John Fund of the Wall Street Journal takes a look at how members of Congress use taxpayer dollars to build monuments to themselves.  He didn’t even mention Alabama’s own Richard Shelby.  You don’t have to travel far here before you run into some structure that bears the good senator’s name even though you and I paid the bill.

After some of the more unreliable Alabama blogs recently propagated rumors that a state official - a Republican state official - is gay they frequently defended their rumor mongering by proclaiming that, if true, the claims would be a sign of hypocrisy.  You see, this official has made statements in the past that were certainly not gay friendly.  Therefore, he was deemed a hypocrite, although the rumors have been neither confirmed nor denied as of yet.  Being a hypocrite apparantly gives some people considerable motivation to shout loudly about your lack of consistency.  Or does it?

I’ve found that it isn’t purely hypocrisy that sets these individuals (and by these individuals I’m referring to leftist Democrats) off.  It is a specific subset of hypocritical behavior pertaining to homosexual activity involving (or even allegedly involving) Republicans that really excites them.  For example, when it was widely reported that the high priest of the global warmitarian movement, Al Gore, used 232 times more power than the average home there was a deafening silence from left wing Democrats.  Why?  That was a prime example of rank hypocrisy.  Gore has made millions lecturing us about how our excessive energy usage is going to destroy the planet, but he doesn’t feel that he should restrict his own energy consumption.  Try finding examples of liberals deriding 2003 Cesar Chavez award winner Nancy Pelosi for using non-union labor to harvest grapes at her vineyard.  Anything you might find (there were no posts at Daily Kos) certainly will not be written with the same zeal as with an allegedly gay Republican story.

So why the infatuation with connecting Republicans with homosexuality?  I find the obsession and propensity to broadly disseminate any allegations is at odds with their (liberal Democrats) belief structure.  I say this because they clearly aren’t interested strictly because of hypocrisy.  Otherwise there would be more consistency.  No, they particularly enjoy the gay Republican stories because they like to use them as an opportunity to rid themselves of political adversaries by playing on bigotry against gay people.

As a parallel, consider the recent U.S. Senate campaign of Harold Ford, Jr.  During the campaign an ad was ran against Ford that included a white, faux Playboy Playmate.  The ad was lambasted by liberals who said that it played on racial fears.  Merely insinuating an interracial relationship, the logic follows, is tantamount to bigotry since some in the target audience might harbor latent (or even overt) prejudices.

In the case of “outing” gay Republicans liberals are using basically the same tactic.  Their target audience is not fellow liberals, but rather Republican voters who may harbor prejudices against gay people.  By “outing” a Republican they can erode his support and make the position vulnerable to Democrat takeover.  The problem is that this method requires the same stoking of fears that they found so objectionable when Republicans were the ones accused of engaging in such tactics.  The Democrats aren’t “outing” Republicans to enhance acceptance of gays, which is one of their stated political goals, they are stirring up a fervor of anti-gay sentiment for polticial gain.

Liberals like to mask their tactic by proclaiming that they are just pointing out hypocrisy.  If that were the case we would expect them to point out all hypocrisy with similar glee.  The sad fact is that they are perpetuating anti-gay feelings in order to vanquish political opponents.

Personally, I also enjoy pointing out hypocrisy and I admit that anti-gay people who get caught in gay scandals presents an easy target that I have not shied away from (when the facts support it).  But without a measure of consistency ones motives come into question.

Aside: I’m watching The Birdcage on AMC as I type this post - entirely by coincidence.  One of my favorite movies that also deals with homosexuality and amusing political hypocrisy.

Tampa tried to host the Olympics in 2012.  They failed.  The man who chaired their commission to secure the bid said that Birmingham has “as much chance as an ice cube in Tampa.”  I think he’s being a bit polite.

The very notion of hosting the Olympics in Birmingham - an idea floated by none other than mayor Larry Langford - is so absurd that even responding to it gives it more justification than it deserves.  Dan at Daily Dixie took a stab at addressing some of the reasons the Olympics wouldn’t be hosted in The Ham, but the actual list is much longer than ten reasons.

Just think about it.  Jefferson County could become the largest municipal bankruptcy in the country.  Ever.  Larry Langford is under investigation by the SEC.  The “ice cube in Tampa’ article lists more reasons.  Birmingham would need to more than double its number of hotel rooms.  The city “must guarantee the financial success of the games.”  See the previous bankruptcy and SEC investigation points.  The article states that there must be cooperation between city, county, and state governments.  Do I even need to address that one?

