Anything Can Happen in the Kentucky Derby!

ANYTHING can happen in the Kentucky Derby! These are words to live by and they came true today with a vengeance as the much-maligned Mine That Bird STUNNED the racing world by opening up a gap of nearly seven lengths to win the 135th Run for the Roses.
Given no chance to win by the experts and going off at 50-1 odds, the son of Birdstone who was the only horse to beat Smarty Jones and kept him from winning the Triple Crown by snatching victory in the Belmont Stakes in 2004. Mine That Bird is the grandson of 1996 Derby Winners Grindstone and 1990 Derby winner Unbridled which gave him the pedigree for both speed and stamina; even as Derby handicappers mocked his chances. With statements like: "Too slow to be a factor" from Justin Dew, "Derby is a huge step up for this Canadian champ" opined by John Asher, both of whom picked him to finish dead last and Jill Byrne's disparaging but oddly prophetic "Might as well give it a go anything can happen." and James Scully's sneer:"Faces an extreme class hike" the $9500 horse didn't inspire much confidence with the handicappers or the racegoers but he made a believer out of all of them by literally running away from the field of 19 of the best 3-year olds in the world. It was simply beautiful to see the supreme underdog take the day from the non-believers!

Carrie Prejean--A Woman of Independent Thought and Beliefs!

I commend Carrie Prejean for having the courage to give an honest answer in the face of political correctness. Miss USA is about being honest, hard-working, beautiful and talented, NOT about sucking up to the judges and political correctness. Apparently the well-known cocksucker (literally) Perez Hilton somehow managed to be one of the judges of the Miss USA pageant despite having absolutely NO qualifications other than being a bitch and let his prejudices affect his impartiality which is a huge faux pas for a judge although he should hate all women equally. He wanted to make a political statement for gay marriage on national television and tried to make the lovely Miss Prejean his oracle and she refused to buy into it at the cost of becoming Miss USA even though she was honest and forthright in her answer and refused to suck up and be politically correct. Perez Hilton should not have been one of the judges to begin with, but this being a free country, so be it. Miss Prejean, however, gave an honest and courageous answer in the face of the disease of political correctness and I applaud her for it. I think she is incredibly brave for speaking her mind and in this country that was founded on freedom of speech, it was wrong for her to be penalized for exercising her right to do so. Political correctness has destroyed our once-great country and Perez Hilton is a scumbag who should grow a moustache to hide the stretch marks around his mouth. The ironic thing is that no one has a clue who actually WON the contest because Miss Prejean has gotten all the exposure and fame from it. I applaud and commend you Carrie, you are an inspiration to all of us who refuse to jump on the bandwagon of political correctness. YOU GO GIRL!!!!!

Can Private Security Guards Act As Cops?

Can Private Security Guards Act As Cops?
That's Exactly What They May Soon Be Doing On The Far South Side
CHICAGO
These private security cars patrol Michigan Avenue between 100th and 116th streets, and a proposed city ordinance would give them many police powers.
They're private security guards, already on patrol, but they may soon have the powers of Chicago Police officers.

As CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine reports, the private security officers now on patrol on the city's Far South Side are expected to have their powers expanded as part of a citywide ordinance now being prepared.

But officials are questioning whether this means public safety is being outsourced.

Mayor Richard M. Daley has already privatized many city functions. The Chicago Skyway has been leased to a Spanish conglomerate. Midway Airport is run by a Canadian company. The parking meters were sold to a firm run by Morgan Stanley, and as a result, the cost of parking in the city has skyrocketed.

But the question is whether another foreign firm providing cops on patrol may be privatization gone too far.

A single squad car, marked "special patrol," cruises up and down a small commercial strip on far south Michigan Avenue tonight. Its patrol area is between 100th and 116th streets, and area merchants have their doubts.

"As good as they may be, I don't think they probably have all the training that a policeman would have," said business owner Howard Bolling.

But the security guards are not supposed to replace Chicago Police officers, according to the alderman writing the ordinance. He said the enforcement powers of the private security group would remain highly limited.

"No traffic violations such as moving violations – such as moving violations. Small things – illegally parked, blocking the parking," said Ald. Anthony Beale (9th).

That wasn't exactly what Mayor Daley thought when he was asked about it on Saturday. He said the security force would have the power to enforce "moving violations and citations including loitering, littering and graffiti."

This means they're still working on it. But Beale was asked what would happen when they security officers tried to detain someone who didn't want to be detained and didn't respect their authority as they would a police officer's.

"Next thing you know, guns are drawn, and you have a real problem," Levine posited.

Replied Beale: "I'm not going to say what the future may hold. We can all predict unforeseen situations."

Mayor Daley said the city would benefit from the extra patrols.

"It's not a bad idea. You maybe have to refine it, but it's not a bad idea," the mayor said.

With Chicago Police stretched so thin, just having a few extra cars and extra uniforms is comforting to some people. The J. Carolina Hosiery store, for example, was robbed 14 times in the last year.

"The stores are being robbed, and then they're getting extorted, and you have the little gangbangers running in and out of stores trying to rob people," said store supervisor Larry McCullough.

Since the private security patrols arrived, the robberies have continued, "but it's slowing down, because it seems like more of the stores have to have their own guns and their own security."

In addition to the Fraternal Order of Police being against it, experts tell CBS 2 that asking private security guards to conduct police functions is dangerous, and potentially fatal, with most security guards paid much less and receive less training. Chicago's Police Supt. Jody Weis calls it all a work in progress.

"Let's be creative," Weis said. "If we can have police officers focusing on higher priority cases, it's worth talking about."

CBS 2 wanted to ask the Toronto-based firm which was the lowest bidder for contracts in the 9th and 10th wards about the background and training of its officers. Also in question was is how much experience the Canadian company has with the inner city problems which make the Roseland community a challenge for even the most streetwise Chicago Police professionals. The firm has not yet returned calls.

The Funniest Cartoon I've Seen in a LONG time!!

Special Blog Repost from Robert Hall

A special blog that I want to share with my readers.

I'm Tired
Robert A. Hall

Robert A. Hall is a Marine Vietnam veteran who served five terms in the
Massachusetts state senate. He blogs at www.tartanmarine.blogspot.com

I'll be 63 soon. Except for one semester in college when jobs were scarce, and a six-month period when I was between jobs, but job-hunting every day, I've worked, hard, since I was 18. Despite some health challenges, I still put in 50-hour weeks, and haven't called in sick in seven or eight years. I make a good salary, but I didn't inherit my job or my income, and I worked to get where I am. Given the economy, there's no retirement in sight, and I'm tired. Very tired.
I'm tired of being told that I have to "spread the wealth around" to
people who don't have my work ethic. I'm tired of being told the
government will take the money I earned, by force if necessary, and give
it to people too lazy or stupid to earn it.
I'm tired of being told that I have to pay more taxes to "keep people in
their homes." Sure, if they lost their jobs or got sick, I'm willing to
help. But if they bought McMansions at three times the price of our
paid-off, $250,000 condo, on one-third of my salary, then let the
leftwing Congress critters who passed Fannie and Freddie and the
Community Reinvestment Act that created the bubble help them-with their
own money.
I'm tired of being told how bad America is by leftwing millionaires like
Michael Moore, George Soros and Hollywood entertainers who live in
luxury because of the opportunities America offers. In thirty years, if
they get their way, the United States will have the religious freedom
and women's rights of Saudi Arabia, the economy of Zimbabwe, the freedom
of the press of China, the crime and violence of Mexico, the tolerance
for Gay people of Iran, and the freedom of speech of Venezuela. Won't
multiculturalism be beautiful?
I'm tired of being told that Islam is a "Religion of Peace," when every
day I can read dozens of stories of Muslim men killing their sisters,
wives and daughters for their family "honor;" of Muslims rioting ov er
some slight offense; of Muslims murdering Christian and Jews because
they aren't "believers;" of Muslims burning schools for girls; of
Muslims stoning teenage rape victims to death for "adultery;" of Muslims
mutilating the genitals of little girls; all in the name of Allah,
because the Qur'an and Shari'a law tells them to.
I believe "a man should be judged by the content of his character, not
by the color of his skin." I'm tired of being told that "race doesn't
matter"
in the post-racial world of President Obama, when it's all that matters
in affirmative action jobs, lower college admission and graduation
standards for minorities (harming them the most), government contract
set-asides, tolerance for the ghetto culture of violence and fatherless
children that hurts minorities more than anyone, and in the appointment
of US Senators from Illinois. I think it's very cool that we have a
black president and that a black child is doing her homework at the desk
where Lincoln wrote the emancipation proclamation. I just wish the black
president was Condi Rice, or someone who believes more in freedom and
the individual and less in an all-knowing government.
I'm tired of a news media that thinks Bush's fundraising and inaugural
expenses were obscene, but that think Obama's, at triple the cost, were
wonderful. That thinks Bush exercising daily was a waste of presidential
time, but Obama exercising is a great example for the public to control
weight and stress, that picked over every line of Bush's military
records, but never demanded that Kerry release his, that slammed Palin
with two years as governor for being too inexperienced for VP, but
touted Obama with three years as senator as potentially the best
president ever.
Wonder why people are dropping their subscriptions or switching to Fox
News?
Get a clue. I didn't vote for Bush in 2000, but the media and Kerry
drove me to his camp in 2004.
I'm tired of being told that out of "tolerance for other cultures" we
must let Saudi Arabia use our oil money to fund mosques and madrassa
Islamic schools to preach hate in America, while no American group is
allowed to fund a church, synagogue or religious school in Saudi Arabia
to teach love and tolerance.
I'm tired of being told I must lower my living standard to fight global
warming, which no one is allowed to debate. My wife and I live in a
two-bedroom apartment and carpool together five miles to our jobs. We
also own a three-bedroom condo where our daughter and granddaughter
live. Our carbon footprint is about 5% of Al Gore's, and if you're
greener than Gore, you're green enough.
I'm tired of being told that drug addicts have a disease, and I must
help support and treat them, and pay for the damage they do. Did a giant
germ rush out of a dark alley, grab them, and stuff white powder up
their noses while they tried to fight it off? I don't think Gay people
choose to be Gay, but I damn sure think druggies chose to take drugs.
And I'm tired of harassment from cool people treating me like a freak
when I tell them I never tried marijuana.
I'm tired of illegal aliens being called "undocumented workers,"
especially the ones who aren't working, but are living on welfare or
crime. What's next? Calling drug dealers, "Undocumented Pharmacists"?
And, no, I'm not against Hispanics. Most of them are Catholic and it's
been a few hundred years since Catholics wanted to kill me for my
religion. I'm willing to fast track for citizenship any Hispanic person
who can speak English, doesn't have a criminal record and who is
self-supporting without family on welfare, or who serves honorably for
three years in our military. Those are the citizens we need.
I'm tired of latte liberals and journalists, who would never wear the
uniform of the Republic themselves, or let their entitlement-handicapped
kids near a recruiting station, trashing our militar y. They and their
kids can sit at home, never having to make split-second decisions under
life and death circumstances, and bad mouth better people then
themselves. Do bad things happen in war? You bet. Do our troops
sometimes misbehave? Sure. Does this compare with the atrocities that
were the policy of our enemies for the last fifty years-and still are?
Not even close. So here's the deal. I'll let myself be subjected to all
the humiliation and abuse that was heaped on terrorists at Abu Ghraib or
Gitmo, and the critics can let themselves be subject to captivity by the
Muslims who tortured and beheaded Daniel Pearl in Pakistan, or the
Muslims who tortured and murdered Marine Lt. Col.
William Higgins in Lebanon, or the Muslims who ran the blood-spattered
Al Qaeda torture rooms our troops found in Iraq, or the Muslims who cut
off the heads of schoolgirls in Indonesia, because the girls were
Christian. Then we'll compare notes. British and American soldiers are
the only troops in history that civilians came to for help and handouts,
instead of hiding from in fear.
I'm tired of people telling me that their party has a corner on virtue
and the other party has a corner on corruption. Read the papers-bums are
bi-partisan. And I'm tired of people telling me we need bi-partisanship.
I live in Illinois, where the "Illinois Combine" of Democrats and
Republicans has worked together harmoniously to loot the public for
years. And I notice that the tax cheats in Obama's cabinet are
bi-partisan as well.
I'm tired of hearing wealthy athletes, entertainers and politicians of
both parties talking about innocent mistakes, stupid mistakes or
youthful mistakes, when we all know they think their only mistake was
getting caught.
I'm tired of people with a sense of entitlement, rich or poor.
Speaking of poor, I'm tired of hearing people with air-conditioned
homes, color TVs and two cars called poor. The majority of Americans
didn't h ave that in 1970, but we didn't know we were "poor." The poverty
pimps have to keep changing the definition of poor to keep the dollars
flowing.
I'm real tired of people who don't take responsibility for their lives
and actions. I'm tired of hearing them blame the government, or
discrimination, or big-whatever for their problems.
Yes, I'm damn tired. But I'm also glad to be 63. Because, mostly, I'm
not going to get to see the world these people are making. I'm just
sorry for my granddaughter.

The Obama Plan Hits Professional Sports

***A Special Guest Editorial from my Favorite Subversive for your entertainment***

In a desire to turn their football team around and to show solidarity with the new President, Detroit has announced that they will implement the same type of recovery plan that the new administration is mandating on private businesses that accept government help.

After losing every game this past season, a very long losing streak in the league, and a new coaching staff in place, the Detroit owner decided help was needed.
“You can’t operate a team in this league providing the type of product we’ve been producing,” the owner was quoted as saying.
“Given that a huge portion of federal money is going to help Detroit's automakers, I think it is time we show solidarity with our auto brethren.”
With that announcement, the Detroit team accepted a federal loan to help get the team back into the playoffs. Before the check was provided to the team, the owner signed an agreement to follow the same guidelines and rules that apply to other private organizations that take federal bailout funds. However, given the number of high salary players in professional football, and unlike the salary cap of $500,000 announced this week, the cap for the team will be $400,000 maximum per player. The owner was overheard saying,
"I think that is only fair, I mean this is a game after all. It isn’t like they are running a major bank or something!"

Reaction from the team was mixed. Several players thought it was a joke when members of the news media started calling them to get their reactions. Most had no comment and stated they needed to get off the phone to contact their agent. However , one veteran player was excited by the new plan.
“I think this is a great idea!” Mr. Culpepper was quoted as saying.
“After a decade in the league, this really levels the playing field. Plus I think it is important for us, as Americans, to stand up and support the most amazing President in the history of the country. He promised us change and this is the kind of change I have hoped and prayed for, for my future and the future of this team. This is what it is all about!”
Culpepper stands to double his salary under the new plan, especially since he most likely will inherit the starting position. The other three quarterbacks on the roster have already asked the league to release them from the team based on breach of contract.
“With Culpepper’s experience, he should be with us for years to come. I know he can turn us around,” a towel attendant was heard to say.

However, fans of the team aren’t as excited about the change. Since the announcement, a record number of season ticket holders have cancelled their subscriptions to their seats. In an effort to keep up with the requirements of the federal agreement and show a profit within 12 months, game ticket prices will be doubled and tripled to help meet turn around goals.

“Can someone explain to me why the hell would I dish out this kind of money to support a bunch of amateurs and wash ups!” a fan was quoted as saying.
“With this salary cap, they can’t hire the type of talent needed to turn this joke into a professional football team! Culpepper is a decent guy, but who the hell else are they going to get to run this $&#@* team? They might as well hire a bunch of high school players!”
Ironically, the team has also announced tryouts for local college players and high school seniors. There is even a rumor that several women soccer players will be trying out for positions. If true, this would break another barrier in professional sports.
The owner said that he understands many are upset with his decision and ticket price increases, but he said,
“This team needed a change and financial help. And I know, based on the economic leadership of this administration, this is the right thing to do. I had to do something before the whole team joined the millions of Americans unemployed in this country.”
When asked about rumors he is being investigated for not paying taxes for the last six years and that he was being considered for the newly created cabinet position of Sports Leadership, the owner had no comment. Apparently the new coaching staff doesn’t share the owner’s enthusiasm of the new plan as most were seen moving boxes of personal items out of the practice facility.

Kindle Review: Don't Waste Your Money!

I tested a Kindle device and I have to say it was a total disappointment. I was sucked in by the Queen Oprah review of how much she loved it and all I have to say to her is: "Buy an iPhone". I don't know why anyone would buy this Kindle device. It's too large to fit in your handbag, it's heavy, the device is expensive and overpriced, and the books are expensive to buy for the Kindle. There's a free iPhone application called "Stanza" that downloads entire books to read on the very light and very portable i-phone. I've read 8 books on my iPhone and I can delete them after reading or keep them on the hard drive, Why would I pay $400 for this stupid BIG HEAVY device and then have to buy the books too? It doesn't make sense when I can get the same thing for free with my iPhone. I've had no problems with the application and there are thousands of free titles available through the Stanza application. Don't waste your money on this clunky pile of microchips when you can get an iPhone that does so MUCH more than the Kindle and costs about half as much!

OMG!! Where did she get that horrible dress?

OMG I had the bad luck to see the inauguration today and the dress our new First Lady wore was the worst dress I have seen in more than THIRTY YEARS. She looked like an gorilla in a BANANA COSTUME!! It was embarrassing how awful that dress was--all that was lacking was the bowl of fruit on her head!! Who told her to channel Carmen Miranda for God's sake?" Her designer should be SHOT--I mean OMG GREEN GLOVES and shoes with a Banana dress? Where can you even BUY green shoes anywhere unless it's St. Patrick's Day?? The green gloves and shoes looked like the stem ends of the banana costume she was wearing--they must have been laughing so hard in Paris that they were peeing in their pants. She also needs to take HOW TO WALK IN HIGH HEELS 101 as soon as possible--she has the loping walk of a man and she's bigger than her husband in those heels--even Princess Diana had the good sense not to wear heels around the the Prince of Wales. Of course she also had style which is a LOT more than I can say for Michelle. It's the worst inaugural dress I've seen since the atrocity Rosalyn Carter wore!! She's the size of an NBA player with a butt the size of Texas, and that CAPE she wore--GOOD GOD!! Where does her 'designer' work? K-mart??? I read that the designer of this dress is Cuban born so she better hope she doesn't get locked up in Gitmo for designing the worst inaugural dress I have ever seen--she made Rosalynn Carter seem like a style icon with the monstrosity of the banana dress. What an embarrassment--and worse she has no better taste than to think it looked GOOD!!! The green shoes and gloves added to the total embarrassment of that banana dress--the KIDS need to give her some pointers about how to dress because she looked terrible!! ACK!!!!!!!! Mr. Blackwell has to be spinning in his grave after seeing the dress she wore to her husband's inauguaration. Thank GOD Oscar de la Renta didn't live to see that monstrosity of a dress! Here's to you Mrs. Robinson: Tell your daughter to lose 50 pounds because high fashion doesn't come in a size 14-16 and get a fashion consultant for her like yesterday and BURN that yellow dress so that it doesn't end up in the Smithsonian for all of us to have to look at into perpetuity as the hideous rag the first black First Lady wore to her husband's inauguration!!
The one she wore to the inaugural ball was even worse--she looks like a fat cavewoman--apparently she is channeling her inner Wilma Flintstone!! She should have lost weight for this instead of looking for a dress to cover her gigantic booty and saddlebag thighs!

Goodbye Grandma and thank you for everything.

When I was a little girl she slipped me candy when my Mother wasn't looking. She was ahead of her time, a career woman when women didn't work outside the home. She taught me to cook in her kitchen and I remember the way she poked her tongue out just a little bit when she was concentrating on something she was doing. I remember that she and I were the only ones in the family with blue eyes and I remember countless hours in her kitchen learning the ins and outs of cooking--little secrets passed from one generation of cooks to the next that made the job easier. She made the best cookies in the world and every year we all got a great big gallon jar of them for Christmas. There were so many different kinds--the ginger snaps that were my favorite, gumdrop cookies that were so different, the crumbly rum balls and the chocolate chip cookies that no one could believe came from the recipe on the back of the Nestle Chip bag because we all thought she had a special secret recipe for them. I always knew the secret was the love she put into them. When I was 33 she gave me her personal cookbook--a huge loose leaf notebook with hundreds of recipes written in her handwriting and she made me the keeper of the book. In the front of the book she had written: "When I am gone, give this to Teri" but I got it when she stopped cooking in 1992. Had she made me wait till she was gone, I would have gotten it today--when she left us to be with Grandpa. It was a trip she was ready for many years before she left. Her love remains with us as a legacy and until today there were five surviving generations of my family. She was my Mother's Mother, my grandmother, my neices and nephew's great-grandmother and the great great-grandmother to our youngest family member and to the unborn girl his mother carries as I type. I had hoped Kristen's unborn daughter would be able to meet her great great grandmother when she arrives in January, but it was not to be. Grandma Dorothy was my last surviving grandparent and I am 50. She turned 93 in October, but didn't know it. She was robbed of her last years by the demon that is Alzsheimer's, a captive in her body surrounded by strangers. I owe her so many things than I can never thank her for and I see her in the mirror and in my mother's smile and her legacy lives on with all of us. She gave the world three children, 4 grandchildren, 8 great-grandchildren and 2 great great grandchildren and memories of her that will always be with us. Today God set her free and called her home to be with Grandpa and wait for us to join her again.

Hidden Lake Winery never fails......to disappoint.

Banquet for 75 people: $1880

Honeymoon Suite: $200

Dead cockroach in the bathtub of Honeymoon Suite: PRICELESS

On the surface, the Hidden Lake Winery and Banquet Center in Aviston, Illinois would seem to have everything going for it. A quaint concept, nice secluded cabins, large banquet rooms and a connection to a California wine dynasty. Sadly, the devil is in the details. My husband and I first became aware of Hidden Lake Winery when we received some bottles of their wine as a wedding gift. We drank the wine with friends at a dinner party and all present declared the wine to be tasty so we decided to visit the winery. We had lunch at the winery and it wasn't bad, so we decided to look into having the annual Christmas party in their banquet room. I visited the winery and spoke with their party co-ordinator, and decided to have the party there and she seemed quite capable so naturally she quit a week later, as did the second co-ordinator I was working with, but the third one did manage to make it until the party day. As all my loyal readers know, I have severe back problems due to many car accidents and I am a wedding and party planner by trade. I arrived with the party decorations and such to find a huge SUV parked in front of the door and it was the owner's wife's SUV and she parked it smack in front of the door and left it running. She watched me make 5 trips from the handicapped parking space in 28 degree weather and a strong wind carrying heavy decorations before it finally dawned on her that she might want to MOVE HER FREAKING CAR SO THAT THE DISABLED PARTY PLANNER/CUSTOMER WHO SPENT TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS AT HER HUSBAND'S BUSINESS could bring in the decorations for the party without having to walk through the MUD AND ROCKS AND FREEZING RAIN of their absolutely shitty parking lot--which looks like it's been nuked repeatedly. Her attitude of "The customers can kiss my ass" was pretty much the attitude of the entire staff and it showed up in virtually every facet of the way the business is operated. The decorations that the staff had left on the tables were on mirrors that were covered with greasy, nasty fingerprints. When I asked if they could be cleaned, they gave me a bottle of Windex and a roll of paper towels. I was going to incorporate them into my decoration theme but I didn't have time to clean them all, so I removed them from the tables. We were contracted to have 10 tables but only 9 were set up for us and my bad--I didn't notice this until I had finished putting out the decorations so I had to cannibalize bits of decorations from other tables until I could get the table looking like the rest of them. The salt and pepper shakers were only half full on each and every table--even WAFFLE HOUSE fills their shakers every shift. There's no excuse for this kind of lack of attention to detail, and every time I asked the staff for something, their entire attitude was that I was annoying them, they did everything but ROLL THEIR EYES to convey their displeasure at being asked to do their jobs. When my husband arrived, I was in severe pain from running around on the hard floor and carrying in all the decorations from a half mile away, so he went to get me a glass of wine AND THEY CHARGED HIM $2 FOR A GLASS DEPOSIT!! How chickenshit is that? I could NOT believe it, but I drank the wine, we finished the decorations and he put out the place cards and we went to the $200 honeymoon suite to rest and get ready for the party. Again, the devil was in the details. The room was so cold we had to turn the heat on HIGH for nearly an hour to get it to 70 degrees. There was ONE towel in the room. There was a DEAD ROACH in the bathtub. There was a soap scum ring around the jacuzzi tub. There was a nearly empty roll of tissue on the spindle and the spare was on the floor underneath it. I guess changing it wasn't in the maid's job description or else they didn't want to waste the 11 squares of tissue left on it. The satellite TV didn't work because it couldn't get a signal--it kept going to blue and 'searching' for signal. There was no telephone in the room and the alarm clock was a $4 Wal-mart digital--I wanted to dock my Zune and most good hotels in the $100 per night price range have an MP3 player hookup. The towels were clean but of very poor quality--again a detail but an important one--big, thick cushy towels are the hallmark of quality hotels. There was no Internet access, so we had to use our iPhones to check email. The outside "parking lot" was nothing but mud and we couldn't see to open the door because the outside light was burned out. The "Continental Breakfast" consisted of a disposable bowl of Coco Puffs and another of Golden Grahams cereal. There were two mini-pies (the kind you buy in a convenience store) that were so bashed and smashed that I thought they had been beaten with a bat, a mushy apple--with the grocery store PLU sticker still attached--tacky, 2 GREEN bananas and a rotten orange. I'm guessing that the same chef who prepared the mediocre banquet food is also in charge of the Continental Breakfast. There was a freezer in the room fridge but NO ice cube trays although there was so much white frost on the freezer they wouldn't have fit. The coffeemaker was dirty--I mean COME ON--this is just ridiculous.
It's a shame to have to write this kind of review because the cabin was beautifully rustic and the bed was as comfortable as any I've ever slept in, the grounds are lovely and the wine they bottle is very good. Unfortunately, Hidden Lake Winery never fails....to disappoint--and it shouldn't be that way. The employees are what is killing the place--they don't care and it shows in everything they do starting from their attitude toward guests to the job they do--they ignore the details and do their jobs just well enough to fool the owner into thinking he has good people. A good general manager, a good chef and an attitude adjustment would make all the difference here but it's not going to happen. As word spreads about how bad this place is, their revenue will drop and the help will get worse instead of better. I called some colleagues in the party planning business and asked them about Hidden Lake Winery and all of them said they would never do another event there because they were so unhappy with the place, so I have to add my vote to theirs too--I would never have another event there.

Obama, a Virgin in the Whorehouse? NOT LIKELY!!

The scumbag Obama want all America to believe he's the only virgin in the whorehouse that is Chicago politics. I read the entire document that the government used as a basis for federal arrest warrants for the Governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, and the taped conversations were not shocking to me, it's Chicago politics as always--no surprises there, that's how they do business in Chicago. The piece of shit Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. who is apparently following in his dirtbag father's footsteps had as fundraiser and apparently from what I am reading WAS trying to come up with the 500K-1 million Blagojevich wanted for the appointment to the Senate seat. Here's my only question: How did Blagojevich know that Obama was not willing to give him anything in exchange for the Senate seat--how did he know this and with whom ON OBAMA'S STAFF was Blagojevich negotiating?? Did that person report the governor to the authorities--NO, S/HE DID NOT!! Exactly. The minute that someone--anyone on the Obama staff found out that Blagojevich was selling his appointment powers, (and knowing he was under investigation from same prosecuter who prosecuted Libby "Scooter" Lewis for not remembering all the details of something that happened years previous to the deposition)that person's very next action should have been to call the FBI to turn Blagojevich in for corruption--AND THEY DIDN'T. Since this wasn't done, (and it apparently was NOT) someone (Who? OBAMA?) might be in a whole heap of trouble, and I'll bet a lot that Obama is more implicated in this scandal than anyone other than me, thinks. Axelrod is saying that Obama didn't talk to Blagojevich, but Obama says he did talk to Blagojevich, so one of them is lying. Obama is as corrupt as any of them--his wife's job at the hospital which pays $300K per year pays 40-45K to anyone who's husband IS NOT a sitting U.S. Senator who gets the hospital a couple of million in Medicaid funding. Her job is one of the most blatant payoffs I've ever seen--and obviously Blagojevich was looking for the same kind of sweetheart payoff job for the foul-mouthed Patti that Obama got for Michelle. The fact that NO ONE on Obama's staff or Obama himself REPORTED Blagojevich to the FBI for his blatant selling of the seat tells me they are all as dirty as Blagojevich--Chicago politicians, all of them. Luckily the media has done such a great job in sucking Obama's ass, it's not likely they will investigate this. Here's a video on Election Day where Obama voters were questioned about the candidates

No Bailout--No way, no how!

