Even My Darling Wife Had To Laugh

In Hawaii, the Libertarian candidate for President got 2.5% of the vote.  He only barely made 2% in a few states on the mainland.  5% is the threshhold for public funding next time.

Headline from Yahoo! News: "Johnson runs most successful Libertarian campaign in history"

The affectionate term is "Losertarian" for very, very good reason.  Nobody knows like a Libertarian exactly who will NOT be winning in any given political race.  We need at least one third party, but I am afraid Libertarian is not going to be it, given their very long association with dismal failure at all levels.

Well, What Did You THINK Would Happen?

Congratulations, Republicans.  You selected the worst of all possible choices to be your candidate, and he lost.  AGAIN.  Fuck you very much.

The country is currently on the fast track to "screwed."  Let's see what the New Boss does with all those environmental regulations he put off until after the election, eh?

November 6, 2012 Travis County, Texas Voter's Guide

As this is the Most Important Election of Our Lifetime, is this VoteForDavid’s most important Voter’s Guide EVAR?  Well if so we’re in deep trouble.  Or something.  I compiled this guide, like the others I've posted here before, for my benefit.  For a change, I didn't post it for your benefit.  I hope you managed to muddle through without me.  Without further ado:

These are the notes I made for myself, for the races where I live, plus a couple for Travis County elections I have comments on.  You people are on your own for the rest.  Not that you will voted anyway.  The URLs are where I found the sample ballots.

http://www.traviscountyclerk.org/eclerk/content/images/sample_ballots/2012.11.06_G12_General_Bedsheet.pdf

Travis County Clerk Elections Division
November 6, 2012 Joint General and Special Elections

Straight Party  - Only if you are a fool.  I hit the straight party button because it filled in most of my selections for me.

President
This is a wasted vote, no matter how you cast it.  If you are a Christian you have nobody to vote for.  If you are an American and not a Christian, vote for Romney.  All the others are destined to lose or are evil, or both.  I voted for the Losertarian on the off chance they might get 5% of the total, and so we could theoretically have a third party with public funding . . . next time.

United States Senator
 Ted Cruz - REP - This is a no-brainer.

District 17, United States Representative
Bill Flores - REP – vote for Bill Flores.  His website is full of stuff that reads like election year soundbytes, but at least I agree with most of them.
Ben Easton – LIB – like most libertarians, goes too far toward the “Liberty” side of the equation.  Vote for him if you like this sort of thing.  Note: he will lose, because he is running a campaign on principles instead of money.  Sad but true.

Railroad Commissioner
Christi Craddick - REP – by process of elimination my vote goes to Christi Craddick.  Not a bad candidate, but this isn’t exactly a vote FOR.
Dale Henry - DEM – Old, too old.  Sorry old people.  He’s going to be 80-dead by the time the next election rolls around.
Vivekananda “Vik” Wall - LIB – a believer in glowbull warmening has no place on my Railroad Commission!
Chris Kennedy - GRN – it looks like the Green party is about as sophisticated at getting candidates to have campaign websites as the Libertarians were a few years ago (hint: not at all)

Railroad Commissioner, Unexpired Term
Barry Smitherman - REP – As I recommended in my previous voters guides, please keep Commissioner Smitherman in his position.
Jaime O. Perez - LIB – For a huge change, a Libertarian with a website!  Not a CAMPAIGN website, more of a blog/screed site where he denounces the evils of modern fiscal policy.
Josh Wendel – GRN – on the ballot, but apparently not running a campaign?  If you want to WIN, you have to RUN!

Place 2, Justice, Supreme Court
Don Willett - REP – please keep Justice Willett in his position on the court.
RS Roberto Koelsch – LIB – another Libertarian not taking campaign contributions is another libertarian who will lose.

