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Saturday, December 22, 2007

If Your Tax Refund is Late, You Can't Blame Bush

In a brazen display of outright deception along with the concomitant barefaced lies, Fuhrer Pelosi and wisp Harry Reid have attempt to absolve themselves of any blame if tax refunds are late in 2008.

The two ring-tailed baboons of Congress went on the offensive to blame Bush for any delay, long before the season for tax refunds begins in earnest.

Their reason is not far to find.

Congress failed to pass an extremely important change in the tax code before the deadline that would mean refunds could be sent on time.

The Democratic controlled Congress had months to work on an AMT relief measure that will effect 23 million Americans. Yet it only passed the relief legislation on Wednesday of last week.

The AMT, or the Alternative Minimum Tax, gradually eats the middle class alive during tax season. The Bush Administration and the IRS have been warning Congress for months that a fix was needed in the form of legislation that would relieve families hit by the AMT.

Yet Congress dragged its feet and only got around to passing the measure on Wednesday, well-passed the eleventh hour.

But Buffoons Reid and Pelosi did not want Congress to 'look bad.' And thus, they sent out a letter to the Bush White House urging him to make sure that families 'receive their refund in a timely manner.'

ROFL! A timely manner? What clowns. Is this some sort of joke? The very ones who did not act in 'a timely manner' now want Bush to act in 'a timely manner?'

Unfortunately this is no joke but more of the same clown show antics of a Congress that is run by imbeciles.

Read the full story here:
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=/Politics/archive/200712/POL20071221b.html

Did You Notice in the Ratings of Candidates....

In The Liberty Sphere's final ratings of both Republican and Democratic candidates for President, did you notice that no Democrat rated above a 4 on the 1-10 scale?

And did you notice that no Republican rated below a 6 on that same scale?

This means, of course, that on the 8 key issues impacting human liberty, ANY of the Republicans are to be preferred over ANY of the Democrats.

And yes, my friends, this means that Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Mitt Romney, and even Mike Huckabee rate much higher on the issues impacting freedom than ANY of the Democratic candidates.

Rudy, Mitt, and Mike have their problems, no doubt--problems that cause us concern. But those difficulties pale in comparison to the baggage carried by the Hildabeast, Obama, Edwards, or any of the other Socialists seeking the Democratic nomination.

Not that I expect all of you to agree, but still, when you look at the basic facts and the record, any of the GOP candidates can be counted on to attempt to preserve human liberty while ALL of the Democrats promote issues that squelch that liberty.

Friday, December 21, 2007

Second Amendment News Roundup for 12/21/07

NOTICE! The Second Amendment News Roundup will take a break for Christmas. There will be no roundup on Monday or Tuesday (Christmas day). We will resume next Wednesday.

Be sure to visit the Liberty Sphere throughout the holidays. We will, as always, provide provocative reading every single day of the year.

Focusing on guns and politics, here is today's Second Amendment News Roundup:

Another Congressional idiot has gone berserk. 'Leaky' Leahy, D-VT, has blocked the plan to require passports at the northern and southern borders:
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=/Nation/archive/200712/NAT20071221b.html

Mike McCarville posts Lee Bandy's assessment of Fred Thompson in South Carolina. Of course, I disagree with Bandy's assessment, as I have provided extensive evidence that Thompson is much more of a force here than is commonly recognized:
http://wwwtmrcom.blogspot.com/2007/12/in-south-carolina-thompson.html

A Keyboard and a .45 tells us about an afternoon at the gun shop:
http://akeyboardanda45.blogspot.com/2007/12/afternoon-at-gun-shop.html

Armed and Safe says 'dump 'em' rather than 'reform 'em.' We fully agree:
http://armedandsafe.blogspot.com/2007/12/id-rather-see-them-dumped-rather-than.html

Through the years I have become convinced that you can't put ANYTHING past the Clintons, even promoting Mike Huckabee because they know Hillary can beat him. Born Again Redneck has the story:
http://bornagainredneck.blogspot.com/2007/12/todays-conspiracy-theory-clintons.html

