With the death of William F. Buckley, we have lost a great voice, but more importantly, a great mind.  Yes, his tone and inflection led many to view him as arrogant.  But he was a true intellectual…a man whose mind was precisely tuned and beyond most in his ability to talk and write on political topics. 

The Minneapolis StarTribune (2/28/08) excerpted a section of the mission statement written by Buckley when he founded the National Review.  In this statement, he contrasted Conservatives with Liberals.  Of Conservatives he said:

“We have nothing to offer but the best that is in us.  That, a thousand Liberals who read this sentiment will say with relief, is clearly not enough!  It isn’t enough.  But it is at this point that we steal the march.  For we offer, besides ourselves, a position that has not grown old under the weight of a gigantic, parasitic bureaucracy, a position untempered by the doctoral dissertations of a generation of Ph.D.s in social architecture, unattenuated by a thousand vulgar promises to a thousand different pressure groups, uncorroded by a cynical contempt for human freedom.  And that, ladies and gentlemen, leaves us just about the hottest thing in town.”

William F. Buckley left a legacy of writing and thought that provides the foundation for what Conservatism should be.  Unfortunately, with the loss of his voice, few remain to take up the sword of truth.

I continue to follow the case of Emmaline Manning.  The following was written by Frank Zufall of the Spooner Advocate on Spooner Online (February 13, 2008).

“The upcoming trial against Michael Stoner, 26, of Spooner, accused of physically abusing his fiancée’s 2-year-old daughter, Emma Manning, on Aug. 1, will be held in Washburn County and an interview Stoner participated in with an investigator on Aug. 3, 2007, will be admissible in the case.

“Stoner is charged with first-degree recklessly endangering safety, and child abuse while recklessly causing great harm, both felonies alleged to have arisen from head injuries Manning incurred on Aug. 1 at Stoner’s parent’s home.

“Stoner also is charged with resisting or obstructing an officer, a misdemeanor, from when Stoner allegedly ran away from deputies who had gone to interview him at his home on Aug. 3.

“Stoner’s attorney, Jay Heit, had submitted a motion for a change of venue because of pretrial publicity and a motion to have an Aug. 3 interview with Stoner deemed inadmissible because, Heit alleged, the investigator interviewing Stoner had used ‘subtle coercion’ to make Stoner agree to talk to the investigator without a lawyer present.

“On both motions, St. Croix County Circuit Judge Scott Needham, the judge hearing the case against Stoner, ruled against Heit.

In his written decision regarding pretrial publicity, Needham wrote that evidence included 16 newspaper articles (most current dated Sept. 6, 20 Sept. 6, 2007), nine Web sites and radio segments, and an Aug. 6 Washburn County Sheriff’s Office press conference.

“Needham wrote, ‘While the information contained in the articles and the radio segments noted above may inform potential jurors about the general nature of the allegations against the defendant, this does not make the information objectionable, but it will be found to be objectionable when it is editorialized and attempts to influence public opinion against the accused.’

“The judge wrote the media coverage would not prejudice the case against Stoner.

“Needham offered several reasons for rejecting Heit’s motion for throwing out Stoner’s Aug. 3 interview.

“The judge first addressed whether Stoner had properly received his Miranda rights…’Not only were his rights explained to him several times, but he was allowed time to think about his decision, and was allowed to ask questions clarifying his rights…’ The judge then addressed the circumstances to determine if any factor became a roadblock in Stoner asking for an attorney…the investigator told defendant repeatedly that if he wanted a lawyer, they would stop and would not continue until a lawyer was present. The investigator also gave defendant time to think the situation over, and after doing so said, ‘I’ll talk to you guys.’

“Finally, Needman discussed whether Stoner’s statements were ‘voluntary’ and ‘not a product of coercion.’

 ‘After independent review of the record, including the video-taped recording of the defendant’s interrogation, the court holds that there existed no coercive police conduct,’ wrote Needham.

“There remains yet one more motion for Judge Needham to rule on: a request to have a jury impaneled from a different county.”

So, that is the update. 

The most critical issue faced by civilization so far this century is the threat of islamofascism.  I would argue that this threat is the greatest threat faced by civilization since the Crusades.  Democrats, in general, and leftists as a totality, don’t recognize this threat.  This is most recently documented by their very own messiah, Barack Hussein Obama.  During the Tuesday night Democrat debate, he stated that he “would act if al-Qaida is forming a base in Iraq”.  John McCain noted, correctly, that “I have some news.  Al-Qaida is in Iraq.  It’s called ‘al-Qaida in Iraq”. 

Clearly, Obama has no real understanding of the world that he would be governing if he were actually elected President of the United States of America!

Of course, Obama’s spin factory came out after the fact to try to correct the error.  The reality is this…Obama is the least qualified of any candidate running for the presidency of the United States.  He is also the least qualified of all the candidates running nationwide for the position of state representative, state Senator, or dog catcher.  He is only receiving the focus that he is receiving because he is reaching leftists.  He is reaching them because they have racial guilt.  He is reaching them because they have no religion.  He is reaching them because they transfer their irrational belief systems to the political arena. Barack Hussein Obama is their messiah…their secular prophet.  And as a result we could end up with a President who has no understanding of right and wrong, no understanding of good and evil, and no understanding of the enemy we are f acing.  This is what is scaring, my friends. 

