Syte Reitz

The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world…….

 Cardinal Dolan for President!

or

Is the Republican Primary Over Yet?

The Presidential Race So Far

Mitt Romney - Barack Obama

Recent Gallup polls indicate a neck-in-neck competition between Mitt Romney and Barak Obama in the Presidential race.
Some are worried whether Romney will be able to beat President Barack Obama.
Others are worried whether Romney can be relied upon to repeal ObamaCare and refrain from issuing his own health mandates, if elected to the Presidency.

Solution?

Find someone more conservative and more popular than Mitt Romney!

Cardinal Timothy Dolan

Would anyone have guessed that according to the TIME Person of the Year Poll, Cardinal Dolan is way more popular than either Mitt Romney or Barack Obama?

Cardinal Dolan’s Popularity

Cardinal Dolan placed #16 globally in the TIME Person of the Year Poll, and about #4 nationally.
Cardinal Dolan got almost twice as many votes as Barack Obama, and about 6-fold more votes than Mitt Romney.

More famous people who were less popular than Cardinal Dolan:

  • Lady Gaga
  • Governor Jan Brewer of Arizona
  • Steven Colbert
  • Hillary Clinton
  • George Cluny
  • Sandra Fluke
  • Michelle Obama
  • Queen Elizabeth II
  • Rick Santorum
  • Newt Gingrich

 

Is Anybody in the U.S. More Popular than Cardinal Dolan?

Ron Paul

The only presidential candidate more popular than Cardinal Dolan was Ron Paul.
The only American more popular than both Ron Paul and Cardinal Dolan was Jeremy Lin, a famous baseball player.

 

Who Else Beat Out Ron Paul and Cardinal Dolan in Popularity?

Not too many people beat Ron Paul and Cardinal Dolan.

Anonymous Recruiting Ad: "Legion"

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Among those who did globally, were Vladimir Putin and the hackers called Anonymous, reputed to have hacked into the Vatican (and many other national websites).  Of course, in the case of Anonymous, there is the suspicion that they were not voted into #1 position globally, but could have hacked themselves into that position. 🙂

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Impact on the Republican Primary

Whether these results could impact the Republican Primary, or simply be a reflection of national opinion which can impact the Republican Primary,  is a matter for speculation.

Clearly, neither I, nor anyone else, including Cardinal Dolan, are seriously considering Cardinal Dolan for President.  But this popularity poll is interesting in the light of my previous articles on President Obama and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Cardinal Dolan.  They have butted heads in an important religious freedom confrontation, and it’s interesting to see which President is so much more popular with Americans.

But back to serious consideration of the Republican Primary.

Most believe that the Republican Primary is all but over.
Some cling tenaciously to alternative possibilities.  These include a Ron Paul, whom many consider to be an ineffective eccentric.

Now, Ron Paul’s ability to top so many national figures in the TIME Person of the Year Poll indicates we should take him much more seriously than we have in the past.  He has beat Cardinal Dolan, Barack Obama, Lady GaGa, Steven Colbert, Hillary Clinton, Queen Elizabeth II, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich.

Could Ron Paul be the next giant political surprise?

 

Is the Republican Primary Over?

The Republican Primary is Not Yet Over!

There’s already been some discussion of whether the Republican Primary is over yet.
In the light of this TIME poll, and taking into consideration that politics is complicated and is often filled with unexpected surprises and results (like Hillary Clinton’s defeat in 2008 by Barack Obama), in the light of these facts, we better keep an eye on Ron Paul, the pro-life doctor who has delivered over 4,000 babies and now wants to be our President.

Ron Paul shows no signs of giving up.  He is actually making great strides towards taking over state Republican parties and delgations to the Republican National Convention.  His campaign shows no sign of giving up. As of last weekend, Ron Paul has locked up at least half the delegates in at least 3 states (Iowa, Minnesota & Washington).  He only needs the majority of delegates in 2 more states (like North Dakota and Maine) in coming weeks to be entered officially in the nomination at the Convention at Tampa, FL.

Romney, with only 847 if the 1144 delegates needed for the nomination (74%), will still have to contend with Ron Paul for quite some time.

 

Full Results of the TIME poll:

