The irrelevant Senator Feingold from Wisconsin

Sen. Russ Feingold A.K.A., the Al queda representative came out with another whopper about the magic of "diversity" today- Dec 27th.

Trying desparately to keep his name in as a Moveon.org Vice Presidential candidate- dream on Senator- he was thrilled that a woman, a black, a Hispanic were all running for the Presidency. ( I guess the standard issue white guys are just to be tolerated)

He calls this a "transformational" moment in election history and "one of the most important" moments in our nation's history to have this kind of "diversity" in the candidates.

Remember, Libs and Lefties only want skin color diversity, not diversity of ideas. Example: The only difference between Hillary and Obama is .......how far Left they are, skin color and sex. Abortion? same. Teacher's unions always right? Check. Death penalty? No difference. Iraq War? Too many positions to judge. ( Though Cut and Run as soon as possible would be fair to both) Higher taxes? Whatdoyathink? Offer everyone as many programs as you can think of? (No mention of what they will cost). No difference.

The both share a vast lack of experience but does that count towards diversity?

Have a Democrat come out in favor of winning in Iraq and......Oh, wait Sen. Leiberman did that and the Democrats turned on him and tried to take away his Senate seat. He won as an Independent and has now endorsed Sen. McCain- a big, bad Republican. Yes Virginia, there is a God of politics.

But I digress from my digression.

So if this is a "transformational moment" wouldn't that mean that a person should vote their sex or racial/ ethnic preference? Nope. The Senator continues by saying, "it's not a reason to vote for or against that person" I guess it gives him warm feelings....and that's all that matters for Libs.

The Swift Boat VETS are back!

A tip of the Semper Fi hat to "TARTANMarine" for this heads-up.

I read the book the Swift Boat Veterans put out during the 2004 election cycle.

The Swift Boat Vets pointed out the bogus medals , in their and my opinion, that John Kerry was "awarded" mostly by writing up the recommendations for himself during his two months of actual active duty while in the Navy Reserves serving in Vietnam. At least he is consistent. His commanding officers in Vietnam thought he was a royal pain in the A--, and kicked him on to another unit as quickly as they could get rid of him.

The Swift boat vets also pointed out his traitorous acts while still in the Navy Reserve by negotiating with the North Vietnamese in Paris as well as the bald face lying that characterized his and the "Winter Soldiers" testimony when he first ran for office. Many of the "soldiers" had never served in Vietnam, or even been in the Armed Forces.

The whole thing about Sen Kerry's service record could have been settled by him with a simple request to the Navy to release ALL of his service records. He has never done this, though he promised to do so during the campaign. He has released only those records he himself approved, not his complete records. Recently. a million dollar bet rides on his release of his comlete records and the Swift Vets proving their case.

The lead link above takes you to a site about the new book by the Swift Boat vets who worked with LT. Kerry during his short tour of duty and brings it up to date with their new book "To Set the Record Straight"

The sound of one small hand clapping for all the New Direction legislation by the Democrats in Congress

Harry, "The war in Iraq is lost" Reid. Harry, Nancy Pelosie New Direction =RETREAT

From The Wall St. Jrnal Best of the WEB James Taranto DEC. 14 2007

Just Wait Till Next Year!The Democrats are wrapping up their first year in the congressional majority, and pretty much everyone agrees that it has been, to be charitable, less than a rousing success. Here is a comprehensive list of their legislative accomplishments:
An increase in the federal minimum wage, to $5.85 an hour from $5.15, effective July 24, 2007.
An increase in the federal minimum wage, to $6.55 an hour from $5.85, effective July 24, 2008.
An increase in the federal minimum wage, to $7.25 an hour from $6.55, effective July 24, 2009.
That's it. Other than that, the Democrats have failed at everything they have attempted, from routine matters like relief from the Alternative Minimum Tax to ambitious projects such as turning Iraq into a haven for al Qaeda.

Well, they did try to Cut and Run and lose the war in Iraq, insult a genuine war hero, Gen. Petraeus and are upset that the "surge" could 'hurt them in 08' and are praying for the economy to fail before then. Does that count?

Obama is the Democratic Party's feel-good guy

Obama: Hands over hard?
Click to enlarge.....the photo.

Hillary

I've had the good fortune of hearing and meeting the very funny, intelligent and wonderful writer Jonah Goldberg when he has bravely come to the UW-Madison campus to speak. His column here and in link above to the National Review published today, Dec. 13 07 in the Wisconsin State Journal is a real zinger for the "Hillary is the inevitable candidate" crowd.

Few are aware today of how Truman ran (and won) on the fact that he had a "do nothing" Congress to work with. That mid to late 40's Congress was a model of efficiency and effectiveness compared to the 2006-08 Democrats "mandate", "taking back America" and white flag policy in Iraq. Goldberg covers this and more in his column. (This doesn't touch on today's news of the Clinton's latest gutter attack on Obama. -"Obama, seller of drugs" that the N. Hampshire Hillaryman and member of her N.H team made today.

I think Obama should respond using the language created by the Clintons. Stand up and say, "This is the 'politics of personal destruction' that the Clintons invented, patented and are still manufacturing and it represents the 'Vast Left Wing Conspiracy' they fund and lead"

My faith restored in Journalist integrity

A few weeks ago I called the editor and reporter Matt Gieger for the Middleton Times Tribune. He said he was planning to do a series of interviews with newcomers to Middleton ( I moved from Madison to Middleton in mid July of 07). He was interested in getting a cross section of political beliefs and he had called the Republican Party of Dane County (RPDC) and asked if there was someone he could interview who lived in Middleton. The Chairman of RPDC called me and asked me to contact Mr. Geiger to see if I would do for an interview. Mr. Geiger said yes and we set up an interview in mid November. The article, (with picture even!) is here, and in the lead link above. It is and embarrassingly long article, much more than I expected, so I hesitate out of (false) modesty to recommend it to you! I had been badly burned in the past- during the first Gulf War - by a reporter from the Cap. Times- the Progressive late afternoon paper in Madison. He seemed very friendly, kidded around a lot and then wrote a hit piece. So I was a bit worried history would repeat itself. Mr Gieger is a young guy, writes very well, articulate and is naturally outgoing with a warm personality and easy laughter. I actually had a ball sipping coffee and talking politics- and of course EVERYONE likes to talk about themselves - so the interview was fun and he even took a picture. The long interview and photo appeared today (Thurs Dec 6, 07) and I went to Walgreens to pick up a copy around noon, since my subscription arrives by mail around 4;30 pm. I read the interview and my faith in journalism- for this interview at the very least - was restored. Mr. Geiger did not bend, twist, take things out of context or indulge in what I call "agenda journalism" forcing the story to confirm an agenda the reporter wants to deliver. It was accurate, honest, and he simply reported the questions he asked and my replies. It was great to work with someone with integrity in a field that has been, in my opinion, sacrificing reporting facts, and both or many sides of a story and letting the reader decide - sacrificing that integrity to write an opinion piece instead of a balanced story. In the NY Times, Washington Post, and the Wisconsin State Journal whenever I see "analysis" on a front page story I know it is a hit piece. One sided and straight opinion unfettered by facts or opposing points of view. Not so with Mr. Geiger. He is an honest, hard working old fashioned reporter with integrity. To quote Mr. Spock may you Matt Geiger, "Live Long and prosper" !

