theRearGuard.org

All show and no go. Well...not really much show, but lots of publicity for nothing. How 'bout that?

Came across a few stories from the Where Are They Now files about one of Arkansas's least favorite (or known or missed) sons. Rod Martin has long fascinated bloggers, like a car wreck, a sinking ship, or a burning building. Somehow, he keeps fooling people into thinking he's some sort of person they should care about and every once in a while people who knew him have to set the record straight.

He's still advertising his now defunct, nearly 10 year old, theVanguard.org as the conservative answer to MoveOn.org. As a blog which has actually just started we would never make such a silly claim, whereas Rod's pitiful site has been around since the late nineties and still has virtually no readership and lately no content, either. Humorously, Rod claims to have launched his unexciting old venture recently, yet it remains virtually unchanged from when I first saw it nearly a decade ago, when the internet was still in its toddler stages.

Rod has recently been featured, more or less, at MotherJones.com, a much more successful left-wing website. There he spins his yarn about his "new" venture to challenge MoveOn.org. I must say his tactics are certainly unique. I'll be interested to see how the no content technique pans out. It certainly fits his modus operandi from back when I had the misfortune to know him. You'll especially like the comments in the MotherJones story by yours truly under More Like RearGuard.org and Thomas, another of my fellow travelers, I assume.

http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/07/masters_of_their_domain.html#comments_top

This is a piece of Rod's pitiful propaganda, complete with his never materializing predictions of greatness.

http://www.californiaconservative.org/elections/thevanguardorg-taking-on-moveon/

All American Division Responds

Seven members of the 82nd Airborne, the All American Division, have responded to seven members who let themselves be puppets for the New York Times. In this Op-Ed to the Weekly Standard, these combat vets give their version of our success on the ground in Iraq.

Here's an example of more than ONE soldier who supports their mission, which was Max's recent 3rd party source. As I've been saying, these guys represent the vast and overwhelming majority of our fighting men. But they aren't against the war, so they must be lying.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/006bzlfl.asp

Great News---Sen. John Warner Announces He Won't Seek Reelection

Sen. John Warner, RINO(sort of)-VA, has announce that he won't seek reelection, which is great news since he has been a constant obstacle to our efforts for victory in Iraq. Recently, he demanded that the president should begin drawing down troops from Iraq by December for no particular reason. Suggestions like this have made him a favorite of liberal democrats.

I doubt George Allen is ever going to be much of a political force again, but there's always Ollie North, who would be a superb counterweight to his Annapolis classmate, Jim Webb, who has been a constant opponent to victory in Iraq, sidling up to other anti-victory democrats like John Murtha.

Warner, pictured above with Sen. Joe Biden, D-DE, would be up for reelection in 2008. He hasn't been all bad, by any stretch, but lately he's seems to have been so immersed in Beltway culture that he couldn't help but buy into the conventional wisdom that somehow it's a good idea for us to lose. To be fair, I doubt Sen. Warner actually wants us to lose. Worse, though, he wants to be maintain his position in the tony social circles of D.C.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8RC5RMG0&show_article=1

You Asked, Max

Yesterday, Max Brantley asked why the RPA wants Hillary to release her unofficial documents being stored at the Clinton Library but hasn't demanded the same of the Huckster. Well, maybe they won't, but I will. Huckabee should unseal his records, but I find it very interesting that our local champion of FOIA is so eager to look for distractions and excuses when it comes to his beloved Hillary.

If fair's fair, as was suggested by one of Max's commenters, then perhaps Max should join in demanding Hillary's papers. Surely, she has nothing to hide...

Yeah, right.

http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/2007/08/let_the_sun_shine_in_3.aspx#comments

Iraqi Man Gives His Life for American Soldiers---Thank You

Just got this off the wire. It's apparently a week or so old. It's one more story you won't see recounted on the Arkansas Times blog.

An Iraqi man saved 4 U.S. soldiers and 8 civilians from a homicide bomber. I thought they all hated us.

Here's a report from a soldier on the scene. "I spoke with the father," Gilbert said. "He said he has no remorse in his son’s death because he died saving American Soldiers."

I am thankful for this man and to his family for his sacrifice.

http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,146880,00.html

"Americans Love a Winner"---General George S. Patton (from the movie, anyway)

George Wittman offers a fascinating look into the psyche of the American servicemen. To illustrate his point here's the best quote, from a British officer in regard to America's fighting men, "These chaps really want to win."

Even through the plain black and white of the typeface you can sense the surprised conviction of this Limey. If you want to see what kind of men our country produces, read this and swell with pride.

http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=11927

That's Not the Real Chris Stewart

And this isn't an exclusive, online or otherwise. That's just a picture of a guy I found on the internet.

The real Chris Stewart, the Arkansas Republican one, anyway, has been named General Counsel of the RPA. Sounds good to me. Max feels compelled to mention that Chris attended conservative schools, as if that's a bad thing. Sounds like a plus on his resume to me.

Hillary/Hsu---I Told You So

I said there was something fishy about this Hsu guy the other day when I first brought you this story. Now it appears, amazingly, that even though this guy has been galavanting around the countryside in a very high profile manner for years he's a wanted fugitive from justice in the state of California. Somehow, though, they couldn't find him. I'm sure his political pull with powerful democrats didn't have any bearing on this, though.

Hillary, who is, of course, shocked, is now apparently going to give back all the money donated by him. It's just uncanny how all these crooks seem to coalesce around the Clintons, isn't it?

