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Addicted to Power
Rush Limbaugh had some interesting commentary on the Democratic party on Thursday:
CALLER: “[W]hat do the Democrats want? They own the car industry. They don’t want us to go to college. What do they want? At the end of this, what do they want? They’re going to have all the power, and what do they want?”
Rush made an insightful comparison of the Democrats’ irrational policies with that of the chemically dependent:
LIMBAUGH: “Have you ever had a genuine addiction to anything? … Well, I have. I have. I have, and let me tell you about it. It makes you entirely unreasonable and irrational. It is all you care about. Nothing else matters. No matter how important to you otherwise, it doesn’t matter as much as the addiction. Feeding it, the fear of not being able to, is what animates your existence every day. These people are addicted to power, because they think it is their birthright. And I’m not just talking about the people in Washington, elected officials. I’m talking about some of — not all, but some of — the rank-and-file, madcap, insane liberals that you will find blogging, that you will find e-mailing, that you will find on the protest march. Their lives are basically meaningless. The addiction to power and dominance and control is what drives them. And the thing about an addiction is, it can never be satisfied.
Well, I have. I have. I have, and let me tell you about it. It makes you entirely unreasonable and irrational. It is all you care about. Nothing else matters. No matter how important to you otherwise, it doesn’t matter as much as the addiction. Feeding it, the fear of not being able to, is what animates your existence every day. These people are addicted to power, because they think it is their birthright. And I’m not just talking about the people in Washington, elected officials. I’m talking about some of — not all, but some of — the rank-and-file, madcap, insane liberals that you will find blogging, that you will find e-mailing, that you will find on the protest march. Their lives are basically meaningless. The addiction to power and dominance and control is what drives them. And the thing about an addiction is, it can never be satisfied.”
The caller followed-up with:
CALLER: “But after they destroy our country, where’s their power?”
Rush’s reply:
LIMBAUGH: “What do addicts do? They destroy themselves. They do. They destroy themselves, and they destroy the things that are most important to them.”
I couldn’t help but think of Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle when I was listening to this segment.  You can find the original transcript here:
Of course, this attitude isn’t limited to just the left – I think it is common among most politicians today.
Our guy sucks… Long live our guy!
I find it hillarious how the so-called “alternative media” has appologized for and defended Bush time and time again, yet now that there is an election in progress, they waste no time putting a dagger in his back in favor of changeâ„¢ from the likes of McBushBainCain.
Ehh, it’s all over tomorrow. Then they’ll move on to telling us that we made the wrong choice and that we “deserve who we voted for.” I thought that was proven during the last 8 years…
Here’s hoping Obama makes it to his innauguration before some racist asshat takes him out.
Charlie Gibson Interviews Palin
To anyone still thinking about voting for McCain, I’d like you to read these excepts from ABC’s Charlie Gibson’s interview with Sarah Palin:
Brown is the New Black
I rarely agree with Ann Coulter. She usually comes off as being completely unhinged. However, I think she hit the nail on the head (save for the liberal dig) with a recent article she wrote about the state of illegal immigration in the U.S.:
“It’s as if we’ve got the last Xbox 360s available on Christmas Eve and instead of doubling the price, we’re entertaining low-ball offers. Or more accurately, we’re paying our customers to take the darn things off our hands — and the customers are still indignant with us.”
What if we lose?
Jerry Bader referenced an interested WSJ editorial this morning underscoring the dangers of a premature retreat from Iraq. In the past, I’ve been mostly on the fence as to whether we were warranted in going to war in Iraq. However, I also feel that none of those reasons matter anymore. What’s done is done, and now we need to finish the job. Keep in mind I have no loved ones stationed in the Middle East at this time, however, I think losing and/or retreating from this conflict could cause great damage to the well-being of our country as a whole. I don’t claim to know much about the logistics of the war, but I do hope we can reach a resolution sooner than later while minimizing further deaths of our soldiers.
- Wall Street Journal Editorial: What if We Lose?
UW-Eau Claire Bible Study Controversy
While listening to WTAQ this morning on my way to work, I believe it was Jerry Bader who commented on a recent controversy at UW-Eau Claire regarding a resident assistant (RA) whom was conducting bible study sessions in the basement of the dorm where he lived and worked. Surprisingly, I couldn’t find any articles about this incident in The Spectator (UW-Eau Claire’s student-run newspaper), but Google News came to my rescue. Apparently, this RA was sent a letter forbidding him from conducting the bible study sessions within the dorm where he worked.
Not surprisingly, this created a controversy over the individual’s rights and freedom of speech. From the article linked below:
The controversy began on July 26, when UWEC Associate Director for Housing and Residence Life Deborah Newman sent a letter saying RAs could not lead Bible studies in their dorms at any time. Her reason for this was that students might not think Bible study-leading RAs were sufficiently “approachable.”
…and from this article:
They can participate in one, or lead one in another building. The school says if assistants lead bible studies in their dorm, it might make them seem unapproachable to some students. Administrators say it could also violate the separation of church and state because RA’s are university employees.
