Dems are already trying to suppress votes from the military, but Senator John Cornyn of Texas is trying to make sure their votes are counted. Check out his new website, TexasMilitaryVote.com for more info.

Happy Anniversary! Now where's my flying car?

From Dinesh D'Souza's review of Who Speaks for Islam:

What can we conclude…? First, that the values of the cultural left are an important source in alienating Muslims worldwide. Second, that Muslims don't reject modernity or the West: rather, they embrace what may be termed "1950s America" while rejecting the libertine values of the 1960s. Third, America can build alliances with traditional Muslims by showing them the face of traditional America, so that they see that Hollywood values aren't necessarily American values. Finally, left-wing groups like International Planned Parenthood and Amnesty International should stop pushing feminism, gay marriage and libertine values in the Muslim world.

Read the review here. Buy the book at Amazon.com.

This is a tragic truth: You can spend your whole life figuring out why you are messed up and still be messed up once you’ve figured it out. After all your searching you know the why. But knowing the why does not produce the power to change.

You must know the Who. You don’t go to the problem for the answer. You must move from the problem to the answer. Our answer is Jesus. The question is: Do we believe what He did was enough?

–Lisa Bevere

For the first time, I feel like we deserve to win more than they deserve to lose.

Bill Whittle writes amazing essays. Read "Proud of the GOP" on National Review Online.

For the first time in almost a century, an entire month has passed without a single sunspot being visible on the sun’s surface. The event is significant because sunspots are caused by solar magnetic activity, and solar magnetic activity is increasingly believed by climatologists to be one of the primary factors influencing the earth’s climate. It is not uncommon to see 100 or more sunspots in a single month, but during the first seven months of 2008, the sun averaged only three spots, followed by the total disappearance of spots last month.

The disappearance of sunspots has caught most astronomers by surprise and defied almost all predictions, though one observatory seems to have gotten it right. In 2005, a pair of astronomers from the National Solar Observatory (NSO) in Tucson wrote a paper predicting that within 10 years, sunspots would disappear entirely. But their peers laughed at the two astronomers, and Science refused to publish their paper on the grounds that it was too controversial. In the end, “consensus” stifled scientific debate, and the NSO astronomers were ignored.

The scientific community is paying attention now, however. Some climate scientists believe that the sun’s “dynamo” (the process that creates its magnetic field) might be idling. As the sun’s dynamo slows and sunspot activity decreases, the sun’s magnetosphere is reduced, affecting cloud formation and climate modulation on earth. A long absence of sunspots has happened three times in the past 1,000 years: the Dalton, Maunder and Sporer Minimums. The Maunder Minimum coincided with the 400-year Little Ice Age, during which Europe and North America endured bitterly cold winters that devastated agriculture.

If we are indeed entering another solar minimum on the scale of the Maunder Minimum, we can expect severe global cooling to follow, stressing both the agriculture and energy industries. The practice of harvesting corn for use as fuel ethanol will likely become a distant memory, and the United States’ short-sighted energy policies could mean there won’t be enough heating oil, natural gas and electricity to go around in the severest of winters. We hope it won’t come to that, but if it does, at least Al Gore will be where he belongs: out in the cold.

From The Patriot Post.

This clears it all up:

Community Organizer FAQ

Seriously, he comes across as a gentleman. Or is he trying to raise expectations of Palin's debate performance to an unachievable level?

Biden Says Press Has Been ‘Sexist’ and ‘Unfair’ to Palin

Obama Sued in Philadelphia Federal Court on Grounds he is Constitutionally Ineligible for the Presidency

Some basement-dwelling genius at the Democratic Underground published a detailed essay yesterday, with pictures and everything, proving that Sarah Palin faked being pregnant with Trig to cover up her daughter Bristol's pregnancy. Naturally, the majority of the DUmmies were peeing on the floor with glee at the prospect of catching She-Who-Will-Destroy-Them in a conspiracy.

