The Way It Used to Be, c. 1948

Texas--2010 Gubernatorial Election interesting race to keey an eye on!

From: http://www.petermorrisonreport.com

Summary of this week's report:

The race for Governor of Texas is starting to heat up, and
conservatives will soon have to decide whom we're going to support
in the GOP primary. We'll look at the pros and cons of the major
candidates in this week's report.

Full report:

Next year's Republican primary is fast approaching, and the
gubernatorial candidates are making it clear that this is going to
be no ordinary GOP primary battle. Governor Rick Perry is up
against Kay Bailey Hutchison, who has been a US Senator for sixteen
years. Primary battles between two political powerhouses don't
happen very often; obviously both camps understand just how
important the office of Texas governor will be in 2012. Besides
the two big names, there's also two other candidates in the GOP
race, Debra Medina and Larry Kilgore.

Which candidate should conservative Texans get behind?
Unfortunately, that's not an easy question to answer. Neither
Perry nor Hutchinson is someone conservatives can wholeheartedly
support, for various reasons I'll discuss below. Let's look at the
pros and cons of each candidate.

Rick Perry is a mixed bag. In some areas he's a conservative who
sides with us on our fundamental values. On the other hand, in his
ten years in office he has deviated from some of our core issues on
many occasions. Right now, he's sounding pretty conservative, but
that's to be expected during a campaign, when he knows he needs to
say the right things to get out the conservative vote.

One of his most outrageous actions was using his executive power to
order mandatory vaccinations against a sexually transmitted disease
for sixth grade girls in 2007. Parents all across Texas were
enraged, and rightfully so, at the idea their 12 year old girls
should have to get vaccinated against venereal disease, and that
they should have no say in the matter. There's nothing
conservative about ordering 12 year old girls to be injected with a
vaccine whose risks and effectiveness are unknown, especially one
for venereal disease.

The Trans Texas Corridor was another huge disappointment from
Perry. We fought tooth and nail for years to prevent it from
becoming a reality, and we finally won at least this round, but he
opposed us the entire time.

He has also worked against conservative principles when it comes to
the Texas Supreme Court. Early on, he appointed a moderate (i.e.
squishy Republican), Xavier Rodriguez, to the court. In 2002,
conservative Steve Smith ran against Rodriguez in the primary, beat
him, and won the general election. However, the governor never
forgave Smith for defeating his appointee. He not only refused to
meet with him, he also encouraged others to run against him in the
next election, and Smith lost the election. What makes this
betrayal even worse is that Steve Smith is a real hero - he was one
of the lawyers who argued the famous Hopwood case that led to a
ruling that affirmative action was illegal. He was a true defender
of conservative principles on Texas' highest court, and Rick Perry
stabbed him in the back.

Many conservatives were shocked in late 2007 when Perry endorsed
Rudy Giuliani for president. Notorious for appearing in makeup and
female clothing on national television, Giuliani was by far the
most liberal GOP candidate, supporting gun control, abortion and
homosexual civil unions. The early endorsement cost Perry even
more credibility because Giuliani's candidacy went nowhere, as most
GOP voters have no use for left wing liberals in the White House.
He got nothing in return for betraying us.

On illegal immigration, Governor Perry has been straddling the
fence, which pleases no one. He sent Texas Rangers to the border,
but opposes a border fence. He says he's in favor of penalties for
hiring illegal aliens, yet he has also denounced what he calls
"mean rhetoric" about illegal immigration, saying "we need to look
at ways to be bringing people together, rather than driving wedges
between them." He also opposes any efforts to pass laws preventing
children born to illegal aliens from automatically becoming
citizens.

On the positive side, Governor Perry has done a lot to make the
Texas economy the strongest in the nation, where more jobs were
created in 2008 than the 49 other states combined. He rejected the
Obama stimulus money, and ignored liberals who wanted him to raise
taxes and increase spending. He has also made some positive
statements about the need for states to take power back from the
federal government. Finally, his opposition to gay marriage and
abortion are strong points in his favor.

