What's A Conservative To Do?

After yesterday's Florida primary it is beginning to appear that John McCain will be the GOP nominee for president. Where does that leave conservatives? How can a conservative vote for John McCain, a Republican who has been hostile toward conservative ideals? Should a conservative even bother to vote at all?

At this writing, I haven't made up my mind. I do not like McCain's position on important issues. He is very liberal for a Republican. He gets in bed with too many Democrats to create legislation that is contrary to freedom.

At the same time I am not a proponent of "sending a message" to the GOP. Sending a message doesn't just hurt the leadership or the party. It will hurt Americans. Despite what liberals say, having a Democrat president will not hurt the rich. They will survive. It is the middle class that will pay the price.

However, having four years of Hillary or Obama all but ensures a GOP victory in 2012. Remember 1994? If Hillary or Obama have a dismal first term, you might see Newt throw his hat in next time.

I know McCain supporters will chastise me for this post just like the Huckabee supporters did. For McCain to be a good president he will have to change his spots. He talks good but his prior actions contradict what he says.

2006 Castaño MONASTRELL (Yecla, Spain)

Made from organically-grown grapes, this wine is a steal -- a gutsy, full-bodied, soft red for $8.

Dark black purply-ruby color. Needs a bit of air time after opening, but then reveals big, fruity nose of crushed blueberries, with strong minerally scents in the background. Soft, round, ripe, and full, this wine sports flavors of smoky, loamy raspberries, underbrush, and iodine. Lots of soft tannins indicate that this wine will last and improve over the next 2 years or so. Tremendous value. 88. I got this at Whole Foods on Bellaire (case stacking near the meat counter).

2003 Domaine Ehrhart RIESLING GRAND CRU HENGST (Alsace, France)

This was a fully mature, complex white.

Medium dark brassy gold color -- which led me to think this might be past its prime. But it wasn't. Deeply honeyed nose, with minerally, marzipan-y, overripe pear and honeysuckle flavors. Excellent concentration, yet in a medium-light bodied frame, with nice acidity to keep things tasting fresh. Long finish, showing just the barest hint of oxidation at the tail end. Drink this right away, as it is certainly at or just past its peak. Very nice. 88. Got this several months ago at Richard's on South Shepherd for $24.

2006 Milton Park SHIRAZ (South Australia)

This was a good value in a soft, ripe, reasonably complex red.

Very dark black ruby with violet highlights at the rim. Ripe, soft nose of spiced, sweet plums and warm cream, with some sweet, toasty oak as well. Soft, round, and balanced, this wine featured very minerally flavors (hot, salty stones) together with cassis and graphite. Pure, long, but somewhat warm finish, with no discernible tannin. 87. Was about $12 at Central Market.

"LITLLE JAMES' BASKET PRESS" (non-vintage, Domaine St. Cosme) (Rhône, France)

This was a gutsy, relatively inexpensive Rhône wine.

Dark ruby garnet. Spicy nose of sweet-and-sour berries, lemon peel, and earthy chalk dust. Concentrated, dense flavors of blackberry extract, with earthy/iodine notes. Full-bodied, with lots of fairly soft tannins, building in the long finish. A gutsy, straightforward, earthy Grenache. Good value at $11.13 at Spec's on Holcombe. 87.

2004 Barone Cornacchia MONTEPULCIANO D'ABRUZZO (Italy)

Great color saturation but disappointing in smell and taste.

Saturated black ruby with crystalline ruby highlights. Introverted nose reluctantly gives up scents of chokecherries, ashes, and a hint of Ivory soap (in a good way). Dense but very low-toned flavors of chokecherry syrup and charcoal. So low toned, in fact, that you actually have to concentrate to taste it. It feels like it should have more taste but, curiously, it doesn't. I don't like having to work to get my Montepulciano flavors -- they should roughly kind of bang around in your mouth like they're trying to escape, not try to slunk down your throat hoping you don't notice. 79. Was $10.99 at Spec's on Smith.

Save Scrabulous!

I joined Facebook for no other reason than to play Scrabulous(a free online, but not officially licensed Scrabble game) with my daughter and my friends. Scrabulous, developed by two guys unrelated to either Hasbro or Facebook, is wonderful as it closely emulates the board version of the game. Now Hasbro is asserting its trademark rights (and probably rightfully so) and is threatening to force Facebook to take the application off its site. They will probably be successful and 600,000 other people and I are going to have to get our Scrabble fix some other way.

Many of us who enjoy the board game can’t always find a partner to play face to face. Scrabulous allows us to play any time of the day or night – we just make our move whenever we happen to log on. A game can go on for days or weeks.

There are numerous petitions and groups organized trying to get Hasbro to relent, but so far, to no avail. Hasbro may be a bit shortsighted on this one. Scrabble is addictive and fun, and making it available online does not mean people will not buy the game. In fact, I own two versions of the board game. Think of the free advertising--think of the many more games they could sell!

It’s not over till it’s over. We’re going on with our games until we are locked out.

Cajun Music at Augusta 2007

It's Friday night, put on your old sabots, get your partenaire and make your way to the piste de danse for some down-home two-stepping with Paul Daigle, Jesse Lege and friends. - Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez! (Let the good times roll!)

PRES. BILL CLINTON OPENS UP

I've heard of Bubba Gump, get ready for Bubba Dump! Bill unloads on CNN reporter about recent comments made about her from the Obama camp.

Did Bill Clinton Borrow A Tim Conway Sketch?

Life imitates art as shown by this old video from a Tim Conway comedy routine that presages Bill Clinton's power nap during a recent speech honoring the late Reverand Martin Luther King.

Clintons Play "Rope-a-Dope" with Obama

On October 30th 1974 Muhammad Ali faced off with George Foreman for boxing's world heavyweight title in Kinshasa, Zaire in a bout billed as the "Rumble in the Jungle". Foreman was considered "invincible" he had strength, speed and was seven years younger than the 32-year-old Ali. Foreman was favored to win in the fight because of his youth and skill but Ali had experience, speed, skill and cunning.

