Right Truth

‘LABOR’ PAINS AND PRAYING TIMES

‘LABOR’ PAINS AND PRAYING TIMES

By R.J. Godlewski

©August 31, 2008, All Rights Reserved

    Under normal circumstances, you’d be reading another of my ‘holiday’ articles, specifically penned to coincide with the particular holiday at hand. For this Labor Day, I wanted to address the hypocrisy of the holiday itself. I was going to show how Big Labor – such as the United Auto Workers (UAW) who have begun to run a television commercial on this precise subject – lauds itself on the ability to keep “nine year old children” from working within the proverbial sweatshop but contradictorily support liberal politicians who demand abortion on demand. The ultimate “sweatshop” and destroyer of child welfare, in my humble opinion, is that experienced by those literally ripped from their mother’s womb. Like I said, under normal circumstances I would take the deification of unionized labor to task. Today is not a normal day, however.

    By now, everyone understands that a major hurricane, Gustav, is taking aim on Louisiana and the American Gulf Coast. Like a feared Katrina II, this event demands center stage irrespective of political pandering and therefore I will not turn this crisis into a means of bashing opposing political parties. They are doing enough on their own for me to emulate their actions. I have friends located down in Louisiana.  I myself once spent a week in Morgan City suffering from severe food poisoning picked up during a Coors® run from Golden, Colorado on down to Thibodaux, Louisiana. At the moment, Morgan City is a virtual ghost town. I also have a niece presently living in Houma; they have not evacuated their home and with electrical shortages and the like, it may be a week before we hear from her. Having been in about six hurricanes myself – a few of which we rode out while at sea – I can attest to the seriousness of just such an encounter. They are amongst nature’s greatest punches and this particular one is being directed squarely at the heart of my nation.

    Much has been learned from Katrina, almost exactly three years ago, and so it is hoped that these lessons will lead to less casualties, less deaths, and less damage than that infamous storm of 2005. Unfortunately, there will be casualties, there will be deaths, and most especially there will be damage. Perhaps a significant amount of damage upon a region already gun-shy of things climatic. In such a situation, I do not care about a person’s politics, their religion, their economic background, or their race. At the moment, I don’t really care if they are legal American citizens or not. People are at risk and it is people that drive the heart of my soul.

    Some of my fans have often asked me to use my particular talents to let the world know what’s wrong with the forces reared against my beloved nation. Today, I will do just that – apolitically. I will use these words to command you to do whatever you can to aid our fellow citizens down along the Gulf. If you can afford to do so, then send money to the local charity of your choice. If you own a business that sells or manufactures products in great need by the region, then please ship whatever you can down there. If you cannot afford to physically aid them, then say prayers, conduct rosary sessions, or simply keep their struggles close to heart.

    What makes this nation singularly special within the context of global civilizations is that it is us – the average citizen – that comes out heroically whenever our neighbors are in need. If we fail to aid them then we have only ourselves to blame – not our government; not our elected officials. The mirror beholds the most influential person on the planet. Let’s act this time – not react.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: This week I return to furthering my education. Yes, even at forty-five years old, I’ve decided that my life needs to adapt and to accept the challenges of the future. I hope that my commitment to excellence will not only benefit me professionally, but what my fans read as well. Unfortunately, as I combine career with education, I may find that my writings fade into the background. I am sorry, for I truly enjoy writing for you and learning of your comments regarding my work, but I do hope that you’ll understand should I become somewhat tardy or absent completely from the Internet. In the end, we’ll both prosper… R.J. Godlewski

* * *
You can donate to the Red Cross here.

You can donate to the United Way here.

Hurricane Gustav and Energy Infrastructure

From The Oil Drum (click images to enlarge):

Hurricane Gustav, Energy Infrastructure and Updated Damage Models -- Thread #4 (Updated 8/31 noon EST), Posted by Nate Hagens

We now have Gustav as a Category 3. However, the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port or LOOP--where America uploads approximately 1.2 million barrels of imports each day--is directly in the hurricane path; noon models have reduced the damage forecast; however, and we cannot emphasize this enough, this can change quickly.

Updates today from Chuck Watson at KAC/UCF:

Here's the noon update. Given the weaker forecast at landfall, things are not looking as dire. Bad, but not catastrophic. Still showing a near direct hit on the LOOP, but damage has come down, to weeks rather than months. CAUTION: Just because the storm is weakening, and therefore less forecast damage to the GoM infrastructure, doesn't mean this storm can't kill you. Stay safe, stay gone!

