Timothy Birdnow

Squeezing the Family Farm

Recently the Obama Administration floated (and subsequently scrapped) a proposal to severely limit the types of labor that farm children could be asked to perform by their parents. These restrictions unleashed a flurry of criticisms from farm groups and conservatives, who complained that farm chores were a traditional part of American agriculture and that this imposed burden on the family farmer was unfair.

A Ruse by Any Other Name

Recently President Obama made a gaffe during a speech in Cartagena, Colombia, in which he mistakenly referred to the Malvinas as the Maldives.

The Stealer of Souls

What is government? We speak endlessly about government, yet fail to give any real thought as to what exactly we are discussing, and so our arguments often flounder about with no real sense of what it is that government is or what it should do. Through most of human history Man has accepted government as a divinity, a substitute for God, and even some conservatives - and even libertarians - often fall into the trap of seeing government as an entity to impose will. A review is in order.

A Passion Play

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." -- Dr. Martin Luther King Recently I received a chain e-mail detailing the horrific rape and murder of a young Knoxville couple in 2007. Channon Christian and Chris Newsom were carjacked by a group of black thugs, repeatedly gang-raped, sexually tortured, urinated on, and eventually murdered (after several days of torment).

No Limits

Trayvon Martin died for the liberal dream of no limits. The circumstances and blame for Martin's death are still much in doubt, but the media has clearly staked its position, with the usual narrative "brutal white thug terrorizes and murders innocent black child for fun".

The New Shunning

What are the limits to civility, and why is what Rush Limbaugh said about Sandra Fluke wrong? It occurs to me we are not asking the right questions in this instance.

The Truth, the Half Truth, and Little of the Truth

The Gang Green, those seekers after environmental Truth, have gone on a blitz recently trying to justify, well, lying.

As a Man Thinketh; the Devil and Rick Santorum

What does a man believe? In the end, we are, our very nature and essence, defined by that simple question. Yes, we are physical entities that exist in a particular structure in a particular world, but our response to that world is predicated on what we believe. The Bible explained it long ago "as a man thinketh in his heart so is he" (Proverbs23:7). And this concept was understood by Buddhist monks who taught the uses of chants to keep the mind focused on what they believed was important to them. Tibetan Buddhism includes such admonitions as:

Selective Moral Outrage by the AAAS

The BBC is accusing Canada's Conservative government of "muzzling scientists". Seems that the Harper government has guidelines about how government-sponsored researchers deal with the press, and some do not like it.

Fly Me to the Moon; Why Newt Gingrich was Right About a Return to the Moon

In a recent speech in Florida, Newt Gingrich proposed building a Moon base/colony, and was roundly mocked by critics, most especially by his chief opponent in the GOP Presidential race, Mitt Romney. Granted, the U.S. debt crisis and the stagnant economy make proposals for any expensive projects difficult, and space exploration yields no up-front returns. But is Newt necessarily wrong to call for a permanent U.S. presence on our nearest planetary neighbor?

The Supermarionation Candidate

Well, the tallies are in to see which of Newt-Romney would win one for the Gipper in South Carolina, and the state which gave America Nullification has nullified the GOP insider choice for presidential candidate by choosing Newt. (She turned me into a newt!-A newt? -I got better...) Already the post-mortem is begun, and much ink (and not a few tears) will be spilled over why Romney, the safe and sensible candidate, was so roundly beaten. Romney had the cash, the organization, the backing of the Republican Guard, the media kudos, and the hair. How could he lose to the wild and wooly Gingrich?

Economic Darwinism or Free Markets?

According to George Will:

"Newt Gingrich -- the friend of his detractors, to whom he offers serial vindications -- provided redundant evidence for the proposition that he is the least conservative candidate seeking the Republican nomination. He faulted Mitt Romney for committing acts of capitalism."

Will is not alone; a cacophony of conservative voices, led by Rush Limbaugh and others, are roundly thrashing the Gingrich campaign for the attack ad posted by his PAC against Mitt Romney and his involvement in Bain Capital. The complaint is that this is a move to the left, a criticism of capitalism itself, one more befitting a Democrat than a friend of the market.

Yes, Virginia, there is a God

In 1897 little Virginia O'Hanlon wrote a letter to the editors of the New York Sun asking the following question:

"DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old. "Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. "Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.' "Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?

Seeking one Righteous Man

"Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem, look around and consider, search through her squares. If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth, I will forgive this city. Jeremiah5:1

The Thought Slavermasters

Most would call it inhuman slavery of the mind. Liberals call it 'better living through science'.

Stimulus for Me but not for Thee

President Obama has announced he is ending the war in Iraq and bringing the troops home. America is expected to save $140 billion per year as a result; money that can be used to help pay the national debt.

Hide and Decline (to Answer)

One of the problems revealed by the release of hacked e-mails from the University of East Anglia - the so-called Climategate - was that a cabal of climate researchers were actively working to circumvent the freedom of information laws in the United Kingdom, the United States, and elsewhere. Determined not to surrender their private correspondence, in 2008 CRU director Phil Jones at one point instructed his correspondents (Michael Mann and Eugene Wahl) to delete incriminating e-mails that could potentially be forced from their hands via FOI requests.

Russia, Iran, and the Shale Gas Revolution

New sources of natural gas (such as shale) are imperiling the Russian and Iranian markets, according to a new study by the Baker Institute.

Who Says Climate Change is All Bad!

Mosquitoes are disappearing in Africa. According to this report in The University of Copenhagen/Malaria Journal:

You Bet this is Personal, Bobby!

Jonathan Martin documents a call to civility towards Obama by Bobby Jindal in a piece at Politico. According to the piece, Jindal says: