Paleomedia continues to misrepresent Tea Parties

After the Brevard County Tax Day Tea Party held at Wickham Park in April, 2010, a local columnist wrote an article wherein he stated that the Tea Party comment that our constitutional rights have been trampled was a case of reality mocking rhetoric. Oh really?

As evidence he pointed out, rightfully, that he “watched a peaceful crowd indulge their First Amendment rights to speak, assemble, hand out political literature, and petition their government for redress of grievances.” However, as many in the paleomedia often do, he misses – or ignores – the point of the bigger picture. Read more

Carmichael, Nye, Thodey lead Tea Party & 9/12 charge against establishment Republicans

Republican candidates Bart Carmichael, Matt Nye and Clyde Thodey will find out tomorrow if the Tea Party and 9/12 movement’s anger and energy will translate into votes. Carmichael is running for the District 24 Senate seat currently held by incumbent Republican Thad Altman, Nye is running for the District 4 County Commission seat currently held by incumbent Republican Mary Bolin and Thodey is running for the District 2 seat held by incumbent Republican Chuck Nelson. All three men are newcomers to politics and have never run for office before.

Impact of Tea Party Movement felt by Republican Party

I’ve been a Republican my entire voting life. I believe in the principles my father taught me about government, taxes and what government should and, maybe more importantly, should not be doing. There was no doubt that when it came to the two major political parties in the USA that I made the correct selection for my core beliefs. Sadly, not everyone made that distinction when they selected their party affiliation and the Republican Party suffered as a result.

While the party itself still claimed those values and espoused their virtues, the candidates that the party began nominating in primaries were not so closely tied to them. Oh sure, they would talk conservatism on the campaign trail and tout family values and fiscal responsibility. Then they would get elected to office and we found ourselves wondering how government continued to grow apparently unchecked. Something was not quite right. Read more

The Hopelessness of Negotiating with Iran

WASHINGTON, October 21, 2009 – Iran and the United States have been holding direct talks this week over Tehran’s nuclear program. What will these diplomatic negotiations accomplish?

“In the three decades since its Islamic revolution, Iran has dedicated itself to spreading its moral ideal–Islamic totalitarianism–by force of arms,” writes Elan Journo, fellow with the Ayn Rand Center and editor of the new book “Winning the Unwinnable War: America’s Self-Crippled Response to Islamic Totalitarianism.” “Tehran spends millions every year, not to pursue prosperity for its tyrannized citizens, but to finance terrorism and to build a nuclear arsenal to wield against enemies of Allah.

“Would diplomatic negotiations encourage Iran to mitigate its ideology? No, they would only intensify its hostility. Negotiations buy Iran time. Above all, diplomacy grants Iran moral legitimacy as a civilized regime: its hostile goals–‘death to America’–and its murder of our citizens are made to seem reasonable differences of opinion. Such appeasement confirms the perverse notion that Allah’s warriors, materially weaker but morally self-righteous, can succeed in bringing down the mighty infidel West.

“To protect American lives, we must learn the life-or-death importance of passing objective moral judgment. We must recognize the character of Iran and act accordingly.”

What Went Wrong in Afghanistan?

What Went Wrong in Afghanistan?

WASHINGTON, October 20, 2009–In a recent blog for publisher Rowman and Littlefield, Elan Journo, a fellow with the Ayn Rand Center, wrote about the failed war in Afghanistan and his new book: “Winning the Unwinnable War: America’s Self-Crippled Response to Islamic Totalitarianism.”

“After eight years of U.S. military intervention, the fighters of the Islamist movement are not only unbowed, but on the march,” writes Journo. “The Islamists (often misidentified by one of their favored tactics: terrorism) seek to impose the totalitarian rule of Allah’s law worldwide–an ideal that entails smiting down infidels and subjugating others under sharia. And they’re making headway.”

Why, Mr. Journo asks, have we failed to defeat this enemy?

“Our post-9/11 policy–in Afghanistan and across the board–was subverted by a factor that few have thought to examine: the basic moral ideas that animate our foreign policy. In essence, the kind of war that our leaders believed was morally proper to wage entailed placing ‘compassion’ ahead of the proper task of self-defense.

“A point we make in ‘Winning the Unwinnable War’ is that the way out of the Afghanistan morass requires Americans to recognize how certain (allegedly) moral ideas have informed, and crippled, our policy–and to challenge those ideas.”

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"Hate Crime" Laws Criminalize Ideas

“Hate Crime” Laws Criminalize Ideas

WASHINGTON, October 19, 2009–The House recently voted to expand federal “hate crimes” to include those committed because of the victim’s sexual orientation.

“Despite the denials of ‘hate crime’ law supporters, this criminalizes certain ideas,” writes Don Watkins, an analyst with the Ayn Rand Center. “If the government can punish a criminal more harshly based on the ‘message of intolerance and discrimination’ he sends through his crime, then the inevitable conclusion is that sending a ‘message of intolerance and discrimination’ is a crime.

“It is irrelevant whether the ideas currently deemed ‘hateful’ are repugnant, which in the case of racism or anti-gay vitriol they certainly are. Every attack on free speech starts by targeting ideas people find repugnant; that’s how censorship gains purchase. But once the principle is established that the government can punish people for holding unpopular ideas, then any dissenter is at risk.

“The men who wrote the First Amendment sought to safeguard intellectual freedom by barring the state from taking cognizance of men’s ideas. The government, they said, has no role in deciding what ideas are true or false, right or wrong, hateful or loving. Its job is to proscribe actions that violate individual rights, so that each of us can make those determinations for ourselves.”

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Don Watkins is

Gut the SEC, Stop the Next Madoff

Gut the SEC, Stop the Next Madoff

WASHINGTON, October 19, 2009–Two of the victims of Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme are suing the Securities and Exchange Commission for “negligence.”

“While it’s not clear whether their case will go anywhere, it’s undeniable that the SEC failed miserably in the Madoff case,” writes Alex Epstein, a fellow with the Ayn Rand Center.

Greenspan Shows His Anti-Capitalist Colors . . . Again

Greenspan Shows His Anti-Capitalist Colors . . . Again

WASHINGTON, October 16, 2009–Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan is in the news again, calling on the government to use its coercive powers to break up banks that are “too big to fail.”

War Policy vs. Our Troops

War Policy vs. Our Troops

WASHINGTON, October 13, 2009–“Under current policy in Afghanistan, our forces are required to endear themselves to the local population by providing so-called humanitarian aid,” writes Elan Journo, a fellow with the Ayn Rand Center.

Just Say "No" to Another "Stimulus"

Just Say “No” to Another “Stimulus”

WASHINGTON, October 9, 2009–On the heels of a failed $700 billion “stimulus” package, Congress is mulling over yet another round of “stimulus” spending.

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