Crist not popular among conservatives

With the imminent announcement of Gov. Charlie Crist's (R-FL) decision to run for Senate, out comes the waves of criticism from conservatives. Whether or not you are a fan of Crist, you should be happy that a prominent Republican (albeit RINO?) is coming out to bid for the seat.

Hopefully a conservatives-approved Republican will come out to challenge Crist, like state House Speaker Marco Rubio. At least thank Crist for bringing the Senate race from Florida into the national spotlight, and for uniting conservatives behind somebody like Rubio should he decide to enter the race as well.

Crist to run for Senate

Good news coming out from Florida today: Gov. Charlie Crist (R) will announce on Tuesday that he'll run for Senate. In light of Sen. Mel Martinez's (R) retirement, this is great news for the Republicans as Crist enjoys high approval ratings in the state.

The strategy should be pro-state rights

The Republicans lost badly in the 2004 and 2008 elections, handing the Democrats control of Congress and the White House. The likes of Harry Reid (D-NV) and Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) dictate the legislative agenda, and a president with socialist ideology sits in the Oval Office. There was much soul searching post-elections, and even to this day some say that the Republican Party is still wandering the wilderness.

Blame Bush? Blame the media? Blame Sarah Palin? Blame disillusioned conservatives? Blame black voters? Blame young voters? Blame ACORN? Blame Iraq? ...

There's plenty of blame go go around. But as the saying goes, whenever you point a finger at somebody, three fingers are pointing at yourself.

Republican political strategists are pulling their hairs out trying to find the solution to a hard-to-define problem. Is it attracting more voters across all demographics? Or is it galvanizing the base? Or re-evaluating the overall Republican message? Or all of the above and then some...?

In light of President Obama's multi-trillion dollar budget, nationalization policies, and bankrupting America, concerned citizens have spoken out on the Internet and at Tax Day Tea Parties. Although the mainstream media paints a picture of a rightwing, conservative only movement, that is not the case. Many Obama voters are showing remorse, but you're not going to see that on CNN or MSNBC. There has been many cases of such past Obama supporters calling into conservative talk shows voicing their regret for casting a ballot for Obama.

This is not about anti-Bush and pro-Obama anymore. As our financial and automobile industries crumble in front of our eyes and our neighbors lose their jobs and homes, Americans understand that we are in a time of crisis. The majority of citizens are looking for help, not handouts, but the federal government is forcing handouts down our throats whether we like it or not. The W.H. and Congress is sending money to states with strings attached, enslaving the cash-strapped states. Bank and automaker executives are getting handpicked by the administration. Favors are still shown to stubborn unions in the midst of the turmoil.

The root cause of this unprecedented expansion of the federal government is clear: the blatant disregard of the U.S. Constitution by shameless politicians.

Therefore, there is a simple and coherent message the Republican Party can adopt: state rights. Review the Tenth Amendment again and study it carefully:

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Washington today has lost sight of this important amendment to secure federalism principles. Congress has morphed into an unsightly assembly of ignorant, power-hungry politicians with only one thing in their minds: votes for re-election to stay in power. Laws are drafted and passed without respect to the Constitution. Think about it -- the federal government now has control over our labor, wages, retirement, education, drugs, firearms, and even entertainment!

But there seems to be hope and the tides are turning, beginning with Montana's law exempting federal jurisdiction over firearms manufactured and used within the state stamped with "Made In Montana." The law stipulates that because these firearms never leave Montana, it is not interstate commerce by nature and therefore free of federal rules. Certainly a logical and valid point, but it's sure to be tested in court. Montana has definitely made a splash about state rights, and other states like Texas, Alaska, and Utah are following suit.

Can you imagine if all 50 state legislatures pass a similar law? That would significantly limit the federal government's control of our right to bear arms and send a strong message to Washington that people are serious about the federal government meddling in their affairs.

The consequences will have profound effects and the potential to redefine the political landscape. State rights is a cause worthy of the Republican Party's attention. After all, to paraphrase President Reagan, government is the problem not the solution. The only solution is for the states to reign in Washington.

It is a concise message that people will understand. The federal government's powers are derived by the state and its people, not the other way around! Without the states there is no United States government. The Republicans need to work with all state legislatures to find kinks in this federal armor. Any Republican up for re-election needs to campaign on the message of state rights. Most voters only go to the polls once every four years to pick a president and don't quite understand how Washington works, but state politics hit closer to home and are easier to identify with. It is also a strategy that'll attract independent voters: let the state decide on the major issues instead of relying on Washington.

