Fish Or Cut Bait Time: Move For Medina, or Piddle Around With Perry

Growing up on the Great Lakes we used to have a saying: “You either Fish, or Cut Bait.” It has the same meaning as what we say here today in Texas: “Either S**t or get off the pot.”

Time to commit, Texas. And not making a decision already IS a decision to stay with Governor “More-Of-The-Same” Perry.

Rasmussen Reports has a new survey of likely Texas voters out yesterday:

Texas Survey of 538 Likely GOP Primary Voters

Conducted February 1, 2010; By Rasmussen Reports

NOTE: Margin of Sampling Error, +/- 3.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence

1* Suppose the Republican Primary for the 2010 Governor’s race were held today.  Would you vote for Rick Perry, Kay Bailey Hutchison or Debra Medina?

44% Perry

29% Hutchison

16% Medina

11% Not sure

The Good News: Medina has increased her share of voter 4%, the only candidate who has increased. The bad news is that most of that came from the failing campaign of Kay Bailey Hutchison. Very little came from Perry. And 4% every two weeks is not enough to pass Kay Bailey Hutchison in March for the runoff election.

2* I’m going to read you a short list of people in the News. For each, please let me know if you have a very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable, or very unfavorable impression.

Candidate	Very favorable	Somewhat favorable	Somewhat unfavorable	Very unfavorable	Not sure
Rick Perry	24%	56%	15%	4%	1%
Kay Bailey Hutchison	18%	49%	23%	8%	1%
Debra Medina	16%	34%	21%	8%	21%

The bad news: Perry has the lowest Unfavorable ratings of any candidate. The Good news is thatMedina has a huge “Not Sure” contingent that just want to know more about her.  These are the folks she needs to reach, and who need to Fish or Cut Bait.

3* How would you rate the job Rick Perry has been doing as Governor… do you strongly approve, somewhat approve, somewhat disapprove, or strongly disapprove of the job he’s been doing?

18% Strongly approve

56% Somewhat approve

16% Somewhat disapprove

9% Strongly disapprove

1% Not sure

That’s a 72% Approval rating, but 56% have some reservations of Perry’s term as Governor.  Note also 25% disapprove of Perry, which is almost identical to the 21% who aren’t sure about Medina.  Not that they are the same group, but surely there’s some amount of overlap of the two.

The second part of the poll released today has still more Good News for Medina:

The surprise, as in the new Rasmussen Reports survey of the GOP gubernatorial primary, is the growing strength of Debra Medina, a businesswoman active in the state’s Tea Party movement. Medina now edges White 41% to 38%. Last month, White had a 44% to 38% lead on her. In this contest, six percent (6%) favor some other candidate, but a more sizable 16% are undecided.

So Debra Medina is just as viable a candidate against a Bill White candidacy as either Perry or Hutchison. That’s very good news for the Medina camp.

The question remains, however; Are those “Somewhat approve”-ing voters going to make the move, or just settle for “Governor Somewhat?“

If you’re one of those voters, you should watch this video.  Just a few minutes; make the time:

If you feel you don’t know enough about Debra Medina, YouTube has over thirteen pages of interviews, debates, and news pieces about her starting HERE.

No excuses.  No reason not to be informed on your choices.

And you only have yourselves to blame if Governor Somewhat bankrupts the Texas economy in a year or two — which is what’s looking more and more likely all the time.

Are you gonna Fish? Or Just sit there cuttin’ bait all night?

Me — I’m gonna catch some fish, Texas. Let’s Go.

~Johnny~

A Sabbatical In-Place; Prayers Appreciated

Back when I was in the Army, when we’d gather for formation and some dumbass officer was late, they’d give us a “break in-place”, which just meant don’t leave formation, but smoke ‘em if you’ve got em until the officer figures out what he’s doing.

I’m going to do that for a week or two here — although in literary circles they call this a “sabbatical.”   So I guess this is a “Sabbatical In-Place.”  I don’t really want to, but psychologically I really need to.

I’ve got several things going on in my life right now that are just distracting me too much to concentrate correctly on the blog like I should.  You may have noticed my postings have decreased over the last two months – that’s related to these issues.  I have some health problems that should either get clarified or resolved in the next two weeks.  Plus I’m about to start moving to a smaller apartment as well this week.  That alone takes a lot of time. One of my family members has been ill recently, and is just now out of the hospital.  I’m in the middle of making a YouTube video for my buddy @NaiveAbroad, too.

And my lovely and gracious wife of almost 22 years has moved out of our home; why, she won’t say.  So you’ll pardon me if I’m a bit distracted and unfocused.

Prayers are greatly appreciated during this time. I’ll continue to post her as the spirit moves me during this time, but don’t be surprised if I miss a day or three.

~Johnny~

Axelrod Threatens Republicans (Again) on Meet The Press

It’s a sure sign of the deep-seatedness of the beliefs in the individual as to how long they will cling to those beliefs. David Axelrod (who looks more and more like Charmin’s Mister Whipple Every day) is apparently a dyed-in-the-wool leftist, since he just keeps repeating the same old neo-leftist threats, even after Meet The Press’s David Gregory give his a chance to retract or restate them.

Idiot.

You can watch the video yourself HERE.

MR. GREGORY: You’ve talked about a price for Republicans if they continue to block the president’s agenda. What should that price be? What will it be?

MR. AXELROD: Well, I think there’s a price for both parties if the impression is what we’re more interested in our own jobs than we are in the jobs of the American people, if we play politics on every single issue. I’ll give you an example. We believe that in the near–in the, in the mid and long term, we have to deal with these deficits, that’s why the president has proposed a, a freeze on domestic discretionary spending, something that the Republican leadership actually suggested when we had a bipartisan meeting some weeks ago. But when a measure came up in the Senate this week, or this past week, for a bipartisan commission, a statutory commission to deal with the fiscal crisis–because we understand we can only deal with that together–it lost by seven votes, and the seven votes were seven Republican co-sponsors of that amendment who then walked away from their own proposal. Well, we have to get serious about this. So I think the American people will punish any party who they believe is playing politics ahead of solving problems, and, and they should.

November is looking better and better every day with this kind of deep-seated thinking going on. Like Thelma and Louise, right off that cliff, buddy.

~Johnny~

Medina: Kickin’ Butt & Taking Names in 2nd Texas Gubernatorial Debate

BELO-TV sponsored the second Texas Gubernatorial debates tonight, and it was a knock-down, drag-out fight. Fortunately for the audience, that included the fights between the candidates themselves as well as the fights between the panelists and the candidates.

To watch the replays of the debates, you can find them here:

• Replay: The Belo Debate Part I
• (related link)Replay: The Belo Debate Part II
• (related link)Replay: The Belo Debate Part III
• (related link)Replay: The Belo Debate Part IV

Observations on my part of the debate: first, I was well ensconced at Fatso’s Sports bar with 500 of my close personal friends at a Debate Watch party. BELO could not have done more to favor the incumbents, first by scheduling the debate on a Friday night when few (if any) would be home to watch it, and dragging on for a long time the question of whether independent Debra Medina would be allowed to attend, even after her stellar showing last time.

But that’s just me. Your mileage may vary.  I’ll discuss the various rounds and then award each round to one of the candidates based on the raltive number of Cheers or Boos from the Fatso’s crowd.

In the first round of questions, all the candidates were asked the same questions with each candidate alternating who went first.

Asked about Public transportation funding, Hutchison said that the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) was grossly mismanaged, and needed to be audited and revamped. Medina said that we can’t even be sure the current figures for the TxDOT budget were correct, and agreed with the need for an audit. Governor Perry pointed out that the Legislature audits TxDOT every two years, and that the problem was that Washington sent back only 70 cents on every tax dollar for transportation. Perry then had his “deer-in-the-headlights” moment when he endorsed toll roads, saying that “private concerns” had a part in new road construction in the state. It was a glaring mistake so early in the debate.

Round is a Draw; but Perry lost points.

The next question was if the candidates would require all employers to use the federal e-verify system to ensure all new employees in the state were here legally. Medina went first this time, saying that the e-verify system is a flawed solution.  She stated that if Texas would just fix it’s own Driver’s licensure laws to require proof of citizenship or legal residence, we would not need e-verify.  She also called for immigration law reform.   Perry said that e-verify was a federal program and an abject failure.  He then used the rest of his time to slam Hutchison on the “Sanctuary Cities” law that passed while she was in the Senate.  Kay opened her statement by saying “Shame on the Governor,” then stated as a small businesswoman herself, e-verify was the best solution available.

Round goes to Medina.

The next question asked about Governor Perry taking $15 billion in stimulus money to cover a state budget shortfall,and asked what programs would be cut or taxes raised to cover next year’s shortfall.

Perry pointed out he had already issued a statewide directive to cut all departments 5%,and that the state budget had been balanced in 2003 ahead of a projected shortfall like this one without raising taxes.  Hutchison said that Perry was wrong to take the stimulus money, and favors across the board cuts.  She said that when she was state Treasurer she was able to find plenty of places to cut the budget – “It wasn’t hard to do.”  Medina said that while cutting the budget is the way to go, she favored discarding property taxes altogether and implementing a statewide sales tax of 6-14%. Eliminating property taxes would give Texans a 3% increse in real income and promote spending in the economy, which would increase tax revenues overall.

Round goes to Medina from the Standing ovation in Fatso’s.

The next set of questions were one-to-one interviews with each candidate.

Senator Hutchison went first, and her questioner nailed her with a clip of Kay’s “deer-in-the-headlights” moment from last debate on abortion.  Kay was clearly flustered then, and clearly flustered now also. Kay emphasized we need to promote more adoptions. rever life, but wouldn’t commit to saying she would support overturning Roe v. Wade.   The questioner then tried the same tactic again, saying her position on health  care had changed. Kay did the right thing this time and agreed it had changed, saying she stood “firmly against socialist health care.”  The questioner then tried to nail Kay on her earlier decision to resign her Senate seat to run for Governor, asking what would happen if a De3mocrat were elected to the seat. Kay laughed and said the was “not one scintilla of evidence a democrat would be elected to the Senate from Texas.”

