Mayday Mayday – Fred Thompson just lost some points with me.

The Conservative Cajun reminds us that Mayday is National Mobilization to Support Immigrant Workers! He writes:

Tomorrow is May Day 2007 for the National Immigrant Solidarity Network. That means tomorrow, hundreds of thousands of “immigrants rights” groups are going to be protesting in the streets of major U.S. cities, including Dallas and Los Angeles.
Therefore, tomorrow should be a perfect day for rounding up and deporting illegal aliens. But that won’t happen, because our politicians lack the intestinal fortitude to do so (LINK)

In the comments led me to this Fox News interview with Fred Thompson. Thompson is for amnesty!

WALLACE: You also favor comprehensive immigration reform. I want to...

THOMPSON: No, no, no, no.

WALLACE: Well, let me put up on the screen something that you said last year about illegals, and let's take a look at it. "You're going to have to, in some way, work out a deal where they can have some aspirations of citizenship but not make it so easy that it's unfair to the people waiting in line and abiding by the law."

Now, you said, "Look, it's just not realistic that we're going to round up 12 million people and ship them all out of the country."

THOMPSON: Well, that's true, as a general statement. We woke up one day after years of neglect and apparently discovered that we have somewhere between 12 million and 20 million illegal aliens in this country. So it became an impossible situation to deal with.

I mean, there's really no good solution. So what do you do? You have to start over. Well, I'm concerned about the next 12 million or 20 million. So that's why enforcement, and enforcement at the border, has to be primary.(LINK)

Sure Fred...Securing the boarder is first, then make it impossible for them to get a job. Round up the ones that are left. If Fred is wanting to reward illegals with amnesty he has lost points with me.

Duncan Hunter is the Man!

Taking Lowell to the Woodshed

This weekend we saw a coordinated attack on Regent University and AG Bob McDonnell. Two blogs, NLS and Raising Kaine had similar posts on the subject. Charlie at Goodsense was the first to respond with this post. The Mason Conservative has a butt kicking post about it here.

I was amazed when I first read the attack on a Virginia University. I can say nothing surprises me about Lowell Feld. The disrespect he has shown in the past towards Christianity speaks for itself. Lowell makes fun of Regent and its students. Pitiful.

Don't expect to see Lowell make these statements in public, in a face to face situation. He wont be speaking face to face with Regent students or church groups. He most likely will not be attending bipartisan events so you can call him out and challenge his anti Christian speech. Madonna Feld likes the security of his keyboard. His keyboard always agrees with him.

So once again I copy the hate filled posts and comments at Raising Kaine and show them to my church and coworkers. I have now enlisted a few coworkers from Dickenson County to help spread Lowell's message to their churches. Maybe Brian Patton will help carry the news also.

McDonnell's education is impeccable. He attended college and passed the Virginia Bar. Thats more than my old buddy JC Wilemore can say. More on Lowell Feld here.

Lowell should ask Louisiana State Senator (D) Sharon Weston Broome why she went to Regent. I suggest you email her like I am. Or National Middle School Principal of the Year, Sharon Byrdsong (Ed.D. candidate). National School Board Association Black Caucus’s Educational Leadership Award and National Milken Award Winner, Doreatha White (GLE '01). Virginia’s Preserve America History Teacher of the Year, Molly Gunsalus (Edu '01).

The Barter Theatre - Bloggers - Good Times

A few weeks ago a select group of bloggers met in Abingdon, Virginia. The purpose was to enjoy each others company and talk politics. I wanted to catch a play at The Barter Theatre so I had tickets waiting. I took a little heat from the group about wanting to do this and I was worried the play would suck and that heat would turn to angst. We saw The Quiltmaker by Catherine Bush, author of Other Side of the Mountain and I’ll Never Be Hungry Again. About the play:

Mud Creek, Kentucky is experiencing a major drug problem, which Sheriff Ham Terhune intends to correct. Who better than the lovable and nefarious Jackson Bennett, home from the federal penitentiary, newly married and reformed bootlegger, to find these drug dealers? However, Ida May Combs, Jackson’s grandmother-in-law has other thoughts in this unforgettable tale of mountain life and the blood of family bonds.

Unforgettable indeed! The play was very funny with a dark truth about the area that I live. Here is a video clip.

One of my fellow bloggers said “I would love to watch this again.” Well sir I did. I took my parents to see the play before it closed. It was just as good the second time! If you ever get a chance to visit the Barter don't turn it down. I made myself a promise to catch a new play every 6 weeks this summer. I have plans to see “Dont Hug Me” soon.

Speed Test-I Be Cookin Now!

This is what I am talking about!

Last Result:

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Join Team Duncan Hunter

Joe has a post about Duncan Hunter debate watching parties. I will be hosting one. If you would like to attend drop me line for info. The podium assignments for the May 3rd debate has been released and Duncan is center stage!

More about Duncan Hunter

My favorite magazine has a great article on Duncan Hunter titled Duncan Hunter—The Class of Reagan. Here is a taste:

A true Patriot, Hunter proclaims, “America is a great nation because America is a good nation. God still loves this nation. We are still a people of character and strength and kindness. And so with faith in God, with confidence in the goodness of the American people, let’s win this race for the United States presidency.”

