One For The History Books

Election 2008 is now in the history books and without a doubt, this election is monumental for several reasons. First America has elected its first black president, voter turnout for this election was more than any election in the last century and lastly, one party controls the White House and both houses of Congress for the first time since 1994.

Now that it is over, one would think that I would be able to get on with life, but that is simply not the case. For the first time in my life, I am actually scared of the government and the direction that this new administration is going to take us. I honestly do not trust Obama. Likewise with Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. The three of them together have the power to do just about anything that they want in Washington - all without any checks and balances. Mark my words, for at least the next two years, President Obama will not use his veto power. Why would he use it when congress takes the same liberal view as he does.

I am totally fearful that the next two years, at the least, will see attacks on the Second Amendment, higher taxes for those of us that work and more entitlements for those that do not. I also foresee appointments to the US Supreme court as well as the lower courts of judges that not only take an extremely liberal interpretation of the Constitution and the laws of this country, but also legislation from the bench.

America wants change and that is what we will get, but I doubt that the change will be for the better. Entitlements, more government programs and more tax and spend. That is what we will get - same as any other liberal government.

The one good thing that I see from this election is that it is proof positive that Affirmative Action is no longer needed, but it will still be here in four years.

Rants, Raves and Reviews - November 2, 2008

Well, the month of November is upon us and though I have this inner desire to blog, I had no clue what to blog about - mainly because there is just too much. So without further adieu, here are a few rants, raves and reviews.

Reading the local paper this week, I discovered that schools across America held their "Kids Vote" elections and I was not disappointed with the results. Not that I agree with the kids, but that I fully expected that the results would turn out like they did. Obama won, thus proving that our liberal education system is once again successful in pushing their agenda and indoctrination of our children.

It is funny how politicians operate. The closer to the actual election we get, they either lie harder or the truth slips out a bit, depending on the polls. Case in point is that when things were looking really bad for Hillary, out poops the old 'when I was in Bosnia, I took three hits to my flack jacket while saving the life of the pilot and co-pilot of our plane that was shot down.' So is it any wonder that since all of the media polls are showing Obama with a bit of a lead that the truth comes about about his socialistic 'redistribution of the wealth.' First it was tax increases for those making $250K, then $200K. Biden piped in with $150K and so, not to be outdone, Obama says $100K. Why that means that a large percentage of the country will be paying more in tax so that the welfare system gets to dole out more to those that won't work. Remember comrade, "From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs."

But that is not something that you will read or hear about in the mainstream media. I know, you are probably thinking that I am now beating the drum of the GOP and the media bias, but this is something that I am not alone in saying - even mainstream media is confessing that they are biased.

On the lighter side of things, Lisi and I went down to the drugstore earlier this evening and I came across something that I cannot live without - Chicken Poop. "What the hell...?" you ask, but I must confess that it is for chapped lips. I swear to you that it is real.

Lastly, I thought I would share to you something that the media (again) forgot to say - only because they are tree-hugging-Bush-bashing libs: Since the President trash canned the Executive Moratorium on Exploration on the Outer Continental Shelf in July, gas prices have continued a downward spiral of almost $2.00 per gallon - nearly half the price it was. Congress failed to follow suit, otherwise, who can imagine how low gas prices would have fallen by now. Thus proving one of the basic rules of economics - when supply exceeds demand, prices drop.

Don't forget to vote on Tuesday and for those of us that observe it, I hope you changed your clocks back to standard time. Now I am only an hour ahead of my friends and family back in Arizona.

Candidates Propose Gas Tax Holiday

First came Senator John McCain's proposal to suspend the Federal excise tax on gasoline from Memorial Day to Labor Day this summer in an effort to ease the cost to drivers over the summer driving season. Senators Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama both mocked the idea as "too little too late" and not enough. Now Clinton has jumped in the McCain station wagon and is likewise asking to suspend the tax for the summer, leaving Obama standing at the side of the road.

Mrs. Clinton goes one step further than Mr. McCain in that she desires to replace the nearly $9 billion deficit to the budget with placing a tax on the revenues of the oil companies. McCain supports shifting the burden to the general fund.

The White House, with Mr. Obama in agreement, has said that the tax holiday would save the average consumer approximately $30 over the length of the summer. White House spokeswoman, Dana Perino said that there are no plans from the White House to suspend the excise tax over the summer.

I wholeheartedly agree that the tax holiday is a short-term fix to a long-term problem and it IS too little, too late. I also feel that Mrs. Clinton needs to go back to school and learn basic economics as it is quite apparent that she does not understand how the burden of the tax would only be passed on to the consumer again - thus costing the consumer more in the long run than they are paying now.

I do not come here without a solution however. My proposal would be to release the strategic oil reserves into the market, thus increasing supply and lowering the cost. Secondly, stop paying for the pumps to not run. Open all the pumps and let the oil flow into the system, thus increasing the supply and holding the cost down. Thirdly, open up ANWAR to exploration and drilling and build new refineries. This may mean telling OPEC and the NIMBY's (those that cry "Not In My Back Yard") to shove it, but that is how you get things done. That would solve both the short-term and the long-term problem of high fuel cost.

