FYI

Just a quick heads up, I wanted to thank Matt Rosenberg at Rosenblog, for the plug he gave my bumperstickers link at the right. Unfortunately, I am in the process of moving right now and Ebay store is down. Just so there is no confusion. Matt was unaware of this and that is my fault. I will be selling bumperstickers again, probably not on Ebay though, too cumbersome.

Packing and loading truck today. Driving truck tommorrow. Offload in MEM monday. Do moving type errands with my lovely wife tuesday. Tuesday night catch flight back to NC as I still have a few weeks to finish at current job assignment.

Aaaarrrgghhhhghhhh!!!! -Spin

Naifeh on the Run and ...

Conservatives in the Tennessee House are beginning to get to Democratic House Speaker Naifeh. HT to TeamGOP. Click here to go to Camp4U blog by TN state representative Stacey Campfield.

In national politics President Bush's press conference last night was a solid performance, of course the howling moonbats still do not get it. The common sense points the President made regarding the fact that gas costs $2.20, because a comprehensive energy policy wasn't enatcted decades ago, and that shirkers on both sides of the aisle in congress refuse to do the heavy lifting of Social Security reform will be largely ignored by the MSM and dem talking heads. They still do not get it, and they don't want to get it.

Also on the national front there is a major storm brewing over confirmation of the Presidents judicial nominees. It is waayyyy past time for the Republicans to act and govern like the winners they are, at this point anything less risks eroding their base. Charles Hurt has a good piece this topic in the WashTimes. It is now time to play rough with democrat obstructionists, they have been warned long enough, now act. Let them shut the Senate down as they have threatened. This will only focus more clearly their obstructionist ways. Then the American voters can deal with them in '06.

Will be down again this weekend for moving, probably back up next Wednesday. - SpinDaddy

Heads Up ! !

A good heads up call for all activists in TN to be on the lookout for a possible return to politics by one of Tennessees most ardent and determined INCOME TAX SUPPORTERS, Bob Rochelle. The excellent blog South End Grounds has a post here.

Also, disturbing news from Nashville, political strong-arm tactics to squelch the minority in the Tennessee General Assembly. TeamGOP blog has the story at their link. It was these kind of tactics at the hands of Speaker Wright, and later Foley, that brought the US congressional Republicans to national political power in 1994. Now the dems on the national stage are starting to fight back, and lately are starting to get a little taste of blood in their mouth.

I doubt that the Tennessee House speaker can be de-Foley-ated as the former US House speaker was by Nethercutt in Washington state, but he might well find himself the minority leader if conservative momentum continues to build in the Volunteer state.

Light blogging this morning, still packing aaarrggh -SpinDaddy

Three Good Ideas

Good Idea number 1

Last night while watching FNC, I saw the first two of todays three good ideas. The first is a fantastic cause that helps our troops do good will for children in Iraq. Gary Sinise and Laura Hillenbrand of movie fame and the author of Seabiscuit respectively, along with many others have an organization set up for the purpose of distributing school supplies to children there. The name of their organization is Operation Iraqi Children, and you can go to their website by clicking here. Their website is celebrating their first anniversary. If you feel so moved you might contribute, donate, or just copy and paste this post or the permalink and send it on to a few others.

Good Idea number2

Appearing on the segment with Gary Sinise last night was one very talented and bright seventeen year old young lady named Shauna Fleming who has had great success with an organized letter writing campaign to offer support to our troops past and present, here and abroad. The name of her organization is A Million Thanks, and you can go to that site by clicking here.



On a lighter note, the site also has an interesting link about Starbucks, and their efforts to support our troops.

Good Idea number3

Last but certainly not least is the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation, and you can reach their website by clicking here . This is a a fantastic charity organization that was founded in 1995 by a group of former Marines and Law Enforcement personnel to assist the children of these fallen heroes with educational and other needs. The foundation uses 100% of donations recieved to help these children, something few other charities can claim, and as such they " have distributed aid with a value of more than $23,000,000.00 to eligible children."

