What was Gen. Wes Clark thinking?

Gen. Wes Clark is one fellow full of crap. I would say something else but this is a family blog.

If Clark is concerned about executive experience, why in the world is he supporting Obama? Beyond that, McCain has been in the middle of every domestic and foreign policy decision in 20 years. McCain has been a Senate giant, who enjoys respect on both sides.

If Clark is concerned about judgement, why is he supporting a candidate who was dead wrong about the surge? It turns out that McCain was right when he supported Pres. Bush's surge in early 2007. (The Bush Paradox By DAVID BROOKS)

Wes Clark owes McCain a big apology. Also, I think that the former general just deleted his name from any consideration as Obama's VP.

P.S. Ed Morrissey nailed it:

Let’s point out a few things about Barack Obama:

In “the matter of national security policy making.” Barack Obama hasn’t ever done anything.

In the matter of gauging your “opponents”, Obama wants to meet with them without preconditions despite having no national-security, military, or diplomatic experience.

Barack Obama hasn’t been on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Barack Obama hasn’t had any executive experience.

Barack Obama hasn’t commanded anything, in wartime or not.

Barack Obama hasn’t dealt with diplomats in any capacity at all.

Barack Obama hasn’t ordered the bombs to fall, although to be fair, he has associated himself with someone who has — William Ayers."

It's true that military service does not make you a good president or candidate. However, the McCain story goes beyond wearing the uniform. Here is a great video about McCain:

How long can BO get away with this?

How enthusiastically is the media in the Obama tank? Just watch how BO responded to the 2nd amendment decision. Just watch how the media has covered BO's responses. BO agrees with the majority and the minority!

BO is good with words. The media is horrible with follow up questions:

"Name your issue -- on trade, taxes, guns, the death penalty, campaign finance reform, FISA -- Obama may well be taking the politically smart position for a Democrat in these early days of the general election.

But the point is that he's taking positions that are at least shaded differently than those he's taken in the past, if not outright flip-flops.

These are political calculations that make a dangerous assumption for Obama: that he's willing to risk being called a "politician" at all." (ABC)

To be fair, politicians will change their minds. No one is expecting a person to be inflexible.

However, we do expect politicians to hold a position for 90 days.

We've gone from "Obama is different" to "Obama will say whatever it takes to avoid the liberal label".

P.S. Speaking of the media, let me paraphrase Rick Moran. McCain faces the most biased and one sided news media in memory. The media will carry BO's water no matter what.

Congratulations to the Spanish team!

Spain beat Germany today. It was a 1-0 victory and a very good game.

Normally, I don't follow soccer because I grew up playing and following baseball and US football. However, I do appreciate the players' athleticism and the fans' passion.

Also, I have a special place in my heart for Spain, the land of my ancestors!

It's party time in Spain. I'm sure that there will be wonderful celebrations across the country.

BO should worry about Ohio and leave Mexico alone!

BO spoke before a group of Hispanic officeholders. He did the NAFTA dance again.

BO is all "hope and change" but no specifics!

BO has a PhD in telling people what they want to hear.

Once again, BO is for free trade but against free trade agreements.

BO wants free trade agreements to impose US labor and environmental standards on our economic partners.

In other words, Obama is going to tell Mexico how to run its country!

Good luck Obama!

Mexicans don't like to hear US politicians telling them how to run their country.

Beyond Dem primary politics, Obama, as well as Clinton, are showing an incredible ignorance of Mexico.

Mexico's problem is that it has too many labor standards. You can't fire people in Mexico. Mexico is burdened with horrible labor legislation that makes it difficult to compete with more flexible economies like Chile, Taiwan, South Korea and China.

Mexico does not need to buy Obama's socialism. It needs to buy Pres. Calderon's reforms, from PEMEX to labor laws.

In Mexico, hiring, maintaining and firing a worker is so costly that employers go to great lengths to avoid taking on new employees.

Again, Mexico has plenty of labor laws. This is why it can't compete in a global economy. Mexico looks like France, which is a very bad thing if you want to create jobs or attract foreign investment!

Calderon is desperately trying to reform Mexico. BO doesn't have a clue about Mexico.

My suggestion to BO is simple: Leave the Mexicans alone and concentrate on our problems.

Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, New Jersey and New York look more and more like states in need of tax cuts and deregulation. They are exhibits of what happens when you don't pay attention to economic reality. Again, can you say France?

Taxes are high.

The unions are out of control.