An Inconvenient Reduction of Green House Gases in U.S.

AL GORE

U.S. boots Kyoto Protocol but beats Europe in gas house reductions with a growing economy.

REVIEW & OUTLOOK WALL ST. Journal

An Inconvenient Reduction December 3, 2007; Page A20

Note: Wall St jrnal is a subscription service so link may not take you to the source.

Thousands of government officials, diplomats, NGO folks and journalists are in Bali this week for the United Nations' global warming powwow. While they try to outline an even tougher set of restrictions on so-called greenhouse gases to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, we'll venture that little will be said about America's record on curbing emissions without such caps. It's too big an embarrassment to the assembled worthies.

The Bush Administration announced last week that U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide fell by 1.8% from 2005 to 2006. Output of all greenhouse gases was down 1.5% last year. All this while the American economy grew by 2.9%. It's the first time since 1990, when the U.N. began counting these things, that the U.S. has reduced emissions without also suffering a recession.

Critics immediately pointed to the Energy Department's acknowledgment that the reductions were in part due to higher energy prices and favorable weather. But greater use of lower-carbon energy sources, including natural gas, also played a big role. The U.S. reduction also suggests that letting markets work through higher prices will reduce carbon emissions more than the cap and trade mandates favored by environmental lobbies and most Democrats.

The EU hasn't yet released figures for 2006. But from 2000 to 2005, the U.S. outperformed Western Europe. Carbon emissions were up 3.8% in the so-called EU-15 during those years, versus 2.5% in the U.S. Over the same period, there has been virtually no difference between the increase in all greenhouse emissions in the U.S. and EU-15.

We refer back to 2000 instead of 1990 because the real agenda of those who blame America's role in global warming seems to be to blame President Bush for not signing Kyoto. It's true that U.S. emissions have grown more than Europe's since 1990, but how can this Administration be held responsible for what happened on Al Gore's watch?

For all the unproven claims about mankind's contribution to global warming, here's something that can be said with authority: If curbing emissions really is the goal, then the heavy-handed approach promoted by the U.N. and Europe isn't the best way to do so.

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Twenty-Four Beliefs you must hold to be a Good Democrat

24 Beliefs you must hold to be A Good Democrat 1. You have to be against capital punishment, but support abortion on demand. 2. You have to believe that businesses create oppression and governments create prosperity. 3. You have to believe that guns in the hands of law-abiding Americans are more of a threat than U.S. Nuclear weapons technology in the hands of Chinese and North Korean communists. 4. You have to believe that there was no art before federal funding. 5. You have to believe that global temperatures are less affected by cyclical documented changes in the earth's climate and more affected by soccer moms driving SUV's. 6. You have to believe that gender roles are artificial, and boys must be forced to act more like girls. 7. You have to believe that the AIDS virus is spread by a lack of federal funding. 8. You have to believe that the same teacher who can't teach fourth graders how to read is somehow qualified to teach those same kids about sex. 9. You have to believe that hunters don't care about nature, but 'activists' who have never been outside of San Francisco do. 10. You have to believe that self-esteem is more important than actually doing something to earn it. 11. You have to believe that Mel Gibson spent $25 million of his own money to make 'The Passion of the Christ' for financial gain only. 12. You have to believe the NRA is bad because it supports certain parts of the Constitution, while the ACLU is good because it supports certain parts of the Constitution. 13. You have to believe that your taxes are too low, but their ATM fees are too high. 14. You have to believe that Margaret Sanger and Gloria Steinem are more important to American history than Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Edison, and A.G. Bell. 15. You have to believe that standardized tests are racist, but racial quotas and set-asides are not. 16. You have to believe that Hillary Clinton is normal and is a very nice person. 17. You have to believe that the only reason socialism hasn't worked anywhere it's been tried is because the right people haven't been in charge. 18. You have to believe conservatives telling the truth belong in jail, but a liar and a sex offender belonged in the White House. 19. You have to believe that illegal Democrat Party funding by the Chinese Government is somehow in the best interest to the United States. 20. You have to believe that this message is a part of a vast, right wing conspiracy. 21. You have to believe that airport security profiling radical Islamofascist Muslim men between the age of 18-35 who have killed thousands of people and are committed to converting, conquering or killing all ‘infidels’ is awful, but frisking your 84 year old grandmother is fine and dandy. 22. You have to believe that listening in on known terrorists’ phone conversations with Americans is worse than having another 9/11 attack prevented. 23. You have to believe that it's okay to give federal workers the day off on Christmas Day but it's not okay to say 'Merry Christmas' 24. You believe you support the Troops, by supporting your Congressional Democrats who have been trying to surrender and Cut and Run for the last four years.

If a Democrat wins the White House in 08

Will the ACLU have a permanent office in the West Wing if a Cut and Run Democrat wins the White House?

Why Warren Buffet wants to keep the Death Tax- More profit from his insurance companies!

The reason Warren Buffet is smiling is if congress keeps the estate tax AKA The Death tax, he will continue to sell millions of dollars worth of life insurance to off set the estate taxes. Is there no one in Congress that has read one of Thomas Sowell's books on basic economics? "Dough!" As Homer Simpson would say!

(Note: you may not be able to follow the link above to the whole story unless you are a subscriber- but give it a try anyway!)

Berkshire's Buffett Backs Estate Tax (Wall St. Journal)

By JOHN GODFREY November 14, 2007 3:54 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Chief Executive Warren Buffett said Wednesday that Congress should consider giving lower-income families a $1,000 annual tax credit rather than repealing the federal estate tax.

In testimony before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, Mr. Buffett noted that of 2.4 million Americans who died last year, roughly 12,000 paid estate tax. "You'd have to attend 200 funerals to be at one" where an estate tax was owed, Mr. Buffett said.

