Mount Virtus

Ed at Captain’s Quarters has commented on the breaking story about certain of our South Dakota blog friends’ paid relationship with the John Thune campaign. Ed’s reaction?

Am I angry about this? Not especially. Neither site pretended to present an unbiased look at the race — DvT overtly supported John Thune from the start of the blog. (Like Pat, I didn’t read SDP.) Now that the payments have been disclosed, the bloggers have to answer to the marketplace, and I suspect they will suffer a marked loss of readership — which is the only coin of this realm. The free market of ideas works similarly to any other free market; if the supplier can’t be trusted, people find a different supplier.

Ed and the other Northern Alliance guys have been talking up this subject as they guest host for Hugh, discussing a CBS article that has responded by calling for greater regulation of the blogosphere.

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Are you a public school teacher in Colorado? Do you know a friend or family member who is? Check out the latest from the Independence Institute. The Institute sent out an electronic message to 40,000 teachers last night. We’ve been told KOA’s Mike Rosen will read from it during his morning show. Here’s a nugget from the letter about the Colorado Education Association (CEA) – the state’s largest teachers’ union – and its political contributions.

From January through November 2004, political and small donor committees operated by CEA and CEA-affiliated local associations reported combined spending to political parties and candidates:
- 94% to the Democrat Party and its candidates
- 5.4% to the Republican Party and its candidates
- Less than 1% to other candidates

For a more detailed breakdown of Colorado teachers’ union contributions through their political and small donor committees, check out this detailed chart. Please note… this is based entirely on reports filed with the Colorado Secretary of State and includes only contributions to state and local political campaigns and other activities. Some might have a hunch that there’s a lot more hiding out there… if you know how to dig it up, let me know.

So what’s the big deal? I’m sure 95% of CEA members typically vote Democrat, right? Not likely. But they all have to pay for the political contributions unless they ask for their money back.

If you are a CEA member, the deadline to request a $24 refund is DECEMBER 15. You must request the refund in writing by sending a letter including name, Social Security Number, and Local Association to:
Colorado Education Association
1500 Grant Street
Denver, CO 80203

Your local association may have an additional political deduction.

Please also send teachers to the Institute’s teacher resource page.

State Senate President John Andrews, one of the co-founders of the Independence Institute, tries to explain what went wrong in Colorado for the GOP during the recent election.

Hindsight, as I’ve heard it said, is 50-50. Look – we know the Republican Party took an old-fashioned butt-kicking. Senator Andrews sizes up what the Democrats did right and what he and other Republican leaders could have done better.

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A faithful and reliable conservative Republican voice in the Colorado House of Representatives, Don Lee, has announced his resignation from his District 28 seat in the minority caucus.

The following is his statement:

Many factors were considered before making this decision, the primary one being my future career. My career has taken a dramatic turn since joining the General Assembly in 1999, from a 20-year veteran in the defense-aerospace industry, to senior manager for a curriculum company, K12 Inc. I have accepted a new position with K12, which includes a promotion and additional responsibilities. This new position requires my full-time attention, which in turn, necessitates this difficult decision.

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I know it’s late in the day for this, but…

For a day that’s lived “in infamy,” Dec. 7, 1941, has been the inspiration for a lot of films. It’s kind of a quirky way to remember one of the more significant events in American history,
but my brain is fried and I couldn’t think of a better way to commemorate Pearl Harbor Day in the limited time I have.

Pearl Harbor spawned a lot of movies. So here’s a brief trip down memory lane.

The biggies, of course, are the inimitable Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970), From Here to Eternity (1953) and its star-studded cast, and In Harms Way (1965) with John Wayne. They’re all good, though I remember some better than others.

I’d be curious to see the depictions in the earliest wartime releases: Secret Agent of Japan (1942) and (the originally named) December 7, 1941 (1943).

Or a couple of cinematic looks at Pearl Harbor from Japan. There’s I Bombed Pearl Harbor (1961), Admiral Yamamoto (1968), and Imperial Navy (1980).

More recent additions include The Final Countdown (1980) – the paranormal alternate history mindbender featuring Kirk Douglas and Martin Sheen. I think cable channels conspired to play this movie at least once a week during a long stretch of the 1990s.

Of course, there was the 1983 ABC miniseries Winds of War, based on the Herman Wouk classic. And a 1988 sequel titled War and Remembrance. Can’t say I have much remembrance of either one.

Finally, don’t ask me about the Ben Affleck-infected Pearl Harbor (2001). I took in 30 minutes of the battle sequence but vowed never to watch it from start to finish.

So which is the best? The worst? Which have you seen? Which would you like to see?

