Lead, Follow, or Get the Hell Out of the Way

Obama's leadership strategy seems to be the same in most major issues. He has enough presence to be a factor, but rarely shows insight, strategy, or good judgment. Obama also works hard to cut out any figure who might garner more attention than he does.

We see this in foreign affairs. Under George W. Bush and his predecessor, the Secretary of State truly represented the foreign policy of the nation. Rice and Albright obviously had the confidence of their bosses and were part of major deals in our diplomacy. Hillary Clinton has been a figure of neglect and ridicule; her most recent achievement being the scheduling of a Lady Gaga concert. However, Obama's foreign policy has been one of confusing drift. He alienates allies while blundering into wars with no explanation.

Obama's main concern with the debt issue appears to be whether or not he wins a political battle. He has expanded the debt considerably. This issue by itself has undermined public confidence in Democratic leadership. Interestingly, a CNN reporter recently asked him about his predictions of doom if the debt ceiling were not raised by a certain day. Many such days have passed and we're still here spending too much money. His attempt at leadership was to compare Congress to his children, saying that they were disciplined and got their homework done on time.

Sorry, Obama, the issue of national debt, the interests of the people, and the future of this nation is of more importance than your daughter's math homework. It takes more time. And for the president to refer to Congress in this way really betrays his mindset. He is a paternalist with a desire to control. Luckily, he lacks political ability and competence, or we'd be in a lot more trouble.

In any event, he needs replaced. I am surprised there is no Democratic challenger yet.

Capito and McKinley Fight the EPA

Capito Applauds Senator Toomey For Introducing Bill To Mandate EPA Consider Jobs
6/29/11
Today, Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., applauded Senator Pat Toomey, R-PA, for his leadership in introducing the Senate version of Capito’s bill, the Employment Protection Act, which would require the EPA to consider the impact of any new regulation, new policy statement or permit denial on jobs.

In May, Capito introduced H.R. 1872 the “Employment Protection Act” to ensure the EPA considers how their actions impact jobs and the economy. Capito has fought hard to limit the EPA’s assault on Appalachian job-creators, specifically pushing back against the EPA’s intent to use broadly interpreted regulatory authority to overstep the bounds of its traditional role in the permitting process.

“The energy industry provides thousands of good-paying jobs, and coal aloneprovides over half of our nation’s electricity and over 95 percent of the power in West Virginia,” stated Capito. “I am proud to work with Senator Toomey to ensure that the EPA cannot continue to push rules and regulations without considering what it is doing to local economies and families.”

Earlier this month, American Electric Power announced it will be forced to cut jobs and decrease production in order to comply with a series of regulations proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that would impact coal-fueled power plants.

Capito’s bill has 12 cosponsors


McKinley Measure Just a First Step
06/27/11
The Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register
Thanks to U.S. Rep. David McKinley, R-W.Va., thoughtful Americans concerned about the liberal war on coal have won a battle.

Last week an important bill introduced by McKinley, concerning Environmental Protection Agency plans to establish harsh new rules on fly ash generated at coal-fired power plants, advanced in the House of Representatives. The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy approved the bill.

McKinley estimates that if the EPA is allowed to proceed, hundreds of thousands of jobs could be lost. In addition, costs to the economy "could surpass the hundred-billion dollar range." And that is just part of the liberal war on coal.

McKinley's bill would prevent the EPA from classifying fly ash as hazardous waste. It should not be viewed as such, of course. The material is used extensively in production of widely-sold goods such as drywall and concrete.

The bill probably will be approved by the full House - but may stall in the Senate.

Still, it is a small victory - one battle in what may be a long, brutal conflict to keep President Barack Obama and other liberals from destroying the coal industry.

McKinley is to be commended for his initiative, and encouraged to keep up the good work.

TSA Needs Restrained

On Monday, a 95 year old woman dying of cancer was humiliated by TSA. They forced her to remove her adult diaper because they couldn't tell what might be in it after groping her around her mid section.

Add this to the horror stories of uniformed guards feeling up toddlers and you get a body of work by TSA that has exceeded worst case scenarios. Thankfully some states have considered legislation to restrain or eliminate TSA from their airports.

We need security in airports. Most people understand that. But we need people with common sense working as gate keepers. We also need more Americans to stand up and say that they will not endure humiliating treatment and are willing to be loud about it.

West Virginia needsto join the states that are putting together restrictive legislation on TSA.

Disgraceful Show In Pasadena

My wife is the soccer fan in this family. Until recently, I thought Tim Howard was a car dealer in Morgantown, not the U. S. national team goalie.

However, he summed up the frustrations of many A mericans a few days ago. His team collapsed in the championship game of the Gold Cup against Mexico. But that isn't what would anger most Americans. Howard said that the postgame ceremony, which was conducted in Spanish, was an absolute disgrace. He's right.

The United States was the host country. Americans speak English. This was meant to be yet another slap in the face of the big bad Yankees by international soccer. If the post game announcer could not speak English, get someone who can speak it. Translations are not good enough.

This would have happened nowhere else, and Howard made that point. More Americans need to stand up for the fact that we are an English speaking nation, not Spanish or anything else. English.

Yes the U. S. team's collapse in that final was embarassing, but not nearly as disgraceful as the wanton disrespect shown to the host country by international soccer.

Education and Health Care Are Not Natural Rights

We talk about natural rights on here a lot. Natural rights are essential to existence. They are granted by God, or nature, to each individual. Jefferson recognized some in the Declaration of Independence while Madison included the most of the rest in the Bill of Rights. Most of us would agree that the Earl Warren court recognized an important natural right in the right to privacy as well.

Leftists want to ask why we do not list health care, right to a job, etc. among our rights. They accuse us of picking and choosing issues as if we were in a cafeteria. Leftists do not recognize a key difference.

Natural rights only involve the individual. An individual's right to speak, own and enjoy his property in privacy, worship in his own fashion, own guns,vote in elections, etc. do not demand resources from any other individual or group. You do not have to plunder from another to enjoy these rights. That makes them natural.

Health care, food, and work are commodities. You have the right to seek ways to obtain them, but they are not yours by right naturally because they require resources and the participation of others. If society were to truly state that something like health care was an ironclad right, that would result in the enslavement of anyone qualified to treat medical conditions. They would be compelled to work for someone else, which would violate their natural rights on a number of levels.

