Watauga County Republican Party Meets

For the first time ever, the Republican Party in North Carolina has raised more money than the Democrats. This was the hot-off-the-press news the local Republicans received tonight at their monthly meeting. For 100 years the Democrats have ruled this state with the money always coming to them. Now it is coming to us. What does that tell you?

Russell Peck the Executive Director of the North Carolina Republican party will be our next guest. Mr. Peck is well known after running the successful campaign of New Jersey’s new governor Chris Christie. He also ran the campaign of John McCain and Sarah Palin in Ohio and in Florida. So, you know he will have a lot to share. The meeting will be held on Friday, May the 14th at 6:00 p.m. at the “Builder University” conference room in the New River Showcase and Design Center on Hwy. 105 (near the Ingles shopping center). You are invited.

Announcements at the meeting included the news that 21 cars from Watauga County went in the caravan to the Tea Party in Ashe County. Watauga County will have its next Tea Party on July 1. For other information see the local party blog at WataugaGOP. Also, see the link to Facebook on the blog.

Allen West speaks about Islam Feb 19

The Great Debates

I felt the today’s Sunday morning talk shows laid out the issues clearly that we will be debating over the next few months: As to the core issue, Meet the Press David Gregory asked:

David Brooks, you have been thinking about this a lot and you wrote this in your column on Friday: In the first year of the Obama administration, the Democrats, either wittingly or unwittingly, decided to put the big government-versus-small government debate at the center of American life. How's that playing out?

MR. BROOKS: Not well, I don't think. I don't think it's good for the country. You know, we had a bitterly divisive culture war for a bunch of years, then we had a bitterly divisive debate about Iraq. And I think a lot of people, including President Obama, were hoping we could get to other debates about opportunity, about productivity, about fiscal problems. And that will--those would have been debates which would have structured some bipartisan cooperation. But for whatever reason, we fall into a big government vs. small government debate. And this is like a social script that puts all the Republicans on the anti-government mode, very polarized; strengthens the libertarian, more polarized part of that party; puts the Democrats on a more "let's use government to do this and that" mode. And so you get this intense polarization which we've seen over the past year. It also tends to help Republicans, by the way. But it's created, not only an end to the polarization, but it's magnified it, I think.

The next issue will be the major debate on immigration which some expect to be more divisive and acrimonious than even health care. It was Paul Krugman on ABC that laid out the problem. He explained how immigration will reveal not only the abyss between the two parties, but fissures within each party. Democrats want the Hispanic vote, but the Hispanics take jobs from their other constituency, the labor unions.

On the Republican side, Republicans do not want our culture overrun by aliens, especially when they have already revealed a blatant disrespect for our wishes and our laws. On the other hand the business members of the Republican party want the cheap labor.

Arizona Gets Serious

Because the Federal government refuses to.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Here is the bill.
It will be challenged in court on 4th amendment grounds but I'm not so sure Arizona is not justified to ask for verification of citizenship if "reasonable suspicion exist" (page 2, section 2, paragraph B). There is no doubt this gives over zealous law enforcement an avenue to harass innocent Americans but where do you draw the line? President Obama sure is "wee-weed up" about it. The lawyers are pouring over it preparing to challenge the bill which as NPR reported, "makes it against the law to be an illegal immigrant in Arizona".

Parting question: Is it time to consider a National ID card?

US Following Socialist Europe on the Way to the Bottom

Free To Choose

We get bogged down with day to day politics and we should given the state of the world these days. I was all set to post some new threads (and I will) about Goldman Sacs as well as the Blago redaction thing. Then I read "Reader's" comment. It had a link. I always check out Reader's links, actually I look at any link any commenter posts. Some out of a sense of duty and some with eager anticipation. When Reader posts a link, it's the latter. The story moved me.

In February of 2009 my uncle Steve died. He was 64. He was an accountant. He went to work that Monday morning and when he came home he died instantly of a massive heart attack. He wasn't overweight and we thought he was in good health.

My mother, brothers, sister and I were left to go through his belongings. He never married and lived alone in a very small house on his seven acres in Gainesville Florida. He was amazing. His passion was knowledge. He had built bookshelves everywhere. You had to turn sideways to squeeze through those shelves to get from his only chair to the bedroom. Books were stacked literally from floor to ceiling over every square inch. He did not attend church but was a very spiritual man. He must have had 100 bibles from every religion. He had screenplays, dictionaries, encyclopedias, sports books, classics, music, psychology and on and on and on. It was scary. It is hard to understand how anyone could live the way he did: alone with no creature comforts, just books. As we went through the books we discovered that every single one was highlighted, had notes in the margins or bookmarks. He read them all. It's hard to explain. Take my words, imagine and multiply by 100 and you just might get close.

