Mike Huckabee Rips CPAC For Becoming ‘More Libertarian’

This one was funny to me since my husband was such a huge Mike Huckabee fan, Mike Huckabee Rips CPAC For Becoming ‘More Libertarian’.

My husband does not consider himself to be a "real" republican though he's registered as an R, he prefers to call himself a "conservative" -- though the reality is he leans more libertarian than republican and maybe from years of living with me, is a bit more supportive of State and Local social service programs than most. He and I don't agree on many things political but we do agree that unfunded or underfunded government mandates should not exist, that States should have more control over what they want to provide or not provide and our Federal government is far to big and powerful than it was intended. States have very little control anymore, and it is at the state and local level where we as citizens stand a better chance at having an impact without lobbyists and special interest dollars taking away our voices.

Part of the above linked article:

Speaking on Fox News last weekend, Huckabee said that CPAC has become "more libertarian and less Republican over the last few years, one of the reasons why I [did not attend the event] this year."

The former GOP presidential candidate also suggested that the popularity of the Tea Party nation movement and its events all over the country have caused the influence of the CPAC to rapidly decline, and the organization is becoming irrelevant.

"The Tea Party has taken all the oxygen out of the room, where CPAC was historically the event," he told Fox News host Geraldo Rivera.

Even more ironic since the real creators of the tea parties before the republicans joined in was the libertarians...

At least I was prepared...

Earlier this month I had planned to start driving again. I was ready to take my exam since I had let my license lapse and was looking at buying a car. I spent hours searching for possible used car deals and even checked out car insurance costs for some of the vehicles I was looking at.

Unfortunately my dreams became dashed when something came up where the money I had put aside for this ended up needing to be used to repair our primary car. The good thing was at least I had the money saved. The depressing part was once again putting off something I wanted to do for another day. Yet, through my almost 50 years existence on this planet, I know one certain rule, "Life happens" and there is little you can do to avoid it.

Road service for RV's

My in-laws bought a recreational vehicle over a year ago and they have been traveling the country, going from New London, CT to Texas and Mexico several times since they first hit the road. They have however learned that RV repairs and tows can be a challenge depending on where they are located. Until they started their adventures I was not aware there were companies out there like good sam towing that specialized in RV towing.

What is nice is they even provide coverage in Mexico. Services like this to me follow a somewhat Murphy's law concept, if you purchase it, chances are you won't need it and if you don't? You'll probably wish you would have.

Kissick used to be a Republican...he got better

From the Wapokenta Daily News, Libertarian joins U.S. House race :

“I used to call myself a Republican, but not anymore,” (Donald) Kissick said. “Just over the last 10 years, it really opened my eyes that the two-party system isn’t working and it’s time to move the political system forward. We are the only major, industrialized nation in the world that only uses a two-party system and it’s time to change that and move American forward.”
Out-of-control spending and big government are issues Kissick said he would tackle if elected to office. He cited the growing budget deficit as an example of what needs fixed in Washington.
“Our government is this massive albatross where no one knows what the other is doing,” Kissick said. “The bureaucracy is too massive to keep track of what it’s doing.”

We're all libertarians now...

Actually I know we aren't but I found this article titled that, written by W. E. Messamore an interesting one. Part of the recommended piece:

Americans wanted change, and change after eight years of George W. Bush did not mean more government spending or involvement in our lives. It meant less unchecked executive power, less military involvement overseas, less spending, less secrecy, less corruption, less cronyism, and less partisan bickering. To take his victory as a mandate for a more socialist re-ordering of American society may have been a fatal mistake by the fledgling Obama Administration.

Just one year later, a majority of Americans (56%) "think the federal government has become so large and powerful that it poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens," according to a CNN Poll published this week. Even 37% of Democrats thought so. CNN reports it as "only 37%," but think about it: thirty seven percent of Democrats believe that our federal government poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens. That's right, 37% of Democrats sound like radical, right-wing, separatist, tea partiers. (Or conversely, the Tea Party may be more mainstream and less radical than Keith Olbermann lets on.)

I believe people being wary of too much government existed way before the Tea Parties, and even before Keith Olberman, but, the article has some thought provoking moments.

As the snow begins to pile up again....

We are getting hit with another snow storm, which is piling up quite a bit of wet, heavy snow. Apparently once we get through this round, there is another round of snow expected in the beginning of next week. This could make many of us need to head for some type of joint pain relief.

