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

Television & Politics

Last night was the beginning of the new season of Dancing With The Stars, which we both love to watch. The stars participating this season are Lance Bass, Toni Braxton, Brooke Burke, Rocco Dispirito, Maurice Greene, Kim Kardashian, Cloris Leachman, Cody Linley, Susan Lucci, Misty May-Treanor, Ted McGinley, Jeffrey Ross, Warren Sapp. Bless Cloris’ heart because she’s 82 years old, but she should be the first one voted off. The first week results show will air tonight.

On the political news front…

A writer for a libertarian group has written perhaps the most scathing attack on pro-life vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin since the Alaska governor was announced weeks ago as John McCain's running mate. Nicholas Provenzo condemns Palin for the birth of her baby Trig, who has Down syndrome.

Provenzo, who writes for the Center for the Advancement of Capitalism, not only bashes her for allowing Trig to be born, but says she should have made the so-called morally justifiable decision to kill him in an abortion.
http://www.lifenews.com/nat4318.html

The police in St. Paul were well prepared for the protestors / anarchists at the Republican Convention in that City, because they had infiltrated the group. They knew their intentions to destroy property and attack police and delegates with wooden rods and feces and urine. There is a question whether ACLU attorneys participated in planning these crimes. There is no question that the ACLU is trying to get the protestors off, and then sue for damages against the City.
http://www.theacru.org/acru/aclu_supports_anarchists_will_seek_payoffs/index.html

YouTube has pulled from its website a video of a "Saturday Night Live" skit featuring characters portraying New York Times reporters investigating whether Todd Palin was having sex with the couple's own daughters after NBC expressed a claim of copyright, even though a wide range of other "SNL" clips remain available.

But trying to prevent the clip from being replayed wasn't protecting the program and network today from the wrath of viewers, bloggers and radio talk show hosts who believe the "joke" simply went too far.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=75936

Media Bias

Side by side interview questions of first interview by Charlie Gibson put to Barack Obama and Sarah Palin:

Obama interview:
How does it feel to break a glass ceiling?

How does it feel to “win”?

How does your family feel about your “winning” breaking a glass ceiling?

Who will be your VP?

Should you choose Hillary Clinton as VP?

Will you accept public finance?

What issues is your campaign about?

Will you visit Iraq?

Will you debate McCain at a town hall?

What did you think of your competitor’s [Clinton] speech?

Palin interview:
Do you have enough qualifications for the job you’re seeking?

Specifically have you visited foreign countries and met foreign leaders?

Aren’t you conceited to be seeking this high level job?

Questions about foreign policy

-territorial integrity of Georgia

-allowing Georgia and Ukraine to be members of NATO-NATO treaty

-Iranian nuclear threat

-what to do if Israel attacks Iran

-Al Qaeda motivations

-the Bush Doctrine

-attacking terrorists harbored by Pakistan

-Is America fighting a holy war? [misquoted Palin]

It was obvious during the interview that Charlie Gibson was biased against Sarah Palin. Not only did he look at her condescendingly, but he also misquoted her. When will the media pose these types of questions to Obama?

Hitler was a Community Organizer

In her RNC speech last week, Sarah Palin made light of Obama's work as a community organizer. Many people laughed at her comment because most of us don't know what a community organizer does and how it prepares a person to be president of the United States. Governor Palin expressed what many of us were already thinking.

The Democrat response to Governor Palin's statement was that Jesus was a community organizer; Pontius Pilate was a governor. The Democrats narrow-minded, ill-advised political rhetoric shows how little they think through their comments and how quickly their presidential candidate's campaign is imploding. Let us remind the Dem's that Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, the Democrat's favorite president EVER, were also governors. And, we must concede this part of their point to the Democrats, at least where Bill Clinton is concerned: Bill Clinton and Pontius Pilate have a lot in common. More than either one of them would probably want to admit. Can anyone say, "Look in a mirror?"

However, we take exception to the notion that Jesus was a community organizer. That horrifically belittles Jesus' earthly role. Jesus came to earth to save all of mankind, not just organize a community. He preached to the spiritually poor, but not necessarily the worldly poor, because His message was for everyone, regardless of race, gender, religion, politics, or wealth. Nor was Jesus' job a paid position -- contrast that to Barack Obama's job as community organizer.