It also costs a lot to host the games.

More than $15 billion was spent on the Athens games in 2004, driving Greece into debt. And China has spent a record $42 billion on this year’s games, The Wall Street Journal reported last week.

$42 billion!  Isn’t that just about what the Huntsville-Madison County Metro Jail will cost by the time they finish it?

Hey, I say go for it.  I don’t live in Birmingham, so my tax dollars won’t be wasted.  I think it will be amusing to watch them try.  Think about the proverbial dog chasing the car.  What do you do when you catch it?  Worst case scenario is that they actually win and screw up the Olympics for the entire world.

I’ve written a handful of posts about Zimbabwe over the years, mostly because of the unbelievably harmful reign of Robert Mugabe.  Two years ago I pointed out that the country had just started printing a $100,000 note.

Now the troubled nation has released a $100 billion note.  It sounds like a lot of dough, but it’s only worth about one US dollar and will enable you to purchase just four oranges - at least for a few more days.  According to the article it won’t even buy a loaf of bread.

Oh, and the official inflation rate there is now 2,200,000%.  I’m not kidding.

From the Associated Press:

U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer’s pending retirement hasn’t stopped him from spending thousands of campaign dollars on meals, gas, travel and other everyday expenses.

The Huntsville Democrat is still using campaign money to pay for a monthly Toyota car lease payment of $671.97, along with hundreds of dollars in gas and several car washes. Last month, the campaign paid $953.54 for a meal at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse in downtown Washington - one of several Ruth’s Chris outings - and $361.40 at Cafe Atlantico a few blocks away.

The campaign paid $3,108 for plane tickets and $304.73 for a Hilton hotel room in northern California’s wine country.

Must be nice.

Wayne Parker’s campaign issued a press release on Wednesday (text below) stating that “49% of Griffith’s campaign funds have come from outside the state of Alabama.”  That is absolutely true.  Here is a spreadsheet containing all of the itemized contributions Parker Griffith has received to date according to the FEC.  The total amount is $556,810, of which $285,649 came from sources inside Alabama and $271,161 (49%) came from locales other than Alabama.  When you include contributions from other parts of Alabama outside the 5th district his local contributions total a mere 36%.  Clearly lots of people are willing to give him lots of money to get elected, but over half of them aren’t doing so because they want Griffith to represent them.

Griffith has received about 45% of his funds from PACs and party organizations.  The Wayne Parker campaign PR noted that these PACs included ones operated by Charlie Rangel ($7,000 total) and Rohm Emanuel ($12,000 total).  They also included donations from at least two local politicians: state Rep. Laura Hall and Madison County Commissioner Bob Harrison.  The PAC money included numerous donations from labor unions.  I submitted a question to Griffith’s campaign a while back asking where he stood on union card check legislation.  I have not received a reply.  I’d be surprised if all those unions are showering him with cash just because they think he is a swell guy.

In an interview with WHNT Wayne Parker was quoted as saying, “49% of his contributors are from out of state.”  The local leftists seized on this and called Parker a liar. (Side note: it is a bit curious to see them fighting for Griffith considering he is doing his darnedest to appear conservative, which would put him starkly at odds with them.  Maybe they know something about his real positions that the rest of us can only speculate about.)

I thought it would be instructive to see just what liar means, so I consulted my trusty online dictionary:

liar -noun: a person who tells lies.

Well, that is of dubious use in this situation, so lets see what it means to lie:

lie -noun: a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; an intentional untruth; a falsehood.

There are other definitions of course.  Most have the common theme of intent to mislead.  Now based on Parker’s press release and the numbers that back it up it is apparent that he made a slight, understandable misstatement to WHNT.  He said contributors instead of contributions.  If Parker intended to mislead voters then he would not have issued a press release that contradicted his own statement.

However, the folks at Left in Alabama have previously proven that they know how to access the FEC website and I would assume that at least one of them can use Excel.  It should have been plainly obvious to them that Griffith has received about half of his money from outside the state.  They intentionally ignored this fact.  Maybe they just thought it was a coincidence that the 49% figure representing out of state contributions just happened to be the same percentage that Parker cited.  I would categorize it as a sin of willful omission on their part.  Not quite a lie, but dangerously close.

