Simmering Beneath the Surface
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Freedom of speech. What does that mean?
Thomas Sowell had a column today in the local rag where he touched on the Ward Churchhill affair (U of CO professor who compared 9/11 victims to Nazis) and Sowell made two really great points:
Too many people- some of them judges-seem to think that freedom of speech means freedom from consequences for what you have said. If you believe that, try insulting your boss when you go to work tomorrow.
and...
Freedom of speech does not implay a right to an audience. Otherwise the audience would have right to their own freedom.
Good stuff. Unfortunately, too many college students feel that they have little or no recourse. Free enterprise and the market seem to fail at the doors of academia. The student is fotting the bill for the class and should not be subjected to such tripe, yet the arcane rules of tenure allow academic cancers like Churchill to continue to spew their filth.
Texas is a right to work state, so I wonder how/if tenure rules have any real bite here?
Saturday, February 05, 2005
Social Security reform, NOW
Another little line I dropped to the Statesman the other day. It was short, and not some of my best work, so they ignored it. That's okay, I feel better that I got it out.
On Wednesday night, I saw President Bush be the man we all saw while he was governor of the state of Texas. He put together a bold, clear, and concise plan on how we can all benefit from a reform of Social Security, and that we must reform Social Security now. He is the leader who is ready to take on this difficult task, the man I saw tackle difficult tasks in Texas, and I couldn't be more happy with my vote for him last November
The right side of democracy
Here is a little ditty I sent off to the local Austin American Statesman
Has Senator Kennedy sold his political soul to an unknown political Beelzebub? His actions appear that he wants the destabilization a fledgling democracy. When did modern American Liberalism become the movement of status quo and anti-war? Presidents Wilson, Roosevelt, Truman, and Kennedy felt that democracy was the inherent right of all common men, home and abroad, and that the right time for democracy is NOW.
No one wants war, yet open and free democracies do not go to war with each other. This is an old ideal of political scientists, yet an ideal that Democrats have willingly abdicated to the neo-conservatives. I can not see how you can be on the opposite side of this ideal and not be on the wrong side of democracy. If American Liberals no longer believe in this ideal, then the 2004 elections foretell of a long drought.
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Iraq elections
60% of eligible voters in Iraq turned out to vote. And they were threatened with their lives. Zarqawi says that he will kill them if they vote. And yet, the % turn out is greater than the recent US Presidential election. I couldn't feel happier for the Iraqis.
