Regarding Sarah

I have sat mostly quietly, since coming in from traveling with work for the past few weeks this rotation off duty, recharging myself, regrouping, and reorganizing my thoughts after the past year or more of Presidential election wrangling by the parties, the candidates, and the media.

Now, before I leave for my next extended run in which I will be gone for a month or so, I'm going to have my say. I'm taking my turn, if indeed there are any "turns" to be taken in this process of expressing opinion and ideas.

I want to address this specifically to one individual, one person to whom it is intended to be said, in the hopes that mayhap she sees what is said here and takes heart in it.

Governor Palin, you have been in the eyes of the conservative movement of many of us here in the lower 48, specifically the former Confederate south, for some time now. We have watched you come into the spotlight, quietly but determined, the proverbial blip on the radar at first in the minds of the left. But we have been watching you.

It is no coincidence that your addition to the Republican ticket for this past election cycle recharged the conservative base of the Republican party. We understand and know where you're coming from; you speak our language, and you put action to your words.

It is no small thing that you have done on the national level for the conservative movement. Your joining with a candidate that we, conservatives, were less than thrilled to have as the top Republican coming out of the primaries; you gave us hope, gave us a rallying point, a single candle burning brightly as a beacon for us to rally to in a time when we were less than enthused about the choice we were going to have to make on November 4th.

A great many of us swallowed our pride, stuck our our chest, and took up the banner of McCain, knowing that the choice we faced from the Democrats was considerably less than desirable. We knew Senator McCain, we knew him to be far less conservative in his own principals and ideology than he was trying to present himself to be. This does not detract from the man's character; I admire Senator McCain greatly, most conservatives do, for being a man of honor and integrity, having that maverick reputation that does, indeed, get things done, but as the base of the party, we really, truly were not given a candidate in this past election cycle that spoke to the conservative membership and to conservative independents. There was one who gave us a glimmer of hope, but it was a fast and fading hope as the one candidate who we considered to be a real conservative with a possibility of leading this nation entered late into the campaigns and showed less than desirably.

Take heart, Governor Palin, you have not let the conservative movement down in any way, by any means, or in any shape, form, or fashion. You came into the campaign fighting, you continued to fight in spite of "gotcha" interviews by the dinosaur media, and you carried that fight right up until the end.

We are proud of you.

And we are still watching you, and you have our support.

We shall endure...

Once and always, a Southern American Fighting Man

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Regarding the Klan, the Panthers, and Confederate Gray...

I want to make things perfectly clear as I write this. I come from a mixed racial background; I'm classified as Caucasian, but that's really only a surface issue in regard to that I'm not as dark as my Cherokee ancestors. No one of mixed heritage, and most, I repeat, MOST Americans ARE from a blending of ancestors of different heritage, has any right or reason to take up the outmoded and degrading concept of racism. I equate the Black Panthers as being on equal ground with the Ku Klux Klan in their concepts of racial ideology.

That being said...

I was asked in town today by someone I know if I had voted. I smiled and said "I'm a veteran, I'm a soldier at heart still today, and I'm a patriot. I wore my Confederate gray shirt and went to the polls and voted.

In the past couple of years I've written a few times about the attitude and demeanor of a great number of Southerners that I know and have been associated with in my work travels. We don't see an Obama victory as healing anything; we don't see him as a unifier, we don't see him as a healer, we don't see him as a "messiah." Most of us see him for what we read him to be by listening to him speak and examining his associations. We see him as a Black Liberation Theology Marxist Totalitarian who's been manipulated into a position he has no business nor experience in being elevated to, and in my mind, and the minds of some I've talked to today, it's become obvious in part who has been behind the rise of the Obama as Black Panthers have stationed themselves at polling places in Pennsylvania.

I don't believe in coincidence.

I'm too damned old to start believing in it now.

The time for campaigning by those of us working to bring out the truth is coming to an end, today, as today we decide, as a nation, who we are going to send not only into the White House, but into a great number of Senate and House seats that are up for election today as well. We stand at a crossroads that many Americans who don't understand nor study and research history understand.

We are reliving a collision of the Compromise of 1850 and the 1860 election cycle all over again.

May God help us as a nation, whichever way this election day goes. It is highly conceivable, and I'm not calling for anything in saying this, I'm merely reporting the rumblings that I hear when I'm traveling, that our nation fractures once again into armed conflict depending upon how the numbers come in tonight.

If and when that happens, some of us will have to make a decision, once again, as our ancestors did over a century and a half ago, of which flag we fight under.

I'm a veteran, and I'm a patriot. But I know that I speak for many others out there who are also veterans and patriots when I say, God help me, I don't know that I can say for sure what I'll do when what many Southerners have been expecting to happen through the generations since 1865, that feeling in the back of our mind, that knowledge of a day that will come when the Stars and Bars will be dusted off and someone will look to the South and say, "It's back on..."

And for most of us, like last time, it will have nothing to do with race, and everything to do with personal liberty and states rights.

Once and Always, a Southern American Fighting Man

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Germans remember...

I got this in email today, and found it to be very poignant and telling in what it had to say. Since the senders have requested that it be forwarded to others, I'm doing just that, for you, anyone out there who wishes to read the experience of Germans who have seen times of hardship before those imposed upon us today by our government and the media, have to say about what they experienced...

May God help us all should we fail to learn the lessons of history.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

A German Lady Remembers and Speaks

by Lori Kalner


In Germany, when Hitler came to power, it was a time of terrible financial depression. Money was worth nothing.

In Germany people lost homes and jobs, just like in the American Depression in the 1930s, which we have read about in Thoene's Shiloh books.

In those days, in my homeland,
Adolph Hitler was elected to power by promising 'Change.'

He blamed the 'Zionists' around the world for all our problems.
He told everyone it was greedy Zionist Bankers who had caused every problem we had.
He promised when he was leader, the greedy Zionist bankers would be punished. The Zionists, he promised, would be wiped off the face of the earth.
So Hitler was elected to power by only 1/3 the popular vote.

A coalition of other political parties in parliament made him supreme leader.
Then, when he was leader, he disgraced and expelled everyone in parliament who did not go along with him.

Yes. Change came to my homeland as the new leader promised it would.
The teachers in German schools began to teach the children to sing songs in praise of Hitler.

This was the beginning of the Hitler Youth movement.
It began with praise of the Fuhrer's programs on the lips of innocent children.
Hymns in praise of Hitler and his programs were being sung in the schoolrooms and in the playyard.

Little girls and boys joined hands and sang these songs as they walked home from school.

My brother came home and told Papa what was happening at school.
The political hymns of children proclaimed Change was coming to our homeland and the Fuhrer was a leader we could trust.

I will never forget my father's face. Grief and fear. He knew that the best propaganda of the Nazis was song on the lips of little children.

That evening before he said grace at the dinner table, he placed his hands upon the heads of my brothers and me and prayed the Living Word upon us from Jeremiah 1:4-5.

'Now the Word of the Lord came to me, saying,
'Before I formed you in the
womb I knew you,
and before you were born I
consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to
The nations.'

Soon the children's songs praising the Fuhrer were heard everywhere on the streets and over the radio. 'With our Fuhrer to lead us, we can do it! We can change the world!'

