I'm here to give you a quick checkup, kind of a once-over.
I hope you have an insurance card, else I may not be able to use novacaine...
Posted on 11/19/2004 2:39:01 PM PST by billyboy601
I've joined FR at the behest of nerdgirl, whom I've met on the NRO cruise this week. I had begun writing more detailed posts, yet both times these stupid cruise computers botched my attempts, scrubbing the files I had started (oy!!!). Once I get home I'll attempt to put something more comprehensive together for everyone's reading enjoyment.
FYI, nerdgirl is way cool and way cute. Her mom is also way cool and stirs it up when conversing.
The NRO cruise has been really cool with lots of interesting discussion, great people and way too much food!!!
The panels consisted of folks like Victor Davis Hansen (or as nerdgirl would say, Victor something Hansen), Bernard Lewis, Dick Morris, Pat Toomey, John Hillen, Jay Nordlinger, Jonah Goldberg, Michele Malkin, Ramesh Ponnuru, Dinesh D'Souza, Rich Lowry and others.
Here are some quick takeaways I got from the discussions...
* The election came down to the two men, the electorate never fully bought JFK's bullschitz and ultimately felt W deserved a chance to finish what he started.
* Hillary will run in '08 (I can only hope so that the electorate can crush her!)
* As the country becomes more conservative the battles will be intra party for the Republicans
* Americans need to stand their ground when debating our actions in the war on terror, in particular put into context what we're doing and when the euros scream point out the fact we did the same for them when the going was tough. Americans liberation of Afghanistan and Iraq is a byproduct of us doing what is necessary to defend our national security (i.e. these folks were lucky we needed to defend our security, as a result they were liberated).
* The history of Islam doesn't include fascism. The Baath party was formed with assistance from the Vichy government and the Nazis in the last century. It won't remain rooted in Islam (this is from Bernard Lewis).
* Democracy isn't a set of parts in which you can build a government, rather it takes time and patience to build democratic institutions that act as gatekeepers to the consensual governments people choose to live under.
* Science is eating away at the existence of the soul, i.e. scientists are chipping away at was is left of the self.
* Gay activism is following a three tiered approach, first tolerance, second neutrality, third subsidy (i.e. quotas). I personally believe we draw the line at neutrality, as gays aren't disenfranchised (i.e they vote, have jobs, and most have money!).
These are just a few in a week filled with discussion, fun and food!
That's it for now, as I don't want another hour to go up in smoke!
Cheers,
Billy
| * | Welcome to FreeRepublic | * |
Good post, Billy. It might get moved to chat, which is where it most likely belongs, but it is good info. Was wondering how the NRO cruise was going. Derb claims he's had computer problems, too but he may just have been pulling KJL's leg.
What! NRO has crusies???? You mean you can get on a boat with a bunch of people and talk politics without there being a blue-stater in sight?? VDH on the panel? Eeep!
OMG. I have led a sheltered life! Well except for that incident when I was 16, but we're not talking about that.
*self-conciously walks off whistling innocently....*
I'm here to give you a quick checkup, kind of a once-over.
I hope you have an insurance card, else I may not be able to use novacaine...
Thanks for the post. Bernard Lewis, huh? What great company.
Thank you!..I believe Victor Hanson Davis is a national treasure..Lucky you!
Good grief..Victor Davis Hanson.
Bienvenidos, Billyboy!
It was great fun hanging w/ billyboy on the NRO cruise - he was actually the first person I met, a great find indeed.
It's nice to see there was so much interest on FR in the cruise - it seems there is a wide opening for more get togethers among conservatives. Would like to see a non cruise event in the near future, perhaps geared towards conservatives & the online community, the intersection of which is probably my biggest interest with regards to politics at the moment.
Anyway a big WELCOME to you, thanks for the post, & hope to see you actively posting on FR from here on out :)
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