TIMES 2012 Person of the Year by Popular Vote
Rank           Name                                     YES votes    NO votes
 1 Anonymous (group of hackers) 395793 27303
 2 Erik Martin- German Composer 264193 49450
 3 Narendra Modi -Chief Minister of an India state 256792 266684
 4 Asghar Farhadi – Iranian Film Director 140785 23359
 5 Imran Khan – Pakistani politician 116130 25447
 6 Alexei Navalny – Russian politician 92095 77309
7 Benedict Cumberbatch – English actor 91840 13327
 8 Bashar Assad – President of Syria 91632 98387
 9 Jeremy Lin -American basketball player 89691 9570
 10 Lionel Messi -world renouned soccer player 78987 10167
 11 Vladimir Putin – Russian politician 71584 35380
 12 Ron Paul – American Presidential candidate 70473 16630
 13 Novak Djokovic- Servbian professional tennis player 65117 6563
 14 Aung San Suu Kyi – Burmese opposition politician 45688 2625
 15 Adele – English recording artist 44180 38241
16 Timothy Dolan- American Cardinal and President of the U.S.Conference of Catholic Bishops 42796 23653
 17 Cecile Richards – President of Planed Parenhood 38942 45395
 18 Lady Gaga- American singer and songwriter 32393 19946
 19 Shakira – Columbian singer 30056 8115
 20 Jan Brewer – Governor of Arizona 26174 26603
 21 Barack Obama – President of the United States 25373 23783
 22 Anna Hazare – social activist in India 23977 3340
 23 Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani – ruler of Qatar 22948 9481
 24 Stephen Colbert – American political satirist and comedian 22131 6010
 25 Sachin Tendulkar – Indian cricketer 20962 5672
 26 Zooey Deschanel – American actress 20940 10338
 27 Ai Weiwei – Chinese artist 20393 8780
 28 Recep Tayyip Erdogan – Prime Minister of Turkey 20071 15105
 29 BeyoncŽ -American singer 19008 23245
 30 Hillary Clinton -U.S. Secretary of State 18093 14757
 31 Rihanna- Barbadian recording artist 17721 16837
 32 George Clooney – American actor and film producer 17660 8301
 33 Vidya Balan – Indian actress 16982 14784
 34 Ellen DeGeneres – American comedian 16893 7208
35 Warren Buffett- American business magnate 16877 7441
 36 George R.R. Martin – American author & screenwriter 16864 6443
37 Sandra Fluke- Amercan law student who supported the contraceptive mandate 16300 11958
38 Louis C.K. – Mexican-American comedian 15497 8036
 39 Usain Bolt – Jamaican sprinter & gold medalist 14810 8049
40 Aziz Ansari – American actor/comedian 14639 16258
 41 Michelle Obama -wife of the President of the United States 14539 14647
 42 Mustafa Abdel-Jalil – Libyan head of state 14099 17256
 43 Mark Zuckerberg – inventor of facebook 13811 9163
 44 Navi Pillay – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights 13790 3254
 45 Nitish Kumar – Indian politician 13400 3865
46 Almudena Bernabeu – international attorney 12974 4677
 47 Jeff Bezos -founder of Amazon 12459 5594
 48 Kate Middleton – Prince William’s new wife 12124 10610
48 Daniel Craig – English actor who played James Bond 12100 8355
 50 Jennifer Lawrence – American actress 11855 6044
Ken Levine 11853 5507
Thein Sein 11630 4890
Michael Fassbender 11574 8665
Meryl Streep 11524 3756
 55 Tim Tebow 11502 8999
Suzanne Collins 11428 6751
 57 Alec Baldwin 11245 17450
Fatou Bensouda 11080 5933
JosŽ AndrŽs 10812 9598
Salman Khan 10726 3651
LMFAO 10429 15146
Preet Bharara 9685 5708
Angela Merkel 9611 4975
Marc Andreessen 9485 11081
Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen 9472 9687
Tim Cook 9034 5554
Rick Falkvinge 8901 5616
Ryan Gosling 8832 5982
Jaycee Dugard 8380 3525
 70 Ben Bernanke 8308 13916
Tawakul Karman 8245 2188
Larry Page 7971 2669
Maggie Smith 7720 2683
David Cameron 7555 10006
 75 Queen Elizabeth II 7546 6673
 76 KONY 2012 7501 15375
 77 Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie 7487 10784
Michael Phelps 7397 6916
Eike Batista 7366 8494
Ayatullah Ali Khamenei 7355 7600
Richard Muller 7133 2849
Bill McKibben 7125 4979
Alex Salmond 7092 2775
Jack Dorsey 7029 4884
Dieter Egli 6845 3361
Robert Grant 6733 1413
Frank Luntz 6717 4891
 88 Oprah Winfrey 6591 7884
Portia Simpson-Miller 6527 3197
Ashfaq Kayani 6512 5609
Bon Iver 6506 10826
Pete Cashmore 6476 7064
Martin Scorsese 6361 3019
Danny Boyle 6345 7761
Andrew Cuomo 6329 5982
Viola Davis 6195 5646
David Graeber and Tim Pool 6115 3295
Ai-jen Poo 6013 2565
Chris Christie 5946 9683
Bryan Cranston 5911 6203
Molly Katchpole 5838 1923
Karen Pierce 5816 2991
 103 Rick Santorum 5783 19093
Oscar Pistorius 5772 2267
Marc Maron 5768 4363
Paul Rieckhoff 5714 2071
Lana Del Rey 5554 12177
Dick Costolo 5275 4699
Foster the People 5267 8496
Kristen Wiig 5264 3553
Sara Blakely 5252 9811
Eric Cantor 5240 10301
 113 Mitt Romney 5202 14003
Ira Glass 5115 4059
 115 Benjamin Netanyahu 4992 8992
 116 Rush Limbaugh 4969 13352
Ben Rattray 4847 2510
Richard Cordray 4776 5433
Melissa McCarthy 4764 10216
John Roberts 4697 4353
 121 Kim Jong Un 4675 8640
Kamala Harris 4608 3130
Nicki Minaj 4595 19274
Ron Fouchier 4501 3152
Mario Monti 4469 7250
 126 Marco Rubio 4453 5601
David Karp 4438 3197
 128 Paul Ryan 4383 5764
E.O. Wilson 4358 1583
 130 Scott Walker 4324 6843
Elisabeth Moss, Christina Hendricks and January Jones 4237 8848
Bruce Springsteen 4197 4512
Christine Lagarde 4021 4026
Li Chengpeng 4018 2465
David Chang 4003 7081
Sarah Burton 3982 9228
Alan Gross 3966 2876
Youssou N’Dour 3938 3341
Jonathan Tilly 3924 1640
Hope Solo 3924 3807
John Prendergast 3890 2871
Rachid Ghannouchi 3786 3665
Mario Draghi 3732 5614
Goodluck Jonathan 3651 3102
Sheldon Adelson 3637 22720
Daniel Ek 3566 4791
Sheryl Sandberg 3532 3409
 148 Newt Gingrich 3505 15409
Eli Manning 3484 5363
 150 Nicolas Sarkozy 3465 6515
Marine Le Pen 3457 4827
Peter Thiel 3457 3350
Greg Smith 3446 2767
Rory Mcllroy 3398 8082
Jessica Chastain 3389 8659
Drake 3383 13149
Ann Patchett 3330 3989
 158 Rupert Murdoch 3301 10081
Charles Murray 3283 3650
Julian Fellowes 3218 5922
Juan Manuel Santos 3194 3112
Pippa Middleton 3139 13807
Yuri Milner 3129 6321
Pamela Druckerman 3118 6585
 165 Leon Panetta 3079 5069
Xi Jinping 3073 3311
Maria das Graas Silva Foster 3034 5376
Howard Schultz 2956 3352
Ingrid Michaelson 2954 9251
Tilda Swinton 2870 4227
Chelsea Handler 2808 7323
Michel Hazanavicius 2724 3728
Sergio Marchionne 2718 3118
 174 Charles and David Koch 2680 6516
Claire Danes 2638 7931
Reed Hastings 2593 3813
Mark Pincus 2563 5434
Harvey Weinstein 2462 3141
Grover Norquist 2458 5153
Jamie Dimon 2437 6940
Hung Huang 2398 3300
Franois Hollande 2322 3603
Hamid Karzai 2207 5971
Ree Drummond 2116 6856
Chan Laiwa 2114 4364
Ashton Kutcher 2111 11428
Reid Hoffman 2069 3596
David Plouffe 2020 4553
Terry Gou 2009 4642
Jason Katims 1980 4061
Roger Goodell 1884 5064
RenŽ Redzepi 1866 3345
Ray Dalio 1817 5964
Ryan Seacrest 1809 8044
Mike Nichols 1652 4114
Douglas Peterson 1601 5781
Laura and Kate Mulleavy 1525 6935
Rick and Richard Harrison 1463 6040
Jessica Simpson 1439 12279
Graydon Sheppard 1379 5963

