Better than Walz

The Republican candidates for U.S. Congress met at the Rochester Public Library last night to show their wares. It was a good debate. Anyone of our guys is Tim Walz's better on every issue. For one thing, they give straight answers. Unlike Walz, who always speaks out of both sides of his mouth. That's the liberal congressman's idea of "bipartisanship."

Dr. Brian Davis, Rep. Randy Demmer and Sen. Dick Day

It was a very well attended affair.

Young Republican Guns: Simon (Century HS), Matt (Lourdes HS) and Ian (Mayo HS).

Racial tensions roil Democratic race

From the Politico

A series of comments from Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, her husband and her supporters are spurring a racial backlash and adding a divisive edge to the presidential primary as the candidates head south to heavily African-American South Carolina.

The comments, which ranged from the New York senator appearing to diminish the role of Martin Luther King Jr. in the civil rights movement — an aide later said she misspoke — to Bill Clinton dismissing Sen. Barack Obama’s image in the media as a “fairy tale” — generated outrage on black radio, black blogs and cable television. And now they've drawn the attention of prominent African-American politicians.

“A cross-section of voters are alarmed at the tenor of some of these statements,” said Obama spokeswoman Candice Tolliver, who said that Clinton would have to decide whether she owed anyone an apology.

“There’s a groundswell of reaction to these comments — and not just these latest comments but really a pattern, or a series of comments that we’ve heard for several months,” she said. “Folks are beginning to wonder: Is this really an isolated situation, or is there something bigger behind all of this?”

I've said it before. Here it is again in case you've missed it.

When he was assistant secretary of labor in the Johnson administration, the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) published a report titled: "The Negro Family: The Case for National Action" (available at http://www.dol.gov/oasam/programs/history/webid-meynihan.htm.). The report is a retroactive indictment of social programs that did nothing but further destabilize Black families by discouraging self-reliance and industry and rewarding helplessness and dependence.

Moynihan coined the now famous and reviled phrase "soft bigotry of low expectations." Big government ideologues would do well to revisit the 1965 publication. Would you believe that more Blacks were out of work in 1964 than in 1954? Liberal condescension is the most insidious form of racism. America will never make more and speedier progress not only in race relations but also health care, energy independence, immigration, economic development and a host of other vital issues until regressive liberals give up on applying failed, restrictive and freedom-averse socialist answers to them.

The current regressive liberal agenda of failed social engineering and rabid quest for power is going ahead full steam. Regressive liberals have been trying to do to immigrant populations, both legal and illegal, what they have done to American Blacks. The liberal push for "sanctuary cities" and disingenuous drive for "comprehensive immigration reform" with a "path to citizenship," sadly with some Republican support, is nothing more than a concerted effort to make those populations as dependent on liberals as Blacks once were.

Liberals have realized that, if they are to achieve their goal of a "permanent majority," they can't rely on the Black vote the way they used to. Besides, Blacks are tired of liberals' lavish promises and meager to nonexistent returns once Democrats are elected. Four decades of promising "forty acres and a mule" but only delivering hay election cycle after election cycle will do that. Now liberals have set their sights on vulnerable immigrant populations. The result will be similar: the destruction of self-respect, self-reliance, initiative and industry among people who need them most.

Liberal political power is built on the ruins of everything the American Dream is made of.

¿Hablas Illegal?

Hillary Clinton's shamelessness and rabid quest for power have met in Vegas. (Insert intellectually lazy "misogynist" label here) And unlike whatever else happens in the Sin City, her hunger for power at any cost was in full display as the former First Lady turned on the charm to entice the illegal alien vote.

The neighborhood campaign stop was vintage Hillary at her condescending, pandering "best."

At a staged home visit she feigned concern at campaign plant Gilberto Santana's mortgage and disability payments and gave rehearsed answers to previously agreed upon questions while stroking one his daughter's hair. "I feel so strongly that if we don't take care of our children, we don't take care of our future," Hillary said as if her alleged concern for children goes beyond anything but a cheap photo op.

There was the predictable scare statement, ""I think we're slipping toward a recession."Apparently, "a couple of people" Hillary met on the street," randomly I'm sure, and who supposedly work in construction told her " it's slowed down." I don't know about you, but it concerns me that a presidential candidate would learn about economic cycles from a couple of people she's just met on the street.

The crowd cheered when at a staged stop at a Mexican restaurant, Hillary said that "no woman is illegal." That's the same Hillary who was against driver licenses for illegal immigrants. Before she was for them, that is. Or was it the other way around? I know I'm not supposed to remember what Hillary says anyway.

"We treat these problems [bad mortgages, foreclosures and vacant neighborhoods] as if one is guacamole and one is chips, when ... they both go together," Hillary said. Weird and ... tasteless analogy.

Count Every Vote!

Kucinich Seeks NH Dem Vote Recount

Jan 10, 10:40 PM (ET)

By STEPHEN FROTHINGHAM

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Democrat Dennis Kucinich, who won less than 2 percent of the vote in the New Hampshire primary, said Thursday he wants a recount to ensure that all ballots in his party's contest were counted. The Ohio congressman cited "serious and credible reports, allegations and rumors" about the integrity of Tuesday results.

Deputy Secretary of State David Scanlan said Kucinich is entitled to a statewide recount. But, under New Hampshire law, Kucinich will have to pay for it. Scanlan said he had "every confidence" the results are accurate.

In a letter dated Thursday, Kucinich said he does not expect significant changes in his vote total, but wants assurance that "100 percent of the voters had 100 percent of their votes counted."

Kucinich alluded to online reports alleging disparities around the state between hand-counted ballots, which tended to favor Sen. Barack Obama, and machine-counted ones that tended to favor Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. He also noted the difference between pre-election polls, which indicated Obama would win, and Clinton's triumph by a 39 percent to 37 percent margin.