Mr. Buffett suggested that rather than repealing the estate tax, it should be reformed to have less impact on smaller estates, but tax larger estates more to raise the same amount of money.

He suggested an exemption from the estate tax of about $4 million, up from the current $3.5 million. That exemption would be indexed for inflation. But in contrast to prior years, the initial rates beyond that exemption would be relatively low, and would gradually increase, Mr. Buffett said.

Question to Mr. Buffett (that was never asked) How much life insurance did you sell last year to high income people designed to off set the death tax ? A billion dollars? Two?

Angry Left: Bush Hatred and its effect on rational thinking

My own experience with Bush haters has been confined to an older grad student on the Madison campus Humanitites building tiny parking lot screaming at the top of his lungs at me due to a Vote No to Cut and Run bumper sticker on my car, having my car keyed, and my email computer system mucked up. Why? Because I supported freeing 50 million people in Afghanistan and Iraq and the magnificent troops that made it happen. And, I had the audacity to display "diversity" in the form of a bumper sticker! I should know better to do that in Madison!

Note: The link above is to a Wall St. Journal article-it is a subscription service so it may not open to the entire article for you.

ANGRY LEFT

The Insanity of Bush Hatred
Our politics suffer when passions overcome reason and vitriol becomes virtue.

BY PETER BERKOWITZ
Wednesday, November 14, 2007 12:01 a.m. EST

Hating the president is almost as old as the republic itself. The people, or various factions among them, have indulged in Clinton hatred, Reagan hatred, Nixon hatred, LBJ hatred, FDR hatred, Lincoln hatred, and John Adams hatred, to mention only the more extravagant hatreds that we Americans have conceived for our presidents.

But Bush hatred is different. It's not that this time members of the intellectual class have been swept away by passion and become votaries of anger and loathing. Alas, intellectuals have always been prone to employ their learning and fine words to whip up resentment and demonize the competition.

Bush hatred, however, is distinguished by the pride intellectuals have taken in their hatred, openly endorsing it as a virtue and enthusiastically proclaiming that their hatred is not only a rational response to the president and his administration but a mark of good moral hygiene...

And so, I told my Princeton audience, in the context of a Bush hatred and a corollary contempt for conservatism so virulent that it had addled the minds of many of our leading progressive intellectuals, Prof. Starr deserved special recognition for keeping his head in his analysis of liberalism and progressivism. Then I got on with my prepared remarks...

Bush hatred is not a rational response to actual Bush perfidy. Rather, Bush hatred compels its progressive victims--who pride themselves on their sophistication and sensitivity to nuance--to reduce complicated events and multilayered issues to simple matters of good and evil. Like all hatred in politics, Bush hatred blinds to the other sides of the argument, and constrains the hater to see a monster instead of a political opponent...

Prof. Starr shows in (his book) "Freedom's Power" that tolerance, generosity, and reasoned skepticism are hallmarks of the truly liberal spirit. His analysis suggests that the problem with progressives who have succumbed to Bush hatred is not their liberalism; it's their betrayal of it. To be sure, Prof. Starr rejects Bush administration policies and thinks conservatives have the wrong remedies for what ails America today. Yet at the same time his analysis suggests, if not a cure for those who have already succumbed, at least a recipe for inoculating others against hating presidents to come.

The conflict between more conservative and more liberal or progressive interpretations of the Constitution is as old as the document itself, and a venerable source of the nation's strength. It is wonderful for citizens to bring passion to it. Recognizing the common heritage that provides the ground for so many of the disagreements between right and left today will encourage both sides, if not to cherish their opponents, at least to discipline their passions and make them an ally of their reason.

Mr. Berkowitz is a senior fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution and a professor at George Mason University School of Law.

Wall St Journal: Poor get rich, Rich get poor

Candidates Gov. Mike Huckabee, Senator John Edwards

Lou Dobbs

We read in today's paper that white women have had a fivefold increase in wages, black women have made significant gains, with white men stagnant in earnings and black men dropping in income. Considering the outrageous near 50% High School drop out rate of black males and the disportionate number of black males serving time these numbers are not surprising on the descending mobility scale. White males flat lining on income? Whatever could be the reason for that?

Prediction: next April the untrue old saw about "women only make 75% as much as men" will be once again widely printed and reported in MSM. What is never compared is that women who work the same number of years as men have higher income levels. The Wall St Jrnal story below underlines that 'the poor" for over 83% of the population is a temporary condition as they move up in income and that the rich move down in wealth too.

REVIEW & OUTLOOK

Movin' On Up WALL ST. JOURNAL November 13, 2007; Page A24

If you've been listening to Mike Huckabee or John Edwards on the Presidential trail, you may have heard that the U.S. is becoming a nation of rising inequality and shrinking opportunity. We'd refer those campaigns to a new study of income mobility by the Treasury Department that exposes those claims as so much populist hokum.

OK, "hokum" is our word. The study, to be released today, is a careful, detailed piece of research by professional economists that avoids political judgments. But what it does do is show beyond doubt that the U.S. remains a dynamic society marked by rapid and mostly upward income mobility. Much as they always have, Americans on the bottom rungs of the economic ladder continue to climb into the middle and sometimes upper classes in remarkably short periods of time.

The Treasury study examined a huge sample of 96,700 income tax returns from 1996 and 2005 for Americans over the age of 25. The study tracks what happened to these tax filers over this 10-year period. One of the notable, and reassuring, findings is that nearly 58% of filers who were in the poorest income group in 1996 had moved into a higher income category by 2005. Nearly 25% jumped into the middle or upper-middle income groups, and 5.3% made it all the way to the highest quintile.

Of those in the second lowest income quintile, nearly 50% moved into the middle quintile or higher, and only 17% moved down. This is a stunning show of upward mobility, meaning that more than half of all lower-income Americans in 1996 had moved up the income scale in only 10 years.

. . .. Two of every three workers had a real income gain -- which contradicts the Huckabee-Edwards-Lou Dobbs spin about stagnant incomes. This is even more impressive when you consider that "median" income and wage numbers are often skewed downward because the U.S. has had a huge influx of young workers and immigrants in the last 20 years. They start their work years with low wages, dragging down the averages.

Only one income group experienced an absolute decline in real income -- the richest 1% in 1996. Those households lost 25.8% of their income. Moreover, more than half (57.4%) of the richest 1% in 1996 had dropped to a lower income group by 2005. Some of these people might have been "rich" merely for one year, or perhaps for several, as they hit their peak earning years or had some capital gains windfall. Others may simply have not been able to keep up with new entrepreneurs and wealth creators.
The key point is that the study shows that income mobility in the U.S. works down as well as up -- another sign that opportunity and merit continue to drive American success, not accidents of birth. The "rich" are not the same people over time. . .