For the sake of fairness, Sebastian presents the opposing viewpoint (on this blog anyway) concerning the passage of H.R. 2640, which we strongly opposed. Many within the NRA opposed it as well. This shows that gun rights advocates can disagree and still work together toward the same ultimate goals:
http://www.snowflakesinhell.com/?p=2216

Nicki responds to some recent balderdash by laying out the facts, including some jabs at the Brady Gang:
http://libertyzone.blogspot.com/2007/12/pathetic-little-twerp-responds.html

Traction Control has the best endorsement for Fred Thompson ever, from a man who says that Christians don't have to support Huckabee just because the Huckster is one. It's Fred all the way:
http://tractioncontrol.well-regulatedmilitia.org/?p=868

Of Arms and the Law reports that Mitt Romney has once again endorsed assault weapons bans:
http://armsandthelaw.com/archives/2007/12/mitt_romney_end.php

Not only is Jack Pribek a musician but he is quite a good writer. Here he has an interesting read on the problems with ethanol and the possible solutions:
http://pribek.net/2007/12/20/the-ethanol-proble-and-some-possible-solutions/

Red's Trading Post reports the latest news on the new ATF reform act:
http://redstradingpost.blogspot.com/2007/12/new-atf-reform-act-introduced.html

Say Uncle has today's MUST-read on 'incrementalism':
http://www.saysuncle.com/archives/2007/12/21/incrementalism/

Robb Allen has the quote of the day and the essential commentary to go with it!:
http://blog.robballen.com/archive/2007/12/21/Quote-of-the-day--The-puzzled-immigrant-edition.aspx

Now we can safely say that Mike Huckabee has completely lost his mind. He is now attacking Rush Limbaugh and running as the 'anti-Limbaugh' candidate...not exactly a brilliant strategy for winning the conservative Republican vote. Michelle Malkin has the story:
http://michellemalkin.com/2007/12/21/mike-huckabee-the-anti-limbaugh-candidate/

The Buckeye Firearms Association reports that a political parody has sparked a pre-Christmas buying rush on guns:
http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/article4105.html

The GOA issues its alert concerning the bill passed yesterday by Congress with backing of Brady and the NRA:
http://www.gunowners.org/a122007.htm

The NRA gives its take on the passage of H.R. 2640:
http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Federal/Read.aspx?id=3321&issue=

From the NRA: More Proof Americans Support Gun Rights and NRA Has Clout in Elections:
http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?ID=3328

The Volokh Conspiracy has excellent reading today on ignorance and the Iowa Caucuses:
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2007_12_16-2007_12_22.shtml#1198221838

A Country on Skid Row

Since the 1930s the United States has been slouching toward addiction. It started as all addictions do, with a sip here and there, gradually increasing the level of consumption, until finally the victim is totally dominated and overwhelmed by the substance.

Many of these wind up on skid row, their brains fried and unable to function logically.

Physicians have a terms for this final phase of the addiction--organic brain syndrome. At this stage brain cells have died never again to be regenerated, leaving the victim with thought processes that have no basis in reality.

Of course I am not suggesting that the U.S. is being ruined by alcohol or drugs. Quite to the contrary. America is being ruined by its addiction to big government.

During the Great Depression President Franklin D. Roosevelt and a Democratic-controlled Congress decided this was the perfect opportunity to introduce big government solutions closely akin to socialism into the American experience.

Ever since that time Americans and the politicians they elect have gradually increased the consumption of big government solutions until now most of them feel as if they are going through withdrawal symptoms if the nanny state is not there to wipe every runny nose, nurse every stubbed toe, and fix every single thing in our lives that is not perfect.

But I maintain it's even worse than that. It would seem a majority (not a big majority, but a majority nonetheless) have reached the stage of organic brain syndrome and are sitting squarely on skid row due to their morbid addiction to big government.

Here are a few examples of the fact that our elected officials, and the people who put them into office, have taken leave of their rationality:

--Congress by overwhelming majorities in both Houses banned incandescent light bulbs, thinking, obviously, that this is a legitimate role of government in the United States of America. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid even stated forthrightly that this sort of thing IS the role of government.