Here's the 6a EST update: I think it's on the hot side, but their job is evacuation, not damage prediction. The LOOP is my main concern at this stage. It's an important piece of infrastructure, and it is right in the bullseye. A 20 mile left or right shift, and 10 or 15 knots of wind speed means the difference between days and months of repair/recovery time. NHC track is Bad for the LOOP; some tracks to the east are better (not so good for NOLA, though). I'm sticking fairly close to my probabilities from a couple days ago, minus the Mexico and Tampa side trips: 30% Cat 3/4 landfall in LA, 30% cat 2 landfall in LA, 10% to Pensacola area, 20% farther west, 10% something goofy.

UPDATE: noon EST 8/31 - Graphic below is damage models based on official NHC hurricane forecast track, key is below. Numbers are below the fold. The noon models have them weakening somewhat.

Path/damage estimates using NHC noon forecast-click twice to enlarge

For all graphics: Rigs/Platforms: Blue: evacuated only; Yellow will require inspection before restart; Red: damage requiring repair; Refineries: Black: operational impact (partial shutdown) Green: Operational impact (full shutdown) Red: Damage likely; Ports: standard hurricane flags for wind

We are not hurricane experts at theoildrum.com. Neither are we experts on damage forecasts to oil and gas infrastructure from weather events (though thankfully we do have an expert that helps us). What we try to do, and have been doing for over 3 years, is articulate the fragility and urgency of our nations, and our worlds, energy situation. As Hurricane Gustav moves nearer, and professional meteorologists and energy analysts gauge the impact it may have on our energy infrastructure, feel free to browse our archives of hundreds of empirically based analyses and perspectives on the myriad energy issues that are the backdrop not only for this hurricane, but for any exogenous event that disrupts the increasingly uneasy balance between energy supply and demand in our modern interconnected world.

There are many resources under the fold (by clicking "there's more" in this post), including details of the latest oil/infra damage estimates from Chuck Watson at KAC/UCF as well as lot of other resources including rig maps, models, google earth maps, and a lot more in the comments.

Update from Matthew Simmons, of Simmons International:

LOOP is the only facility in the Gulf to unload VLCC tankers which carry over 2 million barrels of crude. They can in theory be "litered" by unloading onto smaller tankers that can make it into the Gulf Coast ports but this is very lenghty timing and the spare capacity of these smaller tankers is slim. We get about 1.2 million b/d of crude imports through Loop. (+/- 10%)

Click map to go to WUnderground

(UPDATED noon est 8/31)
Here are this mornings comments and estimates from Chuck Watson--note they are down from earlier:

OFCL ATCF Forecast Time: 2008083112
14 day:  7.78 MMBBL ( 48.32% normal), gas  59.20 BCF ( 66.07% normal)
30 day:  18.82 MMBBL ( 54.55% normal), gas 141.99 BCF ( 73.96% normal)
60 day:  41.95 MMBBL ( 60.80% normal), gas 304.25 BCF ( 79.23% normal)
90 day:  66.55 MMBBL ( 64.30% normal), gas 470.81 BCF ( 81.74% normal)
6 mon : 159.36 MMBBL ( 76.99% normal), gas 1007.31 BCF ( 87.44% normal)
1 year: 372.08 MMBBL ( 88.64% normal), gas 2185.24 BCF ( 93.55% normal)

Here is the early am commentary 09:49 am 8/31:

Given the weaker forecast at landfall, things are not looking as dire. Bad, but not catastrophic. Still showing a near direct hit on the LOOP, but damage has come down, to weeks rather than months.

Here's the latest NHC based, 6 month hit:

--
OFCL 6 month forecast trend
30/18z: 152.45 MMBBL ( 73.65% normal), gas 1040.40 BCF ( 90.30% normal)
31/06z: 139.37 MMBBL ( 67.33% normal), gas 972.17 BCF ( 84.39% normal)
31/12z: 159.36 MMBBL ( 76.99% normal), gas 1007.31 BCF ( 87.44% normal)

Important Safety Tip: it is VITAL that folks DO NOT use our info for evacuation planning (this means you, Alan!). Our discussions here are with respect to a bunch of hardware, not feline or even human lives. We don't want to be wrong on either the high or low side, especially since
being wrong on the high side has bad consequences for pricing, that's why I keep emphasizing this thing may not be as bad as the models are predicting because there are signs and portents the storm will not gain as much strength as forecast. If you are in an evacuation zone, get your pets, get your insurance paperwork, and GET OUT.
--
A note on our modeling process: we take the official NHC track, the raw computer model tracks like GFDL, HWRF, LBAR, etc, and even run our own in-house fast cycle track/intensity models. These track and intensity estimates are feed to our main hurricane model (TAOS), which computes the wind, waves, storm surge, currents, etc. at each point in our database of over 50,000 elements in the GoM like rigs, platforms, pipelines, pumping stations, refineries, etc. We then have engineering
models for each type of infrastructure that calculates the damage and estimated down time for that element, as well as downstream impacts (eg if a pipeline is down, the upstream elements can't pump and the downstream elements don't get product).

