Saturday, February 02, 2008

Fox News: WE DECIDE YOU COMPLY

On another site the last few articles I posted on SA were cross posted here. I tend to be more directly political there. You will see that they don't have the flavor of nice old Gene that genial lover of God.

I'm the same Gene. I just get to let my political hair down a bit over there. It's a tougher crowd.

Oh, I'm up to it and I can be controversial. I'll bet you're shocked. It's a big site the owner of whom says has 40,000 readers per day. I don't know if it's true. Seems like a big number. But it might be. So, I get to irritate a larger group of people.

One of those is my continued loyal reader and yes I'll even say Friend from California, Reality Based Bob (RBB). He manages to get his licks in over there pretty well. I have for several years admired his wit and wisdom. So, I don't take lightly his poke at me. Which I answer here:

I didn't know Mrs Clinton was part of the Watergate committee. HMMM. I did know she was a Goldwater Girl in IL.

I might reconsider a tiny iddy bit. Still think she's riding the train of a bridal gown.

As far as the captioned picture. It's amusing. Come on BOB, you might have smiled just for a second. NO? I know I did. Kennedy drove off that bridge into permanent obscurity presidentially speaking. No matter if Mary Joe was or wasn't terminated because of him, he was at the wheel. Just like Laura.

BUT, to the title of this post. I am really angry at the Conservative media including radio and TV Talk Show hosts who have taken US for granted. Whoever US is. We are supposed to just fall in line. Salute and vote as they tell us to do.

Sorry, something went wrong. My discerner went off. Frank and practical discussion disappeared. Propaganda took it's place.

Why don't we just go back to WE REPORT YOU DECIDE.

Or maybe we never really did, either one of us.

Friday, February 01, 2008

Would We Even KNOW Who She IS?

Hillary Clinton NEVER married Bill.

Bill becomes Pres and is married to Mary Smith. Mary is a nice gal. Like Laura Bush.

Bill finishes his term. Is a Carteresque retired president.

Question:

  • Is Hillary Rodman anywhere on our radar screen today for any reason whatsoever?
  • Does Mary Clinton run for POTUS? Will Laura even consider such a run?
  • Is Hillary’s sole reason for her ascension because of her husband?
  • Should that be a good reason for anyone to consider supporting her?
  • To put it another way, if her only true claim to fame is her marriage vow does that make her qualified for the While House?

This is a fraud being perpetrated on the American People, that she is a meritorious woman capable of being POTUS because of her superiority in leadership or capacity rather than her winning some marital lottery (if you consider being married to Bill winning).

Just asking.

A Solution?

Free Image Hosting at allyoucanupload.com

H/T to Denny who got it from Wade who stole it from here

Tom Delay likes Mike

Just thought that when the real “cutting” comes down ) real conservatives recognize real conservatives.

Tom Delay likes Mike.

And Mike likes Tom.

We can win this thing.

Are Rush Limbaugh and the others of his ilk the Right Wing’s Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson?

Whenever anything happens in Black America Jesse and Al pipe right up. They take a stand and we all have to listen to all the Jibber Jabber they come up with. The MSM makes certain of that.

I am of the opinion that the Talk Radio giant heads who have so singlehandedly divided fractured destroyed and alienated the conservative Republican Right Wing from one another is the primary reason that we are about to elect nationally one of the most incompetent inexperienced people to ever take the oath of Office on January 20th. Those Giant Talking Heads may be the right’s Sharpton and Jackson.

Except for one thing. Sharpton and Jackson are honest about their role. They don’t claim to be “entertainers” when the heat is on like Rush does.

They aren’t entertainers, they are opinion shapers who get more attention than their competence or insight deserves. I don’t have a talk radio show. If I did I doubt I could be a glib as Hannity, Hewitt or Limbaugh. They make a living at being clever and quick. Something I don’t claim. But I do have an opinion.

My opinion is we as people who pretend to be Americans first and Conservatives second must become more discerning about what and to whom we pay attention.

Fewer sheep among us would be helpful. All we like sheep have been led astray to our demise.

Thanks for nothing Rush.

