Shortly before his death, the inestimable William F. Buckley penned one last note about the John Birch Society (JBS). The article, Goldwater, the John Birch Society, and Me, recalls events in the early 1960’s which preceded Barry’s campaign for the Presidency. Buckley had become concerned about the growing menace posed by Robert Welch and the …
Why This Isn’t Fort Democracy
Thomas Jefferson said “A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine.” That is the risk of Democracy — that ignorant people will use it to promote values of intolerance. Remember that Hitler, Chavez, and Ahmadinejad were all elected. Although the …
What Causes Terrorism?
Islam is not the direct cause of terrorism in our world. Yes, the vast majority of terrorists are Islamic. However, there are also hundreds of millions of Muslims living in peace on this planet. The Muslim world, however, is a disaster. It is politically, economically, and socially backwards. It is hundreds of years behind Western …
Overcriminalized
Overcriminalized.com is a fascinating and terrifying project from The Heritage Foundation. The Heritage Foundation is an extremely conservative think tank. These are not the kind of people you would normally expect to be complaining about “too much law and order.” And yet that is exactly the purpose of Overcriminalized.com. The web site documents a frightening …
Panama’s Gun Laws
The Pinkerton Intelligence Agency has given Panama has the highest rating for tourist safety. After having visited four countries in the area (Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Panama), I can tell you from personal experience that Panama is by far the safest country in the region. Private firearms ownership is the reason that Panamanians enjoy …
The Skeptic’s Annotated Qua’ran
I was looking for a Sura I remembered and Google introduced me to The Skeptic’s Annotated Qua’ran. The site displays each sura of the Qua’ran, along with analytical study notes giving a plain-English analysis of important verses. Verses are also marked with a useful legend highlighting specific attributes: Injustice Intolerance Cruelty and Violence Absurdities Good …