Christopher Buckley Comes Out of the Closet

I am so disappointed in Christopher Buckley's recent endorsement of BO that I nearly removed my link to the right, "My old man and the Sea". But I re-read it and enjoyed it all over again and am trying not to be petty.

I have read most of what CB has had to say since his endorsement and his - for whatever reason (fired? quit?) - no longer writing for National Review (the magazine his father founded).

From what I can gather, CB is voting for BO not because he believes in any of BO's plans or philosophies on the role of government; instead because he thinks BO has a "first class temperament and a first class intellect." CB is voting for BO hoping that he is smart enough to realize that none of his ideas or plans will be good for America and ... what? Change his mind, I guess. So for the first time I can remember, people are voting for a candidate hoping he DOESN'T keep his promises.

BO doesn't care whether or not his own plans will be good for America. His ideas and plans are held with a religious conviction that reality and evidence will have no hope of changing. While those of us on the right revere "freedom", BO reveres "fairness". You can't have both. BO considers it the role of government to impose fairness through the point of a gun. (If you think "point of a gun" is hyperbole, you haven't been audited lately.) BO believes in using the tax code to make rich people more poor, thereby imposing fairness.

Raising taxes on people and business owners who earn more than $250,000 will make rich people poorer, but will actually REDUCE tax revenue, so by no stretch of the imagination will it make poor people richer. I trust BO's first class intellect has already figured this out. Yet his mind remains unchanged.

But it's watching previously committed conservatives such as CB throw their vote to BO, I now understand why I still have a hard time pulling that lever for Republican and why my immigrant parents NEVER will.

It's that intellectual snobbery and elitism that people like my parents and me have a knee-jerk negative reaction to. With the rejection of Mac and SP by Christopher Buckley and voting instead for the candidate with the "first class intellect" I realize that he and his ilk value intellect over principles. There are only principled arguments, and certainly no intellectual reasons, to reject abortion, take care of old people beyond their usefullness and .... dare I say it, carry a Down Syndrome baby to term, so it's obvious to me that one's principles are more important than one's intellect.

In other words, I'd rather have a leader with principles against all the above than a leader described thusly by David Brooks of the New York Times, when fantasizing about a BO presidency: Though he is young, it is easy to imagine him at the Cabinet table, leading a subtle discussion of some long-term problem.

Frankly, I can't imagine Mac or SP leading any sort of discussion that is "subtle". But I have no problem imagining both of them doing their best to keep me and my family safe. And intuitively, Mac and SP both understand the following, written by one of America's favorite intellectuals:

To take from one, because it is thought that his own industry and that of his fathers has acquired too much, in order to spare others, who, or whose fathers have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, ‘the guarantee to every one of a free exercise of his industry, and the fruits acquired by it.’ (Thomas Jefferson)

From Thomas Jefferson to Joe the Plumber, Americans understand that the citizens of this great country are not only best equiped, but the only ones morally capable to "spread the wealth".

FREEEEEEEEEEEEEDOM!

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.

President Ronald Reagan

Donate to Planned Parenthood in Sarah Palin's Name

While trolling around Facebook recently I found an organization called "Donate to Planned Parenthood in Sarah Palin's Name". (at the end of this post I have a cut and paste describing the organization)


This group is encouraging college students to make a monetary donation to Planned Parenthood in the name of Sarah Palin; Sarah Palin will then get a thank you card from an organization she does not support for a donation she did not make.



I DO NOT support abortion and I think Planned Parenthood is a travesty and quite-often criminal organization. But that is not the point of my post here. My point is to discuss the degradation of the manner in which we handle our disagreements.


My Sarah Palin "sticker" was purposefully manufactured as a magnet as it was assumed I would need to remove it when parking the car to avoid theft. While I have not had that experience, Elle has. (Note, she is parking near a lot more college students than I am.)


I have seen the T-Shirts proclaiming "Sarah Palin is a C***" and various claims that she should have been aborted.


I have NOT seen any misbehavior which sinks anywhere near this level with the "anti-Obama" crowd. If anyone has, I would like to hear about it.


So why is it college students, liberals and Pro-Obama folks are so confident that they are "right" that bad manners sinking to this level is considered acceptable? I am supposed to be "tolerant" ... where is the tolerance of me and my beliefs by those on the left? Where is the tolerance of Sarah Palin and her choices?


Sarah Palin is attacked because she had the audacity to carry to term a Downs Syndrome baby. Had she aborted that baby, all the way to her 8th + month, she would be defended and celebrated by you on the left and you on college campuses.


