Foot in Mouth !!

John Kerry showed us today what he thinks of our military forces . He insinuated that they are dummies that are stuck in Iraq because they did not get an education .
Of course , he claims he " mispoke " . He should do his homework himself . The average education level of our soldiers is High school plus , compared to the average of the general population in the same age group is below high school level .

Video here from MSN.com

Down-ballot voting

Is this what you see when you approach the voting machine ? Pic copyrighted by Alternet.org . (I hope the picture shows )

Winning at the local level is a precursor to winning nationally, but prosaic as it may be, the most important thing is to have good people in public offices--honest, hardworking, intelligent, and pragmatic people, men and women who can get things done for the common good. Of course, honesty and fairness are paramount qualifications for local positions. We must assure that we have clean elections because , if the offices fall into the wrong hands, they can corrupt the very foundations of democracy.

At this point, the most worrisome scenario for Republicans has large portions of the GOP base staying home on Election Day. If that happens, collateral damage could follow.

Already, five or six GOP-held governorships are leaning toward the Democrats. But the next tier of gubernatorial races — tossups in states such as Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon and Wisconsin — could tilt Democratic on election night if GOP voters show up in lower-than-usual numbers. Winning most of these races could hand the Democrats a solid majority of governorships.

As for legislatures, almost two-dozen chambers are within a couple of seats of changing party control this year, including both chambers in Colorado, Maine, Iowa and Washington and one chamber each in Oregon, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

There’s a lot at stake this year in downballot races, beyond the ability to shape state policymaking. Winning legislative and gubernatorial seats builds farm teams that help a party win higher office. Moreover, with the decade starting to wind down, Congressional redistricting — which in a majority of states is handled by legislators and governors — is fast approaching. And with a pivotal presidential election coming up in two years, state-level strength could become a significant building block in the quest to put together an Electoral College victory.
I hope registered voters on all sides of the political spectrum look even deeper in the ballot , and remain aware of the importance of local city , precinct , and county elections . These elected officials are the base for the up ballot elections in the future . They run our local govrernments and are the ones who can effect change in government from the ground level . They will be members of the caucuses that elect people to the Electoral College . If we neglect to pay attention to who is elected down ballot , we will effectively lose our say-so in higher political races .


“A couple thousand votes can make a difference,” said Tim Storey, a political analyst at the National Conference of State Legislatures. “If one party is less enthusiastic, it could really hurt.”

A real hate-monger and potential terrorist

Here is a guy who thinks half of Congress should be assassinated if re-elected !
Hal Turner , An anti-Semitic white supremacist who conducts an Internet radio show says if Americans return incumbents to Washington in the Nov. 7 election, he may just have to assassinate them.
This guy is crazy !
The story was on Drudge and comes from World Net Daily

As the November 7 Election approaches, I decided to write a few lines to my fellow Americans about the state of our nation and the ugliness that may have to occur if the people who caused these problems are re-elected: They may have to be assassinated," he writes in his Oct. 27 screed.

Just so there can be no mistaking his intentions, Turner repeats his premise several times and even offers fairly detailed plans involving five-men strike forces to carry out their wet work in wiping out half the U.S. Congress and at least three members of the Supreme Court.

Guys like this are not worth listenibg to , but unfortunately many do listen . I hope no one follows his plans ! Our system may not be perfect , but it is the best in the world .

Statue of Liberty

Today is the 120th birthday of the Statue of Liberty .

Gasoline, Iraq , and Immigration

The following is a politically incorrect plan that was sent to me...


The U.S. wants us to cut the amount of gas we use. The best way to
stop using so much gas is to deport the 12 million illegal
immigrants! That would be 12 million less people using our gas. The
price of gas would come down.

Bring our troops home from Iraq to guard the border. When they catch
an illegal alien crossing the border, hand each a canteen, rifle and
some ammo.
Then ship them to Iraq. Tell them if they want to come to the U.S.
they must serve a tour in the military. Then ship them to Iraq. Give
them a soldier's pay while they're there and tax them on it.

