their higher wages through more education or raises for hard work. We all have to start somewhere near the bottom, either mowing lawns, delivering papers, or working at a grocery store--like I did. But all those jobs gave me an incentive to push forward, earn an education, and earn raises for hard work.

This is a society we live in and should live in. Not a fantasy world where we are all paid equally to do any type of work--no matter how much education or skills we have. That stinks of Socialism and Communism. We want our doctors, teachers, and scientists to be paid more for knowing more, because they earned it.

How do we know how much workers should be paid for the skills and education a person has?

We don't know and neither does SLAC. But employers do and they should be allowed to determine how much to pay their workers and not by a faulty mandate.

Vote NO on both referendums.

The Freedom Fighter has moved!

2006-02-02T02:34:00.000-06:00

The Madison Freedom Fighter has moved to bigger better location at madison.com. I'm the same ol' red headed conservative, only now I have a server where I can upload podcasts and stream video!

Check it out!! (link)

http://www.madison.com/post/blogs/freedomfighters/index.php

MFF Update and Retooling

2006-01-30T01:32:00.000-06:00

MFF Readers,

The Madison Freedom Fighter is undergoing a major overhaul. Over the next week, we will be moving to a new location (at madison.com) as well as increasing our content and capabilities. MFF will have podcasts, a/v content, as well as a couple new contributors in addition to yours truly.

Because of this, the number of posts and response to comments will be low over the next few days. But fear not, for the Madison Freedom Fighters will be up and running by weeks end. Please continue to check back from time to time over the next couple of days, but don't you even think about touching that blogroll, because Madison's best blog is just going to be getting better!

Thanks,

Bob T.

P.S. To curve any comments on any statements I made (i.e Madison's best blog), I have turned off the comments for this post. Advantage Bob.

I've crossed over to the dark side

2006-01-28T14:16:00.000-06:00

Well, after years of mocking them, I have joined the legions of Mac supporters across the US. Yesterday I bought the brand new IMac. As a life long PC user and Mac hater, it took me a while to get used to the idea of a Mac in my house hold. But I have to admit, it is AWESOME. I have a 20 inch screen and the entire unit is a thing of beauty.

Who says conservatives cannot change?

Update: I just created my first podcast. I will start uploading them next week.

Follow up: Herald gets the story wrong

2006-01-27T12:31:00.000-06:00

One major line in the story is just wrong:

Healy, whom Davis described as “extremely apologetic” during Thursday’s meeting, said the Beacon believed and continues to believe its decision was well within its legal rights.

After talking to Jeff Healy, he said that he did not appologize about a thing and after the meeting Mr. Davis was upset with him. To apologize is to think you did something wrong and Jeff and the rest of the Beacon's leadership don't think they did anything wrong.

What the hopla is about: From the Beacon story.

They allegedly wrote insulting remarks on the whiteboard attached to Brian Roberts’ door in Ogg Hall. Roberts is a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender liaison, which gives him free housing in Ogg.

The four allegedly tore down pictures of two men without shirts kissing and other pictures from the liaison’s public bulletin board. One or more of the men also allegedly spit on the door of the liaison. Altogether, the four face 17 felony charges.

Roberts wrote those who live near him after the incident, “I hope that events like last nights will not happen in our community ever again, but if they should, I will continue to confront them and hope that my fellow housemates will be there to back me up.”

Roberts e-mailed his floor about the incident and he is protrayed in a positive light. He did his job as an LGBT liaison and he put himself in harms way by comfronting the 4 individuals. The Beacon reported as such. The first amendment is a powerful ally and just because one doesn't like the Beacon doesn't mean they don't have a right to publish what they did. I don't like the Madison Observer (so much so that I won't even link to their website), but I have never said that anything they wrote was outside of their freedom of speech. There was no malicious intent and without such there is no need to bash the Beacon for reporting the facts.

The Beacon Stands up for the Truth - Herald beats up on the little guy

2006-01-27T11:53:00.000-06:00

The Badger Herald has resorted yet again to attacking the Mendota Beacon in a negative light. The Beacon published a photo and the name of the alleged victim in the "hate crime" committed in December. Even though this individual sent out an e-mail to his floor IDing him as such, some believe his identity should be protected.

From the Herald story:

Perhaps most troubling to UW, Davis said, is what he called the questionable motives Anderson had for exposing the liaison's identity.

I can say without a doubt that Grant as no biases against this individual and the only reason he wanted to publish it is because it is the truth. That is the goal of journalism, isn't it.

But there is no law that stops an independent newspaper from publishing a photo. The story the Beacon ran was positive as well. In my opinion (for disclosure, I used to be the Managing Editor of the Beacon) the story the Beacon ran was fair and objective. It portrayed the "victim" almost as a hero. Running after these bigots even in the face of a personal threat.

From my time working with the Beacon and with the Jeff and Jenna, I can tell you that it is totally unafraid. Do your worst Main Stream Media, because Madison's finest citizen journalism is going to continue to spread the truth.

By the way, perhaps the Herald should write a positive piece about the Beacon for once. I doubt that will ever happen though, because when you see the Beacon, they see themselves 35 years ago. I know two members of the inagural Herald staff, one is my landlord, the other works up at the Capitol, they both worked for the paper in 1969. Both of them have supported the Beacon, just shaking their head when they read the Herald. What a shame.

Update: With such disrespect towards the Beacon, it is interesting that three opinion columnists currently employed by the Herald are alumni of the "openly conservative" newspaper. They hire Beaconites but won't speak favorably about the Beacon.

Update 2: Now Beacons are disappearing from across the campus. I love free speech in Madison! The Herald will probably write a story about how the Beacons take up too much space on the newsracks and how the liberals are justified in destroying the paper. HT: Jenna I am, of course, not accusing the Herald of stealing the papers.

Update 3: I am indeed towing the Beacon line.

Update: Isthmus readers chime in

2006-01-26T21:49:00.000-06:00

As many of you know, I was profiled for a cover story in the Isthmus last month. Well, Madison has responded...here's what they had to say and my response to each:

"I'm surprised this angry, contentious young man has such a bleeding heart for the Iraqi people." - Nicole Gruter, Menona

First, I'm not an angry person. The question that you should be asking is how can Ms. Vogeler turn her back on the Iraqi people. The "progressives" want to work with the UN and want America to be more active in world problems. If we sent troops into the Darfur region of Sudan, would you be okay with American foreign policy? I am proud to support a President that has given 25 million people the right to vote for the first time in their lives.

"...one look at Robert Thelen's pinched, angry-looking face should be enough to alert anyone that he is a rabid right-winger. Think about it: From Bill O'Reilly to Ann Coulter to Rush Limbaugh to Dick Cheney...there is a meanness in their persona..." - Keith Stephens, Monroe

Thanks Keith, I take it as a complement to be compared to Dick Cheney and Bill O'Reilly. We are not mean, we are passionate.

"Robert Thelen III maintains that Bush won 'a landslide victory' in 2004. I think he needs to bone up on his math." - Charles Tranberg

Bush had the largest vote total ever and was the first President since Reagan (correction: Since the 1988 election of GB Sr.) to get a true majority of the vote in one of the most competitive elections ever. So, it was an impressive, message sending victory.

"I was disappointed to see how slanted your story was. It's a shame that Thelen had to play the "limited-life experience" foil to Vogeler's hard-luck, blue-collar activist. Fortunately, Thelen doesn't seem the type to be driven from his cause so easily" - Zachary Wyatt

Thanks Zachary. I agree that the story was slanted, but I expected such from the Isthmus. The truth is, most of the anti-war folks in Madison are left-overs from the Vietnam era and the average pro-victory advocate is in college. BTW: this is one of two positive comments.

In one comment I was even compared to Hitler, another one called me bully. Yet another said my interview was full of "know-it-all, know-nothing, inane and erroneous, red-headed yes-man full of third-rate, two bit, first grade prattle?"

I find it interesting that most of the readers who responded used some sort of personal attack in their statement. This is how the anti-war left argues. First an attack, then some talking points they were fed by a Captimes article or a blog and because they don't understand the significance of the talking points, they end with another personal attack. Insecurity is rampant in the anti-war left.

The National Review is coming to Madison....kind of

2006-01-26T21:35:00.000-06:00

Jonah Goldberg, editor-at-large of National Review Online will be visiting Madison next week Wednesday. He will be discussing the lies spun by the MSM concerning Hurricane Katrina and other interesting topics.

He will be in 1100 Grainger Hall at 7:00pm on Wednesday Feb 1, 2006.

So read up on his blog. This event is open to everyone. So I hope liberals show up to get an education.

From his last post:

A wave of pious indignation and table-thumping has spread across the nation's editorial pages over the freedom to search for Internet porn. Don't get me wrong: I think you do have the right to search for porn. But it is interesting to see what gets people's First Amendment gag reflex going. The Baltimore Sun, for example, warns that a "witch-hunt" for search-engine abusers might be around the corner if Google cooperates with the government.

Iraqis, Afghans, optimistic about Future....France not so much

2006-01-25T23:25:00.000-06:00

In a new poll conducted by BBC, Iraqis and afghans are among the most optimistic about the future in the world.

Joining the Afghans and Iraqis in the optimistic category are Canadians who are bullish not only about their own finances (64 percent), but also about their country (63 percent).

In Afghanistan, 70 percent of respondents said their own circumstances are improving, and 57 percent said the country overall is on the way up. In Iraq, 65 percent believe their personal life is getting better, and 56 percent are upbeat about the country's economy, the BBC reported

I guess the ability to vote and the new freedoms that America made possible in Iraq and Afganistan has given those people hope for the future. Interestingly, according to the poll, France and Italy are some of the most pessimistic countries. Perhaps socialism doesn't make people feel all that optimistic. I am sure the MSM will bury these results in the coming days. For them, any news is good news...but good news doesn't exist.

20,000 Page Views

2006-01-25T19:12:00.000-06:00

My page views just crossed the 20,000 mark. Thank you all for your support and your readership.

To the next 20,000!

Update: Also, my roomate got accepted into EOD Special Ops Training. Congrats Ryan!

Props to Doyle

2006-01-25T07:58:00.000-06:00

You are not going to hear it often from me, but I will give Democratic Governor Jim Doyle some props today. As you may have heard, he went to Iraq to visited the troops there . I know that some bloggers around the state may view this as a political stunt, but I believe it is well-intended. He really does care about the troops in Iraq and I believe he supports the mission and the war.

Wisconsin National Guard troops serving in the Middle East have "high morale, a very clear sense of mission, and a very clear belief that it can be accomplished," Gov. Jim Doyle said in a teleconference from Baghdad today.

Doyle, who arrived in Iraq this morning, said he was visiting the country
primarily to see Wisconsin National Guard troops and "to make sure they know
that we are supporting them."
(snip)
"There's no doubt the military feels they are on the right track," he said,
adding, "I'm not ready to declare what the foreign policy of the United States
should be."
(emphasis added)

The governor has been a true supporter of the troops through out his administration. He seldom misses a send off and this visit and his words underlines that fact. This comes a day after an LA Times reporter called for anti-war advocates to stop supporting the troops. Politics and indictments aside, Governor Doyle did something good today.

Updates: No Runny Eggs has commentary as well.

"Peace Mom" turns "Peace Pawn"

2006-01-25T07:32:00.000-06:00

America's favorite anti-war mother, Cindy Sheehan just cannot seem to keep her mouth shut these days. Between speaking for up to 11,000 dollars an hour and endless TV interviews, she has found time to take a foriegn government sponsored trip to Venezuela.

We must stop the Iraq war, we must not let it happen again, said Sheehan, who has been arrested at least twice while demonstrating outside the White House.
Tuesday's march ended outside the armed forces headquarters, on an avenue usually reserved for military parades. "It's a peace route now," Sheehan said.

It is ironic that Sheehan would call that avenue a "peace route" as the Venezuelan military is suspected of countless murders and unthinkable corruption.

The story of the murder of three of the six young people, who had left after their nighttime exam at the Universidad Santa MarÃa to head home, seems to be taken straight out of post-Allende Chile, where the Office of National Intelligence (DINA) murdered defenseless citizens on the streets

Amnesty International has more:

Amnesty International has documented police intimidation of relatives of the victims of human rights violations committed by police and the failure to grant them protection or implement effective protection as well as the failure to investigate complaints of threats. Venezuelan human rights organizations have documented over 100 police killings in GuÃ¡rico State in recent years. Many Venezuelan states have a similar history of police abuse.

The truth of the matter is, Cindy Sheehan is willing to align herself with a murderous dictator and be used as a pawn in Chavez's goal of turning South America to the left. Ms. Sheehan: Your eldest son would be outraged. You are not doing him a service.

Google becoming Chinese Puppet?

2006-01-24T20:45:00.000-06:00

Google, the world's most prolific search-engine and the creators of blogger.com (where this blog is located) and gmail has signed a deal with the Chinese government to provide searching in China.

I googled "google and china" at news.google.com and found a number of sources about the new deal. The sad news is when a Chinese citizen does the same thing they will not get linked to news stories like this:

Timeonline:

GOOGLE will today cave in to pressure from the Chinese Government by launching a local website that strips out information not approved by the Communist authorities.

The company, whose motto is "Don't be evil", is launching a version of its site that restricts Chinese people from searching for information about Tibetan independence or the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.
(snip)
Google is already subject to Chinese government censorship, which blocks search results returning undesired information. The country maintains a sophisticated system of internet monitoring known as "The Great Firewall of China" that restricts access to a range of Western sites.

The company estimates that about 1,000 categoriesagories are blocked by this filtering. No published list of barred terms exists, although the authorities are quick to complain if offending information becomes available.

The average Chinese citizen will never know that there searches are being blocked. Websites will not be loaded, certain words will come back with no results. World events, like the massacre at Tiananmen Square and the brutal oppression of Tibet will never be known.