Kudos to Dan for also looking into the numbers.

*** Wayne Parker Press Release ***

JUDGED BY THE COMPANY THAT YOU KEEP

Wayne Parker raises nearly 88% of his funds from individuals while Parker Griffith raises 45% of his funds from PAC contributions and liberal Democrat Leadership

Huntsville, AL - According to the latest FEC reports released July 15th, only 36% of the money raised so far by Parker Griffith in his congressional bid has been raised in North Alabama. An additional 15% came from other parts of the state, while a full 49% of Griffith’s campaign funds have come from outside the state of Alabama.

Griffith has raised over $25,000 in the Chicago area alone, far outpacing what he has raised in Scottsboro, Decatur, Athens and the Shoals area combined. Griffith reported raising more money from Detroit, Michigan than Decatur, Alabama.

Griffith received nearly 45% of his campaign contributions from PAC’s; this is in contrast to opponent Wayne Parker, who has raised 88% of his funds from individuals.

“The overwhelming majority of Wayne’s support has come from individuals right here in North Alabama who care about this district,” said Parker for Congress Campaign Manager, Neil Forbes. “When you see Griffith raising so much money from PAC’s, from outside Alabama, and from the most liberal leaders in Congress*, it makes you wonder who he would represent in Congress,” Forbes continued.

###

· On June 12, 2008, Parker Griffith received a $5000 from National Leadership PAC (Charlie Rangel’s Leadership PAC) and $2000 from Charlie Rangel for Congress.

· On May 31st, 2008, Parker Griffith received $10,000 from Our Common Values PAC (Rahm Emamuel’s Leadership PAC) and on June 27th, he received $2,000 from Rahm Emanuel for Congress.

My favorite IndyCar driver Danica Patrick placed 3rd in the Firestone Indy 200 at Nashville Superspeedway Saturday (behind Winner Scott Dixon and 2nd place Dario Franchitti).  Patrick is my favorite driver not only because she’s a good driver, or because she looks good in a swimsuit, but also because she seems like a genuinely nice person. 

My niece attended the race, and was excited that she got to meet Danica. Danica  was very good to an eight year old: talking with her, signing her race shirt, and letting her sit in Patrick’s IndyCar.  She went out of her way to spend time with a young girl and fellow race enthusiast, and for this, I am grateful.

Stephanie Bell of Montgomery is running for a fifth term (first elected 1994) on the State Board of Education, District 3. She defeated Skip Smithwick (AEA-funded) in the Primary.

She graduated from Auburn with a degree in English / Journalism, taught English in Taiwan, reported for the Montgomery Advertiser, and then worked for Education reform prior to her election to the Board of Education.

The State Board of Education members: Governor Bob Riley (R - President),  Joe Morton (Superintendent), Randy McKinney (R - District 1), Betty Peters (R - District 2), Stephanie Bell (R - District 3), Ethel Hall (D - District 4, VP), Ella Bell ( - District 5), David Byers (R - District 6, VP), Sandra Ray (D - District 7), and Mary Jane Caylor (D - District 8).

Note that the Board seems to vote along Party lines on most issues.

So much for the Democrat’s Operation Chaos in the 5th district.  Wayne Parker defeated Cheryl Baswell Guthrie by about a 4 to 1 margin yesterday to become the Republican nominee for Alabama’s 5th district congressional seat.

Reactionary beat me to the punch in posting the raw numbers from the election, so I’ll just point out a few things I noticed.

There were 20,358 total votes cast in the 5th district race (97% reporting).  That was fewer than each of the candidates in AL-02 received (Jay Love defeated Harri Anne Smith 25,134 to 22,404).  I would suggest that is more of a reflection of how hotly the AL-02 race was contested as opposed to the AL-05 race where the outcome was all but certain.  It wasn’t quite the lock that Griffith vs. Maker was in the Democrat primary, but it was pretty close.

I took the wife and kids to the Parker headquarters for the expected victory party and campaign speech.  I met some great people and heard more of what has become a common theme: Parker is an all around great guy.  During the primary everyone - without exception - I talked to who knew Wayne would tell me what a decent person and man of integrity he is.  That includes a couple of people who were supporting one of Wayne’s opponents and had motivation to say negative things about him, but couldn’t bring themselves to do it.  Not many politicians are held in such high regard.  Parker delivered a strong speech (excerpts below) and really staked out his territory as the only true conservative in the race who can be relied upon to stand up for conservative values.

