Tag Archives: Politics

2008 Election, Immigration, Politics

DNC Pow-Wow, No Peace Pipe

Democrat Party officials met today and decided what to do about the Michigan and Florida delegates. It ended up in a compromise that nobody likes. Instead of giving them no delegates, like their rules had spelled out, the DNC decided to count the votes as half a vote, which ends up with the States getting half of their delegates represented at the convention. They also took 4 of Hillary’s delegates and gave them to Obama.

Harold Ickes, speaking to the Rules Committee for Sen. Clinton, said that she . . .

had instructed him to reserve her right to appeal the matter to the Democrats’ credentials committee, which could potentially drag the matter to the party’s convention in August.

and

“There’s been a lot of talk about party unity — let’s all come together, and put our arms around each other,” said Ickes, who is also a member of the Rules Committee that approved the deal. “I submit to you ladies and gentlemen, hijacking four delegates … is not a good way to start down the path of party unity.”

Doesn’t look like she intends on quitting any time soon.

Reactions from the peanut gallery that was permitted to witness the meeting . . .

“How can you call yourselves Democrats if you don’t count the vote?” one man in the audience shouted before being escorted out by security. “This is not the Democratic Party!”

Seeing this primary fight between the Clinton and Obama camps is bittersweet. On the one hand, this fight for the Democrat nomination is a treasure trove of ad material for republicans and conservatives in the general election campaign. John McCain excepted. Sen. Obama’s campaign may self-destruct as more people learn more about him and the kind of people he surrounds himself with and seeks counsel from. The bad part of this protracted primary fight is that McCain won’t use any of it. How could he? Much of the democrat candidates’ positions on key issues are the same as his so it wouldn’t work. Immigration, more business regulation, ‘windfall’ profits tax actions against BIG OIL, man-made global warming, just to name a few.

Conservatives have their work cut out for them. Forget the last 40 years of toil. We’ve got to start over. We have to find conservatives, real ones, and run them in our city, county, state elected positions. From the ground up again, Yes We Can. (sorry, it just happened)

related links: Officials say Fla., Mich. delegates will get half-votes | Should Republican Leadership Resign?

2008 Election, Media, Politics, Uncategorized

Overplayed Assassin?

Is this primary season getting on your nerves just a bit? What makes ‘news’ nowadays is virtually anything that either candidate says becomes an issue of some sort of attack when in reality, they are not. Take Hillary Clinton’s statement below for example. I’m on her side (what did he say?) on this issue that ought to be a non-issue. In response to critics asking her to quit, she has said the following on more than one occasion.

“My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. I don’t understand it,” she said, dismissing calls to drop out.

Coming from someone who’s life’s dream is to become the President, from someone who, obviously, is not a quitter, not when it comes to the race for the presidency, what she said was not only true but are two good reasons to reject calls from others in her party for her to drop out of the race.

This controversy is a lot like what Geraldine Ferraro stepped in when she also correctly analyzed the political landscape as relates to Sen. Barack Obama.

Here is what RFK Jr. said about Hillary’s statement.

Clinton campaign issued a statement from Robert Kennedy Jr. on Friday night in which he said Clinton’s reference to his father’s death was “clear from the context that Hillary was invoking a familiar political circumstance in order to support her decision to stay in the race through June. I have heard her make this reference before, also citing her husband’s 1992 race, both of which were hard fought through June. I understand how highly charged the atmosphere is, but I think it is a mistake for people to take offense.”

Continue reading Overplayed Assassin? →

Politics, Uncategorized

aSide Order

Dang, here’s a headline that’ll get your attention. ‘Fourth foot discovered off Canada’s Pacific coast.’

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — For the fourth time in less than a year, a right human foot has been found off one of four different islands in the Strait of Georgia in British Columbia.
Police said Friday that they do not know if there are any links among the feet.

Rush comments on AP story that the cost of our backyard BBQ this Memorial Day weekend is up $6 over last year. Obama’s message. And Rush’s message, Grill away!

A good video of a favorite guitar player of mine. Joe Bonamassa, live on Dutch TV.

Energy, Media, Pensacola, Politics, Uncategorized

Capitalism Works, When Allowed

On the subject of high gas prices and the dog and pony show that Democrat senators put on in front of the leaders of the oil industry yesterday, a local columnist was chastising capitalism and these CEO’s with all the usual stereotypes and talking points that get the dumb masses riled. Things like these execs are robbing everybody and the title, ‘Capitalism at its finest.’ Hark! An educational moment has occured. Below was my reply to the writer.