Soon after that Papa, a pastor, was turned away from visiting elderly parishioners in hospitals. The people he had come to bring comfort of God's Word, were 'no longer there.'

Where had they vanished to while under nationalized health care? It became an open secret.

The elderly and sick began to disappear from hospitals feet first as 'mercy killing' became the policy.

Children with disabilities and those who had Down syndrome were euthanized.

People whispered, 'Maybe it is better for them now. Put them out of misery.
They are no longer suffering.And, of course, their death is better for the treasury of our nation. Our taxes no longer must be spent to care for such a burden.'
And so murder was called mercy.

The government took over private business. Industry and health care were 'nationalized.' (NA-ZI means National Socialist Party)

The businesses of all Jews were seized. (Perhaps you remember our story in Berlin on Krystalnacht in the book Munich Signature)

The world and God's word were turned upside down.
Hitler promised the people economic Change?
Not change. It was, rather, Lucifer's very ancient Delusion leading to Destruction.

What began with the propaganda of children singing a catchy tune ended in the deaths of millions of children.

The reality of what came upon us is so horrible that you in this present generation cannot imagine it. Our suffering is too great to ever tell in a book or show in a black and white newsreel.

When I spoke to Bodie about some of these things, she wept and said she could not bear to write them.

Perhaps one day she will, but I asked her, 'who could bear to read our suffering?'
Yet with my last breaths I warn every Christian and Jew now in the name of the Lord,
Unless your course of the church in America is spiritually changed now, returning to the Lord, there are new horrors yet to come.

I trembled last night when I heard the voices of American children raised in song, praising the name of Obama, the charismatic fellow who claims he is the American Messiah.
Yet I have heard what this man Obama says about abortion and the 'mercy killing' of tiny babies who are not wanted.

There are so few of us left to warn you.

I have heard that there are 69 million Catholics in America and 70 million Evangelical Christians.

Where are your voices?
Where is your outrage?
Where is passion and your vote?

Do you vote based on an abortionist's empty promises and economics?
Or do you vote according to the Bible?

Thus says the Lord about every living child still in the womb.

'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you.'

I have experienced the signs of the politics of Death in my youth.
I see them again now.
Christians! Unless you stand up now, you will lose your freedom of religion.

In America priests and preachers have already lost their freedom to speak openly from their pulpits of moral danger in political candidates.

They cannot legally instruct you of which candidate holds fast to the precepts of scripture!
American law forbids this freedom of speech to conservative pastors or they will lose their 'tax exempt' status.

And yet I have heard the words of Obama's pastor Damning America!
I have heard the words of Obama damning and mocking all of you in small towns because you 'Cling to your religion.'

But I am a woman whose name is unknown. My life is recorded as a work of fiction.
I have no fear of reprisal when I speak truth to you from the pages of a book.
(Though the Zion Covenant books are mocked and condemned by the Left in America.)

I am an old woman and will soon go to be with my Lord.
I have no fear for myself, but for all of you and for your children, I tremble.

I tremble at the hymns to a political leaders which your children will sing at school.
(Though even now a hymn or a prayer to God and our Lord Jesus is against the law in public school!)

Your vote must put a stop to what will come upon America if Barrack Obama is elected.
I pray you will personally heed this warning for the sake of your children and your grandchildren. Do not be deceived.

The Lord in Jeremiah 1:7-8 commands every believer to speak up!

'Do not say, 'I am only a youth,' for to all whom I send you, you shall go,
and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
Do not be afraid of them for I am with you, declares the Lord!'

I am in Prayer for you, and for the Church!
Spoken to you in the authority of Jesus the Christ,
the Name Above All Names,

Biden Confirmation Tainted By Family Legal Problems

On the day after the confirmation as Senator Joe Biden of Delaware as the Vice Presidential choice for presumed Democratic nominee Barack Obama, his son and brother are reported to be named in lawsuits for allegations of fraud.

Hunter Biden, son of Senator Joe Biden, and the Senator's brother James, are named in a lawsuit involving fraud and millions of dollars that has been playing out in the New York Supreme Court since 2007, revolving around their involvement in the hedge fund industry during their involvement with Paradigm Companies LLC. A Washington lobbyist, the younger Biden served for a time as the Paradigm's president.

A lawsuit filed by their former partner Anthony Lotito Jr. asserts in court papers that the deal was crafted to get Hunter Biden out of lobbying because his father was concerned about the impact it would have on his bid for the White House. Biden was running for the Democratic nomination at the time the suit was filed.

Hunter Biden was made president with an annual salary of $1.2 million, despite his inexperience in the hedge fund industry, the lawsuit said. Before that, he had been part of the Washington law firm Oldaker, Biden & Belair, which earned $1.76 million in lobbying revenue in the first half of 2006, according to Congressional Quarterly's CQ MoneyLine. One of its biggest clients is the National Association of Shareholder and Consumer Attorneys, a District-based group representing law firms specializing in investment and corporate law.

The details of the case can be found in the article itself at the Washington Post site by following the above link. What is truly fascinating, and needs to be taken into consideration, is that this information was out there prior to the announcement of Joe Biden as Obama's running mate, a choice that was supposedly made after Biden had been fully vetted and confirmed as being viable for the position.

The vetting process is supposed to uncover this kind of thing and eliminate a potential candidate from position because of the possibility of bringing a scandal into a campaign. Obama's campaign has already seen enough scandal as it is, because, as has been said over and over, he's an unknown. And it seems there is a lot of effort being put in play to make sure that he's an unknown, considering that there are sealed documents regarding him at the University of Illinois, Chicago's Richard J. Daley Library, among other missing records.

We're not going to count this one as strike three for Obama yet for the past several days. This one can be considered a hard flying fowl ball into left field.

Biden, the vetted running mate. Makes you wonder how much effort was really put into the process, doesn't it?

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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Forming Ranks, as Veterans Solidly Backing McCain Over Obama

It's been an ongoing battle between McCain and Obama in the attempt to win the hearts and minds of the American Veteran vote in recent weeks. An August 19th Gallup Poll shows which candidate leads among voters, and by how wide of a margin.

According to Gallup, American veterans, after recent addresses by both McCain and Obama to the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention, registered voting veterans are more solidly in support of McCain than his prospective Democratic opponent, Barack Obama, and the margin of separation between the candidates is telling.

With both presidential candidates addressing the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention this week (John McCain on Monday and Barack Obama on Tuesday), Gallup finds that registered voters who have served in the U.S. military solidly back McCain over Obama, 56% to 34%.

This is based on aggregated data from Aug. 5-17 Gallup Poll Daily tracking, involving interviews with more than 11,000 registered voters, including 2,238 military veterans. Veterans are defined as those who are or have been members of the U.S. military. Obama leads McCain 46% to 43% among all registered voters during this time.

A 22% difference between McCain and Obama among polled veterans, and only a 3% lead by Obama nationally according to Gallup, which is a slip in the polls for Obama since his initial emergence as the likely nominee of the Democratic party.

Perhaps it is telling that veterans prefer McCain, a fellow veteran, to become the next Commander-in-Chief of the United States armed forces, over Obama, who has no military experience whatsoever. Leadership experience, especially actual combat leadership experience, is critical to understanding and analyzing information in times of crisis; this is experience that McCain has and Obama does not.