But the 58% of lowest-income earners who moved to a higher income quintile in this study is roughly comparable to the percentages that did so in several similar studies going back to the late 1960s. "The basic finding of this analysis," says the Treasury report, "is that relative income mobility is approximately the same in the last 10 years as it was in the previous decade.". . .

The great irony is that, in the name of reducing inequality, some of our politicians want to raise taxes and other government obstacles to the kind of risk-taking and hard work that allow Americans to climb the income ladder so rapidly. As the Treasury data show, we shouldn't worry about inequality. We should worry about the people who use inequality as a political club to promote policies that reduce opportunity.

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Here's a guy who would make a great Supreme court judge for Wisconsin!

(Click on photo to enlarge)

Had the great pleasure of meeting and hearing candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme court, Judge Mike Gableman speak today. Very impressive guy who speaks from the heart and in my opinion, would bring a needed dose of common sense to our Supreme court. You can view his intoductory video by clicking on the Link above.

Dollar is crashing and Adam Smith is rolling in his grave

One of the reasons the price of gas is going up is very simple. The dollar has been tanking for a number of months and "The Shiek of Air-rub-Bee" (with apologies to Spike Jones and his wonderfully funny musical take off on that old tune) is not about to take a 30% reduction in the price per barrel of oil since OPEC pegs the dollar as their currency. The dollar sinks, they take a cut.

Hey, the Canadian Looney is now on a par with the buck, and the Euro is what, at 1.45 to the dollar? When the French President and Chinese bankers are warning America and Congress about the faltering dollar it's time to WAKE UP!. Pres. Sarkozy said the dollar's decline could lead to "economic war" you know it is way past time to let the big banks take the hit for their foolish subprime loans,and raise interest rates to increase the strength of the dollar. That swhooshing sound if the sound of the world's investors dumping American investments and dollars and buying European, Euros, Swiss Francs and Gold.

REVIEW & OUTLOOK

Adam Smith Growls WALL ST. JOURNAL November 9, 2007; Page A18


"The U.S. dollar is the linchpin of not only the American economy but also the world monetary system." Those words were the lead of an editorial in this newspaper on August 21, 1978, amid the inflation of the 1970s and the world's last great dollar crisis. Are we watching another such period today? It's not inevitable, but this week we all got a reminder of what such a thing looks like, and it isn't pretty.

The dollar is "losing its status as the world currency," declared Xu Jian, a middling official at China's central bank, on Wednesday. "We will favor stronger currencies over weaker ones, and will readjust accordingly." That was perceived as a threat by China's central bank to diversify its foreign exchange reserves out of dollars and into other currencies, especially euros. While China later qualified those remarks, the dollar nonetheless fell again around the globe, stocks plunged, and gold and other traditional inflation hedges rose to fresh heights.

Meanwhile, French President Nicolas Sarkozy visited Washington and brought a dollar warning of his own. "The dollar cannot remain someone else's problem," he told Congress. "If we are not careful, monetary disarray could morph into economic war. We would all be its victims." The Frenchman was referring to the damage that the dollar's record lows against the euro are doing to Europe's exports, and the potential for a return to so-called "competitive devaluation," or what used to be called "beggar-thy-neighbor" currency policies.
* * *
Coming from opposite sides of the world, these are warnings worth heeding. For as our editorial explained 30 years ago, the dollar is far more than a medium of American exchange. It is a reserve currency, held by central banks the world over, and the core of the monetary system that underpins what has been a remarkable period of global economic growth. By toying recklessly with dollar devaluation, our policy makers are also toying with a far larger economic crisis than the current credit problems.

ANN COULTER McCarthyism: The Rosetta Stone of Liberal Lies

I audited American History courses at UW-Madison after I retired from the Music department. I wrote a short paper about McCarthy, and another about the book, DENIAL by historians Haynes and Klehr that have, based upon the information in the Venona Cables and the info. released after the collapse of the Soviet Union, absolute written documentary proof of all the Soviet Agents working in FDR's and Truman's administration. The result was total disbelief by the Teaching Assistant and fear that his Major Prof, would "kill me" (his words) if he turned in my papers.

There is no room for truth in the Academy today only dogma.

The title DENIAL was a straight arrow into the hearts of all of the established academic historians in the U.S. who still think Alger Hiss was "unjustly accused". There is even a named chair in his honor at an Eastern college- even though he was a traitor. Hiss also was the U.S. first Secretary to the U.N. in San Franciso-not surprisingly the USSR approved him without a struggle- he encouraged the entry of Soviet satellite states and agreed that any member of the U.N. security council could block any military action by the U.N. This is the main reason the U.N. is useless in stopping any tryrant in the world today.

This is Ann Coulter's Column of Nov. 7 2007. (Click on the title link above for the entire column.)

When I wrote a ferocious defense of Sen. Joe McCarthy in Treason: Liberal Treachery From the Cold War to the War on Terrorism, liberals chose not to argue with me. Instead they posted a scrolling series of reasons not to read my book, such as that I wear short skirts, date boys, and that Treason was not a scholarly tome.

After printing rabidly venomous accounts of McCarthy for half a century based on zero research, liberals would only accept research presenting an alternative view of McCarthy that included, as the Los Angeles Times put it, at least the "pretense of scholarly throat-clearing and objectivity.

"This week, they got it. The great M. Stanton Evans has finally released Blacklisted by History: The Untold Story of Senator Joe McCarthy and His Fight Against America's Enemies. Based on a lifetime's work, including nearly a decade of thoroughgoing research, stores of original research and never-before-seen government files, this 672-page book ends the argument on Joe McCarthy. Look for it hidden behind stacks of Bill Clinton's latest self-serving book at a bookstore near you.