Medicare and social security are not rights, but in this case the government is bound by a contract to provide these services to those who paid into them for decades with the expectation that they be there. Whether or not the government is able to fulfill this contract is in question in the long term. People under forty generally have no expectations that they will ever see these benefits in their advanced age.

The worst injustice ever done to teachers was in treating education as a "right." Again, this is not a natural right. It should be treated more as a privilege. When we started operating under the belief that every child has a right to an education, we threw our public education teachers and administrators under the bus. We demanded that they take on a rising population of drug addicts and dealers, budding psychopaths, sexual predators, and educationally inert people. Not only are the educational professionals forced to divert attention and resources to dealing with these people, but those who go to school to get an education are literally victimized. Where else do we force regular folks with regular dreams to sit cheek to jowl with the worst miscreants of society and call it positive socialization? Let's be clear. You have the right to pick up a book and educate yourself, but society has no obligation to cater to those who seriously and chronically misbehave. Teachers, administrators, and real students should not have to deal with those who are in school to violate the rights of others to be secure. Our assumption that every child has the right to an education has turned our schools into prisons complete with cameras and armed guards.

The term "rights" is only applicable when there is no demand of resources from any other person or source.

Why Is South Hills Entitled to 7% of the House of Delegates?

South Hills is a neighborhood nestled in the Kanawha Valley. It overlooks the Kanawha River and Downtown Charleston. The movers and shakers of that city live in this upscale area. Interestingly enough, this neighborhood, which is not very large in size, can claim to be represented by 7% of the West Virginia State Legislature.

How is this possible? The southern half of Kanawha County, along with its seven delegates, has been lumped into one delegate district. This district is about half of a 900 square mile county, but all of these delegates live in an affluent enclave, just a few miles from each other. That means that large stretches of the county, such as the areas of Alum Creek, Trace Fork, etc. do not have a delegate living anywhere near them. Even worse, southern Kanawha County has almost nothing in common with their South Hills brethren. They are coal miners, not urbanites. Areas of the county, such as Loudendale, actually have historically strong antipathy towards the South Hills area.

Even worse, Mason County, split by multi-delegate districts, has not had a home grown delegate in two decades.

The big issue here is the very existence of multi-delegate districts. Opponents have raised many arguments for their dissolution, but there are no good reasons to keep them, except for the fact that they benefit incumbency. Delegate Danny Wells in a recent Charleston meeting, when challenged, exclaimed that he did not want to run into his constituency at church or in the grocery store. It is time for West Virginia to have one hundred districts for its one hundred delegates.

Obama Dropped by MoveOn.org

MoveOn.org has apparently decided to move on without Barack Obama for the time being.

Obama, obviously in political survival mode, has considered slight spending cuts in entitlement programs. It would be nothing that would alleviate the debt crisis, more of a public relations move as we get closer to next year's elections. MoveOn.org has fired off a broadside that claims that they will move to advance the "liberal" agenda without him. Of course these guys left liberalism behind long ago. They are hard core leftists bent on transformation.

This does not hurt Obama in the least, politically speaking. To be repudiated by the hard core left in public is a gift to the beleaguered, but still radical, president. They will not be able to nominate a more radical candidate; in fact Obama could face a real challenge from the Democratic center. The leftists will vote for Obama and probably even campaign for him again. You won't see them support a Green Party candidate in the general, either. Nope, they will trudge back next year to his fold.

MoveOn.org is still well-funded and has a certain following. Their public attacks on Obama are meant to push him back their way, not prepare for his replacement. That all being said, it is interesting how his constituency is splintering.

Tea Party Evolution

Went to the Potomac Highlands Patriots meeting last night and I'm happy to say that the group is thriving. It had a strong group of individuals with good ideas on how to move forward. This Tea Party is not just resting on its laurels and remembering the triumph of last year. Instead, it is moving forward with plans to support Bill Maloney's gubernatorial campaign, seeking ways to continue to push free market development locally, and preparing to make an impact in 2012.

Of course Mineral County is not alone. Hampshire County's Tea Party, We the People of Hampshire County, have held impressive rallies and hosted speakers. Their website is http://we-the-people-hc.com/ They are pushing free markets and individual liberty issues very hard in their county and will have a powerful effect on the 2012 election cycle in their area.

The way that these Tea Parties have adapted to the off year is impressive. The Potomac Highlands Patriots will be more involved in addressing local economic development meetings and making their concerns known to entities like the Planning Commission. Hampshire County is working hard to educate people in their issues. They are proving that the Tea Party movement will remain not just viable, but powerful in this region.

Congress Needs to Thoroughly Investigate "Fast and Furious"

The Justice Department has been on its heels all year as revelation after revelation comes out about "Operation Fast and Furious."

This operation co-opted gun stores in the southwestern United States to sell guns to criminals who would then be allowed to take them into Mexico. They would then wait and see where the guns "turned up" rather than intercept them. Thousands of guns made it into the hands of drug cartels and other criminals courtesy of the United States government.

At first, the Obama Administration tried to blame the same gun shops that did their patriotic duty to help the government. They also, in general, tried to make a public gun control case based upon U. S. guns flowing into Mexico. Only when the gun shops gave the details of their involvement, did the government partially fess up. I say partially, because the Justice Department will not turn over full transcripts of documents related to the operation.

Meanwhile, federal agents on the ground cringe (according to a CNN report) when a major gun crime occurs on either side of the border. Will it be one of ours?

This was an operation gone horribly wrong. That happens. However, the government has been in cover up mode for over a year. We must know the full details of this operation. We must also know if the Justice Department or the White House participated in any activities that could be considered obstruction. We must also find out if Obama tried to use this to advance an anti-Second Amendment agenda. This is not just a domestic political issue, but one of national security. Mexican drug cartels are causing the collapse of that country. Chaos in Mexico affects our security. Operation Fast and Furious was irresponsible. We must also find out if it was criminal.

Weiner

Anthony Weiner left Congress this week, apparently after finding out that you don't get leaves of absence from Congress.

His misdeeds have set off numerous debates. Some argued that this did not rise to the level of an offense for which he needed to resign. Vanity Fair produced the most controversial piece, asserting that Mrs. Weiner shared some responsibility for the issue because she spent too little time at home tending to the needs of her husband. That article was a bridge too far for the writer and the publication.

A private affair, Weiner probably could have survived, provided that it was not with an intern or some other subordinate. This was different, although more and more common every day. He sent pictures of private locations on his body to unsuspecting people who had signed up to follow him on Twitter. This is definitely something that can "expose" you to all sorts of embarassment. The question is, did he really think that this was not going to get out?