If you have to borrow money to expand your business, you are just going to have to wait. NO BAILOUT--NO WAY, NO HOW!! Don't think for ONE second that if you are a legislator and you vote for this bailout that in 4 weeks your sorry butt won't be coming home forever. We WILL remember how you voted and when calls and faxes are running 100+ to ONE AGAINST the bailout, I double dog DARE you to vote for it.America has had it will all of members of the House and Senate--re-elect NO ONE is the prevailing sentiment. I guarantee if no one is re-elected to the House, and the 1/3 or the Senate that is up for re-election gets voted out, when American taxpayers roar CONGRESS WILL LISTEN! This bailout is a mistake and should never happen. NO BAILOUT! If you can't afford to pay cash for something, they you can't afford to buy it. I owned and operated a hugely successful limo company and I NEVER financed a car. If I couldn't pay cash for another limo for the business then I couldn't afford to buy it, and I stretched my other cars a little thinner, referred business to other companies and took a commission instead of going into debt. Now times are tough in the limo biz and I am seeing my competitor's cars being repossessed because they can't make the payments. My cars might be sitting a little more, but NO ONE is coming to take them away from me--BECAUSE THEY ARE PAID FOR!! When people start using limos again when times get better, I will still have my limos--but many companies won't. If you have to borrow money to expand your business then you cannot afford to expand. If you have enough business that you have to expand, then you should have a PILE of cash laying around and not have to borrow a DIME. If you can't get credit, pay cash--and if you can't pay cash, you DO WITHOUT. That's how we get out of this financial crisis--pay cash, get a second job or whatever it takes, but you don't borrow your way out of a crisis--and certainly you don't spend 70 BILLION dollars of tax revenue you don't have. We need to tough out this "crisis" and I'm not convinced there is a crisis at all--I think it's a scare tactic to get us to preserve the worth of the Wall Street fat cats so they can get THEIR money out and leave the rest of us twisting in the wind and paying the bill!! Life looks exactly the same--the banks and businesses are open, people are going about their daily lives just like always. The government says my money is safe in the bank (although most of it is in cash and hidden in the house because I'm like that) and America is open for business. I don't see any need for a bailout and I'm not paying for one either. This is America, and the way we survive is to tighten our belts and use good common sense. It may be a little lean for a year or two but it we let it play out and don't do this bailout, we will be a lot better off down the road. The only people who are screaming for a bailout are Wall Street and Congress and I don't trust either of them--nor do I believe a WORD they say. You know how to tell when a politician is lying? Their LIPS are MOVING! It's time we all took a stand against our government ignoring us and doing as they please. Keep all those phone calls and letters and faxes going to the Capitol against the bailout and if your Congressperson votes for the bailout, vote for the other candidate! If we turn over Congress and get an ENTIRELY NEW group of 435, that sends the message that they all need to hear--the American taxpayer is fed up, mad as hell and isn't going to take it!!

For your considered review...

I know that many of you are sick and tired of all this political BS but if you read just one more thing between now and next month's election, I urge you to read the following editorial.

I don't know who 'Michael Masters' is or what he does, but he does write cogently and well. A Google search turns up a Michael Masters who is a lawyer in Philadelphia , but I don't believe that he is the author of this open letter. There is a 'Michael C. Masters' who lives in McLean , VA – I presume, but do not know, for sure, that he is the author. However, he didn't show up in any Google searches that I conducted, so I guess he isn't 'notorious' enough to be found. I look at that as a good thing, however. On the surface, that suggests he is just another citizen like the rest of us and has no particular ax to grind. However, he HAS done his homework before writing this editorial.

To Barack Hussein Obama,

The New York Times carried a story on Saturday, October 4, 2008, that proved you had a significantly closer relationship with Bill Ayers than what you previously admitted. While the issue of your relationship is of concern, the greater concern is that you lied to America about it.

The Chicago Sun reported on May 8, 2008, that FBI records showed that you had a significantly closer relationship with Tony Rezko than what you previously admitted. In the interview, you said that you only saw Mr. Rezko a couple of times a year. The FBI files showed that you saw him weekly. While the issue of your relationship is of concern, the greater concern is that you lied to America about it.

Your speech in Philadelphia on March 18, 2008, about 'race' contradicted your statement to Anderson Cooper on March 14 when you said that you never heard Reverend Wright make his negative statements about white America . While your attendance at Trinity Church for 20 years is of concern, the greater concern is that you lied to America on March 14.

In your 1st debate with John McCain, you said that you never said that you would meet with the leaders of Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, and North Korea without 'preparations' at lower levels ... Joe Biden repeated your words in his debate with Sarah Palin ... while the video tape from your debate last February clearly shows that you answered 'I would' to the question of meeting with those leaders within 12 months without 'any' preconditions. While your judgement about meeting with enemies of the USA without pre-conditions is of concern, the greater concern is that you lied to America in the debate with McCain.

On July 14, 2008, you said that you always knew that the surge would work while the video tapes of you from more than a year ago show that you stated that the surge would not work. While your judgement about military strategy as a potential commander-in-chief is of concern, the greater concern is that you lied to America on July 14.

You now claim that your reason for voting against funding for the troops was because the bill did not include a time line for withdrawal, while the video tapes of you from more than a year ago show that you voted against additional funding because you wanted our troops to be removed immediately ... not in 16 months after the 2008 election as you now claim. While your judgement about removing our troops unilaterally in 2007 is of concern, the greater concern is that you lied to America about your previous position.

You claim to have a record of working with Republicans while the record shows that the only bill that you sponsored with a Republican was with Chuck Lugar ... and it failed. The record shows that you vote 97% in concert with the Democrat party and that you have the most liberal voting record in the Senate. You joined Republicans only 13% of the time in your votes and those 13% were only after agreement from the Democrat party. While it is of concern that you fail to include conservatives in your actions and that you are such a liberal, the greater concern is that you distorted the truth.

In the primary debates of last February, 2008, you claimed to have talked with a 'Captain' of a platoon in Afghanistan 'the other day' when in fact you had a discussion in 2003 with a Lieutenant who had just been deployed to Afghanistan . You lied in that debate.

In your debates last spring, you claimed to have been a 'professor of Constitutional law' when in fact you have never been a professor of Constitutional law. In this last debate, you were careful to say that you 'taught a law class' and never mentioned being a 'professor of Constitutional law.' You lied last spring.

You and Joe Biden both claimed that John McCain voted against additional funding for our troops when the actual records show the opposite. You distorted the truth.

You and Joe Biden claim that John McCain voted against funding for alternate energy sources 20 times when the record shows that John McCain specifically voted against funding for bio fuels, especially corn ... and he was right .... corn is too expensive at producing ethanol, and using corn to make ethanol increased the price of corn from $2 a bushel to $6 a bushel for food. You distorted the truth.

You and Joe Biden claim that John McCain voted like both of you for a tax increase on those making as little as $42,000 per year while the voting record clearly shows that John McCain did not vote as you and Joe Biden. You lied to America .

You and Joe Biden claim that John McCain voted with George W. Bush 90% of the time when you know that Democrats also vote 90% of the time with the President (including Joe Biden) because the vast majority of the votes are procedural. You are one of the few who has not voted 90% of the time with the president because you have been missing from the Senate since the day you got elected. While your absence from your job in the Senate is of concern, the greater concern is that you spin the facts.

You did not take an active role in the rescue plan. You claimed that the Senate did not need you while the real reason that you abstained was because of your close relationships with the executives of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Countrywide, and Acorn ... who all helped cause the financial problems of today ... and they all made major contributions to your campaign. While your relationship with these executives and your protection of them for your brief 3 years in the Senate (along with Barney Frank, Chuck Schumer, Maxine Waters, and Chris Dodd) is of concern, the greater concern is that you are being deceitful.

You forgot to mention that you personally represented Tony Rezko and Acorn. Tony Rezko, an Arab and close friend to you, was convicted of fraud in Chicago real estate transactions that bilked millions of tax dollars from the Illinois government for renovation projects that you sponsored as a state senator ... and Acorn has been convicted of voter fraud, real estate sub prime loan intimidation, and illegal campaign contributions. Tony Rezko has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to your political campaigns. You personally used your political positions to steer money to both Tony Rezko and Acorn and you used Acorn to register thousands of phony voters for Democrats and you. While your relationships with Rezko and Acorn are of concern, the greater concern is that you omitted important facts about your relationships with them to America .

During your campaign, you said: 'typical white person.' 'They cling to their guns and religion.' 'They will say that I am black.' You played the race card. You tried to label any criticism about you as racist. You divide America .

You claim that you will reduce taxes for 95% of America , but you forgot to tell America that those reductions are after you remove the Bush tax reductions. You have requested close to $1 billion in earmarks and several million for Acorn. Your social programs will cost America $1 trillion per year and you claim that a reduction in military spending ($100 billion for Iraq ) can pay for it. While your economic plan of adding 30% to the size of our federal government is of concern, the greater concern is that you are deceiving America .

The drain to America 's economy by foreign supplied oil is $700 billion per year (5% of GDP) while the war in Iraq is $100 billion (less than 1% of GDP). You voted against any increases to oil exploration for the last 3 years and any expansion of nuclear facilities. Yet today, you say that you have always been for more oil and more nuclear. You are lying to America .

Mr. Obama, you claimed that you 'changed' your mind about public financing for your campaign because of the money spent by Republican PACs in 2004. The truth is that the Democrat PACs in 2004, 2006, and 2008 spent twice as much as the Republican PACs (especially George Soros and MoveOn.org). You are lying to America .

Mr. Obama, you have done nothing to stop the actions of the teachers union and college professors in the USA . They eliminated religion from our history. They teach pro gay agendas and discuss sex with students as young as first grade. They bring their personal politics into the classrooms. They disparage conservatives. They brainwash our children. They are in it for themselves ..... not America . Are you reluctant to condemn their actions because teachers/professors and the NEA contribute 25% of all money donated to Democrats and none to Republicans? You are deceiving America .

Oh, Mr. Obama, Teddy Roosevelt said about a hundred years ago that we Americans should first look at the character of our leaders before anything else.
Your character looks horrible. While you make good speeches, motivating speeches, your character does not match your rhetoric. You talk the talk, but do not walk the walk.

1. You lied to America . You lied many times. You distorted facts. You parsed your answers like a lawyer.

2. You distorted the record of John McCain in your words and in your advertisements.

3. You had associations with some very bad people for your personal political gains and then lied about those associations.

4. You divide America about race and about class.

Now let me compare your record of lies, distortions, race baiting, and associations to John McCain: War hero. Annapolis graduate with 'Country first.' Operational leadership experience like all 43 previously elected presidents of the USA as a Navy officer for 22 years. 26 years in the Senate. Straight talk. Maverick. 54% of the time participated on bills with Democrats. Never asked for an earmark. The only blemish on his record is his part in the Keating 5 debacle about 25 years ago.

Mr. Obama, at Harvard Law School, you learned that the end does not justify the means. You learned that perjury, false witness, dishonesty, distortion of truth are never tolerated. Yet, your dishonesty is overwhelming. Your dishonesty is tremendously greater than the dishonesty that caused the impeachment and disbarment of Bill Clinton. Your dishonesty is tremendously greater than the dishonesty of Scooter Libby. You should be ashamed.

Mr. Obama, it is time for us Americans to put aside our differences on political issues and vote against you because of your dishonest character. It is time for all of us Americans to put aside our political issues and vote for America first. It is time for America to vote for honesty.
Any people who vote for you after understanding that you are dishonest should be ashamed of themselves for making their personal political issues more important than character. Would these same people vote for the anti-Christ if the anti-Christ promised them riches? Would they make a golden calf while Moses was up the mountain? Would they hire someone for a job if that someone lied in an interview? Of course not. So why do some of these people justify their votes for you even though they know you are dishonest? Why do they excuse your dishonesty? Because some of these people are frightened about the future, the economy, and their financial security .... and you are preying on their fears with empty promises ... and because some (especially our young people) are consumed by your wonderful style and promises for 'change' like the Germans who voted for Adolf Hitler in 1932. The greed/envy by Germans in 1932 kept them from recognizing Hitler for who he was. They loved his style. Greed and envy are keeping many Americans from recognizing you ... your style has camouflaged your dishonesty .... but many of us see you for who you really are ... and we will not stop exposing who you are every day, forever if it is necessary.

Mr. Obama, you are dishonest. Anyone who votes for you is enabling dishonesty.

Mr. Obama , America cannot trust that you will put America first in your decisions about the future.

Mr. Obama, you are not the 'change' that America deserves. We cannot trust you.

Mr. Obama, You are not ready and not fit to be commander-in-chief.

Mr. Obama, John McCain does not have as much money as your campaign to refute all of your false statements. And for whatever reasons, the mainstream media will not give adequate coverage or research about your lies, distortions, word parsing, bad associations, race baiting, lack of operational leadership experience, and generally dishonest character. The media is diverting our attention from your relationships and ignoring the fact that you lied about those relationships. The fact that you lied is much more important than the relationships themselves .... just like with Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon ... Monica Lewinski and Watergate were not nearly as bad as the fact that those men lied about the events ... false witness ... perjury ... your relationships and bad judgements are bad on their own .... but your lies are even worse.

Therefore, by copy of this memo, all who read this memo are asked to send it to everyone else in America before it is too late. We need to do the job that the media will not do. We need to expose your dishonesty so that every person in America understands who you really are before election day.

Mr. Obama, in a democracy, we get what we deserve. And God help America if we deserve you.

Michael Master
McLean, Virginia

The LIES OF OBAMA part two

http://news.justia.com/cases/featured/pennsylvania/paedce/2:2008cv04083/281573/

That's a link to the suit filed against the Obamasiah claiming he is not a US citizen. In addition to providing a compelling case, there is a lot of documentation that what he says about Obama not being a citizen that is true. The DNC is desperately fighting to have this dismissed on technicalities when all that is necessary is that Obama show documents to prove his citizenship and it would end. That he does NOT do this gives a great deal of credibility to the lawsuit and the mainstream media is ignoring this. Would you pay legal fees and file hundreds of pages of briefs rather than show your birth certificate? NO, you wouldn't--no legitimate citizen would!

Vote Carefully--and Only Once Please!

Try not being a Democrat or Republican in thinking this through.

What policies will be good for the USA (and you)? Pass it on ]if you want.
PART 1
1) Consumer confidence stood at a 2 ½ year high:
2) Regular gasoline sold for $2.19 a gallon
3) The unemployment rate was 4.5%
Since voting in the present Congress in 2006 we have seen:
1) Consumer confidence plummet;
2) The cost of regular gasoline soar to over $4.00 a gallon
3) Unemployment is up to 5: (a 10% increase);
4) American households have seen $2.3 trillion in equity value evaporate (stock and mutual fund losses);
5) Americans have seen their home equity drop by $1.2 trillion dollars;
6) 1% of American homes are in foreclosure.

America voted for change in 2006, and we got it!!! Remember it's Congress that makes law not the President.

He has to work with what's handed to him.

PART 2:
Whether Democrat or Republican you will find these statistics enlightening and amazing.

Taxes under CLINTON - 1999
Single earning $30K = taxed $ 8,400
$50K = taxed $14,000
$75K = taxed $23,250
Married earning $60K = taxed $16,800
$75K = taxed $21,000
$125K = taxed $38,750

Taxes under BUSH
Single earning $30K = $4,500
$50K = $12,500
$75K = $18,750
Married earning $60K = taxed $9,000
$75K = taxed $18,750
$125K = taxed $31,250
Compare the above. Where do you fall: OBAMA will return to the higher tax rates. It is amazing how many people that fall into the categories above think Bush is screwing them and Bill Clinton was the greatest President ever. If Obama is elected, he will repeal the Bush tax cuts and a good portion of the people that fall into the categories above can't wait for it to happen! This is like the movie 'The Sting' with Paul Newman, you scam somebody out of some money and they don't even know what happened.

PART 3
You think the war in Iraq is costing us too much? Read on. We have been hammered with the propaganda that it is the Iraq war and the war on terror that is bankrupting us. Want to know where the real big bucks are going?

(I hope the following acts are forwarded over and over again until they are read so many times that the reader gets sick of reading them. The URL's for verification support all the following facts.)

1. $11 Billion to $22 billion is spent on welfare to illegal aliens each year by state governments.
2. $2.2 Billion dollars a year is spent on food assistance programs such as food stamps, WIC, and free school lunches for illegal aliens.

Verify at:http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexechtml_(http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexechtml)

4.$12 Billion dollars a year is spent on primary and secondary school education for children here illegally and they cannot speak a word of English verify at: _http://transcripts_ (http://transcripts/).CNN.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.0.HTML

5. $17 Billion dollars a year is spent for education for the American-born children of illegal aliens, known as anchor babies.
6. $3 Million dollars a DAY is spent to incarcerate illegal aliens.
Verify at:
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html_ http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html) (http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html)

7. 30% of all Federal Prison inmates are illegal aliens.
Verify at:
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html_
(http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html)

8. $90 Billion Dollars a year is spent on illegal aliens for Welfare & social services by the American taxpayers. Verify at:
http://premium.cnn.com/TRANSCIPTS/0610/29/ldt.01.html_ (http://premium.cnn.com/TRANSCIPTS/0610/29/ldt.01.html)

9. $200 Billion Dollars a year in suppressed American wages are caused by the illegal aliens: Verify at:
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html_
(http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html)

10. The illegal aliens in the United States have a crime rate that's two and a half times that of white non-illegal aliens. Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0606/12/ldt.01.html_
(http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0606/12/ldt.01.html)

11. During the year of 2005 there were 4 to 10 MILLION illegal aliens that crossed our Southern Border also, as many as 19,500 illegal aliens from Terrorist Countries. Millions of pounds of drugs, cocaine, meth, heroin and marijuana, crossed into the U.S. from the Southern border. Verify at: Homeland Security Report: http://tinyurl.com/t9sht_ (http://tinyurl.com/t9sht)

12. The National Policy Institute estimated that the total cost of mass deportation would be between $206 and $230 billion or an average cost of between $41 and $46 billion annually over a five year period. Verify at: http://www.nationalpolicyinstitute.org/pdf/deportation.pdf_
(http://www.nationalpolicyinstitute.org/pdf/deportation.pdf)

13. In 2006 illegal aliens sent home $46 BILLION in remittances back to their countries of origin. Verify at: _http://www.rense.com/general75/niht.htm_ (http://www.rense.com/general75/niht.htm)

14. 'The Dark Side of illegal immigration: Nearly One Million Sex Crimes committed by illegal immigrants in the United States '. Verify at: http://www.drdsk.com/articleshtml_ (http://www.drdsk.com/articleshtml

The total cost is a whopping $ 938.3 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR. Are we THAT stupid?

Millenium Hotel Restaurant--A View To Die For, And A Chef Who Should be Shot!

My beloved husband and I went to celebrate our FIRST wedding anniversary tonight. He picked a restaurant that had a carousel top revolving 28 floors above the St. Louis streets: The Millennium Hotel's Top of the Riverfront. The Arch and the river made for a beautiful view as the sun slowly sank in the west and the lights of the big city came on as we watched. Our waitress Brenda was a darling, and the evening began with the promise of wine, romance and a sumptuous meal. But, sadly, like the song says, two out of three ain't bad. John did his very best and the romantic atmosphere was delightful--the view, starched white table linens and crystal clear goblets filled with a crisp German Riesling made for a wonderful beginning. Then the baby at the next table began to scream--and the evening that had started with such promise unraveled into an unparalleled dining disaster. We made our displeasure at having to listed to the screaming brat known to dear Brenda who did everything but toss the miserable spawn of Satan out the window to make the noise stop. My first instinct was to finish the wine and soup, pay the bill and leave but John said the periodic 110 decibel shrieks were tolerable so we stayed. I do not know why restaurants of this supposed calibre allow children under the age of 12 when the world is full of Denny's and McDonald's where even though screaming brats are still annoying, they are "family oriented". At $36 for a 9 oz filet, I don't want to hear anything but the lovely sound of the talented piano player. We asked if we could move but that apparently wasn't an option, but I digress. We started our dinner with the Apple Jack Onion soup which was topped with a thick and satisfying layer of melted cheese and two pieces of crispy garlic crostini. For some unknown reason, pieces of RAW purple onion were placed in the soup under the cheese, but after I picked them out, the soup had nice flavor even if they did add pepper by the boxful, but we like spicy food so it was an interesting twist on a classic recipe. The crisp Riesling was a nice counterpoint to the soup and the screams from the next table were intermittent and barely made me jump more than 2 or 3 inches. Brenda went to the table several times to try to quiet the demon seed, and to her credit (and tip) had some success in silencing the lamb and blowing them out of the restaurant in the way a good waitperson can do when s/he wants the table turned and fast! God bless Brenda. John ordered his steak medium and I opted for my standby of Pittsburgh rare (black and blue by any other name is still burnt and cold) and as I have come to expect in 99% of the steakhouses in the world, they didn't know how to do it. They did manage to make John's filet Mignon so raw that he barely nibbled around the edges (and to avoid the large chunk of gristle in the middle of his steak--the first time I've ever seen gristle in a filet Mignon) so that it wouldn't bite him back since it was still alive and brought mine out barely pink and minus the burnt crust that I so love--and am willing to forgo overcooked centers for that burnt flavor I crave. The first bite of my $30 steak was filled with gristle, the second bite flavorless and the third bite had another huge chunk of gristle and I didn't bother with a fourth. I didn't know that Dollar Tree had a meat section, but doubtless that's where the restaurant buys their steaks. The "Bearnaise" sauce was from a mix and tasted of flour and tarragon with none of the buttery tartness of a Bearnaise made with tarragon, wine vinegar and egg yolks with butter lovingly beat in to form the emulsion that makes Bearnaise sauce what angels dine on, the "Yukon gold" potatoes were ordinary white potatoes with no cheese flavor and I didn't bother to taste the lone baby carrot because I didn't care by then, so it might have been the world's best carrot ever--but I somehow doubt it. The 3 small asparagus spears were quite good though, they were the highlight of the meal. Brenda was mortified by the huge chunks of gristle and the errors in cooking and we ended up paying for the soup and the wine (and of course tipped her on the entire amount of what the bill was before they removed the steaks from the check) and then we left, John very disappointed in the food and me very disappointed that the wonderful evening that John planned for our first wedding anniversary went south since he had tried so hard to make it a special evening. He gets an A+ for effort because he really went to a lot of trouble, and I was astonished that the restaurant didn't require jacket and tie. I guess when your food is that bad, you let anyone in--squalling babies and jeans and flip flops are welcome. The view was breathtaking as the sun went down and the lights of the city came up, but the food ruins the whole experience. I expected so much more from this gorgeous venue, it was a total disappointment. I might go there to have some wine and watch the sunset but I'd never eat there again.

Service 3 stars

Food 1/2 star

Obama's lips are moving and he's lying--as usual!

If the "mainstream media" had been doing their job, Hillary would be the nominee not this Obama jackass. He has taken money from unfriendly foreign governments, LIED repeatedly about his association with Ayres, LIED about his association with Tony Rezko, LIED about taking public money for his campaign, LIED about Jeremiah Wright's influence--I mean really--he sits in his church for TWENTY EFFING YEARS and then says he wasn't LISTENING? Are you people really this STUPID? This socialist who voted 'present' 130 times and has taken $740 A DAY EVERY DAY from Freddie and Fannie that he has been in office is one of the scummiest politicians to come from Chicago--and that is no mean feat because the parade of scumbag politicians that came from the Chicago machine is LONG and felonious! The MSM has had their lips firmly planted to his ass from day one for some unknown reason and has failed American miserably and continues to do so. The Chicago Tribune has printed the truth about this scumbag POS and it's there for anyone to see--all you have to do is LOOK. If you idiots elect this socialist and his communist America-hating baby mama then you deserve what you get. McCain may not be perfect, but he's an American PATRIOT who has spent his ENTIRE LIFE serving our country and was totally exonerated in the Keating Five investigation. The Democrats have been running America for the last 2 years when they got control of Congress--both houses--and look what has happened. Let's add an unqualified socialist who wants to increase spending by 900 BILLION to the White House and watch our way of life disappear. If Obama is elected then I hope and pray he is the Messiah you idiots claim he is--because if he's not, America is finished. FINISHED. Bush may not be a popular President and whatever else, but John McCain isn't GW--whom I have never liked--and is far more qualified to be President than the Obamoron.

LYING SCUMBAG PIECE OF SHIT OBAMA!!

Look how unhappy Anderson Cooper is over the OBAMASIAH getting caught in a shitload of lies....Obama is a scumbag who shouldn't be allowed in the same room as the American Hero John McCain!

No Obama--no way, no how!

This about sums it up....

I'm voting Democrat because I'm way too irresponsible to own a gun,
and I know that my local police are all I need to protect me from
murderers and thieves.

I'm voting Democrat because I love the fact that I can now marry
whatever I want. I've decided to marry my horse.

I'm voting Demo crat because I believe oil companies' profits of
4% on a gallon of gas are obscene but the government taxing the same
gallon of gas at 15% isn't.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe the government will do a better
job of spending the money I earn than I would.

I'm voting Democrat because freedom of speech is fine as long as
nobody is offended by it.

I'm voting Democrat because when we pull out of Iraq I trust that the
bad guys will stop what they're doing because they now think we're
good people.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe that people who can't tell us
if it will rain on Friday CAN tell us that the polar ice caps will
melt away in ten years if I don't start driving a Prius.

I'm vo ting Democrat because I'm not concerned about the slaughter of
millions of babies so long as we keep all death row inmates alive.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe that business should not be
allowed to make profits for themselves. They need to break even and
give the rest away to the government for redistribution as THEY see fit.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe liberal judges need to rewrite
the Constitution every few days to suit some fringe kooks who would
NEVER get their agendas past the voters.

I'm voting Democrat because my head is so firmly planted up my ass
it's unlikely that I'll ever have another point of view.

'A Liberal is a person who will give away everything they don't own'.

- William F. Carling -

No Obama--no way, no how--It's the WRONG choice!

With One Month To Go: Why McCain Will Close and Win
Posted by: Hugh Hewitt at 8:42 PM
Because the country cannot afford the greatest gamble in its modern history at this moment in time.

A confrontation with Iran looms and instability in Pakistan grows. The Islamist threat has been beaten back in Iraq, but continues to nurse its fanatical hatreds in many other places, from Waziristan to London. Israel is ringed not with an enemy that wants a state but by two enemies that want Israel to be destroyed.

The world's financial system is teetering, and the estrangement between the American people and their government has never been this deep in modern times.

The cost of energy has soared and will continue to climb. The entitlement trap has only grown worse in the three years since George Bush asked the Democrats to work with him on Social Security and they said no. The corrupt, self-dealing culture of the Beltway has poisoned the decision-making of many bureaucracies and in ways only the burdened know, and the credibility of the big media is shattered even as their audiences shrink and many of their news rooms come close to shuttering.

So, despite the rapture of college students and the registration of the homeless in Ohio, the common sense of Americans will override curiosity about Barack Obama and infatuation with his celebrity, and trust John McCain to pilot the country for the next four years.

Obama is a wholly untested Illinois state senator with less than 200 actual days on the floor of the U.S. Senate.

Obama has never run anything or faced any significant political crisis in his life requiring the expert exercise of wisdom and judgment, much less this perfect storm of crises.

Obama's rise has been because of machine politics and hard-left coalitions, and his past is checkered with the most radical and the most corrupt sort of characters imaginable --Ayers, Rezko and Wright to name just the big three.

His party is led by hard-left partisans in the House and Senate, and the "grassroots" manning his campaign and ready to demand their patronage jobs are of the Michael Moore-Daily Kos variety. There is hardly anything left of the old Democratic Party. It isn't about a New Deal or a Fair Deal or a New Frontier. It is about radical change, and creepy children singing praises to their leader. It is about a thorough-going contempt of ordinary Americans best expressed in Obama's own description of the bitter God-and-gun clinging small town and rural voters of Pennsylvania.

Obama would be a huge risk in even placid times of peace, full employment, and robust growth, a radical break with America's political traditions even as measured against the McGovern candidacy of 1972.

In a time of war and precarious economic uncetainty, it would be near suicidal to turn the world's most important job over to him.

The hard left's seven year rage against George Bush has disfigured the politics of the country, but it hasn't infected the large center or demoralized the principled right. Three quarters of the country know the sort of enemy we face around the globe and sense as well the seriousness of the economic risk that faces us and which must be met and managed from maturity and a belief in growth and capitalism's essential genius. The country has never embraced class warfare, and knows that a lurch to the left now would cripple the vast engine of productivity that is the key to a steady recovery of confidence.

We do not desire to become Europe. We do not fear our neighbors or hate our political opponents or mock religion. Large portions of Obama's most dedicated supporters do. The MoveOn.org of "General Betrayus" and the Al Franken wing of the Democrats have tried without success to moderate their rhetoric, and the issue of Michelle Obama's lack of pride in the country have been erased from the fall campaign, but as the decision grows close, mist voters will be turning over all of these things in their head, and assessing the very different futures in front of the country.

