I wanted to put this in an open thread but I didn’t see one, so consider this an open thread.

Martin I suggest we send the RMSP play money.

I like it - but hey what is a trilion between friends?

It seems that the left has now received the good news about how the world loves us. All these years it was the evil Bush-Hitler that made them hate us. The last eight years we were told that if we could only get rid of the evil that was the Bush Presidency, the world would sing kumbaya and love us again.

Well, the left got the very thing they have been begging for in a president who transcends hate and evil and is all aboard on the love train. He is dismantling Gitmo, telling Al Arabia that the US was wrong to dictate and he is changing that policy. He is pulling out of Iraq and healing the wounds of US aggression from the Bush-Hitler presidency years. He is giving them everything they have wanted and stopping everything they said was wrong – well sort of anyway.

Now the shocking news that the world still does not love us has arrived! That is just not supposed to happen! The left fought for the very thing the world wanted to make them love us again, and they delivered. Why do they still hate us?

According to a new BBC poll, those ungrateful foreigners have embraced America’s new president without really changing their opinion of the United States as a whole.

Gee, how did that happen? Maybe it wasn’t Bush-Hitler!

Scratch below those numbers and underneath the negativity you find a great respect for the ideals on which this country is founded. Universally people around the world have a deep, positive attitude towards America’s commitment to democracy, the rule of law, human rights, and free speech. This is what America is perceived to stand for and it is, ironically, the very source of the disappointment.

The very thing that confuses me is the “Death to America” crowd who would submit to Sharia Law so that they do not offend Muslims; want the US to lead the way down the road to political correctness as the price to be paid so that we are loved again.

If you love someone for their shining moral example and then they go rob a bank, you are far more disappointed than if the object of your adoration had been a well-known scoundrel.

Even with Mr. Obama in the White House we are still viewed as criminal bank robbers who need to say they are sorry. I guess that here in the United States we actually had the gall to fight the terrorists. That was our crime. It is in the same category as Israel attacking Gaza and Hamas after hundreds of rockets rain down on civilians in their cities. Israel is the criminal for not accepting the rocket barrage peacefully, and the United States is evil for not accepting terrorist attacks peacefully too.

We have elected “The One” but we have not shown submission to the world yet, that is the price to be paid to be loved by the world again.

If this is the price to be paid, I don’t want to be loved. I want to be feared so that I can live in peace because the terrorists are too afraid to attack us again.

I just read that Senator Judd Gregg is going to be Obama’s pick for Commerce Secratary. I feel it is very dafe to assume that Gregg will accept this nomination. Since New Hampshire has a Democrat Governor I expect a Democrat to be appointed to replace him. However, they may appoint a very liberal Republican that will equate to the same voting outcome.

A White House official has also confirmed that Sen. Judd Gregg is President Barack Obama’s choice for Commerce Secretary, and said an announcement is set for Tuesday morning.

Gregg is a New Hampshire senator who would be the third Republican to join Obama’s Cabinet, if confirmed. The others are Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood.

Gregg signaled Monday that he would only leave the Senate if he’s replaced by another Republican.

In today’s day and age of Republican being a very flexable term now, I expect it to be a liberal squish spine who will vote Democrat in the name of bipartisainship at every turn.

One of the most important components of The United States economic engine is due to free trade policies and our ability to export the products we manufacture, and services we provide. The North American Free Trade Agreement is an important component of our free trade policies. Our trade relations with The European Union are important as well.

The stock market crash is historically referred to the starting point of our great depression of the 1930’s. However, in the wake of the stock market crash, despite a slowing economy, the bottom had not fallen out of the labor market and the unemployment rate, though the unemployment rate was higher it was still manageable. In 1930 Congress passed the Smoot Hawley Act that raised Tariffs to historically high levels. This was done to protect American agriculture sector and jobs in general. However, what it did do was trigger a trade war with Europe.

It provoked a storm of foreign retaliatory measures and came to stand as a symbol of the “beggar-thy-neighbor” policies (policies designed to improve one’s own lot at the expense of that of others) of the 1930s. Such policies contributed to a drastic decline in international trade. For example, U.S. imports from Europe declined from a 1929 high of $1,334 million to just $390 million in 1932, while U.S. exports to Europe fell from $2,341 million in 1929 to $784 million in 1932. Overall, world trade declined by some 66% between 1929 and 1934.

http://future.state.gov/when/timeline/1921_timeline/smoot_tariff.html

One of the components in the news in the past month coming out of Europe is the possible trade war with the United States if it starts to enact protectionist measures. You definitely do not see it in the news here in the United States. However, in the British Guardian Newspaper there is a column about just this scary possibility. They are asking the question:

With more than a whiff of depression in the air, is a “Smoot Hawley” like backlash against trade about to follow? It was the collapse of GNP in 1929-30 that led the US Congress to impose the tariff that caused the unravelling of world trade. Might the same happen again?

