Take a Trip to the 2012 Vets for Vets Event

Just over 1,000 people turned out today for the 2012 Vets for Vets Biker Event at Riverpark Church in Shreveport.  It was a beautiful day with clear blue skies and a crisp wind keeping the heat and humidity at bay.

The event is hosted by the non-profit Vets for Vets organization and raises money for local hospitalized veterans.  This was the eighth year for the rally and it seems to be growing every year we are told; this was our first time to attend.

The rally began at 9 but it was closer to 10 by the time we got there.  Riverpark Church is located on the Red River and is the site of the old Hamel's Amusement Park.  Signs of the old amusement park days remain.

Steve and I could still see parts of the old train track that went around the park and several of the old buildings are still there like the kiddie barn, the bumper car area, the skee ball building, and even part of the old log ride.

Through the morning the bikes started filling the parking lot:

As soon as we entered the park we bought t-shirts and then Steve ran into his old Army Reserve buddy, La. Representative Henry Burns:

We visited for a bit, they told old Army stories, and then we moved on to check out the vendors.  The Krewe of Elders was there serving food:

There were lots of vendors selling biker related merchandise: leather, boots, jewelry, and so on.

There was a Wounded Warriors tent - a charity I proudly support:

We checked out the silent auction - I bid on a couple of things and didn't win.  There was a neat old Bel Air on display:

It was beautifully restored:

A World War II veteran spoke briefly about how the world was back then.  There was three types of government he said: communism (Russia), socialism (Germany), and capitalism (United States); he said it was free market capitalism that won the war and helped recovery after the war.

One of the highlights of the morning was the demonstration by the Security Forces with their dogs:

The dog, a Belgian Malinois was absolutely beautiful:

 

They went through an obedience demo and then one guy put on "the bite suit" and the dog, Rufus, I think, started drooling.  It was amazing to see the training and discipline of the dog.  And when he finally got to "bite" he did not let go until directed:

At one point in the demo the dog was in mid-jump about to bite when the handler called him off and he immediately closed his mouth and sat down as directed.

Meanwhile, the music was getting started and a line dance got started:

These are actually some of our American Legion friends and they do love to dance!

All of the bands today donated their time for the Vets for Vets.  Dickie T and his group, the Bone Dancers, and our favorite: Soulfish Blues Band.

Here is Steve with Ron Chatelain, one of our highly decorated veterans and a heck of a nice guy:

When it was time to eat I had a hamburger and Steve had fried fish. About that time Gary and Kay Huntsman arrived (Gary is with Soulfish) and we staked out a good bench from which to view the band's performance:

The bikers left to do their parade past the War Veteran's Home on the Parkway and past the VA hospital.  It was quite a site to see them all.

Finally it was time for Soulfish to take the stage.  We just love this band: nice, good people and wonderful musicians.  Julia Dunning continues to impress with her vocals.  Several people came up to her to tell her how much they enjoyed her singing.

The event ended with the playing of Taps:

...and we departed.

Steve and I then turned the Jeep south and headed to the Pioneer Pub in Natchitoches for dinner.  Why not?

After dinner we walked along Front Street and admired the shop windows.  They are getting ready for their big Christmas festival:  we especially liked this window:

Now that'll put you in the Christmas spirit!

More Veterans Day events to come this week, but for now, we close.

The rally raised over $8,000 for the vets and that's a good day.

The SIGIS Take a Trip Series:

Take a Trip to the Norton Art Gallery and the Photographs of the Vietnam War Exhibit

Take a Trip to Octoberfest 2012 at Barksdale Air Force Base

Take a Picnic Trip to the Lock and Dam and a Detour to Lake Bistineau

Take a Dinner Ride Through East Texas

Take a Trip to an End of Summer Party and Listen to Soulfish Blues Band

Take a Summer Trip to Jefferson, Texas and Meet New Friends

Take a Trip to Dallas, Texas and The West End

Take a Stocking the Freezer Trip to Ed Lester Farms and Find a Cool Truck!

