And Exhaustion Wins...

Good Things to Know When Visiting Disneyland

Underwear is optional.

Swimwear is also optional, no matter what size you wear.

Hair can be any neon color you like.

Hair can also be cut close to the scalp and bleached blonde with black spots.

Three inch platform tennis shoes may be worn.

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Our day started out with breakfast with several Disney characters. The breakfast was a little pricey, but worth it to see the kids interact with Minnie Mouse, Captain Hook, Chip and Dale, and others.

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Isaiah & Jonas with Minnie Mouse

It was another long and exhausting day (see pictures below), but well worth it to spend time with our family and enjoy Disneyland through the eyes of children.

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Jonas catching a few winks

Camille and McKenna resting up for the second half of the day

And we'll do it again tomorrow.

A Day In Pictures

Okay, so we're exhausted. Tonight's post will be mostly pictures.

Our sister-in-law, Jill, and our nieces, McKenna and Camille, with Minnie Mouse

Sandy's grandson's Kobe, Isaiah, and Jonas with Mickey Mouse

Sandy's daughter-in-law with happy baby, Jonas

Maybe we'll have more energy tomorrow. Until then...

The Happiest Place on Earth

For more than a year, several members of our family have been planning a trip to Disneyland. It's an old cliche, but time does pass swiftly, because one year and several months later, here we are in Southern California ready to meet our family in the morning for three days of Disneyland.

The trip here from Southern Nevada was rather quick and easy. It seemed quicker than previous trips here; perhaps it's because we traveled to so many places this summer in so little time. This trip seemed like a breeze in comparison.

For the most part, the trip was uneventful. We left desert, drove through desert, and arrived in desert, so not too much scenery change. But there were parts that reminded us of our trip to Canada. At one point, we looked in the rearview mirror to see a bus riding our bumper, seemingly completely oblivious to the two empty lanes on either side of us.

We also passed several police officers on the sides of the freeway and, again like Canada, they are there more as freeway adornment than as an actual impediment to speeding traffic. Fortunately, their lack of pursuit for traffic violators helps the environment by not adding to their carbon footprint.

Tomorrow we will have plenty of pictures to post as well as commentary on our day at the Disneyland parks. We will be with two nieces and three of Sandy's grandchildren, all under the age of eight--the nieces have never been to Disneyland. We will also be with our sister who hasn't been to Disneyland for forty years. It will be a big day for one and all.

We're going to try to keep our blog entries politics free for this week. It just depends on how many Obama signs and/or commercials we see. However, we are thankful for the Obama bumper stickers and T-shirts as they identify the intellect of their owners. We are on the same page as comedian, Bill Engvall, when referring to less-than-bright folks, he says, "Here's your sign."

Stay tuned...

Ezra Taft Benson & Quotes For Today

Below are more quotes by Ezra Taft Benson, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture under President Eisenhower, and the 13th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

“I testify that wickedness is rapidly expanding in every segment of our society. It is more highly organized, more cleverly disguised, and more powerfully promoted than ever before. Secret combinations lusting for power, gain, and glory are flourishing. A secret combination that seeks to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries is increasing its evil influence and control over America and the entire world.” (Ezra Taft Benson, during the very same time that the world was celebrating the collapse of communism I Testify, Ensign, p. 87. November 1988.)

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“There is one and only one legitimate goal of United States foreign policy. It is a narrow goal, a nationalistic goal: the preservation of our national independence. Nothing in the Constitution grants that the president shall have the privilege of offering himself as a world leader. He is our executive; he is on our payroll; he is supposed to put our best interests in front of those of other nations. Nothing in the Constitution nor in logic grants to the president of the United States or to Congress the power to influence the political life of other countries, to ‘uplift’ their cultures, to bolster their economies, to feed their people, or even to defend them against their enemies.” (Ezra Taft Benson, America at the Crossroads, August 30, 1969.)

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“It is time, therefore, that every American, and especially every member of the priesthood, became informed about the aims, tactics, and schemes of socialistic-communism. This becomes particularly important when it is realized that communism is turning out to be the earthly image of the plan which Satan presented in the pre-existence. The whole program of socialistic- communism is essentially a war against God and the plan of salvation—the very plan which we fought to uphold during ‘the war in heaven.’” (Ezra Taft Benson, Secret Combinations, Conference Report, October 1961.)

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“In the war in heaven the devil advocated absolute eternal security at the sacrifice of our freedom. Although there is nothing more desirable to a Latter-day Saint than eternal security in God's presence…Today the devil as a wolf in a supposedly new suit of sheep's clothing is enticing some men, both in and out of the Church, to parrot his line by advocating planned government guaranteed security programs at the expense of our liberties. Latter-day Saints should be reminded how and why they voted as they did in heaven. If some have decided to change their vote they should repent—throw their support on the side of freedom—and cease promoting this subversion.” (Ezra Taft Benson, Secret Combinations, Conference Report, October 1961.)

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“But our civilization and our people are seemingly afraid to be revolutionary. We are too ‘broadminded’ to challenge what we do not believe in. We are afraid of being thought intolerant, uncouth, ungentlemanly. We have become lukewarm in our beliefs. And for that we perhaps merit the bitter condemnation stated in Revelation 3:16: ‘So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.’“This is a sad commentary on a civilization which has given to mankind the greatest achievements and progress ever known. But it is an even sadder commentary on those of us who call ourselves Christians, who thus betray the ideals given to us by the Son of God himself.” (Ezra Taft Benson, Conference Report, October 1960.)

The Political Titanic - There Ain't Enough Life Boats For All Of Us

On The Brink of Disaster

"All your hard work has put Barack Obama on the very brink of making history, and it has put our Senate candidates in an incredible position to win a filibuster-proof majority. If we do our job over the next nine days, the effects will be felt for generations."- New York Senator Chuck Schumer, 10/25/2008

Boy howdy! We need to do our job and make sure that doesn't happen. If nothing else makes you run to the polls, that should do it.

Clinging to Our Guns...

Obama has several commercials running touting his support of the second amendment and gun ownership. That isn't what his record shows. Below is the link to an open letter from Illinois State Rifle Association Executive Director Richard Pearson regarding Obama's history in the Illinois Senate.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/10-15-2008/0004904149&EDATE=

The World We Live In & The World To Come

Published today in the Washington Post is an excellent article written by Charles Krauthammer and entitled "McCain for President." The link below will take you to this article.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/23/AR2008102302867_pf.html

James Dobson from Focus on the Family has written a "Letter from 2012 in Obama’s America." It's rather lengthy, but well worth reading. See link below:

http://focusfamaction.edgeboss.net/download/focusfamaction/pdfs/10-22-08_2012letter.pdf

The New Journalism & What's New In Greeting Cards

Orson Scott Card is a Democrat and a newspaper columnist who wrote an article in which he discusses the current state of journalism.

http://www.ldsmag.com/ideas/081017light.html

We bought a birthday card yesterday at Target for the sole purpose of sharing it with our blog readers. We wish we would have designed this card.

This is the front of the card:

And this is the inside of the card:

Since we didn't design it, the graphic belows gives credit to the company that did.

Dancing, Character & Judgment

Dancing With The Stars

And Cloris is still dancing. We just don’t get it. Who is voting for Cloris Leachman? She wasn’t even in the bottom two last night. Toni Braxton was voted off—she wasn’t the best dancer, but she wasn’t Cloris either.

Character

On his website, John McCain effectively compares Obama’s rhetoric against his record and offers the documentation to back it up. These are just a few of the misrepresentations (lies) that Obama has made regarding his record. It seems to us that Obama is willing to do or say anything to get elected.
HTTP://WWW.JOHNMCCAIN.COM/RHETORICVSRECORD/

Judgment

Much has been said about the judgment of Barack Obama. The following article addresses this issue. It was written by Victor Davis Hanson for the National Review Online. Obama’s judgment and associations are a major concern. It is our belief that folks associate with those whose belief system mirrors their own. Heaven help us if he wins this election, because only heaven can.

“‘He [Obama] said they have not spoken by phone or exchanged e-mail messages since Mr. Obama began serving in the United States Senate in January 2005’” (New York Times, 10/3)

Why in the world was Barack Obama still communicating on the phone or via email with Bill Ayers up until 2005 — when in 2001 Ayers gave widely publicized interviews claiming he had no regrets about the bombing, indeed regretted that he had not done enough, and did not necessarily have any remorse either about his Weathermen career?

Ponder that: the possible next President of the United States, well after 9/11 and in the climate of hourly worry over terrorism here at home, was still friendly and communicating with an associate that had to abandon his book tour due to popular outcry, and was widely quoted as absolutely unrepentant about his terrorism. That is a damning indictment of his judgment — among other things — and it is no "smear" to raise the issue.

Indeed, there is a disturbing pattern here. Obama's once-close radical Chicago associates are never jettisoned out of principle, but only at the 11th-hour when they became impediments to Obama's political career. Thus Wright is defended throughout his racist rantings, until he makes the unfortunate decision of bringing that hatred to DC's elite nexus at the National Press Club — and only then is immediately dropped, as Obama resigns from Trinity Church. Ditto Ayers. What made Obama cease communications with Ayers was not the latter's radicalism (indeed Obama facilitated it by serving with Ayers to dispense millions to questionable organizations), nor even Ayers' boasts in 2001 of having no regrets about trying to blow up government buildings. Instead, 2005 coincides with Obama's ascension to the Senate and the plan to begin running for the Presidency — and thus Ayers, like Wright later, became expendable. Ditto Rezko, Pfleger et al.”

Dancing & Taxing & Spending

Dancing With the Stars

Last night the DWTS judges thought that Cloris Leachman did a pretty good job with her salsa dance. We can agree that it was better than some of her other dances, but there's still no doubt that it's time for her to go.

Lance Bass didn't get high marks from the judges, but we still think he can make it to the last three. Brooke Burke consistently looks like the person to beat.

Follow Up...

The following is a follow-up to yesterday's Joe Biden blog:

Bill Kristol interprets Biden's remarks as follows:

"So Biden expects a test of the kind Kennedy faced after his disastrous meeting with Khrushchev in Vienna in June, 1961, less than five months into Kennedy's presidency. Biden's presumably thinking of the Soviet-backed construction of the Berlin Wall a couple of months later. Kennedy did nothing, and was criticized for his weakness back home.

"So--leaving aside the merits of what Kennedy did or didn't do in 1961--Biden is forecasting that Obama will have what seems to be a weak response to a provocation from, say, Iran or Russia, and he's urging the liberals of Seattle and elsewhere to stand with Obama against the expected domestic criticism.

"In other words, Biden is forecasting inaction by Obama in the face of testing by a dictator. I suspect he's right in this forecast. McCain might want to clarify this point. It's not just that Obama's own running mate expects an international crisis early in his presidency. It's not just that Obama has a weak foreign policy record. It's that Biden himself expects what will appear to be a weak response from Obama to testing by a dictator."

By the Way...

Las Vegas Review-Journal Endorses John McCain - "If the United States is to emerge from this downturn in a position to ensure its citizens have the opportunities enjoyed by previous generations, we must get a handle on out-of-control federal spending -- and that is nowhere reflected in the policies advocated by the Democratic candidate. In contrast, Sen. McCain has a proven record of battling the drunken sailor culture so pervasive in our nation's capital. He has been an outspoken advocate for fiscal restraint, angering many of his colleagues by embarrassing them over their penchant for pork. Sen. McCain vows to veto any bill that includes earmarks and says he will freeze spending in many areas of the budget." -- Las Vegas Review-Journal

Our Thoughts...

Barack Obama clearly stated to Joe the Plumber that a President Obama will re-distribute the wealth by placing the heaviest tax burden on those who make over $250,000. Most Americans don't know, or don't understand, that the richest Americans already pay the most taxes. Either that, or they have the most tax shelters, which would explain why Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, and those like them don't have a problem with increased taxes -- they don't intend to pay them, regardless of the fact that they are clearly among the $250,000+ a year earners.

What's interesting to us is that Obama's tax plan pits Americans against each other. The people who vote for Obama are in essence saying "yes, I want to stick it to the rich Americans. Those jerks earn way too much money." Obama will have us fighting amongst ourselves about how much success we can have before it's just too much. To us it sounds like a plan that enslaves us by limiting our success, and manipulates us by using our potential jealousy of someone else's success by encouraging our support to restrict capitalism and success in this country. Hard to believe that so many Americans are falling for it.

On Hannity and Colmes last night, Joe the Plumber told Alan Colmes that Joe's personal integrity and code of ethics wouldn't allow him to support an Obama plan. He doesn't feel that it's right or fair to rain on someone else's success. Now that's how it should be. Why are we limiting each other's success instead of cheering each other on? The top earners in this country are the job creators and the Wall Street investors. Imposing more taxes on them will increase unemployment and keep the stock market in its current poor state.

America should be like your favorite baseball team. You may watch it from the sidelines or from your T.V. while wishing you were on the team roster, but you still cheer on the team. And when they win, you feel like you have won -- you talk about the game at work and with your friends. The team's success becomes your success, as if you hit the homerun or caught the final out.

This seems like a good way for Americans to treat America. We cheer on the team, even if we're not the homerun hitter, because America's success is our success. We may not be the top wage earner, but the top wage earner may create a job and hire you to be on his team. And there's always the dream that some day you will hit the home run and then the rest of the team will cheer for you.

Gird Your Loins - The Democrats Are Coming

Reportedly, the two presidential candidates are already receiving briefings from Washington, D.C., regarding issues relevant to the presidency. While this usually happens during the time between the election and inauguration, it appears that current circumstances are so critical that time limitations require that the briefings begin before the president is decided. We are assuming that the following Joe Biden remarks are inspired by the information coming from those briefings.

It seems apparent that Senator Biden is laying the groundwork for Senator Obama to throw the United States under the bus -- something at which Senator Obama excels since he has already thrown his white grandmother, Reverend Wright, and William Ayers under it.

It's interesting to note that whatever they are hearing in their briefings is prompting Senator Biden to let his supporters know that in the next year something will happen that will make it look like they are (or have been) wrong. Whatever this is will lower their approval rating (wait! Aren't they part of Congress right now? If their approval rating gets any lower it will be in the deficit.), but they want us to stick with them no matter what. Hmmm... would that be the same way they stuck with President Bush? Because if so, then we have their fine example to follow.

It's also interesting that Senator Biden additionally makes the case that Senator Obama's lack of experience is going to cause an attack on this country. If that's the case, why don't we vote for the guy who doesn't inspire attacks on our country?

It also sounds like the senators are finding out that reality isn't matching their beliefs. Is it possible that terrorists really are trying to kill Americans and bomb America? Let's see... who has told us that before.... Oh, yeah, that would be the Republicans. Could it be that Obama is finding out that he can't sit down with leaders of terrorist countries without pre-conditions? It seems like Hillary Clinton and John McCain both told Barack Obama that he was nuts when he said that.

So if the briefings are now telling Obama/Biden what Republicans already believe, why don't we just vote for the Republican? This situation just enforces to us that the Democrats are clueless to reality.

Biden to Supporters: "Gird Your Loins", For the Next President "It's Like Cleaning Augean Stables"

ABC News' Matthew Jaffe Reports: Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., on Sunday guaranteed that if elected, Sen. Barack Obama., D-Ill., will be tested by an international crisis within his first six months in power and he will need supporters to stand by him as he makes tough, and possibly unpopular, decisions.

"Mark my words," the Democratic vice presidential nominee warned at the second of his two Seattle fundraisers Sunday. "It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking. We're about to elect a brilliant 47-year-old senator president of the United States of America. Remember I said it standing here if you don't remember anything else I said. Watch, we're gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy." "I can give you at least four or five scenarios from where it might originate," Biden said to Emerald City supporters, mentioning the Middle East and Russia as possibilities.

"And he's gonna need help. And the kind of help he's gonna need is, he's gonna need you - not financially to help him - we're gonna need you to use your influence, your influence within the community, to stand with him. Because it's not gonna be apparent initially, it's not gonna be apparent that we're right."

Not only will the next administration have to deal with foreign affairs issues, Biden warned, but also with the current economic crisis. "Gird your loins," Biden told the crowd. "We're gonna win with your help, God willing, we're gonna win, but this is not gonna be an easy ride. This president, the next president, is gonna be left with the most significant task. It's like cleaning the Augean stables, man. This is more than just, this is more than – think about it, literally, think about it – this is more than just a capital crisis, this is more than just markets. This is a systemic problem we have with this economy."

The Delaware lawmaker managed to rake in an estimated $1 million total from his two money hauls at the downtown Sheraton, the same hotel where four years ago Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., clinched the Democratic nomination. Despite warning about the difficulties the next administration will face, Biden said the Democratic ticket is equipped to meet the challenges head on."I've forgotten more about foreign policy than most of my colleagues know, so I'm not being falsely humble with you. I think I can be value added, but this guy has it," the Senate Foreign Relations chairman said of Obama. "This guy has it. But he's gonna need your help. Because I promise you, you all are gonna be sitting here a year from now going, 'Oh my God, why are they there in the polls? Why is the polling so down? Why is this thing so tough?' We're gonna have to make some incredibly tough decisions in the first two years. So I'm asking you now, I'm asking you now, be prepared to stick with us. Remember the faith you had at this point because you're going to have to reinforce us." "There are gonna be a lot of you who want to go, 'Whoa, wait a minute, yo, whoa, whoa, I don't know about that decision'," Biden continued. "Because if you think the decision is sound when they're made, which I believe you will when they're made, they're not likely to be as popular as they are sound. Because if they're popular, they're probably not sound."

Biden emphasized that the mountainous Afghanistan-Pakistan border is of particular concern, with Osama bin Laden "alive and well" and Pakistan "bristling with nuclear weapons.""You literally can see what these kids are up against, our kids in that region," Biden said in recalling when his helicopter was forced down due to a snowstorm there. "The place is crawling with al Qaeda. And it's real." "We do not have the military capacity, nor have we ever, quite frankly, in the last 20 years, to dictate outcomes," he cautioned. "It's so much more important than that. It's so much more complicated than that. And Barack gets it."

The below comment was posted to the above article. We don't know who wrote it or we would acknowledge the author. His or her point is well taken:

Why I am voting Democrat!

I'm voting Democrat because I believe the government will do a better job of spending MY MONEY than I would. I think when you spread the wealth around it is good for everybody! It’s Patriotic!

I'm voting Democrat because I believe that business should not be allowed to make profits for themselves. All profits are evil and should be confiscated for Government Redistribution.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe that MORE Government regulations and higher taxes on Business will stop Business from exporting their jobs to Countries with LESS Government regulations and lower taxes.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe terrorists should be allowed to have trials in American courts. And be able to subpoena top secret documents, soldiers, government officials, etc. to cross examine for their defense. They should have ACLU lawyers who can help intimidate Americans who serve on the juries!

I'm voting Democrat because I believe Gay Marriage should be the law of the land and will probably produce better children.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe English should not be the official language of the United States. I don’t mind pushing one for English when I use the phone.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe partial birth abortion is okay but water boarding a terrorist is disgusting.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe having a domestic terrorist like Bill Ayers as a close friend is a good thing. It allows for great relations with foreign terrorists.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe in a FREE government health care system. I believe doctors, nurses, hospitals, drug companies, etc. will gladly donate their time, products, services, facilities, etc. for FREE and that will be a better system.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe in and support trial lawyers, frivolous lawsuits and outrageous jury verdicts.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe 9/11 was an inside job to con the American people to go to war for oil.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe social security is solvent and that there is a social security lock box and I don’t believe social security is a Ponzi scheme.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe MOST AMERICANS are bitter and cling to their guns and religion. Let’s rid our country of guns and religion!

I'm voting Democrat because I believe illegal aliens deserve all the rights of ordinary Americans plus some additional rights Americans do not have.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe corporations should pay higher taxes! I believe higher taxes on business will make the price of their products and services LESS EXPENSIVE.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe groups like ACORN who register felons, drug addicts, wino’s, homeless drifters, illegal aliens, dead people, children, fictional Disney characters, etc. makes my vote count more.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe celebrating the winter solstice shows compassion for the small minority of people that do not celebrate Christmas.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe hard core criminal murders and rapists deserve life and that the innocent unborn deserve death. It’s a choice I can live with.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe Bush caused Hurricane Katrina and he blew-up the levies in the ninth ward of New Orleans.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe that any one who is not partaking in one of the many wonderful government programs obviously has too much money and should pay higher taxes.

I'm voting Democrat because when we pull out of Iraq the terrorists will be happy and now think of us as good people.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe our soldiers are AIR RAIDING villages and killing innocent people.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe sex in the Oval Office with an intern is a private matter and that everybody lies under oath about sex.

I'm votin Demokrat becuse I wus edumkated at a publick sckrool. I lik da Natsionel Edukatshun Assoseeashun!

I'm voting Democrat because freedom of speech is fine as long as it does not offend people. Can’t we all just get along?

I'm voting Democrat because I believe oil companies' profits are wrong. I believe higher taxes on oil companies will produce lower prices at the pump.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe we need to rid ourselves of dependency on foreign oil, BUT I AM AGAINST offshore drilling for oil and natural gas, drilling in Anwar, building nuclear power plants and clean coal technology.

And finally, I'm voting Democrat because I believe Reverend Wright when he said “GODDAMN AMERICA” and “OUR CHICKENS ARE COMING HOME TO ROOST”. Hey let’s make a comfortable nest for those chickens!

Why are you voting Democrat?

The Marxism of Wealth Re-distribution

Joe "the plumber" Wurzelbacher became famous last night during the third presidential debate when his name was mentioned more than twenty times by the two presidential candidates. Joe may be the actual cause of change in this country -- not just the person campaigning with a slogan of change.

Joe had the audacity to personally question Barack Obama about Obama's plan for wealth re-distribution. Thank goodness someone had a camera rolling during their exchange. We get to hear from Obama's own lips how he intends to implement his own form of Robin Hood -- except that Robin Hood stole from the corrupt government to give back to the oppressed public. In Obama's case, he wants to act as our bank so he can decide who is worthy of his charitable endowments.

Right now Obama states that he will only take from those who make more than $250,000, but how do we know that he won't change his mind down the road and boldly tax those who make more than $100,000, or $50,000? Where does it end? Regardless of the politician, Democrat or Republican, why would anyone give their government that kind of power with their money? And why would we want or allow any president to be the bank for our charitable donations?

Obama is basically telling us that we can be successful, but there is a $250,000 cap on that success. More than that is, apparently, too much for us to handle. So much for pursuing the American dream.

He's also telling us that he can't trust us to take care of ourselves or each other, so he has to implement a nanny-state welfare system to take care of us simple-minded, drooling Americans. Worse than that, though, is that once he has us accustomed to the government hand-outs, he can turn around and use it against us at any time by threatening to take the hand-outs away.

Our church leaders and our parents always taught us to be self-reliant -- the government is the last place to go for assistance. Not only does that seem like good advice now, it may be the very key to our future survival.

The below articles provide further information.

From Powerlineblog.com

October 15, 2008 Posted by Scott

"When Barack Obama responded to the Ohio plumber who didn't want his taxes raised that Obama wanted to 'spread the wealth around,' I wanted to tell him to spread his own wealth around. It was in any event a rare moment of candor on the part of Senator Obama. Obama all but told the plumber that his wealth should be seized in the name of equity. The encounter played out one of the old themes of democratic politics: the appeal to the many to take from the few. It's traditionally an easy sell in democratic regimes.

"Despite Obama's implication to the contrary, however, it doesn't represent much in the way of change. According to the most recent (2006) data released by the IRS, the top 1 percent of filers paid nearly 40 percent of all income taxes; the top 5 percent paid 60 percent of all income taxes. The bottom 50 percent paid virtually no income taxes (3 percent of all income taxes paid).
The personal income tax, the federal government's main source of revenue, is collected overwhelmingly from a relative handful of Americans. The large majority of all Americans pay little or no income tax.

"Given that poorer citizens always outnumber the rich, political philosophers have long worried that government based on majority rule could lead to organized theft from the wealthy by the democratic masses. 'If the majority distributes among itself the things of a minority, it is evident that it will destroy the city,' warns Aristotle.

"The founders of the United States were deep students of politics and history, and they shared Aristotle's worry. Up through their time, history had shown all known democracies to be 'incompatible with personal security or the rights of property.' James Madison and others therefore made it a 'first object of government' to protect personal property from unjust confiscation. Numerous provisions were included in the Constitution and Bill of Rights to protect the property rights of citizens.

"Given that one of the causes of the American Revolution was a tax, the founders understood very well that taxation could become a way for one group to prey on another. So while the Constitution empowered the federal government to levy taxes, it limited this power mostly to indirect taxes like tariffs, duties, and excise taxes. For much of American history the federal government subsisted solely on those fees.

"So why hasn't the majority in America helped itself to more of the minority's wealth, as Aristotle and our founders feared? Partly because the protections for individual property erected by the founders have worked. Partly, too, because many Americans' political convictions are (thankfully) based on principle rather than immediate economic self-interest. And partly because the fraction of Americans who think of themselves as rich, or likely to become rich in the future, is quite large, undercutting the incentive for bashing the rich.

"Obama's appeal for higher taxes to 'spread the wealth around' nevertheless harks back to an old theme in political philosophy and American politics. You can believe in it, but it's not exactly change, and it is more to be worried about than hoped for."

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From National Review Online

Thursday, October 16, 2008

John Needs Joe, Now More than Ever - Lisa Schiffren

"Joe Wurzelbacher, who is a plumber, not a candidate for high office, or even, probably, a college graduate, is much clearer about the economy and how job creation actually works in a real life, micro-economic way than either man who might be president. John McCain understands what Joe expresses, but cannot articulate it. Barack Obama has no clue that there is an economically and socially valuable stratum of our society that is comprised of millions of guys (and women) like Joe, who didn't need a handout to get started; were willing to work hard for their piece of the pie; will "redistribute" their earnings far more effectively by expanding their businesses and hiring new employees than by handing over money to the state to give to the non-productive.Or maybe Obama understands the argument, but holds the usual Marxist contempt for the 'petite bourgeois,' of whom Joe is surely one.

"Last week, on Geraldo Rivera's weekend show, I had the pleasure of debating with a professor of law at Temple University, which has become a great bastion of ambient academic Marxism. The professor, an educated, urban black man who did not think it was offensive to refer to Sarah Palin's supporters and the crowds that came out to hear her as 'trailer trash,' (though he was highly offended by their clear and obvious racism), began to make the tired old argument that these benighted, none too well off white people 'had voted against their economic self-interest' (i.e. suffered from the Marxian condition of 'false consciousness'), for decades, and now would be led to see the error of their ways by the new Obamain order.

"Luckily for most of us that old work ethic, and the sturdy yeoman independence that has been part of the cultural fabric of America since the Puritans landed at Plymouth Rock, hasn't been utterly eradicated yet. Joe, for instance, is pretty clear about it. He is also clear about the temptation of taking the money, when you are younger and haven't yet reaped the rewards of your work. Joe explains, beautifully, that for most of us there is a natural economic trajectory, in which you start off earning little, your salary rises over time, and if you are resourceful, in middle age you are at your economic peak and maybe in a position to buy the business. This combination of effort and personal choice, exercised by millions of Americans of their own volition, created the great economy we have all known (until the government pushed the bankers to distort the rules . . .)

"Now President Obama is sorry that he will have to 'punish' (his word) the hard workers, in particular the successful ones, but the wealth must be spread around.It was only a decade ago that this country did away with 'welfare as we knew it,' because it had become all too evident that it functioned more as a trap than as a safety net. The group of 'spreading the wealth' policies known as the Great Society should have demonstrated conclusively, for all time, that if you could make poor people rich just by giving them money, they would all be comfortable enough. Did we not learn that welfare undermines the kind of ambition, personal discipline, and habits of mind needed to expend the effort to educate oneself, earn money, save, invest, and accomplish things?

"If this nation elects someone who is promising (or lying about his intentions) to socialize much of the economy, it will merely verify what Hegel had to say on the subject: 'What experience and history teach is this — that people and governments never have learned anything from history, or acted on principles.' Except, of course, Joe and the rest of us who believe those old, free market, small government, individual liberty principles. In an election campaign that might come straight from the pages of an Alan Drury novel, (or Fletcher Knebel, my early favorite), Joe the plumber may well become John McCain's most effective surrogate."

Dancing and Scary Politics Continue...

Dancing With the Stars

We had to say goodbye to Rocco DiSpirito and Karina Smirnoff last night. It's true that Rocco can't really dance, but he has such a cute personality. Cloris Leachman is trying to dance, but it's time for her to go as well. She did make the bottom two last night, so at least the trend is pointing towards her leaving.

The Hypocrisy of Politics

And Republicans are called the elitist party who horde all the money. Weird! The following is by John Fund, published in the Wall Street Journal:

"As the election heads into its home stretch, Barack Obama is deploying the financial muscle he gained from opting out of the general election public financing system that John McCain is locked into.

"In key swing states, Mr. Obama is flooding the airwaves with commercials. Last week alone, he spent $17.4 million on ads in those states versus only $10.9 million for the combined efforts of Mr. McCain and the Republican Party. In Wisconsin, local political observers report they see fewer McCain ads than ever while ads urging people to "vote early for Obama" are ubiquitous.
In Florida, a state that used to favor Mr. McCain in polls, Team Obama spent $2.2 million in ads last week, while Mr. McCain made do with an ad buy of less than $700,000. In Ohio, Mr. Obama spent $2.2 million to Mr. McCain's $1.7 million.

"Ad money isn't everything in politics, but this is the first presidential election in recent memory where Democrats have a significant financial edge over Republicans. Other than the debates, ads are the biggest single source of information that many voters receive about the candidates. The Obama edge could prove crucial in several states -- which is precisely why he ditched the public financing system he once so fervently supported."

Is This the End of Conservatism?

By Mona Charen, RealClearPolitcs

"All of a sudden, this election is shaping up as a verdict on capitalism. The Obama campaign wanted it to be about George W. Bush. The McCain campaign wanted it to be about character. But instead, because the markets are shooting off in all directions like bullets from a dropped pistol, the stakes have suddenly been raised dramatically.

"We are in the midst of the worst panic in history, it's true (because it is global). But as historian John Steele Gordon helpfully pointed on in the Wall Street Journal, panics are not unusual in American history. We've experienced them almost every 20 years since 1819. Gordon blames Thomas Jefferson, which is intriguing, but the point is that we've always emerged from these periodic paroxysms intact and our economy has continued to grow. Gordon believes more sensible banking policy would prevent future panics. But if we elect a crypto-socialist like Barack Obama and give him a bigger Democrat majority in the House and a filibuster-proof Senate, banking regulation may be the least of our troubles.

"Well, you may say, 'Win some, lose some. McCain isn't all that great anyway. Conservatives and Republicans will simply have to examine their consciences and come up with a winning strategy for next time.' Perhaps. But there are a few problems with that sanguine approach.
In the first place, the Democrats can, with a super-majority, change the rules of the game. They can make the District of Columbia the 51st state with two new senators (guaranteed to be Democrats in perpetuity). They can reinstitute the so-called Fairness Doctrine that required radio stations to provide equal time to all political viewpoints. While the doctrine was enforced by the Federal Communications Commission, radio stations shied away from politics altogether. With the demise of the doctrine, conservative talk radio flourished. Liberal talk radio has never found much of an audience. Reviving the doctrine would kill one of the principal irritants to liberals and Democrats -- to say nothing of disemboweling the First Amendment.

"To elect a super-majority of Democrats at a time of economic dislocation is to flirt with depression. Nearly all economists agree that two moves by the Hoover administration deepened and prolonged the panic of 1929 and turned it into the Great Depression. One was raising taxes and the other was imposing protectionist trade policies. Senator Obama proposes to do both of those things. Obama's smooth reassurance that only the top 5 percent of earners in America will see their taxes rise is a) almost certainly false, and b) besides the point. If the most productive members of society -- those who create the majority of jobs -- are taxed we will have fewer jobs. It's the old rule that if you tax something you get less of it. While Obama is killing jobs by taxing the productive, he proposes to "renegotiate" NAFTA and other trade deals thus putting the one bright corner of our economy, the export sector, in his crosshairs.

"Obama has a million schemes to redistribute the wealth of the top 5 percent, (who by the way, already pay more than 50 percent of the taxes in our steeply progressive system). He wants to provide college for "anyone who wants to go and agrees to perform community service," and community development block grants, and childcare, and universal pre-school, and housing, and retirement and on and on. He seems determined that more people will ride in the wagon than pull it.

"'Well,' you may say, 'if the Democrats drive the country into a deep recession, so much the worse for them. The Republicans will come back strong -- even with two senators from DC!' Perhaps. But in hard times people tend to ask for more government, not less, and this tumble started while George W. Bush was in the White House. Franklin Roosevelt continued to invoke the boogey man of Herbert Hoover long after the Depression was his own. In fact, Democrats used Hoover successfully for 40 more years!

"Finally, there is a one-way ratchet in public policy. Liberal reforms are never undone. How hard have conservatives tried to eliminate the Department of Education or subsidies to public television? Would they have more success uncreating a new nationalized health care system? An Obama/Pelosi/Reid regime -- if it were to get a filibuster-proof majority -- will certainly be able to shift the country's direction sharply to the left. The only question is -- would the shift be permanent?"

Dancing & Economics 101

Dancing With The Stars

What a difference a week makes! Cloris Leachman has not had good dance moves or dancing ratings since this season began. Last night Cloris actually pulled off a decent routine. Good for her! She and Rocco DeSpirito still tied for last place after combining the judges’ scores from last week with this week’s scores, but bless Cloris’ heart (yet again), she’s giving it her all. We hate to see Rocco go. He seems like a genuinely nice guy, and he also seems to be having fun. He’s a great chef but not much of a dancer. We’ll see tonight who gets eliminated this week. It may not even be Cloris or Rocco. The outcomes of the viewers’ votes have surprised us in the past.

Economics 101 - Pass or Fail

In a September 13, 2008, Wall Street Journal article entitled “If You Like Michigan's Economy, You'll Love Obama's,” the authors, Phil Gramm and Mike Solon, compare Michigan’s failing economy to the United States economy if Barack Obama is elected. Listed at the bottom of the article are a few comparisons between McCain’s economical strategy and Obama’s. We've included those comparisons below:

"Mr. McCain will lower taxes. Mr. Obama will raise them, especially on small businesses. To understand why, you need to know something about the "infamous" top 1% of income tax filers: In order to avoid high corporate tax rates and the double taxation of dividends, small business owners have increasingly filed as individuals rather than corporations. When Democrats talk about soaking the rich, it isn't the Rockefellers they're talking about; it's the companies where most Americans work. Three out of four individual income tax filers in the top 1% are, in fact, small businesses.

"In the name of taxing the rich, Mr. Obama would raise the marginal tax rates to over 50% on millions of small businesses that provide 75% of all new jobs in America. Investors and corporations will also pay higher taxes under the Obama program, but, as the Michigan-Ohio-Illinois experience painfully demonstrates, workers ultimately pay for higher taxes in lower wages and fewer jobs.

"Mr. Obama would spend all the savings from walking out of Iraq to expand the government. Mr. McCain would reserve all the savings from our success in Iraq to shrink the deficit, as part of a credible and internally consistent program to balance the budget by the end of his first term. Mr. Obama's program offers no hope, or even a promise, of ever achieving a balanced budget.
Mr. Obama would stimulate the economy by increasing federal spending. Mr. McCain would stimulate the economy by cutting the corporate tax rate. Mr. Obama would expand unionism by denying workers the right to a secret ballot on the decision to form a union, and would dramatically increase the minimum wage. Mr. Obama would also expand the role of government in the economy, and stop reforms in areas like tort abuse.”

To read the entire article, please click on this link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122126282034130461.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries

And just for giggles…

The photo below captures a disturbing trend that is beginning to affect wildlife in the US .

Animals that were formerly self-sufficient are now showing signs of belonging to the Democratic Party... as they have apparently learned to just sit and wait for the government to step in and provide for their care and sustenance.

Truth Or Consequence

If Barrack Obama is willing to sacrifice the truth to become the U.S. president, what or who is he willing to sacrifice after he's president? The below articles expose more leftist lies.

Obama's 95% Illusion:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122385651698727257.html

Obama's ACORN ties lies:

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=77813

Modern-Day Highway Robbery

In the LDS religion, we have a book of scriptures called The Book of Mormon. In The Book of Mormon we learn of a man named Gadianton, a conniving, deceitful man whose goal was to gain power over all of the people living in this land during that time. He and his followers infiltrated the government, and in the Book of Mormon in Helaman Chapter 7 verses 4 and 5 we read about the state of their government:

4 And seeing the people in a state of such awful wickedness, and those Gadianton robbers filling the judgment-seats—having usurped the power and authority of the land; laying aside the commandments of God, and not in the least aright before him; doing no justice unto the children of men;

5 Condemning the righteous because of their righteousness; letting the guilty and the wicked go unpunished because of their money; and moreover to be held in office at the head of government, to rule and do according to their wills, that they might get gain and glory of the world, and, moreover, that they might the more easily commit adultery, and steal, and kill, and do according to their own wills—

We’re having a difficult time seeing much of a difference between the government during Gadianton’s day and our government today. Many who hold positions in our government today are doing the same things as were done in the two scriptures above. Even after warnings that their activities would cause financial distress for our country, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were never brought under much needed regulation by government officials, because of the money they contributed to key Senators and Congressmen. For that matter, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should have never been formed. ACORN has been breaking the law and adhering to a strategy of intimidation all the while contributing heavily financially to Senators and Congressmen so their activities would not be brought into question. Senators and Congressmen lie to the American public every day to put forth their own agendas. The list goes on.

Another set of scriptures come to mind, this time from the Old Testament:

Isaiah 5: 20-24
20 ¶ Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!

22 Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:

23 Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!

24 Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

The Constitution of the United States of America is “hanging by a thread.” The time has come when no one can sit idly by. It is time to do the research and to vote for elected officials who will lead this country for the benefit of all of us and not for the benefit of those who know to whom to contribute money in order to continue to run their businesses in the shadows.

Additionally, those who are voting for the person who will provide more government entitlement programs that enslave them and keep them in bondage to the government just because voters believe they are owed something, can count themselves among the guilty leading this country to a path of destruction.

Ezra Taft Benson

The below quotes are from Ezra Taft Benson who was the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture under President Eisenhower, and the 13th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. These quotes are especially fitting for us now, considering the mess this country is facing:

“But our civilization and our people are seemingly afraid to be revolutionary. We are too ‘broadminded’ to challenge what we do not believe in. We are afraid of being thought intolerant, uncouth, ungentlemanly. We have become lukewarm in our beliefs. And for that we perhaps merit the bitter condemnation stated in Revelation 3:16: ‘So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.’“This is a sad commentary on a civilization which has given to mankind the greatest achievements and progress ever known. But it is an even sadder commentary on those of us who call ourselves Christians, who thus betray the ideals given to us by the Son of God himself.”

On the Constitution:

“Brethren, if we had done our homework and were faithful, we could step forward at this time and help save this country. The fact that most of us are unprepared to do it is an indictment we will have to bear. The longer we wait, the heavier the chains, the deeper the blood, the more the persecution and the less we can carry out our God-given mandate and world-wide mission. The war in heaven is raging on earth today. Are you being neutralized in the battle? ‘Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves.’ (D&C 58:27-28.)”

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“Our great Constitution has been beaten and torn until now it hangs by a single thread, and that thread is our franchise to vote.”

On Public Education:

“From the fifth grade through the fourth year of college, our young people are being indoctrinated with a Marxist philosophy, and I am fearful of the harvest.”

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“The precepts of man have gone so far in subverting our educational system that in many cases a higher degree today, in the so-called social sciences, can be tantamount to a major investment in error. Very few men build firmly enough on the rock of revelation to go through this kind of indoctrination and come out untainted.”

“The tenth plank in Karl Marx's Manifesto for destroying our kind of civilization advocated the establishment of "free education for all children in public schools." There were several reasons why Marx wanted government to run the schools.…one of them [was that] ‘It is capable of exact demonstration that if every party in the State has the right of excluding from public schools whatever he does not believe to be true, then he that believes most must give way to him that believes least, and then he that believes least must give way to him that believes absolutely nothing, no matter in how small a minority the atheists or agnostics may be.’“It is self-evident that on this scheme, if it is consistently and persistently carried out in all parts of the country, the United States system of national popular education will be the most efficient and widespread instrument for the propagation of atheism which the world has ever seen.”

On Freedom:

“Any Christian constitutionalist who retreats from this battle jeopardizes his life here and hereafter. Seldom has so much responsibility hung on so few, so heavily; but our numbers are increasing, and we who have been warned have a responsibility to warn our neighbor.”

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“There are people today all over the world who in their own courageous and sometimes quiet ways are working for freedom. In many cases we will never know until the next life all they sacrificed for liberty. These patriots are receiving heaven's applause for the role they are playing, and in the long run that applause will be louder and longer than any they could receive in this world.

"Which leads me to the second blind spot of those who hesitate to get into the fight. And that is their failure to realize that we will win in the long run, and for keeps, and that they pass up great blessings by not getting into the battle now when the odds are against us and the rewards are greatest.

"The only questions, before the final victory, are, first, ‘What stand will each of us take in this struggle?’ and second, ‘How much tragedy can be avoided by doing something now?’

"Time is on the side of truth—and truth is eternal. Those who are fighting against freedom may feel confident now, but they are shortsighted.

"This is still God's world. The forces of evil, working through some mortals, have made a mess of a good part of it. But it is still God's world. In due time, when each of us has had a chance to prove ourselves-including whether or not we are going to stand up for freedom—God will interject himself, and the final and eternal victory shall be for free agency. And then shall those complacent people on the sidelines, and those who took the wrong but temporarily popular course, lament their decisions. To the patriots I say this: Take that long eternal look. Stand up for freedom, no matter what the cost. Stand up and be counted. It can help to save your soul-and maybe your country.”

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“The scriptures make clear that there was a great war in heaven, a struggle over the principle of freedom the right of choice. In the war in heaven, what would have been your reaction if someone had told you just to do what is right—there's no need to get involved in the fight for freedom? Of course, the war in heaven over free agency is now being waged here on earth, and there are those today who are saying ‘Look, don't get involved in the fight for freedom. Just live the gospel.’ That counsel is dangerous, self-contradictory, unsound.”

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“It is time, therefore, that every American, became informed about the aims, tactics, and schemes of socialistic-communism. This becomes particularly important when it is realized that communism is turning out to be the earthly image of the plan which Satan presented in the pre-existence. The whole program of socialistic- communism is essentially a war against God and the plan of salvation—the very plan which we fought to uphold during ‘the war in heaven.’”

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“If America is destroyed, it may be by Americans who salute the flag, sing the national anthem, march in patriotic parades, cheer Fourth of July speakers — normally good Americans, but Americans who fail to comprehend what is required to keep our country strong and free — Americans who have been lulled away into a false security.”

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“It is a firm principle that the smallest or lowest level that can possibly undertake the task is the one that should do so.… This is merely the application to the field of politics of that wise and time-tested principle of never asking a larger group to do that which can be done by a smaller group. And so far as government is concerned the smaller the unit and the closer it is to the people, the easier it is to guide it, to keep it solvent and to keep our freedom.”

Through the Looking Glass

Anyone paying attention to the current political scene must feel like Alice who went through the looking glass in one book and down the rabbit hole in another. In both books Alice encountered an alternate reality featuring bizarre and sometimes frightening things unheard of in her world. She found herself in this alternate world because she was bored and a rabbit wearing a coat ran by saying “I’m late, I’m late.” She followed him, even though she didn’t know where he was going or what path she would have to take to get to his destination – all because she wanted to do something different.

There can be times in each of our lives when it is appropriate to experience new and somewhat scary situations; doing so may provide a step to personal growth and an expansion of the box in which we normally live.

However, there are also some situations that we don’t need to experience. Some are obvious, like experimenting with illegal drugs. Others are not so obvious, but our gut feeling is that this situation isn’t one in which we need to be involved. That’s where we are with this election; some clues are obvious and others are more subtle – and we currently have a lot of Americans who are willing to follow a man on a path they have never experienced to a destination they don’t even know.