I wonder what will come up when someone googles "freedom", democracy, " "china human rights".

Google is going to mislead hundreds of millions of Chinese citizens with false information. What is even more disturbing is that they are going against their own mission statement. The FIRST thing Google mentions on their "company overview" is

"Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. "

I guess the meaning of "universally accessible" is lost in translation from english to mandarin.

War opponent is AGAINST Troops

2006-01-24T16:19:00.000-06:00

After months of blogging on how the anti-war left is against the troops, the truth has come out.

Joel Stein, of the LA Times, wrote as much in his piece "Warriors and wusses" in which he says that soldiers don't deserve to be supported because they knew what was coming when they signed the dotted line.

When you volunteer for the U.S. military, you pretty much know you're not going to be fending off invasions from Mexico and Canada. So you're willingly signing up to be a fighting tool of American imperialism, for better or worse. Sometimes you get lucky and get to fight ethnic genocide in Kosovo, but other times it's Vietnam.

So, our brave fighting men and women oversees are signing up as tools. Interesting.

I'm sure I'd like the troops. They seem gutsy, young and up for anything. If you're wandering into a recruiter's office and signing up for eight years of unknown danger, I want to hang with you in Vegas.
(snip)
Blindly lending support to our soldiers, I fear, will keep them overseas longer by giving soft acquiescence to the hawks who sent them there and who might one day want to send them somewhere else. Trust me, a guy who thought 50.7% was a mandate isn't going to pick up on the subtleties of a parade for just service in an unjust war. He's going to be looking for funnel cake.

This kind ofmentalityy is apparent in the anti-war movement. Instead of being against the war and respecting the troops (ie not protesting ROTC on campus, Recruiting stations off of campus, etc), the anti-war left is now attacking soldiers to make political gain. Notice that Mr. Stein is against a "parade" because it will send the wrong message to politicians. Well, how about the soldiers? They are fighting, they are bleeding, for the American people.

But blaming the president is a little too easy. The truth is that people who pull triggers are ultimately responsible, whether they're following orders or not. An army of people making individual moral choices may be inefficient, but an army of people ignoring their morality is horrifying. An army of people ignoring their morality, by the way, is also Jack Abramoff's pet name for the House of Representatives.

This nation must begratefull for the soldiers who are protecting our boarders and are willing to fight for it. I am sickened by Mr. Stein's comments and hope he understands what he is saying. He has called the armed forces an immoral entity. Then, almost as if this is all a big joke, he throws in a punch line about Abramoff.

I'm not advocating that we spit on returning veterans like they did after the Vietnam War, but we shouldn't be celebrating people for doing something we don't think was a good idea. All I'm asking is that we give our returning soldiers what they need: hospitals, pensions, mental health and a safe, immediate return. But, please, no parades.

First, you are advocating that the collective US turn its back on our soldiers. It is our duty as a grateful nation, whether you believe in the war effort or not, to respect and thank our fighting men and women. Mr. Stein, I have friends in Iraq, I have a neighbor in Iraq, and as long as they fight for the USA, I, for one, am going to support them. And to the people who agree with Mr. Stein. I pray that you know that your freedom is protected by those people "who pull the trigger".

What the anti-war left doesn't get and Mr. Stein hates is that overall moral for the US Military in Iraq is high. The soldiers, riflemen, airmen, and seamen in Iraq understand their mission and can see the progress being achieved in that country. If you have not PERSONALLY talked to soldiers coming back from Iraq, if you have not personally talked to soldiers injured in Iraq (many of whom wants to return), then you truly don't understand the war that is being fought. Oh, there will be parades when this war is over, and hopefully Mr. Stein is stuck in traffic as one goes by, so he can see who he didn't support when they needed it the most.

Update: Uncle Jimbo must have been reading my mind. He wrote about this earlier today.
Favorite line: "I wonder if the possibility that he is not omniscient ever crossed the fevered mind of this delusionally self-important weasel. "

Are you a South Park Republican?

2006-01-24T10:04:00.000-06:00

Update: Bill from Madison, the anti-government comment king, has his South Park character here.

Okay, I will be honest. I found this link to create your own South Park character and I had to come up with a post to have an excuse to have a picture of me as a South Park character (that's me above). So, here it goes:

The talking heads have been throwing around the term "South Park Republican" for a couple of years now. What is a South Park Republican?

Wikipedia:

The term "South Park Republican" has thus become popular among a handful of pundits to describe young Americans who interpret the show's values as being parallel to their cause. They see themselves as being more populist and far less puritanical than many other conservative groups (e.g. the religious right). Trey and Matt say they are extremely grateful for the 15 half-hours of airtime that Comedy Central annually affords them because it gives them a "bullhorn to yell at America."

The phrase, "You know? I've learned something today..." is the trademark line, used in nearly every episode, to outline the South Park solution to the current moral crisis. South Park Republicans empathize with the characters' consideration of moral guidelines in their attempts to explain their surroundings and are extremely likely to support the "children's" decisions.

Basically, it is a moderate Republican. Another article goes on to say that a South Park conservative is an average American.

Half of the voting public is Republican. They watch R rated movies, enjoy a few drinks at happy hour, and even go to the occasional Wrestlemania. Hopefully, the South Park Republicans will shatter the unfair stereotype and set the record straight. As Cartman would say, That would be pretty sweet.

This is a hard one for me. I do enjoy R rated movies, a few drinks at happy hour, and I love South Park. But I would not consider myself a moderate. So I'm up in the air. Are you a South Park Conservative? More importantly, what would you look like if you were a South Park Conservative character?

New Mendota Beacon on the News Stand

2006-01-24T09:27:00.000-06:00

The Beacon is back and better than ever. The next generation of Beacon leadership did a great job in putting together this edition. Jenna is the new Managing Editor and Jeff Healy is the new Editor in Chief. Check it out.

Conservatives win big in Canada

2006-01-23T23:48:00.000-06:00

Well, as I said yesterday, Michael Moore's influence is not as big as his head. Canada has gone to the right. They elected a pro-life, pro-business, pro-privatization, capitalist, with a foriegn policy more in-lined with Dubya than Chirac.

Canadian Television has more:

Canadians awarded Conservative Leader Stephen Harper with a minority government Monday, putting an end to more than 12 years of Liberal rule.
(snip)
With 94 per cent of the vote counted nationally, the Conservatives were at 36 per cent support, compared with 30 for the Liberals, 17 for the NDP, 11 for the Bloc, and four for the Green party.

It's not all good news for conservatives though. Because the conservatives won a minority, they will have to form a collition to hold on to power. With a broad long-lasting collition unlikely, a new election may be called within a couple of years.

This is a small victory for our conservative friends to the north. What is more important is that Moore backed the wrong horse again.

PETA is Hypocritical - Slow News Day at Cardinal

2006-01-23T14:57:00.000-06:00

Today, the Daily Cardinal, UW Madison's other daily newspaper, had two stories above the fold that really shouldn't be there.

First, they have yet another story on the alleged "hate crimes" that occurred in Ogg Hall. Once again the media is making a mountain out of an ant hill. I would be mad at the Cardinal, but I have come to expect it from this newspaper.

What I didn't expect was a photo and story about a naked PETA protestor to adorn the front page.

In an attempt to raise awareness about animal cruelty, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals representatives held a public demonstration on State Street Friday, promoting vegetarianism through a nude activist painted in a butcher's diagram.

Among a meat eating and leather clad audience, Michelle Cho, a PETA volunteer, said she wanted to use her body to demonstrate and make an important political statement. She posed on the sidewalk under a banner that read, All Animals Have the Same Parts-Have a Heart, Go Vegetarian.

Yes, animals have the same parts, but we are different. Animals eat each other. It is a fact of life. All of these evolutionists that believe that we are all animals should realize that fact.

She also urged for ethical farm treatment and said the animals subjected to farming are being deprived of feelings, friendship and animal bonding.

Because they are food. I have lived around farmers my entire life and I think cows and other animals have it pretty well. They never starve and they are respected more than PETA understands. These farmers respect animals more than PETA does.

According to an article at Petakillsanimals.com:

From July 1998 through the end of 2004, PETA killed over 12,400 dogs, cats, and other "companion animals" -- at its Norfolk, Virginia headquarters. That's more than five defenseless animals every day. Not counting the dogs and cats PETA spayed and neutered, the group put to death over 85 percent of the animals it took in during 2003 alone.

Well, PETA kills thousands of animals and also take away their reproductive rights. Where is the justice? Where is the animal equality? Like the PETA Protestor in the Cardinal said: "All Animals Have the Same Parts"!

BTW: Jenna posted on this stunt a couple of days ago. I guess it takes the Cardinal some time to catch up the the blogosphere!

The Ship is Sinking

2006-01-23T12:51:00.000-06:00

Brad V. over at LIB wrote a great editorial for the Herald. Yes, the same newspaper I slammed last night does have SOME good opinion writers. In his piece, Brad likens the Seg Fee system to a sinking boat.

Change is essential to keeping this rickety ASM rowboat of state afloat. Fixing the hull we have is essential, since obtaining a new ship altogether — a different fee system — seems unlikely in the near future. Posting all budgetary information related to segregated fee budgets — itemized group requests, finalized allocations and past budgets — is a good first step towards a keel-haul of our student government, one that will get the leaks above the waterline so that they might be fixed.

I disagree with Mr. Vogel on one main point. I say we just let the ship sink, go treasure diving for the left over seg fees, and start over with a more sturdy ship where students have a choice of where their student taxes go. These rowboats have been for far too long the vessel of choice for only a small number of students, while the rest of the masses have been land locked with no means of excape. These students, mostly members of liberal organizations, are like Pirates, they steal from the average student for the betterment of their own life. This system has to be corrected.

China to build sun...

2006-01-23T02:24:00.000-06:00

The Drudge Report linked to a story about China attempting to create the world's first "artificial sun." The People's Daily Online, a state run Chinese website claims that the project could create an infinite amount of energy.

Experiments with the advanced new device will start in July or August. If the experiments prove successful, China will become the first country in the world to build a full superconducting experimental Tokamak fusion device, nicknamed "artificial sun", experts here said.

The project, dubbed EAST (experimental advanced superconducting Tokamak), is
being undertaken by the Hefei-based Institute of Plasma Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It will require a total investment of nearly 300 million yuan (37 million U.S. dollars), only one fifteenth to one twentieth the cost of similar devices being developed in the other parts of the world.

What is interesting is that there have been other Tokamak fusion devices created. The US Department of Energy has been funding one at Princeton for almost two decades.

The Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) operated at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) from 1982 to 1997. TFTR set a number of world records, including a plasma temperature of 510 million degrees centigrade -- the highest ever produced in a laboratory, and well beyond the 100 million degrees required for commercial fusion. In addition to meeting its physics objectives, TFTR achieved all of its hardware design goals, thus making substantial contributions in many areas of fusion technology development.

Of course, with China, it begs to question how much of this "break through" of theirs is actually theirs? It can be summised that a large proportion of China's project is based on American technology. All that I can say is that when one plays with fire, they can get burned. I hope China takes more precautions when they are playing with the sun than they did when they play with chemicals.

BTW, the two pictures at the top of this post are from two different Tokamak Fusion Reactors. The one on the left is the American one, the one on the right is the Chinese one. As you can see, the basic structure is very similar. The American one has been around since the middle '80s and the Chinese one is "the world's first". I am not a nuclear scientist, so if any read this site, please explain the difference between the Princeton reactor and the Chinese one.

Michael Moore pleads with Canadians to vote Liberal

2006-01-23T02:01:00.000-06:00

Michael Moore, the super-liberal man who showed the ignorence of the left and helped George W. Bush win his second term, is trying to influence the Canadians against a probable conservative take over in the elections in the elections today. From his website:

Oh, Canada -- you're not really going to elect a Conservative majority on Monday, are you? That's a joke, right? I know you have a great sense of humor, and certainly a well-developed sense of irony, but this is no longer funny.

(snip)
Do you want to help George Bush by turning Canada into his latest conquest? Is that how you want millions of us down here to see you from now on? The next notch in the cowboy belt?

I am starting to understand the Michael Moore liberals of the world. Democracy=Conquest. A fair democratic election for one side = conquest, for another it equals a rightous victory. I guess if one uses that logic then indeed, Iraq is a conquest. All I want to know is when the conservatives win in Canada, will Canadians start to promise to move to America? Perhaps Vermont?

A Boston Globe story explains that the Canadians thurst for change...

An appetite for change has swept Canada this winter, bringing a surge in support for the country's Conservative Party. Heading into the final weekend of campaigning, the Conservative candidate for prime minister, Stephen Harper, was leading in some polls by 10 percentage points over the incumbent Liberal leader, Paul Martin. The Conservatives appeared poised to end 13 years of Liberal Party rule, a tenure marked by increasing economic prosperity but marred by a government kickback scandal and deteriorating relations with the United States.

It took them 10 years, but the conservative revolution that started with the 1994 Republican victory in congress has finally spread to Canada.

Back to the subject at hand, it is ironic that Michael Moore is trying to influence the elections in other countries after being so unsuccessful in this one.

I think after the results come in tomorrow and the conservatives take back Canada after over a decade of liberal control, I am going to personally invite Mr. Moore to Wisconsin to "help" Democrats Jim Doyle and Herb Kohl.

Badger Herald's News Coverage Needs More Scrutiny

2006-01-23T00:17:00.000-06:00

This post is a long time coming and I have contemplated the professionalism of commenting on a previous employer and current competitor on this campus. With the Mendota Beacon under the direction of the next generation of "Beaconites", I feel that I can now comment on the news coverage of the Badger Herald.

Let's look at the last couple of issues:

Alleged hate crime not surprising to UW by Andriy Pazuniak:

First, this issue was as slanted as a story can be. This article might as well be a press release from the LGBT Campus Center, if they had the time to send one out. Half the content of the article is concerning a phone conversation.

