Sunday, October 31, 2010

Remember - and Vote November 2, 2010

Found on facebook

Friday, October 29, 2010

Hey Feingold - You've been Dumped!

Though I think it's been obvious for a long time, this is good news.

The Washington Post says that the White House has a message for Wisconsin Democrats: You’re on your own. In a report on the desperate triage taking place inside the Oval Office, presidential advisers are attempting to find places where Barack Obama can’t hurt Democrats and where candidates have a reasonable chance for success. That means Russ Feingold and Wisconsin have seen their last of Obama in the midterm cycle
Read the rest here.

Well Russ - your days are numbered. Even the White House has written you off. Start packing your bags...you're OUTTA there!!! Wisconsin will finally be rid of the self-described "maverick" who was interested in one thing only - his own political career.

Vote Ron Johnson for US Senate on November 2!!!

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Say WHUT???

Un-freakin-believable
Iran, where a woman convicted of adultery has been sentenced to death by stoning, is likely to become a member of the board of the new UN agency to promote equality for women, prompting outrage from the US and human rights groups.

Some rights groups are also upset that Saudi Arabia, where women are not allowed to drive and are barred from many facilities used by men, is also vying to join the governing body of UN Women.

The General Assembly resolution adopted in July that merged four UN bodies dealing with women's issues into a single agency with greater clout to represent half the world's population calls for a 41-member executive board, with 35 members chosen by regional groups and six representing donor nations.

The Asian group has put forward an uncontested 10-nation slate that includes Iran, UN diplomats said, and Saudi Arabia has been selected for one of two slots for emerging donor nations.
...
Mark Kornblau, spokesman for the US Mission, said Wednesday that Iran's membership "would send the wrong signal at the start of this exciting new initiative."

"UN Women is a vital new agency tasked with promoting gender equality and women's empowerment worldwide," he said. "We and many other countries are concerned by the negative implications of Iran's potential board memberships, given its poor record on human rights and the treatment of women.

"There are many qualified countries that would make positive and constructive contributions as board members," Kornblau said.

The stoning sentence against the 43-year-old woman, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, has raised an international outcry, embarrassing Iran.

A resolution adopted by the General Assembly last year expressed "deep concern" at Iran's increasing use of executions, death by stoning, torture, flogging and amputations, and its increasing discrimination against religious, ethnic and other minorities.

Philippe Bolopion, UN advocacy director for Human Rights Watch, said "it's puzzling that Iran would have the nerve to be a candidate for the board of UN Women, and even more puzzling if the Asia group lets Iran get away with it."

"Having on top of it Saudi Arabia, a country with a track record on women's rights as horrendous as Iran's, would add insult to injury," he said.
A country whose views on women are positively neanderthal is going to be on a committee to "promote gender equality" worldwide?? This would be like making the president of NAMBLA in charge of the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, for cryin' out loud!!

I believe I've entered the Twilight Zone.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Behar/Angle Update

Oh this is PRICELESS!!!
No one can accuse Team Angle of not having a healthy sense of humor.

In response to Joy Behar’s vicious remarks on The View, the Angle campaign sent a lovely flower arrangement with a note enclosed.

“Joy, Raised $150,000 online yesterday. Thanks for your help. Sincerely, Sharron Angle”

UPDATE: Joy Behar responded to the Angle campaign's gift on The View today. Behar stated that the bouquet was "picked by illegal immigrants," before adding, "And they're not voting for you, b**ch."

A. Illegal immigrants aren't legally ALLOWED to vote.
B. You stay classy Behar. Hopefully this will lead to even MORE contributions.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

The Tolerant, Compassionate Left

It's almost laughable that the left calls the right intolerant, racist, *insert name here*...because they're oh SO tolerant, right?
Joy Behar condemned a political ad by Nevada Republican Senate nominee Sharron Angle as fomenting racial divisiveness. The View aired Angle’s latest TV ad on the talk show on Tuesday morning. Looking at the camera, Behar addressed Angle, calling her a “bitch” and concluding that Angle is “going to hell, this bitch.”

