BURKEOPHILIA

2007-02-22T16:46:00.000-06:00

According to these guys we're the 1408th most linked to Blog in the Blogosphere! Woohoo!

2006-11-06T21:51:00.000-06:00

Election Eve PredictionsColor me optimistic...Predictions based on average polling results (difference), party ID/ Prez vote, polling trends, & gut feel.SENATETN Corker (Rep Retention)Corker 51%, Ford 43.6% + Republican Party ID state+ Bush+ Corker trendRI Whitehouse (Dem pick up)Whitehouse 48.7%, Chafee 43.3%+ Democrat Party ID state+ Kerry+ Chafee trendPA Casey (Dem pick up)Casey 52.3%,

2006-10-18T17:08:00.000-05:00

Lancet Researchers Unresponsive...While I hesitate to read anything into it, I have yet to recieve a response to my request of the Lancet researchers that they provide me with the underlying statistical paper that backs the one recently published in Lancet. In order to conduct any form of replication, at minimum I'll have to see the models they estimated. But no word yet. Will update if

2006-10-18T17:02:00.000-05:00

Lancet Study BombshellSteven Moore explodes the Lancet Study in the WSJ. Not only are their cluster points small (leading to the vulnerability I mentioned earlier regarding the impact of outlier clusters), but apparently the authors collected no demographic data on their respondents. This is unbelievable. I have to say, it never even occurred to me that they wouldn't have collected

2006-10-12T10:14:00.000-05:00

Mortality Rates in Iraq Pre-InvasionIn this excellent review of the previous IDS by these same researchers, Kaplan raises the issue of the pre-invasion mortality rate employed in the study. The researchers use that same mortality rate in the current study. Read the whole critique...because most of this criticisms are very much applicable to the current study.The study, though, does have a

2006-10-11T15:40:00.000-05:00

Cross-National Mortality RatesCan be found here.As Ian notes on the Corner, even taking into account the differential in the age of populations (developed countries tend to have older populations and hence inflated mortality rates), the rate reported in the Iraq Death Study (henceforth IDS) isn't quite the unique international disaster its authors would have us believe. And I find it

2006-10-11T14:20:00.000-05:00

Welcome Corner Readers!And thanks, again, to John Pod for the link! Feel free to peruse around and make yourself at home. This isn't the most active of blogs, but I try to make up for the lack of quality by posting veerrrry infrequently.

2006-10-11T13:45:00.000-05:00

New Report on Deaths in IraqA new study is out purporting to show that over 600,000 Iraqis have died as a consequence of the U.S-lead war in Iraq. John Podhoretz of National Review asked me to compile into a set of questions some of the issues I raised about the study with him, and I do so below. You can read the study here. I should note that, while this isn't my first time around a random

2006-07-08T03:46:00.000-05:00

Why Alan Wolfe Can't Write About Conservatives Part 1Alan Wolfe is out to tell us Why Conservatives Can't Govern. OK. Bring it on, Alan. > http://home.earthlink.net/~rcmcgovern/> http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=165049> > **************> http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2006/0607.wolfe.html> > Why Conservatives Can't Govern> > By Alan Wolfe, Washington Monthly. Posted

2006-06-29T18:33:00.000-05:00

Superman Returns: A short reviewI thought this was a really good movie. The decision to embrace the past movies (well...1 & 2 anyway) rather than try to rewrite the origin story was a great decision. The effects were awesome, and the guy they got to play Superman did a bang-up job. Just enough Christopher Reeves to draw you in. Thank God Nick Cage got the Ghostrider gig instead. ! Superman

2006-05-25T06:25:00.000-05:00

FlabbergastedThat's the best description I've come up with for my reaction to Denny Hastert's odd, perplexing, a-Constitutional, politically moronic defense of William Jefferson using his Congressional Office like it is a non-extradition country. Hastert invokes the Speech & Debate clause...failing to note the specific exception in the Constitution for felonies (gee, Denny, it does help to

2006-05-19T01:36:00.000-05:00

Mom Gives Conservatives a Time OutMom has some good advice for wayward (and petulant) conservatives: Stop! Now! Call me practical. Or cynical. Or opportunistic. But then, I spent years lobbying. For decades I've watched the Republican Party swallow the all-or-nothing suicide pill here in Washington State. Even more to the point, I raised six children. Who now, as adults, are all friends.

