Al Franken Draws A Crowd Of One

Yesterday, Al Franken, Democrat candidate challenging the Senate seat of Norm Coleman (R-MN) held a roundtable on veterans issues at Brigitte’s Cafe in St. Cloud. He drew only one participant.

The other odd thing about this ‘event’ is that the one veteran that did show up, said that he was satisfied with the services he received after registering for services.  Josh John, a St. Cloud resident who said he served in the Navy from 2000-04, and the only person who showed up for the roundtable discussion, said . . .

“My mom and my aunt eventually got me to talk with my county VSO. He got me registered with the VA and since then, I haven’t had a problem. I’ve gotten a lot of help, and every question I’ve gotten answered.”

Reminds me of the book signing that Cindy Sheehan had. Too bad there are no pictures of this event.

link: Veteran gets one-on-one chat with Franken

John Edwards Admits To Affair

Friday afternoon, if you haven’t noticed, is when bad news tends to be released. Most people, the guilty hopes, will be concentrating on other things. And, if it is political in nature and about a democrat, the media may just overlook it as well. That is why Friday is a good time to pay close attention to the news.

Today’s news is from former Sen. John Edwards (D-NC), former presidential candidate and potential VP choice for Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), finally coming out and admitting that the long ignored and discredited story by the National Enquirer was true. Well, except that he is denying that he is the baby daddy of the child born Feb 27, 2008.

No longer can the affair be blamed on right-wing kooks spreading lies printed by the National Enquirer. Although that generally goes hand in hand with the media blackout on this subject. John Edwards will be on Nightline tonight to talk on the subject. Edwards is counting on you watching the Olympics.

UPDATE 8/8/08: Saw the interview. Edwards said that Ms. Hunter’s 6 month old baby was not his. Although Edwards said he would submit to a paternity test, it became apparent that Hunter probably would not. Curiously enough, Terry Moran failed to ask him whether he ever asked Ms. Hunter who the baby daddy was.

UPDATE 8/10/08: Edwards’ ex-mistress nixes paternity test

links: John Edwards Out Of VP Consideration | Sen. John Edwards Caught With Mistress And Love Child! | Edwards admits to affair, denies fathering child

aSide Order

ALEXANDRIA, La. – A man and a woman found a new use for a barbecue pit , one that landed them in jail. An argument over whether a third guest should stay in the house got so heated that the woman picked up the barbecue pit and hit the man over the head with it, police said.

link: Two arrested after using barbecue pit as a weapon

Sign over a Gynecologist’s Office:
‘Dr. Jones, at your cervix.’
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In a Podiatrist’s office:
‘Time wounds all heels.’
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On a Septic Tank Truck:
Yesterday’s Meals on Wheels
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At a Proctologist’s door:
‘To expedite your visit, please back
in.’
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On a Plumber’s truck:
‘We repair what your husband fixed.’
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On another Plumber’s truck:
‘Don’t sleep with a drip. Call your plumber.’
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On a Church’s Bill board:
‘7 days without God makes one weak.’
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At a Tire Shop in Milwaukee?:
‘Invite us to your next blowout.’
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At a Towing company:
‘We don’t charge an arm and a leg. We want tows.’
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On an Electrician’s truck:
‘Let us remove your shorts.’
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In a Nonsmoking Area:
‘If we see smoke, we will assume you are on fire and take appropriate action.’
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On a Maternity Room door:
‘Push. Push. Push.’
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At an Optometrist’s Office:
‘If you don’t see what you’re looking for, you’ve come to the right place.’
**************************
On a Taxidermist’s window:
‘We really know our stuff.’
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On a Fence:
‘Salesmen welcome! Dog food is expensive!’
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At a Car Dealership:
‘The best way to get back on your feet – miss a car payment.’
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Outside a Muffler Shop:
‘No appointment necessary. We hear you coming.’
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In a Veterinarian’s waiting
room:
‘Be back in 5 minutes. Sit! Stay!’
**************************
At the Electric Company
‘We would be delighted if you send in your payment.
However, if you don’t, you will be.’
**************************
In a Restaurant window:
‘Don’t stand there and be hungry; come on in and get fed up.’
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In the front yard of a Funeral Home:
‘Drive carefully. We’ll wait.’
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At a Propane Filling
Station:
‘Thank heaven for little grills.’
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And don’t forget the sign at a
CHICAGO
RADIATOR SHOP:
‘Best place in town to take a leak.’
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Sign on the back of another Septic Tank Truck:
‘Caution – This Truck is full of Political Promises’??

