Bring in a McCain/Palin sign and Salvatore’s Pizzeria, in Warren, Michigan will exchange it for a free pizza.
It seems owner, Diana Franzoni, is miffed that the McCain campaign pulled its resources out of Michigan. She is quoted as saying, “Health care is killing us. McCain gave up on Michigan, so you should give up on him.”
FOX 2’s Brad Edwards explains how that offer may have prompted some hungry bargain hunters to break the law. He reports that Franzoni estimates that since she put the bounty on the signs, she is receiving about 30 pilfered signs a day for at least the last couple of weeks, which equals 100‘s of filched signs — and pizzas.
According to Newt Gingrich, a June Gallup Organization survey asked Americans if the government should focus on improving economic conditions or on "distributing wealth more evenly," and 84% chose the former. Thanks to Joe the Plumber, it should now be clear to everybody that Barack Obama is one of the 13% who chose the latter:
America met Joe the Plumber last week. But a pro-market economist writing over a hundred years ago was already familiar with Joe Wurzelbacher and Americans like him — and understood how they are used and exploited by politicians.
“They are always under the dominion of the superstition of government, and forgetting that a government produces nothing at all, they leave out of sight the first fact to be remembered in all social discussion — that the state cannot get a cent for any man without taking it from some other man, and this latter must be a man who has produced and saved it. This latter is the Forgotten Man.”
These are the words of William Graham Sumner, brilliantly analyzed and applied to 21st century America by Amity Schlaes in her recent book, The Forgotten Man.
Sumner wrote of the Forgotten Man: "He works, he votes, generally he prays — but he always pays — yes, above all, he pays."
Joe the Plumber has struck a chord in the closing weeks of this election because he represents the Forgotten Man. When he confronted Sen. Barack Obama on the campaign trail with the question of what would happen to his taxes under an Obama Administration should he realize his dream of owning his own business, Joe cast the decision that faces us in this election in stark relief:
Which will be better for our economy: Politicians redistributing our wealth or growing more wealth?
And Sen. Obama gave us an equally stark answer: Under his leadership, America will focus on “spreading around” the Forgotten Man’s wealth, not encouraging him to create more of it.
Wow. I had no idea. Apparently, when I call someone a "socialist," that's really a code word for "black."
So I guess that Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Thomas More, Charles Fourier, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, Jacques Rousseau, Robert Owen, Clement Atlee, and all those other Europeans who created and advanced the political philosophy of socialism were black.
On his show earlier today, Hugh Hewitt was touting a new website he helped launch. It's Amaze.fm, and it's:
… a community of music makers and lovers hoping to restore some of that lost quality to what we call "popular" music.
Artists upload their music to be listened to, rated, reviewed, and tagged
Fans choose the songs that make it to the radio by listening to and rating songs weekly
Each week the highest rated songs from Amaze.fm gets played on nationally-syndicated radio.
Hewitt is playing clips from the site and will feature the highest rated song each week.
Hewitt was also talking about Rep. Jack Murtha, the contemptible swine who called the Haditha Marines "cold-blooded murderers" (they've since been cleared). Last week Murtha said many of his constituents are racists, then apologized, and now has "clarified" his remarks by "explaining" that western Pennsylvania is full of rednecks.
You're probably wondering what in the world Jack Murtha has to do with Amaze.com. Well, I'll tell you.
In "honor" of Murtha, Hewitt played a song posted to Amaze.com, Redneck Date by Perry L Nunley. Folks, that's the best damn song I've heard in a long time! Go listen, and crank it up!
Then listen to the other Nunley songs. Waiting On The Mailman is a nice little country blues number with a punch line that just cracked me up. Empty Bottles is another simply terrific song. And finally, listen to his soldier's song, When Freedom Rings. Damn, this guy's good!
I’ve got thirty rounds of justice in my magazine. I back it up with a Navy F-18. The business end on an Apache, Is trouble like you ain't seen. I’m the one who answers when freedom rings.
Remember the name — Perry J Nunley. If record companies don't beat a path to his door, there's something wrong with that industry.
(Note: The site was down for a long time this evening — I suspect 90% of Hewitt's audience went there and took out the server. It's up for now, but if you can't reach it, try again later.)
