Auld Lang Syne

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind ?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And days o' lang syne ?

After the year I have had this year, these lyrics have more meaning than most can imagine. To say that 2008 was "turbulent" for the Logical Household is an understatement of epic proportions. We started the painful, lengthy process of selling our house in Minnesota, moving to Utah and then buying a new house. While this move was a long and often painful process the many joys of 2008 far outweighed them. Through out the process, 2008 was a year in which many new friendships formed and old ones strengthened. As a result, I could not let the year end without a couple of special shout outs.

To Gary Gross at Let Freedom Ring who not only was a sounding board on political issues, but he also spent a lot of time reminding me that I had to give control of my problems to God. Thanks.

To Ed Morrissey - what can I say about a man who is all heart. His friendship has been both a personal blessing and a blogging blessing. I can not thank you enough for all of your input, your assistance at the convention, the odd link at Hot Air and most importantly your friendship.

To Derek, AAA, Brian, Nancy, Mitch and the rest of the True North Junta. September 1 2007 started what has been an amazing ride! You guys started a great year off early and thanks to you I got the once in a lifetime opportunity to blog the convention. I never would have done it with out you!

Speaking of the convention...to Tracy and Julie. Thanks for letting me crash at the mansion during the convention. It was a great time!

To my wonderful MN legislators, Claire, Mike and Mark. I simply can not say you are my ex-anything. You all hold such a special place in my life that I simply can not let go - even from almost 1300 miles away. We simply shared so much in the last 6 years. Even though I am not there physically, I will be there in spirit cheering you on!

To my Blog Talk Radio partner in politicsTrue North Junta Jazz Shaw. Even though we have never met, I feel like you and Georg are old friends. Thanks for all you have done for me and mine over the last year.

To all my new Utah political partners in crime - Frank, Monte, Starfish Mama, Arc and the fantastic folks from the Chaffetz Campaign - thanks for giving me an outlet during the campaign. Even though I had more than enough to do at home, I needed a campaign outlet and not only did I find that, I found friends! What more can you ask for!

To all of my new friends from the convention - Fausta, Rick Moran, Duane Patterson (Generalissimo from the Hugh Hewitt Show) Skye, Chad, Liz, James, the Red State crew and many, many others - I cherish the memories of out adventures around St. Paul and Minneapolis and hopefully we will have future opportunities to do something similar again.

To my peeps over at BTR - Nikki Starr (who really ROCKS politics), Betty Jo Tucker at Movie Addict Headquarters, Kevin McCullough and Stevie B (Steven Baldwin), Media Lizzy (and the rest of the Heading Right crew) - I look forward to another year hanging out with you and having fun while we talk about life, liberty and rock and roll!

Each of you have touched, blessed and enriched our family in immeasurable ways and my 2009 wish for you is that you are all equally as touched, blessed and enriched. For you all deserve it!

Yes there was some sorrow in 2008. Leaving friends and family behind in the Upper Midwest was tough. My father in laws passing, while not wholly unexpected (he had been in very frail health for the last three years), was still hard on everyone. He was a rock for all of us and he will be sorely missed by all who knew him.

What astonishes me the most though about 2008 was the way it really felt like God wanted us here in Utah at this time. Even though selling the house didn't come in our time frame - it came in His and it allowed the Junior Logician to finish the school year with his friends back home. When we left we just knew it was going to be "impossible" to replace our old church home/family. Little did we know that what was waiting for us here! We left a house that was just about the house of our dreams and found another one that (when we are done with it) will be even better!

All in all 2008 was just the start of an amazing adventure for the Logical Household. Given that it was just the start, I can not even begin to imagine what 2009 will bring...and I can't wait for it to start!

Fun WIth Words

The fun story of theday has to be the annual list of banned words!

A movie about a "maverick," his journey "from Wall Street to Main Street," his "desperate search" for a "monkey" and a "game-changing" revelation about his "carbon footprint" probably would make the nation's word-watchers physically ill.

Especially if it were the "winner of five nominations."

All those words and phrases are on Lake Superior State University's annual List of Words to Be Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness. The 34th version of the list was released Tuesday, which means, "It's that time of year again."

My two favorite quotes had to be this...

"If I see one more corporation declare itself 'green,' I'm going to start burning tires in my backyard," wrote Ed Hardiman of Bristow, Va., in his submission.

and...

"I'm a maverick, he's a maverick, wouldn't you like to be a maverick, too?" offered Michael Burke of Silver Spring, Md., in his entry for the label embraced by unsuccessful Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

I can't wait to see what 2009 brings!

Founders Morning Quote

"The spirit of encroachment tends to consolidate the powers of all the departments in one, and thus to create whatever the form of government, a real despotism. A just estimate of that love of power, and proneness to abuse it, which predominates in the human heart is sufficient to satisfy us of the truth of this position."

--George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796

Waiting For Doctor Goodbar

For the last two years we have been hearing how it is time for the government to take over the health care system in order to save money and provide greater coverage for those "millions" we are told do not have health care. Never mind that the vast majority of those uninsured are uninsured by CHOICE and not because they were somehow priced out of the system. What these advocates of government run health care refuse to tell you is that the same bureaucracies that have so successfully run Medicare, Medicade and who managed the banking system will be the very same bureaucracies in charge of YOUR HEALTH.

A glimpse of government run health care can be found in Canada, France and the U.K. In the past I have highlighted cases here of the type of care that can be found in these countries. Thanks to the Admiral at Anti-Strib, we have three classic cases of the quality of care that you can find in Canada and Great Britian.

First, from Ontario...

Emergency room waiting times at some Ontario hospitals are prompting seriously ill people to walk away, sometimes with fatal results, health officials say.

Dr. Sean Gartner says 11 per cent of the people who came to the emergency room at his hospital in Guelph last month ended up leaving without receiving treatment.

A few months earlier, Gartner said an elderly man who left after he became tired of waiting was later found dead.

In February, Patricia Vepari, a 21-year-old engineering student, arrived at a Kitchener hospital emergency room with a fever, sore throat and nausea.

Facing an eight-hour wait, she decided to go home, where she died of an infection.

Then to Winnepeg...

Health officials say a man who died in the waiting area of a major Winnipeg hospital's emergency department may have been dead "for some time" before medical staff was alerted — 34 hours after he arrived.

The 45-year-old arrived by taxi at the Health Sciences Centre around 3 p.m. Friday from the Health Action Centre, a community health centre in central Winnipeg, where he had an earlier appointment, officials said.

Then to Toronto...

Hospital backlogs that leave patients in waiting rooms or on stretchers in a so-called "hall of shame" are to blame for three people dying within 24 hours at Etobicoke General Hospital, a city paramedic union leader alleges.

Glenn Fontaine, unit ambulance chairman for Toronto Paramedic Local 416, claims three people died between Monday and Tuesday at the hospital, with one of them going into cardiac arrest after sitting in the waiting room with chest pains for three hours and another patient dying after waiting with paramedics on an "offload delay" before getting a bed.

