Wednesday, October 18, 2006
I will be back November 14 or so....
Well folks I am going to be gone until the middle of November or so. This will be my last day of blogging until then I am guessing....
Mark Foley is not the reason Republicans are going to lose in November.
The cover the story this month on Time magazine is about the end of the conservative republican revolution. It talks about how the Republican Party has strayed away from its ideals over the years. This is true…but then it emphasizes that the Mark Foley scandal was the real deal breaker… The last straw that broke the camels back…Mark Foley ruined what was left for republicans and he is why they are going to lose in November according to Time and the rest of the media… The fact is, the Republicans lost the House and maybe the Senate a long time ago, way before Mark Foley. In fact, Mark Foley has very little, if anything at all, to why the Republicans are about to lose the House and possibly the Senate.
The main reason is that the Republican Party has strayed away from their core conservative values of a smaller, less intrusive, and fiscally responsible government.
The government has grown faster and bigger than any other time in history under this republican leadership. Even after you take away the cost of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan there has never been a Congress that has spent as much money like the current Republican Congress has. Republicans have basically become borrow and spend liberals.
The Republican Party is unwilling to take advantage of their majority and get things done. A good example would be Social Security reform. The privatization of Social Security, a reform with core conservative principles like personal responsibility, freedom of choice, with little government intrusion, could have become a reality if there had been enough republicans with the back bone to support it.
Iraq. This fact has to be faced...the public is frustrated and running out of patience with the war in Iraq. We're 3 1/2 years into the war; we're still occupying and trying to rebuild a country with no end in sight and casualties continuing to mount. The American public simply does not have the stomach for it anymore. Of course the Democrat Party has made it difficult to solve the Iraq problem. However, the Republican Party is in the majority and should never have allowed the Democrat Party to force us into a passive aggressive approach to this war.
Not promoting the good economy. The economy that we are currently in has never been better. We are experiencing one of the biggest economic booms in our history right now. Wages are up, unemployment is down...growth is up...the deficit is shrinking. Yet for some reason, the GOP is MIA on promoting this.
Oh, by the way the Dow Jones hit 12,000 dollars today!!! That is an all time high.
For some reason though, republicans have failed to spread this good news allowing the media to convince people that things aren’t so good out there. This is a real head scratcher for me.
Illegal immigration. The one issue that the Republican Party could have rode to victory in November. The American people universally want to see action taken on...and the Republicans aren't doing a thing about it. But instead, they acted like Democrats...and now voters are about to make them pay.
Another thing I think could have saved the Republican Party is if they would have got behind the FairTax as a party.
The list goes on an on ... McCain-Feingold Act, earmarks, stem cell research ...
The media would like for you to believe that Mark Foley is the reason the speaker's gavel will be in Nancy Pelosi's hand. But it goes far, far beyond Mark Foley.
The reason the republicans are going to lose the house and possibly the Senate is because disgruntled conservatives like me are tired of voting for the lesser of two evils.
Conservatives like me are just not going to vote… I know what you are going to say not voting is the same as voting for democrats. Well maybe, but at least I didn’t have to waist any gas to get to the polls to oust the current leadership.
Lets face it...the only thing republicans have going for them is they are not democrats!! Sorry, but that is just not enough to get me to vote for them anymore.
The main reason is that the Republican Party has strayed away from their core conservative values of a smaller, less intrusive, and fiscally responsible government.
The government has grown faster and bigger than any other time in history under this republican leadership. Even after you take away the cost of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan there has never been a Congress that has spent as much money like the current Republican Congress has. Republicans have basically become borrow and spend liberals.
The Republican Party is unwilling to take advantage of their majority and get things done. A good example would be Social Security reform. The privatization of Social Security, a reform with core conservative principles like personal responsibility, freedom of choice, with little government intrusion, could have become a reality if there had been enough republicans with the back bone to support it.
Iraq. This fact has to be faced...the public is frustrated and running out of patience with the war in Iraq. We're 3 1/2 years into the war; we're still occupying and trying to rebuild a country with no end in sight and casualties continuing to mount. The American public simply does not have the stomach for it anymore. Of course the Democrat Party has made it difficult to solve the Iraq problem. However, the Republican Party is in the majority and should never have allowed the Democrat Party to force us into a passive aggressive approach to this war.
Not promoting the good economy. The economy that we are currently in has never been better. We are experiencing one of the biggest economic booms in our history right now. Wages are up, unemployment is down...growth is up...the deficit is shrinking. Yet for some reason, the GOP is MIA on promoting this.
Oh, by the way the Dow Jones hit 12,000 dollars today!!! That is an all time high.
For some reason though, republicans have failed to spread this good news allowing the media to convince people that things aren’t so good out there. This is a real head scratcher for me.
Illegal immigration. The one issue that the Republican Party could have rode to victory in November. The American people universally want to see action taken on...and the Republicans aren't doing a thing about it. But instead, they acted like Democrats...and now voters are about to make them pay.
Another thing I think could have saved the Republican Party is if they would have got behind the FairTax as a party.
The list goes on an on ... McCain-Feingold Act, earmarks, stem cell research ...
The media would like for you to believe that Mark Foley is the reason the speaker's gavel will be in Nancy Pelosi's hand. But it goes far, far beyond Mark Foley.
The reason the republicans are going to lose the house and possibly the Senate is because disgruntled conservatives like me are tired of voting for the lesser of two evils.
