When I saw the headlines touting Obama’s approval rating or what should be called a disapproval rating, I have to admit I was surprised. I figured with the death of Obamacare, following the election of Brown in Massachusetts, things would improve for Obama. Of course any increase in his approval rating would not be from anything Obama has done, but what he had failed to do. That thought process may seem a touch foolish, but there is a some logic behind it.

People in this country seem to forget things easily, other than when I do something and then they keep up with it for millennia. They forgive easily enough as well, unless again, it is me. Thinking of our national forgive and forget policy I had figured since Brown was elected, several other races could possibly go the “right” direction and Obama is begging the Republicans to air out their issues in a “sit-down” with him, everything was improving for Obama. Since technically he did not screw health care up worse than it already was and he has not accomplished anything else that was on his list that would destroy this country where could he go but up? Obviously I was wrong. I do not admit that often, but I will in this case.

The strange thing about Obama’s fall from grace is that the “left” are being as hard on him as the “right.” The disagreements of the two sides with Obama definitely do not have the same origins. The “left” think Obama has become too moderate and not the ultra socialist he claimed to be on the campaign trail. The “right” still do not like him because the “right” still sees him as the same socialist he was during the campaign. Well, maybe we see him as more of a failed socialist and that stings much less.

The only positive that Obama can take from all of this is that Jimmy Carter is still a worse President than Obama has been so far. If Obama were to keep a low profile during the rest of his term and manage not to anger the moderate to right leaning voters then he could continue to be a distant second to Jimmy. My sincerest hope is that we have accepted the death of socialized health care, but if Obama pulled a Lazarus on the issue of health care then it would put him clearly ahead of Carter on the loser list. Someone please stop President Obama before he comes in first in the race for worst. It is embarrassing for us all.

Austin

To be honest with everyone there was no way Obama was going to pull us out of the hole in his first year. I doubt he can even do it in four years. Expecting so much so fast is a little foolish even for one the media thinks of as the messiah. I have not doubt Obama will not succeed in four years because socialism does not work. Until we shrink government and head back to the foundations of this country nothing anyone does will work.

This photo has taken on new life and controversy after showing up on a billboard in Minnesota.

It’s beginning to sweep along the Internet, accompanied by various claims that it’s a Photoshop fake. But it’s not. It’s real.

There’s no billboard ownership plate on this particular billboard, making tracing the person who had the cash to post it difficult to find. It’s time to crowdsource this puppy.

Press release from Tom Guleff, candidate for Shelby County Mayor.

Memphis, TN – February 8, 2010 – Citizens of Memphis and Shelby County will soon get a historic opportunity to decide whether they want a consolidated government. Because this decision requires an honest and transparent debate, Shelby County mayoral candidate Tom Guleff is asking that Brian Stephens to step away from his duties as a Shelby County Election Commission Board member.

“Let’s be honest, we have no idea who is secretly funding Brian Stephens’ work as executive director of the pro-consolidation group, Reinvent Government. This group continues to lack the transparency that is so desperately needed in government. The county voters deserve someone who is beyond reproach in administering free and fair elections, whether it is for a candidate or a referendum. He can’t wear two hats,” says Tom Guleff.

Guleff continues, “Clearly there is a conflict of interest, whether lawyers agree or not. There shouldn’t be even an appearance of a conflict of interest with our election commission officials. What is really needed is a commitment to good governance at all levels of public service. The hallmarks of good governance are transparency and openness. I hope Brian can find it in himself to do the right thing and choose between the two jobs.”

Trish Corlew had posted this commercial from the Super Bowl on her Facebook page and since it was a controversial news item in the weeks preceding the game, I shared it on my Facebook page as well without commentary. To my surprise, there were a few comments in opposition to my posting it. The blog seems like a better venue for ‘debate’ if someone is insistent upon ‘debate’.

Yeah, keep harping on this crap and I’ll work against you tooth and nail.

My feelings on the subject of abortion are well known and have not changed much since the birth of my son Chris in 1981. Up until then, I was in the pro-choice column. Everything that I have learned since then has only served to reinforce my position on the issue, so this should not be a controversial point for anyone who knows me.

Plus which, John, I heard you on your radio interview say no exceptions for rape or incest. I come down on the side of a woman not wanting to birth a child rammed into her by a rapist or a monstrous relative, not on the side of the foetus.

To which I am now an ‘extremist’ because I asked the question in response to a question about exceptions for ‘rape and incest’. My question was, and is, “What in such cases did the child do to deserve the death penalty?”

People have to ask themselves what they believe. I have found that useful in dealing with controversial issues, but often not the politically correct answer. Do I believe in … ?

