Archive for the ‘News’ Category
Ron Paul at CPAC
Saturday, February 28th, 2009Ramsey Says He is In
Saturday, February 28th, 2009He’s Gone
Monday, February 9th, 2009Who is Michael Steele?
Saturday, January 31st, 2009Yesterday the RNC chose a new chairman to lead the Republican Party. Being head of a political party is not something that I could ever see myself doing as I like to be an independent minded critic that points out the negatives of all candidates. Blame it on my cynicism, but being a cheerleader for a bunch of politicians is not a job that I could respect myself in. If I ever rose to any level within a political party, I would still remain a vocal critic even of those in my party.
Michael Steele was one of five seeking the head of the RNC. He won on the sixth ballot. I watched most of the action as it happened on CSPAN. I must say that this is really the first time I have watched such an election. I actually have found this to be a superior form of electing a leader as you cannot have several good candidates with split support and a terrible candidate with solid support. If you had 5 good candidates each pulling in 15% each, but the 6th candidate may be a horrible choice but he may have 25%. It kind of makes me think of the Corker, Bryant, Van Hilleary Senate race from a few years back. You had Bryant and Van Hilleary running as conservatives and Corker as a moderate. Had Van Hilleary or Bryant dropped out, I am sure the other would have won. Instead, we got stuck with the moderate.
Steele, himself, is somewhat of a moderate on issues. He is pro-life but believes that Roe v. Wade is settled law that should remain. With civil rights type issues, he is pro-traditional marriage, but he is also pro-affirmitive action. He is also against the death penalty. He is conservative on a host of other issues, however. He is against No Child Left Behind (believe it or not, this is actually a conservative ideal), for guns, against socialized medicine, and against illegal immigration.
Steele also received the endorsement of Newt Gingrich and he led GOPAC, a political action committee that develops candidates for state and local offices.
Steele has some minority appeal as an African-American, but his leadership with GOPAC makes him a prime candidate to lead Republicanism back into the mainstream on a grassroots level. While I would like Steele to be a stronger conservative on some issues, he may have been the best candidate to bring the Republican Party back from the ashes.
Tennessee News Platoon Fresh out of Beta…
Wednesday, January 21st, 2009Nashville, TN - Strategic Activism, LLC, partnering with the #Don’t Go Movement is proud to launch a news and opinion website focused on state and local news and written by Tennesseans for Tennesseans.
Tennessee News Platoon goes live today along with sister sites in Arizona and Virginia with the other 47 states to follow shortly.
The News Platoon model is different from other multi-author news websites in a number of critical areas setting it apart and holding great promise.
News Platoon is committed to State and Local news. As MSM outlets cut staff and coverage, State and Local stories fall out of the news cycle. This creates a population segment that lacks news coverage and news consumption. News Platoon is written by citizen journalists. Dissatisfied with Liberal bias from “professionals” in the MSM, News Platoon contributors are engaged and informed citizens with a flair for communication.
Further, they are openly and unashamedly Right of Center. They are unafraid to be known as committed to values like Free Markets, Smaller Government and Individual Liberty. News Platoon contributors are fair, factual and Right. News Platoon is founded on a “for profit” model. It will solicit and accept local and national advertising and pay contributors for their work. This ensures fresh content and permits setting high standards for the quality and integrity of the content.
Finally, and most uniquely, News Platoon is not the product of any think tank, political party, organization, PAC or non-profit. There’s no inside-the-beltway spin and no protecting the-good-ole’-boy network. The folks behind News Platoon are ordinary citizens interested in politics and gifted to engage the culture in print. There’s no Party line, issue or agenda to drive. Contributors say what they think and believe. They are passionate about their politics and we believe ou’ll be eager to hear what they have to say.
Come by Tennessee News Platoon. Tell friends in Arizona and Virginia about their News Platoons and your friends across the country to watch for launches in their states.
Strategic Activism, LLC is a new media/web strategy consulting firm based out of Nashville, Tennessee.
For more information about the News Platoon Network, or to request information about advertising rates, please contact Eric Odom via eric@newsplatoon.com
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Compean and Ramos Commuted!
Monday, January 19th, 2009President Bush finally commuted the sentences of Ramos and Compean. Read more http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D95QC3480&show_article=1
Tim McGraw v. Bill Frist Seemingly Thwarted
Tuesday, January 6th, 2009The potential heavyweight fight between Country Music Superstar Tim McGraw and former Majority Leader Bill Frist for the Nashville Governor’s mansion seems to be quickly fading. Tim McGraw, a Democrat who has called former President Clinton one of his greatest political influences, has expressed interest in the governorship… just not in 2010. He has repeatedly denied that he will be a candidate for the post in 2010. Bill Frist, a heart surgeon and former U.S. Senator, has also stated that he will not seek the spot in 2010. Frist seems to be enjoying private life again though you have to wonder if he is not itching to get back in the spotlight for a future Presidential run.
With the lack of interest from the heavyweights, that begs for an answer to, “Who will run?” There are several names being thrown about on the Republican side, but the Democrats seemingly have few big names with wide popularity that the average Tennessean might know already. The Republicans have some heavy hitters in certain circles, but any one of the candidates may have big trouble in setting themself apart in the Republican Primary.
The Bill Frist announcement has led to a flood of names entering the fray. On the Democratic side State Sen. Andy Berke, Congressman Lincoln Davis, former Congressman Harold Ford Jr., and former State Rep. Kim McMillan are the headliners that may seek the spot. The potential Republican headliners are Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn, Shelby County DA Bill Gibbons, Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, and Congressman Zach Wamp. I could also very easily see Van Hilleary getting into the mix. I also have to wonder if former Congressman David Davis may get involved. This past election cycle was good for the last name Davis in the US Senate Race in Tennessee as a huge upset nearly happened simply on Davis name recognition. Another interesting figure would be State Rep. Stacey Campfield, though I really have no idea if he would even run.
I must admit that there are several of these figures that I really have no clue about, but I will research each potential candidate a little more, and I will provide some updates about them over the next several months.
***Edit at 9:40 PM January 6, 2008*** Add State Representative Beth Harwell to the possibles. ***Edit at 9:40 PM January 6, 2008***
“#dontgo Launches First State Movement” Tennessee News Platoon is Launched!
Monday, December 8th, 2008On Monday, December 8th www.dontgomovement.com will unveil the Tennessee News Platoon. The website, www.Tennessee.NewsPlatoon.com, will work to promote local government transparency and accountability, provide a news platform for local activism networks, and aggregate the top news stories happening across the state.
State Representative Stacey Campfield (TN-18) states, “I look forward to #dontgo getting together; we’ll be able to finally get out our clear concise message that will push for open government and good conservative values. Now more than ever we need people out there rallying conservatives to get more involved and to spread our message. I strongly feel that #dontgo will be able to help in making this happen.”
#dontgo originally began as a simple Twitter tag that the founders used to track the energy debate by the US Congress on August 1st. Hundreds of activists, including members of Congress, began using the tag not just to track the energy bill, but to energize supporters and champion fiscal conservative values. Soon thereafter the site www.dontgomovement.com was created and to date has over 30,000 opt-in email subscribers.
The #dontgo Revolution uses web-based strategies and tactics to advance free-market values. Its mission is to develop a fifty state strategy of blogs and internet social networks that would activate more free market conservatives in their communities leading into the 2010 elections.
#dontgo was created by Eric Odom and Allen Fuller.
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Sarah Palin Has More Political Muscle than Obama?
Thursday, December 4th, 2008I have to question how strong a President Obama will be after he already lost the Senate battle in Georgia on Tuesday. Obamamania seems to be subsiding as we get further from the election. His supporters did not turn out in Georgia as the run-off vote turned out to be a 16-point win by Saxby Chambliss. Obama seemed to know he did not have the muscle to take on this battle, but Sarah Palin jumped in feet first as she helped Chambliss retain his Senate seat.
I am sure that someone will say that Obama just decided he had more important things to do in preparation for his Presidency, but he would have to be brain-dead or afraid to actually lead if he did not want a filibuster proof Senate. I wonder if this means that the Democrats will ease off of trying to steal Minnesota.
May Obama’s Presidency be a short four years.
I share many of Mark Albertini’s sentiments on this race.
