Politics, Principles, and Practicing What We Preach

For the first time in modern history, black Americans believe they have a candidate who takes them seriously. In past elections, because their vote was so committed to the Democrats, the Republicans did not make much of a point in bidding for the votes of black Americans, and the Democrats took it for granted that blacks would vote for them. This year's turnout among blacks will be a record, and may even be large enough to elect Barack Obama.

The ideals of individual liberty, a strong national defense, the sanctity of life, fiscal responsibility, and limited government -- ideals that have long been abandoned by the Democratic Party -- are concepts that are as beneficial to black Americans as they are to any other Americans. These are concepts included in the Republican Party platform. However, since the Republicans have done such a lousy job of standing on and carrying out these first principles, many Americans are having a tough time believing the Republicans actually will practice what they preach this time.

Shelby Steele, Clarence Thomas, and Thomas Sowell are three notable exceptions to the groupthink, lockstep, political conformity of black Americans. Each of these outstanding thinkers dares to think his own thoughts, do his own scholarly research, and speak his mind courageously. Whoever wins, be it John McCain or Barack Obama, would be wise to seek the counsel of men like Sowell and Steele, to avoid promulgating the misguided social policies that have effectively kept too many black Americans dependent on programs that benefit only the middle class liberals who have been administering them since the days of LBJ. Thankfully, all Americans will continue to be blessed by the scholarship, courage, wisdom and common sense of Clarence Thomas.

Getting Ahead in a Socialist State

A friend of mine is voting for Obama. He knows that Obama's policies will move the country even further down the road of socialism. Here is his reasoning: "I will not have to work so hard to get ahead. More people will be lying around living off government handouts. I will only have to work half as hard as I do now to get even further ahead, because I will not have as many people competing with me!"

I think what he does not get is that the government will be taking more from him to give to those who are dependent on government!

Redistributive Economics and the Dying Profession of Journalism

The big story on talk radio and the internet Monday was the discovery of a 2001 radio interview with Illinois State Senator Barack Obama, in which Obama talked about the "flaws" in the United States Constitution. Additionally, he bemoaned the fact that "redistributive economics" had not yet been achieved by the civil rights movement, because the movement focused too much on the courts, rather than on community organizing.

Since it was such a big story Monday, I wanted to see how the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News would report it on Tuesday. Not a word in either paper!

However, both papers did have related stories. Both reported on the continuing decline in circulation of their newspapers. Continued year-to-year drops in circulation were also reported by the New York Times, L.A. Times, Atlanta Journal Constitution, and Washington Post, among many others.

Why do I consider these reports to be related to the discovery of the public radio interview with Obama? Because the Obama story was dug up by one individual, not by a journalist working for some big city newspaper. How could that be? Because that one individual wanted voters to know the truth.

Update:Today the big story on the internet and talk radio is that the L.A. Times has a video of the Obamas partying with a terrorist. The Times is refusing to release the tape. If they had a tape on Sarah Palin or John McCain, do you think they would release it?

Do you see why I say these are related stories?

Media Sexism

I watched a little bit of television news last night. They were showing clips of Obama giving speeches in various locales. I was struck by the Obama wardrobe: very attractive neckties and custom-made suits. Then I thought about how much of a fuss the media has made over Sarah Palin's wardrobe expenditures, but there has not been a word about the wardrobe expenditures of the three senators. Is this lopsided coverage because she is a woman, and they are all men? I believe the term for that kind of bias is sexism.

Who Can Tell The Lion From The Lamb?

I just read Charles Krauthammer's latest piece in the Washington Post. This is the best column of Krauthammer I have ever read. It is a devastating comparison of McCain and Obama. Two memorable lines: "I am for the guy who can tell the lion from the lamb." "I will go down with the McCain ship. I'd rather lose an election than lose my bearings."

Happy and Scary

Last Night's Sunset

Lawsuits and The Constitution

Last night Michael Savage had a former deputy attorney general of Pennsylvania, Phillip J. Berg, on his radio program. Mr. Berg, a Democratic supporter of Hillary Clinton, is suing Obama to force Obama to produce an authentic birth certificate, not a certificate of live birth, as posted on Obama's web site. He claims that Obama's paternal grandmother was present at Obama's birth in Mombossa, Kenya on August 4, 1961. Berg believes that Obama's family traveled to Hawaii after the birth in Kenya, at which time they filed the certificate of live birth and submitted the newspaper announcement. There is another lawsuit in the state of Washington.

The United States Constitution, of course, requires that the President of the United States be a natural-born citizen of the United States.

Looking East From Near Castle Rock, Colorado

The Touchdown Drive

John McCain is in Colorado today. Want to know how I know? It's right here in this article in yesterday's Rocky Mountain News. Yes, this one: the one that has the big headline about Obama coming to Colorado on Sunday. The subheadline, much smaller, mentions the fact that McCain and Hillary Clinton will both be here today, two days before Obama. You can read all about McCain in paragraph nine of the twelve paragraph story!