And finally across the pond to Great Britian...

DAD-of-two Stewart Fleming grips his head in pain as he waits to be seen in A&E - but he died after being ignored for SIX hours.

Clearly suffering, Stewart was clutching a note from his doctor saying he must be seen IMMEDIATELY.

But the railway signalman, 37, was left to die as a deadly virus ravaged his body and one by one his organs collapsed.

This is the just the precursor of what we can expect if we allow government bureaucrats to be in charge of health care in America. As I ask with every post along these lines - is this what you want for your children and their health?

Joyless Scolds

Being a parent is tough - I don't care what day and age you are in. There is always "something" that kids want that make parents cringe from time to time. One toy for girls today that many parents don't worry about is the American Girls line of dolls. While I have never had a chance to hit the American Girl stores, my friend Ed Morrissey has. His post on the family's trip to the Mall Of America American Girl store (for the Little Admiral) led to some comments that reveal why many liberals consider conservatives to be "joyless scolds". Comments like...

Hard hitting reporting there Ed.

American Girl pushed a hippie chick doll, one year. Do you want your daughter to emulate that?

That you would excuse American Girl’s association with this rabid feminazi group as not a big deal is kind of like your multiple posts praising and gushing over Grover Norquist, the Islamic jihad’s most effective Republican. To you, that’s apparently not a big deal either.

I got similar from other conservatives when the Junior Logician got into Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon and Harry Potter. I guess they were afraid that with characters like "Dark Magician" they thought he would get into necromancy (magical arts) or some such nonsense.
There's more, but I think you get the drift.

Obviously, the final commenter is not a parent. If she were she would know that there are times and places where politics should not encroach and that is in your child's play. Unless, that is, you want to permanently turn your child OFF of politics all together. Child's play should be just that....the child at play. If you, as a parent, feel strongly enough about the issue you can do the same thing that hundreds of other parents did - write and call the manufacturer and lodge a complaint, but don't drag your kids into it.

Apparently some people turn EVERYTHING into a political statement and when you are a parent that can actually be a dis-service to your child. Yes, you want to teach them your values but at some point in time, their individuality is going to kick in. You can either be a teacher - impart the values and let the child decide or you can be a scold and forbid the toy. In the first instance, your child may or may not to go ahead with that toy. In the second, your child resents you because you won't even consider getting them what they really want. Either way your child learns a lesson....about you. What lesson do you want them to learn that you are a joyless scold just to make a political point?

There is a happy medium that needs to be walked when you are a parent (or grandparent) and the bottom line should always be the well being of your child. If that means putting your politics "on the shelf" for short while, do it. That does not mean you should spoil your child, but if given a choice between a toy that outwardly portrays your values and one that is the exact opposite, you have to choose (for the sake of the child) the outward appearances.

Kids don't know about or understand corporate politics. Why punish them over something that they don't understand - unless you want them to resent you and your politics that is....

Founders Morning Quote

"It will not be denied that power is of an encroaching nature and that it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it. After discriminating, therefore, in theory, the several classes of power, as they may in their nature be legislative, executive, or judiciary, the next and most difficult task is to provide some practical security for each, against the invasion of the others."

--James Madison, Federalist No. 48, 1 February 1788

Update On The Vick Dogs

I got a wonderful email from a dog loving friend the other night. In it was a link to this blog post talking about the cover story for tomorrows Sports Illustrated Magazine.

“Did you see the Sports Illustrated article on Michael Vick’s dogs?” a friend asked me this morning.

“Not yet,” I told her. “Is it good?”

“No,” she said. “It’s perfect.”

"Perfect" is an understatement. From the heartbreaking...

The dog approaches the outstretched hand. Her name is Sweet Jasmine, and she is 35 pounds of twitchy curiosity with a coat the color of fried chicken, a pink nose and brown eyes. She had spent a full 20 seconds studying this five-fingered offering before advancing. Now, as she moves forward, her tail points straight down, her butt is hunched toward the ground, her head is bowed, her ears pinned back. She stands at maybe three quarters of her height.

She gets within a foot of the hand and stops. She licks her snout, a sign of nervousness, and looks up at the stranger, seeking assurance. She looks back to the hand, licks her snout again and begins to extend her neck. Her nose is six inches away from the hand, one inch, half an inch. She sniffs once. She sniffs again. At this point almost any other dog in the world would offer up a gentle lick, a sweet hello, an invitation to be scratched or petted. She's come so far. She's so close.

But Jasmine pulls away.

...to the heartwarming...

During a walk in Golden Gate Park one day, Jonny was mobbed by a group of kids. Cohen wasn't sure how Jonny would react to all those little hands thrust at him, but the dog loved it. He played with the children, and Cohen realized Jonny had an affinity for them. He enrolled Jonny in training for the program Paws for Tales, in which kids who get nervous reading aloud in class practice their skills by reading to a canine audience of one. Jonny was certified in November, and now once a month he sits patiently listening to children read.

He's not the only one of Vick's former dogs lending a hand. Leo, who lives with foster mother Marthina McClay in Los Gatos, Calif., is a certified therapy dog who spends two to three hours a week visiting cancer patients and troubled teens. Two other dogs are also therapy dogs, and two more are in training. A total of six have earned Canine Good Citizen certificates, issued by the American Kennel Club to dogs who pass a series of 10 tests, including walking through a crowd and reacting to unexpected sights and sounds.

...author Jim Gorant hits the heart of the issue and does not let up. These are not mean dogs who are irredeemable and unreformable. These dogs are....

"Of all dogs," says Dr. Frank McMillan, the director of well-being studies at Best Friends Animal Society, a 33,000-acre sanctuary in southern Utah, "pit bulls possess the single greatest ability to bond with people."

Perhaps that's why for decades pit bulls were considered great family dogs and in England were known as "nanny dogs" for their care of children. Petey in The Little Rascals was a pit bull, as was Stubby, a World War I hero for his actions with the 102nd Infantry in Europe, such as locating wounded U.S. soldiers and a German spy. Most dog experts will attest that a pit bull properly trained and socialized from a young age is a great pet.

Which is something that dog fanciers across the country have been trying to tell breed ban proponents across the country for years! Yet as far as "animal welfare" groups like PeTA and the HSUS are concerned these dogs don't deserve the second chance that Utah's own Best Friends Animal Society are giving them.

PETA wanted Jasmine dead. Not just Jasmine, and not just PETA. The Humane Society of the U.S., agreeing with PETA, took the position that Michael Vick's pit bulls, like all dogs saved from fight rings, were beyond rehabilitation and that trying to save them was a misappropriation of time and money. "The cruelty they've suffered is such that they can't lead what anyone who loves dogs would consider a normal life," says PETA spokesman Dan Shannon. "We feel it's better that they have their suffering ended once and for all." If you're a dog and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals suggests you be put down, you've got problems. Jasmine has problems.