That brings us to Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. It's highly
unusual for a sitting Senator to challenge a sitting governor for
his office, which has led to a lot of speculation that KBH is
positioning herself for a possible presidential run in 2012. Let
me be clear; I think this is exactly what's happening. It looks
like Sen. Hutchison has looked at the massive revolt against Obama
and decided that he's extremely vulnerable next election, and that
the governor of the largest solidly GOP state will be in an
excellent position to run for the Republican presidential
nomination. Frankly, her run for governor looks like rank
opportunism. It's nearly November, and she still hasn't resigned
her Senate seat. Her failure to do so has led some to question if
she actually intends to resign before the primary, which makes it
look like she's hedging her bets.

Kay Bailey Hutchison has never been known as a strong conservative
in her sixteen years in the US Senate. She generally votes the
party line, but she has certainly never made a name for herself as
an outspoken defender of conservative principles or family values.
Lately she has been attacking Rick Perry for his opposition to the
border fence, but she herself has hardly been out in front on this
issue, and she comes off as if she's merely pandering to the
millions of Texans concerned about the invasion of illegal aliens.

On fiscal issues, Senator Hutchison has been a huge disappointment
over the years. For starters, last year she voted for the $700
billion Wall Street bailout. When she first ran for Senate, she
promised to get tough on the growing federal budget, and oppose
pork barrel politics. Not only has she not done that, she now brags
about being the biggest pork barrel spender in the Senate.
According to Citizens Against Government Waste, since 2005, of the
billions spent on what are called earmarks, KBH has been
responsible for an incredible one out of twelve dollars. This gross
fiscal irresponsibility is inexcusable, but Sen. Hutchison seems to
regard it as her job, and is quite proud of her record: "Why
wouldn't I fight for Texas?" Hutchison said to the Dallas Morning
News. "I'm proud of my effectiveness. To be hit for being effective
for Texas is puzzling." It's hard to believe she would suddenly
turn into a fiscally responsible governor if she gets the
nomination.

Finally, on social issues, KBH is a disaster. She has voted in the
past for some restrictions on abortion, but has stated clearly and
repeatedly that she supports Roe vs. Wade and does not want to see
it overturned. Several years ago she opposed President Bush's
nomination of devout Catholic Leon Holmes to the federal bench
because of his pro-life views. For this reason alone, I personally
cannot endorse Kay Bailey Hutchison. I regard abortion as the
taking of an innocent life, and can never endorse a politician who
supports Roe vs. Wade. Kay Bailey Hutchison appointing judges to
the Texas Supreme Court (in the case of a vacancy) would be a
terrible blow to traditional family values in the Lone Star State.

Debra Medina is a little known, dark horse candidate for the GOP
nomination. It's always exciting to see new faces and fresh ideas
coming into politics, and there's certainly a lot about Debra
Medina for conservatives to like. She's a Christian who's been
married for 26 years; she and her husband homeschooled their
children. She owns her own medical consulting business. She is
also Texas state coordinator for Ron Paul's Campaign for Liberty,
which speaks volumes about her, and Ron Paul has endorsed her.
Medina's stands on many of the issues are right in line with our
own values.

She's a strong fiscal conservative, as you might expect from her
support of Ron Paul. Her position on illegal immigration is also
quite sound - she says it has a negative impact on many areas of
American life, and should be stopped. I'd like to hear more
specifics from her on this, but that's encouraging. She wants to
take back state sovereignty from Washington, and make schools truly
local again. On health care, she's one of those rare persons who
says free markets are best.

She's unapologetically pro-life, and says she will never compromise
on our 2nd Amendment right to bear arms. The list goes on and on -
if you go to her website, you'll be pleasantly surprised to find a
candidate boldly speaking up for the issues we care so much about.

However, she wrote an article after the Sotomayor hearings that is
quite troubling, which you can read on her Facebook page. Here's
an excerpt:

"The GOP really need look no further than George Lopez's tear into
KBH's vote against Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor to see an
example of the seriousness of potential Hispanic voter back lash.
Indeed if Republicans here in Texas expect to win this next
election, no longer can the GOP not see the disparity between its
future and its rhetoric. No longer can the GOP wait until the
fourth quarter to include Latino voters. No longer can the GOP be
sideways or indecisive on immigration and border security and other
Latino interests as both KBH and Gov. Perry have been."

It's not exactly clear what she's driving at overall, but parts of
it are cause for grave concern. She seems to be criticizing Sen.
Hutchison for voting against confirming Sotomayor because that will
make it harder to bring Hispanics into the GOP. She refers to
immigration and border security as "Latino interests", and says the
GOP must take stands on these issues that won't anger Hispanics.
This kind of talk is extremely hard to square with her views on
immigration and liberty as expressed on her official website.
Usually this kind of rhetoric means someone supports amnesty and
open borders because they think that's what Latino voters want.