Still, there does seem to be a trend among veterans to vote Republican rather than Democrat, as shown in the final Gallup Poll results of the 2004 elections, in which President Bush lead opponent Senator John Kerry 55% to 39%. Nationally, veterans tend to be more along the lines of 47% Republican, 39% Democrat, as compared to the rest of the nation, which according to Gallup tends to run 48% Democrat to 37% Republican.

With the veteran vote secured, the uncommitted voters are the essential battleground for McCain and Obama. With a slipping lead that is now down to 3 points over McCain, Obama may very well be discovering how having a retired veteran fighter pilot on his tail is not a to his advantage.

I know this American Fighting Man is voting for him...

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Who can it be now? Evidently it won't be Hillary Clinton...

She gave him a derby-esque run for the roses during the primaries, hanging on as long as she could before conceding, and then offered her support for his campaign as she suspended hers. Now it seems the final snub of Hillary Clinton is being readied.

It's one of the most anticipated announcements of the year. The announcement of the running mate for likely Democratic nominee Barack Obama. Over the past few weeks, names have been bandied about across the country as analysts and pundits have speculated on who the candidate for Vice-President of the United States will be, but one thing seems clear: it won't be Hillary Clinton.

There are so many, many reasons that Clinton is the obvious choice for Obama to pick as his running mate. A master politician in her own right, Clinton was the ultimate insider during the administration of a former President, having been First Lady to husband Bill during his own terms in the White House. She's connected, she's definitely been vetted as a candidate, and she has a huge following among Democratic voters, which gave her the wherewithal to run such a tight race against Obama in the primaries to begin with. With Hillary as Vice President, Obama would have the potential for a more intimate relationship with former President Bill Clinton.

And yet she hasn't even been vetted as a potential running mate by team Obama.

Obama has often said, most recently on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on July 27, that Clinton “would be on anybody’s short list.”

But apparently not his.

“She was never vetted,” a Democratic official reported. “She was not asked for a single piece of paper. She and Senator Obama have never had a single conversation about it. How would he know if she’d take it?”

The official also said Clinton never met with Obama’s vetting team of Eric Holder and Caroline Kennedy.

Perhaps it's no wonder that a Clinton supporters are outraged at the DNC for playing such an active role in the rocket rise of a candidate that no one had heard of nationally two years ago. The Democratic party is in such disarray that the upcoming Democratic National Convention slated for next week in Denver is already a media and public relations circus, with local law enforcement officials clearing room in the local lock-ups to handle a large number of out of hand protesters, should the need arise. And given the punitive measures placed against Florida and Michigan for their holding primaries ahead of the approved Democratic National Party schedule having possibly been the determining factor in Clinton's failed bid for the nomination, there is little doubt as to why she would be a less than whole-hearted supporter of Obama in rallies across the nation, as mentioned by one Democrat campaign worker noted after a rally in Boca Raton, Florida.

Minutes after pushing through the rope line to thank Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton for “all that you do,” Robin Shaffer said she was worried. She feared that the senator she respected and admired for being tough and experienced had not done all that she could to unify Florida’s fractured Democratic Party while campaigning here on Thursday for her former opponent.

“It was good that she said my supporters need to now support Barack Obama,” said Ms. Shaffer, 46, reflecting on Mrs. Clinton’s speech before about 700 people. But, she added, “I wanted her to repeat that one more time.”

Many who had supported Mrs. Clinton’s run for president shared Ms. Shaffer’s opinion. Democrats who said they had recently accepted that Mr. Obama, of Illinois, would be the Democratic presidential nominee greeted Mrs. Clinton’s 30-minute speech — her first rally in Florida on his behalf — with warmth but also demands for more.

The reasons for Hillary Clinton not being selected for the Vice Presidential position can and will be speculated over for some time to come, as well as the "what-if" factor had she been chosen for the spot and Obama winds up losing to McCain in the November race. The presence of unhappy Clinton supporters in Denver also shows a severe lack of the purported party unity that the Obama camp keeps harping to the media, lending itself to a potential black eye for the convention before it even has a chance to begin.

Party of unity? Don't bet on it.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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Obama Swings, Misses, Strike Two...

In another stunning example of inexperience in running for office at the national level, Barack Obama has gone after John McCain over how many houses McCain owns, only to hear the swishing sound of air as McCain's Rezko fastball gets by him.

Maybe Obama should stick to playing basketball.

In an attempt to show how that John McCain is "out of touch" rich, Obama released an ad today in which he proclaimed that McCain doesn't even know how many houses he owns. Once again, leaving himself wide open for a counter-attack, Obama shows that his inexperience is not only in international affairs and domestic policy, but in political wrangling, as well. His own dealings with Tony Rezko have left Obama a vulnerable place for a McCain counter-attack, which McCain had no qualms in making sure was put out for public consumption before the end of the day.



Perhaps we can see Obama go after McCain on something else he is vulnerable on. Religion, perhaps, or military service. Or possibly even financial investing, since he doesn't seem to be aware that there are some who invest in real estate, not necessarily to live in, as is obviously the case with the McCain's, but rather as an investment, along with other investments, such as stocks and bonds.

This is the kind of knowledge and experience we need in the White House? That would be change, all right, and it would definitely give us all a reason to hope, as in, "I hope that we can survive three more years of this moron that we've elected..."

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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Obama and McCain take off the gloves

In a case of making an attempted uppercut to McCain, team Obama has released a new ad linking the Republican to high level wrong-doing in his past. Perhaps the Obama people should have realized that their own chickens would come home to roost, as well.

The Obama campaign has a new political ad out today linking John McCain to Jack Abramoff, alleging corruption and conspiracy on the part of Obama during the entire Abramoff situation, a situation in which McCain had very little, if any actual, involvement in the entire scandal other than possession of an email communication, protecting Alabama Governor Bob Riley. Hardly, in the grand scheme of things, as controversial and damning as some of the things in Obama's past, as McCain is more than willing to point out in response to the Obama ad:

“Barack Obama’s ad is ridiculous. Because of John McCain, corruption was exposed and people like Jack Abramoff went to jail. “However, if Barack Obama wants to have a discussion about truly questionable associations, let’s start with his relationship with the unrepentant terrorist William Ayers, at whose home Obama’s political career was reportedly launched. Mr. Ayers was a leader of the Weather Underground, a terrorist group responsible for countless bombings against targets including the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon and numerous police stations, courthouses and banks. In recent years, Mr. Ayers has stated, ‘I don’t regret setting bombs … I feel we didn’t do enough.’

“The question now is, will Barack Obama immediately call on the University of Illinois to release all of the records they are currently withholding to shed further light on Senator Obama’s relationship with this unrepentant terrorist?” —McCain spokesman Brian Rogers

The records surrounding the relationship of Obama and Ayers are currently housed at the Richard J. Daley Library at the University of Illinois, Chicago, and are not accessible for public viewing, as journalist Stanley Kurtz discovered earlier this month, despite his having been promised access to the files.

Is Obama hiding things that he, and his supporters, would rather not be seen by the public eye? If so, they're certainly not doing an impressive job in covering their tracks. Rather than moving in a way that doesn't attract attention, Obama and his cronies have a history and record of making major errors in regards to public appearances, leaving themselves wide open to scrutiny and speculation.

For Obama to have gone after McCain on Abramoff, while having so many questions concerning his own relationship with Ayers under such scrutiny, Obama has shown a very significant lack of skill in maneuvering in the arena of national politics.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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The 2008 Denver DNC: Rise of the Machines?

Denver is in full swing as preparations are being made for the upcoming Democratic National Convention, an event that promises to have all the drama and intrigue of Terminator, Othello and Macbeth rolled into one neat package.

The question "Is it dead, yet?" seems to be floating around Democratic circles in regards to the Hillary Clinton campaign. With grass roots organizations such as PUMA and others around, it seems that there is still life in the Clinton machine, something that creates a very dangerous political situation for the presumed nominee for the DNC, Barrack Obama.

History has shown time and again that you can't turn your back on the Clinton machine, nor can you count it out of the game until the game is officially over and team Clinton has been left on the sidelines watching someone else sprint to victory. Thus seems to be the case for the Denver convention, as there is discussion of a brewing coup being planned by Clinton supporters that will take place on the floor of the convention.

As of July 31, the Democratic National Convention was still in need of one-fourth of the estimated cost of the Denver convention – amounting to 10 million of the $40 million.

Moreover, Washington Examiner political columnist Tony Campbell explains in detail why this national convention could be absolutely explosive:

"I talked to a Clinton delegate here in Maryland. He told me they have been instructed to vote for Hillary (for president) on the first ballot. To make things more interesting, there is a movement to swing 160 delegates from Obama to Clinton. If that happens, Clinton could re-establish her campaign and face John McCain in the fall."

And further:

"The group P.U.M.A. (for Public Unity My A--) claims that 15 delegates have switched from Obama to Clinton in July. There is still the possibility of a floor convention vote to fully seat the delegations from Michigan and Florida – which would benefit Senator Clinton.

Given the mood and atmosphere surrounding the Clinton "defeat" by Obama in the primaries, in which both Florida and Michigan were stripped of their delegates initially, the issues surrounding Obama both in his relationships with controversial figures and the funding he's been receiving from Middle Eastern backers, the relentless work by Hillary supporters in trying to make sure that the message is clearly delivered that they are NOT happy with the Democratic National Party for what they see as having lauded Obama by virtue of race over substance, the new allegations that Obama is "selling" tickets to his planned and potential acceptance speech, among other issues, the party is clearly not moving forward in a united front toward the November elections. Clinton supporters, to be sure, are anything but fully behind the potential nomination of Obama:

A massive e-mail and Internet campaign is under way aimed at derailing the nomination of Barack Obama and making Hillary Clinton the party’s standard bearer next week at the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

“It’s downright nasty,” said Memphis, Tenn., superdelegate and city council member Myron Lowery, who has shared dozens of the messages he’s received with The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal newspaper.

“I think it’s divisive for the ‘Support Hillary’ campaign to continue at this time. She made the decision to fully support Mr. Obama,” said Lowery, who initially supported Clinton but later switched his allegiance to Obama. “I don’t know why they’re not taking their cue from Hillary and falling in line.”

But is that really the cue that Hillary is sending forth? Lowery thinks so, but with statements made by the Senator from New York and former First Lady to the effect that her supporters should be heard at the convention, is she truly putting one hundred percent effort behind Obama? Given the "terminatrix" image that some pundits have created around Hillary, I somehow can't imagine her standing over Obama and saying "Come with me if you want to live." I think, personally, she would be more inclined to use the "I'll be back" line made famous during the FIRST movie. This concept becomes more apparent with the news that Senator Clinton's brother and chief campaign backers have met with McCain a top McCain surrogate in Phoenix, Arizona, raising speculations as to what sort of topics where discussed and where the Clinton support will truly rest come the conclusion of the convention.

With the Democratic National Convention less than a week away, the gathering raises questions about the support Illinois Sen. Barack Obama can expect from former local supporters of Mrs. Clinton, who dominated at the polls in the Northeast in the April primary election. Mrs. Clinton won 74 percent of Lackawanna County Democrats to Mr. Obama’s 26 percent.

Ms. Fiorina’s daylong local visit, part of a two-day bus tour of the state, was aimed at talking disenchanted former supporters of Mrs. Clinton into supporting Mr. McCain. The private gathering was not a fundraiser.

“I think there’s going to be a groundswell of support for McCain,” said Lackawanna County District Attorney Andy Jarbola, a Republican and one of the people who attended. “I think a lot of Hillary supporters are going to be for McCain.”

Neither the Obama camp nor members of team Clinton have been available for comment, and Obama, once enjoying a more comfortable lead in the polls, has recently seen that lead slipping as McCain, a former fighter pilot, has begun to come in on him from behind, a position the Senator from Arizona has stated in the past that he feels very comfortable being in.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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Denver Imposes Restrictions on Protesters Tactics

Field commanders and generals know that the best way to win a battle is to be prepared ahead of time for any tactics and tricks the opposing side will use in a pending conflict and confrontation. Denver is making plans now for the DNC convention.

There will be no urine tossing in Denver. Nor will there be any buckets filled with feces nor "cut-proof" devices that protesters can use to thwart local police officers as protesters gather outside the Pepsi Center in Denver when the DNC gathers there to meet next month for the party's convention. Denver law enforcement and lawmakers are working together to make sure that they have as many bases covered as possible to keep protesters from blocking traffic and creating undue disturbance in the Mile-High City.

"Protesters are getting pretty sophisticated," said Councilman Doug Linkhart, chairman of the council's safety committee.

"In other cities, they're not just handcuffing themselves to each other," he said. "They put their handcuffs inside PVC tubes, which are inside concrete. They've figured out ways that keep the police from just using bolt cutters to cut them apart. They also use buckets of urine and feces and various noxious substances to pour on themselves or the police."

Denver's proposed ordinance would make it illegal to carry any "tool, object, instrument or other article" that can be used to obstruct streets, sidewalks and entry or exits from buildings or for hindering emergency equipment.

"We're just trying to very narrowly define an area where, if they have these kinds of tools and we can prove intent, then we can arrest them," Linkhart said.

Among banned items will be chains, quick-setting cement, and locking devices resistant to bolt cutters, along with containers used to transport urine and feces, and any other items that might be seen as being used as a tool for disrupting order. Arapahoe County, where some delegates will be staying during the convention, has also placed bans on items that could be used as weapons, including gas masks that protesters might be carrying to use in case of tear gas being employed by law enforcement officials for crowd control.

Personally, I'm kind of amazed at the mindset of some protesters. I can understand picketing, I can understand the chants used by marchers, but there are some things my mind can not fathom. Urine and feces? Are we talking about people protesting, or chimpanzees here? Mind boggling.

In all honesty, while I can see why there would be a lot for Democrats to protest in regards to their party, especially those who belong to such groups as PUMA, I can't really say that I see many of the Hillary Clinton supporters that would be attending being the feces flinging type.

Of course I could be wrong.

What does sinking to this level of primate behavior accomplish, really? It smells, it potentially spreads disease, and we won't get into the whole concept of that one has to actually take the time to collect containers filled with feces or urine in order to take that one pride filled moment in which they can proclaim, "I tossed my shit on a cop!" I'm sure they have a mother somewhere who would be very proud of them for such adult behavior.

