RNC trims back practically cancels convention

The RNC has announced it will only do what it has to do at this convention. They cannot simply cancel the convention due to party rules and election law. There will be no party like atmosphere, no partisan speeches, monumental moments at all. There may be a fundraising effort for hurricane victims on the floor.

“At some point between Monday and Thursday evening, we will convene once again to complete the activities needed to qualify Senator McCain and Governor Palin for the ballot in all 50 states. Beyond that, all we can say is that we will monitor what is happening and make decisions about other convention business as details become available.” said campaign Manager Rick Davis

With Hurricane Gustav headed for New Orleans the world will be watching how we react to this crisis. I'm already feeling better about the preparation. It appears everyone in New Orleans who wants to leave New Orleans will be able too. They have trains and busses frequently leaving the city for other parts of the country. Mayor Nagin has said if you stay in New Orleans you are on your own.

I'm planning on going down to Louisana ASAP after this storm to help with recovery. My girlfriend is from the state and has family in the area, not New Orleans. Please pray for those in the path of this storm.

628 hits in a day

I would like to thank everyone who visited this blog yesterday. The blog set a record yesterday with 628 hits. The previous record of 200 hits came on Thursday. I hope that everyone who has visited in the last two days enjoyed my blog. I look forward to breaking this record next week as I start my live blog on the Republican Convention. As for tomorrow you can be sure I'll be celebrating college football Saturday. Expect no post tomorrow. God Bless America!

Thank you to all the new visitors.

I've noticed since the annoucement of Sarah Palin has VP by numbers are off the chart. I wanted to take a second and take everyone who is visiting my site today. I hope you will look around and let me know what I can do to improve the site and what you want me to write about in the future. Please leave comments.

Thank You
New Conservative

Palin's VP acceptance speech.

List of Speakers at the RNC.

Not all the speakers are listed here, and they are not in order of appearence. I took out some of the lesser known speakers to shorten the list and keep your interest. Obvisously I will not be able to blog about all the speakers, but I'll should be doing at least two a night. I'll as many of the VP contenders has possible and Joe Liberman. Along with President Bush and VP Cheney. Of course I'll do McCain and Palin also.

Monday, Sept. 1
President George W. Bush
Vice President Richard B. Cheney
First Lady Laura Bush
Gov. Tim Pawlenty (Minn.)*
Gov. Rick Perry (Texas)*
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (Calif.)
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.)*
U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman (Conn.)

Tuesday, Sept. 2
Rudolph W. Giuliani (NY.)
Mike Huckabee (Ark.)
Tom Ridge (Pa.)
Michael Steele (Md.)
Fred Thompson (Tenn.)
House Republican Leader John Boehner (Ohio)*

Wednesday, Sept. 3:
Sarah Palin
Mrs. Cindy McCain
Gov. Bobby Jindal (La.)
Former Gov. Mitt Romney (Mass.)
U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman (Minn.)
U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (Texas)*
U.S. Rep. Mike Pence (Ind.)*
Carly Fiorina
Meg Whitman

Sept. 4
John McCain
Gov. Charlie Crist (Fla.)
Gov. Tim Pawlenty (Minn.)
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.)*
U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez (Fla.)

Live blogging

I will be doing live blogging during the Republican convention. I will do my best to catch as many important speeches as possible. Of Course I'll have the keynote, VP and Presidential speech here. If Romney, Rudy, Huckabee, or any other popular Republicans speak I will try to bring that to you live as well.

Transcript of Palin's Speech

ALASKA GOV. SARAH PALIN: Thank you so much.
And I thank you, Senator McCain and Mrs. McCain, for the confidence that you have placed in me. Senator, I am honored to be chosen as your running mate. I will be honored to serve next to the next president of the United States.

I know that when Senator McCain gave me this opportunity, he had a short list of highly qualified men and women. And to have made that list at all, it was a privilege. And to have been chosen brings a great challenge.

I know that it will demand the best that I have to give, and I promise nothing less.

First — first, there are a few people whom I would like you to meet. I want to start with my husband, Todd. And Todd and I are actually celebrating our 20th anniversary today. And I promised him … I had promised Todd a little surprise for the anniversary present, and hopefully he knows that I did deliver.

And then we have as — after my husband, who is a lifelong commercial fisherman, lifetime Alaskan. He’s a production operator. Todd is a production operator in the oil fields up on Alaska’s North Slope. And he’s a proud member of the United Steelworkers union. And he’s a world-champion snow machine racer.

Todd and I met way back in high school. And I can tell you that he is still the man that I admire most in this world. Along the way, Todd and I have shared many blessings. And four out of five of them are here with us today.

Our oldest son, Track, though, he’ll be following the presidential campaign from afar. On September 11th of last year, our son enlisted in the United States Army.

Track now serves in an infantry brigade. And on September 11th, Track will deploy to Iraq in the service of his country. And Todd and I are so proud of him and of all the fine men and women serving this country.

Next to Todd is our daughter, Bristol, another daughter, Willow, our youngest daughter, Piper, and over in their arms is our son, Trig, a beautiful baby boy. He was born just in April. His name is Trig Paxson Van Palin.

Some of life’s greatest opportunities come unexpectedly. And this is certainly the case today.

I never really set out to be involved in public affairs, much less to run for this office. My mom and dad both worked at the local elementary school. And my husband and I, we both grew up working with our hands. I was just your average hockey mom in Alaska, raising…

We’re busy raising our kids. I was serving as the team mom and coaching some basketball on the side. I got involved in the PTA and then was elected to the city council, and then elected mayor of my hometown, where my agenda was to stop wasteful spending, and cut property taxes, and put the people first.

I was then appointed ethics commissioner and chairman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. And when I found corruption there, I fought it hard, and I held the offenders to account.

Along with fellow reformers in the great state of Alaska, as governor, I’ve stood up to the old politics as usual, to the special interests, to the lobbyists, the big oil companies, and the good-old- boy network.

When oil and gas prices went up so dramatically and the state revenues followed with that increase, I sent a large share of that revenue directly back to the people of Alaska. And we are now — we’re now embarking on a $40 billion natural gas pipeline to help lead America to energy independence.

I signed major ethics reform. And I appointed both Democrats and independents to serve in my administration. And I championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress. In fact, I told Congress — I told Congress, “Thanks, but no thanks,” on that bridge to nowhere.

If our state wanted a bridge, I said we’d build it ourselves. Well, it’s always, though, safer in politics to avoid risk, to just kind of go along with the status quo. But I didn’t get into government to do the safe and easy things. A ship in harbor is safe, but that’s not why the ship is built.

Politics isn’t just a game of competing interests and clashing parties. The people of America expect us to seek public office and to serve for the right reasons.

And the right reason is to challenge the status quo and to serve the common good. Now, no one expects us to agree on everything, whether in Juneau or in Washington. But we are expected to govern with integrity, and goodwill, and clear convictions, and a servant’s heart.

Now, no leader in America has shown these qualities so clearly or present so clear a threat to business as usual in Washington as Senator John S. McCain. This — this is a moment when principles and political independence matter a lot more than just the party line. And this is a man who has always been there to serve his country, not just his party.

And this is a moment that requires resolve and toughness, and strength of heart in the American president. And my running mate is a man who has shown those qualities in the darkest of places, and in the service of his country.

A colleague once said about Senator McCain, “That man did things for this country that few people could go through. Never forget that.” And that speaker was former Senator John Glenn of Ohio.

And John Glenn knows something about heroism. And I’m going to make sure nobody does forget that in this campaign. There is only one candidate who has truly fought for America, and that man is John McCain.

This is a moment — this is a moment when great causes can be won and great threats overcome, depending on the judgment of our next president.

In a dangerous world, it is John McCain who will lead America’s friends and allies in preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

It was John McCain who cautioned long ago about the harm that Russian aggression could do to Georgia and to other small democratic neighbors and to the world oil markets. It was Senator McCain who refused to hedge his support for our troops in Iraq, regardless of the political costs.

And you know what? As the mother of one of those troops, and as the commander of Alaska’s National Guard, that’s the kind of man I want as our commander in chief.

Profiles in courage: They can be hard to come by these days. You know, so often we just find them in books. But next week when we nominate John McCain for president, we’re putting one on the ballot.

To serve as vice president beside such a man would be the privilege of a lifetime. And it’s fitting that this trust has been given to me 88 years almost to the day after the women of America first gained the right to vote.

I think — I think as well today of two other women who came before me in national elections.I can’t begin this great effort without honoring the achievements of Geraldine Ferraro in 1984 and of course Senator Hillary Clinton, who showed such determination and grace in her presidential campaign.

It was rightly noted in Denver this week that Hillary left 18 million cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling in America but it turns out the women of America aren’t finished yet and we can shatter that glass ceiling once and for all.

So for my part, the mission is clear: The next 67 days I’m going to take our campaign to every part of our country and our message of reform to every voter of every background in every political party, or no party at all.

If you want change in Washington, if you hope for a better America, then we’re asking for your vote on the 4th of November. My fellow Americans, come join our cause.