Ali used a technique called "rope-a-dope" to wear out his youthful opponent. Ali fought well and when he wanted to save his strength he would lure Foreman toward the ropes where he would use his arms to protect his body, lean back on the ropes and let Foreman flail away at his arms and gloves. While he was lying against the ropes Ali would taunt Foreman saying, "Is that all you got George?....My Grandma punches harder than you do....You supposed to be bad!" The surly Foreman would become enraged at his opponent's taunting and flail away uselessly as Ali held up his guard and let the ropes absorb the impact from Foreman's punishing assaults.

By the eighth round Foreman's strength for the rumble was spent. Ali had judged rightly that the moment to finish-off his opponent had come. As Foreman staggered from the momentum of his last punch, Ali countered with two rights, a left hook and a final right that sent Foreman into a slow spin to the mat. Muhammad Ali won by a knockout over the invincible George Foreman.

Thirty-four years later, that fight in Zaire is being replayed in the political arena in the bout to win the title as the Democratic Party's 2008 presidential nominee. The Clintons are playing Muhammad Ali to Barack Obama's George Foreman. The recent Democratic Party candidate's debate in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina set in motion the events that will send Barack Obama's campaign as the Democratic Party's 2008 presidential nominee into a slow spin toward the gentle environs of mat-land.

One has to admire the Clinton's canny political instincts. After a series of campain trail jabs against the Illinois Senator by the battling Clintons, Mrs. Clinton took an opportunity in the South Carolina debate to castigate Senator Obama on his praise of Ronald Reagan. Senator Obama quickly became visibly flustered by the sharp criticism and spluttered a few phrases about how he was only complementing Reagan for his ability to sell his ideas to the Democratic electorate against their own best interests. Mrs. Clinton then floated in like a butterfly to sting Obama like a bee on his flip-flopping on the war in Iraq. The New York Senator pointed out that Obama voiced opposition to the war but went ahead and approved funding for the Iraq war anyway and then tagged him with the charge that he had even removed the transcript of an anti-war from his website.

That's when Obama had his George Foreman moment. He sputtered, he fluttered, he flailed his arms mechanically and that's when he busted in with, "While I was working on those streets watching those folks see their jobs shift overseas, you were a corporate lawyer sitting on the board at Wal-Mart". He then raised his voice to say, "I was fighting these fights." and repeated "I was fighting these fights." You could see Mrs. Clinton's face brighten. She was positively beaming. She knew she had gotten to the ever-cool, ever-poised Obama and she was in familiar territory because mud wrestling is what the Clintons do best. Her thoughts may have been, "Oh you want to wrestle in the mud? I love to mud wrestle, I'm really good at it too." Mrs. Clinton then shot back with "Well, you know, I think we both have very passionate and committed spouses who stand up for us. And I'm proud of that. But you also talked about the Republicans having ideas over the last 10 to 15 years. I was fighting against those ideas when you were practicing law and representing your contributor, Rezco, in his slum landlord business in inner city Chicago." At this the crowd gasped probably not ever hearing of Tony Rezco and his ethical lapses.

Mrs. Clinton was able to get the cool-as-a-cucumber and logical Obama to look angry, flustered and petulant, qualities that would disqualify him as presidential material to voters in contrast to the Mandarin-like Junior Senator from New York who is well versed in maintaining her cool under pressure. In fact while on the stump in the Palmetto State Mr. Clinton remarked "I know you think it's crazy, but I kind of like to see Barack and Hillary fight,". The tag team of Clinton and Clinton have Obama swinging at their gloves. The Clintons love a good fight and now they've led Obama to the ropes. Expect a knock-out punch from the duo in the eighth round.

Martin Luther King, Jr.'s last speech

This old film clip of Dr. King's last speech on April 3rd 1968 at Mason Temple, the Church of God in Christ Headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee still sends shivers down my spine. Dr. King foretold of his own untimely death which came the next day from an assasin's bullet as he stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. Years earlier Dr. King led the famous March on Washington where his address to the masses gathered there was televised before the nation as he stood before the Lincoln memorial to remind us of this nation's great calling to "Let Freedom Ring". He challenged the nation as he quoted the prophet Amos in the fifth chapter, the twenty-fourth verse to not be satisfied until, "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream." He later said during that moving speech, "And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of
Pennsylvania. Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. But not only that:
Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

There shall not be another inspiring and compelling leader like him in our lifetime.

Tensions Flare Between Obama and Clinton at SC Debate

While "Bubba" was catching up on his Zzzz's, the Mrs. and Barack Obama were mixing it up in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. You can feel the love between the Clinton and Obama camps as the battling Senators trade jabs and score upper-cuts as they dance around the debating ring.

Bill Clinton Falls Asleep During Martin Luther King Speech

Ya' gotta love Bill! The 42nd President of the United States takes time during his busy schedule for a power nap during an address honoring the late Reverand Dr. Martin Luther King at Convent Avenue Baptist Church in Harlem. This segment is laugh-out-loud funny! Check the part where he dozes off during the speech, rouses himself, and then checks the time on his watch only to fall back asleep again! Priceless!

Snowfall in Silicon Valley

Darn Global Warming! Now it's snowing in the South Bay. All those Northern California kids having fun playing in the snow on MLK day. It's enough to make the Goreacle and his Global Warming lemmings sick!

Plea to Houston wine stores: Please get some (1) Aglianico-based reds, and (2) reds from the Marche region of Italy!

When I left the northeast almost 10 years ago, I was a tad concerned that it would be harder to find good wine down here. I was dead wrong: Houston is a great wine town, generally speaking.

But almost every place I regularly shop (Spec's, Richard's, Whole Foods, and Central Market) have Italian sections that do not do Italy justice. Spec's, especially, has oodles of wines from Piemonte, the Veneto, Sicily, and, especially, Tuscany, but is spotty as to other areas in Italy.

In particular, these stores seem NEVER to have any reds from the Marche region, where my grandparents were born. The Marche has many excellent reds, most common among which are the kissin' cousins, Rosso Conero and Rosso Piceno. They are made from the Montepulciano and Sangiovese grapes. Typically, Conero has more Montepulciano, Piceno has more Sangiovese. Rosso Conero tends to be far more elegant than its rustic cousin to the south, the Montepulciano d'Abruzzo. They're not exactly common in the stores I used to troll in New England and New York, but they are completely non-existent in Houston.

