Michael Moore has decided not to return to the Republican National Convention. No specific reason for this decision was provided. I’m sure it’s because he felt that too much attention was being focused on him and he was being the bigger person (yes, pun intended) by removing himself from the spotlight. Michael Moore is, if nothing else, a selfless human being who shuns media adulation!!

Please. Perhaps the reality is that Mr. Moore did not like people booing him and attacking him as “disingenuous”. It’s OK, Mikey. Close your eyes and think of Cannes. Yes, that’s right. Can’t you just hear the applause and cheers of support? Feel better now?

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For whatever reason, I am watching Day of the Dead on SciFi. One of the dead stiffs, apparently blessed with a supernatural gift of marksmanship, shot one of the good guys, then offered a salute. He pparently felt he had just reported for duty.

Am I wrong for this to remind me of John Kerry?

There will be a Tennessee Bloggers for Bush blog upcoming soon, which this blog will be a part of. Check back often for launch updates.

Blake Wylie investigates the problems inherent in gun control – increases in crime rates. The correlation seems obvious, which is probably why we didn’t hear a peep out of the Million Mom March types at the DNC this year. It’s a losing issue. It’s an issue that largely cost Gore Tennessee in 2000 (in addition to wholesale abandonment of the state years before). We in the South, and elsewhere who understand how to properly use firearms have long understood this. The places where the Dems are going to win anyway, where the populace sees the gun as some mythical orb of destruction, many of whom have never actually touched a real firearm, are never going to understand the issue pragmatically anyhow. So the result? Don’t mention it.

Ireland has wholesale banned firearms on the island for some time now. The criminal mind, which most assuredly is more intuitive than the progressive liberal mind, has taken notice. Next time you go to Ireland, order a kevlar vest along with your pint of Smithwick’s.

England has a similar gun policy, and has experienced the expected rise in crime. The all-knowing officials in the UK attempt to explain the rise in crime in terms of low wages, which have created a land of inopportunity. Problem is, the lack of the most efficient method of civilian protection creates an even larger land of opportunity for those who specialize in theft and intimidation. Geeze. Sometimes it hurts the brain to be progressive.

Interesting site and service that Jeff Cornwall links to. He discusses the importance of small business valuation and how it’s done.

Scroll down for some good business tips as well (in light of the premise that we in fact will suffer another terrorist attack at some point).

Er, a roundup of Vietnam in terms of the DNC, courtesy of Matthew White.

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For those of you who may not be from around here, there has been a mini-scandal a-brewing about a speeding ticket that the Deputy Governor, Dave Cooley, got dismissed, or allegedly got dismissed. The deputy governor is an appointed position, and Cooley is, of course, a Democrat (of course, only because we presently have a Democratic governor).

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has initiated an investigation into the incident (really). Apparently there was a shortage of money launderers and real crimes to pursue. There has been a call by some Republicans to place Cooley on administrative leave pending the results of the investigation.

My response – who cares. This is the kind of petty partisanship I want no part of. The Bredesen administration is running a remarkably clean ship. Throwing soft darts at pseudoscandals is not the way to bring it down. Let’s concentrate on something real – not a “scandal” erupting over a dismissed speeding ticket.

For those of you who may not be from around here, there has been a mini-scandal a-brewing about a speeding ticket that the Deputy Governor, Dave Cooley, got dismissed, or allegedly got dismissed. The deputy governor is an appointed position, and Cooley is, of course, a Democrat (of course, only because we presently have a Democratic governor).

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has initiated an investigation into the incident (really). Apparently there was a shortage of money launderers and real crimes to pursue. There has been a call by some Republicans to place Cooley on administrative leave pending the results of the investigation.

My response – who cares. This is the kind of petty partisanship I want no part of. The Bredesen administration is running a remarkably clean ship. Throwing soft darts at pseudoscandals is not the way to bring it down. Let’s concentrate on something real – not a “scandal” erupting over a dismissed speeding ticket.

Scant on details, but Drudge has some lead on a reported plot to attack the Panama Canal.

Leonel Sauceda confirmed Security Minister Oscar Alvarez’s comments to local media that the 38-year-old suspect — identified as Adnan Guishar El Shukrijumah, or Jafar al-Tayar, who was in Honduras late last month — “planned to plant explosives in the Panama Canal to hamper boat traffic in the area.”

Four percent of the world’s shipping goes through the canal. It sounds like a small number, but the economic ripple effect would be felt worldwide.

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I just noticed from our traffic log that we’ve had some hits from the National Educators Association here in Nashville. I’m sure a hit has already been put out on Sarah for this post.

Tom Daschle attempting to defeat John Thune with an ad embracing President Bush.

For those who are, well, educated about the past, it is plain on the face of things that the handover and rebuilding of Iraq is going exceptionally well. Anytime one attempts to recusitate a grayed and dying civilization from the depths of tyrannical rule, roadblocks, complications, and resistance from those who were once in power are always going to occur.

Our nearest temporal example to such an effort is the occupation, rebuilding, and establishment of democratic systems in Japan and Germany post-World War II. The transition there was extraordinarily difficult.

The fact is, the infrastructure in Iraq is now better than it was when Iraq was ruled by Saddam Hussein, the economy exists and is growing, the schools are reopened, and the people are, most importantly, free.

Here is what the United States has done. The Baathist government of Iraq collapsed within three weeks of the American invasion, and have managed to pull together an Iraqi civilian government and transfer power to that government, all within 14 months of invasion, with a total casualty count of just over 1000, most of which occurred after victory in the war.