The danger exists. If the past months have taught us one thing, it is that anything is possible. Other economic aspects of the 1930s that many of us thought we would never see in our lifetimes have reared their ugly heads. Google News listed 181 articles mentioning “Smoot Hawley” this week.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/dec/31/trade-policy-tariffs-us-uk

Well now we have another news story in the British Telegraph that is getting even more concerned:

The EU trade commissioner vowed to fight back after the bill passed in the House of Representatives late on Wednesday included a ban on most purchases of foreign steel and iron used in infrastructure projects.

The Senate’s version of the legislation, which will be debated early next week, goes even further, requiring that any projects related to the stimulus use only American-made equipment and goods.

The inclusion of protectionist measures has quickly raised hackles in Europe.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/4389597/US-EU-trade-war-looms-as-Barack-Obama-bill-urges-Buy-American.html

These people in Europe are equating “Buy American” in the pork stimulus bill is another way of locking them out of US markets. They are taking this very seriously! Will this lead to a trade war? If the people of the United States think we are losing jobs now, wait till they see what happens if we get in a trade war with Europe! In just the same manner that Smoot-Hawley caused us to have our exports plummet, putting a lot of US workers out of work, the same thing will happen here if this “Stimulus” bill passes. This stimulus bill will only stimulate more job losses if the Europeans do not get the “Buy American” provision removed.

How much do you want to bet a trade war is in the offering? Is this reason enough to oppose this monstrosity of a bill? It is for me, and then I feel it is compounded by the massive debt spending that is going to occur that will bring huge inflationary effects from printing all that money.

Republicans in the Senate need to pay attention to this or they are going to be left holding the bag when it blows up in their faces. The Democrats will be laughing about it all the way to the next election because the Republicans in the Senate covered them by taking the heat for it. Don’t think it won’t happen, because it will.

Rush Limbaugh now has taken a new tone in the wake of the last election and caving of Republican’s in Washington. He refers to himself as the “Last Man Standing”. Thankfully with people like Sarah Palin, Bobby Jindal and Haley Barbour he is not the last man standing. However, the word picture of the title is very reflective of how most members of the Republican base feel right now. We feel alone and abandoned by people we thought were elected to represent us and our conservative ideals. How wrong we were.

Now the disgust with what so called conservative politicians in Washington have done to us in the wake of the last two elections sets in. The nausea is almost overwhelming, and makes a person want to walk away and abandon the whole effort, but maybe that is what they want us to do. I want to scream because these people have been through two election cycles where Democrat Lite as the Republican platform to campaign on has killed them. Are they really this blind and dumb? At least Republicans can be spineless liberals along with the Democrats who are liberals with a spine. They make a good couple.

The effort to start the rebuilding of the party at the grassroots level is all we have left for a strategy. We must completely ignore and abandon the Republicans who currently hold office. They are the people who betrayed us for the last time (I am referring to their caving into Obama this month).

Now in respects to my title and continuing of the blood bath at the polls, I am not referring to surrendering to the Democrats either. I am specifically addressing a blood bath in the primaries. We need to primary these people. We also need to go into it fully understanding that the resources of the Republican Party will be arrayed against any primary challengers to the incumbents.

A good example is with respects to a conservative challenger to Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania. I have searched for a link to put here, but I do remember something being reported that Snarl’n Arlen will be having a conservative challenger in his reelection bid. If this is true, this could be a very good thing. We really need to do more of this. We also really need to have this challengers come to the forefront now, so there is a full two years of preparation done to run against them.