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/us/politics/30bundler.html?ex=1189051200&en=00ee337c9e083c5f&ei=5099&partner=TOPIXNEWS

Castro's Dying Wish---Hillary Obama 2008

What a surprise.

http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN2825114320070829?feedType=RSS&feedName=politicsNews&rpc=22&sp=true

Sanders: Bring Back the Bad Ole Days

David Sanders has a unique take on Hillary being elected being good for Arkansas Republicans. I have a few guesses as to who his "fairly plugged in" Republican is. This may be an accurate assessment of a political reality, but the consequences of this occurring far outweigh any possible benefit of Arkansas democrats heading to Washington.

Sanders' analysis completely ignores the real reason why we're in such bad position today: Mike Huckabee. This is something he would probably not be inclined to say, but if my guess is right about his source, they certainly know it to be true. Huckabee may have loved the RPA, though I doubt in the way you would hope, but it was manifested like Lenny Small in Of Mice and Men, he held on to it so tightly that he choked it to death and crushed it.

We might have been benefiting from an absence of democrat talent, but that doesn't explain the rest of the South. That given, we're in a much worse position today because our horrible former leader than democrats getting fat in D.C. That brings me back to my earlier point, nothing succeeds like success. I really hope we're not hanging our hopes on losing to one of the worst possible people in the world.

http://www.arkansasnews.com/archive/2007/08/26/DavidJSanders/343162.html

More Iraqis Helping

Having had to disagree with friends recently, who ought to know better, I was pleased to find more evidence that the Iraqi people are stepping up efforts to secure their country.
The following story in the American Spectator is eye opening, for those who need it, and encouraging.

http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=11931

Early Relief from Planet Relief

As much as I love the original Office I am glad to see that Ricky Gervais, the star and co-creator of the hit BBC show, has had the kibosh put on a Comic Relief-styled propaganda project called Planet Relief. Thankfully and surprisingly some of the brass at BBC have decided that they don't want people preaching about global warming as if this eco-evangelism is news.

I might have watched it if it had been a Faulty Towers-styled propaganda project.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2156728,00.html

Attorney General Asa Hutchinson?

The ArkTimes blog is reporting an interesting rumor, today---Asa Hutchinson is being suggested as a top nominee for U.S. Attorney General, to replace Alberto Gonzales. They're not advocating it, just suggesting it as a possibility.

It would certainly be a boon for Asa, but how likely is it, since he's bound to get flak as a Bob Jones graduate and Impeachment Manager. The latter of the two may not be addressed head on, but it's a strong motivation for democrats (just ask Jim Rogan or Jay Dickey) and the former would certainly be fodder for opposition.

As for me, I like the idea. He's already been approved by the senate a few times, so maybe they'd let him slide.

http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/2007/08/asa_2.aspx#comments

90 Guns for Every 100 People---This Calls for a Celebration!

I don't know these two young ladies, but they're apparently freedom loving Americans and I salute them for it.

Apparently, there are a lot of us out there. Reuters reported this week that there are 90 guns for every 100 people in the U.S. That's AWESOME!

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2007-08-28T174254Z_01_L28348938_RTRUKOC_0_US-WORLD-FIREARMS.xml&src=rss&rpc=22&sp=true

Sarkozy---Bombing Iran an Option---Finally a Frenchman With Some Guts

It was just the other day that my dad repeated the old joke: "how many Frenchmen does it take to defend Paris?" The answer, of course, (though, not entirely true) is, "no one knows. It's never been tried."

Not only is Nicolas Sarkozy the most America-friendly French leader since WWII (maybe WWI), he's also the most American-like. He's as much of a cowboy as a Frenchman can be and I love it. Yesterday, it was reported that he mentioned air strikes as an option to deal with Iran's recalcitrance about its nuclear program.

We've lost Berlusconi, Aznar, and Blair, but we've picked up Merkel and Sarko. So at least things are leveling out a bit on our list of allies. I'm liking Sarkozy more every day. He's welcome to vacation here any time, as far as I'm concerned.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3442638,00.html

Scandal On the Way---There's Nothing Good About This

Apparently, airport mensrooms are the modern day bathhouses of the 21st century and Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, is probably a real puffter. Seems he couldn't resist attempting a rendezvous with an plain clothes officer in the mensroom of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Nothing on the Times at this early hour, but it shouldn't be long until Sen. Craig completes this latest republican implosion. This doesn't bode well for retaking the senate. Thanks a lot, dummy.

http://www.startribune.com/587/story/1386023.html

Hold On to Your Wallet---BIG LIBRARY Wants to Raise Your Taxes, Again

BIG LIBRARY, Central Arkansas, is at it again. The last time they wanted a millage increase the vote was held with libraries as the polling places. Surprise, surprise---it passed. Then they proceeded to shorten their hours and lay people off.

Now they want to raise our taxes again, supposedly to build two new locations. Here's the kicker, though, the way to justify a permanent tax (which is the only way they do things), it's also to support operations. Ergo, we're never going to stop paying this. That's a pretty neat trick.

Look forward to this tax passing, which should be voted on in November, because they'll keep a low profile, so only library employees and patrons will vote. Then they'll dance their silent dance of jubilation to the syncopated rhythm of the Dewey Decimal System as we stare at our property tax bills wondering why they keep going up.

Down with BIG LIBRARY!!!

http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/2007/08/library_to_seek_tax_increase.aspx#comments

Told You So

The democrats are changing their tune on the War in Iraq. They've been calling for our defeat for a long time, now, though. We haven't forgotten.