But since it was thoroughly debunked today by Palin announcing Bristol is pregnant — and has been since before Trig was born — you'd think DU would issue a retraction. Turns out they just retracted the story: Democratic Underground Forums - Request error. What a bunch of losers.

I think we can all agree that Palin's pick of an experienced statesman like John McCain to head her ticket shows that she is much better prepared to be VP than Biden who is trying to thrust an unqualified youngster who was a do-nothing state legislator before being elected to the Senate where he put in a few months of attendance before going AWOL to run for president.

Runalong with Pastor Mark: Who's more qualified: Palin or Biden?

Obama Says Palin Pregnancy “Off Limits”

One of the best articles I've seen on adapting to finding ways to turn jobs or careers whe abhor into something enjoyable.

"But after making one little change on Saturday afternoon, I came to actually like my lawnmower again. If you abhor your job (or, if you have ever typed ?hate my job? in a search engine ;)), then read on - this might help."

I Hated My Lawnmower

Anybody miss me?

Anyone?

[crickets]

Senator Harry Reid, (D-Uranus) claims that even though you may have to pay fines and interest, or even go to prison, if you don't pay income tax, "it's a voluntary system."

His primary argument that income tax isn't paid upon threat of force? Because "other countries" don't allow deductions. I'm not sure what keeps his ears from slapping together, but it ain't his brains.

Free For All - The Free Liberal Blog: Is Taxation Voluntary?

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Have you ever heard that a dog "knows" when an earthquake is about to hit?

Have you ever heard that a dog can "sense" when a tornado is stirring up, even twenty miles away?

Do you remember hearing that, before the December tsunami struck Southeast Asia, dogs started running frantically away from the seashore, at breakneck speed?

Do you know that dogs can detect cancer and other serious illnesses and danger of fire?

Somehow they always know when they can "go for a ride" before you even ask and how do those dogs and cats get home from hundreds of miles away?

I'm a firm believer that animals - and especially dogs - have keen insights into the Truth.

And you can't tell me that dogs can't sense a potentially terrible disaster well in advance.

Simply said, a good ol' hound dog just KNOWS when something isn't right… when impending doom is upon us…

We have Ventshade window vents on our vehicle (a four-door SUV), and one came loose and flew off while we were on the freeway. I contacted Lund International, who owns Ventshade about ordering just the one we needed.

Instead, they sent me a brand new set under warranty! That's outstanding customer service — thank you, Lund!

From acclaimed psychiatrist Dr. Lyle Rossiter's book, The Liberal Mind: The Psychological Causes of Political Madness:

Based on strikingly irrational beliefs and emotions, modern liberals relentlessly undermine the most important principles on which our freedoms were founded.

. . .

The roots of liberalism – and its associated madness – can be clearly identified by understanding how children develop from infancy to adulthood and how distorted development produces the irrational beliefs of the liberal mind," he says. "When the modern liberal mind whines about imaginary victims, rages against imaginary villains and seeks above all else to run the lives of persons competent to run their own lives, the neurosis of the liberal mind becomes painfully obvious.

Read the review

Buy the book

I posted this in response to a question on a Yahoo! group, and thought it might be of general interest. The question was "I am interested in learning about ham radio. What courses do you suggest? What radio should I buy to get started?"

To learn the material, I recommend Gordon West’s books; they are available on Amazon.com.

To practice for the tests, try www.aa9pw.com/radio — there is a pool of questions for each exam, and with some work you can memorize the answers. You’ll enjoy the hobby more if you learn the background, though. I used Gordon’s books and AA9PW’s site and passed the Technician and General tests at one sitting, after about a week of study.

There are lots of good websites where you can learn about ham radio; I like eHam; from there you’ll find lots of links to other sites. My favorite site to browse new radios is Universal Radio; look for Amateur Base Transceivers, Amateur Mobiles and Amateur Handhelds. They have lots of info on each radio, and you can tell when they update each section.

