Another View of Rev. Wright's Foot In Mouth Situation

I came across this online and thought that excerpts might be interesting to folks. This does have quite a bit to do with how Mr. Obama approaches issues and says a great deal about what his idea of equality might be. Don't you know HIllary's operatives are combing every piece of footage they can find on Rev. Wrights diatribes (I won't honor them by calling them sermons because sermons are about faith and this is partisan politics plain and simple.)
Entire article here.

"The Obama Crash and Burn
If he acts as if the Wright controversy is behind him, it's over for Obama.

By Victor Davis Hanson

The latest polls reflecting Obama’s near-collapse should serve as a morality tale of John Edwards’s two Americas — the political obtuseness of the intellectual elite juxtaposed to the common sense of the working classes.

For some bizarre reason, Obama aimed his speech at winning praise from National Public Radio, the New York Times, and Harvard, and solidifying an already 90-percent solid African-American base — while apparently insulting the intelligence of everyone else.

Indeed, the more op-eds and pundits praised the courage of Barack Obama, the more the polls showed that there was a growing distrust that the eloquent and inspirational candidate has used his great gifts, in the end, to excuse the inexcusable.

The speech and Obama’s subsequent interviews neither explained his disastrous association with Wright, nor dared open up a true discussion of race — which by needs would have to include, in addition to white racism, taboo subjects ranging from disproportionate illegitimacy and drug usage to higher-than-average criminality to disturbing values espoused in rap music and unaddressed anti-Semitism. We learn now that Obama is the last person who wants to end the establishment notion that a few elite African Americans negotiate with liberal white America over the terms of grievance and entitlement — without which all of us really would be transracial persons, in which happiness and gloom hinge, and are seen to do so, on one’s own individual success or failure.

Instead there were the tired platitudes, evasions, and politicking. The intelligentsia is well aware of how postmodern cultural equivalence, black liberation theory, and moral relativism seeped into Obama’s speech, and thus was not offended by an “everybody does it” and “who’s to judge?/eye of the beholder” defense. But to most others the effect was Clintonian...."

"...The more the pundits gushed about the speech, the more the average Americans thought, “Wait a minute — did he just say what I thought he said?” It’s not lost on Joe Q. Public that Obama justified Wright’s racism by offering us a “landmark” speech on race that:

(1) Compared Wright’s felony to the misdemeanors of his grandmother, Geraldine Ferraro, the Reagan Coalition, corporate culture, and the kitchen sink.

(2) Established the precedent that context excuses everything, in the sense that what good a Wright did (or an Imus did) in the past outweighs any racist outburst of the present.

(3) Claimed that the voice of the oppressed is not to be judged by the same rules of censure as the dominant majority that has no similar claim on victim status.

What is happening, ever so slowly, is that the public is beginning to realize that it knows even less after the speech than it did before about what exactly Obama knew (and when) about Wright’s racism and hatred. .."

Feminism At College is On It's Way Out

For quite a few years universities across the globe have promoted a type of political correctness that included the creation of various departments and majors in things such as Women's Studies (sometimes called Womyn's Studies-to have no association whatsoever with the male of the species) as well as a rainbow of minority inspired programs in culture, anthropology and literature. Being a far more socialist society, the UK was a bastion of all things politically correct. So imagine my surprise and delight in reading the following article! Too many dollars have been wasted subsidizing programs that very few students want just to be able to wave the banner of diversity. Now that money is tighter, and now that this generation's students are far more savvy with their educational demands that their parents were, the time has come for universities to get rid of programs that don't sustain enrollment.
Excerpt:
"Feminist scholarship has become predictable, tiresome and dreary, and most young women avoid it like the plague," said Christina Hoff Sommers, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute for public policy research in Washington and author of Who Stole Feminism? "British and American societies are no longer patriarchal and oppressive 'male hegemonies'. But most women's studies departments are predicated on the assumption that women in the West are under siege. What nonsense...."
Story here.