They used to say we couldn't win militarily. That blew up their face as will their new claim that what they've always been complaining about was the political situation. Regarding that, I guess they aren't aware that it took America more than 10 years to settle our political situation after the War for Indendence. They are so desperate to see things fall apart in Iraq. Of course, they're also ignoring that the political situation could not improve without the military situation improving and that the military situation's improvement is the result of political improvement, because of tribal leaders aiding us.

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times, democrats want us to lose.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/21/AR2007082102025_pf.html

They Found Us Out---Rush Does Run America

I wish.

But here's another chance to dream.

ttp://mfile.akamai.com/5020/wmv/rushlimb.download.akamai.com/5020/tv_archives/RushHalfHour0819_07.asx

When Harry Met Nancy---Congress' Approval Numbers Tanked

What happened to their bluster and condescen- sion to the president about how unpopular he was? Oh, that's right, he's more popular than they are, now...

How could that happen?

18%, really?

http://www.galluppoll.com/content/?ci=28456

P.S. Still no mention at the ArkTimes blog.

the Surge is Surging

Victor Davis Hanson has an interesting piece at NRO about the Surge.

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MWZkN2FlZDY0MWZlYWMzMTExMDhkYjliNmIzYWUzNjU

Right Said, Fred

Wanna read some common sense about Sanctuary Cities?

http://fredfile.imwithfred.com/2007/sancutary-cities/

America Losing War on Drunk Driving

With 13,470 deaths from George Bush's ongoing War on Drunk Driving in 2006, alone, America is slipping deeper and deeper into this ongoing quagmire.

For years, evil American corporations have been profiting off the sale of automobiles and alcohol. Knowing full well that we cannot win this ill-conceived and immoral war against drunk driving, we continue to pour more and more of our lives and treasure into this failed policy, this Vietnam on our roads.

When I looked deeper into the numbers of fatalities on our roads I found that we actually lost 17,602 Americans in the Bush Administration's failed War on Drunk Driving. It's time to end this occupation with drunk driving and stop this War for Cars and Booze. Not in Our Name, Mr. President. You were selected, not elected. End your war. We are losing. We can't win.

17,602 Americans have died for nothing.

You know who else had a War on Drunk Driving? The Nazis. Makes you think, doesn't it?

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-08-20-drunk-driving_N.htm?csp=34

-Henry Rearden,
ArkJournal.com

Forbes on Arkansas

Forbes had an article last week about Arkansas's illegal alien problem. I'm glad to see some of our Republican legislators doing something about it. The big story from the article: illegal aliens cost Arkansas taxpayers (at least) $170,000,000.00 per year. That's a very conservative estimate.

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/08/13/ap4015554.html

Say It Ain't So, Jack---Seriously

I'm really not very happy about this one. I hope the producers of 24 are just messing with us.

It's being reported that Janeane Garofalo, the America-hating, pro-defeat hippie, sometimes actress, sometimes failed talk show host has been cast for the next season of 24.

What? Was Michael Moore not available?

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i35dfa8e5f7b68d261cee24ae98a6f0a9

Spouse in the House

Rob Moritz had a good article last week for the Arkansas News Bureau about spouses of legislators running for seats in the Ledge. It answers my question from yesterday about Vickie Critcher running for the house seat in Batesville. That ought to be a Republican seat, but I'll settle for a Critcher.

http://www.arkansasnews.com/archive/2007/08/13/News/343033.html

Marine Supports the War---No Surprise

This Marine "parties with the Late, Great Reagan". If you want to know what our servicemen think of the War on Terror, this Devil Dog has an answer.

I wonder what the ArkTimes thinks of this.

Semper Fidelis, indeed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBflQLa75C8

Talk About Bizarre

Ann Rice, author of horror novels such as Interview With the Vampire, has become a devout Catholic in the last few years. She is also staunchly pro-life.

But she has recently posted a very bizarre and confused statement explaining that she is a liberal democrat and supports Hillary Clinton. The oddest part of the lengthy statement is that she believes that an end to abortion will come from the democrat party... Yeah, seriously. In an effort to be kind, I'll just say she's a little naive.

http://annerice.com/

ArkTimes' Source: 1 Soldier

Sunday was a banner day for the ArkTimes blog. Surprise, surprise, the New York Times was able to find one soldier who is bound and determined to see his comrades' sacrifice be in vain. So Max, desperate to see our defeat, as well, eagerly produces his op-ed as proof of his undying hope that we cannot win. This is all in the light of news that we are continuing to gain ground in Iraq.

Full of his usual smugness, Max asks, "Will the testimony of combat soldiers get the same cable TV treatment as that of the Washington semi-liberal think tankers who spent a few days there under heavy protection and proclaimed things on the upswing?"

Well, Max, I have a question for you. I already know the answer, but, will the testimony of the overwhelming majority of soldiers get the same kid glove treatment from you as that of this 1 %er? I doubt it. I happen to be in a position to know large numbers of members of the military and I don't know on who agrees with your young John Kerry.

Frankly, folks, I'm not surprised. Max is a demagogue. I'm sure he was just giddy to find ONE soldier who doesn't have faith in his mission. Max jokes about keyboard warriors like he's not one himself. Of course these keyboard warriors and parachuting think tankers think thus and so, he reasons. They haven't seen real combat. Why is it that he, who hasn't seen it either, knows better than they do? Because it is just patently obvious, I guess.

Max has a soldier, so there! He could probably get a thousand, but they would still only represent 1%. The vast and overwhelming majority of our servicemen know the truth and believe in their mission. And thank God for them.