Chuck has put together a dynamically updating page that will reflect the latest damage models/forecasts at this link: KAC/UCF models. We will be updating this thread with damage estimate and breaking news as this story unfolds, as well as post another story on why Hurricane Gustav or any exogenous supply event is potentially critical in a world with little slack in supply of high quality oil.

PRODUCTION/INFRASTRUCTURE MAPS AND REFINERY INFORMATION

Here's a link to a really good map of oil refining/SPR storage facilities in respect to the path of Katrina (NB: OLD TRACK MAP!) and here is a listing of production and refining capability for the state of LA.

(Continue reading at The Oil Drum)

Gustav is GOOD NEWS for Republicans

We pray that Gustav downgrades, turns, disappears, does not hit American soil, does not cause any injuries or loss of life for Americans and does not cause any property damage.  But it does look like Gustav will make landfall somewhere near New Orleans as Katrina did.  In this case, we pray for everyone in the path of this storm.  But ...

Gustav will be good news for Republicans, even if the convention is interrupted or even canceled.  Americans will see that lessons were learned after Katrina.  They will see Republican governors do a fantastic job of preparations, evacuations, and everything else involved with protecting the citizens of their states, whether it's Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, or Texas. 

Remember the problems that occurred with Katrina in Louisiana and specifically New Orleans, were directly the fault of Mayor Ray Nagan and Governor Kathleen Blanco.  Now we have Gov. Bobby Jindal in charge.  We also have new leadership at Homeland Security and FIMA.  I think Americans will be proud of the leadership during Gustav.  I also think that the Democrats/Liberals will be put to shame for their glee at potential disaster on American soil for possible political gain on their parts.

Mandatory evacuations have been instigated ahead of Gustav.

President Bush has suspended plans to travel to the Republican National Convention and Sen. John McCain is considering plans for restructuring the convention entirely.

“It just wouldn’t be appropriate to have a festive occasion while a near tragedy or a terrible challenge is presented in the form of a natural disaster,” McCain said in an interview taped Saturday with "Fox News Sunday."  “So we’re monitoring it from day to day, and I’m saying a few prayers, too.”

In Obamaland a CAT 4 hurricane is funny and they are praying it will hit and hit hard.

Dem hearts all a flutter over Gustav

Check this out over at RedState.  The news couldn’t be better! We may have a major disaster on the way! All we need now is a few thousand troops to get killed just before the election and Obama’s ascension will be a slam dunk.

Sick…  (continue reading at Thinkin 'bout Stuff)

Twin Cities Conservative is Live from St. Paul:

I just left St. Paul, and my first impression of the Republican National Convention is that every degenerate, every dreg, every low-life, patouli-oil, tree hugger has descended on the scene.

Wow, I'm starting to sound like a liberal: arrogant, condescending, smug, patronizing, elitist, etc. (in other words, true to its racist roots).

It's hard not to be a tad bitter when 1.) an anarchist group operating under the moniker, "RNC Welcoming Committee" was on the verge of causing a riot; 2.) certain community activists automatically assumed, when the local police stormed the group's secret location, WITH search warrant, that the group was harmless and police overstepped its bound.  (continue reading)

PUMAS are for Sarah Palin, which means they are for John McCain.  Pumas, in case you don't know, are "Party Unity My A$$", upset with the Dems because of their treatment of Hillary Clinton.

If you have any questions about Sarah Palin's experience, go here.  John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin has destroyed Barack Obama's one day bump from the Democrats convention last week.  The latest Zogby poll , a/k/a  nationwide survey, which begun Friday afternoon after the McCain announcement of Palin as running mate and completed mid-afternoon today, shows McCain/Palin at 47%, compared to 45% support for Obama/Biden. In other words, the race is a dead heat.

