To our fallen heroes,

You gave your lives for America and everything she stands for, everything for which she was created.  You gave your lives so that we can live free, so that we can say what we want, worship God in whatever church we choose, keep and own whatever firearms we want, go wherever we want, pursue whatever life we want.

And for that, I say thank you.  I can never be grateful or thankful enough for giving your all.  I can only hope I will heed the words of what Major General John A. Logan issued in 1868:

Let no vandalism of avarice or neglect, or ravages of time testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.

May you not now, or ever in the future, be forgotten for your sacrifice, for me and for everyone else who can call themselves American.

Free for all

The resignation of Mark Souder has certainly done one thing: it opened the door to a free-for-all where at least 11 individuals and probably more in the near future have begun efforts to secure the Republican nomination for the now-vacant seat as representative of Indiana's 3rd Congressional District.

Notably, Marlin Stutzman, a State Senator and former candidate for the U.S. Senate, has announced his bid, and unsurprisingly, all three of Mark Souder's primary opponents (Phil Troyer, Bob Thomas & Greg Dickman) have subsequently announced their intentions to seek the nomination.  What makes this something of a circus, however, is the remnant of the current list, which continues to grow: two State Representatives, a City Councilwoman, a TV news anchor, two businessmen, and a former candidate for Congress and later Sheriff; this has become a circus!

With the other seven candidates I've just mentioned, I know next to nothing about these individuals, so I don't know if I could support any of them should they win.  As for Phil Troyer and Greg Dickman, they have my vote if they win, and if Bob Thomas wins, I will vote Libertarian!  But I hope the candidate who becomes the nominee for the upcoming special election is Marlin Stutzman.

In this special election, however, it's not up to voters, but to precinct committeemen, 520 of them.  A caucus is to be held June 12th, where exactly is not known.  All I know for sure is at least 11 individuals want to become the next Congressman from this area, and the nominee will be known thirteen days from now.  And as I said during the previous primary, Go Marlin!

At the NRA's Annual Meetings & Exhibits

Leaving early enough last Thursday morning, it took roughly thirteen hours to get down to Charlotte.  When I arrived at the Charlotte Convention Center on Friday, the first thing I had to do was get tickets for both the Leadership Forum and the Freedom Experience, then head straight to Time Warner Arena for the Leadership Forum.  (If you want to see more pictures, you can see them here.)

This year's list of speakers was impressive, featuring John Bolton, Michael Reagan, Indiana Congressman Mike Pence, Chuck Norris, North Carolina's own Senator Richard Burr and Congressman Heath Shuler, and of course:

On yesterday's primary elections

Last night, primaries were held in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Oregon and Arkansas, and the big news were the primary races for the U.S. Senate, especially in Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Arkansas.

In Pennsylvania, Democrat Senator Arlen Specter was dealt a defeat by his opponent, Congressman Joe Sestak.  With all but 75 precincts reporting and over a million votes cast, Sestak won by more than 80,000 votes (8 percentage points).  Frankly, it serves Senator Specter right that he lost in the Democrat primary.  The reason he switched from Republican to Democrat in the first place was to avoid losing to the Republican nominee, Pat Toomey (whom he narrowly defeated in 2004), and Congressman Sestak ran a smart primary campaign, hammering away at Specter's switch.  Now, instead of Arlen Specter running for another six years in the Senate, it'll be Sestak vs. Toomey; congratulations to both.


Also in Pennsylvania, a special election for John Murtha's seat was held, with former Murtha aide and Democrat nominee Mark Critz defeated Republican nominee Tim Burns.  The interesting thing about the results is that for a district like Pennsylvania's 12th, where Democrats are said to outnumber Republicans by 2 to 1 in registered voters, to have the Democrat winning by only 8 points (a margin of 10,214 votes in an election where over 134,000 votes were cast) doesn't tell me the Congressman-elect has the seat in the bag.

In Kentucky, Rand Paul, the son of Congressman Ron Paul, decisively defeated Trey Grayson, a candidate regarded as an GOP establishment's choice.  With all but 18 precincts reporting and over 350,000 votes cast, Paul won with nearly 60% of the vote to Grayson's 35% (a margin of over 80,000 as well).  Personally, if I were living in Kentucky, my vote would've likely gone to Rand Paul.  There was also the matter of whether some of Grayson's supporters lied about Paul's stances.  Congratulations to Dr. Paul on his win, and the best to him in the general election.