Join our cause and help our country to elect a great man the next president of the United States.And I thank you, and I — God bless you, I say, and God bless America. Thank you.

http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/08/29/raw-data-sarah-palins-remarks-after-being-named-gop-vice-presidential-candidate/

I'm so excited

I keep getting more and more excited about McCain's VP pick. One reason is I realize that Sarah Palin is going to be a big, big help to McCain. Especially among women and social conservatives. The other reason I'm excited is that I had this pick nailed when everyone else in the world was picking Romney, Pawlenty, or Liberman. (O.K. so not everyone was picking them but you get my point. :) I've always said I understand politics. Who knows this might even help me get a job, if anyone ever figures out what my real name is. Yea, Yea I know don't end sentences with prepositions. Now onto VP Palin.

Sarah Palin is basically the female version of John McCain. She will find and fight corruption anywhere in either party. She puts what she thinks is best for the country ahead of what is best for the party. They both support off-shore drilling, Palin even goes further supporting drilling in ANWR. They are both pro-life, but Palin shores up McCain's pro life credentals something (for whatever reason) he needed to do. Palin vetoed one third of earmarks in her State. If you wanna read more go to "Why Sarah Palin."

McCain should name Palin as his VP.

I've researched alot of candidates for VP and I find that there are two that stand out to me. One is Eric Cantor, he has everything a Conservative could want in a VP candidate he's a social, fiscal and a forgien policy conservative. He has a tragic story about his cousin being murdered by terrorist. (I hate to make that a positive but we are in a war with these people.) He's a strong supporter of Israel. He's an amazing fundraiser and he's the only Jewish Republican in Congress. However even with all these amazing qualifications he lacks one thing, he's not a woman. I believe to win this election we will have to steal some of those Hillary Clinton voters away from Barack Obama while at the same time holding true to our conservative principles. I know of only one person that has all those credentials and can attract women to the ticket, Sarah Palin.

John McCain should name Sarah Palin has his VP. Palin is like McCain's twin when it comes to fighting corruption. She doesn't care where it is she's going to find it and make whoever is responsible pay. She also helps in the energy debate, she is for drilling offshore, and for drilling in ANWR. She brings in all three segments of the Republican Party and she's a Christian so she may very well spark the evangelicals to rally to McCain's side. (Something McCain has not acheived on his own.) We need all three branches of the Republican Party and a few Democrats to win this election. Palin could bring some Democratic women into the fold. I believe that naming Palin as VP will give us the best chance to win in November.

Why Sarah Palin?

As we go into the second of four possible VP choices I have chosen to highlight Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Elected in 2006 Sarah Palin is the first woman, and the youngest person at 44 years of age, to hold the office of governor in Alaska. Nicknamed "Sarah Barracuda" while she was leading her High School basketball team to the State title. She has gone after corrupt politicans on both sides, supports drilling in ANWR and drilling off-shore, is a strong fiscal conservative, and a devout Christian. She currently has around a 90% approval rating. Let's start with looking at how she has attacked corrpution in her state.

Governor Palin has passed ethics reforms in her state and is ethical to the point where it almost cost her a political career. She is refered to as, "A crusading corruption buster". She has gone after corrupt Republicans as well as Democrats in Alaska. "The landscape is littered with the bodies of those who crossed Sarah," says pollster Dave Dittman, who worked for her gubernatorial campaign. It includes Ruedrich, Renkes, Murkowski, gubernatorial contenders John Binkley and Andrew Halcro, the three big oil companies in Alaska, and a section of the Daily News called "Voice of the Times," which was highly critical of Palin and is now defunct." (Hard to sell papers critizing someone with a 90% approval rating.) It is now a crime in Alaska for public servants not to report bribery that they know about. http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/851orcjq.asp?pg=1

Another issue where she would be a plus is on Coastal drilling as well as drilling in ANWR. With high energy prices and American's screaming for congress to act Palin will help highlight one of Obama's biggest weaknesses. Also being from Alaska Americans may be more interested in her opinion about drilling there than they would a politican who may have visited once or twice in their lifetime.

Governor Palin also has a record has a strong fiscal conservative. She believes that people can handle their money better than government, an overriding conservative principle. Palin cut property taxes while at the same time increasing services as a Council Member/Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska. As Governer She has vetoed 1/3 of earmarks put into legislation, including several put in by Republicans. http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/columnists/vassilaros/s_517252.htmlGovernor

Palin is a devout Christian. This can only help McCain with the social conservative base of the party. Who, for whatever reasons, do not believe he shares their values. Palin is pro-life and believes that marriage should be between a man and a woman. However she failed to sign a bill outlawing Gay Marriage due to the fact the Alaskan Supreme Court had said the law would be unconstitutional. She refers to her State Constitution as "my bible in governing."

Let's see did I forget anything why else would this young woman be a good pick for VP. That's right, because she's a young woman. Having a energetic young woman on the ticket would help McCain with the women's vote and Palin could also do a great job on energizing the base. Also with a nickname like "Sarah Barracuda" you have to believe she could fill out the traditional role of the VP has an attack dog very well. I would not want to be on the other side of a debate with her.http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/06/the_vp_case_for_gov_sarah_pali.html

Is a Category 3 Hurricane on the way to New Orleans?

A Hurricane is headed to New Orleans. The storm is about five days out now and could easily switch directions by the time it hits landfall. However if this Hurricane does hit New Orleans what happens? Do we spend billions of dollars to try and rebuild again? Do we declare the area off limits for permenant residency? How will the President respond? Will the levies break again? Will FEMA be able to handle the situation? Will people in the city be able to get out before the hurricane hits? If their able to will they? If their not able will Mayor Nagin use the buses to get people out of town? Will Governor Jindal handle the emergency better than Governor Blanco did? I'm going to pray that we don't need to answer any of these questions. Hurricanes are very unpredictable and there is no way of being sure of where it will hit. However after taking a look at this map, it doesn't look good.

http://weathermachine.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/at200807_5day4.gif

Obama: Out of Touch and Full of Himself

From Conservatism Today:

If the Obama campaign goes forth with its plans to have Obama speak on Thursday from the Greek Temple set currently being built o the Invesco Field grounds, I am convinced it will blow up in his face. Rush has already noted on the air today that the Greeks built their temples as homes of worship to their pagan gods. The audacity of this symbolism will not be lost on the American people.

In addition, I am hearing that Obama will step onto a platform that will elevate him high above the adoring worshipers on the ground. Whether or not he delivers his speech from "on high," he will be cementing his candidacy as the cult of personality it is. This is not a good way to go for anyone seeking election as President of the United States.

Most Americans do not worship their politicians. They don't even think very highly of them. Most of us are looking for someone who shares as many of our views as possible, and has not become too corrupted by the system or too in love with themselves. JFK was the only recent President to run on a cult of personality platform, and his term didn't go very well. Much has happened since then to convince most Americans of how corrupt and arrogant most politicians are.

There have been very few politicians in my lifetime that I still, if ever, have respect for as people. More important, like most Americans, I have no confidence in government, no belief in government as a tool for making my life better. Sure, many of us want our government to address a couple pressing issues. But the idea that some politician is going to make the world a better place by fixing every perceived wrong in the world does not carry any water.

Most Americans want government to leave them alone. Most Americans believe that they themselves hold the keys to their success. Occasionally we find a Reagan-type who comes to be almost universally loved and respected, but that love comes because they work to free us of the odious restrictions past governments have placed on free people. That love comes from a virtuous character and unbending adherence to long-held beliefs.

America will not love this spectacle. This is a slap in the face to Americans who believe that "we the people" run government, and that those that represent us are our servants, not people to be worshiped.

Is this where were headed?

“Democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largess (liberal gifts) from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, and is always followed by a dictatorship.” So which candidate does this sound like to you?


Hat tip: Docs on the web http://docsontheweb.blogspot.com/ the site is where conservative doctors go to complain about the state of medicine. It's pretty funny and it's on my blog list.

Is This the Kind of Support Obama Can Expect From the Clintons?

For more by Scott Martin, including a live-blog of tonight's DNC speeches, visit Conservatism Today.

Bill Clinton today posed a "hypothetical" question that it would seem many Hillary supporters are asking themselves right now.

From HotAir:

Bill Clinton appeared to undermine Sen. Barack Obama again Tuesday.

The former president, speaking in Denver, posed a hypothetical question in which he seemed to suggest that that the Democratic Party was making a mistake in choosing Obama as its presidential nominee.

He said: “Suppose you’re a voter, and you’ve got candidate X and candidate Y. Candidate X agrees with you on everything, but you don’t think that candidate can deliver on anything at all. Candidate Y you agree with on about half the issues, but he can deliver. Which candidate are you going to vote for?”

Then, perhaps mindful of how his off-the-cuff remarks might be taken, Clinton added after a pause: “This has nothing to do with what’s going on now.”

Of course it doesn't. This is going to be the key question of this convention. Will the Clinton's fully back Obama and enthusiastically urge her supporters to go with Obama, or will they (looking to her possible 2012 run) continue to do things like this? I expect Bill, eager to rehabilitate his badly wounded image among many Democrats, to deliver one of the best speeches he ever has. But if I'm right on this, then why does he continue to make statements like this. I'm at a loss.

Obama has changed his change slogan.

Yes, you read that right. Obama has changed his slogan from, "Change you can believe in" to "The Change we need." I guess you can chalk another filp-flop on the scoreboard. Seriously Obama you can't change your change slogan. The first thing that came to my mind was this jib jab video. http://www.jibjab.com/originals/time_for_some_campaignin Pay special attention to the part about Obama.

