Happy Black Friday everyone!

So why is it called "black friday?"  Many retailers earn more than half of their income in the four weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Otherwise their balance sheets would be filled with red ink at the end of the year.  It is to indicate profits, usually printed in black, rather than losses, usually printed in red.

But calling it Black Friday has an almost ominous, cultish sound.  Witchcraft and voodoo are called the black arts.  The Stock Market collapse in 1929 was called Black Thursday (definately not a profitable day).  The villian in movies almost always wears black.  The outlaw in Westerns wore a black hat.  Their are even suspicions of not letting a black cat cross your path.

Black Friday can be ominous, though.  Wait til you get your credit card bill next month.

The 0.68 GPA President

President-elect Obama refuses to release his academic records from Harvard University.  Fine.  I will, in lieu of any actual evidence, give President Obama just minimal credit for his studies at Harvard.  A D- is 0.67 so I will credit him with a 0.68 GPA.

Sarah Palin one month later

The shine is off of Sarah. Well, she has achieved the single name status just like Diana (Princess Diana). The opponents have bared their claws and the charm has dulled.

She still makes the ticket stronger, unlike Joe Biden who has made more mistakes in the few weeks he's been on the Democrat ticket than most employees would be allowed to make and still keep their jobs. Conservatives believe she can bend John McCain's ear and remind him of the true values of conservatism. But the foes of conservatism find errors in her life and in her interview style. It is this attitude of unforgiveness that causes liberals to lose major elections.

As she gets used to being on the national change she will improve her interviewing style. However, can you blame her for giving only three interviews since the nomination? That first interview with Charles Gibson was an embarrassment to journalism. Sarah probably has figured if that is the way she is going to be treated then why bother giving more interviews. I mean it would be like the President of Coca-Cola giving an interview to the Pepsi newsletter.

It's Official! I'm for McCain

Well, I knew I had to make a decision someday. I was trying to decide whether I would vote for Bob Barr, the Libertarian candidate for president, or John McCain, the Republican candidate for the same office. It's McCain.

Until a year ago Bob Barr was a staunch Republican. Even though he says the right things, I am not certain if he truly believes in these positions.

Senator John McCain has been a Republican his entire public life. Up until the 2000 election campaign he was a very conservative Republican from Arizona. According to a cached page from a website, Politics 1, he became disenchanted with the conservative wing of the party thinking it had become overrun by the religious right.

Most of the complaints about Sen. McCain and his legislation come from his term post-2000. McCain-Feingold, McCain-Kennedy, etc. Before 2000, though, most of what he endorsed or cosponsored were conservative legislation.

So there you go. You may love it, you may hate it. But those are my reasons for supporting John McCain.

You really didn't think I'd support Obama, did you?

Have you ever . . .

. . . just looked at the sun and realized you are looking at it from one degree further along the Earth's path than yesterday at the same time?

. . . thought about the fact that for every hour of the day the Earth has rotated another fifteen degrees?

. . . considered that just as the Earth progresses along it's path so should you?

. . . reasoned that no matter how far the Earth progresses it still ends up in the same damn place . . . or does it?

. . . thought about who would attend your funeral and what they would say about you? Would you care?

. . . looked at your friends and wondered what was the most pressing issue in their lives, good or bad?

. . . truly looked to God for answers?

Do elected officials have any real power?

It is one thing to write about politics but in this political season I think we all are getting too inflamed about the election. Have you ever really considered that few people make major changes in their lives because of the outcome of the election? Only those politicians who win change their lives and they know it!

You see, I believe they want to have the ultimate power--the power to control your life. Yet they also know they cannot do that. Oh, we all rant and rave over the alleged loss of our freedoms but it never happens. Sometimes one feels some pressure about a particular freedom or right; gun owners have been under various levels of assault on their freedoms for several decades. Usually these losses are illusory and, given a change in the political climate, can be restored in short order.

For more than three decades Washington, DC, had a gun ban law. It was illegal for civilians to own or possess handguns of any type and long guns had to be incapacitated. In a recent case heard before the U.S. Supreme Court, District of Columbia v. Heller, hereinout referred as Heller, the 5-4 decision found the law violated the Second Amendment to the Constitution. It is ironic that when a 5-4 decision goes for the liberal position it is declared the ultimate decision. Yet when the Court takes the conservative position it is declared to be a split decision.

Anyway, because of Heller the liberals that run Washington thought they controlled the citizens but now they see their control wrested away from them. Not only that but many other places are going to have their anti-gun laws challenged as well. Lawsuits have already been filed against San Francisco and Chicago with many others in the works.

It is this thirst for power that has politicians attempting to control all aspects of your life. That is why both Sen. Obama and Sen. Clinton have proposed Universal Health Care (see previous post) and other politicos support increased taxes to regulating what one eats.

Just remember the American citizen has the ultimate power. When we sense that the politicians are grasping too much power, however illusory, we can throw them out on their behinds. We may need to use pitch forks but we will toss them nonetheless.