Unemployment is high.

And, last but not least, the young people want to get the heck out.

The Self-Inflicted Economic Death of Ohio By CHESTER E. FINN JR. is worth reading:

"Ohio already has the fifth-heaviest state and local tax burden in the country (up from 30th in 1990) and finds itself stagnating.

Its unemployment rate, 6.3%, is above the national rate of 5.5%, even as the state's work force shrinks as people emigrate.

Ohio's median household income is also falling – in 2006 it was $44,500, down 0.5% from the previous year – while the national figure ($48,500) was up 1.6%.

During the closing decades of the 20th century, incomes rose twice as fast across the country as in Ohio."

Do you understand why so many of these companies are moving to Texas and the south?

In Texas v. Ohio, we learn this:

"Let's start with the fact that Texas's growth puts the lie to the myth that free trade costs American jobs.

Anti-Nafta rhetoric doesn't play well in El Paso, San Antonio and Houston, which have become gateway cities for commerce with Latin America and have flourished since the North American Free Trade Agreement passed Congress in 1993.

Mr. Obama's claim of one million lost jobs due to trade deals is laughable in Texas, the state most affected by Nafta.

Texas has gained 36,000 manufacturing jobs since 2004 and has ranked as the nation's top exporting state for six years in a row.

Its $168 billion of exports in 2007 translate into tens of thousands of jobs. Ohio, Indiana and Michigan are losing auto jobs, but many of these "runaway plants" are not fleeing to China, Mexico or India.

They've moved to more business-friendly U.S. states, including Texas."

Here is my message to BO and Hillary Clinton: Stop telling Mexico how to run its country. Stop preaching to the world about environmental standards.

Start telling the people of Ohio, and PA, and NJ, and NY, and Michigan, the truth.

Tell them that high taxes and irresponsible unions are the real culprit behind their collapse.

Also, be honest enough to remind them that the irresponsible unions are supporting Obama!

A baseball "time tunnel"!

The Time Tunnel was a great TV show:

"While conducting an experiment in time travel, scientists Dr. Tony Newman and Dr. Douglas Phillips find themselves whisked from time period to time period, while their colleagues back in the present desperately struggle to retrieve the two men."

What about a baseball time tunnel? What if we could go back and watch a great moment in baseball history?

Let me start with Babe Ruth. In 1927, Ruth set the single season home run record. He hit 60 home runs. The Babe's record stood until Maris hit 61 in 1961. Babe Ruth saved the business of baseball after the 1919 World Series scandal. The Babe put fans in the seats! Again, he saved the game:

Lou Gehrig was Babe Ruth's teammate in the 1927 Yankees. Lou was one of the greatest players of all time. Unfortunately, he played in the Babe's shadow.

In 1939, Lou was forced out of baseball by an illness. He died soon after. Before his death, he gave a short but inspirational speech in Yankee Stadium:

Satchel Paige dominated the old Negro Leagues. He was a great pitcher. Who knows what Paige would have done in the majors? My guess is that he would have been one of the greatest pitchers of the 20th century:

Take me back to the 1941 season. From May to mid-July, Joe DiMaggio hit in 56 consecutive games, a streak that has not been matched since. Pete Rose had a 44-game streak in 1978. No one has come close. The streak finally ended in Cleveland.

Question: How can any human being hit in 56 straight games? The answer is that Joe was something special:

Ted Williams closed the 1941 season by hitting .406, the last major leaguer to reach that mark. George Brett hit .390 in 1980. No one has come close. Williams lost some of his prime years to World War II and Korea.

The Dodgers-Giants rivalry is one of the greatest in sports. In 1951, the Dodgers and Giants had a special playoff to settle the NL pennant. It came down to the bottom of the 9th. It was Ralph Branca vs Bobby Thompson:

In 1954, Willie Mays made the most famous catch in baseball history. How in the world did Mays catch up with this missile from Vic Wertz' bat? The answer is quick instincts and amazing ability:

The Braves left Milwaukee after the 1965 season. Therefore, I never had a chance to fall in love with the home team. Years later, my friend Jerome had me listen to the audio version of key moments in the team's history. The big moment was Henry Aaron clinching the 1957 pennant with a walk off home run. It must have been wonderful to be there:

A baseball time tunnel? Wouldn't that be nice?

P.S. Here is an extra item. I wish that I had seen Bart Starr play football for Lombardi's Packers:

Hamilton and Kinsler should start! Young and Bradley must be there, too! (My annual beef with fans picking the All Star team!)

