Excerpting from the future bestseller "Game Change", co-authors John Heilemann and Mark Halperin divulge a 10-page preview in New York Magazine that devastates John Edwards.

Quite a tale of not one but two monsters: both John Edwards and his wife Elizabeth (portrayed by the media as a pitiable victim, but revealed as an cunning hatchetwoman who demeaned and humiliated John Edwards and his staff every chance she got).

Some juicynesses...the fateful meeting of the future love birds...

“My friends insist you’re John Edwards,” Rielle Hunter said. “I tell them no way—you’re way too handsome.”

“No, ma’am. I’m John Edwards,” the candidate replied.

“No way! I don’t believe you!”

The unmasking of Mrs. Edwards...

The denizens of the valley of staff were astonished by the narcissism that had infused their candidate. But for a long time, they continued slaving in the service of the illusion at the core of Edwards’s political appeal: that he remained the same humble, aw-shucks son of a mill worker he’d always been. The cognitive dissonance was enormous, sure, but they were used to that. Because for years they’d been living with an even bigger lie—the lie of Saint Elizabeth.

...

During the 2004 race, Elizabeth badgered and berated John’s advisers around the clock. She called Nick Baldick, his campaign manager, an idiot. She accused David Axelrod, his (and later Obama’s) media consultant, of lying to her and insisted that he be stripped of the responsibility for making the campaign’s TV ads. She would stay up late scouring the Web, pulling down negative stories and blog items about her husband, forwarding them with vicious messages to the communications team. She routinely unleashed profanity-laced tirades on conference calls. “Why the fuck do you think I’d want to go sit outside a Wal-Mart and hand out leaflets?” she snarled at the schedulers.

Rielle Hunter's capture of weak-minded John Edwards...

There was nothing legit, however, about Hunter’s behavior. It was freaky, wildly inappropriate, and all too visible. She flirted outlandishly with every man she met. She spouted New Age babble, rambled on about astrology and reincarnation, and announced to people she had just met, “I’m a witch.” But mostly, she fixated on Edwards. She told him that he had “the power to change the world,” that “the people will follow you.” She told him that he could be as great a leader as Gandhi or Martin Luther King Jr. She told him, “You’re so real. You just need to get your staff out of your way.” She reinforced everything he already believed, told him everything he wanted to hear.

Edwards swooned.

Lying and covering up his affair, first to his staff...

Scher was next to raise the issue, traveling up to New York from Washington and meeting Edwards in his room at the Regency.

“So you think I’m fucking her?” Edwards asked.

Well, are you? Scher pressed.

Edwards said he wasn’t.

...then to his wife...

Always jealous of anyone, male or female, who seemed close to John, Elizabeth watched Hunter working the room. The expression on Mrs. Edwards’s face said: Who is this woman? And what is she doing here? Icily, Elizabeth asked Hunter to back off. “Excuse me, we’re trying to have some privacy,” she said.

Then the first Enquirer story, the one everyone ignored (especially the Democrat-loving Main Stream Media...

Altman called David Pecker, the Enquirer’s publisher. We have evidence, Pecker told Altman. “This thing could have a big impact on this guy, so let’s be triply sure,” Altman said. Pecker replied that he already was.

A little later, Altman’s phone buzzed again. This time it was Elizabeth, in tears.

You must do something about this, she begged. It’s cruel, it’s unfair, and it’s untrue. This is way too much for me. I can’t take it. It’s killing our family. It’s killing me.

Altman was torn up by Elizabeth’s distress. But his hands were tied. “I’m really sorry, Mrs. Edwards,” he said. “I’m really, really sorry.”

Elizabeth's breakdown...

At the terminal, the couple fought in the passenger waiting area. They fought outside in the parking lot. Elizabeth was sobbing, out of control, incoherent. As their aides tried to avert their eyes, she tore off her blouse, exposing herself. “Look at me!” she wailed at John and then staggered, nearly falling to the ground.

John tried to bring down the temperature, remaining calm and impassive, but his apprent standoffishness only seemed to infuriate and disorient Elizabeth more. Finally, after talking to her doctor on the phone, Edwards sent his wife home and flew off to South Carolina.