These are my Three Good Ideas for today. I didn't think of any of them, but I am using this forum to humbly submit these for your consideration. If you agree that these are good ideas give or spread the word.
-SpinDaddy

Senate Filibuster Must Reads

An excellent post from Hugh Hewitt on the filibuster of judicial nominees by the senate. A must read.

"There was exactly one refusal to close debate on a judicial nominee in the entire 20th century, and that was a favor to a sitting Supreme Court justice about to be embarrassed by defeat who withdrew his nomination immediately afterwards and resigned soon after because of ethics problems.
Since January, 2003, there have been 20 different refusals to close debate on judicial nominees. This disfigurement of Senate tradition, disguised as the appropriate application of a rule intended for legislative debates, must and will end."

That is it. That is all there is to the argument on the filibuster.

"Take time this weekend while watching the NFL draft or pursuing whatever relaxation you chose, to call the Congressional switchboard at 202-225-3121 and leave messages for GOP Senators Chaffee of Rhode Island, Collins of Maine, DeWine of Ohio, Hagel of Nebraska, Snowe of Maine, Sununu of New Hampshire, Voinovich of Ohio and Warner of Virginia to urge them to vote to end the filibuster. Please also leave a message with Senator Frist to schedule the vote before the May recess. E-mails for all senators are here. "

Also this Bruce Fein Op-Ed piece in the WashTimes highlighting the central fallacy self absorbed democrats wish to protect most; pretending a right to abortion exists in the US Constitution. I've read it, the document says no such thing. It's not in there, and no amount Blackmun et als tortured logic and wishing it to be so, does not make it so.

And believe it or not, none other than the LA Times weighs in in favor of "Nuking the Filibuster".

Light on the blogging, heavy on the packing and moving preparation -SpinDaddy

The Democrats Paradox

In this mornings WashTimes is an excellent piece by Donald Lambro on the Democrats newly discovered problem. Lambro points to an analysis by the Progressive Policy Institute that shows democrats to be suffering from a so called "parent gap".

Duh.

I would go further and argue that this is not their only significant problem with voters who happen to be parents. But the democrats are limited by their howling moonbat base, as to how they can respond to the issue because as the article states.

"...a survey by the Pew Research Center found that such religious or culturally conservative appeals may not play well with liberal Democrats..."

Read the Michael Moore-Howard Dean segment of the party. So what are they to do? It will be interesting to watch as they twist in the wind bound by this paradox. -SpinDaddy

About Us: BumperStickerPolitix

We at BumperStickerPolitix have never gotten around to formally introducing ourselves. That is my fault, way busy with family and work and all so here goes. Now that we are up to four, it is time for some introductions.

I started this blog in August 2004 to offer op-ed commentary on politics and culture. Of course, that was a good time to start a political blog, Rather-gate was about burst into the nations conciousness, and with it a new word was about to gain "household" status: blog.

BumperStickerPolitix is a phrase tossed out dismissively by talking-head-pundit-types, as if it were something undesirable. As in "...oh, that's just bumper sticker politics." As if clearly stated ideals are overly simplistic. We intend to challenge this assumption.

As students of communication, we contend that it is quite an accomplishment of syntax and brevity to effectively communicate in a 3"x10" space going 80mph.

It is high time the in-your-face-radicals on the left got a taste of their own medicine. Oops, there I go being strident again. Oh well.

I had read about the Instapundit and his weblog a few years back in a piece in USA Today, and thought that was something I would enjoy. It wasn't until after the creation of my second original bumper sticker during the 2004 Presidential election that the long simmering idea to start a blog surfaced again, and now here you are.

