WE WAITED AND WAITED. HE WAITED AND WAITED. WE WERE WAITING FOR LEADERSHIP. HE WAS WAITING TO MAKE SURE HIS TAN WAS EVEN.  I CAN ONLY SUPPOSE THIS BECAUSE THE PRESIDENT DID NOT SAY ANYTHING HE COULDN'T HAVE SAID WITHIN 24 HOURS.  ONCE AGAIN WE HAVE A CRISES AND ARE LEFT WITH A LEADERLESS VACUUM.  OH, AND IRAN. WATCH IT! 'CAUSE WE ARE OBSERVING YOU.  I CAN HEAR THE TERRORIST SHUTTERING IN THEIR BOOTS NOW!  CAN'T YOU?

My boys have been “working out with Dad”. Basically, we have been doing pushups. We have started this because the boys have started participating in school-boy wrestling. It was pretty apparent when they started that some work was needed to enhance their physical strength.

So we started pushups. My little guys were frustrated at first that the pushups hurt their arms. I explained that the pain was their muscles getting stronger and they needed to push through it. With childlike honesty and straightforwardness, they asked how in the world I could ignore the pain and keep doing pushups even when it hurts. I replied that I focus on every failure in my life, every time I’ve been told I was not good enough, and every short coming and humiliation to drive me to keep going. My sons looked at me like I had three heads (cue sound of crickets).

I realized my boys had no concept of what I was talking about. My wife and I have worked so hard to provide a good comfortable life for them that the imagery of failure as a driving force for accomplishment was lost on them. That’s understandable, I guess, with boys as young as mine. In time, life will happen and they will have to face its harshness. Hopefully, they can learn how to take their failures and turn it into motivation.

So that’s two little boys. We can smile at their youthful innocence and give them a free pass for now, but what about adults?

We now have grownups in powerful government positions behaving like ten and eleven year olds with no life experience. With terms like “too big to fail” and “bailouts” from individuals who are supposed to be safeguarding the health of our nations infrastructure, one could definitely question the life experience of our leaders today. The truths of failure and success which are the foundation of capitalism have been completely ignored.

In order for a pond to remain healthy it must have an inlet and outlet. The outlet takes the old water out. The inlet receives new water from the stream above. Without an outlet, old water begins to back up and soon stops the pond current from moving. Less and less new water comes into the pond and even begins to redirect elsewhere. At last, the pond stagnates and everything in it dies.

We have done this to capitalism. Capitalism is predicated upon the competition of new ideas and old ideas. When the old ideas cannot withstand the pressure of new ideas the old is pushed out. But government wouldn’t allow that. They stopped up the outlet with bailouts. Now we see a nation in danger of stagnation. Why was our government so attached to the old?

It was many of their own ideas which caused the crises in the housing and banking. So invested were they in their own agendas, they could not tolerate the fact that capitalism had done its job and their weakness. What was that weakness? Socialism.

You see, Socialism cannot function in an environment that competes. When Barney Frank and others implemented socialist ideas into the housing and banking industry, it could not withstand the pressure of capitalism. Capitalism demands production. Socialism does not produce; it consumes. Socialism cannot stand unless it has no other competing ideas. That is why our government stopped the outlet. The flow of new ideas would have naturally pushed the socialist ideas out.

So now, the way to knowledge is blocked. Socialism is propped up and we are left with the stagnating stench. This the residue of aristocrats and bureaucrats who did not want to fail and learn from their mistakes.

Knowledge is a blessed thing. It should be sought after, but many see the road that leads to it, recoil and turn back. Knowledge will never compromise the path one takes to find her. It seems to me that some compromise, for themselves, what is true knowledge gained, …. and the current of ideas grows weaker and weaker.