 

 

Wisconsin State Journal Inflames Parish Conflict with Imbalanced Reporting

or

100 Minus 40 Equals 60!

 

Wisconsin State Journal’s (WSJ) reporting on the troubled infighting at St. Mary’s Catholic Church of Platteville is sadly lacking, and contributes to the confusion and discord going on at St. Mary’s right now.

The Problem

The initial event precipitating such extreme dysfunction at St. Mary’s, which has culminated in the closing of the parish school, was the fact that 40% of the parish demanded the firing of the conservative priests assigned to the parish.

News flash: This means that 60% of the parish APPROVED THE CONSERVATIVE PRIESTS, a fact that seems to be neglected by WSJ’s selective reporting and by dissidents at St. Mary’s.

Aside: The Church is not a democracy, and even if it was, the dissidents at St. Mary’s who disapprove of the conservative priests are in the minority.

The Problem Grows

The St. Mary’s dissident 40% went well beyond protest and demands.  They withheld giving, causing a parish financial crisis, which has led to the closing of the school.  Now they wish to blame the Bishop for the closing of the school.

How ridiculous would it be to refuse to give to Goodwill or to Salvation Army, then to upbraid them for inadequate service to the poor?  Or to refuse to pay taxes, then upbraid the government for not providing free services?  Or for a spouse to withhold their contribution to a household, then expect the mortgage to get paid?