Thank God there were a few dedicated people who were willing to take the risk that PeTA would not.

Do yourself a favor and read Gorant's excellent article and then take in the pictures that go with it. Then after you dry your eyes, please consider giving a donation to Best Friends to help them in their efforts to take care of the other animals in their care. While Michael Vick is required by the court to pay for the care of his dogs, the others don't have a court ordered benefactor and they could really use your help!

What Started the "Magic" Furor

After I linked (in my last post) to the David Ehrenstein column that led us to the "Magic Negro" furor of the last few days, I decided to take some time really reading and digesting what Mr. Ehrenstein wrote. What I found was so sickening that I felt that it really needed further exposure.

The Magic Negro is a figure of postmodern folk culture, coined by snarky 20th century sociologists, to explain a cultural figure who emerged in the wake of Brown vs. Board of Education. "He has no past, he simply appears one day to help the white protagonist," reads the description on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magical_Negro

He's there to assuage white "guilt" (i.e., the minimal discomfort they feel) over the role of slavery and racial segregation in American history, while replacing stereotypes of a dangerous, highly sexualized black man with a benign figure for whom interracial sexual congress holds no interest.

OK - right off the bat - anyone who takes Wikipedia as a definitive source on ANYTHING needs to have their heads examined. I mean I do use Wikipedia, but never as a sole source and rarely as a main source. There are too many flaws with Wikipedia that really prevents such reliance!

As might be expected, this figure is chiefly cinematic — embodied by such noted performers as Sidney Poitier, Morgan Freeman, Scatman Crothers, Michael Clarke Duncan, Will Smith and, most recently, Don Cheadle. And that's not to mention a certain basketball player whose very nickname is "Magic."

Oh so the reason that these gentlemen succeeded had NOTHING to do with their wonderful talents and was only due to the over active angst of white folk? And they call Limbaugh the racist here?????

The same can't quite be said of Freeman in "Driving Miss Daisy," "Seven" and the seemingly endless series of films in which he plays ersatz paterfamilias to a white woman bedeviled by a serial killer.

Morgan Freeman has to be one of my favorite contemporary American actors. The underlying calm dignity that he brings to every role he plays shines through even the most villainous villains that he has ever played (and he has played a couple) or in the comedic turns he has taken on the silver screen. To oversimplify the acting "chops" that this man has by calling it all "an inferior substitute" is highly insulting to say the least.

And what does the white man get out of the bargain? That's a question asked by John Guare in "Six Degrees of Separation," his brilliant retelling of the true saga of David Hampton — a young, personable gay con man who in the 1980s passed himself off as the son of none other than the real Sidney Poitier. Though he started small, using the ruse to get into Studio 54, Hampton discovered that countless gullible, well-heeled New Yorkers, vulnerable to the Magic Negro myth, were only too eager to believe in his baroque fantasy. (One of the few who wasn't fooled was Andy Warhol, who was astonished his underlings believed Hampton's whoppers. Clearly Warhol had no need for the accouterment of interracial "goodwill.")

But the same can't be said of most white Americans, whose desire for a noble, healing Negro hasn't faded. That's where Obama comes in: as Poitier's "real" fake son.

Clearly Warhol was secure enough to not need artificial trappings of "interracial goodwill" and had the nerver to call a fake a fake! What this country needs is more people like Andy Warhol who are willing to step up and call this fake what it is.

Imagine, if you will, the reactions of the left if Rush Limbaugh had said the following.

Like a comic-book superhero, Obama is there to help, out of the sheer goodness of a heart we need not know or understand. For as with all Magic Negroes, the less real he seems, the more desirable he becomes. If he were real, white America couldn't project all its fantasies of curative black benevolence on him.

But since it came from one of their own their silence was deafening.

Much Ado About "Magic"

When this story first broke Friday night, the Logical Husband and I had quite the debate on it. His take is that those who were reacting to Saltzman's CD choice were being hyper-sensitive and I was of the opinion that this was a strategic error of epic proportions for both Saltzman AND the RNC. However, we both agreed that Rick Moran's column on the subject is the definitive response to the story.

I suppose the real question is will there ever be agreement among everybody on just what is satire and what is racism?

The answer is not as long as liberals see playing the race card as the political advantage it is...

Shanklin’s stuff is mostly brilliant satire...That is, unless you’re a liberal seeking to make political hay and stifle free expression. You can criticize “Barack the Magic Negro” as unfunny or not in good taste. But when you use the inflammatory word “racism” to describe it, you go beyond critiquing the work and enter the world of pure politics. This liberals do on a regular basis and they get away with the sliming of political speech and speakers they disagree with because the press refuses to call them out on it.

Let's not forget that the phrase was COINED back in March by a white, liberal LA Times columnist. However, no one said a word about it until Shanklin's parody hit the Limbaugh show. After all, it was yet another prime opportunity to paint all Republicans (or all Republicans who listen to Limbaugh's show - which is most of the base) as open racists. After all - only a racist would use that term.....right??????

Rick goes on...

In fact, the left has lowered the bar on what constitutes “racism” by redefining the term to suit their own political needs. And by refusing to acknowledge any set definition of the word, the left deliberately undermines free speech by cutting off debate with liberals firmly ensconced in a superior moral position while the person being unfairly smeared as a racist is unable to defend themselves. If one tries to stand up and fight the charge, they give automatic legitimacy to the left’s argument. And if they remain silent in the face of such slimeball tactics, the smear works and sticks to the accused like glue.

And that is why this was such a stunningly stupid move on Saltzman's part. As long as there are those who continue to dumb down political rhetoric by redefining words at will, we will continue to be a divided nation - in every way. We need to quit allowing others to change the meaning of words on whims. We also need to stand up to those who are insulted at the drop of a hat - while ignoring the real threats and insults to all races.

Republicans need to quit allowing others to define them. They also need to quit being so mind-numbingly naive AS to think that something like this is going to be taken in anything BUT the wrong way by their opponents. Maybe once they do that, they will quit shooting themselves in the foot as often as they do.

Telling Less Than One Fourth Of The Story

Did anyone out there see headlines about this Thursday or Friday?

Although Israel stepped up its threatening rhetoric on Thursday, Gaza terrorists intensified their attacks, firing at least 25 mortar shells at the South overnight, one of which hit a building in the Eshkol region. No one was wounded in the attacks, but the building was damaged.

Or this????

Despite the mortar shell fire, Israel began transferring humanitarian aid to Gaza on Friday morning.

But boy howdy, Israel finally defends itself and you just can't MISS all of the headlines. Is it any wonder that those who only pay passing interest to the news don't understand that Hamas and Hezbollah have been bringing this on themselves for the last 30 years or so.

Scouting For A New Republic

One of Minnesota's most cherished contribution to American Arts is the "Old Scout" himself, Garrison Keillor. Now growing up in Chicago, I never "got" the appeal of Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion" - it was one of those "Iowa farm things" as far as I was concerned. The Logical Husband has tried to explain it to me (I guess it was pretty big in Pittsburgh when he was growing up) but it just never resonated with me at all, but people assured me that it was funny so I took them at their word.

