November 2008 Archives

Sometimes when I watch (or listen to) the news, I get the feeling that I've walked in in the middle of the movie--I have no idea what has gone on before or how it all fits together.  For any of you out there who may have that feeling about the Coleman/Franken recount going on in Minnesota, the Minnesota Star Tribune has the perfect page for you.  They have put up a page of frequently asked questions about the recount.  The most interesting part of the story--

"The recount must be finished by Friday , and the Canvassing Board will meet Dec. 16 to certify results; it aims to finish that job by Dec. 19, but will take longer if necessary. The winner is supposed to be sworn into office on Jan. 3, but that's assuming there is a clear winner by then."

There is a possibility of the US Senate getting involved in this (because the Democrats control the Senate, they would probably seat Franken), but this would be such a public-relations nightmare, I can't imagine them being willing to get involved.  Minnesota is a unique state politically--these are the people who elected Jesse Ventura as governor. 

The UK Telegraph has a story about the information gleaned from the surviving terrorist on the planning and execution of the Mumbai attack.  The ten men involved were fighting for an independent Kasmir.  Their plan was to kill as many civilians as possible before settling on their eventual targets.  They were recruited knowing that this would probably be a suicide mission.

Let's take a look at this.  Targeting Americans, Brits, and Jews has no relation whatsoever to Kasmir.  Torturing civilians as documented on Power Line Blog was also part of the attack.  There was no consideration given to women and children--they were gunned down too.  According to Melanie Phillips (author of Londonistan) in the UK Spectator--

"The atrocities demonstrated with crystal clarity what the Islamist war is all about - and the western commentariat didn't understand because it simply refuses to acknowledge, even now, what that war actually is. It does not arise from particular grievances. It is not rooted in "despair" over Palestine. It is not a reaction to the war in Iraq. It is a war waged in the name of Islam against America, Britain, Hindus, Jews and all who refuse to submit to Islamic conquest.

What of the Islamists treatment of their Jewish targets? Phillips writes:

They went to some lengths in addition to single out a centre for observant Jews. Rabbi Holtzberg and his wife Rivka were murdered not because of Palestine but simply because they were Jews. That is because hatred of Jews as Jews is fundamental to the Islamists' hatred of the west - and of Israel."

 

The people who planned and committed these atrocities are no different than the people who planned and carried out 9/11.  In fact, they may be some of the same people or talking to some of the same people.  They have used young men who were unhappy about India having control of Kasmir and convinced them to take part in something that would cost them their lives and have no actual impact on the problem they were upset about.  It makes no sense.

One side effect of this episode is the fact that Pakistan now fears an attack from India in retribution.  Pakistan is moving forces away from the areas bordering Afghanistan over to its India border in order to be prepared.  This means that the pressure from Pakistan is off Al Qaeda in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.  Hmm.  This means that due to ten men who were unhappy about Kasmir, Osama Bin Laden is under a little less threat.  It is a shame that these ten men were manipulated into doing what they did, but it is a bigger shame that they were at a point where they were willing to do it.  I don't know the cure for that kind of hate.  It concerns me that many (not all) muslim schools are teaching that kind of hate to future generations.  We may reach a point where the only answer is to lock up anyone suspected of being or communicating with terrorists indefinitely.

 

I found this on Pajamas Media posted by Blackfive.  I am in awe of our military men.  I thank God for all of them.

 

"Another reason to give thanks...that we have men like the SEAL who left this note to warn visitors, doctors, and anyone else *cough reporters* who might have a negative attitude.

Received from a reader tonight "

 

Czech President, Vaclav Klaus, who is a sceptic on climate change, will take up the rotating presidency of the European Union next year.  He is already getting bashed by climate alarmists.  According to an article in the Sydney Morning Herald--

"The New York Times opened a profile of Klaus, 67, this week with a quote from a 1980s communist secret agent's report, claiming he behaves like a "rejected genius", and asserts there is "palpable fear" he will "embarrass" the EU."

Geologist and University of Adelaide professor Ian Plimer, one of Australia's leading enviro-sceptics, says he has noticed audiences becoming more receptive to his message that climate change has always occurred and there is nothing we can do to stop it.  His new book, Heaven And Earth: The Missing Science Of Global Warming, to be published early next year.

As people begin the realize the cost of fighting so-called global warming and the impact that fight will have on their freedom, many are becoming less likely to blindly accept the conclusions of the scientists who promote the idea.  One of the telling things about this debate is that differing opinions and data are not allowed.  Scientists who have spoken out against the faulty science used to prove global warming have been shunned, lost jobs, or smeared in the liberal press. 

Actually, a lot of recent information supports global cooling--the lack of sunspot activity over the past five years has resulted in cooler temperatures rather than warmer temperatures.  The website wattsupwiththat.com generally has good information on climate change.  There is an article there right now about the glaciers in Norway and Alaska growing rather than shrinking.

 

 

According to Breitbart.com the sixty-hour siege in Mumbai has ended.  The violence began Wednesday night with a coordinated attack on 10 places.  The terrorists used blackberries to communicate and carried almonds with them to keep their energy up through a long siege.  The attack was well planned and carried out with precision.  Indian and Pakistani law enforcement teams will be investigating the incident to find out who is responsible.  The American FBI will also be helping with the investigation.  Hopefully the investigation can be done with an eye to preventing future incidents rather than India and Pakistan each trying to blame the other. 

India and Pakistan have a history of problems relating to Kashmir.  According to analysts, a circular tit-for-tat series of attacks is in motion: Pakistan supports jihadis in Kashmir; Pakistan accuses India of in turn supporting Taliban militants fighting against Pakistani security forces along the Afghan border.  This background tension makes it difficult to honestly investigate the incident. 

There is also the matter of destabilizing a country with a muslim population that has nuclear weapons.  Both India and Pakistan have nuclear weapons.  Both countries have different groups within their countries that make national unity a challenge.  I'm sure the terrorists who have been expelled from Iraq and Afghanistan would like a new home.

Someone much wiser than I once made the comment that the way the Jews of the world are treated is the 'canary in the coal mine' of the state of humanity.  There is a lot going on right now that makes me fear for the safety of the canary.  There has been a rise in anti-Semitism in Europe over the past five years, there has been a rewriting of history in terms of the nation of Israel--the Jews are not occupiers--the land was given to them in 1948.  And now, there has been a large part of the Mumbai terrorism story untold.

According to Power Line Blog one of the targets of the terrorists was the Chabad House.  All hostages in the Chabad House were killed by the terrorists.  British and Americans were targets at the hotels attacked, but the Chabad House was attacked because it was a Jewish target and all hostages inside were killed.  Please read the article at Power Line for the rest of the story.

There is a short article at Power Line Blog about the terrorist attacks during the past few days.  The article, however, has a slightly different slant--it deals with the reporting.  Power Line Blog is written by three lawyers, and sometimes they have amazing insight in what is happening in our world.  Here is a quote from the article--

"This is a screen grab of one of the Islamic terrorists who attacked Mumbai:

Reuters' caption for the photo begins: "A suspected gunman walks outside the premises of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus or Victoria Terminus railway station in Mumbai November 26, 2008."

Notice the object the terrorist is holding in his hands. It's a gun. He isn't a "suspected gunman," he's a "gunman.""

There was an article at Breitbart.com yesterday about the growing alliance between Russia and Venezuela.  The lead paragraph of the paragraph states that Russia will help start a nuclear enegy program in Venezuela and that Russia will be participating in the organization of a socialist trade bloc in Latin America lead by Hugo Chavez.

Why does one of the biggest suppliers of oil in the Western Hemisphere need nuclear energy?  Doesn't this sound like the same logic that Iran used to start her nuclear program?  I have no idea what the right solution to the problem of Venezuela going nuclear is, but I can tell you that with Russian warships visiting her and massive purchases of Russian arms, this is going to get complicated.  This is the Cuban missle crisis on steriods.

According to Bloomberg.com, the GM executives that breezed into Washington recently in their private jets have now asked that the Federal Aviation Administration remove the corporate jets of their company from its tracking service.  This would prevent the public from having access to any of the corporatate plane's movements or any passenger lists.  According to the article--

""We availed ourselves of the option as others do to have the aircraft removed" from a Federal Aviation Administration tracking service, a GM spokesman, Greg Martin, said yesterday in an interview. He declined to discuss why GM made the request."

Maybe I'm just a little too cynical, but the feeling I get from this is that GM and the other American can companies are going to continue to do whatever they want to--only now they are going to do it secretly (with our money if the bailout goes through)!

Just for the record, it would surprise me if the bailout went through before Barack Obama becomes President.  The Democrats would rather ok the bailout of the auto industries under George Bush so that the Republicans would share the eventual blame, but I'm not sure that will happen.  I believe public opinion against the bailout is high, and I don't think it will pass in a veto-proof margin under President Bush.  I don;t think Barack Obama will veto it, so it may have to wait until January (when it will be squeezed into an economic recovery package on the hope that no one will notice!).

 

 

I hadn't put this at the top of my list of things to be thankful for, but this article in the Charleston Daily Mail caused me to think about some of the things I take for granted.  We forget the difficult transition from the Clinton adminstration to the Bush adminstration.  We couldn't afford that difficult transition then (there will always be the possibility that 9/11 could have been avoided had we not had all the political backbiting that was going on), and we certainly can't afford it now.  Yet, if you are paying attention, you can't help but notice that George Bush has been a total gentleman about the transition of power to Barack Obama.  He is modeling what transition should look like in a healthy democracy--regardless (or in spite of) political differences.  We take it for granted that we have gone seven years without an attack on our country.  Remember the fear after 9/11 of not knowing when the next attack would come.  We have forgotten that.  Anyway, the article reminded me of some of things I have learned to appreciate (and often take for granted) about George Bush.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

I don't usually do book reviews, but I have read three books recently that were very different and very thought provoking.  Depending on the person, all of them would make fantastic Christmas (or Hanukkah) gifts. 

The first is THE SHACK by William Young.  This is a rather startling book that raises some interesting questions about how we see God.  The first section of the book is very intense and somewhat difficult to read, but the rest of the book was worth the struggle.  The imagination in this story is amazing.

