It's been a long time since I posted anything. To much time on FB. These pics are for Res Ipsa.

I attended the Family Leader Presidential Forum on Saturday night.


As I left the building at the end of the evening I was asked by a reporter from ABC News what I thought of the evening and of the candidates.

My response was simple.

"I saw a lot of half empty glasses. Or half full ones if you think that is more optimistic. Either way I saw a lot of candidates with some strong points and some serious negatives as well."

In an attempt to put the glass empty analogy in a visual form, I asked my daughter to do a little work in photoshop to create a visual image of each candidate as a glass/cup.

In no particular order.















Of course, some are fuller than others. And some are full of it.

I took my family to the Iowa Straw Poll on Saturday. I've been able to attend every one since 1995 when Bub Dull and Phil Gramm "tied" (what a scam).

The following are a list a random thoughts about what I saw and experienced.

First, it was a gorgeous day. In 2007 it was hot and muggy, almost unbearable. Yesterday on the other hand was close to perfect. Temps in the low 80's, high intermittent clouds, and a gentle breeze from the NW at 5 to 9 mph. People were comfortable, even while standing in line, fairly agreeable and generally in a good mood. The weather alone was probably a huge factor in the turnout.

Second, the voting its self was, while poorly organized, very straight forward and did't allow anyone to suggest that the numbers were not very accurate. They tried to run too many people at a time through a small hall way to mark their ballots, which lead to some very long lines. Someplace where more people could get through the voting process at a time would have been very helpful. The accuracy however was excellent. The new Republican Secretary of State in Iowa is pushing for voter ID at the polls. In conjunction with that, reminding all Iowa voters that the Democrats are resisting Voter ID at the polls, all those who voted in the Straw Poll were required to show proof of Iowa residence with an Iowa drivers license. After they had marked their ballots and the ballots were placed in the ballot counter, everyone was required to mark their thumb with blue ink. I personally had gotten two tickets to vote, from an advocacy group which was present, and a candidate. After I voted once, I was not allowed in the door with the blue mark on my thumb.

Speaking of advocacy groups. It was interesting mix of wacko atheists, limpwristed gun groups like the NRA, big money grubbers like the wind energy advocates, and the big oil front groups. There were also some serious advocates like Gun Owners of Iowa, pushing Constitutional Carry. And a new group I helped with a petition drive, Iowa Pro-life Action, which is dedicated to ending the "pro-life" exception scam. We are advocating a personhood Amendment to the Iowa Constitution. We are tired of Repuke politicians giving the life issue, lip service during their campaigns, then voting for legislation which allows abortion till 20 weeks, or funds Medicare provided abortions. "A pro-life, but you can go ahead and kill the baby approach."


Got a ticket from the Strong America Now group, which is pushing Lean Six Sigma. They spent a great deal of time and money pushing their idea for reducing the budget, by reducing fraud and waste in the Federal Budget. So I let them spend their $30 bucks for my ticket. They were giving away t-shirts, hats and candy. Between the freebies there and at other tents, I shouldn't need any t-shirts for another year.

On the candidates. Had a short, rather contentious visit, with Rick Santourum in the parking lot on the way into the event. True story. He asked for my vote, I told him only when he got down on his knees and apologized for supporting Arlyn Spinchter. He refused, and tried to defend his actions by claiming that Spinchter allowed Bush to put two "conservative" justices on the SCOTUS. I countered with, "Do you really believe that Toomey would have lost?" To which he suggested only Spinchter could have gotten Roberts and Alito confirmed. I told him that I didn't consider Bush a conservative, and I do not think helping a flaming liberal, baby killer lover, to be reelected to to the US Senate was a benefit to the cause of "life" which he claims to support. I walked away irritated, and he was visibly aggravated. He asked, I gave him my opinion. And I'm quite sure he did not appreciate it.

Saw a bunch of my Ron Paul supporting friends. I was there in 2007 when all of us supporting Ron Paul fit in a tent that would hold a couple of hundred people. He got 1305 votes that year, out of 14,302 votes cast. This year there were Paulistia's everywhere. After being there about an hour, it was clear that either Paul or Bachmunn would win the vote. Both of them overwhelmed the rest of the candidates there with their supporters. Visually, it was a toss up who had the most supporters.

