- ESCANABA — State Rep. Tom Casperson, R-Escanaba, said government spending and programs need to be looked at closely.
- Casperson issued a statement after Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s 2008 State of the State address Tuesday night.
- “There’s been a lot of talk about reform in government and we’ve only been able to scratch the surface. I think we really need to take a serious look at that in the coming months on the regulatory side of it and on the tax side of it.
- “Something I’ve learned in being around Lansing for five years is that doing the same thing over and over again is not working, especially in Michigan with our economy.”
- Casperson said government agencies need to be looked at again.
- “My hope is that this year we can look for meaningful changes that can be made in what the government is doing. Everything involved with spending and programs needs to be looked at so the government can step up and lead by example. That might mean revisiting every state government agency and eliminating those that are outdated and cutting bloated, expensive hierarchies.” [more here]
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Casperson: Still room for reform in Michigan
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Northern Michigan News and Eastern UP Humor
- Turning the state around an elusive goal
- By Cathy Landry, News Editor · Posted: Wednesday, January 30, 2008 12:07 AM EST
- GAYLORD — The state legislators who met with Northern Michigan home builders association members said that in order to move the state’s economy forward, everyone needs to get involved.
- During the “Region I Housing Industry Summit,” sponsored by the Michigan Association of Home Builders Monday at the University Center in Gaylord, Rep. Kevin Elsenheimer, R-Bellaire, Rep. Tom Casperson, R-Escanaba, and Gary McDowell, D-Rudyard, were asked if people were pulling together to make changes to get Michigan’s economy moving in the right direction again.
- Casperson said that he has found the public debate conspicuously absent much of the time on many issues. He used the example during the budget process last fall when it came to school funding.
- “People didn’t really engage except for school teachers and superintendents,” he said, “The average guy didn’t really call.”
- He added that he believes that participation is key to moving Michigan forward. “I’m more and more convinced that people need to get involved,” he commented. “In the political process, we are bidding for support. You need to let your voice be heard to make changes.” [more here]
I just thought I would add a bit of humor. Check out how Gary McDowell looks like the PC guy in the "Mac vs. PC."
Gary McDowell
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Some Gossip
Looks like John McCain will win Florida.
Supposedly Rudy Giuliani will be pulling out and endorsing John McCain.
Of course Huck and Ron Paul are sticking in the race, sorta like the time when I was a little kid and took a nap while I was chewing gum. The gum got stuck in my hair and my mom got ticked off, trying all kindsa ways to get it out.
Something needs to give. Mitt needs Fred. I really hope Fred Thompson can come out and endorse Mitt Romney.
For the Democrats, so far Hillary Clinton has 50% of the vote. She won't be getting any delegates, from Florida.
Sorry I have not been posting like I had been. This whole thing makes me want to puke.
Monday, January 28, 2008
A Bit of Comedy
I thought I would bring in some comic relief from Glenn Beck.
Vote Fluffenfluff
Audio Available: January 28, 2008 - 13:56 ET
GLENN: I don't know about you but I think one of the things, I think the reason people are having such a hard time knowing who to vote for is you don't know who to trust because they are all telling you exactly what they think you want to hear and, you know, I don't want to hear anything specifically except what you really, truly think the problems of the world are and what you really, truly believe the solutions are. Not what you think I want the problems to be or the solutions to be but what you really truly believe. But I don't think any candidate could ever have enough guts. I think they would win but I don't think they would have enough guts to actually tell you. Of course then again I should take that back. I don't know. If there was a candidate that ran an ad that was an honest ad and said here's what the problems are, would they win.
With Nerf Hoffelmeyer pulling out of the race early this year, radio host Jim Dingle has fully thrown his support behind Floyd Fluffinfluff.
We put together a series here of campaign ads. Here's the first. My first thought was, okay, here's the ad that maybe would work because it's a little honest:
VOICE: This election is about change and the greatest change we need in Washington is honesty. So while other candidates will tell you what you want to hear, Floyd Fluffinfluff is the only one who will tell you what you need to hear, real lasting change. That's the Fluffinfluff promise. Vote for lieutenant deputy mayor Floyd Fluffinfluff. The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth with no fluff, just Fluffinfluff.
GLENN: All right. And then I thought, that's not -- I mean, that doesn't -- any candidate can say "I'm going to tell you the truth." You've got to be a little more specific. What's the truth? [more here]
Miss Michigan Wins Miss America
Ok, I have been away from posting. And what do I do for my first post back? That's right, I am dumbing down my blog. Just for this post though. I am always excited for my state, whether it be in political terms or anything else. So, I would like to congratulate Miss Michigan Kirsten Haglund for winning this year's Miss America Contest.
Let's be honest here. I don't pay too much attention to theses things. When I was a little girl it was fun to watch. But I am grown up and I don't have time to care. I have seen that they are trying to make these beauty pageants more hip and cool. From what I remember, I seem to like the old pagaents better.
But here is what I want to talk about in regards to politics. I still check in on Huckabee blogs. They all seem to be talking about some "establishment" trying to bring Mike Huckabee down. OK fine whatever. But then they talk about "replacing the 'old guard' with new." Essentially they want their own "establishment." Is their any difference between the two ideas? Do two wrongs make a right? They feel put out by some "establishment." Even though they feel exluded, they want in turn to exclude.
I am sure y'all are thinking I must have a serious case of ADD to go from Miss America to the Republican Party. But follow with me. I am trying to tie the two together. In Miss America pageants it is pretty girls with grace and style. I for one, grew up with average looks without much grace and style. I could get all jealous and say that because of my looks and poise I am being excluded and decide to start some sort of revolution to have only ugly girls participate in Miss America contests. Or I could just say that that's the way things are. Or, if I was younger, I could try to change make-up styles and learn me some manners, and then work my way up through the pageant system. I would have to start off in local contests, then regional, then state and onto national. I highly doubt that your plain Jane will ever become a pageant participant. Maybe someday there will be a time when all girls can participate in pageants. A more rounded pageant if you will, where maybe looks and brains can compete. But it would be wrong to kick out all the pretty girls just because ugly girls are upset. Should ugly girls hate pretty girls just because they aren't pretty or should they hone in other attributes about themselves?
Here is where I make the Republican comparison. Just like in the pageants, you can't just walk into a Republican meeting on the national level and think that because you don't like the way things are run you can just get rid of people and take over. If you truly want to get involved with Republican politics you need to work your way up. Start attending county meetings. Run for precinct delegate. Make friends, not enemies, with people who are already involved with party politics. This way you will be able to get recomendations from people who have clout. Sometimes I need to follow my own advice. Ah well, they all love my opinionated self. Once you have become a precinct delegate keep on attending meetings and county conventions. Try to get yourself to be able to attend state meetings and conventions. This is where making friends with clout comes in. Since my county is rather small and there is only two official delegates I am automatic to attend the state convention. But in larger counties, one might have to work harder if they wanted to go to the state convention.
Now this year will be my first convention in which national delegates are selected. So I am not sure how it will all work out. But I do know that out of dozens of people in my district, only 3 will get chosen to attend the national convention. Again this is where making friends comes in handy. For obvious reasons, I am not even going to attempt to try to go to the national convention. I am not that well known and there are people ahead of me with clout who are more deserving.
Just like in the pageant example, you will not get far trying to take over some "establishment." Working hard to get somewhere is what makes our country great. Working hard to get somewhere is the principles of the Republican party. Whining is not principles. As a member of the working class, I am not a stereotypical Republican. But if I work my way up, I will be accepted by doing the things I am supposed to not by whining. I have no intention on revolting and starting my own inner "establishment." I plan on being accepted by merits alone. If I somehow feel excluded, why is it right for me to exclude others?
