Had snow this week

It's not very common to have snow in Western Washington though I did manage to have about six inches in my yard and driveway.  I enlisted the help of a two year old to dig out my Ron Paul sign.

When you hire two year olds you have to take the good and the bad.  The good is that they'll work hard for a cup of cocoa and a handful of goldfish crackers.  The bad is that they cry and do a pretty terrible job.  (to be fair this one did a remarkable job)

The snow is gone now and our caucus is 8 days away. 

Oh maybe you haven't heard that Rudy got out of the race.  I read in the paper he is to support McCain but every time I see him speak in public he is surrounded by Ron Paul signs.  I guess being Mayor of NYC during 9/11 doesn't make you as popular as he had hoped...but he did perform a useful function in this race.  He single-handedly made Ron Paul a rock star.  Good riddance Rudy.

Ups and Downs in the news

Turns out there's more going on out there than presidential politics.  I sat down for a minute and decided to break down the news of the weekend according to good, bad, and ugly.

 

The good:

Miss Washington got 2nd runner-up in the Miss America Pageant.  You have to understand that I've watched both Miss America and Miss USA for a long time and can put this in historical perspective.  You usually had to quickly watch the beginning of the pageant to see Miss Washington and get a small glimpse of her in the introductory big dance number.  Basically Miss Washington got as much face time as Ron Paul at a Fox News debate.  Congrats Miss WA!

Ringo Starr walked off the Regis and Kelly show because he wouldn't shorten his song performance to less than 3 minutes.  His offer to get it down to 3:45 wasn't good enough so he left.  Good for Ringo.  He was a Beatle after all.

The Bad:

The FCC has proposed a 1.4 million dollar fine against ABC because of a scene containing "nude buttocks."  Sure, send our kids off to war to fight for the freedoms of others but do everything in your power to keep a naked ass from appearing on our televisions.  I never saw the episode because I censored it myself and kept my TV off.  I'd recommend it for you too.

Members of Philadelphia's Police narcotics division have complained that 'Ice Breakers' mints look too much like drugs.  Bill Katzel an activist and retired medical administrator for the federal government said:

"A better solution would have been a total recall of this product."

The Ugly:

A large U.S. spy satellite has lost power and could hit the Earth in late February or early March.  Apparently it's the size of a bus and all of its contents are going to crash and burn.  Sounds like Fred Thompson's campaign if ya ask me.

John McCain - Economic Genius

Earlier in the debate John McCain described himself as "well-versed" in economic affairs.  It turns out he doesn't even know what the committee is that Dr. Paul was asking about. Even US News and World Report went on to report that John McCain looked a bit foolish.

 

My main reason to reject the candidacy of Mike Huckabee

The ebb and flow of political shifts is an interesting thing to study.  The first Democrats called themselves Republicans (Thomas Jefferson) and they resemble more Libertarians than they do modern-day Democrats.  Republicans began as strong on centralized government (Abraham Lincoln) and then shifted toward isolationist defenders of domestic corporatism.  That description now resembles many Democrats today. 

Conservatism used to mean limited government intervention and a desire to stay out of "no-win wars" and the military adventurism of post-World War 2 politics.  Now apparently conservatism has been redefined once again.  It finds itself now for many embodied in the former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.

If Mike Huckabee represents a newly remodeled conservatism then I must finally and firmly plant myself in the liberal camp.  Governor Huckabee is not worthy of my vote...or yours.

Aside from Mike Huckabee's failures as Governor which are many (soft on crime, raised taxes, corrupt government, et al) which will come out more and more in his campaign as he continues to be in contention for the GOP nomination.  His personal religious belief is my largest contention and I have more concern for it than I do Mr. Romney's.

Let me first explain that I know a great deal about Mr. Huckabee's theological background.  I've heard him speak to it and I've listened closely to the subtext of many of his public comments. 

Where Mike Huckabee goes wrong is where he actually goes against traditional Baptist teaching in his approach to government.  Early Baptists were known as Separatists.  They very much invented the terms "Separation of Church and State."  Baptists confessions going back 400 years go on at great length on how a free church must exist within a free state.  The recent edition of the doctrinal statement of the Southern Baptist Convention states in one area:  "The church should not resort to the civil power to carry on its work."

Mike Huckabee's domestic and foreign policy stem from a worldview shaped in pre-millennial  eschatology (end times).  It not only shapes his view of the role of entitlements and social programs but also the imperative need to protect and aid Israel.  Keep in mind that to some degree this steered Bill Clinton as well.  Though not seemingly as devout or as "traditional" in his Christian walk, Bill's foundation in faith stems from this same persuasion.  Don't lump Hillary in with him though...her background in Wesleyan Methodist theology is a whole different breed.

On these grounds I believe Mike Huckabee is not worthy of a free pass on his religious beliefs.  Mitt Romney has been torn apart because of the word "Mormonism" with no regard to what it means from a public policy standpoint.  It only comes up within the context of whether "southern evangelicals" will back a man who comes from a non-Trinitarian church (and the wacky holy underwear...just sayin').

