Here it is: "Building a Religion before it gets completely censored by YouTube.
H'tip to Glenn and CakeSecret.

House GOP leaders stuck to the status quo and gave the open seat on the Appropriations Committee to Alabama's Jo Bonner instead of Jeff Flake. Anyone unfamillar with Rep. Flake's dislike for earmarks can read up on him here. As the WSJ points out, Rep. Bonner had less seniority that Rep. Flake ( 3 terms compared to 4) and seems comfortable with the growth in earmarks over the past few years.

In a study of 50 votes to strike earmarks from bills, Rep. Bonner voted against all but one. In contrast, Rep. Flake voted to get rid all 50 of them.
Among the earmarks Mr. Bonner voted to keep were the Charles Rangel Center for Public Service ($200,000) at City College of New York, a fake prison in Kansas ($100,000), and $150,000 for the American Ballet Theater in New York City.
Its hard to win a battle over earmarks when you keep shooting yourself in the foot.

Some Random thoughts on Romney.
Ann Coulter's quasi endorsement of Mitt Romney for President inspired me to think about Mitt's favorable attributes. Ann didn't exactly endorse Mitt as she dismissed all the other candidates. This is not an endorsement.
General Election Mitt:

• takes away any Democrats' absolute moral authority on healthcare. 95% of voters won't know anything about his Massachusetts Plan but that he got it done in Massachusetts and it appears to be working.
• He wins the values and family issues hands down. The Clinton,Obama,or Edwards campaigns don't want to fight that fight. Squeaky clean Mitt, the consummate family man with stables of family verses Hill and Bill's Wild Ride, adolescent pot smoking, and rumors of cheating on a cancer-stricken wife. It didn't hurt W. in 2000 that Bill presided over one of the most amoral presidencies of the 20th century. It will help Mitt.
• is stuck with his campaign promises. As Peggy Noonan put it, "everybody has the right to change their mind once." Romney has once and therefore he is now painted into a corner on abortion. Due to his campaign rhetoric, he has no room to back away from supporting Pro-life issues and taking a strong stance on illegal immigration. During the general watch the 527s come out and paint Mitt as anti-choice. There is no better way to endear yourself to the conservative community than to be attacked by the likes of NARAL.
• becomes the political version of Lee Iaccoca. The competent JD/MBA grad with a history of turnarounds ( Olympics, Bain, and various business ventures). He also refused to give up on the possibility of jobs returning to Michigan and the voters rewarded him. Replace Michigan with the entire U.S. (high taxes, job loss, and failing industries) and Mitt is the man for CEO of the United States.

I received my "Sessions" bumper sticker today.
Senator Jeff Sessions, R-Alabama, is up for election this fall and his campaign is staging a Bumper Sticker Blitz on January 19. Supporters are encouraged to adorn their cars with "Sessions" bumper stickers this Saturday. At this time, stickers are only available to Alabama residents. You won't get your sticker in time for the blitz but you can still request them here. Come on folks, let's show support for the Senator who lead the fight against the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007, or Amnesty bill last spring and as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee is a leader in the fight to get conservative judges like John Roberts and Samuel Alito confirmed.

An email I received concerning the South Carolina Primary from South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint contains the following passage:

"Washington experience is the problem, not the solution. We cannot afford to have a President who has fought for amnesty for illegal immigrates, voted against the Bush Tax Cuts, and curtailed our First Amendment rights in the ill-conceived campaign finance legislation. I urge you to watch this video about the qualities I believe our next President must possess in order to revive the Reagan Coalition. We've come a long way since 1994. But all of our hard work will be in vain if we fail to make the right decision in the voting both this Saturday."

Doesn't take a genius to figure out that DeMint is not supporting his Senate colleague,John McCain. Kinda makes me wonder how many Republican Senators are supporting Senator McCain? Amnesty proponent Lindsey Graham doesn't count and neither does Independent-Democrat Joe Lieberman. By the way, Senator DeMint is on record supporting Governor Romney.

