We have a team that we can have confidence in!

Was the Republican National Convention a success? It was in my eyes. Why? Because the consistent message given was that Romney and Ryan have the character and experience to take on the tough challenges ahead. Kudos to Romney for not taking the day off today, but, instead, heading to Louisiana to draw attention to the suffering going on in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaac.
Cartoon courtesy of  http://www.theospark.net/search?updated-max=2012-08-29T11:35:00%2B01:00&max-results=50&start=49&by-date=false

Romney's prepared speech tonight

Here's Mitt Romney's full prepared remarks (via CNN):

Mr. Chairman, delegates. I accept your nomination for President of the United States of America.

I do so with humility, deeply moved by the trust you have placed in me. It is a great honor. It is an even greater responsibility.

Tonight I am asking you to join me to walk together to a better future. By my side, I have chosen a man with a big heart from a small town. He represents the best of America, a man who will always make us proud – my friend and America’s next Vice President, Paul Ryan.

In the days ahead, you will get to know Paul and Janna better. But last night America got to see what I saw in Paul Ryan – a strong and caring leader who is down to earth and confident in the challenge this moment demands.

I love the way he lights up around his kids and how he's not embarrassed to show the world how much he loves his mom.

But Paul, I still like the playlist on my iPod better than yours.

Four years ago, I know that many Americans felt a fresh excitement about the possibilities of a new president. That president was not the choice of our party but Americans always come together after elections. We are a good and generous people who are united by so much more than what divides us.

When that hard fought election was over, when the yard signs came down and the television commercials finally came off the air, Americans were eager to go back to work, to live our lives the way Americans always have – optimistic and positive and confident in the future.

That very optimism is uniquely American.

It is what brought us to America. We are a nation of immigrants. We are the children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the ones who wanted a better life, the driven ones, the ones who woke up at night hearing that voice telling them that life in that place called America could be better.

They came not just in pursuit of the riches of this world but for the richness of this life.

Freedom.

Freedom of religion.

Freedom to speak their mind.

Freedom to build a life.

And yes, freedom to build a business. With their own hands.

This is the essence of the American experience.

We Americans have always felt a special kinship with the future.

When every new wave of immigrants looked up and saw the Statue of Liberty, or knelt down and kissed the shores of freedom just ninety miles from Castro’s tyranny, these new Americans surely had many questions. But none doubted that here in America they could build a better life, that in America their children would be more blessed than they.

But today, four years from the excitement of the last election, for the first time, the majority of Americans now doubt that our children will have a better future.

It is not what we were promised.

Every family in America wanted this to be a time when they could get ahead a little more, put aside a little more for college, do more for their elderly mom who’s living alone now or give a little more to their church or charity.

Every small business wanted these to be their best years ever, when they could hire more, do more for those who had stuck with them through the hard times, open a new store or sponsor that Little League team.

Every new college graduate thought they'd have a good job by now, a place of their own, and that they could start paying back some of their loans and build for the future.

This is when our nation was supposed to start paying down the national debt and rolling back those massive deficits.

This was the hope and change America voted for.

It’s not just what we wanted. It’s not just what we expected.

It’s what Americans deserved.

You deserved it because during these years, you worked harder than ever before. You deserved it because when it cost more to fill up your car, you cut out movie nights and put in longer hours. Or when you lost that job that paid $22.50 an hour with benefits, you took two jobs at 9 bucks an hour and fewer benefits. You did it because your family depended on you. You did it because you’re an American and you don’t quit. You did it because it was what you had to do.

But driving home late from that second job, or standing there watching the gas pump hit 50 dollars and still going, when the realtor told you that to sell your house you’d have to take a big loss, in those moments you knew that this just wasn’t right.

But what could you do? Except work harder, do with less, try to stay optimistic. Hug your kids a little longer; maybe spend a little more time praying that tomorrow would be a better day.

I wish President Obama had succeeded because I want America to succeed. But his promises gave way to disappointment and division. This isn't something we have to accept. Now is the moment when we CAN do something. With your help we will do something.

Now is the moment when we can stand up and say, “I’m an American. I make my destiny. And we deserve better! My children deserve better! My family deserves better. My country deserves better!”

So here we stand. Americans have a choice. A decision.

To make that choice, you need to know more about me and about where I will lead our country.

I was born in the middle of the century in the middle of the country, a classic baby boomer. It was a time when Americans were returning from war and eager to work. To be an American was to assume that all things were possible. When President Kennedy challenged Americans to go to the moon, the question wasn’t whether we'd get there, it was only when we'd get there.

The soles of Neil Armstrong's boots on the moon made permanent impressions on OUR souls and in our national psyche. Ann and I watched those steps together on her parent's sofa. Like all Americans we went to bed that night knowing we lived in the greatest country in the history of the world.

God bless Neil Armstrong.

Tonight that American flag is still there on the moon. And I don't doubt for a second that Neil Armstrong's spirit is still with us: that unique blend of optimism, humility and the utter confidence that when the world needs someone to do the really big stuff, you need an American.

That's how I was brought up.

My dad had been born in Mexico and his family had to leave during the Mexican revolution. I grew up with stories of his family being fed by the US Government as war refugees. My dad never made it through college and apprenticed as a lath and plaster carpenter. And he had big dreams. He convinced my mom, a beautiful young actress, to give up Hollywood to marry him. He moved to Detroit, led a great automobile company and became Governor of the Great State of Michigan.

We were Mormons and growing up in Michigan; that might have seemed unusual or out of place but I really don’t remember it that way. My friends cared more about what sports teams we followed than what church we went to.

My mom and dad gave their kids the greatest gift of all – the gift of unconditional love. They cared deeply about who we would BE, and much less about what we would DO.

Unconditional love is a gift that Ann and I have tried to pass on to our sons and now to our grandchildren. All the laws and legislation in the world will never heal this world like the loving hearts and arms of mothers and fathers. If every child could drift to sleep feeling wrapped in the love of their family – and God’s love - this world would be a far more gentle and better place.

Mom and Dad were married 64 years. And if you wondered what their secret was, you could have asked the local florist – because every day Dad gave Mom a rose, which he put on her bedside table. That's how she found out what happened on the day my father died – she went looking for him because that morning, there was no rose.

My mom and dad were true partners, a life lesson that shaped me by everyday example. When my mom ran for the Senate, my dad was there for her every step of the way. I can still hear her saying in her beautiful voice, “Why should women have any less say than men, about the great decisions facing our nation?”

I wish she could have been here at the convention and heard leaders like Governor Mary Fallin, Governor Nikki Haley, Governor Susana Martinez, Senator Kelly Ayotte and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

As Governor of Massachusetts, I chose a woman Lt. Governor, a woman chief of staff, half of my cabinet and senior officials were women, and in business, I mentored and supported great women leaders who went on to run great companies.