The second is THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS by John Boyne.  This has been made into a movie.  I bought the book because I wasn't sure I could deal with the visuals of a movie, and I wanted to read the story.  It's a very thoughful story, but in some places I wondered if it rang true.  There is an innocence to childhood, but I think even that innocence has limits.  The story was good and caused me to reconsider the lives of the people in Nazi Germany and the difficulties and consequences of the choices they made.

The third is THE CHRISTMAS SWEATER by Glenn Beck.  This is a very emotional story about values and second chances.  It is told through the eyes of a child dealing with a loss in his life and not knowing where to turn for answers.  I couldn't put it down--it moved quickly through the story and left me with a feeling that all situations have hope.

For the history buff, I have a suggestion for a fourth book as a Christmas (or Hanukkah) gift.  I haven't read it yet--only a few excerpts, but I think it would be a great book to own.  It is THE AMERICAN PATRIOT'S ALMANAC by William J. Bennett and John T. E. Gribb.  Each day has a short article on one of the events of that day in history and a list of other events on that day in history.

As I said, I don't usually do book reviews, but these are good books and hopefully I have helped someone with his Christmas (or Hanukkah) shopping.  Happy reading!

Admittedly, I'm a little biased here, but this is a great story.

According to today's Power Line Blog, in the city of Shewan, Afghanistan, 250 insurgents ambushed 30 of our Marines and lost the battle that followed.  Shewan is known as a staging area for attacks in the area and our Marines were in the area to keep a supply route open.  The encountered the insurgents at a time when they had been out on patrol and were not necessarily at their most energetic, but they came through beautifully.  According to the article--

"After calling for close-air support, the small group of Marines pushed forward and broke the enemies' spirit as many of them dropped their weapons and fled the battlefield. At the end of the battle, the Marines had reduced an enemy stronghold, killed more than 50 insurgents and wounded several more.

"I didn't realize how many bad guys there were until we had broken through the enemies' lines and forced them to retreat. It was roughly 250 insurgents against 30 of us," the corporal said. "It was a good day for the Marine Corps. We killed a lot of bad guys, and none of our guys were seriously injured.""

Say a prayer for our heroes tonight.  We are safer because they are there.

According to the Star Tribune, the latest wrinkle in the Coleman/Franken recount in the charge by the Franken campaign that there are several hundred ballots missing in several counties.  The article also stated that Franken recount attorney Marc Elias said he's also bothered that counties that know they have missing ballots aren't bothering to look for them.  This sounds more than a little far-fetched.  I'm waiting for someone to come up with a thousand missing ballots found crammed into a hermetically sealed mayonaise jar on Funk & Wagnalls front porch.  If you don't understand that comment, you're probably too young or you never watched Johnny Carson.  Anyway, the saga continues.

There is an article in today's The Wall Street Journal about what has happened since California voters approved Proposition 8.  There have been attacks focused on the Mormon religion and those who practice it--a Book of Mormoon has been burned, envelopes of white powder have been mailed to Mormon Churches, and Mormon Churches and businesses have been picketed.  It needs to be pointed out that in California, gay Americans have marriage in every way but the name--so it's not a matter of civil rights--it's a matter of the name.  The California Courts overruled the last vote against gay marriage.  Hopefully, they will not overrule this one also.  If they do, what is the point of voting?

Just a note--I live in Massachusetts where judges decided that gay marriage was a good idea.  Some of us have been trying to get gay marriage on the ballot for the past four or five years, but the state legislature won't even let us vote on it.  (Massachusetts is a one-party Democrat state).  Somehow, we have lost the ability to make our voices heard on certain issues, and because the Democrat party in Massachusetts controls the government, that is not likely to change.

According to The Los Angeles Times, kindergarten students in Claremont, California, will not be dressing up for Thanksgiving this year.  In the past, the students had gathered to celebrate Thanksgiving wearing handmade headdresses, bonnets and fringed vests.  One of the mothers of a student was quoted as saying:

"There is nothing to be served by dressing up as a racist stereotype."

According to the article, some parents were planning to send their children to school in their costumes anyway, and others were planning to keep their children home the day after Thanksgiving as a protest.

Thanksgiving is an American tradition.  There were Indians, and there were Pilgrims.  They may not have looked exactly like the costumes the children made, but I think this 'junior reinactment' described in the article was a really good idea--I'm sure it made history come alive for these kindergarteners.  I think the protesters need to relax a bit.

The Holy Land Foundation, the largest Islamist charity in the United States, has been found guilty on charges of conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist organization (Hamas).  According to Power Line Blog:

"The charges are dramatic. According to the indictment, U.S. based members of the Muslim Brotherhood established a Palestine Committee that was ultimately charged with the task of raising funds supporting Hamas's efforts to eliminate the state of Israel. After the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, the Palestine Committee swung into high gear. At a secret three-day meeting in Philadelphia in October, 1993 (monitored by the FBI), those in attendance discussed how best to continue to support Hamas without being viewed as terrorists."

CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) was named as an unindicted co-conspirator of the Holy Land Foundation.  CAIR has been involved in a number of lawsuits in America against airlines when passengers were denied access to an airplane due to suspicious conduct.

Every now and then someone comes up with a punishment that fits the crime.  This is one of those stories.  According to the Rocky Mountain News, a Fort Lupton Municipal Judge has been sentencing noise violators to listening to an hour of music they don't like.  The list of music includes Barry Manilow, Barney the Dinosaur, and the Platters.  This punishment has cut down on the number of repeat offenders.  Can we apply this to the person in the car next to you whose bass is turned up so loud your car is vibrating?  I like Barry Manilow.  Does that mean that if I am every guilty of a noise violation, I have to listen to an hour of rap, hip hop,  or heavy metal?  That would be enough to prevent me from doing anything that would be considered a noise violation.  I think this is a great way to cut down the number of offenders on what is essentially a nuisance crime.

Alan, you will be missed.  According to Breitbart News, Alan Colmes will be leaving Hannity & Colmes at the end of this year.  He will not be leaving FOX News or FOX radio, and will continue to appear as a commentator.  He will also begin to develop a weekend program.  It is a credit to the management of FOX that they do allow and encourage both sides of the political spectrum in their reporting.  Alan Colmes is a very insightful commentator, and I look forward to seeing him on other news shows when he leaves Hannity & Colmes.

There has probably been more than one rude awakening for Barack Obama since he was elected.  I'm sure the first security briefing on the presidential level caused a few sleepless nights and a few second thoughts on previous ideas.  I'm also sure that the ever changing economic situation has caused him to consider options that he may not have wanted to consider previously.  For instance, Hot Air is reporting that Barack Obama is considering a postponement of his promised rollback of the Bush tax cuts.  This is actually very good new--not because of the tax cuts themselves (although they need to be made permanent), but because it seems to be an indication that he has realized that raising taxes in a struggling economy further hampers the growth of that economy.  Naive as it may be, I am taking this as an indication that Barack Obama wants to be a successful President, and if that means changing some of his ideas, he may be willing to do it.  I see this as very hopeful, and I'm praying that I won't have to eat those words!

Yesterday's Minnesota Star Tribune reported that the Coleman-Franken election may be determined by rejected absentee ballots.  I think it's a good idea that all absentee ballots should be looked at carefully, but I hope that common sense will be used in reexamining them and deciding the intent (and legality) of the voter.  As of Saturday night, Norm Coleman had a 180 vote lead over Al Franken.  According to the article--

"In a race this tight, the difference could come down to clerical errors on absentee ballots or even a challenge of Minnesota's law governing such ballots.

"Campaigns over the years have challenged anything and everything," said recount expert Timothy Downs, principal author of "The Recount Primer" who has been involved in most major recounts over the years, including the biggest: Gore vs. Bush in 2000. Downs' co-author, Chris Sautter, hit the ground in Minneapolis last week as part of Franken's recount team."

As I said, the saga continues.

Barack Obama is beginning to announce his economic plans for his Presidency.  One of this plans, according to The New York Post is to stimulate the economy with massive government programs--public works projects to overhaul the country's infrastructure.  Not surprisingly, Congressional Democrats are willing to back the plan. 

But wait a minute.  There will be jobs created in private industry by this package--all paid for by tax money.  Therefore, even though technically more people will be employed, all of us will be paying higher taxes to pay for their employment.  These will be government programs.  There will be no chance in them for private companies to develope techniques that make their manufacturing more efficient.  There will be no chance for inventiveness in the private sector to discover new products and new uses of old products.  Since the programs will be run by the government, they will be no chance for investors to back companies financially and make money through their backing.  This program is like putting an anchor on the free enterprise system and then complaining that capitalism doesn't work.  Capitalism does work--when it has moral underpinnings.  One of the writers of the U. S. Constitution commented that the document was designed to govern a body of people who took their morality and integrity from God.  It is becoming more and more obvious that until we go back to some sort of moral standard in this country that includes ethics and morality, we will be essentially ungovernable.  All the laws in the world will not stop dishonest people from taking advantage of any legal loophole they can find--internal morality (a conscience) will.

The New York Post has an article today about the Somali pirates.  They have been pretty successful (by their standards) so far this year.  But there were a lot of things I hadn't been aware of.  According to the article--

"Pirates have made an estimated $150 million in ransoms this year, according to the Kenyan government. But the bulk of that wealth goes to the pirates' handlers - usually Somali warlords or cartel leaders living in Europe or the Middle East.

"The Somali pirates are the ones taking all the risk and get only a small share of the reward. But even that is enough to launch them into the stratosphere of the wealthy in Somalia," says a reporter working in the region."

I never considered the challenges of piracy--they work for a boss just like the rest of us.  Are we supposed to feel sorry for them because they only receive a small part of their ill-gotten gains.  Even the small percent they get allows them to live like kings in Somalia.  It seems to me that, like terrorism, until we go after the source of this behavior--the people making the profit from it, we will have to endure it.  The Indian Navy has shot a number of pirates in this area this past week, we need to learn from them.  Obviously, since this is happening in their backyard, they are going to be on top of it.  To the Indians, these are the neighborhood thugs.  We have come a long way from the Pirates of Penzance and even Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean.  These are not romantic figures--they are common criminals who need to be dealt with harshly and by the world community--not just one country.

There is a website at www.amaze.fm where new artists can post their songs.  Every week they take votes on the song of the week.  Here is the link to this week's song:

http://www.amaze.fm/artist/Perry/when-freedom-rings/

 

Enjoy.  It's great music.