My name is M. Kent Carter; I am, SpinDaddy. I am 46years old and a happily married husband and father of a very smart, not to mention handsome, 12 year old boy. I am a graduate of University of Memphis with a degree in Communications and Political Science. I currently live in Memphis, TN, although I work in Denver, CO and commute. I have a day job with a major airline, but hope to be a professional blogger when I grow up, and someday get around to restoring my driveable-cold-war-artifact, a 1969 USAF line truck, and my dads old 1956 Indian motocycle. I have been an activist in local and national politics from time to time, and I absolutely love jazz music.

I am pleased to have three very good writers and friends who have joined me to contribute a little balance and perspective to my stridency.

Tony, aka Voice and I have known each other for a little over twenty years now. Uuggh. Just typing that makes me feel old for my 41 years. Tony is also a happily married husband and father of three. He is located in Southern California and is a marketing executive there. Tony also contributes at Roup's Euro Delivery Adventures a blog dedicated to chronicling the adventures of taking delivery of your new BMW at the factory in Europe.

The fearless Brian or RedAnt is in the statiscal process management business in the healthcare field, and is married with young' uns and lives in Memphis, TN.

BumperStickerPolitix is also pleased to welcome our newest contributor, our very first overseas correspondent John or McHogg. John is happily married and works overseas in the aerospace/defense industry, in an undisclosed location.

Keep reading here at BumperStickerPolitix, more good things are in the works soon, stay tuned.

-M. Kent Carter aka SpinDaddy

Blogosphere in the Businessplace

Blogosphere momentum continues to build. Business Week has a fantastic piece advising corporations to get their business into the blog business. Good advice that most corporations would do well to follow. If you are interested in corporate or business blogging it is a must read piece. Economics 101 lesson: Anytime 9 million people affirmatively express interest in an activity, there is strong economic opportunity present.

Hard to believe that point needs to be made but...

Corporate blogging is coming. In say, no more than five years down the road, corporate blogs will certainly be ubiquitous; if not the main interface customers have with many businesses rather than the website customer interaction platform we know today. Heck, at some point, a companies blog may enable customers to talk to a real human being (via computer to be sure) thus avoiding that banal curse to humanity: the automated phone call answering robot. The writers of the Business week piece, Stephen Baker and Heather Green have of course started a blog.

Welcome in guys, where have you been?

Of course, our good friend and Seattle blogger extraordinaire, Matt Rosenberg has been all over this for some time now with his BlogConsultingPro.com blog about; you guessed it, professional, and business blogging. Matts' site is a very good resource for those interested in watching the blogospheres incorporation into the business and corporate world in a large and increasingly institutional way. -SpinDaddy

Ethics de Pelosi

Nancy Pelosi is perhaps best known for her "prebuttal" speech that she gave along with Harry "filibuster-'em-'til-they-drop" Reid. Pelosi is also well known amongst C-SPAN watchers who have a fetish for hearing fingernails screeching on a chalkboard, as watching her speak is as close as you can get to the real thing. It seems an ethics scandal is developing surrounding a trip to Puerto Rico she took with fellow democrats.

Kudos to NC freshman representative Patrick McHenry for bringing focus and perspective to the glaring inconsistency between her demands for a full ethics investigation in Tom Delays case; meanwhile our Nancy girl who was on a trip with fellow democrat Stephanie Tubbs Jones of Ohio who submitted documents to the House clerks office stating that indeed a lobbyist paid for her trip. We are supposed to believe Nancy when she tells us they didn't pay for her trip. She was on the same plane, stayed in the same hotel ...

Right.

"...The questions also come after months of claims against Majority Leader Tom DeLay, accused of accepting a trip paid for by a lobbyist. Mr DeLay and the nonprofit group he listed as the trip's sponsor insist the lobbyist did not pay the bill.

Mrs. Pelosi has called for a full investigation into that matter, which is an inconsistency, say Mr. McHenry and Mr. Westmoreland...'If you are serious that the mere allegation that a lobbyist paid for member travel warrants a full ethics investigation, it would seem that a member actually disclosing it as fact would more than merit it,' the Republicans wrote..."