Speaker Pro-Tempore Causes Worry
Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008For the past several years, the GOP has show us how not to lead. As a Republican, I feel that it is my duty to speak out when I see things that potentially damage our party. I take it upon myself from time to time to aggressively pursue (attack ?) those responsible as I did with Carter County State Representative, Kent Williams. As you may remember, Williams was one of the Naifeh Republicans (a Republican turncoat whom voted for the worst of the worst, Jimmy Naifeh, as the Speaker of the House. Don’t give me all that David Davis voted for Naifeh drivel. When there is an Iraqi or Iranian type election where you vote for the only candidate available, you really don’t have much of a choice do you?) that faced scrutiny in the Republican Caucus. I took him to task for that. Then, there was a certain rumor concerning Williams that I called him out on through e-mail. No, that e-mail is no longer posted on my website since the Great Website Deletion of only a short time ago. Yes, I do still have that e-mail.
These examples show that I am willing (and sometimes maybe more than willing) to take my own party to task. (FYI, I am always more than happy to take the Democrats to task.) This is now another time that I am going to take my party to task. This one, I thought long and hard about.
The Republican Party took everyone by surprise by going against the stream in electing a majority to the State House this November. Democrats were making big gains just about everywhere else, but our Republican Party took forward a conservative message that resonated with the citizens (except for the dead voters in Memphis) of Tennessee. Now, it seems that the Republican Party is already losing its way.
(Future Speaker of the House?) Jason Mumpower saw a chance at controlling the Tennessee House of Representatives. He needed to make sure that the Republicans stuck together to give him (or another Republican) the 50 votes to remove the tyrannical Jimmy Naifeh from the House’s top spot. I have no problem there when you have most of the self-serving “Naifeh Republicans” still hanging around. Mumpower brought the Republican Caucus to Nashville where each and every Republican signed a statement saying they would vote for a Republican Speaker of the House. Robin Smith, Tennessee Republican Party Chairman, has stated that the members of the Republican Caucus could face political excommunication from the Republican Party if they do not vote with the party on certain votes.
Fast forward to earlier this week… The Republican Caucus got together to choose the high ranking, though mostly ceremonial position of Speaker Pro-Tempore. Two candidates went head to head. On the one hand, you had former Sundquist crony, pro-income tax, “Naifeh Republican,” Steve McDaniel. On the other hand, the party had a choice of the conservative Frank Nicely. Sadly, at least half of the “Republicans” voted for McDaniel as he won the Speaker Pro-Tempore spot.
This choice leaves the Republican Party with a pro-tax, self-serving, “Republican” in a leadership position. I hope this is the worst mistake that the party makes in the majority stage, but I hope that this is not enough to sink this ship from sailing into the Speaker’s Chair.
I will be a little presumptive as I say this, but I will do it anyway. Speaker Mumpower (hopefully I won’t have to edit and strike this through come January), we are looking for conservative leadership. The state is looking for Republicans to lead. We are sick of what Naifeh has tried to pass as leadership. We know YOU can do better than what we have seen for years. However, we conservatives are not finding solace in your first attempt of leadership in the majority. We expect and know we can do great things if leadership leads. As Rep. Campfield has said many times, “It matters who leads.” Lead with honor. Lead conservatively.
- Josh
Read Terry Frank and David Oatney (even if he is just giving ACK fodder, and I do say that in jest, which is not a reference to any e-mails that I received nearly two years ago)
Jorge W. Bush Es Un Idiota
Tuesday, November 25th, 2008El Presidente Jorge W. Bush is a reason why the American public is turning against the Republican Party. As a Republican and conservative (first and foremost a conservative) I am going to firmly disagree with his decision to not release Compean and Ramos (the border agents that fired on a Mexican drug dealer).
I have never been one that says that people who speak out against elected officials are anti-American. I have not had to speak badly of my Congressman (David Davis) on any issue. He has served my ideas fairly well. I have had major disagreements with my US Senators (Alexander and Corker). I do find myself speaking out against things that President Bush does quite often. I firmly believe that I will be speaking out against the future ex-President Obama and yes, possibly even calling him names, more often than I have had to do with President Bush (Only 1507 days to Inauguration Day 2012).
In this case, President Bush should pardon the two border guards immediately. If he does not do so before leaving office, I hope history will judge him harshly.
We need true conservatives carrying the conservative banner.
Who did President Bush pardon? He pardoned a rapper, John Forte, who was convicted of smuggling cocaine into the United States.