I think the ban is a good idea, since it appears to me that they are welcome to study by themselves, as well as participate in any other religious activities both on- and off-campus, so long as it’s not in the dorm where they work and live. They article below also mentioned, “Newman’s letter added that Koran and Torah studies would be similarly prohibited,” so I don’t see any discrimination there.
Finally, he is essentially an employee of the state in a state-run institution. Accepting the position of RA comes with several
restrictions, and this is one of them. Although I agree this policy should have been spelled out in some sort of handbook that he should have received, nobody put a gun to his head to become an RA. Such restrictions are a large part of the reason many students choose not to become RAs.
What do you think?
- College Bans Dormitory Bible Studies (Nice sensationalistic headline, there.)
November 4th, 2005 
News & Current Events, religion 
Tags: eau claire, news, Politics, religion, more... No Smokes for You, Part III
Outagamie County Circuit Judge Dee Dye threw out a lawsuit filed in June by 35 bar owners after he determined the city’s smoking ban ordinance, approved by voters in April, did not violate state law.
Although I’m pleased with his decision, the fight is by no means over yet. Opponents of the ban are urging council to schedule a special election in November to allow voters to revisit the ban. Additionally, further legal appeals are possible. I’m not sure they’ll get it overturned in the courts, but I’m hoping the second referendum will be on the April ballot. I think a November special election will have a turnout much more likely to be biased against the ban. I think an April referendum will likely have similar results to the first.
- Post-Crescent article: Voters get crack at smoking ban
***Update***
It looks like the second referendum will be in April, which is good. The choice of dates could have very easily changed the result of the vote.
Smoking Ban (cont’d)
Well, it looks like the smokers in Appleton will get their day at the polls again. I’m hoping the referendum goes on the April ballot, which might produce a more diverse turnout, as opposed to a special election which may be monopolized by those who wish to overturn the ban. It’s been so nice enjoying smoke-free living in Appleton establishments. I think a better solution would be if Grand Chute, Neenah, and Menasha would pass similar bans – then the bar owners would have less to whine about.
Racial Profiling
There has been a lot of debate lately about the morality of using racial profiling to catch criminals. It seems a lot of
conservatives are against such a practice, which I find unusual since they are typically proponents of tighter borders and “national security”. I was listening to Hannity yesterday, and a Caucasian male called in and said something on the order of, “Although I appreciate the motives behind racial profiling, if there was a white guy in my neighborhood doing something wrong I wouldn’t want to be accused of it.” I thought this statement was strange. It suggested to me that he would rather have a criminal in his neighborhood than go through the hassle of assisting in an investigation to catch the perpetrator. Perhaps the offense was as benign as shoplifting, but what if it was a suspected terrorist or pedophile in his neighborhood? Hannity agreed and said that we should just search everybody. I don’t think it makes sense to waste resources questioning random people who show no sign of mal-intent in the name of “keeping it fair”.
Some argue racial profiling presents a slippery slope that could lead to racism. I can appreciate this concern, however, I think those incidents need to be dealt with on an individual basis. Some say that “you can’t blame an entire race for the actions of a few,” but how is that any different than signs on your local 7-11 that say “no more than three people under the age of 18 in the store at one time,” or the liquor store carding me because I look like I’m under 21? I’ve also heard some say that we are giving up our civil liberties in the name of national security. However, I don’t think assisting in a criminal investigation or getting searched at an airport is necessarily forfeiting our civil liberties.
I think racial profiling is a necessary evil for keeping our country safe. Spend our limited resources on hunting those
who potentially pose a real threat. Right now we seem to have a fair amount of individuals of Muslim teachings that wish to harm us. I do realize not all Muslims are evil. Perhaps in 10 years we’ll face a new enemy, maybe an increase in domestic terrorism the likes of Timothy McVee. At that time, maybe racial profiling will be less necessary and behavioral profiling will be more important. But I think law enforcement needs to be cut some slack for hunting the bad guys, and be able to use all profiling techniques at their disposal (racial, behavioral, geographic, etc). Those who violate public trust or break the law can be dealt with in court.
Enjoying the Public Smoking Ban
Since Appleton’s recently passed smoking ban came into effect, we decided to go out last night and experience it first hand. We went to Cheyanne’s on the corner of Appleton St. and Washington in Appleton. It was even better than I imagined! We had a bite to eat and enjoyed some brew, and the atmosphere felt no different than dining at a restaurant. Very nice.
Surprisingly, someone even brought a baby into the bar while they were dining. At first, we thought it was a little odd bringing a baby into a bar, but upon further thinking about it, it was a time when most patrons were there to eat dinner (so there were no roudy people). Probably the only thing that might be dangerous to a baby in that environment was the thick cloud of smoke, but that’s not a problem anymore. It was refreshing to see others come out and enjoy the smoke-free socializing.
I just wish Grand Chute or the State would pass a similar ban, since many of our favorite restaurants and bars are there. For the record, we limited ourselves to bars in Appleton because of the ban.
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