    Yea, it really is to me.  Not that I have a man crush on the guy or anything, but he certainly seems like a man my friends and I would hang with.
    Anyone who has read any of my columns at any length will soon realize that my wife and I are strong supporters of Sarah Palin.  To us, she represents a hope that somehow a dose of common sense can still be injected into Washington.  But common sense is an attribute that should also be applied liberally to our support of Sarah Palin.
    So what has that to do with Todd Palin?  (When I say Todd Palin, I’m also inferring the whole family.)  Todd and Sarah Palin are faced with the Herculean task of not only maintaining their family unit in this present society (which is a monster we all face) but to answer the call of a desperate nation at the same time.  Powerful forces are pulling at this couple demanding hard choices.  We have watched them make some and have been impressed.  Unfortunately for the Palins, the hard choices will not end.  They will continue to come.
    So Todd represents a litmus test for us as supporters to gauge Sarah.  Why, you ask, do we need such a test?  Sarah Palin is terrific!  She is also (brace yourself) human.  While her upbringing and faith fill me with a strong hope that she is immune to the temptation of power, I’m reminded that the path she walks is littered with the carcasses of many grounded and faithful heroes.  Like you, I am heartened to see that her speeches are few and far between so she can quickly escape back to Alaska to be with Todd and her gorgeous children…her real reality.
    There are many in this arena, where Todd and Sarah do battle, that disdain their “attached at the hip” approach.  The concept of “one flesh” is repulsive to many of the elite, even those supposedly on “their side”.  The combined power of the husband and wife Palins will threaten some.  They will try to wedge them apart.  Thankfully Todd and Sarah Palin seem to be one step ahead of them by always having Todd, beaming Piper, or beautiful Willow or Bristol “attached to her hip” wherever she goes.  It’s hard to wedge people apart that are fused together.
    Obviously, Sarah Palin is a beautiful powerful woman.  She now operates in a place where the beautiful and the powerful become so obsessed with those two attributes that they become hollow shells that live only for more beauty and more power.  They succumb to a vicious cycle of flattery, guile, and spousal upgrades all in search of a new rung on the power ladder.  So we are concerned that power may corrupt her, too.
    The Bible describes powerful women through the portrayal of two females.  First, Abigail was a beautiful, wise woman who rose above her own negative circumstances.  She used her giftings to stop a powerful man from unjustly destroying an entire village.  Jezebel, equally powerful but treacherous, used her feminine wiles to manipulate men and nearly destroyed her country.
    I think Sarah Palin has the personality of Abigail from the Bible.  I think Todd and Sarah long ago made a commitment to fidelity,  to their children, and to avoiding the “appearance of evil”.  I know that sounds Puritan, Biblical, and Victorian, but hey, it works.
    With a note of caution, Sara and I continue to support the Palins.  Remember, if she fails, loses sight of Todd, and destroys her family it doesn’t change our cause.  I sound callous I know but conservatism must march on.  It is the only hope for our nation.  For those of faith, if she crumbles beneath the challenge like so many before have done, it doesn’t change God.  He is bigger than failure and can heal and restore.
    The Palins are doing all the right things.  Staying close at home, using the computer as a weapon  for truth, and keeping their little ones close is their essential strength.  I’m glad to see they know how to use a computer because there are others out here, namely myself, who are having a hard time catching up.  I don’t know, but there is just something about a roomful of men standing around with cell phones  twittering…. That makes me uncomfortable…I queess I just can’t get past the lingo…ahem.
    We are in a battle for this nation.  A battle of ideals…virtue against corruption.  So I fear for Todd and Sarah Palin but I believe in them.  They must not lose sight of each other.  Whatever happens, I will continue to fight for my country.  So in the words of our greatest conservative….“Trust , but verify”