However, his November 2006 Slate column has stripped all of that away (HT The Senate Site). There is no disguising the snobbery and disdain that is dripping from his finger tips as he spewed this forth.

Nov. 15, 2006 | I'm sitting under a banyan tree in Honolulu with a big glass of pomegranate juice, and the sea is glittering and surfers are skimming in on low waves, and the election is over, so let's all relax and quit irritating each other. OK? Nancy Pelosi, the she-wolf from Sodom, is about to become the madam of the House, so you Republicans just get over it. Cash in your blue chips and invest in gold ingots and maybe real estate in Costa Rica. The black helicopters have landed. Live with it.

Imagine if Republicans had taken that kind of a cavalier attitude after the 2000 and 2004 elections. Would old Garri have been so inclined to just "get over it"? I don't think that is the case at all based on some of his more recent screeds against the "current occupant". The "Scout" continues...

Democrats intend to bring reform to Washington, and why not begin with the United States Senate? It has been sorely in need of reform for a century or so. Two senators per state is a good idea in theory, assuming they are half smart, but then you look at George Allen, a lumbering frat boy from the state of Madison and Jefferson, and you think, whoa, something is wrong with this picture. We need some horizontal control.

Let's start at the beginning and redraw the map. First of all, is there a reason for Wyoming to exist as a state? I have often wondered about this. Why give two Senate seats to a half million dimestore cowboys while California gets two seats for 34 million people? (Wyoming has roughly the population of Sacramento.) It's OK if Wyoming sends somebody with brains and an independent streak, but when they send a couple of Republican hacks, then it makes no sense.

The idea behind the Senate was to create a sheltered body of wise counselors who, because they don't have to shill for money perpetually, can rise above the petty tumult and think noble thoughts and do the right thing in a pinch. Can you think of a time when Wyoming's senators have done this? No, you can't. So let's bite the bullet and make Wyoming a federal protectorate and appoint an overseer. This would be a good assignment for Halliburton. It's done a heck of a job in Iraq, so let's give it Wyoming and, while we're at it, Alaska. A wonderful postcard place, but what have its congresspeople done other than grub for federal largesse for Alaska? Change the name to Denali and put Halliburton in charge of it.

While we're at it, let's admit that Utah, Texas and Vermont have never been completely comfortable as part of the United States. They've tried to fit in, but it just isn't working, so let's allow them to pull out and find their own path. You could attach Nevada to Utah and make a lovely little desert nation out of that, and let Vermont join Canada, and make Texas a republic. Add Oklahoma to it. They really are part of the same thing. This leaves us with 43 states, which we could reduce to 40 by joining Rhode Island and New Hampshire and making Idaho part of Montana and combining North and South Dakota into one state called West Minnesota. It's called consolidation, folks. It goes on all the time in corporate America and also in local school districts, so let's make it work for America.

We've seen how well their version of reform has worked haven't we?

So because states like Wyoming and Texas and Utah and Alaska are not as politically savvy (in his mind) as "Scout" we should just kick them out of the Union? And since when was the Republican Party the only one to be bedeviled with political "hacks"? Now to be fair to "Old Scout" (something he has never done to HIS political opponents mind you) he did throw a couple of blue states into the screed but did you notice that he didn't kick them out - he just combined them and took away their representation.....

But, but you say....it's satire - it's meant to be humorous. Well my good friend Mitch Berg had something to say about that particular excuse.

The idea behind the Congress was to create a representative body of wise counselors who rise above the petty tumult and think noble thoughts and do the right thing in a pinch. Can you think of a time when Los Angeles’ representatives have done this? No, you can’t. So let’s bite the bullet and make Compton a federal protectorate and appoint an overseer - ooh, what a perfect word! This would be a good assignment for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. It’s done a heck of a job in south Chicago, so let’s give it all of Compton and, while we’re at it, Newark. A wonderful postcard place, but what have its congresspeople done other than grub for federal largesse for Newark? Change the name to “Housing Project # 447227″ and put HUD in charge of it.

While we’re at it, let’s admit that Detroit, El Paso and Philadelphia have never been completely comfortable as part of the United States. They’ve tried to fit in, but it just isn’t working, so let’s allow them to pull out and find their own path. You could attach El Paso to Juarez and make a lovely little desert nation out of that, and let Detroit join Canada, and make Philadelphia an “independent” nation. Add Camden New Jersey to it. They really are part of the same thing. This leaves us with 40 or 50 House seats unoccupied (more if we simply assumed that all black people could be conveniently represented by a few token representatives, since they all vote the same anyway. It’s called consolidation, folks. It goes on all the time in corporate America and also in local school districts, so let’s make it work for America....

For example, if you were to read the above and call me a racist, I could simply chuckle knowingly, wink and nod at my friends, and sniff “It’s satire, little fellow. I’m not surprised that some people just don’t get it.” We’d get a chuckle at your expense, and try to move on.

You might resopnd (sic) “but it’s not funny! It reeks of bitterness and petulance and unearned superiority, and it’s just stupid!”

I’d shake my head condescendingly and say “Um, look. I didn’t say ‘comedy’, I said ’satire’. If you need someone to rephrase the entire thing in the form of a fart joke, call Carrot Top. He’ll explain it to you. This is satire.”

On the other hand, you might respond “look, Berg, you have a long history of taking every one of life’s little slights deeply personally. This piece bespeaks both an overwhelming sense of personal entitlement - like the world owes it to you to give you your way - as well as an almost pre-adolescent sense of petty venality”

And you’d be right.

Except, of course, that I didn’t write it.

No, the person who did write it is a selfish, vain old scout who is only after what is best for HIM (check out the picture in the link). Whatever Garri thinks HE is entitled to HE should get. He is entitled to having his ideas represented in Washington DC, where as the hard working Red State citizens should have their stripped.

How progressive.....

True Love

Joel Stein has a very interesting column in the LA Times today. Now before I get into quoting it I have a confession to make. When I clicked on the headline listed in my daily e-paper, I was already to hate it but once I read it I not only loved it, I was in agreement many of Stein's conclusions...but I will let him speak now...

I don't love America. That's what conservatives are always telling liberals like me. Their love, they insist, is truer, deeper and more complete. Then liberals, like all people who are accused of not loving something, stammer, get defensive and try to have sex with America even though America will then accuse us of wanting it for its body and not its soul. When America gets like that, there's no winning.

But I've come to believe conservatives are right. They do love America more. Sure, we liberals claim that our love is deeper because we seek to improve the United States by pointing out its flaws. But calling your wife fat isn't love. True love is the blind belief that your child is the smartest, cutest, most charming person in the world, one you would gladly die for. I'm more in "like" with my country.

