MacBigot Cached Glances

[NOTE: This was originally posted in February...]

The story of Saul, the First King of Israel

The people were unhappy with all that they had been given, and so they demanded that instead of the rule of God’s Law, they be given a king ‘to judge us like all the nations’. Despite it being opposite of God’s wishes, He let them have what they were asking because He knew they would not understand their folly until they had tasted the fruits of their own human wisdom.

“Listen to the voice of the people according to all that they say to you for they have not rejected you but they have rejected Me from reigning over them.” (1 Samuel 8:7)

UPDATE 4/25/09:

I pray for our President, and I pray for our country. My prayer alone makes me an enemy of many who might stumble across this blog; and I have the hate-mail to prove it.

But though I disapprove of the man we elected, elected he was, and I respect the office he holds too much to denigrate him unfairly. Unfortunately, those on the Left do not share the same brand of patriotism I had been taught over the last 40 years. Those who lay claim to patriotism by re-branding it to fit only their own ideology have never really understood what makes this country different from most others on the planet. And those who profess the lie that only the Right lambast and ridicule others for disparate views aren’t just liars; they’re traitors to the whole concept of a free society.

Several have asked how I will proceed in the next four (or eight) years, now that all three branches of our federal government are majority-owned by Liberals who seek to upturn every hard-fought Conservative principle of Democracy that has made the news these last few decades — my answer is this: I am an American; and unlike those who find themselves only now willing to wave the Stars and Stripes, I will be doing so long after this President, and whoever follows him, have moved on to the lecture circuit and $2000-a-plate luncheons.

My dis-satisfaction with the man who has been presented to us (is this the best the Democrats… or Republicans… can do?) is separate from the need for our country to make some measured success at, well, anything. I have no trust for Mr. Obama — just as I won’t trust any man my daughter dates.

I will, as it has been said, ‘cling to my religion, and my guns’.

But I have a not-so-secret hope (ewww, I had to use that hijacked word that now somehow makes my skin crawl) that either because of Obama, or despite him, our country will survive, and eventually even prosper once again. That’s the priority.

So I ask all of you to watch closely; watch for the differences between the last eight years and the next — mostly in the behavior and speech of the Right and the Left when referring to those on the opposite side.

If the Left really does stand for civility and peace, I haven’t met a single Liberal who really is in line with that ideal; if you are offended by that remark, I’ll need to explain that even the most thoughtful, soulful, considerate Liberals I know have still casually berated Bush for sending soldiers to their death only to line his pockets with oil money (if you really think this after all this time, you either have your head in the sand or are truly a moron), and believe that babies require fewer human rights than serial killers and terrorists. We simply will not agree on what civility is.

My angst on this day has been neatly summed up in a post shared by aglanon on RedState.com:

http://www.myspace.com/presidentialpledge

To the pledgers in this video:

Where were you for the last eight years? Where were you when we were attacked on 9-11? Where were you when the world agreed that Saddam had WMD’s? Where were you when the media was lying about our President? Where were you when the Iraqi’s were suffering? Where was your compassion for them? Where was your desire to be amicable with people you disagreed with these last eight years? Where was your “Understanding”. Where was your friendship? Where was your bipartisanship? Where was your hope? Where was your restraint?

For eight years I’ve seen hatred, loathing, anger, ignorance, violence, suppression, oppression, blacklisting and all together a bunch of meanies. I’ve seen Bush called a Nazi. I’ve BEEN called a Nazi. I’ve been told that I support blood for oil, that my beliefs are archaic and that I’m a racist. I’ve seen my God spit upon. My beliefs mocked. My heroes destroyed and my integrity impugned. I’ve seen my country’s soldiers used and spit out for political gain. I’ve seen marches and been told that dissent is the highest form of patriotism. I’ve been told that everything I stand for and believe in is murder, greed and fascism.

And now. After all this YOU are pledging to me that you will change because of one man? One man will make you different and cause you to be reasonable and you fully expect that I should and will reciprocate? You expect us all to come together after this and act like the last 8 years didn’t happen? As Obama steps forward and has the same reactions to Gitmo & Iraq and NOW you understand the complexities? Now you can have intelligent debate without insulting everything I stand for?

I will make a pledge to you. I pledge to spend every free moment working to counter your efforts. Not simply for the sake of countering them, but because they are not what our country stands for. They are not less government. They are not liberty. They are not justice. They are not FREE. I will not, I cannot allow compromise on these issues. There IS no compromise for me on abortion. There IS no compromise for me on Terrorism. There IS no compromise for me on socialism. There IS no compromise for me on much that you stand for.

Unlike you I will not fight unfairly. I will not lie about you. I will not toss insults carelessly and endanger my country and it’s brave soldiers. I will not hope for a bad economy. I will not invest myself in my own defeat. I will not call our President a Nazi, or a Stalinist. I will be a person of reason. But I will be relentless and unforgiving. I will use my mind and my faculties and everything at my disposal to squash this ideology that your anointed one has brought to bear. I will work to protect this country’s ideals and prevent the destruction of our morals.

You created me these last eight years. I pledge that I will become your worst nightmare because of it.

Ben Howe

You get what you vote for; not what you’ve been promised.

From ‘Giving Thanks’, by Jennifer James at LATimes.com:

“…For the Pilgrims, life was a constant battle for survival. Later, Governor William Bradford made a decision. Instead of the colonists sharing their crops equally, he assigned a parcel of land to each family and told them they could keep whatever they produced for themselves.”

“Then what happened?” asked Sam.

“At last the Pilgrims began to prosper. Governor William Bradford wrote in his book ‘Of Plimoth Plantation,’ ‘This had very good success, for it made all hands industrious, so as much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been.’ ”

“Shoot! If you can keep everything you make, of course you’re going to work harder. Everybody knows that.”

Grandpa answered, “The first seed had been planted for the American Revolution. People were free to practice their religions as they saw fit and were free to keep the fruits of their labor. This had never happened before in the history of mankind. In the words of William Bradford, ‘As one small candle may light a thousand, so the light here kindled hath shone unto many, yea in some sort to our whole nation.’”

“That William Bradford sounds like a pretty cool guy,” said Sam.

“He was a pretty cool guy,” Grandpa said with a chuckle.

Because those military personnel, who vote overwhelmingly to keep the Liberal mindset at bay, would otherwise be home to vote again — and that would be bad for business. Democrat business.