Oh poor me: Another hoax victim of a hate crime on campus

Another campus hoax. (Please see also my related blog on Oct 26 about Garrison Keillor) This is from "The best of the Web" from the Wall St. Jrnal today. James Taranto. Another 'Hate' Hoax"A George Washington University student who told school officials that someone had drawn swastikas on her dormitory room door was actually responsible for the incidents, a university spokesman said," the Washington Post reports: The student, who was not identified, had complained that swastikas appeared on her door over a period of several days last month. A hidden camera positioned in response to the postings in Mitchell Hall, one of the school dormitories, led police to interview the student, who admitted responsibility, according to spokesman Tracy Schario. The student will not face student judicial action and officials will determine whether any District or federal laws were broken, Schario said. Over the weekend, another GW student was identified in connection with the writing of racial epithets and the drawing of swastikas on doors in another dorm called New Hall, Schario said. The U.S. Attorney's office is reviewing the New Hall case to determine whether criminal charges should be filed. That student has been barred from campus. So let's see if we have this straight: Paint a swastika on someone's door, and you're persona non grata and may face federal charges. Paint a swastika on your own door, and hey, enjoy the buffet! This column is averse to the idea of "hate crime" laws. They strike us as uncomfortably close to criminalizing speech, and also as enhancing rather than diffusing the power of hateful ideas. But if we have hate-crime laws, hoaxes like this ought to be prosecuted at least as vigorously as "real" hate crimes. The argument for hate-crime laws is that such crimes make innocent people feel as if they are targets because they are black or Jewish or gay. That is no less true if the perpetrator and the "victim" are one and the same. The judge who sentenced California professor Kerri Francis Dunn to a year in prison for vandalizing her own car with racial slurs had the right idea.

Giuliani: Democrats 'couldn't even utter the word (sic) Islamic Terrorism.' It's our biggest enemy. They couldn't utter it

Linking Terror on the Trail
Republicans Point To Islam, Democrats Take Different Tone
By ELIZABETH HOLMES Wall St. Jrnal October 29, 2007; Page A5

(Note: the link above is to Wall St. Jrnal and is a subscription service, so you may not be able to go to the complete article unless you subscribe.)

A divide is emerging on the presidential campaign trail over battling terrorists: how exactly to label the fight. While Democrats tend to talk about terrorism in general, Republicans increasingly pin the threat directly on Islam.

All the major Republican candidates regularly weave some form of the phrase "Islamic extremism" into their stump speeches. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has taken the rhetoric to a new level, running a television advertisement about "this century's nightmare, jihadism."

Democratic candidates generally don't emphasize linking Islam and terrorism. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton talks more of "global terrorism," while Sen. Barack Obama refers to "stateless terrorism."

YouTube: Watch Mitt Romney's commercial, (link is) "Jihad.""In four Democratic debates, not a single Democratic candidate said the word 'Islamic terrorism,' " former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said at a Republican debate. "Now that is taking a political correctness to extremes."

Another Liberal hoax? Garrison Keillor has a Stalker? Are you kidding?

Visualize the gal that is "stalking" this man! Halloween Hoax?

Come on. Get real.

Garrison Keillor, Minnesota's number one Bushhater whose every newspaper column and public--make that taxpayer supported- radio show rarely misses a chance to Bush-bash has a female stalker who wants to seduce him? (Or as his press release says, she described how she will 'make love to him'). Please! Hoax, Hoax, Hoax. (story here and above)

Next will be a person stalking Hillary 'cause she is so Hot!

OOOOOO... those pink pants suits, that chalk board voice, that glass-in- your-mouth personality - who can resist that?

This is another liberal hoax. Like all those campus women's studies profs Kerri Francis Dunn story (here) who claim their cars have hate crime slogans painted upon them. The campus shuts down, they have 'hate awareness' seminars, condemn all conservatives, republicans or simply anyone that doesn't buy their Marxist oppression dogma until........

Until someone comes forward to testify they saw her paint her own car or a black student write racists comments on their own dorm room, and then admits it after being busted by a witness who saw them do it ... etc. etc. etc.

Not long after I wrote this is another campus hoax here.

Definitely a Halloween stunt for Keillor. He must have another book coming out and needs a publicity boost.

Have you hugged an Islamo-fascists Today? A column by Ann Coulter

Photo 10/22/07 UW Madison Horowitz lecture

(Click on photo to enlarge)

Just read Ann Coulter's article here and above. She comments on the Islamo-Fascists Awareness week.

Thanks to the College Republicans at UW-Madison I was able to have dinner and then attend David Horowitz's deeply moving and disturbing lecture at the Memorial Union. The picture above of his opening salvo showing the execution of a young Muslim woman by Taliban Islamo Fascists for being "accused" of sexual impropriety.

Since women can not testify and she was unable to get four men to testify in her defense, she was murdered. These are the people the Left in America protect from being exposed for the murderers they are.

I just left a comment at the link above that covered the event. Mr Horowitz was a far left activist, writer for Ramparts and then because he is an intelligent, caring man he came over to what the Left would call "the dark" side" and we call it the "Right Side", and he now exposes the Left regularly, so he is under a constant threat.

Quiz: Who made these statements?

Who said it? Marx? Lenin? Putin? Castro?

1) "We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good."

2) "It's time for a new beginning, for an end to government of the few, by the few, and for the few...... And to replace it with shared responsibility for shared prosperity."

3) "(We) ...can't just let business as usual go on, and that means something has to be taken away from some people."

4) "We have to build a political consensus and that requires people to give up a little bit of their own ... in order to create this common ground."

5) "I certainly think the free-market has failed." 6) "I think it's time to send a clear message to what has become the most profitable sector in (the) entire economy that they are being watched."

Answer: Hillary Clinton

Ok, for the truly hard core, here and above is the link to a 14 min. long video about the Peter Paul vs. Hillary lawsuit crawling through the courts in CA. in full stealth mode. He raised $2 mil for her NY Senate campaign in 2000 and she committed several felonies by participating in the fund raisier directly, it is on video tape, and his life has been a living hell since then.

Granted it is one side of the story. Decide for yourself.

Three surefire ways to win the Nobel Peace Prize

A very funny, yet informative article about "How to win a Nobel Peace Prize" ( Three surefire ways) is in the above link and here.

Al Gore is in great company with Yasser Arafat, leader of N. Vietnam during the war and other 'reformed' terrorists. Not bad for putting together a slide show full of mistakes, errors, misleading infomation- gets rich, wins an Oscar and a piece of the Peace Prize.

I think he would make a great Vice Presidential running mate with Hillary....a truly brand new look from the same old, same old politicians!

Islamo-Fascist Awareness Week- David Horowitz at UW Madison

(L) Mike, Mr Horowitz, (Rt).Sara

Thanks to the College Republicans at UW -Madison, we had former Leftie, present day truth teller David Horowitz on campus for a lecture on the threat of the Islamo Fascists to Muslims as well as to Jews, Christians and anyone who is not of a particular brand of Muslim belief.

