Monday, June 30, 2008

Rochesterfest Parade

There's so much happening so fast that I didn't get a chance to blog on the Rochesterfest parade this weekend. Plus, unlike others, I have a life so I got to enjoy a very pleasant global warming weekend.

It was a strong showing by local Republicans last Friday evening.

Pumped and ready to go!

Top Guns: Demmer, Johnson, Kuisle, Senjem, Davis and Dettinger


Young Republicans: the future is bright


Senjem and Demmer are energized


Real family values: Bill Kuisle and family


Liberal DFLers sporting Tim Walz and Tina Liebling shirts showed their lack of civility and class when they jeered at and insulted Davis supporters while the parade was in progress. What a classless bunch.

That would be Olmsted County DFL officer Frank Hawthorne wearing a red Tina Liebling shirt and hiding behind the blonde young man on the left when I pointed my camera at the group and asked them to reenact their shameful behavior of a minute earlier.

Still more class from the DFL. The timing was perfect too. Notice the Franken supporters walking past.

Patriotism Questions: Obama Protests too Much


“I will never question the patriotism of others in this campaign. And I will not stand idly by when I hear others question mine.”

-- Obama protesting too much during a speech in Independence, Mo., today.



What's next? Tips on marital faithfulness from Bill Clinton? A spiritual retreat on the greatness of America from the Reverend Jeremiah Wright? A workshop on aging gracefully from Nancy Pelosi?
Obama would love to limit debate, particularly if he can eliminate any areas of personal deficiency, and there are many, from scrutiny. Sorry, Barry, you don't get to make the rules on this one.

Wesley Clark: "Swift Boat" Veteran for Obama

Wes Clark is the one on the right.

"[John McCain] hasn't held executive responsibility. That large squadron in the Navy that he commanded — that wasn't a wartime squadron. I don’t think getting in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to become president.”


-- Disgraced former Supreme NATO Commander and Obama lap dog Wes Clark on John McCain's war record and qualification for POTUS.




“If the opposing candidate doesn’t really have the experience or knowledge or depth in international affairs, then one approach can be, I suppose, to try to deny that Senator McCain does.”

-- Vietnam combat veteran and former national security adviser Robert “Bud” McFarlane

Democrat with military background assails McCain's credentials
By Brian Knowlton
Published: June 29, 2008


WASHINGTON - With Senator Barack Obama planning to visit the Middle East and Europe in an apparent effort to burnish his foreign policy credentials, the credentials of his likely presidential rival, Senator John McCain, came under sharp attack Sunday from a man considered a possible Democratic vice presidential candidate.

The retired general Wesley Clark said McCain had not "held executive responsibility" and had not commanded troops in wartime. McCain's experience in Vietnam, where he was a prisoner of war for five years, has seemed at times almost to grant him invulnerability to criticism of his security background. But on Sunday he was assailed by a fellow military man, a highly decorated one who was once the NATO supreme commander.

McCain frequently points out that he led "the largest squadron in the U.S. Navy," but Clark said on CBS television that that was not enough to support a claim to the presidency.

"He hasn't been there and ordered the bombs to fall" as a wartime commander, the general said on CBS. Clark is mentioned as a possible Obama running mate, although he originally supported Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.

When the interviewer, Bob Schieffer, noted to Clark that McCain had been shot down over Hanoi, Clark replied, "I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president."

When Schieffer then asked what executive responsibility Obama had held - the Democrat's résumé includes work as a community organizer in Chicago and eight years in the Illinois legislature - Clark said that Obama was running on the strength of his character and good judgment.


Brian Rogers, of the McCain campaign, was quick to hit back in a release: "If Barack Obama's campaign wants to question John McCain's military service, that's their right. But let's please drop the pretense that Barack Obama stands for a new type of politics. The reality is, he's proving to be a typical politician who is willing to say anything to get elected, including allowing his campaign surrogates to demean and attack John McCain's military service record."


Wes Clark's smear is no doubt a poorly orchestrated line of attack from people who are still sore over what they labeled the "swiftboating" of John Kerry during the 2004 presidential election campaign.

Obama's "qualifications," according to Clark, are evidence of how low liberal standards are: Community organizer? State senator who voted present to avoid being on record on controversial issues?

If Obama is truly running on the strength of his character and good judgement as Clark claims, McCain is as good as elected.

Brian Davis: Minnesotans Need Real Solutions to Gas Prices


Editorial Published in the Worthington Globe in Response to Congressman Walz
Published Monday, June 30, 2008

ROCHESTER - As the price of oil and gas reach record levels and Minnesotans feel
it in their pocketbooks, and small businesses in their bottom line, it's the same old story in Congress: The Blame Game.

Congressman Walz's strategy, based on his column last week, is to lay the blame on partisan politics and "Big Oil." Have the oil companies made big profits lately at the expense of us? Yes. Will the oil companies continue to have record profits as long as demand outpaces production? Yes. But instead of throwing around blame, let's talk about real solutions. Otherwise, $6-a-gallon gasoline could be just around the corner.

Affordable energy is the lifeblood of a modern economy. In the United States, over 90 percent of the energy consumed in transportation, heating and electricity comes from four sources: oil, coal, natural gas, and nuclear power. In oil production, we are the world's third-largest producer behind Saudi Arabia and Russia. Our coal reserves are the largest of any nation and we produce more nuclear energy on a yearly basis than anyone else.

In Minnesota, we are among the leaders in the U.S. in ethanol and wind power production. It should be clear that we need to develop and maintain all sources of energy to keep our economy moving, not just one energy source or the other. The United States has over 1.7 billion acres of offshore areas where nearly 95 percent have been closed to oil exploration since 1982. The Atlantic Coast, eastern Gulf of Mexico, Pacific and most of the Alaskan Coasts are off-limits. According to published Congressional research, these areas have an estimated total of over 80 billion barrels of oil. But, these are only estimates. Without allowing American oil companies to explore these regions, we won't know how much is there. What do Congressman Walz and others in Congress offer?

