"The spirit of Ronald Reagan is alive and well in America"

Washington-based foreign affairs analyst Nile Gardiner in his blog for the Daily Telegraph:

Last November, liberal commentators wrote off conservatism in America as dead and buried. As the latest Gallup poll shows they were spectacularly wrong. It is no coincidence that the most watched news network, the top selling national newspaper, and the most listened to radio shows in the United States are now all conservative.

The success of Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and talk radio hosts such as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Mark Levin, is a powerful symbol of a vigorous challenge to current liberal dominance of Washington. The vast conservative blogosphere is also an increasingly influential force, from National Review’s The Corner to The Drudge Report, as are leading conservative commentators such as Charles Krauthammer. Combine that with a huge rise in membership this year for grass roots conservative groups campaigning against higher taxes, socialized health care, increased government spending, and defence cuts, and you have the foundations of another conservative revolution.

The spirit of Ronald Reagan is alive and well in America, exemplified by strong public backing for the principles of limited government, free enterprise, individual responsibility and a strong defence. The White House should sit up and take note: it is liberalism, and not conservatism, that is in decline in the United States.

Thanks: Sandra Kennedy.

Not one of those evasive Christians..

They say that big surprises come in small packages, and that’s the plain truth. In this case the package is an article on Slate, written by a guy whose first name is Christopher, but you can bet that he would have preferred a different name—“Christopher,” as it is well known, is of Greek origin, and its meaning is “bearing Christ inside”—had he had the choice. Oh, sorry! I hate people who beat about the bush! But then again, as you probably already guessed, I am talking about “that” Christopher, to be precise the journalist/writer who was the only witness called by the Vatican to give evidence against Mother Teresa’s beatification and canonization process..

And this is what he has to say about Pastor Douglas Wilson :

Wilson isn’t one of those evasive Christians who mumble apologetically about how some of the Bible stories are really just “metaphors.” He is willing to maintain very staunchly that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ and that his sacrifice redeems our state of sin, which in turn is the outcome of our rebellion against God. He doesn’t waffle when asked why God allows so much evil and suffering—of course he “allows” it since it is the inescapable state of rebellious sinners. I much prefer this sincerity to the vague and Python-esque witterings of the interfaith and ecumenical groups who barely respect their own traditions and who look upon faith as just another word for community organizing.

Absolutely nothing to add. Read the whole thing here. (Via Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP)