The speech kerfluffle

There is so much more to be upset about in our public education system than a 20 minute speech by Obama and some badly prepared lesson plans. Instead of taking children out, parents with children in public schools should go into those schools for this event. The system can easily work around your child’s absence for this speech. They can easily marginalize you as a reactionary nut for withdrawing your child. By being there you make it clear that you support efforts, from the top down, that encourage your children to value their education. You also make it clear to the system that you're watching them and will hold them accountable.

And then plan on returning over and over again. If you're in the school regularly you will discover so much more that needs your attention and you will have your first person testimony as evidence of the real problems. It’s more important that parents spend time learning what goes on day-to-day than react to a speech from the supervisor of the US Department of Education. When you find excellence reward it, point it out, and encourage it. Otherwise, reveal those teachers and staff that obviously need to be in another line of work. Find the incompetent management of resources. Attend school board meetings and out the regular rubber stamping of the administration. When was the last time your school board actually asked about anyone on the tenure list before approving it? When was the last time they asked a serious question about a contract, a textbook, a new policy? Read your child’s textbook and do some googling about its inaccuracies and/or bias. Find out what’s in those daily lesson plans. What organizations with what POV are your children subjected to while in school? Whether to have uniforms or candy in the lunchroom are such minor and foolish issues to waste the finite educational lives of children on when in loco parentis has allowed the government so much control over children, their minds and their hearts than parents realize.

Parents, if Superintendent of US Schools Obama’s speech caught your attention—great, but don’t waste your time focused on that. Don’t major in the minors. There is real work that needs to be done. Start in your child's classroom and don't quit until people who believe like TN House Rep. Tommie Brown (D-Chattanooga), featured in the video above, are no longer in charge of your family's life.


(Hat tip: Rep. Stacey Campfield for the video.)

No wonder he thinks this will work

After reading this American Thinker piece on the Obama finances it's abundantly clear why Obama thinks his financial shell game with our money and our children's earning power will work. He's lived on getting Peter to pay Paul and it worked for him so why not for the rest of us? He's got a bigger house. He's got a better job. He's set for life.

'But the public record of their [Obama family] spending shows that they had to regularly take out lines of credit to pay their bills. As reported during the campaign, Michelle Obama complained in hard hit Ohio:

I know we’re spending — I added it up for the first time — we spend between the two kids, on extracurriculars outside the classroom, we’re spending about $10,000 a year on piano and dance and sports supplements and so on and so forth,”

The Obamas were living beyond their means for several years according to an examination of their tax records and their mortgage documents.'

I remember her astonishing figure for extracurricular activities. I had not noticed the 'for the first time' part. For the FIRST time?? Not only has the man never held a real job or run a successful business---they've apparently never actually created a family budget--and now he's in charge of all of our budgets.

It's just Monopoly money to him. He's taking payday loans to the extreme. America has rewarded his poor stewardship of family finances by giving him the biggest get out of jail free card ever. "He's to big to fail" now. And he's got enough power and influence to peddle that patrons will be ready and willing to continue to supply him with more Monopoly money for years to come.

Wednesday the National Taxday Tea Parties will be held. We have got to make enough noise to get Obama and his cohorts in Congress to realize we have had enough and they need to halt right where they are and stop spending OUR money, OUR futures and diminishing OUR rights.

Nashville Tea Party 2009-02-27

Two of the children and I attended the Tea Party at the state capitol today at noon. They announced the crowd as being 600. Being as short as I am and being on the Plaza I didn't have the vantage point of being able to confirm that but the crowd was very good for such short notice on a drizzly day.






I always get a kick out of observing the media at these events. It's not unusual for them to be completely unaware that they're being rude by pushing through the crowd to get the spot they 'need' for their shots and being unaware of the fact that some of us are shorter than they are.







Not surprisingly, Ben Cunningham got the biggest applause. He understands and clearly articulates the fact that the power of the US government is via the people and we need to make Congress sit up and take notice. They do need to 'fight for us'.


Some of the speechifying came from folks who are obviously quite willing to use support for the Obama administration's outrageous money and power grab in their own upcoming bids to replace those legislators who voted yes on TARP, Stimulus, budget...



Our state GOP leader, Robin Smith did a fine job herself in ensuring that folks understand that the GOP is going to fight this 'change'. She even gave props to Gov. Bredesen for taking a moment to look at whether Tennessee should commit to accepting all the available money.


