The Constitution Club

UPDATE: Massive Effort to Save Mortgages

John Taylor, chief executive of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, called it “a gutsy move on their part,” adding : “They are bending over backward to try to reach out to these people.” The coalition represents 600 community groups and has urged the government and industry to help homeowners.

It is worth noting that JP Morgan took on these loans voluntarily when it acquired failing banks. Since it took the good with the bad at the governments urging some help makes sense.

In a recent post Dave the Sage asked ‘Is this what they intended?’. He mused…

So much for helping the little guy and easing the credit crunch. What an embarrassment the bailout turned out to be.

In Dave’s populist rhetoric I assume the little guy means homeowners who are suffering due to the latest crisis. Dave quoted a NYT columnist of all people who said he heard this in a recent conference call…

“I think there are going to be some great opportunities for us to grow in this environment, and I think we have an opportunity to use that $25 billion in that way,” the executive said. He added that the money could also be used as a backstop in case “recession turns into depression or what happens in the future.”

There was not a word about lending — not to businesses or home buyers or car buyers or students or other consumers. Just the opposite. In response to another question, the executive said that the bank expected to continue to tighten credit.

Well I think he should he kept listening. I have kept reading, and look what I read…

JPMorgan Chase & Co., the largest U.S. bank by market value, said it won’t begin new foreclosureproceedings on some loans while it finds ways to make payments easier on $110 billion of problem mortgages. Within the next 90 days, the bank, which two weeks ago accepted a $25 billion cash infusion from the government, will examine loans and may agree to reduce interest rates or principal amounts, New York-based JPMorgan said today in a statement.

Congress has been urging financial-services companies to work with borrowers and avoid foreclosures, which rose to the highest on record in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp. said it will help more than 630,000 at-risk borrowers stay in their homes.

Read the rest of this entry »

Lori Roman has written an excellent piece over at Regular Folks United. I have posted about half of it here, but you owe it to yourself to read it all. It’s not overly long.

We Cannot Be Ignorant And Free

I keep hearing the same question asked: How could so many Americans vote for Barack Obama, a man who advocates socialist policies and associates with radical people who hate America?

I believe the answer is simple: We are not teaching our young people to understand and value the American experience and moral relativism has robbed them of their ability to make ethical judgments. I came to this conclusion after teaching college for six years. It is not an exaggeration to say this absolutely frightens me.

Academically our children are not equipped to appreciate and pursue the American Dream. Many children graduate from high school with good grades, but without fundamental skills. This fact is supported by the expensive array of remedial education classes that most colleges must provide freshman, as well as our dismal test rankings among other countries.

Uninformed people are easily fooled. Thomas Jefferson said: “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.”

Conceptually, many Americans don’t even understand the underpinnings of America, which, according to Thomas Jefferson are: (1) Freely elected government; (2) Free enterprise; and (3) Moral and spiritual values.

Students don’t generally have trouble understanding freely elected government; however, they don’t understand that it is to be cherished. In many textbooks all governmental systems are treated equally, therefore communist dictatorships are presented as just an alternative system of government.

Because I taught comparative economics, I saw first hand the apathy of my students—communism, socialism and democratic capitalism were different but equal in their eyes. They did not understand liberty as a fundamental human right…

…I can take a classroom of statists and turn them into capitalists in 10 weeks. This is not because I am such a great teacher, but because truth and common sense prevail.

These are not difficult concepts. Some time ago my twelve-year-old was playing a computer game called SIM City, in which he could design his own city and government and set taxes. As I looked at his city I saw a few cars moving through a small business district. A couple of minutes later, he excitedly told me to look at how his city had changed. There were more cars and a larger, bustling business district. Unfamiliar with the program, I asked him what he had done to create such improvement. “I lowered taxes!” he said and he rolled his eyes at me as only a twelve-year-old can, with an unspoken “duh, Mom!” I told him that he was brilliant and that I was sending him right to Washington. He apparently has a better grasp of economics than most politicians, including Obama…

I’m so glad I got my public schooling before political correctness had fully caught on. I’m also fortunate to have married an historian. I sometimes wonder if I would have turned out differently under different circumstances. It’s so easy to give in to emotions. And liberals capitalize (oh! there’s that word!) on (as well as fall prey to) that trait of humanity so often.

Today I received an email entitled “Civics 101″, which is making its way around Al Gore’s Amazing Internet™ [tip o' the hat to Chris Plante for that one ] and maybe it’s been circulated ever since 2000. It doesn’t matter, it’s still true in 2008.

It’s all about the Ice Cream …..
The most eye-opening civics lesson I ever had was while teaching third grade in 2000. The presidential election was heating up and some of the children showed an interest. I decided we would have an election for a class president. We would choose our nominees. They would make
a campaign speech and the class would vote.

To simplify the process, candidates were nominated by other class Members. We discussed what kinds of characteristics these students should have. We got many nominations and from those, Jamie and Olivia were picked to run for the top spot.
The class had done a great job in their selections. Both candidates were good kids. I thought Jamie might have an advantage because he got lots of parental support. I had never seen Olivia’s mother. The day arrived when they were to make their speeches Jamie went first. He had specific
ideas about how to make our class a better place. He ended by promising to do his very best. Everyone applauded.

He sat down and Olivia came to the podium. Her speech was concise. She said,’If you will vote for me, I will give you ice cream.’ She sat down.
The class went wild.’Yes! Yes! We want ice cream.’
She surely would say more. She did not have to. A discussion followed. How did she plan to pay for the ice cream? She wasn’t sure.
Would her parents buy it or would the class pay for it? She didn’t know.
The class really didn’t care. All they were thinking about was ice cream. Jamie was forgotten. Olivia won by a land slide.

Every time Barack Obama opens his mouth he offers ice cream, and fifty percent of America reacts like nine-year-olds. They want ice cream.
The other fifty percent know they’re going to have to feed the cow.

To step back and see things objectively takes some critical thinking – - something that isn’t taught nearly as much as it should be.