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Governor Romney Announces Additions To The Advisory Committee On The Constitution And The Courts
- Thursday, Jan 24, 2008
- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
- Boston, MA – Today, Governor Mitt Romney announced new additions to the Romney for President Advisory Committee on the Constitution and the Courts. This group, chaired by Professor Douglas W. Kmiec, former constitutional legal counsel to President Ronald Reagan, has been advising Governor Romney on the important legal issues confronting the country today.
- Joining Romney for President after having served as National Co-Chair of Lawyers for Fred Thompson, Victoria Toensing said, "Appointing strong judges is one of our President's most important responsibilities. The next President will make a number of appointments, and I am confident Governor Romney will nominate judges in the mold of President Bush's nominees, Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito. I am proud to work with Governor Romney and this outstanding group of legal minds."
- Also joining the Advisory committee from Lawyers for Fred Thompson are Lizette D. Benedi, Rachel L. Brand, Reginald Brown, Charles J. Cooper, Joseph E. diGenova, Michael R. Dimino, Viet D. Dinh, Noel J. Francisco and Eileen J. O'Connor.
- Eugene Scalia, who served in the administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush, has also joined the committee. "Governor Romney has the ability, experience, and values to serve as an exceptional President," he said. "He appreciates the role of the courts and rule of law in our society."
- Making today's announcement, Governor Romney said, "It is an honor to have the counsel of so many distinguished men and women. Together, they represent years of experience in the legal field and their help to this campaign will be invaluable."
- Governor Romney also announced that Victoria Toensing and Joseph diGenova will serve on the Steering Committee of Lawyers for Romney in addition to their roles on the Advisory Committee. [more here]
Public Apology Letter to Mitt Romney
Dear Mr. Willard Mitt Romney,
I doubt you will ever read this letter. I doubt you have ever even heard of my blog. That doesn't matter. I have something to say, regardless if you ever know I have said it. I must be nothing but honest, there is going to be positive and negative in this letter. Perhaps honesty is a social no-no in politics, but that has never stopped me before.
I am a former Mike Huckabee supporter turned Fred Thompson supporter. I have been following this primary race since a couple weeks before the 2007 Michigan Republican State Conference in February. I heard you speak at the state convention. When I had heard you speak at the convention I really liked what you had to say. I went into that convention and hearing your speech knowing that you were a Mormon. I went in knowing that your stance on abortion had changed. While I am pro-life and do not agree with the teachings of the Mormon Church these things did not affect me.
When I came back home from the convention I still liked you. But I wanted to be the free American that I am by checking into all the candidates. I still was considering you as my top choice. During this time I found out about Mike Huckabee.
At first Mike Huckabee was mildly leaning towards populism, but not like it is now. See, Mr. Romney sir, as you can tell from my blog name that I am not a country club debutante. I am a blue collar worker. I struggle to pay my bills. I pay my bills according to who is threatening to shut off my services first. I am as active in the Republican Party as I possibly can be. I am not the stereotypical high society Republican. I am unmarried, so this is not something I am doing as a "spousal hobby." Nor am I looking for a spouse within the Republican Party.
You may think, from my social standing in life, that the reason I am a Republican is because of the social values the party espouses. That is far from the truth. I do believe in social values. But these things are the veggie dish on the plate. Things like economy, security and immigration are the meat and potatoes for me. Now you would think that if I am poor and I am worried about the economy I would become a Democrat. That is far from the truth. This is one of the biggest myths portrayed be the Democrats. I believe in the Republican projection of personal economic freedom. I am whole heartedly against the welfare state. People like me pay into it the most. People like me see the effects most, while we are in line at the grocery store.
Now when I heard Mike Huckabee speak about how he is different from most Republicans, I bought into this. I thought "finally one of my own is getting into the spotlight." During this time in which I first started learning about Mike Huckabee I was also checking into the '08 presidential message boards on MSNBC. I was reading the message board about you. It was mostly about your Mormonism. There were some people on this board who claimed to be Mormon. some of the stuff that people, alleged Mormons and non-Mormons said were rather strange. I took this as fact that they were truly Mormons. Perhaps some of them really were. But after getting nasty comments from Huckabee supporters, after switching support to Fred Thompson, I noticed that there was something in their comments that made me recall the conversations, from both sides, on this message board. Am I accusing anyone of anything? No. I am just saying...
Well now Fred Thompson is out of the race. I had already voted here in Michigan. So, I could have just said, "gee Fred Thompson is out of the race and the Michigan Primary is finished so there is not point for me to post anything political." Well that is far from the truth. There are still many more states ahead and I want to keep people in those states informed. And I want to continue following this primary policy. But here is where I must be honest. Whom do I follow and post about?
Fred Thompson was the best choice. But he is no longer in the race. Now who is the second best? I guess in my case third choice. So far, it looks like you, Mr. Romney. There are things I don't like about you. But most of these things are personal related as opposed to policy. But none of these personal things are no longer Mormon related. In fact last night I did something I never thought I would. I deleted all the anti-Mormon things I ever posted. I am not sure if I am going to delete any other negative non-Mormon related posts I ever wrote about you.
Again, there are things about your church I do not agree with, but I do not think you are going to force Mormonism down the throats of the American people. Nor do I think Mormons are going to take over the Republican Party. A possible Mitt Romney presidency may bring in more Mormons to the Republican Party. I say to them "Welcome." We need all the people involved in the party we can get. But I do not believe they will take over "the Establishment" that one of your opponents and his supporters talks about. I do not believe that any possible Mormons that enter into the Republican Party would have any problem with a single woman that drinks. I know that is against your beliefs, but I do not think anyone would shove me out of the party.
After this long letter, I want to say to you, Mr. Romney, I am sorry for anything I said about your religion that would have upset you if you were to have ever read it. I am still going to look into you before I truly decide to support you.
Sincerely,
Michigan Redneck
Thompson's Exit Seen as Boost to Mitt Romney
- Ex-Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson’s departure from the race for the Republican presidential nomination is already helping former Bay State Gov. Mitt Romney and according to one top Thompson adviser, Romney will continue to reap the rewards.
- “Thompson leaving the race helps Romney,” said Rich Galen, a Thompson adviser and frequent traveling companion. “Everyone has a hole in their conservative credentials except Romney.”
- As Romney steadily rises in polls in winner-take-all Florida ahead of Tuesday’s primary, a new Field Poll of California voters released yesterday shows at least 30 percent of “Fred heads” will pick Romney as their second choice.
- “Anybody who ran for office in this field is a very strong individual and should be considered as a VP nominee whether for me or for somebody else,” Romney said, according to CBS News. “He’s a terrific and highly capable guy and anyone would think that having Fred Thompson as a VP would be a good thing.”
- Of Thompson supporters, Galen said, “They (would sooner) not vote rather than back (Arizona Sen. John) McCain, and (former New York City Mayor Rudy) Giuliani is just a non-starter.” [more here]
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Senator Thad Cochran Endorses Mitt Romney
Just a few posts ago I said that I would not be posting about Mitt Romney, yet. Well, for this moment I am breaking this rule. I was just over visiting at Hillbilly White Trash's blog. I was reading a comment from one of the readers. He said that Senator Thad Cochran endorsed Mitt Romney. Thad Cochran had been a Fred Thompson supporter. I felt this important, due to the fact that it is one person, thus far from the Thompson camp that is going to Mitt Romney.
Wednesday, Jan 23, 2008FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Boston, MA – Today, Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS) announced that he was endorsing Governor Mitt Romney and his candidacy for President of the United States. Senator Cochran joins a Romney for President team that includes Senators Robert Bennett (R-UT), Wayne Allard (R-CO), Jim DeMint (R-SC), Judd Gregg (R-NH) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT).
