The Savage Republican

Amendment X for President

You heard it here first.
He was only 10 votes away from winning the NARN Presidential Straw Poll.

Amendment X in 2008.

Priceless!

Live blogging the 3 day Minnesota GOP convention - $50.00 (and no sleep for 2 days)...
A good steak at Manny's with your blogging buds - $50.00 (depending on the number of adult beverages consumed)...
Cost of getting your picture taken with a major leftie (and potential DFL candidate) at the hospitality suite of his potential rival......

PRICELESS!!!!!

You must check out Triple A with Al Franken!!! It is a scream (you have to give Al credit for being such a good sport!)

Day 2 - the man of the hour

Governor Pawlenty's nomination was supposed to have taken place today, however, it had to be moved so that the Governor could attend the funeral of one of our fallen heros.

He started off with the DFL barber joke (if you have heard the Governor speak lately you know the joke, if you haven't....here is the readers digest version - a guy goes to his barber (a DFLer) and told him about his pending Italian vacation and the barber told him "oh you shouldn't go...it's too expensive, it's too far away, the people aren't friendly etc" and when the client gets back he tells the barber it was the best vacation of his life, that he got an audience with the Pope and that the Pope commented on his horrible haircut!) The gist of it is that "people who are good at complaining are good at little else".

He went on to remind the delegates of all the good things that have happened in the last 4 years - Profiles of Learning abolished, $4billion deficit turned to a surplus, Women's Right to Know passed, government more accountable and a better value for the taxpayers dollars, conceal carry reform passed, 100k new jobs, welfare reform and eminent domaine reform passed! He reminded us that the last 12 months do not fully represent the entire term.

He "bragged" about how incarceration has gone up in his administration, saying that "crime is not a societal disease to be understood, but an evil to be confronted!" YOW!!!!!

He pulled out a timely piece from the Star Tribune that showed that our tax ranking had tumbled (in the Strib's point of view) to 16th place in the highest taxed rankings (we were number 4) and reminded us that the DFL had intentions during the last session of making us the highest taxed state in the Union (something I wrote about here) and that the heart and soul of the DFL agenda was tax increases! He also went on to address those that say that property taxes went up under his administration by reminding them that property taxes are controlled by the cities and the counties and that the cities and counties need to practice the same kind of fiscal restraint that the state is practicing rather than just pass the price on to the users! He also reminded us that the increases in property taxes was much higher than the cuts in Local Government Aid were! He said that the solution to that was to cities and counties just as accountable to the taxpayers as the state and the federal governments are or to cap property tax increases!

He went on to lay out the path that he wants to lead the state down with this Ronald Reagan quote (everyone quoted Reagan this weekend!) "If you're afraid of the future...if you're afraid of the future, get out of the way. Move aside for the people are ready to move again'...the people of Minnesota are ready to move again!"

He said we need to protect the traditional family - that the breakdown of the traditional family is the root cause of a lot of our social ills. "Government programs can not replace family." School reform and accountability needs to continue moving forward. "Nothing damages our children more than setting low expectations for them."

He took on immigration reform next, stating that it must be "legal & reasonable". He called our current system chaotic and unacceptable - that sanctuary laws (such as in Minneapolis and St. Paul) needed to be struck down, that non-citizens should not be eligible for in state tuition in our colleges and that employers need to be held accountable once we have an untamperable federal ID card.

He said that there were areas where government does supply a need - maintaining roads and infrastructure, but we need to hold government accountable to the defined mission and that it needs to be paid for hitting it's goals!

He then quoted JFK's (a tax cutting, pro-life, pro-military Democrat) comments that values are one generation away from extinction - that kids need to be taught the values that we need to better our state and our society.

He closed by reaching out to the base that is very upset with him because of the stadium deals and the tobacco tax/fee. He said "I know I have not done everything perfectly - that I have disappointed some of you, but we are making progress and we simply can not go back to where we came from."

