Did we learn anything in 2008 ?

Tomorrow is March 1st -

Primary elections are in
3 months, and the General
election is in 8 months.

The filing period ends in 15 days, and we should have a good idea of the races the next day.

The General Election is easy - vote for the Republican - after all, a RINO is still better than having a Dem in an office.

BUT - the primary is a different matter.

How do you look at it?

Do you support the incumbent, regardless of how conservative the candidate has been?

Do you support the candidate that you think has the best chance to win the General election?

Personally, I've decided to vote for the most conservative candidates. Both fiscally, and socially.

Why?

Because how else are we going to remind everybody that we are the party of Reagan?

How else are we going to pull our party all together?

If you look at the Tea Baggers, they are frustrated by the Dems and the GOP both. They are upset with the politics in Washington, and I don't blame them.

We ARE taxed enough already. Government spending IS out of control.

Our constitutional rights ARE under assault.

We need candidates who understand this also, not candidates who are maybe a 'hair' better than the typical Dem.

So I'm not going to be shy about it.

I am going to support the most conservative candidate in the primary, above all else. And I want my candidate to be a conservative voice for the party.

If one candidate is fiscally conservative, and the other is socially conservative, I'll lean towards fiscally conservative.

As I said, the primary election is the time to choose candidates.

Choose carefully.

I watched much of the Health care Summit

I watched a couple of

hours of the Great Leaders

'Health Care Summit' and I was

not impressed.

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First, the President didn't look very Presidential, he was the Moderator.

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Second, it looked like pure political theater, with him giving the Dems a lot more time to talk than he did the GOP, and he, himself talked more than all of the GOP combined.

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It didn't work.

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Republicans ruled the day when it came to making sound arguments, and offering alternatives to this massive government takeover of the insurance industry.

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The President wasn't ready for it, and it visibly irritated him when he was called out.

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Both the House & Senate bills are bad for America, and bad for the Democratic party, but I think that Obamas ego is so big, that he thinks he has to be able to claim some kind of success, on something, even if it's a bad idea.

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I'm thinking that there are not enough votes in the House of representatives to push the Senate Bill through without any GOP votes. And I'm thinking there are a lot of people in the Senate who are regretting voting for their version of the bill now too.

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The Great Leader, The Messiah, The Protector of the Poor, President Obama really couldn't care less about anybodys re-election campaigns, and it shows. He's too desperate.

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What do you think will happen?

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Any ideas?

Yellowstone County Attorney Controversy

One of the most-commented stories

I've seen on The Billings Gazette

online version, has been about our

Yellowstone County Attorney,

Dennis Paxinos. Here's the link;

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http://www.billingsgazette.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/article_711acb44-1b45-11df-8e43-001cc4c03286.html

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I have given this a lot of thought, more than I usually give to something like this.

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On one hand, he was accused, of sexual harrassment by a former employee. It was investigated by the County, and found to be without merit.

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Is that the end of the story? No. His alleged victim decided to sue, and the County refused to release details of the case until The Billings Gazette got a court order.

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Paxinos admitted having inappropriate contact with the allleged victim, seven years ago, after hours, in their office. He says it was consensual. She disagrees. And after all, he was her Boss.

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But she continued working for him. For years afterwards.

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So now what?

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Do the Yellowstone County Taxpayers deserve another lawsuit?

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Does the alleged victim deserve a day in court?

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Does this accusation diminish Paxinos' ability to be our County Attorney?

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Does the fact that he admitted being inappropriate seven years ago diminish his ability also?

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These are a lot of questions.

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First, I believe that if his alleged victim wants to take the risks, personal, and financial, of going after Paxinos in Court, it is certainly her right.

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Second, Dennis Paxinos isn't Yellowstone County's 'Father', or 'Husband', he's the County Attorney. He prosecutes criminals. Having poor judgement that particular day doesn't disqualify him from putting people behind bars.

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What's the solution?

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Let the voters decide.