Candidates who lose by 3 percentage or less are entitled to a recount for a $2,000 fee. Candidates who lose by more must pay for the full cost. Kucinich's campaign said it was sending the $2,000 fee to start the recount.

More Misogynism from Liberal Feminists

Camille Paglia unloads on Hillary. Misogynism? You be the judge. Here are a few morsels:

Hillary's disdain for masculinity fits right into the classic feminazi package, which is why Hillary acts on Gloria Steinem like catnip. Steinem's fawning, gaseous New York Times op-ed about her pal Hillary this week speaks volumes about the snobby clubbiness and reactionary sentimentality of the fossilized feminist establishment, which has blessedly fallen off the cultural map in the 21st century. History will judge Steinem and company very severely for their ethically obtuse indifference to the stream of working-class women and female subordinates whom Bill Clinton sexually harassed and abused, enabled by look-the-other-way and trash-the-victims Hillary.

Contemptuous condescension seems to be Hillary's default mode with any male who criticizes her or stands in her way. It's a Nixonian reflex steeped in toxic gender bias. How will that play in the Muslim world?

The obsessive need to keep campaigning may mean a president Hillary would go right on spewing the bitterly partisan rhetoric that has already paralyzed Washington. Even if Hillary could be elected (which I'm skeptical about), how in tarnation could she ever govern?

[Hillary] is a brittle, relentless manipulator with few stable core values who shuffles through useful personalities like a card shark ("Cue the tears!"). Forget all her little gold crosses: Hillary's real god is
political expediency. Do Americans truly want this hard-bitten Machiavellian back in the White House? Day one will just be more of the same.

Disappointingly, Paglia would vote for Hillary if she became the nominee. Paglia's rationale is that she wants Democrats appointed to the Cabinet and the Supreme Court. Sigh.

"Double Diss" or "The Kiss of Death"

Massachusetts Senator John Kerry dissed his former running mate and the junior senator from New York who endorsed his 2004 presidential bid (does that make Kerry a misogynist?) in favor of upstart Barack Obama. As he endorsed Obama, Kerry remarked,

“Sometimes the hardest thing for the established political world to do is make a clean break with the past, to readily embrace new thinking and a new beginning. The old guard sometimes has a hard time acknowledging an individual who breaks the mold.”

"Old guard." Hmmm, I wonder to whom Kerry may be referring. Never mind. It will come to me, I'm sure.

To be fair, Kerry may not have endorsed Obama completely out of spite for Edwards and Hillary. It was the junior senator from Massachusetts who propelled Obama to the national stage when he invited the junior senator from Illinois to give the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic convention.

My cynical self is telling me that this endorsement is more a cry for relevance than a sincere gesture. I mean, who's even cared what John Kerry thinks since he lost the last presidential election? Since then, the only headline he was able to grab had to to with a "botched" joke, the brunt of which was our men and women in uniform in Iraq. The joke was on Kerry when our soldiers "retaliated." Here's that memorable photo:

Kerry, the irrelevant, wants to be where it's at. What hip factor would there be if he endorsed his former running mate or "Old Guard" Hillary?

Obituary

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who had been with us for many years.

No one knows for sure how old Common sense was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:

Knowing when to come in out of the rain;

Why the early bird gets the worm;

Life isn't always fair; and

Maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place:

Reports of a 6 -year-old boy charged wit h sexual harassment for kissing a classmate;

Teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and

a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or a band-aid to a student but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband, churches became businesses, and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust;

his wife, Discretion;

his daughter, Responsibility;

and his son, Reason.

He is survived by his 3 stepbrothers:

I Know My Rights,

Someone Else Is To Blame, and

I'm A Victim.

Showdown at the OK Corral

"We can't be a new story, I'm sorry. I can't make [Hillary] younger, taller, male.''

-- First Husband candidate Bill Clinton at a bar in New Hampshire last Sunday.

Apparently Bill Clinton can't make his wife honest, likable or trustworthy either.

Bill is right about one thing, however. The Clintons can't be a new story. They are yesterday's news. Their life is a bad soap opera trying for reruns. They are the past. And a particularly slimy one at that.

Hillary may very well get the nomination. She is the establishment Democrat after all. Her gender should be irrelevant but she plays the gender card whenever she is in trouble. Hillary uses it alternately to fend off legitimate criticism and engender undeserved sympathy. Parenthetically, when she was elected Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi said it takes a woman to clean up the House (get it?). Think about it.

The intellectually lazy are quick to slap the "misogynist" label on anyone who opposes Hillary's regressive liberal views or questions her dubious qualifications to be President of the United States.

Have you read Maureen Dowd's Wednesday column in the NY Times? If you haven't, you should. Maureen is a woman, by the way.

Among many of Dowd's characteristically scathing statements, you'll find the following:

At the Portsmouth cafe on Monday, talking to a group of mostly women, [Hillary] blinked back her misty dread of where Obama’s “false hopes” will lead us — “I just don’t want to see us fall backwards,” she said tremulously — in time to smack her rival: “But some of us are right and some of us are wrong. Some of us are ready and some of us are not.”

There was a poignancy about the moment, seeing Hillary crack with exhaustion from decades of yearning to be the principal rather than the plus-one. But there was a whiff of Nixonian self-pity about her choking up. What was moving her so deeply was her recognition that the country was failing to grasp how much it needs her. In a weirdly narcissistic way, she was crying for us. But it was grimly typical of her that what finally made her break down was the prospect of losing.

As Spencer Tracy said to Katharine Hepburn in “Adam’s Rib,” “Here we go again, the old juice. Guaranteed heart melter. A few female tears, stronger than any acid.”

Gloria Steinem wrote in The Times yesterday that one of the reasons she is supporting Hillary is that she had “no masculinity to prove.” But Hillary did feel she needed to prove her masculinity. That was why she voted to enable W. to invade Iraq without even reading the National Intelligence Estimate and backed the White House’s bellicosity on Iran.