GOP Spokesman Bill Hobbs had a pile of the TN GOP's newest bumper stickers: "Honk if you're paying my mortgage". A couple of us agreed that in some neighborhoods it wouldn't be safe to put this on your car so we declined the offer.

The only legislators in attendance seemed to be Rep. Susan Lynn (R-Mt. Juliet) and Rep. Debra Maggart (R-Hendersonville). Some sent their regrets. Since all this came together in less than a week it's understandable that some couldn't make it. It was announced that Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Murfreesboro) was off in Europe. A crowd of folks walked the two blocks down the hill to Rep. Jim Cooper's (D-Nashville) office in the library building. Last I saw them they had gathered in the park opposite his office.

I fully expect that those in attendance are not done yet. I believe they intend to demand legislation dismantling the Porkulus Bill (and its squealing siblings) and will not forget come election time.

Obama's Billions

I'm tired of life imitating art. This stimulus plan is looking like a terrifying remake of "Brewster's Millions". Only in Hollywood (and DC) can anyone think this could end well.

If you spend $1,000,000 a day for 2,000 years that's about $730,000,000,000. You'll need to keep going for another 128 years before you run out of spending a million a day since Jesus was born and equal the indebtedness Obama and Congress have shackled us with. If you wanted to do it in one lifetime of 75 years you'd have to spend $28.7 million a day.

Steele answers

Thanks to the Tennessee Eagle Forum for posting some great resources about the new RNC Chair Michael Steele. I'm not very confident that having a black man as national chair will make any serious dent in the assumption by so many that the Democrat party is the only place for blacks. For years we've pointed to black, Hispanic, and women appointees who are actually qualified and working in Republican administrations and the evidence falls on numbed brains. There are still too many who are distracted by shallow rhetoric and seem unable to recognize walking the talk. So now we have at the top of both the Democrat party and the Republican party two articulate, 'clean' and passionate black men. Maybe that's exactly what it will take to finally take race off of the table. From Steele:

"One way we can regain credibility is to break down the negative stereotypes. We must demonstrate that we're not a party for the white, rich and the powerful. We must hold up the GOP mirror and let them see message of our party reflected in their lives." --Steele

Some other snips from Steele's answers:

"Key to our Republican ideals is the notion of fiscal restraint and limited government. In recent years, however, Republicans in leadership have violated these principals. Unless we restore our credibility as the Party best equipped to reduce spending, constrain government growth, and cut taxes, we will continue to lose elections.

Some have claimed it's not the role of the RNC to determine the Republican policy message. They say such things are better left to Republican leaders in Congress. I disagree."

So do I. We have a PARTY platform that should be our rudder. I'm hoping he weeds out the squishy and the RINO's. I'm tired of the Olympia Snowe's and the Kent Williams' sitting in Republican seats to the detriment of conservatives. There are a couple of Tennessee Senators that need to get the word too.

"I have always been, and will always be, pro-life. I oppose abortion, period. I defended that position as Lieutenant Governor and as a candidate for the United States Senate in Maryland in 2006. I support the pro-life position in the platform and am committed to keeping it. "

Questions #8 contrasted the liberal view of two current votes. If 52% was a 'mandate' for Obama why is that same 52% in California's Proposition 8 then described as a squeaker that can be overcome? The truth is neither is a mandate. They're both squeakers.

"The College Republican National Committee is a vast and un-tapped resource. Sadly, they are used for Volunteer Deployment and not much more. This must change. Not only are CR's the future of our party, they are the current foot-soldiers and leaders of our Party and we must keep them mobilized and engaged."

This has got to be welcome news to some hard working young folks who have expended so much effort against huge liberal forces on our college campuses.

"First Message: We are the Conservative Party. Traditional Republican principles provide a popular perspective for policy engagement.

For example, I coined the phrase "Drill, baby drill" at the RNC convention in 2008, not as the entire solution to our energy problem but to get people listening to a clear example of how Republicans should be distinguished from Democrats on one important aspect of the energy issue

But energy is only one example. On any issue -- healthcare, education, infrastructure improvement, economic growth and new job creation, small business growth, urban development and renewal, tax fairness and simplification, and every other issue -- Republicans can beat Democrats simply by articulating innovative policy proposals based on time-tested, free-market, pro-family Republican principals."

