Near my house is a park where I regularly take my kids to play, and like many parks with small lakes in them, this park is home to a number of wild geese. As I was walking around the lake the other day with my kids, we came upon a sign that declared the following: PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE GEESE. Now, as a conservative and an individualist, these are just the sorts of rules I often take petty pleasure in breaking, but in this instance, the sign provided me with a reason for why I should obey ... Read Full Story

I believe that the American value system on which our country was founded is superior to that of every other nation in the world. That isn’t a very popular thing to say these days. Many of my own friends cringe at the thought of that statement. They are quick to point out our national sins and mistakes. I don’t discount those sins. They are real. Some of my friends might even call a statement like that arrogant. Some might ask what gives me the right to make that claim. Simple. I believe in ... Read Full Story

I saw Billy Mays as a downloadable Mii for the Wii yesterday. It really struck me as an odd thing. Here stood a tiny cartoon caricature of a man who has become famous for nothing more than selling things on TV. Things. Plural. If its “new”, “revolutionary”, or “not available in stores”, there’s a pretty good chance Billy Mays is pushing it in an infomercial. In a sense, Billy Mays is our modern day version of the snake oil salesman. The thing is, no one seems to mind. We’re used to it. We ha... Read Full Story

Maybe its the fact that I’ve crossed firmly into my thirties now and have developed a sincere distaste for the fundamentalism of my childhood, or perhaps its just the friends I’ve been keeping the last few years, but as a conservative Christian I find myself in an odd place politically these days. You see, there has been a groundswell of liberalism inside the confines of Christianity. As a matter of fact, I would say that Christians probably represent the largest “growth demographic” for lib... Read Full Story

You might think I’m talking about the fact that most of the country’s major newspapers are either bankrupt or heading there fast. You might think I’m talking about the fact that a growing number of people admit to getting most of their news from shows like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, and yes those are both Comedy Central productions. (I’ll even admit to watching Colbert on a regular basis. Let’s face it. There are few things quite as good as his “Better Know a District” segments. ... Read Full Story

We conservatives are oft heard referring to the threat of incrementalization– what is commonly known as “the slippery slope”. For instance, if it makes sense to help the poor and unfortunate by forcing their employers to pay them eight dollars an hour, why not nine? Why not fifteen? Why not fifty, with full medical benefits, child care, and a brand new Prius for them to drive to work? Or in another common example: if it is incumbent upon the government to grant marital b... Read Full Story

Promotional Shot of AF1 Buzzing the NYC SkylineI am reminded of the scene from the movie Close Encounters when the Air Force general presents a picture to a crowd of agitated citizens and says “This… is a UFO.”  They all begin to babble excitedly, and then the General pulls the photo back and tells them the truth: it’s actually a photo of a pie plate thrown into the air by his son.  I like that scene.  It cracks me up a little. Today, I get to be like that Air Force Ge... Read Full Story

For those of you who haven’t been watching C-Span (and who does, really??), Captain Planet (aka Al Gore) has been in Washington pushing for a “cap and trade”. During the hearings, John Dingell had the momentary clarity of mind to point out that “nobody in this country realizes that cap and trade is a tax…and it’s a great big one.” Hold on to your wallets people, Captain Planet has a new friend in the White House and they aim to extract even more cash from you than you realize. Read Full Story

Recently, the Obama team has released records of “torture” methods used by the Bush administration on terrorist militants. While the Obama team has chosen not to release any of the life-saving information obtained via said torture methods, they have made a rather serious and damning proclamation about the dangers posed by such actions. America’s use of torture on terrorist detainees, the administration claims, will function as a recruiting tool within the Al Qaeda terrorist network. Unfo... Read Full Story

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how people like me fit into today’s political society. My conclusion is that increasingly…we don’t. I describe myself as a “hard core conservative”, or sometimes as a “capitalist through and through”, and occasionally even as “a right wing nut job” (I suppose that means that Homeland Security is now watching me), but what I’ve found more and more is that those words don’t even mean the same thing to me as they do to most other people. What’s more, the ver... Read Full Story