Hillary Clinton would probably be a reasonably good Secretary of State.  She is a smart woman, she knows all the right people, and she knows where the bodies are buried.  This could be a very interesting choice.  According to today's New York Times, she will take the job.

Let's look at this a minute.  Barack Obama is a relatively young man, but as a Chicago politician, he is hardly naive.  He did manage to win the Presidency when it was assumed it belonged to Hillary Clinton.  He has met the right people and been in the right places to advance from Chicago to Washington in a very short time.  But let's look at some of the past 'adventures' of the State Department.  The State Department is generally made up of career people who serve in all administrations.  However, during the past eight years, the State Department has pretty much undermined the Presidency of George Bush with leaks to the press and other maneuvers.   For example, let's look at the infamous Valerie Plame scandal. 

According to the facts that later came out, it was known at the beginning of the investigation that Richard Armitage was the one who inadvertently leaked the fact that Valerie Plame worked for the CIA (the fact that she drove there every day evidently was not conclusive).  Even though the investigators had this fact, they continued the investigation, trapping Scooter Libby in a process crime.  Richard Armitage was never charged with anything, and Scooter Libby was sentenced to jail (later to be pardoned by President Bush).  What happened?  Richard Armitage worked for Colin Powell, who had more than one bone to pick with the Bush Administration.  The whole scandal made George Bush look bad and undermined public trust in his honesty and competence.  The American people were manipulated.

Other incidences of the State Department undermining the current administration were the leak of the terrorist money tracking program given to The New York Times and the leak of the holding facilities for terrorists in other countries.  The list goes on.  A State Department whose loyalty is political rather than patriotic can do serious damage to an administration and to our national security.  Watch carefully for events similar to the ones described above in the new administration.  For the sake of our country, I hope we will not see this type of politics in a Barack Obama presidency..

Just for the record, I live in Massachusetts where it is currently 25 degrees outside.  I wouldn't mind a little global warming.  However, the scientific evidence is mounting that not only is global warming a myth, but due to a period of inactivity in sun spots, we are about the enter a period of global cooling (caused by nature--not by man).

There are two places to get good information on the current state of global warming.  One is ongoing.  The site is called wattsupwiththat and generally has current posts on things you won't hear in the news and mistakes that have been made in calculating the earth's temperature.  For example, it turns out the reported 'rapid rise' in temperatures in central Russia in October was due to the fact that they had mistakenly reported September's temperature data for October.  Since September was warmer than October, that tended to skew the results.  They also have occasional pictures of where some of the instruments to record the earth's temperature are placed.  (surfacestations.org has pictures of many of the places where the temperatures are being monitored--one right next to the air conditioning exhaust from a large building).

The second occasional place to get good information on global warming is the American Thinker website.  There is a rather lenghty and rather scientific article there now at American Thinker explaining that global warming is simply not happening.  The article states very directly that--

There is no significant man made global warming.  There has not been any in the past, there is none now and there is no reason to fear any in the future. The climate of Earth is changing. It has always changed.  But mankind's activities have not overwhelmed or significantly modified the natural forces.

Through all history, Earth has shifted between two basic climate regimes: ice ages and what paleoclimatologists call "Interglacial periods".  For the past 10 thousand years the Earth has been in an interglacial period.... [where] the Earth warms up, the glaciers melt and life flourishes. Clearly from our point of view, an interglacial period is greatly preferred to the deadly rigors of an ice age.  Mr. Gore and his crowd would have us believe that the activities of man have overwhelmed nature during this interglacial period and are producing an unprecedented, out of control warming. 

Well, it is simply not happening.  Worldwide there was a significant natural warming trend in the 1980's and 1990's as a Solar cycle peaked with lots of sunspots and solar flares.  That ended in 1998 and now the Sun has gone quiet with fewer and fewer Sun spots, and the global temperatures have gone into decline.  Earth has cooled for almost ten straight years.  So, I ask Al Gore, where's the global warming?

 

We need to be very careful what laws and regulations are passed in the name of preventing global warming.  It is simply not a proven theory, and one wonders what mischief it will be used as a cover for.

I generally get a chance to listen to some of what goes on in talk radio during the day.  It seems that this week has been the week for 'how did we get here?' for the Republicans.  First of all, I need to state that I am not necessarily a Republican.  I am a conservative who generally votes Republican because they are usually closest to what I believe and how I think things should be done.

John McCain was not my candidate.  If he had not nominated Sarah Palin to be his running mate, I probably would not have even donated to the campaign.  I would have been happy with Mitt Romney (I am a resident of Massachusetts, and I am impressed with what he did as governor.), Fred Thompson, or even Rudy Giuliani (I disagree with him on social issues, but I love what he did in New York).  John McCain is a military hero, but politically he can't compete against the polish and organization of Barack Obama.

As I look to the future of the Republican Party, I hope for a return to the party I voted for in the days of Newt Gingrich (I still believe that he is one of the smartest people in the party--unfortunately, the press has probably ruined his chances of any political office in the future).  Many of the items in the Contract For America were enacted--to the country's benefit.  It seems, though, that once the Republicans took power, they forgot who they were (was there something in the water?).  I am looking for a party that will stand firm against the expansion of government proposed by the Democrats.  I am looking for a party that understands the value of integrity--that will ask a Representative with a large amount of cash in his office freezer to step down.  (One of the most aggravating things about the Republican sex scandals that played a role in costing Republicans votes was that both of the scandals were awful--but neither one involved sex.  Meanwhile, we have a Democrat representative who was running a gay brothel out of his Washington home.  He is still in office!!!  This is ridiculous.)  I am looking for a party that understands that the money coming into Washington in the form of taxes is not theirs--it belongs to the American taxpayer.  I am looking for a party that has a backbone--that will stand up for the confirmation of judges--not compromise.

The people the Republican party needs to bring about the changes that will bring back the party that I would be happy to vote for are in the Republican party now.  A few of them are Sarah Palin, Bobby Jindal, Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, and Tom Coburn on the conservative side.  One of the liberal Republicans who understands how to win and how to manage govenment is Rudy Giuliani.  We have the talent.  We need to learn how to use it.  We need to find a way to get our voices heard without depending on the 'mainstream media'.  It is not our friend.  If you watch the video of the Zogby Poll of Obama voters, you see how much the media controlled the news in this past election.  Until we find a way to get our message out without the media filters, we will not win.  The education system in this country is not teaching 'American exceptionalism', and all of our cultural equality will eventually destroy us. 

Power Line Blog has an update on the Minnesota recount.  I firmly believe that the people involved in this recount process are doing everything possible to keep it honest, but I also believe that they will have their challenges placed in front of them by the Franken campaign.  Right now, Norm Coleman is still leading--the massive amoutn of votes from northern Minnesota that the Franken campaign was counting on did not happen.  This is a picture of one of the votes that the Franken campaign is challenging.  We need to remember that all of us do not fill in circles the same way!

 

 

To me, this is an obvious vote for Norm Coleman.  Al Franken claims that the vote is for him.  I really have a hard time understanding that logic!

 

I don't have a problem with the concept that every crisis is an opportunity.  If you choose to learn from a negative experience so as not to repeat the experience, it becomes a worthwhile part of your growth as a person.  If you choose to use a negative experience to try to push the envelope further than you have been able to push it before, chances are you will make the negative experience worse.  This is a concept we need to keep in mind in reading the article in today's Wall Street Journal Online.  The worrisome quote in this article comes from Rahm Emanuel, Barack Obama's chief of staff.  The quote follows:

"You never want a serious crisis to go to waste," Rahm Emanuel, Mr. Obama's new chief of staff, told a Wall Street Journal conference of top corporate chief executives this week.

He elaborated: "Things that we had postponed for too long, that were long-term, are now immediate and must be dealt with. This crisis provides the opportunity for us to do things that you could not do before."

We need to consider, as a nation, how far we are willing to let the government go in taking over businesses.  The automobile industry is going broke due to a combination of its own management and business plan errors and government regulations.  If you do not change the management or business plan and you add more government regulations, there is no way that giving the big three auto companies makes sense.  Again, you only have to look at the automobile manufacturing that is going on in states where unions and Democrats are not in control.  These are the states where an industry can thrive and grow and help the economy of the area where it is located instead of asking for handouts. 

The direction that Congress is moving right now may eventually lead to a long needed taxpayer revolt (they are planning to bail out the auto industry as soon as they can figure out a way to get political cover.  The only reason the bailout of the financial industry passed is that there were enough Republicans supporting it--including President Bush--that the Democrats did not have to worry about political repercussions).  If Congress is so interested in saving the economy and spending 25 billion dollars doing it, they could probably give each taxpayer 50 thousand dollars and accomplish the same thing!  The difference would be that they would no longer have control of the money and leverage on the recipient.  I firmly believe that the Democrat party is totally about seizing power, expanding government, and making sure that they stay in power.  I cannot honestly say that I believe most Democrats have the best interests of America in mind.

 

Yesterday, in The New York Times Mitt Romney wrote an op-ed piece on the proposed  bailout of the automobile industry.  Mitt Romney has in interesting take on this because he grew up in Michigan and his father was an auto company executive.  In the editorial, he states:

"Furthermore, retiree benefits must be reduced so that the total burden per auto for domestic makers is not higher than that of foreign producers.

That extra burden is estimated to be more than $2,000 per car. Think what that means: Ford, for example, needs to cut $2,000 worth of features and quality out of its Taurus to compete with Toyota's Avalon. Of course the Avalon feels like a better product -- it has $2,000 more put into it. Considering this disadvantage, Detroit has done a remarkable job of designing and engineering its cars. But if this cost penalty persists, any bailout will only delay the inevitable."

CNN ran an article today about people in an Ohio diner in an area where auto workers live.  These people live near (and many work in) a nearby Honda factory which is doing very well.  As people in the auto industry, they understand what union contracts have done to the American car manufacturers.  The consensus of opionion there was that backruptcy would be a good thing, because it would allow the car companies to renegotiate their contracts and to change their business plan to a profitable one. 