A man that thinks that the "least of these" should be cared for with government intervention by stealing money from me and you in the form of taxes is neither virtuous nor holy.  A man that is willing to act on foreign policy based upon bubble gum end times theology should NEVER, EVER be elected president. EVER!

Any other reason you come up with not to vote for him is one I would probably agree with, but I thought I'd throw this out there since you probably won't read it anywhere else.

Note:  One area I will defend the Huckster was on his answer regarding the role of men and women in Christian marriage according to the SBC doctrinal statement.  He rightly pointed out where it was misconstrued and that its core directive was to teach how to love.  Just wanted to throw that in too...I can be fair sometimes.

Election News

Sadly Duncan Hunter has decided to drop out of the race for the GOP nomination.  I'm sure both of his supporters are disappointed.

 

Ron Paul finished 2nd in Nevada and flat out won Nye County.  More caucus spamming I guess.  This is how Fox News covered Ron Paul's progress:

 

Fox has set a new standard in reporting by showing us who finished 1st, 3rd and 4th.  In the rest of their reporting it looks like they refuse to acknowledge that Ron Paul is a candidate.  Similar to how Palestinian maps oddly don't show Israel anywhere.  Ron Paul is Fox News' Israel.

 

I think someone needs to ask Rudy if he plans a 3rd party run.  To quote the Beach Boys...he's a no-go showboat.

 

Later on I'm going to detail why I would NEVER EVER EVER IN A MILLION YEARS VOTE FOR MIKE HUCKABEE.

MLK Day - How I was converted

At one time in my life I was a huge opponent to a holiday honoring Dr. King.  I had several reasons that sounded good to me at the time.

1. We have enough holidays
2. Dr. King wasn't worthy of a holiday
3. Government has better things to do
4. Teachers just wanted another day off

I was driven by a rationale that stemmed from my father to a degree.  My dad had many strengths and weaknesses but among his worst demons was irrational bigotry.  By irrational I mean that his bigotry was random and inconsistent.  Personally, I don't think he tried to be bigoted or evenhanded.  He talked like he didn't like black people but had black friends to whom he was devoted to deeply.  I don't get it today, and I doubt I ever will.

I remember reading about how Dr. King had ties to the Communist party and how he was loose with women.  I heard from others in my community about how he hid behind his status as a clergyman to stir up the masses and cause chaos.  This was not what I believed necessarily but was enough evidence for me to be against any effort to honor him.

Years later I listened to some speeches by Dr. King.  I listened to many that preceded his famous 'I have a dream' speech and listened to the formation of the many great pieces that finally ended up in his signature speech.  I listened to his call for non-violence and his unwillingness to put up with the injustice that had been going on in the country for so long.  I heard in his voice that he didn't hate white people, but hated inequality.  When I heard Dr. King with my ears, my heart heard Thomas Jefferson.

The promissory note analogy from his speech rang true for me.  He knew that the age of freedom was young and new.  He knew that true equality had yet to be reached but was within reach in this great experiment of a free society.  I always heard more hope in his voice than I did bitterness.  For some reason though I heard more bitterness in my dad and in the empty logic I used to deny his life's work a day to be honored.

I don't care anymore if MLK was a communist or if he did fool around on the side.  He may very well have had several failings and personal demons, but the message of equality is larger than the people who proclaim it.  I'm glad that we have a day to honor a man that used non-violent civil disobedience to bring about change.

Plus, it gives me a day off near my own birthday.  Cool.

Pay attention to the TATA (UPDATED)

No, this isn't a Breast Cancer awareness post, nor am I trying to get you to look at the Victoria Secret Catalogue. (recently mailed to my house oddly enough)

The Tata is the new car manufactured in India which is to have a target price of $2000 (1 Lakh). If this car does meet this price point it will become a very affordable automobile for bazillions of average Indians.

If this becomes the new 'Volkwagen' of India it will be the one-and-only cause for the $5.00/gallon of gas in the United States. Get ready for it.

Oh and by the way...gold hit $880 yesterday. How are those dollars doing?

UPDATE - A clarification on this post. As for the TATA raising gas prices. India is an emerging world economy with a huge population. If the TATA becomes a car that the average person in India can afford, this will force India's demand to new heights that will be out of this world. The increased global demand will force oil prices up in the United States.

The reason for the update was that I received a few emails telling me that people in the United States would not buy a TATA and I fully agree though that wasn't the point I was attempting to make.

I've been sick

One thing the Iowa GOP caucus proved to me is that the Republican Party is searching for its soul. Only four democrat candidates managed any numbers while the rest of the field fell below 1%. In the GOP 5 candidates were in double figures. Clearly the party lacks direction and will not likely energize itself to put up much of a fight for the general election.

Back to bed...I need the rest. More later.