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness…

Yes, I believe (along with the founders) that each of us are created, and that we do have the right to life which cannot be deprived of us without due process of law. I also agree with the Supreme Court that a woman has a right to privacy and a property right to her body. However, only in the case of abortion do property rights supersede the right to life. For example, if someone is stealing the car out of my driveway, his right to live is greater than my right to defend my property rights over the car. Unless of course he pulls a gun and starts endangering my life at which time my right to self defense comes into play.

The fact that a child in the womb is a life deserving of protection is exemplified by many of the States in which the murder of a pregnant mother resulting in the death of both her and her fetus adds an additional charge of murder to the crime. So the double-standard exists, making it illegal to deprive a fetus (child) of life if done without the consent of the mother, but a ‘medical procedure’ if done with her consent. So whether one wishes to argue her property rights having dominance over the life of the child is a different issue entirely. My question remains, what did the child do which warranted a death sentence?

The Supreme Court in its wisdom has already ruled that a woman’s property rights are supreme in this respect. If I were on the Supreme Court, I would argue what is already a well established principle of property taking second place to a persons right to life. However, no one is talking about appointing me to the Supreme Court. I am also not running for President, who has the authority to appoint to the Supreme Court. I’m not even running for the Senate, which approves such Presidential appointments. I am however a candidate for Congress, which approves the spending of taxpayer money for abortions and I would not vote to pass one dime to such uses, for any reason.

Not to mention abortion was legal in all thirteen colonies when the U.S. Constitution was ratified.

Actually, this is correct, there were no laws on the books because it was not a wide-spread practice. However life was protected under common law after its movement was first detected by the mother (quickening).

With consistency, beautiful and undeviating, human life, from its commencement to its close, is protected by the common law. In the contemplation of law, life begins when the infant is first able to stir in the womb.26 By the law, life is protected not only from immediate destruction, but from every degree of actual violence, and, in some cases, from every degree of danger. – Jame Wilson (a framer of the Constitution)

Blackstone expands upon the common law definitions in his commentaries.

Life is the immediate gift of God, a right inherent by nature in every individual; and it begins in contemplation of law as soon as an infant is able to stir in the mother’s womb. For if a woman is quick with child, and by a potion, or otherwise, killeth it in her womb; or if any one beat her, whereby the child dieth in her body, and she is delivered of a dead child; this, though not murder, was by the antient law homicide or manslaughter. But at present it is not looked upon in quite so atrocious a light, though it remains a very heinous misdemesnor. – Blackstone, 1765

So to say that abortion was ‘legal’ in the 13 colonies is simply inaccurate (I would not presume to argue with a lawyer though), since common law dealt with the offense.

There is nothing ‘extremist’ in my view that life is worth defending. Even late-term abortion doctors should not be deprived of life by lone gunmen who have no more of a right to deprive him of life than the doctor does a baby of his or hers. Yet I will not deny who I am and what I believe, and my question remains.

Here I am, standing out in front of Planned Parenthood last October with other ‘extremists’ for the 40 Days for Life event. Guilty as charged. Next year I’ll probably be standing out there again an hour-or-so a week.

I don’t change my beliefs to gain (or retain) political favor. Never have, never will. But then again that is probably why I have not been elected to office.

Jimbo called me while en route back to Memphis from the event and has a good behind-the-scenes report to share after he gets some sleep. Looking forward to it.

Source: Yahoo [h/t] Drudge

Remember that little meeting they had in Denmark last year? You know, that little thing they did to stop ‘climate change’. If the President can’t even stop God from piling up record snow on his front porch, exactly what does he think he can do about ‘climate change’?

Former Memphis, Mayor, Dr. Willie Herenton was on a local news station talking about his upcoming run for the 9th Congressional District. As always, the problems that followed Herenton while Memphis Mayor were brought up yet again. Dr. Herenton took the opportunity to push racism as the reason for all of his legal troubles. This issue is not getting any younger and those of us living in the Memphis area are quite tired of it.

Racism is what it is. We are never going to be free of racism no matter how hard we try. This is not to say that the races cannot get along, but there are always going to be those that distrust someone simply because of the color of their skin. The media will also make sure they play a major part in keeping racism alive as well. We only have to look at the cover of Vanity Fair and the comments that followed to know this will always be a problem. Vanity Fair forgot to include any other races on their “Hollywood” issue and some troublemakers saw this as a prime opportunity for some rancorous activity. Do we ever hear complaints about Ebony and the lack of whites on their cover? If there are then there should not be.

Vanity Fair is in the business of selling magazines. If more people buy their magazine because they have a photo of a oil can on the cover then so be it. They need to do what is most profitable for them and not worry about the other junk. I hope that Vanity Fair keeps on doing what they want to do and not what some goon says they need to do.