He's got a point. People have short attention spans now days. For all the talk in education circles for years about ensuring children learn critical thinking skills it's absolutely clear that too many made it out of school without them. American voters don't have the patience for much more than a slogan. That's a sad commentary on their condition but it's obviously a fact. You start sounding like the adults in a Charlie Brown cartoon after about two minutes. They've already tuned you out. So, for a season, catchy phrases are going to be necessary.

"In a post-election survey I asked the Tarrance Group to conduct on GOPAC's behalf, we found some interesting things. 69% of Americans consider themselves fiscal conservatives; 53%, social conservatives; and, 55% of Americans still perceive Ronald Reagan as best example of Republican principles at work. And, yet, a majority of Americans don't feel the Republican Party has been standing up for its ideals."

And so we're back to holding up that mirror and showing them that the GOP is very much like average Americans. Every time Republican congressmen compromise the party platform that mirror gets foggy and American's don't see themselves and their conservative beliefs, financial supporters close their wallets and usually reliable Republican voters stay home. Here's hoping Steele succeeds.

Moving on

Yesterday seemed like a day to rival Palm Sunday itself as Obama supporters filled Washington DC to welcome him to power. Instead of palm branches people carried American flags emblazoned (illegally) with Obama's face. Network television and radio was wall to wall Obama and it was very hard to avoid the coverage of his every move. I don't intend to pop anyone's euphoric balloon but let's remember that the Jews were quickly disappointed when Jesus wasn't the political figure they expected to throw off the Roman oppressors. It took less than a week for the tables to turn.

My prayer yesterday was that the man wouldn't be the victim of a nut job with a gun or worse...a rocket launched into the crowd. I'm thankful he survived the day. I would be foolish not to continue to pray for his ability to listen to and follow wise council as he leads our nation. He's got the job now...time to put the pedal to the metal, as they say.

Now that we've celebrated Obama's skin color...do we now have permission to move on to examining the content of his character, his cabinet, his policies?


Photo Credit: AP via Yahoo

2008-12-13 Roundup

I've got 83 Firefox Windows of interesting stuff I need to clear out. So here goes. No, I didn't count the windows. Firefox has an add-in for nearly everything.

I'll start with a huge THANK YOU to Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker (R). While I'd rather taxpayers not bailout or subsidize or loan money to any private entity and take a risk of losing my tax money what he did manage to do was highlight the absolute fact that the UAW isn't one bit concerned about saving the auto industry. It's only concerned about saving their own benefits. Why their membership continues to believe that they can kill a company and still stay on the payroll is beyond me. It's an alternative planet than Planet Reality where workers who've been fired still receive FULL compensation four (4) years after being fired. Fox Business has the video of Sen. Corker explaining why the bailout failed. Those three words were 'a date certain'.

You want a clue about how many chains are on that UAW anchor to free enterprise? Check out this 22 lb, 2,215 page Year 2007 agreement with Ford. Will workman's comp cover you if you throw your back out putting it on the table to read?

The UAW is so upset that they didn't get what they wanted that they've nearly initiated another 'War of Northern Aggression'.

Festering animosity between the United Auto Workers and Southern senators who torpedoed the auto industry bailout bill erupted into full-fledged name calling Friday as union officials accused the lawmakers of trying to break the union on behalf of foreign automakers. AP via Yahoo News

Unfortunately for them, the south of 2008 isn't the south of 1860.

Educational transition: The Obama's are sending their girls to the very exclusive Sidwell Friends school in the DC area. Ben Cunningham points out that the PTA meetings could be very interesting considering the number of well placed DC insiders with children also attending. I'm wondering if Sunshine Laws might be violated with a group like this. But I won't worry too much about that considering the ever vigilent national press is also very well represented in this parent group. Here's the full Washington Post article.

Further the Obama's will be homeless for their first couple of weeks in DC. Apparently, historic protocol for the incoming presidential family is to stay across the street from the White House at Blair House beginning 5 days before the inauguration. However, the Obama's want to get the girls settled in time for the new school term. They're trying to avoid, I assume, the mobility issues that so many DC students (and students in Nashville) experience when they're homeless. What is curious to me is why they just don't cut out the middle move and ask George and Laura Bush to move out of the White House immediately to accommodate the girl's schooling schedule. MSN.com

Clarksville is planning ahead...but based on what? From the Cheatham County School Board Watchdog:

"Commissioner Wood and McCannless stated at previous board workshops that due to huge residential developments in Pleasant View there needed to be a NEW high school built. (Interesting enough is that all these new families would only have HS students - don't you think?)"