I had forgotten about this little “phenomenon” until I received this in email today…

We’ve been talking about getting a group together to watch the Redskins play the Steelers on Monday night. There seems to be some presidential folklore surrounding the Redskins home
game prior to election day. In every presidential election year (except 2004), the Washington Redskins home game prior to election day has accurately predicted the outcome of the national presidential election.
If the Skins (being the home team) win, the incumbent party maintains control of the White House. If on the other hand the Skins lose, the opposition party gains control of the presidency. Though it may be a strange concept, it was perhaps the most accurate bellwether for 70 years and 17 elections. So if this folklore holds true — if Washington wins– McCain becomes president. If the Redskins lose, Obama becomes president. So come out and join us for some fun, and cheer on the Redskins or the Steelers.

Info on Monday night’s Game:

* Kick off – 8:30 PM

* The 2 presidential candidates are planning to participate in
one-on-one interviews via satellite that would air at halftime of
“Monday Night Football,” the day before the election. ESPN’s Chris
Berman will do the segments earlier on Monday, if the candidates’
schedules permit, and they’ll air at about 10:15 p.m. EST.

* The game, between the host Washington Redskins and the
Pittsburgh Steelers, will be the first NFL game played in the D.C. area
on the Monday night before a presidential election in 24 years. The
Redskins defeated the Atlanta Falcons 27-14 on Nov. 5, 1984; Ronald
Reagan was re-elected the following day.

Here’s the history:

Nov 1, 1936 – Chicago Cardinals at Boston Redskins (Original franchise) (Win 13-10) – Roosevelt (D) Wins

Nov 3, 1940 – Pittsburgh Pirates at Washington Redskins (Win 37-10) – FDR (D) Wins

Nov 5, 1944 – Cleveland Rams at Washington Redskins (Win 14-10) – FDR Wins

Oct 31, 1948 – Boston Yanks at Washington Redskins (Win 59-21) – Truman (D) Wins

Nov 2, 1952 – Pittsburgh Steelers at Washington Redskins (Loss 24-23) – Eisenhower (R) Wins

Oct 21, 1956 – Cleveland Browns at Washington Redskins (Win 20-9) – Eisenhower Wins

Oct 30, 1960 – Cleveland Browns at Washington Redskins (Loss 31-10) – Kennedy (D) Wins

Oct 25, 1964 – Chicago Bears at Washington Redskins (Win 27-20) – LBJ (D) Wins

Oct 27, 1968 – New York Giants at Washington Redskins (Loss 13-10) – Nixon (R) Wins

Oct 22, 1972 – Dallas Cowboys at Washington Redskins (Win 24-20) – Nixon Wins

Oct 31, 1976 – Dallas Cowboys at Washington Redskins (Loss 20-7) – Carter (D) Wins

Nov 2, 1980 – Minnesota Vikings at Washington Redskins (Loss 39-14) – Reagan (R) Wins

Nov 5, 1984 – Atlanta Falcons at Washington Redskins (Win 27-14) – Reagan Wins

Nov 6, 1988 – New Orleans Saints at Washington Redskins (Win 27-24) – Bush (R) Wins

Nov 1, 1992 – New York Giants at Washington Redskins (Loss 24-7) – Clinton (D) Wins

Oct 27, 1996 – Indianapolis Colts at Washington Redskins (Win 31-16) – Clinton Wins

Oct 30, 2000 – Tennessee Titans at Washington Redskins (Loss 27-21) – George W. Bush (R) Wins

Oct 31, 2004 – Green Bay Packers at Washington Redskins (Loss 28-14) – George W. Bush Wins *

* For the record, the last cycle broke the pattern. Green Bay beat Washington at Fedex Field on October 31, 2004. George W. Bush went on to win his second term.

I’m not the superstitious type and always root for my beloved Redskins, but a little extra reason to doesn’t hurt, I say.

“Well, there’s something known as American conservatism, though it does not even call itself that. It’s been calling itself ‘voting Republican’ or ‘not liking the New Deal.’ But it is a very American approach to life, and it has to do with knowing that the government is not your master, that America is good, that freedom is good and must be defended, and communism is very, very bad.”

—William F. Buckley Jr.

One day I’m a little discouraged, and then the next day I’m “rallied” again.

A conservative friend sent this to me which I forwarded to my PUMA friend and former co-worker who personally identifies with this opinion.

Fellow conservatives/republicans: Don’t give up hope. It’s not over till election day.

The race is tightening. McCain has a very real chance of winning. Plus there are many groups like the above out there that the press is purposely ignoring. Here’s another:  Clintons4McCain.  I’ve seen Ms. Adkins on FOX News and heard her on Hannity’s radio show.  They’re serious about their mission, and they are fired up.

Now, do I think Hillary is an elitist herself, with socialist tendencies? Heck yes, but not nearly to the extent of Obama.

I’ll gratefully accept her supporters’ votes for McCain/Palin. And, no way would I have imagined this scenario years ago (in fact, I can’t believe I’m typing this), but if I had to choose her over Obama…? I’d vote for Hillara, hands down.

Meet Amanda Jones.

She’s 109 years old and just cast her ballot for Barack Obama by mail. She has 10 children and 33 grandchildren. She also may be the only person in America that is the child of a former slave. This year she was able to actually vote for a black man to be President of the United States.

When you see lines of African-American voters running out the doors of the polling center and see margins of 97-1 (as predicted by McCain’s pollster), try to hold back any cynicism for a bit and just marvel. Because not only is this a milestone in American history, it is a milestone in the history of the world. It is America bursting through a major barrier of democracy and tolerance. Other countries just sit and marvel that the American people they found so intolerable are on the verge of electing a man whose color would tend to preclude him from a similar position in any other democracy of the world.

I’m not saying you should be happy if Obama wins. I wouldn’t be happy if the situation were reversed. And indeed, there will be time to fight a Democratic President later. But if you need a silver lining, just remember Amanda. I can’t imagine anyone in the world who wouldn’t feel a sense of joy that she was able to see something that she’ll be able to tell her dad about. For a day, I hope that we can think together as Americans and realize that this is one hell of a country.

So much for helping the little guy and easing the credit crunch. What an embarrassment the bailout turned out to be.

Loans? Did We Say We’d Do Loans?

In his column on Saturday, The Times’s Joe Nocera told about a conference call that he had listened in on recently between employees and executives of JPMorgan Chase. Asked how an infusion of $25 billion of bailout funds would change the bank’s lending policy, an executive said the money would be used to buy other banks.