As for Arkansas, the big news out of there was the Democrat Senate primary between Senator Blanche Lincoln and her two opponents, Bill Halter and D.C. Morrison.  With all but 28 precincts reporting, Senator Lincoln finished first with 145,269 votes, compared to Halter with 138,701 and Morrison with 42,372.  However, because Senator Lincoln finished with only 45% of the vote, a runoff election will be held between her and Halter, who had 43%.  The question now is who will the 42,372 people who voted for D.C. Morrison cast their vote for in the runoff, Senator Lincoln or Bill Halter?  I wouldn't be surprised if Senator Lincoln met the same fate as her colleague, Arlen Specter.

The Resignation (and What Happens Next)

When I heard the news that Congressman Mark Souder is going to resign effective this coming Friday amidst revelations of an extramarital affair yesterday morning, I was completely shocked, then I became very angry (I'm being family-friendly in my description here).

The reason for my anger is because through the years, and even during the course of this past primary when I was supporting Phil Troyer's bid, I held Congressman Souder in high regard due to his being a hard-working Congressman who was accessible and explained his reasons for voting for or against pieces of legislation.  More notably, Congressman Souder listed moral issues as the linchpin for his tenure as a Congressman.  Needless to say, it was a hard, bitter pill to swallow.

My thoughts and prayers are with the families who are hurting from this episode; what happened has happened, and hopefully healing can finally begin.

As for the resignation, once the resignation is officially handed to Nancy Pelosi, Governor Daniels is expected to issue a writ of election, which gives the Republicans, Democrats, and Libertarians here in Indiana 30 days to nominate a candidate for a special election another 30 days later to fill out the remainder of Congressman Souder's term.

I have no idea when the Republicans in the 3rd District will gather to decide who will be the nominee for the special election in July.  Names are already being thrown out, but I don't know what to expect as far as candidates go.  I hope the Republicans in the area will nominate the right individual for the job.

Our own Greek problem

I got back from the NRA's Annual Meetings & Exhibits late Sunday night, and on the way back, I bought a copy of The Charlotte Observer, and one of the articles I came across was about a rally held by a teachers' group in North Carolina's state capital of Raleigh.  Called Fund Teachers First, the rally was held to protest the continuing cuts in North Carolina's education budget which has already resulted in thousands of teachers losing their jobs.

As painful as it is for teachers (especially the good ones) to lose their jobs in the midst of the economic problems the individual states are facing, this idea of stopping the necessary cuts and even reinstating some of these laid off teachers could end up financially breaking the states, in my opinion.

Just like Greece is on the verge of going into an economic abyss because the people there won't let go of their universal health care (what a shock!; end of sarcasm), teachers in North Carolina and elsewhere don't want to lose their jobs, but what else can the states do?  Is there any other place where the states can do some mandatory cutting?

If cuts in the education budget is necessary, but we give in and let the teachers keep their jobs, how will the states be able to recover?  Unfortunately, the problem with having to lay off thousands of teachers and the backlash resulting from it has become our own Greek problem, and if we go the way of the Greeks on this one, I seriously doubt North Carolina, or any state for that matter, will be able to financially recover.

Something “Southern-fried” for you

As I'm currently in the Charlotte area, I thought I'd leave you with a little something to enjoy while I'm away:
<embed id=VideoPlayback src=http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=6779235539667121070&hl=en&fs=true style=width:400px;height:326px allowFullScreen=true allowScriptAccess=always type=application/x-shockwave-flash> </embed>
With the recent controversy over an episode of South Park enraging Muslims simply because their so-called prophet appeared in it, it seemed to me like a very good time to show you an uncensored and hilarious cartoon which features one of the funniest bits of comedy I've ever seen in a cartoon.  And yes, the fact I'm in the South right now while you're watching a cartoon set in the South is indeed ironic.

By the way, if the video can't be played, here's the URL, where hopefully you'll have a better chance.  Enjoy!

With the NRA this weekend

Starting today, the NRA's Annual Meetings & Exhibits will begin in Charlotte, North Carolina, and I'll be there during the weekend.  It's always fun with the latest exhibits of firearms, with the Annual Members Meeting, the Members Banquet, gathering with like-minded individuals who support the 2nd Amendment; it's one event I always work my schedule around.  I never quite know who I expect to see or meet.