After their tour, they will be allowed to become a citizen since they
defended this country. They will also be registered to be taxed and
be legal patriots. This option will probably deter illegal
immigration plus provide a solution for the troops in Iraq and the
aliens trying to make a better life for themselves.

If they refuse to serve, ship them to Iraq anyway, without the
canteen, rifle or ammo.



Sorry I can't take credit for coming up with this plan .

WISDOM

Old Wisdom

After working his farm every day, an old farmer rarely had time to enjoy the large pond in the back that he had fixed up years earlier with picnic tables, horseshoe courts, and benches. So one evening he decided to go down and see how things were holding up. Much to his surprise, he heard voices shouting and laughing with glee. As he came closer he saw it was a group of young women skinny dipping in his pond.

He made the women aware of his presence and they all went to the deep end. One of the women shouted to him, "We're not coming out until you leave."

The old farmer replied, "I didn't come down here to watch you ladies swim or make you get out of the pond naked. I only came down to feed the alligator."

Moral: Old age and treachery will always triumph over youth and skill.

If Democrats gain control

If the Democrats gain any control in Congress , we can expect plenty of investigations , more taxes , and several initiatives they have floated in the past . John Dingell of Michigan used to be chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee , and probably will return to that post .I quote this from Newsweek :

Dingell is careful to say he is not out to get George W. Bush, or the Republicans, and insists he will extend his hand to his GOP colleagues and conduct "oversight thoughtfully and responsibly." He says "there's no list" of things he wants to investigate. But in the next breath, he quickly ticks off a list of things he wants to investigate: The Bush administration's handling of port security and the threat of nuclear smuggling; computer privacy; climate change; concentration of media ownership; the new Medicare Part D program, which he calls a "massive scandal," and the secret meetings of Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force. "This is a hardheaded administration," Dingell says. "So we'll probably have lots of hearings."

The House of Representatives is full of John Dingell Democrats—exiled committee chairmen awaiting the day they can reclaim the center chair on the dais. All carry lists—if only in their heads—of issues and outrages they believe Republicans have failed to probe because such questions would be politically embarrassing to the president. Henry Waxman of California is another Democratic old-timer whose ire never dims. A tireless investigator, he's in line to head the Government Reform Committee, and plans to take aim at Halliburton and alleged rip-offs and contract abuse in Iraq.
This situation shows the Democrats as relentless in thier campaign to discredit Bush rather than offer real solutions to problems . They will spend the next two tears pursuing this goal instead of working with the administration from a position of strength in the House .

Even on the question of the Iraq war , they don't have any real solutions to offer yet .
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Democratic leaders are largely sticking with domestic issues in part because they have yet to come up with a coherent plan for the biggest problem of all: articulating a clear way out of Iraq. On the campaign trail, Democrats have been content to bash Republican failures and say they'd do better. The Democrats' official line is to promise a "new direction," and to urge, vaguely, "redeployment." If they win, they'll be forced to say what, if anything, that means.

Hillary comes clean about Sir Edmund

Sir Edmund Hillary
I wonder why it took so long for her to admit she was lying ? And now she wants us to beleive it was all her mother's fault !
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

Years after alternative media pointed out the virtual impossibility, Sen. Hillary Clinton finally has admitted she was not named for the famous conqueror of Mount Everest, Sir Edmund Hillary.

The New York Times, which repeated the claim as fact in a story just one week ago, reported Sen. Clinton's campaign issued a correction yesterday.

"It was a sweet family story her mother shared to inspire greatness in her daughter, to great results I might add," said spokeswoman Jennifer Hanley.

For more than a decade, Sen. Clinton's informal biography repeated the story, and it was recounted in former President Bill Clinton's 2004 autobiography, "My Life."