While many students were shocked to hear of the felony hate crime charges brought against two University of Wisconsin students, representatives of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Campus Center said they were not. I'm not real surprised, quite honestly, LGBTCC Director Eric Trekell said in a phone interview a day after two UW freshmen were charged with felony hate crimes for vandalizing the door of an LGBT liaison in Ogg Hall.

The Herald's second day of coverage did little reporting outside of adding talking-points from the LGBT Campus Center. This story would only be more left if they found a way to make the US Military look bad. Wait...

Chamberlain, the fourth student involved, is a member of the U.S. Marine ROTC, and had been a student in good standing, according to ROTC officials.

This was news the FIRST time the Herald printed the story, now it is becoming a dominent feature. Nothing only has the MSM made the military look homophobic but now the Herald is leading the way in making the Military look down right dangerous to students on this campus.

Talking about the first issue, it was interesting to see to what lengths the Herald went to paint the offenders as conservatives.

Chamberlain from Crystal Lake, Ill., later confessed to writing this, the complaint states.
"I tore down a picture, I was showing off and saw a picture of two guys kissing, Chamberlain was quoted in the complaint. I am conservative and had a problem with it. Why does the photo have to be displayed in public? Keep it to yourself. I tore it down.
(snip)
"I hate f*cking liberals"

Almost as if the story was shooting for a "shock effect" it repeated the phrase "I hate f*cking f*ggots" three times in the story. The news editor of the Herald, Megan Costello, who co-wrote the first "hate crime" story considers herself "very liberal" according to her facebook profile.

Not only is she very liberal, but she is a member of the "College Democrats" and the "how the hell was he re-elected" facebook groups.

Being so biased, it is a wonder that she was assigned to write this story, but I guess when the editor of the "news" section of the paper is "very liberal" the paper is doomed to be hopelessly slanted to the "very left".

Megan Costello is a case book example of bias and I am putting her and the other writers for the Herald on notice (Steven Colbert Style). When your paper has a circulation of 16,000 and only survived with the aid of William Buckley, you stand on the shoulders of the giants before you. Let's see what the new week brings to blog about...

Update: After publishing this post, I thought I would add that the Herald's Editor in Chief did write a very thought-provoking article questioning the very concept of a hate crime. It is interesting that the Herald is run by a reasonable moderate-conservative but it's news is controlled by self-described "very liberal" editors.

Update 2: I left out the NROTC commander's statement against the alleged hate crime.

“This type of behavior is completely unacceptable,” UW ROTC Commanding Officer Scott Mobley said. “The values we emphasize include respect for all people, no matter what their background is.”

Just because it is in the article (and Mobley is the NAVY Commander not the entire UW ROTC Commanding Officer) does not answer the question as to why the Herald found it important to print this information in the first article. Twice they found a way to link ROTC to this hate crime. "A Student in Good Standing" commits a hate crime. That is just what the anti-war left and LGBT radicals on this campus are looking for to continue their war to get ROTC kicked off of campus.

Update 3: The Herald has yet ANOTHER story about the hate crime today. Now they added a statement from UW. It must be a VERY VERY slow news week or the Herald has an axe to grind.

The Gun that Won the West is Going out of Business?

2006-01-22T23:30:00.000-06:00

The end of the Winchester rifle, yes, the gun that won the west, is near. Winchester's New Haven, CT plant will be closing March 31st unless a buyer comes forward. According to an article:

The announcement touched off a lobbying effort by city officials and union leaders who hoped to find a buyer for the plant before it closes March 31. If no buyer comes forward, it could spell the end for nearly all commercially produced Winchesters, said Everett Corey, a representative of the International Association of Machinists District 26.
(snip)
Since the plant opened in 1866, tens of millions of Winchester rifles have been produced, the bulk of which came between the late 1800s and the end of World War II, said firearms historian R.L. Wilson, who has written books about Winchester. More than six million copies of the Winchester Model 94, the company's most popular rifle, have been produced.

It is going to be an end of an era. The gun that Teddy Roosevelt made famous in his African Safari may never be built again.

Misdemeanors for the four tire slashers

2006-01-20T20:39:00.000-06:00

Wow, justice has no place in Milwaukee where the four Democratic tire slashers got off without pleading guilty! From JS Online:

The plea agreements came in the middle of jury deliberations after an eight-day
trial on felony property damage charges that carried potential 3 1/2 year prison terms upon conviction. The fifth defendant in the case was acquitted by the jury later in the afternoon.

Michael Pratt, 33, Sowande Omokunde, 26, Lewis G. Caldwell, 29, and Lavelle Mohammad, 36, have all pleaded no contest to misdemeanor counts of criminal damage to property. Omokunde is Moore's son. Prosecutors will recommend probation sentences as part of the deal, and that the four together pay $5,317 in restitution for the damaged tires.
The surprise resolution was offered by prosecutors at 2 p.m., nearly 7 hours into deliberations and an hour after a jury note complained of an impasse.

First, this plea bargain is a joke. They get probation and only have to pay for damages. THESE MEN PREVENTED PEOPLE FROM VOTING.

Second, the only argument that the tireslashers high-paid lawyers came up with is that this was a Democratic Conspiracy to disrupt Bush Election Operations across the US and that out-of-state political professionals were responsible.

Defense attorneys contend that the out-of-state political professionals might be responsible for damaging the vehicles on several possible fronts, including: whipping up the state's political fervor beyond normal levels, possibly carrying out the tire-slashings themselves and concocting circumstantial evidence to cast suspicion on the local men.

If this is the case, that out-of-state political professonals were behind the election tampering, then the defense should have been forced to show evidence of this, not just bold conjecture.

Third, the Milwaukee DAs office must have done a horrible job in presenting the case and evidence to not get a felony conviction. These men did not even plead guilty in the end and it will become presidence for simular actions in 10 months.

As I stated before, if a REPUBLICAN would have done this to a DEMOCRAT, they would be in jail and if they weren't, there would be protests right now in Milwaukee.

Today is a sad day for Justice.

We Shall Overcome

2006-01-19T23:24:00.000-06:00

Charlie Sykes is a genius. Here is his latest work of audio mastery (transcript)

In the audio piece, Doyle is compared to racist governors Orval Faubus and George Wallace for his WEAC influenced vetoes of school choice in Milwaukee.

The audio is great, check it out!

Find the Bin Laden Quote: A Freedom Fighter Exclusive Game

2006-01-19T13:13:00.000-06:00

It's time for a Freedom Fighter exclusive game: Find the Bin Laden Quote. I put three anti-war quotes from anti-war websites and speakers (Ms. Sheehan), and an excerpt from Bin Laden's latest video tape. It is interesting how the one that started this war on terror is starting to sound like the ones that want to stop the war. But enough opining, lets start the game...

1:

For just as they botched the most important story of our time -- the Bush administration's transparently deceptive campaign to launch a war of aggression against Iraq -- the clubby mavens are now missing the crowning achievement of this vast crime: the mother of all backroom deals, a cynical pact sealed by murder, unfolding before our eyes. The Administration's true objective in Iraq is brutally simple: U.S. domination of Middle East oil.

The only people who will benefit from the war on Iraq are the elite wealthy oil men who finance Bush's election campaigns, and people like Bush who have huge personal investments in the oil industry. Oil company profits have already increased by fifty percent this year because of the war

[America] has been overtaken by murderous thugs... gangsters who lust after fortunes and power; never caring that their addictions are at the expense of our loved ones, and the blood of innocent people near and far... The US government is now ruled by murderous hypocrites... criminals who should be arrested, charged appropriately, confined behind bars... In their secret hiding places, while celebrating newly won fortunes with their fellow brass, these men must surely congratulate themselves with orgies of carnal pleasure as they mock the dwindling multitudes who are yet so blind as to mistake them for God's devoted servants.

There is no problem in this solution, but it will prevent hundreds of billions from going to influential people and war lords in America - those who supported Bush's electoral campaign - and from this, we can understand Bush and his gang's insistence on continuing the war.

Now, what's your Answer? 1, 2, 3, or 4?

Check the links below:

1. (link)

2. (link)

3. (link)

4. (link)

Flag Stolen from Bowen Ct!

2006-01-17T14:31:00.000-06:00

My American Flag was stolen this past weekend and I am offering a 100 dollar reward for its safe return or for information leading to a safe recovery of the flag. The flag, which was featured on the cover of the Isthmus and is pictured left, has lead many a pro-troop rally and holds a special place in Conservative History in Madison.

As a side note, I am amazed at the extent of "free speech" in Madison. You can have "free speech", as long as it is anti-war, anti-American, or liberal.

Picture from Brad V. at LIB.

Where is the outrage?

2006-01-17T11:37:00.000-06:00

What if: November 2, 2004. Election Day. 5 GOP activists, including the son of Mark Green, go out and slash the tires of twenty-some Democrat vans that were to be used to transport poor inner city elderly to the polling sites to vote for Kerry/Edwards. What would the consequences be?

My prediction is Jesse Jackson and his crew would be up here in hours protesting the GOPs racist roots. AARP would send out a statement condemning the attack on the elderly. The "progressives" would protest outside GOP headquarters across the state. If GW Bush won Wisconsin, every paper in the state would question the results. Reporters would ask Mark Green about his connection to the incident. A crime was committed, hundreds, maybe thousands of voters without transportation couldn't vote, thanks to the attacks.

It happened slightly differently: The Democrats attacked Republican vans. Over 25 vans to be used by Republicans to transport poor and elderly voters to the polls couldn't do their job on election day. What were the consequences? No protests, few editorials, it was forgotten in a couple of days. Only Charlie Sykes and some other radio personalities brought it up, but to most, it disappeared.
The picture above is Democrat Representative Gwen Moore and her son Sowande Omokunde, who is charged with cutting dozens of Republican vehicles on election day. If that was a Republican Congressman, the MSM would be asking her to step down from her position of trust and honor, wondering how far the apple falls for the tree. But because it is a Democrat, no one asks questions, few care.

A weak editorial in the Wisconsin State Journal say that the Democratic Culprits should have "the book" thrown at them. If they were Republicans, the SJ would be asking for their head.

Where is the outrage?

Radical Referendum Retracted

2006-01-17T11:00:00.000-06:00

Mac over at the Right Side of the Road reports that the radical anti-war referendum will not be on the ballots in Monona. It seems as though the anti-war folks didn't do their homework and forgot to include some important verbiage in the language of the referendum.

Mac asks a valid question:

Do the radical activists of Monona really think that the Oval Office and Pentagon are looking to them for advice on how to handle the war in Iraq? Well, the wise people of Monona think that our expertise is misplaced. Let's call the French, borrow a white flag and give Cindy Sheehan the Congressional Medal of Honor!

I will give them this, the radical left is sly. No matter what happens on these referendums, they can claim victory. Even if they lose every single referendum, they will say that the fact of having their referendum on the ballot is making it appear that the radical left is in the mainstream, even though they could not be farther from moderate.

My question is what message are these referendums sending to our soldiers that are fighting in Iraq? This proves once again how the anti-war left is noblatantly anti-troop as well. As my old neighbor Adam May leaves for duty in Iraq, I am disgusted in these referendums. What purpose do these referendums have except in telling our soldiers, telling my friends fighting in Iraq, that the folks at home don't approve of their mission and therefore don't appreciate their sacrifice in time, blood, and sweat.

HT: MV

I'm Back...

2006-01-16T23:44:00.000-06:00

After a prolonged break from blogging, I am back in high-speed internet land. For those of you who don't know, I am from a place where high-speed internet does not reach (hell, i cannot even get a cell phone signal).

Highlights of break:
Accomplished the 4 F's of life: Family, Friends, Food, and Football.

Got a new TV for Christmas

Started reading a new book by W.E.B. Griffin: By the Order of the President

Went Skiing in Utah (a good RED state!) for a week and had awesome weather (as you can see in the picture below).

So, overall, it was a great break, but it feels good to be back to Madison, although I do miss seeing the stars! My New Years Resolution this year was to increase blog postings to 10 a week. I expect my readers to hold me to this.

Blog of the week

2005-12-30T14:38:00.000-06:00

Freedom Fighters:
Be sure to vote for "blog of the week" at MKE.com. (link)

You can vote as many times as you want (pretend you're a democrat in Chicago) by entering a different e-mail address.

Thanks!

Bob T.

First Facebook Hate Message Ever...

2005-12-20T01:38:00.000-06:00

The facebook has once again shown what it can do: it is good at connecting political foes.

Nathan Jung, a English Major, decided to take time out of his busy schedule (I am sure he does have a lot to read) to write a long message where he calls me a "douchebag", a "contrarian knob", and a "tool".

Well, thanks Nate, for the high level of intellectual vigor in your message. See, that is what is wrong with the anti-war liberals on this campus, they resort to these kind of tactics far too early in an argument. Instead of attacking the essence of the super-liberal article about me (which takes a couple hours of conversation, meetings, and e-mails and mulls it down into a couple dozen quotes and a short bio), he decided to use ad-hominin attacks. Nice job buddy!

To the frequent readers of this Blog, this is a common anti-war student on this campus: rude, inarticulate, and they have a tendency to resort to personal attacks when confronted with anything that is not in line with their world view.

It really says a lot for the marketplace of ideas on this campus. It seems that if anyone opens up a new shop with some new ideas, the liberals decide to firebomb it. Debate on this campus is limited to liberals and socialists while conservative thought is squashed out at every turn. Nate's message is an example of this systematic approach of attacking anything they don't understand nor want to understand.

He goes on to say " you come off as a total parrot" and " I am neither a "hippy", nor a "liberal", in your terms."