Behar described the ad as “a Hitler youth commercial,” said Angle is “a moron on top of being evil” and also dared Angle to “do this ad in the South Bronx,” implying that New Yorkers wouldn’t stand for it.

Angle has come in for criticism of the ad, called “The Wave,” which some have characterized as vilifying Latinos. On Tuesday’s View, Sherri Shepherd said that while many call for racial harmony, ads such as this cast people with “brown or black skin” as threats to whites, and “makes Hispanics the bogeyman” out to “pounce on whites.”

Elisabeth Hasselbeck also said she felt the ad is “wrong.” See? Everyone can get along, given a common target to attack.

As she did during the recent Bill O’Reilly rumble, host Barbara Walters tried to calm down the panel in a plea for civility.
While admittedly I have not seen the ad, that fact is irrelevant to the point I'm trying to make. The fact that Behar called Angle a moron and a bitch is absolutely uncalled for. And then there's the BLATENT double standard. Just imagine if someone from the right called Boxer those names - do you think people would just shrug it off? The headlines would be screaming!!

Time and time again, the left demonstrates that not only are they hypocritical, but they are utterly classless.

Coincidence? Or Voter Fraud?

Seems like voters are having some "issues"
A Craven County voter says he had a near miss at the polls on Thursday when an electronic voting machine completed his straight-party ticket for the opposite of what he intended.

Sam Laughinghouse of New Bern said he pushed the button to vote Republican in all races, but the voting machine screen displayed a ballot with all Democrats checked. He cleared the screen and tried again with the same result, he said. Then he asked for and received help from election staff.

“They pushed it twice and the same thing happened,” Laughinghouse said. “That was four times in a row. The fifth time they pushed it and the Republicans came up and I voted.”

M. Ray Wood, Craven County Board of elections chairman, issued a written statement saying that the elections board is aware of isolated issues and that in each case the voter was able to cast his or her ballot as desired.

Chuck Tyson, chairman of Craven County GOP, remains skeptical. He has been communicating with Wood about the issue and was invited to a meeting Wednesday with state elections officials. There were no further details about that meeting.

“Something is not right here,” Tyson told the Sun Journal. He said he “got two or three calls” from people describing the same problem while they were voting.

“I’ll be matter of fact, I didn’t find that press release satisfactory,” Tyson said, referring to Wood’s written statement.
And then there's this story
LAS VEGAS -- Some voters in Boulder City complained on Monday that their ballot had been cast before they went to the polls, raising questions about Clark County's electronic voting machines.

Voter Joyce Ferrara said when they went to vote for Republican Sharron Angle, her Democratic opponent, Sen. Harry Reid's name was already checked.

Ferrara said she wasn't alone in her voting experience. She said her husband and several others voting at the same time all had the same thing happen.

"Something's not right," Ferrara said. "One person that's a fluke. Two, that's strange. But several within a five minute period of time -- that's wrong."

Clark County Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax said there is no voter fraud, although the issues do come up because the touch-screens are sensitive. For that reason, a person may not want to have their fingers linger too long on the screen after they make a selection at any time.

"Especially in a community with elderly citizens (they have) difficulty in (casting their) ballot," Lomax said. "Team leaders said there were complaints (and the) race filled in."

At any time, voters can go back on the screen and review their selections. They are also allowed to make changes and encouraged to double-check their ballot on screen and on paper before it is cast.

Lomax said voters need to have faith in the system.
Faith in the system?? FAITH IN THE SYSTEM??? Pardon me while I choke on my laughter!!

Fasten your seatbelts, my friends. We're in for a bumpy ride!

Monday, October 25, 2010

Kari

While I usually use this little spot in the blogosphere to spout my political viewpoints, rant and rave about current events, and make you giggle once in awhile, there are times that I try to do some good and will ask for your help.

Kari is a young vibrant woman in her mid-20's who was in a very serious car accident over the weekend. She's had brain surgery during which part of her skull was removed to relieve pressure on the brain. She is now in a medically induced coma. Very few details at this point, but as the days go on I hope to post more.

If you can, please take a moment to send up a prayer, think a good thought, throw some good karma, or whatever way you choose to send positive energy to Kari and her friends and family. I personally KNOW that the power of prayer/good thoughts/karma works.