They also have an on-line poll going on now. If you're in Cheatham County you might want to stop by their blog.

iTunes U: Dr. Tim Webb of the Tennessee Department of Education introduces folks to their Electronic Learning Center.

According to their press release:

"Students currently can access curriculum-based lessons in language arts, and study skills, with math to be added this month. Educators can view training sessions on Tennessee’s new academic standards, School-wide Positive Behavior, reading and other teaching resources. Additional podcasts will be developed and added on an ongoing basis."

Pity they've linked these podcasts to iTunes instead of just linking to the video files and letting folks pick their own media player. There is one that's an 8 minute primer about Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) which parents might appreciate but it took a couple of attempts for it download. And the production is basically a PowerPoint presentation with audio. I would have expected better. Maybe the others are.

Certified ≠ effective: There are several pieces that crossed my browser this week about teacher quality and effectiveness.

"...between 2003 and 2007 students in states with a real alternative pathway to teaching gained more on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (a federal standardized test) than did students in other states. (snip)

The study undermines the arguments from colleges of education and teachers unions, which say that traditional certification, which they control, is the only process that can produce quality teachers. The findings hold up even after controlling for race, ethnicity, free-lunch eligibility, class size and per-pupil state spending. (snip)
President-elect Barack Obama has expressed guarded support for education reforms like merit pay and charter schools. Yet he chose Linda Darling-Hammond to head the education policy team for his transition. Ms. Darling-Hammond, a professor at Stanford, is a union favorite and vocal supporter of traditional certification. She's also been a fierce critic of Teach for America and other successful alternative certification programs.
Via the Wall Street Journal (Hat Tip: Rep. Stacey Campfield)

More from the study authors at the Hoover Institute.

Unfriendly Feds: Ben Cunningham points out how unfriendly the Federal government is toward 'undocumented students'. Seems the State of California will give an illegal immigrant in-state tuition but not legal citizen from, oh, say, Nevada. The Federal Appeals Court has said that has to stop. Documented students are looking for tuition refunds.

Speaking of unfriendly. Councilman Eric Crafton has had a lot of irrational and over the top heat directed his way for initiating a charter amendment in Nashville which would require our city's official business to be done in English. Some have suggested that he should be removed from office. However, they may want to rethink that when he's also sponsoring a change to the Metro Water fees which have prevented some of the very local restaurants that these same Goo Goos insist are essential to the vitality of their neighborhoods (and their community organizing efforts--they gotta meet somewhere). Seems the fees are so huge it's a financial strain on even seasoned restaurateurs and are preventing the next new round hot spots from opening. I don't want citizens footing the bill for these risky endeavors but we don't need to make it impossible to even attempt the effort either. Next hearing on the bill is this Tuesday evening.

Rude Guests: One more comment on this charter amendment. How is it that a Honduran immigrant comes here to escape her own bad government and then demands the right to derail our electoral system? CM Crafton has this absolutely right:

She alleges this would be hard for her to communicate, yet she knows enough about our constitution that she knows what unconstitutional is. She knows enough she can hire an attorney and file a complaint.” via City Paper

I'm of the mind she was actually a recruited pawn however, it's galling that any non-citizen should have any standing to keep legal citizens from voting on any issue. If she truly wants to reform any political system---she and her recruiters should start with the Honduran one. This isn't a battle about English, this is a battle against our republican form of government by folks who would rather we submit to rules and regs by unelected officials rather than the vote of the people.

BlagObama: Does anyone seriously believe that Illinois Governor Blagojevich didn't ask his outgoing Senator Barack Obama if he had an opinion on who should replace him? No. Most of us would consider it a dereliction of duty if Blagojevich didn't ask or Obama didn't suggest. The sin isn't in the asking or suggesting. It's in offering it to the highest bidder.