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In our Republic, we elect people to represent us, for a period of time. If we don't like the job they're doing, we can put up another candidate, and let the voters decide. If you believe in America, you have to believe in the will of the people.

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So, the County Attorneys term is up Dec. 31st.

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He has filed to run for another term, and I really don't remember the last time he had an opponent. In my opinion, we need to have an election. The qualifications are that you have to be a licensed attorney, with 5 years experience, and the filing fee of $534.00. The job won't pay as much as an attorney can make in a good, private practice though, but it's a living wage for them.

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An election would clear the air. It would either vindicate Paxinos, or it would replace him.

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The deadline is March 15th, at Duane Winslows office in the courthouse.

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How about it? Any takers?

James Knox - Candidate HD47

James Knox, Conservative candidate for HD47 is having an event/fundraiser tonight - here's the link;

http://www.vote4knox.com/pdf/feb20.pdf

James is a Billings businessman, who I endorse because he's a true conservative, he's committed, and understands the issues as well as anyone.

Be there or be square!

Sentimental Drivel

TOBY

1995 - 2010

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Call this a eulogy I guess, because yesterday I had the grim chore of taking the old dog to the vet for the last time.

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Toby was 15 years old, mostly deaf, couldn't walk up and down steps very well, fell down a lot, and it was, well, time.

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Heck, a year ago, when my wife noticed he was getting skinny, and not wanting to eat anything but soft food, and not chewing on pigs ears anymore, she switched him to softer food, because his teeth were getting pretty well dulled down.

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It was a June day, in 1995 when he came wandering up the alley, just a puppy. The kids were playing with him, and I told them to stop playing with him, so that he could find his way back home.

Later that afternoon, some neighbors I knew down at 3rd & Yellowstone, Terry Huck, and Naomi Ingalls came up the sidewalk with him in tow on a leash, trying to figure out where he lived.

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The kids (and wife) petitioned me to let him stay, after all, we had an empty doghouse in the back yard, and he wouldn't be any trouble to me, since he'd be THEIR Dog, and they would walk him, feed him, and do everything -

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So I agreed that he could stay, OUTSIDE, for a couple of nights, until we figured out where he belonged.

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That was almost 15 years ago.

He stayed outside all right, until dusk, the first day, then he started whining, and I pulled out a box, put it in our room, and I listened to him scratch at it and complain until he fell asleep.

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Funny how easy they become part of the family.

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Toby was just an average American mutt, black as tar, and looked like some kind of flat-haired retriever mix. Smart dog. He mastered the roll over, play dead, lay down, get it, and stay commands in about an hour. I taught him hand-signals for them too, which was a good thing later on, when he lost his hearing.

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He was the kids constant companion. In the summer, they'd go out and play, and he'd either try to participate, or just sit and watch them. After a few dunkings in the backyard pool, he understood the pool behavior, and he'd stay just out of splash range. Nobody got within 20 yards of the back fence but what he'd charge over and threaten them.

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They even put him on the trampoline sometimes, which he hated, but endured.

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He got along with little dogs, loved chasing cats, and had a little-guy chip on his shoulder when it came to big dogs. Toby weighed 38 lbs in his prime, and the one time he saw a 130 lb Akita being walked down the alley, what did he do - but ran over and jumped on him, biting and snarling, and after the other dog had him pinned to the ground, he just layed there and snarled until we pulled them apart.

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Did he learn? Nope - he pulled something like that at least once a year.

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How do you sum up 15 years? In 5 words - He was a good dog.

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He lived a full life, and it was sad to see him declining.

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Yesterday morning, I let him in, and he looked at the back steps, looked over his shoulder at me, and then looked at the steps again, and barely made it up the three steps.

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It was time.

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I called the Vet Clinic, got an appointment, and thought about doing something nice for him, like cooking him an egg or something, but he was sleeping (he sleeps about 16 hours a day anymore) and I figured I'd let him keep his normal routine before we went.