Yet, in the end, she had to fend off calamity by playing the female victim, both of Obama and of the press. Hillary has barely talked to the press throughout her race even though the Clintons this week whined mightily that the press prefers Obama.

Her argument against Obama now boils down to an argument against idealism, which is probably the lowest and most unlikely point to which any Clinton could sink. The people from Hope are arguing against hope.

Liberal logic (or what passes for it) dictates that Maureen Dowd must be a misogynist as well.

Still, another pro-choice feminist writes,

Now, I've never been a centrist Democrat and everything I have seen of Clintonism and the Democratic Leadership Council confirms that women are far down their priority lists. But there must be some small space in the political world in which women are important. It is also not to say that Clinton doesn't care about women -- of course she does, and she has supported and will support many policies that improve women's health, employment and education. Perhaps one hears so little of that commitment on the campaign trail because it is assumed that the woman candidate does not have to talk about those issues. But whatever the reason, there is no evidence that Clinton's feminist history currently influences her thinking about women, or that it is any further advanced than Obama's and Edwards' thinking.

The sad fact is that Clinton has felt compelled to run as a stereotypical male. In her own mind it is only a certain kind of man who is qualified to be president and she will be that man: tough on everything from war, flag burning, kids' access to video games, illegal immigrants and Palestinians. She has missed the opportunity to talk about what it really means for women to be equal in this country. She has shown no interest in using her extensive international experience to push for more women in party leadership, state legislatures and even the Senate. A woman candidate who considered her gender a strength (as opposed to something she needed to overcome) would announce a series of measures specifically designed to ensure that women's needs and rights were at the forefront of her agenda.

The women's movement, along with other progressive movements, did little to challenge the Clinton administration to live up to its campaign promises. And now it seems that the longtime women's movement is falling into the same trap over Hillary Clinton's candidacy. Just read the feckless and stale defense of Clinton's record on the war posted on the National Organization for Women's Web site to get a sense of how willing some in the feminist establishment are to defend any woman, regardless of her track record.

Tsk, tsk. Such misogynists, these pro-choice feminists.

I actually want Hillary to be the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. I know I should be careful what I wish for but, if she does get the nod, the contest wil be less like an election and more like the 21st century version of the showdown at the OK Corral.

It's time to bury the Clinton "legacy" once and for all.

Bill Who?

AP: Richardson to End Presidential Bid
By NEDRA PICKLER

MERRIMACK, N.H. (AP) - New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson ended his campaign for the presidency Wednesday after twin fourth-place finishes that showed his impressive credentials could not compete with his rivals' star power.

Richardson planned to announce the decision Thursday, according to two people close to the governor with knowledge of the decision. They spoke on a condition of anonymity in advance of the governor's announcement. Richardson's campaign would not comment on the governor's decision, reached after a meeting with his top advisers Wednesday in New Mexico.

Apparently Richardson is about to join such liberal luminaries as Chris Dodd, Joe Biden and Michael Dukakis in the dung heap of American political history.

Hillary Upset Victory in New Hampshire

Hmmmm ... Doesn't New Hampshire have same-day voter registration? BTW, isn't it wonderful that "elections are not about who's up or who's down?"

Pickpockets

"I probably haven't heard 'change' as much in the last couple of weeks since I worked in a bank and people wanted change, change, change. That's what Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John Edwards want to do for you. When you see their slogan ‘change’ ... they want to take the change out of my pocket."

-- Rudy Giuliani during a Town Hall this evening in Derry, New Hampshire.

Hillary's "Boo Hoo" Moment

"It's not easy. It's not easy. And I couldn't do it if I just didn't, you know, passionately believe it was the right thing to do. You know, I've had so many opportunities from this country, I just don't want to see us fall backwards. (Get emotional and sniffle HERE)

So ... you know, this is very personal for me. It's not just political. It's not just public. I see what's happening, and we have to reverse it. And some people think elections are a game. They think it's like who's up or who's down. It's about our country. It's about our kids' futures. It's really about all of us together. You know some of us put ourselves out there and do this against some pretty difficult odds. And we do it, each one of us, because we care about our country. But some of us are right and some of us are wrong. Some of us are ready and some of us are not. (Quiver lips HERE)

And so when we look at the array of problems we have and the potential for it getting - really spinning out of control, this is one of the most important elections America's ever faced. So as tired as I am - and I am - and as difficult as it is to try to kind of keep up with what I try to do on the road like occasionally exercise and try to eat right - it's tough when the easiest food is pizza - I just believe so strongly in who we are as a nation so I'm going to do everything I can to make my case and, you know, then the voters get to decide." (Shed fake tears HERE)

-- Hillary's teary-eyed response when asked, "My question is very personal, how do you do it?" and "How do you, how do you keep upbeat and so wonderful?" by Marianne Pernold Young, a freelance photographer and likely Hillary campaign plant, from Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

It must be awful to have to sacrifice for America to the point of having to eat pizza for meals and still be rejected by Democrats at the Iowa caucus. Hillary's crocodile tears are not playing well out there. She's come across as weak. Hillary claims she is "ready to lead," but at the first sign of adversity she breaks down and cries?

As calculating as she has always been, it's hard to believe her tears are genuine, however. This is more than likely a "Hail Mary," a desperate ploy to look human and sensitive. Hey, why not try it? Hilalry's schizophrenic "experience/change" campaign strategy flopped miserably in Iowa. Five days is not enough time to switch campaign themes. During the Democratic debate on Saturday, she resorted to yelling that she is for "change," worked for "change," experienced when it comes to bringing about "change," screech, screech, screech. Two days later, she is boohooing about how personal her quest for the White House is and how she "sees what's happening, and we have to reverse it," whatever "it" is.

Real or not, Hillary has plenty of reasons to shed tears. Every possible poll of Democrats is moving Obama's way. Decisively. New Hampshire: Obama 38%, Hillary 28%, South Carolina: Obama 42%, Hillary 30% according to Rasmussen.