It makes you wonder. He was a rising star in the Democratic Party, slated to contend for the job of New York City mayor at some point. This was either a galactically stupid move, or an intentional career hari-kari. I mean, how do you not know that this will definitely end up on the Tonight Show, especially with your name being what it is.

Well, Obama has assured us that Weiner and his family will bounce back. Were I the former congressman, I'd worry since he also assured us that the economy would do the same.

Shelley Moore Capito Once Again Fights For Coal and Manufacturing Against the Bureaucrats

Search

Keyword:

Entire Site

This Section

*
Contact Us graphic
Contact Shelly

*
Email Updates
Email Updates

Print
Capito Demands Answers From EPA
6/14/11

Today, Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., wrote a strongly-worded letter to the United States Environmental Protection Agency demanding the agency show proof that jobs were considered when issuing new regulations for coal-fueled power plants over the past year.

Capito’s letter comes on the heels of frustrating news that American Electric Power will shut down five plants in West Virginia and Ohio, resulting in job cuts and higher utility costs across the board.

“The way I see it, either the EPA did not run proper analysis or the administration knew the rules concerning coal-fueled plants would cost jobs and increase utility costs and still went ahead anyway. Either way, this is unacceptable,” stated Capito.

Despite sluggish economic growth, an unsustainably high unemployment rate, and a market so plagued with uncertainty that businesses cannot even fathom hiring or expanding, the administration has insisted on continuing its assault on the energy industry which employs millions of hard-working Americans.

“Whether its providing cheap gas so companies don’t have to pass their costs onto consumers, or keeping home utility prices low so Americans can spend money on other things, or employing millions of workers to exploit resources found right here in America, the energy industry quite literally powers the American economy,” stated Capito. “Especially in West Virginia, the energy industry provides an important source of tax revenue for local and state governments and our manufacturing and service industries benefit from low cost electricity, making them more competitive.”

Specifically, Capito requests “copies of all internal memoranda, communication, analysis, and documents regarding the EPA’s consideration of the impact on economic activity and employment (cumulative and non-cumulative) related to these rules and regulations.”

ATTACHED:Capito letter to United States Environmental Protection Agency

BACKGROUND

Last month, Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., introduced H.R. 1872, the “Employment Protection Act,” which would require the Environmental Protection Agency to take into account jobs and economic activity prior to issuing a regulation, policy statement, guidance, implementing any new or substantially altered program, or issuing or denying any permit—essentially any action taken by the EPA.

Capito Letter to EPA ( 06/14/11 10:49 AM PST )

Why Is It Important to Attend the Upcoming Redistricting Meetings?

Next week, Delegates Gary Howell and Alan Evans, as well as state senators Dave Sypolt and Clark Barnes, will hold three town hall meetings in Mineral County to address the upcoming issue of state redistricting.

It is important to attend these meetings and make your opinions heard. Every ten years, the state legislature must take the results of the U. S. Census and redraw delegate and senatorial districts around the state. Congressional districts will also be readjusted.

Republicans and independents fear that the Democratic dominated Legislature will redraw districts to minimize Republicans' ability to elect people to office. Districts can be drawn in such a way as to "sink" Republican majority areas into Democratic majority districts. Also at issue are the existence of multi-delegate districts that strongly favor the incumbents in state electoral history. Republicans and independents would like to eliminate these districts which are generally in the larger urban areas of the state.

Forum meeting dates, times, and places are as follows:
June 20, 6-8 p.m.: Short Gap Fire Hall.
June 23, 6-8 p.m.: Mineral County Courthouse.
June 27, 6-8 p.m.: Burlington Fire Hall.

Incumbent Protection Plan Before the State Legislature

For Release: June 10, 2011

Contact: Rick Snuffer 304.923.5160


REDISTRICTING...

One Question


Beckley, WV - 27th Delegate District Freshman Rick Snuffer says he will accept the House of

Delegate Leadership's assertion that there is no 'incumbency protection plan' if they will answer

one very simple question;


Why are Single Delegate Districts good for 36 of West Virginia's 58 House of Delegate Districts,

but not the other 22?


Snuffer offers, "From the Speaker, to the Majority Leader, to the Majority Whip; these are good

guys who I like and get along with. If they say there is no 'incumbency protection plan' being

considered, I accept that. What many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle are asking is

why are SDDs okay for 36 of our Delegate Districts, but not the other 22?"


Snuffer, a Raleigh/Summers County Delegate, has stated the redistricting process will be a major

factor in whether or not he attempts to remain in the West Virginia House of Delegates or mount

another attempt to unseat 35 year Congressional incumbent, Nick Joe Rahall, in the next election

cycle.


"The Leadership has promised an honest and open House redistricting process. There is one

simple question which needs to be answered to ensure this process follows their declared

intentions; if 36, why not 22 more," the legislative newcomer asks?


"If a Single Delegate District is good for the people of the 34th District which Majority Leader

Boggs represents, why not for the people of the 32nd District which Minority Leader Armstead

represents? If SDDs are appropriate for the citizens of the Eastern Panhandle, why not for the

good folks in the Northern Panhandle? In Mercer County, the people who live in the 24th

District have a single delegate representing them; but the Mercer County residents of the 25th

Delegate District have two delegates representing them."


Snuffer states there appears to be no geographic, political, or historical reason for the

discrepancy of the various sizes of WV House Districts and says the motives could easily be

put to rest if someone will just answer the question… 'If for some, why not for everyone?'


"Rick, Brent, and Mike are all on public record commending the benefits of Single Member/

Delegate Districts, yet each have said 'there won't be 100 Single House Districts," Snuffer

concludes. "Why? That's all we want to hear from them in this honest, open process which has

been promised. If it's alright in the instances where they exist, why not in the others? Please just

answer the question, WHY??"




-30-

Supporting the Best Weapons For Our Troops

I am asking our two United States Senators Joe Manchin and Jay Rockefeller to honor their promise to the men and women of the military to protect them — by supporting full funding and production of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

Having the best equipment possible makes a real difference—between fully concentrating on the mission, or being concerned about whether you have air cover. Since the Korean War the U.S. military has not had to worry that we controlled the skies. Failing to provide the F-35 to the troops would make U.S. missions vulnerable — that’s a risk we simply cannot afford.

