Virginia Right!

I found this video amusing when I first looked at it(for the record, I have hazel eyes).  Here’s the summary:

If you have blue eyes, be wary of falling in love with another blue-eyed beauty. According to a study from USA Today, there’s a possibility everyone with blue eyes may be related. Researchers in Denmark say every person with blue eyes descends from one ancestor whose genes mutated 6 to 10,000 years ago.

Of course all blue-eyed people have a common ancestor!  Adam and Eve!  The Bible says we have a common ancestor.  So surprisingly does science!  Try this first:

“It’s a mathematical certainty that that person existed,” said science journalist Steve Olson, whose 2002 book “Mapping Human History” traces the history of the species since its origins in Africa more than 100,000 years ago.

If you don’t take your science from Fox News, try this:

In January 1987, Rebecca Cann, Mark Stoneking, and Allan Wilson published a paper in Nature that dropped a bombshell of our understanding of human evolution. Until then, the prevailing theory held that different groups of humans had evolved separately in different regions, beginning about two million years ago. Their groundbreaking work revealed all humans carried mitochondrial DNA in their cells that dated back to a single woman who had lived just 200,000 years ago. This woman was dubbed Mitochondrial Eve.

They even called her “Eve”; where do you think they got it from?

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. * * * “And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.”  Genesis 1:27, 2:20 (KJV)

Science even suggests that the gene pool of mankind had a bottleneck after creation (They say evolution of course but I won’t) at least three times:  One million years ago!  70,000 years ago!  A supervolcano did it!

This was because of a so-called bottleneck effect. The rapid decrease, in our ancestors’ populations, in turn, brought about the rapid differentiation – or genetic divergence – of the surviving populations.

The idea is being advocated by Professor Stanley Ambrose of the University of Illinois.

He believes that the eruption of Mount Toba in Sumatra caused the bottleneck.

“Modern human races may have diverged abruptly, only 70,000 years ago,” he writes in the Journal of Human Evolution.

Geneticists have thought for some time that humans passed through a recent evolutionary bottleneck but they had little idea what may have caused it.

I know what caused that bottleneck, too!  The Flood that reduced the Earth’s population to eight persons.

The Bible is utterly reliable.  I know what some say:  That volcano was 74,000 years ago and the Flood was mere 4-6 thousand years ago!  The 74,000 years are as the scientists count time.  The facts are undisputed, it is the DATE that is in dispute.

The Bible is utterly reliable.  It also says we all are in sin, need a Savior to avoid eternal punishment, and Jesus is that Savior!

²² Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

²³ For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

²⁴ Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

²⁵ Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

(Romans 3:22-25 [KJV])  Time to reconsider that refusal to study and/or investigate the claims of Jesus Christ.  If you want to know more about eternal life in Jesus Christ, go here!

Fox News hired left wing moron Bob Beckel, a former Democratic Operative who is best known as Walter Mondale’s Campaign Manager who managed the most lopsided defeat in the history of the world, as a token lefty. He appears on various programs, most notably as one of the five hosts on the new Fox News show “The Five”.

Beckel is an insufferable idiot spouting the left wing propaganda with the usual underlying anger management issues that are so pronounced in Obama’s supporters.

I normally record “The Five” and Hannity just so I can fast forward through the mindless drivel from Beckel (and a few others) to get to the important stuff and thoughtful commentary by intelligent people and manage to keep my blood pressure under 100.

And Sponge Bob Beckel has, on several occasions, spouted F-bombs and far worse live on the air.

Last night on the Sean Hannity Show was just the latest episode.

Beckel apparently continued an argument with a Conservative lady that carried through the commercial break and into the next segment of the live show.

Viewers heard Beckel spout “You don’t know what the ‘F’ you’re talking about” as the show came back on air.

And of course Beckel blames Hannity for not having control of his show.

The clip (un-bleeped) is below.

It is time for Fox News to cut ties with Beckel and let him go back to his cocaine and booze. This guy does not belong on television, unless it is a perp walk in an orange jumpsuit. Extra large.

Fox News (and Christian Cinema) has this article on October Baby, the faith-based movie based on a teenager who finds out she was nearly aborted.  It is an underdog effort:

“I was shattered when I first learned about the story. I was moved and mesmerized. I wasn’t an activist, I was just someone who was shattered by the truth,” director Jon Erwin told FOX411’s Pop Tarts. “Here is our little film, small budget, in the top ten (at the box office). We are thrilled, blown away.”

It is amazing.  Certainly an answer to prayer.  More Jon Erwin:

“This film couldn’t find a home, no studio wanted to touch it. It was considered too controversial,” Erwin continued. “There was a real moment of despair at one point, the film wasn’t finished and nobody would take a look at it. But every time we screened it, it attracted such intense emotional reactions. So we had to raise the money ourselves, and the release process took much longer than we wanted.”

I plan to see it Easter weekend and will blog on it at that time.  But here’s the website with info on how you can see it here in Richmond THIS weekend.  The power of the evangelical dollar is strong!  Use it!  As the Scripture says, “Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.” (Romans 12:9 [KJV])  I do not usually agree with Rev. Kenneth Copeland but he said that if the market knew it would sell, the cereal boxes would have John 3:16 on them!  (For more about the gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ, go here!)

I rarely listen to Rush Limbaugh but I found myself in the car on business at Rush time and I was curious how he would handle the latest scandal.  (For the record, Rush needs to privately apologize to the law student and do so publicly too.  I suppose Rush had a deeper point to make but gratuitous unkindness like that was wrong and does not further his point.)  But Rush started out with a report from the Daily Mail (I would be careful with the Daily Mail – lots of unholy stuff!) that profoundly disturbed me.  Here’s two aspects of it that are head-shaking:

The study, which has alarmed women’s groups, also found a quarter of those [young women 18-25] surveyed felt bigger breasts would make them feel ‘happier’.

And almost 60 per cent of the respondents believed that men would be ‘more interested’ in them romantically if they had bigger breasts.

*  *  *

The survey of 1,142 women by the discount website by www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk  aimed to discover more about the attitudes young women hold towards brains and beauty.

In contrast with bigger breasts would attract more men, just 43 per cent felt that men would be ‘more interested’ in them if they had a higher IQ.

I do not find it hard to believe that sixty percent of young women felt if they had larger breasts they would have better date choices.  I do think they might have MORE choices but I am not sure the choices would be better QUALITY!  Here’s more:

Shocking new research shows almost half of young women aged 18 to 25 would prefer to have large breasts than high intelligence – with a third even saying they would gladly swap.

Experts have blamed the growing obsession with celebrity culture among youngsters together with the burgeoning market for plastic surgery.

*  *  *

Mamta Saha, psychologist, said: ‘Celebrity culture is much more accessible than it ever was before. We are bombarded with images of beautiful women with enhanced features such as full lips and large chests.  ***  It’s easy to look at these women and make the connection between the way they look and success – but this can turn into an unhealthy fixation.  ***   “Beauty will always fade, so it’s important to work on having high self-esteem internally.’

The New York Times wrote an intriguing article on the effort to get ICLEI (and Agenda 21) out of the United States.  Here’s a couple of highlights:

Tom DeWeese, the founder of the American Policy Center, a Warrenton, Va.-based foundation that advocates limited government, says he has been a leader in the opposition to Agenda 21 since 1992. Until a few years ago, he had few followers beyond a handful of farmers and ranchers in rural areas. Now, he is a regular speaker at Tea Party events.

Membership is rising, Mr. DeWeese said, because what he sees as tangible Agenda 21-inspired controls on water and energy use are intruding into everyday life. “People may be acting out at some of these meetings, and I do not condone that. But their elected representatives are not listening and they are frustrated.”

Fox News has also helped spread the message. In June, after President Obama signed an executive order creating a White House Rural Council to “enhance federal engagement with rural communities,” Fox programs linked the order to Agenda 21. A Fox commentator, Eric Bolling, said the council sounded “eerily similar to a U.N. plan called Agenda 21, where a centralized planning agency would be responsible for oversight into all areas of our lives. A one world order.”

The movement has been particularly effective in Tea Party strongholds like Virginia, Florida and Texas, but the police have been called in to contain protests in states including Maryland and California, where opponents are fighting laws passed in recent years to encourage development around public transportation hubs and dense areas in an effort to save money and preserve rural communities.

One group has become a particular target. Iclei — Local Governments for Sustainability USA, an Oakland, Calif.-based nonprofit, sells software and offers advice to communities looking to reduce their carbon footprints. A City Council meeting in Missoula, Mont., in December got out of hand and required police intervention over $1,200 in dues to Iclei.