Nate, just know that because I am a good Christian, I still love you as my brother and like I would with my brother I am going to tell you the honest truth: you are a hippy-liberal; your message proves it. Thank you for being an example for the rest of your cause: out of touch with nothing to add to the debate.

One exception: At least Bill (a frequent poster), who is some kind of non-voting anarchist, doesn't resort to name calling.

P.S. If this was any other week, I wouldn't have posted on this, but it is exam week, and I am in a fightin' mood. I will post any future Nate-type messages in the comments section of this post.

P.S.S. Who the heck sends a facebook hate message anyway?

True Believers

2005-12-15T14:54:00.000-06:00

Check out the Isthmus this week. Yours truely is featured in it! They call me a "pro-American zealot"...they pegged me on that one :). They don't have links to the story itself yet, when they do I will update this post.

Basically, they make my counterpoint, Rae, seem like a nice lady who bakes cookies and me as a right-wing nutjob with a small vocabulary. So, take the story with a grain of salt, but overall, it isn't horrible.

Update: Welcome GOP3.com readers!

Financial aid must be cut

2005-12-11T20:58:00.000-06:00

Brad V. Over at LIB has a great post about the need to cut financial Aid to for college students.

How about this: the federal government - instead of spending $110 billion propping up financial aid programs and the bureaucracies required to run them - initially puts all of the funds and overhead toward outright reduction of the cost of tuition across the board at state universities.
Long term, this new paradigm would be sustained by massively increasing tax deductions to cover any contributions to a person's college education costs. The
elimination of financial aid programs at the federal level would eliminate the need for the tax revenue ultimately lost through the deductions. And state universities would gain the funds lost in elimination of financial aid through the increased personal contributions to students' educations.

Brad V. further suggests that the same "aid" the government gives students may be the cause of the raise in tuition. Jeff Jacoby, a columnist at Townhall.com has some reasons why.

Tuition and fees were up 10.5 percent at state colleges and universities last year. The year before that, they were up 14 percent. Every year for nearly a quarter-century -- since before most of today's college students were born -- higher education costs have raced ahead of inflation. And far from slowing this runaway train, government aid serves only to stoke the engine.

How could it do otherwise? Every dollar that Washington generates in student aid is another dollar that colleges and universities have an incentive to harvest, either by raising their sticker price or reducing the financial aid they offer from their own funds. Higher Education Act funds "are seen by colleges and universities as money that is there for the taking," observes Peter Wood, an anthropology professor at Boston University. "Tuition is set high enough to capture those funds and whatever else we think can be extracted from parents. Perhaps there are college administrators who don't see federal student aid in quite this way, but I haven't met
them." In 10 years of attending committee meetings on the university's annual tuition adjustment, says Wood, "the only real question was, 'How much can we get away with?'"

Public and Private Universities alike are raising tuition BECAUSE THEY CAN, not because they have to. The administrators know that financial aid will increase and it will cover the gap. If tuition doubles in Wisconsin, financial aid packages for Wisconsin will increase, almost dollar for dollar.

Here is how it works. When a student fills out the financial Aid form, it comes up with an expected family contribution (EFC). Then that number is transmitted to the school which subtracts the EFC from the cost of tuition, room, board, and other costs at a school (15,250 for an in-state student at UW) and arrives at "needed aid". If tuition goes up 25 percent, the needed aid will also go up to cover that gap. If a majority of students are receiving aid, the University will reap the rewards...and the extra federal dollars.

So, to cut tuition, we have to cut financial aid greatly. Here are my recommendations:

1. Like Brad V. Recommended, allow a DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR tax credit for any taxpayer that pays for someone's tuition, puts money into a college savings account, or gives to a scholarship fund. So if my uncle pays 5000 dollars in federal taxes and he wants to help me pay tuition, he could give up to 5000 dollars and not have to pay taxes that year. Or a corporation could give 100,000 dollars to a merit based scholarship fund.

2. The federal government should provide some government dollars to increase or national security. So, the GI Bill will continue, ROTC scholarships will continue, and financial aid for the HARD Sciences, Engineering, and mathematics will be increased. Also, trade school funding will be greatly increased as well.

3. Standards for High Schools will be increased as well. Schools that do not perform (based on graduation rates, tests, drop out rates, AND college acceptance) will first get increased federal funding and if that does not work, every student in that school will qualify for vouchers or regional school choice. The goal has to be to make a high school degree worth as much as it did 20 years ago.

Many will be close minded to this idea, they will say that people will be priced out of an education, that is is a classist idea. Well, the current system sure isn't working. According to Chancellor Wiley, the average income of the families of UW Madison students has been increasing.

The median family income in Wisconsin is a little over $45,000/year. The median family income of this year's new freshmen at UW-Madison is nearly $90,000/year. Yet, the distribution of brains, talents, ambition, and creativity is independent of family income. We will ignore that fact and freeze out the children of average and low-income families at our great peril.

throwing more money at the problem won't help either. If financial aid is increased, tuition will raise to fill the gap, it is basic economics. It is time to make a bold move. Financial aid needs to be cut 60-70 percent AND the tax cuts listed above need to be instituted and we will start to see a difference. Without financial Aid, the University would be forced to keep tuition reasonable. Like a frequent poster on my blog said on Mark's site: "SMASH THE STATE! Revolution, not reform." Damn strait! We need a financial aid revolution, more money (reform) will not solve the problem.

HT: BV, BA

Anti-War Left on the Wrong Side of History

2005-12-08T08:05:00.000-06:00

I found a great essay about the roots of the anti-war left.

During the Vietnam War the Left became synonymous with the anti war peace movement. Masquerading as a ‘peace’ movement allowed the left to avoid the scrutiny of its many critics. In reality the left’s ‘peace’ movement had very little to do with peace and much to do with an allegiance to a brand new world ruled by Marxism.

Same basic story as today. The anti-war folks are not as much anti-war as they are anti-capitalism and anti-American. They want Socialism where we have Capitalism, they want Anarchy, where we have a Republic.

More peasants were killed during the first 3 years after America’s withdrawal from Indochina then all 13 years of the anti Communist war. Millions were ripped from their homes and force marched to re-education camps. Untold thousands of men, women, and children either perished or suffered unspeakable brutality at the hands of the new communist regimes. Thousands of boat people drowned attempting to escape the horror and tyranny of the left’s beloved reformers. Vietnam became one of the most militarized, totalitarian countries in the world.

In neighboring Cambodia, Pol Pot and his regime emptied entire cities and forced millions of refugees into the countryside to perish for lack of food, shelter, and medical care. Millions were slaughtered in the name of a Marxist revolutionary utopia. To this day The Killing Fields of Cambodia stand out as a stark symbol of man’s inhumanity to man.

Sound Familiar? What will the consequences be to a premature Iraq pull out? Well the left sure as hell does not care. They are greedy, they care about politics, not about people. They look beyond the fact that tens of thousands of Iraqis will die at the hands of terrorists if we pull out. The same people that are helping us rebuild the country will be hung in the streets. Like Cambodia, we will ignore the problem and the MSM will pretend like it never happened.

35 years removed, the anti war left still sees itself as heroic visionaries who battled oppression and sacrificed so much for a noble cause. In reality, most of the anti war radicals were pampered middle class college students with lots of time on their hands. They enjoyed freedom, liberties and a standard of living unequaled in history.

Very true! Too much free time. Tuition is too cheap at this University or something, these students have to either get a job or find a harder major, because I see the same students running around campus all the time. Mommy and Daddy pay for their tuition (out-of-state liberals, I am talking about you) and their housing so they can have time to be activists.

Open minded liberals...

2005-12-08T07:57:00.000-06:00

Liberals at UCONN found it necessary to silence conservative firebrand Ann Coulter yesterday during a speech she gave there. (story)

Conservative columnist Ann Coulter gave up trying to finish a speech at the University of Connecticut on Wednesday night when boos and jeers from the audience became overwhelming. Coulter cut off the talk after 15 minutes and instead held a half-hour question-and-answer session.

Just another example of liberal hypocrisy on College Campuses where any opinion is valid, except conservative ones.

Freedom of speech only extends until liberals feel stupid, then they decide to quash it. Remember, the "heckler's veto" is only valid when a group is in the minority. On college campuses, the liberals OWN the ivory towers of education. This is an invalid use of free speech and these "open minded liberals" should tolerate other view points.

What would happen if Ann Coulter would come to Madison? Fire? Gun shots? I cringe to even think about it!

Stupid Comment of the month!

2005-12-05T01:51:00.000-06:00

I almost forgot to announce the stupid comment of the month for November. Everyone remembers the winner last time: the fake Marine from New York City, who was pretending to be a Marine to make arguments but forgot details about his unit, his commander, and other important details.

This months winner is Bill for his comment on my "Chinese Spies at UW?" piece:

In part:

I think you should be required to take a course in the history of popular struggle against state oppression and Fascism. We could start with Mussolini & Hitler, their targeting of immigrants and left-wing activists, then talk about the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s and the struggle against Franco, move on to American expressions of Fascism like the KKK and the American Legion, and end with a discussion of real far-right racist groups that are active today, like the MinuteMen, the French National Front, and the British National Party. (emphasis added)

He thinks the AMERICAN LEGION is a fascist organization. Yes, he believes that an organization made up mostly of WWII and Korean War Veterans are fascist. Well, guess what Bill, they sacrificed more blood than you have ever seen. They lost more friends than you even have. They gave up their youth to defend this nation.

This comment is a new low for the radical anti-war left. But it is nothing new. Their anti-troop, anti-veteran, anti-ROTC campaign of terror thas been waging on this campus for a while. They hate people that are willing to die for a cause. Mostly, because the anti-war left don't have the guts to find a cause worth putting their life on the line for.

All the Bills in Madison look at soldiers and think they are smarter and more sophisticated. The Bills say that soldiers are "duped" into serving. Find me an ROTC cadet or midshipman that is only doing to for the money and I will delete this post. There is more to it than money. It is about America, about freedom, and it is about democracy.

Finally, NEVER compare the American Legion to the KKK ...you heartless idiot. Shave your beard, comb your hair, take a shower, go to the local American Legion Post and talk to the Veterans about what they went through. Go alone, let your guard down, have a few drinks, and see what the Greatest Generation did for our nation. Get a little culture in you, before I start calling you ignorant.

What does the Blogosphere say? Is Bill right? Is the American Legion a fascist institution on the same level as the KKK? Let me hear your thoughts.

I will buy a Poster with this on it!!!:

2005-12-05T01:11:00.000-06:00

An English Pakistani text book had the following poem in it:

It is awesome!! From the news story:

The 20-line anonymous poem, The Leader, lists the qualities of "a man who will do what he must" and bears a passing resemblance to Rudyard Kipling's If.

Some of my favorite lines: Ever assuring he'll stand by his word...Tells it strait and means it too... Easy in manner yet strong as steel...Waiting for the world to join his firm stand.

You are damn strait. Seriously, if there are any marketers out there, I will buy a poster to hang up in my room! A lot of money could be made.

Jim Doyle's Approval Rating Drops Again

2005-11-29T17:32:00.000-06:00

The latest Gubernatorial tracking polls are out and Jim Doyle is in big trouble. Jim Doyle is the 37th most popular governor in the nation (out of fifty for the dems reading the blog). His approval rating is 45 percent and his disapproval rating is 49 percent. Jim hasn't seen the bright side of 50 percent since the poll began back in May.

Hey Jimbo, here is some advice for you. Stop vetoing good legislation and sign some bills into law and your approval rating may go up.

imagine what will happen when the special interest ads and the 2006 election cycle gets going!

French Socialism a Success?

2005-11-28T12:26:00.000-06:00

Over 6 homeless French citizens have died in the streets of France as winter edges closer. I guess the economically crippling high tax rate and the compassion of socialism is helping people (see French Riots).

Madison 3rd Grade Class Asked to Write Anti-War Propaganda Letters

2005-11-23T07:54:00.000-06:00

Vicki McKenna reported on it yesterday and it was on NBC 27 last night, but this is utterly ridiculous.:

The Frank Allis third grade assigned the following to students:

The Frank Allis third grade will be writing letters to encourage an end to the war in Iraq. The letter writing will teach civic responsibility, a social studies standard, while providing an authentic opportunity to improve composition skills and handwriting.

The assignment is basically to write 12 letters to everyone from other 3rd graders around the nation to congress, the Senate, and the media.

If the war has not ended by the 12th day [of the letter writing campaign] we will start the whole sequence over again, writing to students in middle school, high school, and college.

The third grade staff then have the audacity to ask parents to send 10 postage stamps and 12 envelopes. The teacher then gives parents the option to opt out of the assignment.

This is a basic problem with Madison and the group-think that exists here. These teachers are politicising THE THIRD GRADE!! A third grader doesn't know what is right or wrong (the age or reason in the State of Wisconsin is 12), so they will take the teacher's bias as FACT. Under no circumstances should children be put in this situation.

Here is a scanned image of the assignment:

Update: Vicki send me an update and said that the PRINCIPLE KNEW ABOUT THE ASSIGNMENT and let it go forward. This kind of political activism should NOT be tolerated in our public schools, yet you know it is going on. This is grade school, imagine what is being taught in middle school and high school (don't even get me started with college...we all know what the group-think is like at Universities!)

Update: The school district rescinded the assignment today. But the fact that it got this far is scary and the school district should take a good look at the Principle that let it get this far and the teachers that signed onto it!

Chinese Spies at UW?

2005-11-22T14:26:00.000-06:00

This post is long over due. With more and more reports coming in, it is becoming evident that Chinese students across the world are participating in espionage on many levels.

One report from Space Daily says that Chinese students in Europe are running an industrial spy ring.

The ring, the sources said, uses a group of students and internship seekers as a "front organization", with no obvious links to Chinese diplomats, and dozens of these agents are planted around northern Europe.
The report listed the Netherlands, Britain, Germany and France as places where the ring is operating and said that "it is trying today to plant moles in central
Europe."

