I've not been very active on here lately. In the last months of 2008, I've moved back to the People's Republic of Minnesota, (aka Frankinland) switched jobs, and found out I'm going to be a daddy for the first time. What a ride. Now I have to worry about what kind of country my child will grow up in. Will it be a country that allows and encourages hard work and innovation, or one that makes the people subservient waifs?
To quote Samuel Adams " If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen."
We have now gotten to the place where the sole purpose of those we elect is what they can give to us.
Now, I know that this may be the way of our new press, but this remids me of a line from Ferris Bueller's Day Off'
"Um, he's sick. My best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with the girl who saw Ferris pass out at 31 Flavors last night. I guess it's pretty serious"
I've been on a bit of a blog slump since I've moved to Northern Minnesota. I'll let the great Fred Thompson sum up the idiotic money throwing happening now in Washington.
Well, the Twins lost a good game tonight. they did much much better than I thought they would. I still think that the game should have been in Minneapolis with the Twins winning the season series. Oh well, there's always next year.
So, because the Twins could only win one game against the Royals, there is a one game playoff with the Chi Sox. I'm fine with that, I expected the Twins to be a middle of the pack team this year, but I do have one gripe. Why in the name of all things holy is the game in Chicago? I know they did a coin flip, but the Twins won 10 out of the 18 game against the Sox this year. That should be the deciding factor on where the game is played. Use the coin flip if the series is tied, but have the game at the home field of the team that won the series. A little common sense would be nice on this front.
There are some people in the entertainment industry that you just can't help but like. Jackie Mason is one of them. I normally do not look to Hollywood for political advice, but I like Jackie.
So, I think that Biden will come up with some illness and have to withdraw from the race. Obama will, or may be trying to, get Hillary to be the VP. I think they see this as the only way to save their sinking ship. The question is, will Hillary sign on to be VP? I think she wants the top of the ticket and she will get the chance in 2012 if Obama loses. Just do not be supprised if he backs out for some reason. Let the pandering begin.
It would appear as though the way to beat the others in politics is to release your little hounds on the other candidate smearing and lying about it. Of course since you are not "directly" involved, you claim that you did not do it. I know that Team Obama is not the first nor the last, but is without a doubt the most recent to be benefiting from it. I do believe that we do need to know about a person's past in order to know who they are and what they represent. For instance, has Obama hung out with terrorists, and given them aid. Not Islamic terrorists, but William Ayres, a terrorist none the less. Has Palin covered up the birth of her grandchild by pretending to have it herself? You get where I'm aiming at? There is a difference between checking into associations and coming up with moon bat ideas. Here is a link with 55 lies, truths and rumors about Palin.
Ok, john McCain is still not my ideal candidate, but after the speech last night and with Sarah Palin behind him, I can pull the lever FOR him. For a long time, I was just going to vote for him because Obama scares the bat crap out of me. There are still issues that I have with McCain. Illegal immigration Global Warming He still flirts with socialism (big downer)
Overall, I can live with 4 to 8 years of the Maverick to get to 8 years of a Palin/Jindahl type administration. I am behind McCain/Palin 99.44% This is too importaint to give to the Obummer.
I would like to point out the difference between Palin and Obama. Palin's teleprompter went out about halfway through her speech. Did you notice? Me either. Obama on the other hand....... yea, not so good.
I just got done watching the speech, and I like what I am seeing. She has nerves of steel. I think we may be seeing not only the next VP, but the POTUS after McCain as well. She basically called out the MSM and Dems. I like her.
Obama was asked by Anderson Cooper on if he or Palin has more experience to be POTUS. His answer, well I guess because he is campaigning for President, then he is qualified.
BO: Well, you know, my understanding is that, uh, Governor Palin’s town of Wasilly [sic] has, uh, 50 employees, uh, uh, we’ve got 2500, uh, in this campaign. I think their budget is maybe $12 million a year. Uh, uh, we have a budget of about three times that just for the month. Uh, so I think that, uh, our ability to manage large systems, uh, and to, uh, execute, uh, I think has been made clear over the last couple of years. Uh, and certainly, in terms of, uh, the legislation that I’ve passed just dealing with this issue post-Katrina, uh, of how we handle emergency management. The fact that, uh, many of my recommendations were adopted and are being put in place, uh, as we speak indicates to extent to which we can provide the kinds of support and good service that the American people expect.
Yea, forgot about being Governor of AK with 25,000 employees and a 10 billion dollar budget. Oops.
“For Barack Obama to argue that he’s experienced enough to be president because he’s running for president is desperate circular logic and it’s laughable. It is a testament to Barack Obama’s inexperience and failing qualifications that he would stoop to passing off his candidacy as comparable to Governor Sarah Palin’s executive experience managing a budget of over 10 billion dollar dollars, and more than 24,000 employees.” —Tucker Bounds, spokesman John McCain 2008
Lets compare Obama to Palin. Thanks to RedState for this one
Sarah Palin
Barack Obama
Office being sought
Vice President
President of the United States and Leader of the Free World
Full name
Sarah Louise Heath Palin
Barack Hussein Obama II
Nickname
Sarah Barracuda
Barry Obama; "The One"
Public opinion
Smoking hot in a "naughty librarian" sort of way
May be The Messiah
Age
44
48
Children
5: two sons, three daughters
2: two daughters
Religion/Church attendance
Evangelical Christian;
attends Juneau Christian Center when in Juneau and grew up attending Wasilla Assembly of God
Attended Trinity United Church of Christ for 20 years, a "black liberation theology" church formerly led by Rev. Jeremiah Wright and governed according to the Black Value System
Current Job
Governor of Alaska
Junior Senator from Illinois
Previous Public Jobs
Mayor of Wasilla, AK (1996-2002); President of Alaska Conference of Mayors;
City Council member (1992-1996)
State Senator (1997-2004);
Community Organizer
Executive Experience
Governor for 2 years;
Mayor for 10 years
None
Foreign Relations experience
Governor of state that borders two foreign countries (Canada and Russia)
Chaired Senate subcommittee on Europe but never called it into session;
once gave a speech to 200,000 screaming Germans
Military Affairs experience
Commander in Chief of Alaska National Guard;
Son is enlisted Infantryman in U.S. Army
None
Private Sector Experience
Sports reporter;
Salmon fisherman
Associate at civil rights law firm
Speaking ability
Beautifully executed initial stump speech in Dayton, OH hockey arena without a teleprompter
An enter...wait--did you say without a teleprompter??