Another proposal would be to accept that oil is not a limited resource from dead dinosaurs and accept that it is more plentiful than the oil companies would have us believe. Again, I argue that if oil is from dead dinosaurs, then how did the dinosaurs get stuck in the tar pits?

A good read is the book, "Black Gold Stranglehold" by Jerome R. Corsi and Craig R. Smith which tells how the myth of "fossil fuels" is a ploy by the powers that be to increase the prices of oil.

In Memoriam - Charlton Heston

Charlton Heston, actor, author, political activist and past president of the National Rifle Association passed away on Saturday, April 5, 2008. He was 84.

Mr. Heston starred in over 100 roles including the part of Moses in "The Ten Commandments" and Judah Ben-Hur in "Ben Hur" in an acting career that spanned over 50 years.

His most memorable role was off-camera, as the President of the National Rifle Association. The only person to hold the post of President of the NRA for three terms, he stepped down in 2003.

Hey Hil, Are You Listening?

On Friday of this week, I was fortunate enough to listen to the AFA Report on American Family Radio. For those that have not listened to it, it is a roundtable discussion of the day's events from a Christian perspective and is sometimes light and entertaining, but is always informative.

The guys had an interesting take on an article written by Peggy Noonan in reference to the Hillary Clinton vs. Bosnia lie - a take that made me relisten and then look up the article by Ms. Noonan. As you may or may not know, Peggy Noonan was a speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan and is always very cautious with her words. She also has a knack for making you look at the dictionary every once in awhile, which is a good thing as far as I am concerned.

I encourage you to read the article by Ms. Noonan as the article really tells it like it is. Hillary is at her lowest point and is drawing straws and shaping them to make her look better than her opponent when she should be counting her losses and stepping out of the ring.

Of the article, I must say that the whole thing can be summed up in two paragraphs:

What, really, is Mrs. Clinton doing? She is having the worst case of cognitive dissonance in the history of modern politics. She cannot come up with a credible, realistic path to the nomination. She can’t trace the line from “this moment’s difficulties” to “my triumphant end.” But she cannot admit to herself that she can lose. Because Clintons don’t lose. She can’t figure out how to win, and she can’t accept the idea of not winning. She cannot accept that this nobody from nowhere could have beaten her, quietly and silently, every day. (She cannot accept that she still doesn’t know how he did it!)

She is concussed. But she is a scrapper, a fighter, and she’s doing what she knows how to do: scrap and fight. Only harder. So that she ups the ante every day. She helped Ireland achieve peace. She tried to stop Nafta. She’s been a leader for 35 years. She landed in Bosnia under siege and bravely dodged bullets. It was as if she’d watched the movie “Wag the Dog,” with its fake footage of a terrified refugee woman running frantically from mortar fire, and found it not a cautionary tale about manipulation and politics, but an inspiration.

"The worst case of cognative dissonance in the history of modern politics." I just love that line and would have to agree that Ms. Clinton's perceptions have completely been muddled though I think that Ms. Noonan is being too kind as I would have to say that either Ms. Clinton is a pathological liar or that she is suffering from a severe case of dimentia. In either case, she has no place as the leader of any country.

Changing of the Political Landscape

There is really no wondering whom I had chosen as the candidate that I stood behind. I even posted a link to the Fred08 website on my homepage as soon as he announced his candidacy.

There were many reasons that I stood behind the Fred Thompson campaign. Fred has taken a strong stand on every plank in the Republican Platform. He is not afraid to say what is on his mind, even if it is not what others wanted to hear. He is down to earth.

Long before he made the announcement that he was throwing his hat in the ring, I told several people that Fred had the Ronald Reagan approach and ability to communicate. How funny it was to actually hear the media refer to some of the other candidates in both parties as being 'Reaganesque.'

So, now that Fred has withdrawn his candidacy, I have had to look long and hard at who I would support. John McCain was my senator for many years back in Arizona and I even supported him when he ran in 2000 against George Bush, but I really don't think that I can support him now. Looking back, I think the only reason that I did vote for him is because I was more familiar with him than I was Bush and I thought he was the better candidate. This time around, circumstances are different and I have done a lot of research into all of the candidates and where they stand. McCain just isn't conservative enough for me and he flips too easily (just look at his stand on illegal immigration). As sad as this sounds, I think that Governor Janet Napolitano is more conservative and more consistent that McCain.

So, that leaves me with Ron Paul, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani. As I see it, Rudy is a flippy as McCain and Ron Paul is almost in that same boat with the added benefit of just being way too odd.

Of the final two - Romney and Huckabee - I am still a little upset at the fact that it seems every time I heard Huckabee talk, it was to bash the other candidates in the field instead of putting his best foot forward. Yeah, Romney also did some bashing, but I really feel as if it was more in retaliation to Huckabee's antics than it was as a campaign ploy to garner votes from the others.

So, I will probably go with Mitt. Not that I like the guy nor that I think he is the best person for the job, but that he is the best choice I have of the candidates that are still in the race. That could change as the primaries continue and candidates make choices like Fred made today, but for now, I think I am pretty much in Mitt Romney's corner.

Image from FredThompson Flickr site