Quick quiz: assuming a free economy, which is not the case in the U.S. as pertains to the oil industry, the most regulated and taxed industry on earth, but, in a free economy, if supply and demand are just a cliche as you say, then what or who really determines selling prices? Would you prefer that the government do that?

Do you think that increasing crude oil supply will lower the price at the pump? Its a trick question, but please answer it anyway.

“If they’re so worried about demand, how about this one.”

You didn’t see it did you? They’re not concerned with demand. They know, even if you don’t, that the demand will do nothing but increase as our population, both legal and illegal, continues to grow. My private-school education tells me that when demand outstrips supply, prices will go up. Isn’t that what you are seeing at the pump or is it all just going into Hofmeister’s pocket?

I appreciate your frustration with the high prices. All we need is an energy policy that gets some.

–end of reply

One of the highlights of the senate hearing was this response from John Hofmeister, president of Shell.

“The fundamental laws of supply and demand are at work,” said Hofmeister. The market is squeezed by exporting nations managing demand for their own interest and other nations subsidizing prices to encourage economic growth, he said.

In addition, Hofmeister said access to resources in the United States has been limited for the past 30 years. “I agree, it’s not a free market,” he said.

H/T Troy Moon for the inspiration.

related links:Troy Moon| Big Oil defends profits before irate senators | Don’t blame us for prices – oil execs

Immigration, Politics, War On Terror

Sneaky Amnesty Tricks, Version 3

Those Democrats and RINO’s are at it again. This time making an Iraq Supplemental Bill also an immigration slash amnesty bill with a guest worker program that is not needed, because there already is one called an H-2B visa. The other nifty thing it does, you know, in support of the troops in Iraq, is to create more corporate welfare for agriculture in the United States. If this isn’t the definition of useless politicians I don’t know what is.

The measure, called the Emergency Agriculture Relief Act, was added to the War Supplemental bill in a 17-12 vote last Thursday.

Known as the AgJob amendment, the Feinstein-Craig measure revived instantaneously the controversy that caused conservatives to lash out at the White House and Congress last summer.

The measure would grant temporary legal status to 1.35 million illegal immigrants and their families currently working in the agricultural field. The legislation was passed out of committee at the request of agribusiness interests who have been insisting that they need illegal aliens to harvest crops and run horse shows. The legislation is nothing less than “comprehensive immigration reform” on a smaller scale.

Your senators need to be told to not pass that bill with this amendment and corporate welfare in it. As it is right now, there is no money for Iraq. Only for immigrants and BIG AG. This shows how and why the left likes the military. The troops are useful in loading up their support bills with political pork and social engineering projects. Yeah, we love our troops.

Sorry I don’t have a bill number yet, but you know as much as I do and enough to inform your senator about. Get on it because it is expected to be voted on this week, maybe even tomorrow.

related link: Sneaky Amnesty Tricks In Iraq Supplemental Bill

Update: The bill is H.R.2642. War Supplemental Bill Tests Different Approaches of Byrd and Obey

Politics, Race Relations, Uncategorized

John Langston, African-American Hero, Republican

On this day in 1870, African-American law professor John Langston delivered an influential speech praising the civil rights policies of Republican President Ulysses Grant. Langston (R-VA) would later serve as a diplomat in the Grant administration and then be elected to a term in the U.S. House of Representatives.

This and more history of the GOP that you won’t find in history books in government schools can be found at Michael Zak’s Grand Old Partisan blog. He also wrote the book, Back to Basics for the Republican Party, on the history of the GOP.

2008 Election, Immigration, Politics, Uncategorized

Should Republican Leadership Resign?

That’s an interesting question, one I’ve never given thought. Until now. The way ‘the party’ is going today, with the growing separation of conservative principles from its platform and their votes in Congress, it seems to me that the Republican party has left me behind. They’ve crossed the aisle on principles, making them about the same as Democrats that have none.

The troubling thing about this separation, which was really highlighted by the two attempts to legislate amnesty for illegals, is that these same republicans that we thought were conservative were simply riding the Reagan wave. That controversy exposed the ‘establishment’ republicans, who give conservatism a bad name. In reality, these folks were looking at conservatives as tools who brought them to power, and for that reason only. For them, ideology was a matter of convenience. Now that they are there and it is time to stand up for what they were chosen to do, they morph into Democrats to the point that ‘conservative democrats’ (I know, that’s why it is in quotes) are beating republicans in congressional seats that have been solidly republican for decades.