Pelosi is either stupid, or lying. She should release the documents in an expeditious fashion so we can determine which one it is. Or better yet, perhaps McHenry is right here, a full on investigation is warranted.

Read the whole article by Charles Hurt in the WashTimes. Light blogging still, getting ready for move. See previous posts. -SpinDaddy

Stupid Man Tricks

A dear friend sent me this in an email so I am not sure the source, but it rang all too true. Enjoy. Light posting still, busy with upcoming move.
-SpinDaddy

Instructions on how to change the oil in your car FOR WOMEN

1) Pull up to Jiffy Lube when the mileage reaches 3000 miles since the last oil change.
2) Drink a cup of coffee.
3) 15 minutes later write a check and leave with a properly maintained vehicle.

MONEY SPENT....Oil Change: $20.00
Coffee: $ 1.00
TOTAL: $21.00

Instructions on how to change the oil in your car FOR MEN

1) Wait until Saturday, drive to auto parts store and buy a case of oil, filter, kitty litter, hand cleaner and a scented tree, write a check for $50.00.
2) Stop by 7-11 and buy a case of beer, write a check for $20.00, drive home.
3) Open a beer and drink it.
4) Jack car up. Spend 30 minutes looking for jack stands.
5) Find jack stands under kid's pedal car.
6) In frustration, open another beer and drink it.
7) Place drain pan under engine.
8) Look for 9/16 box end wrench.
9) Give up and use crescent wrench.
10) Unscrew drain plug.
11) Drop drain plug in pan of hot oil: splash hot oil on you in process.
12) Crawl out from under car to wipe hot oil off of face and arms. Throw kitty litter on spilled oil.
13) Have another beer while watching oil drain.
14) Spend 30 minutes looking for oil filter wrench.
15) Give up; crawl under car and hammer a screwdriver through oil filter and twist off.
16) Crawl out from under car with dripping oil filter splashing oil everywhere from holes. Cleverly hide old oil filter among trash in trash can to avoid environmental penalties. Drink a beer.
17) Buddy shows up; finish case of beer with him. Decide to finish oil change tomorrow so you can go see his new garage door opener.
18) Sunday: Skip church because "I gotta finish the oil change." Drag pan full of old oil out from underneath car. Cleverly dump oil in hole in backyard instead of taking it to be recycled
19) Throw kitty litter on oil spilled during step 18.
20) Beer? No, drank it all yesterday.
21) Walk to 7-11; buy beer.
22) Install new oil filter making sure to apply a thin coat of oil to gasket surface.
23) Dump first quart of fresh oil into engine.
24) Remember drain plug from step 11.
25) Hurry to find drain plug in drain pan.
26) Remember that the used oil is buried in a hole in the back yard along with drain plug.
27) Drink beer.
28) Shovel out hole and sift oily mud for drain plug. Re-shovel oily dirt into hole. Steal sand from kids sandbox to cleverly cover oily patch of ground and avoid environmental penalties. Wash drain plug in lawnmower gas.
29) Discover that first quart of fresh oil is now on the floor. Throw kitty litter on oil spill.
30) Drink beer.
31) Crawl under car getting kitty litter into eyes. Wipe eyes with oily rag used to clean drain plug. Slip with stupid crescent wrench tightening drain plug and bang knuckles on frame.
32) Bang head on floorboards in reaction to step 31.
33) Begin cussing fit.
34) Throw stupid crescent wrench.
35) Cuss for additional 10 minutes
36) Beer.
37) Clean up hands and forehead and bandage as required to stop blood flow.
38) Beer.
39) Beer.
40) Dump in five fresh quarts of oil.
41) Beer.
42) Lower car from jack stands.
43) Accidentally crush remaining case of new motor oil.
44) Move car back to apply more kitty litter to fresh oil spilled during steps 23 - 43.
45) Beer.
46) Test drive car.
47) Get pulled over & arrested for driving under the influence.
48) Car gets impounded.
49) Call loving wife, make bail.
50) 12 hours later, get car from impound yard.