Giving money to Detroit auto companies right now is not constructive--until they change their ways, they will only need more.  They are not helped by the fact that Michigan is a one-party state which has been ruled by Democrats for some time now.  The Democrats have made it a place of high taxes and overregulation.  When they can, businesses have moved elsewhere to avoid both.  If you check the census figures over the last four years, you can see that generally speaking, states with high taxes and overregulation of business have been losing population or staying the same.  States with lower taxes and less regulation have increased in population and job growth.

The bailout bill has not yet been voted on because it does not have the votes to pass, but it will be back in early December.  All of us need to contact our Senators and Representatives and ask them to oppose it.  Not only is it throwing good money after bad, but to ask Americans to spend recklessly in a shrinking economy is just not right.  Bankruptcy is a much better option--even though if backruptcy occurs rather than the backup, Congress would not be able to get itstentacles into the management and running of the American auto companies. 

This showed up in my email today.  I think it's an amazing idea.  I haven't tried it, so I'm not ready to endorse it yet!

During a lecture on Essential Oils, they told us how the foot soles can absorb oils. Their example: Put garlic on your feet and within 20 minutes you can 'taste' it.

Some of us have used Vicks Vapo rub for years for everything from chapped lips to sore toes and many body parts in between. But I've never heard of this. And don't laugh, it works 100% of the time, although the scientists who discovered it aren't sure why. To stop night time coughing in a child (or adult as we found out personally), put Vicks Vapo rub generously on the bottom of the feet at bedtime, then cover with socks. Even persistent, heavy, deep coughing will stop in about 5 minutes and stay stopped for many, many hours of relief. Works 100% of the time and is more effective in children than even very strong prescription cough medicines. In addition it is extremely soothing and comfortin g and they will sleep soundly.

Just happened to tune in A.M. Radio and picked up this guy talking about why cough medicines in kids often do more harm than good, due to the chemical makeup of these strong drugs so, I listened. It was a surprise finding and found to be more effective than prescribed medicines for children at bedtime, in addition to have a soothing and calming effect on sick children who then went on to sleep soundly.

My wife tried it on herself when she had a very deep constant and persistent cough a few weeks ago and it worked 100%! She said that it felt like a warm blanket had enveloped her, coughing stopped in a few minutes and believe me, this was a deep, (incredibly annoying!) every few seconds uncontrollable cough, and she slept cough-free for hours every night that she used it.

If you have grandchildren, pass this on. If you end up sick, try it yourself and you will be absolutely amazed at how it works.

The Zogby polling service took a poll after the election of people who had voted for Obama to gauge their knowledge of the issues.  Some of the results are listed at Power Line Blog.  In reading the results, you can see how the media played a role in this election.  You can also see how the 'celebrity gossip' culture played a role.  There was one remark which the people polled credited to Sarah Palin that was actually made by Tina Fey.  We need to educate our voters (97 percent of these people were high school graduates and 55 percent were college graduates).  We need to work on our education system to teach people how to pay attention to what is going on around them--other than celebrity gossip.

The Wall Street Journal Online has a very interesting article today about an aspect of the proposed bailout of the auto companies that has not been widely discussed.  Earlier this year congress approved 25 billion in loans to the big three auto companies for the purpose of retooling to become more environmentally friendly.  The White House said Friday that Detroit would be able to use the money now with a few basic conditions--for example, they would have to present a business plan to the Energy Secretary showing how the money would help them stay alive and profitable--but, Democrats would have to remove the 'environmental strings' they had placed on that money.  They are unwilling to do that.

As a taxpayer, I object.  If the money has already been allocated for the auto companies, give it to them and stop trying to control everything they do.  The article sums it up--

"All of this shows that Democrats don't merely want to save jobs. They want an entirely different American auto industry that serves goals other than selling cars to consumers. The green lobbies have disliked Detroit for decades -- for resisting fleet mileage standards and having the audacity to make SUVs, trucks and other vehicles that people have wanted to buy but that violate modern environmental pieties. For the greens, the bailout is their main chance to remake Detroit according to their dictates."

Unless we get the government out of business, there will be no successful businesses to employ people, pay taxes, and allow people to succeed.  This will result in more taxpayer money needed to keep industries afloat and the eventual end of the free enterprise and entrepreneurship that has made this country great.

George Bush (even to those suffering from Bush Derangement Syndrome) has been a strong leader.  Since September 11, 2001, the rogues of the world have been relatively quiet (at least for rogues), but now America is seen as in a time of transition--appearing to be vulnerable.  Let's take a look at where we are.

Oil is hovering around $50 a barrel.  In July, oil was at $147 a barrel.  This is a serious problem for Russia, Venezuela, and various terrorists around the world.  How can anyone expect to run a respectable third-world country or terrorist organization on $50 a barrel oil?  They can't.  So what happens next?  Well, we seem to be having a problem with Somali pirates right now.  These pirates have been wreaking havoc for a while, but they seem to have become more brazen of late.  They also have had their challenges when they hijacked the wrong ship.

According to various sources, (the one I list here is BoingBoing.net), the pirates hijacked a ship in August of this year with a mysterious cargo that caused some of them to become ill and killed some of them.  It was an Iranian ship and finding information on what the cargo was or what exactly happened is something of a challenge.

This week they hijacked a Saudi tanker carrying two million barrels of crude oil.  This is a serious matter in terms of the basic lawlessness and the amount of oil involved.  We've had problems with pirates before--the U. S. Marines dealt with them in the early days of our country (and won).  It seems as if it may be time to deal with them again. 

This is a matter that needs the cooperation of the entire world, but I am not sure we know how to come together to fight lawlessness anymore--it seems like too much of the world has been living in lawlessness and reaping some benefit.  I hope this will be dealt with quickly, and those who would pirate be either jailed or executed.  There is nothing worthwhile about piracy.

The State Canvassing Board in Minnesota will declare Norm Coleman the winner in Minnesota today, and the recount of the votes will begin tomorrow.  At this time, Norm Coleman has a 216 vote lead--it was 725 the day after the election.  This information comes from Power Line Blog, but there will be daily information on the recount at The Minnesota Office of the Secretary of State web page that has been set up for that purpose.  Power Line Blog has been following this election battle closely because two of their contributors live in Minnesota, and they care (as we all do) about the integrity of the election process in their state.

Although he is still behind (but the numbers have changed significantly since the actual election), Al Franken will be meeting Tuesday with Democrat leaders in the U. S. Senate to talk about upcoming legislation.  The meeting is described as necessary because according to his spokeswoman, Colleen Murray, "If he should win this election, it would be irresponsible for him not to get ready to take office," she said. "Minnesota deserves a senator who is ready to take office on Day One."   He will, however, skip the orientation for new senators, saying that attending that event would be "presumptuous".

Good Grief!

Power Line Blog has posted an article running the numbers on the car manufacturers in this country.  There is a chart in the article that shows the pre-tax operating profit for Ford, GM, Chrysler, Toyota, Nissen and Honda.  The chart says it all.  Unless the American car makers restructure, we will be bailing them out every six months.  It's like dealing with a teenager and a new credit card--you teach them to use it responsibly or you take it away from them!  Anyway, it's an interesting article.

Barack Obama comes into office with a number of challenges and promises he made as to how he would deal with these challenges.  Unfortunately, reality is already beginning to sink in, and some of those promises will be stretched considerably.  For example, there are two interesting articles on Hot Air right now. 

The first is titled Going Backwards on Indefinite Detention deals with the challenges of Guantanamo--the prisoners there were generally captured on the battlefield fighting us--they are dangerous--and how much intelligence can they give us on Al Qaeda?  What do we do with them?  This is further complicated by the fact that many of their countries of origin do not want them back.  If we put them in American courts, we have classified information problems, we cost the taxpayers millions of dollars in legal fees, and we choke the legal system with people who are not (nor have ever been) American citizens.  How dumb is that?  The wisdom of George Bush in putting these people in Guantanamo is becoming obvious.  I am glad that we have not executed any of them, although there may be some there deserving of that fate, but that is another matter which I am sure will come up in the future.

The second article is titled Missile Defense Likely To Continue.  This story refers to a Time Magazine article stating that because of the recent statements and actions of Russia, the cold war seems to be on again, and Barack Obama would be wise not to back down by discontinuing missile defense plans for Europe. 

It's interesting to me that if these changes actually happen, they will occur after Barack Obama received his first Presidential Security Briefing.  I have no idea what is contained in these briefings (nor do I want to know), but I suspect that they are enough to curl your hair.  We live in a very dangerous world, and it is a tribute to the leadership we have in this country that we can live without fear and in comfort in that world.

Michael Barone has a very good article in National Review Online about the proposed bailout of the big three auto companies.  The collapse of these companies helps no one, but they were in trouble before the economy began its decline.  The problem for the Detriot automakers in the contracts they have made with the UAW (United Auto Workers).  The Philadelphia Inquirer has an online article today detailing some of the differences between how Detroit automakers have run their companies and how Toyota runs its American based factories.  According to the article--

"Toyota, on the other hand, having gone to school on the problems looming for American auto companies as it set up U.S. operations, has fewer than a thousand retirees. Even when that number balloons into the thousands over the next decade, the company's liabilities for its retirees will remain right where they are today: at zero. That's because Toyota has put the responsibility for funding their retirements on the shoulders of the employees themselves, through individual investment accounts to which the company contributes."

The article in the Inquirer also points out that the excessive costs of union benefits made it financially impossible to do the retooling that the big three auto companies needed to remain competitive.  The high demands of the unions over the years may be what puts to companies into backruptcy (Chapter 11 would actually be a good idea) or forces the American taxpayer to bail them out (which would be an ongoing situation).

I need to thank my middle daughter for the heads up on this article.  In today's New York Post there is a great article putting the George W. Bush Presidency in perspective.  As we sit in the complacency of seven plus years without a terrorist attack on our soil and twenty-four out of the last twenty-five quarters showing positive growth of the economy, we need to consider some of the adventures of past presidents.  I hope history will be kinder to George Bush than the American media has been.  As far as I know, you can't be a total idiot and learn how to pilot a fighter plane.  I wish some of the people making that charge could be forced to go through flight training.  It might change their perspective.  Anyway, according to the article--

"Everything is the best/worst/funniest/most tragic/most brilliant thing ever, if you're a high school girl, the hero of "Memento" or a political commentator. Things look different if you extend your memory more than five minutes into the past. Maybe the problem is the lack of a buzzword for the scandal. Here's one: "Superlativegate.""