Hostages Taken

Additional shocking fact: the liberal 40% of the parish is holding the rest of the parish hostage, demanding the removal of two priests as ransom, before they return giving to the previous level and prevent the closing of the school.  This was not covered adequately by the WSJ article.

Yes, 40% of the parish is holding 60% of the parish hostage, with everyone’s children in the balance.

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Failure to Report

Bad reporting

Another neglected fact: that the Bishop’s 5-page letter actually focused almost exclusively on communication, problem solving and forgiveness.  Yet the WSJ article, particularly it’s headline, focused on one warning that was mentioned by the Bishop, at the end of the letter, after numerous appeals for cooperation in solving the problems of the parish.

Comparable secular headline:  Policeman DARES to warn 90 mph speeder that he may be ticketed next time! After pleading with the driver for 15 minutes to be more considerate of his own safety, and the safety of others, policeman DARES to state that next time the speeder will get ticketed.

Imbalanced Choice of “Experts”

Choice of “experts.”  The WSJ quoted two liberal “experts,” who used inflammatory wording such as “medieval” and “nuclear option” to characterize Bishop Morlino’s letter. WSJ failed to quote two equally conservative “experts.” This hardly makes for balanced reporting.

Little New Here

The story here is not that Bishop Morlino is threatening dissenters, as the WSJ headline implies.
The story here is old, a story of division between liberals and conservatives.
In every segment of  American society today, in every religion, and in politics, there is a divide between liberals and conservatives.
It is happening at the national level with discontent over ObamaCare, and at the State level, with attempts to recall Governor Walker. It is happening in every Church in America.

Some people believe in maintaining the old rules of Judeo-Christian morality (conservatives), while others want to define their own rules (liberals).

Gallup:
40% of Americans are continuing to describe their views as conservative, 35% as moderate, and 21% as liberal.
If you split the moderates 50/50, that would be 57% conservative and 38% liberal.
Rounding off, 60% conservative, 40% liberal (the magic St. Mary’s number surfaces!)

Sadly, the liberals, still in the minority (somewhat like the 40% at St. Mary’s), are less patient, more angry, more demanding, and more willing to engage in questionable tactics, such as holding children’s education hostage in an effort to get their own (minority) way.

The Liberal/Conservative Struggle and Lilberal Tactics

I have written whole blog articles on Alinsky tactics; tactics that encourage the use of ANY method, moral or immoral, to achieve one’s goal.  This philosophy is old:  Machiavelli promoted it circa 1500AD : “ the ends justify the means.”

Translated into modern jargon, they say “I  am right, and I am SO right, that my rightness is more important than democracy, more important than truth or than fairness, and in order to achieve my perfect goal, I am allowed to trample the rights of others—to challenge democratic elections, to intimidate people to achieve my goal, to hold others hostage, and to force them to agree with me by hook or by crook.  Violence is even O.K. if it helps me to achieve my noble goals.

These tactics are being used by 40% of America nationally (Obama administration’s passing of OBamaCare via lies made to Stupak ) and locally (Madison teacher’s union demonstrations  and Governor Walker recalls, complete with approval of fraudulent Mickey Mouse petitions).

St. Mary’s Not Surprising

Why are we then surprised that there is one Wisconsin Catholic parish where the same liberal/conservative conflict occurred and where the liberals tried to use the same nasty tactics?

Too bad the WSJ cannot write a more balanced report on this issue.

A Final Note

So the Catholic Church is a group whose leaders are drawn from volunteers who pledge their lives

Devoting a lifetime to the spiritual needs of others

to the service of the Church so completely that they give up commitment to a family life, in order to allow a more complete dedication to the members of the Church and their spiritual needs.

And the increasingly secular society in which we live has a dwindling interest in participating in this mission.  Few encourage their children to enter this life of service by becoming priests or nuns.

However, in the face of dwindling numbers of priests, the “dilute” or “cafeteria” Catholics (who do not want to devote themselves completely to the way of life taught by the Church) still want service from the Church, still want the Bishop to staff their parishes with priests, and now even want to control what kind of virtually free priests they are given and “fire” the priests whose personalities they do not approve.

O.K.
Let’s get this straight.
I want a service.
I want someone to clean my house, or to teach my children, or to repair my house.
Send me a trained expert virtually for free.
They better do the job my way.
Even though I am a novice, and they are experts on the subject, with 8 years training or more. If I don’t approve of the job they are doing, I will “fire” them, and you better send me some new ones whom I like better.
If you don’t, I will get out the Alinsky tactics of lying, cheating, ridiculing, and maligning them.
And, of course, the liberal media will assist me in my tactics to undermine the people who are serving me for free.
Yet heaven forbid that anyone even suggest that the free sacrificial service to me is discontinued!

Shame on Everyone

Shame on St. Mary’s dissidents.
Shame on Wisconsin State Journal’s selective and inflammatory reporting.

