Finally, The Catholic Church Stands on Principle. Uncle Teddy's Widow Invite to Speak at Graduation Rescinded

Vicki Kennedy, widow of Senator "Uncle Teddy" Kennedy, has had her invitation to give a graduation speech rescinded by Bishop Robert McManus of the Boston Area.  

"Bishop McManus is acting, he feels, consistently with what all of the U.S. bishops asked colleges or higher institutions to do going back to 2004, that they not honor ... Catholics who take a public stance or position on issues contrary to things that the Church is trying to teach,"

Mrs. Kennedy feels slighted by the rebuke:

"I am a lifelong Catholic and my faith is very important to me.  I have not met Bishop McManus nor has he been willing to meet with me to discuss his objections."

Gee, lets see Mrs. Teddy,  You are publicly pro-choice.  Your late husband is symbolic of Obamacare.  Remember the calls: "Do it for Uncle Teddy"?  I do.  You remember Obamacare Mrs. Teddy don't you?  The law that is part and parcel of the federal government trying to force its views on the Catholic Church.  The faith that you find so important that believes that life begins at conception.  That birth control and abortions go against God's will.  That both you and your late husband have worked all your adult lives to not only make legal, but to ever expand it.  

Mrs. Kennedy you wrote the preface of the book "The Catholic Case for Obama".  This book talks about the social justice that Obama has fought so hard for.  No such justice for the unborn.  No such justice for the 1st amendment and religious conscience.

It goes to say this:

But perhaps most of all, he or she is a heroic figure and moral example for our children and for the life of the country

You acknowledge that president is an example of morality to the country and especially the youth of the country while making the case that the most pro-abortion president in history is the one to lead our nation.  I seem to remember that Uncle Teddy's endorsement of President Obama was what helped him to become viewed as a serious candidate.  Yeah, you and your husband had a great deal to do with getting President Obama elected.  

You then have the audacity to question why you wouldn't be invited to speak at a Catholic college graduation?  

You are a very intelligent women.  I think you should be able to figure it out.

Kudos to Bishop McManus for standing his ground.  It is time that the Catholic Church start walking the walk when it comes to the people who have done everything possible to undermine the life lessons that the church is trying to promote.  Now, you need onto move to Sen. Kerry and Nanny Pelosi next.  


Linked at Theo Spark Net   Thanks!!!


Linked at DaTech Guy  Thanks!!!!

Keith Olbermann and Current TV Parting Ways - Olbermann Fired Again

Apparently, this isn't going to be a nice break-up.  The Gorical doesn't think he should have to pay out the balance of his contract worth about an additional $40 million.  Eliot Spitzer will be taking Olbie's time slot starting tonight at 8 pm.  

We created Current to give voice to those Americans who refuse to rely on corporate-controlled media and are seeking an authentic progressive outlet.  We are more committed to those goals today than ever before.

Current was also founded on the values of respect, openness, collegiality, and loyalty to our viewers. Unfortunately these values are no longer reflected in our relationship with Keith Olbermann and we have ended it.

We are moving ahead by honoring Current’s values. Current has a fundamental obligation to deliver news programming with a progressive perspective that our viewers can count on being available daily — especially now, during the presidential election campaign. Current exists because our audience desires the kind of perspective, insight and commentary that is not easily found elsewhere in this time of big media consolidation.

As we move toward this summer’s political conventions and the general election in the fall, Current is making significant new additions to our broadcasts.  We have just debuted six hours of new programming each weekday with Bill Press (“Full Court Press, at 6 am ET/3 am PT) and Stephanie Miller (“Talking Liberally,” at 9 am ET/6 pm PT).

We’re very excited to announce that beginning tonight, former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer will host “Viewpoint with Eliot Spitzer,” at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT.  Eliot is a veteran public servant and an astute observer of the issues of the day. He has important opinions and insights and he relishes the kind of constructive discourse that our viewers will appreciate this election year.  We are confident that our viewers will be able to count on Governor Spitzer to deliver critical information on a daily basis.

All of these additions to Current’s lineup are aimed at achieving one simple goal — thegoal that has always been central to Current’s mission:  To tell stories no one else will tell, to speak truth to power, and to influence the conversation of democracy on behalf of those whose voice is too seldom heard.  We, and everyone at Current, want to thank our viewers for their continued steadfast support.

Sincerely,

Al Gore & Joel Hyatt
Current’s Founders

Liberal Logic - Various & Sundry Edition

“Anybody who makes $250,000 becomes a millionaire very quickly if you save it. You just need four years"

Gov. Jerry Brown on his millionaire tax that actually starts at $250K per year.  So, the millionaire tax starts at the income level well below what a millionaire makes, and apparently these people don't have to spend any of this money  in a four-year period.  I guess someone is paying all their expenses for them.  Including the really high tax rates they pay in California.

In more local news, Washington, D.C. is like most cities/states, they are in a budget crunch.  They are looking for ways to raise revenues.  They have decided in their infinite wisdom one of the ways to do that is to increase the hours per day that sale of alcohol will be available.  They are considered having it available for purchase 21 hours per day.  Mind you, the buses and metro system don't run until 4 am, but hey, there are "other ways" to get home.  Awesome.  More drunks in D.C.  just what we need.