This is the choice facing the country as absentees begin to be mailed next week, and it is the seriousness of the moment and the radical nature of the Obama candidacy that favors the tried and tested McCain and his populist, optimistic running mate.

America is a great and good nation, and it will not turn itself over to a party in the grip of its hardest left cadres, its most corrupt machine and its least experienced nominee ever.

Especially not when it has a man of enormous courage and proven devotion and sacrifice at the ready to lead through difficult times.

Elect Steve Sauerberg--vote out DICK"Bailout" Durbin

Steve Sauerberg, MD,
ILLINOIS Republican Candidate for US Senate

"We must ensure our nation's security while also respecting the human dignity of all the people in our country." -Steve Sauerberg
Protect Our Borders
Illegal immigration is one of the biggest challenges we face as a nation. According to most estimates, between 12 and 16 million illegal immigrants are currently in our country and over 700,000 enter America illegally every year.

Secure our borders. We must triple funding for the U.S. border patrol to stop the flow of those entering our country illegally.
No amnesty. I oppose any effort to reward illegal behavior with amnesty or American citizenship without punitive measures. Dick Durbin's amnesty-first approach would cost taxpayers over $2.6 trillion.
Deport illegal aliens who commit felonies when they finish serving their prison sentence.
All legal immigrants must learn to read and write English. We are a melting pot of many cultures bound together by a common language, and success in our schools and our economy depends on being able to communicate by using the same language. Those who immigrate to the United States should understand the importance of our history and civics and respect the values of our democratic society.
Share our vision. Impart the knowledge that America is a land of opportunity and optimism for those pursuing a better life through hard work and hope.
These are all the positions that Dick Durbin has voted in favor of:

No Border Fence - No Border Security.
Amnesty for Illegal Immigrants
Taxpayer-Funded Tuition for Illegal Immigrants
Social Security Benefits for Illegal Immigrants
** Dick Durbin was even the prime sponsor of legislation that would reward a convicted criminal and illegal immigrant with amnesty!!
Sources

We Can't Afford any more Democrats!!

George Bush has been in office for 7 1/2 years. The first six the economy was fine and if not for the terrorist attacks, which by the way our economy recovered from, we may have seen even more prosperity. Fighting them on their soil is much more acceptable to me and my family, thank God for the brave men and women who provide and protect the freedoms we have. Social programs and hand outs, might work, but it will cost everyone and eventually the government will tell you how to manage your every day life.
Here are the people running Obama's campaign in Congress saying that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were fine when the Republicans were trying to regulate them. Don't think for a second that Obama won't fill his cabinet with these jackasses if he should be elected!!



A little over one year ago:
1) Consumer confidence stood at a 2 1/2 year high;
2) Regular gasoline sold for $2.19 a gallon;
3) the unemployment rate was 4.5%.
4) the DOW JONES hit a record high--14,000 +
5) American's were buying new cars, taking cruises, vacations overseas, living large!...


BUT American's wanted 'CHANGE'! So, in 2006 they voted in a Democratic Congress and yes--we got 'CHANGE' all right.
In the PAST YEAR:


1) Consumer confidence has plummeted ;
2) Gasoline is now over $4 a gallon & climbing!;
3) Unemployment is up to 5.5% (a 10% increase);
4) Americans have seen their home equity drop by $12 TRILLION
DOLLARS and prices still dropping;
5) 1% of American homes are in foreclosure.
6) as I write, THE DOW is probing another low~~
$2.5 TRILLION DOLLARS HAS EVAPORATED FROM THEIR
STOCKS, BONDS & MUTUAL FUNDS INVESTMENT
PORTFOLIOS!




YES, IN 2006 AMERICA VOTED FOR CHANGE...AND WE SURE GOT IT! ....


REMEMBER THE PRESIDENT HAS NO CONTROL OVER ANY OF THESE ISSUES, ONLY CONGRESS.


AND WHAT HAS CONGRESS DONE IN THE LAST TWO YEARS, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.


NOW THE DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT CLAIMS HE IS GOING TO REALLY
GIVE US CHANGE ALONG WITH A DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS!!!!


JUST HOW MUCH MORE 'CHANGE' DO YOU THINK YOU CAN STAND?

Obama--the man who never was!

The Man Who Never Was

A Commentary by Tony Blankley

Wednesday, September 24, 2008
The mainstream media have gone over the line and are now straight-out propagandists for the Obama campaign.
While they have been liberal and blinkered in their worldview for decades, in 2007-08, for the first time, the major media consciously are covering for one candidate for president and consciously are knifing the other. This is no longer journalism; it is simply propaganda. (The American left-wing version of the Volkischer Beobachter cannot be far behind.)

And as a result, we are less than seven weeks away from possibly electing a president who has not been thoroughly or even halfway honestly presented to the country by our watchdogs -- the press. The image of Obama that the press has presented to the public is not a fair approximation of the real man. They consciously have ignored whole years of his life and have shown a lack of curiosity about such gaps, which bespeaks a lack of journalistic instinct.
Thus, the public image of Obama is of a "man who never was."
I take that phrase from a 1956 movie about a real-life World War II British intelligence operation to trick the Germans into thinking the Allies were going to invade Greece rather than Sicily in 1943. Operation Mincemeat involved the acquisition of a human corpse dressed as "Major William Martin, R.M.," which was put into the sea near Spain. Attached to the corpse was a briefcase containing fake letters suggesting that the Allied attack would be against Sardinia and Greece.
To make the operation credible, British intelligence concocted a fictional life for the corpse, creating a letter from a lover and tickets to a London theater -- all the details of a life, but not the actual life of the dead young man whose corpse was being used. So, too, the man the media have presented to the nation as Obama is not the real man.
The mainstream media ruthlessly and endlessly repeat any McCain gaffes while ignoring Obama gaffes. You have to go to weird little Web sites to see all the stammering and stuttering that Obama needs before getting out a sentence fragment or two. But all you see on the networks is an eventually clear sentence from Obama. You don't see Obama's ludicrous gaffe that Iran is a tiny country and no threat to us. Nor his 57 American states gaffe. Nor his forgetting, if he ever knew, that Russia has a veto in the U.N. Nor his whining and puerile "come on" when he is being challenged. This is the kind of editing one would expect from Goebbels' disciples, not Cronkite's.
More appalling, a skit on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" last weekend suggested that Gov. Palin's husband had sex with his own daughters.
That show was written with the assistance of Al Franken, Democratic Party candidate in Minnesota for the U.S. Senate. Talk about incest.
But worse than all the unfair and distorted reporting and image projecting are the shocking gaps in Obama's life that are not reported at all. The major media simply have not reported on Obama's two years at New York's Columbia University, where, among other things, he lived a mere quarter-mile from former terrorist Bill Ayers. Later, they both ended up as neighbors and associates in Chicago. Obama denies more than a passing relationship with Ayers. Should the media be curious? In only two weeks, the media have focused on all the colleges Gov. Palin has attended, her husband's driving habits 20 years ago, and the close criticism of the political opponents Gov. Palin had when she was mayor of Wasilla, Alaska.
But in two years, they haven't bothered to see how close Obama was with the terrorist Ayers.
Nor have the media paid any serious attention to Obama's rise in Chicago politics. How did honest Obama rise in the famously sordid Chicago political machine with the full support of Boss Daley? Despite the great -- and unflattering -- details on Obama's Chicago years presented in David Freddoso's new book on Obama, the mainstream media continue to ignore both the facts and the book. It took a British publication, The Economist, to give Freddoso's book a review with fair comment.
The public image of Obama as an idealistic, post-race, post-partisan, well-spoken and honest young man with the wisdom and courage befitting a great national leader is a confection spun by a willing conspiracy of Obama, his publicist (David Axelrod) and most of the senior editors, producers and reporters of the national media.
Perhaps that is why the National Journal's respected correspondent Stuart Taylor wrote, "The media can no longer be trusted to provide accurate and fair campaign reporting and analysis."
That conspiracy not only has Photoshopped out all of Obama's imperfections (and dirtied up his opponent McCain's image) but also has put most of his questionable history down the memory hole.
The public will be voting based on the idealized image of the man who never was. If he wins, however, we will be governed by the sunken, cynical man Obama really is. One can only hope that the senior journalists will be judged as harshly for their professional misconduct as Wall Street's leaders currently are for their failings.

Note: Tony Blankley is executive vice president of Edelman public relations in Washington.

Obama's Health Care Claim Debunked

Obama's Health Care Claim Debunked
By Mark Impomeni
Sep 23rd 2008 10:00PM
Filed Under:eBarack Obama, Ads, John McCain, Featured Stories, 2008 President
For the third consecutive day, the Obama campaign has been called out for distorting Sen. John McCain's position on an issue for political gain. Earlier this week, Factcheck.org called Sen. Obama's claim that McCain's support for private accounts within Social Security would have cost current retirees their savings, "untrue." McClatchy newspapers called Sen. Obama's attempt to tie McCain's historic support for deregulation to the financial turmoil on Wall Street, "wrong." Now, Factcheck.org returns to call Sen. Obama's most recent campaign advertisement on the Wall Street situation, "misleading."

The ad, titled, "Article," takes a partial quote from a piece Sen. McCain wrote for the current issue of Contentions magazine, and according to Factcheck.org, "twists" McCain's words out of context. The ad mentions one phrase from the article and applies it to the health care issue, attempting to tie McCain's health care policy to the financial turmoil on Wall Street. "We've seen what Bush-McCain policies have done to our economy. Now John McCain wants to do the same to our health care. McCain just published an article praising Wall Street deregulation. Said he'd reduce oversight of the health insurance industry, too. Just 'as we have done over the last decade in banking.'"

Factcheck points out that the full quotation from McCain's piece makes it clear that he was speaking about letting consumers purchase health insurance across state lines, a move that would certainly open up competition in the market, with the likely result of lowering costs.

"I would also allow individuals to choose to purchase health insurance across state lines, when they can find more affordable and attractive products elsewhere that they prefer. Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation. Consumer-friendly insurance policies will be more available and affordable when there is greater competition among insurers on a level playing field. You should be able to buy your insurance from any willing provider-the state bureaucracies are no better than national ones. Nationwide insurance markets that ensure broad and vigorous competition will wring out excess costs, overhead, and bloated executive compensation."
The McCain campaign responded to the Obama ad by noting that the banking deregulation that McCain was referring to in the article was a 1995 law that allowed customers to use ATMs nationwide and had nothing to to with the current market troubles. "If Barack Obama thinks that today's financial troubles were caused by policies which allowed Americans to use an ATM anywhere in this country, then it is better that he continue to be silent about solutions to the crisis on Wall Street."

All the negativity from the Obama campaign in recent days has taken Sen. Obama badly off message. It is a sign of nervousness that the Obama campaign is focusing so much of its energy on attacks, and so little on issues that Sen. Obama wants voters to associate with him. After complaining for most of the summer that McCain's advertisements were misleading, distorting, or outright lies, the Obama campaign has become what it despised. In the process it has shown itself to be a political campaign just like so many others before it, not a vehicle for changing politics.

Obama's lips are moving? Then he's lying!

Here's a few more videos of the Communist Muslim Barack Obama and his wife:

Here's my favorite video on Obama's legislative accomplishments:

No Obama--no way, no how!

Obama--you want my vote? I want to see these documents first:
1. Occidental College records -- Not released
2. Columbia College records -- Not released
3. Columbia Thesis paper -- "not available"
4. Harvard College records -- Not released
5. Selective Service Registration -- Not released
6. Medical records -- Not released
7. Illinois State Senate schedule -- "not available"
8. Law practice client list -- Not released
9. Certified Copy of original Birth certificate - - Not released
10. Embossed, signed paper Certification of Live Birth -- Not released
11. Harvard Law Review articles published -- None
12. University of Chicago scholarly articles -- None
13. Your Record of baptism-- Not released or "not available"
14. Your Illinois State Senate records--"not available"
You have not been vetted for the position you are seeking. Here's what I think:
If it were Colin Powell instead of Obama running for president, I'd vote for him in a heartbeat. Obama is a slimy criminal connected out the wazzoo to the terrorist Ayres, the felon scumbag Rezco and the illegal activities of ACORN. He won his first elections dishonestly by having his opponents thrown off the ballot, if he had an opponent, he would have lost. His wife got a 200K raise after he sent huge earmarks to her hospital--her 300K a year job pays 35-48K a year to anyone else so it's nothing but kickbacks for the earmark money he sends--he should be in jail for corruption. He's unqualifed, incompetent and worse, he's a flake.

Obama's defense plan. God help us.

Obama's Defense Plan. God Help us All!

Here's his pastor that he "wasn't listening" to for twenty years. LIAR!



Some more of the pastor Obama wasn't listening to of you can stomach it.

Obama Should Come Clean

From the WALL STREET JOURNAL:

Even as Barack Obama gave his soaring speech Thursday night, his campaign was playing hardball with its critics.

Team Obama has launched an offensive against WGN, the Chicago Tribune's radio station, for interviewing Stanley Kurtz. Mr. Kurtz is a conservative writer who this week forced the University of Illinois to finally open its records on Sen. Obama's association with William Ayers, the unrepentant 1970s Weather Underground terrorist.

An Obama campaign email to supporters called Mr. Kurtz a "slimy character assassin" whose "divisive, destructive ranting" should be confronted. WGN producer Zack Christenson says the outpouring of negative calls and emails is "unprecedented." He also notes that it is curious -- because "we wanted the Obama campaign's take" on Mr. Kurtz's findings, but the campaign declined to put anyone on air.

Separately, Mr. Obama's lawyers have also demanded that the Justice Department prosecute an organization called the American Issues Project for running an ad about ties between their candidate and Mr. Ayers.

Obama aides believe John Kerry lost in 2004 because he failed to respond to the "Swift Boat" ads attacking him, and they are lashing out. Sometimes the Obama objections have merit, as when they exposed errors in Jerome Corsi's sensationalized Obama biography. But sometimes they are designed to shut down legitimate questions. "They're terrified of people poking around Obama's life," one reporter told Gabriel Sherman at the New Republic. "The whole Obama narrative is built around the narrative that Obama and [campaign strategist] David Axelrod built, and, like all stories, it's not entirely true." The stakes are high. If the full story of Mr. Obama's relationship with Rev. Jeremiah Wright had been revealed before the Iowa caucus, he wouldn't have won.

Aides claim Mr. Obama "has taken voluntary transparency steps" that allow "his constituents, the media and his political opponents to fully examine him." In reality, anyone questioning the approved story line is liable to be ignored, misled or even bullied. This isn't what reporters expected when Mr. Obama began campaigning for a "new politics" that would bring honesty and openness to government.

Walking the rows of media outlets at the Denver convention, I had no trouble finding reporters who complained the campaign was secretive and evasive. Ben Smith of Politico.com has written about Team Obama's "pattern of rarely volunteering information or documents, even when relatively innocuous." Politico asked months ago if Mr. Obama had ever written anything for the Harvard Law Review as a student. The Obama campaign responded narrowly, with a Clintonesque statement that "as the president of the Law Review, Obama didn't write articles, he edited and reviewed them." This month it turned out Mr. Obama had written an article -- but it was published a month before he became president.

Chasing the rest of Mr. Obama's paper trail is often an exercise in frustration. Mr. Obama says his state senate records "could have been thrown out" and he didn't keep a schedule in office. No one appears to have kept a copy of his application for the Illinois Bar. He has released only a single page of medical records, versus 1,000 pages for John McCain.

Then there's the house that Mr. Obama bought in 2005 in cooperation with Tony Rezko, his friend and campaign fund-raiser -- a move the candidate concedes was "boneheaded." Rezko was convicted in June of 16 counts of corruption. (Mr. Obama was not implicated in Rezko's crimes.)

Rezko's trial raised a host of questions. Was Mr. Obama able to save $300,000 on the asking price of his house because Rezko's wife paid full price for the adjoining lot? How did Mrs. Rezko make a $125,000 down payment and obtain a $500,000 mortgage when financial records shown at the Rezko trial indicate she had a salary of only $37,000 and assets of $35,000? Records show her husband also had few assets at the time.

Last April, the London Times revealed that Nadhmi Auchi, an Iraqi-born billionaire living in London, had loaned Mr. Rezko $3.5 million three weeks before the day the sale of the house and lot closed in June 2005. Mr. Auchi's office notes he was a business partner of Rezko but says he had "no involvement in or knowledge of" the property sale. But in April 2004 he did attend a dinner party in his honor at Rezko's Chicago home. Mr. Obama also attended, and according to one guest, toasted Mr. Auchi. Later that year, Mr. Auchi came under criminal investigation as part of a U.S. probe of the corrupt issuance of cell-phone licenses in Iraq.

In May 2004, the Pentagon's inspector general's office cited "significant and credible evidence" of involvement by Mr. Auchi's companies in the Oil for Food scandal, and in illicit smuggling of weapons to Saddam Hussein's regime. Because of the criminal probe, Mr. Auchi's travel visa to the U.S. was revoked in August 2004, even as Mr. Auchi denied all the allegations. According to prosecutors, in November 2005 Rezko was able to get two government officials from Illinois to appeal to the State Department to get the visa restored. Asked if anyone in his office was involved in such an appeal, Mr. Obama told the Chicago Sun-Times last March, "not that I know of." FOIA requests to the State Department for any documents haven't been responded to for months.

After long delays, Mr. Obama sat with the editorial boards of the Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune in March to answer their questions about his connection to Rezko. He had no recollection of ever meeting Mr. Auchi. He also said he didn't understand a lot about house buying, and gave vague answers to other questions. Since then, he has avoided any further discussion of the Rezko matter.

Some inquiries could be cleared up if the Obama campaign were forthcoming with key documents. Mr. Obama claims that in buying his house in 2005 he got a low mortgage rate from Northern Trust bank because another bank made a competitive bid for his business, but his campaign won't reveal from which bank. While he has released 94 pages of documents relating to the Rezko sale, they don't include the single most important one -- the settlement statement that shows the complete flow of funds that were part of the house sale. When asked why that last key document isn't being released, the Obama campaign issued a boilerplate statement saying, "we have released documents that reflect every one of the final terms of the senator's purchase of the home." But key data are still being withheld.

The Obama campaign didn't hesitate to criticize Hillary Clinton for not revealing the names of donors to the Clinton Library, or John McCain for releasing only two years of tax returns as opposed to Mr. Obama's 10 years. Those were proper questions. But so too are requests for information from Mr. Obama, a man whose sudden rise and incompletely reported past makes him among the least-vetted of presidential nominees.

Reporters who decline to press Mr. Obama for more information now, whether it be on William Ayers or the Rezko-Auchi partnership, may be repeating an old mistake. Most reporters failed to dig deep enough into the Nixon White House's handling of Watergate before the 1972 election. The country was soon consumed with that scandal. Most reporters pooh-poohed questionable Whitewater real-estate dealings of the Clintons before Bill Clinton's 1992 election. Within months of his inauguration a tangled controversy led to the appointment of a special prosecutor and an endless source of distraction for the Clinton White House.

All presidential candidates resist full examination of their records. But it should be the job of reporters not to accept noncooperation, stonewalling or intimidation when it comes to questions about fitness for the nation's highest office.

Why I support John McCain

I have to respect a man who puts aside personal preferences to do what's best for his country--something a PRESIDENT does! That's why McCain's action Wednesday--announcing he would come back to Washington to try to broker a deal to save our financial system--was so impressive. The rescue package was poorly crafted and seemed to be doomed. Barack Hussein Obama was on the sidelines, complaining and opining and commenting. But John McCain intervened suddenly and boldly, taking a risk in order to change the situation, and to rearrange the landscape. Obama of course did NOTHING until he realized how bad it was hurting his campaign and showing him for the do-nothing dilettante he has been for his entire life. Oh, and one more thing--the reason Obama hasn't released his birth certificate is because he was born out of wedlock--a bastard and doesn't want anyone to know what trash his mother was. In the 1960s white women didn't even speak to black men, let alone become their baby mamas. Obama doesn't want to admit he was the product of a white trash woman hooking up with a black man and getting pregnant and then abandoned--have you noticed that he has never said his parents were married? He lets people ASSUME they were, but they weren't. As for the debate, here are the facts:McCain wants to debate throughout the summer, Obama refuses because he knows McCain will clean his clock. Financial crisis occurs, McCain Goes To Washington, Obama continues his campaign because he cares nothing for the job that we, the people of Illinois, stupidly elected him to--although he won with underhanded, dirty politics--even bad by Chicago standards.
In a crisis, both candidates are focusing on only one thing. One Senator goes to perform his duty, another continues his headlong pursuit of his next office.
Who do you think understands the concepts of Country First?

Interview from Townhall's Bill Steigerwald

Interview from Townhall's Bill Steigerwald

National Review political reporter David Freddoso hasn’t thrown the first unfriendly book through the stained-glass windows of the Barack Obama crusade. And “The Case Against Barack Obama: The Unlikely Rise and Unexamined Agenda of the Media's Favorite Candidate” (Regnery) is still mostly being ignored by the mainstream news media -- despite hitting No. 5 on The New York Times nonfiction best-seller list. But Freddoso’s look into Sen. Obama’s political and ideological past has been billed as the first serious, factual and well-reasoned negative biography of the Illinois senator whose ascension to the White House no longer looks as predestined as it once did. I talked to Freddoso on Wednesday by phone from Denver, where the 31-year-old self-described conservative-libertarian was covering the Democratic National Convention for his magazine.

Q: Can you give us a quick synopsis of your book?

A: The idea that Sen. Obama is a reformer, an agent of positive change, is really a great lie that his entire record falsifies. He’s also someone who is not nearly as ideologically reasonable and flexible as he makes himself appear. And in his relationships, he’s shown very, very poor judgment repeatedly.

Q: How is Obama a fake?

A: Sen. Obama’s claims to stand for change are very well known. What’s less known is his record and the way that in Chicago he’s worked against bipartisan reform pretty much anytime he’s had an opportunity to do something either for or against it. In Chicago, there is a political tension between reform Democrats and machine Democrats. Sen. Obama has always aligned with the machine Democrats. All of his endorsements go to machine Democrats. When liberals and conservatives come together to defeat machine candidates -- as they did in 2006 with the Cook County board president election, which is one of the first examples I discuss in my book, because it’s so dramatic -- Sen. Obama works against them. The pattern throughout his life is very unmistakable: Sen. Obama’s pattern of working against bipartisan reform and accommodating himself to whatever political culture of corruption he finds himself in in any given environment -- it’s a very consistent and unmistakable record. It carries through Chicago, Springfield and Washington, as well.

Q: In terms of his ideology or political beliefs, Sen. Obama has been influenced or hung around with left-wing radicals like Bill Ayers and his wife and Frank Marshall Davis, an old Communist Party USA member he was introduced to as a mentor at age 10 in Hawaii. Is there clear evidence that Obama is a true-believing leftist today?

A: Every now and then he says something that I think reveals that influence. For example, his comments now about how he’ll be attacked for not looking like the presidents on the dollar bill – his injection of race into the campaign – is something that might perhaps come from the influence of someone like Davis. Davis told him that he could never trust white people completely. I don’t think that Sen. Obama has lived by that all his life, but I can’t help but think he was influenced by his mentors as a youth.

When he went to San Francisco and talked about “bitter voters in Pennsylvania clinging to their guns and religion,” he was paraphrasing one his great radical influences, Saul Alinsky, who wrote in “Rules for Radicals” almost exactly the same thing about the middle classes. He wrote that they are very confused about life. They become bitter. They cling to fixed points that are illusory and yet very real to them. They begin wasting their time on such things as flag-waving patriotism, etc. And you can’t disabuse them of their religious beliefs because they will react violently if you question them. That’s Alinsky’s critique of the middle class, and that’s actually Obama’s critique of rural America and American voters – a very condescending, patronizing critique that he offers.

Q: Why did you decide to write this book?

A: It struck me that there was almost no good information floating around about Sen. Obama, because the sources we had were himself, his books about himself and his own campaign. And then you had people who were out there trying to spread false rumors and innuendo on the Internet about him -- saying things like that he was a secret Muslim; that he was sworn in on the Quran; that he doesn’t salute the flag and he’s not really a U.S. citizen. All those things are false. But I just felt that the news media had done a really poor job of examining the man’s real record. The result was that all the information was falsehoods -- positive falsehoods about him and negative ones.

As someone who has covered Congress for seven years, I felt -- it grated against everything that I believed in to see people worship a politician this way. I see these guys all the time, and none of them deserves the kind of worship they are given, the kind of piety, the kind of adulation that they give Sen. Obama. I know a lot more about these guys than some people do, perhaps, and I never thought that politicians were that good from either party or that there were that many you could really honor as honest and upstanding people. So I thought a real examination of Sen. Obama’s record was appropriate and just hadn’t been done by anyone.

Q: Was it difficult to find out the details of Sen. Obama’s relationship with the Chicago political machine and the other less-than-saintly aspects of his politics and career?

A: There are quite a few new things in my book that people won’t have read anywhere else. But what I was really surprised by is how much the Chicago press had already produced that was being ignored by the Washington and New York media. It is amazing how that town works. All you have to do is start going through back issues of the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune. The national media has so ignored the Chicago press. … The Chicago press is replete with Obama knowledge and no one is bothering to read it. I wanted to give them their due and I really wanted to tell all the stories that they had told as part of the book. Their understanding of the politics of their town is very keen and very useful in understanding the real Obama.

Q: What’s the most damning thing you say in your book about Obama’s character?

A: The most damning thing about his character is probably the two examples in which he may have used government to make himself wealthy. The one was an earmark he gave his wife’s employer, the University of Chicago Medical Center, which came shortly after she received a $200,000 raise. The other one was an instance that was reported by the Los Angeles Times in April, in which Obama and his staff helped arrange for one of his donors and law clients (who had just paid him $112,000) to get $320,000 in state grants to hold a ping-pong tournament for his ping-pong apparel company called Killerspin. If someone can explain to me how that’s not impropriety, I’d be very interested.

Q: What the most damning thing you say about Obama’s ideology or belief system?

A: Sen. Obama promised to a gathering of Planned Parenthood last July that his first act as president – and that’s what he said, “my first act” -- won’t be to bring home the troops from Iraq, or to set up a government health care system or any of the other things that Barack Obama has promised. The Number One thing, the top priority, his first act, is to sign a bill called the Freedom of Choice Act, which re-legalizes partial-birth abortion, among other things. Fine. People have all kinds of opinions about abortion. People are pretty much in agreement about partial-birth abortion – that they don’t want it. But that will be his first priority, and that he would go so far as to pander to Planned Parenthood and say that at their gathering last July, is really, really amazing to me. You can watch him say it on YouTube, by the way.

Q: What do you like or appreciate about Obama now that you didn’t before you began your book?

A: Sen. Obama is an excellent writer. I thought I’d read through “Dreams from My Father” and think that it was some kind of lousy, mediocre book by a celebrity. I didn’t realize when I began reading it that he wrote this as a memoir when he was 33 years old. In fact, I had started reading it a couple years ago, not realizing the context of it. When I sat down to read it and fill it up with Post-it notes and underlines and everything, I realized that this is really a well-written piece of work and that it was very reflective. I think that the Obama who wrote that book is a lot more reflective than the politician today.

Q: How has your book been received by the mainstream liberal media?

A: The first review that I received was from Politico (politico.com), who called my book a “serious” and “fact-based” account of Sen. Obama’s political career. Generally speaking, the mainstream media have ignored me -- although they have had to at least acknowledge that my book contains facts in it and isn’t a compilation of viral Internet smears (laughs). The Obama campaign has tried, without actually mentioning my book, to say it is cut from the same cloth as some of the other things out there, which I think is unfair. I wish they would mention me more often and do it by name, because I really want people to learn about Sen. Obama. I’m telling everyone who will listen about Sen. Obama everywhere I go. I really hope my book can start a national conversation that is not limited to people who already are going to vote against Sen. Obama.

Q: What’s the most important thing about Sen. Obama that you have learned that every voter should know by November?

A: Just because I’d like to see this fact in print, because I am surprised how many people don’t know it, I am willing to offer this as an answer: I want people to know that Sen. Obama won his first election by throwing all of his opponents off the ballot. It’s a story I cover in my first chapter, and it’s something that Sen. Obama is so embarrassed about that he wrote a completely fictitious account of his first election in 1996 in his (2006) book “The Audacity of Hope.”

Q: Do you think Sen. Obama will lose or win and what do you suspect will ultimately do him in if he loses?

A: I don’t know what the results are going to be, and it’s really too early to make predictions. But Sen. Obama has shown in the primaries a tendency to fade near the end of an election. As I explored his earlier elections, you don’t find any that were competitive. From his 1996 election, his 1998 election, the race he lost in 2000 and then the one he won in 2004, each either had special circumstances that helped him win or they were uncompetitive – he knew he was going to win or in the case of the congressional one, he knew he was going to lose. Running his first serious competitive campaign, Sen. Obama faded at the end and let Hillary Clinton win all of the big primaries. He also seems, perhaps, in this election – the general (presidential) election -- to have peaked early and is fading.