To be honest, I try not to fall into the trap of saying that liberals don't love this country. Just because we disagree on how to fix what is wrong does not mean (for the most part) that the person I am discussing the issue with does not "love" the country. Take my good friend (and Blog Talk Radio partner) Jazz Shaw. We don't always agree on the problems or the solutions, but I know that Jazz loves this country dearly.

One place where Stein is 100% correct....calling your wife fat - even in a "loving" manner is a guaranteed fight starter! It's a very bad call....

When a Democrat loses the presidential race, real lefties talk a lot about moving to Canada. When Republicans lose, they don't do that. Though, to be fair, they don't have a lot of nearby conservative options. Not even Hannity is a committed enough conservative to yell, "If Obama wins, I'm moving to Singapore."

Actually I know a couple of conservatives who said that they would move to Australia or a deserted South Pacific Island if Obama won, but I knew that it was a idle threat. Unlike the many Hollywood stars and starlets who SWORE that they would leave the country if a hick like President Bush won in 2000 or 2004 (people like Alec Baldwin, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam Robert Altman, Barbara Streisand, Susan Sarandon and Robert Redford for example) these folks didn't have the financial where-with-all to pick up their lives and move. One wonders, however, why these stars didn't pack up and go. They had the occupational flexibility and the finances to move anywhere in the world, but they didn't. Could it be that they realized that in spite of their hyperbole, they knew that there was no place better to be?

Stein then talks about his conversations on the issue with Glenn Beck...

When I ran the idea that liberals don't love America as much as conservatives by talk-show host Glenn Beck, who will move from CNN Headline News to Fox News next month, he totally agreed with me, which is precisely why I called him. "It's absolutely true, deep love. As a parent loves a child," he said. "But I think liberals laugh that off, the way the rest of the country laughs off the love Texans have for their state. Texans don't think, 'Oklahoma, you suck.' Well, yes they do -- but they don't think other states suck. They just have a love for the republic of Texas. I don't have disdain for other countries. Well, except for France."

Now I have to say something about my Texan friends. To say that they "love their state" is a gross understatement. The Logical Husband's best friend in the military was a gentleman from the Dallas area. Richard kept a box of Texas soil in his locker in the barracks so that he could get that feel of "home" whenever he needed it. A native Texan would die for his/her state - that is the same devotion that most conservatives (and many liberals) have for their country.

Here is where Stein and I part ways.

I accused Beck of loving America just out of birthplace convenience, which is kind of like loving the girl who happens to sit in front of you in homeroom. "If I were born in Great Britain and read about Britain and America, I'd love the values and principles and the men who founded this country," he said. "I love that we crossed these mountains and didn't know what was on the other side. I love that the Pilgrims didn't want to come here, but they came here because they felt prompted to by God. There's always been a spirit of adventure and awe in this land. And I don't think any other country has that." Beck, it seemed, loves America the same way little boys love camping.

Despite Beck's rationalization, I still think conservatives love America for the same tribalistic reasons people love whatever groups they belong to. These are the people who are sure Christianity is the only right religion, that America is the best country, that the Republicans have the only good candidates, that gays have cooties.

Unlike many of my more progressive and conservative friends, I have actually lived outside of the US and it was during a time similar to today when our standing in "the world" was a bit strained. It was during the Cold War - when Ronald Reagan was President and "the World" was certain he was going to start World War III. It was in those days that the Logical Husband was in the Army and stationed in southern West Germany (this was before re-unification took place obviously). Don't get me wrong - I was not one of those weepy military wives who HATED being stationed overseas because "it was not home!". I made our little off base apartment home - not only for the Logical Husband and myself, but for the other GI's at our base and our dozens of German friends who were constantly there. It was a 3 1/2 year long "honeymoon" if you will - except that we lived and shopped and did business with the German government and our neighbors businesses. We adored Germany so much that we gave serious consideration to a job offer that would have allowed us to stay there as employees of a German military contractor. It was a wonderfully tempting offer, but in the long run, as much as we loved living in Germany we both were ready to go "home". There were too many freedoms that we had here in the US that we didn't have in even enlightened Western Europe. The government intrusion into daily German life was just beginning and many of the younger more "Americanized" kids were rebelling against it so you can imagine what someone who grew up with the real thing - warts and all (as opposed to the romanticized ideal that these kids had) - had to say on the issue.

I have a co-worker who is more liberal (on many issues) than I am who also was fortunate enough to have spent much time overseas. When I asked her thoughts on this particular column she said that she too has an overwhelming love for this country that comes from her time abroad - it gave her a deeper appreciation of just how blessed this country truly is. She saw things that gave her a deeper appreciation for the things we have here.

The Logical Husband and I (and my co-worker) have also had the luxury of being able to travel to some of the countries in the world that our progressive friends find so fascinating and I can tell you that these countries are not all they are advertised to be by their cheerleaders here in the US. Just as the European youths of our years in Germany had a "romanticized" vision of the US, American Progressives have a romanticized vision of these more egalitarian societies like Sweden and Cuba. There are many who are out there exposing the warts of the countries (other than the US) that our friends on the left idolize. The information is out there, if you are willing to see it.

Joel closes with a graph that sends me from pity to anger at him in a very swift fashion.

I wish I felt such certainty. Sure, it makes life less interesting and nuanced, and absolute conviction can lead to dangerous extremism, but I suspect it makes people happier. I'll never experience the joy of Hannity-level patriotism. I'm the type who always wonders if some other idea or place or system is better and I'm missing out.

Pity because again, he just doesn't get it. Love it not nuanced - love is "I'll lay down my life for you", love is give up everything you have in order to be with that person or be in that place. True love never wonders if there is something better out there! Those of us who have been overseas, we have been to these places that you admire so much and we are able to see the good, the bad and the indifferent in them. We go to these countries and we see people - hard working people who are doing whatever it takes to take care of their families and live life to the fullest - just like we do here. Anger because he just refuses to see this country in the same idealistic light he sees other countries in.

Joel - the reasons most conservatives love America more are not "tribalistic" as you claim and no conservatives don't hold the patent on loving America. The fact that you have bought into this absurd notion shows that you still don't get it. The reason that conservatives like myself (as well as Jazz, his progressive wife Georg and my liberal co-workers) love America is because it is a place where we can all agree on the problem, disagree on the solution and still stand shoulder to shoulder to defend a country that may be flawed. It is still a place that we can stand tall and say that there is no place that we would rather be - in this time - than in this place....the United States of America.

Founders Morning Quote

"The constitution of the United States is to receive a reasonable interpretation of its language, and its powers, keeping in view the objects and purposes, for which those powers were conferred. By a reasonable interpretation, we mean, that in case the words are susceptible of two different senses, the one strict, the other more enlarged, that should be adopted, which is most consonant with the apparent objects and intent of the Constitution."

--Joseph Story, Commentaries on the Constitution, 1833

Something that a lot of legislators and judges should keep in mind.....

Merry Christmas

Joyeux Noel, Feliz Navidad, Froehliche Weinachten - whatever the language may you have a joyous and blessed day today.