The reports spread beyond Europe. According to one defector in Australia, that country may have more than 1,000 Chinese spies alone, most of which are students.

Chen Yonglin, a Chinese diplomat who recently defected in Australia, claimed Beijing had as many as 1,000 spies in Australia alone.
(snip)
China has sent 600,000 students overseas in the past 25 years as part of a conscious policy of developing its science, technology and business skills.
(snip)
"It is very easy for Chinese companies or intelligence agencies to approach these students - who are often quite nationalistic - and get them to collect information that might be of either commercial or military interest," said Christian le Miere, Asia Editor of Jane's Country Risk.

The spy network is even more entrenched in America. According to the Epoch Times, there may be countless spies in America.

According to Xu Wenli, a pro-democracy advocate who was jailed for 12 years in China, the CCP actively recruits and sends students abroad to gather information for the government. Some of these students then move on to work for military and government contractors here in the U.S. all the while, gathering and sending information back to the CCP.

Now, I will beg the question, are there spies at UW Madison? The Chinese Government would be stupid not to send dozens here. UW has one of the best stem cell labs in the nation and is one of only a few dozen campuses with a nuclear reactor on it. With the expressed goal of collecting both industrial and military knowledge, it would make sense to steal UW work.

Furthermore, UW - Madison receives nearly 500 million dollars of federal funding and ranks in in the 10 ten for federal funding. There is a huge amount of research done at UW and there is nothing stopping a spy from working on, and copying lab results to send back to China, a nation that does not respect IP rights in the least.

So, what can be done? Here are my recommendations:

1. All foreign nationals at UW Madison should have to sign a pledge saying that they are not a spy and will not convey any sensitive information back to their home country. Any student that is found in violation to this pledge or refuses to sign it will not get a renewed student visa and will be sent from the country.

2. Certain labs (especially at the Graduate level) should require a background check that focuses on national ties and accesses security risks.

3. All foreign students should have to take a three credit "American History" course that emphasizes American accomplishments and contributions to the world (to broaden horizons).

PHT: BV

Another Anti-Recruiting Protest

2005-11-21T11:51:00.000-06:00

I am really starting to get sick of these anti-ROTC, anti-recruiting protests. The latest one is planned for December 6 at 2pm at Library Mall. Once again, they are saying they are "for the troops", yet this is yet another example in a long list of anti-troop activities they have been involved in over the last year and a half.

Let's mobilize on Dec 6 to counter the military's ability to wage its illegal war and to support the right of universities to oppose military recruiting on their campuses.

Once again, these hyper-liberals have mixed up the issues. Military Recruiting on campuses give students an opportunity to join the military. These anti-troop folks are committed to denying students on OPPORTUNITY to join the armed services.

What angers me even more that trying to get recruiting off of campus is their attemps to force ROTC off of campus. This university prides itself on allowing students to major and minor in just about every possible educational pursuit (like Latin, a dead language), yet they are against students taking Military classes. These hyper-liberals are nothing more than hypocrites.

How can these people say they are "for the troops" yet they protest soldiers at recruiting stations and future soldiers on campuses across the country. Maybe instead of protesting these soldiers, you should thank them for protecting your right to be a moron. While your at it, find a OIF Vet and thank them for putting their life on the line in a war that you call worthless, see how they feel about that!

Anti-Recruiting = Anti-Troop. This is true for two reasons. First, you assume that people are getting "tricked" into joining the Military. Thus, you assume that YOU are smarter than millions of active duty and reserve military members and WE are all stupid for having signed up. We don't need your help, please use your massive intellect to cure cancer or something. The second reason why protesting the Army Recruiting Center is anti-troop is because you ARE PROTESTING SOLDIERS. The people in that office are NCOs (feel free to google that term now because most anti-troop folks don't know how the military runs anyways) and they are under orders to be there. You are protesting SOLDIERS!! Just say that you are anti-troop and stop this game. You look stupid doing it and it is kind of embarrassing.

Example of a flier for the anti-troop protests.

What anti-war "movement"?

2005-11-18T22:30:00.000-06:00

Wow, the House of representatives just got done with one of the most important debates in the last year. The resolution they debated said

"It is the sense of the House that deployment of US. Forces in Iraq be terminated immediately."

AND IT WAS JUST COMPLETELY DEFEATED. 3 to 403. Less than one percent of the House members voted for it. This is great news for the soldiers!

It was a phenomenal debate that what well over due. Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Tex) gave a very moving speech to end the debate. Sam Johnson was a POW in Vietnam and knows all too well what it feels like when a nation turns its back on the soldiers.

All of those anti-war extremists on this campus must now know that they are alone. Where was Tammy Baldwin to help you? She even voted against this resolution! Ha, your "movement" is dead and I am smiling ear to ear!

Madison to host VETERANS' DAY PARADE

2005-11-08T09:17:00.000-06:00

Flash: Madison will host the first Veterans' Day parade in 30 years this Friday. Some students are organizing it and it should be a great time. They kicked off a week of events yesterday with a press conference that was picked up by the campus dailys as well as WPR and AM 1310. For the first time in a long time, Madison has a chance to become REASONABLE.

The Badger Herald did some great reporting and had this to say:

As part of their Support the Troops Campaign and Soldier Appreciation Week on
campus, ASM officials said they are attempting to dispel the Madison and University of Wisconsin liberal "nuance" toward not supporting the military. Because many students and alumni of the university are also soldiers, the events are intended to bring a non-political resurgence of support for them during wartime.
(snip)
"This is the first year in a long time that they've had a veteran's [parade]," Vice Chair of the Support the Troops campaign Robert Thelen said. Really, we just wanted to get it going.

Thelen said since the infamous riots in the 60s in protest of the Vietnam War, Madison has carried a typecast as being unsupportive of the military. The events of this week aim to breakdown that misconception.

"We want to take away the negative stereotype and show that Madison is a reasonable place and a place that respects soldiers," he said. Thelen added the parade is quite possibly the first since the mid-80s.

Today, ROTC cadets (Joint Service: Air Force and Army) continued the "Tribute to Veterans" by placing over 2500 flags in the ground at Library Mall and dreveilleass revielle. The purpose of threveilleand revielle is to raise awareness of Veterans' Day.

Some anti-war and pro-victory pictures

2005-11-03T01:08:00.000-06:00

The Pro-victory rally (left) was larger than the anti-war walk out (above) on the top of Bascom.

Photos: Jwick

Check out J-Wicks blog for some Anti-war rally photos (notice the size of the student walk out on the top of Bascom and how excited they are to be there) and the pro-victory rally.

As a side note, a Wisconsin State Journal reporter said something interesting as we were walking past the anti-war folks.

You know who wins a protest by who has the hotter girls....your side (pro-victory) wins hands down.

You are damn strait!

Early Media Returns show Victory for Conservatives at Madison

2005-11-02T23:11:00.000-06:00

It is almost midnight and the reports about our rally we have gotten from the MSM have been very favorable.

NBC 15 has this story:

Supporters gathered today to thank the troops serving overseas, while opponents of the war gathered to say it's time to bring American soldiers home.

About 30 UW Madison student members of the College Republicans rallied in support of the troops near University Square downtown.Those in attendance say
they came together to show their backing of the war and the President's promise
to help rebuild Iraq.

"We believe in the concept that we have to be pro-victory in this country on the war on terror, says Robert Thelen. Currently we have about 130,000 troops in Iraq, and we want to make sure the President follows through on his promise to stay the course in Iraq."

Thelen says he and other supporters worries that pulling out the troops prematurely would cause thousands to lose their lives.Ralliers also thanked military recruiters for their work by dropping off thank you cards to ROTC officials at their recruiting office in University Square.

The piece then goes into the liberal perspective, but the point is that the conservatives got the lead in the story. We were on equal ground for once. The media, instead of playing us off as the reactors (which we were not), we were equal to their rally.

The ABC story was not as balanced, but it is still pretty good for the MSM:

Bob Thelen/College Republican says, "If they're for the troops why are they against them on our campus." Robert Gerndt/Against War says, "I'm a retiree of the Air Force, so I'm very much in support of the troops, but that doesn't mean you have to support Bush." And it wasn't just a message against the President and the war. Genis/Against War says, "Let the military recruiters know they're not welcome on campus." Thelen/Support Troops says, 'It's interesting that these people that preach tolerance here are intolerant of recruiters and ROTC's cadets on this campus

It was balanced about 30-70 in favor of the anti-war folks, but that is nothing new with the MSM. Overall though, we struck back against these folks and made sure another side to the story is heard.

What is disturbing though, is that the college republicans on this campus pulled theweightght. We had more students than the Anti-victory folks, but they beat us with the arrival of the 40-year-old-plus crowd (by some estimates, over 70 percent were '70s era hippies). Where were all of the pro-victory middle age folks? The truth of the matter is, the College Republicans in Madison have been more active than the Republican Party in this area.

For the first time ever, the youth are the heart of the conservative movement. This must scare the hell out of liberals.

Let's see what the Captimes and the WSJ writes about us tomorrow!

Pro-Victory Rally was a success

2005-11-02T14:48:00.000-06:00

Update: LIB has some great photos of the rally!
Jenna has some good points about the rally as well.

Today, the war on crazy liberalism had yet another victory here at UW-Madison. The socialists and anti-America folks here have been planning a "huge anti-war walk out" for a couple of months now. As I reported in a previous post, the rhetoric was blatantly anti-troop and anti-ROTC. Of course, all of the freedom fighters on this campus could not stand for that.

First, we presented the Army Recruiter at University Square a large thank-you card signed by all of the College Republicans. Talk about being in enemy territory, this guy is surrounded by people that hate him. When he came to the door, we was very happy. He even gave us all water bottles!

Then, we sang some patriotic songs and moved to the pedestrian bridge over University Ave. We did some standard flag waving and cheering. It was a lot of fun.

When our reckon team got back and told us the pathetic numbers of the opposition (under 150 total, most of which were over 40 years of age!). We decided to meet the enemy head on. We marched over there chanting "We support the troops" and "Until the job is done". Of course the hippies were a little taken back by the fact that there are other people out there that do not agree with them. Following a couple more songs and chants, we did some press interviews, had a press conference, and called it a day.

These anti-war folks just don't get it. Out of a University of 40,000, they got 35 people to walk out. Out of a city of over 150,000, they got 150 people to a rally. There is a silent majority out there that is getting louder every day.

The sad truth of the matter is, most of those people want another Vietnam; they want America to lose this war. The good news is, they are going to back a green against Kohl. As one speaker said, they are "done riding the Donkey". That is good news for the Repubs!

Today, the pro-victory movement had yet another victory in America. Watch the news tonight and read the papers tomorrow to see how the MSM handles this. My guess is we will get 30-70 coverage.

MSM Just doesn't get it

2005-11-01T22:00:00.000-06:00

The 27 News at 10 tonight started with the voice over: "Iraq war takes another Wisconsin life."

If you don't see the bias in that statement, then you are a cold-hearted liberal.

A Racist War? NO!! A Freedom Fighter Breakdown

2005-10-26T18:13:00.000-05:00

Okay, so, while reading some other blogs and websites today, I kept on reading statements like this:

"Nearly a fifth of the fatalities among U.S. troops in the current war in Iraq are black, which will be the highest cost African Americans have paid in any of America's wars if the trend continues," the report said. "African Americans represent 13 percent of the U.S. population and 20 percent of all military personnel."

Are these facts true? NO THEY ARE NOT. The anti-war left and the MSM want the American people to think that this is a "racist war" where minorities are put on the front lines. Well, sorry to all of those lefties out there (Xoff, your name comes to mind) that enjoy bad news about the war.

According to the US Census in 2000, 75.1 percent of Americans classify themselves as White, 12.5 percent as Latino/Hispanic, and 12.3 percent Black.

The Iraq War causulities break down like this: 10.65 percent black and 10.9 percent Hispanic/latino.

So, there is no discrepancies between race and the KIAs in Iraq. Sorry bad-news-mongers.

Who are dying in disporportionate numbers? Soldiers from small towns and small counties.

The soldiers who died aren't numbers, but numbers tell some of their story. Those who died in Iraq were 39 percent more likely than the nation as a whole to live in counties with fewer than 100,000 people.

2000 KIA - Is the left smiling?

2005-10-25T22:23:00.000-05:00

Today, there was grim news that the number of killed in action in Iraq has surpassed 2,000. Although this is just another number, the left has been salivating since 1500 for another round number to rally around. So, what do the lefties have planned?

The folks at the American Friends Service Committee want to stop funding for the War in Iraq.

On the day after the 2,000th reported U.S. military casualty in Iraq, people will gather in communities across the U.S. to say that the country's pro-peace majority wants Congress to stop the deaths by stopping the dollars that are funding the war.

This is a horrible plan. Yeah, lets stop funding our fighting men and women in Iraq and expect to SAVE US lives. Why don't these folks look at the consequences of their actions? Of course, this new campaign kicked off with the 2,000 death in Iraq. It is obvious that they have been planning this new campaign for a while...but they waited to execute it. Why? They were planning on more soldiers to die and wanted to springboard off of #2000. I wonder if they had a countdown in their office?

You can't spell overblown without moveon.org. They were founded during the Clinton impeachment telling the Republicans to "move on". I wish they would take their own advice on this one. They ask "how many more?"

Today, we received grim news: 2000 American soldiers have now died in Iraq. Their caskets have been hidden from view, and the news of their deaths has receded to the back pages. But the men and women who died in recent days were no less brave or less honorable than those who died in the first days of the war. It's time for us to honor them to remind the public that they're dying every day in the quagmire of Iraq and ask, "How many more?"

They already have a commercial ready to roll to point out the 2000 figure. Like AFSC, moveon.org planned for the 2000th death and was ready to roll. additionton to the commercial, they are planning a National "Vigil for 2000 Killed in Iraq". Again, they were prepping for the 2000th death. That is sick.