A veteran of the 1980 congressional “Class of Reagan,” Duncan Hunter is a standout worthy of serious consideration by conservative voters, not only because of his aforementioned qualifications, but because one has to spend only a minute with him to know what achievement he counts above all others—his 33 years of marriage to his wife, Lynne, and the two sons and four grandchildren that are the product of that marriage. Duncan is a family man above all.

It is a good read so check it out. I respect a man who is not ashamed of his faith in God. That faith has a rich tradition.

And have we now forgotten that powerful Friend? or do we imagine we no longer need its assistance? I have lived, Sir, a long time; and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this Truth, that God governs in the Affairs of Men. And if a Sparrow cannot fall to the Ground without his Notice, is it probable that an Empire can rise without his Aid?
-- Benjamin Franklin (Motion for Prayers in the Constitutional Convention, 28 June 1787)

Hunter also gets the quote of the week! He spanks Harry (CODE PINK) Reid.

“One thing that [Iraqi war theater commander Gen. David Petraeus] reminded us was, this [war] is a test of wills, and he admonished us... that what we say to the world, to our adversaries and our allies, is listened to by the other side... It must come as a shock to al-Qa’ida leaders to have an aide come into their safe house and tell them that Senator [Harry] Reid has declared that, in fact, they are winning and the war is lost. I think it’s highly irresponsible for the leader of the U.S. Senate to have said that and, just speaking for myself as the ranking Republican on the Armed Services Committee, I think that the leader of the Senate should step down from that position.” —Congressman Duncan Hunter, California Republican, on Wednesday, after Gen. Petraeus’ closed-door congressional briefing sessions

Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) - A Lying Jackass?

It looks like it to me. Democratic poster boy Murtha tried and convicted the American heroes of Kilo Company Marines on national tv. Here is the clip. Now we see he was wrong....very wrong.

Much of that evidence remains classified, but it includes videos of the entire day's action, including airstrikes against insurgent safe houses. Also included was all of the radio traffic describing the ongoing action between the men on the ground and battalion headquarters, and proof that the Marines were aware that the insurgents conducting the ambush of the Kilo Company troops were videotaping the action — the same video that after editing ended up in the hands of a gullible anti-war correspondent for Time magazine. (LINK)

Charges are being dropped. Murtha is a joke, just like Code Pink Harry. The troops and the families will remember!

Hat Tip to STD.

Duncan Hunter Blasts Harry (Code Pink) Reid

"Currently, there are about 146,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. When the reinforcement operation is at full strength, this number will stand at approximately 157,000. How can anyone, including a United States Senator, possibly declare as a failure a reinforcement operation that is less than fifty percent complete?"

"my highest obligation is, like yours, owed to our forces in uniform, especially during this time of war."

"Given your position of leadership within the United States Government, I find your pronouncement of failure irresponsible and disserving to America's armed forces. In light of the fact that this statement has both been used by our adversaries and has exhibited a marked lack of leadership to U.S. troops, I call on you to resign your leadership position," concluded Hunter. "It must come as a shock to Al Qaeda leaders to have an aide come into their safe house and tell them that Senator Reid has declared that, in fact, they are winning and the war is lost," Hunter said. "I think it's highly irresponsible for the leader of the U.S. Senate to have said that and, just speaking for myself as the ranking Republican on the Armed Services Committee, I think that the leader of the Senate should step down from that position."

I am glad Harry Reid and the others were not around on December 7^th, 1941. America would have surrendered the following day. The troops and their families will remember.

More Here - Here - and Here.

Technorati : Duncan Hunter, Iraq, Iraq War, Islamic Extremism, Military, War

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Moments in Time

I lost a good friend this morning. My friend Dave was 40 years old, two years younger than me. This friendship has lasted close to thirty years. We grew up within spitting distance of each other. Played ball, fished and hunted deer together. He died less than a quarter mile from where we grew up. I saw or talked to Dave almost daily. When you have something in your life for thirty years you sure do hate to lose it.

Moments in time they shared together,
Moments in time between two friends.
Dancing on that old van with their shirts wide open,
That was a moment in time they swore they were blood brothers until the end. (JM)

Dave would have laughed if he knew I put a picture of him on the internets. The tales I could tell are best left unspoken. Rest in peace brother. I will miss you.

A Message for Harry Reid from Corporal Tyler Rock - downtown Ramadi

Pat Dollard has the story. They are talking at Free Republic.

“yeah and i got a qoute for that douche harry reid. these families need us here. obviously he has never been in iraq. or atleast the area worth seeing. the parts where insurgency is rampant and the buildings are blown to pieces. we need to stay here and help rebuild. if iraq didnt want us here then why do we have IP’s voluntering everyday to rebuild their cities. and working directly with us too. same with the IA’s. it sucks that iraqi’s have more patriotism for a country that has turned to complete shit more than the people in america who drink starbucks everyday. we could leave this place and say we are sorry to the terrorists. and then we could wait for 3,000 more american civilians to die before we say “hey thats not nice” again. and the sad thing is after we WIN this war. people like him will say he was there for us the whole time.” Read more .

The troops will remember!

Duncan Hunter - Porkbuster!

