Well, after burning through tens of millions of his own dollars slandering his fellow Republicans in endless negative ads, all Mitt has found is that people don't like him much at all. In light of that, here's his theme song. Enjoy.
In case you're wondering, here's Hillary's theme song and Obama's theme song.
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Why I am Voting for John McCain
Today I get to go and vote in the California primary. Since my man Fred is out of the race, I've fallen back on voting for John McCain. Rather than recap all my reasons for loathing Mitt "Gordon Gecko" Romney, let me lay out the positive reasons for voting for McCain.
He was against the Bush tax cuts. President Bush just gave congress a budget that is $405B+ in the red. For a family of four, that adds more than $5700 to the debt that they will eventually have to pay off. Cutting taxes in the middle of a deficit amounts to a payday loan.
He was against the prescription drug plan supported by President Bush and all of the other candidates. One more time, that's $5700+ more debt for your family this year and next year as well. We're so far out of money, it's not even funny.
John McCain will win the war on Islamofascism. Period. He'll also call it what it is, not a "War on Terror."
If you hadn't told me that McCain-Feingold existed, I would never have known. I don't see that it's such a big deal. Money will get into politics one way or another, like water going around a rock in a stream. Whatever.
If you want to deport all the illegals, go ahead, but you can do it without me. First, show me how you will replace them in our fields and other businesses. Show a balance sheet for a California Central Valley farm both before and after the illegal aliens have been deported. Yes, I want you to behave like a grown up. Maybe you can work out the numbers on a napkin over a salad.
He can win the general election. You can't win an election with only the fringe, and that's all Huckabee and Romney are drawing right now. President Reagan won with Democrat votes. The hard line, "true" conservative isn't likely to get many crossover votes, particularly when they can't even get the moderates of their own party. Why waste your vote on a doomed nominee?
That just about covers it. I don't agree with everything he says, but for my money, McCain is the best choice.
He was against the Bush tax cuts. President Bush just gave congress a budget that is $405B+ in the red. For a family of four, that adds more than $5700 to the debt that they will eventually have to pay off. Cutting taxes in the middle of a deficit amounts to a payday loan.
He was against the prescription drug plan supported by President Bush and all of the other candidates. One more time, that's $5700+ more debt for your family this year and next year as well. We're so far out of money, it's not even funny.
John McCain will win the war on Islamofascism. Period. He'll also call it what it is, not a "War on Terror."
If you hadn't told me that McCain-Feingold existed, I would never have known. I don't see that it's such a big deal. Money will get into politics one way or another, like water going around a rock in a stream. Whatever.
If you want to deport all the illegals, go ahead, but you can do it without me. First, show me how you will replace them in our fields and other businesses. Show a balance sheet for a California Central Valley farm both before and after the illegal aliens have been deported. Yes, I want you to behave like a grown up. Maybe you can work out the numbers on a napkin over a salad.
He can win the general election. You can't win an election with only the fringe, and that's all Huckabee and Romney are drawing right now. President Reagan won with Democrat votes. The hard line, "true" conservative isn't likely to get many crossover votes, particularly when they can't even get the moderates of their own party. Why waste your vote on a doomed nominee?
That just about covers it. I don't agree with everything he says, but for my money, McCain is the best choice.
Momma is so Proud!
Another of her daughters has grown from seed and is now blooming. This might even be a granddaughter. I mixed all the seeds together when I harvested them from Momma Daisy and her children, so I'm not sure whose girl this is. It's another redhead. I love it. There's another (grand)daughter blooming as well who is orange. Pictures of her will be posted later.
Click on the image for a much better version.
Monday, February 04, 2008
Point Loma From The Air
My cloud photos from this last trip didn't come out too well, but I did manage to get some interesting shots of downtown San Diego and Point Loma from the plane as we took off. Here's my favorite.
Free Money for Everyone!
If you like credit card debt, you'll love this.
Don't worry about any of this, though. The money is all free. Just like it is in Zimbabwe.