The Zogby poll is not the only good news either.  As Susan Duclos says, "No wonder the left is going into desperate panic attack mode!!":

Since John McCain announced Sarah Palin as his VP choice, there has been $7 million in contributions to the campaign, Rasmussen shows that Palin holds a higher favorability rating than Joe Biden does for Barack Obama, and Jonathan Martin from The Politico says the GOP grassroots are "on fire."  (continue reading)

The Rasmussen poll finds that 53% have a favorable opinion of Palin, compared to 43% for Delaware Senator Joseph Biden on the day he was chosen.  This poll ... coming two days after the end of Obama mania, is huge.   (American Interests)  The Democrats are worried:

Kristol:The Democrats Are Scared to Death of Palin

Senator Obama and his new style of politics have acted very "Old Style" during the first 36 hours since John McCain announced Sarah Palin as his VP choice. In fact they have been downright nasty.(continue reading)

Small town Palin scares the Socialists:

Proof that Palin is the right choice is becoming irrefutable: the left hates her.

My theory is that the more dismissive and vitriolic the response to these kinds of things, the more the responder is scared. Bill Kristol puts a nice spin on why the emergence of Gov. Palin has the Soros Sophisticates heading to the Meltdown Cafe.  (continue reading)

RedState has a side-by-side comparison of Obama and Palin and also their spouses, Michelle and Todd.  You MUST go read it.  Sarah Palin is the REAL REFORMER:

Did you see Obama and Biden being interviewed the day after the Big Extravaganza .. minus the makeup and fireworks! Biden looked like he was about to cry and Obama stammered and said Palin was “the same”. The same! Governor Palin is about as far as you can be from Washington and has a record of accomplishment that Sen. Obama cannot match.  (continue reading at Gail Talk)

Obama as an "elder statesman"?  PULLEEEAASSSEE !!!

But note something else that's been overlooked so far: Palin was the regulatory commissioner of Alaska's oil industry, a tenure that not only elevated her stature as a rising star in state politics, but gives her unrivaled expertise on arguably the top inter-mestic issue of the campaign: energy politics.

Palin's got another key asset: She's faced harsh criticism of inexperience previously, when she ran for governor in 2006. She not only emerged victorious, but she crushed two veterans of Alaskan politics in the process: in the primary she beat incumbent Governor Frank Murkowski, who had been a member of the U.S. Senate for 22 years, and she defeated former Democratic Governor Tony Knowles in the general election, who had served previously in the Alaska statehouse for eight years.  (continue reading at American Power Blog)

And the "sexist pigs" are out.

John McCain’s announcement of Gov. Sarah Palin to be his running-mate caught both the Obama camp and Obama’s mainstream media pals flatfooted, and I mean totally.  Suddenly the blogs and the airwaves and the press and the cable channels are filled with the squeals of left-leaning, hypocritical sexist pigs. (continue reading)

Adam Brickley was one of the forces behind Sarah Palin being chosen by McCain for V.P., and he received a phone call from Todd and Sarah Palin thanking him for being an integral part of Sarah Palin being chosen as McCain's VP.  (more here)  Politicians with manners and consideration, what a concept.

The media does not respect any right of privacy when it comes to Sarah Palin or her family, but they keep Edwards affair and illigitimate child a secret so he can continue running for President. 

Hey Moonbats!  Show us who you really are:

Recent comments on my 10 Reasons post about Sarah Palin are, how shall I put this, appalling. Some of these Moonbats just don’t seem to understand that most Americans live in polite society.  I may go as far as to say most Americans would find the comments disgusting.  (continue reading at Standing Guard Over Liberty)

Who is behind the vile attacks on Sarah Palin and her family???  When tracked and researched, the answer is:  The Obama camp.  No surprise there.

The crowds love Palin.  Smart Girl Politics, who got to meet Palin, says:

As Sarah Palin took to the stage, the crowd began to shout "Sarah, Sarah". They chanted her name even through Tom Ridge introducing them.  (continue reading)

The theme of this 2008 election should be "The Maverick And The Baracuda vs The Whiner And The Bloviator". 

With the selection of Sarah 'Baracuda' Palin as his wingman the savvy old fighter pilot shows he is ready to fight the war against graft and corruption in government.  ... This is a woman that expects results and if you don't deliver she finds someone who will, she is a doer not a talker. The more I find out about her the more impressed I have become in her short time in politics she has accomplished more to clean up Alaska politics than Obama did in Illinois. He talks a good game, she actually fights to get the reform done as does McCain.  (continue reading)
 

On current events:  Sen. Obama’s call for oil independence sounded strong in the speech. But the reality is it could just end up shifting America’s oil addiction from one supplier to another.  (WSJ)

The Wall Street Journal is calling for Obama to come clean on Ayers, Rezko, and the Iraqi Billionaire

Bill Kristol and Danial Pipes both believe that President George W. Bush will 'do something' about Iran's nuclear program before he leaves office 'if Barack Obama is elected'.  The resulting opinion is that if John McCain is elected, Bush will wait and let McCain take care of the situation.  Now with Sarah Palin on the ticket, there is no question that McCain and Palin will stand strong together against Iran and for Israel.

