In my last post I noted that Venezuela's dictator, Hugo Chavez, made an agreement with Brazil to build more $2.5 billion oil refinery.

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) - Brazil and Venezuela agreed to build a $2.5 billion oil refinery, the highlight of the opening of a South American summit to boost trade and cooperation.

. Yet the story makes no mention of any environmental protestors. I, as I am sure that you have, wondered where the environmentalist are at? Well, today comes this news that Ford has stopped making the Excursion. Which is bigger news? Which will have a bigger impact on the market? Which news will make America more dependent on foriegn oil? Which one makes mention of the environmentalist?

That's right, the Ford story. It seems that the environmentalist would rather complain about Ford doing the RIGHT thing (according to the environmentalist) and Venezuela is doing the WRONG thing (according to the environmentalist. Haven't the environomentalist been preaching to us that we can't drill for more oil? Haven't they preached to us about the evilness of the SUV?

"I think the fact that the last Excursion is rolling off the line is a sign of how long Ford waited before it started actually addressing these issues," said Paul West, a spokesman for the Rainforest Action Network. The San Francisco-based group has campaigned for Ford to cut emissions and improve fuel economy.

Is it just me, or does Paul West sound like a person who's mired in misery? Here he is, a person that finally got what he wanted, but he still complains that it's not enough. Wow, he could be a professional bum.

"Ford didn't really address it because it wanted to do the right thing," West said. "Ford's addressing it because gas prices are skyrocketing and people are freaking out."

Egg Zack Lee. These bums get it. It's about what people want. People desired an SUV for whatever reason. It's not just a status symbol. Cellphones can be construed as a status symbol. I have a cellphone because I need it. Many other people have one, but don't need it. The same thing is true for SUV's, some people actually need an SUV, just as some people need trucks. The rising gas prices have changed people's needs dramatically. They will purchase what they need first, spend on status symbols second.

But I am really curious, why don't these environmentalist protest the building of oil rigs in South America? Don't they care about the environment? Don't they care about the world we are leaving our children? Don't they care about the itty bitty tropical fish that Hugo Chavez is murdering? Are these enviromentalist hypocrites? Is it possible that these folks just don't want to see the United States benefit, and quite possibly be anti-U.S.? Could it be something else?

Of course, we all know that Hugo Chavez is a wonderful guy full of love and everybody loves him. Maybe it's okay to ruin the environment when you say you care about the environment? Such is the case with Arianna Huffington and her SUV's that the rest of us ought not to drive.

Maybe, just maybe, I am right about Hugo Chavez and his strong desire to control South and Central America? Maybe they know he's a cruel malicious dictator and are too afraid to go protest? Ah, what do I know, I am positive that I can expect to hear the environmentalist are going to Caracus to protest Hugo Chavez's pro-global warming policies. I bet they are on a plane right now.

I was doing what I like to do and that's to read between the lines. That doesn't mean to hold the three middle fingers up at me. That means I like to look at the AP wire and catch the stories nobody pays any attention to. I came across this little ditty and I have to wonder, where are the environmentalist?

Do they just not care that Hugo Chavez is building another oil rig that will only make his rich oil buddies rich while starving the poor in Venezuela? Perhaps we ought to openly ask the environmentalist, yes all of them, to go do Caracus and protest this. As a matter of fact, all you liberals who think Hugo Chavez is a wonderful president, go visit Venezuela and protest this. Put your money where your mouth is, show a little sensitivity to the environment, show that you care about poor people. Don't stand idly by while rich oil men get rich off the backs of the poor. Be consistent.

As a matter of fact, if you think Hugo Chavez is a President and not a dictator, go to Venezuela and protest just to see what happens.

Looks like the hurricanes won't impact the economy as was originally anticipated. I guess the press will just have to slam Tom Delay more since they won't have a "recession" to hit Bush over the head with. What's a pressman to do in a week since they won't have anything else to bash Bush over. Oh yeah, they'll talk about the war protestors.

Actually, the story they will pick up on the is one that can hurt Bush. This story was released before the one I previously mentioned.

I'd like to take you back a couple of posts. I'm talking about my Cha-Ching post. You see, in my sarcastic way of talking politics, I supported the looting that our politicians are attempting to do. Now the rest of the United States understands where the people learned to loot, from it's leaders. I singled out Mary Landrieu when I should have stated "Both Senators, Mary Landrieu and David Vitter are getting some action, yeah baby!"

But there's three stories that I would like to share with you and after which, I am sure that you will understand that I do not approve, just as most Louisianans do not approve, of the malicious and outrageous gouging of the good nature that the rest of the nation has shown us.

Story 1

While on my last job, one of my colleagues and I went to lunch at Sonic. During our lunch hour a guy approached the people sitting at the tables and asked them for something to eat for his wife. Nobody would give him something to eat (for his wife) and I was short on cash. Even though I probably had less money than everybody else, I volunteered to buy the guy's wife something to eat. I offered him a corndog.

No, that wasn't good enough, he asked me to buy him something to eat as well. So I lifed my eyes up, shook my head and ordered two corndogs for the guy. Hey, it was the day before payday and besides, it's my money, and what do you care what I buy him? It's what I could afford at the time.