The federal budget deficit will soar to near-record levels in fiscal 2008 and 2009, the Bush administration said Monday in its $3.1 trillion budget request, a surge in red ink attributable to cooling corporate tax receipts and the cost of a short-term economic stimulus package.Both Hillary and Obama have criticized president Bush for not spending enough on social programs. Mitt Romney wants bigger tax cuts. Meanwhile, in Massachussetts, Romneycare / Hillarycare is crashing and burning.
The White House expects the deficit to reach $410 billion in the current fiscal year, just short of the record set four years ago. In fiscal 2009, which begins in October, the budget gap is seen at $407 billion.
Don't worry about any of this, though. The money is all free. Just like it is in Zimbabwe.
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Chicago in the Snow
Just flew in, arms tired and so on and so forth.
I got stuck an extra day in DC this time due to the heavy snow storms on Feb. 1 in Chicago. As I flew into Chicago yesterday, those same storms gave me a very pretty scene to photograph from the airplane window. I've got some nice cloud photos to post later, but I wanted to share this one right away. Click on the picture for a much better version.
Anyone want to go build a snowman?
I got stuck an extra day in DC this time due to the heavy snow storms on Feb. 1 in Chicago. As I flew into Chicago yesterday, those same storms gave me a very pretty scene to photograph from the airplane window. I've got some nice cloud photos to post later, but I wanted to share this one right away. Click on the picture for a much better version.
A Mind Blowing Expose of Mitt Romney
Thanks to the folks at Evangelical Outpost, I found a couple of newspaper articles about Mr. Businessman Mitt that are pretty amazing. First is a New York Times piece detailing just what Mitt's business experience really is.
Wow.
Update: Imagine how easy the Democrats' campaign would be against "Gordon Gecko" Romney in the general election if we really do enter a recession. As people start losing their jobs, do you think that anyone would vote for a investment banker who closed down AmPad, cutting hundreds of jobs while making $100,000,000 for his firm? A dead possum could run that campaign and just massacre Romney.
Citing his business experience, he urges voters to reject “lifetime politicians” who “have never run a corner store, let alone the largest enterprise in the world.”Then there is a quote from Boston.com describing how Bain Capital essentially looted AmPad, an American company.
Mr. Romney, though, never ran a corner store or a traditional business. Instead, he excelled as a deal maker, a buyer and seller of companies, a master at the art of persuasion that he demonstrated in the talks that led to the forming of Bain Capital.
“Mitt ran a private equity firm, not a cement company,” said Eric A. Kriss, a former Bain Capital partner. “He was not a businessman in the sense of running a company,” Mr. Kriss said, adding, “He was a great presenter, a great spokesman and a great salesman.”
In 1992, Bain Capital acquired American Pad & Paper, or Ampad, from Mead Corp., embarking on a ''roll-up strategy'' in which a firm buys up similar companies in the same industry in order to expand revenues and cut costs.Hillary or Obama would hardly need to even get out of bed in the morning to slaughter Mitt in the general election and this doesn't even begin to touch upon his offshore tax havens or his treatment of dogs.
Through Ampad, Bain bought several other office supply makers, borrowing heavily each time. By 1999, Ampad's debt reached nearly $400 million, up from $11 million in 1993, according to government filings.
Sales grew, too - for a while. But by the late 1990s, foreign competition and increased buying power by superstores like Bain-funded Staples sliced Ampad's revenues.
The result: Ampad couldn't pay its debts and plunged into bankruptcy. Workers lost jobs and stockholders were left with worthless shares.
Bain Capital, however, made money - and lots of it. The firm put just $5 million into the deal, but realized big returns in short order. In 1995, several months after shuttering a plant in Indiana and firing roughly 200 workers, Bain Capital borrowed more money to have Ampad buy yet another company, and pay Bain and its investors more than $60 million - in addition to fees for arranging the deal.
Bain Capital took millions more out of Ampad by charging it $2 million a year in management fees, plus additional fees for each Ampad acquisition. In 1995 alone, Ampad paid Bain at least $7 million. The next year, when Ampad began selling shares on public stock exchanges, Bain Capital grabbed another $2 million fee for arranging the initial public offering - on top of the $45 million to $50 million Bain reaped by selling some of its shares.