The truth is, our pilots don’t want a fair fight. We want the most advanced technology available to keep us safe and our missions successful. The F-35 has buried radars, internally mounted weapons, and hidden sensors that give unprecedented levels of situational awareness and stealth. The enemy won’t know we are coming, and our families can be reassured we have the best equipment that will bring us back home safely.

We simply can't secure today’s peace with yesterday’s weapons. This fifth-generation fighter aircraft is needed to provide cutting-edge technology to troops in the field. The fleet is roughly three decades old, and we need to replace it with better tools for today’s challenges.

The F-35 will be a replacement for a number of aircraft across the services. Without the F-35, our troops are left exposed and our nation is at great risk.

As my member of Congress, I urge Senators Manchin and Rockefeller to honor the trust the men and women of the military place in you, to provide the best possible equipment and do your best to ensure their safe return home. I urge them to commit to fully funding the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, and honor yours and America’s promise to the military.

Just Not Cool Anymore

Apparently Obama is not cool anymore.

I am not sure how he became cool, or why. Much like a viral You Tube video, his coolness was fleeting. Unfortunately we cannot delete him from our system until next year.

Polls and political reporters are confirming that Obama is no longer an interesting topic to college or high school students. According to a blog called the Atlantic Wire, who studied Oberlin College's short love interest in Obama, the "hipsters" no longer care about him.

They also warn that these same kids were the ones who were the volunteers, although older people turned out in greater numbers to actually vote. In other words, Obama is old news.

This is what happens to political figure who seeks popularity over respect. Respect is hard earned over time. Unless you do something weird, like show your weiner to someone, it's hard to lose respect once it's earned. Popularity is fleeting and only of real interest to the vapid.

Is there a political reason for this? Perhaps because he campaigned against Bush and Cheney's handling of the War on Terror, but has followed many of their most controversial tactics, such as the Patriot Act. This also probably resulted because, like Miley Cyrus or Jessica Simpson, popularity disappears pretty quickly with exposure. The more people see, the less they want.

It could be also that he plays a lot of golf on days where he should be working, or at least appearing to work.

An Influence on Our Declaration of Independence

English Bill of Rights 1689
An Act Declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject and Settling the Succession of the Crown
Whereas the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons assembled at Westminster, lawfully, fully and freely representing all the estates of the people of this realm, did upon the thirteenth day of February in the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred eighty-eight [old style date] present unto their Majesties, then called and known by the names and style of William and Mary, prince and princess of Orange, being present in their proper persons, a certain declaration in writing made by the said Lords and Commons in the words following, viz.:

Whereas the late King James the Second, by the assistance of divers evil counsellors, judges and ministers employed by him, did endeavour to subvert and extirpate the Protestant religion and the laws and liberties of this kingdom;

By assuming and exercising a power of dispensing with and suspending of laws and the execution of laws without consent of Parliament;

By committing and prosecuting divers worthy prelates for humbly petitioning to be excused from concurring to the said assumed power;

By issuing and causing to be executed a commission under the great seal for erecting a court called the Court of Commissioners for Ecclesiastical Causes;

By levying money for and to the use of the Crown by pretence of prerogative for other time and in other manner than the same was granted by Parliament;

By raising and keeping a standing army within this kingdom in time of peace without consent of Parliament, and quartering soldiers contrary to law;

By causing several good subjects being Protestants to be disarmed at the same time when papists were both armed and employed contrary to law;

By violating the freedom of election of members to serve in Parliament;

By prosecutions in the Court of King's Bench for matters and causes cognizable only in Parliament, and by divers other arbitrary and illegal courses;

And whereas of late years partial corrupt and unqualified persons have been returned and served on juries in trials, and particularly divers jurors in trials for high treason which were not freeholders;

And excessive bail hath been required of persons committed in criminal cases to elude the benefit of the laws made for the liberty of the subjects;

And excessive fines have been imposed;

And illegal and cruel punishments inflicted;

And several grants and promises made of fines and forfeitures before any conviction or judgment against the persons upon whom the same were to be levied;

All which are utterly and directly contrary to the known laws and statutes and freedom of this realm;

And whereas the said late King James the Second having abdicated the government and the throne being thereby vacant, his Highness the prince of Orange (whom it hath pleased Almighty God to make the glorious instrument of delivering this kingdom from popery and arbitrary power) did (by the advice of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and divers principal persons of the Commons) cause letters to be written to the Lords Spiritual and Temporal being Protestants, and other letters to the several counties, cities, universities, boroughs and cinque ports, for the choosing of such persons to represent them as were of right to be sent to Parliament, to meet and sit at Westminster upon the two and twentieth day of January in this year one thousand six hundred eighty and eight [old style date], in order to such an establishment as that their religion, laws and liberties might not again be in danger of being subverted, upon which letters elections having been accordingly made;

And thereupon the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons, pursuant to their respective letters and elections, being now assembled in a full and free representative of this nation, taking into their most serious consideration the best means for attaining the ends aforesaid, do in the first place (as their ancestors in like case have usually done) for the vindicating and asserting their ancient rights and liberties declare

That the pretended power of suspending the laws or the execution of laws by regal authority without consent of Parliament is illegal;

That the pretended power of dispensing with laws or the execution of laws by regal authority, as it hath been assumed and exercised of late, is illegal;

That the commission for erecting the late Court of Commissioners for Ecclesiastical Causes, and all other commissions and courts of like nature, are illegal and pernicious;

That levying money for or to the use of the Crown by pretence of prerogative, without grant of Parliament, for longer time, or in other manner than the same is or shall be granted, is illegal;

That it is the right of the subjects to petition the king, and all commitments and prosecutions for such petitioning are illegal;

That the raising or keeping a standing army within the kingdom in time of peace, unless it be with consent of Parliament, is against law;

That the subjects which are Protestants may have arms for their defence suitable to their conditions and as allowed by law;

That election of members of Parliament ought to be free;

That the freedom of speech and debates or proceedings in Parliament ought not to be impeached or questioned in any court or place out of Parliament;

That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted;

That jurors ought to be duly impanelled and returned, and jurors which pass upon men in trials for high treason ought to be freeholders;

That all grants and promises of fines and forfeitures of particular persons before conviction are illegal and void;

And that for redress of all grievances, and for the amending, strengthening and preserving of the laws, Parliaments ought to be held frequently.