From TheIndyChannel.com

“How Do Deployed Troops Vote?
Many Find Voting While Deployed Difficult

…Surveys show that 77 percent of American overseas personnel say they are “very interested” in voting, especially in presidential elections. But among this group, 30 percent told researchers from Pew’s Military and Overseas Citizens Voting Project that they did not receive their ballots in time. Another 28 percent said they did not know how to go about getting an absentee ballot, and that nobody ever spoke with them in this regard.

The U.S. Department of Defense is supposed to provide outreach workers known as ‘Voting Assistance Officers,’ provided through the Federal Voting Assistance Program.

The effort to obtain an absentee ballot requires several steps, and so it is not easy, even for a non-deployed citizen who obtains an absentee ballot in their hometown. Pew researchers found that 85.8 percent of people who obtained absentee ballots in their hometowns took time to fill them out and return them. However, only 26.5 percent of ballots from overseas military personnel were returned on time.

Problems with absentee ballot applications, or absentee ballots themselves, went beyond the slow schedule of military mail service. Problems involved responses that were incomplete, invalid or illegible. Tens of thousands of overseas military personnel failed to realize that they needed to sign the ballot, state a political party preference and include a Social Security number.

Overseas military personnel deal with an “alphabet soup” of federal laws and regulations surrounding their vote. UOCAVA is the Uniformed and Overseas Citizen Absentee Voting Act. FWABs are Federal Write-In Absentee Ballots, included for use if a soldier’s state ballot arrives late.”

Another anonymous story from the mailbag:

“Barack Obama discovers a leak under his sink, so he calls Joe the Plumber to come and fix it.

Joe drives to Obama’s house, which is located in a very nice neighborhood and where it’s clear that all the residents make more than $250,000 per year.

Joe arrives and takes his tools into the house. Joe is led to the room that contains the leaky pipe under a sink. Joe assesses the problem and tells Obama, who is standing near the door, that it’s an easy repair that will take less than 10 minutes.

Obama asks Joe how much it will cost.

Joe immediately says, ‘$9,500.’

‘$9,500?’ Obama asks, stunned. ‘But you said it’s an easy repair!’

‘Yes, but what I do is charge a lot more to my clients who make more than $250,000 per year so I can fix the plumbing of everybody who makes less than that for free,’ explains Joe. ‘It’s always been my philosophy. As a matter of fact, I lobbied government to pass this philosophy as law, and it did pass earlier this year, so now all plumbers have to do business this way. It’s known as ‘Joe’s Fair Plumbing Act of 2008.’ Surprised you haven’t heard of it, senator.’

In spite of that, Obama tells Joe there’s no way he’s paying that much for a small plumbing repair, so Joe leaves.

Obama spends the next hour flipping through the phone book looking for another plumber, but he finds that all other plumbing businesses listed have gone out of business. Not wanting to pay Joe’s price, Obama does nothing.

The leak under Obama’s sink goes unrepaired for the next several days.

A week later the leak is so bad that Obama has had to put a bucket under the sink. The bucket fills up quickly and has to be emptied every hour, and there’s a risk that the room will flood, so Obama calls Joe and pleads with him to return.

Joe goes back to Obama’s house, looks at the leaky pipe, and says ‘Let’s see ˆ this will cost you about $21,000.’

‘A few days ago you told me it would cost $9,500!’ Obama quickly fires back.

Joe explains the reason for the dramatic increase. ‘Well, because of the ‘Joe’s Fair Plumbing Act,’ a lot of rich people are learning how to fix their own plumbing, so there are fewer of you paying for all the free plumbing I’m doing for the people who make less than $250,000. As a result, the rate I have to charge my wealthy paying customers rises every day.

‘Not only that, but for some reason the demand for plumbing work from the group of people who get it for free has skyrocketed, and there’s a long waiting list of those who need repairs. This has put a lot of my fellow plumbers out of business, and they’re not being replaced ˆ nobody is going into the plumbing business because they know they won’t make any money. I’m hurting now too ˆ all thanks to greedy rich people like you who won’t pay their fair share.’

Obama tries to straighten out the plumber: ‘Of course you’re hurting, Joe! Don’t you get it? If all the rich people learn how to fix their own plumbing and you refuse to charge the poorer people for your services, you’ll be broke, and then what will you do?’

Joe immediately replies, ‘Run for president, apparently.’”

When an article about Obama’s Truth Squads embeds a video on YouTube that provides both evidence and context — and then that video is removed, it is, on the one hand, an inconvenient disconnect — but on the other, a clear example of how easy it is to thwart the spread of information that is counter to the Party Message.

When I link to (or embed) a video online, I often grab a copy of it to store — just in case it becomes a point of contention later (though because of the normal online mechanisms for copyright disputes, I avoid posting something that isn’t available on it’s original channel). Chances are, if a video goes away, it is for copyright reasons; but when it disappears in order to keep the public uninformed, the blogosphere becomes responsible for making up the difference.

Information is Anarchy. Lefties will have you believe that Socialism is all about taking wealth and value and making it equally accessible to all in a society. The truth is actually that it’s about making all citizens equally at the mercy of The State in order to partake of that shared wealth. That, coupled with the fallibility of human beings running the State makes for a system that has never been successfully implemented without eventually degenerating into a dictatorship.

Over the last decade, the Left has convinced the vocal minority and the entrenched Media that parental choice is out — for school curriculum, public-vs.-private school choice, explicit sex education, evolution-ONLY origins policies, and prenatal guidance.

At the moment, The State is about to come after your guns. They are nearly able to control the ideas presented in all commercial media forums.

In the near future, they will also come for your information. No one will have the right to store, share, or promote information without the approval of The State. Initially, this will be facilitated through ‘peer pressure’ (witness Obama’s ‘Truth Squads’, by which information that was counter to his Message was quelled, regardless of whether it was true or not); but eventually, legislation and police powers will stand against the rule of the people, and be replaced by the rule of the People.

See how capitalizing that word matters? Just like when Bill Gates capitalized Trust, and now charges you extra for it — not by giving you something more, but by pretending to give back what his system took away over the course of many years.

In that underground bunker you’ve been digging, it’s time to make room (right beside the ammo, MREs, tools, yacht batteries, crank-powered shortwave radios and flashlights, water tablets, first aid kit, etc.) for your stash of DVDs that contain a copy of all the information you feel might be more difficult to come by after the New Hegemony has been in play for a while. You have been warned.

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(NOTE that the embedded video now says only,
“We’re sorry, this video is no longer available.”)