The base is ticked off. Having learned nothing from the shellacking they got in 2006 is reason enough to justify a (dare I suggest) CHANGE. Maybe they should all resign. Could it be any worse than what we have now?

related links:Republican Leaders Must Resign | H/T D equals S

2008 Election, Iran, Media, Politics, Uncategorized, War On Terror

Obama The Pot, Bush The Kettle

Not satisfied that he has made a big enough fool of himself over Bush’s speech to the Israeli Knesset by behaving like HE was the focus of the speech and not the appeasers of 1939 or today, the presidential wannabe and Democrat front-runner Barack Obama is now accusing the President of “dishonest, divisive” attacks, all in the context of that speech. And Democrats are circling the wagons around him.

Obama has now become the pot calling the kettle black. How presidential? The fact that there was no attack on Obama personally or Democrats as a party isn’t going to prevent Obama to flat-out lie to the dumb masses about it. The media doesn’t think Bush was talking about Obama. Just Obama and democrats think this is the case.

The president referred to the leader of Iran, who has called for the destruction of the U.S. ally, and then said some seem to believe that we should negotiate with terrorists and radicals – comments Obama and Democrats said were directed at them.

After lying about Bush’s motivations for that speech, he continues . . .

“They aren’t telling you the truth. They are trying to fool you and scare you because they can’t win a foreign policy debate on the merits,” said Obama. “But it’s not going to work. Not this time, not this year.”

I thought Obama was done with debating? That’s what he told Hillary Clinton a few weeks ago. And someone should tell Barack that Bush is not running. McCain would be the best one to debate with. Or for a real challenge, Sean Hannity. But I digress. . . Who is ‘they?’ And what lies have ‘they’ said? Obama did not say either who was lying or what the lie was. And who is the ‘you’ in ‘fool you .. scare you?’ I don’t think the Knesset felt like Bush was trying to fool them or scare them. They know, more than he, what it is like to have to live with missiles and suicide bombers ruining your day.

So the one who is lying and dividing here is Sen. Barack Obama by taking this speech and telling us that it was directed at him and his party, and that it was done to divide the country. Is this Commander In Chief material?

related links: Seattle Times

2008 Election, Iran, Politics, Uncategorized, War On Terror, Whiners

Obama The Negotiator Has Lots Of Company

So why would Sen. Barack Obama think that President Bush was talking about him? Well, other than to make himself a victim again and rouse up the lemmings. Please find below a short list of some prominent democrats on the subject of negotiating with terrorists or terrorist states. H/T to Kathryn Jean Lopez . . .

The president could have been speaking of any number of Democrats. Say, Jimmy Carter, who in April, 2008 said: “Through more official consultations with these outlawed leaders [Hamas and Syria], it may yet be possible to revive and expedite the stalemated peace talks between Israel and its neighbors. In the Middle East, as in Nepal, the path to peace lies in negotiation, not in isolation.”

Or Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, freelance diplomat, who in December 2007 said: “the road to Damascus is a road to peace.”

Or, perhaps he meant Speaker Pelosi in April 2007: “I believe in dialogue. As my colleagues have said over and over again, unless you communicate, you cannot understand each other. You cannot reach agreement.”

Or maybe he meant recent Obama endorser and former North Carolina senator John Edwards, who, according to his own press release in February of last year, believes “the U.S. should step up our diplomatic efforts by engaging in direct talks with all the nations in the region, including Iran and Syria.”

Or Bill Richardson, who has said, about meeting with Iran and Syria: “They’re bad folks … But you don’t have peace talks with your friends.”

It could have been about Congressman Henry Waxman, who in April said: “A Democratic administration would go back and try to open that possibility up for discussions [with Iran] of a grand bargain of one sort or another … Democrats would certainly have seen that as a missed opportunity.”

Or Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich: “I can go to Syria. I can go to Iran and work to craft a path towards peace. And I will … How can you change peopled minds if you don’t meet with them?”

Or former Democratic presidential candidates and senators Chris Dodd and John Kerry, who met with Syria’s al-Assad and said: “As senior Democrats on the Foreign Relations Committee, we felt it was important to make clear that while we believe in resuming dialogue, our message is no different: Syria can and should play a more constructive role in the region … We concluded that our conversation was worthwhile, and that … resuming direct dialogue with Syria should be pursued.”

Or the former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, from April 10: “[Diplomats] can deliver some pretty tough messages … You don’t begin with a president of the country, but you do need to talk to your enemy.”

Those democrats.

related link: Obama And Democrats Demand That The Shoe Fits