Racist, bigots and Obama

I know, I know, the phrase "racist morons" is redundant. The Klan and other racist, hateful asshats are all spooled up about Obama becoming their (and our) president.

White supremacists under the scanner ahead of Obama swearing-in

"Washington, Jan 17 (ANI): White supremacists across the United States are closely being watched by hate crimes experts and law enforcement officials as Barack Obama prepares to be sworn in as the first Black president of the United States next week.

So far, there is no known organized effort to express opposition to Obama's rise to the presidency — other than a call by the National Knights of the Ku Klux Klan for its members to wear black armbands and fly the US flag upside down on Inauguration Day and Obamas first full day in office, the Daily News reported.

The level of vitriol, I expect, will go up a bit more around inauguration time, said Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University-San Bernardino.

There is concern about White supremacist groups during the inauguration, said Joe Persichini, the assistant FBI director who is helping to oversee security during the inauguration.

The inauguration of the nations first minority president increases any potential threat, particularly stemming from individuals on the extremist fringe of the white supremacist movement, said a recent intelligence assessment by the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI.

But law enforcement has the appropriate resources to respond if needed, Persichini said. We have seen a lot of chatter. We have seen a lot of discussions, he said.
We have seen some information via the Internet. But those are discussions. We look at the vulnerabilities and whether or not the groups are taking action. You have freedom of speech, he added.

Anger, violence and interest in racist ideology did increase in the hours and days after Obama was elected president in November, hate groups experts said.

Three New York men were indicted on charges of conspiracy to interfere with voting rights — accused of targeting and attacking African-Americans in a brutal crime spree soon after Obama was declared the winner on November 4."

Guess what? Obama will be the American president for the next 4 years, perhaps even the next 8. Get used to it. Did I vote for Obama? No, I voted for Libertarian Bob Barr. Do I like many of Obama's ideas and political leanings? Certainly not. However, that is no reason for hatred and bigotry. Don't hate the man, but please feel free to vehemently disagree with his politics.

The increased security measures the government will employ during and after the inauguration (and for which we'll have to pay) could be used as another excuse for government to restrict our individual freedoms. Why? Because of threats from a bunch of stupid morons want to commit violence and assassinate someone because of skin color and ethnic background. Its amazing that in 2009 some people can still be so easily driven by hate.

When the complaints about the government infringing upon our freedoms and individual rights begin, I know where the loudest complaints will likely come from.

Death to all juice!! Wait....I mean the Jooos!! Psst, how do you spell Ju?

On Sunday 28 December an anti-Israel hate fest took place in Manhattan. The following picture proves my theory that anyone who calls for the death of a whole race, regardless of the race, is a complete moron. And I apologize for insulting morons.

From Little Green Footballs: Death to All Juice: "A classic picture of numb-skulled hatred from the pro-Palestinian demonstration in Manhattan yesterday."

From Tammy Bruce: Death to the Joooooooooish Juice!: "Just above the word 'Juice' is 'Zionist' written in parenthesis. Just to make sure we know he's only against that Jewish Juice."

Hamas legalizes crucifixion (and amputation and blood revenge)

Column One: The 'realist' fantasy:

"On Tuesday, Hamas legislators marked the Christmas season by passing a Shari'a criminal code for the Palestinian Authority. Among other things, it legalizes crucifixion."

PA Adopts Islamic Criminal Code:

"The criminal code adopted by the PA includes such punishments as lashes, amputation of thieves' hands, crucifixion, approval of blood revenge, and execution. According to the Arabic press, the law stipulates that only the victim of a crime can pardon opt to forgo the 'Koranic penalties'."

Hamas are nothing but a bunch of savages. I feel for the poor people in Gaza who have to live under the rule of these beasts. I'm sure life for those in Gaza was much more bearable under the "occupation."

Congress and its automatic pay raise

The fact that Congress doesn't even seem to want to take up the issue of foregoing its annual automatic pay raise is impressive. Thankfully, there are a few in Congress who realize that all Americans should tighten their belts. Even those who have contributed to the current financial mess.

(All emphases below are mine).

Matheson again fights automatic pay hike

"Despite the country's economic meltdown, Congress is about to receive an automatic $4,700 pay raise on Thursday — a 2.8 percent increase over the current $169,300 salary for most members.