Candidate Duncan Hunter has a post up at Porkbusters. He has some good advice for conservatives:

I really appreciate that because Porkbusters, the Club for Growth, and the rest of the blogosphere have provided an invaluable service for American taxpayers by highlighting wasteful spending and working to get it cut out of the budget. There have been a few Republican politicians who seem to have a problem with that, but I'm not one of them. That being said, I'm sure we do have a few areas of disagreement. There will be programs that Porkbusters opposed that I supported, differences in opinion over some issues, and policies that we don't see eye to eye on. However, I've found that we conservatives, especially over the last couple of years, have spent too much time looking for ways to split ourselves apart and not enough time talking about where we agree.

Check it out

Technorati : Duncan Hunter, Politics

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Gun Free Household

Please display this banner if you are seriously against Second Amendment rights! Let the world know how you feel by having this banner on your door or window. "Non-gun-owning households depend on gun-owning households for their protection because criminals don't know the difference -- unless they put one of these on the door."

I choose this for myself and family.

No free man shall be debarred the use of arms. -Thomas Jefferson

Americans have the right and advantage of being armed. -James Madison

The great object is that every man be armed. Everyone who is able may have a gun. -Patrick Henry

Alton is asking the question here. Jerry tells us how he feels. BVBL has the words of a Virginia Tech student.

Another Sad Story - Two Miners Dead

Both men were found in the cabs of the excavator and dozer they were operating.

One body was found in a backhoe the man had been operating Tuesday when the two were buried beneath at least 45 feet of debris, said Bob Cornett, acting regional director for the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration. The second body was found inside a bulldozer a few hours later, he said. Cornett said the men appeared to have died instantly. "With the extensive damage I saw on the equipment, I don't think that we worried whether they suffocated to death," he said. LINK

4/16/2007

Hey God I just lost a dear old friend
Hey God I hope he’s in your angel band
Hey God you know he believed in you
Just help me understand why you do the things you do

Hey God send me down some comfort please
Hey God I’ll be down here on my knees
Hey God will we ever comprehend
The forgiveness and grace that lies waiting in the end

Oh there’s anger and tears
For all of the years that your children won’t have you to hold
Oh my heart has been broken
The angels have spoken still I wish I could watch you grow old

Hey God I know he didn’t die alone
Hey God tell my old friend welcome home
Hey God please hear me when I pray
Pray for a little peace ‘til we meet again someday
(Vince Gill)

The Trapped Miners - Getting Closer

The workers are getting close now. I am praying for a miracle. Can you imagine looking at this mass of earth...knowing your Husband, Father, Brother, was covered...I am heartbroken for these families.
One Miner Found
Updated: 4/20/2007 12:25 PM EDT

• The body of one of the missing miners has been found. The name of the miner will be released pending complete notification of the family.
• Work continues to locate the second missing miner.

Updated: 4/19/2007 11:00 PM EST

• Before 10 p.m. EDT Thursday, while removing material from the excavator, rescue crews also located the bulldozer.

Updated: 4/19/2007 10:00 PM EST

• Work continues to uncover the metal-tracked backhoe excavator.

Updated: 4/19/2007 8:05 PM EST

• At 6:10 p.m. EDT, rescue workers reached the back end of the missing metal-tracked backhoe excavator.

Updated: 4/19/2007 5:20 PM EST

• The material continues to be removed, at a rate of 20-25 truckloads per hour.


• Additional material, including some large rocks, continues to dribble into the work area. Some large rocks are proving difficult to manipulate with the shovel.

Updated: 4/19/2007 1:05 PM EST

• The shovel has loaded a number of trucks since resuming operations around 9 a.m. Thursday.


• The shovel has experienced difficulty in repositioning due to fallen material. Some rubble continues to slump into the work zone as material is loaded. To address this issue, a bulldozer and a front-end loader are being used to clear the area surrounding the shovel.

We Are Virginia Tech - The Hokie Nation Will Prevail

Shad Planking - The Virginia Tech Hokie Nation was there!

Yesterday was the 59th Annual Shad Planking in Wakefield, Virginia. I had a couple good friends there in Alton and Spanky. Vivian Paige was also there. I have never met Vivian but I do admire her writing. Take a couple minutes to read Vivian's and Spank's posts about the event. Thanks go out to you two for the great reports!

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR BOLLING’S REMARKS TO THE 59TH(as prepared) ANNUAL SHAD PLANKING

Thank you all very much and good afternoon.

What a pleasure it is to be back at the Shad Planking, Virginia’s annual political rite of spring.

I want to thank the Wakefield Ruritan’s Club for inviting me to be here today and giving me a chance to serve as the keynote speaker for this year’s event. I’ve enjoyed attending this event for many years, but you honor me greatly today by giving me a chance to stand atop this old flatbed trailer and give the keynote address.

And I want to thank the Ruritans, here in Wakefield and hundreds of other places all across Virginia, for the hard work you do every day to reach out and serve your community. You do good work, and that sense of community spirit is one of the things that make Virginia a very special place.

I want to thank my good friend and colleague Fred Quayle for being here today to introduce me. I have served with Fred Quayle in state government for the past 12 years, and I can tell you that he does a great job representing the people of the 13th district in the State Senate.