Here is some friendly Freedom Fighter advice for the smiling left:

Stop trying to capitalize off of the sacrifice of the fighting men and women of the US Armed Forces. Instead of planning for more soldiers to die and planning events around these statistics, why don't you focus on the terrorists and the people that are causing Americans, Iraqis, and othcoalitionion members to die in Iraq.

Those soldiers are sacrificing their lives for your freedoms. The least you can do is not hope for the 2000th KIA. And yes, you were hoping for 2000 and you are preparing for 2100, 2200, 2300 and beyond.

So, enjoy your parties today, have fun calling Bush a murderer and catching up with your anti-war buddies about the latest moveon.org commercial. Someday, that smile, that smug little smile, will wipedped from your collective faces when you realize that you were happy when you heard the KIAs reached 2000. I will pray for you all until then.

Cuba floods...Will Dems blame Socialist Fiscal Policy?

2005-10-24T19:17:00.000-05:00

A BBC story points out that Havana had some pretty heavy flooding in wake of Hurricane Wilma.

Rescuers used boats and inflatable dinghies to reach people trapped as sea water swept hundreds of metres inland.

Sounds kind of familar. It seems as though the "sea defenses" were overtaken by the storm surge as the storm passed over Havana. Lets see how the American MSM covers this event and how Democratic politicians respond to his tragity. I know one argument that cannot be made: "The sea walls were breached because of a lack of social programs and weak federal supervision". Unless you didn't graduate from 11 grade Social Studies, you know that Cuba is in fact communist with a strong centeral government that controls almost every aspect of a person's life.

Does anyone remember some of this rhetoric:

"As these facts get out, and the American people learn that decisions were made not to fund improvements of the levees because of Iraq, they will not be happy," Washington-based Democratic consultant Chris Kofinis told the Associated Press.
and
"Democrats searching for a way to blame President Bush for Hurricane Katrina are circulating a report that claims the Bush tax cuts and the Iraq war drained funding from New Orleans flood-control projects."

Ahh, so the tragidy we call Katrina was caused by Bush and other greedy capitalist Republicans and evil freedom fighters, who is to blame for the flooding in Havana? There is a lack of captialists and freedom fighters in Cuba (Capitalists are hung and the freedom fighters fled to America!). I have an answer: lets blame NATURE. What a concept...blame the HURRICANE for the wind, rain, and storm surge!

But wait, how about the response to the situation? If it is slow in Cuba (because of flooded roads perhaps) who is to blame. In America, it is the President that sent soldiers overseas to protect our country, as Sen. Kent Conrad (D) so elequently put:

Is the National Guard "depleted because so many Guard are in Iraq that we don't have the opportunity to activate civil control? That question has to be asked."

Mark my words, if one person dies is Cuba, the MSM will first blame Bush (global warming), then blame the military (for not getting our US aid there fast enough), and then blame Bush again (for not having a more open relationship with Cuba). After that, they will applaud the Cuban social programs that got the people back on their feet.

Storms come, rain falls, levees break, sea walls are breached. It happens. Sometimes no one is to blame, but lessons are learned. Unless the MSM comes out and says the Wilma flooding in Cuba is caused by communism and isolationism, then Bush's fiscal or international policy is not to blame for Katrina.

Anti-war folks ready for 2000 KIAs in Iraq; Some Freedom Fighter practical advice!

2005-10-24T00:18:00.000-05:00

Well, after some R&R, I am back to blogging and nothing better than showing the true nature of the anti-war movement to get rolling again.

Update: Welcome Michelle Malkin readers!

As you may have seen on Drudge, The Washington Post reports that anti-war celebrity Cindy Sheehan is preparing herself for another media crusade when the KIA in Iraq reaches 2000. Does anyone else think it is sick how these people are going to turn this somber statistic into a media event? The saddest part is they are hoping and waiting to get to number 2000.

All the Democrats have now are tragedies. It is all they seem to talk about. They took Katrina and blamed everyone but the Democrat Mayor and Governor for the tragic loss of life. Now they are taking this looming statistic and instead of being mad as hell at the TERRORISTS, the ones killing our fighting men and women in Iraq, they are planning on chaining themselves to the White House fence.

Here is some practical advice for Cindy Sheehan and her supporters to stifle terrorist attacks against US troops in Iraq and save lives:

Why don't you chain themselves to the Syrian Embassy and demand that they stop insurgents from crossing into Iraq? Syrian insurgents are crossing the boarder daily with little resistance from the Syrian government. If they would stop these criminals from illegally crossing into Iraq, hundreds of soldiers may still be alive today. Demand a meeting with Imad Moustapha, the Syrian ambassador to the US and tell him to crack down on illegal boarder crossings.

Why don't you chain themselves to the Iranian Embassy (technically the Interests Section of Iran, as this country does not have an official embassy in the US) and demand that they stop giving weapons to terrorists in Southern Iraq? There are clear links between Iran and technologically advanced explosives that are being used to terrorize Iraqi civilians and American Soldiers alike. You can set up a meeting and demand they stop killing US Soldiers by providing advanced shape explosive charges to terrorists.

Well, you won't. Why? Because you want to politicize the war as much as they can. Instead of blaming the people that are killing our troops, you are blaming Bush. Be mad, be angry, but focus it on those that did these terrible things!

Cindy Sheehan, Bush did not kill your son, a terrorist did. When you understand that, the healing process can begin. But until then, your outrage is misguided and will not prevent number 2000 or 2100 or 2200, you will only ensure it. Cindy, be outraged at the terrorists and the governments that support them! If you camp outside of the Syrian Embassy, I will join you. And if you chain yourself to the Iranian Embassy, I will join you.

"DEMOCRATIZING EDUCATION CONVENTION" coming the UW

2005-10-19T07:44:00.000-05:00

Well, my student tax dollars are going to fund another anti-war, anti-capitalism rally/teach-in here at UW Madison. The group this time is called Democratizing Education. Their e-mail is very telling. Why are they coming you ask?

Because, everywhere, tuition is skyrocketing. Millions of poor people, primarily people of color, are either shut out of college, or join the military to get in. Student associations and labor unions are under attack. Corporations are setting research and instructional policy. Campus free speech and academic freedom are at risk.

Great, another anti-military and anti-business speaker on this campus. Well, who is speaking at the event you ask? Panels include:

The Crisis in Access & Financing (The Broader Economic Picture; The Free Higher Ed Campaign; Affirmative Action & Tracking)

Education Strikes & Industrial Action (The Quebec Student Strike; Campus Labor: The TAA Strike of 2004; Direct Action on Newly Activist Campuses)

Corporatization (Corporate Racism & Higher Ed; Corporatization & Democratization)

Education Unionism (Student Unionism: The Canadian Model; Students-Workers-Community: Towards Campus Unionism; High School Students & Higher Ed)

Great, so a bunch of Canadians are going to be talking about economic policy and affirmative action. My favorite part is WHO IS PAYING FOR ALL OF THESE PEOPLE TO COME!!

With support from the Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution (http://www.LibertyTreeFDR.org/) and from the Multicultural Student Coalition, Student Labor Action Coalition, Teaching Assistants Association, Green Progressive Alliance, Rainbow Bookstore Coop, ASM Workers Rights Campaign, and funded in part by the Associated Students of Madison.

The highlighted organizations receive student fees in some way. So I AM PAYING FOR CANADIAN SOCIALISTS TO COME TO MADISON and preach to the choir about socialism and anti-Americanism.

The "marketplace of ideas" is dominated by the left on this campus. They get all the money, they get all of the professional ASM staffers working for them, and they refuse to allow other points of view on this campus. Hypocrisy in action.

Feature: Reframing "the young conservative"

2005-10-18T22:00:00.000-05:00

(This is part one of a five part series over the next two weeks to reframe some of the pressing issues in conservative circles)

Winston Churchill once said: "Any man who is under 30, and is not a liberal, has not heart; and any man who is over 30, and is not a conservative, has no brains. Show me a young conservative and I'll show you someone with no heart. Show me an old liberal and I'll show you someone with no brains. "

Frame Shift: Young conservatives have and need far more heart than liberals because conservatives are fighting for their political lives.

Winston Churchill did not live in modern day America. The conservatives of today need far more heart than today's liberals because we have more to fight for...and we have more to lose. The liberals won almost everything in the 60's and 70's and they since then they have had to dig in and protect their gains. Liberals are fighting a defensive war and you don't need heart to fight a defensive war. In other words, liberals are on top of the mountain...they are in the fort. Conservatives, on the other hand, are on the offensive. They are trying to breach the walls, charge the hill, change society. Conservatives have IDEAS and conservatives have a direction.

Since the Reagan Revolution, we have been gaining ground, but that doesn't mean that we cannot lose it all. Conservatives need to understand that it is hard, or downright impossible to turn around some trends. The trend of big government is almost impossible to stop (even when Republicans have power, they seem inept to cut programs). Why? Because the media, the propaganda machine of the liberal status quo, will sway the public against it. If the liberals go on the offensive for a new program like Nationalized healthcare and we don't counter it...it will be here forever and our nation will be lost to socialism.

Finally, as a young conservative, we need heart to survive on these liberal campuses. Conservative have to stick up for themselves in all of our classes. The teachers that teach us, the TAs that grade us, the city that surrounds us are all liberal. Who needs more heart? A liberal just nods his head and joins in the teacher lead Bush bashing.

The truth of the matter is simple: Conservatives are fighting for their political future. As a great general once said: "We have two choices: win or die, they have other options." This is very true. We are fighting for values that, when gone, will be gone forever. We are fighting for an economic system, when gone, will be gone forever. We are fighting for our vision of America, that when gone, will be gone forever.

He have heart...and we are smart. Mr. Churchill would say the same.

More on the "Drive out Bush" walkout set for Nov. 2

2005-10-18T00:13:00.000-05:00

The flyer goes on to say:

NOVEMBER 2 must be a massive and public proclamation that WE REFUSE TO BE RULED IN THIS WAY. November 2 must call out to the tens of millions more who are now agonizing and disgusted. November 2 will be the beginning - a giant first step in forcing Bush to step down, and a powerful announcement that we will not stop until he does so - and it will join with and give support and heart to people all over the globe who so urgently need and want this regime to be stopped.

Lets break this apart:

First, these people are advocating for the forceful removal of an elected President. They want to "(force) Bush to step down". This is just abhorrent. This is equal to treason. They are working on behalf of "people all over the globe" to cause chaos in America and remove Bush.

Second, lets look at that last statement: "and it will join with and give support and heart to people all over the globe who so urgently ned and want this regime to be stopped." Who wants this Presidency to come to an abrupt end? Well, most of Europe (for economic reason), China (for superpower reasons), and of course most terrorists in the world would love to see Bush out of office (as well as terrorist supporting countries). So what they are talking about giving aid and comfort to our economic foes, potential future enemies, and our current military enemy.

This once again shows how extreme liberals are and how crazy this campus really is.

Anti-War, anti-democracy rally: The World Can't Wait

2005-10-17T14:56:00.000-05:00

The UW Madison campus will be one of 40 sites of a "Resist or Die" anti-war walkout/rally. It will be at 12pm on Bascom Hill on November 2. The rally, which is organized by The World Can't Wait, has the expressed goal of "driving out the bush regime."

THE WORLD CAN'T WAIT: DRIVE OUT THE BUSH REGIME is the national organization with a plan to gather the millions of people who are disturbed and outraged by the unprecedented political course of this government, and bring them into a conscious resistance movement which has the analysis, scope and determination to actually drive the regime out. The world cannot wait till 2006, 2008, or some mythical pendulum swing.

Yep, that's right, they are advocating for an anti-democratic revolution against our elected officials.

I ran into a couple of the organizers on Library Mall and got a piece of their propaganda among other things it says:

People look at all of this and think of Hitler - and they are right to do so. The Bush regime is setting out to radically remake society very quickly, in a fascist way, and for generations to come. We must act now; the future is in the balance.

I would label that as an extreme..Butt in Madison that is mainstream thought. The moststartlingg line of the handout is that the "regime does not represent us and we will drive it out!" This most likely will turn violent in cities across the US as the individuals involved will be upset that they cannot over throw a government in one day...so be prepared.

This radical voice must not be the only one hitting the MSM on the one year anniversary of the Republican victory. We must organize and we will. More info to come.

Other causes of global warming

2005-10-17T11:12:00.000-05:00

Today, a story on Drudge says that this September is the warmest on record. Of course, the leftwingers out there are going to blame CO2 in the atmosphere for the increase in temperature without looking at other possible causes. One such "alternative cause" really got my attention lately. According to the BBC, this year, the sun has been the most active in the past 1000 years.

But the most striking feature... is that looking at the past 1,150 years the Sun has never been as active as it has been during the past 60 years....The flux of cosmic rays reaching the Earth's surface is modulated by the strength of the solar wind, the charged particles that stream away from the Sun's surface.

The interesting connection with sunspots is that over the long term, periods that don't have as many sun-spots have been cooler than in periods that have had increased sunspots. In fact, for 70 years in the 1600's and early 1700's the earth was in a "mini-ice age."

In particular, it has been noted that between about 1645 and 1715, few sunspots
were seen on the Sun's surface. Ice cores record climate trends back beyond human measurementsIt coincided with a spell of prolonged cold weather often referred to as the "Little Ice Age". Solar scientists strongly suspect there is a link between the two events...

In other words, the earth was several degrees cooler during this period. I have no doubt that if our planet was slowely cooling, the media would be blaming big-business and Republicans. I am sure that the Drudge story is going to be picked up by the MSM and it is going to be blown out of proportion. Perhaps they should look at the BIG picture instead of pushing their liberal, anti-business agenda.

