What is Conservatism?

Aside from being the idea that limiting government promotes freedom, stout defenses prevent war, and our rights are gifts from a creator, conservatism is also the unwelcome task of having to point out the obvious to those too blinded by ideology to see it for themselves. Victor Davis Hansen provides one example from this never ending election season:

Had Gov. Sarah Palin just been a mother of a single child at Vassar rather than of five in Alaska, married to a novelist rather than a snow-machiner, an advocate of pro-choice, who shot pictures of Alaskan ferns rather than shot moose — feminists would have hailed her as a principled kindred soul, and trumpeted her struggles against Alaskan male grandees.

So there was something creepy about droves of irate women, in lock-step blasting Sarah Palin from the corridors of New York and Washington, when most of them were the recipients of the traditional spoils of either family connections, inherited money, or the advantages that accrue from insider power marriages. Indeed, very few of Palin’s critics on their own could have emerged from a small-town in Alaska, with an intact marriage and five children, to run the state of Alaska.

Of course, it's not just the women. The point is that for all their talk of intelligent rational thought, and appreciation for nuance, Democrats seem to be completely ignorant of anything outside their accepted group dogma. They don't seem to realize that republican and conservative are not the same thing. Unseen, is the fact that the Republican party has many factions competing for dominance, and conservatism has many nuanced thinkers. I suppose we could blame this on a fractured media. When all they're news comes from CNN and the Huffington Post, can they be blamed for having a jaundiced view?

No, but they can be called hypocrites when they claim intelligence. Passing off the entire right side of the political spectrum as gun toting, bible thumping racists is the height of unthinking religiosity. Joyously accepting campaign cash from 2 out of 3 New York bankers while celebrating the end of capitalism, union chiefs claiming to be for the common man while riding in limousines and staying in 5 star hotels, requires a willful blindness to the world as it is.

One thing that has become clear to me over the past several months is that unlike Democrats, the Christian right, with their acceptance of the presence of sin, are far less superstitious. While the left places their faith in the hollow hope of free money and the forgiveness of debts, my hope is that Democrats will develop an interest in how things really work. "There's no free lunch" and equal treatment aren't just bumper stickers.

Notes from the UN

In an otherwise serious report on Sarah Palin's meetings at the UN yesterday, Susan Duclos of Wake Up America entertains us with a press pool report. Among other bits of useless information from the ASM (Always Sleeping Media) was this:

"Palin wore small, gold, dangly earrings in the shape of the state of Alaska. Her hair was tightly secured atop of her head and her shoes were black patent leather round toed heels."

Incredibly, left unreported was what President Uribe was wearing. It is unconfirmed, but rumored that he wore a Dodgers ball cap, Hawaiian shirt with camo shorts, and beach thongs. He explained that he was " just popping in at the UN, on his way to an important interview on Tallcan TV. "Tallcans are very popular in Columbia...or Chile...or whatever one of those little countries I'm from" he said.

Little Dog House on the Prairie

I stopped reading The Weekly Standard regularly several years ago, but I still check in from time to time, mostly just for an Andrew Ferguson article. Scanning the websites, I seemed to have a choice between market-meltdown stories, or Sarah Palin stories. Oh yeah, there's the attack McCain while saying nothing about Obama stories too. I don't know what I can add to any of this that isn't already being said. One article, about the current state of the political race by Naomi Emory got me thinking about the male/female aspect of this years election cycle. On the Obama/Hillary relationship, she writes this gem:

"After he made a point of stressing how little she matters, he now seems to need her more than ever. And she, of course, does not need him."

OK guys, get out your pencils and paper and make a list of how many times you have been in that situation. Too many to remember? Me too. Senator Obama is in a place that my dad used to call "the dog house". I don't know if that term is still in popular use, but it's a place that any man who has any relationship with any woman for any amount of time is well familiar with. And we all know there is only one way out; swallow your pride, say you're sorry, accept the blame, beg for mercy, tell her you love her, and keep your mouth shut for the next two weeks. Even this doesn't work all the time, and it's difficult to see how it could be made into a viable political strategy. Besides, Hillary wouldn't let him set up his teleprompter in her living room anyway.

