First Principles

In search of the Unified Theory of Conservatism

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Entries Tagged as 'War on Terror'

Pearl Harbor – Modern Memories on an Anniversary of Infamy

December 7th, 2011 · 3 Comments

Today, of course, is the 70th Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Last year, the Reno Gazette-Journal carried a rather odd editorial (sadly, it doesn’t appear to be archived) which I thought painted a pretty inaccurate picture of what Pearl Harbor is like today.  The editorial essentially argued that the attack had been forgotten, […]

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Tags: Military Service · Sea Stories · Veterans · War on Terror

Some Thoughts on the None-Too-Soon Death of Bin Laden

May 1st, 2011 · 2 Comments

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!  That’s thought one.  GOOD.  It’s nice when justice is served.  That’s thought two.  But this great moment is worth more comment and thought than that.  There are important political and policy lessons to be learned from this as the election to choose our next Commander in Chief heats up.  So, in no particular order… […]

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Tags: Foreign Policy · George Bush · Hippies · Military Service · Obama · Patriotism · Ron Paul · War on Terror

Groping For a Balance Between Safety and Liberty – And Losing Touch With Both

November 24th, 2010 · 9 Comments

Tomorrow my family and I will be flying to see family for Thanksgiving.  So I’ve been following the new TSA porn-o-scanner/crotch-grope policies with some personal interest.  I’m unimpressed. The purpose of government is to protect, promote, and advance individual liberty.  Public safety is obviously a part of this – if you’re dead, you can hardly […]

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Tags: War on Terror

It’s So Interesting What Opinions NPR Finds Offensive…

October 21st, 2010 · 2 Comments

I used to listen to NPR all the time.  My dad listened to it all the time when I was a kid, from the time his clock radio went off in the morning to whenever Prairie Home Companion finished.  When I was in high school, I had a 45 minute drive to school.  I listened […]

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Tags: 1st Amendment · Media · War on Terror

Liveblogging the State of the Union

January 27th, 2010 · 22 Comments

Well, no big surprises.  He made the same promises that he made a year ago, and the only difference is that now we can be even more sure he won’t keep any of them. The big takeaway from me on this was just how unserious this speech was. 

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Tags: 1st Amendment · Big Government · Campaign '10 · Class Warfare · Congress · Constitutional Law · Corporations · Democrats · Economy · Education · Environment · Federalism · Foreign Policy · Free Markets · George Bush · Global Warming · Health Care · Iraq · Military Service · Nanny State · Obama · Partisanship · Republicans · Taxes · Veterans · War on Terror

Fun With Fractions

March 24th, 2009 · 1 Comment

Via Instapundit, this chart is just downright scary.  And it shows how you can tell a multi-billion dollar lie by hiding it in the literal truth. Barack Obama said again tonight that he intends to half the deficit by the end of his first term, and this chart makes clear that this is the literal […]

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Tags: Economy · Obama · Silliness · War on Terror

Diplomacy = Subsidizing Terrorist Weapons Supply Methods

February 18th, 2009 · Comments Off on Diplomacy = Subsidizing Terrorist Weapons Supply Methods

Despite harboring insurgents killing our soldiers in Iraq, and supplying Hezbollah terrorists elsewhere in the region, Obama has decided to make overtures to Syria a first-month priority, sending no less than John Kerry to that country to make sure they know how friendly we are these days to our certain-to-be-soon-to-be-former enemies. (For some unrelated reason […]

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Tags: Diplomacy · Foreign Policy · Iraq · Obama · War on Terror

The Disorientation of a Liberal Mugged By Reality

February 16th, 2009 · 1 Comment

Waking up to reality after being in a dream world is never a pretty thing, as evidenced by this profanity laced screed excoriating a fellow “journalist” over at the Huffington Post.  It’s from a very liberal (self described Marxist) who nonetheless realized that he couldn’t deny the truths of our still fragile but undeniable success […]

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Tags: Iraq · Liberals · Media · War on Terror

Obama’s Press Conference – Does He Really Believe the Garabage Coming Out Of His Mouth?

February 9th, 2009 · 3 Comments

I should have live-blogged this, so ripe it is with stupidity.  But here are some highlights as I sit a watch with increasing outrage and disbelief. Obama claimed that the “Stimulus” bill is stripped of earmarks.  Really?  Are you kidding?  Sure – only if you get really creative with the language.  You can rename all […]

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Tags: Big Government · Economy · Education · Environment · Iraq · Media · Obama · Partisanship · Socialism · War on Terror

Thoughts On the Inauguration

January 20th, 2009 · 1 Comment

First, The Good.

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Tags: Education · George Bush · Obama · Socialism · War on Terror

Peace Protesters

January 10th, 2009 · Comments Off on Peace Protesters

The Reno Gazette Journal had an article yesterday about a handful of hippies who continue to agitate for “peace.”  By “peace” they mean for us to leave Iraq, Afghanistan, and rid ourselves of the military-industrial complex.  Apparently they want to remind Harry Reid and Barack Obama that Obama’s election was a mandate for college-know-it-all hippidom, […]

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Tags: Hippies · Nevada Politics · War on Terror

Smacking of Ridiculousness

August 11th, 2008 · 2 Comments

I got a campaign call yesterday from a supporter of local pawn shop manager and proud pit bull owner James Smack, a self-proclaimed “Constitutionalist” running against Dean Heller for his Congressional seat in the Republican primary.  He’s a Ron Paul type, and I’m not, so I politely told his supporter I was voting for the […]

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Tags: Abortion · Constitutional Law · Constitutionalists · Federalism · First Documents · Nevada Politics · Principles · Ron Paul · War on Terror · Yucca Mountain

The Enemy

February 2nd, 2008 · 2 Comments

BAGHDAD (AP) – Two mentally retarded women strapped with remote-control explosives—and possibly used as unwitting suicide bombers—brought carnage Friday to two pet bazaars, killing at 73 people in the deadliest day since Washington flooded the capital with extra troops last spring. This is the enemy. They strap bombs to women with Down’s Syndrome, women with […]

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Tags: Iraq · War on Terror

Someone Call Clark Kent!

January 5th, 2008 · 1 Comment

John Edwards just said he’s going to incapacitate al Qaeda by ridding the world of nuclear weapons. Who knew it was so easy? How could you not vote for the guy with the Superman IV foreign policy? Sheesh.

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Tags: John Edwards · War on Terror

Is THIS What Dems Mean By “Restoring Damaged Alliances”?

October 15th, 2007 · 1 Comment

Over the objections of the Bush Administration, this past Wednesday the House Committee on Foreign Relations passed a resolution condemning Turkey for their alleged genocide of Armenians nearly 100 years ago. In response, the Turks recalled their US ambassador, may send their military into Iraqi Kurdistan (threatening the most stable part of Iraq), and now […]

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Tags: Democrats · Diplomacy · Foreign Policy · War on Terror