Fraters Libertas

• Giving Thanks

  Quick thought for Thanksgiving from a song that our four-year-old son recently learned and has been spontaneously breaking into of late: Thank you God for giving meAll these people I can love People in my family Thank you God in heaven above Happy Thanksgiving. Gobble, gobble. [...]
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  Posted: November 26, 2009, 5:54am EST
  

• Do you ever...

  Do you ever look at people born after 1973 and just think "Man, you are lucky to even be here." [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 12:15pm EST
  

• "Stup"ing to Conquer

  You ever wonder why certain memories suddenly pop into your head? The other day, I was walking out to my car after work when out of the blue my subconscious dredges up a childhood memory that hadn't crossed my mind years. The year was 1977 or thereabouts. The place was' [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 10:49am EST
  

• You Like-a da Juice, ah?

  If I may intervene in Chad's home life for a minute, the following approach may also prove effective in the juice request department:You Like The Juice? Juice is Good? - watch more funny videos [...]
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  Posted: November 24, 2009, 12:11pm EST
  

• Juiced

  With three small children underfoot, my wife and I are constantly fielding requests for food and beverages. The most common of the latter is for "juice." Kids do love their juice. We try to somewhat limit the amount of juice consumed every day by cutting it heavily with water. This [...]
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  Posted: November 24, 2009, 1:07am EST
  

• It Takes a Nation of Cowards to Hold Us Back

  Last week Eric Holder gave testimony in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, addressing his decision to take the 911 terrorists out of the military justice system and bring them to New York City to participate in a civilian trial. His remarks about those who criticized his decision were of [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2009, 6:54pm EST
  

• Mass Casualties

  A few thoughts/questions on mass.1. When it did become acceptable to break out into applause during the service? I don't remember it ever happening in the 70's or 80's. 90's perhaps? I find it grating, to say the least. During Sunday's service there was not one, not two, but three [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2009, 3:32pm EST
  

• Instant Karma's Gonna Get You

  It wasn't like I tried to do it. I was just sitting in my seat trying to keep tabs on the two kids next to me on the flight to Miami. So when the flight attendant caught my shoe as she tried to make her way past, took a header,' [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2009, 8:41am EST
  

• Oddfellows

  I'm not big into superstition and certainly not numerology, but I still find the following rather interesting to consider. If I was asked to choose a lucky number, I would have to go with three. The other contender would be two and therefore combinations of them--23, 32--would also be lucky' [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2009, 1:27am EST
  

• Northern Alliance Radio Network

  The Northern Alliance Radio Network is back LIVE for another exciting and provocative broadcast day.It all starts at 11AM central with me and John Hinderaker. We'll likely talk about the Eric Holder testimony this week, Sarah Palin's book and other literary masterpieces by politicians, and about illegaly hacked emails about' [...]
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  Posted: November 21, 2009, 9:47am EST
  

• Beer of the Week (Vol. XXXI)

  This week's edition of Beer of the Week brought to you as always by the festive folk at Glen Lake Wine & Spirits. They've got everything you need for holiday cheer whether you've been naughty or nice. Many of our current Christmas traditions and customs have come to us from [...]
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  Posted: November 20, 2009, 4:16am EST
  

• No Glee In Mudville

  There's no reason that I should like Fox's television series Glee. It's a musical comedy set in a high school. While I enjoy plays and movies, I generally can't stand musical versions of either. Way back in junior high I remember going on a class field trip to see a' [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 5:45pm EST
  

• All the Wrong Reasons

  I see some merit to Chad's comments from the other day about the perils of providing unconditional support to Sarah Palin based on reasons other than her individual merit.Then I saw that MinnPost approvingly commented and linked to the sentiment.This is good.If the Democrats, feminists, media elites, and Beltway insiders [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 11:08am EST
  

• Doing That Crazy Hand Jive

  Irish lodge protest after cheat shuts them out: Ireland appealed to France and soccer authorities Thursday to replay their World Cup playoff in Paris after an obvious handball by Henry produced the winning goal.Ireland's government and opposition leaders united in demands for Wednesday's 1-1 draw in France to be replayed, [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 10:38am EST
  