Rattler Gator J.B. White has a rather different theory of why Colin Powell endorsed Obama (emphasis added):
I don't think it's about race. I do think it's about your social station. Call that "social class," if you like. Essentially, Colin and Alma Powell (as a couple) may be asking themselves and a certain circle of friends, "Who is this Cracker, Sarah Palin?" …
… The problem, obviously, is that from a class perspective — there's far more of the folks who kinda like and respect Sarah Palin as opposed to the elites offended by the most popular Governor of any American state.
That's why they are desperately trying to drag him home by any means necessary.
You see, the problem we have in the black community (and the problem the nation has overall) is the universally accepted academic concept known in the black community as the Talented Tenth (and associated with W.E.B. DuBois). It took me years to realize this concept has no faith in the average man or woman (this is why DuBois opposed Booker T. Washington, who had complete faith in the average man and woman). It dictates that we be led from above. By our betters, and betters is defined as the more book-smart.
Do you see the problem here?
Do you see the plantation?
The susceptibility to totalitarian instincts and the requirement to act as a herd?
And it runs contrary to the concept of America, does it not?
Interesting. I hadn't heard of the Talented Tenth. There's more. Read the whole thing, and be sure to listen to the YouTube clip.
Our Country Deserves Better is conducting a cross-country bus tour, and tonight they stopped in Denver. I attended the rally. The audience was small — about 40 or so — but enthusiastic. I'm not surprised by the small turnout. For me, it was an easy light rail trip and a 1½ block walk. But if I were a suburban Denverite asked to drive there in my Lexus, I think I'd pass.
The location was Lincoln Park at 1144 Osage Street. That's the park and community recreation center just across the street from Denver's largest public housing project. There's a sign there announcing that the Denver Housing Authority is rehabilitating it. I'm guessing that, after years of government efforts to "disperse" public housing "clients," the ones remaining in these rabbit warrens are those deemed least likely to be successfully integrated into other communities.
So how did this rally end up there? I suspect that someone from the organization's headquarters (in California, I think) called the appropriate office in Denver government for a permit (Parks and Recreation Dept., maybe?). They explained that they wanted a permit for a "Stop Obama" rally, and the Denver bureaucrat handling the call said, "I've got just the place for you." I bet they had quite a laugh in that office afterward.
Given the location and its demographics, it was ironic that the only minority at the rally was tour member Lloyd Marcus. He was great. He's a damn fine singer and a pretty decent songwriter. And he's the president of the NAACPC — the National Association for the Advancement of Conservative People of Color. He performed some fine songs, including his Palin version of Sarah Smile (YouTube version below).
The moment that touched me was when Lloyd Marcus said, with his eyes glistening, "Don't let them tell you if you vote against Obama you're a racist!"
Choked me up. I shook his hand and thanked him for his courage. And then I donated the two twenties in my wallet to the cause. Best wishes to you, Lloyd Marcus!
UPDATE: I have a few pix on my camera, but (as usual) still haven't downloaded them. Never mind, there's a great photo essay (along with text) of the Pueblo, CO, event here.
Jack Justice of Albany, GA, spends his days in what's called an "adult day rehab" center. He's what I would describe as "mentally retarded" (which I learned as the correct term for such a condition).
The staff at the day care rehab center, like all good caring liberals, would no doubt chide me for using such a politically incorrect term, calling it insensitive and disrespectful.
But the staff had no moral qualms about taking Jack on a field trip to go vote. And marking his ballot for Obama, even though Jack wanted to vote for McCain:
ALBANY, GA (WALB) – There are allegations of voter fraud, as a Dougherty County family claims the vote of a mentally challenged relative was stolen.
They say the adult day rehab program where Jack Justice attends took him to vote, without the family's permission. What's worse is Justice says the person helping him wouldn't cast the ballot for his choice for President. …
"They told me to vote for Obama, I said no I wanted to vote for McCain," said Jack Justice, a voter.
Jack Justice says the person helping him, selected Obama's name. His sister says the family is often asked to sign a permission slips for trips, but for this they were never notified.
"No permission slips, no nothing, he just came home and said he had gone," said Nancy Justice, Jack's sister.
We questioned election officials about the procedure, who say they recall the group coming in to vote and an aide was helping the individuals, but they must sign an oath that they'll cast the ballot however the voter prefers.