Runoff’s are strange beasts.  In the primary for Madison County Tax Collector Angela Stafford nearly won outright in a field of three candidates with 8,023 votes (47%).  Cory Brown came in second with 5,266 (30%).  But in the runoff Brown defeated Stafford 6,370 votes (55%) to Stafford’s 5,269 votes.  So Brown not only overcame a 18 point margin to pull off the upset, but he also increased his vote total by over 1,000 votes.  That is impressive considering that turnout in Madison County was about 58% of the primary total.  I would attribute this to a mix of getting out his superior message, mobilizing supporters at the polls, and Brown’s stronger Republican ties.

I also had a first experience of sorts yesterday.  I worked my polling place for Brown in the morning and late afternoon.  During my morning shift I talked to a lady who said that she voted for Stafford in the primary, but changed her mind the previous day to support Brown.  When I asked her what prompted the change of heart she told me that she had read about him on Flashpoint blog and that you (the Brown campaign) should thank them (Flashpoint blog).  I introduced myself as the author and we talked for a while about various things.  It was the first time in over two years of writing this thing that someone has told me about the blog without knowing I’m the author.

***

Excerpts from Wayne Parker’s victory speech:

“Over the next few months, the people of North Alabama will be given a clear choice as to who represents them in Washington.”

“The federal government is obligated to ensure the safety of the people from all threats - foreign or domestic, and to continue strong support for advanced space exploration. As your next congressman, I will support missile defense and maintaining the best trained and equipped military. I will strongly support NASA; specifically, the Marshall Space Flight Center. And, finally, I will always fight to fulfill the promises we made to our veterans.”

“We must not allow our country to be held hostage by our dependence on foreign oil. We must begin drilling and producing our own resources offshore and in ANWR, while looking to alternative energies so we can become completely energy independent. I believe the Tennessee Valley Authority, right here in North Alabama, is poised to lead in the development and production of nuclear energy. We cannot wait for $12 per gallon gas…we must act now.”

“We must close our borders and stop illegal immigration. Illegal immigration is not only an economic and public health issue; it is also a national security issue.”

“I am pro-life and I will always support traditional marriage between a man and a woman.”

“I am a firm believer in our 2nd Amendment and I am proud to have received the endorsement of the NRA in this runoff election.”

“Last, but not least, the federal tax code is too complicated, and our taxes are too high. I will fight for serious tax reform even if it means we must abolish the current code. I support abolishing the death tax and making our current tax cuts permanent.”

“Liberal politicians who dodge the real issues and create convenient answers are just not acceptable, and North Alabama deserves better.”

“I am a candidate for congress who has a burning desire to fight for our values. If you are looking for a silver-tongued politician who changes with the political winds, look elsewhere. But, if you are looking for someone who will get in the trenches, fight for America, and fight for what’s right, I ask for your support.”

WHNT just called Beth Kellum the winner in the Court of Criminal Appeals runoff (50,968 vs McLemore’s 42,098, with 94% reporting, 55% to 45%). She faces Democrat Jefferson County Circuit Judge Clyde Jones in the General Election.

Wayne Parker looks to have won the AL-05 House of Representatives candidacy (16,028 vs Guthrie’s 4,330, with 97% reporting, 79% to 21%). He faces Democrat State Senator Parker Griffith in November. Almost 14,000 of the more than 20,000 votes cast were from Madison County.

Twinkle Cavanaugh looks to have won the PSC President candidacy (60,493 vs Chancey’s 40,101, with 94% reporting, 60% to 40%). She faces Democrat former Lieutenant Governor Lucy Baxley in November.

Cory Brown looks to have won the Madison County Tax Collector candidacy (6,370 vs Stafford’s 5,269, with 98% reporting, 55% to 45%). He faces Democrat incumbent Lynda Hall in November.  If he wins, he will work to abolish the office (actually combine with the Tax Assessor’s office to form a ‘Revenue Commissioner’ office).

The Madison County unoffical results are here.

The polls were slow today. I put out signs for Cory Brown last night at my polling place, then schmoozed a little at lunch and after work.  It was interesting to see which of the neighbors were GOP supporters (the only ballots today at my polling place were GOP); saw most of my Neighborhood Watch, plus a few guys named ‘Coach’.