"Why is a big Gift, a Boat load of money, with no strings attached, a burden to States?"

Justice Elena Kagan during oral arguments on the new Medicare payments to the states.  Oh, I don't know, maybe because it raises everyone taxes and there is no opt out.  And telling them what they spend the money on is an attached string, no?

"I guess my greatest fear, Mr. Clement, with your argument is the following: The bigger the problem, the more resources it needs. We're going to tie the hands of the Federal Government in choosing how to structure a cooperative relationship with the States. We're going to say to the Federal Government, the bigger the problem, the less your powers are. Because once you give that much money, you can't structure the program the way you want."

Justice Sonya Sotomayor during oral arguments on the new Medicare payments to the states.  Yes, that is exactly what we are saying Justice.  It is called federalism.  Maybe you have heard of it.  It is in that document you are supposed to be upholding, remember the oath you took?

 “You are -- you are saying that because you represent a sizeable number of States, you can destroy this whole program, even though there may be as many States that want it, that don't feel coerced, that say -- think this is a good thing?”

Justice Ruth Bader-Ginsburg.  So you want to force the many because of the few?   Typical.

Quote of the Day - Jimmy Carter Edition Part 2

"I never have believed that Jesus Christ would approve of abortions and that was one of the problems I had when I was president having to uphold Roe v. Wade and I did everything I could to minimize the need for abortions. I made it easy to adopt children for instance who were unwanted and also initiated the program called Women and Infant Children or WIC program that’s still in existence now. But except for the times when a mother’s life is in danger or when a pregnancy is caused by rape or incest I would certainly not or never have approved of any abortions, I’ve signed a public letter calling for the Democratic Party at the next convention to espouse my position on abortion which is to minimize the need, requirement for abortion and limit it only to women whose life are in danger or who are pregnant as a result of rape or incest. I think if the Democratic Party would adopt that policy that would be acceptable to a lot of people who are now estranged from our party because of the abortion issue"

President Jimmy Carter.


Yeah, good luck with that 

The Disaster of Today's Supreme Court's Argument of Obamacare

I have not bothered to go and look at what the left leaning sites have said about the court hearings, but I doubt it is good.  Most of the time I think Toobin is fair in his assessments.  I have read one of his books and seams pretty obvious in that book he leans at least leans to the left.

Tucker Carlson, you should be hanging your head in shame - The Daily Caller Enters the Trayvon Martin Fray

There doesn't seem to be an end to the tragedy of the Jayvon Martin story.  Two parents buried their child.  Something that shouldn't happen ever, under any circumstances.  Lets start with what we do know.

Zimmerman was out in his community doing a neighborhood watch.  Zimmerman calls the cops about a kid wearing a hoodie that looks suspicious to him, like he is on drugs or something (how he can tell that from driving by him is beyond me).  The 911 operator tells him that there is no need to keep following him.  Zimmerman doesn't listen and continues to follow him.

911 gets multiple calls about a fight outside that ends with a gun shot being heard. One caller sees Martin on top of Zimmerman punching him.  People are hearing cries for help.  Two other witnesses say that Zimmerman had his hand on his back after shooting him and made no attempts to help him.  People see a kid lying on the ground and suspect that the kid is dead.  The police arrive.   Zimmerman has cuts and is bleeding.  His injuries are treated in a police car.  No medical treatment that required hospitalization was given.  Zimmerman is then handcuffed and brought to the police station.  He gives a statement saying that Trayvon came up from behind when he was going back to his car after looking at the street sign to get the name of the street.  Trayvon punched him, after falling to the ground Trayvon gets on top of him and is banging his head into the ground.  He started yelling for help, no one came out to help him, he pulled his weapon and shot and killed Trayvon.  Zimmerman is Hispanic (which is not a race by way) and Trayvon is black.

That is what we know for sure.  From this little information this has turned into a three-ring circus.  Zimmerman has been labeled a racist when the proof of that is scant at best.  In walks the likes of Al Sharpton who has a history of riling up racial strife without knowing all the facts.  Remember the Duke Lacrosse players and Tawana Brawely?  Only two examples of his not having all the facts before shooting off his big mouth.  I remember the Brawley case.  I grew up just outside of New York City in a Connecticut suburb.  I was young, but I remember what he did to that city with the false claims and outright lies.

Then we have the journalists and talking heads that have taken a word that cannot be made out from the 911 call and have insisted he used the word "coon" which has racial overtones. CNN decided to go the extra mile and cleaned up the tape.  It seems like the word he really used was punk.   The pictures being released of both people have been purposely misleading.  They wanted to paint a narrative that Zimmerman was some wild-eyed racist intent on killing an innocent young boy simply because he was black.  No proof of that exists.