When Barry Became Barack

I found this article from Newsweek very interesting because if we are going to continue with what amounts to a rush to coronation, we must know what makes this man tick. I am not faulting his early years or his upbringing-all kids want to "fit in" and be part of the crowd. What I found a bit disturbing was this segment in which Mr. Obama's memory of the situation differs greatly with that of his friend. And this detail gives us a little insight into how awkward and how much Mr. Obama's African American heritage plays into his political spiel. The story itself is linked to the headline above.
Excerpt:
"Back in Hawaii in the 1970s, it could seem that everyone was some kind of a minority. The fact that Obama was half-black and half-white didn't matter much to anyone but Obama, Kakugawa says: "He made everything out like it was all racial." On one occasion, Obama thought he'd gotten a bad break on the school basketball team because he was black. But Kakugawa recalls his father's telling the teenager, "No, Barry, it's not because you're black. It's because you missed two shots in a row." (Here, Kakugawa's memory is different from Obama's. The Ray character in the book is the one obsessed with being discriminated against.)....."

The Movie Juno is NOT Reality.

Many people applauded the movie "Juno" for what they saw as a positive affirmation of life. I teach high school and I am angered by the messages the mainstream media sends to our kids. As teens we heard "if it feels good,do it" the result being that we had a generation that spent far too much time feeling their way through life without doing much. Two generations later, we have some segments of our community were 70% of the children are born to single parents. Sure, there are success stories. Their are young mothers who move on, who get educated and who raise their children responsibly. But there are also those young women who see messages such as are put out there by Hollywood and TV networks and other such purveyors of what is seen as the "enlightened message" that say women can do it all. Teenage girls are not women. They are children. And these children are having babies. For every girl who is successful, there are ten who are not. These girls drop out of school, they invite a parade of questionable men into their lives and those of their children. Their kids are more likely to be poor, to suffer from disabilities, to be hungry, to be abused and to die at the hands of those who claim to want them. Not a week goes by that we hear about another "mommy's boyfriend" or even "mommy" who thinks it's okay to simply take a child's life. And the courts and criminal justice system don't help when murdering a child gets far less punishment that killing an adult. I am not alone in this sentiment, but if you think this is just a conservative view, here's a column from Slate-a far more liberal online mag-and they share the same views with details.
Excerpt:
...I get letters all the time that describe the turbulence that results from deciding marriage is archaic. Sometimes the writers start with a conflicted sense of hope. "My ex is rather immature and irresponsible. I had a recent fling with him that resulted in pregnancy. I am overjoyed with the impending arrival of my baby, but I fear that no one else in my life will feel the same way." This is followed by more conflicted and less hopeful letters when the kids are small. "My boyfriend and I have a child who is almost 2. He also has a daughter and I have two other children. We bought a home together, but a week before we were about to move in, he left me. Now it's four months later, and he's bought me an engagement ring, but I found out he had a girlfriend during the time we were split." "I have two children with my ex-boyfriend. We broke up because last year a paternity test he was ordered to have came back positive. Even though we are not together, I still want my kids to have a father in their life. I also know he is ignoring his new son because he wants nothing to do with the mom, but that little boy also deserves to have a male figure who cares."

Having unmarried parents can be devastating for children who start out with no cushion in life. In 1999 congressional testimony, Isabel Sawhill of the Brookings Institution said that the increase in single-parent families—mostly due to unwed motherhood in the past few decades—"can account for virtually all of the increase in child poverty since 1970." A recent study found that the stress of early childhood poverty can literally damage developing brains.

Slate article

Another Global Warming "OOPSIE" Moment

So we have all these celebrity types who want to latch on and bask in the reflected glow of Al Gore under the dubious guise of "stopping Global Warming." Never mind that that particular moniker has recently been changed to "Global Change" which syncs nicely with someone's presidential campaign rhetoric, just pretend to go along. Well now it seems that some fairly heavy hitters who have spent more than a summer studying the weather, global currents and such are questioning the rush to judgment on the part of the Nobel committee and the Usual Suspects. Read the letter linked to the title above and the blog at Orange Punch and then ask yourself as the prices on gas rise and the demands of the liberal left further restrict domestic exploration and production if it's worth it to your family to keep throwing good money on bad science?
Bad Science

Kerplunk - Common sense from Down Under: The Islamification of France

Kerplunk - Common sense from Down Under: The Islamification of France
I've said it before but I'll keep saying it until someone pays attention.

