Mark Warner says no to second seating with Barack Obama

Over the weekend, former VA governor Mark Warner made it clear that he'd rather be a U.S. senator than a vice president under Barack Obama. Mark Warner's campaign released its first advertisement indicating, in essence, that he cleaned up VA and now it's time to clean up Washington DC.

Watch the ad

To me, Mark is sending a message that he wants to restore checks and balances to the U.S. Senate and not be Barack Obama's puppet. Does Mark Warner entirely dislike Barack Obama? I'm honestly not sure. I had a hard time finding information that either confirms or denies that notion. Nevertheless, Mark Warner is well liked by many Republicans as well as Democrats. I believe that he will support legislation to balance the U.S. budget sooner rather than later and that he will help restore the system of checks and balances that is currently sorely missing in Congress today.

I voted for Mark Warner when he ran for Governor of VA in 2001. I won't deny that he made some decisions that were less than brilliant. However, I was quite impressed with him overall. Thus, he definitely has my vote for senator.

On "The Audacity of the Democrats"

It figures that Rush "Windbag" Limbaugh would have been impressed with "The Audacity of the Democrats". It must be the pain killers. I left a comment on The Radio Patriot blog under Andrea's post on the topic. Then, I felt compelled to do a post of my own. I respect Andrea and we share many of the same views on various political topics. However, I'm not sure we share the same view here.

Honestly, I couldn't bring myself to read the whole 'The Audacity of the Democrats' post on American Thinker. However, what I did read was disturbing. Disturbing because I disagree with some of the points made and I am shocked that Rocco believes what he has written.

I agree that Barack Obama is bad news. He was completely media generated. Yes, I also agree that neither the media nor the Democratic party took his connections with the likes of William Ayers, Jeremiah Wright, MoveOn.org, and many other people and organizations seriously. Had the media dug into Wright's sermons and played them in heavy rotation 24/7, Barack wouldn't be the Democratic nominee today. If they had also dug deeper into his connections to a horde of questionable characters and displayed that information in heavy rotation 24/7, Barack wouldn't be the Democratic nominee today. That's what really pisses me off! I seek truth in my blog. I dug deep to find what I could on Barack Obama. And I found and posted information that the media should have broadcast relentlessly. They did a couple of blurbs and then buried the information. Meanwhile, they continued to broadcast the "Pied Piper" playing his beautiful song.

I don't think it's the Democratic party that has changed so dramatically in the past 8 years. That's not to say they haven't changed. However, I think that the problem is more deeply rooted than that. I think the problem is at the citizen level. There's so much apathy and hopelessness out there that when the 'Pied Piper' came playing his beautiful song, everyone was mesmerized. They had tunnel vision and only saw the good in what Barack Obama was saying and not the bad in his voting history, associations, etc. So, that answers the question as to why Bill Clinton was nearly impeached for getting a blowjob and Barack Obama became the Democratic nominee despite all the "dirt" available on him.

What is NOT explained though is why GWB has not been impeached for doing things that are unconstitutional (also see this article). Heck with the treatment of POWs. I could care less. I'm talking about murdering 4000+ U.S. citizens by forcing them to go to war with a nation that was not an imminent danger to us. I'm talking about illegal wiretapping. Rocco says that the Democratic party has become Communists. I say that the GWB administration has become a fascist regime (see recent remarks of MSNBC host Keith Olbermann)! This administration is no better than Francisco Franco was for Spain from 1936 to 1975. It's absolutely unbelievable to me that President Clinton was nearly impeached for getting a blowjob yet we have not impeached GWB for the atrocious things that he has done. I'm ashamed to say that I think my generation, Generation 13, is much to blame for GWB still being President. Many of us are just too apathetic to take a stand.

I voted for Gore in 2000 and Kerry in 2004. So, you can't blame me for 8 years of GWB. Nor can you blame the Democratic party. What you can do is blame FL and the Supreme Court with the fact that he ever became President. In my opinion, all Rocco is doing is bringing back the fear of Communism. There's nothing more evil about Communism than Capitalism. In fact, Capitalism encourages greed. We don't need another "Cold War". It was never really a war anyway. I firmly believe that Russia was never as big of a threat as we made them out to be. I put that last part in bold because I'm not saying that Russia was not a threat. I'm saying that our fear of Communism greatly exaggerated that threat. In reality, I think that Russia was just as afraid of us. They saw what we did to Japan and said "Oh $#@%!!"