The president decides to open his mouth and he too further inserts race into the issue by saying his son would look like Trayvon.  We have seen marches, looting, horrible displays of "mourning" done across the country.  It is hard to turn on a cable news channel without it being about this story.  Some being worse than others.  But what I can tell you is from the hits I have had on my several blog posts, this is the story that people want to hear.

We then have the really idiotic left that has tried to blame this shooting on republicans.  It wasn't being politicized enough I guess.

I know that I have been called a racist more in the past three years than I have in the previous years of my life combined.  I get sick of it.  Especially since how I live my life and the people in it are not taken into account before the charge is leveled.  I am not alone on the right of this feeling.  We are all sick of it.

We are standing here watching Jesse Jackson, who doesn't even seem to have a grasp of the basic facts of the case when he said that Trayvon was shot in the back of the head, using this death to talk about voter registration.  Trayvon has been compared to Emmit Till, even though there is no comparison between the two deaths.  We see an agenda and we don't like it.

So instead of asking the left to come up with real evidence of Zimmerman's racism, we decide to handle it by attacking a dead 17-year-old boy.  An intrepid blogger goes digging around on Facebook and twitter.  Finds some tweets that lead one to believe that the kid and his friends smoked pot and a possible fight with a bus driver.  Alleged pictures of tattoos have surfaced.  His school records were leaked to the media.  Apparently Trayvon has been suspended 3 times during his high school career.  Once for tardiness.  Once for spray painting graffiti, and this last time for having a baggie that had traces of pot in it.  The juvenile authorities in Florida have confirmed this boy had no arrest record.  While I certainly don't condone a 17-year-old kid smoking pot, all in all there is no evidence that the kid is all that different from many others around the country.    If this is all of it, he is much better than many as well.

I smoked pot when I was younger.  I also got suspended for spray painting some very poorly chosen words about a teacher who gave me a B on school property.  My parents had to pay to clean it up.  And believe me, they weren't going to hire a professional to do it.  I had to do it.  It took me a couple of hours if I remember correctly.  I learned my lesson.  I never did it again and realized that a B wasn't so bad.  I have never been, nor will I ever be a gangbanger or a drug dealer.

So this kid has probably smoked pot.  He may or may not have had some jewelry in his backpack.  No one can prove that story to be true.  He has been late to school enough times that he has to serve a suspension.  He had may or may not have had tattoos, that would have been covered by the hoodie by the way. He may or may not have taken a "swing" at a bus driver; no proof of this happening exists.  Is that a drug dealing gangbanger make?  That is just as much as stretch as calling George Zimmerman a racist.  Don't "gangbangers" carry guns?  Isn't that the point of calling them bangers?

So in walks the Daily Caller and what do they decide to do?  They print the tweets.  They too have decided that they should be playing defense attorney for George Zimmerman.  They too have decided to put the dead kid on trial in the court of public opinion.  All the while complaining about the likes of Jackson and Sharpton doing the same to Zimmerman.  Hypocrites much?

There is so much we don't know about this case.  What type of scrapes and cuts did Trayvon have besides the fatal shot.  Did he have any defensive wounds that would put Zimmerman's version of the events into question?  What angle did the bullet hit Trayvon?  Did Zimmerman have  blood on his shirt?  Where was the body in relation to the car?   It would seem likely to be close by if his version of the story is true.  We don't know what the coroner's report says.  As far as I know it has not been released.  It just came out yesterday that the original police officer who questioned Zimmerman recommended that charges be pressed and wanted to arrest him that night.  The district attorney decided that they needed to wait.  Apparently not even the information that the police department wasn't doing its job as initially reported was correct.

But some on the right have decided to tear this young man's life apart and turn him into the villain.  I have seen people call him a gangbanging thug who got what he deserved.  Yeah, they said that.  Others believe because he had gold teeth (another thing I am not sure is true or not) proves he was a criminal.

What is so disturbing about the treatment of the dead boy in this case, this is how rape victims are sometimes treated.  Zimmerman may be charged with murder or manslaughter, a grand jury has been convened.  He already has a defense attorney.  Tucker Carlson shouldn't be playing that role.  He also shouldn't be making it harder for Zimmerman to get a fair trial. He certainly should not be turning what could very well be an innocent young, dead kid into a victim for the second time.  Shame on you Tucker.  You are a parent, you should know better.

Quote of the Day - Yours Truly Conservative Girl

I have been busy this week with all the activties in the our nations Capitol with the Obamacare hearings.  We have had something to do everyday since Friday.  Since we are the "locals" it has fallen to us to have representation at the court during the hearings.  Yesterday wasn't an issue with that as AFP had a rally with some faves of the conservative movement.  Afterwards, I went back to the court.  There has been some tension between the pro and con crowds.  I kept getting called a "teabagger" so finally I asked this young woman:

"Can you please explain to me why you feel it is necessary for you to pay for my husband's Viagra?"

She was stunned and didn't know what to say.  I finally have just decided to start changing the narrative.  Many of them don't realize that the no co-pay is not free.  She will be paying for Viagra.  (I have been instructed to add, not needed at my house).

I doubt it will change her mind, but at least it will make her think.