Tennessee makes another Pork Report. This time Sen. Tom Coburn reveals it (page 22) not the TCPR. Apparently, there's an airplane shaped gas station in Knoxville---

It is an airplane that cannot fly and a gas station that has not pumped gas for nearly half a century, but the Powell Airplane Filling Station has just landed a $9,000 federal grant.(95) It is an old airplane‐shaped building that once served as a gas station, liquor store and used car lot, though is now an eyesore on the side of a busy highway. A few local residents have rallied around the old filling station in hopes of turning the tiny airplane into leased office space. Tom Milligan, who has been instrumental in the effort, said, “I was coming up through here one day and I seen they had two bulldozers on the front and I thought they was fixin' to wreck the place. [I] knew we were going to have to have quite a lot of money to fix it.”(96) Rock Bernard, another local resident, added, “If you ask 100 people in Knoxville, I bet 80 will know where it's at.”(97)

I think the $9,000 would have been better spent on grammar lessons. Apparently, Matthew Lesko is right---you can get government money for just about anything. Better yet, gents, use your own money.

Last minute Christmas Shopping at Terry Frank's place. If you truly want to shop local and green check out her one of a kind 'Tennessee Treasures' gift ideas. My favorite is this 'Flip Your Lid'.






I'm down to just 67 tabs and there are cookies to be baked. More later.

Show us the paper

It's a great question Joe The Farmer asks:

The question not being asked by the holders of power, who dismiss this as a rightwing conspiracy, is what's the downside of disclosing?

Really--what is the downside of disclosing? The longer Obama withholds his "Certificate of Live Birth" from the public the more concerned I get. Obama may be a man with a global view of citizenship but the Constitution he's about to swear he'll preserve, protect and defend still requires our presidents to be 'natural born' citizens. At some point we've got to decide how we're going to enforce that Constitutional provision or else it, and the rest of the document, is worthless.

How smart are they?

Great take on the Obama's hypocritical choice of Sidwell Friends for their daughters at Jay Greene's site. Turns out, according to education experts, Sidwell Friends is in horrible shape and is no place to send a child. Jay sums up a great post with:

Or maybe we should be worried. After all, the Obamas did pick this shockingly substandard school, even though they had the opportunity to go with the nation’s most lavishly funded and heavily unionized schools in the D.C. public system, so how smart can they be?

Obama's neighbors

This map from HillBuzz puts that 'just a guy in the neighborhood' line in perspective.

Toni Preckwinkle is a powerful Chicago Alderman. The rest of Obama's very near neighbors I'm sure you all know.

Obama misquotes Heritage Foundation

This from the Heritage Foundation's Insider's Blog just now.

Heritage Asks Obama Campaign to Pull Ad with Inaccurate Quote

The Heritage Foundation has sent a letter asking Barack Obama’s campaign to pull an ad that falsely describes Heritage analysis of Barack Obama’s tax plan. The ad claims Heritage analysis shows “the middle class would likely pay less under Mr. Obama’s plan.” In the letter, Heritage lawyer Alan P. Dye tells the Obama campaign that the source of the quote was not in fact any Heritage analysis, but rather a New York Sun article that erroneously summarized the views of Heritage analyst Rea Hederman. (snip)

Senator McCain’s plan is substantially better at spurring economic growth than Senator Obama’s. This is not surprising, since Senator McCain focuses on economic growth and job creation while Senator Obama focuses on the redistribution of income.

Negative liberties?

The clock on this election season is fast running down and the dam that has kept seriously negative information about Barack Obama is finally getting some leaks that the little Dutch boy and his friends can no longer control.

Last week's McCain/Palin 'scandal' over clothing is childish when compared to so much of Obama's story to include this morning's audio of an interview Obama had in 2001 with Chicago's Public Radios Station. No doubt he felt like he was talking to family and felt free to express his opinion in a more unguarded way. Here's a snip from that interview (emphasis mine):

But, the Supreme Court never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth, and of more basic issues such as political and economic justice in society. To that extent, as radical as I think people try to characterize the Warren Court, it wasn’t that radical. It didn’t break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the founding fathers in the Constitution, at least as its been interpreted and Warren Court interpreted in the same way, that generally the Constitution is a charter of negative liberties. Says what the states can’t do to you. Says what the Federal government can’t do to you, but doesn’t say what the Federal government or State government must do on your behalf, and that hasn’t shifted and one of the, I think, tragedies of the civil rights movement was, um, because the civil rights movement became so court focused I think there was a tendancy to lose track of the political and community organizing and activities on the ground that are able to put together the actual coalition of powers through which you bring about redistributive change. In some ways we still suffer from that.

