The Conservative Reader

The following is an op-ed I wrote some time ago that was edited slightly and then published by the Des Moines Register.  After turning on the television, which was tuned to MTV, while babysitting my young niece and nephew recently I was reminded how unfortunately relevant this piece still is.  The sections which are redacted below are ones that the Register was uncomfortable printing.  This perhaps make the point most poignantly.

The following words were spoken on the floor of the U.S senate by Illinois Senator Dick Durbin in the heat of the recent debate on The Fairness Doctrine:

It takes away the authority of the Federal Communications Commission to basically determine that radio and television stations use their Federal licenses in the public

…

I recently heard a radio commercial urging me to contact various members of Congress to voice my support for tax credits connected to the wind energy industry. On a lark, I went to the Iowa Legislature website and searched active bills for the word “wind,” and received several dozen hits, many of which seemed to be focused on state tax credits for manufacturing and installing wind turbines. Both state and federal politicians seem to be tripping over themselves to get into the wind energy craze.

Back in 2010 Alliant Energy was petitioning to be allowed to increase the rates they charged for electricity, and one of the supporting reasons they put forward was the $150 million project called the Whispering Willow-East wind farm in Franklin …

With BitsBlog in the state of moving from one server Website host to another…. and waiting, frankly for my finances to allow such a move… My observations of the world around me continue. The editor here, Art Smith, is an old friend of mine of many years.  It’s with his permission and generous encouragement that I will hang my hat here for the duration.

So it is that my observations continue. One cannot help but observe, for example, the contradictions involved with the “private” funeral of Whitney Houston today. You know… the one that every network on the planet apparently has cameras into. That contradiction aside, there are a number of others that require addressing.

There is no doubt in my mind that the woman …

I don’t know what else to call it.  Last week’s “settlement” with the five biggest banks in the country, where the Obama Administration squeezed $25 billion to settle “claims” of “inappropriate” lending practices that resulted in 2008′s Financial Crisis, was nothing more than a shakedown.  The settlement suggests that there were no other parties involved in the creation of our most recent recession (assuming we are in economic recovery).  It did not go after the other responsible parties, namely, the people who took out mortgages they couldn’t afford, the people who packaged these loans into securities and sold them for huge fees, the people who bought the securities and ended up holding the bag, and the government that forced the banks to make substandard loans in the first …

Abortion.  This word is at the same time one of the most cherished and abhorred words in American culture today.  I fall on the side of those who are offended by the word and everything it represents.  Whether politically, social-scientifically or personally, I see this one word and its use as speaking volumes about the one who uses it.  When I hear or speak this word, without exception, I wince.

My heart breaks every time I think of each life that is shattered indiscriminately as it is snuffed out by a doctor who violates his Hippocratic Oath by harming an innocent life, and a mother who is convinced that she has no way to handle the challenges of pregnancy.  The worst of it is a society that esteems the notion …

If you look at the weekly price chart for either gold or silver for the week ending January 27, 2012, you can make out a distinct “J” shape in prices of both metals. Tuesday the prices were suppressed, and then on Wednesday they spiked upward. You can actually pinpoint on the charts the moment the Federal Reserve announced its intent to keep the Federal Funds Rate at nearly zero percent until late 2014.

Low interest rates are supposed to spur economic growth, or at least that is what the textbook for my International Political Economy course said, so what could possibly be wrong with low interest rates?

Of course, low interest rates provide an incentive to borrow money. However, they also form a powerful incentive …

For some strange reason, probably because this is an election year, I decided to watch President Obama’s State of the Union address tonight.  I usually avoid watching because I don’t need to elevate my blood pressure beyond what’s safe, given my advancing age.  But I also don’t watch because I find the President boring.  His version of the State of America is not the same as mine.  And since he uses rhetoric instead of facts to support his arguments, and delivers them in a manner that is both condescending and arrogant, I generally choose to avoid his incendiary speeches.

But this is an election year, and much is being made about how the uber-wealthy are being taxed, whether it’s Warren Buffett, or Mr. Buffett’s secretary, or …

In the week leading up to the South Carolina Primary the headline became—and then there were four.   Following the results of Saturday’s vote, it is becoming increasingly clear that the headline going forward will be—and then there were two.

At the heart of the wild ride that this nominating process has been is a reality that Newt Gingrich referenced in his victory speech Saturday night.  The four candidates left are all from different backgrounds and each is giving voice to unique portions of the Republican ideology.  Like most Republicans this cycle, how this cast of characters interplays with my specific political stances has made for a very difficult decision in where to place my support and who to root for.  Here is …

This year was my fourth caucus.  The first time was probably 16 or 20 years ago.  The second time was four years ago, and I got involved in serious party work as a result.  Two years ago I chaired our precinct caucus (after being heavily involved in the planning for the entire county), and had 5 people total attend from our precinct.  This year I assisted John Bloom (former Polk County Republican Chair, and whom I met four years ago at the caucus, and who also writes for The Conservative Reader).  I arrived at 5:30, and helped with setup (including a table for my wife who was representing the Iowa Energy Forum).  I worked with another volunteer manning the Registration table (where people who …