--Although the Constitution clearly states that the right of THE PEOPLE to keep and bear firearms is not to be infringed (which means that this right is to be totally unfettered or unrestricted), Congress has just passed more laws restricting certain citizens from owning firearms--WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE LARGEST PRO-GUN LOBBY IN THE NATION. And don't give me this 'party line' that the bill does nothing and that it is a 'good bill.' To the contrary, it restricts what is supposed to be an unrestricted right. The NRA sold out on this one, to its shame.

--We have millions of people supporting for President a woman who thinks that her 'vast experience' includes the time she spent as the wife of a President, or a first-term Senator who has less than 2 years in office claiming he has 'the experience necessary' to lead America on the world stage. And then we have on the GOP side 'big government conservatives' (an oxymoron) such as Huckabee, Giuliani, and Romney. The best candidates are virtually ignored.

--We have an ambulance-chaser lawyer (John Edwards) who does not believe owning a gun is a Constitutional right but says that having free healthcare and Internet access ARE Constitutional rights. The law school that trained this man should recall his diploma. Yet, like sheep headed for the slaughter, millions of Americans will walk like zombies into polling places to vote for this man.

I could very well go on and on with more examples, such as the indoctrination to which the government educational system subjects our young, the attempt of the Supreme Court to weaken private property rights in favor of local municipalities who collude with big business to take private property, the notion that provisions in the Bill of Rights are not individual rights but 'collective rights,' which is just a code word for Communistic thinking.

You tell me. Does this sound like a rational country to you? Is the majority engaging in logical thinking? Are they even aware that the final rule of law for this nation is the Constitution, no matter what ANY court--even the Supreme Court--says?

I don't think they are aware at all. It's organic brain syndrome. Their addiction to big government has landed them on skid row where tweety birds softly sing their names while they wait for the next handout or the next multi-billion dollar solution to a 'problem,' paid for by confiscating the money of the citizens in the form of taxation.

I am quite certain that we are very close to the need to invoke Thomas Jefferson's 'reset button' where Patriots insure by whatever means necessary that liberty in this country, as delineated in the Constitution, continues unfettered.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Second Amendment News Roundup for 12/20/07

Focusing on guns and politics, here is today's Second Amendment News Roundup:

Don't look now, but the 2-bit, sorry-assed, m-effin' Congress we elected last year has just banned the incandescent light bulb, and Bush signed the damn measure into the law. Assholes,the entire lot:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=59298

And THE BASTARD Harry Reid explains why banning a fuggin' light bulb is a legitimate role of government...what a mother-effer!:
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=/Politics/archive/200712/POL20071220f.html

Sebastian says that legislation has been introduced in Congress to deal with the ATF:
http://www.snowflakesinhell.com/?p=2210

And while I am on my rant, I might as well go for broke. The unconstitutional gun control bill known as H.R. 2640 has been approved by Congress and sits on Bush's desk, and he is expected to sign it. Assholes. Here is Nicki's take on it:
http://libertyzone.blogspot.com/2007/12/its-done-deal.html

Nicki can rant a lot better than I can. So I will just let her do the talking on this one. Except for one thing. Perhaps it is getting close to the time when Patriots will need to invoke Jefferson's reset button, if you know what I mean:
http://libertyzone.blogspot.com/2007/12/you-pathetic-little-twerp.html

The War on Guns provides us with a Chambliss update on the ATF:
http://waronguns.blogspot.com/2007/12/chambliss-update-signs-of-progress.html

No department of happy. Heh. Say Uncle has the quote of the day:
http://www.saysuncle.com/archives/2007/12/20/quote_of_the_day-187/

Michelle Malkin reports that not only has Tom Tancredo dropped out of the GOP race, but he has endorsed Mitt Romney:
http://michellemalkin.com/2007/12/20/tom-tancredos-exit/

Today's MUST-read is from Walter Williams, our favorite intellectual, who writes on 'academic slums:
http://www.gmu.edu/departments/economics/wew/articles/07/academicslums.htm