In closing, I don't equate Barack's nomination with the corruptness of the Democratic party. Yes, Al Gore was "cheated" out of the election in 2000. However, I don't think that this is the Democrats plotting to put an extreme "leftist" in office. I think the media was mesmerized by Barack's speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Ever since, they've put this man on a pedestal and treated him like the next messiah. If it weren't for the media, Barack would not have had a snowball's chance in hell at becoming the Democratic nominee. In fact, he probably wouldn't even have run for president. Thus, Hillary would have easily won the nomination and kicked McCain's arse in the general election!

McCainomics vs Obamanomics: Which one will get America back on track?

I watched News Hour with Gwen Ifill last Tuesday because she discussed the differences between the McCain economic plan and the Obama economic plan with the campaign advisers of the respective candidates. The interesting thing was that I supported both plans at different points in the debate. However, McCain's plan seemed to prevail in the end.

Barack Obama supports an oil windfall profit tax. The senate recently blocked a bill that included legislation that would increase windfall profit taxes on oil companies. On the surface, an oil windfall profit tax certainly seems reasonable. This would allegedly prevent price gouging like oil companies having been doing for at least the past 4 years. The question is: Would it work? Raymond J Learsy of the Huffington Post seems to think it's the right plan, but it uses the wrong language. Raymond suggests that it should be called the Cartel Profits Tax. He has a good point. OPEC certainly seems to fit the description. However, it is obvious that senate Republicans objected to the bill. They argue that imposing such a tax would not provide "relief at the pump". In light of that rejection, Democrats plan to work on a new bill that will increase oversight of trading by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Democrats also propose regulating U.S.-based transactions on the Intercontinental Exchange in London and imposing rules on the London exchange's American parent Intercontinental Exchange Inc., which is based in Atlanta. Only time will tell how Republicans will react to this new legislation when it is introduced.

Here's a word that makes many people cringe: Taxes. Barack Obama says that he wants to raise taxes for the richest 2% of the population. John McCain thinks that is a horrible idea and wants to lower the corporate tax rate. As I see it, there is a subtle difference here that one has to be careful not to overlook. The difference, as I understand it, is that Barack wants to increase taxes on individuals who make more than $250,000 per year; however, McCain wants to decrease taxes on corporations. While it is true that many people who make over $250,000 per year own corporations, individual and corporate tax returns are separate entities. Barack says that lowering taxes will be giving a huge tax break to companies like Exxon. That may be true, but McCain says that our high corporate tax rate prevents us from being competitive on the world market. I can also see truth in that statement. McCain also says that he wants to cut "pork-barrel" spending and declare Washington DC a "no earmark zone". In addition, he wants to put a freeze on non-defense discretionary spending for one year and conduct a complete top-to-bottom review of the federal government. Barack Obama calls this "Bush-onomics on steroids". I disagree. I think it's about time government spending was evaluated. The last time there was a real evaluation on government spending was when Clinton was president. The outcome of the evaluation was that we had the first surplus in decades!

Back to gas tax for a moment . . . McCain, like Hillary, suggests a gas tax holiday. Barack thinks this is a gimmick and would rather send out a second stimulus rebate as a short term solution. Honestly, I don't think either idea is good. A gas tax holiday wouldn't work because it would just give Big Oil a larger profit margin. A second stimulus rebate wouldn't work because the first one didn't work. I don't know about anybody else, but the rebate that my family will receive is just enough to make one mortgage payment. While that is helpful to a very small degree, it's not near enough to encourage us to spend money on things we do not need. Therefore, a second rebate, unless it is 3 or 4 times the amount of the first, still won't be very helpful. A family vacation, something that many people desire, can hardly be paid for by that tiny rebate by time you take transportation (air fare, rental car), hotel expenses, food, and attraction costs into account.

In summary, although both have some good ideas, I like some of McCain's ideas more than Barack's. Does that say that McCain has got my vote? No. We still have 4.5 months until election day. A lot can happen in that time. That said, both are going to have to do quite a bit of convincing in order to earn my vote.