Larry Kilgore is probably the least well known candidate. He's a
Christian who's been married for 20 years. He formerly served in
the Air Force. He's never been elected to office, but has run
several times before, including in the 2006 gubernatorial
Republican primary, in which he got 50,000 votes. I don't know
much about him, but his website is listed below for those
interested.

In conclusion, right now I'm not endorsing anyone. Kay Bailey
Hutchison is personally out for me because of her views on
abortion. Rick Perry has done some great things for Texas, but
seems to be a lot more conservative during campaigns than after
he's elected. His propensity to discard his conservative
principles is disconcerting. Both Debra Medina and Larry Kilgore
are long shots that have never held a major office; Medina,
however, has been elected to her GOP county chair. That is always a
two edged sword. Career politicians aren't to be desired, but they
do have a voting record and so you have a pretty good idea of what
you're going to get. New faces can sometimes shine brighter at
first than they really are, but someone's potential will never be
realized if they aren't given a chance.


Last minute update:

Hutchinson's campaign has just released a new website called
SlickRickPerry.com. On it she documents that Perry also supported
the Wall Street bailout and joined with a Democratic governor to
encourage it to pass last September.

It's funny watching these two tear at each other for not being true
conservatives. Both sides have lots of ammunition. Perry has his
own snipe site at WashingtonKay.com.

Join the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Assoc.

Chairman Jim Rogers explains the competition.

Radio blog with Mike Brasovan

Congress Shall Make No Law....except this one!

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” –United States Constitution, First Amendment
Comments From Mike Brasovan's blog:  "New regulations from the Federal Trade Commission, scheduled to take effect December 1, seek to bring bloggers under greater scrutiny than ever before. The 4-0 vote by the commission attempts to establish clear motives of bloggers when voicing opinions. If found in violation of the new code, bloggers and advertisers could be charged up to $11,000 per violation. Infractions could even mean the violator will have to reimburse consumers for losses due to the bad or misleading blogs. This seems to me to be another example of an extremely vague regulation passed by a group of un-elected officials to scare bloggers and attempt to dampen their desire to share information."

If you click on Brasovan's link (above) you will find two other links that lead you to the original FOX News report and the FCC's announcement. http://ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/endortest.shtm.  Excerpt:  "Under the revised Guides, advertisements that feature a consumer and convey his or her experience with a product or service as typical when that is not the case will be required to clearly disclose the results that consumers can generally expect."  The rule change is 12 pages long, gives several examples of the application of the rule change, etc.

Hopefully this only applies to "advertisements" and not our RIGHT to express our opinions (Free Speech).

Ricardo Pau-Llosa: The Rebel without an Inferiority Complex

Ricardo Pau-Llosa: The Rebel without an Inferiority Complex

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Tarrant County Republican Hispanic Assembly

Reaching out to any and all people; not limited to Hispanics.

Stealing candy from babes!

Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country!  Get involved!

The World's Most Popular Political Quiz

The World's Most Popular Political Quiz
How the World's Smallest Political Quiz redefined politics, took over the Internet, impressed the experts, and made politics fun for more than 3 million people.  After taking the World's Smallest Political Quiz, the famous online test that instantly pinpoints your political ideology, no two people have exactly the same reaction.

Consider Courtney, a self-described "young Republican." She took the Quiz and was surprised by the result. "I [scored] libertarian centrist," she said. "I really think I lean to the right, but apparently some aspect of my social liberalism has centered me. Interesting."

For blogger Jessy, the Quiz confirmed what she already knew. The avowed liberal landed smack-dab in the liberal quadrant and said, "I could not agree more."

Then there's Krzysztof -- nicknamed "Critto" -- from Poland. For him, the Quiz was exciting. "I am a libertarian, after taking the Quiz!" he said enthusiastically. "I love the World's Smallest Political Quiz, for it is cute, small, and very useful."  Cute? Well, OK; let's not argue with a guy named Critto. Small? You bet. It takes less than two minutes to zip through. Useful? Absolutely, if the surge of people taking the Quiz is any proof.