Thanks for your eight years, President Bush.  You stood tall, and I hope history will remember that.

I just got back from a book signing at Borders in Providence Place Mall.  The book was THE CHRISTMAS SWEATER by Glenn Beck.  I haven't read the book yet, so I can't comment on it, but I hope to do that in the near future.  During the short time I was there, over four hundred books were sold.  I'm not sure what the final count was.  Needless to say, I can't be sure that everyone there was a conservative, but everyone had fun waiting on line and talking to the people around them.  The people around my husband and I were people concerned about the results of the election, concerned about the mortgage situation, and concerned about the economy in general.  But even in the midst of voicing their concerns, they were positive and upbeat, and the wait in line was a pleasant experience.  Even though there were some minor delays, the event was very well organized and done very professionally.  I am looking forward to reading the book.

According to Michael Yon, as reported on Little Green Footballs, the war in Iraq is over, and we won.  This is the essence of Michael Yon's report--

"There's nothing going on. I'm with the 10th Mountain Division, and about half of the guys I'm with haven't fired their weapons on this tour and they've been here eight months. And the place we're at, South Baghdad, used to be one of the worst places in Iraq. And now there's nothing going on. I've been walking my feet off and haven't seen anything. I've been asking Iraqis, 'do you think the violence will kick up again,' but even the Iraqi journalists are sounding optimistic now and they're usually dour."

Thank you to all the men and women and their families who sacrificed and made this possible.  Thank you to George Bush who stood his ground against the likes of Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reed (who said the war was lost), and Barack Obama who fought him every step of the way.  And thanks to General David Howell Petraeus who literally wrote the book on how to handle an insurgency. 

According to Investor's Business Daily yesterday, the trade agreement that would have opened Columbia up to American markets has now been signed by the European Union.  So instread of America, Europe will reap the rewards of American efforts in Columbia.  The U.S. has spent a decade cleaning up Columbia,  Plan Colombia and other programs contributed decisively to Colombia's peace and security, laying the groundwork for new markets to form.  Now, because of a Democrat congress opposing free trade, someone else will reap the fruit of our efforts.  It is a shame that Nancy Pelosi chose to take the result of American efforts and hand the profits over to someone else.  Sort of like taking the fruit of our labors and giving to industries that have refused to change with the marketplace.  At least she is consistent.

This is not an article about people who are upset that John McCain lost the election.  As far as I know, most conservatives, although disappointed and somewhat concerned, have accepted the election results and continued on with their lives.  That is, unfortunately, not the case with the people who opposed Proposition Eight in California.  According to Yahoo News, the people who opposed Proposition Eight have gotten downright ugly.  According to the article--

"A National Protest Against Prop 8 organized by JoinTheImpact.com is scheduled for this Saturday. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which opponents say donated more than $20 million to the Yes on 8 campaign, has already become a focus of protests, with demonstrators gathered around Mormon temples not only in California but across the country."

When an election is held, the results need to be accepted until a new election can be held.  Protest is legal in this country and should remain so, but some of these protests have gone over the edge.  There was white powder sent to a Mormon Church this week (the Mormon Church supported Proposition Eight financially and vocally), and there was a church service disrupted in the midwest by gay activists last weekend.  Everyone needs to take a deep breath and behave like grownups.

According to ABC News, Dan Lundgrun, a Republican representative from California, will be challenging John Boehner on his leadership position.  I like John Boehner, I think his actions last summer to push through a drilling bill were great--but, unfortunately, although he increased the awareness of many Americans on the issue, he achieved no visible results.  The Democrats caved on the issue, but if Barack Obama follows through on what he has said, he will reinstate the ban on offshore exploration.  I think John Boehner has done a reasonable job, but I think in view of the last election and the general lack of backbone in our Republican representatives that it is time for a change.  I do agree with Representative Lundgrun that competition improves things.  Hopefully, this race will cause house Republicans to restate their principles and define them more clearly.  This would be a good thing for everyone.

According to Yahoo News the automobile industry bialout with $25 billion in emergency loans inched forward Friday when Majority Leader Harry Reid said the Senate will begin debate Monday and hold a test vote two days later. Supporters scrambled for votes to break an expected filibuster.  This is a disaster.  We are seeing the congressional equivalent of how sharks react when there is blood in the water, only this time congress is reacting to the idea of our money they think they can spend.  We need to let the auto industries go into Chapter 11, clean up contracts they can't keep, and restructure their debt.  Notice that the auto industry that is in trouble is in the heavily unionized states--not the plants in other parts of the country.  If you check the statistics, Michigan is a one-party state, ruled by Democrats with Democrat ideas in place, and people are leaving in droves.  Check the population growth for the states in the last census.  It tells you that people are voting with their feet, and it tells you how they are voting.  Michigan is reaching the point where "Who Is John Galt?" is a totally relevant question.  If you don't understand the reference, take the time to read Ayn Rand's ATLAS SHRUGGED.  Her ideas are a little extreme, but she definitely heads in the right direction.

"Who is Ann E. Dunwoody?", you ask.  This Army General is now the first woman to achieve the rank of Four-Star General.  Her story is at Breitbart.com.  She began her Army career thirty-three years ago at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.  Thank you, General Dunwoody, for your service, and congratulations on your latest accomplishment.

There is a further update on the Norm Coleman-Al Franken election at Power Line Blog.  Two of the writers of Power Line are from Minnesota, so they are watching the action up close and personal.  The fact that all the previously 'undiscovered' votes are for Al Franken is a little distressing.  The fact that ACORN may have registered thousands of illegal voters does not help the situation.  I am concerned for the future of honest elections in this country.  We need to reach the point where the good of the country is more important that any one party's hold on political power.

There has been a lot of talk recently that if Barack Obama got elected, he would reinstate the "Fairness Doctrine" which demands that any political speech on radio or TV has to be balanced equally on both sides.  Needless to say, this is a nightmare to enforce and generally kills any political free speech.  When Ronald Reagan dissolved the Fairness Doctrine in the 1980's talk radio was born.  Since talk radio tends to be conservative, there are people on the liberal end of the political spectrum who would like to see it go away.  A reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine would do that.  The reinstatement would also be a violation of the First Amendment, which protects free speech, particularly political speech.  Anyway, the rumors are flying--but there's another idea on the horizon.

According to the American Thinker, there is a move toward a 'localism rule' which would put all radio stations under the control of local advisory boards.  A lot of this is way over my head, but the bottom line is that someone is trying to control what we hear.  Please read the article in the American Thinker, and pay attention.  We may all have to listen to talk radio on the internet now, and some of those sites may be blocked.  It may get very interesting before it gets better.

According to CNN the Catholic Church is ending its funding of ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now).  According to the article--

"This week, as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops met in Baltimore, Maryland, the campaign's chairman said it was cutting all ties with the group.

"We simply had too many questions and concerns to permit further CCHD funding of ACORN groups," Roger Morin, the auxiliary bishop of New Orleans, Louisiana, told his colleagues in a letter to the conference."

There were too many questions of voter fraud and other financial irregularities.  The Church acknowledged the need for voter registration in poorer communities, but stated that it could not support ACORN until it is clear that they are not engaged in illegal activities or voter fraud.

According to The New York Times, President Bush may be able to oppose investigations into his administration after he leaves office.  Wait a minute.  We have an economy crashing, terrorists overseas wanting to kill us, no energy bill, and a failing education system, and Congress wants to spend its time investigating President Bush (you remember him--the man who has kept this country safe from attack for seven years).  This is by far the stupidest idea I have heard in a long time.  Barack Obama won the election.  It's time for Barack Obama to do things that will move the country forward--not go over everything in the past with a microscope.  I have no idea what is the matter with Congress, but if they can't do something for the country other than take money away from the people who work for it, it's time for them to go home and try to live under their own laws.  We need to pay close attention to how Congress spends the next two years and remove anyone from office who has not been a force for progress--energy independence, honest elections, a strong economy, etc.  This is a very partisan investigation attempt--where is the investigation of ACORN and election fraud?

In America, as a free country, we depend on our media to give us the whole story,  That seems to be one of the things that did not happen in the last election cycle.  The New Haven Independent reports on an interview that Tom Scott did with Chris Dodd (which he taped on October 29 of this year) dealing with the sweetheart mortgage Chris Dodd got from Countrywide (as head of the Senate Banking Committee he was supposed to be regulating Countrywide) which was never aired.  When Clear Channel's regional manager was asked why the interview never aired he declined to comment other than to say, "That's something that happened behind closed doors."  To hear the interview, follow the link above.  The link to the interview is about half way down the story.

There is a lot of discussion right now about bringing back the 'fairness doctrine'.  It seems to me that if the media does its job, the fairness will take care of itself.

It has been reported in Power Line and various other places that there were secret meetings between Barack Obama's staff members and Hamas during the presidential campaign and that Hamas was asked to keep those meetings secret.  This is a bit troubling.  I am also concerned about articles that I have read about meetings between Bill Ayers and FARC in Columbia (FARC is a revolutionary group funded by Hugo Chavez trying to overthrow democracy in Columbia).  The relationship between Barack Obama and FARC is discussed in an The American Thinker article in April of this year.  This becomes even more troubling in view of the Senate's refusal to ratify a trade agreement with Columbia to strengthen its government and help it stand against Chavez.  I hope that this is just a naive attempt on the part of Barack Obama to be on good terms with everyone.  However, Osama Bin Laden didn't get the message.  He is threatening a major attack on America in the coming months.  It is my hope that Barack Obama has the judgment to deal with the different faces of terrorism active in our world today.

I linked to the video on YouTube "Burning Down The House" in the last month or so, but I think it needs to be out there again.  The policies of Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Congress got us into this mess by pressuring banks to issue loans that would not be paid back.  This is the trigger for creating worthless paper to shift the financial risk away from those responsible for the problem.  The video explains it well.  Please watch it, and remember it when you hear the debate about bailing out General Motors.