Round was a draw; Kay stumbled badly early, but eventually recovered.  The laugh was a nice touch.

Debra Medina went next, and at this point the crowd began murmuring about this being the “GOTCHA!” Round as the next questioner tried to nail Debra with a clip of her speaking about secession of Texas.  Debra quickly pointed out that her remarks (which were out of context) were in response to Governor Perry’s “ill advised” remarks at the April 15th Tea Party in Dallas; and that she supports Nullification through the Tenth Amendment.  The questioner then asked if Medina was “all about personal liberty,” did she support Gay marriage?  Debra stated that marriage is a sacrament of the church, and the government had no right to tell the church what to do. Marriage by the church is between a man and a woman, and she favors that.  The questioner again pressed if she would be in favor of gay marriage, and Debra stonily relied, Absolutely Not!, which brought wild cheering in Fatso’s.  Her final question asked if we would be able to fund the state government on solely a sales tax, to which she replies that a “fairly structured” tax of 6-14% would be sufficient for the government’s needs.

Round goes to Medina, Hugely.

Governor Perry brought up the rear, and it became apparent he had few friends in Fatso’s.  Asked about illegal immigrants getting in-state tuition, the Governor defended the practice — and was loudly booed and jeered by the crowd.  Asked about reforming that practice, he said the Texas Education Association was supposed to be checking the immigration status of illegals – which even the panel of reporters found hard to swallow.  Asked for his stand on Roe v. Wade, the Governor stated “I always stand for life.”

Round to the Panel, with two Big mis-steps by Perry.

The next round was termed by the panel as the “Jeopardy” Round, which was quickly called by the Debate Watchers the “Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric” Round. A panelist asked Governor Perry about jobs in number of jobs created, and Perry replied in percentages.  Perry snidely replied to the questioner, “I know you’re having trouble understanding percentages . . . ” which brought a glare from the panelist and boos from the crowd.  Hutchison was asked about how many miles of border fence was acutally built – she said “about 150″ 9actually “105.8 miles”.  Medina was asked what percent of the state budget was Transportation, to which she guessed “about 9%) (actually the reporter didn’t know either, saying “12-13%.”

Hutchison then had her worst moment of the night, responding with a blank stare to the question “Who was the first Governor of Texas?”

Medina slam-dunked the final question of the round, answering “about $46,000.00″ to the question “What is the average annual teacher’s salary in Texas?”

Round to Medina, with bad mis-steps by both Perry and Hutchison.

The next round was viewer questions. The first was for Hutchison, and was asked what she would do as Governor to “Stop illegal immigration.”  She replied the DPS should be able to assist the Border Patrol in arresting illegals who commit crimes, and the e-verify system should be used.

The next was for Medina, and the viewer asked “why don’t we tax the wealthy to get their money from all the tax breaks they’ve got the last few years?”  Medina’s reply brought the crowd to a standing O – “Absolutely not!” She then reiterated that taxes are a drain on the economy, and we should get taxes off the backs of all Texans.

Perry was asked about Social Security benefits for retired teachers, and he blamed the mess on Congress. Not his best moment.  Asked about the Texas Enterprise Fund, Perry said that was “all screwed up too.”  Hutchison als agreed with assesment, saying it should be done away with, and the TxDot should be audited too.

Medina then had her glory moment of the night. Asked again about taxes, she said that property taxes should be eliminated, and that the role of government was to protect Freedom.   At this point the camera gave a wide shot of the trio.  Perry was visibly avoiding looking at Medina, while Hutchison was turned towards Medina, smiling as as Medina spoke.  Asked about Governor Perry’s comment after the last debate that Medina was “tearing down Texas,” Medina responded responded that “I’m a nurse and a businesswoman.  Our Government has failed by not demanding excellence and accountability.  She slammed Perry for awarding contracts “through cronies and slush funds.”

Perry was asked about toll roads – he tried to slam Hutchison by saying the legislature had passed a law prohibiting the tolling of free roads — “And I signed it.”

Hutchison responded by saying that Perry was manipulating people’s rights to freeways. She said TxDOT had fought her on this in Congress – “And that won’t happen when I’m Governor .”

Round – Very decidedly to Medina.  No question.

The closing statements were unusually revealing.  Governor Perry said Texas was the number one state in so many ways.  We don’t spend all our money, taxes are low, tort reform was passed, and we have “countless good schools.”  He closed with “May God Bless us and continue to Bless the Great State of Texas.”

Hutchisons’ closing statement was very nagging.  “As Treasurer I fought taxes.” Texas needs to fight crony-ism. Perry’s decision to vaccinate all schoolgirls against HPV virus was wrong and violated personal rights.  The Trans-Texas corridor was also a major mis-step.  And Texas continues to have a 30% dropout rate.  Not all is well in Texas.

Medina, having sanguinely watched the previous two speeches, commented dryly that they were “about what you’d expect from politicians.” She said with the Perry administration, financial ruin is at our doorstep. The Hutchison administration would support globalisation.  Her administration would “seek to remove the shackles that bind families and constrain businesses” by freeing Texans from Taxes.

The crowd stood and cheered.  And cheered some more. And whistled for good measure.

NOTES on the debate:

If Medina didn’t win the last debate, she surely knocked this one out of the park. She was the only candidate to get a question right in the “Jeopardy” segment, and refused to back down, even when relentlessly question by an obviously testy panel.

Go watch those links at the front of the post.  They a WELL worth watching.

The primary is 32 days away on March 2nd. The deadline for registering to vote in Texas is Monday — February 1st.

Get a move on.

~Johnny~

Rules For A Gunfight; Courtesy the U.S. Army

Courtesy of Twitter’s @KnottieNature:

The United States Army; Killing people and Breaking Things since 1775.

~Johnny~
(SSG, Ret.)

Peter Morrison Report: Multiculturalism Invades Texas Schools

The Peter Morrison Report Newsletter (Subscribe HERE) had an interesting Alert on Multiculturalism in Texas schools:

Recently the conservative website WorldNetDaily featured a shocking report from someone in the process of applying for teaching certification in Texas. As part of the certification process, he was required to read several extremely disturbing online articles.

He chose to remain anonymous for fear of being punished for speaking out, because there are radicals deeply entrenched in the Texas educational system who don’t want this information to be made public.

Some of the materials that this prospective teacher was forced to read if he wanted to be certified to teach in a public school had absolutely nothing to do with education as most people understand it. Instead, their purpose was instilling in future teachers the idea that their role in kids’ lives is to act as agents of “social change” in the classroom, all in the name of “multiculturalism.”

Multiculturalism is one of those liberal buzzwords that are so dangerous precisely because they can mean whatever the speaker or writer wants them to mean. In the past few decades, innocuous sounding terms like “social justice” and “celebrating diversity” have become code words used to sneak a radical left wing agenda past an unsuspecting public. Extreme liberals now want to use teachers to indoctrinate our children in the name of multiculturalism.

On one of the websites that is required reading for future teachers, there’s a discussion of what multiculturalism means. Even this site admits that there’s no fixed meaning; but all the definitions they propose make it clear just what multiculturalism is all about – indoctrinating our kids with a radical left-wing agenda. One of their suggested definitions is “education change as part of a larger societal transformation in which we more closely explore and criticize the oppressive foundations of society and how education serves to maintain the status quo — foundations such as white supremacy, capitalism, global socioeconomic situations, and exploitation.”

This ideological jargon makes it perfectly clear what our kids will be learning if we don’t put a stop to this. They’ll be taught that white people are a bunch of racists; free enterprise is unjust and socialism means fairness for all; and the main reason third world nations are impoverished is because they’ve been exploited by greedy, oppressive Western countries. In other words, instead of being given a real education, our children will be taught the philosophy espoused by Barack Obama and his former pastor Jeremiah Wright, who famously said “white folk’s greed runs a world in need.”

That’s just the beginning. If there’s one trait all left wingers share, it’s their unrelenting hatred of traditional family values. The new “certification standards” that liberals want to impose on Texas teachers are no exception. Future teachers are warned that they must not harbor any feelings of “heterosexism,” and that one of their main functions as a teacher will be to eliminate this same “heterosexism” in their students. This is apparently just as important as teaching reading, writing and arithmetic, if not more so, because schools now serve a higher purpose, which is “the transformation of society” to eliminate all forms of “prejudice” and “oppression.”

Heterosexism is the radical new PC term for the belief that homosexual conduct is immoral, or in any way inferior to heterosexual behavior. It’s now established liberal doctrine that homosexuality and heterosexuality are moral equivalents which should be treated exactly alike, and anyone who disagrees is guilty of “hate.” Of course, traditional Americans don’t view homosexuality as being on an equal plane with opposite sex attraction, and part of the teacher’s job is to eradicate this “privileging” of heterosexuality in the minds of our children. The ultimate goal is the very “transformation of society”, in the words of the radical left wing website future teachers are required to read.

What would a “transformed society” look like to these people? Look no further than a book published in October of last year by Sarah Schulman to see what they have in mind for us. Schulman is a lesbian activist, as well as a professor at City University of New York, College of Staten Island. She’s also a Fellow at New York University, and is considered one of the leaders in the fight against “homophobia” and “heterosexism” in America. Here’s what one reviewer says of her book, Ties That Bind: Familial Homophobia and Its Consequences: “In her book, Schulman offers a strategy for dealing with homophobic trauma: Homophobia should be identified as a sickness, with families court-ordered into treatment programs.” To be clear, Schulman is not talking about people who physically assault homosexuals. She’s talking about people who regard homosexuality as immoral. She says they’re “sick” and they should be forced into “treatment” until they’re “cured.”

