The G-8 comes to my neck of the woods

Frederick County, Maryland, USA. It’s a relatively normal place…normal being relative anywhere, I suppose. It’s home to about 235,000 souls, and is roughly 670 square miles in area. You can drive from one end of the county to another in under 30 minutes, whether it’s north-south or east-west.

I’ve call FredCo home for 13 years now. As with most who moved here in the 90’s, it was the only place in the Baltimore/Washington corridor where we could afford a larger house with a yard.

But FredCo has within its borders something that sets it apart from other mostly rural counties in Maryland. Just outside of Thurmont, a mere 15 minute drive from the city of Frederick, is a little place called Camp David. And, suddenly, this weekend Frederick County is on the map.

---

 This morning a few G-8 protesters were gathering in Thurmont, painting signs and gathering on street corners to share their thoughts about world affairs.

Richard Ochs and Donna Plamondon, two members of Occupy Baltimore, expected to be joined by about a dozen others from their group. They prepared signs near the Weis grocery at the southern end of the city.

Outdoors, reporters and law enforcement outnumbered residents and protesters before 11 a.m. Protesters said they had no plans to be destructive, but wanted to let government officials know that they are dissatisfied with the status quo. Nine Occupy New Haven members arrived by car after camping nearby.

Barbara Barbe was out front of Brown’s Jewelry & Gift store watching the morning’s activity.

“Every other car’s a police car,” Barbe said.

She and police shared the opinion that all seemed to be calm and friendly under the sunny skies.

---

Notwithstanding the nonchalance of the local paper, the truth on the ground is that there is great deal of apprehension around FredCo. The local hospital is on high alert, with mandatory on-site staff presence and a makeshift triage – “just in case” – in the cafeteria. The local news-talk radio station is sending out special emails reminding listeners to tune to 930 AM for the latest information.

Anyone who has followed the news, even casually, over the past decade knows that a G-8 or G-20 summit usually means riots in the host city. I’m not sure where the protesters could riot in FredCo. Thurmont is a spec on the map, and Frederick city is not exactly Metropolis. Maybe they can meet at FSK Mall, or Baker Park. I dunno.

If anything of interest happens, I’ll make a follow-up post. Otherwise, you’ll know that it was just another ordinary, quiet weekend in the sticks.

McCain’s Perfect Choice for a Running Mate: Governor Sarah Palin

While most of the pedantic, two-dimensional, inside-the-box-thinking, conservative political hacks are touting Tom Ridge for the slot (Not a bad guy, but…), David Freddoso notes a far superior choice has been proposed: The Republican Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin.

I believe this is a truly inspired idea. Gov. Palin ran as an anti-corruption outsider, and handily defeated a corrupt and entrenched Republican political machine. Plus, at 44, she would almost totally wipe the “age issue” McCain has off the slate, and since Obama is only two years her senior, there is no way they could attack her for her youth and inexperience: She has much more executive experience than Senator Obama has.

Not to mention the fact that, she’s a gorgeous woman who exudes mass quantities of charisma…

and has a super-solid family life.

Dibs on the eldest daughter! LOL!

This inspired choice would allow McCain to actually capitalize on his “maverick” persona, as Gov. Palin shook Alaska politics to the core: She’s a charming, charismatic woman, but she can also play with the big boys and kick ass.

What say ye?

UPDATE: Things are looking optimistic!

UPDATE II: Welcome to all 4500 8000 40,000 in the past few hours (so far!) people visiting us from Google. We’re a fairly opinionated right-wing blog, and you might like to take a look at our “About” page. You might also be interested in our other coverage of Sarah Palin and whether she becomes a prospective Vice President of the United States. You can find this coverage here and here. Personally, I hope she does, but you can feel free to debate the idea in comments below. All first comments are moderated, but unless you either insult or use severe profanity (and I mean severe by my standards, which generally only means the C U Next Tuesday word or the implication that someone has had a rather enjoyable erotic experience with someone who has borne a child), however if you come up with a new one, I may simply delete your comment. I, and all other contributors to this blog are more than fair in what we permit.

UPDATE III: Nayr Drahcir, don’t bother even trying. You will not be published.

UPDATE IV: A lot of people must like Palin.

UPDATE V: More coverage of Governor Sarah Palin and a theme song here.