My Hobby

Good Economics From a Good Source

In a nutshell, the science of economics deals with scarcity. If a person were capable of producing everything that he could ever need or desire without any assistance from anyone else, then he would never buy or sell anything. Instead, he would stay at home and live contented with all of his stuff.

The very fact that marketplaces exist is concrete evidence that no man is an island. I need things from other people just as other people need things from me. The marketplace is merely the place where my surplus time and material is matched with your want or need in a reciprocal transaction. In other words, I will scratch your back if you scratch mine.

Sometimes, though, the marketplace does not always work. I may be a wheat farmer with excess grain while you may be a baker who needs grain. Clearly, I have what you need to make your bread. However, if I do not need your bread, then what can you offer me in exchange for my grain? Absolutely nothing! In a complete vacuum, our bilateral transaction could never happen. Nevertheless, if a third person who wants your bread could also provide me with farm implements, then we could create a multilateral transaction: (1) I will give you my wheat if (2) you give him your bread and if (3) he gives me his surplus farm equipment. Basically, I scratch your back, you scratch his back, and he scratches mine. With just a little bit of collective effort and coordination, we all have our needs met by simply bartering our goods and services to each other.

In complicated economic systems where each person needs several different types of goods and services, matching supply with demand by way of bartering would be a yeoman's task. A multilateral transaction with scores of people scratching each others' backs in one giant circle might be necessary to supply just one good or service. Moreover, the coordination for such a transaction would make going to market a prodigious chore. Beyond this, each person would have to multiply his or her efforts a hundred times over in order to meet his or her other needs. Therefore, the marketplace needs a means of exchange where goods and services may be converted into a universally accepted unit. Fortunately we have that... its called money.

Our present economic system works this way. The wheat farmer needs farm implements, so he borrows money (i.e. obtains credit); he then spends this money on the equipment he needs. His supplier needs bread, so he uses the money that he got from the wheat farmer to purchase loaves from the baker. The baker needs wheat in order to make bread, so he uses his money to purchase grain from the wheat farmer. The farmer, in turn, repays the bank with interest. The cycle is completed. Like an electric current, money has gone around in a circle meeting the needs of every person it touches.

In a way, money is just like electricity. The electrical engineer tells us that current moves one way while the electrons move the other way. Similarly, money goes one way while goods and services go the other. Moreover, if the economic current is ever broken, just like a flipped switch turns off a light bulb, so will the broken flow of money stop the flow of goods and services. When that happens, surplus goods and services are wasted by one person while needs are left unmet with another person. Accordingly, unnecessary barriers to obtaining credit must be eliminated in order to preserve the economic current.

With that said, however, just as electric currents need some resistance, so do economic currents. If too much electricity flows across a wire, the wire will overheat, possibly causing a fire which, in turn, will destroy the circuit. Likewise, if too much money flows into an economy, inflation and/or devaluation will occur.

Put in the simplest possible terms, too much credit (i.e., borrowed money) will destroy an economy just as quickly as too little credit will. If the farmer cannot obtain credit to buy farm implements, he will suffer, as will his equipment supplier as well as the baker who purchases his wheat. The farmer's grain will rot in the fields, the equipment dealer's inventory will rust, and the baker will sit idly by doing nothing. In other words, supply will outpace demand as money becomes scarce, and the economic circuit will break.

On the other hand, if the farmer borrows too much money, he may purchase more equipment than he could possibly use on the plot of land he farms. When he does this, his supplier may use his extra money to purchase more bread; this, in turn, will cause the baker to place an order for grain that the farmer could never fulfill. As demand finally exceeds supply, money will become worthless and the economic circuit will short-out.

In the final analysis, an efficient economy needs a stable money supply where buyer and seller alike is able to enter the marketplace with confidence, knowing full well their excess supply will be met with the goods and services that they demand.

This is where "Huckonomics" is different from other economic models.

Up to now, there have been two basic schools of economic thought, to wit: (1) supply-side economics and (2) demand-side economics. Supply-siders look at a dollar and see what it has produced; demand-siders look at a dollar and see what it can purchase. For example, if a farm worker earns $6 per hour while picking 300 heads of lettuce, then every dollar that the worker earns represents 50 heads of lettuce to a supply-sider; this is what the worker is trading when he goes to market. On the other hand, if a dollar can purchase a 20 oz Coca Cola, then every dollar that the worker earns represents a cold drink to a demand-sider; this is what the worker can purchase.