I grew up in Detroit in love with cars and wanted to be a car guy, like my dad. But by the time I was out of school, I realized that I had to go out on my own, that if I stayed around Michigan in the same business, I’d never really know if I was getting a break because of my dad. I wanted to go someplace new and prove myself.

Those weren’t the easiest of days – too many long hours and weekends working, five young sons who seemed to have this need to re-enact a different world war every night. But if you ask Ann and I what we’d give, to break up just one more fight between the boys, or wake up in the morning and discover a pile of kids asleep in our room. Well, every mom and dad knows the answer to that.

Those days were toughest on Ann, of course. She was heroic. Five boys, with our families a long way away. I had to travel a lot for my job then and I’d call and try to offer support. But every mom knows that doesn't help get the homework done or the kids out the door to school.

I knew that her job as a mom was harder than mine. And I knew without question, that her job as a mom was a lot more important than mine. And as America saw Tuesday night, Ann would have succeeded at anything she wanted to.

Like a lot of families in a new place with no family, we found kinship with a wide circle of friends through our church. When we were new to the community it was welcoming and as the years went by, it was a joy to help others who had just moved to town or just joined our church. We had remarkably vibrant and diverse congregants from all walks of life and many who were new to America. We prayed together, our kids played together and we always stood ready to help each other out in different ways.

And that’s how it is in America. We look to our communities, our faiths, our families for our joy, our support, in good times and bad. It is both how we live our lives and why we live our lives. The strength and power and goodness of America has always been based on the strength and power and goodness of our communities, our families, our faiths.

That is the bedrock of what makes America, America. In our best days, we can feel the vibrancy of America’s communities, large and small.

It’s when we see that new business opening up downtown. It’s when we go to work in the morning and see everybody else on our block doing the same.

It’s when our son or daughter calls from college to talk about which job offer they should take….and you try not to choke up when you hear that the one they like is not far from home.

It’s that good feeling when you have more time to volunteer to coach your kid’s soccer team, or help out on school trips.

But for too many Americans, these good days are harder to come by. How many days have you woken up feeling that something really special was happening in America?

Many of you felt that way on Election Day four years ago. Hope and Change had a powerful appeal. But tonight I'd ask a simple question: If you felt that excitement when you voted for Barack Obama, shouldn’t you feel that way now that he’s President Obama? You know there’s something wrong with the kind of job he’s done as president when the best feeling you had was the day you voted for him.

The President hasn’t disappointed you because he wanted to. The President has disappointed America because he hasn’t led America in the right direction. He took office without the basic qualification that most Americans have and one that was essential to his task. He had almost no experience working in a business. Jobs to him are about government.

I learned the real lessons about how America works from experience.

When I was 37, I helped start a small company. My partners and I had been working for a company that was in the business of helping other businesses.

So some of us had this idea that if we really believed our advice was helping companies, we should invest in companies. We should bet on ourselves and on our advice.

So we started a new business called Bain Capital. The only problem was, while WE believed in ourselves, nobody else did. We were young and had never done this before and we almost didn’t get off the ground. In those days, sometimes I wondered if I had made a really big mistake. I had thought about asking my church’s pension fund to invest, but I didn't. I figured it was bad enough that I might lose my investors’ money, but I didn’t want to go to hell too. Shows what I know. Another of my partners got the Episcopal Church pension fund to invest. Today there are a lot of happy retired priests who should thank him.

That business we started with 10 people has now grown into a great American success story. Some of the companies we helped start are names you know. An office supply company called Staples – where I'm pleased to see the Obama campaign has been shopping; The Sports Authority, which became a favorite of my sons. We started an early childhood learning center called Bright Horizons that First Lady Michelle Obama rightly praised. At a time when nobody thought we'd ever see a new steel mill built in America, we took a chance and built one in a corn field in Indiana. Today Steel Dynamics is one of the largest steel producers in the United States.

These are American success stories. And yet the centerpiece of the President’s entire re-election campaign is attacking success. Is it any wonder that someone who attacks success has led the worst economic recovery since the Great Depression? In America, we celebrate success, we don't apologize for it.

We weren’t always successful at Bain. But no one ever is in the real world of business.

That’s what this President doesn’t seem to understand. Business and growing jobs is about taking risk, sometimes failing, sometimes succeeding, but always striving. It is about dreams. Usually, it doesn't work out exactly as you might have imagined. Steve Jobs was fired at Apple. He came back and changed the world.

It’s the genius of the American free enterprise system – to harness the extraordinary creativity and talent and industry of the American people with a system that is dedicated to creating tomorrow’s prosperity rather than trying to redistribute today's.

That is why every president since the Great Depression who came before the American people asking for a second term could look back at the last four years and say with satisfaction: "you are better off today than you were four years ago."

Except Jimmy Carter. And except this president.

This president can ask us to be patient.

This president can tell us it was someone else’s fault.

This president can tell us that the next four years he’ll get it right.

But this president cannot tell us that YOU are better off today than when he took office.

America has been patient. Americans have supported this president in good faith.

But today, the time has come to turn the page.

Today the time has come for us to put the disappointments of the last four years behind us.

To put aside the divisiveness and the recriminations.

To forget about what might have been and to look ahead to what can be.

Now is the time to restore the Promise of America. Many Americans have given up on this president but they haven’t ever thought about giving up. Not on themselves. Not on each other. And not on America.

What is needed in our country today is not complicated or profound. It doesn't take a special government commission to tell us what America needs.

What America needs is jobs.

Lots of jobs.

In the richest country in the history of the world, this Obama economy has crushed the middle class. Family income has fallen by $4,000, but health insurance premiums are higher, food prices are higher, utility bills are higher, and gasoline prices have doubled. Today more Americans wake up in poverty than ever before. Nearly one out of six Americans is living in poverty. Look around you. These are not strangers. These are our brothers and sisters, our fellow Americans.

His policies have not helped create jobs, they have depressed them. And this I can tell you about where President Obama would take America:

His plan to raise taxes on small business won't add jobs, it will eliminate them;

His assault on coal and gas and oil will send energy and manufacturing jobs to China;

His trillion dollar cuts to our military will eliminate hundreds of thousands of jobs, and also put our security at greater risk;

His $716 billion cut to Medicare to finance Obamacare will both hurt today's seniors, and depress innovation – and jobs – in medicine.

And his trillion-dollar deficits will slow our economy, restrain employment, and cause wages to stall.

To the majority of Americans who now believe that the future will not be better than the past, I can guarantee you this: if Barack Obama is re-elected, you will be right.

I am running for president to help create a better future. A future where everyone who wants a job can find one. Where no senior fears for the security of their retirement. An America where every parent knows that their child will get an education that leads them to a good job and a bright horizon.