Take a Trip to Coushatta Down Louisiana Backroads

Take a Sunday Drive in North Caddo Parish

Take a Trip to Minden's First Annual Cinco de Mayo Festival

Take a Trip to the 2012 Defenders of Liberty Air Show at BAFB
Take a Springtime Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden, LA
Take a Trip to Logansport, Louisiana
Take a Trip to the Lock and Dam on Red River
Take a Trip to the 2012 Barkus and Meoux Parade
Take a Christmas Shopping Trip to Second Hand Rose in Minden
Take a Trip to the Fourth Annual Barksdale AFB Oktoberfest
Take a Trip to Grand Cane's Fifth Annual Pioneer Trade Day
Take a Trip to the 2011 Highland Jazz & Blues Festival
Take an Autumn Trip to Jefferson, Texas
Take a Fall Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden
Take a Trip to the 8th Air Force Museum at Barksdale Air Force Base
Take a Summertime Trip to Grand Cane
Take a Trip to Desoto Parish
Take a Summer Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden
Take a Trip to Natchitoches and Melrose Plantation 
Take a Trip to Ed Lester Farms and a Random Antique Stop
Take a Trip to the Norton Art Gallery and the Masters of Cuban Art Exhibit
Take a Trip to Natchitoches to See the Christmas Lights
Take a Trip to the Third Annual BAFB Oktoberfest
Take a Trip to Natchitoches and Oakland Plantation
Take a Trip to Jefferson, Texas
Oktoberfest at BAFB

How to Scare Your Mother to Death

Text exchange with my kid today. The double question mark means he called while I was in class and could not answer the phone and that means "text me!"

A Parade to Soothe the Soul

When I woke up this morning with the bitter taste of defeat in my mouth from last night's capitulation into socialism, I knew it was going to take more than a cold Diet Coke or a cup of hot coffee to set me right.

I was off work today to attend my mom's heath plan meeting at The Glen and to tend to some of her business matters but all that was not until after lunch, so this morning Steve and I headed over, bright and early, to the War Veterans Home in Bossier City to participate in the Veterans Parade with our American Legion friends.

The War Veterans Home is a beautiful, relatively new (2007) facility that sits on the Red River.  It is a 156 bed facility that also offers a fishing pond, a pier, and an activities building.

I couldn't think of a better group of people to spend the morning with after last night.  It did my soul good and it was a lot of fun.

The parade was held in conjunction with a ceremony inside the facility in which some twelve veterans received the Louisiana Veterans Honor Medal for their service.

Several local groups took part in the parade including the Patriot Guard Riders, the 40 & 8 Voiture 137, Parkway High School Band, Choir, and Flagline, and a couple of local ROTC groups.

Steve and I were privileged to be invited to ride in the parade and throw beads to the crowd.

The veterans were lined up outside as were nurses and family members.

After the parade the Parkway choir sang patriotic songs.  It was pure joy listening to some of the vets sing along.  Then there was a flag folding ceremony and the medal presentations.

And of course, there was cake:

I left after the ceremony to make my meeting at The Glen and Steve stayed to visit with some of the veterans.

The Shreveport Times has a nice photo gallery.

There are plenty of Veterans Day Activities scheduled locally.  And if you aren't local, find some in your area.  It'll do your soul good and will brighten a vet's day.


(Top photo courtesy of Douglas Collier/The Shreveport Times)
(Photos 2 and 5 courtesy of S. Bohanan)

Do Not Succumb to Tyranny: Get Up and Fight for Liberty

I've dusted myself off and have made a few decisions.

First among them:  I'm doubling down.  I will not succumb to tyranny.  I will fight for America and for liberty.

As Daniel Horowitz points out this morning, we are constitutional republic, not a democracy.  Our forefathers had the good sense to leave us with a Constitution to divide powers and to prevent tyranny.

A pure unbridled democracy is a political system in which the majority enjoys absolute power by means of democratic elections.  In an unvarnished democracy, unrestrained by a constitution, the majority can vote to impose tyranny on themselves and the minority opposition.  They can vote to elect those who will infringe upon our inalienable God-given rights.  Thomas Jefferson referred to this as elected despotism in Notes on the State of Virginia (also cited in Federalist 48 by Madison):

An ELECTIVE DESPOTISM was not the government we fought for; but one which should not only be founded on free principles, but in which the powers of government should be so divided and balanced among several bodies of magistracy, as that no one could transcend their legal limits, without being effectually checked and restrained by the others.

