Incompetence

Adding to this disaster is a ‘strange lack of urgency‘ by the White House in issuing orders to federal department and agencies directing them to take immediate action to stop the leaks.

Perhaps this administration is looking for cover in the wikileaks? Shellacked by the recent elections with no coherent plan of victory for either Iraq or Afghanistan, why not blame a loss and hasty retreat of our forces on the devastating effects of the leaked documents.

All is not lost, good news can be found in this mess. That woman, Hilary Clinton, was totally broadsided by the leaked documents.

Post Thanksgiving Food Coma

It was a Thanksgiving smörgåsbord! I’ve enough leftovers today (Sunday) to feed a small third world nation. Seriously.  I’m staying away from turkey or any type of turkey product for at least a month.

Tonight’s dinner – a warm bowl of farina.

What ever happened to the simple pleasure of thankfulness that supposedly marks this day? I found a lot of comfort food and football but little reflection on what we are thankful for in our lives.

When are we thankful for what we have right now?  Next year, instead of two turkeys, stuffing for atleast 5 turkeys, a dozen side dishes, an endless supply of potatoes and finally desserts too numerous to count. Oh, I did forget the hors d’oeuvre pre dinner? My bad.  How about a more flavorful yet pared down menu with an extra large serving of thankfulness.

Sound dishy to you?

Thanksgiving 2010

It’s that time of year when we reflect on what we are thankful for in our lives.

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!
~Author Unknown

Wishing all my readers and lurkers a very tasty Thanksgiving!

Farewell Spectrum

An iconic piece of Philadelphia history crumbles today. Indeed, how much of our own history is tied to this venue?

Remember The Spectrum

TeaParty to SoCons – You Need Not Apply Here

Melissa Clouthier ~ Why are we fighting already? I really do believe we’re working toward the same goal.

November 2nd ushered in 60+ new Congressmen, 6 Senators and 682 State seats with a united message from the electorate to bring fiscal control our government. Make no mistake, this was a clear repudiation of liberal big spending, big government policies embraced by the Dem controlled House, Senate and WH.

Soon after this stunning victory,  17 individuals issued a letter opening a needless divide between social cons and fiscal cons – I refer to them as “The Gang of 17“

In an open letter to Senator McConnell and Representative Boehner, 17 individuals affiliated with teaparty groups reminded the politicians to  focus on fiscal issues:

“On behalf of limited-government conservatives everywhere, we write to urge you and your colleagues in Washington to put forward a legislative agenda in the next Congress that reflects the principles of the Tea Party movement,”

Great opening that is in total accord with teaparty groups around the nation. However, the rest of the letter goes completely off the rails and throws social conservatives under the Teaparty Bus:

Already, there are Washington insiders and special interest groups that hope to co-opt the Tea Party’s message and use it to push their own agenda – particularly as it relates to social issues. We are disappointed but not surprised by this development. We recognize the importance of values but believe strongly that those values should be taught by families and our houses of worship and not legislated from Washington, D.C.

We urge you to stay focused on the issues that got you and your colleagues elected and to resist the urge to run down any social issue rabbit holes in order to appease the special interests.

So much for that laser-like focus on economic freedom and limited government.

Sarah Palin’s Alaska

Sarah Palin - A New Face on Fox

A record breaking 5 million people tuned into The Learning Channel’s (TLC) Sarah Palin’s Alaska premier.

Yes, it is that damn good. Check it out!

On This Day: 10th of November, 1775

235 years ago in Tun Tavern in Philadelphia, the Marine Corps came into being.

Ooorah!

November 2nd, 2010 – A Shot Across The Bow

Tuesday’s election was, at its core, a repudiation of the unpopular policies pushed by Obama and his super majority in the Senate and Congress.  It was NOT a mandate for victorious Republicans to continue business as usual.

Doug Welch, a columnist for the St. Louis Examiner, observed “We had a good day on Tuesday and many Conservatives got elected into office. But make no mistake the war is not won.”