Mexico's Economic Strategy

We've heard all the claims that a pursuing a true implementation of federal illegal immigration statutes is racist and bad. But what is the ultimate goal of the nation that supports these causes even to the point of assisting illegal entry into the U.S? Folks, we are being blindsided by a rogue government that has the goals of their oligarchy placed over those of our legal residents and citizens. One point that hasn't been discussed is how many millions of illegal immigrant are illegally accessing services amounting to possibly billions of dollars. If you look at any bar graph of federal spending, social and welfare services are double what we spend on military and defense.
Story here.

Whatever Happened to Class?

Class
" Velma: Whatever happened to fair dealing?
And pure ethics?
And nice manners?
Why is it everyone now is a pain in the a**?
Whatever happened to class?"
You must listen to the lyrics to get the irony of the song. Here are two women of dubious integrity, bemoaning the fate of manners and breeding. I see this type of whining every day. We hear about stars that are upset that their lack of circumspection in regard to their personal behavior is displayed by the paparazzi for all the world to see. And these two situations are very similar. It used to be thought that using foul language, innuendo or "cuss words" were an example of low class behavior. Yet words that would have gotten a movie banned even fifteen years ago are common every day fare for some parts of our culture. When I was a child, my parents told me that cussing was an example of someone who was too ignorant to express themselves in any other way. It was declasse. I am aware that kids cuss, and there was a period in my life when I thought I was cool by doing so because I found out that such words had the power to excite someone to action. But I outgrew that, as I like to think that most people do.

Well, sadly, most people these days don't. My kids all work in the retail and service sector. They are well mannered, they are intelligent and they understand the scope of their jobs. So why then do grown up people, thirty,forty and fifty year olds, think that it's appropriate to cuss out a kid or anyone else for a relatively minor complaint? In one case, an order was wrong, but before my son could change it, the person threw all the food at him and started cussing him out. This order included drinks that were thrown. Likewise, when a sale coupon could not be honored for a purchase in a department store, the lady in question not only cussed the staff out, but cut up her card and threw the scissors at one of the girls working. To my mind, that's assault and the police should be called. Is this rational behavior? Is this acceptable? Is this what passes for normal these days?

I ask this because I think we have all become navel gazers to a certain degree. It's all about serving "me". "Me" is the most important person in the room, the hotel, the store the hospital. "Me"s needs supersede everyone else's. Like the guy at DFW, who would not wait two minutes for my sister in law to get in the open door of the car so he could park (terminal C last night by the way)and then blocked our egress with his open door. While I could understand his wanting to get the space, was it really necessary to be so rude? We would have gladly held the space for him.

I guess I just don't get it. But then I also don't understand why please and thank you have become an issue for some folks. I hold doors open and help people when they are in need, but some segments of our society barely register appreciation as if their mere presence should entitle them to special services from any stranger who passes. Can we all grow up a little and use some common sense and common courtesy? And by the way, can some of you parents start demanding of your kids as well? Part of the reason my kids weren't allowed to watch The Simpsons until middle school is that I found his rhetoric appalling. Yet I see kids as young as kindergarten spouting off such Bart-isms to the seeming rapture of their doting parents. What may appear cute, but isn't, at five or six, can become a serious attitude issue at 14 or 15. Chew on that a minute. See the future. Take action now.

Global Warming Payola

From the New York Times comes this tidbit of interest. People tend to trust the government research more than privately funded research. But you have to wonder how well researched or documented situations regarding the environment or diet or any other of the media buzzwords are completely clear when money and government grants get in the way. Do you bite the hand that feeds you? Or do you simply create research to support whatever plans are in place?

Entire story here.

"....Now, you may trust the government agencies more than you do private companies because the agencies are supposed to be serving the public, not increasing profits for shareholders. But the officials running the agencies have their own agendas — like increasing their budgets and power and prestige, which can be done by supporting research demonstrating that there’s a terrible problem for the agency to solve. These officials are also subject to pressure from politicians and from the research establishment, which by definition tends to be more interested in work that conforms with the prevailing wisdom.