- Blocking increased development of domestic oil supply in federal areas in all but a small portion of those available.

- Legislation that doesn't produce one drop more of oil.

- Cap-and-trade regulatory schemes for utilities and industries that will ultimately tax Americans trillions of dollars and hit rural electric cooperatives particularly hard.

- More hearings and investigations.

- Nationalizing the oil and refinery industries in the United States.

Unfortunately, the politicians in Congress have stood in the way
of developing more energy sources in this country. In my view, we should:

- Open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) where an estimated 10 billion barrels of oil exist. There already exists a pipeline in the adjacent Prudhoe Bay region, which contributes over 15 percent to our domestic oil supply. In 1995, President Clinton blocked development of ANWR and in 2002 and 2008 Congress blocked development of this area again.

- Open the Outer Continental Shelf to safe oil and natural gas exploration - currently only 4 percent of the region is open and 60 percent of Americans favor its development.

- Build more refinery capacity.

- Reduce regulatory barriers to increase nuclear power production, a proven clean and safe form of electricity generation.

- Continue to promote and develop alternative fuels and energy sources including ethanol, biodiesel and wind power.

As the endorsed Republican candidate in our First Congressional District, I hear daily the personal stories of Minnesotans who are being negatively impacted by the lack of leadership from the politicians in Washington. As individuals and our Nation feel the economic straitjacket tightening, we are faced with difficult choices. Americans deserve to know what solutions our elected representatives offer so that our future is secure and our children will know the American dream.

In reality, this is a debate that reveals the stark contrast between those who have lost faith in America's ability to do great things and those of us who know we can. We must move forward with developing additional American energy supplies, the sooner the better.

Brian Davis trained as a nuclear engineer and worked in the nuclear power industry. He is a physician and a Rochester resident.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Hillary's Price and Obama's Faulty Judgment


"We need [Bill and Hillary Clinton] badly. Not just my campaign, but the American people need their service and their vision and their wisdom in the months and years to come because that's how we're going to bring about unity in the Democratic Party. And that's how we're going to bring about unity in America."
-- Barack Obama praising the Clintons during a "unity" rally in, well, Unity, New Hampshire.


"To anyone who voted for me and is now considering not voting or voting for Sen. [John] McCain, I strongly urge you to reconsider."

-- Paid endorser Hillary Clinton urging her supporters to sell out for free while she gets paid $10 million for her endorsement.

By SARA KUGLER
UNITY, N.H. (AP) - Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton sought Friday to turn the page on their bitter, history-making fight for the Democratic presidential nomination, declaring the next chapter is about beating Republican John McCain.

Choosing a small New Hampshire community aptly named Unity for their first joint appearance since the campaign ended, Obama and Clinton stood on a platform before thousands of cheering, shouting supporters and took turns praising each other and urging party solidarity. She called the nominee-in-waiting a standup guy and he declared: "She rocks. She rocks."


They came together in this hamlet where each won 107 votes in January's primary. Body language rivaled campaign rhetoric as attention-getter of the day. And a pair rendered distant by a marathon campaign acted like teammates, alternately exhorting the rank-and-file to put any recriminations behind them.


Clinton noted that they had stood "toe to toe" against each other in a primary season fight that began almost two years ago and declared the time has come to "stand shoulder to shoulder" against the GOP. They seemed equally determined to regain a White House that their party hasn't seen since her husband, President Clinton, left at the start of 2001.

If there was ever any doubt that Barack Obama's judgment is faulty at best, this should be it. America needs the Clintons as much as she needs another nuclear accident at Three Mile Island or another Civil War. Even the leadership of the national Democratic Party turned the chapter, to steal a metaphor, on the Clintons this election season by backing Barack Obama and urging Hillary to drop out of the race.

Über Liberal senators Patrick Leahy, John Kerry and Ted Kennedy as well as former Clinton administration Energy Secretary Bill Richardson are only a few of the many Democratic Party luminaries to give the freshman NY senator the boot. If they rejected her, and Bill, why should America take them?

Like it or not, those of us who had hoped we had heard the last of Hillary after she "conceded" to Barack Obama, are sorely disappointed she will be a visible part of the Obama campaign. She has to. She is being paid $10 million dollars to publicly "endorse" her former rival.

I think it's ironic that Oprah, arguably the wealthiest and one of the most powerful Black women in America, is no longer campaigning for Obama while Hillary "Hard Working Americans, White Americans" Clinton is.

But then again, Oprah doesn't need the money. Hillary does.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Gun Rights Victory




By MARK SHERMAN

WASHINGTON (AP) - Silent on central questions of gun control for two centuries, the Supreme Court found its voice Thursday in a decision affirming the right to have guns for self-defense in the home and addressing a constitutional riddle almost as old as the republic over what it means to say the people may keep and bear arms.

The court's 5-4 ruling struck down the District of Columbia's ban on handguns and imperiled similar prohibitions in other cities, Chicago and San Francisco among them. Federal gun restrictions, however, were expected to remain largely intact.

The court's historic awakening on the meaning of the Second Amendment brought a curiously mixed response, muted in some unexpected places. The reaction broke less along party lines than along the divide between cities wracked with gun violence and rural areas where gun ownership is embedded in daily life. Democrats have all but abandoned their long push for stricter gun laws at the national level after deciding it's a losing issue for them.

Republicans welcomed what they called a powerful precedent.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, straddling both sides of the issue, said merely that the court did not find an unfettered right to bear arms and that the ruling "will provide much-needed guidance to local jurisdictions across the country."


What an awesome in favor of the Constitution and one of our most cherished rights as Americans. Liberals are seething. Good.

Obama is a moral coward on this and every other issue on which he opines.



Charlton Heston must be smiling from heaven







Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Brian Davis: Congress Should Lift Moratoria on Drilling in U.S. Outer Continental Shelf


Davis: Congressman Walz misstated facts in recent Rochester Post-Bulletin article
For Immediate Release
Contact: Brad Biers
651.261.2182
June 24, 2008
(Rochester, MN) - Today, Brian Davis, the endorsed Republican candidate for the First District of Minnesota, called upon Congressman Walz and others in Congress to lift the moratoria on offshore drilling that exists around nearly all of the U.S. coastline.

