Current Events Watch

Bobby Cutts Jr. will be 87 when he’s eligible for parole. The former police officer killed Jessie Davis and what may have been his unborn child. After the crime, he left his toddler son Blake alone, crying in a soiled diaper. Add his name to the list along with Scott Petersen, Mark Hacking and a host of other spouses, partners and former partners that kill pregnant women.

Statistics show that pregnant women will most likely be killed, in terms of homicide, by the father of her child. Mark Hacking lied about graduating from college and being acceptance to medical school. Scott Petersen had an affair with a woman who had no idea he was married. Cutts was married and had at least one other girlfriend.

You get the point. All these men were manipulative, liars and general cheats. For some reason, that I don’t understand, the idea of a child or additional children caused them to snap. Why? Who knows. I’m not sure I want know but the trend of the discovery of the trend frightening. Not only has the world lost caring, kind women they’ve also lost the promise of children who would have had at least one good parent.

Maybe this verdict will help Jessie Davis rest in peace.

• Christopher Dodd endorses Obama. (Vercaifer)

• Hillary and Barack blame one another for all kinds of stuff during the Ohio debate. (The Huffington Report)

• McCain predicts that Iraq might cost him the election? (Crooks and Liars)

• What does Cuba think of Raul? (Drury University)

• College students claim they were thrown off Southwest flight because they were too pretty. (Breaking News USA)

• Medicare spending could double. (Wall Street Journal)

• MJ’s Neverland set for auction. (Dotspotter)

• White House email system a security risk. (NPR)

• Itunes #2 music selling. (Mac Rumors)

And what current events have piqued your interest?

Or is that mistakes? After only making one misstep in last week’s Texas debate(that Xerox comment was a horrible moment) I thought the Clinton camp had learned their lesson. Don’t be mean to Barack Obama. It doesn’t work. It doesn’t make you look good, or strong or competent. It only makes you look-well-mean. It makes him look, cool, clam and collected because he’s not the one yelling and pointing fingers. He looks presidential and you don’t. You’d think some high priced politicos would have pointed this out by now.

Over the weekend, Clinton lashed out at the Obama campaign for distributing fliers in Ohio that criticized her position on NAFTA and healthcare. Was her over the top response really worth it?

The fliers were distributed in one state. Not my state. We’ve not gotten the fliers and I don’t know if they’ll make it here or not. NOW, I’m really wondering if she expects everyone to buy healthcare even if I can’t afford it. I’ve no idea but now I’m concerned. Afteall it’s what the fliers says. /sarcasm

Clinton should’ve defended herself on Ohio soil and not invited Anderson Cooper and Katie Couric to the party. Sure the issue would have gotten some national attention but certainly not to this extent. The accusations have now permeated not just the Ohio primary but the Texas primary and March’s Super Tuesday. Obama’s getting getting thousand dollar results for a dollar spent.

I enjoy this picture very much. If only it was not just flight of fancy, so to speak. Karma finally catching up with Cupid. And what better fitting and ironic the manner of his demise, given his centuries-old fixation with chucking quiversful of arrows into the most schmaltzy of hearts? Channeling Susan Powter, I’d say it’s about time to stop the insanity!

I tend to agree with Adri on this one: Valentine’s Day is indeed one “shitty excuse for a holiday.”

Those of us who routinely go about our merry ways savoring our citizenship in Singledom are once every 365 caught off-guard by this annual phenomenon of a 24-hour romance and lovemaking interlude amongst the coupled.

Single and all alone, we inevitably have that moment of cognitive dissonance speculating that if perhaps had we not so readily dismissed out of hand that cute guy who just possibly could have been more than merely a one-night stand, we too might appreciate the magnificence of the day.

We do tend to readily ditch such claptrap mentality, mind you, come the 15th. And I would venture to guess that despite the one single day of the year on which we solitary souls perchance feel (dare I say) just a smidge envious, there are no doubt many of the committed who would probably willingly sacrifice that annual heart-shaped box of mystery chocolates and streetcorner-vended roses for the sheer joy of having the whole bed to themselves the other 364 days of the year.

So I’m off to bed now, certain without a doubt that it will indeed be good for me, and that I will still respect myself in the morning. Who could ask for anything more? Happy Cupid-free Valentine’s Day to me!

valentine’s day, cupid, valentine

A few years ago, political scientist Laurence Britt dissected the regimes of the most infamous of all fascists: Hitler, Mussolini, Franco and Suharto.