Conservatives like me are just not going to vote… I know what you are going to say not voting is the same as voting for democrats. Well maybe, but at least I didn’t have to waist any gas to get to the polls to oust the current leadership.
Lets face it...the only thing republicans have going for them is they are not democrats!! Sorry, but that is just not enough to get me to vote for them anymore.
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Not sure waht happened????
Yesterday I posted some blogs on the site about North Korea and the bomb...more on the Foley scandal and some other things. It seems that the posts did not show up until today...and some of my post did not show up at all???? weird....
Anyway...if you want to go back and read some thoughts on Korea or what ever just scroll down and do so.... for the posts that didn't show up I will post those today.
Anyway...if you want to go back and read some thoughts on Korea or what ever just scroll down and do so.... for the posts that didn't show up I will post those today.
THIS IS AN ABSOLUTE, DROP-DEAD, MUST SEE!
Before you read or do anything else today ... you gotta see this video. Drudge posted it this week. It is a campaign ad created by Hollywood mogul David Zucker. The intent of the ad was to have Republican organizations use this ad in the closing weeks of the 2006 campaign…but will they??? Apparently Republican leaders are afraid to use the ad, because they say it's over the top. I think it is an entertaining way to teach a valuable lesson. Yeah it is exaggerated, but the point is still there. I would use it. You watch. You decide.
US Government sets record with quarterly tax revenues.
Remember those horrible Bush tax cuts? The ones that were going to starve the government for the money it needed because the rich were going to get away with paying there “fair share.” Well, once again we come to find that cutting taxes on the upper class actually leads to higher government tax revenues. That's a lesson the left will never learn.
September 15 is the day that quarterly tax payments are due. This is one of four times a year when businesses and corporations have to pay their estimated taxes or quarterly taxes. What a haul it was...in fact, they raked in so much tax money, they set a record.
$85.8 billion dollars was taken in a 20% increase over last year! And to think some people actually think the government doesn't have enough money. The fact that so much money flowed into the treasury at once is important for a few reasons.
One, it shows that the economy continues to grow faster than it ever has in history. Right now we are in the middle of one of the biggest historic economic booms ever. Don't let the mainstream media or the Democrats tell you otherwise. Add on top of that falling gas prices and we've got a great economic situation. In addition, the fact that tax receipts jumped 20% shows us that the Bush tax cuts are working just as they intended too.
Second, the fact that so much money was confiscated by the federal government in a single 24 hour period tells us something else. The government has grown too big...and it has grown faster under a Republican administration and a Republican Congress than any other time. It may be safe to say that the conservative Reagan Revolution is officially dead among so called "conservative" politicians. Notice I said dead among conservative politicians. The conservative revolution continues among the people of the United States unfortunately it seems we have lost our voice within the Republican Party.
September 15 is the day that quarterly tax payments are due. This is one of four times a year when businesses and corporations have to pay their estimated taxes or quarterly taxes. What a haul it was...in fact, they raked in so much tax money, they set a record.
$85.8 billion dollars was taken in a 20% increase over last year! And to think some people actually think the government doesn't have enough money. The fact that so much money flowed into the treasury at once is important for a few reasons.
One, it shows that the economy continues to grow faster than it ever has in history. Right now we are in the middle of one of the biggest historic economic booms ever. Don't let the mainstream media or the Democrats tell you otherwise. Add on top of that falling gas prices and we've got a great economic situation. In addition, the fact that tax receipts jumped 20% shows us that the Bush tax cuts are working just as they intended too.
Second, the fact that so much money was confiscated by the federal government in a single 24 hour period tells us something else. The government has grown too big...and it has grown faster under a Republican administration and a Republican Congress than any other time. It may be safe to say that the conservative Reagan Revolution is officially dead among so called "conservative" politicians. Notice I said dead among conservative politicians. The conservative revolution continues among the people of the United States unfortunately it seems we have lost our voice within the Republican Party.
14 year old boy shoots home invader and saves mom.
Oh boy...I just love stories like this...
Ok here is what happened. A lady in Corpus Christi, Tx. was carrying her groceries into the house when a man forced her inside the house, tied her and her 14 year old son up and threatened to kill them.
the woman was able to loosen the binding and free her son, who got his father's revolver from a security box beneath the bed. As the man tried to break into the room where the two were and threatened to kill them both, the teen fired a shot through the door and hit the intruder in the head.
Thank God for gun right laws. If this had been somewhere where guns are illegal there would be a dead mother son combo right about now. Because the cops are not showing up until it is all over.
Ok here is what happened. A lady in Corpus Christi, Tx. was carrying her groceries into the house when a man forced her inside the house, tied her and her 14 year old son up and threatened to kill them.
the woman was able to loosen the binding and free her son, who got his father's revolver from a security box beneath the bed. As the man tried to break into the room where the two were and threatened to kill them both, the teen fired a shot through the door and hit the intruder in the head.
Thank God for gun right laws. If this had been somewhere where guns are illegal there would be a dead mother son combo right about now. Because the cops are not showing up until it is all over.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Back from the ATL
OK...I am back from the ATL. I got to say that is a real happening place down there... so much has been going on I don't even know where to begin??? We are less than a month away from the election and things are just not looking to good for republicans....or are they???
North Korea has the bomb!!! You knew this one was comming. I mean I am still trying to figure out why everyone is so stunned by North Korea making a nuke. The international community has only done everything short of putting the bomb together for them over the years.
