Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Barker's Newsbites: Wednesday, January 4, 2012


You guys know that Iowa doesn't really mean much - right?

I'm not downplaying Romney's win... nor am I downplaying Santorum's by a hair's breath second place finish as opposed to Ron Paul coming in third and Gingrich fourth.

Nope. There are lessons to be learned from these results, but bear in mind that a caucus isn't a primary and Iowa isn't a microcosm of the nation.

What we've learned is that Ron Paul is strong... but not as strong as he'd have to be in order to have a legitimate shot at the nomination. (Folks... seriously... Ron Paul needed to finish first - or at least second - in order to be seen as a serious candidate and even then we'd only be talking short-term perception.)

We've also learned that Bachmann - and probably Perry - are out of it. (Bachmann received only 6,073 votes to Santorum's 30,007, while Gov. Perry received only 12,604 votes to former Gov. Romney's 30,015.)

So... what of Newt?

Fair question.

Although Santorum beat Newt by 13,756 votes, this indicates that in Iowa Santorum was the primary "anti-Romney" candidate and Gingrich was the secondary "anti-Romney" candidate.

(Ron Paul is the Ron Paul candidate!)

And what does all this mean...?

It means Romney has only seen the beginning of his problems!

Folks... the man got a mere 24.6% of the caucus vote - not even a full one-quarter!

Folks... Romney beat the perceived red meat "conservative" alternative by only eight votes!

Folks... together Santorum, Gingrich, Perry, and Bachmann won 53.1% of the vote with Ron Paul accounting for another 21.4% all by himself!

What will Bachmann do if she leaves the race? Will she hold off on endorsing one of the other candidates or will she endorse Rich Santorum? (Or might she possibly endorse Gingrich?) If she endorses Romney it won't help him but it would hurt her... but stranger things have happened in politics.

How'bout Perry?

I could see Perry throwing his support to Gingrich should he decide to throw in the towel. I could also see Perry throwing his support to Santorum. (But on the other hand, if Perry sees things as I see them - meaning Santorum has no real shot - why would he waste the political capital?)

What of Rick Santorum himself? That's a key question! Although on the Christian Conservative side of the GOP, Santorum is also a member of "the Club" - a member of the Republican Establishment - via his past as a congressman and later senator from Pennsylvania.

Could Santorum end up backing Romney over Gingrich by hanging the decision of Romney's supposedly superior "personal character?" Yep. I could see it. (Of course it would be a purely political decision with the "ethical and moral" considerations being mere a smokescreen, but, again, Santorum is in many ways "one of them" - Republican Establishment - more than he's "one of us.") On the other hand, could I see Santorum ending up throwing his support to Gingrich? Yep! And folks... such support would be invaluable to Gingrich.

It'll be interesting to see what "games" the "also rans" will play - or attempt to play.

We'll see.

One thing I know: if Santorum and/or Bachmann and/or Perry and/or Cain end up on Romney's side in a Romney-Gingrich battle for the soul of the GOP... I'll be disgusted.

Stay tuned!

And now... today's menu:

8:30 a.m. - One cup of 2% cottage cream.

To be continued...

11:30 a.m. - A salad with lettuce, mushrooms, 3.5 oz. lemon-chicken breast, three slices swiss cheese, 1.5 tablespoons asiago cheese spread, 2 tablespoons mayo.

* OK... obviously I "get" that the cheese isn't diet food. Frankly, those three slices were the end of the swiss cheese and as for the asiago cheese spread... I just wanted to get rid of it so it wouldn't keep teasing me. Next... the mayo. My sister-in-law has recommended I substitute Greek yogurt for mayo. I'm gonna try that as well as pick up some lite balsamic salad dressing.

** As to the pepperoni in yesterday's chicken salad... (*GRIN*)... yeah... let me just finish off the little tiny bag of pepperoni we have left and then no more.

2:00 p.m. - A pear.

To be continued...

Another good workout at the gym; this time 6 miles on the upright bike (200 calories) followed by another 6.5 miles on the the low "back support bike" (200 calories).