Cash crunch and campaign exit rumors are swirling.

Truth be told, there's blood in the water. And it's Hillary's.

While No One Was Watching

Romney wins Wyoming caucuses

CASPER, Wyo. - Mitt Romney captured his first win of the Republican presidential race on Saturday, prevailing in Wyoming caucuses for a much-needed boost to his candidacy three days before the New Hampshire primary.

"This is just the beginning," he declared.The former Massachusetts governor won eight delegates, former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson got two and California Rep. Duncan Hunter won one, meaning no other candidate could beat Romney. Caucuses were still being held to decide all 12 delegates at stake.

Hucka-BAM!

Those who have downplayed the importance of the evangelical vote during this election cycle have done so at their peril. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has successfully transitioned from "second tier" candidate to frontrunner with a decisive boost from Christian conservatives.

Mitt Romney finished a distant second in Iowa tonight. He will have to revamp his campaign strategy in very short order in order to stall Huckabee's momentum. The New Hampshire primary is on Tuesday.

The excitement on the GOP side is the fight for third place in Iowa. Senator John McCain and politican-turned actor-turned politician again Fred Thompson appear to have finished technically tied behind Romney- perhaps with a slight lead for Thompson.

Humiliation!

Not that the Iowa caucuses mean anything in the long run, but what a humiliating third place finish for Hillary, who was once believed to possess an aura of inevitability up until a mere three weeks ago. Her Iowa results are a just reward for her unmitigated arrogance, pathological self-absorption and terminal megalomania.

Hillary's campaign strategy is sure to change dramatically. According to the NY Times last night,

Voters here were far more interested in a candidate promising change — as Mr. Obama was — than one citing experience, the heart of Mrs. Clinton’s appeal. Half of Democrats said their top factor in choosing a candidate was someone who could bring about change. Just 20 percent said the right experience, Mrs. Clinton’s key argument, was the main factor.

For all the talk about electability, barely one in 10 respondents said it was the main factor in their decision.

There was a sharp generational break in support of the two candidates. Mr. Obama was backed by 60 percent of voters under 25 while Mrs. Clinton was supported by about 45 percent of voters over 65.

The aging and rhetorically irrelevant Hillary has an uphill climb ahead of her.

The Most Insidious Form of Racism

When he was assistant secretary of labor in the Johnson administration, the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) published a report titled: "The Negro Family: The Case for National Action" (available at http://www.dol.gov/oasam/programs/history/webid-meynihan.htm.). The report is a retroactive indictment of social programs that did nothing but further destabilize Black families by discouraging self-reliance and industry and rewarding helplessness and dependence.

Moynihan, whose senate seat is now occupied by former First Lady Hillary Clinton, coined the now famous and reviled phrase "soft bigotry of low expectations." Mr. Boyne and his fellow big government ideologues would do well to revisit the 1965 publication. Would you believe that more Blacks were out of work in 1964 than in 1954? Liberal condescension is the most insidious form of racism. America will never make more and speedier progress not only in race relations but also health care, energy independence, immigration, economic development and a host of other vital issues until regressive liberals give up on applying failed, restrictive and freedom-averse socialist answers to them.

Former Rochester Post-Bulletin editor Bill Boyne is not only behind the times in terms of racial progress (Who refers to impoverished areas where Blacks live as "ghettos" anymore?). His latest op-ed column reveals that he also needs to catch up with the current regressive liberal agenda of failed social engineering and rabid quest for power. His fellow regressives have been trying to do to immigrant populations, both legal and illegal, what they have done to American Blacks. The liberal push for "sanctuary cities" and disingenuous drive for "comprehensive immigration reform" with a "path to citizenship," sadly with some Republican support, is nothing more than a concerted effort to make those populations as dependent on liberals as Blacks once were.

Liberals have realized that, if they are to achieve their goal of a "permanent majority," they can't rely on the Black vote the way they used to. Besides, Blacks have grown tired of liberals' lavish promises and meager to nonexistent returns once Democrats are elected. Four decades of promising "forty acres and a mule" but only delivering hay election cycle after election cycle will do that. Now liberals have set their sights on vulnerable immigrant populations. The result will be similar: the destruction of self-respect, self-reliance, initiative and industry among people who need them most.

Liberal political power is built on the ruins of everything the American Dream is made of.

Pakistan in Flames

What a powder keg! Benazir Bhutto, the only woman ever to be elected prime-minister of a Muslim country and the leader of Pakistan's largest political party, was brutally murdered today. Is there anyone who still downplays the seriousness of the terrorist threat the whole world faces after a day like today? There is no reasoning or negotiating with people whose main weapon is mass murder on a global scale.

Say it With Gusto: MERRY CHRISTMAS!

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

Socialist gadfly Gary Mullen-Schultz, whose Sith name is Darth Pompous, has opened up his wallet and made "a generous gift donation" to Wellstone Action! in my honor.



I laughed out loud when I got the notification from Wellstone Action! member services above. At least Mr. Mullen-Schultz didn't use taxpayer money to "honor" me, unless he can get a tax deduction of some kind. I wouldn't put it past him.

If his faulty thinking is as predictable as it's always been, Mr. Mullen-Schultz meant the gift as one of his childish insults. Actually, I don't take it that way. Senator Paul Wellstone and his wife Sheila may have have been misguided in their liberal zeal, but at least they were intellectually honest and consistent. I can respect that. Unlike Mr. Mullen-Schultz and his fellow left-of-center ideologues, the Wellstones had the moral backbone to stand by and fight for their convictions came Hell or high water.

The truth is, Mr. Mullen-Schultz can't stop thinking about me (Not that there is anything wrong with that). The man is drawn to me like a moth to the flame. I ask again, should I be flattered or frightened?