Even then, that wasn't good enough for him, he wanted a footlong chili dog... for his wife. I looked at him and said, "No I can afford two corndogs, that's it." He tried to call his wife over to order something different but I went ahead and ordered the two corndogs.

He looks at me and then tells me that I should change my order. Apparently his wife was allergic to cornbread, or something like that. So I said, "Look, I already ordered, she can take the cornbread off."

Of course this wasn't good enough. The guy tells me to change it, but I decline. He then pushes the red button and changes the order. All I could do was move my eyes upward into my forehead and cover my face. I wanted to ask him if that was enough or would he like a two cokes, two tater tots, and two banana splits but I was afraid he would add that to his order.

Now that I think about it, I have the perfect job for that guy and his wife. He can be our Republican Senator and she can be our Democrat Senator.

Story 2

One day I was sitting in the Bank One (now Chase) parking lot reviewing my paperwork before I made my final run. This bum came up to my window and startled me with his knock. I rolled down the window to see what he wanted. Really, I should have started up my truck and left, but hindsight is always 20/20. He was dirty and had cuts and bruises. Anyway, here's how our conversation went.

Bum: "Do you recognize me?"

Louisiana Conservative: "No, should I?"

Bum: "I was on T.V. last night. I am a Vietnam Veteran and I was mugged. That's why I got these cuts."

LC: "Well, I don't get to watch much television."

Okay, I've got to cut in here, why is it that every bum you meet is a Vietnam Veteran? Doesn't matter how old he is, he can be 27, but he too served in Vietnam. Not to make fun of Vietnam Veterans, bums, or Vietnam Veteran bums.

Secondly, what I should have told him was to contact John Kerry, he'll give him something to eat, a nice hot shower, and a purple heart for those cuts. I digress.

Bum: "That's my friend over there" (Friend had a big white plastic bag and a bottle of beer)

LC: "Oh, okay"

Bum: "Can you spare me some money to get something to eat?"

LC: "What's your friend eating?"

Bum: "Crawfish"

LC: "Why not ask him for some crawfish, he's got a lot."

Bum: "He won't give me none."

LC: "I don't have any money, but I have a friend that manages a restaraunt close by. I could get you something to eat."

Bum: "I'd rather have the money instead of putting you through the trouble."

LC: "No trouble, I'll be right back."

So I went down the street to Burger King, bought the guy a chicken sandwich and when I came back, he was no where to be found. I was gone maybe five minutes. He asked for my help, but that wasn't good enough. Maybe he ought to run for Governor.

This post is long, I know, my bad.

Story 3

I was driving down the street and I saw one of my customers' son. He waved me down so I stopped. He asked me if I could lend him some money, which could be construed as illegal if I had. Quite frankly, if I had it, I would have lent it to him. Ooops, hope I am not indicted, after all I am a registered Republican and how dare I do the extremely corrupt act of lending money to a poor person who needs it.

Customer's Son: "Mr. Jeff, lend me five dollars"

LC: "I ain't got five dollars, all I have is my lunch money."

CS: "Your lunch money?"

LC: "Yeah, it's only three bucks" (Thank God for dollar menu's)

CS: "Well lend me that three dollars."

LC: "That's my lunch money man, what's wrong with you?"

Doesn't he sound like he'd make for a great Mayor?

Now, I know some of you think I am just cheap but for those of you who didn't know, I spent that last 2� years working in the ghetto and had already been robbed at gun point for a large sum of money. I didn't like it and learned not to keep large sums of cash on me, even if it was company money.

Truth of the matter is, I, just as most people in cajun country, do not want to take advantage of the kindness shown by the rest of America. We appreciate all that you've done for us, to help us through this tough time.

I would like to make a suggestion, I wouldn't mind seeing our public officials down here in Louisiana do some community service in other states to help work off that compassion that the rest of the nation has to pay for. They could clean litter off the streets wearing shirts that simply say: "Thank you for caring, from Louisiana" Perhaps they won't be so eager to take advantage of the situation next time.

They chanted "No blood for oil", they threw up in the streets, they protested since day one of the Iraq war. They cheered with great joy with the U.S death toll reached 1,000 and will crow even louder when we reach 2,000. Take note at the glee in their tones when we reach that point.

They brought out widows of 9-11 victims to condemn Bush, they complained about torture, comparing that to Concentration camps. They marched along side with communist, Palestinians, and the enviruntics... to now avail.

They protested the RNC convention, even drug Cindy Sheehan to put her sappy face just for the cameras. They even got poll numbers that show we are losing Iraq.

Now Liberals chase any lead they think will lead to Bush's departure, as though that lead will end their misery and put them back in office.

Two things about the war protestors that I noticed. Liberals almost stop protesting the war in Iraq whenever they think they have something new on Bush. Once it bombs out, they go back to the war.

For example, Katrina, Fema, Brown... no, doesn't work? Okay, let's get back to protesting the war.

John Roberts? Wow, that protest doesn't work, let's get back to the war on terrorism, the real issue at hand.

Tom Delay, once liberals grab a sense of sanity, they'll realize that the Republicans had more against Clinton than liberals have against Tom Delay. Sooner or later, depending on how far gone liberals are, they'll get back to protesting the war on Iraq.