On what the average voter sees, regarding Hillary and Sarah:

"They perceive, correctly, that each is a woman you would want to have on your wagon train if you were crossing the continent, and to them, each has the same gutsy, tough-woman vibe..."

Wow. There's some food for thought; crossing the plains with Sarah and Hillary. No doubt, either woman could survive the trip in good shape, but from a male perspective, I see some significant differences here. Let us hearken back then, to a simpler time, a time when our nation was young and the possibilities were endless. Our alternate universe begins with Hillary and Local So-and-so, making camp on the North Platte, Kansas Territory, 1852:

She'd be micro-managing the amount of oats in the horse feed and acting like the worlds leading authority on the proper amount of bacon fat to grease the wheel hubs with. She'd be saying things like:

"The fire's too big"; "The fire's too small"; "Don't put that log on, it's too big. Put that other one on. No that one. No the one next to it. OK, whatever, that one's fine."

At some point, say, somewhere between Chimney Rock and the Sweetwater, I'd say one smart-ass remark too many. We'd get into a big argument that would be completely unrelated to anything involving the original issue; like how I left the cover off the water barrel yesterday morning, or the time when I ate the last piece of cornbread without telling anybody. Or the time, three years ago, when I planted 40 acres of barley, thinking it was alphalpha.

"THE BAGS SAID ALPHALPHA, ALRIGHT! THAT'S WHAT THEY SAID!"

I'd spend the rest of the trip, 10 miles a day all the way to Fort Sutter, in the dog house.

Sarah, I think, would let me be in charge of the oats and bacon fat, but she'd check them from time to time. She wouldn't be obvious about it though. She'd wait until I was off in the bushes, doing my business, before she's take a quick peek at the supplies. Climbing down from the wagon, she'd perform a five point inspection of each wheel hub before climbing back in the wagon, and be sitting in the exact same position as when I'd left her.

At night, if she heard a noise outside the wagon, she wouldn't wake me. At least not right away. She'd get up herself, load the Sharpe's carbine, and wake me with 50 grains of black powder going off inches from my head. After swabbing the barrel and stowing the rifle, she'd get back in bed without saying a word. No explanation at all. I wouldn't have to ask either. I'd just figure there was a good reason for it, and go back to sleep.

Sarah would still get ticked off about the lid on the water barrel, just like Hillary would. Women hate that kind of thing. It's hard wired in them. Sarah wouldn't make a fuss about it, she'd just make me feel guilty so I wouldn't forget next time. And, I wouldn't forget the next time. The time after I would.

She'd get back at me for the cornbread by mixing up a batch and then not telling me about it. She'd wait until there was one piece of dry, stale cornbread left, and then tell me. The alphalpha thing would be held in reserve. No sense spending all your ammunition at once. She'd save it for when she really needed to haul out the heavy artillery.

It's easy to imagine Hillary's dog house, but difficult to imagine Sarah's. I know she must have one. They all do. One thing I'd really like to see is an interview with Todd Palin, her husband. It would be on one of those fishing trip shows on cable TV. They'd be out there in the boat, catching this one and that one, and then head back to the cabin. The interview would be just some fellas sitting around a table, talking about fishin' and huntin' and inevitably, the capriscious ways of women. The host would ask him, "So Todd, what really sets her off? What do you definitely not want to do when she's around? Is there anything you've done in your 20 years of marriage, that was so knuckle-dragging stupid, that she just plain lost it?" The answers would decide the election.

Palin in Carson City

I was hoping to get off this subject for awhile and get back to economic matters, but with Governor Palin's visit to Carson City on Saturday, well, you know I had to go. I'm really getting hooked on seeing candidates in person. Not for the star power, but seeing the human being, as opposed to the flickering image. I should probably leave you in suspense until the end of this story, but the short version is, this lady's no pushover. When she says she's going to Washington to "shake things up", I believe her. I believe she is capable of it.