Thank you, veterans.  It is because of you that I am free to write this blog.  It is because of you that people in America are free to protest any law, politician, or legal decision they disagree with.  It is because of you that people in Iraq are no longer being sent through chicken shredders feet first.  It is because of you that there are no longer rape rooms in Iraq.  It is because of you that the Concentration Camps in Germany were liberated after World War II.  It is because of you that England is a free country and France is a free country and Europe exists as many free nations.  It is because of you that Japan is a free and prosperous country.  It is because of you that South Korea is free and prosperous.  Thank you for your sacrifice, your dedication, and your service.

President Bush is honoring veterans at the USS Intrepid today according to Yahoo News.  The Intrepid has just returned to New York City to be part of the USS Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum after having some repair work done.  My husband served on the Intrepid during the late 1960's.  He was with one of the air wings stationed on the ship.  It is a museum worth visiting.  The ship is huge (although small by current standards) and quite imposing.  Along with the Intrepid, the museum also features the destroyer USS Edson, submarine USS Growler and over 25 aircraft.  I have been aboard the Intrepid and the Growler, but I have never been aboard a destroyer.  I hope to get there in the near future.

According to The Minnesota Star Tribune, Norm Coleman's lead over Al Franken is now down to 206 votes.  Wednesday morning, Norm Coleman had a lead of over 700 votes.  There are some real questions as to the origin of Al Franken's new votes.  The Coleman campaign has questioned the validity of changes. Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie has responded that the revisions are typical and that no fraud is being committed.  I just hope that when this is finally over, the election will have been won honestly.

The United States Marine Corps was founded on November 10,1775 as the Continental Marines.  A committee of the Continental Congress met at Tun Tavern to draft a resolution calling for two battalions of Marines able to fight for independence at sea and on shore.  
As the first order of business, Samuel Nicholas became Commandant of the newly formed Marines. Tun Tavern's owner and popular patriot, Robert Mullan, became his first captain and recruiter. They began gathering support and were ready for action by early 1776.  
 
Each year, the Marine Corps marks November 10th with a celebration of the brave spirit which compelled these men and thousands since to defend our country as United States Marines.

This information was taken from the Marine Corps website.  You can read more at Marines.com.

Happy Birthday to the Corps and all who serve and have served.

There is an article in the global addition of The New York Times detailing a classified order written in the Spring of 2004 allowing American troops to target Al Qaeda in countries other than the ones where we are actually fighting a war.  I have a few questions.  Remember the scene in the movie THE PATH TO 911 where our military had Bin Laden in their sights and no one was willing to or had the authority to pull the trigger.  The order will prevent that from happening again.  Evidently, it streamlines communications so that we can attack enemy  leaders in 'real time' and not attack a place an hour after they have been there.  I guess my other question is "Why in the world is the Times releasing classified information?"  "What are they thinking?"  "Has it ever occurred to the news media that they too can be targeted as civilian casualties in a terrorist attack?"  We need to work together as a nation in order to end terrorism.  Revealing classified information is not working together.  It needs to stop.

The New Orleans Times Picayune is already talking about the future role of Bobby Jindal in the Republican Party.  Bobby Jindal will be the featured speaker next month at the Iowa Family Policy Center in the state that holds the first presidential primary.  On a personal note, I actually met Bobby Jindal at the "Scarium at the Aquarium" one year.  I was going into the elevator with my daughter and two of my grandchildren and he was coming out wheeling a stroller with one of his children.  He comes across as a very polite, humble, and gracious man.  I have been impressed with the changes he has made in Louisiana and would love the see him on the national stage.  He is obviously a man of integrity and is a great asset to our country as well as the state of Louisiana.  If you would like to learn more about this man, the information is on Wikipedia.  Just for the record, Wikipedia is not always totally accurate, but on general biographical information (date of birth, education, etc.), you can generally trust it.

There are four treaties standing in the wings that would change the final word on American laws from the Constitution of the U.S. to governing bodies from the U.N. picked by such wonderful people as Russia, China, and Cuba (those great champions of human rights).  According to Power Line Blog by way of a National Review article not available online:

"In the November 17 issue of the National Review (not available online to my knowledge), John Fonte of the Hudson Institute identifies four "transnational power grabs" that Obama is likely to push for They are: the Law of the Sea Treaty, the Rights of the Child Treaty, the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and the International Criminal Court. Agreement by the U.S. to these arrangements would make us more popular with foreigners, but only at a cost to our national security, our right of self-governance, and our rights under the Constitution."

Passing these agreements would definitely make us more popular around the world, but we would lose our national sovereignty in the process.  America is a force for good in the world--we have helped end genocide in many places, fought for freedom in other countries, provided humanitarian aid, and done many other positive things.  We are able to do these things because we are a free people.  Our national sovereignty is important.  Please read the article on Power Line and make a decision to write your congressman or congresswoman when these items come up for a vote.  Pay attention, because they may be voted on when congress thinks you are not looking!

There is a story on the ABC New Website about the Taliban holding a wedding party hostage and firing on US troops in the hope of our troops firing back so that we could be accused of firing on said civilian wedding party.  It makes sense.  From a propaganda point of view, it's a good move.  You can read the story for the details.  But wait a minute.  Think about how this story would have been reported a year ago--if at all.  Now that we elected Barack Obama are we the good guys in the war on terror?  Is the war on terror real now?  I hate to be cynical, but I believe that story was printed for a reason.  I believe we are going to see the media change their tune on the war on terror now that Barack Obama has been elected.  I also believe that when this war is won (probably a generation from now), they will try to give credit to Barack Obama.  Pay attention.  History is about to be revised.

Power Line Blog has the update on the mysterious growth of Al Franken's vote totals in Minnesota.  Unfortunately, the fox is guarding the hen house on this one.  The person in charge of the recount has strong connections with ACORN.  There are a number of questionable incidents.  This is my favorite so far:

"UPDATE: Hot off the press, the first apparent evidence of fraud. Last night at around 7:30, a precinct in Mountain Iron, St. Louis County, mysteriously updated its vote total to add 100 new votes--all 100 for Barack Obama and Al Franken.

Mountain Iron uses optical scanning, so the Coleman campaign asked for a copy of the tape documenting the ballots cast on election night. St. Louis County responded by providing a tape that includes the newly-added 100 votes, and is dated November 2--the Sunday before the election. St. Louis County reportedly denies being able to produce the genuine tape from election night, even though Minnesota law, as I understand it, requires that tape to be signed by the election judges and publicly displayed."

Pay attention.  The way this turns out determines more than who will sit in the Senate.  It gives us a clue as to whether we can expect anything resemblying an honest election in the future.  We need to pressure the legislators that we have for laws to protect us from voter fraud.  I think voter ID's would help, but I'm not sure that would have made a difference in this situation.

Just a note--two of the writers of Power Line Blog live in Minnesota, so I suspect they will have continued updates on the situtation.  Since their votes will be the ones nullified by any fraud committed, I also suspect they may have an opinion or two.

Change has already come!  Positive change, actually.  According to Little Green Footballs Barack Obama has already changed the rules on mandatory community service.  My biggest fear with this mandatory program was that it would also involve some sort of reeducation for our children.  We need to be very cautious about any changes involving our children and their education--remember this man cut his teeth on Saul Alinsky's RULES FOR RADICALS, and I am not quite sure how far away from that book his philosophy has wandered, if at all.  (Just a note--Saul Alinsky was the original 'community organizer' and his book was a guide on how to over power quietly without alarming anyone).

According to Little Green Footballs:

"They're going through the site and cleaning up the places where it said "require community service," but they missed a spot on this page: Service | Change.gov.

Require 100 Hours of Service in College: Obama and Biden will establish a new American Opportunity Tax Credit that is worth $4,000 a year in exchange for 100 hours of public service a year."

 

 

Norm Coleman had a 700+ vote lead Thursday.  That lead is now down to 236 votes.  That's interesting.  Newsbusters has an article that points out that the people overseeing the recount are deeply involved with ACORN. 

The quote to keep in mind is from an article the original article links to.  The concept is very simple.

"The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything." - Joseph Stalin

 

I wish I could say that I was fully confident that the recount would be handled honestly, but I am not.  I expect to wake up one morning in the near future to hear that boxes of ballots mysteriously appeared, and Al Franken is now a Senator.  It would be a national disgrace to put that man in the Senate, but if the people of Minnesota cast enough votes for him to make it even close, they deserve whatever they get!

Kimberly Strassel has an article in The Wall Street Journal Online about the coming battle in Congress over Barack Obama's legislative ideas.  The article sites the work of Mitch McConnell who was reelected.  It states:

"Mr. McConnell's strength has been putting up a principled opposition, without earning the reputation for Tom Daschle-like obstruction. And from the sounds of his opening statement this week, his game plan is the same, only with higher stakes. Mr. McConnell "stands ready" to hear Mr. Obama's "ideas for implementing his campaign promises of cutting taxes, increasing energy security, reducing spending and easing the burden of an immense and growing national debt." Note he is not standing ready to negotiate on eliminating union secret ballots, nationalizing health care, enacting a climate program, or over-regulating the financial industry."

The end of the union secret ballot can be stopped, as can some of the extreme environmentalism.  The trick is to do it in a way that offers a viable alternative and sheds light on the heavy handedness of the original idea.  We need to mind our manners over the next four years, but we don't need to give an inch of ground on principles.  Let's show the crazies that vicously attacked George Bush for eight years how a loyal opposition is supposed to act.  Civility needs to be the word of the day.

 

This is a link to a You Tube video of Barney, President Bush's dog, biting a Reuters reporter.  Dogs are really good judges of character!

One of the issues that was very important to me in this past election was our country's continued support of Israel.  There are many reasons that our continuing support of that nation is important both to us and them.  I was not optimistic that Barack Obama would be a strong supporter of Israel, but I am ready to be convinced that I am wrong.  The suspicion that I may be wrong has to do with the appointment of Rahm Emanuel as White House Chief of Staff.

According to The Corner at National Review Online Rahm Emanuel is Jewish and pro-Israel through and through and wears it on the outside for everyone to see.  If this is true, it is great news.  Israel cannot afford to give away any more land in a false hope of peace and should not be forced to do so.