You have no doubt read or seen this before, but brushing up on history never hurt anyone. There are lessons to be learned from mistakes of the past.

However, considering that for the last eight years Führer Bush has been given nigh on carte blanche to establish the supreme global American Reich, methinks that perhaps some boning up on history might be in order lest we repeat similar electoral faux pas in the future.

I would also wager that it would be safe to anticipate a soon forthcoming revised and newly-updated report from Dr. Larry B. in which he most likely will expand upon his previous list of textbook-case fascists.

Per Britt, the following are the fourteen commonalities shared amongst all foresaid faces of fascism. Let’s review, shall we?

_________________________________________________

Powerful and Continuing Nationalism - Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.

Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights - Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of “need.” The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.

Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause - The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.

Supremacy of the Military - Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.

Rampant Sexism - The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution.

Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.

Obsession with National Security - Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.

Religion and Government are Intertwined - Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government’s policies or actions.

Corporate Power is Protected - The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.

Labor Power is Suppressed - Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.

Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts - Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked.

Obsession with Crime and Punishment - Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.

Rampant Cronyism and Corruption - Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.

Fraudulent Elections - Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.

_________________________________________________

Well, we’ve pretty much been able to successfully tick every one of those in defining the reigns of each of the aforementioned. Including, of course, our own dear Mister President.

So study up, people, and let us learn from our and other’s historical mistakes. As a certain wise man once said, “There’s an old saying in Tennessee — I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again.” Let’s hope not.

fascism, george bush, fascist regime, patriotism, politics, government

McCain. Who’d have thunk it? War veteran, border state maverick hero … and possible pedophilic incestuous quick shooter.

You be the judge. Impressive wood, though, I must say. And I hear that there are exercises a guy can do to get that “quick shoot” thing under control.

Yep, Lucas McCain, The Rifleman. Civil War vet, rebel do-gooder hailing from down New Mexico way. I do love my classic TV. I’d just never realized how retrospectively disconcerting some of it could be!

Turns out, seems that McCain may not have been all that he was at first cracked up to be.

What’s that? John who? Oh, yeah. Duh. My bad. I know him.

The old guy.
That other war hero.
Transexually-shunned.

Sorry for waxing nostalgic. My original train of thought completely derailed, I apologize. I’ll try to avoid becoming so easily distracted in the future.

john mccain, rifleman, chuck connors

Super Bowl XLII did not quite end as I had hoped or expected. Still it was exciting, particularly the Giant’s final offensive play with a mere 35 seconds left on the clock, taking the lead and effectively quashing the Patriots’ hopes for an undefeated season. Who doesn’t love football?

I took a bit of a power nap at half-time, though. I mean really, Tom Petty was the best they could do? Are you kidding me? Not being a fan of nasal caterwauling myself, I opted to grab a few z’s instead. I did, before nodding off, however, catch the half-time show’s sponsorship announcement — “Bridgestone, the official tire of the NFL.”

So the NFL has an official tire. Spare me (pun intended.) That makes about as much sense as Wilson coughing up a few mil for the privilege of being deemed the official football of NASCAR. Maybe they already have. Wouldn’t surprise me.

But I digress. Why I found the Bridgestone announcement noteworthy is that pre-game yesterday I read this article on The Nation’s website, which says that Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire spent more than $10 million dollars for the honor! Money well-spent? I guess that’s debatable. Remember, Tom Petty was the headline act.

Of course, saving face isn’t cheap, so when it becomes necessary to invest in attempting to polish a tarnished reputation, what better platform than the most-watched sporting event of the year? And with a class-action lawsuit for human rights violations hanging over corporate heads, it was probably money well-spent after all. Good PR is priceless.

According to The Nation, Bridgestone Firestone is being sued by the International Labor Rights Forum and several plaintiffs, accusing the company of committing human rights abuses in Liberia, one of the largest rubber-producing countries in the world. Not to mention one of the poorest.

A gold mine for Bridgestone Firestone, of course. Here’s this country practically oozing latex, with an economy ravaged by decades of war, and an 85% unemployment rate to boot! The perks just keep on coming.

HELP WANTED: Multi-billion dollar corporation seeking desperate desperately seeking tree-tappers. 15 cents an hour. Wage restrictions may apply.

For the bargain basement price of only $3.19 in daily wages, Bridgestone Firestone expects a typical Liberian worker to tap 650 trees a day, by company president Daniel Adomitis’s own admission on CNN. He also said that tapping a tree only took a couple of minutes. No big whoop.