I will be very interested to see what kind of bounce he gets from the convention. If he’s not way ahead after this thing, I really think he is a goner right off the bat; he is underperforming his party in all the polls -- this is a Democrat year and Obama is not winning. And people are starting to talk about his real record – for the first time, maybe. The more we hear about that -- the more human he becomes, the less messianic -- the more people are going to demand that he show them that there is anything sincere about what he says – which I think he’ll have a very hard time doing.

Why Obama will lose

Why Obama will lose

David Deming
The Edmond Sun

EDMOND — When Benjamin Franklin was dispatched to France as ambassador
of the United States in 1776, he won the hearts of the French through
his authenticity. Rather than take on an affected and phony continental
style, Franklin eschewed the powdered wig of the European gentleman and
donned the fur cap of an American frontiersman. Original genius and
polymath, Franklin understood that the French would see through any
false pretension but respect an authenticity that sprang from an
unpretentious and naive love of country.

What a contrast there is between Franklin and Barack Obama. Obama is a
Harvard lawyer who is a mile wide and an inch deep. He is only the
latest in a long line of shallow elites that consider it stylish and
intellectual to despise their own culture and heritage.

Nothing exemplifies Obama’s antipathy for American culture better than
his statement that Americans “cling to” religion and guns out of
frustration or bitterness. We only can suppose that Obama regards
religion or firearms as aberrations that need to be eradicated.

Of course, both guns and religion are essential aspects of American
culture. The United States was founded by people seeking religious
freedom. Does the word “Pilgrim” ring a bell with anyone? Our freedom20
and the right to self-government were won by farmers with guns.

The American Revolution started when the British marched to Concord
with the intention of confiscating colonial arms. Both the right to
“keep and bear arms,” and the right to “free exercise” of religion are
enshrined in the Bill of Rights. We have come a long way when the
presidential nominee of a major political party regards the exercise of
fundamental rights as a mental aberration.

When Obama refers to “my Muslim faith,” the verbal gaffe resonates as a
Freudian slip because of Obama’s thinly veiled hatred for this
country’s unique culture and institutions. Obama sat for 20 years in a
church where the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr preached “goddamn America.” He
only resigned from the congregation when it became politically
expedient to do so. When earlier this year, Michelle Obama said “for
the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country,” can we
conclude that her husband disagrees? Is it not remarkable that Michelle
Obama can be so small-minded as to find nothing in the history of the
United States that merits her admiration but the personal success of
her husband?

What is Barack Obama for? His campaign motto is “change.” But even a
6-year-old child understands that “change” can be either good or bad.
Lacking specifics, the invocation of
change” as policy is completely
empty. As we witness Obama’s minions mindlessly endorse the meaningless
maxim of “change,” it only can call to mind the barnyard animals in
George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” chanting “four legs good, two legs bad!”

The choice of Sarah Palin as John McCain’s running mate has been
devastating for the Obama campaign precisely because she is everything
Obama is not. Palin is not ashamed of her culture or country. She is
not embarrassed by being an American, but naively embraces her
birthright. Unassisted by affirmative action, Palin has risen to
national prominence on the basis of her character, intelligence and
natural gifts. In a word, she has guts. This is a woman who is proud of
her country, not because it has granted her personal success, but
because she respects what America stands for: freedom, opportunity, and
individualism.

Obama is a vapid demagogue, a hollow man that despises American
culture. He is ill-suited to be president of the United States. As the
weeks pass, more Americans will come to this realization and elect
McCain/Palin in a landslide.

DAVID DEMING is an associate professor of Arts and Sciences at the
University of Oklahoma, but his opinions do not necessarily represent
those of the university.

Fannie and Freddie Bribe list--guess who's #3 on the List?

Top Recipients of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
Campaign Contributions, 1989-2008

John McCain's name doesn't seem to be on the list but the Obama-siah in 143 days collected more than six figures from Fannie and Freddie--they paid the corrupt bastard Obama approximately $750 EVERY DAY HE WAS IN THE SENATE!!!

Name Office Party/State Total $Amount of bribe--er, contribution

1. Dodd, Christopher J S D-CT $133,900

2. Kerry, John S D-MA $111,000

3. Obama, Barack S D-IL $105,849

4. Clinton, Hillary S D-NY $75,550

5. Kanjorski, Paul E H D-PA $65,500

6. Bennett, Robert F S R-UT $61,499

7. Johnson, Tim S D-SD $61,000

8. Conrad, Kent S D-ND $58,991

9. Davis, Tom H R-VA $55,499

10. Bond, Christopher S 'Kit' S R-MO $55,400

11. Bachus, Spencer H R-AL $55,300

12. Shelby, Richard C S R-AL $55,000

13. Emanuel, Rahm H D-IL $51,750

14. Reed, Jack S D-RI $50,750

15. Carper, Tom S D-DE $44,389

16. Frank, Barney H D-MA $40,100

17. Maloney, Carolyn B H D-NY $38,750

18. Bean, Melissa H D-IL $37,249

19. Blunt, Roy H R-MO $36,500

20. Pryce, Deborah H R-OH $34,750

21. Miller, Gary H R-CA $33,000

22. Pelosi, Nancy H D-CA $32,750

23. Reynolds, Tom H R-NY $32,700

24. Hoyer, Steny H H D-MD $30,500

25. Hooley, Darlene H D-OR $28,750

Obama's Health Care Claim Debunked

Obama's Health Care Claim Debunked
By Mark Impomeni
Sep 23rd 2008 10:00PM
Filed Under:


For the third consecutive day, the Obama campaign has been called out for distorting Sen. John McCain's position on an issue for political gain. Earlier this week, Factcheck.org called Sen. Obama's claim that McCain's support for private accounts within Social Security would have cost current retirees their savings, "untrue." McClatchy newspapers called Sen. Obama's attempt to tie McCain's historic support for deregulation to the financial turmoil on Wall Street, "wrong." Now, Factcheck.org returns to call Sen. Obama's most recent campaign advertisement on the Wall Street situation, "misleading."

The ad, titled, "Article," takes a partial quote from a piece Sen. McCain wrote for the current issue of Contentions magazine, and according to Factcheck.org, "twists" McCain's words out of context. The ad mentions one phrase from the article and applies it to the health care issue, attempting to tie McCain's health care policy to the financial turmoil on Wall Street. "We've seen what Bush-McCain policies have done to our economy. Now John McCain wants to do the same to our health care. McCain just published an article praising Wall Street deregulation. Said he'd reduce oversight of the health insurance industry, too. Just 'as we have done over the last decade in banking.'"

Factcheck points out that the full quotation from McCain's piece makes it clear that he was speaking about letting consumers purchase health insurance across state lines, a move that would certainly open up competition in the market, with the likely result of lowering costs.

"I would also allow individuals to choose to purchase health insurance across state lines, when they can find more affordable and attractive products elsewhere that they prefer. Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation. Consumer-friendly insurance policies will be more available and affordable when there is greater competition among insurers on a level playing field. You should be able to buy your insurance from any willing provider-the state bureaucracies are no better than national ones. Nationwide insurance markets that ensure broad and vigorous competition will wring out excess costs, overhead, and bloated executive compensation."
The McCain campaign responded to the Obama ad by noting that the banking deregulation that McCain was referring to in the article was a 1995 law that allowed customers to use ATMs nationwide and had nothing to to with the current market troubles. "If Barack Obama thinks that today's financial troubles were caused by policies which allowed Americans to use an ATM anywhere in this country, then it is better that he continue to be silent about solutions to the crisis on Wall Street."

All the negativity from the Obama campaign in recent days has taken Sen. Obama badly off message. It is a sign of nervousness that the Obama campaign is focusing so much of its energy on attacks, and so little on issues that Sen. Obama wants voters to associate with him. After complaining for most of the summer that McCain's advertisements were misleading, distorting, or outright lies, the Obama campaign has become what it despised. In the process it has shown itself to be a political campaign just like so many others before it, not a vehicle for changing politics.

VOTE DEMOCRATIC IN 2008? NEVER!

Going through a list of reading material on the presidential race, I came across this very interesting article written by Lynette Long, respected writer and up to now a lifelong Democrat. In her article "Principle Over Policy" Ms. Long sets forth 14 reasons she will be voting Republican in this election. "What I care more about," Ms. Long writes, "is 'Who is Barack Obama?' and 'What has the Democratic Party become?'
Point by point she states a position which expresses what many like her are thinking. It's a conclusion that a significant number of Democrats, as well as many who were formerly independents like myself, have reached. ". . . inexperienced," "questionable" character, not who "he says he is," and "will use any means necessary to win" pretty well sum up the reasons I would not vote for Senator Obama (in addition to my disagreement with the extreme liberal platform positions of the Democratic Party of 2008.)
Here are Ms. Long's 14 reasons for not voting for the Democrat's candidate, Barack Obama.

The Chairperson of the Democratic National Committee has never been a woman. How can I support a party that is primarily composed on women but run by men?

Obama sat for 20 years inside Trinity United Church of Christ which exposes Black Liberation Theology and listened to Rev. Wright his mentor trash America and white Americans. How can I support a candidate that goes to a church that preaches hatred in any form?

Obama casts himself as a candidate of change but he is an old Chicago-style politician. He won his first State Senate race by eliminating all other candidates on technicalities and his U.S. Senate race by opening the sealed divorce file of his opponent and forcing his opponent to withdraw. How can I vote for a candidate who is not who is says he is?

The Democratic Party was silent to the rampant sexism that occurred during the primary process. How can I support a party that did not acknowledge the rampant sexism in the campaign and consequently ignored me as a woman?

Obama did not stand up for Senator Clinton when Rev. Wright and Father Pflaeger trashed her from the pulpit of Trinity United Church of Christ. When Ludacris called Hillary an irrelevant bitch, Obama was mute. How can I support a nominee, without the courage to stand up against blatant racism and sexism?

Nancy Pelosi, in conjunction with other Democratic leaders, paid off superdelegates to get them to vote for Obama. How can I support a party that pre-selected its nominee?

Obama only lost one out of fourteen caucuses. Obama lost twenty-one out of thirty-eight primaries. This discrepancy is due to voter fraud, voter intimidation, busing, and voter suppression in the caucuses. How can I support an illegal nominee, a nominee who will use any means necessary to win?

Democratic insiders knew about the caucus fraud and voter fraud during the primary process. How can I support a party that turned a blind eye to the blatant irregularities during the primary process?

Obama is inexperienced. He has served less than one term in the United States Senate of which he has spent most the time campaigning. How can I support a candidate that does not have the experience to lead this country?

Obama has numerous questionable associations. There is an old expression, “By his friends, shall ye know him.” How can I vote for someone I don’t trust?

Obama ignored the will of 18 million voters did not choose Hillary Rodham Clinton as his running mate. How can I support a nominee who brushed aside the will of 18 million voters?

The Democratic Party which is composed of 60% women has not put a woman on the Democratic Ticket for 24 years. How can I support a party that takes the votes of the women of the party for granted?

Barack Obama had a sham of a roll call at the Democratic National Convention in Denver and strong armed delegates to cast their votes for him. Clinton Delegates, were shouted down, threatened with their jobs, and replaced. How can I support a nominee who does not support democracy?

How can I vote for a candidate I don’t trust, whose character is questionable, who I believe obtained the nomination illegally, who ignored the blatant sexism leveled a Senator Clinton and Governor Palin, and is too inexperienced to do the job? I can’t.

RETURN TO THE PARTY IN 2012? NOT SURE!

By Marc Fisher
Sunday, September 21, 2008; Page C01
Lynette Long's friends can barely sputter their objections. "How could you?" they say. "What about the environment? What about gay rights? What about Roe v. Wade?"
Long's son calls, flabbergasted. And her patients in affluent, liberal Bethesda? They can hardly fathom it.
Lynette Long -- psychologist, feminist, Democrat, Dupont Circle dweller, Whole Foods shopper, George Bush hater, Hillary Clinton supporter (to the max) -- is not just voting for John McCain and Sarah Palin, she even took the stage at their rally in Fairfax to trumpet her decision to the world.
Long got the call from the McCain campaign at 10 the night before the rally this month. With a twinkle in her eye, the struggle for women in her heart and a bit of mischief in her mind, she agreed to be a warm-up speaker for the Republican ticket.
She had never been to a candidate's rally before. She had voted for the Democrat for president in every election except for the elder George Bush's first time, against Michael Dukakis in 1988. Sure, she had demonstrated against the Vietnam War, but she basically wasn't the political type. That is, until Hillary Clinton came along.
All of a sudden, Long saw hope. As she told her son: "How would you feel if every day all the people you saw in authority were men, all the statues in Washington are all men, the money in your pocket, all pictures of men -- and then finally, a woman comes along and she could be president? How would you feel? I would vote for her."
Long didn't just vote for Clinton in the D.C. primary. She blogged for her, campaigned for her, even wrote op-ed columns about her. But as Clinton's campaign faltered, Long felt wronged. She blogged about purported irregularities in caucus voting, accused Barack Obama and his supporters of taking women for granted, put all her hope in the Democrats picking a woman for vice president.
After Clinton's campaign ended, Long was among a group of local supporters who called McCain headquarters, asking, "What can you do for us?" To Long's shock, they were invited to a meeting -- with McCain himself.
"We told him we wanted gender parity, on the Supreme Court and in the Cabinet, and he listened," she says. "His eyes opened." At meeting's end, a senior staffer asked Long if she would endorse their man publicly.
"No way," Long said. "I'm a Hillary supporter."
Then, lo and behold, Sarah Palin happened.
By coincidence, Long was on an Alaskan cruise that week. "Everybody there loved" Palin, Long says. "I could see people glowing with pride."
The next time the McCain campaign called, Long was ready. She had 10 hours to write a speech, sleep and get herself to Fairfax City.
"What do you want me to say?" she asked the organizer. "Do you want to see my speech?"
Whatever you want to say, she was told. And no, we don't need to see it.
"I was shocked," Long says. "I wouldn't let someone go up and speak without seeing the speech. But they did, and that told me something about the man."
Long agrees that Palin is not exactly, um, worldly, and that she lacks a certain base of knowledge. ("But I know character and instincts, and she is real.") And yes, Long vehemently disagrees with the Republicans' social conservatism.
But other factors trump those issues, she says, naming Obama's inexperience, Clinton's treatment by her party and the media, and the Democrats' failure to choose a female running mate.
The issue that has most of Long's friends recoiling in abject horror from her decision is abortion. Long calls herself unwaveringly "pro-choice." But, she says, "as long as we let that determine our votes, we are hostages to the Democrats. If someone really tried to turn around choice, there'd be a revolution in this country. And I'm not going to let a future possibility nullify my vote. Women have sacrificed our power as the largest voting bloc in the nation because of one issue, abortion."
Now hold on: Long disagrees with McCain on many issues and concedes Palin's limitations. Then, when her e-mail lights up with unfounded rumors that Obama might dump Joe Biden and switch to Hillary Clinton, she nearly explodes with excitement. Is she really pro-McCain, or is she just being provocative?
Long is the kind of person who is drawn to a fire, she grants that. She says she wore her Palin button to the Whole Foods on 14th Street NW just to see if she'd get a rise out of the assembled crunchies. No one would even look her in the eye, she reports.
She seems downright gleeful as she describes her fellow liberals' faces draining of blood when she sings Palin's praises. But when I suggest that the McCain camp is using her even as she uses it to teach fellow Democrats a lesson about taking women for granted, she says: "No, that's too crass. You have to break down a house to rebuild it, but Palin is likable, popular and has integrity. She's a person who will listen. Is she smart enough to do the job? Hey, Reagan was no brain surgeon, but people would follow him. It's about leadership. Sarah has made mistakes, but out of naivete, not out of corruption."
Every couple of minutes, Long -- looking like the unPalin in black T-shirt, cargo pants and canvas sneakers -- reflexively checks her e-mail, revealing a new list of fire-spewing rants accusing her of betrayal, sexism and worse. She loves it.
I posit that her newfound activism is really more about sticking it to Democratic men than about any real belief that McCain might promote the interests of women or that Palin would be a good president should she ascend to that role. Long protests that she really would be happy with a President Palin, a woman who understands the majority of Americans as no man could.
And then she says this: "I just don't understand how the Democrats couldn't see that women wanted a woman. I'm not getting back in bed with someone who's just abused me. Yeah, it's payback time."

E-mail:marcfisher@washpost.com

There's NO housing crisis for RESPONSIBLE buyers!

We're living in the house we bought last year that apparently has fallen in value--oddly enough the assessment for my taxes values the house at 15K MORE than we paid for it. Of course we are in Illinois where the taxes are ridiculous due to the corrupt government here. The house hasn't changed and we don't plan to move, so no matter what the market says, the home is worth what we paid for it to us. If it should happen to appreciate, then great but if not, it's still a large and comfortable home that we enjoy living in. Taxing authorities are also to blame in this housing mess because they continued to jack up the values of people's homes in order to get more taxes out of us. Banks believed the valuations placed on these homes and loaned money based on the inflated values the government placed on them. If you are living in your home and making the payment, then there is no housing crisis. If you borrowed against your home and used it like a bank account because you thought you could sell it and pay for all your extravagances before the loans came due then too bad. The people that are in trouble are the ones who bought homes they couldn't afford with an adjustable rate mortgage. Those of us with fixed rates who can afford our payments are just fine and the fluctuations in value in our homes mean no more to us than the ups and downs in our 401(k) plans because the house is a long-term investment and tax write-off. We weren't looking to buy a house and flip it for a profit in 2-3 years before our payments went up to a level we couldn't afford. Those who did are losing their homes because they used them as a speculative investment--something one should never do. The key rule of home ownership is to buy one you can afford and never borrow against it for anything! I feel bad for people who are being tossed out of their homes, but they have no one to blame but themselves. People who are looking to buy a home are now biding their time to get the best possible price and the longer they wait, the better it will be until the prices fall to the point where people start buying them again. The home value run-up was caused by people using their home's equity to borrow money for boats and cars and vacations they couldn't afford. Banks wanted to make the loans because a secured loan is a good thing in their view--much better than unsecured debt on a credit card. I never understood why people would take out a home equity loan to pay credit card debt because they exchanged unsecured debt for debt that could cost them their homes! If you can't pay your credit card bills, then they make some nasty phone calls and your credit rating suffers but you still have a roof over your head, but when you can't pay the home equity loan or the second/third mortgage, then they come and take your HOME! People are unbelievably stupid to have fallen into this trap regardless of how attractive the predatory lenders made it look. The government should NOT be bailing out these people--let them go down the tubes. They have only themselves to blame, but the good thing about America is that if they work hard and pay their bills, they will get another chance somewhere down the road and hopefully will have learned from this experience!

It's his QUALIFICATIONS Stupid!!

If Colin Powell were running, race would never come up--because he's qualified to be POTUS. If Obama wasn't so inexperienced and liberal I'd vote for him. However I cannot put the future of my country in the hands of a liberal racist with 143 days of experience--a liberal racist with no record of ever accomplishing anything. the Obama-messiah is the only Harvard Law Review editor who never published anything! He has been in the position to do many things but has never done any of them. Born out of wedlock, affirmative-action educated--it took him years after his college graduation to get into Harvard. He lets his brother live in abject poverty in Kenya, goes to the most racist church in America and then expects us to believe that for 20 years he "wasn't listening". His ties with Tony Rezko and other political payoffs--like the Freddie and Fannie scandal tell me he's as dirty as everyone else in Chicago politics--yet the only reason I wouldn't vote for him is because he's half black? PUH-LEEEEZZZEE. If Colin Powell were running, I would vote for him in a heartbeat. If Condoleeza Rice were running I would vote for HER in a heartbeat because they are QUALIFIED for the job. Obama is NOT QUALIFIED to be POTUS--you cannot vote "present" in the White House!!

A preacher's view of Obama and more

This is possibly one of the most enjoyable videos I've every seen LOL

http://www.atlah.org/broadcast/ndnr09-03-08.html

Here's another interesting thing:
What do the top ten cities with the highest poverty rate all have in common?

Detroit, MI (1st on the poverty rate list) hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1961;
Buffalo , NY (2nd) hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1954;

Cincinnati, OH (3rd)...shasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1984;

Cleveland, OH (4th)...hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1989;

Miami, FL (5th) has never had a Republican mayor;

St. Louis, MO (6th)....hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1949;

El Paso, TX (7th) has never had a Republican mayor;

Milwaukee, WI (8th)...hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1908;

Philadelphia, PA (9th)...hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1952;

Newark, NJ(10th)...hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1907.

Einstein once said, 'The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.'

It is the disadvantaged who habitually elect Democrats --- yet are still disadvantaged.

Opinion: The Disadvantaged remain disadvantaged because they are looking for a Liberal Democratic Government to give them something, when all they have to do is work for it. (How can a person be 5th Generation Disadvantaged in this Country?)

How the Democrats Created the Financial Crisis: Kevin Hassett

How the Democrats Created the Financial Crisis: Kevin Hassett

Commentary by Kevin Hassett

Sept. 22 (Bloomberg) -- The financial crisis of the past year has provided a number of surprising twists and turns, and from Bear Stearns Cos. to American International Group Inc., ambiguity has been a big part of the story.

Why did Bear Stearns fail, and how does that relate to AIG? It all seems so complex.

But really, it isn't. Enough cards on this table have been turned over that the story is now clear. The economic history books will describe this episode in simple and understandable terms: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac exploded, and many bystanders were injured in the blast, some fatally.

Fannie and Freddie did this by becoming a key enabler of the mortgage crisis. They fueled Wall Street's efforts to securitize subprime loans by becoming the primary customer of all AAA-rated subprime-mortgage pools. In addition, they held an enormous portfolio of mortgages themselves.

In the times that Fannie and Freddie couldn't make the market, they became the market. Over the years, it added up to an enormous obligation. As of last June, Fannie alone owned or guaranteed more than $388 billion in high-risk mortgage investments. Their large presence created an environment within which even mortgage-backed securities assembled by others could find a ready home.

The problem was that the trillions of dollars in play were only low-risk investments if real estate prices continued to rise. Once they began to fall, the entire house of cards came down with them.

Turning Point

Take away Fannie and Freddie, or regulate them more wisely, and it's hard to imagine how these highly liquid markets would ever have emerged. This whole mess would never have happened.

It is easy to identify the historical turning point that marked the beginning of the end.

Back in 2005, Fannie and Freddie were, after years of dominating Washington, on the ropes. They were enmeshed in accounting scandals that led to turnover at the top. At one telling moment in late 2004, captured in an article by my American Enterprise Institute colleague Peter Wallison, the Securities and Exchange Comiission's chief accountant told disgraced Fannie Mae chief Franklin Raines that Fannie's position on the relevant accounting issue was not even ``on the page'' of allowable interpretations.

Then legislative momentum emerged for an attempt to create a ``world-class regulator'' that would oversee the pair more like banks, imposing strict requirements on their ability to take excessive risks. Politicians who previously had associated themselves proudly with the two accounting miscreants were less eager to be associated with them. The time was ripe.

Greenspan's Warning

The clear gravity of the situation pushed the legislation forward. Some might say the current mess couldn't be foreseen, yet in 2005 Alan Greenspan told Congress how urgent it was for it to act in the clearest possible terms: If Fannie and Freddie ``continue to grow, continue to have the low capital that they have, continue to engage in the dynamic hedging of their portfolios, which they need to do for interest rate risk aversion, they potentially create ever-growing potential systemic risk down the road,'' he said. ``We are placing the total financial system of the future at a substantial risk.''

What happened next was extraordinary. For the first time in history, a serious Fannie and Freddie reform bill was passed by the Senate Banking Committee. The bill gave a regulator power to crack down, and would have required the companies to eliminate their investments in risky assets.

Different World

If that bill had become law, then the world today would be different. In 2005, 2006 and 2007, a blizzard of terrible mortgage paper fluttered out of the Fannie and Freddie clouds, burying many of our oldest and most venerable institutions. Without their checkbooks keeping the market liquid and buying up excess supply, the market would likely have not existed.

But the bill didn't become law, for a simple reason: Democrats opposed it on a party-line vote in the committee, signaling that this would be a partisan issue. Republicans, tied in knots by the tight Democratic opposition, couldn't even get the Senate to vote on the matter.

That such a reckless political stand could have been taken by the Democrats was obscene even then. Wallison wrote at the time: ``It is a classic case of socializing the risk while privatizing the profit. The Democrats and the few Republicans who oppose portfolio limitations could not possibly do so if their constituents understood what they were doing.''

Mounds of Materials

Now that the collapse has occurred, the roadblock built by Senate Democrats in 2005 is unforgivable. Many who opposed the bill doubtlessly did so for honorable reasons. Fannie and Freddie provided mounds of materials defending their practices. Perhaps some found their propaganda convincing.

But we now know that many of the senators who protected Fannie and Freddie, including Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Christopher Dodd, have received mind-boggling levels of financial support from them over the years.

Throughout his political career, Obama has gotten more than $125,000 in campaign contributions from employees and political action committees of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, second only to Dodd, the Senate Banking Committee chairman, who received more than $165,000.

Clinton, the 12th-ranked recipient of Fannie and Freddie PAC and employee contributions, has received more than $75,000 from the two enterprises and their employees. The private profit found its way back to the senators who killed the fix.

There has been a lot of talk about who is to blame for this crisis. A look back at the story of 2005 makes the answer pretty clear.

Oh, and there is one little footnote to the story that's worth keeping in mind while Democrats point fingers between now and Nov. 4: Senator John McCain was one of the three cosponsors of S.190, the bill that would have averted this mess.

(Kevin Hassett, director of economic-policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, is a Bloomberg News columnist. He is an adviser to Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona in the 2008 presidential election. The opinions expressed are his own.)

How the other half lives

Here's a link for those of you would like to see how your presidential candidates live: http://www.walletpop.com/specials/lifestyles-of-2008-presidential-candidates?icid=100214839x1210156249x1200593650
Just copy and paste it into your browser. I'd like you take special notice of the two million dollar home occupied by Barack and Michelle Obama. This is the house they bought with the assistance of the convicted felon Tony Rezko, in the famous sweetheart deal the media ignores. He also drives a Chrysler 300 the supreme gas hog. Just more evidence of what a total hypocrite Obama is as he toes the democratic party line which is: "Do as I say not as I do".

Dolphins CRUSH Patriots in Foxboro!!

My beloved hapless Miami Dolphins had a great day today! After maintaining their status as the only team to EVER go unbeaten through the regular season AND win the Super Bowl, they had the pleasure of defeating the New England Patriots 38-13 IN FOXBORO in a game I can only describe as an ass-kicking! It was a joy to watch them pummel the Patriots who were playing without their future Hall of Fame QB Tom Brady. Apparently Brady is their entire team in Foxboro because the Dolphins literally destroyed the Patriots scoring 4 unanswered touchdowns and moving the ball at will. After last season, the only reason I didn't burn all my Dolphin jerseys and melt down my Dolphin jewelry was because the only game they won was on my birthday. Ricky Williams looked as sharp as ever and Ronnie Brown scored all five of the Dolphin touchdowns. It was exceptionally satisfying to see the smug looks on the faces of the Patriot fans turn from amazement to disgust at the sorry performance of their team. If I were Tom Brady's agent, I'd play the tape of this game at the next contract negotiations for my client! It's a good day to be a Dol-fan!

A few suggestions for the common good--a guest editorial

Here are a few suggestions for blacks:

1) 75% of black babies are born out of wedlock. Stop your teenage girls from breeding future generation of criminals. There is nothing cute in this. White people like me end up paying for welfare, WIC, health care, education, etc. Your irresponsible breeding is a drain on our economy. A thank you card for supporting your ghetto ass would be appropriate.

2) Stop believing in this bullshit gangsta lifestyle. If you commit crimes and fuck with the police, then there is a good chance you will end up dead or in prison. You get what you deserve if you choose to act like this.

3) Stop trashing the city. You people seem to enjoy dropping your garbage anywhere. No wonder Downtown looks the way it does. Try improving your surroundings instead of trashing them. It will do wonders for your property values.

4) Stop being so damned loud. That is how an infant behaves to get attention. It is not cute for adults. Turn down that trashy shit you blare from your car stereos. We all can hear it and realize you are an asshole.

5) Black men should act like MEN and marry a black girl. Go take care of those numerous unwed mothers and try to be a father to your children. You really do not need to chase after every skanky overweight white bitch.

So there you go. You people have a lot of work to do in order to be productive citizens. Time to grow up and take responsibility for your situation.

“Black on black crime, drug and alcohol abuse and a stubborn proclivity towards embracing the most ignorant and juvenile, criminal and self-defeating culture and mentality, has done more to hurt Blacks than anything ole Whitey ever did…” -- Mr. Bill Cosby

Obama Loses Due to "Flake Factor"!