Now my friends, I know that this is supposed to be a light hearted event and the keynote speaker generally takes his time to poke fun at our state’s politicos and fire up the crowd for the fall campaigns. I assure you that I had a number of very good zingers all lined up for you today, but quite frankly, in light of the events of the past few days, this is not a time for light heartedness and poking fun. So, I want to spend my time this afternoon speaking to you from the bottom of my heart about a much more serious situation.

Needless to say, this is a difficult time for our Commonwealth.

On Monday of this week a young man who obviously had many deep and dark problems went on a shooting spree on the campus of Virginia Tech and killed 32 innocent people.

I have served in the public life of this Commonwealth for the past 16 years, and I can honestly tell you that the past two days have been the most difficult days of that service.

We’ve heard of tragedies of this nature before, in other places, but we never thought they could strike here, not in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and certainly not on the peaceful, safe, rural campus of a great University like Virginia Tech.

But the truth is that events of this nature can occur anywhere at anytime, and the shootings on the Virginia Tech campus vividly remind us that we not immune from these events.

Virginia Tech is one of our nation’s finest institutions of higher education. The students, faculty, staff and alumni of Virginia Tech are a close family, and as the father of a 2006 graduate of Virginia Tech, I consider myself a part of that family as well. In difficult times families pull together, and I have no doubt that the Virginia Tech family will pull together as well in this difficult time.

Likewise, the people of Virginia are a resilient people, and I have no doubt that we will pull together in this difficult time, but the truth is that there is a big hole in the heart of Virginia today.

It is said that tragedies and the difficult times of life make us stronger, and I believe that’s true. By relying on our faith, our families and friends, I am confident that we will endue these present troubles, and emerge from this tragedy stronger that ever.

Yesterday I had the honor of traveling to Blacksburg to attend a Memorial Service with President Bush and Governor Kaine. It was a wonderful event, and it showed the persistent Hokie pride and spirit like it has never been showed before. I was proud to there, and I was proud to be a Hokie.

While there I had a chance to meet with some of the families who lost loved ones in Monday’s shooting, and their stories are just beginning to emerge.

And I can tell you that the magnitude of this event does not sink in until you look into eyes of moms and dads, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, who have lost loved ones.

We’ve learned the story of Liviu Librescu, a 76 year old internationally respected aeronautical engineer. Mr. Librescu was a survivor of the Holocaust, and was gunned down while he tried to barricade a door to save his students.

We’ve learned the story of Ryan Clark, a 22 year old Resident Assistant, who we believe was killed when he responded to the first shooting in the Ambler Johnston Residence Hall, trying to assist another student who was also killed.

We’ve learned the story of Jarrett Lane, a senior civil engineering major who was the Valedictorian of his class in Narrows, Virginia. His friends described him as “fun loving” and “full of spirt”, and they said that “he had a caring heart and was a friend to everyone he met.”

These victims, and 29 others, did nothing to deserve their fate, and there is nothing or no one who was responsible for the fate other than the evil that entered the heart of the one who committed this senseless act.

Today, as we gather together in this field we must remember them, for that is the thing that matters most.

In the face of a tragedy of this nature it is natural for us to look for an explanation for why things like this happen, but there is no explanation that will suffice.

Time will tell what prompted someone to commit these senseless acts, and there are a number of questions that have been raised about what, if anything could have been done to prevent these acts or reduce their magnitude. These are legitimate questions and I assure you that we will find answers to these questions when the investigation has been completed, but this is not the time for questions – this is a time for hurting and crying and mourning and supporting those who need our help.

In his Word God does not tell us that we will be immune from difficulties of this nature, but he does promise that He will enable us to endure them and overcome them if we rely on Him.

I have been reminded of this many times in these past three days.

In 1968, Robert Kennedy, in speaking at a Memorial Service for Dr. Martin Luther King, quoted the Greek play writer Aeschylus, who said, ‘In our sleep, pain that we cannot forget falls drop by drop upon our hearts, and in our despair, and against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.’

I have been reminded of those words many times in these past three days.

And in a more contemporary song, one of America’s favorite bands, The Eagles, sing these words that I have also been reminded of often:

There’s a hole in the world tonight

A hole of pain and sorrow

There’s a hole in the world tonight

Don’t let there be a hole in the world tomorrow

Yes, this is a time of hurting, pain, crying and mourning – and there is a hold in our world today - but if we do our work right, it can also be a time of coming together and of strength.

Now I want to ask you all to help me with something. I’d like to ask that you turn to the person next to you and ask that they quiet themselves for a moment of silence in honor and memory of those who lost their lives at Virginia Tech on Monday.

PAUSE FOR A MOMENT OF SILENCE

My friends we are all Virginians, and today we are all Hokies!

May God bless you all.

Missing Miners - Update

Fact Sheet on MSHA’s Rescue Efforts at Tri-Star Mining Inc.’s Job No. 3 Mine in Garrett County, Md.

Updated: 4/18/2007 11:50PM EST

• Material continues to be removed at a rate of 25 to 30 trucks per hour.


• It is estimated that approximately 50% of the material necessary to reach the covered machines has been removed.