If ICLEI is merely an “Oakland, Calif.-based nonprofit”, I am a communist!  ICLEI-USA may be a domestic non-profit but it is a subsidiary of ICLEI fully in league with other cities around the world to engage in political, foreign policy goals and to implement Agenda 21. Try this quote from ICLEI responding to the Times article:

“Because of our longtime leadership on sustainability, ICLEI has been singled out by extremists who mislead others by spinning wild conspiracy theories that have no basis in fact,” said [ICLEI-USA Executive Director Michael] Schmitz. “We are proud of the work we do, acting as a champion of local government priorities and providing a network for local governments in the United States and around the world to share challenges and solutions.” (emphasis added)

This is at best misleading:  Where’s the conspiracy and why is it false?  Tell the people, ICLEI!  There’s more:

About ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability USAICLEI USA is the leading nonprofit membership association of local governments committed to climate action, clean energy, and sustainability. We are the only organization that provides all of the necessary resources to help local governments achieve their sustainability goals. ICLEI USA’s mission is to build, serve and drive a movement of local governments to advance deep reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and achieve tangible improvements in local sustainability. Learn more at www.icleiusa.org . For answers to frequently asked questions about ICLEI and sustainability, visit www.icleiusa.org/faqs .

Again, not very helpful.  The Constitution forbids cities and towns and counties from having a foreign policy – even New York City!  The NYT article did not discuss the constitutional issues but did admit that our efforts are gaining traction and that there are legitimate issues of sovereignty:

Jeremy Rabkin, a professor of law at George Mason University specializing in sovereignty issues, said there were “entirely legitimate concerns about international standards that come into American law without formal ratification by the Senate.”

Again, let’s not give the opponents a cheap shot.  Keep it on a high level.  But there is hope!  We got some good press even in the New York Times.  Keep it up!

It looks like the news is very good:  Breaking news – BOTH the AG and the Governor will support remedial legislation to correct the Virginia Primary Joke!

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is intervening in the Virginia presidential primary dispute and plans to file emergency legislation to address the inability of most Republican presidential candidates to get their name on the ballot, Fox News has learned.  *  *  *

Sources told Fox News that Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnellis expected to support the emergency legislation as well.

Cuccinelli’s proposal is expected to state that if the Virginia Board of Elections certifies that a candidate is receiving federal matching funds, or has qualified to receive them, that candidate will upon request be automatically added to the ballot.

He [Cuccinelli] also happens to be a Republican. He is drafting “Emergency” legislation. GOP is all hands on deck with their separate set of rules for the insiders. We do not need to ask what would have occurred if Ron Paul fell short of the needed signatures:

Look closely at the images in this graphic that just appeared on Fox News. Notice anything strange about Mitt Romney?

I am wondering if this is a simple mix-up or a hysterical statement by a Fox News employee that is making a statement about Romney’s liberal tendencies.

Or perhaps it’s just a Freudian Slip!

Or an intentional Subliminal Message from Fox?

Either way, I love it!

A picture is, indeed, worth 1,000 words!

(And NO- this is not Photoshopped!)

Despite Calling Canadian Oil ‘Stable’ And ‘Reliable,’ President Obama Is Blocking America’s Efforts To Access It, Create Jobs

Dems Divided On Surtax

In 2009 Democrats Warned That A Similar Surtax Would ‘Negatively Affect Small Businesses,’ Said It Would Be ‘A Very Tough Sell’ In The Senate

Senate Dems Called ’09 Surtax ‘A Very Tough Sell’

SEN. RON WYDEN (D-OR): “Not heard much support.” “Still, the idea has been criticized by some Democrats. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said Tuesday that he has ‘not heard much support’ from his colleagues.” (“House Dems’ Health Bill Would Tax Rich,” USA Today, 7/15/09)

SEN. BEN NELSON (D-NE): “Tax is a four-letter word.” “‘Tax is a four-letter word’ with voters, said Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.). Even families not ranking in the top 1 percent of earners ‘hope they’re going to be there someday,’ he said. ‘So they don’t necessarily think it’s fair.’” (“Health-Care Plan Would Add Surtax On Wealthy,” The Washington Post, 7/15/09)

• “Senator Ben Nelson, a Nebraska Democrat, said he’s ‘not hearing a lot’ of support for a surtax on wealthy Americans. People in his state don’t like the so-called millionaire’s tax ‘because they are looking someday to get there themselves,’ Nelson said. ‘It’s the American way.’” (“House Health Plan Seeks 5.4 Percent Millionaire Tax,” Bloomberg, 7/14/09)

SEN. KENT CONRAD (D-ND): “A very tough sell.” “… Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), who is promoting a tax on the most generous 1 percent of private plans, conceded yesterday that such a proposal is ‘a very tough sell.’” (“Health-Care Plan Would Add Surtax On Wealthy,” The Washington Post, 7/15/09)

I prayed yesterday, please don’t let Cong. Paul get lured into discussions on Iran’s nuclear bomb or explaining blowback and non-intervention to folks like former PA Senator Rick Santorum.  He needs to articulate a clear vision for what a constitutionalist President can do.  At the Fox News/Google debate on September 22, Paul had a clear vision and people reacted to it. He got consistent applause.

