Selasa, 30 September 2008

Lou Dobbs on Liberal Media




I'm so glad I got to watch Lou Dobbs last night. I've always liked him and his show but seldom am around to watch it. If ever there was an Average American, other than me of course, it would have to be Lou Dobbs. I don't agree with everything he says, but he does mirror my thoughts on most subjects.

Last night he spent at least ten minutes bashing the liberal MSM over their treatment of Sarah Palin versus Joe Biden. I tried to find a YouTube clip but there is none yet. I found a small segment of the show concerning the bailout defeat at CNN. You may access that here. Maybe it will have a link to the liberal MSM portion later.

Now back to the topic I started with. It made my heart feel good the way he lambasted his colleagues over their treatment of Sarah Palin. He talked about her speech at the RNC, her interviews, and her run-ins with the press corp. When comparing her gaffes to Biden's he jabbed Biden badly. He said Joe had 5 times as many as Sarah.

I did find an older piece where Dobbs blasts the liberal media. It would be well worth your time to watch it. It can be found here. I just wish it was the one from yesterday because it is even better. If anyone finds a clip from last night, please let me know!

Sabtu, 27 September 2008

I know who I'm voting for--do you?


I sure do wish I could take credit for these most profound words of wisdom! I must say that I agree with every single word here! Please read the entire thing before you decide whether to have me committed or not.



AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, I’M FINALLY VOTING DEMOCRAT!

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

2. I’m voting Democrat because the party of “tolerance” accepts me completely, unless, of course, I disagree with them.

3. I’m voting Democrat because I don’t pay enough taxes now, I feel I should pay much more and the Democrat party will offer me that opportunity.

4. I’m voting Democrat because I feel guilty for sacrificing and working hard all my life and becoming a “wealthy” American; while thousands of others wake up late, sit around, watch tv, have multiple babies without being married, don’t bother educating themselves or actually working to support themselves. It would be so nice to help them by giving away a big chunk of my paycheck for all the social services our Democrat party provides!

5. I’m voting Democrat because I believe if you can make it into America you’re home free! Yippee! We’ll give you all kinds of goodies. A free place to live, free food to eat, a free education, free medical care, free spending money, and all kinds of rights and freedoms-and you can bring all your relatives and friends here too-just tell them you’re a friend of the Democrat and to break into America at night when no ones watching. Oh, and we’ll make you a citizen too! Welcome hombre’.

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

7. I’m voting Democrat because I won’t have to do any research on anything; global warming, prices of oil, political candidates, old laws, new laws, etc., I just listen to what they say and believe it-because they’re all about “protecting the little guy” that’s me! right?

8. I'm voting Democrat because when we pull out of Iraq I trust that the terrorists will just stay in their own little hellhole and continue to torture, rape, murder, and bomb their own countrymen. They wouldn’t even think of coming to America, cause we’re tough, darn it. [oh wait, that already happened remember 9/11/01-nevermind, it won’t happen again with Democrats in charge]

9. I'm voting Democrat 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.

10. I'm voting Democrat because I believe the scientists and meteorologists [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 because of all the global warming we’re perpetuating.

11. I'm voting Democrat because I believe 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 the Democrats see fit.

12. I'm voting Democrat because I believe three or four pointy headed elitist liberal judges need to rewrite the Constitution every few days to suit some fringe kooks who would never get their agendas past the voters.

13. I’m voting Democrat because I believe no one needs to be able to defend themselves with a firearm and the government should start rounding up all the guns owned by citizens. After all, the police will come to our rescue after we sit down and calmly negotiate with the gun toting bad dude who’s just broken into our homes. Criminals will follow the laws and surrender their guns too, right?

14. I'm voting Democrat because they stay out of my personal life and they don't tell me what I can, and cannot do with my body.

15. I’m voting Democrat because the baby growing inside me isn’t really a person so it has no rights to anything, especially no right to live… if I decide I don't want it.

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

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

Tell me, why would anyone ever vote Republican?