If any other liberal cyber-stalkers out there want to honor me with their money, the Salvation Army is the organization I favor to receive your not-so-hard-earned cash. This being a free country and all, you are at liberty to donate your money to the Sierra Club, PETA, the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement or the Kucinich campaign in my honor if you want.

Merry Christmas to all, particularly Gary Mullen-Schultz. May he find emotional peace and mental health in the coming year.

Bill and Hillary: Endless Soap Opera?

Maureen Dowd, a.k.a. "The Snake," seems to think so. According to her, Bill and Hillary are playing their usual little game:

Let’s create chaos and then get out of it together. You ride to my rescue or I ride to yours. We come within an inch of dying and then recapture the day by the skin of our teeth. While we’re killing ourselves, we blame everyone else. We’ll be heroes.

It sounds right. Bill and Hillary haven't matured either personally or politically in any way since their fateful, morally corrupt Arkansas days.

When her cynicism is not in full bloom, Dowd can ask insightful questions. For example:

Is Bill a loyal spouse or a subconscious saboteur?

Her tentative answer further down the piece is more precise than she might think:

Maybe the Boy Who Can’t Help Himself is simply engaging in his usual patterns of humiliating Hillary and lighting an exploding cigar when things are going well.

If Hillary's candidacy is, as Dowd suggests, "a plebiscite on the '90s," her campaign is certainly doomed.

Mullen-Schultz's "Revenge"

It's been over a year since Gary Mullen-Schultz lost his electoral bid for a school board seat. He hasn't gotten over it, however, and blames yours truly for his humiliating defeat. I mean, this guy had the election bagged until the Rochester Post-Bulletin editorial board endorsed Fred Daly, the incumbent and Mr. Mullen-Schultz's opponent. As a result, Daly won by a very respectable margin. I believe Fred would have won regardless, but the P-B endorsement sure didn't hurt. Here are the official results:

Rochester School Board Dir. 5
	61 of 61 Precincts (100%)
	Fred Daly		19,261	55%
	Gary Mullen-Schultz		15,653	45%

Mr. Mullen-Schultz's supersized ego must have taken quite a blow.

Because I exercised my free speech rights to express my thoughts on the school board election then, I seem to have become the object of Mr. Mullen-Schultz's misplaced resentment. A good friend alerted me to the fact that Mr. Mullen-Schultz has started an anti-Othelmo blog.

I was quite amused by it at first. I mean, Mr. Mullen-Schultz is a Consulting IT Specialist at the International Technical Support Organization, IBM Rochester Center. That means that he is supposedly very smart. You would think Mr. Mullen-Schultz has better, more important and time-consuming things to do - like, say continue to develop and improve Blue Gene, IBM's super duper über computer - than harass a lowly academic advisor and occasional blogger. But Mr. Mullen-Schultz has carved up some time out of his busy schedule and dedicated it to me.

Bear with me as I give you a brief history of our "relationship," if you want to call it that. Mr. Mullen-Schultz used to write a very liberal and very pompous column for the Rochester Post-Bulletin. I often took the time to respond to it either online or through a letter to the editor. That never sat well with him. Liberals purport to be open-minded and tolerant of opposing points of view. Not true, as evidenced by the tenor of his testy reactions to my challenges of his faulty arguments.

I knew who Mr. Mullen-Schultz was by sight. I had seen him at a few school board meetings. That was when he was eying Fred Daly's seat. After his defeat, I never saw Mr. Mullen-Schultz at another school board meeting. He never seemed pleased to see me. I often wondered why.

Finally one evening, Mr. Mullen-Schultz could not contain himself any longer. During a break at a candidate's forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters, he talked at me as I made my way to another room. "Othelmo, Gary Mullen-Schultz. You have been very rude to me online," he said. I was surprised because (1) I didn't expect him to ever condescend to talk to me, (2) I had never heard his voice and (3) I thought it would be more grave and masculine. I managed to say that I objected to his points of view, not to him personally but he wouldn't hear it. After allowing him a brief rant, I said I was sorry he felt the way he did and excused myself.

That was the last time I saw Mr. Mullen-Schultz before the 2006 election. And what a massacre that was. At the time, I noted here that the only local silver linings in the election results were the defeat of Amy Blenker's reelection bid for Rochester City Council and Gary Mullen-Schultz's for school board.

I didn't think about Gary Mullen-Schultz at all after the election until Fred Daly stopped by to retrieve his lawn sign about a week later. I congratulated Fred on his reelection and he told me that Mr. Mullen-Schultz had not yet extended his congratulations as it is the custom in civilized societies. Pitiful.

I didn't think about Mr. Mullen-Schultz again until I saw him at the Public Library reception for Dr. Romain Dallemand, our new School Superintendent. Mr. Mullen-Schultz didn't look as clean cut as he did when he ran for office about a year before. His hair was longer and he was wearing very casual clothes - shorts and a polo shirt, I believe. Mr. Mullen-Schultz sprang back to life after I wrote a letter to the P-B editor regarding the SCHIP legislation. His pompous response was as insipid and void of intellectual honesty as usual. I was glad to see him back in the game, however.

Mr. Mullen-Schultz was kind enough to inform me himself of his new hobby - trashing me - via an email which subject line read, "Enjoy!" The following is a record of our email exchange since then. Follow along and laugh with me. Should I be flattered or frightened? You be the judge.

Gary <glms@yahoo.com> wrote:

http://locustofevil.blogspot.com/

Sincerely, Gary


Othelmo da Silva wrote:

Mr. Mullen-Schultz,

You are, as usual, a day late and a dollar short. I was made aware of your website yesterday.

Have you considered anger management? I ask the question sincerely. Or at least consider directing your vitriol toward the editorial board of the Rochester Post-Bulletin. They are the ones who objected to your candidacy for the school board. It was their reasonable arguments regarding a conflict of interest if you were elected to the school board while your wife was a teacher in the district that sank your candidacy rather than anything I may have said on a blog that is read by a couple dozen people. Certainly the readership of the Post-Bulletin is greater than that. Besides, Fred Daly is a decent and hard-working school board member. He possesses what I believe is the hallmark of leadership: humility. I know you think very highly of yourself, but pride does come before a hard fall. Remember that.

