I’ve heard some ridiculous statements in the course of this very loooooong campaign for the Presidency, but this one by Barack Obama has to take the prize:

“The truth is that right after 9/11 I had a pin,” Obama said. “Shortly after 9/11, particularly because as we’re talking about the Iraq war, that became a substitute for I think true patriotism, which is speaking out on issues that are of importance to our national security.”

Now, I could care less if he wears a flag pin on his lapel. But Mr. Obama, please explain to me how any replica of Old Glory is a “substitute for patriotism.” It just doesn’t square, especially when I watched this video where you surround yourself with the flag during a speech.

Either the Stars and Stripes is a patriotic symbol or it is not. You can’t pick and choose just because it is politically convenient for a sound bite.

It must be nice to earn a living in America while having no respect not only for our laws but for the flag we hold so dear.

This Veteran was having none of it.

HT: Blackfive

A Minnesota judge rejected Sen. Larry Craig’s request to overturn his guilty plea.

“Because the defendant’s plea was accurate, voluntary and intelligent, and because the conviction is supported by the evidence … the defendant’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea is denied,” Hennepin County Judge Charles Porter wrote.

Craig, a Republican, can appeal Porter’s ruling. But it wasn’t immediately clear if he would. Telephone calls and e-mails seeking comment from Craig spokesmen Sid Smith in Boise and Dan Whiting in Washington, D.C. weren’t immediately returned.

If Craig is to maintain any type of dignity now he will do what he said he would do in the first place and immediately resign from office.

This constant weighing of options when there are none (and he plainly stated he would leave on Sept. 30) is dishonest to the voters and humiliating to him.

Update: Here is Larry Craig’s reaction to the decision by the judge:

Idaho Sen. Larry Craig defiantly vowed to serve out his term in office on Thursday despite losing a court attempt to rescind his guilty plea in a men’s room sex sting.
“I have seen that it is possible for me to work here effectively,” Craig said in a written statement certain to disappoint fellow Republicans who have long urged him to step down.

Craig had earlier announced he would resign his seat by Sept. 30, but had wavered when he went to court in hopes of withdrawing his plea….

…In his statement, Craig said he will not run for a new term next year.

But in the meantime, he said: “I will continue my effort to clear my name in the Senate Ethics Committee—something that is not possible if I am not serving in the Senate.”

A proposed list of “National Commandments” are available at Stolen Thunder.

Here are just a few:

Thy nation shall promote Justice above all else.

Thy nation shall not suppress those who believe in God and live in faith.

Thy nation shall promote Freedom for all people as individuals, except that Justice must always come first.

Just some food for thought for Thursday.

New Mexico Senator Pete Domenici is expected to announce on Thursday that he intends to retire at the end of this term, which expires next November.

I believe reader David M has told us his popularity has dropped like a rock with New Mexico voters, and if he didn’t tell us he went around everywhere with an aide to help him move, I read that bit of information someplace else. I’m just not sure if David told us that or if I read it.

Expected to make a run for his seat: Rep. Heather Wilson, whom David told us is less popular than she was last year when she won re-election, Rep. Steve Pearce on the Republican side and Rep. Tom Udall on the Democratic side. (Those Udalls are all over the west, aren’t they?)

Other possible Democratic contenders could be Albuquerque Mayor Martin J. Chavez and state Lt. Gov. Diane Denish.

The Senator is retiring for health reasons, but did say he went through hell this year when the Senate Ethics panel investigated whether he and Wilson had influenced a corruption probe against Democrats by contacting later fired US Attorney Iglesias.

By the way, have you noticed we haven’t heard anymore about the “scandal” of firing US Attorneys since Gonzales resigned? Think it was all show and no action for the sake of politics? Hmmm.

I wish this ruling had been made in an American court.

Schools will have to issue a warning before they show pupils Al Gore’s controversial film about global warming, a judge indicated yesterday.

The move follows a High Court action by a father who accused the Government of ‘brainwashing’ children with propaganda by showing it in the classroom.