Hopefully I'll have some good news soon! Thanks y'all!

Friday, October 22, 2010

Insane?!?!?

Insanity at its finest
DALLAS -- A Dallas woman accused of throwing her two children from a freeway overpass and then jumping off the 20-foot-high span has been found not guilty by reason of insanity.

A judge in Dallas ruled Thursday in the trial of Khandi Busby, who was charged with attempted murder and injury to a child. The judge then ordered her to spend roughly 30 days in a state mental institution, MyFoxDFW.com reports.

Investigators say the boys were ages 6 and 8 when they were injured after being thrown from the highway overpass on March 12, 2008. They were treated and placed in foster care, where they remain.

Defense attorney David Pire says Busby felt God had told her to throw her sons off the bridge to protect them from Satan.

Relatives say Busby is bipolar and had stopped taking her medication.
30 days??? 30 DAYS????? So, a woman with bi-polar disorder who chose to stop taking her meds can throw her two children off a bridge, and be sentenced to approximately 30 DAYS IN A STATE MENTAL INSTITUTION????? Is this for real???? And what happens after she's properly medicated and gets out...does she get her kids back? And one more question - what happens if she stops taking her meds again? Will she succeed in killing them this time?

Now, I hear a lot of chatter about not discriminating against people with mental illness, and I tend to agree with that. Most people with mental illness, when properly treated, can live a very productive life. HOWEVER, you can't have it both ways. Those who take their meds do not want to be discriminated against, but if you stop taking those same meds you can literally get away with (attempted) murder by reason of insanity??

I think this ruling does a disservice to those who live with mental illness every day. This woman was not criminally insane. She was criminally irresponsible.

Republicans Kinda Suck

Total copy and paste from Kate, who got it from Charlie Sykes

Republicans Kinda Suck...Which is Why They Will Win Huge in November
By Frank J. Fleming

This election season has been hard on pundits. The Democrats are going to get massacred in November, and it’s really obvious to pretty much everyone exactly why — which makes writing political commentary like trying to come up with a long-winded explanation for why two plus two equals four.

Here’s my attempt.

Doesn’t it suck when you have a dog that barks all night? Everyone hates that. It’s annoying. It can even drive you pretty crazy if it goes on long enough. People hate that.

Know what also sucks? A zombie apocalypse. That’s when society collapses due to some spreading zombie virus, and most of your friends and family are dead, and you have to scrounge for food to survive while the walking dead threaten you around every corner. People also hate that.

So, we’re all agreed that a barking dog and a zombie apocalypse both suck. Everyone following so far?

Now let’s look at what led us to the political situation we’re in. During the second term of the Bush presidency people just got fed up with Republicans. They were idiots, they were no good at the whole fiscal conservatism thing (which is sort of the whole point of them), we had these wars that seemed to be going nowhere, and the economy was beginning to fail. They sucked, and people were sick and tired of them.

Thus people turned to the Democrats. And Obama.

Let’s just say they also sucked.

AMERICANS: “So, the economy is pretty bad and there’s high employment. You think you can do something about that?”

DEMOCRATS AND OBAMA: “We can spend a trillion dollars we don’t have on pork and stuff.”

AMERICANS: “No … that’s not what we want. We’d really like you not to do that.”

DEMOCRATS: “You’re stupid. We’re doing it anyway.”

AMERICANS: “That’s not going to help us get jobs!”

DEMOCRATS: “Sure it will; millions of them … though they may be invisible. You’ll have to trust us they exist. And guess what else we’ll do: We’ll create a giant new government program to take over health care.”

AMERICANS: “That has nothing to do with jobs!”

DEMOCRATS: “We don’t care about that anymore. We really want a giant new health care program. We’re sure you’ll love it.”

AMERICANS: “Don’t pass that bill. You hear me? Absolutely do not pass that bill.”

DEMOCRATS: “Believe me; you’ll love it. It has … well, I don’t know what exactly is in the bill, but we’re sure it’s great.”

AMERICANS: “Listen to me: DO. NOT. PASS. THAT. BILL.”