Rep. Jim Matheson says that is unconscionable, and he's vowing to renew his annual fight to stop such automatic raises. He says the bad economy might just help him win this year, and a government watchdog group is joining his battle to say the raise is a bad idea in such times.

'In a situation where there aren't many people in this country who are seeing their salaries go up, and in fact a lot of people are losing their jobs, the notion that Congress should be having an automatic pay raise without even a vote just doesn't pass the smell test,' Matheson said earlier this month.

Agreeing is Tom Schantz, president of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste — which also issued a call for Congress to stop its automatic pay raise.

'While thousands of Americans are facing layoffs and downsizing, Congress should be mortified to accept a raise,' Schantz said.

Worse, Schantz said Congress hasn't earned a raise because it allowed the deficit to balloon while Congress was 'plagued with corruptions allegations.' So, Schantz said, 'If congressional leaders believe that the taxpayers should give pay raises to this rogues' gallery of ineptitude and venality, they ought to step away from the spiked eggnog.'"

Congress doesn't deserve a raise? I concur.

I have to hand it to Matheson as he has been attempting to force a yearly vote on annual Congressional pay raises instead of leaving them as automatic, "Since Matheson entered Congress, he has attempted every year to force Congress to vote on whether to accept a raise rather than receive it automatically. He has always failed on procedural votes that would lead to such a straight up-or-down vote."

Jewish world domination is OVER...damn, we spoke too soon!!!

[Sarcasm on]

At first I became worried. Can we really be loosing control of the world?! Are our plans for world domination really falling apart?!

The Avriani newspaper in Greece, after Obama's election, claimed that the "end of Jewish dominion" had arrived and that "everything changes in America which we hope it becomes more democratic and human."

Naturally I panicked and thought, "those sons-of-bitches are onto us!" My Jew brothers, sisters and I have been stopped in our tracks.

Thankfully, my fear abated after reading this morning's headline, from the same bunch of big dumb heads, at the same newspaper: "After the American Jews acquired once again the world's wealth and plunged the planet into an unprecedented financial crisis, they started rehearsing for WWIII."

Once again, we are in total control.

/Sarcasm off

I wonder when we'll see a headline about the Mossad knocking off Avriani's staff. Since we control the world, shutting down the Avriani should be mere child's play.

Anti-Semitism and the Madoff Scandal

Bernard Madoff engineers a $50 billion Ponzi scheme and he happens to be Jewish. Of course all the Jew-hating scumbags of the world come out of their little dirt holes and pounce all over the "evils" of the Jews.

Madoff scam spurs online anti-Semitism:

"In the wake of what police believe to be a $50 billion Ponzi scheme engineered by Wall Street insider Bernard Madoff, a flood of anti-Semitic comments have deluged the internet, being posted on various mainstream and extremist websites, the Anti-Defamation League reported."

'Jews are always a convenient scapegoat in times of crisis, but the Madoff scandal and the fact that so many of the defrauded investors are Jewish has created a perfect storm for the anti-Semites,' Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, said in a press release published by the organization on Friday. 'Nowadays, the first place Jew-haters will go is to the Internet, where they can give voice to their hateful ideas without fear of repercussions.'

'Blogging and social media sites are changing the way people communicate their reactions to events in the news and interact with each other,' Foxman continued. 'More people are online than ever before, and many more Web sites offer users the ability to comment immediately and anonymously. Those who harbor anti-Semitic beliefs feel most comfortable expressing themselves in cyberspace, where they can provoke a reaction from others or find like-minded individuals to affirm their beliefs.'"

Hey cowards and bigots, when you're done ranting about the Joooooooooos on the internet, please go back to reading your copies of the Protocols of the Elder's of Zion and Mein Kampf. Let me know if you need help with the big words.

Hamas scumbag blows up too soon

A case of premature detonation, perhaps?

Hamas operative killed in Gaza 'work accident'

"Hamas on Tuesday announced that one of its gunmen had been killed in a "work accident" near the village of Khan Yunis in the central Gaza Strip.

Jasser Kadikh "was killed while carrying out a Jihad mission," Hamas's military wing said in a statement.

Hamas routinely puts out such euphemistic statements when operatives are killed while handling explosives."

Work accident, my backside! Another "poor" hamas scumbag dies in his quest to kill innocent Jewish and Israeli civilians. I won't be loosing any sleep over this tonight. Enjoy your virgins, bitch!