The Aglianico grape is also M.I.A. from Houston wine stores. In my opinion, this is the very best grape grown in the southern half of Italy. Its most famous DOCs are Taurasi and Aglianico di Vulture. When done right, the Aglianico grape can go toe-to-toe with the Nebbiolo grape for weight, complexity, and balance (especially at present, since the overwhelming majority of big-name Nebbiolo wines, like Barolo and Barbaresco, are now made in the so-called "international style," which means it's hard to tell them apart from $%&^!# merlots) (well, actually, you can tell them apart from $%&^!# merlots by their $50-$100 pricetags).

Marche reds and Aglianico-based wines shouldn't be that hard to find, as the stores I've listed obtain their Italian wines from the same excellent importers who also offer Marche reds and Aglianico-based wines. Heck, Spec's, for example, stocks the Sangiovese, Cabernet, and Ramitello from the southern Italian winery Da Majo Norante -- but fails to stock this winery's very best wine: its "Contado" Aglianico. So it's not like Houston stores can't get these wines, they just aren't doing it.

So please, someone, start looking for and stocking these unjustly overlooked reds.

Two recipes featuring olives

Had a hankerin' for the olive-based flavors of Provencal cuisine yesterday, so I cooked up a Provencal pasta dish and a Provencal-inspired chicken dish created by our friend (and excellent cook) Robert Finley.

Rosemary Pasta with Black Olives and Carrots

3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon butter
3 cloves garlic
1/2 medium onion (or mixture of onions & shallots) chopped
1 to 3 carrots (depending on size), peeled, sliced into very thin discs
1 Tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
1/2 cup oil-cured black olives
1 lb. pasta (penne, fusilli, or something else along those lines)
fresh grated parmigiano (to taste)
salt
pepper

Bring large pot of salted water to boil.

Meanwhile, warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add half the garlic, all of the onion and carrot, and saute for 7 to 10 minutes (until carrots start to soften).

Add remaining garlic, generous grinding of black pepper, half of the rosemary, and the olives. Continue to saute about 3 or 4 minutes more. Add remaining rosemary, then turn off heat and cover pan until your pasta is ready.

Water for the pasta should be boiling by now, so add pasta and boil until al dente. Drain, place in serving bowl. Add sauteed veggies and pan juices, season with salt and more pepper to taste, add remaining tablespoon of olive oil (or more if you like) and toss. Grate parmigiano on top as desired.

The above recipe was adapted from The Foods and Flavors of Haute Provence, by Georgeanne Brennan.


Whole Chicken Braised with Garlic, Calamata Olives, Lemon, and Rosemary (Here's the link to Robert's blog)

1 whole chicken (take out the stuff in the cavity!)
1 med. yellow onion, chopped
8 cloves garlic.
1 cup pitted calamatas (Don't be lazy! Get the best olives you can find and pit them right before you prepare)

1/4 cup ground calamata or olive tapenade.
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (don't be lazy here either.)
6 inch sprig of rosemary cleaned and chopped
2 cups dry wine (Robert suggests a dry rose, and that's what I used)

Prepare in a solid braiser, Dutch oven, or rondeau that fits the size of the chicken fairly snugly (so that the braising liquid rises up to a level that covers most of the bird -- I used my trusty oval Le Creuset dutch oven.)



1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. With your finger loosen the skin of the bird and spread ground calamata under it, reaching as far as you can. Season outside of bird with salt and pepper.

3. Brown that bird....all over. Remove from pan.

4. Cook onions and garlic till soft.

5. Return the bird along with everything else and place in medium oven for no less than an hour!
Serve bird, olives, garlic and braising liquid over a plate of fresh polenta.

NB: Robert's unusual technique of braising the chicken WHOLE results in an incredibly flavorful braising liquid and a falling-apart, remarkably tender bird.

Response To An Anonymous Immigrant

On June 30, 2007, I wrote about amnesty for illegal immigrants. Post

Today I received a comment from an anonymous immigrant. The comment was respectful and heartfelt. However, it failed to address the problems associated with illegal immigration.

hi, i have just received my green card and i am the happiest i have ever been in my entire life. i know most of u dont agree with helping the "illigals", but if u just sit down with any of them u would prob change ur mind. They are not criminals, they are just people like everyone else that just want make something of themselves,give their family hope, a future. They take risks of bein treaded like nobody's and still have strenght to get up in the morning everyday with knowing that maybe one day their dream might come true and see the people they left behind. we are not much different then anyone else, only people with hopes and dreams of a better day.

Anonymous Immigrant -

Thank you for your comment. I can truly rejoice with you that you have a green card and are happy to be here. I hope that you can make a great life here.

America became the greatest country on Earth by championing hard work, personal responsibility, morality, and respect for others. If we were still that same country, I would have a different view of unrestricted immigration. However, socialists have crept into our state and federal governments and we now champion laziness, no responsibility, immorality, and disrespect for others.

We are controlled by politicians who govern based on votes, not what is right and wrong. These politicians hand out "bribes" in the form of welfare and Medicare in return for votes.

America is on the path to bankruptcy. We cannot sustain federal government spending without significant tax increases. If we continue to allow immigrants to come to this country illegally, immigrants who will be added to our welfare programs, our demise will come much more quickly.

What would happen if we had a repeat of the late 1970's where unemployment neared 10%? Who would be out of work? How would they feed their families? Who would take care of them? Where would the money come from?

I have no problem with someone wanting to make a better life for themselves as long as they do it legally. I could have a better life if I stole $100,000 from the bank but that doesn't mean I have the right to do it.

2006 Yalumba SANGIOVESE ROSÉ (South Australia)

This excellent value is from Yalumba's bargain-priced "Y-Series." Lots of bright, balanced fruit in a fairly full and soft frame.


Beautiful watermelon-pink color. Ripe nose of watermelon, cherry, and strawberry, with a pleasantly pungent minerally component in the background. Round, soft, and ripe in the mouth, with cherry-strawberry fruit and lots of steely minerals providing a nice counterpoint to the ripeness. Just barely off-dry, which probably helps avoid the sometimes bitter finish that full-flavored rosés sometimes can have. This will hold for the next several months. 89. Widely available (Spec's, and Whole foods too I think) for under $9.

2004 Sella & Mosca CANNONAU DI SARDEGNA "Riserva" (Sardinia, Italy)

This was a disappointment. Cannonau is what the Sardinians call the Grenache grape, and what I like about Grenaches -- and the Cannonaus I've had in the past from another Sardinian winery, Argiolas -- is the soft, fleshy texture and spicy raspberryish fruit it frequently gives. This had neither.