Race is a critter that we all deal with at some point. The only thing that could ever stop racism is for us to quit seeing color and that will never happen. You will always have self imposed segregation because we all like to hang out with our own. I am not talking about the black people that have that one white guy that hangs around or the whites with that one black friend. I am talking about society as a whole. Pastor Guy says that “I want to live like white people not with white people.” I see nothing wrong with his statement. If that is how he wants to be then I see no issue with it.

Can whites represent blacks and blacks represent whites? I do not think that I can say YES loud enough.Elected officials should not represent any single group. When elected you are not elected as the voice of a race, but the voice of the people in your district. Nothing that I advocate has ever been racially exclusive and if ever elected to public office nothing I do will ever be racially exclusive. All people deserve representation not just those of a certain color or political group.

Austin

I found this beauty on Breitbart.com. The song is originally sung by One Republic.

This does concern me somewhat…

Google and the NSA declined to comment on the partnership. But sources with knowledge of the arrangement, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the alliance is being designed to allow the two organizations to share critical information without violating Google’s policies or laws that protect the privacy of Americans’ online communications. The sources said the deal does not mean the NSA will be viewing users’ searches or e-mail accounts or that Google will be sharing proprietary data.

It concerns me because Google already is playing politics and censoring internet materials. My sister had heard something about an image of Michelle Obama that had been photoshopped to make her look like a monkey, so I suggested she do a google search. It turns out that Google has censored the image.

On the first result itself is a racist and offensive image of Barack Obama’s wife, Michelle Obama deformed in a monkey like photo. The fact that this picture is appearing on Google’s search result is creating the e-havoc. In fact, there was a similar picture on the results some time ago and it was removed by Google (details here) after receiving complaints.

I don’t use Google because it is common knowledge they like to help folks like China censor the internet and are just a little too warm-and-fuzzy with government agencies and other entities. They are a private company and they are free to do whatever they want to do in the way of censorship, but when it comes to sharing my personal information, then I must protest. Google is just a pop-culture term for internet searching, but I use Yahoo and/or Bing. I do use the Google Earth software and some of their other free products, but even those are being tied into spy resources by some.

What is wrong with censoring the picture? Like I said, they are a private company and can do whatever they please with the content on their search engine. I just don’t like others deciding what is and is not offensive for me, so I’ll just use other search engines. What is wrong with feeding the Google database to the NSA? Does the book 1984 and term Big Brother ring a bell?

Well McCain, what did you expect from a guy who created the intelligence failures that brought us 9/11?

Yet you voted to confirm him?

Mickey takes exception with my view that exploration and the development of new national resources is a constitutional role of government. I subscribe to the view of Jefferson and Madison that saw the Louisiana Purchase from France and financing of its exploration as a critical function of national defense and “To establish Post Offices and Post Roads”. The broader sense of this Article I, Section 8 provision deals with communications between individuals and the States. The Apollo program of the 60’s drove the United States into being the technological leader of the world for the duration of the 20th Century. The spin-off technology and economic boon was incalculable. Satellites monitor our weather systems and provide early warning which saves lives. As bad as Katrina was, imagine the death toll if the warning had not come. Computers, satellite TV, global communications, GPS and a whole host of other technologies are possible because of Kennedy’s dream of going to the moon, and doing the ‘other things’.

This is the last year of the Space Shuttle fleet. For the foreseeable future, American astronauts will have to catch a ride with the Russians on 70’s era launch boosters to the International Space Station. This is failing of the Bush Administration for not planning ahead. Now the Obama Administration is cancelling the Constellation program.

The announcement of an end to immediate ambitions for an American to again reach the moon, on the seventh anniversary of the Columbia space shuttle disaster, sets the stage for a furious battle in Congress over US manned space exploration.

Politicians from Florida, Texas and Alabama, three states that have lost thousands of jobs in the space industry from this year’s planned retirement of the ageing shuttle fleet, promised a fight to keep the moon programme, Constellation, alive.

“They are replacing lost shuttle jobs too slowly, risking US leadership in space to China and Russia, and relying too heavily on unproven companies,” said Bill Nelson, a Democratic Senator for Florida and former astronaut who flew one mission in 1986.

Michael Griffin, who resigned as Nasa chief when Obama took office, branded the plan “disastrous”, likening it to Richard Nixon’s cancellation of the Apollo programme in the 1970s. “It means that essentially the US has decided that they’re not going to be a significant player in human space flight for the foreseeable future,” he told The Washington Post.

There is more than just the technology aspects of going back into space in a meaningful way. Our Nation has always been one of dreamers and explorers, always reaching for what was across the river, the mountains, and now the sky. That is how we began, how we grew, and how we are to survive as a world power in the 21st Century. Space is one area of government spending that produces jobs and innovation in a way that even the private sector cannot compete. The vision to reach for the stars provides the fodder for young minds, and compels them to look into the vast unknown.