I don't know who wrote this, but s/he was dead-on balls accurate with this essay!

It's time to throw my hat in the ring as regards predicting the election results. So here it is: Barack Obama will be defeated. Seriously and convincingly defeated. Not due to racism, not due to the forces of reaction, not even due to Karl Rove sending out mind rays over the national cable system. He will lose for one reason above all, one that has been overlooked in any analysis that I've yet seen. Barack Obama will lose because he is a flake. I'm using the term in its generally accepted sense. A flake is not only a screwup, but someone who truly excels in making bizarre errors and creating incredibly convoluted disasters. A flake is a 'fool with energy', as the Russian proverb puts it. ('A fool is a terrible thing to have around, but a fool with energy is a nightmare'.)

Barack Obama is a flake, and the American people have begun to see it. The chief characteristic of a flake is that he makes choices that are impossible to either understand or explain. These are not the errors of the poor dope who can't grasp the essentials of a situation, or the neurotic who ruins things out of compulsion, or the man suffering chronic bad luck.

The flake has a genius for discovering solutions at perfect right angles to the ordinary world. It's as if he's the product of a totally different evolutionary chain, in a universe where the laws are slightly but distinctly at variance to ours. When given a choice between left and right, the flake goes up - - if not through the 8th dimension. And although there's plenty of rationalization, there's never a logical reason for any of it. After awhile, people stop asking.

Obama's rise has been widely portrayed as a kind of millennial Horatio Alger story -- young lad from a new state on the outskirts of the American polity, a member of once-despised minority, works his way by slow degrees to within arm's length of the presidency itself. That's all well and good -- we need national myths of exactly that type.

But what has been overlooked is the string of faux pas marking each step of Obama's journey, a series of strange, inexplicable actions, actions bizarre enough to require some effort at explanation, through such efforts have rarely been offered. It's as if the new Horatio made it to the top by stepping into every last manhole and open trapdoor in his path. And we, the onlookers, the voters who are being asked to put this man in the White House, are supposed to take this as the normal career path for a successful chief executive.

What are these incidents? I'm sure many of you are way ahead of me, but let's go to the videotape.

Here's a young man who graduated from Columbia with high marks, with a choice of positions anywhere in the country. He comes from a state generally held to be a close match to Paradise. One, furthermore, that can be characterized as the most successful multiracial society in the world, with harmonious relations not only between whites and blacks, but also Japanese-Americans and native Hawaiians as well. To top it off, a state controlled in large part by a smoothly-functioning Democratic machine. So where does he choose to go?

To Chicago. One of the windiest, coldest, most brutal cities in the country. One that is also infinitely corrupt in a sense that Hawaii is not. One that remains one of the most racist large cities in the U.S. (Cicero, Al Capone's old stomping grounds, a suburb that is effectively part of the city, is completely segregated to this day.) It would be nice to learn which of these aspects most attracted young Obama to the city. But if you'd asked at the beginning of the campaign, you'd still be waiting.

And what does he do when he reaches the city? Why, he joins a cult. Jeremiah Wright's Trinity United Church has been turned inside out since the videotaped sermons appeared early this year, without anyone ever quite explaining exactly what Obama was thinking of when he joined up in the first place. Street cred, so it's claimed. But there are a plethora of black churches that would have provided him that without the taint of demented racism that Wright's church offered.

Obama apparently had to swear an oath of belief in 'black liberation theology' when he joined the church. (It is the little touches of that sort that make it a 'cult', and not simply a 'church'.) Did the thought of his career ever cross his mind? Didn't he realize that church would inevitably cause him trouble somewhere down the line? That he'd be required to repudiate it and its ideas eventually? We can ask -- but we won't get an answer.

Back at school, Obama got himself named editor of the Harvard Law Review. This is a signal achievement, no question about it. The kind of thing that would be mentioned about a person for the rest of his life, as has been the case with Obama. But then... he writes nothing for the journal.

Now, let's get this straight: here we have one of the leading university law journals in the country, one widely cited and read. Entire careers in legal analysis and scholarship have been founded on appearances in the Review, including some that have led to the highest courts in the country. Yet here's an individual who, as editor, could easily place his own work in the journal -- standard practice, nothing at all wrong with it. But he fails to do so. And the explanation? There's none that I've heard. We can go even farther than that, to say that there is no explanation that makes the least rational sense.

We follow Obama down to Springfield, where as a state legislator, he vote d 'present' over 120 times. What this means, as far as I've been able to discover, is that he voted 'present' nearly as much as he voted 'yes' or 'no'.

Now, statehouses work very simply: a member approaches his colleagues and asks them to vote for his bill. Some comply, some do not. Some ask, 'Is it a good bill?' and some don't. Either way, they customarily, except in unusual circumstances, vote 'yes' or 'no'. All except for Barack Obama. And how did get away with it? How did mollify his colleagues? How did he square himself with the party bosses? Echo answereth not.

(A good slogan could be made of this: 'You can't vote present in the Oval Office.' I hereby commend it to the McCain campaign.)

We turn eagerly to learn what his term in the U.S. Senate will reveal, only to be disappointed. But it's not surprising, really. After all, he was only there for 143 days.

And there lies one of the keys to Obama's rise. David Brooks pointed out in a recent New York Times column that Obama spent too little time in any of his positions to make an impact one way or another. This is what saved him from the normal fate of the flake: he was never around long enough for his errors and strange behavior to catch up with him.

But a presidential campaign is a different matter. A man running for president is under the microscope, and can't duck anything, as many a candidate has had reason to learn. If Obama is a flake in the classic mode, now is when it would come out. And has it?

The case could be made. Here we have a campaign with everything going for it -- the opposition party in a shambles, a seriously undervalued president, the media in the candidate's pocket, the candidate himself being worshiped as nothing less than the new messiah. And yet the results have comprised little more than one fumble after another.

First came the Wright affair. Obama apparently thought he was above it all -- a not-uncommon phenomenon with flakes -- and allowed the revelations to take on a life of their own before bothering to respond. Even then, his thoughtful and convincing explanation (that he hadn't been listening for twenty years) did little to settle the crisis, which instead guttered out on its own after nearly crippling his campaign. Even months afterward it threatens to pop back up at any time. The latest word is that Wright -- now a deadly enemy of his onetime protégé -- has written a book. I can't wait.

Obama learned his lesson, and confronted the next threat immediately, tackling The New Yorker cover with the avidity of a man having discovered zombies in the basement. A development that could have been defused with a chuckle and a quip (the customary method is for the politician to ask the cartoonist for the original) was allowed to explode into a major issue. The campaign's relentless attacks on one of the oldest liberal magazines extant merely perplexed the country at large. After all, any Republican has had to endure far worse.

Almost simultaneously, the birth certificate saga was unfolding. On no reasonable grounds, the campaign blew off requests for a copy of the document, at last releasing it through one of the least reputable sites on the Internet, and so badly copied that literally anything could be read into it -- and was. I'm not one of those who believes that Obama was actually born in Indonesia/Kenya/Moscow/the moon, but I still have plenty in the way of questions, almost all of them arising from how the matter was handled. Well played.

The latest pothole (or one of them, anyway) involves Jerome Corsi's 'The Obama Nation'. Corsi has been given the full New Yorker treatment, with the campaign hoping to avoid John Kerry's 'error' in not challenging Corsi's 2004 book, Unfit for Command. What Obama missed was the fact that Kerry's major problem was not with Corsi but with the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, who were disgusted with Kerry's hypocrisy in running as an experienced military veteran, and set out to take him down. Corsi's effort dovetailed with the veteran's campaign and to a large extent was swept up with it. No such campaign is in operation against Obama. The smart method of answering Corsi would have been to allow the media to handle it, instead of drawing attention to the book and raising it to level of an issue. This appears to be a real talent for the Obama campaign.

We could go on. The victory tour of Europe, and the speech in which Obama declared himself 'citizen of the world', a trope guaranteed to focus the attention of Middle America. His inept handling of Hillary, in which he wound up appearing frightened of the opponent he'd just beaten. Allowing Hillary (and her husband there, what's-his-name) a starring role in the Democratic convention is not a solution any sane individual would be comfortable with -- much less a roll-call vote. This threatens the near-certainty of turning the entire affair into BillandHillarycon, with the nominee winding up as a footnote. But it's all of a piece with the campaign Obama has waged up until now.

We've never had a flake as president. We've had drunks, neurotics, cripples, louts, and fools, but never a career screwup. (I except Jimmy Carter, whose errors arose from sincere, misguided goodwill.) And I don't think we're going to get one now. Another three months of flailing, incompetence, and a collapsing image will do little to assure voters concerned with terrorism, the oil crunch, a gyrating economy, and a bellicos e Russia. (Anyone doubting that Obama will go exactly this route can consider the Saddleback church fiasco, which unfolded as this piece was being wrapped up. Evidently, the campaign goaded NBC news personality Andrea Mitchell into all but accusing John McCain of 'cheating' by failing to take his place within the 'cone of silence' during Obama's part of the program. The grotesque element here is that Obama's people and much of the liberal commentariat -- including Mitchell -- apparently believe that the 'cone of silence', a gag prop for the old Get Smart! comedy series, actually exists and was in use at Saddleback.)

Many of us have dealt with flakes at one time or another, often in settings involving jobs and careers, and not uncommonly in positions of some authority. We all know of the nephew, the fiancé, the boyfriend, whose whims must be catered to, whose reputation must be protected, who must be constantly worked around if anything at all is to be accomplished, always at the cost of time, money, efficiency, and personal stress.

In the fullness of time, we will inevitably see such a figure in the White House. But not this year, and not this candidate. Such acts of national flakery occur only when there's no real alternative. In this election, an alternative exists. Whatever his shortcomings, nobody ever called John McCain a flake.

Guest Blog - My Thoughts, the Election, and Media Bias

Hello Everyone,

Limobarbie was so kind to allow me to do a guest blog on her site. She has often said I should do my own blog during many of our discussions, but I never seem to have the time to sit down and write up my thoughts. However, this was a special case. Anyhow, enjoy my blog, but be nice, I am a blog virgin. :)

For many years, I have identified myself as a conservative. And conservative pretty much means Republican, although I do believe my thoughts are more closely related to being a Libertarian (http://www.theadvocates.org/quizp/index.html). If anyone has ever read Neal Boortz (http://boortz.com/nuze/index.html) or listened to his radio program, you’ll know what I mean. Now that I think about it, maybe conservative isn’t as close a way to describe me as anti-liberal is. I am about as far away from being a liberal as possible. And before you foaming at the mouth liberals attack me, know this. A friend of mine, a Boston Red Sox/Patriots fan once told me that he thought I was really the one true compassionate conservative he’d ever met.

I try to explain to friends (all five of them), that anything a liberal or a Dim-o-Rat does can be traced to three simple rules:

1) Do as we say, not as we do.
2) The ends justify the means.
3) The rules do not apply to us.

Think about it…those three simple rules explain so much. Number 2 helps explain why the Dim-o-Rats take such pleasure in pointing out how America lost the war in Iraq. Senator Harry Reid actually smiled while telling the world how America got its ass kicked in Iraq. Nevada, how could you elect such a traitor to represent you? If someone had said something like that during WWII, they would have been shot. But wait, a Roosevelt wasn’t a Republican.

Now why would I call myself an anti-liberal? That’s easy, I’m happy and I love my country. Can anyone name a happy or patriotic liberal? Or when was the last time you heard a liberal say something nice about the United States of America? God, I love this country and all that it stands for. But to hear the liberals talk, all they want to do is change it. My question is, change it to what??!! I am not a student of history, but I am pretty damn sure that Hitler, Stalin, and Idi Amin Dada (what a name) were all for “change!” Here’s an idea, let Obama run for President of North Korea. I hear there maybe an opening there. That’s probably the one job he IS qualified for, besides community organizer. And that reminds me of a message I want to send to all the Dim-o-Rats out there. Jesus was a carpenter, NOT a community organizer. But I digress…

Yes, I am happy and I love America. But I don’t want the government taking more involuntary contributions from my pay check. And my prayers go out to the young men and women that are putting their lives on the line to protect this country and its citizens. Ask Congressman Murtha about those Marines he called cold blooded murders. Murtha claims to be a former Marine….bullshit! Murtha’s not even qualified to wipe the ass of a Marine. For the record, not one Marine that Murtha attacked has been convicted of any crime, but I sure as hell haven’t seen any apologizes from Mr. Murtha. And the way they used to count the casualty rate in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan was one of the saddest times in this country’s history. They reported the numbers with a sick joyful glee that they hoped would drive down the President’s approval numbers. Well, it worked, but they lost sight that each one of those numbers represented a son or daughter of someone. And that these heroes had volunteered to serve. I seriously doubt the news media knows how to spell volunteer without the help of spell-check.

The only positive talk I’ve heard from the Dim-o-Rats about the military is about the stellar military career of one Senator John Kerry. It’s sad, they actually think you are a military hero if you wear the uniform. Wearing a uniform doesn’t make a hero. It is the heart and soul of the person in the uniform that makes the hero. And these jackasses actually have the nerve to gleefully point out that John McCain doesn’t know how to use the internet. But they don’t bother to mention, or maybe even research, that McCain can’t use a keyboard thanks to all those days of hanging by his elbows in a North Vietnamese prison. Let’s see, John Kerry, shoots himself in the ass – HERO. John McCain, years as a POW, out of touch and doesn’t know how to use the internet – out of touch? Damn these people piss me off.

Now, that I have that off my chest, this is what started all of this for me tonight:

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/09/16/cafferty-obama-race-a-factor/

Cafferty: Obama: Race a factor?
Posted: 01:59 PM ET

Caption from the picture: "Will race be the factor that keeps Obama from the White House?"

From CNN's Jack Cafferty
Race is arguably the biggest issue in this election, and it's one that nobody's talking about.

The differences between Barack Obama and John McCain couldn't be more well-defined. Obama wants to change Washington. McCain is a part of Washington and a part of the Bush legacy. Yet the polls remain close. Doesn't make sense…unless it's race.

Time magazine's Michael Grunwald says race is the elephant in the room. He says Barack Obama needs to tread lightly as he fights back against the McCain-Palin campaign attacks.

Media bias…what media bias??!!! Good lord!! Jack…newsflash. President George Bush is NOT, I repeat, NOT running for anything. If you want to claim McCain is part of the Bush legacy, then Obama is running for the Carter legacy…anyone remember that new word invented back then, “stagflation.” I’ve never understood the liberal mind set. They seem to think they deserve my hard earned money, but for some reason, they don’t feel like they should part with any of their own money. Check the record, the richest members of Congress aren’t Republicans, but Dim-o-Rats. I typed up a response that I wanted to post on CNN, but I wasn’t willing to leave my email address. Why you might ask? Well, I just don’t want all those cheerful emails from those happy liberals flooding my mailbox. Apparently, the only time the death penalty should be applied is when in the tiny liberal mind, they suspend the first amendment, and you say something they disagree with.

So to Jack Cafferty:

Good Lord Jack....it isn't race, he is UNQUALIFIED! Name one major accomplishment in his short career?? Obama says this is the best country in the world...if so, why does he want to change it. Get over yourself and GWB. Bush is NOT running for re-election. The poor donkey Dims don't get it. Look at the approval numbers for Congress, which has been under Dim control for 2 years. They are worse than Bush's numbers. Remember how they ran on "change" two years ago and took over Congress. They said they'd bring down $3 gas prices. Damn, I wish gas was only $3 now....thank you donkey Dims! And the financial mess....how about how Congress passed laws to "help the unfortunate qualify for home loans." They weren't unfortunate, they didn't qualify for the loans for a reason. Now my tax money goes to help bailout people that made bad decisions. The Dims went from "Ask not what your country can do for you" to "Where's my handout!" The Obama campaign has already been made into a movie called Being There.

A bit of Bidenesque plagerism follows (with spelling corrections):

Being There is a story of a man who has been totally isolated in his life living in a man's house and tending to his garden. Upon his benefactor's death the isolated gardener is thrust into the cruel world and by acts of fate he becomes a prominent and important celebrity. His opinions are sought after yet he is oblivious to anything important.

Now, honestly, is race part of this election? You betcha! If the great Barack Obama wasn’t black, he’d still be trying to figure out how to serve the State of Illinois in the U.S. Senate. But because he IS black, he is now suddenly qualified to be President of the United States? Give me a break! But watch out, if Obama does lose the election, the neutral news media will fan this into a fire that will scorch this country in a way that will make the Rodney King mess in CA look like a playground spat. Some in the media have already said this in newspaper columns. The media in this country is about as neutral as the removed testicles of a pit-bull!!!

This brings me to another item I’d like to discuss, Ms. Sarah Palin. To listen to the Obama camp and the news media, you’d think Ms. Palin is running for President. You hear all these questions about her qualifications, but she is on the ticket as Vice-President. And if you logically point this out to a foaming-at-the-mouth liberal (picture Al Franken here) and ask if these concerns about Palin should be applied to the head of the Dim-o-Rat ticket, you are called a racist! Well, here is a little quiz for you folks. I copied this from the following web site (I don’t want any Biden plagiarism charges coming my way!):

http://riderchuck67.wordpress.com/2008/09/11/guess-who/

Can you guess who I am?

I am not yet 45 years old but already I have taken the nation by storm.

I am known for my avid love of the outdoors.

I hunt, fish, hike, and camp whenever I possibly can.

I have made my mark in politics as an unlikely Republican reformer.

Of course, I have had to take on the Republican Party establishment.

Not that the Democrats are too fond of me either.

I have a large, happy, but rather rambunctious family.

I have been governor of my large northern state for less than two years.

Nevertheless, I was the surprise pick to be the vice presidential candidate in a crucial national election.

Have you ever heard of me?

Surely you have. I am Teddy Roosevelt.

I found this on the blog of George Grant, a dear Christian brother/pastor/man for all seasons. http://www.kingsmeadow.com/blogger.html

Does it bother anyone else in this country how the liberals and the news media attack success in this country? Somehow, if you put yourself through school and get and education, and work yourself up through the ranks to run a major company/corporation in this country, you shouldn’t be paid the big bucks. But if you are an athlete and can play a sport, or are a Hollywood actor, or are a pretty face and can sit in front of a camera and read the news, you’ve earned that money. Hey, bleeding heart liberals, stop trying to take my hard earned money and give some of that mega-fortune you’ve collected to the Treasury. If George Soros donated all the money to the Treasury instead of funding MoveOn.org and all the attacks on the President, we’d have no national debt!

This leads me to a great example that the great LimoBarbie sent me this week. I’m glad she hasn’t gotten around to posting it in her blog so I can do it!!

Our Tax System Explained: Bar Stool Economics

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all
ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it
would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do.

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the
arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve.

'Since you are all such good customers,' he said, 'I'm going to reduce
the cost of your daily beer by $20.' Drinks for the ten now cost just
$80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so
the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But
what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide
the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?'

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted
that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would
each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested
that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same
amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28% savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four
continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to
compare their savings.

'I only got a dollar out of the $20 declared the sixth man. He pointed
to the tenth man, 'but he got $10!'

'Yeah, that's right,' exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a dollar,
too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!'

'That's true!!' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get $ 10 back
when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!'

'Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get
anything at all. The system exploits the poor!'

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up. The next night the
tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers
without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered
something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them
for even half of the bill!

And that, ladies and gentlemen, journalists and college professors, is
how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the
most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for
being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they
might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics
University of Georgia

Now, this might be one of those famous online urban legends, but I didn’t spend the time to look it up. Basically I didn’t because I don’t care. It makes the point perfectly. Wake up America!! What happens when the tax payers decide they’ve had enough and put their hands out and want to drink from the government tit??!!!

Finally, before I step away from the keyboard, can anyone give an example of something nice a Hollywood celebrity has had to say about Sarah Palin? Good grief, the venom coming from some of these so called “stars.” All I can say about them is to quote from a famous public service ad from the past, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.”

Thanks for reading, take care and God Bless America…..we are going to need it!

Beamus

Batman and Heath Ledger as the Joker

I rarely go to the movie theater, it has to be a very special film in order to attract me to the film before it is released on DVD. I can count the number of times
I have been to the movies in the last 10 years on the fingers of one hand. The best movie I saw this summer was hands down: Batman the Dark Knight. Heath Ledger gave the performance of his short lifetime as the Joker, he should definitely receive the Academy Award for Best Actor for this performance. It was positively eerie to see him in this role as the movie came out for months after his untimely death. His performance as the Joker eclipses the performance given by Jack Nicholson in a previous Batman movie two decades ago. His portrayal was frighteningly sinister and gave me goose bumps as I watched. Christian Bale gave another nice turn in his performance as Batman, Morgan Freeman was good but Heath stole the show by a mile. It is a tragedy that Mr. Ledger died so young as I am sure that audiences would have enjoyed watching his performances for years to come.

It's been an interesting election year.

I have never seen so much political animosity in my life as I have seen during this election year. One would think that we're not even in the same country anymore. The democrats seem intent upon taxing all of us to death with their left wing candidate who has the most spectacular record of non-accomplishment I have ever seen. I agree that the republican vice presidential candidate is inexperienced, however, at least she has more executive experience than the democratic PRESIDENTIAL candidate. Mr.Obama has absolutely no business being a senator let alone a presidential candidate. The Alaska governor was absolutely correct when she opined that "community organizer" is not a job. Mr. Obama is a product of the Chicago political machine, known universally to be totally corrupt since the days of Mayor Daley - -the first Mayor Daley. Nothing has changed since in the Chicago political machine. Governor Palin has executive experience and decision-making ability and will make a more than competent vice president. Obama talks about reform and all the changes he wants to make yet he would not know good policy or reform if it walked up and bit him in the ass. This is possibly the most import election of my lifetime and it is imperative the American public choose the right candidate. I firmly believe that Mr. Obama is trying to change this race into a referendum on racial politics. Black America is supporting Mr. Obama based solely on race from what I can glean by talking to people and reading editorials written by the black community. Oprah wants to choose our next president and in throwing her support behind Mr. Obama seems to be confident that she has done so; I look forward to disappointing her. Governor Palin and Senator McCain are the obvious choice due to their experience in government and in the private sector. The smear campaign is too obvious to fool anyone although the democrats apparently think that they are fooling all of us. They're not. Sarah Palin is an American patriot. John McCain is also an American patriot who has served this country faithfully for nearly 50 years. I will take his age over Obama's arrogance and sense of entitlement all day any day and twice on Sunday. It is a testament to the dumbing down of America that Obama is even nominated, and a sad commentary on the condition of our public schools. I can't believe the youth of America can be so easily misled and I attribute this solely to the sad state of public education. The children of America have become unbelievably stupid in the past generation. They have become illiterate in literature, mathematics, science and biology. It's a sad day for the world when the ingenuity of America has been lost to incompetent teachers, poor curriculum and video games. The Japanese educate their children seven days a week, 365 days a year. This is because their governments which is to have a literate, highly skilled workforce and business runs their government. In America, incompetent teachers are allowed to continue to teach with no oversight and no way to remove them from the classroom. This is a disgrace and disservice to our children, the same children who have grown up to be Obama's supporters because they're too ignorant to grasp the concept of economics that won't work and promises that no one can keep. There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be fixed by what is right with America and this election is crucial because we're on the wrong path. We need to go down the right path and we need good leadership to take us there. We won't be getting that from senator Obama, empty rhetoric is all this affirmative action product has to offer--a talking head that is empty. Obama could make it as a lawyer in a high powered law firm even though he has a Harvard law degree. His Princeton and Harvard educated wife couldn't make it as a lawyer either so she went to work for welfare hospital that he funnels money to in order to justify her $300,000 a year salary. Her job pays $48,000 to anyone whose husband is not a sitting U.S. senator so there can be only one reason she is so massively overpaid--can anyone say kickback? I can. Liberal mainstream media continues to cover up and worship Obama as if he were the second coming of Christ. He slipped up and admitted to being a Muslim during an interview and the so called journalist corrected him with what he should have said. It's just another example of how badly the liberal mainstream media, of whom Oprah is their goddess, wants Obama to be our president. I can't think of anything that would be a bigger disaster for America than President Obama. Can you?

McCain vs Obama--the issues and their stands

Many thanks to my friend Sue for sharing this comparison on the candidates; if you are voting on the issues and how each one will affect your life, then here you go!

This is an excellent comparison; probably no matter what happens the second "ISSUE" is the most important one. But then it is still the congress that must approve and also will appropriate bills; so know what your state representatives are for or against.

2008 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE COMPARISON TALKING POINTS
ISSUE
JOHN McCAIN BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA

Favors new drilling offshore US
McCAIN Yes OBAMA No

Will appoint judges who interpret the law not make it

McCAIN Yes OBAMA No

Served in the US Armed Forces
McCAIN Yes OBAMA No

Amount of time served in the US Senate
McCAIN 22 YEARS OBAMA 173 DAYS
Will institute a socialized national health care plan
McCAIN No OBAMA Yes
Supports abortion throughout the pregnancy
McCAIN No OBAMA Yes
Would pull troops out of Iraq immediately
McCAIN No OBAMA Yes
Supports gun ownership rights
McCAIN Yes OBAMA No
Supports homosexual marriage
McCAIN No OBAMA Yes
Proposed programs will mean a huge tax increase
McCAIN No OBAMA Yes
Voted against making English the official language
McCAIN No OBAMA Yes
Voted to give Social Security benefits to illegals
McCAIN No OBAMA Yes
CAPITAL GAINS TAX
MCCAIN 0% on home sales up to $500,000 per home (couples). McCain does not propose any change in existing home sales income tax.
OBAMA 28% on profit from ALL home sales. (How does this affect you? If you sell your home and make a profit, you will pay 28% of your gain on taxes. If you are heading toward retirement and would like to down-size your home or move into a retirement community, 28% of the money you make from your home will go to taxes. This proposal will adversely affect the elderly who are counting on the income from their homes as part of their retirement income.)
DIVIDEND TAX
MCCAIN 15% (no change)
OBAMA 39.6% - (How will this affect you? If you have any money invested in stock market, IRA, mutual funds, college funds, life insurance, retirement accounts, or anything that pays or reinvests dividends, you will now be paying nearly 40% of the money earned on taxes if Obama becomes president. The experts predict that 'Higher tax rates on dividends and capital gains would crash the stock market, yet do absolutely nothing to cut the deficit.')
INCOME TAX
MCCAIN
(no changes) Single making 30K - tax $4,500
Single making 50K - tax $12,500
Single making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 60K- tax $9,000
Married making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 125K - tax $31,250
OBAMA (reversion to pre-Bush tax cuts) Single making 30K - tax $8,400
Single making 50K - tax $14,000
Single making 75K - tax $23,250
Married making 60K - tax $16,800
Married making 75K - tax $21,000
Married making 125K - tax $38,750
Under Obama, your taxes could almost double!
INHERITANCE TAX
MCCAIN - 0% (No change, Bush repealed this tax)
OBAMA Restore the inheritance tax
Many families have lost businesses, farms, ranches, and homes that have been in their families for generations because they could not afford the inheritance tax. Those willing their assets to loved ones will only lose them to these taxes.
NEW TAXES PROPOSED BY OBAMA
New government taxes proposed on homes that are more than 2400 square feet. New gasoline taxes (as if gas weren't high enough already) New taxes on natural resources consumption (heating gas, water, electricity) New taxes on retirement accounts, and last but not least....New taxes to pay for socialized medicine so we can receive the same level of medical care as other third-world countries!!!



You can verify the above at the following web sites:

http://money.cnn.com/news/specials/election/2008/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/issues/issues.taxes.html

http://elections.foxnews.com/?s=proposed+taxes
http://bulletin.aarp.org/yourworld/politics/articles/mccain_obama_offer_different_visions_on_taxes.html

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/candidates/barack_obama/
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/candidates/john_mccain/

Buchanan to Obama--by Pat Buchanan

Normally I write my own blog, but this was sent to me and I thought it deserved to be posted here and everywhere else. Obamamania is insane, the man has no idea what he's doing and has no business being in the Senate, let alone as a candidate for POTUS as he is clearly not qualified for either. His list of accomplishments is empty, as a book "My Life Accomplishments" by Barack Hussein Obama would be as short as O.J.Simpson's "My Hunt for the Real Killers".