Thus, a constitution that limited and divided the power of government was necessary to preclude elected officials from imposing tyranny on the people.  This is why they adopted a constitution with limited enumerated power, divided and checked across several branches and levels.

This is our first arm of defense against the downward spiral that faces us.  We still have separation of powers.

Kate Obenshain posted this Thomas Jefferson quote this morning and I think it's appropriate:

To preserve the independence of the people, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. We must make our election between economy and liberty, or profusion and servitude. Considering the general tendency to multiply offices and dependencies, and to increase expense to the ultimate term of burden which the citizen can bear, may it never be seen here that ... government shall itself consume the residue of what it was instituted to guard. To take from one, because it is thought that his own industry and that of his fathers has acquired too much, in order to spare to others who, or whose fathers have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, "the guaranty to every one of a free exercise of his industry, and the fruits acquired by it."
—Thomas Jefferson in a letter to Samuel Kercheval (12 July 1816). 

 I will fight every effort of this government to take the product of my work and give it to those who don't want to work.  I will help those who can not work, but I will not support those who can and don't.  Those people are choosing servitude to the government; I am not.

So, I'm doubling down on America.  I didn't put on one flag pin this morning - I put on THREE!  I will not give up.  I have deleted the gloaters from my Facebook wall, not because I'm bitter in defeat (although I am) but because I do not want to be distracted by people with their heads in the sand.  I will continue to talk and post about Benghazi, the lapse of national security, the generational debt, and the people who just want "free stuff" at my expense.  It's not "political propaganda," friend; it's the truth.  You will see it soon enough.

When these people do see that they have driven America over the cliff, they will need guidance to help rebuild the country for future generations.  We need to be there to do it because they will not know how to begin.

Wolverines!

Going Galt

10:15:  Fox calls Ohio for Obama.

And we are done.

Florida is now moot.  As is Virginia.

And so we are done and America as we know it is done.  Make no mistake about that.  Those of us that work and have jobs will now be working to support 50% of the country who does not work and will never be compelled to work.  Free phones, food stamps, and single pay health care will now be the order of the day.  Generational debt, economic stagnation, and a total lapse in national security.

Iran and al Qaeda must certainly be celebrating tonight.

I'm truly scared for my country, my family, and the future.

This blog is going dark for a while.

It is over.

Live-Blogging Election Night 2012

I'll be live-blogging the results tonight; it'll be more of an open-thread sort of affair.

SCROLL FOR UPDATES

I've purposely avoided projections, predictions, and much poll analysis.  There's enough of that to go around and certainly by many more expert than this little blogger.

Allahpundit has a great post on electoral math you should read before the night gets started.  The bottom line:

If all of the above is too complicated, here’s a much simpler way to understand Romney’s task. Assuming Obama wins Nevada, all he has to do to win the election is take the big four in the Rust Belt and midwest — i.e., Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. That would put him at 271. Romney must win at least one of those four states to have any chance of victory. If he doesn’t, then he’d have to win every other battleground state — Nevada included — or else.

So.  Catch your breath and check back in a bit.

Update:  Oh, look:  Via Professor Jacobson, via PJ Tatler via Politico, a handy poll closing map!

Update 2:  Drudge is trolling.  Do not be alarmed.

I'm not going to pay attention to exit polls or projections.  I'm not going to get freaked out by every rumor.  I'm going to wait for solid results.  

Remain calm.

6:10 (CST):  Indiana flips for Romney, it seems.  Fox is calling to for Romney.  Virginia is still to close.  Kentucky is also in the Romney column.   No real surprises yet.  Mr. SIGIS and I both are on pins and needles.

6:35:  I frankly do not understand why this election is so close.  How in the world...

At any rate, right now FOX has the electoral count at 24 to 3 for Romney.  Romney has picked up West Virginia.  Still waiting on Virginia and Ohio - the big ones.