Spouse's name
Todd Mitchell Palin
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama
Spouse's occupation
Salmon fisherman;
Former North Slope production supervisor for BP Oil
Vice President for Community and External Affairs at University of Chicago Hospitals;
former Associate Dean of Student Services at the University of Chicago;
former Executive Director for the Chicago office of Public Allies;
former Assistant to the Mayor of Chicago;
former associate at Sidley Austin law firm
Reaction to spouse's political success
Quit 17-year BP oil job when BP became involved in natural gas pipeline negotiations with wife's administration
Promoted and given 160% pay raise by UofC hospitals within months of husband's election to U.S. Senate;
Employer received $1,000,000.00 federal earmark, requested by husband, after her promotion
Coolest thing about Spouse
Tesoro Iron Dog Snowmobile race champion (longest snowmobile race in the world);
In 2008, while defending his championship, was injured when he was thrown 70 feet from his machine. He was sent to the hospital but still finished in fourth place
Sister of Oregon State University head basketball coach Craig Robinson
Most Courageous Moment in Public Service
Resigned in protest from position of Ethics Commissioner of Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission in order to expose legal violations and conflicts of interest of Alaska Republican leaders, including the former state Attorney General and the State GOP Chairman (who was also an Oil & Gas Commissioner), who was doing work for the party on public time and supplying a lobbyist with a sensitive e-mail.
Gave an anti-Iraq war speech to a crowd of anti-Iraq war demonstrators in Hyde Park in 2002
In Current Office Because...
Upset sitting Governor in GOP primary due to public support for her efforts to clean up corrupt government establishment
Republican opponent, who was leading in the polls, was forced to leave race after unsealing of divorce records exposed a sex scandal
Theme:
Change and Clean Government
Hope and Change;
"Bringing Change from Outside Washington"
What they've done to live that theme:
Replaced entire Board of Agriculture and Conservation because of conflict of interest;
Resigned from position of Ethics Commissioner of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission in order to expose corruption among members of own party
Selected 36-year incumbent Senator as running mate
Family Affairs
May have removed State Public Safety Commissioner as part of effort to protect sister in messy divorce and child custody battle
Often says, "I am my brother's keeper";
Brother lives in a hut in Nairobi on $12 per year
Union affiliation
Union member, married to Union member
Endorsed by a union
Iraq and Troop Support
Formerly (pre-surge) critical of apparent lack of long-term strategy for Iraq;
Visited wounded U.S. soldiers in Germany;
visited AK National Guard soldiers deployed to Kuwait;
Son deploying to Iraq on 9/11/08 as Army infantryman
Gave an anti-Iraq war speech to a crowd of anti-Iraq war demonstrators;
almost visited wounded troops in Germany, but decided to go shopping in Berlin instead
Bipartisan/"maverick" credentials
Married to a non-Republican;
Exposed corruption within own party;
Campaigned for Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell against corrupt GOP congressman Don Young;
Called out Sen Ted Stevens (R-AK) to "come clean" about financial dealings that are under fed investigation
Talks about bipartisanship
Legislative Record
Passed a landmark ethics reform bill;
Used veto to cut budgetary spending;
Prevented "bridge to nowhere" that would have cost taxpayers $400 million dollars.
Voted "present" over 100 times as IL state senator
How they dealt with corrupt individuals in home city/state
Exposed legal violations and conflicts of interest of Alaska Republican leaders;
Campaigned against corrupt GOP Representative;
Ran against and defeated corrupt incumbent governor in GOP primary
Launched political career in home of unrepentant domestic terrorist Bill Ayers (and still refers to him as a part of "mainstream Democratic Chicago";
Purchased home with help of convicted felon Tony Rezko
Guns
Lifetime member of NRA and avid hunter;
video can be found on YouTube of Palin firing an M4 at a military firing range
Worked to pass legislation in Illinois that would prevent all law-abiding citizens from owning firearms
Earmarks
Opposed "Bridge to Nowhere" project;
Said Alaska should avoid relying on federal money for projects;
Campaigned against porker Don Young (R-AK) in 2008 primary
Secured federal earmarks for wife's employer and for campaign bundlers
Abortion
Pro life;
gave birth to 5th child knowing that he would have Down's syndrome
Pro-choice;
only IL state sen. to speak against the Born Alive Infant's Protection Act, which required medical care to be given to live infants who survived abortions
Energy
Believes energy independence is a matter of national security;
For drilling in ANWR, which is in her state
Says Americans should "get tune-ups" and "check tire pressure";
Says "we can't expect the world to be okay with" our use of heating and air conditioning
Environment
Chair of Alaska Conservation Commission (2003-4);
Announced plans to create sub-cabinet group of advisors to address climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in AK
So, last night during the Obummer speech, McCain spends money to buy ads congratulating Obama on his historic feat. Today in a masterful move, McCain announces AK Gov Sarah Palin as his VP choice. So, I ask you, what is Obama's response? Congratulating Palin? Not quite, it went more like this:
“Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency. Governor Palin shares John McCain’s commitment to overturning Roe v. Wade, the agenda of Big Oil and continuing George Bush’s failed economic policies — that’s not the change we need, it’s just more of the same,” spokesman Bill Burton said in a statement.
