Roll Tide Roll!!!!

#9 Clemson who?? Did anyone objectively pick the Crimson Tide to open the season like this against the best the ACC had to offer?? I'm not aware of anyone. Of course I, as well as thousands of Alabama fans, knew that Alabama was more than capable of taking on a top 10 team. And we handled them. Our offensive and defensive lines controlled the entire game. The only touchdown they scored was on special teams. I know that SEC teams will be tougher, but if we keep this up and finish games like we did tonight, there's gonna be a couple of upsets, particularly LSU. I said last year that Les Miles would never beat Nick Saban again (and honestly they didn't last year), and I stand by that statement. This is going to be a great season for the Crimson Tide and I can't wait for every Saturday this fall!!!

What was he thinking??

Or was he thinking at all?? Clearly, John McCain's judgment must be incredibly cloudy and must be questioned. Is he serious?? I am appalled. John McCain's VP pick in Sarah Palin is utterly irresponsible and dangerous. Seriously, McCain is old, the oldest first term President if he wins, and he's had skin cancer at least twice. Sure, his docs say he's in good health and should last the next four years, but they have to say that crap. His docs are not going to come out and tell the American people he's not healthy enough to be President. They're on his side. There's a good chance, God forbid, he could become incapacitated or die, and do you honestly think the "hockey mom" has what it takes to stand up to the likes of Vladimir Putin, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Hugo Chavez, Kim Jong-il, and Osama bin Laden??? Is that who you want to be Commander in Chief of our Armed Forces?? I'm sorry, but contrary to what McCain thinks, mayor of a town of 8000 people and a year and a half as governor of one of the least populous states are not qualifications to be Vice President of the United States. She's only been outside the U.S. once in her life and that was last year. In addition, McCain is touting her record of ethics reform, while she is under investigation for ethics violations. Hmmm...can we say lack of judgment? I read one of McCain's spokesmen said that Palin would learn about foreign policy at the feet of the master. That's the scariest thing I've ever heard, given that McCain wants to keep us in Iraq at a time when they're asking us to leave and will continue the foreign policies of George Bush that has the world hating us. Presidents have died within the first couple of months after they've taken office. Who is she going to learn from then? We cannot afford to elect this ticket. We cannot take a chance on John McCain remaining healthy. We cannot take a chance on John McCain, period.

Furthermore, 18 million people right now should be offended. Women everywhere should feel that their intelligence has been insulted. Those 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling were for Hillary and the issues and values she stood for. And as she said in her magnificent speech on Wednesday, if you voted for her in the primaries, you must vote for Obama to ensure that the policies she stands for will go forward. Don't get me wrong, I don't support abortion and other social issues that Hillary stands for. But voting for Palin just for the sake of voting for a woman is completely insane. Palin completely disagrees with almost everything Clinton stands for. People who vote for a woman for the sake of voting for a woman are uneducated and irresponsible. I've said the same about voting for Obama because he's black or voting for Romney because he's Mormon. None of these things are qualifications for being President or from "being a heartbeat away" from being President. To be sure, I did not support Hillary in the primaries, but I feel that my intelligence has been insulted. McCain has been preaching about putting the country first, but in this move, he has put his career and politics above the safety and security of the American people. He has put his country last, dead last. This is a total political gimmick and is shameful. And Palin came out and the first thing she did as VP candidate was to take credit for all of Hillary's hard work and tell the women of this country that women still haven't lost and that they can now vote for her. Hillary congratulated Palin on being chosen, but then warned that she and McCain would take the country in the wrong direction.

But other than national security, how is Palin going to handle other issues? What knowledge could she possibly have of how to fix the economy? The main export in Alaska is oil. That's about all she had to work with. And besides that, her husband worked for the oil companies. McCain is in bed with the oil companies like his predecessor. They want to give $4 billion in tax cuts to oil companies when they are making $12 billion in profits each quarter and we're paying nearly $4 a gallon for gas. I'm suffering at the pump and now oil companies are going to profit another $4 billion per year, thanks John and Sarah, but no thanks. They want to keep us in Iraq paying over $10 billion per month while Iraq is sitting on $80 billion and not spending anything on their reconstruction, no thanks John and Sarah. They want to give big oil and big business tax breaks while our jobs are going overseas and we're not getting any relief, no thanks. We're sitting on the biggest national deficit in American history, thanks to Bush. And the McCain policies of tax breaks for the rich will only further sink us in debt. Obama wants to free us of our dependency on foreign oil in 10 years, which would save us from borrowing money from China to buy oil in Middle Eastern nations and Venezuela, who openly hate us and would like to see us destroyed. McCain wants to give incentives to the same oil companies and countries who despise us and keep us dependent on them. I just wonder, what's in it for Bush and McCain?? What incentives are they getting from the oil companies to keep America dependent on them for energy? If McCain is so concerned about our national security and putting country first, he would encourage and promote initiatives that would free us from oil, rather than keeping us dependent on it.