For more on this please visit www.meconservativevoice.wordpress.com

    Last week I was humbled to find that my horizons, my perspective was in desperate need of broadening.  There are moments in our lives that effect the course of our personal history.  How we handle these pivotal times can alter the path of our life's pilgrimage forever.
   So again last week, while roofing in 90 degree weather with 100% humidity, my friend, who also wishes to remain anonymous voiced his strident opinion about the relevant issues of the day.  Here I will quote him, though from behind the veil of anonymity.  He said, “I don't know if I can stand to hear anymore of this horse pucky from Obama!”  
I was taken a back.  While I claim to have at least a layman's grasp of the English language, I confess that I was not aware of this equine term.  What was it's origin?  Of course the inevitable societal implications must be reconciled.  Driven by my thirst to delve in the existential, I pressed my friend to expound by asking, “What exactly is horse pucky ?!”
   At this point my first anonymous friend (the original) rolled his eyes and sighed, “Well we know what Andy's next column will be about.”  So my friend has been proven to have a prophetic gift.  It should be noted here that the crew I work with have now become the Posse of the Anonymous.  With my original anonymous friend being it's head. I can't be in the posse because you know my name and to be anonymous you must be nameless....because that's what ....anonymous....means....
   In other news,  research has shown that horse pucky is the exact opposite of horse sense, both metaphorically and anatomically.  Thankfully,  someone has come to give us a living, vibrant example.  
Peter “now knee deep in the till” Mills has written an op-ed on his reason for running for Governor.  Mr. Mills wants us all to believe that he has been fighting all these years against fiscal irresponsibility.  Obviously, Mr. Mills thinks we all can't read.  He forgets that Mainers operate on a concept foreign to liberal politicians like him...common sense.  Peter Mills, you cannot cover up your voting record.  It will show, Mr. Mills, that you encourage the liberal spending spree that has imperiled Maine's financial viability for generations to come.  That is a pungent representation of horse pucky.  At www.meconservativevoice.wordpress.com there is a place for politicians like Peter Mills called Horse Pucky Hall.  If you can think of others that should reside there, please visit the site and nominate them for sentencing. I promise the judgment will be quick, fair and sarcastic.

    They said we were divided.  The gleeful consensus worldwide was the United States  was no longer  united.  So as we teetered on the brink of splintered nationalism real or imagined (I lean towards imagined), up stepped one man to bring us back to our American roots.  Striding forward into his practiced messianic pose, this man realized that the sea change was not anything he could believe in.  It certainly was not what he had hoped for.  Those pesky Americans have the audacity to fight for their freedom.  Yes, Barack Obama, you have succeeded in unifying America like no one else could.  
    Unfortunately for the President, the country is  unifying against him not for him.  As pressure mounts on the White House, its’ true colors begin to immerge.  The administration has become more overt and clumsy in the application of Chicago thug politics.  Much to the chagrin of all the Presidents henchmen, the rest of the nation is not so cowed by gangster politics as perhaps Illinois is.
    Sporting the worst six month approval rating since World War II, President Obama has taken the shroud off his socialist agenda.  Americans who could not before can definitely see the Marxism now.  Both Democrats and Republicans are voicing their outrage at town hall meetings…. which is what…. Town hall meetings… are for…. I thought that was … what… they… were….?
    Well, Nancy Pelosi thinks differently (in many ways).  She expected the citizens to listen raptly, smile fawningly, and gaze in abject worship as they were “informed” of their new healthcare regime.
    THE PEOPLE DIDN’T CAVE!!  THANK GOD!!  They acted like Americans.  They stood up to their politicians and revolted against the Government.  Patrick Henry would be so proud!
    The Democratic Party’s’ response to the exercise of civil liberties was to call grandmothers, veterans,  and other hard working Americans thugs, mobsters, and disruptive anarchists.  The DNC reaction could be because it immediately suspects a replication of  its own tactics or the party of liberals does not comprehend and utterly disdains the power of individual Americans coming together to stand against an oppressive Government.  I think quite possibly both.
    At any rate, the Democrats have banned  all town hall meetings.  Such a shame too… I was so looking forward to Rep. Michaud, Rep. Pingree, Sen. Snowe, and Sen. Collins coming back to Maine and explaining to all our mobster and gangster senior citizens how ObamaCare was going to cut their benefits.  Now that’s entertainment!…. And so bi-partisan, too!
    What Barack Obama has come to painfully realize is that, outside of  Chicago, Americans disdain oppression.  Americans despise hypocrisy.  An administration that has occupied itself with the propagation of socialist lies now finds itself face to face with a nation that is shouting  “Don’t tread on me!”.   
 