Jesus didn't use His role to propel Him to a higher community or political position. He didn't need to: He already has the highest position.

The Democrat defense that Jesus was a community organizer actually gives credibility to the conservative talk show hosts who mockingly call Barack Obama "the Messiah". The Dem's proved that they really do think of Obama as Jesus, the Messiah, the Chosen One. Hey Dem's: Conservatives actually think that Jesus is Jesus.

The following link is to an article that states that Hitler was also a community organizer.

http://westernstandard.blogs.com/shotgun/2008/09/hitler-was-a-co.html

We will be writing any journalists who are using lies and biased opinions to drag Sarah Palin down. Below is the letter we are sending to Andrea Mitchell of NBC News for her comment that only uneducated women will vote for Sarah Palin. Please feel free to use all or part of our letter if you want to write a letter of your own.

Ms. Andrea Mitchell
c/o NBC News
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112

Dear Ms. Mitchell:

As part of the group of uneducated women voters supporting Sarah Palin, we want to inform you that we will no longer be able to watch any newscast of which you are part. Certainly, you have the right to say whatever you choose and, as “uneducated”, a.k.a. informed women, we have the right to change our television channels to actual news, not opinion commentary.

We must assume that elitist remarks like the one you uttered about uneducated women voters being the only ones who would vote for Sarah Palin indicates that you are a Barack Obama supporter. This conclusion leads us to believe that your future reporting will consist of your narrow-minded, biased opinion and not actual news, thereby making your comments untrustworthy and unreliable.

While we defend your freedom of speech, we do not support passing your opinions off as news. The American people are not as stupid and gullible as the liberal media seems to believe, and we are tired of slanted, biased, and partisan news reporting. Based on your improper statement regarding uneducated women voters, in the future we will assume that any news you are claiming to report is actually biased drivel and we will exercise our right to turn the television to a channel actually reporting news.

Strike One...

Welcome to political baseball! Last night Sarah Palin took the stage at the Republican National Convention and hit a home run with her speech, giving the Democrats their first strike out. As with regular baseball, they have two more strikes and they're out. We feel those two opportunities will come at the Vice-President debate against Joe Biden, when we anticipate that Biden will spend most of his time trying to find a base to stand on while Palin hits another home run. The third strike opportunity will be when John McCain and Barack Obama debate each other and Barack finds out that he forgot to bring his game mitt.

We have pulled a few of Governor Palin's remarks from her speech and posted them below. She definitely showed up with her game face on and the other team is beginning to realize that this is a game they can't play without wearing a cup.

Over the next few weeks, Governor Palin will be discredited, criticized, mocked, and scorned. But we have no doubt that she will continue to stand victorious in the face of the low-lifes who will attack her. Keep in mind that the attacks will come because the other side is frightened. They are frightened by a woman who knows who she is and walks her own talk. So they have to attack her type of feminism (keep in mind, they are for feminists and women's rights -- as long as it fits their rules for feminists and women's rights), and the way she mothers her children.

If by some chance she and McCain lose this election, she will still be a winner because she has a family who loves her, a state who reveres her, and self-assurance and confidence that will carry her through the ups and downs of life. How do we know that? Because she's already done it.

********************************************

Governor Palin's speech excerpts:

A writer observed: "We grow good people in our small towns, with honesty, sincerity, and dignity." I know just the kind of people that writer had in mind when he praised Harry Truman.

I grew up with those people.

They are the ones who do some of the hardest work in America ... who grow our food, run our factories, and fight our wars.

They love their country, in good times and bad, and they're always proud of America. I had the privilege of living most of my life in a small town.

I was just your average hockey mom, and signed up for the PTA because I wanted to make my kids' public education better.

When I ran for city council, I didn't need focus groups and voter profiles because I knew those voters, and knew their families, too. (Blogger Comment: Ironically, these are the same small town, middle class people the Democrats CLAIM to represent, but have never understood. Governor Palin is actually one of those middle class people.)

Before I became governor of the great state of Alaska, I was mayor of my hometown.
And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involves.

I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a "community organizer," except that you have actual responsibilities. I might add that in small towns, we don't quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they are listening, and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren't listening. (Blogger Comment: No one has ever been able to provide a job description for a community organizer. We still don't know exactly what experience Obama brings to political office. And, for the record, we don't BITTERLY cling to our religion, but we GRATEFULLY cling to Jesus Christ.)