At this point, late in 2007, Edwards was still a viable Democrat contender, trying to influence his way into a guaranteed VP position at the least; still holding out hope that he could secure the nomination. Until the second National Enquirer story...

Some Edwards aides believed John’s denials, thought the story was too far out to be true. But others decided to stop spinning the candidate’s disavowals to the media, so certain were they that their boss was lying. Too many of them knew that Young had talked openly about having had a vasectomy a few years back. A bit of math and a glance at a calendar made clear that Hunter had gotten pregnant around June, within months of the recurrence of Elizabeth’s cancer.

After the story broke, things went from bad to worse. John and Elizabeth were fighting all the time, sometimes all night long. On more than one occasion, she announced to the staff that she could no longer speak in public on her husband’s behalf or stay in the same hotel with him. Once, in the middle of the night, she woke up a trip director and commanded, Get me out of here! I’m not campaigning for this asshole another day!

Edwards failed in the primaries, but held out hope for some sort of position in either the Obama or Clinton administration...

So Edwards sat there, perched on the fence, squandering his leverage. Making the situation all the more absurd was the birth in late February of Hunter’s baby, a girl she named Frances Quinn—a development that Edwards somehow convinced himself would not preclude his being nominated and confirmed to run the Department of Justice.

Finally, in May, after suffering a blowout loss to Clinton in the West Virginia primary, Obama phoned Edwards and briefly managed to pierce his bubble of delusion. Tomorrow is the last day when your endorsement is going to make a difference, he told Edwards. And what would Edwards get in return? Not much more than a prime-time speaking slot at the Democratic convention.

...a speaking spot that Obama decided, later, to revoke. Because by then the tawdry details were exposed; Edwards was a liar, a jerk, an egomaniac, and, as termed by his own wife...

As for Elizabeth Edwards, she is reportedly now urging John to accede to Hunter’s demands and take responsibility for his paternity of Frances Quinn—a dramatic and no doubt painful turnabout from her position eighteen months ago. Confronted then with the Enquirer photo of her husband cuddling Hunter’s baby, she insisted to Palmieri that she still believed he was not the father. “I have to believe it,” Elizabeth said. “Because if I don’t, it means I’m married to a monster.”

No, dearie, you're married to a Democrat.

---

Words mean things, Chucky. And so do letters.

Charles Schumer wrote a letter June 26 that rattled California's IndyMac BanCorp.'s depositors and started a run on the bank. Despite efforts by IndyMac's regulators to calm the masses, the bank collapsed Friday and was seized by the Office of Thrift Supervision, who turned the bank's assets over to the FDIC.

"The Pasadena, California-based lender specialized in so-called Alt-A mortgages, which didn't require borrowers to provide documentation on their incomes. The demise adds to the crisis caused by the subprime collapse and may mean regulators will have to raise more money to support the federal deposit insurance program that repays customers when a bank fails.

``IndyMac is the vanguard, the precursor of more stuff coming,'' said Christopher Whalen..."

Chucky's role...

The director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, John Reich, blamed IndyMac's failure on comments made in late June by Sen. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.), who sent a letter to the regulator raising concerns about the bank's solvency. In the following 11 days, spooked depositors withdrew a total of $1.3 billion. Mr. Reich said Sen. Schumer gave the bank a "heart attack."

"Would the institution have failed without the deposit run?" Mr. Reich asked reporters. "We'll never know the answer to that question."

We may soon see the failure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, those US Government agencies that buy mortgages and package them as securities. WE, the taxpayers, are already responsible (as guarantors) for IndyMac, and may soon have to eat the Freddie and Fannie pies as well.

"As quoted companies, Fannie and Freddie raise capital through the stock market and issue bonds in the fixed income market just like other companies, but there has always been a fundamental ambiguity about who is ultimately guaranteeing the mortgages.

"Markets have long assumed that, given that they were established by Congress, they will be backstopped by the Government. So if they go bust, and by some measures they are already technically insolvent, either they go under and interest rates rise as the US mortgage market seizes up, or the Government bails them out at vast cost to the budget deficit, which also means rates go up."

