Spank That Donkey

 Gov. Jim Gilmore visited JMU yesterday and the three different news articles written by the Staunton News Leader and the Daily News Record & The New Dominion are striking.  I don't know the reporter, but tell me exactly how informed you are after reading it.  Here's like the 'meat' of Gilmore's comments as a hint to what I am talking about:

"After telling the audience about his background, Gilmore encouraged them to vote with their values and use their voices through leadership."

Wow!  But what about those of us who would have actually like to have been there and we are dependent on the reporter to maybe, you know, fill us in on what he said?

Now lets take a look at the DNR coverage on Gilmore's comments:

For the next half-hour, he spoke on matters of both future policy and personal history. He offered first a cheery analysis of the country's standing in the world.

"We're really in great shape in terms of our position around the world," he said, pointing to the economy, military and education system as proof. The conservative policies he supports would keep it that way, Gilmore said.

The economy dominated much of his speech and the question-and-answer session that followed.

Gilmore says his conservative fiscal policies stem from key beliefs he holds that would steer his years in the halls of Congress if elected.

"I believe in problem-solving," Gilmore offered, the first of three beliefs at the core of his speech.

When he became governor, "in those days, you had to pay a tax just for owning a car, year after year after year." During his term, he cut 70 percent of that tax.

Second, he added, "you have to have integrity if you're going to serve in office." Too many politicians, he said, make campaign promises only to break them in office. "It makes people very cynical and I think that's wrong."

And third, "you have to have principles," Gilmore said, taking the opportunity to talk of his family and past experience.

Looks like Kelly Jasper of the DNR does  a pretty decent job here, then we have Chris Graham of the New Dominion who had a two fold mission of covering the speech, and actually doing an interview with the Governor:

"Jim Gilmore is a solid Republican - but he’s willing to break with party leaders, and even President Bush, when he feels it necessary. “We don’t want to necessarily carry the power in Iraq strictly on the backs of the military. We’re very proud of those men and women, we honor them - but American policy has to be broad-based,” said Gilmore, a candidate for the Republican Party nomination to run for the open United States Senate seat representing Virginia in November."

 Chris doesn't get as much into the speech, as he is focused on the interview but it's informative about the Governor's positions and what he actually said.

The Staunton News Leader's coverage of this event reminds me of a quote on saw on this blog 'On Frozen Blog':

“The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers.” - Thomas Jefferson"

 If you are actually interested in being an 'informed' voter check out the New Dominion Interview here.  If you are interested in hearing that indeed Gov. Gilmore did come to JMU and talked about the issues of the day, and that is about all you can handle, please stay with the News Leader.

 I have made it known that I have been a Duncan Hunter man ever since my good friend Kilo over at Spark It Up first pitched him too me.  What I liked most about Duncan was the fact that he was a Vietnam Veteran serving as our Chairman of the House Armed Services committee until the Dems took over in 2006.  Not only a veteran of the Army Rangers he was awarded the Bronze Star, while participating in 24 Helo-assaults in the Nam.

On top of that his son 1rst Lt Duncan Duane Hunter has made three tours of Iraq and Afghanistan.  I am looking at this election through the prism of National Security.  No one has impressed me more than Duncan Hunter.  In a previous post I came to a realization I should have had back in April 2006 when this Hill article was published.

Rush Limbaugh has been running his mouth about how when he goes to the Swanky confines of New England Republican lairs that they 'sneer' to him about the evangelicals, and rednecks in the Republican Party that his show supposedly caters too.  He contends that he is not 'accepted' by them because he encourages the 'lot' to stick to their Pro-Life and Pro-Gun ideals....  Sounds real Good, ol Limbaugh buddy... but when he pronounced two weeks ago that there was no 'Thoroughbred' Conservative Candidate in the Republican race, my ears perked up.

What was El Rushbo talking about?  Certainly Duncan Hunter wasn't Romney, Guiliani, McCain or even Huckabee once the MSM had to acknowledge his presence once he burst high enough in the polls.  No it finally dawned on me that the 'Dubai Ports' deal was what put an actual Thoroughbred Conservative Candidate on the outs with the 'Dr. of Democracy'.  Rush campaigned for months on end that it was a good deal, and we should let an Arab company control some of our major ports.  He was so keen on the idea, I did think it a little funny at the time, but I let it slip by, not realizing at the time, it was my guy; Chairman of the Armed Services Committee Duncan Hunter, putting the 'cabosh' on his beloved Ports Deal.

