This blog site is dedicated to those of us who are interested in seeking the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about events that impact our lives. The site is NOT a Republican or Democratic site. Therefore, there will be NO "spinning" of the facts or "slanting" of the news to favor or disfavor any person, party or group. All of my comments and opinions will flow naturally and be logically supported.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Rupert Murdoch: "Barack Obama Will Win The Election". On John McCain: "I Think He Has A Lot Of Problems." WOW.
Here's a peek:
Rupert Murdoch -- Chairman of News Corp, new WSJ owner, and longtime torchbearer for conservative politics -- said this about Barack Obama: "He is a rock star. It's fantastic" "I love what he is saying about education." "I don't think he will win Florida.....but he will win in Ohio and the election". "I am anxious to meet him." "I want to see if he will walk the walk."
About the presumptive Republican nominee, Murdoch said, "McCain is a friend of mine. He's a patriot. But he's unpredicatble. Doesn't seem to know much about the economy. He has been in Congress a long time, and you have to make a lot of compromises. So what's he really stand for?... I think he has a lot of problems."
Senator Mitch McConnel Reminds You To Vote On Tuesday. So Do I.
Here's the email from OUR Senator:
Osi,
I am writing to ask for your vote on Tuesday, May 20th in the Republican primary.
This is a critical election year, and I need your support to make sure we have a strong showing heading into the general election campaign.
The polls will be open on Tuesday from 6:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. You can find polling place information here.
I also need your help to spread the word about the primary election. Please take a moment to send an e-postcard to your family and friends reminding them to vote. Sending an e-postcard takes just a minute or two, and it’s a great way to get involved and help the campaign.
Thank you for your encouragement and support.
Sincerely,
Mitch McConnell United States Senator
P.S. Primary Election Day is Tuesday, May 20th. I am asking for your vote, and I need your help to get our fellow Republicans out to vote. Please take a moment to send an e-postcard encouraging your friends and family to vote on Tuesday.
Paid for by McConnell Senate Committee 2008 www.TeamMitch.com
Comment: On behalf of OUR Senator, I am asking you to please vote for him on Tuesday.
Bobby Jindal: The Future President of the United States?
Bobby Jindal is off to a good start in Louisiana. Will it last?
Editor's note: Here's what Louisiana's newspapers are saying in an email sent to me by Governor Jindal entitled "in case you missed it":
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Times Picayune, "Editorial: Keep on path of reform" March 30, 2008
The Legislature begins Monday a three-month regular session that provides a chance to continue pushing for reforms, this time on issues ranging from fiscal policy to workforce training.
Lawmakers need to make the most of the opportunity.
The session's centerpiece is Gov. Bobby Jindal's $30 billion inaugural budget. The details are still being worked out, as individual departments take their funding requests through the legislative hearing process. But the broad policies in the governor's first spending plan are encouraging.
Taking a different course from the previous administration, Gov. Jindal proposes to cut in half, from $800 million to $420 million, the state's dependence on the surplus to pay for recurrent expenses. His blueprint also would shrink the bloated state bureaucracy by eliminating more than 1,300 vacant jobs.
These are significant steps to move Louisiana in a responsible fiscal direction…
These policies complement the recent decision from the administration and legislators to spend most of the leftover surplus from the last fiscal year in long-term investments such as roads, flood protection and coastal restoration. … Besides the budget, legislators also will consider Gov. Jindal's proposal to overhaul how the state trains workers for the job market, an area in which reform is long overdue.
The governor's plan, unveiled last week, seems to embody the concept Louisiana businesses have been pushing for years: investing public money to train people in areas where workers are most needed. The legislation calls for replacing the labor department with a more agile agency to better respond to market needs and to give employers more say on where training money is used. … Overhauling workforce training would continue recent reforms aimed at improving our state competitiveness, including accelerating some business tax cuts and approving recent ethics reforms.
Baton Rouge Advocate, "Editorial: Change focus of job training" March 30, 2008
When the phrase “economic development” comes up, the image that occurs is physical — the smokestacks and roads and cranes that are involved in building what are called “megaprojects.” But it’s the warm bodies inside that count, and Louisiana would be, if truth is told, very hard-pressed to fill up a big new factory with qualified workers.