Along these lines, supply-siders endeavor to create more goods and services. Supply-siders believe that the government should give people more incentive to produce. By giving tax breaks to the wealthy—particularly business owners—the government will stimulate the economy. When business owners have higher profit margins, they will have more incentive to produce. As such, they will place more capital into the economy, creating jobs and prosperity from the top down. Hence the moniker "trickle-down."

Conversely, demand-siders operate from the opposite perspective; they believe that the government should give people more incentive to spend. Each dollar is, in effect, a vote for what goods or services should be offered. As greater votes are placed for a new item, businesses will have greater incentive to produce such an item. Demand-siders believe that economic growth comes from the bottom up. To demand-siders, increased spending—particularly increased government spending—is the best stimulus for economic growth. After all, if there exists no demand for a given product, no tax cut will make that item more appealing to the general public, or by extension any more profitable for the business that produces it.

Huckonomics is a hybrid of the two schools of thought. By replacing the income tax with a retail-level national sales tax, businesses will have greater incentive to produce goods and services. Since business income will no longer be taxed, and since businesses will not be taxed for anything it purchases for resale, business owners will see their tax burden lifted. Accordingly, businesses will have greater incentive to produce goods and services along the lines of the supply side model.

By this same token, the demand-side model is also implicated. At first glance, one may think that leveling a national sales tax would create barriers to trade. (Certainly a 23% sales tax seems prodigious.) However, with businesses no longer passing on the costs of payroll taxes and other imbedded costs to their customers, retail prices will drop. Moreover, with an across the board sales tax in place, every good sold will be on an equal playing field with every other good sold; as such, every good will have an equal chance of receiving a dollar vote. (Right now, this is not the case; some items for sale have more imbedded costs than others.) Beyond this, businesses now with surplus income resulting from having to pay little if any taxes will make larger purchases, particularly at the wholesale level. This, in turn, will stimulate the economy from the bottom-up, along the lines of the demand-side model.

Since Huckanomics does not favor the supply-side over the demand-side or vice versa, Huckanomics will not favor inflationary—or for that matter, deflationary—monetary policies.

The logical extension of a pure demand-side policy is to inflate the economy with excessive government spending, creating a weaker dollar and ultimately breaking the economic circuit. Conversely, if marginal tax rates are cut (as supply siders desire), businesses will have greater incentive to produce goods and services. However, if government spending is cut (as supply siders also desire), demand for these products will drop precipitously since the federal government is the single largest purchaser in the country. Therefore, simultaneous tax-and-spending cuts will create a surplus of goods and services, causing recession, and ultimately breaking the economic circuit. Either way, no economic policy can be purely supply-side or demand-side.

In the final analysis, Huckonomics does not favor business over labor, nor does it favor labor over business. Neither the commodities of supply or the instruments of demand are favored. Rather, Huckonomics brings together the supply-side with the demand side. Huckonomics recognizes that we are all in this together. And if we stick together, the rising waters of economic prosperity will lift all boats—for the rich and poor alike.

Up to My Ears in SNOW

We are buried.  10" again last night.  This is on top of several inches over the last few days.  This is getting ridiculous.  I'm going to have to break out the snowblower.  She's gonna hate that. 
 
Just Kidding.  I have a mechanized one too.
 
No newspapers today. I doubt mail.
 
So, I'm staying indoors.  Not going anywhere.  It's a miserable pup out there. 
 
How far away is spring anyway.  The good news is, we can use the moisture.  And this is good for the roses and gladiola in ground test I did.

Thursday, January 31, 2008

The Prophet Speaks

Kim Clement is a prophet I trust. So can you.

His February Newsletter just came.

It's worth reading if you want to be encouraged.