Here in South Dakota they put up challengers against our Democrat Congressional Delegation 6 months before the election. Needless to say, they die even before they come out of the gate and the election is over even before it starts. Unfortunately, with all the money taken out of elections with CFR, challengers are killed off with a total inability to raise money quickly. However, incumbents are rubbing elbows with the money types all year long and have all the money they need at election time. Primary Challenger Rule #1: Declare the day after an election and start raising money for the next election, or accept the facts that they are a sacrificial offering on a political alter. Sitting politicians were not stupid. The CFR was an incumbent protection act more than anything else. Challengers have to over come that handicap and time is the only method remaining to keep up and stand a chance. They need time for getting in the news and building name recognition, and they need time to raise money. Challengers do not have the ability to hold $2500.00 a plate fund raisers with fat cat lobbyists through out the year, and still have the national party apparatus available to them still. They need to pass the hat at local campaign rallies. It is smaller and slower to raise the same amount of money.

One more thought about all of this. Delivering challengers to start the fund raising process now also sends a message with the support of the base. It also let’s sitting politicians know that we are angry with their spineless behavior in Congress now!

I know there has been much debate about the Fairness Doctrine and the Left’s desire to crush dissenting voices, especially the silencing Rush Limbaugh and conservative talk radio. During the 1980’s under Ronald Reagan when the Fairness Doctrine was lifted, there was no Internet that had the ability to transmit web radio. There also was not any such creation as satellite radio either. Why do I make mention of these mediums? Please do not think I am not worried about the Fairness Doctrine, because I most certainly concerned and I have desire to fight it.

During the 1990’s there became a growing scourge of the music industry. It was called file sharing and the evil MP-3 music creation. It became the source of the very real threat to the music industry’s survival. However, the answer to this digital music explosion was I-Tunes. Then came Rhapsody and Amazon.com and the music industry that was dying became reborn, though the music CD started on its path to meet the vinyl LP album.

Then there was Campaign Finance Reform lead by our illustrious conservative stalwart [heavy snark] John McCain. (Okay what does this have to do with the Fairness Doctrine? Hang with me, I am getting there) When campaign finance reform came on the scene to “take the money out of politics” the money founds its way into those lovely organizations that are known as 501(c)4 / 527 according to the tax code section they fall under. So, not only did the money not get taken out of politics, but rather it created avenues for even more money in politics.

The two examples I cited above are examples that just happen to fall under the categories of “the law of unintended consequences” and “water follows the path of least resistance”. In the age of Facebook, Twitter, web radio, and XM radio, I do believe that the Fairness Doctrine could have some unintended consequences. I will repeat myself to ensure no one misunderstands me, I do think the Fairness Doctrine is a threat and must be opposed, but with that said, I don’t think it will mean the end of conservative communications to the masses.

Just as music went digital and campaign money went 501(c)4 and grew, I do believe that the awakening of the conservative movement to the technological age will also yield to as of yet unknown mediums to spread to the masses. It won’t die, but will weaken and then come back in ways the democrats will be even less able to control and grow. Who knows, with the news media going full into the tank for Obama, maybe it will lead the way for the growth of conservative voices rising in what were traditional liberal controlled areas? Something tells me Fox News cable dominance will not be an isolated occurrence. Smart people know where to invest money if it sells. Maybe this may be an up and coming medium for conservatives. It is hard to say. Only time will tell.

Something tells me Rush and Sean Hannity will still make the liberals scream however they circumnavigate the new rules that may be coming.

This is just my opinion.

I know our current President has made a transparent government one of his campaign slogans. I am glad to hear it, but I am very skeptical that he actually means it in a non partisan way. He only means transparent on any dirt of Republicans they can find.

There have been many ways proposed to create a transparent government. An example is the earmark reform lip service in Congress that was anything but reform. However, I do think there is one way to get a truly transparent government. I propose a constitutional amendment. I know it won’t happen, but I would propose it just the same.

Now before I write it out here, I want everyone to know I am not a lawyer, nor do I have any legal training beyond doing my own taxes, and I call a CPA I grew up with for advice to make sure I get it right. So, please do not rip me apart for my lack of knowledge in this area. I am asking for advice to clean it up if you see any deficiencies.

Now with all that said, imagine conservatives across the country campaigning on promising to initiate this amendment and how the public will react to it.

All Legislation brought before Congress that contains provisions affecting taxation or spending, must be posted to the Congressional web site in searchable format in its entirety for no less than ten calendar days. The public posting of said legislation must occur before it is voted upon for final passage and sent to the president for signature.

Once said legislation is posted to the internet for public viewing, no changes to the legislation may occur with the exception of grammar and spelling changes that do not affect its meaning. If changes are made that affect the proposed legislation’s meaning in any manner, the legislation with its changes must be resubmitted for an additional 10 calendar days for public viewing on the internet before being voted upon by either chamber of Congress.

