Props to Hot Air...And I Think I Know Where the Money is Coming From

Their blogging on the ongoing Clinton Scandals is great. Read these three recent posts, trust me, you won't be disappointed:

Another Hsu Drops: Hillary Earmarked Big Chunk of Cash for the New School

Hillary Campaign Refunded $7,000 in Donations From Chinatown Fundraiser

Democrat's Donating Hsu's Dirty Money to Charity Instead of His Victims

Awesome job of reporting. Keep in mind this little tidbit that John McCain brought up in the last debate. Out of control spending indeed. But there is a link between Hsu, the Woodstock money, and New School University being overlooked. That link? Joel Rosenman. Rosenman would not have simply handed Hsu $40 Million and not kept any track of it, regardless of how many drugs the guy probably did. So what's the importantance here? Rosenman is close....very close to the Clintons. Given their past track record, they have a way of using "buffers" from illegal tactics getting back to them directly. Check the Peter Paul story. Hsu used some tactics to reimburse people who donated to Clinton and in other cases, either forged or fooled people into donating to Clinton. So while some people are thinking that the majority of money was coming from the alleged "missing $40 Million" that Rosenman irresponsibly gave to Hsu I have another theory. A GREAT ONE. Here's a tidbit from Boston.com:

Disgraced fund-raiser Norman Hsu did a lot more than just pump $850,000 into Hillary Clinton's campaign bank account: He also raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for local, state, and federal candidates who have endorsed Clinton or whose support she courted.

Here's a clip from The New York Times:

In addition, Mr. Hsu donated about $100,000 to the New School, where he is a board member and where a scholarship is offered in his name, according to Bob Kerrey, the former Democratic senator from Nebraska who is president of the university.

Now admittedly I'm not completely fact checking the dates, but I'd like to point this one fact. Out. $850,000 + $100,000 = $950,000. Why is that number important? Where have you heard it before? Right here, Senate Bill S. 1710. From the aforementioned Hot Air article. $950,000 was the EARMARK THAT HILLARY CLINTON STUFFED IN THAT BILL. The attempted Woodstock bill involved Rosenman as well, but without buffer Hsu, who has probably since been replaced. I'm asking all right wing and truth seeking bloggers to help track out the earmark record of Hillary Clinton, who has long had the desire to run for president, to research these earmarks, which are being redistributed in the most illegal fashion, back into her campaign war chest. Its hard to explain but I KNOW this is not just a gut feeling.

-Caomhin

More Attacks on Christians from the Leftists

The Moonbats are a barking, that's for sure. I present two articles I came across today to help illustrate the further assault on Christianity. The first comes from Britain's Daily Mail, where a couple with a lifelong service of foster care have been stripped of their children. What did they do you ask? Hurt the children? Steal money from the government? Commit fraud? Nope, none of the above. Rather, this is their "crime" according to the government:

Earlier this year, Somerset County Council's social services department asked them to sign a contract to implement Labour's new Sexual Orientation Regulations, part of the Equality Act 2006, which make discrimination on the grounds of sexuality illegal.

Officials told the couple that under the regulations they would be required to discuss same-sex relationships with children as young as 11 and tell them that gay partnerships were just as acceptable as heterosexual marriages.

So they refused to teach the 11-year old child they were caring for what gay is and tell them that's it OK. Ridiculous. First of all, the government is not a religious entity, it has no business telling people what is and what is not right morally. They do, however, tell people what is and what is not criminally wrong. Discrimination is a violation of the law of the government, all fair and well. Now, Christianity teaches that it is immoral to be homosexual, but also teaches to be tolerant (which is not the same as accepting) of homosexuals. It is morally wrong to be homosexual. Again, by no means does the issue of morality translate to just homosexuality. Stealing is immoral, yet many Christians engage in stealing. Do you see what I mean there? The act is immoral, but that does not give anyone a right to go out and beat someone senseless for it. I have a few gay friends, I don't discriminate against them at all. They do, however, know that I believe their position is immoral. But we still get along. For the government to override a person's religious belief, by substituting moral (and not criminal) judgement, they are asserting themselves as a religious organization. You can see this happening in the states as well, as Christians are constantly assaulting while the Left panders endlessly to the Muslims. Watch how many things are taken down around Christmas time, then consider whether the Empire State building would be colored in honor of Christmas and not "The Holidays" the way Eid was for the Muslims.