Jimmy Carter loves hezbollah

Moonbat Jimmy Carter traveled to Lebanon recently to build his continuing case against the Zionist occupiers and Jews. From his own website:

Paris, Lebanon, and Syria Trip Report by Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter: Dec. 5-16, 2008

"Neither Hezbollah nor the Lebanese Armed Forces have any anti-aircraft weapons for defense."

Not only does Hezbollah scum have and use anti-aircraft weapons, despite Carter's claim, they were using them in populated civilian areas. I guess that's not a big deal to Mr. Carter. Human shields are justified in the face of Israeli occupation as is the purposeful targeting of Israeli civilians. Dead Jews are okay in his eyes but God forbid the Jooooooooooos try to defend themselves.

War in Lebanon: Hezbollah Truck Carrying Anti-Aircraft Gun

Jimmy, you are a bigot. Just admit it and move on, you asshat.

Chris Matthews loves Barack Obama

I detect no bias here, whatsoever. Chris Matthews is incredibly fair. LOL.



Chris Matthews says, "He [Obama] speaks about America in a way that has nothing to do with politics." A politician, running for president, speaking about America, in a way that has nothing to do with politics? What a bunch of crap.

Chris gets a "thrill going up his leg." Like when you meet a horny dog for the first time?

How did the financial crisis happen?

From the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy, What got us here?:

"Despite politicians' best efforts to blame the roots of the financial crisis on missteps by the private sector, the true culprit is the U.S. government itself. It was the government's policies that first created the housing bubble and then allowed, and even encouraged, the removal of equity from homes and capital from the banking system--both of which would have provided a cushion against a meltdown when the bubble burst."

Paul Wallison discusses the current financial crisis in a video from reason.tv

"At Reason's 40th anniversary event, held in Hollywood on November 14 and 15, the American Enterprise Institute's Peter Wallison analyzed the roots of the current market meltdown and explained how government policies directly caused or massively exacerbated the housing bubble and the subsequent bust at the center of things."

Paul Wallison on the roots of the Financial Crisis

Watch the video here.

This video is rather long (25 minutes) but Wallison does an excellent job in detailing how we got to the financial crisis with which we are dealing with today. It is WELL worth watching.

Congress gives itself a raise, part 2

While we are all struggling economically, Congress decides its worthy of a pay raise. What crap.

CCAGW OPPOSES CONGRESSIONAL PAY RAISE

'The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) today urged lawmakers to make their first order of business when they reconvene in the nation’s capitol in January to introduce legislation to freeze congressional salaries at current rates. All Members of Congress are slated to get an automatic pay raise in January, 2009 unless they vote to block it. Each rank and file member of Congress is poised to see another $4,700 in his or her paycheck over the next year, an increase of 2.8 percent over their current $169,300 annual salary.

“Members of Congress don’t deserve one additional dime of taxpayer money in 2009,” said CCAGW President Tom Schatz. “While thousands of Americans are facing layoffs and downsizing, Congress should be mortified to accept a raise. They failed to pass most of their appropriations bills, the deficit is on pace to reach an unprecedented $1 trillion, and the national debt stands at $10 trillion. In addition, this Congress has been ethically challenged, plagued with corruption allegations, convictions, and sex scandals.”

“House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) probably rues the day she so blithely promised that Democrats would ‘lead the most honest, most open and most ethical Congress in history.’ Instead, there has been a relentless degradation of the ethics rules. While Congress has sat in judgment of everyone from oil company executives and financial services industry executives to domestic automaker CEOs, it has failed spectacularly to police itself.”

In a sad continuation of the unprincipled character of the 109th Congress, the 110th has also been riddled with examples of malfeasance. Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) faces years in jail for his conviction on seven counts of failing to report more than $250,000 in improper gifts he received from 1999 to 2006. Alaska Rep. Don Young (R) reportedly has spent $1 million on defense attorneys related to a federal investigation into allegations of bribery. There are two investigations underway of House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) over alleged tax improprieties. Former Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) has been indicted and is awaiting trial on alleged bribery charges. The Senate Ethics Committee is looking at both Sens. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) over sweetheart mortgage deals they may have received from Countrywide Financial. Rep. Vito Fosella (R-N.Y.) was convicted of drunk driving. And there have been a number of inappropriate sexual peccadillos surrounding Sens. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) and David Vitter (R-La.), and Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-Fla.).

