Archive for October, 2007

If you have children who watch Nickelodeon, especially in the early hours of the morning, this post from Army Wife Toddler Mom is one which is a must read:

NICKELODEON IS BRAINWASHING YOUR CHILD

Linda Ellerby is the host, that should be enough said.

Pay particular attention to the second and fourth stories.

This Nickeldeon “news” program, is not a news program, it is a but this show was a primer on how to be a “left-wing radical REBEL”.

I am not a blind follower of our Government, and I also think that Government should be watched by it’s citizens. It is our civic duty.

However this program led by Ellerby, is anti-war, anti- GWOT, anti-military.

This news program is not about people changing the World around them.

Ms. Ellerby uses leftist propaganda buzz words like “taking on the establishment”.

She shows a group, of “tweenagers” walking around in orange jumpsuits, hooded and yelling from a bullhorn. “We are not ok, with people being tortured by American soldiers!” “Are cooperation’s priority over human lives?”

There is also a call for the impeachment of the President in the second segment of the video, “democracy is at stake because of the President violating the Constitution”.

The fourth segment of video shows another tweenager, who has put together a video of wounded Iraqi children, with the song Jesus Loves Me playing over it. This teenager blames America, the military, for what is happening in Iraq. This young girl says “she finds, videos and facts on the Internet” to show what is REALLY happening in Iraq. I am guessing she is getting these images from Al Jazeera.

Take the politics out of this. What is happening to wholesome programming for our children?

Young teenagers don’t just out of the blue form the type of opinions expressed on this show, at least I hope they do not.

Ms. Ellerby speaks of rebels…this program does not show rebellion, it touts incorrect “facts” and downright fabrications.

Please check out the video at the link above. If you have children of any age it may just surprise you that a network like Nickelodeon allows such an obvious distortion of facts to be promoted by the young.

HT: Blackfive

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The story broke a couple of months ago about former First Lady Hillary Clinton’s records not being released from the National Archives until, at the very earliest, after the 2008 election.

At this evenings Democratic Debate in Philadelphia, Tim Russert questioned Mrs. Clinton about these records and her answer was less than forthcoming so he approached the question again. Watch as the Senator attempts to answer and the rebuttal to her answer from Senator Obama.

Mrs. Clinton seems uncomfortable with the question and appeared not prepared to answer with her usual ease. If there is nothing to hide in these records, release them. There has been ample time especially given the case that she is running for the most powerful office in the world.

HT: ian schwartz

Update:

Another one of those “have it both ways” moments for Mrs. Clinton. This time it is Chris Dodd who calls her on her inconsistency.

Perhaps the questions were more difficult at this debate than those in the past, but it does appear that the Senator struggled to define her answers to these questions clearly. Very interesting.

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Thanks Liberty Pundit for pointing us to what might be the most ridiculous story so far this week:

A two-meter shark has been caught in a river in southern Iraq more than 200 km (160 miles) from the sea.

Locals blamed the U.S. military for the shark’s presence.

Tahseen Ali, a teacher, said there was a “75 percent chance” Americans had put the shark in the water.

“This is very frightening for us. Our children always swim in the river and I believe that there are more sharks. I believe that America is behind this matter,” said fisherman Hatim Karim.

How absolutely absurd.

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Take a moment, relax, and experience the beauty of this artist’s work.

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If accurate, these statistics are staggering.

- It’s a nickname no principal could be proud of: “Dropout Factory,” a high school where no more than 60 percent of the students who start as freshmen make it to their senior year. That dubious distinction applies to more than one in 10 high schools across America.
“If you’re born in a neighborhood or town where the only high school is one where graduation is not the norm, how is this living in the land of equal opportunity?” asks Bob Balfanz, the researcher at Johns Hopkins University who defines such a school as a “dropout factory.”

