Coming Soon - Blogger Conference Call

Today there will be a conference call for bloggers. This will be in the afternoon, so I will take a nap first. This time I will ask a more serious question. The only thing I will tell ya is it has to do with Fair Tax. It will be something not only relevant to Michiganders, but all over. Anyone who knows what type of job I have might be able to figure it out ;).

Radio Iowa Interview with Mike Huckabee

Here is the transcript from an interview Mike Huckabee did with Radio Iowa. He talks about Larry Craig, Hurricane Katrina, campaign momentum and being a Main Street Republican. This is a great interview.

• Henderson: "This episode with Senator Craig has made Evangelical Christians in your party say, 'Why do I even bother voting Republican?' What do you say to those folks?"
  Huckabee: "Oh, it's not about Republicans and it's certainly not about Evangelical Christians. It's about an individual and he'll have to answer for himself but we all do whether we're Republican, Democrat or Independent so I think people, you know, are maybe going a little far when they look at, you know, one person's actions and suddenly, you know, want to rewrite all of America's political landscape."
• Henderson: "I wanted to ask you about a speech you gave at the Lincoln Day Dinner in April. You enumerated problems with Katrina -- this is the Katrina anniversary. You talked about problems with mining standards -- there's been another mining accident. You talked about problems with the Veterans Administration and I told someone that night if someone had given that speech at a Democratic convention, people would have been on their chairs cheering. People would have been crying. It was deathly silent because Republicans weren't ready to hear negative things about their president or his administration. Do you sense that Republicans are ready to hear that change message and you've been articulating that for the past few months -- do you think they're ready to hear that?"
  Huckabee: "I wasn't being criticial of the president, but I was being critical of government that's shown itself to be, in many cases, incompetent. People expect their government to get results. They expect their government to show some competence and they're paying dearly for that govenrment and they have a right to expect that government will not do more than it has to do, but what is does do they do expect it to do well. Let's face it. Government hasn't performed well. We haven't closed the borders. We've not dealt with that issue that has got a lot of Americans exercised. We've not improved the health care system. We haven't dealt well with the aftermath of the Gulf Coast hurricanes. We haven't done really a superb job in terms of creating a safer work place, and yes, for miners. What we've done with veterans is disgraceful and shameful, asking these guys to go and put their lvies on the line and then come back and take a number and wait like they're at Baskin Robbins and we'll get back to them when they, in fact, are in desperate need of care. There's no excuse for that. I'll not make excuses for any government, I don't care if it's Democrat or Republican. What we need is people who will be honest and tell the American people the truth. This is incompetance and I'm less concerned about whose fault it is as is somebody willing to sit in and fix it."
• Henderson: "If it's incompetence, doesn't that all trickle up to the top? Doesn't the buck stop with (the chief executive)?" (I can't hear the end of my question on the recording, as the mic is positioned in front of Huckabee.)
  Huckabee: "There's always going to a matter in which leadership has responsibility, but you can't let congress escape from some of this responsibility, too. We have more than one branch of government. A lot of it is the bureaucracy, bureaucracy that is steeped in trying to be sure that we get all the paperwork done when government is about serving people, not just filling out blanks on a piece of paper. That's what I saw firsthand. The real disaster of Katrina as well as Rita is you had a lot of bureaucracy that was far more interested in seeing that the paperwork was filled out than they were that you had people standing in water up to their chest for five days and nobody getting them out of it. That should never, ever happen in this country again. People are more important than paperwork and people have a right to be expected that their government will treat them with respect and not do everything for them, but not let them stand in filthy, muddy water for days and then when they're finally brought out, ask them to stand and fill out a form. That's insulting and it should never happen."
• Henderson: "So, what's phase two look like? Are you going to be a traditional candidate or are you going to strike out on your own. Barack Obama on the other side has said he's not going to run a traditional campaign, yet he's done many of the things that conventional candidates do. Do you have any ideas on how Mike Huckabee strikes out on a non-conventional path?"
  Huckabee: "I think we have already done that. My message is not 'Establishment Republican.' That's one of the reasons it's resonating with so many people because people don't want another Establishment candidate. That's a losing formula for us next year. They're looking for somebody that's got not only fresh energy and ideas but that's willing to be different in saying what people know is the truth. You know, we've got to point out the elephant in a room full of elephants and frankly that hasn't been done often and so *it's time that the Republican Party face up to our need to communicate directly with the American people the things that matter to them.* I think that's why people are coming aboard our campaign and I think that's why we did well in the Straw Poll."
• Henderson: "What is the elephant in the room?"
  Huckabee: "The fact that the Republican Party has been seen as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wall Street, insensitive to ordinary folks and more tied to the Wall Street or the K Street Washington, D.C. lobbyist Republicans and not to the Main Street Republicans who go to Caucuses, folks that get out on January cold nights and actually vote. You know, those aren't people that sip champagne at a Georgetown cocktail party. These are the people who just came in from the fields in the summer and in the winter who bundle up real tight on a Caucus Night. Their issues and their interests are very different than the folks who can write a big check and be done with it. These are people who are fighting for their jobs. They're fighting for the kids' college education. They're fighting for dollars to put into their health care. They need somebody who's going to honestly address some issues that are going to touch them everyday."

*As a Christian I don't believe in reincarnation, but if there were such a thing, Mike Huckabee would be the reincarnation of Abe Lincoln himself

Click on the link at the top of the post to read the full transcript.

God Bless from the Upper Peninsula in Michigan!

Some Awesome Polling News

I went to sleep early today and woke up early. I slept for about nine hours. When I woke up I thought I would check my email and go back to sleep. Too much in my inbox said I had to make some coffee and start blogging. Mike is really surging in the polls and getting an support from the Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

Here the press release from Huckabee campaign, polling info:

POLL: HUCKABEE SURGES IN IOWA, NEW HAMPSHIRE & SOUTH CAROLINA
Leads Fred Thompson in Iowa, N.H.; Easily Outdistances Brownback in All Three
August 30, 2007