The Human Expense of a Single-Payer Health care System

Critics love to point out the dismal state of healthcare in the U.S. Currently, most patients in our country are covered by private insurance and the rest receive government assistance. I disagree with their critique. The majority of foreigners who travel abroad for surgeries and major treatments, come to the U.S. If not the patients, then the doctors come to the US to be trained in our schools and hospitals so they can return home and provide quality healthcare. These reports tend to overlook the quality of immediate treatment which is something we have in the US.
The Daily Mail (U.K.) reports that more than seven million patients have been unable to see an NHS dentist for almost two years. The biggest road blocks in the way of them receiving dental care is not money but access. I think it is interesting that in order to get moderately good dental care, a majority of those surveyed chose to get private insurance and forgo the taxpayer funded system. I don't think John Edwards plan will even let you do that. Edwards plan proposes withholding of tax refunds and garnishment of wages for Americans who don't sign up for his plan.

The charity's survey of 1,800 people, carried out by Ipsos MORI, found that lack of access was the most common reason for not seeing an NHS dentist, along with not needing treatment. ...It(the survey) cited the case of a low-income pensioner given emergency dental treatment in a hospital in North Yorkshire then told to get further treatment from one of two local NHS dentists both of whom have 12-month waiting lists. Citizens Advice said the findings suggested 7.4million people had tried and failed to see an NHS dentist, with around 4.7million seeking private care instead and 2.7 million going without treatment altogether.

A Little Housekeeping
If anyone has noticed, I removed the RedState feed from the left side of my blog. The feed is designed to give blogs in Alabama the recent posts of other Alabama blogs. Currently it has been taken over by a blogger whose blog consists of nothing but support for a particular candidate, which I will not name. This blog has nothing to do with Alabama. The constant posting by this particular candidate/blogger pushes other Alabama blogs out of the feed ( each post is put into a queue from which it then appears in the feed).
If you would like to add or see the RedState blog feed for Alabama you can find it here. I will gladly add the RedState feed if the above blog is absent.

MAKE IT FLAKE.

In the House of Representatives, there is no stronger ally in the war against Pork than Representative Jeff Flake. Flake is known for proposing amendments stripping House members of their most prized possession, Pork. Often this involves, Flake, standing alone on the House floor like a gunfighter in the Old West,facing off against the purveyor of another egregious earmark. Some examples here.
Flake is on a mission to save the taxpayers' money,one earmark at a time while restoring the name brand of the GOP. Since 1994, the number of earmarks in appropriation bills has tripled.
It just so happens there is a Republican seat available on the House Appropriations Committee. To quote the guys at RedState: "

The Republican leadership has a great opportunity to prove that it is serious about earmark reform and a conservative approach to spending. It’s time to put some action behind their rhetoric...Our party needs Jeff Flake as the face for reform on the influential Appropriations Committee. He is also one of the few men who could change the committee instead of the committee changing him."

To show your support for this Porkbuster, contact your Representative and let them know you take a hard-line against pork-barrel spending and they should too. They can start by appointing Jeff Flake to the Appropriations Comm.
CLICK HERE TO SEND A FORMATTED E-MAIL TO HOUSE LEADERS

Don't believe me? Read the following :
Approps Seat Tests the GOP on Spending - Jackie Kucinich, The Hill
GOP Bloggers Fight For Rep. Flake - Danny Glover, Beltway Blogroll
Flake for Appropriations - Phil Kerpen, National Review
Fight to Put Flake on Appropriations - Amanda Carpenter, Townhall.com
House Appropriator Wants Flake on Spending Panel - J. Kucinich, The

I will vote Dem before I vote Huck.