Try to get involved locally; if you’re in a big city, there are probably several clubs. Attend a few meetings, and look for a group that actively seeks new members; they’ll be a lot more fun to hang out with, and you’ll get to know some of the people in person that you talk to on the radio. Most clubs hold testing days periodically to facilitate getting your license.

As far as the first radio, some of that will depend upon your license class. Once you pass the Technician test, you’re entitled to use all ham bands from 50MHz and up, which usually means using repeaters. Repeaters are radios which simultaneously receive on one frequency and re-transmit on another, usually using a high antenna in order to receive and be received from further away than a radio on the ground. Your radio will transmit and receive on the opposite frequencies.

If you’re in a city, or live/drive within 10-15 miles of the repeater, a handheld radio will usually work fine. If you live further from the repeater, you’ll need a radio that runs off the car battery and has an antenna mounted on the outside of your vehicle (although an external antenna for the handheld radio could double its range). Since a repeater could have a range of over 100 miles, you could find yourself talking with someone 120 to 200 miles away, depending upon your setup and how far you and the other person are from the tower. For either a handheld or mobile radio, you can get started for under $200 with new equipment, including a good antenna.

(Many of these radios will operate on the same frequencies as FRS radios, and although it’s not legal except in an emergency, it’s pretty handy. My handheld will receive AM, FM, TV, CB, weather, and airplanes and airports, and will transmit and receive on the same frequencies as my local sheriff, fire departments and ambulance company. It costs $300, and is slightly modified. Many volunteer fire departments pick frequencies just outside the ham bands, so their members can use ham radios. One local police department does that – the chief is a ham, and at one time, most of the officers were, too.)

If you pass the General test, you can use lower-frequency radios, which can reach much further -– around the world with a proper setup. I had a horizontal wire antenna strung inside the attic of a rent house a few years ago here in NE Texas, and my furthest conversations were to New York (~1000 miles) and the Oregon-Washington border (~1500 miles). These radios start at around $700 new, and go way past $10,000. Your antenna(s) can cost next to nothing, like mine, or as much as you want to spend.

Most ham radios operate on 12V, so even the long-range radios can be mounted in a vehicle. Lots of truckers and RVers use them, since the range is so much greater than CB radios and the chatter on ham is a lot more civil than what you typically hear on CB. With a well-mounted antenna and cooperative terrain, you should be able to reach up to several hundred miles. From the top of a mountain or on the coast, you might reach Europe or Asia.
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I’d recommend studying and passing the Technician and General tests, even if you’re not sure what you want to do otherwise. The test is usually $10. I’d also recommend getting involved with local hams -– a fellow ham in my church gave me my first radios when I told him I’d passed the tests. Including the free radio and the parts for my attic antenna, I was on the air for under $30!

There’s a lot more beyond this, including Morse code, satellite repeaters, bouncing signals off the moon, even chatting with astronauts on the space station. It’s an enjoyable hobby, and I’m sure you’ll find many interesting things to do. The main thing is… get started!

Fox News reports that “Ron Paul says he’s still in the presidential race but is moving to scale back his staff and shift focus to his own re-election campaign for his Texas congressional seat. ‘If I were to lose the primary for my congressional seat, all our opponents would react with glee, and pretend it was a rejection of our ideas. I cannot and will not let that happen.’”

While Huckabee has an uphill battle, needing 977 of the remaining 1150 uncommitted delegates (disregarding Romney’s 286 delegates), Paul would need ALL the remaining delegates PLUS some of Romney’s to get the nomination.

Ron Paul supporters – please visit here.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney left the presidential race today, saying he didn't want to hurt the party or the country. Pundits immediately wondered if Huckabee would make a similar "magnanimous" gesture, but of course there is a major difference between the two campaigns — Romney outspent Huckabee 12:1 but only had a few more delegates to show for his investment suggesting that either Romney's message was inferior, or that he just didn't connect with voters. Or both.

