You Go W!!

Bush has had a fire in his belly lately and it is great to see. This is just an excerpt of what he had to say about House Democrats yesterday:

...Congress is not getting its work done. We're near the end of the year, and there really isn't much to show for it. The House of Representatives has wasted valuable time on a constant stream of investigations, and the Senate has wasted valuable time on an endless series of failed votes to pull our troops out of Iraq. And yet there's important work to be done on behalf of the American people.

They have not been able to send a single annual appropriations bill to my desk, and that's the worst record for a Congress in 20 years.

--The Whole Transcript
--The Video

In all fairness I urged my fellow citizens back in 2006 not to put the Dems in power, if only more had listened. Hopefully, many will have learned their lesson and vote differently in 2008. Kristol points out how that could be a very likely scenario.

Also blogging:
Mike's America
Chickenhawk Express
Marie's Two Cents

Laura Bush's Trip to the Middle East

I have to admit I have been baffled and disheartened at the conservative backlash at Laura Bush for some of the things she did while in the Middle East.

So I was happy to see Mike and Amy Proctor both posting their take on it all. I thought Amy's post said it all, and said it well.

I have seen so much bashing of our own side recently and I just don't get it. I love Michelle Malkin's blog but every time I go there she has something negative and hateful to say about conservatives or Republicans. I have completely stopped listening to Laura Ingraham because she seems to be slowly sliding into Michael Savage mode. I don't get this bandwagon of trashing our own side and I refuse to get on.

This is not to say that I won't be critical of Republicans when they deserve it (as I clearly have been) but I don't get this overwhelming negativism and pessimism about our own side. Why do we insist on eating our own?

Arnold Rocks!!!

Hat tip: Wordsmith

This is the side of Arnold that I love. He has been a little disappointing recently on some issues but he has been awesome on the California Fire Crisis. He rocks in this video, it is a must-see!! He totally calls the Drive By Media on their pessimism. Anyone who takes on the Drive By Media gets hero status with me.

Anyone who is complaining about the planes just wants to complain because its a bunch of nonsense.

Trust me when I tell you, you are looking for a mistake and you won't find it because its all good news. As much as you maybe hate it, but its good news.--Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

Why Bush Isn't a Lame Duck President!

There has been much talk about Bush being a lame duck President. Liberals have been screaming it forever, especially because of the War in Iraq and conservatives have been yelling it because of immigration. I would argue that especially as of late Bush has been showing quite a bit of strength and muscle and is anything but a lame duck.

1) The President & GOP's victory in defeating the disastrous expansion of SCHIP.

2) Bush's speeches on the necessity of a Missile Defense System. Iran is a serious threat and Bush is well aware of that and taking the necessary preventive steps.

3) The Continued Progress in the War in Iraq.

4) Bush Warns Cuba!

5) Judge Southwick is confirmed by the Senate!

Mike Meets Fred Thompson

Fred Thompson came to Mike's neck of the woods yesterday and Mike got to meet him and ask a question. Check out his excellent post. He also was interviewed by a local news station, to read the article go here!

In the Presence of My Enemies

I'm not sure how many of you are familiar with the story of Gracia and Martin Burnham. Here is a brief excerpt about what happened to them from a review of Gracia's book:

In The Presence of My Enemies tells the story of Martin and Gracia Burnham, a missionary couple who were kidnapped and held for over a year by the Abu Sayyaf, a terrorist group with ties to Osama Bin Laden.

While celebrating their anniversary at a small resort in the Philippines they were snatched away and spent the next year of their lives on the run, fighting to survive in the Philippine jungles. They were constantly faced with incredible hardship and often lacked even the most rudimentary comforts. They were held pending the payment of a large ransom, one which missionary groups will never pay. It was not until the aftermath of September 11 that real progress was made in trying to rescue the Burnhams.

This was an event that was very close to my heart and affected me in a personal way. The Burnhams both went to Calvary Bible College which is here in KC. There were people from my church that personally knew them and when they were abducted in the summer of 2001 it was talked about a lot here in KC. I prayed for them on a daily basis while they were missing for over a year. I will never forget hearing the news that Gracia had made it out alive while Martin had been killed during the rescue. It was a huge deal.

I think it was a year later that Gracia published her book and came and spoke here in KC. I was fortunate enough to get to hear her tell her story and she even autographed my copy of her book. The book is extremely compelling and very moving on so many different levels. It gives you a first hand glimpse of terrorists and what it is like to be a captive at their hands.

I was reminded of all of this Saturday night when the History channel aired a documentary entitled, Stalking Jihad. It was a great program telling the other side of the story of how the CIA was involved in helping the Philippine military rescue the Burnhams and the other innocent people the Abu Sayyaf had kidnapped. It is sad how much the Philippine government limited our involvement, otherwise I think they probably could've been rescued sooner and perhaps Martin would've escaped alive.

What I did find interesting was that 9/11 actually helped speed up their rescue rather than dampen the rescue efforts.

For so many different reasons I highly recommend that you read Gracia's book, In the Presence of My Enemies and watch the History channel's, Stalking Jihad. I'm hoping that the History Channel re-airs it because I didn't get to see the whole thing and Netflix doesn't have it.