DEMOCRATS: “You’re not the boss of me! We’re doing it anyway!”

AMERICANS: “Look what you did! Now the economy is way worse, we’re even deeper in debt, and we have a bunch of new laws we don’t want!”

DEMOCRATS: “You’re racist.”

AMERICANS: “Wha … How is that racist?”

DEMOCRATS: “Now you’re getting violent! Stop being violent and racist, you ignorant hillbillies! And remember to vote Democrat in November.”

So the Democrats sucked. But not just plain old, usual politician sucked, but epic levels of suck where it’s hard to find an analogue in human history that conveys the same level of suckitude. It was sheer incompetence plus arrogance — and those things do not complement each other well. We’re talking sucking that distorts time and space like a black hole.

It’s Godzilla-smashing-through-a-city level of suck — but a really patronizing Godzilla who says you’re just too stupid and hateful to see all the buildings he’s saved or created as he smashes everything apart. Or, to use Obama’s favorite analogy, you have a car stuck in ditch, so you call the mechanic, but the only tool he brings with him is a sledgehammer. And then he smashes your car to pieces and charges you $100,000 for his service. Finally, he calls you racist for complaining. Obama and the Democrats have been so awful, it’s hard for the human brain to even comprehend.

But the Democrats will counter that the Republicans also suck. And while this is true, it’s not really going to help them. As I pointed out before, both a dog incessantly barking and a zombie apocalypse are things that everyone would agree suck. Yet no one during a zombie apocalypse, while hiding out in a boarded up mall, would turn to the other survivors and say, “We don’t want to kill all the zombies; then we’d have to go back to being woken up at night by that annoying dog next door.” But this is the best argument the Democrats can come up with. “Remember how awful the Republicans and Bush were? You hated them. You don’t want to go back to that.” Yes, why would people want to go back to when 6% unemployment was considered high?

People do remember how much the Republicans suck, and they know where it tops out … and that is nowhere near as bad as the Democrats are today. Like with the barking dog, it’s annoying, but you know it’s not going to cause the collapse of civilization as we know it. Not so with the zombie apocalypse; who knows how bad that could get if left to continue? Same with the Democrats and Obama; people have never dealt with anything this horrible their entire lives, and they aren’t that curious to see how much worse it can be.

So the Republicans kinda suck, and that’s why they’re going to win huge this November. Because in the land of epic, mega, ultra, apocalyptic levels of sucking, those who kinda suck are king. Or at least are going to win in a landslide.

Because once the zombie apocalypse is over, the annoying neighbor dog is going to be music to your ears.

For a little while, at least.

Chicago Politics in Wisconsin

We're about a week and a half away from a very important election, so I'm used to (and SICK OF) the commercials and the mailings that are pounding me from all sides. I was, however, a bit surprised when this appeared in my mailbox!
For those of you who don't know, Alexi Giannoulias is a candidate for U.S. Senate...in ILLINOIS!!!  Now, this mailer was put out by the New Prosperity Foundation.  While I tend to agree with their beliefs, they really need to be more careful about what/to whom they are sending information.

Note to New Prosperity Foundation.  I am Chris from Racine, or CFR for short.  I live in Racine Wisconsin, a fact that you apparently know because the mailer was addressed to me.  In WISCONSIN.  Now, I know that it's a pretty common practice in Illinois (and Wisconsin for that matter) to vote early and vote often.  However, do you make it a regular practice to solicit votes from neighboring states???  If you're sending out a mailing attacking your opponent, you might - just might - want to consider the fact that sending these to residents of a state other than the state in which your candidate is running doesn't reflect well on that candidate.

BTW, the back cover of this mailing kinda says it all.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Hey Senator Feingold - a few questions for you...

From The American Spectator:
• What if Secret Donor Money -- funneled through a 501(c)(3) tax exempt non-profit with no obligation to reveal its donors -- was used to influence not just your run-of-the mill election, but a sitting United States Senator as he ran a Senate confirmation hearing of a federal judge? An official constitutional duty of the United States Senate?

• What if that United States Senator secretly influenced by that Secret Donor Money were named Russell Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin?