This is one of the greatest accomplishments in the history of mankind and modern warfare. To minimalize it, to even, in some extremes, to mock it, is to trivialize a great accomplishment and to show a certain flair for the assinine.

More is discussed here. Courtesy of Bill Hobbs.

It does not exist. Here’s why.

Today there is no voter intimidation. In the dark days before civil rights were equally distributed, there was real voter intimidation. Fire hoses, dogs, police brutality, verbal threats of violence – all marks of voter intimidation. Today, none of those are being cited. No such claims are being made.

Today “voter intimidation” consists of asking for a valid form of indentifiction. Voter intimidation is made up of concerned poll workers wanting to make sure that the person voting is a legitimate voter. Somehow this is a problem. It makes no sense.

Real voter intimidation is just that – voter intimidation. Being afraid of legitimate authority is NOT voter intimidation. It is a requirement for fair and honest elections. I am beyond tired of the claims of fake “voter intimidation”. If you are easily startled, perhaps you should not vote. If the request of a government-issued ID is too much to ask, perhaps you should not vote.

Voting is not a right – it is a privilege. We are guaranteed a republican form of government. This requires some effort on the part of the voter. To require that voters should not exert any effort is an insult to our system of government. If the people are not willing to go through some minor, legitimate trouble to case their vote, they have none of my sympathy. Voting is something we should embrace as a right many across the world fight and die for, and we once did. Millions have died for us to have the ability to vote. Those who think it should be as easy to vote as changing the channel to “The Jerry Springer Show” are an obstacle to responsible government.

It’s a bogus argument. It’s a Democratic trick to play the media and get extra-legal votes. The media is sadly a willing accomplice. The major media outlets have a horrific record. The extra-legal votes need to be litigated to the point of absolution.

Republicans vote – and let us pray for rain.

Just came home from a couple drinks with some friends. A political discussion broke out at the bar. As a rule, I avoid, with a passion, political discussions where alcohol is present (save if I’m among friends, and we all agree). The most trite observations held high – Bush is stupid, and Bush is after oil. The blame for the high oil prices was not considered a barrier to calling Bush oil-greedy.

Sigh. Some people are hopeless. It is wise to pick your battles.

Why the election matters, and why those who say the occupant of the Oval Office doesn’t matter are dead wrong. David Hogberg explains it well

The philosophy behind such sentiment is determinism — the idea that men don’t so much control events as they are controlled by them. The circumstances at a given point in history force a president to take certain actions. This theory tells us that since the war in Iraq and the War on Terror will still be going on when Kerry would take office, he would have little choice but to make a strenuous effort to ensure our national security. It makes me want to throw up my hands and say: “Have we learned nothing from history?”

If history controls men, then elections are a futile exercise. This is an obviously a fallacy. Hogberg goes on to cite the example of Jimmy Carter, one of the most brilliant foreign policy failures since James Buchanan.

Carter faced some crucial events that should have forced him to take serious foreign policy measures. Yet his response to the Iranian hostage crisis and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan were anything but serious. With the exception of one failed rescue attempt, Carter publicly disavowed the use of force against Iran, and even went as far down the road of silliness as trying to get Libyan leader Mohamarr Qaddafi and then former Attorney General Ramsey Clark to intervene.

And this line is as appropriate for John Kerry as it was for Jimmy Carter

Carter was an unserious man facing serious threats.

The exasperated question rings throughout – have we learned nothing from history?

Like Matthew White, I too have been disappointed with FNC’s coverage of the convention.  They’ve been doing exactly the opposite of what I had hoped, and what typically makes them different from the networks, CNN, etc.  I found myself watching a lot of C-SPAN – the commentary of the news stations seldom added anything. 

There was a movement to catch The Daily Show’s commentary in our household, which I initially opposed, but then was glad to have been overridden. Jon Stewart has had the best commentary on the convention across the board, bar none.

The Right Coast has a take on Francis Fukayama’s recent piece in the WSJ.  The basic rules of state formation, practically, not theoretically, are discussed.  Privatization versus the rule of law – which is more vital?

I’ll cop out early on this one.  The lack of privatization frustrates the rule of law, and vice versa.  Privatization can only occur in an atmosphere where property rights are recognized and can be expeditiously enforced.  The rule of law is meaningless for society if there is no privatization.  The rule of law would be the state, as there are not assets for private actors to operate through. 

Interesting question, though. More can certainly be written on it. And may be later.

Pictures like this make me hot.  There shouldn’t be an amendment against it, but I can sure despise those foolish enough to do it.  How disingenuous must one be to torch the very symbol allowing one the freedom to torch that symbol? What’s funny is that the kind of people who do this sort of thing think they’re deep, sophisticated, and worldly, which is why when they’re done burning the Stars and Stripes, they settle down for talks about philosophy along the lines of “Bush sucks”, while they  order their coffee in French from an American franchised corporation.

Funny.

Last night at The Trap, a country bar here in Nashville near the Coliseum, there was a Bush rally, headlined by Darryl Singletary and Lee Ann Womack. There was a ton of people there, with a lot of folks one would know, both from the recording industry and GOP politics. It was a good time, and nice to be around so many unapologetic Americans, especially in Nashville, where the old Democratic machine holds considerable sway. I do take a certain amount of pleasure in watching things crumble – it’s just that I’d like to expedite the process considerably. The Dems here aren’t liberal for the most part – it’s only a matter of time. The rest of the state has largely broken away. Davidson County can’t be too far behind.