CONTACT: Kevin Madden (857) 288-6390
"It is an honor to join Governor Romney and his campaign for our nation's highest office. At this moment our nation faces unprecedented challenges, and Governor Romney has the experience, vision and values needed to strengthen our country for future generations," said Senator Cochran. "Governor Romney is a man of outstanding judgment and strong character. I look forward to working with him and helping to implement his conservative vision when he is elected our next President."
Welcoming Senator Cochran's support, Governor Romney said, "Senator Cochran has been a strong voice for the State of Mississippi and our conservative values in the United States Senate. He has been dedicated to improving the quality of life of all Americans while defending this great country from foreign threats. I am proud that he has joined our campaign to strengthen our military, our economy and our families."
More here from Mitt Romney's website.
2 in GOP Poised to Challenge Levin
Now that the presidential primary season is over in Michigan, politicians and the politically minded are looking forward to the next round of elections.
Michiganders again will go to the polls in less than seven months -- the primary election is Aug 5; the general election follows on Nov. 4.
Republicans Andrew (Rocky) Raczkowski, 39, a former state representative from Farmington Hills, and state Rep. Jack Hoogendyk, 52, of Texas Township in southwest Michigan, are making final preparations to announce their challenge to U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, a Democrat. Both have formed exploratory committees for the Senate race.
It will be a familiar race for Raczkowski, who challenged Levin in 2002, but lost by a 61%-38% margin.Hoogendyk was in the governor's race briefly in 2006, but dropped out before the August primary. [more here]
I have seen both of these fine men speak. Mr. Raczkowski at the Romney luncheon during the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference. Mr. Hoogendyke during the 2005 Michigan Republican State Convention. Both of these guys are great and would make great senators to represent Michigan in Washington D.C. I am leaning towards Mr. Raczkowski. Of the best part at the luncheon, he gave the best and most impassioned speech. No official thoughts from this redneck, yet.
What to Do?
I know my past couple posts have been Czech related. Don't despair. I will soon be posting about politics and Michigan again. After having supported Mike Huckabee, then supporting Fred Thompson I do not want to jump into things on the national race. I found out that Mike Huckabee was not who he portrayed himself to be. While I had been supporting Mike Huckabee I was also checking into Fred Thompson. During this time I found out that while supporting Mike Huckabee I was allowing my conservative beliefs and principles to be dumbed down. When I looked into Fred Thompson my beliefs and principles came back. I was devastated when Fred Thompson pulled out of the race.
Currently I am checking into Mitt Romney. Maybe I will look into Ron Paul. I am not that overjoyed with his views on some things. There is no way I can support Rudy Giuliani or John McCain. I can not find anyone I believe to be truly conservative. When I look into the attitudes of supporters, Mitt Romney has the best supporters, bar none. While I can not just choose to support someone just based on supporters, I do believe supporters along with endorsers can give a glimpse into the candidate themselves.
I will keep a button to the side for Mitt Romney's website. Any reader is welcome to click this on and check out Mitt Romney and make their own decision. I am currently not ready to post about Mitt Romney. I may provide links to articles about him, but no commentary, yet.
What's in a Name...?
For about 2 years I have been researching my předeky(ancestors) from Bohemia (in modern day eastern Czech Republic). This is the side of my family from my mother's line, her mother, her mother and her mother's parents. All my life I was told that their příjmení(surname) was Kallis. With Frank and Elizabeth (Selinger) Kallis being the first Bohemians, in my family, to come to Illinois, USA. Through sheer dumb luck, I found a cousin in South Dakota online who had more info on the family. He had been told the same thing about the family name. But he did give me a little more info than what I had. He did tell me the name of the town that our předeky came from. They came from Nosálov, Bohemia, once called Nosál.
I have been in the process of learning the Czech jazyk(language), off and on. Through part of this process I decided to sign up to have a profil on Lidé(people). First I needed to get a Czech E-mail on Seznam search engine. I did all that and found a pen pal who is into genealogy. He told me that he had found some info on my předek, Frank Kallis. Frank Kallis was actually František Kališ. Somewhere along the line, he had changed the rodina(family) jmena(name). My pen pal gave me some info on where I could start searching. He told me about an interesting genealogy searching site, Rod & Clan, for searching genealogy in the Czech Republic. It is all written in Czech. With what little Czech I do know, I filled in my předeky informace. I also added in a quick inquiry into inzeráty, about my předeky.
This informace about the jmena change is very significant for hledání(searching) purposes. The Kallis jmena works, somewhat, for searching in the US. But the Kališ jmena works for searching in the Czech Republic. I may need to also use the Kališ jmena for searching in the US. So, yes Mr. Shakespeare, there is something in a name. And a rose can smell sweeter when you call it a růže.
Some people who read my inzeráty on Rod & Clan emailed me about the info I gave. I had posted an address my cousin gave me that was Elizabeth Selinger's brother's. I was told by them that the info on the address was written wrong. Anyways I was told that there are some Selingers in the same town of Mšeno. That is the town Elizabeth's brother Wenzel was from. Most likely she was from Mšeno, before marrying František. Mšeno is very near to Nosálov. One emailer gave me the website for Mšeno. It is a very interesting town. I found information that the town has produced many artists and writers. Which is rather interesting, since my grandmother's sister is a well known artist. And I have loved to write since high school.
This is what the website has to say about artists and writers, on one of the tourist pages.
Jsem(I am) velmi(very) pověrčivý(superstitious). I always feel like I can get better luck finding genealogy info if I listen to Czech music and wear my great great grandmother's wedding ring while searching and learning Czech jazyk. I like to listen to Raduza. She sings many of her songs in other jazyky, other than Czech. It seems to be a combo of folk & rock and polka. It was actually a Czech girl who invented polka music.
Anyways, I actually got off track and forgot why I started this post in the first place. Oh yeah, now I now. I want to say that I had previously posted svátek(name days) everyday. But got off track and stopped doing that. But with finding out that my předeky had changed their jmeny I realized how important jmeny can be. So I will be doing this again.
Without further adoo,
Pozdravy Svátek, Zdeněk!
Velislav Picture Bible, Replica on Display
Replica of rare medieval graphic Bible on display in Prague
[16-01-2008] By Pavla HorákováThis week, Prague citizens have the rare opportunity to take a close look at and even leaf through a priceless medieval illustrated Bible. Not the original manuscript, of course, but a life-size colour replica of the 14th-century Velislav Picture Bible. The book, containing selected passages from the Bible along with two legends about the Bohemian patron saints Ludmila and Wenceslas, is one of the largest medieval pictorial books made in Central Europe.Velislav, or Velislaus in Latin, was a high-ranking priest and a notary at the court of Czech king John of Luxembourg and later his son Emperor Charles IV. All we know is that the well-travelled man commissioned the manuscript but the artist of the coloured pen drawings remains anonymous. Of the original 200 pages, 188 have preserved complete with almost 750 illustrations with Latin captions. The facsimile preserving the original colours has been published by the Archa 90 publishing house. Its director Rudolf Kalovský told me what had led them to take up such a difficult task.“The first reason was that the Velislav Bible has not been published before in this form. So this is the first time the public can see the Bible in full colour printing. Another reason was to show the world what Czechs were capable of in the 13th and 14th centuries.”The leather-bound replica of the Velislav Bible has been printed in a limited series of 200 numbered copies. The very first one was presented to President Václav Klaus. The original text is written in Latin so each copy is supplemented with a translation. Rudolf Kalovský says a dozen language versions are available.“We have translated the text into thirteen languages and at the moment we are distributing the book supplemented with the Czech and English translations.”The digital images of the medieval original were provided by the Czech National Library which has been digitising its rare prints and manuscripts for more than a decade. The Velislav Bible is the third most precious manuscript in the National Library collections and is very rarely exhibited. If you can’t make it to Prague this week to see the facsimile or you don’t feel like paying 20,000 crowns (or 1000 USD) for the replica, you can obtain a digital version of the Velisav Bible from the Czech National Library for a fraction of that price. [source]
Photo: CTK
Photo: CTK
Photo: CTKNews from the Czech Republic
Prague stock exchange falls amid global jitters over US economy
- [22-01-2008] By Rob Cameron
- Stock markets around the world fell sharply on Monday amid fears of a looming recession in the United States. The Prague Stock Exchange was no exception. The PX’s main index ended trading down 4.62 percent at 1,489.6 points, its lowest closing figure for the last 15 months. The markets still appeared jittery on Tuesday, as nervous traders waited for Wall Street to reopen. So why does what happens 6,500 kilometres away in the United States have such an effect on the economic pulse of markets far, far away such as the Czech Republic? That’s a question we put to Tomáš Sedláček, Chief Economic Strategist at ČSOB bank.