Woo Me Barack . . . PunditMom has a good point

In a recent article, PunditMom talks about Barack needing to woo Democrats who supported Hillary. I'm a man. So, flowers or chocolates definitely aren't going to do it for me! Respect is a start, but I'm not sure that's enough. Cutting your ties with (now) convicts and other questionable people would definitely be nice. "But I can't control what they do,' you plead. True, but you can certainly control what you do. Furthermore, stop telling us lies. You say that you don't accept money from lobbyists and such, but you know that's not true. Here's proof from the The Boston Globe, Columbia Journalism Review, and even the Chicago Tribune. I can't speak for PunditMom, but you need to prove to me that you're not "the great deceiver".

Campaigning is stressful, no doubt. However, it's nothing like the stress of dealing with foreign leaders who dislike the U.S. It's nothing like the stress of U.S. citizens in an uproar over a failing economy. You need to prove to me that you have the backbone to stand up to our enemies --and without alienating them even further if that's possible. You need to prove to me that you have a rigorous plan to improve our relations with Russia and South American countries --especially Venezuela. You need to show me a solid plan that will both balance our budget and improve our economy. Your eloquent speeches might be pleasing to some ears, but actions (or plans to actions) speak much louder than words.

The bottom line is that the Pied Piper (aka Barack Obama) needs to stop playing the beautiful song that has been alluring citizens and delegates alike and start brainstorming viable plans to get us out of our current mess. Honestly, I don't care for some of the decisions you made in the U.S. senate. So, it is going to be tough for you to convince me you're the person that should get my vote.

Remembering D-Day: June 6, 1944

I'm only 37, but I had relatives that were survivors of WWII and the holocaust. Thus, I'd like to share some pictures that I took at the D-Day Memorial near Lynchburg, VA.

Two of the survivors that I know/knew (one is dead, the other still alive) are Colonel J Sydney Wolf and Arthur Seibert. Colonel Wolf died in the mid-to-late 1990's. The character in the BattleTech game, Col Jaime Wolf, might very well have been inspired by the real person. Back to reality . . .

The D-Day Memorial is actually located in Bedford County. It's about a 30 minute drive from the Candler's Mountain Road area in Lynchburg to the memorial. You can find more information at the official D-Day Memorial site.

Overlord Arch

Troops Land At The Beach

D-Day Memorial Emblem

Surveillance Plane

General Eisenhower Memorial

Wall of Fallen Soldiers and Surrounding Area

Although the memorial itself is quite impressive, the surrounding area is beautiful as well. Those who would like a challenging drive as well as some rewarding views can also drive to the Natural Bridge area from Lynchburg. There is a zoo there, beautiful scenery, and the Natural Bridge itself. For those who might not like winding roads, there's the Monument Terrace in downtown Lynchburg along with some cool architecture and the Langley Fountain. If you like to walk, there is a pretty lengthy walking path and bike trail in the downtown area too. Due to the lush landscape, most of the trail is well shaded yet easy to walk.

As you can see, there's a lot of history in western Virginia. There's also a lot of natural beauty. So, whether you're going there as a veteran, someone who likes history, or a nature lover, there's plenty to do.

Obama vs McCain - The race is on!

Best viewed full size! (click image)

Sure, McCain says he wants civil forums, but we all know it's not going to work out that way. McCain will end up attacking Obama any way he can and Barack will strike back. The one with the least mud on them will win the election. After all, who wants to sit an watch 2 candidates discussing topics across a table? Right? Hillary just might have the last laugh after all.

Since I currently cannot take either candidate very seriously, I thought a little political humor was in order. Sometimes you just have to be happy with what you have to be happy with (wink, wink). So, let's wait to see what the second verse is going to be and then there might be something more serious to discuss.

BOOM!! Barack Obama's secret weapon detonated!

Our democratic hypocrites are handing out their trash, but it was Hillary's in the first place so she'll burn it to ash*!

As many of you know, the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee made a decision regarding FL and MI last Saturday. In summary, the delegates of FL and MI only get half of a vote each and 4 of Hillary's MI delegates were awarded to Barack since he was an idiot and took his name off the ballot. I expected them to make a decision that no-one would be happy about. BOOM!! The secret weapon was detonated. Instead they made a decision that favors Barack Obama. I hate to say it, but I told you so.