For another example, let's look at this headline story I stumbled upon while searching Yahoo. "Catholic Condom Ban Helping AIDS Spread in Latam: U.N." Here's an example of the crack journalism displayed in this article:

"In Latin America the use of condoms has been demonized, but if they were used in every relation I guarantee the epidemic would be resolved in the region," said Alberto Stella, the UN AIDS Coordinator for Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

Well....no shit. I could guarantee that if condoms were used in EVERY RELATION there would be no AIDS...and no babies either. What a genius. Somehow though abstinence is promoted as being "wrong" because if abstinence was practiced fully in EVERY RELATION then there would be no AIDS either. So sure, assault the Catholic Church. The Church is encouraging responsibility and to not engage in sex until marriage. The U.N.'s position is to just throw condoms at everyone walking and let them have at it without any sexual education at all, or to stress personal responsibility. Really, which is worse, preaching abstinence or let's say...giving birth control to 11 year olds? Obviously I'm not exactly the best Catholic in the world, but preaching the right thing is better than preaching up the weaknesses of humans in general and telling everyone there should be no responsibility for your actions unless it goes against the government's wishes. When the hell did Communism win the Cold War?

-Caomhin

A Pop Quiz and More Media Bias

Q: Who tried to book a flight to San Diego first upon hearing of the massive cockfighting ring?

A. Barney Frank
B. Larry Craig

They obviously didn't realize the story was about birds. This is just as deplorable as when Michael Vick was murdering dogs for his own sick and twisted pleasure. What is really interesting here is the media bias in regards to the story. Here is the article about the massive animal cruelty ring in San Diego. Here's the bulk of the article if you're feeling lazy:

After raiding a San Diego district close to the Mexican border, authorities said on Monday they had shut down an extensive illegal cockfighting ring, arresting 50 people and seizing more than 5,000 birds.

The raids, conducted on Saturday, followed a six-month undercover operation, authorities said.

"This is the largest cockfighting ring ever busted up in the United States because of the number of defendants and the number of birds seized," said San Diego County District Attorney's spokesman Paul Levikow.

So where does that bias come into play? Well let's see, no names or descriptions of suspects were mentioned. Remember that Vick and his co-defendants were all outed immediately. Would the MSM, the very left leaning MSM want to skew their article on this blatant and despicable operation in order to protect something that goes against their political agenda? What could they be trying to cover up, that they would support? Where is cockfighting legal? The mainstream media protecting ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS by skewing their story? You betcha.

-Caomhin

Yet Some More Examples of Socialized Medicine

Behold the glory that is the British dental system. Sure, we all get some cracks on them for having less than average teeth, but really is this what anyone thinks is a good answer? The socialization of their dental care is leaving people to pull out their own teeth....in some cases with pliers. Yes folks, that is exactly the system that we need to follow right? Ugh.

Stateside, the Republic of Moonbatia (aka San Francisco) is moving toward socialized Illegal Drug Injection Centers. Yes, this is true. The SF Gate has the disturbing article here. Notice how this is kept a bit on the down low. Sure, inject yourself with Oxycontin, Heroin, or whatever other drug you can get. The City of San Francisco will just give you clean needles. The cover is to stop the spread of HIV, but that's a weak argument. Tax payer money going to drug addicts so they can get high? Really? Not even something like...oh...a treatment center? I might go along with this is they promised free needles....and then pulled them into a treatment center by force, but this is getting out of hand. This is socialized treatment. But then, what do expect from the city that provides you THIS. Click Every link in that Post. Moonbattery at its finest.

-Caomhin

More Hillary Clinton Scandals

It just amazes me the shit these people pull off. They have no regard for our laws or the justice system whatsoever. The Clintons are using the judges that Bill appointed to pave the way for Hillary to get her grubby little paws on the Presidency where the rule of law will be just a saying. There are so many scandals it is getting tougher and tougher to keep up on. However, the Election Fraud that the Clintons are notorious for (see China, Hsu, et all) is now caught on tape. How is she the Left's best candidate, she should be in jail. These links are all MUST READS for information on this deplorable criminal behavior.

