Free Republic

Why I Became a ConservativeBy Roger ScrutonThe New Criterion | February 5, 2003 I was brought up at a time when half the English people voted Conservative at national elections and almost all English intellectuals regarded the term “conservative” as a term of abuse. To be a conservative, I was told, was to be on the side of age against youth, the past against the future, authority against innovation, the “structures” against spontaneity and life. It was enough to understand this, to recognize that one had no choice, as a free-thinking intellectual, save to reject conservatism. The choice remaining was...

I saw the movie Sunday night on TBS. Early in the movie, Benjamin Taylor (the Gibson character) enlists his two younger sons to rescue Gabriel (the oldest son and Heath Ledger character). As they wait in ambush, Taylor asks the sons to repeat what he had taught them about shooting. They reply, "Aim small, miss small." What does this phrase mean? Thanks.

Here are some to the same arguments that we hear today about guns. This was a plea that helped establish the Gun Control Act of 1967. Stop and Think. Would you have supported this legislation? The person who spoke the words is today a defender of the second amendment. TWO WEEKS AGO, ROBERT F. KENNEDY BECAME ONE OF THOUSANDS OF AMERICANS STRUCK DOWN BY AN ASSASSIN'S BULLET. SOMETIME TODAY, IN SOME CITY IN AMERICA, A GUN SHOT WILL RING OUT AND SOMEONE ELSE WILL FALL DEAD OR WOUNDED. THE VICTIM MAY BE A PUBLIC LEADER OR A PRIVATE CITIZEN, BUT,...

What is Fascism?This may surprise most educated people. One of the more common government strategies today, especially in developing regions is fascism. Fascism is commonly confused with Nazism.  Nazism is a political party platform that embraces a combination of a military dictatorship, socialism and fascism.  It is not a government structure. Fascism is a government structure.More than a class system, fascism specifically targets, dehumanizes and aims to destroy those it deems undesirable. The most notable characteristic of a fascist country is the separation and persecution or denial of equality to a specific segment of the population based upon superficial qualities...

One of my favorite cartoons in the wake of the 9/11 attack was a picture of a giant Uncle Sam standing against the New York skyline, brushing himself off and rolling up his sleeves. He'd clearly been knocked down by a cheap shot and he was mighty angry about it. If memory serves, he said, over his shoulder and through gnashed teeth, "You shouldn't have done that." The meaning was obvious. America was going to the pantry and clearing the shelves of every case of whup-ass in our larder (24 cans per case). People forget now, but it took awhile...

In order to buy a gun one must first be persuaded that gun ownership is both reasonable and responsible. Let us then first establish that Matthew 5:38,39 does not mean that, if someone breaks into your home intending to harm your family, you must submissively point the way to your children's playroom as you sheath the criminal's knife with your belly. Jesus here explains to us that God allows no room for personal vengeance. Leave that to the Lord and the temporal responsibility for punishing evil doers to the civil magistrate (Romans 13:4). God immutable says, "If the thief is...

Oregon's secret surplus is fools' gold 01/28/03 ROBERT LANDAUER O regon Has At Least $11.04 Billion In Potential Surpluses of the Taxpayers Money It Is Not Using." This provocative headline appeared over material distributed during the statewide special election on the temporary income-tax increase. Regardless of how the vote turns out tonight, it's important to challenge this misinformation and manipulation. It was distributed by FreeRepublic.com, which describes its operation as "The Premier Conservative News Forum." Their idea is that the state has "potential surpluses equal to $3,147 for every man, women and child in Oregon" that could end an...

What do you think of seatbelt laws? Are they a good idea, or a bad idea? You know the ones I mean. They vary from state to state, but they’re basically alike. If you’re driving a car, and you don’t have a seat belt on, you can get a ticket. Sometimes it’s just the driver, sometimes it’s everyone in the car. You’ve heard the sob stories. They roll out some state trooper, or a paramedic, and have him tell you a heartbreaking story about how many accident scenes he’s been to, and how it breaks his heart to see the...

(CNSNews.com) - Why pass more gun laws, when there are 20,000 of them on the books that should be enforced? Many gun owners use that argument in the effort to stop gun-control groups from infringing on their Second Amendment rights. But gun control advocates are trying to undermine that "20,000 gun laws" argument with a new study that casts doubt on the meaning of the "20,000" number. A study from the Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy counts only 300 "relevant federal and state laws regarding the manufacture, design, sale, purchase, or possession of guns." The key word...

Patrons of the Dynamik snackbar, take note: "No firearms in this restaurant.'' But that does not apply to Dynamik owner and arms dealer Ricardo Teixeira. Two .44 Magnums are in full view on the bar and Ricardo totes a Czech CZ pistol and a 9 mm Heckler & Koch in side holsters. Outside, the shooting range reverberates with the staccato of small-arms fire. A Hollywood film stage in Texas? Not exactly. Dynamik is a canteen-plus-armoury in the Geneva countryside, and there are hundreds of such establishments in peaceful Switzerland. The number of firearms in this Alpine country is a...

N.C. Representative Michael Decker Switches to Democrat Party NORTH CAROLINA REPUBLICAN PARTY 1506 Hillsborough St., Raleigh, North Carolina 27605 Tele. (919) 828-6423 • Fax (919) 899-3815 • www.NCGOP.org For immediate release January 24, 2003 ........................................................................................................ Decker To Go Down As “North Carolina’s Own Jim Jeffords” (RALEIGH) – In a call today to N.C. Representative Mike Decker of Forsyth County, North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Bill Cobey was informed that Rep. Decker has switched to the Democrat Party, changed his registration, and will be voting for Jim Black for Speaker. No reason was given. “Given Mike Decker’s conservative voting record in...

The Scout, the suspect and the SWAT team Shooting: On March 1, FBI agents had a clear plan to catch a man wanted in a bank robbery. What unfolded was a remarkable series of mix-ups with a near-fatal outcome.By Gail Gibson, Michael James and Laura BarnhardtSun StaffOriginally published March 18, 2002 The order from an FBI commander to a SWAT team waiting outside a Glen Burnie 7-Eleven was simple and direct. "Follow the red car." To FBI Special Agent Christopher Braga, it signaled that the man inside the car, the one wearing the white baseball cap, was the bank robbery...