While it’s still pretty early in the game and a lot will unfold between now and November 2016, I can’t help but think that Condi Rice would make an outstanding candidate, and quite possibly an excellent President. She has terrific experience – Secretary of State 2005-2009; National Security Advisor 2001-2005; Provost of Stanford University 1993-1999; current Faculty Member in the School of Business at Stanford; and huge NFL fan (that last one is my favorite). She comes from humble beginnings, grew up in the segregated South, and in my opinion is a sensible, self aware, pragmatic conservative and from everything I have heard and read from Condi, she articulates the conservative message quite well. So not only is she a viable conservative candidate, she can completely disarm the Democrats emotional issues of gender, race and class.

Ted Kennedy once said, “a fight not joined, is a fight not enjoyed”, and I would love to join the fight and fight fire with fire this time around with the Progressives. Let the progressive try and play the “war on women” card against her, or the race card, and let her respond in a way that only she can, and as she did in her 2012 speech to the Republican National Convention:

“And on a personal note– a little girl grows up in Jim Crow Birmingham – the most segregated big city in America – her parents can’t take her to a movie theater or a restaurant – but they make her believe that even though she can’t have a hamburger at the Woolworth’s lunch counter – she can be President of the United States and she becomes the Secretary of State. Yes, America has a way of making the impossible seem inevitable in retrospect.  But of course it has never been inevitable – it has taken leadership, courage and an unwavering faith in our values.”

I am hoping that a ground swell of support will encourage Condi to enter the race, and small signs of that are there as she begins to attend fund raisers and give speeches to appreciative audiences. And since I am in pure speculation mode here, let me throw this name out as her VP candidate. Blue State Governor Scott Walker.

Today is the 69th anniversary of the start of the Battle of the Bulge.  Hitler’s last – and monumentally stupid – last gamble for victory in the Second World War…but showing that even an idiot, cornered, can still cause grief.  We lost 19,500 dead in five weeks of battle.  We lost 4,486 over the 9 years of the Iraq campaign.  Some times, it does seem like we’re living in a different country.  That we simply don’t have the courage and the leadership we once had.  Its not that anyone is stupider – or more or less likely to make mistakes (the Battle of the Bulge was so costly mostly because of American mistakes, after all) – but that we don’t have the grit and determination to carry a thing to a conclusion.  I wonder, given our current leadership (and this is not a slam at Obama, per se; he’ll be gone in the by and by – this is a concern about the whole lot of them, military and civilian from top to bottom) if we ever can or will fight a battle to a finish?

Looks like we might be partnering up with al-Qaeda in Syria.  More of that “smart diplomacy”.

Spanish government, faced with protests, proposes anti-protest law.  That will work well.

A judge has ruled that NSA spying violates the 4th Amendment.  Obama, if he were reached for comment, would say, “who cares?”.  Its not like he’s obeying any of those tiresome, old amendments anyways.

Slow-witted, hack Democrat woman Senator endorses equally slow-witted, hack Democrat woman for President.

The President still hasn’t signed up for ObamaCare.

Hope you are all having an excellent Holiday season – as for me, I’m enjoying Christmas time.

There is nothing Obama has said about ObamaCare which is either relevant or true.  He was lying about it when he campaigned in 2008; lied about it to get it passed in 2010; lied about it, again, when he campaigned in 2012.  He’s lying about it today.  From all appearances, he’ll never stop lying about it.  This is rather astounding – he could still get 90% of what he wants if he’ll just allow some of the worst aspects of it to be lopped off and/or reformed.  But he won’t allow that – his rhetoric that he’s willing to accept suggestions from the opposition is just more lies.  Anyone with even a bit of political skill and sense could salvage ObamaCare and them move on.  More and more, I’m just convinced that Obama is stupid.

Some people are getting a bit worried about the number of senior officers in the armed forces that Obama has forced out.  Dark visions of oppression are starting to sprout.  I wouldn’t go that way, if I were you:  Obama just wants generals and admirals who will obey his liberal stupidity…some generals and admirals were unwilling, and so they got the boot.  The main thing to remember about this is that our senior military ranks are ever more populated with officers who will agree to any stupid, old thing in order to get another star on their shoulder.  Should we win in 2017, we’ll have to ensure that the new President clears out this careerist deadwood which is taking over the military.

And, yes, Obama’s military bureaucrats are harassing Christians in the military – but this is really no different than what Obama’s IRS did.  Its not part of a grand conspiracy – its just liberals being their little, fascist selves…with the added “benefit” that in the military, the troops gotta obey.  Makes it easier for asinine things to get done faster.