He began the lecture showing a photo- poster of a Muslim woman about to have her head shot off in Afghanistan by a Taliban execution team. She had been accused, accused only - of a sexual "crime." Under Sharia law a woman can not testify, and four men did not testify in her defense so she was executed. Horowitz also enumerated all of the crimes and murders of Muslims by Muslims. 130 million young girls sexually mutilated, millions killed. In spite of these glaring facts, the usual campus Lefties full of arrogance and empty of knowledge, tried unsuccessfully to disrupt the lecture.

The Left has been in bed with the Islamo Fascists even before the Iraq war began and as Mr. Horowitz pointed out, they would be the first to die if a Islamic world came to being- just as the Marxists who returned to Iran in 79 from U.S. Colleges to join the 'Revolution" were murdered by the Muslims who came to power after President Jimmy Carter abandoned the Shah and allowed the thugs who took over our Embassy to do so for over 400 days.

Yeah, another Nobel prize winner, Jimmy Carter joins the losers ALGORE and Yasser Arafat. The peacemakers!

Supreme Wack Job Kevin Barrett- the 9/11 "Bush did it" publicity whore gave up after a minute of having "A-hole, A-hole" chanted at him by the audience. He was shaken up by that. He is not used to being challenged for his bizarre behavior as the UW hired him to teach a course last year. Your tax dollars at work.

a shout out thanks to norunnyeggs.com

A big Thanks! to norunnyeggs.com for this picture of me and my home made, Kinko assisted sign at the Wed. Oct. 18 "No new Taxes" rally at the Capitol steps.

OK, OK, I will admit it is a vain comment- but don't we all get a kick out of seeing ourselves in an unexpected photo?

Too bad we don't have the audio of the 1,000 state worker paid goons surrounding us who were shouting obscenities at the 400 taxpayers who had the audacity to have a rally to hold the line on taxes!

Rush Limbaugh "phony soldier" smear by Harry Reid letter still being lied about

Left, Sen. Harry Reid, Nevada Right, Rush Limbaugh, Radio Commentator

Majority Leader Democrat Sen.Harry Reid actually attacked a private citizen Rush Limbaugh, on the floor of the senate in early October? and didn't bother to get his facts straight before doing so. Here is the Oct 2nd letter signed by all the el Queada White Flag Democrats- OK not ALL of them - Wisconsin's own highly embarrassing senator Russ Feingold did not sign in.

Rush talked about the 'Phony Soldier' who claimed he was a highly trained combat veteran of the Iraq War. The "soldier" was saying all the things the Moveon.org wingnuts wanted to hear and was a momentary Cindy Sheehan-like celebrity for them.

Truth is the guy had never completed basic training, never served, never been to Iraq - thus a 'phony' soldier. That is what Rush Limbaugh pointed out. NOT that all soldiers who are against the war in the Middle East are "phony soldiers" as Harry Reid and the NY Times and many Main Stream Media claimed Rush had said.

Locally, even Saturday's Wis St Jrnal had the NY times reporting this same "fact" in reporting that Rush had auctioned off the Reid Letter for over 2 Million dollars. Same with the Washington Post on here.

Rush will match that $2 million for a total of over $4 million! and the money goes to the Marine Corps Law Enforcment group that provides college scholarships for the children of Marines and Law Enforcement officers killed in action.

No More Taxes Rally at the Cap in Madison

Sign above (Lft) says, "Another "Extremist" for No More Taxes.

Above is Mr. BootsandSabres Blogger Owen Robinson whipping up the crowd and far right-Where else?- Is WIBA am in Madison Vicki McKenna and a Porker salute to the Democrats.

Ordinary taxpayers have said 'We are mad as hell and we aren't going to take it anymore. Oct 17 07 Madison, WI. Cap Square at the "No more taxes" rally.

The oddest thing was the 400 or so taxpayers who had traveled from as far away as Hudson, Wi- (4 1/2 hours) were surrounded by hundreds of state union workers who tried to shout down people who were simply asking for a fair deal- no more tax increases.

These are the people who pay the salaries of the state union workers and they took the day off with taxpayer funded pay to come to the rally and scream at them! Bite the hand that feeds you?

The main speaker for the rally actually took time to thank the firefighters for their dedication to duty. Unfortunately, few of the firefighters heard the compliment as they were too busy screaming at the lousy taxpayers who had the audacity to demonstrate.

I retired from the UW-Madison so I was a state worker too, and I was ashamed to be one today.

Rep Tammy Baldwin defending Moveon.org's attack on Gen. Petraeus BEFORE he testified

Tammy Baldwin with one of her special interest groups

This is an excerpt from a letter from Wis. Rep Tammy Baldwin sent to "Mrs. J" in Wisconsin when she asked why Baldwin did not condemn Moveon.org for attacking war hero four star Gen. Petraeus even before he testified before congress on the progress of the "surge" in Iraq. Mrs. J's real identity has been removed, but the letter is real.

Mrs. J. , (name, address deleted by me) Wisconsin

Dear Mrs. J,

Thank you for contacting me about the advertisement that MoveOn.org placed in The New York Times regarding General David Petraeus.

As you are aware, in September, on the day that General Petraeus appeared before Congress to testify on the war and Iraq and war against rapid redeployment of U.S. Armed Forces from Iraq, MoveOn.org placed a full-page advertisement in The New York Times with the headline "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?"

The advertisement stated that Gen. Petraeus was "constantly at war with the facts," and drew widespread criticism from Congressional Republicans and some Democrats. The Senate passed a resolution condemning personal attacks on the honor and integrity of General Petraeus on September 20, 2007, and the House followed suit on September 26, 2007 when a measure to recommit was offered to H.J.Res. 52, a resolution making continuing appropriations for the fiscal year 2008.

The motion to recommit both recognized the service of General Petraeus and condemed "in the strongest possible terms the personal attacks made by the advocacy group MoveOn.org impugning the integrity and professionalism of General David H.Petraeus."

I voted against this measure, which passed the House by a vote of 341 to 79. I opposed the measure to recommit because I believe that it too closely impinged on each individual's and organization's constitutionally-granted First Amendment right to free speech. (bold added)

Additionally, at a time when the United States is engaged in a war with seemingly no end in sight, which is exacerbating the terrorist threat against our nation, and at a time when the government has failed to pass appropriations bills to fund vital federal and international programs through both Houses of Congress, measures like the motion to recommit represent and improper an non- productive use of time.

In other words spending money is more important than respecting a soldier who has put his life on the line for her freedom to embrace the hatemongers and their web site funded by Geo. Soros- besides Soros gives her lots of money too.

