Almost to a man, both the 58's and the non-political offenders were hardworking family people capable of manifesting valor only in lawful ways, on the orders of and the approval of the higher-ups. -Alexander Solzhenitsyn
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Showing posts with label good leadership. Show all posts
Showing posts with label good leadership. Show all posts
Lots of time, as voters, we're faced with choices between the lesser of two evils. Occasionally though, we get to decide between a really good person with character and genuine leadership skills, versus a particularly despicable one that embodies the worst traits of the ruling elite. And for North Carolina citizens, winning such an election was almost undermined by one campaign's dirty magic tricks.
The popular vote tally was in favor of Renee Ellmers, and by a wide enough margin that a recount would not be automatic. But that final score was before someone miraculously discovered 450+ ballots, all marked (even more miraculously) in favor of her opponent, Bob Etheridge.
Yesterday afternoon, Etheridge called Ms. Ellmers to finally admit that he'd lost; that further challenging the will of the people was unwarranted. Ladies & gentlemen of the Old North State, meet your new Congresswoman from the 2nd district, Renee Ellmers.
Ms. Ellmers, please don't forget that compromise is for politicians, and that losing a fight is much better than giving in. We don't need you to go make friends, or bring home pork (we make plenty of the real stuff, anyway, you know). We need you to go fix your predecessors' shit.
Congratulations, Ma'am.
A special thanks to SarahPAC's Momma Grizzly fund, gettin' it done!
One last note: Let's all not forget the fact that this election was much closer than it ever had to be, mainly because the RNCC never spent a dime to help her campaign.
My horse-club's Information Czar recently sent out a mass mailer to all the members reminding them to vote for a fellow member, Beth Jones, in the upcoming mid-term elections.
Okay, re-reading the note, I stand corrected that he only suggested "considering" voting for her, because she's "PRO Horse-Trail."
Well by gosh, if it comes down who is "pro horse trail" between two candidates who cherish Liberty above all else, who believe in and actively support the Tea Party movement, who are prepared to distance North Carolina from the federal government's unrelenting, intrusive power grab by way of Obamacare and offshore and nearshore oil drilling moratoriums and lawsuits against other states for doing a job that federal government won't, and who believes in gutting NC government in favor of privatization, then she should get that consideration. But all things ain't equal, it seems.
Jones is a former Caldwell County Democratic party Chairwoman, and endorsed by ACTBlue, "The online clearinghouse for Democratic action" who also endorses raving idiot Alan Grayson. Her campaign website lists the issues as: Economy/Jobs, Education, and Healthcare, the Dem party line that government involvement into those sectors is ever somehow beneficial.
Her Republican opponent, Warren Daniel, graduate of West Point and UNC Law School, says this on his website:
In 1787, our Founding Fathers gave us a Constitution that forever changed the relationship between man and government. They believed that each of us is born into freedom and that the proper role of government is to protect and secure the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, which are endowed by our Creator, not derived from the government. Protected by these Constitutional guarantees, America became the land of opportunity for millions of legal immigrants who came fleeing oppression and seeking the American dream.
With the recent passage of Obamacare, it is more evident than ever that “We The People” need to act now if we are going to make a difference. As we enter this 2010 election year, I pledge to you that, as your state senator, I will strive to return North Carolina to the principles of limited government and unlimited opportunity. I hope that you will join me so that together we can bring conservative government back to North Carolina, and preserve the American Dream for our children and grandchildren.
To supporters of Jones, I say "whoa!" This Daniel guy sure sounds like more of a leader to me. In my thinking, the time for electing local numbnuts who can be counted on to fight for a locality's share of pork, or for his/her own nest-feathering career, is gone. Everything I read regarding Jones implies she's just another Hope It Changes corruptocrat with promises of unicorns and rainbows.
NC 44 isn't my district, but to my friends in that area, there are more-important things than "pro horse trail" and Warren Daniel has an obvious leg up when it comes to the concepts of leadership and Liberty. And be sure to check out his answers (and others!) to the questionnaire from the North Carolina Free Enterprise Foundation.
On a related note, check out this video (thanks to Hot Air via Legal Insurrection) that may serve to remind you what we're all up against this November.
Finally...just got off the phone with Daniel's office...he's in favor of horse trails.
UPDATE: Direct to my email inbox, Warren Daniel responds:
Thanks for your comments and support. We are horse owners too and enjoy riding... I have intended to join the association, and I know at least one of your members.
"It doesn't matter if we're 'allowed or not', that's wrong." -SSgt. Joshua May
Allow me, please, just a few pertinent points, and then enjoy the video. During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, some National Guardsmen were ordered to confiscate firearms (all kinds of firearms) from citizens in New Orleans. Stewart Rhodes founded Oath Keepers, in part, because of those actions, but also as a manner of reinforcing the foundation that a U.S. Serviceperson's Oath is to defend the Constitution.
S.Sgt. May wasn't in Oath Keepers during Katrina (because it hadn't been invented yet, duh), but his actions embody the very essence of what Oath Keepers is.
S.Sgt. May did a couple of things worth celebrating. He joined, and represents, the National Guard for the right reason: to help protect his neighbors. He understands and embraces the Constitution. He has the balls, regardless of whether his CO agrees (and with some perceived risk to his security clearance, being in Military Intel), to stand up and declare that disarming citizens is wrong. It's a great thing that his fellow soldiers knew enough to agree and support him, and that's why I'm a big fan of Oath Keepers. This is why we now have such a thing as Oath Keepers, to give a foundation of support and knowledge of the Constitution to those soldiers such that they can feel confident and secure in doing the right thing. Oh, but if there'd have been a few more Sgt. May's there in Louisiana...
Very briefly, because I'm busy with trying to shake some new clients off the new-client tree, I'd like to relay a measure of rememberance. Today is the 26th Anniversary of those terrorist murders of 241 of our Marines and Sailors in Beirut. To those who gave their lives that day, and those friends and family members who grieve, my eternal gratitude for your willingness to stand in the way of those who wish harm upon my country.
I'm feeling a sadness today, brought on by that memory and the very real fear that our country is being led down a path of vulnerability from which we will not return, or even survive.
For those who would like a photo essay on the difference between a Commander in Chief and a Coward in Chief, please see my friends at Flopping Aces. If you've come to grasp the concept of cause and effect, that is, that leadership (and of course, the lack thereof) has its rewards and consequences, then you'll join me in a prayer of thanks for those in our Military and for effective leadership like President Bush, and another prayer that we survive the current state of our exposed underbelly. Very enlightening, and poignant. It'd be funny if it weren't so sad.
Anybody else sick of the fact that the current adminstration can orchestrate an effective war on Fox News, but can't man up on the job for which they were elected?
With very little soliloquy, I would like to present another video by a man that knows how to make a speech. It isn't ironic or coincidental that he needs no teleprompter. You see here a gentleman who from his heart, speaks the simple truth.
If you prefer to categorize Newt Gingrich as the Bad Old Man of the Grand Old Party, you shouldn't watch this. At about the 8:55 mark in, you'll hear him say that he, "is not a citizen of the world," and you will hear things that make you proud to be an American, proud again also to be a Republican, proud that you aren't an apologist, but rather looking hopefully and confidently to 2010 and 2012.
I know it's two straight posts with video-embedded speeches by great Americans, but heh. Fifty-Six minutes long, but well-worth every second.
Then, tomorrow, I'll embed another video...by a woman whose blogs always move me to uproarious laughter, but this day moved me to tears.