Deeper questions to think about when I have more time and brain energy… how have the depictions of that fateful day evolved on the big screen over the decades… and over the generations? Movies can often give a good glimpse into the soul of a culture.

And how will our depictions of 9/11 in film compare to those made of Pearl Harbor? Or can they even be compared? Is it too early to tell? As you can see, my mind is starting to drift off….

If you’re anything at all like me, you appreciate good Christmas music – plugging in a good CD, attending a concert, or doing some old-fashioned caroling. You may also, like me, dread going into the malls & stores that have the terrible habit of finding the cheesiest, most annoying Christmas music playing over the speakers.

Well, in this interactive post, I wanted to ask you what are your three favorite Christmas songs (with or without specific renditions)? If you could only sing and listen to three Christmas songs, what would they be?

Update (12/6): Thanks to Jim for being the first to comment. Please note his blog’s new location and update your rolls.

My three songs would be:
O Holy Night
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
Gesu Bambino

But admittedly… a tough question!

As I type this, Hugh is interviewing Colorado Gov. Bill Owens. I’ll paraphrase the conversation.

Hugh: What about the state political disaster for Republicans?

Owens: “Even though we won the popular vote, we lost the majority…” A lot of kudos to the Dems for successfully targeting key races and taking advantage of campaign finance laws. Plus the Dems’ wealthy contributors.

Comment & question: The “popular vote” angle is clearly the best spin he can give the statehouse disaster. And okay, the Dems had their “Axis of Ego” – Stryker, Polis, Bridges, Gill – so where were the wealthy Republicans?

Hugh: Your successor as governor?

Owens: Lt. Gov. Jane Norton gets a lot of discussion, her credentials listed; Treasurer Mike Coffman as another possible Republican candidate. Rep. Mark Udall mentioned for Dems. “He’s very, very liberal.”

Not that it will matter for much come 2006, but the governor sounds like he wants Jane Norton to fill his shoes. But Coffman has broader support and has to be considered the front-runner for the nomination – unless Owens skips town and makes Norton an incumbent.

Owens also did his usual Republican cheerleading for Bush’s new Cabinet appointments. Yet the Colorado Governor’s political future is murkier than ever.

The case of an Arvada church seeking to have a float in this weekend’s Denver Parade of Lights continues to mushroom in the media spotlight. It all started when parade officials nixed the idea:

[Pastor George] Morrison wanted to enter a float featuring multicultural Christian themes and a Merry Christmas message. Parade officials told a representative from Morrison’s church, the 4,000-member Faith Bible Chapel in Arvada, that religious messages aren’t allowed because they might offend others.

I thought the whole purpose of multiculturalism was to prevent offending others. I guess that’s only non-Christian multiculturalism. Basically, being a Christian and being present is inherently noxious and offensive. Excuse me? But then you find what sort of entries parade officials did allow:

Those include the Two Spirit Society, which honors gay American Indians as holy people, and an Asian group that performs dances to ward off evil spirits at the start of the Chinese New Year. [Downtown Denver Partnership Vice President Susan Rogers] Kark said they will not be expressing religious messages.

At this point, you need to stop, go back and review the two quoted paragraphs, substituting the word “Christian” for the word “religious.” Then you’ll get a clearer sense of what’s going on here.

The question at hand is not whether the parade officials are practicing a form of soft anti-Christian bigotry – that’s clearly established. The question is whether they have a right to do so:

The Parade of Lights is produced by a private nonprofit organization, the Downtown Denver Partnership. It receives 61 percent of its revenue from a consortium of 350 private commercial property owners whose goal is to promote the “improvement and enhancement” of the city.

Partnership Vice President Susan Rogers Kark said the parade doesn’t receive public money.

Even if the parade is a private entity, there still may be First Amendment issues at play, [former U.S. Attorney Mike] Norton said. The one-hour parade uses downtown city streets and is promoted as a citywide event.

As I heard suggested by a caller to a local radio show last night, anyone who plans to attend the Parade of Lights this weekend should show up with handmade “Merry Christmas” signs. That would send a message. Or would they have to leave the city because they were being too offensive?

I received this in an e-mail from a credible source but haven’t confirmed to see if or where it’s posted on the Web. The following essay was written recently by Pat Sajak – yes, you know who I’m talking about – one of the few sane voices coming out of the entertainment community. He has an established reputation as a center-right Republican. While this has probably cost Mr. Sajak some invitations to cocktail parties, it has enabled him to make a speech or two on the Hillsdale College campus – my proud alma mater.

Tired of spinning the wheel? Sit down and read what Pat Sajak has to say about Hollywood’s reaction to the recent murder of Dutch film director Theo Van Gogh by an Islamic radical.

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