Okay. So CNN took those 650 trees at two minutes per tap, and still calculated that one worker would have to spend 21 hours a day working to fill this quota. Not factoring in travel time, of course, carrying 70-lb buckets of freshly-milked latex for miles to the waiting storage tanks, prepped and ready for shipment to America, where the rubber meets the road.

And if the worker does not meet said quota? The paycheck is halved. Ouch. That’ll take a bite out of the family budget. So what’s a Liberian to do?

Make every day “Bring Your Wife And Kids To Work Day”, of course! Unless you want the family to starve. Gruel ain’t cheap. This calls for some quality family tree-tapping time.

This is the choice Bridgestone Firestone has forced their more than 4,000 Liberian employees to make. The 650-tree daily quota policy has led many of the workers to join up their own kids and wives to ensure that they meet their target goal. Or else.

But these extra helping hands get paid nothing. And the children whose families depend on their labor for survival? Forget about schooling and receiving an education. There’s work to be done.

A 2006 report by the United Nations Mission in Liberia found that during Liberia’s civil war, Firestone’s Duside Hospital, didn’t even bother with issuing birth certificates. Yet the company-touted free education (who has the time?) and healthcare for workers’ children depends on having one.

Of course, Liberia’s Ministry of Health will be more than happy to provide one. For a paltry $25, or nearly half of an employee’s monthly salary. What a bargain, that.

Click here to learn more about the company’s exploitation and abuses.

It’s quite sad, really. Nearly as sad as last night’s Patriots’ defeat.

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To postulate that we all trust in God is perhaps just a tad bit presumptuous, don’t you think? I mean, many don’t even believe in, or are at best iffy about, the existence of a supreme entity in the first place, so I’m fairly certain that those folks would probably take issue. “We trust whom? Really?”

But, of course, being the godly nation that we are (I’m sure the Almighty is so very proud), it’s only fitting that mandatory emblazonment of In God We Trust be conferred upon all currency minted and printed in these United States of America. Infidels need to just suck it up.

And it must be most prominently displayed, of course, lest the religious right-wing looney tunes get their panties in a bunch! Apparently they are avid readers of coinage, and wish to not be required to squint when reading their daily affirmation.

So now they’ve gone ballistic about the unsatisfactory design of the latest U.S. Mint’s gold-colored dollar coins, in tribute to our dead presidents. Four coins are released per year. The first four, honoring George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, were issued last year.

More to come, stay tuned. Oh, the anticipation!

Anyway, under Congressional edict, the Mint was required to place the national mottos In God We Trust and E Pluribus Unum along the edge of the coins. The idea was to allow for more dramatic portraits and fancy artwork on the heads and tails.

Well, that was apparently most unacceptable! The Moral Majority of coin-reading Christians complained that the words were hard to read, and that they might wear off over time.

So Congress buckled, of course, recognizing the error of their ways. Live and learn. Now, they’ve tweaked the rules to better please the Lord and the lunatics, so that the phrase In God We Trust has greater prominence on the new presidential dollar coins.

They’ve passed legislation that the phrase be moved from the edge (where one might presumably rub God the wrong way) to the back or front of the coin.

God bless America.

President George W. Bush signed the measure into law last month after the Religious Right conservatives complained about the new coins, insisting that by relegating the phrase to the edge of the coin was some kind of malevolent plot to ditch the phrase altogether.

I really doubt that the good Lord would mind so much if we did just that.

presidential coins, u.s. mint, in god we trust, gold dollar coins, religious right, george bush

John Edwards … over and out. I really thought he would stick with it through Super Tuesday but, in reality, I suppose the timing makes sense.

If you’ve been barely passing all semester, chances are you’re not going to be able to pull an A+ out of your ass come next week’s big exam. So dropping out now was probably a wise decision on his part.

I have been supporting Obama for some time, but have often said that I would probably have taken the Edwards route if I thought he stood a reasonable chance of making it to the general election. I figured this day would come, though. I just didn’t know when.

After all, his campaign coverage has been practically nil in comparison with Obama’s and Clinton’s. It was particularly noticeable throughout the debates, and mainstream media attention is, of course, crucial for any candidate’s success.

Is he not black enough? Not buxom enough? Nah, that’s probably not it. After all, they give plenty of coverage to the typical run-of-the-mill white boys of contrary political orientation.

So why is he clearly lowest man on the MSM totem pole? His message has consistently been as good, if not better in some instances, than his fellow Democratic opposition.