   Remember the old crime drama movies? There was always the lone crusade for justice who stood against the gangsters and their evil ways. The lone ranger always frustrated those of compromised morals by being impervious to their methods of temptation and corruption. Finally, in the end, the mob attacks the greatest weakness of an honest person, the innocent ones they love.

   This is what has happened to Sarah Palin since the Presidential election. Predictably, the liberal Democrats have been terrified of her and have followed the Obama game plan of eliminating your opposition before they can challenge you. The first tactic was to bury her in a mountain of frivolous law suits, forcing her to incur debilitating legal debt. Much to the chagrin of these political mobsters, the Governor of Alaska seemed dogged in her determination to fight on.

   So, the Obama lackeys were called in; the media. Nothing else had worked. You would have thought that piling a half a million dollars of debt on her would have made Governor Palin more interested in the stimulus money. I’m sure that some politician in Alaska could have shown the Governor how to redirect that money to her benefit. No, she stood by her conviction and ignored the temptation.

   There was only one chink in the shining armor of Sarah Palin. Her little girls. The Obama network went to work sending their media thugs into attack. They hurled the most insidious, hateful things at these innocent girls. So this weekend, we found out that above all, Sarah Palin is a mother. She’s pulling back to protect the innocents’ she loves.

   The Obama gangsters are pretty smug right now. The end justifies the means, I’m sure; after all, it’s just a conservative’s children. But Governor Palin will be back. Remember, she’s done this before when oil executives stonewalled her efforts of reform. She’s a fighter. She’ll be back.

   But what is more disturbing? The Obama administration’s record of gangster thug tactics or the Republican party’s deafening silence. While the Palin family has twisted in the wind taking cheap shots from the Democratic Party, the Republicans have been disgustingly…silent. I’m shocked and appalled that my party has not offered to help pay for the legal bills that the Palin’s have accrued battling the Democrats. Shame on the Republicans!

   Could it be that the Governor from Alaska knew that in the 2010 election her family would not only be facing hit-men from the Democrats, but also Republicans? You see, Sarah Palin is an honest person, that’s why Americans love her and politicians hate her.

   Sarah Palin will be back. If she runs for President in 2012, ask yourself this. Do you want to elect an honest person or do you want to bow down to gangsters?

   There is a phenomenon sweeping our state. It is not unique in its’ concept but certainly in its’ scope. I’m not sure the state of Maine has ever had this many petition drives happening at once. I find this encouraging as it seems to indicate a growing dissatisfaction with the liberals who are in power in Augusta.

   You would think that Democrats would be feeling that uncomfortable hint of apprehension before an impending storm; but, in true fashion, the party of socialism is so blinded by their own conceit that they cannot see the torches and pitchforks waving before their very eyes. Yes, this is what these petition drives exemplify. A torch and pitchfork frustration mounting throughout Maine. Liberalism has failed Maine. It has impoverished Maine…and now, because it has no answers, liberalism is ignoring Maine.

   I listened to a Democratic Senator talk on one of the local morning shows concerning this very topic. When asked to explain the magnitude of the amount of petition drives, this Senator sniffed out her best oh, those wonder peasants response by saying, “Oh, they’re just exercising their civil rights.” That’s true, but she’s acting like it’s a commonplace activity. It’s not supposed to be! We’re supposed to be able to trust our Representatives to represent us; instead, we have been forced into digging political fire lines to contain the blazing socialist inferno of Augusta that wants to consume every tradition, freedom and revenue left in the state of Maine. It’s not “just” a matter of course. These are last ditch efforts to save our state from blind politicians.