“If Congressional leaders believe that the taxpayers should gives pay raises to this rogue’s gallery of ineptitude and venality, they ought to step away from the spiked egg nog,” concluded Schatz.'

Congress gives itself a raise

Your tax money is already paying for the billions in industry bailouts and now you have to shell out another $2.5 million for Congressional pay raises.

With economy in shambles, Congress gets a raise

Its a good thing that Congress doesn't get paid based on performance.

Government control of industry

The late Milton Friedman once said, "If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there'd be a shortage of sand."

I wonder what's in store for the Sahara that is the banking industry, the auto industry, the television networks.........

Are business bailouts nationalization?

Yes. Ron Paul gets it right in his arguments about the bailouts. We are on the road to nationalization of American industry and UNlimited government.



The money that is being used to bailout these industries is YOUR money. Our government is out of control.

Happy Repeal Day!!

05 December is repeal day. On this day in 1933 the 21st Amendment to the US constitution was ratified which repealed the 18th amendment and thus prohibition in the United States.

So celebrate..have a beer. Things are only going to get worse.

Thanksgiving thoughts: socialism and property rights

I am a big fan of the Reason Foundation. On Reason's "out-of-control" weblog is an article entitled, "The First Thanksgivings: A Lesson in Socialism and Private Property Rights."

The reason article led me to a column written by Benjamin Powell at the Independent Institute about the Pilgrim's initial attempt at a communal economic system, how it went wrong and how it was fixed.

The Pilgrims’ Real Thanksgiving Lesson. From the article:

"In 1620 Plymouth Plantation was founded with a system of communal property rights. Food and supplies were held in common and then distributed based on equality and need as determined by Plantation officials. People received the same rations whether or not they contributed to producing the food, and residents were forbidden from producing their own food. Governor William Bradford, in his 1647 history, Of Plymouth Plantation, wrote that this system was found to breed much confusion and discontent and retard much employment that would have been to their benefit and comfort. The problem was that young men, that were most able and fit for labour, did repine that they should spend their time and strength to work for other men’s wives and children without any recompense. Because of the poor incentives, little food was produced.

Faced with potential starvation in the spring of 1623, the colony decided to implement a new economic system. Every family was assigned a private parcel of land. They could then keep all they grew for themselves, but now they alone were responsible for feeding themselves. While not a complete private property system, the move away from communal ownership had dramatic results.

This change, Bradford wrote, had very good success, for it made all hands very industrious, so as much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been. Giving people economic incentives changed their behavior. Once the new system of property rights was in place, the women now went willingly into the field, and took their little ones with them to set corn; which before would allege weakness and inability.

Once the Pilgrims in the Plymouth Plantation abandoned their communal economic system and adopted one with greater individual property rights, they never again faced the starvation and food shortages of the first three years. It was only after allowing greater property rights that they could feast without worrying that famine was just around the corner.

We are direct beneficiaries of the economics lesson the pilgrims learned in 1623. Today we have a much better developed and well-defined set of property rights. Our economic system offers incentives for us—in the form of prices and profits—to coordinate our individual behavior for the mutual benefit of all; even those we may not personally know.

It is customary in many families to give thanks to the hands that prepared this feast during the Thanksgiving dinner blessing. Perhaps we should also be thankful for the millions of other hands that helped get the dinner to the table: the grocer who sold us the turkey, the truck driver who delivered it to the store, and the farmer who raised it all contributed to our Thanksgiving dinner because our economic system rewards them. That’s the real lesson of Thanksgiving. The economic incentives provided by private competitive markets where people are left free to make their own choices make bountiful feasts possible."

The Pilgrims, way back in the 1620's, realized that the way to prosperity for society is individual rights, freedoms and responsibility instead of redistribution of wealth, collectivism and being your brother's keeper. Let's not repeat the mistake the Pilgrims made, again.

Do government bailouts violate the Constitution?

Judge Andrew Napolitano seems to think so.

Treasury Secretary Paulson argued for the $700 billion bank bailout in order to acquire damaged mortgage assets. He initially claimed that the acquisition of these damaged assets would help to remedy the credit crunch. Paulson apparently had a change of heart and instead did something completely different with the bailout money - bought stock in banks that were operating in the black.