So much to get today....so little time to do it...
But first its time for my college football picks.
North Korea has the bomb!!! You knew this one was comming. I mean I am still trying to figure out why everyone is so stunned by North Korea making a nuke. The international community has only done everything short of putting the bomb together for them over the years.
So much to get today....so little time to do it...
But first its time for my college football picks.
Country Boy's college picks of the week.
Well.... once again I continue to struggle on my picks... I broke even at 5-5 today against the spread. I am now 29-20 for the season against the spread.
Here is my pics for week 7.
game.......................................spread................................country boy's pick
1. Wake Forest vs NC State..............NC State by 3..........Take 3 Wake Forest.
2. Florida vs Auburn......................Florida by 2..................give 2 Florida
3. Ohio St. vs Michigan St..................Ohio St by 13...........take 23 Michigan St.
4. Vanderbilt vs Georgia....................Georgia by 14.........take 14 Vanderbuilt
5. Michigan vs Penn State...................Michigan by 6.......give 6 Michigan.
6. Indiana vs Iowa................................Iowa by 19.5..............take 19.5 Indiana
7. Mississippi vs Alabamba...................Alabamba by 16.......give 16 Alabamba
8. Arizona St vs USC..............................USC by 18.5..............give 18.5 USC
9. Ohio vs Illinois.....................................Illinois by 6...............give 6 Illinois
10. Cincinnatti vs Louisville................Louisville by 25............give 25 Cincinnatti
Here is my pics for week 7.
game.......................................spread................................country boy's pick
1. Wake Forest vs NC State..............NC State by 3..........Take 3 Wake Forest.
2. Florida vs Auburn......................Florida by 2..................give 2 Florida
3. Ohio St. vs Michigan St..................Ohio St by 13...........take 23 Michigan St.
4. Vanderbilt vs Georgia....................Georgia by 14.........take 14 Vanderbuilt
5. Michigan vs Penn State...................Michigan by 6.......give 6 Michigan.
6. Indiana vs Iowa................................Iowa by 19.5..............take 19.5 Indiana
7. Mississippi vs Alabamba...................Alabamba by 16.......give 16 Alabamba
8. Arizona St vs USC..............................USC by 18.5..............give 18.5 USC
9. Ohio vs Illinois.....................................Illinois by 6...............give 6 Illinois
10. Cincinnatti vs Louisville................Louisville by 25............give 25 Cincinnatti
The Nuclear Bomb and North Korea
O.K…so here we are....one of our biggest nightmares has become a reality. North Korea has made the nuclear bomb and has tested it!!!
So we can all forget about stopping Kim Jong-Il from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Forget about his missile tests a few months ago. Now he has done what many thought he would not do...he has tested a nuclear weapon. He set off the bomb. The world and the United States is now under a huge test, and the world will be watching, especially Iran, for our response.
The United States and the world were quick to condemn North Korea for the test. White House Spokesman Tony Snow issued this statement: "A North Korean nuclear test would constitute a provocative act in defiance of the will of the international community and of our call to refrain from actions that would aggravate tensions in northeast Asia."
South Korea is mad and issued similar statements...China is definitely upset with the situation and at one point said it may be at this time unimaginable to not use military force against North Korea. Of course they have backed away from that statement now.
Japan has probably had the smartest and best response to this crisis so far. Japan immediately sent air patrols up and airplanes to monitor radiation levels in the area. The Japanese also closed off there ports to all North Korean ships and are not allowing any North Korean nationals into Japan.
Countries around the world are issuing statements condemning the test. So what is going to happen next? What will be North Korea's punishment?
Well, only time will tell I guess, but as of now it doesn’t look like it is going to be much of anything and North Korea knows it. That's why Kim Jong Il pushed the button...he knows there aren't any consequences.
Oh sure, the U.S. says it will push for sanctions and push for China to do the same, but North Korea is already under military and economic sanctions that are not working. Of course they are not working because they are UN imposed sanctions.
Another thing, North Korea says they will not tolerate new sanctions and will declare war on any nation that imposes those sanction. So here is my question? If we go ahead and try to impose sanctions are we ready to use military action against North Korea to enforce these sanctions? More importantly, are we prepared to go to war with North Korea?
It is an important question, and one that needs to be answered and needs to be answered quickly. Regardless if we take a diplomatic approach to this crisis or not we must prepare for a possible attack and declaration of war from North Korea.
The most interesting reaction to this crisis may come from Russia. The Russian leadership said that this test is a signal for the United States to enter two-party talks with North Korea. Are you serious!!! That is what North Korea has been demanding before the tests took place! So, I guess that would make Russia's position one of appeasement.
So why does North Korea want two-party talks? Two reasons!
1. Any talks between just North Korea and the United States would legitimize the North Korean government and their power. It would make it appear that we are the only ones concerned with North Korea.
2. North Korea can't feed their own people, but a lot of U.S. money would help them. It is tough to demand money from the U.S. treasury and the taxpayers when there are four other parties in the room. It is much easier if you're only dealing with us. Let’s face it, it worked before for North Korea when Clinton was in office.
1994, in Switzerland, North Korea and the United States signed an agreement in which North Korea agreed to abandon his nuclear weapons program in exchange for us helping them build two nuclear power plants for energy purposes.