Rejoice - for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. It is what today is ALL about.

What Honeymoon?

President elect Barack Obama has not even taken the oath of office and already the editorial board at the NY Times is taking pot shots at him. In an editorial entitled "Shifting Troop Targets", the board pleads for the President elect to live by his campaign promise to pull troops out in 16 months.

Even Mr. Obama, who campaigned on withdrawing all combat troops within 16 months (roughly May 2010) has signaled flexibility by saying he will listen to his generals.

What are the generals saying? According to The Times’s Elisabeth Bumiller and Thom Shanker, the commanders’ new military plan would leave troops in place beyond Mr. Obama’s timetable. And there is talk about redefining solders as “trainers” or “advisers” so that they do not have to leave the cities in June. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said that even after 2011, “several tens of thousands” of troops will remain.

If conditions deteriorate, Washington may have to slow the withdrawal pace. But, for now, we urge Mr. Obama to stick to his campaign pledge to pull combat troops out in 16 months.

During the campaign, I was taken to task by several Obama backers when I said that this campaign promise would go by the wayside the instant that the president elect got his first "Presidential Daily Brief". The true believers were adamant that Obama was "different" and that he would "live up to his word" to bring change to American policy in Iraq. Given his announcement that he would be retaining the services of current Defence Chief Robert Gates and the vast majority of his people at the DOD, I can't help but wonder exactly what kind of change Obama's supporters thought they were going to get.

Oh and as far as changing our "standing" in the world....well if the comments to this op-ed are any indication.....

It appears that the U.S. Government's intention is to maintain troops in Iraq as long as necessary to maintain control of Iraq's oil.

— Victor, Dhaka Bangladesh

It does not appear that will be changing anytime soon either.

Founders Morning Quote

"I have often expressed my sentiments, that every man, conducting himself as a good citizen, and being accountable to God alone for his religious opinions, ought to be protected in worshipping the Deity according to the dictates of his own conscience."

--George Washington, letter to the General Committee of the United Baptist Churches in Virginia, May 1789

Global Warming Funnies

Questions and Answers

RNC National Committeeman Morton Blackwell did what a lot of conservatives have been dying to do - he asked some rather pointed questions of the candidates running for RNC Chair this year. Matt Lewis of Townhall has the post that is a must read for every Republican grass roots activist out there!

Here are a couple of highlights from the post. In answer to question 1 (As RNC chairman, what would you do to make sure that Democrats do not have a comparable ground-game advantage in 2010?)...

Saul Anuzis: The challenges we faced in 2008 had less to do with infrastructure and more to do with a passion deficit that our party experienced throughout 2008. The articulation of good ideas breeds passion; Passion breeds excitement; excitement breeds volunteers, and volunteers are the life's blood of a political ground game. So our first task is to be the party that is effectively communicating conservative ideas, so that we can once again stir the passions of our nation....
Ken Blackwell: ...to have an exceptional ground game, our Party must first inspire thousands of people who can then be activated to work for our shared values during the election cycle. Lately, our party has become overly focused on mechanics while failing to articulate a clear, concise, positive and practical message. To inspire enough prospective Republican volunteers to be a part of a new "ground game," we must stand firm for our core beliefs: Limited government, traditional values and a strong national defense. If we become the "Obama-lite" party, we will not be able to recruit the substantial number of volunteers needed for such a massive effort.
Katon Dawson:... In 2008, the GOP's strategy of "winning 50 percent plus one" and sticking strictly to the electoral math cost us dearly. The result was Democrats making gains almost everywhere -- even in the reddest of states. Our message was lost and good candidates didn't have a chance due to the monetary and strategic advantages of the Obama campaign. Republicans can't wait until the next election season to improve our on-the-ground operation -- the rebuilding must start now.

In answer to question 2 (As RNC chairman, what would you do to make sure that the RNC, in a balanced way, speaks out for the social issues so important to a huge number of potential Republican voters and so clearly stated in the democratically written and unanimously adopted 2008 National Republican Platform?)...

John "Chip" Saltsman: Republicans are successful when they are faithful to conservative ideals - smaller government, lower taxes, family values. Unfortunately, in recent years, actions by our elected officials have diverged from the party's ideological pillars. So, I fully appreciate the problems that social conservatives and fiscal conservatives have had with our party. I know that we must effectively communicate with disheartened supporters and communities of voters who share our core principles. And I believe that it is imperative for the next RNC Chairman to make all members of our coalition feel at home in the Republican Party, while adding new supporters to the GOP family. (ed can I get an AMEN from the church?)

Michael Steele: Well, as Chairman I would begin by restating: We are the Conservative Party of this Great Nation. We value life, born and unborn; we value hard work and individual initiative; we value service to our nation and to our community; but most of all we value the rights of individuals to pursue life, liberty, and happiness. As a strong social and fiscal conservative, I will continue to embrace -- not take advantage of the conservatives of our Party.
I also recognize that good Republicans can disagree from time to time. But the answer to returning to a ruling majority is not to abandon our principles or abandon our National Republican Platform but to embrace all of it and articulate its message in such a manner that we inspire and move a nation towards once again embracing conservative Republican principals and policies.

There is much, much more that conservatives should really read.

All in all, I have to say that I was extremely impressed by the answers given by John "Chip" Salzman and Kanton Dawson to a majority of the questions. Many of their answers covered ground that none of the others had prior to this. The answers from Saul Anuzis, Ken Blackwell and Michael Steele were not surprises to anyone who has read their previous position papers on the issues or followed their campaigns (Steele and Blackwell) in any manner.

The man whose answers disappointed me the most was current chair Mike Duncan. He showed (in several of his answers) that he is close to getting it, but he is still not quite there yet - where the other candidates fully do get it. His tepid "hiding in the bull-rushes" approach to his answers and his tenure as the GOP chair has earned him the nickname "Mike WHO?"

Duncan has been the Invisible Chairman, installed in January 2007 by Karl Rove to be unobtrusive — a mission he has carried out brilliantly. Many, if not most, Republican leaders and activists don’t know who he is. For example, when Duncan was a guest recently on the "Hugh Hewitt Show," the radio host asked Duncan why this was the first time this RNC chairman had ever asked to come on the show and address millions of his fellow Republicans.

Duncan couldn’t give an answer other than he’d been busy for the past year. I suppose that’s one way to look at it. Another way is he hasn’t provided the kind of leadership the Republican National Committee needs in this day and age.

And that pretty much sums it all up. Mike Duncan seems to be a nice enough guy, but he appears to not understand what the Republican Party needs to do to move forward. The GOP needs a chair that understands how to get the volunteers and donors excited again. Being the "Invisible Man" is not going to do that.