Yep, nice. I guess they seem to forget that as Governor of Alaska she has issues to hammer out with Russia and Canada. Not to mention that being a mayor and governor gives her more executive experience than Obama and Biden combined.
note: the Obama camp has since retracted and changed their statement, but its alreday done. I guess equal rights and woman and minority achievement only matters if you agree with them. Ask Thomas and Rice.
Another sidenote, lets compare resumes. Thanks to Copious Dissent for the video.
I'm watching the acceptance speech right now and Obama is bombing. The crowd is not all that excited. Empty platitudes and playing with emotions. McCain, barring a bad vp pick, should have no problem with this election.
Where is John Murtha? He called the US Marines murderers, now all have been cleared of a 2004 murder rap in Iraq. I'm not holding my breath for an apology.
The Obama Camp was at it again. Any criticism of Barry is a smear and character assassination. I truly believe that you can tell the most about a person by the friends they keep. So if Obama has been friends with William Ayers, that lends great pause to how fit he is to lead the USA. His camp is trying to silence critics. Never disputing the facts as untrue, just trying to shut them up. The left has a hard time telling the difference between the truth and what are smear tactics.
On display for all to see is the difference between Democrat and Republican thinking. Dems did nothing 3 years ago, despite warnings and Gov Blanco then blamed Bush. Gov Jindal has done plenty. Of course, if the people will listen is another story.
With Tropical Storm Gustav swirling near Cuba and likely to enter the Gulf of Mexico as a hurricane this weekend, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said an evacuation could begin as early as Friday -- three years to the day after Katrina inundated New Orleans.
Jindal said he had activated the state's catastrophic action team and could declare a state of emergency as early as Thursday. He also put the Louisiana National Guard on alert.
"We all need to be prepared and ready to respond, from the citizen level and at every level of government," Jindal said.
Obama used the Department of Justice to try and silence critics. This just seems to me, to be the same old Chicago style gestapo tactics that keep the Dems in power. If the truth got out, there is no way they would be elected.
So this group of anti-capitalist people in Denver are protesting capitalism. Keep in mind, these are the same wackos that want to levitate the US mint in Denver. Well, they are also making a few bucks by selling t-shirts. Ahhhh, the good old US capitalist system at work. HYPOCRITES!
Just a reminder as to the experienced foreign relations guy that Obama brought in. Yea, Joe Biden may not be as proficent as thought. Look at what he said about the surge. I can't believe these guys.
Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., the panel’s chairman, said the legislation is “not an attempt to embarrass the president. … It’s an attempt to save the president from making a significant mistake with regard to our policy in Iraq.”
…Biden, who sponsored the measure with Hagel and Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the measure is aimed at getting the administration’s attention. He noted that Bush has said he will be moving forward with his Iraq plans he outlined in a Jan. 10 address regardless of what Congress says.
The measure “is designed to let the president know that there are many in both parties, Democrats and Republicans, that believe a change in our mission to go into Baghdad — in the midst of a civil war — as well as a surge in ground troops … is the wrong way to go, and I believe it will have the opposite — I repeat — opposite effect the president intends,” Biden said.
So, Obama has chosen Joe Biden as his VP running mate. This will be too easy considering that both of them are loud mouth, non-thinking before speaking, ego driven braggarts. McCain's camp wasted no time. Keep in mind I'm not a huge McCain guy.
Go on and announce your VP already. It'll be announced on Weds, then Thurs than Fri, now Sat. I swear that he just wants all of the attention on him. It will be on him after Hillary steals the nomination out from under him in Denver. Me, me, me, me, me
I don't know if you've heard this yet, but McCain does not know how many houses he and Cindy own. Obama used this in an ad and slams McCain for A: Not rembering and B: owning seven houses. The McCain camp's answer was priceless.
From the McCain camp:
“Does a guy who made more than $4 million last year, just got back from vacation on a private beach in Hawaii and bought his own million-dollar mansion with the help of a convicted felon really want to get into a debate about houses? Does a guy who worries about the price of arugula and thinks regular people “cling” to guns and religion in the face of economic hardship really want to have a debate about who’s in touch with regular Americans?
“The reality is that Barack Obama’s plans to raise taxes and opposition to producing more energy here at home as gas prices skyrocket show he’s completely out of touch with the concerns of average Americans.” –McCain spokesman Brian Roger
I think they need to recite some of Obama's dumb gaffes, 57 states, etc.......
The DNC convention is fast approaching and I have a front row seat with Hi-Def tv and a lot of of Orville Redenbacher. This could, uh, will be nasty. There will be pissed off Hillary supporters whining that she was screwed out of the election, more popular votes. There will be anarchists doing whaterver they want, and getting arrested. Don't forget that Hillary is a Clinton, that means that she has not given up yet and can you imagine if she somehow steals this nomination from Obama? This may well make Chicago in 68 look like a peaceful sit-in. I think it may be time to evacuate Denver.
Yep, I watched the "debate" on Sat night, and McCain handed Obama his lunch. The MSM will spin this someway, McCain cheated, is one I already am hearing. One thing is sure now, Obama is not fit to lead America. He is not fit to lead the Rose Bowl Parade. One telling thing for me was when Obama slammed Clarence Thomas for being underqualified. If that is not the pot calling the kettle black, I do not know what is. (Go ahead, point out the racist undertones!) Obama is a joke and will lose by a 49-1 or 48-2 margin, but the Republicians will still be accused of cheating. Sorry, I forgot that there are now 57 states. Obama will get the new 7 and lose 49-8 or 48-9.
For the first time, scientists have proven that "beer goggles" are real - other people really do look more attractive to us if we have been drinking.
Surprisingly, the beer goggles effect was not limited to just the opposite sex among the ostensibly straight volunteers recruited for the study - they also rated people from their own sex as more attractive.
