Sarah Smile

Who knows, maybe Hall and Oates were onto something early. Prescience, however, should be reserved for the folks at Real Clear Politics, because they were definitely onto something almost three months ago.

In a June article, the headline was

McCain Should Pick Sarah Palin for VP

And yet, the whole country, including myself, was stunned by her pick by John McCain. And the McCain campaign did a fabulous job at clandestinely bringing her on board, stymieing even the most intrepid news hounds. How did this happen? Perhaps the members of the ticket will one day tell us, but for now, there is the business of getting to know Gov. Sarah Palin.



According to the RCP article, Palin is the most popular governor in America, with an approval rating hovering around the mid-80% range. That's a good start. She's fought corruption in her state, in both parties, and won the gubernatorial seat through sheer grit and determination. And with little backing. Not too shabby. And, the article states, her popularity is

mostly because she's been a crackerjack governor, a strong fiscal conservative and a ferocious fighter of corruption, especially in her own party.

One of the things we hear from the left quite often is that politicians who send kids off to war never send their own kids. Well, that one is down the tubes now, too. On September 11th, Governor Palin's son, Track, will deploy to Iraq. The only things the opposition has to go on now are the ridiculous rumors that Palin's youngest child is really her grandchild, born by her 16-year-old daughter, and that she is under investigation by the Alaska Legislature for abuse of power.

The abuse of power allegation stems from the firing of one of Palin's cabinet members who would not fire a State Trooper who was drunk with power (literally, he drank beer in his cruiser), threatened to kill his father-in-law, and tased his own 10-year-old step-son. Oh, the trooper was married to the governor's sister. I guess the most powerful woman in the state should have left the matter alone until the trooper actually did kill her father.

The democrat campaign will also try to paint her as a shill for "big oil", but that tactic will fall flat, as well. Palin got the giant natural gas pipeline project up and running, bucking "big oil", and telling the industry that it would receive no sweetheart deals from the state.

This campaign season is shaping up to be quite the exciting ride. I also have it on good authority from someone familiar with Palin, that she is a skilled debator, and that she'll drink Biden's milkshake. Time will tell. Get the popcorn ready. it's going to one hell of a show.

-Woody

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Memo To Ray Nagin

Ahem...Ray? Eli may not be coming, but Gustav certainly may be. Just how good is your memory, Ray? Do you remember high-tailing it out of your "chocolate city" for high ground when Katrina was about to hit? Do you remember how much advanced notice was given to evacuate your people? Here's a news flash, Ray: no greyhound buses are rolling your way. Get the big yellow things on wheels gassed up and ready to roll now.

Gustav is heading your way, in case you've been too busy licking your wounds from 2005 to have noticed. The good news is that Kathleen Blanco is no longer your governor. While Blanco is free now to help people iron clothes, or whatever it is she was crying about in 2005, you have a very capable and intelligent governor in Bobby Jindal who will not hesitate to ask the federal government for help. But you've got to start mobilizing right now, Ray. Don't wait until the last minute again and then blame everyone but yourself for a would-be disaster.

The last thing America needs to see again is this.

So Ray? According to the current models, you have roughly until Tuesday to start making preparations. Don't be ashamed to ask Jindal for help, because he will certainly have no qualms in asking Bush for help. Just take this opportunity to do the right thing and save your citizens from another Katrina. You don't get too many chances to atone for past mistakes. Use this one wisely.

-Woody

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Obama Files Stolen Thunder Report

John McCain picked his VP today under a cloud of secrecy the likes of which seems impossible in today's society. The speculation swirled around the "usual suspects", men who were vanquished in the campaign and more men who seemed like good choices for vice president based on credentials of leadership. McCain surprised all of them, and all of us, by picking a running mate with all of those qualities, only in the body of a woman. Take that, Obie and Hill.

Joe Biden was brought on as Obama's running mate not only to lend some foreign policy experience to the ticket (since the Candidate himself has none), but also to serve as the crust on the bread of Obama. Biden was chomping at the bit, eager to attempt to eviscerate his male counterpart in any debates. He now faces a conundrum in that he must be gentle with the "lady", at least if there is any modicum of consistency in how the main stream media views men attacking women. It was that very perception that shielded Hillary through much of her solo career, despite her auto-biographical image as tougher and smarter than anyone else.