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has surged to third place in the Republican presidential contest in Iowa, leading potential candidate Fred Thompson in that state and New Hampshire, according to an American Research Group poll released today.
Huckabee, who scored a stunning second-place in the Republican Party of Iowa straw poll on Aug. 11, received support from 14 percent of Iowans and 9 percent of New Hampshire Republicans in the new ARG poll. He had been at 1 percent in each state in July. Huckabee stands at 9 percent in South Carolina, up from 3 percent in July, and is tied with former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney for fourth place.
Thompson’s Iowa support remained stuck at 13 percent for the second month after peaking at 14 percent in June, according to the poll. He trails Huckabee in New Hampshire and is down from 13 percent in July to 8 percent. The former U.S. Senator from Tennessee is also off his peak in South Carolina, down from 27 percent in July to 23 percent this month.
“Mike Huckabee clearly remains an underdog in the race, but he is the real surprise in the field. Republicans in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina – the three states most focused on the 2008 presidential contest – are sizing him up and they obviously like what they see. When they see him, meet him and hear them, they come away convinced that he ought to be in the top tier of candidates,” said Chip Saltsman, Huckabee’s national campaign manager. “That’s why he’s gaining momentum in all three crucial early states when other campaigns have stalled or are on a downward path.”
U.S. Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas, who finished behind Huckabee in the straw poll, has no measurable support in Iowa, according to the poll. His peak in Iowa was 3 percent in June. Brownback’s support among likely New Hampshire GOP primary voters has remained at 1 percent since April. He is at 2 percent in South Carolina.
U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona, who was at 17 percent in Iowa in July, opted not to compete in the Iowa straw poll – considered to be the first test of the candidates’ organizational strength – after spending more than $25 million nationwide. He fell to 5 percent in Iowa, according to the ARG poll. In South Carolina, McCain, who was at 36 percent in South Carolina, is now at 12 percent, while Huckabee’s numbers are on the rise. McCain climbed 2 percent in New Hampshire in August, up from 10 percent to 12 percent but still down sharply from his April high of 29 percent.
Huckabee welcomed the good news: “Today’s new poll shows a growing momentum that we’ve felt on the ground for weeks. It also proves what voters across America know, that message matters. While I am truly encouraged by these upward trends in all Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, I look forward to working even harder in the days and weeks to come.”

I forsee a change in the meal line-ups at the Mackinac Leadership Conference. I hope they keep Mike Huckabee speaking at the Saturday Luncheon. As I said in a previous post, this is the best time slot. Plus I already bought my meal ticket. So help me if I have to attend a Romney speech without Mike Huckabee being there. Can anyone say "scalping"? If I have to, I will buy a $75 ticket to hear Mike speak.

Huckabee would revamp FEMA

From WCF Courier:

• DES MOINES --- Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, speaking on the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, said Wednesday that federal disaster relief needs to slash bureaucracy and become more sensitive to victims' needs.
• "When you have a catastrophe, you shouldn't treat people like boxes. They ought to be treated with respect and dignity. You shouldn't put paperwork above people," Huckabee said in a telephone interview.
• One way to cut bureaucracy, Huckabee said, is to make the Federal Emergency Management Agency a free-standing agency that reports directly to the president, instead of its current status as part of the Department of Homeland Security.
• He said his state was overwhelmed by federal bureaucracy after Katrina. Basic decisions needed to go through several levels of approval, which caused a backup in the delivery of services.
• "I quit even expecting to get answers. In fact, that's what I said FEMA stood for: Forget Expecting Meaningful Answers," Huckabee said.
• "I told our people, 'We're rowing our own boat. We're going to get forgiveness, not permission. We're not going to sit around waiting on some bureaucrat in Washington to tell us what we can and cannot do. We know what we need to do,'" he said.

This folks, is proof what a true leader Mike Huckabee is. A true leader will put people and morals ahead of red-tape. A leader knows what is right and what is wrong. That is Mike Huckabee.

Remember, people of Michigan, if you have not signed up to come out to the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference, do so now. There is only 3 weeks left.

Union backing Mike Huckabee

Press Release: Mike Huckabee Wins Support from Machinists and Aerospace Workers
August 30, 2007

LITTLE ROCK, AR-Former Governor Mike Huckabee (AR) won the support of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) today. The IAM, for the first time in its 119 year history, endorsed candidates in both the Republican and Democratic primaries.
Huckabee welcomed the IAM endorsement stating, “I’m proud to have the support of the workers who bring prosperity to America on a daily basis.”
Huckabee spoke before over 700 members of the IAM in Orlando, Florida on Monday about jobs, globalization, health care, and other 21st century domestic issues.
During his conversation with IAM workers, Huckabee stated, “In order for this country to be free, there are three things we must do: feed ourselves, fuel ourselves and fight for ourselves. That means we need to be manufacturing our own means of defense and making it a national security issue.” During his speech on Monday night, Huckabee outlined his program to improve the lives of working Americans, including his support of the Fair Tax. Under the Fair Tax, he said, “American companies are far less likely to move overseas and foreign companies are far more likely to come here, hiring Americans to build and work in their new plants.”
Huckabee also said he believes in fair trade. “Free trade has to be fair trade. We are losing jobs because of an unlevel, unfair trading arena that has to be fixed. Behind the statistics, there are real families, real lives, and real pain. I'm running for President because I don't want people who have worked loyally for a company for 20 or 30 years to walk in one morning and be handed a pink slip and be told, ‘I'm sorry, but everything you spent your life working for is no longer here.’"

Huckabee received the historic endorsement this morning during the final day of IAM’s National Staff Conference. Shortly after receiving the news, Huckabee thanked President Tom Buffenbarger on a phone call : “I appreciate the unprecedented opportunity to participate in the IAM meeting this week and to receive this historic endorsement.”

From Reuters via Yahoo:

• WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One of the biggest U.S. trade unions made an unusual dual presidential endorsement of Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Mike Huckabee on Thursday, while Democrat John Edwards won the 2008 backing of the carpenters' union.
• The machinists' endorsement was made at the union's national conference in Orlando, Florida. Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, was the only Republican to address the labor group.
  Huckabee has lagged behind the top Republican 2008 contenders in national polls and fund raising but received a boost earlier this month with a surprise second-place finish in the Iowa straw poll.
  "Mike Huckabee was the only Republican candidate with the guts to meet with our members and the only one willing to figure out where and how we might work together," Buffenbarger said in a statement.

Click to read the full article.

From Time Magazine:

• Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor, was the lone Republican to address the conference. "Mike Huckabee was the only Republican candidate with the guts to meet with our members and the only one willing to figure out where and how we might work together," said Buffenbarger. "He is entitled to serious consideration from our members voting in the upcoming Republican primaries."

Click to read the full article.

From Miami Herald:

• It is the first time the union has done a dual endorsement. It chose to do so this year to encourage all members to participate in the election.
  About 35 percent of IAM members are registered Republicans.

Click to read the full article

Disclaimer; I did add everything that was said about Mike Huckabee. Everything else in these articles are about Clinton and Edwards.
With this endorsement, perhaps there will be an invite from UAW, when Mike comes to Michigan? I don't like the UAW, but I think the UAW members would "Like Mike."

Even Mitt Likes Mike...At Least His Ideas?

As I have said before, a friend submitted my email info to the Romney campaign. I could click the button to have them stop sending me mass emails, but why? I need a good laugh now and then. Here is one I got about making a video for Mitt Romney. I think he is taking a cue from the Huckabee campaign. But giving restrictions. You will see what I mean.