I can just imagine Max reaction to the Battle of the Bulge or D-Day... "It's overwhelming, folks. America had no business attacking Germany. We should be focusing on our real enemy, Japan... We can't win. I talked to a guy who talked to a guy who said that our soldiers are short on food and they're getting slaughtered. Who are we to think we can overcome the nazis?"

---Max Brantley's blog, a la 1944-45

It doesn't matter what the truth is to Max. He's desperate to see us slink from the battlefield in shame. He's so patriotic. It's appropriate that Max's source was the New York Times. Their slogan, "All the news that fit to print", should be "all the news that fits" their agenda.

http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/2007/08/sunday_mustreads.aspx#comments

Democrats Backpeddling

U.S. Rep. Brian Baird, D-WA, is on the front of a mounting wave of democrats beginning to abandon kooks like Max and his merry band of surrender mongers at the Arkansas Times. Having recently visited Iraq, Rep. Baird concluded accurately that things are continuing to improve at a rapid clip.

His statement that we should give the military more time to accomplish its mission comes after a recent statement by Rep. James Clyburn, D-SC, the Majority Whip, that success in Iraq is bad news for democrats.

Look for more and more democrats leaving the pro-defeat reservation as Rep. Baird and Hillary have done, to some degree.

While it's a good sign that democrats are jumping their sinking ship like the rats they are, we won't forget their treachery when they try to sneak on the floats at the ticker tape parades that our boys are earning.

Long ago, many liberals in Australia relented to the logic that it doesn't matter whether we should be there, we are and we should win. Baird has decided that's the position he'll stake: "...we're on the ground now. We have a responsibility to the Iraqi people and a strategic interest in making this work."

Duh. It took you this long to figure that out? What's really happening is that the democrats have been unsuccessful in forcing our defeat and now that it's becoming obvious that we're winning they're scrambling to come up with some way to claim a piece of that victory. Ironically, most of the gaggle of democrat presidential candidates is holding to the far left position that we cannot and should not win. This is mind boggling.

Baird claimed 2 reasons for this change on the issue:

• "One, I think we're making real progress."

• "Secondly, I think the consequences of pulling back precipitously would be potentially catastrophic for the Iraqi people themselves, to whom we have a tremendous responsibility … and in the long run chaotic for the region as a whole and for our own security."

No freaking joke. It took you this long to figure that out? I am honestly tempted to believe that he couldn't ignore the overwhelming truth of these statements on his recent trip and actually changed his mind, but I just can't believe that he couldn't figure this out just by actually thinking.

http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/192500.html

Hillary Clinton---WARMONGER

This soldier's not buying it, but, once again, the Arkansas Times and the rest of the liberal media are ignoring Hillary's warmonger- ing call for America to prepare for the next war.

"We Have To Be Preparing To Fight The New War", she said, speaking to veterans at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Kansas City.

Unfortunately, this was preceded by her call for us to honor our troops by forcing them to surrender. She's right, though. If we do as she suggests by retreating from this battlefield, we better be ready because the next battlefield will be much worse, like when her husband forced us to retreat from Somalia, an incident that Osama bin Laden cited as proof that we were weak.

http://www.youtube.com/jp.swf?video_id=KLXso2HnGwI&eurl=&iurl=http%3A//img.youtube.com/vi/KLXso2HnGwI/default.jpg&t=OEgsToPDskIPDD2P-FERNi4C5Hb55FNc

Global Warming Update, NYC

THIS JUST IN---from the Global Warming stack---New York City is experienc- ing sweltering tempera- tures today, which reached a steamy high of 59 degress fahrenheit, shattering previous records (for lowest high temperatures, that is).

No comment yet from climatologists or Al Gore, but I'm sure he's concerned.

http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_233143509.html

Hillary on the Surge: "It's Working"

Did you see that, Max?

I guess not, since he's so blind in his allegiance to the American Defeat cause. I perused over his latest sycophantic lovefest and couldn't find a mention of her admission. In fact, he was just at odds with her in a post, Sunday. Does that answer the question of how partisan he is?

Here's the story about Hillary's positive statements about the Surge.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070821/ap_on_el_pr/candidates_iraq_6

She still sticks to the kooky logic that it "honors" the troops to force them to surrender. Leave it to the democrats to call it patriotic to try to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Here's Max's gushing idolatry, completely bereft of any mention of Hillary's remarkable departure from the reservation.

http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/2007/08/mikehillary_fest.aspx#comments

Hold on to Your Wallet---Update

Steve Harrelson, D-Texarkana and Under the Dome blogger, has posted his final report on the "Hunger Challenge" stunt that he and a handful of other legislators pulled recently.

As I said earlier, hold on to your wallets. The stunt had a profound impact on him (surprise, surprise), not that there are Arkansans who don't have to work for their own food, but that we are so stingy with these freebies. How dare?

Don't count on the tax cuts of the last session to stay intact when politicians are so compassionate with our money.

http://www.underthedome.com/2007/08/hunger-challenge-recap.html#comments

Der Spiegel---America's Winning

"Die Bush Krieger", "the Bush War", was the headline with this cover from the German socialist rag, Der Spiegel.

Now, several years later, even they are forced to admit that "Truth be told, the Americans have restored order to many parts of the county."

Try as they might to put a negative spin on it they can't help but tell the truth, such as the near total lack of incidents in Ramadi, once a hotbed of terrorism.