Scientists in England gave 84 heterosexual college students chilled lime-flavored drinks that were either non-alcoholic or given a dose of vodka equivalent in alcohol to a large glass of wine or a pint-and-a-half of beer.
After 15 minutes, the volunteers were shown photos of 40 other college students from both sexes. Both men and women who drank booze found these faces more attractive, "a roughly 10 percent increase in ratings of attractiveness," said researcher Marcus Munafo, an experimental psychologist at the University of Bristol in England.
Let me tell you, from experience, that one glass of wine may make the world look more rosy, but a half of a gallon of vodka a day makes it look pretty grim. Do that for 4 years or so and it gets bad.
Looks like Russia may not be telling the whole truth when it come to the aggression against Georgia. This, Russia, shows me that we need a strong leader that will have a backbone when it comes time to make a decision. I'm all for hope and change, but maybe some good old USA cowboy diplomacy is exactly what is needed. I don't think that what Holland thinks of us is really important right now.
Well, its started. The Clintons are not giving up yet. This from the AP
WASHINGTON - Hillary Rodham Clinton's name will be placed in nomination along with nominee-in-waiting BarackObama at the Democratic convention in Denver, an emblematic move intended to unite the party after a divisive primary fight.
Democrats will officially nominate Obama at the convention but the state delegations will do a traditional roll call for his vanquished opponent as well.
The arrangement — which the rivals-turned-allies agreed to after weeks of negotiations — is intended to help the Democratic Party heal after a bruising primary while mollifying still-disgruntled Clinton backers and acknowledging the former first lady's groundbreaking presidential run.
"I am convinced that honoring Senator Clinton's historic campaign in this way will help us celebrate this defining moment in our history and bring the party together in a strong united fashion," Obama, an Illinois senator, said in a joint statement.
Added Clinton, a New York senator: "With every voice heard and the party strongly united, we will elect Senator Obama president of the United States and put our nation on the path to peace and prosperity once again."
Some 35 million people participated in the Democratic primary, and Obama and Clinton said they wanted to "honor and celebrate these voices and votes."
We all know that the Clintons and their followers do not like Obama. Hillary will still try and take the nomination and may well succeed. Obama's poll numbers are falling fast and Hillary will not hesitate to point this out.
Get your popcorn ready. Denver may well be messier and nastier than Chicago in '68.
We can all use the response from the candidates as to how they will lead. McCain and Obama had the chance to give us all a glimpse into their thinking. Strange that a guy from Australia has it figured out. Side note, who do you think has our country in a higher regard?
I really doubt that San Fran Nan is really serious about allowing a vote on drilling. I wonder how she is going to avoid the slamming that Dems are going to get in November in a year when Dems had super majorities seemingly locked up in both the House and Senate. The Republicians , the five dummies in the Senate not included, have an issue that they can take to majorities in the House and Senate as well as the White House. Here is SF Nancy's "maybe" on drilling:
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday night dropped her staunch opposition to a vote on offshore oil drilling in the House.
Republicans, reacting to high gas prices, have demanded a vote on additional oil exploration in the Outer Continental Shelf, where drilling is currently blocked by a moratorium. Until now, Pelosi (D-Calif.) has resisted the idea as a “hoax.” But in an interview on CNN’s Larry King Live, she indicated that she was open to a vote.
“They have this thing that says drill offshore in the protected areas,” Pelosi said. “We can do that. We can have a vote on that.”
She indicated such a vote would have to be part of a larger package that included other policies, like releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which she said could bring down prices in a matter of days.
“But it has to be part of something that says we want to bring immediate relief to the public and is not just a hoax on them,” Pelosi continued.
She even indicated that she might support a package that includes drilling. She said her decision on whether to support such legislation would depend on how the policies are packaged.
“It’s not excluded, let’s put it that way,” Pelosi said.
I know that drilling is only part of the answer, but it is part of it and we better get going now. We send way to much money to people that really do not like us.
We need an "All of the Above" type of plan. Oil drilling, shale oil, coal to gas, nuclear, coal fire plants, tidal electricity, wind, solar, biofuel (as long as its not burning the food supply), all of them. Our needs are just going to grow. The "alternative energy" sources are way off. We can't plan on having them and stop traditional energy methods. The day will come, if we do, that we do not have the new sources in place and are in no shape to get energy the old way. Look past today!
I'm glad that I'm not the one responsible for making decisions right now. With Russia attacking Georgia, not the state of Georgia, Obama, we kind of have our butt in a sling. Georgia is one of the few trumpeters of democracy in Eastern Europe. Russia is becoming, well, Russia again. We have over half of the Government and nearly the full media that portrays the USA as weak and heartless. We have a President that is ridiculed and mocked when he does what is right, not what is popular. Something has to be done, but what? Do we go in and start a full scale war with Russia? Do we sit by as Russia reclaims the Soviet Union? McCain seems to think that we need to pressure Russia and get in and help Georgia. Obama come through with the typical UN babble. Don't wait for the UN, doesn't turn out to well. This one has me worried.
I doubt you have heard this from the MSM, but that great "family man" John Edwards has been caught in an extramarital affair. These guys are amazing, they preach on how we should live our lives, then sleep around on their cancer ridden wives. Did I mention what a jerk this guy is. I guess "America" must be his buzz word for woman. Now I get the "two Americas" is all about.
The best part was his justification, he did not love her and his wife's cancer was in remission. Oh, how compassionate. Here's what the AP had to say, yea, they reported it. Held off as long as they could though:
WASHINGTON - Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards on Friday admitted to an extramarital affair while his wife was battling cancer. He denied fathering the woman's daughter. Edwards told ABC News that he lied repeatedly about the affair with 42-year-old Rielle Hunter but said that he didn't love her.