I’m glad he managed to hang in there for as long as he did, though, if for no other reason than to force the still-in-the-running dynamic duo to step it up a notch or two.

As his senior campaign adviser Joe Trippi said, “Look, the guy led on every single issue out there, whether it was poverty, the economy, global warming, or universal health care.

“He moved the progressive agenda much further than any other candidate - so much so that both Clinton and Obama adopted a lot of his language and agenda. Which is a great thing to have done.”

His populist viewpoint put pressure on his opponents to vie for union endorsements, and he was the first out of the gate with comprehensive plans for universal healthcare and education, forcing the others in the field to play catch-up.

Edwards was also the only one who consistently hammered corporate America for hurting middle and lower-income Americans, by sacrificing their health care and pension benefits in lieu of higher profits and salaries for the shareholders and CEOs respectively.

“The corporate greed that is destroying the middle class in this country is stealing your children’s future. It is stealing the future of Democrats’ children, Independents’ children, Republicans’ children.”, Edwards said.

Well, there you have it.

That, my friend, was the real deathblow to this campaign. Good night, John-Boy.

Considering that all major media outlets are owned by just a handful of massive corporations, it’s no wonder that they had little interest in touting his agenda.

With most news outlets having fallen into the hands of large conglomerates, conflicts of interest predictably interfere. They are in it for the money, after all, and are obligated by law to put profit ahead of all other considerations. Responsible journalism? Who needs it.

So Edwards has thrown in the towel. He may be gone, but I hope not forgotten, and that he has influenced both the Clinton and Obama camps in positive and permanent ways.

I wouldn’t hold my breath expecting either of them to jump on the corporate greed bandwagon, though, lest they, too, be shunned and suffer similar fates.

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I took this test today. Final score? At the bottom of the results page, I’m told that my “political philosophy is hard-core liberal.” WOOT!

Not only that, but my number one candidate match was … you guessed it, give it up for my favorite little munchkin … Dennis Kucinich! Of course, not really a candidate anymore. He’s dead in the water now, thanks to the MSM drowning pool, but it still made my dick hard. Matched him at 80%, I did. I’ll try to do even better the next time.

Second place runners up were a tie: Mike Gravel, another belly up casualty, and Cynthia McKinney of the Green Party. Cynthia I know little about, other than what I’ve read on her website. Must have missed the Green Party debates. My bad. She would be the total package, though … black and female! Two birds with one stone there.

Then I aligned with Obama, Clinton and Edwards, in that order. Thank God the Republican “ē”s were at the end of my list, with either single digit or zero percentage agreement scores. Romnē, Giulianē, and particularly Huckabē. I’d probably have had to slit my wrists otherwise.

Based on my most excellent answers, this is where I placed on the political chart. (I’d be interested to know others’ results. Anyone? Anyone? Click here to take the quiz in a separate window, then share your results. Inquiring minds want to know.)

presidential candidates, 2008 election, politics

I still have my Kerry-Edwards yard signs, pins, bumper stickers, magnets and sundry loser paraphernalia from 2004. Don’t really know why. I hoard. (Thank goodness this isn’t a podcast lest my reputation be tarnished! For the record, I’m not even nappy-headed.)

Waste of money, that was. Not to mention a waste of time. It took me forever to get the bumper sticker aligned just-so. And those wire pokey stick-it-in-the-ground yard signs? They have a mind of their own. They tend to seriously flail. I risked putting an eye out just getting it to stay put, but finally had it under control after about half an hour.

All for naught. We still lost.

Great googly moogly. Who’d have thunk it? The king of all village idiots was re-coronated. Lots of folks apparently queued up for the short bus that day.

So his days are now numbered. Bush begone, and good riddance. I’m afraid, though, that unless we step up to the plate, we may very well end up with more of the same ol’ same ol’, albeit bearing a different “Hi, My Name Is … ” lapel sticker.

As Lewis Black said in reference to the 2004 election:

“The fact of the matter is the Democrats not being able to find somebody to defeat George Bush is beyond belief. It’s stunning.

“It would be like finding a normal person who would lose in the Special Olympics.”

We’ll hopefully do better this time around. Obama, Clinton, Edwards … any one will do. Take your pick, get your yard signage now, and don’t forget the safety glasses. Trust me on that one. Oh yeah, and voting might not be such a bad idea, either.

republican debate, hillary clinton, barack obama, john edwards, 2008 election, presidential election, george bush, politics

Keep those young Kentucky fingers crossed, boys and girls! The freaks, geeks and fuglies may wish to cross their toes as well, for good measure.