The fact that liberals keep getting back on the Iraq message is because that's the best they have. The fact that liberals keep looking leaving their message for some ridiculous message is because the protests simply aren't working. They know this, the Republicans know this, Bush knows this, and the Democrats know this.

If it was working so well, they would keep hammering it and hammering it. No, they keep looking for something else to criticize Bush for. Does anybody remember people criticizing Clinton during the administration for anything other than Monica? Don't get me wrong, I was critical of Clinton for other things besides Monica. But the Monica message worked, unlike the anti American message.

Yes, I have seen the poll numbers, but poll numbers can often be misleading. Something else, though those numbers get trotted around about the opposition to the war, those poll numbers also show that Americans aren't interested in leaving. Again, forget about the poll numbers, let's look at the real numbers. Zero.

Why Zero? Well, that's the number of congressmen against the war. Zero is also the number of Senators against the war. Zero is also the number of bills that are being introduced, have been introduced, or will be introduced by legislatures to pull our troops out of Iraq.

There is another significant number and that is...19. Oops, had a Louis Farakhan moment there. 1. That's right, one, 1, uno. That's the number of bills introduced by liberal Charles Rangel trying to bring back the draft. Maybe Charles Rangel thinks we need even MORE troops to fight the war in Iraq.

So what does that mean? One of three things. First, it can mean that all the congressmen are behind the war with some giving lip service to the lunatic left. Perhaps after listening to the testimony they all believe that the United States IS making the right decision and are most concerned about the well being of our country. Of course some would have to give the occassional lip service to those opposed to the war so that the war protestors continue to vote for them. It's nothing more than appeasement and the lunatic left continues to gobble it up just as the gobble up everything else the Democrats give them to suck on.

The second is that they are for the war, but also infringing on people's freedom. If the war on Iraq is percieved to be going awry, then many politicians can pass more laws because they know most Americans want to win the war on terrorism. Wars make for an excuse to be unconstitutional. If people are fearful of LOSING the war, they will be more likely to give up freedom in order to win.

The third reason is probably most likely, politicians see these poll numbers, but they also have their own internal poll numbers and are concerned most with re-election. They apoease the lunatic left with rhetoric but would never dare pull out because they know what the majority of their constituents and Americans want and that's to win the war in Iraq.

In short, the war protestors have won very little, in fact, have hurt their party more than aided it. Tom Delay will be a good example of that. Whether anybody likes it or not, we are in Iraq for the long haul and we aren't going anywhere. The actions of politicians speak louder than the words of the lunatic left.

Cha-ching!

The Cha-ching thing started because of a fast food commercial in which everytime the clerk would collect the money he'd yell "Cha-ching!" and spin around. That same year, the Saints and their fans picked up on it by saying "Cha-Ching" everytime the Saints would win. It's time to bring back that Louisiana tradition. No, the Saints still reek, but "Cha-Ching" should be going through the streets of Louisiana right now.

Ahhh, I can hear Ginger Roger's voice singing "We're in the money! We're in the money!" Man, can you believe this? The other 49 states are getting the royal shaft by Louisiana politicians. Why am I so happy about that? Well, it's about time somebody else besides a Louisianan gets screwed by these people. ~Cha-Ching!~

No seriously folks, I'm dancing a little jig here. It's a full throttle jiggalate. Woohoo. I'm seriously thinking of teaming up with Lesko and shilling big fat books titled "It's Your Money Louisiana!" We are getting rich from this hurricane business, it's time for Louisianans everywhere to celebrate. We hit the JACKPOT! ~Cha-Ching!~

Let's take the Governor of Louisiana, Kathleen Blanco... she's getting in on the act. Take this from the pages of Recall Governor Blanco.

I saw Governor Blanco being interviewed on television about a request she made to the Federal government for 1 billion dollars to hire 100 workers. As I understood from her response these workers would act as liaisons to the families affected by Hurricane Rita. A newsperson asked Governor Blanco if she said "M" for a million dollars or "B" for a billion dollars. The Governor said it was "B" for a billion dollars.

The newsperson then asked her if the billion-dollar price tag would include funds going to the affected families also. The Governor then looked confused and said maybe they would hire 300 or 400 workers. Another newsperson asked her the same question about whether the billion dollars would include helping out the affected families. She again stated that the billion dollars would be for hiring worker liaisons. Does this mean our Governor needs 1 billion dollars just for hiring 100 people, or did she simply not understand the reporter’s question? I’d like to know, wouldn’t you? Why couldn’t she comprehend the question?

Amazing isn't it? Woohooo! Man, do you know what that is going to mean in salary? What can I say, Governor Kathleen Blanco might not know how to ask for help, but man, she sure knows how to ask for money. Poor Coach Blanco, living with a woman that asks for money like that all those years. I'll bet he made her go out and get a job. Turned out, the only job she was qualified for was a politician. As a Louisiana citizen, thank God the hurricane hit, maybe Kathleen will quit looking for ways to raise our taxes. ~Cha-Ching!~

And the Baton Rouge mayor sent in his special requests for cash....

"They promised us basically unlimited resources," Holden said. "Unfortunately, it comes as a result from a tragedy."