HMMM...How did she vote on Harry Reid's bill of condemnation of Rush Limbaugh for pointing out the "False Soldier" was just that- a guy pretending to be a soldier who never made it through basic training?

Explain please how killing off, jailing and neutralizing terrorist in Iraq is

"exacerbating the terrorist threat to our nation"?

The first opportunity to actually vote to bring the troops home now in Congress was Nov. 19, 2005 offered by Rep John Murtha. Both Baldwin and Murtha voted against it.

Baldwin owns the distinction of being one of the least effective members in Congress. Wisconsin deserves better.

Again, thank you for sharing your views. Your opinion matters to me. If I can be of service to you in any other way, please do not hesitate to let me know. Sincerely,

Tammy Baldwin, Member of Congress

Hillary, "I'm OK with Blood for Oil in Iran"

Best of the Web Today - October 15, 2007

Blood for Oil- Yep! (Good today only!!)

By JAMES TARANTO (Wall St. Journal)

Mrs. Blood for Oil Consider the following reasons why America might consider military action against Iran:

To save Israel from nuclear annihilation.

To prevent a nuclear arms race between Iran and neighboring Arab regimes.

To keep Iran's mullahs from acquiring a nuclear deterrent, which would give them leverage in Iraq and make it easier for them to wage terror elsewhere with impunity.

To topple Tehran's repressive, theocratic regime.

To protect America's oil supplies.

What if we told you one of the presidential candidates accepted the last rationale--blood for oil!--but rejected arguments for war based on concerns about human rights or nuclear proliferation?

Based on the media stereotypes, you'd probably think Dick Cheney had thrown his hat in. The Associated Press has the real story from Florence, S.C.:
Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton advocated talks to settle differences with Iran but said Saturday that Tehran would invite U.S. action if it were to disrupt oil supplies.

"I will make it very clear to the Iranians that there are very serious consequences attached to their actions," Clinton said. . . .
The New York senator, responding to a question, said blocking oil shipments "would be devastating to the world economy."
If the U.S. took military action as a result, she said, "I would hope that the world would see that was an action of last resort, not first resort. Because we need the world to agree with us about the threat that Iran poses to everyone."

Clinton said that is why, as president, she "would immediately open a diplomatic negotiation with Iran over all issues that we disagree with them on."

Sandy Berger's Unwarranted Authority video: Sandy Burglar is now on Hillary's payroll

Former National Security Adviser Sandy Berger is shown leaving federal court Thu, Sept. 8, 2005 in Washington in this file photo. A judge had ordered Sandy Berger, President Clinton's national security adviser, to pay a $50,000 fine for illegally taking classified documents from the National Archives. Berger is now an adviser to Hillary Clinton.

Wall St Journal has an interesting little 3 1/2 min video about Sandy Burger- AKA Burglar of documents by stuffing them into his pants and socks just before his testimony before the 911 commission. He eventually pleaded guilty to stealing classified documents from the National Archives in 2005. Now he will be paid to advise Hillary?

Note: the video link would not load here, so the link above should take you to the Wall St Journal site, there will be a 15 second ad and intro and then the "Sandy Berger's unwarranted Authority"

Code "Commie" Pink attacks a Marine Officer recruiting office

Code Pink group vandalized Marine Officer recruiting Office in Berkeley, CA. 9/26/07. Writes, "Traitor" on the door and "Assassination" on sign board.

Marine Captain Richard Lund wrote this reply to Code Pink's mindless attack on his office in Berkeley. CA. on Wed. Sept. 26, 07. He recruits college grads or college students for the Marine Officer Corps. The link above is the letter he wrote to the newspaper - "The Daily Planet"

Why is it not odd that Clark Kent's newspaper namesake is in San Fran?

The curse of Bill Clinton's Sax acts- Part II

Bill Clinton having Sax- and badly at that!

Officials Detail ContentsOf Hsu's Seized Mementos
The Wall Street Journal

By IANTHE JEANNE DUGANOctober 12, 2007; Page A7

(note: Link above is to WAll St Jrnal which is a paid subscription- it may not take you to the full print story)

Among the items in Norman Hsu's personal collection of Clinton memorabilia: CDs of presentations made by Hillary Clinton as well as an envelope of thank-you notes from the Democratic presidential front-runner.

He Norman Hsu ( Shoe) dropped mega bucks on Hill's campaign- guess she will call for " more campaign finance laws" to stop this 'outrage' or the other pat answer: taxpayers should be paying for my campaign and coronation- AKA "public financing"

• See a list of the items seized and a seizure warrant.
Those items were on a list released yesterday of things seized from Mr. Hsu's Manhattan apartment by federal agents, who last month charged the businessman with fraud.


The contents were revealed the day after the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York said it found a saxophone signed by Bill Clinton and about 200 bottles of fine wine and Champagne. The Red Cross said Mr. Hsu purchased the instrument at auction for $26,000 at an event for the group attended by both men in October 2005.


The prosecutors' inventory of seized items provided a glimpse into Mr. Hsu's life. In September, the U.S. attorney in New York charged Mr. Hsu with running a Ponzi scheme that allegedly cost his investors $60 million. He was also charged with pressuring investors to donate to candidates, and reimbursing some, which is illegal. Mr. Hsu has said he didn't reimburse people for donations. He is being held in California on a separate, 16-year-old grand-theft charge also involving an alleged Ponzi scheme.


His lawyers have said he isn't guilty of any wrongdoing.

And O.J. is still hunting down the culprit that murdered his wife and Ron Goldman.

Bad Sax with Bill Clinton Part I Hsu caught red handed with Bill Clinton's SAXOPHONE

At Hsu's Apartment, Federal Agents Seize Saxophone, Wine

Wall ST. Jrnal By IANTHE JEANNE DUGAN October 11, 2007; Page A18

Federal agents searching the Manhattan apartment of Democratic fund-raiser Norman Hsu this week seized a saxophone autographed by President Clinton, along with about 200 bottles of fine wine and Champagne.

Mr. Hsu (pronounced Shoe) purchased the instrument at an auction for $26,000 in October 2005, according to a representative of the American Red Cross. The auction was held during the centennial celebration for the charity's New York chapter, where the former president was also honored.

(Shoe baby, you paid $20,000 too much and I hope you wiped off the mouthpiece! Maybe the Red Cross gave it a alcohol wipe before passing it on?)

E.M. Winston, the maker of the saxophone, donated the instrument. And President Clinton, who attended the event, signed it. Mr. Clinton owns an E.M. Winston saxophone that was given to him by the late David Ginott, the company's president.