I’ve been having an argument with some fellow conservatives over at a different message board and I’m a bit perplexed – am I really the only conservative out there who realizes that as long as we’re tagged with defending the rich, we’re never going to win sufficient power to change things?  Remember, liberals have got us in the minds of low info voters as being the people who defend the likes of George Soros, even though Soros is a money-bags for the left.  We have to break away from that – and we can only do it in the minds of low info voters by attacking some of the rich: that species of rich (like Soros) who don’t make money by producing worthwhile goods and services, but by manipulating our corrupt, controlled financial markets.  Arguing for tax cuts and cuts in government is all well and good – but it won’t get us much support in a nation where less than half pays income taxes and more than half gets some sort of government benefit…we’ve got to show the people that a corrupt alliance of Big Government and Big Corporation is robbing us blind for the benefit of the liberal governing class and liberal financial sharks like Soros.

Anyone argue with a liberal lately?  I got in to a Twitter argument and it came out that the liberal really, honestly felt he was helping the poor by paying his taxes.  This came out when I made the Tweet:  “want to help the poor? Ok, there’s a Catholic Charities near  you”, and then provided a link for Catholic Charities USA.  The guy got a bit miffed with me – he pays his taxes and that helps the poor plenty so he doesn’t have to go and help the poor.  It is a very weird mindset – but it does explain a lot. All you have to do is pay your taxes and you’ve discharged your duty to your brothers and sisters…

Discuss whatever you wish!

Just some politically conservative observations from a right wing extremist for us to discuss this weekend:

– I think Friday’s IRS revelations could potentially be very harmful to the White House. When this story broke, the administration was hoping to convince people that it was the result of just a couple of rogue agents in the Cincinnati office. Friday, it was revealed that this story now goes all the way to William Wilkins desk – an Obama political appointee and only one of two appointees in the IRS.

– I think the bankruptcy filing by Detroit should be a wake up call for all Americans regardless of your political stripe. Just 50 years ago, Detroit had the highest per capita income, the strongest manufacturing base and was arguably the model city for America, but now it is bankrupt and it is not the only municipality to file for bankruptcy, it just happens to be the largest so far. Detroit has over $18 billion in liabilities and when they began to lose some of their economic base, the model became unsustainable. Period. Now while the powers to be argue over the legality of the filing, the fact remains that Detroit is broke, aided by over promising, over spending, mismanagement and corruption all by the elected officials, and that is a sober fact that all citizens should be outraged over.

– I think the George Zimmerman case has exposed a very distasteful element in our culture and our media, and one that needs to be resolved if we are ever to “progress” as a society. I am not discounting the fact there are still some remnants of racism, but let’s not forget that those remnants are found on both sides of the political aisle, and both sides of the racial aisle. Interestingly enough, I think Booker T. Washington gave us all food for thought over 100 years ago when he said:

“There is a class of colored people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to lose their jobs. There is a certain class of race-problem solvers who don’t want the patient to get well.”

I think that “class of people” can also include many white people, who are forever trying to show their compassion by over looking so many “real” issues that plague the black community; namely out of wedlock births and the perpetual mindset of victimhood, of which Larry Elder had the courage to confront.

As a society, we have to confront some real hard truths if we are to move this nation forward in a positive direction and that will require all of us growing a thicker skin. We have to call out corrupt and incompetent politicians, we have to quit thinking in terms of who did what, and who said what, and start thinking in terms of identifying the problem and finding solutions, and when things aren’t going well, we have to lay down our political and economical biases, and  think of a new direction which is grounded in the Constitution. Unless and until we can stop the over emotional reaction to every thing that happens, and begin to approach the nations issues with clear eyes, we are destroying this great country that was given to us.

On a final note, while I didn’t care for her reporting or her politics, RIP Helen Thomas.

I was thinking about writing something on the Zimmerman trial, but there’s really not much to be said.  Low information people who actually fell for the narrative simply can’t be changed in their views – facts and logic are meaningless to them (which explains why they voted for Obama, twice).  Those of us who do pay attention to facts and logic are merely pleased that a gigantic miscarriage of justice was avoided – though we are disgusted with the government, from Obama on down, about how they tried to railroad an innocent man for partisan, political purposes.

Still, this is likely to be the topic of conversation for a few days, so this open thread will be the place to do it – after that, we can get back to the real issues of the NSA, IRS, Fast and Furious, Benghazi, the collapsing global economy, the messes in Egypt and Syria…you know, all the stuff the Zimmerman trial was supposed to distract us from.

