The Crisis of Islam

Just another interesting book. It is a short look at what is going wrong in the Middle East and what should be done to fix it. It is a kind of introduction, and I found it thought-provoking. Do not, however, use this as an end-all guide. Here is the link to amazon.

Florida and Obama

It will be very interesting to see what happens to the GOP in Florida. Even though he pulled his ads from local media there, Romney is on the upturn in the polls. In fact, according to RCP, Romney is in the lead. Of course, with Hillary's spectacular defeat in South Carolina (55 to 27) at the hands of Obama, we can't really trust the polls. They predicted only a 10 point spread in favor of Obama. The 28 point gap is rather larger than that (180% larger, in fact).

The pollsters seem to be doing a poor job this year. The major polling groups seem to just be guessing as to the actual margin of victory. This has been especially true of the Democrats. The new dynamic of a woman and a black man is causing a shift of voters' opinions. Sure it's fine to say that you support equal rights, but it is quite another to follow a woman or a black man as the leader of your country. I personally feel that that view is completely ridiculous and that votes should not be based on skin color or gender, but I do believe that people throughout the U.S. are struggling with this "dilemma." They may not give a completely accurate answer to a pollster.

Florida is a southern state (duh) so many of its voters may be influenced by racism that is not as pronounced in other places. Many blacks will probably vote for Obama while many white women will probably vote for Clinton. At the start of the race, many blacks did not support Obama. Many were of the opinion that Obama, a partially black man, could not win and would only be used as a scapegoat for the whites to get out of Iraq. After he won in Iowa and it was shown that he was a serious candidate, more blacks began supporting him. His win in South Carolina was powered almost exclusively by blacks (80% of the blacks voted for him, while only 25% of whites did so. To keep up his momentum, he will need to attract more white voters.

John McCain Toon

Pretty much explains why John McCain shouldn't be President...


(Click to Enlarge)

Liberalism is 'great grand niece once removed' of Nazism

Liberal Fascism is a recently written book by Jonah Goldberg, a columnist for the LA Times and a contributing editor to the National Review.


I will stray from an introduction to the book and the author. If you're curious visit the following links: [1] [2] [3]

An excerpt from his book:

"Contrary to what most people think, the Nazis were ardent socialists (hence the term "National Socialism"). They believed in free health care and guaranteed jobs. They confiscated inherited wealth and spent vast sums on public education. They purged the church from public policy, promoted a new form of pagan spirituality, and inserted the authority of the state into every nook and cranny of daily life. The Nazis declared war on smoking, supported abortion, euthanasia, and gun control. They loathed the free market, provided generous pensions for the elderly, and maintained a strict racial quota system in their universities - where campus speech codes were all the rage. The Nazis led the world in organic farming and alternative medicine. Hitler was a strict vegetarian, and Himmler was an animal rights activist.

Do these striking parallels mean that today's liberals are genocidal maniacs, intent on conquering the world and imposing a new racial order? Not at all. Yet it is hard to deny that modern Progressivism and classical fascism shared the same intellectual roots.

In Germany, fascism appeared as genocidal racist nationalism. In America, it took a "friendlier," more liberal form. The modern heirs of this "friendly fascist" tradition include the New York Times, the Democratic Party, the Ivy League professoriate, and the liberals of Hollywood. "

From what I've read so far of his book, to say the least, has been interesting.

Jonah Goldberg on YouTube

Giuliani on 9/11

Rudy constantly uses 9/11 as a running point. Look at this.

Soviet in Command of Southern CA

The new head of the Southern California Association of Governments, or SCAG, used to be a Soviet planner. As Steven Greenhut of the OC Register's blog, Orange Punch, says, this is just too good to be true. No wonder all of Southern CA's roads are so bad. Check out this Hasan Ikharata character.

Obama in Iowa

I believe that Obama winning in Iowa represents a great step in America. We have come to a point where a state that is heavily white overwhelmingly nominates a black man. What does that say to the world? Doesn't that set a standard that we can be proud of? Even though I may disagree with him, I am happy to see him win this (unimportant) caucus. It is a good milestone for this country.