6:40:  Romney just picked up South Carolina.  Electoral count is now 33 to 3.

6:45:  Twitchy is reporting threats of looting if Obama loses.  Stay calm, America.

Reports on Twitter are that lines in Florida are still extremely long.  It's going to be a long night.

6:50:  I'm hearing on Twitter that many in Virginia are still in line and that they are delaying calling the state until the top of the hour for that reason.

6:55:  Romney picks up Georgia and 16 electoral votes bringing the count to 49  - 3.

I'm watching Fox who reports that 51% of those polled trust Obama over Romney on handling an international crisis.  WTH?  Because he did such a good job with Libya?  #fourdeadAmericans.

7:00:  I'm getting tired of the "too close to call" phrase.  I'm stressing out on Florida right now which I was pretty sure would go to Romney but is still very close.

Fox is however, calling Illinois, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, District of Columbia, Maine, and Connecticut for Obama.

Romney gets Alabama, Oklahoma, and Mississippi.

The count is now Romney 71 and Obama 79.

The map right now:

Meanwhile, Bill O'Reilly is spreading doom and gloom saying Bomber-Jacket-Obama won points for loping around with Chris Christie on Hurricane Sandy relief.  He would have us believe that the American public is so gullible they forgot all about Libya and four dead Americans because Obama made pretty pictures in the media acting concerned in New Jersey.

Are you serious?

For the record, I disagree with everything O'Reilly just said.  Get the hook.

7:10:   Romney gets Tennessee - not a shock.

Virginia is still on hold because they still have long lines in both Democrat and Republican areas.  Rove thinks this is a good sign for Romney based on the counties he's looking at.

I'm still nervous about Florida.  Very close.  And it looks like Connie Mack lost there.  Not a good sign.

7:25:   For comparison's sake, here is the 2008 electoral map:

Still waiting on those all important swing states right now.

Fox is calling Arkansas for Romney (+6 votes).  Current electoral count is now Romney 88, Obama 79.  No surprises yet.  Nerves on edge.

7:35:   Ted Cruz wins Texas!  That's good news.

Democrats win the CT Senate seat.

7:45:   PA Senate goes to Bob Casey (D) over Tom Smith (R).  No Senate takeover for Republicans it seems.  The path to repeal ObamaCare just got a lot more difficult.

Okay, latest calls:

Obama gets Michigan (+16), and New York.

Romney gets Texas (+38), Louisiana, Kansas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska (at least four of the five electoral votes, that is).

The map now:

Still waiting on big swing states.

8:05:   It seems that Elizabeth Warren will win in Mass.  That's just astounding.

Still long lines in VA.

I'm watching the FL returns on the Secretary of State page and it's literally back and forth. 

They're still counting.

8:15:  Damn.  Obama gets Pennsylvania.   How in the world could a coal state vote for a President with such a profound war on coal?

Then there is THIS:

8:25:  Fox calls Wisconsin for Obama.  We lost Paul Ryan's own state.

I'm drinking now.

Liz Cheney:  "It feels like deja vu in so many ways."  No kidding.  She's still holding out hope for Romney.

The electoral map is currently tied at 153.

And the first take-back of the night:  Elizabeth Warren may not have won her race just yet.

8:40:   Mourdock loses in the Indiana Senate race.

We're screwed.

Florida is still literally flipping back and forth.  It should not be this close.

It's down to Ohio.  And Florida.  Rove sees Florida in Obama's corner right now by 22,000 votes (yet Gary Johnson has 38,000 votes right now.)  Rove still sees Florida going Romney's way but very, very close.

Reports are that Romney is leading in Virginia.  #holdingmybreath

8:50:   I'm afraid that everyone in Florida who voted for Gary Johnson, knowing he couldn't win, gave this election to Obama.  It's come to this.

Meanwhile, in Virginia, Romney is still looking good, and he is looking steady in Ohio.

And yes, Elizabeth Warren wins the Mass. Senate race after all.  Bah.

8:55:   Obama wins New Hampshire.  Plus four.

"Live free or die."  The irony is not lost on me.

The next batch of state closings are coming up which I am now anticipating with dread.