Two comments directed to the Ron Paul group. First, I admire their enthusiasm. They were having fun, they were aggressively supporting their guy. And they clearly put up more signs, banners, and Ron Paul paraphernalia than any other candidate did. But, sometimes they were their own worse enemy. See a wacky looking pot head, a poorly dressed/unkempt neer-do-well, or a radical atheist-leftist (who wants to end first amendment rights for Intelligent Design scientists and Christians) (more on that later) and they were wearing Ron Paul shirts. Your pothead, anti-god, leftist radical friends are not helping your cause. I talked to several people who might have supported Dr. Paul, who instead supported Bachmann, and did so because of the kind of people who identified themselves a Ron Paul supporters. A lot of people believe the old saying, "You can tell a lot about a man's character by the company he keeps." And frankly some of Dr. Paul's supporters were a scary looking bunch.

Bachmann and Pawnlenty and Santourum supporters were very similar. Families or older couples. Normal white bread, conservative American's/Iowan's who want another normal white bread president, who looks and acts like they do. The difference between the Bachmann and T-Paw supporters were that many of the T-Paw people were the establishment Repuke crowd. The ones you see at the Repuke fund raisers. The ones with ties to the Bumstead administration. The ones who currently serve as State officials or Legislators and don't want to rock the boat. The Bachmann and Santourum voters were split between those who claim to be very conservative, yet can not jump on the libertarian wagon. The Bachmann people were people I know who are very conservative, who do not like the current mess in Washington and want to stop the federal leviathan from getting bigger, as opposed to the Santourum crowd who think we will have to work within the system (think Spinchter) to achieve their conservative goals.

Two obvious facts to this observer. Bachmann and Paul were the only two who vociferously argued against raising the debt limit. And they lapped the rest of the field. Clearly, whether you are a Bachmann or a Paul supporter, you believe that we must stop getting more credit cards to pay off the staggering debt problem. T-Paw wavered on the subject, and Santourum claimed in the Thursday debate that talk of not raising the debt ceiling was dangerous. Second, and you libertarians take note. Life is still a huge issue. Bachmann is wholeheartedly pro personhood. Very outspoken about her views on life and marriage. Paul spent much of his speech on Saturday defending his pro-life position. Santourum is clearly pro-life and the rest of the field gave it lip service. You can not win in Iowa and be pro-baby killer.

Because of this Ron Paul is going to continue to have trouble reaching a broader audience. The radical libertarians among his supporters could care less if the innocent life in the womb is sucked into a tube, flushed down the stool or cut into chunks and sold as Soylent Green. Liberty means that "Every man can do what is right in his own eyes." And if a few million babies get killed in the preservation of liberty, who cares, liberty is the thing. That's why you see radical atheist professors like Dr. Hector Avalos and his wife supporting Dr. Paul. Avalos is the one who got Dr. Guillermo Gonzales fired at Iowa State University because of his ID theories. See "Expelled" for details. Yet, a large number of the Paul supporters were Godly Christians, Reformed/Calvanists who believe in total depravity, and that the Laws of Nature and Nature's God are supreme over even the Constitution. At the point that Dr. Paul's policies allow some states to choose to support abortion on demand, he will have a total revolt on his hands from within his own base. Many of these supporters tolerate the anarchist, pot-head, anti-god crowd only to reach the goal of defunding, destroying or downsizing the federal leviathan. If the Libertarians attempt to push their pro-baby killing libertine ideas, there will be a total war between the two groups.

Bachmann on the other hand is going to face firestorm/total destruction from the establishment ruling class within the Repuke party. They do not want her views on abortion, sodomy marriage and debt limits to be allowed on the stage. They will do everything in their power to destroy her. I predict that the first line of attack, within the next 48 hours will be directed at her husband and his counseling ministry, which attempt to get sodomites to turn from their wicked lifestyle and live as God intended. They will find someone or several someones who have been through his program, to claim that he used state money to indoctrinate them. I would not even be surprised to see him accused of engaging in acts of sodomy or molestation. She is hated by the Repuke establishment, and by every godless liberal pro-abort, pro-sodomy advocate out there, and she must be silenced if they have their way.

The Iowa Straw Poll was great. Had a blast, and I voted for................... Well, I wrote in a name and my guy got less that Thaddeus McCotter's 35.

A friend of mine has been having this event for 10 years.