“I think there are going to be some great opportunities for us to grow in this environment, and I think we have an opportunity to use that $25 billion in that way,” the executive said. He added that the money could also be used as a backstop in case “recession turns into depression or what happens in the future.”

There was not a word about lending — not to businesses or home buyers or car buyers or students or other consumers. Just the opposite. In response to another question, the executive said that the bank expected to continue to tighten credit.

What Really Matters As We Vote

“Sometimes it seems like this election is one big pillow fight. The air is now so full of floating feathers that it’s hard to see the furniture, and the media isn’t helping, as they blow the fluff around.

But there are solid issues in this election, and how we vote will have lasting effect on our future.”

Obama, Ayers and Rashid Khalidi: Why won’t The L.A. Times let us view the tape?

The Times should release the video. As John McCain put it, “I guarantee you, if there was a tape with me and Sarah Palin and some neo-Nazi or one of those, you think that that tape wouldn’t be made public? Of course, Americans need to know, particularly about Ayers, and also about the PLO. So hopefully there will be enough pressure on the L.A. Times that it’ll come out, but it’s really unfortunate that we have to go through this.”

So let’s see: We cannot see any of Obama’s college work. We cannot see his birth records because they were sealed by the governor of Hawaii this week. Now we cannot see The Times’ video. What is Obama hiding?

As I mentioned previously I will be taking a much needed vacation down to the lovely Myrtle Beach area starting tomorrow and I won’t be returning until election day. I doubt I’ll have the means or motivation to keep up with my blogging while I’m away, not that I need a vacation from you fine folks in fact conclub is a nice distraction for me from the drudgery of the daily grind. I digress. The only drawback is I will be missing what I suspect will be some of the best quality blogging in these last days of the election cyle. So be kind to one another in my absence and everyone get to the polls safely. If you’re still undecided come election day feel free to write in yours truly.

M E D I A   A D V I S O R Y

           Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) allied attorney Barry Arrington and Colorado citizen Mark Hotaling will hold a news conference on Wednesday, October 29th at 2:15 P.M. in the Senate Press Room of the State Capitol announcing their $18 million lawsuit against Governor Bill Ritter, Planned Parenthood, Boulder Valley Women’s Health Center (BVWHC) and the Colorado Department of Health and Environment for illegal taxpayer funding of abortion.
 
            The lawsuit comes less than a week after plaintiffs learned of the illegal taxpayer funding made by Governor Ritter and the Colorado Department of Health and Environment to Colorado’s leading abortionists.  The funding directly violates Article 5, Section 50 of the Colorado Constitution which states that no public funds can be used “directly or indirectly” for the performance of an abortion.
 
            In 2001, then Governor Owens finally implemented Article 5, Section 50 to strip Planned Parenthood and BVWHC of more than $1 million in illegal tax subsidies after an independent audit found and Planned Parenthood recently admitted that it’s impossible to separate their abortion activities from their taxpayer subsidies.
 
            In 2006 during Governor Ritter’s campaign, he publically pledged to restore the funding to Colorado’s abortionists despite the voter approved and affirmed Article 5, Section 50.  Then in June of this year, Governor Ritter awarded these abortionists $9 million a year for two years.
 
            “Their actions are an outrageous and arrogant disregard for the people’s will and common decency,” stated Hotaling.  “Abortionists like Planned Parenthood are so eager to get our tax dollars that they are willing to ignore the will of the people and the Colorado Constitution,” he added.
 
            “Fundamentally, this case is about the rule of law itself.  Bill Ritter thinks he knows better than the voters who amended the constitution to prohibit tax dollar subsidies to abortion providers.  We are asking the court to tell the Governor the people are his boss, not the other way around.  It’s that simple,” concluded Arrington.
 
            Additionally, representatives from the Yes on 48 and Yes on 54 campaigns have been invited to attend and be available for interviews to give their perspectives on this lawsuit.

 

Mark was an old friend of DFV, E and myself back in college. He was the CSU Chairman and then the Colorado State Chairman for College Republicans. He was also DFV’s roommate for awhile. Mark also served on the local county Republican Executive Board. After that, he joined the military and then served two tours of duty as a member of the SEALS. I guess he never got politics out of his blood though. Well done Mark, keep up the hard work of freedom.

“To avoid being mistaken for a sellout, I chose my friends carefully. The more politically active black students. The foreign students. The Chicanos. The Marxist professors and structural feminists.”

 —Barack Obama in his memoir, Dreams From My Father

At about 40 seconds in, you will see the most insightful statement about the current state of the campaign I’ve seen in weeks.

To my knowledge, the Obama campaign has worked very, very hard to avoid direct criticism of Sarah Palin. This is probably the closest they’ve come, and it comes across very strongly. I predict this will be blanketing the airwaves in swing states from now until Tuesday.

On a completely non-political note, too, I really like the fact that this ad doesn’t use voiceover or the dark, depressing music. If you’re blanketing the airwaves, I guess you might as well play a lullabye!

UPDATE: The more I think about it, the more I think this ad might be the best one we’ve seen this entire campaign. Here’s my case:

• In 30 seconds, this ad summarizes their entire argument against John McCain. It’s extremely efficient and direct and only has about 5 sentences in the entire ad.
• It is a precise attack on the two things that voters have cited as their primary concerns about John McCain: Sarah Palin and his reaction to the economic crisis.
• Much like the also-stellar Biden ‘crisis’ ad we saw earlier this week, it relies directly on McCain’s own words to make its argument. But unlike that ad, this one allows the voters to draw their own conclusion.
• That wink, which played very well to men, is poison to women (perhaps Mo thinks differently?), a group considered to be the most important demographic in the election.
• It is lighthearted and completely unlike any negative ad that will be airing in this final week in its subtlety. It will be very difficult for just about anyone to get sick of this ad.

The Obama campaign has been extremely lacking when it comes to advertisements. I honestly can’t think of any ad they have released that stands out as particularly memorable or meaningful. This one is deceptively brutal, though.

I guess I’m somewhat glad that I’m not the only one to ask that question.

Who Enforces the Constitution’s Natural Born Citizen Clause?

…In deciding that “a candidate’s ineligibility under the Natural Born Citizen Clause does not result in an injury in fact to voters,” Judge Surrick writes in a footnote of potentially considerable consequence:

If, through the political process, Congress determines that citizens, voters, or party members should police the Constitution’s eligibility requirements for the Presidency, then it is free to pass laws conferring standing on individuals like Plaintiff.  Until that time, voters do not have standing to bring the sort of challenge that Plaintiff attempts to bring . . .