Last updated: 4/18/2007 6:45EST

• MSHA was notified at the time of the accident Tuesday morning that material from a highwall collapsed onto a shovel and bulldozer around 10:15 a.m. EDT. MSHA was on-site at the time of the accident conducting a close-out conference of a recent inspection.


• There has been no communication with the two operators of either machine since the highwall collapsed.


• The highwall that collapsed was 100-125 feet high.


• MSHA provided a Family Liaison once it was notified of the accident to assist family members that may travel to the mine.


• As of 8 a.m. Wednesday, material has been removed at a rate of 25 to 35 truckloads (with 100-ton capacities) per hour since 6 p.m. Tuesday. The highwall remains unstable, which has interrupted loading of the material at times.


• The rescue operation is continuing and material continues to be loaded and hauled away from the site.


• There are concerns that the highwall above the rescue site is becoming more unstable.

Two Miners Missing

While Kilo and I continue to remain in prayer for all those affected by the senseless killing at Virginia Tech we are also keeping prayers going for two missing coal miners believed buried beneath 75 feet of rock and dirt from a collapsed wall of an open pit mine in the Western Maryland mountains, near Barton. There are two unaccounted for miners believed to be buried along with a shovel and a bulldozer under of the debris of the highwall which was upwards of 75 feet tall. At this point they are looking at this as a rescue effort and not a recovery job. This means that there is still hope and so we hope.

Technorati : Coal miners, coal, mining

One Right Answer

On a day with so many questions Kilo and I believe that we have one right answer for this nation.

Technorati : Duncan Hunter, Virginia Tech

Hokie Nation

Illustration by Aaron Tinsley
Matthew 11:27-30

27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Virginia Tech

Tragedy, Rampage, Bloodbath, Massacre, Gunfire, Anguish, Death

These are words that should never be mentioned in the same sentence with words like campus, college, students.

Kilo and I are in prayer for all those involved in one way or another with this horrific situation. As one Virginia Tech student Megan says " my heart is in my toes."

Technorati : Virginia Tech

Mike Reagan on Fred Thompson - The walls between Thompson and the White House

Reagan addresses some issues surrounding the Fred Thompson movement. His Cancer and Thompson's statements about how he does not have to campaign. He plans a absentee candidacy.

"Fred Thompson all but shrugged off that burden when he appeared on Neil Cavuto’s show Wednesday, implying that his solid conservative message and his high profile and charisma could substitute for his physical presence."

Reagan points to his fathers 1980 campaign that used the same tactics. He writes

“it was in 1980, during the crucial Iowa primary caucuses. My father, Ronald Reagan, was an obvious absentee candidate. His top advisers convinced him that his presence in that key state was not really necessary – after all, he was a major celebrity with charisma radiating out of every pore in his body. He could simply rise above the battle by staying off the battlefield. Unlike my dad, I was there and I saw at first hand how much his campaign was suffering from his absence. My fears were totally justified when George Bush, who was all over the place, beat my father hands down. After that, he fired those campaign advisers and went out and beat the bushes and in the end won the nomination.”

He also brings up the issue of money($0 so far) and putting together a quality campaign staff. Read it all here.

I have questioned Thompson's efforts before. I still question his desire to serve and lead. I am glad Reagan also questions this. It will take more than Hollywood name recognition to win. It will take a full time candidate working hard every minute. That work should have already begun. I will stay with Duncan Hunter.

Senator Dianne Feinstein - Corrupt Democrat

California Senator Dianne Feinstein abruptly stepped down from the Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittee this week, hoping to stem the tide of questions surfacing about the role she has played in defense contracts won by her husband, Richard Blum. An investigation pursued by the liberal California press and funded by The Nation magazine’s investigative fund revealed that a number of defense contracts awarded to Blum’s companies have interesting links to appropriations actions made during Feinstein’s term on the committee.

There are some noteworthy nuggets in the reporting that cannot simply be shrugged off. In March 2003, after she asked the Pentagon about anti-terrorism protection on Army bases, Blum’s company, URS, won a $600-million contract to provide Army bases with anti-terror-protection services. Additionally Feinstein inquired as to when money would be spent on a maintenance facility for the C-17 Globemasters at Hickam Air Base in Hawaii. URS later announced a $42-million contract to build it. In 2005, the committee approved funds to reinforce roofs at military stations in Iraq, and in October of that year, another Blum company got a $185-million contract to perform the work.(LINK)

I have yet to see the outrage from the left about this. $785 million in contracts were awarded to her husband's company. Silly me, it has to top $790 million for Democrats to consider it corrupt.

This Wasn't Jim Webb's Gun

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A five-year-old girl is under care at a Knoxville hospital after she was accidentally shot by her father -- a Loudon County Sheriff's officer.
Officials say James Michael Powers was cleaning his duty weapon for inspection when it discharged last night, wounding his daughter in the abdomen.(LINK)

After the stupid Jim Webb gungate, many defended him saying he and his aide were Marines. Would you have loaned or entrusted your firearm to Officer James Powers?

The Next First Lady?

Fred says "Kilo you are just jealous!!!

Is the White House Ready for This?

No, he's not giving the bride away

A Hollywood Couple like Ron and Nancy?