THIS LIST OF REASONS IS DESIGNED TO MAKE YOU LAUGH AT THOSE WHO ARE STUPID ENOUGH TO FALL FOR THE PERPETUAL GARBAGE TOSSED OUT BY THE DEMOCRAT PARTY. IT SHOULD PROVOKE THOUGHT AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, IT SHOULD CLARIFY, PRECISELY WHY I WILL NEVER VOTE FOR A DEMOCRAT!!

Roger Trew 1:06PMSep 25th 2008


I found this and a lot of other very thought-provoking comments at this site. I didn't take the time to read all 5,800+ comments, but many I did read were well worth the time spent! Another comment provided this link to a real funny(and sad at the same time) you-tube clip of NOBAMA when he lost the teleprompter. It is a must see if you haven't already!

Please don't take a lot of stock in the AOL poll that this link brings you too. There HAS to be something wrong here. It has John McCain winning in all 50 states mostly by very substantial margins. Maybe it will get fixed before your visit. I sure wish it was correct, but I know better.

Rabu, 17 September 2008

Criminal Aliens



The last figures I remember hearing about illegal aliens said that 2/3s of Americans wanted their politicians to do something about the problem. The figures bandied about claim that the quantity is somewhere between 12 and 20 million of them. Both sets of numbers are most likely higher now then a few years ago when these numbers were being used. We actually started on a fence. Big deal!

Why is this Average American so fired up over this issue? Two years ago, I was getting up at 2:00A.M. on Monday morning to drive 3 1/2 hours to work. During the week, I stayed in a motel, at my own expense. On Saturday, after a short 10 hour day, I drove 3 1/2 hours back home. I did this to make a decent living. During this period, there was a brand new Walmart being built 3 miles from my home. For the type of work I do(construction), they were paying $8.00 per hour. It wasn't very long into the project before the reason for the dirt cheap wages became evident. One day, local police and Border Patrol officers chased down and caught 14 illegal aliens who had been working for a subcontractor at the Walmart! Of course, nothing was ever done to Walmart, the general contractor or the masonary subcontractor who had done the actual hiring. Was I upset about this whole deal? YOU DAMNED WELL BETTER BELIEVE IT!!!!

Illegal aliens coming here taking our (my) jobs is only the tip of the iceberg my friends. Because they are illegal, they have to work for a lot less than the prevailing wage. This tends to drive down wages for ALL workers and a raise---forget it!. How many times have I heard Bush and other politicians say "they only take jobs Americans don't want." BULL SHIT!! They take jobs Americans don't want because the pay is an insult! And THEY are the reason for those dispicably low wages.

What other problems do illegals cause? Let's start with our school systems. How many cities and towns are hiring more teachers and building more new schools and buying more books and supplies and shelling out more money to educate illegal's children? What is the cost of teaching English to all those kids, and teaching them in Spanish until they master English? How much more are WE paying for health care because 20 million illegals are getting their healthcare free? How much is it costing us to write everything imaginable in English---and then in Spanish? There are more and more politicians talking about giving their children a free ride through college!! I just barely got done paying for MY OWN two kids. The second one graduated college 10 years ago! I'll be damned if I want MY TAX DOLLARS going toward that!



They claim that the Social Security sysyem is going broke. I wonder how much more broken it will get when they add 20 million illegals onto the roles. I will have paid in for 51 years by the time I am eligible to receive payments from it. If these illegals start paying in at, say, age 40, they will only pay in for 27 or so years. That sounds like more damage to the system to me.

Whose the nitwit that first decided to give them driving licenses?? They never were "undocumented workers", they have always been "illegal aliens!" Now, if they get a drivers license, they have a document. That brings us to a REAL PROBLEM!! How hard will it be for millions of them to be able to slip in and vote? They have already proved that they don't give two shits for our laws. I can see them now, pouring in and voting for demoncraps because that is who will give them every freebie program you can imagine. The more they can get for free, the more money they can send home to pay for relatives to come here too. Just like a snowball rolling down a hill, the problem gets bigger and bigger.