Dr. Davis commented, "Congressman Walz recently stated that eighty percent of the outer continental shelf is open for oil exploration and that 'they're not doing it' in reference to oil company drilling. Clearly, the Congressman is badly mistaken because much less than eighty percent of America's coastline and territorial waters are being explored for oil deposits. It's actually closer to ten percent." Presently, the Atlantic, eastern Gulf of Mexico, Pacific and most of the Alaskan coasts of the United States have been off-limits for exploration and leasing since 1982. Only the western Gulf of Mexico is under active exploration.

Davis continued, "We need to make the right decisions now and put Americans to work to help solve the problem of soaring gas prices. The U.S. Department of the Interior estimates there is nearly 100 billion barrels of oil in the outer continental shelf and Alaska. That's enough oil to provide our country's needs for over a dozen years at current rates of consumption. Modern methods of oil exploration and drilling are safe and environmentally sensitive so there should be much less concern in this area than in the past."

"It's simply inexcusable that Congressman Walz and others in Washington claim lifting these restrictions won't help our economy and work to reduce gas prices. The majority of Americans favor removing these obstacles so that U.S. oil supply will increase. Access to greater domestic oil supplies would be in the best interest of our Nation and for families of southern Minnesota," stated Davis.

"Congress should stop blaming others for the current $4 a gallon gas prices and take a close look in the mirror. Removing the moratoria is a simple action that Congress can take in order to move us in the right direction," concluded Davis.
Brian Davis is a physician who treats cancer patients and resides in Rochester with his wife Lori and their four children.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Obama Avoids Muslim Americans

Liberals are in a huff over Focus on the Family founder Dr. James Dobson's scathing comments on Barack Obama's shameless distortion of religion in a blatantly political attempt to co-opt people of faith. The anti-Christian wing of the Democratic party is fit to be tied over Dobson's characterization of Obama as a heretic and fruitcake.

Prominent Christian leaders are not the only ones displeased with Obama, however.


Some Muslim Americans feel shunned by Obama

As Senator Barack Obama courted voters in Iowa last December, Representative Keith Ellison, the country's first Muslim congressman, stepped forward eagerly to help.

Ellison believed that Obama's message of unity resonated deeply with American Muslims. He volunteered to speak on Obama's behalf at a mosque in Cedar Rapids, one of the nation's oldest Muslim enclaves. But before the rally could take place, aides to Obama asked Ellison to cancel the trip because it might stir controversy. Another aide appeared at Ellison's Washington office to explain.

"I will never forget the quote," Ellison said, leaning forward in his chair as he recalled the aide's words. "He said, 'We have a very tightly wrapped message.' "

When Obama began his presidential campaign, Muslim Americans from California to Virginia responded with enthusiasm, seeing him as a long-awaited champion of civil liberties, religious tolerance and diplomacy in foreign affairs. But more than a year later, many say, he has not returned their embrace.

While the senator has visited churches and synagogues, he has yet to appear at a single mosque. Muslim and Arab-American organizations have tried repeatedly to arrange meetings with Obama, but officials with those groups say their invitations — unlike those of their Jewish and Christian counterparts — have been ignored. Last week, two Muslim women wearing head scarves were barred by campaign volunteers from appearing behind Obama at a rally in Detroit.

In interviews, Muslim political and civic leaders said they understood that their support for Obama could be a problem for him at a time when some Americans are deeply suspicious of Muslims. Yet those leaders nonetheless expressed disappointment and even anger at the distance that Obama has kept from them.



Welcome to Obamaworld, where character is expendable and political expediency is everything. Remember, Obama threw his own pastor, mentor and father figure under the proverbial bus when the Rev. Wright became politically radioactive. That should be a cautionary tale to anyone whether Muslim, Christian, Jewish, secular, gay, straight, Black, White or whatever.

Never forget: Obama is about Obama.


Sunday, June 22, 2008

Obama: Just Another Politician Beholden to Special Interests

Nowadays, when Mr. Obama travels in farm country, he is sometimes accompanied by his friend Tom Daschle, the former Senate majority leader from South Dakota. Mr. Daschle now serves on the boards of three ethanol companies and works at a Washington law firm where, according to his online job description, “he spends a substantial amount of time providing strategic and policy advice to clients in renewable energy.”

Obama’s Campaign Closely Linked With Ethanol
By LARRY ROHTER
Published: June 23, 2008

When VeraSun Energy inaugurated a new ethanol processing plant last summer in Charles City, Iowa, some of that industry’s most prominent boosters showed up. Leaders of the National Corn Growers Association and the Renewable Fuels Association, for instance, came to help cut the ribbon — and so did Senator Barack Obama.

Then running far behind Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in name recognition and in the polls, Mr. Obama was in the midst of a campaign swing through the state where he would eventually register his first caucus victory. And as befits a senator from Illinois, the country’s second largest corn-producing state, he delivered a ringing endorsement of ethanol as an alternative fuel.

Mr. Obama is running as a reformer who is seeking to reduce the influence of special interests. But like any other politician, he has powerful constituencies that help shape his views. And when it comes to domestic ethanol, almost all of which is made from corn, he also has advisers and prominent supporters with close ties to the industry at a time when energy policy is a point of sharp contrast between the parties and their presidential candidates.


Read the story if you can stomach it. Not surprised that Obama would be associated with a fixer like Tom Daschle.

Apparently there are special interests and special interests. Oil, bad. Ethanol, good. The difference, of course lies on who is lining Obama's (and Daschle's) pockets.

I wonder if liberals are bothered by Obama's close association with Archer Daniels Midland over the years. Probably not.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Hillary to Take a Month Off

“[Senator Clinton] took some well-deserved R&R with her family last week, and she’ll be back here before you know it. In the meantime, she continues to work for New York and America, and she’ll be fighting harder than ever for the issues she has throughout her public life.”

