In Memory of Dan Fogelberg

Dan Fogelberg passed away yesterday at the age of 56. So I thought I would repost this video of Another Auld Lange Syne.

Romney Fact Check on Preserving the Sanctity of Life

From FredThomspson.com

Romney Fact Check on Preserving the Sanctity of Life

Romney's Claim : "...every piece of legislation which came to my desk in the coming years as a Governor, I came down on the side of preserving the sanctity of life."

- Mitt Romney, Meet the Press 12/16/07

Fact Check

· Romney's health care legislation provides taxpayer-funded abortions for a co-pay of just $50.

o Romney vetoed EIGHT provisions in his health care bill that he deemed objectionable, but he did not veto Planned Parenthoods' guaranteed position on the Advisory Board or ensure that abortions were covered only in medically necessary situations (as required by MA court ruling). All abortions are covered in the Commonwealth Care program with no medically necessary limitation.

· Romney included in his health care legislation a guarantee that Planned Parenthood would have a representative on his MassHealth Payment Policy Advisory Board. No such provision was included for a pro-life representative .

· Romney forced private Catholic hospitals to provide the morning-after-pill, a position applauded by Democrats and pro-abortions groups .

Romney's health care legislation provides taxpayer-funded abortions for a co-pay of just $50. Romney vetoed EIGHT provisions in his health care bill that he deemed objectionable, including the expansion of dental benefits to Medicaid recipients. He did not veto Planned Parenthoods' guaranteed position on the Advisory Board or ensure that abortions were covered only in medically necessary situations (as required by MA court ruling). All abortions are covered in the Commonwealth Care program with no medically necessary limitation. Under the program, abortions are available for a copay of $50. (Menu of Health Care Services: http://www.mass. gov/Qhic/docs/cc_benefits1220_pt234.pdf; "Romney's Health Care Vetoes," Associated Press, 4/12/06)

Romney included in his health care legislation a guarantee that Planned Parenthood would have a representative on his MassHealth Payment Policy Advisory Board. No such provision was included for a pro-life representative . "You cannot be personally opposed to abortion and then contribute money to an organization whose purpose is to provide abortions," said Jerry Zandstra. "Given the Romney family's support of Planned Parenthood, it now makes sense why he mandated that a member of the RomneyCare Policy board be appointed by the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts." (RepealRomneyCare.com, "Pro-Life Leaders Denounce Romney's Planned Parenthood Connections," Press Release, 5/10/07)

Romney forced private Catholic hospitals to provide the morning-after-pill, a position applauded by Democrats and pro-abortions groups . "Governor Mitt Romney reversed course on the state's new emergency contraception law yesterday, saying that all hospitals in the state will be obligated to provide the morning-after pill to rape victims. The decision overturns a ruling made public this week by the state Department of Public Health that privately run hospitals could opt out of the requirement if they objected on moral or religious grounds. Romney had initially supported that interpretation, but he said yesterday that he had changed direction after his legal counsel, Mark D. Nielsen, concluded Wednesday that the new law supersedes a preexisting statute that says private hospitals cannot be forced to provide abortions or contraception. 'And on that basis, I have instructed the Department of Public Health to follow the conclusion of my own legal counsel and to adopt that sounder view,' Romney said..." (Scott Helman, "Romney Says No Hospitals Are Exempt From Pill Law," Boston Globe, 12/9/05)

· Catholic leaders urged hospitals to reject Romney's mandate or risk "compromising their religious integrity and Catholic identity." "C.J. Doyle, executive director of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts, a conservative Catholic organization, said Catholic hospitals should refuse to abide by the law. 'T he appropriate response for Catholic hospitals is noncompliance. Otherwise, they would be compromising their religious integrity and Catholic identity,' he said." (Steve LeBlanc, "Confusion Over New Emergency Contraception Law Deepens," Associated Press, 12/9/05) [source]

Just FYI

Mike Huckabee will appear on Larry King Live Monday Night at 9pm EST. Larry King can be seen on CNN.

Fred Thompson News

Thompson looks for campaign money at Sevierville breakfast

By: DEREK HODGES Staff writer December 15, 2007

Staff Writer
SEVIERVILLE - Fresh from the last debate before the Iowa caucuses, presidential candidate and former Tenn. Sen. Fred Thompson was in Sevier County Thursday morning on a fundraising swing.
Thompson supporters gathered at Five Oaks Convention Center for a $1,000-a-plate breakfast that featured the Republican contender as keynote speaker.
B.C. "Scooter" Clippard, chief fundraiser for Thompson's campaign, said Sevier County was chosen for the home-state tour - which included stops in Cleveland, Nashville and Memphis - because of the large number of high-dollar donors locally.
Contacted after the event, both McCord and Ogle said they were "very impressed" with Thompson.
"I thought he did a great job of reaffirming why I and so many others support him," McCord said. "It's nice to support a Tennessean, but it's really nice to support a Tennessean like Fred Thompson. He brings a common sense balance to complex issues."
Ogle agreed the crowd, already in Thompson's camp, left even more convinced they've picked the right man for the 2008 race.
"He did an outstanding job today," Ogle said. "He prompted the crowd to think about the worst foreign leader or the worst disaster they can think of, then think of who they want sitting on the other side of the table dealing with that issue. Thompson is one of the best public servants we've ever had in Tennessee."
While those with the cash to get in enjoyed an intimate time with one of the men who would be president, the event was closed to the media and was largely unpublicized. Even Wednesday afternoon, members of Thompson's headquarters staff in Nashville had trouble tracking down information on where the event would be held.
"You could really see the fire in his belly today," Ogle said. "I've never seen so much energy in a room from a candidate. He really looks presidential. He's made of presidential timber." [more here]

Thompson accepts evangelical endorsement

By Leah Rupp • leah.rupp@clarionledger.com • December 15, 2007

Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson's second stop in Jackson in less than a month may have been more about highlighting his evangelical endorsements than pushing his words, some say.

"The most important work is going on in the families of this country," Thompson, 65, said Friday at the state Capitol flanked by several ministers. "The next most important... is going on in the private efforts and institutions that private people... and religious people have formed to do good work."

On Friday, several religious leaders - including the Rev. Phillip Knight, president of the Florence-based Congregational Methodist Church - said they would back the U.S. senator from Tennessee for the GOP nomination.

"Sen. Fred Thompson has remained consistently conservative regarding our values," said Knight, adding that in the next couple of weeks, more than 100 conservative ministers would endorse the GOP candidate. "In the areas of defense, fiscal policy and moral truth, Fred Thompson has never ventured down the road toward liberalism." [more here]

McCain and Huckabee on Push Polling

In a recent AP article John McCain commented on recent push polling done by supporters, not the Huckabee campaign, in New Hampshire.

• McCain Calls for a Stop to Push Polling

• By JIM DAVENPORT – 12 hours ago
• NEWBERRY, S.C. (AP) — White House hopeful John McCain on Saturday called on Republican rival Mike Huckabee to end push polling in New Hampshire tied to his presidential campaign's supporters, but Huckabee denied any involvement.

• If an ally of his was doing that, "I would ask him to stop it immediately and take those things down. And I hope that Mike Huckabee will do the same," McCain said by phone as he traveled between campaign stops in South Carolina.

Mike Huckabee has already done that. More on that later.

• At an event in Littleton, N.H., Huckabee said he had great respect for McCain and found such criticisms despicable. "I would never be party to any kind of attack upon him," he said.

I truly believe Mike Huckabee to be honest in that. If you recall, both gentlemen did speak jointly at a Townhall meeting hosted by AARP back a while ago. It was supposed to be a debate, but all the other Republican candidates declined to show. Both men showed respect for each other at this event.

A McCain supporter talks about a call from so called "Huckabee supporters" were like.

• McCain supporter Bernie Campbell said he got a call from a Virginia number Friday night and was asked about his positions on gay marriage and abortion through an automated voice response system.
• When he said he supported McCain, "they continued to ask me a number of questions regarding negative aspects of my candidate and asked if they changed my opinion," Campbell said. "Things like, 'You know, Senator McCain's campaign finance reform limits the ability of right to life groups to get their message out. Does that change your opinion about Senator McCain?"
• Campbell said he was also asked whether he knew McCain didn't support a federal amendment to the Constitution banning same-sex marriages.
• At the end, Campbell said the message said it was paid for by "Common Sense something."

Read the rest here.

I have posted Mike Huckabee's response to the recent push polling.

• December 15, 2007 - 05:26 PM

• Stop The Push Polling

• by Team Huckabee

• News Release: Huckabee Campaign Denounces Push Polling -- Again
• Berlin , New Hampshire -- Republican Presidential Candidate and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee today strongly denounced push polling activities in Iowa, New Hampshire, and any state in the country.
  
  "As I've said before, our campaign has nothing to do with push polling and I wish they would stop. We don't want this kind of campaigning because it violates the spirit of our campaign. I want to become President because I am the best candidate, not because I disabled the other candidates,"said Huckabee.
  
  National Campaign Manager Chip Saltsman agreed: "Anyone who has the slightest understanding of the race ahead and the mindset of voters would know this sort of activity is extremely counterproductive. It takes the campaign off message at a time when Governor Huckabee is resonating with voters as never before. It loses votes rather than gains them. It's an underhanded way of doing business that is not welcomed by the campaign and it flies in the face of what Governor Huckabee stands for: integrity and clean politics. On behalf of Governor Huckabee and his campaign, I ask once again that these calls be stopped immediately." [source]
  

What is Kathy's response? I have to say that I think this whole thing is really stupid. Currently I do not believe Mike Huckabee has any involvement whatsoever. Let's say that these people are really Huckabee supporters. They are doing a serious disservice to Mike Huckabee, the Republican candidates, the election process and democracy all together. If they really "Like Mike" this is the last thing they should be doing. Perhaps one does not need to strap a fake bomb on their chest and storm into a campaign office to be another Leland Eisenberg. If they are not Huckabee supporters they are not doing their candidate any good, once the truth is out.

New Hampshire's Union Leader Endorses John McCain

Here are some of the reasons the publication endorses John McCain.

• Next year America will elect a war President who will have to be ready to take command of the United States armed forces and make life-or-death decisions starting on day one. With the war in Iraq having improved dramatically in the past six months, Americans seem to have forgotten this fundamentally important consideration.
• Our next President should not be someone who needs on the job training when it comes to making military decisions. It should instead be someone intimate with military affairs who has a history of making sound decisions on matters of war and diplomacy. The only one who fits that description on either side of the aisle is Sen. John McCain.
• Sen. McCain is much more than just a war hero who chose to endure years of abuse at the hands of a sadistic enemy rather than abandon his comrades. In his political career he has demonstrated real wisdom on foreign policy, and never more impressively than after Sept. 11, 2001.
• Of all the candidates for President, it was John McCain and only John McCain who not only opposed Donald Rumsfeld's Iraq strategy from the start but offered a viable alternative for winning that ill-fated war. When the Democrats cried "Retreat!" and other Republicans shouted "Stay the course!" McCain listened to the commanders on the ground.

• McCain is by far the most informed candidate on military and foreign affairs. In our interviews with nearly all of the presidential candidates, only McCain offered a comprehensive and detailed strategic vision for maintaining America's position as the world's lone superpower.

• There is no greater issue in this election than keeping America safe from its enemies.

Read the full article here.

Versatile Huckabee

Here is an article about Mike Huckabee campaigning in New Hampshire. The article is about even though Mike Huckabee is a Christian conservative, he is also showing his more versatile side. Some highlights;

• Republican Mike Huckabee seeks to broaden his appeal

• GOP leader in Iowa is trying to win over N.H. and nation

By Jill Zuckman |Tribune national correspondent
9:28 AM CST, December 15, 2007
• BOSCAWEN, N.H. - In Iowa, where he's leading the Republican field, Mike Huckabee bills himself as a "Christian leader." But here in New England, where voters are more taciturn about their religious beliefs, Huckabee is a "committed conservative," according to his television ads.

• He's also trying to expand his campaign, which is suddenly under pressure from all the attention, to a more national operation. Friday, Huckabee announced that veteran Republican strategist Ed Rollins would take over as national chairman of his campaign in an attempt to do just that.

• "Live free or die -- I get the picture here," Huckabee on Friday told employees on the plant floor at Elektrisola, a manufacturer of magnetic wire, echoing the New Hampshire motto.
• To those workers he sounded a populist appeal -- decrying jobs sent overseas, lambasting the federal tax system that eats up their paychecks, and underscoring his roots coming from a family of modest means. "It's not OK if you guys are invisible to the people who get elected to office," Huckabee said.

• Huckabee said he's not trying to obscure his faith or his social conservatism as he campaigns in a state where Republicans tend to be fiscally conservative and socially liberal.
• "I've never downplayed or up-played it. More people have asked me questions about it than perhaps any other person running," he said at a news conference packed with a newly attentive media contingent. "What I'm playing up is the fact that I've got more executive experience actually running a government as a governor. That's what's important. People shouldn't vote for me or against me because of my faith."

Read the full article here.

Nat King Cole-The Christmas Song/Frank Sinatra-Merry Christmas

Woo-hoo! I finally found a vintage classic Christmas song with the actual artist singing on camera. Since I missed posting Christmas a video last night, here are two. I was watching this one of Nat King Cole singing "The Christmas Song" and realized that his mannerisms in the video reminded me of Frank Sinatra. Thus I am posting Frankie singing "Merry Christmas." Am I crazy or do you see the similarities? They seem to have the same charisma.

I just love those old vintage big lights. I am so glad they still make them.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

I missed my dad's birthday yesterday...oops. Now is as good as any time to say

Wishing you a very Happy Birthday!

Myspace Happy Birthday Glitters

He was born waaaay back on December 14, 1951 in Arkansas.

Mike Huckabee in the News

Huckabee: Another Overachiever From Hope

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mike Huckabee's first day as Arkansas governor is remembered most for the Four Hour Crisis.[more here]

Comeback Kid: Huckabee Surges To Lead
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has vaulted from near the bottom to the head of the GOP pack in the latest poll for CNN. [more here]

Rollins: Huckabee Can Fill Reagan's Shoes

From Mike Huckabee's new national chairman

"Governor Huckabee has probably inspired me as much as Ronald Reagan did," Rollins said after being introduced by Huckabee at a press conference here. "I've looked a long time to find a candidate like that...A lot of people walk around talking about the Reagan days and the next Reagan. I was with the old Reagan and I can promise you that this man comes as close as anyone to filling those shoes." [more here]