They should both get on their knees before Bishop Morlino, ask his forgiveness for maligning him, and thank him for the sacrificial service he and the Catholic Church provide to Madison.

Here's a start- a WSJ reporter (guess which one?!), already on his knees before Bishop Morlino, contemplating the Bishop's words at the Religious Freedom Rally March 23rd. Now we just need an apology, and we're good to go!

Impossible, you say?
Maybe not…

 

 

 

 

 

Is It Over Yet?

1 comment

Is It Over Yet?

So, last night, Romney swept 5 states and may have picked up as many as 200 delegates out of the 231 up for grabs.

Romney needs 1144 delegates to win.
As of last night, he has 844, according to the Associated Press.

Associated Press numbers:

Candidate Number of
Delegates
Percentage of Total
(2286)Delegates
Romney 844 37%
Conservatives: 476 21%
Santorum 260 11%
Gingrich 137 6%
Paul 79 3%
Delegates still up for grabs
in future primaries
966 42%

Remaining Primaries:

May 8 – 132 delegates up for grabs, 55 from NC
May 15 – 63 delegates up for grabs, 35 from NE
May 22 – 81 delegates up for grabs, 45 from KY
If Romney got 100% of the delegates from May 8-22, the total would be 1120, still short of the 1144 he needs.
May 29 – 155 delegates up for grabs, all from TX
Jun 5 – 299 delegates up for grabs, 172 from CA
Jun 26 – 40 delegates up for grabs, all from UT

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When will it be over?

Judging from the numbers above, at earliest it will be over on May 29, and only if Texas, which has winner-takes-all, goes for Romney.  Previously, Texas was likely to lean toward a Tea Party conservative like Santorum.
More likely, it will not be over until Jun 5, when California votes.
It is still possible that that this could go to a brokered convention, although much less likely after Tue, Apr 24th.

Answer: It will not be over until May 29 or perhaps June 5th.

Unless Newt and Paul are persuaded to quit before then.

An Interesting Possibility:

  • Say Santorum has quit (so far, he has actually “suspended” his campaign).
  • Say Gingrich quits this week (the possibility has been mentioned).
  • Say Ron Paul sticks it out to the end, as he has promised.
  • Then, say Romney falls short of the 1144 delegates he needs for the nomination (we’ve calculated above that he is likely to struggle to get to that number soon).

Will Ron Paul single-handedly be able to force Romney into a brokered convention?
Somebody should be interviewing Ron Paul and reporting on his intentions.

President Harding had only 20% of the leading candidate’s votes in 1920, yet he ultimately became President.
This will be an exciting election to watch.
Is it to be President Romney, President Paul, or President Obama?
Or will Gingrich stay, and Santorum un-suspend, and all go into a very exciting brokered convention?

The Bottom Line

Of course, probability is on the side of a Romney nomination and a Romney-Obama fight.
In which case, I plan to put all my energies behind Romney.

May God steer us wherever America needs to go.

Four Years Ago: Hillary, Like Romney, Was the Presumed Candidate

or

Where is This Election Headed?

Hillary for President

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April 22, 2008:

In April of 2008, Hillary and Barak were neck-in-neck.  Hillary won the Pennsylvania Primary.  Then the Clinton campaign raised another $10 million.
Hillary and Barak continued to battle it out, about 1 percentage point apart, as they had been throughout the primary campaign. Hillary had been the presumed nominee for quite some time before the primary, and many believed that she could not lose.

TIME magazine

Obama was giving her a run for her money and edging her out, but only by about 1%, and neither Hillary nor supporters were ready to concede.  The race was close. Estimated Delegate Score Card over time can be found here.
The media was not talking about the primary “dragging out,” or about any need to “coalesce behind one candidate” yet.

The battle continued until  Obama had enough delegates to win the primary, and he only won by a very slim margin.  Hillary only conceded on June 7, 2008, 4 days after Barak secured enough delegates to claim the nomination on June 3, 2008.

Who is Leading the Republican Primary Race Today?

Short Answer: Depends on who’s counting and depends on how you classify the votes.

Who’s Counting?
If the mainstream media and the Republican establishment are counting (Romney supporters), Romney is the leading candidate.  If Conservatives,Tea Party, and evangelicals are counting, the race is way too young to call.  50-60% of the delegates have not yet been assigned, and anything could happen.  It’s much too early to tell.

Mitt Romney vs Conservatives Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, and Ron Paul

How Do You Classify the Votes?
If all four candidates attract a random segment of the American vote, and Santorum’s recent bowing out spreads the votes evenly among all candidates, then Romney is winning.
But if Conservatives are wedded to voting for conservatives like Santorum/Gingrich/Paul, and moderates are voting for Romney, then the exit of one conservative candidate will swing all the conservative votes to the next conservative candidate, and not to Romney.  That is certainly the case with my vote: in the first place, my vote goes to Santorum.  Failing that, to Gingrich.  Failing that to Paul.  Finally, failing that, to Romney. By this argument (see chart below), Romney has only 23-25% of the vote so far, and the Conservatives have 16-26% of the vote.  Again, way too early to call.  Conservatives and Romney neck-in-neck, and we have not even heard from 49-61% of America yet!