DAMN! This just provides more fodder for me to blow my stack about today. A bill has been introduced that would prevent federal judges from attending any educational event except what is sponsored by the federal government. Can you say TYRANNY, DESPOTISM, TOTALITARIANISM??? Assholes. The Volokh Conspiracy has the whole rank stench of the bullshit here:
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2007_12_16-2007_12_22.shtml#1198150138

Roberta X has an excellent read on why many spend so much time on the Internet:
http://twowheeledmadwoman.blogspot.com/2007/12/im-livin-in-your-monitor.html

Well, that's it for today. As you can probably tell, I am hopping mad about what our illustrious tyrants in Congress are doing to this nation. The M-Effers have just about gotten on my last good nerve. I'm going to cool off. Bye.

Ratings on ALL of the Candidates

With only two weeks to go until the Iowa Caucuses, which will officially open the U.S. Presidential primary season, the Liberty Sphere will issue our final ratings on ALL of the candidates, both Republican and Democrat.

Periodically as the candidates have participated in debates around the country, The Liberty Sphere has rated the candidates on the views expressed during the those debates using our exclusive 'Liberty Scale.'

The Scale is based upon eight key issues that we deem to be key to human liberty: low taxes, secure borders (and enforcement of immigration laws), gun rights, abortion, national defense, U.S. foreign policy, the war on terror, and healthcare (specifically keeping our healthcare system private and the best in the world).

We then rate the candidates on a scale of 1 to 10 based upon these 8 key issues that impact liberty, with 10 being the highest score.

As you will note below, GOP candidates came out very well comparatively speaking on human liberty issues. The Democrats did not fare so well.

No Democrat, for example, except for Billy Richardson has definitively voiced support for gun rights. But Billy has mammoth problems in just about every other area. His policy statements call for big government solutions for every problem, the price tag of which will run into the billions of dollars. Thus, his views in essence mirror those of European-styled Socialists such as Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards.

In addition, we have stated repeatedly that we do not feel that Richardson has the intellect or the ability to be President. The job is simply way over his head.

On the flip side, every single GOP candidate supports a strong defense, low taxes, private healthcare (although some would mandate insurance through private companies), and American capitalism. The rub comes in on the issues of gun rights, foreign policy, the war on terror, and illegal immigration.

All of the GOP candidates give assent to believing in gun rights, securing our borders, and a strong defense. The issue becomes who is most believable given their past record.

In addition, U.S. foreign policy and the War on Terror are key issues in a dangerous world in which the U.S. is in the unavoidable position of being the world's only superpower. Is this the time to retreat into a cocoon and usher in an era of isolationism when there are upwards of 80 million Jihadists around the world who want to kill us and the rest of the world?

Some of the readers of the Liberty Sphere clearly will not like our final analysis of the candidates. But we will be as honest and candid in our assessment and ratings as possible. But remember, this is merely 'as we see it.' Clearly there are other points of view, and we acknowledge those.

Thus, based upon a careful observation of the Republican and Democratic candidates, here is our final list of ratings as we stand on the brink of the primary season.

REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES

FRED THOMPSON is our choice as the best candidate for the office of President. He is an entirely consistent conservative and federalist, an advocate for gun rights, low taxes, private healthcare, a strong defense, a pragmatic U.S. foreign policy, the War on Terror, the sanctity of human life, and secure borders with policies that discourage illegal aliens from entering the country. He gets a perfect score of 10.

DUNCAN HUNTER is our second choice, but he has failed to get the traction and recognition it takes to win primaries, which is a shame. On the issues he is as reliably conservative as Fred Thompson, but we do not feel that he is a viable candidate, unfortunately. He also gets a perfect score of 10.

MIKE HUCKABEE has been a major disappointment as his views have come into focus only recently. While the candidate is strong on gun rights, abortion, foreign policy, the war on terror, national defense, and healthcare, he is highly suspect on taxes and illegal aliens. Because the issues of taxes and immigration are so important, his score on the Liberty Scale has suffered. He gets no higher than a 7.