More evidence that what Melanie Philips wrote about (see post below) is exactly spot on. Obama sees the Constitution as a hindrance and I and millions of other America loving patriots see it as a path to enormous freedom. Did it need a tweak or two...obviously yes. Obama fails to understand the times and tyranny the founders were trying to escape from when they created those boundaries. Without those boundaries I believe we'll face another King George. Only God knows at this point if his name will be King Obama.



Hat tip: Michelle Malkin

Getting down to brass tacks

This from Melanie Phillips author of "Londonistan" via the blog HillBuzz.WordPress.com:

McCain believes in protecting and defending America as it is. Obama tells the world he is ashamed of America and wants to change it into something else. McCain stands for American exceptionalism, the belief that American values are superior to tyrannies. Obama stands for the expiation of America’s original sin in oppressing black people, the third world and the poor.

That's as succinctly worded a paragraph about the difference between these two men as I've read thus far.

4 for the Republicans

The Brooks family has put four in the Republican columns. Most of us voted yesterday about 11:00 and were in an out in nearly no time at all despite having a brand new voter with us. Papa voted this morning on the way to work.

We were greeted by all sorts of signs...oddly very few for the presidential candidates. LOTS for David Hall who is taking on 24 year incumbent Joe Haynes for State Senator in our area. Haynes must be feeling the heat because you really have to read the mailers to catch a clue he's a democrat.

This new type of sign caught our eye. One could easily assume, since it was right on the boundary line and exceptionally plain, that it's an Election Commission sign. Don't expect non-partisan help if you call it. It seems dishonest to not include some notation that if you call that number the Obama campaign will be answering. These signs could open up the door to an interesting array of signs not normally seen at voting places.

It was also curious to see that all the Democrats had first billing on the ballot. Aren't these usually in alphabetical order?

So Michelle Obama is undecided?

How is it that Michelle Obama was seated among the undecided voters at the presidential debate at Belmont this evening? She should not have been there--whether she's undecided or not.

I do know one of the woman that was among the undecideds. I'm looking forward to hearing her take on the experience.

Tom Brokow was a lousy time keeper and moderator. I nearly gave up when Brokow announced that he got to pick the questions. The liberals were upset that Brokow interrupted Obama but they failed to realize that he regularly went overtime and should have been interrupted more than a minute earlier. Why wasn't a buzzer employed so we all know who went over when? And Obama was allowed to rebut several times despite the rules. Apparently, the rules don't apply to him.

I'm disappointed Sen. John McCain didn't hit Obama harder. A lot harder.

I don't know where Obama is buying gasoline in Nashville but it's about 30 cents lower than the $3.8+- he stated.

McCain answered correctly, health insurance is a responsibility not a right as Obama answered. More correctly, paying your medical bills is a responsibility. If you don't need insurance to do that, great.

McCain's point that our soldiers are in nuclear powered tin cans and that there are plenty of European nations living on nuclear power was a great point. ALL of the above and drill here, drill now have got to be the plan.

I loved the exchange between the former Marine CPO (they aren't really ever former are they) and McCain. He does seem to be more personable in his exchanges with questioners. I loved his direct answer to the CPO about coming to the aid of Israel if attacked by Iran. McCain is right, the UN Security Council isn't a friend of Israel and it would not be in the best interests of the US to wait around for them to give permission to aid Israel.

McCain's response regarding Russia was exactly right and it was a clear demonstration of his previous statement that you don't let the enemy know what your game plan is. And to deliver the response while half sitting on the stool with his feet stretched out before him with a sly smile came across to me as very self-assured on that issue. While Obama was reciting former Soviet Satellite nations like Estonia, McCain honed in on the oil pipeline ones like Georgia. He knows what Putin wants. I'll bet Putin knows that McCain knows what Putin wants and Putin would rather have to deal with Obama.