That’s just one aspect of the “transformation of society” agenda Texas teachers are now expected to take part in. These social engineers want Texas schools to teach this moral insanity to our innocent children, in order to lead the next generation into their brave new world, where free enterprise is oppression, Mom and Dad are racists, America and the rest of the Western World are the cause of third world poverty, and Christianity and traditional moral values are labeled as hate.

It’s imperative that we raise our voices against our schools being used to perpetrate this outrageous radical agenda. This sort of stuff is the last thing our future teachers should be reading, but some of them are being forced to if they want to become teachers. When WorldNetDaily contacted the Texas Education Agency about this, their spokesperson downplayed it, saying these new “standards” aren’t statewide; Texas schools are divided into 20 Education Service Center regions, and so it’s only a regional issue, as if that settled the matter.

That’s not good enough. None of the Education Service Centers should be requiring prospective teacher to read through this radical left wing propaganda in order to become certified to teach. They shouldn’t even be recommending this sort of material in the first place. Our children are our most precious heritage; they’re not pawns to be programmed and used by liberals to accomplish their radical goals of “transforming society.”

Contact Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott and demand that he put a stop to this practice of forcing prospective teachers to read these materials, no matter where in Texas it’s happening:

Click here to send a fax:

http://www.morrisonreport.com/fax_test/index.php?faxID=86

Commissioner Robert Scott
William B. Travis Building
1701 N. Congress Avenue
Austin, Texas, 78701

Phone: 512-463-8985
Fax: (512) 463-9838
Email: commissioner@tea.state.tx.us

Sources:

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=120622

http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/initial.html

http://www.slate.com/id/2187358/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Schulman

http://www.insidehighered.com/views/mclemee/mclemee262

The Peter Morrison Report

http://www.PeterMorrisonReport.com

http://www.facebook.com/morrisonreport

If you haven’t subscribed to Peter’s excellent little newsletter, you really should.

And click through that link above to send that fax. Fax early and often.  Run their damned Fax machine out of paper before lunch.

~Johnny~

Haiti Update from the American Embassy

Got this update in my Inbox from the Texas Department of Emergency Preparedness, as they prepare to deploy as many nurses and health care providers as they can to Haiti. (For some reason I’m on the list of potential deployees.)

Current:  There are a total of 1,244 (no change) Department of Homeland Security personnel in Haiti. As of 24 Jan, the Government of Haiti has not suspended Search and Rescue (SAR) operations.   The US Department of State (DOS) reports 2 SAR teams (Fairfax and Los Angeles County) are working at the Hotel Montana and there is a rapid response crew on standby.  The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reports there have been 134 rescues (47 by US SAR) to date.  US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reports, as of 1130 EST 24 Jan, 9,940 American Citizens (AMCITS) and 3,797 non-AMCITS have been evacuated.  FEMA reports the commercial vessel AMERICAS arrived in the Dominican Republic and is off-loading 500,000 ready-to-eat meals (MREs), 290,000 liters of water, 13 containers of plastic sheeting, and medical supplies and the commercial vessel CRIMSON ACE is due in Haiti 25 Jan with an additional 980,000 MREs.

Future:   US Agency for International Development reports Puerto Rico is sending a water purification device, expected to arrive in Haiti 25 Jan.  The DHS National Operations Center will continue to monitor this event and publish the next Senior Leadership Briefing and Update Report at 0600 EST 25 Jan.

Other:  DOS reports 1 confirmed US Government (USG) employee death, 3 confirmed USG family member deaths.

Current Situation
•        Search and Rescue (SAR)
o       Government of Haiti (GoH) has not suspended Search and Rescue operations.
o       The Department of State (DOS) reports that 2 teams (Fairfax and Los Angeles) are working the Hotel Montana site and there is a rapid response crew on standby.

•        Aid to Injured
o       DOS reports USS COMFORT has 940 beds and all are occupied, treated 2800 patients, and performed 262 surgeries.

•      Commodities Distribution
o       JTF-Haiti reports a water purification device is expected to arrive 25 Jan.  Local water tankers have restarted limited delivery of potable water supplies.
o       US AID reports Puerto Rico is sending a barge with 88,000 tons of medical supplies and food.
o       DOS reports there are no fuel shortages for operating relief entities.

•    Debris Removal/Road Clearing
o       No update.

•        Port/Airport Status
o       DOS reports Port-au-Prince (PAP) south pier is partially available.
o       An MOU for seaport management (similar to the MOU for PAP airport) is in process with DOS.
o       SOUTHCOM is working to finalize the airport slot system for prioritizing flights.
o       SOUTHCOM reports Cap Haitian airport is available to take the civilian air traffic from PAP.

•     Security/LE (law enforcement)
o       DOS advises the situation is relatively calm with small unorganized outbreaks and police coverage is 40%-70%

•   Evacuation
o       US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reports, as of 1130 EST 24 Jan:
•         13,737 civilian passengers evacuated (9,940 AMCITS / 3,797 Non AMCITS).
o       DOS is routing MEDIVAC requests through TF-1.
o       USCIS is planning to process an additional 1,200 evacuees 24 Jan.

•      Government of Haiti (GoH)
o       An undisclosed number of banks are open.

Federal Agencies/Departments
•                    US Coast Guard (USCG)
o       CGC LEGARE coordinated 30 MEDIVAC missions.
•                    US Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
o       CBP Baltimore Office received remains of 7 AMCITS.
o       CBP has cleared a total of 690 evacuation flights.
•                    US Citizenship and Immigrations Services (CIS)
o       100 Orphans are scheduled for processing 24 Jan.
•                    Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
o       International SAR teams rescued 134 people, 47 of which were rescued by US teams.
•                US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
o       Convoy mission #7 scheduled for completion 24 Jan.
•                  National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
o       NOAA reports generally sunny to partly cloudy conditions will prevail.
o       20% chance of showers in the afternoon Tuesday and Wednesday.
o       High temp low 90’s and low temps in the mid to low-70’s throughout the period.
o       Heat Index in the low 90’s.
•                    American Red Cross (ARC)
o       ARC Senior VP for Disaster in PAP as Operations Liaison has deployed to International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC).
o       Deployed 1 shelter expert and 2 delegates (supporting ARC Relief Emergency Response Unit) in Haiti.
•               US Department of State (DOS)
o       DOS reports the following:
•         1 confirmed US Government (USG) employee death.
•         3 confirmed USG employee family member deaths.
•         1 US Air Force Major missing at the Hotel Montana.
•         1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) member missing at the Hotel Montana.
•                    Department of Defense (DoD)
o       The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved the use of 2 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) from Puerto Rico in PAP.
o       The commercial vessel AMERICAS arrived in the Dominican Republic with 500,000 MREs, 290,000 liters of water, 13 containers of plastic sheeting, and medical supplies.
o       The commercial vessel CRIMSON ACE is scheduled to arrive 25 Jan with 980,000 MREs.
•                     Department of Transportation (DOT)
o       FAA reports the Mobile Air Traffic Control Tower is operational.
o       14 US flag vessels are actively engaged in Haiti relief and support efforts.
•                    US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
o       Rotation of personnel is underway.

Critical Infrastructure Key Resources (CIKR)
•                    National Infrastructure Coordinating Center (NICC)
o       DOS reports 30 – 40 radio stations and six TV stations operational.
o       National Communications System reports cell phones at 85%.

~Johnny~

Correction! Medina Debate Watch Party is ***FRIDAY***, Not Thursday!

Got it confused with the last one.  What can I say?  My Bad!

Your world-famous Pundit Will, indeed, be there, so bring your camera.

~Johnny~

San Antonio Medina Debate Party #2: Thursday, 6pm-10pm

From Facebook:

Date:	Friday, January 29, 2010
Time:	6:00pm – 9:00pm
Location:	Fatso’s
Street:	15630 Henderson Pass
City/Town:	San Antonio, TX
	View Map Google MapQuest Microsoft Yahoo

The San Antonio 912 Project will be hosting a watch party to view the second Texas Gubernatorial debate of the primary season which will be broadcast live on KENS 5 at 7pm.

This debate will include Governor Rick Perry, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson, and former Wharton County Chair Debra Medina. Members from several different organizations will be present at this event to root for their favorite candidate, or to get more information if they are undecided.

Guests are encouraged to bring their apathetic friends, family, neighbors and co workers to light fires under them and get them involved in the political process. This debate is sure to be exciting and educational and the party will be a fun experience for all no matter who their choice for Governor is.

As a special treat, candidates for local office will be welcome to announce their candidacy and tell a little about themselves (time permitting) between 6 and 7 before the debate begins. All three Gubernatorial candidate camps are also invited to attend and have campaign materials at this event.

This open event will begin at 6 PM at Fatso’s Sports Garden, 15630 Henderson Pass, San Antonio, TX 78232. This venue will hold up to 500 people. For further information, contact the lovely and talented Nadia Gaona at (210) 334-7400.

Okay, I added the “lovely and talented” part, but Nadia Gaona is a powerhouse for her candidate, and a wellspring of anti-establishment energy. Be sure to introduce yourself. Your world-famous Alamo City Pundit will be somewhere nearby and happy to sign autographs.

~Johnny~

Examiner: “Top Ten Signs The Media Might Be Biased”

Robert Moon at the Houston Examiner has this excellent little listing of the “Top Ten Signs the News Media Might be Biased,” which I’ve synopsized here:

10. Even after John Edwards was caught trying to make one of his employees take the fall, the media still ran fewer stories on it than they did on the bogus tabloid rumor that Sarah Palin was the actual mother of her grandson.

9. They fiercely denounced Pat Robertson for days for suggesting that Haiti was being punished by God (almost 4 million hits on Google), while almost completely ignoring Danny Glover’s claim that the natural disaster was man’s punishment failing to address global warming (just over 300,000 hits).