Barrack Obama has no experience to be president and what little history we know of him doesn’t point to a desirable path or destination. Yet people are flocking to him like he’s the shepherd and they are his mindless herd.

The polls show that the economy is driving people to Obama’s path, apparently believing that Obama can fix America’s financial crisis. The polls also show that Americans believe that republicans are more responsible for the economic problems than the democrats – shows you how uninformed many voters are, because the democrats bear the greatest portion of the blame of the current financial mess.

The fact is that Congressman Barney Franke and Senator Chris Dodd are democrats who are on the committee to oversee Fannie and Freddie, and both of them allowed Fannie and Freddie to collapse while they continually told the American people that Fannie and Freddie were stable. Both of them should be criminally charged – at the very least, their constituents should look at voting for their opponents.

It was democrat President Jimmy Carter who signed the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act into law. In Congressional debate on the Act, critics charged that the law would "distort credit markets, create unnecessary regulatory burden, lead to unsound lending, and cause the governmental agencies charged with implementing the law to allocate credit."

In 1995, under democrat President Bill Clinton, the CRA regulations were substantially revised to address criticisms that the regulations, and the agencies' implementation of them through the examination process, were too process-oriented, burdensome, and not sufficiently focused on actual results.

Recently, economist Stan Liebowitz wrote in the New York Post that a strengthening of the CRA in the 1990s encouraged a loosening of lending standards throughout the banking industry. In a commentary for CNN, Congressman Ron Paul, who serves on the United States House Committee on Financial Services, charged the CRA with "forcing banks to lend to people who normally would be rejected as bad credit risks." In a Wall Street Journal opinion piece, Austrian school economist Russell Roberts wrote that the CRA subsidized low-income housing by pressuring banks to serve poor borrowers and poor regions of the country.

All of the above was done by democrats or under democrat administrations. To be fair, the republicans in office at the time are guilty of not having a spine for allowing this kind of legislation. All of us are now paying for both parties ineptness. Still can’t figure out, though, why Americans think that Democrats can bail us out of our sinking economy – they certainly have no history of doing that.

The Nut Doesn’t Fall Far From the Tree

One of the big clues that, like the proverbial elephant in the room, people are trying to ignore is Barack Obama’s involvement with the community organizing group ACORN. Just this week Nevada and Ohio have had voter fraud issues directly tied to local ACORN offices.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/10092008/news/politics/nuts__132771.htm

Obama has huge ties to ACORN; as John Fund, author of “Stealing Elections", stated, "Obama is marinated in ACORN.”

Obama has tried to downplay his ACORN involvement, as if it shouldn’t matter, yet he has donated approximately $800,000 of his campaign money to ACORN. He was hired by ACORN to train new inductees. Several of ACORN’s supervisors are alleged identity thieves (we’ll see if the mainstream media actually looks into that allegation). Interestingly, the voter fraud that has ACORN ties is mostly in voter swing states.

Why would Americans ignore Obama’s ACORN ties? ACORN has helped groom Obama’s politics, thus making a further analysis essential.

Obama continually states that he wants to re-distribute wealth (which is a socialist agenda), giving tax breaks to 95% of Americans while giving the majority of the tax burden to businesses who make more than $250,000. If this really happens, we can say good-bye to capitalism and hello to socialism.

First, only 70% of Americans actually pay income tax, so how are the other 25% going to receive a tax break? Second, businesses will lay-off employees or cut wages in order to meet their tax obligations – and that’s only if they don’t completely give up and shut their doors. Third, Obama is lying to you. There is no way he can implement all his proposed social entitlement programs without raising all of our taxes.

Senator Obama told Bill O’Reilly during an interview that helping each other with increased taxes is the neighborly thing to do. Senator Joe Biden said that paying more taxes is patriotic. Neither senator is very conversant with the bible or the constitution to utter such nonsense. Yes, we need to take care of each other and, yes, that requires each of us to give up some of our money or goods to give to those who don’t have it. But nowhere in the Bible does it state that we should give it to the government to re-distribute for us. On the contrary, it is lazy and mindless to allow the government to be our bank for charitable programs. After they pay their overhead and take their share of our “charitable donations” how much will actually be left for the poor? If we want to give to a homeless person or to a charitable organization, then it is our right and duty to handle that process ourselves. By doing that, we can give 100% to charity and cut out the red tape and paperwork that the government will require. Additionally, government programs disconnect us from each other. The government takes our money and we never have to be involved. It also doesn’t help us feel like we’re helping our brother or being involved in a solution. The best way to disconnect with our problems and reconnect with others is by being involved in the offered service.

Lastly, charity should never be forced. Again, nowhere in the bible does it say that we have no choice in what we do. The bible actually says “choose ye this day whom ye will serve…”. If Jesus’ mission were to force us to His will, then He would never have given us the choice to follow Him. Hmmm… the government could learn something from this lesson.

Let’s hope that Americans wake up before election day. Otherwise, we may be tempted to follow Alice through the looking glass. An alternate reality is starting to look good.

(some of the above information was taken from Wikipedia)

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire

The following article is from NewsMax. Truth in politics, truth in journalism -- endangered species.

Henry Kissinger Corrects Obama and Couric

CBS, Katie Couric, and Barack Obama recently had to be corrected by famed diplomat Henry Kissinger for their media missteps.

Kissinger released a short statement that was intended to clear up some false representations made about something he had allegedly said.

During the Couric-Palin interviews, Couric asked the following question of Sarah Palin: “You met yesterday with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who is for direct diplomacy with both Iran and Syria. Do you believe the U.S. should negotiate with leaders like President Assad and Ahmadinejad?”

Palin answered, with respect to Ahmadinejad, “You can't just sit down with him with no preconditions being met.”

Couric claimed that negotiating with Iran without preconditions was Kissinger’s position.
When the interview ended, Couric told her audience, “Incidentally, we confirmed Henry Kissinger’s position following our interview.” She repeated that Kissinger supports talks “without preconditions.”

Is it possible that CBS and the Obama campaign are communicating?

During the first presidential debate, Obama claimed that Kissinger “along with five recent secretaries of state just said we should meet with Iran — guess what — without preconditions.”
John McCain shot back, “Dr. Kissinger did not say that he would approve a face-to-face meeting [with Ahmadinejad]. He did say there could be secretary and lower level meetings.”

Kissinger later weighed in, saying, “Senator McCain is right. I would not recommend the next president of the United States engage in talks with Iran at the presidential level. My views on this issue are entirely compatible with the views of my friend, Senator John McCain.

"We do not agree on everything, but we do agree that any negotiations with Iran must be geared to reality.”

Maybe CBS, Couric, and Obama should engage in talks with a make-up artist on how to get the egg off their faces.

100-Plus Former Ambassadors Endorse McCain

Over 100 former ambassadors endorse John McCain for President (see article http://www.newsmax.com/kessler/ambassador_mccain_/2008/10/05/137538.html)

Ahmed Yousuf of the terrorist group Hamas has endorsed Barrack Obama. Is there really anyone who still thinks that Obama would make a good president? Apparently, considering his poll numbers. Obama's list of terrorist and crook friends/associates is getting longer every day. His judgment is horrible and his ethics are questionable. He can't even confront and get rid of the terrorist in his neighborhood. How is he going to confront terrorists in the world? http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=YzI2MWRmYTM3NTYwNmU4MDlkODI4MjM0YmRmZmM4NTY

Dancing, Debates, and Dipsticks - Oh My!