Palin's ABC interview III

From Friday night through Sunday I got to hear Charlie Gibson's interview with Governor Sarah Palin several more times. Each ABC broadcast, on TV and their radio affiliate, varied slightly from the other broadcasts. I've come to the conclusion that the original tape has been so sliced and spliced that I doubt my mother and her aging peers at the elderly high rise, all extraordinary jigsaw puzzlers, could put this thing back in its original form. So, it's my opinion the interview is now only worthwhile in pointing out the hubris of ABC news and its Charlie Gibson and demonstrating the grace under fire that Palin possesses. America is seeing for itself that despite being subjected to such low-life tactics and intense and unfair interrogation Gov. Palin hasn't resorted to whining or complaining but instead has proven that she's a feminist of the best kind. She has taken it like a strong, confident woman and demonstrated she has what it takes to play with the big boys.

The whining is only coming from the left who insist that they haven't done anything wrong and it is necessary to vet her for the job of president (never mind she's running for VICE-President). Sunday's Tennessean editorial by their Mark Silverman called the complaints "Hogwash".

Yet as soon as national reporters began introducing Gov. Palin to the American people, the uproar began: The press is out to destroy her. What's more, the critics charged, there is a liberal conspiracy to discredit a conservative woman.

Hogwash.

The grilling and the consistent repeating of less than the truth as well as Kos rumors is not mere introduction it's a hit job intended to take her out of contention. Most likely because she's the wrong kind of woman in their eyes and they're in panic mode at the thought of someone who has actually earned her position making their affirmative action candidate look bad.

Further, Silverman encourages his diminishing readership:

"My advice is that you use as many different news sources as possible."

His advice is exactly correct. You won't get the whole story from the Tennessean to be sure. And his admission points out that it's a new era, one where you can no longer trust your hometown paper to provide accurate and in depth coverage of substance. Call it the Gannettization of news delivery--all the news that is flashy, easy to obtain and fits within the editorial bias and budget. Thankfully, Internet users have readily available options at hand to put the lie to print outlets such as Silverman's. I suggest folks start with http://Lucianne.com which is a site I read long before getting around to reading the Tennessean.

Palin's ABC interview

I got to see the ABC exclusive interview with Alaska Governor and Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin. Two things:

1. Charlie Gibson pressed really hard to get Palin to admit that she isn't qualified to be VP, let alone President. She didn't. She stood firm and said she didn't hesitate to accept McCain's offer.

2. I don't think I've EVER seen such a choppy editing job. Over and over again the audio was removed from the video while they made a transition to the next sound bite. Clearly, she hadn't completed her thought but ABC had heard enough and thought we had too. I'd really like to see a fuller copy of the interview so I can judge for myself what gatekeeping ABC cut out.

Depressed Dem PTA Mom

I've come to expect that the very people who put parameters on education choice via legislation almost always choose to enroll their own children in private schools. I don't fault them for placing them there but on restricting the choices of the vast majority of their constituents who cannot afford such choices.

This morning a 'depressed Democrat PTA mom' bemoans:

Let us just say that if Mr. and Mrs. Obama — a dynamic, Harvard-educated couple — had chosen public over private school, they could have lifted up not just their one local public school, but a family of schools. First, given the social pressure (or the social persuasion of wanting to belong to the cool club), more educated, affluent families would tip back into the public school fold. And second, the presence of educated type-A parents with too much time on their hands ensures that schools are held, daily, to high standards. Sandra Tsing Loh

True to form the Obama's, the Bidens and the McCain's children all attended private schools.

And yes, I know I appear to be ranting on like a pit bull without lipstick, which brings me to the final nail in the coffin in this sorry election year. As a Democrat I am horrified that Sarah Palin is the one who snagged the deeply profound — and absolutely ignored by professional smart people — emotional real estate of “P.T.A. mother.” I too am, in fact, not just “my kids’ mom” but their Title I Los Angeles public school P.T.A. secretary. This unheard female howl is, for better or worse, what Ms. Palin has set out to tap into; it is real, and I am sick that we’ve let the Republicans charge this ground. Sandra Tsingh Loh

Palin got her start in the PTA. Likely she wouldn't be VP nominee if she hadn't gotten elected there first. Apparently, someone forgot to start the vetting process then and there.

She's a winner!

VP nominee Gov. Sarah Palin was fabulous last night. The women of the Brooks' household were so excited to see this strong woman, mom and wife. I was so thankful my children got to see what was possible. I was thankful that it's going to be a conservative woman who makes it to the White House first and it won't be because she was married to a former president while wedded to the wrong headed feminists of yesteryear but because she'd worked hard at serving her communities and that hard work was noticed. Her road started by volunteering to help in her children's school and may very well include being the very first female president of this great nation before her political journey ends.