8. They refused to cover it when Eric Holder “reassigned” a federal prosecutor for daring to investigate voter intimidation at the hands of armed Black Panthers…even as Democrats voted to sweep the entire controversy under the rug, as I noted here.

7.  A hugely disproportionate number of ”reporters” used to work as partisan Democrat operatives prior to being trusted to disseminate legitimate news. Brian Williams, Bill Moyers, Jeff Greenfield, Leslie Stahl, Chris Matthews, George Stephanopoulos…

6. Every report of any kind that undermines America or Republicans in any way, no matter how questionable the source or methodology, is blindly repeated as hard fact.

5. Their own employees routinely admit that they are openly cheer-leading for one side.  Even liberal MSNBC anchors openly admit there is no balance.

4. We get total saturation coverage of every alleged injustice against Democrat-approved victims (women, minorities, Muslims, etc.), even when they are clearly baseless (Duke Lacrosse), while even the most heinous crimes against white people, Christians and our troops get buried.

3. They have spent the last year misinforming the public at every turn to promote ObamaCare,  while viciously attacking and silencing dissenting views.

2. They routinely invent bogus partisan scandals (Tom Delay, Lewis Libby, Bush-coke, Bush-National Guard, Alberto Gonzales, etc.)…while constantly burying actual, legitimate ones.

1. Studies regularly demonstrate extreme and consistent liberal bias (see here, here, here, here, here and here). Studies have also shown for decades that journalists are far to the left of the average American voter, that they register as Democrats and that they overwhelmingly contribute to Democrats and liberal causes.

Robert’s little article is much lengthier, and much more detailed. Hurry up and read it HERE.

~Johnny~

Hillary’s State Dept. Screwing Up Hatian Adoptions En Masse

The Orlando Sentinel reports that the attempts to bring Haitian refugees to the U.S. are being met with stubborn opposition, bureacratic red tape, and inhumane indifference to the orphan’s plight.

Not from the Hatian government (or what remains of it.) No, no no.

From Hillary Clinton’s State Department.

Best argument against Big Government I’ve ever seen right there:

Since the first earthquake hit Haiti last week, Suzanne Hetherman has careened between despair and elation as she waits for news of the two Haitian girls she has tried to adopt for two years.

On Monday morning, the Winter Garden woman was told they could arrive any minute. By afternoon, the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services were asking for more paperwork.

After a second earthquake rocked Port-au-Prince on Wednesday, Hetherman’s calm demeanor melted.

“They’re still handling this case-by-case,” Hetherman said, her voice cracking with frustration. “There are hundreds of kids waiting at the U.S. Embassy in a massive line. American Airlines has offered to fly all the kids out, but no one’s helping us.”

They are among the 380,000 orphans living in Haiti before the earthquakes, and officials fear thousands more children have been orphaned by the disaster.

Although the U.S. government announced it would grant “humanitarian parole” to children already matched with American adoptive parents, that status applies to only about 900 orphans. Adoption advocates are concerned about the thousands more who will be left behind in a country where children are frequently given up for adoption because their families cannot feed them.

After the second earthquake, adoptive parents such as Hetherman worry that the situation in Haiti will move from dire to desperate. Because orphanages are running low on food and water — and looters have threatened to steal their food — officials at the Joint Council on International Children’s Services urged the U.S. Embassy to create a safe zone for the orphans while their paperwork is processed.

The embassy, meanwhile, is packed with children, according to reports.

Hetherman has watched as flights carrying other orphans arrived in the United States for the American families adopting them. Twenty-six orphans arrived Monday in Fort Pierce, whisked out of Haiti by a jet from Hendrick Motorsports. Another flight, carrying NBA star Alonzo Mourning, brought a few more orphans Tuesday night. And when Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell wrangled with American and Haitian officials to bring a flight of orphans to Pittsburgh, Hetherman cheered his efforts, yet despaired that she hasn’t found such a champion.

“I’d love to see every governor doing that,” Hetherman said. She has called a lot of politicians for help. Finally, on Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson’s office offered to help push her paperwork through the red tape at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Why does this not surprise me? Apparently the State department is willing to let these kids die of hunger and starvation rather than let them in the country and have to actually do some work on visas for a change.

Did I mention these kids are black?

Don’t you think if this was a Republican administration the press would be making a royal fuss over that?

~Johnny~

Buck Ashcraft: “Happiness Is A Warm Gun”

The Legendary Buck Ashcraft sent me these words of wisdom on “Tactics, Firearms, Self Defense and Life.”

*Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch (a firearms training facility in Arizona ),  is part drill instructor and part stand-up comic.  Here are a few of his observation on tactics, firearms, self defense and life as we know it in the civilized world.

1.) “The most important rule in a gunfight is: Always win and cheat if necessary.”

2.) “Don’t forget, incoming fire has the right of way..”

3.) “Make your attacker advance through a wall of bullets. You may get killed with your own gun, but he’ll have to beat you to death with it, cause it’s going to be empty.”

4.) “If you’re not shootin’, you should be loadin’. If you’re not loadin’, you should be movin’, if you’re not movin’, someone’s gonna cut your head off and put it on a stick.”

5.) “When you reload in low light encounters, don’t put your flashlight in your back pocket.. If you light yourself up, you’ll look like an angel or the tooth fairy…and you’re gonna be one of ‘em pretty soon.”

6.) “Do something. It may be wrong, but do something.”

7.) “Shoot what’s available, as long as it’s available, until something else becomes available.”

8.) “If you carry a gun, people will call you paranoid. That’s ridiculous. If you have a gun, what in the hell do you have to be paranoid for.”

9.) “Don’t shoot fast, unless you also shoot good..”

10.) “You can say ‘Stop’ or ‘Alto’ or ‘Arret’ or use any other word you think will work, but I’ve found that a large bore muzzle pointed at someone’s head is pretty much the universal language.”

11.) “You have the rest of your life to solve your problems. How long you live depends on how well you do it.”

12.) “You cannot save the planet but you may be able to save yourself and your family.”

13.) “Thunder Ranch will be here as long as you’ll have us or until someone makes us go away, and either way, it will be exciting.”

14.) The purpose of fighting is to win. There is no possible victory in defense. The sword is more important than the shield, and skill is more important than either. The final weapon is the brain. All else is supplemental.

15.)  Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.

16.) If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck.

17.)  I carry a gun cause a cop is too heavy.

18.)  When seconds count, the cops are just minutes away .

19.) A reporter did a human-interest piece on the Texas Rangers. The reporter recognized the Colt Model 1911 the Ranger was carrying and asked him ‘Why do you carry a 45?’ The Ranger responded, ‘Because they don’t make a 46.’

20.)  An armed man will kill an unarmed man with monotonous regularity.

21.) The old sheriff was attending an awards dinner when a lady commented on his wearing his sidearm. ‘Sheriff, I see you have your pistol. Are you expecting trouble?’ ‘No ma’am. If I were expecting trouble, I would have brought my rifle.’

22.) Beware of the man who only has one gun, because he probably knows how to use it very well.

‘The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.’ — G. K. Chesterton

“Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not.” — Thomas Jefferson

Turncoat Specter (D-Pa) Loses Cool With Tea Party Darling Bachman (R-MN)

He said WHAT now?

POLITICO notes:

The deeply odd couple of Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Penn.) and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) appeared together on a Philly radio station yesterday — and things got ugly in short order.

The exchange, broadcast on 1210 AM’s Dom Giordano Show [but not archived on the station's site], began when Specter challenged Bachmann to articulate what, exactly, she stands for, according to a readout on the clash published by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s lively Early Returns blog.

Bachmann first laid out her agenda — cutting taxes and killing President Obama’s health reform bill — at considerable length.

When Specter tried to counter, Bachmann, darling of the Tea Party movement, kept on talking, which didn’t sit well with the one-time Philadelphia DA, who is a stickler for politeness and protocol.

“I’m going to treat you like a lady,” Mr. Specter shot back. “Now act like one.”

Ms. Bachmann replied, “I am a lady.”

Oh yeah — that’s what Ms. Bachmann (who is the mother of twenty-eight children (five naturally, 23 foster kids) needs to be told. Yup – that’ll do it.

Audio clip of the exchange HERE (not too long; a bit over two minutes.)

Bachmann was interviewed on Sean Hannity’s radio show HERE and characterized Specter’s rudeness as “I Was Patronized And Basically Told To Sit Down And Shut Up.”

Which, pretty much, she was, really. Hillary Clinton or any other Democrat woman would have demanded an apology bynow.

Later, on Hannity’s Fox News program that night, Bachmann said she was “Stunned” At Specter’s “Arrogance.”

It’s got to be hard to be Arlen Specter today. Your Democrap friends are threatening you if you don’t vote a certain way; your Republican friends won’t return you calls, and rude upstart women interrupt you all the time.

How dare they! Don’t they know who he is? I mean, REALLY!

~Johnny~

Rasmussen: 2nd Half of Texas Survey; Gov Perry Should Be Worried

Rasmussen Reports has released the second half of the survey they did immediately after the Gubernatorial debates last week. While interesting, it seems to mirror the results of the first half of the survey.

Texas Survey of 1,000 Likely Voters
Conducted January 17, 2010
By Rasmussen Reports
NOTE: Margin of Sampling Error, +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence

1* Election 2010: Texas Governor’s Race

Rick Perry (R) 50%

Bill White (D)  40%

Kay Bailey Hutchison (R)  52%

Bill White (D) 37%

Debra Medina (R)  38%

Bill White (D)   44%

This appears to reflect the trend of the country currently (and especially last night in Massachusetts)  against Democrats.  It’s interesting that Medina, with limited name recognition, is only 6% behind White, and still in run-off contention.

2* I’m going to read you a short list of people in the News. For each, please let me know if you have a very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable, or very unfavorable impression.