My point? Uncle Steve just like "Dugout Dick" lived the life they chose. They both were guided and comforted by faith. That privilege should not be taken for granted.

In this moment of introspection it seems a bit unseemly to bring up politics, so I won't. Reader's contribution however should remind all of us what's at stake. For me it's uncle Steve but I feel confident we all have a "Dugout Dick" that we may not completely understand. They are a symbol of our freedom. They are a reminder to leave the world a better place than we found it. They are a blessing.

NPR's Nina Totenberg Has No Journalistic Ethics

This won't surprise most of you but it's worth mentioning. As long as NPR receives one penny from taxpayers their propaganda should be exposed. Here she does the equivalent of cut and paste to purposely distort comments and paint Clarence Thomas as a radical.

What's Cookin'?

Answer: The Books



In my opinion President Obama's lies are less forgivable that Bill Clinton's lies, not that either are forgivable. Clinton is a pathological liar. I honestly think he believes his own lies. Obama on the other hand is a diabolical liar and arrogant enough to think he can get away with it.

Rush Is Right

Liberals and the Violence Card

Don't Forget the Nonpartisans

If you have not voted in the Republican primary yet, don’t forget that two groups are not listed by party affiliation but rather are listed as nonpartisan offices. These are the judges and the school board. Following are the conservatives:
Ann Marie Calabria, Court of Appeals Judge
Rick Elmore, Court of Appeals Judge
R. Lee Warren, School Board
Jim Smith, School Board
Delora H. Hodges, School Board

Promising Young Conservative Running in Primary

The Republican Primary is coming up in just two weeks, Tuesday, May 4. We have a bright, wholesome, new face in conservative Dan Soucek running in the primary. It occurred to me that by giving this young man his start, we could be the beginning of the political future of a promising young conservative. Therefore, I hope you will take a look at him and think about what I said. Dan Soucek

Early voting has begun in three locations Board of Elections Office – 842 W. King Street, Boone, NC
Agricultural Conference Center – 252 Poplar Grove Rd, Boone, NC
Multicultural Center, Plemmons Student Union, Appalachian
State University Campus, Boone, NC

Other counties will be found on: Early voting

If you wait until May 4 and don't know your voting place you can contact the Board of Elections Board of Elections

Revisiting Compassionate Conservatism

A conversation with an Anonymous commenter on the "Chills" thread got me to thinking the subject deserved its own thread.

The theory posited was: "I think it's the escape from poverty by certain groups of poor citizens that bothers many lower-middle-class conservatives. They tend to enjoy having an under class to look down upon and they're conned into thinking that its elimination will come about at their expense. Some are just jealous and resentful of anyone who accepts a hand up to better themselves as opposed to pridefully refusing assistance and remaining in squaller."

Commenter LiberalPOV added: "We do have a segment of [sic]America wealthiest who made that wealth not producing anything but [sic]praying on the poorest among us."

Hmmmmmm.

Why do they, and many others, think elitism and greed are purposely holding down the poor? I think they view policies more emotionally than factually. Let's discuss it.

The fundamental premise I base my position on is that wealth is a choice. Anyone, no matter the conditions they come from, can educate themselves. Racism is an excuse, not a reason, not to achieve. Poverty does not equal stupidity. Passion and discipline lead to success and are equally available to all. That may be as far as the debate gets. If agreement cannot be reached there then the rest of the discussion is futile. And please, let's not get sidetracked with those that are mentally or physically impaired. Most aren't.

It is a fact that tax cuts cause more revenue and tax increases bring less. See the Laffer Curve. It is emotion that says taxing the wealthy is a fairness issue or that we need to "spread the wealth around" (Obama's words to Joe the Plumber). That line of thinking leads some to believe that opposition means oppression. The opposite is true.

Another timely example is the extension of unemployment benefits. My view is it is more compassionate to end them than to extend them. I have a neighbor that has been collecting for over a year because he lost his job. He told me he could get a job for $8.50/hour but makes out just as well by collecting unemployment. For him to receive a check money has to first be forcibly taken from someone who has earned it. That's not compassionate. Now his benefits are running out and he says he'll take one of those jobs. Conversely, if he had done that a year ago he could have been a model employee (a choice) and made himself indispensable thereby warranting more money. His resume would have been enhanced to aid in getting a better job. The gained knowledge and experience could have inspired a passion to start his own business. Extending unemployment benefits is what has held him down.