Will the Republicans embrace such a game plan? Is the party leadership still struggling to find footing? The great state of Montana and its people have already stepped up to face the challenge. The GOP should mobilize its resources to get more traction and preferably make a noise that the Obama administration and Congress cannot ignore.

U.K. Home Office Secretary expensed husband's X-rated movies?!

British P.M. Gordon Brown and his party is in the middle of an embarrassing storm prepared to shake up the government. Apparently many of them have been expensing all sorts of goods and services, most of them unrelated to their work.

What caught my eye is Home Office Secretary Jacqui Smith's expense: two X-rated movies her husband watched, although she did repay.

Yes, this is the same Jacqui Smith who's banning talk show host Michael Savage from entering the U.K. for his conservative ideas. After the revelation of her husband's curious taste in video, I'd think that she would understand what freedom of expression means!

I don't know much about British politics, but it's safe to say that this woman is a fool.

California gets a dose of W.H. strong-arm politics

What the federal government gives, it can also take away. The state of California is learning this the hard way as the Obama administration threatens to rescind stimulus funds if the California state government doesn't restore wage cuts to the unionized home health care workers.

Two things at play here: the intimate relationships between unions and Democrats and the White House's disregard for a state.

The unions in questions are the powerful Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and United Domestic Workers (not in the motherly sense). In fact, it was the SEIU which went to the W.H. to ask for a ruling on this matter.

This also shows the administration's disregard for a state. The wage cut is a necessary step in keeping California afloat as it's operating on IOUs already. These health care workers aren't the only ones affected by wage cuts. The state legislature passed a state law but looks like the W.H. has a problem with that. Does the administration truly have the state's interest in mind?

States which have accepted the stimulus money should take note. This money comes with strings attached -- many which aren't to the states' benefit. Be warned.

CIA documents prove Pelosi lied about waterboarding knowledge

You won't read about this in the mainstream media...

Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was briefed on the controversial interrogation techniques since the beginning and had no objections. She knew all along!

But she acted shocked when she learned about it later. Maybe it's the excessive Botox that makes her always look surprised.

ACORN is clearly a nut

Can you believe that our President used to be a legal representative for ACORN? This is the taxpayer-funded organization with a mission to register low-income voters, but in reality many of its employees have been indicted and charged with voter registration fraud. The latest is from Neveda where the state charged ACORN workers for submitting false voter information and employing felons as canvassers. Worse yet, ACORN illegally offered an incentive program for canvassers who brought in more than 20 registrations per day.

Fox News show host Glenn Beck invited ACORN spokesman Scott Levenson to defend these charges against ACORN, but as Beck laid out the facts in front of the guest, Levenson couldn't offer any convincing defense that ACORN doesn't have a liberal agenda. And evidently during a commercial break, Levenson resorted to accuse Beck of racism and that was when he was shown the door out to the studio parking lot.

What angers me is that my tax dollars are funding this organization of leftist nuts! They are anti-America, lawless, and arrogant. And now they're partners with the Census Bureau to assist with the 2010 census effort?! An organization with a history of fradulent activities and rogue employees will play a role in helping the federal government... No, thank you! Something's wrong with this picture.

It boggles the mind that an organization with so much dirt can still get government funding and participate in a nationwide government census effort.

Israel knows it's on its own

The Obama administration is bent on the success of Palestinian statehood that it's alienating long-time ally Israel. The country faces the greatest threat from a nuclear Iran and the new Israeli government knows that America may not offer support to pre-emptively strike Iran. Rather than ask for permission from Washington, Israel will just keep us posted on the military operation should there be one.

And who can blame them? Israel has to do what's best for its people, even if that means ignoring what's going on in Washington. They need our support, and a strong Israel only helps America in its footing for a peaceful Middle East.

Specter not doing so well as a Democrat

Sen. Alen Specter (D-PA) isn't doing very well as a new Democrat. Did Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) promise him seniority upon departing the Republican Party? Well, it isn't happening! Specter's Democrat peers aren't granting him the seniority as he'd hoped for. Now he'll just be a senate junior Democrat, his influence greatly limited. His peers want to see how he performs in his 2010 re-election before giving him the perks.