President Clinton also eased some of the economic sanctions against North Korea they also gave North Korea aide in the form of rice and grain. Kim Jong-Il was also rewarded with an official state visit from Madeleine Albright, which did absolutely no good.
Obviously that agreement wasn't worth a dime, since North Korea immediately broke it. When Bush took office they found that North Korea had been cheating on that agreement all along. North Korea was not using the nuclear power plants for power and was selling the grains that we were giving them taking that money to help build their nuclear weapons program.
It is the present Bush Administration that corrected our policy toward North Korea from one of appeasement during the Clinton Administration to one of dealing with North Korea sternly. That's what the six-party talks are for...to pressure North Korea into doing what they should be doing.
Interestingly enough, Democrat Minority Leader Harry Reid is now demanding one on one talks with North Korea. Once again the democrats have made their policy one of appeasement.
I myself believe this crisis can be solved diplomatically if done right. It will take 6 party talks to do it. However, we should also be prepared to use military force if necessary.
My biggest fear is not that North Korea will use the nuclear bomb. I don’t think they will. I do believe they would sell that bomb to the highest bidder. Someone like Al-Qaeda or Iran and there is no doubt in my mind that terrorists will use it if they had it.
So we can all forget about stopping Kim Jong-Il from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Forget about his missile tests a few months ago. Now he has done what many thought he would not do...he has tested a nuclear weapon. He set off the bomb. The world and the United States is now under a huge test, and the world will be watching, especially Iran, for our response.
The United States and the world were quick to condemn North Korea for the test. White House Spokesman Tony Snow issued this statement: "A North Korean nuclear test would constitute a provocative act in defiance of the will of the international community and of our call to refrain from actions that would aggravate tensions in northeast Asia."
South Korea is mad and issued similar statements...China is definitely upset with the situation and at one point said it may be at this time unimaginable to not use military force against North Korea. Of course they have backed away from that statement now.
Japan has probably had the smartest and best response to this crisis so far. Japan immediately sent air patrols up and airplanes to monitor radiation levels in the area. The Japanese also closed off there ports to all North Korean ships and are not allowing any North Korean nationals into Japan.
Countries around the world are issuing statements condemning the test. So what is going to happen next? What will be North Korea's punishment?
Well, only time will tell I guess, but as of now it doesn’t look like it is going to be much of anything and North Korea knows it. That's why Kim Jong Il pushed the button...he knows there aren't any consequences.
Oh sure, the U.S. says it will push for sanctions and push for China to do the same, but North Korea is already under military and economic sanctions that are not working. Of course they are not working because they are UN imposed sanctions.
Another thing, North Korea says they will not tolerate new sanctions and will declare war on any nation that imposes those sanction. So here is my question? If we go ahead and try to impose sanctions are we ready to use military action against North Korea to enforce these sanctions? More importantly, are we prepared to go to war with North Korea?
It is an important question, and one that needs to be answered and needs to be answered quickly. Regardless if we take a diplomatic approach to this crisis or not we must prepare for a possible attack and declaration of war from North Korea.
The most interesting reaction to this crisis may come from Russia. The Russian leadership said that this test is a signal for the United States to enter two-party talks with North Korea. Are you serious!!! That is what North Korea has been demanding before the tests took place! So, I guess that would make Russia's position one of appeasement.
So why does North Korea want two-party talks? Two reasons!
1. Any talks between just North Korea and the United States would legitimize the North Korean government and their power. It would make it appear that we are the only ones concerned with North Korea.
2. North Korea can't feed their own people, but a lot of U.S. money would help them. It is tough to demand money from the U.S. treasury and the taxpayers when there are four other parties in the room. It is much easier if you're only dealing with us. Let’s face it, it worked before for North Korea when Clinton was in office.
1994, in Switzerland, North Korea and the United States signed an agreement in which North Korea agreed to abandon his nuclear weapons program in exchange for us helping them build two nuclear power plants for energy purposes.
President Clinton also eased some of the economic sanctions against North Korea they also gave North Korea aide in the form of rice and grain. Kim Jong-Il was also rewarded with an official state visit from Madeleine Albright, which did absolutely no good.
Obviously that agreement wasn't worth a dime, since North Korea immediately broke it. When Bush took office they found that North Korea had been cheating on that agreement all along. North Korea was not using the nuclear power plants for power and was selling the grains that we were giving them taking that money to help build their nuclear weapons program.
It is the present Bush Administration that corrected our policy toward North Korea from one of appeasement during the Clinton Administration to one of dealing with North Korea sternly. That's what the six-party talks are for...to pressure North Korea into doing what they should be doing.
Interestingly enough, Democrat Minority Leader Harry Reid is now demanding one on one talks with North Korea. Once again the democrats have made their policy one of appeasement.
I myself believe this crisis can be solved diplomatically if done right. It will take 6 party talks to do it. However, we should also be prepared to use military force if necessary.
My biggest fear is not that North Korea will use the nuclear bomb. I don’t think they will. I do believe they would sell that bomb to the highest bidder. Someone like Al-Qaeda or Iran and there is no doubt in my mind that terrorists will use it if they had it.
I finally figured out why the Foley case makes me mad!
I have figured out why this whole Mark Foley scandal is got me so mad. It is because the Republicans are acting like Democrats. Perhaps that's been the problem with the Republicans for the last several years. They have been over spending like Democrats. They have been growing bigger government like Democrats. And now in the midst of a sex scandal, they continue to act like Democrats.