UPDATE VI: Funniest observation on the announcement yet: “Put Obama and Palin on a basketball court one on one. Winner takes all!”

UPDATE VII: [spot_the_dog] No, we do not have any pictures of “Sarah Palin + Naked,” nor do we have any of “Sarah Palin + Swimsuit.” In the past 24 hours, there have been 157 separate searches on this site for “Sarah Palin Swimsuit,” and 161 separate searches for “Sarah Palin Naked.” I repeat, we have no bathing suit, swim suit, bikini, or naked pictures of Sarah Palin. What kind of people do you think we are, anyway? 😉

UPDATE VIIa: [spot_the_dog] Ace has noticed a similar search phenomenon on his blog and has a theory…

UPDATE VIII: A well-rounded view of the selection of Sarah Palin for the Vice President Nomination can be found here.

UPDATE IX:  We got it!  YES!  Nude photo of Sarah Palin right here!  (C’mon.  You know you want to click.)

UPDATE X: Feel free to visit our main page and read the latest posts we’ve written.

Chicago: There’s Smoke, But Is There Fire?

As far back as 1871, Chicago has been reputed as a city with a shady political scene. In fact, Chicago’s reputation has earned it a statement from the head of the FBI Office in Chicago, in which he said “If Illinois isn’t the most corrupt state in the United States, it’s a strong competitor.”

Which just makes this event, which was held between December 7 and December 10 this year, absolutely hilarious. Yes, you read that right, Chicago hosted the 30th Annual Governmental Ethics Conference.

So when the Democratic Governor of Illinois got arrested in the three day window for this Governmental Ethics Conference, my sides ached. I’m not going to speculate on the guilt or innocence of Governor Rod Blagojevich, although it appears based on media reports that there is good reason for the FBI to be investigating the Governor.

Even more intriguing is the question of whether President-elect Barack Obama knew anything about Gov. Blagojevich’s actions. As many know, Obama was born as a political figure in the Chicago Democratic Machine. But whether he knew that people in the Democratic Party would sell his Senate seat to the highest bidder? I highly doubt it. However, I wouldn’t rule out that he may have suspected that such business may go on after he became President-elect.

There are a couple of links between the President-elect and Governor Blagojevich, although they’re far from conclusive. They were both members of the same party in the same city, and would almost certainly have met at social Party events and all kinds of varied events in Illinois.

Another point of interest is that the son of David Axelrod, Obama’s chief astroturfer advisor, allegedly once worked in Gov. Blagojevich’s office. I can accept that there are all kinds of networks in any given city, but something about this makes Obama’s uninvolvement look a touch suspect. After all, Axelrod was the chief driving force behind both getting Barack Obama nominated as a Presidential candidate, and if Axelrod’s son worked for Governor Blagojevich, then Axelrod and Blagojevich at the least knew each other in a social setting.

The social networks and intertwined links involved in both the offices of Governor and State Senator make Obama’s calls for Blagojevich’s resignation look incredibly hollow.

UPDATE: I’m so glad that I’m not the only person who finds this funny!

The Five Stages Of Obama Worship

Stage One

Feeling not only an admiration and respect for the man, but then starting to defend him in every argument, whether what you’re saying is true or not.

Stage Two

A small donation to the campaign is made, and a bumper sticker is bought and affixed to the bumper of your car with a small sense of pride.

Stage Three

A decision is made to pump more money into the Obama campaign, because he genuinely seems like a nice guy, so you buy a t-shirt, a few more bumper stickers, put a sign in your yard and talk him up to family, friends, co-workers and neighbours.

Stage Four

You read about Camp Obama, the chance to learn about the man and his propaganpolicies, and you leap at the chance. You learn about the Democratic Party’s policies and start spreading the news to all of your friends, family members, co-workers, neighbours, random people in the street and school children. If you’re already a teacher, you form a choir out of innocent children.

Stage Five

Now that you’re a trained Camp Obama Counsellor, you also get brought into the inner folds of the Obama Campaign. This means that you’re now qualified to not only spread the good news about Obama, but also criticise any Republican Party members, spread lies about their family, claim to have previously voted Republican but now see the light, and participate in the AstroTurf Campaign. Reaching Stage Five means that you’ll also be widely mocked, derided and deleted for using fake names and email addresses.