So, what happened? We were told that it wasn't possible for us to win in Iraq. What happened is that average Iraqis want, need, us to win and have begun to help us, becoming informants or soldiers or policemen.

We are winning. You know it's going well when an America-hating magazine like Der Spiegel has to admit it.

Is the Arkansas Times next? I won't hold my breath, but once enough democrats have jumped ship, they'll probably pretend that they knew we could win all along and try to take credit one way or another.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,499154,00.html

Possible House Candidates for '08

Came across this over the weekend. It's over 3 weeks old so it may not be the most up to date list. It's a list that Steve Harrelson has somehow compiled of possible candidates. Some of the Repub names look like those I've heard mentioned. I'd love to know who the dummie was that gave him this list.

I don't know who a lot of these folks are, even on the Repub side, but it looks like the primary season could be very busy.

This is definitely worth a look.

Some questions include the following,

Randy Minton, who was term limited already, I thought. Though, I'd love to see him in the House, again,

Jonathan Barnett, is he still on the Highway Commission? I'll have to check on that. Doesn't look like he's too hopeful for a Huckabee presidential race if he follows through,

Linda Bisbee, Dave hasn't exactly been the most conservative member of the Ledge. Not a good replacement for an uber-conservative like Burkes, but probably the money candidate,

Vickie Critcher, a real class act. If she's as good as her husband, I'll be very glad to see her in the House,

Bill Walters, is he Shirley's husband?,

John Burris, Gunner DeLay's campaign manager? I like this guy. He was a pretty hard worker. Looks like he'll have a better candidate this time...

http://www.steveharrelson.com/blog/2007/07/2008-house-races.html

McCain to Republicans: Don't Vote for Me, Please

John McCain's been doing his level best to get Republicans not to vote for him. Now he's at it again with a new tack, praising Hillary Clinton.

Maybe he's been rethinking John Kerry's offer for the veep spot.

Clinton-McCain '08?

Hmmm...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG4n_1JNkI8

On Protectionism

Mike Huckabee, who's never been very sharp when it comes to economics, has lately become more vocal in favor of protectionism.

Here's a short piece of commentary on the dangers of protectionism from Club for Growth and a link on their page to a superb piece from the San Diego Union-Tribune on the subject.

http://www.clubforgrowth.org/2007/08/the_dangers_of_protectionism.php

P.S. There's also a nice little look into Huckabee's bad fiscal policy as governor. Nowadays, he's pretending to be big on the Fair Tax. Funny, I don't remember him ever mentioning it when he was governor. Hmmmm....

Thanks, Mike, and Rest in Peace

Sad news. Mike Deaver, long time aide and confidant to the Great One, Ronaldus Magnus, lost his battle with pancreatic cancer, yesterday. He was 69.

His legacy is his devotion to the greatest President of the 20th Century. His faithful service was crucial to President Reagan and we are all better for it. If you would honor Mike Deaver, remember the greatness of Ronald Reagan and that Mike was the man behind the man. We thank you and, please, tell Ronnie we miss him.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8R3HME80&show_article=1

Guess They Had "ENOUGH" Already

Didn't see the weekly update on the dwindling gaggle of disaffected and aging hippies who were gathering for one hour every Sunday to protest our success in Iraq. I guess they gave up. I don't blame them, since it's becoming more and more obvious that we're kicking butt over there.

Maybe they got the memo that democrats and the media are abandoning calls for surrender and defeat in the face of our overwhelming success.

We won't forget that the democrats and the media have been beating the drum for defeat for years. It is very bad for them that we're winning. What does it say about democrats that good news for America is bad news for them?

P.S. I waited all week to see if Max just forgot to show us the picture of the 2 people who probably showed up this week. Alas, nothing. This is just like "jobs, jobs, jobs". Whatever happened to that one?

Still Talking Nonsense

Joycelyn Elders --- almost forgotten --- but not by her adoring fans at the Arkansas Times.

ttp://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/2007/08/still_talking_sense.aspx#comments

Back to Lower Ground

As I suspected, Mike was a flash in the pan in Iowa. Mitt Romney, who placed 1st in Iowa placed 1st in the Illinois Straw Poll, too. Mike Huckabee, however, placed a distant 6th in the Illinois Straw Poll, with just over 3% of the vote, more than 6 times fewer votes than kooky Ron Paul who fell just short of 19% for 3rd place behind #2 Fred Thompson, who did not campaign at all and still received nearly 20%.

As for the Huckster, I'm not sure if he'll still be the media darling after this debacle. They're a fickle bunch, but he may have caught on that they love a straight shooter like McCain in '00 (codeword for talking like a liberal).

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/08/16/mitt-romney-wins-illinois-straw-poll/

"America's most reliable news show"

Just to illustrate how deranged liberals really are, here's a post fresh off the presses from Max Brantley.

http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/2007/08/turn_your_tivo_on.aspx#comments

He thinks that the Daily Show is really the news. He probably thought Fahrenheit 9/11 and A Clockwork Orange were documentaries, too.

What Liberal Bias?

Despite protest- ations to the contrary, liberals in the media can't help being outed from time to time.

We all know that the political breakdown of the media is 9:1 liberal to conservative. Thanks to Joe Scarborough, former Republican congressman turned MSNBC host, we have a glimpse of what these liberals do when they think no one can see them. Apparently, on his first day at MSNBC Scarborough witnessed something truly apalling. It was the night of the 2003 State of the Union Address. The majority of the newsroom booed the president throughout the speech.