2006-05-18T00:21:00.000-05:00

Proving My PointProfessor Bainbridge observes: After all, if DeLay and Cunningham et al prove anything, it is that all politicians - of whatever party - truly are eels "An eel in the fundamental mud upon which the superstructure of organized society is reared." See? ;)

2006-05-17T07:40:00.000-05:00

Burkeophilia on ImmigrationThe Cribnote EditionNational Guard troops on the Border? OK. First Step. Better not be last.More Border Patrol Guards? Yes, please.Fence? Hell yes. Guest Worker Program? Whatever.Path to Citizenship for Illegals? Hell no.Any questions?

2006-05-17T03:26:00.000-05:00

Why Conservatives Have Abandoned BushBecause we're from Mars and politicians are from VenusAs a long-time supporter of President Bush and a some-time critic of his policies and decisions, it is time to come clean: I'm worn out. I'm worn out with the constant racheting up of rhetoric. Those of us who still approve of the president find ourselves buffeted by the Right and the Left. I'm worn out

2006-05-03T13:17:00.000-05:00

Bush as Nixon? Pashaw.So we've had Bush as Reagan, Bush as Bush, Sr. Bush as Truman, Bush as Carter...I suppose it was inevitable that we'd get around to Nixon. And so Jonah Goldberg has, in his most recent column . However, Jonah's own recitation of Nixon's liberal bona fides doesn't square too well with this argument. Most of the bureaucratic innovations (Homeland Security) have been

2006-03-18T13:26:00.000-06:00

Presidential Wartime Powers: A Brookings PanelBrookings put on a panel hosted by Stuart Taylor that is a fascinating explication of and debate on the issues (historical, constitutional, legal, technical, etc.) related to presidential powers (specifically in relation to the role of Congress and the Courts) in wartime.Topics addressed include the NSA wiretapping, the employment of military

2006-01-28T00:44:00.000-06:00

Lite BloggingIt's been no blogging for awhile...and it'll be lite blogging this semester. Alot of irons in the fire. But I'm sure I'll get bitten by the blogging bug this semester.

2005-12-07T08:49:00.000-06:00

Not-So-Busy BlogSorry, folks. Been busy dissertating and haven't checked in. I have some posts in mind for this weekend, but blogging will be spotty in the December month as usual.

2005-10-31T11:15:00.000-06:00

Back in the High-Life AgainPresident Bush has nominated Judge Sammuel Alito to be an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court. Judge Alito has a long record as a principled judicial conservative, an intelligent and facile constitutional lawyer, and a fair and open-minded jurist. I support the nomination whole-heartedly and look forward to the fray. As many other conservatives have echoed: Bring

2005-10-27T12:29:00.000-05:00

WITHDRAWN!Yes! Now, give us a great nominee!!!!

2005-10-22T12:30:00.000-05:00

Conason's Bizzaro ScandalThe Strange Imaginings and Projections of a Not-So-Ex-Clinton ShillIn a recent article Joe Conason accuses Republicans and allies of a smear campaign against Patrick Fitzgerald, the Special Prosecutor in the Plame Leak Case. Let's take a closer look, shall we? With the mounting anticipation that Bush administration officials will be indicted in the CIA leak

2005-10-22T02:50:00.000-05:00

Scratching the ItchWell, that lasted long. Do they have recovery groups for compuslive bloggers?

2005-10-10T03:11:00.000-05:00

Closing Up ShopGiven the recent spate of tenure-denials for prominent bloggers (Dan Drezner being the top), I'm shutting down Burkeophilia. It simply isn't worth the risk to one's ('one' being...well...me) career. It is a sad state of affairs when something as petty as not liking what a fellow scholar does with his free time can factor in, let alone be a determinant of, a tenure decision. Yet

2005-10-04T18:50:00.000-05:00

Not Buying ItFisking Lifson on Miers NominationA strong defense of Bush's selection of Miers is articulated by Thomas Lifson at The American Thinker. However, it fails on several fronts...though I really, really *want* to believe. There is a doom-and-gloom element on the Right which is just waiting to be betrayed, convinced that their hardy band of true believers will lose by treachery those