RON PAUL is a mixed bag. While we fully embrace his views on gun rights, taxes, abortion, healthcare, national defense, and immigration, we find his views on U.S. foreign policy and the war on terror to be highly troublesome. For this reason we give Dr. Paul a final rating of 7.

JOHN MCCAIN has come on strong since he got his wrists slapped on the immigration debacle. He has also acknowledged that McCain-Feingold had some unintended consequences that were troublesome and needed to be corrected. On the issues of guns, abortion, taxes, healthcare, national defense, the war on terror, and foreign policy, the candidate is fairly strong. The fact that McCain is a genuine war hero takes him a long way in our book. Thus, his final rating is 7.

MITT ROMNEY is problematic because of the inconsistencies. How do we know for sure where he stands? Yet the candidate is no Socialist and supports American free enterprise and our capitalistic system. He gets a rating of 6.

RUDY GIULIANI was clearly the right man at the right time for NYC when the Twin Towers were attacked. No doubt he is a strong leader who can stand strong for America's interests around the world. We also know he is not a Socialist and expressed privately his grave concern over Hillary Clinton's socialistic policies. We give him a final rating of 6.

TOM TANCREDO, we hear, will announce today that he is dropping out of the race. He has been a great voice for immigration reform and stopping the flow of illegal aliens into the country. We saw his debate performances improve dramatically over the months, and we hate to see him go.

DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES

Unfortunately no Democrat rates above a 4. Almost without fail, the stance of the Democratic candidates on the issues are the diametric opposite of all The Liberty Sphere finds to be imperative.

BILL RICHARDSON--4. His only redeeming quality is his stance on gun rights.

JOE BIDEN--4. A liberal, no doubt, but a pragmatic one. He knows plenty about foreign policy and would place America first in an international squabble. This is his only redeeming quality.

MIKE GRAVEL--3. I gave him a 10 for NOT showing up for one of the debates. Once again, he is a liberal, but a 1960s-styled liberal who has at least a little common sense.

CHRIS DODD--2. Socialist. He gets a 2 because he has more common sense and tons more experience than the four listed below.

HILLARY CLINTON--1. Socialist.

BARACK OBAMA--1. Socialist.

JOHN EDWARDS--1. Socialist.

DENNIS KUCINICH--0. Sorry, but we can find absolutely no rational reason to give him any points on any of our key issues.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Second Amendment News Roundup for 12/19/07

Many apologies for yesterday's absence of the Second Amendment News Roundup. I was out all day, and then last evening I had one of those family Christmas gatherings where I needed to show my face.

At any rate, focusing on guns and politics, here is today's Second Amendment News Roundup:

The War on Guns reports that U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss has sidelined himself on the Sullivan confirmation as head of ATF:
http://waronguns.blogspot.com/2007/12/saxby-sidelines-self-on-sullivan.html

And in case you missed it, The War on Guns has an excellent piece entitled, 'More From the Ghost of Thomas Jefferson':
http://waronguns.blogspot.com/2007/12/more-from-ghost-of-thomas-jefferson.html

Alphecca gives us the perfect example of 'the slippery slope' with regard to gun control--this one comes from Australia:
http://www.alphecca.com/?p=581

Red's Trading Post has the story of Bill Akins and his personal nightmare at the hands of the ATF:
http://redstradingpost.blogspot.com/2007/12/another-victim-of-maximum-mike-and-atf.html

Born Again Redneck has Fred Thompson on video telling it like it is concerning Mike Huckabee's supposed conservatism:
http://bornagainredneck.blogspot.com/2007/12/thompson-huckabee-is-not-conservative.html

Mike McCarville reports that President Bush has declared 7 counties in Oklahoma as major disaster areas in light of the recent devastating ice storm:
http://wwwtmrcom.blogspot.com/2007/12/bush-approves-major-disaster.html

Snow Flakes in Hell has the latest piece of pure, unadulterated, aromatic BULLSHIT from the federal government:
http://www.snowflakesinhell.com/?p=2194

Say Uncle has a funny Fred Thompson ad:
http://www.saysuncle.com/archives/2007/12/19/you_had_me_at_punch_the_hippies/