All in all, it was the speech that he absolutely needed to give to the base - the one that will help him get re-elected in November.

Video at Residual Forces.

First night reflections - Mark Kennedy

During the nomination for Mark Kennedy, the campaign played a video that you know will be cut into numerous 30 and 60 second commercials. A very slick, well produced touchy feely spot, guaranteed to resonate with the soccer moms and anyone who ever grew up on or near a farm! His acceptance speech was short and sweet (maybe 5 minutes maximum) with a couple of memorable moments.

He said that we need to bring Minnesota values and common sense to Washington DC. He also said that the next 160 days were crucial to determine whether we sent another "do nothing Senator or one that will do what needs to be done". The line that got the biggest applause was "A Senate seat is a terrible thing to waste" an obvious dig at the legacy that is Mark Dayton!

The acceptance speech was more of what was expected. He came out with the "Senator Kennedy you can be proud of line" (those of us who have heard Congressman Kennedy speak prior to this are well versed with this line) early in the speech. He talked about how he learned the value of work from his parents, that he was the first boy in their family to go to college, he gave the obligatory mentions to his wife and children.

Then he got into the meat of the speech. He talked about "two paths....one forward and one backward" and how he would work hard to get us going down the forward moving path. He said that politicized special investigations and partisan impeachment proceedings would not move the country forward. He got a big cheer from the crowd when he talked about how the tax code needed to be changed and that the tax code was "seven times larger than the Bible" and that there was no good news in the tax code!

He hit on tax cuts, job growth, earmark reform and line item vetos - all red meat issues for Republicans. He reminded the faithful that the economy was growing (5% last quarter, 5 million new jobs added, unemployment under 5% and home ownership at an all time high) and reminded them that it took leadership and action to get there and it will take leadership and action to stay there!

He hit a sour note with some delegates when he boasted that he voted against the No Child Left Behind act (a cornerstone of the first 4 years of the Bush Administration). However, he made up for it with his remarks on "universal health care" when he said "The government already hasn't controlled our borders and didn't respond promptly to a major disaster, and now they think it should be in charge of every single aspect of healthcare in America? What color is the sky in their world? Their ideas are backwards."

Hugh Hewitt must have inspired this line - "I will vote to confirm judges who are ethical, qualified, and faithful to our Constitution. No ifs, ands, or buts. No more partisan obstruction!"

Then he took this swipe at his presumed opponent, Amy Klobuchar - "A revolving door justice system doesn't work any better stopping illegal immigration along the border than it does stopping crime in Minneapolis. " Given what is going on in Minneapolis, it was a well deserved swipe, but that won't stop the DFL from complaining loudly!

I personally loved this line (when talking about the Global War on Terror) "Mistakes have been made, so have corrections, but the fundamental fact remains that John F. Kennedy's words have never been more true: "If men and women are in chains anywhere in the world, then freedom is endangered everywhere." He then said "cutting and running is one path....it is the wrong path."

All in all it was an excellent speech....a speech that you can hear over at KvM.

First night reflections - Harold Shudlick

The convention rules state that each candidate has 30 minutes for their nomination, seconding and acceptance speeches. Congressman Kennedy (more on him later) barely used 10 of his allotted 30 minutes. The Shudlick campaign, on the other hand, used every minute available to him. The nominating and seconding speeches probably only went 5-7 minutes, so the candidate got the rest - and it was needed.

Mr. Shudlick started off dedicating the message to the delegates, those of us who took time on a lovely early summer evening to come to do the party's business. You can hear the entire speech over at Residual Forces (Triple A video taped ALL of the speeches and loaded them to his site - what a trooper!) Rather than quote him word for word, I am going to pull out a few things that struck me as important.