Medium ruby garnet. Very light intensity nose of cherries, balsa wood, and pungently metallic minerals. Rather meagerly-endowed in the mouth -- thin cherryish fruit, followed by an increasingly drying finish than veered toward dried old leather. 74. Around $12 at Spec's and at Whole Foods, if you need to know for some reason.

Monty Python- Knights Of The Round Table/Camelot Song

And now for something, completely different. Monty Python - The Knights of the Round Table.

Bill Clinton gives heated response on voter disenfranchiseme

A reporter with ABC news affiliate chanel 7 in San Francisco gets a sample of Bill's famous temper when he questions the former President on why the Nevada state teachers union which has ties to the Clintons filed a lawsuit to shut down special precints for Casino workers on the Las Vegas strip. The lawsuit came just two days after local 226 of the Culinary Workers Union endorsed Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton for the Democrat presidential nomination. While traveling in the Bay Area, Bill offers up some fuzzy math to explain the reason for the lawsuit by claiming special precints give some Democrat voters a "five-to-one" advantage over party voters working in other parts of the city. The lawsuit was rejected by U.S. District Court Judge James Mahan. Judge Mahan ruled that since the participants were caucusing and not voting in a general election that rules pertaining to precint location are set by national parties and not applicable to federal equal protection guarantees. Current polls show Clinton, Obama and Edwards in a statistical dead-heat in the Silver state. The Nevada State Education Association was one of the plaintiffs in the case. Nevada State Education Association president Lynn Warne, a Clinton supporter and a member of the campaign's Nevada Women's Leadership Council announced that the teacher's union would not appeal the court's decision.

Manchurian Candidate

Just in time for the 2008 election, The Manchurian Candidate. Get a copy of "The Shadow Party: How George Soros, Hillary Clinton and the Sixties Radicals Seized Control of the Democratic Party"
By: David Horowitz and Richard Poe. These former campus radicals and dedicated communists alledge that Soros and company plan to use the 2008 election to get their candidate elected to initiate an "open society" revolution from the upper tiers of society. It would explain why liberal / "progressive" politicians and media indulge in the apparently self-destructive behavior of championing movements opposed to the interests of the United States. Cause for pause.

Romney takes Michigan

Massachusetts former governor Mitt Romney won the Michigan's Republican presidential primary last night with a convincing win over his main rival Senator John McCain of Arizona. Mr. Romney with the help of his homegrown ties to the Wolverine state beat out Senator McCain by a margin of nine percentage points to take the primary with 39 percent of the votes cast to McCain's 30 percent. Former governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee gained 16 percent of the primary vote total for the Republican side.

With the ailing auto industry and Michigan's ranking as the state with the nation's highest unemployment rate serving as the backdrop to the political drama, Governor Romney was able to best Senator McCain's campaign by emphasizing his message of "optimism over Washington-style pessimism". The Massachusetts Republican told voters that he would fight for every Michigan job in contrast to the Arizona Republican's "straight talk" message that "those (manufacturing) jobs aren't coming back". McCain emphasized that workers would need to find other things to do in the new economy citing economists who claim the state's auto manufacturing jobs are gone for good. On the stump, Romney hammered away his message that cars were "in his DNA" referring to his father's career as the CEO of American Motors who later entered politics to become a popular three-term governor of Michigan.

McCain congratulated Romney on his win yet vowed to take the South Carolina primary when voters of that state go to the polls this Saturday. Former Senator Fred Thompson has been campaining in the Palmetto state where he is expected to put up a strong fight to stem the tide of steady losses he has suffered at the hands of his main rivals.

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton won the state's Democratic primary with 55 percent of the vote as that party's only major candidate to 40 percent voting "uncommitted" on the ballot. Michigan would normally have 156 Democratic delegates in play for their party's convention but because of Michigan state party officials move to hold the primary earlier than the normal February 5th contest, the DNC penalized Michigan officials by stripping them of all their delegates. Last year all of the major Democratic candidates pledged to not campaign in Michigan because of the move to an early primary. The decision left Democratic voters with a choice of Mrs. Clinton or "uncommitted" on their ballots, relegating their primary to a "beauty contest" in the rough and tumble world of presidential politics. Even with the severe penalty enacted by the party, it is expected that all Michigan delegates will be seated at the convention later this year.

Attention will now be focused on the South Carolina primary and Nevada caucus to be held on the 19th.

2004 Luis Felipe Edwards CARMENERE "Gran Reserva" (Colchagua Valley, Chile)

An unusually elegant rendition of a Carmenere (a Chilean varietal that is fast becoming one of my favorites).


Is there really an explosion of different Chilean Carmeneres appearing in the market over the last two years or so, or am I just paying more attention these days?


This one is very polished (it even comes wrapped in paper!). Saturated, soft black ruby with violet highlights. Closed nose at first, but with significant air time, it burgeoned, opening up with scents of dark cassis and blackberry, and a scorched earth/smoky graphite component. Unlike a lot of the wines I've had recently, the flavors were even better than the nose on this one: dense, soft, lush sweet cassis, smoky earth, and subtle wood. Very long, perfectly balanced finish. 90. Was about $14 at Whole Foods on Bellaire.

2006 Atteca "Old Vines" GARNACHA (Calatayud, Spain)

This was a powerful wine, loaded with character.

Crystal black ruby with a magenta edge. Focused, intense nose of spicy, ripe raspberries and hot stones. Tightly packed and massive in the mouth, with dense black raspberry fruit and the barest hint of chalky earth. Not complex, but a real bruiser, like a 6'6", 300 lb. defensive tackle of a wine. Will probably improve over the next year. 89+. Was about $14 at Spec's on Smith.

2005 Domaine de Fenouillet COTES DE VENTOUX (Rhone, France)

This wine had a really nice nose but fell short in the mouth.

Dark ruby color with purple highlights. Very elegant, gentle nose of sweet plum juice, cinnamon, powdered sugar and almonds. Soft, but lean, however, in the mouth. Flavors of steely minerals and a small amount of dry, bright fruit flavors, with crisp acidity. Seems like this is another in a recent spate I've experienced of wines whose noses make promises their flavors can't fill. Nose 90, flavors 83, for an overall score of around 86. Was $11 and change at Spec's on Smith.