Paul said – veto any law that violates the Tenth Amendment.  While some of his rhetoric is over the top, so is everybody else’s!  He also called for getting rid of the Department of Education and allow parents to opt-out.  Paul also indicated he would simply not enforce the No Child Left Behind law.  Finally, what a constitutional President can do!

Even when he got the button pushing question:  Who do you know that wants to take their money and leave the nation?  Paul’s answer was priceless:  He said yes – 1.5 trillion dollars need to be repatriated into the United States.  Capital and monetary controls lead right into people controls.  That is a loss of liberty.  The money laundering and currency controls can be used to restrict liberty.  Paul then smoothly segued into how e-Verify can lead into a national ID card and suggested to rapturous applause the better idea is to take away the benefits for illegals:

“What you need to do is attack their benefits.  No free education, no free subsidies, no citizenship, no birthright citizenship.  That will get to the bottom of..”

What I did not realize is that Governor Perry apparently defended passionately in-state tuition for the kids of illegals.  Here’s the comment from Gary Bauer’s End of Day Report today:

Having said that, I think Governor Perry, whom I like a lot, ran into another significant problem last night. In previous debates, it was Social Security. Last night it was illegal immigration, specifically his support of in-state tuition benefits for children of illegal immigrants.

Governor Perry obviously feels strongly about this issue. But when he accused fellow conservatives of being heartless, I doubt he won any votes. The polling on the issue is terrible — even in Perry’s home state.

Bauer reports that Perry lost at least one vote:

After the debate last night, Fox News pollster Frank Luntz discovered that his focus group members overwhelmingly felt that Romney had won the debate. Several changed their support from Perry to another candidate. One member of the focus group said his son wanted to attend Texas A&M but could not afford the out-of-state tuition rates. Perry’s position on in-state tuition for illegals drove this voter away.

On Washington’s biggest talk radio show this morning, most callers were lamenting Perry’s position on illegal immigration, saying they were looking for another candidate. And the reviews of conservative opinion leaders were not helpful either, as this summary illustrates.

Perhaps some Perry voters will go to Paul. Romney apparently did not do well with his quip that there are many reasons for not electing me! Check out this from the Washington Examiner:

The Washington Post‘s Marc Thiessen: “Mitt Romney was the John Kerry of tonight’s debate. He was far more articulate than Perry (who flubbed what should have been an easy attack on Romney’s flip flops). But it was Romney who made the gaffe that will almost certainly appear in campaign ads that are probably being written as you read this, when he declared: ‘There are a lot of reasons not to elect me.’ You can see the ad already.”

The other right on point question was the morning after pill.  Paul said no policing the Plan B or the morning after pill.  He also said abortion is a state issue, not a federal issue.  Certainly some moderates might be able to consider Paul.  His concern for rape victims might be an opening to find a pro-life conviction but allow some exceptions to banning abortion.

Paul got a compliment from his fellow libertarian, former NM Governor Gary Johnson.  Johnson said he’d pick Paul as his running mate.  Paul did not either acknowledge the compliment or otherwise comment.  (I have suggested a Paul/Johnson ticket several times at this blog.)  It was his weakest moment in the debate.  However, this is a showing of Paul’s basic humility; he is truly uncomfortable touting himself (he is bold discussing IDEAS but not bold discussing HIMSELF) so those self-promoting moments are awkward for him.

Perhaps another surge in the polls for Paul?

There was one really good line in last night’s debate. Former New Mexico Governor and presidential candidate Gary Johnson quipped “My next-door neighbor’s two dogs have created more shovel-ready jobs than this current administration“.

This was a debate jointly sponsored by Fox News and Google which is almost as odd as the TEA Party teaming up with CNN in the last debate.

Hopefully, this will be Google’s first, last and only foray into the world of political debates. It gave an overall sophomoric tone to the debate and was not really an enhancement, despite the online gimmicks and polls that happened in real time. It appeared that Google was more interested in showing off new “bells and whistles” (literally) and considered the debate simply a distraction from their infomercial.

There is no doubt that former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney bested Texas Governor Rick Perry in last nights debate. Romney was more relaxed than in previous debates and Perry looked like Johnny Cash in a neck brace. Those who had high hopes and aspirations for Perry should be really disappointed.

At one point, Perry attacked Romney as a flip-flopper, which is absolutely true, but his punches fell flat as he stumbled over the words and elicited a Déjà vu of another former Texas Governor George W. Bush.