What can be done? Many say give them amnesty, they're good, hard working people. Others say "send every one of them back home!" The Average American says "as much as I'd like to send every one of them back home, we can't." What we CAN do however, is to make them WANT to go back home. If there were no jobs for them, most would end up having to go back. I would have no problem giving them a free bus ride south! How do we work-starve them? How many employers do you think we would have to throw in jail before the rest quit hiring illegals? We already have the law, just make the punishment jail time instead of a slap on the wrist! Start with a MANDATORY six months. That would probably suffice. If not, increase it until it works!

Maybe the Average American should run for President??!!

Minggu, 14 September 2008

NY Post throws NOBAMA under the bus



The Post today enthusiastically urges the election of Sen. John S. McCain as the 44th president of the United States.

McCain's lifelong record of service to America, his battle-tested courage, unshakeable devotion to principle and clear grasp of the dangers and opportunities now facing the nation stand in dramatic contrast to the tissue-paper-thin resume of his Democratic opponent, freshman Sen. Barack Obama......


......There are many reasons to support the McCain-Palin ticket. Here are but a few:

National security: The differences between McCain and Obama are especially stark.

McCain says 9/11 represented a two-decade "failure ... to respond to ... a [growing] global terror network." He understood that Iraq is a critical front in the war on terror - and he urged perseverance even in the dark days that preceded the success of "the surge."

Obama backed policies that would have abandoned Iraq to its fate, he bitterly opposed the surge, and once insisted that US forces invade Pakistan in search of Osama bin Laden - seemingly without regard for the potential consequences of attacking a nuclear-armed nation, ally or not.

Regarding a nuclear Iran, McCain has pushed for the strongest possible international sanctions and diplomatic pressure. Obama opposes sanctions.

And, when Russia invaded the former Soviet republic of Georgia, threatening a return to the Cold War, McCain reacted with stern disapprobation: "We must remind Russia's leaders that the benefits they enjoy from being part of the civilized world require their respect for the values, stability and peace of that world."

Obama called for UN action - unaware, apparently, that Russia's Security Council veto would have prevented any.

Taxes: McCain knows that when government absorbs ever-larger shares of national income, the economy suffers.

High tax rates diminish investment, killing jobs and stunting growth.

And while Obama promises tax cuts for "95 percent" of Americans, what he actually is proposing is some $650 billion in tax-credit-driven hikes in entitlement and other spending, to be paid for with heavier imposts across the board, but especially on investment - like a sharply higher capital-gains tax......


......Energy: On the economic issue most vexing Americans today - energy prices - McCain is aggressive

He is a strong convert to offshore drilling: "We have trillions of dollars' worth of oil and gas reserves in the US at a time we are exporting hundreds of billions of dollars a year overseas to buy energy."

He also strongly backs nuclear power - a carbon-free form of energy that America can produce relatively cheaply.

Obama, meanwhile, hews to the Democratic Party line on energy: no nukes, no drilling and no comprehension of the consequences of such policies......


......In the end, though, sound security, economic and energy policies - plus allegiance to principle - are critical to keeping America safe and strong.

On all counts, John McCain and Sarah Palin understand this - and that's why we're in their corner to the finish.




Remember not that long ago, the NY Post was backing NOBAMA? Under the bus you go Bambi! Realistically, most Republicans will vote for McCain/Palin and most Demoncraps will vote for NOBAMA/demented white uncle. The deciding factor will be, who gets the most independent voters to believe in them.

That is why I decided to run this endorsement in my blog. I encourage you to follow this link and read all of what NY Post wrote in this endorsement and spread their words to as many independents as possible. There are no negative attacks, no lies, no BS, just good sound reasons to vote Republican this time around. It's all about policy and track record, just the information the "Average American" is looking for.

Sabtu, 13 September 2008

Taxes Explained By Beer

This is just another one of those tidbits I got somewhere, probably in an e-mail. It is a rather interesting explanation of our tax system. It also demonstrates why McCain and myself and millions of others believe that Bushes tax cuts should be permanent and why they are and have always been fair! Pull up your bar stools, get a drink and see if this makes sense:

Let’s put taxes in terms everyone can understand. 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.(Bushes tax cut)

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!”(liberal speak)

“Wait a minute,” yelled the first four men in unison. “We didn’t get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!”(liberals who suck up all the freebie programs-welfare bums)

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.