2005 Pedroncelli Dry Creek Valley ZINFANDEL "Mother Clone" (California)

This was a terrific value.


Dark ruby color with purple highlights. Very nice nose of blackberries, cocoa powder, and scorched earth. Deep-toned and rich in the mouth with flavors of blackberry extract, toasty oak, iodine, and forest floor. Long, balanced, and somewhat tannic finish, though the tannins are ripe and soft. A rare excellent value in a Zinfandel. Was $10 and change -- I'll use blogger's license and call it "under $10" -- at Spec's on Smith. 89.

The Democrat Party Uncivil War (2 of 2)

Hillary Clinton's disparaging comments on the Today Show with Matt Lauer saying that Barack Obama "hasn't done the spadework necessary to be president." come back to haunt her in this narrative of the uncivil war between the Clintons and the Obama camp. Earlier in the week Clinton supporter Andrew Cuomo in referring to Mr. Obama's polished oratory before cameras commented, "You can't shuck and jive at a press conference,...All those moves you can make with the press don't work when you're in someone's living room." Don't think for a moment that these demeaning, personal, and racially tinged jabs by the Clintons and their proxies are accidental. The subtext of their comments and those of their surrogates are meant to tell their major opponent in the Democratic Party, "just who do you think you are?"

The Democrat Party Uncivil War (1 of 2)

Rush narrates the tale of the Uncivil War between the Clintons and their minions and Barack Obama's supporters within the Democrat Party.

Michigan Crowd Boos McCain On Illegal Immigration

McCain hits back at detractors in Michigan while speaking about amnesty for illegal aliens.

Mrs. Clinton gets marriage proposal at IBEW in L.A.

While campainging in Southern California for that state's February 5th participation in Tsunami Tuesday, the AP reports that Senator Hillary had just outlined the main points of her "Economic Stimulus Package" before a crowd of supporters at the IBEW union hall in the City of Commerce, California. During the Q&A period the first question came from a man who said, "Hillary, marry me baby."

The crowd loved the moment of levity and heartily applauded amidst the merriment that filled the packed auditorium. The Senator responded with a polite no to the proposal and ventured, "That is certainly the kindest offer I've had in a while,....I'd probably be arrested."

I have to hand it to Senator Clinton's staff for running this latest phase of her campaign to soften her image as a steely, grasping political wonk and add an element of warmth to the candidate. This latest offer sure beats the one she got while campaigning in New Hampshire.

While addressing voters gathered together in a New Hampshire school auditorium the Senator was greeted by a pair of "protestors" who held up a sign that read; "Iron My Shirt" while chanting the slogan, before Hillary called for the lights to be turned on so the crowd could see the "Dumb and Dumber" apprentices.

The scruffy duo turned out to be a pair of jokers from a local radio station. The big guy in the video was identified by the New York Daily News as Adolfo Gonzalez Jr. and his partner in nascent adolecscent idiocy was Nick Gemelli. Both men were suspected by Clinton critics of being planted in the crowd in order to get a visceral reaction from the Senator's supporters. It did seem like a pretty smooth transition for the Senator to move from being the one heckled to turning the spotlight back on the heckler to bask in the jeers and ridicule of the crowd. It also gave Mrs. Clinton an opportunity to riff, “Oh the remnants of sexism, alive and well tonight,” and cracking wise about "breaking glass ceilings." I wonder if she's been moonlighting as a stand up comic while keeping her day job in the Senate.

F-16..Iraq war...blowing up bad guys :]...big bomb

Terrorist vermin get hurried along for a meet-up with their 72 virgins (all Madeline Albright and Helen Thomas look-alikes) as F-16 scores direct hit on al-Qaeda scum.

2008: Liberals vs Centrists

The 2008 presidential race is shaping up to be a contest between liberals and centrists. In other terms, true liberals vs faux conservatives.

Only two GOP candidates can truly claim the conservative label and neither of them appear to have a snowball's chance in Ecuador of winning the nomination. The remainder of the group doesn't have a clue about why Republicans lost big in 2006 and what conservatism means.

In 1980 and 1984, Ronald Reagan annihilated the liberals. Total landslides. In 1988, George H. W. Bush rode the Reagan wave and won 40 states over Michael Dukakis. But H. W. veered left from the Reagan philosophy and was handed his head in 1992 by Bill Clinton.

In 1994, after just two years of Bill Clinton and a Democratic Congress, Americans had had enough. Republicans, under the leadership of the conservative Newt Gingrich, took control of both houses of Congress for the first time in approximately 40 years.

After Gingrich was booted conservative leadership failed. So did the GOP. Republicans began losing seats in both houses. When George W. Bush was elected with a Republican majority in both houses, it appeared that a new day was dawning and America could finally be righted. Wrong. Republicans were timid, weak, and lacked the chutzpah to get the job done. As a result, they were tossed out of office in 2006.

This is where the problem begins. Candidates like John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Rudy Giuliani, and Mitt Romney think that Americans voted the GOP out because they didn't work with the Democrats. Nothing could be farther from the truth. They apparently learned nothing from 1994 and 2006. They are all centrists, moderates, and RINOs, and sound more like libs than Republicans.

They can claim the conservative label if they want but the proof is in the pudding.

Hillary Is Incredible!!

In yesterday's New Hampshire primary, Hillary Clinton was a supercandidate. She managed to overcome a double digit deficit and take the Democratic primary by 3 points. That is an unbelievable accomplishment! That is the equivalent of a football team being down 39-27 with two minutes to go and winning 42-39.

Everyone is asking what went wrong with the polls. Why were they so far off? Well, they were only off when it came to Hillary and Obama. Almost every other prediction was within 1%.

I am reminded of a certain U.S. Senator who turned a modest $1,000 investment in cattle futures into $100,000 in just a few months.

I don't see how we can afford not to elect this woman to the presidency. She is superwoman! I'm just waiting for her to turn water into wine.

Or could there be a man behind the curtain? There were investigations into Hillary's commodities windfall and several suspicious things turned up. I would almost wager on there being suspicious goings on in the New Hampshire primary yesterday.

No, Hillary is not a superwoman. She's not even a superpolitician. But she is part of a supermachine that will stop at nothing to reach the desired goal.