Says Peggy: “I won’t have to worry about putting gas in my car… I won’t have to worry about paying my mortgage… You know, if I help him, he’s gonna help me!”

Reiterated at Tito The Builder vs. Peggy Joseph (Danny Glover’s Blog):

“Peggy Joseph, a Barack Obama supporter, is but one recent example. She acknowledged to a reporter at a recent Obama rally that she is helping Obama because she expects a big return on her voting investment — in the form of car and mortgage payments and who knows what else.

But Tito (The Builder) Munoz did the math and said on “Hannity & Colmes” that he doesn’t want the 96 cents an hour he might gain from the government in exchange for his vote. He also realizes that government handouts are designed to keep the little guy little and coming back to the government for more.”

You get what you vote for; not what you’re promised.

It’s the morning after Election Day. Well, I didn’t wake up happy.

But here it is…

For the last 15 years, I have made my living as a Macintosh aficionado (or MacGeek, if you prefer) living in a world ruled by Windows. In fact, the domain name that this blog squats on comes from having been harassed daily by ‘Windows bigots’ who truly believe that if it didn’t come from Microsoft, it’s not a real computer.

To those of us who have fought those battles, this struggle has often been compared to a religious war, and sometimes — as a cultural divide.

When the protagonists on the MacOS side of the battle were at their most active peak, a group called the ‘MacEvanglists’ (initially organized by Guy Kawasaki) would combat the incorrect information provided, by default, to anyone within the long reach of Microsoft’s arms. You might have called us crusaders for a lost cause. Our logo (shown at the top of this post) was chosen by vote in an internal contest to represent us and our fight (I still wear three of those tshirts!).

But those battles are over — the war for acceptance was eventually won — not because of any particular skirmish; but because over time the establishment realized that we could all get along in this diverse market and be stronger for it. There are Linux servers in almost every basement in corporate America. There are Windows and Mac users living and computing side-by-side at adjoining desks, and browser-based applications mean less of an ongoing need to roll proprietary (single-plaftorm) tools out to staff.

And Microsoft came to realize that no matter how they fought, we were not going away.

Now that the war is over (the ‘real’ IT people still poke me in the ribs about my platform choice), it is a lot easier to exist in this Windows world; even though it wasn’t designed for me and my favorite OS. I still come to work every day to a place that is designed almost completely around Microsoft software. I haven’t quit my job to go work somewhere that has an all-Macintosh network.

Mostly because there is hardly anywhere to go that isn’t designed around Microsoft Windows.

But it’s telling — about why I’m not looking at travel brochures for Canada after yesterday’s election of an almost all-Leftist government. Though I truly believe that our government will be less like what the Founders intended, now that we have elected a Left-leaning President, a Left-leaning Congress, and have a decidedly Left-skewed judicial system — it’s still America.

There is hardly anywhere else to go — that has kept Lefty-thinking at bay.

So no, even though we may joke about finding a few acres up above the Canadian border — we are all likely to stay, and find a way to be productive citizens in this new environment.

Among the MacEvanglists, we often called Microsoft, ‘Big Brother’.

We referred to our choice of platform as ‘reason-based’ and Windows users’ choice as ‘following the crowd’ or ‘just doing what’s popular’.

We endured mocking, belittling, and blatantly unfair treatment from the IT service industry, the media, manufacturers, and Wall Street.

Lies and marginalization by Windows salespeople, ‘bigoted’ IT professionals, and armchair tech experts is just another day at the office.

Even now, Windows proponents arm themselves with numbers, white papers, and millions of marketing dollars to squash the impact of competing technologies (like software, programming languages, operating systems, and online services).

We became comfortable comparing the plight of our favorite operating system to the experience of a minority culture (see the MacEvangelist logo, above). Many of my friends smirked at my struggle in this — because, they hint, it’s good for a middle-aged white guy with a face for radio to ‘not have it so easy all the time’.

After a decade and a half, I no longer fear my plight. Hegemony continues to annoy and frustrate me — but cannot crush my will to continue being the stalwart Mac user. Every time a Windows user reboots, I tell my children, “See, those people think that daily reboots are normal, but since we only have to do it four or five times a year, we know that there is a better way to live than that…”

Maybe I’m more prepared to survive this troubling time than I’d thought.

But I don’t think that The New Hegemony is OK just because it comes with such a dazzling smile.

I’ll be updating this live through the night as information collects (newest scraps at the top)… keep an eye on the news in the left-hand column of my blog site, as well — those feeds were chosen for their accuracy, opinion based on solid research, and clear, concise writing.

1. Doug Ross adds illustrations to a simple piece of clarity by Thomas Sowell at National Review Online.
2. If you voted on anything in your state in addition to warm bodies to fill chairs yesterday, go to CNN.com to see the results.
3. Neil Stevens at RedState.com puts a seal on this drum for the evening:

   “Point one: There’s no need to start pointing fingers within the party. This election was on style, not substance. No faction’s to blame, and no policy is at fault. We know this because Obama won. He ran on no ideas at all.

   We all went into this together with the wrong idea. We just need to learn how to win again, rather than try to pin the loss on somebody. No, I don’t even blame John McCain and the mavericks like him.

   Point two: This isn’t the end of America. Our values are more resilient than Obama is strong. Our civil institutions are stronger than Obama is socalist. Our nation is greater than any one man, including the President. We will endure anything that happens under his Presidency.

   Point three: This is no time for ‘purging’ anyone. This it time for regrouping and winning again.

   Point four: 1980 didn’t come just because President Carter was that bad. It came because Republicans and conservatives worked hard, prepared for 1980, got a good candidate, and worked within the party for victory.

   Point five: 2010 comes before 2012. Let’s focus on getting 435 excellent candidates for the House, 33 excellent candidates for the Senate, and excellent candidates for Governor and state legislator.

   Point six: If you’re pushing a candidate for 2012 right now, you’re not to be taken seriously.”