• What if that Secret Donor Money was used to supply Secret Research Senator Feingold was secretly using to defeat that Bush nominee for the federal judiciary? And what if Senator Feingold repeatedly and secretly (so he thought) plagiarized his questions to the nominee -- from the secret document purchased by Secret Donor Money secretly supplied by those Secret Donors?

• What if then-Senator Biden sat on this same Senate Committee while this game of left-wing Secret Donors was going on and never said a thing about it?

• What if that same Secret Donor money was being used to secretly buy a Page One favorable story on the front page of the Washington Post? And the Washington Post both knew this secret and went along with it -- publishing the story? But not publishing the names of the Secret Donors?

• What if the Chief Justice of the United States received a serious complaint from his staff about the possibility Secret Donor Money was being used by the Washington Post to attack the federal judiciary in that Page One story?

• What if that Secret Donor Money was used to formulate five questions from the Washington Post to the U.S. Department of Justice about the Bush nominee -- and an editorial opposing that nominee resulted from those questions provided by Secret Donor Money?
Read the rest here

Think anyone will be asking the good Senator about this in the next debate? I'd LOVE to hear him answer for it.

Again, anyone who cares about values, integrity and honesty will cast their vote on November 2 for Ron Johnson for U.S. Senate.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

R.I.P. Kathy

I learned yesterday of the passing of a fellow blogger, Kathy Carpenter. While I didn't know Kathy well, I'd met her a few times and enjoyed talking with her. From the Kenosha News
Kathy L. Carpenter, 45, a resident of Kenosha, died Sunday Oct. 17, 2010, at the United Hospital Systems Kenosha medical Center Campus.

Born on Nov. 11, 1964, in Opelika Ala., she is the daughter of Pastor Lee and Karen (Kuban) Carpenter.

She was educated in the schools of Garland Texas and graduated from the Moody Bible College in Chicago Ill. She moved to Kenosha in 1985.

She was very active in the Kenosha County Republican Party and served as its chairman. She was elected as Alderman of the 5th District for the City of Kenosha in 2008 and served her constituency for two years. She was a member of the Public Safety and Welfare Committee as well as the Kenosha Parks Commission.

She was very active in local politics and campaigned vigorously for republican candidates, specifically most recently the McCain-Palin Campaign. She loved softball and tennis but most recently was known by her friends as a "political junkie." She also loved current events.

She is survived by her parents of Rowlett Texas, one brother Michael Carpenter of Austin, Texas; one sister Missy Strange of Mesquite, Texas; one niece Mikayla Strange and one nephew Noah Strange.

Funeral services will be held on Wednesday Oct. 20, 2010, at 10 a.m. at the Grace Church in Racine. (3626-Hwy 31) Visitation will be held on Wednesday at the church from 9 a.m. until the time of services.

Please omit flowers. Memorials would be appreciated to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
The Cheddarsphere will miss you Kathy - rest in peace.

Friday, October 15, 2010

16 Years?!?!

On October 15, 1994 I married the most wonderful man in the world. We had a rather brief courtship and were, well, an "unusual" pairing. To say that some folks were skeptical would be a pretty fair statement. That's not to say that they weren't hopeful, but there were reservations. We've had our ups and downs like any married couple. I'll let ya in on a little secret...I'm not always the easiest person to get along with. I know - you're shocked, right?

Anyway, 16 years later we not only still love each other, but we still LIKE each other.

Thank you, babe, for making me the happiest woman in the world. I love you more now than I did the day we got married, and I'll love you more 16 years from now than I do today.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

I've Witnessed a Miracle

Wow! I had the privilege of watching (as many of you may have) the last miner being rescued from 1/2 mile underground after being trapped for 69 days. Friends - if you don't think this is a miracle, I beg to differ.

First, after the mine collapsed, it was assumed that those 33 men were dead. But wait! After 17 days, it was learned that there were not only survivors, but they ALL survived.

Next, because of the configuration of the mine, it would take quite some time to figure out a way to rescue them. The initial estimations put the rescue effort at Christmas.