Oh, and one other thing not mentioned in the story. Accompanying McCain as he goes around the state will be a man named John Elway, who has something of a special place in the hearts of many Coloradans. He is famous for leading touchdown drives in the last quarter of gridiron battles.

Free Speech and Popularity

Senator Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico revealed his support for the "Fairness Doctrine" in a recent interview that I heard replayed on the Laura Ingraham show this morning. The most popular radio programs in America are Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Glenn Beck, and Michael Savage. All of these popular shows are right of center. Leftist talk show hosts have extremely low popularity ratings. The Dems want to force stations that bring us the popular shows to give equal time to the unpopular left-of-center points of view. Bingaman himself is a member of the Congress that has the lowest popularity ratings in history!

You Never Know What is Going To Come Out of That Mouth

You don't think four-year-old Sara is a character? Well, maybe this will convince you. She comes up to me in the kitchen with one hand on her hip, and words flowing from her mouth at an incredible rate. She is going to host her own talk show some day, but it has to be a 24 hour show, cuz she never winds down.

"Do you love me, or not?" she asks.

"Yes."

"Well then, I'm gay!"

Lone Tree on the Prairie

Freezing

Last night a cold front moved in about six p.m., and we had our hard freeze this morning. Here are some pictures of the clouds bringing in the wind and cold.

Ho Hum

The Rocky Mountain News has a columnist named Mike Littwin. The Rocky has assigned Littwin to cover the presidential campaign. Littwin, a former columnist on the sports pages, has traveled all over America covering campaign events. His columns always favor Obama, sometimes subtly, always with sarcasm, and sometimes blatantly biased.

This week Littwin was upset that Rush Limbaugh gave his views about the Powell endorsement of Obama. Littwin suggests we turn down the volume when listening to "El Rushbo". The only time I turn down the volume on Rush is when I am getting out of the shower, and that is only because I turn up the volume when I am in the shower!

Worried that Obama might lose, Littwin accuses Rush of doing what he could to limit the "damage" to McCain. I submit that the Powell endorsement damaged McCain as much as the Gore endorsement of Howard Dean damaged John Kerry (in other words, the effect was neglible). Did you see the results of the poll conducted by the Military Times? Americans serving our country in the military favor John McCain 2/3 to 1/3.

Not surprisingly, Littwin uses the Powell endorsement to write yet another column ridiculing conservative thinkers. Ho hum.

Worth the Wait

Today I met a beautiful woman. She was being pushed in her wheelchair by her son. He patiently helped her into the back seat of his car. Following close behind was her husband, who was walking slowly with the use of a cane. I asked him, "Is that your little boy"? (The "little boy" was a man in his late sixties). The man said, "Yes, that's my little boy". He thanked me for something, and I replied, "That's the guy you need to thank. He's returning all the kindness you showed to him when he was a little boy." The man said, "Oh, we do, we thank him every day."

Then I commented on how beautiful his wife is. He agreed, and said she has always been beautiful, and that next year they would be celebrating their 75th wedding anniversary. I said, "My goodness, you must have gotten married when you were five years old"! He said, "No, I was eighteen and she was sixteen, but I had to wait a while until she turned sixteen, before I could marry her." The man is 92. His beautiful bride is 90. He is certain that the wait was worth it.

Jon's Boat

Out and About

Sara With Labradoodle Pups (more to come)

Is It Too Late?

News about ACORN and voter registration fraud is finally being reported. Is it too late? If so, then I feel guilty, because I saw ACORN hounding minorities all summer in Denver. I should have been writing about it, or calling in to talk radio. Rush, Laura, and Sean have only recently been talking about it. John McCain and all of the other Republican candidates have never even mentioned it, and they should have been aware of what has been going on.

Only Sean Hannity has been talking for months about the alliances Obama has had with Bill Ayres and Jeremiah Wright. Others are finally picking up the issue. The best writer on the subject has been Stanley Kurtz at National Review. Here is an archive of Kurtz's writing so far in 2008.

When Autumn Leaves Begin to Fall

This Morning's Sunrise

Sunrise This Morning

Face-to-Face Communication

The neighbor's horse loves to stick her neck over our fence, so she can communicate face-to-face with our animals.

Bringing in the Sheaves

We know there is One Cosmos, but there are thousands of cosmos flowers. We had a light freeze last night, so I cut some cosmos for the breakfast table this morning.

"Don't Mistake Paradise for that Home Across the Road."

QP's Quiptorium links us to a vitally important piece by Thomas Sewell on the difference between associations and alliances. Obama's connections to Wright, Phleger, Ayres, Dohrn, Rezko, and ACORN were alliances, not mere associations. Sewell explains why that is an important distinction.

QP also links to the Bob Dylan tune that is the title of this post.

By the way, Clarence Thomas, in his book, "My Grandfather's Son," tells us that Thomas Sewell was a significant inspiration to Clarence Thomas when he read "Race and Economics" as a young lawyer in Missouri. He was so very relieved to find another black man who had arrived at many of the same conclusions that he, Thomas, had reached.

Can you guess where I go on my breaks?