There are about 1,700 regular or vocational high schools nationwide that fit that description, according to an analysis of Education Department data conducted by Johns Hopkins for The Associated Press. That’s 12 percent of all such schools, no more than a decade ago but no less, either.

While some of the missing students transferred, most dropped out, Balfanz says. The data tracked senior classes for three years in a row—2004, 2005 and 2006—to make sure local events like plant closures weren’t to blame for the low retention rates.

The highest concentration of dropout factories is in large cities or high-poverty rural areas in the South and Southwest. Most have high proportions of minority students. These schools are tougher to turn around, because their students face challenges well beyond the academic ones—the need to work as well as go to school, for example, or a need for social services.

It seems as those these statistics have not changed much over the years so wouldn’t one think there would be emphasis on the areas of the country where this problem is most prevalent.

Maybe this school in the Baltimore area would be a good model for others to emulate:

Teachers and administrators at Baltimore Talent Development High School, where 90 percent of kids are on track toward graduating on time, are working hard to make sure students don’t have an experience like Miller’s.

The school, which sits in the middle of a high-crime, impoverished neighborhood two miles west of downtown Baltimore, was founded by Balfanz and others four years ago as a laboratory for getting kids out on time with a diploma and ready for college.

Whatever the answer, it is unacceptable in this country to have schools where graduation rates are as dismal as expressed in this piece.

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In our continuing effort to keep our readers informed on the candidates running for president we give you some sound bites from Congressman Tom Tancredo:

Update:Tancredo has told Fox News he does not intend to run for his House seat this year.

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One of the best things which happened to the Bush administration was Tony Snow becoming Press Secretary, if only for a brief period of time.

Once again, in this interview, we find straight talk from Tony which was customary at press conferences.

On Print Media:

On the newspaper business: “The newspapers have to realize that they are a niche market and the one thing they can do better than anyone else is analysis. As a guy who spent the majority of his career in print media and loves writing, it scares me that newspapers are in the state they’re in.”

Addressing his former employer:

On his alma mater, Fox News: “There’s perceived bias on the part of Fox because they don’t treat conservatives as knuckle-dragging morons….I think the rap on Fox having a bias is an unfair one. My sense is rather than grousing with a winning formula, people ought to learn from them.”

More Q&A at the above link.

HT: Say Anything

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The FTC has issued the following warning concerning a bogus e-mail which contains a damaging computer virus:

The Federal Trade Commission, which has declared war on Internet scams, warned consumers on Monday not to open a bogus e-mail that appears to come from its fraud department because it carries an attachment that can download a virus.

The e-mail says it is from “frauddep@ftc.gov” and has the FTC’s government seal.

But it was not issued by the agency and has attachments and links that will download a virus that could steal passwords and account numbers, the agency said.

“It’s a treasure trove for identity theft,” said David Torok of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “We’re concerned. The virus that’s attached to the e-mail is particularly virulent.”

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It’s been a while since “Bigfoot” has made an appearance but this video seems to provide “proof” that he/she is alive and well.

Park rangers believe the pictures are that of some sort of a skinny bear. I leave it to you to judge for yourself.

A little Tuesday morning fun!

*Further commentary on this short video from The Philadelphia Inquirer

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We have congratulated the Red Sox on their impressive World Series win and deserve it they did, but I found this article which speaks volumes about those who supported the Colorado Rockies.

While it can never feel good as a player to lose, it must be gratifying to come from an area where they appreciate your efforts, win or lose. Just look at what some of the Rockie fans had to say at the conclusion of last nights game:

“I’m broken-hearted,” said Lindy Saupe, Kelsie and Austin’s mother. “I’m a little numb, but how cool is that they brought the World Series to our town? It’s a once in a lifetime thing. Maybe the Rox will do it next year, who knows? They did well.