C.L. Bryant and Roland Martin Debate Trayvon Martin's Exploitation

CNN's Toobin Says Mandate in Trouble

Gee, ya think?  Forcing people to purchase a product that they don't need; such as birth control, mammograms, and Viagra, isn't constitutional?  Shocker!!

Live Stream of Obamacare Rally Today in DC - Tune in at 1PM

http://americansforprosperity.org/032712-hands-my-health-care-rally-livestream

For those you can't attend, you can still watch.

I am off to hear some good speeches and enjoy the atmosphere with the unions that have been bused in by the AFL-CIO.

Geraldo and the Hoodie - Is what he is saying all that crazy?

“I am urging the parents of black and Latino youngsters particularly to not let their children go out wearing hoodies, I think the hoodie is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin’s death as George Zimmerman was.”
“When you see a kid walking down the street, particularly a dark-skinned kid like my son Cruz, who I constantly yelled at when he was going out wearing a damn hoodie or those pants around his ankles,..It’s those crime scene surveillance tapes. Every time you see someone sticking up a 7-Eleven, the kid’s wearing a hoodie. Every time you see a mugging on a surveillance camera or they get the old lady in the alcove, it’s a kid wearing a hoodie. You have to recognize that this whole stylizing yourself as a gangsta — you’re going to be a gangsta wannabe? Well, people are going to perceive you as a menace,”

On the surface yes it is.  But if you really think about what he is saying it isn't all that crazy.  We judge people on how the dress all the time.  Take this lady for instance:

She is quoted as saying she wants to be treated with a little bit of respect after her local nightclub banned her because of her outfits.  The nightclub owners/employees judged her on this outfit.  I sure as heck did.  You dress like that you are going to draw a certain amount of attention and people will assume that you are looking for sex.  Now, if that is true or not isn't the point.  The point is she is dressing in a way that will suggest to other people that she is out on the town looking for someone to spend the night with.

Would you go to a job interview at one of the big banks in shorts and flip-flops?  Not if you really wanted the job you wouldn't.  I had a job that had a very strict dress code.  One that I personally felt was right out of the 1950's.  If you really were to follow the letter of the code all women had to wear hose/socks of some kind.  Who wants to wear pantyhose in the middle of the DC summer heat?  Not me.  So what I did was always wear long skirts so you couldn't tell that I didn't have hose on.  They didn't say anything about the long skirts, but you were told to dress more appropriately (in a not so subtle way) if you wore a short skirt with no hose on.  The men had to wear ties except one Friday a month; casual day.  But even on casual day they couldn't really wear any shirt they wanted to.  You couldn't have anything that couldn't be tucked in.  Those were the rules.  If you showed up for a job interview in a way that didn't comport with that dress style I can guarantee you that your chances of getting the job dropped considerably.  Fair?  Maybe not, but true.

Crime stats are what they are.  You can dislike them but that doesn't make them less true.  If you live in a major urban area, you will hear about gang violence.  It isn't even just relegated to urban areas anymore.  Where I live there is a town not all that far away that has gang issues.  There is a task force in place that every once in a while makes the papers that has some major arrest or breakthrough.  It is far enough away from my home, that I honestly don't pay all that much attention to it.  But, if I lived closer, I would pay attention.  There is a mall in that city that I sometimes go to.  When I do, I park as close to the mall as I can.  I don't ever stop to grab something to eat there.  I go into the store I need to go to, buy my stuff, and leave.  It is a safety issue to me.  I have never seen any crime take place there, but I have heard that the crime rate around the mall is higher.  It may not be, but my perception is that I could end up being a crime victim there, so I only go when I have to go.  They have since opened another location of the store I went to there, and I have not been back to that mall since.  It makes sense to me.

If you watch movies or tv shows that sometimes glorify gang life, you will see a certain type of dress.  Not all that different from having a dress code at work.  You see images of gangsta rappers and the way the dress is very similar.  You listen to the lyrics of the music and you will hear a glorification of violence, misogyny, and drug use.

Now, I normally dismiss anything that Geraldo says out of hand, as I think he is generally an exploitive ass.   As I write this I have a hoodie on because I was cold earlier.  Do I look at a person in a hoodie as criminal first?  No. But that doesn't mean if I were walking alone at night and someone with a hoodie covering up his face wouldn't make me a pause for a split second I would be lying, it would.  It wouldn't matter to me what color they are, it was the fact that I can't see their face that would make me nervous.

We judge people on how they dress all time.  We do it daily.  Fair or not, it is the truth.  Does that mean that you should be treated like a criminal or a tramp?  No.  But don't be surprised when there will be people who will treat this way.  There is an old adage: Dress for the job you want, not the one you have.  Your appearance does matter.  You will be judged on it.

‘There is nothing more painful to me at this stage of my life than to walk down the street and hear footsteps and start thinking about robbery, then look around and see somebody white and feel relieved.”

Jesse Jackson to the New York Times 12/12/93

It isn't about being racist.  It is having an understanding of crime statistics.  Which makes Mr. Jackson's involvement in stirring the pot that much more hypocritical.  But I don't expect anything different from a man who has made a living out of playing victim.

