Quote of the Day - Newt Gingrich Edition

Which party are you going to vote for in 5 weeks? The Paycheck Party or the Food Stamp Party?

Newt Gringrich on mid-term elections.

Bill Maher on Teabaggers, The Debt, Racists, and Obama UPDATE Part 2

He is crazy if he thinks that conservatives were not mad at the debt that Bush rang up.  That is a huge reason the republicans got kicked to the curb in 06 and 08. 

So Much For Keeping Your Health Care Plan - McDonald's May Be Forced to Drop It's Health Care Plan

 McDonald's health plan does not meet the new standards as required by Obamacare. The law requires that 80 to 85% be spent directly on healthcare costs. The vast majority of the workers on the plan spend less than $5,000 per year on medical costs.


While reading the specifics of the plan I can honestly say it stinks, but it is a plan that seems to work for the employees since they are not putting in claims for medical coverage. For $32.30 per week the employees get $10,000 per year in coverage. Now, if you have a serious illness you will burn through that amount in no time, but for someone that doesn't have any major problems $10,000 is a good sum. I certainly use much less than that per year normally.

The real problem becomes that the "exchanges" will not be set up for several years, 2014 I believe, so almost 30,000 people may be losing their insurance at the end of this year. If not, expect to pay a great deal more for your Big Mac, because that will be the only way they can afford it.

McDonald's may not be only company that will run into this same problem, as other corporations such as Disney, CVS, Blockbuster, Staples, and Home Depot also offer the same type of plan; called Mini-med. This list is only the companies that one major insurer (Aetna) sells these plans to. How many other corporations use these plans with other insurance companies?

While I think almost everyone in the country agrees that medical costs in this country have gotten out of control, but I don't see how any can continue to argue that this is the proper solution. People are paying more because of the services that they are required to purchase; such as infertility treatments. Yet, the law also makes it so insurers can't charge women more, which means that men are paying for the additional costs of infertility treatments. Why does a woman who has reached menopause or has had her tubes tied have to pay for infertility treatments? She certainly doesn't need them.  For those who are unaware, infertility treatments are very expensive; thousands upon thousands of dollars just to complete the testing to see what the problem is. 

This is yet one more obvious reason that democrats that voted for this monstrosity are not running on this for their re-election.

read article here. 

Even CNN sees Obama's Hypocrisy

H/T to Newsbusters

October Surprise a Few Days Early - Whitman Being Hit with Charges of Hiring Illegals

Gloria Allred, publicity whore and attorney has lodged charges against Meg Whitman; republican candidate for governor of California.  The charges are that Whitman knowingly employed an illegal alien and that this woman was mistreated and underpaid:

Allred said that during Diaz's years of employment, Whitman caused her "to feel exploited, disrespected, humiliated and emotionally and financially abused."

Yet, Nicki Diaz worked for the Whitman's for 9 years.  If she felt all these things why did she continue to work for her?  On her employment application she gave plenty of other references, so she didn't seem to have a problem finding work.  She also was being paid $23 per hour.  Hardly a sum that I would say is putting her in a position to feel financially abused. 

The problem is that Whitman has copies of her employment application that contains not only a valid drivers license it also has a copy of a social security card with the maid's name on it.  A social security number that is obviously falsified.  Ms. Diaz received the job through an employment agency as well.  One would logically think that the employment agency would be responsible in part for checking for the legal status of the people it sends out for employment. 

Allred is known as a democratic supporter and is on record for giving money to Jerry Brown, the democratic candidate for governor.  Allred is nothing more than cheap opportunist that has a bizarre view of the world.  She is the attorney for two of Tiger's mistresses, one of which is now trying to sell a sex tape of the two of them. 

I truly feel sorry for Ms. Diaz in the respect that it seems very odd indeed that she comes out with these accuastions less than six weeks before the election.  Her employment was terminated more than 14 months ago, in June of 09.  She is being used by someone who is afraid that Brown will lose the campaign.  I also feel sorry for her that doesn't realize that she has admitted to a felony by coming forward; she falsified a social security number.  She has put herself into a position that she can be jailed and/or deported.  Of course, this is California we are talking about, so it is unlikely anything will come of it.  As I am sure that Allred explained to her.  So much for upholding the law, Gloria. 

Obama's Hypocrisy on Abortion is Showing......Again

"I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby,"

President Obama on the Campaign Trail in 2008

"Now, with respect to the abortion issue, I actually think -- I mean, there are laws both federal, state and constitutional that are in place. And I think that this is an area where I think Bill Clinton had the right formulation a couple of decades ago, which is abortion should be safe, legal, and rare,"

President Obama in New Mexico yesterday.

President Obama's voting record is very clear on abortion.  They is nothing in his voting record that would allow someone to believe this statement.  Obama, during his entire legislative career, has voted to keep abortion legal in all cases, including late term abortion.  Late term abortion is barbaric.  You literally start the labor process to have the child's head clear the womb, than stick a needle in it to kill the child.  You cannot approve that procedure and say that abortion should be rare and expect people to believe you.  He also went as far as to deny health care to child born alive after a botched abortion.  At that point, it is a living human being by any standard.  Even if you are of the belief that life begins at birth, this child is alive.  Anyone who would approve such a thing has no respect for life and therefore cannot say that abortion should be rare especially when you add in his statement that his daughter should not be "punished".  A baby is not a punishment.  It is the biggest blessing in the world; just ask any woman who is going through infertility treatments. 

Chris Christie "No Chance" He will Run for POTUS in 12

He leaves the door open for later, but it doesn't look like he will take a shot for it in two years.  Which is a smart move, he needs to finish out his term as Governor, and I am sure that the people in New Jersey are happy to hear this, as he is getting the budget under control there.  Will Chris Christie run for president? N.J. Gov. says 'No chance'

9 Levels of Outrage

We cannot possibly stay on this path and be competitive on the world stage.  The size and scope of government must be decreased; Remember November.


Federal Pay Gap from RightChange on Vimeo.