John McCain – Too Old? An Entirely Subjective Post

Frankly, I don’t think so.  Much has been made about John McCain’s age (which is just the adjunct to “not conservative enough, too tempermental, unhinged by his POW years, etc., blah de blah blah blah”).  I am turning  62 this year, and I’m discovering (as people my age inevitably do) that all my youth-oriented biases were just so much ignorance and misunderstanding.  Not that I claim to be all-wise and stateshiplike at this point, but just that I’m finding out, as my parents and grandparents did, that I really didn’t know shit when I was young.  Kind of like when you leave your college years and get a job and find out you didn’t know everything after all.  It’s a humiliating process, and unfortunately for the ego, it doesn’t stop when you move into middle age and after.

Whatever you think about McCain’s political philosophy (and I certaintly don’t agree with all that either), let’s put to rest his age.  At 72, in this day and age, he’s unlikely to die in office.  My mother-in-law, bless her heart, is 80, and still spry and self-sufficient, and not at all stupid.  But, if our worst fears are realized, McCain will still be surrounded by the advisers and government functionaries whose job it is to keep the Office Of The Presidency operating at maximum, and if he has chosen wisely, a responsible second who will step in to take over.  Let us all remember Ronald Reagan, who even in his presidential heyday was no doubt showing the initial signs of Alzheimers, and yet the Republic did not fall and did not falter.

The fiction is that we elect a man we think will save us all.  The truth is, he will set in motion processes that will, if nor guarantee, at least lend momentum, to the political direction we, the American people, desire. The man is not important.  The office, and its guiding principle, is.

My mother in law turned 80 this year.  She’s still sharp as a tack when it comes to what matters.  She doesn’t like McCain.  She likes Obama even less.  She lived through the Great Depression, WWII, the Cold War, Vietnam, and now the Great Middle East Mess.  She is the daughter and granddaughter of German immigrants.  She’s never lost sight of American values.  So what makes her irrelevant because of her age?

Same deal when you’re choosing a president.  Crusty old warrior, or clueless metrosexual?

Green Awards Poll: Vote Now

Vote below for the candidate who should win News Ltd’s Green Award for the “Could Do Better” category.

Do it Chicago style!

Sarah Palin: Not Truly A Small Town Girl

Click over to the Telegraph and have a read of an insightful and informative article written on the subject of Sarah Palin and her rise as a political figure. It’s quite a good read.

The Kael Syndrome Returns

But how could this be?

Why the Left is scared of Sarah Palin.

Sarah Palin’s pending nomination for Vice President is exposing the depth of the cultural divide between Middle America and the leftists who have taken over the education, media, and cultural establishment of our country. – Thomas Lifson.

A nasty surprise indeed if OB pulls this off.

Sarah Palin: All The Right Wing Cred McCain Can Get

The choice of Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin as John McCain’s Vice Presidential nominee is an absolute masterstroke. It truly is, and for a number of reasons.

Palin has been quoted as being tenacious. The senior pastor (Ed Kalnins) at Palin’s church, the Assembly of God, said of Palin: “Once she understands a truth, she bites down on it and won’t let go of the truth.” This tells me that a) she’ll research what she’s talking about, b) form her decision on the subject, and c) she’ll stick to her beliefs until step a) reveals more information, then she’ll re-evaluate. The United States could very well deal with that kind of skill and decision making, particularly as it’s something many on the Left side of politics say that neither the current President nor the current Vice President are capable of.

Palin is also unafraid to not pull the Republican party line. While mayor of Wasilla and later Governor of Alaska, she was unafraid to propose new projects and different ways of resolving issues facing her communities which were in contradiction of the proposals put forward by other Republicans in the party, and her stance on ethics was a major contributor to her being elected to Governor in a landslide against previous Republican Governor Frank Murkowski. While she has had her moments of being rather divisive, she also has a lot of talent for working in a team.

Alaska Gov. Palin to be Named as McCain Running Mate

Angus, you are a seer, extraordinaire… :). All HAIL Angus.

Fox News

Archbishop of Washington Chides Pelosi; Denver Archbishop Warns Biden to Skip Communion

Fox News

“As an ardent, practicing Catholic, this is an issue that I have studied for a long time,” Pelosi told NBC’s Tom Brokaw, who had asked her when life begins. “And what I know is, over the centuries, the doctors of the church have not been able to make that definition. And St. Augustine said at three months. We don’t know.”