Dancing With The Stars

Because of Misty May Treanor's injury, none of the couples was eliminated last night. The couple who received the lowest overall score after combining the judges' and the public's votes, however, was Rocco and Karina. We don't get it. We've said this before, but we have to say it again. Bless Cloris' heart, she's 82 years old and is participating on Dancing With The Stars; however, she needs to go. She must have a much larger fan base than we would have ever imagined. There are a few stars this season who are good dancers, but there isn't the quality of dancing in this season as there has been in the past seasons.

Debates

The debate between Obama and McCain last night was difficult to watch. Obama is an arrogant, cocky liar. The political pundits are stating that the debate was a tie or that Obama or McCain won by a small margin, depending on which article you read. The pundits have also stated that McCain needed a slam dunk last night, which he didn't get. We hope that McCain pulls this election out. If he doesn't, the United States of America is in trouble. A saving grace would be if the democrats lose control of the Senate and the House. The republicans then, if they grow some spines, will be able to somewhat thwart Obama's radical, socialist agenda.

Part of what is troubling about Obama is his radical associates, one of whom is Bill Ayers. Below is an excellent article regarding Ayers, his philosophy, and his past deeds.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/10082008/postopinion/opedcolumnists/terror_victims_qs_for_barack_132619.htm

Timely Tidbits

Dancing With the Stars

Last night was another segment of Dancing With the Stars. We learned that Misti Mae Treanor will not be able to complete the season because she tore her Achilles tendon and will have surgery today to repair it. Cloris Leachman, bless her heart, continues to try but can't compete. Hopefully, she will be the next to go. In the past when a dancer has had to drop out unexpectedly, the show has given all of the remaining dancers a pass for that week -- meaning that no one was voted off, but votes accumulated for two weeks. With Misti Mae taking the out for everyone else, it may turn out that no one else will go tonight.

Numb3rs

One of our favorite shows is Numb3rs. Its season premiere was this past Friday. We were unable to watch it Friday night, so we taped it. About ten minutes into the show, our local CBS decided to cut into the show so that we could follow the O.J. Simpson case. We could have caught the results of O.J.'s Las Vegas robbery/kidnapping case on the 11:00 pm news, immediately following Numb3rs. Instead, no one in our area was able to watch Numb3rs. Fortunately, CBS has full episodes on their website so we can still catch the show. But do we really need to spend 45 minutes of unscheduled news time speculating with lawyers and news anchors about the soon-to-be-announced verdict?

A Rare Agreement

The below article is from NewsMax. This is a first for us. We actually agree with something that leftist Alec Baldwin said.

An outspoken figure has publicly nailed the Democrats for their role in creating the credit crisis, particularly with regard to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Was it John McCain or one of his campaign aides?

No, believe it or not it was Alec Baldwin.

As part of a panel on HBO's “Real Time with Bill Maher,” Baldwin responded to co-panelist Garry Shandling’s finger pointing at Bush by saying, “…Democrats have a lot of the responsibility for this as well. I mean, it was [Bill] Clinton who killed the Glass-Steagall, and it happened under a Democratic president.”

After correctly citing the Clinton administration’s contribution to the crisis, Baldwin mentioned the bailout king himself, Barney Frank.

“Barney Frank and his committee,” Baldwin explained to the astonished Maher, “they kept propping up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac saying everything's fine, everything's fine, everything's good. And it was his job to know everything wasn't fine. And Barney Frank let you down and let us down as well.”

Baldwin went on to talk about the final bailout bill, stating, “I want to say there's blame to go both ways. But I will say, I want to, I maybe keep beating this to death, but I still think anyone in this Congress who voted to add $140 billion to that bill, they should be ashamed of themselves. That is a disgrace. It's a disgrace. This Congress is a disgrace, Democrat and Republican.”

The Terrorism of Barry Hussein (Obama)

For the life of us, we cannot understand why anyone would vote for Barrack Obama. Are people really so desperate for entitlement and social programs that they are willing to vote for a presidential candidate who has clear ties to terrorists like Bill Ayers and bullying, lying organizations like ACORN? It appears that this is the case. We have people in this country who will vote for socialism while voting away our constitutional rights and think nothing of dragging the rest of us down with them. The below article is by Thomas Sowell, RealClearPolitics.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/10/the_real_obama.html

This & That

Sarah Palin did very well last night in the debate against Joe Biden. It seemed to us that she had Joe on the defense during most of the debate, so much so that there have been several articles published today listing all the lies that he told just during those 90 minutes. Sarah Palin speaks to everyday middle America. We still don't agree with some of John McCain's policies, but Sarah definitely makes the Republican presidential ticket more palatable.

Did You Know..

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has officially approved an assisted suicide measure allowing nurses to sedate, dehydrate and starve depressed or confused individuals they consider to be "terminally ill."

The bill, sponsored by Assemblywoman Patty Berg, a Democrat, passed the California Assembly Aug. 28, and the state Senate Aug. 20. It was signed by the governor yesterday.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=76713

According to an earlier report from the American Textbook Council, history textbooks throughout the U.S. schooling system promote Islam.

The new study by the IJCR found more than 500 erroneous passages in the books, including one textbook that charged that early Jewish civilization contributed little to the arts and sciences.
An excerpt from "World Civilizations," published by Thomson Wadsworth, for example, said, "Excepting the Old Testament's poetry, the Jews produced very little of note in any of the art forms ... There is no record of any important [early] Jewish contributions to the sciences."

The level of outrageousness grew: "Christianity was started by a young Palestinian named Jesus," claims "The World," published by Scott Foresman. Click on the link below to read the entire article.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=76671

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And last but not least, we can't believe that Congress passed that pork-laden bailout bill. A picture is worth a thousand words...

We will be out of town this weekend, so we won't post again until Monday evening.

The Stench of Washington

Craig R. Smith put our sentiments into words in an article he wrote in September: "The last thing government officials should do is try to bail us out of the economic crisis they are responsible for creating in the first place.

"The lack of oversight provided by Chris Dodd and Barney Frank of the Banking and Financial Services subcommittee is unprecedented and should require the immediate dismissal of both men. Their decisions, which have in large part brought about the current market crisis, make the decisions made during Hurricane Katrina look like sheer genius."
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=75637

With her usual sarcastic wit, which we love, Ann Coulter wrote in an article yesterday, "While Gov. Sarah Palin is being grilled on her position on mark-to-market accounting rules, the press can't bother to ask Joe Biden if he could give us a ballpark estimate on when Franklin D. Roosevelt was president -- or maybe take a stab at guessing the decade when televisions were first available to the public."
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=28834


Please click on the link below to see how your senator voted on the bailout bill. http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=2&vote=00212

Scratching Our Heads

Dancing With The Stars

Who is voting for Cloris Leachman? Kim Kardashian was voted off of Dancing With the Stars last night. We stated yesterday that Kim was in the bottom three so we aren't surprised that she didn't get many votes. What surprises us is that someone is actually voting for Cloris. We give her all sorts of kudos for the effort, but it's still a dance contest.

Things we don't understand

Who is voting for Cloris Leachman on Dancing With the Stars?

Why would anyone vote for Barack Obama and his socialist agenda? What happened to valuing freedom of choice?

Why isn't Barney Frank in jail?

Why aren't the republicans demanding that Barney Frank step down?

Why isn't Congress leading the charge for investigations to find out who is responsible for the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fiascos?

Why does Congress think they have the right to bail out Wall Street?