Mr. Shudlick spent a lot of time talking about his Viet Nam service (he mentioned his Bronze Star and Combat Infantry Badge at least 3 times during the speech), his ordination as a pastor and his work as an Army Reserve Chaplain. He spent the majority of the speech talking about these "credentials" for the Senate as if this was all a Senator needed. About halfway through the speech I had this weird sense of deja vu. I had heard this speech before, but where???? It was nice to get an idea of where he came from but here is a memo to the all candidates.....service in the military, while very noble, is not the SOLE qualification for election to serve in Washington DC!!!! You need to have solutions to the issues facing the country.

When he finally DID get to issues he did hit some the right notes:

On immigration - we need to close the borders and hold people who employ illegals responsible for violating the law (a common theme this weekend). He was not for amnesty of any kind or for allowing illegals to "confiscate" our benefits (a clear reference to free health care and social security benefits). He said that entering the country illegally showed a disrespect for the country because they did not "respect our laws" (I really liked that line). He stressed that we needed to enforce our laws!

On Marriage and Abortion - He is pro-marriage amendment and against public funding of abortion! Not much to add there....the delegation ate that up! It was well needed red meat!

On Iraq - we should seek out the insurgents and find out what they are fighting for (HUH?????). He then said that we should let the Iraqi government set the timetable for withdrawal but that we should not leave until the job is done (again...HUH?????)

On Energy - we should allow energy companies to direct their "excess" profits toward drilling and refinery and to the development hydro-electric power.

By and large, he started getting the delegation on his side, I have to admit I was starting to think he had a shot, and then he started attacking Mark Kennedy. The line that lost it for him though was when he accused Congressman Kennedy of "hiding under a Bush" for the last 6 years. You could hear the air coming out of his support with that ill-advised line! The Logical Husband spoke to a couple of Shudlick supporters after the speech and even they knew he was on a roll until he made that remark. They all cringed when they heard the "Bush" crack.

I would say that he probably lost at least 100 votes in the last 5 minutes of the speech, which is a bad thing. There are many in the grass roots, like myself and the Logical Husband, who would have loved to have put a little fear of the base, back into the candidates so that they remember just who it is that put them in office in the first place!

Post Convention thoughts

While my mates, Savage Republican and Amendment X, were live-blogging the final morning of the convention, I was catching up on some family time (the Junior Logician had a thriller of a baseball game and the house is in dire need of attention...a womans work is truly never done...). Now that I have a few minutes to breath, I thought I would share some of my reflections of the previous 2 days of the convention.

It was a thrill to see Triple A (of KvM, Residual Forces AND BachmanvWetterling), the ever charming Michael (from MDE) and Doug and Gary (also from KvM) again and to meet Chief from Freedom Dogs! Sadly I did not get a chance to touch base with Jerry from SD63, but the campaign season is still young. I'm sure we will touch base again soon enough!

I will be posting (from my notes - I went old school this weekend) some of my thoughts about the various speeches. The guys who live blogged the weekend did a wonderful job covering the speeches in their own right, but I have a few thoughts of my own to throw out at you as well.

The Finale...

And hard working Rachel Horn, underpaid Republican Field Staff, easily worth twice as much for half the work.

11:27 a.m.-Balloons aplenty, all endorsed candidates on stage, except Governor Pawlenty who is attending the funeral of a fallen Minnesota Hero.

Pat Anderson, the people's pitbull and introducing "Gus" THE Bulldog, not lapdog

Someone who was bold in being a conservative on the local level, is now watching over how your money is being spent.
No MS Dutcher who switched her party affiliation after being elected, Pat is dogged in making sure that integrity is maintained, no matter where her investigation leads.

Your representatives at the MNGOP Convention-

Mike Beard, R-35A, doing the work also of a delegate to the convention as he tries to out do the Savage Republican in sartorial splender.