And they do claim, demand and insist upon all and singular the premises as their undoubted rights and liberties, and that no declarations, judgments, doings or proceedings to the prejudice of the people in any of the said premises ought in any wise to be drawn hereafter into consequence or example; to which demand of their rights they are particularly encouraged by the declaration of his Highness the prince of Orange as being the only means for obtaining a full redress and remedy therein. Having therefore an entire confidence that his said Highness the prince of Orange will perfect the deliverance so far advanced by him, and will still preserve them from the violation of their rights which they have here asserted, and from all other attempts upon their religion, rights and liberties, the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons assembled at Westminster do resolve that William and Mary, prince and princess of Orange, be and be declared king and queen of England, France and Ireland and the dominions thereunto belonging, to hold the crown and royal dignity of the said kingdoms and dominions to them, the said prince and princess, during their lives and the life of the survivor to them, and that the sole and full exercise of the regal power be only in and executed by the said prince of Orange in the names of the said prince and princess during their joint lives, and after their deceases the said crown and royal dignity of the same kingdoms and dominions to be to the heirs of the body of the said princess, and for default of such issue to the Princess Anne of Denmark and the heirs of her body, and for default of such issue to the heirs of the body of the said prince of Orange. And the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons do pray the said prince and princess to accept the same accordingly.

And that the oaths hereafter mentioned be taken by all persons of whom the oaths have allegiance and supremacy might be required by law, instead of them; and that the said oaths of allegiance and supremacy be abrogated.

I, A.B., do sincerely promise and swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to their Majesties King William and Queen Mary. So help me God.

I, A.B., do swear that I do from my heart abhor, detest and abjure as impious and heretical this damnable doctrine and position, that princes excommunicated or deprived by the Pope or any authority of the see of Rome may be deposed or murdered by their subjects or any other whatsoever. And I do declare that no foreign prince, person, prelate, state or potentate hath or ought to have any jurisdiction, power, superiority, pre-eminence or authority, ecclesiastical or spiritual, within this realm. So help me God.

Upon which their said Majesties did accept the crown and royal dignity of the kingdoms of England, France and Ireland, and the dominions thereunto belonging, according to the resolution and desire of the said Lords and Commons contained in the said declaration. And thereupon their Majesties were pleased that the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons, being the two Houses of Parliament, should continue to sit, and with their Majesties' royal concurrence make effectual provision for the settlement of the religion, laws and liberties of this kingdom, so that the same for the future might not be in danger again of being subverted, to which the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons did agree, and proceed to act accordingly. Now in pursuance of the premises the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons in Parliament assembled, for the ratifying, confirming and establishing the said declaration and the articles, clauses, matters and things therein contained by the force of law made in due form by authority of Parliament, do pray that it may be declared and enacted that all and singular the rights and liberties asserted and claimed in the said declaration are the true, ancient and indubitable rights and liberties of the people of this kingdom, and so shall be esteemed, allowed, adjudged, deemed and taken to be; and that all and every the particulars aforesaid shall be firmly and strictly holden and observed as they are expressed in the said declaration, and all officers and ministers whatsoever shall serve their Majesties and their successors according to the same in all time to come. And the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons, seriously considering how it hath pleased Almighty God in his marvellous providence and merciful goodness to this nation to provide and preserve their said Majesties' royal persons most happily to reign over us upon the throne of their ancestors, for which they render unto him from the bottom of their hearts their humblest thanks and praises, do truly, firmly, assuredly and in the sincerity of their hearts think, and do hereby recognize, acknowledge and declare, that King James the Second having abdicated the government, and their Majesties having accepted the crown and royal dignity as aforesaid, their said Majesties did become, were, are and of right ought to be by the laws of this realm our sovereign liege lord and lady, king and queen of England, France and Ireland and the dominions thereunto belonging, in and to whose princely persons the royal state, crown and dignity of the said realms with all honours, styles, titles, regalities, prerogatives, powers, jurisdictions and authorities to the same belonging and appertaining are most fully, rightfully and entirely invested and incorporated, united and annexed. And for preventing all questions and divisions in this realm by reason of any pretended titles to the crown, and for preserving a certainty in the succession thereof, in and upon which the unity, peace, tranquility and safety of this nation doth under God wholly consist and depend, the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons do beseech their Majesties that it may be enacted, established and declared, that the crown and regal government of the said kingdoms and dominions, with all and singular the premises thereunto belonging and appertaining, shall be and continue to their said Majesties and the survivor of them during their lives and the life of the survivor of them, and that the entire, perfect and full exercise of the regal power and government be only in and executed by his Majesty in the names of both their Majesties during their joint lives; and after their deceases the said crown and premises shall be and remain to the heirs of the body of her Majesty, and for default of such issue to her Royal Highness the Princess Anne of Denmark and the heirs of the body of his said Majesty; and thereunto the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons do in the name of all the people aforesaid most humbly and faithfully submit themselves, their heirs and posterities for ever, and do faithfully promise that they will stand to, maintain and defend their said Majesties, and also the limitation and succession of the crown herein specified and contained, to the utmost of their powers with their lives and estates against all persons whatsoever that shall attempt anything to the contrary. And whereas it hath been found by experience that it is inconsistent with the safety and welfare of this Protestant kingdom to be governed by a popish prince, or by any king or queen marrying a papist, the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons do further pray that it may be enacted, that all and every person and persons that is, are or shall be reconciled to or shall hold communion with the see or Church of Rome, or shall profess the popish religion, or shall marry a papist, shall be excluded and be for ever incapable to inherit, possess or enjoy the crown and government of this realm and Ireland and the dominions thereunto belonging or any part of the same, or to have, use or exercise any regal power, authority or jurisdiction within the same; and in all and every such case or cases the people of these realms shall be and are hereby absolved of their allegiance; and the said crown and government shall from time to time descend to and be enjoyed by such person or persons being Protestants as should have inherited and enjoyed the same in case the said person or persons so reconciled, holding communion or professing or marrying as aforesaid were naturally dead; and that every king and queen of this realm who at any time hereafter shall come to and succeed in the imperial crown of this kingdom shall on the first day of the meeting of the first Parliament next after his or her coming to the crown, sitting in his or her throne in the House of Peers in the presence of the Lords and Commons therein assembled, or at his or her coronation before such person or persons who shall administer the coronation oath to him or her at the time of his or her taking the said oath (which shall first happen), make, subscribe and audibly repeat the declaration mentioned in the statute made in the thirtieth year of the reign of King Charles the Second entitled, _An Act for the more effectual preserving the king's person and government by disabling papists from sitting in either House of Parliament._ But if it shall happen that such king or queen upon his or her succession to the crown of this realm shall be under the age of twelve years, then every such king or queen shall make, subscribe and audibly repeat the same declaration at his or her coronation or the first day of the meeting of the first Parliament as aforesaid which shall first happen after such king or queen shall have attained the said age of twelve years. All which their Majesties are contented and pleased shall be declared, enacted and established by authority of this present Parliament, and shall stand, remain and be the law of this realm for ever; and the same are by their said Majesties, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons in Parliament assembled and by the authority of the same, declared, enacted and established accordingly.