2005-10-04T00:19:00.000-05:00

Uhhhhh....No.Ken Mehlman wants my help in getting Harriet Miers confirmed. Here's what he got from me in response. I suggest he get simillar replies from others in the conservative movement. Ken, I have supported the president through thick and thin. Through his flip-flop on campaign finance reform, to the horrid "No Child Left Behind," to the wrong-headed steel tarriffs, to the awful

2005-10-03T11:02:00.000-05:00

Horrible HarrietI can't believe it. All along, I trusted that Bush and the White House team understood how important Supreme Court nominations are to the base (and how, essentially, it is only the activist core in each party that it matters to). Especially to a conservative religious base for whom the judicial branch is paramount. I trusted that they undertsood the strength of their majority

2005-09-25T11:10:00.000-05:00

Lies, Damned Lies, and....The boys over at Powerline report on Al Franken's speech at Yale. In it he accuses Rush Limbaugh of lying about minimum wage statistics. Well, there is lying...and then there is lying with statistics. Which of the two is closer to the truth? You decide:I don't know if Franken quoted Rush accurately, but the fact is, while Rush's number may be wrong...his point (

2005-09-11T22:14:00.000-05:00

DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAINThe Determinants of Disasters and Emergency Management ResponseAlmost everything you've heard about Hurricane Katrina, the federal response, where blame lies for the levee failure, and the politics of emergency management is wrong. Does any of this sound familliar?Things rapidly came unraveled. Neither the county nor the state emergency management systems were prepared for

2005-09-04T00:58:00.000-05:00

Quick Reaction to Rheqnuist deathRest in peace, Big Guy. You done good. Now, on to the political battle. Michelle Malkin cites a blogger The Spoon Experience who thinks Bush doesn't have the political capital to fight for a good pick and, paradoxically, it is essential that he make a pick because Katrina increases the chances the Republicans will loose in 08.Both observations are quite wrong.

2005-09-02T14:42:00.000-05:00

A Response to Jonah Goldberg & the Corner ClimateI love Jonah to death. But the 'response' on the Corner has been less than measured. My response to his recent Corner post noting that Republicans in Congress over-spend and a reckoning is appropriate for the administration and the federal government.I have to agree with Mark (Levin). I've been absolutely disgusted by this sniping at the heels

2005-08-30T14:26:00.000-05:00

1 week to Comps. Argh.

2005-08-17T04:15:00.000-05:00

Letter to the NY Times Public Editor****I will post any response I get from the Times****There is much wrong with Paul Krugman's August 5th, 2005 article entitled "Design for Confusion" and I have documented them here (http://burkeophilia.blogspot.com/2005/08/krugmans-grand-corporate-fake-science.html). But I want to call attention to what can only be described as a serious breach of

2005-08-17T03:34:00.000-05:00

Note to ReadersBlogging will be very light over the next month. Intensive studying for comprehensive exams. Argh. Gulp!

2005-08-11T17:00:00.000-05:00

MSM "Covers" the Iraq WarWhat if we covered baseball games the way the MSM covers Iraq? Here's an example from a real game between the SD Padres and the St. Louis Cardinals:***********The Cardinals and Padres met today in the rubber game of a 3 game set. The Padres pounded out 10 hits and scored 3 runs while the Cardinals hitters struck out 6 times and lined into a double play. Through nine

2005-08-08T13:32:00.000-05:00

Krugman's Grand Corporate Fake Science ConspiracyAt least when it comes to economics, Paul Krugman can claim a sufficient knowledge base and expertise to justify taking his statements seriously. However, Krugman's recent bloviating on intelligent design and global warming, as usual, leaves much to be desired. In fact, the only justifiable consensus I can determine that might be found as a

2005-08-07T23:30:00.000-05:00

Peter Jennings, RIPCondolences to Mr. Jennings family and friends. Details here.

2005-07-27T02:12:00.000-05:00

Why a Souter? Or a Warren for that matter?A Defense of Republican PresidentsA fact acknowledged from both sides of the political spectrum is that Republican presidents have had quite a bit of trouble in getting reliably conservative voices on the Supreme Court. However, much of that criticism has focued on specific problems with the vetting process (i.e. the Rudman influence with Souter) or on

2005-07-12T23:46:00.000-05:00

Was Plame 'outed'?Much is being made on the Left side of the blogosphere that Karl Rove 'outed' Val Plame to Matt Cooper of Time. What Rove told Cooper was that Joe Wilson's wife was the one who got him the Niger gig and that she worked for the CIA. The political problem revolves around whether Plame was a 'covert' agent. I won't get into all the details here, as they have been addressed by