The Hillary Clinton Accountability Project

Assorted Bable, which provides good background on the issue.

Hot Air, which always provides great insight.

Peter Paul, straight from the horses mouth, a victim of the Clinton Machine.

Really not doing leg work on this one as these guys all have incredible posts. The woman is scum, plain and simple. Oh yea, and she seems to be "ahead of the curve" on warrantless wiretapping and spying on political opponents. Sure she talks bad about President Bush using this method to fight terrorism, but she's been using it an awfully long time to defeat her political opponents. If she wins the presidency we are all pretty much f*cked.

-Caomhin

Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi should be Arrested

Since Reid was so interested in gaining some additional seats in the Senate due to the war, if he thought one of the seats they will lose would be his own if not in 2010 during his next election, than by popular demand. You see, for as bad as he talks about President Bush (who himself is not exactly Mr. Popular right now, but because he is doing the unpopular thing of doing the correct thing), Reid is less popular in his home state, a favorable rating of 32%. Democrats are just dumb enough to think that the elections are all about Iraq. They are wrong.

Historically, Democrats only come to power when the GOP screws up their fundamental beliefs. They did so prior to the last election. They accomplished this by not sticking to our values of lower taxes, smaller government, stronger national security, and personal responsibility. They did by acting like Democrats. Had the leaders we elected stuck to their vows and did what they were supposed to do, the Dems would still be in the minority. In reality, it was probably a good thing that we lost the election, a warning shot from the electorate that if they are going to vote for us, it has to be for the reasons I pointed to above as well as keeping Federalism alive in this nation. It's amazing that a known central government loving Joe Biden can show up on stage with Sen. Brownback trumping for Iraqi Federalism when Biden himself doesn't care much for it in America, even though that is the exact system we have here that he and fellow liberals want to eliminate. God forbid states decide issues for themselves and not the almighty Federal Government.

Do you really think that Reid and his Congress have the all time worst ratings for Congressional Approval simply due to the Iraq War or because, as Reid has retardedly stated, of President Bush. Harry Reid is simply not a leader. He's an idiot. He keeps proving it time and time again. The bulk of his approval ratings are coming from people who are probably finding his attempts at leadership so comical that they are actually watching an extended version of Mad TV. He's a pathetic person who bashes President Bush and our soldiers and then stares into the TV for his MoveOn overlords like "Look at me! Look at me! I made fun of the president, where's my check?"

Sadly they will never learn, and shamefully, unpatriotic, and illegally they have a new and dangerous plot to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. While the news on the war is constantly getting better, from Basra, to the news that casualties are dropping dramatically, Reid and Nancy "Blinky" Pelosi have resorted to attacking an ally since World War II in order to backdoor defeat and put our soldiers in grave danger. The resolution on Turkey is a political stunt designed to weaken supply lines into Iraq, which will compound with the Turks taking military action in Iraq against Kurdish rebels, erasing all gains that have been made since the war started. This will completely destabilize the region, as Iran has been shelling the Kurds as well. What's even worse than escalating the war in the region in order to get votes domestically is their out and out audacity to call out the current Turkish government for the actions of the Ottoman Empire. Once again, I QUESTION THEIR PATRIOTISM AND THEIR COMPASSION FOR HUMAN SUFFERING. No resolutions on Burma, no support for peace keeping troops or military action in Darfur, they kept their mouths pretty much shut when the Rwanda genocide was occurring, they refuse to do what is right for the purpose of being right. It's all about the votes with these assholes.