It is clear that Perry was coached to go on the offensive against Romney, but he failed to execute, verbally flailing all over the stage.

And whoever it is that is advising Perry to never back down from his in state tuition program for illegal aliens has torpedoed Perry’s bid for president. There is no way to defend allowing a tuition discount of $22,000 per year to illegal aliens while charging legal US citizens from the other 49 states full price. This is nothing more than a subsidy for illegal activity and is a pill any true conservative will never be able to swallow. This is a deal breaker for conservatives and Perry should begin sinking like a rock in the polls. And that is a pity.

Romney came across as actually likable, something that he has failed to do thus far.

Romney continues to hit Perry for his characterization of Social Security as both a failure and Ponzi scheme.

We all know that Social Security takes money from current workers and pays retirees without investing the money and paying dividends. Those who paid into Social Security, or invested in the program while they were working are receiving payments, not from their investment in the program, but from younger, new investors paying into the program.

According to the Securities and Exchange Commission:

A Ponzi scheme is an investment fraud that involves the payment of purported returns to existing investors from funds contributed by new investors.

Social Security fits that definition perfectly. The fact that the program is popular, or has existed for 70 years and is essential to the elderly today is absolutely true, but that does not make it any less a Ponzi Scheme. Romney knows this and is pandering to the elderly and the left whose “hands off Social Security” mantra will be the impetus behind the eventual failure of the program.

It is good that Social Security is now open for discussion, but Romney is failing to lead on needed reform by playing politics with a failing program.

And while Romney by no means hit a home run, he has effectively made use of the old Muhammad Ali Rope-a-Dope technique and will, in all likelihood, coast to a primary victory, barring any implosive gaffs.

As to the other seven pretenders contenders, they are mildly entertaining, but none of them stand a chance.

We have already mentioned Gary Johnson’s lone contribution to the discussion. There is really not much to say about him.

Michele Bachmann is a really great Congressman, and might even make a great US Senator. But nothing she has said gives any reason to believe that she is qualified to be President, or even Vice President. Her contribution to the discussion has become repetitive and she is falling in the polls, as would be expected.

Newt Gingrich would make a great adviser if a President could get past his narcissism and massive ego. Gingrich is a very smart guy with a wealth of knowledge and experience. He is polling low, and has absolutely no chance to win the nomination, but his participation in these debates has actually helped shape the discussion and his calling out the moderators has had a positive impact on the discussions. He should remain a fixture in the debates all the way through. His role of Candidate/Referee is needed to counter the out of control media. He should wear a black and white striped shirt at the next debate and carry a yellow flag.

Ron Paul. Can you really say anything about Paul? His followers are undaunted by reality. They are loyal, loud and Libertarian. He is by far the easiest candidate for the moderators looking to draw out a bizarre and  controversial comment. Ron Paul will never pull punches, sugar coat, or try to be politically correct in explaining his beliefs. From a long time politician this is a refreshing quality. And while Paul’s statements about allowing a hypothetical uninsured coma patient to die in the ultimate act of personal responsibility or his willingness to allow Iran to have nuclear weapons will never cause a single follower to waiver or rethink their support, it does make anyone who is not a Libertarian gasp in horror and call Paul names like crazy and nut-job. The idea of personal responsibility is a splendid concept, but impossible for most Americans to swallow. The press has had their fun with Ron Paul, accomplished their goal of “exposing” him as loony and, at the same time, made him even more of a hero to his supporters for having the intestinal fortitude to say what he means. He will always have his rabidly loyal niche following, but his views will never persuade centrists or most Republicans (let alone those on the left) that he would be a good president. Despite the straw polls, Ron Paul will never win the nomination. And his only shot at the VP ticket is if Johnson wins the nomination. Neither of which will happen.

Rick Santorum is an angry man. At least that is how he comes off. Like Ron Paul, Santorum is an easy target for the media who want to brand the former Pennsylvania US Senator an extremist. All it takes is one buff gay soldier in a war zone to immediately give the left occasion to use words like homophobia and intolerant. And while the reason behind Santorum’s beliefs are his Christian views, the hypocrisy easily escapes those who would call him intolerant. Santorum, like Paul, stands firm in his beliefs. Admirable, but the center will never accept a candidate who has been branded an intolerant, homophobic, far right wing Christian by the Mainstream Media. His contribution to the debates has become both monotonous and irrelevant. And the anger is somewhat detracting.