Maybe it’s too early for this but I’m going to be visiting family down south for a few days starting Thursday and I won’t be back until election day so here is my electoral map…

thompaine’s electorial map 2008

It doesn’t look too good for McCain in my comepletely UN-expert opinion. I’ve got him getting trounced 325-213. No real huge surprises here. I kept the solid red and blues more or less where they are and played around a bit with the “leaning” and “toss up” states until I felt somewhat comfortable with the predictions. Looks like IN MO MT and NC are the tightest races in the recent poll figures listed here. I put them all in the McCain column only because Bush took those states pretty handily in 2000 and 2004. I gave FL and NV to Obama. Nevada’s trending more and more toward Obama and Florida… well honestly I guessed on Florida.

The only solid one I changed was VA. My thinking there is that Bush’s numbers didn’t change much from 2000 to 2004 and he won pretty handily both years. Obama polling strongly there but I’m just going with my gut here. Sorry Dave, PG, E, etc. but I gave CO to Obama. I’m just going with a trend there. His numbers are trending upwards there. This is a really tough call too though. Obama’s numbers are far from dominating there and Bush actually fared better in 2004 than he did in 2000 there.

So what do you think folks? I know you’ve all probably played around with one of these maps before. Am I close? Way off? Let’s crunch some numbers.

PS I couldn’t figure out how to put my map as an image in this post so if anyone knows how could you help a brotha out?

Well, the drama is over. Completed. Finished. Good riddance.

I cast my vote today. The results were as always very predictable.

I voted a straight ticket for Republicans from the highest office in the land to the lowest. I also voted against anything on the ballot that even hinted at a tax increase, more government involvement in my life or showed socialistic tendencies. Conversely, I always support anything that shows a reverance for life, weakens unions, or otherwise is a boon for liberty.

I’m lovin’ it.

(my latest column)

Have you ever wondered about “community organizing” and the swarming “get out the vote” goon squads that the Left increasingly mobilizes for presidential elections? ACORN is one of the largest of these entities and has an extensive and long history with Barack Obama. It is one of the central players in the massive Democratic voter registration drives you’ve been hearing about over the last few months.

Read the rest of this entry »

‘This has been a real sham he’s pulled off for the last 20 months’

The real fun with this story is not that Obama for any reason would be somehow decreed ineligible as the next President of the United States but that so much attention, time and energy has been spent on it by researchers and we have discovered that the Obama campaign either cannot or will not release his birth certificate. We have also discovered that there apparently is no oversight at all to the election process. Wouldn’t it be common sense and standard practice that some official or semi-official body like the Federal Election Commission require that all candidates for President provide proof that they are eligible to run for the highest office in the land?

He has held elected office on the federal level, won his parties nomination for President, and may very well be elected then next week as President all without providing proof that he is in compliance with the provisions laid down very plainly in the Constitution of the United States of America. Inconceivable, yet all too true in this wacky and crazy election.

My hunch is not that Obama was in fact born in Kenya, but that the name on the birth certificate is not in fact “Barack Obama” but some other, probably “Barry” with perhaps even a different last name (perhaps his mother’s?) and thus a cause of embarrassment for The One. Such speculations are indeed fun, though mainly conjecture and perhaps even conspiratorial. But much of Obama’s youth is purposely shrouded in mystery especially in regards to his Islamic schooling and upbringing in Indonesia. With that in mind, perhaps an actual birth in Kenya wouldn’t be all that surprising, but merely the icing on the cake when it comes to the strange, twisted and contradictory tale of Barack Obama’s life.

And for those of you who have studied history in any detail, the truth is far more often stranger than fiction. Obama may fall, and in many ways already does, into that category. Who would have thought that an “I vote present” product of the incredibly corrupt Chicago political machine with a Leftist ideology, a Muslim stepfather, a socialistic economic policy, a radical spiritual mentor, and who is personally beholden to a domestic terrorist for the launching of his political career  could be cruising to a relatively easy victory for the Presidency of the United States of America? If I had pitched that scenario to you two years ago you would have called me crazy yet that is exactly the situation we find ourselves in.

It will be a story to someday tell and retell my grandchildren decades from now that I lived through such a crazy time and saw such a bizarre aberration become historical reality in this nation. It’s amazing and dumbfounding all at the same time. At least I can say I was there to watch the cracks forming in the foundation of the great Republic.

And I dared to point them out…

From the article:

The Washington claim states, “If in fact Obama was born in Kenya, the laws on the books in the United States at the time of his birth stated if a child is born abroad and one parent was a U.S. Citizen, which would have been his mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, Obama’s mother would have had to live ten (10) years in the United States, five (5) of which were after the age of fourteen (14). At the time of Obama’s birth, his mother was only eighteen (18) and therefore did not meet the residency requirements under the law to give her son (Obama) U.S. Citizenship much less the status of ‘natural born.’”

Berg said he believed it also was a complication that Obama’s mother divorced his father, married and moved to Indonesia for several years and Obama attended school there at a time when, Berg said, only Indonesia citizens were allowed in schools. Records that are available from Indonesia revealed Obama was registered in school as Barry Soetoro, and his religion was listed as Islam.

When Obama later returned to Hawaii, within the United States, there should have been a government document affirming his citizenship, but that also cannot be found. If that was not processed properly, Berg said, Obama would be in a situation even worse than not being a natural-born citizen.

“If he didn’t go through immigration, he now is illegal and has been an illegal alien. He couldn’t even hold the position of senator for Illinois,” Berg said.

Further, Berg said he suspected Obama’s college records may indicate he received aid as a foreigner, and that’s why those records have been withheld by the campaign.

Good stuff!

In the interest of being fair and balanced I figured I’d spread the love around to both sides. A friend sent me the Obama poster and I had to hunt down the McCain one.

In my on again, off again, research into my lineage and family name I do manage to uncover some interesting things from time to time. I stumbled upon this picture and caption as I was finishing up an article for the extended family, History of the Handwerks (my original surname).

Here is a slightly edited excerpt that talks about my original forefather Johann and the Handwerk name.