And unlike the President, I have a plan to create 12 million new jobs. It has 5 steps.

First, by 2020, North America will be energy independent by taking full advantage of our oil and coal and gas and nuclear and renewables.

Second, we will give our fellow citizens the skills they need for the jobs of today and the careers of tomorrow. When it comes to the school your child will attend, every parent should have a choice, and every child should have a chance.

Third, we will make trade work for America by forging new trade agreements. And when nations cheat in trade, there will be unmistakable consequences.

Fourth, to assure every entrepreneur and every job creator that their investments in America will not vanish as have those in Greece, we will cut the deficit and put America on track to a balanced budget.

And fifth, we will champion SMALL businesses, America’s engine of job growth. That means reducing taxes on business, not raising them. It means simplifying and modernizing the regulations that hurt small business the most. And it means that we must rein in the skyrocketing cost of healthcare by repealing and replacing Obamacare.

Today, women are more likely than men to start a business. They need a president who respects and understands what they do.

And let me make this very clear – unlike President Obama, I will not raise taxes on the middle class.

As president, I will protect the sanctity of life. I will honor the institution of marriage. And I will guarantee America's first liberty: the freedom of religion.

President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans and heal the planet. MY promise...is to help you and your family.

I will begin my presidency with a jobs tour. President Obama began with an apology tour. America, he said, had dictated to other nations. No Mr. President, America has freed other nations from dictators.

Every American was relieved the day President Obama gave the order, and Seal Team Six took out Osama bin Laden. But on another front, every American is less secure today because he has failed to slow Iran's nuclear threat.

In his first TV interview as president, he said we should talk to Iran. We're still talking, and Iran’s centrifuges are still spinning.

President Obama has thrown allies like Israel under the bus, even as he has relaxed sanctions on Castro's Cuba. He abandoned our friends in Poland by walking away from our missile defense commitments, but is eager to give Russia's President Putin the flexibility he desires, after the election. Under my administration, our friends will see more loyalty, and Mr. Putin will see a little less flexibility and more backbone.

We will honor America’s democratic ideals because a free world is a more peaceful world. This is the bipartisan foreign policy legacy of Truman and Reagan. And under my presidency we will return to it once again.

You might have asked yourself if these last years are really the America we want, the America won for us by the greatest generation.

Does the America we want borrow a trillion dollars from China? No.

Does it fail to find the jobs that are needed for 23 million people and for half the kids graduating from college? No.

Are its schools lagging behind the rest of the developed world? No.

And does the America we want succumb to resentment and division? We know the answer.

The America we all know has been a story of the many becoming one, uniting to preserve liberty, uniting to build the greatest economy in the world, uniting to save the world from unspeakable darkness.

Everywhere I go in America, there are monuments that list those who have given their lives for America. There is no mention of their race, their party affiliation, or what they did for a living. They lived and died under a single flag, fighting for a single purpose. They pledged allegiance to the UNITED States of America.

That America, that united America, can unleash an economy that will put Americans back to work, that will once again lead the world with innovation and productivity, and that will restore every father and mother's confidence that their children's future is brighter even than the past.

That America, that united America, will preserve a military that is so strong, no nation would ever dare to test it.

That America, that united America, will uphold the constellation of rights that were endowed by our Creator, and codified in our Constitution.

That united America will care for the poor and the sick, will honor and respect the elderly, and will give a helping hand to those in need.

That America is the best within each of us. That America we want for our children.

If I am elected President of these United States, I will work with all my energy and soul to restore that America, to lift our eyes to a better future. That future is our destiny. That future is out there. It is waiting for us. Our children deserve it, our nation depends upon it, the peace and freedom of the world require it. And with your help we will deliver it. Let us begin that future together tonight.

 http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2012/08/30/mitt_romney_rnc_excerpts_2012_unlike_the_president_i_have_a_plan_.html

Go ahead, make my day!

via http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2012/08/30/video_of_clint_eastwood_s_rnc_speech_.html

"I can't do it for four more years"

via Instapundit

Lies, and more lies!

In my nightly call to my kids, who live on a ranch near Santa Fe, New Mexico, third grader Sara had this to say tonight about all the politicking going on. "Dad, I am the only one who is for Mitt Romney in my whole class. My friends tell me that if Romney is elected, he will come and take away our toys! I told them that did not make sense. There are a lot of things more important than our toys. That would be the last thing he would be paying attention to. I raised my voice at them, too. They could not believe I was not for Obama (Sara is African American). They also said that if Romney is elected, only men will have jobs, and women will have to stay home."

It is Romney's night

The tears flowed tonight as I drove the long drive home from work on the pine-dotted country roads of the Colorado high plains. Why? Well, first let me explain. I was listening to talk radio until the commercials came on. As always, when the commercials come on, I flip through the channels in search of something that holds my interest. The only place that had no commercials was taxpayer-funded NPR. They were airing the Republican convention live.

So, why the tears? Because I was so happy to see that Mitt Romney placed his Mormon faith front and center. Not trying to hide it. Speaker after speaker, mostly Mormon friends whose lives he has touched, told wonderful vignettes about what kind of man Mitt is. I loved it! I am so sick of listening to politicians. These were not politicians. These were people whose lives have been touched by this man, who can talk about him through their personal experiences with him. Excellent!

You can control your response to your circumstances

Condi Rice took time off from smacking drives down Augusta's fairways to speak to the crowd gathered in Tampa: "You can come from humble circumstances...It does not matter where you came from. It matters where you are going. We have never been envious of each other's successes. Ours has been a belief in opportunity. No country can do more harm to us than we can do to ourselves. Greatness is built on mobilizing opportunity. You can control your response to your circumstances. The crisis in K-12 education is a threat to the very fabric of who we are. We have to have high standards for our kids. Self esteem comes from achievement. This is the civil rights issue of our day. Entitlement and grievance? No! The parents of a little girl in Birmingham convinced her that she could be anything she wanted to be. It took leadership and courage. Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan know who we are, and will provide that leadership. God bless this exceptional country, the United States of America!"
Watch her speech here: http://www.therightscoop.com/must-watch-rnc-speech-condoleezza-rice-delivers-powerful-speech/

It is time to donate

Firemen have been out the last few days collecting money for Jerry's kids. There is also a collection going on in Washington D.C.:

A driver was stuck in a traffic jam on the highway outside Washington, DC. Nothing was moving. Suddenly, a man knocks on the window.

The driver rolls down the window and asks, “What’s going on?”

"Terrorists have kidnapped The House of Representatives, The Senate, and The President.  They’re asking for a $100 million dollar ransom. Otherwise, they are going to douse them all in gasoline and set them on fire. We are going from car to car, collecting donations.”

“How much is everyone giving, on average?” the driver asks.

The man replies, “Roughly a gallon.”