5:00 p.m. - Cup of hot tea.

6:00 p.m. - A grapefruit.

To be continued...

7:00 p.m. - A square of corn bread with a spoonful of apple preserve on it instead of butter.

8:00 p.m. - One and a half "lean and trim" chicken sausages with maybe 5 oz. of turkey chili, a tablespoon of lite sour cream and maybe an ounce of grated cheddar cheese. Six onion rings - baked, not fried (160 calories).

To be continued...

8:45 p.m. - Two fruit & nut nuggets (90 calories).

9:15 p.m. - Two dill pickles.

...and we're done!

6 comments:

William R. Barker said...

http://www.therightscoop.com/palin-gop-better-not-marginalize-ron-paul-and-his-supporters/

Sarah Palin gave her analysis of the Iowa caucuses tonight, refusing to give any single candidate anything close to an endorsement. She also noted rather passionately though, that the GOP had better not marginalize Ron Paul and his supporters after tonight because their fiscal concerns are very legitimate and the GOP had better work with them.

* THIS IS WHAT I'VE BEEN SAYING ALL ALONG!

* AND BTW... IT'S NOT JUST HIS FISCAL CONCERNS; RON PAUL IS DEAD RIGHT ON MOST THINGS - INCLUDING FOREIGN POLICY!

William R. Barker said...

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/planned-parenthood-s-annual-report-got-4874m-tax-money-did-329445-abortions

According to its latest annual report (covering the period from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010), the Planned Parenthood Federation of America received $487.4 million in tax dollars over a twelve-month period and performed 329,455 abortions.

(*SHRUG*) (*SHAKING MY HEAD*)

In addition, the number of adoption referrals made by the organization continued to decline.

(*SIGH*)

According to PPFA’s annual report for fiscal year 2007-2008, in 2007 Planned Parenthood’s “adoption referrals to other agencies” totaled 4,912. In Fiscal Year 2010 that number was 841, a decrease of 82.8%.

(*PURSED LIPS*)

The latest annual report claims that abortion services make up [a mere] 3% of “medical services,” but [this conflicts with] PPFA states it served 3 million people and performed 329,445 abortions - numbers that show 11% of customers received an abortion.

(*SHRUG*)

William R. Barker said...

* TWO-PARTER... (Part 1 of 2)

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jan/4/obama-unprecedented-recess-appointment/

President Obama used his recess appointment powers Wednesday to name a head for the controversial Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and three new members to the National Labor Relations Board - moves Republican lawmakers said amounted to an unconstitutional power grab.

* I TEND TO DISAGREE WITH THE REPUBLICANS. HERE'S WHY: EVEN IF THE SENATE IS "TECHNICALLY" IN SESSION FOR 32-SECONDS A DAY OR WHATEVER, THIS ISN'T A "REAL" SESSION. I'M GUESSING OBAMA WINS THIS ONE IF IT GOES TO THE SUPREME COURT.

The president acted just a day after the Senate held a session - breaking with at least three different precedents that said the Senate must be in recess for at least three days for the president to exercise his appointment power.

Mr. Obama himself was part of two of those precedents, both during his time in the Senate and again in 2010 when one of his administration’s top constitutional lawyers made the argument for the three-day waiting period to the Supreme Court.

* OH! NO DOUBT! OBAMA IS A COMPLETE AND UTTER HYPOCRITE! (IS ANYONE SURPRISED... ANYONE... ANYONE AT ALL...?) STILL... THESE ARE PHONY SENATE "SESSIONS."

* HEY... FOLKS... I CALL 'EM LIKE I SEE 'EM AND DAMN THE POLITICS! (YA DON'T SCREW WITH THE CONSTITUTION!!!)

Mr. Obama tapped former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to head the CFPB, and named three others to the labor board - all of which had been stymied by congressional Republicans who said Mr. Obama is accruing too much power to himself through those two agencies.