Dear Friend,
Once in a while an opportunity comes along that sounds too good to be true. And often there’s a catch…
This is not one of those times.
We want you to make a new official television advertisement. Yes, we are serious.
Your ad could feature Mitt’s biography, his family, his record as Governor of Massachusetts, or his agenda for a stronger America. In fact, your ad can have practically any theme as long as it supports the campaign creatively and responsibly.
How does it work? We provide the photos, videos and audio clips to get you started. You can add your own multimedia if you’d like. Then just cut, splice and edit until your heart’s content, using easy and free online tools. Everything you’ll need is available at this new site:
The deadline for ad submissions is September 17th, so you can even get the family involved over Labor Day weekend.
After a public vote, the winner’s video will hit the airwaves as an official campaign TV ad in conjunction with the massive Rally for Romney at the end of September.
You’ve seen how the professionals do it. Let’s see what you can do!

Well that's nice. They will provide clips and pics for your video. This tells me that they still have some control over it. At least with the "I Like Mike" videos you don't have to work in their confines. You can even talk about Mitt's family, awe (said with smart alack tone).
Did ya catch the beginning? "An opportunity to good to be true..." Yes, there is a catch. Ya gotta use the material provided to ya. Not everyone knows how to do editing and splicing.
Isn't it funny, the "I Like Mike" videos have been going on for at least 2 or 3 months. And there is no time limit. Let freedom ring, Mike! Remember, if ya haven't made your "I Like Mike" vid, make one, put it on YouTube and send it to the campaign.
I erased the links, in case someone wants to be smart alack and make a rude video. Let's not get nasty.

Glenn Beck talks about Larry Craig

I got my Glenn Beck email today and saw that he was going to talk about Larry Craig.

• Senator Larry Craig, currently mired in a bathroom stall scandal, insists he did nothing wrong and only pleaded guilty so he could brush the alleged crime under the rug. While most normal human beings would fight a 'false' charge like this (if it were false), Craig seemed all too willing to hide it. Reports claim he didn't even share his arrest with his wife. Doesn't sound like an innocent man to Glenn, who wondered what's next for the sleazy (allegedly) Senator. Will he resign? Will he stay? Will his wife stand by him at a press conference like Hillary or Jim McGreevy's wife did? Will he ever use a public restroom again, considering he has that troublesome 'wide stance' that got him in trouble? Read the transcript. (Insiders listen here).

I thought this is going to be good! I clicked on to read the transcript. I love the pic! Glenn, Stu and Dan take on their usual smartalic attitude. Here are some highlights. He also talks about Owen Wilson and Courtney Love.

• GLENN: You know what, let's just -- hold on. Let's make some predictions. Dan, get out a piece of paper and pencil, will you?
• DAN: Okay.
• GLENN: Let's make a prediction. I say by a week from tomorrow that he's in some sort of -- he's made some other sort of announcement like he's in rehab or he's an alcoholic or he was trying to get Owen Wilson off of heroin. Did you hear that, by the way? It's heroin.
• GLENN: Yeah. It's heroin. And Courtney Love's old boyfriend befriended Owen Wilson, and Courtney Love called Owen Wilson and said, don't make friends with him; stay away; he'll get you hooked on drugs.
• STU: Imagine Courtney Love taking the high road.
• GLENN: The high road. She's the voice of sanity in your life. That's trouble. If Courtney Love ever calls me and says this person's dangerous, I run like the wind. My gosh.
• STU: This is -- the way this thing seems to be going to me is that he's going to see what happens over the next week or so.
• GLENN: All right. Let's just go this. Let's just go this. Does he go into rehab? Yes or no? Let's just do yes or nos. Does he go into rehab, yes or no? I say yes. Stu?
• STU: I'm going to go with no. I think he denies it to his grave
• STU: Might as well ride it out now. See how hard it is? I just did it again.
• GLENN: Stop it. Now I'm envisioning him in leather chaps. We've got to stop.
• DAN: Whoa, how did you get there? STU: None of us said that, dude, none of us said anything about leather.
• GLENN: All right. So -- I saw him on a horse. Does that sound like something that can come up in testimony?STU: I saw him on a horse? Yes.
• GLENN: Okay. So anyway --
• STU: It may have been written in marker on the stall.

Talks a little about Jim McGreevey

• DAN: It just shows that all these guys value their careers more than they do their family.
• GLENN: Thou shall not have other gods before me. I mean, what are you doing? You value your career over everything else. Over everything else, that's incredible.
• STU: I think your point last night was the best point, that Washington is Hollywood with ugly people.
  END TRANSCRIPT

I Have a Dream

I don't know how I missed this yesterday. On MyYahoo I receive American History alerts. Yesterday was the anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr's "I have A Dream" speech from 1963. Here is a link to find out info about Martin Luther King, Jr.

I have provided part of the speech, the beginning and the most famous parts:

• I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
• Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
• .....
• I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
  I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
  I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
  I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
  I have a dream today.
  I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification - one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
  I have a dream today.
  I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.
  This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
  This will be the day, this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning "My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my father's died, land of the Pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!"
  And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
  Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.
  But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
  Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
  Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi - from every mountainside.
  Let freedom ring. And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring - when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children - black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics - will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Please read the entire speech here.

If I Can Dream (breakdown)

Little 'ol me has been having writers block. I was not sure what to post most all night last night. Now I think I know what I want to write about. I have posted the Elvis video of him sing "If I can Dream." I have posted the words. Now, with this whole Larry Craig incident adding to many past Republican scandals, it got me thinking. I want to post a breakdown of the Elvis song and why it really speaks to me in political terms.

If I Can Dream

There must be lights burning brighter somewhere.

Got to be birds flying higher in a sky more blue.

If I can dream of a better land,

where all my brothers walk hand in hand.

Tell me why, oh why, oh why can't my dream come true?

Oh why?

There can be quite a few takes on this stanza. For me, two things come to mind. The feeling yours and mine European ancestors were feeling when they decided to come to the great country called America they heard about. To them, America was the better land with birds flying higher in a sky more blue. They worked hard in Europe to save up for the trip to make

their dream come true.

Since the song was recorded in the sixties, it could also be about the civil rights turmoil.

There must be peace and understanding sometime.

Strong winds of promise that will blow away

all the doubt and fear.

If I can dream of a warmer sun,

where hope keeps shining on everyone.

Tell me why, oh why, oh why won't that sun

In current times there is so much going on with our culture. And secular society is fighting to keep God out of the public square. On the political scene Democrats hate Republicans just for the sake of hate. Republicans hate Democrats just for the sake of hate. There needs to be peace and understanding. Yet, Christians do need to fight to keep their rights.

With the word hope being used, I have to mention in Mike Huckabee. With his ability to look at all sides of the issues, he is the hope that can shine on our nation.