Where did I find this? Where else, but Andy's Place!  http://andysredneckramblings.blogspot.com/2012/07/from-mrs-facebook-website-dealie.html

Beginning August 1, 2012: free sterilization under Obamacare, with no parental approval required

Did you know that, under Obamacare, states can choose to provide free sterilization to anyone who is of reproductive capacity? Oregon has made it law beginning August 1, 2012 for any child fifteen or older who requests it, and no parental approval is necessary! Here is where I found this: http://www.maggiesnotebook.com/2012/08/sterilization-for-15-yr-olds-needs-no-parental-consent-under-obamacare-effective-8-1-12/

"I fought, so I would never have to see my president bow to anyone"

This ad is powerful, in my opinion.  I found it here, where there is a well written piece that accompanies it: http://www.maggiesnotebook.com/2012/08/navy-seal-ad-i-fought-so-i-never-had-to-see-my-president-bow-to-anyone/

Don't stop; keep movin.

That's what I'm sayin. Don't stop; keep movin on!
Found here: http://reaganiterepublicanresistance.blogspot.com/2012/08/brian-ferry-dont-stop-dance-1985.html#disqus_thread

No coincidence

borrowed from http://reaganiterepublicanresistance.blogspot.com/

"He won't let us down!"

I haven't seen any of the GOP convention speeches, but I have been reading transcripts and excerpts. I was not surprised, therefore, when I read Byron York's assessment of the impact of the Chris Christie speech versus the Ann Romney speech. Christie promised that things will get harder, Ann promised that America will be lifted. Christie bragged about what he has done in New Jersey, as though this was all about him. Ann Romney spoke about a good man who won't let us down. Who better than Ann Romney to know about that?

I am so tired of people who think life is just all about them! Do you know what I am referring to? The person who, the minute you speak to them, you realize the next few minutes are going to be all about them, and you try to figure out a way to get away from them, and find someone with whom you can have real reciprocal interaction: two people genuinely interested in each other as human beings. Not one person making the conversation all about himself, his woes, his plans for the future, his past accomplishments, blah, blah, blah.

York's column is here:  http://washingtonexaminer.com/the-big-speeches-why-ann-romney-succeeded-and-chris-christie-didnt/article/2506308#.UD5CoaCKlJE

Update: I listened to Glenn Beck on the day after Christie's speech. He praised the speech. He thought Christie struck exactly the right notes. I do not believe Beck would have said that, if he did not believe it. He is not beholding to either political party. He is interested in learning and speaking the truth. 

This man will lift up America!

If you are like me, and missed Ann Romney's speech, you can read the whole transcript on-line. I recommend it! Their's is not a storybook marriage; it is a real marriage! Go here to read the whole thing: http://www.enstarz.com/articles/5918/20120828/ann-romney-speech-at-rnc-2012-thousands-feet-full-transcript.htm

We built it!

With no internet service until tonight, and several days moving stuff, I got behind in learning about what has been happening in Tampa. But, thanks to people like Glenn Reynolds at InstaPundit, I got to view this video by the mayor of a town in Utah, whom I had never heard of. She did a great job!

Movin on

What a week this has been! I have moved to an even more rural part of Colorado, not far from the town of Kiowa. It is very hilly, dotted with Ponderosa Pines. As I came up to the driveway tonight I was greeted by the biggest buck I have ever seen. I attempted to engage him in conversation, but he turned and jumped over a fence. I am sure we can reach some degree of rapport, if he just gives me a little more time.

My stepsons, Thomas and Erik, and Erik's girlfriend, Morgan, were fantastic helps in the moving process. It was great just to be with them, but they did all the heavy lifting, and made the whole experience bearable (and deerable).

Getting nowhere talking politics

Today I spoke with a very smart woman who has a good sense of humor. I like her. However, I was shocked to learn some of her political leanings. She tied Romney with Missouri Senate candidate Akin, because she watched an ad on t.v., in which Governor Romney said that if elected, he will abolish taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood. Then, she showed her ignorance of modern Mormon practices, when she lamented that Mormon men can have five wives, but Mormon women can only have one husband.

I told her that Romney has had only one wife, and that polygamy has long been abandoned by Mormons. I talked to her about Mormons being good family people with good habits. She said, "I know; they all have twelve kids!" I knew she was having some fun with me at at that point in the discussion.

I told her that if she likes Planned Parenthood, she can choose to donate money to them, but that those of us who are not fond of the idea of killing babies should not be forced to fund the Planned Parenthood abortion mills through the money we give to the government when we pay our taxes.

We got interrupted by work demands at that point, but I plan to talk to her again between now and the election.

I want to be a crony!

I found it here: http:/pjmedia.com/instapundit/
The Crony Chronicles website is here: http://cronychronicles.org

Don't let the kooks ban plastic bags!

Instapundit links to this important piece explaining the coming food crisis. Soon after San Francisco banned plastic bags at the grocery stores, deaths from E Coli bacteria dramatically increased. Interviewers have found that people who use reusable bags rarely, if ever, wash them. Bags were randomly tested for bacteria in two states, and the pathogens were found in every bag tested.  Don't let politicians ban bags in your area! Read this article now:  http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2012/08/23/plastic-bag-bans-lead-to-e-coli-deaths/

Campaign spending

Here is a shocker: Obama's campaign is spending more than it is taking in! Go to the link to compare and contrast Obama's campaign and Romney's in terms of money taken in, money spent, staff payrolls. http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/story/2012-08-20/obama-campaign-spending-fundraising/57174798/1

Is this the time to downgrade our missile defense systems?

When the media fails to ask President Obama important questions, we are left to the Army of Davids on the internet. For example, can someone get the president to clarify his remarks to Medvedev about being able to have more "flexibility" after he wins re-election? Here is a blog piece that writes about that issue: http://blog.heritage.org/2012/08/20/will-the-president-clarify-his-flexibility-remarks-on-missile-defense/
http://www.amazon.com/An-Army-Davids-Technology-Government/dp/1595550542

Want ads for seniors

One of my favorites place to go for humor is One Happy Dog Speaks:
Who says seniors don’t have a sense of humor?
FOXY LADY:
Sexy, fashion-conscious blue-haired beauty, 80′s, slim, 5’4′ (used to be 5’6′), searching for sharp-looking, sharp-dressing companion. Matching white shoes and belt a plus.
——————————————————————-
LONG-TERM COMMITMENT:
Recent widow who has just buried sixth husband, and am looking for someone to round out an eight-unit plot. Dizziness, fainting, shortness of breath not a problem.
—————————————————-
SERENITY NOW:
I am into solitude, long walks, sunrises, the ocean, yoga and meditation. If you are the silent type, let’s get together, take our hearing aids out and enjoy quiet times.
—————————————————-
WINNING SMILE:
Active grandmother with original teeth seeking a dedicated flosser
to share rare steaks, corn on the cob and caramel candy.
—————————————————-
BEATLES OR STONES?
I still like to rock, still like to cruise in my Camaro on Saturday nights and still like to play the guitar. If you were a groovy chick, or are now a groovy hen, let’s get together and listen to my eight-track tapes.
—————————————————-
MEMORIES:
I can usually remember Monday through Thursday. If you can remember Friday, Saturday and Sunday, let’s put our two heads together.
—————————————————-
MINT CONDITION:
Male, 1932 model, high mileage, good condition, some hair, many new parts including hip, knee, cornea, valves. Isn’t in running condition, but walks well.

 http://onehappydog.us/2012/08/humor-for-wednesday-195

"socially liberal and fiscally conservative"

“He said that he is socially liberal and fiscally conservative, but what he meant is that he sleeps around and is cheap.”