We're going to kill you with this. Don't you have any political savy at all? This is better than. "I voted for the 87 million before I voted against it." Remember delegates when you go to RNC in a few days bring your filp-flops I believe we'll be putting them to good use once again.

Hat Tip Conservatism Today.

McCain favorable number up big.

According to a Fox News poll McCain's favorable rating went from 54% to 60% from July to August. Can we have the election tomorrow please?

I thought Obama was supposed to get the bounce.

In the latest Gallup tracking poll McCain has taken a 46 -44 lead over Obama. This poll was taken after the VP annoucment but before the Democratic convention. Although by almost all counts the first day of the DNC was a complete waste of time, with the exception of Ted Kennedy's speech.

What does this mean? It means this election is already in the bag for Republicans. This is shocking even to me. If there was ever a situation where the Democrats should win an election it's this year. All the factors favor them, slow economy, unpopular war, Republican candidate that has trouble with his own base. However the Democrats did what they always do found the most unelectable candidate they could and gave him the nomination. Now it's their party that is divided while the Republican Party is rallying around John McCain. Can you say landslide?

Check out Scott Martin's post over at Patriot Room to see a top ten list on why Obama will lose.
http://patriotroom.com/?p=1394
Scott Martin is the author of Conservatism today. http://www.conservatismtoday.com/my_weblog/

Day 1 of the DNC

It looked like day 1 went well for the Dems. Michelle Obama gave a nice speech where she mentioned Hillary Clinton and thanked her for cracking the glass ceiling. I didn't see it, but I heard Ted Kennedy also gave a great speech about serving your community. However the convention really heats up tomorrow when Hillary Clinton takes the stage. We'll see if the unity survives her on Tuesday and then President Clinton on Wednesday.

U.S. Basketball team wins gold

Well I decided to stay up and watch the U.S. play Spain for the gold metal even though the game didn't start until 2:30am. However I was not disappointed. The U.S. won a hard fought victory over the defending World Champions 118-107. Spain had the lead down to four 108-104 with just over two minutes left. Wade hit a critical three that put the U.S. up seven to finally give me a chance to take a breath.

The U.S. couldn't seem to find their defense which had carried them so far in these Olympics. However they were able to score enough to win and in the end a win is a win. Spain was called for a techicnal four late in the 4th which made the score a bigger margain than it would've been. The U.S. is back on top on the basketball world for the first time since 200o, but it won't be easy to stay there.

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer08/basketball/men/recap?gameId=834

It's Biden!

The AP is reporting that Joe Biden will be Obama's VP nominee. Obama's campaign said they will start sending the text messages out around 5am tomorrow morning. I thought those people were suppose to know before everyone else. Of course I've had this nailed for months. Although I never thought to post it here so I guess you'll just have to take my word for it. I predicted that Obama would pick Biden months ago. The reason Obama needed national security credentials. Of course this is a double edged sword for the Freshman Senator. By picking Biden, Obama basically admits he's weak on national security. This of course gives the McCain camp lots of ammunition.

I have a couple more VP profiles to write. After I finish those I'll let you know who I think the Republican VP nominee should be.

Obama says he's made his choice and he's not telling.

In other words, na na a boo-boo I know something you don't know. “I did say that I’ve made the selection and that’s all you’re going to get,” He also said, "Wouldn't you like to know?" to reporters in Virginia when asked who it was.

I don't know, but it seems like aggravating the press might not be the best strategy. Also maybe it's comments like those that make it easy to paint him as a egomanical know-it-all elitest snob. Either that or a five year old. It can be hard to tell the difference sometimes.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080822/ap_on_el_pr/veepstakes

Panic Sets in, Media Clamors for Hillary as Veep

For more by Scott Martin, go to Conservatism Today.

They know I'm right. And now Obama's media cheerleaders have come to the conclusion that the Messiah needs a savior, and her name is Hillary Clinton.

Anderson Cooper nears this conclusion in his piece yesterday at CNN.com.

Still, this should be a huge wake-up call to Obama and the Democrats. From my perspective, Obama needs to introduce a game changer — and fast — before public opinion starts to gel around the notion that he is a phenom who deserves great respect but is not seasoned enough and would be too much of a risk in the Oval Office.

In part, he needs to change the narrative of the campaign — away from the notion that the biggest single problem facing the country — the “transcendent” threat of our time, as McCain argues — is terrorism... Either Democrats persuade the country why they should now take charge or perhaps they aren’t ready to govern after all.

But it can’t stop there. Obama must also introduce a game changer

through the way he signals who will be in the Oval Office with him. After all, no president governs all by himself; the success or failure of an administration also rests heavily on the team he assembles to work at his side.

If he were to surprise the country — and the press — by naming Hillary Clinton as his running mate, he could turn the race upside down... No one else would so galvanize the Democrats, bring a fighter to his side, and send a clear message that an Obama administration would bring experience to solving problems both at home and abroad. Has anyone looked what happened to jobs and wages under Bush vs. Clinton? The comparison is startling. And remember that a quarter of Hillary’s voters still haven’t “come home” to the Democratic column.

Cooper is, I believe, correct that this would be a game-changer. But does anyone think Obama can swallow his significant pride and ask her to join him? Don't forget, he'd be getting Bill too. I wouldn't put anything past someone as greedy for power as Obama is, but this is highly doubtful in my book.

Meanwhile, Margery Eagan of the Boston Herald comes to the same conclusion:

Hillary’s marauding women may be vindicated yet.

The tide has turned for The Precious, The One, The Eloquent and Elegant and Lithe and Liquid and Cool as a Cucumber - except for those unfortunate stick legs (which explain the sweats on the basketball court).

What happened to Obama’s Midas touch? Was it overkill at Coronation Berlin? The tongue-tied orator this weekend uh-uh-uh-ing before the evangelicals at Saddleback Church, his stumbles replayed all over the Internet? I watched and felt - how could this be? - like I was watching a George Bush press conference, sweating it out and wondering, “Oh no! Doesn’t he know the answer to the question?”

The best part of this is seeing all the buyer's remorse some of his biggest backers are going through.

I can’t say I have Obama remorse. Yet. But I’m nervous. How did he get so annoying? I wish he’d save nuance and sanctimony for senior seminars; give America some straight answers; crack some jokes at his own high-horse expense; convince me he’s up to this and soothe my furrowed, fretful brow.

That’s what McCain’s done lately. It’s working.

When a big-time Obama backer is wondering how the candidate became so annoying, things are going in the right direction.

Six Reasons Michael Moore is a Clueless, Leftist Moonbat

For more by Scott Martin, visit Conservatism Today.

Noted political analyst, Marxist and propagandist Michael Moore finally weighed in with his advice to the Obama camp. In a piece entitled "How the Democrats can blow it, In six easy steps," the communist sympathizer details how Obama could lose what Moore calls the "most winnable presidential election in American history." (What does that even mean? Haven't all presidential elections been exactly 100% winnable by somebody?) Ignoring the fact that I don't think much can save Obama at this point, (which I will detail soon in a post I'm working on called "10 Reasons Obama Will Lose in November") let's take a look at the genius at work. I'm going to give the reader credit and avoid liberal use of the
tag, but just pretend it's all over.

1. Keep saying nice things about McCain.
2. Pick a running mate who is a conservative white guy or a general or a Republican.
3. Keep writing speeches for Obama that make him sound like a hawk
4. Forget that this was a historic year for women.
5. Show up to a gunfight with a peashooter.
6. Denounce me!

Remember, these are how Obama can lose, according to Moore. On the first one, I think Moore is right, Obama needs to start being meaner to McCain. He should start referring to him as "old man" during their dabates, as in "don't tell me what America should be doing, old man." College kids love other defiant youths who don't take any guff from The Man. He could add a "John McCain is so white..." comic routine to his stump speeches. That would go over well with his core audience, and certainly wouldn't upset anyone. And Moore is right when he says he shouldn't note that McCain is a war hero. Instead he should rip McCain for not being smart and courageous enough to avoid being taken as a POW.

Moore's second tip is equally profound. Obama must pick a leftist woman, preferably one of color. Unfortunately, most female, black, leftist politicians are considered outright moonbats by most of America, so he probably needs to suck it up and pick a white woman. Two come to mind immediately. There is Arizona's governor Janet Napolitano, who would shore up his illegal immigrant vote. But I'm thinking he already has that demographic pretty well sewn up. So my choice is anti-war mom Cindy Sheehan. Picking Sheehan would make Speaker Pelosi eternally grateful, as she would get to avoid trying to out-leftist Sheehan in a run for her house seat. This would also allow him to make inexperience his ticket's main positive. If you really want to run against McCain as "Bush's 3rd term," nothing would do it like this. Imagine VP candidate Sheehan stalking Bush at his ranch, threatening to starve herself to death until we leave both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Third, Moore again hits the nail on the head. Barack Obama needs to be making speeches that make him out to be the peacenik hippie that he always wished he could be.Along with this, he needs to quit bathing. If he hasn't already won the Europeans over, this would do the trick. It's a well-known fact that American voters in time of war love politicians with no military experience, foreign policy experience, and who just want to allow everyone to live in peace and happiness.

Point four is obvious. Obama's constituency demands that all people be defined by their race, sex, ethnicity, income level, education, etc. But Moore doesn't stop here, he brilliantly notes how Michelle Obama needs to be made a front-and-center piece of his election campaign.