The problem with the tale, however, is one of timing. Sir Edmund and his Sherpa guide, Tenzing Norgay, became known to the world only in 1953, after becoming the first men to reach Everest's summit. Sen. Clinton was born in 1947.

Nevertheless, Clinton recounted to the press her meeting with Sir Edmund in 1995, during an Asian tour, in which she told the mountain climber how her mother had named her.

"It had two l's, which is how she thought she was supposed to spell Hillary," she said. "So when I was born, she called me Hillary, and she always told me it's because of Sir Edmund Hillary."

In 1947, Sir Edmund was an unknown beekeeper, but Clinton had explained her mother read about him in a publication while pregnant and liked the name.

Letter from George Bush

One of the posters on Conflicting Views ( link on sidebar ) , Bonaparte , posted this satirical letter today . What do you think about it ? I think it is funny and a great response to the critics of our "treatment" of the incarcerated extremists .

Letter from George Bush............
A Lady liberal wrote a lot of letters to the White House complaining about the treatment captive insurgent terrorists being held in Guantanamo Bay. She received back the following reply:

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, D.C. 20016

Dear Concerned Citizen,

Thank you for your recent letter roundly criticizing our treatment of the Taliban and Al Quada detainees currently being held at Guantanamo Bay,Cuba.

Our administration takes these matters seriously and your opinion was heard loud and clear here in Washington.

You'll be pleased to learn that, thanks to the concerns of citizens like yourself, we are creating a new division of the Terrorist Retraining Program to be called the "Liberals Accept Responsibility for Killers" program, or LARK for short.

In accordance with the guidelines of this new program, we have decided to place one terrorist under your personal care.

Your personal detainee has been selected and scheduled for transportation under heavily armed guard to your residence next Monday.

Ali Mohammed Ahmed bin Mahmud (you can just call him Ahmed) is to be cared for pursuant to the standards you personally demanded in your letter of complaint. It will likely be necessary for you to hire some assistant caretakers. We will conduct weekly inspections to ensure that your standards of care for Ahmed are commensurate with those you so strongly recommended in your letter. Although Ahmed is a sociopath and extremely violent, we hope that your sensitivity to what you described as his "attitudinal problem" will help him overcome these character flaws. Perhaps you are correct in describing these problems as mere cultural differences. We understand that you plan to offer counselling and home schooling.

Your adopted terrorist is extremely proficient in hand-to-hand combat and can extinguish human life with such simple items as a pencil or nail clippers. We advise that you do not ask him to demonstrate these skills at your next yoga group. He is also expert at making a wide variety of explosive devices from common household products, so you may wish to keep those items locked up, unless (in your opinion) this might offend him.

Ahmed will not wish to interact with you or your daughters (except sexually) since he views all females as a subhuman form of property. This is a particularly sensitive subject for him and he has been known to show violent tendencies around women who fail to comply with the new dress code that he will recommend as more appropriate attire.

I'm sure you will come to enjoy the anonymity offered by the burka -- over time.

Just remember that it is all part of "respecting his culture and his religious beliefs". Wasn't that how you put it?

Thanks again for your letter. We truly appreciate it when folks like you keep us informed of the proper way to do our job. You take good care of Ahmed - and remember, we'll be watching.

Good luck!

Cordially, your friend,

GEORGE W. BUSH

More on the Cop Killer

The Mexican consulate hired an attorney to represent a man accused of killing a Houston police officer, KPRC Local 2 reported.

Juan Quintero, 32, was in court Friday. The Mexican consulate asked the judge to have its lawyer represent Quintero.

Quintero is an illegal immigrant who was deported in 1999 but sneaked back into the country, according to authorities.

Houston police officer Rodney Johnson, 40, was shot and killed during a traffic stop in the 9300 block of Randolph Street near Braniff Street on Sept. 21.

Investigators said Quintero shot Johnson four times in the head while sitting in the back of the officer's patrol car.