-- Clinton’s Senate spokesman Philippe Reines


Clinton takes month off
By J. Taylor Rushing
Posted: 06/17/08 07:44 PM [ET]

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) is taking a month off from Congress to recuperate after her marathon run for the presidency.
She is not expected to return to the Senate until July 7 or July 8 after the Independence Day recess, according to two Democratic sources.

Clinton’s Democratic colleagues in the Senate are taking a sympathetic attitude toward her extended absence, which comes after a grueling 18-month formal bid for the White House and, according to some calculations, a decade or more of planning and positioning since the days when her husband was president.

“People understand this is a transition for her,” Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pa.) said.It is a transition from the possibility of the most powerful job in the world to the reality of a junior senatorship among 99 others in a chamber dominated by overweening egos that have already indicated they will make no special provision for her to ascend quickly to a leadership role.



Hillary needs to "recuperate?" People understand it's a "transition" for her? Grief! Then she complains about "sexism" in politics. It seems to me that everybody is "being nice to the girl." Hillary doesn't seem to mind.

This paragraph makes me wonder how important Hillary's votes really are when it comes to moving the liberal agenda of her party in the Senate:

The Senate’s Democratic leaders, Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Charles Schumer of New York, downplayed the effect that Clinton’s extended absence is having on their ability to move the party’s agenda in the upper chamber.

“It [her absence] has not had any impact on anything significant yet,” Durbin said of Clinton’s absence. “She has been great. She has returned every time we needed her.”



Hillary is getting preferential treatment from "the boys" and some girls in the Senate:

“If you get down to one or two [votes], obviously it could make a difference. But we’re not close right now, and everybody believes that Sen. Clinton is entitled to a little R&R,” said [California Sen. Diane] Feinstein.



Really? "Everybody" believes Hillary is "entitled" to rest and relaxation?

Man alive! Oops.

This is a Job for Obama, "The Negotiator"

Ahmadinejad says West failed in Iran nuclear crisis
Jun 19 06:54 AM US/Eastern

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday the West has failed to break Iran's will in the nuclear standoff, days after world powers presented Tehran with a new offer aimed at ending the crisis.

"In the nuclear issue, the bullying powers have used up all their capabilities but could not break the will of the Iranian nation," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by state television.

World powers -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the UnitedStates -- on Saturday offered Tehran a new package of technological and economic incentives in exchange for suspending uranium enrichment activities. The West fears the process might be used to make an atomic bomb although Iran insists it only wants to generate nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.



What magic words would Barack Obama use to convince Iran to give up its nuclear program? Obama's approach to dealing with rogue elements is a dangerous mix of naïvete, ignorance, inexperience and stupidity.

Barack "FLIP/FLOP" Obama: Against Public Financing of Campaigns Before He Was For It




Obama Flip Flops: Opts Out of Public Financing
Thursday, June 19, 2008 9:30 AM

WASHINGTON -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Thursday he will bypass the federal public financing system in the general election, abandoning an earlier commitment to take the money if his Republican rival did as well.

Obama is blaming a "broken system" for not keeping his word. Think what you will about the federal public financing system. I don't care for it myself. The issue here is Obama's credibility. Can you trust anything the man says?
Obama is pro-Israel one day and pro-Palestine the next.
At one time, he could no more repudiate his crazy anti-American pastor than he could the black community. Not long after that, he resigned from his church.
Just yesterday there were reports that the Obama campaign actively excludes women wearing hijabs from the background crowd at campaign stops.
Today, Obama flip-flopped on public financing in the general election after pledging he would if his Republican opponent did.
Is this what Obama means when he talks about "change we can believe in?" It looks like the same old game of political expediency to me.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

The Back of Obama's Bus

Oops! They missed one.

"I was coming to support [Barack Obama], and I felt like I was discriminated against by the very person who was supposed to be bringing this change, who I could really relate to. The message that I thought was delivered to us was that they do not want him associated with Muslims or Muslim supporters."


-- Hebba Aref, a 25-year-old Detroit area lawyer who lives in the Detroit suburb of Bloomfield Hills.

Muslims barred from picture at Obama event
By: Ben Smith
June 18, 2008 11:53 AM EST

Two Muslim women at Barack Obama's rally in Detroit Monday were barred from sitting behind the podium by campaign volunteersseeking to prevent the women's headscarves from appearing in photographs or on television with the candidate. The campaign has apologized to the women, all Obama supporters who said they felt betrayed by their treatment at the rally.

"This is of course not the policy of the campaign. It is offensive and counter to Obama's commitment to bring Americans together and simply not the kind of campaign we run," said Obama spokesman Bill Burton. "We sincerely apologize for the behavior of these volunteers."

Building a human backdrop to a political candidate, a set of faces
to appear on television and in photographs, is always a delicate exercise in demographics and political correctness. Advance staffers typically pick supporters out of a crowd to reflect the candidate's message.

When Obama won North Carolina amid questions about his ability to connect with white voters, for instance, he stood in front of a group of middle-aged white women waving small American flags. Across the aisle, a Hispanic New Hampshire Democrat, Roberto Fuentes, told Politico that he was recently asked, and declined, to contribute to the "diversity" of the crowd behind Senator John McCain at a Nashua event. But for Obama, the old-fashioned image-making contrasts with his promise to transcend identity politics, and to embrace all elements of America.

The incidents in Michigan, which has one of the largest Arab and Muslim populations in the country, also raise an aspect of his campaign that sometimes rubs Muslims the wrong way: The candidate has vigorously denied a false, viral rumor that he himself is Muslim. But the denials seem to some at times to imply that there something wrong with the faith, though Obama occasionally adds that he means no disrespect to Islam.



When will people realize that Obama talks out of both sides of his lying mouth? Read the whole story at your leisure. TWO different Obama volunteers "in separate incidents" indicated in no uncertain terms that hijabs, head scarves worn by Muslim women, would not be allowed in the background of Barack Obama's pictures.