Place 4, Justice, Supreme Court
John Devine - REP – the candidate who has been a judge.  Everybody else is a n00b.  This guy.
Tom Oxford - LIB
Charles E. Waterbury - GRN

Place 6, Justice, Supreme Court
Nathan Hecht - REP – Please keep Justice Hecht on the court
Michele Petty - DEM – says she likes to do what she thinks is right, regardless of precedent.  Not good.
Mark Ash - LIB
Jim Chisholm - GRN

Presiding Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals
Sharon Keller - REP - She's there, let's keep her.  She made a single controversial call and that's about all the opposition has to say against her.
Keith Hampton - DEM
Lance Stott - LIB

Place 7, Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals
Barbara Parker Hervey - REP – Please vote for Judge Hervey
Mark W. Bennett – LIB – Spouts off personal opinions on matters about which he might have to issue court opinions.  Horrible judgement for a JUDGE candidate.

Place 8, Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals
Elsa Alcala - REP – I’ll be voting for her this time.
William Bryan Strange, III - LIB

This is one of the few times I will put my check in the “R” box and move on.  Both seem to be decent candidates, with Judge Alcala having the slight advantage of currently BEING a judge.

District 10, Member, State Board of  Education
Tom Maynard - REP – I was for him during the primary, and I am still for him.  See my first 2012 voter’s guide for the reasoning.
Judy Jennings – DEM

District 14, State Senator
Kirk Watson - DEM – not the worst Democrat out there, but still somewhat typical.  I’m not a Democrat
Ryan M. Dixon – LIB – I’m voting FOR Ryan Dixon for District 14.  I’m also not a Libertarian, but I agree with a lot of what he has to say.

District 46, State Representative
Dawnna Dukes - DEM – not the worst Democrat out there but still a Democrat.  As long as Democrat = “social justice” and leftist policies in general, we need fewer of these.
Andy Fernandez – LIB – seriously?  He looks to be about 12 years old and is (surprise) a Libertarian without a website. 

For a change, I will NOT be casting a ballot for State Representative.  This is a shameful place for our State to be but here we are: a child vs. a democrat.

Place 2, Justice, 3rd Court of Appeals District
Jeff Rose - REP – is in the job and I haven’t heard anything bad about him.  Let’s keep him.
J. Andrew Hathcock – DEM

Place 3, Justice, 3rd Court of Appeals District
Scott Field - REP – His website reads like a judge’s should.  Bonus points for intentionally taking cases from civil litigation and appellate fields, and serving as a lawyer for defense and prosecution. 
Diane Henson – DEM – listening to her makes me a little sick to my stomach.  Looking at her doesn’t make it any better.  Video at HIS website.

Both are career lawyers, and she has been on this bench for a term.  I’m pulling out my “R” and “Y” cards and he gets my vote.  “Y” card: that chromosome, he has it.  Yes it’s sexist.  Deal with it.  He was my pick in the primary election too ;)

Place 5, Justice, 3rd Court of Appeals District
David Puryear - REP – keep Justice Puryear on the job for six muryear.  Bad pun intended.
Karen L. Watkins - DEM

Place 6, Justice, 3rd Court of Appeals District
Bob Pemberton - REP – Keep Justice Pemberton on the court also!
Bryan Case - DEM

Sheriff
Raymond Frank - REP –seems like a solid candidate, if rather VERY old for taking on a new job
Greg Hamilton - DEM – I will be voting for Greg Hamilton AGAIN.  Yes, a Democrat, yes again.  He is in the office and seems to be doing a decent job, plus he has big ideas for the next four years.
Jaclyn L. Finkel – LIB – wow another Libertarian without so much as a website.  Way to get on the ballot, guys!

County Tax Assessor-Collector
Vik Vad - REP – I like all his talk about making this slice of the government more efficient.  Let’s let him try.
Bruce Elfant - DEM – If Vad were not running, I could vote for him with reservations.  Let’s be honest, it says something about your personality if you physically resemble a pig.
Mike Burris – LIB – a Libertarian with a website!  Oh wait, that’s the website for his 2010 run for Treasurer.  No, back to ‘another Libertarian without a campaign website’

Precinct 2, Constable
Toby J. Miller - REP – I would have been happy with either of the Republican candidates and will happily vote for Miller this November.
Adan Ballesteros - DEM – Almost anyone would be a better candidate than this guy.
Raul “Roy” Camacho – LIB – If there were no Republican in this race I would be all about voting for Camacho, but there IS a Republican in this race.  Here’s hoping Camacho doesn’t turn out to be a spoiler and give us Ballesteros again!