The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks,(put his investments in offshore accounts) 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, boys and girls, journalists and college professors,(bleeding heart liberals, asshats, and leftards) 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.

Jumat, 12 September 2008

Biden says Clinton more qualified

This article ran in the "Berlin (New Hampshire) Daily Sun" on September 11, 2008. It just goes to show that NOBAMA used his poor "judgement" again when he picked his running mate. NOBAMA has had over a year and 1/2 to learn how to run FOR President and he hasn't got that right yet. How does anyone expect that he has learned how to run the country in the same time frame??

“Hillary Clinton is as qualified or more qualified than I am to be vice president of the United States. Let’s get that straight,” Biden said. “She is qualified to be president of the United States of America. She is easily qualified to be vice president of the United States of America, and quite frankly, might’ve been a better pick than me.”

“Hillary Clinton is as qualified or more qualified than I am to be
vice president of the United States. Let’s get that straight,” Biden said. “She is qualified to be president of the United States of America. She is easily qualified to be vice president of the United States of America, and quite frankly, might’ve been a better pick than me.”


NASHUA (AP) — Sen. Joe Biden led off a flurry of presidential campaign activity with a town hall forum where housing market worries topped voters’ concerns. In a nod to New Hampshire’s position as a swing state, Biden’s quick visit Wednesday was to be
followed by a two-day trip by Sen. Barack Obama starting Friday and Republican Sen. John McCain’s visit Sunday. It will be McCain’s fourth visit to New Hampshire since winning the state’s leadoff primary in January. Obama narrowly lost that primary to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Biden, who had campaigned for months in the state when he was seeking the Democratic nomination, dropped out days before the contest. On Wednesday, he took five questions from voters at Nashua Community College in a forum squeezed between two fundraising events in Massachusetts. One came from a woman who asked him to “convert” her Republican friend — a real estate agent worried about her livelihood — and another from a man who decried mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as corrupt. Biden criticized McCain for comments he made in March warning
against vigorous government action to solve the mortgage crisis. “He said it’s not the role of government to bail out big banks or small borrowers. Ladies and gentleman, that’s failing to make a distinction between the predator and the preyed upon,” Biden said. “Think of all the people you know who plan their retirement and plan their kids’ college education based upon the equity they have in their home,” he said. “Now people are trying to just figure out how are you going to heat your home this winter ... We have an obligation to put people in a position where they’re
able to re-negotiate those loans. It’s in the interest of the country.” McCain’s actual comment was, “It’s not the duty of government to bail out and reward those who act irresponsibly, whether they are big banks or small borrowers.” He did not mention McCain’s running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. But he defended Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton after one questioner said he was glad she wasn’t selected as Obama’s running mate. “Hillary Clinton is as qualified or more qualified than I am to be vice president of the United States. Let’s get that straight,” Biden said. “She is qualified to be president of the United States of America. She is easily qualified to be vice president of the United States of America, and quite frankly, might’ve been a better pick than me.”

“Hillary Clinton is as qualified or more qualified than I am to be
vice president of the United States. Let’s get that straight,” Biden said. “She is qualified to be president of the United States of America. She is easily qualified to be vice president of the United States of America, and quite frankly, might’ve been a better pick than me.”


“Hillary Clinton is as qualified or more qualified than I am to be
vice president of the United States. Let’s get that straight,” Biden said. “She is qualified to be president of the United States of America. She is easily qualified to be vice president of the United States of America, and quite frankly, might’ve been a better pick than me.”


You may have noticed which paragraph I felt was most important! Couple this with what Biden said in the primaries about NOBAMA not being ready for the presidency and who is running for the Demoncraps who is ready? NO ONE!!