Quote of the Day - Karl Denninger Edition

Cheney is 71 years old.  By any reasonable definition he has lived a long life.  I'm sure the hospital and everyone else will claim that he got "no special consideration" and that he was the "best fit" for this heart, but I'm not buying it any more than I'm buying that Steve Jobs was the "best fit" for the liver transplant he received.
Cheney has a long history of severe heart disease, having his first heart attack at age 37.  I don't believe for a minute that he was the right person to get this heart at this time.  Sorry, but no

Mr. Cheney was on the waiting list for almost two years.  20 months to be exact.  Since he was 71 he should have just been allowed to die?  No, there is no evidence that people in this country want to make life and death decisions based on age (possibly wealth) in this country.  None at all.

I guess if you have lived what some would consider a "long life" we can just kill you off the first chance we get.  Now Steve Jobs was 54 when he got his transplant.  Is that also a reasonable definition of long life?  Or does he just object to Jobs wealth?  He was rich enough, lets kill him off to before he makes any more money.

The Additional Tragedy of the Trayvon Martin Death

First, I want to make it perfectly clear that I feel that this case should go in front of a grand jury and let them decide what, if any, charges are brought against Zimmerman.  It should not be tried in the court of public opinion. 


The problem is that this case is being tried by the media, the pundits, the race baiters of our country, social media, and around kitchen tables all over America.  It is really criminal that this boy's death is being used in this way.  There are people with an agenda that are making statements that may very well have no basis in fact.  


The police have released very little information on the evidence that they have on the case.  Maybe because they did a awful job investigating it or just maybe because they are doing a better job than people are willing to admit and are making sure that they are covering every base.  It isn't all that unusual for it to take time for charges to brought against someone.  Police have to build a case that they believe will hold up in court.  


We also can look at the photos that are being used.  Below is the photos that media are using.  Photos that are old and paint a picture that they want to paint.  

They are using pictures of Tayvon that are old and make him appear much younger than his 17 years.  They are using an old mug shot of Zimmerman that is a close up picture of his face that makes him look much bigger than the picture to the right of it.  Media narrative.  The facebook picture of Trayvon clearly shows that he was much bigger than what the media would like you to believe and that Zimmerman isn't as big as they want you to believe.  


In Chicago there was a march to honor the life of Trayvon.  But there was barely a mention of the people who were killed by gang violence in a city that has been overrun by gang related crime and deaths this year.  57 children have lost their lives since the beginning of the school year.  The majority of them were gang related.  Are those children's lives less valuable?  Don't their parents want justice too?  


We have movie director and producer Spike Lee tweeting out Zimmerman's home address, not just once, but twice.  He have Al Sharpton involving himself in this crime.  We have Jesse Jackson saying that black men are under attack.  On this point we sort of agree:

While African Americans comprise 13.5% of the U.S. Population, 43% of all murder victims in 2007 were African American, 93.1% of whom were killed were African Americans. 

Shouldn't we be just at outraged about these murder victims as well?  


It isn't that anyone is saying that Jayvon's death isn't a tragedy.  It is.  No parent should bury a child, ever, under any circumstances.  It goes against the nature of things.  My only point being we need to examine why this particular crime is getting so much attention and how the media is creating a narrative that may or may not be based on facts.   George Zimmerman has been tried and convicted in the court of public opinion. Not only as a murderer, but a racist as well.  The evidence of that is quite lacking.  


Black parents have some worries that others do not.  They have to talk to their sons in a way that their white counterparts do not.  Racism exists in this country.  That cannot be denied.  But not every crime  that have people of different colors involved is about racism.  It just isn't.  The above stat proves that.  Only 7.9% of black murders are even committed by someone of another race. These numbers may not be comfortable for people like Jackson, Sharpton, and Lee to look at, but it doesn't make them less true.  


We have to decide as a society if black murder victims are only cared about when they are killed by someone who is not black.  It is about time we have the difficult discussions and broach the topics of why the numbers are so skewed.  Until we talk about the real issues, the problems will never be solved, 


I know that I view the police differently than many in the black community do.  I trust the police for the most part.  There are bad apples of course, but by and large they do their dangerous jobs well.  Many in black communities have a very different view of the police.  But I do feel that is more socio-economic related than race related.  I think that distrust of the police is just more prevalent in poorer communities were crime rates are higher than they are in lower crime rate areas. I have had very few run-ins with the police in my life.  So from my vantage point they are doing their job keeping criminals away from my property.  When you live in a high crime area you are going to see police more often.  You will see people getting arrested more.  You may even feel hassled if they question you because there was a crime in your neighborhood, you will also know more victims of violent crimes and you will know more people who have spent time in jail.  You wonder why they are not doing more about the gangs, the drugs, and whatever else is more of a daily occurrence in your neighborhood than what happens in mine.  Those are the biases that people from my vantage point and  people from other vantage points bring with them when they look at this case.  It isn't about racism, it is about human nature.  We look at the world from what we have experienced and seen for ourselves.  