If we do have to absorb these losses, you can bet that such Obama Promises as Universal Health Care will be on permanent hold.

There's only so much taxpayers can absorb before the Government backstops fail, and the U.S. Treasury defaults. We should demand that both of the presidential candidate's promises to wide-eyed, expectant, liberal-minded citizens for vaporous Government giveaways -- promises designed primarily to lure these uninformed voters -- need to be backed by hard data that details the funding sources. Otherwise they need to stop promising things that will be impossible to deliver.

Heere Bigynneth the Tale of the Asse-Hatte.

An Archbishop of Canterbury Tale

With apologies to Geoffrey Chaucer

1 Whan in Februar, withe hise global warmynge

2 Midst unseasonabyl rain and stormynge

3 Gaia in hyr heat encourages

4 Englande folke to goon pilgrimages.

5 Frome everiches farme and shire

6 Frome London Towne and Lancanshire

7 The pilgryms toward Canterbury wended

8 Wyth fyve weke holiday leave extended

9 In hybryd Prius and Subaru

10 Off the Boughton Bypasse, east on M2.

Off ye to read the rest. There's much hilarity there; Iowahawk is well-known as possibly the internet's best satyr-ist. His two-part deconstruction of Amanda Marcotte (that's been a year!) is internet lore.

Set down ye coffee mug before travel, ye keyboard may well not survive!

---

Oh, I reworked the Ché Obama flag thing a bit; to reflect Ted Kennedy's misspeaking of his name last year, and to fit in better with the theme of this post...
Keep, for know thee well the Mussel-man
;D

---

Sneak Preview! Dan Collins requests a 'special' John McCain photochop.

It's live at Protein Wisdom.

My wife calls this 'wicked'...

One thing for sure, John McCain won't see this. He's admitted to not knowing anything about PC's, or teh internet. John relies on his wife for PC/internet savvy.

No wonder he doesn't 'get it' when it comes to understanding why Conservatives don't care for him. Does he not know what he said and did 1 month, 1 year, Keating 5 years ago is as close as one's fingertips? People don't forget. If they do, there's someone around to remind 'em of those off-the-cuff remarks that didn't just disappear.

His daughter, Mehgan, has a blog. Should she come across this post, say by G00gling "Senator Hothead Atomic Fireballs" I suggest she tell 'ol Dad about some of the problems he's facing, from a very significant portion of Republicans. No matter what that azzhole Geraldo Rivera says, Conservatives aren't passing soundlessly into the night.

---

Thanks, Dan, for the big shout~!
;D

---

OBONGA !

~Jerry Garcia’s ghost endorses Obama [Karl]@Protein Wisdom~

---

From glendean at Tennesseefree.com, an unusual, unexpected side note...

Ann Coulter is a Deadhead! (NTTAWWT)

From the interview by Taylor Hill at jambands.com...

Taylor Hill: When and how was your first Dead show?

Ann Coulter: I have no recollection of it whatsoever, other than that it was awesome.

TH: When and how was your last Dead show?

AC: I have no recollection of it whatsoever, other than that it was awesome. Actually, my last Dead show wasn't quite a Dead show since Jerry wasn't there, but I flew out to the Jerry Garcia memorial in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco with a fellow Deadhead from D.C. the weekend after Jerry went to the great psychedelic rock concert in the sky. The rest of the band played and it was great to be with my fellow Deadheads. It was very sad after Jerry died, not because I felt like I had a psychic connection to him or anything, but only because something really fun I liked to do, I couldn't do anymore. It would be as if all ski resorts just shut down one day. So the Golden Gate Park memorial was a good way to end it.

TH: How many Dead shows did you see?

