The citing of the RINO sightings’ insights

This week’s RINO Sightings Carnival is hosted by Doug Mataconis at his excellent Blog, “Below the Beltway.”
In addition to reviewing the many fine posts, Doug links to his own reflections on a Peggy Noonan editorial and asks a question on the minds of many:
Have the Republicans been snookered?
That’s good question, and I think it may shed light on the questions I raised in my post about about “Goldwater liberalism“. It’s simple logic, really; if advocacy of big government interventionism is now defined as “conservativism,” then why not call principled opposition to big government “liberalism”? (FWIW, I think Bush forged an uneasy coalition between remnants of Rockefeller Republicans and moral majority-style social conservatives — hoping the Goldwater-style libertarians would just go along with it. Hey, it worked; the guy got his second term, and by the time the check bounces, he’ll be out of town. That’s not a personal indictment of Bush so much as a reflection on the nature of politics.)
Among the posts which stood out for me:
Barry Campbell reminds us that having children is now as politicized as not having them — with conservatives having the kids and liberals keeping pets. (Meanwhile, the government regulates the kids, while the Animal Rights people want to regulate the dogs.)
jd at evolution has a post on crackpots who are apparently invoking religion to oppose vaccination against cervical cancer. Sigh. The same mentality opposed the development of treatment for syphilis, as the latter was thought to be a sexual deterrent — by way of “God’s punishment.” Yet various remedies for menstrual cramps are sold over the counter despite the fact that menstruation is every bit as much “God’s punishment” — so isn’t that a double standard? In fairness, I see no reason why people with religious objections shouldn’t have the right not to be vaccinated (or to refuse aspirin for menstrual cramps), in the same way that people with religious objections to certain foods may refuse to eat them. Just please stay away from my plate, and leave my health issues to me, will you Dr. Dobson? In return, I promise to stay away from your dinner table and your medicine cabinet. What could be more fair than that? (Not to complicate the discussion, but I feel obligated to point out that there is also a religious view that even God’s alleged curses constitute challenges to be overcome.)
Chris Tiberius advocates war with Canada (at least a Tomahawk rocket attack) to save the fluffy baby seals. The bastards up there have brought it on themselves by scolding the U.S. about environmental issues. When we think of baby seals, we’re supposed to think of cutesy postcards for sale at Barnes and Noble, not images of “adorable fluffy pelts splattered red, crying out in pain as the spears are plunged into their brains.” Still, I don’t know if I’d go along with outright war, as we’re too busy in other countries right now to tackle Canada. Maybe just send in the SEALS to save the seals.
And Tom Hanna didn’t like the historical revisionism in a WorldNetDaily film review. (Considering WorldNetDaily made me defend a film I didn’t even like, I’m not surprised.)
Great carnival; read them all!