Trajedy Kip? It was a trajedy, but look around, we've hit the Jackpot! ~Cha-Ching!~

It's time for the Louisiana Democrat Chairman to get in on the cash give away! I mean it's "Who Want's To Be A Millionaire" only every question is simple. He stepped down so he can run Halliburton... oops, I mean the Shaw Group. It's not a new role, he never left it, but after helping the Democrats win around the state, it's time for him to get his payback. ~Cha-Ching!~

Mayor Ray Nagin thinks New Orleans should get the majority of the money....Can you say ~Cha-Ching!~?

If that wasn't enough, Senator Mary Landrieu went for the gusto. Man, she went all out with her bill that the Washington Posts called "Louisiana Looters". This is just so awesome! I mean, that's the kind of greed we need around here. Louisiana politicians have never been greedy nor have they been selfish. They have always cared about the poor which explains why we have such low poverty here.

I wonder if Senator Landrieu's bill includes money for that Sugar Mill that Bob Odom always wanted. Maybe there's money in there for a certain legislature who wants to build a lake in Louisiana and call it economic development. He does have a point, look at how well our economy is being developed because of a lake in New Orleans. (Come on, say it with me) ~Cha-Ching!~

If Senator Landrieu was really intelligent, she'd add another 35 billion in order to build a hurricane machine so whenever Louisiana needed some money, they could just start up the machine and create a hurricane. Think Mary, Think! Think about the future, think outside the box! Of course they'd probably need an additional 5 billion for a hurricane director so that the hurricane hits Louisiana every time. Look, it works, we'd be garunteed casharoni for a long, long, time. What makes it even better is that this helps ensure that future hurricanes are catastrophes, after the profitability of Katrina, who's going to want to evacuate? Nah, after this big payola comes through, as each hurricane comes through, we'll all dance in the streets singing "~Cha-Ching!~

One profession that is certain to be left out of this big profit is the teachers, after all, if they got their pay raises, who's going to keep going out on Saturdays and vote those taxes back in? Um.... ~No Ching?~

It is expected that all 55 Senate Republicans will vote to confirm John Roberts as chief justice of the United States. Democrats, for all their posturing seemed to accomplish very little in creating an opposition to Roberts.

There is 17 Democrats that have announced their support for Roberts...

Max Baucus of Montana
Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico
(Mr. KKK) Robert Byrd of West Virginia
Kent Conrad of North Dakota
Christopher Dodd of Connecticut
Byron Dorgan of North Dakota
Russ Feingold of Wisconsin
Tim Johnson of South Dakota
Herb Kohl of Wisconsin
Mary Landrieu of Louisiana
Patrick Leahy of Vermont
Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut
Carl Levin of Michigan
Ben Nelson of Nebraska
Bill Nelson of Florida
Mark Pryor of Arkansas
Ken Salazar of Colorado.

There is 19 Democrats that have announced their opposition...

Evan Bayh of Indiana
Joe Biden of Delaware
Barbara Boxer of California
Maria Cantwell of Washington
Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York
Jon Corzine of New Jersey
Mark Dayton of Minnesota
Dick Durbin of Illinois
Dianne Feinstein of California
Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts
John Kerry of Massachusetts
Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey
Barbara Mikulski of Maryland
Barack Obama of Illinois
Jack Reed of Rhode Island
Harry Reid of Nevada
Paul Sarbanes of Maryland
Charles Schumer of New York
Debbie Stabenow of Michigan.

8 Democrats have not announced how they will vote, oooh, I can hardly contain my excitement! Do you think John Roberts will have enough votes to become the next Chief Justice? They are.....

Daniel Akaka of Hawaii
Tom Carper of Delaware
Tom Harkin of Iowa
Daniel Inouye of Hawaii
Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas
Patty Murray of Washington
Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia
Ron Wyden of Oregon.

Jim Jeffords is trying to play the intelligent voice, but his voice doesn't matter.

I took some time off from blogging for several reasons. One, the election was over, we won. No need to rub it into the faces of liberals too long. Another, I took on a part time job to kill some debt. I know, libs have a hard time believing that some people actually want to work to make extra money, but it's true. 12 hour days seven days a week is only tolerable for so long, and definitely not tolerable during football season.

The third thing that I have been doing is forming an organization. We have formed a Pachyderms organization and we have the right chemistry within the organization. I can tell that we are going to accomplish some great things. We have all the right people in the right places, well with the exception of me. I serve as Vice Chairman, certainly I was lucky, but everybody else serves in the perfect role.

I had a grueling schedule since January. Monday through Wenesday, I'd work 8 am- 8pm. Thursday, 8 am until I finished, then I'd head to the office and do my paperwork and would often get home after 10 pm. Fridays, I'd be at the office at 7:30 am until around noon. In the afternoon, I'd go work until our organizational meetings at 7pm until 10 or 11. On weekends, I'd works 12 hour days in my part time job. Don't forget, I am married so after all was said and done, when did I ever have time to blog? So forgive me for taking so much time off, but you probably knew there was a reasonable explanation for the lapse in posts.

In light of Katrina and the unjustifiable and extreme criticisms of President Bush, the Pachyderms of Greater Baton Rouge are collecting letters from Louisianians in support of President Bush. The task is difficult simply because nobody has time to collect the letters, but if you are a Louisiana resident and would like to thank President Bush for what he's done for Louisiana in light of Katrina and Rita, you send your letter in support of President Bush at our website.