I am joining the ranks of other conservative bloggers in announcing that if Huck is the Republican nominee for President then I will vote for a Democrat before I vote for Huck.
Ace of Spades
Not that what one blogger thinks matters that much, but if Huckabee gets the nomination, I'm voting Democratic. It's not just an idle threat; I just won't vote for him and in fact won't even vote third party or stay home. I'll vote for the Democratic candidate, even Hillary. I won't be a party to selling out everything the party is supposed to stand for to a liberal ideology. If we're going to have eight years of liberal rule, I'd rather the Democratic Party be governing, so at least they can take the blame. (my bold)
Dan Riehl:
That Presidential "R" in 2008 will stand for nothing I believe in. The guy is slick but doesn't even look competent. And if Republican primary voters are that stupid, they deserve to lose next Fall. To pass over McCain, Thompson, Romney and Giuliani ONLY because someone's slick and a Jesus Freak, which makes him your average televangelist - forget it.
American Pundit:
Between his lack of knowledge on the NIE, his supporting of tuition funding for illegal aliens, his tax policies, his stance on Gitmo, his stupidity regarding AIDS patients, his pardoning people just ’cause, his ignorance on U.S.-Cuban relations and his flip-flop on the trade embargo, I just can’t bring myself to support him.
Born Again Redneck:
I would rather see Hillary be blamed for not vetoing Congress' tax increases, for screwing up in Iraq, for introducing socialized medicine and for expanding entitlements to the point of creating a womb to tomb welfare state. Huckabee will do all that and maybe even worse and the GOP will be blamed for the economic catastrophe that will result and the increase in terrorism.
Conservative Belle:
I liked Mike Huckabee, but after examining his record more closely and listening to him, I've decided he is the WRONG man to lead our nation. Why? Because I believe there are other Republican candidates who seek God's wisdom daily but are just not overt and in your face about it. Because I believe there are other candidates who believe that Americans are capable of being responsible for their own lives and do not need the federal government to intervene on our behalf (i.e., Nanny State). Because I believe there are other candidates who don't just speak rhetoric about homeland security but have substantial plans and the ability and will to implement them. Because I believe there are other candidates who don't just pay ignorant lip service to foreign policy issues but have a real understanding of the threats to the West and the ability to communicate properly exactly how America intends to act upon those threats. Because I believe there are other candidates who have a reasonable grasp on the economic issues, including the massive entitlement program spending problem and the ability to use a veto pen. And because Mike Huckabee has absolutely ZERO foreign policy experience in a time that our nation needs it most. (my bold)
Rick Moran:
I believe him (Huck) to be a shady operator who, as Levin points out, uses religion as a club against his opponents while setting himself up to be a “superior Christian” to the other candidates. The mindless enthusiasm for this “populist” only shows that the religious right is not ready or worthy to lead any party that purports to represent a polyglot collection of neocons, Main Street, Traditional, and economic conservatives.
I know that many social cons do not support Huckabee and are supporting other candidates who also espouse socially conservative positions. I have no problem with that whatsoever. Those other candidates are not using their religion as a wedge issue in order to maximize their support among one faction or another in the conservative movement. Huckabee, on the other hand, sees his only chance at success in breaking the party and the movement by throwing his weight around as a “Christian leader” while feeding the resentment and paranoia of some evangelicals who think opposition to his candidacy is the result of his religion.

As one of Ace's commenter's said,"the presidency is not an internship."

I heart Huckabee. NOT!!


In lieu of constantly posting on Mike Huckabee's populism, ethics violations, or questionable commutations. There is also room for his illegal immigration policy ( or lack thereof), his Foreign Affairs article gaffs and misquotes,and his choice of Ed "I would like to punch Romney's teeth out" Rollins for a campaign manager despite his lack of experience running campaigns). I do not mind him accusing the Bush administration of having a ,"bunker mentality", it is the fact that he attributed a quote in the article to Sun Tzu when it obviously came from Michael Corleone in the Godfather that really bothers me.

What started as a short post on Huckabee has snowballed and I will need several posts to mesh it out. I will post this letter from a political evangelical in Arkansas to Hugh Hewitt regarding his feelings towards his former Governor. David Thompson lists the following detailed reasons why he and other conservatives cannot support Huckabee:

1. Governor Huckabee did lasting damage to the Republican Party and conservative movement in Arkansas.
2. Governor Huckabee's non-stop clemencies continually hindered the work of criminal prosecutors and miffed Republicans
3. Governor Huckabee's pattern was to ignore immigration laws, often in the name of Christianity.
4. Governor Huckabee was no friend to fiscal conservatives in Arkansas.
5. Huckabee left a long trail of ethics questions while Governor of Arkansas
6. Huckabee's education record shows him to be an advocate of the "status quo.
7. Huckabee has very little support for his Presidential bid here in Arkansas.

Each point is backed up with examples and links to newspaper articles. I recommend all conservatives considering voting for Huckabee read this to see what they are really getting in Huckabee: Bill Clinton-lite,or worse, Jimmy Carter.