Liberals chalk against Miers...that is a good sign!

2005-10-16T21:56:00.000-05:00

Liberal activist groups on campus have started to chalk on sidewalks around campus against Miers. This picture implies that Miers will overturn Roe v Wade. Although I still have my apprehensions about her, if the liberals on this campus are against her, I am more optimistic about her being a conservative justice. But, I do have to admit, I am a bit more pessimistic about the ability of the University of Wisconsin to teach literacy. They misspelled Ms. Miers' name. Sorry libs, it is Miers not Meiers. Kind of sad.

HT: JS

A call to arms: Framing the Issue

2005-10-16T02:15:00.000-05:00

I truly believe that Republicans are on the right side of almost every issue. The problem is HOW the party and how we as conservatives can communicate the important issues to the public at large. After time, some issues grow stale and when they do, people stop paying attention or even worse, the other side will reframe and capture the idea as their own.

To frame an issue: "a way of structuring or presenting a problem or an issue. Framing involves explaining and describing the context of the problem to gain the most support from your audience."

A great historical example of framing is of the pro-life and pro-choice movements. Both sides changed the name of their respective cause in order to make the other look unreasonable. Who wants to be considered "anti-life"?

Over the next two weeks, I will be suggesting some new frames for some of the more controversial issues out there, but to accomplish this undertaking, I will need your help!

I need the advice of the blogosphere. Before I post on something, leave a comment (include your blog if you have one) or e-mail me (rgthelen-at-gmail-dot-com) with some ideas that you may have. I will try to incorporate it (if I do, I will be sure to give your site credit) into the frame then write about your perspective in more detail and we can grow the issue; we can grow a new frame.

Here is a tentative schedule:

Tuesday: "young conservative" reframe

Winston Churchill once said: "Any man who is under 30, and is not a liberal, has not heart; and any man who is over 30, and is not a conservative, has no brains. Show me a young conservative and I'll show you someone with no heart. Show me an old liberal and I'll show you someone with no brains. " We need to prove why this statement is just plain wrong. For instance, today, the young conservatives of America need to fight more passionately and have more heart than today's liberals. Send me some of your ideas as to how we fight harder than liberals, where we fight with more heart than liberals and WHY we fight with more heart than liberals.

Thursday: "intelligent design" reframe

intelligent Design (ID) is constantly coming under attack from the left as violating Church and State. Conservative politicians that back the equal teachings of Darwinism and ID are framed as being out of touch and unscientific. We have to fight back!

Sunday: Recap

Following Tuesday/Wednesday: "anti-war" reframe
More to come

Following Thursday/Friday: "Bush's tax cuts and deficit spending" (Must recapture the idea before Democrats take it as their own!!)
More to come

Sunday: Recap the project as well as a total "Republican" reframe

Your audience is key to framing. The way a problem is posed, or framed, should reflect the attitudes and beliefs of your audience. Our audience: College students and young adults (18-35)

Send in your ideas. Be it renaming a movement or a thesis...Your help may change the course of the conservative movement! Lets change the world, one idea at a time.

I'm in Minnesota: check out the Beacon for updates from the game

2005-10-14T20:22:00.000-05:00

Yours truly is with with Mendota Beacon sports team in Minnesota to cover the Badgers thrashing of the Gophers. Check the MB throughout the game for live updates and commentary! I have a throat infection, but I don't care...I'm going gambling.
My prediction: Badgers 45; Gophers 35

Update: Well, I was up 75 dollars in Blackjack!! Then I ate, cooled down a little, and lost it all. I ended the evening with a net gain of zero. So, I didn't lose anything, but I think greed got the best of me.

Update part II: Just got back from the game. The wireless WIFI system was DOWN in the Minnesota Press Box and we had no way to update the Beacon Website. As you all know, in one of the greatest moments in Badger sports history, the Wisconsin Badgers Beat the Golden Golphers!!!!!

Carnival of the Badger: Check it out

2005-10-14T12:51:00.000-05:00

The fine left wingers at Badger Blues are hosting the carnival this week. Check it out.

Proof: New report proves MSM is biased

2005-10-14T01:43:00.000-05:00

A new report put out by the non-partisan media watchdog group the Media Research Center says that the three major networks have been extremely biased when reporting on the War in Iraq. First, they find that network coverage is extremely pessimistic.

Network coverage has been overwhelmingly pessimistic. More than half of all stories (848, or 61%) focused on negative topics or presented a pessimistic analysis of the situation, four times as many as featured U.S. or Iraqi achievements or offered an optimistic assessment (just 211 stories, or 15%).

And the coverage is getting worse!

News about the war has grown increasingly negative. In January and February, about a fifth of all network stories (21%) struck a hopeful note, while just over half presented a negative slant on the situation. By August and September, positive stories had fallen to a measly seven percent and the percentage of bad news stories swelled to 73 percent of all Iraq news, a ten-to-one disparity.

What angers me more than anything, is their horrible coverage of positive stories about the US Military. Here is an excerpt:

Few stories focused on the heroism or generous actions of American soldiers. Just eight stories were devoted to recounting episodes of heroism or valor by US troops, and another nine stories featured instances when soldiers reached out to help the Iraqi people. In contrast, 79 stories focused on allegations of combat mistakes or outright misconduct on the part of U.S. military personnel.

For those anti-war folks out there that are saying there is no progress in Iraq, the media had footage to prove otherwise...but decided not to show it:

It's not as if there was no good news to report. NBC's cameras found a bullish stock market and a hiring boom in Baghdad's business district, ABC showcased the coalition's successful effort to bring peace to a Baghdad thoroughfare once branded Death Street,and CBS documented how the one-time battleground of Sadr City is now quiet and citizens are beginning to benefit from improved public services. Stories describing U.S. and Iraqi achievements provided essential context to the discouraging drumbeat of daily news, but were unfortunately just a small sliver of TV's Iraq news.

It is sad that the blogosphere has to exist to counter the MSM to show that there is progress in Iraq. As previous posts have shown, we need to stay the course. This report is undeniable proof that the media has an agenda. The Media is full of democrats that want to win the Whitehouse in 3 years and some Senate seats in one year. We, in the blogosphere, need to fight back and show what the MSM has deemed as too much good news.

Bush's approval ratings are better than 7 previous Presidents!

2005-10-14T01:06:00.000-05:00

With the MSM attacking Bush's "record low approval ratings" many on the right may be losing faith in the Bush administraton's ability to govern. But a new report has says that the seven previous Presidents had lower approval ratings than GWB.

The low points for recent commanders in chief are as follows:

Bill Clinton: 37 percent
George H. W. Bush: 29 percent
Ronald Reagan: 35 percent
Jimmy Carter: 28 percent
Gerald Ford: 37 percent
Richard Nixon: 24 percent
Lyndon Johnson: 35 percent

But again, the MSM loves bashing Bush and doesn't want anyone to understand how well GWB is really doing!

HT:dummocrats.com

Republicans Win ASM Fall Elections

2005-10-13T21:05:00.000-05:00

The Associated Students of Madison, the Student Government at UW Madison held its fall elections this week. There were two freshman seats open, an L&S graduate seat, and a position of the SSFC were up for grabs. The college republicans, being out numbered 8 to 1 ran like-minded individuals for each seat...and won them all.

Congrats to Sol and Tim for winning the freshman seats, Brain Rusk for the non-L&S grad, and David Lapidus for SSFC...all college republicans. It is a sweep!!

For full results check out the ASM website.

On one of the most liberal campuses in the country. Republicans are winning, one small battle at a time!

Update: Dean of Students office pledges to aid the Beacon

2005-10-13T18:00:00.000-05:00

In an update to the news that the Mendota Beacon was stolen and covered up in several locations around campus, the assistant Dean of Students responded with this e-mail:

Thank you for reporting that newspapers are being stolen or moved at the Social Science building. I will notify the building manager to see if there is a way to prevent this from happening. The Dean of Students Office promotes access to many different kinds of newspapers and other materials with a variety of points of view. We certainly do not support anyone stealing or moving the Mendota Beacon to prevent students or staff from getting copies of the paper.
Best regards,
Suzanne Jones
Assistant Dean of Students

Only time will tell if this is just lip service or if they will make an effort of protect the freedom of the press.

Also, the blogosphere has been rallying around the Beacon as well. Mac, over at Right Side of the Road posted a great defense of the Beacon.

A really stupid comment...

2005-10-13T15:48:00.000-05:00

In response to my 7 part series "Who is really protesting the war", one commenter left something so stupid I thought everyone should see it.

Anonymous said...

Dudes. Most soldiers are morons, or just terribly desperate. As are most people who blindly follow one ideology, party, leader, or religion. It ain't the liberals who feel that. Most of them are morons too. Read a little conservative philosophy: Nietzsche, Wittgenstein, Quine. Just listen to Rumsfeld and you'll understand what big-brains think about the pawns in the field.

By calling "most soldiers...morons" you are seriously biting the hand that protects you. You are such a hypocrite. The very soldiers that you are denigrating give YOU the right to say what you just said. I dare you to say that comment to a soldier's face, instead of hiding behind the anonymous title. By the way, thank you for proving my 7 part series correct: the people behind the anti-war movement ARE against the troops.

Why we MUST stay the course!

2005-10-13T15:24:00.000-05:00

Right off the Shore had a great post about the newest letter from Ayman al-Zawahri, al-Qaida's number two. This once again proves why we must stay the course in Iraq. After they "expel the Americans from Iraq, they want to,

Establish an Islamic authority or amirate, then develop it and support it until it achieves the level of a caliphate- over as much territory as you can to spread its power in Iraq, i.e., in Sunni areas, is in order to fill the void stemming from the departure of the Americans, immediately upon their exit and before un-Islamic forces attempt to fill this void, whether those whom the Americans will leave behind them, or those among the un-Islamic forces who will try to jump at taking power.

Al-Qaida is preparing for an American withdrawal from the region and they want to fill in the power vacuum that is formed. Iraq will become a fundamental Islamic country and will threaten Israel and America. A pull out now will require us to go back in 10 years and we will be fighting 10 time more people and will have lost our allies in the region...Because they will all be executed by Zawahri and his al-Qaida allies.

What is even more disconcerning is the fact that Zawahri knows his history. He references the quick withdrawal from Vietnam.

Things may develop faster than we imagine. The aftermath of the collapse of American power in Vietnam-and how they ran and left their agents-is noteworthy. Because of that, we must be ready starting now, before events overtake us, and before we are surprised by the conspiracies of the Americans and the United Nations and their plans to fill the void behind them.

They are ready for us to pull out and the victims will be hundreds of thousands of Shias. If we as a nation have any humanity, we will stay in Iraq until it is stable enough to crush an al-Qaida uprising.

Don't touch my flag...EVER

2005-10-13T01:00:00.000-05:00

A recent post by Brad V. as outraged me. In the name of "art" some hippy shoved an American Flag into a toilet during a one woman "performance." What is wrong with these people? That is not art, that should be a crime, yet, in this country, we have deemed it a "constitutional right."

Our government can legislate what can and cannot be said on TV, they can legislate what can and cannot be said in public (starting riots, yelling fire in a movie theatre), and the government can constrict our actions (I cannot burn down my house, I cannot destroy other people's property, hell, I cannot even fire off fireworks to celebrate the Chinese New Year). Yet, our Supreme Court has forbidden our elected officials from banning a man from burning the symbol of our nation.

Now, I know what is going to be said by the liberals and the centralist visiting this blog. You are going to say that if you take away the "right" to burn flags, that you are stripping away some freedom and "what is next?" Well, the slippery slop argument is a fallacy. The other argument is that "soldiers fight for the right for Americans to burn the flag." That is laughable.

In the dissent of Texas v Johnson, Chief Justice Rehnquist said:

"In the First and Second World Wars, thousands of our countrymen died on foreign soil fighting for the American cause. At Iwo Jima in the Second World War, United States Marines fought hand to hand against thousands of [426] Japanese. By the time the Marines reached the top of Mount Suribachi, they raised a piece of pipe upright and from one end fluttered a flag. That ascent had cost nearly 6,000 American lives. The Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery memorializes that event. President Franklin Roosevelt authorized the use of the flag on labels, packages, cartons, and containers intended for export as lend-lease aid, in order to inform people in other countries of the United States' assistance. Presidential Proclamation No. 2605, 58 Stat. 1126."

To paraphrase the rest dissent: The brave fighting men and women of the Armed Services all wear the flag on their uniform, that flag is draped over their casket when they die, and it is flown at half staff in mourning. How can one say that that dead soldier died for someone to burn that flag? Of course they didn't. THEY DIED SO THAT FLAG MAY FLY FREELY OVER THIS COUNTRY.

I love the flag, I love what it stands for and the burning of the flag in protest is the equivalent to inciting a riot. It is the same as hate speech and it is the same as yelling fire falsely in a movie theatre. I hope that Chief Justice Roberts rights this wrong...Soon.

Meet your bloger

2005-10-12T22:06:00.000-05:00

I think it is important that you know who the Madison Freedom Fighter is. According to a test I just took, I am a strong republican. The picture above shows it best, I am mostly like Reagan, with a touch of Bill O'Reilly. :)

UW Nuke Reactor not Secure?

2005-10-12T18:13:00.000-05:00

A new report by ABC News, will says that 25 Nuke reactors on college campuses across the country are not properly secured. Not many students know this, but UW Madison has its own nuclear reactor and information about it is readily available online.

Although the report does not name names (I guess you have to watch Primetime tonight to get the details), I can assume that we are one of those Universities. UW Madison barely recognizes the fact that we are indeed fighting a war on terror, so to see possible threats as a result are not likely.

The reactor is located in the south wing of the Mechanical Engineering Building. After asking some engineers, it is apparent that there is no, or very little security to get to the reactor. As one up it, "I have never seen a police officer or anyone guarding the door."