We're lost in a cloud

with too much rain.

We're trapped in a world

that's troubled with pain.

But as long as a man

has the strength to dream

he can redeem his soul

and fly...

This is the stanza that really speaks to me about the direction the Republican party has been heading in. The Republican party is "lost in a cloud with too much rain," with scandals and big wigs being persuaded by the lobbyists.

Mike Huckabee has the strength to dream and fly and redeem the soul of the party.

Deep in my heart there's a trembling question.

Still I am sure, that the answer's

gonna come somehow.

Out there in the dark,

there's a beckoning candle, yeah.

Mike Huckabee is the answer. He is the beckoning candle out there in the dark.

And while I can think, while I can talk.

While I can stand, while I can walk.

While I can dream.

Please let my dream come true...

Right now.

This last stanza tells me that when I see something wrong, I need to stand up and speak up about it. This is a message to everyone out there, whether it be 1968 or 2007. Don't let apathy take over. Even for people who can't talk, or stand, or walk do whatever you can to right the wrongs.

I am not sure what Elvis had in mind when he wrote this song. Perhaps it was the civil rights. Perhaps it was about the poor children going hungry. Perhaps it was the government.

Whatever his purpose was, this has got to be one of his best works. I encourage all of you to watch the Elvis video on the sidebar. Some people have done some splicing with pictures of Elvis and old news footage of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Kennedy brothers. I also encourage you to watch those. They are very moving.

Perhaps I am overthinking this. I don't know, but I thought I would share my thoughts.

God Bless from the Upper Peninsula in Michigan!

New Links Added

I have added Christian links. You will find them below the "Conservative Links." I put these links up for those of you who are already Christians and would just like to get more Christian news, or those of you who are trying to find a Church after being saved.
I have added Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian and Catholic links. If there is a Christian link you like that want added, let me know.

God Bless from the Upper Peninsula in Michigan!

Even Current Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe "Likes Mike"!

Check out this article in The Morning News local news for northwest Arkansas. Mike Beebe calls Mike Huckabee gracious and engaging.

• Shortly after announcing his endorsement of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., for president, Gov. Mike Beebe had kind words to say about another candidate in the race -- Beebe's predecessor in the governor's office, Republican Mike Huckabee.
• Beebe was talking to reporters following an appearance with Clinton last Monday in Little Rock when he was asked about Huckabee's recent comments praising Bill and Hillary Clinton for keeping their marriage together and raising a good daughter. Huckabee also praised Bill Clinton's record of leadership as president.
• "You know, he can be very gracious," Beebe said. "He can be very engaging. I applaud what he said to his fellow Republicans about the Clintons. That's the kind of thing that I think endears him to some people.
• "One of the reasons that I think Mike Huckabee had such a wonderful relationship with so many people in Arkansas for such a long time, and with many still to this day ... (is) the very classy way he handled his ascension to the governorship," Beebe said.
• Huckabee rose from lieutenant governor to governor in 1996 following Gov. Jim Guy Tucker's conviction on federal fraud and conspiracy charges. The charges came out of the then-expanding Whitewater investigation.
• "He reached out to Jim Guy Tucker's family in the midst of that conviction," Beebe said. "He was very forgiving. He tried to heal the state at that time. Those are traits and qualities, I think, that stood him in good stead."

This is one of those articles that I absolutely had to add the entire article. I don't know too much about Mike Beebe, other than there was a little coverage about the Arkansas governor's race in '06. But I will assume that he is speaking from the heart. After all, what does he, a Democrat who supports Hillary Clinton, have to gain? He is not some Republican just giving lip service to be nice.

If ya want to read more news from Arkansas that is on the page click here.

If y'all don't mind I would like to discuss some things that were said in the article. I think that is nice that both Mikes called Chelsea a "good daughter," of the Clinton's. I remember when Bill Clinton was first elected. Everyone was making fun of Chelsea, comedians, Rush Limbaugh and even kids in school. I didn't think that was right.

She was a young teenager at that time. Young girls go through that "awkward stage." Even my mom, who doesn't like Bill Clinton, said "I hope she grows up to be a really pretty young lady. That would show them all." When I was attending a Christian high school my government teacher and the students were talking about how "ugly" she was. I stood up for Chelsea and told them what my mom said and everyone laughed at me and said she would never be pretty. I just don't think it is right to make fun of someone just because of who her parents are. Bill and Hillary's problems were theirs, not their daughter's.

The nice things Gov. Beebe said about Mr. Huckabee goes to show ya that even when people and have disagreements on certain issues they can find commonality. The fact that Mike Huckabee reached out to the Tucker family is proof that Mike Huckabee can separate one thing from the other. What Jim Guy Tucker did, his family had nothing to do with that. And Mike was smart enough to know the difference. Also, he was compassionate enough to reach out to him.

God Bless from the Upper Peninsula in Michigan!

Scenes from the UP

I thought I would share these photos with y'all. One is a sunrise over the lake. The other is my two cats Bobbie and Joe. Bobbie is the little one under the coffee table. Joe is the big one sitting on the settee. There is a storm and Joe was looking intensly out the window. When I took the picture he turned around to mug for the camera. Normally when I want him to look at the camera he won't. I tried to take another pic and told him to look out the window. Didn't listen to me.




The peach on the wall is paint samples I was testing out.

Terrific News from the Huckabee Camp!

Message from Mike Huckabee:

In the first 72 hours after Ames, we received over 1,000 contributions to our campaign from first-time donors. With these contributions we also received a flood of congratulatory emails and congratulatory comments on our blog.

Today I would like to challenge you, to match or even exceed this level of support and to do so by next Monday at midnight.

Our goal is a minimum of 1,000 contributions. Make a contribution of $10, $15, 25, $50, $100 or even $250 online using our secure server and help us meet this goal.

If you are able to make a contribution of $250 or more before next Monday at midnight, we will send you a signed copy of my latest book From Hope to Higher Ground.

The day after Labor Day, is the more traditional start to campaigning for President and heading into this new phase, our campaign needs to be financially ready to take advantage of our rising position in the polls.

So please match the level of enthusiasm we saw after Ames by making a contribution today.

In September our campaign plan places a greater emphasis on building up grassroots support and elevating the discussion of issues.

We will focus on providing tools and literature for Volunteers to organize and spread the word in their towns and home states. We will also place a greater emphasis on the issues. For months now the media and Washington pundits have focused on campaign staffs, gamesmanship and dollars raised. We should instead be talking about the issues because Americans deserve a thoughtful, lengthy debate.

With your help, this September we will do our part using the internet and our Volunteers on the ground to focus on the issues. Each campaign owes the American people that much. With deep gratitude,

Everything in this letter is absolutely wonderful! I am so glad to hear that they will be providing tools and lit for volunteers. I was told this a couple months ago. I was starting to think they didn't like me. Maybe I am wrong now. I hope.