I found this here:  http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/

Seldom any warning

Mark Steyn writes about the phenomena of "NATO-trained, NATO-paid Afghans turning on their western “allies” and killing them." He quotes from a Flashman novel written in 1969:  "This I will say for the Afghan – he is a treacherous, evil brute when he wants to be, but while he is your friend he is a first-rate fellow. The point is, you must judge to a second when he is going to cease to be friendly. There is seldom any warning."

Steyn concludes with this warning: "In the end you can be politically correct or you can be a great power — but not both."
Read more here:  http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/314520/less-tea-more-flash-mark-steyn

Do we want the "solipsistic narrative" to continue?

Wow! Take a look at this Newsweek cover! Yes, Newsweek! Better yet, read this comprehensive cover story article by Niall Ferguson: http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/08/19/niall-ferguson-on-why-barack-obama-needs-to-go.html

The motivation for the cover story seems to be Ferguson's disappointment in Obama's record, and his excitement that Romney had the wisdom to choose Paul Ryan as his running mate.

Near the end of his article, Ferguson writes:

"The voters now face a stark choice. They can let Barack Obama’s rambling, solipsistic narrative continue until they find themselves living in some American version of Europe, with low growth, high unemployment, even higher debt—and real geopolitical decline.

Or they can opt for real change: the kind of change that will end four years of economic underperformance, stop the terrifying accumulation of debt, and reestablish a secure fiscal foundation for American national security."

I went to Wikipedia to read the long discussion of what it means to be solipsistic. Here are a few of the explanations that are presented in that discussion.
" Solipsism (ⁱ/ˈsɒlɨpsɪzəm/) is the philosophical idea that only one's own mind is sure to exist. Thoughts and concepts are all that exist, and furthermore, only the solipsist's own thoughts and consciousness exist. If the last surviving person is a solipsist, he or she will believe that even when others were alive, there never had been another thought, experience or emotion other than his or her own. Solipsism is not a single concept but instead refers to several worldviews whose common element is some form of denial of the existence of a universe independent from the mind of the agent. Possibly the most controversial feature of the solipsistic worldview is the denial of the existence of other minds."
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solipsism

What is the solution?

via Instapundit

Important campaign issues

Is there a better political cartoonist than Ramirez? I don't know of anyone.
via Instapundit

Our trash-talking President

Politico is an organization that I find to be sympathetic to the Obama administration most of the time. You can usually count on them to put the administration in the best possible light on whatever issue is being discussed. That is why it is surprising to learn that Politico is publishing a new E book in which not all the portraits of the Obama administration are flattering. For example, there is this account of Obama asking a woman acquaintance of Marco Rubio, if "your boy" is going to go for Vice President? If he does, he better watch out. He might get his ass kicked!"

Nothing racist or violent there.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0812/79867.html?hp=t1
via Instapundit and Althouse

Before he was weak; now he is a meanie

Has Obama become the man Dick Cheney wanted to be? Has the man who was portrayed by the GOP in 2008 as weak, gone to the dark side, and now inspires fear? This writer thinks so: http://mobile.nytimes.com/2012/08/19/opinion/sunday/coates-obamas-perceived-transformation.xml

Helpful hints for haters

Are you a hater? Here are some helpful hints for you.
I found this here: http://thatmrgguy.wordpress.com/2012/08/10/5127/

"Post-America America"

Daniel Greenfield writes about Post-America America. "Its czars are running things in D.C., and its judges are dismantling both constitutional government and democratic elections. It creates a crisis and then makes sure that it doesn't go to waste. It has excellent design skills and terrible planning skills. It has all the money in the world and none at all. It is the Post-American America, and 2012 is its big referendum. The one that will decide whether this Post-American America, this horrid graft of E.U. governance and Mussolini economics, Soviet propaganda and FDR volunteerism, Tammany populist criminality and U.N. foreign policy will be permitted to devour the United States of America."

Read much more here:  http://sultanknish.blogspot.ca/2012/08/the-most-divisive-campaign-in-american.html

Cops find him in the yard, wounded, take him to a hospital

Mom has a gun, daughter has an axe, other daughter has a butcher knife. How would you rate the intruder's chances? All three females are at the top of the stairs, and the intruder is coming up the stairs. Oh, yeah, they live in Alabama. Via Instapundit

"Whom does the government intend to shoot?"

Major General Jerry Curry Ret. Usa asks at The Daily Caller, "Who does the government intend to shoot? "In the war in Iraq, our military forces expended approximately 70 million rounds per year. In March DHS ordered 750 million rounds of hollow point ammunition. It then turned around and ordered an additional 750 million rounds of miscellaneous bullets including some that are capable of penetrating walls. This is enough ammunition to empty five rounds into the body of every living American citizen."

"Obama is a deadly serious, persistent man. Once he focuses on an object, he pursues it to the end. What is his focus here? All of these rounds of ammunition can only be used to kill American citizens, though there is enough ammunition being ordered to kill, in addition to every American citizen, also every Iranian, Syrian or Mexican. There is simply too much of it. And this much ammunition can’t be just for training, there aren’t that many weapons and “shooters” in the U.S. to fire it.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/08/17/who-does-the-government-intend-to-shoot/#ixzz23vejaSEP

via  http://sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com/2012/08/major-general-jerry-curry-who-does.html

"abstract benevolence, a specialty of liberals, is eerily compatible with practical indifference or even cruelty."