Nationalizing health care

The presumed (as of this writing) Democrat presidential candidate, Barack Obama, is proposing the federal government take over and nationalize health care. It is often stated as providing health care to those who cannot afford the insurance. However everyone will be required to "participate" in the program even if they can afford their own health insurance. This means that no one will be able to use the health care of their choice, except Congress of course.

What this really means is the government will allocate health resources to those who most can benefit. In short it means the quick fixes will get treatment while the chronic ailments will be denied. You want proof?

Oregon has state-provided health care. Recently, a woman suffering from lung cancer was denied the chemotherapy medicines her doctor prescribed for her treatment, but they did provide information on how she may take advantage of Oregon's physician-assisted suicide law to end her misery. Makes me wonder who really is sick. The story does have a happy ending. The company that makes the pills, a member of the Big Pharma cabal, heard of her plight and is providing the medicine gratis. Just don't tell Oregon, they may tax her for receiving an unearned benefit.

Rising Gas Prices

Our gas prices have never been higher. Why? In my opinion the chief cause is the Democrats took over Congress. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Speaker of the House of Representatives, promised the country they would lower prices.

When they were inaugurated the average gasoline price nationwide was $2.30 per gallon. Now it's a buck more. In just 14 months the Democrats in Congress caused our gas prices to skyrocket nearly 70%!

Every Winter gas prices have significant reductions. Not this past Winter, the first in which the efforts of Congress over the previous year have been felt. Thisw Winter the prices stayed high and kept climbing.

The Republicans should use this information in this election as a reason to vote for them. They failed to do so, give us a reason to vote for them, in 2006. Now they have some ammunition against the thieves that are the Democrats.

"Conservative" commentators killed Conservatism

The most conservative of the Republican candidates were Tom Tancredo, Duncan Hunter, Ron Paul, and eventually Fred Thompson.

On the Democratic side was, uh, well, er, hmmm . . . Mike Gravel?

Anyway, there were a plethora of conservative Republican candidates available to be espoused and promoted by conservative talk radio and pundits. Yet each was declared "unelectable" before the first ballot was cast! With one exception, Fred Thompson. Rush, Sean, Laura, Bill, Ann, etc., et al, waited with bated breath for the conservative savior, Thompson, to announce his candidacy. By laying all their "money" on one player (look how well that went) they killed the best opportunity to have a conservative carry the Republican banner to victory.

Now they face the possibility of having their nemesis, John McCain, be the Republican candidate. Yet they refuse to acknowlege there is still one conservative in the race, Ron Paul, that could use their endorsements. Even Ann Coulter has stated that if McCain and Clinton are their respective parties candidates, she will not only endorse Hillary Clinton but even campaign for her!

Ron Paul is electable. But these conservative soothsayers refuse to acknowlege his existance, nor will they give any credence to any Libertarian or Constitution Party candidates all of whom are more conservative than the top three on the Republican ticket.

To be honest, I think that Limbaugh, Hannity, Ingraham, O'Reilly, and Coulter have forgotten what it means to be a conservative. Instead it's all about winning the office. They forget they can set the grounds for the debate. They compromised their own principles for election expediency and now they are paying the price. They have become Democrats.

What the NRA does

I was reading some of my older blogs and noticed I had promised to show what the National Rifle Association really does, and it's not being "the gun lobby."

The NRA is really a training organization. Take a look at what they offer:

• Eddie The Eagle--a program for elementary school children to learn what to do if they find a gun anywhere;
• Don't Be A Victim--for women who want to learn how to properly use a firearm to protect themselves even if they have never handled a firearm prior to the program;
• Hunter Safety classes--initial and refresher training for hunters before they go into the field. These courses are required in many states before a hunter can get his or her license for the season;
• Police Shooting classes--for post-academy training and qualifications of current or new firearms for police and security personnel;
• Concealed Carry classes--another qualifying and refresher training for those applying or renewing concealed carry licenses.
• Competition training--for those who wish to become competitive shooters in any variety of competition;
• The Association also sponsors competitions in various kinds of meets including the Camp Perry Meet at Camp Perry Marine Corps Base, Ohio, and Olympic qualifying meets for the American Shooting team.

So what about the lobbying done in the name of the NRA? Isn't that what makes the Association the gun lobby? Lobbying is done by the NRA Institute for Legislative Action (ILA). The ILA monitors bills introduced in the Congress and the states' legislatures that affect the rights of all firearms owners. Less than 10% of the ILA's budget is supported by NRA's general funds. The ILA relies primarily on the non-deductible donations made by supporters.

The NRA also has a PAC called the Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF). The purpose of the NRA-PVF is to raise funds for candidates that support gun owners' rights and defeat anti gun candidates. This money is separate from ILA's budget but it is raised through the same channels.

The NRA also operates a legal defense fund to protect gun owners and gun shop owners against criminal and civil prosecution, particularly frivolous lawsuits designed to break the bank of the defendant.

In short, most of the legal actions tendered by the NRA are really done by internal organizations so as not to interfere with the primary purpose of the Association. That primary purpose is to make better and safer shooters of all gun owners.