I would see the term Moonbat floating around and was curious what it meant. Wikipedia has a definition of it so go ahead, quench your thirst for knowledge.

Well, well, well, it turns out that I am not alone in my view that the liberal left belongs in an insane asylum. Take Cindy Sheehan, today she finally had something to smile about, she got arrested. After protesting way too long, and sitting in front of the White house with that stupid look on her face. She was warned three times to move or she'd be arrested, finally she was arrested. In the lunatic world called liberalism, getting arrested is like a grand prize. Cindy Sheehan was smiling as she was arrested. Hasn't Cindy Sheehan played the grieving role long enough? Even liberals, as far out of their miniscule minds that they are, have got to realize that she's only playing it up for the cameras.

She thinks that this arrest is going to catapult her into some lunatic liberal lore and her name is now engraved in stone. She believes this so much so, that she couldn't help but to smile as she was arrested. She's a sick woman who needs some psychological help, but don't count on her lunatic liberal friends to help her out, they think she is the norm, when in reality, they are just as sick as she is.

The lunatic left is so caught up in their criticisms and hatred of Bush that if Bush were to say that the United States will prohibit people from jumping off the Grand Canyon, they'd protest that and go and jump off just to spite Bush. Say, that's not a bad idea, you know how easy it would be for the Republicans to win elections if Bush did that? Actually, if Cheney decides to run for President, he could nominate Bush as the Vice-President. Better yet, nominate Karl Rove, they'd go insane... er. Like a cult, libs would off theirself. Well, they practically have become a cult.

It's virtually impossible to take the lunatic left seriously anymore. They even accuse the military of arming dolphins with lasers. People, it's supposed to be sharks, and lay off the Austin Powers movies, it's warping your minds. Cripes, it's not like you need your minds warped anymore than it already is. It's funny isn't it? Liberals complain about torture, but they keep torturing us with their lunacy, then claim that it's the norm, and they wonder why they keep losing elections? Gawd, I feel so sorry for Cindy Sheehan's cellmate. That's cruel and unusual punishment, no matter what their crime was.

What's next for the liberal left? Well, I suppose they can still take the National Enquirer stories as God's word. I don't think they have done that yet.

What is it with liberalism now a days? It seems to me that the only thing they have to offer is criticisms of Bush, but no solutions. It's gotten so bad that even liberals have gotten confused in what they are supposed to believe. All they know is they are supposed to criticize Bush. If he doesn't spend enough, criticize him for not spending enough. If he spends too much, criticize him for spending too much. Remember immediately after 9-11? For a month after that, we didn't do nothing, liberals were screaming at the Bush administration for NOT getting us in a war. They were crowing that the Bush administration wasn't going to do nothing about 9-11, and now, they cry that he's doing to much. Confused yet?

They say they support the war on terrorism, just not in the Middle east. Where are we supposed to fight the war at? In Antartica? Terrorist repeat the same things that liberals are saying, yet, liberals aren't on the side of terrorism? They stand side by side with Palestinians, crying that Israel occupies Palestine, but aren't Palestinians the very people that tie bombs to theirself and kill innocent people? They say they aren't for raising taxes, yet are opposed to cutting taxes? They say they are for the constitution, but have they even read it?

They can complain about Bush's response to Katrina, yet have you ever heard a liberal give praise to Bush for any of the previous hurricanes or even the way Rita was handled? Have you ever heard liberals give any praise whatsoever to the Bush administration? How many solutions to our nations problems have you heard liberals give in the entire time that Bush has been President? Saying "Get out of Iraq" or "Impeach Bush" are not solutions, they don't win the war on terror, they don't stop hurricanes, they don't lower gas prices, and they certainly don't give the nation a direction. Liberals do have a solution, but even they are so embarrassed about it, that they are afraid to tell you what they really want to do. I'll get back to that point in a minute.

Fact is that liberals seem to exist to "Hate all Republicans". If this wasn't so, why then elect Howard Dean, who said as much, to lead their party? Every thing George W. Bush does has been, is, and will continue to be criticized. Bush will never be right, even when he agrees with liberals. Everything Bush does it's a catch 22. I am no big fan of Bush, in fact, I'd rank him right around John F. Kennedy in terms of greatness. In other words, he's not a great President, but he isn't terrible either. I welcome criticisims our Presidents. I have personally been critical of Bush, Clinton, and Bush, but does every criticism of President Bush have to sound like it is coming from a resident of a sanitarium?. I know a lot of liberals smoke pot, but do they have to be so obvious about it?

If people are willing to take liberals seriously when they don't openly offer any solutions, then this nation is in serious trouble. What we are witnessing in the Democrat party is radicalism running amuck. There's no direction within the Democrat party and the central theme is "hatred". Now, I have talked politically about Katrina, but I also waited until we turned a corner concerning the disaster. However, Democrats proved just how irrational their hatred for Bush truly was when immediately after Katrina, they were screaming for his head. There were issues that needed to be solved, that I can agree, but immediately afterwards to criticize?

I really don't understand is the liberal view that George W. Bush is a dictator, talk about irrational. But let's examine the view a little further. Let's get back to the liberal solutions to problems. First, it's impossible to be both socialist and pro-freedom. A socialist believes some should have property taken away from them and then given to others, with the government as the so call compassionate arbitrators. The idea that government can take from you and give to others is a form of dictatorship and its supporters have natural selfish interests, otherwise they wouldn't support the idea.