A Keyboard and a .45 has an excellent post on those who dance in the blood of innocents:
http://akeyboardanda45.blogspot.com/2007/12/more-dancing-in-blood-of-innocents.html

It seems that Professor Bogus is making a bogus argument for gun bans. Armed and Safe has the story here:
http://armedandsafe.blogspot.com/2007/12/bogus-argument-for-citizen-disarmament.html

Breda reports that Jeri Thompson gives the reason she loves Fred--he is his own man. Real men also like Fred for that reason. It's hard to support most politicians because in the final analysis they are pussies, placating the media, special interests, etc., to the point to where they appear emasculated. But not Fred:
http://thebredafallacy.blogspot.com/2007/12/alpha-male.html

Today's MUST-read is provided by Nicki at The Liberty Zone. You have gotta read this!:
http://libertyzone.blogspot.com/2007/12/liberals-love-guns.html

Michelle Malkin reports that the fire near V.P. Cheney's office has set the blogosphere ablaze with reference to 'Reichstag!' For the past few years these sorts of things always expose the liberals for who they really are--a bunch of deranged, hate-filled, rabid nutcases who belong in a mental hospital:
http://michellemalkin.com/2007/12/19/fire-near-vp-cheneys-office-sets-off-nutroots-alarm/

John Lott has this important post on the issue of gun-free zones:
http://johnrlott.blogspot.com/2007/12/making-question-of-gun-free-zones-clear.html

The Buckeye Firearms Association points to an op-ed on the Bill of Rights, entitled, 'The Founders Were Straight Shooters':
http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/article4099.html

The Volokh Conspiracy has a intriguing read on Presidential elections and 'Condorcet' winners:
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2007_12_16-2007_12_22.shtml#1198039756

The U.S. Government is run by a group of lunatics. Traction Control has the proof:
http://tractioncontrol.well-regulatedmilitia.org/?p=863

The Bitch Girls have 'the question of the day':
http://www.thebitchgirls.us/?p=7740

In case you missed it yesterday, Robb Allen provides us with an update on his Mom's chemotherapy:
http://blog.robballen.com/archive/2007/12/18/Day-124--Halfway-there.aspx

ROFL! Click over to Front Sight, Press to see Syd's two different ways of wishing Merry Christmas--one for Democrats and one for Republicans:
http://www.snubnose.info/wordpress/news/merry-christmas/

Priscilla Esquivel at Clarity points to the most humorous quotes for 2007:
http://pmesquivel.blogspot.com/2007/12/dont-tase-me-bro.html

Matt Drudge: Edwards Love-Child Scandal Brewing

Note! Scroll down for late-breaking update, including the name and picture of the woman.

Matt Drudge is reporting a major breaking story, published by the National Enquirer, which contends that Democratic Presidential hopeful John Edwards is embroiled in a love-child scandal in which the mother is being kept in hiding.

The woman, who has not yet been named, is purportedly carrying Edwards' child and is being kept out of public view.

This still-developing story is short on details at this point. For this reason a link will be provided below that will take you directly to the Drudge Report website for further updated information.

If this story turns out to be true, it will sound the death-toll for the Edwards campaign. You can bet your last birth control pill that Americans, even within the Democratic Party, are not going to stand for a candidate who sires a love child while his wife is dying of cancer.

Here is the link to the Drudge Report:
http://www.drudgereport.com/

UPDATE! The link to the National Enquirer story is provided here, which not only names the woman in question, but has a picture of her and excerpts from her admission to the affair with Edwards to a friend:
http://www.nationalenquirer.com/john_edwards/celebrity/64424

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

C.L.I.T. Attempts to Create Sympathy for Hillary

The Clinton Ladies Intervention Team (C.L.I.T.), including husband Bill, has shifted tactics recently in order to create sympathy for the beleaguered Mrs. Clinton.

As we understand it, the latest P.R. move is to use all the bad news about Mrs. Clinton to attempt to create a silver lining that will help her at the polls.

Over the weekend the candidate was portrayed as the battered woman on the campaign trail--a tragic figure of a middle aged professional woman who has borne the marks of the gruelling game of politics.