Here is a PDF of it.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

End Product of our Failed Public Education System

This is a demonstration from Corpus Christi Texas this January (2007) on Martin Luther King's birthday. The end of this week begins Black History Month. We as a nation have really placed people in a Ghetto fed by "graduates" of our public schools. Is this mess what MLK lived and died for?
"I want to see the day when men are not judged by the color of their skin but by their ability to spell".
I know Dr King said it differently, but why do we abuse people by pushing through the grades without judgment and they hit the streets no better prepared for life than if they had stayed home and watched TV. The whole race is judged by it's lowest common denominator. WE ARE judged by the words we use. We are judged double when they are in the public venue like this. All this idiocy at a cost per student in Texas of over $7000 per year. It's worse in Illinois. In the district where I live they spend over $10,000 per year. I want my wasted money spent on public education back.

Oh, just so you can check this out for yourself, snopes has an article on this.

I wish government would get out of education. It doesn't work. It's a failure at every level.

Close all public schools, issue vouchers like a K-12 Pell Grant. It works for College, it'll work for elementary schools. Another good Idea from George Bush.

Oh, and RBB, I'll head this one off at the pass, these genius's don't even know if there is evolution or creation. Heck they can't even spell either one. Home schooling is no danger to these dunces. They didn't get an education at all.

Someone has to tell the truth about this travesty. I just did.

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints - Psalm 116:15

I got notice a good friend and a mentor spiritually to me passed away last night in Fargo.  Papa Joe Frankhauser.  It's strange because just yesterday his name came up in conversation.  I spoke to someone about the need for older men to be spiritual examples to younger men and I referred to Papa Joe and his influence in my life.
 
He was a welcoming presence in my younger days.  When I first came to Jesus I took his New Believers class at First Assembly in Fargo.  He was so tender.  He was so sure of Jesus.  He was so encouraging yet without compromise.  There was no Wink Wink in his love of God. 
 
I wanted to be like him.  He would end some of our class times by singing an old hymn:
Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul,
Thank you, Lord, for making me whole;
Thank you, Lord, for giving to me
Thy great salvation so rich and free.
 
Without affectation he would tear up singing it.  It was really real for him.  I am friends with his two sons. Curt and Jeff.  We hunted together and Sometimes Papa Joe would come with.  The life they lead is because of the legacy of their dad.  They are mighty men of God who walk today in well ordered footsteps.
 
He was one of those people every church needs.  A man of God young men full of conflicts could look to not for advice but for example.  For a way forward to Glory.  At Lord of Life there are a few such men.  Arnie, John and Harold.  Men who I look to and say, I want to live like they live.  Some day Lord willing maybe I will even be that man for others.
 
He told me once that he wanted to so live in the presence of Jesus here that when he stepped from time into eternity he would do it without even noticing the difference.  Last night in his sleep he did exactly that. 
 
My friend Pastor Dan who went on ahead a few years ago was there to welcome him at the Gates of Heaven.  Many others as well.  We who are left behind miss them.  But under no circumstance would they come back.  They can't come to us, we will go to them.  For me sooner is better but I'll stay here as long as I am useful.  Funny, I said that to Harold last Sunday.  He said he felt the same way. 
 
About the verse that is the title of this post. 

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints - Psalm 116:15

 
In the Song of Solomon there is a passage regarding doves eyes. 

"Behold, you are fair, My love! behold, you are fair! You have dove's eyes." Song of Solomon 1:15

From this study an explanation of this verse

When a dove fixes its gaze upon its mate, it is not distracted by any activities around it.  Therefore, it is often referred to as being a "love bird."

Our having this "dove's eye" indicates that we are becoming increasingly aware of the Lord's person and presence, and that we possess a spiritual awareness that will lift us above the pulls of the earthly.  This "single eye" will enable us to become sensitive to the Lord's presence, and obedient to His desire and purpose.

The Lord's favor rests upon those who have cultivated a "single eye" toward Him.  These can be easily led by Him, for they are close enough to see which way His eye is looking. 

The reason the death of a saint who has single vision toward Jesus and in turn Jesus has Single Vision toward him or her when one with such single vision steps from time into eternity makes it precious indeed.  It's like something longed for deeply and finally realized.  Something so longed for it's precious.

My Brother and a Spiritual Father Papa Joe had Single Vision.  I want that.

Lord help me to maintain my gaze on YOUR beauty along and no other.  I won't say rest in peace, I won't say I'll miss you although I will, I will say, SEE YOU SOON!