HT:C/P

Welcome GOP3.com and Dummocrat readers

2005-10-12T17:43:00.000-05:00

A special thanks to Brandon at GOP3.com for his encouraging post on his blog and the nice folks at dummocrats for linking to the site!

Welcome and take a look around, I just finished up a 7 part series on who is really behind the anti-war movement, a look at why we must "stay the course" in Iraq, and a critical analysis of some hippy bikers in Madison.

Freedom Fighter Feature: Who is Really Protesting the War on Terror Part VII

2005-10-12T14:05:00.000-05:00

Over the past week, I have been showing the people really behind the anti-war movement. Yes, it is true that about half of the anti-war protestors don't have the anti-Israel, anti-troop, anti-capitalism, anti-American attitude that these people do, but the organizers, the ones behind the action, are these hate-filled people. This photo below is a great representation of how the MSM DISTORTS THIS FACT!! (Big HT:Zombietime.com)

Picture in the San Francisco Chronicle:

This picture (left) was in a couple of newspapers across the nation. What you don't see is WHO IS LEADING THIS MARCH. LOOK BELOW (The same masked protester is in the middle of the banner (above the Y). What the MSM didn't show you:

That girl in front is directing the parade where to go. She is a communist supporter and she has the yellow arm band of a protest marshal. Her job is the direct the protest in the right direction and to have it stop and go, depending on where the media is. She supports the regime that killed thousands of Americans in Vietnam and she no doubt supports the insurgents that are killing Americans NOW! That is just wrong.

It is time that we REFRAME THIS ISSUE. They are anti-war...So does that make us pro-war? No, we are PRO-VICTORY. We will not leave Iraq or any other battleground in the war on terror until we have achieved our objectives and made the world a safer place for Americans. If we fail in our task, if the anti-war/anti-troop/anti-capitalism/anti-Americans win, we on the right lose. The super left will become mainstream and we can say good bye to the America that we know and love. This goes beyond just Iraq, this goes to the very heart of WHO WE ARE as a country. Will we be the beacon of hope for the world or just another average country, one in 200? The choice is up to us.

Beacons Stolen! First Amendment? Only for the liberals

2005-10-11T17:31:00.000-05:00

There are reports that the latest edition of the Mendota Beacon has been disappearing from around campus. Upon further investigation, the rumors are TRUE! The Editor-in-Chief, Tim Shea, was contacted early in the afternoon with a report from a Econ TA that a stack of Beacons found their way from the front of the 6th floor (where students have class) to the back hallways, where only TAs and Professors linger. Similar reports of Beacon tampering is becoming common place across the campus.

Michael Malcom, an Econ TA, e-mailed Tim complaining that there was a stack of Beacons outside his office. He was not as much helping the Beacon on its quest for intellectual equality, but as a complaint; he was wondering why 100 Mendota Beacons were "delivered to him" and he wanted them removed.

In other acts of "liberal acceptance" the Beacons are covered by other papers and inserts across the campus.

It seems that the first amendment only applies to liberals. When conservatives want to speak out, we are shouted down and our literature is stolen. I wonder what the Dean of Student's office is going to do about this? My guess: the same as always, NOTHING.

If this had been an LGBT or a Black Student Union paper, there would be outrage! The MSM would be flocking to the scene of a hate crime. Freshman would have to take another ethnic studies course to graduate. But this happened to a bunch conservatives. This university will not shed a tear. This university will not help us, nor does it care in the least. If YOU care, contact the Dean of Students and tell her your thoughts:

Offices of the Dean of Students
Phone: 608/263/5700
Fax: 608/265-5646
TTY: 608/263-2400
E-mail: dos@bascom.wisc.edu

The President of Iraq: We still need your help

2005-10-11T15:23:00.000-05:00

The President of Iraq, Jalal Talabani, wrote a plea to British Prime Minister Tony Blair today in The Times Online. The letter begins by defending the war in Iraq.

"Those who preferred the stability of the mass grave to liberation, and who raised their voices to save Saddam, but not his victims, have spuriously claimed that the war was fought to discover stocks of weapons of mass destruction. But Rolf Ekeus, the first head of the UN weapons inspectors, has argued that stocks were not the issue. Saddam could always re-create his stocks and until the end he could restart mustard gas production within months and nerve gas production within a couple of years. Moreover, Saddam used chemical weapons casually, gassing 5,000 Kurdish civilians at Halabja in 1988 and then using chemical bombs against Shia Arab civilians in 1991 after the Gulf War ceasefire."

The President of Iraq is asking America to stay the course, he is asking Britian, and the world, to be patient. President Talabani knows that democracies are not stabalized over night. It took our country from 1776-1789 to draft a constitution that works and since then we had a major civil war. How can we expect Iraq to draft a constitution, vote on it, ratify it, and then live by it in 3 years?

And the consequences for leaving Iraq prematurely?

"To abandon us now would be murderously irresponsible and cynical. The resulting devastation would outstrip that of the spring of 1991, when the Kurdish and Shia Arab uprisings were encouraged and then betrayed. Even Saddam's regime conceded that during those few weeks in 1991 that some 30,000 were killed. The true number was many times higher."

No matter the pretext for the liberation of Iraq, it happened. If we abandond these people now, it would be irresponsible and devastating. The loss of life would be huge and the same people that are protesting the war now, would be advocating that Bush send aid to the region.

President Talabani is almost on his knees begging for help..who will say no? Who will allow his country to dive into chaos and allow innocent people to die by the sword of oppression? Well, it seems the liberals are!

The Mendota Beacon: In This Issue

2005-10-11T10:44:00.000-05:00

For those of you who don't know, the Mendota Beacon is a conservative bi-weekly newspaper at the University of Wisconsin - Madison with a circulation of 5000.

Here is a quick run down of the highlights in this edition:

On the opinion pages, Brad takes a different angle on the abortion debate while Rachel looks at the use of student fees to promote sex. Of course, with the chill in the air, Fall and Halloween are discussed in depth. Finally, the debate every conservative has been having with each other is battled out on the opinion pages: Is Miers the right choice or the wrong choice for the SCOTUS nomination?

Now, some news: The State Senate looks at the smoking ban issue while a group in Madison wants to recall Mayor Dave.

Of course, no Beacon would be complete without a trip to the bubbler.

Update: As of 11am, the Beacon website has had over 600,000 hits since it began in March!!
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Freedom Fighter Feature Part VI: Exposing the anti-American side of the anti-war "movement"

2005-10-11T10:03:00.000-05:00

As our journey through the true roots of the anti-war movement continue, we are going to look at a section of any anti-war protest (a population that the MSM always seems to miss): the anti-American protesters. These people are not just protesting the war in Iraq, they are also protesting America...Itself. Its history, its founders, and its institutions.

Someday, God willing, these anti-war-anti-Americans will do one of two things:
1. Realize that America is the land of opportunity and one of the most free nations on earth. You have every right to protest a war, but when you hate America itself...You have a problem

2. LEAVE. That is the most beautiful thing about America: NOTHING IS KEEPING YOU HERE. If you don't like this country, move to France, Germany, or Canada (if they will accept you...They are very anti-immigration). If you don't like our history, move to a country with a "better" history. If you don't like our democratically elected leaders, then go to a country where they are chosen for you. YOU HAVE THE CHOICE to leave and the saddest part about it is, this country is so great, you have a choice to come back to it.

New Beacon is hot off the presses

2005-10-11T09:52:00.000-05:00

Check out UW Madison's finest and only biweekly newspaper. The newest Mendota Beacon is out. I wrote an opt-ed about the Harriet Miers nomination. Here is an excerpt:

We wanted a fight. We wanted to blog about her qualities, we wanted to have rallies, we wanted to watch the talking heads debate the nominee, and I wanted to write a column about liberal hypocrisy in opposing a Supreme Court nominee. The nomination of Harriet E. Miers as the replacement of Sandra Day O'Conner made that all impossible.

There were so many great choices, so many well-known candidates that were openly pro-life and willing to make a strict interpretation of the constitution. Candidates like Samuel Alito, Janice Rogers Brown, Edith Clement, or even Alberto Gonzalez. These are candidates the right can rally around, these are candidates that the constituencies that elected Bush can be happy about. Even an effort to nominate them would be worthwhile. If the Senate Democrats decide to filibuster or obstruct a nominee, then the President could always fall back on a Miers-like nominee, but not before a fight.

I don't know if she is conservative or moderate, but what I do know is that millions of Americans were willing to fight for someone we knew was conservative. Read the whole piece here.

As a side note: The Beacon isonly 5000 hits away from 600,000!! So, check it out today!!

Freedom Fighter Feature: Who is Really Protesting the War? Part V

2005-10-10T11:23:00.000-05:00

Today, in our on going look of who is really protesting the war, I am going to state a fact that the MSM is afraid to say: The Anti-War movement is quickly becoming an anti-troop movement. On campus, they call it "anti-recruiting" and it is focused on ROTC cadets, military personal at job fairs, and high school recruiting.

They say "we support our troops, but we do not support recruiters." Guess what? Recruiters ARE troops!

The consequence of this rhetoric is a collective slap in the face of military personal both home and abroad. They are saying that "signing up for the military is wrong" and "most enlistees are duped into it." What is that saying about our troops? The answer is simple: They are calling us stupid and ignorant!!

Their own words are even more telling:

In the late 1960s, during a period of growing student, black, and working-class militancy which eventually played a central role in defeating U.S. imperialism in Vietnam, protesters were able to shut down ROTC departments and make many campuses off-limits to recruiters. Today, we can draw from the lessons and experience of the Vietnam anti-war movement, and successfully kick military recruiters out of our schools.

Anti-recruitment committees need to be organized at every high school and college. Already this fall, campaigns are emerging to kick military recruiters out of high schools and college campuses. Socialist Alternative is working to launch and build these campaigns in a number of schools. These structures can mobilize students to participate in informational pickets, educational forums, counter-recruitment protests, office occupations, and other events.

Through these actions, we can send military recruiters packing with the message that working-class youth and youth of color will not fight and die for corporate profits and the U.S. empire.

First, they claim responsibility for the loss of US lives in Vietnam. Then they are proud of kicking ROTC off of campuses. ROTC is a RIGHT for students. We have the same rights to pursuit a future in the military as the liberals have a right to pursuit a future in Women's Studies or LGBT Studies. Now they want to prevent High Schoolers from making a decision to join the military! Folks, if you believe that recruiting for the military is wrong in High School and Colleges because these students are being tricked into service, then you are calling every soldier that has ever worn a uniform a moron.

A Piece of advice to the anti-war troop haters out there: Your right to protest, to say these hateful things are protected and guaranteed by the very soldiers that you don't want to exist.

Hypocrisy of the Left: A critical look at "Critical Mass"

2005-10-10T00:21:00.000-05:00

Imagine getting off of work on Friday. You want to get home as soon as possible to be with your family (or if you are in college, start drinking). You get in your car and start driving only to find that traffic is at a stand still. What could cause this hold up in your life? A car crash? Road construction? No, it is far worse...HIPPIES.

Once a month, a bunch of hippies decide that the best way to spend their time is riding their bike slowly in front of traffic throughout Madison during rush hour. They say they want to "reclaim the streets." I just wish for once, they would do some RESEARCH before taking to the streets.

First, do they understand that a large percentage of the GAS TAX goes to pay for those very streets they want to "reclaim"? The last time I checked, those bikes don't pay a lot in Gas taxes. Also, there are BIKE LANES on most of these street, the socialist common council has seen to that. If a road doesn't have a bike lane, nothing stops them from biking in the right lane!

Second, they want to "reduce dependency on motor vehicles to reduce global warming." Ha, again, their tiny hippy brains cannot comprehend basic FACTS. Cars use MORE gas in stop and go traffic than on the freeway! Critical Mass is aiding to smog and the release of more CO2 into the atmosphere.

Madison has over 20 miles of biking trails, yet these folks feel the need to disrupt people just wanting to get home to celebrate the weekend. Poor showing...Poor showing indeed.

What Political Segment are you?

2005-10-09T21:23:00.000-05:00

Tim, over at Timmyscape, has posted a great breakdown of the different segments of political life here at UW Madison. I would definitely fall into the "Common Heartlanders" category.

From Weyauwega to Waukesha, many young college conservatives follow in the footsteps of their parents in dedication to right-wing principles and values. Fairly mainstream, designer clothes or counter culture attire are not in the wardrobe for Common Heartlanders. Studying a variety of disciplines, they are fairly spread out across campus. While not being totally abiding to neoliberal orthodoxy of Independent Masculines or religious principles of Religious Traditionalists, they find themselves resistant to extreme political and social change of most sorts. They essentially believe in traditional America pledging allegiance to domestic businesses, frugality, hard work, the Armed Forces, God, and family. They see government in a less positive view and feel that people should be running their own lives, not Washington. Certainly not the ideologues of the neoliberal or religious right, they may feel threatened by overbearing liberals and choose not to talk politics. Their conservatism is more out of parental upbringing and culture than religious or economic truths. (Emphasis added)

If you have a couple of minutes, check out Tim's well thought out post!

Freedom Fighter Feature: Who is Really Protesting the War? Part IV

2005-10-09T14:34:00.000-05:00

(This is part 4 of a 7 part feature that is designed to point out who is really behind the anti-war movement)

Today, we look at the support for the enemy. The left will often say that they are just as patriotic as the right. Well, as this sign suggests...They are not. These anti-war folks are advocating for the death of Americans and Israelis in terrorist attacks!! Their rhetoric is not logical they want to "bring our troops home now" but if they are in Iraq, they want them killed by suicide bombers.

This "Intifada" has killed over 1000 innocent Israeli civilians and thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians as well as American contractors and U.S. Troops. When will the MSM start showing these photos and start interviewing these people?

Photo courtesy of www.zombietime.com