An African-American Obama volunteer explained that the photo-op discrimination was due to "the political climate and what's going on in the world and what's going on with Muslim Americans it's not good for [a Muslim woman wearing a hijab to be seen on TV or associated with Obama."

Obama threw Rev. Jeremiah Wright under the bus after a twenty-year association when their relationship became a political liability. What makes American Muslims believe they will be treated any differently?

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Walz Up to His Eyeballs in Credit Card Debt


How can someone who is so fiscally irresponsible in his personal finances expect to be trusted with managing taxpayers' money in a responsible way? Walz certainly can't. Walz must go.

Walz continues to carry credit card debt from campaign
6/18/2008 10:20:02 AM
By Edward Felker
Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN

WASHINGTON -- Freshman Democratic Rep. Tim Walz of Mankato continued to carry substantial personal credit card balances at the end of 2007, stemming from debts he accumulated while he ran full time for Congress in 2006. According to his year-end House financial disclosure report released Monday, Walz reported overall liabilities of between $225,005 and $515,000. Credit card debt accounted for $75,003 to $120,000 of the total, while a mortgage and credit line tied to his Mankato home and an attached rental unit accounted for between $150,002 and $350,000.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Another Presidential Loser Endorses Obama


"This election isn't about changing the past, it's about changing the future. It's telling that half of the 2000 Democratic ticket endorsed John McCain early in the campaign, while the other half waited until Barack Obama had been the presumptive nominee for weeks."
-- GOP spokesman Alex Conant on Al Gore's "johnny come lately" endorsement of Barack Obama's liberal presidential nomination.

DETROIT — Former Vice President Al Gore made his season debut on the presidential campaign here on Monday evening, offering a vigorous endorsement of Senator Barack Obama as he urged all Democrats to rally behind the party’s fall ticket.


Speaking at a campaign fund-raiser that preceded a rally that drew thousands of supporters to a downtown arena, Mr. Gore ticked off a long list of challenges facing the nation. He hailed Mr. Obama as “clearly the candidate best able to solve these problems and bring change to America.”


Mr. Gore had purposefully stayed on the sidelines during the long Democratic primary fight. He announced his decision to endorse Mr. Obama on Monday afternoon in a message to supporters on the former vice president’s vast e-mail list. Their appearance at the Joe Louis Arena here touched off a flurry of curiosity among Democrats gathered in the crowd, with many quietly asking if Mr. Gore would be on Mr. Obama’s list of prospective running mates.




Al Losergore finally condescended to endorse Barack Obama.

If Obama is “clearly the candidate best able to solve these problems and bring change to America,” why didn't Losergore endorse the Illinois senator the day he declared his intention to pursue the presidential nomination of his corrupt party? Such a profile in courage Losergore is.
Losergore now joins the other presidential losers, John "Frenchy" Kerry and Jimmy "Malaise" Carter, in giving his blessing to Snob-ama. If Obama doesn't believe in bad luck, having those three endorse him should give him plenty of reasons to reconsider.

Black Conservatives and Barack Obama

"I think people who try to put this sort of messianic mantle on Barack's nomination are a little bit misguided. ...[C]come November, I will do everything in my power to defeat him."

-- Former Maryland lieutenant governorMichael Steele.

Black Conservatives Conflicted on Obama Campaign
Saturday, June 14, 2008 12:00 PM

WASHINGTON -- Black conservative talk show host Armstrong Williams has never voted for a Democrat for president. That could change this year with Barack Obama as the Democratic Party's nominee. "I don't necessarily like his policies; I don't like much that he advocates, but for the first time in my life, history thrusts me to really seriously think about it," Williams said. "I can honestly say I have no idea who I'm going to pull that lever for in November. And to me, that's incredible."

Just as Obama has touched black Democratic voters, he hasengendered conflicting emotions among black Republicans. They revel over the possibility of a black president but wrestle with the thought that Obama doesn't sit beside them ideologically.

"Among black conservatives," Williams said, "they tell me privately, it would be very hard to vote against him in November."

Perhaps sensing the possibility of such a shift, Republican presidential candidate John McCain has made some efforts to lure black voters. He recently told Essence magazine that he would attend the NAACP's annual convention next month, and he noted that he recently traveled to Selma, Ala., scene of seminal voting rights protests in the 1960s, and "talked about the need to include 'forgotten Americans.'"

Still, McCain has a tall order in winning black votes, no doubt made taller by running against a black opponent. In 2004, blacks chose Democrat John Kerry over President Bush by an 88 percent to 11 percent margin, according to exit polls.

Obama is an even worse Democratic candidate for Black Americans than his party's other nominees have ever been. The only difference between Obama and John Kerry or Al Gore is race. Ideologically speaking, there is absolutely no distinction.
Liberalism is about dependence and subjugation. You have heard me say it before, every election cycle, liberals promise Blacks forty acres and a mule but all they have ever delivered is hay.
Obama would be no different.
Perhaps worse.

Go, Joe!

Lieberman: Liberals' "public enemy No. 1"

Jun 15, 11:00 AM (ET)
By ANDREW MIGA

WASHINGTON (AP) - Joe Lieberman is fast becoming the Democrats' public enemy No. 1. The four-term Connecticut senator, who came tantalizingly close to being Al Gore's vice president in 2000, not only has been campaigning for his pal, presumed Republican nominee John McCain, now he's publicly criticizing the Democrats' standard-bearer, Barack Obama. Lieberman has strayed before, most notably switching from Democrat to independent in 2006 to hold onto his Senate seat after a Democratic primary loss.

But the latest betrayal has upset Democrats, who often answer in clipped but polite tones when asked about Lieberman. The reason: The independent still caucuses with the Democrats on most issues except the Iraq war, and he holds their slim political majority in his
hands. "There's a commonly held hope that he's not going to be transformed into an attack dog for Republicans," said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., an Obama supporter.

