The Circus Is Back In Town

It's probably a bit early for most of you, but the 2008 Presidential election is 13 months away - so I guess we had better start paying attention to the circus while there are still choices. Unfortunately, our system of elections has evolved into survival of the wealthiest instead of the fittest (or most worthy) - so if you don't start paying attention now and voicing your opinion, the slate of choices will be made for you via financial elimination.

So, if you have not already done so, I would like to invite you to take a look at Mike Huckabee - former Governor of Arkansas. He is a relatively soft spoken man with strong convictions on fiscal policy and national security. Oh, and he is a FairTax supporter too!

One of the most interesting exchanges that I have seen thus far is posted on YouTube from one of the Republican debates - it's only three minutes so give it a look.

Who knows what the next year will bring, but Mike Huckabee is worth a look now. Whatever your opinion or party affiliation, information is power - make sure you get yours.

## That's my opinion##

America's downfall -- The New Deal

I have often thought that the real downfall of this country started with FDR and the New Deal. Now Amity Shlaes has been published in Imprimis here with excerpts from her speech. She is right on... and I am looking to get her book "The Forgotten Man: A new History of the Great Depression" where she supports her position of how FDR used the words "The Forgotten Man" to manipulate the people, along with his New Deal projects, into dependence on the Federal Government.

A great article, worth the read, and it may change your opinion on how we got into the position we are currently in in America.

-End of Ramble

An Inconvenient Truth - Really Inconvenient

I recently finished reading The Politically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming and Environmentalism, which I highly recommend, and coincidentally received an email from a good friend with a very inconvenient truth. In what is evidently old news, a comparison of Al Gore's home in Tennessee to George W. Bush's home in Texas illustrating some surprising differences. I didn't believe them at first since they are so striking, but after some Internet research I found several corroborating sources.

And now PETA is after Al because he's a meat eater. According to PETA eating meat is worse on the environment than driving cars or flying in jets. Poor Al just can't catch a break.

The average surface temperature of the earth has gotten a little warmer over the last 10 years, just as it has done for millions of years in a repeating cycle. However, as the P.I.G. discusses in abundant detail, there is no evidence or scientific consensus that the warming affect is anthropogenic. Meanwhile in response to the media hype, our government and many others are throwing money at this mythical problem with no hope of "stabilizing the climate". The majority of green house gases (GHG's) are emitted from naturally occurring sources, so even if GHG's cause warming and we stop manmade GHG's completely, the climate will continue to fluctuate as always. There is a much greater correlation between the sun's temperature cycle and a warmer earth than rising GHG's and rising temperature.

Al should stop spinning the truth and causing us to waste money chasing political footballs. There are too many other worthy causes for us to pay attention too, rather than feeding the ego of a failed politician.

##That's my opinion##

Who is Mike Huckabee?

I believe that 18 to 24 months is really too long to campaign for President, so I don't blame anyone who has not been paying much attention to this point. However, if you have not heard of or don't know much about Mike Huckabee, I would strongly suggest you take a look at this exchange during the 9/5/07 Republican debate between Huckabee and the wing-nut Ron Paul.

Mike Huckabee may not have the name and face recognition of Giuliani, McCain, Romney, or Thompson, but as of right now he has my support.

I would love to see some poll numbers on a Thompson / Huckabee ticket for '08.

##That's my opinion##

Castro-sized

Well now, what does it say to you when a communist dictator endorses you for a political office? That doesn't really spell freedom now does it?

It seems that some of Fidel's favorite people are Jimmy "I gave away the Panama Canal" and Bill "slick Willy" Clinton - nice guys. He also favors a Hillary - Barack ticket in 2008. You have to be doing something right if Fidel is in your corner.

I wonder when good buddy Chavez is going to throw his endorsement Hillary's way?

It may be time to start packing for a small Caribbean island.

##That's my opinion##

No to Diversity -- Yes to Unity

To start out this post I want to be completely fair to Michael Abrashoff who has HEAVILY influenced my thoughts in this manner in his book "It's Your Ship" where he speaks of eliminating the diversity program on his ship and migrating it to a unity program. I recommend the book... it is a great read.

Now I see an article from Gregory Rodriguez in the Orlando Sentinel on Diversity which supports the unity idea and am further emboldened to share it with you here. In this article Mr. Rodriquez does a wonderful job discussing the new report from Robert Putnam on what his research has determined around Diversity. Amazing thing is that it turns out the more diverse your culture is the less trust for individuals there is. What does this mean? To boil it down it means that if you don't belong to something you tend to distrust everyone.

None of this means that we are doomed by diversity. But it does suggest that simply celebrating it and promoting it is not going to help us get along. Putnam points to a need for everyone to construct new social identities. He recalls growing up in a Midwestern town in the 1950s, when religious affiliations acted as strong social barriers between neighbors. Three decades later, he says, Americans had "more or less deconstructed religion as a salient social division." Although it was still personally important, religion's power as a social identity had diminished significantly.

The article talks in terms of race relations, but also mentions the elimination of religious affiliations as well. I find this very interesting in relation to a personal story. I recently visited Central Eastern Europe and during that trip I decided to attend Church on Sunday. It was amazing at how I felt instantly at home in a foreign country just by going to someplace where we all shared the same basic ideas and thoughts. As I reflect on this article, my experience in the CEE, and my own Church it seems to me that it is true. Here at home in our own Church we have people from all races, creeds, backgrounds yet everyone is the same. We all belong to the same group. We all have UNITY of purpose. Isn't that interesting? As we move through the post-modern age with everyone seemingly worried about what is in it for "me" and only looking at the short term to find pockets of unity and group belonging seems to become more rare. To cover it up under the guise of "Diversity" is nothing more than a sham... a ruse... something that is damaging the very fabric of our society.

Read the article (and this one for a slighlty different slant on Robert Putman's research)... make up your own mind. Read the book. Tell me what you think

-End of Ramble

Could 4 Years of Hillary Help Conservatives?

Recent polls regarding the Democrat Presidential candidates indicate that Hillary still has the best chance of winning the Democrat nomination for 2008. However, polls regarding Hillary's positives and negatives show some interesting trends as well. According to Ron Fournier from AP , Hillary's negatives will provide little coattail room for fellow Dem's and may drive more Republicans to the polls.

It chills me to think that Hillary may have a shot at being the next President, but if it takes four years of Hillary to wake up our country to the horrors of socialized medicine and open borders, then it might just be the medicine we need.

##That's my opinion##