The ten day viewing period may be waived by The President of the United States and Congress in concert to legislation that pertains to a National Emergency or Natural Disaster. The first action is the President of the United States must declare a National Emergency or a Natural Disaster Area. The second action must be that the Congress in both chambers, by two thirds majority vote acknowledges the declared Disaster or Emergency to waive the viewing period. This must be done for each piece of legislation that is being considered for waving the viewing period.

This would do more to clean up government than a lot of other proposals would, but that is just my opinion.

In 2006 Israel was plunged into a war with Hezbollah (The Party of God) in Southern Lebanon. However, how many people remember why that conflict started? We all remember how it ended. Israel was left with doubts about its military ability to defend itself for the first time in its history. It ended up not going well at all.

The conflict in Southern Lebanon was started when Hezbollah launched a rocket attack on Northern Israel as a diversion for an anti-tank missile attack against two Israeli Humvees patrolling the border. Two soldiers survived the anti-tank missile attack and were taken prisoner and then spirited back into Lebanon. The deceased remains of those two soldiers were returned to Israel as part of a prisoner exchange after the conflict ended.

However, who here remembers what else happened a month earlier with Hamas in the south? Right now if you watch the news reporting, this is the most forgotten aspect of the current conflict in Gaza.

In June 2006, using a tunnel dug from Gaza across the border into Israel, Hamas soldiers came up from behind Israeli positions and captured Gilad Schalit. That was two years ago, and Gilad Schalit is still alive and is still held prisoner by Hamas in Gaza. The International Red Cross has been denied visitation, but an international envoy from Egypt has been able confirm he was still alive and brought him a new pair of eye glasses sent by his parents. Right now that is all that is known about his fate.

Now, why would this man be forgotten, especially by his own government? Yes, he is forgotten by his own government. In an article from the Jerusalem Post the current Israeli government has not even mention Sergeant Schalit in their cease fire terms in this current conflict! What kind of outrage would follow in this country had he been a US Service member who had his status confirmed by an Egyptian envoy as alive and well? There would be an outcry that would be deafening.

So far in Israel, there is a news paper story and a letter to the government pointing out their omission. It is a very big omission too. I think Israel needs to require Sgt Schalit’s return as a non negotiable condition for a cease fire. The opportunity to obtain his release will never be so good again.

Well, I never expected to have this happen. I turned three years old here at Red State. I noticed there is another blog posting where Gordon Taylor has turned three as well. Happy Birthday to you too.

I started blogging on Google’s Blog Spot and Wubbies World was born. I also started to blog at Town Hall as well. Then I stumbled upon Red State during my blog meanderings. I made this my blogging home. I have enjoyed the stay, and I plan on staying around for many more years to come, as long as I remain welcome here.

In the current day and age we live in, politically we live in a damaged landscape. In the wake of the 2008 election, the devastation is fairly extensive in contrast to what we had before the end of the 1960’s. You might be asking yourself what I am talking about in respects to devastation. We all have known for some time that since the days of Walter Cronkite, and his own admission that he slanted the news to match his own particular view point in respects to the Vietnam War, that news reporting has been on its slide into objectively choosing sides ever since. Due to the transformational tide that has shaped news reporting since then, in my opinion our Republic entered one of its greatest points of danger since the civil war.

Abraham Lincoln himself stated that, “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.”

Thomas Jefferson,in his Second Inaugural Address on March 4th, 1805, stated, “The press, confined to the truth, needs no other legal restraint; the public judgment will correct false reasoning’s and opinions, on a full hearing of all parties; and no other definite line can be drawn between the inestimable liberty of the press and its demoralizing licentiousness.

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I am typing this post as an impromptu post. It may wander some, but I will do my best to keep it focused.

In the General War on Terror, we came to realize that the terrorists had declared war against us, and were actively engaged in it long before we even bothered to pay attention and lift a finger about it. However, it took 911 for us to actually pay attention to their declaration of war against us ten years earlier. This election, and the criticisms of conservatives and especially the treatment of Sara Palin by “Republicans” has finally crossed a line.

In the Republican Party a similar situation, though not as deadly, has been going on since 1994. When Ronald Reagan came to power, it signaled a shift from old style Republican politics to a new conservative era sparked by Barry Goldwater. However, the Democrats still controlled Congress. The fact Reagan won and stood for something new in the American political landscape was to forever change things, and not just for the Democrats.