The Democrats have done quite a job of being the only ones running for various judgeships.  This sucks, but where were YOU when the primary season came and went?

http://www.traviscountyclerk.org/eclerk/content/images/sample_ballots/2012.11.06_G12_Other_Bedsheet.pdf

Travis County Clerk Elections Division
November 6, 2012 Joint General and Special Elections
For Austin Community College, Austin I.S.D., Round Rock I.S.D., Travis County M.U.D. No. 18, North Austin M.U.D. No. 1, Wells Branch M.U.D., Lakeside M.U.D. No. 3, Williamson-Travis Counties M.U.D. No. 1, Southeast Travis County M.U.D. No. 1 & No. 2, Tanglewood Forest Limited District, Travis County WCID- Point Venture, Westbank Community Library District, Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District

Remember as you read these proposed proposals, $1.50 per $100 of assessed property value is about $250 a year out of your pocket for EACH measure.  Do you really have that to spare?   If you can think of another way to accomplish the purpose for which they propose the tax, vote AGAINST it and let them try again the more-efficient way next year.

SOUTHEAST TRAVIS COUNTY MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT NO. 1, CONFIRMATION ELECTION, SYSTEM FACILITIES BOND ELECTION, MAINTENANCE TAX ELECTION, PARK AND RECREATIONAL FACILITIES BOND ELECTION, ROAD BOND ELECTION AND PERMANENT DIRECTORS ELECTION

This election is to decide whether the voters of Precinct 402 would like to have TWO new taxing bodies to take their money, and then they will all be voting themselves $31,106,650 worth of community indebtedness as well as an annual NEW tax of about $500/year for each family.  Level-headed individuals will vote AGAINST all these proposals.  They will probably all pass with a handy majority.

SOUTHEAST TRAVIS COUNTY MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT NO. 2 CONFIRMATION ELECTION, SYSTEM FACILITIES BOND ELECTION, MAINTENANCE TAX ELECTION, PARK AND RECREATIONAL FACILITIES BOND ELECTION, ROAD BOND ELECTION AND A PERMANENT DIRECTORS
ELECTION

This election is to decide whether the voters of Precinct 401 would like to have TWO new taxing bodies to take their money, and then they will all be voting themselves $46,522,233 worth of community indebtedness as well as an annual NEW tax of about $500/year for each family.  You may guess my opinion on this subject.


http://www.traviscountyclerk.org/eclerk/content/images/sample_ballots/2012.11.06_G12_Cities_Bedsheet.pdf

Travis County Clerk Elections Division
November 6, 2012 Joint General and Special Elections
For Central Health, Cities of Austin, Lakeway, Lago Vista, Jonestown, Pflugerville, Village of Point Venture, Village of Spicewood Canyon
 CENTRAL HEALTH TAX RATIFICATION ELECTION
All precincts
PROP. 1, CENTRAL HEALTH
Approving the ad valorem tax rate of $0.129 per $100 valuation in Central Health, also known as the Travis County Healthcare District, for the 2013 tax year, a rate that exceeds the district’s rollback tax rate. The
proposed ad valorem tax rate exceeds the ad valorem tax rate most recently adopted by the district by $0.05 per $100 valuation; funds will be used for improved healthcare in Travis County, including support for a new medical school consistent with the mission of Central Health, a site for a new teaching hospital, trauma
services, specialty medicine such as cancer care, community-wide health clinics, training for physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals, primary care, behavioral and mental healthcare, prevention and
wellness programs, and/or to obtain federal matching funds for healthcare services.

Please vote AGAINST Proposition 1.  The University has a billion dollars in the bank.  If they want a few hundred million dollars to build a hospital, let them write a check!  This will be, to put it bluntly, a combination of a hospital to serve homeless people and illegal aliens, and a research facility that the University could pay for out of pocket.  The SECOND largest hospital group in the city has come out against this.  Guess which hospital group benefits from it?  Hint: it rhymes with “diggest”

PROP. 3, CITY OF AUSTIN
Shall the city charter be amended to provide for the election of council members from 10 geographical
single-member districts, with the mayor to be elected from the city at large, and to provide for an independent citizens redistricting commission?