 You see in Rush's mind, Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, General Electric, General Dynamics, or a whole host of other American Billionaires and Billion dollar Companies weren't good enough to own some of our major ports; but Duncan Hunter thought they were, and should.  I come down on the side of Duncan Hunter.  I trust him because he gave up his Ranking Republican position on the House Armed Services Committee to run for President.  That takes integrity and proves he isn't a power hungry politician, as many in DC are rather guilty of.

He could have given the old 'wink, wink', nod, nod', nudge, nudge,  and maybe have gotten a whole pocket full of loot to run for President if he would have just played ball with, who now Rush?  Maybe those folks who didn't accept you as one of their own in 'Rockerfeller' Country?  Let me tell you ol' Rush oh pal.... Maybe it's us stupid, sneered at Pro-Life, Pro-Gun types you think you are pulling the wool over our eyes....

No sir, I think I can read the 'stitches' on the ol' fastball you are throwing at Duncan Hunter and ol' Huckabee...   Maybe there is more to the game than the 'announcer' in the seats (Limbaugh) is a telling?  The bottom line ol' Mr. "I might not endorse the Republican nominee", is I have seen through your egotistical and maybe financial snub of  Representative Duncan Hunter?  After at least  10 years of listening and respecting you, I'm starting to see through your game.

 I am endorsing Mike Huckabee for President, because he is willing to have a Duncan Hunter, a man of integrity, in his cabinet as Secretary of Defense.  This rumor has been out there for over two months, and if any of the other front runners wanted to bring Hunter into the fold either they are 'ticked' over the Ports Dubai deal; or maybe they would rather have some one on their team, that you know, 'knows how to play ball'.

I trusted Rep. Duncan Hunter's judgement to be my president, and I trust his judgement now of which of the remaining Republican candidates for President he feels would do the best job.   The Huckster has his weak points, as do all the front runners, but at least he isn't McPain, Hunter said he was trainable... I'll go with that.

 Phil Lynch, aka Yankee Phil, a SWAC Blogger has been honored by the CCRKBA as Defender of the Month for his cutting edge letters to the editor campaign here in the Shenandoah Valley.  The Staunton News Leader was undoubtedy cringing in pain publishing Yankee Phil's editorial submission in this awesome defense of the Second Amendment.  Check it out:

"The Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights does not use the word "People" until sixteenth word. Some pundits and polemicists take that to mean that the founding fathers did not actually mean that the people had the right to keep and bear arms. I assume that these same pundits never read the actual Constitution beyond the Preamble and the first two Amendments. It might be helpful for these individuals to get hold of a copy of the Federalist papers. Or listen to Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams, or William Henry Lee.
The Federalist papers are a group of 85 letters authored by James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton. James Madison was the fourth President of The United States. John Jay was the first U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice. Alexander Hamilton was the first Secretary of the Treasury. In six of these letters, they wrote about their ideas of standing armies and militias. The present National Guard was not what they had in mind. In Federalist # 46, Madison wrote "the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation. . . (where) the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms."
Thomas Jefferson stated "Laws that forbid the carrying of arms... disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man." In his America, "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." He stated that when he was proposing the Constitution of the state of Virginia.
Samuel Adams is now known as a brewer of beer. He stated that "The said Constitution [shall] be never construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of the press, or the rights of conscience; or to prevent the people of the United States, who are peaceable citizens, from keeping their own arms." Since the word people is not mentioned until the thirty-first word of the First Amendment, did he mean that only the government would have freedom of the Press?
William Henry Lee is a Virginian. He stated in briefly what the Second Amendment meant to the founding fathers. His words are "A militia when properly formed are in fact the people themselves . . . and include all men capable of bearing arms. . . To preserve liberty it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms... The mind that aims at a select militia, must be influenced by a truly anti-republican principle."The Second Amendment was not written for hunters, or target shooters. It was written for responsible people to protect their country, their community, their family, and themselves. It was written so free people can remain free. Everyone knows Patrick Henry’s famous line, "Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?...I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!" What is less known, and maybe more importantly, he stated, "Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel." Be careful of those that promise safety at the expense of your freedom."

Maybe they went after Delegate Ben Cline in such haste, because of Phil's great defense of an individual's right to Keep and Bear Arms?  The Staunton News Leader is so 'out of step' with its area, it's pathetic.