Commissioner Bowie Kuhn was in the middle of a players' strike, free agency and he approved giving the fans the last word on choosing the All Star teams.

Sorry. I don't want Yankees and Red Sox to fill up the All Star team.

Let the players, and a selected group of sports reporters, select the starting team and the reserves. I'm OK with letting the manager pick the pitchers.

Look at the current "popularity contest" in the AL squad.

Manny Ramirez is # 1 and Ichiro is # 3. They are great players indeed. Should they be starting in the 2008 AL outfield? The answer is no!

Josh Hamilton and Milton Bradley are having great years. Hamilton should make it. Bradley may not.

Ian Kinsler is hitting .313 but trails in the voting!

Tradition matters. I'm OK with adding a veteran, such as Henry Aaron in the 1975 Milwaukee All Star game. I'm OK with playing a veteran who is retiring, such as Cal Ripken in 2001.

However, the All Star game is no longer an exhibition. It decides home field advantage in the World Series.

Winning matters so let the best guys play!

Say hello to Chris Davis!

The Rangers brought up Chris Davis because Hank Blalock is still hurt.

Davis was tearing up AAA pitching in Oklahoma City. Davis will probably go down as soon as Blalock is ready.

However, Davis will be back. I wouldn't be surprised if Davis is starting in 2009. He is the best hitting prospect in the Rangers' organization.

Congratulations to Chris for hitting his first home run.

Trust me. There will be many more!

P.S. The Rangers are 41-40. They started 7-16. They got to 25-25. They have gone 16-15 since then. They just can't seem to get over the .500 level!

To be honest, I predicted a .500 record. I think that 81 wins would be good for this young team.

"Latino" performers in pop music!

It's common today to hear Hispanic performers on the radio. We have several Spanish radio stations in Dallas. Some artists sing in both languages.

What was it like years ago? What was it like before they called us "Hispanics"?

Let's start with Richie Valens. His story was popularized in "La Bamba", a great movie from the late 1980s.

Richie Valens was born Richard Steven Valenzuela in LA. He was only 18 when he was killed in 1959 along with the legendary Buddy Holly. His career was very short but significant. His hits included "La Bamba", "Donna" and "We belong together":

Trini Lopez was born Trinidad López III in Dallas. He hit the top of the charts with "Lemon tree", "Michael" and "If I had a hammer":

It took me a while to learn about Vikki Carr. She was born Florencia Bisenta de Casillas Martinez Cardona in El Paso, TX. I heard a lot of her songs before learning of her Hispanic roots. She was a bilingual singer before Gloria Estefan made it cool to do so. One of her biggest English hits was "It must be him":

? and the Mysterians had a few hits. The group's name promoted mystery, almost like a cult around lead singer (?) a.k.a Question Mark.

They were Mexican American kids from Flint, Michigan. They were Larry Borjas on guitar, Robert Balderrama, and Robert Martinez on guitars and bongos. The lead singer was the mysterious ?.

Their biggest hit was "96 tears":

Sam the Sham and The Pharaohs was headed by Sam, who was born Domingo “Sam” Samudio in Dallas. They recorded "Wooly Bully", one of the greatest party songs of the rock era:

They did not make as much money as today's performers. In fact, some of these artists are out of music today. Yet, we should remember their unique contributions to the Hispanic experience.

Pregnant teen girls is a national tragedy!

It must be a parents' nightmare. In Massachusetts, a bunch of teen girls made a deal to get pregnant. I'm sure that you've heard about it because it's all over the news.

What's happening in our society that a bunch of teen girls decide to get pregnant? What's so cool about a bunch of teen girls doing this?

The answer is simple: We have accepted illegitimacy. It is no longer wrong to have a baby out of a wedlock.

Kathleen Parker is a syndicated columnist and author of Save the Males: Why Men Matter; Why Women Should Care.

She writes this:

"Here’s one: Where’s Dad? Not the “fathers” of these unfortunate pre-borns, but the fathers of these pregnant girls.

Where, in other words, is the shotgun?

Back in the day when birth control and abortion weren’t readily available to high-school kids, fathers were pretty good deterrents to pregnancy.

Boys knew they’d have kneecap problems if they got daddy’s little girl pregnant.

If they were lucky, they’d be married by the morning after."

Not long ago, a young man had to deal with the consequences of getting a young woman pregnant.

Yes, one of those consequences was a very angry father with a shotgun and a big brother looking to beat the crap out of you.