Michelle Obama has been one of the most refreshing things about this election year. But within weeks of the end of the primary season, the handlers stepped in to deal
with the "Michelle problem."

What problem? She speaks her mind? She wears what she wants? Her biggest sin, according to the punditocracy, was to say that, as a black woman, this may be the first time in her adult life she's been really proud of her country. Shock! Surprise!
Outrage! But not from any of the black women I know.

Yes, Americans love rich women who have received every possible benefit in their adult lives due to the color of their skin. And the fact that she emerged from this experience bitter and disparaging of her country makes her an exceptional voice for all those down-trodden people who are only able to earn a few hundred thousand dollars per year, and only because of who their husband is.

The fifth one is equally genius.

As they smear you, your family, your religious beliefs — cower, back down, go on the defensive.
If they say you should quit your church, quit your church! If they explode over your speaking the truth about the anger and despair of the white working class, take it all back!

Obama should immediately return to his church. Heck, going back to number three, he could quickly dump Cindy Sheehan and name Reverend Wright as his vice president. And he should embrace his comments about middle Americans bitterly clinging to their guns and religion. In fact, he could point to his wife as a shining example of how to make bitterly clinging to your religion work for you, with no need for guns. It takes a true warrior to cling to their bitterness without the aid of a machine gun.

Finally, by all means, he should embrace Michael Moore's support. I almost fell off the chair when I read this:

I remember poor John Kerry not even being able to admit, when asked by Larry King, if he had seen Fahrenheit 9/11. "No," he said, "I haven't. . . . I don't plan to, right now." But he had indeed
seen it. I sat there watching him say this, and I just felt sorry for him and for the election he was about to lose...

So Barack, by denouncing me, you can help McCain get elected.
Because when you denounce me, it's not really me you're distancing
yourself from — it's the millions upon millions of people who
feel the same way about things as I do. And many of them are the
kind of crazy voters who have no problem voting for a Nader just to
prove a point.

I love how Moore accurately depicts people who like his views as people who are crazy enough to vote for Ralph Nadar. It's probably the truest thing he said in the whole piece.

If Barack Obama has any hope left of winning in November, we can only hope he heeds Moore's advice.

How the tax system works.

I've seen this other places but I'll give the Hat Tip to The General Ledger http://the-general-ledger.blogspot.com/ You may have seen this before, but it's worth reading it again to remember the lesson.

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beerand the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes,it would go something like this: The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.The fifth would pay $1.The sixth would pay $3.The seventh would pay $7.The eighth would pay $12.The ninth would pay $18.The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.So, that's what they decided to do.The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemedquite happy with the arrangement, until one day,the owner threw them a curve.

'Since you are all such good customers, he said,'I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyonewould get his 'fair share?' They realized that $20 divided by six is$3.33.But if they subtracted that from everybody's share,then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end upbeing paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughlythe same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100%savings). The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings). The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings). The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings). The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings). The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings). Each of the six were better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings. 'I only got a dollar out of the $20.', declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,' but he got $10! ''Yeah, that's right,' exclaimed the fifth man.'I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I! ''That's true!!' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks! ''Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor! 'The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up. The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore.In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is some what friendlier.

Is it now the G-7.

Sec of State Condalezza Rice just refered to the G-7. Could this mean the Russia is going to be kicked out of the G-8? I would expect other sanctions has the situation moves forward. I will look into this further later tonight.

Phelps escapes Chinese authories wins eight gold metals breaks Spitz Record.

Turns out Phelps escaped the Chinese mafia man without Obama's help. Michael Phelps has won his eighth gold metal at these Olympics. NBC is always selling a video called "Michael Phelps Greatest Olympic Champion." Phelps broke the record of seven gold metals set by Mark Spitz back in 1972. Phelps was also a part of breaking seven world records at these games. However Phelps might want to give some of the bonus money he's getting from his sponsers to his pal Jason Lezak. Lezak ran down the world record holder in the 100 freestyle Alain Bernard. On the anchor leg of the 4 X 100 freestyle relay. He also anchored the 4 X 100 medley relay tonight. If you haven't seen the freestyle relay watch. The race starts two mins in if your in a real hurry. I've seen it three or four times now it's awesome. Of course the really crazy thing is he's planning on going to the 2012 games in London. Come on Michael give the others guys a chance.
http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/player.html?assetid=0811_hd_swb_hl_l0194&channelcode=sportsw

Live blog on Saddleback Church

I just decided to do this at the very last second. I hope everyone likes it. Next time I'll make sure I announce it ahead of time, probably will be for the first debate between McCain and Obama. I also didn't post it until after the event was completely over. I may have missed a question on McCain so I apologize for that.

Rick asked Obama who are the three people you would listen to in an admission.
Obama has said his wife and his grandmother. then named people on both ends of the political spectrum.

Obama has said growing up he had to learn it's not about me. Also admitted to using drugs as a youth.

Talks about the bible quote "whatever you do for the lease of these you do unto me." Mentions Poverty, racism.

Says campaign finance reform was a issue he went against his party on and Opposing the War in Iraq was an issue that was against his political interest.

What is the most significant issue you've filp-flopped on in the last ten years.
Says he thought welform reform would have disasterous results, but it worked better than people anticipated. Work has to be apart of the solution.

Opposing the war in Iraq is the most difficult position he ever made.
"All questions surrounding the war have been very difficult for me."

First break

Obama dodged the question of who he would listen to in his administration. He even mentioned his wife after Rick Warren had said not your wife. Also Campaign Finance reform was an issue most democrats agreed with. So he really didn't go against his party on that issue. Also most people say that bill hurts republicans more than Democrats.

World View:

Rick warren: People what to know what your worldview is.

Obama:
Jesus Christ died for my sins and I am redeemed through him.
Embrace not just in words, but in deeds the expections God has for us.

Rick Warren is asking Obama at what point does a baby get human rights.
Obama: Answering that question is above my paygrade.
I believe in Roe V Wade.
I don't think women make these decisions casually.
I want to reduce the number of aboritons.
I am in favor of limits on late term abortions, if there is an exception for the mother's health.
Are there ways we can work together to reduce unwanted pregencies.

Define Marriage:
Obama: Marriage is the union between a man and a womam.
I would not support a constitutional amendment to that affect.
I do believe in Civil Unions.
I do not believe that inhibit my core beliefs on marriage.

Would you fund embroyic stem cell research.
Says that he would fund in the same way the President did. (funding for research of embroys that are going to be destoryed anyway.)

Does evil exist?
Obama: evil does exist. (mentions many ways it manifest)
Says it must be confronted. We can be soliders in confronting evil. Just because our intentions are good doesn't mean we're going to be doing good.

Which existing Supreme Court Justice would you have not nominated.
Obama: Clarence Thomas (not a good enough legal mind at the time of nomination)
Justica Scalia (because I do not agree with him.)
Justice Roberts (too willing to give administration more power)

Faith Based initatives.
Obama: I know the power of faith based institutions in getting stuff done.
"The devil is in the details"
I want a level playing field for faith based programs.

Do you believe in merit pay for teaches?
Yes, we should reward excellence.

Define rich:
Obama
150,000 or less is middle class
250,000 is rich.
It is irresponsible to spend $1o million a month on a war and not pay for it.
150,000 or less you will get a tax cut
250,000 or more you will get a tax increase.

second break:

President bush stopped funding for embroyic stem cell research after the existing lines were destroyed. Also saying he would not have appointed any conservative judges (all three of the judges he named were conservatives) shows he will appoint liberal judges to the court and that could help McCain with his base. He also said he will raise taxes on those making $250,000 a month. That of course will cause inflation because corporations will raise prices of products.

What should America Sacrifice American lives for
Obama:
America's freedom, America's interest.

When would you send in troops to prevent mass killing.
I would go into war without U.N. Approval.
I want strong international support. (Bosina)

Would you be willing to put an emergency plan for orphans?
Compliments bush on AIDS program.
says yes to the question.

What would you do to prevent persecution of Christians around the world?
People's faith and beliefs have to be protected.
We must have religious tolerance in America
Brings up torture.
We must do more to prosected human trafficers.
share intelligence
debasement of Human dignity.

Why do you want to be President?
I believe the American Dream where anyone can become President is slipping away.
Our politics and Washington is broken so that we can't bring people together to work on common problems.

One thing you would say to people if you knew there wouldn't be any consequences
Solving big problems is not going to be easy and there is going to be a price to be paid. There will be sacrifice envolved in finding new energy and proserving the enviroment.

Exit Obama
Enter McCain

There were on stage with each other for about two seconds.

McCain on stage.
same questions as Obama.
Three people who will influence you admistration
General Petayrus, John Lewis, (Civil Rights Leader) Meg Wittman, CEO of EBAY

What is the greatest moral failure in your life?
My greatest moral failure was the failure of my first marriage. Serve a cause greater than your self-interest

Name an issue you were you went against your party and personal interest on
Climate change, torture, out of control spending, was against peacekeeping mission in Beiruit.

Name an issue you filp-flopped on in the last ten years.
Offshore drilling, it's a national security issue. We have to do everything and we have to have nuclear power.

What was the hardest decision you ever made?
Saying no to early release when he was a P.O.W. was the hardest decision he ever made. Also the decision he's the happiest about.

Brake: Wow McCain came off very well. He's also being funny and charming. answers 4 and 5 we both out of the park.