This whole scenario is quite ironic. President Bush pardons a drug smuggler, but President Bush will not pardon two border agents that attempted to stop someone from smuggling drugs into the Unites States. This reasoning says that President Bush has absolutely no problem with hard drugs.
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Saturday, November 22nd, 2008Ballot Challenges in Minnesota
Thursday, November 20th, 2008Those Demented Homeschoolers
Tuesday, November 18th, 2008*** Since this is a post on education, I should probably let it be known that I am an educator at a public school. I am not a member of the teacher’s union. I will probably never join a teacher’s union. As a matter of fact, I would be more comfortable handling my own negotiations than letting them, though I am okay with what I am making because I am not in it for the money. My ideas on federalism and constitutionalism are that a parent is ultimately responsible for a child’s education, so a parent should have an unquestionnable right to home school their children. The 10th Amendment would also give the state some say on the matter, but I believe that is better for the state to only get involved in public schools (notice I did not say the federal government). On the flip side, I believe that a sizable portion of children whom are homeschooled would be better off in a school, public or private. I would do it (homeschool or private school) for my children if faced with certain issues. Private school would probably be my choice between the two. ***
Apparently Joy Behar called homeschoolers “demented.” Should we really be surprised by anything that Joy Behar says?
Behar does wear her affiliations on her sleeve. This is just another way that she does not really have a mind of her own. She simply is anti-religious, anti-Republican, and anti-common sense. Isn’t it funny how liberals want to talk about rights, unless it has a strong union pulling the other way?
How Obama Won In a Right of Center Nation
Tuesday, November 18th, 2008In a previous blog post, I discussed some ways that the GOP needs to evaluate itself. Truth is, Obama won by a fairly large margin. There are several ways that he did so.
The first reason, in my opinion, is that voters were tired of Republican rule. I am a Republican. I could never vote for a Democrat in a state or national election. I may be narrow-minded for making such a statement, but a vote for a Democrat in any state or national election is more than a vote just for that candidate. This will put forth an agenda that I, as a Conservative, could not endorse. Those who voted for any of the “Naifeh Republicans” (if you are from outside Tennessee you may not understand unless you investigate) indirectly helped advance the liberal agenda. However, many Americans, including me, were tired of what was passing as Conservatism. The Republican rule has been far from Conservative both socially and fiscally. Others had their own pet peeves about what has come from Republican rule.
The second reason is that Republicans have been acting more like Democrats. The Republican Party used to be the party of small government. One would be hard pressed to argue that the Bush White House was for smaller government. The one smaller government idea that I can point to is lower taxes. There were very little other gains. I want to clarify that Republicans and Democrats are really not all that close in philosophy, but I do want to point out that the Republicans gained near absolute power in the only way you can in a republic. That near absolute power corrupted nearly absolutely. We were acting like those same corrupt Democrats that we despise.
The third reason is that Obama capitalized on a two-fold message. HOPE and CHANGE. Americans felt that things were getting bad because of debt and economic problems of our country. They were right. Americans felt that Republicans (especially President Bush) were to blame. They were only partially right. It was a bad time to be an incumbent or a Republican. It was a doubly bad time to be both a Republican and an incumbent. That message of HOPE and CHANGE was something that citizens (Conservative, Liberal, and Moderate) were willing to choose.
The fourth reason is that the mainstream media had a love affair with Obama. The media loves someone who can talk a good game. The media equally loves someone who is a Liberal. Obama met both qualifications. Even parody shows failed to go after Obama. Was it that these people were scared of being called a racist or just in love with Obama? I believe that it was more love, but nonetheless, a fear of being marked as racist had to be in their minds.
The fifth reason, the biggest reason, is that the American public does not have a clue what is going on. A Zogby poll of Obama supporters showed that Obama supporters are… shall we say… lacking in “intellectual fortitude.” Did I just call Obama supporters stupid? I will say that Obama supporters either have a screwed up ideology that does not jive with what it means to live in a republic or to be American, or they ARE stupid lacking in “intellectual fortitude.”