Socialist believe that we are not created equal and that government ought to force their view of equality down the throats of the populace. A person that supports the idea of liberty believes that all are created equal and through the individuals choices and ends up with different results.

The idea that the rich ought to pay a higher tax rate, which liberals support, is dicatatorial. Because you chose a different path from others, the government ought to treat you differently? The inherent selfishness in this is that somebody else ought to be punished more than the person that supports. If we are all created equally, shouldn't that tax rate be the same for all of us? Shouldn't the middle class and poor pay the exact same tax percent as the rich? If we are truly created equal, shouldn't the government treat us all as equal?

Others support it because it means more money in their pocket, others support it because they think it makes them like a caring person, and politicians support it because they can claim to be compassionate because they spent other people's hard earned money.

But liberals support government control over our lives in more ways than our finances. They love to tell us that we have to wear a seatbelt while driving down the street, or that motorcyclist have to wear a helmut and then call it a safety issue. What gives them the right to tell us that we have to be safe?

They want to dictate who can and can't own a gun, how long you have to wait until you buy it, and even went so far as to suggest that gunowners have to have trigger locks on their guns. What you have to do with your property within your property, inside the privacy of your own home.

They want to tell you where you can and can't smoke, and who's lifestyle you have to accept. They want to keep preachers from exercising free speech in government, citing separation of Church and State, yet want government to dictate to what religion can and can't do. Quite frankly, if they don't go to that church, what's it to them how they choose to worship within the walls? I'm not Catholic, why should I tell Catholics how they should worship, or who they should allow as a priest, or if they have to allow homosexual priests? What's it to you if you aren't Catholic? Same goes for Baptist, or Methodist, or Lutherans, what makes it your business to tell those churches how to worship when you aren't even a member of their congregation?

They don't trust parents to teach their kids about sex. No, they insist that schools teach them about sex and distribute condoms to the kids. In just about every aspect of our lives, Government has intruded and dictated to us what we can and can't do, and liberals solution is to broaden the role that Government plays in our lives.

Their alternative view to fighting the war on terrorism? More government at home. More government control over our ports. The common complaint that I heard was that 90% of imports goes unchecked, maybe a terrorist can slip in a bomb through our ports. Excuse me for not taking this seriously but in case you haven't noticed, we haven't been very effective at keeping illegal immigrants out of our country, we haven't had much success keeping marijuana and cocaine from crossing our borders, why on earth do we think terrorist are going to sneak a bomb in through the ports? It's much easier to go through Mexico and up through our borders.

Even if we did keep bombs from coming through our ports, don't you think that terrorist can build their own bombs once they are here? Libs will tell you that Iraq was a bad idea, but their big solution is to put big government in charge of the ports? Excuse me for laughing at their idea but I just think that it's better to fight terrorist within the borders of Iraq, even if our presence attracted them there.

In fact, when it comes to liberals, the only two freedoms that I believe they support is free speech, which means they can insult you or a person can criticize the Republicans. The other freedom is a person's choice to end life. It's funny isn't, they say people shouldn't decide what a woman does with her body, yet support government deciding every aspect of our lives for us.

The most amazing thing is that despite their desire for government involvement in every aspect of our lives, they say they love freedom. They hide behind the Constitution and claim to have an understanding of the Constitution. If they love freedom and the Constitution as much as they insist they do, why not read the thing, study the foundation of this nation. If you appreciate freedom, research the founding of this nation, take the good with the bad. Understand what freedom is, then you'll understand that this nation isn't as bad as you think it is.

Long post made short, the people calling George W. Bush a dictator ought to take a strong look at their self. if you are a liberal, tell me what freedoms you support that can be accomplished without government getting involved.

I haven't done this in quite some time. The first time I did it, I had so many links that it cut off half of my post. So this time I am trying to keep the "ODE TO BLOG II" much simpler. Each word links to a different blog and no two blogs are the same. This is a difficult task because you have to double check your spelling and spacing or the whole thing is useless. Then there is the arduous task of finding blogs and then linking each and every one.

So I present once again...

ODE TO BLOG II

Dedicated to the bloggers for exercising and expanding free speech.

The thorn the side of politicians, the venue that gave extreme nuts a bullhorn, the forum that exposed Dan Rather as a fraud. Yes, the infamous blogosphere, what was once laughed at now has gained influence in the capitol and media. A resented influence in the political arena, if you listen to the media, they'll give you the impression that bloggers are the frauds.

Are bloggers really frauds and kooks? I think not. In fact, I believe bloggers are a bit of constitutionalist, if even unknown to the author. Like everybody, bloggers have a voice, but unlike so many, they use their voice in the form of electronic ink. They exercise a Right that we all hold as a fundamental value, well excluding the McCain-Fiengolds. People, whether sane or demented, obscure or astute, now have a way to express their self with the internet serving as their loudspeaker.

William Shakespeare once wrote that the pen is mightier than the sword and bloggers have shown that one voice can be the most powerful weapon available. They can defeat cold hard cash with their advocacy. They can bring down the major media with watchdog observance, they can deliver messages that we wouldn't otherwise hear on major media.