2005-07-07T19:57:00.000-05:00

Rule, Britania! Rule!I've returned from EITM, but sadly my blogging begins with word of another coordinated attack by Al Quaida, this time in London. The above quote comes from a lovely lyric that Captian's Quarters posted here. I echo their sentiments. I wrote the below e-mail to a list I belong to the night before the attack. Those words ring truer than I'd like today. Courage, Briton,

2005-06-07T02:02:00.000-05:00

Note to ReadersI will be more or less incommunicado from June 8th to July 2nd. I'm headin down to Lake Norfolk for some boating this week, and then it is on to the Empirical Implications of Theoretical Models Institute at Wash U. in St. Louis until July. Will be pretty intensive (6 days a week, 6 hours a day), and I probably won't have much time for blogging. But I'll try and check in

2005-06-06T11:22:00.000-05:00

Orr Not...After reading Behe's original response to Orr's critique of DBB, I'm not sure there is really anything else to say. Most of what's in Orr's new piece is merely a rehash of that original review. I found it amusing that Behe had also noted that Orr seems to be able to state the ID argument...but somehow forgets it when he gets around to offering rebuttals. A bit of a bait-and-switch.

2005-06-06T10:24:00.000-05:00

Assessing IDI have been reading a bit more of Dembski here and wanted to share his excellent and consise summary of the 'test' for ID going down the road. ID's criterion for success is rather the following: whether its arguments are sound, whether its evidence for design is solid, whether its critique of materialistic accounts of evolution holds up, whether it is developing into a fruitful

2005-06-05T18:44:00.000-05:00

Orr Strikes AgainAlan Orr is once again taking on Intelligent Design. You can read his piece in the New Yorker here. Orr is hardly new to the Intelligent Design / Evolution debate, and as usual he mixes in the sort of prejudicial 'descriptions' of his opponents that have absolutely nothing to do with the power of their arguments but rather are merely ad hominem smears. Orr does do a credible

2005-06-02T23:50:00.000-05:00

Felt UpdateIt appears that Mr. Epstein did, in fact, name Mr. Felt in his original Commentary article. The relevant passage is below (via Powerline):Bernstein and Woodward identify their main source only under the titillating code-name of “Deep Throat,” and indicate that “Deep Throat” confirmed their suspicion that Segretti—and political spying—were at the root of the Watergate conspiracy. But

2005-06-01T14:50:00.000-05:00

The Watergate MythNo, not the scandal itself. Who was responsible for uncovering it. Via Mark Levin at The Corner, read here. An excellent exposition illustrating the journalistic self-promotion regarding the Watergate scandal (culminating in a Hollywood movie: "All the President's Men) and identifying the true 'heroes' in uncovering the conspiracy that brought down Nixon. Not to mention

2005-05-30T17:26:00.000-05:00

True Fascistic TyrannyThe next time someone you know complains about the injustice of the U.S. judicial system or the harshness of its drug laws, remind them of this. I don't know whether this young woman is guilty or not. However, I do know that the evidence presented (drugs found in bags that were out of her posession, unlocked, and in the hands of numerous individuals) wouldn't meet

2005-05-26T18:15:00.000-05:00

Democrat HypocrisyNow, the Democrats pointed to Republican votes against cloture on Democratic judicial nominees as "attempted filibusters" in order to bolster their argument that their actions were not unprecedented. However, Joe Biden just voted against cloture on the Bolton nomination, yet claims he is *not* filibustering the nomination and wants to see an up-or-down vote. Which is it?

2005-05-26T16:49:00.000-05:00

Bainbridge a Bit OverBoardWhile I may be moving towards becoming a convert of the Coalition of the Chillin, I find Prof. Bainbridge's conservative defense of the filibuster lacking in many respects. Is the filibuster conservative? As I have argued elsewhere on this blog, Edmund Burke certainly supported what might be termed 'radical' actions when some exercise of power serves to destabilize

2005-05-26T16:12:00.000-05:00

A Doulbe-Take on the CompromiseI started as a strong member of the "Illin"...but I'm nearly converted to the "Chillin" side of the blogosphere. OK, I'm not seeing red anymore over the Compromise, but I am thinking about a Red analogy that has soothed my partisan zeal. In essence, I'm thinking about the 'Nuclear' option and the Cuban-Missle Crisis. The agressors were the Soviets, shipping

