Conservative Stuff and Democrat Party Solutions

Is it Spring? Blooming in my yard:

Why is this man on TV and not in prison?

Oh wait. I remember, Republicans don't go to prison. That is why Tom Delay was smiling when this mug shot was taken in 2005.

But yesterday he was smiling as he was interviewed from CPAC the meeting of conservatives where Mitt Romney shocked attendees with his "suspension" of his presidential bid (I guess "suspension until 2012" is what he means).

Delay is one of the growing list of potential "suicide voters" who say they may not vote for McCain because he is not conservative enough. He joins Laura Ingram, Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh, all prominant media types who see their influence and paycheck disappearing as the Republican party changes from within.

That video is from Fox, but on another network Delay's comments caused my blood pressure to rise after he was asked to comment on McCain's acknowedgement that human activity is contributing to global warming. Among other things, Delay said that there is absolutely no scientific evidence that supports that concept. That from somebody whose idea of science is figuring out how to keep the ice in his drink from melting when sitting in a hot tub.

When asked what the "official" conservative view on climate change is he said that it was arrogant for humans to think they could change the climate.

It is no wonder that "conservatism" is becoming a bad word, with uncredible spokespersons spewing incredible yarns.

Words related to "conservative:"

conservation: the careful utilization of a natural resource in order to prevent depletion.

That concept finds no place in the conservative movement.

Fiscal conservatism: a political phrase term used in the United States to attack government spending and advocate instead lower spending and a lower federal debt.

That concept finds no place in the republican party.

While Democrats are united in both philosophy and policy, yet divided on who they choose in their primaries, Republicans seem to be uniting on who they can choose in their primaries, yet divided in philosopy and policy. Only one thing seems to unite them, and that is war (with Ron Paul supporters as the exception. You don't see Ron Paul being invited to speak at CPAC, do you?)

Democrats are worried that if they don't select a candidate before the convention things could get ugly. Here are my solutions. Simple.

1. If the Democrats will just do away with the Superdelegates and let the voters choose who the candidate will be, the party will do fine.

2. Let Florida and Michigan hold new primaries that count.

If they allow the superdelegates make the decision, the sizzle will become a fizzle.

Work it out Democrats. Before June 7.

Breathing a sigh of Relief (Not You, Louise!)

Mitt Romney has dropped out of the presidential race.

The next biggest threat to America is Mike Huckabee, the Dominionist.

John McCain will not destroy our country, but we sure don't want him elected either, but we can defeat him I am sure, regardless of who the Democratic nominee is.

I doubt Louise Alexander is breathing a sigh of relief. Here in Bessemer the dominos are beginning to fall. The Alabama Ethics Commission (?) has referred the case of councilwoman Louise Alexander to the Attorney General's office. Read it

Louise said "I haven't done anything wrong."

However, she did apparently deposit $17,775 in checks made out to the city and a city school into her business account. "Oops."

Two of the checks totalling $12, 775 were donated by local businessmen for an awards program that does not even exist. I guess she solicited the donations? "Oops."

I did say "beginning to fall" didn't I? Well money was taken out of a TIF fund and deposited into an account to make payroll last year. "Oops."

And money derived from property taxes for the rebuilding of the library was used to make a payment from the city to the school board. "Oops."

There is an audit planned by the City Council, but I just have this feeling that it will not go very deep. Mainly because they are only spending up to $15,000 for the audit. And the word "forensic" was left out. But...it is a start. Stay tuned...

Primary Comments

I don't know if Mormons recognize Lent, but I have an idea for Mitt Romney...give up politics. The Dominionist candidate kicked your tail all across the South, allowing the Warmonger candidate to solidify his lead.

Again what a night for the Democratic Party, as we show once again that we have two strong candidates for president and voters go to the polls in record numbers to indicate their choices. All of my comments are based on current information and returns, which is not complete.

My preference of course is Clinton, and while she did not win in Alabama, look at the difference between Alabama and Georgia. Obama won by 34% in Georgia, but only by 14% in Alabama. Are we that different than Georgia?

While all the votes are not yet counted, and all the delegates not yet awarded, at this point Clinton is still ahead. Votes don't select candidates, delegates do.

And the popular vote across the country favors Clinton by quite a bit. I added all the totals for all the states that have voted so far, and Clinton leads 9,723,766 to Obama's 8,354,065. That is 53.8% to 46.2%. Of course popular vote does not elect presidents either, but it is better to be ahead than behind.

The greatest wins for Hillary in my opinion were the victory in Massachusetts and California. In Mass, where both Senator Kennedy and Senator Kerry endorsed Obama, Clinton won easily, by about 15%. And in California, where the Oprah - Kennedy - Shriver fest pulled in thousands of potential voters last week, Clinton won by about 10%, after "polls" showed Obama with a chance to win.

Precinct results are not available yet, and as a result delegate results are not available either.

Alicia Keys likes Hillary. Watch this video of her song Superwoman:



Great song Alicia. And great video.

U. S. News and World reports that the Republican National Committee is levying fines for refering to Hillary or Obama by their first names. Makes them appear too friendly and likable. $10. Well, they are more likable than the candidates of the Republican Party.