9:00:  Here we go.

Obama is leading Iowa but too soon to call.  He's also leading Nevada, but still too soon.

Romney wins Utah.  Shocker.  He also wins Montana.  Texas.

Brit Hume:  We are a center-right country.  Of the moderates, a lot of them "are actually liberals."

Looking at the Sec. of State page, Florida is looking like Obama.

Fox calls Missouri Senate for Claire McCaskill - 55% to 39%.  Akin blew that one.

Mike Pence wins as Indiana governor.

Palin is on Fox:  "This is a catastrophic setback for our economy," and cites sequestration, Supreme Court justices that will be appointed, and the debt.

9:15:   Obama gets New Mexico (+5).  Electoral count is tied at 163.  Rove is still positive for Ohio.  Megyn Kelly asked Rove if he's "feeling pessimistic" and Rove spews numbers and statistics, refusing to admit the horror of the electoral map.

Romney has to win Virginia, Florida, and one other state, says Rove, IF Romney wins Ohio.  Meanwhile, Florida voters for Johnson have given America over to Obama.

9:30:  Florida still to close to call.  Ohio leaning Obama.  Virginia leaning Romney.

Peggy Noonan:  "There is a subdued feeling to this if you are a Republican or a Conservative this evening."  Understatement of the night.  "Subdued" isn't exactly what I'm feeling.

After all this money and all this time we end up right where we were with no change at all.

Oh lord and now Fox puts Gibbs on there?  Good lord.

All this and Robert Gibbs, too?  I don't think I can stand it.

9:40:   Colorado is too close to call.  Of course it is.

Romney wins Arizona.

Many on Twitter are questioning the early Wisconsin call.  Romney is still leading there.  Will that one come back?

9:50:   Stacy McCain has updated his headline:

His late update:

UPDATE 10:05 p.m. ET: You’ll excuse my failure to report numbers from Ohio, but if Romney can’t win Florida, Ohio is moot and the numbers aren’t looking too encouraging in Florida right now.
UPDATE 10:25 p.m. ET: Obama wins Wisconisn.

Doomed.

We are waiting on Virginia and Florida.  The panhandle is still not in and it usually goes Republican.

The map now:

They are using the "R" word for Florida.  They have an automatic recount rule there if the vote is within a certain range.

9:50:  Minnesota goes to Obama.  Plus 10.

9:55:  And it gets better.  Susan Estrich is on.  They haven't pulled her out since the last election.  Any minute now they'll make us listen to Obama.  I'm pulling the plug then.

Looks like Romney is going to get North Carolina but they haven't called it yet.    Florida is still looking like Obama.  90% of the votes are in and he leads by 36,000.

Fox now calling North Carolina for Romney (+15).  Fox calls Idaho for Romney, too.  Obama gets the state of Washington and Hawaii.  And BREAKING NEWS:  California to Obama.

The electoral count is now 244 to 193 in Obama's favor.

Doom.

10:00:   Fox calls Missouri for Romney.  Count is now 244 to 203.

Protein Wisdom:

The mainstream press once again bought Obama the election. Which will buy him 4 years of an imperial presidency with nothing to stop him.
End of country.
Time to maybe start a new one, I think.  Because I’ll be goddamned if my family is going to work to pay for other people’s shit; and I most certainly won’t live in a post-Constitutional police state — at least, not without putting up whatever resistance I can.

As Bride of Rove said in the comments, "Who is John Galt?"

10:10:   On a related note, from Instapundit:

READER ZACH WHITE EMAILS: “If Obama is reelected, good hardworking people should give up and go Galt. The tipping point is the 2012 election. Will the makers finally succumb to the takers? It’s pointless to think that if America reelects the most unqualified disastrous president in recent memory, we should stand our ground and continue fighting. it’s a signal that marxist free-lunchism and free birth control for everyone trump economic well-being and prosperity in the minds of the masses. Give up. Go Galt. Protect what few assets you have left, and start to hunker down for the coming storm. 

Read the rest.

10:15:  Fox calls Ohio for Obama.

And we are done.

Florida is now moot.  As is Virginia. 