Protesting in such manner does little to accomplish actual real political change. It creates a breeding ground for violence, lawlessness, and potential injury to both the protesters and public safety officials who are there to maintain order. The rare exceptions were the non-violent protests led by Dr. Martin Luther King in which he urged passive resistance. But the days of King are over, and I'm certain that he would have highly disapproved of the use of human/animal waste as a means of attempting to make a point.

I wonder if they've also banned jamming devices for the undercover officers who will be communicating by shoe phone? Just a thought.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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Satyrical or Offensive? You Decide

The new issue of The New Yorker Magazine has a very interesting political cartoon on it's cover, and people are going nuts about it even though it's only been out for less than a day. The cartoon features Barack Obama in Muslim garb and his wife, Michelle, with an AK-47 slung across her back. Both the Obama and McCain camps have issued statements denouncing the cartoon and The New Yorker Magazine for publishing it, but what does it really say for political opinion in America in regards to candidate Obama?

Here is the picture:

The cartoonist has issued a statement in which he said, "Retrospect? Outcry?" The magazine just came out ten minutes ago, at least give me a few days to decide whether to regret it or not..."

What do you say, America?


Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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Press 1 for English - you do know what a 1 looks like, right?

In a gathering at Powder Springs, Georgia, this week, Barack Obama responded to a question in the audience regarding the number of high school drop outs and his (present) position on bilingualism.

The "English-first" debate seems to be far from over. While out of the headlines in recent months, it's still a topic of debate for those who believe that the U.S. should pass legislation declaring English as the national language to those who don't see the need for a national language at all. It's interesting to note that the United States is one of the few nations, if not the only nation, that does not have an official national language.

Many Europeans, as Obama points out in his reply to a question regarding bi-lingual education, speak more than one language. A great number of Europeans are multi-linguistic. Not so for the majority of Americans, who speak only English, or a great number of Mexican illegals who speak only Spanish. It is because of the catering of a large number of businesses to the non-English speaking Hispanic population that has created such an uproar throughout the nation, with many Americans growing increasingly frustrated with business machines and automated telephone systems with a "Press 1 for English" menu at the beginning of the menu features.

You know, I don't understand when people are going around worrying about, "We need to have English- only." They want to pass a law, "We want English-only."

Now, I agree that immigrants should learn English. I agree with that. But understand this. Instead of worrying about whether immigrants can learn English -- they'll learn English -- you need to make sure your child can speak Spanish. You should be thinking about, how can your child become bilingual? We should have every child speaking more than one language.

You know, it's embarrassing when Europeans come over here, they all speak English, they speak French, they speak German. And then we go over to Europe, and all we can say [is], "Merci beaucoup." Right?

You know, no, I'm serious about this. We should understand that our young people, if you have a foreign language, that is a powerful tool to get ajob. You are so much more employable. You can be part of international business. So we should be emphasizing foreign languages in our schools from an early age, because children will actually learn a foreign language easier when they're 5, or 6, or 7 than when they're 46, like me.

Admittedly, Obama has a point. Our education system should be geared, in my opinion, to ensuring that there is a variety of secondary and tertiary language curriculum available as an option for students who wish to pursue a more international means of communicating. And while I personally see Obama as an elitist over other issues, and perhaps even a bit so in his approach and reasoning behind his desire to see American children learning foreign language skills, it isn't for the reasons stated by Andrew Leonard at Salon:

There's nothing particularly exceptional about Obama's position, unless you are an English-only partisan cowering in fear of your cultural identity being swamped by funny-looking people from strange lands. Or one of the similarly insecure patriots who believe any criticism of the U.S. is a sign of "blame-America-first" treachery. And I suppose the whole comment about "going to Europe" opens Obama up to more charges of elitism, and disconnection from the lives of those who, right now, can't afford to even think about going to Europe.

My problem with Obama's views lies in other areas, and they are all directly related to the way that we conduct public education today, and for those who think this is going to be a partisan take on public education from a conservative standpoint, think again. What I'm going to say is going to be broad sweeping and will cover what I see wrong with public education be it under the administrations of the Democrats or the Republicans, and I will say up front I was never and still am not a supporter of President Bush's "No Child Left Behind" faux pas.

America's public education system today is the victim of two things: corporate textbook and testing and political correctness. I'm not going to dive into the statistical data supporting this, as this is an opinion piece, but it is out there to support what I'm saying. Those of you with children in school know what I'm talking about. Students are being taught a curriculum that is designed to teach them what they need to know in order to pass standardized tests that are required by the state for them to advance from one grade level to the next. They are spoon fed this information to ensure that it stays in their memories long enough in order for them to take their tests and move on to learning the material that will be required for them to pass the next level of testing, an endless cycle of spoon feeding and testing that begins at the kindergarten level and extends on through college.

Gone are the days of children learning at a young age the art of critical thinking. Indeed, it is a rare thing today to find students in whom this now rare trait continues to exist, generally amongst the intellectual rebels classified by school psychologists as "the classic underachiever (I fell into that category myself)."

Despite Senator Obama's contention that our problem with the education system is that we aren't geared to bi-lingual education, a much more deep rooted problem exists: our education system isn't geared to education.

And requiring, by law, that students who don't belong in a classroom and have no desire or interest in staying there, simply because it keeps funding coming into the school system for the body count on a daily basis, doesn't help matters in the least. It creates, often, a classroom setting where those who can and wish to learn can not because of the interference of those who would be better served in some sort of vocational program and not being forced to drag down others simply for the sake of "no child left behind."

Senator Obama's approach doesn't work, and it doesn't make sense, when the system itself can not do the job that it is supposed to do in the first place. The first focus needs to be ensuring that little Johnny and Peggy Sue can comprehend what they are reading and writing in the first place, as well as being able to come up with an answer of "10" when adding 8 + 2. Instead, they're being taught such concepts as why that it's not a bad thing for Heather to have two mommies, when such decisions and morality is the responsibility of the parent to instill, not public education.

This is the thinking of Senator Obama's "nanny state" mindset. "Government knows better." Obviously, it doesn't, unless the goal of government is to create generation after generation of a population that can be controlled and programmed on a whim, and the way to achieve this is the breakdown of true education of the youth of the nation.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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Obama still in uphill battle against Clinton supporters

Senator Hillary Clinton may have suspended her campaign for the Presidency, but that doesn't mean that her supporters have embraced the presumed Democratic nominee Barack Obama. Despite his top spot, he's still battling to gain their support for him.

In a move being called dissent by some, top Hillary campaign supporters and funders have basically shut down in transferring their support to Barack Obama, ensuring that their displeasure with the treatment of Clinton by Obama, the Party, and the media, are being heard in the most effective way possible; financially.

Some have gone so far as to create anti-Obama websites and grass roots organizations urging Hillary supporters to back Republican Presidential candidate Senator John McCain. Sources close to this rebellion by the top tier of donators say that it involves around 300 Clinton "Hillraisers" who have, individually, raised at least $100,000 each for the Clinton campaign.