I Heart Rush Limbaugh!!

I saw this video of Rush on Hannity and Colmes Monday night and I was just standing up and cheering. Rush rocks!! Marie did an excellent post on it all.

Rush isn't a Marine but his speech reminds me of that quote in "A Few Good Men" where Jack Nicholson says, "You messed with the wrong Marine." In Rush's case, you messed with the wrong Talk Show Host ;-).

What Kind of Reader are You?

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Literate Good Citizen You read to inform or entertain yourself, but you're not nerdy about it. You've read most major classics (in school) and you have a favorite genre or two.
Dedicated Reader
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Fad Reader
Book Snob
Non-Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Create Your Own Quiz

I found this quiz at Patrick's and found it to be fun. I have several friends that I would love to see how they score on this. It only takes a couple of minutes so indulge and share your results in the comments' section.

My Letter to Bill O'Reilly about the Michael Devlin Case

To Bill O'Reilly:

I am a regular watcher of your Tv show and 70% of the time I love your passion and agree with what you have to say. Yet, one issue that I have had a problem with from the start was your questioning of the victim, Shawn Hornbeck. It distressed me at how you questioned and almost blamed him for not escaping earlier.

Now that the details have come out of the torture he endured (even his defense attorneys were horrified at having to watch the videotape of Devlin torturing Shawn) and the "deal" he made to stay alive I think you owe Hornbeck and his family an apology. I see you as a stand up guy who has done so much for the children and I applaud your courageous stand on Jessica's law and your willingness to go after states who aren't passing one.

I live in KC, Missouri so I have followed this issue on my blog and look forward to your response.

My Talk With Sean Hannity!!

When I heard that Dobson was going to be on Hannity's show yesterday I knew I had to call in. Amazingly, I got through pretty quickly. I got to talk to Sean about Dobson and his lack of support for both Rudy and Thompson & his possible 3rd party support. I got to express everything I've talked about here on this blog. At the end Hannity quoted this poll that obviously, has both of us concerned. He said he would convey my comments to Dobson during the interview.

I then listened intently while Hannity interviewed Dobson for about 45 minutes. I'm glad I got through when I did because there were no phone calls during their interview. I have to say that I was extremely proud of Hannity and once again disappointed in Dobson.

Dobson refuses to support Rudy because of abortion and yet when Hannity pointed out the strict constructionist judges and all the moral issues that Rudy stood up for while Mayor of New York, Dobson was not impressed. He also refuses to support Fred Thompson because Thompson supports State Marriage Amendments instead of a Federal Marriage Amendment. I find this to be incredulous. He is willing to almost guarantee Hillary the presidency because of a minor disagreement like that. First of all, a Federal Marriage Amendment is very unlikely. The U.S. Constitution rarely has amendments added to it and for good reason. I'm not against a Federal Marriage Amendment but as long as Thompson is for traditional marriage this isn't worth quibbling over.

Dobson says he will support a 3rd party if either Rudy or Thompson get the nomination. This will be disastrous and almost ensure Hillary a win. My only thought is that even though the poll says that 27% would vote for a nameless 3rd party I'm not sure that would really translate once a 3rd party person was running. It would have to be someone very charismatic and inspiring to get anywhere near 27%. I also think that Rudy might very well be a problem if there is a 3rd party but not necessarily with Thompson. There is no way that people would follow Dobson in his lack of support for Thompson over a difference in federal and state issues.

I would also like to know who this 3rd party candidate is going to be that Dobson would be able to support 100%. When I've looked at Thompson's conservative record the only thing I disagree with him on is his support for the National Endowment for the Arts. You aren't going to find a better candidate than that, especially at this stage of the game.

The other thing that I just couldn't get over was that Dobson thinks that by sabotaging Rudy and Thompson he is going to get one of the 2nd tier candidates to become viable. He said that there were other lower candidates that he might be able to support and who knows what could happen. He has been involved in the political game much longer than I and he knows that is extremely unlikely.

I was proud of Sean because Dobson was somewhat implying that by Sean and others like me being willing to support Fred or Rudy that we were only interested in winning politically. Sean said that couldn't be further from the truth, this was about right and wrong and that he just couldn't allow Hillary to become president for the sake of this country and the moral issues that he holds dearly. To that I say Amen!!

I think that by supporting a 3rd party candidate you will be indirectly electing Hillary Clinton. More babies will be slaughtered during her presidency, marriage will be in more jeopardy and this country will be far less safe, I have no doubt about it.

Someone recently accused me of being willing to vote for someone just because they have an R by their name. That couldn't be further from the truth. I've never supported Specter, Warner, McCain, Hagel or many other Republicans just because they have an R next to their name. It is a worldview and philosophy on life difference. Rudy may be liberal on some issues but he has a drastically different world view than Hillary Clinton. He would pick stellar supreme court justices and would keep this country safe and I do think he would continue to stand up for what is right including moral issues like he did in New York.

Bottom line: those of us who care passionately about moral issues cannot hand the reigns of the presidency over to Hillary. Bill Clinton did a lot of damage in his 8 years. We cannot allow Hillary to do worse just because of disagreements in our party.