If the House Education Committee has its way, the days of being picked on, pushed around, beaten up and beaten down will soon come to an end.

The HEC unanimously approved an anti-bullying bill last week that, if given thumbs up by the Kentucky Legislature in the House and Senate, would curb the harassment, intimidation and plain old-fashioned schoolyard bullying.

It’s a fine plan, I read it. They’re calling it The Golden Rule Act.

Very straightforward, it is. It establishes a code of acceptable behavior, provides for training of teachers on how to deal, includes procedures empowering victims to report without fear of retaliation, and defines the proper comeuppance for offenders. All in all, I’d give it an A+.

There could be a bit of a bump in the road, however. A big bump, actually. A ginormous speedbump called the Republican-controlled Senate.

Similar previous versions of the bill have also been passed by the Democratically-controlled House, only to be shot down once reaching the floor of the Senate. Why, one might wonder?

Ah, here’s your answer. Idiot-at-large Senate President David Williams worries that if passed, the legislation could be used as “an excuse for the addition of curriculum concerning aberrant behavior.”

For those not fluent in Neoconese, aberrant = homosexual. FYI.

He’s concerned that if passed, the bill might be used to “teach curriculum that people aren’t interested in like homosexual, same-sex marriage sort of things like that.”

Perhaps I should re-read the bill. Maybe I missed something. Chat amongst yourselves.

Hmmm, nope. Nary reference to anything remotely suggesting the inclusion of Aberrancy 101 into the curriculum.

Of course, Williams himself said he hasn’t read the bill yet. How he has then jumped to such wacky conclusions, Lord only knows. There’s really no explaining the misfiring synapses of the Republican mind.

But one must never lose hope. Who knows? Maybe this time the planets will align, hell will freeze over, Republicans will experience a rare moment of lucidity, and all four-eyed, pizza-faced, metal-mouthed fatties down Kentucky way can breathe a collective sigh of relief. It could happen.

anti-bullying law, kentucky anti-bullying, david williams, kentucky senate, gay agenda, homosexual agenda

In a tight race, with all being unquestionably worthy competitors, you’d think it would behoove the top three to step it up a notch in campaigning for the nomination, never knowing who might next take the lead or come nipping at their heels.

With such pressure, platitudinal rhetoric is bupkis. Forced by necessity to take their respective stump speeches beyond cliché, it would seem imperative that they strive to differentiate themselves one from the other.

Not so much.

Last night’s Democratic debate (?) in Nevada between the invited top three frontrunners turned into such a love fest that I needed a cigarette when it was over. Was it good for me? Not really, but I faked it, enduring the full two hours. A mercy viewing, one might say, but truth be told it was less than pleasurable for me. And I’m not the only one less than impressed.

Debate? Hardly. It moreso resembled a friendly coffee klatsch. Friendly is actually an understatement; I kept expecting Barney to make a cameo appearance. “I love you, you love me, we’re a happy family.”

They were all so agreeable with one another that it seemed as if they were vying for the the position of most-worthy running mate should things go terribly awry within their own campaigns, wanting to make nice with either of the other two who might be crowned Democratic king or queen.

A friend of mine asked me several days ago why I’ve tossed my hat into Obama’s ring in this three-ring circus, and you know what? I really didn’t have an answer to that question. I know my number one pick is for all intents and purposes a non-contender (thanks to media disenfranchisement), but amongst the remaining, I don’t see that much difference, truth be told.

While it’s great to see them all just get along, and as much as I hate mudslinging which seems to be par for the course in any election, I would have liked to at least have heard each of them, at some point, attempt to elucidate exactly why he or she should be president. Even if spoken nicely, with hugs and kisses all around.

I heard, more than once, how they were all for change (the key word in this election, which is indeed a most excellent notion) but that there are “some fundamental differences” between the three. What those differences are certainly were not elaborated upon last night, that’s for sure. How many times did we hear “I agree with Hillary that … “, or “Like John said …”, or “Barack is right about …” ?

The X’s and O’s aren’t necessarily a bad thing. I like to see a civil exchange between those of my party. But last night’s debate honestly didn’t help me one whit in answering the question posed to me, “Why Obama?”

democratic debate, nevada primaries, las vegas debate, hillary clinton, barack obama, john edwards, dennis kucinich, presidential debates, 2008 election

By Mike Huckabee

First, I’d like to sincerely thank Doug Robertson for allowing me this opportunity to contribute. I’ll admit I was more than a bit surprised at the invitation. After all, he does moderate my comments (I have yet to see one posted), and he has been less than kind toward me from time to time. Still, I appreciate the chance to share with your readers today, so I thank you, Doug.