You know the Republican Party is supposed to be the party of family values. They are supposed to be the party of traditional moral values. And because of that republicans are held to higher standards than Democrats. We expect better from republicans.
Please, let’s not hear any more arguments about moral equivalency over this case. It is just not so in this one.
I have received numerous of e-mails over the last two days about how Democrat Barney Frank allegedly ran a homosexual prostitution ring out of his DC home. Also received e-mail trying to compare this scandal to the Bill Clinton and Monica situation, but it is just not the same. In those cases everyone involved was a consenting adult. In the Foley case we have a man pursuing a 16 year old teenage boy. This is far worse in my opinion.
Scandals involving pages in DC are not anything new. In 1983, Gerry Studds, a Democrat congressman from Massachusetts, and a Republican named Dan Crane, from my congressional district in Illinois, were both caught having sexual relations with pages. Crane was busted with a 17-year-old female, Studds with a 17-year-old male.
The republican congressman from Illinois Crane apologized for his actions and resigned his seat. He never got involved in politics again and is currently a dentist in Illinois. Congressman Studds however refused to apologize, and made the claim that his sexual encounter with the male page was nobody else's business. Congressman Studds took this 17-year-old boy to Morocco for their sexcapade, so that he wouldn't be violating any laws here at home. So what was the reaction of democrat voters in Massachusetts over this scandal? Well, the people of Massachusetts continued to re-elect Studds until he retired in 1996.
There also was not a Democrat House leader back then saying that the republican leadership had failed to protect the children that were entrusted to them as Nancy Pelosi is doing in the current scandal. In the Studds matter no Democrat suggested that the Democratic leadership be questioned as to what they knew about Studds' behavior, as Pelosi is doing now.
In fact Pelosi, who claims she's "for the children," was so outraged by the Studds scandal that she voted five times to make Studds a chairman of a congressional committee! And this is who's complaining about Dennis Hastert not doing enough in firing Foley immediately upon learning the content of IMs! Hypocricy is exhibited perfectly in the Democrat Party!
Trust me on this one. Pelosi's main concern is not protecting "the children." Her main concern now is maximizing the political advantage from this whole ordeal.
I still think that democrats and republicans knew or should have known that Mark Foley was preying on pages, and did little or nothing to stop it. Republicans were more concerned about loosing a seat in congress than getting rid of a sexual predator. Democrats were more concerned to holding on to the information until just the right time to destroy Foley and gain his seat instead of getting rid of a sexual predator. I'm sorry, but none of the excuses are working for me. In one of the many columns that I read on this issue the point was made that if a male congressman was writing a 16-year-old female page and asking for pictures, alarms would sound throughout Capitol Hill. Well, why not when a openly gay congressman asks for a picture from a 16-year-old male page? No red lights go off???
Right now I have had it. I am completely fed up with the Republican Party. My frustrations run way deeper than Mark Foley though. Over spending, immigration, and failure to privatize social security are just a few. Foley is just the tip of the iceberg.
One advantage that the Republicans used to hold over liberals and Democrats was their strong sense of traditional moral and family values. Can the Republican Party make that claim today? Did they take the steps necessary to protect young men in their charge from the advances of a seemingly predatory homosexual congressman?
No, I don’t want to hear the argument about what Democrats and Gerry Studds do or did. I know that Democrats excused the behavior of Ted Kennedy. I know that Bill Clinton was let off the hook for his conduct with Monica in the Oval Office ... and for the alleged rape of Juanita Broaderrick, which he has never to this day denied. They are Democrats; this kind of behavior is accepted for them. It is their pattern. Does this mean we have to now excuse the same actions for Republicans?
Unfortunately, there is just not much difference between the Democrat and Republican Parties any more.
Something extraordinary is going to have to happen in the next three weeks or so to keep the republicans in control of the House. Things could change, but as of right now I expect to see Democrats take control of the house and maybe the Senate this November. Stand by for Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Maybe some good might come out of a Republican defeat. Which scenario would you prefer? Would you rather have the Republicans gloating over another victory over the Democrats and thinking we must be doing it right we keep getting elected? Or would you rather have the Republicans in exile for two years wondering where they went wrong, and developing a plan to regain the support of the voters?
The choice is becoming increasingly clear for me.
You know the Republican Party is supposed to be the party of family values. They are supposed to be the party of traditional moral values. And because of that republicans are held to higher standards than Democrats. We expect better from republicans.
Please, let’s not hear any more arguments about moral equivalency over this case. It is just not so in this one.
I have received numerous of e-mails over the last two days about how Democrat Barney Frank allegedly ran a homosexual prostitution ring out of his DC home. Also received e-mail trying to compare this scandal to the Bill Clinton and Monica situation, but it is just not the same. In those cases everyone involved was a consenting adult. In the Foley case we have a man pursuing a 16 year old teenage boy. This is far worse in my opinion.
Scandals involving pages in DC are not anything new. In 1983, Gerry Studds, a Democrat congressman from Massachusetts, and a Republican named Dan Crane, from my congressional district in Illinois, were both caught having sexual relations with pages. Crane was busted with a 17-year-old female, Studds with a 17-year-old male.