Read here What if Trayvon Martin were white.  A true story of white teen killed by a black shooter.  A different state with different gun laws.  There is an agenda to why this story is getting the attention that it is.  

Portrait of a Jackass Edition 3

Wisconsin State Senator Glenn Grothman has sponsored a bill that essentially cites single parenthood, specifically single mothers as a contributing factor to child abuse.  He wants to force the child protections services in the state to list single parenthood as contributing factor when investigating claims of abuse and neglect.  


There is evidence that factors relating to child abuse do include single parenthood, there is also evidence that having large families and multiple children under the age of 5 is a contributing factor.  This coming from the Mayo Clinic:

• A history of mistreatment as a child
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Marital conflict or single parenting
• Domestic violence
• Financial stress
• Social isolation
• Lower parental education
• Alcoholism or other forms of substance abuse
• A child in the family who was born prematurely or who is developmentally or physically disabled
• Young children in the family, especially multiple children under age 5

Notice how they also say martial conflict.  The factors for child abuse vary greatly and to pass legislation that puts single parenthood above the rest of the other factors, including a history of being abused as a child is wrongheaded and greatly unfair.  They also list multiple children under the age of 5.  In many cases those are people who are married, not single.  Substance abuse is not exclusive to single parents, many married people have substance abuse issues.  


Sadly, this story gets worse.  State Representative Don Pridemore, a co-sponsor of the bill had to add his two cents about staying married, even if that relationship is abusive:

"If they can refind those reasons and get back to why they got married in the first place it might help, 

Look, I believe in marriage.  I think it is the ideal to raise a child in.  I think that family is the bedrock of our society.  But no one in their right mind should be saying that while a woman is getting the stuffing beat out of her she should lie there quietly and remember why she married the man.  Or even better, while she is helplessly watching a man beat her child she should think back to how wonderful their first date was instead of taking her child and running as fast as she can in the other direction.    


There are man factors as to why child abuse happens in our society.  In a perfect world we would get married, have babies, and live happily every after just like the Cleavers.  But we are not all the Cleavers.  Telling a person that they should stay married to a person who is abusing them or their child(ren) is one of the most reprehensible things I have heard.  


How do these people get elected?  If you know who will be running against either of these men in the future let me know.  I would like to make a contribution to their campaign.  

Feel Good Story of the Day - Military Dad Surprises his Young Sons as Captain America Video

Linked at Theo Spark Net.  Thanks.

Mika Brzeninskji's Pretzel Logic - Rush Limbaugh Responsible for Martin Shooting

Hey Mika, you forget Sarah Palin.  Didn't she cause it too?

What a twit.

The Tragedy of Trayvon Martin

I was just about to do a post on that poor young man that was shot murdered in Florida.  I happened to read SilverFiddle's take on the incident and there is no way that I could say it any better:


A Stupid Gun Owner is a Dangerous Gun Owner

Responsible gun owners and defenders of the right to self-defense must demand the prosecution of George Zimmerman

Police in the central Florida town of Sanford have said that 28-year-old George Zimmerman says he shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in self-defense during a confrontation in a gated community. Police have described Zimmerman as white; his family says he is Hispanic and not racist. (US News)

Neighborhood vigilante George Zimmerman murdered young Trayvon Martin.  I don't see how a reasonable person could reach any other conclusion. News outlets are blaming Florida's Stand Your Ground Law, but that's just agenda reporting. 

Nothing in that law green-lights what Zimmerman did. He was flat-out wrong. Criminally wrong. You can’t just go chasing law-abiding citizens down the street at the point of a gun.

Zimmerman told a police dispatcher that the teen was "up to no good" because he was walking through his neighborhood "just walking around, looking about" with his "hands on his waistband."  Does the idiot have kids? That's what teens do!

Zimmerman chased after Martin, complaining to the dispatcher, "These a******s always get away."

Hell yeah!  When a gun-toting man is chasing you, you're going to try to get away. Of course Martin’s going to run. He probably thought Zimmerman was a pedophile or some kind of crazy person. He had every right to run. He also had a right to turn around and “jump” Zimmerman “from behind” (how do you get jumped from behind by someone you’re chasing? Zimmerman is lying.)

When someone chases you down and assaults you, you have a right to fight back. Too bad the kid didn’t end up kicking the dumb bastard’s head in.

Critics are calling for a repeal of Florida’s Stand Your Ground law in the wake of the killing, but that is like calling for the repeal of driving automobiles every time a pedestrian gets run down.

The perpetrator was not “standing his ground,” he was chasing down an innocent young man who was just trying to get back to his house before the second half started. If anything, had the kid killed Zimmerman, that same law would have protected him.

This is a tragedy. It is assault with a deadly weapon and murder. And Florida's Stand Your Ground law needs to stand.  It will protect potential victims from assaults by people like George Zimmerman. 



The Martin family deserves justice for their son.  Mr. Zimmerman needs to be charged and tried.  Let a jury of his peers decide what his punishment will be.  The city/town of Sanford also deserve a new police chief, one that will follow the letter of the law.  This case is screaming for an arrest and he should be doing just that.