A Conservative Case for Conservation CHOICE

Bekkieann had a post up last week that sparked a little conversation - how low is "too low" when it comes to setting the thermostat at home in order to conserve energy. Well it turned out that this conservative was the "bravest" (in Bekkieann's words) enough to set the thermostat (overnight anyway) to 60 chilly degrees. My family and I love to snuggle down under heavy blankets at night which is one reason for that. However, another reason does have to do with a certain sense of conservation - both of the environmental and fiscal variety. From an environmental standpoint, we do try not to use more energy than needed so we keep lights off until absolutely necessary, we keep the thermostat set a little low (unless one of us is sick that is), we try to minimize the driving that we do, we utilize water conservation practices (good habits that were formed before we moved to a "desert" state) etc, etc. We do this in part out of the mindset of stewardship - we want to be good stewards of the environmental resources that God has given us. The other resource that we try to be good stewards of is our finances and environmental conservation helps there as well. If you are not spending hundreds of dollars on electricity or heating, you have that money to spend on other things - necessities or extravagances - whatever YOU choose and therein lies the sticking point for most conservatives when it comes to environmental protection laws.

Most conservatives who chafe at the idea of government dictating environmental protection are not against protecting the environment, they are against the government telling you that you must do it and how to do it. In some cases, you can not turn down the thermostat because you have young children or the elderly in the house - people who can not handle those temperature "extremes". In other cases, they may have a job that requires that they drive a vehicle that uses a lot of gas or prohibits them from car-pooling or riding a bus. There are millions of reasons why a person may not be able to abide by mandated lifestyle changes and there are just as many of us out there who are more than willing to pick up the slack - people like Mark Miller.

Mr Miller runs a local car dealership and they use a LOT of water so he thought he could use rainwater that he collected to do things like wash cars and the like. However, Mr. Miller ran afoul of a government who claimed that it "owned" the rainwater and that Mr. Miller was somehow in violation of the law. The water rights laws that Mr. Miller was breaking were laws that were put into place to keep people from diverting streams from their natural flowage and did not apply to rainwater use. This lead Sen. Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City, to announce that he was going to propose a common sense bill allowing individuals to collect rainwater for private use (with limits).

Which gets back to the original objection - government fiat. Government dictat causes a problem which necessitates further government intervention to "fix" which requires further government intervention.....you get the picture? Why not let the people decide what conservation methods work best for them? In my case, setting the thermostat a little lower works - for others maybe not so much. Is it really that hard to let the people figure out how best to run their lives?

Founders Morning Quote

This is for all of you folks who claim that the Founding Fathers were merely "deists" and not Christians. Feel free to discuss.

"[R]eligion, or the duty which we owe to our creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and therefore all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience; and this is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian forbearance, love, and charity towards each other."

--Virginia Bill of Rights, Article 16

Thinking Aloud

Last week RNC Chairman Mike Duncan decided that what the GOP needed to "fix" its problems was a new "think tank".

The Republican National Committee is building a new, in-house think tank aimed at reviving the party's policy heft.

The think tank will be called the Center for Republican Renewal, and it has been mentioned as part of RNC Chairman Mike Duncan's platform for reelection, but was begun shortly after the election as a new RNC office, separate from the campaign, a Republican official said.

Former Texas Congressman Tom DeLay thinks that idea is a horrible idea.

While I appreciate Chairman Duncan for thinking outside the box, we'd be better off paying more attention to what the Democrats have built over the last eight years and working off of a new model. This new political paradigm all comes down to campaign finance reform. What John McCain thought (hoped?) would be a shot in the arm to our campaigns turned out to be a shot in the foot to the Republican Party. Karl Rove and the Bush team were simply convinced that Republicans would rake in the dough when we doubled the individual contribution limits...but what they didn't realize was the incredible amount of soft money that would pour in to finance liberal political capital. Unions, foundations, and wealthy individuals all ponied up vast amounts of their resources to build an outside organization - a Shadow Party, as David Horowitz calls it. Couple that with a national candidate’s (without the last name Bush) unexpected hard dollar fundraising prowess and, well, here we are.

The good news is there are about twice as many conservative think tanks as liberal ones, yet the Republican National Committee - a party organization with the sole goal to elect Republicans to office, is potentially wasting scarce, overly-regulated, hard dollars on ten staffers to write talking points and develop a new website. They don't need a think tank to develop new ideas, we already have a party platform for that.

I do agree with the former Congressman that the idea of another conservative think tank is un-necessary and that the party should focus on electing Republicans. However I would qualify his statement saying that that GOP needs to focus on electing HONORABLE Republicans - people who are not going to get a) a raging case of D.C.itis or b) who do not think that inconveniences like campaign finance laws apply to them! Maybe if the GOP started doing that, the voters would start to trust them again!

Founders Morning Quote

"Let the pulpit resound with the doctrine and sentiments of religious liberty. Let us hear of the dignity of man's nature, and the noble rank he holds among the works of God."

--John Adams, Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law, 1765

A "Cents" of Responsibility

What do you do when you have a 9% approval rating? Well if you are the Democrats in Congress you vote yourself a pay raise of course!

A crumbling economy, more than 2 million constituents who have lost their jobs this year, and congressional demands of CEOs to work for free did not convince lawmakers to freeze their own pay.

Instead, they will get a $4,700 pay increase, amounting to an additional $2.5 million that taxpayers will spend on congressional salaries, and watchdog groups are not happy about it.

Yeah - they love to complain about those overpaid CEO's but when do we get to do something about the overpaid CEO's in Congress? When do we get to hold their feet to the proverbial fire like they did (and rightly so I might add) to the CEO's of the Big Three?

“As lawmakers make a big show of forcing auto executives to accept just $1 a year in salary, they are quietly raiding the vault for their own personal gain,” said Daniel O’Connell, chairman of The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), a non-partisan group. “This money would be much better spent helping the millions of seniors who are living below the poverty line and struggling to keep their heat on this winter.”

Typical of the Pelosi led House.....you have to suffer and you have to take a cut in pay while WE get to live high on the hog. They (and their policies) managed us into this recession and instead of living by the punishment they want to dole out to the CEO's of mismanaged banks and car companies, they give themselves a raise.

This is the change we voted for - are you happy now?

Shoe Ponderings...

A lot of people have had a lot of fun with the image of an Iraqi journalist throwing a shoe at President Bush. I will admit my first thought was "gee - I didn't think he could still move that fast" however, the Logical Husband made a comment today that got me to thinking. He said "I wonder if the press would have so much fun with it if it were President Obama that was the target of the shoe throwers ire."

I think we all know what the answer to that is...

Battle Lines

There is a battle going on today for the leadership of the GOP. At least two candidates for the GOP Chair have attempted to address what many activists feel is the biggest problem within the GOP - a lack of a clear coherent message and an effective means to get it out. First up is Michigan GOP Chair Saul Anuzis. He has been busily promoting his "Blueprint for A GOP Comeback" which I encourage all Republican activists to read. Two of the things that I find to be the most interesting and encouraging about Mr. Anuzis is his desire to listen to the activist base and his use of the internet. Mr. Anuzis has even signed on to the plan put together at "Rebuild the Party".