For all the talk about Bush alienating us from allies and being divisive, it seems to me that Western Europe is a stronger ally now (see France, Germany, Denmark, etc) than was before. Australia has never been closer to us. Yet it's the left who is turning away allies in the war on terror and states that could have positive impacts in the region from Saudi Arabi, Dubai, and now Turkey. Sure they all have their problems it's not like they are as strong an ally as Western Europe, the Czech Republic, Poland, or Canada, but they are key allies in the region. This resolution will only result in Bin Laden or one of his demon minions popping up and saying, "see, they are critical and hate all Muslims" which will recruit more terrorists, while drying up supplies for our troops, and increasing violence in Iraq. Just so the wildly unpopular Congress can destroy the freedoms we brought to the people of the region, kill Iraqis at a rate never before seen, possibly escalate the situation to World War III, in order to run to Code Pink and Move On and say, "there we did it, where's our check." Iraq is not the reason they won the last election, but Iraq may be the reason they will have to live on knowing their actions will result in another genocide if their Moonbat overlords have their way. A thousand Iraqi lives mean nothing to them if they can generate one more vote. They are horrible human beings and they are traitorous.

-Caomhin

Fox Business Network Debuts

Kudos to Fox for making the new network pretty damn sharp. I was flipping through DirecTV today when I came across it, not actually knowing it was up and running for the first time today, I selected it and was pleased to be able to check it on Day One. Very sharp looking, great picture quality, and I liked the gold fonts they used. It wont be long before they are crushing everyone in the ratings here, which of course will draw the ire of the moonbats. But hey, they are great at what they do, are actually balanced between conservative and liberal views, and they make the news a little more entertaining. There really is no competition for them since the traditional MSM is so far to left and uncreative with anything unless it involves comparing President Bush and all Republicans to Nazis. Nice little write up of the launch over at Breit Bart. Here's the first line, which is pretty much what you should expect from such a solid ship as Fox:

Rupert Murdoch's much-anticipated business channel started Monday as if it had been on the air for 10 years.

So kudos to Fox once again on yet another solid programming choice.

-Caomhin

Nobel Peace Prize A Complete Joke

Let's keep in mind that Hitler, Stalin, Castro, and Mussolini were all nominated for this prize at one point. This was again brought up during the whole Tookie Williams issue, when he was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize too, you remember him, gang leader, murder, etc. The fact that ManBearPig wins one not too long after Carter wins one is just another swirl in the long, spiraling irrelevancy of this award. Global Warming isn't even a consensus as much as we are told it is. Scientists who oppose this view are often ridiculed, much in the same way the Nazis ridiculed their opposition. Fascist tactics indeed. There a few article you should read in regards to this joke. First comes from the Herald Sun in Australia (you should note that every person who questions the Global Warming science is labeled far right-wing, another evidence of bias). Here's a snippet:

Czech President Vaclav Klaus cast doubt on Gore's contribution to the cause of peace, the ostensible purpose of the Norwegian prize.

In a statement, the climate change sceptic said he was "a bit surprised that Al Gore has received a peace prize because the connection between his activities and world peace are vague and not very clear".

The next solid article and criticism comes from Dr. William Gray, a decorated scientist in the field of hurricane forecasting, published in The Sydney Morning Hearld (another Australian paper, note how hard it is for our Left Wing Elitist Propaganda Machine to even publish a blip criticizing Al Gore...the speech was given at North Carolina University). Here's a sample:

ONE of the world's foremost meteorologists has called the theory that helped Al Gore share the Nobel Peace Prize "ridiculous" and the product of "people who don't understand how the atmosphere works".....

"We'll look back on all of this in 10 or 15 years and realise how foolish it was," Dr Gray said.

True indeed. Remember Global Cooling in the 70s? Let's cap it off from an organization typically, well almost universally subservient to the Liberals, The Union Leader. Read it all, it's worth it.

He did nothing to advance world peace other than for these morons who run the Nobel Committee to try to bash Bush. Tough shit. When is it the USA's responsibility to do all the R&D on technological advances and simply give all the profits right over to China, India, and other nations who will be able to implement and build the technology cheaper due to depressed labor costs? The world is looking for a free handout and they want the USA to fit the bill and that can't happen. I'm all for free trade, but innovation comes at a cost. Patents on technology help companies recover the cost of R&D while encouraging innovation by providing a means to be creative while having a safety net so that they do not simply fork over billions of dollars only to see nothing in return. Should that situation arise a great loss of jobs would occur and individual 401(k)s and investment would drop, resulting in a massive recession and/or depression. Peace, in this case, is the worldwide left waging open war on capitalism and President Bush. Gore did nothing to reduce standing armies. He did nothing to stop any ongoing wars. What about the Monks in Burma? What about the people trying to make a difference in Darfur? How many more examples are there. This is a joke plain and simple. If Hitler, Stalin, Castro, and Mussolini can be nominated for a peace prize, how seriously should it be taken anyway? Global Warming is a scam, and Al Gore and his compatriots are getting rich off of it, so hey, let's give him the award, increase the movement to invest in his and his buddies front companies while they consume more energy than the average man, woman, and small business and then complain about the person who drives 50 miles to work each day that they are an energy glutton. Good business plan I suppose, but peaceful? Hardly.