I got to the Pony Express Pavilion about 12:30, having only a vague notion of when things were going to start. 2 hours standing in line talking with a guy named Jay from Sparks, and people watching. Then another 2 hours standing in the pavilion, mostly trying to guess who was with which security detail. Jay and I had a pretty good spot to the left of the stage and on the "rope line".

One of the more interesting security teams was a group of 5 men dressed in desert khaki with pockets for extra ammo clips. They were big guys, tall and wide. With buzz cuts and wrap shades, they looked like some sort of survival team. The kind of guys who could live for months in the outback, eating bugs and drinking water made from their own urine. When one of them got close enough to read his badge, it said Tahoe-Douglas Bomb Squad. So much for the survivalist thing. Maybe they eat bugs for a hobby.

The highlight of the pre-speech speakers, I think, was Barbara Vukanovich. She's like the Queen Mum of northern Nevada Republicans; the Every-Grandma; the living link to a time when Reno was a truly small town, when Sinatra was driving a Thunderbird and when stealing horses was still a hanging offense. We love her and she loves us.

Missing from this group was Governor Gibbons. Hmmm. I can't imagine what he had to do today that was more important than this. Boy, has his career taken a dive. I sense a coup coming in the 2010 elections, but it's too soon to tell where it will come from. Congressman Heller is the most obvious choice, but he seems too much of a party loyalist to mount an insurrection. I think it will come from lower down in the ranks.

Finally, after Lt. Governor Krolicki's speech and a rousing version of "Johnie B. Goode" and "Pretty Woman" from the band, some really mean looking guys in suits came in and surrounded the stage. It took the Governor and her husband several minutes to make their way to the stage. Of course, they came in from the opposite side from where I was. Todd, her husband, had been up on the stage earlier and nobody recognized him. At least I didn't. He's an easy going guy who has a bemused "I can't believe I'm here" expression.

Governor Palin's speech was a mix of lines from her original speech when she was first picked, some lines from the convention speech, and some new lines. It was a positive speech with no Obama-bashing. There wasn't a single sentence that wasn't met with a loud cheer and extended applause. I don't doubt that she could help a guy pick out a nice quality hunting knife at the local gun show, but she seems more like a business woman to me. The kind of person who could wade through a government accounting report and spot the problems. She's no-nonsense, confident, and direct.

Throughout the audience were a number of teenage girls. Too young to vote, but they all had "the look". It's the look that I used to have when dad would take me to the Giants game to see Willy Mays. This thing is bigger than a single election.

After the speech she came our way. As the crowd surged forward, I dropped my McCain/Palin sign that had been handed out to everyone earlier. There was no hope of bending over to pick it up, so I didn't get her autograph. No big deal. I learned long ago that I'm not an autograph collector. After the crowd thinned out I got my sign back, so I now have a sign with tattered edges and several foot prints on it. I did get to shake her hand and tell her she's terrific, so I was happy with that.

Jay, who had his hat signed by McCain at an earlier rally, now has both names on it. He was pretty pleased. Something for the grand kids. There was also a guy there with an old high school yearbook. Palin remembered him. She seems to genuinely enjoy meeting people.

It still seems strange to me that the local politicians don't seem to want to mix with the common folk. All those voters in one place and none of them made any effort at all. They seem to be content with the $100 wine and cheese affairs and the hell with everybody else. They all came in, sat down, gave their speech and went home. Little wonder people think of them as elitist.

Later, Jay and I went around to the exit. Chuck Yeager, of X-15 fame, who had been on the stage earlier was hanging out there. We got to shake his hand too. He doesn't do autographs. At 85 he is one grizzled veteran. Governor Palin probably spent more time shaking hands, signing things and meeting voters, than she did speaking. We didn't get to meet her again, but all in all everyone went home happy.

Tex's Worst Nightmare

Courtesy democrats.org. Sleep well, my friend.

Feminine Rage

Courtesy Red Planet Cartoons



What was at first appalling but now entertaining, is watching otherwise rational women claw and scratch each other out of the way in an attempt to level the meanest insult at Sarah Palin. From the gossipy grandma story to the latest fake Vogue cover, it's enough to make the feminists at Blue Lyon appear to be an island of sanity.