2005-05-26T14:51:00.000-05:00

A Great American Hero ClearedI first heard about the plight of Lt. Pantano, whose enlistment story echoes that of the late Pat Tillman's in terms of self-sacrifice and supreme patriotism for one's country, when Dateline NBC aired a segment a few months ago. Pantano was accused of 'murder' of two Iraqis he shot during combat when the two refused to obey his orders to stop. It seemed obvious to

2005-05-25T04:18:00.000-05:00

Lampley Won't Throw in the TowelArgh. This guy just won't quit .I could go on at length here about the curious disconnect between the actual data in the report and its guesswork conclusion, how Edison/Mitofsky systematically validate all their sampling choices and their methodology, in effect eliminating any logical underpinnings for their ultimate summation, all the while selectively ignoring

2005-05-25T04:10:00.000-05:00

York Downs Lampley in 1st RoundI should note that Byron York has been taking on Lampley directly over at the Huffington Post and has made several of the points I have (in most cases better than I have) and a few others as well. His most definitive take-down can be found here. D.GOOCH

2005-05-25T03:25:00.000-05:00

More Nonsense on the Lampley "Hypothesis"LOL. Someone claiming to be a 'stat geek' attempts to defend Lampley's Moon-landing faked delusions regarding the 2004 election as a 'sensible' take here.Needless to say, color me unimpressed. But let's go over it one more time!Jim Lampley’s concern over the gap between the exit polls and the final results in the 2004 election is sensible. Exit polls

2005-05-24T17:40:00.000-05:00

Another Note on the CompromiseOk, one more thing. This is the question I asked John Podhertz regarding the filibuster: Wither the principled argument against filibusters? In the scenario you envision, there is no *principled* removal of the filibuster. It becomes entirely the product of political payback. This shifts the terms of the debate. Republicans had been arguing that judicial

2005-05-24T11:56:00.000-05:00

The "Compromise"I have one thing to say: there are reasons that the GOP has been called the "Stupid Party." You can add one more to the tally. D.GOOCH

2005-05-23T22:26:00.000-05:00

Fisking Robert McHenry on Intelligent DesignYou can read his piece at TechStation here.I should preface this by making the point that I do not consider myself a subscriber to intelligent design in the narrow sense of its inclusion as a scientific paradigm or theory. I have very much been schooled in the mode of methodological naturalism and I remain unconvinced that such a presumption does not

2005-05-21T03:19:00.000-05:00

A Simple PointThere seems to be alot of confusion around whether or not the Senate needs 51, 60, or 67 votes to change the filibuster rule. The answer is the former. Quite simple and it rests on a basic principle of majoritarian institutions: decision-making within a majoritarian institution is *always* and *only* subject to the majoritarian structure of the instituion. Specificaly, in

2005-05-19T15:16:00.000-05:00

A Lampley AsideJust thinking out loud: if we can conclude that the election was fixed because John Kerry was going off at 2:1 on election day...exactly who fixed the Kentucky Derby? The Derby winner was going off at 50:1. Man, those oddsmakers. Infalible, aren't they? ;) D.GOOCH

2005-05-19T11:10:00.000-05:00

Burkeian Rationale for Eliminating the Filibuster At first glance, it would seem that significant filibuster reform would be on the outs with a true Burkian conservative. Afterall, the filibuster has been around long enough to become a substantial aspect of an important American institution...and conservatism is all about conserving institutions according to Burke. However, too many confuse

2005-05-19T11:03:00.000-05:00

The judges war is commmmmming. I recently met with Gary Jacobson, a political scientist working on party polarization. He believes that if Republicans force issues like Social Security and (by implication) judges, they are bound to alienate voters in the next election. However, I believe Gary's argument (that the electorate has become increasingly polarized) belies such a conclusion. If the

2005-05-16T23:35:00.000-05:00

Welcome Cornerites!A big shout-out to John Podhertz for the link. Welcome and enjoy the blog. I try to go for quality over quantity. Well...at least I've got the quantity part down. ;) D.GOOCH

2005-05-16T15:18:00.000-05:00

The Real Explanation for the Bush Victory in Ohio Innovative, exhausting, and determined GOTV. Red State has the goods. D.GOOCH