-Caomhin

Another Solid Huckabee Post

This one from Politico of all places. It's amazing that his biggest drawback is people thinking "he can't win" mainly because he's not overloaded with funds. What sense does that make? Democracy is about ideas and leadership. He IS the best candidate and if elections were won on issues, thoughts, and a proven track record, he'd probably already have the nomination secured right now. Then again, I guess that makes this the best grass roots campaign going. Take a look at the poll trends...on a shoestring budget.

-Caomhin

Hillary Clinton Must Be Stopped.....No Matter What the Cost

Just like Optimus Prime said in the cartoon Transformers Movie. Really, this hideous abomination of a woman is insane. I'm not linking alot of the moronic, Stalinistic things she has said over the last few days, what with the baby bonds, the government issued 401 (K) starters, the whole, "I have alot of ideas, which America can't afford crap." I will link the Sandy "Burgler" Burger thing though. Political payback of course, for helping secure Bill's legacy. The Norman Hsu thing I'm sure you already know. Perhaps that's linked to the renting of the Lincoln Bedroom? Lest we forget the Vince Foster murder/suicide? Whitewater? The fact is, she has been involved in so many political scandals I really won't mention them, or link them, at all, except to remind you of how her payback system works. You'll also recall the recent Bill Clinton blackmailing GQ over a slightly crtical article of Hillary (Google it...Rosie O'Donnell Style). However, let's stick to policy debates. Here's some headlines to check out and the gold nuggets that follow:

Clinton, Chariman Target more Student Loan Charges:

Clinton said she wants to eliminate the federally guaranteed student loan program, a mainstay of an industry that includes lenders such as SLM Corp, Citigroup, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and others.

The New York senator said she would kill the program to help pay for a range of reforms to federal higher education policy without raising the federal deficit.

Clinton Says She's Negotiate With Iran:

Hillary Rodham Clinton called Barack Obama naive when he said he'd meet with the leaders of Iran without precondition. Now she says she'd do the same thing, too.

Ugh. I could go on for days. We have to stop this nonsense forever. Sadly, the only respectable Democrat is Bill Richardson, and he is on the Clinton Payroll, so I guess he's not all that respectable after all. He'll be the Demo VP for sure. We have to beat her no matter what. I'd vote for a hockey puck before I'd vote for her, after all, at least the hockey puck would maintain America, not make us some pseudo-Socialist society.

-Caomhin

Media Bias and Muslim Threats Rolled into One Convenient Package

I know I'm beating a dead horse and preaching to the choir as most of the readers here already know this, but occasionally we do get the independent reader who is a little enlightened by something I throw up here. So here we go. Today Muslim leaders signed a letter urging the Pope to acknowledge the similarities between Islam or Christianity because the fate of the world depends on it. Nothing in their letter suggests that they are willing to co-exist with Christians unless Christians acknowledge the greatness of Islam, the parallels (yes there are some with the actual texts) of the faith, lest we be faced with the destruction of the world. So does saying unless we capitulate with their demands or face eradication equate to an offer of peace? Of course not. That' s not how some wings of the media present it....of course. Here are two headlines and stories on this issue, one from Time, one from Fox News:

Muslim Leaders Send Peace Message

Muslim Leaders Warn Pope "Survival of World" at Stake

You already know which newsroom wrote which one. Liberal Time views this message as a peace offering. Fox, which really is fair and balanced, states the headline as it is. They did in fact write a letter warning that that the "Survival of the World" is at stake. What would be a true factual headline would be "Muslim Leaders Threaten Christians with Death if they Do Not Accept Second Class Status." Need I remind you why these "peace messages" are coming? First, let's not forget the Muslim death threats to the Holy Father for speaking a factual statement in September of last year. Then this September, the Holy Father spoke out again radical Islam and their anti-Christian ways. Again, this is factual stuff here, here's an excerpt from the Daily Mail, click on the text to explore further:

The Pope has again risked provoking the wrath of the Islamic world, by criticising its treatment of Christians.