4. “It’s a great day in America… I’ve been waiting so long to say that…” -a rather attractive, whimpering young lady being interviewed on camera in Indianapolis. All I can say, is that I have always been proud of what America used to stand for. Now, I have to trade that in so that you can finally feel good? This idea that one person cannot ‘win’ without taking something away from someone else is apparently a correct way to think when you are on the receiving end; this is the epitome of selfishness and amorality. This is the new, legitimized face of the victimhood that is America.
5. At least we won’t have as many riot issues since the evil old white guy didn’t win.
6. Pundits are extolling the virtues of the Great Obama — but, they say, he will ‘face great challenges because we are a divided nation’… LIKE HELL WE ARE. Saying that is to ignore the fact that Congress (Branch #1), the Judicial System (Branch #2) and the Oval Office (Branch #3) are all controlled now by Democrats — and the most extremely Left-leaning people we have seen in our generation. That’s not ‘divided’; just dangerously unstable.
7. Too tired to do anything but lay out clothes for tomorrow — will have to wait until the weekend to have time to start researching what the housing market is in Canada (j/k — I think). Hey, did we ever get any real evidence of Obama’s ‘natural born’ status as an American citizen? Last i heard, the judge didn’t say he was satisfied with Obama’s paperwork — only that a private citizen didn’t have the right to challenge Obama’s eligibility to be a candidate for the Presidency. So… who does have the right to question the legitimacy of this election? Oh… yeah… I forgot to spread the suspension of disbelief around…
8. Well, it took NBC to have the balls to ‘call it’ first — at 11PM Eastern, they say the election belongs to Obama. I expect it to take months, not years, before we find we cannot reverse the course of this country’s decline into meaninglessness. When a man promises to lean out of a blimp and throw other people’s money at you, when questioned all you can respond with is shallow platitudes and catch-phrases — despite the knowledge that you are believing in those fluttering dollars and a misguided glee that he is not ‘just another old white guy’ — the voter doesn’t care. Having one of the most liberal and untested talking heads in the country at the helm will indeed be remembered by history — but not in the way that the teaming masses are expecting. The phrase that used to mean ‘the rest will be easier’ has a whole new meaning today: It’s all downhill from here.
9. Did you notice that in races where the Democrats are winning, there are seldom reports of problems at polling locations? That must mean that when there are problems reported, it is due to us Republicans attempting to sabotage the votes of the Left.
10. A reminder from a month ago (check your pantry, keep your water clean and your powder dry):
    
    Oh, and THIS one from one of my favorite vloggers on the planet (I had to find it again for a buddy I was just IM’ing with):
    
11. More politicians who are openly averse to Capitalism are speaking out about how stupid you are for wanting to own property, and see personal gain in exchange for your hard work. Obama will be the fearless leader who marches us into a new age of Socialism; but he won’t do it alone. Watch how Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) explains that capitalism and property ownership is for small-minded people (h/t to MoonBattery.com):
12. If Obama wins, it’s not all bad news. Savor the silver lining. H/t to MichelleMalkin.com and MollyGood.com for this at Akon promises to leave the US if McCain is president:

    “If he [Obama] doesn’t get into office, I’m gonna change my citizenship. I’m moving back to Africa. You can hold me to that. I’m afraid to live there if he [McCain] is President. The decisions he makes scare me: he’s making selfish decisions, he’s doing whatever it takes to get into office.”

    
    MollyGood calls Akon ‘a faux thug who repeatedly assaults his concert-goers’ — if he is ‘missed’, it would only be due to his buddies’ poor aim.
13. CNN.com Election Center ’08 has a page up for mobile users at http://cnnec.mlogic.mobi/ that seems to work fine on the Blackberry and the iPhone.
14. Google has helpful page up that will help you find your polling location, and verify your registration: http://www.google.com/2008election/ We have found that it can be helpful to print out your voter registration verification so that poll workers don’t try to tell you that you’ve arrived at the wrong location. This has happened a lot (to me in previous years), and they can be shut up quickly by showing them that you looked it up in the last 24 hours.
15. McCain is (finally) taking action against the jerks who are trying to suppress military votes.

    “McCain campaign sues over overseas military ballots (HamptonRoads.com): Because many counties in Virginia failed to mail absentee ballots in time to our men and women in uniform stationed overseas, service members are being disenfranchised because they are unable to return their ballots before the November 4 deadline”

    
    Update: thanks for the news from MichelleMalkin.com — the military votes in Virginia will be counted!
16. Milwaukee police unit specializing in election fraud prevention told to “stay away” from polling places

    “A special Milwaukee, WI police unit that practically wrote the book on vote fraud and how to prevent it has been told not to go near polling locations today. … The report found that between 4,600 and 5,300 more votes were counted in Milwaukee than the number of voters recorded as having cast ballots. Absentee ballots were cast by people living elsewhere; ineligible felons not only voted but worked at the polls; transient college students cast improper votes; and homeless voters possibly voted more than once.”

17. I wore my Polling Location/Election Day button pin. It says: “LEAVE ME ALONE.” But this was the first election year when I didn’t have to ‘run the gauntlet’. There were a couple of people handing out brochures at the very back of the line; but after that no one tried to block my path to shake hands/kiss babies.
18. McCain-Palin Campaign Launches Honest and Open Election Hotline: 866-976-VOTE

    “ARLINGTON, VA — The McCain-Palin campaign launched the Honest and Open Election hotline to help citizens learn the location of their polling place, as well as report any instances of irregularities at the polls, including voter fraud, intimidation, violence and electioneering. … In 2004, multiple forms of voter fraud occurred, including voter intimidation, fraudulent registrations, multiple ballots cast and votes bought for money. Already during the 2008 election cycle, a dead woman in Missouri cast an absentee ballot, individuals were arrested for voting twice in Florida and people in Ohio registered and voted on the same day.”A

19. And this is why the Republicans didn’t think they could slip by with Mitt Romney at the top of the ticket: Pro-Same-Sex Marriage Mocking the Mormons (Moonbattery.com)

    “Liberals are very tolerant of diversity — within the ranks of privileged special interest groups that support their agenda. The rest of us are fair game for bigoted stereotypes. This ad opposed to a proposition to defend the concept of marriage from defilement in California goes after a favorite target, Mormons. The ad might be a little too subtle for moonbats. They should have had the Mormons abduct the lesbians’ adopted child and devour it alive while it wriggled and screamed.”

20. Have you seen Barack’s social network? Find out all about his friends and read up on his profile at BarackBook.com (OK, this is just a funny — but it’s a great way to illustrate that Obama’s ‘network’ matters.)
21. Sarah Palin has been exonerated at the eleventh hour — those who she has defeated politically in the past were able to keep suspicion of her character on the lips of millions; but were ultimately set aside by a judge.
22. Though the predictions of how the Electoral College will shake out have looked gloomy just days ago (311-to-160 in favor of Obama on 10/31), the numbers at http://rove.com/maps/overtime look more even, though it’s still an uphill battle: 338-200, still in favor of Obama.
23. Twitter users can follow and contribute to a feed about voter fraud and polling location trouble. There is also a nationwide map of all the reports.
25. Fairness Doctrine Watch: Schumer likens conservative opinion to pornography (MichelleMalkin.com):

    “Conservatives fear that forcing stations to make equal time for liberal talk radio would cut into profits so significantly that radio executives would opt to scale back on conservative radio programming to avoid escalating costs and interference from the FCC.”