AC: I used to keep all my ticket stubs from Dead shows – it was just something Deadheads did, like keeping lists of songs – but I didn't know why. So, in a lunatic cleaning frenzy around 1990, I threw them all out – as if a small section of a drawer devoted to Dead ticket stubs was messing up the whole place. After Jerry died, I said, “Eureka! That's why we keep ticket stubs!” These are usually the sort of factual minutiae Deadheads excel at, but I failed because of my OCD cleaning obsession. So I'm not exactly, precisely 100 percent sure. I frantically tried to figure it out by checking with some of my fellow Deadheads after Jerry died and adding up the number of shows we had been to together, and I estimated it was about 67 shows. And they were awesome.

So, did Ann inhale?

TH: What exactly do you love about the Grateful Dead?

AC: The tie-dye of course. Truth be told I hated tie-dye, though I finally broke down and would wear tie-dyed Dead shirts to concerts solely as a tribute to my fellow Deadheads.

Oddly enough, I like the music. No one believes that I never took drugs at Dead shows (except for the massive clouds of passive marijuana smoke) but I went because I really liked the music. There are various groups I get enthusiastic about for awhile, but of all the music I've listened to over the years, the Grateful Dead is the one band I never grow tired of. Apparently, the same is true of me for ski-lift operators.

Moreover, I really like Deadheads and the whole Dead concert scene: the tailgating, the tie-dye uniforms, the camaraderie – it was like NASCAR for potheads. You always felt like you were with family at a Dead show – a rather odd, psychedelic family that sometimes lived in a VW bus and sold frightening looking “veggie burritos.” But whatever their myriad interests, clothing choices, and interest in illicit drugs, true Deadheads are what liberals claim to be but aren't: unique, free-thinking, open, kind, and interested in different ideas.

I'm not a Deadhead. I am a Pink Floyd 'head', if there's such a thing. Pink Floyd is more cerebral; psychedelica for grown ups...

;D

---

This photoshop's inspiration came from a comment at Rachel Lucas' post entitled "Dear People, have you lost your minds. Love, Rachel". Thanks, Brian.

Rachel's argument is simple...hold your nose, vote for McCain, shut your pieholes, and get over it.

"Just what in the hell kind of crack are Ann Coulter and lots of other conservatives (even the normally brilliant Michelle Malkin) smoking when they say they won’t vote for him if he’s the Republican nominee? Coulter actually said last night on Hannity and Colmes that she would campaign for Hillary instead. Granted, she probably didn’t mean that, but good god damn!

"I’ve read several dozen blogs yesterday and this morning, and there are even comments on my own blog, saying that if McCain is the candidate, they won’t vote at all. ARE YOU PEOPLE SERIOUS?

"Let me get this straight: you’d rather have Hillary Clinton, a bona fide socialist, liar, all-around bad person, as president. You’d rather have Obama, the senator with the most liberal voting record, as president."

Well, yes, Rachel, we are serious. There's a great sucking sound of votes leaving the Republican party, leaving because there is no candidate who is good enough to vote for.

My comment there is solid, and I'll stand by it.

By Para…

"Do you think the country doesn’t sufficiently dislike the Democrats now, and after four years of free sh*t from the Government at the expense of the “wealthiest” Americans will make the voting masses like them less?"

"Your thinking makes as much sense as a screen door on a submarine."

If you present a good case (represented by a good candidate) to the American people, you will secure their votes. That’s how Reagan won against Mondale, overwhelmingly. If our country’s majority is that far gone, to not recognize the difference in governance after 4 years, then I truly fear for the Republic.

McCain has failed to present a case to me that he deserves my vote. My vote symbolizes my own strength of character, and I regard my character (and my vote) to mean something. I don’t want to throw it away, and it’s not for sale. It won’t go to a candidate who doesn’t deserve it. Like JD above, I’m not a Party type of guy.

Until I see McCain acknowledge some of my concerns, he won’t earn my vote.

If McCain is the nominee, he can go a long way towards making amends by correctly choosing a VP who offsets his own conservative marginality by bringing something more Conservative to the ticket. That’s really the next step in this process; Who will he pick?

Until then, my vote is on hold.

I predict that he won’t even recognize the furor his selection brings to those of us who are Conservative, and he will choose poorly, relying on the fat, dumb and happy Republicans who aren’t really Conservative to support him.