John McCain Victory Speech From New Hampshire - Part 1 of 2

Good speech from John McCain.

Hillary wins New Hampshire:

Senator Clinton's acceptance speech last night. A little bit mushy for me but it obviously worked for the crowd.

Clinton and McCain Rock rivals in the Granite State

Seizing a last minute victory from the jaws of defeat Senator Hillary Clinton beat her main Democratic rival in the race to the White House in a stunning come-from-behind victory over freshman Senator Barack Obama of Illinois. Clinton had been expected to finish second in New Hampshire's presidential primary by a margin of 5 to 10 percentage points behind Senator Barack Obama. Clinton instead surged ahead of Obama winning 39 percent of the vote to 36 percent for the former Illinois state senator. Clinton's victory was due in large part to the support of women and independents who flocked to the Democratic camp by a margin of 40 percent versus 30 to the Republican primary.

John Edwards finished a distant third in the race, securing 17 percent of the vote leaving former Governor Bill Richardson with less than 5 percent at the end of the day. After the third place finish, Edwards appeared undeterred by the result telling supporters it was, "Two down, Forty-eight states to go!" The former South Carolina Senator will be looking for a win in his home state when South Carolinians vote in their primary on January 26th. Edwards best shot at the nation's top job will be solid win in the palmetto state in order to build momentum for his own campaign in time for Tsunami Tuesday on February 5th when voters in twenty-four states will hold caucuses or primaries for the presidential election.

When it came to New Hampshire everyone said Clinton would lose. Pollsters had the former first lady losing today's race and predicted a second win for Obama in less than a week. Pundits said the Clinton's were stale and boring and that the electorate were tired of Bill and Hill. The Clintons battled back to show they are still the team to beat on the road to the 2008 Democratic convention. Clinton now leads her challengers in total delegates to her party's convention with 187 delegates including superdelegates. Obama trails with 89 and Edwards with 50 delegates committed to him. This win in the Northeastern state has breathed new life into the Clinton campaign which will be refined and can be expected to move away from highlighting Mrs. Clinton's years in the public limelight and focus more on Senator Obama's newcomer status in presidential politics.

For John McCain the day couldn't be sweeter. He has prevailed in a contest where he was outspent by his wealthy rival Mitt Romney. Both men have been at loggerheads over immigration, tax cuts and previous stances on social issues and at times their spats have been nettlesome and petty. Despite this, Senator McCain was able to pull in the support of independents and moderates in the Republican party to beat his opponent by carrying 37 percent of the Republican primary vote compared with 32 percent for Romney and 11 percent for Huckabee. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giulliani walked away with 9 percent of the vote edging out Texas Representative Ron Paul who garnered 8 percent. Fred Thompson finished with only 1 percent of the vote in the Republican New Hampshire primary. John Edwards isn't the only candidate who has to do well in South Carolina. If Thompson can't turn in a respectable finish in the red turf of South Carolina he may as well concede and lend his support to his good friend John McCain.

The focus for the Republicans will now turn to Michigan where McCain and Romney are in a heated contest to win that state's primary next Tuesday. Both candidates are running television ads and are campaigning in the state today. John McCain's gold place finish in New Hampshire catapults him from also-ran status to national viability as a GOP contender. A subsequent win for the Arizona Senator in Michigan will seriously hurt Romney and push McCain into the forefront as the Grand old Party's man to beat in 2008.

This should be one great horse race to the finish line.

Dixville Notch goes to Obama and McCain

CNN reports the tiny hamlets of Dixville Notch and Hart's Location, New Hampshire have cast their votes for Senators Barack Obama for the Democrat and John McCain for the Republican primary elections. The little communities situated near the border with Canada were the first to cast their ballots in the granite state's 2008 primary. Senator Obama carried Dixville Notch with seven votes, former Senator John Edwards received 2 votes, former Governor Bill Richardson got 1 vote and Senator Hillary Clinton received no votes along with Congressman Dennis Kucinich.

The voting results for these boroughs may be a harbinger of things to come in the New Hampshire primary later today. Democratic voters are responding to Obama's clarion call for change in the way things are run in Washington. Barak Obama points to his experience working with Republicans in the Illinois state legislature as proof that he is able to break the political gridlock in Washington, although the three year freshman Senator from Illinois has no stellar record of voting outside party lines while in the nation's capital. Despite the claim by Democrats and their media allies that the fractious partisanship we see today is due to the "failed policies of the Bush administration" the fact is that partisanship has existed in the Republic since the establishment of a two party system. Senator Obama talks a good talk but his bipartisan resume is razor thin.

People are longing for change today as they do in every election cycle. Modern campaign promises to break deadlock and partisan bickering in Washington date back to the campaigns of Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy. Nothing much has changed here except for the public's desire to see new people at the helm of the ship of state. While I'm no fan, Mitt Romney accurately summarized the public's current mood for change recently when he remarked, "It’s long past time to bring real change to Washington,....That’s never going to happen if all we do is send the same people back to Washington to sit in different chairs.”

Change is in the air. For the Democrats, contrast the tired, almost somber rallies of the Clinton faithful with the exuberant party-like celebrations of the Obama backers. One pundit has already taken the time to chalk up the Clinton years as the "End of an Era". Peter Wehner writes in Commentary Magazine, "watch the Clintons’ rage and desperation grow in the last days of this campaign will not be pretty. They will lash out at everyone, including Obama, the media, her own campaign, and maybe, eventually, each other. This is a couple not known for their grace or for holding lightly to their grip on power."

Change is also in the air for the Republicans. Voters are saying with their endorsements of Huckabee in Iowa and soon-to-be victorious McCain in New Hampshire that money can't buy elections. Republicans are looking for a candidate whom they can identify with and will most likely weather the tough trail all the way to the White House.

ABC New Hampshire Republican Debate - 1/5/08 - Part 8 of 9

Good section on illegal immigration and the difference between Obama and the GOP candidates.

2005 Rosenblum Cellars "Chateau La Paws" Red (California)

This is a moderately priced blend of Rhone varietals. It had a nice nose, but was kind of hollow on the palate.

Dark black ruby color. Nose tight and astringent at first, but with air time it opens up to reveal ripe, plummy-cranberry fruit with a little gingerbread spice. Full bodied, but with a sense of hollowness in the mouth. Quite a bit of blackberry fruit and iodine flavors, as well as some scorched earthiness, but it's simply not nearly as fleshy and concentrated as the nose would lead you to believe. Decent length and balance, though. Was $12.99 at Whole Foods on Bellaire. 83.