…the Jindal administration unveiled a series of steps, with legislative and executive actions, to improve the effectiveness of education and training programs.
The plan leans heavily on expanding programs and making funding changes in the state’s community and technical college system, but also borrows from elements of the Texas and Georgia work force programs that are considered national models. And Gov. Bobby Jindal said the administration’s program would involve a good deal of improving what works in today’s system. “We’re building on a lot of good work before us, but it’s time to speed up what is being done,” he said. … It is far and away the most complex undertaking in terms of government change that the Jindal administration has promised. … On two levels, Jindal’s proposal seeks to change deeply grooved patterns in the state’s culture.
At the government level, as he said, he’s asking for a rethinking of what’s being done. He said he wants government to fund performance instead of the going-through-the-motions payrolls…
But at a larger level, he wants to change the perception in the state’s society of what wealth is.
The News Star, “Editorial: Jindal Brings Sign of Hope” March 27, 2008
Gov. Bobby Jindal's second special session was a resounding success, if not because he had unique ideas at least because he had the ability to persuade the Legislature to go along with them.
Indeed, the first two sessions under Jindal's tenure went down like bowling pins.
A $1.1 billion surplus was exhausted, mostly according to his agenda. Jindal's legacy will one day be viewable in new and improved roads, bridges and ports, business tax reductions and maintenance on college campuses.
The governor and Legislature spent a dizzying amount, to be sure. But they seemed to spend wisely in investing in state infrastructure rather than recurring debt the state likely would not be able to maintain.
Jindal was right: One-time surpluses should be invested in bricks and mortar, not in expanding government…
Passing bills to eliminate a 1 percent sales tax that businesses pay on utilities, which amounts to roughly $69 million savings for those companies, will open eyes of those mulling whether to locate their operations in Louisiana.
An expedited phaseout of taxes on manufacturing equipment and corporate debt also will help. … In a short period in office, Jindal already has sparked confidence that Louisiana government during his term will aim high and hold itself accountable for reaching high standards.
The Times Picayune, “Editorial: Governor is Fine, Thank You” March 28, 2008
After two jam-packed special sessions, it seems as if the Jindal administration has been around for more than two months. But he was only sworn in in mid-January.
The governor is rightly flattered to be mentioned as a potential vice president. But he is also right that there is enormously important work to be done here. While he has made an impressive start, neither he nor the people of Louisiana can be satisfied yet.
With the regular session set to begin Monday, Gov. Jindal wants to try to make work force training in Louisiana better match the needs of the economy. He has plans for revamping mental health care and a host of other vital issues to deal with. … He has the good will of voters on his side, and he can get a lot accomplished in Louisiana with the power of the people behind him.
I NEVER really thought I could say this in this lifetime, but I can NOW say that Kentucky could learn a lot from Louisiana, thanks to Governor Bobby Jindal.
Mitt Romney endorses John McCain. Someone please tell Mike Huckabee the nominee has been chosen.
As at the last count, John McCain had a total of 839 delegates. Add to that number the roughly 280 delegates from Mitt Romney, and you have a total of 1119 (he needed 352)! So now John McCain really needs 72, assuming Republican Party rules allow Mitt Romney to pledge his delegates as Romney proposes.
Makes one wonder why Mike Huckabee is "fooling" himself, pretending that he matters at this point..
John McCain continues sweep of states as Mike Huckabee vows to continue.
Senator John McCain continued his winning ways yesterday by winning all three states in contest. He won the primaries in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia (Washington, D. C.). Meanwhile, his challenger, Gov. Mike Huckabee, vows to continue fighting -- a losing battle, if you ask me.
A sister blog is born, where REAL Conservatives Speak! Check it out.
I have started a new blog -- a place where REAL Conservatives (of ANY political persuasions) Speak!
Please check it out and feel free to contribute as you wish. I will leave the blog for any number of contributors to express their CONSERVATIVE viewpoints WITHOUT fear or favor.
I intend to see that REAL CONSERVATIVES take over the state and country -- CONSERVATIVES comprising of Republicans, Democrats and Independents.