Have you read the post by Dinesh D'Souza, writer of the film 2016, about how D'Souza recently got a call from Obama's African brother, George Obama, asking for help with his son's medical bills? Why did he call D'Souza? Because you, D'Nesh, are "like a brother to me." What? His real brother is a multimillionaire, and the most powerful man on earth, Barack Obama! Read the D'Souza post here:
 http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/08/16/how-became-george-obama-brother/

Roger Kimball writes at Pjamas Media, "abstract benevolence, a specialty of liberals, is eerily compatible with practical indifference or even cruelty."
 http://pjmedia.com/rogerkimball/2012/08/17/ripley%E2%80%99s-believe-it-or-not/

Willfully blind

Andrew McCarthy writes yesterday at Pajamas Media, quoting Turkey's Islamic supremacist prime minister, Erdogan, who is also a "close chum" of Barack Obama: "Assimilation is a crime against humanity. There is no moderate or immoderate Islam. Islam is Islam, and that’s it." Muslims are in the west, not to assimilate, but to establish Islamic authority.

McCarthy goes on to discuss the Muslim Student Association, which was the precuror to the Islamic
Society of North America, which is now the largest Muslim organization in America. That organization closely consults with the Barack Obama White House. A chief policy advisor to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is Huma Abedin, wife of Anthony Weiner (remember him?). Abedin has close ties with the Muslim Brotherhood and the other Islamic supremacist organizations.

McCarthy on the ISNA: "Its goal is incrementally to infiltrate sharia principles in our law, our institutions, and our public policy. That means the mission takes direct aim at our liberties, particularly free expression, because it enables examination and negative criticism of Islamist ideology. It takes aim at our alliance with Israel, because Jews are regarded as enemies and all of “Palestine” as Islamic territory. And it takes aim at our economic system, because sharia regards capitalism as a bane of human existence — there is a reason why the Brotherhood’s American operatives make common cause with the Left on everything from socialized medicine to finance regulation to gun control to surveillance law."

McCarthy concludes, "to perceive no correlation between the Islamists’ fervid anti-assimilation program and the United States government’s stunning accommodation of the Brotherhood and its agenda is to be willfully blind." McCarthy was the prosecutor in the first World Trade Center bombing attempt. That is how he came to be so dedicated to informing us about Islam.

Read more here:  http://pjmedia.com/andrewmccarthy/2012/08/17/huma-abedins-muslim-minority-affairs-its-not-just-a-journal/?singlepage=true

Time for a "much broader discussion"

Do we need a "much broader discussion" about using plastic bags? While it might save a few birds to use reusable bags, what is the cost? Not just the cost monetarily, or in lack of convenience, but also in terms of human health? Over ninety percent of people who use reusable bags say they never wash them. Cases of stomach viruses and Ecoli are on the rise in areas where politicians force people not to use plastic bags.
via Instapundit and Hot Air

"Scared of girls"

Instapundit notes today that Vladimir Putin is "scared of girls." These three members of the Russian band Pussy Riot were sentenced to two years in prison yesterday. They like to perform in unusual venues. They performed an impromptu "punk prayer" in a Russian Orthodox Church, asking the church to support Jesus Christ and oppose Vladimir Putin, which would be the opposite of what the church has been doing. They were charged with "premeditated hooliganism performed by an organized group of people motivated by religious hatred or hostility."

From Wikipedia: "On August 15, a group of protestors gathered in support of Pussy Riot outside the Christ the Saviour Cathedral and held up placards to make the phrase Blessed are the merciful. They were quickly set upon by cathedral guards. Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, trying to attend the reading of the verdict, was arrested and beaten. The connection between Pussy Riot and the group Voina has been highlighted by some of the groups' critics and has been called an "aggravating moral circumstance" in the eyes of the conservative public (which constitutes about 60 per cent of Russians)"


Read more here: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/editorials/vladimir_revenge_fYtFnjlMgXMz350GJJj4KN

and here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pussy_Riot

Update: Here is a less supportive post on the group's actions: " The punk rock group entered the sanctuary with the intent to insult Christians, and when they were held accountable, they claimed that it was someone else's fault.

Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/08/jailing_pussy_riot_in_russia.html#ixzz23xPgIvJh

Mellow

While practicing Jill Bolte Taylor's advice to "step to the right," meaning, to become more balanced in using both my right brain and my left brain, yesterday I found myself singing and humming and whistling this tune: 
I appreciate the fact that you visit this blog, even though the guy who writes this blog is a bit strange.

Discipline

Since so many adult responsibilities require that we attend to matters that we'd rather not have to spend time on, how do we get the discipline to motivate ourselves to complete these tasks? Can discipline be taught?

I used to waste time watching t.v. Colleen and I decided not to renew our t.v. cable subscription. I used to spend too much time reading newspapers. I dropped my subscription to the Wall Street Journal. Now I spend too much time reading on the computer!

In the final analysis, I suppose the answer lies in motivation. The motivation to be disciplined must be higher than the motivation to put things off until tomorrow!

Enthusiasm

I like to be around people who are enthusiastic about what they are doing. How do you maintain an attitude of enthusiasm when many things you have to deal with are unpleasant, or are initiated by others?

The answer is free will and choice. Remember, the physiological component of emotions lasts only 90 seconds in your blood stream. You can choose to hang on to those emotions for longer than 90 seconds, or you can thank your hard-working left brain cells for doing such a good job at what they are supposed to do, and ask them to pause, while you ask your right brain to help you realize the inner peace in the right here and right now. Having inner peace, you are then free to move forward with enthusiasm in performing the tasks before you. Of course, that also means we need to give our cells the nourishment and rest they need to rejuvenate. Taking care of these miraculous bodies God has created is one of our most sacred responsibilities,  

Who is he?

I have noticed that national talk radio hosts Glenn Beck and Laura Ingraham refuse to go anywhere near the Obama birth certificate controversy. I guess they don't want to be seen as "right wing kooks" or "birthers." The left  is to be congratulated for making this a non-issue. Yet, the biggest birther of them all is Barack Obama, who claimed in his bio he submitted to his publisher that he was born in Kenya, when he was trying to fashion an intriguing resume for his book. He made no effort to correct that "error" when his publisher used it for many years as part of the promotional material for the book.

There are so many unanswered questions about Obama. why has he been using a Connecticut Social Security number for many years? He is a multi-millionaire, but he does not help his stepbrothers and stepsisters. Perhaps because he knows they are really not his stepbrothers and stepsisters? There is a film documentary that asserts that his real father was probably Frank Marshall Davis, an avowed Communist, who mentored Obama when Obama was growing up. Obama referenced Davis many times in Dreams of My Father. Yet, I am told that in the audio version read by Obama, all mention of Frank have been deleted from the book.

Now there is a movie by Dinesh D'Souza entitled 2016, which explores Obama's life, and tries to predict what America will look like in 2016, if Obama is elected to another four-year term.

A very funny man

Scott Ott is a favorite of mine. Watch as many of his videos as you can, and relax in right brain euphoria.

Greed

http://saberpoint.blogspot.com/2012/08/thomas-sowell-on-greed.html

Is this all he's got?

Victor Davis Hansen believes that Barack Obama has decided to play the race card for all it's worth. To get independent voters, who do not wish to be associated with racists, he has decided to portray Romney as an extreme racist.