I have had my radio on most of the day, and I have learned a few things and reached a few conclusions.  Here are some:

1.  The oldest political trick in the book is to repeat personal attacks from 'anonymous sources'.  You never have to prove they are true, and if the charges are repeated often enough, they will be believed.  Think back to your younger years when you heard some juicy bit of gossip about someone you knew--did you believe it?  Apply whatever you learned from that experience to what has been done to Sarah Palin since John McCain lost.  The trashing of Sarah Palin is cruel, stupid, and unnecessary.  None of the rumors have names or actual information around them, and the attacks are personal--not political.  I voted for John McCain because of his choice of Sarah Palin.  I would like to see her on the presidential ballot in 2012, and I believe the attacks on her are from more liberal republicans trying to prevent that from happening.

2.  This is the chance for the republicans and conservatives to show that we have more class than the opposition had after the 2000 election.  We have different ideas than Barack Obama, and there is nothing wrong with expressing those ideas, but we need to remember to fight ideas--personal attacks are tacky.  There is no reason or excuse to attack Barack Obama personally, but we will probably need to debate his policies on a regular basis.

3.  We are a nation at war.  We need to remember that.  We need to pray for and support our troops in every way we can.  If there is any move to cut or limit funding to our armed forces, we need to oppose it with everything we have.

4.  What we do now matters.  We can learn from our mistakes.  What are our policies that are successful and what pollicies do we need to get rid of?  There are things in this country that need to be fixed or improved, it is up to conservatives to be part of the dialogue that fixes or improves them.

1.  When you run a 'democrat light' against an actual democrat, the actual democrat wins.  The conservative movement was not defeated last night, the Gerald Ford, Nelson Rockefeller wing of the Republican party was defeated.  Hopefully, they will go away and let us find another Ronald Reagan.

2.  The stock market has tanked today (according to Yahoo Finance).  That really does not mean all is lost--it's been very volatile lately--but I suspect it is Wall Street's vote on the election results.

3.  Israel launched its first attack on Gaza since June (see The Jerusalem Post) in response to Kassam rockets fired into Sderot.  Hamas fired dozens of rockets into Israel (according to Reuters).  Generally the 'cycle of violence' continues--it is not a cycle of violence--Hamas has stated that they want to drive Israel into the sea, and Israel is attempting to defend itself.  All of the money western countries have poured into Gaza to help them create infrastructure has been spent on weapons and terrorism.  This will only get worse until someone tells Hamas to behave.  I am extremely doubtful that Barack Obama will support the survival of the state of Israel--and their survival is exactly what is at stake.

4.  Barack Obama is obviously an ambitious man.  Chances are that he does not want to be a one-term president.  He remembers Jimmy Carter (or at least has read about him at some point).  His ambition may prevent him from doing anything totally awful.  I suspect that over the next four years Nancy Pelosi will actually be running the country.  That is actually a very scary thought, but we will see what happens. 

5.  The people to watch over the next four years?  Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney and Rudi Giuliani on the republican side.  Hillary Clinton, Bill Richardson, and Daval Patrick on the democrat side.  I don't believe we are rid of the Clintons.  I believe Hillary will be working very quietly behind the scene to totally undermine an Obama presidency so that she can step in and be the savior in 2012.

6.  This will not end the charges that America is racist.  If one admits that America has finally overcome its racist past, a number of people who love the spotlight will be put out of business--this will not be allowed to happen.

7.  Take heart.  Remember--we would not have had Ronald Reagan without Jimmy Carter!!

Obviously, I am not happy about the election results.  I suspect that within six months there will be many people not happy with the election results, but that will come later.  It's one thing to be criticized for a policy that does not work or a bad decision--that is understandable and should be part of the political dialogue, but we need to stop personally attacking our leaders--regardless of which party they belong to.  The good news is that the media will be much kinder to Barack Obama than they were to George Bush--which brings me to an article in today's Wall Street Journal Online.  It should be remembered that our enemies during the cold war felt that they could destroy a country by destroying its leader.  We may be in danger of falling into that trap.

This is quoted directly from The Onion:

Black Man Given Nation's Worst Job

WASHINGTON--African-American man Barack Obama, 47, was given the least-desirable job in the entire country Tuesday when he was elected president of the United States of America. In his new high-stress, low-reward position, Obama will be charged with such tasks as completely overhauling the nation's broken-down economy, repairing the crumbling infrastructure, and generally having to please more than 300 million Americans and cater to their every whim on a daily basis. As part of his duties, the black man will have to spend four to eight years cleaning up the messes other people left behind. The job comes with such intense scrutiny and so certain a guarantee of failure that only one other person even bothered applying for it. Said scholar and activist Mark L. Denton, "It just goes to show you that, in this country, a black man still can't catch a break."

As for me, in order to avoid getting too upset over polls and predictions that turn out to be false, I am listening to election coverage at WNTP 990AM Philadelphia (you can stream it on the internet).  Hugh Hewitt is on now and is the perfect voice for the night.  He is calm, knowledgeable, and well-focused.

I received this in my email today.  I wanted to share it.

 

Caleb from Rehoboth. -24

 

I'm voting for Senator John McCain because he believes in America and what our country stands for. He has demonstrated this throughout his life both serving in the military and the US Senate.

 

Barrack Obama on the other hand has made some very bad choices which are questionable at best. Starting with never proving where he was born, to 2 years ago announcing his candidacy for president in a KNOWN domestic terrorist living room by the name of Bill Ayers (famous for his participation in the Weather Underground, which conducted a campaign of bombing public buildings during the 1960s and 1970s), to going to a church for many years where hatred for anyone other the black people was preached by Rev. Wright from the pulpit, to saying in a radio interview in 2001 "The U.S. has suffered from a fundamentally flawed Constitution".

 

Flawed Constitution??? How could I vote for someone who does not agree with the Constitution of the United States and potentially will not protect it?

 

When it comes down to it I don't agree with everything that McCain believes in but I have far more disagreements with Barrack Obama and his lack of judgment in which he spends his time with and chooses to share his ideas with.

 

I will be casting my vote for McCain on Tuesday.

 

Caleb from Rehoboth. -24

 

Sources: The Chicago Sun Times

               969 WTKK

               World Net Daily 

 

My final pre-election post comes from the New York Post--you remember, the newspaper that was kicked off Obama's campaign plane.  From that editorial:

"Barack Obama's record is as devoid of substance today as it was when his campaign began. Behind his soaring eloquence lies a tissue-thin resume and some disturbing personal associations.

Moreover, he and his running-mate, Joe Biden, represent a Democratic Party overly obligated to special interests like trial lawyers and rapacious public-employee unions.

Even as the economy is being rocked, Obama advocates a fundamental rewriting of the tax code that - far from cutting taxes for "95 percent" of Americans, as he promises - would dramatically raise tax rates, coupled with $650 billion in tax-credit-driven hikes in entitlement and other spending.

And that is likely just the starting point - with the Nancy Pelosi-Harry Reid Congress pushing hard to enhance the handouts while raising taxes further and slashing defense spending."

It's up to America to decide what we want.  That's what democracy (actually, we are not a democracy--we are a representative republic) is about. 

The kids, (my 9 year old step-son and my 3 year old son), were looking over their Halloween haul after dinner tonight.  They spread the candy across opposite ends of the table and began to compare their favorites.  The 3 year old took every lollipop he could; most of the time he graciously refused when offered an additional piece of chocolate by a house that thought a mere lollipop wasn't enough.  But he knew what he wanted.  The 9 year old is all about the chocolate bars - Snickers, Milky Way, Baby Ruth...

So I asked my step son if he would like to take the candy back to his mother's house.  Why not?  It's his candy!  He said no, he would like to leave it at our house to enjoy over the coming weeks.  It seems that his mother dumps all of the candy from all of the kids into one bowl and anyone is free to take what they want when they want.  I suppose that leaves only a few bags of pretzels and boxes of milk duds at the end of a few days.  You have to gorge yourself to get your favorites before someone else does.

"That's candy socialism", I cried.  "You walked to those houses, you rang those doorbells, you picked out your favorites.  You are free to walk through any neighborhood you want to, even the ones you know have the good candy.  Why should you have to give your favorites to someone that didn't want to go to as many houses or go to a better area?"

"We are a free market capitalism candy household.  It is your candy to do as you please."

My husband than chimed in, "I'll be taking a few pieces of your candy from your bag.  That's called taxes.  I'm the government."

A few minutes later, in an attempt to drive home the lesson, I asked him, "So tell me, what is free market capitalism?"

He said, "You get to keep what you get", then he paused a minute and said, "No, you get to keep what you earn!"

I was so proud.

Then my 3 year old walked over and offered me a snack size bag of Cheetos that he had gotten.  "Here mom, you like these.  You don't have a candy bag."

I said, "That's charitable giving and that's important too."

If a 9 year old can get it, why can't the rest of the nation get it?

I asked a few people I know to write up something about who they were voting for and why.  Some answers were brief, some were not, but all were interesting.  I will be posting them over the next day or two in order to let anyone reading this site hear a voice other than mine.  Here are some, there are more to follow:

 

Neil, from Milton, MA, in his 20's says:

 

This is the first year that I'll probably not vote. The main reason is that the impact my sole vote will have on the outcome is negligible. This is especially true as I'll be voting in a state which is heavily skewed towards one party. The winner of the presidential election and most state-wide offices will be determined by the party and not the individual.  I would vote if I derived a utility from voting such as personal gain , e.g. the local elected representative employs or does business with me, or an emotional gain e.g. I feel more patriotic since I fulfilled my civic duty. But I feel like my time is better spent working and doing homework this Tuesday rather than making drive to the polling booth. And local community service makes me feel more patriotic than voting. Maybe if this state had multiple days on could vote, or somehow made voting more convenient I'd vote, as I do feel their is a qualitative difference in the two presidential nominees, and that the outcome of the vote will impact my life. But again, the effect of my vote will still be extremely statistically negligible, whereas what I do instead of voting on Tuesday will be significant to other outcomes in my life.