The story doesn't indicate how many individuals were in this group. But I bet I can guess the percentage of Obama votes.
The story does explain what recourse is available:
Election officials say the family's only option is to file a challenge to the election results. …
Yeah, right. That'll fix things.
You may think this is an unfortunate isolated incident, but one of the commenters to the story asserted otherwise:
This has been going on since the 1980's, and I'm glad it's finally coming to light. My mother worked for the Wisconsin State School in Madison, WI in the 1980's. The Democrat aides ordered absentee ballots for the long-term patients (many of whom were of age to vote but had the mentality of 4-5 year olds). When the ballots arrived, they checked the Democrat candidate(s) name, had the patient scratch a signature, and mailed it in. Thereby the aide had many votes herself. The patients weren't aware or understanding of anything that was going on. Like I said this has been going on since the 80's at the hands of Democrat activists. If someone wanted to find this out, I'm sure they could find a lot of it all over the country. It's DISGUSTING!
Disgusting. Despicable. Contemptible. Loathsome. Vile… I can't think of an adjective strong enough for the vermin who do this.
The efforts by the left during this campaign to stifle criticism and silence political speech have become increasingly disturbing. Last week, Michael Barone wrote a column citing a few examples and bemoaning what's happening:
Once upon a time, liberals prided themselves, with considerable reason, as the staunchest defenders of free speech. …
Today's liberals seem to be taking their marching orders from other quarters. Specifically, from the college and university campuses where administrators, armed with speech codes, have for years been disciplining and subjecting to sensitivity training any students who dare to utter thoughts that liberals find offensive. …
The treatment of Samuel Joseph "Joe the Plumber" Wurzelbacher has taken these efforts to a whole new level. He's been made an example of that's bound to intimidate and silence many others. You think anyone who can shed light on the Obama-Ayers relationship or spill the beans on Obama-Rezko will step forward after seeing what happens to a man who simply asked a question?
When it’s gotten to the point that someone who happens to ask him an uncomfortable question is pursued to this extent, his personal life exposed, his address published on the Internet, his job and livelihood at risk, it’s gone too far. These people are legitimately to be feared.
Martin also quoted an anonymous email posted at The Corner that summed up how he feels:
I don't know why I'm e-mailing you, except that I just need to vent to someone on The Corner. Pass this around to the others if you like — I bet I'm not the only one.
I really don't like McCain. I'll probably vote for him just as a vote for divided government. I'm far too libertarian in my leanings to be comfortable with McCain (or Obama, for that matter).
That said, the way the pro-Obama media and bloggers, and Obama himself, have responded to Joe has got me nearly shaking with rage. They are attempting to destroy a man — a private citizen — who had the audacity to ask The One a question. Mind you, Joe was on his front lawn playing football with his son when Obama strolled up to give him his hopenchange spiel. Obama approached Joe, not the other way around. And Joe asked Obama an honest question. And Obama gave him an honest — and very, very revealing — answer. Again, mind you, the embarassment was on Obama's end, not Joe's. It wasn't a gotcha question.
And yet, for that Joe is being pilloried, every aspect of his private and professional life being sorted through and exposed. To prove … what? What does that have to do with Obama's answer? What does Joe's situation have to do with Obama's philosophical answer — that he wants to "spread the wealth"? Obama's answer goes down the memory hole while the nation concentrates its fire on obliterating Joe the Plumber.
It's sickening, it's maddening and it's downright chilling.
Sorry for the length. But I am just SEETHING.
I couldn't agree more. It's outrageous and disgusting.