Once the fat-is-bad theory became the consensus — and was being formally promoted in federal agencies’ recommendations to the public — the officials handing out money were much more interested in finding evidence about the evils of fat than in looking at alternative hypotheses (like the carbs-are-bad theory discussed by Mr. Taubes). And research that jibed with the majority opinion was more likely to appeal to the editors and reviewers at journals as well as to journalists covering the debate. Scientists and journalists try to be open-minded, but they’re not immune to the confirmation bias that has been documented in so many experiments.

Moreover, it’s naive to think that money from industry is a monolith supporting one side of a debate. There were plenty of food companies eager to support the fat-is-bad consensus and profit by selling new low-fat products, just as there are companies — whole industries, in fact — eagerly promoting research and policies that jibe with the prevailing view on the dangers of global warming. Granted, there are companies lobbying against emission cuts because it could cost them money, but there’s plenty of potential for profit in the campaign against global warming, and energy companies are already angling for their cut.

A cap-and-trade systems for curbing carbon emissions (the kind criticized at this week’s conference) is popular in Washington in no small part because of corporate lobbyists who see a chance to make money from the carbon credits. There’s money to be made in developing alternative energy — even when it’s not so green, like the ethanol industry that has been collecting subsidies for decades. There’s money to be made by cultivating a green image. And there’s lots of money to be doled out to researchers studying climate change and new energy technologies...."

Now, Can We Drill?

I want you to consider the amount of damage that has been perpetrated in the name of environmentalism. Thanks to the China Syndrome, we stopped building nuclear power plants. And the last ones built were so challenged in the courts that their costs were three times the original plan. Thanks to other environmental programs, we can't drill off of the coasts of Florida-where one of the potentially richest oil fields is currently being illegally tapped by Cuba. We can't drill in ANWR in Alaska for fear of a dwindling caribou population. We are pushed by a Congress with eyes on rural votes to have corn ethanol in our fuel. We haven't built a refinery in 29 years. We can't use coal because of acid rain. So what are we to do?

The Ivory Tower advocates for clean air like to point to things such as hybrid cars, expensive fixes for homes and ethanol from corn-which not only reduced fuel efficiency but causes the price of gas at the pump to spike due to the necessary purging of fuel lines in order to have it added. The same people who so elegantly point to rows of cars don't stop to consider that average people cannot afford these things. And with the rising cost of fuel, everything is going to rise in cost from food to energy. It's funny how the same folks who push these ideas don't understand that those of us who work for a living can't just trash our old clunkers and spend $400 a month paying for a new car. And what's worse, they don't really seem to care.

There is the laissez-faire attitude that we "little people" can simply walk to work or turn off the air conditioning. What about the elderly, the infirm or the very young? I guess it's easy to do without air conditioning when you live in a climate were it's only needed a few weeks per year, but what are you going to tell folks in Houston, Dallas, Flagstaff, New Orleans, Phoenix or El Paso? Should we simply close shop and leave town from May until September? Should we wander around like previous generations of the Dust Bowl era?

And it goes farther than that. There's no question that the war in the Middle East has to do with national security in as much as oil is necessary to our livelihood. With Saddam in power and exercising control of the region, we would have been his virtual economic slaves. Right now, environmentalist are limiting our abilities to produce domestic fuel in so many ways, and yet they refuse to realize that these goals have forced our hand internationally. Oil is reaching record purchasing amounts, and the government makes money off of every gallon. We have reserves, we have potential sites for exploration and drilling, but the same folks who seem to be blind to the needs of everyday people are keeping us from progressing. It's the same attitude that helped Marie Antoinette lose her head. At estimated costs to the consumer of $4.00 a gallon coming soon to a neighborhood near you, isn't it time for us to stop this wasteful navel gazing nonsense and begin to use what resources we have available to tide us through until the next great wave of transportation technology comes along? Most midwives and obstetricians will tell you that an induced birth is more painful for the mother and the child. What organized environmentalism is doing to our nation now is the energy equivalent of a pitocin drip. So for the last time, NOW CAN WE DRILL?