Second is former Lt. Governor Michael Steele of Maryland. Lt. Gov. Steele has spent the last 3 years quietly and not so quietly advancing conservative causes. He has quietly been going into minority communities to listen to their concerns and to share why conservative values match their values closest. He has not so quietly been trumpeting conservative causes as a political commentator on the Fox News Channel. He is starting to release (in chapters) his "Blueprint for Tomorrow" which I would also encourage you to read. In chapter 1, Lt. Gov. Steele echoes what many activists, voters and critics of the RNC (including Mr. Anuzis) have long said - the GOP brand is tarnished, our current strategy is NOT working, we are lagging in the use of new technologies AND we must have the integrity to stick to our principles! (Chapter 2 can be found here) Star Parker has a phenomenal column up at Townhall today on the RNC Chair race and in it she asks three very straight forward business questions.

The three most important management questions, according to famed management guru Peter Drucker, are: What is our business? Who is the customer? What does the customer consider value?

What is the business of the RNC? Some might say it is to get Republicans elected. I'd say that's inadequate. Clever marketing techniques can move product in the short run. But if customers are not happy, they don't come back.

I would say that the drop off in volunteers and fund-raising and voters has shown that the customers are "not happy".

Who is the customer? The RNC must genuinely view the full spectrum of the American electorate as its target market. What business can possibly grow by only focusing on customers who have already bought its product? Only going after low-hanging fruit is not a business plan that any venture capitalist would finance.

Republicans must get their message to the many diverse communities that make up our great country that they have ignored. Yes, I am certainly talking about black and Latino communities.

The base, while important (as John McCain), will not be enough to win elections. You have to talk to folks outside of the base and find out what is important TO THEM. I got a really great taste of that this past year when I did some door knocking for the old home district. We got the radical idea to ask voters what was important to them (as opposed to telling them what was important). As a result of that, the old home district knew long before the rest of the country did that the pending housing crisis was the most important issue to the voters and we were able to capitalize on it this year! This is common sense people - not rocket science! Which leads to....

What does the customer consider value? Customers buy products they believe will make them better off. Although some voters are motivated by ideology, most are seeking a secure, comfortable and safe life.

Bill Clinton had it 100% correct when he said "It's the economy stupid!" Like it or not, voters vote their pocketbooks above all. They value a government that works for them, not bailing out big business. They value a government that is concerned about moving the country and the economy forward. They value ideas and optimism and they certainly do not value conspiracy theories about whether the child of a 19 year old American citizen born in 1960 is eligible to be President of the United States - whether that child was born in Hawaii or in Kenya! If the customer does not value your product, no amount of pushing it at them will change their minds, in fact it will have the opposite effect! It will chase more and more of your customers away - is that really what the GOP and the few remaining followers that they have really want to do?

The race is going to boil down to ideas - who has them and who does not. Hopefully the elected National Committeemen and Committeewomen have the common sense to realize that the status quo is not working and the do something dramatic to fix it.

PS - I would love to have links for the other 7 candidates. I know that Mike Duncan has a website and I will be perusing that soon, but what about the other challengers. If you know of links to the other candidates plans send them to me at ll at the domain ladieslogic dot com.

Founders Morning Quotes

"Since private and publick Vices, are in Reality, though not always apparently, so nearly connected, of how much Importance, how necessary is it, that the utmost Pains be taken by the Publick, to have the Principles of Virtue early inculcated on the Minds even of children, and the moral Sense kept alive, and that the wise institutions of our Ancestors for these great Purposes be encouraged by the Government. For no people will tamely surrender their Liberties, nor can any be easily subdued, when knowledge is diffusd and Virtue is preservd. On the Contrary, when People are universally ignorant, and debauchd in their Manners, they will sink under their own weight without the Aid of foreign Invaders."

--Samuel Adams, letter to James Warren, 4 November 1775

The Rise And Fall

Back in 2004 I had just barely started following blogs when Powerline (with some help from the Freepers) helped break the "Rathergate" story. I was not following them closely at the time, so I missed the initial story and a follow up that turned out to be the beginning of a long, often contentious relationship. That is the relationship between the Minnesota Center Right Blogosphere and Nick Coleman. It was a love/hate relationship that lead to many classic rants. I've written about them all before, so I won't go into all of that here.

Well on Monday we found out that we won't have Nick Coleman, Metro Columnist, to kick around any more.

According to a buyout memo released this afternoon and newsroom sources, Nick Coleman and Katherine Kersten will lose their columns, though they may be able to remain at the paper as reporters.

Now while everyone else has touched on how they will miss fisking Nick's columns (and even though he gave it up Mitch was king of fisking Nick's columns. The first thing I though of though was the irony of the fact that a medium that Nick (and many other "real" journalists) so despised is outlasting him! His nemesis at Powerline have not only outlasted him, but also grown in respect and political stature that Nick could only dream of during his days at Air America and the Star Tribune. It was the kind of recognition that we all dream of getting only these interlopers got it, not because they worked in the biz and paid their dues, but simply because they got (in Nick's mind) lucky. However, it was not luck as much as it was an open minded inquisitive nature that the "pros" seem to have lost during the course of the daily grind.

The meteoric rise of blogs (and concurrent fall of newspapers) should be a lesson to us all - newspapers and bloggers alike. It can happen to bloggers just as easily as it happened to newspapers. All it takes is for bloggers to get as detached from their readers as the newspapers have and to lose their passion for whatever drives them to post.

Compare And Contrast

Utah and Minnesota, like every other state in the Union, are facing a severe budget short-fall. How the two state's legislature is a telling study in contrasts. Utah legislators have gotten out the green eye-shades and sharpened their pencils.

House Republicans want to cut 15 percent from next year's state budget to help make up for what is expected to be at least a $1 billion shortfall. Incoming House Speaker Dave Clark, R-Santa Clara, says under the House plan Republicans agreed to Monday, no state agency would be spared.

"This is an unprecedented time. We don't have a historic benchmark to figure out $1 billion-plus cuts in the state of Utah," he said.

"I don't know how any form of state government is not going to be impacted at this point in time."

Their counterparts in Minnesota (on the other hand) are pointing the finger.

Democratic legislative leaders are blaming a lack of jobs for the state's projected $5.2 billion budget deficit. And they're pointing some fingers at the agency responsible for job creation, calling for a major overhaul at the Department of Employment and Economic Development.

House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher and others are stressing job creation when discussing the deficit. She told Minnesota Public Radio it's time to re-examine the state's economic development efforts.

Because after all, they can't be responsible for a $7.2 billion dollar swing in the state budget. It HAS to be someone elses fault and who better to blame than a Republican appointee and the business community!

And that in a nutshell is why the state of Minnesota is $7.2 billion in the red.

Founders Evening Quotes

Since I missed the last two mornings, here is an evening edition.

It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world.
Thomas Jefferson

My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.
Thomas Jefferson

The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.
Thomas Jefferson