MONEY SPENT....Parts: $50.00
DUI: $2500.00
Impound fee: $75.00
Bail: $1500.00
Beer: $40.00
TOTAL: $4165.00.......BUT YOU KNOW THE JOB WAS DONE RIGHT

Memphis Blogger 2B

Look here to find the third and final part in an excellent series on the role of secularism in America, by Julia Duin at the WashTimes. I wish I had time to elaborate with a few excerpts here, and of course my thoughts on same, read the whole thing.

I also wish I had time to vent about the immorality and economic perversity of taxing income on this tax day as it would strike a particularly resonant, if discordant, tone today of all days. A little salt in the wounds if you will.

Due to more pressing needs regarding my job transfer and getting moved back to MEM, I will be down for a few days here. I will be back posting next week. Then perhaps a few more hopefully brief lapses. Hopefully Voice or ko can step in a little bit, understand that they are, like you and I, terribly busy with real life. This should all be settled out by last few weeks at the end of MAY.

After that I will be a Memphis blogger, along with these guys and others I'm sure I will find. I really look forward to meeting these guys, they all have excellent blogs, which you should be reading. Although I have been out of Memphis for a while now, I have loosely been following Memphis' never-ever boring political scene.

Stupid maybe, but never boring.

Here are just a few Memphis bloggers I will proudly be joining shortly. I must admit that Memphis has sprung a good crop of bloggers in my absence.

AlphaPatriot

Half-Bakered

Joefish's Freshwater Blog

and the Memphis Redblogs where both Alpha Patriot and Half-Bakered are contributors. -SpinDaddy

P.S. I reserve the right to complain loudly and often about Memphis' lousy WX. LOL.

Part II

Here is part II of Julia Duins WashTimes piece on secularism in America. Enjoy. -SpinDaddy

Blogging Forecast

Light to moderate blogging.

More pressing needs at the day job are consuming what little free time SpinDaddy has, so bear with me here. I will clue you in on what I'm reading right now, but longer essay type posts will have to wait for right now.

I am reading the first in a three part series in the WashTimes By Julia Duin about religion and secularism. The first installment includes some interesting history on the founding of the ACLU. Conservatives don't mockingly refer to it as the American Civil Liberals Union for nothing. A small excerpt here, read the whole thing.

". . .Roger Baldwin, a member of the Industrial Workers of the World, a Chicago-based radical labor group, founded the ACLU. . .' From the beginning, they were tied to the politics of the left. It was hard-core left. They justified Stalinism.' . . . Mr. Baldwin visited Stalin's brutal police state in 1923 and 1927 and praised it in a book, 'Liberty Under the Soviets'. . ."

That's odd, to read most MSM accounts, Madalyn Murray O'Hair, or Michael Newdow are just your run-of-the-mill erstwhile aetheists being oppressed by Bible thumping boors. It's just an ironic coincidence that all these aetheist activists happen to be communist apologists also.

Hmmm. No, there's no leftist agenda here . . . -SpinDaddy

Tuesdays Quick Funny

Go to the Vodkapundit for some hilarious car humor. Also, be sure to look at the comments as the always clever Vodkapundit readers (including yours truly) have added some of their own keen insight.
-SpinDaddy

Endangered Species Payback

Funny article by Valerie Richardson in the WashTimes this morning. For years Ranchers and other land owners in the West, have watched with dismay as Subaru-driving-birkenstock-wearing-NPR-listening-socialist-wannabes have invaded the West hiding behind a phalanx of federal bureaucrats. Under the legal auspices of the Endangered Species Act, these western landowners have had to endure the harangues of environmemntalists in the name of any number of rats, snakes, and any other varmints the NPR set worships.