TAKS-ercize!

Now is the season of our discontent. In short, it's TAKS season in Texas. For those of you who don't live in Texas, or who do live in Texas and don't have children, this is the time of year when we cease teaching anything new and do the old standby's of drill and kill. This is the season when the TEA and the other "powers" decide to take children who can barely do average work due to language limitations or learning differences and put them into a normal classroom to take a test that make the average student cringe. I thought this is what special education programs were supposed to avoid. I thought we were supposed to "meet the learner at their place of knowledge." But obviously, I thought wrong.

As I have stated in other places, the TEA expects, no, it DEMANDS that we the teachers who administer the TAKS, be constantly roaming the room. I have equated this in other forums to a herd of antelope being stalked by a particularly hungry lion. You can fill in the species to your own content. I can understand the TEA not wanting the administrators to grade, or surf the internet or sleep during testing. But I think it's just a bit over the top to expect us to wander aimlessly watching every scratch and scribble that kids make on their test booklets. Since Lord Knows we can't beat them, I think I have found some ways to alleviate the mind-deadening boredom of test proctoring. It's called "TAKS-ercize!"

Based on the movements initiated sometime in the last century and practiced by countless middle aged women, the idea is to incorporate dance moves as you wander around the room. But the moves must be done slooooooooooooooooooooooowly.
1. The Slide-Begin with feet together, slide the right foot slowly to the right, bring the left foot together. Cross the room and then reverse direction.
2. The Slow Chaser-Point the right toe, reach with the foot to the right, step, then bring the left foot just behind it-second position for you ballet school dropouts.
3. Mini-Lunge-Slight bend the left knee, move the right foot six inches back placing the heel on the floor, bend the left knee slightly, then release. Repeat with other leg
4. The Pickup-Walk as you normal do, step forward but slowly push with your toe on the back foot. Change weight to your front foot and push the heel up about six inches.
5. Slow Grapevine-For those of you who know how to do the Grapevine step, do it slowly and with little steps. It's too complex to describe here.
6. Relevees-Slight raise up on your toes and then back down. Change the position of your feet to work different muscles.

I have to admit, I actually did some of these steps today. The kids never noticed, except for this one girl who is actually in one of my classes and who more or less expects this kind of behavior. For more ambitious folks here are some other ideas

1. Pick Up Sticks-Drop all the pencils and pick them up one by one. (note-not to be done with cleavage baring apparel or if you are over sixty.) For those living in warmer areas, consider picking them up with your toes.
2. Pencil Sharpener Lunge-(note-required equipment-an electric sharpener) Stand away from the sharpener. Take the pencil and jab it into the sharpner as you lunge. Change pencils and change legs.
3. Reverse Arm Raises-Lean against a desk, lower your body and push up with your arms. Don't overdo it.
4. Leg lifts-Stand behind podium or chair and lift you leg behind, alternating legs.
5. Dictionary/Thesaurus Armcurls-Use whatever reference material and use it as counterweight for armcurls. This will also visually reinforce the idea that knowledge makes you strong.

So You Think You Are Safe....

My husband called from Vegas, where he's at a trade show. It seems that ricin was found in a Vegas apartment. It was actually found two weeks ago, when the guy living there was taken to the ER in critical condition, but today it was confirmed that the substance is ricin. There are people who like to think we live in a safe little bubble, but if you are that delusional, please wake up. There are mercenary folks who will do anything for a buck. And anything could be killing off a bunch of retirees on a jaunt to the Strip for cheap steak and quarter slot machines. The story is linked in the titles.

Polar Bears Extinct? Not Hardly.

The Greenies would have us believe that countless white fuzzy polar bears are drowning in the melting soup that the Arctic oceans have dissolved into. But as usual, there's just a little problem with the science fact over the science fiction which is being promoted by Al Gore, Greenpeace and countless other members of the Church of Global Warming. Thanks to this study, being brought to light by OrangePunch, we now know that like swirly bulbs being environmentally sound and hybrid cars getting 50 mpg, this is just more anarchist malarky designed to stampede the unknowing into supporting causes that have NO MERIT.