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The kids found out, when they got home from school that the dog was gone, and they took it pretty well at first, the words 'Dog Murderer' didn't come up for a couple of hours.

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Adios campadre. Vaya Con Dios .

Global Warming

We've had snow on the

ground here in Billings

for something like 70

days now

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We'll probably set a new

record this year for having

snow on the ground the longest,

I think we're at 5th all-time right

now.

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Back East, the federal government was shut down today, as the East Coast is getting hammered with record cold/snowfall.

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So when's the global warming going to show up?

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We're waiting - patiently.

Superbowl Sunday - Great Game

Well, I predicted the
Game wrong this year.

The Saints brought their best game,
and beat the Colts!

Great game, funny commercials.

As I said, on any given day, any team cam beat any team.

Gosh, only a year to go until the next one - at least next year the RAIDERS have a shot at going!

(The same shot every other team has at this point) - LOL

Superbowl Sunday

Indianapolis Colts

vs

New Orleans Saints


CBS 4:25 pm Montana Time


I'll take a break from political perspective, and do some sports commentary.

First, on any given day, any team can beat any team.

Just look at my OAKLAND RAIDERS, this year they won the games they should have lost, and lost the games they should have won.

But today, I predict that the COLTS will win, and I'll give you my reasons for that;

(1) The SAINTS defense. They gave up over 400 yards to Brett Favre two weeks ago. If Peyton Manning is on his game, he'll pick them apart.

(2) The COLTS defense. They aren't the huge line of the Minnesota Vikings, but they are very good, and very quick. Those guys can go sideline to sideline all day. They are not easy to run the ball on, even if you have Reggie Bush.

My son-in-law likes to have a Superbowl Party every year, and we'll probably make our way over there around 2:00 pm.

If you are football enthusiasts, I hope you enjoy the day!

SCORE PREDICTION; Colts 42 Saints 28

If you don't like football - SAY WHAT?????

Thanks for lurking.

Call it a campaign blog for a while I guess -

I've laid low in politics lately, unless

you count being the blogmeister of

this highly vocal and opinionated blog,

or my 'kicking sand in the face' of the

liberal bloggers over at their blogs.

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Four years ago, I ran for City Council, and I lost by 30 votes in the primary.

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I finished up my term on the Public Utility Board, and the last election cycle there really were not any issues down there that interested me, and with the makeup of the council, there wouldn't have been an opportunity to make much of a difference. My friend Rich McFadden just took that seat, and I wish him well.

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This year, there are no city elections, or Presidential, or Gubernatorial races, but there are statewide and county races.

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I've always had interest in the County Government, but other than the conversations I have with Commissioner Reno once in a while, when I ask him what's going on at the Courthouse, I pretty much know what I read in the GAZETTE. Not the best source of real news is it?

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So, I discussed it with friends & family, and today I went down to the courthouse, plunked down my filing fee, signed on the line, and I am now a candidate for Yellowstone County Clerk & Recorder.

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So now there'll be contested races for Sheriff, County Commissioner, and Clerk & Recorder.

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I have no ax to grind with the current County Clerk. As far as I know there are no hot-button issues down there. But I know that if the voters entrust me with the job, that I'll apply conservative principles to every decision, and the best interest of the taxpayers will be upheld.

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So here we go - a campaign.

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Actually, I like campaigning. It restores my faith in people.

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When I ran for City Council the last time, my girls & I knocked on every door over by in The Senior High area, and we won that ballot box easily. If I would have had more time, and did a thorough job in just one more precinct I would have won.

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Live and learn.

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As issues come up, I'll put them up here - fair enough?

City Lights -

I see Ed Kemmick, over at

the Gazette has turned on the lights

again at his blog.

http://billingsgazette.com/news/opinion/blogs/city-lights/

I started out blogging over there -

But when I've mentioned that in the past, Ed says not to put the blame on him that I'm a blogger !

Go check it out, 10 years ago, his blog ruled the blogosphere.

I'll put up a link -