Quintero has a criminal past, including the sexual abuse of a child in 1996.

FromClick2Houston.com

Houston cop killer situation

I need to get more info on this case before I make any more comments than this ---
The killer , who is an illegal immigrant , was assigned two attorneys by the judge since he is too poor to afford legal representation .
NOW - the Mexican government has hired an attorney for him , and my question is going to be - why does our tax money need to be spent on attorneys if he has a whole government behind him ?

More to come ..........

Reid Got $1M in Land Sale

Democrats often complain of Republicans playing fast and loose with money and influence . Seems Reid might be guilty of the same shenanigans himself .
read this exclusive AP story in My Way News .

Partisan/bipartisan

Partisan - When Republicans don't agree with Dimocrats.

Bi-partisan - When Republicans agree with Dimocrats.

Principled opposition - When Dimocrats don't agree with Republicans.

I "borrowed" this from Grouchy Old Cripple .
Things have been this way in Congress for a long time . And both parties follow these definitions unfortunately . Liberals especially like to label things they don't like "partisan" , as if Republicans should always agree with Democrats . The two-party system doesn't seem to exist in their minds . Seldom is any true bi-partisan effort seen .
I would like to see some real co-operation sometime . I am afraid the Republicans are going to find themselves in a bind soon if the Democrats make any gains in the mid-term elections . Since neither side wants to work together , a split Congress is going to be our fate for at least 2 more years .

So- Mexico doesn't like the FENCE ?

Mexican leaders are thinking about taking the fence issue to the UN ! How do they think our building a fence is something the UN should have any say about ? They don't want the free flow of Mexicans stemmed , mainly because of the $$ sent back home by the illegals . It is a major part of the Mexican economy after all . They will do nothing to slow or stop this , so we must .
This article in The Washington Post reveals their hopes that the UN will stop the FENCE . Hell , the UN can't stop anything without half a dozen or more "Resolutions" that only waste time and never seem to have any effect .

But Ruben Aguilar, the spokesman for Mexican President Vicente Fox, said Thursday that Mexico had ruled out that possibility. He added he was "confident" the additional fencing would never become a reality because an immigration accord would eventually replace it.

What accord might be reached is unknown , since Mexico wants almost free passage for workers , rather than any plan that makes any sense to most Americans . I say we need as many obstacles to illegal immigration as we can use , and even the Dept. of Homeland security's " virtual fence" earlier proposed would not be enough .

THIS IS JUST CRAZY !!!

A mother used her own baby as a weapon in a domestic dispute ! "...swinging the infant through the air and striking her boyfriend with the child ..."
The baby boy suffered a cracked skull . What thought process made her think that was something to do ?
Read about it in this article from Breitbart.com .

Vacation

My wife and I both have been ( and still are ) on vacation , so not much posting lately because we have been doing lots of things together and going places . Today we went to a Sysco Food Service show in Houston . She is a cafeteria manager . We sampled many different foods and such and walked a lot .

Friday we are going to Round Top , Tx. , for the annual antique weekend that happens there and in the surrounding towns each year . I hope to find more old tools for the collection and to sell .

I will get back to politics soon .

Film of 9-11 bombers

Five years after 9-11 a film of Mohammed Atta , and other members of the group has surfaced , showing them at Bin Laden's Afghanistan headquarters . This Sunday Times article has a link to the video .
It is the first time that a videotape has appeared of Mohammed Atta — who flew an American Airlines plane into the north tower of the World Trade Center — at a training camp in Afghanistan. It fills in a significant gap in the timing of the build-up to the attacks on the United States.

Dates on the tape show Atta was filmed on January 18, 2000, together with Ziad Jarrah, the pilot of United Airlines flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania after the passengers apparently stormed the flight deck.

The Sunday Times has obtained a copy of the video through a previously tested channel. The tape has no soundtrack and a US source said lip readers had tried without success to decipher what was being said.

Link here .