Quote of the Day - Dennis Prager Edition

That is why nearly all Democratic and leftist reactions to conservatives and Republicans are to avoid argument (remember, on the issues the left has few supporters) and smear them as SIXHIRB, my acronym for "Sexist, Intolerant, Xenophobic, Homophobic, Islamophobic, Racist, Bigoted." It is almost impossible to come up with the name of a leading conservative whom the dominant media have not dismissed as one or more of SIXHIRB -- and usually as a buffoon as well. This obviously serves the left and the Democratic Party in many ways. But the most important is to keep non-leftists in fear of anyone who opposes the left. In effect, the left says, and has been saying for a hundred years, "You may not agree with us, but our opponents are evil."


The Democratic appeal to black voters provides an excellent example. In nearly half a century, the left has done nothing for black America. Leftists have ruined the cities they govern and most of the public schools they control. But they have mastered one thing -- the ability to paint their opponents as racist opponents of blacks. So, blacks, many of whom have conservative values -- from opposing same-sex marriage to supporting school vouchers -- vote almost universally for the left.

A very interesting article, well worth the read. 

H/T to Conservative Pup

Hubris? Woodward Says Obama Thinks He is the Smartest Man in the Room

No need to listen to the experts like the guys who have been in the military for decades when you have Obama.  What could go wrong? 

Fred Thompson's Tweets of Interest

Gitmo detainees have ice cream cut back to 1 serving per day. Gotta be worried. What if they mess w/ "steak & lobster" night? #ftrs #tcot

Obama won in 2008 because of a bad economy, then he made it even worse with his liberal agenda: http://bit.ly/bgzAF4 #ftrs #tcot

Chrysler fires 13 workers filmed drinking beer & smoking pot. Well, they can always get jobs working for Obama's Drug Czar. #ftrs #tcot

About Colbert's testimony... do you think they had a two drink minimum on the Hill that day, or did they not bother lowering it? #ftrs #tcot

Gov't to spend $1.7M for new fence around Biden's house. Not for security - to keep people from leaving during his speeches. #ftrs #tcot

Government-owned GM making election campaign contributions. Lists spending on balance sheets as cost of "developing new airbags"

Saw headline on Drudge: "Man arrested for scuffle - with pet parrot". My first thought: "why's Harry Reid mad at Chris Coons?"

The Communists Are Coming, The Communists Are Coming....

On Saturday there will be the left's answer to Glenn Beck's Restore Honor Rally.  Oh, looking at the list of "sponsors" was eye opening. 

It was not all that long ago I was talking to several people who not only voted for President Obama, but actually think he is doing a good job. One of which grew up in Africa where the government has basically total control of your lives.  He refuses to see that there are forces in this country that would like nothing better than to turn the U.S. into another one of those countries.  What is truly scary to me that I don't think President Obama sees them either.  He doesn't see that he is merely a puppet of those forces. 

What  I would like to know is why is the NAACP is working so closely with GLSEN?  The black community regardless of how they may vote are pretty generally social conservatives.  I am not too sure that they would be all that jazzed to find out the NAACP is closely working with an organization that sole purpose it to push sexually explicit information on the acceptability of homosexuality starting with children as young as kindergarten.  Remember the fisting demonstrations done for teenagers?  That was sponsored by this group. 

The Communist Party USA is also a sponsor!  What is it supposed to say when a former candidate for the presidency in the democratic party is working this closely with communists?  The squishy middle and the people who have their heads in the sand need to wake up and ask themselves these questions. 

We live in democratic republic, people are allowed to their views and are allowed to express them.  But, the issue is how long are going allow them to push this country into their vision?  A vision that has nothing to do with the founding documents of this country.  Here is a good example of what I am talking about:



What Van Jones doesn't understand I have no desire to "run his family" or "run his community".  I want limited government that doesn't run anyone's family.  I am not the one that is trying to tell people what to put their thermostats on.  If they want their a/c turned down to 60 in the middle of summer, have it at.  As long as I don't have to pay the bill it is none of my concern.  I also am not the one that doesn't think that this country is running out of money.  Jones' said that Haliburtion has plenty of money.  Maybe they do, but it doesn't belong to me nor to the US treasury.  I don't want the government telling me what food to eat, what doctor I can go to, or what choices are put into vending machines.  San Francisco is working towards closing pet shops because people decide not to keep hamsters after buying them.  I agree if you get a pet you should be responsible for it, but why are they punishing everyone?  There are plenty of responsible pet owners; even in San Francisco.  If a business can make boatloads of money for themselves and their stockholders, more power to them.  As long as they are doing it honestly and legally, again it is not my business.  Nor, do I think that they owe me some of that money. 

There is a part of me that longs for the days that I thought communists only existed in the Soviet Union, and socialism in the guise of government totalitarianism was a thing of the past. 

Tuesday Toons

Tea Party Express Bus Tour

TEA PARTY EXPRESS IV: LIBERTY AT THE BALLOT BOX

Monday, October 18th

10:00 AM – Rally in Reno, NV
12:30 PM – TPX Tour departs from Reno, NV rally location
5:30 PM – Elko, NV rally
*Overnight in Elko, NV*

Tuesday, October 19th

9:00 AM – Depart from Elko, NV hotel
12:00 Noon – Rally in Ely, NV
1:30 PM – Depart Ely, NV
6:00 PM – Rally in Las Vegas, NV
*Overnight in Las Vegas, NV*

Wednesday, October 20th

9:00 AM – Depart from Las Vegas, NV
1:30 PM – Rally in Barstow, CA
3:00 PM – Depart Barstow, CA
6:00 PM – Rally in Los Angeles, CA
*Overnight in Los Angeles, CA*

Thursday, October 21st

8:00 AM – Depart Los Angeles, CA
12:00 Noon – San Diego, CA Rally
2:30 PM – Depart San Diego, CA
6:00 PM – Rally in Yuma, AZ
*Overnight in Yuma, AZ*

Friday, October 22nd

8:00 AM – Depart Yuma, AZ
12:00 Noon – Rally in Phoenix, AZ
2:30 PM – Depart Phoenix, AZ
*Overnight in Las Cruces, NM*