Rabu, 10 September 2008

Nine Eleven seven years later



As we remember September 11, 2001, we should take the time to reflect on just what happened that day. Four United States aircraft crashed. Two buildings were completely destroyed and several others were damaged in New York. One building was extensively damaged in Washington. A field in Pennslyvania claimed the forth plane. Over three thousand innocent civilians died. Countless heros emerged. Americans everywhere cried.

It's seven years later and most people seem to have completely forgotten that horrific day. Pearl Harbor brings back more vivid memories, and that was over 60 years ago! What in Hell happened America? Where did all the anger, disgust, and outrage go? I'm still MAD AS HELL! Don't forget. Don't let go of your anger. Remember the feelings you had that day and don't let go of them!

What REALLY happened that day? Radical Islamic terrorists attacked us ON OUR OWN SOIL! This was not their first attack on us by any means, and it won't be the last. We have managed to contain the fighting away from our own soil, for now. We must let our military and our secret services do their jobs. If being rougher than some people like on prisoners gets information that saves just one American life, then I say "go for it!" If racial profiling nabs just one terrorist before he blows up another plane or bus or whatever, then I say "go for it!" If wire tapping our telephone calls catches just one terrorist plot to kill Americans, then I say "GO FOR IT!"

Americans, in fact, the world had better get used to "the war on terror." Anyone who thinks that when we're done in Iraq and Afghanistan, that the world will be free of terror---THINK AGAIN! They are just the beginning. I hope that my children or at least my grandchildren will see the end of terrorist reigns, but I know that I will not. How long have we been fighting cancer? That's what terrorism is, just one more form of cancer.

Sabtu, 06 September 2008

New life for an old campaign

I was trying to put together a post explaining how the entire campaign has been reborn since John McCain introduced his VP pick. I was finding this a rather monumental task until I ran into this article by Bill Whittle from the National Review Online. Instead of highlighting a few pieces, I decided to run the entire article. It is WELL worth the read. Bill puts into eloquent words just exactly what I have been thinking all week. Here's the tease sentence, the one I liked best about the entire article. ""I believe — and we’ll know soon enough if I’m right — that John McCain did something Thursday night more powerful and astonishing than Sarah Palin did the previous evening. Sarah stole Obama’s glamour. McCain stole his message.""



Proud of the GOP
For the first time, I feel like we deserve to win more than they deserve to lose.

By Bill Whittle

Two masterstrokes were accomplished in the last two days of this year’s Republican National Convention. In her first appearance on the national stage — which can only be called a tectonic event — Sarah Palin secured the conservative base for maverick John McCain, while also reaching out to Democratic women. Then on Thursday night, John McCain struck again, making a play for the rest of the Democratic party.

When John McCain was sewing up the nomination in the early spring, I spent a lot of time in many comment sections defending him in as many ways as I knew how. He wasn’t my first choice (Fred) or my second (Rudy), but he was the GOP nominee, fairly elected, and looking at the table I thought he was the only man who had a chance to win in November — because frankly, we Republicans don’t deserve to be this lucky.

Many conservatives were arguing that it would be better to sit this one out, and let the country go to hell, so that we could send the Republican party a message and re-emerge from the ashes in 2012 with “the next Reagan.” I pointed out that there were two problems with this theory:

First, you may not like the fact that Grandma smokes in bed, and you may indeed want to get her attention. But if that message consists of letting her set the bed, the house and the grandchildren on fire, perhaps there was a better way to “send a message.” Second, it pained me to point out that there was no “next Reagan.” Ronald Reagan was on the political scene for almost two decades before he became President. Who was waiting in the wings to magically fill this role? No one.

Newt Gingrich’s fire-breathing army of young reform Republicans who stormed congress in 1994 grew, in about a decade, into the party of Duke Cunningham, Trent Lott, and the Bridge to Nowhere. I watched this unfold — especially after 2004 — and time and time again, the core conservative values of discipline and responsibility were betrayed, mocked, and ignored. Restraint is not an easy sell in a society this affluent — not compared with the view of government as a bottomless bag of candy. That’s why we’re supposed to be the party of adults.

