ledeagenda.com

Ok, here we go, the last regular week of the 2007 College Football Season. My, oh my, time flies.

The Big-12 Championship Game-

(9) Oklahoma v (1) Missouri- Sorry Tigers fans, but you are going to get crushed. Enjoy that (1) ranking for the few short hours left that you will have it. On ABC.

The ACC Championship Game-

(6) Virginia Tech v (11) Boston College- This game is just juicy. And we all pretty much knew it would come to this at the end of the year. Matt Ryan’s biggest downfall this year has been his interceptions, that will feed right into Virginia Tech’s hands, who boasts one of the nations stingiest defenses. Call me crazy, but I am still taking the upset. Look for the Senior leadership of Matt Ryan to shake off an ugly start to lead Boston College over the top. Only a few bad intercpetions could ruin an otherwise perfect year for BC. On ABC.

The SEC Chamionship Game-

(14) Tennessee v (7) LSU- Let me start of by saying I have been a STRONG supporter of Eric Ainge all year. I think NFL scouts need to take a serious look at this kid, a kid who played with a broken hand all year and still managed to steer his team to the SEC title game. But, that being said, they are facing LSU. And one thing we know for sure about LSU- they don’t give up points in regulation. Unless the Volunteers can hang on till the end of the fourth quater there will be little left to be said. On CBS.

The PAC-10 Clinch Games-

UCLA v (8) USC and Arizona v (13) Arizona State- I beleive USC is coming into the best of its play all season. It’s one of the safest bets in College Football, Pete Carroll does not lose in November. They will more than likely share the PAC-10 title, but I wouldn’t be surprized by an outright USC win. I still just do not by ASU. On ABC.

The Big East Clinch Game-

Pittsburgh v (2) West Virginia- West Virginia will win, but the bigger question: will it be convincing enough to hold on to the BCS Title game spot? I have my doubts.

The WAC Game-

Washington v (12) Hawaii- Everyone loves ending their season on the beaches of Hawaii. Too bad they have to play Hawaii when they get there.

The MWC Game-

(19) BYU v San Diego St.- Yuck, what a way to end the season. MWC Champs BYU roll on.

 One Other Game of note-

Oregon St v (17) Oregon- the 111th meeting of the Civil War. Take the Ducks, but know this- this game is almost always close, and one thing we know for sure, the Beavers always manage a surprise win or two in the season. Last year they stumped USC, will the trip up the Ducks this year? I would highly doubt it, Beavers fans will look to the baseball season to regain pride in the PAC-10.

Don’t let Micheal Savage see this poll result: it turns out that liberalism may well be an actual mental disorder.

Of course, we all knew that. But as Mark Twain once said, “common sense really isnt so common”. Errr, at least if your a Liberal anyway.

But here is the sad part: there still is enormous pressure on the Republican party to adopt ‘moderate’ posistions on key Democratic proposals. Proposals from the very same people, in this poll, that are least likely to have sound mind and body. Proposals that fly in the face of common sense, protecting our boarders and keeping a check on unmitigated government growth.

But therein lies the rub: a liberal doesn’t know how to be a liberal unless the Goverment grows. After all, life can only be made better when a central and absolute authority mandates it, right? Perhaps their obsession with politcally correct living, with using the might of government as the solution, has finally caught up to them?

Another interesting poll here.

Taken literally it follows that one could argue that the concepts of lower taxes, smaller government and family values not only promote constitutional living, but also increases your preceveived sense of mental health. It begs the question: how it North Korea doing these days?

A slight digression:

Politico.com noted that in Wed. GOP debate:

If you were a Martian and had watched the first 30 minutes of the debate, you would have thought that illegal immigration was the chief problem facing America, and that by sealing its borders America could end its woes.

One of those woes, by the way, is not a lack of affordable, dependable, effective health insurance that you can retain for life.

Americans must already have that. Because not a single question was asked about it in the entire two hour-plus debate.

Actually Roger, that is the exact point. Republican voters are not looking to, or wanting the government, involved in anyway with health care. The YouTube Debate was user generated questions: questions from the GOP voters to the GOP candidates. I am sure, had there been repeat queries on the subject, CNN would have loved to pounce all over the Republicans on that.