Endorsing II

Jeff Johnson wants to be the first Republican Attorney General in 40 years. He's read Exodus and Leviticus and knows about wandering in the wilderness for 40 years.
Hey, what about an AG that doesn't want to grab headlines to get publicity to become governor and worsening our anti-business climate by suing any and all corporations?
Johnson says he wants to protect us from criminals! Not protect his poll lead. HEY, there's a concept.
Brian Sullivan introduced Jeff to thunderous applause.
Jeff thinks the greatest news is that his opponent is Matt Entenza. Hopefully it will be a bare knuckles fight.
Jeff's hope is that Entenza will spend his his campaign money as recklessly as he's spent your money from the Legislature.

Endorsing....

10:14 We are now set to endorse Mary Kiffmeyer as Secretary of State. I've talked to Secretary Kiffmeyer a number of times. And she has done so much to ensure and insure the integrity of the vote here in Minnesota. And she is GREAT supporter of our veterans!
Go Mary!

FIRST EVER!!!!! The digital pioneers of Scott County

Here we are, Savage Republican and your humble fighting patriot Amendment X, blogging live from the MN State Republican Party from the lovely Convention Center in overtaxed Minneapolis. (And I miss the old Minneapolis Auditorium, Shrine Circus and all).

We'll have more comments from the floor, your representatives and party officals.
And thanks to Savage Republican for the picture of your trooper for liberty.

10:10- Chairman Ron Carey, surviving on 3.1 hours of sleep and massive amounts of caffein, has given the opening speech of the day, reminding us that a single vote is always important. He believes that in 2008, Minnesota may be the Ohio of 2004, be a serious swing state (remembering that a recent Prairie Pravda poll shows that Minnesota now considers itself Republican rather than those other people).

When diversity is actually a good thing!

While I was at the convention this past weekend, one of my discussion groups had an interesting series of exchanges (all paraphrased and no names used to protect the innocent)...

Writer A: We must contact our legislators about the upcoming vote on the marriage amendment.

Writer B: Well we must not let up on them on immigration....

Writer C: Radical Islam needs to be our immediate concern...

Writer D: No we must be on top of the degradation of the culture.....

In Minnesota, we have been having our own version of these conversations. Some feel that the stadium issue should be the defining issue of the Minnesota election, others feel the cigarette fee/tax should be "it", others marriage...you see where this is going right?

One of the great strengths of the Republican Party is it's activists and we ALL (yes I include myself in this generalization) have our pet issues that we are most passionate about. What we need to do, instead of letting these issues divide us this election season, is to use these differences to help the party succeed! If we all take our individual areas of passion and expertise and combine them, we will have a stronger party, a stronger messege and a much stronger chance of gaining seats, both in St Paul and in DC come November! Let's make sure that all ideas that mesh with the platform are given a fair hearing in the arena of ideas this campaign season!

Presidential Straw Poll

During the convention yesterday, a Presidential Preference Straw Poll for 2008 was held. The results were as follows:

Newt Gingrich 40.7% (220 votes)
George Allen 14.6% (79 votes)
John McCain 10.1% (55 votes)
Jeb Bush 5.9% (32 votes)
Mitt Romney 5.3% (29 votes)
Condi Rice 5.2% (28 votes)
Rudy Giuliani 3.5% (19 votes)
Tom Tancredo 2.4% (13 votes)
Sam Brownback 1.7% (9 votes)
Others with less than 1% a piece 10.3% (56 votes)

Now I was not around for the straw poll - I had family obligations, but I was quite interested in seeing how this turned out. There was a "Draft Newt" group that apparently did it's job. However, I was glad to see that Senator Allen finished in second place in a state that has (according to people I know) no clue as to who he is. The fact that Senator McCain finished a very distant third in a very purple state was even more encouraging!

On a side note, in the final hour of the Northern Alliance Radio Program today, they did their own straw poll and Senator Allen won going away, with our own Amendment X garnering one vote!