Yeah, these guys are real objective.

http://media.newsbusters.org/stories/msnbc-newsroom-booed-bushs-state-union.html?q=blogs/mark-finkelstein/2007/08/16/msnbc-newsroom-booed-bushs-state-union

A RINO Can't Change His Stripes (?)

I laughed recently when I heard a prominent member of the liberal media say that Mike Huckabee's conservat -ive credentials haven't been challenged. I guess they haven't been paying attention to the Club for Growth.

Max Brantley knows better, anyway, but he did get the memo from Club for Growth.

This makes for good reading and includes excerpts from a recent speech the Huckster gave, mimicking democrats (or himself) and a recap of his liberal record as governor.

http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/2007/08/it_must_be_the_heat.aspx#comments

Next Stop: Arkansas

It started with banning smoking on private property, businesses, etc...

Next it will be your home and your car. You'll be a child abuser if you smoke with children around. Thanks Mike Huckabee and a handful of other nanny-state Republicans, Sid Rosenbaum, et al.

I predicted this to friends when they passed the smoking ban and even Rep. Rosenbaum with whom I spoke about it denied that it could ever happen.

It's about to happen in New York, though.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20070814/NATION02/108140063

P.S. For those in the media who say Mike Huckabee's conservative credentials are unchallenged, I hereby challenge them. In the meantime, all you child abusers smoking at home and in your cars get ready cause the nanny state is coming to get you.

Cherry Picking, Indeed

Things have been improving in Iraq to the point that even Max Brantley has been forced to preface his excited proofs that America is losing a war with "I know you can always cherry pick bad news in Iraq."

He's right, he can cherry pick bad news. Four homicide bombings, huh? That takes a grand total of four people to accomplish. Four people. We must be losing if the terrorists can get four people to make these attacks.

In reality, if the terrorists were really beating us, there would have been hundreds or thousands of attacks this week.

In the meantime, he ignored the overwhelmingly positive news from Iraq that American and Iraqi troops have begun a successful campaign to destroy terrorist networks.

http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/2007/08/surging_1.aspx#comments

A Truly Inconvenient Truth

"at many points well-known glaciers have entirely disap- peared." --- Washington Post

Inconveniently, for Al Gore, that is a quote from 1922.

Soooooo, how are we all still here???

http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20070814/NATION02/108140063

That's Reassuring

It's certainly not good news for the American Left that the UN Security Council voted unanimously to send more UN aid to Iraq. They apparently believe in the cause more than the democrats.

http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/08/11/2002403.htm?section=justin

Yeah, Right

Hillary said recently that she's not in favor of socialized medicine...

I bet that's news to the ArkTimes folks.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/09/a-testy-exchange-on-health-care/

Common Sense on Taxes

If you didn't hear, you should have guessed that the democrat response to the bridge collapse in Minneapolis was to raise taxes. They call it a "temporary" tax.

Yeah, right.

http://fredfile.imwithfred.com/author/fred/

Hold On To Your Wallet

Don't know if you'd heard that a handful of legislators is doing some stunt where they're only going to eat $3 of food a day, in an effort to understand the "hardships" of people on foodstamps, people who don't pay for their own food, that is.

Rep. David Johnson, D-Little Rock, was able to buy 3 loaves of bread, a jar of peanut butter, a tub of butter (instead of stick, which are much less expensive), and 2 cans of orange juice concentrate.

I guess he's trying to demonstrate how meager this free lunch is. It looks pretty much like what I ate most of my childhood. He complained that he couldn't afford bananas. I guess he didn't know that he didn't have to buy the OJ concentrate. He could have had water, instead---HEAVEN FORBID!

The comments are even more pitiful.

I guess they weren't aware that it's $3 per person, so a family could get a lot more food.

Either way, hold on to your wallets. Any time politicians do some kind of stunt like this you can bet that more spending is coming soon.

P.S. I can and often have gotten by on a lot less money for food. It never crossed my mind, as suggested in the picture, that someone else should pay for my meals.

As my old dad said years ago, the distillation of all human wisdom is "there's no such thing as a free lunch."

http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/2007/08/food_stamp_report.aspx#comments

My 2 Dads---Arkansas Style

They're not talking about the TV Show.

The info on the link is kind of lengthy, but it will blow your mind what's happening in Arkansas with gay adoption.

http://www.wpaag.org/Surrogacy%20Law%20in%20AR%20magnet%20for%20gay%20surrogacy.htm

Liberal Media Plante

Okay, I know that's a bad pun, but I couldn't resist.

Bill Plante, White House correspondent for CBS, showed how objective, and classy, the media is yesterday when he yelled at President Bush, "If he's (Karl Rove) so smart, how come you lost Congress?"

This undignified question came on the heels of news that Karl Rove is stepping down from his position at the White House. You can bet this is so he can start helping some candidate (Fred Thompson?) get ready for '08. Arkansas's own Tim Griffin, Rove's protege, has already signed on to Thompson's campaign.

Bill Plante, in the meantime, has demonstrated how tacky and biased the liberal media can be.

Oh, yeah, did I mention that Karl Rove is leaving the White House? You can bet liberals in congress view this as an opportunity to subpeona him without any claims of Executive Privilege from the Bush Administration. Although, he can still properly claim that he can't skip hearings under order of the president.

http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlDC/west_wing_reportage/bill_plantes_having_none_of_this_garden_party_64986.asp

Soviet Putin

Things keep getting Colder and Colder with the Soviets, ahem, the Russians.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/328d9098-4909-11dc-b326-0000779fd2ac.html

Gun Free Zones---Tragedy in Missouri

I guess the gunman didn't get the memo.