The really good news is this, however; Sarah Palin brings much more to the plate than merely being McCain's "beard". She has much more to offer than simply neutralizing Biden. She's smart, she's tough, she's self-made and she's more of a man than most inside the Beltway, in a strictly colloquial sense, of course. And most important of all, she's already more qualified on her own to be President than the Democrat's nominee. Which is why there is such delicious irony in the attacks already emanating from Camp Obama.

That camp is, with straight faces, already saying that McCain's pick is a bad one because Palin has only been the Governor of Alaska for two years. That's two more years of executive experience than the combined Democrat ticket. Further, before being Governor, Palin was the Mayor of Wasilla, AK and was later elected as President of the Alaska Council of Mayors. It seems she knows a thing or two about being in charge. So for the Obama Camp to complain that McCain essentially put an inexperienced person a heartbeat away from the Presidency is more than feeble, it's pathetic.

McCain has the edge over them all in foreign policy experience, and he's the candidate for President, which would make the ticket properly top-heavy. The Democrat ticket more closely resembles Hillary Clinton's figure, and the top man on that ticket is young enough to stick around for a full two terms. Maybe he'll learn a bit on the job, but that would depend on how quick our enemies are to curtail his education.

Sarah Palin would be ready to take the reins if, God forbid, something were to happen to President McCain. The fact that she already has executive experience thus lends more balance to the Republican ticket than the bowling pin that is the Democrats'. And, as someone I know who is personally familiar with Ms. Palin said, she will tie Biden up in knots at the debates and stand him on his head in the corner. (Kudos, AK).

This campaign season just decked the halls and I am ready to party.

-Woody

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Macabre Infanticide And "The One"

A woman decides that she wants an abortion, for whatever reason, and is injected with drugs to induce labor prematurely. The baby comes out alive, but the mother's wishes must be respected, so this human child is tossed on a heap of soiled linen or in the trash receptacle and left to die. This is an act that Barack Obama has fought for and allowed to continue.

A young, pregnant girl gives birth in a restroom in secrecy and leaves the newborn to die in a plastic bag. She goes to jail for murder.

For those who would (and have done) argue that "discarding a lump of protoplasm" is a woman's choice and not murder, consider this; here we are talking about living, breathing people. And the man who wishes to be president of the United States should be behind bars for his complicity in murdering babies.

Obama told Pastor Rick Warren, and America, that "folks are lying" about his record. Is that so? Well, according to this article in the Arkansas News Bureau that's just not so. It is Obama himself who has been lying.

In 2002, Congress passed the The Born-Alive Infants Protection Act which was designed to allow medical treatment be given to surviving abortion victims. Barack Obama, as a state senator in Illinois voted against the Act as Illinois Law claiming that there were major differences in the Illinois version and the Federal version. Here is a telling excerpt from National Review Online:

Another revealing aspect of the issue is Obama's mendacity in claiming that his vote reflected the purported absence of "neutrality language" in the Illinois state version of the Born Alive Act. It's been six years since his vote, there's irrefutable evidence that the state version was the same as the federal version, yet Obama persists in peddling his false explanation. He's probably judged correctly that the media won't call him on it.

Indeed, during testimony on the matter before the Illinois State Legislature, Obama claimed that calling in another doctor would impugn the wishes of the mother. In other words, allowing the baby to live was not the original intent, so it must be neglected until death.

When will the media call a shovel a shovel (can't be too careful)? The bottom line is that Obama wants to continue to allow for the wanton murder of living babies and he's lying about it. Either that or he just doesn't get paid enough to understand it.

-Woody

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Rating Obama

Watching Barack Obama speaking with Pastor Rick Warren was educational, to say the least. One thing I must mention first off; my neck still hurts from trying to look at Obie straight. The whole time he was being interviewed his head was tilted to the right and he looked at times like he was going to fall off his chair. I can just envision some foreign leader having a conversation with President Obama reaching out to smack him upside the head.