Are we really content to sit here on earth while Russia, China, India, and now Iran control the vast expanse over our heads? Not a very bright idea.

Donn Janes takes issue with the liberal agenda being pushed on college kids at University of Memphis.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 2, 2010
Contact 901-482-6705
[Donn Janes for Congress]

Donn Janes Statement about Liberal Bias in U of M Text Book:

“It appears that maybe Karl Marx has replaced God in our education system.
The book titled “A Concise Introduction to Logic” by Patrick J. Hurley is required reading for the “Elementary Logic” Class at the University of Memphis. The Subtitle for the book is “For Elementary Logic / PHILL 1611”.
It is common knowledge that progressive liberalism has found a subtle foothold in the curriculum of our high schools and college campuses. Nevertheless, I find it disturbing to see it first hand in such a blatant manner.
The book takes aim at conservative values even to the point of marginalizing a major news outlet. Page 34 alone tries to make logical arguments on more than one political issue. One of these ideological issues quietly embraces the Third Plank of Karl Marx’ “Communist Manifesto” as in regards to the federal government confiscating inheritances to preserve a democracy. Then the farce of global warming projections is portrayed as logical. Finally, the text implies that the conservative cable outlet FOX News is a propaganda Machine that is misleading its viewers. (To view the actual text from the text book [click here] then click on the “Link to Image Text”.)
The very same people who would propose that this is proper are the same ones who would condemn such logical ideas as espoused in the Biblical teachings found in the Ten Commandments. They would attest that there should be no place for the Ten Commandments in our school systems, yet make room for the Ten Planks of the Communist Manifesto.
The University of Memphis should refrain from utilizing textbooks with blatant liberal biases such as this one.
This book surfacing comes on the heels of the University of Memphis Administration allowing ACORN founder, Wade Rathke, to hold an on campus forum last November. A local TEA Party group alerted the community to Rathke’s forum. This allowed concerned parents such as myself to be able to address Rathke in person.
Maybe we concerned parents need to address the U of M Administration in person as well.
Donn”

Donn Janes is a candidate for the United States House of Representatives for Tennessee’s 8th Congressional District. A Navy veteran and businessman, Janes is an outspoken critic of how both the Republican and Democrat Parties have continued to ignore any calls for fiscal responsibility, causing the United States to plunge deeper into debt.

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About Donn Janes:

Please explain this to me again! He’s bowing to the Mayor of Tampa Florida…………

I mentioned in my post last week regarding the Tipton County Republican Party event featuring ‘Soft Hand’ Fincher, Dr. Flinn and myself that Dr. Flinn had agreed to carry the ‘tea party’ issues in the District 8 race. My entry into the race was to insure that those issues were represented, having no confidence in the NRCC anointed one. Dr. Flinn has demonstrated himself on the Shelby County Commission to be a true fiscal conservative and solid 2nd Amendment supporter, so I have his record and his word.

Meanwhile, his definite entry into the District 8 race opened up the Shelby County Mayoral race to one of BCR’s favorite political figure’s, Tom Guleff. I don’t even have to poll the other author’s to say that BCR will support Guleff 100% in his campaign.

On the Republican side, only Guleff has so far drawn a petition, though there still exists the possibility of a mayoral candidacy by Shelby County commissioner George Flinn, who was the unsuccessful GOP nominee for the office against Democrat Wharton in 2002.

Flinn, though, has recently seemed to be more interested in becoming the Republican nominee to serve in Congress for Tennessee’s 8th District. That race became an open one late last year, when longtime Democratic incumbent John Tanner announced he would not run for reelection.

John Farmer, whose “Blue Collar Republican” blog has a strong local following, already has declared as a Republican candidate in the 8th. State senator Roy Herron of Dresden continues to be the Democratic favorite in the congressional race.

Sorry Jackson Baker, but no sooner had the ink dried, the line-up changes. District 8 is a huge geographical District and Dr. Flinn has the resources to compete not only in the Primary, but also in the General against Roy Herron. Since he is carrying the banner for the issues of importance to my supporters, I would simply serve to draw away votes from him in what could be a very tight Primary fight. Also, I wish to do everything in my power to support Tom Guleff in Shelby County. As such, I am withdrawing my name from consideration from the District 8 race with 100% confidence in and support for Dr. Flinn.

In the meantime, I pulled a petition for Tennessee Congressional District 9. Yes, I know, a Republican can’t win in District 9. Historically, the Republican candidate pulls around 20% of the vote. But who knows, with Herenton and Cohen on the other side, how could I possibly stay out of it? Besides, I do believe in miracles.