Only more reasons to vote McCain - Palin.

Trackposted to The Virtuous Republic, Perri Nelson's Website, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, Is It Just Me?, Rosemary's Thoughts, A Blog For All, Shadowscope, Leaning Straight Up, Cao's Blog, The Amboy Times, , NN&V, Democrat=Socialist, Conservative Cat, Diary of the Mad Pigeon, Political Byline, third world county, Woman Honor Thyself, McCain Blogs, The World According to Carl, A Newt One-McCain/Palin out front, Pirate's Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Beagle Scout, and Right Voices, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Meet terrorist trackers Josh Devon and Ben Venzke, today's heroes

You probably don't know these men, Ben Venzke and  Josh Devon, but I bet you know their companies -- IntelCenter and SITE Intelgroup.

For years, al-Qaida and other terror groups have set up shop in the Internet. Those who track them have covertly followed. The companies SITE and IntelCenter have penetrated even deeper into the terror Web than most intelligence agencies.

When al-Qaida was founded, Josh Devon was nine years old. Ben Venzke was 15. The year was 1988, and Devon and Venzke were as uninterested in the terrorist network as its leader, Osama bin Laden, was in the two young Americans.

Now, two decades later, things have changed. Venzke and Devon have both become fascinated in terrorism and have turned that interest into careers. And al-Qaida now takes careful note of their work.

Venzke and Devon are two of the most prominent “terror trackers” worldwide. In the United States, and increasingly in other countries, the term refers to a community of people who spend their days analyzing traces that al-Qaida and affiliated organizations leave behind, especially on the Internet. The two Americans are essentially digital trackers in the age of globalized terrorism.

IntelCenter and SITE Intelgroup are the companies that Venzke and Devon, respectively, have founded. They enjoy a strong reputation within the relatively small community of terrorism experts. Beyond that, though, they are virtually unknown but wrongly so.  (Spiegel OnLine,  via National Terror Alert)

Islamic 'boarding schools' teaching radicalism?

I don't usually think of Islamic schools as 'boarding schools', but a rose by any other name ...

There are thousands of Islamic boarding schools in the country. Foreign observers have accused the schools of being breedings ground of radicalism, taking the convicted Bali bombers on death row as examples.

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta reports:

State Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Syamsir Siregar warned on Friday that Islamic boarding schools were prone to extremist teachings that could lead students to acts of terrorism.

After giving a graduation speech at Al Hikmah 2 Islamic boarding school in Brebes, Central Java, Syamsir said some boarding schools were vulnerable to radicalism and extremism.

"Radicalism can still intrude into boarding schools. It ruins the image of Islam, let alone whether it influences students to commit acts of extremism and terrorism," he was quoted as saying by Antara.

Syamsir urged ulemas and teachers of boarding schools to adopt a curriculum and learning activities that protect students from extremism.

'Ill give credit where credit is due -- acknowledging the problem exists and beginning to do something about it gets my vote.

Sarah Palin vs the Democrats

Sarah Conner / Sarah Palin

Thanks to Martin at Blogbat for the idea.

THIS is Sarah Palin, A Shower for Trig Palin to Benefit Soldiers:

August 15, 2008, Juneau, Alaska – Governor Sarah Palin today announced she will attend a baby shower in Trig Palin’s honor next week and that all gifts will be donated to help military families.

Proceeds from the event will benefit the Family Ties Foundation. The foundation is a non-profit organization created to provide immediate support for the military families of wounded service members deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom. The event is being hosted by local morning radio personalities Bob and Mark from 106.5 KWHL.

“My family has been so blessed by the arrival of Trig. It is my honor to share that blessing with our men and women in uniform through this event,” Governor Palin said. “I invite all Alaskans who'd like to support our wonderful military families to participate.”

The event will take place at Romano’s restaurant, on Fireweed Lane at C Street, on Monday from 5 to 7 p.m. The public is invited. Romano’s restaurant will donate a portion of the sales from the evening to the Family Ties Foundation.