So she's pro-life, as governor she did absolutely nothing regarding sex education in public schools that her own kids attend. The fact that her daughter is pregnant is evidence that public sex education is a failure, not abstinence education. So she fires a librarian over what books to have in the library. Does anyone know which books? No, it could've been Hustler Magazine for all anybody knows. As for the so-called "Trooper-Gate Scandal", giving a kid a slap on the butt is inappropriate, but tasering them is perfectly fine. When did that happen?

C'mon ladies, you're better than this. A little less menstrual fury and a little more clear headed thinking is in order. Remember the first rule of warfare, know your enemy. Preaching to the choir will always get lots of amens, but few converts. You're Democrats and she's not. I get that part. What I don't get is one single reason not to give her a chance at success.

Reality Check

Good speech. Not great, but certainly good enough to rally the Republican faithful. No doubt a lot of independents are taking notice. The combination of McCain's foreign policy hawks and Palin's small town values only partially address the economic issues. The reform of the discretionary spending free-for-all is a good sign, but the missing link is still entitlements. Social Security reform is the subject left unspoken. President Bush dropped privatization early in his first term and no-one has picked it up since. McCain, by his own admission, is no economic wizard. It will be interesting to see if he mentions entitlements tonight.

Also of interest is whether all this is a rebuilding of the Reagan coalition, or a realignment within the Republican party. I think the jury is still out on that one. A good article on the political/economic trends can be found here. A good idea of where we've been and where we're going is here.

More on Palin

I just returned from a trip to mom's place in the People's Republic of California, and two things about the Palin pick are now clear. The right loves her and the left hates her. The vitriol coming from the left, like the scene from "The Exorcist", tells me Palin was the right pick at the right time. The party of peace, love and the common man, who now have two machine-built Harvard lawyers on their ticket, can't stand it when those snobby, rich Republicans elevate a commoner to high office. They just can't get themselves to admit that the Republican party is full of commoners. It's usually just the leadership that's snobby and rich.

It's funny how they're talking about all those great Republicans who should have been picked. As if they would have liked anyone else. They were calling Kay Bailey-Hutchinson a female impersonator when she ran for the senate. Elizabeth Dole was Helmet-Head, among other things. Would anyone not have produced these wretched, rumor filled diatribes? Not likely.

The University of Idaho? Not exactly the fast track. Wasilla, Alaska? You won't find many Harvard lawyers looking to make a name for themselves in Wasilla. The PTA? Can you name one person in Washington DC who has ever served, or knows anyone who has served, on the PTA? The fact is, she's one of us, and that's plenty of reason to give her a chance. In a word; Authentic.

The Palin Pick

Hot-Diggity-Dog! I didn't think the old man had it in him. This pick makes sense for several reasons. The main reason I like it is it brings the Reagan coalition back off the mat. Palin represents all three major groups, values voters, defense hawks, and even us limited government types. The big-government-neocons are headed for the exits, and small government conservatives have somebody besides Ron Paul to rally around. The GOP may be down, but we're not out.

She lives what she preaches on abortion, having given birth to a child she knew would have Downs Syndrome. Her oldest son, is on his way to Iraq. The famous "Bridge to Nowhere" went nowhere because Palin cut off state funding. She's not just from small town America, she still lives there. There are plenty of reasons to like this pick. It will be interesting to see what lame excuses the ladies at NOW come up with to not endorse her.

Can she give a good speech? Can she whip up a crowd? Can she debate? Don't know. Never heard her voice. But, a lot of Republicans who were soft on McCain are feeling pretty good tonight.

The Long Road

There is no denying that last night was an historic moment in our history. Much has been, and will be made of the Democratic party's role in the modern civil rights movement. There is a much longer story. Until we all come clean, talk of progress is just retoric. Jeffery Lord, writing in the Wall Street Journal outlines the "missing history". Read it here if you can stand it.

The Big Picture

When Ulysses S Grant was appointed Commander of Union Forces and took up residence with the Army of the Potomac, he gathered his generals to discuss the situation. He asked them one by one, what is your assessment of the current situation and where do we go from here? One by one they answered, Bobby Lee this and Bobby Lee that, and ain't Bobby Lee just the best dang general in the whole wide world. When they were finished, Grant told them to stop thinking about what Bobby Lee was doing to them and start thinking about what they were going to do to Bobby Lee.