But they couldn’t, because there were none. The GOP candidates would be wise to listen up: the liberty and smaller government faction of the party is sending a lound and ominous warning, “Ebrace new governmental programs under the guise of moderatism at your own risk.”

And yes, Roger, illeagal immigration is that important that it would have taken up that much time in our national debates.

So how does this all tie together? We need to realize that our own self-worth and respect is far more valuable when not turned over to some central governmental authority. The free market, empowered individuals, and human inititive is a much better problem solver than any sort of government study, regulation, program or ‘benefit’ [read: welfare].

Taken all together I would suggest this: Republicans are happier because the concepts of limited government, less taxation and family values allows people to live their lives to their fullest potential. Democrats, on the other hand, are falling victim to their own programs, reporting lower levels of mental health. But then again, I think anyone would be driven insane if they had to wait on the government for a solution.

Ron Paul sent out an email reminding his supporters:

We have approximately 900 hours until the Iowa caucuses and about 1,000 hours until voters in New Hampshire go to the polls.

That is a scary thought.  A little over a month to go before we start whittling down the candidates for the Presidential Nominations. A little over a month for blogs and alternative media to get the message out.

Given Rudy’s sudden resurgence in the polls, Real Clear Politics has him at a 13% lead nationally, it looks like the worst possible choice for the Republican nomination may well be shoved down our throats. Which begs the question: when is it time to say enough? When is it time to take a stand for principle?

It seems almost an impossible task to re-energize the base of the Republican party in time to create a meaningful grass-roots effort that is motivated to get-out-the-vote. We have lost our way and the voters know it. Waxing poetic we are still clinging to the hopeful ideal of less government, less taxation and family values. This despite knowing full well that ultimately the choice will be between ideology or keeping Hillary out of office.

And that is the worst part about this: we are more focused on this hellcat than our own core beliefs. Why is it that we have to abandon our cause to stop hers? Don’t we become the very thing we are working against if we do not hold true to our own cause? What benefit is it to us if in attempting to stop Hillarycare we end up passing Republican-Alternative-Healthcare? There is none, the end result is the same: expansion of government services, increased tax burdens and distribution of taxpayer monies.

900 hours until we find out if the Republican party will remain committed to the ideals that have made it the, ’silent majority’ party for the better portion of the last decade.

900 hours until the voting starts and there still has not been a debate on public television. Based on the statistics their is still 46% of American households that do not have cable and thusly have not been able to watch the candidates debate. Will the parties reach out to these voters, many of them key constituencies in each of the parties respectful camps?

900 hours until the voting stats the Demon-rats are still raking in the cash at nearly a 4:1 ratio when compared the the GOP. A reflection of the party’s current drift away from its core principles.

900 hours and still the only issue the media wishes this election to be about is Iraq. Never mind taxes, liberty or freedom. Never mind the unconstitutional spending. Never mind stopping government handouts of taxpayer money. Never mind the abuses of government and lack of accountability. No, we are just to vote, like sheep, for someone who will ‘fix’ an unfixable situation. Wars are messy, our political debates don’t have to be.

900 hours left: are we headed for a train-wreck or takeoff? Let us hope Liberty can spread her wings.

---

What do you think of the new site design? Easier to read? Post a comment and let me know! Personally- the black background of the old design was straining my eyes, and thus the change.

CNN reports, “Jittery Consumers Likely To Trigger Recession”.

Actually, the consumer has very little to do with it. Sorry Ted Turner.

A recession of devastating consequences is about to hit us, and so far all the media is just blaming the consumers for not spending. Hard to spend money you don’t have.

Our houses are worth less and harder to sell.

Peak Oil, which may have been reached in 2005, is expected to push oil up into the $150 a barrel range.

The American dollar is increasingly losing value in a global economy.

Even credit, which was largely responsible for the ‘recovery’ after the economic collapse following 9-11, is now drying up as banks realize risky loans and extended credit options have hit their limit. And we all know that at some point credit must be re-paid.

How exactly is the ‘consumer’ responsible for any of that? And furthermore, why exactly should we be expected to spend our way out of it? It’s asinine to assume that the market is tapped because of falling credit and property values and that the solution is to encourage people to spend more.