II. And be it further declared and enacted by the authority aforesaid, that from and after this present session of Parliament no dispensation by _non obstante_ of or to any statute or any part thereof shall be allowed, but that the same shall be held void and of no effect, except a dispensation be allowed of in such statute, and except in such cases as shall be specially provided for by one or more bill or bills to be passed during this present session of Parliament.

III. Provided that no charter or grant or pardon granted before the three and twentieth day of October in the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred eighty-nine shall be any ways impeached or invalidated by this Act, but that the same shall be and remain of the same force and effect in law and no other than as if this Act had never been made.

Breakdown of Civilization in Chicago

Rahm Emmanuel has a serious issue on his hands as Chicago mayor.

Thugs have taken to the streets en masse. They are ransacking stores, attacking individuals to steal almost insignificant items, and generally frightening the city.

Rahm Emmanuel may have been an advisor to one of the weakest presidents in modern history, but he inherits a tradition of city leadership like no other. He is promising swift and severe justice. But will he community organize, a la Obama? Or will he bash and smash like Richard Daley? I have a feeling that he will unleash the police. Woe be unto these foolish city kids who think they are the baddest and the meanest. Unless sensitivity classes have taken the ornery out of them, cities like Chicago, Philadelphia, etc. know how to handle this kind of problem.

Swift and severe justice. For the sake of Chicago, we hope Emanuel is up to the task.

In a larger sense, this is troubling. Mob violence for the sake of violence is definitely a sign of societal breakdown. Criminal gangs usually try to not harm "civilians" because it leads to increased police scrutiny. These guys seem to want to take the police on.

And you know who will lose that confrontation. Chicago ain't Seattle.

Barry Goldwater's 1964 Acceptance Speech

Goldwater's 1964 Acceptance Speech
The following is the text of Barry Goldwater's 1964 speech at the 28th Republican National Convention, accepting the nomination for president. Provided by the Arizona Historical Foundation

To my good friend and great Republican, Dick Nixon, and your charming wife, Pat; my running mate and that wonderful Republican who has served us well for so long, Bill Miller and his wife, Stephanie; to Thurston Morton who has done such a commendable job in chairmaning this Convention; to Mr. Herbert Hoover, who I hope is watching; and to that great American and his wife, General and Mrs. Eisenhower; to my own wife, my family, and to all of my fellow Republicans here assembled, and Americans across this great Nation.

From this moment, united and determined, we will go forward together, dedicated to the ultimate and undeniable greatness of the whole man. Together we will win.

I accept your nomination with a deep sense of humility. I accept, too, the responsibility that goes with it, and I seek your continued help and your continued guidance. My fellow Republicans, our cause is too great for any man to feel worthy of it. Our task would be too great for any man, did he not have with him the heart and the hands of this great Republican Party, and I promise you tonight that every fiber of my being is consecrated to our cause; that nothing shall be lacking from the struggle that can be brought to it by enthusiasm, by devotion, and plain hard work. In this world no person, no party can guarantee anything, but what we can do and what we shall do is to deserve victory, and victory will be ours.

The good Lord raised this mighty Republic to be a home for the brave and to flourish as the land of the free-not to stagnate in the swampland of collectivism, not to cringe before the bully of communism.

Now, my fellow Americans, the tide has been running against freedom. Our people have followed false prophets. We must, and we shall, return to proven ways-- not because they are old, but because they are true. We must, and we shall, set the tide running again in the cause of freedom. And this party, with its every action, every word, every breath, and every heartbeat, has but a single resolve, and that is freedom - freedom made orderly for this nation by our constitutional government; freedom under a government limited by laws of nature and of nature's God; freedom - balanced so that liberty lacking order will not become the slavery of the prison cell; balanced so that liberty lacking order will not become the license of the mob and of the jungle.

Now, we Americans understand freedom. We have earned it, we have lived for it, and we have died for it. This Nation and its people are freedom's model in a searching world. We can be freedom's missionaries in a doubting world. But, ladies and gentlemen, first we must renew freedom's mission in our own hearts and in our own homes.

During four futile years, the administration which we shall replace has distorted and lost that faith. It has talked and talked and talked and talked the words of freedom. Now, failures cement the wall of shame in Berlin. Failures blot the sands of shame at the Bay of Pigs. Failures mark the slow death of freedom in Laos. Failures infest the jungles of Vietnam. And failures haunt the houses of our once great alliances and undermine the greatest bulwark ever erected by free nations - the NATO community. Failures proclaim lost leadership, obscure purpose, weakening wills, and the risk of inciting our sworn enemies to new aggressions and to new excesses. Because of this administration we are tonight a world divided - we are a Nation becalmed. We have lost the brisk pace of diversity and the genius of individual creativity. We are plodding at a pace set by centralized planning, red tape, rules without responsibility, and regimentation without recourse.

Rather than useful jobs in our country, people have been offered bureaucratic "make work," rather than moral leadership, they have been given bread and circuses, spectacles, and, yes, they have even been given scandals. Tonight there is violence in our streets, corruption in our highest offices, aimlessness among our youth, anxiety among our elders and there is a virtual despair among the many who look beyond material success for the inner meaning of their lives. Where examples of morality should be set, the opposite is seen. Small men, seeking great wealth or power, have too often and too long turned even the highest levels of public service into mere personal opportunity.

Now, certainly, simple honesty is not too much to demand of men in government. We find it in most. Republicans demand it from everyone. They demand it from everyone no matter how exalted or protected his position might be. The growing menace in our country tonight, to personal safety, to life, to limb and property, in homes, in churches, on the playgrounds, and places of business, particularly in our great cities, is the mounting concern, or should be, of every thoughtful citizen in the United States.