“They’re good guys, and they’re right in their heart,” Lindy said of the Rockies. “They’re good players. I’m proud of them. They have heart. I’m just proud of the character that they bring to this. They are absolutely righteous men.”

and this:

“It was such a magical last 30 days, it was unbelievable,” Weese said. “The kids woke up every morning looking at the paper, and went to bed every night wondering who was winning. And the Rockies won, night after night. It was like time just kind of stood still. It was amazing.”

Mike Zoellner Jr. was yet another longtime fan of the Rockies who hoped the team knew how much its fans thought of them Sunday night. Amidst a sea of Red Sox fans staying late at Coors Field to share the World Series championship with their team, the fifth-generation Denver native stood respectfully in his Rockies gear, hoping the Rockies were holding their heads high.

“It’s been a great story,” Zoellner said. “I can’t wait to come back next year and be a part of it. There’s probably a celebration going on right below us in the Rockies clubhouse. They should be, even though it’s kind of a somber celebration. It’s definitely something to be proud of.”

There’s much more in the article itself, but for me it was delightful to read of the fans who support their team even in defeat. Well done Rockies and to the fans, next year is right around the corner.

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Many seem to feel indifferent toward all of the present Presidential candidates. I know I have wrestled with the current choices myself.

Perhaps Michael Barone hit the nail on the head with respect to this quandry in his latest piece at Real Clear Politics.

“Pray take away this pudding,” Winston Churchill commanded one night at dinner. “It has no theme.” Our two political parties, facing the first election in 80 years in which neither the incumbent president nor the incumbent vice president is running, are similarly bereft of themes. Or, to put it more precisely, neither has a convincing narrative of where we are in history and where we should be headed next.

He’s right, at least in my way of thinking. I have seen or heard very little which convinces me this will not be an election in which many of us make our selection based on who we believe is the lesser of two evils, not the one who will lead this nation in a manner one might expect.

Barone elaborates, first on the Democrats:

Today’s parties lack such narratives. The Democratic Party is all about, well, listen to its rhetoric. It’s all about opposing George W. Bush and all his works. But where to go from there?

Domestically, Democrats seem to be reviving the FDR narrative: Expand government to help the little guy. Some thoughtful Democratic strategists argue that although this view was discredited by the stagflation and gas lines of the 1970s, voters are once again ready for more government, and they can cite some poll results in support of that proposition. And it’s true that the median-age voter in 2008 will have no vivid memories of the 1970s.

And now, the Republicans:

The Republicans are no better. Many say the party must go back to Ronald Reagan, and the Reagan narrative is at least of recent vintage. Reagan taught that government had grown overlarge and must be cut back and that America must be the assertive champion of freedom and democracy. The problem is that none of the Republican presidential candidates occupy Reagan’s place on the political spectrum, and the problems we face are not those that confronted Reagan in 1980.

We no longer have 70 percent tax rates and oil price controls; we no longer face the symmetric threat of Soviet communism. The problem of overlarge government — the threat that entitlements will gobble up the government and the private economy — is real but remote. Our foreign adversaries are asymmetric, with a small but worrying potential of inflicting vast damage, and they are not entirely vulnerable to conventional military or diplomatic pressures.

History teaches many lessons, but we should not be content with candidates running on others laurels or the issues facing those who have served in the past.

What’s necessary is that one candidate have that defining moment which convinces voters they have the vision necessary to lead this nation..so far, for me at least, that moment has not arrived.

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Kimsch from Musing Minds has dressed her little dog up as Dorothy and Toto too since she’s a little dog!

Follow the link and be prepared to smile!

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An aide to Democratic Rep. Neil Abercrombie from Hawaii has criticized the message strategy of the Democrats, apparently to deaf ears.

Democrats are losing the battle for voters’ hearts because the party’s message lacks emotional appeal, according to a widely circulated critique of House Democratic communications strategy.

“Our message sounds like an audit report on defense logistics,” wrote Dave Helfert, a former Appropriations spokesman who now works for Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii). “Why are we defending [the State Children’s Health Insurance Program] instead of advocating a ‘Healthy Kids’ plan?”