Faith means I'm saved and have been forgiven. Talks about his experiences of torture of Vietnam. tells a story about a vietnam solider drawing a cross on the ground

At the moment of conception a baby is entitled to human rights.

Marriage is between a man and a women. If the supreme court ruled that Arizona had to recognize gay marriage then he would favor constitutional Amendment

I am in favor of stem-cell research, but believe it will soon be a academic issue. Refers to skin cell research.

Do you believe in Evil?
We must defeat evil. I will get Osama Bin Laden and bring him to Justice. We are facing the transcedent challenge of the 21th Century. Racial Islamic Extremism. We must totally defeat this challenge.

What judges would you not have nominated?
Justice Ginsberg, Stevens, Breyer, and Souter. Are Justices I would not have nominated. Judges should not legislate from the benches. Alito and Roberts are my favorities.

I would make faith base programs hire outside of their faith because it would cripple them.

What about Merit based teacher pay?
Pay good teachers more. Find bad teachers another line of work. Choice and Competition. Home schooling, vouchers, charter schools. etc. It's the civil rights issue of the 21th century. What oppurtunity does a child have if he/she is going to a failing school.

What do you consider rich?
I want everybody to get rich. Keep taxes low. $7,000 tax credit for every child. $5,000 for healthcare (refundable) Keep taxes low and cut spending. Two things congress never miss a pay raise and a vacation. It doesn't matter what my defination of rich is because I don't want to raise anyone's taxes. Our best days our ahead it.

When our right to security and our right to privacy collide what takes precedent?
Congress needs to work together to figure out those issues. We have to stay up with changes in technology. (not asked to Obama, had extra time.)

When do you make the decision to go to war?
The most precious assest we have is our nations blood. We won the cold war without firing a shot. I would commit troops if American national security was at jeopardy. Talks about Rwanda. We need to do more to stop genocide in darfur. We need to enforce a genuine ceasefire. 118,000 people have been displaced in Georiga. Russians are coming in as a act of agreession. Russia must respect entire tegority of Georiga. Russia's invasion cannot be allowed in the 21th century,

We must make adoption alot easier in America. Tells story about cindy adopting their daughter from Mother Threasa's orphagange

Why do you want to be President?
I want to put my country first. I will work across the alise.

McCain was very quick and definitive with almost all of his answers. I think he did very well at this forum. He told several personal stories about his life. It's hard to find a place he made a mistake at this event. I will say he made the same mistake Obama did about judges. He only had to mention one judge he wouldn't have nominated. Mentioning all four liberal judges was a mistake in my opinion. Obama should've said Scalia and Thomas. McCain should've said Ginsberg and Stevens. Those Justices are seen as the furthest right and left on the court. Naming all the liberal/conservative judges looks like pandering.

What VP Candidates Should I Write Profiles On?

I would like my visitors advice on who I should do my next few VP profiles on. I've already done one on Palin, Huckabee, Jindal, and Pawlenty. I'm actually against Huckabee or Romney being VP because their supporters can't stand the others candidate, or each other. I learned this when I almost ended up in a fist fight with a Romney supporter over the issue. The profile on Huckabee was done long before I started this series. I make reference to it in my first article of this series about Bobby Jindal. Back to the point please leave your suggestions about which VP candidates I should profile.

McCain Team Considers Going All-in on Drilling

For more by Scott Martin, check out Conservatism Today.

We've got some possible good news for proponents of "Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less." Ed Morrissey of HotAir (my top rated conservative blog) notes John McCain's comments to the Weekly Standard here.

McCain made clear he has not ruled out a change in his position–to one that endorses drilling in ANWR. “I continue to examine it,” he said. So does his staff. McCain’s campaign has been quietly studying the ANWR issue and discussing the potential consequences–good and bad–of a policy change.

But in our conversation on August 13, McCain added a new wrinkle. When I asked him if he had consulted Palin about ANWR, he said that he had not yet done so. He added, “I probably should,” he said. “I will.”

So I called Palin to ask what McCain can expect to hear. The answer is that Palin, who has been mentioned as a possible McCain running mate

but has not been vetted, will make a straightforward case for drilling in ANWR. She says McCain’s willingness to take another look at ANWR is “very encouraging.”

This is very positive development. Palin, my hope for McCain's VP choice, has said that she has been trying to sway McCain's opinion for some time. The highly-popular Alaskan governor-hottie and mother of four would be a great pick to shore-up conservatives and possibly gain a good number of disappointed former Clinton supporters.

Morrissey notes that this would be a clear rebuke of the Gang of Ten, the group that includes senators who call themselves Republicans, but are attempting to obliterate the GOPs best issue this election cycle.

If he intends to send a signal, its intended recipients will be pro-drilling conservatives … and compromisers in Congress. No compromise with Democrats would ever include opening ANWR to its original intended purpose. If McCain threatens to openly support ANWR drilling, it effectively torpedoes the Gang of 10 compromise.

Morrissey notes that only a small majority of Americans support drilling in ANWR, but that would change real quickly once McCain's team decided to start aggressively educating people on the issue. For an excellent piece on the wisdom of opening up ANWR, read Jon Utley's recent Reason article.

What do you think of Palin as a possible vice president?

Chinese Authorties Claim Michael Phelps is a Mutant, Have Taken him Prisoner

Chinese Authorities have taken U.S. Swimmer Michael Phelps into custody. "Phelps is not human." says the Chinese Special Agent. "We've decided to cut him open and look for gills along with other evidence that he is a human-fish mutant." The Chinese do not plan on using a doctor but rather a member of the Chinese Mafia to conduct the test. This decision came after stripping Phelps of his clothing showed no proof of the Chinese Claims. This "man" has won six gold metals and set six world records. What kind of man can do such things." Visa's comercial suggesting that Phelps could be a fish has apparently caused confusion. The Chinese said about Visa, "We believe this American Corporation knows something they are not sharing with us, and we intend to find out what it is." Visa has said its commerical is not meant to be taken literally. "The Chinese misunderstand the meaning of the commerical it's supposed to be refering to how incredible a swimmer Mr. Phelps is. Not that the man is actually a fish!" We're sincerely sorry that our commerical has lead to this regretable outcome." However the Chinese do not believe Visa and are frevent in their belief they should go through with this. "If we were wrong we will pay for him to be shipped back to America and buried." However if we find evidence of our claims we will simply dump his body in the ocean where it belongs."

I'm chalking this situation up to cultural difference between the two countries. Truth is only one man can handle an international crisis of this magitude. That's right the savior himself Barack Obama. I move that President Bush send Freshman Senator Obama over to China. There he will convince the Chinese Government to adopt religious freedom, allow freedom of speech, stop keeping the price of their currency inflated, and release our national hero Michael Phelps unharmed from the Chinese Dungon he is being held in. Of course he has less than 8 hours to accomplish all this and his staff won't wake him for another six, but he's Obama so is there any doubt he'll be successful.

Update:
Obama overslept and Phelps has died. President Bush tried numerous times to get in touch with "The One." Apparently, the Senator didn't want to get up early and turned the ringer on his phone off. Our sincerest sympathies go out to the family of our Olympic hero. However Obama has now promised to raise Phelps from the dead in exchange for an one of Phelps' Olympic gold metals. More to come on this breaking news story.

Phelps' family is refusing to turn over one of Phelps 11 gold metals to Obama, "Michael earned those metals we have no right to give them away." Obama is saying that the phelps' are greedy for not giving him a gold metal. "They have more than enough metals they should give me, my wife and my children each a gold metal. It's the only fair way to distribute the wealth." This despite that fact Obama has never competed in an Olympic event.

Obama Flips on Tax Policy

For more by Scott Martin, go to Conservatism Today.

Barack Obama is making another massive flip-flop from his stated goals, this one on tax policy. Like all of his flips, it is easy to rip as a convenient switch in an attempt to win the election, but at the same time it feels bad ripping the guy when he's showing signs of gaining his sanity.

This is a pretty big change for Obamanomics. Economic advisers Austan Goolsbee and Jason Furman, in today's Wall Street Journal, now say that Barack Obama's tax plan will do the following:

1) It will increase capital gains and dividend tax rates, to 20 percent, only for families making over $250,000. Before, Obama was hinting at rates as high as 28 percent for everyone.

2) On the issue of the Social Security income cap, he's now considering a plan that would make folks earning over $250,000 pay in the range of 2 to 4 percentage points more in total (combined employer and employee) payroll taxes. Previously, there were hints at increases of from 6 percent to 12 percentage points.

Now certainly, any increase in taxes on the "rich" and on capital gains is likely to be disastrous, especially given the current slow economy. And he still will allow President Bush's tax cuts to expire, which will be the largest tax hike in American history. But at least he's realizing it's a losing issue for him and is adjusting it. Plus, the flip makes him look bad to supporters and non-supporters alike, and only serves to bring into focus just how far from mainstream he is to begin with.

As the author writes:

In 2009, the United States might be just emerging from a nasty downturn, only to get hit by a tax increase. Also, recent research shows that tax hikes may be less harmful if accompanied by spending cuts. Yet Obama is planning huge and specific spending increases matched by often vague spending reductions. Clintonomics was all about balancing the budget. This is not a priority for Obama.

So Obama is still a disaster. But he's getting better at trying not to be too open about it.

Russia ignoring world won't leave Georgia.

