A Nonconformist and Anonymous Conformist

This blog is called 'anonconformist' for two reasons:

1. Nonconformist: My belief in, yea commitment to, social freedoms paired with my conservative stance on social programs, taxation, illegal immigration, and the war on terror... yields me a nonconformist in any party, any culture or subculture. In spite of my position in life, the social circles in which I travel and the body in which I was born, the sum total of my beliefs do not mirror, in any way, shape or form, the views of most of my peers.
   
2. Anon(ymous) Conformist: I love a good debate, but I also respect the rights to other opinions. I'll confess to you that I shock the bjeebers out of friends when I make my points, for they have little or no factual ammunition with which to retort. I never take the opportunity to revel or drive the point home, because I believe we learn more when our backs aren't up against a wall. And so, in my own mind, if no other... I am an anonymous conformist.

I Don't Heart Huckabee

On the surface and earlier in the presidential marathon, Mike Huckabee has seemed to me to be... while likely not the candidate I would vote for, certainly an all around good guy with whom I would enjoy sharing a meal or a heart-to-heart conversation.

As this political season has progressed however, and as I have come to know him better, I'm pretty sure I've changed my mind.

Forget my bulleted list, my sentiment could not be better expressed.

To the Iranian People

The Tehran Times, obviously an officially approved news outlet, names Columbian University... "school of scandal", going so far as to challenge our freedom of expression.

Now to the Iranian people... it is not you or your ideology, culture or religion that is objectionable to Americans.

It is your leader, your government that we oppose.

Speaking for myself, as well as many of my fellow Americans...

Let's put politics and leaders aside. We embrace you. We perceive the weight of your shackles. And we empathisize with you. Like most of you, most of us, too, want to live freely in a safe world.

As Americans, we often disagree with our representative government, but we find comfort in knowing that the power to change it lies within us.

I wish you the same.

Mahmoud... What Was That About Freedom of Expression?

It seems that expression is not so free today, as Iran’s judiciary sealed off the offices of a popular news website critical of Ahmadinejad’s policies. This extreme measure was called for, after journalists continued to update the website in spite of official filtering.

Rights groups and diplomats say there is a broad crackdown on dissenting voices in the Islamic state, which is under growing Western pressure over its disputed nuclear programme. The authorities deny such moves, saying they allow free speech.

Blocking access to Baztab.com earlier this year was seen as part of the clampdown. Updates to the Web site, which is published in English and Farsi, were still available to Internet users outside Iran until the offices were sealed.

The last item on the Web site carried the headline: “The wish of the presidential office was realised and Baztab’s offices were sealed off”. The site, when accessed via a link outside Iran, indicated it was last updated on Sept. 23.

“Baztab’s offices were sealed off on Wednesday. The judiciary says that as the Web site has been filtered, its offices should be closed down as well,” Mohammad Javad Barbarian, Baztab’s managing director, was quoted by Etemad-e Melli daily as saying.

Baztab was banned in February on several charges, including ”spreading lies”. It reopened in March and continued to publish articles critical of the government, particularly its economic policies. It was filtered again -- meaning access was blocked -- in April.

Baztab is the second news Web site to be banned in recent months. Iran’s labour news agency, ILNA, which often reported on workers’ protests and arrests of rights activists, was closed by the authorities in July.

In addition, two prominent pro-reform newspapers, Ham Mihan and Sharq, both critical of the government, have been shut down.

Although Iran says it allows free speech, journalists say they have to tread carefully between a growing number of “red lines” to avoid closure. Iran’s culture minister in July said there were signs of a “creeping coup” in the country’s press.

No Homosexuals In Iran

There's a reason.

Fun Fact #12: Iranian President Speaks at Columbia U

And the final Fun Fact... my personal favorite of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's comments at Columbia University today:

In Iran, we don't have homosexuals like in your country.
We don't have that in our country.
In Iran, we do not have this phenomenon.
I don't know who's told you that we have it.