I will have you know that my "banishment" from the comments feature of the P-B Online as well as the wise counsel of level headed older friends of mine have tempered my zeal. You will notice that I endeavor not to be critical of people and reserve my incisive commentary for the opinions they express. I regret that I do not receive the same consideration from you and your friends. Moreover, one cannot have a thin skin if he wishes to express his views honestly and forthrightly. But surely you know that. Please know that I am a better man now.

You seem to be a bright and accomplished individual. You have the potential to contribute to the Rochester community in many productive ways. It would sadden me to see you allow yourself to be consumed by the pettiness, resentment, jealousy and anger you express on your blog.

Please trust me when I say that I have gone for months without thinking about you. At all. I was quite relieved to see your letter to the editor in response to my own comments on the SCHIP legislation. I rather thought you had suffered an irreversible nervous breakdown after your humiliating electoral defeat last year. I am glad you are up and at it again. If I have had anything to do with your recovery, I am thankful for it.

That is all. Please do not expect to hear from me ever again. Good luck with your blog. You are, of course, always welcome to peruse mine. Please check out my most recent entry. It is a picture of Senator Hillary Clinton as she must look like on the inside and a few pithy comments from yours truly.

Finally, give my best to your wife Pam. We met years ago as students at Winona State University. We had at least one special education class together. You certainly heard stories about Frank Rocco, our teacher then, from her. Pam is a charming, witty, driven and intelligent woman. You are fortunate to be married to her.

Hoping that you will let go of your pain,

Your unwilling nemesis,

Othelmo da Silva

Gary <glms@yahoo.com> wrote:

Mr. da Silva:

Thanks for your note. Words of advice on humility and anger management coming from you are really, really rich.

I sincerely hope that you have truly changed – but based on your recent posts to the PB and to your blog, I have my doubts. You seem to harbor a strong misogynist bent (your “ugly” pictures of “Hitlery” and Pelosi). Perhaps that’s just a remnant of your Brazilian upbringing – but I suspect something more deeply ingrained and pervasive. In addition, there are simply too many glimpses of the “old” Othelmo in your note to me – “witty” sarcasm cloaked in feigned concern. The caged animal can’t help but snarl, no matter how innocent he may pretend to be.

Don’t be overly worried about my mental state – it’s just fine. I just felt it was time to shine a light on the religious bigotry and hatred displayed by you and your friends. If there is anything factually inaccurate in my posting, by all means let me know. As I wrote, I’m truly interested to see how you all would react to a Romney candidacy. It would undoubtedly be difficult for you personally to embrace a candidate whose religion calls yours an “abomination.”

Yes, Pam remembered you. Like many others I’ve met who knew or know you, she too was shocked at the depths of your nastiness as displayed on your blog. Speaking of college, I’m curious – did you completely pay your own way through college, or did you take advantage of financial assistance? Given the nationwide and local desire to hire minority teachers, I imagine you had a decent amount of aid available to you. You undoubtedly, on principle, refused it all.

Sincerely, Gary

Othelmo da Silva wrote:

Merry Christmas.

Good bye. Forever.

Othelmo



Mr. Mullen-Schultz used to trash me to his running companions and co-workers, some of whom I know and who asked me what the deal was. Apparently, whenever I responded to his columns online, Mr. Mullen-Schultz would say that he was "daSilvaded." How childish!

I think it's laughable how hypersensitive liberals pretend to be regarding race and ethnicity, but think nothing about perpetuating stereotypes themselves. Notice that Mr. Mullen-Schultz' attributes my alleged misogynism to my Brazilian upbringing (Since he is ignorant of so many things, I will kindly assume that Mr. Mullen-Schultz does not know that I am a naturalized American citizen either). Mr. Mullen-Schultz seems to be saying that all Brazilians are misogynists. That looks like prejudice to me. Could it be that such an enlightened liberal mind would harbor such ignorant stereotypes? By the way, I like women so much that I married one of them.

Speaking of prejudice, have you notice that few things irritate liberals more than a Black conservative? Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, economist Thomas Sowell, former University of California Regent Ward Connerly, former Secretary of Education Rod Paige, former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland Michael Steele, Supreme Court associate justice Clarence Thomas among a legion of others, are an open and consistent target of liberal derision. It is as if the only "real" Blacks are the ones who still bow at the altar of the liberal Democratic elite. "Clean" and "articulate" (a reference to Senator Joe Biden's "complimentary" words toward Senator Barack Obama) Blacks who neither parrot nor say "Amen" to said elites are viewed as traitors to the cause. How condescending!

Trust me, I have seen more than my fair share of kids throwing temper tantrums before. Mr. Mullen-Schultz's rival them all, however. Thank Gore for spam filter. My system will mercifully spare me Mr. Mullen-Schultz's xenophobic and prejudiced rants from now on. Hopefully he will save his egocentric bile for his childish blog. Feel free to visit it and leave your comments there.

I wouldn't normally give this non-issue the time of day. It is disturbing, however, to be the focus of someone's misguided obsession. It feels like I am being cyber-stalked, in a way. You've heard about people who stalk celebrities, former spouses, teachers, students, peers, co-workers, perfect strangers and so on. At first they become obsessed with the person, then they start writing about them, then to them. Before you know it, they start calling then show up at their door. I have no idea what Mr. Mullen-Schultz's mental state is but decided to create a record just in case. The more people know about it, the better. I have even considered contacting the police to express my concerns. Maybe I should do it.

Even otherwise respectable and professional people snap on occasion. Sometimes it's the people you least expect. I won't be taking any chances.