Looking at the Democratic Convention as an outsider (on mom's borrowed TV) one thing is becoming clear; the Democrats are building the most powerful of all political weapons, a positive message. There was very little Bush-bashing in Queen Hillary's speech last night. A few shots here and there, but that's to be expected in any Democratic speech. What really came through was the 'what we are for' parts. Tonight, if Bill can manage to talk about something besides himself, and Biden can attack without showing his fangs, it will set up what could truly be an historic moment on Thursday night. If not, Obama's speech could be just another over-hyped media event.

Vice Presidents don't win elections, but McCain's VP pick is going to be crucial if he is to overcome anything truly historic happening Thursday. Romney or Pawlenty just won't do. He'll need to match history for history. In the era of identity politics, that means no more grumpy old white guys. Given the lack of minorities in the Republican party, it will almost certainly be a woman. Senator Hutchison? Senator Dole? Governor Palin? I can't venture a guess, but it better be big.

The Biden Pick (Part 1)

OK, I guess I've held off long enough. Here's why Joe Biden has already cost Obama the election. The assault weapons ban, waiting periods, trigger locks, every anti-second amendment vote possible, the anti gun nuts in the Democratic party could count on Sen. Biden. The sound you heard yesterday was every swing state west of the Mississippi and south of the Mason-Dixon line tilting towards McCain. Together with Obama's crack, about Pennsylvanians and their God and guns from the primaries, we can expect the Republicans to go into full mobilization mode on this issue.

Team McCain may not have a lot of money, but the NRA does. A lot of grass roots groups do. Two northern liberals are a recipe for scare tactics and the Republican attack machine is going to roll all over this one.

The Best Idea Yet

Buried in the middle of George Will's latest column regarding John McCain's inadequacies, was the following gem;

"No officer of any corporation receiving a federal subsidy, broadly defined, can be paid more than the highest federal civil servant ($124,010 for a GS-15)."

I've heard of salary caps before, but I'd never heard of tying subsidised corporate salaries to civil servant salaries. This is an idea that Mr. Will says John McCain has "expressed sympathy" for, although I've found no specific quote.

Something like this would put a huge roadblock in the path of the government gravy train. Of coarse, they'll find ways around it, over time, but this seems like a good place to start a fight against the general level of corruption in Washington. The key is keeping it to corporations receiving subsidies. Let the corporations and small businesses make as much as they can. This point will be especially important in the upcoming environmental battles sure to begin next spring, regardless of who wins what in November.

With both sides talking about a move away from our oil based economy and into renewable energy, the forces of the status qua are already planning their next assault on the taxpayers. The public/private partnerships often touted by Democratic candidates and big government conservatives (oxymoron) open the door to all manner of corruption. Keeping the multi-national corporations, and other masters of K Street, out of the equation while allowing the independent inventors and small cap corporations to team-up is the key to doing things right.

The big problem with all this is how to get it past the current set of players. If both presidential candidates were to make something like this a major part of their campaigns, then it could serve as a mandate. Barring that, perhaps we here in Nevada could pass some state laws to this effect, as we will no doubt play a role in any solar power or wind power deals.

Election Day/Night/Day

I arrived at the polls at 7 AM sharp to vote in the Nevada primary, on election day, the way God and the Founding Fathers intended it. The line was already out the door, but moved quickly. Total time voting was 14 minutes.

The new voting map at the county registrars office is extremely cool. You'll have to wait for the map to load, and it only covers turnout- not who's winning but still, very nice. I woke up this morning and found it had crashed. It's back up and running now though.

The results of the primary were pretty disappointing. My precinct only had a 2% turnout, better than the 1&1/2 of 2 years ago, but I need to get with it. My 2 upset picks were both defeated. Don Chairez lost out in the race for the supreme court by only 300 votes state-wide. I hope he takes heart from the narrow loss and comes back in 2 years. The other candidate I liked was the omnipresent James Smack. He came in just below 15%. I was figuring 30. Of coarse he was the longest of long shots, but I thought he would do better. Interestingly, he posted pretty consistent numbers across the counties.