2005-05-16T12:44:00.000-05:00

More on LampleyA Leftist observes:> Lampley's point *is* that oddsmakers have been guessing correctly up > until now.And the change in their guess on election morning was a direct result of the rumors regarding the election polling. They constitute no independent confirmation of the accuracy of the exit polling because they depended on the exit polling. The logical string of Lampley's argument

2005-05-16T12:10:00.000-05:00

Fisking Jim Lampley on the 'Stolen' 2004 election Jim Lampley posits that the oddsmakers in Vegas give us a big clue as to how the 2004 presidential election was stolen by Rove et al.:"Oddsmakers consulted exit polling and knew what it meant and acknowledged in their oddsmaking at that moment that John Kerry was winning the election.And he most certainly was, at least if the votes had been

2005-04-20T03:02:00.000-05:00

A Response to Instapundit on Intelligent Design Glen said "Except that Intelligent Design in the Universe isn't the same as Intelligent Design of the Universe. And the ID theorists I've encountered generally seem to have already decided who the Designer is, before they ever started looking for evidence of design."So what?I've seen John Derbyshire offer the same ad hominem attack, and I don't

2005-04-08T20:11:00.000-05:00

THE GANNON-DEMSERVER-HARKIN NEXUSAn anti-Gannon person argued:"Guckert was NOT expecting privacy."A Gannon defender argued:"He was sure as heck expecting his picture to remain private--unknown--to the non-gay community."This fundamentally misses the most significant point, and it is a point that brings clarity to 3 seperate political controversies that have arisen of late. I will take each in

2005-04-07T10:13:00.000-05:00

THE SCHIAVO MEMO****************** Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) said he believed that the memo originated with the GOP because it is "totally consistent" with how the Republicans have operated for the past four years. "They just shouldn't lose their memos," he said.******************Putting aside whether Biden is correct, strange that this most certainly wasn't their reaction when

2005-04-07T10:11:00.000-05:00

THE CORNYN GAFFEI see a direct correlation between John Cornyn's argument and that of those who argued that Matthew Shepherd put himself at risk by going to a bar and trying to 'hook up' with a couple of strangers. Most folks who make this argument IN NO WAY endorse the brutal murder (or any violence at all) of Matthew Shepherd nor IN ANY WAY excuse or attempt to mitigate the culpability of the

2005-03-15T01:16:00.000-06:00

Truth, Conclusions, and the Essence of ConservatismResponding to the Cunning Realist in regards to his criticism of Jonah Goldberg's conclusion that Nichols is guilty of murder. CR suggested that such a conclusion, without a legal proof of guilt, is the "antithesis of conservatism." I suggest that this is bunk. ;) I'm still trying to figure out what principle of conservatism dictates

2004-11-12T01:59:00.000-06:00

The importance and necessity of the institutionalization of Congress was pointed out long ago by Nelson Polsby in his seminal article “The Institutionalization of the U.S. House of Representatives.” American Political Science Review. Volume 62. 1968.

2004-11-11T23:59:00.000-06:00

Gerrymandering? Chill, Dude.Instapundit & Prof. Bainbridge are concerned about Gerrymandering:http://www.instapundit.com/Glen tells us: "This is a real problem." Professor Bainbridge believes that eliminating gerrymandering is the "single most important electoral reform."http://www.professorbainbridge.com/2004/11/strike_a_blow_f_12.htmlI can certainly understand the opposition to gerrymandering.

2004-11-03T13:56:00.000-06:00

PRESIDENTIAL POPULAR VOTE Bush 51% Kerry 48% Nader 1% PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTE ------------------------------------------------------------------- BATTLEGROUND STATES BUSH Florida Ohio Pennsylvania Wisconsin New Mexico New Hampshire Iowa KERRY Minnesota Michigan Hawaii New Jersey ELECTORAL COLLEGE COUNT Bush: 321 Kerry: 217 CONTESTED SENATE ELECTIONS & PICK-UPS -----------------------

2004-06-14T15:58:00.000-05:00

Ronald Wilson Reagan, 1911 - 2004 requiescat in pace Arguably the greatest president of the 20th century passed away today. A great patriot. A great president. A great man. We have lost a great American today. He has slipped the surly bonds of Earth, and gone to touch the face of God. Rest in peace, President Reagan. Forever will we hold you in our hearts. Don Gooch