- Tomáš Sedláček “We’re living in a global world where literally a piece of information at one end of the globe affects the other end in a fraction of a second. All markets are interconnected today, not only via the internet and via communication, but one market affects the other almost instantly.” [more here]
- Radar agreement between US and the Czech Republic close
- A Pentagon spokesperson has said that an agreement between the US and the Czech Republic on deploying part of a US anti-missile defence system on Czech territory is to be concluded within weeks, AFP reported on Tuesday. But, Czech European Affairs Minister Alexandr Vondra did not confirm this information saying only it was possible that an agreement would be reached during spring. The US started negotiating an agreement with the Czech Republic in January 2007.
- In related news, Slovak PM Robert Fico has criticized US plans to site part of its missile defence system in the Czech Republic and Poland. Addressing the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on Monday, Mr Fico said that he considers the project to be pointless. He expressed the view that any decisions on defence-related issues should be subject to negotiations between NATO and the EU. The Slovak Prime Minister also rejected the notion that bilateral talks between the United States and individual European allies do not concern third countries, especially those neighbouring on the Czech Republic and Poland. [source]
Former president Vaclav Havel in hospital
- [22-01-2008] By Daniela Lazarová
- The former Czech president Vaclav Havel was admitted to hospital over the weekend with chronic bronchitis and a heart problem. Although his private secretary was quick to reassure the public that his condition was not serious and that Mr. Havel simply needed to get some rest, latest reports suggest that the popular former head of state may need more intensive treatment.
Václav Havel The news that Vaclav Havel had been admitted to hospital broke late on Sunday morning when he failed to turn up for a televised debate. The country’s national broadcaster Czech Television reported that the former president had been admitted to hospital on Saturday night after complaining of heart arrhythmia or irregular heart beat. The media was not informed which hospital he was in at the time – but Mr. Havel sent the public a reassuring message via his private secretary saying he felt much better and hoped to attend the premiere of a new documentary about him called Citizen Havel. [more here]
Václav HavelTuesday, January 22, 2008
Everly Brothers - Crying in the Rain (UPDATE)
I do not feel like commenting on this right now. But for the Fredheads out there, please enjoy this song from The Everly Brothers. I am sure many of us are "Crying in the Rain."A Statement from Fred Thompson
Today I have withdrawn my candidacy for President of the United States. I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort. Jeri and I will always be grateful for the encouragement and friendship of so many wonderful people. [source]
Jose Padilla Sentenced
Jose Padilla Sentenced to 17 Years
MIAMI - Jose Padilla, once accused of plotting with al-Qaida to blow up a radioactive "dirty bomb," was sentenced Tuesday to 17 years and four months on terrorism conspiracy charges that don't mention those initial allegations.
The sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke marks another step in the extraordinary personal and legal odyssey for the 37-year-old Muslim convert, a U.S. citizen was held for 3 1/2 years as an enemy combatant after his 2002 arrest amid the "dirty bomb" allegations. [more here]
Huckabee Broke
h/t to Maritime Sentry on this find from American Spectator.
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Golden Words From a Silver Tongued Salesman
h/t to ARRA News Service on posting this article from Family Security Matters. Here is some stand outs from the original article.
- Golden Words from a Silver-Tongued Salesman
- Mark R. and Renee E. Taylor
- Snake oil salesmen of the 19th Century used to comb the countryside, selling their remedies to unsuspecting consumers hoping for a cure, or at least a quick fix, for their ailments. Without much more than golden words out of the silver-tongued salesmen, they set alluring traps for their artful chicanery. Weeks later, those sold a bill of goods by the salesmen’s trickery were worse for the wear, the only benefit going to the deceptive salesmen - now long gone - with the victim’s hard earned gold in their pockets...
- Huckabee’s actions regarding illegal immigration are an often discussed topic on blogs, forums and conservative news sites across the country, and particularly within our state. For instance, as a parting “gift” to
- The media has portrayed Huckabee as strongly supported by homeschoolers across the nation. But in
- According to the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) website, HB1724 also states that homeschoolers refusing to participate in the state-mandated testing program would be subject to prosecution for truancy. Public school students are not subject to the same. Ironically, this is the same HSLDA that has endorsed Huckabee, along with the National Education Association (NEA).
- How would a President Huckabee handle presidential pardons? Like he did in
- Dumond subsequently moved to
- Pandering to illegals, flip-flopping on home school issues – even as
- Much has been said about Huckabee’s record regarding taxes in
- Bingo enthusiasts, I’m sure, were pleased when Huckabee repealed the 20% tax on their bingo cards. While Governor, Huckabee also raised the drivers’ license fee from $14 to $20. It seems he never met a tax he didn’t like. According to a
- His “crowning achievement” seems to be his claim that he left
Monday, January 21, 2008
Glenn Beck is Gummed Up About "Change"
On todays radio show Glenn Beck talked about the South Carolina Primary and "change." Here is the partial transcript.
THIS is Change?
Audio Available: - January 21, 2008 - 12:42 ET
GLENN: I mean, think of the America that we live in today. Are we willing to have a woman as a President of the United States? I think the answer to that is yes. An African-American? The answer is yes. Are we really free at last. In many ways, in many ways I think we are. But the other thing, the other buzzword that's happening today is change. Everybody wants change. Vote for change. Every single slogan for every single person is about change, or even in the case of Ron Paul it goes beyond change. It's revolution. What is the definition of change? Definition of change, I looked it up. To cause to be different. To give completely different form or appearance to or to transform. To exchange or replace with another. To lay aside, abandon or leave, to transfer from one to another, excuse me, to become different, to undergo altercation -- or alteration. Undergo transformation or transition. To go from one phase to another, as the moon goes from one phase to another or seasons change. My question is, which one of these defines the change? Is it just to go from one to another? Is that the kind of change we're talking about if really Clinton and McCain are the two candidates? If those are the two candidates, if we have as a nation gone from all of the candidates, that we had all of the choices that we have had in these primaries and we end up with McCain and Clinton, are those the agents of change? I mean, I find it absolutely amazing, incredible to me that Clinton is an agent of change. Has anybody noticed the pattern? Bush, Clinton, Bush, Clinton? I mean, I don't want another Bush. I don't want another Clinton. And the reason why is because, not that I hate the families or anything else. I mean, I like the Bush family. Not really my favorite politicians, but I like them. I just don't want another one. I like change. And I happen to know specifically what kind of change I want, but I'm beginning to believe the United States of America, the average person, doesn't know what kind of change they want. They don't even know what they're voting for. Tell me what kind of change Hillary Clinton brings. Tell me what kind of change John McCain brings. Tell me what conservative, tell me what Republican is saying John McCain's the guy? Now, maybe you're one of these new Republicans, the anti-Reagan Republican, the one that doesn't understand how taxes work. I don't get the change thing here. [more here]
Carl Cameron, Kiss My Ass!