Can't wait to be there!  I'll let you know next week how it turned out.

Welcome, A Time For Choosing

Gary P. Jackson's blog A Time For Choosing has joined the Blogs 4 Palin blogroll.  My apologies for not welcoming you earlier, Mr. Jackson.  Welcome to the good fight for Sarah Palin.

What the Tea Parties are (and are not)

I guess for some people, there's no end to the ridiculous assertions that the Tea Parties are racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, mostly old white people who are just angry that Barack Obama is elected, and don't believe he is a natural born citizen.

For what I call HUHA (head-up-his/her-ass) idiots, like Patrick Britton at his cheap knockoff of The Huffington Post, the Tea Partiers are all of the above labels, as well as ignorant listeners of that so-called evil network, Fox News, fearmongers, and oh yeah, unemployed.  And he knows!  He went to a Tea Party (once, I guess), and also the 9/12 March last year!

It astounds me how anybody, even HUHA idiots, can go to a Tea Party or a major event like the 9/12 March and come away thinking they're full of angry old white racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, ignorant, unemployed, fearmongering and potentially violent Birthers.  Too bad he hasn't read this piece by a patriot named Emery McClendon.

Mr. McClendon is not only a Tea Partier and a patriot, he's also a black man who organized the Fort Wayne, Indiana Tea Party in April of last year.  He's heavily involved in the overall movement of Tea Partiers, 9/12'ers and like minded groups committed to combat the rise of socialism in America.

I've been to three Tea Parties, the 9/12 March, numerous rallies to protest ObamaCare, I'm a member of two local 9/12 groups, and I can tell you there is nothing what Mr. Britton says there is in the Tea Parties or elsewhere in the overall movement.  Even if I weren't involved in this movement, I would still take Emery McClendon's opinion any day of the week over Patrick Britton's.

A worrisome alliance

General elections in Britain were held not long ago, and unsurprisingly, the Conservative Party came out on top, but they failed to win enough seats to form a majority government, and despite the Labour Party losing 91 seats to finish a distant second, they could still form a coalition government with the third-place Liberal Democrat Party.

That didn't happen.

Yesterday, after succeeding in forming a coalition with the Liberal Democrats, Conservative leader David Cameron was officially appointed Prime Minister by Queen Elizabeth II, while now-former Prime Minister Gordon Brown resigned as head of Labour, ending what I would call a turbulent period of almost three years.

There is something about this latest news that bothers me: the Liberal Democrats.  I might be wrong here (I don't believe I am), but I've held the belief that the Liberal Democrats are a decidedly left-wing party in Britain.  It's been said disgruntled members of Labour who were not happy with their party's direction, that Labour isn't far enough to the Left, usually go to the Liberal Democrats.

If such is the case, how will a coalition between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats work out?  It may sound good because it means Labour's reign as the majority party in Westminster is over after 13 years, but what will the new Prime Minister do?  Will he pursue a center-right agenda or will he wind up taking the Conservatives more to the Left?  And if Prime Minister Cameron does wind up taking his new agenda, and the Conservative Party, further to the Left, what chance will he have of staying at 10 Downing Street for long?

There's no doubt in my mind the reason for Labour to lose a net total of 88 seats is because Britons are fed up with Labour in charge, and the reason for the Conservatives to win a net total of 91 seats is because some of those same Britons want a center-right government in charge, not a center-left one.  The fact the Liberal Democrats gained three seats, the Welsh nationalist Plaid Cymru one seat, and (for the first time ever) the Green Party one seat, all from Labour, also shows discontent from the Left with Labour, but clearly the majority of discontent is from the Right.

If David Cameron's agenda ends up going leftward, I personally predict Conservatives will become disgruntled enough that they will defect to other parties, like the UK Independence Party (UKIP), and I also predict enough Conservative Members of Parliament (MPs) will rebel against Prime Minister's leadership that elections may be called for.  I hope for the best here, but I'm prepared for the worst.

What does John Guardiano call a conservative?

John Guardiano followed up on his blog post about Sarah Palin's endorsement of Carly Fiorina with a post at NewsRealBlog he doubtless hoped would clarify his argument of Sarah not being a conservative.  It doesn't; in fact, it calls into question Mr. Guardiano's definition of the word conservative in American politics today.