Helfert sent the memo this week to an e-mail list of all Democratic press secretaries and communications directors after staffers met on Monday to discuss rolling out the Democrats’ latest message.

He said the meeting left him cold because it focused on what polling shows voters want rather than how to present persuasive messages. Republicans have done a better job by developing poll data into focus group-tested messages like “culture of life” and “defending marriage,” along with attacks like “cut and run” and “plan for surrender” in Iraq, he argued.

In particular, Helfert points to Republican pollster Frank Luntz, who helped develop the 1994 “Contract with America” and is credited with helping Republicans come up with terms for polices like “Healthy Forests” and “Death Tax.”

“Republicans have been kicking our rhetorical butt since about 1995,” Helfert wrote.

Democratic leadership aides were not impressed, and indicated that the memo did not have a vast and immediate impact.

Basically he’s saying to talk in terms regular people can understand rather than acronyms or the names of bills. People don’t necessarily understand them.

This is turning out to be an interesting election year. The Democrats have finally realized they can’t win on the Iraq war alone and need to talk about different issues, but they haven’t admitted they need to do it in plain English.

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How sweet it is for all of their fans!

Congrats to the Sox on their World Series victory.

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Remember when the new leadership took over the House we were promised a five day workweek from our Congressmen?

Well, things have changed.

Shortly after winning a majority last year, Democrats triumphantly declared that they would put Congress back to work, promising an “end to the two-day workweek.” And indeed, the House has clocked more time in Washington this year than in any other session since 1995, when Republicans, newly in control, sought to make a similar point.

But 10 months into the session, with their legislative agenda often in gridlock with the Bush administration and a big election year looming, the Democrats are now planning a lighter schedule when the 110th Congress begins its second year in mid-January.

The House majority leader, Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, told fellow Democrats this week that the House would not be in session next year on Fridays, except in June for work on appropriations bills.

Explaining that decision to reporters, Mr. Hoyer said, “I do intend to have more time for members to work in their districts and to be close to their families.”

His comments drew snickers from Republicans, who are quite happy to share their view that the American people did not get much value for all the extra time lawmakers spent in Washington.

“Is this a reward for our accomplishments in 2007?” asked Representative Roy Blunt of Missouri, the Republican whip.

And on Friday, President Bush once again hammered Congressional Democrats, accusing them of failing to meet basic responsibilities like approving annual budget bills and confirming his nominee for attorney general, Michael B. Mukasey.

“This is not what Congressional leaders promised when they took control of Congress earlier this year,” Mr. Bush said. “Congress needs to keep their promise, to stop wasting time, and get essential work done on behalf of the American people.”…

…On Wednesday, the House cast its one-thousandth roll-call vote of the year, the first time that it reached that mark since the Constitution was ratified. Democrats hailed the occasion, while Republicans sniped that only 106 of the votes were on bills ultimately signed into law, and that 45 of those bestowed names on post offices or other property.

“Unlike Congress, the American people do not mistake motion for progress,” said Representative Thaddeus G. McCotter, Republican of Michigan. “They want results. And given the approval ratings, they are certainly convinced they aren’t getting them.”

Mr. McCotter said changing the schedule was an example of Democrats’ breaking promises. “They said ‘five-day weeks,’ ” he said. And he scoffed at the notion that Mr. Hoyer was also responding to Republicans who wanted more time in their home districts.

“I wish he had that much concern and was as responsive to Republicans’ calls for input on major legislation,” Mr. McCotter said.

1,000 votes, of which 106 were on bills ultimately signed into law and 45 to bestow names on post offices and other property.

Once again I ask if you can name just one significant piece of legislation this Congress has passed, even with their long hours?

I do think it’s a good idea to make time for the Congresscritters to be with their constituents at least a couple of days a week.

As for those with small children, well they knew what time this job would take when they signed up for it. They made a conscious decision to be away from home most of the week, so I feel no pity for them but I do for their children.