Uncertainty in the Delegate Counts

The Media has been very quick to assign delegates which are in any way uncertain, uncommitted or disputed, to Romney.  Why? That will be discussed later below.  Those mainstream media counts can be found at Wikipedia.
Conservative counts, on the other hand are made by more stringent criteria.  The Santorum campaign count, for example, shows remarkably different numbers.

The bottom line is, however, that with 49 to 61% of the delegates still unassigned, and with conservative states like Texas (155 delegates available with winner-takes-all) still in the offing, the race if far from over, unless the media (and the Republican establishment) manages to convince everyone that the race is over before it really is.

Here is the range of numbers claimed by various sources, depending on your source of delegate counts and assignment of contested delegates:

Candidate Number of delegates Percentage of Total (2286) Delegates
Romney 536-571 23-25%
Santorum 202-342 9-15%
Gingrich 132-158 6-7%
Paul 26-91 1-4%
Conservative Total 360-591 16-26%
Delegates still unassigned 1124-1390 49-61%

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Bottom Line Today:

Conservatives could be leading Romney by a much larger margin than Barak had on Hillary in 2008.


Lessons for us from 2008’s Democrat Primary

Why are some conservatives giving up?
Do they believe the media already?
Do they want to let the Republican establishment to steer the nomination, instead of the voters steering it?
It’s still early, and the race is far from over.
It’s not over until the fat lady sings (me).  🙂

Stay in there, Rick/Newt/Ron!

A conservative coalition (if you go by Rick Santorum’s numbers) is leading with a slight edge against Romney so far, just as Barak was leading against Hillary in April 2008.
If you guys stay in there, you can prevent Romney from getting the 1144 delegates he needs for the nomination. BTW, Rick’s suspended campaign could also be un-suspended at a later date.

Then, when nobody has the required 1144 delegates, the process starts again at the brokered convention.  As the candidates with least delegates are eliminated, it will boil down to one conservative against Romney, and that conservative will have a great chance of defeating Romney. America is ready for a real change.

The delegate counts so far tell us that Americans are definitely waffling on Romney; they prefer a true conservative. Tea Party candidates, evangelicals, and many other conservatives are nervous about Romney’s liberal past and the reliability of his new found conservative “conversion.”
We’ve just had a taste of somebody who promises one thing but delivers quite another- Obama.
Not to say that Romney’s recent commitments to conservatism are not appreciated or are not genuine.
We’re just a bit nervous about how reliable Romney’s recent “conversion” to conservatism is, given his past.

Time to Put America Ahead of Personal Success

Rick/Newt/Ron should team up to stay in the race for the sole purpose of preventing Romney from acquiring the 1144 delegates he needs for nomination.  In 1920, there was a brokered convention where the previous underdog candidate eventually won. There would still be hope of putting a true conservative in the White House.  Even if a particular candidate is not that person, they will have contributed to the restoration of our great nation by contributing to the election of another conservative.

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What Have You Got Against Mitt Romney?

Well, up front let us say that if Mitt Romney is nominated, we should all back him, campaign for him, and elect him as President of the United States.
Why? Because he has stated that he will oppose federal funding of abortion, that he will repeal ObamaCare, and that he will promote fiscal responsibility and limited government.  As opposed to Obama, who has stated (and done) the complete opposite.

But given Mitt Ronmey’s past positions, I’m just a bit nervous about how reliable Romney’s recent “conversion” to conservatism is.  In my mind, the Presidency should be given to someone we are very sure of.  More discussion of Romney at Committment to Truth; Romney vs Santorum.

Why mention “social issues” before “economic issues?”

“Social issues” (morality) come before economic issues because common sense and wisdom tell us what God already knows: that social issues drive the economics of a nation, and are the springboard from which a stable economy develops.  If you kill all your future citizens, your economy will not prosper.  If you overspend on an inefficient blundering health care system which provides free abortion, contraception and sterilization, your economy will take a blow. If you deny citizens freedom of conscience, sweeping Catholic hospital closings may result.  “Social issues” are the first domino with the power to take the entire economy down.

Judeo-Christian morality, on which conservatism and the Constitution of the United States are based, is a success manual given to us by a loving God, which provides the wisdom needed to avoid pitfalls both personal and national.

Why Would the Media or the Republican Establishment Want to Steer Us Towards Romney?

It’s pretty clear that Romney is much less conservative than the other Republican options.  He has supported abortion in the past, as well as supported socialized medicine, which became a template for ObamaCare.  Of course, the liberal media, as well as the liberal billionaires who fund the liberal media, would prefer Romney to the more conservative candidates, just in case Obama loses.  Hard to imagine that billionaires like George Soros, who make a hobby of attempting to steer global values with their accumulated billions, would not at least cover their bets partially in both parties, Democrat and Republican.