Personally, when a religion involves itself in politics, it should lose the corporation sole tax exemption. Then again, this is the U.S. and they should be able to voice their opinions, but as we know, taxes are completely different from “freedom of speech”. Just ask the IRS.

On the other hand…I like who the church targets 🙂

Anti-War Protesters Greet Convention Goers in Denver

Activists like Cindy Sheehan kicked off the event with more than two hours of speeches.

Cindy babe, has been hanging around Fidel and Hugho, to long. Guess when you look like her, you have to, huh?

“We’re out here to speak out about the. . .destruction of society and the impact on our own society as we have fewer and fewer resources,” Denver local Jane Cahn told FOXNews.com. She and her husband Eric said they have joined in on such rallies for 40 years.

Aren’t they emitting carbon?

This is small potatoes, compared to what the Republicans will face.

Fox News

Is This A Sick Joke?!

Has anyone seen this enjoyable movie?

Now hands up who thinks it’s full of shit?

Heh. That’s what I thought!

Proposed Abortion Laws In Victoria, Absolutely Fu*ked Up

Victoria is rapidly becoming Australia’s most Left-leaning State. Not only do we have the appalling Racial and Religious Tolerance Act, which means anyone who looks white can be sued or charged for intolerance, but we’re about to get another fun law to make sure that the State turns completely to shit.

This new law is a doozy. It’s a law focusing on abortion, and this law makes it legal for women to have abortions up to 24 weeks into their pregnancy, twice as long as the current legal period for an abortion. I think this is absolutely appalling and below the level of human rights that Australia should be upholding.

Andrew Bolt appears (and I use the term appears because it’s possible I’m mistaken in his view on this matter) to have chalked this up as a win for those of us who are pro-life. I’m not so sure it is. I agree with the view that this is probably as far as any Government will go in respect to abortion so far, but I can never quite tell with these slippery Labor types. However, I disagree with the view that an abortion at 24 weeks is acceptable in an enlightened, open, democratic society. Note to Premier Brumby: I F**KING DARE YOU TO TAKE THIS TO AN ELECTION!

I have trouble accepting the premise for abortion at all, and this is entirely consistant with my views on capital punishment, despite the claims that one cannot believe in the death penalty and the right to life for children. I think abortion is too commonly used as a method of contraception. Far, far too commonly used as a method of contraception in fact. I know of women who have had three, four, five abortions, and blamed the men they’d slept with for impregnating them. Hey ladies? It takes two people to make a child, and if you don’t want the risk, don’t have sex or use protection.

But to use abortion as contraception is wrong in my view. It’s a procedure which should be strictly regulated and only performed if there are certain elements to the conception or the pregnancy. I think one of these is rape, and although Rebecca Kiessling puts forth a convincing counter argument to that view, I still hold it.

With 20,000 pregnancies being terminated in Australia each year (54 per day on average!) I think our laws are too liberal. Victoria’s current law falls back to 1969, where a Supreme Court Justice determined that abortions are legal if a woman’s physical or mental health is put at risk by the pregnancy. So in typical Victorian-Left fashion, this has led to horrific cases such as a late term child being murdered aborted because its mother thought that the child had dwarfism and couldn’t handle the possibility. The child did not have dwarfism.

Or the case of Jessica Jane, another child aborted. She lived for ninety minutes, crying, in a stainless steel dish, before she died. She never even got held by her mother.

So now Victoria, supposedly not humiliated and embarrassed and appalled by such stories, wants to make sure such things are more likely to occur?

Premier Brumby (ALP), Ted Baillieu (LIB), all the other supporters of this bill, I’m ashamed of Victoria. I’m ashamed at this proposed law. I’m ashamed you even thought of it. I’ll be even more ashamed if you pass it.

Reasons why McCain is still doing OK

Say hello to Sergeant Schmidt.

Pajamas.

Don’t Rush, Uhbama

Barack in Aman, Jordan the other day.

(Thanks, Yojimbo, for the idea)

Blaming Barry

This guy here is a big part of the reason why the referendum for a Republic failed.

McCain’s Perfect Choice for a Running Mate: Governor Sarah Palin

While most of the pedantic, two-dimensional, inside-the-box-thinking, conservative political hacks are touting Tom Ridge for the slot (Not a bad guy, but…), David Freddoso notes a far superior choice has been proposed: The Republican Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin.