• Hit the Lights

  Fraters resident energy guy (what, you don't have a guy?) Tim from Colorado e-mails on the approach of a new dark age:So this is how it will all begin.Xcel Energy is launching a state wide program on December 11th "to promote energy efficiency and the purchase of compact fluorescent bulbs.""The'" [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 9:20am EST
  

• Brown Out

  NFL fans everywhere are eagerly anticipating this Sunday's showdown between the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns. Not since the epic Browns-Bills shootout in Week Five, when Cleveland clawed out a 6-3 win, has a game attracted this kind of excitement. Many intriguing questions are already emerging as the pre-game buzz [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 11:55am EST
  

• Hammer Time

  The most recent edition of National Review features Charles Krauthammer on its cover and has a good piece on the indispensible intellectual/pundit by Jay Nordlinger called Critic-in-Chief (sub req): So, Charles Krauthammer has not exactly been a wallflower or nonentity. But since January 20, 2009, his fame, reach, and popularity [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 11:03am EST
  

• All The Right Reasons

  Caught a good bit of Rush's interview with Sarah Palin today over the lunch hour. I thought her performance was decent if a little uneven. She displayed the same down-home folksy Palin charm that we saw on the campaign trail last year. And there's no denying that there's a certain [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 5:23pm EST
  

• It All Depends On Whose Baby Is Being Gored

  This following story caught my eye for a number of reasons. Man Gets Life In Punching Death Of Fetus: A Hopkins man accused of having a friend punch his pregnant girlfriend to kill the fetus has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole.Twenty-five-year-old Dameon Gatson was [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 1:45am EST
  

• You've Come A Long Way Ralphie

  In Friday's WSJ, Eric Felten writes on the marginalization of Thanksgiving: Given half a chance, retailers would probably try to get their plastic garlands hung just after Labor Day. (Ho-ho-ho, it's back to school!) But we've been spared that particular encroachment, thanks to a holiday that has proved capable of' [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 4:59pm EST
  

• If You Build It, They Won't Fumble

  After yesterday's victory over the Lions, Vikings head coach Brad Childress made what has to be the worst excuse for a player's performance and the worst pitch for a new stadium for the team that we've heard to date: We asked Brad Childress if Adrian Peterson could have done anything' [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 12:23pm EST
  

• What A Country!

  French intellectual Guy Sorman speaking with Russian economic advisor Arkady Dvorkovitch on global warming (from Sorman's book Economics Does Not Lie: The growth potential of China and India has convinced them that oil prices can only further rise, to Russia's great benefit. When I raise the specter of global warming [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 11:56am EST
  

• Fraters Stimulus A Success

  For some months now, there has been a severe blog post recession. Among Minnesota conservative blogs especially, there has been a significant decrease in the number of posts. In an effort to put an end to this recession, at least at Fraters Libertas, Chad the Elder put together a Blog [...]
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  Posted: November 14, 2009, 2:25pm EST
  

• Northern Alliance Radio Network

  Word is finally leaking out to the wider world about a certain Saturday radio program being hosted by bloggers. And reviews so far are less than raving:Oh, great. Just what we needed: Four hours of radio consisting of bloggers no one knows about yapping about blogs no one cares about.Turning [...]
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  Posted: November 14, 2009, 10:13am EST
  

• The Same Cat With Different Stripes?

  Matthew Continetti has an interesting piece in today's WSJ that asks Can Sarah Palin Make a Comeback?: Could Ms. Palin follow Reagan's example? Maybe. She'd need to return to her 2006 playbook.In Alaska, Ms. Palin didn't run as a culture warrior. She focused on issues with overwhelming public support: ethics [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 1:56pm EST
  

• Beer of the Week (Vol. XXX)

  Another Beer of the Week brought to you as always by the right jolly fellows at Glen Lake Wine & Spirits. Why bother with the agonies of shopping at the mall when everything you need to spread holiday cheer is available at their store? The coming of winter is not [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 1:12am EST
  

• Radio Free America

  I noticed the look of the AM1280 the Patriot web site has been updated. Most prominently, the podcast links for the various programs have been removed from the front page. They're now accessible only via the tiny "podcasts" button near the top of the page.This move was no doubt caused' [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 10:37pm EST
  