But no, McCain - or as he has become known, McSame - doesn't practice what he preaches. He has put his political career ahead of what is good for the country by choosing Ms. Congeniality hockey mom as our potential commander in chief. He is trying to pick off a few of Hillary's upset women in an effort to make a comeback in this election he is obviously losing. He has demonstrated clear lack of judgment by making an irresponsible, dangerous choice of this woman who he only barely knows. It is my hope that women across America will see this ploy for what it is, and tell McCain that they are not going to vote for him out of this desperate and unwise VP pick. This is definitely NOT the change we need!!!

Found a Hilarious short film!!

Big Buck Bunny from Blender Foundation on Vimeo.

Finally...

Wow, that was the longest primary season I've ever experienced...of course it's only the 7th of my life. So, congratulations to Barack Obama for clinching the Democratic nomination for President. He ran a great campaign and handily defeated the expected nominee, although the expected nominee decided to drag it out to this point. The Clintons aren't very accustomed to losing, so I guess she didn't know how to do so gracefully. I just pray that Obama doesn't give in to pressure and take her on the ticket. That would make him look weak, and how could you give Bubba a key to the White House?? All I gotta say is if Barack picks Hillary, and wins in November, he better really watch his back and hire someone to taste everything before he does. Am I insinuating that the Clintons would have Obama taken out?? Well, I go back to my statement that the Clintons aren't very graceful losers. And they'll say or do whatever they can to obtain power. This has been plainly manifest throughout the primary process, most obviously by Hillary's refusal to abide by the rules she agreed to and signed at the very beginning. Hillary's behavior has quite literally made me sick. When Florida and Michigan didn't matter and she thought she was sure to win the nomination, she agreed they would not be seated at the convention. But as soon as she desparately needed them, she sang a completely different tune. Of course I vehemently disagree with Father Pfleger's assertions that Hillary felt entitled to the nomination because she's white, but I do strongly agree that she feels entitled, and when her nomination was threatened, she showed her true colors. And I am thrilled that she will not be our next President. Well, she won't be as long as she's not picked for the Veep slot.

Whew!!!

Boy am I glad that's over!! I'm obviously NOT referring to the Democratic primaries. No, I just finished with my spring semester, finally. I wasn't sure it would ever end. Now I only have two classes in June and two in July, then I graduate in August!!!!!!! What sucks about it is after all this hard work, there's no pay increase. Oh well, guess I can't complain. There aren't too many professions where you're guaranteed a job no matter where you are. The shortage in nursing is real. Two of my classes this summer will be on the Master's level, however I've decided that I will not be returning in the fall for my Master's. I'm going to wait until Henry starts school in a few years. Then I'll get my degree and have the experience to get the type of management position I'm looking for. I will go back and get it, I just have to finish the degree within 6 years. I'll be working a lot in the month of May while I'm out of school. St. V's is paying a nice bonus for extra shifts worked. And I'm going to read a book, relax, enjoy this month, because it's back to work hard core in June.

Now with regards to the Democratic primaries...Who knows?? I'm so tired of it now. Obama's pastor said this, Hillary said that, she's got experience, he's got none, but he's bringing change. Who cares?? They both say they're going to raise taxes on the rich and keep them low for the middle class. Bull crap, the rich will never pay their fair share of taxes and the burden will always be on the middle class. They have all these grand plans and ideas, and they all require a huge tax increase. Increased taxes = less money in our pockets = declining economy. When will the Dems learn??? Our economy is in enough trouble as it is. I know they need to raise taxes to fund all their extravagant plans, but they don't indicate closing shop on all the government programs we don't need, and they certainly don't talk about controlling pork barrell spending. Dems love their little pet projects and wasting our tax dollars on bull crap. I'm not saying Republicans have been any better lately. They had six years to get something done and put the country on a more fiscally sound path, but squandered that time and increased spending. Obama keeps talking about change. Ok, so when is he going to lay out any specific plans?? I went to his website the other day. I went specifically to find out his plans and proposals. All I found was he endorsed someone else's plan or offered some vague idea, but few concrete plans. The only concrete plan he has is to systematically withdraw troops from Iraq within 16 months. He obviously thinks it is ok to allow al-Qaeda to set up shop there and then try diplomacy. We're just going to end up going back over there to clean up Obama's mess from pulling out too early. Hey, but I'm just a dumb kid from Alabama, what the heck do I know??