From my point of view I was excited to finally see Palin begin to put the lie to much of the nasty elements of the left have offered over and over that she wasn't ready and didn't have the experience necessary. Obviously, they were stunned she'd done so well last night after the week they'd given her. They expected a mouse of a woman and she roared! She strode onto that stage a confident woman ready accept the job of vice-president with full knowledge, by then, that she wasn't going to be coddled because she was a girl. No pantsuits for her. Her hair was done up and her heels were on. She was the sort of feminist I'm proud to vote for, dressed for battle as only a woman can be.

Last night she pushed back at the nastiest, most hateful, most despicable tactics I've seen in my lifetime which came from the bottom feeders of the political arena. Former presidental candidate Mike Huckabee was right when he called the media and left wing attacks on Palin as "Tackier than a costume change at a Madonna concert." Seriously, what hope is there for the Democrat Party when these forces are driving their policy?

The more the Democrats and their Daily Kos and MoveOn handlers demean small town people (who vote), their mayors (who vote), mothers (who vote), women (who vote) and parents who suddenly find themselves grandparents (who vote) who is going to be left to vote for them? We may be clinging to God and guns but they are clinging to a view of America that Rudy Guiliani acknowledged last night which discounts most of America because it isn't as comopolitian or flashy as they think it should be. Because we're on the right side of the political world we're unsophisticated rubes. One female talking head the other day said that the women supporting Palin weren't like the college educated women supporting Hillary Clinton. She was right, we're not like them but that doesn't make us uneducated as well as unsophisticated! Is there no end to their ability to insult voters?

How is it that Palin's daughter's mistake is a deal breaker in their eyes, but Bill Clinton's conduct isn't? How is it that a man who has spent more time writing about himself and campaigning for president is considered more qualified to run this nation than any mother of five? The sound bites from Obama this week have regularly referred to her as a small town mayor and completely ignored her two years as governor of Alaska in a desperate effort to make her less than what she is because he is less than what he says.

And while it's been frustrating to see the obvious hatchet job the media and their Democrat friends are doing on Palin it was great to see her zing them last night. She wasn't hateful or angry, though I've no doubt her opposition will say she was. I found it charming that she leaned into the podium, made that mom face that says "You should know better" because they should. I'm looking forward to her being the Speaker of the Senate and giving them that same look. This is a woman used to getting things done and I'm looking forward to her getting things done in Washington DC.

Apparently just clueless

Regarding Michelle Obama's recent comment about spending a $600 stimulus check on earrings the Tn GOP created a list:

Here are some things we think many Tennessee families would be more likely to spend $600 on than earrings:

1. 150 gallons of gas - though they could buy more if Democrats would only stop blocking increased domestic oil production.
2. One to three months of daycare or pre-school for a young child^[ii]
3. A month’s worth of groceries for a family of four
4. More than five months’ worth of the average electric bill.^[iii]
5. Save it in a child’s college fund.
6. Replace an old washer or dryer.
7. Pay for children’s clothes and school supplies for the new school year.

If you can think of better ways to spend $600 than on a new pair of earrings, we’d like to hear about it. Just email us at [email protected].

Frankly, I'm still stuck on her bungled attempt back in February to tell Ohio mom's how much she understands their family budgets.

“I know we’re spending — I added it up for the first time — we spend between the two kids, on extracurriculars outside the classroom, we’re spending about $10,000 a year on piano and dance and sports supplements and so on and so forth,” Mrs. Obama tells the women. “And summer programs. That’s the other huge cost. Barack is saying, ‘Whyyyyyy are we spending that?’ And I’m saying, ‘Do you know what summer camp costs?’” National Review

$10,000 on extra curricular activities!! Seriously woman. Have you no idea that's 1/4th of the median US household income? Do you realize that's more than your charitable giving for the years 2000 through 2004 combined? Do you not yet realize that most of us can't afford to own $600 earrings? Why do you think Cubic Zirconium was invented? Hello? She's just now adding it up? Those of us operating under the Dave Ramsey plan out of necessity would have added those expenses up a long time ago. What kind of budget do you have that ten grand can go unobserved?

I didn't have a chance to think about $600 earrings. Our stimulus check was gone before it got here.