Mitt Romney supporters – please visit here.

Gregg Jackson explains why he's voting for Mike Huckabee.

Jackson examines the record on:

• Abortion
• Marriage
• Immigration
• Foreign Policy/National Security
• 2nd Amendment
• Taxes and Spending
• Special Rights for Homosexuals

… and concludes "that when $100 million dollars of GOP campaign propaganda is set aside, Mike Huckabee is the only real across-the-board (social and fiscal) conservative among the three front runners."

Mike Huckabee — the only true conservative in the race.

I was reading Sandy Rios' excellent article supporting Mike Huckabee - A Candidate We Could Get Excited About—if Only the Pundits Would Let Us - and she makes a good point about the argument that Huckabee pardoned over a thousand criminals while governor of Arkansas, including one man who went on to commit murder.

At least he was willing to make the tough decisions, evaluating every one of the 8000 requests for pardon that came across his desk. Maybe he got some wrong, but that's why our judicial system is based upon the idea of "reasonable doubt" — as a society, we agree that it's better to have a few more guilty people walk free, than to put an innocent man behind bars.

In addition, it bears repeating that Romney was more concerned about his shallow record of "no pardons issued." Romney's hometown paper, the Boston Globe, explains it:

Anthony Circosta, a decorated Iraq War veteran from Agawam, needed a gun permit in Massachusetts to get a promotion at his security guard job and to pursue a possible career as a police officer. But first he needed to have his record cleared of a childhood felony - shooting a classmate in the shoulder with a BB gun when he was 13.

The Massachusetts clemency board investigated Circosta's case and twice recommended pardoning him. But then-Governor Mitt Romney refused, preserving a record of rejecting every clemency request that crossed his desk.

That is a perfect example of putting ambition before principle — the primary reason people don't like Mitt Romney.

I recommend Mike Huckabee — a true conservative.

Wow.

To The Point News details How the Clintons Will Destroy John McCain, with some pretty startling allegations, which you can read there. He closes with:

I would not in any circumstances vote for John McCain, not if either Hillary or Obama were the alternative. Evil is safer than crazy. Leftie amateur inexperience is safer than crazy.

. . .

How in the world can the Republican Party get saddled with a nutcase whack-job who knows nothing about economics, is so anti-capitalist he uses "profit" as a term of derision, has never run a business or had any job outside of government, will raise taxes, is so stupid that he believes "stopping global warming" is worth destroying the American economy, won't drill ANWR, won't appoint strict constructionist justices, won't protect marriage, will give amnesty to 20 million illegal aliens, is beloved by the New York Times, and lives in a delusionary world of vanity and rage?

Of course, I recommend Mike Huckabee — a true conservative, not a nutcase whack-job.

Including:

• Thinking his sons working to get him elected equates to servicemen and women fighting in Iraq and Afganistan
• Sticking his dog inside a cage on top of his car for a 12-hour ride across country, hosing the dog's diarrhea off the car and off the dog at a rest stop, and then resuming the trip (wet dog + 55mph wind?)
• Does anyone think he'd get nearly as much attention if he weren't so darned pretty and willing to spend so much of his own money? (at least $35 million through December)

WuzzaDem has the breakdown.

I recommend Mike Huckabee — a true conservative.

Originally, they didn't — not until they saw it in a movie.

Seriously. Get The Straight Dope.

Thomas Sowell dismantles the "Straight Talk Express:"

When confronted with any of his misdeeds, Senator McCain tends to fall back on his record as a war hero in Vietnam.

Let's talk sense. Benedict Arnold was a war hero but that did not exempt him from condemnation for his later betrayal.

Being a war hero is not a lifetime get-out-of-jail-free card. And becoming President of the United States is not a matter of rewarding an individual for past services.

Read the rest at Townhall.com.

I recommend Mike Huckabee — a true conservative.