Customers and the public

As much as I loathe correcting Prairie Pravda, seems that they have difficulty distinguishing between the public sector and the private (though I'm not surprised).
In their article about another failed alternative energy program, they state that "the public" paid for idling these ghastly looking wind generators. Well, no they didn't. At least as far as the article is concerned. The headline for the article is "Public paid for idled wind farms" and then state in the first sentence in the article "Xcel Energy electricity customers have paid millions of dollars for wind energy that was never produced, according to documents filed with state regulators." Well kids, customers of a private corporation are not "the public". They are private customers. They pay for the failures of the private corporation, though one heavily regulated. Now, when the government FORCES you to pay for say, pork or corn or wheat or barley NOT produced by farm set asides or subsidies, that's the PUBLIC paying for something not produced.
The Twins stadium is the PUBLIC being forced to pay for something they don't consume. Now, if the Twins don't produce a World Series Championship, well then, the PUBLIC is being forced to pay for something not produced. If the consumers of the Twins, namely the fans, paid for the stadium, then they, the consumers of the Twins pay for it all.
Wait a minute, isn't that kind of a definition for liberty and freedom? Those that use it pay for it? Those who don't use it aren't forced to pay for it?
Yah. It is.
Now, go to MN Tea Party and do something for liberty.

Reap & sow, free markets, illegals

Ann Coulter has another great column today talking about how GWB's and the Senate's illegal immigration program is really amnesty. Read her comments and see how the illegals get breaks on illegals' actions that would put you and me in jail. There is one sentence that struck me: "...but illegal aliens don't require their employers to comply with OSHA regulations, overtime and minimum wage laws, unemployment insurance, disability laws, the Family and Medical Leave Act, a slew of oppressive environmental regulations, and 4 million other ways the government has developed to make it extremely expensive to hire legal employees. Instead of creating a separate class of citizens who are immune from oppressive government rules, how about relieving all of us even us shiftless Americans from the cost of government? "
She reminds me of the quote I heard a few years back "The black market is the free market asserting itself." So, here we have an example of employers voting with their money. With illegals they are freed from all that Ann talks about in that one paragraph. No OSHA, no EEOC, no FTC, no sexual harassment lawsuits, and on and on and on.No endless forms and worries about what regulation may be being broken and will result in a lengthy trial and/or fine or fines and/or jail time.
Now, do I support the hiring of illegals? Not at all. But so many people are looking at symptoms, not causes. Why do the illegals come here? Because there are jobs. Why are there jobs? Because employers are willing to take the risk to hire illegals because it's cheaper to hire them. And not just the actual cost of wages, but the perceived total cost of employment including meeting all those 4,000,000 regulations that Ann talks about.
The same thought process is involved with the shift of jobs overseas. Why go overseas? Because it's cheaper. Again, no OSHA, EEOC, sexual harassment... And my lefty buddy's solution? Fine every employer who exports a job. The Republican's idea? Some incentive or tax credit program for certain "government approved" activities.
Have you ever heard any Senator, any House member, any President (save Reagan) ever say "We need to get out of the way of business!" Nope. We have "The Competiveness Initiative" from GWB. As my friend Son of Liberty states over at MNTeaParty that the way it works best is when the government is out of the way, the way the Founding Fathers envisioneded America. That if fraud and/or force isn't used (by either individuals OR the government-especially the government) the free market works really well.
So, instead of making easier to hire employees, Congress and GWB have another "program".
How about the "Federal Register Reduction Program"? Or "Let's Get Out of Their Way" Program? And strangely enough,we already have one.
It's called the 10th Amendment. Or Amendment X.
All we need to have happen is to have all Congress and the President keep their oath of office.
Maybe I'm being over optimistic.

Countdown

Well fellow Minnesotans, the Republican Party of Minnesota Endorsing Convention starts in a little under 23 hours. I have still not gotten a response to my multiple requests for information from the Shudlick Campaign. From the Shudlick website - here are the issues the candidate finds to be important.