So lets have at it, guys and girls. If you want to contribute to the site, all you have to do is email me (the link is on the website). The qualifications are to be Conservative, have a desire to share and influence Conservative ideas to take root in our society and refrain from overly abusive behavior.
Now check out the site. It is Real Conservatives Speak, and I am still putting the finishing touches on it, so please bear with me!
I remember the days of Ronald Wilson Reagan. You see, I grew up during his time in the White House. I always revered him as a Great President and a Great Man, in that order. My hero Ronald Reagan was the Governor of California (1967–1975) and the 40th President of the United States (1980-1989).
Ronald Reagan was the son of a shoe salesman. Reagan was a construction worker, a life guard, radio announcer and actor. Reagan served in the airforce, and served as president of the Screen Actors Guild. Yes, Ron was a Union man at one time. I think he is the only California governor to become President of the United States.
I remember the people that scoffed and made fun of him because of his deeply held beliefs. I remember the people that said he was out of touch because he was a governor of the LEFT coast (meaning California). I remember the people that said he wasn't a TRUE Republican or a TRUE conservative because of his support of people that the establishment weren't supporting. I remember the people that skewered Ron many years later for his support of Barry Goldwater in 1964.
I remember reading about a Ronald Reagan that was chastised and castigated for running for the Republican Presidential nomination in 1968 and 1976 against the establishment. It was even said in commercials against Ronald Reagan: "I'm running against an actor, and you know who killed Abe Lincoln don't you?" When they couldn't gain any traction, others attacked him as a right wing extremist. Many conservative Republicans hated Ronald Reagan because of his previous support of the likes of: Congresswoman Helen Gahagan Douglas, Hubert Humphrey, Harry Truman, and others. I remember reading Ronald Reagan's thoughts on General Douglas MacArthur. Ronald Reagan thought that the only thing that kept Harry Truman from real greatness was his decision not to completely back General Douglas MacArthur and win the Korean War. Ronald Reagan thought that if the United States sent its soldiers to fight wars abroad and get shot it, we as a natioin have a moral obligation to do everything possible to win the war we put them in. In the book about Ronal Reagan, "An American Life" (from which much of my information arises), Ronald Reagan writes: "I'll never forget one prophetic remark by MacArthur: 'If we don't win this war in Korea, we'll have to fight another war---this time in a place called Vietnam.' President Reagan goes on to say that he had never heard of Vietnam.
Ronald Reagan was characterized as a Maverick, not a good party player or party man. He ran against the establishment, against politics as usual, against appeasement, and against business as usual. I remember the people that said he was too old to run for office.
My goodness! So many attacks from so many angles...and yet Ronald Wilson Reagan became one of the Greatest Presidents in History and the Greatest President in my lifetime.
That's fine....Mr. Combs....what does that have to do with Mr. John McCain?
Just as I admire Ronald Wilson Reagan, I revere John McCain as a Great Man, a Great Patriot, a Great War Hero, and someone that I can call a Great President. John's grandfather and father were Admirals in the US Navy. John graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1958. John McCain went on to fight in that war that General Douglas MacArthur warned us about---French Indochina...Vietnam. John survived a major fire on the USS Forrestal that killed 134, and injured 161. He survived nearly drowning after his plane was shot down over Truc Bach Lake in Hanoi, Vietnam. John's shoulder was crushed with the butt of a rifle, he was bayonnetted in the foot and abdomin. The Vietnamese refused him medical attention. They beat him and interrogated him. John McCain endured over five years of torture at the hands of the Vietnamese from 1967-1973.
In July 1968, McCain's father was named Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Command and commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam. McCain was offered a chance to return home. The North Vietnamese wanted a mercy-showing propaganda coup for the outside world, and a message that only privilege mattered that they could use against the other POWs. McCain turned down the offer of repatriation due to the military Code of Conduct of "first in, first out". John would only accept the offer if every man taken in before him was released as well. McCain's refusal to be released was even remarked upon by North Vietnamese officials to U.S. envoy's at the Paris Peace Talks.
John spent two years in solitary confinement. I personally do not know anyone that could live through such torture for such a long period of time. I don't care what anyone says, John McCain is a Great American Hero.