The “war on women” hoax the Democrats successfully pulled on the GOP last year and to which the brain trust of the GOP has been unable to find an answer to, can be easily combated in two very simple ripostes.

1. The Life of Julia – which really was an embarrassing admission by the Obama regime and the DNC that they believe women are incapable of living a successful life on their own without the help of government. Because obviously they are too frail and the men in their life are either incapable or unwilling of providing any help or would prefer not to have anything to do with them at all, to whom the DNC gives a free pass to, and of which leads us to:

2. Abortion – Why do progressives, the DNC and the Obama regime give a free pass to men – everywhere. Why does the left support the ability of a man to knock up any chick he wants without any responsibility. Why does the left only see that as a woman’s problem? Why will they not hold men accountable? To me, that is the real war on women. Too bad so sad honey, looks like you’ll have to kill your child. Wish there was someone else to help you out with this, but your pregnancy is YOUR PROBLEM!

This is the real war on women and if the GOP had a spine, they would let the women know without any ambiguity that the Democrats think they are incapable of carving out a successful life of their own without government assistance, and that if some guy gets them pregnant, well then that’s their problem. Really warms your heart doesn’t it?

In an unrelated topic – we now know that “creepy ass cracker” is not a racial slur, and bears no mention in the media. However, what Paula Dean mentioned in private company over ten years ago, should cost her career. This according to the language police and high minded social watchdogs. Also, when Jamie Foxx was promoting his movie “Django Unchained” he enthusiastically stated that his character in the movie got to “kill all the white people” to which there was uproarious laughter.

This is a surreal progressive universe we are currently in folks and we had better find a way back soon.

Certainly not a shortage of issues to discuss or make fun of:

1. Is climate change the global threat of our time?

2. Is Hillary the most qualified Democrat for POTUS?

3. Do IRS employees deserve $50 million in bonuses?

4. Will Bernanke stop the presses and will the last mirage of a good economy stop with it?

5. Why does Jay Z win awards for saying the N word and Paula Dean gets fired?

6. Will there be any intelligent analysis of the Farm Bill?

7. Do Democrats still care about ethics and honesty?

Feel free to add your own and have a great Sunday

I have to say that this new age of civility at B4V has me all a flutter. There were some very good comments and discourse in the previous thread, so it is possible to post respectful comments and not be offended by those we disagree with. However there was one casualty – LOL.

Lot’s of issues to comment on, so pick your favorite and let us know how you feel about it. The one that caught my attention this morning was the riot in Sweden. Often touted as a liberal paradise, it seems that the NON natives are now restless. Do you suppose that we will ever be able to convince progressives that legislating “fairness” is impossible? Based on the recent post from the DailyKos – I would say not –

..[T]he ideals of the Republican party reflect tribalism, selfishness, and zero-sum games, while the Democratic party’s reflect unity, humility, and leaving a better world to our descendents… …[T]here really is no room for Republicans in the world we are living in. So long as the people in this country are facing unpredictable, deadly, natural as well as man-made disasters, medical care that needs to be provided, life-altering climate change that needs to be managed, and the turmoil that comes with living paycheck to paycheck, Republicans and their supporters are dead weight to the rest of us…But then, there’s no denying that Republicans are also a demographic of the people with whom we need to plan on sharing this better world, because they are likely not going to change their ways anytime soon. The best we can do is get them out of the way, as in out of our government…

Think about the statement for a moment. The “reflection” of unity, humility and leaving the world in a better place is how this poster sees the Democratic Party. Not for the results the policies actually produce, but simply for the “feel good” intent. That is a dangerously educated person that is currently walking our streets and voting.

Take a moment this weekend to say a prayer of thanks to our veterans that have given the ultimate sacrifice in protecting this greatest nation on God’s green earth, and I hope you all have a fun filled weekend.

There is so much going on that a dedicated thread just seems inadequate. A couple of things on my mind – the other night Bill Maher and Michael Moore claimed that the GOP is committing borderline treason for obstructing Obama’s agenda. Apparently escalating debt, a shrinking work force, and higher taxes are patriotic. Who knew? The major media is back in cover mode for the regime after a brief brush with faux outrage. Chris Matthews and David Corn claimed that the continued investigations just proves that the GOP is pandering to their racist base. But I think the best example of journalism mal practice came from Martin Bashir when he pointed out that the head of the IRS during the time of the unethical inquiries was appointed by Bush – meaning of course that this is again Bush’s fault. To which I will gleefully remind him that the head of the CIA at the time of 9/11 was appointed by Clinton – so 9/11 is Clinton’s fault right?

Discuss these and other topics amongst yourselves – be civil and pithy.