Candidate	Very favorable	Somewhat favorable	Somewhat unfavorable	Very unfavorable	Not sure
Rick Perry	19%	36%	21%	21%	3%
Kay Bailey Hutchison	18%	43%	27%	8%	4%
Bill White	23%	26%	18%	17%	16%
Debra Medina	10%	29%	20%	12%	29%

Or,  if you combine the Favorables and unfavorables together . . .

Candidate	Favorable		Unfavorable		Not sure
Rick Perry	55%		42%		3%
Kay Bailey Hutchison	61%		35%		4%
Bill White	49%		35%		16%
Debra Medina	39%		32%		29%

Perry has the largest Unfavorable ratings of any candidate, which may just be a matter of exposure and being a known quantity.  However, talking with the Tea Party people here in San Antonio, I don’t think that’s all there is to it.  Hutchison has the highest favorable ratings, and Medina the lowest Unfavorables.

3* Should Kay Bailey Hutchison remain in her position as senator while she is running for Governor?

52% Yes
27% No
21% Not sure

The more I think about this one, the more I believe the only explanation is that Texans don’t trust San Fran Nan Pelosi and Dingy Harry Reid  at all, and want Kay there to B-slap them as necessary.  Whether Kay will do that remains to be seen.

4* Governor Perry withdrew Texas from a federal program offering up to $700 million in education grants. He expressed concern about education guidelines from the federal government as a result of accepting the grant. Do you agree or disagree with Governor Perry’s decision to turn down $700 million in education grants.

45% Agree

45% Disagree
10% Not sure

Split right down the middle, which mirrors the division voters feel about the Texas schools generally.  This could very well be a ticking time bomb for Perry.  I wouldn’t hitch my wagon to the star of Texas schools during the campaign if I was he.

5* Generally speaking, do you strongly favor, somewhat favor, somewhat oppose or strongly oppose the health care reform plan proposed by President Obama and the congressional Democrats?

39%  Favor

57%  Oppose

This figure is just a few points away from the figure for Kay Bailey to stay in the Senate.  There may very well be a connection.

6* How likely is it that there will be another terrorist attack in the United States in the next year?

67% Likely
22% Not likely
11% Not sure

7* Should the December attempt to blow up an airliner as it was landing in Detroit be investigated by military authorities as a terrorist act or by civilian authorities as a criminal act?

68% By the military as a terrorist act
20% By civilian authorities as a criminal act
12% Not sure

Notice how the numbers on these two questions are almost identical.  Not much division of thought among Texans on Terrorism.

14* How would you rate the job Rick Perry has been doing as Governor… do you strongly approve, somewhat approve, somewhat disapprove, or strongly disapprove of the job he’s been doing?

53%  Approve
46%  Disapprove
2% Not sure

If I were Rick Perry I’d be very worried right now.  While he’s been Governor for two terms and has massive name recognition, yet he barely ekes out a 53% approval?  He also split approval of his schools funding question at 45% as well.  Plus his challenger Kay Bailey has higher approvl numbers than he has — and the no-name challenger (Medina) is generally acknowledged to have won the debate.

Really, all Rick Perry has going for him is inertia — and he seems to be running out of that, just like Kay Bailey.

~Johnny~

“It’s not Ted Kennedy’s Seat; It’s JACK and BOBBY Kennedy’s Seat”

I’m sitting here watching Oceans Thirteen, which always reminds me of my Dad.  Something about Vegas, I guess, and Sinatra always reminds me of Dad.  Damned if I know why, but there it is.

And in keeping of the news of the day, notably the election win of Scott Brown in Massachusetts, I’m reminded of my father again and something he used to say (which always drove me crazy):

“It’s not Teddy Kennedy’s seat in the Senate; it’s Jack and Bobby’s seat.”

Dad’s contention was always that Ted Kennedy held that seat through any personal charisma or gentlemanly statesmanship ability.  The large amount of Independent voters in Massachusetts (almost 60%) shows it’s not an overwhelming Democrat majority, either.  No, Dad always though Ted Kennedy hung onto that seat simply because it was a memorial to his brothers who died, and both of whom had held that seat before him.

Today I’m wondering if that might not have been true.  Despite the incredibly inept campaign of Martha Coakley and the incredibly poor choice of her as a candidate; and notwithstanding the Tea Parties and the voter animosity to the mad spending of the Obama Administration . . .

Well, I gotta wonder how much influence that may have had.  Just food for thought.

~Johnny~

Correction

In my previous post about San Antonio’s Medina Debate Watch Party Draws Hundreds & Candidates,I neglected to include in the list and photos of candidates Alan Strack, running for the 20th District Congressional seat. I’ve corrected that, and apologize for the oversight. Mr. Strack is actually one of my favorite candidates for the seat, as you’ll see in the article.

~Johnny~

Rasmussen: Medina in Double Digits; Only Candidate Increasing Percentage

Well, the “unscientific” polls aside, the one scientific poll I trust has weighed in at Rasmussen Reports, and it’s quite a bit different than the others.

This is a slightly different analysis than you’ll see on the Rasmussen site, thanks to my contact there.

Texas Survey of 831 Likely GOP Primary Voters

Conducted January 17, 2010, By Rasmussen Reports

(NOTE: Margin of Sampling Error, +/- 3.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence)

1* Suppose the Republican Primary for the 2010 Governor’s race were held today.  Would you vote for Rick Perry, Kay Bailey Hutchison or Debra Medina?

43% Perry

33% Hutchison

12% Medina

11% Not sure

This is to be expected.  Just that Medina went from an entry position of 3% in November to 12% this week is a 400% increase; that she’s in double-digits at all shows the strength of her followers.  This 12% has been done with no major media commercials in either TV or Radio;  no major endorsements, and only yard signs, personal appearances,  and word-of-mouth to propel her campaign.

For such a limited amount of exposure, 12% is damn  near phenomenal.

But also consider that 11% of the electorate is still undecided.  That’s 12% who still will not commit to either of the incumbents, perry or Hutchison.  These 11% are Medina’s for the taking.

2* I’m going to read you a short list of people in the News. For each, please let me know if you have a very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable, or very unfavorable impression.

Candidate	Very favorable	Somewhat favorable	Somewhat unfavorable	Very unfavorable	Not sure
Rick Perry	26%	46%	17%	9%	1%
Kay Bailey Hutchison	23%	50%	21%	4%	2%
Debra Medina	12%	31%	20%	9%	28%

Or, to rephrase the results by combining . . .

Candidate	Favorable		Unfavorable		Not sure
Rick Perry	72%		26%		1%
Kay Bailey Hutchison	73%		25%		2%
Debra Medina	33%		29%		28%

Medina is an unknown quantity, so she pretty much splits the field within the margin of error.  Perry and Hutchinson have almost identical Favorable and unfavorable ratings, although Perry has a iny bit more unfavorables than Perry.  While this is very likely a trick of the statistics, it may also be betraying some simmering resentments against Perry.

Or not.  Be interesting to see what the next poll shows after the second debate.

3* Should Kay Bailey Hutchison remain in her position as senator while she is running for Governor?

65% Yes

22% No

13% Not sure

I was somewhat surprised by this. While Hutchison originally was to resign her position to run for governor, it appears the electorate doesn’t trust Harry Reid as far as we could throw him (and ten million Texans could throw his skinny butt pretty damned far, I’d reckon.)

So it would appear Texas would rather have Kay Bailey break a promise than Harry Reid.

4* How would you rate the job Barack Obama has been doing as President… do you strongly approve, somewhat approve, somewhat disapprove, or strongly disapprove of the job he’s been doing?

8% Strongly approve

8% Somewhat approve

10% Somewhat disapprove

73% Strongly disapprove

1% Not sure

Ithink this pretty much speaks for itself, as well as backs up the Kay Bailey question. Texans overwhelmingly disapprove of what’s going on in Washington; specifically when the President’s got his name all over it.  And Texans seem to be leading the pack of disapproval, too.

5* How would you rate the job Rick Perry has been doing as Governor… do you strongly approve, somewhat approve, somewhat disapprove, or strongly disapprove of the job he’s been doing?

22% Strongly approve

46% Somewhat approve

20% Somewhat disapprove

11% Strongly disapprove

1% Not sure

This is a bit more surprising . For all the grumbling I’ve heard about Governor Perry around San Antonio, it doesn’t seem to show in this poll, and makes me wonder if I’m listening to disaffected Perry supporters, or if the survey sample isn’t being truthful with Rasmussen.  A 68% approval rating for the Governor is a death knell to the Medina and Hutchison campaigns; yet Kay Bailey had almost identical numbers on an earlier question?

I have a feeling this number will shift more the closer we get to the primary; although I could be wrong.

Rasmussen added an interesting note on their website:

Perry jumped out to an 11-point lead – 46% to 35% – in November after Hutchison’s tour of the state to announce her candidacy had turned the race into a toss-up just two months earlier. In mid-July, Perry led Hutchison by 10 points, 46% to 36%.

But Medina, the owner of a medical consulting firm, is the only candidate who is gaining ground, up from four percent (4%) of the GOP vote in November and three percent (3%) in September. Some political analysts have said Medina was the strongest performer in last Thursday night’s GOP gubernatorial debate, although most of the focus was on Perry, who is seeking an unprecedented third term as governor, and Hutchison, a member of the U.S. Senate for the past 16 years.

Count on these numbers changing.  I’m informed that BELO corporation, the sponsor of the second debate, has decided to invite Medina to the second debate, so it will still be a horse race for the forseeable future.

Stay tuned.  Medina is still the one to watch here.

~Johnny~

Coward Visclosky Brings Cops to Town Hall Meetings; Sics ‘Em On Little Old Lady!

Peter Visclosky (D-IN), noted sock puppet of Pennsylvania corruptocrat John Murtha, knew he was going to have problems at his Town Hall Meetings in his district of Indiana. He remains under investigation for bribery in his dealings with a Murtha-connected Lobbying firm, and while the heavily-Democrat voting areas of Lake county would probably continue to vote him back into office blindly, he expected some Tea Party action in Republican Porter County.