Mr. Guardiano starts his post by stressing the point of his posts on Sarah Palin, his claim that she is not a conservative, yet in the second paragraph, he notes:

Fiorina, however, may well be a great conservative; I don’t know. I’m undecided in the California Senate race, though decidedly against the more liberal and dovish Tom Campbell.

Wait a minute, if Carly Fiorina may be a great conservative, then how is Sarah's endorsement proof she is not a conservative?  David Forsmark, who also responded on NewsReal, put it best: Mr. Guardiano muddies rather than clarifies the point, which itself was the whole point of his most recent blog post in the first place.

The rest of the post is devoted to his argument on Sarah not being a conservative, citing her endorsement of John McCain (the same argument that is repeatedly countered) and supposedly championing windfall profit taxes (is he talking about ACES?).  He also repeats from his previous post this claim:

Palin’s problem, I think, is that unlike say, Ronald Reagan, she’s not a philosophically grounded conservative. She’s not well read and doesn’t appear to have thought very deeply about the great and pressing issues of our time.

For someone who calls himself a one-time greatest fan and strongest advocate of Sarah Palin, that paragraph surprises me.  I would've thought simply reading Sarah's Facebook notes would refute that claim.  How did he come to his conclusion?

John Guardiano's definition of what a conservative is leaves much to be desired, as is his idea of what Sarah Palin is, politically and philosophically.  The Sarah Palin she can be and the Sarah Palin she now is are one and the same, contrary to what he says.  I wonder if he'll attempt another clarification soon.

More of the same

With the retirement of Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, the question once again rose: Who will President Obama select to replace Justice Stevens?

Names were brought up, and just today, it became official; the President chose his Solicitor General, Elena Kagan, to be his second Supreme Court appointment.

Calvin Freiburger, writing at NewsRealBlog, has a thorough post on Elena Kagan, and I must say it's the biggest non-story of the year so far, as far as I'm concerned.

Remembering the President's first appointment, Sonia Sotomayor, I expected, for his next appointment, he would choose someone who is both a leftist and a judicial activist.  The only fighting I expect from this appointment will be the Left defending Kagan because as a judge, she has empathy, and the Right will oppose her because she won't make any rulings with the Constitution in mind.  In other words, to borrow from Mr. Freiburger, Elena Kagan is “A Cookie-Cutter Leftist Nominee”.

Does anybody expect anything different from this recent appointment?  All I can say is if Elena Kagan doesn't get confirmed, that'll be a big enough surprise.

“This is only the beginning”

Even though Marlin Stutzman didn't win the Republican nomination this past Tuesday, it's certainly not the end, as Mr. Stutzman said when speaking to those of us supporters who were in Indianapolis on election night:





I don't know what will happen with Mr. Stutzman in the foreseeable future (other than continuing his term as State Senator), but I have no doubt this is, indeed, only the beginning.

On the results of the primary election

This past Tuesday, Indiana had its primary elections, and of course, I was a strong supporter of Marlin Stutzman for the United States Senate.  Unfortunately, he didn't win.  The winner was Dan Coats, who barely got 40% of the vote, while Mr. Stutzman finished in second with 30%.  As for the other candidates in the race, John Hostettler came in third with 22%, and both Don Bates, Jr. and Richard Behney finished with 4% each.

With the other three elections where I supported candidates, Phil Troyer finished third in a four-way race for Congress here in the 3rd District, with my Congressman, Mark Souder, winning a contentious primary against runner up Bob Thomas (now that's a Republican candidate who could make me vote Libertarian!)  In addition, candidates I supported for State Representative and Sheriff also lost their bids.

For me, it was a hard loss, not only because all the candidates I supported lost.  I had high hopes Mr. Stutzman would come out the winner, and I had helped out however I could as one of his volunteers.  The hardest part of it all, though, is the fact the winner of the primary is also the one candidate I still have doubts about.  If Messrs. Hostettler, Bates or Behney had won, they would've received my support in a heartbeat, but with Mr. Coats, I still don't know if I will even vote for him in November.  What I do know is I have a great deal of thinking to do before I ultimately cast my vote.

As for the other winners, I congratulate Congressman Souder, my State Representative, Dick Dodge, and Don Lauer, the Republican nominee for Sheriff, on their victories.  I'm personally happy Mr. Lauer won (deciding between him and Mark Heffelfinger, the candidate I supported, was a daunting task, as they are both great candidates).