What a joke...

Well, school and work have kept me busy, but it's the beginning of spring break so I thought I'd chime in and state the obvious. Obama is a liar and I'm ashamed that such man is running for President of the United States. Now, admittedly, I was somewhat taken by his flare and charisma initially, but there's just too much going on. You can't tell me that you have been a member of a church and not know what the preacher's preaching. You can't tell me that before you began running for office, you've never heard this man say the divisive and offensive things Jeremiah Wright has said. You can't tell me in twenty years, you did not know what your preacher stands for. Even if you missed a few Sundays, someone would have told you what the preacher said from the pulpit. I'm not buying that Obama has never heard Wright make any such statements in twenty years. This has nothing to do with it being a black church. Wright said "God damn America" several times and for several reasons. Sorry, I don't follow his line of reasoning. It's hard to follow the line of reasoning of someone who is a big Farrakhan supporter. Wright is just as racist as Farrakhan. Whatever happened to preaching the Word? I thought that's why we are supposed to go to church. Anyway, the thing is, Obama is lying to America. Wright didn't just start making such statements after Obama made is presidential bid. He held those opinions and made those statements long before Obama ever dreamed of being President. If I'm wrong, I'll apologize. Sure, we can't really prove Obama never heard those statements before the campaigning began, but you don't have a "close relationship" as he claims to have with his pastor, and not be familiar with the divisive views he holds. Now, I'm glad that he has rejected and condemned those statements and kicked him off the spiritual leader team, but I would have felt much better about it if he had never been on that team and if Obama had renounced Wright's views from the beginning of his campaign. But since Obama wants to pretend that he has never heard Wright's comments before the primaries, I will say he is a liar and undeserving of our time and attention and most importantly, President of the United States.

Now what?

My regret about this election year is that I didn't do enough to help Mitt Romney get the Republican nomination. Since I'm working full-time and going to school full-time, I didn't get to express in my blogs half of my thoughts and feelings when he was running. Sure, I'm just one obscure person, and I'm sure not many actually read my blogs, but I could have done more. But, alas, I find myself in the deep South where anti-Mormon sentiment runs as deep as the South. I talked about Mitt any chance I got with anyone who would listen, and I even got a few to jump on the Mitt-wagon. But, many held that they just could not vote for a Mormon. Maybe in the future, after all, who would have thought Barack Obama would get over 56% of the votes to Hillary's 42% in Alabama. Maybe we're finally getting over racism.

Well, the question for 2008 is, now what? In the general election, do I vote for McCain, with whom I have many differences, particularly on immigration. Do I vote for a Democrat? That would certainly mean nominating judges who will further the liberal agenda of abortion and homosexual marraige. I've told several people around me now that Mitt's out, I will vote for Obama. But if Hillary's the Democratic nominee, well, I don't think I'll venture too far from home on election day. I don't think I can bring myself to vote for an independent. First of all, they don't have a chance to win and secondly, there's usually only one or two things on their agendas. Well, we've got nine months till the general election. Maybe in that time we can sort out who the best candidate will be. To be honest, I think the country is fed up with Republicans for now and I really don't see how McCain could beat either Democrat. It will be interesting to see how 2009 will begin. Well, let's get through 2008 first.

Personally, I've decided that I'm going to work on myself for 2008. I'm not where I once was spiritually and I'd like to get back there. I'm almost done with my Bachelor's in Nursing, and I'll immediately go into the Master's program in the summer. I'd like to strengthen my relationships with my family members. Leah and I are planning to go on a cruise this summer, we are so excited and can't wait to have our first real vacation after four years of marriage. I'm working on living a healthier lifestyle (gotta look good for the cruise!). So, there's a lot to do to keep myself occupied. Much more to life than politics and government (Leah will be glad I'm less preoccupied with it now, I know I drive her crazy). I think what I need to do the most is to live for now. I'm always thinking about the future. When the future gets here, it's not enough and I focus on something else in the future. It's a terrible cycle I keep myself in. Sure, I'll plan for the future and have goals, but I'm not going to allow myself to miss out on what's going on now because I'm too concerned about what's down the road.