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A UNC-Chapel Hill journalism professor said John Edwards’ presidential campaign tried to kill a student’s video story about his campaign headquarters.

Associate Professor C.A. Tuggle said two top staffers for the former North Carolina senator demanded that the school drop the segment from the student-run television program “Carolina Week.” They also asked to have the video removed from the YouTube Web site.

Tuggle said they threatened to cut off access to Edwards for UNC student reporters and other student groups if the piece aired.

“My gosh, what are they thinking?” Tuggle said. “They’re spending this much time and effort on a student newscast that has about 2,000 viewers? They’re turning a molehill into a mountain.”

A spokeswoman for the Edwards campaign said it had no problem with student reporters.

“This is silly,” campaign spokeswoman Colleen Murray said in a statement. “We love all reporters, the problem is the feeling isn’t always mutual.”

The campaign would not answer questions about the incident.

Below is the video Edwards’ campaign tried to get taken from YouTube:

Sounds pretty balanced to me.

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Last week I lamented the fact the school board for one of the schools in my home state had voted to allow middle schoolers as young as 11 years old to get birth control pills without having to disclose the reason for the health visit to the parents.

There’s a new twist in the story now and it’s a good one. The District Attorney has told the members that Maine law prohibits sex with anyone under the age of 14, regardless of the age of the other person involved.

A health care provider must report all known or suspected cases of sex with minors age 13 and under to the state Department of Health and Human Services, she said. Abuse also must be reported to the appropriate district attorney’s office, Anderson said, when the suspected perpetrator is someone other than the minor’s parent or guardian.

“When it’s somebody under age 14, it is a crime and it must be reported,” Anderson said. “The health care provider has no discretion in the matter. It’s up to the district attorney to decide.”

Anderson said she contacted Portland officials after she learned that some employees of the health centers, which are operated by the city’s Public Health Division, believed they could decide whether a child’s sexual activity constituted criminal abuse.

In fact, if a child under age 14 was having consensual sex with someone of a similar age, health center employees weren’t reporting it to the proper authorities, said City Attorney Gary Wood.

Anderson said doctors and other health care providers in private practice may falsely believe they have similar leeway, but they must follow the same laws.

“It’s clear that it’s going on all the time,” Anderson said. “Either the law is going to be enforced or it needs to be changed. I don’t think a law should be routinely violated.”

Portland’s six school-based health centers had no formal policy on reporting sexual activity involving students under age 14, said Douglas Gardner, director of Portland’s Department of Health and Human Services.

Gardner said it’s unclear whether any health center employee failed to report suspected cases to the state Department of Health and Human Services, but they did fail to report cases to Anderson’s office.

“Moving forward, we will report to the letter of the law,” Gardner said.

It may not stop under age children from having sex, but it will definitely stop the schools and health authorities from helping them.

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As a proud member of the Red Sox Nation I congratulate the Red Sox on their 2-0 lead against the Rockies in the World Series.

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The above photos show what is believed to be a Syrian nuclear weapons facility before Israel took it out (left side) and now (right side)

New commercial satellite photos show that a Syrian site believed to have been attacked by Israel last month no longer bears any obvious traces of what some analysts said appeared to have been a partly built nuclear reactor.

Two photos, taken Wednesday from space by rival companies, show the site near the Euphrates River to have been wiped clean since August, when imagery showed a tall square building there measuring about 150 feet on a side.

The Syrians reported an attack by Israel in early September; the Israelis have not confirmed that. Senior Syrian officials continue to deny that a nuclear reactor was under construction, insisting that Israel hit a largely empty military warehouse.

But the images, federal and private analysts say, suggest that the Syrian authorities rushed to dismantle the facility after the strike, calling it a tacit admission of guilt.