   So with unrest and frustration bubbling throughout the state, one would think this bears good fortune for the Republican party in a revolution of power; except that the Republican party is so blinded by the desire to self-destruct, that it can’t see the torches and pitchforks either. Factions within the party are trying to oust conservatives from their midst. It seems that moderates have forgotten that it is conservatives who are the poles holding up the tent. Kick out the poles and all you’ve got left is a tarp. That’s just something for Democrats to walk on. Let’s not be ashamed to be conservatives and give hard -working Maine a hope for a freer, brighter, less government future. Conservatism works. Let’s use it.

      If you thought the Obama Administration could not pull another stunt diametrically opposed to common sense, think again.  It has taken some time to write this as I have had to stop from time to time and pick my jaw up off the floor.  Hollywood could not have scripted a weirder "twilight zone" scenario.
      Violence has been spilling over the border with Mexico for months now, but Janet Napolitano, our Secretary of Homeland Security, has said she wants to wait to see if violence is spilling over the border before she takes drastic action...on...the...border....???  Didn't...we ...just...say that...?  Hmmm... wasn't she the Governor of Arizona for...awhile? Doesn't Phoenix have the second highest drug related kidnapping rate in the world?
      Even if violence was not spilling over the border common sense would dictate that her job would be to insure that violence would never spill over the Mexican border.  But in a stroke of genius, Napolitano has decided to focus her attention and resources to the ... Canadian border???!!!  I haven't been to Jackman, Maine lately and maybe I've missed something in the news cycle, but I haven't heard anything about drug cartels on our border with Canada.  I haven't seen the pictures of the bodies of peace officers lying in the streets of the Canadian border towns.  Children are not being rescued from schools north of the States amid a hail of bullets.
      So why would the DHS Secretary want to disrupt the most peaceful border in the world?  One could wonder if the Madam Secretary is really that detached from reality or is there a more subtle motive at work here.
      Homeland Security has announced that it is no longer calling the War on Terror the War on Terror....??  It is now an "Overseas Contingency Plan"... what is that??!!  Terrorists around the world are now laying down their weapons in awe... or, to hold their sides with laughter.  We are no longer to use the label terrorist for the ...Overseas... Contingency... people... we are fighting; unless, of course, (drum roll please) it's those American citizens who own guns, who are Christians, and/or  those who are soldiers returning from battle with those poor misunderstood Overseas Contingency people.  Yes, I'm serious.  The Obama administration has released a memo to law enforcement agencies warning that returning war veterans, conservative Christians, and gun owners are potential "terrorists".
      Let me place my sarcastic wit aside and ask a civil question.  Do any of us, from any political viewpoint or walk of life, really want to start calling our fellow Americans terrorists just because their faith or political leanings are not concurrent with our own?  Diversity within the confines of law is a civil right.  Fellow citizens, we cannot be complacent and allow such a miscarriage of power to happen in public office. An overreach of Government in just one area will effect us all.  We the people, collectively, must keep this  Government accountable.
      So whether this policy is just a big slice of stupid slathered with a hefty amount of dumb between two halves of incompetence or the work of master illusionists diverting attention to one hand while the real work is deftly happening in the other remains to be seen.  It could be the mask to a frightening shift in Government power or just a "Dumb on Stupid" sandwich from the White House deli.  Time will tell.

There has understandably been a national outcry against the State of Maine and its' two Senators for the role they have played in the passing of this latest spending bill. People across the nation have been calling on the citizens of this great frontier state to recall its' rogue senators. BELIEVE ME! WE WOULD IF WE COULD!