Rome: A new guidebook in Sicily aims to answer everything tourists always wanted to know about the Mafia, but were afraid to ask.
Link: A tourist’s guide to the Mafia

Change Chavez Can Believe In


Women protest in front of riot police officers during a demonstration against Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez in Caracas, Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2008. Hundreds of Venezuelans protested against a Supreme Court ruling barring a list of mostly opposition candidates from running in state and local elections in November. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is making preparations for state and local elections in November by turning back a referendum Venezuelans passed in December 2007. He has blacklisted all his political opponents. The target of Hugo Chavez is freedom and democracy, and citizens are taking to the streets in protest.

Just before his ability to make laws without the approval of legislators expires, temporary powers given to him 18 months ago, Chavez made 26 decrees that effectively neuter any chance for democracy to bloom, paving the way for a communist state. Speaking of the protesters . . .

Chavez said in a speech Wednesday night that their concerns are grossly overblown. “This is a democracy. They call me a tyrant – tyrants govern without laws. We’re making laws, and all those laws are for the benefit of the country,” Chavez said.

No doubt taking tips from his communist buds Vladimir Putin and Fidel Castro, Chavez’s idea of change is from a socialist state (he has already nationalized key industries in Venezuela) to a communist state.

link: Venezuelans Protest Chavez’s New Socialist Push

related link: A Change in Chávez?

Employee Free Choice Act, Part Two

The Employee Free Choice Act, which passed in the House but failed to pass in the Senate last year, is gaining steam again in the context of Barack Obama’s campaign.

This anti-free choice legislation passed the House. However, it failed to clear the Senate, where it obtained only 51 votes, nine short of what’s required to defeat a filibuster.

With the Democrats possibly in a position to gain nine or so Senate seats this year, the AFL-CIO has made anti-free choice legislation its number one election priority. Donald Lambro reports in the Washington Times that organized labor will spend (it is estimated) upward of $300 million in this year’s presidential and Congressional elections — much of it promoting the card-check bill and tying it to its Democratic supporters.

The Employee Free Choice Act has nothing to do with our national interest and everything to do with labor union interests. It is a bill to enhance union organization and membership by eliminating the private ballot. When was the last time you voted using a public ballot, where people will see how you voted when you vote? It flies in the face of the democratic process. And is totally supported by the Democrat(ic) party.

related links: Barack Obama — fighting to reduce worker free choice | Employee Free Choice Act, Dems’ Next Fraud | Employee No Choice Act Fails

Job Hunting In The Justice Department?

The Justice Department issued a report on its investigation on hiring practices at the Justice Department. This was the end result of an investigation into firing practices of former Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzalez and seven U.S. attorneys.

The report cites misconduct in some cases for trying to determine the political leanings of applicants. You see, it is wrong to vet applicants with political leanings or connections opposite to the administration, in order keep people from using their position to thwart the administration because of their political leanings.

related link: Report Faults Aides in Hiring at Justice Dept.

Obama Passes On Visiting Injured Troops, Do They Care?

Unless you’ve been incommunicado over the last two days, you know all the press being generated because the man who is running to be Commander in Chief chose not to visit injured soldiers in the largest military hospital outside of the United States. That would be the military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany. He also cancelled a trip to the Ramstein Air Base in Germany. The latter of which didn’t get as much coverage.

Obama’s behavior, and excuse for not visiting our (and his) troops there is quite upsetting to us here in the United States. Is there any curiosity to find out whether the troops in Germany care? My guess is that, on the whole, they are glad that he didn’t go.