Vote YES on Proposition 3 if you like the idea of representative government.  If you like the bicycle lobby and the rich folks in Terrytown to continue to run your city into the ground, then vote No.

PROP. 4, CITY OF AUSTIN
Shall the city charter be amended to provide for the election of council members from eight geographical single-member districts, with the mayor and two additional council members to be elected from the city at large?

Vote NO on Proposition 4.  This is a head-fake by the people currently running the city to distract you from the better proposal in Proposition 3. 

PROP. 10, CITY OF AUSTIN
Shall the city charter be amended to provide a civil service system for most city employees who are not already covered by a state civil service statute?
PROP. 11, CITY OF AUSTIN
Adoption of the emergency medical services personnel civil service law.

Vote AGAINST Propositions 10 and 11.  Civil service laws = government employee unions.  If you think your city services suck now, just wait.  You haven’t SEEN inefficiency and poor treatment of the Citizen until you’ve seen the government employee figure out they can’t be fired thanks to a fat union deal on their behalf.

The next section (Propositions 12 through 18) is nearly guaranteed to all pass, because bond measures in Austin ALWAYS pass. This is a series of elections for Austinites to add $385 MILLION to their community indebtedness.   Most of it SHOULD fail, and the City should be made to do what it can with LESS money, not more. Buuuut that’s not who Austinites are, so:

LOL it’s all monopoly money anyway and it doesn’t come out of MY paycheck!  APPROVE ALL THE BONDS!!!!!


CITY OF PFLUGERVILLE GENERAL ELECTION
COUNCIL MEMBER, PLACE 3, CITY OF PFLUGERVILLE
Vote for one
Omar Peña - I almost didn't take the time to read the other candidates' websites to see what they had to say.  This guy, and this guy by a mile!

TOMORROW You Will Learn of the "Redskins Rule"

Today the only people happy to report on the so-called "Redskins rule" were right-wing talk show hosts.  17 of 18 times the Redskins lose, the opposition candidate wins the Presidential election.  Well, now that the NFL says they should have won, you will hear lots of interested speculation throughout the next few days as to how valid the rule should be considered to be.

What you will still not hear is, every time the election is held on November 6th, the Republican wins.

New Jersey Won Handily By President Obama

Citizens of New Jersey displaced by the recent storm will be allowed to vote by e-mail.  What's the worst that could happen?  At least they are pretenting to try to do it right, treating it like a rapid-turnaround ballot-by-mail type deal.  I guess this is the only alternative for those who, like NJ, have exploding-head syndrome when they hear the alternative in some places is to go cast your vote inside a repurposed MILITARY truck.

Just Maybe, I Was Wrong?

I have called this election a landslide for Romney, with low turnout.  Apparently not everyone is as unhappy about Romney being the candidate as am I.  I may have been wrong.

I'm still calling a win for Romney, don't get me wrong but I've been hearing these reports - and then today happened.  I kept hearing people all over the USA say it was crowded when they went to vote early.  Today I went to swing by the nearest early voting location after work (yes, I have a voter's guide, no I haven't posted it yet, yes I am waiting for Christmas).  There were cars literally around the block at the polling place.  The line to vote was back-and-forth across a 30 foot room several times and out the door.  This was the same as I saw on Election Day, 2010.  Mission downgraded to: get a sample ballot to make sure I knew all the votes I was going to cast.  Cruise into the parking lot.  20 seconds later, cruise out of parking lot.  Parking lot full.  

For EARLY voting. 

I now think this may election may have quite a high turnout rate.

Speaking of What Well-Run Military Strategerie

The latest twist is:

One of the ex-SEALs that disobeyed orders not to go help at the Consulate in Benghazi died because he was spotted by a mortar crew.  The mortar crew that was shelling the Consulate.  The mortar crew he was actively painting with a laser target designator.  They saw his targeting laser and had time to re-aim and fire on him. 

He will have watched them adjusting their aim to hit him.  He likely saw the round launched that killed him.