And so we are done and America as we know it is done.  Make no mistake about that.  Those of us that work and have jobs will now be working to support 50% of the country who does not work and will never be compelled to work.  Free phones, food stamps, and single pay health care will now be the order of the day.  Generational debt, economic stagnation, and a total lapse in national security.

Iran and al Qaeda must certainly be celebrating tonight.

I'm truly scared for my country, my family, and the future. 

This blog is going dark for a while. 

It is over.

Election Day 2012: (UPDATED)

If you have interesting pictures from your voting location or from wherever you are in the country that reflect today's election, send them to me.  (Email is on the contact page).  We'll post pictures of election 2012 here.

Louisiana isn't exactly a battleground state but everyone needs to go vote!

In Louisiana we have several amendments on our ballot, too.  One of them deals specifically with your Second Amendment rights.

Go vote.

And check back for updates.

Update 11:40:  The line at my voting place was an hour long!  I've been voting there for probably 25 years and it has NEVER been that long.

This is the line - it went forward on the left wall then looped back down the right wall.  Awesome!

The line stretched far outside the door:

So I decided to drive around and check other polling stations.  This one in south Shreveport looked crowded too:

Again, I've never seen lines like this.

There is a voting location down the street from me and the parking lot was filled and cars lined the street.  The line wasn't out the door though.

I saw this fella as I was driving home:

And at the Brass Monkey:

How are things were you are?

Update 1:10:  Instapundit has a roundup of turnout and anecdotal reports from around the country.

Via Fox, this is outrageous!

Update 3:50:  William Teach at The Pirate's Cove has an extensive list of bloggers doing election coverage today if you need some reading material before election results start coming in.

The Other McCain has Election Day Updates, too.

"A Republic, if You Can Keep It."

A powerful scene from the HBO series "John Adams" as a reminder of what our forefathers did for us; it's all on the line tomorrow:




Remember:  "A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people."

The Coming EPA War on American Energy

It is the calm before the storm election. 

Maybe "calm" isn't the right word.  Have you seen the photos of the Romney rallies?  This one is from Pennsylvania today:

It looks rather like folks in Pennsylvania might have heard about Obama's new EPA agenda.

Certainly everyone in coal country should pay attention to this unleashed EPA.  The agenda is just chilling and is certain to doom the American economy for good. 

From Forbes:

Titled “A Look Ahead to EPA Regulations for 2013: Numerous Obama EPA Rules Placed on Hold Until After the Election Spell Doom For Jobs and Economic Growth”, it lists and describes new rules concocted over the past year ranging from additional restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions, tougher water guidelines and tightening of the ozone standard. Taken together, they will further drive up pump prices, impose construction bans on local communities, and cripple oil, natural gas and coal production.

In sum, Larry Bell outlines what we can expect:

Greenhouse gas regulations will be so regulated as to basically eliminate coal.  The emissions standards will apply to even the smallest church, school, and farm.  "The cow tax" will apply to some 37,000 farms and affect 90% of the livestock population in the United States.

(Think that'll drive up your food and energy prices much?)

There's more:

The EPA is just one of some fourteen bureaucracies working to regulate and eliminate hydraulic fracking.  The EPA will dramatically expand the Clean Water Act and increase regulatory burdens on the states.  There will also be an expansion of regulations on storm-water systems which will require expensive retrofitting on storm water sewers and severely increase the cost of future development.  New gasoline regulations will limit the amount of sulfur in gasoline which Bell says will add at least nine cents per gallon to your gas bill.

Add to this list the Boiler MACT:

EPA’s Boiler MACT (Maximum Achievable Control Technology) standards are so strict that not even the best-performing sources can meet them, so many companies will have no choice but to shut their doors and ship manufacturing jobs overseas. The rule has been projected to reduce U.S. GDP by as much as 1.2 billion dollars and destroy nearly 800,000 jobs.

Can't wait to see what THAT does to the unemployment numbers.

There's also a "Cement MACT" which could close 18 plants and cost 80,000 jobs.

Read Bell's article because there are many more regulations there including the infamous Farm Dust regulations and cooling tower regulations.