2006 MacMurray Ranch PINOT NOIR (Central Coast, Calif.)

This was leftover from a holiday party Liz attended. I've seen it at virtually every supermarket in town, and it's a correct, cheap Pinot.

Bright ruby with magenta highlights. Lively but very simple nose of cherries, cola spices, and nutmeg. Direct cherry/earth flavors on entry, leading to a flat, somewhat metallic, cherry-ish finish. Not bad. 83. Widely available for around $10 to $14.

Hillary Clinton's Heated Response

The mask falls off in this interview with Hillary.

2005 Domaine Les Grands Bois CÔTES DU RHÔNE "Cuvée Les Trois Soeurs" (France)

This wine had terrific color, a terrific nose, but flavors that did not meet the expectations instilled by the color and nose.

Gorgeous saturated purple ruby color. Wonderfully fruity nose of boisterous blueberries and blackberries, with citrus oil and powdered rock dust scents as well. Medium-bodied and lacking weight and concentration of flavor in the mouth, however. What flavors were there were of bone dry blackberry extract, and they led quickly to a rather chalky-textured finish. Nose 90, flavors 76, for an average of 83 (throwing out the score of the Russian judge!).

2004 Martinelli "Zio Tony Ranch" PINOT NOIR (Russian River Valley, Cal.)

This was a tremendous, full-throttle Pinot Noir. We were lucky to be able to share this one with the Hughens while they were visiting us over New Years.



Sultry, medium dark ruby. Intensely fruity nose: sweet, oozing cherries and berries, with tart pectin-like notes and a sweetly musky component. Deep, concentrated, and full bodied, with an almost port-like texture and weightiness. Overripe cherry and plum extract in the mouth, with lots of peppery, steely minerals in the long, but warm (15.6% alc.) finish. Not the most subtle or complex wine, but a big, voluptuous, Raquel Welch of a Pinot Noir. 90. I got this from Flickinger Wines in Chicago several months ago -- I don't remember how much it was (I think around $45).

Eight Things To Do in Utah in 2008

Today's Trib has a list of some great (and inexpensive) things to see and do in Utah. I highly recommend the Hwy 12 drive before the state "improves" it. It is spectacular, accessible, and an easy, safe drive (even the Hogs Back while a little scary, offers wide lanes and pull-outs for viewing). If you do nothing else new this year, take this drive (in good weather).

From the Trib: www.sltrib.com/entertainment/ci_7872478?source=rv
Drive State Highway 12
This necklace-shaped road along the northern boundary of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is a glittering jewel in the Utah highway system. Its 120 miles offer stunning views of Red Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Boulder Mountain and Capitol Reef National Park and also cross the Hogsback, a dramatic ridge with thousand-foot cliffs on both sides. No wonder Car and Driver magazine named it one of the top 10 scenic drives in the nation. http://www.utah.com/byways/highway_12.htm

Huckabee / Obama win Iowa Caucuses

First term Senator Barak Obama won the Iowa caucuses last night edging out his rivals John Edwards and former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton in the opening bout leading to the New Hampshire primary only five days from now.

Matt Drudge reported Obama's win with 37.53% of support of Iowa's caucus goers compared with 29.88% for Edwards which relegated third place to Clinton with 29.41% of the vote. Mrs. Clinton badly needed to win in Iowa in order to blunt any doubt as to her viability as a presidential candidate and with a third place finish behind former Senator John Edwards of South Carolina the veneer of inevitability has come off of the New York Senator's campaign for the White House.

Yesterday morning, Chuck Todd of NBC News predicted the spin that the candidates would put on a win, lose or draw result from the Iowa caucuses. As Todd writes, "the Clinton team would rather lose to Edwards than to Obama. Third place would be a near-disaster scenario; (for Clinton)". Todd maintains that although the Clinton's might be down if dealt a third place finish, don't count them out. But Hillary is no Bill Clinton. As predicted, Clinton spun her third place finish as a "great night for Democrats" and vowed to "keep pushing as hard as we can."

New Hampshire awaits the candidates and as they gear up for the next five day bout of campaigning in the Granite State. Some of the presidential hopefuls wasted no time and are already in New Hampshire getting ready for the state's January 8th primary. The political winds of the cold Iowa winter will provide strong downwinds for the caucus winners and stiff headwinds for the losers. Those New Hampshire primary voters who were likely to support Hillary due to the specter of inevitability conferred upon her by the usual phalanx of political pundits can be expected to reconsider their backing of Mrs. Clinton in light of her third place loss to the upstart Obama.

Obama's campaign theme of asking voters to believe not just in his ability to "bring real change in Washington" but challenge to voters to believe in their ability to bring change struck a resonant chord with the Iowa electorate. The resonnance that Obama stirred with voters in this middle America state will not be dispelled by the former first lady's claim to embody presidential and world class leadership experience by virtue of her one-time window to the world from the vantage point of 1600 Pennsylvannia Avenue.

ABC News commentators George Stephanopolous and Charles Gibson noted that Clinton's support from Independents fell to a distant third behind Barak Obama, and also pointed out that her support among women fell to only 30% in contrast to 35% for Obama. These numbers point to serious weaknesses in the Clinton campaign which has put much stock in the support of Independents and women in order to portray her as a winning candidate for her party's nomination. Results like this will not bode well for Clinton in the upcoming primaries. As Captain's Quarters' Ed Morrissey points out Edwards finished two points lower than his 2004 performance in the Iowa caucuses during that contentious race. Hillary was unable to take advantage of Edward's decline to gain even the number two spot in Iowa!

On the Republican side Mike Huckabee walked away from Mitt Romney in his party's contest to win over the Iowa caucus goers. Huckabee finished the race with 34% of the vote leaving Romney trailing way behind at 25%. Fred Thompson finished the race with 13% of the vote, barely edging out rival John McCain who also garnered a statistical 13% leaving Ron Paul far behind with 10%, and Rudy Giulliani who barely spent a week in Iowa with 3% of the caucus-goers support. Republicans Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo finished at well under 1% of the vote in the Hawkeye state after the results were tallied.