I recall my dad saying this: The good news is that you will probably get a wife. The bad news is that her dad will kill you before the wedding.

It's time to get serious about what we are doing to our society and teenagers.

Babies are wonderful things. They are a gift from God. They were meant for married couples not teenage girls.

Our "anything goes" culture plays a big part in this.

BO is 100% for abortion and partial birth abortion!

Tony Perkins is President of the Washington, D.C.-based Family Research Council. This is a great TV ad about Obama's pro-abortion positions.

Weekend humor: BO can make corn pop!

Obama can do anything. Obama will fix every problem.

Obama even makes corn pop!

If Obama can make corn pop then think of what he will do he sits down for a chat with Iran!

Allapundit has a good question: Is this the first Obama miracle of the season?

My question: When will he walk on Lake Michigan?

How long before the "yes we can" screamers say that this Obama is not the old Obama!

Obama is turning out to be rather predictable. He used to be about "hope and change". Today, he is more like running to the center-right.

They are noticing it all over the media! (CBS’s Greenfield: Obama’s ‘Relentless March to The Center’)

Obama's Switcheroo on the DC Gun Ban by Rick Moran!

TIME: Obama's Supreme Move to the Center

The Messiah is a politician after all!

He counts votes!

He reads polls!

My question is this: How long before the "yes we can" screamers call time out and walk to the mound for a chat with the pitcher! The guy on the mound is now shaking off all of the catcher's signals!

Obama: Change agent goes conventional By KENNETH P. VOGEL won't please those who bet their lunch money that their guy was really different:

"Barack Obama has crafted an image as an unconventional candidate, a change agent and a post-partisan politician who represents a dramatic break from the status quo.

But since securing the Democratic presidential nomination, when confronted with a series of thorny issues the Illinois senator has pursued a conspicuously conventional path, one that falls far short of his soaring rhetoric.

Faced with tough choices on fronts ranging from public financing and town hall meetings to warrantless surveillance and the Second Amendment, Obama passed up opportunities to take bold stands and make striking departures from customary politics.

Instead, he has followed a familiar tack, straddling controversial issues and choosing politically advantageous routes that will ensure his campaign a cash edge and minimize damaging blowback on several highly sensitive issues."

This is not the Obama that we used to know!

This is the Obama who knows that you can't win a general election by courting left wing voters.

This is the new Obama who is trying to be on both sides of today's Supreme Court decision. (Where Has Obama Been on the Unconstitutional DC Handgun Ban?)

This is the new Obama who is dancing around FISA and NAFTA.

Again, Obama knows that he went too far to the left in the primaries. He is desperately trying to move to the right.

Will it work? I guess that it depends on Dems.

How badly do the Dems want to win? Do they want to win by voting for someone who doesn't stand for anything?

How many Dems want to get thrown under Obama's bus on the way to victory? (The Ever-Malleable Mr. Obama By Charles Krauthammer)

Sooner or later, the "yes we can" screamers will start listening to BO's new "move me to the center" rhetoric. Eventually, they will notice that Obama is not the same guy that they cheered for back in the good old days of "hope and change"!

It seems like decades since BO said "vote for me because I'm a proud liberal"!

Today, BO is reading John Fund!

BO is paying special attention to Fund's message:

"After all, it isn't easy for Democrats to win in a two-person race for president.

Since FDR's last victory in 1944, only one Democrat – Lyndon Johnson in 1964 – has won 50.1% or more of the popular vote.

Both of Bill Clinton's victories were aided by Ross Perot's presence on the ballot."

Perot won't be on the ballot in 2008. So BO is moving to the center-right because that's where the voters are!

Unfortunately for BO, that's not where the Dem primary voters are.

Again: How long before the "yes we can" screamers say that this is not the same Obama that we used to know?

The Supreme Court got it right!

The good news is that 5 judges can read the 2nd Amendment. The bad news is that 4 judges can't read it. The WSJ got it right: Silver Bullet.

What do the 4 judges in the minority have in common? They are the kind of judges that Obama would appoint. (News Flash: The Constitution Means What It Says)

For too long, liberals in this country have used the courts to get what they can not get from voters. From abortion to same sex marriage, the liberals have used the courts to push their agenda on the rest of us.

The Founding Fathers had a simple idea.

If you don't like the 2nd amendment then you need to organize and get voters to agree with you. Amend the constitution! It has been done 27 times!