The saxophone purchase was part of an embrace of the Clintons that acquaintances said Mr. Hsu liked to display. He had a collection of photos on exhibit in his apartment, as he rose quickly to become a top supporter of Hillary Clinton and other Democrats, ultimately raising more than $1 million.

Michael Barone: Ivory Tower Decay. Where did speech codes come from?

Thanks to Wendy for asking me to read Michael Barone's story of the Ivory Tower Decay please click on link above. To answer his question: " Where did speech codes come from?" The answer at UW - Madison is: Donna Shalala.

To Michael Barone-where have you been? This story is about 10 years behind the times. But we are grateful that a Mainstream press guy is on it now - and thanks for that!

Over 90 % of Profs on this campus are Democrats, about 5% are Greens and the rest still think Socialism and Communism are cool and Marx has just not been applied correctly....and could work out really well if they ran it.

It took two runs at the federal court to get rid of the student speech codes she (La Donna) instituted- with the full submissive support of the Faculty Senate - and another 10 years to finally weaken the faculty speech codes.

One of her great token "hires" Paul Barrows known mostly for sexually harassing female grad students and collecting a fat check for doing nada has finally been terminated.....OK ...not fired like the real world....that means at a University they give someone a big dollop of taxpayers money to go away.

Bycotting CITGO. Decide for yourself: see Snopes link here

Cindy (No, I haven't bought the gravestone for my son yet- too busy) Sheehan and Hugo (CITGO to Hell America) Chavez. They deserve each other.

Some of CITGO's American outlets are in the process of changing their station's name to PETRO EXPRESS due to the loss of gasoline sales in the USA due to the recent publicity of ownership and control by the power hungry little dictator, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.

Every dollar you spend with CITGO or PETRO EXPRESS gasoline will be used against you, your basic human rights, and your freedoms. Chavez is winning over the Anti-American, Anti- Military, Anti-Bush, Anti-Victory Left in the US by selling his oil at discount prices in Mass., other states and on Indian reservations. (Such a nice boy!)

The Bushaters are urging their Borgs to "Buy Citgo".

I wonder what the reaction would have been during WWI or II if a small noisy percent of our population had urged Americans to BUY KRUPP (now Audi) or VW still VW* or WWI to boycott French wine for fighting the Germans.

* Recall that 'the people's car" 'Folks Wagon' was an order by Hitler to Mr. Porsche to develop a car that would go "50 miles (50 kilometers, more accurately) an hour, hold 5 Volks, and get 50 K. to the gallon." He came pretty close with the VW.

Most Americans are unaware that much of the goods manufactured in Communist China- there's a term you no longer see used in our P.C. papers- are owned, staffed, managed and profits got to the Red Chinese Army- another term no longer in use- even though it is still true.

The profits are used to build a larger, modernized Armed Forces with technology either stolen from us or given freely during the Clinton Administration (multiple war head missle technology, advanced computer missle control technology).

But we continue to buy COMMIE!

Robert Tracinski: 50th Anniversary of Ayn Rand's ATLAS SHRUGGED

Robert Tracinski from Real Clear Politics.com thanks for a real clear picture of Ayn Rand. Excerpts below, Link above will take you to his complete article.

Thanks to Adrian for sending this on to me.
Guilty confession No. one: I have yet to read Atlas Shrugged written by Ayn Rand and published 50 years ago on Oct 10th.
(Arrggh- very embarrassing to admit that.)
I hereby promise I will read it before Christmas 07!

Excerpts from Mr. Tracsinski's article follow:

Throughout most of mankind's history, moralists have warned that individuals driven by "greed" and left free to pursue their self-interest would plunge society into a destructive war of all against all, a system of brutality, plunder, and exploitation--precisely the qualities Marx projected onto the new capitalist system.

Instead, capitalism produced a system of freedom, independence, prosperity, and super-abundant creative energy--while the societies most thoroughly dedicated to the sacrifice of the individual to the collective, the 20th century's Communist regimes, were guilty of the greatest crimes ever recorded.

(An estimated 100 million people murdered-USSR, China, N.Korea, Cuba,
E. Germany, etc etc..)

The lessons of this history were not lost on Ayn Rand, who had escaped from the Soviet Union to America in the 1920s, experiencing in a brief span the most complete contrast between opposing social systems. As her own answer to altruism, Ayn Rand offered a morality of self-interest in which the individual's central moral goal is the pursuit of his own happiness:

"For centuries, the battle of morality was fought between those who claimed that your life belongs to God and those who claimed that it belongs to your neighbors--between those who preached that the good is self-sacrifice for the sake of ghosts in heaven and those who preached that the good is self-sacrifice for the sake of incompetents on earth. And no one came to say that your life belongs to you and that the good is to live it."

Yet what is radical about this idea is not merely Ayn Rand's defense of self-interest but her redefinition of the moral meaning of selfishness.

Most intellectuals have accepted the old altruist caricature of self-interest as brute criminality, as if the only choice we face is between forms of sacrifice: sacrificing ourselves for the sake of others or sacrificing others to ourselves.

(Take any American History course in College and nearly all Profs. and all texts will hammer Carnegie, JP Morgan, Rockefeller, etc as Robber Barons. No Profs. I had ever pointed out the millions of people who worked for them had a much higher standard of living than those that didn't work for a "Robber Barron" and there were hundreds of people competing to get hired by one of those awful Barrons.)

Yet this caricature is thoroughly refuted by the history of capitalism. The philosophy of altruism gives us a choice between two moral models: Mother Theresa or Al Capone. Yet where is the room in this philosophy for a Bill Gates, a Thomas Edison, or any of the thousands of other figures who populate the history of capitalism, building their own fortunes through the creation of new ideas and products?

For the first time, Ayn Rand recognized the reality and significance of these men and drew a profound moral lesson: that genuine self-interest means, not the short-range conniving of the brute, but the creative thought and productive effort of the entrepreneur.

Ayn Rand's detractors sometimes dismiss her novels as "unrealistic," but it is today's mainstream intellectuals who frequently seem as if they are wandering around in a fog of unreality, missing the monumental lessons of two centuries of history.

The era of encroaching global socialism has since given way to an era of global capitalism, which is beginning to transform the lives of billions of people across the globe, from Eastern Europe to India to China. But there is no one to help them understand what capitalism is, its deepest personal meaning for their lives and values, and why it is good.

No one, that is, except Ayn Rand. And that is why Atlas Shrugged is even more relevant and necessary today than it was when it was first published five decades ago.

Robert Tracinski writes daily commentary at TIADaily.com. He is the editor of The Intellectual Activist and TIADaily.com.