Political Editorial Comic**

Had the Rules and Bylaws Committee met on March 31 instead of May 31, Hillary would have had much more momentum than she currently does. More than likely, she would have held the majority of superdelegates. Plus, there would have been 9 democratic primaries after the FL/MI decision rather than 3. While it is true that she still won 5 of those 9 primaries so far, there is no doubt that she would have received more campaign funds and been backed by more superdelegates. Howard Dean's 3+ month delay of a solution for FL and MI is both criminal and appalling. He has single-handedly guaranteed Barack Obama the nomination. Meanwhile, common sense, the democratic process, and justice have been thrown out the window!

Words cannot express how truly aggravating the 2008 presidential election process has been. I thought that the 2000 and 2004 elections were bad. They pale in comparison to the 2008 election process. If you think our country is corrupt now, you haven't seen anything yet! All I can say is "welcome to Jamaica" if Barack Obama becomes president.

*Modified quote from the Genesis song Back In NYC from their album The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway.

**Although this comic was created using a real photo, the words within the comic are completely fictional. Furthermore, to the best of my knowledge, Barack Obama did not have a gun in his possession during that interview. The words are a modified version of famous lines from the movie Total Recall.

Barack Obama's Secret Weapon Seeks Cash

Related post: Howard Dean - Barack Obama's Secret Weapon

During the week of May 19, I received something called the "2008 Presidential Campaign Survey" in the mail. At first, I had high hopes that this survey was sent out to get a feel for a fair solution to the FL and MI democratic primaries debacle. However, I soon discovered that this was merely a sneaky way for Howard Dean and the Democratic National Committee to ask for contributions. To make matters worse, the questions asked in the survey had nothing to do with the fates of FL and MI. The cherry on top of the whipped cream is the URL (www.democrats.org/survey) at the bottom of the last page of the survey. As you can see, it gives you the impression that you could actually take the survey online. However, when you plug that address into your favorite browser, you are sent directly to a "contributions" page! No survey found at that link or anywhere else on the www.democrats.org site --an official Democratic Party site.

Aside from a return postage-paid envelope and the survey, you can also find a message from Howard Dean as well as a message from Hillary Clinton in the envelope. The message from Howard Dean is no more than spam begging for money. On the other hand, the message from Hillary was more meaningful. Honestly, I don't remember whether or not she asked for contributions. I just remember being more impressed with her letter. Alas, I threw everything away except the survey and the return envelope.

For those who did not receive the survey and are curious, here are all of the questions (along with my personal answers):

1) Age: [] 18-30 [x] 31-40 [] 41-50 [] 51-64 [] 65 and over

2) How often do you vote for Democratic candidates? [] Always [x] Most of the time [] Rarely [] Never

3) How likely are you to vote in the 2008 election? [x] Very Likely [] Somewhat Likely [] Not Likely

4) Have you participated in any of the following campaign activities? [] Volunteering time at a local campaign or Party headquarters. [] Making phone calls from a phone bank. [] Organizing an event or fundraiser in my home or community. [] Going door-to-door in my neighborhood. [x] Actively blog about the election.*

*I wrote in this option

5) How closely have you been following the 2008 presidential campaign? [x] Very closely [] Closely [] Somewhat Closely [] Not at all

6) How optimistic are you that a Democrat will win the White House in 2008? [x] Very optimistic [] Optimistic [] Not very optimistic [] Pessimistic

7) Do you believe that John McCain's pledge to keep troops in Iraq for another 100 years will be a liability in the General Election? [x] Yes [] No [] Unsure

8) Which issues would you like the Democratic presidential nominee to focus on in the campaign? Please rank the following issues from 1-14 based on their importance to you, with "1" being the most important.

NOTE: I am listing these in the order of importance that I chose.

Jobs/Economy, Health Care, Education, Iraq, Energy Policy, Homeland Security, Ethics In Government, Immigration, Social Security, Environment, Civil Rights/Liberties, Stem Cell Research, Reproductive Rights, Taxes.