Bain Capital didn't escape Ampad's eventual bankruptcy unscathed. It held about one-third of Ampad's shares, which became worthless. But while as many as 185 workers near Buffalo lost jobs in a 1999 plant closing, Bain Capital and its investors ultimately made more than $100 million on the deal.
Wow.
Update: Imagine how easy the Democrats' campaign would be against "Gordon Gecko" Romney in the general election if we really do enter a recession. As people start losing their jobs, do you think that anyone would vote for a investment banker who closed down AmPad, cutting hundreds of jobs while making $100,000,000 for his firm? A dead possum could run that campaign and just massacre Romney.
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Barack Obama's Theme Song
...and his campaign platform and his standard stump speech and the rationale for supporting him and...
With all due respect to our Missionary to the Frozen, Northern Wastelands, for the life of me I can't remember him giving a solid answer to any question ever. The nation is hugely in debt and we're going to need to raise taxes and cut spending to get out of this mess. No sunshine there. Iran has vowed to incinerate Israel on the way to flattening American cities. No lollipops in that. China is poisoning the globe as it's $0.75 an hour labor force strips jobs away from everyone else, jobs that won't come back until there is labor cost parity - higher in China and lower here. No rainbows.
Oh the heck with it. It's a groovy song and Obama is a photogenic guy. Hooray for Leslie Gore!
Update: Our Monastery of Miscellaneous Musing harshes your mellow even more.
With all due respect to our Missionary to the Frozen, Northern Wastelands, for the life of me I can't remember him giving a solid answer to any question ever. The nation is hugely in debt and we're going to need to raise taxes and cut spending to get out of this mess. No sunshine there. Iran has vowed to incinerate Israel on the way to flattening American cities. No lollipops in that. China is poisoning the globe as it's $0.75 an hour labor force strips jobs away from everyone else, jobs that won't come back until there is labor cost parity - higher in China and lower here. No rainbows.
Oh the heck with it. It's a groovy song and Obama is a photogenic guy. Hooray for Leslie Gore!
Update: Our Monastery of Miscellaneous Musing harshes your mellow even more.
Friday, February 01, 2008
Apparently, I'm a Raptor
| What military aircraft are you? F/A-22 Raptor You are an F/A-22. You are technologically inclined, and though you've never been tested in combat, your very name is feared. You like noise, but prefer not to pollute any more than you have to. And you can move with the best. |
| Click Here to Take This Quiz Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests. |
H/T: Our Abbess of Small Princesses.
Comparing the Candidates on Science and the Environment
Our Missionary to the Frozen, Northern Wastelands compares Hillary, McCain and Obama.
I still like McCain the best. His support nuclear power shows a realistic way to achieve his emissions goals.
I still like McCain the best. His support nuclear power shows a realistic way to achieve his emissions goals.
Mitt Romney, the Mirror Candidate
The National Review has endorsed Mitt Romney. Over at The Corner, they go bananas on a daily basis against John McCain and Mike Huckabee, pointing out seemingly endless examples of conservative apostasies on their parts. Talk radio with the exception of Michael Medved has also gone insane, railing for hours every day about the villainous pigs that oppose "true conservatism".
And the true conservative candidate is who, exactly? Mitt Romney? Just what is this guy, anyway? In Michigan, he's a big-government man, promising billions to rescue the auto industry. In Iowa, he's Mr. Investment, promising billions for ethanol subsidies. In South Carolina, he's Mr. Tax Cut. In Florida he's fighting for massive government programs for prescription drugs. Before he declared for the presidency, he was all over the map on Iraq, mumbling inarticulate positions which left him wiggle room in case the whole surge thing went sour.
Meanwhile, you have periodicals and talk show hosts who have made a career of articulating very strong positions on all these issues falling over themselves to support him. What do they see in him?
Probably exactly what he wants all of us to see. Ourselves.
Mitt Romney as seen by talk radio and NRO.
But that's not who he is, right? He can't be. It's time for these people to grow up and stop swooning like high school girls in love with the quarterback.
"Oh, I know he promised things to all those other girls, but I know him better than that. He told me he would be true to me. He's so tall and strong and handsome, he'd never lie to me. I'm different."
