"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler
by Smitty
David Sirota, emphasis mine:
Paige says Colorado Springs attracts new residents and economic growth “by actually putting America’s limited government ideals into practice.” In this, he asks us to forget that one of the city’s biggest employers is the defense industry – that is, an industry that has absolutely nothing to do with “limited government” and everything to do with the hugest of Huge Government. Continue reading The Constitutional Delusions of Sirota’s Mind →
DADEVILLE, Ala. — Rumors that I have absconded or been kidnapped during my Alabama expedition continue to roil the blogosphere. Sunday I spoke to Mrs. Other McCain who had seen Bob Belvedere’s account of my allegedly fatal sojourn in the Heart of Dixie.
That was before the Super Bowl, where the Saints made a fool of me. During the first quarter of the game, we made a pizza run to Jim’s Bait Shop — the nearest convenience store, which in addition to serving Hunt Brothers Pizza also sells guns and fireworks. I ate four slices of pizza and fell fast asleep on the sofa before halftime, not awakening until midnight when I got a call from Wlady Pleszczynski of the American Spectator, inquiring about an overdue article.
It’s not just the article that’s overdue. My return to Maryland has also been unexpectedly delayed. I’d planned to be back home in time for the Super Bowl — this is the first time in 22 years I’ve missed our family’s annual Super Sunday party, as my wife reminded me — but the record blizzard changed that plan. And now there’s this news of a gubernatorial debate Monday:
The Christian Coalition of Alabama will host its second gubernatorial forum at 7:00 PM, February 8th, 2010 at Taylor Road Baptist Church located at 1685 Taylor Rd. in Montgomery, AL. Candidates for the Democratic nomination Congressman Artur Davis and Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks will be in attendance, as will candidates for the Republican nomination Robert Bentley, Bradley Byrne, State Treasurer Kay Ivey, Tim James, Bill Johnson, and Judge Roy Moore. The forum is expected to last approximately 90 minutes, and candidates will answer questions posed to them by a panel.
So if I stay here until tonight, I’ll have another big story. And the state Christian Coalition has made news recently, too:
Out-of-state observers might find it curious that the chairman of one of Alabama’s leading faith-based groups, Randy Brinson of the Christian Coalition, held a news conference last week to criticize efforts by Gov. Bob Riley to shut down casinos in Alabama.
The Christian Coalition’s support of gambling establishments would seem counterintuitive to the casual observer. But this is Alabama, where political donations that buy influence flow from one political action committee to another faster than you can say “bingo.”
An Associated Press analysis of campaign finance reports shows the Christian Coalition of Alabama received more than $12,000 from in-state gambling interests last year. Race PAC gave $8,000 to the Christian Coalition after receiving donations directly from gambling interests and from other PACs funded mostly by gambling interests. A sister group, Watch PAC, reported $4,500 in contributions to the Christian Coalition last year after receiving contributions from gambling interests.
Meanwhile, it appears that the big snowstorm up north has done something the a majority of Alabamians would certainly endorse: Shut down the federal government. So, no news from D.C. until Tuesday and therefore I might as well stay in Alabama another day, right?
Hit the tip jar, folks. Mrs. Other McCain might not kill me when I get home, but I don’t need to go home empty-handed. And did I mention that Jim’s Bait Shop sells fireworks?
Just sayin’ . . .
UPDATE: Jimmie Bise at Sundries Shack is keeping track of my Alabama adventures, which today will probably include a visit to Rick Barber’s Deja Vu Billiards, the Montgomery pool hall that has become a meeting place for local Tea Party activists.
Jimmie mentions the Troy King story and it so happens that, during Sunday’s Super Bowl broadcaat, Alabama CBS affiliates aired an ad from King’s GOP primary opponent Luther Strange”s “campaign to restore honesty, integrity & trust to the office of Alabama Attorney General.”
“Honesty, integrity & trust”? NTTAWWT. IYKWIMAITYD.
Update II: Dan Riehl picks up the ball.
For several weeks, I’ve been in communication with Lisa Graas, a Kentucky conservative who operated the PalinTwibe feed on Twitter, with nearly 4,000 followers. Lisa is a Sarah Palin supporter who also supports Bill Johnson in Kentucky’s GOP Senate primary, and was extremely disappointed by Palin’s endorsement of Rand Paul in that primary. Now Lisa has announced she’s pulling out of PalinTwibe:
I have decided to ask Adam Loving, Twibes creator, to allow Karen Allen to refound the Palin Twibe. He has graciously agreed to make sure it happens. Karen will also take over the Palin Twibe blog and associated Twitter account and I will be training her how to manage the feeds and the Twibe itself.