He said he has not taken a paternity test but knows he isn't the father because of the timing of the affair and the birth.
A former Edwards campaign staffer claims he is the father, not Edwards.
Hunter's daughter, Frances Quinn Hunter, was born on Feb. 27, 2008, and no father's name is given on the birth certificate filed in California.
The National Enquirer first reported on the affair in October 2007, and Edwards denied it.
"The story is false," he told reporters. "It's completely untrue, ridiculous."
The Enquirer carried another story last month, stating that its reporters had accosted Edwards in a Los Angeles hotel where he had met with Hunter after her child's birth. Edwards called it "tabloid trash," but he generally avoided reporters' inquiries, as did his former top aides.
In the interview, scheduled to air on ABC News' "Nightline," Edwards said the tabloid was correct when it reported on his meeting with Hunter at the Beverly Hills Hotel last month.
Most mainstream news organizations refrained from reporting the story, but newspapers in Charlotte and Raleigh, N.C., recounted the Enquirer's allegations in prominent articles on Thursday.
Edwards acknowledged the affair on Friday afternoon, traditionally a slow-news period even when the Olympic Games' opening ceremonies are not preoccupying millions of Americans.
Edwards was a top contender for the Democratic nomination for president, pursuing his party's nod even after announcing that his wife, Elizabeth, had a deadly form of cancer.
He placed second in the Iowa caucuses last January but dropped out of the race a few weeks later. He has been mentioned as a possible vice presidential choice for Barack Obama. The former North Carolina senator was the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2004.
David Bonior, Edwards' campaign manager for his 2008 presidential bid, said Friday he was disappointed and angry after hearing about Edwards' confession.
What are the five Republican senators doing in making a deal with Dems on energy? The Republicans have a winner both in terms of what should be done politically to win, but also for what is the right thing for the future and security of our country. The Reps from the House are doing a noble thing and standing up for what is right and then five of these wusses from the senate cut their legs from under them. If you are from any of the states that these Republican senators are from, let them know what you think of their "comprimise!" I come from North Dakota and my senators are clueless as far as what this country needs. (Democrats)
A U.S. Border Patrol agent was held at gunpoint Sunday night by members of the Mexican military who had crossed the border into Arizona, but the soldiers returned to Mexico without incident when backup agents responded to assist.
Agents assigned to the Border Patrol station at Ajo, Ariz., said the Mexican soldiers crossed the international border in an isolated area about 100 miles southwest of Tucson and pointed rifles at the agent, who was not identified.
It was unclear what the soldiers were doing in the United States, but U.S. law enforcement authorities have long said that current and former Mexican military personnel have been hired to protect drug and migrant smugglers.
"Unfortunately, this sort of behavior by Mexican military personnel has been going on for years," union Local 2544 of the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) said on its Web page. "They are never held accountable, and the United States government will undoubtedly brush this off as another case of 'Oh well, they didn't know they were in the United States.'
"It is fortunate that this incident didn't end in a very ugly gunfight," said the local's posting.
WTF??????? Why the h e double hockey sticks are we not doing something about this? We let Mexico come here and hold a border patrol at gunpoint? Looks like the North American Union is coming around quite nicely.
What happens when a dirty bomb goes off in Phoenix?
Check out AlGore's boat. I wonder how many carbon offsets were purchased to get him this. So the guy that preaches to me about my carbon footprint and me cutting back on my energy usage has a private plane, a fleet of suv's and limos, a HUGE mansion and a 100 foot houseboat. I guess that he probably keeps the windows open with the air conditioner running so that he offsets his carbon output. the name of the boat, by the way, is Bio-Solar One. Yep, BS1.
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (AP) -- Democratic candidate Barack Obama criticized Republican John McCain on Tuesday for taking a page out of "the Cheney playbook" on energy, overlooking his own support of oil-friendly policies that the unpopular vice president helped to craft.
Vice President Dick Cheney, a former oilman, early in the Bush administration helped draft an energy policy that Obama asserted is biased in favor of tax breaks and favorable treatment for big oil. Obama's remarks were an attempt to capitalize on Cheney's unpopularity.
"President Bush, he had an energy policy. He turned to Dick Cheney and he said, 'Cheney, go take care of this,'" Obama said. "Cheney met with renewable-energy folks once and oil and gas (executives) 40 times. McCain has taken a page out of the Cheney playbook."
In stumping Tuesday in this key battleground state, Obama sought to link the troubled economy with Republican policies and offer his own energy plan in contrast. He has tried to cast McCain as more concerned about oil company profits and drilling than an overall energy strategy.
However, Obama himself voted for a 2005 energy bill backed by Bush that included billions in subsidies for oil and natural gas production, a measure Cheney played a major role in developing. McCain opposed the bill on grounds it included billions in unnecessary tax breaks for the oil industry.
I'm going to go with full of it and just doing what he must to get elected. Typical Washington BS. Change that really is not all that different.
So let me get this straight, Obama is afraid to debate with McCain, but want to talk without preconditions to the leaders of nations that want to KILL us? Yea, lets choose him!
From the AP: Democratic candidate Barack Obama on Saturday backed away from rival John McCain's challenge for a series of joint appearances, agreeing only to the standard three debates in the fall.
In May, when a McCain adviser proposed a series of pre-convention appearances at town hall meetings, Obama said, "I think that's a great idea." In summer stumping on the campaign trail, McCain has often noted that Obama had not followed through and joined him in any events.
Obama's reversal on town hall debates is part of a play-it-safe strategy he's adopted since claiming the nomination and grabbing a lead in national polls. Advisers to the Illinois senator, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss strategy, say Obama is reluctant to take chances or give McCain a high-profile stage now that Obama's the front-runner.
On Saturday, in a letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said the short period between the last political convention and the first proposed debate made it likely that the commission-sponsored debates would be the only ones.