Now - think about this. These 33 men were trapped 1/2 mile underground for 69 days. 69 DAYS!!!!! Yet as far as we know, they worked together to make it liveable. Yes, because of ingenuity, whatever comfort and medications that were needed would, if at all possible, be provided. And yet, 33 men trapped underground for over 2 months working TOGETHER seems to be a rare commodity.

The Chilean president was bound and determined to rescue his fellow countrymen. He accepted help from the entire global community. In fact, even Wisconsin's own Waukesha had a hand in this rescue.

Unbelievably, the rescue went flawlessly. Each and every one of those miners have now been rescued. It truly was something to behold.

If that doesn't give you faith in a higher power, the power of prayer and the essential "goodness" of people, I truly feel sorry for you.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

And we wonder why the kids are the way they are???

This is disgusting!!

Well-wishers from across the globe are sending donations to a dying Michigan girl with Huntington’s disease after the child was a victim of cyberbullying by her neighbors.

Jennifer Petkov of Trenton, Michigan, reportedly posted an image of 7-year-old Kathleen Edward's face next to a skull and crossbones on Facebook after a dispute with the girl’s grandmother, MyFoxDetroit.com reports.

Kathleen, who lives with her grandmother, lost her own mother, Laura Edward, to the same degenerative brain disorder in 2009.

The station reports that Petkov, a neighbor of the girl's family, also posted a photo of Kathleen's mother wrapped in the arms of the grim reaper on Facebook. The woman's husband, Scott Petkov, is accused of painting images of death on the side of his pick-up truck and parking it in front of the girl’s home.

"After all that we've been through, I still couldn't believe that she could stoop to a level that low,” the child's grandmother, Becky Rose, told the station.

Since reports of the cyberbullying, Kathleen has received donations from as far away as Japan and Australia. Hans Masing of Tree Town Toys in Ann Arbor, Mich., has raised more than $9,000 for a shopping spree for the girl, the station reports.

After child protective services visited the Petkov's home, the couple apologized for their actions and removed the posts from Facebook.

"If I had to all over again, I wouldn’t do it," Jennifer Petkov reportedly told the station.
According to this story, this all began over a neighborhood feud over a children's birthday party.

Now - I ask you...how in the WORLD can we expect children not to bully other children when the parents are doing the same thing, and worse?? What kind of example is being set for society today? What has happened to common decency?

I guess a better question is, what heppend to the world in which I grew up? *sigh*

Drinking Right










Don't forget kids - Drinking Right tonight at Papa's Social Club - 77th and Burleigh.  The fun starts around 7ish!

Just a Thought

Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you know that the Chilean miners have been trapped underground for 69 days now. While original estimates put their rescue around Christmas, it turns out that if the testing goes well, they will begin bringing the miners out within the next 12 hours, more than two months earlier than original estimates.

Thought for the Day: Any chance we can get those engineers/planners etc. over here to oversee our road construction projects??

Friday, October 8, 2010

A Fatal Accident

As I was driving to work this morning, I was listening to the news on the radio. I heard the newscaster report about a fatal car accident. Now, this is nothing new or stunning - we hear news like that all the time. But for some reason, this morning it got me thinking.

As many of you know, my little sister Val was killed in a fatal car accident in 1985. It was reported in much the same way - a couple of sentences on the radio; a few paragraphs in the paper. And there's nothing wrong with that. However, while so many people heard or read that and went on with their day, our lives changed forever. Val was many things to many people. My father lost a daughter. My brother and I lost a sister. My grandparents lost a granddaughter. And so on, and so on, and so on. Our family and friends were devastated.

So why am I writing this? I guess I'm hoping that the next time you hear or read something like that in the news, you take a moment - just a moment - to say a little prayer for all the lives that will never be the same after that one little sentence.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Fasten your seatbelts - we're in for a rough ride

I shouldn't be shocked. I really shouldn't. Nothing Obama does should shock me anymore, yet it still does.
Obama reshapes administration for a fresh strategy

White House staff changes are being made with an eye toward achieving goals through executive actions rather than by trying to push plans through the next Congress, which is expected to be even more hostile to the president.