The article describes how some county commissioners in Utah have filed an endangered species petition to protect the Northern Snakehead fish, an invasive species from Asia that is currently causing havoc along the Potomac river basin. The point the commisioners wish to illustrate is the absurdity, and likelihood for bureaucratic mischief that can be found in the Endangered Species Act. Also how infuriating it can be to have someone from thousands of miles away cause bureaucrats to swarm on your land like so many locusts. If the petition is successful, significant restrictions on landowners in the Potomac river area will be put in place.

Funny to watch how liberals don't like to be hoisted in their own petard. This is also remeniscent of the windmill controversy swirling off Cape-Cod, where; guess who?? That's right these same Subaru-driving-birkentsock-wearing-NPR-listening-socialist-wannabes are now squawking about the aesthetic blight of a proposed wind mill farm in the adjacent Nantucket Sound, and oh yeah; it might kill some birds too. Read the whole thing. -SpinDaddy

Snowstorm Blogging 2.1

Snowstorm Blogging2.1
Posted by: spindaddy.

The way this last storm blew in created some neat visual effects, especially in the accretion of snow on different surfaces. Enjoy.
-SpinDaddy

Snowstorm Blogging

Snowstorm Blogging
Posted by: spindaddy.

More snowstorm photoblogging. This is from the most recent snowstorm. Last weekend.

Old timers in and around Boone, have told me that they have seen snow on the ground in every month of the year, at one time or another.
-SpinDaddy

Milestones

No, not the thoroughly excellent and groundbreaking Miles Davis album of 1958. Although for the uninitiated, you can find it here.

A BumperStickerPolitix milestone. The boys over at Dummocrats.com have been kind enough to feature this blog in their Blogger showcase (right side of the page at this link). Thxs very much to Hat, Kris and John.

Many thxs also to Memphis Redblogs contributor, Alpha Patriot who recently added BumperStickerPolitix to his blogroll as a Memphis Blogger in anticipation of my return to the low country. I will try to do my best to keep a high country perspective.

Also, thxs again for the encouragement from Matt Rosenberg and inclusion in the Rosenblog blogroll.

If you haven't read or seen any of the above mentioned blogs you should because they are each and everyone excellent. What blogging is all about.

Keep stopping by; many many good things are in the offing in the coming months, more writers, new layout. New and Improved if you will -SpinDaddy

Lock and Load 2.0

Florida

Jeb Bush governor of Florida is about to sign a new law into effect that does away with the silly requirement to retreat when threatened. Hat tip to the NRA-ILA , and to Dummocrats.com. Previously there was (and still is in other states) an obligation under law (mallum en prohibitum) to retreat when faced with an aggressor, outside your home. Of course your first duty is to protect yourself and your family, which is to say that; should you resist an aggressor you might be guilty of violating some prohibition of law, but your higher obligation to protect yourself would not fail a higher moral test (mallum en se), that which is right in and of itself.

In ones home it is commonly held that the common law castle doctrine applies, "a mans home is his castle" and deadly force is warranted in the protection of same. Florida's law now extends castle doctrine to Floridians outside their homes. In other words, ones own body is their castle. Sounds good to me. Florida led the nation some years back by being among the first states to have "shall-issue" concealed carry sidearm permits. Hopefully other states will follow this "Stand Your Ground" legislation, as they have with Floridas "shall-issue" concealed carry permits. These shall issue permits are arguably responsible for saving many lives. To see if your state offers such a program you can go to the NRA-ILA webpage for gunlaws, a synopsis of each states gun laws is available here. If your state does not offer "shall-issue" concealed carry permits; move to one that does!

This is but a small battle in the political-cultural war to preserve liberty. And this is an important victory, especially if other states move forward as Florida has in codifying the castle doctrtine. From where I stand, it looks to me as though Florida has a very conservative and liberty minded set of legislative houses. Maybe next they shoud set about checking the Florida state courts (especially appellate) authority and jursidiction, as is within each the state legislatures authority to do. As was plainly demonstrated in the 2000 election debacle where the Florida supreme court almost Gore-Losered the whole country , and again recently with the Schiavo case, the Florida appellate courts could stand a good body-check, in the political sense. The legislatures, both federal and state have the authority to reign in out of control judiciary. Perhaps slashing their funding by half or three-quarters might serve to get their attention.