Free Burma!

I have been very concerned about the situation in Myanmar/Burma. I have been meaning to do some research and write a post on it. I checked out Incognito's blog last night and she has done some excellent research and written several very comprehensive posts on what is going over there. Please take the time to read them.

In her first post, "Living In Fear in Myanmar fka Burma- and the Buddhist protests", she explains the history of Burma and how they've gotten to the place they are now. In her second one she gives the details on the Free Burma Blogger Campaign. I encourage everyone to go to their site and join the list of participants and to grab one of their graphics and put it on your blog. I've got a smaller version of this graphic in my sidebar.


The above video is one that was smuggled out since there has been a major crackdown there on any communication. It gives just a glimpse of some of the violence that is going on there.

Here are Incognito's posts and other bloggers who have also posted on this important issue, take the time to check them out:
October 4th, Free Burma blogger campaign!
Living In Fear in Myanmar fka Burma- and the Buddhist protests
Gateway Pundit
Horrible Violence in Burma Caught on Tape!--Gateway Pundit
Sister Toldjah
Big Girl Pants
Real World Libertarian
Born Again Redneck

Articles on the Crisis:
Burma: UN envoy meets top general as regime blames foreigners for violence

Rush & Dobson Updates

RUSH--

Robin came up with the above pic and gave me permission to use it on my blog as well. I had been meaning to get my Rush babe pic back up in my sidebar (I had taken it out when I was trying to make my blog easier to load but since it didn't help I figured I'd put it back). Not that there was any doubt but I've got my Rush babe pic back up to assure everyone of my support :-).

Fred Thompson scored MAJOR points with me when he came out with this statement in support of Rush:

"Congressional Democrats are trying to divert attention from insulting our military leader in Iraq and pandering to the loony left by attacking Rush Limbaugh. He is one of the strongest supporters of our troops, yet Democrats claim he is not being strong enough. I wonder who General Petraeus and his troops think is most supportive?"

I had been meaning to join a Fred Thompson blogroll and finally got around to doing that last night. I am also a Friend of Fred and getting his email updates. Fred and his wife also had an interview with Sean Hannity on Hannity and Colmes last night. Go here to watch the video.

UPDATE:
In my previous post I gave out phone numbers to contact some of the senators and Congressman Kingston. I called Senators Reid and Harkin and expressed my strong disapproval. I also called Kingston and applauded him for his resolution in support of Rush and the troops.

DOBSON--

I also called Focus on the Family yesterday to talk to someone about Dobson's comments. I was able to talk to one of his assistants. She let me know that she would pass my comments on and she then said that the news about the 3rd party support hadn't been presented accurately. She said if she is allowed to she will send me a link to an AP story that presents it more accurately. I will share that with you if I get it.

ANOTHER UPDATE (3:15 PM):
One of Dobson's assistants sent me the link to an Op-ed that Dobson wrote for the NY Times. It doesn't dispel the rumor at all that he will support a 3rd party. The bottom line is if Rudy gets the nomination Dobson and others will be supporting a 3rd party. Hello, President Hillary!!

My Grandfather's Son

I'm a huge fan of Justice Clarence Thomas. He is a great man who has been unfairly demonized by the left. The left tried to bork him and take him down during his confirmation hearing with trumped up charges of sexual harassment. Never mind the fact that we've had a sitting president who actually did commit such acts and was defended by the very feminists who went after Thomas.

Clarence Thomas has said relatively little in his defense up until now. He has come out with his autobiography, My Grandfather's Son. Last night he was on 60 Minutes, go here to see the video. Today, he is going to be on Rush's show for a rare 90 minute interview. I'm very excited, and plan on tuning in. Here is a little of what Rush had to say about it when talking to a caller last week:

"He's going to be in the second and third hour. It's going to be the first 90-minute interview we've ever done with anybody. I taped it after the program yesterday because the first day of the new term of the Supreme Court is on Monday, and he couldn't make it live.

He has two segments on 60 Minutes Sunday night. By the way, the name of the book is My Grandfather's Son. He did two interview segments for 60 minutes. ABC has been following him around, too. Jan Crawford Greenburg is their court writer. She is a good reporter. I don't mean to harm her reputation saying that with her peers, but she's a good reporter. She has followed him around with the crew for I think Primetime or 20/20, whatever the show is. He's going to be all over the place later in the week next week. But I have to tell you something about this interview and I don't want to give any of it away.

Other than to say, I start out with him when his mother gave him up. She couldn't afford him and his brother, and his grandfather took him in, and the title of the book is My Grandfather's Son. I started from there, and I didn't get to the confirmation hearings 'til what was like the end of the first hour. But during this interview -- and I don't want to give away any secrets here -- Dawn, who was here transcribing what he was saying for me in case I had trouble understanding him, which I didn't, cried twice."

I'll have to find room in my budget to purchase both Thomas's & Ann's new book, I'm off to Sam's tomorrow!!

Other interviews:
Clarence Thomas: A Silent Justice Speaks Out

Others blogging:
Patterico's Pontifications
Chip's Church Chat
Born Again Redneck
Bloviating Zeppelin