2003-09-19T18:44:00.000-05:00

A new school year, a new post. How's it goin, y'all? D.GOOCH (this is a test)

2003-07-11T12:22:00.000-05:00

MUSINGS It's been awhile folks, but I'm back (just in time for Terminator 3 ;) )! *If the death penalty, putting a criminal to death, doesn't deter someone from comitting murder...exactly why is a gun law supposed to stop them from buying a gun...with which to do the murder? * Does Israel need stricter dynomite-strapped-to-the- body control laws? * Politics is the only game where you can

2003-04-13T17:12:00.000-05:00

AN OPEN LETTER TO BERNIE MIKLAS Bernie, Intolerance, Bernie, is every American's right and duty when it comes to immoral, stupid, or otherwise wrong beliefs/arguments. The politically correct notion that 'intolerance' is some uber-evil...never justified (or correct) in any context is a further dumbing down of debate (whether in politics or in sports). Should we not be 'intolerant' of the

2003-03-20T12:28:00.000-06:00

SENATE DEMOCRATS OUTRAGEOUS ACTS REQUIRE A PROPORTIONATE RESPONSE Were it only the ridiculous, unprecedented, and unconstitutional filibuster of Miguel Estrada's nomination, I would hesitate to call on the President to take what amounts to an unprecedented move to protect his presidential perogative to make judicial appointments. However, the actions of the Senate Democrats (see Byron York's

2003-02-27T18:02:00.000-06:00

For those of you wondering, I plan to give my own review of G&G later next week. TLDG review will have to wait for video. ;) D.GOOCH

2003-02-27T17:47:00.000-06:00

Ebert, ah Ebert. Ah, the Ebert. For very few pugnacious pukes do I have such conflicted feelings about as I do the Ebert. In my youth, it was easy to hate the Ebert. He's snooty, snotty, and he frequently sticks that snout in the air over movies I've enjoyed thouroughly. As age brought with it a bit more of a discerning taste in film (though my appreciation for the sophmoric & camp has

2003-02-08T02:21:00.000-06:00

A response to Eric Alterman's paltry attempt to actually argue that there is no liberal media bias. He next plans to attempt to argue that the Earth is flat, and that Galaleio fellow was a heretical nimcompoop suggesting the Sun was at the center of the solar system. 1) The Cowardly Lion. Alterman sure offers a caveat that he doesn't expect to win anyone over in 500 words (though he's now had

2003-02-08T02:17:00.000-06:00

I'm back! It's been awhile, but I needed a long vacation. Well, back to the fray...D.GOOCH

2002-12-20T11:21:00.000-06:00

AP BIAS I'm not going to get in to the substance of the Lott issue right now, but I do want to make a point here. This is *nonsense*: "The remarks drew immediate criticism from black leaders and Democrats. They were quickly joined by conservatives worried that the comments would create a distracting firestorm that would harm the White House's and GOP's efforts to advance their legislative

2002-12-08T00:28:00.000-06:00

My article is in response to the article by Bryan Burwell of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. His article can be found here: http://www.stltoday.com/sports (sorry a/b no full link...the PD has awful links that are a mile long) Bryan Burwell said: "Johnson and all his silent partners at Augusta National are living in an unenlightened time warp where gender discrimination is an accepted fact of

2002-11-23T18:36:00.000-06:00

I'm getting ready to head off for a week of Thanksgiving Vacation. So to everyone out there: Happy Thanksgiving! D.GOOCH

2002-11-13T17:46:00.000-06:00

PROFILES IN COURAGE Former Archbishop Hanan continues to lead the fight for moral clarity in the Catholic Church. Today he stood in opposition to the vapid and tired knee-jerk cowardice of the Bishops in drafting a resolution designed at undermining Bush's efforts to rid the world of the Butcher of Baghdad. "You finally come down to a situation where they can enslave whomever they wish,

2002-11-13T00:06:00.000-06:00

One Catholic (though sadly retired out of the leadership) has it right: "During the prelates' discussion on Tuesday, Archbishop Philip Hannan, the retired leader of the New Orleans Archdiocese and a World War II paratrooper chaplain, urged Law's committee "to be cautious and to acknowledge at least the difficulties the president is taking care of." "If we allow some despotic power to rule the