Oklahoma

Dummocrats.com also has this piece about Weyerhauser, that portrays a rampant anti-gun attitude prevalant in corporate America today. I have a good friend who has .38 caliber pistol that was issued to his grandfather by the company he worked for! Can you imagine such a scenario today? The legal department of any litigation sensitive corporation today would have a bloody fit. Needless to say, he does not carry it to work at his job with a major aerospace contractor.

Perhaps a more reasonable approach would be to say that if the employee can pass rigorous background checks by the employer, state and local law enforcement officials, and the FBI; obtain a state issued concealed carry permit. Demonstrate a high level of proficiency with the weapon, and thorough knowledge of appropriate use of deadly force, then that employee could carry a concealed weapon about on company property. In a post 11SEP01 world this does not seem so unreasonable. Having a competent armed citizen in the right place, at the right time can save lives and protect property. In the Dummocrats piece about Weyerhauser, it seems that company recently changed their policy and disallowed guns in employees cars on Wyerhauser parking lots, conducted searches with dogs then fired the offending employees.

So I pose the following question rhetorically, with the understanding that nobody is forced to work for Weyerhauser, or that they have to drive to or park on Weyerhauser property. But...

Does Weyerhauser now assume full responsibility and thus liabilty for the personal safety of their workforce as they transit to and from the workplace?

It seems to me that, given the very generous reading of contributory negligence doctrine we see today, that some enterprising litigation attorney might not now have cause to act should some employee be the unfortunate victim of violence in the course of their travels to and from the work place. I know there are attorneys who read this blog so if you have some thoughts, please sound feel free to sound off. -SpinDaddy

Senator Harold Ford Jr (D-TN) !?

Say it ain't so. Tennessee Republicans would be well advised to knock off the inside baseball squabbling right now, and begin building a machine to crush Harold Ford Jr's likely US Senate run. At the risk of sounding negative, it is a bit early to declare Ed Bryant the next Senator from TN. A new poll published at TeamGOP Blog, while very early and of uncertain value, shows Ford to have a decent shot in the general. Should Ford Jr decide to run, the democratic senate primary would be a pro-forma exercise.

Those in the Tennessee GOP who may have missed the last four years or so of national television news coverage because they were too busy arguing over the color of the drapes, what size the negotiating table, or otherwise stabbing each other in the back; should be made aware that Harold Ford Jr is in the running to replace Chuck Schumer of New York as the most dangerous man in Washington DC to be blocking the path to a TV camera. Heads up also to National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair — Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) , as she is charged with maintaining and expanding the GOP majority in the US Senate. Ford Jr has been working very hard to create a national presence out of whole cloth; and to his credit, has had some success in this regard. With all due respect, I have not seen Ed Bryant, Van Hilleary, or Bob Corker doing the same thing.

The Tennessee GOP, and Sen Dole had better understand that the Ford Jr machine owns Memphis proper, and will likely crush any resistance in outlying Shelby County as well. A Ford Jr candidacy will also play well in other intensely urban areas of the state. Chattanooga, Nashville, Knoxville, and maybe Johnson City would all likely be Ford Jr territory. They should also understand that not all, but many of the counties in the westernmost of the grand divisions of the state, can still go democratic. That means a very, very strong turnout in the remaining rural areas is critical if the GOP hopes to maintain control of both senate seats. Divided, bickering Tennessee republicans lead to such unpleasant outcomes as Phil Bredesen gubernatorial victories.