If you can afford it click on the link above to make a donation.

Fun While Grocery Shopping

I am in "a mood" today. The other day I was at the grocery store. I enjoy grocery shopping, normally. Except on this day as I went to pay for my groceries I was standing behind a lady who is on WIC (Women, Infants and Children) or some sort of assistance program. She had two sets of groceries. One set was milk, eggs, name brand cereal and whatever else. The other set was marshmallows, candy, and other such junk food. She bought the first set of groceries with some sort of ticket. I am assuming that it was from WIC. The other set was payed with cash.
Here's my point. If she could afford to pay for the junk food she can afford to buy veggies, dairy, starch based products and meat. These things are way cheaper than junk food or even prepared TV dinners. I get upset when I see things like that. While food assistance programs only allow for only nutritional food, it is still my tax dollars paying for this. I understand that some people really are poor and this helps them out. When I see them buying food they really don't need that won't help their health, it burns my buttons.
I have to watch my budget. I can't afford to buy all kindsa goodies. Then someone on assistance can. There is so many ways for people to take advantage of this.
WIC is based on how many people live in the household according to income. This can include roomates or more than one working adult in the household. So if you have a woman who is pregnant or has any children who is living with her boyfriend, who works, who lives in his parents house, who both work, all the members of the household can receive free food on our tax dollars. Perhaps if these people weren't buying twinkies they wouldn't need assistance.
This is why I think thorough Home-ec education needs to be brought back in schools. The poor kids who may not have a chance to go to college can learn how to budget for groceries, clothes and bills. They can get an education in learning how to eat healthy. They can learn how to prepare decent meals spending the least possible amount of money.
At the local food bank they give day long classes on preparing healthy meals and saving money. Of course the saving money isn't about stocks and bonds. It's about changing spending habits having enough food on a lower budget.

Huckabee Says Feds Bungled Response To Hurricane Katrina

Mike Huckabee was in New Orleans about the Katrina Disaster.

• Republican presidential contender Mike Huckabee says the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina was marked by a lack of leadership and planning and guilt. Huckabee says the result was that money poured into the disaster area but not necessarily in the best way.
• Huckabee spoke at a daylong symposium at the University of New Orleans on lessons learned in the two years since Katrina struck. The former Arkansas governor decried the bureaucracy that has stalled the recovery of New Orleans. He says the government needs to put people first and paperwork second.

Click on this link to read the article and view the video.

Glenn Beck Talks about Katrina Disaster and Barack Obama in New Orleans

I thought I would share these two transcripts from Glenn Beck's radio show. One is his thoughts about not rebuilding New Orleans. He wants it to either be done right or not at all. He also takes a call from Jeff, who is upset with him. A caller who is upset with Glenn. Who'da thunk? The other is about Barack Obama's visit to a New Orleans church.

Paragraph from email notification:

• Glenn knew he was going to get flack for his proclamation on the show today in which he said "rebuild New Orleans right, or don't rebuild it at all" because liberal bloggers will have fun accusing Glenn of being a racist. Well, the fact is Glenn should be viewed as the compassionate one, because re-building New Orleans the exact same way doesn't seem to be a very safe area to send people back to. Just because Ray Nagin knocked his fist on the new levee doesn't mean it will withstand a category 5 hurricane. Even with that fundamentally sound logic behind his argument Glenn still got tons of hate mail and a call from Jeff, who has "never been so insulted" by Glenn. Read the transcript. (Insiders listen here).

Snippets from transcript:

• GLENN: Okay. Jeff in Louisiana's very upset at me because earlier today I heard a speech given by Barack Obama where he said the churches are trying to rebuild in New Orleans and it is the local, state and federal government, they need help. For infrastructure, okay. However, we're not rebuilding it right. We're rebuilding it to a Category 3. And I'm not somebody who doesn't have any credibility on this. A year before Katrina hit, I said the biggest disaster in this country's history. Stu, I want you to -- find this audio because I want you to make sure I have this right. I said the biggest disaster waiting to happen in the United States is New Orleans. It is a bowl that will fill up with water and people will be killed. It is the ports with all the oil refineries and everything else. It will be an environmental disaster. This is a nightmare waiting to happen.
• GLENN: Find the stuff. I made this prediction a year before. It was clear. Now, if you want to rebuild New Orleans, then rebuild it right. Spend the money one time and rebuild it right. Build it with a seawall that will take a direct hit of a category 5. New Orleans is also sinking. In the next 100 years it will sink another meter. They are talking now about rushing people into the Ninth Ward. That is the poorest of the poor. It was the worst hit because it's the lowest point in New Orleans. Rushing people back in with the same wall that you had last time. You've got experts all over the country saying, you can't move people back into this; this is a nightmare waiting to happen. It's the same story that's been happening since the 1950s, the same warnings. And yet this time this is the biggest federal disaster aid package in the history of our country. And liberals are asking for more. People are asking for more. People are saying now you can't get insurance.
• The Government shouldn't be in this business. Stop developing in hazard-prone areas. Stop developing. And the liberals who buy into global warming should be leading this, but they're not. Stop the development. We can correct the mistake of the 1960 -- you know, 1968 with Johnson coming in and creating the Great Society and having a flood insurance program. They said at the time that's only going to cause people to move into flood zones, it's only going to cause more problems. Well, guess what. That's exactly what it did. If private companies won't take on and insure something because it's too great of a risk, neither should the federal government. What, the federal government just prints more money? Is that your understanding of how the system works? Now, because of 1968 this decision was made in '68, and because we're already there, great. I'll take the money that we want to spend on rebuilding New Orleans and rebuilding these flood zones and you could convince me to use that money to apply it to moves and help people move to a city where they're not going to be wiped out by a hurricane to where we have to rebuild everything for another $100 billion. Build it right the first time or not at all. And I believe we shouldn't rebuild it at all. Make it a port city. That's it.
• Let's see. Let's go to Jeff now who says he has never been more insulted in his life from what I just said. Go ahead, Jeff.
• CALLER: Mr. Beck, I am a very conservative person. I have agreed with you on almost every issue you've ever had except for this one.
• GLENN: Okay.
• CALLER: I would say it is the job of the federal government to clean up New Orleans because it was their fault, not because of the recovery but because they promised after Hurricane Betsy in the early Sixties that they would build a wall that would actually withstand hurricane force winds of a 3 or a 4. Now, here in New Orleans we were actually missed by the hurricane and in the nightmare scenario you were talking about actually didn't happen.

Read the rest of the conversation, here.