John McCain has been a congressman since 1982. He has been a United States Senator since 1986. Just like Reagan he has kindled the ire of many. Just like Ronald Reagan, he has stuck to his principles. Just like Ronald Reagan, he agrees with the philosophy of General Douglas MacArthur. Just like Ronald Reagan, he is currently considered to be a maverick by many. Ronald Reagan was ranked as among one of the greatest President's in history. I think Ronald Wilson Reagan would greatly approve of my hero, Mr. John McCain.
John McCain addresses CPAC, a speech that reminds one of my hero, Abraham Lincoln.
Today, February 7th, John McCain addressed CPAC with the following remarks:
Thank you. Thank you for inviting me. It's been a little while since I've had the honor of addressing you, and I appreciate very much your courtesy to me today. We should do this more often. I hope you will pardon my absence last year, and understand that I intended no personal insult to any of you. I was merely pre-occupied with the business of trying to escape the distinction of pre-season frontrunner for the Republican nomination, which, I'm sure some of you observed, I managed to do in fairly short order. But, now, I again have the privilege of that distinction, and this time I would prefer to hold on to it for a while.
I know I have a responsibility, if I am, as I hope to be, the Republican nominee for President, to unite the party and prepare for the great contest in November. And I am acutely aware that I cannot succeed in that endeavor, nor can our party prevail over the challenge we will face from either Senator Clinton or Senator Obama, without the support of dedicated conservatives, whose convictions, creativity and energy have been indispensible to the success our party has had over the last quarter century. Many of you have disagreed strongly with some positions I have taken in recent years. I understand that. I might not agree with it, but I respect it for the principled position it is. And it is my sincere hope that even if you believe I have occasionally erred in my reasoning as a fellow conservative, you will still allow that I have, in many ways important to all of us, maintained the record of a conservative. Further, I hope you will grant that I have defended many positions we share just as ardently as I have made my case for positions that have provoked your opposition. If not, thank you for this opportunity to make my case today.
I am proud to be a conservative, and I make that claim because I share with you that most basic of conservative principles: that liberty is a right conferred by our Creator, not by governments, and that the proper object of justice and the rule of law in our country is not to aggregate power to the state but to protect the liberty and property of its citizens. And like you, I understand, as Edmund Burke observed, that "whenever a separation is made between liberty and justice, neither . . . is safe."
While I have long worked to help grow a public majority of support for Republican candidates and principles, I have also always believed, like you, in the wisdom of Ronald Reagan, who warned in an address to this conference in 1975, that "a political party cannot be all things to all people. It must represent certain fundamental beliefs which must not be compromised to political expediency or simply to swell its numbers."
I attended my first CPAC conference as the invited guest of Ronald Reagan, not long after I had returned from overseas, when I heard him deliver his "shining city upon a hill" speech. I was still a naval officer then, but his words inspired and helped form my own political views, just as Ronald Reagan's defense of America's cause in Vietnam and his evident concern for American prisoners of war in that conflict inspired and were a great comfort to those of us who, in my friend Jerry Denton's words, had the honor of serving "our country under difficult circumstances." I am proud, very proud, to have come to public office as a foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution. And if a few of my positions have raised your concern that I have forgotten my political heritage, I want to assure you that I have not, and I am as proud of that association today as I was then. My record in public office taken as a whole is the record of a mainstream conservative. I believe today, as I believed twenty-five years ago, in small government; fiscal discipline; low taxes; a strong defense, judges who enforce, and not make, our laws; the social values that are the true source of our strength; and, generally, the steadfast defense of our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, which I have defended my entire career as God-given to the born and unborn.
Those are my beliefs, and you need not examine only my past votes and speeches to assure yourselves that they are my genuine convictions. You can take added confidence from the positions I have defended during this campaign. I campaigned in Iowa in opposition to agriculture subsidies. I campaigned in New Hampshire against big government mandated health care and for a free market solution to the problem of unavailable and unaffordable health care. I campaigned in Michigan for the tax incentives and trade policies that will create new and better jobs in that economically troubled state. I campaigned in Florida against the national catastrophic insurance fund bill that passed the House of Representatives and defended my opposition to the prescription drug benefit bill that saddled Americans with yet another hugely expensive entitlement program. I have argued to make the Bush tax cuts permanent, to reduce the corporate tax rate and abolish the AMT. I have defended my position on protecting our Second Amendment rights, including my votes against waiting periods, bans on the so-called "assault weapons," and illegitimate lawsuits targeting gun manufacturers. I have proudly defended my twenty-four year pro-life record. Throughout this campaign, I have defended the President's brave decision to increase troop levels in Iraq to execute a long overdue counterinsurgency that has spared us the terrible calamity of losing that war. I held these positions because I believed they were in the best interests of my party and country."