Bill Clinton dramatically reformed welfare. Sure he had little choice after 1994 and he was being politically savvy but I still think it took some courage. I give him credit for that. Three million people lost their welfare. It was good for them in the long run. It was emotionally devastating for those who think keeping people chained to poverty is good. It is intellectually dishonest to ignore that people have a choice between getting a job or keeping their welfare and that some are happy to settle for lees if they don't have to work for a living.

Ain't I Just the Cutest Thang You've Ever Seen?

Could The Tide Be Turning? Probably Not But We Can Hope

There's no need to read this article beyond the headline. I linked it just to establish the author's Liberal creds. This is the one you need to read. A liberal writer from a liberal paper actually went to a tea party and wrote a fair piece. It's funny how something that should be expected seems special but that's where we are. In the beginning the press (and Obama) tried to dismiss the tea parties. When that didn't work they tried to discredit them. They then evolved to demonizing them and now they are into full fledged distortion. None of it has worked because it's all a lie. At some point will they realize how much credibility they are loosing? Could we be approaching that point? Even Timothy Geithner and Obama himself are showing signs, however small, of admitting the merits of the movement. Even Barbara Boxer is trying to get in on the enthusiasm. They may as well tell the truth, they've tried long enough to avoid it.

Chills

Contract From America

CONTRACT FROM AMERICA
To the libs who charge that the Tea Party has no plans. Which of these do you not like?

What's The Problem?

A leading candidate for the Supreme Court, Elena Kagan, apparently is gay. For some reason the tolerant White House is ashamed and has complained to a CBS blogger for writing that her nomination would please the left. Isn't that odd? Does the administration disagree her nomination would please the left or do they assume the right would object? Either proposition shows the irrationality of identity politics. Does it matter if Ms. Kagan has intellect and a comprehensive understanding of the Constitution? Does it matter if she has an agenda and a propensity to put it above the rule of law? Evidently not to the left. To the right it does.

Is It Too Late To Vote For The White Guy?

Obama Does Something Right

I am fully behind our President on this one. The impetus for the order is heartbreaking and it happens everyday. It's not just a gay and lesbian problem. Widows and widowers without relatives are likely to fall into the same category. No one should have to die alone if there are people that care.

"These Are My People"

Hey, Let's Thank Our President

Obama looks down his nose to the Tea Party protest.

Here's the video.

Weed Patch

The nuclear summit, Henry Waxman's CEO debacle, Obama's evaporating poll numbers are some topics to get you started... or anything else. Have at it.

Has Our Image Improved?

President Obama wags his finger in Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's face.

"I think we've got a unique opportunity to reboot America's image around the world..." - President Obama

Britain
Israel
Poland
Germany
Georgia
The people of Iran
France
Afghanistan

John Needs A Job

I don't know who wrote this but its funny.

John Smith started the day early having set his alarm clock (MADE IN JAPAN) for 6 am. While his coffeepot (MADE IN CHINA)was perking, he shaved with his electric razor (MADE IN HONG KONG) He put on a dress shirt (MADE IN SRI LANKA), designer jeans (MADE IN SINGAPORE) and tennis shoes (MADE IN KOREA) After cooking his breakfast in his new electric skillet (MADE IN INDIA) he sat down with his calculator (MADE IN MEXICO) to see how much he could spend today. After setting his watch (MADE IN TAIWAN) to the radio (MADE IN INDIA) he got in his car (MADE IN GERMANY) filled it with gas (FROM SAUDI ARABIA) and continued his search for a good paying American job.

At the end of yet another discouraging and fruitless day checking his Computer (MADE IN MALAYSIA), John decided to relax for a while. He put on his sandals (MADE IN BRAZIL), poured himself a glass of wine (MADE IN FRANCE) and turned on his TV (MADE IN INDONESIA), and then wondered why he can't find a good paying job in AMERICA.

AND NOW HE'S HOPING HE CAN GET HELP FROM A PRESIDENT... MADE IN KENYA.

Repeal Thumbs Up, Obama Thumbs Down

***UPDATE***
Here are some more highs and lows.
****
Support for repealing health care reform has reached a new high.

Obama's approval rating hits new low.

Herman Cain's After Speech Interview

Here is some more insight into Herman Cain. Allow me to ask a ridiculous, cart before the horse, question. Suppose he's the Republican nominee in 2012, will people vote for him just because he's black as with Obama or will he be vilified by relentless racist attacks as with Clarence Thomas, Colin Powell, Condoleeza Rice and Ward Connerly?