It doesn't look good for Hillary right now

The picture above, lifted from today's Drudge Report, tells the story. Hillary is down. The aura of invincibility (or was it just heavy makeup?) is gone. Is Hillary's run for the White House over before it began? Let's hope so. America deserves better than another President Clinton.

Clinton Trouble in Iowa?

Iowa Poll Trouble for Hillary

A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows Obama with 30 percent support among likely Democratic caucus-goers, Clinton with 26 percent and Edwards with 22 percent. About half the Clinton supporters who were surveyed said they had never attended a caucus compared with 43 percent of Obama supporters _ a finding that could be significant because voters considered the most reliable caucus participants are those who have caucused before.

Playing the victim doesn't seem to be working too well for Hillary in Iowa. The primaries may not be the cakewalk the presumptuous former First Lady expected them to be.

Hillary may be the new Howard Dean.

The Winner of Last Night's Democratic Candidates' Debate? RON PAUL!

How embarrassing for the Democratic contenders to have Ron Paul's supporters steal the show like that!

What is "Democratic" about this party?

Ralph Nader Sues Democratic Party
Oct 30 04:38 PM US/Eastern

WASHINGTON (AP) - Consumer advocate and 2004 independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader sued the Democratic Party on Tuesday, contending officials conspired to keep him from taking votes away from nominee John Kerry.

Nader's lawsuit, filed in District of Columbia Superior Court, also named as co-defendants Kerry's campaign, the Service Employees International Union and several so-called 527 organizations such as America Coming Together, which were created to promote voter turnout on behalf of the Democratic ticket.

The lawsuit also alleges that the Democratic National Committee conspired to force Nader off the ballot in several states.

"The Democratic Party is going after anyone who presents a credible challenge to their monopoly over their perceived voters," Nader said in a statement. "This lawsuit was filed to help advance a free and open electoral process for all candidates and voters. Candidate rights and voter rights nourish each other for more voices, choices, and a more open and competitive democracy."

Among other things, the lawsuit alleges that the DNC tried to bankrupt Nader's campaign by suing to keep him off the ballot in 18 states. It also suggests the DNC sent Kerry supporters to crash a Nader petition drive in Portland, Ore., in June 2004, preventing him
from collecting enough signatures to get on the ballot.

The lawsuit seeks "compensatory damages, punitive damages and injunctive relief to enjoin the defendants from ongoing and future violations of the law." It was not clear how much money Nader is seeking; his attorney, Bruce Afran, did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.

A DNC spokesman also did not immediately return a telephone call for comment.

What We Are Fighting For

I got this over email earlier tonight and thought I'd share it with you.

John Gebhardt (pictured above)'s wife, Mindy, said that this little girl's entire family was executed. The insurgents intended to execute the little girl also, and shot her in the head...but they failed to kill her. She was cared for in John's hospital and is healing up, but continues to cry and moan. The nurses said John is the only one who seems to calm her down, so John has spent the last four nights holding her while they both slept in that chair. The girl is coming along with her healing.

He is a real Star of the war, and represents what America is trying to do.

This, my friends, is worth sharing with the WORLD! Go for it!! You'll never see things like this in the news. Please keep this going. Nothing will happen if you don't, but the American public needs to see pictures like this and needs to realize that what we're doing over there is making a difference. Even if it is just one little girl at a time.

James Gates U. S. Navy

A Taste of Hillarycare

Record numbers go abroad for health treatment with 70,000 escaping NHS

The Daily Mail, last updated at 09:47am on 28th October 2007

Record numbers of Britons are travelling abroad for medical treatment to escape the NHS - with 70,000 patients expected to fly out this year.

And by the end of the decade 200,000 "health tourists" will fly as far as Malaysa and South Africa for major surgery to avoid long waiting lists and the rising threat of superbugs, according to a new report.

The first survey of Britons opting for treatment overseas shows that fears of hospital infections and frustration of often waiting months for operations are fuelling the increasing trend.

Patients needing major heart surgery, hip operations and cataracts are using the internet to book operations to be carried out thousands of miles away.

India is the most popular destination for surgery, followed by Hungary, Turkey, Germany, Malaysia, Poland and Spain. But dozens more countries are attracting health tourists.

Research by the Treatment Abroad website shows that Britons have travelled to 112 foreign hospitals, based in 48 countries, to find safe, affordable treatment.

Almost all of those who had received treatment abroad said they would do the same again, with patients pointing out that some hospitals in India had screening policies for the superbug MRSA that have yet to be introduced in this country.

Andrew Lansley, the shadow health secretary, said the figures were a "terrible indictment" of government policies that were undermining the efforts of NHS staff to provide quality services.

The findings come amid further revelations about the Government's mishandling of NHS policies, and ahead of official statistics that will embarrass ministers.

On Wednesday, figures are expected to show rising numbers of hospital infections. Cases of the superbug Clostridium difficile, which have risen five-fold in the past decade, are expected to increase beyond the 55,000 cases reported last year.

On the same day, statistics will show that vast sums have been spent on pay, with GPs' earnings rising by more than 50 per cent in three years to an average of more than £110,000.

New research shows that growing NHS bureaucracy has left nurses with little time to see patients – most spending long periods dealing with paperwork.

Katherine Murphy, of the Patients' Association, said the health tourism figures reflected shrinking public faith in the Government's handling of the NHS.

2000 Presidential Election Revisited

I got the following from my buddy Brian and thought I should acknowledge it.

Professor Joseph Olson of Hamline University School of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota, points out some interesting facts concerning the 2000 Presidential election:

Number of States won by: Gore: 19 Bush: 29

Square miles of land won by: Gore: 580 ,000 Bush: 2,427,000

Population of counties won by: Gore: 127 million Bush: 143 million

Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by: Gore: 13.2 Bush: 2.1

Professor Olson adds: 'In aggregate, the map of the territory Bush won was mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens of this great country.