9) Thinking about our Party's plan for the 2008 campaigns, which of the following strategies do you think is the key to electing more Democrats in November?
[x] Investing in grassroots efforts like canvassing and get-out-the-vote drives.
[] Devoting more resources to radio and television ads that reach the most voters.
[] Ensuring a fair election process so that every vote counts.
[] Democrats need to invest in all of the above strategies to win in November.

Note: This was a tough one because the 3rd option is important too.

10) With our 50 State Strategy, the DNC has been strengthening our Party in states that have traditionally been GOP strongholds. What is your opinion of this strategy?
[x] I support it. Our Party needs to compete in every part of the country and make the Republicans spend campaign money in states they have taken for granted.
[] I oppose it. Our Party should focus its resources in those states where we have the best chance to win, and not waste money in solidly Republican states.

11) How likely do you think it is that John McCain and his Republican allies will launch a "Swift Boat" style smear campaign against our presidential nominee? [] Very likely [x] Somewhat likely [] Not likely

12) How concerned are you that Republican voter suppression schemes will disenfranchise Democrats and impact the outcome of the presidential race? [] Very concerned [] Somewhat concerned [x] Not concerned

13) What is your main source of news and information about the presidential campaign and the 2008 elections? [] Television [] Newspapers [] Talk radio [x] Internet/blogs [] News magazines [] Other

14) Do you think mainstream news organizations are biased in favor of Democrats, biased in favor of Republicans, or do you think news organizations have been fair in the way they have covered the presidential election? [x] Biased in favor of Democrats [] Biased in favor of Republicans [] No bias in favor of either party [] No opinion/Not sure

NOTE: The real answer here is that the media is, perhaps unjustly, biased toward Barack Obama.

15) If you could offer one piece of advice to the Democratic presidential nominee, what would it be? Please use the space below to write your comments.

First, I have a message for Howard Dean. You need to quickly and fairly resolve the FL/MI primaries issue. I suggest that you either let the vote stand as is or force a re-vote in both states. Either way people will be unhappy, but these are the most fair choices.

Finally, a message to Hillary. Stay focused. Run a strong, positive campaign that focuses on the issues. Let McCain bury himself. You don't need to do it for him. Let his comments and insults fall on deaf ears.

The above were the "legit" questions. The DNC then has the audacity to ask:

16) To help our Party win the White House and score victories up and down the ballot in 2008, will you join the DNC as a contributing member today? [] Yes - go to the next question [x] No

17) If you answered "Yes" to question 16, please indicate the membership level at which you will join the DNC today. [] $25 [] $35 [] $50 [] $100 [] Other: $______

As you can see, none of the questions are very meaningful except, perhaps, #8 and #15. I am quite disappointed with the DNC for not asking more important questions. Furthermore, the fact this is really a document asking for contributions makes me angry. Being that the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee made a very undemocratic decision on May 31, I am definitely happy that I didn't give money to them. I have already donated to Hillary's campaign. She is the one that deserves the contributions.

Hillary Clinton vs Barack Obama - Progressive Thinker primary predictions

Below, are my state-by-state predictions for the remaining primaries. These predictions are subject to change as we get closer to each primary. So, keep an eye on this post.

These predictions are based on data both from Real Clear Politics and U.S. Census Bureau. My predictions will likely become more accurate as more data becomes available from polls that are done in states which haven't had their primaries.

NOTE: Although I will be using Real Clear Politics as a source for poll data, my predictions may not agree with their poll averages.


West Virginia - May 13 (Updated May 14)

Hillary Clinton: 62% (actual 67%)
Barack Obama: 30% (actual 26%)
Undecided: 8%


Oregon - May 20 (Updated June 2)

Hillary Clinton: 44% (actual 41%)
Barack Obama: 49% (actual 59%)
Undecided: 7%


Kentucky - May 20 (Updated May 20 - 10:25pm)

Hillary Clinton: 54% (actual 65%)
Barack Obama: 37% (actual 30%)
Undecided: 9%


Puerto Rico - June 1 (updated June 2)

Hillary Clinton: 63% (actual 68%)
Barack Obama: 37% (actual 32%)
Undecided: 0%


Montana - June 3 (updated June 2)

Hillary Clinton: 47%
Barack Obama: 45%
Undecided: 8%


South Dakota - June 3 (updated June 2)
Hillary Clinton: 50%
Barack Obama: 44%
Undecided: 6%