As a voting member of the Republican party in the reddest county in New England (Piscataquis), I can assure my fellow citizens that we have exhausted all avenues of recourse. After some research, we quickly realized that Maine has no provision for recall; in fact, all of the eastern states do not have such a provision. Only the District of Columbia(which is not really a state) has a recall. Not surprisingly, many of the Midwestern and western states have provided their citizens with a recall. What separates these states from the New England is the conservative view of "trust but verify" even in relation to its' representatives. It's ironic that citizens residing in the area in which our founding fathers first railed against "taxation without representation", should be confined to wallow in the poison of misguided decisions. Yes, I must shamefacedly admit that I fell for the same old Snowe/Collins mantra again this past November. What is that mantra? It's the old "we're not as bad as the Democrats" line. We fall for it hook, line and sinker every election cycle. In our desperation to maintain a Republican presence in Washington, we forget to closely verify all of their actions in Washington.

DESPERATION...that's the key word...DESPERATION. We've allowed the "secondary" party mentality to force us into a series of compromises and political maneuvering, out of DESPERATON, to "keep up with the Joneses". This defeatist attitude brought us to this place of a confused, fractioned, and incoherent party. In the midst of this of this downward spiral, arose Snowe and Collins. Who capitalized on our DESPERATION. They unfurled their banner of "we're not as bad as the Democrats" and we grasped at it hungrily. We forgot that Ronald Reagan won this state handily. He won Maine because he exemplified something something we haven't shown consistently to the Maine voter in long time. He oozed with a character trait that most Mainers respect whole heartedly. Ronald Reagan was a common sense conservative. No hidden agendas, just simple truths. Reagan never used subterfuge as a campaign tactic. He never was "not as bad as" anybody. He let Mainers see who he was, what he stood for, and they liked it.  It wasn't until Sarah Palin showed up on the scene that I've seen voters swell towards a persona in the same way. She had the same honest clarity in her approach. Senator Snowe tried to get up on the platform with her in Bangor and was booed. Mainers know the difference.

My admonition to my party in Maine is this: Republicans it's time to make the hard decisions to right this ship. If it means running a primary candidate against these Senators, then start preparing now. Maybe it means allowing Democrats to take the seats so we can clean house. Then so be it. At least the national party will know what it's getting. As my friend Joshua says,"It's time to get the Snowe out of Maine". How many times are we going to have to hang our heads in shame because our state and Parties' name is attached to a liberal debacle such as this bill. Let's clean house! Yes, it's time: GET THE SNOWE OUT OF MAINE!!!

 

Throughout history, socialism has used children as the primary means of furthering its' cause. From the Nazi youth to the red scarves of Communism, socialism has constantly targeted the impressionable and those with limited life-experience. While these actions have been viewed as reprehensible in our country, we've allowed the specter of its' nemesis to operate here for decades. Democrats have consistently capitalized on the natural parental desire for better futures for their children. Every social program has been ribboned and bowed with a promise of a better horizon for the tomorrows of our children. Instead of a large convulsive revolution, we've slowly danced down the road to socialism as the piper plays his fife with our children in tow. Before our futures are swallowed into the chasm of Fascism, we need to stop the slow mesmerizing choreography of the Democratic party. The Republican party has been slow to combat the mantra of the Democrats simply because it is repulsive to conservatives to use children in its' political battles. Our sense of honor is viewed by liberals as weakness to be exploited; just ask George W. Bush. It's my opinion that we, as a party, need to assert, consistently, that OUR policies are “for the children”, that we as conservatives have the future of our little ones in mind as we make tax policy, and that borrowing against are children's future is not for the children, it's against the children. If all these social programs are “for the children”, then the Democratic party is practicing child exploitation. The vicious cycle of liberal programs have depressed the economies of the states they serve. Few, if any, of the funds ever reach “the children”; instead, State budgeters often have to “redirect” funds to cover the excessive financial strain of their programs. When the time comes for our children to pay the tab of our blindness, they will be parents. They will then be distracted from the cause of the impending doom, by the call of socialist, again, to add more of their programs...”for the children”... and the piper pipes on. We have a responsibility to stem the tide. Let's not be ashamed to say that fiscal conservatism is FOR OUR CHILDREN; that social conservatism is FOR OUR CHILDREN! It's time to make a stand FOR OUR CHILDREN! Stop the music and change the tune for the sake of our children!!!