Why did he stay?

You don't just shine a laser target designator on bad guys in hope that somebody in the sky might see it.  You light up a target when you KNOW a weapon is up there, ready to rain death on a target - THEN you light them up.  This man was a pro-feshinul fighter and he knew what to do with that designator.  It is nearly certain that he KNEW there was a weapons platform in the air, and that they were ready to rain hot death on the peacefulreligionofpeace mortar crew.  Speculation is that there was either an armed drone overhead, or maybe an AC-130 gun ship. 

That aircraft did not fire its weapons.  Did the same "smart diplomacy" and "a gutsy call" leadership team who ordered the CIA Annex to NOT go help the Consulate, also tell the aircraft to hold its fire?

If so, why?

HUGE News, Film at Never

FOX News broke the news: there were THREE separate phone call requests up the chain of command from the CIA Annex about a mile away from the consulate in Benghazi.

The agents heard gunshots and requested to be allowed to go help.  Denied

The agents disobeyed an order to stand down (sit on their hands and listen to the fighting) and went.  They rescued who they could, and brought back a corpse.  They asked for help.  And again.  Denied, and Denied.

We know now that there was a drone flying overhead watching the whole mess unfold, and that it was being watched in the USA at the State department, and probably in the White House Situation Room.  We are being told by the Obama Administration spokesmouths that we didn't have enough information to mount a response.  We are told They didn't get any military assistance moving toward the consulate even though 24 different recipients got e-mailed messages, because "it could take hours" to sort through all the intelligence, before someone might finally stumble across the message of the attack underway.

Then shortly after this news broke today, a caller came on the Rush Limbaugh show ("Doug") and claimed to be the sort of person who used to be in places where this sort of thing could happen.  He said, there were a hundred high-speed low-drag Operators that could all be on the ground with all their gear - killing goblins within 5 hours, probably a few dozen could have been there within a couple of hours.  He said, there is a Protocol.  When a certain type of classified "flash traffic" message is sent and the Ambassador is declared to be In Distress, there is a man on watch at the White House.  He gets this message and hands it to the guy next to him and says

"Get this information to POTUS"

The protocol is very likely to be strictly defined, probably down to the exact verbiage to be used.  The message is required to be handed directly from messenger to messenger, all the way to a man standing beside the President of the United States, within minutes.  There is ZERO chance this communication sat unread in any inbox waiting to be sorted through and found.

President
Obama
KNEW - IMMEDIATELY

And 

Did nothing.

THAT'S why the cover-up.

********
If we had a neutral press, he would be forced to resign tomorrow.  If.

Going To Let Joe Just Be Joe?

So apparently it is okay to be rude, now.  Because Joe Biden was sure rude to Paul Ryan.  Make that, the man a heartbeat away from being the most powerful man in the world, was very rude to a member of the national legislature, on one of the most-viewed televised events of the day.  On purpose.

Rush says Biden was a very appealing debater, to the kooks in the core of the Democrat party.  Maybe.  I wonder if the obamaphone crow-voice lady would have been laughing at the 80+ times he interrupted his opponent.

The Narrative Falls Apart

The operators at the Department of State have refused to fall on their swords.  You remember how the murderous attack on our consulate in Libya was officially designated as the result of spontaneous protests over a movie nobody saw since its release several months ago?  Yeah, now it is coming out that State had NO intelligence to that effect and the Administration was LYING.

It was, in fact, a coordinated attack on the anniversary of 9/11, AND the now-dead Ambassador had REPEATEDLY requested better security and been denied. And the private local security people gave up the secret location of our hiding Ambassador. As our sensitive documents blow around on the ground, unsecured even still today, CNN told us how the Ambassador's journal recorded his security concerns leading up to the day.  The 'spontaneous protest' story is unravelled, and it is increasingly clear it was made-up.  State says they didn't make it up, and they were testifying before Congress as I write this.  They will be telling the truth or risk going to prison - and they didn't make it up.  This leaves a shortening list of people who came up with this story.  It includes various people who are or who want to be President of the United States of America.