I was amazed, also, to discover his clairvoyance. He claimed that he knew there was no clear evidence of WMD in Iraq. That's pretty amazing, considering that his colleagues were all busy telling America that Saddam was a threat with his weapons of mass destruction. Yet Obie knew - what a great leader he'll make if he can continue to gaze into the future.

It is well known that Obama is staunchly "pro-choice", but when asked about the issue of abortion he claimed that the answer was "above my pay grade". Consider the pay that the President of the United States receives and it stands to reason that the position of leader of the free world is under-compensated, and Obama may have trouble dealing with the rigors of the job if pay grade comes into question. I must admit that I am just a little more than uncomfortable with the notion that my president at some point may throw his hands up and say, "Oh hell, man, they ain't paying me enough for this!".

Throughout the interview, Obama stumbled, hemmed and hawed and it was almost painful to watch. When asked about evil, for example, he was unsure of himself, to be kind. The same for his disjointed response to the issue of stem cell research - he clearly hadn't given much thought to the issue before being questioned on it. And believe it or not, I knew before he even said it (yeah, I'm clairvoyant, too), that Clarence Thomas was going to be his pick for the Justice he would have been least likely to nominate. It was a solid bit of pandering to the crowd who thinks that he might be a racist. Not only did he question Thomas's qualifications, but he slammed him on intellect. Rush Limbaugh would have been excoriated for saying such things.

I got the impression from the faith-based question and Obie's response to it that he believes that if an organization receives federal funds, despite using the money for a worthy cause, they must adhere to equal opportunity standards. I really can't pinpoint when discrimination became a dirty word, but it should be obvious to the most foolish that a church should not be forced to hire people diametrically opposed to their beliefs. I can't fathom BET, for instance, hiring a member of the Ku Klux Klan.

I'll briefly mention that Obama thinks $250,000 per year qualifies as rich. That may be so in some parts of the country, but certainly not in liberal bastions such as New York and California. Side note: notice the correlation between liberal bastions and the cost of living!

Finally, he wants to be president because he believes that he can build bridges and forge alliances and thereby help even the littlest guy. Just once I'd love to hear someone be honest and say that it's the fragrance of power that lures them to the White House.

-Woody

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Technorati

Releasing the spiders...
Technorati Profile

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Make Us Not Rome

There is a stigma today that didn’t exist for the previous generation, the very tenets of which were so diametrically opposed to our current mores that we need counseling just to sort them out. While our parents and grandparents were no doubt fine folk, they had skeletons, the likes of which we cannot begin to conceive, setting up comfy camps in their closets. Looking back, we can envision our elders, as children, actually sitting down to imaginary teas with the demons we feared, those on which we slammed the closet door shortly before retiring for the night.

While the lighthearted reader may assume that I am about to slam my own kin, I must caution…my dissertation is in praise of them. They knew well their demons and were vastly better prepared to deal with them on an even keel. While our current crop of statesmen claim some superiority in diplomacy, they are young children, unable to cope with the horrors they face. They simply slam the closet door until the sun comes up, a time when irrational fears succumb to the light of day. A time when hope outweighs reality.

Reality states that evil will kill you at a time of its own choosing. Hope indicates that evil will adhere to your rules. We know this not to be true, but we have a slate of presidential hopefuls who insist on slamming the closet door, at least until they are seated in the Oval Office. What they do thereafter is a matter of speculation, but I am one who is ill prepared to wait and see. I had a dad and also am a dad, a dad who convinced my young that the best way to conquer fear was to face it…straight in the eye. My children still believe this but I must wonder…what is their current support structure? How many like them are left?

I know that the allure of the liberal movement is just that; alluring. The idea of doing your own thing, the freedom to be who you want, the exhilaration of throwing off the chains of society. But I maintain that age bestows wisdom, and those chains are, in actuality, ground wires designed to keep us from burning up into ash.

At one point in our lives we were all so-called liberals. How many of us rebelled against our parents, did drugs, acted out, grew our hair long, wore vagabond clothes? And how many of us could now successfully run for public office? The answer is NONE. Why? Not because we have some deep dark secret to hide. It’s because those of us who have had role models willing to face the demons, while smiling, realize that to acknowledge these transgressions would be tantamount to advocating them.