The Soviet Union, I mean Russia is refusing to leave the tiny country of Georgia. As a matter of fact they have moved further into Georgia and are threating the Capital. Bush may have looked into Putin's soul but I think McCain had it right when he said, I looked into Putin's eyes and saw K.G.B. There's not much we could do about this even if we weren't fighting the War on Terror. An Attack on Russia is the begining of World War three. We are going to have to find some diplomatic solution to this problem. The best ones being thrown around are Trade Sanctions and kicking Russia out of the G-8. Anyone have any better ideas?

Please Leave Comments and Vote in My Poll

I've noticed more people are visiting this blog lately. I would ask everyone to let me know what they think by leaving comments on my stories. Also vote in the poll located on the right side of the blogThank youNew Conservative

Another Top Al-Qaeda Leader Killed in Pakistan

Abu Saeed al-Masri, commander of Al Qaeda's Afghanistan operations was killed in a clash with Pakistan troops. Al- Marsi was third in command, the most dangerous position in Al-Qaeda, when he was killed. For those that aren't informed it seems we always kill the guy right under Osama and Ayman Al-Zawahri. I would love to capture the number three man alive once and see if we couldn't find those two.

Al-Qaeda upset by women buying cucumbers.

Al-Qaeda apparently doesn't want women buying cucumbers because they look like part of the male anatomy. According to Al-Qaeda in Iraq tomatoes are female fruit and cucumbers are male fruit. That's not the only obsurd thing in this story. Take a look
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/2538545/Al-Qaeda-in-Iraq-alienated-by-cucumber-laws-and-brutality.html

25 Hints You're Not Voting for Obama

This is a very funny piece by National Review. Feel free to take a look then come back and put your own reasons in the comments section. I may post the top ten if I get enough response.
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZDJkNGE0ZjQ0NjZhZjMzMGM2MWFlNjcxZWZlNmQ5ZGM=

Russia ends occupation of Georgia.

Update: 8/12/08 5:35pm Eastern Standard time.
French President Nicholas Sarkozy has negoiciated a Peace plan between the two countries. The peace plan has 6 points. About 100,000 people have been displaced by the conflict. Russia has already accepted the terms of the plan, but Georgia has not responded as of yet. However I find it hard to believe they want to continue the conflict. To read more about this plan go here
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7557457.stm

Update: 8/12/08 8:50am Eastern Standard time
Apparently Medvedev has ordered forces not to attack Georgian forces unless provoked. However Georgian officals say that the bombing continues and that Russia is bombing civilan targets. They are saying they want the President to resign, but will not force him. I think invading his country and refusing to leave unless he resigns is forcing him. President Saakashvili is giving an address to the Georgian people at a rally in the capital has I write this. As of right now Russian troops have not left Georgia. I hope their on their way out. We will know soon enough.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,402043,00.html

Russian President Medvedev has ordered Russian millitary forces out of Georgia. This comes after Russia had esclated the situation in recent days. The Soviets, I mean Russians cut the country in half and moved deep into Georgia on Monday. They are now saying that Georgia's President Mikhail Saakashvili "better go." Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Stated they will not talk to the current Georgian President. Both sides have accused the other of ethnic cleansing. "Saakashvili voiced concern Russia's true goal was to undermine his pro-Western government. "It's all about the independence and democracy of Georgia," he said. However pro Russia supporters in Georgia do not agree, "The Georgians burned all of our homes," said one elderly woman, as she sat on a bench under a tree with three other white-haired survivors. "The Georgians say it is their land. Where is our land, then?"
Go here for more info: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,402043,00.html

I should have another post on this situation later today

Kirsten Powers: Edwards "Was Always a Fake"

For more by Scott Martin check out Conservatism Today.

Democrat strategerist Kirsten Powers appears regularly to counter Sean Hannity on Hannity & Colmes, and on Hannity's radio show, The Sean Hannity Show. In a column yesterday, she sounded just like him in hurling John Edwards under the bus following Edwards' admission of cheating on his wife in 2006.

He Was Always a Fake

If it looks like a phony, walks like a phony, quacks like a phony, it's a phony.

There's nothing particularly shocking about a politician cheating,and there's even less shock in learning that Edwards has been lying through his teeth about his own affair. In fact, we should assume that his detailed timeline about the affair is likely just another lie.

This is interesting. Edwards has looked like a phony, walked like a phony and received $400 haircuts like a phony for some time now, yet Powers wasn't calling him a phony last week. In fact, I recall her being on Fox News following the news of Edwards' $400 haircuts, and remember thinking that despite her attempts to limit the political damage to him, something seemed wrong. I could almost sense that she knew that he really was a fake. Her arguments seemed extra-weak that day, and she looked ashamed of making them.

If I'm correct, now we know why. If she knew that he was a phony then, as really, any thinking person should have known within minutes of learning about his history, then she has been denying what she knew to be true for years now. That has got to be difficult on one's psyche. It is no shock that she lashed out at him in such an indignant manner yesterday if you recognize that she has allowed herself to be used, knowingly backing up this fraud for years.

But something about Edwards always seemed uniquely phony, even by the standards of politics. Actually, nothing about him seemed authentic.

Who was he? Apparently, whatever he thought people wanted him to be. In 2000, he helped found the "New Democrat Coalition" for the centrist Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) along with Sen. Joe Lieberman and others. Then, for his 2004 presidential run, he staked out the populist "Two Americas" theme. By 2008, he'd completed a total morph into a class warrior who pandered to the farthest reaches of the Democratic Left.

The poor suddenly became a great concern to him after his 2004 loss - yet he saw no disconnect in building a massive mansion as he crusaded for the poverty-stricken. He discovered New Orleans when he wanted to make his 2008 campaign announcement, but was nowhere to be seen back when the tragedy occurred.

In campaign focus groups, people would say something about him was "too perfect," that there must be "something wrong with him." A YouTube clip of him obsessing over his hair captured what so many felt: He was more concerned with appearances than anything else.

In all her self-righteous indignation, where is Powers' criticism of herself for constantly arguing against Hannity when he made the very same points? I have always respected her for being fair-minded, but this is ridiculous. She attempts to excuse herself of culpability by dropping it all at Edwards' doorstep. Edwards never forced her to back him up every time he did something that seemed fake, yet she did. But now "he was always fake."

By the way, Edwards isn't the only one dishonored. The media accepted his denials of any affair - while holding at least one other candidate to a different standard. The New York Times insinuated in a front-page story that McCain had had an affair with a lobbyist - an allegation utterly without evidence. And MSNBC's Keith Ollberman broke into scheduled programming to hawk the story.

Perhaps Powers didn't accept his denials. She certainly wasn't visibly complaining about this fact prior to the admission, however. One can only write a column like this if they've felt that way for a period of time. Yet she never allowed her beliefs about him to prevent her from backing him up on TV or on the radio.

I have lost a great deal of respect for Powers. I never agreed with her, but I used to respect her. If she wants to regain her good name, she might consider sharing with the audience what she thinks of the candidates she discusses, even if they are Democrats. Otherwise, I can only assume Kirsten Powers was always a fake.

McCain is Conservative Enough For Me!

I'm always surprised at people who say McCain isn't conservative enough. He's pro-life although he did support embroyic stem cell research, that really is not an issue anymore because scientists have found they can use adult stem cells. He opposes gay marriage, at least to the point where he thinks it should be a State's right issue. He's undoubtly a fiscal and foreign policy conservative. (He voted against the Bush tax cuts because they weren't tied to cuts in spending) What's our deficit again? He also says he will appoint conservative judges. So the man's not perfect find me one candidate in the Republican Primary that was perfect. Rudy was pro-choice, Romney was a flip-flopper, Huckabee had problems on the immigration issue and with taxes, maybe Thompson, but he didn't seem to really want the job.

I want to talk about the two issues that McCain as problems on with conservatives. I'll start with the environment. Basically people say he's bought into the global warming hysteria. That he will cause businesses to go out of business or cut jobs and raise prices by mandating new laws about emissions. Or what has become know as a cap and trade policy. Basically this law would require every business to stay under a certain amount of admissions. However if a business needed to go over the mandated amount all it would have is find a business that was under the amount and buy their extra emissions credits. This encourages companies to stay under the limit so they can have extra to sell.
Go here if you want a more detailed explanation: http://www.ucsusa.org/publications/catalyst/page.jsp?itemID=27226959

I don't know if their is global warming and to tell the truth I don't much care. The way I see it's in our interest to reduce pollution global warming or no global warming. If not, were eventually going to have smog in most of our major cities, and I don't know about you, but I kinda like being able to breath. The same goes for investing in alternative energies. It's just better for the enviroment as a whole. The fact it's in our national interest not to send money to Venezuela and Saudi Arabia just bolester's the case that we should use less oil. I'm still for drilling for our own oil as well. Mostly due to the fact that it might take awhile to get the other forms of energy to be efficient and affordable enough for people to use. I don't want oil to get so high that people can't go to work, and force change like some of my democratic friends.

