Clipmarks | akarra's 'conservatism' clips

McCain, Fiscal Conservative?

Thu, 08 May 2008 19:20:10 GMT

clipped by: akarra
clipper's remarks: One blogger thinks so.

John McCain, has a solid and proven record of cutting taxes and cutting, or at least voting against, waste. His fiscal conservative pedigree, according to Stach, is second to none. If the pundits on the right wanted Reagan incarnate, they should stop scrutinizing and start supporting John McCain. The man, as a Representative then a Senator, has consistently voted to cut capital gains, corporate, personal - at all brackets, and other taxes. He has also voted for larger tax breaks for retirement savings and to eliminate the "death" tax. Why the hatred?

The hatred stems from short memories. Our wise and learned sages of the party can't seem to get past the 2001 Bush tax cuts. A bill that McCain did vote against, but it was a protest vote. Protesting what exactly? Protesting the obscenely bloated discretionary, think earmark, spending added to the bill after committee.

Tags: mccain, politics, conservatism, budget, congress

Being Conservative and John McCain

Mon, 05 May 2008 23:53:28 GMT

clipped by: akarra
clipper's remarks: A blogger talks about his conservatism and his ambivalent but supportive relation to John McCain.

Clip Source: federalistnowandforever.wordpress.com

What does it mean to be a conservative exactly? In the proper sense to be a conservative is the conserve the status quo but in another sense (often times viewed as dangerous) to be conservative means to return to a previous time: I belong to the latter. To neglect this side of the conservative movement is to give up on hope. In today’s world we are called upon to accept how things are and just get use to it rather than wish for something better. This notion is what has caused a decay in the American political system for some time now. We have lost track of what this nation was founded to do. The issues that will be important for the election, as they have been for some time and will continue to be, are vital to America.

Tags: conservative, mccain, election, politics, republicans

A Generation of Free Thinkers?

Thu, 01 May 2008 21:12:36 GMT

clipped by: akarra
clipper's remarks: A blogger wonders about his generation, and whether they are trapped between the liberalism and conservatism of 2 other generations.

Clip Source: orderdisorder.blogspot.com

If we are free thinkers, why such trouble now? The trouble arises from having two very contradictory value sets from which to act. Our teachers made sure that we learned the lessons of liberal and leftist ideology well. We had to you see, it was part of the curriculum and we were raised to work hard and succeed. We were also raised to respect authority, and what is the biggest authority figure in a young child and young adults life than the education system? So these liberal lessons were ingrained into our minds and took up residency next to the values of our parents. At the time it seemed benign, we weren't really old enough to think for ourselves yet, and no one else seemed to be bothered by the blatant brainwashing that was taking place. We were a young and eager captive audience to the demagoguery that is liberal education.

Tags: politics, generation, freedom, thinkers, conservative, liberal

On Disraeli

Thu, 19 Apr 2007 06:55:06 GMT

clipped by: akarra
clipper's remarks: From a blog post commenting on an article on British PM Benjamin Disraeli, and whether he has any lessons for us.

Clip Source: www.writingup.com

The trick for a leader of a democratic, capitalist nation, though, is to restrain and find productive outlets for captialism and other populist forces. The responsible management of Empire is one outlet; if you can keep the rest of the world prominent in your citizens' minds as they vote, they should not lapse into complete ignorance of everyone and everything besides their immediate welfare. I suspect that there is only a difference of means between Disraeli and modern conservatives: wealth creation is considered now to be better than attempts at social justice, for wealth creation is privately self-sustaining, at least in theory, and again, theoretically adjusts to people's needs better. Both Disraeli and modern conservatives claim the mantle of tradition, and only oppose progress where progress is made for progress' sake.

Tags: uk, politics, disraeli, conservatism, england

On the future of conservative media

Wed, 18 Apr 2007 09:17:09 GMT

clipped by: akarra
clipper's remarks: From an article about where conservative media might be going, and where it might want to go.

Clip Source: irate-nation.com

The rhetoric I’m hearing from the rallies the Democratic hopefuls are having is defiant about Vietnam, asserting that everything we did there was wrong, and that protest was the best thing for this country. I can’t believe they would say that so blatantly and like as if they’re morally perfect - I mean, to take that position means that the thousands of Vietnamese who died drowning in the South China Sea to escape the Communists when Saigon fell were nothing but our puppets. After all, it was a Democratic Congress’ refusal to fund the South that caused that dramatic collapse, and the end of our involvement there. Do any Democratic challengers want to take credit for that? - It sounds like all of them do. -

Tags: media, conservatism

Epic Literature and Film

Wed, 18 Apr 2007 08:56:47 GMT

clipped by: akarra
clipper's remarks: An attempt to explain why someone might want to watch movies and read books when there's so much to be done, and when ideology seems to explain all.

Clip Source: irate-nation.com

Look, we as conservatives can stick to saying “it’s about God and country.” But I don’t think we can just dismiss art. God smiles on those who try their best, who make use of their talents not just to bring people into the Church. Two very good friends are getting more evangelical, and I love them dearly, but it gets harder to talk to them as bigger issues consistently get reduced to what the Bible might be saying about some issue, and that’s all there is to know. I remember one friend of mine saying that since the Bible existed, there was no need for any other book. An analogous reasoning can be used to say that since we need to win elections, there’s no time to watch anything thoughtful.

And I just sit there, and wonder if the Gospels are as short as they are not because Jesus spent his brief time on Earth preaching the same thing continuously, but listening to others, and wondering about the beauty that each of us are, and the beauty in what we do.

Tags: conservatism, movies, christianity, literature