John Huntsman is getting better at debates, and he is one that the Mainstream Media is sure they could easily lead around like a dog on a leash if he were elected President. His constant bragging about Utah is getting old. Most people realize that the entire state is smaller than either Boston or Dallas-Fort Worth and the Mormon population is a strong, conservative driving force in his state. A Governor in Utah need only concern himself about the Mormon ideology to be a popular governor. Other states are far more challenging. Romney has a lot of Liberals to make happy in the North East, so his pandering to the left with RomneyCare is, perhaps, a necessary evil for a Republican in a blue state. And Huntsman need not worry about a large Hispanic population like Perry has in Texas which leads to things like in state tuition breaks for illegal aliens. Huntsman has been an avid Obama supporter and that alone will eliminate him as a potential  Republican nominee.

Herman Cain is a likable person and has a great sense of humor. His business background is a plus, something all of the other candidates lack (even Romney). But Cain is a political babe in the woods and like it or not, the job of President of the United States is a political job for an astute politician. The current president is no master politician, but those behind Obama pulling the strings are extremely savvy, politically. And ruthless. Herman Cain is his own man and is not equipped to run the country. He would be a great adviser, though. And if we really look closely at Cain’s 9-9-9 plan, which sounds more like some type of pizza promotion than a tax plan, it seems that this would be far more anti-business than the current tax system. In this system, it seems that pass-through corporations – like S-Corporations – who presently pay no tax on earnings, rather passing the profits through to the owners, who then pay income tax on the earnings, would be eliminated. Cain says all corporations would pay 9%. Any money passed through to the owners would then be taxed at 9%, and anything you purchase would be taxed at 9%. That adds up to 27% tax on every dollar, which would be far worse for many small business owners. The larger corporations would make out better, it would seem. Cain has very little specific information on this, but it really sounds like a bad idea for small business owners.

Future Debates

Future debates would do well to trim down the field. Of course, Mitt Romney and Rick Perry would be mandatory. Most of the others have become irrelevant at this point. Gary Johnson should be eliminated without a doubt. CNN and the TEA Party made the right decision. John Huntsman and Rick Santorum should also be scratched. And while Newt Gingrich has been a great referee, he should also be out of any future debates. This would trim the debates to a more manageable number of 5.

Herman Cain and Michele Bachmann are on the bubble. And Ron Paul will continue to see his followers travel in droves to any straw poll. Paul has a finite group of supporters and will not grow his base beyond what it is. And there are simply not enough registered voters to propel Paul in any of the polls that count. The ones where they check ID’s to make sure you are a resident. The moderators will continue to play Paul and the controversial responses are easy to draw out of him. He has a lot of popular ideas, but when you consider the whole package, Ron Paul is simply out of the running for most Republican voters. But the threat of Paul running as a third party is enough to force the Republicans to placate Paul and allow him to remain in the debates until he decides to go home.

We all know that Ron Paul running as a third party would guarantee Obama’s reelection. Even Ron Paul knows that. And the country will not survive 4 more years of Barack Obama.

The world now knows that Rep. Michele Bachmann won the Ames Straw Poll by less than 200 votes over Rep. Ron Paul (4823 to 4671 – it was less than one percent) and it is awful to lose.  I hope this does not affect momentum (I was disappointed that former Senator Santorum was gloating over having hurt Paul’s chances due to the debate.  Fox News did not help this situation one bit.) and there is a historical precedent:  1980

In 1980, George H. W. Bush narrowly won the Iowa caucuses over Reagan.  The Bush forces felt that New Hampshire would be the test where they could severely hurt Reagan.  It might have worked except for a NH debate where only Bush and Reagan were invited.  Reagan made sure the other candidates were invited and when the debate organizers cut off Reagan’s microphone, he said famously, “I paid for this microphone, sir!”  This stunted Bush’s momentum and Reagan won in New Hampshire and Bush never seriously challenged again for the nomination.

We need a new event.  But I am not sure what it will be.  Perhaps the blessing will be we can work on organization in Iowa and New Hampshire to ensure a good turnout and position in both states in 2012.  Let’s try to work harder for Paul.  We know he’s right.  Now let’s do it!

It is not often I praise anything in San Francisco but this is praiseworthy:

The verdict is in – Ron Paul won last night’s GOP Presidential debate in Ames, Iowa. Much to the chagrin of the neo-cons at Fox News, the polls, and applause, overwhelmingly showed that the people thought Ron Paul won the debate. Fox News was even forced to take down its own poll from its website after Paul crushed the competition in a landslide. Readers can can view that poll here. This is the largest online GOP debate poll, and just under 30,000 Americans have voted. Ron Paul has received a whopping 16,188 votes thus far, which is more than triple the support of runner-up Newt Gingrich.