Read the rest of this entry »

“The release of initiative and enterprise made possible by self-government ultimately generates disintegrating forces from within. Again and again, after freedom brings opportunity and some degree of plenty, the competent become selfish, luxury-loving and complacent; the incompetent and unfortunate grow envious and covetous; and all three groups turn aside from the hard road of freedom to worship the golden calf of economic security. The historical cycle seems to be: from bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to courage; from courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance; from abundance to selfishness; from selfishness to apathy; from apathy to dependency; and from dependency back to bondage once more.”

-Arnold Toynbee elaborating on a statement of Alexander Tytler in the book by Warren T. Hackett, It’s Your Choice

Is by Gospel singer Crystal Lewis.

Words by Jud­son W. Van De­Vent­er, 1896:

The song was writ­ten while I was con­duct­ing a meet­ing at East Pal­es­tine, Ohio, in the home of George Seb­ring (found­er of the Seb­ring Camp­meet­ing Bi­ble Con­fer­ence in Seb­ring, Ohio, and lat­er de­vel­op­er of the town of Seb­ring, Flor­i­da). For some time, I had strug­gled be­tween de­vel­op­ing my tal­ents in the field of art and go­ing into full-time evan­gel­is­tic work. At last the pi­vot­al hour of my life came, and I sur­ren­dered all. A new day was ushered in­to my life. I became an evang­el­ist and dis­cov­ered down deep in my soul a tal­ent hi­ther­to un­known to me. God had hid­den a song in my heart, and touch­ing a ten­der chord, He caused me to sing.

From American Thinker:

Signs Pointing to a McCain Victory

Here’s an excerpt, but as usual, you should read the whole thing:

…Well, there is another story out there that the MSM refuses to address. A huge story. One that could, and I think will, significantly affect the outcome of this race. I’m referring to the widespread phenomenon of registered Democrats openly supporting John McCain. There are numerous “Democrats for McCain” type organizations. There are numerous websites and blogs written by Democrats touting McCain’s candidacy. There are pro-McCain grassroots efforts being led by Democrats. And we all know friends or relatives who are Democrats, who voted for John Kerry in 2004, and who are no fans of President Bush – but who are going to vote for John McCain this year.

Yet, surprise surprise, the mainstream media is not talking about these voters, not talking about the real rift that is occurring within the ranks of the Democratic Party. Needless to say, if a similar rift were occurring in the Republican Party, it would be treated as the major story that it is. (Indeed, as such stories about the political fault lines in the Republican Party have been treated in the recent past.)

Who are these pro-McCain Democratic voters? They overwhelmingly tend to be former Hillary supporters. Perhaps the most well-known of these voters are the “PUMAs” – which stands for Party Unity My Ass. These are Hillary supporters who are adamantly opposed to Obama. Let’s not forget that during the Democratic primaries – real elections, not polls – Hillary crushed Obama among white working-class and middle-class voters in such key states as Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. If a meaningful number of these voters end up voting for McCain, as I predict they will, then Obama’s smooth road to the White House is going to run smack into a brick wall….”

I personally know of at least one woman (in Maryland) who has been a lifelong democrat voter and supporter of Hillary who signed up with Clintons4McCain and has already cast her vote for McCain/Palin.

Saw this on blogger friend Army of Mom’s site and thought it was priceless.

Today on my way to lunch I passed a homeless guy with a sign that read “Vote Obama, I need the money.”
I laughed.

Once in the restaurant my server had on an “Obama 08″ tie, again I laughed as he had given away his political preference–just imagine the coincidence.

When the bill came I decided not to tip the server and explained to him that I was exploring the Obama redistribution of wealth concept. He stood there in disbelief while I told him that I was going to redistribute his tip to someone who I deemed more in need–the homeless guy outside. The server angrily stormed from my sight.

I went outside, gave the homeless guy $5 and told him to thank the server inside as I’ve decided he could use the money more. The homeless guy was grateful.

At the end of my rather unscientific redistribution experiment I realized the homeless guy was grateful for the money he did not earn, but the waiter was pretty angry that I gave away the money he did earn even though the actual recipient needed money more.

I guess redistribution of wealth is an easier thing to swallow in concept than in practical application.

Yes, and I believe if more people had to write out a check to the gummint every quarter rather than having it taken out of their paycheck, there would be a lot more people up in arms. When you don’t “see” it, you don’t miss it- – not nearly as much.

From the Adult Swim show, “A Young Person’s Guide To History”, this scene features Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton stuck in the winter of Valley Forge where they happen upon a few hot nurses.

A wacky little concoction of Flogging Molly’s Salty Dog with scenes from Pirates of the Carribean. It mixes rather nicely I think.

PC at home is still down so I’ll wish you all a lovely weekend now since I probably won’tbe checking back in until Monday.

I received this in an email, and am starting to hear about it on AM radio, basically the only form of non-left media around which the democrats want to censor, but that’s a separate subject.

Got a 401K? Get ready to pay whopping taxes on it, and be screwed royally.

In 2005, George Bush proposed privatizing a portion of Social Security contributions to allow workers to control their own funds and hopefully outperform the woefully inadequate entitlement system. The partial privatization would eventually have helped postpone or eliminate the insolvency of Social Security, but Democrats screeched that the GOP wanted to steal benefits from Grandma and effectively killed the debate. To this day, they accuse Republican candidates of supporting Bush’s partial privatization plan as though it were the equivalent of Teapot Dome.

So why are Democrats now looking to partially nationalize existing 401(k) plans into the exact same kind of private/public pension system?

Powerful House Democrats are eyeing proposals to overhaul the nation’s $3 trillion 401(k) system, including the elimination of most of the $80 billion in annual tax breaks that 401(k) investors receive.

House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller, D-California, and Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Washington, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee’s Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, are looking at redirecting those tax breaks to a new system of guaranteed retirement accounts to which all workers would be obliged to contribute.

Hmm …. “a system of guaranteed retirement accounts to which all workers would be obliged to contribute.” That sounds very, very familiar, doesn’t it? Don’t we already do this with Social Security?

A plan by Teresa Ghilarducci, professor of economic-policy analysis at the New School for Social Research in New York, contains elements that are being considered. She testified last week before Miller’s Education and Labor Committee on her proposal. …

Under Ghilarducci’s plan, all workers would receive a $600 annual inflation-adjusted subsidy from the U.S. government but would be required to invest 5 percent of their pay into a guaranteed retirement account administered by the Social Security Administration. The money in turn would be invested in special government bonds that would pay 3 percent a year, adjusted for inflation.