Much to his surprise (and mine), Visclosky drew heavy fire in Lake County forums at Hebron as well as the county seat of Crown Point.

So what to do if you’re an “entitled” Democrap who doesn’t like the mean constituents yelling at you? You make sure the cops are there at your forums.

Oh yeah, THAT will endear your constituents to you, for sure!

The turnout for U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky was bigger in Chesterton — but louder in Portage.

The forum in the Westchester Library Service Center attracted 150 people, while 100 packed the Portage City Council chamber.

At both stops, almost half of the questions on cards and from the floor dealt with the coming House-Senate conference on health care reform bill.

Visclosky again refused to say how he would vote on the bill when it comes out of the joint committee.

Coward. Like we don’t already know he’s voted for almost everything the Obama Administration has rammed through Congress.

One person in Portage asked, “Why are you walking in lockstep with Obama, Reid and Pelosi on their radical agenda?”

The first eruption followed the efforts of Joyce Bennett of Valparaiso to press him on whether health care reform would increase property taxes.  “It’s going to cost Indiana $2.4 billion in additional Medicaid costs,” she said, waving a sheaf of what she said was research that showed health reform is not deficit neutral.

“That is patently false. There’s no connection with property taxes,” Visclosky replied, to general shouts of disapproval.

Excuse me, Congressman Imbecile; she didn’t say anything about Property Taxes. Are you deaf as well as stupid? She said Medicaid Costs — and that’s already in both bills, if you had bothered to read them.

And then it got ugly:

Two Portage police officers stepped forward when a senior citizen, who later declined to identify herself, stood up to vent. “There wouldn’t be this much discussion if we didn’t have so many lies from the House,” she said. She sat down before any action was taken.

And . . . I’m struggling to see what the threat was here that the cops had to intimidate a senior citizen for speaking her mind. Scared of little old ladies, Pete? (Oh, wait — he probably sees Nancy Pelosi on a daily basis; that’s pretty damned scary right there.)

In Valparaiso, one of the questions he faced was whether, if the majority of voters in his district were against health care reform, Visclosky would vote against it. As he has done at other forums, Visclosky demurred.

“I can’t tell you. It’s a work in progress,” he said, adding that while many of those in the audience opposed health care reform, some of the 675,000 people in his district think the proposed reform doesn’t go far enough.

Yes; less than 35% of them according to the polls. So does that mean we go against the will of the majority; or is this still the United States of America, and a democracy, you supercilious twit?

He fought against occasional interruptions, which he pointed out came from people who had done the same at other forums. After one particularly heated exchange, a Valparaiso police officer edged through a doorway into the City Hall chambers. A second officer was stationed in the hallway.

When asked to name “just one thing that government does better than the private sector,” Visclosky said Social Security, drawing both applause and boos as some pointed out the system was going broke.

“I cannot imagine or envision what the average life of a senior citizen would be today if we did not have Social Security,” he said. “I would worry more about the Cubs winning the pennant this year than Social Security going broke,” he said.

Oddly, the Hometown paper of Portage and Chesterton, The Northwest Indiana Times, decided not to cover these events. Not that they’re slanted in their coverage or anything, but they have endorsed Visclosky every time for re-election, as well as endorsing Obama for President.

Probably just an oversight or something.

~Johnny~

Game Changer: Debra Medina Leading in the Texas Gov. Polls?

A funny thing happened on the way back from the Debate Thursday night . . .

As I noted in my previous post HERE, Texas’ newspapers seemed to have many commenters who thought Debra Medina had acquitted herself well in the debate on Thursday.

Possibly as a reaction to that apparent groundswell of support, many of these newspapers put up unscientific polls of their readers to see who they thought won the debate.

The results were surprising. The Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom website, an admittedly anti-Perry Group, shows an overwhelming vote for Medina:

CBS-11 in Dallas had a similar result:

My Fox Dallas-Fort Worth was also similar:

As well as the Fort Worth Star-Telegram too:

In fact, eight of eight polls agree:

Source	Perry %	Hutchison %	Medina %	Medina Votes	Total
T.U.R.F.	8.7	3.6	87.8	344	392
CBS-11 in Dallas	8	7	76	unk.	unk.
My Fox Dallas-Ft Worth	14	16	68	unk.	2517
Fort Worth Star-Telegram	14	15	62	661	1073
Big Country Blog	10	13	71.3	855	unk.
Abilene Reporter-News	7	8	83	1186	1426
Univision TV	4	1	95	363	unk.
KEYE Austin	11.9	16.5	56	unk.	unk.

This is where I put my Bachelor’s in Psychology and statistics to work. The first thing I noted is that the sample sizes seem to vary greatly. While two of the polls have the total number of respondents in the 300’s, the others var from around one thousand to around 1500 to around two thousand. Were the Medina campaign trying to taint the results by over-voting the surveys, the sample sizes would be more regular.

But some of the surveys, while including the nubmer of total votes or votes for one candidate, do not have all the information. We can infer this data by doing the math on the known variables, as I have in the revised table below.  (Inferred data is in italics and starred*.)

And with a little re-arrangement for clarity, we have this:

Source	Perry %	Hutchison %	Medina %	Medina Votes	Total
Univision TV	4	1	95	363	382*
T.U.R.F.	8.7	3.6	87.8	344	392
Fort Worth Star-Telegram	14	15	62	661	1073
Big Country Blog	10	13	71.3	855	1199*
Abilene Reporter-News	7	8	83	1186	1426
My Fox Dallas-Ft Worth	14	16	68	1712*	2517
KEYE Austin	11.9	16.5	56	unk.	unk.
CBS-11 in Dallas	8	7	76	unk.	unk.

As widely as the sample sizes vary, it would be impossible for a dedicated band of, say, 350 or so Medina followers to influence the results of a poll of 2,517 respondents. This lends credibility to the results, even though the people surveyed in these polls are more likely to be active politically, and more “fired up” for their respective candidates.

Interesting. So it actually appears to show a groundswell of support for Debra Medina among committed political activists.

The survey for We Are Austin.com is actually a survey about the election with ALL candidates, Republican and Democrat, included.

So according to We Are Austin.com,  not only does Debra Medina place far ahead of all other Republican challengers (including the incumbent Governor),  she would even beat the very popular former Houston Mayor Bill White by a 6 to one margin.

And, again, obviously not a scientific poll, but . . . . interesting.

I have it on very good source that the Rasmussen organization will do a survey of the Texas Governor’s Race this coming week.  Apparently this race is generating significant “buzz” in the powers that be.

Awaiting those results as well.

~Johnny~

San Antonio’s Medina Debate Watch Party Draws Hundreds & Candidates

The Debate Watch Party for the Texas Gubernatorial Debate at Fatso’s Sports Garden on Bandera Road drew a brisk crowd and several local candidates for local office.

Joseph “Jamie” Martinez is one of the candidates challenging incumbent Democrat Charlie Gonzalez for the House seat in Texas District 20.

Alan Strack is also a candidate for the 20th district seat. I’d vote for him if he promises to wear those jean and Converse high-tops to his swearing-in ceremony.  The look on Pelosi’s face would be priceless.

Clayton Trotter is also running for the 20th District seat. His son was killed in the Battle of Fallujah in Iraq;and he has some strong ideas on defense.

Scott Yellbell was there representing Kiko Canseco, who had a previous commitment

Dr. Robert Lowry, a local physician, is running for the 23rd District seat. His website is www.DrLowryfor Congress.com

Will Hurd is a local graduate of Marshall high School who until recently was a CIA case officer. He decided to run when he became disgustedwith how uninformed the congressmen he breifed actually were on the issues. His website is HERE.

And Brian Underwood is running for the seat in the 28th District.  That’s three congressional districts where the incumbent will NOT run unopposed in Texas this year.  Bravo to all of them!

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram understates the contentiousness of the debate:

DENTON — Texas Gov. Rick Perry opened tonight’s televised gubernatorial debate by declaring “this is the best state in the nation to be living in today.”

His opponents — U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and former Wharton County GOP Chair Debra Medina — tore into Perry as an advocate of big government and the governor who signed the largest tax hike in state history.

Hutchison said Texas lost 300,000 jobs over the past year and said, “That is not a record to be proud of.”

Perry tried to point to the jobs he has created in office and cited positive statistics stretching from November 2007 to November 2008.

“Let’s talk about ’09,” Hutchison replied.

Perry said Texas leads the nation in the development of jobs and it’s one of the top places for small businesses. But Hutchison argued that taxes have increased under Perry.

Medina accused both the governor and senator of being advocates of “big government solutions.”

On another issue, Hutchison was asked by Star-Telegram Austin bureau chief Dave Montgomery to clarify her position on abortion. She said that overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion could lead to “abortion havens.”

The San Antonio Express News agreed; it was one heck of a fight:

DENTON – Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison clashed repeatedly in the first Republican gubernatorial debate, speaking over one another and all but calling the other a liar.

Activist Debra Medina pushed for a place apart, describing Perry and Hutchison as politicians who embrace big government solutions to Texas’ problems.  After one overlapping exchange of sniping between Hutchison and Perry, Medina expressed frustration, declaring, “This squabbling isn’t getting us anywhere.”

Hutchison went after Perry’s veracity time and again, while Perry painted Hutchison as out of touch from her years in Washington.

When Hutchison and Medina criticized his record on job growth, Perry said “It really wears me out that we have two people on this stage here who want to tear Texas down,” Perry said.

Hutchison struck at Perry’s record in office, saying he is “trying to have it both ways” as he describes himself as cutting taxes while the state’s tax burden on business rises and the state’s budget grows.

Perry and Hutchison verbally slashed at each other when discussing her 2008 vote for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), sometimes derisively called the Wall Street bailout bill.

Perry said Hutchison told Texans she would not vote for the measure but then did. Hutchison said she voted for the measure because she was asked to by then-President Bush, but she said the bill was changed to limit how much was spent.