• Can't Hardly Wait

  I've never been very good at waiting. Actually, that should be amended slightly: I've never been very good at unplanned waiting. If I know that I'm going to have to wait in advance--for a plane, during an auto repair, etc.--I can prepare for it by having a book or my' [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 1:46am EST
  

• Not Giving As Taking

  David Harsanyi has a killer piece on the delicious irony of pro-choice Democrats being concerned about the health care bill restricting abortion rights and freedom called Freedom to Confuse: Take the torrent of hypocrisy that spilled from the jilted pro-choice wing of the Democratic Party after a House amendment to [...]
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  Posted: November 11, 2009, 1:30pm EST
  

• Inviting Them Over Here So They Can Fight Over There?

  Alleged Somali recruiter arrested, linked to Minnesota: A 43-year-old Somali man from Minneapolis was arrested this week in the Netherlands for allegedly financing the recruitment of up to 20 young Somali men from Minnesota to train and fight with terrorists in their homeland.The arrest appears to be the most significant [...]
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  Posted: November 11, 2009, 12:13pm EST
  

• Free To Go

  All of the recent commentary and remembrances of the fall of the Berlin Wall remind us again of how the Wall became a stark symbol of the divide and differences between the Communist block and the West. It brought clarity to the Cold War struggle and made efforts to claim [...]
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  Posted: November 10, 2009, 11:13am EST
  

• Dazed and Confused

  Sen. John Kerry on how he came to the conclusion that we need to dial back it back a few notches in Afghanistan.Last month I was traveling down a dirt road in Afghanistan's Helmand province in a heavily armored vehicle. Through thick, bullet-proof windows, I could see Afghans staring as [...]
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  Posted: November 09, 2009, 10:00pm EST
  

• Welcome To Our Crib

  Every day, the media is filled with stories about the difficult economic times we're facing. With unemployment and foreclosures rising there's no doubt that a lot of Americans are hurting out there. With some many people in so much need, it's a time when Americans look to their charities to' [...]
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  Posted: November 09, 2009, 3:46pm EST
  

• The Eleventh Hour

  UPDATE: Bumped to today. A trio of offers and activities to commemorate Veteran's Day today. First up, John (himself a vet) e-mails to make us aware of a very special offer from Applebee's: On Veterans Day all active duty military and vets can eat free at Applebee's. All they have' [...]
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  Posted: November 09, 2009, 12:17pm EST
  

• Northern Alliance Radio Network

  The Northern Alliance Radio Network is back LIVE for another exciting and highly significant broadcast day. The full First Team should be assembled, as John Hinderaker is reportedly recovered from the pig flu, tanned, rested and ready for a dramatic return. It all starts at 11AM central. Highlight is likely [...]
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  Posted: November 07, 2009, 10:00am EST
  

• The Nature of the Regime

  In Thursday's Star Tribune Gail Rosenblum had a column about an Iranian exile living in the US. Tajadod Pritschet was from a wealthy, prominent family in pre- Revolution Iran. Upon the violent takeover by the mullahs, things turned ugly for her and all of those living non-Islamic fundamentalist compliant lifestyles. [...]
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  Posted: November 07, 2009, 3:21am EST
  

• Damn Liberal Yankees

  If you need another reason to hate the Democrats, here it is. Union workers, welfare queens and and illegal aliens thrive under Democratic administrations, but not as much as the New York Yankees.In this, the first year of the Obama Administration, the Yankees won their first World Series since . [...]
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  Posted: November 06, 2009, 9:52pm EST
  

• Beer of the Week (Vol. XXIX)

  After a two week hiatus, baby we're back with another Beer of the Week brought to you by the good Americans at Glen Lake Wine & Spirits. Having spent the last few weeks in Asia, I'm glad to be back in the good ol' U.S. of A., home to the' [...]
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  Posted: November 06, 2009, 3:34pm EST
  

• Go-Go Gone

  Twins trade Gomez to Brewers for shortstop Hardy:With one swift move, the Twins addressed two important needs today, trading center fielder Carlos Gomez to the Brewers for former All-Star shortstop J.J. Hardy.The move gives the Twins a shortstop to replace free agent Orlando Cabrera and clears up an outfield logjam. [...]
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  Posted: November 06, 2009, 1:08pm EST
  