The republican congressman from Illinois Crane apologized for his actions and resigned his seat. He never got involved in politics again and is currently a dentist in Illinois. Congressman Studds however refused to apologize, and made the claim that his sexual encounter with the male page was nobody else's business. Congressman Studds took this 17-year-old boy to Morocco for their sexcapade, so that he wouldn't be violating any laws here at home. So what was the reaction of democrat voters in Massachusetts over this scandal? Well, the people of Massachusetts continued to re-elect Studds until he retired in 1996.
There also was not a Democrat House leader back then saying that the republican leadership had failed to protect the children that were entrusted to them as Nancy Pelosi is doing in the current scandal. In the Studds matter no Democrat suggested that the Democratic leadership be questioned as to what they knew about Studds' behavior, as Pelosi is doing now.
In fact Pelosi, who claims she's "for the children," was so outraged by the Studds scandal that she voted five times to make Studds a chairman of a congressional committee! And this is who's complaining about Dennis Hastert not doing enough in firing Foley immediately upon learning the content of IMs! Hypocricy is exhibited perfectly in the Democrat Party!
Trust me on this one. Pelosi's main concern is not protecting "the children." Her main concern now is maximizing the political advantage from this whole ordeal.
I still think that democrats and republicans knew or should have known that Mark Foley was preying on pages, and did little or nothing to stop it. Republicans were more concerned about loosing a seat in congress than getting rid of a sexual predator. Democrats were more concerned to holding on to the information until just the right time to destroy Foley and gain his seat instead of getting rid of a sexual predator. I'm sorry, but none of the excuses are working for me. In one of the many columns that I read on this issue the point was made that if a male congressman was writing a 16-year-old female page and asking for pictures, alarms would sound throughout Capitol Hill. Well, why not when a openly gay congressman asks for a picture from a 16-year-old male page? No red lights go off???
Right now I have had it. I am completely fed up with the Republican Party. My frustrations run way deeper than Mark Foley though. Over spending, immigration, and failure to privatize social security are just a few. Foley is just the tip of the iceberg.
One advantage that the Republicans used to hold over liberals and Democrats was their strong sense of traditional moral and family values. Can the Republican Party make that claim today? Did they take the steps necessary to protect young men in their charge from the advances of a seemingly predatory homosexual congressman?
No, I don’t want to hear the argument about what Democrats and Gerry Studds do or did. I know that Democrats excused the behavior of Ted Kennedy. I know that Bill Clinton was let off the hook for his conduct with Monica in the Oval Office ... and for the alleged rape of Juanita Broaderrick, which he has never to this day denied. They are Democrats; this kind of behavior is accepted for them. It is their pattern. Does this mean we have to now excuse the same actions for Republicans?
Unfortunately, there is just not much difference between the Democrat and Republican Parties any more.
Something extraordinary is going to have to happen in the next three weeks or so to keep the republicans in control of the House. Things could change, but as of right now I expect to see Democrats take control of the house and maybe the Senate this November. Stand by for Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Maybe some good might come out of a Republican defeat. Which scenario would you prefer? Would you rather have the Republicans gloating over another victory over the Democrats and thinking we must be doing it right we keep getting elected? Or would you rather have the Republicans in exile for two years wondering where they went wrong, and developing a plan to regain the support of the voters?
The choice is becoming increasingly clear for me.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Blogging is light...
North Korea has nukes!!! Oh boy...that is not good... We as a country are in for a real test... I will give you my thoughts on it later.
Blogging is going to be light if at all. I am in Atlanta for some training. I will be back on Friday.
Blogging is going to be light if at all. I am in Atlanta for some training. I will be back on Friday.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
The weekend is here...time to get your yee haw!!!
About 2 weeks ago I showed you a picture of John Kerry at an Iowa football game with a beer bong and mentioned that there is probably some pictures of me floating around like that somewhere. Well here is one from Darlington, South Carolina sent to me from a friend. He points out that unlike John Kerry, I actually have a beer for the beer bong...
Country Boy's College Football picks of the week.
It was another not so hot week for me. I went 5-4 against the spread for the week and I am now 24-15 for the season.
Here are my pics for week 6
game.........................................spread..............................country boy's pick
1. Maryland vs Georgia Tech.......Ga. Tech by 14...........give 14 Ga. Tech
2. Ohio St vs Bowling Green.........Ohio St by 36.5...........give 36.5 Ohio St
3. Stanford vs Notre Dame..........Notre Dame by 29.5....take 29.5 Stanford
4. LSU vs Florida................................even.................................Florida
5. Oklahoma vs Texas........................Texas by 3.5................give 3.5 Texas
6. Michigan St vs Michigan................Michigan by 15............take 15 Michigan St.
7. Tennessee vs Georgia....................Tenn by 2.5.................take 2.5 Georgia
8. Oregon vs California......................calif by 5........................give 5 Calif
9. West Virginia vs Miss St.................West virg by 20.5........take 20.5 Miss St
10. Washington St vs Oregon St.......Washington st by 3.5.....take 3.5 Oregon St.
Here are my pics for week 6
game.........................................spread..............................country boy's pick
1. Maryland vs Georgia Tech.......Ga. Tech by 14...........give 14 Ga. Tech
2. Ohio St vs Bowling Green.........Ohio St by 36.5...........give 36.5 Ohio St
3. Stanford vs Notre Dame..........Notre Dame by 29.5....take 29.5 Stanford
4. LSU vs Florida................................even.................................Florida
5. Oklahoma vs Texas........................Texas by 3.5................give 3.5 Texas
6. Michigan St vs Michigan................Michigan by 15............take 15 Michigan St.
7. Tennessee vs Georgia....................Tenn by 2.5.................take 2.5 Georgia
8. Oregon vs California......................calif by 5........................give 5 Calif
9. West Virginia vs Miss St.................West virg by 20.5........take 20.5 Miss St
10. Washington St vs Oregon St.......Washington st by 3.5.....take 3.5 Oregon St.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Mark Foley sex scandal shows my ever growing disgust with both Republicans and Democrats.