Not only does Napolitano take issue with the Constitutionality of the bailout itself, he also takes issue with the Constitutionality of Congress essentially delegating, to Paulson, the power of determining how to spend the bailout money.

The Bitter Fruit of an Unconstitutional Bailout

"Bailouts violate the Equal Protection doctrine because the Congress can’t fairly pick and choose who to bail out and who to let expire; they violate the General Welfare Clause because they benefit only a small group and not the general public; they violate the Due Process Clause because they interfere with contracts already entered into; and they turn the public treasury into a public trough. Worse still, Congress lacks the power to let someone else decide how to spend the peoples’ money. In effect, the Congress delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury some of the power the Constitution has delegated to the Congress: The power to decide when, how, for whose benefit, and in what amounts taxpayer dollars should be spent.

This delegation of power to the secretary directly violates a basic principle of constitutional law: Delegated powers cannot be delegated away. The Constitution delegates to the Congress the power to write all federal laws specifically related to spending, to the president the power to enforce those laws (and he must spend as the Congress ordains), and to the courts the power to interpret the laws (and they usually stay away from issues of spending).

Congress can’t cede power to the executive branch because Congress and the president are powerless to change the delicate balance among the three branches of government which the Constitution created.

The secretary of the treasury can spend all the peoples’ money he can get his hands on. He can buy all the stock he wants in all the solvent banks that don’t need it and don’t want government investments and the strings that come with them. He can bail out and try to manage all the corporations his advisers recommend whose executives made millions but lost billions. But he is exercising power unconstitutionally given to him by the Congress, procured with only ten hours of debate and hearings, and the very premise of which he unilaterally rejected afterwards."

Just wait until the TV networks come begging for bailout money. And we wonder why our economy and country are in the shitter.

One bailout after another.....

Plan begins to emerge to rescue Citigroup

"U.S. government regulators were nearing approval of a radical plan to stabilize Citigroup on Sunday in which the government would soak up tens of billions of dollars in losses at the struggling bank, according to people briefed on the discussions.

The plan, which emerged after a harrowing week in the financial markets, would mark the government's third effort in as many months to contain the deepening economic crisis. While the negotiations were in flux on Sunday night, the proposal, if applied to other banks, could set the precedent for other multibillion-dollar financial rescues."

Please allow me to provide my own personal interpretations of the bold and italicized sentences above.

1) "the government would soak up tens of billions of dollars in losses at the struggling bank."

My interpretation: our government will misuse more of YOUR tax money to pay for more corporate losses.

2) "the proposal, if applied to other banks, could set the precedent for other multibillion-dollar financial rescues."

My interpretation: don't think that our government is going to stop screwing us in the backside anytime soon.

Many who advocate for these business bailouts balk at the idea of cutting corporate taxes. The claim is that reducing corporate tax rates is corporate "welfare." I'm not so sure there is a difference. For a bailout, the government redistributes back to the corporations taxes which have already been collected. Why not just take less money from corporations (and the citizens) in the first place?

A very dangerous precedent is being set. Businesses will not be competitive or run a tight ship and competition may decrease (and prices will go up) when companies know that they can run to the government for financial help. We will be paying for this, among other government misuses of our tax dollars, for a long time.

Veterans day

Thank you to each and every veteran who has served, who is serving and will serve.

A history of Veterans Day.

Another bailout?

This story is just plain aggravating.

GM Warns on Liquidity; Talks With Chrysler May Be Off: "Despite massive restructuring efforts, General Motors (GM: 4.36, -0.44, -9.16%) warned Friday its liquidity next year will fall 'significantly short' of what’s needed to operate its business and that it needs more help from the government. GM also hinted it’s no longer pursuing merger talks with Detroit neighbor Chrysler................GM, Ford and Chrysler have already received approval for $25 billion in low interest loans from the government."

Here we go again!

Diatha D. Harris in her classroom

Fifth-grade teacher Diatha D. Harris says that for president "I can support whomever I want to support as long as I don't brow beat another person for the candidate that they supported."

Maybe she meant no brow beating unless its in her fifth grade classroom.

Yes, you heard correctly. Ms. Harris said, "John, oh no, John McCain. Oh Jesus, John McCain."

And yes, Ms. Harris did refer to the Iraq war as "a senseless war" followed by the statement that John McCain "is saying that our troops could stay in Iraq for another 100 years if they need to. That means your daddy could stay in the military for another 100 years."