In the story 'Jack and the Beanstalk', little Jack climbs the absurdly until he gets above the clouds and into the home of the giants. Each time Jack would go up the beanstalk, the giant would say "Fee Fi Foe Fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman." Eventually the giant discovers Jack and chases him down the beanstalk until Jack chops it down and the giant falls to his death.

The story is a fable, but there are inherent truths in the great child stories. In this, giants fall. There's the story of 'David and Goliath' in which David takes a stone and kills giant Goliath.

It happens in sports such as the NFL when the underdogs win. The New York Jets against the Baltimore Colts in Superbowl III and the Denver Broncos agianst the Green Bay Packers in Superbowl XXXII.

It happens in the business world, large corporations make way for smaller, more competent businesses. Amazon was a small company and now is now the big dog in the book world. Wal-mart out foxed the K-marts, AT&T had to make room for cell phones, and IBM was dazzled by Microsoft's technology.

It is happening in the media. It started years before the internet with Ted Ted Turner and his 24 hour news channel CNN. Back then, the big three just scoffed at the idea that the nation was ready for on demand news. Ted Turner made a bold daring move and the press just kept doing what they were doing. 'Fee Fi Foe Fum'.

Then came Fox news and the press began sniffing more, complaining about it, looking, discovering, and realizing that the big bad Murdoch was continuing the change.

When the internet came out, it took awhile before anybody figured out how it can be really useful, remember pets.com? Then came a guy named Matt Drudge, the Godfather of blogs, took a little notice piece off the A.P. wire and sent it to his readers. That story led to the eventual impeachment of a President. That story was the Lewinsky-Clinton affair.

Necessity is the mother of invention, and a broadening of free speech was needed. Drudge was the lone blogger but people eventually wanted to do what he was doing. Stories transferred from one to several via email and ingroup or one on one discussion through chat rooms and bulletin boards. Websites were good but were difficult to keep posting new content Blogs have and continue to change all that.

Today, it isn't just Matt Drudge breaking news stories, it's a blogger here, another there, and tomorrow it will be one you haven't even heard of yet. Emails are still good, but once you send it out, the only response would be from spammers who managed to get your email after it was forwarded several times. Chat rooms were great for live discussion, but once you left there probably wasn't a record of what you said, and bulletin boards were often filled with trolls. A blog gives people a chance to come back and read more without the excessive garbage.

Bloggers are cutting down the beanstalk and rhe big three giant is falling So kudos to the bloggers, participants in a seismic shift in the way we view the world, changing tomorrow's history, today.

Reports are coming in that the city of New Orleans is flooding again. There are two breaches and well, here we go again. Briet Bart has the story.

I had to get inside as hurricane Rita is pounding us right now. I can only imagine what she's doing to an already battered New Orleans. I guess I'll keep posting as Hurricane Rita continues to pass over.

Update 11:29 PM

Well, we are definitely getting more rain than we did with Katrina, and the winds seem to be much heavier. I don't know, maybe I'm just not used to seeing trees bend like that. It's pretty intense here with the winds blowing like they are, I'm not sure how much longer we will have power.

We had a tornado watch earlier but now that the storm is west of us I up the worse has passed us. My concern is that Rita continues to move North and then begin to move Northeast. I know New Orleans is being battered, after all they are closer to the eye of the storm than we are.

Everybody kept talking about Houston-Galveston but the problem is that it crossed over the gulf region, knocking the levees out in New Orleans before 3pm. We get nailed with the northern winds, and now we catch the eastern winds, all of Louisiana this time. What's worse is that it is going up the bayou, possibly keeping strength longer than if it were land.

Anyway, we still have power in Baton Rouge as of 11:37 pm, but I don't expect to wake up in the morning with power.

Update 11:15 AM

We still have power but it's still raining and windy outside. We've been gettin our taste of Rita since about 5pm Thursday. I haven't been out to see the infrastructure to see what kind of damage has occured. I'm still not used to seeing trees bend like that but it's an amazing thing to see. I took a look outside and could see that hurricane Rita is now heading North, which is good news because that means this thing is almost over. Once those clouds are moving East then it'll be over.

The more I see the hurricanes the more I realize just how ludicrous it is to blame a single man for the weather. I don't see President George W. Bush as some man with some sort of diety powers capable of having any impact on the environment.

I can not see mankind with that same extraordinary power of transforming the planet and it's weather.

The problem that I have with the whole movement that mankind creates environmental disasters is that the earth has been dynamic throughout history and events that have happened long before man ever walked the earth dwarf our worst.

Did mankind cause one continent to divide into two? Is it possible that thousands and thousands of hurricanes carved out the Gulf of Mexico? Did the cars that the dinosaurs drove lead to global warming which in turned led to the iceage that led to their extinction? What of Pompeii? Or the hurricane at the beginning of the last century that caused 8,000 deaths?

What caused the creation the Scablands? It was a catastrophe beyond our comprehension. Not only was it one huge catastrophe, but castatrophe upon catastrophe. The earth is dynamic and has always been changing. This is nothing new. Yet, somehow because a handleful of people that want George Bush impeached, we are supposed to believe that he's responsible for global warming.

This makes for a great scare tactic on the the general population but does not explain what caused the catastrophes that happened long before mankind ever walked earth. Are we supposed to believe that George W. Bush is responsible for global warming on Mars? I suppose we could blame Clinton for his Mars expedition as well.