Mistake, that.

Yes, Republicans are overlooking what brung them to the dance. But, if McCain has a good handler, then let him suggest to McCain a VP who's Conservative. And I don't mean Huckabee or Romney, either.

I suggest Fred Thompson.

OK, Maverick, look around and see the need for compromise. Or, thanks for playing.

---

cross posted to TennesseeFree

I’ve opposed Rudy Giuliani's candidacy since last February. Rudy was a gun controller first; he flounced his mistress around New York City on the taxpayers’s dime. So much for 'family values', huh? Rudy is the quintessential RINO.

Roosting chickens, and all that. But, it’s not really roosting chickens! If that were the case, then McCain wouldn’t have won Florida's primary last night, and Romney wouldn’t have placed a close second. Thompson would have the nomination sewn up by now, if Rudy had lost for the right reasons.

The Party is adrift in a sea of mediocrity. And destined to lose big time in November.

MADRID (Reuters) - A Spanish driver who collided with a cyclist is suing the dead youth's family $29,300 for the damage the impact of his body did to his luxury car, a Spanish newspaper reported on Friday.

Businessman Tomas Delgado says 17-year-old Enaitz Iriondo caused $20,500 of damage to his Audi A8 in the fatal 2004 crash in La Rioja region, the El Pais newspaper reported.

Delgado, who has faced no criminal charges for the incident, wants a further 6,000 euros to cover the cost of hiring another vehicle while his car was being repaired, El Pais said.

...

His [Iriondo's] family won 33,000 euros compensation from Delgado's insurance company after the firm acknowledged he had been driving at excessive speed and this could have contributed to the incident, El Pais reported.

"I'm also a victim in all of this, you can't fix the lad's problems, but you can fix mine," Delgado told the newspaper, ahead of a January 30 legal decision on his suit.

Well, John Edwards, you've made a career (and a fortune) by winning Personal Injury and Product Liability cases, and you've done so much for promoting affordable Health Care with your smarmy Medical Malpractice cases, that after you pick yourself up off the floor on Super Tuesday, you can feel heartened to know you're still marketable. If not here in the U.S., there's always Europe.

Or, back to the cry[o] chamber...

---

Darrel Ng, Fred's spokesperson (who's out of a job right now) has bitten into a chokecherry over Norris' previous endorsement of Huckabee. This 'boycott call' is a bit late, and not in good form. Not that I care much for Huckholio, or Norris for that matter, but calling out Norris for his endorsement this late in the game (which for Ng, is certainly, hopefully, over) is just nugacious.

Ng should've been content to watch Chuck Norris get his ass kicked a couple times. I always enjoy recalling this particular scene, featuring Bruce Lee batting Chuck about like a kitten playing with a knickknackery.

---

h/t Allahpundit

Who did you expect this bunch to endorse? The NYT is a failing institution; every year brings fewer readers and less influence. Really, the New York Times Sucks.

From a conservative point of view, NYT's given me another reason to shun McCain. If the Leftist Gray Ghost Lady supports McCain's campaign platform, that's a negative by definition. Thanks, NYT, McCain just lost more supporters.

Clinton's endorsement was a little surprising; but there must be some residual favors this creaking old battle-ax owes to Bill. This NYT endorsement is the latest reason to shun Clinton, and support Barack Obama.

At least in the short-term; until what, February 6th?

;D

It's a fact, now, that we who espouse social conservatism are left high and dry by the early departure of Fred Thompson. With Tennessee's primary election open, I've decided to vote for Barack Obama.

No, it's not a throw-away vote. A throw-away vote is an early vote that went to Fred Thompson. A throw-away vote is one to Ron Paul, or Mitt Romney, or Huckholio, or that other guy with the white hair and the fine gold chains to his leftist friends, the RINO choice of the media. No, I'm not really caring about who gets Tennessee's primary delegates. I do have a desire to vote against Hillary Clinton.

Because of the years of Bill Clinton! Because of the Clinton Assault Weapon Gun Ban. Because of Bill Clinton's disrespect for the Office of the President. Because of Bill Clinton's failure to nab Bin Laden on the two occasions where opportunity was there.