No, again, a gun free zone isn't where you get free guns.

There was a tragic shooting at a church in Neosho, MO over the weekend. The quiet town of Neosho, which is just over the border from NWA, was shocked by the slaughter of 3 innocent people when a gunman stormed the church and opened fire on the parishioners Sunday.

This is of special irony. At a wedding I attended this weekend a church staffer instructed the wedding party not to bring firearms into the church and not to allow others to do so. I wonder what that person would have thought if this tragic shooting had occurred at her church instead. She probably thinks it can't happen at her church because it's a gun-free zone.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8QVQM900&show_article=1

Huckabee 18%

Whoopidee doo.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/12/us/politics/12straw.html?_r=2&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Hillary Promises to Take Money From Lobbyists

At least she's honest...about this, anyway.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070804/ap_on_el_pr/democrats_bloggers_5

This is a Joke, But They're Not Joking

Apparently, "Global Warming" is also going to affect geologic events, too, not vice versa as has been the history of climate and geologic events in Earth's history.

Look for this prediction to fall on its face like the "worst hurricane seasons in years" predictions which preceded some of the slowest hurrican seasons in years. Either way this is like predicting anything else that might happen. If it does, take credit. If not, ignore it. Good grief.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/aug/07/disasters

British Fatties Causing Havoc on Roads...

...and health care system. It's hard enough driving on the wrong side of the road. These fatties want to take up the whole road and health care system, too.

These fatties apparently are costing normal sized Brits too much in taxes, taking more than their share in health care, not just food. So says a top health official in Britain.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23406735-details/'Greedy'+fat+people+shouldn't+be+treated%2C+says+top+doctor/article.do

Not a Woman, Not Black

According to Elizabeth Edwards, John Edwards is tanking because he isn't black and he isn't a woman. Well, at least he isn't black.



http://www.cioinsight.com/article2/0,1397,2167603,00.asp

Things Looking Up for the President

Gallup is reporting that the president's numbers are on the upswing. Still waiting for the rest of the media to report this. My guess is they'll ignore it like the ArkTimes will.

All this comes in the wake of growing positive news from Iraq, news that is being ignored, contradicted, and discounted by democrats, but the American people are glad to hear, nonetheless.

As for Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid and the rest of the democrat congress...they're still languishing as the most unpopular and ineffective congress in history. Way to go, guys!!!

http://blogs.usatoday.com/gallup/2007/08/a-hint-of-more-.html

Say It Ain't So, Jack

24 Cracks Under Torture to Demands to By Global Warming Terrorists.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/02/AR2007080202057.html?referrer=emailarticle

What's Good For the Goose is Good For the Gander

Responding to complaints that he'll meddle with the Wall Street Journal, Rupert Murdoch said, “I won’t meddle any more than Arthur Sulzberger does...", referring to the meddlesome, left-wing publisher of the New York Times.

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003621728

Sorry, Fellas, But You Need to Shut It

If you're a soldier and don't agree that America should surrender, you need to shut up, so says the Arkansas Times and libs at the DailyKO(ok)S blogs.

http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/2007/08/gen_clark.aspx#comments

ENOUGH, Indeed

Looks like there were about 3 people at this week's "Enough!" protest.

Brantley's description was "tiny", but blathered on about an acorn growing into a great tree. They've been cultivating this acorn for more than 4 years, now. It's not looking too healthy.

This is especially true in light of the growing support for the Surge and it's growing success on the ground in Iraq.

http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/2007/08/enough_1.aspx#comments

Leadership

Reminiscent of when the president visited Ground Zero after September 11, President Bush demonstrated leadership again, visiting the site of the Minneapolis Bridge Collapse, comforting those affected and assuring them that he will do everything he can to help restore the city.

No complaints yet from democrats about the how his administration is handling the response. If it continues going well, it will be attributed to the local government. Watch to see if something goes wrong, though. It will be the president's fault.

In the meantime, it's a nice memory of when the we saw him standing in the rubble of the World Trade Center.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070804/D8QQAIMO0.html

Obama is Dr. Strangelove---I Said It First

Looks like someone on Mitt Romney's staff must've been reading the Arkansas Journal last Friday when I called Barack Obama Dr. Strangelove. Yesterday, Romney had this to say about Obama, "I mean, he's gone from Jane Fonda to Dr. Strangelove in one week."

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070805/D8QQU2N00.html

Soldier Censored at YearlyKO(ok)S Convention

A soldier who attended the YearlyKO(ok)S convention was asked to leave and threatened by a panelist at the event.

The soldier, who claims to have served in Iraq and has not been identified, challenged the panel to prove that the Surge is failing, offering all of the money in his pocket if they could. Jon Soltz, the panelist specifically challenged by the soldier, threatened to have him dishonorably discharged for talking about "politics" in uniform. I'm not sure when soldiers believing in their mission became political. It's ironic because Soltz, who is an Army veteran, has been using his service as a platform to politicize the war for years. Apparently, it's only wrong if you don't agree with him.

No word yet on whether Soltz will make good on his threats. I surmise that he'll avoid the whole subject like the plague given his angry response. The video on the link is quite revealing. Soltz had been vomiting his lies that we are losing to the eager audience and became irate that a soldier challenged him. He had no response other than his threats and demands that the journalist turn off his camera.

http://pajamasmedia.com/2007/08/soldier_censored_at_kos_conven.php

Democrats Backpeddle on Terrorist Surveillance

A prize to anyone who knows who is pictured here.