Miracles Required - Fear Not - OK, I'm a bit depressed

Look at these vote totals from last night. The fractured evangelical and conservative vote cost my boy Huck to fail. That’s right, I’m blaming everyone else. It’s the American way.

Read em and weep:

Florida Republican Primary Results

Candidate Votes %

John McCain 693,425 36%

Mitt Romney 598,152 31%

Rudy Giuliani 281,755 15%

Mike Huckabee 259,703 13%

Ron Paul 62,060 3%

Fred Thompson 22,287 1%

Alan Keyes 4,003 0%

Duncan Hunter 2,787 0%

Tom Tancredo 1,556 0%

Precincts: 99% | Updated: 8:44 AM ET | Source: AP



See there, If all the Thompson, Keys, Hunter and Tancredo voters would have just cast their votes for Huck We’d a won that coveted third place.

On the upside, I got an email from Huck this morning. I’m on his list. He’s not despairing. He raised a Million two in the last 7 days.

I’m hoping for a loaves and fishes miracle here.

Or Lazarus.

SMILE!

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

I'm easily amused

From actual church bulletins:

  • Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at St. Martin’s Church. Please use the large double doors at the side entrance.
  • The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.
  • The sermon this morning: “Jesus Walks on the Water.” The sermon tonight “Searching for Jesus.”
  • Our youth basketball team is back in action Wednesday at 8 PM in the recreation hall. Come out and watch us kill Christ the King.
  • Ladies, don’t forget the rummage sale. It’s a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Don’t forget your husbands.
  • The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a conflict.
  • Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community.
  • Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say “Hell” to someone who doesn’t care much about you.
  • Don’t let worry kill you off - let the Church help.
  • Miss Charlene Mason sang “I will not pass this way again,” giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.
  • For those of you who have children and don’t know it, we have a nursery downstairs.
  • Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.
  • Barbara remains in the hospital and needs blood donors for more transfusions. She is also having trouble sleeping and requests tapes of Father Jack’s sermons.
  • The Priest will preach his farewell message after which the choir will sing “Break Forth Into Joy.”
  • Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.
  • A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow.
  • At the evenin g service tonight, the sermon topic will be “What Is Hell?” Come early and listen to our choir practice.
  • Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.
  • Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.
  • Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.
  • The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment and gracious hostility.
  • Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 PM - prayer and medication to follow.
  • The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.
  • This evening at 7 PM there will be a hymn singing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.
  • Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 AM. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B.S. is done.
  • The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.
  • Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use the back door.
  • The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare’s Hamlet in the church basement Friday at 7 PM. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.
  • The Priest unveiled the church’s new tithing campaign slogan last Sunday: “I Upped My Pledge - Up Yours!

Not WWJD, But What Jesus WOULD Do - so should we

This pastor from an AG Church in California has started placing a chaplain in bars and taverns that want him to.

People go to bars because they are hurting. They don't go to Church. So, Lets go where they hurting people are. I think that's what Jesus would do.

We don't because we aren't strong enough in our faith to believe that greater is he that is in us than he that is in the Bar.


How Islam may be WON

Jesus is still Raising People from the Dead:

(Ethiopia)—Fatuma Shubisa, had married an evangelist, and had converted to Christianity from Islam. But the Ethiopian mother-of-nine fell sick and, after some time, she was found to have passed away by her mother who had come to care for her.

There was great mourning in the small village of Alelu, as Fatuma's death was made known among friends and family members. But word of Fatuma's passing also reached the ears of a Christian missionary named Warsa Buta, who was in the area.

Acting on a promise he says the Lord gave him the day he was saved—that God would raise the dead through him—Buta sought out the deceased woman.

A non-Christian crowd gathered as Buta the missionary continued to pray over Fatuma's sheet-covered body. They asked, "Why is this Pentecostal man praying over a dead body?"

Warsa related what happened next, "I had faith the Lord would work through me. I prayed as Peter prayed. 'Fatuma, be raised. I ask you in the name of the Lord. Come to life.' When I prayed that prayer—'Fatuma, rise in the name of Jesus'—she sat up in the bed."