If people like Kathryn Jean Lopez and Mark Levin were 16-year-old girls they'd be pregnant with Mitt's love child. Both of them. As well as almost everyone else at NRO and Rush and Sean Hannity and, my God, above all else, Hugh Hewitt. Hugh would be having twins or triplets.
So Mitt goes on and on with the platitudes and absolutely preposterous platform statements. His illegal immigration position just keeps getting more ridiculous all the time. 10,000,000+ people processed in 90 days? Just how do you do that? Never mind. He said you were his only one. Forgive me for doubting your beau. He must be really, err, eager to see you.
Mike Huckabee had the best line in recent memory on Mr. Dreamy. Dig this.
The fanatics and screamers on the blogs and in talk radio have looked at Mitt Romney and fallen in love with the one person they could be with the rest of their lives.
Themselves.
Update: There's more good stuff on this from Matt's Corner.
Brutus over at Pro Liberate et Veritas has a good post on Mr. Conservative Savior's economic record.
The Wall Street Journal takes Romney out behind the barn and shoots him. Dig this:
Warner Todd Huston over at StoptheACLU gets close to the right conclusion, but doesn't want to believe his eyes and instead falls back on thinking with his heart. Mitt's not a "puzzle", Mr. Huston, he's a mirror.
And the true conservative candidate is who, exactly? Mitt Romney? Just what is this guy, anyway? In Michigan, he's a big-government man, promising billions to rescue the auto industry. In Iowa, he's Mr. Investment, promising billions for ethanol subsidies. In South Carolina, he's Mr. Tax Cut. In Florida he's fighting for massive government programs for prescription drugs. Before he declared for the presidency, he was all over the map on Iraq, mumbling inarticulate positions which left him wiggle room in case the whole surge thing went sour.
Meanwhile, you have periodicals and talk show hosts who have made a career of articulating very strong positions on all these issues falling over themselves to support him. What do they see in him?
Probably exactly what he wants all of us to see. Ourselves.
But that's not who he is, right? He can't be. It's time for these people to grow up and stop swooning like high school girls in love with the quarterback.
"Oh, I know he promised things to all those other girls, but I know him better than that. He told me he would be true to me. He's so tall and strong and handsome, he'd never lie to me. I'm different."
If people like Kathryn Jean Lopez and Mark Levin were 16-year-old girls they'd be pregnant with Mitt's love child. Both of them. As well as almost everyone else at NRO and Rush and Sean Hannity and, my God, above all else, Hugh Hewitt. Hugh would be having twins or triplets.
So Mitt goes on and on with the platitudes and absolutely preposterous platform statements. His illegal immigration position just keeps getting more ridiculous all the time. 10,000,000+ people processed in 90 days? Just how do you do that? Never mind. He said you were his only one. Forgive me for doubting your beau. He must be really, err, eager to see you.
Mike Huckabee had the best line in recent memory on Mr. Dreamy. Dig this.
The fanatics and screamers on the blogs and in talk radio have looked at Mitt Romney and fallen in love with the one person they could be with the rest of their lives.
Themselves.
Update: There's more good stuff on this from Matt's Corner.
Brutus over at Pro Liberate et Veritas has a good post on Mr. Conservative Savior's economic record.
The Wall Street Journal takes Romney out behind the barn and shoots him. Dig this:
Washington's problem isn't a lack of data, or a failure to calibrate the incentives as in the business world. Congress and the multiple layers of government respond exactly as you'd expect given the incentives for self-preservation and turf protection that always exist in political institutions. The only way to overcome them is with leadership on behalf of good ideas backed by public support. The fact that someone as bright as Mr. Romney doesn't recognize this Beltway reality risks a Presidency that would get rolled quicker than you can say Jimmy Carter.Ouch.
All the more so because we haven't been able to discern from his campaign, or his record in Massachusetts, what his core political principles are. Mr. Romney spent his life as a moderate Republican, and he governed the Bay State that way after his election in 2002. While running this year, however, he has reinvented himself as a conservative from radio talk show-casting, especially on immigration.
Warner Todd Huston over at StoptheACLU gets close to the right conclusion, but doesn't want to believe his eyes and instead falls back on thinking with his heart. Mitt's not a "puzzle", Mr. Huston, he's a mirror.