The current system of providing tax breaks on 401(k) contributions and earnings would be eliminated.

That means your employer can no longer write off their contributions to your 401(k), and your capital gains would be taxable year-on-year. In other words, it becomes just another investment or savings account, with no tax benefit at all, and no employer contribution. Instead, Uncle Sam would give you your “matching” funds — up to a whopping $600 per year! Whoopee!

As Michelle Obama says, you could buy a pair of earrings every year … except, of course, you can’t. It’s in The Lockbox, defined by politicians as Locked Away from You but Accessible to Us. It goes there along with 5% of your gross earnings, apparently to play with the 7% of your gross earnings that already goes to Social Security. And what do they do with the money? They give you government bonds as your only investment option.

Maybe you’ll be lucky, and they’ll have Franklin Raines running the agency issuing those bonds.

The Democrats want to end the private retirement system that has allowed Americans to become a vast investor class and put them back in thrall of the federal government. This is nothing more than a second welfare system that would sit on top of the crumbling Social Security entitlement. It would leave the American working and middle classes with no retirement option other than a government handout.
If the Democrats control both Congress and the White House, kiss your 401(k)s goodbye, and get into the bread lines first before the crowd arrives.

Via Drudge:

A 20-year-old woman who was robbed at an ATM in Bloomfield was also maimed by her attacker, police said.

Pittsburgh police spokeswoman Diane Richard tells Channel 4 Action News that the victim was robbed at knifepoint on Wednesday night outside of a Citizens Bank near Liberty Avenue and Pearl Street just before 9 p.m.Richard said the robber took $60 from the woman, then became angry when he saw a McCain bumper sticker on the victim’s car. The attacker then punched and kicked the victim, before using the knife to scratch the letter “B” into her face, Richard said.Richard said the woman refused medical treatment after the assault, which happened outside the view of the bank’s surveillance cameras.

When I’m wrong, I’m really wrong. We need to stop this toxic environment. What a time for Obama to be unreachable. He has to speak up, make an example of this bastard, and urge anyone who knows him to turn him in for the good of the country. Maybe Michelle could speak out. I said it before, I’ll say it again: both sides need to cut the crap before the country gets torn apart. But this is just unconscionable.

UPDATE: Obama campaign releases initial statement:

“This is a horrendous act of violence. Our thoughts and prayers are with the young woman for her to make a speedy recovery, and we hope that the person who perpetrated this crime is swiftly apprehended and brought to justice.”

UPDATE 2: Seems a lot of people are questioning whether this is real, like Michelle Malkin and TMZ. Might be a hoax, which would make me feel a lot better.

UPDATE 3: Yup, it was a hoax. I’m with Mo, what a sick puppy.

[Update: D'oh! Sorry for the double-post, Dave. I see you already covered this one in September. (rolling eyes at self!) ]

This fella knows what he’s talking about!

Take about 10 minutes and watch this guy. He has taken every spittle-flecked rant Mr. Mo and I have ever spewed forth over the last 15 years and distilled them down into 9 minutes and 46 seconds of personable and entertaining brilliance.

Forget John McCain and his fuzzy centrist politics; I want this guy for president! (regardless of how he wears his hat )

[The Other] Rachel posted a transcript.

Anyone who gives a rat’s butt about polls should read this

This is a long article, but is really good in explaining how polls usually slant liberal.

Hey Wes PG has just been calling you black all this time so there’s no reason to get all up in arms if you’re as open minded as you claim to be. Yes according to Kansas City Star editor Lewis Diuguid,  http://voices.kansascity.com/node/2493 every time McCain and/or Obama calls Barack Obama a socialist they are using super-secret slang which has been used to “describe African Americans who spent their lives fighting for equality.” 

I’m not sure where to start with how ridiciulous this one is but I’ll try. Personally I can’t recall ever hearing McCain or Palin refer to Obama as a socialist. Please feel free to call me out on this if you have but I personally have not. It has certainly been implied but I do not believe they have directly referred to him as a socialist.

In addition if calling Obama a socialist indeed has some kind of deeper meaning it has escaped me all this time. Perhaps I am not as on point as some of my fellow conclubbers. Did you guys know about this? If so PG just dropped a peg in my book. Therefore where is the insult? If calling Obama socialist is an insult and no one understands what it really means, does it really matter? It’s sorta like that whole tree falling in the woods thing.

Also I do not have a college degree in poli-sci so correct me if I’m wrong on this one but as I understand it socialism is a political doctrine having to do with government ownership of property. OK I dumbed it down quite a bit admittedly but I didn’t want to occupy 27 paragraphs describing a concept we’re all familiar with. This is a political theory most closely associated with those on the left and those on the right have used the word “socialist” countless times in campaigns in an attempt to paint their opponent as a radical whether it be true or not.

Finally and most importantly in my opinion if being a socialist describes “African Americans who spent their lives fighting for equality” don’t you think Obama or any other African American would wear the socialist tag as a badge of honor.? Lewis just because one person in the entire course of history used that word in that context does not change the entire meaning of the word.

Sidenote: apologies to Wes and PG for using them as an example. I think you guys both understood the context though.

WHO’S HIDING NOW? “It might be surprising to some to learn that Sarah Palin is now talking to her national press corps more often than Joe Biden. While the once silent Palin has taken questions from reporters that travel with her three times in the last week, Biden has not offered the same type of access to reporters who cover his every move on the campaign trail in almost two months.”

Plus this: “Biden has also not taken questions from voters in a town hall style setting since Sept. 10 in Nashua, New Hampshire, when he told a supporter that Hillary Clinton might have been a better pick for vice president.”

 …ABC NEWS: “Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., today again avoided mentioning his guarantee that Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., would be tested by an international crisis within his first six months in office, focusing instead on criticizing Sen. John McCain.” It sounds like the press is getting a bit testy about the cocooning here. . . .