If just half of these kick in we are still in a world of trouble.

Jazz Shaw at Hot Air:

 Coal miners and coal powered plants already have a big problem, as we have pointed out repeatedly. But it looks like those problems may grow by several orders of magnitude in the coming months if the current White House occupant remains in office. The President has already been seen to bristle at criticism from his own Left flank over how he hasn’t done enough for the environmentalists who can’t understand why the oil companies are still in business four years later. Unrestrained by the need to win another election – having a lot more “flexibility,” as you might hear from Vladimir – these folks can really run amok.

Even the most far left liberal has to see that these regulations will be the death of American business and energy development.  We must have a strong petroleum industry and this will never happen under these expensive and burdensome regulations.  You can't fill your gas tank with wind, and you can't charge your electric car without electricity (which relies, of course, on coal).  Our power grid is already strained and in trouble. 

We can't afford another term of Obama unleashed.

(H/T:  Hot Air)

In The Rain Forest

Visiting the Grandson

What a cutie!

A Shameful Mess

It seems as if everyone is talking about Benghazi.

Yesterday afternoon I was sitting at the kitchen table writing checks and paying bills when my brother breezed through the front door ranting and raving about Obama's seeming dereliction of duty in Benghazi.  He's not one to usually pay attention to such things.

The Benghazi story doesn't feel like Fast and Furious did; I kept thinking Fast and Furious was going to get more traction than it did.  I mean, a murdered border agent, our government walking guns into Mexico, hundreds of dead Mexicans, drug lords, the who mess.  Well, there was a little investigation, a deeply researched book, a fair amount of outrage, but it never caught on with the general public or the "low information voter" like it seems Benghazi has.

One of the most succinct summations of this mess came from Mark Steyn's weekend column:

We also learned that, in those first moments of the attack, a request for military back-up was made by U.S. staff on the ground but was denied by Washington. It had planes and special forces less than 500 miles away in southern Italy — or about the same distance as Washington to Boston. They could have been there in less than two hours. Yet the commander-in-chief declined to give the order. So Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods fought all night against overwhelming odds, and died on a rooftop in a benighted jihadist hellhole while Obama retired early to rest up before his big Vegas campaign stop. “Within minutes of the first bullet being fired the White House knew these heroes would be slaughtered if immediate air support was denied,” said Ty Woods’s father, Charles. “In less than an hour, the perimeters could have been secured and American lives could have been saved. After seven hours fighting numerically superior forces, my son’s life was sacrificed because of the White House’s decision.”

The pain of this father is unbearable.  His son signed up to serve his country, not to be abandoned by it.

Smitty, over at The Other McCain, makes a valid point, too:

This notion of “never leaving a buddy” is pounded into every military head at every rank. Should you hold the privilege of commanding a unit, I perceive it counts double: you neither want to see a buddy left dangling in the breeze, and you really don’t want the anguish of explaining to the world why there was a death within you command.
Which brings us to our current Commander-in-Chief, #OccupyResoluteDesk. I don’t believe the principle of “never leaving a buddy” eluded George W. Bush, say whatever else you will of his policies. In contrast, you have the Obama White House needing to dispute a storythat it sends form letters to families of the fallen. Wow.

This is clearly a concept Obama can't relate to; he's more accustomed to throwing people under the bus.

Then there are those who believe that the whole Benghazi fiasco was a conspiracy theory: that Obama planned for Stevens et al, to be taken hostage whereby he would negotiate some terrific hostage deal (right about the time of the foreign policy debate), the hostages would be freed, and he would waltz into re-election in November.  That might explain the lowered security, but is there enough evidence to support this theory?  I don't know.

Senator John McCain says that it's either incompetence or a cover-up, both unacceptable:

"This is either a massive cover-up or an incompetence that is not acceptable service to the American people," he said on CBS's "Face the Nation." 

McCain said that information that has surfaced since the attacks, which claimed the lives of four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, indicates the narrative provided by the White House in the days following was "patently false."

Either way, whatever it is, the responsibility of four dead Americans is Obama's.  The administration clearly does not want this uncovered before the election which is also an indication of culpability.

