This makes no census!

Well, ye socks, the latest over-reach by the ObamaNation really has yours truly reeling.

In case you haven't heard, Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH) declined his nomination as the next Secretary of Commerce.

He did this, because he found out Rahmbo and the White House staff were going to yank control of the U.S. Census out of the hands of the Commerce Department officials who have traditionally overseen the enumeration every ten years. Instead, they want to run the head count from the West Wing . . . as if they didn't have enough on their plates when it comes to overseeing the downward spiral into socialism.

Why is this such a big deal, you ask?

Well, it's a big deal because the new maladministration wants to flout 220 years of precedent and a constitutional mandate to conduct an actual head count. Instead, they want to use "statistical sampling." Basically, they will make up the numbers to satisfy who THEY think lives in a given geographic area versus who is actually there.

No room for Chicago-style shenanigans with that approach, right?!

As an avid genealogist and amateur historian, the possibility of some partisan hack pulling numbers out of the air is even more distressing. It will do away with those handy enumerations full of biographical detail that have helped so many of us research our family trees and local heritage.

The good news is, we've survived this threat before. Ten years ago, Slick Willie tried the same thing and was slapped down by a Supreme Court ruling. Perhaps the ObamaNation will come to their census senses before we have to repeat history thru litigation.

Hope and change!

Slick Willie visits Orlando

Well, ye socks, in case you missed it, this little corner of heaven played host to our illustrious former president yesterday.

Ostensibly, he came down here to stump for the presidential aspirations of the junior senator from Illinois.

He seemed more than a little unenthusiastic. That's probably why this was only the first (and possibly last) time he's headlined an event to support his party's candidate since their convention. I know I'm biased, but it looked like Hillary's Hubby was just going thru the motions.

One Valencia Community College student muttered, "I would have rather seen Hillary . . ."

Monica Lewinsky's former boyfriend did, however, display his incredible ability to state the obvious with this zinger: "This country is a mess."

Well, duh!

Imagine what kind of a mess it would be in, though, if the Obama people were put in charge of things.

I mean, they flubbed this little appearance, hosting a rally OUTSIDE in the 90-degree Florida heat . . . what were they thinking?! 20 people had to seek medical treatment, while the air-conditioned UCF arena served only as a backdrop to the whole pathetic display.

Fortunately, there were a few dozen members of the group Knights for McCain on hand to spice things up. One of them, Sarah Lucenegro, declared, "I came out to show that not the whole campus is in love with Obama."

You're not alone, Sarah. Based on Bill's lackluster performance, I don't think the Clintons are, either!

Not just an echo.

Well, it was a yucky rainy day down here in usually-sunny Central Florida. So, yours truly ended up watching CSPAN.

Go ahead and laugh.

But, I found myself wrapped-up in the network's live coverage of the "Black State of the Union," organized by Tavis Smiley over in New Orleans.

I really tuned in because Hillary Clinton was scheduled to address the crowd, something Barack Hussein Obama declined to do. And, I wanted to see what kind of reception she would get after all of her husband's antics in South Carolina.

Anyway, Mr. Smiley's lead-in was a panel discussion of some sort. I didn't catch the entire thing. But, it was really quite interesting, and I was actually inspired by the words of one of the panelists.

He was a professor from Princeton University. He looked like a "nutty professor," and I could tell by most of his words that he and I probably disagree on just about every topic of political debate. However, he did (inadvertently, I'm sure) inspire me when he encouraged the audience to use their own voice, and not simply be an "echo of the past."

The substance behind this exhortation was the professor didn't want his listeners to rest on the laurels of the generations that came before them. Instead, he encouraged them to become actively involved in their community and nation.

I would take his argument one step further, in a direction I'm sure the professor would not like. Don't just do things because your parents and grandparents did them. Think about it first. Make your own decisions. Really speak with your own voice. You might just discover that voice doesn't belong to a single political party. And, you might find that independent voice resonates much more deeply than the echoes of the past.

Rick Perry is getting nervous

For ye socks unfamiliar with Lone Star politics, Rick Perry is the Governor of Texas. He succeeded George W. Bush about the same time Mike Huckabee started cleaning-up all the Clinton debris in neighboring Arkansas.

Ye may also be unaware that Mr. Perry made the mistake of endorsing Rudy Giuliani for president several months ago. And, since the former New York City mayor withdrew from the race, Perry has sheepishly followed him into the McCain camp.

All of this must be pretty embarassing for the governor, and is doubtlessly eroding his support among his conservative fellow Texans.

If he believed more in the values that are most important to Texans instead of political opportunism, he wouldn't have to bounce around from one camp to another.

Today, we hear that he called Huckabee and practically begged him to suspend his campaign.

That took some nerve.

Rest assured, he didn't place that call out of any particular passion for John McCain.

He didn't do it for the best interests of the Republican party.

He didn't do it because he wants to necessarily defeat the Dumbocrats in November.

Rather, he acted out of fear and the instinct for self-preservation that are all too often the trademarks of most politicians. He can't afford to be seen as the supporter of TWO failed candidates. Think about it!

How much egg will Perry have on his face when Mike Huckabee wins Texas in March?!

Go, Mike, go!

The smartest woman in America?!

Hillary Clinton's private jet broke down at a rural airport while she was criss-crossing the country in her campaign to become our next president.

Fortunately, she ran across a friendly pilot and his ten-year-old daughter who were preparing to take-off on a trip of their own and offered her a free seat on their plane.

Unfortunately, the plane's engine blew somewhere over the Great Plains, and the worried pilot had to inform his daughter and passenger that he only had two parachutes on board.

"Well," announced Mrs. Clinton, "I have to use one of them. I mean, not only am I the wife of the illustrious Bill Clinton, I'm also a sitting U.S. Senator from the great state of New York. And, because I am quite possibly the smartest woman in America, in a matter of just a few months, I am going to be the next President of the United States!"

With that, Hillary grabbed the nearest pack, opened the door, and jumped out of the plane.

The pilot looked at his daughter and said, "Go, ahead, honey, take the other 'chute and save yourself."

"Are you kidding?!" She replied, "I'm not jumping without you!"

"You have to, honey," he told her. "There's only one 'chute left."

"No, there's still two," she informed him. "The smartest woman in America was in such a hurry to get outta here, she grabbed my bookbag!"