From email notification about Barack:

• Katrina Week kicked off with a bang, Senator Barack Obama speaking in a New Orleans church over the weekend. He was talking about how the government needs to help churches (because they are doing the right work) with aid so they can continue to rebuild New Orleans. Glenn wondered why a liberal politician who is advocating government funding for churches (because they are doing the right work) would be opposed to George W. Bush's 'faith based' initiatives. After all, that is exactly what they were designed to do. Instead of seeing the obvious hypocrisy, the media will of course anoint Obama as the next savior of the Big Easy. Read the transcript. (Insiders listen here).

Snippets from transcript:

• GLENN: All right. So he's (Obama) speaking about Katrina and how bad things are still in New Orleans from the pulpit. Listen to what he says.
• OBAMA: The church is doing everything that it can. The church is trying to build that foundation on the rock, but they need a little helping hand from the state government and the city government and from the federal government.
• GLENN: Stop just a second. Stop just a second. Let me see if I got this right. Requeue it back here to where we were, Dan. Let's see. Stu, see if I have this right here. The church is trying to build the foundation on the rock. Translate that for me in case you don't speak -- in case somebody doesn't speak Bible. Who else built something on the rock?

Glenn and Stu get into a smartallic conversation trying to figure out who that "guy" (Jesus) was.

• GLENN: The rock is the word of God. The rock is Jesus Christ. The rock is something that never moves. So the church is trying to rebuild on a rock, on -- I'm sorry. Did he say the rock? Play it again.
• OBAMA: Unless some help is given, the church is doing everything that it can.GLENN: Back up. Back up. Back it up.
• STU: We missed the rock.
• GLENN: We missed the rock. And he's a good actor, too. Maybe that's what they're referring to.
• OBAMA: Unless some relief is provided, unless some help is given. The church is doing everything that it can. The church is trying to build that foundation on the rock.
• GLENN: On the rock, on the rock, okay, got it. So the church is trying to build the foundation on the rock. Clearly a religious and scriptural message, right?
• STU: Definitely.
• GLENN: But?
• OBAMA: But they need a little helping hand from the state government and the city government and from the federal government.
• GLENN: Hold it just a second. Isn't this an initiative that Bush tried to start, that the churches know best how the help. So let's take money from the federal government and give it to the churches and the churches can help. Wasn't that -- who was against that, Stu? What was that initiative called? I'm trying to remember now, and who was it that was against it? There was somebody against it.
• STU: There was.

More smartmouth comments from Glenn and Stu-

• GLENN: That's incredible. That's incredible and now this is a great liberal idea. The church is doing the best they can but they can't do it without some help. They need the help from the federal government, the local government, and the state government.
• STU: You have to understand, Glenn, sometimes God is like, I just can't do all this; I need a senator to step in.
• GLENN: If I could just get the mayor of the town on my side, I, the omnipotent one, would be complete.
• STU: Did you know that there is a congressman, Glenn, from Nazareth --
• GLENN: Yes.
• STU: -- who really assisted in that whole resurrection thing. It's fantastic.
• GLENN: Fantastic. He was the -- I believe he was a city councilman that was in charge of tombs at the time and he was actually, he was in charge of rock removal because Jesus was in the tomb going, oh, jeez, how do I move the rock. Here I am, I've risen from the dead but now I'm trapped because there's a big rock. And pretty soon Jesus heard (rumbling) and the rock moved off to the side. And Jesus was standing there in awe and somebody peered in. He's like, yeah, yeah, yeah, Jesus, are you in here? Yes. Yeah, I'm Vinnie from Local 149, your city councilman sent it down to move the rock. Oh, thank goodness for that city councilman.
• Does that make any sense! So the first point on Barack Obama's speech is who wants a politician, left or right, up or down, giving you a speech on a Sunday? Is that why you go to church? It ain't for me. I mean, unless I'm a Universalist Unitarian where you get your, you know, your sermon from an atheist and then they send you out for, I don't know, a Cub Scout meeting or something

Read the rest of the transcript, here.

Transcript Mike Huckabee's Interview with Mike Wallace

I did watch the episode, but I was in the middle of a post, so I didn't pay as much attention as I would have wanted. I found the transcript, so I will post the highlights here.

• FOX NEWS SUNDAY' HOST CHRIS WALLACE: Joining us now, Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee fresh off his surprising second-place finish at the recent Iowa straw poll.
  Governor Huckabee, congratulations and welcome back to "FOX News Sunday."
  REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE MIKE HUCKABEE: Well, thank you, Chris. Pleasure to be back.
• WALLACE: Since the Ames poll two weeks ago, how much of a boost to your campaign? How much money have you raised since then and in what other tangible ways have you gotten some kind of an Iowa bounce?
  HUCKABEE: Well, people that wouldn't return our calls are now calling us. That's a good thing. Three point two million hits to the website. We've scheduled fundraisers in about 16 states now through the middle and end of October.
  So we've, I think, raised probably more money in the last couple of — three weeks of August than we had, you know, in the previous couple or three months, online, and so in other words, things...
• WALLACE: Like how much?
  HUCKABEE: You know, I don't know the exact figures and, of course, if I told you, I'd have to take your life, so I couldn't give you that, but it's substantially more.

That sense of humor is one of the many reasons why "I Like Mike."

• WALLACE: But it's still going to be a tough, long slog. And let's take a look, if we can, at the FOX News/Opinion Dynamics poll that's out this week. It shows, as you can see there, you're still in sixth place at 3 percent.
  So what's your strategy? How do you become — from still quite a long shot, how do you come a front-tier candidate?
  HUCKABEE: Well, you know, so far, we've been everything from no shot to long shot now to slingshot. And I think we're at a point where as we look for the next level, it's really — is our message is connecting, and it is.
• So we're seeing anywhere from two to four times the number of people come out and enthusiastically receiving the message that I'm giving.
  People, I think, appreciate that it's not a message that sounds like it's come from a room full of consultants. It's come from a candidate's convictions.
  And there's sort of a refreshing acceptance that people are looking for somebody who can honestly say what he believes and believes what he says.

That honesty is another reason why "I Like Mike."!

• WALLACE: You talk about New Hampshire. There is talk that you're planning to ambush Mitt Romney in his own backyard of New Hampshire, following the model of Pat Buchanan when he was running against George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton against Paul Tsongas.
  One, is it true? And two, how do you plan to do that?
  HUCKABEE: Well, I wouldn't call the — maybe the strategy "ambush." We're going after a victory there. And it's not an ambush. It's a straight up — we're trying to win. I think we will win.

There is another "ambush/victory" I would like to see in Mitt Romney's other backyard. That will be at the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference.