Michigan coming up...

Ok, so I've taken a couple of weeks off. Of course, I've been so disgusted with Iowa and New Hampshire that I've really just been speechless. Yes, I am a staunch Mitt Romney supporter and I'll make no apology for that. If we have a Democrat for President for the next four years, I think I'll blame Iowa. Honestly, I thought Iowans were supposed to be the most informed and involved when it came to politics, but evidently, they're only thinking with their pastors' permission. Not all of them, of course. Maybe I'm a little biased, and maybe I'm just completely wrong. But I don't care, I will not apologize. I don't want to accuse anyone of religious bigotry, but it's really hard to rule it out. It's not about not being bought off, it's about voting "for one of our own." How could anyone who professes to be a Republican vote for a Mike Huckabee, who is only conservative in one area of conservatism? If we are to have a Republican President, it will have to be by someone who can unite the conservative base - social, fiscal, and foreign policy conservatives. Huck only serves the social aspect. Otherwise, he is a tax and spend liberal who's answer to his lack of foreign policy experience is, "Well, I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night." And of course the liberal media is singing his praises because he's the easiest in the bunch to beat regardless of who the Democrat nominee is. John McCain is no better. He can't unite all three brances of conservatives. He voted against the Bush tax cuts and supports, for lack of a better word, amnesty for illegals. Can we move out all 20 million illegal immigrants? Of course not, but they shouldn't have an easier route to citizenship than others who have been standing in line for years because they are already here - illegally.

Mitt Romney is the only Republican candidate who is truly a conservative through and through. You know, I would bet my whole year's salary that if Mitt Romney was not Mormon, and was a member of any other Christian denomination, he would be rolling right now, winning every state bar none. Why do I say that? No evangelical Christians would be voting for Huck just because he's one of their own. Romney is by far the superior choice because of his experience and overall intelligence and social postitions. Have you listened to the words that come out of Huck's mouth? And you still voted for him?? I'm having a hard time understanding it. How can he come across as genuine to anyone? He lies and gets caught in his lies, and won't confess he was wrong, but starts pointing at someone else. Are you kidding me? He hasn't been sincere about anything. McCain would still be doing about as good as he was last summer. There's no way he would have surged as he has. Of course, Guiliani has hit the backburners and is likely to stay there unless he can pull something big on Super Tuesday. No social conservative is going to vote for Guiliani. Romney is a Republican's dream candidate because of his positions on every issue, not to mention his leadership experience in the private sector and as governor. There's just that Mormon issue that is causing people to squirm. Guess what I have to say to that? Grow up America!!! Get over it. We're not voting for a pastor, we're voting for a President. Are we going to hand the Democrats the Presidency because of the Church a particular candidate belongs to? The next Pres is going to nominate two or three Supreme Court justices. If Roe vs. Wade is ever going to be overturned it will only happen if we have a social conservative in office. Huck is unelectable. He can't win. If Romney is not the Republican nominee, we will have a Democrat for President, mark my words.

Honestly people, our economy is going to crap. Is it possible that we need someone who understands how to revitalize and grow the economy and bring jobs to Americans. Do you really want to trust that to McCain, who is trying to keep illegal aliens here? I've always thought it interesting that McCain, whose state borders Mexico, and is one of the most guilty states for using illegal immigrants for labor, is one of the only Republicans pushing to keep them here. Of course Huck would give them all great rates on tuition while I'm paying top dollar to go to school now. I have to tell you, as good as my grades are, and as hard as I work, I think I deserve a break a little more than someone who is here illegally.

So, on to Michigan. Governor Romney currently has more votes and more delegates than the rest. They say McCain is leading in the polls. The more I think about it, the more I can't help but wonder whether Republicans just really want a Democrat for President this time. I stand by what I have said for months, Mitt Romney is the only Republican candidate that can beat the likes of Hillary or Obama. The others can't get the support needed to pull an upset. I just can't see where unexperienced Obama or Hillary can compete in a debate with Romney on how to stregthen the economy, what to do about illegal immigration, or how to best provide healthcare to Americans. On the other hand, smooth talking Obama and fast talking Hillary would eat McCain or Huck for lunch. I hope and pray Michigan figures out what Iowa and New Hampshire could not.