"In short, until the election of Barack Obama, “white” was an increasingly rare designation. Intermarriage, integration, and assimilation were making race itself an irrelevant consideration. That notion was what Barack Obama correctly assessed would get him elected — and, now, exploding that notion is what he thinks will get him reelected.

It’s that simple."

 http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/313882/white-brain-victor-davis-hanson

Fluoridation's effects on children's brain development

If your children are living in an area where the water is "highly fluoridated," it may be negatively affecting their brain development. Read more here: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/08/14/fluoride-effects-in-children.aspx?e_cid=20120814_DNL_artNew_1#
I found this Harvard study here:  http://www.riehlworldview.com/carnivorous_conservative/2012/08/harvard-study-confirms-fluoride-reduces-childrens-iq.html

Galaxy cluster producing 740 new stars a year

Have you heard of the galaxy cluster called Phoenix? It is producing new stars at an amazing rate.
I found it here: http://www.riehlworldview.com/carnivorous_conservative/2012/08/video-record-breaking-galaxy-cluster-birthing-stars-at-extreme-rate-.html

Sharing joy with someone who doesn't want to hear it

Yesterday I got my new glasses. Earlier in the summer I had cataract surgery on both eyes. I had to wait until now to get the new glasses, because each eye needs about a month to stabilize after surgery. I was so excited and thankful, I couldn't wait to tell people what a blessing it was to be able to see well again. The first person I saw was a colleague at work who always looks on the dark, pessimistic side. Knowing that, I asked myself how long it will take him to change the subject to something miserable. As it happened, he plunged right into it! I shared my joy with him, then he immediately said, "I take it you were not here to experience what we experienced yesterday?"

"What do you mean," I asked.

Then he went on to tell me how long the lines were, how ineffective management was, and how intolerable the whole experience was.

"Actually," I said, "I was here yesterday. I had a really good day." I walked away as his attention was diverted to one of those dreadful customers.

"The essence of my being has eternal life"

Excerpts from Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor's My Stroke of Insight: "The first thing I do to experience my inner peace is to remember that I am part of a greater structure - an eternal flow of energy and molecules from which I cannot be separated."

"How can I feel vulnerable when I cannot be separated from the greater whole?"

"My left mind thinks of me as a fragile individual capable of losing my life. My right mind realizes that the essence of my being has eternal life. Knowing this leaves me grateful for the time I have here as well as enthusiastically committed to the well-being of the cells that constitute my life."

Crumb and Get it!

The owner of a bakery in Radford, Virginia turned down a chance for some publicity. Joe Biden's advance team came in to speak with the owner about a Biden visit. The owner said no, citing Obama's "You didn't build that" remark about small business. I am not a sugar eater, but if I lived in that man's community, I'd be a regular customer. Oh, and there is a Secret Service angle to the story, too. Watch the video interview with the owner here: http://www.wdbj7.com/videogallery/71837110/News/Radford-business-owner-declines-request-from-Joe-Biden's-entourage

via http://www.riehlworldview.com/carnivorous_conservative/2012/08/joe-biden-finally-gets-his-own-lunch-counter-moment.html

Define radical, please

David Harsanyi has noticed that the media template for Paul Ryan is "extreme" and "radical." So, Harsanyi suggests we take a closer look, and perhaps even define the meaning of those terms.

Who is the radical in this year's elections. Is it Paul Ryan, who "supported TARP, auto bailouts and Medicare expansions, and wrote budgets that curb growth by a few percentage points over many years?"

Who is the rational person? Is it Barack Obama, who "didn't even bother passing budgets, and has no qualms heading toward a fiscal cliff, as long as he has a "class-envy tax hike to campaign on (for what is, in the context of spending, a pittance)." "And when the president carves out $700 billion from Medicare as seed money for a new trillion-dollar entitlement project, we are keeping with our non-radical traditions, even if we have to force everyone to participate." "Adding $11 trillion to the national debt, as Obama's proposed budget does, well, that passes the levelheaded policy test."

I think Harsanyi is doing what we all should be doing: recognizing media templates as they form, and debunking them.
Read more here:   http://reason.com/archives/2012/08/16/what-democrats-mean-when-they-say-radica

He didn't write this! Somebody else made this happen!

Columnist and radio talk show host Mike Rosen is at the top of his game in his column in the Denver Post this morning. He starts by pointing out that the liberal news media is all in for Barack Obama: "The so-called "news" segment of the liberal media is so all-in for Obama in this election cycle that they've abandoned any pretense of objectivity and balance. As they see it, when the stakes are this high, the end justifies the means."

"So their definition of a gaffe is almost anything Romney says that they disagree with. Obama gaffes, on the other hand, are ignored, rationalized, defended or quickly swept under the media rug.
The biggest and most revealing Obama gaffe to date was his gross overstatement that "if you've got a business, you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen." That demagogic choice of words slipped out because he was on a roll. He got carried away and went beyond the script, feeding on the frenzy of an adoring audience of populist class-warriors at a campaign pep rally in Roanoke."

"Political analysts and historians may look back on the 2012 campaign and judge "You didn't build it" to be the ultimate gaffe of the Obama one-term presidency. Let's hope so."

Read more: Rosen: Maybe "I didn't write this" - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_21321595/maybe-i-didnt-write-this#ixzz23jNjl1Se

"Every Colorado woman's vote counts"

Wow! I just found out that in Colorado every woman's vote counts! That is what the headline in today's Denver Post says. Who said it? Madeline Albright, former Secretary of State under Bill Clinton, and I don't mean that in a sexual way. The reason every woman's vote counts is because Barack Obama cares about women. That must make you women readers feel really, really special. I don't know if there is any truth to the rumor that one pretty necklace will be donated to every Colorado woman who votes.

New voters

In a brilliant move just in time for the fall elections, the Obama administration has released new guidelines to enable young illegal immigrants to stay in America. Thousands of young people gathered in cities across America yesterday to learn what documents and money they will need. 4.4 million illegal immigrants under the age of 30 are in the country, and 25% of them will be able to stay. Why so few? Because they cannot have committed a felony, a "serious" misdemeanor, or three or more misdemeanors. Only one out of four have clean criminal records?

Back to school, or is it... on to Sacramento?

The kids started back to school yesterday. Sara is in third grade, and, for her, it is all about social interaction with peers. Greg starts middle school (sixth grade), and he will be okay because he elected to have two hours of physical education every day. He is very gifted athletically, and this will raise his spirits enough to make it through the day. Jon is hilarious. He is in seventh grade. "My favorite subject is German," he says. He chose German rather than physical education. I know why. He wants to be able to yell things in a Nazi-sounding dialect at his brother and sister!