THIS is the Democrats, Hurricane is God's Favor on Democrats, RedState:

On a plane from Denver to Charlotte following the Democrats' convention, I found myself seated behind former National Chairman of the Democratic National Committee Don Fowler and Congressman John Spratt of South Carolina. Their conversation was interesting to say the least.

For example, they made fun of Sarah Palin for several minutes, Fowler calling her "Dan Quayle" on steroids and Spratt creatively describing her as "just terrible." They both agreed that, "Other than the simple fact that she's a female," she has nothing to offer.

Then there was this gem of a moment from Fowler:

So you see, it's funny. That New Orleans will get a hurricane. That's funny because it is due to hit when President Bush is scheduled to speak. Isn't that cool? Fowler isn't the only one who thinks so, just ask Michael Moore.

Update:  From Stop the ACLU:  Stay Classy Daily Kos: Accusations Palin ‘Faked Her Pregnancy’ of Down’s Syndrome Baby

Also little girls cuffed and arrested for thought crimes in Denver, from Malignant Liberal Idiocy

Democrats, NO CLASS.

This is Sarah Palin and John McCain in Iraq, from Maggie's Notebook:

Comparing our Presidential candidates. Casting an eagle-eye.





Thank you Woman Honor Thyself and YouTube.com

THE LORD GIVETH, THE LORD TAKETH, THE LIBERAL MERELY SAYETH

THE LORD GIVETH, THE LORD TAKETH, THE LIBERAL MERELY SAYETH

By R.J. Godlewski
©August 29, 2008, All Rights Reserved

    Like most conservatives, I am thrilled over John McCain’s selection for his running mate. You just have to love someone who calls herself a “hockey mom” as opposed to the more yuppie sounding “soccer mom.” No doubt, my fellow citizens here surrounding “Hockey Town” – Detroit – will like Sarah “Barracuda” Palin.     My thrill, in part, comes from the extreme distinction between this Alaskan outdoorswoman and the Washington elitist crowd. Just imagine Hillary Clinton, for instance, getting up at three in the morning to go moose hunting.

    Naturally, of course, the liberals – severely bloodied by John McCain’s brilliant political tactical maneuver – are now on the warpath to declare Ms. Palin too “Radical” for her support of human life and too “Inexperienced” for her representation of average Americans, ignoring the fact that their presumptuous addition to the White House can claim nothing more than merely running for office.  Add to this, her home state that lends itself well to cable television shows where ruggedness is presented as an abstract instead of the commonplace as once befitted all of America and you can understand the liberals’ defensive posture. Herr Obama – the pride and joy of Berlin – saw his oratory excellence surpassed by someone largely unknown because they had a functional job in life. Sarah Palin is governor of a state that would befuddle the likes of rough and rowdy Joe Biden. After all, Delaware is small, civilized, and a bit too industrial to breed adventure. That is, Alaska is one of those few remaining places where gun possession is a survival issue and everyone there grows up learning either to shoot or to acquiesce to nature.

    And what of supposed “Radical” Palin’s views on abortion? Already the liberals are leading the mantra that she “chose” to give birth to her Down syndrome son and that “other women” deserve the same ‘right.’ Such a ridiculous statement comes largely from the fact that liberals and the Democrats are terrified of this new McCain-Palin ticket. When is giving life to any human being a radical action? Certainly not when this country was created. Certainly not during the past ten thousand years of human history. In fact, those cultures where life was arbitrarily extinguished are no longer with us – thank God – and we should learn much from this history. I, for one, would rather live according to the laws of the “Dark Ages” then those of modernistic Communist China. At least life and the hereafter would take center stage again.

    Perhaps the reason opponents of Sarah Palin’s elevation to the Republican – and dare I say, winning? – ticket are infuriated is that she is a scrapper. Anyone who hunts and fishes; who played hockey and basketball (once with a fracture); who ran a commercial fishing business prior to entering public office (trust me, I worked on a fish processing vessel; it’s no day in the park), will not settle for entitlements. Someone with her background is precisely the kind of person who knows what it takes to earn legitimate success. How does Barack Obama, the presidential candidate, compare? Poorly, I’m afraid. Very poorly.

