February 7, Thursday, Conservatively Speaking

Mitt Romney says that despite lukewarm support he’ll soldier on – ironic since he nor any of his three sons felt their duty, or perhaps even accept they have any, to serve in the military. Hucka-VPee did very well and looks more than ever like a Vice Presidential pick. McCain amassed – what all but the most zealous believe – is an insurmountable lead for the Republican nomination. But, it is still mathematically possible to stop his nomination.

There are more contests Saturday and next Tuesday. Generally those states are more middle-of-the-road and that favors McCain. If Romney does not improve his third place standing it is hard to see why he would remain in the race EXCEPT HE CAN AFFORD TO. If he does withdraw that adds support to Huckabee – but, not enough to stop McCain’s nomination; although it could provoke a food fight at the convention.

Mike Huckabee won West Virginia’s 18 delegates but, only after McCain’s delegates shifted to him giving him the win over Mitt Romney leaving Mitt’s hair mussed. That move and Huckabee’s good showing have ignited intense discussions about a McCain-Huckabee ticket. Nevertheless McCain is the clear leader; Huckabee is second; Romney is third and Paul is fifth or seventh.

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illary Clinton is besting Barack Obama but by a surmountable margin. The Democrat contest is about to be brokered along the lines of Hillary as President and Obama as VP. If they lose Obama can run in 2012 as heir apparent, and if they win, and win again, he can run again in 2016 at the ripe old age of 55. Wednesday Hillary contributed $5 million to her campaign and cut off paying her staff. Some wonder where Hillary got $5 million unless it was another of her patent cattle future trades or includes a portion of the reported $20 million Dubai paid husband Bill for its efforts to take over U. S. ports.

The Gorilla in the Democrat room is what happens if Obama gets most of the elected delegates and Hillary has a majority because of so-called “Super Delegates”. i.e., members of Congress, Governors, State party big wigs and grabs the nomination away from voters. May be the big stinker are the Democrat National Committee barred delegates from Florida and Michigan where Hillary nominally campaigned won and others did not. Not since 1952 have the Democrats gone into a convention with a nominee apparent – I have an ‘ALL THE WAY WITH ADLAI’ button in my collection.

Hillary is building her firewall in Texas for the March 4th primary there - it better work better than Florida did for Giuliani.

Only two Senators have ever been elected President of the United States – Warren G. Harding and John F. Kennedy. Forty-seven other Senators have run and lost since 1960.

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black cloud hangs over the GOP – a lack of enthusiasm and turnout. Fifteen million Democrats voted nationwide and only 9 million Republicans did Tuesday. Part of that is a slight 36 to 34% lead in registrants, and that Democrats had “open primaries” allowing the non-affiliated or so-called independents to vote in partisan primaries. Evangelicals elbowed out every other sub group in southern state GOP primaries. The much touted youth vote didn’t show up, likely hurting Obama especially in California – mature voters outvoted the young 2 to 1.

Ballot measures proposing tax increases lost in nearly three of four occasions wherever such increases were proposed. Bureaucrats and proponents are licking their wounds, trying to explain to taxpayers how they could have been so wrong and look so inept whining that “the polls showed.” The humor of it is in sophomoric knowledge that unless you have nearly 80% support going in a two-third vote and if you’re not in the high 60% at the styart forget even a majority. Americans are in a foul mood about tax increases. Anyone proposing one now is simply politically tone deaf.

Californians voted now to extend State legislators terms –setting off an incumbent elbowing fest as they jockey to stay at the public trough. They approved the biggest increase in gambling in American history

“John McCain has the experience, depth, judgment, courage, and principles to lead America,” says Roger Stone in his STONEZONE.

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ohn McCain once testified under oath that a Senate colleague inappropriately used tobacco corporation donations to sway votes on legislation said a Monday Washington Post article. Also it reports he cursed out another colleague in front of 20 senators and staff members, questioning the senator’s grip on immigration legislation. And, on the Senate floor, McCain (R-Ariz.) accused another colleague of “egregious behavior” for helping a defense contractor in a move he said resembled “corporate scandals.” McCain rails against earmarks and votes against them regardless of who and what party proposes them raising the ire of leading pork barrel politicians – he has never earmarked anything for anyone.