2002-11-12T18:58:00.000-06:00

A CATHOLIC CALL TO ARMS Rod Dreher of National Review reports that the Catholic Bishops (led by none other than Cardinal Bernard Law) plan to draft a resolution opposing the war in Iraq. There is nothing more frustrating for a Catholic who actually still believes in the moral principles the Catholic Church has stood on for thousands of years than to see its leadership continually fritter away

2002-11-06T21:15:00.000-06:00

RANDOM THOUGHTS ON THE ELECTION * The Simonization of the Democratic Party. While the Democratic party certainly made some mistakes in this election, the 'solution' to the problem currently being voiced by the liberal faction is one destined to further marginalize the party. Folks tend to forget that Clinton was such a successful promoter of the Democratic party b/c he brought it to the center

2002-11-06T10:35:00.000-06:00

Well folks, here are the exact numbers on my predictions. If Thune looses the comming recount, then I will have missed picking the Senate perfectly by 535 votes (perhaps someone should be paying me to do this ;). Pending the SD result (530 margin for Johnson, but it will almost certainly go to a recount, here's how I did). (especially for KAT, Jonathan, and Steve R.) SENATE: 14 / 14 100.0%

2002-11-04T19:56:00.000-06:00

GOOCH Election 2002 Predictions Are as follows (I posted these to my blog a couple of weeks ago, so with a few modifications...here are my predictions): <* means changed from two weeks ago> House: +4 Republican (R:227 D:208) Governorships: +4 Democrats (R:25 D:25) Senate: +3 Republicans (R:52 D:47 I:1) SKINNY: While the House will almost certainly remain Republican and the Democrats will

2002-10-25T17:18:00.000-05:00

Senator Paul Wellstone, his wife & daugther, along with several campaign staffers and pilots died in a small airplane crash today. My heartfelt sympathies and prayers go out to their families and friends. D.GOOCH

2002-10-24T13:31:00.000-05:00

Comming tomorrow: The Problem with Paleocons....

2002-10-23T20:12:00.000-05:00

GOLDBERG ON POWER & CORRUPTION Jonah Goldberg (National Review Online) suggests, in his G-File today, that Lord Acton's quote 'Power tends to corrupt...etc." has been misconstrued by most readers so as to suggest that power is necessarily corrupting. This leads one to the quandry of concluding that all leaders of equal power are equally corrupt. Saddam Hussein and King George III are 'equally'

2002-10-23T13:40:00.000-05:00

On Important Races (my predictions) Senate Missouri Talent (R) over Carnahan (D) Minnesota Wellstone (D) over Coleman (R) Texas John Coryn (R) over Ron Kirk (D) Arkansas Hutchinson (R) over Pryor (D) Colorado Allard (R) over Strickland (D) New Hampshire Sununu (R) over Shaheen (D) Iowa Harkin (D) over Ganske (R) Georgia Chambliss (R) over Clealand (D) Tennessee Alexander (R) over Clement (D) New

2002-10-23T13:14:00.000-05:00

A reader opines: > Not for sure, of course, but there are a number of indicators. At least I asked the question. The point I was > trying to make was that this discussion has largely been conducted as if the Iranian people did not exist; Big > Daddy would decide what was best for Iran. And when I asked if anyone cared how the Iranians would have > answered the question, Donald replied, Not

2002-10-22T23:57:00.000-05:00

Haven't posted here in a while, so here's a new post. D.GOOCH

2002-06-23T21:54:00.000-05:00

Cardinal Nation has lost two great souls in the past week. Rest in Peace, Jack Buck & Darryl Kile. D.GOOCH

2002-05-20T17:10:00.000-05:00

A response to a reader on my review: Re: Re: A couple of defenses quote: --------------------------------------------------------- Originally posted by GOOCH After 10 years of training????? Besides, Anakin keeps saying that Obi-Wan has been 'like a father' to him. Did you think your Drill Sergant was like a father to you? --------------------------------------------------------- You

2002-05-19T22:43:00.000-05:00

REVIEW OF STAR WARS EPISODE II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES *** Stars out 5 I did enjoy Attack of the Clones more than Episode 1. I think my expectations were much lower given the first movie debacle. That said, I think it could have been a *much* better Movie. Some criticisms: * * * * * 1.) Huh? Jedi's can't fall in love? Can't marry? Since when? I don't seem to recall Obi-Wan mentioning this