Kimberly from Norfolk, MA, says:

 

I am a 46 year old independent female voter and citizen of the United States.  In my first election in the 1980s I voted for Jerry Brown (D) because of his flat tax proposals.  I have never really voted for anyone whom I feel represents my individual views but have to choose a lesser of 2 evils every 4 years.  Once again I have had to determine my vote based on this premise:  Who do I believe will do the least damage and who represents more of my views.  In 2000 I had to vote against my fellow Tennessean Al Gore because the man is insane!  In 2004 I had to vote against John Kerry because he is an elitist who changes his position depending on his audience--truly a "love the one you're with" politician.  Now, in 2008 I am voting against Barack Obama, in summation Not NO but NOT NOW.  I believe he is so inexperienced it borders on arrogance to think he is somehow ready to lead our country.  Below I have detailed the main reason why I cannot vote for Obama but there are so many others.  For brevity I argue my main reason:  Questionable judgment.  Other reasons like expected tax hikes, continuing expansion of government, and his lack of experience are well documented so I argue my main point: 

Barack Obama wrote in his autobiography that he chooses his friends carefully. Some of his friends are of dubious character with known terrorist (euphemism: anarchist), racist, anti-American, and marxist views. Yet when asked directly about questionable relationships, Mr. Obama repeatedly claims he didn't know about their views. Only his supporters are buying this excuse resurrected from an old Steve Martin comedy gag "I didn't know...(it was illegal to)" fill in the blank. Suppose he did not know Rev. Wright preached hatred towards country and the white community. Suppose he did not know William Ayers had a history of criminal and domestic terror activity. Perhaps he really did not understand that Tony Resko was a convicted felon. Suppose he did not know Frank Davis was an admitted communist as he conversed with and became inspired by his grandfather's friend. Mr. Obama's carefully chosen friends also include Rashid Khalidi, Palestinian founder of Arab American Action Network. Khalid al Mansoor of the Black Panthers, proud antiSemites, who helped Obama get letters of recommendations to enter, as well as fund raising to attend, Harvard University. With all these suppositions taken in to account, I can only deduce that it would be foolish to elect a man so clueless of his close friends and associates. If Mr. Obama was not aware of the basic beliefs of this short list of his carefully chosen friends how will he lead America as president? I implore anyone who is still not convinced that Obama should not be elected to consider saying NOT NO but NOT NOW on election day. Give Mr. Obama more time to prove himself in the senate and actually perform the duties he was elected by the good people of Illinois to do.

 

Adrienne from New Jersey says:

 

I'm voting for Barack Obama because I'm a Democrat who worships at the altar of FDR.  

 

Last night I heard echoes of the following:

 

"We have nothing to fear but fear itself." - FDR's Inauguration Speech.

 

"After all there is an element in the readjustment of our financial system more important than currency, more important than gold, and that is the confidence of the people. Confidence and courage are the essentials of success in carrying out our plan. You people must have faith; you must not be stampeded by rumors or guesses. Let us unite in banishing fear. We have provided the machinery to restore our financial system; it is up to you to support and make it work. It is your problem no less than it is mine. Together we cannot fail." - FDR Fireside Chat on the Bank Crisis, March 12, 1933 

"Never since my inauguration in March, 1933, have I felt so unmistakably the atmosphere of recovery. But it is more than the recovery of the material basis of our individual lives. It is the recovery of confidence in our democratic processes and institutions. We have survived all of the arduous burdens and the threatening dangers of a great economic calamity. We have in the darkest moments of our national trials retained our faith in our own ability to master our destiny. Fear is vanishing and confidence is growing on every side, renewed faith in the vast possibilities of human beings to improve their material and spiritual status through the instrumentality of the democratic form of government. That faith is receiving its just reward. For that we can be thankful to the God who watches over America." FDR Fireside Chat on the Works Relief Program, April 28, 1935 

 

"On the road ahead there lies hard work -- grueling work -- day and night, every hour and every minute. I was about to add that ahead there lies sacrifice for all of us. But it is not correct to use that word. The United States does not consider it a sacrifice to do all one can, to give one's best to our nation, when the nation is fighting for its existence and its future life. It is not a sacrifice for any man, old or young, to be in the Army or the Navy of the United States. Rather it is a privilege. It is not a sacrifice for the industrialist or the wage earner, the farmer or the shopkeeper, the trainmen or the doctor, to pay more taxes, to buy more bonds, to forego extra profits, to work longer or harder at the task for which he is best fitted. Rather it is a privilege. It is not a sacrifice to do without many things to which we are accustomed if the national defense calls for doing without it."  - December 9, 1941 - Re: The Declaration of War on Japan

 

He's not "The One", he's not "The Messiah" .  . . He's just an average American who worked hard and took advantage of the best that America had to offer.  All of those things that FDR said, and there are many many more - he is the realization of the best of America come to fruition. 

 

1. Yes we can do anything we set our minds to.

2. No fear.  Carry onwards and upwards and let's get back to being America.

3. America is a place where if you brush off the naysayers who tell you, "No you can't" - you can turn right around and make them eat their words through hard work, dedication, and perseverance.

4. We all have to sacrifice, tighten our belts, and do our duty as Americans if we want to conquer evil in this world, defeat our economic enemies, and preserve the tenets of our Constitution by which we live.

 

Obama is a man who is opposed to Affirmative Action in its' present form.  He realizes that there are poor white Americans who have had inequality in education - that need a hand up that neither his daughters nor I should come to the front of the line and bypass.  He is a man who tells people that their child's education is only as good as thier dedication and commitment as a parent.  He tells men to get up off their dead you know what's and be fathers.  He means it when he says - "Take them out" - in regards to evil vile people in Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, etc. etc.  And on that note, he knows who our real enemies are.   Just the other day he called China to the floor for manipulating the American dollar. 

 

At the end of the day . . .

George Washington Fought so James Madison could define what it means to be an American.
James Madison defined what it meant to be an American so that Lincoln could make us staund up and take note. 

Lincoln stood up so that FDR lean on his cane and dispel fear. 

FDR struck fear out of the hearts of many Americans so Rosa could have the courage to sit down. 

Rosa sat so Martin could walk. 

Martin walked so Obama could run.

 

Obama is running so that every single American child regardless of race, religion, creed, background, first generation American, Mayflower American, political upbringing, financial background can grow up to FLY

 

Bruce from Shirley, MA, says:

 

Why I am voting for John McCain:

 

I believe that John McCain will help our country retain a more free market oriented economy than his opponent. I believe that allowing individuals to do with their resources what they feel is best for them is one of the things that has helped to raise the living standard of so many Americans, and will continue to do so.  Spreading the wealth may sound good, but creating wealth is much more efficacious.

 

I will vote for John McCain because I believe that this country's best interests lie in having a muscular foreign policy. I believe that our country's enemies will not be impressed with a weak responding administration, but will only respond positively to an understanding of our resolve. Think of the hostages being released at 12:01 on the day of Ronald Reagan's inauguration. 

 

Last but not least I will vote for John McCain for the judicial appointments that will be made in the next 4 years. Think Roberts/Alito vs. Ginsburg/Breyer! Think about Justice Kennedy's slow but inexorable conversion to a "world view" when writing his decisions. Do we want a panel discussion at The Hague influencing how our highest court interprets our Constitution?  Please don't forget the many lower court appointments to be made also.

 

Thank You

 

 

In case you haven't noticed, the threshold for Barack Obama's tax cuts keeps moving down.  The latest number, compliments of Bill Richardson is $120,000.  That's less than half of the original $250,000, and if you live in certain states, that's a middle class income.  (Try living on less than that in New York or California).  I wonder where it will wind up.  You Tube has the video (by way of Hot Air).

According to Power Line Barack Obama has gone on record as opposing the construction of new coal plants.  He has plans to bankrupt the industry through the use of high taxes on carbon emissions.  This matters to all the coal miners in Virginia, Kentucky, and West Virginia and all the states with related industries.  There seems to be no concern for the people who will be thrown out of work by these plans.  The Power Line article links to an article with the transcript of the statement, and evidently there is a youtube video of the comments.

Did you ever wonder how a governor of a large state who has an approval rate in that state of 80% could be the awful, dumb person the media makes her out to be?  Well, most of us don't spend a lot of time reading the Anchorage Daily News, so we might have believed some of what we have heard.  On November 1, the Anchorage Daily News ran a story rebutting some of what the dominant media has printed about Sarah Palin.  This is the point of the story:

"Sarah Palin's handling of the gas line license was a good example of how she was an independent-minded governor who worked with Democrats to overcome the old guard in her own party.

The Daily News is not a mindless hometown cheerleader for our governor. We have endorsed the opposing ticket in the presidential race.

But voters should make their judgment based on sound information. The AP report has offered a distorted picture of Sarah Palin's admirable performance in Alaska's long-running quest for a North Slope gas line."

I don't know the person this originally came from.  I hope it's not copyrighted, but it was too funny not to share.

From Mark Steyn at The Corner at National Review Online--

"If Aunt Zeituni had settled in Wasilla - say, in lodgings across the way from Bristol Palin's boyfriend's ex-girlfriend's uncle's sled dog's veterinarian's ammunition dealer - the fact that she's an "illegal immigrant" might have come out a lot sooner, even if only from the Atlantic Monthly investigative unit driving by and asking her whether Joe the Plumber had ever serviced Trig's real mother's double-wide.

On the other hand, what could be more American than an Undocumented First Family? If I'd known it was this easy, I'd have run myself."

I'm sure this was not planned as a 'November Surprise', but the irony of the situation is amazing.  According to the Associated Press (reported at Breitbart), Barack Obama's Aunt Zeituni Onyango, 56, who is living in public housing in Boston, is an illegal immigrant.  Wow!  According to the article

"Zeituni Onyango, 56, was instructed to leave the United States by a U.S. immigration judge who denied her asylum request, a person familiar with the matter told the AP late Friday. This person spoke on condition of anonymity because no one was authorized to discuss Onyango's case."

If you go to Fund Race at the Huffington Post (good grief, I've linked to the Huffington Post), you find out that this lady donated $250 to the Obama Campaign.  Aside from the fact that it is an illegal donation (she is not an American citizen), why is a person in public housing giving $250 to a political campaign?  Why is an illegal alien living in public housing?

To anyone who is paying any attention, this is not new, but here it is.  Breitbart ran an article yesterday analyzing the media coverage of this presidential election.  The most balanced coverage came from Fox News (always accused of leaning right) Channel's "Special Report" with Brit Hume (my favorite news show).  Of the major networks, ABC had the most balanced evening news show.  I believe that one of the reasons people are turning to the internet for news is that they can weigh the merit of the stories themselves and use their own judgment as to what is important and what is true.  Living in a democracy with the internet allows us to make our own decisions as to the 'real' story.