Power corrupts, and I believe there is no power more intoxicating and corrosive than the ability to spend other people’s money at will. If Newt’s Army could go so far astray, you can bet the country was disillusioned, disappointed, and furious — not just ready for change, but eager for it, even change as ethereal and diffuse as what Senator Obama has been peddling. We lost the Senate and the House in 2006 because of this. We were going to lose the presidency in 2008 for it. And we deserved to lose it.

And so — prior to this week — all we had was a grim determination to vote against a dangerous, socialized vision of the future. We were portrayed — largely accurately — as old, tired, out-of-touch, out of ideas, out of candidates . . . too white, too male, too square. It doesn’t matter how true or false that caricature was. That was the narrative, and there was enough of it that fit.

And then the earthquake came.

Sarah Palin is the anti-Obama: not a victim, not a poser, not riding a wave but rather swimming upstream — and most of all, not having run for president her entire life. She is the first politician I have ever seen — and I include Ronnie in this, God bless him — who strikes everyone who sees her as an actual, real, ordinary person. Immediately came T-shirts saying I AM SARAH PALIN. HER STORY IS MY STORY. There is a lot of Obama swag out there, too, but none of it says HIS STORY IS MY STORY. Hold that thought till November 5.

She is so absolutely, remarkably, spectacularly ordinary. I think the magic of Sarah Palin speaks to a belief that so many of us share: the sense that we personally know five people in our immediate circle who would make a better president than the menagerie of candidates the major parties routinely offer. Sarah Palin has erupted from this collective American Dream — the idea that, given nothing but classic American values like hard work, integrity, and tough-minded optimism you can actually do what happens in the movies: become Leader of the Free World, the President of the United States of America. (Or, well, you know, vice president.)

Sarah Palin has done more than unify and electrify the base. She’s done something I would not have thought possible, were it not happening in front of my nose: Sarah Palin has stolen Barack Obama’s glamour. She’s stolen his excitement, robbed his electricity, burgled his charisma, purloined his star power, and taken his Hope and Change mantra, woven it into a cold-weather fashion accessory, and wrapped it around her neck.

A candidate who is young, funny, well-spoken, intelligent, charming, drop-dead gorgeous — and one of ours? Is this actually happening?

I have personally seen hundreds of crusty, old-school paleocons who despised McCain now saying “He finally listened to us.” By picking Palin — instead of Lieberman, who we all know he wanted — he has told conservatives that he gets it. They’re not holding their noses and voting any more. They want yard signs and bumper stickers — they can’t wait to vote GOP. And the proof of the pudding is in the tasting, folks: they are writing checks.

I’ve seen post after post on Hillary forums about how much they love Sarah, how they are energized and lifted out of depression by her (and the sight of an actual Roll Call made some of them weep). They gush about how she reminds them of their hero, how tough and savvy and unafraid she is. And I have seen these women, hard-core, feminist Democrats for 30 years and more, sit in slack-jawed amazement at Palin and at how fiercely Republicans — Republicans! — are defending her, backing her, and cheering her to the rafters. These Clinton supporters say they don’t know what to think any more: The Republicans are behaving like Democrats and the Democrats are behaving like Republicans!

If you think that’s an insult, you’ve got it exactly backwards. That is not only a huge compliment from these abandoned, centrist Democrats who bemoan the loss of their party to the radicals, it is an early rumbling of a tectonic shift in American politics which we are only dimly beginning to grasp. Who are the real feminists? A significant portion of our former hard-core opposition is now rethinking in a fundamental way who it is that actually does what their former allies only talk about.

That, my long-suffering and now giddy and sleepless friends — that is the smell of victory. That is conservatism with a future. And we started on that path not by nominating a Democrat-lite, but the polar opposite. The nomination of a woman with perfect conservative credentials is causing some significant number of Democrats to re-examine everything they believe. I say: Welcome Home. Welcome to the party of individual achievement, regardless of race or gender.