“It’s a magic act — here today, gone tomorrow,” a senior intelligence official said. “It doesn’t lower suspicions; it raises them. This was not a long-term decommissioning of a building, which can take a year. It was speedy. It’s incredible that they could have gone to that effort to make something go away.”

Good job, Israel! Good job!

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The Phelps Gang which claims an affiliation with an evangelical Christian denomination has finally been taken to court by a fallen Marine’s family.

This group gets pleasure from declaring people will go to hell except them.

In this case the funeral of Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder of Baltimore was disrupted by these thugs.

Reader David has been in the lines with the Patriot Guard, which tries to keep this group from the sight and sound of the mourners.

I don’t know if this group was at this particular funeral or not, but it was supposed to be a private funeral.

During cross-examination, defense attorney Jonathan Katz focused on obituaries and death notices and questioned Snyder on whether they said the funeral services were private. Snyder replied that the notices said friends and family were welcome, but admitted that he did not know all of the 500 or so people who attended.

The case tests the limits of the First Amendment right to free speech.

U.S. District Richard Bennett instructed jurors at the start of testimony Tuesday that the First Amendment protection of free speech has limits, including vulgar, offensive and shocking statements. Bennett said the jurors must decide “whether the defendant’s actions would be highly offensive to a reasonable person, whether they were extreme and outrageous, and whether these actions were so offensive and shocking as to not be entitled to First Amendment protection.”…

…Katz told jurors Tuesday the protests took place 1,000 feet away from St. John Catholic Church, where the funeral was held, down a hill and out of sight and hearing from participants.

Snyder said American military personnel are in Iraq fighting for freedom of speech “they’re not fighting for hate speech.” One photo showing a child holding a sign at the funeral protest was particularly disturbing, the father said.

“I pray for their children. Their children need help. To be brought up with that kind of hatred,” Snyder said.

“My God is loving God,” Snyder said, adding later “I don’t look for hatred in the Bible.”

The church’s founder and pastor, Fred Phelps, took the stand after Snyder and prompted a strong admonition from Bennett when the pastor said he had not considered whether children would see a sign carried by protesters with the words “Semper Fi Fags” and two stick figures that appear to be engaged in sodomy.

“No, it’s an irrelevancy,” Phelps said.

Bennett then interjected sharply.

“Just answer the question, sir. Don’t determine what’s relevant or not relevant. You just answer the question,” Bennett said.

I hope the jury is just as patient with these thugs as the judge seems to be. When all is said and done, I hope the father owns the building, property and treasury of the Westboro “Baptist” Church.

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While Former President Clinton was attending a fund-raiser in Minnesota some hecklers claimed 9/11 was an inside job.

The following video gives you his response:

Thank you, Mr. President.

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Might I say, it is one with which I agree.

Beauchamp is young; under pressure he made a dumb mistake. In fact, he has not always been an ideal soldier. But to his credit, the young soldier decided to stay, and he is serving tonight in a dangerous part of Baghdad. He might well be seriously injured or killed here, and he knows it. He could have quit, but he did not. He faced his peers. I can only imagine the cold shoulders, and worse, he must have gotten. He could have left the unit, but LTC Glaze told me that Beauchamp wanted to stay and make it right. Whatever price he has to pay, he is paying it.

Second chances don’t come along often in life. I hope Scott Beauchamp makes the best of his.

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If you were this man, what would be your choice?

Further, if you were the judge, would you have given him any options?

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Things may be looking up for the GOP in a few Senate races:

Today Bob Kerrey announced he will not seek the Nebraska U.S. Senate seat that is up for grabs in 2008…….

Meanwhile, according to the Evans-Novak Political Report, Democratic state representative Grier Mier, an Iraq war veteran, says he won’t challenge Senator Elizabeth Dole next year in North Carolina……..

And in Texas, where U.S. Senator John Cornyn appeared slightly vulnerable in recent months, Cornyn’s opponent Mikal Watts has quit the race……

Add all this to the news that the antiwar campaign against Mitch McConnell seems to have stalled in Kentucky,………

2008 sets up to be a volitile year in politics on both sides of the aisle I believe, but the above news is certainly welcome for Republicans.