Saturday, October 23rd

12:00 Noon – Rally in Las Cruces, NM
3:00 PM – Depart Las Cruces, NM
4:30 PM – Rally in El Paso, TX
6:00 PM – Depart El Paso, TX
10:30 PM – Arrive in Odessa, TX
*Overnight in Odessa, TX*

Sunday, October 24th

8:00 AM – Depart Odessa, TX
11:30 AM – Rally in Abilene, TX
1:00 PM – Depart Abilene, TX
5:00 PM – Waco, TX Rally
*Overnight in Waco, TX*

Monday, October 25th

7:30 AM – Depart Waco, TX
10:00 AM – Rally in Dallas, TX
12:00 Noon – Depart Dallas, TX
6:00 PM – Rally in Little Rock, AR
*Overnight in Little Rock*

Tuesday, October 26th

7:30 AM – Depart Little Rock, AR
4:00 PM – Rally in Franklin, TN
6:30 PM – Depart Franklin, TN
10:00 PM – Arrive in Paducah, KY
*Overnight in Paducah, KY*

Wednesday, October 27th

11:00 AM – Rally in Paducah, KY
1:30 PM – Depart Paducah, KY
5:00 PM – Rally in St. Louis, MO
7:30 PM – Depart St. Louis, MO
10:00 PM – Arrive in Springfield, IL
*Overnight in Springfield, IL*

Thursday, October 28th

9:00 AM – Rally in Springfield, IL
11:30 AM – Depart Springfield, IL
4:00 PM – Rally in Joliet, IL
6:30 PM – Depart Joliet, IL
11:00 PM – Arrive in Jackson, MI

Friday, October 29th

10:00 AM – Rally in Jackson, MI
12:30 PM – Depart Jackson, MI
4:00 PM – Rally in Troy, MI
6:30 PM – Depart Troy, MI
11:00 PM – Arrive in Columbus, OH

Saturday, October 30th

11:00 AM – Rally in Columbus, OH
1:30 PM – Depart Columbus, OH
9:00 PM – Arrive in Harrisburg, PA

Sunday, October 31st

10:00 AM – Rally in Harrisburg, PA
12:00 Noon – Depart Harrisburg, PA
3:00 PM – Rally in Wilmington, DE
5:30 PM – Depart Wilmington, DE
8:00 PM – Rally in Toms River, NJ
*Overnight in Toms River, NJ*

Monday, November 1st

8:00 AM – Depart Toms River, NJ
2:00 PM – Rally in Attleboro, MA
4:00 PM – Depart Attleboro, MA
6:00 PM – Rally in Concord, NH
*Conclusion of Tour

Bristol Palin on Dancing with the Stars Week 2

Quote of the Day - President Obama Edition Part 3

“I’ll be blunt with you, The answer is no right now.” He went on to say that despite making great strides over the past several years, “The D.C. public school systems are struggling.”

They are “terrific individual schools” in the city, but the larger problem remains for parents who can’t choose to send their children to school where they please, he said. “They should be getting the same quality education for their kids as everybody else, and we don’t have that yet.”

President Obama on why he doesn't send his children to DC public schools.  Now, personally, I don't have a problem with the children of a sitting president attending private schools.  The safety issues alone is reason enough.  I also think that as young children who didn't run for any political office, they deserve privacy and that will be better attained at a private school than at a public school. 

What I have a real problem with is him allowing the sucessful voucher program to be terminated. 

Smart Girl Summit - 2010

Hope to see you there!!

Hyatt Regency Crystal City

2799 Jefferson Davis Highway
Arlington, VA 22202
Telephone: 703.418.1234
Fax: 703.418.1233

SGS 2010 Speakers


Dana Loesch
Debra Burlingame
Leslie Sanchez
Liz Cheney
Marjorie Dannenfelser
Michele Bachmann
Princella Smith
Rachel Campos-Duffy
S.E. Cupp
Tammy Bruce
SGSAgenda

Social Security is Stable? Russ Carnahan Seems to Think So

In the Summary of the 2009 Social Security Trustees Report

“Neither the redemption of trust fund bonds, nor interest paid on those bonds, provides any new net income to the Treasury, which must finance redemptions and interest payments through some combination of increased taxation, reductions in other government spending, or additional borrowing from the public.”

Gov. Christie Not Waiting for Superman

Governor Christie gives a short speech after the watching the documentary Waiting for Superman; a film made by the same film maker who made An Inconvenient Truth. 

I think Christie is not waiting for Superman, he is going to roll up his sleeves and work with Mayor of Newark who just received $100 Million from the founder of Facebook to come up with innovative ideas to increase the quality of our children's education.  We cannot continue on the path of falling further and further behind the developed world and still stay competitive on the world stage.  This is one of the major issues of our time.  Christie will not allow the unions to stand in the way of the reforms that are necessary. 

Battle for the Future

Well worth the watch:

Grayson Going off the Deep End

Quite honestly, I didn't think this man could go any lower, but he has proven me wrong. 

Liberal Logic - Kirsten Powers Edition

On the Hannity Show Friday night, the clip showing workers at Chrysler smoking pot and drinking while on break was played.  These men have since been suspended by Chrysler, after management was shown this video. 

Kristen Powers believes that this is mean and doesn't understand why there is not outrage that investment bankers go out and have martini's with their lunches. 

Hmm, let's see if I can find a difference.  The workers at Chrysler are making trucks/cars that people will be putting their small children in.  There is direct link to the safety of the people who will be driving these cars after someone who is drunk/high makes them. 

Call me crazy, but I don't think it is mean to expect that the people who are manufacturing something that could potentially kill me if not manufactured correctly are not doing drugs and drinking during the workday.  Also, I have more than one job that required me not to drink during work hours.  It isn't a great deal to ask. 



H/T to Right Scoop

Showing No Love for Call Me Senator Boxer - SF Chronicle Will Not Endorse Boxer

The San Francisco Chronicle has declined to endorse Barbara Boxer.  This comes as a big surprise for several reasons, one being it is her hometown paper of sorts.  She started her political career in Marin County and her husband's law practice is based in Oakland. 