As for the Republican establishment, there are some who are comfortably entrenched in the less-than-perfect Republican establishment and who fear the effect that too much change and too many cuts may have on their comfort.  There are also those who fail to realize that the dynamics have changed in this election, that so many people are so much more committed and  involved in this election. That a giant has awoken.  They fear that they will lose voters in the middle if they offer a strong and  principled candidate who has demonstrated a reliable track record of conservatism.

Where are We Headed?

Time, and American voters, particularly today in the pirmaries, will determine where we are headed.
It is my hope that we still have a chance to elect a conservative to defeat Obama at the end of the day.
If not, my efforts will shift to praying for Romney’s strength and his commitment to the Judeo-Christian values on which this nation was founded. Romney has not been vetted or even questioned on his support of Judeo-Christian values. See Committment to Truth; Romney vs Santorum .

If voters have already jumped on board with Mitt Romney tonight, it will be a (premature) victory for the media and for the Republican establishment.  It will be a sad moment for those true conservatives who had hoped to return to the important “social issues” which determine the success of everything else.

May God bless and guide America!
May God bless and guide the Republican Primary winner!

Enough is Enough, I’m Taking Over… cont’d.

Enough is Enough. I'm taking over.

Taking Over From Barak
Is Barak Obama Losing It?

The Big Reason Why Obama Must Be Replaced

Congressman Bart Stupak

President Barak Obama enlisted the Democrat swing votes for passing one of the largest and most far-reaching pieces of legislation in the history of the United States, ObamaCare, by assuring Democrat Congressman Bart Stupak and his Democrat allies in March of 2010, that federal funding of abortion (something opposed by 70% of America)  would be barred from ObamaCare.  As it turns out, the President of the United States was lying to his own party members, to manipulate them into passing legislation which the President misrepresented to them and to which the President later added autocratic mandates which wiped out all the promises he had made to Bart Stupak, to his allies, and to the American people.

ObamaCare was thus passed under false pretenses.

Stupak betrayed

Time was not allowed for anyone to read the (now 2,700 pages of) legislation; Congress was forced to vote on a bill they had not read.
And of course, not only abortion (abortifacient drugs), but also free contraception and free sterilization were later added to the services which taxpayers must fund under ObamaCare.
Religious exemptions were not given to those whose religious beliefs prohibited paying for abortion.
The ObamaCare budget was misrepresented; recent cost estimates are double those claimed in March 2010, and continue to grow.
The majority of states, as well as numerous organizations and individuals, have filed actions in federal court challenging the constitutionality of ObamaCare.

ObamaCare alone, is sufficient reason to demand the removal of Barak Obama from the office of President of the United States.

United States Constitution Grounds for Impeachment:

Constitution of the United States

The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. – U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 4.

Felon

Definition of Misdemeanor

Dictionary.com: Misdemeanor:
1. A criminal offense defined as less serious than a felony. Examples of misdemeanors include traffic violations, disorderly conduct, trespass, reckless driving, public intoxication. Examples of felonies include perjury, check fraud, and  tax evasion, in addition to  treason, murder, assault, rape, and arson.
2. Any minor offense or transgression.

Barak Obama’s Offenses:

  • Lying to members of Congress during the creation of legislation (resembles perjury).
  • Interfering with the democratic process (resembles check fraud).
    • Defying the electorate in a democracy (resembles treason).

Lying to members of Congress to influence their votes on a piece of legislation which will affect the health and well-being of all the citizens of the United States, and inserting mandates into previously passed laws which violate the wishes (the votes) of 70% of the citizens in a democracy are more easily compared to felonies (perjury, check fraud, tax evasion) than to misdemeanors (traffic violations, trespass, reckless driving).

Either way, impeachable offenses.

The Most Recent Blitz of Crimes and Misdemeanors Committed by Barak Obama- just 4 weeks’ worth, due to space limitations:

Obama joking about the hot mic on which his treason was captured.

President Obama and his administration:

Worst for Last

Most of the above shockers were not reported by the “mainstream” (actually liberal) media.

For example, Obama’s budget was rejected unanimously by the House of Representatives, and the “mainstream” media did not deem this worthy of reporting.  The “mainstream” media has, for the most part, become a radical arm of the Obama administration, which usually serves no purpose other than fanning Obama’s ego and promoting his reelection.

But today, the list of Obama’s recent crimes and misdemeanors has been topped by an item that even the uber-liberal New York Times and msnbc deemed worthy of reporting: the fact that Obama has been aggressively trying to circumvent Congress and to claim power for the Presidency– an executive unilateralism tactic which Obama himself had previously vehemently opposed.

Shift on Executive Power Lets Obama Bypass Rivals. – NY Times

Obama’s power grab and his disregard for the United States Constitution and for the will of the people has now become so noteworthy that even the liberal “mainstream” media has noticed.
Obama is either a madman, or a traitor.  Either way, everyone is noticing.