Another Huckalie?

After his fibs about his foreign policy advisers, now comes this.

Now contrast that with this.

And to the Huckleberries, this isn't the MSM making Huckabee look bad, these are his own words.

What will be the next fib? [1]

He says he supported the surge before Romney did, while under pressure, in order not to look like a fool. Yet, in another interview, he expresses his true position - not supporting the surge. And he gets after Romney for changing positions? At least Romney openly admits he's had a change of heart and doesn't simply lie. Aren't Church ministers supposed to lead by example?

The active duty military was already stretched to the point that the National Guard would be required for the troop surge. That was announced on multiple occasions leading up to the event taking place. Huckabee knew exactly what he was saying and that was that he de facto did not support the surge. Tonight, he lied. He lied about Romney, and he lied about his own position.

"You can never forget the truth, nor can you consistently remember a lie that you told under pressure."

Sidenote: Congratulations to Romney for winning the Wyoming Republican Caucus.

Iowa: What have you done?

How did Huckabee win? That is the question now. He is the re-incarnation of Bush and Clinton. He is the Bush of no morals who will do anything for power. He is petty and just plain wrong on many issues. Have you heard how, as governor of Arkansas (second after Clinton), the Huckster renewed his wedding vows and registered at Target??? As governor? And then when he was asked about it, he blamed his wife, indicating his belief that women are subservient and he isn't an equal partner in marriage. As he said, "Do you want someone who could do that to be your president?"

As governor of Arkansas, he held up a disaster relief bill because it contained the legal term "Act of God." People waited for relief because he couldn't let God be branded with so evil an act. IT'S A LEGAL TERM!!!!!

He seems like the same imbecile we've had for the last 7 years. Does nobody see that Huckabee can't get his foreign policy straight? What kind of stumbling was that about Pakistan? Huckabee has a terrible record on immigration, yet those in Iowa who said immigration was important went to Huckabee. [1]

Ask a Huckabee supporter why, and they tell you (probably) that, "Huck is strong on immigration," and,"He will reform taxes." They haven't looked at the projections for FairTax, Huckleberry's tax reform program, and they have definitely not looked at his record as governor (see my previous post). After explaining this, you ask again, and you get the, "A vote for Huckabee is a vote for Jesus. I'm voting for Jesus!!!" (that is a quote I heard from a relative). What?!?!?!? Isn't that the only reason to like Bush? Some say they like him for his "neighborly demeanor." Why did you vote for Bush? Wasn't it the same thing? I just might have to call Iowans stupid. Huckabee is a horrible choice.

This is what is wrong with the Republican Party. Vote for a candidate on merit, not on his faith. Giuliani has coherent supporters. Romney has coherent supporters. McCain has coherent supporters. Huckabee, however, needs coherent supporters instead of the (mostly) Kool-Aid drinkers he has now. They don't care what he stands for, as long as he hates gays, plays guitar, and thanks Jesus. Look at the quotes from his supporters' prayer. Can you still tell me his campaign doesn't rely on bigots? I'm not saying that all his supporters are bigots, but those who aren't are most likely misinformed.

Iowa Caucus

Today is the Iowa Caucus - the day the citizens of Iowa decide their party's nominee. For the Democrats, the results will be very close. There is a three-way virtual tie between Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards. Obama is ahead of Clinton by a few points, who is ahead of Edwards by a few points as well, but nothing large enough to determine a winner. The media say that if Obama wins, this could legitimize his possible presidency and put him in competition with Clinton. If this were to happen, many Edwards supporters would become either Clinton or Obama supporters, but most likely Obama supporters. If Edwards loses, his candidacy is over; what little chance Edwards has in winning will be determined today. If Edwards were to drop out, Obama may be in striking distance of Clinton. However, if Clinton wins, her nomination is nearly guaranteed.

For the Republicans, the only two real possibilities are Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney. Huckabee is a couple percentage points ahead of Romney in the polls, but again, nothing large enough to determine a definitive winner. If Huckabee wins, he may go on to win several other states as well, but I could not see him being the Republican nominee (however, this may be simply my bias against him). If Romney were to win, I believe he would have a great chance at the nomination (although, again, my personal bias for him).