Surely, I have held other positions that have not met with widespread agreement from conservatives. I won't pretend otherwise nor would you permit me to forget it. On the issue of illegal immigration, a position which provoked the outspoken opposition of many conservatives, I stood my ground aware that my position would imperil my campaign. I respect your opposition for I know that the vast majority of critics to the bill based their opposition in a principled defense of the rule of law. And while I and other Republican supporters of the bill were genuine in our intention to restore control of our borders, we failed, for various and understandable reasons, to convince Americans that we were. I accept that, and have pledged that it would be among my highest priorities to secure our borders first, and only after we achieved widespread consensus that our borders are secure, would we address other aspects of the problem in a way that defends the rule of law and does not encourage another wave of illegal immigration.
All I ask of any American, conservative, moderate, independent, or enlightened Democrat, is to judge my record as a whole, and accept that I am not in the habit of making promises to my country that I do not intend to keep. I hope I have proven that in my life even to my critics. Then vote for or against me based on that record, my qualifications for the office, and the direction where I plainly state I intend to lead our country. If I am so fortunate as to be the Republican nominee for President, I will offer Americans, in what will be a very challenging and spirited contest, a clearly conservative approach to governing. I will make my case to voters, no matter what state they reside in, in the same way. I will not obscure my positions from voters who I fear might not share them. I will stand on my convictions, my conservative convictions, and trust in the good sense of the voters, and in my confidence that conservative principles still appeal t o a majority of Americans, Republicans, Independents and Reagan Democrats.
Often elections in this country are fought within the margins of small differences. This one will not be. We are arguing about hugely consequential things. Whomever the Democrats nominate, they would govern this country in a way that will, in my opinion, take this country backward to the days when government felt empowered to take from us our freedom to decide for ourselves the course and quality of our lives; to substitute the muddled judgment of large and expanding federal bureaucracies for the common sense and values of the American people; to the timidity and wishful thinking of a time when we averted our eyes from terrible threats to our security that were so plainly gathering strength abroad. It is shameful and dangerous that Senate Democrats are blocking an extension of surveillance powers that enable our intelligence and law enforcement to defend our country against radical Islamic extremists. This election is going to be about big things, not small things. And I intend to fight as hard as I can to ensure that our principles prevail over theirs.
Senator Clinton and Senator Obama want to increase the size of the federal government.
I intend to reduce it. I will not sign a bill with earmarks in it, any earmarks in it. I will fight for the line item veto, and I will not permit any expansion whatsoever of the entitlement programs that are bankrupting us. On the contrary, I intend to reform those programs so that government is no longer in that habit of making promises to Americans it does not have the means to keep.
Senator Clinton and Senator Obama will raise your taxes.
I intend to cut them. I will start by making the Bush tax cuts permanent. I will cut corporate tax rates from 35 to 25% to keep industries and jobs in this country. I will end the Alternate Minimum Tax. And I won't let a Democratic Congress raise your taxes and choke the growth of our economy.
They will offer a big government solution to health care insurance coverage.
I intend to address the problem with free market solutions and with respect for the freedom of individuals to make important choices for themselves.
They will appoint to the federal bench judges who are intent on achieving political changes that the American people cannot be convinced to accept through the election of their representatives.
I intend to nominate judges who have proven themselves worthy of our trust that they take as their sole responsibility the enforcement of laws made by the people's elected representatives, judges of the character and quality of Justices Roberts and Alito, judges who can be relied upon to respect the values of the people whose rights, laws and property they are sworn to defend.
Senator Clinton and Senator Obama will withdraw our forces from Iraq based on an arbitrary timetable designed for the sake of political expediency, and which recklessly ignores the profound human calamity and dire threats to our security that would ensue.