Hutchison then called Perry “disingenuous” because he had written a letter the day before urging congressional action. “You were for it before you were against it,” she said.

In another instance, Perry accused Hutchison of attacking Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and the Republican legislative leadership on state budget growth and the fact Texas likely will face a $16 billion state budget shortfall in 2011. Hutchison responded by saying Perry is attacking Texas’ Republican congressional delegation.

“I’m criticizing the leadership at the top. The buck stops on your desk,” Hutchison said.

Perry replied, “We’re going to cut it (the budget) just like we did in 2003. We have the experience,” a reference to a $10 billion shortfall that was eliminated without a tax increase.

Medina proposed solving the state’s budget and economic problems by eliminating the property tax and replacing it with higher sales taxes: “The governor and the senator are both going to offer big government solutions.”

When asked about her continuing support for the U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, Hutchison said she continues to back it because without the decision there would be “abortion havens.” She said some states would make abortion illegal while others would legalize abortion “even as the baby is coming out of the birth canal.”

All three candidates said they could support repealing the state’s advance directives law that allows hospitals to cut off care for terminally ill patients, but Perry stumbled.   “I always stand by the side of life,” he said, but then had to admit he did not realize the law was passed by the Legislature when he was lieutenant governor, the presiding officer of the state Senate.

The three candidates also all opposed the national health care reform bill being pushed by President Obama and Democrats. But Perry used the discussion to take a swipe at Hutchison for the time she is spending campaigning for governor.

“We have heard it is hanging by a thread. I hope that our senior senator would get back to Washington, D.C., and cut that thread. That’s where she needs to be,” Perry said.

The Dallas Morning News had some interesting reader commentary.  Commenter “kids” said that “perry won…medina came in 2nd…hutchison came in 3rd…“; a sentiment echoed bycommnter EmmaJ.:  “KBH stuttered and stumbled through her answers so much that I was confused.“  Commenter Eric seemed to summarize several others saying “Are you guys blind…..two idiots mumbling about you did this and I did that. 1 Candidate had clear answers….Debra Medina won. You need to tune into the news….they are clearly giving it to Medina. All undecided voters said they liked Medina and were tired of the bickering.“

Commenter Zeke agreed:

“Well if you want politics as usual, KBH and Perry are of the same coin, sell outs to special interests through CFR memberships. Perry being groomed for a Palin / Perry ticket in 2012 might appeal to some. Medina seems to be the only candidate that understands Texas must resist D.C. legislation, reduce the size of government and reduce the tax burdens on individual and business.”

Can’t wait for the second debate; although if Medina isn’t included, I’ll probably just skip that catfight.

~Johnny~

Medina Makes Media Momentum; Messes with Press in Texas Papers

Thge Lamestream Media are once again getting caught with their pants down, and feigning mock surprise that (gasp) conservative candidate Debra Medina appears to be gathering something of a following among the Tea Partiers in Texas.

After being surprised that she was even allowed in the debates at all, the lamestreams are continuing to be surprised that “Watch parties” are springing up across Texas to see the debate by Medina supporters. (San Antonio’s is at Fatso’s Sports Garden on Bandera Road; San Marcos is having on at Gil’s; etc.)

The Houston Chronicle relegates this revelation to the Blogs section:

Medina at the Ramparts

Debra Medina, the Wharton County nurse who makes her statewide debut tomorrow night as the insurgent candidate for the Republican gubernatorial campaign, was in Houston yesterday to unveil her plan to secure the Texas border. On paper, the plan bristles with guns, the Guard and tall, forbidding fences, as you might expect from a candidate who appeals to the Tea Party wing of the Texas GOP. In person, though, Medina is more nuanced (not to mention more earnest and didactic). It’ll be interesting to see which Medina comes across when she crashes the Rick and Kay Show at tomorrow night’s Republican gubernatorial debate in Denton.

Here’s how she talks about border enforcement: “I’m reminded by our Founding Fathers from Virginia, their legislature from Virginia early on passed this resolution — that all men are by nature equally free, independent and have certain inherent rights by which when they enter into a state of society they cannot be deprived or divested from their posterity, namely the enjoyment of life and of liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property and pursuing and attaining happiness and safety. All of us — Mexican, Chinese, Asian, Texan — are endowed with those inalienable rights. Texans want to share those. I believe we want to share those with our neighbors — neighbors from Mexico and neighbors from all over the world – but we must adhere in this state of society to the rules. . . . “

That’s no sound bite, obviously. It’s more a sound gulp. Still, I hope Medina gets a chance tomorrow night to engage her better-known competitors in a real debate about the issues, including illegal immigration.

Damn! From the Chronicle, that’s no faint praise; it’s tantamount to an actual endorsement.

The San Antonio Express-News is much more sanguine:

AUSTIN — The first contested Republican primary debate for Texas governor in 20 years is scheduled to air on statewide television Thursday night as Gov. Rick Perry tries to fend off challenges from U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and activist Debra Medina.

The debate will air live in San Antonio at 7 p.m. on LATV, Channel 12.2; and will be broadcast at 8 p.m. on KLRN-DT and again on Saturday at 10 a.m. on KWEX (Univision) in Spanish and at 7 p.m. on KSAT. It will also be carried live on WOAI radio, 1200 AM.

An Internet live stream of the debate can be obtained from www.TexasDebates.org.

Perry is trying to sell Republican voters on the idea that his policies have slowed government growth, limited personal injury lawsuits, blocked gay marriages and kept the Texas economy healthier than the rest of the nation. Perry is attacking the federal government and portraying Hutchison as a Washington insider.

Hutchison has won three terms in the U.S. Senate. She portrays herself as a conservative fighting against health care reform and global warming legislation in Washington. Hutchison is making the case that Perry’s rhetoric is more conservative than the policies he has implemented, and that it is time for a change.

Medina, who comes from the libertarian wing of the Republican Party, is scoring a victory by being in the debate at all, because it validates her candidacy. She has been blocked from appearing in a second debate set to be hosted Jan. 29, by Belo Corp.

Medina is promoting the idea that states have the right to nullify federal laws that impinge on state sovereignty.

The debate is being sponsored by KERA public television in Dallas, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, CBS and Univision affiliates in Dallas, the Texas Association of Broadcasters, the Texas State Network and the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas.

Well, that explains why the Debate is being carried on WOAI radio in San Antonio at 7:00 pm and at 8:00pm on KLRN Public Broadcasting. It’s not an error; the TV is tape-delayed an hour.

Been driving me crazy all day trying to figure that out.

Your humble Alamo City Pundit will be there, of course. Medina supporters tend to be seriously good-looking.

~Johnny~

Medina Throws Down Gauntlet on Immigration in TX Gov’s Race

Found in my E-mail today.  This ought to put Kay’s and Slick Rick’s knickers in a knot if they aren’t already:

FAIR WARNING: Governor Medina Will Secure the Texas Border

HOUSTON, TX, Tuesday, January 12, 2010 – Debra Medina, Republican Candidate for Governor today released her plan for securing the Texas border in a joint press conference with the U.S. Border Watch.

“Failure to enforce state and federal laws has contributed to abuse of property and humanity all along the Texas border. We can no longer turn a blind eye on the situation and will, in order to protect our citizens and their property, take matters into our own hands to insure peace and protection along the Texas border,” stated Medina.

Medina has engaged in discussions with border sheriffs and will work closely with them to complement their efforts. U.S. Border Watch has recently endorsed Debra Medina stating, “U.S. Border Watch is deeply concerned about the lack of progress being made from both Washington DC and Austin, TX in securing our borders from drug smugglers, terrorists and illegal immigrants. The two candidates for the Republican nomination for Governor who currently hold elected offices (that of Senator and Governor) have repeatedly made promises and then turned their backs on these issues or completely reversed their campaign promises. They have consistently failed to protect the rule of law and the citizens of this great state.”

“Medina knows the U.S. and Texas Constitutions and the power that lies in the rule of law. This is, after all is said and done, a rule of law issue. Debra Medina has the courage to enforce those laws that protect the people and the property of Texas from the ravages of an unsecured border.”

Recent reports by the Texas Department of Public Safety document increased efforts by drug cartels on both sides of the border to “co-opt our children to support their criminal operations.”ⁱ These reports provide even more evidence that Texas must act and must act now to protect her citizens and their children.  Steven McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety recently commented, “The concern is that the gangs are now being used by the cartels on both sides of the border for hit squads, human smuggling and counter surveillance.”ⁱⁱ

“Citizens have been seriously disappointed by the campaign double-speak from both Senator Hutchison and Governor Perry on this issue. We’ve heard their rhetoric. It’s time to get serious about protecting the Texas border. Debra is the only one who will take bold and decisive action to secure the Texas border,” said campaign manager Penny Freeman.

Medina’s plan to secure the border includes:

• Calling sufficient numbers of Texas National Guard and Texas State Guard members to active duty to support local law enforcement particularly along areas in between legal ports of entry to combat drug and human trafficking;
• Notifying Mexican authorities that the Texas Border will be secure and no entry will be allowed without proper documentation;
• Insuring that Texas District Attorneys and Texas Attorney General exercise full prosecutorial power and have sufficient resources to enforce human slavery and child labor laws to their fullest extent;
• Assisting local and state law enforcement in deporting individuals convicted of violating state or federal law;
• Insuring that private citizens have the ability to protect themselves and their property without fear;
• Insuring that the interests of Texans are protected by seeking legislation and enforcement actions that respect Texas sovereignty in the face of international treaties, like NAFTA, that violate Texas state sovereignty; These treaties create poverty in Mexico and Central America and benefit corporate investors. This poverty drives people to migrate north. Insuring that the interests of Texans are protected, Debra Medina will interpose, support nullification and declare unconstitutional all international treaties that violate Texas state sovereignty. We will not recognize those treaties or enforce their regulation or taxation.
• Eliminating social incentives to illegal immigration by seeking legislation prohibiting use of state funds for service or benefit of illegal aliens.