    Barack Obama is a fine motivational speaker, I will give him that. So was Adolf Hitler, I am sorry to say. Hitler inspired millions to sacrifice their freedoms and liberties for much of the same dribble that Obama espouses – universal healthcare, guaranteed employment, isolationism. With popularity goes expectation, I suppose, but we’re not talking about the latest Britney Spears CD. Nor are we contemplating such a time as when Halle Berrie and Denzel Washington were vying for Oscars. Consider the last thought, folks. Both actors won their respective Oscars on the very same night. Imagine that, for a hundred years – give or take – no African-American had won an Academy Award for the top slot and, while the press made wind of that, lo and behold both an African-American man and woman won during the same year. What are the odds? Now the liberals are trying to do the same thing such as when Newsweek claimed that if Obama does not win then we are most definitely a racist nation. Again, what are the odds? Could a first-time anybody be guaranteed success? 

    We have moved far past achievement in this country of ours and plunged headlong into artificiality and pomp. We reach arbitrary conditions such as the elevation of an African-American to the highest office in the land and we expect them to succeed simply because they are the first, not the best. Barack Obama holds no special meaning to me in my analysis of things political. He possesses not the diplomatic qualities of a General Colin Powell. He is not as photogenic as a Denzel Washington. Nor is he, in my humble opinion, as courageous as a Walter Payton. Barack Obama is nothing more than a coxcomb, a dandy, a sly magician whose sleight of hand is more powerful than his act. His world is entirely a magic act where no one can fully understand his method or technique. Some are awed by his spectacle, but mostly those who fail to see the trickery or repetition behind the event. For the rest of us, we would be far better off demanding our money back.

    I, myself, don’t subscribe to Brother Obama’s Traveling Salvage Show. I do not believe that there is anything inherently wrong with my country and therefore would rather see action than hyper-artistry in the name of the new religion called “Change”. Sure, the Europeans and Arabs don’t like us very much nowadays and so foreign policy credentials seem to matter to some. How about this for foreign policy: stop whining and pay us for keeping you assholes protected for the past half century? But I digress…

    Another consideration against Ms. Palin is the clichéd notion that she “is just a heartbeat away from the Presidency.” Sometimes, I like to sit and watch my eighty-one-year-old mother go through her daily routine. I’ve seen her climb down into wells to hook up water pumps, climb onto roofs to clean the gutters and, most entertainingly, take everyone who offers to do the chore to task. While everyone considers John McCain to be a one-term president at best, I beg to differ. I see him riding out two terms with the same gusto that my mother uses to defy her age – and this terrifies the Democrats. I know what they know; a victory for John McCain in November means defeat for the liberals for another sixteen years. A two-term McCain administration would certainly usher in a two-term Palin administration and that itself means several things.

    First, Right to Life would become more than just a catch phrase. Human life will be restored to its fundamental dignity – all human life. Secondly, Big Government and its socialist adherents will cease and desist. The dismantling of social programs may take a decade, but it will return the nation to an era of personal responsibility and initiative. Thirdly, America will gain energy independence because nothing will be off the table. We will drill here, explore here, invent here, and consume here. Finally, despotic Muslim regimes will understand that America is American – that here even women are so honored as to be able to vie for the toughest, most demanding job ever conceived of by mere man.

    When John McCain selected Sarah Palin as his running mate, he did not simply fire a shot across the bow of the liberal’s socialist ship, he launched a torpedo into its ammunition magazine and the resultant explosion will be nice to see over the course of the next sixty-seven days or so. The only qualitative argument against Ms. Palin is that she lacks ‘experience,’ but as former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee said today, you learn more about leadership by being governor for one month than you could in one year of serving as U.S. Senator.

    The newly established McCain-Palin ticket need not attract disaffected Clinton supporters. It need not spend a great deal of time appeasing the moderates. It has already galvanized us conservatives and, as was shown in 2004, we can beat anyone once we are properly motivated. God created human life so that His world would be treasured. Now we have a team poised for the White House that will properly treasure us – the American people.  It might not be the “change” that the liberal naysayer groups are calling for but, tough, it’s the one that our nation’s future desperately needs. Only when we respect human life, in its entirety, can we expect to infuse life back into our nation. Go get ‘em John. Go get ‘em Sarah.

Woman Microwaves Baby

 It took two trials and one mistrial, but finally China Arnold, 28, was convicted today of aggravated murder and faces the death penalty for killing her month-old daughter by burning her in a microwave oven in 2005. (CNN)

Prosecutors said Arnold intentionally put her baby in the microwave oven and cooked the child to death after a fight with her boyfriend.

Arnolds' cell mate testified that Arnold confessed to putting the baby in the microwave and turned it on because she was worried her boyfriend would leave her if he found out the child wasn't his.

The baby's DNA was found inside the microwave in Arnold's apartment, prosecutors said.