A Big Tuesday in Alabama

All the entertainment is not in New Orleans. In Montgomery the Alabama legislature begins its session today. In fact hold your breath until we see an indication that the Senate will actually accomplish something. Something positive and progressive at that. Now that we know there is no discipline and that raucus politics and sucker punches are OK, who knows what will happen.

And hold your breath while we wait on the results of today's primary elections. When I voted early this morning in Bessemer about 4 people had requested Republican ballots and about 40 had asked for Democrat ballots. That will come as no surpise to anyone except Dale Jones who once wrote "Obviously you are aware that you and your views are in the EXTREME MINORITY in Bessemer, AL " in a comment on this blog. Since my views are pretty much in line with the Democratic candidates being voted on today, I would say my views are in the "EXTREME MAJORITY" here in Bessemer. In other words...more people share the common views of the Democratic Party than the Republican Party in Bessemer.

Celebrate Fat Tuesday today.

The Zulu parade has been my favorite.





Time for some Jambalaya and Pecan Cobbler. Happy Mardi Gras

Super Bowl, Super Manning

Sports on Bessemer Opinions? If Mitt Romney can make Olympic comparisons and bring sports into his campaign, then I feel I can devote one page to the Super Bowl. Even on the day before Super Tuesday. (No one needs to hear more from me about that right now...just scroll down and read about the Primary and the candidate). Besides, this column is not just about the Super Bowl.


"We're only going to score 17 points?"

That was Tom Brady last week, responding to Plaxico Burress' prediction that the Giants would win the Super Bowl 23 - 17.

No, Tom, you are only going to score 14 points. It's the Giants that will score 17. Plaxico's predicted score was wrong, but his outcome was correct. And Plaxico did catch the winning touchdown pass from Eli Manning.

Manning directed the play of the game...no, the NFL play of the season, when he escaped a sack by at least three patriots who had him wrapped up, and heaved a pass over the head of David Tyree who somehow made the grab, and held on in spite of coming down on top of a defender who was doing his best to loosen the ball from Tyree's grasp. Tyree had already scored the Giants other touchdown earlier in the 4th quarter.

Patriots...it doesn't pay to cheat (illegally taping opponents signals).
Giants...congratulations.

And let's remind people that Peyton and Eli have an older brother, Cooper Manning, who does not play football, but who might have been just as successful if a football ending diagnosis had not occured when he was a freshman in college. Read his success story here.

Cooper Manning is more inspiring than either Peyton or Eli, and probably a lot more fun to be around.

My Question for Hillary

Monday night Hillary Clinton is participating in a town hall meeting that will be broadcast live on the Hallmark Channel and on her web site.

"We're planning our Voices Across America town hall meeting. We'll hear from people in Alabama and all across America. This event -- one of the biggest town hall meetings America has ever seen -- will be broadcast live Monday night on Hallmark Channel starting at 9 p.m. EST. Or you can watch it live on hillaryclinton.com. "

I submitted the following question:

Artur Davis, the Alabama campaign manager for your opponent, at a recent forum in Birmingham said that the GLBT community should not look to Washington (or Montgomery, our state capital) for change, in spite of the fact that it took Washington leadership to bring change in civil rights. Could the GLBT community look to the Clinton administration for change?

You can ask a question here

I will be surprised if my question is asked of the candidate.

Ann Coulter Endorsing Clinton? And the Upcoming Primary

This has to be the weirdest endorsement of the season.



Ann Coulter has endorsed Hillary Clinton, says she will vote for her, says she will campaign for her, if John McCain is the Republican nominee.

Alan Colmes raised his hands and said "My work is done."

I really don't think voters will hold this endorsement against Hillary, because no one listens to Ann Coulter anyway.


Clinton and Obama faced off last night in a mild-mannered debate that likely convinced more independents and moderate republicans to vote democratic than it persuaded democratic voters to change their support from one candidate to the other.

That's good, it will help ensure a Democratic president in the Oval Office in January.

It's also good because the latest polls have Hillary leading in almost all the Super Dooper states.

Massachusetts, Clinton up by 24
New Jersey, Clinton up by 12
Tennessee, Clinton up by 33
California, Clinton up by 3
Minnesota, Clinton up by 7
Oklahoma, Clinton up by 17
New York, Clinton up by 28
Arizona, Clinton up by 10
Delaware, Clinton by 22
Missouri, Clinton by 19

Latest polls also have Obama leading in Alabama and Georgia, and granted, some of the above polls were taken before big endorsements this week. But I think Clinton stopped the flow of votes to Obama last night.

Several of the states voting Tuesday do not have polls on the site.

Several questions have come my way about voting procedures for Tuesday. Here is a link to the ballot of you vote in District 7 (my district).

Here is the ballot for District 6.

From here you can link to the other district ballots.

You can not vote for delegates who are committed to a candidate different than the candidate you selected for president. So if you vote for Hillary, you can choose up to 4 male and 4 female delegates who are committed to her. Likewise for Obama.

If you want to vote for uncommitted delegates, you can not vote for a presidential candidate.

Here are instructions from the party web site. Instructions are also on the ballot.

Make plans to vote on Tuesday. Hillary Clinton.