I would have loved if the student actually did the math and exclaimed, "sweet my dad is going to live until he's 140!" I hope that Ms. Harris is not a fifth grade math teacher.

Diatha, you were brow beating that poor student. Most fifth graders are not mature enough to understand politics, let alone discuss the "senselessness" of a military conflict. Of course, we can't believe everything we see since "it (the video) has been doctored, they didn’t show anything about Obama.”

They didn't show anything about Obama? Do you mean to say that the video was doctored to purposely exclude where you brow beat Obama supporters, too (I doubt it)? These kids are in fifth grade. They're not old enough to understand politics, discuss reasons for going to war or ponder why people die in wars. Try teaching them some spelling or reading (but not math). Then maybe some day they'll be able to discuss politics and be part of the political process in America.

Chuck Schumer and the fairness doctrine

Schumer's words from the interview: "Do you think that we should allow people to put pornography on the air, absolutely not, particularly on television and radio?"

The very same people who don't want the fairness doctrine, want the FCC to limit pornography on the air.......but you can't say that government hands off in one area to a commercial enterprise but you're allowed to intervene in another, that's not consistent."

No, Chuckie, pornography is not appropriate for commercial TV or radio. But the government has no place regulating the discussion of politics and political views, even if they are not yours. Its one hell of a logic leap to say that commercial talk radio, which is devoid of nudity and sex, is similar to pornography.

Here's why Schumer has a bug up his rear-end. Conservatives have traditionally done well in talk radio. Schumer wants to stiffle political discussion and debate (not pornography) because much of the programming is at direct odds with Schumer's liberal politics. When is Schumer going to call for the application of the fairness doctrine to cable TV news? CNN, CNNHN, MSNBC - all liberal. That unequal distribution of viewpoints on cable TV news apparently isn't "pornographic" to Schumer. Now that's not consistent.

Radio and TV stations play what makes them money. Its called the free market. Leave it alone.

Here's to the death of the fairness doctrine!

The two-party political monopoly in American politics

Yesterday, I voted Libertarian for president. I could not bring myself to vote for either the republican or democratic candidates since neither of them come close to my personal views. After the votes were tallied, 98.4% of the vote went to either McCain or Obama. I think that it would do a lot of good for our country if a strong third party could emerge. But less that 2% of the total popular vote went to presidential candidates from third parties.

Radley Balko has written an excellent opinion piece, which is posted both on foxnews.com and on his own website, about the monopoly that the Democrats and Republicans have on our voting system.

Here are some excerpts:

"Bob Barr has no chance of winning the election. But regardless of what you may think of his politics, or that of third-party candidates like Ralph Nader or Chuck Baldwin, this system is rigged. The two major parties have effectively cemented their grip on power by creating laws that make it virtually impossible for upstarts to compete with them. They have effectively done with campaign laws what federal business regulations tend to do in the private sector — protect the behemoth, entrenched dinosaurs that dominate the industry by making it too expensive and difficult for anyone to challenge them.

Consider these two figures: Congress' approval rating right now is a dismal 19 percent. Clearly, we aren't happy with the people who are governing us. Yet 90-95 percent of the incumbents running for re-election to Congress will be victorious on election night. Many will run unopposed. Between gerrymandering their districts to ensure a friendly electorate, campaign finance legislation, debate rules that effectively bar third-party participants, onerous ballot access rules, and the privileges of office, the Democrats and Republicans have ensured that the vast majority of the country will chose only between one of two candidates this year — candidates who, when it comes right down to it, really aren't all that different.

The system we have now selects for the sorts of people who want to make a career of politics. If, in order to successfully run for high office, you have to spend years culling favors and working your way up through one of the two major parties, the winners in this game are going to be the party loyalists and power-hungry climbers who couldn't hack it in the private sector — frankly, the last personality type we want governing."

Peggy Joseph: "If I help him, he'll help me."

I wonder if Peggy's gas tank was full this morning or will she have to wait until 21 Jan 2009?

And for the record, I voted for Bob Barr of the Libertarian Party yesterday. Politics as usual is not my thing.

Presidential stances on the second amendment

Barack Obama's stances on the second amendment here, here, here and here.

John McCain's take on the second amendment here and here.

Bob Barr's opinion here.