Although, I do want make another point that Silverfiddle didn't cover in this, the fact that media is purposely fanning the flames of racism by reporting incorrectly that Mr. Zimmerman is white.  That is not a small point when charges of racism are flying around so freely.    Mr. Zimmerman is Hispanic.  


You should also go and read DaTech Guy's take on this as well.  He makes some very good points too.  The numbers of black on black crime that dont' seem to generate all the outrage that this case is generating.  It is very possible that Mr. Zimmerman had some issues with race.  It is also very possible that he has some issues with aggression and anger management that had nothing at all to do with race.  I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt on that until more evidence is presented.  But he needs to be arrested and charged.  Let a jury decide his fate.  


Rest in Peace Trayvon.  

Conservative Activism Alerts

Stand up for religious freedom tomorrow at noon.  What religion you practice is not relevant, it is the fact that this administration feels it has the right to tell churches and religious organizations that their consciences do not matter.  The Constitution says otherwise.  This has never been about birth control, it is about religious freedom and how President Obama and his minions are trying to take that away from the American people.  Locations here.  

We have reached the two year mark for Obamacare.  It hits the Supreme Court on Monday.  Show your dissatisfaction this weekend.  

Saturday - Road to Repeal Rally Upper Senate Park 12 - 2 PM  

List of speakers and bus information can be found here.  

Sunday - Surround the Supreme Court in Prayer Stand for Religious Freedom 2-4 PM  

Details found here. 

Monday and Wednesday - Local Tea Party Rallies at the Supreme Court

A small group of local activists will have committed to having someone at the court the entire time arguments are being heard.  We will be there with signs and walking the sidewalks around the court.  There is no set time for this, but if you are in town and wish to help out, please be there between 8 and 3 both days.  Where comfy shoes as you will be required to keep walking.  

Tuesday - Hands of my Healthcare Rally 1pm at the Supreme Court 

Michele Bachmann and Pat Toomey will be among the speakers.  Remember that this will be the day that Al Sharpton and his Union Buddies (yeah the same people who got waivers to exempt themselves from the law) will be there to say how wonderful a law they don't have to participate in is.  If you can only make one, this is the one.  There may still be buses available, a registration fee is required for the buses.  Click here for more details.  

Quote of the Day - Rick Santorum Edition Part 2

"The bottom line is that we do well among people who take their faith seriously, and as you know, just like some Protestants are not churchgoing, they are folks who identify with a particular religion but don’t necessarily practice that from the standpoint of going to church and the like.” 

Presidential Candidate Rick Santorum.

Oh, my.  I really hope that there is more context to this statement, because if there is not he is essentially saying that if you don't support him you are a bad Christian. Sorry, Rick, but you don't get tell me or anyone else for that matter who is and who is not a bad Christian.

Maybe, just maybe, it is this attitude that people aren't supporting.

Bad Mommy, Bad

I don't have teenage children, but if I did they wouldn't be allowed to have sex under my roof.  According to Planned Parenthood, I am a mean mommy.

“In the Netherlands if a girl is in a relationship, she’s not a slut for wanting sex, for making decisions about sex,” she said. Most parents deem teen sexuality a “part of your life that you are allowed to own and make choices about.”

What she is really saying here is that I would consider my daughter a slut if she did decide to engage in a sexual relationship while still a teenager and living in my home.  That is just so wrong in virtually every way.  As a parent it is your job to give your children values and to show them the pitfalls of the decisions that they make.

You don't even have to put God into the equation to see how wrong this thinking is.  Teen sex can lead to disease, pregnancy, and heartbreak.  There is nothing wrong in telling your daughter that her body is something sacred and she should be very careful who she chooses to be intimate with.  Isn't that the job of an effective parent?

Teenagers are far more likely to look into scratching an itch then they are in finding a partner that they can make a committment to.  It is very difficult to get people in today's society to see the benefits of waiting until marriage, but it shouldn't be that difficult to get your children to understand that sex doesn't always equate to a relationship.  How many teenage girls find out after the fact that the young man that they thought cared so deeply about her had little interest in them once the reached the "promiseland".

You have nothing that is more valuable than yourself.  There is nothing you will ever get that is more valuable than yourself. Having a person be very intimate with you shouldn't  be about what feels good in the moment.  In the grand scheme of things, that is all it lasts; mere moments.  But having a person in your life who are sure really loves and respects you can last a lifetime.

I am sick of some organization trying to undermine that message to our children.  Thanks Planned Parenthood, you have proven once again what an evil organization that you truly are.  It is not your job to tell parents how to raise their children, nor is it your job to undermine the parents around the country.  That is exactly what you are doing by telling them how out of it their parents are for setting up a value system that they want their children to live by.  Instead of  sex whenever, where ever and calling it just another lifestyle choice.

Romney Wins Big in Illinois - Let the VP Stakes Begin

First, I take no pleasure whatsoever saying this.  Romney will be the GOP nominee.  Santorum has run out of field.  There are not enough truly conservative states left to get him to the nomination.  Of course he will keep going in the hopes of a contested convention, but in their hearts of hearts they know it is not in the cards.  