The results of the Zogby poll were startling. I teach a computer class. My students have tests that they take. Some of them refuse to take the tests seriously and they take a 100 question multiple choice test with four possible answers, and they make a 25 on average. If they make a 30, I know that they probably guessed on most, but they knew an answer or two. If they make below a 20, it almost seems as if they sabotaged their answers. In this Zogby poll, Obama fans showed they had no clue what was going on. With a 50-50 shot, more than 57 percent did not know that the Democrats control Congress. That question must have been below their pay-grade. When asked about which of the four Presidential or Vice-Presidential candidates quit a previous campaign because of plagiarism (that is a 25 percent chance for all of you Obama supporters), over 80 percent missed the question. Furthermore, when asked which of the four candidates said he or she would bankrupt the coal industry and cause prices to skyrocket (still a 25 percent chance for you Obama supporters… ahh heck with it, can they even read this?), more than 88 percent did not know that this was Obama.
But by golly (re-read that in a Palinesque accent), they knew all of the dirt on the Republicans. More than 86 percent knew that Palin was the one that had $150,000 spent on her wardrobe by the GOP. Nearly 94 percent knew that Palin had a pregnant teenage daughter. Oh, and 87 percent “knew” that Palin stated that she could see Russia from her house (which by the way was not Palin, but Tina Fey).
Sadly, McCain was chosen by Republicans that had about the same amount of “intellectual fortitude.” Well, maybe not quite that bad, but there were definitely better choices.
*** The above is simply a piece saying that Obama supporters and even those who chose McCain as the Republican nominee as a whole did not have a grasp on issues. Obama supporters simply wanted “change” whatever that means (and which we may soon find out). McCain supporters simply wanted someone enough like the Democrats that he could win. I guess that backfired didn’t it? ***
Here are some other reads on the subject and the fallout:
http://www.howobamagotelected.com/
http://libertarianrepublican.blogspot.com/2008/11/some-conservatives-actually-helped-to.html
http://www.creativeminorityreport.com/2008/11/republican-party-or-donner-party.html
Chambliss Poised to Get Libertarian Votes in Georgia Senate Race
Monday, November 17th, 2008Saxby Chambliss, the Georgia Republican Senator, was unsuccessful in obtaining the fifty-percent threshold needed to retain his Senate seat. Georgia is a state that requires a candidate to meet the fifty-percentage points to win an election. He will be facing off against the Democratic nominee in a December run-off election. It seems that Chambliss is gaining support from libertarians due to his support for the Fair Tax.
The Libertarian nominee Allen Buckley pulled in 3.4 percent of the vote. Buckley has not endorsed, but Neal Boortz, a Libertarian talk show host, has. He is supporting Chambliss.
The Libertarian’s, especiall Boortz, support the Fair Tax. Chambliss’s opponent ran ads against Chambliss for his support of the Fair Tax.
This election will probably be decided by each candidate’s Get Out the Vote efforts. Democrats may have an edge with this as Obama is a great fundraiser. The only question is can the Democrats get energized about this as much as Republicans. The Democrats are hoping to get 60 votes in the Senate, while Republicans are hoping to stop this. We shall see which shall prevail.
Red Hat Rob’s “Reapportionment & Redistricting 101”
Friday, November 14th, 2008Red Hat Rob has a blog entry explaining the reapportionment of congressional seats following the census and the redistricting that can and will take place following the census. Gerrymandering will more than likely take the Tennessee delegation from being in the Republican minority in the US House to a majority.
He also explains why Tennessee, a red state, has a Democratic majority. Read more here.
Gay Rage in Michigan
Thursday, November 13th, 2008So if someone attacks homosexuals, even verbally, you can be charged with a hate crime. If homosexuals attack a religious organization, no charges are made? I am not sure that I understand this one. Maybe someone will create a new reality show – When Gays, Lesbians, and Transgendered Persons Attack… Maybe not…
Outside there was a peaceful protest. Okay. If it was, people have the right to peacefully protest. Apparently, however, the police decided not to pursue the fiasco that occurred inside. I have waited on this story to hit a local newspaper so I could see what really happened. Here is the link to that. There have been other reports that lewd acts and even face to face confrontations started by the bunch of worthless trash that went wacko in the church.
It is truly a sad day when the police will not protect innocent people that went to church to worship God. This just backs up what I have said for years. We, the people, should not depend on government to even protect out rights. The first amendment gives us (and the peaceful protestors outside) the right to worship and freedom of speech. The second amendment gives us the means and the right to protect our freedoms. Luckily for the attackers, no one in the church decided to exercise their second amendment rights.