Benedict XVI attacked Muslim nations where Christians are either persecuted or given the status of second-class citizens under the Shariah Islamic law.

He also defended the rights of Muslims to convert to Christianity, an act which warrants the death penalty in many Islamic countries.

Yes, that's human freedom there, the death penalty for leaving Islam, another shining example of Sharia. Research Sharia and really understand what this letter means. It's a threat plain and simple. What's really remarkable is Pope Benedict came out firing even harder, knowing his life is at stake, something that a true religious leader does. He spoke out on anti-Semitism, and Iran specifically at the World Jewish Congress:

The Pope attacked Iran as he pledged to help world Jewish leaders in their fight against anti-Semitism.

Pope Benedict XVI told leaders of the World Jewish Congress that Iran was “an issue of big concern” to him.

At a meeting at the Vatican, the Pope spoke of his concern about rising anti-Semitism and described how he wanted to use educational tools to counter the hatred of the Iranian leadership towards the Jewish people and Israel.

Maram Stern, secretary general of the World Jewish Congress, said after the audience: “We thanked the Holy Father for everything he did for the Jewish people, and more importantly what he will do.”

He continued on to recognize the threat of Iran. Incredible, kudos to the Holy Father. Rarely will you see me talk about prophecies or predictions, but this bears mention. If you really want to be amazed, and possibly freaked out, click here. I read this before Pope Benedict was appointed. Read the whole thing. What also should be examined is that an Iranian "moderate", Rasfanjani, who sadly would be more pro-USA and Israeli than almost anyone in the political environment in Iran, made this little gem of a news item today. Remind me again, how they are the Religion of Peace? Not to be confused with the truth, which of course is the Religion of Peace. Hit Little Green Footballs for Info about the newest news storm at Columbia. We are in a fight, for our lives, for our faith, for our survival....and guess which side our Liberal media is on? The Truth Shall Set You Free.

-Caomhin

What the Hell is Bush Thinking? FRY MADELLIN

The case of Jose Medellin is disgusting. He and his gang raped and sodomized two young girls (ages 14 and 16) before strangling and stomping them to death. Everything about this case is absolutely disgusting. This piece of trash deserves the death penalty and the flames of hell that subsequently await him. Read the whole article for more description. Put yourself in families of these victims.

At the heart of the looming court case is that Madellin, an illegal immigrant, who was read his Miranda Rights and subsequently confessed to the crime, is now challenging his conviction because he never informed he had the right to contact the Mexican consulate. Of course Mexico is backing their illegal immigrant offspring and now President Bush is too. He can not be let go because of a technicality. The precedent is awful. There are many other cases out there as well that follow this pattern where Mexico will allow their thugs and criminals illegal entry into our nation only to see our innocent civilians slaughtered at these pieces of human garbage's hands. What this basically says is that if Mexicans come here illegally and commit vicious, murderous acts, they are damned near assured of never being punished. Hardly a surprise since they are not punished for illegally coming here in the first place. Bush is wrong on this, and we need to call him out. He crotch nuzzled Mexico during shamnesty and now he is actively working to save a vicious double murderer's life, defying our nation's laws.

Mexicans here illegally are getting better treatment than our own citizens and it is outrageous. Their government is actively helping them to break our immigration laws and dumping their criminals upon us, decaying our society. They have no intention of seeking citizenship and why should they? They get free health care, pay no taxes, and are not subject to the same laws that we are. Build the damn fence already or allow the border guards to start shooting. This guy needs to get his justice. We need to stand with Texas. A technicality is just that. This evil human being needs to meet his just fate for the brutal raping, sodomizing, strangulation, and then stomping of a 14 and 16 year old girl. I don't care if this guy is from Mexico, Canada, Pluto, or the Andromeda system. Allow Texas to carry out the execution and end this monster's life.