Listen up.  There is an enemy.  Actually, there are two.  The first is the internal enemy that we face every day.  Louis Farrakon of the Nation of Islam epitomizes that enemy…along with the media, Hollywood, and all the far left politicians gaining more and more control of this country.  The second enemy is radical Islamic fascism. 

Both enemies are evil.  The left can pretend that our enemies don’t exist…just as Neville Chamberlain pretended that Hitler was swell guy.  Guess what…because of that philosophy, millions died.  We cannot let the namesake of Saddam Hussein take over this country and destroy all that has been built since 1776.  We cannot allow the sacrifice of our soldiers to be in vain as we did with those who died in Vietnam. 

We HAVE to stand up and confront the evil that we face.  It is time to stop the political dance and exorcise the enemy.  Now it is serious, people.  NOW IT IS SERIOUS.

According to a posting on the WEAU TV website , there will be no change of venue in the Michael Stoner trial.  (http://www.weau.com/news/headlines/15647197.html)  This is the posting in its entirety:

“The trial of a Spooner man charged with abusing his fiancee's daughter will stay in Washburn County, but with an outside judge.

“Attorneys for 26-year-old Michael Stoner had asked for a change of venue for his upcoming trial. That motion was denied but Judge Patrick Needham, from St. Croix County, has been assigned to the case.

“Stoner survived the 35W bridge collapse last summer, but then was charged with abusing two-year-old Emmaline Manning.

“Manning's grandmother told us the little girl will be released from a Twin Cities hospital soon but that she is not making any progress from her serious injuries.”

This is contrary to several earlier posts on this site from relatives or friends of Mr. Stoner who claimed that the child was improving from her injuries.  As I have said many times before, this trial needs to begin and be finished.  If Mr. Stoner is innocent, let him be acquitted.  If he is guilty, may he serve many, many years in prison.

While it is difficult to experience, I am no longer surprised at what people will do to harm one another.  But, when that harm comes to children, it is even more horrific and even more difficult to incorporate into the workings of my brain.  And yet, the violence goes on and on.  This week was no exception.  In fact in a two-day period, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported three separate situations related to child abuse. 

1. (2/12) A St. Paul man was sentenced to less than five years in prison after pleading guilty to one felony count of “malicious punishment of a child”.  He probably will only have to serve two-thirds of that sentence.  The abuse left the eight-month old child with permanent brain damage. This was the second incident concerning abuse or neglect of the child.
2. (2/12, 2/13) A woman who is a known drug user is accused of beating a four-year old boy in her care.  She did this while ordering two of her own children to hold the child down.  After the beating, the woman left the victim on a bed for two days, and then “shoved the body into a plastic garbage bag and stashed it in a closet”.  This is the second incident in which this woman has been investigated for child abuse.  In the first, a child in her care ended up burned and with broken bones.
3. (2/13) A six year old girl was in a vestibule of an apartment building when a man walked into the entryway, carrying a gun in his waistband. The gun fell down his pants and as the man began shaking his legs to get it loose, the gun discharged. The girl was grazed in the leg by the bullet. The perpetrator has not been found as of this writing.

Obviously, there is a common thread in the first two of these cases.  In both, the authorities had some forewarning but did not take steps to stop a second incident of child abuse.  In all three situations, an innocent child was hurt.  In all three cases, the children will experience both physical and emotional trauma for the rest of their lives.  And, or course, other children who witnessed or even heard about  the abuse will also suffer.  Trauma does not go away when the abuse is stopped.

This is why we all need to watch out for the children and to empower them.  No child deserves to be treated like that and no child deserves to live in fear.

WE CAN STOP CHILD ABUSE.  WE HAVE TO STOP CHILD ABUSE.  If not to save a child from the horror, fear, and trauma, then to save our society...our culture.  April is Child Abuse Prevention Month.  But every day should be Child Abuse Prevention Day!  Those of us who are on the Right and those of us who are on the Left...this is the time to join together for what I believe to be the most important common cause of all.  WE CAN DO THIS, BECAUSE THIS ONE IS SERIOUS!!!!!!!!!

Vietnam should have taught a lesson but it didn’t.  So many people like to pat themselves on the back as they brag about how they respect our troops and would never treat them like Vietnam veterans were treated.  At the same time they belittle the work being done by those same men and women.  In the liberal rag that is our state’s largest newspaper we rarely see anything that supports our troops AND their mission.  Today, however, I found a letter to the editor that I had to reprint for all of you.  The letter was written by Peggy Brask (Minneapolis StarTribune, 2/2/08).

TO SUPPORT OUR TROOPS

Tell their success stories

“I never read anything positive about the war. It is always casualties, and the money, and this is a waste of time. While every casualty is horrific and tragic, I also think that amazing things are happening over there.

“I am a flight attendant and have taken some of the service men and women over and they are proud and they are making a difference. However, they are also scared and miss their families terribly.

“One man recently had a panic attack on the way over. He needs our support. He needs to know that we are aware of the huge sacrifices he is making for us. He needs to hear us tell a story we have heard of the wonderful things he is doing.

“I feel this treatment is a lot like Vietnam. We don't call them baby killers, but we tell them what a colossal waste of time and money this war is. We need to let these men and women know we are proud of their wonderful accomplishments. We need to help them make the transition back home by telling them we saw or read about a school or a family or a town they helped.

“Could we please stop worrying about politics for one minute and start telling some stories of hope and love and miracles in the making? God bless our troops.”

Thank you, Ms. Brask!