"Polar bear extinction? Not exactly.

February 21st, 2008 by mlandsbaum

From Mark Landsbaum

So, is global warming killing off polar bears? Don’t bet on it.

Despite the government poised to declare the polar bear the first species officially threatened by global warming, it turns out just the opposite is true.

U.S. polar bear populations aren’t declining. H. Sterling Burnett, a senior fellow with the National Center for Policy Analysis, says comprehensive research shows that since the 1970s, while much of the world was warming, the overall number of polar bears didn’t just increase, but increased dramatically.

Today there are about 25,000 of the furry white critters, more than any time in the 20th century.

Meanwhile, the World Wildlife Fund found that of the 20 polar bear populations worldwide, only two are decreasing. And guess what. Those are in areas where air temperatures have fallen, not risen.

So, we’re losing bears where it’s getting cooler. Hm. Not much to blame global warming for there.

There were two polar bear populations that have grown. But guess what. They live in areas were air temperatures have risen.

Hm. We’re getting more bears where it’s getting warmer.

In fact, evolutionary biologist and paleozoologist Susan Crockford, of Canada’s University of Victoria, says polar bears historically thrive when temperatures have been warmer than the temperatures we have today.

Yes, we know, it doesn’t fit the global warming story line. But that’s why we call it a “story line” and not a fact.

Swirly Logic

Remember the big push to get all of us to switch to those funky swirly lightbulbs? Walmart, Target, all the heavy hitters of Ecological hierarchy were pushing this. Well it seems that they missed one little thing. The things last a long time, but in the end, it seems that they also contain MERCURY. Yes, it's that seep-into-the-watershed and call out the Hazmat team, mercury. Now how exactly did the geniuses that pushed this program miss that point? And furthermore, since the eco-hierarchy was the one pushing it, how off are they on other key issues, like say, hydrogen fuel cells? I know that fire departments are already in a snit over the danger of larger batteries and hazards due to lead in car accidents. Can you imagine the potential for destruction and death with an unstable fuel cell that is pushed blindly through the system by overeager envirotechies? I think it's plain old scary. And that we could end up with a rubber stamp government that would pass through such a program despite it's potential for danger is scarier still.

Good News from Down Under!

I was badly needing something good to be in the news. Politics is depressing. The economy is depressing. Even the sports news is sad, stupid and yes, depressing. So with the yin and yang of things, I figured if the northern hemisphere was in the dumps, then maybe there was more optimism to be found down under. And I was right. Read and rejoice!
Kerplunk

Who Are You, Who, Who, Who, Who?

When the rock gods asked that, it was about individuals, not demographics. But now we have political parties that are far more concerned with the voting behavior of mass groups over the needs of the few, or the one. Are we losing our souls to the power of technology? If politics continues this way, yes.

This is SO INCREDIBLY DEPRESSING.....

I am sick. I am so mad that people vote based on shallow assumption rather than substance. And the stupid way that the Republicans have allowed themselves to be manipulated by the media and by the broadbased bias that being a former minister makes you a paragon of management is simply naive. So here we are. Romney is the last bastion against an appeasement layer of pseudo-conservatism and he was brokered out of the West Virginia delegates by a slick move on the part of McCain operatives. This dog in the manger attitude that allowed the third place supporters to vote simply to keep Romney from winning is typical of this man's campaign. I think that the many many true conservatives who supported the likes of Duncan Hunter and Fred Thompson will find a McCain candidacy a hard pill to swallow. As for Huckabee, and his supporters, you are political fools. You were never in the running and all Huckabee became was a shill for McCain preventing consolidation of the conservative base. While those who are evangelicals are dazzled by his former position as a Baptist minister, I have one question-

IF THE MINISTRY IS A POSITION TO WHICH YOU ARE CALLED BY GOD, THEN WHY DID MIKE HUCKABEE QUIT?