The incumbent, Democrat Barbara Boxer, has failed to distinguish herself during her 18 years in office. There is no reason to believe that another six-year term would bring anything but more of the same uninspired representation

Ouch! 

Boxer, first elected in 1992, would not rate on anyone's list of most influential senators. Her most famous moments on Capitol Hill have not been ones of legislative accomplishment, but of delivering partisan shots. Although she is chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, it is telling that leadership on the most pressing issue before it - climate change - was shifted to Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., because the bill had become so polarized under her wing.

Double Ouch!

So instead of endorsing Carly Fiorina they have chosen not to endorse anyone.  But the did say some positive things about Carly. 

Boxer's campaign, playing to resentment over Fiorina's wealth, is not only an example of the personalized pettiness that has infected too much of modern politics, it is also a clear sign of desperation.

In past elections, Boxer has had the good fortune of having Republican opponents who were inept, underfunded, on the fringe right - or combinations thereof. Her opponent this time, Fiorina, is proving to be articulate, well-funded and formidable.

But by not endorsing Call Me Senator are they not just saying go ahead and vote for Carly? 

Read the entire article here

NRO's Top 25 Conservative Movies

The Best Conservative Movies

Once in a blue moon, Hollywood releases a conservative movie, or at least a film that resonates with conservatives in a particular way. Because conservatives love movies — and especially debates about movies — we decided to produce a list of the 25 best conservative movies of the last 25 years. Our approach in selecting them doesn’t rise to the level of an actual methodology, but there was a method to it. We asked readers of National Review Online to submit nominations. Hundreds of suggestions came in, along with explanations and arguments. We considered each one, tallied them up, and consulted a number of film buffs and professional movie-makers.

We do not claim that the writers, directors, producers, gaffers, and key grips involved with these films are conservative. We certainly make no such assertion about the actors. Yet the results are indisputable: Conservatives enjoy these films because they are great movies that offer compelling messages about freedom, families, patriotism, traditions, and more.

I expected to Narnia to be higher and where is The Blind Side on this list? 

1. The Lives of Others (2007): “I think that this is the best movie I ever saw,” said William F. Buckley Jr. upon leaving the theater (according to his column on the film). The tale, set in East Germany in 1984, is one part romantic drama, one part political thriller. It chronicles life under a totalitarian regime as the Stasi secretly monitors the activities of a playwright who is suspected of harboring doubts about Communism. Critics showered the movie with praise and it won an Oscar for best foreign-language film (it’s in German). More Buckley: “The tension mounts to heart-stopping pitch and I felt the impulse to rush out into the street and drag passersby in to watch the story unfold.”

2. The Incredibles (2004): This animated film skips pop-culture references and gross jokes in favor of a story that celebrates marriage, courage, responsibility, and high achievement. A family of superheroes — Mr. Incredible, his wife Elastigirl, and their children — are living an anonymous life in the suburbs, thanks to a society that doesn’t appreciate their unique talents. Then it comes to need them. In one scene, son Dash, a super-speedy runner, wants to try out for track. Mom claims it wouldn’t be fair. “Dad says our powers make us special!” Dash objects. “Everyone is special,” Mom demurs, to which Dash mutters, “Which means nobody is.”

3. Metropolitan (1990): Whit Stillman’s Oscar-nominated debut takes a red-headed outsider into the luxurious drawing rooms and debutante balls of New York’s Upper East Side elite. One character, a committed socialist, falls for the discreet charm of the urban haute bourgeoisie. Another plaintively theorizes the inevitable doom of his class. A reader of Jane Austen wonders what’s wrong with a novel’s having a virtuous heroine. And a roguish defender of standards and detachable collars delivers more sophisticated conservative one-liners than a year’s worth of Yale Party of the Right debates. With mocking affection, gentle irony, and a blizzard of witty dialogue, Stillman manages the impossible: He brings us to see what is admirable and necessary in the customs and conventions of America’s upper class.

4. Forrest Gump (1994): It won an Oscar for best picture — beating Pulp Fiction, a movie that’s far more expressive of Hollywood’s worldview. Tom Hanks plays the title character, an amiable dunce who is far too smart to embrace the lethal values of the 1960s. The love of his life, wonderfully played by Robin Wright Penn, chooses a different path; she becomes a drug-addled hippie, with disastrous results. Forrest’s IQ may be room temperature, but he serves as an unexpected font of wisdom. Put ’em on a Whitman’s Sampler, but Mama Gump’s famous words about life’s being like a box of chocolates ring true.

5. 300 (2007): During the Bush years, Hollywood neglected the heroism of American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan — but it did release this action film about martial honor, unflinching courage, and the oft-ignored truth that freedom isn’t free. Beneath a layer of egregious non-history — including goblin-like creatures that belong in a fantasy epic — is a stylized story about the ancient battle of Thermopylae and the Spartan defense of the West’s fledgling institutions. It contrasts a small band of Spartans, motivated by their convictions and a commitment to the law, with a Persian horde that is driven forward by whips. In the words recorded by the real-life Herodotus: “Law is their master, which they fear more than your men[, Xerxes,] fear you.”

6. Groundhog Day (1993): This putatively wacky comedy about Bill Murray as an obnoxious weatherman cursed to relive the same day over and over in a small Pennsylvania town, perhaps for eternity, is in fact a sophisticated commentary on the good and true. Theologians and philosophers across the ideological spectrum have embraced it. For the conservative, the moral of the tale is that redemption and meaning are derived not from indulging your “authentic” instincts and drives, but from striving to live up to external and timeless ideals. Murray begins the film as an irony-soaked narcissist, contemptuous of beauty, art, and commitment. His journey of self-discovery leads him to understand that the fads of modernity are no substitute for the permanent things.

7. The Pursuit of Happyness (2006): Based on the life of self-made millionaire Chris Gardner (Will Smith), this film provides the perfect antidote to Wall Street and other Hollywood diatribes depicting the world of finance as filled with nothing but greed. After his wife leaves him, Gardner can barely pay the rent. He accepts an unpaid internship at a San Francisco brokerage, with the promise of a real job if he outperforms the other interns and passes his exams. Gardner never succumbs to self-pity, even when he and his young son take refuge in a homeless shelter. They’re black, but there’s no racial undertone or subtext. Gardner is just an incredibly hard-working, ambitious, and smart man who wants to do better for himself and his son.