26. Update: (RedState.com) This hasn’t been limited to a single polling location, nor apparently a single state. The video below shows the nightstick-wielding man from the FOX news report, and there have been reports of Black Panther wannabes intimidating voters from as far away as Tennessee.

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    Black Panther intimidation at the polls?; NBPP: “We will be at the polls in the cities and counties in many states to ensure that the enemy does not sabotage the black vote, which was won through the blood of the martyrs of our people” (MichelleMalkin.com)

    “We warn you, leave Barack Obama alone and leave our babies alone because black people are a spiritual people and a people who are trying to do right, and we will not hesitate to take up our legal rights of self-defense.”
    
    
    RICK LEVENTHAL: i do not even know where to begin, but we have reached a polling place in the city of philadelphia. one of the two black panthers who was allegedly blocking the door is standing right over here, with an accused us of intimidating voters because we were here with a camera and microphone. he did not answer questions, other people here have confirmed that another person in black panther attire was holding a night stick and apparently the concern was that they were intimidating people who were trying to go inside to vote. a republican poll observer actually called the police, the police were here and we miss them, they came and left. that person called the police is here. why don’t you tell us — step down off the curb, if you do not mind. what is going on here?

    CITIZEN: we got a phone call that there was intimidation going on. i walked up to the door, two gentlemen in black panther guard, one brandishing a nightstick, standing in front of the door. they closed ranks as i walked up. i am a veteran, that does not scare me. i went inside and found full- watchers, they said they had been here for an hour — i went inside and found poll-watchers, they said that they had said not to let people outside because black people are going to win no matter what. at that point, i spoke to him, we would not get into a fistfight, i said, and i called the police.

    LEVENTHAL: the person with the nightstick was escorted away, which i just confirmed inside. but the implication is that you were telling me that the black panthers were there to intimidate white voters from coming to this location?

    CITIZEN: anyone who is not going their way, i do not know. someone in front of a polling place with a nightstick, that is intimidating for all voters.

    LEVENTHAL: this is the first time i have heard of black panthers being stationed outside of a polling place. the one gentleman who is still here, he is a poll-watcher?

    CITIZEN: yes, and he can wear what he wants.

    LEVENTHAL: the other person was not allowed to be there with a nice that?

    CITIZEN: you cannot stand with a nightstick anywhere, that is a weapon. obviously, you cannot stand around with a weapon menacingly in your hand under any circumstances.

27. Flopping Aces reminds us of the Left — Obama’s America:

    “Today, my 6yr old little girl Katy got off the school bus ashamed and in tears. I ran out to see what was wrong, and she finally looked up at me, “Daddy, I got some bad news.”
    “What’s wrong? What happened? Are you hurt?”
    “No. The kids on bus #9 (pre-teen kids) said that if we vote for McCain they’re gonna drop bombs on our house and our cars and kill us tonight.”

    This is not fiction, exaggeration, or anything of the sort. This is Barack Obama’s America, a country where people who hear his message of unity go home and teach their kids intimidation and terror. My little girl has never ever ever come home from school with anything shy of an ear to ear smile. Most days she comes running off the bus with her arms wide open. Today, she was ashamed, scared, embarassed, and terrorized.

    I told Katy that I’d protect her (not a problem, but I won’t elaborate). I told her our German Shepard mutt and our Rottweiler mix mutt would protect her (they both patrol the house at night, so not a problem or exaggeration), and she was comforted. Some cookies, and she’s fine. That’s a 6yr old.

    The 39yr old daddy on the other hand is pissed off to no end. I don’t really think someone’s going to come bomb our house tonight. What pisses me off is that parents (be they Obama or McCain supporters themselves) would be so irresponsible, ignorant, and scared themselves so as to teach their kids political intimidation. That’s not American. That’s chickenshit. That’s a set of parents (if there are two) who are so paranoid that they can’t deal with reality themselves.

    Tomorrow’s a big day. As I’ve said before, I will vote for McCain, but I’ll be content with either for President. I’ll vote my way. You vote your way. That’s it. Once you are done, that’s it. You’re American again-not a Democrat or McCain supporter or whatever.

    Meanwhile, my little girl (who just got a perfect report card on Tuesday, and talk of being put in an advanced class because she’s teaching other kids) is not afraid. Yes, she cried, and was ashamed of that, and was embarassed, but after the cookies quelled the tears she told me that in their mock election, “I still voted for McCain, Daddy.” Kid’s not only the best reader in the class, but brave.

    Me? Well, I’m pissed, and I’m wondering, “If Sen Obama wins tomorrow, what will happen to my little girl at the hands of the other kids, and will all of America become ruled by those who believe power comes best from political intimidation.”

You get what you vote for. Not what you are promised.

Obama still says he is not a close friend of Ayers, the leader of the terrorist group that call themselves the Weather Underground.

And some people in this country believe him.

I’m not one of them.

I’m one of those people who believe that Obama is Ayers’ protege.

The Weather Underground Organization logo in 1975 on the left;
to the right, the Obama for President campaign logo in 2008.

Are you thinking that the Republican party should have nominated a ‘real conservative’? Lots of people over the years have lamented that John McCain has ‘played nice’ with legislators on the other side of the aisle too often. Though on-camera politicians often pat themselves on the back for ‘cooperating with their brothers on both sides’ — at Party meetings, they tear at each other like old bats around a pile of Cabbage Patch dolls for having done exactly that.

Many Conservative voters have expressed that until Sarah Palin was announced as McCain’s pick for VP, they didn’t feel he was grounded in beliefs and behavior that matched their own. After Palin’s selection, many of those people have said that Palin ‘drags McCain far enough to the right’ to ease their fears.

Let’s just say, for the sake of the argument, that there are still lots of people out there that still want to vote for Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, or someone else I don’t remember?

What if they feel so ‘cast aside’ by the Republican Party that Conservatives (or Libertarians) want to ‘stick it to the Man’ this election season?

What if there are lots of Conservative voters out there that don’t plan to vote at all this year?

What if many Libertarians that have no hope of getting the their candidate out of the gate still ‘vote for the little guy’ because they know that American needs to see their ‘token vote’ in the CNN exit polls?