Duncan Hunter Answers Questions

This is the best interview and Q&A I have watched so far. The show is from New Hampshire and it is called Conversation with the Candidate. Duncan takes questions from the host, the studio audience, and then from the online community. The video is in two segments, part one and part two. Duncan fields questions on Iraq, the budget, health care, homeland security, immigration, and the real subject that separates him from the other Republican candidates -Trade. Bad trade deals have and continue to weaken our country and he will tell you why. I encourage you to take some time and watch this show. I have no worries about Duncan standing on a stage debating the other candidates. He is the man.

This is how it should be done. I applaud this station for offering viewers this show. Bookmark this page to watch the other candidates. I did.

This week’s ‘Alpha Jackass’ award

From the Patriot Post.

“We Democrats should’ve been unapologetic last week defending Speaker Pelosi because the truth was on our side: She had a right to go and she was right to go. The coordinated attack on her trip to Syria was as inappropriate as it was irresponsible. And when that happens to one of our leaders, we should all damn well stand up and be counted in our support, or else we hand partisan operatives on the other side a dangerous victory.” —John Kerry, who also “represented” the U.S. to the North Vietnamese in Paris in 1970

Indeed.

Duncan Hunter - 1994

A WEAK FOREIGN POLICY IN A DANGEROUS WORLD (House of Representatives - May 24, 1994)

Mr . HUNTER . Madam Speaker, we live in a dangerous world. North Korea is acquiring nuclear weapons. The former Soviet States do have nuclear weapons. That situation is still somewhat unstable. Communist China is attempting to move into the formerly held position of the Soviet Union as the world's second superpower, claiming most of the territory in the South China Sea.

We have the Balkans continuing to explode, and we have continued instability in the Middle East.

It is a dangerous world, and against this backdrop of a very dangerous world, we have a President who is showing tremendous weakness in the area of foreign policy and national security.

President Clinton is slashing national defense. He is cashiering 1,700 young people a week out of the uniformed services. He has cut back our fighter forces to roughly 50 percent of what they were a couple of years ago. We are seeing now the first operations in maintenance slowdowns that led in the 1970's to a hollow force.

Madam Speaker, it is time to reverse our course and keep our powder dry. We have a dangerous world and a weak President. That is a bad combination.

50 Floor Speeches by Duncan Hunter

Online Debate – Hunter vs Tancredo

Is this the future of debating? Some think it is. There is some foolishness but the issues and the candidates answers are clear. This video is rated W for Waldo. Some graphic language. Watching with Waldo is recommended.

Technorati : 2008, Bloggers, Blogging, Debate, Debates, Duncan Hunter, Elections

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The Richmond Democrat - Let Me Tell You a Story

The Richmond Democrat is at it again.
Let me give you a refresher course. One - Two - Three.
Thanks for the laugh JC

Duncan Hunter Shows Democrats a Sign

Democrats are against the reinforcements in Iraq. Duncan Hunter shows them in writing what the Iraq Study Group said. Here's your sign...

Scott Sayre Update

Scott Sayre's Website

Bloggers 4 Sayre has this post saying Scott handed in 3 times the signatures needed to run on the Republican ticket. That could put the challengers name first on the ticket. It also shows the ground game for Sayre is gaining the big Mo!
As with Jeff Evans, we see another conservative candidate in the running. Conservatives are standing up.
Be sure to check out Red Storm Virginia and contribute to the strong field of candidates listed there.

Jeff Evans

The Jeff Evans website is up!

"Welcome to our virtual campaign office. My goal as your State Senator will be to make the state government in Richmond responsive to our real needs here in the 20th District rather than just a faceless bureaucracy where our needs are routinely ignored. My campaign is based on a positive vision for Virginia and the 20th Senate District: a place where people have the opportunity to succeed and thrive without undue government interference from job-killing taxes and regulation; which honors our long standing conservative values of faith, family and freedom; and which respects and protects the rights of law abiding citizens, without rewarding those who choose to break the law."
Click over and help Jeff out. I am proud to see some great conservatives running for office.

This One Doesnt Run Even When He Runs

Here is one of America's sons who gets it: "It's better to have them shooting at me there (Iraq) than shooting at people here."

Capt. Duncan D. Hunter, son of U.S. Rep Duncan Hunter, was one of about 250 Californians in the Marine Corps' Individual Ready Reserve program who was recently informed that he is being reactivated. This will be his third tour in Iraq. His first came in mid-2003 shortly after the U.S. invasion, and he spent seven months in Iraq in 2004, during which time he saw action in the fight for the city of Fallujah, one of the major battles of the war.

In his case, Hunter said he asked and the Marine Corps has granted his request to expedite his deployment.

"The Marine Corps certainly has needs to be filled now, and I would rather go now and get it done sooner than later," he said."I think what we are doing in Iraq is the right thing," he said during a telephone interview. "We are doing what our military has trained us to do, and in fighting over there we present hardened military targets to the enemy. It beats IEDs going off over here."

Timing could not be worse for the younger Hunter as he has announced that he will be running for th 52nd Congressional District seat that his father has held since 1981.

Duncan Duane Hunter said he decided to run for Congress because he holds many of the same beliefs as his dad and wants to continue that kind of representation.