I intend to win the war, and trust in the proven judgment of our commanders there and the courage and selflessness of the Americans they have the honor to command. I share the grief over the terrible losses we have suffered in its prosecution. There is no other candidate for this office who appreciates more than I do just how awful war is. But I know that the costs in lives and treasure we would incur should we fail in Iraq will be far greater than the heartbreaking losses we have suffered to date. And I will not allow that to happen.
They won't recognize and seriously address the threat posed by an Iran with nuclear ambitions to our ally, Israel, and the region.
I intend to make unmistakably clear to Iran we will not permit a government that espouses the destruction of the State of Israel as its fondest wish and pledges undying enmity to the United States to possess the weapons to advance their malevolent ambitions.
Senator Clinton and Senator Obama will concede to our critics that our own actions to defend against its threats are responsible for fomenting the terrible evil of radical Islamic extremism, and their resolve to combat it will be as flawed as their judgment.
I intend to defeat that threat by staying on offense and by marshaling every relevant agency of our government, and our allies, in the urgent necessity of defending the values, virtues and security of free people against those who despise all that is good about us.
These are but a few of the differences that will define this election. They are very significant differences, and I promise you, I intend to contest these issues on conservative grounds and fight as hard as I can to defend the principles and positions we share, and to keep this country safe, proud, prosperous and free.
We have had a few disagreements, and none of us will pretend that we won't continue to have a few. But even in disagreement, especially in disagreement, I will seek the counsel of my fellow conservatives. If I am convinced my judgment is in error, I will correct it. And if I stand by my position, even after benefit of your counsel, I hope you will not lose sight of the far more numerous occasions when we are in complete accord.
I began by assuring you that we share a conception of liberty that is the bedrock of our beliefs as conservatives. As you know, I was deprived of liberty for a time in my life, and while my love of liberty is no greater than yours, you can be confident that mine is the equal of any American's. It is a deep and unwavering love. My life experiences in service to our country inform my political judgments. They are at the core of my convictions. I am pro-life and an advocate for the Rights of Man everywhere in the world because of them, because I know that to be denied liberty is an offense to nature and nature's Creator. I will never waver in that conviction, I promise you. I know in this country our liberty will not be seized in a political revolution or by a totalitarian government. But, rather, as Burke warned, it can be "nibbled away, for expedience, and by parts." I am alert to that risk and will defend against it, and take comfort from the knowledge that I will be encouraged in that defense by my fellow conservatives. You have heard me say before that for all my reputation as a maverick, I have only found true happiness in serving a cause greater than my self-interest. For me, that cause has always been our country, and the ideals that have made us great. I have been her imperfect servant for many years, and I have made many mistakes. You can attest to that, but need not. For I know them well myself. But I love her deeply and I will never, never tire of the honor of serving her. I cannot do that without your counsel and support. And I am grateful, very grateful, that you have given me this opportunity to ask for it.
For what's it worth, Bob Dole says his heart is with John McCain -- a CLEAR endorsement.
It's NOT too late to start talking about a Veep candidate for John McCain. Governor Charles Crist of Florida sure looks like he's going to be the one, with Joe Lieberman as SOS and Rudy Giuliani as AG.
I think Fred Thompson LOST his BIG chance for Veep spot when he failed to endorse John McCain, shortly after he dropped out of the Prez. race.
More reasons to support John McCain. He's NO pushover; he'll be guided by VALID Conservative principles; and, he'll change Washington for the BETTER!
Though I vehemently disagree with John McCain on his now abandoned "amnesty" for illegal immigration, I agree with him on MOST (if not all) other issues and I GREATLY admire his independent streak and no-nonsense "straight talk".
Notice, if you will, that his opponents who worry about him ought to, and our Mitch McConnell (whose opinion about John McCain proves relevant here) has "... had a great relationship [with him] since" their last squabble over the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law.
Even Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), who rightly caught the ire of John McCain, now says "We've had our moments, but we've gotten over that and moved on down the road."
That sounds like a very good advise to those who UNFAIRLY complain about John McCain: it's time to get over that and move on down the road.