And I've learned quickly, these past few days, that if you're not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone.

But here's a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion - I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this country. Americans expect us to go to Washington for the right reasons, and not just to mingle with the right people. (Blogger Comment: Good for her. We can't be the only people who are sick and tired of the liberal media pushing their own candidate and trying to make Governor Palin's very normal life look like a scandal.)

But we are expected to govern with integrity, good will, clear convictions, and ... a servant's heart. (Blogger Comment: What a refreshing change that will be!)

Our state budget is under control.

We have a surplus.

And I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending: nearly half a billion dollars in vetoes.

I suspended the state fuel tax, and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress.

I told the Congress "thanks, but no thanks," for that Bridge to Nowhere.

If our state wanted a bridge, we'd build it ourselves. When oil and gas prices went up dramatically, and filled up the state treasury, I sent a large share of that revenue back where it belonged - directly to the people of Alaska. (Blogger Comment: What would it be like to have more of our money to keep for ourselves?)

I fought to bring about the largest private-sector infrastructure project in North American history.

And when that deal was struck, we began a nearly forty billion dollar natural gas pipeline to help lead America to energy independence.

That pipeline, when the last section is laid and its valves are opened, will lead America one step farther away from dependence on dangerous foreign powers that do not have our interests at heart.

The stakes for our nation could not be higher.

When a hurricane strikes in the Gulf of Mexico, this country should not be so dependent on imported oil that we are forced to draw from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

And families cannot throw away more and more of their paychecks on gas and heating oil.

With Russia wanting to control a vital pipeline in the Caucasus, and to divide and intimidate our European allies by using energy as a weapon, we cannot leave ourselves at the mercy of foreign suppliers.

To confront the threat that Iran might seek to cut off nearly a fifth of world energy supplies ... or that terrorists might strike again at the Abqaiq facility in Saudi Arabia ... or that Venezuela might shut off its oil deliveries ... we Americans need to produce more of our own oil and gas.

And take it from a gal who knows the North Slope of Alaska: we've got lots of both.

Our opponents say, again and again, that drilling will not solve all of America's energy problems - as if we all didn't know that already.

But the fact that drilling won't solve every problem is no excuse to do nothing at all.

Starting in January, in a McCain-Palin administration, we're going to lay more pipelines ... build more nuclear plants ... create jobs with clean coal ... and move forward on solar, wind, geothermal, and other alternative sources.

We need American energy resources, brought to you by American ingenuity, and produced by American workers. (Blogger Comment: Thank goodness that someone is willing to do something to help our energy dependence. Nancy Pelosi is too busy saving the planet -- what's she going to do when she's done saving the planet, only to turn around and realize she's killed her own country?)

And there is much to like and admire about our opponent.

But listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform - not even in the state senate.

This is a man who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fighting, and never use the word "victory" except when he's talking about his own campaign. But when the cloud of rhetoric has passed ... when the roar of the crowd fades away ... when the stadium lights go out, and those Styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot - what exactly is our opponent's plan? What does he actually seek to accomplish, after he's done turning back the waters and healing the planet? The answer is to make government bigger ... take more of your money ... give you more orders from Washington ... and to reduce the strength of America in a dangerous world. America needs more energy ... our opponent is against producing it.

Victory in Iraq is finally in sight ... he wants to forfeit.

Terrorist states are seeking nuclear weapons without delay ... he wants to meet them without preconditions.

Al Qaeda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America ... he's worried that someone won't read them their rights? Government is too big ... he wants to grow it.

Congress spends too much ... he promises more.

Taxes are too high ... he wants to raise them. His tax increases are the fine print in his economic plan, and let me be specific.

The Democratic nominee for president supports plans to raise income taxes ... raise payroll taxes ... raise investment income taxes ... raise the death tax ... raise business taxes ... and increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars. My sister Heather and her husband have just built a service station that's now opened for business - like millions of others who run small businesses.

How are they going to be any better off if taxes go up? Or maybe you're trying to keep your job at a plant in Michigan or Ohio ... or create jobs with clean coal from Pennsylvania or West Virginia ... or keep a small farm in the family right here in Minnesota.

How are you going to be better off if our opponent adds a massive tax burden to the American economy? Here's how I look at the choice Americans face in this election. (Blogger Comment: You Go, Girl!)