An increasing number of analysis are saying a recession might actually be what is needed. That it might actually better people’s economic conditions is never discussed. The government/media complex chooses to focus only on how it will affect Wall St, a short-sighted and and increasingly narrow point of view in a global economy.

So where do we go from here?

History shows countless examples of people who have built capital in a ‘down market’. But it does require us to slow our spending, invest our money and built real wealth not based on credit. It’s not easy to do. But think about it, if your budget is short, do you really need a $400 a month SUV payment when an older model will do just as fine?  Is that ‘interest only’ or ARM mortgage really worth the economic backload at the end? These are consumer driven models in response to the recession. And that is exactly what the MSM does not want to happen.

But what choice does the consumer have? Even economists are saying a ‘average’ holiday season is in store.

But here is something else to consider: job cuts are are to follow if, as predicted, the economy continues its downward slide this holiday season. Are you  ready to be the first to act?

Get your car paid off now.

Cuts the frills, cable, subscriptions, etc.

Make sure your investments are liquid, consider pulling them out now to consolidate and eliminate debt.

Consider starting that venture project now, have something one the side to balance your families economic load.

But most importantly realize this: the biggest opportunity will usually coming at the worst possible time. Positioning yourself now will pay off in the end. Looking to the government to to solve this mess will only result in actions that are too little and too late.

“This too shall pass”

And those who are smart now could come out better in the end.

Did you catch this story?

Elaine Chow, puppet of the New World Order, is now preparing to throw out laws designed to encourage U.S. companies to hire U.S. workers first.

Do not be fooled, the New World Order is relentless, vicious and smart. Conservative blogs managed to shut down the Dubai ports deal and the amnesty package. But that doesn’t mean we won. If anything, like poking a stick into a hornets nest, we may have made the situation much, much worse.

Let me explain. The amnesty bill essentially had 8-9 parts, all of the them, minus constructing a fence at our border, were highly offensive. Conservatives rightly organized and got the public involved to shut the bill down. But now, as demonstrated above, the entire amnesty bill plus some is being implemented, one ‘regulatory ruling’, one ‘administrative rule’ at a time. The only solution we have to bad government in a democracy is to get involved. And it appears the solution is worse than the problem, organizing a successful opposition to 10-20 new ‘regulations’ would be nearly impossible. And that, my friends, is exactly what they are betting on.

Quite simply, incrementalist social policy is the single greatest threat to freedom and liberty that exists today. The people do not have control over anonymous agency heads whom only have to hold faux public hearings in order to implement their agenda. The only solution may well be a radicalization of democracy. The solution may well be to realize what the Founders always intended, that the powers of the Executive branch are to be limited.

I am calling for every Executive Department head and Supreme Court justice to be elected. It is the ONLY way that the public voice could carry the level of legitimacy needed to demand real chance. Think it wouldn’t work? That is how most States’ Executive branches are set up. You may already be living in such a situation.

Here is a chart that lists all Departments of the Executive branch.

Do you realize how much social policy is ram-roded through these branches of government? And do you realize that in all of this morass of regulatory power the only person whom has to answer to you at election time is the President? Quite simply, the scope of power that is in the people’s control is way too far removed from that which the Founders intended. By putting Department heads up for election, we can ensure that the proper amount of scrutiny and public weight is put on all matters of social policy and regulation.

By the time President Bush leaves office, nearly every single element of the Amnesty bill will be de-facto federal law. Introduced not by legislation into the House or Senate and signed into law by the President, these laws are merely put into existence at the whim of the Agency head whom claims the most authority.

As this article notes, what Elaine Chow is proposing to do goes directly against the laws that her agency is supposed to enforce. Her ‘regulation’ is completely unconstitutional and Congress, which has adjudicated their power to these branches, will just sit on their ass and do absolutely nothing about it. And that is because they completely support it, they just don’t want to have to answer to their constituency by having had an actual public vote on the issue of amnesty.

Stripping the President of the ability to nominate his or her own cronies for Department heads is the only way to restore Constitutional public representation of federal laws. And unless we drastically reconsider how our leaders answer to the public in this democracy, we may well be powerless to stop any legislation that we are opposed to. Even some of the most important issues like that of blanket amnesty for illegals.