I must confess, I always found it annoying that our Governor could never pronounce her own last name correctly, but now I understand why she calls herself "Blank-Oh". Let's face it, she's stuck on stupid.

Survey USA has Governor Kathleen Blanco sitting at 41% approval rating. Nothing to worry about? Not so, the Guvs numbers dropped nine points since August 15th. The people of Louisiana don't blame Bush, we blame the Governor.

Infact the disappointment in our Governor is so much so, that in the last month two websites popped up seeking her ouster. Many others have suggested she resign and Republicans are giddy about the '07 election.

Let's take the first sign of trouble for the Governor. During the speech, Governor Blanco decided to follow Bush's speech and take credit for the blame. She seemed to have some problems remembering what she was going to say because her finger pointed towards God, then the legislative body, then towards the press or the voters, then her feet, before he finger finally rested on her chest. "I take full responsibility" she said, yet up until that point, she remained the 'invisible Governor'except to show her asterisk in front of the cameras by blaming Bush.

Just prior to that, a website popped up encouraging the impeachment of Governor Blanco. The argument is laid out for impeachment and has received thousands of hits, though last look at the site has Recall Blanco as the header.

And another website has popped up seeking the recall of Governor Blanco and has "had over 20,000 hits in the last week". Now with the release of Blanco's approval numbers, Blanco has found herself in trouble. She now asked for 15,000 federal troops to, as Cindy Sheehan would say, occupy South Louisiana, ordered an evacuation, and finally realizes that New Orleans could be in more trouble. I guess we'll see what's going to happen in the morning as we in Baton Rouge have already gotten our first dose of RITA.

I thought that I would share this letter with you courtesy of RecallGovernorBlanco.com

Dear Editor,

I will never forget the whimpering, clueless, uselessness of Nagin, Blanco, and Landrieu in the first few days of Katrina. They were lost, baffled, and totally ignorant of what to do about what. It was only days later, after people gave them some scripts to read, that they regained any semblance of composure and leadership. If a military commander had acted like such a potted plant he would have been jerked out of the position in minutes.

If Louisiana allows them to get away untouched, we are endorsing the entire debacle they mismanaged and ALL of us will continue to be laughed at by the rest of the nation.

In light of all the findings about what they did, and failed to do, I am calling for the impeachment, or prosecution of Lost-Ray Nagin, Blanko-Blanco and Mystified-Mary Landrieu, for gross incompetence and/or criminal negligence.

Even today, Nagin is on/off/yes/no, in every decision, and a total joke as a leader.

Black Nagin’s negligence puts the deaths of all the black people squarely on his back.

Kathleen’s total "blankoness" about what to do was so obvious in deed and in mentality, that her continued occupancy of that position is incomprehensible. (This was even stupider than her efforts to sell sugar to Cuba.) The silly little abortionist, from New Orleans, Mystified-Mary, was stunned, baffled, and is totally useless as a leader.

For 24 years I have watched Louisianans consistently elect cute, popular, crazy or amusing drunks, criminal lawyers, dingbats, and witches who haven’t got a clue. I can predict the outcome of most elections because 9 out of 10 times, since they always vote for the less competent and honest person. Sometimes I wonder if we know that competent and honest looks like. These "winners" seldom have the business, engineering, financial, or industrial backgrounds that are essential to manage large organizations, and their incompetence is always exposed when there is a problem.

This time a disastrous event nailed them all, and they cannot be allowed to continue to hold office in light of their total uselessness. They are embarrassing roadblocks that need to be put away.

With people like this in charge, is it any wonder we are consistently last/close-to-last in everything?

Thank you for your time.

Patrick R. Hughes P.E. (Ret.)
Lt. Colonel, (Ret.) U.S. Army

And then there was this one....

Dear Citizens:

I just wanted to share a letter with you that I sent out yesterday, September 16, 2005, to numerous Louisiana newspapers and also other media outlets nationally. I'll be interested to see if anyone prints it or responds.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

http://recallgovernorblanco.com.

I am writing this letter in an effort to gain support for R.E.C.A.L.L. (Responsible & Effective Citizen Action for Leadership in Louisiana). The main focus of this group is education and action. Our first goal will be to recall Governor Kathleen Blanco. I believe that our Governor has exhibited an inability to lead our State and has shown dereliction of her duties.

I am an American citizen and lifelong resident of the State of Louisiana.

I, along with many other citizens, watched in horror as Hurricane Katrina ripped through the Gulf States, but it was the political aftermath that I found appalling.

I believe our Governor and Mayor Nagin failed miserably to protect our citizens. Not only did they not act to evacuate our citizens, but also afterwards they continued to exhibit an inability to lead. Sadly, this inaction has led to unnecessary loss of life. Are these the same people we want to lead in the reconstruction efforts?

R.E.C.A.L.L. is ready to take action and do what it takes to ensure that public officials are held accountable for their action or inaction in times of crisis. Are you ready to become a part of the solution? I am a firm believer that each and every citizen has the ability and duty to become involved, each in his or her own way. Please become involved. The truth is we are all responsible for the State that we love so much.

Interested citizens can contact us at our website:

Thank you,

Kathy Landry