Husband Bill was out on the campaign trail talking up how Hillary was going to lose in Iowa. The mainstream media followed suit, sympathetically reporting that poor Hill was going to simply 'carry on' in the midst of an avalanche of swiftly falling poll numbers.

And then there was 'the picture' that was released to the media over the weekend, which shows Mrs. Clinton clearly as a woman who is showing her age, obviously troubled about her recent misfortunes, but courageously carrying on in the fight despite her appearance of being tired.

My friends, do not let these portrayals fool you. They are carefully crafted and implemented by the Clinton Ladies Intervention Team.

The move is risky, however. Sympathy votes often work when a politician or candidate has experienced the death of a spouse or a child, or in other limited situations. But creating support at the polls using the sympathy card artificially is an entirely different matter.

In order for the tactic to work, significant numbers of voters would genuinely have to believe that Mrs. Clinton is a sympathetic figure. It is clear that they do not.

In fact, voters tend to see her as the exact opposite, as a cold, calculating, manipulative shrew who has done absolutely nothing in her 20 years of public life to cause citizens to view her sympathetically.

The electorate simply doesn't like her, and they sure don't trust her.

Monday, December 17, 2007

Second Amendment News Roundup for 12/17/07

Focusing on guns and politics, here is today's Second Amendment News Roundup:

Glad to see that Mike McCarville has survived the terrible ice storm in Oklahoma. He has the story and pic here:
http://wwwtmrcom.blogspot.com/2007/12/frozen-gadfly-seven-days-ten-hours.html

Mike also says that the clout of U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, R-OK, is growing in the Senate:
http://wwwtmrcom.blogspot.com/2007/12/coburns-clout-grows-politico-reports.html

Cap'n Bob and the Damsel have sage advice on the Second Amendment from the greatest of all time, Ronald Wilson Reagan:
http://capnbob.us/blog/2007/12/14/sage-advice/

The Adventures of Roberta X has some neat pics of the snow out in her area of the country:
http://twowheeledmadwoman.blogspot.com/2007/12/yetiless-wonderland.html

Born Again Redneck says that Fred Thompson has picked up a key endorsement in Iowa:
http://bornagainredneck.blogspot.com/2007/12/steve-king-endorses-fred-thompsosn.html

Say Uncle shows us another example of how the New York Times is the mouthpiece for the anti-gun lobby:
http://www.saysuncle.com/archives/2007/12/17/nyt_mouthpiece_for_the_anti-gun_lobby/

Say Uncle also says that 47 Senators have asked the Department of the Interior to allow citizens to transport and carry firearms on certain public lands:
http://www.saysuncle.com/archives/2007/12/17/public_land_carry/

Robb Allen comments on the waste of taxpayers' money it is for municipalities to have 'gun buy back' programs:
http://blog.robballen.com/archive/2007/12/17/.00000007-success.aspx

Snow Flakes in Hell points to Mitt Romney's numbskulled proposals for gun bans in spite of the fact he claims he fully supports the Second Amendment:
http://www.snowflakesinhell.com/?p=2172

Breda has some choice words concerning her 'gun free zone' place of employment:
http://thebredafallacy.blogspot.com/2007/12/why-did-i-bother.html

Squeaky blogs on guns that fire around corners:
http://www.squeakywheelseeksgrease.com/blog/2007/12/17/gun-that-fires-around-corners/

Nicki has the figures behind the figures on guns in the U.S.:
http://libertyzone.blogspot.com/2007/12/american-way.html

The War on Guns posts the latest poll numbers on how many Americans believe the Second Amendment guarantees individual citizens the right to bear arms:
http://waronguns.blogspot.com/2007/12/so-do-we-have-quorum.html

The MUST-read of the day is over at John Lott's where he presents a long list of scientists who question the theory of global warming:
http://johnrlott.blogspot.com/2007/12/long-list-of-scientists-question-ipcc.html

The most beautiful blond on earth, Blonde Sagacity has this interesting read on the top GOP candidates as we head into the final stretch toward the primaries:
http://mobyrebuttal.blogspot.com/2007/12/gop-primary-news-sweep.html

Stupid, Idiotic, Clueless Yankee Woman

Other than being a very attractive woman, there is practically no redeeming value to the patent drivel of neo-Commie New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd.