Nancy Pelosi does her best inpersonation of Sally Brown with this stimulus bill.  You see, she only wants what's coming to her!  She only wants her fair share!!!  As Nancy does her Sally Brown rant, Harry Reid and Barrack Obama do their best impersonation of the Carlie Brown-Linus tumble spin.  Unfortunately, this money is not just peanuts anymore.  It's the heighth of hyprocrisy for Congress to point the finger at Wall St. bank executives for playing with tax-payers money, when Democrats was tax-payers to pay for their failed overbloated social policiesa and, then, try to add new social pet programs into the bill.  Still Nancy Sally Brown Pelosi rants; she still wants her fair share!  She just wants what's coming to her!!!

Recent announcements of troop buildups in Afghanistan has the "Aura Office" sounding almost Bush-like as it maneuvers to at least act like it wants to win a war. I've read and heard comments to the effect that the proverbial "stuff" will hit the fan with the media and the liberal left. Don't underestimate the power of hypocrisy! Now that the "messiah" is in power, there will be a fundamental shift by the media in its' coverage of the war. Now the newscasts will be filled with stories about the noble cause of the "messiah's" army. Casualties will be lauded as a heroic sacrifice for the good of the world. Civilian deaths will be downplayed. If reported at all, we will be reminded that these are some of the sad consequences of war, and we must resolute and steadfast through its' ugliness until we achieve a victorious end. All the humanitarian activities of our troops will be spotlighted and shown as evidence of the "messiah's" new "positive" influence on our military and the world(at least our soldiers will get some props... maybe...). When things go badly, as wars are wont to do at times, changes in strategy will be announced as bold, fresh, and courageous. In short, they will behave just the way they should have behaved when our troops were struggling in Iraq. This marked change in behavior stems from the ability of liberals to willingly and unashamedly embrace the mantle of a hypocrite. President Bush's personal code of honor has been viewed by the Democrats as opportunity. The former President's dogged determination in making the country safer after September 11th, by taking the war to our enemies, has succeeded, and the enemy is on the retreat. The "air stream " media and democrats have refused to acknowledge the fine work of our military in the past, but, with their own new Commander and Chief, it will be interesting to see if they follow true to form. Herein lies the hypocrite's power; that is, truth is only valuable when it benefits me. Simply put, if the truth hurts bury it. It's been part of the Democratic Party Platform for years now. We all know it. The Democrats make a mess and blame the Republicans. When the Republicans clean up the mess, the Democrats take the credit for it. There are two types of politicians. The polutaticians that make the mess, and the politicians that clean it up. Liberals lie and they like it. Liberals are hypocrites and they are proud of it. You might think how can they be this brazen?! Don't they know we are watching? that we are here? I don't think polutaticians know we are here. Either that, or they don't care to know. Nancy Pelosi has shown she has no interest in accountability. Remember, she won, she has the power, so sit back and swallow. Liberals are drunk with the success of their own deceit. They got away with it, and they think they still can. If we protest and point out the truth, the "messiah" simply says "I won".

I believe Rev. Martin Luthur King would turn in his if he could hear the travesty that has occured this past year. While I agree that electing a black man to the Presidency is historical moment, the way in which it was accomplished is the travesty. It was the great Dr. King's desire that all men should be judged by the "content of their character and not by the color of their skin". Yet in this past year, we did just that. We judged a man by the color of his skin rather than the content of his character. Every time an American asked for an explanation or definition of the mans character, the color of his skin was raised. To critique the mans character was called an exercise in racism. How then, can a man know another mans character unless he tests it? Yet we were admonished not to critique,only endorse, and, if we did not comply, the color of the mans skin was unfurled again. Rev. King was not looking for a man whose character was so fragile that it must sheltered from scrutiny, but, rather, a man whose life and deeds showed a pristine example of truth and steadfastness. I believe that Rev. King agreed with the Biblical passage which warns that by their "fruits you will know them". There were no fruits this past year to judge, only subterfuge and ambiguity. We have reached milestone to be sure, but did we compromise the message to reach it's intended end. The journey is just as important as the destination. Rev. King sacrificed so much for his "dream". Do you think he would want guile and deceit as the vehicles that drove it to fruition? So, have we stepped forward or stepped back? Will future politicians be emboldened to use the color of their skin to intimidate Americans from scrutinizing their character. Did we take a step forward or did we step back?