Huckabee proved that he is a master in the art of retail politics. The former Arkansas governor excels at pressing the flesh, giving speeches on the stump and talking first-hand with voters. Romney, who is no slouch on the campaign trail outspent his Southern opponent by a margin of 20 to 1 and dispite a withering barrage of negative campaign ads aimed at his chief rival failed to carry the day in the tall corn state.

Analysts quickly pointed to polling data that showed that evangelical Christians were wary of endorsing a Mormon for president. Despite Romney's populist appeal and charismatic personality, voter ambivalence regarding his faith was cited as a major factor behind Mike Huckabee's major victory over the former governor of Massachusetts.

With New Hampshire in sight, the political landscape will change for the Republican candidates where conservative evangelicals do not hold sway over election results as in breadbasket states like Iowa. The Huckabee campaign will shift focus to sound a more poplulist theme in their message to voters in the upcoming primaries. With Huckabee's proven ability to connect with voters like those in his native Arkansas where Democrats outnumber Republicans by a sizeable majority and with the kind of folksy appeal that Huckabee displays with voters when he's out working the "stretched chicken" circuit, you can bet that a repeat of the Iowa victory is not out of the question at this stage of the race.

Four months ago Huckabee was an asterisk in the race for the Republican nomination as the party's standard bearer for 2008. Now his opponents must contend with a candidate who enters New Hampshire carried along by the strong winds of his Iowa victory behind him.

Clinton drops to third place in Iowa poll

New polling data from 905 likely Iowa caucus goers compiled by Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby show Senator Clinton in third place against her rivals Barak Obama and former Senator John Edwards according to a report posted by Reuters today. In results that could portend a serious threat to Senator Clinton's presidential aspirations 24% of caucus-goers sampled in the poll said they would likely vote for the former first lady as compared to 31% for Obama and 27% for Edwards.
Other Democratic contenders in the race registered single digit polling numbers according to the report.

On the Republican side, Mike Huckabee surged six points ahead of his most contentious rival Mitt Romney in the poll. Governor Huckabee of Arkansas moved to 31% to Romney's 25% of GOP caucus-goers.

Methinks the wheels of the Clinton juggernaut will come off in the snows of Iowa.

Hillary Clinton displays ignorance of Pakistani elections

In an op-ed for the Middle East Times Thomas Houlahan, director of the Military Assessment Program at the Center for Security and Science marvels at Presidential hopeful, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton display of ignorance regarding the upcoming elections in Pakistan. Clinton's remarks before CNN journalist Wolf Blitzer and later with ABC's George Stephanopoulos betrayed the Senator's lack of the most rudimentry knowledge of politics in the country referred to by some as "the most dangerous place on earth" according to Houlahan.

Houlahan writes that after returning from a brief television appearance regarding the security of Pakistan's nuclear weapons, he tuned in to CNN to watch their coverage of the Bhutto assassination's aftermath. It was there that he saw the Senator denounce the Pakistani government of President Musharraf as lacking "any credibility at all". Mrs. Clinton went further in her comments stating that if president Musharraf wanted to run for election he should, "abide by the same rules that every other candidate will have to follow."

Unfortunately for Mrs. Clinton's illustration, Mr. Musharraf was already elected president of Pakistan back on October 6th by an overwhelming margin of the country's electorate. Benazir Bhutto before her assassination, was running for election as a member of Parliment and not president of Pakistan. Mr. Musharraf has in fact just started his five-year term as the president of that troubled country so he would be highly unlikely to run again after having served only three months in that position.

Mrs. Clinton who we are told is the "smartest woman in the world," accustomed to flying into the world's most dangerous hot spots with comedian "Sinbad" in tow repeated her assertion on ABC's "This Week" with George Stephanopoulos. The junior Senator from New York said that, "He (President Pervez Musharraf) could be the only person on the ballot. I don't think that's a real election."

Because Wolf Blitzer and George Stephanopoulos are in deep with the Democratic Party establishment, (Blitzer by virtue of his job with CNN, the Clinton News Network and Stephanopoulos from his prior work as Bill Clinton's deputy campaign manager for communications and later senior advisor to the president for policy and strategy) neither interviewer dared challenge Mrs. Clinton on her blunder. However had Mrs. Clinton been a Republican you could bet your last coffee and danish that both interviewers would have made much hay of her political faux pas and we'd be hearing about it for weeks!

So here we have "smartest woman in the world" aspiring to be the leader of the free world in the most powerful country on the face of the earth offering up uninformed opinions about the political situation of an allied nation that could soon become the front line on the war on terror. Is there any way we can get "Sinbad" to run in 2008?

California School cracks down on illegals

Residents in Calexico, California are cracking down on students illegally entering the U.S. to attend the city's local schools according to a recent AP report. Classroom overcrowding caused by students crossing the border from neighboring Mexicali, Mexico has become so pronounced that legal residents of the district have had to resort to bussing their children away from local schools to remote locations across town.

While school district administrators cannot address a student's immigration status it can enforce rules requiring residency in local districts. Enter Daniel Santillan, an unlikely hero in the fight against illegals crowding into U.S. classrooms from Mexico. Santillan a Vietnam War veteran who posts the likenesses of Cesar Chavez and Che Guevara in his ranch-style home makes the trek to the U.S./Mexican border in his SUV to photograph Mexican students as they exit the U.S. inspection building and head for class in Calexico's schools on the U.S. side of the border. The residences of students whom officials suspect are living in Mexico are verified by early morning calls to the addresses provided by the families. Students who are found reside in Mexico are kicked out of the district's schools.

The enforcement program began when residents of Calexico were told they would have to bus their children to alleviate overcrowding in the city's schools even though voters had approved a 30 million dollar construction project to provide for more classrooms for the city's burgeoning student population back in 2004. Voters demanded that something be done to solve the problem of classroom overcrowding by illegals.

Call me a "nativist" but I'd say it's a step in the right direction and I'll wear the "nativist" banner proudly. Americans are by and large good-natured, hard-working, charitable people. But even the most forbearing of those who pay their taxes, make many personal sacrifices and approve bond measures so their children can receive an education, get to the point where they've had enough of unconscionable individuals who take the short route and send their kids into a neighboring country to sponge off the generosity of others to get the benefits of a U.S. education at the expense of their neighbors just over the border.

The full article can be viewed here.