* SORRY... UNLESS THE SENATE IS GOING TO REMAIN IN SESSION - REAL SESSION - YEAR AROUND... THEN OBAMA GETS TO MAKE RECESS APPOINTMENTS IN LINE WITH HIS CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY.

* To be continued...

William R. Barker said...

* CONCLUDING... (Part 2 of 2)

In strikingly sharp language, Republicans said the Senate considers itself still in session for the express purpose of blocking recess appointments...

(*BZZZ*)

* BULLSHIT. CLEARLY NOT WHAT THE FOUNDERS INTENDED. BOTH PARTIES NEED TO STOP TEARING OUR CONSTITUTIONAL RULE OF LAW TO BITS!!!)

“Although the Senate is not in recess, President Obama, in an unprecedented move, has arrogantly circumvented the American people,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican.

* ARE THERE A QUORUM OF SENATORS PHYSICALLY IN WASHINGTON D.C. AT THE MOMENT? IF NOT... THEN THE SENATE CAN'T BE IN SESSION. PERIOD.

* FOLKS... HERE'S THE DEAL:

The Constitution gives the president the power to make appointments when the Senate is not in session and able to confirm them. Traditionally, that has been understood to mean when the Senate has adjourned for a recess longer than 10 days, and a Clinton administration legal opinion said a recess must be at least three days. Mr. Obama’s own top constitutional lawyers affirmed that view in 2010 in another case involving recess appointments. Asked [then] what the standard was for making recess appointments, then-Deputy Solicitor General Neal Katyal told the justices the administration agreed with the three-day rule. “The recess appointment power can work in a recess. I think our office has opined the recess has to be longer than 3 days,” Mr. Katyal said.

The three-day rule was also the precedent Mr. Obama and his fellow Senate Democrats followed in 2007 and 2008 when they were trying to block then-President George W. Bush from making recess appointments.

* AGAIN... NO ONE IS DENYING THAT OBAMA IS A FAKE, PHONY FRAUD AND UTTER HYPOCRITE!

“I am keeping the Senate in pro forma to prevent recess appointments until we get this process back on track,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, said on Nov. 16, 2007, as he announced his strategy of having the Senate convene twice a week for pro forma sessions.

On Wednesday, though, Mr. Reid reversed course and said he backed the president’s move.

* AND OF COURSE NO ONE IS DENYING THAT REID IS A FAKE, PHONY FRAUD AND UTTER HYPOCRITE. WHAT I'M TRYING TO DO HERE IS GO BEYOND THE POLITICS TO WHAT I BELIEVE THE CONSTITUTION REQUIRES. PLAIN AND SIMPLE, THE SENATE IS NOT IN SESSION AND HASN'T BEEN IN SESSION SINCE BEFORE CHRISTMAS. WITHOUT A PHYSICAL QUORUM OF SENATORS THE SENATE CAN'T BE IN SESSION. THAT'S MY VIEW.

* READ THE FULL ARTICLE, FOLKS. IT INCLUDES MORE HISTORICAL DETAILS YOU MAY FIND PERTINENT.

William R. Barker said...

http://gma.yahoo.com/okla-woman-shoots-kills-intruder-911-operators-okay-091106413.html

* THIS IS MY AMERICA! THIS IS THE AMERICA I KNOW AND LOVE!

A young Oklahoma mother shot and killed an intruder to protect her 3-month-old baby on New Year's Eve, less than a week after the baby's father died of cancer.

Police are calling the shooting justified.

"You're allowed to shoot an unauthorized person that is in your home. The law provides you the remedy, and sanctions the use of deadly force," Det. Dan Huff of the Blanchard police said.

* GOD BLESS SARAH MCKINLEY!

William R. Barker said...

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/05/us/politics/dueling-romney-santorum-surges-in-iowa-caucuses.html

Mitt Romney marked his arrival in New Hampshire on Wednesday with an endorsement by Senator John McCain...

(*SHRUG*)

* PRETTY MUCH TELLS YOU ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ROMNEY.