It had been 12 hours since Fatuma had died.

"…Immediately I found myself in my body," explained Fatuma, "I sat up in my bed and started asking, 'What is this? What's happening? What's going on?' Then everybody was surprised. Some were commenting, 'A Pentecostal man can call back a dead soul to a body? If this is real, then we all will become Christians.' And they were shouting."

During the time she was deceased, Fatuma apparently experienced some wonderful glimpses of Heaven, and of family members who had gone before, which she talks about on this CBN Story.


IF this were all that it would take to win the world for Jesus the world would already be won. Not even a man pubically executed, buried for 3 days and rising again after he prediected he would didn't win everyone. It still has to be by the Holy Spirt.

But, this doesn't hurt and many prophete are saying we are going to see more and more and more of this until denying Jesus will have to be an act of ones's will. Of course people will deny. They always have. They always will.

As I always say, anyone can go to hell if they want to, but they have to claw their way to get there.

Why The American Economy Matters


Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a convenient way of measuring and comparing the size of national economies. Annual GDP represents the market value of all goods and services produced within a country in a year. Put differently:

GDP = consumption + investment + government spending + (exports – imports)

Although the economies of countries like China and India are growing at an incredible rate, the US remains the nation with the highest GDP in the world – and by far: US GDP is projected to be $13,22 trillion (or $13.220 billion) in 2007, according to this source. That’s almost as much as the economies of the next four (Japan, Germany, China, UK) combined.

The creator of this map has had the interesting idea to break down that gigantic US GDP into the GDPs of individual states, and compare those to other countries’ GDP. What follows, is this slightly misleading map – misleading, because the economies both of the US states and of the countries they are compared with are not weighted for their respective populations.

Pakistan, for example, has a GDP that’s slightly higher than Israel’s – but Pakistan has a population of about 170 million, while Israel is only 7 million people strong. The US states those economies are compared with (Arkansas and Oregon, respectively) are much closer to each other in population: 2,7 million and 3,4 million.

And yet, wile a per capita GDP might give a good indication of the average wealth of citizens, a ranking of the economies on this map does serve two interesting purposes: it shows the size of US states’ economies relative to each other (California is the biggest, Wyoming the smallest), and it links those sizes with foreign economies (which are therefore also ranked: Mexico’s and Russia’s economies are about equal size, Ireland’s is twice as big as New Zealand’s). Here’s a run-down of the 50 states, plus DC:

  1. California, it is often said, would be the world’s sixth- or seventh-largest economy if it was a separate country. Actually, that would be the eighth, according to this map, as France (with a GDP of $2,15 trillion) is #8 on the aforementioned list.
  2. Texas’ economy is significantly smaller, exactly half of California’s, as its GDP compares to that of Canada (#10, $1,08 trillion).
  3. Florida also does well, with its GDP comparable to Asian tiger South Korea’s (#13 at $786 billion).
  4. Illinois – Mexico (GDP #14 at $741 billion)
  5. New Jersey – Russia (GDP #15 at $733 billion)
  6. Ohio – Australia (GDP #16 at $645 billion)
  7. New York – Brazil (GDP #17 at $621 billion)
  8. Pennsylvania – Netherlands (GDP #18 at $613 billion)
  9. Georgia – Switzerland (GDP #19 at $387 billion)
  10. North Carolina – Sweden (GDP #20 at $371 billion)
  11. Massachusetts – Belgium (GDP #21 at $368 billion)
  12. Washington – Turkey (GDP #22 at $358 billion)
  13. Virginia – Austria (GDP #24 at $309 billion)
  14. Tennessee – Saudi Arabia (GDP #25 at $286 billion)
  15. Missouri – Poland (GDP #26 at $265 billion)
  16. Louisiana – Indonesia (GDP #27 at $264 billion)
  17. Minnesota – Norway (GDP #28 at $262 billion)
  18. Indiana – Denmark (GDP #29 at $256 billion)
  19. Connecticut – Greece (GDP #30 at $222 billion)
  20. Michigan – Argentina (GDP #31 at $210 billion)
  21. Nevada – Ireland (GDP #32 at $203 billion)
  22. Wisconsin – South Africa (GDP #33 at $200 billion)
  23. Arizona – Thailand (GDP #34 at $197 billion)
  24. Colorado – Finland (GDP #35 at $196 billion)
  25. Alabama – Iran (GDP #36 at $195 billion)
  26. Maryland – Hong Kong (#37 at $187 billion GDP)
  27. Kentucky – Portugal (GDP #38 at $177 billion)
  28. Iowa – Venezuela (GDP #39 at $148 billion)
  29. Kansas – Malaysia (GDP #40 at $132 billion)
  30. Arkansas – Pakistan (GDP #41 at $124 billion)
  31. Oregon – Israel (GDP #42 at $122 billion)
  32. South Carolina – Singapore (GDP #43 at $121 billion)
  33. Nebraska – Czech Republic (GDP #44 at $119 billion)
  34. New Mexico – Hungary (GDP #45 at $113 billion)
  35. Mississippi – Chile (GDP #48 at $100 billion)
  36. DC – New Zealand (#49 at $99 billion GDP)
  37. Oklahoma – Philippines (GDP #50 at $98 billion)
  38. West Virginia – Algeria (GDP #51 at $92 billion)
  39. Hawaii – Nigeria (GDP #53 at $83 billion)
  40. Idaho – Ukraine (GDP #54 at $81 billion)
  41. Delaware – Romania (#55 at $79 billion GDP)
  42. Utah – Peru (GDP #56 at $76 billion)
  43. New Hampshire – Bangladesh (GDP #57 at $69 billion)
  44. Maine – Morocco (GDP #59 at $57 billion)
  45. Rhode Island – Vietnam (GDP #61 at $48 billion)
  46. South Dakota – Croatia (GDP #66 at $37 billion)
  47. Montana – Tunisia (GDP #69 at $33 billion)
  48. North Dakota – Ecuador (GDP #70 at $32 billion)
  49. Alaska – Belarus (GDP #73 at $29 billion)
  50. Vermont – Dominican Republic (GDP #81 at $20 billion)
  51. Wyoming – Uzbekistan (GDP #101 at $11 billion)
Source:

State of the Union Thoughts from the Anchoress

I laughed out loud at the Anchoress' thoughts on last night's speech. She's a great observer of humanity.

1) Hillary always look like a snotty college sophomore at these events. What a smug, know-it-all sourpuss she is.

2) I believe President Bush says “nucular” just to piss them off. I think Charlie Rangel knows it too, he laughed when Bush pushed “nucular” power. We need to drill on our own land. Presidents have been talking about our “dependence” on foreign oil since Carter, and done nothing about it. Let’s get independent. Wind fans, even where Teddy can see them!

3) As the camera panned the chamber, it seemed to me that all of the members of Congress - with pretty much the exception of Barack Obama - looked ready to be disemboweled, stuffed and hung up at the Bates Motel. I’m not talking exclusively about the older members, either. I’ve never seen so many dead eyes.

4) Nothing about these people in Congress suggest that they know they’re our servants. Nothing. We need to remind them.

5) Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, fidgets like a 14 year old and blinks more than anyone I’ve ever seen. I was wondering if her eyes were sending out a morse code: help me…I can’t move my face…how can the country hate my congress more than it hates this mush-mouthed idiot who keeps beating us…help me…I want brie and sundried tomatoes on my blackbread…with a little prosciutto…is my brow drooping…do I need more botox…no, wait, it’s okay, just my bangs…dammit I told them to put the latest Danielle Steele behind this book cover…idiot said nucular…help me…Cheney scares me…he radiates cold…I think he can freeze me to death with his evil laser glare and then break all my bones…I want a blankie…I don’t want to stand about winning in Iraq, you loser…I’m smiling…help me…can’t we have hors de oeuvres served on little silver trays, now…goat cheese on toast points…I’m not sharing them with Reid, either…I would like a lavender pillow and a glass of cabernet…God, I hate Hillary I hope Obama stomps her good…say hello to my little friend, Obama, Hillary…I will be the first woman president…President Pelosi…President Nancy Pelosi, First Female Everything…last night I dreamed I went to Manderley again…


The Anchoress

Monday, January 28, 2008

#2 or 3 in a 4 man race that's soon to be 3 - Mike Huckabee

A month ago the Core republican establishment made this a 4 man race for the GOP nomination. The picture below ran on a GOP website. OK, time being on some candidates side and not on others means that one of these men is gone. After tomorrow another will be. What is now a 4 man race will be a 3 man race. One of those men is not even on this picture the establishment GOP published. That man is now number 2 or 3 if you read the latest polls. I have to rub their collective noses in it a little bit.