8. Juno (2007): The best pro-life movies reach beyond the church choirs and influence the wider public. Juno was a critical and commercial success. It didn’t set out to deliver a message on abortion, but much of its audience discovered one anyway. The story revolves around a 16-year-old who finds a home for her unplanned baby. The film has its faults, including a number of crass moments and a pregnant high-school student with an unrealistic level of self-confidence. Yet it also exposes a broken culture in which teen sex is dehumanizing, girls struggle with “choice,” and boys aimlessly try — and sometimes downright fail — to become men. The movie doesn’t glamorize much of anything but leaves audiences with an open-ended chance for redemption.

9. Blast from the Past (1999): Revolutionary Road is only the latest big-screen portrayal of 1950s America as boring, conformist, repressive, and soul-destroying. A decade ago, Hugh Wilson’s Blast from the Past defied the party line, seeing the values, customs, manners, and even music of the period with nostalgic longing. Brendan Fraser plays an innocent who has grown up in a fallout shelter and doesn’t know the era of Sputnik and Perry Como is over. Alicia Silverstone is a post-feminist woman who learns from him that pre-feminist women had some things going for them. Christopher Walken and Sissy Spacek as Fraser’s parents are comic gems.

10. Ghostbusters (1984): This comedy might not get Russell Kirk’s endorsement as a worthy treatment of the supernatural, but you have to like a movie in which the bad guy (William Atherton at his loathsome best) is a regulation-happy buffoon from the EPA, and the solution to a public menace comes from the private sector. This last fact is the other reason to love Ghostbusters: When Dr. Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) gets kicked out of the university lab and ponders pursuing entrepreneurial opportunities, a nervous Dr. Raymond Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) replies: “I don’t know about that. I’ve worked in the private sector. They expect results!”

11. The Lord of the Rings (2001, 2002, 2003): Author J. R. R. Tolkien was deeply conservative, so it’s no surprise that the trilogy of movies based on his masterwork is as well. Largely filmed before 9/11, they seemed perfectly pitched for the post-9/11 world. The debates over what to do about Sauron and Saruman echoed our own disputes over the Iraq War. (Think of Wormtongue as Keith Olbermann.) When Frodo sighs, “I wish none of this had happened,” Gandalf’s response speaks to us, too: “So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”

12. The Dark Knight (2008): This film gives us a portrait of the hero as a man reviled. In his fight against the terrorist Joker, Batman has to devise new means of surveillance, push the limits of the law, and accept the hatred of the press and public. If that sounds reminiscent of a certain former president — whose stubborn integrity kept the nation safe and turned the tide of war — don’t mention it to the mainstream media. Our journalists know that good men are often despised by the mob; it just never seems to occur to them that they might be the mob themselves.

13. Braveheart (1995): Forget the travesty this soaring action film makes of the historical record. Braveheart raised its hero, medieval Scottish warrior William Wallace, to the level of myth and won five Oscars, including best director for Mel Gibson, who played Wallace as he led a spirited revolt against English tyranny. Braveheart taught that freedom is not just worth dying for, but also worth killing for, in defense of hearth and homeland. Six years later, amid the ruins of the Twin Towers, Gibson’s message resonated with a generation of American youth who signed up to fight terrorists, instead of inviting them to join a “constructive dialogue.” Liberals have never forgiven Gibson since.

14. A Simple Plan (1998): A defining insight of conservatism is that whatever transcendent inspiration there may be to moral principles, there is also the humble fact that morality works. Moral institutions and customs endure because they allow civilization to proceed. Sam Raimi’s gripping A Simple Plan illustrates this truth. Bill Paxton plays a decent family man who lives by the book in every way. But when he’s cajoled into breaking the rules to get rich quick, he falls under the jurisdiction of the law of unintended consequences and discovers that simple morality is not simplistic, and that a seductively simple plan is a siren song if it runs against the grain of what is right.

15. Red Dawn (1984): From the safe, familiar environment of a classroom, we watch countless parachutes drop from the sky and into the heart of America. Oh, no: invading Commies! Laugh if you want — many do — but Red Dawn has survived countless more acclaimed films because Father Time has always been our most reliable film critic. The essence of timelessness is more than beauty. It’s also truth, and the truth that America is a place and an idea worth fighting and dying for will not be denied, not under a pile of left-wing critiques or even Red Dawn’s own melodramatic flaws. Released at the midpoint of Reagan’s presidential showdown with the Soviet Union, this story of what was at stake in the Cold War endures.

16. Master and Commander (2003): This naval-adventure film starring Russell Crowe is based on the books of Patrick O’Brian, and here’s what A. O. Scott of the New York Times said in his review: “The Napoleonic wars that followed the French Revolution gave birth, among other things, to British conservatism, and Master and Commander, making no concessions to modern, egalitarian sensibilities, is among the most thoroughly and proudly conservative movies ever made. It imagines the [H.M.S.] Surprise as a coherent society in which stability is underwritten by custom and every man knows his duty and his place. I would not have been surprised to see Edmund Burke’s name in the credits.”

17. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (2005): The White Witch runs a godless, oppressive, paranoid regime that hates Santa Claus. She’s a cross between Burgermeister Meisterburger and Kim Jong Il. The good guys, meanwhile, recognize that some throats will need cutting: no appeasement, no land-for-peace swaps, no offering the witch a snowmobile if she’ll only put away the wand. Underlying the narrative is the story of Christ’s rescuing man from sin — which is antithetical to the leftist dream of perfected man’s becoming an instrument for earthly utopia. The results of such utopian visions, of course, are frequently like the Witch’s reign: always winter, and never Christmas.