But it's business as usual for the Obama campaign and the radical leftists who now control the Democratic Party. Tonight, I visited Life's Better Ideas for the first time in a week and finally saw David's link to this HillBuzz post. If you think talk of an "Obama thugocracy" is just some cranky, paranoid right-wingers trying to make something out of nothing, you're wrong. There are plenty of centrist Democrats who are angry and disturbed by what's been happening during this campaign, and they're working to expose the truth:
If you haven’t been a regular here at HillBuzz, you might not know about Gigi Gaston’s documentary “We Will Not Be Silenced” on the caucus fraud deliberately orchestrated by the Obama campaign during the primaries. Voter intimidation, registration fraud, vandalism, threats of violence, you name it, Obama’s supporters did it. … …
What’s happening here is something we have never seen before: centrist Clinton Democrats and Republicans are working together to expose the DNC and Obama campaign’s illegal activities and orchestrated, coordinated fraud. Both parties are working with federal agents to investigate ACORN, which has been funded with upwards of $800,000 in questionable donations from the Obama campaign (in what appears to be the expressed and explicit direction to engineer voter fraud in the general election). The tactics being employed now in the 15 states currently under investigation are the VERY SAME TACTICS we saw on the ground in Iowa, Texas, Colorado, Nebraska, Indiana, and other states working for Hillary Clinton in the primaries.
John Stossel has a new one-hour special on ABC's 20/20 tonight, John Stossel's Politically Incorrect Guide to Politics. It dares to suggest that if you know more about Judge Judy than you know about the Supreme Court, maybe it's your civic duty not to vote.
That sounds like must-see TV to me. Like all Stossel specials. Check it out — 10 Eastern, 9 Central/Mountain.
UPDATE: Great show! I especially liked the New Orleans segment. I hope you watched it.
I've been remiss in not mentioning that Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week III is under way. Sponsored by David Horowitz's Terrorism Awareness Project, it includes events on over 75 campuses and extends well past this week. Several events are scheduled for next week and a few for the week of the 27th.
Check out the calendar of events and see if there's something at a campus near you. Or participate at home by becoming more aware: watch some of the videos available at the TAP home page, the latest videos page, and the TAP YouTube channel.
John Samples at Cato@Liberty looked at public opinion trends regarding government spending and saw reasons for limited-government advocates to be optimistic even if Obama wins:
If history is any guide, Obama will not have as much public support for more spending as Clinton or LBJ and such support as he has will begin to decline almost immediately after he takes power.
One can only hope.
And the same trend might come in handy if McCain wins, too.
Regarding Samuel Joseph "Joe the Plumber" Wurzelbacher, Scott at Conservatism Today got it about right:
Seriously. This guy is the epitome of American values, hard work and self-sufficiency – and the MSM is going to do everything in its power to destroy him. Just remember, they are destroying you at the same time. Favorite line: "I have parents, I don't need another set of parents called the government." Next favorite: "We are the greatest country in the world, stop apologizing for it."
Here's another great Joe the Plumber quote (from Marina Lee):
“It’s not right for someone to decide you made too much—that you’ve done too good and now we’re going to take some of it back…That’s just completely wrong.”
Here's some Joe the Plumber video. The first one (1:31) is from his home last night after the debate (via The Barton Bulletin).
This one (3:57) is from his press conference this morning.
Where do we order the "I support Joe the Plumber" t-shirts and bumper stickers? I wish McCain (and many other Republicans) sounded this good.
A friend commented that many recent newsmakers (like Dodd, Frank, Pelosi, Obama …) have reminded her of Ayn Rand's villains, but that Joe reminded her of John Galt. That's a stretch. I suspect Joe is more of an Eddie Willers. But, damn, we need lots more Eddie Willers in the world.
BTW, did you pooh-pooh Scott's remark above about the MSM going after Joe? The effort to dig up dirt on Joe is already well under way. Charlie Martin (emphasis added):
Okay, according to Jonathan Martin (no relation as far as I know), a Politico reporter has found a tax lien against Samuel J. Wurzelbacher, who is apparently “Joe the Plumber.” For about $1200.
Now, the county webserver is being wiped out by people trying to look at that docket, so it’s a little hard to find out the whole story — like, was it paid? Was it part of a pending tax dispute? — but in the mean time, think about this for a minute. This guy had the temerity to actually argue with Obama over a point, and get attention — so now national political websites/newspapers are sending reporters to search his tax records?
I mean, at least it used to be campaign operatives doing this kind of thing.
Now, according to Allahpundit, they've dug up "paperwork irregularities" that may put Joe out of work. And Allahpundit wondered (emphasis added):
Should have known better than to ask a media darling a tough question before your affairs were in order, Joe. Exit question: The law’s the law and it is, after all, his own fault for not having the papers he needs. If, say, an illegal alien had asked McCain a tough question and some righty media source responded by bringing his status to light, would the left feel the same way?