Hey Obama, you are not leading anymore! Check it out.
The House of Representatives has gone on a five week recess and did so without having an vote on energy production. The Dems do not want a vote and have to go on record before the election as telling the average American to get bent over high energy prices. (They are in the pocket of Environmental Extremists) The Republicans are not having any of this and are still on the floor of the House. I love it! If the Republicians want to win a landslide, this is the issue. Its a winner! We do not need ta credits for expensive energy costs, we need more energy. The American people know this and the Democrats are on the losing end of this.
I can hear it already! Wal-Mart Stores Inc said on Friday it has held meetings with U.S. store managers warning them of issues that could arise if Democrats win power and pass a law that would make it easier for workers to unionize, but stressed it was not telling workers how to vote.
Wal-Mart opposes proposed legislation called the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it easier for workers to unionize by signing a card rather than holding a vote.
"We believe EFCA is a bad bill and we have been on record as opposing it for some time," Wal-Mart spokesman David Tovar said. "We feel educating our associates about the bill is the right thing to do."
The Wall Street Journal reported that about a dozen employees who attended meetings in seven states said executives told them employees would be required to pay hefty union dues and get nothing in return, and warned that unionization could force Wal-Mart to cut jobs as labor costs rise.
The Journal report said Wal-Mart human-resources managers who run the meetings do not specifically tell attendees how to vote in November's presidential election, but they make it clear that voting for Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama would be tantamount to inviting unions in.
"If anyone representing Wal-Mart gave the impression we were telling associates how to vote, they were wrong and acting without approval," Tovar said.
Wal-Mart, which does not have a unionized U.S. workforce, has been the target of union-backed groups that criticize the retailer for everything from its pay practices to its health care benefits.
Trust me, the media will have an anti Wal Mart orgy! Its okay for unions to take dues from members and give it to Democrats when many of the union members are not Dems. Its okay for unions to use strong-arm tactics to force public votes on membership, but if a private corporation has any sort of anti union tone, its suddenly open season. If Wal Mart goes union, all heck will break loose.
Germany is not a continent. There are not 57 states. You are not on the Senate Banking Committee. Do not preach to me about only speaking English then give all of your over seas addresses in English. Anybody know how to say "jack-a@#" in Hebrew?
Sorry for all of the anti-Obama posts, but with the pub and coverage this guy is getting, its hard not to. So Obama went to Berlin and addressed the Germans not as a candidate, but as a "wink wink" citizen of the world. A couple of things that spooked me here. First off, that was a political speech. From start to end. He got all of his political jabs in: global warming, one world government- it was in there he just didn't use those terms, America is bad, Iraq is wrong, America is mean, capitolism is bad, Bush is dividing and conquoring, basically all of the Democratic talking points. he was not campaigning though. The second thing is him being a "citizen of the world" Does he still qualify to be president if he is claiming another citizenship besides being a citizen of the USA? Do we even know if he is a citizen? I had to produce a birth cert to get my drivers liscense in North Dakota, he can't seem to produce an authentic one.
These keep piling up and up and up! Obama just makes crap up! Now, in terms of knowing my commitments, you don't have to just look at my words, you can look at my deeds. Just this past week, we passed out of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, which is my committee, a bill to call for divestment from Iran, as a way of ratcheting up the pressure to ensure that they don't obtain a nuclear weapon. — Barack Obama, Sderot, Israel, 7/23/08
Uh, Obama, you ARE NOT on the Senate Banking Committee. See for yourself. http://banking.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Information.Membership How much do you want to bet that we will not hear about this from one of the media 'darlins that are prancing around with him on his world tour? I can not take any more of this guy.
I am watching with awe at the orgy the media is having with Obama. This guy is inept and has no business being President, but with the media giving him the appearance of being infallible, he would have to totally bungle it to lose. Of course Hillary has not conceded to him yet. Denver could be fun, or really scary. I wish at least one good person was running.
The 4th of July is upon us. I love this country that I have been blessed to have been born in. The opportunity that we have here is something to be celebrated. We have had our black eyes and blemishes in the past, but there is no other country that harbors such freedom and chance to do as much in life as anybody wants. The standard of living we have is better than anywhere and anytime ever in the history of man. I think one of the great measuring tools for how good a country is would be to look at how many people try to get in vs how many are trying to get out. No other country has done more for the world than we have, from helping in crisis to building the economy of the world. We are kinder to all people here, no matter what the naysayers claim, than anywhere else. The thing that makes this country great is not the government, but the people. It is the single mom working two jobs to raise her kids. It is the small business person that grows his/her business and employs others that makes this country great. It is the big business that employs thousands that makes things cheaper and lets more people get them that drives us forward. The government is getting big now and is the biggest major factor in the slowing down and maybe will be the demise of the American dream. They have, both Republican and Democrat, done nothing but injure the American person over and over. I am not against the government, but I do believe that opportunity, liberty, freedom and big government do not exist together. We have an important election coming up in November and we have the duty to vote for the Government that will do us the least harm, not that will give us the most. I still believe in the American Dream and I hope and pray that it will live on to my great-great-great grand kids. Freedom and liberty work, but only as long as the Government is not able to take them away. God bless you and thank a solider, past or present when you look at all of the freedoms and security that we enjoy here in the USA.
I think that with Washington injuring us time after time, I'll forget those clowns and focus on the Minnesota Twins. They have found a way to put together nine wins in a row. they have been scoring runs without a lot of home runs. I love the old school, call it small ball, but the hit and runs, steals, and sacrifices that get you a run or two out of aggressive play. I can only hope that the Twins continue to put up 5 to 6 runs a game and have the young pitching staff continue thier more than adequate play. Go Twins!