Face it evangelicals, you are doing the same thing that you did back when Perot was running. You are forcing a single issue platform that WILL NOT WIN. And you are, in addition, supporting a candidate whose views are not in line with most evangelical thinking. Do you really think it's okay to allow illegal immigrant in-state status for college tuition and scholarships? That is insulting to every single parent and student who works themselves to death to pay for a college education. And when these people are allowed that seemingly legal status, by their low income level, they will end up with scholarships. What about the rest of us who have paid into the government till for our whole lives? Your vote for this man was a slap in the face.

I am sorry, I simply cannot contain my frustration with the way this campaign has evolved. It seems like we were forced to accept a candidate not of our own choosing by forces that do not have our best interests at heart. I am beside myself. I don't know what I will do during the Texas primary on March 4th. The only good thing to come out of this mess is that now the Texas primary will garner us some political favors and I hope the state parties are smart enough to arm-twist a boat load of favored status programs in return for delivering the state's delegates. I may cross over to mess with the Democrats. I may vote for a Communist. I may pick Mickey Mouse, Mickey Rourke or Mickey the guy down the street. But I sure know that I won't be pulling the lever, marking the ballot or sending one red cent to the RNC if McCain-Huckabee is the ticket in November. And you can carve those words in stone.


PS. What really galls me is that for my two oldest kids, this is there first big election. I hate it that they are seeing the seamy underbelly of the system rather than the better lights. I can actually understand the support for Obama because although I don't like his political stands, I would much rather have him over for dinner than Hillary or McCain. What a stinking shame.

Sign This Petition

There are still men in this world who feel it is their heaven sanctioned right to oppress women and girls, even to the point of killing a man who dares to point this out. If you think this is a problem isolated in regions of the Middle East, think again. Throughout the world, wherever this backward philosophy of life moves, women are oppressed and sometimes beaten and killed. In a relatively average Dallas suburb on New Years Day, two seemingly normal teenage girls were killed by their father. Their crime? Dating American boys, wanting to be normal, wearing western clothing. In Canada as well, a father killed his daughter for refusing to wear hijab. As Islam and the related cultures expand into western regions, we must be ready to recognize this evil behavior for the abuse it is. It is not "honor" nor is it something to be pushed away as a cultural activity to be permitted, it is the systematic destruction of females with the tacit approval of the leaders of the various mosques. This is not to say that all Muslims indulge in this behavior, but western police organization don't realize that the women who are abused are so brainwashed and so cornered, that they accept this abuse as normal. We cannot and should not permit the growth of this evil. And we should not let a good man die because he dared to say it was wrong.

Politics as Usual

When did we get to the point that the style of the candidate superseded their substance? Right now we have liberals who are pointing fingers at each other and conservatives that seem equally intent on tripping up their rivals within the party. For the majority of us who are not political animals and who don't live for the subtle dagger of defamation, this has been a primary season that has left us all just a little woozy and the worse for wear. I consider myself a conservative. Not a die at all costs conservative. Not a one issue and I am done conservative, but a TRUE conservative. I think people should work for what they get. I think the military is there to defend our borders. I think that citizens should have the right to jobs, education and social welfare before we start giving away goods across the border or around the world. I think the government, like my family, should have to live within their own means. I don't want the government telling me what to do, what to wear or what to think. I don't want them meddling in my church and a surely don't want my church mixing it up with politicians. In short, I want old school constitutional justice and a Congress that understands the need for individuals to be accountable for their actions. And, right now I am considering voting for a Democrat.

Strange, you say? Not really. There's pretty clear evidence that the MainStreamMedia has gone out of its way to pump up the volume on the partisan rhetoric since 9/11. That has resulted in a variety of whispering campaigns that not only divide our nation into political regions, but that divides groups within these areas from each other. What used to be spicy, but liveable cocktail party banter has become a situation where you must tread on eggshell any place except home. And yet the vocal bullies on both sides try to sway and intimidate through a series of politically inspired antics that just leave a sour taste in my mouth. So the media has a great deal to answer for, including the unbelievable hype given to the early primaries. The anticipation of financial gain from such early voting led Florida and Michigan to move up their primaries, only to have their hands slapped by the DNC. So do you really think the DNC will deny entry and credentials of delegates from these two very important states? Or will Clinton's gamble to show up and "campaign" outside the realm of the acceptable primaries win her the nomination? And what of the Republicans. Several qualified candidates with measured and descriptive positions and platforms were ignored by a media that seems intent on choosing the nominee for the party by ignoring other contenders. And, not surprisingly, the Republican they support is the most liberal of the bunch. There's already talk of people simply staying home. And this could signal both a Democrat gain in the White House and a Democrat political bloodbath two years later in the midterms when "nice thoughts and pleasant behavior" doesn't produce magical changes in the way things are progressing domestically or internationally.