"I represent conservative values and can communicate that what we are doing in the war on terror is the right thing," he said. "I also think I can communicate that message more effectively than the administration has been doing."

His job in Iraq will prevent Hunter from doing much campaigning during his deployment. That work will be assumed by his wife, Margaret, he said.

Read more here or here.

Technorati : Congress, Duncan Duane Hunter, Duncan Hunter, Marines, Republicans

Testing...This is only a test..

My RSS feeder caught a new podcast by Bearing Drift. This is not the one I linked to here, but a new one released today. WoW...Ben of NLS calls in and said he was attacked on yesterdays podcast. The subject is the BNN rankings. The fun starts around the 15 minute mark. This is a must listen!!! Why wont Lowell Feld agree to a debate? Is Ben a partisan? Click Here and Listen now and find out!

Amazing!

The Americans

While watching the video of Duncan Hunter this morning at Spank that Donkey, I was reminded of a radio broadcast from my youth. I was 8 years old in 1973 when Gordan Sinclair had this to say. You can listen to the original audio here. I suggest you do just that. Does anyone else remember this? How it made you feel at that time? How it makes you feel now?

The Americans

The United States dollar took another pounding on German, French and British exchanges this morning, hitting the lowest point ever known in West Germany. It has declined there by 41% since 1971 and this Canadian thinks it is time to speak up for the Americans as the most generous and possibly the least-appreciated people in all the world.

As long as sixty years ago, when I first started to read newspapers, I read of floods on the Yellow River and the Yangtse. Well, Who rushed in with men and money to help? The Americans did, that's who.

They have helped control floods on the Nile, the Amazon, the Ganges and the Niger. Today, the rich bottom land of the Mississippi is under water and no foreign land has sent a dollar to help. Germany, Japan and, to a lesser extent, Britain and Italy, were lifted out of the debris of war by the Americans who poured in billions of dollars and forgave other billions in debts. None of those countries is today paying even the interest on its remaining debts to the United States.

When the franc was in danger of collapsing in 1956, it was the Americans who propped it up and their reward was to be insulted and swindled on the streets of Paris. And I was there. I saw that.

When distant cities are hit by earthquakes, it is the United States that hurries into help... Managua Nicaragua is one of the most recent examples. So far this spring, 59 American communities have been flattened by tornadoes. Nobody has helped.

The Marshall Plan... the Truman Policy... all pumped billions upon billions of dollars into discouraged countries. And now, newspapers in those countries are writing about the decadent war-mongering Americans.

I'd like to see one of those countries that is gloating over the erosion of the United States dollar build its own airplanes.

Come on... let's hear it! Does any other country in the world have a plane to equal the Boeing Jumbo Jet, the Lockheed Tristar or the Douglas 10? If so, why don't they fly them? Why do all international lines except Russia fly American planes? Why does no other land on earth even consider putting a man or a woman on the moon?

You talk about Japanese technocracy and you get radios. You talk about German technocracy and you get automobiles. You talk about American technocracy and you find men on the moon, not once, but several times ... and safely home again. You talk about scandals and the Americans put theirs right in the store window for everybody to look at. Even the draft dodgers are not pursued and hounded. They are right here on our streets in Toronto, most of them... unless they are breaking Canadian laws... are getting American dollars from Ma and Pa at home to spend here.

When the Americans get out of this bind... as they will... who could blame them if they said 'the hell with the rest of the world'. Let someone else buy the bonds, let someone else build or repair foreign dams or design foreign buildings that won't shake apart in earthquakes.

When the railways of France, Germany and India were breaking down through age, it was the Americans who rebuilt them. When the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central went broke, nobody loaned them an old caboose. Both of them are still broke. I can name to you 5,000 times when the Americans raced to the help of other people in trouble.

Can you name to me even one time when someone else raced to the Americans in trouble? I don't think there was outside help even during the San Francisco earthquake.

Our neighbours have faced it alone and I am one Canadian who is damned tired of hearing them kicked around. They will come out of this thing with their flag high. And when they do, they are entitled to thumb their noses at the lands that are gloating over their present troubles.

I hope Canada is not one of these. But there are many smug, self-righteous Canadians. And finally, the American Red Cross was told at its 48th Annual meeting in New Orleans this morning that it was broke.

This year's disasters... with the year less than half-over... has taken it all and nobody... but nobody... has helped.

ORIGINAL SCRIPT AND AUDIO
COURTESY STANDARD BROADCASTING CORPORATION LTD.

(c) 1973 BY GORDON SINCLAIR

After all these years what has changed? Read about why Gordan wrote this here. Sound familiar?

Bearing Drift Podcast and BNN Rankings

Bearing Drift's podcast last night is here. Dave Mastio of Blog Net News was Jim's guest. Dave's blog rankings have caused Ben and Lowell to scream.
Check this post I had months ago about a Survey USA poll. The poll asked Virginians about blogging and reading blogs. Be sure to check out the crosstabs (Check the numbers for Blacks and Hispanics) and you will understand why I believe less than 3% of residents know what a blog is. Just for fun lets look at BNN and Waldo's Political blog sites. Dave has taken some heat but as this graph shows his work is appreciated by a lot of readers. Click graphs to Embiggen.