What if these people feel so emotionally drawn to voting out of spite that they don’t stop to consider what might happen to the country while they throw their little tantrum?

If this is you, let me take a moment to do what I seldom do on my blog: call you an idiot. And a selfish one at that.

Will Libertarians Really Vote for Obama? (RedState.com)
Cavalier Libertarians Jump on Obama Bandwagon – But There’s Still Time to Climb Down

What Republicans Say about McCain-Palin (RoughlyDrafted.com – September 19th, 2008)

Conservatives Voting to Punish Republicans? (TheCommonConservative.com)
“Even though Republicans have let Conservatives down, consider the options first.”

David Frum: Forget McCain and stop Obama by saving the Senate (HotAir.com)

John McCain and the Rollover Republicans (Intellectual Conservative)
“The decision whether to insert plugs into nose and vote for a dishonest, arrogant elitist or hope to punish the Blue Republicans by voting for another, belongs to each individual.”

Punish the Republicans or Commit Social Suicide? (BlogsForJohnMcCain.com)

Now let me tell you what you, an ideological idiot, are going to risk for our country, while you are busy ‘protecting the honor of the Party’.

Let’s start looking at what America will be about when Obama becomes our President:

• A three-branch system of government (Executive, Legislative, Judicial) that no longer provides the same checks and balances that our current, sluggish, argumentative method has relied on for decades. The fact that Obama voted with his Party 97% of the time was neatly set aside by the press (while they were busy reporting on how closely aligned McCain and Bush are supposed to be) is telling — Obama isn’t after change from government-as-usual; he’s just after the chance to sell it to you better. Now that a majority of Congress and the Supreme Court will be on his side, there will be no restraints on federal behavior.

  A Liberal Supermajority (WSJ.com)
  “Though we doubt most Americans realize it, this would be one of the most profound political and ideological shifts in U.S. history. Liberals would dominate the entire government in a way they haven’t since 1965, or 1933. In other words, the election would mark the restoration of the activist government that fell out of public favor in the 1970s. If the U.S. really is entering a period of unchecked left-wing ascendancy, Americans at least ought to understand what they will be getting, especially with the media cheering it all on.”

• Fostering Americans’ belief that success can be measured in entitlements:

  Obama’s women reveal his secret (Asia Times)
  “Be afraid – be very afraid. America is at a low point in its fortunes, and feeling sorry for itself. When Barack utters the word “hope”, they instead hear, “handout”. A cynic might translate the national motto, E pluribus unum, as “something for nothing”. Now that the stock market and the housing market have failed to give Americans something for nothing, they want something for nothing from the government.”

• Teaching Americans that cheating the system is the new ‘system’; the tone of respect and decorum known 50 years ago has been waning during our generation — but not until now will expectations of honor have been completely discarded.

  VOTE FRAUD ALERT: Obama & ACORN Fact Sheet (FreeRepublic.com)
  “Board employees said ACORN workers often handed in the same name on a number of voter registration cards, but showing that person living at different addresses. Other times, cards had the same name listed, but a different date of birth. Still another sign of possible fraud showed a number of people living at an address that turned out to be a restaurant. … Board employees are unsure how many of the cards are fraudulent. But the voter registration department received so many suspicious cards that …”

• Knowing the the Second Amendment will mean less and less as gun ownership rights are whittled away, and police agencies are allowed to track which citizen owns which firearm — so that removing them from us becomes as easy as checking them off the list, one at a time:

  Obama’s Stance on the Second Amendment Explained
  “The Obama I know sees you, the law abiding gun owner, as nothing but a low-class lummox who is easily swayed by the flash of a smile and a ration of rosy rhetoric. The Obama I know is a stony-faced liar who has honed his skill at getting what he wants – so long as people are willing to give it to him.”

• Freedom of the Press becomes freedom of some of the press. Two words: ‘Fairness Doctrine’.

  What does it look like when the State controls the airwaves? America becomes the new Cuba with the Fairness Doctrine. (MacBigot.com)
  “Just another perk America will enjoy when there are no more checks and balances among the Senate, House, and Oval Office — when both are on the same side of the political fence.”

• The Democrats are ‘teaching’ American soldiers that if they want their vote to count, they better make sure that they aren’t fighting a war that the Left is not backing — because there are politicians willing to go against judicial opinions to keep military votes from being counted.

  Military Votes Being Tossed Again (Black-and-Right.com)
  “”We support the troops” except when they vote Republican. That would appear to be the pattern again this presidential election, last perfected in 2000, and resurrected in 2008… Fairfax County Registrar Rokey Suleman is disqualifying an overwhelming majority of the military federal write-in absentee ballots received in his county on the basis that no address had been given for those witnessing the voter signatures on the ballots. According to Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity and four former members of the military who held a press conference on Thursday, over 98 percent of these military absentee ballots in Fairfax County are being rejected.”

• Israel’s status as a friend and ally won’t just be questioned — it will be discarded.

  It’s official: Jesse Jackson says ‘Zionists who control America’ can kiss Israel goodbye if Obama elected (Doug Ross)
  “…promised “fundamental changes” in US foreign policy – saying America must “heal wounds” it has caused to other nations, revive its alliances and apologize for the “arrogance of the Bush administration.” The most important change would occur in the Middle East, where “decades of putting Israel’s interests first” would end. … Zionists who have controlled American policy for decades…”

• The fight against Socialism, Marxism, and yes, even Communism will have been lost by those who have become so blinded by the sales pitch of the power-hungry that they will not see the damage done to Capitalism, Conservatism and Democracy until they have handed them over to their new jailer in total.

  Americans who lived under Communism support McCain (Doug Ross)
  “Americans who lived under Communism have strong feelings about this election: Cuban-Americans, Russian-Americans“

• Americans living abroad and citizens of nations friendly to the U.S. will see their plight deteriorate.

  “Iraqis vocally oppose Barack Obama
  More than three quarters of U.S. citizens living in Israel support John McCain
  A clear majority of Georgians, who have experienced communism firsthand, support McCain“

• Citizens who cry foul over increased taxation will be attacked in the public forum, by ‘Truth Squads’ who pretend to display a groundswell of public opinion — but who actually perform as the ‘thought police’ of our generation.

  Obama on low taxes: “Selfishness” (HotAir.com)
  “After telling Joe the Plumber in Ohio that he wants government to “spread the wealth,” Obama told Floridians that opposition to such policies amounted to “selfishness” … Those who earn the money want to direct it in the manner they see fit, in the most efficient manner possible. That’s not selfish, it’s just common sense. Only someone in love with government power could see it as anything else.”