It's becoming evident that Specter's career may not improve even with his jump to the Democrat Party. Had he remained a Republican to face Pat Toomey in the Republican primary for 2010, he'll likely lose but at least his he wouldn't have been seen as so self-serving. Now as a Democrat, he may still face an uphill battle as Republicans galvanize and gather resources to defeat him in Pennsylvania.

We'll know in 2010 whether this move becomes Specter's biggest career mistake.

Britain doesn't appreciate freedom of speech

The U.K. Home Office has released names of individuals who are barred from entering the country because of their ideas and words. If you preach hate, are anti-gay, or host a conservative talk show, then you can cancel your vacation to Britain. Michael Savage is apparently on the list.

I wonder if the Pope will be allowed on British soil?

Doing business the SEAL way is still preferred

NPR reports on the business aspects of Somali piracy. Oh yes, who says small businesses can't thrive in a third-world economy like Somalia? The story is interesting, but is NPR trying to demonstrate that these pirates are just decent men trying to make a living?

The pirates are trying to make a living all right, but as criminals. They endanger the lives of other innocent men and pose a threat to others' properties.

Thankfully the U.S. Navy SEALs don't have much business sense.

White House policy endangers ally Israel

The Obama administration is using peace talks with Palestinians as a bargaining chip to support Israel's efforts in preventing Iran's nuclear ambitions.

I can already hear what an Israeli may think: With a friend like Obama, who needs enemies?

Is this really the way to treat one of America's staunchest allies? The Jewish state is encircled by hostile neighbors, having the military capability to dominate the region but only uses force in self-defense and retaliation, and has shown kindness to Palestinians that's seldom reported. The leader of Iran has repeatedly issued threats to Israel, and now turned Iran into a nuclear power right in Israel's backyard. Yet the message from Washington is disturbingly clear: Sit at the table with Palestinian leadership or we'll cover our eyes and ears when it comes to Iran's nukes.

The White House is playing with Israeli lives. We need a strong friend in the Middle East, and Israel is the only candidate. Honestly, we need Israel more than it needs America. Just look at Israel's history. It has survived several wars and armed conflicts, yet it still stands. Seriously, it can do just fine without America.

But does President Obama realize it? Losing the faith and support of Israel will prove to be detrimental to America in the long term.

Curbing use of offshore havens solves nothing

In recent years more American businesses and wealthy individuals have moved their money into offshore havens and foreign banks to escape the tax consequences at home. The Obama administration sees this as a big problem -- possibly more of a "fairness" issue rather than a tax issue -- and will soon release extensive plans to curb such tax avoidance practices.

The White House clearly understands this phenomenon of an outward flow of American dollars from multinational corporations and wealthy people. But instead of understanding the root cause, it chooses to punish further this legal albeit unpopular way of keeping money by avoiding to pay American taxes.

The U.S. tax code is several inches thick and not even our Treasury Secretary can explain it. (He's not known as "Tax Cheat Timothy" for nothing.) There will always be a way to find a loophole no matter how the code is patched up. These corporations and individuals have the means to hire a team of accountants and lawyers to find a way. Trust me.

So American businesses and folks want to keep more money in their bank accounts, but the IRS takes too much. The solution? CUT TAXES! DUH. It's not to make new laws to prevent tax havens and spend money enforcing them. It's that easy. So easy that I bet the liberal Democrats in the W.H. and Congress don't even see it.

What will the President's plan accomplish? Will it raise more money for the country? Not quite. History has shown that such a plan will have a reverse effect on increasing the treasury. Only when taxes are cut there has been significant fattening of the treasury's coffers. Additionally, more taxes means less work and less competitiveness. America's auto industry has already been decimated, what's next? Will tech giants like IBM and Cisco fall next? Or will it be G.E. and Coke?

It's unfortunate, but the President is in for an unpleasant surprise, a surprise that's well-known to anyone who's studied American economic history.

Al-Qaeda used webmail, simple codes

It's been revealed that al-Qaeda terrorists in the 9/11 attacks used no sophisticated hardware or software, and employed simple codes to communicate. They depended on pre-paid calling cards, public phones, webmail, and search engines to plan and execute attacks. These items and services are what everyday Americans use in their daily lives.

So just think about the administration's plans to shutdown Gitmo, relocate its prisoners, and the possibility that these terrorists may end up in the population with easy access to these services again.