Now on to the other issue conservatives have a problem with McCain on illegal immigration. Their will be a immigration bill signed by the next President of the United States. The question do you want it to be a blanket amnesty bill, which is what Obama would sign, or do you want the comprehensive plan that McCain would sign. I know, I know you don't want either. The comprehensive plan is amnesty. No what Reagan signed was amnesty. McCain's plan has some penalites for entering the country illegally and would also have the affect of finishing the wall on the border. I do agree that if their not going to build the wall there's no point in passing this bill because we would need another one in twenty years. There's also no way we get the wall built if Obama is President. So we build the wall first then pass an immigration bill to take care of this problem for the last time. Or we could pass the bill and have it go into affect on the day the wall on the border with Mexico is completed. I've heard some stats recently saying that illegal crossings have dropped significantly recently. Also were prosecting more illegals recently. http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0623/p16s01-wmgn.html This would also stop under an Obama Presidency.

Even if you still don't like McCain on either issue their is no doubt that he would be better on both than Obama. Obama is against drilling, or he was against it before he was for it. I feel sure he'll be against it again soon so no need to worry. Obama is one of those Democrats who wants oil prices to hit $200 a barrel so he can put all of the money into finding alternative energies while we suffer. As I've said Obama would impose a blanket amnesty bill. Also if Obama passes an amnesty bill it could very well end the Republican Party. It's going to be hard to win elections with 90% of both blacks and hispanics voting for Democrats. Actually it wouldn't be possible to win an election under those conditions. So decide now vote for McCain and get 80% of want you want, or vote for Obama get 0% and bring an end to the Republican Party, your call.

Is Edwards the father?

I wanted to avoid writing anymore about this topic, but some things you just can't ignore. Edwards is now being asked to take the paternity test by members of Rielle Hunter's family. Edwards had already said that he was willing to take the test to prove he wasn't the father. It looks like the Hunter's want him to make good on that promise. If Edwards is the father it's a major story. If he's not this is the last you'll ever hear of it from me. Except for a short post stating he's not the father. Please don't be the father John their are so many other issues I want to spend my time on.

Georgia to pull all troops out of Iraq to fight Russia.

No, no not the state here in America. There's a country called Georgia. Or at least there is until Russia decides their going to take it over. Georgia is now in what is envolving into an all out war with Russia, a war Georgia cannot possibilty win. Nato and the U.S. are calling for cease-fires but Russia has started aerial bombing on Ossetia, a disputed terrority between Russia and Georgia. The calayslt to this was Georgia taking Russian checkpoints by force and alledegly killing Russian soliders. "Russian military commanders said 15 peacekeepers have been killed and about 150 wounded. Russian troops went in as peacekeepers but Georgia alleges they now back the separatists." Whatever happened Georgia has now called all of it's 2000 troops back from Iraq. However these troops were scheduled to leave at the end of this year. With the war in Iraq winding down I don't see this making a impact on security in the country.

Just a note Georgia applied for membership in NATO and was turned down. If they had been accepted into NATO we would be at war with Russia today. "An attack on one country in NATO is an attack on all countries in NATO." Either that or Russia wouldn't have attacked at all, but that's difficult to believe given the circumstances.

Oil down to $115 a barrel.

The price of oil is continuing it's downward trend. Oil dropped almost ten dollars a barrel this week to $115 a barrel. Apparently this is due to a strengthing dollar. The Dow also gained 300 points on Friday. However it dropped around 225 on Thursday so I'll let you decided if that gain really means anything.

Gas prices are down $32 from its record highs, and it appears that gas prices will continue to drop for the rest of the summer. "We're probably going to see gasoline at the retail level around $3.50 for Labor Day," said James Cordier, president of Tampa, Fla.-based trading firms Liberty Trading Group and OptionSellers.com." Of course gas will be cheaper in the South where I live.
If the dollar continues to strengthen and gas prices continue to drop we should be out of this economic slowdown by next summer. I don't think it takes an economics degree to figure that out.

Edwards admits to affair.

John Edwards admitted today that he had an affair with Rielle Hunter, a 42 year old campaign worker. Edwards denied these rumors while running for President. Elizabeth Edwards has been suffering with cancer however John Edwards made sure to mention she was in remission when the affair occured. She has now been diagnosed with terminal career.

The affair occured in 2006 and Edwards says he is not the father of Miss Hunter's baby because he the timing of the affair and the baby's birth don't add up. In other words it had more than 9 months since he had slept with her, according the John Edwards.

There are alot of sites that go into this in-depth, but this isn't going to be one of them. Edwards made a terrible decision by cheating on his wife. It probably has cost him any chance to run for office in 2012, or even to have a role at this year's Democratic Convention or any role in any future Democratic Administration. His political career is over. How this affects his marriage is between John and Elizabeth.

Check out the blogs on my blog list if you want more discussion on this topic.

Please make sure your addressing the right person.

No offense to Scott Martin who I'm really happy to have posting for me on this site, but he is not New Conservative. We are two different people. I'm posting this because I've had a couple of websites and now some posters mistake us for the same person. It really shouldn't matter, but it's annoying when I write a great article that someone loves then comments on it and thanks someone else for writing it. I'm sure Scott would feel the same way. This is the last time I will ever mention this. The person whose name is at the bottom of the post is the one who wrote it. I will also be adding another blogger very soon so please be sure your addressing the right person when you comment on an article. Hopefully I didn't come off as too big a jerk in this post. Thanks to everyone who reads this site.

New Conservative

Obama says America is no longer what it once was, I agree.

Today Senator Obama told a little 7 year old girl, "America is no longer what it could be, what it once was, and I say to myself I don't want that future for my children." Obama is saying that America has become a worse nation since his childhood. I'm not one to go after a spouse, but I think given that Michelle Obama said that she was proud of her country for the first time in her life eariler in this campaign. This statement is just another stupid mistake that Obama should've avoided. However Obama is right about one thing, America is no longer what it once was, it's much, much better. I'm a History major so were going to have a refresher course right here.


America is no longer what it once was. In 1776 when our founders wrote the Declaration of Independence they wrote these words. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." However their was slavery, women and minorites weren't allowed to vote. Whites and Blacks went to separate schools. Ate in separate Resturants and were kept separated for the majority of the country's history. There was the Dred Scott decision were the Supreme Court ruled that a slave born in the U.S. was not a citizen in 1856. It also said a man in a slave state could move to a free state and still have slaves

Only five years after the Dred Scott decision the Civil war began. We won't go into the political reasons for the war, or the fact it had little to nothing to do with slavery. The important thing is that the 13th 14th and 15th Amendments were added to the U.S. Constitution. These Amendments freed the slaves, gave them the right to vote, and guaranteed them equal protection under the law. Women were given the right to vote in 1920 as part of the 19th Amendment. However for some reason the Supreme Court didn't get the message.

At the end of Reconstruction in the south Southern States began to pass what we now refer to as Jim Crow laws. These laws separated Whites and Blacks by forcing them to use separate public accommodations. A famous supreme court case rose from these laws, Plessy V. Ferguson.

In 1896 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Plessy V. Ferguson that Louisana "Separate but Equal" laws were constitutional. This decision upheld the constitutionality of segregation. The law said that racial segregation was legal has long as both blacks and whites had equal accommodations.
It wasn't until 1954 that this decision was overturned in Brown Vs. Board of Education. Years after the decision the law still wasn't being enforced in the South. In 1957 Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus had his National Guard block black students from entering Little Rock High School. President Einshower responded by federalizing Arkansas' National Guard and by sending in the 101th Airborne. The last notable event regarding Brown Vs Board of Education, was in 1963 when Alabama's Governor George Wallace stood in the doorway of Foster Auditorim at the University of Alabama to block two black students from enrolling at the University. Wallace is known for his famous saying, "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever." However Wallace left the doorway when confronted with federal marshalls and the Deputy Attorney General of the United States.

Then of Course there is the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed all Segregation. It also ended the Jim Crow era. The Bill Passed the House with ease but was fillabustered for 54 days before the Senate finally got enough votes to end the fillabuster and pass the bill. (you need a 2/3 majority to end a fillibuster, 67 votes) The Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed practices that were meant to keep blacks from voting. Poll taxes, literacy tests (which would've been impossible for most educated whites to pass), grandfather clauses (if your grandfather could vote so could you) etc. The Act gave federal oversight to elections in areas that had practiced discrimination. The Act was reauthorized in 2006 for another 25 years.

I'm sure I could go on but by now I think you probably get the point. America is no longer what it once was. It is now a true democracy where everyone is treated equal under the law. Understanding there still are some problems with discrimnation and there always will be, to say that America has gone downhill, or isn't a good country anymore just because Obama doesn't like whose in the Oval Office is elitest crap! To quote Ronald Reagan America is still the best last hope on earth. We still live in a country that fights for freedom of others. That tries to make good on past mistakes. That allows every man and woman to speak freely, and to worship any way they see fit. GOD BLESS AMERICA!

To read more from New Conservative go here http://www.thenewconservatives.blogspot.com/

Obama sends 68 year old man to fight Sean Hannity.

Update: There was some misinformation about this subject last night, hopefully now everything is correct.

Sean Hannity will face the man that Barack Obama said would tear him up, Truman Burgess Sunday at 9pm on Hannity's America. Burgess is a retired General Motors worker. Obama made the comment at an event, "I might have to put Mr. Burgess on Fox News. I'll put Mr. Burgess up against Sean Hannity, He'll tear him up." Obama thought he was joking but Hannity didn't think it was funny and will have Mr. Burgess on Hannity and Colmes tonight.

See the video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJvA1EZQ1so Only the 1 to 2 mins address the issue here. But if you like Ann Coulter you might want to watch the whole thing.