• We Have The Power

  Tim from Colorado e-mails to explain that if the Obama Administration's energy policies continue, we may all be left dancing in the dark: There are two types of power demand: base-load and peak-load. Base load is the minimum amount of energy you need to operate essential services like hospitals, water [...]
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  Posted: November 06, 2009, 12:30pm EST
  

• A Simple Plan

  (Begin with black screen and somber music in background. Scroll the following in bold white text.) U.S. unemployment rate in January 2007 when Democrats assumed control of Congress? 4.6% U.S. unemployment rate in October 2009? 10.2% According to a recent CNN poll, percentage of Americans who believe the economy is [...]
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  Posted: November 06, 2009, 10:57am EST
  

• Grandchildren of the Revolution

  Had an interesting conversation at dinner with a Chinese colleague last week while in Nanjing. She was talking about the devastating impact that the Cultural Revolution had on so much of traditional Chinese culture. She fears that a good deal of it had been lost forever despite recent efforts in [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2009, 1:35pm EST
  

• Dreams of My Blogger

  Had a dream about the Ukraine last night. Won't go into details lest I find myself going through another EST-like session of dream analysis/interpretation at the hands of Mister/Doctor/Professor Saint Paul. But I do think it's an positive omen that we will soon see another posting from the reclusive Crazy' [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2009, 11:42am EST
  

• Playing Favorites

  In yesterday's WSJ, Thomas Frank revealed a shocking discovery that he had unearthed: Glenn Beck's red phone is not really a hotline to the White House. No! You mean that the phone is nothing but a schlocky part of Beck's shtick whose purpose is to entertain and amuse his audience? [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2009, 8:55am EST
  

• Getting Well Soon

  Dear President Obama- Just wanted to drop you a note and thank you for everything. As you know, last January we were in pretty rough shape. Our obituary was being written and some were ready to dump our corpse on the dead cart. Now, thanks to your arrogance, overreach, and [...]
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  Posted: November 04, 2009, 11:24am EST
  

• Paging Mr. Weber

  Every time I finish up a trip to Manila I'm left with a puzzle. The population is young, energetic, and friendly. Many have a decent education, speak pretty good English, and have a cultural affinity with the United States. Their country sits astride some of the most important trade routes' [...]
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  Posted: November 04, 2009, 1:54am EST
  

• Two For The Road

  Read two worthy books on my recent bidneess trip. First up was Jonah Goldberg's indispensible work on the history of fascism and its connection to progressive American politics. So much has already been written about the book that I don't feel the need to add much other than to reaffirm' [...]
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  Posted: November 03, 2009, 11:56am EST
  

• No Chickens Left Behind

  From The Hill, a report on the latest pronouncement from Rep. Jim Oberstar:... slipping into Creole, Oberstar said, "A white guy gave us these chickensbut we don't have food for them. If we had the feed, we'd eat it ourselves."Not something you hear every day from the distinguished Chairman of [...]
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  Posted: November 03, 2009, 1:03am EST
  

• Advice For A Falltime Homeowner

  I had a war on my hands this weekend.Sunday I made a massive assault on the yard. Like FDR, I am forced to wage a two-front war. And again like FDR, I set priorities. The front yard is the equivalent of Nazi Germany with a massive Silver Maple, two Choke [...]
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  Posted: November 02, 2009, 8:43pm EST
  

• In Economy, Stupid

  You warily glance down the aisle and spot a beefy gent clad in a t-shirt and gym shorts struggling through the narrow passage way. You avoid eye contact, bow your head, and silently plead, "Please no, please no, please no..." A shadow falls across your face and you feel (and [...]
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  Posted: November 02, 2009, 3:35pm EST
  

• Gut Shot In Green Bay

  Two-year contract to sign aging quarterback who played for hated rival for many years...$25 million. Seeing said aging quarterback return to rival's home field and stick a dagger into the hearts of fans...Priceless. When the Vikings signed Favre I was extremely skeptical that the move would work out. But after [...]
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  Posted: November 02, 2009, 11:29am EST