Although it is very hard to make a valid prediction because things are so close, my predictions are as follows:

For the Republicans, Mitt Romney will win. I base this not on the fact that he is my personal favorite, but that the people who support him are more likely to vote. Every poll/survey/study will show that the poor (the rural) are less likely to vote than the rich (the urban). Mitt Romney's base is more wealthy and more urban than Huckabee's, whose base is made up of the rural social conservatives. Although Romney is a couple percentage points behind Huckabee, it may be just enough to put him over the edge, or at least I hope.

For the Democrats, my predictions are similar. I do not believe that Obama has a solid, supportive base. Obama's percentage points (slightly ahead of Clinton and Edwards), are made up largely of the youth - whom we all know have a dismal voter turnout. I think either Clinton or Edwards will win. However, most people know that a vote for Edwards is a vote wasted, and people consider "electability" when it comes down to it. This, I believe, will propel Clinton into winning the caucus.

Considering the above, I predict Romney for the Republicans and definitely not Edwards for the Democrats. Either Obama or Clinton will win, but if I must choose one, I would guess Clinton. Keep in mind, I'm no political analyst and these are just my guesses, with little validity to them. Let's see if I hit the target, or if I was dead wrong.

However, looking at the polls alone, Huckabee and Obama will win.

Huckabee as Governor

It's interesting that Huckabee, with his lead in Iowa, does not have a stronger showing on the national scale. His stated positions, at a glance, should make sense to conservatives and libertarians. He wants to get rid of the income tax and stop illegal immigration (Libertarian). He is the "Christian candidate," and supports good ol' family values (Conservative).

Nevermind his record as governor of Arkansas. He raised taxes by A LOT -- try half a billion dollars net gain, as told by the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. The average tax burden in Arkansas was raised by 47%!!!!! I personally have a hard time seeing those numbers and then listening, straight-faced, as Huckabee calls himself the fiscal conservative. Check out this selection from his site:

"Huckabee, a fiscal conservative, pushed through the Arkansas Legislature the first major, broad-based tax cuts in state history — a $90 million tax relief package for Arkansas families. He led efforts to establish a Property Taxpayers' Bill of Rights and created a welfare reform program that reduced the welfare rolls in the state by almost 50 percent. He also doubled the standard deduction to $2,000 for single taxpayers and $4,000 for those who are married. He proposed The Property Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights which established a uniform notice and due process procedure to guarantee that all Arkansans will be treated fairly in property tax assessment.

In total, Huckabee cut taxes and fees over 90 times during his ten and a half years as governor, saving the people of Arkansas almost $380 million. When he left office, Arkansas had over $800 million in state surplus, which he believes should go back to the people in the form of either a tax rebate or tax cut." (emphasis added)[1]

Why didn't he give out the rebates himself? They don't talk about him giving the rebates, only wanting to give them out. We in California can tell of the spineless jellyfish we have for a governor. He said he would cut taxes, particularly the Car Tax (which he did), but now, with pressure from the legislature, he is bringing it back. Awnuld the Guvenator said he wanted to help, but, like Huckabee, it's what he does that really matters.

As for the conservative and family values, his leanings seem to be those of intolerance. Just take a look at some of his writings where he says that violence in schools comes from pornography and homosexuality. He says that women should stay home and dutifully serve the husband (from what I read, that is a Baptist teaching. Correct me if I'm wrong). In 1992, he proposed a quarantine of people with AIDS. What?!?!?! He has shown himself as a religious bigot, but now seeks to be a moderate. He appears to be an economic liberal and a hard-core social conservative. [2]

As for illegal immigration, wasn't it Huckabee that supported a bill which would allow illegals the same privileges as citizens and legal immigrants living in Arkansas when it came to education? That is NOT very good, and Huckabee needs to be brought to task on it. If you disagree, just read here.

And just to finish up, did you see his slip on Pakistan? Fox News