Unless you have been living under a rock since Friday, you definitely have heard about Florida Republican Congressman Mark Foley.
Mark Foley resigned from the congress on Friday after the scandal of an inappropriate relationship between Foley and a former 16 year old congressional page surfaced. It would seem that Mark Foley is what we call a sexual predator who likes teenaged boys.
The story is that Mark Foley has been sending rather suggestive emails and text messages to former Congressional pages. Now there truly is no reason to go into great detail of the content of those messages here, as they are rather sick, disturbing, and disgusting stuff. However here is an idea of the sick perversion that we are dealing with from Mark Foley. Foley asked these teenage boys for pictures of themselves. In one conversation he asked the young boy if his messaging was making him horny. He asked another young boy, who wrote that he and his girlfriend has broken up "..did you spank it this weekend yourself?" Foley then went into a lengthy discussion with this boy about masturbation. Like I said, rather sick, disturbing and disgusting stuff.
There have been many news accounts that the House Republican leadership knew of Foley's actions for perhaps a year or more. Some have said that the Speaker of the House Republican Dennis Hastert of Illinois knew about, what is been called, “overly friendly e-mails” to congressional pages since 2001 ... and did NOTHING about it!!!!
Here we have a case where you have a sexual predator preying on young, under-aged teenage boys and the Republican leadership knew it! And did nothing unless you consider telling Foley to knock it off and lay low as doing something ... but that simply does not work for me.
Look these people are lawmakers. As soon as they learned of Foley's actions they should have turned the information over to the proper authorities for a full investigation of Mark Foley. For al they knew this email interaction might have been the tip of the iceberg, and you can not tell me that there were not conversations among House leadership as to whether or not there were other young men involved, and whether or not any had been physically violated by Foley.
Another thing that isn't being reported is that Democrats more than likely knew about Mark Foley as well. The Republicans kept quite in the hopes that the scandal would just go away. But if the Democrats knew why didn't they expose Foley months ago ... maybe last year? Could it be said, that Democrats decided to wait to expose Foley for their own political opportunity??? I think so. Did they hold on to this information until it was effectively too late for the Republicans to salvage that House seat with a replacement candidate? It seems very plausible with the election being less than five weeks away.
This whole case is disgusting as hell to me. We are talking about a 52 year old man having sexually explicit discussions with 16-year-old boys over whom he exercised some degree of authority. This is not a situation that calls for covering your party's political rear end. It is also not a time to withhold information to use later to exploit your political enemies. This is a situation that calls for the involvement of law enforcement right away…not when it is convenient.
In my opinion it is clear that the Republican House leadership knew something was going on here, and decided to lay low and try to exercise some control over Foley. I also believe that the Democrat leadership also knew what was going on and decided to withhold the information until it was in their best political interests to reveal it, which is exactly what they did. After all, if you are a republican it is better to keep the house than to turn in a sexual predator, and if you are a democrat better to try an exploit your enemies to try and gain control of the house than turn in a sexual predator.
Simply disgusting politics! This whole Mark Foley sex scandal shows my ever growing disgust for both the republican and democrat parties. Of course, I have been disgusted with democrats for years on end now.
Mark Foley resigned from the congress on Friday after the scandal of an inappropriate relationship between Foley and a former 16 year old congressional page surfaced. It would seem that Mark Foley is what we call a sexual predator who likes teenaged boys.
The story is that Mark Foley has been sending rather suggestive emails and text messages to former Congressional pages. Now there truly is no reason to go into great detail of the content of those messages here, as they are rather sick, disturbing, and disgusting stuff. However here is an idea of the sick perversion that we are dealing with from Mark Foley. Foley asked these teenage boys for pictures of themselves. In one conversation he asked the young boy if his messaging was making him horny. He asked another young boy, who wrote that he and his girlfriend has broken up "..did you spank it this weekend yourself?" Foley then went into a lengthy discussion with this boy about masturbation. Like I said, rather sick, disturbing and disgusting stuff.
There have been many news accounts that the House Republican leadership knew of Foley's actions for perhaps a year or more. Some have said that the Speaker of the House Republican Dennis Hastert of Illinois knew about, what is been called, “overly friendly e-mails” to congressional pages since 2001 ... and did NOTHING about it!!!!
Here we have a case where you have a sexual predator preying on young, under-aged teenage boys and the Republican leadership knew it! And did nothing unless you consider telling Foley to knock it off and lay low as doing something ... but that simply does not work for me.
Look these people are lawmakers. As soon as they learned of Foley's actions they should have turned the information over to the proper authorities for a full investigation of Mark Foley. For al they knew this email interaction might have been the tip of the iceberg, and you can not tell me that there were not conversations among House leadership as to whether or not there were other young men involved, and whether or not any had been physically violated by Foley.