A Senator once told me, “You know some of your colleagues are horse’s asses, and even should be in jail, but you can’t say it.” But, such duplicity does not apply to John McCain who would assign them the same anatomically impossible task he gave to his North Vietnamese captors and Soviet-Cuban jailers and tormentors. Frankly too many Senators tip-toe around in carpet slippers acting like crown princ(ess) from some unpronounceable fly speck place.

Somniloquy (som-NIL-uh-kwee) noun the act or habit of talking while asleep and as practiced in the United States Congress. From Latin somni- (sleep) + loqui (to speak). By the way your brain is more active while you’re asleep than when watching television.

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ith the 2008 presidential primaries well underway, a conservative group has produced an attack documentary called “Hillary: The Movie” — but federal regulators won’t let them advertise it on the airwaves. The Federal Election Commission has lowered the boom on three broadcast advertisements promoting it. Under current campaign-finance regulations, ads for the film must include a political disclaimer and the film’s financial backers must be disclosed to the public. Ironically GOP front runner McCain co-authored the legislation that blocks the film’s advertising, and the film would help him because it exposes and excoriates Hillary. See the trailer at http://www.hillarythemovie.com/trailer.html.

Think the subprime mortgage problem is just another version of the dot-com crash, or maybe an echo of the S&L crisis of the 90s? Think again, says Morgan Stanley Chairman Stephen Roach, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland – it dwarfs both. Support the New Homestead Act of 2008.

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ast Sunday’s SUPER BOWL was the most watched game yet with an estimated 97.5 million viewers. The previous most-watched Super Bowl ever was the 1996 game between Dallas and Pittsburgh, with 94.1 million people. Last year’s game between Indianapolis and Chicago was seen by 93.2 million people, Nielsen said. The most-watched telecast of all time was the 1983 finale of “M-A-S-H,” seen by 106 million people.

Remember a turkey is a canary built by government?

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peaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D) California said with a straight face, “I myself am personally not a supporter of earmarks.” Responded pork-buster Rep. Jeff Flake, “Whew, good thing! I can’t imagine what this list would look like if Speaker Pelosi actually supported earmarks.” Chuck Muth reports Flake was talking about the list of earmarks Speaker Pelosi has so far requested for 2008. Take a look…

· $588,000 for the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Housing for construction of permanent supportive housing for homeless individuals as part of the Mason Street Project in San Francisco, California

· $980,000 for Muni-Bus Rehabilitation in San Francisco, California

· $1,176,000 for the San Francisco Housing Authority for demolition, planning, design, and construction of mixed-income housing at the Hunters View Housing Project in San Francisco, California

· $490,000 for Sfgo Market Street Improvements in San Francisco, California

· $1,470,000 for South Access to Golden Gate Bridge, Doyle Drive in San Francisco, California

· $11,760,000 for the Third Street Light Rail Transit Project-Central in San Francisco, California

· $689,000 for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission for the Lower Mission District in San Francisco, California

· $1,267,000 to the San Francisco Department of Public Health in San Francisco, California for enhancements to the HIV/AIDS service delivery system

· $1,462,000 to the San Francisco Department of Public Health in San Francisco, California for mental health and substance abuse services for homeless persons in supportive housing

· $243,000 for Envision Schools in San Francisco, California for the Metropolitan Arts and Technology High School, which may include equipment

· $292,000 for the Exploratorium in San Francisco, California for its Bay Area Science Teacher Recruitment, Retention, and Improvement Initiative

· $243,000 for the Glide Foundation in San Francisco, California for substance abuse services

· $243,000 for Jumpstart for Young Children in San Francisco, California for an early childhood enhancement project to provide student mentors to preschool children

· $97,000 to the KIPP Foundation in San Francisco, California for curriculum development and the recruitment and professional development of school leaders, teachers, and administrators

· $243,000 to the Mission Language and Vocational School in San Francisco, California for a training program in health related occupations

· $438,000 for San Francisco Medical Center Outpatient Improvement Programs, Inc. in San Francisco, California for facilities and equipment