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This is going to be short. I need to get ready for work.

Yesterday I made a post critical of the Republican Main Street Partnership and the moderates there whose own goals on their web site is to counter Conservatism. I also pointed out that some very prominent members of the Republican Party belong to this group. John McCain is one of them.

Now that the election is over, I want to engage in the conversation about who has better ideas. Should a Republican group whose stated goal is to attack and undermine other Republicans be driving the bus now?

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To quote one of our posts here on Red State, “the great moderate experiment in the Republican Party is over!” – Will someone please tell the moderate Republicans of the Republican Main Street Partnership!

In 1980 Ronald Reagan was elected president. The great Reagan Revolution was born with the melding of conservatives, evangelical Christians, and the “Reagan Democrats”. In 1994, Newt Gingrich engineered the take over of the Congress by the Reagan Revolution conservatives.

The history of The Republican Main Street Partnership starts with:

The November 1994 mid-term elections were commonly referred to as the “Republican Revolution.” Given the great gains made by Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, a group of moderate House Republicans began informal meetings to discuss ways to further a centrist, pragmatic Republican agenda — one that could accommodate bipartisan legislative results. At that time, there was great concern that a dramatic shift to the right was quickly approaching, given the new congressional leadership. The discussion group began to craft a moderate Republican agenda with a fiscally conservative background.

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Today, or should I say, the night has been a long one. After Pennsylvania went down, so did I. At that point last night, after the “bankrupt the coal industry” tape came out, and Obama still won that state, I knew it was over. After that occurred I knew that Republicans were toast, but that is only my opinion.

This post is NOT an “I told you so” but it is a post that I have have had in the back of my mind ever since we reached the point were McCain won the nomination and the Red State Directors/ Moderators chose to “ride rough shod” over the Fred Heads. It had to be done to get the site in line to prepare for the hard work that needed to be done to get McCain elected.

That was a purely strategic decision on their part. They needed to have us focus on getting McCain elected, however some of the things said by two individuals here still left a bad taste in my mouth, and still does to this day. However, forgiveness is what I needed to do, but I am still working on forgetting.

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It is amazing what can happen when global warming alarmists reach a fevered pitch. To whit:

Big snow flakes fell early Friday evening, turning Downtown Boise into a giant snow globe for people on their way home from work.

snip

At 10 p.m., the Weather Service said 1.7 inches of snow had fallen. The previous earliest recorded snowfall was Oct. 12, 1969, when a little more than an inch fell.

I know that global warming has to be to blame for this! It has to be!

I saw this article on the Fox News web site and found these opening paragraphs rather interesting.

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan — Intelligence officials suspect a top militant leader may have been killed in an alleged U.S. missile strike because the Taliban are unusually angry about the attack.

Amid reports of the death toll rising to 24, informants and agents in the field said members of the Taliban seem particularly incensed by the latest strike.

The fury is a sign that a senior Taliban leader may have been killed, though that has yet to be confirmed, the officials said Sunday.

The insurgents were using harsh language against locals, calling them “saleable commodities” — a reference to people serving as government spies, according to the sources.

Two local residents said Taliban fighters had warned people not to discuss the strike with anyone including the media or try inspecting the rubble at the site. The residents asked not to be named for fear of Taliban retaliation.

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I will start this post with a disclaimer. I am a novice when it comes to financial markets. I invest in stocks and such and I watch the markets, but I am not one you can consider reliable source. However, I can watch the news and make observations that are not too bad. They are just not always right.

With that said, I woke up and read the news and made some observations.

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In light of all the disastrous news coming out of Wall Street and Washington DC. Anything to change the days news intake to something positive for private enterprise, and away from a socialist model, is always welcome news.

Today at the Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific, Space X, a private space launch services company, who has designed and built their own space launch system had a success. It is the first in four tries, but it was the first time in world history that a totally privately funded space launch system occurred successfully. The rocket is called the Falcon 1. It can be done without the government.

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This is a news story I saw on Power Line Blog, about a news story reported by John Gibson on Fox News.

As we all know, Obama blames Wall St. crisis on Republican policy. Of course, that is to be expected. Republicans support free markets and evil capitalism, so Republicans must be to blame.

However, in this one instance, an old magicians trick is being employed. You draw the crowds attention away from the slight of hand so they do not notice it. Did you catch it in this instance?

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