Buchanan to Obama

by Patrick J. Buchanan
Barack says we need to have a conversation about race in America.? Fair enough But this time, it has to be a two-way conversation. White America needs to be heard from, not just lectured to. This time, the Silent Majority needs to have its convictions, grievances and demands heard. And among them are these:
First, America has been the best country on earth for black folks. It was here that 600,000 black people, brought from Africa in slave ships, grew into a community of 40 million, were introduced to Christian salvation, and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity blacks have ever known.
Wright ought to go down on his knees and thank God he is an American.
Second, no people anywhere has done more to lift up blacks than white Americans. Untold trillions have been spent since the '60s on welfare, food stamps, rent supplements, Section 8 housing, Pell grants, student loans, legal services, Medicaid, Earned Income Tax Credits and poverty programs designed to bring the African-American community into the mainstream.
Governments, businesses and colleges have engaged in discrimination against white folks -- with affirmative action, contract set-asides and quotas -- to advance black applicants over white applicants.
Churches, foundations, civic groups, schools and individuals all over America have donated their time and money to support soup kitchens, adult education, day care, retirement and nursing homes for blacks.
We hear the grievances. Where is the gratitude??
Barack talks about new 'ladders of opportunity' for blacks.
Let him go to Altoona ? And Johnstown, and ask the white kids in Catholic schools how many were visited lately by Ivy League recruiters handing out scholarships for 'deserving' white kids.? Is white America really responsible for the fact that the crime and incarceration rates for African-Americans are seven times those of white America ? Is it really white America 's fault that illegitimacy in the African-American community has hit 70 percent and the black dropout rate from high schools in some cities has reached 50 percent?
Is that the fault of white America or, first and foremost, a failure of the black community itself?
As for racism, its ugliest manifestation is in interracial crime, and especially interracial crimes of violence. Is Barack Obama aware that while white criminals choose black victims 3 percent of the time, black criminals choose white victims 45 percent of the time?
Is Barack aware that black-on-white rapes are 100 times more common than the reverse, that black-on-white robberies were 139 times as common in the first three years of this decade as the reverse?
We have all heard ad nauseam from the Rev. Al about Tawana Brawley, the Duke rape case and Jena . And all turned out to be hoaxes. But about the epidemic of black assaults on whites that are real, we hear nothing.
Sorry, Barack, some of us have heard it all before, about 40 years and 40 trillion tax dollars ago.
This needs to be passed around because, this is a message everyone needs to hear

"Chinese Integrity" Now THERE'S an Oxymoron of Olympic Proportion!

There are rampant rumors that the Chinese gymnastics team members are underage, and there is a lot of evidence to substantiate that they are indeed 14 years old instead of the required 16 years old. Is it sour grapes because they won? I don't happen to think so and here's why: China has a documented reputation of doing things they shouldn't do. They sold toys to children that were covered in lead paint and tried to cover it up. They are manufacturing counterfeit designer merchandise to rip off the license owners-including PRESCRIPTION DRUGS on a massive scale. They use the forced slave labor of political prisoners in violation of every human rights protocol in the world in their factories to undercut world prices. They sold tainted pet food that killed or sickened many beloved pets (and I am sure they killed my beloved Siamese with it--after almost 18 years with me and never a sick day in her life she developed kidney failure and died within 3 days and a week later the pet food scandal broke--guess what I was feeding her? Yep--you got it) in the USA. They are the world's biggest polluters with no regard for the Kyoto protocols. Do they really think that they have any credibility here? Their reputation for underhanded dirty deals is legendary, and it's a documented fact that the birth dates listed for these children has suddenly been changed after listing them as underage for several competitions in previous years. The government issued them new birth certificates, new passports and several other forms of documentation that makes them suddenly sixteen instead of fourteen. The gymnasts in question LOOK very young and have the physical characteristics of children much younger than the required age of sixteen and China expects the IOC to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to what is obvious cheating. The credibility of the Chinese government is non-existent but it looks like the IOC is going to let them get away with their blatant cheating. What kind of message does this send to the world about their integrity? Of course we all know the truth and there is no funnier oxymoron than "Chinese integrity" particularly when it comes to the Olympics--they even put in a lip-syncing CHILD to sing on TV at the opening ceremony because they thought the actual singer wasn't pretty enough--and we are supposed to believe that they are above changing the birth dates of their GOLD MEDAL winning gymnasts? What are the odds of that? Please--don't insult our intelligence. We aren't oppressed sheep that drink the government Kool-aid with the one billion Chinese who are forced to parrot the government line. The Olympic should never have been held in Beijing to begin with because doing so gives credence to one of the most oppressive totalitarian dictatorships on the planet and allowing them to get away with blatant cheating is in diametric opposition to what the Olympic games are supposed to be about. It sends the message that cheating is acceptable as long as you are the host country and you build an impressive venue for the IOC. What message does this send to the athletes that are honest? Or to the ones who have been stripped of medals for cheating? A double standard for cheating is wrong, and there needs to be serious investigation and severe sanctions if these allegations are proven to be true--and with the reputation the Chinese government has, I find it almost impossible to give them the benefit of the doubt, because I don't have any doubt at all that they are indeed cheating. Chinese integrity? I don't think so.

The LIES OF OBAMA

This is the guy that wants to live in the White House

Barak Obama - 50 Lies and Counting: Posted on Political
forum.com - Elections and Campaigns .Share with friends

1.) Selma Got Me Born - LIAR, your parents felt safe enough to
have you in 1961 - Selma had no effect on your birth, as Selma
was in 1965.

2.) Father Was A Goat Herder - LIAR, he was a privileged, well
educated youth, who went on to work with the Kenyan Government.

3.) Father Was A Proud Freedom Fighter - LIAR, he was part of
one of the most corrupt and violent governments Kenya has ever had

4.) My Family Has Strong Ties To African Freedom - LIAR, your
cousin Raila Odinga has created mass violence in attempting to overturn a
legitimate election in 2007, in Kenya . It is the first widespread violence
in decades.

5.) My Grandmother Has Always Been A Christian - LIAR, she
does her daily Salat prayers at 5am according to her own interviews. Not to
mention, Christianity wouldn't allow her to have been one of 14 wives to 1
man.

6.) My Name is African Swahili - LIAR, your name is Arabic and
'Baraka' (from which Barack came) means 'blessed' in that language. Hussein
is also Arabic and so is Obama.

7.) I Never Practiced Islam - LIAR, you practiced it daily at
school, where you were registered as a Muslim and kept that faith for 31
years,until your wife made you change, so you could run for office.

8.) My School In Indonesia Was Christian - LIAR, you were
registered as Muslim there and got in trouble in Koranic Studies for making
faces (check your own book).

9.) I Was Fluent In Indonesian - LIAR, not one teacher says
you could speak the language.

10.) Because I Lived In Indonesia , I Have More Foreign
Experience - LIAR, you were there from the ages of 6 to 10, and couldn't
even speak the language. W hat did you learn, how to study the Koran and
watch cartoons.

11.) I Am Stronger On Foreign Affairs - LIAR, except for
Africa (surprise) and the Middle East (bigger surprise), you have never
been anywhere else on the planet and thus have NO experience with our
closest allies.

12.) I Blame My Early Drug Use On Ethnic Confusion - LIAR, you
were quite content in high school to be Barry Obama, no mention of Kenya
and no mention of struggle to identify - your classmates said you were just
fine.

13.)An Ebony Article Moved Me To Run For Office - LIAR, Ebony
has yet to find the article you mention in your book. It doesn't, and never
did, exist.

14.) A Life Magazine Article Changed My Outlook On Life -
&n bsp; LIAR, Life has yet to find the article you mention in your book. It
doesn't, and never did, exist.

15.) I Won't Run On A National Ticket In '08 - LIAR, here you
are, despite saying, live on TV, that you would not have enough experience
by then, and you are all about having experience first.

16.) Present Votes Are Common In Illinois - LIAR, they are
common for YOU, but not many others have 130 NO VOTES.

17.) Oops, I Misvoted - LIAR, only when caught by church
groups and democrats, did you beg to change your misvote.

18.) I Was A Professor Of Law - LIAR, you were a senior
lecturer ON LEAVE.

19.) I Was A Constitutional Lawyer - LIAR, you were a senior
lecturer ON LEAVE.

20.) Without Me, There Would Be No Ethics Bill - LIAR, you
didn't write it,introduce it, change it, or create it.

21.) The Ethics Bill Was Hard To Pass - LIAR, it took just 14
days from start to finish.

22.) I Wrote A Tough Nuclear Bill - LIAR, your bill was rejected
by your own party for its pandering and lack of all regulation -
mainly because of your Nuclear Donor, Exelon, from which David Axelrod
came.

23.) I Have Released My State Records - LIAR, as of March,
2008, state bills you sponsored or voted for have yet to be released,
exposing all the special interests pork hidden within.

24.) I Took On The Asbestos Altgeld Gardens Mess - LIAR, you
were part of a large group of people who remedied Altgeld Gardens . You
failed to mention anyone else but yourself, in your books.

25.) My Economics Bill Will Help America - LIAR, your 111
economic policies were just combined into a proposal which lost 99-0, and
even YOU voted against your own bill.

26.) I Have Been A Bold Leader In Illinois - LIAR, even your
own supporters claim to have not seen BOLD action on your part.

27.) I Passed 26 Of My Own Bills In One Year - LIAR, they were
not YOUR bills, but rather handed to you, after their creation by a fellow
Senator, to assist you in a future bid for higher office.

28.) No One Contacted Canada About NAFTA - LIAR, the Canadian
Government issued the names and a memo of the conversation your campaign
had with them.

29.) I Am Tough On Terrorism - LIAR, you missed the Iran
Resolution vote on terrorism and your good friend Ali Abunimah supports the
destruction of Israel.

30.) I Am Not Acting As President Yet - LIAR, after the NAFT A
Memo, a dead terrorist in the FARC, in Colombia, was found with a letter
stating how you and he were working together on getting FARC recognized
officially.

31.) I Didn't Run Ads In Florida - LIAR, you allowed national
ads to run 8-12 times per day for two weeks - and you still lost.

32.) I Won Michigan - LIAR, no you didn't.

33.) I won Nevada - LIAR, no you did not.

34.) I Want All Votes To Count - LIAR, you said let the
delegates decide.

35.) I Want Americans To Decide - LIAR, you prefer caucuses
that limit the vote, confuse the voters, force a public vote, and only
operate during small windows of time.

36.) I passed 900 Bills in the State Senate - LIAR, you passed
26, most of which you didn't write yourself.

37.) My Campaign Was Extorted By A Friend - LIAR, that friend
is threatening to sue if you do not stop saying this. Obama has stopped
saying this.

38.) I Believe In Fairness, Not Tactics - LIAR, you used tactics to eliminate
Alice Palmer from running against you.

39.) I Don't Take PAC Money - LIAR, you take loads of it.

40.) I don't Have Lobbyists - LIAR, you have over 47
lobbyists, and counting.

41.) My Campaign Had Nothing To Do With The 1984 Ad - LIAR,
your own campaign worker made the ad on his Apple in one afternoon.

42.) My Campaign Never Took Over MySpace - LIAR, Tom, who
started MySpace issued a warning about this advertising to MySpace clients.

43.) I Inspire People With My Words - L IAR, you inspire people
with other people's words.

44.) I Have Passed Bills In The U.S. Senate - LIAR, you have
passed A BILL in the U.S. Senate - for Africa , which shows YOUR
priorities.

45.) I Have Always Been Against Iraq - LIAR, you weren't in
office to vote against it AND you have voted to fund it every single time,
unlike Kucinich, who seems to be out gutting you Obama. You also seem to be
stepping back from your departure date - AGAIN.

46.) I Have Always Supported Universal Health Care - LIAR,
your plan leaves us all to pay the 15,000,000 who don't have to buy it.

47.) I Only Found Out About My Investment Conflicts Via Mail -
LIAR, both companies you site as having sent you letters about this
conflict have no record of any such letter ever being created or sent.

48.) I Am As Patriotic As Anyone - LIAR, you won't wear a flag
pin and you don't put your hand over your heart during the Anthem.

49.) My Wife Didn't Mean What She Said About Pride In Country
- LIAR, your wife's words follow lock-step in the vain of Wright and
Farrahkan, in relation to their contempt and hatred of America .

50.) Wal-Mart Is A Company I Wouldn't Support - LIAR, your
wife has received nearly a quarter of a million dollars through Treehouse,
which is connected to Wal-Mart.

What Section 8 housing is INTENDED to do....

Here's an email I received as a result of my expressing my opinion to an email group on section 8 housing--which is what your tax dollars provide to the impoverished people in this country. I am firmly rooted in the belief that education and hard work rather than affirmative action are what will break the cycle of poverty in our nation's ghettos.
Dear Teri,
I was a single mom for a very long time, i worked but of course with daycare fees and going to school it was hard to make ends meet. So I did use public assistance and once I worked my way up in the field and got off assistance I swore I wouldnt get back on it and havent. In order to do that I did have to move to a smaller populated community where mortgages are cheaper, taxes are lower, and such..Okay Im rambling so much I dunno if it even makes sense on the screen but it sounds great in my head LOL

Dear Jen,
I think it's great that you were able to use the assistance wisely! That's what it's for--to help people get back on their feet, not a multi-generation way of life. They did an interview with a woman who was getting kicked out of her Section 8 apartment because her grandson got caught selling crack out of her apartment--and she had been living there in the housing project for 41 years!!! FORTY-ONE FUCKING YEARS and she never even thought about getting some education and a job and moving! She raised her kids there who were all saying how wrong it was that the racist white authority was kicking their Mom out into the street and her grandchildren were there agreeing with her too--and they all said that they were entitled to their government project housing--they ALL lived in welfare projects--it was all they knew! How do you teach a work ethic to a child whose parents have never gotten of welfare or held a job? My little sister was a single mom just starting out and she lived in Section 8 housing for about 2 years until her career got going and she saved enough for a down payment for a small condo. This was in 1982--today she owns her own business and pulls in about 2 mil a year in revenue--and has paid way more in taxes than she ever got! I don't have a problem with people that need temporary help, but when it becomes a multi-generational way of life it drives me insane!!!!

CLOSE THE SCHOOLS--SAVE THE CHILDREN

I've been reading about the high cost of diesel fuel for school buses and I've got a rather radical plan about education. I have a plan to save millions--no BILLIONS in property taxes every year. Why can't kids telecommute to class? Colleges give degrees online, why can't schools do the same thing? Why do we need school buses? Why do we even need schools any more? Do you realize how much we could save if we dumped all the schools, fired the teachers and gave each kid a laptop with a Kindergarten CD--the do the work and pass a test that is at the back of the CD at the end of the "school year" and then they get a 1st grade CD and so on all the way through high school graduation, take the high school test and then go on to college online. Each child would work at his or her own pace in the safety and comfort of their own home, no teasing or bullying and if they need help, there would be a virtual teacher (or maybe even a real one) to help them with whatever they were having problems with. The cost of the CDs would be minimal--about $2 each and the entire curriculum for each year could be placed on each CD. A child would pop the CD into the laptop, go to a website to view a video on that day's lesson, then do the exercise in the lesson on the computer and have it graded instantly. They must complete the exercise lesson before they can go on to the next lesson on the CD, you could restrict access by making the program password protected and the child doesn't get the password for the next lesson until the previous one is completed successfully and then the CD gives the child the password for the next lesson. At the end of each week, there is a test on the lessons that the child must pass in order to get the password for the next week's lesson. Every month there is a major test that must be passed before the child moves on. There would be no reason for brick and mortar schools or teachers, administrators, insurance, school lunches, school buses, playgrounds, or anything else. The savings in taxes would be tremendous and the kids wouldn't have to worry about being bullied, or shot or molested by rougue teachers. There would be no teenage pregnancy, no detentions, no missed school buses, no competition for who had the coolest whatever and the students would have the benefit of having a first class education. If the student didn't successfully complete the prescribed course work by the end of the term would have to continue all summer in order to keep up with their class in the fall and social promotions would be unnecessary because there's no one to make fun of a slow learner. Children who wished to graduate earlier could go to school year round or do more work to get their education completed in less time and colleges could do the same thing--most colleges now offer online classes now anyway. Going to a brick and mortar school is an obsolete concept and should be ended. Children would socialize through activities with their parents in their communities and juvenile crime would be a thing of the past. Close public libraries too--no one needs them, we have the internetn to do research--put the Library of Congress online and everyone would have access. Field trips would be to places like the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa in a virtual field trip instead of to a crummy local museum. Kids would have a much better education and the taxpayers would not have to pay the outlandish property taxes they are paying now. The savings would be awesome!! Every child would be issued a laptop and an internet access card--like a prepaid phone card--at age 6 and given the CD for kindergarten beginning on the first September 1 (after their 6th birthday) and would have to complete all the coursework by June 1 of the following year in order to be promoted to first grade--which would mean being given the CD with the first grade coursework. Of course a gifted and/or motivated child could receive the next grade's CD early if they completed the previous grade's coursework sooner than June 1 or if they wanted to get ahead by continuing to go to virtual school during the shmmer. This is an absolutely simple concept and it would be very easy to do. It would be so much cheaper to issue each child a laptop and provide internet access--look at all the parents who are homeschooling their children using this concept! $500 for each laptop and $50 for the entire elementary, middle and high school curriculum on CDs is dirt cheap compared to the cost of building and operating schools, paying teachers and all the other employees,operating school buses, paying for insurance, fuel for the buses and to heat and cool the schools. It's the way of the future! Wake up and smell the 21st century! Stop preparing the leaders of tomorrow with the educational traditions of the 18th century!!

Reagan National Airport Disaster

Without a doubt, Reagan national airport is the toilet of America’s airports. It has a wonderful third world ambiance brought on by filthy restrooms and non-English speaking personnel all over the airport--not just the baggage handlers, restaurant workers and custodial workers, but also the ticket agents, gate agents and more than half of the TSA “officers”. I was totally uncomfortable with the idea of eating anything in the filthy place--I’ve never seen an airport so dirty. Not only does Reagan Airport set a new world record for filth, it is in such a state of disrepair that I was sorry I checked baggage. The baggage claim belt broke while I was waiting for my luggage when we arrived on Friday, causing me to have to wait more than 90 minutes for the only bag that I checked--foolishly ignoring the advice of my beloved John who NEVER checks bags due to what he refers to as the “Murphy curse”. The baggage handlers were the ones who finally fixed the belt, no one single airport maintenance worker could be found to repair the belt. Eventually they got it working again and shortly thereafter it regurgitated my bag and then we proceeded to the nightmare that is the ground transportation. Three empty buses were waved away so that the 92 people waiting to go to the rental car lot could cram onto ONE bus--when we stopped at the rental lot, it looked like a circus clown car as we disgorged 3 times the amount of people that the bus was designed to carry safely. Naturally our bags were at the bottom since we were first in line for the bus which made us last in line for the rental car. Luckily all 92 people on the bus were also renting from Hertz so we had a fine time standing in line right behind all the people who boarded the bus at the 16 stops after we boarded while empty buses were still being waved off. John was so disgusted at this point that he was ready to get on the next plane back to St. Louis, and I was ready to go with him. We were both disgusted with the entire experience, but we had a wedding to go to and after six hundred dollars worth of plane tickets, and four hundred dollars in hotel room reservations (not to mention the very nice gift) we decided we would go to the wedding, which was a lovely ceremony. Returning to Reagan on Monday to go home, we discovered that nothing had changed. The signs directing us to rental car return were very confusing when they were visible which wasn’t often. The returning of the rental car went smoothly (by the way the Toyota Corolla--a free UPGRADE if you can stand it--was a super little car) but checking in there was no wheelchair and I got to enjoy my usual experience of being strip-searched while the women in burquas with dynamite hanging out of their carry-ons were waved through. The first electrical outlet I found didn’t work and there was no wireless access to the internet available. Here’s a clue to the management at Reagan--WAKE UP AND SMELL THE 21ST CENTURY!! I would WALK before I would fly through Reagan again, it was an ongoing disaster from the time we arrived to the time we left BOTH WAYS!!

Barack Obama is not Qualified to be President!!

I'm going to be blunt. Most of you who have been here a long time know me well enough to know that I am direct and when I have something to say, I don't mince words. Those of you who are new are about to find out and anyone who might be offended needs to stop reading NOW and go to their next email LOL Here we go: The fucking media in this country is out of control. They have taken freedom of the press to mean that they can write anything they want and instead of reporting the news, they are trying to make the news in order to influence the outcome of events to their personal satisfaction. It goes against every journalistic ethic there is and yet no one does anything about it--they keep their jobs and they keep right on printing whatever they want and standing behind the shield of "freedom of the press" to do it. It's wrong--and worse than that, it is going to be the downfall of this country that I love so much and that I would die to defend. The liberal media WANTS Barack Obama to be elected President and they will ignore anything that might cause that not to happen. For some insane reason they are ignoring his total lack of experience and his Islamic beliefs and his affirmative action Princeton-educated wife. I find him unqualified and his wife is an affirmative action product who is so incompetent that even with a Harvard Law degree she doesn't practice law--she couldn't make it at the fancy law firm that hired her out of law school. She works in a do-nothing admin job for a large public hospital that gets a lot of public money because of her Senator husband. They pay her 300K a year for a job that in every hospital I've ever worked at is a 38-42K a year job. Her husband is nothing more than a Chicago political hack who got to be a state senator because of the patronage of Jeremiah Wright pastor of his church who is in bed with Jesse and Al. Luckily he's my state's junior senator.
I cannot understand why they want to see our great nation turn into a third world country. We have SERIOUS problems here and we cannot put someone with less than 3 years of government experience into the White House--we simply cannot. McCain was on TV last night in an interview and he was asked about Obama's claiming he was running for Bush's 3rd term to which he replied that Obama was running for Jimmy Carter's second term. I believe that when the debates start, McCain will clean his clock and show him for the unqualified dilettante that he is--but we cannot sit back and do nothing--we must take a stand and do whatever we can to help. I have found this website www.numbersusa.com to be very proactive with legislation to get the illegal aliens out of the USA. My tax bill is horrendous because we are supporting these illegals--the same for all of out health insurance. I have nothing against legal immigrants--my STEPMOTHER is a German native who just got her citizenship and did it LEGALLY. I am all for legal immigration, it takes a lot of courage to leave your native country and friends and family to try for a better life--but we cannot afford the 20 million illegal immigrants we have in this country! Our schools are at the bursting point, our ER's are filled with illegals popping out anchor babies at taxpayer expense and we just simply CANNOT AFFORD IT!! I had to stop and we have to stop it but keeping on our lawmakers to enforce the law! Do you know that police officers cannot arrest an illegal alien? That's totally insane!! I have nothing against Barack Obama except that AT THIS TIME I believe him to be totally unqualified to be President--in 10 or 15 years maybe, but not now. He is also the MOST LIBERAL member of the Senate and that's a fact. The Achille's heel of Democracy is that the people being supported by the system can continue to vote in the people who keep the money pump on so that they stay on the public tit for life. Public housing, Medicaid, prisons, pregnant teens--it has to stop--and if we turn the money off, it will. I didn't sign on to pay to take care of the people who can't take care of themselves because they didn't take advantage of the free education offered to them. I'm sick of paying the medical bills of illegal aliens whose native government encourages them to break our laws because the money they send home keeps the economy in the 3rd world viable. I'm not on this earth to support every pregnant welfare mother who keeps popping out a baby every 9 months and 10 minutes and I am absolutely FUCKING TIRED of: PRESS 1 FOR ENGLISH!!!!!!!!! We have to take a stand and it has to be this time--we can't do another 4 years with an amateur President!! However, the press is going to do their best to make this incompetent liberal jackass our next President--don't let it happen!! His wife is a piece of work too: Michelle Obama is a racist, and a product of affirmative action. Her much touted Princeton and Harvard education are the result of both of these institution's policy of affirmative action. She didn't have the SAT scores or grades to get into Princeton or the LSAT scores to get into Harvard. Her senion thesis was a joke, my 11 year old niece does better work!! She couldn't cut it as a lawyer in the firm that hired her because they didn't realize she was an affirmative action "graduate' and they got rid of her when they discovered she was incompetent. Her current "job" pays 38-45K unless your husband is the sitting U.S. Senator who keeps Medicaid money flowing to the hospital and they kick it back to her by paying her 10 times the going rate for her job. Luckily she is now 'proud of her country'. She should be--it's policies have served her well. Even if you just email things on, it's better than doing nothing. Help America--she needs us.

Born Free, Taxed into Poverty and to DEATH

It's ridiculous that the property taxes keep going up when the property value of my house keeps going DOWN! I bought this house last year and it a market where house values are dropping like a rock and a house identical to mine 4 houses down the road sold for twenty thousand LESS than I paid for mine my assessment went UP TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS and my tax bill went right up with it. I filed an appeal which has obviously been ignored and I will be going to the tax collector's office again tomorrow to protest this tax hike. As for the poor and the elderly seeking more services, I don't use ANY services and I didn't sign up to support them!! It's not my job to support every poor or elderly person on the freaking planet because they didn't plan for the future and if Madison county keeps taxing me to do so, pretty soon I'M going to be one of the elderly poor!! The answer here is to CUT SERVICES, not raise taxes!! I don't have any children in the public schools, but I'm paying for them!! I don't use ANY social services--the LIBRARY won't even let me check out a book because I live outside the city limits, but they have their hand out for my money!! It's ridiculous! The law says that for two years my purchase price is assumed to be my value. An identical house to mine 4 houses down the road just sold for 20K LESS than I paid for mine--which is also a factor in assessing value. Obviously the theives at Madison county just tossed my appeal into the TRASH!! The taxes here are insane! People are going to start leaving the state in droves because they won't be able to afford to live here! No one has any clue as to what the government here uses to calculate taxes and there's no voter accountibility--they just increase the taxes any time they feel like it! I didn't have a choice about moving here, my husband was BRAC-ked here by the government he works for in an effort to save money which ended up costing the government millions more than just leaving us where we were! Somewhere there must be some accountability for these enormous taxes!! There was a little thing a couple of hundred years ago called the American Revolution over taxation without representation and we might as well be back under the thumb of England!

Oil for food? Much better than oil for dollars!

What everyone seems to forget is that we control the world's food supply--the US is the world's farm--no other country can feed it's population, they all look to the US for that. It's time to raise the food prices. Our currency is no longer the world standard and we are still selling food cheaply and giving a lot of it away--this needs to stop. Osama bin Laden swore he'd break our economy and his buddies over there are helping him do it. The only reason the gas prices are up is because the Arabs have cut production and raised the prices to make up for it--they keep cutting the production and there's only just so much to go around so the price goes up--it's the same way that the DeBeers company kept the price of diamonds so high for so many years--they controlled the world's supply and only released a certain amount of diamonds every year. This worked nicely until the Russians discovered they had tons of diamonds and DeBeers cannot afford to keep buying up the world's supply of these very abundant stones--in Arkansas people are picking up 5 carat diamonds out of the dirt! The Arabs realized that they couldn't keep selling oil for $20 a barrel because they have a finite supply so they cut production SOLEY TO DRIVE UP THE PRICE because once they run out of oil, they are finished--they can't produce enough food to feed the royal family much less their population. The government pays farmers not to grow crops to keep the price of wheat and such at a fixed price--oversupply drops the price of everything!! If we cut the amount of food we export in half, the price would go through the roof. The problem with oversupply of oil is that it will make everyone buy big cars again and we need to use less to cut our dependence of foreign oil--hopefully to keep from having to buy it at all! In the interim we need to raise the price of wheat and corn and soybeans so that we can show the Arabs that they can't eat the oil they produce and that Toyotas and TV sets are also inedible. We are the world's farm and when the scumbags around the world complain about us, let's hope they don't do it with their mouths full.

California leads the country in idiotic laws

Once again California has come up with another idiotic law--they are trying to require that parents who choose to home school their children must have teaching certifications and credentials. Let's forget the fact that home schooled kids are winning the National Spelling Bee every year. It's irrelevant that home schooled kids were deemed ineligible for the Subway writing contest. California liberals who were among the first in the country to yank their kids from public schools in favor of home schooling are now having to deal with the government reaching in where it doesn't belong--into the home and parenting. I personally don't understand why we need to have schools at all any more--if colleges are now offering degrees online, why in the hell are we packing up kids and sending them to brick and mortar schools with incompetent teachers when an internet connection is all we need to school them at home? There are dozens of programs available to parents who want to home school their children that run on CDs that allow the computer to become the teacher. Why are we building these schools and paying teachers and administrators and school bus drivers and so on when they are now totally obsolete? Schools are basically day care centers for the children of working parents. There's no reason to keep building them--students learn more at home under the supervision of their parents. The internet brings our homes into the world and the world into our homes. There's no reason to spend millions of dollars on schools when a state issued laptop and some CDs are all it would take to educate all of our children at home!! No more worries about bullying and kids bringing guns and drugs to schools--everthing they need to learn is available to them via the computer. It makes no sense to give online college degrees but reqire attendance at elementary, middle and high schools--and it's been consistently shown that home schooled children are better educated than the ones coming out of public schools! Here's my education plan--issue each child a laptop, require that the child be online at classes 5 hours a day and give a standardized test at the end of every week to make sure they are making satisfactory progress. After they finish the prescribed curriculum they can attend college in person or online and then move on to the work force. It's insane to keep charging higher and higher property taxes to keep paying all these incompetent teachers and building unecessary schools. Take advantage of the technology and use it to full advantage of the next generation and save a ton of money at the same time! Where's the down side to this? No fights or drugs or school shootings, no teachers to pay, no schools to build, no buses to fuel--and social events can be organized so that kids learn to interact with others in their peer group.