Security from domestic violence, no less than from foreign aggression, is the most elementary and fundamental purpose of any government, and a government that cannot fulfill that purpose is one that cannot long command the loyalty of its citizens. History shows us - demonstrates that nothing - nothing prepares the way for tyranny more than the failure of public officials to keep the streets from bullies and marauders.

Now, we Republicans see all this as more, much more, than the rest: of mere political differences or mere political mistakes. We see this as the result of a fundamentally and absolutely wrong view of man, his nature and his destiny. Those who seek to live your lives for you, to take your liberties in return for relieving you of yours, those who elevate the state and downgrade the citizen must see ultimately a world in which earthly power can be substituted for divine will, and this Nation was founded upon the rejection of that notion and upon the acceptance of God as the author of freedom.

Those who seek absolute power, even though they seek it to do what they regard as good, are simply demanding the right to enforce their own version of heaven on earth. And let me remind you, they are the very ones who always create the most hellish tyrannies. Absolute power does corrupt, and those who seek it must be suspect and must be opposed. Their mistaken course stems from false notions of equality, ladies and gentlemen. Equality, rightly understood, as our founding fathers understood it, leads to liberty and to the emancipation of creative differences. Wrongly understood, as it has been so tragically in our time, it leads first to conformity and then to despotism.

Fellow Republicans, it is the cause of Republicanism to resist concentrations of power, private or public, which enforce such conformity and inflict such despotism. It is the cause of Republicanism to ensure that power remains in the hands of the people. And, so help us God, that is exactly what a Republican president will do with the help of a Republican Congress.

It is further the cause of Republicanism to restore a clear understanding of the tyranny of man over man in the world at large. It is our cause to dispel the foggy thinking which avoids hard decisions in the illusion that a world of conflict will somehow mysteriously resolve itself into a world of harmony, if we just don't rock the boat or irritate the forces of aggression - and this is hogwash.

It is further the cause of Republicanism to remind ourselves, and the world, that only the strong can remain free, that only the strong can keep the peace.

Now, I needn't remind you, or my fellow Americans regardless of party, that Republicans have shouldered this hard responsibility and marched in this cause before. It was Republican leadership under Dwight Eisenhower that kept the peace, and passed along to this administration the mightiest arsenal for defense the world has ever known. And I needn't remind you that it was the strength and the unbelievable will of the Eisenhower years that kept the peace by using our strength, by using it in the Formosa Straits and in Lebanon and by showing it courageously at all times.

It was during those Republican years that the thrust of Communist imperialism was blunted. It was during those years of Republican leadership that this world moved closer, not to war, but closer to peace, than at any other time in the three decades just passed.

And I needn't remind you - but I will - that it's been during Democratic years that our strength to deter war has stood still, and even gone into a planned decline. It has been during Democratic years that we have weakly stumbled into conflict, timidly refusing to draw our own lines against aggression, deceitfully refusing to tell even our people of our full participation, and tragically, letting our finest men die on battlefields (unmarked by purpose, unmarked by pride or the prospect of victory).

Yesterday it was Korea. Tonight it is Vietnam. Make no bones of this. Don't try to sweep this under the rug. We are at war in Vietnam. And yet the President, who is Commander-in-Chief of our forces, refuses to say - refuses to say, mind you, whether or not the objective over there is victory. And his Secretary of Defense continues to mislead and misinform the American people, and enough of it has gone by.

And I needn't remind you, but I will; it has been during Democratic years that a billion persons were cast into Communist captivity and their fate cynically sealed.

Today in our beloved country we have an administration which seems eager to deal with communism in every coin known - from gold to wheat, from consulates to confidence, and even human freedom itself.

The Republican cause demands that we brand communism as a principal disturber of peace in the world today. Indeed, we should brand it as the only significant disturber of the peace, and we must make clear that until its goals of conquest are absolutely renounced and its rejections with all nations tempered, communism and the governments it now controls are enemies of every man on earth who is or wants to be free.

We here in America can keep the peace only if we remain vigilant and only if we remain strong. Only if we keep our eyes open and keep our guard up can we prevent war. And I want to make this abundantly clear - I don't intend to let peace or freedom be torn from our grasp because of lack of strength or lack of will - and that I promise you Americans.

I believe that we must look beyond the defense of freedom today to its extension tomorrow. I believe that the communism which boasts it will bury us will, instead, give way to the forces of freedom. And I can see in the distant and yet recognizable future the outlines of a world worthy our dedication, our every risk, our every effort, our every sacrifice along the way. Yes, a world that will redeem the suffering of those who will be liberated from tyranny. I can see and I suggest that all thoughtful men must contemplate the flowering of an Atlantic civilization, the whole world of Europe unified and free, trading openly across its borders, communicating openly across the world. This is a goal far, far more meaningful than a moon shot.

It's a truly inspiring goal for all free men to set for themselves during the latter half of the twentieth century. I can also see - and all free men must thrill to - the events of this Atlantic civilization joined by its great ocean highway to the United States. What a destiny, what a destiny can be ours to stand as a great central pillar linking Europe, the Americans and the venerable and vital peoples and cultures of the Pacific. I can see a day when all the Americas, North and South, will be linked in a mighty system, a system in which the errors and misunderstandings of the past will be submerged one by one in a rising tide of prosperity and interdependence. We know that the misunderstandings of centuries are not to be wiped away in a day or wiped away in an hour. But we pledge - we pledge that human sympathy - what our neighbors to the South call that attitude of "simpatico" - no less than enlightened self'-interest will be our guide.

I can see this Atlantic civilization galvanizing and guiding emergent nations everywhere.

I know this freedom is not the fruit of every soil. I know that our own freedom was achieved through centuries, by unremitting efforts by brave and wise men. I know that the road to freedom is a long and a challenging road. I know also that some men may walk away from it, that some men resist challenge, accepting the false security of governmental paternalism.

And I pledge that the America I envision in the years ahead will extend its hand in health, in teaching and in cultivation, so that all new nations will be at least encouraged to go our way, so that they will not wander down the dark alleys of tyranny or to the dead-end streets of collectivism. My fellow Republicans, we do no man a service by hiding freedom's light under a bushel of mistaken humility.

I seek an American proud of its past, proud of its ways, proud of its dreams, and determined actively to proclaim them. But our example to the world must, like charity, begin at home.