Coming to an End

Today is cold and rainy, maybe even snow? I fear we will be going into winter soon. This may be one of the last garden photos, if we get a freeze tonight.

Autumn Warmth

"Cannibalizing Values"

I am reading Clarence Thomas's "My Grandfather's Son". I am finding it to be a very moving story of the life of a brilliant man, who saw clearly and felt deeply the sting of segregation. Nevertheless, he also resisted "a new kind of enslavement," dependency on government. He realized that those who fostered dependency on government condemned poor people "to the lowest rungs of the socioeconomic ladder, by cannibalizing the values without which they had no long term hope of improving their lot."

Enjoy!

Cool? I Don't Think So.

Charles Krauthammer has once again written a very provocative and thoughtful column here. He thinks Obama is likely to win the election, despite his lack of executive experience, and despite his history of having close, personal associations with nefarious individuals like Jeremiah Wright, William Ayres, Bernadette Dorne, and Tony Rezko.

There was another presidential candidate in 1980, from the opposite side of the political spectrum, who, like Obama, scared a large number of potential voters, who thought he might be too radical. That man conducted himself in 1980 in a "cool, reassuring manner," writes Krauthammer. President Ronald Reagan was elected by a large minority over the failed incumbent, Jimmy Carter.

Obama is following the Reagan model, according to Krauthammer, showing that he has a "first-class intellect and a "first class temperament". What Krauthammer does not mention is that Obama, unlike Ronald Reagan, has the support of the unending drumbeat of the mainstream media.

Nevertheless, I believe Obama actually has a very thin skin, conditioned as it is by spending so many years stirring up the "poor me: I am a victim" movement in Chicago. Unfortunately, we don't get the chance to debate him, so we'll have to rely on the Maverick and the woman who is "takin' off the gloves and puttin' on the heels".

Update:I watched the debate tonight, and Krauthammer is right. Obama did a good job of keeping his cool.

I like the regal way Queen Merry sits.

Free at last!

The hens are happy this morning. We removed Mr. Rooster from their play area, after we discovered he likes to eat raw eggs.

"Chew on a hat? What hat?"

"Will I have to get married before I grow up?"

Walking around the farm with Sara this morning, she asks me, "Will I have to get married before I grow up?" "No, honey, first you grow up, then you get married." "Will I have flowers like these when I get married?" "Yes, you probably will." "What will my husband get?" "He gets you!" "Then what?" "You will have lots of well-behaved children, who will always mind you and your husband." "Oh, Daddy, Sara says, laughing, you are so funny."

Questions

Would the Republican Party nominate for President an individual who began his political career with a fund-raiser in the home of a couple who founded a terrorist group that bombed the Pentagon and police stations? Would the Republican Party nominate for President an individual who sat for twenty years in a "church" that preached hatred of white Americans and hatred of Jews?

Maybe. Maybe Not.

Although not required by the federal laws to report contributions under $200, the McCain campaign is reporting all contributions. The Obama campaign, which has received $458,000,000 to date, over half of which was under $200, does not report those contributions under $200.

One individual, who calls himself "Good Will," lists his occupation as "loving," and works for "you," gave $25 680 times, totaling $17,000. Another fellow, who calls himself "Doo Dad Pro" resides at a liquor store. His under $200 contributions have so far totaled $11,000. Two Palestinian brothers bought $33,000 worth of Obama T-Shirts.

The "investigative" reporter at Newsweek who reported these facts gleaned from the Federal Election Commission reports, says it is "implausible" that there might be a lot more of these incidents of suspected fraud. Maybe. Maybe not.

Bailing Out Criminals

O.J. Simpson was convicted today of the criminal charges filed against him in Las Vegas. He faces a possible sentence of life imprisonment.

Last football season, after the first few games, a man named Travis Henry led the National Football League in rushing. In July of this year the NFL notified the Denver Broncos that Henry had failed a drug test, and because of previous infractions, he would be facing a one year suspension. The Broncos cut him from the squad.

Like O.J. Simpson, Travis Henry could run with a football, but, like Simpson, was not a good human being. He has fathered nine children by nine different women. A newspaper story about him this week revealed that he is a "ruthless money guy" in a cocaine trafficiking ring.

The feds set up a sting operation Tuesday in Centennial, a suburb south of Denver. In the sting, Henry and another man received eleven pounds of cocaine. Henry fled the scene, but was tackled for a loss "a few houses away." Maybe the Broncos should find out who those feds were that outran Henry!

Maybe the rest of us should pay more attention to what the politicians and Wall Street tycoons are doing, rather than being so immersed in watching sports. While we are watching our sports heroes perform on the gridiron, the politicians and tycoons are running around the other end of the field knowing that they can convince those of us who have been asleep that we need to bail them out, so they can avoid being penalized for irresponsible conduct!

When Are We Persons?

On the Colorado ballot this fall there is a constitutional amendment that calls for a fertilized egg to be defined as "personhood." The amendment was written by a young female adult, who was home-schooled. Many pro-lifers are opposing the bill.

Taking Flight

Sooner or later, we must all take flight.

October in the Rockies