Why I can't vote for Barack Obama

As Americans, we are losing our rights, one by one. The first one to go has been the freedom of speech although oddly enough no one realizes that freedom of speech is gone. We are all so afraid of offending someone and getting sued for it that no one dares to open their mouth. That's what makes this a great country--the freedom to state your opinion don't be shy--speak up! You have just as much right to your opinion and no matter if or how it differs from anyone else's opinion, you are free to express it. This is AMERICA--every male member of my family went to war to protect our freedom to speak up--and whether or not we agree or disagree, everyone has the right to speak their minds.
Illegal aliens are using ERs for their primary care doctor and run up literally millions of dollars in medical bills that were billed to Medicaid and paid by my tax dollars--the ER is forced to treat them! They are given food stamps and section 8 housing because the people in charge of these programs are not allowed to ask if they are in the country legally. I went to parent's day with my stepdaughter and was shocked to discover that I was in the minority--most of the women there had NOT been able to get their daughters through High School without becoming grandmothers--and they were all on welfare and medicaid and would be for life. I see the schools struggle to educate children off illegal immigrants and shortchange AMERICAN children because of the overcrowding of the schools with illegal immigrants being educated at my expense and it infuriates me. I'm tired of it. I'm tired of seeing them come here and take the best we have to offer and give nothing in return. Mexico does nothing about illegals here because THE ILLEGALS SEND MONEY HOME AND MEXICO DESPERATELY NEEDS THAT MONEY TO KEEP THEIR ECONOMY GOING! I'm DAMN tired of it. I'm tired of big business importing Indian PhDs on an HB-1 visa so they can pay them 25K a year and then they sent that money home and built up their economy so that now they all have cars and now they are pushing the price of oil up so that I am paying $4 a gallon for gas that will be $5 a gallon soon--and the Arabs are selling to the highest bidder--we let Congress give "most favored nation" trading status to the Chinese so that we could give A TOTALITARIAN COMMUNIST GOVERNMENT a booming viable economy that is also pushing up the price of oil--supply and demand. The Arabs really are running out of oil and they want to maximize the price on what they have left because when it's gone they are done--no oil means they have nothing--they can't grow food in the desert ad have no water so they are toast.
I watch as my beloved country becomes so "politically correct" that our freedom of speech means NOTHING because people are afraid to open their mouths because God forbid they should OFFEND anyone!! I'm tired of listening to people that want reparations because their great great great great great grandmother was imported by my great great great great great grandfather!! GET OVER IT!! We have serious problems that must be addressed and we are about to elect a president in a few months that must lead us out of this mess we are in or we are finished as a nation. I'm not willing to elect Barack Hussein Obama--not because he's black--because he has THREE YEARS of experience in the Senate and it's NOT ENOUGH!! In 10-15 years when he has some experience under his belt, then yes--I might vote for him--but NOT THIS TIME!! We all must come together as a nation and do what is right for AMERICA without regard to what benefits us personally! I find him unqualified and his wife is an affirmative action product who is so incompetent that even with a Harvard Law degree she doesn't practice law--she couldn't make it at the fancy law firm that hired her out of law school. She works in a do-nothing admin job for a large public hospital that gets a lot of public money because of her Senator husband. They pay her 300K a year for a job that in every hospital I've ever worked at is a 38-42K a year job. Her husband is nothing more than a Chicago political hack who got to be a state senator because of the patronage of Jeremiah Wright pastor of his church who is in bed with Jesse and Al. Luckily he's my state's junior senator.
THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH AMERICA THAT CANNOT BE FIXED BY WHAT IS RIGHT WITH AMERICA!!! We must come together as a nation and stand united or we are going to go down the tubes. This election is CRUCIAL to our future as a nation and no matter what we think personally we MUST set that aside and do what's right for our great country!!

NO MORE ILLEGAL ALIENS!!

This is AMERICA--every male member of my family went to war to protect our freedom to speak up and whether or not we agree or disagree, everyone has the right to speak their minds.

I spent a lot of years watching illegal aliens come in and use my ER for their primary care doctor and run up literally millions of dollars in medical bills that were billed to Medicaid and paid by my tax dollars. I went to parent's day with my stepdaughter and was shocked to discover that I was in the minority--most of the women there had NOT been able to get their daughters through High School without becoming grandmothers--and they were all on welfare and medicaid and would be for life. I saw the schools struggle to educate children off illegal immigrants and shortchange MY children because of the overcrowding of the schools with illegal immigrants being educated at my expense and it infuriates me. I'm tired of it. I'm tired of seeing them come here and take the best we have to offer and give nothing in return. Mexico does nothing about illegals here because THE ILLEGALS SEND MONEY HOME AND MEXICO DESPERATELY NEEDS THAT MONEY TO KEEP THEIR ECONOMY GOING! I'm DAMN tired of it. I'm tired of big business importing Indian PhDs on an HB-1 visa so they can pay them 25K a year and then they sent that money home and built up their economy so that now they all have cars and now they are pushing the price of oil up so that I am paying $4 a gallon for gas that will be $5 a gallon soon--and the Arabs are selling to the highest bidder--we let Congress give "most favored nation" trading status to the Chinese so that we could give A TOTALITARIAN COMMUNIST GOVERNMENT a booming viable economy that is also pushing up the price of oil--supply and demand. The Arabs really are running out of oil and they want to maximize the price on what they have left because when it's gone they are done--no oil means they have nothing--they can't grow food in the desert ad have no water so they are toast.
I watch as my beloved country becomes so "politically correct" that our freedom of speech means NOTHING because people are afraid to open their mouths because God forbid they should OFFEND anyone!! I'm tired of listening to people that want reparations because their great great great great great grandmother was imported by my great great great great great grandfather!! GET OVER IT!! We have serious problems that must be addressed and we are about to elect a president in a few months that must lead us out of this mess we are in or we are finished as a nation. I'm not willing to elect Barack Hussein Obama--not because he's black--because he has THREE YEARS of experience in the Senate and it's NOT ENOUGH!! In 10-15 years when he has some experience under his belt, then yes--I might vote for him--but NOT THIS TIME!! We all must come together as a nation and do what is right for AMERICA without regard to what benefits us personally! THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH AMERICA THAT CANNOT BE FIXED BY WHAT IS RIGHT WITH AMERICA!!! We must come together as a nation and stand united or we are going to go down the tubes. This election is CRUCIAL to our future as a nation and no matter what we think personally we MUST set that aside and do what's right for our great country!!

Holy crap! My fingernails hurt!! That's my rant for the day--I think I'll go to the gym to work off all this righteous indignation LMAO
But seriously ladies--I love this country and I want my nieces and nephews to grow up in the America I knew as a kid--not the America we are going to be if we don't do something soon!

How's that oil taste?

Everyone is screaming about gas prices these days and it's not going to be any different no matter how much everyone screams. There are three things at work here and all of them are converging to result in one thing: very expensive gasoline. The first thing is that the Arabs are running out of oil and in order to preserve their way of life, they must get every penny they can for their oil since once it's gone they are finished. They have no other industry and oil money is all they have. They are in a position where they are able to play off India, China and the US against each other in a world auction with economic survival hanging in the balance. We are in this position because we didn't learn from the 70's lesson in what could happen if the Arabs cut off our oil. Instead of developing fuel efficient hybrids, or the electric car they tested, Detroit kept right on building big gas hogs and we kept buying them. We are all paying for that now and we are going to have to change our habits in a hurry. Our days of free-flowing cheap gasoline are gone forever and public transportation needs to step up in a hurry to help the people who can't afford the gas to drive to work any more. Europe has been paying huge prices for gasoline for a very long time and even at $4 a gallon, we are still only paying HALF of what most of them pay. They have adapted to this by buying very fuel efficient cars and using public transportation which is very good over there, but their countries are much smaller than ours--Germany is the size of Arizona. We are going to have to do some serious public transportation steps and rural life is going to be tough because of the lack of public transportation. We are going to see people moving back into long-abandoned cities as life in the suburbs is going to become too expensive unless public transportation steps up in a big way. The second prong is the oil companies are squeezing us to get the government to trash the environmental protections and drill for oil in all the places they aren't allowed to drill now. This is a temporary fix because the world really IS running out of oil and future generations are going to pay the price for the cheap gas we enjoyed for so many years. Exxon wants to drill in your back yard and they are going to let the gas get as high as they can. They have no incentives to build refineries so that the price of their product goes DOWN--that's just stupid on their part and they aren't stupid. The government can lambaste them from now until the cows come home and it isn't going to make a bit of difference, because as long as they aren't breaking the law, they will charge whatever the market will bear for their gas. Again, it's just good business for them--buy low, sell high--a time honored economic principle. The third prong on this trident is the Chinese and the Indians now have viable economies because we have exported so many jobs to their countries that now they can afford cars and need gasoline to run them. I don't really think that they are going to go back to riding bikes just because we want to pay $1 a gallon for gas, do you? We have no one to blame but ourselves for this. We bought Chinese goods because they were cheap. We allowed our government to import HB-1 workers from India--Ph.Ds that worked for 25K a year in high tech jobs because big business talked the government into believing there weren't enough American workers for these jobs--which is bullshit. They didn't want to pay a living wage to get American workers so they imported cheap labor and that cheap labor sent money home to help with their economic development--and to buy cars that they need fuel to run.
The only answer is for us to maximize the profit on what it is that we have--FOOD. America is the only country on Earth that can feed the entire population with food left to sell--a LOT of food left over. To all those people protesting against America somewhere in the world all I have to say is this: When you complain about the farmer, don't do it with your mouth full.
We are the world's farm and we need to wake up and realize that no matter how much oil the Arabs have, THEY CAN'T EAT IT. They want to charge $140 a barrel for oil? No problem. $50 a bushel for wheat sounds about right to me. Corn? $2 an ear for them sounds right to me. Beef? $30 a pound? No problem. They can't eat the oil and no other country can produce enough food to feed it's people other than the USA. We control the world's food supply which the idiots in Washington seem to have forgotten--but it's the card that trumps all others. Dollar value going down? How's that Toyota taste? Why don't you chase that meal of computer components with a nice glass of light sweet crude and tell me how you like the bouquet?

I now have 2 Moms--I am doubly blessed

There's no more complex relationship that between a woman and her mother and it changes over the years. On this Mother's day, I thought I'd write about the amazing women who are my Mothers--Lani who is my mother and Gloria who is my husband's mother--that's right--she's my Mother-in-Law (gasp). They are very much alike, these two women that are a part of my life and even though they have never met, it would amaze both of them at how alike they are. I've known my mother since the day I was born and I remember when I was little how she was always teaching me something and she also taught my siblings, her grandchildren and now she has her first great-grandson and we got the news today there is another great-granchild on the way who will be here in March. Gloria is a teacher by trade so she has taught MANY people so both of them share a love of watching people learn. My Mother has lived in South Florida since she married my father almost 51 years ago but she loves to travel, my Mother-in-Law has lived all over the world as an Air Force Officer's wife so I'm sure she loves to travel too! She and my Father-in-Law will celebrate their 50th anniversary in February 2009. My mom loves my husband so I am grateful that he has no Mother-in-Law issues either! They are very close in age too, both born in the same year, only 2 months apart, so they share the same memories of historical events when growing up and the same types of moral values of their generation. They are so much alike these two amazing women but while I've got a lifetime with my mother, I'm sad that I will not have the same amount of time with Gloria as I met her son in 2007 and married him late last year. I have no children of my own but I have been blessed by having been raised by one of the most unique and intelligent women on the planet. My mother was born way ahead of her time. She lived in a world where success was measured by how well you married and what a good wife and mother you were; back in the time where the US squandered 50% of the population by making sure they had no career opportunities other that the pink collar jobs--teacher, nurse or secretary. These women should have had the opportunities that the women of today have because they would both have set the world on fire. They are both outspoken, well-educated, well-mannered and have spines of steel--my mother has never let anyone push her around and I can't imagine that my mother-in-law has either. They both married successful men and had children and took pride in raising their children and neither I nor my husband would be who we are today without these special women. I have no regrets in my life save one, but as I approach 50 and see my mother getting older it strikes me at how my relationship with her has changed over the years. When I was little she was my hero and protector, as I grew older she taught me things--how to live and right from wrong and how to tell the difference between the two when it was a close call. They both live far from us and when I see my mom she's a little more frail as she approaches 70 and it pains me to see her age because I know that one of these Mother's Days will be the last--but I think I have a few more to go. My mother's mother is also still with us, in a nursing home but she doesn't know who I am and I find it excruciatingly painful that she is like this at almost 94 and I hope that my mother will always know who I am as it is unbearable for me to see my grandmother like she is now--and I don't know if I could stand it if my mother ends up like that. I see how my relationship with Mom has changed over the years. I used to ask her advice (and I still do) but now she asks mine and views me as a peer as well as her oldest daughter. It is a comfortable and loving relationship--long gone are the teenage spats of my foolish youth when I thought that she didn't know the time of day. I've long since learned that she took every breath with me and would have killed or died to protect me and still would to this day. That's what makes Mothers what they are--no matter what they will always love you--even if the rest of the world hates you, there's nothing that matches a mother's love. It's especially poignant to me because I am difficult to love. I am too intelligent, too fiesty, too independent--a handful for my husband who loves me dearly, but I am so much my mother's daughter. Growing up, I thought we shared so little but now I see we share so much--love for each other and the joy of seeing the next generations of our family come into being. My second grand-nephew or first grand-niece will be here in March and I hope that my mother will be able to see them grow up as she has their parents and their parent's parents. As I type on Mother's Day 2008, five generations of my family walk this earth with my mother the matriarch of the entire family. I hope that all of my siblings, nieces, nephews and their children love and cherish this woman as I do, for she is amazing. Happy Mother's Day Mom, I love you so much and believe me--I'm everything I am because you loved me.

Who Cries for Eight Belles?

Who cries for Eight Belles? The beautiful grey great-granddaughter of the great Northern Dancer, winner of the Derby and sire of Derby winner Dancer's Image and granddaughter of the 1990 Derby winner Unbridled, Granddaughter of Caro who sired Winning Colors (the last filly to win the Derby) and niece of the 1996 Derby winner Grindstone had the pedigree to win the Run for the Roses. She also had the heart of a lion and delicate crystal ankles, as all thoroughbreds do. The filly showed the world that she was the second-best 3 year old in the world on the first Saturday in May and certainly the best filly. Her nose was in Big Brown's tail the entire way and she was running away from the field as he ran away from her. She was the best 3 year old filly in racing and if Big Brown had not been in the race, she would have joined Regret, Genuine Risk and her cousin Winning Colors as only the fourth filly to win the Run for the Roses. She ran her heart out to win because she was born and bred to run with the wind--it's what Thoroughbreds do--what they've always done. I cried for Eight Belles when I saw her poor broken body on laying on the track. She ran the race of her life and in a freak accident she broke her ankles after she ran her heart out. She belonged with the big boys and showed she could run with the big dogs and she beat 18 of them but the biggest one--the best 3 year old in the world beat her fair and square. In the old days they would bring a gun out and shoot them right on the track and haul them away. They do it differently now, but Eight Belles is still gone--but the memory of how she gave it her all will remain in Derby legend and lore forever. I cried for her because I know what it's like to lose a great horse to an injury. I know what it's like to lose a dog you loved or a Siamese that slept under my chin every night for 19 years. I cried for Eight Belles but I know I wasn't the only one--the people who loved her and cared for her cried with me--and longer and harder than I. PETA has no clue about most things--they are a publicity hungry terrorist organization and for them to use the death of the beautiful filly who had more heart than she had legs is reprehensible. Their crass attempt to beat the beautiful dead filly shows that they don't have the class she showed in running for the roses and giving her life for them.

Can I buy your child for $100,000.00?

VA Tech is getting the deal of a lifetime at 100K for each death caused by A. their negligence in failing to remove Seung-Hui Cho from the campus, B. their failure to warn the campus that a gunman was at large and could possibly be a danger to students and C. the campus policy that doesn't allow properly permitted and legal gun owners to carry their lawful weapons on campus, ensuring a helpless, victim-rich environment. When one considers that a surrogate mother is $40,000 plus another 15-30K for the harvesting, fertilization and implantation, prenatal care, hospital delivery, diapers, food, clothes, insurance, education, braces, etc., etc. and VT got the deal of a lifetime! If I offered you a 100K for one of your children would you let me kill him or her? Of course not--but VT thinks it's a fair deal for the parents--and of course let's not forget that the lawyers are getting a cut too--33.3-40% of the 100K PLUS EXPENSES which means only 60-66% of the 100K of blood money offered. It's not enough--not by a long shot!

letter to the editor which was NOT printed

ORANGE COUNTY (CALIFORNIA) NEWSPAPER
This is a letter to the editor which was NOT printed in the Orange County Newspaper. This woman made some good points. Sometimes people have difficulty structuring their arguments against supporting the currently proposed immigration revisions. Many Newspapers simply won't publish letters to the editor which they deem to be politically incorrect (read below) or which does not agree with their philosophy.

Sent by: David LaBonte
My wife, Rosemary, wrote a wonderful letter to the editor of the OC Register which, of course, was not printed. So, I decided to 'print' it myself by sending it out on the Internet. Pass it along if you feel so inclined.
(signed) Dave LaBonte

New Immigrants

Written in response to a series of letters to the editor in the Orange County Register:
Dear Editor:
So many letter writers have based their arguments on how this land is made up of immigrants. Ernie Lujan for one, suggests we should tear down the Statue of Liberty because the people now in question aren't being treated the same as those who passed through Ellis Island and other ports of entry.
Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people like Mr. Lujan why today's American is not willing to accept this new kind of immigrant any longer. Back in 1900 when there was a rush from all areas of Europe to come to the United States , people had to get off a ship and stand in a long line in New York and be documented. Some would even get down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground. They made a pledge to uphold the laws and support their new country in good and bad times. They made learning English a primary rule in their new American households and some even changed their names to blend in with their new home.
They had waved good bye to their birth place to give their children a new life and did everything in their power to help their children assimilate into one culture.
Nothing was handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare, no labor laws to protect them. All they had were the skills and craftsmanship they had brought with them to trade for a future of prosperity. Most of their children came of age when World War II broke out. My father fought along side men whose parents had come straight over from Germany, Italy, France and Japan . None of these 1st generation Americans ever gave any thought about what country their parents had come from. They were Americans fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan. They were defending the United States of America as one people. When we liberated France , no one in those villages were looking for the French-American or the German American or the Irish American. The people of France saw only Americans. And we carried one flag that represented one country. Not one of those immigrant sons would have th ought about picking up another country's flag and waving it to represent who they were. It would have been a disgrace to their parents who had sacrificed so much to be here. These immigrants truly knew what it meant to be an American. They stirred the melting pot into one red, white and blue bowl.
And here we are in 2008 with a new kind of immigrant who wants the same rights and privileges. Only they want to achieve it by playing with a different set of rules, one that includes the entitlement card and a guarantee of being faithful to their mother country. I'm sorry, that's not what being an American is all about. I believe that the immigrants who landed on Ellis Island in the early 1900's deserve better than that for all the toil, hard work and sacrifice in raising future generations to create a land that has become a beacon for those legally searching for a better life. I think they would be appalled that they are being used as an example by those waving foreign country flags.
And for that suggestion about taking down the Statue of Liberty, it happens to mean a lot to the citizens who are voting on the immigration bill. I wouldn't start talking about dismantling the United States just yet.
(signed) Rosemary LaBonte

My comments on the letter and immigration situation.

I think it may be too late to address the illegal immigration disaster facing the USA today. INS does NOTHING to get rid of them, they walk down the street with impunity and no one does shit--they get driver's licenses from the state, medicaid, free education and credit cards and bank accounts because big business wants cheap labor so the pay off the government to look the other way and they do since Congress is now government by bribe. Bank of America wants to give them credit cards without social security cards--I am REQUIRED to show mine though!!
It's the biggest crock of shit going but the average American is now so fed up with paying the tax bill for all these illegals that they are starting to make their voices heard in Congress--louder and longer than the cash cows that the lobbyists represent. The only reason they are being heard is that the crooked politicians are realizing that they can't keep their bribe-soliciting/receiving jobs without the voters keeping them in office to collect the dirty money from the big biz fat cats who want Pedro working for $5 an hour less (and no benefits) than they would be FORCED to pay to an American! Silicon Valley is bringing in Indian Ph.D's and paying them what an American High School grad makes and bitching because they can't bring any more over--what American kid is going to go into IT or engineering to compete with the slave labor wages paid to illegal foreign or H1 visa holders who are undercutting the salary and forcing the wage levels down? The ONLY thing that is going to work is for the scumbag whores on Capitol Hill to realize that the VOTING AMERICAN CITIZEN is not going to put up with this bullshit any longer--and we do that by VOTING!! The illegals can rob us for education, free medical care, food stamps, medicaid and all the other things they steal from us but THEY CANNOT LEGALLY VOTE!!!
http://www.numbersusa.com/ is a great site for a great organization--go there and sign up to be notified when illegal alien bills come up and send free faxes to your representatives and senators and let them know that this bullshit stops and stops NOW. Enough is enough!

Another Lionel Tate-type case in Florida!

Many poor immigrants have babies as soon as they sneak off the boat so that they can't be forced to leave the country as parents of an "anchor baby" who is an American citizen just because s/he was born here. Changing the law to eliminate the automatic citizenship would be a huge step in the right direction. No one should have children they can't afford day care and education for, but the poor and uneducated keep popping them out every nine months and 10 minutes at taxpayer expense. The state's unending willingness to write checks for irresponsible parents and pick up the medical care bill via Medicaid for them to have all these welfare babies is insane. Forced sterilization of welfare mothers SHOULD be the law. If you can't feed them, don't breed them is not just a bumper sticker, it's a fact. A 12 year old forced into babysitting younger relatives is a recipe for disaster and the little psychopath should join Lionel Tate in prison for this crime. I was forced to watch my younger siblings and I hated it too, but I didn't take a BAT to them--it is however the reason I have no children (I'm 49) as it made me realize I hated kids BEFORE I had any!!

Dewey's Pizza, Kirkwood, MO review

We visited Dewey's Pizza in Kirkwood, MO on Saturday and were delighted by the entire experience. There was a 10 minute wait for a table, which wasn't a big deal but we were surprised that the restaurant was so busy since Saturday lunch is historically the slowest day of the week for most places. We were seated at a booth that was spotlessly clean, (as was the restroom I visited while waiting for a table) given menus, and our drink order was taken promptly by our server, Annie. The menu was clear and concise and unusually informative, something I really appreciated as I like to know what's going to be on my plate. Even though there was a team service concept going on, Annie was our main server and returned quickly with our drinks. She patiently told us about the pizza and answered our questions even though they were very busy and when I asked for a slight variation on my salad, her "no problem" reply was instant and came with a genuine smile. She also told me that there would be a slight extra charge for what I wanted, which was no big deal--fifty cents--but it was nice to be told in advance and not get the check and see it there. I love informed consent! She left with our order and the other wait staff members refilled our drinks at half-full cheerfully, albeit hurriedly, as they were still slammed. My salad arrived promptly and was delicious and unusual. The usual iceberg lettuce was nowhere to be seen, but the cold, crisp mix of field greens was a pleasant change! Since I was unable to decide between the peppercorn ranch and the house balsamic vinaigrette, Annie brought me a waffle cup of each on the side, and as a sidebar, she is one of the best wait staff I've ever had at any restaurant. She could easily make the jump to fine dining at any 5 star establishment in the country, I was very impressed with her and hope she realizes her potential. Both of the dressings were so good that we saved them after the salad course, something I normally do NOT do.
Annie also told us that we could have a half white and half red pizza, a choice I have never been given before and was delighted to have since I like both red and white pizza. I finished my salad and one of the server team (not Annie) whisked away my plate, but took my used silverware off of the plate and placed it back on the table--the ONLY service flaw in the entire experience, I would have expected clean silverware to be offered and if it wasn't, the dirty utensils removed--I left them on the salad plate for a reason. Service plates and extra napkins were left in advance of the arrival of the pie, and the plates were shiny clean. The pizza arrived and it was magnificent--plenty of toppings and perfectly done with a satisfyingly thick layer of cheese on both sides. I prefer my toppings under the cheese to hold them down and prevent them from escaping off the pie, but it's a minor point. The red side was spicy with just the right bite and amount of sauce and the white side was just as good with the hint of garlic that could have been stronger, but that's a personal preference. The crust was crispy on the outside, pillowy on the inside and totally delicious--one of the best pizza crusts I have ever had. I'm ashamed to admit that we ate every single morsel of the pizza between the two of us--we are hogs to be sure--but we couldn't stop eating the delicious pizza which is why there is no dessert review included this time. Annie came by to make sure the pizza was the way we liked it and the tea refills were continued until we finished the pie and declined any further refills. The check was presented right after the empty pizza dish was removed, and the credit card was whisked away and returned for signature promptly but we were not rushed to leave even though they were STILL very busy. I have not had a service or dining experience to beat this one at any pizza establishment I have ever visited and it rates many returns and a top rating--the best I have ever given any pizza or family casual dining establishment in my life! Keep up the good word--I'm a customer forever! When I have 6 months to live, I am having my bed moved to the store!!
Service 4.75 stars
Food 5 stars

Another Bonehead Supreme Court Decision!!

Crack is the scourge of our society and should be treated much more harshly that powder cocaine!! School children can't afford powder cocaine so it's only right that we should be more lenient with the pieces of shit that mix up a horrifically addictive substance that kids can get for $5 anywhere in the country that has an MLK Blvd. This is just WRONG!! How odd that one of the two dissenting votes was from Clarence Thomas, the only black sitting Supreme Court justice, yet the basis for the black federal judge's departure for deviating from the guidelines is because he believed it discriminatory since most users and dealers are black. I find this disturbing because the law doesn't force black people to use crack cocaine and whites to use powder cocaine! It's just a cheaper high so it can be more pervasive in neighborhoods where the druggies can't afford the more expensive powder. This means that the black crack dealers can make more money and don't hesitate to sell it to children and to use black children as mules and dealers to exploit the juvenile justice system that treats children more leniently than adult offenders! If anything, the dealers benefit from the cheaper cost of the product and the willing market for it. This is a bad decision all the way around--the answer is not to lighten the penalties for crack, but to toughen the penalties for powder!!