I believe this is a truly inspired idea. Gov. Palin ran as an anti-corruption outsider, and handily defeated a corrupt and entrenched Republican political machine. Plus, at 44, she would almost totally wipe the “age issue” McCain has off the slate, and since Obama is only two years her senior, there is no way they could attack her for her youth and inexperience: She has much more executive experience than Senator Obama has.

Not to mention the fact that, she’s a gorgeous woman who exudes mass quantities of charisma…

and has a super-solid family life.

Dibs on the eldest daughter! LOL!

This inspired choice would allow McCain to actually capitalize on his “maverick” persona, as Gov. Palin shook Alaska politics to the core: She’s a charming, charismatic woman, but she can also play with the big boys and kick ass.

What say ye?

UPDATE: Things are looking optimistic!

UPDATE II: Welcome to all 4500 8000 40,000 in the past few hours (so far!) people visiting us from Google. We’re a fairly opinionated right-wing blog, and you might like to take a look at our “About” page. You might also be interested in our other coverage of Sarah Palin and whether she becomes a prospective Vice President of the United States. You can find this coverage here and here. Personally, I hope she does, but you can feel free to debate the idea in comments below. All first comments are moderated, but unless you either insult or use severe profanity (and I mean severe by my standards, which generally only means the C U Next Tuesday word or the implication that someone has had a rather enjoyable erotic experience with someone who has borne a child), however if you come up with a new one, I may simply delete your comment. I, and all other contributors to this blog are more than fair in what we permit.

UPDATE III: Nayr Drahcir, don’t bother even trying. You will not be published.

UPDATE IV: A lot of people must like Palin.

UPDATE V: More coverage of Governor Sarah Palin and a theme song here.

UPDATE VI: Funniest observation on the announcement yet: “Put Obama and Palin on a basketball court one on one. Winner takes all!”

UPDATE VII: [spot_the_dog] No, we do not have any pictures of “Sarah Palin + Naked,” nor do we have any of “Sarah Palin + Swimsuit.” In the past 24 hours, there have been 157 separate searches on this site for “Sarah Palin Swimsuit,” and 161 separate searches for “Sarah Palin Naked.” I repeat, we have no bathing suit, swim suit, bikini, or naked pictures of Sarah Palin. What kind of people do you think we are, anyway? 😉

UPDATE VIIa: [spot_the_dog] Ace has noticed a similar search phenomenon on his blog and has a theory…

UPDATE VIII: A well-rounded view of the selection of Sarah Palin for the Vice President Nomination can be found here.

UPDATE IX:  We got it!  YES!  Nude photo of Sarah Palin right here!  (C’mon.  You know you want to click.)

UPDATE X: Feel free to visit our main page and read the latest posts we’ve written.

Another view from the UK

In case you thought everyone in the UK was lock-step with the agenda, here’s a policeman’s view.

There are still citizens struggling there against the tide of fantasmaleftist propaganda. They need our support.

Europeans demand “the right to vote”… A CALL TO ARMS. (UPDATE)

It’s like deja-vu all over again … Once again, the Euro-weenies seem to feel that they have some sort of a right to participate in U.S. elections. The Brussels Journal reports that a 3 January 2008 editorial in the Brussels newspaper De Standaard whines, “…the world should be given the right to vote. Because the current situation is a blatant case of taxation without representation, against which the Americans rebelled in 1776.”

Hill Briefed on Waterboarding in 2002

In Meetings, Spy Panels’ Chiefs Did Not Protest, Officials Say

By Joby Warrick and Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, December 9, 2007; Page A01

In September 2002, four members of Congress met in secret for a first look at a unique CIA program designed to wring vital information from reticent terrorism suspects in U.S. custody. For more than an hour, the bipartisan group, which included current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), was given a virtual tour of the CIA’s overseas detention sites and the harsh techniques interrogators had devised to try to make their prisoners talk.

Among the techniques described, said two officials present, was waterboarding, a practice that years later would be condemned as torture by Democrats and some Republicans on Capitol Hill. But on that day, no objections were raised. Instead, at least two lawmakers in the room asked the CIA to push harder, two U.S. officials said.

WAPO

Read on, as is said…

Politicians are filthy bastards.