Yes, I want to vote against the Clintons. Again.

---

Now, when the general election rolls around, we'll see what's left of the Republican party after the (hopefully) contentious convention. Maybe they'll be no clear winner, and a Conservative will be drafted (Newt Gingrich comes to mind.)

If McCain sweeps Florida, and Super Tuesday, and takes the nomination? Just, damn.

But I will have voted against Hillary Clinton once this year. I can say that with a smile.
;D

---

Ahhh, too much sadness today, with the death of Sean Taylor; the "Land for Peace Revisited" Palestinian terrorist support package George Bush is eagerly pushing (for to salvage some of his legacy, some say), while

"Tens of thousands of Hamas supporters chanted "Death to America" in a Gaza City rally. The marchers, including women in black robes and full face veils, raised their index fingers heavenward in a sign of Islamic devotion, as they denounced the Annapolis conference as a sellout of Palestinian dreams."

That's reminiscent of a direction we're seeing here in the USA. Works for leftists in Washington, Seattle, Portland...why not Gaza City?

Then, in Chavezuala, the Dictator is ensuring his electoral victories with a few casual threats to shut down the media and take all cash from anyone who doesn't kiss his ring. Hardly amusing when you recall his links to Iran (therefore al-Qaeda) and anyone else who hates Americans and their interests (that's over half the city of San Francisco...)

Some good news: Iowahawk has a new post up, with his found-nowhere-else style of elocution, reflecting some most excellent intolerance of those lovely intolerant Hollywood Holiday movies. This paragraph is...to die for...

""These new films are complex and challenge our cherished assumptions about Christmas," said Scott. "But American audiences can't deal with anything that isn't mindless escapism. Americans want their movies simple, with fart jokes and boobies. Face it, west of the Hudson this country is a vast group home of 300 million drooling retards. No matter how many times you pile them in the shortbus, drive them to the mall, and herd them into the cineplex to watch a daring, groundbreaking film that fearlessly points out just what a bunch of violent, soulless retards they really are, before you can collect their ticket money they've escaped and gone wandering off to spend it all at Hot Topic and Sports Authority.""

That, my friends, is the writing style I would give portions of someone else's anatomy to emulate. Ummm, where's Dan Collins?

As much chance of that as I would have finding some of this undercover...happily scarfed from BMEWS, these pictures will definitely improve the quality of this post, and bring a smile to my stone face. From BMEWS, where the late Skipper famously posted weekend photos of his favorite lady lovelies, none of them safe for work (all of those posts were pulled after his death) we find images of Salma Hayek and [gasp] a caption contest.

Of course, to set the mood for my caption entry, I had to post all of the pictures (didn't I?) From BMEWS:

Actress Salma Hayek introduced her baby Valentina Paloma Pinault to the world today. Valentina was born just two months ago. Ms. Hayek is enaged to Francois Henri Pinault, a multibillionare. Pinault is the CEO of PPR, a luxury goods company that owns Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Stella McCartney, Balenciaga, a french department store and a national music chain. Ms. Hayek is also a Golden Globe-winning producer on ABC’s “Ugly Betty,” on which she makes the occasional guest appearance. Mother and child seem to be doing just fine.

With little further ado, I present Salma Hayek's new baby girl Valentina, and her perfect reply to all of us who practice pulchritude...

Sigh.....

OK, I'm watching the debate.

Live, late, but we're on Abortion right now. Mom, unborn child, we have to have compassion without Abortion. Huckabee says we need an amendment. Protect, value, respect, and celebrate life.

That's a good point, Huckabee...respect life in a womb or a Coal Mine.


gun control, Guiliani...

Safe with Gun Control, Guiliani? HA! New York isn't safer with Gun Control. Second Amendment is validated by Giuliani! States have the rights. Criminals are the enemy. Right on, there, are you seeing the light?

Who's this guy? Federal Government messed up the whole 911 thing, not allowing guns on planes! Great cheer...great statement. I gotta re-hear that one...