You on the left have finally shown your true cards: You are NOT pro-choice (as you have claimed since the 70's). You are PRO-ABORTION. And intolerant to the point you feel justified in near-criminal behavior against those who feel differently.


Those of you who are donating to Planned Parenthood on behalf of Sarah Palin ... how would you feel if I donated to my church on your behalf? To a support-the-troops organization? To a bible camp for needy children? To missionaries trying to bring the word of God to the world? To an organization dedicated to California's Prop 8 passing so that marriage remains one man/one woman? To an amendment to the Constitution demanding that you actually have a job and pay taxes before you get to vote?


Let me know which organization offends you the most so I know where to send my money.


p.s. You college students who are so adament in your support of Planned Parenthood, aren't you glad your parents weren't as enthusiastic as you about abortion?

I know we're all doing our part to spread the word to like-minded friends about how horrible a choice Sarah Palin is for the office of Vice President. We're joining groups. We're forwarding emails. We're even writing letters. Instead of, or perhaps in addition to, all these avenues of nearly-passive protest, I'm suggesting that we participate in the subversively ironic act of making a donation to Planned Parenthood in Sarah Palin's name. It can be as little as $10, but the best part is, when you make a donation to Planned Parenthood in her name, they'll send her a card telling her a donation was made in her honor. You're also giving to a good cause and getting a tax deduction. You can donate in the "Honorary Donations" section of the Planned Parenthood website: https://secure.ga0.org/02/pp10000_i nhonor You'll need to fill in the address to let PP know where to send the "in Sarah Palin's honor" card, and the best address to use would be the national McCain/Palin campaign headquarters: McCain for President 1235 S. Clark Street, 1st Floor Arlington , VA 22202 P.S. Be sure to use the link above or choose "Honorary or Memorial Donations," not the regular "Donate Online," or you won't be able to let her know that you care. I'm not the one that came up with this genius idea, but I thought it was well worth passing on. Invite your friends, please.

Sarah Palin buying diapers at Walmart

Who wants to bet she had a coupon??? I don't know why my mom doesn't love this chick!

Reconciliation???? I don't THINK so!

From the October 14, 2008 Los Angeles Times:

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-polarization14-2008oct14,0,780904.story

And here is my email response, sent to the only person I know at the LA Times, who shall remain nameless:

Hey ***. I hope all is well.

I just finished reading today's editorial; I think you wrote it but I'm not sure. Since you are the only person I know at The LAT, you are getting the email.

Since even the Secret Service did not hear the "cry from the crowd ... for a death of a political opponent" I am not quite sure who is "reeling". While it was heard by a few, those who heard it are pretty sure the call was in regard to Bill Ayers; not Barrack Obama. And how is Sarah Palin inaccurate by claiming BO "pals around with terrorists"? Even Bill Ayers does not deny his role in domestic terrorism; why does The Times?

I was at the Sarah Palin rally several weeks ago and watched the crowd and SP handle several hecklers with grace and dignity. The BO protestors outside were obscene, rude and vile. I do not hold BO responsible for the actions of his supports; why does The Times hold John McCain responsible for some of the misbehavior of his supporters?

I have read nowhere in your paper about the protestors I have seen, nor the lovely picture circulating on the Internet with four people wearing T-shirts proudly proclaiming "Sarah Palin is a C***." Let alone the audio today of BO explaining to the plumber why some of his wealth needs to get spread around. I am personally more offended by calls of wealth distribution than swear words.

The point of the editorial is asking who can bring us together, so I will end here without discussing Joe Biden or whether "drill baby drill" is polarizing and vulgar (since when did The Times get the vapors so easily?)

But trust me, The Times is certainly not helping us find common ground by printing inaccuracies. And, frankly, I have lost hope for a reconciliation. But I will tell you this: the only people I see screaming at their political opponents are Democrats screaming at McCain supporters. Anecdotal? Yes. I think you're right that if BO wins there will be less acrimony, but that's because the people doing all the screaming right now will have nothing to scream about.

Anne Yenny

p.s.I have a perfect way to test this, by the way. Have some BO supporters walk through a largely McCain crowd like the McCain supporters in Manhattan (surely you've seen the video) and count the birds they get flipped. Or I will park my car with McCain and Palin stickers on it in BO territory while you park yours with BO stickers in McCain territory. Me thinks I am taking the bigger chance.