· $1,000,000 for the Department of Emergency Management for the City and County of San Francisco

· $282,000 to the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association, SPUR Urban Center

· $2,000,000 to Ardica Technologies for Advanced Wearable Microcell Power System Process Development

· $2,000,000 to BioQuiddity Inc. for Disposable Unit Dose Drug Pumps for Anesthesia & Antibiotics

· $9,300,000 for Hunters Point Naval Shipyard in San Francisco, California

· $2,000,000 to the Prevention Medicine Research Institute for Impact of Intensive Lifestyle Modification on Chronic Medical Conditions

· $4,000,000 to the Neuroscience Center of Excellence at the Northern California Institute for Research and Education for Neuroimaging & Neuropsychiatric Trauma in U.S. War-fighters

· $3,200,000 to Prosetta Corporation for Novel Viral Biowarfare Agent Identification and Treatment (NOVBAIT)

· $2,000,000 to Inter-4 for Operator Situational Awareness System – MEDEVAC

· $2,400,000 for Port of San Francisco Site Investigation and Remedial Action

· $2,000,000 to Presidio Trust for Presidio Main Post

· $2,000,000 to SA Photonics for Satellite Coherent Optical Receiver (SCORE)

· $282,000 for Back on Track, Goodwill Industries of San Francisco, San Mateo & Marin Counties, California

· $1,551,000 for the San Francisco Forensics Services Crime Lab -San Francisco, California

· $1,034,000 for the San Francisco Community Justice Center

· $1,504,000 for Ex-Offender Reentry Services in San Francisco, California

· $423,000 for the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office Community Response Networks

· $314,900 for the Zero to Three Court Team for Maltreated Infants and Toddlers Project in San Francisco, California

Speaker Pelosi’s cockamamie “I’m not a supporter of earmarks” statement while hiding tens of millions of dollars in pork in the budget is the height of disingenuousness.

Motorists in northern Mexico who are caught dabbing on lipstick, shaving or carrying a pet at the wheel will now face hefty fines as authorities try to cut down on traffic accidents.Motorist in northern Mexico caught dabbing on lipstick, shaving or holding a pet at the wheel no face hefty fines for unsafe driving.

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. S. Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey has reversed predecessor Ashcroft’s ruling that ended free use of taxpayer paid emails, meeting space, utilities and security at the Department of Justice for homosexual employee activities. Religious groups are complaining that they are still discriminated against and forbidden from such free use or any use at all in many federal facilities.

Michael Moore was on LARRY KING LIVE looking all the more like his slothful self saying his funding continues unabated from major studios.

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lthough initially trailing Abraham Lincoln pulled ahead when Republicans met in Chicago in May of 1860, and won the nomination on the third ballot beating William Seward. The Republican platform opposed slavery in the territories but upheld the right of slavery in the American South. It also opposed the Dred Scott decision*.

The Democrats nominated Stephen Douglas and the Southern-Democrats who called themselves National Democrats nominated southerner John Breckinridge. In addition, John Bell was nominated by the Constitutional Union party representing the so-called Border states.

Candidates did not campaign much but the parties did and because the Republicans were united behind Lincoln, others fragmented and Lincoln won amid a record 81.2% participation by eligible white male voters.

Lincoln was a “minority” President getting just 39% of the vote but 170 electors; Douglas got 29.5% of the vote but only 12 electors. Lincoln carried all the northern states plus California and Oregon, and Breckenridge seamlessly carried the larger but less populated south totaling just 72 electors. (The upper Midwest and Rocky Mountain states were still territories and not states.)

Before Lincoln could be inaugurated on March 4, 1861 beneath the unfinished Capitol dome South Carolina seceded from the union and within weeks the Civil War exploded. Soon after his second inauguration in 1865 and the Confederate States surrender he was murdered.

 

Although living in the north as a free man when Scott returned to Missouri the Supreme Court declared no slave or descendant of a slave could be a U.S. citizen, or ever had been a U.S. citizen. As a non-citizen, the court stated, Scott had no rights and could not sue in a Federal Court and must remain a slave.

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