Another thing that isn't being reported is that Democrats more than likely knew about Mark Foley as well. The Republicans kept quite in the hopes that the scandal would just go away. But if the Democrats knew why didn't they expose Foley months ago ... maybe last year? Could it be said, that Democrats decided to wait to expose Foley for their own political opportunity??? I think so. Did they hold on to this information until it was effectively too late for the Republicans to salvage that House seat with a replacement candidate? It seems very plausible with the election being less than five weeks away.
This whole case is disgusting as hell to me. We are talking about a 52 year old man having sexually explicit discussions with 16-year-old boys over whom he exercised some degree of authority. This is not a situation that calls for covering your party's political rear end. It is also not a time to withhold information to use later to exploit your political enemies. This is a situation that calls for the involvement of law enforcement right away…not when it is convenient.
In my opinion it is clear that the Republican House leadership knew something was going on here, and decided to lay low and try to exercise some control over Foley. I also believe that the Democrat leadership also knew what was going on and decided to withhold the information until it was in their best political interests to reveal it, which is exactly what they did. After all, if you are a republican it is better to keep the house than to turn in a sexual predator, and if you are a democrat better to try an exploit your enemies to try and gain control of the house than turn in a sexual predator.
Simply disgusting politics! This whole Mark Foley sex scandal shows my ever growing disgust for both the republican and democrat parties. Of course, I have been disgusted with democrats for years on end now.
Republican’s ridiculous online gambling bill.
Here is just another reason that Republicans do not deserve to regain control of the house. Could some one please tell me what right does the Federal Government of the United States have to tell a private business, a credit card company or a bank, that they cannot process payments that settle gambling bets made on the Internet? Well the congress has passed a bill that is expected to be signed by President Bush that would do just that.
Sorry folks, I don’t care what you think about gambling. Maybe you think gambling is too risky, or maybe you think gambling is a sin. It doesn’t matter, this bill is ridiculous…and here is why.
When someone places a bet on the Internet nobody's rights are being violated. No one is being denied their right to life, liberty or property through the placement of that bet. There is no role for the government to play here. This really comes down to freedom. Either we are free, or we serve as subjects to the government.
This is where the libertarian in me really gets ticked off. We in this country at some point are going to have to make up our minds. Either we are going to move toward freedom, or we are going to continue moving toward a system where the particular group in power gets to force its moral code on all of us by using the power of government legislation with bills like this.
People who support this bill will tell you that families are hurt by their breadwinners loosing all of their money on Internet gambling…True…but people also loose money on investments and stocks. Should we make those activities illegal as well? Maybe we should sit down and make a list of all of the human activities that can end up hurting families?
What about eating fast food and fatty foods? It is proven that people with a high diet of this stuff are more likely to have health problems and, in many cases early death. My God, looks like we have a negative affect on the family here, don't we? Why we need a federal law banning fatty foods.
Let's see... how about drinking. How many families have been ruined by the bottle? How many drunks have spent half the rent or mortgage at the bar? Maybe, we should make alcohol illegal.
Oh wait they already tried that with alcohol it was called prohibition. We know how that worked out.
The same thing will happen with gambling. People who gamble will continue to gamble they will just have to go back to doing it the way they did it before, illegally. They will find bookies to bet on sports in the underground crime world that is ran by the mob and other gangsters.
At least when gambling was legal online there was a safe place to do it. Now, we will have increased crime. You think a bookie is just going to take an IOU??? Oh sure he will for a while, until you are so far in the hole. Then it is either time to pay up, do him a favor, or find your body in the back of a trunk.
So now not only is gambling be a potential burden on families, it is a potential burden on society through increased crime. Way to go republicans.
Sorry folks, I don’t care what you think about gambling. Maybe you think gambling is too risky, or maybe you think gambling is a sin. It doesn’t matter, this bill is ridiculous…and here is why.
When someone places a bet on the Internet nobody's rights are being violated. No one is being denied their right to life, liberty or property through the placement of that bet. There is no role for the government to play here. This really comes down to freedom. Either we are free, or we serve as subjects to the government.
This is where the libertarian in me really gets ticked off. We in this country at some point are going to have to make up our minds. Either we are going to move toward freedom, or we are going to continue moving toward a system where the particular group in power gets to force its moral code on all of us by using the power of government legislation with bills like this.
People who support this bill will tell you that families are hurt by their breadwinners loosing all of their money on Internet gambling…True…but people also loose money on investments and stocks. Should we make those activities illegal as well? Maybe we should sit down and make a list of all of the human activities that can end up hurting families?
What about eating fast food and fatty foods? It is proven that people with a high diet of this stuff are more likely to have health problems and, in many cases early death. My God, looks like we have a negative affect on the family here, don't we? Why we need a federal law banning fatty foods.
Let's see... how about drinking. How many families have been ruined by the bottle? How many drunks have spent half the rent or mortgage at the bar? Maybe, we should make alcohol illegal.
Oh wait they already tried that with alcohol it was called prohibition. We know how that worked out.
The same thing will happen with gambling. People who gamble will continue to gamble they will just have to go back to doing it the way they did it before, illegally. They will find bookies to bet on sports in the underground crime world that is ran by the mob and other gangsters.
At least when gambling was legal online there was a safe place to do it. Now, we will have increased crime. You think a bookie is just going to take an IOU??? Oh sure he will for a while, until you are so far in the hole. Then it is either time to pay up, do him a favor, or find your body in the back of a trunk.
So now not only is gambling be a potential burden on families, it is a potential burden on society through increased crime. Way to go republicans.
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