If you think that same sex marriage is OK, then you need to organize and get voters to agree with you. Normally, voters overwhelmingly reject same sex marriage, which is why the liberals rely on judges!

Don't use judges to get abortion, same sex marriage or to invent rights not written in the Constitution.

It was a good for the Constitution. Let's keep it up!

McCain is best for Mexico and Latin America

Our southern neighbors don't get to vote in US elections. However, they are impacted by what happens up here.

Mexico and Latin America need McCain. Let me tell you why:

1) McCain understands free trade. He understands that Mexico and Latin America need to come out of the hole created by statism and socialist policies. (By the way, Calderon understands the same thing. This is why he is trying to reform monopolies like PEMEX)

Mexico and Lat America are big economic underachievers. You can blame misguided nationalism and protectionist policies.

Free trade will force Mexico and Latin America to join the world economy and reverse those policies. In the short run, it will be tough. In the long run, it will modernize Lat American economies.

Again, look at South Korea, Ireland and even Chile.

Obama can't go the distance on free trade. Why? Because the US labor unions will not allow a Dem president to promote free trade.

During the Clinton years, the unions were furious over NAFTA. The net result was the Nader campaign of 2000, or 4 million liberals who walked away because of free trade. Just read Michael Moore's letter to VP Gore in 2000!

2) McCain understands the national security implications of the cartel war in Mexico and Chavez vs Uribe. On the other hand, Pres. Bush's Mexico plan is stuck in the Dem Congress. Also, the Colombian Free Trade Agreement is stuck because Speaker Pelosi won't bring it to a vote. (Is she afraid that the bill will pass?)

McCain wants to put the reputation of the US behind responsible leaders like Calderon and Uribe. Obama wants unconditional conversations with Chavez and Raul Castro.

3) McCain is credible on immigration. He understands that we need reform and border security. Again, we don't know where BO stands because it changes depending on what audience he is addressing.

On immigration, the Dems have talked a big game but done nothing since taking over the Congress in 2006. Why? Because immigration reform is a huge problem for Dem constituencies, such as the unions.

The Dems loved "immigration reform" as long as they were sitting in the minority blaming a Republican president and Congress.

It's a lot more complicated now that they have to decide. Again, what has the Pelosi/Reid Congress done about immigration? Can you say "nada" or nothing!

In conclusion, the Lat Am left is in love with Obama. However, the Lat Am middle class should fall in love with McCain.

By the way, BO is already playing games with his NAFTA position. What will Obama say about NAFTA today? It depends were he is! Like Hillary Clinton, Obama is playing games with NAFTA. (Obama fumbles NAFTA)

Can Mexico and Latin American trust a Dem who tells people what they want to hear?

McCain has an energy plan!

John McCain has a simple energy plan:

"Therefore, if I am elected president, I will set this nation on a course to building 45 new reactors by the year 2030.

And I will set the goal of 100 new plants to power the homes and factories and cities of America.

This task will be as difficult as it is necessary.

We will need to recover all the knowledge and skills that have been lost over three stagnant decades in a highly technical field.

As Nevadans are well aware, we will need to solve complex problems of moving and storing materials that will always need safeguarding.

We will need to do all of these things, and do them right, as we have done great things before" (Remarks by John McCain on his Comprehensive Plan for Energy Security )

What is BO proposing? He is saying "no" to everything:

No babies in Spain but the apes now have rights!

To be honest, I had to look twice to make sure that I was reading what I was reading.

According to news reports, Spain is about to go even crazier under PM Rod-Zapatero:

"Spain's parliament voiced its support on Wednesday for the rights of great apes to life and freedom in what will apparently be the first time any national legislature has called for such rights for non-humans.

Parliament's environmental committee approved resolutions urging Spain to comply with the Great Apes Project, devised by scientists and philosophers who say our closest genetic relatives deserve rights hitherto limited to humans.

"This is a historic day in the struggle for animal rights and in defense of our evolutionary comrades, which will doubtless go down in the history of humanity," said Pedro Pozas, Spanish director of the Great Apes Project."

A historic struggle for animal rights? Our evolutionary comrades? Are these people crazy or what?

In the meantime, Spain has one of the lowest birth rates in the world. (1.32 per woman)

What does that mean? It means that Spain's population will shrink dramatically. In other words, there won't be any Spaniards in the future.

So let the apes take over. Spain will now be the land of apes.

This is insane. This is crazy.

This is Spain today under the able leadership of left wing socialists!