Grassroots News Minute (May 7th)

Another endorsement, another round of criticism

I'm away from home, recovering from the blow I got out of seeing four campaigns I supported in our recent primary election defeated, and I come back to find all kinds of things have taken place, like the last of three Navy SEALs acquitted for assaulting a terrorist, the recent flood which hit Nashville, the growing economic black hole that is Greece, the general elections in Britain, and on and on.

But the big story is the recent endorsement Sarah Palin gave to Carly Fiorina, whose running for the Republican nomination for Barbara Boxer's seat in the U.S. Senate.  The fervor over this stems from the question of why Sarah supported Ms. Fiorina, whose conservative credentials are either doubted or not believed at all, over her primary opponent Chuck DeVore, regarded as more conservative.

No surprise at all, John Guardiano at NewsRealBlog is once again making the claim that Sarah is not conservative, and claims the Fiorina endorsement as proof (he also throws John McCain in for good measure).

First of all, Mr. Guardiano does nothing to show how Carly Fiorina is anything other than a conservative, but rather spends the majority of his blog post attempting to show how Sarah is more of a a populist than a conservative. Is she, in fact, a social liberal and fiscal conservative, or is she more of social and fiscal conservative?  Mr. Guardiano is too focused on trying to call Sarah a populist who is also not “a thinker and a reader who drank deeply from the wellspring of conservative thought” to bother.

Secondly, there's Chuck DeVore.  While he may be the most conservative candidate in this race for Barbara Boxer's seat, there's questions about whether or not he has been running an ethical campaign, plus his (and his campaign staff's) response toward Sarah since her endorsement also raises questions about the kind of person he is.

Lastly, there's the pragmatic factor.  With polls showing Devore at the bottom of the barrel in a three-way race that includes, as the other front runner, a candidate named Tom Campbell (with baggage of his own), it's DeVore who is helping to ensure the election of an unsatisfactory candidate.  And, to hearken back to my first point, if Carly Fiorina is a strong conservative, how is she as bad as Tom Campbell?

With his post, John Guardiano is continuing his assertions that Sarah Palin is anything but a conservative, but he doesn't confirm the assertions.  He expects readers to simply believe Carly Fiorina is not a conservative.

Three Reasons To Vote For Marlin Stutzman

For those of you still uncertain about who to vote for in the U.S. Senate primary here in Indiana, here are three reasons to vote for State Senator Marlin Stutzman:

1) His background: A fourth generation farmer from Howe, Marlin Stutzman is not someone who has ever felt entitled to be elected to anything.  Prior to 9/11, in fact, he was content to continue his life as a farmer and raise his family. 

2) His stances: Since being elected as a State Representative in 2002 and as a State Senator in 2008, Marlin Stutzman has taken strong conservative stances on issues like abortion, the Second Amendment, health care and illegal immigration, and as a candidate, he advocates changing Washington, not America.  In addition, Marlin Stutzman supports, among other things, a free market-oriented approach to our unemployment situation, “peace through strength” when it comes to our national defense, and judicial nominees who will not legislate from the bench.

3) His record: It's one thing to say something, but another thing to do something.  Fortunately, Marlin Stutzman has not only talked the talk, he has also walked the walk.  As a state legislator, he has authored and cosponsored strong pro-life and pro-Second Amendment legislation, has worked to balance the state's budget every two years (as called for), and has voted against wasteful spending by the state government.

I hope this helps you in your decision come tomorrow.  There are good men running for the United States Senate here in the Hoosier State, and Marlin Stutzman is the best of them.  I hope you'll vote for Marlin Stutzman tomorrow.

New Leadership

If you live in Indiana and remain undecided in the U.S. Senate race, I ask you to consider this candidate, one who will bring new leadership to Washington if elected:


Please vote for Marlin Stutzman on May 4th!

From Sarah: The Hacker Case & The Oil Spill

Yesterday afternoon, Sarah Palin posted two notes on Facebook; the first was on the guilty verdicts reached against a young man who hacked into her private e-mail account, and the second deals with the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Conservatives4Palin also has posts relating Governor Palin's experience with the Exxon Valdez oil spill and also more info on the e-mail hacker case.

Grassroots News Minute (April 30th)