Well, let's add Carl Cameron to the "Kiss my ass" list. I was watching him on FAUX News. I wasn't paying too much attention to him. He is in Florida talking about the election and he mentioned Fred Thompson. Whoever was in the studio asked him if Fred might accept the VP nom. He said that that was what Thompson wanted all along, puhleeze. He said that Fred Thompson will announce his pulling out soon. What an idiot. Fred never said that. Fred Thompson is not in Florida, currently, because he is Tennessee to be with his mother who has pneumonia. He wants to spend time with family. Leave him alone.
I have been thinking. Why would an allegedly conservative cable news with an allegedly majority conservative audience want to dis on a true conservative candidate? They want Hillary to win. Why? Ratings, of course. If we get a crappy nominee who can't win the general election, then Hillay wins. If Hillary wins there will be all kindsa fun and complaining from Hannity and the ilk. Colmes will vehemently defend her to no end. The inner fighting between these two will bring tons of ratings. More so than if there was a conservative president. This would be the same with any other FAUX News show that has panels. It would be rather boring, in their ratings world, if it was just good news on the national front.
Martin Luther King Day
If he were still around, what would he be thinking about the 21st Century...?
Read his "I have a Dream" speech here.
Chuck Hucks Up
This is just plain weird. They both seem to be saying weird things. If Mike Huckabee doesn't want to run anymore he should just bow out gracefully, not say stupid things until he has nowhere left to go.
What if Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama acted like this about Hillary Clinton?
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Duncan Hunter Bows out of Race
From CBN News.
Hunter Bows Out Before Vote Tallies
The Associated Press
January 19, 2008
CBNNews.com - SAN DIEGO - Rep. Duncan Hunter is dropping out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination after a poor showing in the Nevada caucus, his campaign said Saturday.
Click play to hear Duncan Hunter's comments after dropping out of the race.
"We thought we'd do much better in Nevada, but the numbers weren't there," said campaign spokesman Bob Bevill. "We were not able to get any traction."
In recent weeks Hunter, a California congressman, was forced at every stop to dispel rumors that the campaign was already dead and was unable to talk about the issues, Bevill said. The best showing of Hunter's campaign was in Wyoming's Jan. 5 caucuses, in which he won 8 percent of the vote, finishing third behind Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson.
"The media has a 'vote someone off the island' mentality and Duncan Hunter was a casualty of that," said Bevill.
Hunter, a Vietnam veteran, was elected to Congress in 1980 as part of President Reagan's sweep into power. He appealed to some conservatives by focusing on military issues and border security. [click here to watch the video]
Last night I said that I would like to see Duncan Hunter endorse Fred Thompson. Fred is the most likely for him to endorse. When I was checking out candidates after leaving the Huckabee support, I did look into Duncan Hunter. I liked what I found out about him. But he was mostly just about the immigration issue and I needed more from a candidate.
Perhaps he was in the '08 race to test the waters for '12 and didn't want to get to deep into the issues because of which. That is fine. Perhaps he will try again in '12, if Fred Thompson won't be running for re-election (wink, wink, nod, nod), and be more issues in depth. But this is the here and now. Fred needs all the help he can get. And that help would be for Duncan Hunter to endorse Fred Thompson. On the immigration issue, Fred is the most likely for Duncan to endorse.
Thompson Thanks Supporters in South Carolina
From CBN News.
Thompson Thanks His Supporters in SC
CBNNews.com
January 19, 2008
CBNNews.com - Well before Sen. John McCain was declared the winner of South Carolina's primary, Fred Thompson thanked his supporters for their hard work.
"I want to thank everybody who's been involved in what we're doing ... want to thank my supporters in South Carolina," Thompson said.
"It's never been about me; it's been about our country, the future of our country, and our parties role in that future," he said. [click here to view the video]
Saturday, January 19, 2008
I am still with Fred
Just some quicky thoughts.
After having heard Fred Thompson's speech, that got cut out in the middle, I am even more pumped for Fred. Remember there is still 45 more states.
Supposedly Duncan Hunter is dropping out of the race. I would absolutely love to see him endorse Fred Thompson. Duncan Hunter is a good guy, but all he had for him was the immigration issue. Most Fredheads seem to like Duncan Hunter.
For some reason I watched Mike Huckabee's concession speech. He started out talking about what a "clean campaign" him and his supporters ran. Oh, please. There is something up with that push polling.
I would love to see Ron Paul drop out and endorse Mike Huckabee. Both of their supporters are two peas in a pod.
Now onto Florida.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Transcript of Fred Thompson on Glenn Beck
Fred Thompson Interview
Audio Available: January 18, 2008 - 11:19 ET
GLENN: Senator Fred Thompson, how are you, sir?
SENATOR THOMPSON: Hey, Glenn, how are you doing?
GLENN: Very good. It's a big weekend for you. I want to talk to you a little bit about the economy. Everybody now is talking about a stimulus package. George Bush, $800 tax rebates, Hillary Clinton wants everything from environmental rebates to -- I mean, everybody's giving away money. What would you do if you were President of the United States for the economy?
SENATOR THOMPSON: Well, it doesn't sound very exciting to start with but I'd try to make sure I knew what I was doing. We went through this in 2001, you know, and it's a rebate -- I mean, it's a stimulus party and everybody wants to load up the Christmas tree for their favorite projects and, you know, the Democrats want to drop money out of an airplane and things of that nature. But I think we need to first of all count on the Fed to do the right thing, which probably is going to be another 1/2 point cut from all I can tell. I think that that will do a lot in terms of the short term. We need to look at things like doing away with the lower tax bracket for a year, increasing the child tax credits from $1,500 for a year. I think that's probably what Fred was talking about. Sounds like it's about $150 billion package that would probably do some good in the form of tax rebates. But we can waste a lot of money in this respect and increase our deficit if we're not careful. We need to be target, we need to be somewhat careful and we need to make sure that the remedy matches the problem. [more here]
National Ledger Talks about Fred and Rush
Rush Limbaugh and Fred Thompson | |
By Chris Davis
Jan 17, 2008
No! Rush Limbaugh hasn't endorsed Senator Fred Thompson. He hasn't endorsed any Republican candidate for President of the United States. In fact, he's gone out of his way not to endorse anyone. He wants to endorse a candidate, but the problem is that no one has emerged.
Rush Limbaugh Supports Fred Thompson, Why Don't You?
You can hear it in Limbaugh’s voice and see it in his face. He badly wants to throw the full weight of conservatism behind that candidate. He so desperately wants to that his teeth probably hurt. He’s waiting, waiting for someone to take the lead. Get noticed. He’s waiting for someone to give him the go ahead to cream the opposition.
You can hear the excitement in Rush’s voice when he talks about the South Carolina primary. It’s “The Passion.” The passion of conservatism emerging when he talks about that primary. Why, you ask? Because, for the first time since the primaries have begun, conservative Republicans will be voting for fellow conservative Republicans. [must read more here]
Anti-Soundbites
The Anti-Soundbite Candidate
The American Thinker
By Rick Moran
Fred Thompson is not the most inspiring speaker in the GOP race for President. Nor is he the best looking or the smoothest talking among the candidates running. He doesn't have Mitt Romney's hair or Mike Huckabee's glibness. He isn't as aggressively positive as Rudy Giuliani. And while his personal story is compelling, it can't compete with John McCain's inspirational journey from POW to the gates of the White House.
