(I guess I had kinda forgotten that there was anything else to talk about.)
Instapundit produces a nice omnibus collection of quotes by the Founding Fathers explicitly stating that the United States is in no way a Christian nation. This is useful for people who couldn’t manage to figure this out on their own by, I dunno, reading the Constitution–a task apparently beyond the ken of Alabama Chief Justice Ray Moore, who’s far too busy making an embarassing spectacle of himself and pimping Christ in order to make a backwards-ass Talibanesque political point. Shame on him, shame on his supporters, shame on the “conservatives” who feel that the government is well within its rights to extend a giant middle finger to its non-Christian constituents, and (especially) shame on people who claim to support the war on theocratic fascism in which we are engaged and yet encourage this kind of ostentatious phony hotline-to-Heaven above-the-law grandstanding at home.
Also, the BBC is full of BS, but you knew that already.
Generally I think that the definition of conservatism as “standing athwart history shouting ‘stop!'” shows exactly why conservatism is so dopey. But if that’s really the way to define it, then Charles Johnson’s indefatiguable efforts to publicize the mad mullahs of Iran’s (repeatedly and explicitly stated and genocidally intended) drive for nuclear weapons is “conservative” in the best possible way. This post on how IAEA chief Mohamed El-Baradei sees no difference between the American nuclear program and the one currently being pursued by the seething murderous terrorist theocrats in Tehran is as good a place as any to start reading up on the subject.
Forager has a thoughtful post on how far the word “liberal” has strayed from its original meaning (in much the same way that “conservative” has done, making them both equally meaningless in terms of real descriptive power). He goes on to talk about the gorgeous Music for 18 Musicians by Steve Reich, and that’s always a good thing.
Forager also had a good post a while back on the Big Apple’s left-liberal groupthink. Forager, try talking politics in a room full of stylists, photographers, and PR flacks. You’d want to jump out a window.
Want to see the principles of Ingsoc in action? Go here and here. Remember, when I close my eyes, you can’t see me.