As President Obama remakes his senior staff, he is also shaping a new approach for the second half of his term: to advance his agenda through executive actions he can take on his own, rather than pushing plans through an increasingly hostile Congress.

A flurry of staff departures and promotions is playing out as the White House ends a nearly two-year period of intense legislative activity. Where the original staff was built to give Obama maximum clout in Congress, the new White House team won't need the same leverage with lawmakers.

"It's fair to say that the next phase is going to be less about legislative action than it is about managing the change that we've brought," White House senior advisor David Axelrod said in an interview.

Winning passage of legislation wasn't easy for Obama, even with Democrats in firm control of both houses of Congress. Conditions will get tougher if, as expected, the Republicans pick up seats in the midterm election next month, or possibly take control of Congress.

"Whether or not the Republicans take over majorities in one or both houses, the margins will be so much narrower that the strategy of putting together a Democratic bill and picking off a handful of Republicans to push it over the top won't be viable anymore," said William Galston, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

So the best arena for Obama to execute his plans may be his own branch of government. That means more executive orders, more use of the bully pulpit, and more deployment of his ample regulatory powers and the wide-ranging rulemaking authority of his Cabinet members.
From what I can gather from this,our president is saying a big f*ck you to you and me. He's flipping off our entire system. He does not give a damn about the three branches of government. We've already seen that he doesn't care about the will of the people - that was patently obvious when he rammed Obamacare through with bribes and special deals. He's now flat-out saying that it doesn't matter what we, the people think. He's indicating that even the legislature doesn't matter. What matters is his agenda, and nothing...NOTHING...will get in his way.

So much for the American way of life.

Tip the Scale for Ron Johnson

I shared my thoughts on Ron Johnson in this post.
Now, take a look to your right and you'll notice that I have a new widget. That's right - you can donate to Ron Johnson straight from this here blog!!

Tip The Scales of Power TODAY! Donate to Ron Johnson's Money Bomb.

While the Washington liberals, like Russ Feingold, have passed dangerous and irresponsible laws, there is good news: we have the opportunity to Tip The Scales of power back toward common-sense and all of the momentum is on our side! Ron Johnson is leading Senator Feingold in 8 of the last 8 polls, including a new Rasmussen poll in which we are leading by 12.

Let's keep it going!

We can actually oust Feingold!

With Obama in the White House, we must have 50 seats plus one to wrestle control back from career politicians. Ron Johnson needs our help NOW to fight the special interest groups, like moveon.org, who will do whatever they can to keep one of their own in power. Let's Tip The Scales back to the American people by forwarding this important message to your friends and family today. He needs all the help he can get to tip the balance of power. Donate to Ron Johnson's money bomb TODAY and watch the scales tip back to the people!

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Just Not That Into You

This posting by Meghan McCain is...well...illuminating.
As my book tour for Dirty Sexy Politics comes to an end, there are a few things that have surprised me about its publication. I expected some backlash from former campaign staffers (check) and a complicated conversation with my father (double check, he didn’t read it until two weeks before it hit stores). What I didn’t expect, however, was that instead of the media concentrating on my admission of almost overdosing on Xanax the day before the election, or my goal for a new “big tent” direction for the Republican Party, or any of the other racier confessions in my book, they only focused on Sarah Palin. In every interview and review it was all Sarah all the time.

Palin started haunting my book tour from day one when on Good Morning America I interrupted my interview with George Stephanopoulos to tell him, “My book isn’t just about Sarah Palin.” It was a domino effect from there. Backstage at most shows, I would beg producers to keep the Sarah Palin questions to only a portion of the interview, instead of dominating the whole conversation. I found myself fighting to convince people interviewing me that my book was about things other than Palin and interesting for many reasons. All authors have to convince the viewer of an interview that their book is worth reading—but I found myself more than anything just trying to separate myself and my story as far away from her as possible.