The State of the Union has always been a top priority to those elected to the executive branch; at least, until now. Historically, those elected to or who have held the office have tried to maintain some modicum of honor to their tenure in office; either effectively or ineffectively. Barack Obama seems content to allow the cloud of illegitimacy to hang over his Presidency. At the very least he seems unable to suppress it. My liberal friends could counter that the Bush Presidency had the same cloud of doubt over it. No, not really. Only to those invested in hatred and not to this extent. No, there is genuine concern that keeps cropping up from evidence continually leaked by those in his own camp. The latest Bill Richardson Freudian slip has giving many , once more, reason for pause and concern. This is not a small issue. It is a violation of a document called the constitution, and my concern is the President-elects lack of concern. The majority of the people in this country love the constitution and do not want it trampled. Mr. Obama should be concerned that American's will retrace his association with who have called for the destruction of our American system. Those rhetoric speaks of rewriting the constitution and some call for its invalidation. Obama himself has spoken some of this rhetoric. For the sake of the State of the Union, would it not be prudent for the man who must protect the Union and uphold the Constitution to exhaust all avenues to calm our fears of it's trampling. Until then, my fears grow. I'm concerned that a man who has stated the Constitution should be rewritten would be willing to use his immigration status to be the first swing of the ax...the first swing at the roots of democracy.. the Constitution. Once we cut into it, the tree of Democracy will fall. It's it his naivete or is it his intent? Time will tell.

So Susan Collins has done it to us again. She campaigned here in Maine preaching the benefits of domestic oil drilling, fervently calling for an end to the bands which impaired our access to our own natural resources. Now re-elected, she has quickly fallen back into lockstep with the Pelosi-Reid doctrine of "ignore the will of the people". Much to my own chagrin, I have to admit I voted for her. Why, you say?! Why?! Well, it's the old warmed over congealed question we Mainers wrestle with every election cycle. Do we punish a Republican, who barely fits the definition of the party, and vote for a liberal quack such as Tom Allen in this last election? Doing so would give more power to the liberal quacks in Washington; the likes of Pelosi and Reid. But it seems a vote for Collins was a vote for the quacks anyway. Yes, all this betrayal is driving me quackers too. Collins has wielded this "lesser of two evils" power effectively for years now. During her campaigns she murmurs just enough conservativespeak (with her fingers crossed behind her back) until Republicans think "she's better than a Democrat at least" and gets the Republican vote. The Democrats vote for her because she gets them what they want better than the Democrat candidates do, and throws in an old fashioned back-stabbing of conservatives for free. When will we ever learn? I don't know. We cry about our heavy taxes, yet, we elect the vary same people who legislate the tax burden in. It's like we are in some drug enduced haze. Maybe that's it. The social services and free money is too intoxicating. We know it's bad for us in the long run, but we can't get off it. I am as guilty as the next. The daunting task of getting through a harsh Maine winter makes it easy to except the hand outs of the Augusta Aristocracy. It's a vicious cycle of taxing suppliers who in turn pass it on to the consumer, who can't afford the high prices, so he call on the Aristocracy for help, who in turn vote themselves a pay raise, just before raising the taxes on the supplier again. Are we quackers yet? Of course, eventually good business bolts for greener pasture and we end up being what we are, one of the poorest overtaxed states in the Union. Can we wean ourselves free or even go cold turkey? I hope so. If we can't we had better get used to that sharp piercing pain between our shoulder blades from a Susan Collins style knife.