In our vision of a good and decent future, free and peaceful, there must be room for deliberation of the energy and talent of the individual - otherwise our vision is blind at the outset.

We must assure a society here which, while never abandoning the needy or forsaking the helpless, nurtures incentives and opportunity for the creative and the productive. We must know the whole good is the product of many single contributions.

I cherish a day when our children once again will restore as heroes the sort of men and women who - unafraid and undaunted - pursue the truth, strive to cure disease, subdue and make fruitful our natural environment and produce the inventive engines of production, science, and technology.

This Nation, whose creative people have enhanced this entire span of history, should again thrive upon the greatness of all those things which we, as individual citizens, can and should do. During Republican years, this again will be a nation of men and women, of families proud of their role, jealous of their responsibilities, unlimited in their aspirations - a Nation where all who can will be self-reliant.

We Republicans see in our constitutional form of government the great framework which assures the orderly but dynamic fulfillment of the whole man, and we see the whole man as the great reason for instituting orderly government in the first place.

We see, in private property and in economy based upon and fostering private property, the one way to make government a durable ally of the whole man, rather than his determined enemy. We see in the sanctity of private property the only durable foundation for constitutional government in a free society. And beyond that, we see, in cherished diversity of ways, diversity of thoughts, of motives and accomplishments. We do not seek to lead anyone's life for him - we seek only to secure his rights and to guarantee him opportunity to strive, with government performing only those needed and constitutionally sanctioned tasks which cannot otherwise be performed.

We Republicans seek a government that attends to its inherent responsibilities of maintaining a stable monetary and fiscal climate, encouraging a free and a competitive economy and enforcing law and order. Thus do we seek inventiveness, diversity, and creativity within a stable order, for we Republicans define government's role where needed at many, many levels, preferably through the one closest to the people involved.

Our towns and our cities, then our counties, then our states, then our regional contacts - and only then, the national government. That, let me remind you, is the ladder of liberty, built by decentralized power. On it also we must have balance between the branches of government at every level.

Balance, diversity, creativity - these are the elements of Republican equation. Republicans agree, Republicans agree heartily to disagree on many, many of their applications, but we have never disagreed on the basic fundamental issues of why you and I are Republicans.

This is a party, this Republican Party, a Party for free men, not for blind followers, and not for conformists.

Back in 1858 Abraham Lincoln said this of the Republican party - and I quote him, because he probably could have said it during the last week or so: "It was composed of strained, discordant, and even hostile elements" in 1858. Yet all of these elements agreed on one paramount objective: To arrest the progress of slavery, and place it in the course of ultimate extinction.

Today, as then, but more urgently and more broadly than then, the task of preserving and enlarging freedom at home and safeguarding it from the forces of tyranny abroad is great enough to challenge all our resources and to require all our strength. Anyone who joins us in all sincerity, we welcome. Those who do not care for our cause, we don't expect to enter our ranks in any case. And let our Republicanism, so focused and so dedicated, not be made fuzzy and futile by unthinking and stupid labels.

I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.

The beauty of the very system we Republicans are pledged to restore and revitalize, the beauty of this Federal system of ours is in its reconciliation of diversity with unity. We must not see malice in honest differences of opinion, and no matter how great, so long as they are not inconsistent with the pledges we have given to each other in and through our Constitution. Our Republican cause is not to level out the world or make its people conform in computer regimented sameness. Our Republican cause is to free our people and light the way for liberty throughout the world.

Ours is a very human cause for very humane goals.

This Party, its good people, and its unquestionable devotion to freedom, will not fulfill the purposes of this campaign which we launch here now until our cause has won the day, inspired the world, and shown the way to a tomorrow worthy of all our yesteryears.

I repeat, I accept your nomination with humbleness, with pride, and you and I are going to fight for the goodness of our land. Thank you.

Cain May Be Able

In 2008, Barack Obama was a relatively unknown fringe candidate until he received a surprisingly good showing in the Iowa caucuses. From there, he used a glib tongue, a lot of funding, and a campaign light on specifics to catapult over a very strong Clinton candidacy.

The latest Iowa Caucus polls, although this contest is still an eternity away in political time, have Mitt Romney in the lead with Sarah Palin six points behind in second. Tied with her is Hermann Cain, the former CEO of Godfather's Pizza who also once ran the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

Cain, according to pollsters, came from almost nowhere to challenge Romney's lead. He has almost no name recognition, but is outpolling Newt Gingrich and other GOP stalwarts. Cain is running on an economic conservative platform and has attracted support from many Tea Party groups. He has a sound record in business, rescuing Godfather's Pizza from bankruptcy.

Cain's success shows just how fluid the contest for the Republican nomination is at this point. Winning that prize will come down to conservative credentials. Who can demonstrate the strongest commitment to fiscal sanity and real changes in government that will reduce our debt? That is the man or woman who will win the nomination of the Republican Party. Cain has shot himself into a contending position, now can he mobilize enough supporters and funds to sustain his momentum?

Sarah Palin's Strategy

It's an interesting strategy. Sarah Palin is traveling across the country with her family by bus, seeing sights, speaking to people here and there, and not informing the media of her every move. CBS has rated this almost as disastrous a campaign blunder as killing someone. But is it?

First of all, despite the almost certain fact that she will be, Sarah Palin is still not an official candidate for anything. She is just another private citizen traveling by bus with her family. She has no obligation whatsoever to inform the media of her movements. Also, has the American news media gotten so lazy that they cannot track a bus across the United States?

What obligation does Palin have to the media? None. They cut her no breaks during and after her campaign. They single her out for insult and abuse above and beyond what many other candidates generally face. Like black conservatives, females who run for office as Republicans sometimes are seen as some sort of traitors. And, by all means, it is a sin for a female conservative to be the least bit physically attractive.

Interestingly enough, this could be a strategem. Sarah Palin visiting Gettysburg is not a national news story. Media outrage that she did not check with them every time she sipped at a Coke or went to the bathroom has become one. Palin has gotten coverage when she did not overtly seek it. And most Americans sympathize with people who do not want cameras following them everywhere.

Sarah Palin and her team are showing some serious savvy when it comes to media relations. It helps a lot that the media itself is so predictable. And she knows that she is in the drivers seat when it comes to them.

"I don’t think I owe anything to the mainstream media," Palin said on Fox. "I think that it would be a mistake for me to become some kind of conventional politician and doing things the way it’s always been done with the media, in terms of relationships with them.”

Good for you!