And, finally . . . what of John McCain? I’ve read many comments about his speech being a disappointment. I don’t know how it looked or played from the floor. But I know how it played from my Los Angeles living room. I believe — and we’ll know soon enough if I’m right — that John McCain did something Thursday night more powerful and astonishing than Sarah Palin did the previous evening. Sarah stole Obama’s glamour. McCain stole his message. (Granted, that may not be a lot, apart from the glamour, but it was all Obama had left.)

Sarah played to the base, who loved her. McCain played to the middle that we will need to win. Put his rhetorical ticks, the green background, the protester interruptions — put all that away. No one really cares about that.

We in the opinion trade lose track of how little the American public actually knows about candidates, because they — very sensibly, in my view — have the much more important task of actually getting on with life until right . . . about . . . now. For many Americans, this was their introduction to John McCain.

From the video, we learned that John McCain is a . . . momma’s boy? That was inspired. It was unexpected, charming, and real. And McCain’s great single weakness, his age, gets considerably less worrisome seeing his 96-year-old mother — who is more than spry and lucid, but a veritable firecracker. That’s a subtle move — an elegant and brilliant move.

I knew McCain’s father and grandfather were admirals. I did not know his grandfather was on the USS Missouri, came home, and died the next day after giving everything he had for his country. That’s powerful. And the image of his father standing on the North Vietnamese border, looking out toward his missing son as he orders the bombing of the city where he is being held? McCain reminded us that there are things far more important than politics.

As for the speech: yes, it was stilted. Awkward in places, true. Ugly background, cheesy flagpole, lack of polish — got it. But as the northerners said of Abraham Lincoln in the first days of the war, when he was mockingly compared to the effortless grace of Jefferson Davis: “We didn’t get him for ballroom purposes.” Damn right we didn’t.

John McCain got me to believe tonight what I never really believed about him before: he is serious about changing Washington. He is serious about getting the GOP back to basics. John McCain wants to repair the brand. Claiming to want to do something is talk. What I think will cause many to believe him is something more than talk: McCain decided to man up. It’s our fault. We lost the confidence of the American people. We said we’d be true to our principles, and we weren’t. The Democrats didn’t make us do it. We did it to ourselves.

That has the ring of truth to it. It is a grownup accepting responsibility for a mistake not of his making and asking for the chance to rectify it. I don’t know how much of the country will believe him. But I did.

If McCain can get close — just close — to convincing the American people that real reform is possible with Republicans and not just the Democrats, then they are left with a decision of who they feel safest with, and who actually walks the walk. The GOP owns that ground. That’s victory in November, and it’s the only way to victory in November. We are an optimistic, hopeful country. We will not prevail by convincing people why they should not vote for the other guy. People need to vote for something . I think John McCain gave us that on Thursday night.

And a final thing: I had heard before that John McCain had been beaten in prison, and I admired him for it. But when he said he had been broken . . . I gasped. When this sometimes cocky, arrogant old man told me he had once been a cocky, arrogant young man until he was “blessed by hardship,” until he had been broken and remade — and in that remaking discovered a love of country so fierce and pure that even as a patriot myself I will never approach it — well, in that moment John McCain won my heart, to add to the respect and admiration he had already had.

When John McCain told me what I and untold millions of Americans have always believed, what others tell me to be ashamed of and mock me for — that I live in the greatest country in the world, a force of goodness and justice in dark places, a land of heroism and sacrifice and opportunity and joy — to me that went right to the mystic chords of memory that ultimately binds this country together. Some people don’t know what it is, but there is such a thing as patriotism — pure, unrefined, unapologetic, unconditional, non-nuanced, non-cosmopolitan, white-hot-burning patriotism. John McCain loves this country. I love it too. Not what it might be made into someday — not its promise, always and only its promise — but what it was and what it is, a nation and an idea worth fighting and dying for.

I was lukewarm on McCain Thursday night, but after that close I will follow that man to the ends of the earth with a smile on my face and a song in my heart.