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Do you earn $200,000 adjusted gross income and are married?

Do you live in a place like New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago or any other large city where the cost of living is high?

How far does that salary take you in those areas? Are you living in paradise or trying to save for your childrens’ education?

I don’t know the answer to these questions but I know the cost of living in my small town is high enough.

Well, folks, have no fear because Rep. Charles Rangel has plans for your money.

Rangel said the broader measure, which he has called the “mother of all reforms,” would contain a 4 percent tax-rate surcharge on adjusted gross income over $200,000 for married couples. The surcharge would rise to 4.6 percent for those with income of more than $500,000. In addition, households with income of more than $200,000 would have to pay rates as high as 19.6 percent on capital gains and dividends, instead of the current rate of 15 percent.

Let’s hope the Republicans can stave off this tax increase and the next Congress won’t be any more Democrat than this one. Or we could all quit working since there’s no incentive to do so.

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I ran into an interesting piece in Slate today and thought I’d share it with you:

Politicians don’t call it dissembling, deceiving, or lying. They call it media management, and no administration has practiced this black art better in recent times than that of President Bill Clinton. In his 1998 book, Spin Cycle: Inside the Clinton Propaganda Machine, Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post describes how, after the disastrous first half of the first term, the Clintonites learned how to stage and contain the news by “alternately seducing, misleading, and sometimes intimidating the press.” …

…These lessons weren’t lost on Hillary Clinton, in part because she taught many of them after having endured what she considered two years of press hell. As “co-president,” she already held a “distrust of the press … even deeper than her husband’s” when she arrived in Washington, Kurtz writes. And she acted on it. Shortly after Clinton took office, she proposed evicting the White House press corps from the West Wing and resettling them in the Old Executive Office Building, he reports.

She nursed grudges against specific publications, freezing them out. When the press criticized her—inevitable given her centrality in the White House—she withdrew even more. She thought that the Whitewater affair “had turned her into red meat” and that the Washington Post and its editor, Leonard Downie Jr., were out to get her.

The Clintons learned the importance of knowing how to take a punch, but more essentially, they learned how to change the subject and how to selectively use the White House megaphone to drown out negative stories. Clinton chucked mini-initiatives into the media air, where they worked like chaff to flummox the news radar of the press corps. He and his spokesmen stayed on message to control the agenda, sidetracking unwanted questions with quick, disdainful responses. The goal was to “manage the news, to package the presidency in a way that people would buy the product,” Kurtz writes.

Does he have her pegged, or what?

A little off-topic, but Wednesday I was at the allergist’s office for my allergy shot.

One of the patients in the waiting area started talking about co-pays etc. and then stated if Hillary is elected we won’t be able to afford health care.

There were about ten people in there and everyone started talking and agreeing. Not one–black, white or purple plans to vote for Hillary Clinton. We also agreed we are very disappointed in Lindsay Graham.

Food for thought.

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From a Washington Times editorial is a description of how Bobby Jindal won the governorship of Louisiana without a runoff:

Mr. Jindal ran pledging to reform a corrupt government establishment that includes outgoing Gov. Kathleen Blanco, a Democrat who stumbled over herself prior to and during the aftermath of the Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Oxford-educated and elected to the House in 2004, Mr. Jindal stepped up where Blanco fell short. He was able to govern in a way consistent with traditional values and fundamental Republican principles. He earned a 96 percent lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union, strong support from the National Rifle Association and a 0 percent rating from the NARAL Pro-Choice abortion-rights group. He ran for Congress as a conservative, he legislated as a conservative and as a conservative he trounced his gubernatorial competition.

OK, so you think we don’t have a presidential candidate conservative enough for you. The only one I can find is Mike Huckabee, and he really has no chance at the nomination and would be eaten alive in the general election.

