Rock’s Rantings!

As a Conservative Republican I must agree with National Review’s opinion that Senator Ted Stevens should resign in the wake of his indictment of committing perjury in front of a Grand Jury. We should lead the way. If it was enough of a reason to approve Articles of Impeachment on President Bill Clinton it is a good enough reason for a Republican US Senator to step down from office.

One of Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens’s most memorable moments of the last few years came during the Senate fight over the infamous “Bridge to Nowhere.” In 2005, when Sen. Tom Coburn introduced a measure that would have redirected the money Stevens had earmarked for the bridge to hurricane-ravaged New Orleans, Stevens gave an apoplectic speech on the Senate floor in which he threatened to resign if the Senate passed the measure. It was the nation’s loss that the Senate voted the measure down, simultaneously missing two opportunities.

Now that a grand jury has indicted Stevens on seven counts of making false statements, it is time for him to make good on his threat. Stevens is of course innocent until proven guilty of the crimes with which he is charged. But even if he committed no crime, the facts that have emerged over the course of the federal investigation into his personal finances are damning enough on their own. The indictment was just the last straw.

I found this blog post of great interest and wanted to share it with my followers.

This past week, 15,677 signatures were filed with the North Dakota Secretary of State’s office for the Income Tax Cut Inititiave. Sponsored by the North Dakota chapter of Americans for Prosperity, the initiative, if certified for the November ballot, would slash North Dakota’s state corporate income tax rates by 15 percent and the individual income tax rates by 50 percent starting in 2009.

Apparently, North Dakota exepcts a budget surplus of anywhere between $700 million to $1 billion next year, so supporters of the initiative are looking for both tax relief and restrained government spending during these “sunny days.” Smart!

But the AARP is opposing the measure because “it would hamper state and local governments’ and school boards’ ability to respond to emergencies or shifting priorities in the future.” The North Dakota Farm Bureau is also opposing the measure citing “worries that it would place the burden of spending on increased property taxes.” Now maybe North Dakota should start a government “rainy day fund” that is concomitant with this tax cut, but it’s amazing what poor excuses are made to not cut taxes. (But I invite any North Dakotans to explain why voting Yes on this inititiave would be a bad idea.)

The Bill of Rights Returns to Illinois!

Click Here to read the story from the Daily Herald

The village of Morton Grove has voted 5-1 to repeal its ban on the possession of handguns.

The northern Chicago suburb was the first community in the country to enact such a ban in 1981. Village leaders said Monday that they had to amend the village’s ordinance because of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last month overturning a similar ban in Washington D.C.

That decision affirmed the right to keep guns for self defense in the home. Gun rights advocates have sued the village over its ban in federal court.

Patrick Kansoer is a plaintiff in the lawsuit. He says he’s pleased with the vote but isn’t sure it will affect his lawsuit.

Wilmette also has repealed its gun ban.

I was excited to see the Editorial Board of the Wall Street Journal shine some light on the blatant Democrat attempt to use the initiatives process in Michigan to target conservative judges in the state and change Michigan’s redistricting process.

Behind the scenes the Michigan Democrat party has been plotting to oust conservative justices and skew the upcoming redistricting process in their favor. I am glad that the Wall Street Journal is pointing out this abuse in Michigan!

Wall Street Journal

Review and Outlook

Michigan Power Grab

It’s still not certain whether an ambitious proposal to amend Michigan’s state constitution will find a spot on the Nov. 4 ballot. But new revelations leave little doubt that proponents are engaged in a blatantly partisan effort to change the state political system to favor Democrats.

The proposal, known as “Reform Michigan Government Now,” is billed by its backers as a relatively neutral measure that would make commonsensical changes to how the state is run. Among other things, it would streamline government by reducing the number of state legislators, slash salaries for state politicians by up to 25%, loosen restrictions on absentee voting and require lawmakers to disclose financial information.

But it turns out that these populist measures are included to disguise a deeply partisan agenda being pursued by Reform Michigan’s Democratic backers. That agenda was laid bare last week when the Mackinac Center, a Michigan think tank, discovered a PowerPoint presentation of the proposal posted on a United Auto Workers regional Web site.

The 35-page presentation’s blunt subtitle is “Changing the rules of politics in Michigan to help Democrats,” and it begins by lamenting that “Democrats have not controlled the entire State Legislature in 25 years.” To fix that, the strategy is to gain control of the redistricting process by which voting district lines are drawn every 10 years.

The slide-show says that the unpopularity of last year’s takes hikes, which were facilitated by Democratic Governor Jennifer Granholm, makes it unlikely that Democrats will be in a position to control the next redistricting that occurs in 2011-12. Thus, “Control of Supreme Court most important,” notes the PowerPoint, because the “Court can overturn redistricting done by [the Legislature.]“

To that end, the document calls explicitly for removing judges appointed by John Engler, the state’s last Republican Governor. In a slide titled “Reforming the Judicial Branch,” it says “Reduce the number of Supreme Court Justices from seven to five; two GOP Justices eliminated” and “Reduce the Court of Appeals from 28 to 20 judges, most of them Engler appointees.”

Click here to read the rest of the story.

I know that many fellow Conservatives are depressed about our chances this election cycle but I urge you to watch this video and it will hearken you back to a time when America turned to my hero Ronald Reagan during dark times.

I am proud to say that I grew up during the Reagan years. I was touched and moved when I saw him give a speech in Rapid City, SD in 1986.

It is always darkest before the dawn. America was said to be destined to the trash heap of history under President Jimmy Carter but one man’s vision: one man’s hope for the future and his unlimited faith in the American people shined through and helped lead America towards becoming the shining city on the hill.

Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister of Great Britain while Reagan was President of the United States and our nation had no greater ally or friend.

Watch once again this eulogy of Reagan by Thatcher. I know that when I am depressed and afraid that I cannot continue the fight I watch these images and listen to these words.

I am still learning how to embed items so i am sorry for the crudeness

Well long time no talk LOL.

I am sorry for that but work has kept me pretty much snowed under. In a nutshell I have found the level of incompetence at United to now be rivaled by the incompetence of Northwest. Well there is not much more I can do about the abuses the American airline passenger endures in the air.

Anyone know of a good site to list complaints?

I am sitting at the local Barnes and Noble going over a horrible day in my head. I am completely head over heels in love with my girlfriend. We had the most amazing trip to DC last week.

We toured the White House, ate sushi, did a nighttime tour of the capital and fell in love all over again.

She is the most amazing woman that I have ever met in my life. She is my best friend.

Sorry to be going on but you ever have a day where you feel as if your holding on by just the tip of your fingers? I have them every once and awhile.

I just wanted to drop you guys a note and tell you I was still alive. Expect many more posts as I try to get each of you to shift just a little bit more to the right politically and embrace liberty and capitalism.

Take a lookat this report from ABC News 7 in Chicago.  How is Blagojevich still in office!!

It takes alot to have voter approvl numbers lower than President Bush but Gov. Rod wins that race as well.

Corruption is the buzzword of the Blagojevich administration.

Click here to read the story and watch the news report.