Every day, more than 4,000 people flock to the Web site of the Advocates for Self- Government (www.theadvocates.org/quiz.html) to take the Quiz. That's 166 people an hour, 24 hours a day. In fact, since 1996, when the Advocates started tracking results, more than 3.6 million people have clicked, moused, and surfed their way to the Quiz. Why the enormous popularity -- especially when so many other political quizzes clutter up the Internet?  Sharon Harris, president of the Advocates, has a theory. "The Quiz offers a more diverse way of looking at politics," she said. "It gives people a fast, accurate way of determining who agrees with them most."  That "more diverse" insight is the key. Before the Quiz came along, politics was a two- way street. You were either liberal or conservative, and that was that.  Enter David Nolan, an MIT political-science graduate. In 1969, Nolan realized that traditional political definitions didn't make sense. He observed that liberals usually supported personal liberty (they defended free speech), but opposed economic liberty (they liked high taxes and strict regulation of business). Conservatives were the opposite. They supported economic liberty (low taxes and minimal regulations), but opposed personal liberty (they applauded laws against pornography). 

So far, so good. But what about people who supported both personal and economic liberty? They didn't fit. Nether did people who opposed both personal and economic liberty.  Nolan finally resolved the paradox. "I began to doodle around with the idea of trying to reduce the political universe to a graphical depiction," he told The Liberator magazine in 1996. "I thought, 'Maybe we can delineate this on some kind of map, using a two-axis graph.' "  That was the breakthrough. Instead of looking at politics as a two-way line, Nolan designed a political chart that went in four directions -- high or low on economic issues, and high or low on personal issues.  Conservatives and liberals fit in this new political spectrum. So did libertarians and statists, who Nolan added to the mix. Libertarians scored high/high on liberty issues; statists scored low/low. Later, centrists were added in the middle -- and the Nolan Chart, a new way of looking at politics, was born.  In 1985, Marshall Fritz, founder of the Advocates for Self-Government, added 10 questions to the chart. He squeezed it all onto a business card-size handout, dubbed it the World's Smallest Political Quiz, and took it to a local print shop.

The rest is history. Over the years, the nonpartisan Advocates distributed 7 million printed copies of the Quiz to help spread the word about libertarianism. In 1995, the Quiz made the jump to cyberspace where it immediately became the Internet's most popular political quiz, with 13,400 Web sites linked to it today.  But is it accurate? After all, the Advocates is a libertarian organization. Did they rig the Quiz so everyone would score libertarian?  No, says an expert. Cynthia Carter, professor of History and Political Science at Florida Community College at Jacksonville, said, "Although this quiz is provided by a Libertarian organization, it does not lead you to answer in any particular way."

That may be why instructors around the USA use the Quiz in their classrooms. If you peeked into classrooms at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, Carnegie Mellon University, or Texas A&M University (to name just a few) over the past few years, you'd find find students answering the Quiz's questions.  Even cynical reporters -- always eager to expose a phony -- have been impressed by the Quiz's insight and honesty. For example, the Washington Post reported, "The Quiz has gained respect as a valid measure of a person's political leanings."
But don't let the scholarly recommendations fool you. The Quiz isn't a boring political science project -- it's fun. In fact, that is the one reaction that just about everybody who takes the Quiz does have in common.  Professional astrologer Adze Mixxe said it best. No matter what your political identity is, he told people, "You will get 100 percent enjoyment from the World's Smallest Political Quiz." And isn't that a political score everyone can agree on?

Thomas Jefferson Quotes

Thomas Jefferson Quotes

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Adiós…Name Peddlers, Do-Nothings and Slogan-Slingers

Adiós…Name Peddlers, Do-Nothings and Slogan-Slingers

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Candidates for President 2012 are already coming out of woodwork!

Pawlenty, who has chosen not to run next year for a third term as Minnesota governor, is turning his focus toward a possible 2012 White House run and rebuilding the GOP. Pawlenty appears to be using this week's meeting as a launching pad.

I hope people will investigate their candidates better next time around.

Mayan Year 2012 Stirs Doomsday Theories - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News - FOXNews.com

Mayan Year 2012 Stirs Doomsday Theories - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News - FOXNews.com

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Friends of the US Chamber of Commerce

You can go to this web-site and get the code for a web-sticker code to be posted on your personal web site.  The sticker says "Write Your Congressman."

Follow me on Facebook for Fun and Facts

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