-Caomhin

The Jawa Report in the Washington Times

Check out the article as Dr. Rusty Shackelford gets a big mention starting on page 2. Congrats to The Jawa Report for all the great work they do.

-Caomhin

October 9th 2007 MSNBC Debate Results

Probably the best debate thus far as the candidates started to square off a bit more. In reality they really had to as this was the first debate that Fred Thompson was involved in, and most of the candidates stepped their game up in order to combat Fred's surge in polls. Here's a run down of all the candidates involved, from worst to best:

Ron Paul - I agree with Paul on lowering taxes and free trade. However, it is becoming more and more apparent that he is wasting his time at these debates. To say he is over the top is an understatement. That being said however, he does have a cult following, and we all know how dangerous cults are. They are 9/11 Truthers and conspiracy nuts, and this will probably culminate in an independent run.

Sam Brownback - He's a great Senator and he showed a bit a humor for the first time in his exchange with Tommy Tancredo. "My mother is not an illegal immigrant." He belongs in the Senate not in the Presidency, and I respect Sen. Brownback a great deal. Overall, it was his best performance to date.

Tom Tancredo - Think he is passionate about illegal immigration? He's absolutely right on the issue and I give him props for tying most of the issues into illegal immigration. He is a great advocate on this issue, and I believe that between illegal immigration and reminding voters that the Republicans need to stick to reforming government and cut spending is his role in this election. That's actually a good thing, plus he is entertaining to watch.

Mitt Romney - Would be much higher if not for his lawyer talk in regards to striking Iran. I understand what he means though. He basically meant to say that he would consult a Constitutional expert if he could pursue the strike rather than immediately run to congress where politics would come into play and the window of opportunity would definately slip away. Still though, a big mistake as you know that clip will come back to haunt him in commercials. I do think he has excellent business management skills and would be great in economic matters, but that slip is not a common thing for him and it hurt him badly.

John McCain - Decent performance overall, but nothing spectacular. His new found consistency will help him out in the polls and he some flashes in this one. Still, Tancredo seemed to nullify alot of the gains he made as he basically called out McCain on the immigration issue. McCain started to fall apart after his support of the amnesty bill and unless he finds a way out of his part in that issue, the base won't readily forgive him for that.

Fred Thompson - Really came around during the last hour of the debate after starting off so sluggishly. He ate Chris Matthews' lunch with the "No one asked for your opinion Christopher" line, resulting in the usually "can't shut up" Matthews remaining awkwardly silent because he knew he had been bested. From that point on Matthews laughed at all Thompson's jokes, basically submitting to Fred. Fred needs to be a bit more energetic next time, but all in all not a bad performance.

Duncan Hunter - Great performance from Congressman Hunter. Hit all the points on China and really shined with talk of the "mirroring trade laws". His experience with national defense really came through last night and really sounded presidential in many ways. I came across really impressed and have noticed him more and more as time goes by. Last night he did a great job.

Rudy Giuliani - Really gave the best performance last night, mainly because Chris Matthew apparently has a man crush on him. Most of the questions were given to Rudy at the expense of the other candidates. He came back strong after a poor debate performance last time when he basically just talked about 9/11. This time he brought his A-game and his sparring with Romney was great. Both made great points, but Giuliani seemed very engaging last night and was able to project his passion better and seemed like he was talking to the audience both in the room and at home. One of the best lines of the night with the "Hillary wants to send $5,000 to every child born with her picture on it", in reference to Hillary's outlandish spending policies.

Mike Huckabee - Matthews should be ashamed of himself for not allowing Huck to talk more, but Huck jumped in and made great points as usual. The "Goober and Gomer" line was great, definately got a great laugh out of that. He was energetic and engaging and avoided the confrontations that other candidates got into. While the Giuliani-Romney exchanges were entertaining, at times it seemed like an old couple bickering. Huck came off as presidential material for sure, and his talk of working with unions wasn't a one time thing like the other candidates. He's been talking this up for some time. He is absolutely right that we need to focus more on the people for whom the economy is not working. He is also right in that the people need to reclaim government and elect someone who has gone through the same struggles that they have. All in all, another A-class performance.