18. The Edge (1997): Screenwriter David Mamet uses a wilderness survival story about friendship, betrayal, and forgiveness to present a few truths rarely seen in movies: Knowledge has its limits, fortitude is a weapon against hardship, and honor can motivate even the shallowest man to great sacrifice. Some have interpreted the film as a Cold War allegory because it features a menacing bear. The main characters (played by Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin) understand that there is neither wisdom nor nobility in waiting for others to save them, and that they must take responsibility for their own lives and souls. Life is unfair, but to challenge life on its own terms is an exhilarating reward, no matter the outcome.

19. We Were Soldiers (2002): Most movies about the Vietnam War reflect the derangements of the antiwar Left. This film, based on the memoir by Lt. Col. Hal Moore (played by Mel Gibson), offers a lifelike alternative. It focuses on a fight between an outnumbered U.S. Army battalion and three North Vietnamese regiments in the battle of Ia Drang in 1965. Significantly, it treats soldiers not as wretched losers or pathological killers, but as regular citizens. They are men willing to sacrifice everything to do their duty — to their country, to their unit, and to their fellow soldiers. As the movie makes clear, they also had families. Indeed, their last thoughts were usually about their loved ones back home.

20. Gattaca (1997): In this science-fiction drama, Vincent (Ethan Hawke) can’t become an astronaut because he’s genetically unenhanced. So he purchases the identity of a disabled athlete (Jude Law), with calamitous results. The movie is a cautionary tale about the progressive fantasy of a eugenically correct world — the road to which is paved by the abortion of Down babies, research into human cloning, and “transhumanist” dreams of fabricating a “post-human species.” Biotechnology is a force for good, but without adherence to the ideal of universal human equality, it opens the door to the soft tyranny of Gattaca and, ultimately, the dystopian nightmare of Brave New World.

21. Heartbreak Ridge (1986): Clint Eastwood’s foul-mouthed Marine sergeant Tom Highway makes quick work of kicking Communist Cubans out of Grenada. And, boy, does “Gunny” hate Commies. Not only does he kill quite a few, he also refuses a bribe of a Cuban cigar, saying: “Get that contraband stogie out of my face before I shove it so far up you’re a** you’ll have to set fire to your nose to light it.” A welcome glorification of Reagan’s decision to liberate Grenada in 1983, the film also notes how after a tie in Korea and a loss in Vietnam, America can finally celebrate a military victory. Eastwood, the old war horse, walks off into retirement pleased that he’s not “0–1–1 anymore.” Semper Fi. Oo-rah!

22. Brazil (1985): Vividly depicting the miserable results of elitist utopian schemes, Terry Gilliam’s Brazil portrays a darkly comic dystopia of malfunctioning high-tech equipment and the dreary living conditions common to all totalitarian regimes. Everything in the society is built to serve government plans rather than people. The film is visually arresting and inventive, with especially evocative use of shots that put the audience in a subservient position, just like the people in the film. Terrorist bombings, national-security scares, universal police surveillance, bureaucratic arrogance, a callous elite, perversion of science, and government use of torture evoke the worst aspects of the modern megastate.

23. United 93 (2006): Minutes after terrorists struck on 9/11, Americans launched their first counterattack in the War on Terror. Director Paul Greengrass pays tribute to the passengers of United 93 by refusing to turn their story into a wimpy Hollywood melodrama. Instead, United 93 unfolds as a real-time docudrama. Just as significantly, Greengrass provides a clear depiction of our enemies. United 93 opens as four Muslim terrorists pray in a hotel room. Several hours later, the hijackers’ frenzied shrieks to Allah mingle with the prayerful supplications of United 93’s passengers as they crash through the cockpit door and strike a blow against those who would terrorize our country.

24. Team America: World Police (2004): This marionette movie from South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone is hard to categorize as conservative. It’s amazingly vulgar and depicts Americans as wildly overzealous in fighting terror. Yet the film’s utter disgust with air-headed, left-wing celebrity activism remains unmatched in popular culture. As the heroes move to stop a WMD apocalypse, they clash with Alec Baldwin, Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn, and a host of others, whom they take out with gunfire, sword, and martial arts before saving the day. The movie, like South Park itself, reveals Parker and Stone as the two-headed George Grosz of American satire.

25. Gran Torino (2008): Clint Eastwood directs and stars in the ultimate family movie unsuitable for the family. He plays Walt Kowalski, a caricature of an old-school, dying-breed, Polish-American racist male, replete with post-traumatic stress disorder from having served in the Korean War. Kowalski comes to realize that his exotic Hmong neighbors embody traditional social values more than his own disaster of a Caucasian nuclear family. Dirty Harry blows away political correctness, takes on the bad guys, and turns a boy into a man in the process. He even encourages the cultural assimilation of immigrants. It feels so good, you knew the Academy would ignore it.

Sunday Funnies

Ten Bucks Fridays - Vote Up Folks

Where Has the Sanity Gone? Fenty and Rhee Out in DC

Adrian Fenty, Mayor of Washington D.C., lost his re-election bid to Vincent Gray quite convincingly; by 10% points.  Fenty, a man that most describe as aloof, has been an effective mayor.  During the Fenty administration the murder rate decreased and the public school system test scores increased.

Fenty hired both the police commissioner and the school Chancellor; Michelle Rhee.  Rhee figures prominently in the new documentary "Waiting for Superman".  The documentary shows the trials and tribulations of the average American trying to get a good education for their child.  Sadly, all too many are unsuccessful. 

This is especially true if you live in a poorer, more urban environment; such as Washington, DC.  The district has a great deal of problems.  Poverty, gangs, homelessness, drugs, AIDS infections, and on it goes.  One of the biggest problems that DC has had over the years is a broken school system.  It certainly is not for a lack of funds.  DC spends a great deal of money per student in public school.  The number is somewhere around $17,000 per student one of the highest in country.  The results for that money is less than stellar.  Some of the lowest test rates in the country.  Obviously, the problems go much deeper than the finances. 

Some of the schools are in major disrepair and are in horrible neighborhoods, where I certainly wouldn't be comfortable to have my small child walk to and fro.  The district recently lost the federal funds for school vouchers; even though the program was wildly successful.  In walks Michelle Rhee.  Rhee who has a reputation as bringing a no nonsense take no prisoners approach to fixing the broken system that Americans have created for themselves. 