Enough is Enough

Madman or Traitor?

Enough is Enough. The urgency of removing Barak Obama from Office of the President of the United States increases with each passing hour.  He has reneged on virtually every promise he has made, he is discarding the Constitution which he had sworn to uphold and to protect, and he is rapidly steering us into a totalitarianism that makes the British rule of the 18th century pale by comparison.  It bears repeating – Obama is either a madman, or a traitor.

Obama’s Approval Index has plunged from the initial +30 in 2009 to -19 today, according to Rasmussen reports.  Today, 43% of Americans strongly disapprove of Obama (24% strongly approve), and 54% of Americans total disapprove (45% total approve).
Obama is on his way out. Despite the liberal media, the truth is getting through somehow, and Obama is on his way out.

May God bless and may God help America!

Enough is Enough, I’m Taking Over…

Barak just doesn’t know yet!

In London, I met Birute!

Such pleasant surprises when traveling– in London, I met Birute (an unmistakably Lithuanian name)!
Not only a pleasure to meet a fellow Lithuanian, but she loaned me some lovely Lithuanian books which contained some inspiring thoughts and poems —  a few photos of the pages below, for those who read Lithuanian.

For those who do not, I will post translations and more photos after my return to Madison.
Aciu labai, Birute! (Surasiu lietuviskus fontus sugrizus i Amerika).

God bless, and enjoy!

Rick Santorum Campaign Over

Santorum cited as one of his reasons for leaving the race his daughter Bella, who is seriously ill and who spent the weekend in hospital before being discharged on Monday.
-UK Guardian

A senior Santorum source said that Bella’s hospitalization was a major factor in the decision to bow out.
“When you have enough time with your adrenaline down, you start to think about what’s really important,” the source told CNN. Sitting in the hospital with his daughter for the second time during this campaign put that in perspective for Santorum, the source said.

– CNN

A big loss for America.
A responsible conservative who had a chance.
Now we wait to see how the rest plays out.
God help us, and may God bless America!
Santorum did the right thing.  May God bless the Santorum family, and may God especially bless Bella.

Rick: No Quit

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Rick: No Quit

(click image for report)

WHY NO QUIT?

Because the Media is reporting the wrong math on delegate counts, and Rick Santorum actually has 60% as many delegates as Mitt Romney, with an outstanding forecast for primaries held in May (such as Texas).
Because  Romney only has 25% of the delegates so far, and he needs 50% (1144) for nomination; and if Rick, Newt and Ron continue, Romney will never get the 1144 delegates he needs to become the nominee.  A man who cannot get 50% of the Republican votes should not be the nominee.

WHAT HAPPENS IF ROMNEY DOES NOT GET THE 1144 DELEGATES HE NEEDS?

A “brokered convention,” in which a process of elimination eventually isolates one candidate with a majority of the delegate votes. In 1920, this process allowed a man who had only 20% of the front runner’s delegates to win.  Why? The Romney opponents are now split among Santorum, Gingrich and Paul.  The Romney opponents still outnumber the Romney supporters.  The brokered convention sorts out (with several rounds of votes), which of the three non-Romneys is favored by the American voter.

WHO GETS TO COOSE THE REPUBLICAN NOMINEE– THE MEDIA, THE REPUBLICAN ESTABLISHMENT, OR THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES?

The press, together with the “establishment” Republicans, should not be choosing the Republican nominee.
Rich liberals and liberal media would love to exert pressure on Rick Santorum, a true conservative, to leave the race at this point.
However, the American people, through the primary process, including the brokered convention, should be choosing the nominee.  The “establishment” Republicans are too busy doing business as usual, which includes tiptoeing around moderates and liberals, to realize that this election is different, that America has woken up and wants a return to the Constitution and to Liberty, and that a luke-warm wishy-washy candidate like Mitt Romney is not likely to provide that or to defeat Obama.

ON WITH THE PRIMARIES, ON TO A BROKERED CONVENTION!

My call: Romney does not get the 50% delegates he needs to be nominated before the convention.
The non-Romneys will get the 50% they need to enter the brokered convention process, sharing 51% or more of the delegates among themselves (Santorum, Gingrich, and Paul).  None of them will have 1144 delegates individually, but together conservatives will outnumber Romney.   At the brokered convention,  the competition will begin again.
Conservatives will win the competition, and one of the 3 non-Romneys will be elected as the Republican nominee at the brokered convention– GUESS WHICH ONE?

Rick No Quit Santorum

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RICK: NO QUIT

Only a fool would quit at this point.  Exactly what Obama and his media would love to persuade Rick to do.

VOTE FOR RICK NO QUIT SANTORUM: HE WON’T QUIT ON THE UNITED STATES.

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Happy Easter Monday!

Lithuanian Easter Eggs

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