Vote!

I'll come right to the point: If you're voting for Obama, you can stay home. The media has announced they have enough voters already. You can just hang around and wait for the party.

If you're voting for McCain, then get out and vote! They need voters. Maybe some of you Obama supporters can vote for McCain; Obama says he likes the idea of redistribution, so in all fairness, redistribution of the vote would even things out. Social justice demands it. That's logical.

Right?

pros and cons

"If pro is the opposite of con, then isn't progress the opposite of congress? "
~ Keith Avery

Troopergate report clears Palin

"Troopergate investigator finds Alaska governor broke no laws"

Troopergate report clears Palin - Decision '08- msnbc.com:

Get him Coffee!

An Indian walks into a cafe with a shotgun in one hand pulling a male buffalo with the other. He says to the waiter: "Want coffee."

The waiter says, "Sure, Chief. Coming right up." He gets the Indian a tall mug of coffee.

The Indian drinks the coffee down in one gulp, turns and blasts the buffalo with the shotgun, causing parts of the animal to splatter everywhere and then just walks out.

The next morning the Indian returns. He has his shotgun in one hand, pulling another male buffalo with the other. He walks up to the counter and says to the waiter, "Want coffee."

The waiter says "Whoa, Tonto! We're still cleaning up your mess from yesterday. What was all that about, anyway?"

The Indian smiles and proudly says,
"Training for position in United States Congress: Come in, drink coffee, shoot the bull, leave mess for others to clean up, disappear for rest of day."

Jefferson

'A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have.' Thomas Jefferson

Will you ever trust the Media Again?

After the media's treatment of McCain vs Obama, can you ever trust them again?

I say this no matter whom you supported; when impartiality mattered most to give citizens the most accurate information, the mainstream media chose sides and did its best to influence what was supposed to be a fair election in the oldest democracy in the world.

Do you care? Can you trust the major networks on other matters of national importance to be fair? Is it OK for the media to "evolve" past its basic reporting capacity, to become entirely partisan analysis and commentary? If so, where will you get your accurate information?

Quotes from the Campaign

Barack Obama:

I opposed the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. It should be repealed and I will vote for its repeal on the Senate floor. I will also oppose any proposal to amend the U.S. Constitution to ban gays and lesbians from marrying.

We need somebody who's got the heart, the empathy, to recognize what it's like to be a young teenage mom, the empathy to understand what it's like to be poor or African-American or gay or disabled or old - and that's the criterion by which I'll be selecting my judges.
Barack Obama

Issues are never simple. One thing I'm proud of is that very rarely will you hear me simplify the issues.
Barack Obama

It's not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.
Barack Obama

We need to steer clear of this poverty of ambition, where people want to drive fancy cars and wear nice clothes and live in nice apartments but don't want to work hard to accomplish these things. Everyone should try to realize their full potential.
Barack Obama

John Kerry believes in an America where hard work is rewarded.
Barack Obama

This is the moment when we must build on the wealth that open markets have created, and share its benefits more equitably. Trade has been a cornerstone of our growth and global development. But we will not be able to sustain this growth if it favors the few, and not the many.
Barack Obama

We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK. That's not leadership. That's not going to happen.
Barack Obama

I know my country has not perfected itself. At times, we've struggled to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people. We've made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best intentions.
Barack Obama

Obama says he admired McCain when he ran a clean campaign

John McCain:

"I've served my country since I was 17 years old and spent five years longing for her shores. I came home dedicated to a cause greater than my own. Don't hope for a stronger America. Vote for one. Join me."

What to Make of America

I'm not sure what to make of America anymore. It's still the greatest country in the world - but why? Is it because of what should be - ideals - or is it just because we have more money than anyone else?

What has me in this funk is the 2008 presidential election. Not because of the way it's going, but because of WHY it's going the way it is. Hatred. Division. And not a bridge in sight. People on the left - who used to be reasonable, olive-branch-carrying folks, are now just sullen and mean and out to punish those on the right. They seem to want revenge over what they feel is a personal sleight over Bush II winning in 2 elections.

So the left moves forward to elect it's candidate, but Obama is not someone who would even be considered third rate 20 years ago. He has too much baggage. Not the skin color - being a minority has been a plus for the left. It's his associations - including his wife, who's said many disparaging things about America in her adult lifetime, as well as even during the campaign.