So, what to do?
Here's my plan. I do not trust Hillary Clinton. I think she's damaged goods with a mean streak that will lead to vindictive leadership in Congress. Punishing ones political opponents is not part of the job of President. I think John McCain is far more liberal and could probably run as a Democrat given his public stances on immigration and other topics. He's running on his legacy as a POW. And I admire his courage at that time BUT, that doesn't make him good for the position. In addition, he has a reputation for being very angry, very brusque and unwilling to admit his mistakes. If he was elected, he would enact most of the liberal agenda. But when that didn't work, the MSM and the pundits would still blame the Republicans-heck they will probably still blame President Bush-and nothing will change. The Congress would still be producing programs that we can't pay for and bills loaded with hidden earmarks that never make the light of day in discussion of their passage. The odd man out is Obama. Sure, he's liberal. But he is a former professor of constitutional law, which means he's studied the thing and knows the limits of power. He's not particularly tied to any one group of zealots such as Moveon.org or such. I am sure he would still push for a more liberal social agenda, but with a more measured eye towards the endgame. And if his agenda failed, the MSM could not blame Republicans and the midterms would give us an entire new Congress.

So it could be a rough couple of years boys and girls. Hold on to your hats, watch your backs and for God's sake, stop registering your guns, because that's the first thing they are going to pass.

My New Personal Political Agenda

I am dismayed by the way the primary season has run out. We have Hillary Clinton, actively campaigning in Michigan and Florida-states whose delegates aren't supposed to be seated because they move up their primaries. We have main stream media that is shaping the battlefield for a race between John McCain and some democrat regardless of what the general population wants. We have small homogeneous states picking and choosing candidates for the rest of us based on their limited and largely rural backgrounds. We have this candidate casting stones at the others and in general, if you are like me, you are sick to death of it.

My candidate is out. I really think that Fred Thompson had the most concise and logical platform of ideas. But he didn't run the campaign to the media's liking and so dropped out. Giuliani too, not my favorite but an early frontrunner, was scuttled by a media which wants to heap laurels on two small states and begin the bickering and backstabbing on a national scale. And what of Texas and other states whose primaries are down the road past Super Tuesday? It would seem that our votes don't matter. It would also seem that the candidates simply do not care. Why should I waste time and effort voting for someone who doesn't even know I exist?

So here's my strategy (or stratergery if you prefer.) Since I consider Clinton a vindictive and dangerous nominee who has too much ambition and is too clever by half, in a McCain v. Clinton election, I hold my nose and voter for McCain. BUT.....In a McCain v. Obama race, I choose Obama. Why? you ask. Because:
1. This would lay to rest the use of the "race card" in all public and governmental events.
2. If you are going to elect someone with liberal causes anyway, you might as well go whole hog and pick one that has the liberal street cred. That way when the wheels fall off, it won't be the Republicans stuck holding the bag, again.
3. I think that Obama is calmer, younger and more detail oriented than McCain. His background as a professor would cause him to be more analytical, and although they may not like it, more conservative in the measures he chooses to take. Unlike Clinton, his background is constitutional law and he knows the structure of the government and the limitations of the office of President.
4. The election of Clinton would play into every negative female CEO stereotype and set women back fifty years.
5. McCain is simply not reasonable as has been demonstrated in a number of contradictory stances on many public issues.
6. Clinton has a great deal of political baggage and political payback. The POTUS and Congress are already at their lowest ebb-Congress being lower-than before in history. We really don't need a radical ideologue to cram a bunch of heavy handed programs down the throats of a weakly controlled and slavish Congress.