-Glenn Reynolds, Instapundit.com

How awesome is this? Sign her up for the cause asap. God Bless America. I remember firing my first pistol when I was about five or six. I didn’t really want to do it (it was loud and scary and heavy) but my dad basically insisted. I haven’t taken my girls out yet to shoot but I have made them sit down and watch me clean the guns and hold them as well. Part of the whole “that way they aren’t as curious about them and less likely to mess with them later” philosophy of gun safety. It seems to have worked. They don’t think anything of having guns in the house. I don’t keep anything loaded but I do have them and various knives, bayonets etc. hanging on the walls in my office.  I can’t field strip anything worth a darn so I have always have owned an SKS or an AK that with just an amateurish and moderate cleaning resists corrosion and will fire every time. Far easier to maintain than the AR-15. Of course if my eleven year old could field strip like this maybe I would consider a Bushmaster bin Laden killer…..

Estimated cost of Cindy McCain’s wardrobe at the Republican National Convention: $300,000.00.

Amount of money actually spent to clothe Empress Governor Palin for 3 months: $150,000.00. ^{See Footnote}

Amount of money John McCain paid for getting made-up by a Hollywood professional: $5,500.00.

Not realizing that you paid for and wore a scarf that was made to support your opponents? Priceless.

I don’t read enough conservative blogs to know, so if you have the price paid for, say, the guy who styles Biden’s eyebrows, let me know. Turnabout is more than fair. Lord knows we heard all about Edwards’s hair.

Footnote: I know they said they’re donating the clothing for Palin to charity, but does that actually sound better? As often as John McCain and Palin like to talk about eBay, wouldn’t you think that would come to mind?

Live from New York, It’s Sarah Palin!

Dave sited this:

 ACORN has submitted millions of fraudulent voter registrations in key battleground states for the presidential election.

“Millions of fraudulent voter registrations”.  MILLIONS. Really?  I call bullshit. 

VIA TPM: 

As if you needed any more evidence that the Republican effort to tout voter fraud is less about legitimate claims and more about a political agenda, consider this sequence of events:

Last week, as we noted at the time, the New Mexico GOP had publicly claimed that 28 people voted fraudulently in the Democratic primary, held in June, for a local race.

Then this morning, the RNC sent out a press release announcing a 3pm conference call with reporters “on the recent developments in New Mexico regarding ACORN.”

But at 11am, ACORN — the community organizing group that Republicans have been trying lately to turn into a voter fraud boogeyman — held a conference call of its own, asserting that local election officials had confirmed that the 28 people in question, mostly low-income Latinos, were valid voters.  

The RNC had a press conference today to crow about 28 (not 28 million… Twenty Eight) fradulent votes, and they all turned out to be valid.  We have a word for that…

I cannot believe these hooligans are funded by the taxpayers. Outrageous. Ridiculous. Criminal. Sad. A festering sore on the flesh of the Republic.

What a shame.

Here’s some more info and commentary on Obama and ACORN.

Obama bin ‘Lyin

Concerning ACORN’s supposed non-partisan voter registration efforts, I was amused when I watched an interview with an ACORN worker on national television last week. The young lady doing the interview asked the woman from ACORN some easy questions first. “How do you register people?” “Are people open to having you help?” Then she set the trap. “Who do you think the people you register will vote for?” Obama, of course. Who do you plan to vote for?” Same answer. Then she went for the kill: “Do you tell them they should vote for Obama?” The ACORN lady replied, “Sure I do!” Then, realizing what she had just admitted to, she practically ran away from the camera, yelling over her shoulder, “Uh, I gotta go!”

ACORN has submitted millions of fraudulent voter registrations in key battleground states for the presidential election. According to County Elections Supervisors in numerous states, one of their favorite is to gather registrations over several months, then submit hundreds of thousands of registrations on the last possible day. That way, officials don’t have the time to weed out the bogus registrations for non-existent and dead people.

Especially when it is for what Zod predicts is a lost cause, thanks to that idiot Gavin Newsom (No On 8).

Anyhoo, I meant to post this video last night, because it quickly became one of my favorite videos of the election season.  It reminded me that most conservatives (especially my fellow Con-Clubbers) are, well, sane! (Let’s just say I had more than one “interesting” conversation this evening)…

Two more weeks.  Serenity now.

I need a drink.

(And, for the record this was via front-page poster Jed, over at Kos)

Granted, this is a flub, not a gaffe. But as flubs go, this one is pretty spectacular. This was McCain in Pennsylvania tonight referring to Murtha’s remarks that the people who lived around his district still had trouble voting for a black man. It was supposed to be so easy:

My favorite part is that he sold it so well, there’s about a half second of pure confusion in that crowd. Cindy gives him a look that is pretty priceless, too.

We have a special landlocked salmon season in the works up here in New Hampshire – fly fishing only, catch and release, barbless hooks. Everything shuts down November 1st, but until then the action has been pretty decent.

The Beast bought a little tripod for his video camera and hooked it onto his waders. Took the rig out into the Merrymeeting River in Alton New Hampshire for a spin and managed to nab a nice salmon. Landing the beastie with a flyrod, no net, fighting river current and trying not to dip the cam into the water took at least one more arm than the Beast had available, but it all turned out okay in the end. Sorry if the video is a bit shaky.

I’ve never been a reporter. So I’m not sure who titles the stories. On a site like Politico, I imagine that the reporters themselves might do it, but perhaps not. Either way, someone at Politico had what I can only assume was a feeling of great satisfaction at actually outdoing The Daily Show when it comes to funny headlines.

See, Daniel Libit wrote this article about Michele Bachmann’s strong push to become a big dog in Washington. Reporting on how her email list-serv had just been going crazy, she’s been all over the media and even after making some comments that actually pissed me off, is still said to be a “media hound”. But none of this actually matters. What matters is the title of the piece… “Bachmann Turns To Overdrive“.

I had made this a reply to this Thomas Sowell article Mo linked to, but thought I had enough to make this a full topic.

Look, the idea that the poll results are because the sample is largely biased towards Democrats is silly. The daily Zogby tracking poll uses a spread of 38%D, 36%R, 26%I, an averaging of 2000 and 2004 turnout. I think that’s kinda silly, myself, since Rasmussen’s own party identification tracking poll, one which surveys 21,000 people over a period of 6 weeks, gives the Democrats a 6.7 point advantage, 39.7%D, 33%R, 27.3%I. But nonetheless, that’s what Zogby uses, so it’s hard to argue that it isn’t more than fair. Their new numbers for tonight give Obama an 8 point lead. And he hasn’t been anywhere near in the tank for Democrats this cycle, he’s all over the map.