But Fred Thompson is perhaps the most substantative candidate to run for President in many years. He has taken the time to think about what should be the relationship between the government and the governed. He has framed his thoughts within the context of a set of bedrock conservative principles that animates his thinking and generates sound ideas about where America should be headed.
There is a heft to Thompson, a seriousness of purpose that none of the other candidates can match. It is most pronounced during the debates where Thompson's answers to questions are more subtle and nuanced than those of his rivals. His sometimes laconic style zings his opponents with brutal accuracy. Often, the candidate will answer a question by stating "Yep" or "Nope" and pause a few seconds to gather his thoughts. What follows is almost always coherent and is informed by years of experience in government.
His now famous moment during the Des Moines Register debate where he refused to raise his hand like a schoolboy when the moderator asked who believed in global warming was a metaphor for the entire Thompson campaign; keeping the Mickey Mouse to a minimum while trying to be as substantative as possible with the voters. In short, Thompson is running the campaign his way and not in a manner dictated by any previous candidate's success or any criticism that comes his way from media pundits.
He has well thought out policy positions - "White Papers" the campaign calls them - have won him almost universal praise from sources as wildly divergent as the Washington Post and the National Review. [must read more here]
Fred Thompson and the Constitution
The Constitution is Not a “Living, Breathing Document”This morning I heard that one of the other candidates commented that the Constitution is a “living, breathing document.”
Frankly, I assumed this came from Senator Clinton or Senator Obama. It is identical to what Al Gore said when he was running for President in 2000, when he said he would look for judges “who understand that our Constitution is a living, breathing document, that it was intended by our founders to be interpreted in the light of the constantly evolving experience of the American people.”
Imagine my surprise when I learned that this statement actually came from my opponent, Governor Huckabee, in an interview with CNN this morning. Now I know Governor Huckabee was talking about amending the Constitution, but I don’t think he understood that he was using code words that support judicial activism.
He does not appear to understand that reliance on the notion that the Constitution is a living, breathing document is precisely the kind of wrong-headed thinking about the Constitution that gave us Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion across our nation, and Lawrence v. Texas, which decriminalized sodomy.
I do not believe the Constitution is a living, breathing document. I am committed to appointing strict constructionist judges to the bench if I am elected President, strict constructionists who believe the Constitution has a fixed meaning that can be applied to cases that come before the courts today. They do NOT believe the Constitution is a “living, breathing document,” whose meaning, constantly changing with the sifting sands of our culture, can be determined and applied by unelected judges.
I fear that this loose language about our Constitution calls into question Governor Huckabee’s appreciation and understanding of the issue of judicial activism and raises questions as to what kind of judges he would appoint were he to become President.
[NOTE: Mike Huckabee’s words today contradict what he says on his website. –Sean]
Fred Thompson Defends Prison Camps
Fred Thompson defends prison camps
Posted on Fri, Jan. 18, 2008
SENECA, S.C. --(AP) -- Republican U.S. presidential candidate Fred Thompson on Friday defended the detention of foreign nationals at the U.S. Navy base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.''The last thing in the world we need is a bunch of enemy combatants over here in our court system,'' the former Tennessee senator said during a radio interview in front of a couple hundred people at a restaurant.
He said closing the detention facility would allow prisoners to demand rights given to U.S. citizens and would not help ``buy off world opinion.''
The Guantánamo remarks were a slap at Arizona Sen. John McCain, the winner of the New Hampshire primary and former Vietnam-held prisoner-of-war, who has called for the facility to be shuttered in part because it is harming the United States' global reputation.
Thompson is in a tough struggle in South Carolina. He is looking to wedge himself among candidates who are leading in the polls and have won earlier contests. [source]
Thompson: Bush Admin overlawyered DC 2A case
h/t to Buckeye Firearms Association who posted on this article from Red State.
- [NRO UPDATE]
- Fred Hits DoJ for "Overlawyering" Gun Rights Case
Gun rights advocates were understandably dismayed when the Bush Administration Justice Department submitted a brief in District of Columbia v. Heller, the big Second Amendent case to be argued later this term, calling for a remand of the case for reconsideration of D.C.'s gun laws under a less demanding constitutional standard. Given the Bush Administration's support for an "individual rights" view of the Second Amendment, many find it incomprehensible that the Administration would not support the D.C. Circuit decision holding D.C.'s draconian gun restrictions unconstitutional. The DoJ's brief is also a potentially unwelcome development in the Presidential race, as it could dampen gun owners' support of GOP candidates.
I do not know whether any of the other campaigns have taken notice of the DoJ brief, but Fred has. As reported on RedState, Thompson accused the administration of "overlawyering" the case. After all, if an individual rights view of the Second Amendment does not proscribe an outright ban on handgun possession, there is not much left of the rights it purportedly protects.
- The Fred Thompson for President, South Carolina bus tour reached Spartanburg today, where the Law & Order TV star candidate fielded questions at Papa's Breakfast Nook from Charlotte, N.C.'s WBT-AM radio talk show host Jeff Katz.
- Asked his opinion of the Second Amendment and the Solicitor General's request that the DC Circuit Court remand the appeal back to the trial court for "fact-finding", the lawyer turned Senator from Tennessee said the Bush Administration was "overlawyering" and stated that he opposed remand and that the case should move forward to the U.S. Supreme Court.
- The DC District Court in an opinion written by Judge Silberman, struck down the DC ban on the possession of hand guns even in one's own home. Judge Silberman ruled that the Second Amendment protected an individual right to protect one's home with arms that pre-dates the Constititution. [more here]
- By Fred Thompson
- Republican Candidate for President
- Fred08.com
- Here's another reason why it's important that we appoint judges who use the Constitution as more than a set of suggestions.
- Today [Tuesday, November 20], the Supreme Court decided to hear the case of District of Columbia v. Heller.
- Six plaintiffs from Washington, D.C. challenged the provisions of the D.C. Code that prohibited them from owning or carrying a handgun. They argued that the rules were an unconstitutional abridgment of their Second Amendment rights. The Second Amendment, part of the Bill of Rights, provides, "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
- The District argued, as many gun-control advocates do, that these words only guarantee a collective "right" to bear arms while serving the government. The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected this approach and instead adopted an "individual rights" view of the Second Amendment. The D.C. Circuit is far from alone. The Fifth Circuit and many leading legal scholars, including the self-acknowledged liberal Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe, have also come to adopt such an individual rights view.
- I've always understood the Second Amendment to mean what it says - it guarantees a citizen the right to "keep and bear" firearms, and that's why I've been supportive of efforts to have the D.C. law overturned. [more here]
Fred Thompson on Push Polling
Since it is not proof positive that Mike Huckabee himself or even his campaign has anything to do with this directly I will assume that it is not from the Huck camp. But I do have some suspicions about some stuff. Supposedly Mike Huckabee has been telling them to stop. They aren't stopping. They are supposed to be from his supporters. If he can't persuade "friends" how can he persuade enemies?Fred Thompson Gets Mad
By Joel Achenbach
PROSPERITY, S.C. -- You rarely see Fred Thompson get too riled about anything, but steam was near about shooting from his ears today when he heard at a campaign stop that some of his supporters had received "push poll" calls from a group supporting Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.At a steak house in this small town west of Columbia, a man in the small crowd told Thompson that many people had gotten such calls in the past 24 hours. Thompson asked anyone who had received such a call to raise his or hand. At least a dozen hands shot up. The former senator said he'd heard of push polls accusing him of supporting partial birth abortion.
"They're taking the most outrageous, easily disproved things that they can come up with. It's amazing to me. Its so ham-handed," Thompson said. "I had a 100 percent pro-life voting record over 8 years."