Indeed, conservatives have just begun to fight on a national political level. However, the real victory of Tuesday’s election was at the grass root level in state and local races.  Pennsylvania is one of twenty three states whose governorships have been given to the Republican candidate. In addition, the election swept in Republican control of Pennsylvania’s State House. How this will affect Pennsylvania’s ‘pension bomb’ issue remains to be seen.  Also included in this sea change are numerous elections for school board and committee seats that conservative activist groups have been successfully running candidates for in 2009 and 2010.  The ground work for this stunning election night has been ongoing for the past two years and shows no sign of letting up for the 2012 election cycle and beyond.  We were able to remove low hanging fruit this time around, next time it will be more challenging to replace Allyson Schwartz, Bob Casey, jr and Bob Brady at the federal level. In the Southeast part of the state there are the Boyle brothers (Kevin and Brendan D-172 & 170) and John Sabatina (D-174) whose replacement with conservatives will help solidify a conservative majority in the Pa House.  Indeed, conservative activists work is far from complete.

At these times, I find it useful to check the reaction on the other side. As usual, they do not disappoint.

At Huffpo the work of the week is ‘Gridlock‘. It appears they are reminding the now minority party that it does not pay to work with the majority when Congress is in session. Hmmm, weren’t these the same people who chastised Republicans for refusing to work with Democrats these past two years? Hello to the new ‘Party of No’.  Why don’t you use your minority status  as a teachable moment and show the nation what you mean by bipartisan support.

The DU is well, the DU.  So to hell with the election, let’s fire up the War on Christmas.

Young Philly Politics also see gridlock in the future. Is that such a bad thing, though? With gridlock, the out of control spending is corked, Cap&Trade goes nowhere and we can discuss the best way to dismantle Obamacare.  I’m kinda looking forward to a gridlock in Congress, what about you?

My friend, John Hawkins, posted a round up of some the most eye opening reactions of this election  from the left.  It is a must read!

The Day After

Attention Obama: The Krakon has been released!

For the past week, I’ve been running on adrenaline and tonight I’m able to relax in the knowledge that Pat Toomey is now Senator-elect Toomey. I congratulate the new Republican Congressmen-elect Jim Gerlach, Pat Meehan, Mike Fitpatrick and Lou Barletta. Congratulations also to the Republican Governor-elect Tom Corbett.  In addition, the Pennsylvania State House has now flipped into GOP control.

WOW.

It is an astounding change in the political landscape of Pennsylvania. However, this change did not occur overnight and can be attributed to the dedication of several grass root organizations working diligently to bring this political change to Pennsylvania.  Kudos to the Pennsylvania Conservative Council, The Independence Hall Tea Party Association, American Sheepdogs, and Chester County Patriots for their support in GOTV efforts in the counties surrounding Philadelphia. I’m sure in the all the counties of Pennsylvania, this same scenario was being played out. I believe this made the difference in Pat Toomey’s victory last night.

Okay, I’m really crashing now. Need sleep. Will continue this discussion in a later post.

Toomesday

VOTE

THANK YOU PENNSYLVANIA!!!!

Pa Senate Race Winner: PAT TOOMEY

Pa Congressional Race Winners

PA-6 Winner: Jim Gerlach

PA-7 Winner: Patrick Meehan

PA-8 Winner: Mike Fitzpatrick

PA-11 Winner: Lou Barletta

PA-13 Winner: Allyson Schwartz

PA-17 Winner: Holden

Governor’s race Winner: Tom Corbett/Jim Cawley

State Representatives

PA-155 Winner: Curt Schroder

PA-170 Winner: Brendan Boyle

Other National Races:

Delaware Senate Race Winner: Chris Coons

Nevada Senate Race Winner: Harry Reid

Florida Senate Race Winner: Marco Rubio

California Senate Race Winner: Barbara Boxer

Other Congressional Races:

Wisconsin CD-7 Winner: Sean Duffy

New Jersey CD-3 Winner: Jon Runyan

Virginia CD-8 Winner: Jim Moran

Other Governor Races:

California Governor race Winner: Jerry Brown

South Carolina Governor race Winner: Nikki Haley