On Illiberal Liberals

A darned good analysis here of the improper use of the word "liberal" by those who claim that they are. Here is the money quote: "

True liberalism is dedicated to a full and rational exchange of views in a mutually respectful manner. In the classical sense, liberals are centrists on the political spectrum, open to persuasion and seeking to persuade. They value the thoughts and policies advanced by persons both on their right and their left. They defend the right of every person, private citizen and public official, to speak freely, and they condemn any effort to restrict freedom of speech or to drown out others with shouting or vulgarity.

The intolerance and illiberal behavior of those who present themselves as modern liberals is a betrayal of true liberalism. Today's liberals would do well to rededicate themselves to the defense of the right of every individual to speak and be heard in the public forum.

Far too many of my Democratic friends assume that you are either a Democrat, (good) or a Republican (bad), with no other alternatives available.
God save us from these illiberal liberals.
(oops, that will drive them nuts).

On the Flag Burning Amendment

Well, a political stunt to change the Constitution has failed. Or, gutless cowards are afraid to defend the one true symbol of all that is good about America from desecration. Take your pick.
I have felt the tremendous joy that can only come from seeing the American flag for the first time after doing the country's bidding. You can't explain it unless you have felt it, so there really isn't a lot to discuss about it. However, I as opposed to tinkering with the basic structure of a document that is designed to protect our freedoms from the predations of the government.
I would suggest that rather than make it a constitutional amendment, we instead provide legal immunity for any veteran who kicks the sh** out of anyone who burns a flag. Burning a flag is really nothing more than a means to instigate anger. Sometimes it really works. Don't beleive me? Go down the VFW and burn a flag. See how many approving comments you receive from those who served under the flag that you are burning.

Coercive interrogation?

In the above link, a blogger points to Andrew Sullivan's atrocious phrase and the attemtpt to link to Rumsfeld what happened to the two soldiers who were executed by the Islamic butchers.
But even looking at it amorally, there is still a difference between the two: Taking the worst that has been said about Rumsfeld, the purpose of such "coercive interrogation techniques" is to extract useful information to prevent future atrocities; Here, the barbarism was done for its own sadistic sake.
Don't tell me that we are no different.

I still think that we need to contract with Hormel for all the pig skins that they can produce so we can bury each and every one of these "holy warriors" in them.

The Experiment is over.

I decided at the last minute to throw in for the legislative district representative that I live in. I chose the Republican side of the ticket because I believe in the ideals of the Republican party, not necessarily what they have been doing.
I promised to not bother people nor to solicit nor spend money. My entire campaign consisted of going to anyone who invited me (except when I had trials), newspaper interviews and the blog, Steve for HD 96.
Interestingly, my opponent was selected by the Central Committee since she had paid her dues, and they gave her money and assistance. In addition, she actually did knock on every door in the district. She is a nice lady, and I am sure that she would be okay. But here is the rub: she only won by 120 votes.
So, if you spend money to put up signs, get volunteers to help you and go door to door to talk to all of your future constituents, you only win by 120 more votes. Seems to be cost ineffective.
However, to be fair, there is the possibility that there are those who only voted for me because she is a woman, and they should remain at home and raising children. Although at 57, she, like me, has little to do with child raising at the moment.
The only other thing that was different between us, that I advocated Libertarian ideals. I think that this is where the majority of my support came from. As evidence I would propose that we consider the absentee ballots. Of the 39 cast, 21 went to her and 18 went to me. Since absentee voters in primary races are more involved and interested in campaigns, I think that the only reason I did so well was the fact that the Missoulian interviewed me about 5 days before election day.
May have to ponder this some more, but I think that it gives hope to those of us who think that the Republican party would do better with Libertarians than without.