"Shudlick for Senate '06About the Issues

Issues to Embrace
• More freedom for American Citizens
• Lower taxes
• Safer Streets
• Protect American jobs
• Pursue energy independence
• Secure borders
• Less government
• When it comes to trade issues, protect state and national sovereignty
• Traditional American Values
• English as official U.S. Language
• Work to defeat Terrorist, Insurgents, and Islamo-facists
• Stronger Laws to reduce voter fraud and identity theft
• Protect farmers, laborers, and business
• Unfunded suggestions
• Better management of foreign interactions & aid
• Control Illegal Immigration/Asylum
• Support Affordable Healthcare"

Based on this, I sent the candidate the following questions:

Do you support President Bush's comprehensive immigration reform or do you support a "wall" at the border to stem the flow of illegal immigrants?
Do you support the President's so called "wiretapping" of suspected al Qaeda terrorists? If not, why?
Do you support a Canadian style "universal health care"? Why or why not? If not, what type of health care reform would you support?
Do you support making President Bush's tax cuts permanent? Why or why not?
Given that the per gallon cost of gasoline is hovering right around $3.00 a gallon, what would you suggest the federal government do to help reduce the price? Would you support building more refineries? Drilling in ANWR? Repealing the ban on off-shore drilling? If not, why?

I didn't even ask about Iran and I should have...

Given that these are just a few of the very pressing issues that the future Junior Senator from Minnesota will have to face in Washington DC, it is only fair that the people of Minnesota know what they are voting for. If Mr. Shudlick expects the delegates to vote for him, he has to give them more of a reason to vote for him than "sticking it to the party kingmakers".

Gubernatorial maneuvering

I got the attached email from a delegate to the State Convention this week.

" Dear 2006 Republican Friend,

You may have heard that a rogue candidate of a different political party will seek to use our convention as a platform to stage a publicity stunt to kick start her failing campaign for governor.
Like you, I hold our convention process in high regard and don’t wish to have any B-rate candidate, be it a Democrat, Green, or Libertarian, turn our party’s convention into a side show.

The non-Republican I am referring to is Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Sue Jeffers. There will be an effort later this week by her and her campaign to crash our convention, borrow our stage, and spew her platform. Before she plays her silly games, let me tell you a little more about this candidate from a competing political party.

Over the next few days, I will be communicating with delegates and alternates to our convention about Ms. Jeffers. But as prominent leaders of the Republican Party of Minnesota, I wanted to ensure you had an advance copy of my materials.

I have attached my letter and a handout detailing the differences between Ms. Jeffers' Libertarian Party and the Republican Party of Minnesota. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Finally, my apologies if you received this email more than once. "

The letter was sent by Michael Brodkorb of MDE fame. The delegate who sent the letter to me, said the following regarding Ms. Jeffers:

"While I don't subcribe to alot of Ms. Jeffers opinions or stances on the issues I think she should be afforded a chance to speak at the convention. I feel Gov. Pawlenty has been in need of a serious butt-kicking for some time now. I hope he wins in November and will work for his reelection but I have been extremely displeased with most of the upper ranks of this party this last year and trying to out DFL the democrats is not a platform I want to support. I want these people nervous because the wake-up call is long over-due. So count me out of your business as usual style of politics. I think pretending that our guys are doing just swell is the road to major defeat in November and I will not support or condone that position."

I happen to agree with the delegate in question when he states that our candidates are trying to "out DFL the Democrats". They ARE. Whether it be rewarding law breakers (the President's "Comprehensive Immigration Reform") to blocking off shore oil drilling, to voting to reward illegal behavior, or adding stealth tax increases to fund stadiums for professional sports teams, our elected Republicans are acting more and more like Democrats every day. This is something that Amendment X has railed about here, here, here, here and here!

I agree with Michael that Sue Jeffers should not be our Gubernatorial candidate, but not for the reasons that he states. I think her "poor me - the party is picking on me" attititude is a loser! If she thinks the tactics of the RPM are bad, just wait until she has to run against the meatgrinder that will be Mike Hatch's campaign!