This is not Soviet Russia.  This is America (still, for now) and we have the Internet (still, for now). You can't DO this sort of thing here and expect to get away with it. The only people who will buy the first official "movei protest" line a month from now are the low-informed voters who are voting for Obama regardless of anything.  He could rape and murder a school full of little boys and they would vote for him.  For everyone else, he has damaged his reputation very badly with this very badly-done cover-up.

IF "they" will knowingly make up stories and LIE about this event . . . about what else are you being misled?

we knew in first 24 hours that it was planned, not a result of the protesting.  First thing heard at embassy was explosion, gunfire.  Obama KNEW an attack was underway, and he . . . went to bed for the night, to get a good night's sleep.  THIS is the reason.  He is demonstrably -from this event alone- not suited to be the Commander-In-Chief of the most powerful military force on the planet.  But . . . if you could manipulate the Press into convincing the People it were just some protest gone out of hand and the guy with a rocket launcher just happened to show up, that is maybe not as bad as going to sleep when your people are under surprise attack.

P.S. going around spending our taxpayer dollars to tell people about the excuse/cover video story and getting them all worked-up, leading to days/weeks of violent protests all around the muslim world does NOT quite qualify as "smart diplomacy."  We'll see if Secretary Mrs. Clinton ends up under the bus on this one.

Let's Hope He's Wrong (for a change)

Mish has called an electoral college landslide for Obama. God forbid!

Mitt Romney Wins 3:1 Landslide Victory over Obama!!!1!

Borepatch puts more than his intuitive hunch to work and comes up with a landslide victory for Mitt Romney. I have said before, it would not surprise me to see a landslide win with very low turnout. Very, very low for the Democrats vs. moderate numbers for the Republicans. We'll see. If it weren't for the power over the rules made and enforced (or ignored) by the executive branch and the power to appoint judges, I wouldn't care about this election either way. Not that I don't care; that's just how big a Romney fan I am.

Obama Campaign Wants You To Dislike Mormons.

Well, they did until Buzzfeed asked about it, and then the helpful suggestion was yanked off the Dashboard . . . but the Internet never forgets.
*********
Gee, if only someone could have guessed that those on Obama's side would try to make you dislike mormonism because Mitt is one. Oh wait, I did. Except I thought the actual campaign people would be decent enough to leave it alone and let the Press exploit the issue. No, that would be the actual campaign workers, encouraged to highlight the differences between LDS and Christianity. Well I guess somebody had to be first, and the campaign beat the press to it.

They will, of course, leave Catholics alone because both Ryan and Biden are them. Discussing Obama's reigion is old news, so why bother? Right? I mean didn't we run a 10-second spot once talking about it?

Hat tip: Instapundit.

Election 2012 is Over. Romney Won.

By choosing Ryan as his veep, Romney has declared his future Presidency will be fundamentally serious. Ryan is a man people will vote for, who didn't care enough to get out and vote for Romney. I know many, many people who voted for McCain because Palin was the second name on the ticket. But Palin is no Ryan. Ryan is not schtick like Palin was**, and it just may be that Romney isn't an intentional fall-guy like McCain turned out to be.

There are reports of tremendously higher enthusiasm for the Romney/Ryan ticket than for the Obama/whoever ticket. This, plus that, means to me that Romney wins*. As they say in Las Vegas, "It just got interesting."

But I still can't vote for a mormon**, so you all can go on ahead and enjoy your presidential win without me. Your enjoyment will certainly by tinged with doubts and fears, however, because the national press corps will suddenly take an interest in reporting whatever negative thing they can spin off of the next President.
********
*Unless the voting machines are either rigged or hacked, neither of which I put past either side or any of the international powers currently capable of doing it. Will somebody tell me again why e-voting machines don't all automatically spit out verifiable, man-countable PAPER "one voter cast such-and-such" ballot receipts?

**I also find it a pretty hard pill to swallow, voting for a Catholic. This used to be a Very Big Deal in America but they have managed by now to work themselves into the mainstream consciousness as "Christian." I think it may just go by without much notice that BOTH these guys belong to what (as Katie Couric would say) "some people say" are CULTS. Note please also that, even in these early days, I am happy to point out Ryan's record: mostly-good with a hint of totally caving in to the popular-but-wrong side of the fence on hugely-important issues. You know, rather a lot like Romney himself. You were warned.