For the most part, the party establishment retained their grip on power. I think the lesson I'm getting from all this is that next time, I'll get involved with a candidate rather than the party as a whole. Of coarse, one has to be involved with the party just to find out who the candidates are. Republicans aren't known for being web-savvy. There must be some way that works better for me and still helps get at least one good guy elected.

Muths 1/2 Truths

I'm having serious doughts about Chuck Muth and his so-called Truths. I first caught-on to Muths Truths after the Washoe County Republican Convention. He is only one of a handful of conservative bloggers in the Reno area. He seemed, at first, to be a good source for statistics and general news about other conservatives around here. I've since concluded that his numbers are not dependable. His obsession with personal disputes, along with who hasn't signed his no tax pledge, seems to over-ride all other considerations. A couple of recent hit pieces serve as examples.

Former Secretary of State and candidate for Assembly District 40 Cheryl Lau, who has not signed the pledge, recently stated that she might be in favor of a weight and distance tax on trucks. Now I'm as libertarian as a republican can be, but this sounds pretty reasonable. The maintenance of public by-ways is a legitimate power of the state. The use of those by-ways should rightfully be paid by the people who use them. If anyone doesn't like paying for the use of our roads, on their way to somewhere else, they're free to go around.

This idea of no new taxes in order to limit government was a nice theory back in the good old Reagan era, but the last 25 years has proven it wrong. Limiting the income of the government does nothing to control spending. Politicians, when faced with a shortfall, will almost always borrow more money rather than cut a program. No new taxes simply means lots of new debt.

I'd just like to point out that roads are made of asphalt. Asphalt is made from oil. When the price of a barrel of oil goes from $25 to $140, what does that do to the cost of paving a road? (Cue Jeopardy theme song). Also, the 2 people commenting on the Lau hit were both Democrats who were in favor of the no tax pledge. They like it because it constrains Republicans while Democrats run free with their spending plans.

The other hit piece was on Mike Webber. The cover story is that Mike seems to have an ego. Someone in politics has an ego? Say it ain't so! And this, coming from a guy who has his own blog on his blogroll. I guess if Mr. Muth's readers forget where they are, they can find themselves again.

The real reason for the hit, of coarse, is the fact that Mike Webber is leading the fight against the delegate selection committee. There is ample evidence of Mr. Muths disdain for Ron Paul supporters throughout his blog. Even though Mr. Webber has repeatedly said he is not a Ron Paul supporter, he often is painted as one. This is simply guilt by association. Mr. Webber's interest is in keeping as many factions in the party as possible, and insuring that their voices get a fair hearing, unlike Mr. Muth and his pretend girlfriend, Sue Lowden.

The bottom line here is that I'm still looking for a reliable source.

HQ Open House

I went to the open house at the new Washoe County GOP Headquarters tonight. Although I had been there before for the precinct captain training, I was drawn by a general curiosity, the feeling that Gwen would be there and want to discuss my project, and the promise of a free hot dog.

I have determined a fourth rule of political activism.

The most interesting thing about party get-together's is who doesn't show up.

When I got there, I didn't see a single recognizable face. I mingled through the crowd, looking for someone to say hi to, when I practically ran into none other than the omnipresent James Smack, candidate for congress. I have to hand it to the guy, he shows up at all of these things, even though he tends to stay within his group of supporters. I'm continually surprised by how little interest most candidates have for meeting new people. He seemed genuinely pleased at how his campaign was going. What an upset that would be, if he beat Heller. After a while I headed for the hot dog stand. Great hot dogs; perfectly burned to bachelor standards.

It was soon announced that the candidates were ready to give their speeches, so we all piled into the office. Gov. Gibbons aide, upon introducing the Governor, told us all what a great job he's doing and how we need to elect more Republicans. Then the Governor spoke about what a great job his aide was doing and how we need to elect more Republicans. Then the Lt. Governor got up and told us all about what a great job both the governor and his aide were doing and how we need to elect more Republicans. The big laugh of the night was delivered by Mr. Smack. He talked about the recent events in congress, when Speaker Pelosi banged the gavel, declared a recess, and shut off the electricity. Sound familiar?