We stretch before we exercise, but many don't stop to think that they might want to do the same thing before they head out to tackle shoveling snow. It is strenuous, you do use muscles that can be injured. So, next time before you grab that shovel? Do a few moments of stretching. Your back and knees may thank you...

Other media on Robert E. Waters

From the Cincinnati Inquirer an additional story about Waters and his petition being thrown out.

He can still run as a write in candidate, which is one way many candidates who have some type of a technical error end up getting up on the ballot.

The X-factor

There are a great many diet products out there, so it's always recommended that you search for information and product reviews since that information can be helpful. I recommend searching for the product name and the word review. As an example searching using the term, xenadrine review is a great way to find reviews on that product. Make sure you compare the ingredients as well as the price. I also always recommend reading the fine print as to any guarantee on a product, shipping and handling is rarely refunded, so how much the handling charge is, is an important fact to know.

Black days...

I remember when those strips came out that you would put on your nose and then peel off, designed to be a blackhead extractor. My teens being teens, treated this like a contest type environment comparing how many each one had.

Thankfully they've outgrown this, though they still at times deal with issues related to blackheads and acne. This doesn't mean they don't use the strips anymore, they do, but they don't celebrate one having more than the other.

:-)

The GOP's "small government" tea party fraud

Interesting piece in this week's Salon by Glenn Greenwald, The GOP's "small government" tea party fraud where he provides links to make his point that the current GOP move towards libertarianism is a ploy:

This is what Republicans always do. When in power, they massively expand the power of the state in every realm. Deficit spending and the national debt skyrocket. The National Security State is bloated beyond description through wars and occupations, while no limits are tolerated on the Surveillance State. Then, when out of power, they suddenly pretend to re-discover their "small government principles." The very same Republicans who spent the 1990s vehemently opposing Bill Clinton's Terrorism-justified attempts to expand government surveillance and executive authority then, once in power, presided over the largest expansion in history of those very same powers. The last eight years of Republican rule was characterized by nothing other than endlessly expanded government power, even as they insisted -- both before they were empowered and again now -- that they are the standard-bearers of government restraint.

Many kinds of diets...

There are many types of diets out there, even some diets for quick weight loss that are designed to jump start your weight loss. While most times you lose water weight, sometimes all people are looking for is to drop just a few pounds. Certain combinations of food and exercise are recommended as opposed to just not eating. Not eating can actually make your body go into starvation mode which can backfire...

Ohio Libertarian candidate does not make ballot...

Libertarian ruled off May ballot for state rep as reported in the Dayton Daily News:

LEBANON — The lone Libertarian candidate seeking the 67th Ohio House District seat was ruled off the May 4 primary election ballot due to a technicality on his petition.

Robert Waters of Lebanon had enough signatures on his petitions, however the Warren County Board of Elections did not certify his petitions on Tuesday, Feb. 23 to be included on the primary election ballot because he did not fill out the date of the election on his forms.

Crypto-libertarians?

There's been quite a bit of discussion recently as to questions such as Will Crypto-Libertarianism Doom the Republican Party? It's being expressed by some that there is a fear that the libertarian wing of the Republican party will emerge like the socialist wing of the Democratic Party.

What exactly is a Crypto-libertarian? One of the earliest references to that term is found in a 1999 Salon article but it gives no definition.

Gary Reed notes the same lack of definition, on Reason to Freedom:

The term crypto-libertarian pops up all over the politicosphere where everybody uses it but nobody bothers to define it.

Merriam-Webster Online defines "crypto" as: Hidden; not openly avowed or declared; a person who adheres or belongs secretly to a party, sect, or other group.

Meanwhile, a simple modern American definition of libertarian is: "maximum freedom, minimum coercion."

Which implies that a "crypto-libertarian" is a "secret freedom advocate."

Life insurance and the internet

Another advantage of the ability to search on the internet involves life insurance, it used to be you'd have to wait several days and at times make an appointment with an agent to be able to set up life insurance. Now it's easy to find and set up no exam life insurance online. You can also find policies that do require a health exam, and while you can't do that yet on the internet, you can compare prices and get the basics of the plan set up from home...

Regional and service specific searches...

The more specific you make your internet search when it comes to your region and what you are specifically looking for, the easier it can be to find it. Let's say as an example you are looking for a dentist that does cosmetic dentistry in the state of New Jersey, entering NJ Cosmetic dentist in your search box will get you there faster than just searching cosmetic dentistry. If you want to be even more region specific put the name of the largest city near by you in the search term...