********
P.S. If the Republicans continue to let the leftist national press write the narrative and the Tea Partiers go back to sleep as happened in 1994, then election 2016 is also over: no matter how well the economy does, the press will spin the upcoming austerity so hard you will hurt yourself picking up a newspaper, and it will ALL be the fault of President R/R's evil entitlement benefit cutting and rich folks tax break giving. Win goes to the not-romney/not-ryan candidate. Note to the Republicans: stop being stupid with your spin and start putting it to work FOR you!

Mitt Robmoney is a MOIDERAH!!

This election season is going to be pretty ugly, I'm afraid. Three months out, and we have an ad that all but points the finger of blame at Romney for the death of a woman he may never have known was alive in the first place.

Follow the bouncing ball:

• Mitt Romney worked at Bain Capital
• Bain Capital closed the plant where sumdood in the ad worked
• Sumdood lost health insurance, and his family lost the family coverage
• Sumdood's wife got sick
• She died
• Ergo, Mitt Romney KILLED HER WITH HIS OWN TWO HANDS zOMG@!!!!

Except that:

• Romney wasn't running the company any longer when the plant was closed down
• The guy's wife came up sick THREE YEARS after the closure
• Somehow he can't get a job with insurance, and neither can she, in three years?
• P.S. nobody owes this guy a job, and the company couldn't be saved or Bain would have saved it like they did all the profitable companies Bain DID save.

********

They think you're stupid. My daughter asked who we were voting for, this last election. I told her Ted Cruz. She said oh, no - she saw something on TV that he was a stealer! I told her it was the guy running against Cruz that said it, and we're voting for Cruz. The ads you will see later this year are designed to appeal to either your hatred of all things not-Obama, or your sheer uneducated idiocy. Let's just hope Romney can keep his PACs off the same tactic.

Now THAT's A Squeaker

The results are in. For once, everybody in Travis County agrees with me. And by "everybody" I mean "a fraction of a percentage point over 50%" which is just enough to tip the scale. According to the Unofficial Results officially published in a .pdf at the County website, my picks all won in this runoff election:

• Ted Cruz by 0.84%
• Warren Chisum by 0.02%*
• Barry Smitherman by a landslide
• Justice Medina by a solid majority
• Tom Maynard by a suspiciously-repetitive 0.84% but with 1/3 the number of ballots cast for the Senate race

Just under 9,000 of us bothered to vote in my County.

********

* 0.02% in this case was exactly TWO VOTES. That, for the record, was my Darling Wife and me. So do you still think your measly one vote does not count? It won't make a difference if you show up at the polls or not?

********

And if that was an impressive argument in favor of you going to vote next time, let's just not look at the statewide results, shall we?

Voter's Guide for Travis County * July 31, 2012 Republican Primary Election Runoff

Once again not enough people agreed with me to make it an open-and-shut case. We didn't all pick the winner during the primary, so here are the winners for the runoff election.

United States Senator

David Dewhurst - 90% of the time I like him, but he's let the True Conservative banner down enough to let it drag underfoot. Over any Democrat, he is probably a better candidate.

Ted Cruz - Please vote for Ted Cruz on May 29th. To save myself lots of typing I will direct you to this endorsement of Ted Cruz by Lawrence Person's Battleswarm blog. I agree with most of it in regards to not only Cruze but also Dewhurst, Leppert and Addison.

Railroad Commissioner - neither of these were my preference, but it was a field of good candidates. I think I am for Chisum now.

Warren Chisum has been in government for perhaps too long, but he is effective.

Christi Craddick is YOUNG to be holding power, and she has a hint of the crazyeyes.

Railroad Commissioner, Unexpired Term

Barry Smitherman - Please keep Commissioner Smitherman in his position. He was on the Public Utilities Commission and the Governor thought enough of him to put him on the Railroad Commission. He is in, and knows, the job. The experienced commissioners are leaving so there will be enough lack of experience running this show without losing someone who has been doing the job for part of a term already.