The only other interesting thing that happened was that Heidi Smith gave a big send-up to Kris Pickering, candidate for Supreme Court Seat B. Ms. Pickering certainly has a lot going for her, but Don Chairez was there too, and he's running for the same seat. He's a soft spoken, reserved guy; a bit on the portly side like a judge should be. It's a tough choice, but I'm leaning to Chairez. There's something about good looking 40ish blond women in positions of power. I think there are too many of them.

Sue Lowden revisited

Just took a trip over to Sue Lowden's blog. And people wonder why the Republican party at the state level is so screwed up. What a pathetic lack of leadership she is showing. She writes a third person account in defence of herself and then closes the comment section. It's as if she has locked herself in the bathroom, opening the door long enough to throw the soap dish, before locking herself back in. Unbelievable. This is our leader? She praises the delegate selection committee for finally finishing their work three months late. Interestingly, we still don't know who is representing us at the national convention. I wonder if anyone from Washoe County is on the list? It looks like we will never know. Surely when she comes up for re-election, we could find someone who doesn't run away and pout every time somebody disagrees with her. She treats the Ron Paul supporters like they just left a stain on her living room carpet. Care to comment, Sue? The door's open here.

Townsend interviewed

I took the night off tonight and decided to catch up on the news. What a stroke of luck. Over on mysilverstate.com , Robert Townsend, Democratic party candidate for Assembly District 25 had an interview. For the benefit of all my fellow public school graduates, who may not have years of experience interpreting politicians, I decided to write a brief synopsis.

SS: Who are you, and why are you doing this?

RT: I'm a New Yorker. I was born and raised on Long Island, and worked as a union musician in Manhattan. I also lived in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Kona, Hawaii. Some day, I hope to actually meet one of those "conservatives" I keep hearing so much about.

SS: It is a known fact that your Republican opponent in AD 25, Heidi Gansert, smiled and said hello to Governor Gibbons on at least two separate occasions. Are you going to try and use this to drag her through the mud, like other Democrats are doing with Governor Gibbons?

RT: No, I don't have that kind of cash. What we really need are more public/private partnerships. You know, the kind of thing Al Gore used to talk about before he went off the deep end. In a public/private partnership our elected representatives ship huge vats of government gravy to people who own something called "a business". The people who own "a business" soon become richer than a Las Vegas call-girl. Then they send most of that money to a democratic front group, such as, the People's Republic of China. Most of that money is then returned to the elected Democrats, who use it to run an effective smear campaign. It's a beautiful thing, man. Beautiful.

SS: The state budget revenues are projected to be 14.21% below spending. Governor Gibbons and his minions in the Republican party are talking about cutting spending by the same 14.21%, in order to balance the budget as mandated by the state constitution. Do you think this is evil?

RT: Of coarse it's evil. You can't balance a budget just by reducing spending. That's ridiculous. It's like saying you could balance your checkbook, just by not buying everything you see. Obviously, what we need is more money. In effect, the government of Nevada needs to find a new job. I propose we move the entire government to Utah, and run that state for a while. I hear there's good money in Utah, and it's close enough we could still visit on weekends. After we've saved a little nest egg, we could move back and balance the budget.

SS: You've recently come out in favor of gay rights, and you're also very strong on the environment. Could you talk a little about these two issues?

RT: Yes, I think we should give as much taxpayer money as possible to anyone who even seems like they're gay. Just say you're gay, and you'd get a big pile of dough. Think of it, an entire state full of gay, rich people. We'd have to change the state motto, though. "Battle Born" is much too confrontational; something more like "Nevada; Fabulously Trendy", would be much better.

As far as the environment goes, I think putting up giant wind mills and solar reflectors all over the place, along with huge tubs of oil producing algae, would be great ideas. I especially like the algae thing. Some people refer to algae as pond scum, but they're being too harsh. Over the years, Ive come to appreciate pond scum. It's a texture thing with me. Besides, all these so-called mountains out here, are really just big piles of dirt. Who wants to see a big pile of dirt? I don't. I'm from New York.