Most of the bands are "Christian", and the gospel message is given on both evenings.

If you have the weekend free, come to the Bash, then come see the farmer while you're in the neighborhood.







Here's the website.

Bash on the Farm

I found out today that another possible candidate for President has been putting out some feelers, and forming an exploratory committee. Now I have met this guy, talked to him on the phone recently and think he would make a good Presidential Candidate. I have edited his National Issues Position statement enough to take out the obvious references to his career. Without knowing who this man is, do you like his positions on the issues, and would you support him if he were to run?

Economy – Lower taxes, smaller government, and less spending will reduce the deficit and enable economic growth and a truly “stimulated” economy.

I believe in the reduction of taxes at all levels, and a need to reform the tax system by studying and implementing a “flat tax” or “fair tax,” which relies on a national sales tax instead of a tax on income.

We also need to return American manufacturing to our Country by revoking unfair “free trade” agreements which have severely damaged our economy through loss of jobs and skill development. We need the phrase “Made in America” to mean something again.

We must cut the deficit and balance the budget using accurate data unlike budget projections used by the present administration.


Constitution – ......................, I know that the Constitution of the United States is the Supreme Law of the Land and all officials, state and federal, Legislative, Executive and Judicial are bound thereby.

Separation of Powers, Checks and Balances, States’ Rights, and our Bill of Rights are integral parts of the Constitution which we must observe.

All actions of state and federal officials must conform to the Constitution and it should only be changed by amendments by the people, not decisions of activist judges.


Immigration – We must stop the flow of illegal aliens across both our northern and southern borders. Open borders are a threat to our national security and to our economy.

We must allow willing states (like Arizona) to do their own job of protecting the health, safety, and welfare of its citizens.


Health Care – We do not need socialized medicine which will ultimately lead to loss of quality and affordability of health care, as well as loss of access to the latest medical technology.

Businesses should receive tax credits for employee health care coverage, and health insurance should be available between the states for competition and quality care.

Churches and charitable organizations should be encouraged to help the needy and poor.

Military - As a former military officer, Vietnam veteran, and graduate of West Point, I believe in a strong military defense, and I have always been a strong advocate for the men and women who now serve in the Armed Forces.

More funding should be available to develop a missile defense system and to bring back our Navy, Air Force, Army, Marines and Coast Guard to the most modern technological advances including weapon systems.

Homosexuality should be against military policy as was the law prior to Bill Clinton.

We should not be entangled in foreign wars merely at the whim and caprice of any President. Only in dire emergencies should a President as Commander-in-Chief employ the use of arms as set forth in the War Powers Clause. In all other cases action by Congress is required under the Constitution.


Energy – We need independence from foreign oil by freeing access to our own natural resources and developing other sources such as nuclear, solar, wind, and fossil fuels. Coal and oil supplies should be developed. Off shore drilling should be increased but subject to reasonable regulations.


Education – the federal government should not hamper the education systems of various states as there is no authority for federal involvement under the Constitution.

Competition between the states and freedom of various educational structures should be available to parents who are charged with the responsibility to teach their children.

Charter schools, vouchers, tax credits, home schooling, Christian schools, and technical training should be encouraged.

Foreign Affairs – America should serve as a good example to other nations, not as a police force to force our will upon others.

We must treat sovereign nations as we would want to be treated.

Respect for our strength is our best defense. “Walk softly and carry a big stick” is and should be our guide.

We should not be subject to UN control and direction and should not rely or support UN treaties like LOST (Law of the Sea Treaty), Convention on the Rights of the Child, and Kyoto Protocol, which Barack Obama unsuccessfully tried to force on our Country. Such treaties only undermine our sovereignty as a nation.

We must stand strongly with our allies and act with authority and discipline with those who would undermine and destroy our national security.

We must maintain a strong nuclear defense and not rely on nuclear reduction treaties which will leave us vulnerable to foreign powers.


Family – As a husband, father, and grandfather I know the importance of the future we leave to our posterity.

A strong family based on marriage between one man and one woman is and shall remain our only guide and model.

I oppose abortion, same-sex marriage, civil unions, and all other threats to the family.

Funding for Planned Parenthood or any form of abortion using federal funds should be stopped.

We must remain a moral and virtuous people, and remain one Nation under God.

I strongly support freedom of worship and faith in God upon Whom we have always relied in peace and war.