• Americans will have placed their trust in a Man instead of in their country, in a persona rather than the American Concept

  Confessions of an Open Minded Conservative: “The One” turned out to be just another one (RedState.com)
  “No, Barack Obama is not the savior of America or American politics. He is not a new Democrat. Those glimpses you have seen during off-the-cuff comments by Obama, Joe Biden, Barney Frank, et al are not just rhetorical flourishes and misunderstandings, they are glimpses of the future–of the type of liberal policies that Republicans once created bogeymen around. Wealth redistribution, military cuts during a time of war, cow-towing to the UN and our enemies. Far from being “The One,” Barack Obama is just another one and maybe the worst one of them all.”

• America’s financial stability, and the way it is reported to citizens and the world, will be the responsibility of the government, not the free press and free market. And for self-preservation, the government will finally and successfully hide the truth (and suspend the rights) from the people.

  They are responsible for the mortgage banking crisis; and now are trying to blame the banks, and the Republicans — both who tried to avoid these risks. They ridiculed Republicans for trying to limit the damage. And it is up to us to ensure that no one forgets their names. (MacBigot.com)
  [watch video]

• Industries that are not follow the Party Plan will suffer a quick death by being forced out of the market by way of legislation designed to ‘protect’ the environment from us — despite the science now clearly showing that man-made global warming is and has always been a farce.

  Obama tells San Francisco he will bankrupt the coal industry (NakedEmperorNews.com)
  “So if somebody wants to build a coal power plant they can; it’s just that it will bankrupt them a huge sum because they’re going to be charged for all that greenhouse gas that’s being emitted.” [See a longer transcript at RedState.com]

• While economic problems will continue on a grand scale for generations, the government will continue to ramp up the load on taxpayers to fund the Wizard behind the Curtain.

  Obama spent nearly $700,000 for stage, lights in Berlin (WashingtonTimes.com)
  [To be followed by a blame-game about the $150,000 wardrobe for Sarah Palin]

• Whether it’s because he feels compelled to be the tool of the Left’s victim-based delirium, or if his real allegiance is to America’s foes — Obama’s administration will immediately begin steps to dismantle the structure that protect Americans both within and outside our borders.

  Reasons to vote for McCain; reasons to vote against Obama (RightWingNews.com)
  “…at a time when America is disliked by her friends and loathed by her foes, [Obama] wishes to slash the military. He seems to be clueless that, in the real world, you first get people to become your allies, and only then do you lower your defenses. … McCain understands that the best defense is the promise that, should anyone attack you, you can and will go powerfully on the offensive. … I have to say that I find it amusing that all the good liberals at my martial arts dojo, the ones who are desperate to unilaterally disarm America, are assiduously training themselves to be strong in case of an unexpected personal attack on the street. It baffles me that they can recognize at a personal level that the strength and training they’re developing will not turn them into killing machines, but merely keep them safe; but are unable to extend that basic principle to a national standard.”

• America will become ‘just another country’ after having completely forgotten the history of our nation and our world — all from placing our hopes on one man.

  Hitler Runs for President (HistoryPlace.com)
  “[The candidate] criss-crossed [the country] in an airplane, descending from the clouds into the arms of growing numbers of fanatics, at ever larger rallies. He gave them a positive message, promising something for everyone, then ascended back into the clouds. … The campaign for president continued with the [Party] mounting another furious campaign effort with Hitler making several campaign stops a day. … Berlin was now a swirling mess of fear, intrigue, rumors, and disorder.”

  We could keep this up all day; but I’ll finish with someone else’s list that doesn’t mirror my own but covers a lot of ground:

  “A. The Bush Tax cuts will be rolled back and you will be paying a higher tax rate nomatter what you make! This will kill jobs and send other ones overseas to make things cheaper and to sell their products to other markets because this country will go broke.

  B. Social Security will just become another tax. You will pay into it and get nothing out of it when it comes time to retire. If you Depend on Social Security for a living now they will tell you Sorry We don’t have any money to give you.

  C. Your 401 K will be taxed. Barney Frank wants part of your retirement fund!

  D. Banks will become nationalized! And if you make any money on stocks if you have them and they are still worth something your going to get hit with high capital gaines taxes. Inflation will be high and intrest rates.

  E. They will cut the defense Budget by 25% while we have troops in harms way!

  F. National Healthcare for everyone that will help bankrupt this country. Just wait till you get sick and you need a test urgently and they tell you that you will have to wait 6 months to a year to get it.

  G. Acorn will be the national Registors for voter Registration.

  H. A Planned Parenthood comming to a corner near you ! Plus they will be put into our schools to teach Sex education to our kids.

  I.Your Second Amendment will go away.

  J.Your first Amendment will be limited.

  K. After all the money is gone the jobs we will all be in a soup line like back in the 30′s.

  L. Terrorists will be able to attack us because we have no way to defend ourselves.

  M. Crime will be rampant.” (Thanks to David S. at RedState.com)

H/t to GOPMom for this one that I hadn’t seen yet:

DATE: October 27, 2008
TO: All Employees, Office and Shop:
FROM: Your Employer and Co-Worker

It has been requested by a number of you that you be allowed to take a vacation day, sick day or personal day so as to volunteer for service to a presidential campaign on Tuesday, November 4th. I am willing to allow it if you notify me by 3:00pm Friday, October 31. Because I believe in freedom and service, I will not deduct from anyone’s sick, vacation or personal days, if you can provide on letterhead a letter from a Presidential campaign verifying that you put in at least 7 hours of service on November 4th, the same number of hours you would have worked if you were here. Please submit letters to payroll by November 10th.

However, please keep in mind that this company, which employs you, provides education reimbursements and pays for all health insurance premiums for all of you and your families stands to see a significant increase in its tax rates, should a certain candidate win the presidential election. If this should happen, please be aware that two of you will lose your jobs, as I will be forced to hire my three children to replace you, so as to continue to be able to afford to save for and send them to college.

This may seem unfair but I have spent over twenty years building and expanding this business and I have all my personal “wealth” tied up in it. If the business does well, I do well and you do well. If the business fails, I’m left with nothing and you have no job. You have all been admirable and hardworking employees and it will be sad to see two of you go, especially since not one of you has been here less that 6 years. But family is family. I did not work this hard only to see my kids struggle as I did. I know you feel the same way about yours. It will be a difficult decision but should be made easier based on the name at the top of the letterhead you submit for proof of volunteer service.