High praise for Ryan, but not for Obama

Here is Democrat Erskine Bowles (former Chief of Staff of the Clinton White House). He was the Democrat chairman of the Debt Reduction commission appointed by President Obama. He has high praise for Paul Ryan, and not-so-high praise for President Obama.
Here is Bowles again, answering with humor a question about the lack of leadership of President Obama. I I found these videos here: http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2012/08/15/Erskine-Bowles-Barack-Obama-Scuttled-the-Deficit-Commission-s-Work-Not-Paul-Ryan

Vulnerable

Bill Gertz writes in the Washington Free Beacon: "A Russian nuclear-powered attack submarine armed with long-range cruise missiles operated undetected in the Gulf of Mexico for several weeks and its travel in strategic U.S. waters was only confirmed after it left the region, the Washington Free Beacon has learned."

"The stealth underwater incursion in the Gulf took place at the same time Russian strategic bombers made incursions into restricted U.S. airspace near Alaska and California in June and July, and highlights a growing military assertiveness by Moscow."

"The submarine patrol also exposed what U.S. officials said were deficiencies in U.S. anti-submarine warfare capabilities—forces that are facing cuts under the Obama administration’s plan to reduce defense spending by $487 billion over the next 10 years."

JHoward writes at Protein Wisdom: 
"Looks like Putin believes, deep down, Obama is the little needy bitch he’s always pegged him as. And he’s willing to test the hypothesis.
Meanwhile, between our intentionally open borders, our now uncontrolled waters, and all the cuts to the military, it’s almost as if Obama wants us vulnerable. To something."

Bull

I found this here: http://proof-proofpositive.blogspot.com/2012/08/most-of-what-youve-heard-about-bain-is.html

Compared to what?

With Paul Ryan as Romney’s running mate, there will be lots of talk about the House GOP budget. When this budget is attacked, the first question in response should always be “compared to what?” Not the actual federal budget, because Congress has not passed one in nearly four years. Not the president’s budget, as it’s never made it out of either house of Congress.

-Jonathan H. Adler
I found this at  http://proof-proofpositive.blogspot.com/2012/08/quote-du-jour_13.html

Renewed enthusiasm!

Conservative talk radio hosts seem to be breathing a collective sigh of relief now that Romney has chosen Paul Ryan as his running mate. I had been sensing some weariness, a feeling that the talk show hosts were carrying too much of the burden in trying to keep the base fired up. The three I listen to most, Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham, and Sean Hannity, all have renewed vigor, enthusiasm, and confidence in the campaign's chances for victory in November.

Update: I added one more talk show host to this discussion, because I listened to Glenn Beck and his two sidekicks today, discussing Joe Biden's recent "Y'all are goin' to be back in chains" remarks to an audience that included lots of black people. Glenn and his guys did a superb job of commenting on this, and also showed optimism and confidence in the newly re-invorgorated Romney campaign. Glenn believes the Obama campaign is purposely trying to get a reaction from conservatives, but Beck said, "You know what, we're tired of all this, and we're not going to react with anger."

Glenn has read Alinksy, one of whose principles was, "The action is in the reaction." Again, however, as I have written before, Alinsky was not writing principles to enable one man to get power. Alinsky was hoping to enable whole communities of people to learn how to fight against corrupt power structures. Obama has misused those principles to advance himself, at the expense of the very people Saul Alinsky would have wanted to organize!

Glenn admires Romney for not overreacting with too much anger at the Obama-Biden team's attempt to provoke, and he cautions his radio listeners to practice love in the face of provocation. Good advice! The attacks are getting more and more absurd. The latest was Biden telling an audience that included many black Americans, "They want y'all back in chains!."

 Read more about Saul Alinsky here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saul_Alinsky

Update 2: Oops! I found one popular talk show host who isn't so enthusiastic. Michael Savage says that "adding Ryan to the ticket is like adding white rice to wonder Bread." He wanted Florida Congressman Col. Alan West or Arizona Governor Jan Brewer.

The teams are in place

Well, the teams are now in place: Romney-Ryan and Obama-Biden. Or, are they? Will Obama stick with Biden, or will he bring in Hillary? Biden and Ryan are both Irish Catholics. One appeals to Catholics who are for "social justice," big government entitlement programs, abortion, marriage of two men, two women, or, ... The other is for responsible budgeting, smaller government, traditional marriage of one man and one woman, the sacredness of life, and a strong military.

One team has been running the country for three and a half years. Are they proudly talking about their accomplishments? No, they spend all their time attacking the other team, trying to scare voters by alleging that the other team will push granny over the cliff in her wheel chair, cause women to die of cancer, not pay income tax, close down companies, pollute the air, and any other drastic scenario they can come up with. They want as many people as possible to vote, including people who are not U.S. citizens. They broadcast Spanish language messages into Mexico, encouraging Mexicans to come to America and get on the Food Stamp entitlement program, and, oh yes, while you're here, be sure to vote for the One who expanded the food stamp entitlement program and welfare benefits.

One team believes in bowing to foreign enemies and apologizing for American power, and they have decided to make big cuts in America's military. Communities with defense contractors will not see the cuts until January 2013, after this momentous election will already have taken place. The other team believes in keeping America the strongest nation on earth, with the most agile and well-equipped military.

One team believes in taxing people who are earning money and using that money to hire bureaucrats and IRS agents, and subsidizing corporations that contribute to their political campaign. That team believes coal and oil are evil and should be replaced by solar panels, algae, and windmills that kill eagles. The other team believes that the US should allow corporations to develop our abundant oil and gas reserves, thereby employing hundreds of thousands of Americans in good paying jobs in the private sector, and achieving independence from foreign sources of oil from countries whose leaders are enemies of America.

Both teams believe in cutting back on Medicare costs. The team that has been in power has cut over 700 billion dollars from the Medicare program to fund a new national health care system called Obamacare. A panel of unelected bureaucrats will decide which Medicare benefits will be allowed and which will not be allowed for people now covered by Medicare. The cutbacks are mostly to hospitals and insurers, but also to home health care providers. The other team promises not to cut Medicare for anyone presently over the age of 55. They plan to restore the 700 billion Obama has cut from Medicare to pay for Obamacare, and give younger citizens the options of choosing which programs they want.

Paul Ryan, whose mother is currently on Medicare, and who, as a teenager, after his father died of a heart attack, helped his mother care for his grandmother, who had Alzheimers Disease, is the one who does not want to cut benefits for current seniors, or those 55 and older.

We're in a fight, ladies and gentlemen

Paul Ryan attempted to speak at the Iowa State Fair yesterday, but the Obama team of organizers already had opposition lined up. One woman charged up on the stage where Ryan was attempting to speak. How did she get past Secret Service? Maybe because she clearly does not look like a Columbian prostitute?

Watch live streaming video from desmoinesregister at livestream.com