I think it’s also unfair to take credit away from Obama. He went in as the risky one and systematically made himself into the candidate that seems the LEAST risky. For someone who has Obama’s Chicago ties, Obama’s inexperience and Obama’s… demographics, that’s damned impressive.

Look at this latest CBS poll that surveyed the same 476 person group before and after the debates. Just so we’re clear, these are the same people, so this is a direct measurement of opinion. Obama’s lead jumped from 48%/43% to 54%/41%, but the real information is found in the fine print.

21% of voters said their opinion of Obama improved. When asked why they liked Obama more, they cited his debate performance, steadiness and that they just liked him. 23% said their opinion of McCain lessened. When asked why they liked McCain less, they cited his attacks on Obama, his pick of Sarah Palin and said he seemed unsteady. 52% said they felt confident Obama could handle a crisis, 53% said they felt McCain was too unsteady to handle one.

When you look at their positions on the issues, there is nothing to indicate this kind of switch. McCain is still seen as more confident on Iraq. Far more think he would be a better commander in chief. Obama was trusted more than Mccain to handle the economy, but not by that much. You could say that it’s just because Obama is a Democrat, but given the choice, only 3% said they were voting for Obama simply because he was the Democratic nominee. It was entirely because of how Obama carried himself and how McCain carried himself. And Obama tricked John McCain into wearing the “erratic” label. Don’t believe me? Watch the Ohio debate with Hillary and then watch this montage of the last debate with Mccain. Note how both of them had the EXACT SAME look of exasperation and disbelief on their face. Obama schooled them both. The economy is partially to blame, yes, and the media hasn’t been completely friendly to John McCain, but y’all got hustled straight up.

The most insightful article I saw about the disposition of these two guys was one talking about how they liked to gamble. McCain is an avowed craps player, a game that relies on luck, big risks and an exciting, flashy atmosphere. Obama, on the other hand, is known to play poker, a game that requires long-term strategy, psychological warfare and an ability to remain calm at all times. It was reassuring to me at the time, and now it just serves as a reminder of what happened and why.

“Every single presidential campaign boils down to an argument about how the
candidates ’see America.’ Suddenly that question is out of bounds because
Obama is black? According to the liberal history books, in 1988 the GOP cast
Michael Dukakis as too elitist, cosmopolitan and not American enough. In 1992,
it ran a similar attack against Bill Clinton—remember the hullabaloo about
draft dodging and that trip to Russia? In 2000, ditto with Al Gore, though
the emphasis was less on foreignness and more on extraterrestrialness. And in
2004, there was John Kerry’s ‘global test’ for U.S. national security. Lack of
originality notwithstanding, why is it suddenly racist to treat Obama just like
the four white guys who preceded him? Talk about racial double standards. Obama
holds mega-campaign rallies in Berlin, touts his global appeal and says a top
foreign policy goal is to get other countries to like us. But it’s racist to
call him cosmopolitan? He has nontrivial ties to an unrepentant (and white)
former leader of the Weather Underground, a radical leftist organization
that sought to kill American soldiers, policemen and politicians. But it’s
‘racist’ to bring that up? (If anything, by not attacking Obama’s ties to
the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and other politically unsavory nonwhite associates,
McCain is self-censoring for fear of seeming racist.) If Obama were a white
Democratic nominee named Barry O’Malley, the GOP would be going after him
twice as hard. But liberal Democrats would still caterwaul about fomenting
hatred and racism, because that’s what they always do.”

—Jonah Goldberg

“Mark my words,” the Democratic vice presidential nominee warned at the second of his two Seattle fundraisers Sunday. “It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking. We’re about to elect a brilliant 47-year-old senator president of the United States of America. Remember I said it standing here if you don’t remember anything else I said. Watch, we’re gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy.”
…
“I’ve forgotten more about foreign policy than most of my colleagues know, so I’m not being falsely humble with you. I think I can be value added, but this guy has it,” the Senate Foreign Relations chairman said of Obama. “This guy has it. But he’s gonna need your help. Because I promise you, you all are gonna be sitting here a year from now going, ‘Oh my God, why are they there in the polls? Why is the polling so down? Why is this thing so tough?’ We’re gonna have to make some incredibly tough decisions in the first two years. So I’m asking you now, I’m asking you now, be prepared to stick with us. Remember the faith you had at this point because you’re going to have to reinforce us.”

“There are gonna be a lot of you who want to go, ‘Whoa, wait a minute, yo, whoa, whoa, I don’t know about that decision’,” Biden continued. “Because if you think the decision is sound when they’re made, which I believe you will when they’re made, they’re not likely to be as popular as they are sound. Because if they’re popular, they’re probably not sound.”

Full article here.

We only have two more weeks. Keep talking, Joe. Please keep talking….

Oddly, selling cookies as an 8-year old was Obama’s very first Presidential fundraising attempt.

I haven’t posted one of them in a while. This is about as random as you can get.

“Capitalism is the greatest system ever created for alleviating general
human misery, and yet it breeds ingratitude. People ask, ‘Why is there
poverty in the world?’ It’s a silly question. Poverty is the default human
condition… The interesting question isn’t ‘Why is there poverty?’ It’s
‘Why is there wealth?’ Or: ‘Why is there prosperity here but not there?’ At
the end of the day, the first answer is capitalism, rightly understood. That
is to say: free markets, private property, the spirit of entrepreneurialism
and the conviction that the fruits of your labors are your own… In large
measure our wealth isn’t the product of capitalism, it is capitalism. And
yet we hate it. Leaving religion out of it, no idea has given more to
humanity. The average working-class person today is richer, in real terms,
than the average prince or potentate of 300 years ago. His food is better,
his life longer, his health better, his menu of entertainments vastly more
diverse, his toilette infinitely more civilized. And yet we constantly
hear how cruel capitalism is while this collectivism or that is more
loving because, unlike capitalism, collectivism is about the group,
not the individual… Meanwhile, billions have ridden capitalism out of
poverty. And yet the children of capitalism still whine.”

—Jonah Goldberg

Probably the most famous of all Christian hymns. When I have played it in the past (I’m a drummer) I’ve always put more of a military cadence feeling to it than this arrangement does. Not bad othewise.