But in the past, even those on the left were patriots, envisioning a different society yet still embracing the ideals that made America great. No more. The left's selection - Obama - has made a choice of personal associations that means he has very different core view of America - a view that changes the fundamentals of America - where tolerance, individuality, and hard work that means rewards for the one who worked (the protestant work ethic) are revered and protected. It's been our history since Plymouth and the Pilgrims. It's a place where the government feared the people, not the other way around.

The left seems poised against this. They're certainly not tolerant, they like the "collective" more than the individual (except where it suits them), and rewards for individual effort should be redistributed to those who accomplished less. Further, the left looks to demonize folks who do well, in much that same manner as was done by the National Socialists in Germany in the 1930s. The left finds an ally in folks who - for whatever reason, be it bad luck, lack of intelligence or laziness - have done poorly for themselves. The class struggle outlined by Karl Marx gets recast to the benefit of the American left; however, make no doubt, Marxist it is.

Everyone wants success, but should success be guaranteed? It is a question of equality: America has tried to ensure an equality of opportunity. But the left wants to ensure an equality of outcome.

How do they do this? The left likes class warfare; it benefits them by giving them power. Through politics, the kind of massive social shift they envision won't be done as it should be - over long periods of time through the natural development of a society. Doing it faster has us calling it "social engineering," but whatever we call it, people have lost control of their own lives. It's a coup d’état.

But there is a very basic disconnect: what the people want, versus what they get. And here we go with politicians.

Politicians have, since forever, gotten a bad rap. Rightly so, because the modern politician does what he must to get into elected office. But the disconnect is complete when the people who put them there fail to monitor their progress and performance. How else could the multitudes of corrupt lawmakers remain where they are? I'd like to say people are stupid, but I think it's more laziness. Whatever the reason, there is a complete breakage between the people who make up American society and the lawmakers elected to do the people's business.

I can't stress this enough, because I think this is the core problem. Let me put it a different way: there is now the Political Class, and the Rest of Us. Politics is basically nonsense; human-generated compromises to "problems" that could be easily resolved by leaving things alone. It was Clinton's success with the economy - he stayed out of the way.

It's different in the 2000's. Politicians get involved in things, with all manner of unintended consequences that they could not foresee because, honestly, they're just too dumb. Most everyday people could figure out what to do just fine, but the politician - he's not so interested in results, unless it involves pleasing everyone and getting reelected. There's the rub: with self-interest at heart, the politician is incapable of commanding a solution.

So it is with political people: They're more interested in pleasing their own interests, whether it be their misguided conscience, or their fat wallet.

And then there's the Rest of Us.

What can be done? You tell me. I have called for voting every incumbent out, no matter what. And now I think that politicians should be voted out every term - fresh blood and new ideas coming in every election. Political entrenchment is a bad thing. It leads to the very status quo against which the left always rails. But given the way they vote, they seem to want it as badly as the right does. Example: Ted Kennedy; name a more entrenched politician than he.

Please leave comments. I'm really at a loss as to how to fix this, if no one in the rank and file will get on board and actually DO something.

Should we all just shut our pieholes and eat what we're being fed?

In Maryland: Giving the Governor more Money

We're talking slot machines here. It's been at the forefront of Maryland politics for close to a decade. The Democratically controlled legislature has adamantly opposed slot machines, despite former Governor Robert Ehrlich virtually begging them to let the item come up for referendum. In Maryland, Democratic lawmakers like to retain control, so nothing ever comes up for referendum. So slots went down in flames for the Republican governor.

Enter Martin O'Malley, the latest Democratic wunderkind, who after only one year in office developed a breathtakingly low approval rating. In addition, The Cato Institute found him to be the worst governor in the Union, due mostly to his tax increases with nothing to show for it. Steve Hanke, Hopkins Professor of Economics, wrote:

Gov. Martin O'Malley called Maryland's lawmakers back to Annapolis late last year for a special session of the General Assembly. The assembled pulled off one of the greatest tax heists in history.

After some hand-wringing and cosmetic attempts to rein in surging state spending, Gov. O'Malley and the leaders of the Senate and House of Delegates got down to the real business at hand — tax increases, big ones.