“This is a decisive plan that makes sense to the citizens of Texas—Anglo and Mexican American alike.  But common sense is in short supply in Austin and Washington and our current governor and ranking senator have had long enough to enforce our current immigration laws or find new solutions,” stated Freeman.  ”They have been insulated from the problems facing We Texans for way too long. Debra is the only candidate who truly cares about We Texans and will act to protect Texas.”

ⁱ_{DPS Warns Parents: Mexican Cartels and Gangs Recruiting in Texas Schools. Texas Department of Public Safety Information for the News Media, Nov. 17, 2009}

ⁱⁱ_{Trahan, Jason.  “Mexican Drug Cartels Recruiting Texas Teens, State Warns” Dallas Morning News, Nov. 18, 2009}

Visit the Medina For Texas website at http://www.medinafortexas.com.

The part that caught my eye was where it said “Debra Medina will interpose, support nullification and declare unconstitutional all international treaties that violate Texas state sovereignty.” Think about THAT statement for a second. When the second-largest state of the Union which comprises almost half of the southern border with Mexico all by ourselves starts to enforce immigration law and decides to arbitrarily nullify the NAFTA agreement — that’s going to get somebody’s attention but quick!

Meanwhile, tomorrow is the first Republican Gubernatorial Debate at 8:00 pm on your local Texas PBS Station. The Watch Party in San Antonio is HERE:

Thursday, January 14, 2010
Time:	7:30pm – 10:00pm
Location:	Fatso’s Sports Garden
Street:	1704 Bandera Rd
View Map Google MapQuest Microsoft Yahoo

Your own humble Alamo City Pundit will be there with his camera to document the crowd and the fun. Be there!

~Johnny~

Texas & Five States Petitioned to Challenge Validity of Obama Birth Certificate

Thomas Washington on FaceBook sent me this message.

Many attempts have been made to bring charges against Barack Obama to force him to disclose information that proves he is Constitutionally eligible, through documents and records which instead are being kept sealed from the public’s scrutiny.

These are suits brought by attorneys against a presumptive President. Not A SINGLE ONE OF THEM has been allowed to be considered upon its merits, but each and every one has and is being deprived of proper handling by legal tricks called technicalities. This will continue unless WE SAY SOMETHING:   We stake the very future of our country on these legal proceedings, only to be disappointed time & again.

And except for writing a check and offering words of encouragement, there is not much we can do to get involved… or is there??

What if there was another approach, other than going directly against BO and demanding his Birth cert, that would accomplish the same thing, and more?

We are a Republic of powerful states. Think about how the Democratic Party got BO’s name on the ballot. The Dem’s ability to pull such an enormous fraud goes back to a systemic failure in State election protocol.

If we concentrate our efforts on who did the vetting in each of the states, BO’s utter lack of credentials would be exposed. We wouldn’t need to keep playing this game – is he or is he not a Natural Born Citizen, was he or wasn’t he born in the US, and even where’s the Birth Cert.?-

WE THE PEOPLE don’t need to prove or disprove any of this. What we need to do is QUESTION WITH BOLDNESS.

What was the proof used – the documents – that Nancy Pelosi (acting not as speaker, but as Dem. Convention Chair), Howard Dean (Chair of Dem. Party), and all the Democratic Party officials in all States who SWORE and SIGNED TO IT that BO is LEGALLY and CONSTITUTIONALLY eligible to get his name on the ballot in each of the states? They won’t have an answer.

In six lucky states the work has been done for you. Find out if your state REQUIRES certification that the Presidential Candidates are CONSTITUTIONALLY ELIGIBLE for the job. (Did you know that some states actually DON’T HAVE this requirement? Is your state one of them?)

Then find out who signed the forms that were submitted to the state election committee - in some cases Nancy Pelosi herself - and file a complaint with your state Attorney General as to HOW DID the person signing the form, swearing that BO was eligible to have his name put on the ballot in that state – HOW DID they know? WHAT PROOF did they have? Not only does this usurper need to be exposed before he does any more damage than he has already, but legal steps MUST be taken to insure this election Fraud never occurs again.

Note: Nancy Pelosi was alerted in a HAND DELIVERED note that there were questions about BO’s eligibility which she ignored. The DNC Attorney was asked for the proof that was used to vet BO, and the reply was that since they are a “private club” – they are not subject to the FOIA!

If you, or you know someone, that lives in SC, Georgia, Virginia, Maryland, Texas, or Hawaii, the work is done for you.

The AG Complaints, on Election fraud, are ready to be printed, signed, and sent in by Constituents sick of the type of fraud that actually allowed Obama to take the Presidency.

All you have to do is follow the link(s) and click print, then sign and send!

Attorney General Complaints;

South Carolina; http://www.scribd.com/doc/21676023/jbjd

Georgia; http://www.scribd.com/doc/21675349/jbjd

Virginia; http://www.scribd.com/doc/24321780/jbjd

Maryland; http://www.scribd.com/doc/21675353/jbjd

Texas; http://www.scribd.com/doc/21675344/jbjd

Hawaii; http://www.scribd.com/doc/19754421/jbjdhawaiimodelelectionfraudcomplaintag

Here are Documents from the SC Republican & Democratic parties - the most interesting would be page #4 with the handwritten wording inserted at the bottom; http://www.scribd.com/doc/20536193/jbjdscmefcomplaintexhibits

Please, if you reside in a state mentioned above or know someone that does. Please use this important information! The work has been done for you. All you have to do is click print then sign and send!

It’s as simple as that!

The longer people stay silent on this issue the longer it will take to resolve this issue.

Enough is Enough!

Petition documents for Texas are HERE.

It’s a very interesting idea; take the fight from the Federal Government back to the states, where the real power resides after all. If two-thirds of the states were to challenge the election . . . something would have to happen.

Interesting idea. I’m printing mine tonight to mail tomorrow.

~Johnny~

ACP Gets Hate Mail for Elitist Republican Fop!

Somebody at IP address 75.1.136.116 (Universal City, Texas) has a bone to pick with your humble Pundit, over this post here:

I do not understand why you are upset that Cathie Adams “selected” an executive director. Isn’t this her responsibility as chair of the party?! If you knew the rules, you’d know that “we” can’t vote for an executive director. He is an employee of the Republican Party of Texas. The word “select” implies a process and that there was more than one candidate. I suggest you inquire as to how this person was selected.
But perhaps you prefer ignorant ramblings.

Now, let me first reassure the commenter here that by no means do I consider them either ignorant nor a rambler.  Their comment in my blog here is a semi-coherent word vomit one rarely sees outside of a bar at 3:00 am, but to term it either a “ramble” or otherwise “ignorant” demeans both of these words.  Your comment does not approach the standards of either term.  A “ramble” is an incohernet discourse, and “ignorant” implies a lack of intelligence.  And while I question the intelligence one anyone who would defend the anti-American actions of Cathie Adams (more on that in a minute), this pathetic attempt at an attack is certainly not “rambling” – it’s the worst sort of attack by a fellow conservative on another conservative — most likely for personal gain.

So, congratulations, imbecile. You’ve already violated Ronald Reagan’s first commandment of Conservatism.  Dimbulb.  But you probably were one of the elitist dipsticks who opposed Reagan, too.  I’ll bet Sarah Frickin’ Palin gets your panties all in a bunch, doesn’t she?

And yes, I’m quite aware you were referring to my own post.  Simpleton.

And, honestly, it makes me seriously wonder if I’m talking to a Liberal when I have to explain just how egregious Cathie Adams’ actions are here.  Do I actually have to explain that the United States of America is a Democracy, albeit a Representative Republican form os said Democracy?  That means we VOTE for our leaders here. Any sort of “selection” that does not involve all of the elctorate so involved is elitist, and by definition against the American way of life.

I’m assuming you’ve heard of the Constitution?  You might want to glance over Article 4, or specifically the 12th Amendment.  It’s all about elections and who the “electors” (that’s us) choose.

Not Cathie Adams all by her lonesome — no, no.

We the frickin’ people, you elitist shite.

But that’s the damned problem with the Republican Party today, isn’t it? A bunch of elistist fracks that have forgotten the first principles of the Republic.

Thank you, kind sir, for so ably demonstrating to my worldwide audience exactly what we do NOT want to become.

Come back anytime.  I relish the chance for a light workout with the wits of the Internet.

Or. at the very least, halfwits like yourself.

~Johnny~

PS: Please,  Bite me.  Sincerely.

Seven Little Reasons Obama Will Get More Americans Killed

I don’t think it’s very debatable – even amongst Obama’s supporters – that Foreign Policy is hardly his strong suit. Indeed, Obama’s foreign policy debacles make the nation of Fredonia look positively sanguine in it’s own foreign policy . . . uh, mis-steps, shall we say.

In fact, the more one looks at it, “Incompetence” doesn’t seem to even begin to cover it:

1. Divert critical CIA resources and spy satellites away from hunting terrorists to track global warming.

2. Release captured al Qaida terrorists from Gitmo and send them through America’s criminal court system.

3. Rather than aggressively interrogating captured al Qaida operatives for vital intelligence (which actually works), give them lawyers.

4. Misrepresent one terrorist attack after another as a random crime by a “victim of stress” or an “isolated extremist” while tirelessly perpetuating the myth that Islam is a “religion of peace.”

5. Put airline passengers through absolute hell to avoid enacting policies that actually work…like giving extra scrutiny to young, Arab, Muslim men.

6. Create a culture of fear within the CIA by vindictively prosecuting agents who fail to read foreign terrorists their non-existent rights.

7. Surrender missile defense as Iran and North Korea go nuclear with impunity.

Robert Moon at the Macon County Examiner seems to have this nailed pretty well. Click through the link for more.

~Johnny~