Everyone knows there is a media obsession with Sarah Palin, but I don’t know if everyone has quite realized that the obsession has become a fetishization. The further I got into my book tour last month, the more paranoia set in as I started questioning the idea that the only thing that made me interesting to some people was my association with Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin, not my father John McCain. And for that fact, it seems that the only thing that gets any kind of major media attention when it comes to women in politics is either Sarah Palin or her numerous impersonators. These are the people that are creating and dominating the political narrative for women in this country. In the Nashville airport in the midst of my book tour, I picked up the recent “Mama Grizzlies” cover of Newsweek which asks this very question. Why are only women like Sarah Palin getting nominated for elected office and receiving all of the media attention? This is the question that has been plaguing me since the release of my book
...
Then just as I reached the point where I woke up and elected to stop focusing on the media’s obsession with Sarah and to continue my own one woman revolution (if you will), Sarah Palin made it known to me via an email to a third party that she was not pleased with me or what I wrote in my book. I found it surprising but I had to see the humor and, of course, appreciate the obvious irony. It seems the Sarah Palin media obsession goes both ways. They are both mutually obsessed with one another and the relationship is cyclical. It is the chicken or the egg conundrum. Every tweet of Sarah’s makes headlines and every network puts what she says on its newsfeed. This is the era that we live in, and I’m just hoping both Sarah and the media will at some point make room for other opinions. In the meantime, I won’t hold my breath, but I also won’t quit speaking out for the women who aren’t just imitating her.
Sounds like the green-eyed monster is rearing its ugly head.

Could it be, Ms. McCain, that reviews like this one are accurate? Perhaps the book is so poorly written that interviewers are at a loss? Is it possible that no one is interested in your narcissistic self-indulgent rantings?

Could it be, Ms. McCain, that people just aren't that into you?

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Gene Simmons Honors the Military

Awesome!!!

NFL Rips Feingold

UPDATE: As of Tuesday evening, Russ Feingold has not pulled the ad featuring the NFL footage.

Well whaddya know - it went national.
The NFL is flagging Sen. Russ Feingold's latest ad for using an unauthorized clip of Randy Moss pretending to moon the Green Bay crowd in 2004.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Tuesday the league did not license the footage and has contacted the Democratic senator's campaign about removing it.

The ad shows a number of clips of football players dancing in the end zone. Then Feingold says the celebrations are similar to how his challenger seems to be declaring himself the victor prematurely.

Polls show Republican Ron Johnson with a slight lead over Feingold.

The Feingold campaign didn't immediately return a message asking whether it would pull the ad.

The NFL clip shows Moss pretending to moon the crowd when he was with the Minnesota Vikings. The stunt drew a $10,000 fine.
Hey Russ - I guess the NFL isn't kidding when it says "This telecast is copyrighted by the NFL for the private use of our audience, and any other use of this telecast or of any pictures, descriptions or accounts of the game without the NFL's consent is prohibited."

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Miraculously, I avoided jail!!

As I mentioned in this post, Kate and I are in Washington D.C. for the Smart Girl Summit. I will likely post on that later, but you can hit Kate's site to get a run down in the meantime.

Soooo, the summit ended yesterday and we planned on sightseeing today since I've never been to D.C. before. We went to the Holocaust museum, which was awe (and tear) inspiring. Unfortunately no pictures are allowed.

So after that, we decided to head to the Lincoln Memorial since I promised the Boy that I would take a picture of it. Now, I was aware that there was a "rally" (read, union sponsored mandatory gathering) going on. We were hoping that by the time we were there, the people who were mandated to go would have disbursed. I was wrong. Kate and I were kind of laughing on our way there, but as we got closer I got more and more pissed. The signs and comments we heard were bad enough, but we unfortunately heard some of what one of the speakers was saying. The ignorance was breathtaking.

In addition to the bullshit being spouted, what really got me was the disrespect these libs displayed on our national monuments.
Oh - and here's just one of the many signs we saw...
I gotta tell you, I felt almost primitive anger. When I have more time to think, I'll probably be able to put it into words, but suffice it to say that I felt it in the depths of my very being. We ended up taking a cab back to the hotel because I knew damned well if I was on the metro filled with these incredibly ignorant people listening to their rhetoric, I WOULD have ended up in jail.

Funny, I seem to remember pictures being taken after Glen Beck's rally and I don't recall seeing garbage thrown anywhere and everywhere. I realize this isn't the most thought-out post, but words are truly escaping me at the moment.