The Clinton holdouts are typically most angry about what they say was the media's sexist treatment of Sen. Clinton during the campaign. And though few, if any, blame Sen. Obama directly, they fault the Illinois senator and other party leaders for what they say was failing to do enough to stop it.

Susie Tompkins Buell, a Hillraiser from San Francisco, said, "What really hurt women the most was to look back and see all this gender bias." Ms. Buell said she hasn't decided whether to vote for Sen. Obama and plans to skip the August Democratic convention.

The impact of such efforts could extend beyond the hurt feelings that typically emanate from losing campaigns. Sen. Obama has built a formidable fund-raising machine that has scooped up money from donors large and small. But his general-election bid could suffer if he fails to mobilize a group that raised tens of millions of dollars for Sen. Clinton.

I don't think the Democrats, currently under the leadership of "Screaming Howard" Dean, have been this fractured since the election of 1860. I think we can all take a look back and see how well that turned out for everyone. While I'm not willing to go so far as to predict a Civil War in my writings, one can't help but wonder, in noticing the heavy splt on the Democratic side of the aisle, what the plan is that will bring ultimate unity back in the Democatic party come convention time.

After all, Obama IS supposed to be the "Unity" candidate...

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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The Denver Democratic National Convention: A Logistical Nightmare in the Making

How do you take a scheduled event and turn it into a fiasco before it even gets started? Perhaps the Democratic Party should write a "How-To" book on convention planning so that others can learn what NOT to do to attract donations and vendors.

The clock is ticking on the Democrats in bringing together final arrangements for the national convention in Denver. There are less than two months left for them to finalize planning and coordinate things, and yet they are facing dire straits in their efforts, despite their best intentions to the contrary.

The road to hell truly does seem to be paved with good intentions.

Despite the successful fund raising by their presumptive nominee, Barack Obama, the DNC is having problems when it comes to financing their upcoming convention. One can't help but notice the parallels between money mismanagement for the convention and for the nation. The problems the Democrats are facing in bringing the convention together range in size from very large (they are $6 million OVER budget for their renovation of the interior of the Denver Pepsi Center) to the ridiculously simple, such as attracting caterers for the Convention, due to budget problems and some very interesting food requirements that are sending prospective caterers walking away saying, in effect, "thanks for considering us, but hell no."

The convention is being organized by the Democratic National Committee, which is run by Howard Dean, with his chief of staff, the Rev. Leah D. Daughtry, leading the effort. Only in the last month has the Obama campaign been able to take over management of the convention planning with the candidate claiming the nomination, and his aides are increasingly frustrated, as the event nears, at organizers who they believe spent too freely, planned too slowly and underestimated actual costs.

The Obama campaign has dispatched 10 people to Denver to help “get a handle on the budget and make hard decisions” about what has to be done and how to move forward, said Bill Burton, a campaign spokesman.

With Democrats seeking to use the convention to move past the bitterness of their bruising primary fight, the gathering in Denver Aug. 25-28 is likely to draw intense interest as the Obama forces try to show a once-divided party rallying around the nominee. And their convention comes a week before the Minneapolis gathering of the Republicans, whose convention efforts have been much smoother.

The list of financial missteps in planning the convention under the leadership of "Screaming" Howard Dean include the rental of a number of top-end office spaces in Denver, rather than choosing less expensive spacing, and then determining that only half the space that was rented was actually needed, at a cost of $100,000 a month, and filling those offices with rented furniture and office equipment at a cost of $50,000 per month. On top of that, campaign organizers informed their potential donors that donations would not be tax deductible, causing many would-be donors to close their wallets and check books, instead of ensuring that the tax-deductible status was pending and donors would be informed when they could claim the deductions on their taxes.

The next in a long series of mis-steps is the convention's plan to be "green," a program that only three states have signed on to in expected participation. There is still controversy over how to handle protesters outside the Pepsi Center during the convention, with plans currently to locate them possibly next to the media tent (probably not the best strategic move, giving the media full and open access to all protestations).

Perhaps one of the more significant and telling of the list of faux pas made by the DNC in planning events is in regards to how to feed the mass influx of people planning to attend the convention. Given the complex and stringent requirements for the convention in regards to the food to be served, one has to wonder if planners weren't intending to "cater" to Nancy Pelosi.

And then there is the food: A 28-page contract requested by Denver organizers that caterers provide food in “at least three of the following five colors: red, green, yellow, blue/purple and white.” Garnishes could not be counted toward the colors. No fried foods would be allowed. Organic and locally grown foods were mandated, and each plate had to be 50 percent fruits and vegetables. As a result, caterers are shying away.

Despite all of this (and more), Denver DNC Committe spokeswoman Natalie Wyeth claims that the planning for the convention “is on track and we are confident that we are where we are supposed to be at this point in the game. We are exactly where we intended to be at.” The party intended to be $11 million short of the projected $40.6 million needed, a figure which does not include over-budget costs, at this point? And with no food vendors slated and under contract at this point? It would appear, given the sliding of Obama's support within the Democratic party and his string of flip-flops in recent weeks, a poorly planned and thrown together at the last minute with what's left available convention is exactly what the Democrat's do not need if they expect to gain steam for candidate Obama.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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Neo-con Obama?

The left is going crazy, and they're going crazy because their guy, suddenly, doesn't seem to be "their guy" any more. Given his recent changes of position on issues, Obama is coming across as a died in the wool Neo-con convert than a liberal.

Barack Obama has his base in an uproar. With his recent reversals on such key issues as FISA, campaign contributions, and the Supreme Court ruling on the Second Amendment, many on the left are, seemingly, suffering from the effects of political whiplash as they watch their candidate abandon them on the issues that the deem to be important. The most recent issue change, the war in Iraq and the withdrawal of U.S. forces, is sending the left into a near frenzy as they try to figure out what, exactly, is going on with Obama.

There is a very simple answer, and it's one that Hillary Clinton understood and tried to make work earlier than Obama; liberals don't bring in the numbers of voters that moderates do. And now Barack Obama, showing himself to be the politician rather than the statesman, has decided to give his image a makeover by attempting to come across as more appealing to a more moderate voting group.

We are not shocked when a candidate moves to the center for the general election. But Mr. Obama’s shifts are striking because he was the candidate who proposed to change the face of politics, the man of passionate convictions who did not play old political games.

There are still vital differences between Mr. Obama and Senator John McCain on issues like the war in Iraq, taxes, health care and Supreme Court nominations. We don’t want any “redefining” on these big questions. This country needs change it can believe in.

Despite evidence that the die-hards still realize the true nature of Obama, as the Marxist section of Obama's website continues to show, other left leaning supporters are not so sure. One observer says that the only question that would be raised where Obama to announce Dick Cheney as his running mate would be that of "what took you so long?" Left wing outlets have been up in arms about the seeming changes of stance, most notably Ariana Huffington (a usual), but Republicans are a bit more jaundiced of their view of the changes of the candidate of change.

Conservatives, meanwhile, led by John McCain's Republican campaign, say that the presumptive Democratic nominee's pivot shows that, for all his talk of offering a new kind of politics, he is really just another cynical politician who will say anything to get elected.

I suspect that all this worries Mr Obama not at all. The louder the Left complains, the deeper the satisfaction at Obama headquarters.