Interestingly, the left holds the same up as a badge of courage. They revel in the sins of their past and expect others not to judge them. In fact, when they are judged, they rebel even further. Is it any wonder that we are sliding into insignificance as a nation and a society? Is it any wonder that those who claim to wish us well have only their own best interests at heart?

Is it any wonder that the left is destroying America? And is anyone really surprised at the lefts' claim that they are responsible for "progress"?
-Woody

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A Pat On My Own Back

I'm leaving the original time-stamp on this piece for an obvious reason. In case it doesn't become clear as you read, there will be a brief summary at the end. Suffice it to say, I am rather proud of myself.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Silence, Infidel!
Tuesday, January 16th, 2007
This was an interesting piece, considering the left’s alleged love of freedom of speech and open dialogue. Now Nance Greggs wants us (the right) to shut the f— up. I have always relished the fact that we are the right, while the left is the opposite of such. Semantics…ya gotta love ‘em.

So Nance (why can’t she just be “Nancy”?) thinks that a narrow electoral victory equals supremacy. Hmm, how positively fascist of her. And here I thought it was we who were the “brown shirts”. Funny how the left can manage to eat its own words with virtually no modicum of humility or shame. Perhaps it’s those MIB flashy things again. I just don’t know.

What I do know is that Nance is ill prepared to be part of the majority party, especially if criticism makes her queasy. There will be plenty of that to maintain a financially beneficial partnership between her and Rolaids for the next two years, but only for Rolaids. Ms. Greggs will be begging for a tax cut at the end of that time.

More important than the criticism will be the exposure. We’re already seeing it in the “first 100 hours”.
San Fran Nan’s oopsie-daisy regarding Samoa and Del Monte (the people want and deserve a living wage!)
Her insistance on elevating ethically challenged persons such as Murtha and Jefferson (after her pledge of “ethic cleansing”)
The party’s sudden backtrack on their own demands for more troops only weeks and months before W’s speech.
Just to name a few. I just know they will unwittingly deliver more gems.

Yes friends, the tragic loss we felt on election day ‘06 is shaping up to be the gift that keeps on giving right on through election day, ‘08. I suppose we could actually take Ms. Greggs’s advice and STFU, merely stepping aside as the dems plow headlong into the wall. I prefer to make that sidestep and deliver a kick in the ass as they go by, providing some acceleration. My only fear is inadvertently knocking some sense into them…nah.

We will actually be aided for once by the MSM (a prediction), not because of a shift in their allegiance but rather a realization that they are being left behind by radio and cable news. They will have no choice but to step up and acknowledge that their heroes are dunces because to leftist journalists, the pocketbook is mightier than the pen. It may be painful, but rest assured, they will follow the money even if they weep as they do it. This phase will be the last noticeable side effect of the Dems’ power intoxication, but I believe it will come in plenty of time for the general election.
I say “three cheers” for the Dems’ good fortune in November. It will ultimately be our own.

Greggs should prove to be a useful idiot. Almost as loveable as semantics.
- Woody
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I wonder how the bimbo feels now about single-digit approval ratings for her beloved Democrat-controlled Congress? Think she might be the slightest bit contrite? Hell no, she's still blaming Republicans! This drivel was written only two days ago.

Ah well, we still have 81 days left to watch her slam her head into the wall. It should be fun.

-Woody

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Line In The Sand

It has been said that good fences make good neighbors. While there may be a modicum of truth to that phrase, it has been proven that a strong, collaborative community bears much sweeter fruit than an isolationist mentality. I maintain that the latter is true, but only to a greater degree than the former, rather in contrast thereto. Both have their merits if practiced properly. Likewise, neither works well exclusively.

Boundaries have been the nature of man since time began, but cooperation has always been their companion. We have always felt more comfortable in our own personal domiciles, but eager to wander out into the community to interact with our neighbors when the need or desire arose. Everywhere in-between the dwellings of those who gathered for either productive or leisurely purposes was considered common ground. What America has succeeded in nurturing in her people was a comfort level in these regards based on a mutual understanding of our land. In other words, we felt completely at ease in a pseudo-neutral setting solely because, while it was conducted in "common land", the very definition of the phrase was universally understood; we were Americans.