Thompson, so far, has been a disappointment. Maybe we had built him up too high in our minds and his style doesn’t match what we had in mind.

That leaves us with liberal or soft conservatives for the top of the ticket, but that’s not all bad.

We, as a party, must choose people with conservative values for the down ballot positions because eventually they will rise to the top.

That’s how we’ll win and that’s what Bobby Jindal did. He never abandoned his principles for office. Other candidates should take a lesson from it.

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When the late Sen. Paul Tsongas’ wife ran for Congress against an unknown veteran named Jim Ogonowski the conventional wisdom was that Tsongas would win in a cakewalk.

After all, this is Massachusetts, the liberal bastion of American politics.

But something happened. Yes, Mrs. Tsongas won the special election for the seat of Marty Meehan, who left to pursue other interests. The interesting part is the election was close. 6% if my memory serves me.

Some quotes on the election as published by Reuters:

Mary Burns has the kind of Democratic pedigree that dominates Massachusetts politics. Her family and friends vote Democratic, and she lives in a district that has not elected a Republican in 35 years.

But on October 17, she joined other disgruntled Democrats, voting for a Republican in a special congressional election.

Her candidate, Jim Ogonowski, who campaigned as an anti-immigration crusader, lost to Democrat Niki Tsongas by only 45 percent to 51 percent, a much closer margin than expected in a district Democrats saw as safely theirs.

Now political strategists across the country are trying to figure out what Ogonowski’s strong showing means for the nation as a whole and how worried Democrats should be about next year’s elections for president and Congress.

Why wouldn’t a Democrat run away with this election in this very Democrat state?

“He was like one of us,” Burns said of Ogonowski.

“He wasn’t from a political background or a political family. He was just looking for changes in Washington like we all are. I have a lot of Democratic friends who voted for him because he understood their concerns,” the 46-year-old advertising executive added.

Some Republicans also drew confidence from Saturday’s election of Republican U.S. Rep. Bobby Jindal as governor of Louisiana. The incumbent Democratic governor, Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, still blamed for post-Hurricane Katrina incompetence, decided not to seek re-election.

“Jindal walked away with that race,” said Democratic pollster Dave Beattie, who is not affiliated with a campaign.

“There’s a real anti-incumbent, anti-Washington mood out there,” he said. “Democrats cannot take for granted that just because voters are upset with the Republican administration it doesn’t mean they think Democrats are much better right now.”

“He was like one of us” caused this lifetime Democrat to vote for the Republican and get within an eyelash of taking out a safely held Democratic seat in the House.

Tsongas had Bill Clinton and Nancy Pelosi campaign by her side and still barely won the election.

Jindal won in Democrat Louisiana by a landslide considering he was running against 11 people. Never in recent memory, at least, has anyone been elected Governor in LA. without having to go through a run-off because no one reached 50% plus 1 on the first ballot.

Republicans, don’t lose hope. Keep plugging away and working for the candidates you support. If we can almost pull it off in Massachusetts and did pull it off in Louisiana, the chances are we can pull it off in some of the Republican districts that flipped Democrat last time with candidates running as conservatives.

Try to name one significant piece of legislation this Congress has passed. If you can do that, then maybe it’s a successful Congress. Unfortunately, I can’t think of anything this Congress has done except fight over Iraq.

Nancy Pelosi and the House did a great job of making a mess out of Kurdish Iraq when they passed their resolution in committee to condemn the Turks for genocide of Armenians nearly 100 years ago.

Now we have nearly as many Turkish troops in Iraq or ready to go into Iraq as we have American soldiers.

As one of the candidates said the other night, I believe it was Tancredo, “Nancy Pelosi is a lousy Speaker and an even worse Secretary of State.”

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I have long admired those accomplished in the art of origami but my respect for its intricacy grew ten fold upon viewing this video. What amazing talent!

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