Therefore, it is time.  VP Stakes:

There are plenty to choose from.  

Herman Cain: I don't see it.  The issues that came up about the affair would scare off any candidate in my mind.  Why deal with that distraction when you don't have to?  I give this almost no chance.  

Paul Ryan: A great choice, but very young.  He also has very young children who he doesn't want to put into the spotlight at their tender ages.  Which just makes me love him all the more.  Also, very remote chance of this happening.  

Chris Christie:  This is a non-starter as far as I am concerned.  I like many things about Christie, but he adds nothing to the ticket.  He won't bring NJ over to the GOP.  He is just as moderate as Romney is in most respects.  So I give this almost no chance.

Michele Bachman: She will excite the base, but let's be honest; she is a loose cannon.  Romney won't take the chance of her blowing his last chance at being president.  

Marco Rubio: He is dynamic and from a swing state.  He had a great deal of tea party support.  Notice I said had.  There are many in the Tea Party who have lost confidence in him.  He has some issues with a brother-in-law who has had some drug dealing issues.  Of course that has nothing to do with him, he didn't marry the guy, but the media will have some fun with that.  He also has said that he has zero intention of taking it even if offered.  Of course much easier to say no to a reporter than to the nominee.  He is also young.  He may feel he isn't ready yet.   I would give this a 50/50 chance.  

Allen West: West has been favorable towards Newt, although he never came out and endorsed him.  West has the entire package that the conservative base is looking for.  He will make an excellent attack dog on the stump.  He will pull no punches with Obama, which will allow Romney to stay above the fray and concentrate on comparing and contrasting policies with the Obama administration.  West had some issues in Iraq that will come up again.  He sometimes doesn't always filter what he is saying.  He also just moved in order to run for congress again.  I would give this maybe a 40% chance.  

Sarah Palin: Heaven knows she has been vetted.  But she is also very polarizing.  I also don't think she would accept.  Why be the small dog again when she had the chance to run for the big seat and decided to bow out?  I give this less than a 20% chance.

Rand Paul: I like Rand.  A lot as a matter of fact.  He also is another that will take on Obama without fear.  His down side is that it will add fuel to the fire to the people who accused Romney and Ron Paul of working together and Rand getting the VP seat as the payoff.  It will alienate the people who believe this.  But, it may bring in Ron Paul fans.  Not likely, but some may be willing to vote for him.  I would say this is about a 30% chance.  

I don't see him taking any of the candidates he went up against.  The blood between Newt and him is way to bad for it to be repaired.  It looks like it is starting to get that way with Rick now as well.  I would give this the least likely of the scenarios.  

My pick is Gov. Bob McDonnell of Virginia.  He is currently the head of the RGA.  Has a rising profile nationally.  He has spoken at the Reagan library recently and was received well.  His administration has been very successful.  He has increased revenues without raising taxes, VA's ratings has increased under his administration, he has kept most of his promises when he was elected, (one more year to fulfill the balance).  He is also a very good campaigner.  He is a staunch conservative, which Romney needs to excite the base.  Virginia is a swing state, and right now is trending to Obama by 8 points with Romney as the nominee.  (Which Romney was the best of the remaining candidates).  

Your predictions?  

Quote of the Day - Jake Sherman Edition

But in the Post’s version of events, Obama is portrayed as worrying he would face a backlash from the left if he pulled the trigger. And former Obama chief of staff Bill Daley provided surprising, on-the-record support of the GOP’s insistence that the president deserves blame for losing his nerve.

Politico Reporter, Jake Sherman 

Video - Paul Ryan's Budget - Path to Prosperity

Paul Ryan, who arguably knows our federal budget better than anyone, releases a new plan to get America back on proper footing.  


Get on board or come up with a better idea.  Taxing the "rich" won't solve our problems.  We need to cut the spending.  

Quote of the Day - Robert DeNiro Edition

“Callista Gingrich. Karen Santorum. Ann Romney. Now do you really think our country is ready for a white first lady?

Robert DeNiro

Expose the lefts hypocrisy and their obsession with race.  

I am Breitbart

Quote of the Day - Elle McPherson

Yeah, I'm living in London and I'm a socialist.  What do you expect?

Elle McPherson, Former Supermodel, on her opinion if Obama should be re-elected.


Yeah, it is just the conservatives who think he is a socialist.  Hey Elle, how much of your money do you share?  Just wondering.  

Limited Government?

Not so much.

Video - RNC's New Ad: Obama's War on Women

What I like most about this ad is that used only MSNBC and CNN's news clips.

Stat of the Day - National Debt Edition

$4.89 Trillion in Debt under President Bush in 8 years

$4.93 Trillion in Debt under President Obama in 3.15 years

Stats from Treasury Department

I am sick to death of hearing from liberals that our debt is Bush's fault.  What Bush did in 8 years was bad enough, but this is inexcusable.  It is also noteworthy that a great deal of the debt under Bush came after 2006 when the democrats had control of both houses of congress.