Resistance is futile!

Journalism is dead

If you are only watching mainstream news, you are missing some of the biggest stories of our generation.  You aren't seeing this:

Or reading about this:

I highly recommend switching to FOX News for television and my sidebar links for internet news.

My new rallying cry for the revolution:

Give me Liberty,

or give me


Death Panels!

Also: the Emperor has no clothes!

Ladies and Gentleman, meet the new face of the revolution:

Representative Joe Wilson from South Carolina, who made the unprecedented move of calling the President a LIAR - not just on television, but during the President's nationally televised address to Congress and the nation, is a hero.

While weasels like McCain are calling on Wilson to apologize, I salute the man for having the balls to tell the truth - and the truth is, illegal aliens WILL and DO receive benefits from Medicare, Medicaid, and other government programs under current law and under proposed reforms.  There is NOTHING in any bill supported by the President or Congressional democratics that prevents illegal aliens from obtaining benefits.

In normal times, I would agree it is wrong to disrespect the office of the President - but these are no longer normal times.  The President has already socialized banks, the auto industry and insurance.  Now he wants to take over the health care industry without even reading a bill.  In earlier times, colonies declared independence and states went to war with each other over issues like this.  And so, the time has come for people to be willing to stand up and shout the truth.  Protocol be damned!

Besides, it not like he threw a shoe at the man...

Wilson just went from a political nobody to up near the front of the line for the nomination to run against Obama as far as I am concerned.  His resume is actually pretty good.

Hmmm... Palin and Wilson in 2012...

Palination

Check out this post over at Hot Air.

This writer is brilliant.  And I particularly enjoy the Scarecrow analogy in the associated link.  What is particularly amusing is that, in the movie, Scarecrow is stupid and ignorant until receiving a "ThD" degree, whereupon he recites the Pythagorean Theorem.  Except, he recites it wrong.  Not that most people know, but the script was poorly written and the "theorem" he recites is garbage.  In other words, we merely THINK that Scarecrow knows what he is talking about because we have been conditioned by the Elite to believe that anyone with a doctorate is somehow an expert.

And then there is this about the liberal elites:

...even they would have a hard time continuing to pretend that they’re the ones in favor of a “big tent” while busily purging the Republican Party of Sarah Palin...

Here it is in a nutshell: liberal elites who are trying to change the Republican Party hate people like Palin.  They hate conservatives.  They hate religious Americans.  They hate YOU.  So, they have created a false argument that, in order to be a "big tent" party, we need to welcome moderates by rejecting the right.

Do you see the inherent flaw here?  They want to "build" a "big" tent by... railroading out the people they don't like!  We are bigger by being smaller!

Reagan built a big tent, and he did it while staying true to conservative principles.  He did it not by rejecting one wing of the Party, but by using character and principles to attract people in from the other side.  He grew the Party while keeping it conservative by appealing to moderates and independents through his personal charisma and an honest and hopeful message for a better America.

The liberal elites hate Reagan and everything he stood for.  And that is why we must be careful of them today.  Rather than water down the Republican Party, we need to make it the proud conservative patriotic American Party it once was again and attract new members by articulating a positive message of limited government and traditional values.

BIG THINGS

Well, here it is, April 15.

Tax day.

Oh, goody!

Meanwhile, across the nation, many thousands of people are participating in tea parties, to protest the growth and expansion of, and oppression by, the federal government.

Just how bad is it?  Well, it is so bad that in Texas, just a few days after celebrating annexation, Governor Rick Perry and the Texas legislature are asserting state sovereignty against the federal government.  The last time a state got this vocal, the word "secede" was included.  I think Rick Perry just became the front runner for 2012.  If the last Governor of Texas had taken federalism this seriously, we'd have a solid Republican majority througout federal government today.

Instead, the all-democrat federal government is sounding more and more oppressive.  In what can surely be called an exercise in bad timing, the news today is littered with reports about a new Department of Homeland Security report warning us all about dangerous right-wing extremists.