While some may accuse me of bias as I am supporting Huckabee, it's pretty clear to most people watched the debate last night that Huck and Giuliani gave the best performances. In fact, former Bush aide Dan Bartlett saw it pretty much the same way. In fact, guess who he said was the winner last night and the best overall candidate? Now that's what I call vindication.

-Caomhin

Rendell to Toll the Life out of Northern PA

All this guy cares about is Philly. I'm sure he'll be on Comcast very soon triumphing the Phillies while figuring out how to re-direct the majority of the state's tax money to his favorite city. The guy is a scumbag. He's New Jersey's lap cat and a pretty dangerous politician in that he actually seems like a pretty cool person. To bad, he's a complete moron with no concern for anyone who lives outside of Philadelphia and with no economic sense. He's all set to put his little "Interstate Privatization" gambit in motion, starting with I-80. There's no way the legislature will allow the insane tolls he wants along I-80, 11 in all from East to West. The Republican legislature here in my home state usually only puts up a minor fight, so they will fold one way or the other. Again, this tax and spend mentality is beyond stupid. Here is a good chunk of the article from my hometown paper, The Morning Call:

Gov. Ed Rendell said Wednesday he'd only sign off on legislation repealing the placement of tolls on Interstate 80 if lawmakers send him an alternative that raises as much money.

One of those options could be privatization of the Turnpike, Rendell said at a news conference. But he's only interested in handing over the Turnpike to a private entity if the state can wring a minimum of $1 billion to $1.4 billion out of the deal.

''I would not sign legislation repealing [the I-80 tolls] unless I'm signing something that produces as much, if not more, than I-80,'' Rendell said.

State officials believe they can raise an average of $900 million a year over a decade for road and bridge repairs and a mass-transit bailout through a combination of I-80 tolls and borrowing.

A cadre of state lawmakers from northern and north central Pennsylvania has begun pushing for repeal of the legislation that authorized the placement of as many as 10 tolls on the 311-mile length of I-80.

Those lawmakers argue that turning the freeway into a toll road would have a disastrous effect on local commerce, scare away tourists and unfairly penalize area residents who use I-80 to get to and from work.

So Rendell is basically blackmailing the legislature, or holding it hostage, you pick your terminology. He won't repeal the tolls unless he is given another revenue that will equal what he expects from this disaster waiting to happen. The tolls in themselves make no sense. It works out to a toll every 31.1 miles. That will choke off all trucking routes up north and divert them south towards the Lehigh Valley....and Philly. Why is that important? Well, let's say trucks turn down Rt 33 or come across I-78, 22, or the roads down near his hometown. You can pretty much guarantee that the payloads get dumped off to other companies who can essentially duck these tolls, which sends more money down into Philly. Secondly, even if this were not to happen, the opposition lawmakers are right. The people who live along I-80 would be totally screwed. Another effect would be the huge increase of traffic along I-78, which is pretty much at capacity now. Any massive shift of traffic down this way will coke out the other major route in NYC and crush the population here in the Lehigh Valley, as a large, large portion of us travel into NJ for work and vice versa. The fact of the matter is, when Gov. Ridge was in charge, sure we had problems. However due to Rendell's lovely handling of the state outside of Philadelphia we have seen higher taxes, a crazy amount of sprawl that has resulted in displaced rain water, which used to be absorbed into farmland rapidly finding its way into the Delaware River, resulting in numerous, disastrous floods, decrepit roadways and bridges, a sudden booming of the population in illegal immigrants (how many illegal immigration raids have there been in the Easton suburbs over the last few years?) and numerous other problems. His promised "real estate tax" relief is never going to happen, he isn't even trying for the state. The only people who received any tax relief of any kind were located in.....you guessed it...Philadelphia, where his buddy John Street so corrupted and horribly ran the city that for as much as NYC improved, Philly, a city I have a great affection for, has gone to hell. They are at a record for murders already and still have the better part of three months left in the year. This hack has to go.

-Caomhin