The margins in the poll cited at TeamGOP above are too close for comfort, and should serve as a resounding wakeup call. The TeamGOP post optimistically points out that the poll shows Ed Bryant beating Ford Jr, however the poll also shows such a "victory" is not outside the 4.0 point plus or minus margin. Little comfort should be taken from a two point margin at this stage, especially by someone with as little name recognition as Bryant enjoys. If he is the nominee, which remains to be seen, due to the internecine bickering mentioned above.

Likely Voters
Harold Ford, Jr.............. 30%
(Lean Ford, Jr.)............. 8
Ed Bryant .................... 30
(Lean Bryant) ............... 10

Likely FordJr, and Leaning FordJr 38%--

Likely Bryant, and Leaning Bryant 40%--

When such a slim margin is factored with Ford Jr's national efforts, it portends a dangerous scenario for the GOP. It is not hard to imagine Ford Jr rallying support of other prominent national democratic figures to secure a Senate seat. Make no mistake, the national press (MSM) is enamored of the telegenic representative from Tennessee's ninth congressional district. As such, he is very much capable of arousing the kind of national press and support that IL Democratic Senator Barack Obama enjoyed this past fall. Here's a prediction: look for the MSM to fawningly cast Ford Jr as "the-next-Barack-Obama".

How does this sound for Memphis/Nashville fundraiser guest list: former President and NY junior Senator, Mrs Clinton. IL Democratic Senator Barack Obama. Democratic party chair Howard Dean. Former Democratic Presidential candidate Rev. Al Sharpton. MD Democratic Senatorial hopeful Kweisi Mfume. Oprah, the usual list of democratic hangers on, etc.

Note to TN GOP. WAKE UP! ! ! ! Do NOT underestimate a Ford Jr senate candidacy. A similar meme is sounded at the excellent blog South End Grounds. At this point, it appears the statewide GOP plan with regard to Ford Jr's US Senate run is to sit back and hope his uncle, TN State Senator John Ford implodes and takes Harold Jr down with him. Such a plan is insufficient to the task at hand.

Such a narrow margin, while early and of unknown origin, demonstrates that the Tennessee GOP needs to unite behind one candidate now and treat the Ford Jr Senate candidacy with the seriousness it deserves. Failure to do so could lead to a very unpleasant outcome: Senator Harold Ford Jr (D-TN). Instead of providing comfort, the above poll should be sounding alarms. -SpinDaddy

Riff Tuesday

Light blogging today, still have things in the works for a pending move back to the low country. Good news on that, landed a better gig at the day job than the one I have now so...

My buddy, Memphis Joefish has some good links at this post. And Seattle blogger extraordinaire, Matt Rosenberg at Rosenblog has a good post on the media and their weakness for flogging fear. A lazy habit of theirs I say, kind of like picking your nose because you're too lazy to get a hanky, that kind of thing. -SpinDaddy

Riff Monday

Still more pressing matters of late. There may be a few more (hopefully brief) lapses in the coming months as a move is imminent for SpinDaddy and family. Hopefully, this will be all wrapped up by June-ish, will keep advised.

This is a really good op-ed piece at the TeamGOP written by John T. Plecnik, regarding the creeping tyrannical desires of the judiciary. The author makes a very good point here that "... state Supreme Courts have taken to the spotlight. The unforgettable decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Court to force their state Legislature to rewrite the law and legalize gay marriage is exhibit number one...Judges ordering legislators to pass laws is as blatantly unconstitutional as congress writing court opinions..." Plecnik has a good point there; of course, it is telling that the Massachusetts state legislature failed to show even the slightest hint of concern that another branch of the commonwealth government was blatantly usurping their authority with such an absurd suggestion. Read the whole piece.

A further example of such an abuse of seperation of powers would be if the president were to cross lines, and issue decrees in the name of a court, or attempted to issue legislation without the consent of the governed. I'm not talking about executive orders which do fall under his authority. Plecniks op-ed calls for congress (for that matter, state legislatures should be acting as well); to act to reign in the judiciary, something entirely within their aurthority, this echoes a couple of earlier posts here at BumperStickerPolitix. -SpinDaddy