Rhee has fired teachers who were shown to be incompetent and unable to raise the level of education in their classrooms.  She also has closed entire schools that were just failing the students in every way.  This has been none too popular with the local and national teachers unions.  Nor did it sit well in a majority black city when many of the teachers were black themselves. 

Fenty who has been not just a defender of Rhee, he is one of her biggest fans.  He also has not played the political games that everyone in DC has become accustomed to.  He hired the best people for the job.  He ran the city in a way to lower costs and improve services.  He wasn't always successful, but he did the job that so many have no desire to perform.  And by no means did escape his own scandals.  He did hire some of his fraternity brothers to perform some services that caused an uproar, and I am sure helped in his defeat. 

Rhee is almost certain to lose her job after Gray is officially elected; and he will be as no Republican is running in the race.  The unions spent millions to get Gray elected and the payback will be her head on a platter. 

While I doubt that Michelle Rhee and I agree on anything politically, we both agree that every child in this country deserves a good education; and that ain't happen now.  She is willing to make some difficult choices that Americans have yet to accept that we are going to have to make to straighten this ship. 

I find it quite sad that the teachers unions could buy the opinions of the very people that Rhee was trying to help.  We are all going to have to make some sacrifices to get this country heading in the right direction again.  Improving public education is a vital if we are truly going to get that done.  Rhee's innovative and tough love ideas may be just what we need; and sadly it will be some other city that will benefit. 

Is John Kerry Really Wrong?

We have an electorate that doesn’t always pay that much attention to what’s going on so people are influenced by a simple slogan rather than the facts or the truth or what’s happening

Senator John Kerry

There has been much ado around the blogosphere that John Kerry is calling voters stupid.  I am sure that he would characterize as ignorant more than stupid.  But is he really all that wrong? 



Remember this young woman?



She certainly felt for the slogan "Hope and Change" didn't she? 


According to the polls in the Nevada senate seat there are approx. 13% undecided. 

Now it is very possible that people don't want to tell someone on the phone who they are voting for, but that is a pretty high number.  There is a clear difference between the two candidates.  One is for ever increasing the size and scope of government and the other is for limiting it.  You either believe in limited government or big government.  This election, no matter the race, is about that.  This may not be true in every election, but it certainly is in this one. 

So if you can't even decide if you are for big government or small government than you truly are not well informed and you probably do decide at the last minute based more on headlines and soundbites than by doing your due diligence and really looking into the big issues of the day. 

C'mon admit it, you all know someone that falls into this category.  In my case I am related to these people.  My brother has never voted in his life, he couldn't tell you what his representatives believe in, let alone what their names are.  I actually applaud the fact that he doesn't vote, because it is a danger to the country if someone who is completely uniformed votes.  But, sadly, people who don't have any idea of what the world view of the candidates are show up at the polls and place a vote that the rest of us are stuck with for however long that person is in office. 

The one positive thing that has come about in the past several years is the fact that people are much more informed.  Even critics of the tea party have admitted that they are informed of the issues and the policies that are being debated in Congress. 

The Congressional Black Caucus Shows it Hypocrisy Once Again UPDATE: West's Reponse

The Congressional Black Caucus, in all of it's infinite wisdom, has decided to throw it's support behind Ron Klein over Allen West in the Florida 22 congressional race.  In case you are not aware, Klein is white and West is black.  Civil Rights activist and Icon John Lewis will also be campaigning for Klein.

I think that the time has come that we start calling organizations what they really are.  The Congressional Black Caucus should rightly be renamed the Congressional Black Liberals.  The members have repeatedly have shown nothing but contempt for conservatives who happen to be black.  I think we all remember the comment made by Eleanor Norton Holmes on Justice Thomas:

"We’ve got someone who proposes to be African-American on the court"

Has this woman ever seen Justice Thomas?  I don't think there can any doubt if he is black or not, as his skin tone is very dark. 

For the CBC to say that one of the purposes of the caucus is to promote more black legislators in the process and then to go and campaign for a white candidate over a black one is simply stunning to me.  The percentage of black voters in this particular district is about 5% and the district is pretty evenly divided politically.  The 5% of blacks could be what makes the difference in this very close election, but West in now up in the polls.   I am sure this what CBC is counting on.   

Somehow, I don't think that Allen West will be all that disappointed not to get an invitation to join the caucus once he kicks Klein to the curb. 

Read more here

Update:

Here is West's response.

Christopher Coates Testifies - Racial Politics at the DOJ

Christopher Coates, a career attorney at the DoJ, testified today in front of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission today.  It did not bode well for the Obama administration or Attorney General Eric Holder.  Mr. Coates, formerly with the ACLU, was directed by the Holder justice department to defy the legal request by the commission to testify about his actions in the case of voter intimidation against The New Black Panther Party. 

The evidence of the members of NBPP being racist is so clear cut that it doesn't even need to be addressed, the videos of him saying you need to kill "cracker" babies speak for themselves.  Not to say that in and of itself makes them guilty of intimidating voters, but it does prove that they are indeed racist against white people. 

One of the excuses that I have heard from the likes of Kirsten Powers, an admitted liberal, was that the reason that this case should have been dropped was the fact that no one complained.  Well, that excuse has been blown out of the water with the testimony today.  The law states that all that is necessary to be guilty is to exhibit behavior that could intimidate voters.  Such as someone standing outside a polling place wearing a KKK outfit would more than enough to intimidate black voters from going inside and to perform their constitutional right to vote.  A black man standing outside a polling both brandishing a weapon asking white voters how they felt by being ruled by a black man is in no way different.  Mr. Coates even used such an example during his opening statement. 

Assume that two members of the KKK, one of which lived in apartment building that was being used as a polling place, showed up at the entrance in KKK uniform and that one of the Klansman was carrying a billystick.  Further assume that the two Klansman were yelling racial slurs at the black voters who were a minority of people registered to vote at this polling place, and the Klansman were blocking entrance to the ingress to the polling place.  Assume further that a local policeman comes on the scene and determines that the Klansman with the billy club must leave but the other Klansman could stay because he was certified as a poll watcher for a local political party. 