Harry Reid, the Majority Leader of the current do-nothing Senate, not long ago summed up his feelings about our nominee.He said, quote, "I can't stand John McCain." Ladies and gentlemen, perhaps no accolade we hear this week is better proof that we've chosen the right man. Clearly what the Majority Leader was driving at is that he can't stand up to John McCain. That is only one more reason to take the maverick of the Senate and put him in the White House. (Blogger Comment: As Nevadans, we can attest to the idiotic statements that Harry Reid makes. Harry, who is in the Senate to promote his own agenda, has lost all interest in representing Nevadans. We're pretty confident that Nevadans are going to let Harry retire in 2011.)

And though both Senator Obama and Senator Biden have been going on lately about how they are always, quote, "fighting for you," let us face the matter squarely.There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you ... in places where winning means survival and defeat means death ... and that man is John McCain. (Blogger Comment: AMEN!)

Oh Happy Day...

We're proud conservatives. We believe in the principles of conservatism. John McCain wasn't our first choice for the Republican candidate. He's more moderate in his politics than we are, but, then, it's hard to find any candidate who completely matches your views.

We've heard political pundits say that the vice president rarely makes or breaks a presidential candidate, but for us, the vice president pick was the deciding factor as to whether or not McCain received our vote.

You can only make so many compromises before you sell out your own values. The breaking point for us would have been a Joe Lieberman pick and maybe even a Tom Ridge pick. We anxiously awaited McCain's running mate announcement, and we couldn't be more pleased.

We don't know a lot about Sarah Palin, but what we know, we like and approve. Was picking a woman politically motivated? Of course. But aren't all running mate choices politically motivated? If they aren't, they ought to be. We assume that Barack Obama's choice of Joe Biden as a running mate was politically motivated. If it wasn't, then we have to question what Barack's motives are for running for political office. He might as well be running for ice cream vendor if he has no political motivation.

Based on what we know of Sarah Palin, she was a brilliant choice. A big factor is that she's a governor. A governor is always a better choice for president than a senator. Governing a state has many similarities to running a country. Of course, there are some issues unique to being the president of the United States; only the current and former presidents can understand those issues. But a governor has to veto bills and balance a budget, they take care of emergency situations in their respective states and activate the National Guard, and they are responsible for appointing some key personnel positions within their states. They also receive appeals for death row inmates within their states, literally holding the choice of life and death within their hands. A senator is one person in a voting body who governs nothing but his or her office. Unfortunately, we don't have a governor running for president, but we do have Sarah Palin to advise McCain.

Liberals will tell you that Sarah Palin doesn't have enough experience -- that John McCain is being hypocritical by choosing Palin while criticizing Barack Obama's lack of experience. Being a Governor edges out a Senator any day. Sarah Palin has made more decisions in the last two years as governor than Barack Obama has made in his life (okay, that may be an exaggeration, but if it is, it's barely one). And Barack can't criticize her lack of experience without drawing attention to his own experience, which is oh... NONE.

Barack is the one who talks about hope and change and then he picks a tired career politician for a running mate. Where's the hope in that choice and how does that define change? We would rather have a President Palin than a President Biden.

Governor Palin is a pro-life woman who chose to have and keep a down syndrome baby, even though she knew there was a problem with the baby while the baby was still in the womb. To paraphrase her words, to her the baby is perfect. Who defines what a normal child is?

Todd Palin, Sarah's husband, works in the oil fields and is a member of The Steelworkers Union. Sarah's parents are educators. She is a lifetime NRA member; her son is being deployed to Irag on September 11.

Members of the media stated today that John McCain's VP choice doesn't back up his maverick image. We disagree. Sarah Palin is a maverick in her own right. She took on the corruption in her own Republican party and re-established ethics in politics. Now that is change that we can vote for. Barack only talks about change; Sarah has actually done it.

With VP experience on her resume, Sarah Palin will be able to run for President -- possibly against Hillary Clinton. Then we'll see who has the real experience.

We couldn't be more pleased with this choice and, hopefully, we will have no reason to change our minds as the election gets closer. Unlike Michelle Obama, we've always been proud of our country, but there have been times when our hope for the future of this country has been low. Thank you, John McCain, for giving us new hope today.

In non-political news, we are heading to Utah this afternoon. We don't have internet service in Utah, so we won't be posting again until Monday.