Like other similar stories floating around the ‘net, this may not be an actual letter from an real business owner; the value of the story is to those voters will not consider how their vote may impact their bottom line, just because — as Obama repeatedly points out — most people don’t make enough money to see a direct impact financially.

But it will impact many bosses, business owners, vendors, suppliers, and services that we all depend on every day.

You get what you vote for. Not what you’re promised.

“I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil… therefore choose life. -Deut. 30:15″

John McCain pledges support for protecting innocent life in speech to NRLC Convention:

‘IN THEIR OWN WORDS: John McCain’s speech to National Right to Life’

More than 200 years ago, our nation’s founders declared that we are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, and that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It was no accident that they cited life as the first and most basic right, for without recognition of the right to life, we are not guaranteed any other rights. Sometimes all wisdom asks of us is that we recognize common sense. But sometimes wisdom, as to all other virtues, requires courage.

“Wisdom suggests that we should be willing to give an unborn child the same chance that our parents gave us. But it takes courage in this political climate to insist on the protection of unborn children, who can’t vote, have no voice, and can’t reward you with support and donations. Wisdom suggests that when federal judges impose their social views on the citizens of every state, the result is going to distort our politics in harmful ways. But it takes courage to insist that the courts have to return to their proper role.

“I will look for accomplished men and women with a proven record of excellence in the law and a proven commitment to strictly interpreting the Constitution of the United States. I will look for people in the cast of John Roberts, Sam Alito, my friend the late William Rehnquist — jurists of the highest caliber who know their own minds, and know the law, and know the difference.”

Barack Obama promises Planned Parenthood Convention that he will overturn all pro-life laws by signing FOCA as his first Presidential act!

“‘IN THEIR OWN WORDS: Barack Obama’s speech to Planned Parenthood’

Some people argue that the federal ban on abortion was just an isolated effort aimed at one medical procedure — that it’s not part of a concerted effort to steadily roll back the hard-won rights of American women. That presumption is also wrong. Within hours of the decision, an Alabama lawmaker introduced a measure to ban all abortions. With one more vacancy on the court, we could be looking at a majority hostile to a woman’s fundamental right to choose for the first time since Roe vs. Wade, and that is what is at stake in this election.

“The only thing more disturbing than the decision was the rationale of the majority. Without any hard evidence, Justice Kennedy proclaimed, ‘It is self-evident that a woman would regret her choice.’ He cited medical uncertainty about the need to protect the health of pregnant women, even though the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists found no such uncertainty. Justice Kennedy knows many things; my understanding is he does not know how to be a doctor.

“He dismissed as mere preferences the reasoned judgment of the nation’s doctors. As we’ve seen time after time these last few years when the president says otherwise, when the science is inconvenient, when the facts don’t match up with the ideology, they are cast aside. Well, it’s time for us to change that. It is time for a different attitude in the White House. It is time for a different attitude in the Supreme Court. It is time to turn the page and write a new chapter in American history.

“We know that five men don’t know better than women and their doctors what’s best for a woman’s health. We know that it’s about whether or not women have equal rights under the law. We know that a woman’s right to make a decision about how many children to have and when — without government interference — is one of the most fundamental freedoms we have in this country. We also know that there was another voice that came from the bench — a voice clear in reasoning and passionate in dissent. A voice rejected what she called, quote ‘Ancient notions of women’s place in the family and under the Constitution, ideas that have long been discredited.’ One commentator called the decision in Gonzales, ‘An attack on Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s entire life’s work.’ And it was. But we heard Justice Ginsburg and we know what she was saying. She was saying, ‘We’ve been there before and we are not going back. We refuse to go back.’

“We know it’s not just one decision. It’s the blow dealt to equal pay in the Ledbetter [v. Goodyear] case. It’s the blow dealt to integration in the school desegregation case. It’s an approach to the law that favors the powerful over the powerless — that holds up a flawed ideology over the rights of the individual. We don’t see America in these decisions — that’s not who we are as a people. We’re a country founded on the principle of equality and freedom. We’re the country that’s fought generation after generation to steadily extend that equality to the many not restrict it to the few. We’ve been there before and we’re not going back.

“I have worked on these issues for decades now. I put Roe at the center of my lesson plan on reproductive freedom when I taught constitutional law — not simply as a case about privacy but as part of the broader struggle for women’s equality. Steve and Pam will tell you that we fought together in the Illinois state Senate against restrictive choice legislation — laws just like the federal [partial-birth] abortion ban that are cropping up. I’ve stood up for the freedom of choice in the United States Senate and I stand by my votes against the confirmation of Judge Roberts and Samuel Alito.

“So, you know where I stand. But this is more than just about standing our ground. It must be about more than protecting the gains of the past. We’re at a crossroads right now in America — and we have to move this country forward. This election is not just about playing defense, it’s also about playing offense. It’s not just about defending what is, it’s about creating what might be in this country. And that’s what we’ve got to work together on.

“There will always be people, many of goodwill, who do not share my view on the issue of choice. On this fundamental issue, I will not yield and Planned Parenthood will not yield…. [T]he first thing I’d do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That’s the first thing that I’d do…. That’s why I think it’s important for us obviously to get not only a Democratic White House as well as a stronger Congress to protect these rights.”

H/t to Rob Bluey for passing along this viral email story:

“In a local restaurant my server had on a “Obama 08″ tie… so when the bill came I decided not to tip the server and explained to him that I was exploring the Obama redistribution of wealth concept.

He stood there in disbelief while I told him that I was going to redistribute his tip to someone who I deemed more in need – the homeless guy outside. The server angrily stormed away without a word.

I went outside, gave the homeless guy $10 and told him to thank the server inside as I’ve decided he could use the money more. The homeless guy was grateful.

At the end of my rather unscientific redistribution experiment I realized the homeless guy was grateful for the money he did not earn, but the waiter was pretty angry that I gave away the money he did earn even though the actual recipient deserved money more.

I guess redistribution of wealth is an easier thing to swallow in concept than in practical application.”

What I’d like to know is how Obama and his ilk think they will be welcome at the restaurant — or anywhere else — after treating the producers in this country like that

Perhaps that’s why most Democrats also like to fight against our 2nd Amendment rights; they know that eventually, there won’t be any restaurants that will serve them willingly, and they’ll have to get their way by brute force.

Too late, many people will wish they had gotten off the couch and voted in the General Election.