I think I now can say that the Democrats are out to destroy the USA. We are a country based and built in the last 100 years on oil. I do agree that we can and will move away from oil. but it will not happen any time soon and the Dems are dead set against drilling for any of the vast oil supplies that we have here. We do not even know how big the oil reserves that we have below our land and sea are. The mantra that keeps coming from the left is that drilling now will have no quick impact on the price of oil. Well, I disagree, but even if it were true, we need to start looking to the long term here. If Clinton would have let oil companies drill in the 90's, we would have that oil in the supply today. If we would have been expanding our nuclear energy and natural gas supplies and power plants, we would not have the inflation that we are seeing now. We need to send a message to the politicians that have sold out to the $ that comes from all lobby groups that they really work for us. That is a bipartisan slam. They are both in on the game. Its time to wake these jokers up or get them out. Support lifting the ban on offshore drilling and all of the oil shale we have is just the first step in the long term solution to the most pressing issue we have, both economically and security. Good job on the green remodel Al!
It's the 64th anniversary of the invasion of Normandy. My grandfather who is 90 and still kicking was in two tours in WWII. I can't imagine the things that he saw and was involved in the war. I want to thank him and all of the men and women that have served in the armed forces either in war or in peace time. These brave people have bleed and died for the freedom, liberity and prosperity that we seem to be squandering away through our insane politicians. Take a listen to the prayer that FDR gave on the morning of the Normandy invasion, where have we gone since then?
Here's a quote from JFK's inaugural address in 1961:
L et every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we will pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of Liberty." People like to compare Obama to JFK, does this sound like Obama?
The "Global Warming" bill that was up for vote in the Senate has been killed, for now. The AP reports that four Dems helped to kill the bill. How come if four Reps vote with the Dems is a bipartisan effort, but here they just joined the Reps? I hate this bill. It would put us even farther behind in the global market. We are already falling way behind China, who just happens to be tapping into oil reserves off the coast of Florida that we have been told by congress that we can not get. They send over boatloads of goods and the boats go back totally empty. Both McCain and Obama have said that they would have supported this bill. I fear that after the next election the Dems will have such a big majority in both houses and a liberal in the White House, no matter who wins the election, that anything that they want to pass will go through unchallenged. I guess I can enjoy this little victory for now. It may be short lived.
It sounds like Billary is finally admitting that he/she can't win the Democrat nomination, so now I guess we may be down to two liberals left. McCain and Obama. So this is what it comes down to, a Republican who is less Republican than liberal and a Democrat that has more extremist and socialist ties than I can name here. I am both scared and mad. I guess I can only hope that Obama wins and it gets so bad that another Regan happens. It took Carter to get us Regan. I just hope that the damage can be repaired. Good night and good luck! (Actually, God Bless!!!!!)
My wife and I were watching the Twins play the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night and I was ready to turn it off. Just wait my wife said as the ninth inning started and the Twins were down 8-3. I was ready to go to sleep and she said "Lets just watch the end, you never know." Well, the twins went on to score five runs in the ninth, three on a Craig Monroe home run with 2 outs to tie. Then in the tenth, Justin Morneau hits the game winning solo homer. What a fininsh and what a call my my wife.
It seems to me that Barack Obama gets a free ride from the press. He has had so many gaffes and "mis speaks" that he would have been rolled right out of the race if he was a Republican. As a sidebar, if his wife is out stumping for him, she is fair game for scrutiny. He has said so many thing and has so many associations with shady characters that he scares me a lot. From saying that people are punished with babies to the quips about his uncle that liberated Auschwitz. Uh, the Russians did that one. I just saw that line and he is lying like a rug. I think that his lack of historical knowledge and pattern of ignorant foreign policy statements then retractions should put a huge dark cloud over him as a possible president. I have not even got to his plans for the USA yet. That would take me forever, but lets just say that we are soon going to be the UN of A.
I was out of town last weekend, the Memorial Day weekend, I was lost in thought for a while as I contemplated the sacrifice that our service men and women give. My grandfather is a WWII vet and my father is a Viet Nam vet. I was "unfit" for military service because of asthma, so I was not able to serve although I did enlist in the Marine Corps. I can not imagine what was going through my father and grandfather's heads when they were enlisting for the army during wartime. I want to send out a very heartfelt thank you to all of the men and women serving in our armed forces, police, border patrol, firefighters, even the ambulance workers. Thank you for all that you do to give us the freedom, security, and safety that we too often take for granted. Thank you!!!!
So, congress is having oil execs on the hill again. I wish that I could be one of the "Big Oil" guys there. I would probably be held in contempt of congress or something, but it'd go a little something like this: "So you guys want to know why oil and gas prices are so high? Well because of your policies, we have lost 50% of our refining capacity in the last 25 years. Demand keeps rising and we can only put out half the gas we did in 1982. China and India keep using more and more of the oil that is on the global market, and you will not let us get our own oil. So as prices rise on the global market, in line with demand, prices rise here as well. Oil is traded on the dollar and you guys have killed the dollar, so oil goes up. By the way, China has signed leases to drill 60 miles from Florida. We have huge oil deposits in Alaska, California, Florida and many western states, but we can't touch it! You have made the Polar Bear a threatened species, so it will kill the gas and oil industry there. You are talking about stealing our money, did I mention we paid a record amount of taxes this year? Did I also mention that we DO NOT set the prices, investors and speculators do. So in summation, the reason that food, energy, and gas are so expensive are because of................. politicians!" Then they would take me to jail. But it would be all worth it.
Is it not clear by now that Obama is not fit to be President. From clinging to guns to the latest statement about needing permission from other countries before I drive my car or feed my family. I'm not even going to go into the foreign relations stuff that spews out of his mouth. This guy will destroy the United States. I don't just mean the good old USA of the good ole boys, I mean the country will darn near be wiped off the map.