Lieberman has wasted no time in questioning Obama's positions on Iran and Israel, two topics on which Lieberman and McCain agree. Just one day after Obama clinched his party's nomination, Lieberman joined Republicans on a McCain campaign teleconference call assailing Obama following his foreign policy address to a leading Jewish group.

Lieberman accused Obama of blaming U.S. policies for "essentially sort of strengthening" Iran. "If Israel is in danger today, it's not because of American foreign policy, which has been strongly supportive of Israel in every way," he said. "It is not because of what we have done in Iraq. It is because Iran is a fanatical terrorist, expansionist state."

Why isn't anyone in the media celebrating Lieberman's independent streak?
John McCain used to get unvarnished praise from the MSM when he criticized President George W. Bush's policies and voted against his own party. Lieberman, on the other hand, is painted as disloyal for supporting Obama's opponent and criticizing the presumptive Democratic nominee's naïve and irresponsible stance toward Iran.
Go figure.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

"President" Obama = Less Freedom, Less Money in Your Pocket, More, More Government in Your Life


Obama says he would cut taxes for middle class
Jun 14 11:51 AM US/Eastern
By CHARLES BABINGTON
Associated Press Writer

WAYNE, Pa. (AP) - Democrat Barack Obama told voters Saturday he would push an aggressive economic agenda as president: cutting taxes for the middle class, raising taxes on the wealthy, pouring money into "green energy" and requiring employers to set up retirement saving plans for their workers.

Campaigning in Pennsylvania, a key battleground in the fall campaign, Obama said he would take a much more hands-on approach than would Republican John McCain. He again criticized McCain's proposal for a temporary halt in the federal gasoline tax. It would "actually do real harm," Obama said, by reducing revenue for road and bridge construction even as oil companies make record profits.

Speaking to about 200 people in Wayne, a Philadelphia suburb, Obama made no new proposals but emphasized earlier ones in light of rising gas prices, inflation and job losses. They include a $1,000 tax cut for most working families; a new Social Security tax on incomes above $250,000; a "windfall profits" tax on oil companies; a $4,000 annual college tuition credit for those who commit to national or community service programs; and an end to income taxes for elderly people making less than $50,000 a year.

Obama said he could pay for his programs by eliminating the Bush administration's tax cuts for the wealthy, winding down the Iraq war and spending more on alternative energy programs that eventually will save money.

So, is this the "change we can believe in?" More of the same tax-and-spend policies every liberal Democrat candidate for president has proposed since anyone can remember? Middle class tax cuts that never materialize, punishing achievement by hosing those who create jobs, pushing government mandates on businesses and wasting billions on alternative energy programs that will "eventually" save money?

Barack Obama is a fraud.

Timothy J. Russert, Jr.: 1950-2008

Friday, June 13, 2008

All of the Above

"Today the court strikes down as inadequate the most generous set of procedural protections ever afforded aliens detained by this country as enemy combatants. The political branches crafted these procedures amidst an ongoing military conflict, after much careful investigation and thorough debate. The court rejects them today out of hand, without bothering to say what due process rights the detainees possess, without explaining how the statute fails to vindicate those rights, and before a single petitioner has even attempted to avail himself of the law's operation. And to what effect? The majority merely replaces a review system designed by the people's representatives with a set of shapeless procedures to be defined by federal courts at some future date. "The critical threshold question in these cases, prior to any inquiry about the writ's scope, is whether the system the political branches designed protects whatever rights the detainees may possess. If so, there is no need for any additional process, whether called 'habeas' or something else."

-- Chief Justice John Roberts, in dissent of the Supreme Court decision granting constitutional rights to enemy combatants.



"The game of bait-and-switch that today's opinion plays upon the nation's commander in chief will make the war harder on us. It will almost certainly cause more Americans to be killed. That consequence would be tolerable if necessary to preserve a time-honored legal principle vital to our constitutional republic. But it is this court's blatant abandonment of such a principle that produces the decision today.
Today the court warps our Constitution in a way that goes beyond the narrow issue of the reach of the Suspension Clause. ... It blatantly misdescribes important precedents ... It breaks a chain of precedent as old as the common law that prohibits judicial inquiry into detentions of aliens abroad ... And, most tragically, it sets our military commanders the impossible task of proving to a civilian court, under whatever standards this court devises in the future, that evidence supports the confinement of each and every enemy prisoner. The nation will live to regret what the court has done today."

-- Justice Antonin Scalia, also dissenting.



"To suggest that foreign terrorists, who have never set foot in this country and respect no civilized laws should enjoy the same rights under our Constitution as U.S. citizens must make America's founding fathers turn over in their graves."

-- American Legion National Commander Martin "Marty" Conatser on the Supreme Court's decision.



American Legion to Supreme Court: Terrorists Ruling Endangers U.S. Military

INDIANAPOLIS, June 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The nation's leading veterans organization reacted to today's Supreme Court ruling that foreign terrorists have U.S. constitutional rights. The ruling came as the result of a challenge by detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, who want hearings in U.S. civilian courts.

"To suggest that foreign terrorists, who have never set foot in this country and respect no civilized laws should enjoy the same rights under our Constitution as U.S. citizens," American Legion National Commander Marty Conatser said of today's 5-4 ruling, "must make America's founding fathers turn over in their graves."

Conatser pointed out that The American Legion has sent delegations to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. "Two American Legion past national commanders have visited Camp Delta. They found that the detainees were humanely treated, well-fed and provided with medical care that surpasses what many veterans receive. We currently have a distinguished Legionnaire viewing hearings down at Guantanamo. As the deputy commanding general of Guantanamo told our Washington Legislative Conference, if the situation were reversed these terrorists would define mercy as a knife blade on the back of the neck instead of the front."

Chief Justice John Roberts dissented from the ruling. He wrote that the United States enacted "the most generous set of procedural protections ever afforded aliens detained by this country as enemy combatants." Justice Antonin Scalia joined the dissent, writing that the majority's decision "will make the war harder on us. It will almost certainly cause more Americans to be killed."