With Obama in W.H. comes the Chicago way of strong-arm politics?

President Obama's Auto Industry Task Force is fighting off accusations of bullying the Chrysler shareholders and creditors into accepting the government's bankruptcy plan. In the center of the storm is Steve Rattner, the task force's leader with close ties to the Democratic Party. According to Thomas Lauria, the bankruptcy attorney representing the hedge funds and money managers, the administration threatened to use the White House press corp to ruin his firm's reputation if he doesn't go along with the White House plan for the troubled automaker.

These are only allegations and who knows what the real story is. However, personally I will not be surprised if Lauria is telling the truth. Why? Because since Obama's campaign, he's made to be invincible with the help of the media. Once he got elected along with the House and Senate being Democrat-controlled, I'm sure he feels he is unstoppable. That's how this administration sees itself. Look at how the TARP bills were passed without proper scrutiny. Look at how the White House is picking CEOs to run companies. Look at how a tax cheat gets to become Treasury Secretary and shows no sign of grasping the economic crisis.

Remember, too much power always corrupts. Are we starting to see the beginning of abuse and misuse of the federal government?

Bank of International Settlements: the mother of all banks

Project World Awareness found this obscure gem about the path towards a global currency. In the last G20 summit, these leaders have agreed to support the beginning of this global currency by activating the IMF's power to produce money in the form of SDRs (Special Drawing Rights). What could the next step be?

Some have speculated that the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) would be the undisputed choice as a global central bank. It is based in Basel, Switzerland, and boasts a client list of most major central banks around the world. Its influence and power is obvious, and it is known to make or break economies of a country -- the current U.S. recession included.

Australia is losing faith in America

Australia, our longtime ally on the other side of the globe, is beefing up its defense forces in anticipation of a weakened America and strengthening regional powers like India, China, and Russia, on top of threats from North Korea and Islamist terrorism. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has released a report about Australia's national security issues in the coming decades and the need to reduce reliance on America.

Who can blame him? America seems to have lost something when President Bush left Washington to make way for President Obama. Look at how this President is solving the financial crisis: borrowing trillions of dollars from China. And national defense? Obama hasn't taken long to cut defense budgets and scrap military projects. All this amid China spending way too much on its military, achieving innovative milestones in weaponry and modernization of its forces, including a shadowy cyber command which has infiltrated computer networks of other governments. China also maintains close ties with rogue North Korea and Russia, and is becoming an economic and military threat to democratic neighbors like South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, India, and Australia.

At least P.M. Rudd has the guts to face the problems and resolve to strengthen Australia. Meanwhile, our president prefers to go on the road to give speeches and do televised press conferences with feel-good scripts fed from the trusty (most of the time) telepromter.

Obama losing his mojo?

For all the glowing attention the media has showered on the President, it's hard to imagine his 100-day prime time TV press conference viewership dropping 29%. Maybe it's because he holds them too frequently? Since February he's had one each month, and of course the TV networks are losing ad revenues because of them. And it looks like Fox made the smarter move by rejecting Obama's request and carried on its regular programming. It does help the economy, right?

As jobless rates rise and the recession deepens, many Americans are starting to realize that their President can certainly talk the talk, but he cannot walk the walk. (And he only talks the talks when the teleprompter is present and operational.) His economic policies follow just one plan: let the government take over. Translation: transfer the burden to the taxpayers. The federal government is on a multi-trillion dollar spending spree. Future generations of Americans are going to suffer greatly.

Internationally, he may be well received but world leaders don't always see eye-to-eye with him. Even with our longtime allies like Britain and France and other NATO members. When he attended the Summit of the Americas, the biggest news that came out was Chavez's friendliness toward him and how other Latin American leaders were criticizing the U.S.

A dip of nearly one-third of viewers is significant. The media absolutely loves him, but I'm starting to think that the public has seen past the honeymoon period with this new president.

Souter to retire, Obama gets to nominate a Justice

Nothing to see here, people. I'm sure President Obama will appoint another liberal to fill Justice Souter's seat in June. Most likely, he'll appoint a woman and/or a minority.

More reason for Condi to run in 2012

Watch this video of former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice schooling a university student. The kid wants to debate foreign policy matters with Rice? That's asking to be spanked.

She should run in 2012. I'm just sayin'.