These days I don’t have as much time as I would like to dial up the Interweb. So when I do have occasion to connect with my online friends, I try to avoid politics as much as possible and instead share from my heart. That’s why today, I am not asking for your vote, or trying to convince you why I should be your next president.

No, on this Sabbath Day, I would like to put politics aside and instead focus on something of much greater significance. A message that I also shared with the congregation of a down-home country megachurch in South Carolina just this morning … the importance of humility and trusting in Jesus to open the gates to heaven.

The criteria to get into heaven is you have to be not good, but perfect. That’s the real challenge in it.

On that day, when I pull up, I’ll be asked, “Do you have what it takes to get in?”

And if I ask, “Well, what does it take to get in?”

“Gotta be perfect.”

Well, I’m afraid I don’t have that, but you know what? I won’t be there alone that day. Somebody is going to be with me. His name is Jesus, and He’s promised that He would never leave me or forsake me!

I’ll admit, it felt really good to be back behind the pulpit again, sharing the Gospel and fellowshipping with the Body of Christ, exclusive of political agenda. A welcome reprieve from the campaign trail, I must say.

Of course, it would have been unnecessary to bother asking for their votes anyway. Preaching to the choir, that would be! (Ha Ha) Anyway, I already know that those fine disciples in South Carolina will be led by the Holy Spirit in making the right choice.

I have faith that they, like me, recognize the urgency of getting this nation back on the straight and narrow, taking it back for Christ as the Almighty intended.

Like I said at a Baptist convention back in 1998, the reason I got into politics in the first place was because I knew government didn’t have the real answers, that the real answers lie in accepting Jesus Christ into our lives.

Nonetheless, I’m sure my message has already been heard loudly and clearly by the faithful, so it was indeed a blessing to forego campaigning this morning and instead simply minister God’s Word to the people.

Pastor Hamlet, though, was kind enough to encourage the folks to vote according to Biblical principles, which was a not-so-subtle nod in my direction, I’m sure. I think he may even have given me a wink at the time, but I can’t swear to that.

That was nice of him, and I appreciated it, although I really wasn’t there to toot my own candidacy horn. It was actually kind of embarrassing, what with the South Carolina primaries coming up in just a few days and all. I’m sure my face was as red as a beet.

In conclusion, I would like to say thank you to all for reading, with a special shout out to the wonderful people in South Carolina. See y’all real soon!

And, of course, thank you again, Doug. I will be praying that you accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal savior before Super Tuesday.

Faith, Family, Freedom! And may God bless America! ~ Mike

[Doug here. Is it just me, or does anyone else tend to think that if Huck was Muslim, he’d probably be an Islamic extremist?]

mike huckabee, 2008 election, huckabee, huckabee preaching, south carolina primaries, huckabee president

I was sitting here this evening, illegally downloading some old Lenny Kravitz tunage (Limewire rocks), reminded of why I was such a Kravitz fan back in the day. Good stuff. iPod playlist worthy, no doubt! A new mix for the morning run.

Of course, as I’m sure we’ll all agree, when clipping our Shuffles or Nanos to our Spandexed waistbands before pounding the pavement at the crack of dawn, there’s always that nagging disquiet in the back of our minds: what to do if we perchance encounter some seedy, menacing character whilst logging our daily five?

Well, fear no more, fellow cardio buffs and music fans! Why didn’t someone think of this sooner? Nothing short of genius, really. A new combo mp3-player slash taser gun has hit the market! And it’s fashionable to boot.

With a choice of leopard print, red, pink or silver, you know you’ll always be in style zapping the bejesus out of the guy who may have looked at you the wrong way. With 50,000 volts in hand, you’ll never have to worry … and you won’t miss a beat of your favorite song. Most excellent.

Just see how easy it is to use! Personal protection can indeed be “both fashionable and functionable,” as genius Rick Smith, owner of Taser International, so eloquently stated. Awesome.

Full disclosure: I don’t own an iPod. I don’t run, and walk only when necessary. I’m not even exactly sure what the crack of dawn might be, although I hear it’s something very pretty. I don’t own anything remotely resembling Spandex, nor should anyone else. I think Lenny Kravitz is a god, and yes, I do download music illegally. Sue me. But please don’t iTase me, bro.

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