Anyone who dares criticize Obama must be punished, and the press is eager to help. I feel sorry for Joe Wurzelbacher. The left and the mainstream media (but I repeat myself) are conducting an anal probing of this decent, hard-working man and won't rest until they destroy him.
I'm going to keep my eyes open for a Joe Wurzelbacher legal defense fund. I suspect he'll need one, and if so, I'll help.
UPDATE: Another roundup of how they're trying to destroy Joe the Plumber. (HT: Instapundit)
UPDATE: Instapundit noted that "They've done more investigations into Joe the Plumber in 24 hours than they've done on Barack Obama in two years . . . ." Read the whole thing. This has quickly gotten disgusting.
UPDATE (10/18): CafePress has "I heart Joe the Plumber" shirts. (HT: Instapundit) But I don't want to "heart" Joe. I want to support Joe. Don't miss my new post about Joe and related matters.
I don't care what your politics are or what you think of John McCain — you've got to watch this. At tonight's Al Smith Dinner in New York, McCain delivered one of the funniest stand-up comedy routines I've seen in years.
McCain's delivery and timing are simply terrific. I laughed my ass off. Barack laughed his ass off. Heck, even Hillary laughed her ass off.
He scored some great points in the process, too. And his serious comments about Obama (starting about 2:00 into the second part) were classy as friggin' hell — it choked me up.
And then, after that, his closing was hilarious! That may be funniest introduction of a speaker I've ever heard. Watch the whole thing. It's well worth your time.
In his latest Weekly Standard column, Fred Barnes foresaw a bleak future for advocates of liberty and limited government (as if it isn't bleak enough, with half the nation's Republicans embracing Keynesian economic policies):
Thanks particularly to the month-long financial crisis, Republicans are in extremely poor shape with the election three weeks away. This means the worst case scenario is now a distinct possibility: a Democrat in the White House, a Democratic Senate with a filibuster-proof majority, and a Democratic House with a bolstered majority.
If this scenario unfolds, Washington would become a solidly liberal town again for the first time in decades. And the prospects of passing the liberal agenda–nearly all of it–would be bright. Enacting major parts of it would be even brighter. You can forget about bipartisanship.
The specifics are grim: big tax rate increases, liberal court appointments, protectionism, the fairness doctrine, Canada-like health care, card-check and other pro-union measures, cap-and-trade… Read the whole thing.
Stephen Green, after an admittedly large intake of wine, envisioned new threats to free speech and in particular to bloggers:
If (when?) Obama is elected, by my estimation there’s an at least even chance that the newly-reconstructed FCC will reverse course and attempt to apply the New Fairness Doctrine to blogs.
If (when?) it happens, I’ll break that law. I will break it with all due malice and in full knowledge of the possible consequences. I’ll shout “Fire Obama!” in a crowded theater. And then, for the first time ever, I’ll ask for reader donations. Because I’ll going to need them, lots of them, to pay for the lawyers.
Green went on to make a point that dovetails with something I've maintained for some time — the left views its opponents as evil enemies to be crushed by any means necessary, and they're willing and eager to use any means necessary. The libertarian/conservative side simply can't and won't fight on that level:
Libertarians/Conservatives like “Jay” and myself underestimate liberals/progressives — and what we’re guilty of is projection. But when we’re drunk and honest, we have to admit: We’re effing pikers. To restate more plainly: We don’t want power, and don’t know how to wield it. We’re pikers.
Progressives have no such qualms. Given power, they’ll take more and they’ll exercise it ruthlessly. Look at the Democrats in Congress these last two years. In not even 24 months, they’ve sunk to depths it took the Republican Congress six or more years to sink to. Their unpopularity levels are even worse than the Republicans’ in 2006. And what will happen in November? The Democrats will win seats — because they know how to wield their power to deliver the goods to please their corrupt, greedy, grabby, needy base.
I hope Barnes and Green are too pessimistic, but it's not looking good.
Green was concerned enough to blast email his many influential contacts (and me, too) with "My First-Ever Mass Mailing In Almost Eight Years of Blogging," which may lead to some kind of organization or movement, or something. Maybe not right now, but probably — if the polls turn out to be right this time.