"The Supreme Court has made its ruling," Conatser said. "It seems that terrorists taken on foreign battlefields will now be entitled to lawyers at taxpayers' expense and all the other rights that American citizens enjoy. It would have been wonderful if the terrorists had treated Matt Maupin, the U.S. soldier captured and brutally murdered in Iraq, with the same respect. In fact, one of the men on trial, Kahlid Sheikh Mohammed is not only the alleged mastermind of 9/11 but is widely believed to have personally beheaded journalist Daniel Pearl."

Conatser said that The American Legion will look at various ways to protect America within the confines of the latest Supreme Court decision.

With a current membership of 2.7-million wartime veterans, The American Legion, www.legion.org, was founded in 1919 on the four pillars of a strong national security, veterans affairs, Americanism, and patriotic youth programs. Legionnaires work for the betterment of their communities through more than 14,000 posts across the nation.

When the Supreme Court reaches decisions they don't like on a 5-4 vote, the "progressive" media are quick to label them "split" and "bitter." Whereas decisions that are detrimental to the very fabric of America, such as the one the liberal wing of the SCOTUS reached yesterday are hailed as a "victory" against the Bush administration.

Paranoia? Schizophrenia? Treason? All of the Above?

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Dick "Turban" Durbin Strikes Again


"If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags or some mad regime — Pol Pot or others — that had no concern for human beings."


-- Illinois senator Dick Durbin from the United States Senate floor on June 14, 2005, while misrepresenting the treatment of terrorist prisoners of war. He later "apologized" to "anyone" who may have been offended by his treasonous statements about the military.




"The hottest ring in Hell is reserved for those in politics who attack their opponents' families."
-- The same Durbin on the "attacks," real and imaginary on Michelle Obama.

The "hottest ring in Hell" should be reserved for Adolf Hitler, Pol Pot, Osama bin Laden, "Papa Doc" Duvalier, Robert Mugabe as well as American politicians who compare American soldiers to Nazis and communist mass murderers.
Michelle Obama, Cindy McCain, Laura Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and any other politician's relative or spouse is not exempt from criticism if they decide to venture into the realm of political speech.
When Mrs. Obama said she had never been proud of America until her husband started running for President of the United States, she opened the door to criticism. Mrs. Obama and her husband are on the national stage now. This is not some Chicago neighborhood where her husband is a "community organizer" and she and her family are members of a church that preaches anti-Semitism, anti-capitalism, anti-Americanism and Black supremacy.
This is, as they say, the Big League. The Obamas and their minions don't get to dictate the rules of the game. Being under the microscope means just that. Either stop whining about scrutiny or stop saying offensive things about America. They can't have it both ways.

Davis: Walz votes against the interests of southern Minnesota



Brian Davis Condemns Walz's Vote Against U.S. Oil Development

For Immediate Release
Contact: Brad Biers651.261.2182

June 12, 2008

(Rochester, MN) - Today,
Brian Davis, the endorsed Republican candidate for the First District of Minnesota, condemned Congressman Tim Walz's vote against energy development in the United States. H.R. 3089, the "No More Excuses Energy Act of 2007", failed to pass on a vote of 226 to 183.

The bill provides for lifting the congressional moratoria on drilling in the outer continental shelf which would potentially provide 17 billion barrels of oil. The bill also calls for encouraging new refinery construction, wind and nuclear power.
Dr. Davis stated, "It is irresponsible for Tim Walz to obstruct energy development in this country. Minnesota families continue to suffer while trying to pay for gasoline that is $4 per gallon.
A recent poll showed that nearly 60% of Americans support such energy development."

Davis continued, "The agricultural economy is highly reliant on transportation and is feeling the shock of a doubling in gas prices since Tim Walz has been in office. Many people who need to commute to population centers for employment are having more difficulty making ends meet."

Davis concluded, "Every time someone fills up their tank they should consider who is representing them in Washington. Tim Walz isn't getting anything done to protect our pocketbooks from the high price of gas."

"There are
solutions to our energy needs," reiterated Davis. "We must develop more domestic oil supplies and increase our refinery capacity because southern Minnesota residents demand action now."

Brian Davis is a physician who treats cancer patients and resides in Rochester with his wife Lori and their four children.

# # #

You can support Brian Davis for Congress
HERE !

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Jim Webb's "Macaca?"

“The venerable Robert E. Lee has taken some vicious hits, as dishonest or misinformed advocates among political interest groups and in academia attempt to twist yesterday’s America into a fantasy that might better service the political issues of today. The greatest disservice on this count has been the attempt by these revisionist politicians and academics to defame the entire Confederate Army in a move that can only be termed the Nazification of the Confederacy.”

- Virginia Democratic Senator Jim Webb. as quoted in his 2004 tome, “Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America.”


The real "dream ticket?"



Webb's rebel roots: An affinity for Confederacy
By: David Mark
June 11, 2008 07:29 AM EST

Barack Obama’s vice presidential vetting team will undoubtedly run across some quirky and potentially troublesome issues as it goes about the business of scouring the backgrounds of possible running mates. But it’s unlikely they’ll find one so curious as Virginia Democratic Sen. Jim Webb’s affinity for the cause of the Confederacy.

Webb is no mere student of the Civil War era. He’s an author, too, and he’s left a trail of writings and statements about one of the rawest and most sensitive topics in American history.

He has suggested many times that while the Confederacy is a symbol to many of the racist legacy of slavery and segregation, for others it simply reflects Southern pride. In a June 1990 speech in front of the Confederate Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery, posted on his personal website, he lauded the rebels’ “gallantry,” which he said “is still misunderstood by most Americans.”

Webb, a descendant of Confederate officers, also voiced sympathy for the notion of state sovereignty as it was understood in the early 1860s, and seemed to suggest that states were justified in trying to secede.

I suppose this is as good a time as any to say, "If John McCain had someone who praised the Confederacy on his VP short list blah blah blah.