Trey Taylor, 41, told The Post that he'd gotten a call in which, after he'd revealed his preference for Thompson, a recorded voice said Thompson had lobbied on behalf of a "radical" pro-abortion organization. The recording then cited Huckabee's anti-abortion record.
Speaking with reporters, Thompson looked like he was ready to strip the bark off Huckabee. He suggested that Huckabee isn't trying to "win the legitimate way" by focusing on the issues. At the most recent debate, he said, "I confronted him man to man, with regard to the issues. This is the response I get."
Thompson said he expects the governor of South Carolina to respond to the push polling. The state, he said, has gotten a "bad rap" for nasty campaign tactics in the past. This time, he said, "The only one I know that's doing any negative campaigning here is the Huckabee people." [source]
Mike Huckabee Wants to Change the Constitution
The United States Constitution never uses the word "God" or makes mention of any religion, drawing its sole authority from "We the People." However, Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee thinks it's time to put an end to that.
Huckabee wants to rewrite the constitution:
"I have opponents in this race who do not want to change the Constitution," Huckabee told a Michigan audience on Monday.
"But I believe it's a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living god. And that's what we need to do -- to amend the Constitution so it's in God's standards rather than try to change God's standards so it lines up with some contemporary view."
When Willie Geist reported Huckabee's opinion on MSNBC's Morning Joe, co-host Mika Brzezinski was almost speechless, and even Joe Scarborough couldn't immediately find much to say beyond calling it "interesting."
Geist further noted of Huckabee that if "someone without his charm," said that, "he'd be dismissed as a crackpot, but he's Mike Huckabee and he's bascially the front-runner." [more here]
Mike Huckabee, Tyson and LULAC Oh My!
This article from 2005 in Arkansas News Bureau isn't a horrible hit, but it does make one stop and go hmmm...
- Huckabee promotes 'open door' policy at LULAC convention
- Thursday, Jun 30, 2005
- By Wesley Brown
- Arkansas News Bureau
- LITTLE ROCK - In a impassioned speech before hundreds of influential Hispanic civil rights leaders from across the nation, Gov. Mike Huckabee told a captive audience Wednesday that America is great because it has always opened it doors up to people seeking a better way of life.
- Huckabee was the keynote speaker, along with Tyson Foods Inc. Chairman and CEO John Tyson, at a noon luncheon of the League of United Latin American Citizens, which is holding its 76th annual convention in Little Rock.
- Despite several light moments, Huckabee did not stray away from several controversial issues that made him a target of criticism during the recently ended 85th General Assembly. He said Arkansas needs to make the transition from a traditional Southern state to one that recognizes and cherishes diversity "in culture, in language and in population."
- During the legislation session, Huckabee criticized an immigration bill by Republican senators Jim Holt of Springdale and Denny Altes of Fort Smith as un-Christian, un-American, irresponsible and anti-life.
- Senate Bill 206, which died in the Senate, would have required proof of citizenship to register to vote and also force state agencies to report suspected cases of people living in the country illegally. Holt, R-Springdale, replied later to Huckabee's comments that Christian charity does not include turning a blind eye to lawbreaking.
- Before Huckabee spoke, John Tyson thanked the Hispanic community for standing by the Springdale-based food giant during the federal government's investigation of the company a few years ago. The U.S. Justice Department investigation alleged that Tyson helped to smuggle illegal aliens into the U.S. and employed them at various chicken-processing plants across the Southeast.
- "At the time, it was a very difficult and very tough time for our company," Tyson said. "Thank you LULAC for standing by us." [more here]
Why Mike Huckabee Scares the Hell out of Me
Disclaimer; To my long term regular readers, to my recent regular readers and to anyone who came upon this blog or post through a search engine. I am not some Janie-come-lately broad who is just starting to follow the '08 Primary. I have been following this election cycle with baited breath for almost a year. I am not someone who just woke up and said "gee I think I will go negative on Mike Huckabee." While I do support Fred Thompson, I am not going negative on Huck just to lift up Fred Thompson. I started this blog as a Huckabee supporter. I did not start out blogging about Elvis, sewing, Rockabilly music or vintage cars and merely had Mike Huckabee buttons off to the side. Yes, a portion of my posts did have nothing to do with Mike Huckabee. I blogged my fingers off for Mike Huckabee, even back when there was hardly any news about Mike Huckabee. Not only did I blog for Mike Huckabee I took a 22 hour long bus ride, each way, from Michigan to the Iowa Straw Poll in August. In fact I even made a felt "I Like Mike" travel bag to take on the trip, when I simply could have used my duffle bag. But back then I was gung-ho for Huckabee. Nothing anyone could have said would have changed my opinion of him. Now things are different. And it just took some personal issues in Michigan for me to step back and say "something it ain't right, with this guy and his new supporters" and to really see things as to how they are.
After that long intro to the post I hope you are still with me. Because I have some eye opening things to share with you. It started with a link to an article that an annonymous reader sent to me. I will share some of the highlights with you on that, along with other articles I found that will make you want to just puke. I had started working on a post regarding the link that was sent to me and decided not to post it. But as time went on, I had been gathering other stuff and decided that now is the time to post these links, with the highlights from the articles. This is going to be long, but please, for the good of the country bear with me.
First up is this gem from Chuck Baldwin.
- If the reader has not already done so, I again urge you to read the book, Hitler's Cross, which was written by Erwin Lutzer and published by Moody Press. This book should be "required reading" for every pastor and Christian layman in America. In his book, Lutzer focuses on the attitudes and actions of Germany's pastors and churches during the rise and reign of the Third Reich. It is a masterpiece.
- For those of us living in a country and time far removed from Hitler's Germany, it is hard to comprehend how that nation's Christians — and especially its ministers — could have been so thoroughly taken in by old Adolf. We assume such an event could never happen again — especially to us. However, to any honest observer of history, the conditions of the Church in America today are eerily similar to those of the Church in Nazi Germany.
- For one thing, as did the Church in Nazi Germany, the Church in America has become infatuated with Big Government. Historically, patriotism in the United States meant love for God, love for family, and love for freedom and independence. Today, however, Christians of all persuasions have come to accept and even embrace the Nanny State, complete with its intrinsic obsession with an omnipotent federal bureaucracy that exercises perpetual surveillance and absolute control over every area of our lives.
- For example, according to today's Republican Presidential candidates (with the exception of Ron Paul), patriotism demands that we click our heels to the Department of Homeland Security and that we enthusiastically support aggressive, preemptive war. This is exactly the kind of redefinition of patriotism used so brilliantly by Hitler and his fellow propagandists. Yes, Martha, it appears that history really does repeat itself.
- When Ron Paul was asked about Mike Huckabee's overt usage of a cross for a campaign advertisement, he quoted Sinclair Lewis as saying, "When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross." Many Christians railed against Dr. Paul for making this comment. However, the truth is, Ron Paul (himself a committed Christian) is one hundred percent right! (To see how Hitler used this same tactic, I invite readers to note the photograph of the German Fuhrer in Lutzer's book, on page 75, which shows Hitler coming out of church with a large emblem of the Cross directly over his head. This photo was used extensively by Hitler during his political campaigns.)
- More than any other Republican Presidential candidate, Mike Huckabee carries his Big Government machinations on a cross. I strongly recommend that readers take a look at Selwyn Duke's excellent exposé on Mike Huckabee at http://www.newswithviews.com/Duke/selwyn79.htm*
- In his book, Lutzer notes that the tool Adolf Hitler used to ascend to power in Germany was his ability to wrap the Nazi flag around the Cross of Christ. In fact, Hitler often required that the Cross be emblazoned directly in the middle of the Nazi flag. These flags were not only prominently displayed in parades, but also in church auditoriums.
This sounds a lot like Mike's "constitutional statement" that I will soon be linking too.