Yes, if you are a conservative, or a Christian, or a gun-owner, or a veteran, or unemployed, or believe in the Constitution or the right to life, well, you might be a terrorist.

Meanwhile, this same department is busy making sure no actual honest-to-God terrorists might be offended.

Big things are happening.  Big changes are coming.  But I predict things will have to continue to get worse before there is any chance they may get better - and there is no guarantee better things are even coming.

For the first time in my entire life, I am actually, truly, afraid for my country.

Rumors getting more serious...

Coyote has more rumors, this time coming in from D.C., on Mayor Leiken running for DeFazio's seat.

More from the rumor mill...

There is buzz coming up from I-5 from South of here... Folks are seriously talking to Springfield Mayor Sid Leiken about running for Congress in 2010.  Serious folks.  And it sounds like Mayor Leiken is seriously listening.  I think he should run, and I think he can win.

Some folks think Leiken should hold off making plans until incumbent Peter DeFazio decides to run for Governor - as in, wait for an open seat for an easier shot.  I don't necessarily agree with that line of thinking.  DeFazio could be very, very vulnerable if he decides to seek re-election to his CD4 seat in 2010.

The economy is certainly the top issue today.  Liberal tax and spend policies from the new administration will all but guarantee the economy will still be struggling 18 months from now - and there won't be any Republicans to blame.  While Peter DeFazio has been busy supporting new taxes, new fees, new regulations, and the free flow of OUR tax money into government program after government program, Mayor Leiken has been busy bringing a billion dollars of economic growth into Springfield.

Leiken, Oregon's Mayor of the Year, has a solid record during his three terms in office.  He has the name recognition and proven success within Springfield to win the district's urban core.  He also has the conservative credentials to please the district's many rural voters.

While there is no official word from Mayor Leiken regarding his future yet, he clearly is a face to watch in 2010 and beyond.  I expect to him to run - and win - in CD4.  And... who knows what might come 4 or 8 years later...

Rumor mill

Folks are abuzz that Ron Wyden might wind up with a cabinet post, resulting in a special election to fill his Senate seat.  There is talk about Jason Atkinson having a run at it, if it comes open.

Now I personally don't see Wyden going anywhere.  But if he does, the national GOP will move Heaven and Earth to win - with the Senate so close to a filibuster-proof margin for the democrats, no opportunity can be lost.

As we know, there is a new man in charge of the GOP.  What a lot of folks don't know is the new man has a good friend right here in Oregon, and that could be a big influence on how national campaign money and resources flow into the state...

Just saying, this could get interesting...

Need to know what it all means and why it is happening?

Click here, read it all, and follow all the links therein.

What Daniel said

Because Daniel is right.

While I am a true conservative with libertarian leanings, and Gordon Smith is pretty far from that, I have been saying for years that it is wrong for conservatives in Oregon to pile on Smith.  Yes, he is much more moderate than we are.  But our state is much more liberal than we are.  Real conservatives don't fare so well here.  We have a choice between "somewhat liberal" and "extremely liberal."  Give me the somewhat over the extreme anyday.

This is not to say we shouldn't continue to elect real conservatives.  On the contrary.  But we need to pick our battles, and build from the ground up.  We need to run good candidates for local elections first, and use their victories to build the farm team for statewide elections down the road.  We can't do better than Gordon Smith because we have no better candidate.  But perhaps Gordon will want to retire from the Senate in six years, or sooner (if we elect a GOP Governor in two years, there is a strong possibility of President McCain tapping Smith for a Cabinet post like Agriculture or the Interior).  That means we need to focus on a few things here:

Re-elect Gordon Smith, so we don't get stuck with Jeff Merkley.

Re-elect Greg Walden, our only GOP Congressman (and an OK guy).

Re-elect Jason Atkinson to the State Senate and groom him for higher office.

Elect Rick Dancer Secretary of State.

Once we do these things, we can focus on 2010 and beyond, and gradually shift our alternative to socialism from "somewhat liberal" to conservative.

In the meantime, SUPPORT GORDON SMITH!