Obama Pushes Country to Edge of Bankruptcy Just to Pay Off Dems

NewsMax.Com today reports: A new study reveals that congressional districts represented by a Democrat have received significantly more money from the $787 billion stimulus bill than those with a Republican representative.

The study by Veronique de Rugy, senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center, found that on average Democratic districts got 1 1/2 times as many awards as Republican districts in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Those Democratic districts received about 2 1/2 times more stimulus dollars than Republican districts, $122 billion to $46 billion.

And Democratic districts also received larger awards on average than did Republican districts — $471 million for a Democratic district and $260 million for one represented by a Republican, de Rugy points out in an article for National Review.

But the study found no correlation between stimulus spending and unemployment.

“We should expect the government to invest more money in districts with higher unemployment rates,” de Rugy writes, but the study “suggests that unemployment is not the factor leading the awards.”

Surprisingly, the total number of jobs claimed as created or saved overall by the stimulus actually declined from the previous quarter, dropping from about 634,000 to roughly 597,000.

“To sum it up,” de Rugy notes, “it’s a lot of money for jobs that are disappearing, and the money isn’t going to high-unemployment districts, probably because politics gets in the way.”

Herman (Raises) Cain

I heard this guy fill in for Hannity on the radio a while back. He got my attention then and it looks like he got the entire conference's attention with this speech. I agree completely with his three priorities for victory.

Blinded, Double-Amputee Marine Re-Enlists

Tomorrow I turn 50. Matthew Bradford at 23 is twice the man I'll ever be and 10 times the man I was at his age. I'm so damn proud of our soldiers.
Semper Fi.

Tea Partier Schools GOP Congressman

As most of us know, the Tea Party movement is made up of informed and engaged Americans. This tea partier obviously knows more about the Constitution than his Republican Representative.

It's bad enough for any elected official not to know the basics of the Constitution but it's worse if they don't even care about it.

Gotta Love Newt!

Newt tells it like it is at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference Leadership Conference in New Orleans.

I Support Virginia Foxx Because She Always Votes the Way I Would If I Were in That Office

“I support Virginia Foxx because she always votes the way I would if I were in that office,” so declared the president of the Republican Women’s Club. Rep. Foxx was the guest speaker today before a joint gathering of the Republican Women’s and the Republican Men’s Clubs at the Golden Corral in Boone.

Speaking to a packed audience, she both educated and listened. Foxx alerted us to the game plan published by the Democrats to make the election about Bush again. That should be interesting in that job losses began from the time Democrats took power in 2007.

Foxx said we should also be concentrating on state offices. Democrats have held power in North Carolina, all but four years, since 1880. She pointed out that if the apportioning map were an honest one, there would be at least 73 Republican counties and 32 Democrat. And if the map were fair, there would be nine Republican members in Congress and five Democrats.

Besides apportionment, the spending by North Carolina Democrats has become unsustainable.

Pointing out that John Boehner, Minority Leader of the House is a true conservative, even to the point of telling his people not to expect him to take earmarks, she encouraged us to get behind a new breed of Republicans in Washington.

Rep. Foxx talked of Republican plans to repeal Obamacare. Two members voiced their concern over Republicans’ use of the word “repeal”. One member said: “We know that you cannot repeal the bill because Obama can veto anything you do. To promise repeal thus is an empty promise and Americans are sick of those." Another speaker agreed and hoped Foxx would advise the leadership to stop using the shotgun word of repeal and start getting specific about what can and needs to be replaced and what people might want to keep.

One member said that Gingrich had pointed out yesterday that Republicans could promise to not fund parts that are abhorrent to the majority of people. That is a promise doable and believable. (One right-away example is to promise not to fund the 16,000 IRS agents.)

Foxx agreed but said they still wanted to present an entirely new bill that the president would then have to go on record as opposing a good bill.

Anyway, we could discern that Representative Foxx was hearing us. When you know your congressperson is taking in what you are saying, you begin to feel you matter.

Foxx also said she would attend The Tea Party in Ashe County APRIL 24TH at the CIVIC CENTER, pointing out that she goes when invited. At the same time she honors the Tea Partiers who want to keep their organization separate from Republicans. The two groups share the same angst over the run away spending and government takeovers. At the same time, each group has it’s unique interests.

The Tea Party caravan will leave from the Kmart parking lot in Boone at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, April 24.

One other member said she had heard that the attorney general of North Carolina was planning to join the other states attorney generals in the test of the constitutionality of Obamacare. The member said that when she called his office, the assistant there did not deny it nor confirm. Foxx said that Attorney General Roy Cooper is a smart, nice man and even somewhat conservative. However, he was such a party man that it would take something like a powerful poll of the people to make him buck his party.