Now, the Bay City only needs to vote John Dennis in 2012!  There’s more – the article agrees with Paul on Iran:

Despite the best efforts of the media to get Dr. Paul to flip flop on his libertarian views, he just won’t do it – even when the questions are tough. Last night, when he was asked what his response would be to the possibility that Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons, Paul stuck to his non-interventionist position and said that he would prefer more diplomatic discourse and trade with Tehran, as opposed to just relying on threatening rhetoric and war mongering.

While we should make it our policy to try our best to prevent Iran to get a nuclear weapon and regard it as an unfriendly act, we cannot go to war to stop it.  There are many collateral problems involved with that war.  We also have Israel to help us with that.  Let’s not seek hostilities with Iran without a national debate PRIOR to the war.

This piece written by one of the editorial board from the Seattle Times agrees!  Bruce Ramsey says Paul had Santorum for lunch and I agree that he did.  His conclusion includes:

Paul is right. It’s time we quit this. American taxpayers can’t afford all these wars, and we don’t get anything out of them.

Cong. Paul’s Iowa barnstorming tour continues as he arrives in Ames:

Congressman Ron Paul will deliver a speech and attend a Meet & Greet at the Hilton Garden Inn, 1325 Dickinson Avenue, Ames, IA 50014 on Thursday, August 11th at 9am Central Time

There is a GOP debate in the evening in Ames (I am sorry it is hosted by Fox News but maybe they’ll be more respectful of Dr. Paul since they know he’s right on the wars and the budget!)!

Fox News Debate at C.Y. Stephens Auditorium – Iowa State Center, Beach Avenue at Sunset Drive, Ames, IA 50010 on August 11th at 9pm Eastern

TWO days until the Ames Straw Poll!

Without Tea Party Republicans, Congress wouldn’t be cutting any federal spending, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said.

“What I would say to our friends in the Tea Party movement — without them we wouldn’t be having this discussion. We wouldn’t be cutting anything,” McConnell said Monday to Neil Cavuto on Fox News. “But for the last election, we wouldn’t be having this discussion.”

McConnell’s comments come a few weeks after he unveiled his fallback debt-ceiling increase proposal that gave President Obama broad authority to raise the spending limit and simultaneously make it more difficult for Congress to stop him. McConnell’s plan was met with criticism from Tea Party conservatives.

On Sunday, Obama, McConnell and other congressional leaders signed off on a debt-limit-increase deal that would cut federal deficits by $2.1 trillion over 10 years, raising the ceiling by an equal amount. The deal also creates a bicameral 12-person committee charged with making further recommendations to reduce the deficit. McConnell said that that committee was unlikely to agree to tax hikes of any kind, despite the presence of Democrats on the committee.

“What I can pretty certainly say to the American people, the chances of any kind of tax increase passing with the appointees that [Speaker] John Boehner [(R-Ohio)] and I are going to put on there are pretty low,” McConnell said. “In addition to that, let’s assume that they did. It would have to pass the House and the Senate. I don’t think this House of Representatives would pass a tax increase. So I’m comfortable we’re not going to raise taxes coming out of this joint committee.”

Earlier on Monday, Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) left open the possibility that the committee could actually support tax increases.

“Everything is on the table if a majority of the committee chooses to have it on the table,” Conrad said on Bloomberg T.V. “In other words, what the Republicans are saying is that they’re tied into the [Congressional Budget Office] current baseline, they think that prevents revenue. But if they read the fine print they’ll find that the majority of the committee could choose some other baseline.”

Here are several exciting stories about the Ames straw poll.

Politico sounds like Paul could win:

Paul’s straw poll performance is one of the big wild cards in Ames. He drew just 9 percent there in 2007, when he was a far less prominent figure. A Paul victory would be a shock to the system, and would complicate things for observers eyeing the straw poll as a Pawlenty vs. Bachmann throwdown.

Fox News is definitely not the Ron Paul channel.  But it agrees with Politico:  He can win!

See this article from the Daily Paul:  Story County GOP chair Cory Adams endorses Paul!

“Only Ron Paul articulates and demonstrates a clear devotion to constitutionally limited government.

“With Ron Paul as president, Iowans and all Americans would have leadership that is in step with conservative family values, is fiscally responsible, puts forth a strong national defense our armed services men and women endorse, and protects civil liberties at home.”

Adams could not have said it better!  Finally, Radio Iowa had this report from Ames:

Rival Michele Bachmann is now calling herself an “underdog” in that upcoming competition, while Tim Pawlenty says, win or lose, the Straw Poll’s outcome won’t decide whether he’ll stay in the race. Paul spoke to about 100 people this morning in Ames — the city that will host the Straw Poll festivities. Paul called his Iowa supporters a “unique” group of “driven” people.