Justices Widen Sentencing Powers of Federal Judges
By DAVID STOUT
Published: December 10, 2007
WASHINGTON, Dec. 10 — The Supreme Court today enhanced the power of federal district judges to use their discretion in arriving at sentences in criminal cases as it upheld a relatively light sentence imposed on a crack cocaine distributor.
Decision: Kimbrough v. United States (supremecourtus.gov)
Times Topics: Supreme Court By 7 to 2, the court held that “the cocaine guidelines, like all other guidelines, are advisory only,” in the words of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who wrote for the majority. She cited a 2005 Supreme Court decision, United States v. Booker, that “mandatory guidelines” in federal cases gave judges too much fact-finding responsibility, and that the guidelines should be “advisory” instead.
The majority concluded today that a district judge in Virginia acted properly in April 2005 when he refused to follow federal sentencing guidelines calling for far harsher penalties for trafficking in crack cocaine than they do for dealing in the powder form of the drug. In a nutshell, the effect of this ruling is to give sentencing judges considerably more discretion in criminal cases.
In the Booker decision of 2005, the court did not spell out clearly what it meant by “advisory,” so there has been considerable confusion throughout the criminal justice system.
In a second sentencing case, also decided today by 7 to 2, the court upheld the three years’ probation imposed upon Brian M. Gall, who was part of a ring that sold the illegal drug Ecstasy while in college in Iowa.
The trial judge concluded that prison would do him no good, since he had finished college and turned his life around. But the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, in St. Louis, found that the judge had not sufficiently justified his departure from the guidelines, which called for three years in prison. Today, the Supreme Court said the trial judge was right.
The disparities between prison terms for dealing in crack and for peddling powdered cocaine have for years angered some lawyers and civil rights advocates, who have argued that the crack-cocaine penalties unfairly punish black defendants more severely than they do whites. Crack is much more common in poor urban areas than the powder favored by white users, and black people make up 80 percent of those sentenced for crack-dealing.
Two decades ago, when the effects of the two forms of cocaine were less well understood, there was a collective assumption that crack cocaine was far deadlier, although subsequent studies have shown that they “have the same physiological and psychotropic effects,” as Justice Ginsburg put it.
But the United States Sentencing Commission, created in the mid-1980’s to recommend appropriate federal prison terms and lessen wildly disparate sentences in cases of similar circumstances, provided punishments for crack cocaine that were far more severe than those associated with the powder — the same five-year minimum for possessing 5 grams of crack as for 100 times as much powdered cocaine, for instance.
In fact, the sentencing commission recently issued new guidelines that will reduce the average sentence for cocaine possession to 8 years 10 months, from 10 years 1 month. The panel is to meet on Tuesday in Washington to consider whether the reduction should be made retroactive. If the answer is “yes,” some 19,000 prisoners could have their sentences reduced.
Even before the new guidelines, more and more federal judges had been rebelling over the crack v. powder disparity. One of them was Judge Raymond A. Jackson, who refused to sentence Derrick Kimbrough of Norfolk to the 19-to-22-year sentence called for in the guidelines after Mr. Kimbrough pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing more than 50 grams of crack.
“Ridiculous” and “clearly inappropriate” Judge Jackson said of the guidelines as they supposedly applied to the case of Mr. Kimbrough, who the judge noted had no prior felony convictions, was gainfully employed and had served honorably in the Marine Corps in the Persian Gulf war. The judge sentenced him to 15 years, the lightest term possible under the statutory minimums.
But the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, in Richmond, rejected Judge Jackson’s reasoning and ordered him to resentence the defendant. The appeals court, differing with appeals judges in other circuits who had found that sentencing judges did have considerable discretion, said it was “unreasonable” for Judge Jackson to have departed from the guidelines just because he disagreed with the disparity between punishments linked to crack and powdered cocaine.
But Justice Ginsburg said the Fourth Circuit was wrong, and that the sentence imposed by Judge Jackson “should survive appellate inspection.” She wrote that the sentencing judge had “properly homed in on the particular circumstances of Kimbrough’s case.”
Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. were the dissenters today in Kimbrough v. United States, No. 06-6330. Justice Thomas wrote that, in declaring the guidelines only advisory two years ago, the Supreme Court had come up with a remedy “far broader than necessary to correct constitutional error.”
“Because the court’s decisions in this area are necessarily grounded in policy considerations rather than law, I respectfully dissent,” Justice Thomas wrote.
The 100-to-1 ratio in sentences for crack and powder cocaine originated in the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986. Several bills have been introduced in Congress to address the disparities between sentences for crack and for powdered cocaine.

Why I take my gun everywhere with me!

Here's an excellent article on the mass mall shooting in NEBRASKA. I couldn't have written anything better. I totally agree with the author of this column and I ignore gun-free zones as my state-issued concealed carry permit is going to trump their little sign that guns aren't allowed. Unless I NEED it, they will never know I have it and if I need it, I'll be alive to defend myself in court while the folks who are dead will be taking dirtnaps. I'd rather be tried by 12 than carried by 6!!



AP
Robert Hawkins
The horrible tragedy at the Westroads Mall in Omaha, Neb. received a lot of attention Wednesday and Thursday. It should have. Eight people were killed, and five were wounded.
A Google news search using the phrase "Omaha Mall Shooting" finds an incredible 2,794 news stories worldwide for the last day. From India and Taiwan to Britain and Austria, there are probably few people in the world who haven’t heard about this tragedy.
But despite the massive news coverage, none of the media coverage, at least by 10 a.m. Thursday, mentioned this central fact: Yet another attack occurred in a gun-free zone.
Surely, with all the reporters who appear at these crime scenes and seemingly interview virtually everyone there, why didn’t one simply mention the signs that ban guns from the premises?
Nebraska allows people to carry permitted concealed handguns, but it allows property owners, such as the Westroads Mall, to post signs banning permit holders from legally carrying guns on their property.
The same was true for the attack at the Trolley Square Mall in Utah in February (a copy of the sign at the mall can be seen here). But again the media coverage ignored this fact. Possibly the ban there was even more noteworthy because the off-duty police officer who stopped the attack fortunately violated the ban by taking his gun in with him when he went shopping.
Yet even then, the officer "was at the opposite end and on a different floor of the convoluted Trolley Square complex when the shooting began. By the time he became aware of the shooting and managed to track down and confront Talovic [the killer], three minutes had elapsed."
There are plenty of cases every year where permit holders stop what would have been multiple victim shootings every year, but they rarely receive any news coverage. Take a case this year in Memphis, where WBIR-TV reported a gunman started "firing a pistol beside a busy city street" and was stopped by two permit holders before anyone was harmed.
When will part of the media coverage on these multiple-victim public shootings be whether guns were banned where the attack occurred? While the media has begun to cover whether teachers can have guns at school or the almost 8,000 college students across the country who protested gun-free zones on their campuses, the media haven’t started checking what are the rules where these attacks occur.
Surely, the news stories carry detailed information on the weapon used (in this case, a rifle) and the number of ammunition clips (apparently, two). But if these aspects of the story are deemed important for understanding what happened, why isn’t it also important that the attack occurred where guns were banned? Isn’t it important to know why all the victims were disarmed?
Few know that Dylan Klebold, one of the two Columbine killers, closely was following Colorado legislation that would have allowed citizens to carry a concealed handgun. Klebold strongly opposed the legislation and openly talked about it.
No wonder, as the bill being debated would have allowed permitted guns to be carried on school property. It is quite a coincidence that he attacked the Columbine High School the very day the legislature was scheduled to vote on the bill.
Despite the lack of news coverage, people are beginning to notice what research has shown for years: Multiple-victim public shootings keep occurring in places where guns already are banned. Forty states have broad right-to-carry laws, but even within these states it is the "gun-free zones," not other public places, where the attacks happen.
People know the list: Virginia Tech saw 32 murdered earlier this year; the Columbine High School shooting left 13 murdered in 1999; Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen, Texas, had 23 who were fatally shot by a deranged man in 1991; and a McDonald's in Southern California had 21 people shot dead by an unemployed security guard in 1984.
All these attacks — indeed, all attacks involving more than a small number of people being killed — happened in gun-free zones.
In recent years, similar attacks have occurred across the world, including in Australia, France, Germany and Britain. Do all these countries lack enough gun-control laws? Hardly. The reverse is more accurate.
The law-abiding, not criminals, are obeying the rules. Disarming the victims simply means that the killers have less to fear. As Wednesday's attack demonstrated yet again, police are important, but they almost always arrive at the crime scene after the crime has occurred.
The longer it takes for someone to arrive on the scene with a gun, the more people who will be harmed by such an attack.
Most people understand that guns deter criminals. If a killer were stalking your family, would you feel safer putting a sign out front announcing, "This Home Is a Gun-Free Zone"? But that is what the Westroads Mall did.

Zune Me Till My Head Explodes!

I received a Pink (Limited Edition) Zune as a wedding gift from my wonderful husband who has an ungodly huge music library that he proceeded to load into my Zune. I also loaded our wedding pictures into my Zune and this is a great feature--I have a giant electronic picture frame that shows my wedding pics as a slide show along with all my other pics. My husband loaded SEVENTEEN GIGS of music into it and also bought me a Pontiac Solstice sports car that I can plug my Zune directly into and rock on down the highway! I love my Zune SO MUCH!! I had no problems loading the Zune-ware into my laptop and loading the music and pictures was a breeze. The clarity and color of the pictures is great, I love this feature! I've never bothered with the wireless applications like radio or song sharing because I have TONS of my own music that I load from CDs into the Zune and I have XM satellite radio in the new car and in my Town Car. For the record, I've never owned an iPod because I never really thought it would be something I would use and when John gave me the Zune I was skeptical about how much I would use it since I had a walkman but carrying around the cassettes then the CDs was a pain in the butt--I preferred the convenience of radio to carry around and the 6 CD changer in my Lincoln--but I am totally in love with the Zune. I load new music as I get it and with all the music I have in the Zune, there is still room for much more! It interfaces seamlessly into my home stereos, my car stereos and with the killer headphones I bought to go with it (the ones that came with it hurt my ears--OUCH!) it's one of the best toys I've ever had. I would recommend it to anybody!

Where's the outcry for HER civil rights?

Where's the justice for this woman? If this isn't a hate crime what is? I hope these little barbarians are being charged as adults and charged with a hate crime because if it had been a black woman stomped on by white kids, Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson would have busloads of rioting African Americans screaming about racism. Scumbags are scumbags regardless of race--and this is why I have a carry permit. I'd have no problem punching their ticket--kids or adults. Kids like this know the juvenile system in a joke and they think they can get away with this by playing the race card. Charge them as adults--and where is the FBI? Sure as hell these little junior gang bangers violated HER civil rights!

If she were black, and these kids were white, the outcry would be deafening--every piece of shit publicity whoring AFRICAN-AMERICAN in the country would be demanding that these little dirt bags be charged with a hate crime but she's white so these laws apparently don't apply to her--they are only for the protection of BLACK victims because all whites are racist. What a total crock of shit. We are bending over backwards to accommodate these AFRICAN-AMERICANS because a few hundred years ago, our ancestors exercised incredibly poor judgement by importing their ancestors without ever dreaming that this kind of crap would happen 150 years after the abolishment of slavery. They should have sent them all back to Liberia when they were freed--look at what the repatriated slaves sent to a country of their own accomplished in Liberia--NOTHING. They are killing each other in civil wars and starving to death with no schools, no industry and no future at the hands of warlords who spend all their spare time killing each other. Here's the story in case you missed it--read it and weep for the country we all love as it goes down the tubes:

Woman beaten on bus
Filed under: BALTIMORE , Luke Broadwater ,

(Provided)Sarah Kreager suffered two broken bones in her left eye socket after nine teenagers allegedly attacked her on a city bus.
Dec 6, 2007 3:00 AM (1 day ago) by Luke Broadwater, The Examiner
BALTIMORE (Map, News) - As Sarah Kreager, 26, tried to sit down on a Baltimore City bus Tuesday, police say, a middle-schooler told her she couldn’t. When she attempted to take another seat, a middle-schooler wouldn’t let her. Finally, according to police, Kreager just sat down.
She was “immediately attacked” by nine students — three females and six males — from Robert Poole Middle School. They punched and kicked her at 2:59 p.m. at the intersection of 33rd Street and Chestnut Avenue, according to Maryland Transit Administration police.
Kreager was dragged off the bus and her boyfriend, Troy Ennis, attempted to get her back on, police said.
She sustained “serious injuries” and had to be transported to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, according to a police report.
Kreager suffered two broken bones in her left eye socket, police said.
“She had eye muscles that were damaged,” a police report states. “She had deep lacerations on the top of her head and another above her neck.”
Two seats and the bus’ rear glass were destroyed during the attack, police said.
The bus driver on the No. 27 line quickly called police, who responded and arrested the nine juveniles, said Jawauna Greene, an MTA police spokeswoman.
All nine suspects, ages 14 and 15, were arrested and charged with aggravated assault.
Their bus tickets — provided by the school — have been revoked, Greene said.
“Riding the bus is a privilege,” she said. “Public safety is our primary concern.”
Greene said the investigation into the incident was ongoing and she didn’t know whether the attack had anything to do with the victim’s race.
The suspects in the incident are black. The victim is white, according to the police report.
Baltimore resident David Briggs, who lives near the crime scene, said the incident underscores Baltimore’s pervasive crime.
“Now, I can't even ride the bus,” he said.
Examiner Staff Writer Stephen Janis contributed to the article.
lbroadwater@baltimoreexaminer.com

And if this isn't enough, these pieces of shit have the GALL to blame the victim--read this and raise your blood pressure a few hundred points:

Students blame beating victim
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Filed under: BALTIMORE , Stephen Janis , Sarah Kreager

(Stephen Janis/Examiner)The No. 27 MTA bus waits for students outside Robert Poole school Thursday. Sarah Kreager, 26, was brutally beaten Tuesday aboard the No. 27 bus.
Dec 7, 2007 3:00 AM (19 hrs ago) by Stephen Janis, The Examiner
BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Students disputed the police version of Tuesday’s brutal assault of a 26-year-old woman on a Baltimore City bus and claimed the “victim” started the fight and used the “N” word.
Robert Poole Middle School students who were on the No. 27 bus around 3 p.m. Tuesday say Sarah Kreager and her boyfriend provoked nine students in an attack that left her with broken bones in the left eye socket and other head injuries.
Riding home from school Thursday, Kevin Johnson, 14, said the adults started the fight.
“We all ride the bus together and nothing happens,” he told The Examiner.
Another student, a 13-year-old girl who would not give her name, said she heard Kreager use the “N” word, instigating the fight.
“She punched my friend, and my friend fell back in her seat,” the girl said.
The students’ stories contradict the version provided by Kreager and her boyfriend to Maryland Transit Administration police. Kreager and her boyfriend said the middle schoolers refused to let the couple sit down — and then attacked them, police said.
After twice being denied an open seat by the middle schoolers — all ages 14 and 15 — Kreager was “immediately attacked,” police said. The six boys and three girls punched and kicked her at 2:59 p.m. at the intersection of 33rd Street and Chestnut Avenue, according to police.
Kreager was dragged off the bus, and her boyfriend, Troy Ennis, attempted to get her back on, police said.
“She had eye muscles that were damaged,” a police report states. “She had deep lacerations on the top of her head and another above her neck.”
Two seats and the bus’s rear glass were destroyed during the attack, police said.
The bus driver quickly called police, who responded and arrested the nine juveniles. They were charged with aggravated assault, said Jawauna Greene, an MTA police spokeswoman.
Security was tight Thursday on the special No. 27 bus that normally picks up students on school grounds, as two armed MTA police officers rode with a dozen or so students. Officers riding the bus said it is generally filled, which may have factored into the dispute over seats.
Riders of the No. 27 bus said students could be rowdy.
“When they come into the store, they don’t listen,” said Pat Thompson, 58, who worked at the 7-Eleven down the street. “I try to get on the bus before they do.”
Kreager could not be reached for comment. Court records show Kreager is awaiting trial on drug-related charges.
Schools officials declined to comment on punishment for the students, citing the conflicting accounts.
“School officials have to interview the students who were arrested before deciding whether to punish them,” said Vanessa Pyatt, a Baltimore City schools spokeswoman.
“We have not made a determination yet because we are getting conflicting reports,” she added.
sjanis@baltimoreexaminer.com

These kids actually think that it's remotely believable that this woman, who was totally outnumbered provoked the attack by calling them niggers. That's the most outrageous lie I've heard in many years and a totally infuriating attempt to play the race card to try and get away with this heinous crime. No unarmed defenseless woman outnumbered nine-to-one would be STUPID enough to call these kids niggers and it's absolutely outrageous that they think they will be believed as they all have lengthy criminal records and their claim is so totally outrageous that no one with an IQ higher than room temperature could think that their story is anything but totally implausible. These kids apparently think that Jesse and Reverend Al are going to show up and champion their cause if they claim they tried to kill this white woman for calling them niggers. The really insane thing is that it just MIGHT work because people in this country are so afraid of being politically incorrect that these kids may have actually come up with a lie that will fly--particularly if they manage to get an OJ-type jury. I can't believe no one came to this woman's assistance--had I been there, I would have started shooting them in an effort to protect my fellow human being--and I would not have cared what color they are. If they were so convinced they were in the right, why did they run? The BLACK bus driver was assaulted when he came to the aid of these people--if the adults started the fight as these junior felons claim, I don't think he would have risked his like to try and help them. VIDEOTAPED EVIDENCE shows the little scumbags are lying--hard to believe, eh?--apparently when they were making up the lies to tell the police and their parents, they FORGOT they were on tape and they forgot to tell the police the lies they are now spouting during the initial reporting and preliminary investigation of this hate crime--and the best part--police have identified two other people as victims of the hate crime--a third passenger and the driver of the bus.

I got married yesterday!!

I married my beloved John yesterday. You will remember him from earlier blogs as "J" as I wanted to protect his privacy! Here we are in our back yard of the farm-ette in Illinois. I'm the blonde--LOL. It was a wonderful wedding with family and close friends in attendance. I will blog more about the wedding but I am exhausted from the wedding, all the food prep and the ordeal of editing and uploading the video to Youtube--something I have never done before. After spending the day with USB cords, ports, videocam, laptop and the internet I have a headache and an almost irresistible desire to smash all these eletronics into a pile of microchips! Here's the wedding video as it happened, just click to view!

JENA 6

This is an article written by the prosecuting attorney in Jena, LA and I have to say that I support him 100%!
September 26, 2007
Op-Ed Contributor
Justice in Jena
By REED WALTERS
Jena, La.
THE case of the so-called Jena Six has fired the imaginations of thousands, notably young African-Americans who, according to many of their comments, believe they will be in the vanguard of a new civil rights movement. Whether America needs a new civil rights movement I leave to social activists, politicians and the people who must give life to such a cause.
I am a small-town lawyer and prosecutor. For 16 years, it has been my job as the district attorney to review each criminal case brought to me by the police department or the sheriff, match the facts to any applicable laws and seek justice for those who have been harmed. The work is often rewarding, but not always.
I do not question the sincerity or motivation of the 10,000 or more protesters who descended on Jena last week, after riding hundreds of miles on buses. But long before reaching our town of 3,000 people, they had decided that a miscarriage of justice was taking place here. Their anger at me was summed up by a woman who said, “If you can figure out how to make a schoolyard fight into an attempted murder charge, I’m sure you can figure out how to make stringing nooses into a hate crime.”
That could be a compelling statement to someone trying to motivate listeners on a radio show, but as I am a lawyer obligated to enforce the laws of my state, it does not work for me.
I cannot overemphasize how abhorrent and stupid I find the placing of the nooses on the schoolyard tree in late August 2006. If those who committed that act considered it a prank, their sense of humor is seriously distorted. It was mean-spirited and deserves the condemnation of all decent people.
But it broke no law. I searched the Louisiana criminal code for a crime that I could prosecute. There is none.
Similarly, the United States attorney for the Western District of Louisiana, who is African-American, found no federal law against what was done.
A district attorney cannot take people to trial for acts not covered in the statutes. Imagine the trampling of individual rights that would occur if prosecutors were allowed to pursue every person whose behavior they disapproved of.
The “hate crime” the protesters wish me to prosecute does not exist as a stand-alone offense in Louisiana law. It’s not that our Legislature has turned a blind eye to crimes motivated by race or other personal characteristics, but it has addressed the problem in a way that does not cover what happened in Jena. The hate crime statute is used to enhance the sentences of defendants found guilty of specific crimes, like murder or rape, who chose their victims based on race, religion, sexual orientation or other factors.
Last week, a reporter asked me whether, if I had it to do over, I would do anything differently. I didn’t think of it at the time, but the answer is yes. I would have done a better job of explaining that the offenses of Dec. 4, 2006, did not stem from a “schoolyard fight” as it has been commonly described in the news media and by critics.
Conjure the image of schoolboys fighting: they exchange words, clench fists, throw punches, wrestle in the dirt until classmates or teachers pull them apart. Of course that would not be aggravated second-degree battery, which is what the attackers are now charged with. (Five of the defendants were originally charged with attempted second-degree murder.) But that’s not what happened at Jena High School.
The victim in this crime, who has been all but forgotten amid the focus on the defendants, was a young man named Justin Barker, who was not involved in the nooses incident three months earlier. According to all the credible evidence I am aware of, after lunch, he walked to his next class. As he passed through the gymnasium door to the outside, he was blindsided and knocked unconscious by a vicious blow to the head thrown by Mychal Bell. While lying on the ground unaware of what was happening to him, he was brutally kicked by at least six people.
Imagine you were walking down a city street, and someone leapt from behind a tree and hit you so hard that you fell to the sidewalk unconscious. Would you later describe that as a fight?
Only the intervention of an uninvolved student protected Mr. Barker from severe injury or death. There was serious bodily harm inflicted with a dangerous weapon — the definition of aggravated second-degree battery. Mr. Bell’s conviction on that charge as an adult has been overturned, but I considered adult status appropriate because of his role as the instigator of the attack, the seriousness of the charge and his prior criminal record.
I can understand the emotions generated by the juxtaposition of the noose incident with the attack on Mr. Barker and the outcomes for the perpetrators of each. In the final analysis, though, I am bound to enforce the laws of Louisiana as they exist today, not as they might in someone’s vision of a perfect world.
That is what I have done. And that is what I must continue to do.
Reed Walters is the district attorney of LaSalle Parish.

Don't do the crime if you can't do the time!!!

I am totally outraged at the conduct of Federal Judge Raymond A. Jackson in totally ignoring federal sentencing guidelines in the sentencing of Derrick Kimbrough. Federal Judges do NOT have discretion in the sentencing of defendants that are convicted under these guidelines. The law is crystal clear on this and Judge Jackson decided to egregiously flout the law of the land and should be removed from the bench for judicial misconduct. Every drug dealer in the world knows that the penalty for crack is much harsher than the penalty for powder because crack is so much more dangerous, insidious and prevalent than powder cocaine. It's not like Mr. Kimbrough had a few rocks, he had TWO OUNCES!! That's not personal use, that's someone who's going to SELL it to KIDS!! His sentence should ABSOLUTELY be changed--to what it should have been to begin with--22 years!! If you don't like the penalty for the crime then DON'T BREAK THE LAW! Crack is the scourge of our society and should be dealt with harshly so these crackheads get the message that it will not be tolerated!! The Supreme Court should hastily decide to enforce the law of the land and re-sentence Mr. Kimbrough to the full 22 years and then Judge Jackson needs to be removed from the bench. It is not Judge Jackson's job to make new law, it is his job to impose sentences as they are called for in the sentencing guidelines. Period. It is up to Congress to change the law and they have been ignoring calls to treat crack cocaine more leniently since 1995 and have chosen not to do so for a reason. Crack cocaine has created a "gangsta" subculture in the black community that is totally lawless and feared by everyone. Drive-by shootings related to crack cocaine wars are so common that they aren't even news any more and Judge Jackson wants to be more lenient to crack dealers. I think it's an extremely bad idea for judges to try to make new law in ANY case and particularly one where crack cocaine is involved.

Mungo's Restaurant in Fairview Heights IL--Review

My soon-to-be-husband and I had dinner at Mungo's tonight (9/5/07) and it was quite a distressing experience. I grew up in the restaurant business, owned a very profitable one for a while and spent 2 years at Le Cordon Bleu in Tokyo--along with having been cooking for almost 40 years. First, there was some sort of black gunge in my iced tea--not a big deal, the tea was replaced immediately but I couldn't figure out what it was that was in there--but it made a yukky dark brown smear on the tacky white butcher paper they put over the tablecloths--what's up with that btw? Can't they afford tablecloth laundry? It looks REALLY tacky to have white paper over a burgundy tablecloth--here's a hint--spring for the Plexiglas cover if you can't afford tablecloths or better yet no tablecloth. Anything is better than the white-trash ambiance of the paper-covered table! I had the Fettuccine Alfredo with chicken and asked for the chicken to be well done since I've been served MORE than my share of raw chicken and shrimp over salads and pastas and I hate sending food back. The fettuccine was good, but the chicken was ROCK HARD and obviously had been microwaved--there wasn't a grill mark or browning of any sort to be seen on it and I could barely cut it with a knife--really bad. I told the waiter this but didn't send it back because in all fairness I DID ask for well-done chicken and I figured the chef wanted to make sure it was not coming back. The waiter insisted that it hadn't been microwaved, but it had been not that I cared to argue about it, I just wanted to eat after a stressful day of wedding planning and auditioning restaurant and caterers for my upcoming wedding next month. I had forgotten about it; when to my utter astonishment, a man dressed in blue-jean cutoffs claiming to be the OWNER came to my table and began screaming that the chicken had not been microwaved and that it had been sauteed in olive oil and that I had insulted his restaurant and that I shouldn't tell them how I wanted my food cooked--just let them handle it. Up to this point the crud in the tea, the tacky butcher paper over the tablecloth and the rock-hard microwaved chicken were basically non-issues and I would have given the restaurant another try somewhere down the road since I always eat somewhere twice before reviewing or deciding never to eat there again. In the limo/wedding/hospitality biz one has to be a little flexible and realize that doo-doo does happen--regular chef is sick and the replacement pops a piece of chicken in a microwave to try and give the customer what was requested, but for the owner to come out and scream at dinner guests is an experience I have never had--and won't repeat. I didn't understand why the place was so empty at the dinner hour, but after being lambasted by the owner, it all makes perfect sense and I understand why the poor chef lied about microwaving the chicken to his enraged boss--who then turned his rage on the customer, a super no-no in the hospitality industry. As a retired restaurant owner, professionally trained chef and limousine business owner, I do have more than my fair share of cooking and hospitality experience and I wouldn't eat there again if I were STARVING to DEATH. My wedding guests CERTAINLY won't be subjected to a dining experience at Mungo's and the owner should seriously consider some etiquette lessons--which would be a tax write-off because it would help him manage both his restaurant and temper. I was so stunned that I didn't even think to get up and walk out--which astonished my husband to be who told me later that he was fully prepared to get up and walk out. This man has a LOT to learn about the restaurant business--treating customers badly explains why he can't afford a good chef, table linens and iced tea without crud in the bottom of the glass!

Virginia screws residents yet again!!

How odd that the sponsor of this bill is a traffic law attorney. My ex is a Virginia cop and 99% of the minorities he stops ALREADY don't have valid licenses--and he is ticketing them on 6th and 7th offences for driving on suspended/revoked licenses and no insurance. The cost of uninsured motorist insurance is going to skyrocket since everyone is going to be without a license--and hence also uninsured. It's discriminatory because out of state residents are not subject to the same fines and I don't blame the people of Virginia for being outraged! It gives me one more reason to be glad I'm no longer a resident of the communist commonwealth of Virginia!! The idiots in the legislature obviously haven't realized that they are going to have to set up something to collect the payments on these fines, plus virtually ANYONE who gets any kind of a ticket is now going to fight it in court (complete with public defender for the indigent) and this requires that the citing officer show up to testify. It should make for a shitload of court overtime (at 26/hour PLUS depending on rank/seniority) for the citing officers not to mention that the officers on day shift will not be patrolling because they will ALL be in court. The backlog of traffic cases should bring the court system to a halt--I can see it taking up to 18 months to get your traffic case heard--and what traffic officer is going to be able to remember the stupid TRAFFIC offense a year and a half later? What a crock of shit.

Here's the article from MSN:

Virginia's new $3,550 speeding ticket
Traffic offenders face whopping additional fees that live on long after they've paid their fines. It's part of a growing 'driver responsibility' trend that targets chronic offenders.
Traffic patrols have long been known as roving tax collectors. But in Virginia, they really are collecting taxes.
Starting July 1, an array of traffic offenses, from expired licenses to speeding, come with a "civil remedial fee" attached. That means a motorist convicted of reckless driving (75 mph in a 55 zone would qualify) faces not only a fine of up to $2,500 and a year in jail, but a non-negotiable $350-a-year tax for three years. The law forbids judges from waiving or reducing the fee.
Many fees dwarf the fines. A driver who disobeys an officer's order to pull into a weigh station would be fined $35 and required to pay a $61 court processing fee. But the civil remedial fee would be $900 over three years.
Drunken driving? A fee of $1,000 a year for three years, plus fines and court costs. No insurance? That's $300 a year for three years, plus fines.
It doesn't stop there. Anyone unlucky enough to have 8 points or more on his license (reckless driving is good for 6 by itself) would pay an additional $100, plus $75 for any points over 8, up to $700 a year. (For a complete list of fee-carrying offenses, see this .pdf file.)
Such "driver responsibility programs" have become increasingly common for two reasons: Many states find that serial offenders make up the bulk of their cases, and they simply need the money. In fact, Virginia added a fee rather than increase fines because it wanted the money to improve its roads, and revenue from fines must go to public schools. The fees are expected to raise $200 million a year.

Meanwhile, back on the farm...

I've finally gotten settled into life on the farm in rural Illinois, or as I like to think of it: our little patch of heaven! I have harvested the first 4 tomatoes I have ever grown in my life (with a LOT of help from my beloved John) and they were delicious! We also had green beans from the garden last Sunday that were really good too. The roses and gladiolas are beautiful and I love having cut flower arrangements all over the house--it's so civilized!
We have hummingbirds that are sucking sugar water out of a pair of feeders and they are very cool to watch--they are so tiny!! They are the ruby-throated ones, and the original ruby throated hummingbird we named Jack (Jack Ruby LOL) and he's quite territorial and divebombs the other hummingbirds when they come to eat! The corn we planted in April is now taller than we are, and we have a crop of hot peppers that will make some really good salsa when the tomatoes get ripe. I have about 40 green tomatoes of various sizes on the vines which are also taller than me--Miracle Grow and tomato cages make for some HUGE plants! It's difficult to blog when one is so blissfully happy!

AMAZING

http://theassimilatednegro.blogspot.com/2007/06/dear-tan-i-hate-black-people.html#links

I read this with amazement--and I am not alone!!

The TSA--Do You Feel Safer at the AIRPORT??