My advise to Ms. Jeffers.....if you can't take the knock down drag out rumble that is partisan politics, stay home! Politics is a rough business and your personal life is dragged through the mud. You need to be able to ignore the push back, stand your ground and defend your issues. If you can do that, you don't need to play the victim card...the "they won't let me in to play" card.

The problem with boys

The Star Tribune ran a pair of point, counter-point articles about "The Trouble with Boys". The first article talks about the American "Boy Crisis" and the other takes the boy crisis "myth" to task.

First let's take a look at a few basic statistics:

• Receive the majority of D and F grades, as high as 70 percent.
• Create 80 percent of classroom discipline problems.
• Account for 80 percent of high school dropouts.
• Represent 70 percent of children diagnosed with learning disabilities and 80 percent of those diagnosed with behavioral disorders.
• Are an average of a year to a year-and-a-half behind girls in reading and writing skills.
• Represent 80 percent of children on Ritalin or other meds used to treat ADHD.
• Make up less than 44 percent of America's college population.
• Are diagnosed with a special education disability twice as much as girls; are suspended 2.5 times more than girls and are expelled at three times the rate of girls.

And yet according to the ladies who wrote the counter-point article, this is an "overblown backlash against the women's movement"! As the mother of a son, I would like to take these ladies to task for their complete and utter ignorance of what a boy goes through in our public schools and the hoops that an engaged parent (such as myself) has to go through just to get some help for his/her son. My son IS the prototypical boy - interested in sports, video games and TV. More likely to play with role playing games or wrestle with his dog than to read a book (much to his mother's chagrin - I love to read). We have gone from one teaching extreme (you are not allowed to leave your chair until your work is done) to another (as long as you get your work done before the end of the hour and don't disturb the class you can get up) and nothing seems to make that much of a difference. When we ask the school to work with us to help develop a scheme to help him enjoy reading more we are met with blank stares. When we had issues with a school bully it took 3 years of meeting with the principal and a "I hate school I never want to go back" self evaluation to finally get the school to do something about the situation. Prior to the "I hate school I never want to go back" self evaluation, the school kept using the same "just ignore it and it will go away" platitude that eventually lead to the Columbine massacre in Colorado 6 years ago!

No ladies, this is not an "overblown backlash". The women's rights movement swung the pendulum past equal treatment and is now over to "superior" treatment for girls. It is well past time to bring the pendulum back to equal treatment and leave it there.

Update - Shudlick for Senate

A couple of weeks ago, I posted here about my intent to send the Harold Shudlick campaign a list of questions for the candidate on where he stood on several important issues. To date, I have no answer and the State Convention starts the day after tomorrow! I am sending a follow up request today.

And to those left behind...

A friend sent this to me. It's a wonderful speech from Ben Stein to those who are left behind when a hero goes to his rest.
I thought it was an appropriate way to end Memorial Day.

Eternal Father Strong to Save

As much as I tried to find an online version of the Naval hymn "Eternal Father Strong to Save" that compared to the men's voices singing "Mansions of the Lord" there was nothing.
So please accept this musical version. Also, as it was brought to my attention, notice how the four stanzas are constructed: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Trinity, from John1 and Genesis 1
Lyrics:

Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who biddest the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!

O Christ! Whose voice the waters heard
And hushed their raging at Thy Word,
Who walked on the foaming deep,
And calm amidst its rage didst sleep;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!

Most Holy Spirit! Who didst brood
Upon the chaos dark and rude,
And bid its angry tumult cease,
And give, for wild confusion, peace;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!

O Trinity of love and power!
Our family shield in danger’s hour;
From rock and tempest, fire and foe,
Protect us wheresoever we go;
Thus evermore shall rise to Thee
Glad hymns of praise from land and sea.

The Savage Republican

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Saturday, June 03, 2006