A Vote for Obama
The Feline Theocracy's Missionary to the Frozen, Northern Wastelands gives a very well-reasoned and heartfelt rationale for his support for Obama. Check it out.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Extremism Defeated
...American political extremism, that is.
Think about it. The Daily Kos and their band of raving fanatics could not defeat Joe Lieberman. Hugh Hewitt, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity won't be able to defeat John McCain. There's a lesson in all of this - the primary characteristic of loudmouths is loudness. Not intellect, numbers or influence, just loudness.
Seeing the influence of both groups wane is a good thing for all of us.
Think about it. The Daily Kos and their band of raving fanatics could not defeat Joe Lieberman. Hugh Hewitt, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity won't be able to defeat John McCain. There's a lesson in all of this - the primary characteristic of loudmouths is loudness. Not intellect, numbers or influence, just loudness.
Seeing the influence of both groups wane is a good thing for all of us.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Spoiled Brats Against John McCain
I don't have time right now to link to all the posts across the center-right blogosphere throwing temper tantrums that McCain won Florida and is poised to win the nomination for the Republicans. Suffice it to say that they are plentiful and lots of people are threatening to sit out the election if McCain does win.
Here's my reply: Get over yourselves. You need a spanking and a time out. You need to be convinced to not sit out the election? How about this.
We didn't.
We "RINOs", such as people like me who thought that tax cuts in the middle of deficits were the equivalent of payday loans, didn't sit out the election when Bush was elected. What did we get? Massive deficits. We knew that was going to happen, but we voted for the guy anyway. We voted for Dole and we voted for Bush I. We voted for the airheaded Republican congresscreatures in our districts as well. You're welcome.
So now you want to point to one individual policy or another on the part of McCain and throw a temper tantrum? Thanks, pal. So much for winning the war on terror, replacing ACLU members on the Supreme Court and at least taking a swing at controlling government spending. That's not enough for you, you have to have more.
Well, at least some of us were mature enough to know how to take half a loaf instead of nothing at all. If you need to sit out the election, why not do it in a corner with a dunce's cap on.
The High Priests of "conservatism" bellow out their call to arms: "Waaaaahhhhh!"
When I have some time, I'll go through the blogosphere and add the links so you can read some of their hysterical sobbing.
Here's my reply: Get over yourselves. You need a spanking and a time out. You need to be convinced to not sit out the election? How about this.
We didn't.
We "RINOs", such as people like me who thought that tax cuts in the middle of deficits were the equivalent of payday loans, didn't sit out the election when Bush was elected. What did we get? Massive deficits. We knew that was going to happen, but we voted for the guy anyway. We voted for Dole and we voted for Bush I. We voted for the airheaded Republican congresscreatures in our districts as well. You're welcome.
So now you want to point to one individual policy or another on the part of McCain and throw a temper tantrum? Thanks, pal. So much for winning the war on terror, replacing ACLU members on the Supreme Court and at least taking a swing at controlling government spending. That's not enough for you, you have to have more.
Well, at least some of us were mature enough to know how to take half a loaf instead of nothing at all. If you need to sit out the election, why not do it in a corner with a dunce's cap on.
When I have some time, I'll go through the blogosphere and add the links so you can read some of their hysterical sobbing.
Sunset After the Rain
We had some pretty hard rains recently leaving behind clear skies and best of all for sunset videos, a flock of fleecy clouds. I asked before for some music suggestions for the video, but ended up going with Swing Out Sister's Blue Mood from their CD It's Better to Travel. I just didn't have time to act on the suggestions that Dean and Rose gave me, but I'll check into them in the future.
In the meantime, enjoy.
In the meantime, enjoy.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
That's a Lot of RINOs
From the Florida primary election tonight, all of the "conservative" theologians must be hiding under their beds for fear of total Republican In Name Only (RINO) infestation. Between the McCain, Giuliani and Huckabee, they picked up 64% of all Republican votes. 64% of the Republican party are not true Republicans.
Does that make sense to anyone else?
You can't hide. We're everywhere.
Update: I have a follow-up post here.
Does that make sense to anyone else?
Update: I have a follow-up post here.
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