Can you remember a time in, say the past 100 years, when the American people have rejected a presidential candidate because they thought that he was insufficiently left-wing? As for conservatives, they should be cheering Mr Obama, not complaining.

Political observers should have expected this sort of softening on the issues of the hard left by Obama. Between now and November, Obama has to make himself as attractive to moderate candidates as possible without alienating his left wing base in the process. It's a tricky dance, and if the dance continues as it has this week, the left can begin to look for steel toed dance shoes. Their partner is going to continue to step on their toes on the dance floor.

The attempt at beginning a swooning of moderate voters has come across as too much, too fast, all at the same time, and with the sincerity of a porcupine attempting to court a balloon. If Obama isn't careful, the balloon is going to pop.

Perhaps it isn't rock star appeal, but rather a fatal charm behind a whiplash smile?





Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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More Obama changes, but don't CALL them changes...

It's an interesting thing to listen to a politician over time and keep a running track record of what they say on certain issues and how that position changes dependent upon their audience. In the case of Barack Obama, a full encyclopedic is forming.

All one has to do is to look on Barack Obama's campaign website to see what his plans are for our troops in Iraq. It was this stance that led to the defeat of Hillary Clinton and played a great part in his skyrocketing into position as the Democratic party front runner. The Obama plan calls for the return of our troops from Iraq within 16 months of his taking office as President.

Obama will immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq. He will remove one to two combat brigades each month, and have all of our combat brigades out of Iraq within 16 months. Obama will make it clear that we will not build any permanent bases in Iraq. He will keep some troops in Iraq to protect our embassy and diplomats; if al Qaeda attempts to build a base within Iraq, he will keep troops in Iraq or elsewhere in the region to carry out targeted strikes on al Qaeda.

That statement is in black and white on his website as his promise that it will happen if he is elected President of the United States of America.

And in reading Obama's website, and listening to him speak, the American people must ask themselves once again, "Can Obama be trusted at his word? And if so, which word is that, exactly?" Especially in light of his latest comments regarding the war made today in Fargo, North Dakota.

“I’ve always said that the pace of withdrawal would be dictated by the safety and security of our troops and the need to maintain stability. That assessment has not changed,” he said. “And when I go to Iraq and have a chance to talk to some of the commanders on the ground, I’m sure I’ll have more information and will continue to refine my policies.”

Um, no, that is NOT what Obama has always said, as is shown by looking directly at his own website at the earlier quotation, which can be found under the heading of "Judgement You Can Trust."

Judgement you can trust.

Right...and the moon is made of green cheese, isn't it?

This can be added to a growing list of changes in position from Obama, including his changing position on the FISA issue as the possibility of a bribe lurks hidden under the surface, sort of, a little, okay pretty much in plain view for anyone who is looking at the issue beyond his other gaffes and distractions.

But according to Obama, they aren't changes at all.

“There appears to be no issue that Barack Obama is not willing to reverse himself on for the sake of political expedience,” said Alex Conant, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee. “Obama’s Iraq problem undermines the central premise of his candidacy and shows him to be a typical politician.”

You know, somewhere the has GOT to be a parody of a David Bowie song about this sort of thing...

UPDATE: John McCain welcomes Obama to "his position," while RNC members call Obama's Iraq plans a "guessing game." Actually, I think both are correct...


Once and Always, an American Fighting Man who isn't likely to be changing, any time soon...

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Conservative Christians Back McCain

It's been a difficult pill for them to swallow, but conservative Christian leaders have united together and decided to put their support behind John McCain.

The conservative right has long been considered a very important base for the Republican party. The advent of the McCain lead in the party has led to a hard decision for this important voting bloc. With a great number of the members of this branch of the party having put their support behind Mike Huckabee, many were highly disappointed at his withdrawal from the race, leaving a lack, to the conservative way of thinking, of a viable conservative front runner in the Republican race.

Given the option of either supporting McCain or withholding support in light of the presumed nomination of Barack Obama for the Democratic party, however, the conservative Christian leadership has met and decided to make their stand with McCain.

At a Tuesday meeting in Denver, around 100 leaders met, traveling in from around the country, to discuss and ultimately agree to support John McCain, despite their initial distrust of him as a candidate for the Presidency. With this backing finally achieved, McCain has achieved a much needed support for his bid for the White House, and has significantly improved his chances of winning come November.

"Collectively we feel that he will support and advance those moral values that we hold much greater than Obama, who in our view will decimate moral values," said Mat Staver, the chairman of Liberty Counsel, a legal advocacy group, who previously supported Mike Huckabee's candidacy.

"There are people who came through the primary with very mixed emotions of the candidate," Staver continued, noting that many in the group had been in Denver to attend a separate meeting for pastors. "This event was to put those aside."

The group included leaders like Phyllis Schlafly, the long-time leader of Eagle Forum; Steve Strang, the publisher of Charisma magazine; Phil Burress, a prominent Ohio marriage and anti-pornography activist; David Barton, the founder of WallBuilders and Donald Hodel, a former secretary of the Interior, who previously served on the board of Focus on the Family. Jim Dobson, the head of Focus and an outspoken critic of McCain, did not attend. The McCain campaign was also not directly represented at the meeting.

One attendee of the conference summed up the main reason for the decision to support McCain as being, "None of these people want to meet their maker knowing that they didn't do everything they could to keep Barack Obama from being president. You've got these two people running for president. One of them is going to become president. That's the perspective. That that's the whole discussion." The reason? Despite his claim of Christianity, the conservative Christian movement doesn't see eye - to - eye with Obama on certain key issues such as gay marriage and abortion, and find themselves, especially in recent weeks with McCain making his own stands against these issues, more in line with McCain.

Initially, there was much speculation that the religious right would sit out this election, leading to much speculation and prognosticating as to what their absence would mean both to the Republicans as well as to the Democrats. With the exit of Huckabee, a number of Christian leaders expressed their disillusionment with the Republican party. Faced with the prospect of an Obama Presidency, it seems that the disillusion was quickly replaced with resolve, a situation that bodes well for McCain.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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Stepping in it with Both Feet: Wesley Clark and the Question Who is Smearing Whom?

There is a long standing tradition of rivalry between the branches of military service. Each branch sees theirs as being superior to the others, and there is a lot of good natured ribbing back and forth in between. When it crosses into politics, though...

Anyone who has been in the U.S. Army among it's ground forces will tell you that aviators are looked upon as the most spoiled and pampered members of the military. While ground troops, especially infantry, armor, and engineers, slog it out in the mud and muck, through forests and jungles, in the desert heat or arctic cold, pilots generally get more cushy, comfortable rear area quarters for their time out of the cockpit.

But there is a price for such "luxury" digs for pilots. Combat pilots have some of the most intense, stressful training and duty of any members of the armed forces, special forces aside. Survival training is intense, with high-stress escape and evasion scenarios included in their training in order to prepare pilots for the worst case scenario; being shot down behind enemy lines.

That is exactly what happened to Senator John McCain in Vietnam, and an injured Lt. Commander McCain found himself in the hands of the enemy, and spent the next several years in the infamous Hanoi Hilton. And yet retired General Wesley Clark, a soldier with who made his early military career in the armored division and with political aspirations of his own, has taken it upon himself to belittle McCain's service record.