And I don’t know whether or not we will win in November, but for the first time I feel like we deserve to win more than they deserve to lose. And I find myself at peace for the first time in . . . well, it seems like forever. Because now I know that we will win or lose based on what we love and what we believe in, and that we have managed to find two politicians who have lived those values through good times and bad.

There really isn't a whole lot to add here, except to say, I finally find myself in a place where I can go to the voting booth in November and vote FOR someone rather than go to vote AGAINST someone. It has been decades since I have been able to feel like that!

Rabu, 03 September 2008

Sarah Palin's speech




“Don’t you think we made the right choice for the next vice president of the United States?” asked McCain, who is to give his formal acceptance speech Thursday night.


Yes, I do!

If you missed Sarah Palin's wonderful speech tonight, all I can say is "find it somewhere." What a brilliant speech it was. Here are a few quotes to whet your appetite:

“I'm just your average hockey mom signed up for the PTA because I wanted to make my kids’ public education better.”

“I’m not a member of the permanent political establishment, and I’ve learned quickly these past few days that if you’re not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone."

“But here’s a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I’m not going to Washington to seek their good opinion,” she said. “I’m going to Washington to serve the people of this country.”

“Since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involves,” Palin said. “I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a ‘community organizer,’ except that you have actual responsibilities.”

“I might add that in small towns, we don’t quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they are listening and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren’t listening,”

“Here’s how I look at the choice Americans face in this election. In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers. And then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change."

“There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you, in places where winning means survival and defeat means death, and that man is John McCain.”

“Sometimes, even the greatest joys bring challenge, and children with special needs inspire a special love,” Palin said.

“To the families of special-needs children all across this country, I have a message: For years, you sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters,” she said. “ I pledge to you that if we are elected, you will have a friend and advocate in the White House.”


Romney, Huckabee, and Giuliani also gave good speeches. I especially liked when Giuliani made reference to executive decisions made. He noted that Palin has made more than the other ticket combined! That line brought down the house.

Palin performed her job impeccably tonight. She absolutely slaughtered NOBAMA without ever once even uttering his name. I think the country will see why she was chosen for the number two slot, and it is my opinion that the Great State of New Hampshire can be painted in RED! I stick to the predictions of my previous post!

The Average American's views of the news



I caught Joe Lieberman's speech at the convention last night. It had to be one of the most historic speeches ever made, anywhere! No, he wasn't the first Democrat to ever address The Republican Convention, he may not be the last either. He didn't tell the attendees anything they didn't already know. Actually, the speech itself wasn't the historic part, the RESULTS I expect to see from it, now THAT was the historic part. When Joe stopped talking to the delegates, and turned his attention to independants and fellow Democrats, he did what possibly no one else could have done. He, in just a few moments, persuaded millions of undecided voters to go vote for McCain this November! Well done Joe!!




What a nice picture of the new administration! John McCain couldn't have chosen a better running mate. I am confident that independants will flock to the poles in November to hand McCain/Palin a landslide victory. When was the last time we had the chance to elect MODERATE politicians to these two positions?? What are most Americans--Liberal, conservative, or MODERATE??? Are McCain and Palin moderate?? You bet they are!! Sure, they are both conservative in some areas, but overall they are moderate, some even say maverick(myself included)!

Back last spring, I made the prediction that McCain would take the popular vote with 60%. I don't recall if that was in a post or a comment somewhere. That may have sounded brash to many at the time, but I hereby reiterate that prediction, McCain/Palen will win in 2008 with 60% of the popular vote and a solid victory of the electoral college!!




When Sarah Palin introduces herself to America tonight at the Republican National Convention, American's will see for themselves what a great choice she is for Vice President. Her intelligence and charisma will shine through loud and clear. Hopefully, she will touch on her experience and people will see that she is actually more experienced than NOBAMA. Even if she weren't, there is only a small chance she would need to "be ready on day one", with NOBAMA, it is a 100% chance he would need to "be ready on day one"---and HE ISN'T!!

As a side note for any Alaskans reading this, all Americans owe you our heartfelt thanks for loaning us your native daughter and your great Governor. The loan will probably end up being for at least 12 years!