I Support Virginia Foxx Because She Always Votes the Way I Would if I Were in That Office

“I support Virginia Foxx because she always votes the way I would if I were in that office,” so declared the president of the Republican Women’s Club. Rep. Foxx was the guest speaker today before a joint gathering of the Republican Women’s and the Republican Men’s Clubs at the Golden Corral in Boone.

Speaking to a packed audience, she both educated and listened. Foxx alerted us to the game plan published by the Democrats to make the election about Bush again. That should be interesting in that job losses began from the time Democrats took power in 2007.

Foxx said we should also be concentrating on state offices. Democrats have held power in North Carolina, all but four years, since 1880. She pointed out that if the apportioning map were an honest one, there would be at least 73 Republican counties and 32 Democrat. And if the map were fair, there would be nine Republican members in Congress and five Democrats.

Besides apportionment, the spending by North Carolina Democrats has become unsustainable.

Pointing out that John Boehner, Minority Leader of the House is a true conservative, even to the point of telling his people not to expect him to take earmarks, she encouraged us to get behind a new breed of Republicans in Washington.

Rep. Foxx talked of Republican plans to repeal Obamacare. Two members voiced their concern over Republicans’ use of the word “repeal”. One member said: “We know that you cannot repeal the bill because Obama can veto anything you do. To promise repeal thus is an empty promise and Americans are sick of those." Another speaker agreed and hoped Foxx would advise the leadership to stop using the shotgun word of repeal and start getting specific about what can and needs to be replaced and what people might want to keep.

One member said that Gingrich had pointed out yesterday that Republicans could promise to not fund parts that are abhorrent to the majority of people. That is a promise doable and believable. (One right-away example is to promise not to fund the 16,000 IRS agents.)

Foxx agreed but said they still wanted to present an entirely new bill that the president would then have to go on record as opposing a good bill.

Anyway, we could discern that Representative Foxx was hearing us. When you know your congressperson is taking in what you are saying, you begin to feel you matter.

Foxx also said she would attend The Tea Party in Ashe County APRIL 24TH at the CIVIC CENTER, pointing out that she goes when invited. At the same time she honors the Tea Partiers who want to keep their organization separate from Republicans. The two groups share the same angst over the run away spending and government takeovers. At the same time, each group has it’s unique interests.

The Tea Party caravan will leave from the Kmart parking lot in Boone at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, April 24.

One other member said she had heard that the attorney general of North Carolina was planning to join the other states attorney generals in the test of the constitutionality of Obamacare. The member said that when she called his office, the assistant there did not deny it nor confirm. Foxx said that Attorney General Roy Cooper is a smart, nice man and even somewhat conservative. However, he was such a party man that it would take something like a powerful poll of the people to make him buck his party.

Unintended Consequences

The sign reads: "If you voted for Obama... Seek urological care elsewhere. Changes to your health care begin right now. Not in four years."
Logic would dictate he's not the only one.

Why Is Our Health Care The Best In The World?

This one's been bugging me for a while. the argument goes, "No one disputes the fact that we have the best most talented doctors, it's the availability that is at issue". Here are a couple of examples from another thread entitled The best health care in the world.

"Within the borders of the United States we have some of the best if not the best medical treatment for specific aliments in the world." -LiberalPOV

"I don't think I've heard anyone on Capitol Hill claim that either the quality of America's care or the talent of our physicians are lacking in any way. The issue is simply that administrative [sic]inneficiencies, suit-fearing redundancies and inhumane coverage decisions have rendered true quality care either unaffordable or [sic]inaccessable for a large portion of our citizens." -Anonymous

The thread was about the Canadian Premier who opted to have surgery in America. The above examples were typical of the responses across the media.

Insofar as availability goes, doctors have threatened to quit practice if the bill passed. So there's that.

Why does America have the best doctors, treatments and quality of care in the world? Does it happen in a vacuum? Is it a "talent" Americans are predisposed to? Or could it be capitalism? Mothers often want their children to grow up and be doctors because it's the gold standard of success. Certainly they want to heal the world but they mainly define success as making money. Doctors make lots of money. The best doctors make the most money. The more specialized risk-laden practices bring the really big bucks. The zealousness of the pursuit for the almighty dollar is directly related to the best health care in the world ...or at least it used to be.

Obama's Words Still Baby Still Mean Nothing

Obama's announcement to lift the moratorium on off shore drilling represents yet another broken promise. I titled a previous thread on the subject "Broken Promises...So Far" because the situation is fluid. They keep coming.