Webb is widely considered to be on Obama's short list of VP candidates. The media are alrealy downplaying the Virginia Democrat's sympathies to the Confederacy, however.

Leave it to liberals to excuse in themselves what they condemn in others. Liberal hypocrisy is widely documented. No need to restate the obvious.

Change! Riiiiiiiiiiight.


Johnson Quits Obama's Vice Presidential Search Team (Update3)
By Julianna Goldman

June 11 (Bloomberg) -- Former Fannie Mae Chairman James Johnson said he has quit Senator Barack Obama's vice presidential search committee after the Wall Street Journal reported he may have received preferential mortgage terms from Countrywide Financial Corp.

Johnson said that while he has done nothing wrong, he left to avoid being a hindrance to Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee.

``I would not dream of being a party to distracting attention from that historic effort,'' he said in a statement. ``I believe Barack Obama's candidacy for president of the United States is the most exciting and important of my lifetime.''

Johnson's ties to Countrywide became a campaign issue after Republicans pointed out that Obama had been critical of the mortgage lender in campaign speeches. Johnson's role as a political insider also contrasted with Obama's pledge to bring change to Washington.

For all the change talk, the truth is Obama is just another liberal hypocrite surrounded by the corruption he condemns while propping him up.

Monday, June 09, 2008

Obamessiah


"... our individual salvation depends on collective salvation."

-- Barack Obama preaching his liberation theology gospel during the commencement speech at Knox College on June 4

Why is Al Franken Smiling?

Because Senator Ann Lynch has endorsed him. That's why.


Saturday, June 07, 2008

Hillary's Self-serving "Suspension" Speech


Ending Her Bid, Clinton Backs Obama
By ADAM NAGOURNEY and MARK LEIBOVICH

WASHINGTON — Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton brought her campaign for the White House to an end on Saturday with a rousing farewell to thousands of supporters here and an emotional and unequivocal call for her voters to get behind Senator Barack Obama, the man who defeated her for the Democratic nomination.

For 28 minutes, standing alone on a stage in the historic National Building Museum, Mrs. Clinton spoke not only about the importance of electing Mr. Obama, but also about the extent to which her campaign was a milestone for women. She urged women who had supported her — who had turned out at her headquarters, flocked to her rallies and poured into the polls to vote for her — not to take the wrong lesson from her loss.

“You can be so proud that, from now on, it will be unremarkable for a woman to win primary state victories, unremarkable to have a woman in a close race to be our nominee, unremarkable to think that a woman can be the president of the United States,” she said. “To those who are disappointed that we couldn’t go all of the way, especially the young people who put so much into this campaign, it would break my heart if, in falling short of my goal, I in any way discouraged any of you from pursuing yours.”


Remember when Hillary announced she was seeking the liberal Democratic Party nomination by saying, "I'm in it to win it?" Well, she lost. Badly.

Hillary's arrogance, self-importance and sense of entitlement remained intact during today's suspension speech. It was certainly not a "concession" speech. She didn't mention Barack Obama's name until seven minutes into it.

I heard most of her speech late this morning. It had been scheduled to start at 11:00 a.m. our time. Public Radio started broadcasting a few minutes before Hillary was to take the podium at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC, when the announcer said she had not even left her palacial digs in the nation's capital. About twenty minutes past the hour, the announcer said her "motorcade" had not left Hillary's house. (Motorcade? Whatever happened to global warming? Has Hillary purchased carbon credits from Al Gore?). It was political theater at its worst. Remember when Bill Clinton took his sweet time to leave the White House in 2001? The rabble can wait.

Hillary had no choice but to endorse Barack Obama's nomination bid unequivocally and enthusiastically. There were several boos when she did, however. A sure sign that not all her supporters will heed her call for unity.

Hillary is a political animal. No, she is feral. Her every instinct has been focused on becoming President of the United States. Not the first female President of the United States, mind you. For all the talk about glass ceilings, breaking barriers, unprecedented campaigns and cultural milestones, Hillary played the gender card when it suited her - remember her crocodile tears in New Hampshire? - much the same way Barack Obama either transcends race or embraces it depending on which approach benefits him the most at the moment.

When character is absent, convenience trumps consistency.

Minnesota DFL Endorses Tax Cheat and Mysogynist Al Franken for U.S. Senate


Franken: satirist, mysogynist, tax cheat and DFL-endorsed candidate for U.S. Senate


Franken Wins DFL Nomination for U.S. Senate
6/7/2008 2:25:37 PM

Al Franken, the former "Saturday Night Live" writer, has won the Democratic endorsement for U.S. Senate in Minnesota.

Franken won on the first ballot, despite carrying the political equivalent of a "kick me" sign pasted on his back by years as a professional humorist and satirist.

Franken was long considered the front-runner for the endorsement, dominating the Democratic field with a potent combination of impressive fundraising and strong grassroots organizing, said Lawrence Jacobs, director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the Hubert Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. But negative publicity about Franken's unpaid taxes in 17 states -- he's since decided to pay $70,000 in back taxes -- and a sexually graphic column Franken penned for Playboy in 2000 had clouded his campaign.

Franken's moral and ethical values as demonstrated by his crude, misogynistic brand of satire and blatant disregard for tax laws, respectively, make him the perfect DFL candidate for U.S. Senate or any other elective office.

Rep. Tim Walz and Senator Amy Klobuchar expressed reservations and alarm about Franken's candidacy only recently and may have worked behind the scenes to prevent his endorsement more as an attempt to avert personal embarrassment than for moral and ethical convictions. Now that Franken is the nominee, I'll be watching them even more closely. Will Walz and Klobuchar distance themselves from Franken and his repulsive moral and ethical conduct or will they stand by him against the "evil" Norm Coleman?

What about Rep. Tina Liebling, Rep. Kim Norton and Senator Ann Lynch? How much longer will they keep silent regarding Franken's demeaning views of women and rape because the former Saturday Night Live comedian raised money for them? How much is their silence about the victimization of women as material for jokes and satire worth?