• WALLACE: Why New Hampshire?
  HUCKABEE: Because voters there are very savvy. They look for a person who truly has the convictions and sticks by them.
• They want someone whose views on the Second Amendment understand that the basic issue is one of freedom and it's not hunting.
  They want somebody who talks about true tax reform like the fair tax. They embrace that idea in New Hampshire when I talk about it — a complete just gutting of this incredibly complex and arcane tax code we have and replace it with a simple consumption tax that really elevates our economy, gives it a fresh start.
  People like those kind of ideas that are bigger and fresher than the carefully tuned and tweaked sort of version of minor reform. That's just not what New Hampshire voters, I think, are expecting and looking for in their next president.
• WALLACE: I keep getting a subtext in a lot of your answers. And in fact, you've been even more explicit in going after Mitt Romney recently, and let's take a look at that.
  You said, "Leadership is not about having enough money that you can buy the presidency." You also introduced yourself to New Hampshire voters this way, "Here's a guy who didn't just become pro-life to run for president. Here's a guy who didn't just read the latest issue of NRA Magazine and decide he's going to be for the Second Amendment."
  When did nice guy Mike Huckabee become an attack dog?
  HUCKABEE: I don't think I'm an attack dog. Certainly, there's going to be contrasts, and I didn't mention anybody's name, and it could apply to several Republican candidates.

Great answer!

• WALLACE: Including Mitt Romney?
  HUCKABEE: You know, there's a saying in the South, Chris. We like to say, "If you throw a rock across the fence, it's the hit dog who hollers." So the point being that sometimes if people start reacting very — just vociferously to something said, maybe there's a reason they're reacting to it.

That is a great way to put it.

• WALLACE: The conservative Club for Growth ran ads in Iowa before the straw poll attacking you as a tax and spender during your years as governor of Arkansas.
  Let's take a look at one of their ads.
  (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
  NARRATOR: Higher sales taxes. Gas taxes. Grocery taxes. Even higher taxes on nursing home beds.
  (END VIDEO CLIP)
  WALLACE: The fact is, Senator, as governor you did sign tax increases on gasoline, on cigarettes, on nursing home patients. You did allow a 17 percent sales tax increase to go into law.
  HUCKABEE: Well, let's take a look at those. And first of all, I have to be a little flattered that the Club for Growth targeted me with $100,000 of ads in a state where no one thought I was even playing seriously.
  And you have to wonder, "Where did that money come from? Who gave them that money in order to run those ads?" And I think that would be a great question for somebody to dig to the bottom of.

Exactly!

• WALLACE: Do you have some idea?
  HUCKABEE: I have to think it may be one of the other candidates. I don't know who and I don't even know why other than, again, as Abe Lincoln said when he was run out of town on a rail, "If it weren't for the honor of it, I'd just as soon pass."
  WALLACE: But let me ask you about that, because you called the Club for Growth, which is a reliably conservative group, the club for greed.
  Why would a conservative group single you out and run, as you say, about $100,000 in ads to warn Iowa voters that you're a tax and spender?
  HUCKABEE: Well, because you've got to understand the Club for Growth or club for greed, however you want to call them...
• WALLACE: Do you have some idea?
  HUCKABEE: I have to think it may be one of the other candidates. I don't know who and I don't even know why other than, again, as Abe Lincoln said when he was run out of town on a rail, "If it weren't for the honor of it, I'd just as soon pass."
  WALLACE: But let me ask you about that, because you called the Club for Growth, which is a reliably conservative group, the club for greed.
  Why would a conservative group single you out and run, as you say, about $100,000 in ads to warn Iowa voters that you're a tax and spender?
  HUCKABEE: Well, because you've got to understand the Club for Growth or club for greed, however you want to call them...

Woo-hoo! Damn, I love that honesty!

• NewsMax, for example, did, I thought, a wonderful story in which they pretty much debunked the Club for Growth's ad and its content and the attacks. And you know, there are nuances of a state government and running one that — I'm quite proud of having navigated a ship through troubled waters in Arkansas.
• WALLACE: The shoe that hasn't dropped yet in this campaign is that it appears that some day, maybe in the next couple of weeks, Fred Thompson is going to get into this race.
  Isn't another southerner with a long conservative record and one who's compared to Ronald Reagan with a larger-than-life presence — isn't that going to steal some of your spotlight?
  HUCKABEE: Well, let's just hope Fred decides it's just too hot this summer to even do this. Maybe he won't get in.
  But if he does, I think he's going to suck a lot of the oxygen out of the room when he first comes in. But I'm not sure I'd want to be in his position where the expectations are simply just sky-high for him to be able to perform.
• No one expected us to do as well in Iowa. We've done it. No one was expecting us to draw the kind of crowds and momentum in New Hampshire. We're doing it.
  People are expecting him to basically come in and be the fifth head on Mount Rushmore. Whether he can live up to that — I think there's a real challenge for anybody to live up to that, including if Ronald Reagan were to come back. I'm not sure he could live up to Ronald Reagan's persona and image at this stage.
• WALLACE: Finally, there's a lot of speculation that Mike Huckabee would make a good running mate, especially for someone like Rudy Giuliani, who's got some questions about his stands on social issues.
  Are you vice presidential material?
  HUCKABEE: Well, I'd like to think I'm presidential material. You know, the point is I've never seen a guy say, "I'm going to the Olympics and, man, my goal is to be the silver medalist." Nobody says, "That's what, you know, I spent my whole life working toward, is being number two."
  So, no, I'm not sitting around thinking about, "Gosh, what if I could be vice president?" I'm thinking about, "What would happen if I could become president," how I would lead this country, what I would do to reform taxes, what I would do to try to bring a domestic agenda that builds this country back so we have some strength.

That is totally awesome, the Olympics analogy!

• WALLACE: Governor Huckabee, thank you for coming in. I know you had to fly through a lot of thunderstorms through the night to get here. We very much appreciate it. And continued safe travels on the campaign trail, sir.
  HUCKABEE: Thank you, Chris.

To read the full transcript, click here.

I did use most of the transcript, but not all of it. So I encourage you to read it all. Some of ya may think Chris was to tough on him. But I think he did a good job. He was very neutral and had somewhat of a "devils advocate" approach. This is what the people need to see.

They should here Mike get the tough questions and them his superb answers. It shows that not only does he have a nice side, he has a diplomatic side. Let's face it, politics is not "Sunshine, Lolli-pops, Rainbows and Everything that's Wonderful." Everyone needs to see the many facets of Mike Huckabee. That's what any elected official should be. Mike Huckabee can prove that he is honest while adapting to the circumstances.

God Bless from the Upper Peninsula in Michigan!