Brownback wants to ban Gay Marriage. Gets booed. Tough, he's right. Family structure is important, the Family means raising kids. Gays can't have kids, at least not normal ones...so, Gays get the shaft (groan) but familys get the marriage Amendment! I like this guy.

Commercial break...

University of New Hampshire...I didn't realize that's where this is. I came in late.

McCain gets on board, talks Giuliani. He's here, but playing never-to-catch-up. He knows, it shows in his face. He can't win, and knows....

Giuliani, on the experience question. Are you going to Iraq? Hopes so. Has respect for McCain (lies well...) Running to win, New York is his 3rd largest nation, his experience. I don't know if NYC is that good for him.

Mitt Romney, on the Surge. Quiksand question...troop level is the question. If the surge works, then we can pull back. His answer is a some kind of mess!

McCain supports the troops, says the surge is working. Good man. Hope he's right.

Ron Paul, that's the old guy. Didn't know him, but that's not surprising. Why's he still here? No chance to win...Worse thing we can do? Listen to Ron Paul. Mind our own business? Pull out the troops? Take our marching orders from...AlQaeda? GET THE HOOK! PULL THIS GUY!

Brownback on the Iraq question...Long-term postion on Iraq, wants to stick around with the Kurds. Hmmmph...stick around if we need to.

Senator McCain thrown a bone by...who's this guy? Our country's honor is at stake; stay in for our honor. Good sentiment.

Ron Paul again...our honor hijacked by the neocons? Screw Ron Paul! Correct this mistake, pull Ron Paul from the debate! Is this guy a KOS stand-in? Jeez, and he's running for Republican Candidate?

Hunter...responding...
Hunter looks a bit like Mr. Spock, huh?
But he says the surge is Working, with examples. 'If you think we'e going to be there for along time, you don't understand the Marines'! Good line...

Tancredo. Not my favorite pundit, or whatever he really is. Disengage as the police force in Iraq? Has a good point, bringing in the true cause of our attack...radical Islam. Great point, that's our real enemy in this conflict.
I need a break...now, the audience participation. For Romney...compare son's.

Romney...red tie, apologies for whatever he said last month, again. Hmmmph....missed it. Must not have been important. We must overcome Jihad, again a good line. Wait for Petraeus' report.
Attacks Democrats, for early zaps of Petraeus.

Again, Romney is focusing on the enemy, in their mosques. Go for them, there.

Next, Tancredo.
Not much impressive stuff there...

Next, back to McCain.
McCain is still a good talker, on torture. He's still hurting. You can tell.

Guiliani. zzzz.
Hunter. Terrorists in Guantanamo, gaining weight, keep it open. Good for him, good line!\

Who is this guy?

Tax Reform...McCain, Tax Reform...why didn't he sign for Tax Reform?

'I pledge...veto...Pork...'
OK, McCain, but you'll never get a chance to have a veto. Period.

Guliani, on the Tax Pledge.
Lower Taxes, in NY. Made it work. Lowered 23 different taxes.
Break Time, for me.

Taxes, like Death, are inevitable. and boring...

Huh? Huckabee...Huh? Fair Tax...zzzz.
ding...ding.

Ron Paul.
This. Guy. Paul. is a Nut.
ding.ding.

Giuliani...I gather that question is for me? HaHa!

Brit Hume. I really can't stand anything he postulates.

RonPaul comes in again...WTF?

Tancredo...Policial Correctness will get us killed.

Mr. Spock...

Huckabee....

on Iran, I can't allow Nuclear Power.

Did anyone say that?

McCain...he's close to saying, we can't allow Iran to have Nuclear Weapons.

If Iran gets and uses Nuclear weapons, it's over.

So's the debate.

Yeah, I'm a little behind, already, in thanking Iowahawk for naming me to a post on his future Administration: "Director of the National Handgun Violence taskforce, Serr8d."

Such an appointment is a serious responsibility; it takes a few serious weapons to prevent Violence that might come from any source: from the average 'Street Thug' who simply wants something he hasn't earned; to the runaway ter'rist threat that might pop up unannounced at your BBQ if Democrats allow al Qaeda to get a foothold in our front door (whilst they prepare to hide in their basements).