I was at the gym last night and was forced to watch Keith Olbermann and his "brilliant" 12 minute tirade on President Bush. Olbermann is a nut. He has no concept of reality. Is he just the mouthpiece for the Daily Kos and Move On? Olbermann, I think that you need to take you own advice and "Shut the h#@$ up!
I write a lot about oil prices. Why? I think that the price of fuel and energy is what is going to take this country down. From bringing all the goods we use to us to bring us where we need to go. The farmers are paying a high price to get crops in the ground and this gets passed on to us. We have an insane policy that turns food into fuel. Everyday products come from oil, plastic to tires to clothes. I just put 4 new tires on my vehicle and it was outrageous what that cost. I know that the dopes in Washington do not have to worry about the rising cost of oil like the everyday person does and the pinch doesn't hit them like it does us. I wonder why their policy does everything possible to keep us from getting new supplies of oil everywhere but the countries we really do not want to support. I like clean air and water, but cold and starvation is going to kill a olt more people a lot quicker than "Global Climate Change." I can show you people being killed right now because of our stupid policies. I just do not get it. Why are these morons doing this to us? I guess its a vast left-wing conspiracy to get us all back into surfdom.
Drill for more oil! Drill now! Please. We need it! Let 'em go Congress. I know that it'll take years to get the oil in the supply, but imagine if Clinton the 1st would have let em drill in the 90's.
Are there any people left who do not turn to the government when there is trouble? People and people keep getting "smarter" but yet when I look back on the founders of this nation, I see a lot of brilliant men. They knew, they ran from a government that was huge and oppressive to form a new one that was small and limited. As we put people in power that are hungry for more and more power, our government becomes exactly what the founders split from. The more that we give to the knuckle-heads in Washington and in the state capitols, the less and less we have. Time and time again, government tries to solve a problem and just exacerbates it or creates a new and worse one. the answer to the bigger and worse problem? Give them more and more power to create more and more problems. Why do we keep trying to solve a problem with the exact same minds that created it? That is insanity!!!!! I wonder if someone could win an election by running on the platform that the people do not need them? You don't need me in '08! I think that is has a good ring to it. When did we start electing people based on what they can give us? I think we should elect people, based on history, by who can do the least damage. Let the people go!
John McCain is starting, no, continuing to scare me. Last week, he bashed the North Carolina GOP for running an ad that was factual. There was nothing that was inaccurate o misleading about it. He said that North Carolina was out of touch? McCain is going to have a huge problem come November when the conservative voters turn out to pull the lever. I really think that the Republican Party is in big trouble. Not because the conservative ideal is dead, but because the Republican Party has swung so far left, that what brought it to power recently, namely Regan and Newt type policies, have been scuttled for centrist-left ideas. This is what lead to the 2006 losses for the Republican Party. It was not that they were too conservative, but that they were too liberal. Regan did not get things done by compromising with and becoming like those that he disagreed with, but by showing them how he was right and sticking by his guns. McCain may be setting himself up for a defeat in November and I fear that we will not be able to recover from a Clinton or Obama presidency coupled with a Democrat congress. Canada is looking better and better!
I grew up in Minneapolis and am a Twins fan. I'm not to encouraged by what I see this year. The bullpen has given up the last two game in the eighth inning to the Detroit Tigers. This was my saving grace this year. The bullpen was supposed to be one of if not the best in baseball. With the lack of run production, Hunter gone and Cuddyer on the DL, the bullpen has to hold a lead if they get one. Hernandez has looked good as a possible replacement for Santana but I don't think this will last. The Twins are my last hope for my Minnesota sports scene. I don't want to talk about the Vikings of Timberwolves and nobody south of St Paul really care about hockey, so the Twins are it. Its a shame that Hunter left via free agency with nothing in return, but I think the foundation is still there. I guess that at least they are not returning any time soon to the mid to late 90s form, but I was hoping for a little more.
We have food riots going on around the world. We have this nutty idea to burn our food as fuel here in the good 'ole USA! Great. Or insane? I think and have thought that ethanol is such a horrible idea and no good at stopping the imagined problem of global warming. We take a food crop, subsidize it, call it the answer and then starve the world because our food acreage is going to grow subsidized corn. We have imported wheat for the first time ever! We now have to tap into foreign food that would be headed for third world countries because we have 10% ethanol in our gas. What the crap are we thinking? Do you think that the world hates us now, wait until we are starving the rest of the planet to drive our suvs and cars! We have the oil and coal to fuel us for many many decades to come. The market will find a solution to our problems with energy much faster than our monkeys in Washington ever will. When will we wake up and realize that these people do not EVER make anything better. They may put a duct tape band-aid on it, but rip off 10 times the skin when its time to remove it. I do not believe in man made global warming, but living in North Dakota, I would welcome it.
I guess that according to Obama, I fit the description above. I live in North Dakota, so I guess that I was who Obama was talking about when he described that person at a fund raiser with the super-rich in San Fransisco. Is Obama really that far off base with middle America? Obama says I climg to my guns and God because government does not do anything to help. I think that I may cling to my guns when government does come to help because of the destruction that government usually leaves behind, despite their intentions. I was not going to vote for Obama to begin with, not because of his race, but because of his policies. I now do not think, as a result of statements like this and of his pastor for 20 years, that Obama has the country's best interests at hand. I do agree with him that we do need change, but I have a feeling that we would be polar opposites on exactly what changes we do need. I think that we need to change the wave of big government and selling out our sovereignty. We need to get away from government pacts like the UN and NATO. These only serve to take away our freedoms and liberties that are guaranteed by the Constitution. What Obama fails to realize is that the mid-America that he trashes is what makes the country go. The majority of the food that feeds the nation comes from the "bread basket" of the nation. It is on the backs of the middle class, that Obama seems to hoist the middle finger at, that the United States became great. I can not believe that a candidate is seriously being considered with these views of the values the America were founded on.
Thomas Sowell 