Reception Invite/Chance to talk about Huckabee on the Island one week early

This is not the original story I was planning on talking about when I said I had a Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference post in the works.
Today I checked my snail mail from yesterday. In the mail I got an invitation to a reception for Representative Paul E. Opsommer of the 93rd District. I admit I had to do a Yahoo search on who he is. He is the Republican Representative from DeWitt, Michigan. Click on his name to find out about him.
The reception will take place at the Cupola Bar at the Grand Hotel on Saturday Sept. 15. The bar is at the very top of the Grand. This is an invitation only party, so I don't want to give too many details. I don't want to be the cause of party crashers.
I am not sure who all will be there, since this is just a week before the conference. I am not sure why I was even invited. All I know is whoever I talk to I will tell them about Mike Huckabee and let them know that Mike will be at the conference. Meal tickets can be purchased the same day as the conference, so there will still be time for anyone at the reception to buy tickets to his luncheon.
Coming up, I will get to be y'alls Barbie. I will dress my dress-form with a few outfits and let you, the dear readers choose what I should wear.

God Bless from the Upper Peninsula in Michigan!

PS, Ya may have noticed my header is a little different, and better. I have to give credit to Kevin Tracy for that. Please go to his blog and tell him what a terrific job he did!

Keeping Ducks in a Row

I took this pic this morning. It is ducks, not a family reunion for the lockness monster. It fits in with a blog post I found on the Mike Huckabee blog, about promoting bloggers to supporters in our individual states. They seem to be getting all their ducks in order on this. I have another post about the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference coming up. Right now I am hungry and need to eat.

I am going to be Stuck in St Ignace

Well I have been trying to make reservations on Mackinac Island for the Leadership Conference. The rates are expensive. I might as well just ferry back and forth from St Ignace. Rates are much cheaper in St Ignace, well duh. Some of the hotels on the island don't even offer St Ignace discounts. Even though St Ignace hotels offer Island discounts, most hotels on the island don't. Now that makes sense, NOT. The majority of islanders make more money than the majority of St Ignites. I would never expect island hotels to give as low of a rate as the hotels in St Ignace give islanders. After all the full rates on the island are more, but still ya would think they would do something.

I found two hotels who give St Ignace rates. They can't do it that weekend, because it is busy. The nice people I talked to said that they do on other times. I would like to encourage you to stay at these hotels when you stay on Mackinac Island. One is Harbour View Inn. The other is Harbor Place Studio Suites. Please click on the links to view info about them. Make these two places your first choice when ya stay on Mackinac Island.

Online News - OzarksFirst.Com Calls Mike Huckabee a Heavyweight! Video Added

God must love the common man, because there is so many of them.
Mike Huckabee quoting Abraham Lincoln.

I found two videos from Mike Huckabee's visit to Branson Missouri, from news station KY3.
At the house party
See how he interacts with people at the party. Listen to what people at the party say about him. Hear how people compare him to Rudy Giuliani.
There is also a quick cut to Mitt Romney at a party. Mitt sounds like the typical rich boy stereotype. Stiffly he shakes someone's hand and says "there's my old buddy." I expected him to add, "put more shrimp on the barby, lovey."

• BRANSON, Mo. -- Fresh off his strong second-place finish in Iowa's Republican Party straw poll, a former Arkansas governor, Mike Huckabee, made his first campaign visit to the area on Thursday night. The Republican was at a private home here to seek the mother's milk of politics, money, because that Iowa straw poll will matter only if Huckabee can convert it into the millions of dollars it takes to run a national campaign.
  To see a five-minute interview with Huckabee, click here.

Click the second link to see the interview.

Mike Huckabee was in Branson, Missouri Thursday. I couldn't help but include the entire article. It was too good to leave anything out.

• Branson may not seem like a big place for presidential politics, but a fundraiser there Thursday night brought in a republican heavyweight.
  Mike Huckabee met with supporters at a private home for pictures and chit-chat about the upcoming election. The former Arkansas governor says he feels a close kinship with Branson because it's so close to his native state.
  
  A recent Iowa straw poll put him in second place among republicans, right behind Mitt Romney. He says that put his campaign on the fast-track.
  "Clearly folks who maybe were waiting to see whether we have traction now realize we do. A lot of folks are looking at it and saying that if we can do what we did in Iowa with very limited resources, literally going virtually a dime against a $100 bill, imagine what we can do with resources." says Huckabee.
  Huckabee served as Governor of Arkansas from 1997 until January of this year.

God Bless from the Upper Peninsula in Michigan!

Dress Codes

As part of talking about the Grand Hotel, where the Mackinac Leadership Conference will be held, I thought I would share this dress code info for the Grand Hotel and dining room.

Evening Attire
The Grand Hotel experience includes dressing for dinner. Evening wear is required in all areas of the hotel: coat and tie for gentlemen, and dresses or pantsuits for ladies.

I think this is a superb idea. Not just because the Mackinac Island tries to keep old fashioned looks and style, but just because the Grand Hotel is a classy place. I'm a jeans and t-shirt kinda girl, but I still believe that certain occasions call for dressing nice. And this is one of them.

Although, if it were up to me I would put more restriction for women. For men it's not too difficult to know what coat and tie means. This event will have teen and college girls attending. I do not want to see girls in man pants, aka lowrise. I do not want to see bellies showing, even if they do wear a blazer over the top. Personally, I don't even like the idea of women in pantsuits, at least not for classy events. A nice skirt and feminine blazer is cute. Khaki skirts should not be allowed either.

A new video will be coming soon. I am finishing a blouse from a 1956 pattern. I already have the skirt fully made, from a newer pattern. I made it for the State Convention in February. I had started the blouse, but didn't have it finished on time. So I just need to finish it. Won't take to long.

God Bless from the Upper Peninsula in Michigan!

Above picture is the main dining room where Mike Huckabee will be speaking.

Chris Wallace called Mike Huckabee one of the most interesting candidates

I was just watching Fox and Friends and Chris Wallace said Mike Huckabee will be on his show, FOX News Sunday. When talking about Mike being on the line-up Chris called Mike one of the most interesting candidates in the Republican race. He was saying Mike went from practically being unknown and not much press. Now there is alot of buzz about Mike. Be sure to watch the show Sunday. Check your local listings.

Also, there will be a Republican Debate on FOX News September 5. Wendell Goler will be one of the moderators. I like Wendell.

Happy Birthday!

Did the blue collar working class parents of this kid ever

think his baby picture would be shown around on the internet? Did they ever immagine he would be grow up to preach the word of God? Did they ever immagine he would play his guitar outside of Hope, Arkansas? Could they have ever immagined he would run for President of the United States?
That is what is great about this country. No matter what social or economic background level someone comes from they can become anything they dream. That is what the American Dream is all about. From being the first male in his family to attend college, to become a Baptist Pastor, then governor of Arkansas for ten years, now running for US President, this boy showed that it can happen.
Who did this little boy grow up to be? Why, it is Mike Huckabee! Today is Mike Huckabee's 52nd birthday. Wish him a happy birthday here.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKE HUCKABEE!

Don't forget to make a White House size wish when you blow out your birthday candles!