She is an airhead. Her columns are sophomoric, detached from reality, lacking in insight, and basically nothing but anti-conservative diatribes.

I find her to be beneath contempt.

The fact that the New York Times publishes this totally irrational balderdash is only more proof that the newspaper is no longer a newspaper but a tabloid. Someone should go ahead and put it out of its misery before it becomes just another rag one finds in the racks along the checkout lines at grocery stores.

Dowd has made a career out of inadvertently drawing into clear focus what most Americans have known all along anyway--liberals are dangerous to America, lacking in any true adherence to the principles of the Founding Fathers and their legacy--the Constitution and the Bill of Rights--and so extremist that the mainstream citizens in the heartland fear for what would become of our nation if people of Dowd's ilk ever become the ruling majority in Washington.

A very impressive blog I have been reading of late, The Stiletto, has singled out Dowd for the latest of her less-than-stellar articles, in which she claims she was 'just a child' when she first encountered the Mormon Temple outside Washington on the Beltway.

As expected, the article is a set-up for a Romney-bash, using his religion to engage in a bit of liberal-approved religious bigotry. But of course, if the liberals do it, then it's not bigotry.

However, as the Stiletto points out, someone noticed a major discrepancy in Dowd's chronology of events in her life. The Mormon Temple to which she refers was completed in 1974. The problem is that Dowd was born in 1952, making her at least 21 years of age when she claims she used to pass by that edifice 'as a kid.'

In short, Dowd effectively shaved off 15 years from her age in this article.

So, the question becomes, how does a political columnist maintain any credibility when going after certain discrepancies on the part of Presidential candidates when the columnist herself is so willing to misrepresent her own life?

Read the full story here, at The Stiletto: http://thestilettoblog.com/2007/12/14/not-the-sharpest-knife-in-the-drawer-maureen-dowds-extended-childhood.aspx#Comment

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Huckabee Misrepresents Background

GOP Presidential contender Mike Huckabee has been caught misrepresenting his background. The candidate claims that he 'has a theological degree,' and that therefore he is well-qualified to deal with religious conflicts on the world stage.

As it turns out, Huckabee never graduated from theological school, which is considered graduate degree status requiring a bachelor's degree as a prerequisite for admission.

Huckabee has a B.A. in Religion from a Baptist institution in Arkansas--a degree that is NOT considered a 'theological degree' due to its undergraduate status.

The candidate then was admitted to a graduate level program at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, but he only completed one year. A theological degree is a three-year program requiring at least 120 hours of graduate level work.

Since Huckabee attended only one year and never graduated from the institution, he by no means has a 'theological degree' as he claims.

This kind of thing may fly with most of 'the brethren' in Arkansas who may not know any better, but in the rest of the country it is considered 'resume padding' and playing fast and loose with the truth.

Among certain ranks of evangelicals these things simply do not matter. All they need to know is if the minister in question can affirm a 'call of God' to the ministry. If they get some education along the way, that's all well and good. But this isn't the main thing they are looking for.

And thus, some of the brethren are woefully ignorant concerning educational designations, prerequisites, and requirements.

Others within the evangelical community, however, place a very high premium on an educated clergy. The bare minimum is four years of college and three more years (at least) of theological education at the graduate level.

And even then, the most prestigious churches prefer a theological doctorate, which is one of the most stringent and taxing doctorates among the various disciplines.

Most accredited theological doctorates require extensive knowledge of at least five languages--Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, German, and Latin.

Individuals who bite the bullet and subject themselves to such a rigorous program of study resent someone who has a bachelor's degree and one year of theological training referring to their educational level as a 'theological degree.'

And rightly so.

Not only has Huckabee done a disservice to those who have acquired such a stringent degree but he has 'outed' himself as one who will flagrantly misrepresent his background for political expediency.