And what of Hillary Clinton's role?  Did she, in fact, try to get extra security for Stevens and his team?

Even so.  The buck stops with Obama.

It is a shameful mess.  And one that Obama will eventually have to answer for.



(See Doug Ross for some unraveling of this mess.)

Report from the 2012 Freedom Rally in Bossier City

The takeaway message from tonight's Freedom Rally at the Bossier Civic Center was all about restoring freedom and prosperity in America.

The event kicked off about 5:30 inside the Bossier Civic Center and the crowd quickly filled two huge meeting rooms.  As host Royal Alexander began his opening remarks, event staff was busy bringing in more chairs to accommodate the crowd which was spilling out into the hallway.

Mr. Alexander quoted Thomas Jefferson in his opening remarks, reminding us all that "A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take away everything that you have."

I was sitting next to Sharon McCullar who is a veteran, a small business owner, and a mother of two Marines; she was one of tonight's speakers.  She estimated the average age of the crowd at about 60, but I think it dropped a bit lower as people filtered in from work.  Steve estimated the crowd to be about 300 but I had it a little higher.  The enthusiasm was infectious.

One of the first speakers was U.S. Senator David Vitter who spoke about the need for a pro-growth tax rate in America to encourage business development.  He stressed the need for Republicans to take back not just the White House but also the Senate so that we can put in targeted health care reform and repeal ObamaCare.  This was met with thunderous applause.

Addressing national security and military budget cuts, Senator Vitter called for an end to "the apology tours" and quoted Reagan who said, "Of the four wars in my lifetime, none came about because America was too strong."  Senator Vitter says that "peace through strength" is the only way.

Another popular theme, especially here in oil rich, and Haynesville Shale country, Louisiana was Vitter's derision of "speculative green energy companies," many of which go down the tubes; we need to develop our energy resources here at home.

Senator Vitter closed his remarks by stressing that this election is "razor thin."  He said, "I DO believe the polls," rather than the conspiracy theorists who suggest that the polls are misrepresenting the actual numbers.  "Every vote counts," he said, reminding everyone of Florida.

Sharon McCullar has been a popular speaker at these events and she was warmly received.  She spoke of the socialist, entitlement mindset of this administration and encouraged everyone to engage their children in this debate because it is, after all, their future.  McCullar said we are "on the verge of a nuclear holocaust between Israel and Iran...our world in possession of 20,000 nuclear weapons!  We hope and pray humanity will have the restraint not to detonate."

She spoke of the huge debt, the Arab Spring, the Muslim Brotherhood, and of course, Benghazi.  McCullar says "these days, we are living in?  These are the days God ordered for us," because "he knew we would be willing to stand with courage."

She said that God "is not neutral in the affairs of humankind."

McCullar's remarks were filled with humor and optimism as she reached out to everyone there and of every religious persuasion, to believe and to pray for the future of our country.

Here's a segment of her speech on Benghazi and Obama's national security policy which she says, "he's gonna get us all killed!"  And, I apologize for the angle.  Sharon isn't very tall so mostly what you see is the podium.  It's the words, really, that you need to hear.  And the thumbnail is sideways but it doesn't play sideways.  Anyway, just watch it.



One of the highlights of the night was Karen Watson, author of Being Black and Republican in the Age of Obama which you can order here. What a spitfire she is!



When she finished speaking there was a dash to the back of the room to pick up her booklet.  (I got one.)

Royal Alexander said, "She tells it like it is!"  and he's right.

She said, "Do not assume when you see a black person that they are a Democrat because they are not.  Do not assume when you see a Hispanic that they are Democrat.  They are not.  Do not assume when you see a woman that she is pro-abortion because she is not."  I mean, they may be all that, but it was a gentle reminder that maybe the opposition is larger than we know.

In addition to the rousing speakers, there was also great musical entertainment.  Johnny Rowland entertained the crowd between speakers and at one point did a take-off on "Midnight Special" which got these two patriots up on their feet.  It's a blurry picture because they were dancing up a storm in the aisle:

 They were having a great time!

The evening closed with "God Bless America" and a promise of a brighter future for America.

Now is the time.