This basic set of no-nonsense American Iron (mostly American) should be a part of every American's personal self-defense repertoire...

Couple good .45 ACP standards: the Colt Series '70 and the Springfield Compact, should be fine for personal carry and Homeland defense. Remember to keep these away from kids who haven't yet learned to mind, and if you don't have a gun in your immediate possession, keep it locked away. A gun can't defend itself from theives, after all; it needs you there to pull the trigger.

There's also a .380 Beretta, a bit clunky by today's standards but perfect for those tackleboxes or brief cases (or purses) if you have your (highly recommended) concealed carry permit. If your state doesn't have provisions for carry, then move. I'll definitely bother President Burge (via VP Goldstein) to quickly implement a nationwide concealed carry law; and a mandantory 30-year jail sentence for crooks who use guns in the course of a felony. Rappers get 50 years...and a jail cell with pumped-in 24HR Country Music. I'll pick the rotation...Hank Sr., Hank Snow, Jim Reeves, Eddie Arnold, and maybe a couple others from the late '60's...oh, not to forget 'Tennessee' Ernie Ford! Man, that's some good rehabilitation...

Well, the two stainless toys...of course, a Ruger Mark II for practice, and plinking. Lots of it. There's not a tack I can't ping with that well-worn driver...

The big guy is the Smith & Wesson 629, with Mag-na-Porting and a scope to get out there over a couple hundred yards. Now, I reload, and there's some range to be had from the venerable .44 Magnum, with the proper handloads. She's not a .460, but then again I haven't wanted to upgrade. But feel free to get one of these...a Smith & Wesson .460 XVR





So, as far as Violence Prevention goes, the best bet is to follow the rules of Law, don't be an idiot, and remember, Darwin is looking over your left shoulder when you mess with an armed American with a Handgun. Don't Do It.

Be Safe. Remember, a vote for Burge is a vote for AMERICA!

UPDATE HERE! Iowahawk's Director of the National Handgun Violence Taskforce, speaking...

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It's on, folks, the Midwest's best Carbon-Generating Fuel-Consuming Blog Writer in fine print today, has thrown his wit into the Presidential Race!


And lead us he can! He's solved the Environmental Scientist overbuildup issue, with enough of 'em left over to cure overblown AIDS and, just maybe, get us back to the Moon, with those big Saturn V boosters he's using on his farm equipment...

"The scientific debate is over: man-made global warming is real. Finally! This means we can now stop paying for all those expensive redundant research projects to prove global warming. Not only will this save over $2 billion dollars per year in federal spending, we will see significant reductions in CO2 as unemployed global warming scientists sell off their Volvos and move to mud huts.

To further help reduce the nation's carbon footprint, I will order the Environmental Protection Agency to bulldoze the mansions of Al Gore, John Edwards, John Kerry, and Laurie David, and convert them to more eco-friendly use as free public drag strips."

That's just the tip of this melting IceBurge...

Today, our esteemed candidate picked Jeff Goldstein as Veep

"As my Vice President, Jeff will preside over the US Senate, lead policy initiatives, and act as my personal anti-assassination insurance policy."

Indeed, that's insurance better than Lloyds of London, and allows Mr. Burge to forgo any Secret Service protection...of the male sort. There's always room for the ladies, especially those who carry Uzis and and Grenade Launchers!

Get on over there, and read the endorsements from all over the Internet! (well, at least from those who appreciate the best America can offer; Hot Rods, Beautiful Women, and Strong Liquor), and who can resist a party plank like this one:

“Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms” should be a convenience store, not a Federal Agency."

There you go.

It's a movement. Fred, you've sat around long enough to allow some real competition to emerge!

Aren't you sorry you didn't jump sooner?

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Oh, and The Sticker: Dan Collins emailed me with the 'specs for the contest and his design ideas; I just put it together.
What better post than to put in one of the 'Gilmore Greats' I've been sitting on? This one's a real Doozy...