 Mr. Coates also testified that Julie Fernandez, an Obama appointee, made it perfectly clear that the department would not be pursing cases where the defendant was a minority and the disenfranchised voter was white.  As what happened with the Ike Brown case.  A black man who was found guilty of disenfranchising white voters in Mississippi in a district where whites are the minority of voters. Mr. Coates was the man who brought this case and was the attorney that prosecuted and won it.  The democratic party was also found guilty of disenfranishing voters.  Mr. Coates also made it perfectly clear that civil rights organizations, such as the NAACP, were very unhappy with the prosecution of Mr. Brown and did not want the case against NBPP to be pursued. 

Mr. Coates who had been promoted to head that department  during the Bush administration has given up that lucrative position due to outright hostility that he has endured since bringing the case against Ike Brown.  Once the Obama administration had taken office more and more of his authority was diminished.  Although, he was still the manager in charge and therefore would be held responsible for the work performed by the people underneath him.  This left him in a position to take a job in South Carolina which was a demotion.  Directly involved in the undermining of his authority is Loretta King; an attorney who has been sanctioned and personally fined for her race based behavior.  Mr. Coates also confirmed that the statements made at his going away party are accurate.  In which he said that he was leaving because the civil rights department no longer was interested in equal justice. 

It did not take long for the members that were assigned by the democratic party to come out and say that Mr. Coates was giving this testimony because of a political bias.  I saw that on the news in mid afternoon when Mr. Coates testimony ended about noon.  I am sure that they will be digging into any political contributions that he has made over the years, such as they did with J. Christian Adams.  Who in the past did give to republican candidates, but what was not as widely reported is that he also contributed to democratic candidates as well. 

Loretta King has a documented history of viewing her job as only protecting minorities instead of performing the job as equal rights under the law.  This is a problem not only for President Obama and AG Holder, but it is a problem for all Americans.  While the laws that were put into place almost five decades ago were necessary to protect minority voters, but that is not a reason to believe that only minorities can be discriminated against.  The Brown case proves that. 

Read his opening statement here.   

After you do, I think that you will come to same conclusion that I have come to, Eric Holder and President Obama have some xplain' to do. 

If you ever wondered why poll watchers are necessary, here is your answer.  If you have the time, get involved in the process to make sure that EVERY American has their constitutional right to vote protected.  Because it seems pretty obvious that if you happen to be white, the department of justice won't be. 

See some interviews performed right after the testimony concluded here

Quote of the Day - Christopher Coates Edition

"That anger was the result of their deep-seated opposition to the equal enforcement of the Voting Rights Act against racial minorities and for the protection of white voters who have been discriminated against,"

Christopher Coates - Department of Justice Career Attorney in the Civil Rights Division

Paul Ryan with Laura Ingraham on "The Pledge"

The System Took Advantage of Me - Oh Really? Aunt Zeituni Speaks

If a liberal wants to understand why conservatives have the views that they have about illegal immigrants, this is a good start. 

Her nephew is the most "powerful" man in the world and a multi-millionaire yet my tax dollars pay her bills.  He can afford to give her enough money to find a place a live that is not paid for by hard working Americans that have actually paid into the system.  True liberal logic; why help your family when they live of the dole.  There is a family that didn't get housing because of this woman.  How exactly is this "fair"?  Isn't that what the President says he wants? 

Go West - Updated Polling Looking Good For LTC West

Allen West has an overall six point lead over Ron Klein (48% to 42%).



 West also leads among key subgroups crucial to victory in November,


Independents and informed voters.
o Independents: 52% West – 36% Klein
o Voters who have heard of both candidates: 53% West – 40% Klein
o Voters with an opinion of both candidates: 56% West – 41% Klein

What is not love about this man? 

See full results here.

H/T to Gateway Pundit

What Game is Planned Parenthood Playing?

Gov. Christie, who is a social moderate, cut state tax payer funding to planned parenthood.  The legislature was unable to over-ride his veto of the funding.  The majority of this money went to pay for abortions.  This is just another in long line of choices that Christie is making to get New Jersey's budget under control.  A budget that is in dire need of control.  Abortions will be not only still be legal they will also still be accessible in the state.  A small comfort to the pro life crowd I am sure. 

I have mentioned on several occassions that I have a background in direct mail fundraising.  I worked in that field for more than a decade.  At one point, I actually took a job at a progressive agency wrongly thinking that I could put my own beliefs aside, put my head down and do my job.  It didn't go well.  President Bush was in office at the time, and I heard non stop Bush bashing.  One of the things that I did make sure of before starting was that I wouldn't raise money for abortions or for democratic candidates. 

I can tell you with 100% certainty that Planned Parenthood raises boatloads of money.  On a monthly basis they mail out more than 1 million pieces of mail; some of which are to monthly donors.  The monthly donations range from anywhere to $3 to over hundred.  The individual mailings make large profits every month.  They wouldn't mail those amounts out if they did not.  Direct mail fundraising is now a science.  The lists are so directed that you are rarely, if ever, mailing to someone who doesn't fit into a demographic that would normally support your cause.  Whatever that cause may be.  Of course sometimes people will fall into a mailing list that they don't belong in, but it happens much less than you would imagine. 

Planned Parenthood and organizations like it are set up like a big corporation.  It has one main group that oversees the smaller organizations underneath it.  In the case of PP it is states groupts that fall underneath the main non profit organization.  It is the main group that sends out the bulk of the mailing that I personally am familiar with. 

This organization raises very large sums of money.  It also gets money from the federal government.  So, why would an abortion clinic be closing when the funding just got cut three days ago?  This makes no sense whatsoever that it would need to be closed this quickly. 

The most likely scencerio is that Planned Parenthood is using this to not only raise more money, but to activate the pro-abortion crowd out to the polls.  We are 40 days away from the elections.  This closing has much more to do with politics than it has to do with money.  Therefore, one must ask the obvious question, does Planned Parenthood care more about politics and money than it does about woman's health?