Greg Parker - I like him. I want him in public office, which he is. It seems like he wants to be in HIGHER public office, and as he is into energy issues to the RRC is a natural choice. Maybe his campaign is aimed at just being in higher office? He wants it, but does he want this, specifically?

Place 4, Justice, Supreme Court

David Medina - I like him. He's a good conservative, and his pursuits (hunting, fishing, champion martial artist, etc) speak well of him. It's already his seat. Keep Justice Medina in Place 4.

John Devine - Right there on his campaign website he has posted publicly opinions on a whole BUNCH of issues that are certain to come before the Court on which he wants to sit. Unless he's just angling for a bunch of recusals on related cases, this is a huge error of judgement . . . which, for a judge, strikes me as a problem.

District 10, Member, State Board of Education

Tom Maynard - Please vote for Tom Maynard for SBOE District 10. He puts time, time, and time into children to train them in more than just the core subjects. A country boy with good sense who made it big in the national FFA leadership, he has a breadth of experience that goes beyond the classroom. A teacher AND a leader and then some is the impression I get.

Rebecca Osborne - She has a doctoral degree in education administration. You can look for yourself and see where we have gotten with other people "educated" in education. She wants to make a difference and that's great. Let's allow her to continue making a difference in her current classroom. I endorsed her last time (2010) but this time Maynard is my top pick by a slim margin.

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These notes are mostly the same as my Primary Election voter's guide. As before, these notes are for me. I did a LOT of research to get these opinions, I figured I might as well make them available in case they are some use to someone else.

AMAZINGLY Bad Vetting.

Well, considering the man himself is (debatably) not qualified to hold the office, it should hardly come as a surprise, but . . .

You know how the leftist press formerly-known-as-mainstream is trying to puff up the story of how Mittens Romeney was, himself, personally handing out pink slips to men laid off in favor of cheap chinese labor while Romney was personally running Bain Capital heading up the Olympic Committee?

Yeah, well, maybe if by Mitt Romney they mean one of President Obama's chief fundraisers laid those people off. And if by "Romney" profiting from offshoring jobs to China they mean "Obama" (himself, personally) profiting from jobs going to China.

Leftists and Democrats (but I repeat myself) have a particular foible wherein they project their own failings onto their political and ideological opponents and then attack said failings. In the case of attacking Mitt Romney for sending jobs to China while he ran Bain Capital, this appears to be the case.

Hat tip: Instapundit

Faintest Glimmers of Hope

The Law of the Sea Treaty (a.k.a. LOST, as in your national sovereignty would be ____ if you signed on) has apparently been shot down. Again. For now.

Hat tip: Instapundit

Chutzpa: But Yer Honor, My Client Is An Orphan!

Of all the jackhole moves, this is one of the lowest I have ever seen in politics. President Obama, with the eager participation of his surrogates in the press, is calling Mitt Romney a closed book. Says if he doesn't have anything to hide, he'll publish his tax returns & bank records & whatnot.

Hello? Does nobody remember how the Obama team scrubbed Barry right off the face of the planet? What were his grades like in school? We don't know, they are sealed. How about his application to the bar? Sealed. Why can't his wife practice law anymore? Can't tell, that's sealed too. What did he write while leading the Law Review? Not telling. Don't even get me STARTED on his fakeass mothafukkin FAKE birth certificate they produced after spending ONE-POINT-FOUR MILLION DOLLARS to prevent it being published. President Obama, having promised one of the most open and honest administrations EVAR has had one of the least-open most-shady administratiosn EVAR. Chicago-style back room deals all over the place. Meetings at the coffee shop across the street so visitors wouldn't be on visitor logs. Refusals to answer FOIA requests, and using Executive Privilege to block congressional inquiries into MURDER . . . and they have the GALL to accuse ROMNEY of hiding stuff?

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The title, by the way, is a reference to lawyer for the twins who killed their parents in california, begging for mercy on the grounds they were orphans. There is a special kind of divine Justice for people who try to pull stuff like this. Too bad the country has to be destroyed due to the droves of Low-Informed Voters out there, before the Judgement comes.