The previous century for America saw an unprecedented influx to a particular country. To be simple, this was the place to be. One would expect nothing short of chaos in such a situation, but that did not happen. What did happen was that all of these new arrivals cared for nothing more than to embrace America's culture and to blend in as quickly as possible. Our culture was enthusiastically adopted, our language was studied and self-enforced, and our laws were embraced and obeyed. Of particular note: at that time, there was no DHS, as there was no need for it. People came here for a better life and they actually wanted to become Americans.

So what has happened since? Why do we have such tumultuousness? The answer is not simple. The recent revocation of the Labor Day Holiday at a Tyson Foods plant in Shelbyville, TN in favor of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr is cause for concern. It is a clear case of the invited guests suddenly rearranging the furniture in the home of their gracious hosts. Long before we became too timid to risk insulting our guests, there was a time when we would have made it clear who owned the home, and who set the rules therein.

It has been a tried and true practice of civilized peoples to draw a line in the sand, indicating phantom fences before we envisioned their actual construction. It has served well as a civilian law-enforcement technique. It was a mark one crossed at their own peril, and it was a cognitive act either way the decision went. Now, however, it seems that the line has been drawn in the sand at the shoreline of America, and no one has been minding the tide, which has washed away that line without cognizance of any sort.

It may ultimately fall to me and me alone, but someone needs to get down to the beach and maintain the line. If not, we may find ourselves homeless in the world.

-Woody

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The Reason For The Season

Here we are, in the heart of hurricane season. It's one of my favorite times of the year, conjuring memories of hiding in the basement as a lad, watching Fluffy fly through the air because we forgot to bring her in...ah, to go back to such simpler times. I hope you have all decorated your homes with the appropriate seasonal decorations. It makes the neighborhood so festive for the kiddies. And for the love of God, I hope you used eco-friendly bulbs this year!

I love the theme shows that come with the season, too, because they're not as predictable as say, Christmas Specials, which you can look up in the TV Guide and actually plan your day around. No, Hurricane Specials are more fun because you never know when they're going to pop up on your screen! Spontaneity, that's the spice of life. Not knowing when a special will appear is almost as much fun as waiting for your favorite song to play on the radio.

I know I watch more TV during Hurricane Season because of the uncertainty. My TV is happier, too. When it's out of season, I spend more time on my computer and I get silly error messages all the time:



Just the other day, I was watching a thrill-packed episode of Iron Lung Chef when the show was interrupted by a Special. At first it was a still screen with the station's logo and a voice over telling me that they were sorry to break into my favorite show. (I forgave them because they had no way of knowing that my favorite show is actually '70's reruns of Curio and Hutch, a show about two really cool guys who make the most beautiful furniture). As the still screen faded, I felt the tingle of excitement; the Special was starting!

And there was the star of the Special, a horizontal reporter in a soaked, bright yellow slicker, clinging precariously to a palm tree with one hand and holding the microphone with the other. (I always wondered what the camera guy was holding onto). Speaking to the Anchor back in studio, "Ernie, this is one of the worst you've ever sent me out into! Thanks a lot, pal!"
"Bob, what can you tell us from the scene?"
"Well Ernie, the winds have picked up to 800 miles per hour and the seas are battering the shore. Experts are telling me that Global Warming is to blame."

Ah, a villain! This was going to be one of the best Specials yet. As he continued his tortured report, he told of the conflicts between scientists who have been debating the problem eloquently for a few years.
Scientist 1: "Global Warming will increase the number of hurricanes."
Scientist 2: "Global Warming will decrease the number of hurricanes."
Scientist 1: "Increase!"
Scientist 2: "DECREASE!"

While this was going on, I reluctantly broke away from my lonely TV for the computer. I wanted to see if I could find out for myself what the real deal was. I began scouring the internet for documented proof one way or the other, when another error message popped up on my screen:



Frustrated, I turned off my TV and went out to mow the lawn with my eco-friendly scissors.

-Woody

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