- Of course, there were a few in Germany who saw through Hitler's deception. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Christian minister who actively opposed Hitler by organizing what he called the "Confessing Church." These were believers who would not surrender Christ's sphere of authority to Hitler. They saw through "Hitler's Cross." Unfortunately, of the more than 14,000 pastors in Germany, only 800 joined with Bonhoeffer.
- In a previous column (See it here: http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2007/cbarchive_20071207.html** ), I wrote this:
- "Have you wondered why Mike Huckabee is suddenly getting so much favorable attention from the mainstream media (who themselves are controlled by this gaggle of global elite)? To find the answer as to why a professing pro-life, conservative Christian would suddenly become the darling of the media, look no further than the fact that just a couple of months ago, Mr. Huckabee appeared before the globalist-minded Council on Foreign Relations. (Read his speech here: http://www.cfr.org/publication/14335/ ***) And when he did, it became abundantly clear that Huckabee was a man globalists could trust.
- "By the way, as you read Huckabee's speech, you will find that he is George W. Bush on steroids! This is a man who intends to meddle in the affairs of nations around the world like you can't believe. Talk about entangling alliances: Huckabee intends for our State, Energy, Housing, Education, Justice, Treasury, and Transportation departments to spend untold billions of tax dollars on just about anything and everything, including schools, medical facilities, roads, sewage treatment, water filtration, electricity, and legal and banking systems in countries all over the globe. And that is exactly the kind of man the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) wants in Washington."
- After reporting the connection between Mike Huckabee and the CFR, numerous Christians quickly consigned my soul to the regions of the damned and accused me of being a "nut." Some emphatically declared that I had no right to criticize "a Christian brother." Now, who does that sound like?
It was actually Mike Huckabee supporters like the ones that Mr. Baldwin mentioned that helped me to see the light about getting out while the getting was good.
- We now learn that Mike Huckabee has named Richard Haass as his advisor on foreign policy. And just who is Richard Haass? He is the President of the CFR. And what does Haass believe? He believes that the United States (and every other country) must surrender its sovereignty to international or global entities. On February 21, 2006, Haass wrote a column for the Taipei Times entitled, "State Sovereignty Must be Altered in Globalized Era." This treatise is nothing more than an explicit solicitation for global government. (Read it here: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2006/02/21/2003294021**** )
- These are the sentiments of the man that the "Christian conservative" Mike Huckabee has chosen to be his foreign policy advisor. Can you not see how, once again, a global government elitist wraps his Big Government ambitions around the Cross of Jesus Christ?
- We desperately need Bonhoeffer's "Confessing Church" in America. If pastors do not quickly wake up to the way most of our politicians — even those who profess to be Christians — are selling out America's sovereignty and independence, our wonderful country will not long survive.
I truly encourage you to check out the whole article here. I also encourage you to check out the links the article provides. In fact I will give previews of those articles.
- *There is a candidate in the presidential race who has a serious religion problem. No, it's not Mormon Mitt or recently-religious Rudy. It is Mike Huckabee.
Just for the record, I share Huck's faith in Jesus Christ. Not only have I no problem with religion in public life, I also understand that one can't really separate a person's world view from his politics. The political is merely a reflection of the spiritual; our politics doesn't emerge in a vacuum.
So what is my problem with Huck? Do I accuse him of false religiosity?
No, what scares me is that his beliefs are all too real. - He would impose statism in the name of religion through government.
- While Huck will say what you want to hear to win office, he will not hear what you want to say once there. He will make tone-deaf Bush seem like a maestro. How do I know this?
- Huck invokes faith to justify ambitions ranging from the insidious to the idiotic. For the former, look no further than immigration, where Huck espoused the Christian principle, "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you," while advocating an apparent open-door policy. This, despite the fact that if any good Christian were to find himself in a country illegally, he would expect its citizens to demand he return home.
- Huck explicitly cited the same "Christian duty" when explaining a lenient attitude toward felons that would allow for twice as many pardons under his Arkansas administration as those of his last three predecessors combined. Among those pardoned was the notorious Wayne Dumond, a thug serving 25 years for raping a teenage high school cheerleader. But Dumond had no feeling of Christian duty. He then raped and murdered a woman named Carol Sue Shields.
As for that ol' Huck sense of Christian duty, "Thou shalt not bear false witness" seems no more a part of it than does the imperative to protect the innocent. He denied playing a role in Dumond's pardon, but this is contradicted by the very man who had to sign the criminal's parole papers, one Ermer Pondexter. Said he,
"I signed the [parole] papers because the governor wanted Dumond paroled." - But what will concern all families is Huck's philosophy on one of the biggest issues of our time, terrorism. He has some very definite ideas about thwarting it, and they're probably a bit different from yours. Said Huck,
We must first destroy existing terrorist groups and then attack the underlying
conditions that breed them: the lack of basic sanitation, health care,
education, jobs, a free press, fair courts - which all translates into a lack of
opportunity and hope. The United States' strategic interests as the world's most
powerful country coincide with its moral obligations as the richest. - As for candidates, Huck is the only one who would bring not just missionary zeal to the White House, but missionary intentions. This makes him especially dangerous because, to use a variation on a famous Blaise Pascal line, men never grow government so completely and cheerfully as when they do it with religious conviction. [more here]
- **These are people I have known most of my life. They are my friends. I have spoken at their gatherings and rallies, participated in their discussions, and prayed with them. Of course, I'm talking about the fine men and women who can be categorized as the Christian Right.
On the whole, we share the same values and principles. We are pro-life; we stand for marriage as God defined it; we believe in the right to keep and bear arms; we support capital punishment (albeit I will be the first to admit that there are many inequities in the application of capital punishment that desperately need to be rectified); we believe children should have the right to pray in school; we believe former Alabama Chief Justice Roy S. Moore Jr. had every right to post the Ten Commandments in the Rotunda of the Alabama Supreme Court building, and before that, a plaque of the Ten Commandments in his Circuit Court building in Gadsden; and we believe in limited government. [more here] - ***Mike Huckabee's Speech on Foreign Policy
Published September 28, 2007
Former Governor Mike Huckabee's September 28, 2007 speech on foreign policy, delivered at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.
“Saying American foreign policy needs a change in tone and attitude, or an opening up and a reaching out, is as obvious as saying O. J. Simpson might be having a bad month. This Administration’s bunker mentality has been counter-productive both at home and abroad. They have done as poor a job of communicating and consulting with other countries as they have with the American people. [more here] - ****State sovereignty must be altered in globalized eraIn the age of globalization, states should give up some sovereignty to world bodies in order to protect their own interests
By Richard HaassTuesday, Feb 21, 2006, Page 9
For 350 years, sovereignty -- the notion that states are the central actors on the world stage and that governments are essentially free to do what they want within their own territory but not within the territory of other states -- has provided the organizing principle of international relations. The time has come to rethink this notion.
The world's 190-plus states now co-exist with a larger number of powerful non-sovereign and at least partly (and often largely) independent actors, ranging from corporations to non-governmental organizations (NGOs), from terrorist groups to drug cartels, from regional and global institutions to banks and private equity funds. The sovereign state is influenced by them (for better and for worse) as much as it is able to influence them. The near monopoly of power once enjoyed by sovereign entities is being eroded.
As a result, new mechanisms are needed for regional and global governance that include actors other than states. This is not to argue that Microsoft, Amnesty International, or Goldman Sachs be given seats in the UN General Assembly, but it does mean including representatives of such organizations in regional and global deliberations when they have the capacity to affect whether and how regional and global challenges are met. [more here]
I truly apologize for the length of this. I actually have more coming, but I need to rest my eyes and brain. As I am sure you also need to do the same.
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