Gen. Wesley Clark, acting as a surrogate for Barack Obama’s campaign, invoked John McCain’s military service against him in one of the more personal attacks on the Republican presidential nominee this election cycle.

Clark said that McCain lacked the executive experience necessary to be president, calling him “untested and untried” on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” And in saying so, he took a few swipes at McCain’s military service.

After saying, "I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands and millions of others in the armed forces, as a prisoner of war," he added that these experiences in no way qualify McCain to be president in his view:

“He has been a voice on the Senate Armed Services Committee. And he has traveled all over the world. But he hasn't held executive responsibility. That large squadron in the Navy that he commanded — that wasn't a wartime squadron,” Clark said.

“I don’t think getting in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to become president.”

And with that, the gloves came off. McCain supporters blasted Clark, with one McCain surrogate questioning Clark's own record as NATO Supreme Commander in Kosovo and his political ambitions, and McCain responding, when asked if he felt he was owed an apology, "I think it is up to Senator Obama now to not only repudiate him but to cut him loose.” This comment may serve to keep the Clark controversy alive and well for the coming days, dependent upon how Obama handles the situation as time progresses.

For Obama's part, the Senator from Illinois has denounced Clark's statements in an attempt to distance himself from the controversy stating “For those like John McCain who have endured physical torment in service to our country, no further proof of such sacrifice is necessary. And let me also add that no one should ever devalue that service, especially for the sake of a political campaign — and that goes for supporters on both sides.”

It is interesting to note that through all of this, the McCain camp, even prior to Clark's statements this weekend and his attempted clarification (i.e. backpedalling) of what he said, has yet to really pull out the mud in dealing with other candidates. McCain has taken the high road, not playing into the typical dirty tactics that typically comes with Presidential politics. In fact, McCain has been the first to denounce such tactics when they have been attempted on his behalf.

Obama, on the other hand, has already set up his own site to deal with the rumors and innuendo surrounding him personally, possibly in anticipation of the "dirty deeds" of the Republican campaign. The site has already dealt with such issues as his nationality and his religious views, issues that have plagued the Obama campaign from his rock star rise to the top of the Democratic ticket. But what of Obama's own campaign strategies as the election cycle unfolds? The campaign against fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton went into the mud on both sides, a place McCain seems stubbornly determined to stay away from. With Clark's comments regarding McCain, and Obama's seemingly less than whole-hearted denouncement of them, one has to ask, who is truly smearing whom in this campaign?

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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The Potential Fall of Obama's South

There is a lull that has hit in the political battlefield, that time between the end of the primary season and the end of the convention season. The lead candidates take the time to refocus on funding and winning votes, in some cases, votes based in myth.

During this lull period, Obama's campaign handlers are making the classic mistake made by so many Democratic campaigns in recent history; over-estimating the Southern black vote.

In the Post-Civil War South, the Democratic party was a strong entity, unified and making a firm block against the Republicans because of Abraham Lincoln. While it is true that there are a great number of those old-school yellow dog Democrats around (a term given because the saying goes "I'll vote for a yellow dog on the street before I'll vote for a damned Yankee Republican), the mindset of the South has changed, drastically, in the past few decades. Today, there are more "red states" than "blue" in the south.

Yet and still, there are myths that are still held about the Southern vote that even more experienced politicians fall prey to. A candidate with no experience is what we call "easy pickin's" for laying a trap by using these very myths against his campaign.

Two pervasive and persistent myths about racial voting in the modern South are behind the notion that Mr. Obama might win in places like Georgia, North Carolina and Mississippi.

The first myth is that African-American turnout in the South is low. Black voters are actually well represented in the Southern electorate: In the 11 states of the former Confederacy, African-Americans were 17.9 percent of the age-eligible population and 17.9 percent of actual voters in 2004, analysis of Census Bureau data shows.

And when socioeconomic status is held constant, black voters go to the polls at higher rates than white voters in the South. In other words, a 40-year-old African-American plumber making $60,000 a year is, on average, more likely to vote than a white man of similar background.

The second myth is that Democratic presidential candidates fare better in Southern states that have large numbers of African-Americans. In fact, the reverse is true, because the more blacks there are in a Southern state, the more likely the white voters are to vote Republican.

Democrats counted heavily on Mississippi in the 2004 election cycle, with Kerry losing to Bush by 20 full points, and Georgia and North Carolina by only slightly less leads. A look at the map here shows the breakdown, by state, of those states carrying Bush, and those carrying Kerry.

Virginia is perhaps the only true hope Obama has for the former Confederate states.

The demographic makeup of the electorate in Virginia is unlike that of any other state in the South. The black population in Virginia is, as a percentage, among the lowest in the region. And during the last two decades, the state has also experienced a huge influx of upscale non-Southerners, who have taken over the Washington suburbs of northern Virginia. (Florida is a perennial target for similar reasons. With a relatively small black population, a big Hispanic voting bloc and a large contingent of relocated retirees from the North, it is the least Southern of the Southern states.)

This doesn't apply to the rest of the South, however. A large part of the stratagem employed in Southern campaigning by Democrats relies heavily on the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which led to a large number of blacks to register to vote in the South, but subsequently led to a marked increase in the number of white voters registering and voting as Republicans. In other words, an exponential increase in black voter turnout in the majority of Southern states can be expected, historically, to be met by a counterbalance of an exponential increase in white voters in the same areas.

Along with this, Obama is having problems garnering white Democrat votes in other states, such as Ohio and South Dakota.

Since the end of the Civil War, there has been a saying among Southerners: "The South will rise again." It doesn't appear, however, to be likely that it will be rising for Obama.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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Is the DNC afraid of it's own base? The Denver Wall is going up.

In the movie "V for Vendetta," the notion that people should not fear their government; government should fear the people is a prevailing theme. Is it possible that the Democratic National Party has reached this level of fear of the people?

As mentioned in previous articles (here and here), there is a huge fracturing going on in the Democratic party, at the base level. Despite all attempts to put on a good face with the media and go on as if there are no problems, the DNC seems to have no illusions, privately, that there is brewing trouble.

And they are making efforts to ensure that that trouble doesn't interfere with the National Convention when it meets in Denver, making preparations to keep protesters as far away from the center of activities as possible.

The fence around the public demonstration zone outside the Democratic National Convention will be chicken wire or chain link, authorities revealed in U.S. District Court today.

That may allow protestors to be seen and heard by delegates going in and out of the Pepsi Center during the convention.

But the American Civil Liberties Union and several advocacy groups have filed an amended complaint to their lawsuit against the U.S. Secret Service and the city and county of Denver that says protestors and demonstrators may have their First Amendment rights violated by security restrictions.

It is perhaps telling that such precautions are being made for the DNC. Given the past two years of a Congress with a record of little to no accomplishment, the rift between Clinton and Obama supporters, and the continued tirades by anti-war protesters (despite the successes made in Iraq in the past year, to the point that the media no longer reports from Iraq), Party leaders have good reason to be concerned over an irate constituency. And with the rise of the Denver Wall, one could speculate further about the views of the DNC not only on the Second Amendment, but upon the First Amendment, as well.

Wasn't there another wall, once upon a time a few years back, that divided a city east from west?

Just a thought.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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