Gore's territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in government-owned tenements and living off various forms of government welfare...'

10 Liberal Platitudes

Washed up, I mean retired Post-Bulletin editor and publisher Bill Boyne knows how to get America "back on track." His answer? You guessed it: left-wing liberalism. Amazing!

Here is Dr. Boyne's diagnosis:

We are trapped in two endless wars and lack the strength to deal with growing international and domestic threats to our country's wellbeing.

Pretty dire, huh? But wait. Don't despair. Dr. Boyne has the right, I mean left prescription for America. Here are his "10 ways to escape the trap and build a better future for ourselves and our allies" with commentary from yours truly. I will try to be kind. It's late and this is too easy.

1. Bring U.S. troops home from Iraq as quickly as feasible

That's the "cut, run and surrender" directive. Every liberal conversation, argument and rebuttal starts and ends with cutting and running in Iraq. We will endanger our future as a nation if we capitulate to terrorism in Iraq or elsewhere. Liberals are not capable of understanding this concept. Leaving Somalia emboldened Osama bin Laden and led to the attacks of 9/11. Imagine what "bringing U.S. troops home" (the liberal euphemism for cutting and running) from Iraq would do to motivate Middle East terrorists to even greater degrees of carnage and destruction. No, Mr. Boyne. As much as it pains me to say it, let's finish the job.

2. Launch a Campaign for World Peace

How cute. I'm sure Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Cuba's Fidel Castro, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, North Korea's Kim Jong-Il, not to mention Osama bin Laden are dying to sign on to such a campaign.

3. Support the Kyoto Protocol

Sure. As soon as India, China and Russia agree to do so as well. Liberals are very fond of leveling the playing field as long as America is at a disadvantage.

4. Introduce health insurance for everyone in the United States

It works so well in Canada and Britain. Why not do it here? Forget the free market. Dump the doctor-patient relationship. Put bureaucrats and politicians in charge of life-or-death decisions.

5. Perfect the methods of delivering medical care.

If the market determines them, not big government.

6. Balance the federal budget by slashing Pentagon expenses

Not wasteful government programs, bureaucratic red tape, truckloads of money to perpetually failing schools or welfare to illegal immigrants? Let's spread the sacrifice here, shall we?

7. Adopt policies to discourage free trade programs and outsourcing of jobs

We are paying the price for decades of greed from trade unions. Outsourcing is here to stay. We need to innovate, create and anticipate. Ours is still the most productive workforce on the planet. Bar none. We can thrive again if the government does not intervene to "solve" the problem.

8. Give strong support to early childhood education

The newest mantra of the left is "early childhood education." I will have quite a bit to say about it at a later date. Suffice it to say that liberals are once again trying to expand their power and influence on the backs of our children. Think S-CHIP legislation. Their aim is to grow government and advance their liberal dogmas while hiding their agenda behind the legitimate needs of the youngest and most vulnerable among us.

9. Give high priority to improving the academic success of low-income and minority students.

How many more millions of dollars do we have to dump on education before we see results? Education IS a priority. K-12 funding goes up every year in Minnesota. What do we have to show for it? Government fails miserably when it tries to raise children. Parents are the solution, not more money or more programs.

10. Take substantive action to reduce the poverty and racial discrimination that afflict too many members of minority groups in the United States

Poverty and discrimination will remain a problem as long as condescending liberals continue to victimize the poor and minorities. The "War on Poverty" has been an abject failure. Government programs do not foster independence, give poor people self-respect or minorities a healthy self-image. Self-respect and integration are the answers to poverty and discrimination, not dependence on government and self-victimization.

They are certified

Only from the mind of a liberal. Or what passes for it

Here's a copy of my letter to the editor published in the Rochester Post-Bulletin today, the original title of which was "Liberals Abuse, Misuse Children's Health Insurance Legislation."

A step toward socialized medicine

10/23/2007 7:49:57 AM

Letter writer Frank Hawthorne will be happy to know that, contrary to the misleading assertions of his recent letter to the editor, President Bush actually favors legislation offering health insurance to children who really need it.

However, the president opposes what has been appropriately dubbed "Hillarycare on the installment plan," Mr. Hawthorne's party's disingenuous attempt to socialize American health care on a gradual basis.

The Democratic Party has inflated the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) legislation by covering children who already have private health insurance and whose parents' income is three times above the poverty line, hence the presidential veto. Using CHIP as a stepping stone to undermine private insurance and build the kind of inefficient and expensive health care model that has been proven a failure in Canada and Great Britain defies common sense. Physicians and their patients, not politicians or government bureaucrats, should make health-care decisions.

The Democrats' Kennedyesque brand of intrusive liberalism has nothing to do with children's health coverage and everything to do with central government control of health-care delivery.

Mr. Hawthorne and his party have the right to promote and advance the tried-and-failed single-payer socialized medicine model as much as they please. However, it is intellectually dishonest to abuse and misuse the legitimate health insurance needs of truly needy children to do so.

Othelmo da Silva

Rochester

And here's Frank "Shaggy" Hawthorne's online comment:

Frank Hawthorne - 10/23/2007
Contrary to what Mr. da Silva thinks I think about George Bush, I don't doubt that the President (like Othelmo and many Republican friends) cares deeply for America's children. He/they just need to legislatively care as deeply for the born as they do for the unborn. Naturally, if we did have one of those "inefficient and expensive" [SEE current U.S.A. system, by the way] foreign-style single-payer systems which Othelmo carries on about, this argument would be unnecessary. --Frank Hawthorne

Only in a liberal's mind would a bloated federal program and the indiscriminate killing of unborn children come together in the same sentence. What is the morbid liberal fascination with and blind devotion to killing the most innocent and the most vulnerable among us?

Government should be about preserving our liberties, not limiting them. Liberals must be fought and defeated at every turn. Liberals are bullies. Every bully backs down when confronted forcefully and consistently. Charge!