Tax increases always lead to a decline in tax revenue, so with revenue down significantly and another looming budget deficit, O'Malley has now gone asking for slots. Lo and behold, the leaders in the legislature reversed themselves, and are suddenly in favor not just of the referendum, but now of slots, too!

Because O'Malley's fiscal discipline is like a 5-year-old with ADHD, I am NOT in favor of giving him access to any more money to blow. He'll have to balance his budget the old-fashioned way - like his Republican predecessor (and the Democratic ones, too).

The problem with O'Malley is that he's punitive. He'll no doubt cut services to the taxpayers, and blame it on the "previous administration." That only works in the first few months of your term, there, Marty.

Anyway, Vote NO to Question 2 on the ballot.

In Maryland: Early voting up for a vote -- baltimoresun.com

Early voting is such a bad idea, if for no other reason than it doesn't require the voter to pay attention to the full length of the campaign. That's important to voter education. But dropping the requirement for ID at polling places would move Maryland into Chicago voting territory - vote early, vote often!

So Vote NO on question 1.

Early voting up for a vote -- baltimoresun.com:

"Republicans worry that the initiative could invite voter fraud because it doesn't require voters to show identification at the polls and it could allow early voters to cast ballots anywhere in the state. They say the Democratic-controlled General Assembly could pack favorable parts of the state with early voting centers while neglecting heavily Republican areas."

Obama's Illegal Immigrant Family

Let's see, not only is his aunt in the country illegally, but she's living in public housing while Obama enjoys a million-dollar-plus house.

Obama's aunt attended his swearing in as a US senator 2 years ago. However, she was ordered to leave the country 4 years ago by a judge. Meaning, an illegal immigrant relative attended the swearing-in of a US Senator, with no objection by anyone, including that Senator, Barack Obama. This is outrageous; American laws not followed at the swearing-in of a high elected US federal official.

Further, black Democratic Representative John Conyers is demanding to know from Homeland Security if the information was "leaked" to the press to damage Obama's election chances.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/01/obama.aunt/index.html?eref=rss_politics
Democratic U.S. Rep. John Conyers of Michigan fired off a letter asking Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to investigate whether someone leaked the information to the media in an effort to damage Obama.

There are many huge issues here that are very telling of Obama's positions, politically and personally, none of which are moral:

1. First, he has family in the country illegally, in violation of a judge's direct order over 4 years ago.
   
2. Second, we find the aunt of a sitting US Senator living in public housing, meaning she has limited funds. Obama shares nothing.
   
3. Third, Obama and his wife are both wealthy lawyers; why are they not seeing to her needs, both financially and legally?
   
4. Fourth, can Obama be trusted on immigration issues?
5. Fifth, can Obama and his minions be trusted to follow the law? Will laws be bent or broken to suit?
6. Does the truth not matter to the democrats, as Rep. Conyers seems clearly more interested in Obama winning than the truth of the matter. Clearly, his game is suppression and retaliation.
   

The questions to ask: would you allow this to happen to your aunt? Then, do you want the same thing to happen to your country? What about Conyers and the Dems - should public information, particularly that relevant to the public's choice of a presidential candidate, be hushed?

And if the Obamas treat his aunt that way, what do you think he'll do to you?

Obama says he didn't know aunt's illegal status - Yahoo! News:

"The Associated Press found that Obama's aunt had been instructed to leave the country four years ago by an immigration judge who rejected her request for asylum from her native Kenya. The woman, Zeituni Onyango (zay-TUHN on-YANG-oh), is living in public housing in Boston and is the half-sister of Obama's late father."

Obama 's Aunt in the US Illegally

Obama 's Aunt in the US Illegally

ABC News: Obama Says He Didn't Know Aunt's Illegal Status:

"Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama said Saturday he didn't know his aunt was living in the United States illegally and believes that laws covering the situation should be followed.

The Associated Press found that Obama's aunt had been instructed to leave the country four years ago by an immigration judge who rejected her request for asylum from her native Kenya. The woman, Zeituni Onyango (zay-TUHN on-YANG-oh), is living in public housing in Boston and is the half-sister of Obama's late father."