Now lets look at NLS, RK, And Bearing Drift.



Very interesting indeed. You see two blogs on a roller coaster and one with a stable baseline of readership. Who has the real influence? It can easily be argued both ways.

Fred Thompson and John McCain

There are many people who want him to throw his hat in the ring for 2008. The “Draft Fred” movement is strong. I never have understood this draft thing. I don't see why anyone should have to be drafted into public service. If someone has to be persuaded to run then I question their desire to serve. I think Fred Thompson is a good man. He is more conservative than Rudy or Mitt but a couple things bother me.

His desire to serve is a big question. He left his senate seat saying

"I'm not 30 years old. I don't want to spend the rest of my life up here. I don't like spending 14- and 16-hour days voting on 'sense of the Senate' resolutions on irrelevant matters."(LINK)

Sir, your still not 30 years old and your 14 hour days will become 22 hour days as president. As with any politician, some work is relevant and some is not. Words are cheap – 14 hour work days are not.
The biggest problem I have with Fred was his support and endorsement of John McCain in 2000. That is more than I can take.
I will stick with Duncan Hunter. I will say Thompson would be my next choice. I posted here that a Hunter - Thompson ticket would be a conservatives dream ticket.

The Ward View has more on Thompson.

Why do you seek the living among the dead?

“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them, in dazzling apparel; and as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, ‘Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen’.” —Luke 24:1-5

Welcome! Another Virginia Blogger for Duncan Hunter

Joe Budzinski of NovaTownHall has thrown his support to Duncan Hunter. The post is here. Joe met Duncan a while back and was impressed. Joe wrote this on March 15 when"Duncan Hunter spoke to a group of Virginia grassroots activists in Virginia last night." The story has some good pictures.

Joe has chose to support a candidate that mirrors his own political beliefs and concerns. He is not throwing in to the big money campaigns that the MSM shows daily. He is supporting the man on principle and that is the way all conservatives should do it. He is not looking at the money raised, or what the MSM tells him about chances to win. That reminds me...Here is a post that shows everything that is wrong with the conservative republican. When you read that you will understand. This blogger says he has a lot in common with Duncan. In fact more in common with Duncan than with Rudy, yet he supports Rudy - "The reason I shy away from supporting Hunter in preference to Giuliani is I'm afraid he cannot win the national election." (LINK)

I wonder where this guy's principles are? I will not settle for less in my candidate and no one should. Sure Rudy and Mitt are raising big money. Mitt raised 23 million, has spent half of that, only to lose to Duncan in both the Arizona and South Carolina straw polls. That is very revealing. Duncan Hunter is the true conservative candidate. Click here and help him out if you can.

Technorati : 2008, Bloggers, Blogging, Duncan Hunter, Election

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Dignity-They Deserve Nothing Less

In an about-face by the U.S. government four years into the war in Iraq, America's fallen troops are being brought back to their families aboard charter jets instead of ordinary commercial flights, and the caskets are being met by honor guards in white gloves instead of baggage handlers with forklifts.

That change - which took effect quietly in January and applies to members of the U.S. military killed in Afghanistan, too - came after a campaign waged by a father who was aghast to learn that his son's body was going to be unloaded like so much luggage.

In the past the military has always used commercial flights because it was the fastest way to get the body home to the family. John Holley whose son was killed in Iraq said "If it was `expeditious' to deliver them in garbage trucks, would you do that?" Mr Holley went to his congressman Duncan Hunter and complained.

Hunter wrote a letter to then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in December 2005, calling for more appropriate military honors. Speaking from the House floor in May, Hunter said: "The extreme respect that should be afforded those fallen heroes ... has in some cases, been lacking."

Persuaded by Hunter and others, Congress passed a law that requires the remains to be flown on a military or military-contracted aircraft. There must be an escort and an honor guard. Commercial airliners are used only if requested by families, or in cases where remains are sent outside the United States.

This may be old news to some, but I was glad to learn of this today. The families of our bravest deserve nothing less. I salute Duncan Hunter and the others that made this possible. The caskets are now handled with white gloves...not forklifts.
Source-Chron.Com

Technorati : 2008, America, Duncan Hunter, Iraq War, Military
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Duncan Hunter Conference Call

From The Jawa Report we have this.

I asked the congressman for his reaction to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's attempts to set up a shadow presidency (what the Washington Post described as the "foolish" "Pratfall in Damascus"). Hunter said that Pelosi's actions were "bad news for our country," then proved himself an astute and quick-thinking pol by quoting Democrat Scoop Jackson, "American foreign policy should leave our shore with one voice."

Asked about the harsh, partisan tirades that characterize today's political discourse, Hunter noted that many of the partisan Democrats who praised Ronald Reagan at his funeral hardly had a kind word for the man while he was alive, and that many had called him a "liar" during the Contra wars. In other words, partisan rhetoric is nothing new.

Indeed. Pelosi is a disgrace with her secret messages. It looks like she got caught fibbing! Iowa Voice has a recap of the call but the traffic has the site shut down. The link can be found at Sister Toldjah

Technorati : 2008, Duncan Hunter
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