Bachmann is trying to tamp down enthusiasm.  I would say the other candidates’ supporters especially Romney fans should vote for Paul to give both former MN Governor Pawlenty and Cong. Bachmann an embarrassing loss.  Sounds encouraging; let’s keep fighting and praying!  When’s August 13?

When a ministry is too embarrassed to use the name ‘Christ’ and feel it ‘gets in the way’ then it is clear they are neither a Ministry nor Christian.

This is a really sad turn of events. Satan is working overtime at Campus Crusade for Christ (and I don’t really care if they are offended at my using the Name Christ.)

I would hope (and pray) that their donors refuse to give them one dime until they return Christ to His Ministry. And Jesus Wept.

From Fox News:

One of the nation’s most prominent Christian ministries has decided to take Christ out of its name – a move that has generated cries of political correctness from within the evangelical community.

Campus Crusade for Christ International announced this week that it will change the name of its U.S. Operations to “Cru” in early 2012.

 “We felt like our name was getting in the way of accomplishing our mission,” said Steve Sellers, the vice president for Campus Crusade, noting that the ministry will still be committed to “proclaiming Christ around the world.”

Sellers said researchers found that 9 percent of Christians and 20 percent of non-Christians were alienated by the name Campus Crusade for Christ

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/07/21/campus-ministry-drops-christ-from-name/#ixzz1Slrt4tjC

This is a really great post by Jeff Dunetz about the far left wing George Soros (tax-exempt) smear machine Media Matters. In truth, nothing from this group of nit-wits matters – or should matter. It is high time they pay taxes and share in the sacrifice like the rest of us.

And it is appalling the hatred I see spewed from that site, none more vile than their hatred of Jews and all things Israeli.

I get it! Media Matters for America (MMFA)  is being paid by George Soros and other progressive money-men to make sure the progressive point of view is protected.  That’s why they work so hard to fight the few conservative media sources trying to tell the truth about progressive policies. What I don’t understand is if they are so busy trying  to take down media sources such as Fox News and Breitbart’s “Big” sites, why do they feel the need to spend so much time pushing anti-Semitic stereotypes such as “the Jews control the government and the media” and  creating anti-Israel spin to the latest news?

Read the rest here, and bookmark the Yid with Lid. I read Jeff’s blog nearly every day and have nominated him several times for some great posts on Watcher of Weasels as my non-council nomination.

It appears that, while still incredibly far from success, the secession movement proposed by county supervisor Jeff Stone of Riverside County is still on the tracks. It is reported the Riverside County Board of Supervisors agreed to endorse secession provided no tax monies were used to promote it:

Elected officials in Riverside County endorsed a proposal Tuesday to discuss cleaving California in two, but with a catch: No public funds can be spent on the budding secessionist movement.

The Governor of California, Jerry Brown, was appropriately respectful of the effort:

It’s a supremely ridiculous waste of everybody’s time,” said spokesman Gil Duran. “If you want to live in a Republican state with very conservative right-wing laws, then there’s a place called Arizona.’

People are doing exactly that!  This sarcastic answer would be more amusing had this story not appeared in CNN Money the very same day!  One of the states seeking California business is Arizona!

And governors around the country, smelling blood in the water, have stepped up their courtship of California companies. Officials in states like Florida, Texas, Arizona and Utah are telling California firms how business-friendly they are in comparison.

And why is that?  Remember this is CNN Money not Fox News!

Buffeted by high taxes, strict regulations and uncertain state budgets, a growing number of California companies are seeking friendlier business environments outside of the Golden State.

The Golden State was ranked as WORST to do business by Chief Executive (that is corporate CEOs) magazine for SEVEN years.  SEVEN YEARS!  It take work to do that.  That has got to be a record.  A record of liberal futility. (BTW, Gov. Jindal’s Louisiana went up 13 places from 40th to 27th in one year.)  Here’s what the article said:

Wisconsin and Louisiana posted the two biggest gains since 2010, with the latter, along with Oklahoma, also showing the biggest gains over the last five years. By proactively reshaping its posture toward business taxation and regulation, Louisiana has been quietly stealing pages from the Texas playbook.

I feel sorry for all these people – trapped in a state that cannot give up liberalism:

Combined, those counties are home to about 13 million people. Republicans account for the majority of registered voters in all of those counties, except San Bernardino and Imperial.

Supervisor Stone may be more of a visionary than people realize.  I urge all conservatives in CA to help him out.

Would the last business in California turn off the ICLEI-approved light bulb?!