The mistrial in February was because an 8 year old boy lied, saying "he saw another boy walk into the kitchen of a nearby apartment with the baby, heard the microwave go on, and then later saw the burned baby in the microwave."   (CNN)   The boy's mother and Arnolds' live-in boyfriend both testified that the 8 year old boy was not there at the time of the murder.

Life in prison is too good for this woman, only the death penalty is sufficient.

Iraq signs oil contract with China

Iraq has agreed the terms of its first major oil contract with a foreign company, Chinese state-owned oil giants CNPC.  (Oil Voice.com)  This should put the "Iraq war for oil" theory to rest.

Iraq’s Oil Ministry announced on Thursday that the oil service contract, worth $3 billion (£1.3 billion) will help to develop the Ahdab oil field - a project previously cancelled after the fall of Saddam Hussein.

The historic deal is the first important commitment to Iraq by a foreign company since the government nationalised its industry back in 1972.

Iraq’s Oil Minister, Hussain al-Shahristani, warned that time was running out for big Western oil companies - who have pressed for years for Iraqi contracts. The Chinese have trumped oil’s major international players, who have been looking to seal even short-term deals that had been expected to mark their return to Iraq - which has the world's third-largest oil reserves after Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Major oil companies have been reluctant to commit to deals in Iraq because Baghdad has yet to enact a law to govern the oil industry.  (continue reading)

USA. USA. USA.

Compare the setting and audience in attendance when John McCain announced Sarah Palin as his VP choice.  People were chanting "USA USA USA USA."  They were waving flags, ...  American flags, and homemade signs.  They were excited.  They love America, they love the military and went crazy when they learned Palin's son is in the Army. 

I ask you, did you hear ANY chanting of "USA USA USA" at the Democrats convention?  The answer my friends is a big NO.  All you heard from the Democrats is how bad America is, how she needs changing, how her reputation is ruined, how her people are downtrodden, how the economy is in the tank... negativity is their theme.  Not the Republicans.  We cherish this country, we think she is the best nation in the world.

McCain's event today was a preview for the Republican convention next week.  Compare the Greek temple backdrop Obama had to the simple, one screen, American flag backdrop the Republicans have constructed.  Be prepared to see patriotism on display at the Republican convention.

Did you notice the pins on Sarah Palin's lapel?  A big glorious American flagpin.

Did Palin need a make-over?  Nope.  Did she have a fancy new pantsuit or a new hairdo?  Nope.  She swooped up her hair with a clip like she always does, put on a skirt and jacket (no pantsuit), clipped on her flagpin and away she went.  Nothing fake or artificial about this woman.

Even on Fox News channel Mort Kondracke and Juan Williams gave the (silly) arguments that Palin had never served in congress, she had never given a speech, she had never made the rounds of news shows.  God help those idiots. 

Kondracke:  "Obama has more experience "because he's been running for president longer."'  Running for president is experience to lead a nation? 

No Sarah Palin has not served in Congress, but you can't really say Obama has served in Congress either, unless you count 140 something DAYS, most of which was spent on the road campaigning and avoiding placing any votes that could be used against him. 

John McCain's pick for vice president has thrown the Democratic Party into a disoriented spin mode the morning after Obama's underwhelming speech at the Temple of Obamis ...  (continue reading)

People in Alaska LOVE this woman.  She has an 80% approval rate.  This blog has a great post title:  Does Biden Pal-in Comparison?  and asks "is that too corny?"  No, I love it.

Contributions to the McCain- Palin campaign should be huge.  People who have not been sending checks to John McCain are now energized enough to open checkbooks and start writing. 

There are those who think McCain fell into the Clinton 'trap' by selecting a woman, Sarah Palin.  I think it was genius, and if it fits Hillary's agenda, so be it.  Hillary doesn't want Obama to win in November and neither do we.

McCain's choice was Absolutely Brilliant:

 ...   This selection shows McCain is serious about change. This selection also shows McCain has the skills and knowledge necessary to lead our country.  (continue reading)

This is very interesting:  Clinton Bloggers " You will regret not choosing Hillary now!",
( Yid With Lid)

I think that the Democrats are kicking themselves in the butt over and over for not picking Hillary Clinton as Obama's VP.  They are crying over spilled milk.

Obama's camp said Palin had no experience. John McCain shot back: "Sarah Palin first ran for political office in 1992. I don't know what Obama was doing 16 years ago." Touche'. No one knows what Obama was doing 16 years ago.

I love it.