It is not my intention to undermine Sarah Palin in an unfair manner as others have done when they have withdrawn support, though I will not be silent regarding my differences of opinion with her. Be warned. Like Sarah Palin, I won’t pull any punches.
Read rest of that. Having blogged about the bitterness of the Kentucky Senate primary, I was surprised that Palin made an endorsement in that race. She defended the endorsement in her interview with Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday” :
WALLACE: You recently stirred up some controversy as you often do, even when you endorsed Rand Paul as the Senate, he’s running in the Senate primary in Kentucky the GOP Senate primary. And Bill Kristol, your long-time supporter was upset with you because one of the things he pointed out, Paul wants to close Guantanamo. He wants to send the detainees back to Afghanistan. He wants to repeal the Patriot Act. He wants to do away with any federal role in either gay marriage or drug laws, leave it to the states. Why would you support a guy like that?
PALIN: Because he’s a federalist and he wants the states to have more say and as we respect the 10th Amendment in our Constitution, he wants the states to have more say in a lot of these issues. But nobody is ever going to find a perfect candidate. There are things that I don’t agree with Rand Paul, and yet his domestic policies for the most part, I do agree with. He wants limited government. He wants the Feds to start taking their hands off states issues and I respect that and I’m proud to support him. Again, never finding a perfect candidate, no doubt he disagrees with me on a whole lot of issues. But proud to support him and others whom I can believe in.
In a Ron Paul Forum thread about this, someone posted a video in which Palin says Ron Paul is “cool. He’s a good guy”:
It seems that Palin has a libertarian streak that some of her supporters hadn’t reckoned with, and takes her “maverick” brand seriously. Meanwhile, Lisa Graas noted this interesting poll on the Kentucky Senate primary:
Trey Grayson 27%
Bill Johnson 23%
Rand Paul 21%
Undecided 29%
Clearly, the GOP establishment candidate Grayson has failed to gain support from a majority of Republican voters in Kentucky. The primary isn’t until May, so this story will play out for a while.
by Smitty
Instapundit called for a caption contest. Via Insty, the formidable Ann Althouse wants four items on a palm.
Exit question: what should BHO do, now that the state of the emperor’s wardrobe is known?
According to the press release, the Iraq war hero and FL22 congressional candidate will be on shortly after 6 a.m. ET Monday.
I also understand from Rhonda Lee Welsch (whom I profiled for the American Spectator in December) that Lt. Col. West (whom I profiled for the American Spectator in June 2008) will be a speaker at the Daytona Bike Week Freedom Rally Feb. 27-28.
Speaking of military men running for Congress, after Friday night’s Alabama GOP meeting in Montgomery, I introduced Marine veteran Rick Barber to my old friend Matt Chancey.
Also Friday night in Montgomery, Ali Akbar and I had a good conversation with Navy veteran Les Phillip, who’s running in Alabama’s 5th District:
UPDATE: CPAC Director Lisa De Pasquale on Twitter:
@rsmccain I can’t believe you didn’t mention that @AllenWest2010 is speaking at #CPAC10
An oversight, now corrected. If you haven’t signed up yet to attend next week’s Conservative Political Action Conference, what are you waiting for?
by Smitty
Rule 5, Superbowl Edition. I’m going to come out of the closet as a slack-jawed, un-American loser and admit that I’m burned out on football. I simply cannot expend time in blocks that large watching overpaid prima donnas in tight pants grasp after each other in public. Call me a Commie, but it takes all of my stamina just to sit through the Army/Navy game. Maybe I’m doing it wrong. Continue reading Rule 5 Sunday →
When making football prognostications, it is important to be bold. One team will win and one will lose. Don’t be mealy-mouthed about it. There’s a 50% chance of being wrong, but who cares? Go for it.
The Colts have Peyton Manning. The veteran quarterback will make the difference.
Who dat going to stomp the Saints? Indianapolis, 34-21.
by Smitty
A Sarah Palin quote, and Dan’s reaction:
This weekend, it’s Nashville, but in March, I’ll head to Searchlight, Nev., for the kickoff rally at the Tea Party Express III. In April, I’ll be in Boston for a Tea Party gathering there. Across the country, tea-partiers will be sharing our vision for America’s future, a vision that promotes common sense solutions to out-of-control spending and an out-of-touch political establishment. Continue reading Accusations of Coyness from Dan Riehl →