Stewart Dimmock said the former U.S. Vice-President’s documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, is unfit for schools because it is politically biased and contains serious scientific inaccuracies and ’sentimental mush’.

He wants the video banned after it was distributed with four other short films to 3,500 schools in February.

Mr Justice Burton is due to deliver a ruling on the case next week, but yesterday he said he would be saying that Gore’s Oscar-winning film does promote ‘partisan political views’.

This means that teachers will have to warn pupils that there are other opinions on global warming and they should not necessarily accept the views of the film.

It is my belief that children should be exposed to a variety of topics and opinions. However, when you try to sell something in an educational setting laden with political bias, I have difficulty swallowing that it is in the best interest of the students.

As a matter of fact, I agree with Mr. Dimmock:

Mr Dimmock, a lorry driver from Dover with children aged 11 and 14, said at the outset of the hearing: ‘I wish my children to have the best education possible, free from bias and political spin, and Mr Gore’s film falls far short of the standard required.’

This interview, (in three parts on Ian Schwartz’s site), shows the first lengthy glimpse of Fred and Jeri Thompson. (Their children are present but only in the first video.)

It takes approximately twenty minutes to view all three videos, but the topics discussed and the answers given are very important for those of us attempting to choose a candidate we might be able to support.

Check it out if you can.

A group of very liberal New Englanders and a group of very conservative Southerners are getting together to discuss secession from the Union.

In an unlikely marriage of desire to secede from the United States, two advocacy groups from opposite political traditions — New England and the South — are sitting down to talk.

Tired of foreign wars and what they consider right-wing courts, the Middlebury Institute wants liberal states like Vermont to be able to secede peacefully.

That sounds just fine to the League of the South, a conservative group that refuses to give up on Southern independence.

“We believe that an independent South, or Hawaii, Alaska, or Vermont would be better able to serve the interest of everybody, regardless of race or ethnicity,” said Michael Hill of Killen, Ala., president of the League of the South.

One of the liberal New Englanders claims there are secession movements in 25 states.

Surprisingly, the article informs us secession is not barred in the Constitution.

OK, that’s probably so, but didn’t a lot of men die to preserve the Union?

I guess these guys feel safe because they know no one in Washington or regular citizens would sign up to preserve the Union as they did 140+ years ago.

And when are these Southern people going to stop fighting the Civil War? Apologies to Southerners, as I mean only this group of Southerners and I live in the South.

Of course, I’m from New England, and it’s just as bad there. Mostly in Vermont, the state that likes to elect Socialist Bernie Sanders to national office.

Vermont and Rhode Island are the only two New England states I haven’t visited, and my husband claims he took me to Rhode Island a few years ago while we were in Connecticut. It was so small and such a short distance I guess I just didn’t realize it.

Anyway, I’ve had dealings with businesses in Vermont and have told them I hear it’s a beautiful state but I wouldn’t visit it until they got rid of Leahy and Sanders. That was before Sanders was a senator. And don’t forget how whacky Jim Jeffords was either.

Yesterday I had my regular 3 month check-up with the doctor.

Because I’m a diabetic I see him every 3 months to check my blood sugar levels over the past 3 months. We’ve had a bear of a time keeping my triglycerides under control, so I’m hoping for some better news in that department.

Since I was already there and didn’t want to pay another co-pay later in the month I told him I wanted my flu shot and it was time for another pneumonia shot.

Both shots were given and blood was drawn.

Most doctors are advising not to get the flu shot before the middle of October because the shot really lasts only 3 months.

Thankfully, the pneumonia shot is only once every 5 years because that little bugger hurts like heck once the vaccine starts going into the arm.

Be safe and put getting a flu shot on your schedule of things to do. You can usually get them at a pharmacy or grocery store once they start giving them in earnest and at a lower price.

Hopefully the medical researchers guessed right on the strain this year and we will be protected from a bad run of flu.

I told you about this yesterday, but the YouTube video wasn’t carrying it yet.

Today I’ve found the video for you to see and drop your jaws.