To be fair, I did a detailed study of every position paper and political position Mike Huckabee is proposing which if you care you can too by googling Mike Huckabee for President. I disagree with him on a few issues. Like agriculture. He is for supports. I am not.

That doesn't mean I won't support him vigorously because we have disagreements. I know his Fair Tax plan is DOA. But it's a discussion we need to have. What can we do to completely overhaul the IRS? Diddling with is (as is the position with the other 2 candidates is no position at all.

So, Wednesday Morning it will be Huck Romney McCain. Of the three, I think its time for the GOP to ask who their soulmate really is. War Hero, War Scmerro. McCain has ridden that horse as far as it will go. George H W Bush was a war hero. Draft dodger Clinton kicked his butt. Bob Dole was a war hero. Draft Dodger Clinton kicked his butt in spades. Veteran Bob Kerry alleged war hero was kicked all over the place by George W Bush alleged draft dodger and Al Gore Vietnam Vet was beaten by alleged draft dodger George W Bush.

SO, don't give me that war hero stuff. It don't sell no more. McCain's politics of Best friends with the Clintons and appeasement at any price is a loser.

Romney's work record is good, but his political record is one that puts real caution in me.

Meanwhile the GOP center keeps making up lies about Huckabee to discredit him. The last one I heard was on Glen Beck regarding Fat Boy Report cards. Ever been to Arkansas at a Wal Mart? They need those report cards.

SO, WHEN IS THE GOP GOING TO COME TO GRIPS WITH REALITY. We are about to go into a general election with a great orator with charisma and charm who will promise anything. That ain't Hillary.

Which of the three is a great orator who can stand toe to toe in charisma and charm and hold the line by inspiring greatness? When is the GOP establishment going to embrace the real candidate in this general election. Mike Huckabee. I just did.


From Real Clear Politics

Polling Data
(this is a current average of all the polling data for the whole of the USA)

Poll Date Sample
RCP Average 01/14 - 01/22 -

McCain
25.8
Romney 19.8
Huckabee
18.6
Giuliani
13.8
Paul
5.2
Spread
McCain +6.0

Sunday, January 27, 2008

I'm not alone in thinking Oil Prices can't hold up at these levels for long. See Word of the Lord 2008 for more

Just to be sure, no one except God knows what oil prices will do, but it looks like he's right again.

That' darned Omniscience keeps getting in the way of doubters.

I borrowed this, reality bites

A Somalian arrives in Minneapolis as a new immigrant to the United
States.

He stops the first person he sees walking down the street and says,
‘Thank you Mr. American for letting me in this country , giving me
housing, food stamps, free medical care, and free education!’

The passerby says, ‘You are mistaken, I am Mexican.’

The man goes on and encounters another passerby. ‘ Thank you for
having such a beautiful country here in America !’ The person says, ‘I not
American, I Vietnamese.’

The new arrival walks further, and the next person he sees he
stops, shakes his hand and says, ‘Thank you for the wonderful America !’
That person puts up his hand and says, ‘I am from Middle East , I am not
American!’

He finally sees a nice lady and asks, ‘Are you an American?’ She
says , ‘No, I am from Africa !’ Puzzled, he asks her, ‘Where are all
the Americans?’

The African lady checks her watch and says...’Probably at WORK!


I did not write this, though..................

I may be part of a cult

Too Much Time on their Hands

Go to THIS LINK and click on the blue cup on the right.

ENJOY THE SHOW.

This brought to you by someone with far too much time on their hands.

I'm glad Fox News wasn't in Ellendale circa 1955


Growing up in the frozen north I did a lot of dumb things. I still do.

Some dumb things I did twice.

So if this got Fox News Coverage, I'd have been headline news.