John Edwards Out Of VP Consideration

Under most circumstances, if you’re a married man having a ‘meeting’ with a single woman at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles, you would have no chance for consideration to be Barack Obama’s running mate. Emphasis on ‘under most circumstances.’ For Bill Clinton, a little extramarital affair was a resume enhancement. But I don’t think that Clinton’s ‘pass’ will pass on to former senator John Edwards.

As always, you have to consider the source. OK, it is the National Enquirer. After that, you have to consider that they caught Edwards cold, down to the room numbers rented, who was in them, how both Edwards and Hunter got there, and how they left the hotel, and who drove them.

There is no evidence of what went on in the room between John Edwards and Rielle Hunter. After all, they could have been watching Keith Olbermann on TV. He could say ‘I did not have sex with that woman, Ms. Hunter,’ and everything would be OK. But he is not saying a word about it to reporters. Edwards was in the room from 9:45 p.m. Pacific time last Monday until 2:40 a.m. Tuesday.

His leaving was more like an escape than anything else. And there were plenty of witnesses that were not employees of the tabloid.

Knowing he had been caught, Edwards did not leave through the lobby. He went down a stairwell and into a bathroom, possibly to comb his hair. Or maybe to call hotel security to escort him out of there without the reporters all over him. Security did go down there and he was escorted out. Coincidence?

You haven’t seen a word about this little adventure in the mainstream media have you? It is in the undernews media and the blogosphere. And the Obama campaign is aware of it. One thing is for sure, he isn’t on Obama’s short list for Vice-President any more.

related link: John Edwards Love Child | Sen. John Edwards Caught With Mistress And Love Child!

Democrats Oppose Increasing Oil Supply

To know where Democrats in Washington stand on increasing oil supply, one only needs to look at what they are doing and what they want to do.

They want to . . .

  • Punish the oil industry with higher taxes. This punishes everyone in the form of higher gas prices at the pump.
  • Control the oil industry by telling them where they must drill. They whine about the 8 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico that are not as promising, efficient, or as easy to get to than the millions of acres on land and in other places in the surrounding Gulf, the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and ANWR that they demand are off-limits. If it is harder to get to and has less capacity, it will be more expensive at the pump. Not less.
  • Control the auto industry by telling them what kind of cars to build and what kind of ‘performance’ they must have. Right now, GM for example, pays out more in benefits to people that no longer work for them (retirees) than their current employees. In total, they pay out more in benefits than they are making from sales. They pay more for health care for people that don’t work for them than steel for making their product.
  • And right now, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is refusing to send a bill (H.R. 6566) to the floor of the House for a vote that, if passed, will remove the ban on exploration and drilling in all the areas with the most potential. Why is she doing this? Because there are enough Democrats in the House that believe it is the right thing to do and will vote for it. And the last thing Pelosi wants to see is gas prices come down and the economy improve while there is a Republican in the White House. She cares more for her party and holding power than the welfare of the country and you.
  • Prevent development of what is potentially as much as 800 billion barrels of oil shale in Colorado. Rush Limbaugh explains this point in this video, below.

related links: How About An Energy Policy That Gets Some? | Chavez May Thank Democrats for H.R.5351 | National Energy Day

Citizens Fighting Crime

Nine months after a noble attempt to reverse violent crime in Philadelphia, organizers of 10,000 Men on the Street are taking another look at how to turn things around. The movement did produce 200 volunteers willing to help, but there was no enthusiasm to do Guardian Angel-type foot patrols in the worst neighborhoods.

That’s not the response organizers had hoped for after an impressive turnout at a rally last October that received lots of media attention.

Organizers now say funding and logistical problems hampered the project. They also underestimated the desire of volunteers to patrol the mean streets.

But all is not lost.

A survey of 2,000 potential volunteers said they were interested in serving as role models with troubled youth, as opposed to confronting armed and dangerous thugs on street corners.

Organizers are shifting focus from confrontation to the more conventional tack of mentoring and being role models for the kids with the goal, of course, to steer the kids in the right direction before they become a statistic. The assessment of the program so far is that some progress is better than no progress.

Mentoring the kids is half of the problem. Dissolution of the family unit, or no family at all, is the other.

related link: Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial

Belly up to the counter. Politics are on the menu and Ross is on the grill.