Speaking of that, some democrats are beginning to realize that it's not a good idea to let terrorists communicate with people in the U.S. without us monitoring them.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/05/washington/05nsa.html?ei=5065&en=cfcc6cd246c77500&ex=1186891200&adxnnl=1&partner=MYWAY&adxnnlx=1186264929-5+kges2j4jXmMNV6R32Exw&pagewanted=print

Newsflash: McCain Joins Minutemen---Too Little, Too Late

John McCain, trying to bale out his sinking ship, has decided to take a new tack with his position on illegal aliens. Now, after shooting his ship full of holes, he's decided that maybe what he should do is secure the border instead of making all of them citizens.

To demonstrate his sincerity he's joined the Minutemen on the border, pictured here, with his trusty dog, Speedy Gonzales. Unfortunately, for the senator, it's too little, too late.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070802/ap_on_el_pr/mccain_immigration_1

P.S. This is a joke, sort of.

America Losing War a Little Less---Democrats Mourn

With the constant drumbeat that America is losing because our servicemen are dying in Iraq, democrats are bemoaning the recent report that we had a lower number of fatalities in Iraq.

Of course, you won't find this mentioned on the Arkansas Times blog or by one of its lib readers.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8QNLKJ00&show_article=1

al Qaeda: "We Want to Kill You"---democrats: "What al Qaeda?"

My apologies to these monkeys for comparing them to democrats, but this is exactly what the democrat party continues to do...see no evil. Even when al Qaeda again promises to attack us their response is to surrender.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/08/new-al-qaeda-we.html

Sarkozy Welcome to Jog in U.S.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has announced that he will vacation in the U.S. He's sure to catch a lot of flak for this, as he did for keeping in shape by jogging, which was apparently too American.

Let me be the first to say that he is not only welcome to jog here, but we will be happy to let him jog on the red carpet we'll be rolling out for him.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2007/08/02/au_revoir_paris_hello_wolfeboro/?page=full

Duggars Welcome # 17

Congratulations!!! That's gotta be some sort of record.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070803/D8QPK4SO0.html

Obama: "We Must Stop the No Nuke Gap!"

In a move straight out of Dr. Strangelove, Barack Obama has decided that we must stop the no nuke gap. In order to catch up with our enemies who don't have the Bomb he has called for our rapid disarmament. Brilliant!!!

http://www.pr-inside.com/print193423.htm

Talk About a Cowboy

Leftists the world over relish calling President Bush a cowboy, for what they view as his wild west brand of foreign policy.

Still waiting for the outcry on Obama's recent comments that we should invade our ally, Pakistan. I guess he's trying out his tough guy schtick

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070801/ap_on_el_pr/obama_terrorism_7

Enough, Indeed

A little late on this, but it's still good. Apparently 5 aging hippies showed up Sunday for an hour---really just AN HOUR!!!!---calling for America to surrender in Iraq. They called it "Enough".

No word on whether JLo made it.

http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/2007/07/enough.aspx#comments

Libs Go After Fox News Advertisers---What a Surprise

In the spirit of the "Fairness Doctrine" and "Equal Time" liberals who can't compete with the Fox News channel are trying to scare away its sponsors instead. When liberals cannot succeed in the marketplace, which is most of the time, they resort to coercion to get their way.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8QL52780&show_article=1

Weather Channel Making 50 Year Weather Forecasts

Unable to predict the weather more than 10 days in advance, on a consistent basis, the Weather Channel has decided to forecast the weather decades from now.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/31/science/earth/31conv.html?ei=5090&en=c4f296f1a3a83d84&ex=1343534400&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=print

No Money for the Jail: PuCo's $43 Million Boondoggle

It appears that government isn't the most efficient user of our money.

Here in Pulaski County we now have a new expense to pay for. It seems that the county raised a $43 million bond to pay for homes for people with poor credit.

That's a great idea. Reward people for bad behavior. Anyway, they spent the money on all kinds of things other than that, including $2.5 million for the bond daddies who set it up. As for the money for homes for deadbeats? They spent $2.1 on SIX homes! That's an average of $350,000 per home. I've seen the pictures of these homes and several of them wouldn't sell for $100,000.

Meanwhile, we can't afford to keep our jail open. Last year I spoke with Pat Dicker, a member of the Pulaski County Quorum Court who told me that I didn't know what I was talking about. There wasn't any money being wasted by the county. The only way to keep the jail open was to raise taxes... Looks like she was wrong. We don't even have to spend that much for the jails, but surely in the $38 million that they didn't spend on the stated purpose of this bond they could come up with at least enough money to throw up some tents for the jail.

Update: Max has some interesting stuff about this in yesterday's ArkTimes blog. The best part is Pat Dicker, who assured me that she knew the PuCo budget inside and out over a year ago is now going to get to the bottom of this, gosh darnit.

http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/2007/07/bond_boondoggles.aspx#comments

Hollywood War Propaganda

Sorry, folks. This time their rooting for the other team.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/26/movies/26movi.html?_r=2&hp=&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin

West Point for Bureaucrats

In case you didn't hear, Hillary wants to start a government service academy for bureaucrats. She calls them "public servants", which is Newspeak for people who make the public their servants. Bureaucrats are bad enough without having a Bureaucrat West Point ring to lord it over us even more.

This is a typical liberal idea. Get us to pay to educate people to grow government. Hillary Clinton is Big Government. Heaven help us.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070728/D8QLQ3880.html