SS: Thank you Mr. Townsend.

RT: Thank you.

PC Biz 7/19/08

I can't believe I haven't posted anything all week. The pace has really picked up lately. Monday morning, I sent an email to Gwen. She is in charge of training PC's as well as organising some related projects. I was asking her for clarification on the project I was working on, and casually mentioned a couple of idea's I'd had. Monday night, I was very happy to learn that Gwen thought my idea's had some merit. Tuesday night I learned that Gwen had taken my idea's to Heidi, who is the county chairperson. Heidi loved my ideas. BINGO! BINGO! I'm now in charge of two new projects.

Gwen is a recently retired Air Force Colonel who is working on her PHD in geology. She teaches geology courses at UNR in between organising republicans. I've also recently learned she has a conceal/carry permit. Gwen's not one to fuss around much.

LOCAL SO-AND-SO'S THIRD RULE OF POLITICS

Know the person to whom you are expressing an idea.

I had to scramble to get the outlines of my "plans" down on paper, because Thursday night was a central committee meeting in which Heidi, Gwen, and I would all be attending. It was held at a private home up in Incline Village. We had a pot-luck dinner in their spacious backyard, among the pine trees, fountains and babbling brook. Very nice. I only got to say hello to Heidi, as she was mixing and mingling, but I saw Ed and Laurie there too and talked with them a little. Most of the pre-meeting discussions were with Gwen. We talked about computers, political strategy, geology, blogspots, Yucca Mountain, the Mammoth Lakes area, and John McCain. I'll tell you, one hour with Gwen is enough to make a guy stop fearing for the fate of his country. She's off to the back country this week, to study sedimentary formations, but I dare not slacken the pace. I'll post as often as possible.

Beakfast and Branding

I just got back from a fundraiser out on Pyramid Hwy. It was $15 for lousy eggs and mediocre hash browns, but the bacon and orange juice were good. They had a good string band there called Branding Iron that played in between candidate speeches. Most of the candidates were running for assembly or judgeship's. At one point, I found myself standing next to James Smack, a long shot candidate for Congress. He's not as nuts as his website might suggest. He's never run for anything before, but he graduated from Amherst and now owns a pawnshop in Fallon. He's kind of a good ol' boy, but soft spoken and serious. The incumbent, Dean Heller, wasn't there. I'm leaning towards Smack.
Of particular interest was the Governor's wife, Dawn Gibbons. Mrs. Gibbons, you may recall, has recently thrown the Governor out of the mansion and hired a hot shot Democrat attorney to drag him through the mud in their upcoming divorce proceedings. She received a surprisingly warm reception, as opposed to the Governor, when at the Washoe County Convention, received a rather tepid reception. The plot thickens.
I had thought that the branding part of all this was just about the band. It turned out they were having a round-up also. I was sitting on a hay bale in the shade waiting for the round-up to start, and struck up a conversation with an old cowboy named Ed. I recognised Ed from the reconvene convention due to his gigantic handlebar mustache. We had a nice little chat. When the round-up started, Ed says, "C'mon, lets go root for the cows". We did, but they lost. The cowboys could use a little more practice with their lassoing technique, but the horses knew exactly what to do.
After awhile, I bid Ed a "see ya 'round", and headed for the car. On the way I ran into Laurie, whom I also recognised from the reconvene convention. She was with her friend Juanita, who is the Story County Chairman. It turns out, they are part of the "conspiracy wing" of the Ron Paul faction. They meet at the Denny's in Sparks every Saturday night at 6PM to discuss black helicopters and various theories concerning one world government. I thanked them for the invitation, but was non-committal. One has to be careful with one's associations. There are so many factions, and sub-groups of sub-groups, and everybody gets labeled sooner or later. I don't think I've been labeled yet, as I haven't found a group I fit into. I don't make a good "old cowboy", but I'd hang out with Ed anytime. All in all, an eventful morning.