Wow even I feel bad for Mr. Burgess. Hannity will have control of the show. Burgess should've at least made sure he was facing Hannity in a semi-neutral setting like The Fox Report with Shepard Smith. Good luck Mr. Burgess looks like your another person Obama has thrown under the bus. Maybe Obama will do the right thing and sub for you at the last minute, but I doubt it.

http://embeds.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/08/05/obama-finds-someone-who-can-take-on-sean-hannity/

Farve headed to New York

The Green Bay packers have traded Brett Farve to the Jets for a draft pick. The round the draft pick is in depends on how the Jets do this year. The better the Jets do the better the draft pick for Green Bay. So in away Farve is still playing for the Packers. I'm happy to see this Soap Opera in Green Bay is over. Let the Rodgers era begin. Good luck kid your replacing a legend.

American Athletes worried about breathing in Bejing.

Apparently the air in Bejing is so bad that athletes have taken to wearing breathing mask to keep the pollutants out of their system. The cyclists said the mask were a safety precaution and apologized for embarrassing the Chinese Government. "We deeply regret the nature of our choices. Our decision was not intended to insult BOCOG or countless others who have put forth a tremendous amount of effort to improve the air quality in Beijing." How are they improving air quality? By taking cars off the street and shutting down factories to reduce polution. In other words they are telling people they can't drive or go to work during the olympics.

Is everyone ready to admit that giving the Olympics to China was a terrible idea? They are blocking internet access to any website that the country, putting mircophones in taxi's to find out what people are saying about them and to collect intelligence, (they say it's to protect taxi drivers), and now the air is apparently so bad athletes are being forced to wear mask. Let's not forget all the protest involving Tibet leading up to the games.

I remember when it was being decided where these Olympics were to be held America begged them not to give them to China. Well they did it anyway. I bet they wish they would've listened now. Not to say were always right, but we were on this one.

Osama's driver found gulity on terror charges

The Driver for Osama Bin Laden was convicted on five counts of supporting terrorism at the first GITMO trial. He was also found not guilty of three other counts of supporting terrorism and two counts of conspiracy. Defense attorney's aruged that he was a low level Bin-Laden employee. Obvisously the jury did not agree. Chalk up another victory for the good guys.

Obama: Have we ever Seen a More Thin-Skinned Candidate?

Read more from Scott Martin at Conservatism Today.

Calm down, I said 'thin-skinned.' We can still say that, right?

Barack Obama reacted in an extraordinarily defensive manner to a simple question from a Nevada reporter recently. From Hot Air:

RALSTON: I guess what the American people want to know though Senator, is what is the real difference between you and John McCain. You are running this ad tying him to the industry saying that he has taken all of these contributions, but as you well know there is a story out today about how you supported the Dick Cheney bill and he opposed it. That bill gave subsidies to the oil and gas companies, John McCain opposed the bill saying those are tax breaks for those companies, Barack Obama favored it.

SEN. OBAMA: Hold on a second Jon, I thought I was talking to you instead of debating John McCain, but I am happy to let you serve as his proxy. The fact of the matter is that I supported that energy bill saying at the time that those tax breaks were wrong but also recognizing that this was the largest investment in alternative energy in history. And that it was important for us, for the solar industry to get off the ground in places like Nevada, for to get wind kicked off the ground, that that was something that we had to do and I immediately said during that time and subsequently that we should strip out those tax breaks for oil companies. I would point out that in December of last year, we had a vote to strip out those tax breaks for oil companies, there was one Senator that did not vote on that measure, and that was John McCain.

Absolutely stunning. A reporter asks a valid question, and Obama accuses him of serving as John McCain's proxy? Perhaps Barry is far too inexperienced to remember these days, but it used to be considered the job of the media to ask the difficult questions of our political leaders. He berates a man fr simply doing his job. Obama seems afraid of any real debate on the issues. He apparently envisions a future where he eloquently proclaims his latest positions on the issues of the day (using a prepared speech, of course) and then goes off into his White House without answering questions, while Congress thanks him with a hearty "heil, mein Fuhrer" and goes off to implement his orders.

In the rest of the interview, Ralston presses Obama on his policy reversals and asks him how voters can trust him not to shift again for political reasons. In Nevada, the proposed nuclear waste storage facility at Yucca Mountain remains a highly controversial topic, and Ralston wonders aloud when Obama will change his mind and support it — a killer for him in Nevada. Obama gets offended at the suggestion:

SEN. OBAMA: John, don’t put words in my mouth or anticipate what I am going to do. I’ve been opposed to Yucca Mountain from the start so if the suggestion is that John McCain who is in favor of Yucca right now should get a pass on that.

He was opposed to telecom immunity at the start, supported public financing at the start, thought the surge would create more violence at the start, and so on, and so on. “Don’t anticipate what I am going to do?” No one can anticipate what he will do — that’s the problem.

That's the way Obama wants it. We are not to anticipate what he will do, we are to humbly accept his greater wisdom whenever he chooses to give it, without question.

Have we been Spoiled by Capitalism?

For more by Scott Martin, visit Conservatism Today.

Jonah Goldberg has a wonderful piece up at National Review Online, entitled "The Spoiled Children of Capitalism." In it, he explains why he believes we have been, and I think there is a great deal of truth to this.

We’ve all witnessed the tendency to take a boon for granted. Being accustomed to a provision naturally leads the human heart to consider that provision an entitlement. Hence the not-infrequent lawsuits from prison inmates cruelly denied their rights to cable TV or apple brown betty for desert.
And so it goes, I think, with capitalism generally.

Capitalism is the greatest system ever created for alleviating general human misery, and yet it breeds ingratitude.

People ask, “Why is there poverty in the world?” It’s a silly question. Poverty is the default human condition. It is the factory preset of this mortal coil. As individuals and as a species, we are born naked and penniless, bereft of skills or possessions. Likewise, in his civilizational infancy man was poor, in every sense. He lived in ignorance, filth, hunger, and pain, and he died very young, either by violence or disease.

The interesting question isn’t “Why is there poverty?” It’s “Why is there wealth?” Or: “Why is there prosperity here but not there?”

At the end of the day, the first answer is capitalism, rightly understood. That is to say: free markets, private property, the spirit of entrepreneurialism and the conviction that the fruits of your labors are your own.

Goldberg goes on to point out that capitalism has so improved life that more people than at any other time in history make a living almost solely off their intellectual capital.

For generations, many thought prosperity was material stuff: factories and forests, gold mines and gross tons of concrete poured. But we now know that these things are merely the fringe benefits of wealth. Stalin built his factories, Mao paved over the peasants. But all that truly prospered was misery and alienation.

A recent World Bank study found that a nation’s wealth resides in its “intangible capital” — its laws, institutions, skills, smarts and cultural assumptions. “Natural capital” (minerals, croplands, etc.) and “produced capital” (factories, roads, and so on) account for less than a quarter of the planet’s wealth. In America, intangible capital — the stuff in our heads, our hearts, and our books — accounts for 82 percent of our wealth.

In large measure our wealth isn’t the product of capitalism, it is capitalism.

And yet we hate it. Leaving religion out of it, no idea has given more to humanity. The average working-class person today is richer, in real terms, than the average prince or potentate of 300 years ago. His food is better, his life longer, his health better, his menu of entertainments vastly more diverse, his toilette infinitely more civilized. And yet we constantly hear how cruel capitalism is while this collectivism or that is more loving because, unlike capitalism, collectivism is about the group, not the individual.

These complaints grow loudest at times like this: when the loom of capitalism momentarily stutters in spinning its gold. Suddenly, the people ask: What have you done for me lately? Politicians croon about how we need to give in to Causes Larger than Ourselves and peck about like hungry chickens for a New Way to replace dying capitalism.

And therein lies the rub, in my opinion. Love of capitalism is scarce, it needs to be nurtured and protected. It needs to be taught. What has capitalism done for us lately? Is there any doubt that my generation has a greater standard of living than my father's generation? We have more choices when it comes to goods and services, computers do things in seconds that most people could never do on their own. Our life expectancy is higher, more people own their own homes, more people are graduating from colleges and technical schools. By any conceivable standard, life is better now for most people than it was just 20 years ago. Does anyone doubt that my daughter's generation will have a higher standard of living than my generation has had? I can't envision how it wouldn't. Yet we seem to be always looking for something better, some illusion that does not exist.

This is the patient leaping to embrace the disease and reject the cure. Recessions are fewer and weaker thanks in part to trade, yet whenever recessions appear on the horizon, politicians dive into their protectionist bunkers....

This is the irony of capitalism. It is not zero-sum, but it feels like it is. Capitalism coordinates humanity toward peaceful, productive cooperation, but it feels alienating. Collectivism does the opposite, at least when dreamed up on paper. The communes and collectives imploded in inefficiency, drowned in blood. The kibbutz lives on only as a tourist attraction, a baseball fantasy camp for nostalgic socialists. Meanwhile, billions have ridden capitalism out of poverty.

And yet the children of capitalism still whine.

We all seem to be capitalist until the moment in our lives where we aren't winning at the current stage of the game. Then we hear cries for a housing bailout, or government-controlled health care. At any given time, millions of people in this country stand to be losing at life. The temptation always exists for some politicians to prescribe a cure that is worse than the symptoms. I think we just need a good dose of freer markets and more capitalism. What do you think?