.

The Heisman Bet-

ESPN Heisman Watch, here.

Missouri’s Chase Daniels and Florida’s Tim Tebow are emerging as front-runners. Daniels could solidify his run with a win over undefeated Kansas this weekend.

The SEC Games-

Arkansas v (1) LSU- Arkansas will feed the ball to McFadden in a vain attempt to control the game. LSU’s defense will adjust quickly forcing Dick to throw more, resulting in bad things. No matter how the game is played, LSU will own it and command the the play. LSU heads to 11-1 going into the SEC title game. On CBS.

(7) Georgia v Georgia Tech- Georgia should win, but gives more points than GT. Can the home field advantage and the high-octane offense pull off the upset? No, you know better than that. SEC teams always win out of conference. On ABC.

(18) Tennessee v Kentucky- If played a month ago, this may have been this week’s most talked about game. As it is, Kentucky is just trying to regain its momentum as it looks to next year. Upset special- Tennessee is 1-3 on the road this year and Ainge is playing banged up. Any hopes of clinching the SEC East for the Volunteers lie in controlling the Wildcats’ Woodson whom has only given up 8 interceptions. Kentucky’s run game is not that impressive but after they build a reasonable lead, look for them to go into a time-kill run game. Tennessee’s emotions may be a bit too high to recoup an abysmal road game record this year. On CBS.

(22) Clemson v South Carolina- Steve Spurrier did not return to the college game to go 6-6. Also feeding into the Cocks’ game is Auburn’s deflation after LSU clinched the East. Gamecocks win. Shots of Spurrier blowing a head gasket on the sideline will be mandatory.

The PAC-10 Games-

(11) USC v (6) Arizona State- They lost to Oregon, they will also lose to USC. Arizona State is overrated.

(9) Oregon v UCLA- I personally hope Dixon gets to play again. But that is probably wishful thinking. Look for Oregon to rely on its run game to set the tempo, if that doesn’t work another disappointment will be in store for the Ducks.

The Big-12 Games-

*** must watch game of the week ***

(4) Missouri v (2) Kansas- To be honest I don’t know who will win this game. There is not enough history of either team being relevant to judge the situation. But I do know this: Kansas at home, giving up 10 less points a game than Missouri, scoring more points, and having all offensive positions filled with production while Missouri lacks a strong run game. What worries me is Kansas folding under pressure, having never been ranked #2 in the nation before. Even if Kansas wins this game, the pressure will only grow having to still yet play in the Big-12 title game. I will take Missouri, but would not be at all surprised to see the Jayhawks run the table. On ABC.

***

Oklahoma State v (10) Oklahoma- Sooners. Take the Sooners.

(13) Texas v Texas A&M- Take the horns.

An upset would give the ranked survivor the Big-12 South.

The Big-10 Games-

(5) Ohio State won the Big-10. Ummm, didn’t we know that would happen?

The ACC Games-

Most of the games were covered in the SEC matchups, the remainders:

Miami (FL) v (14) Boston College- Told you Ryan would lead them to a win last week. He will lead them to a win this week too.

(8) Virginia Tech v (16) Virginia- another in-state rival game, only this one matters. For my money I will take VT, but in all honesty, Virginia has impressed more this year. Upset? Maybe…

The Big East Games-

(20) UConn v (3) West Virginia- A UConn loss here would cap an over hyped season and WV will roll on and face Pitt next. I do not buy UConn. And besides Slaton and White have combined for +/- 2000 yards, 17 touchdowns on 338 carries. How can you bet against that??

(23) South Florida v Pitt- take the Bulls. Disappointing losses this season, but still have a lot to play for- a bigger money bowl is still a possibility.

(24) Cincinnati v Syracuse- Take Cin. Orangemen are football girly men this year.

The WAC Games-

Gee, what do you know, the WAC has its only two relevant teams playing each other to cap the year off. Big surprise.

(19) Boise State v (15) Hawaii- Ok, I know Hawaii is good, ok great. But honestly, I truly believe the Broncos elevate their game when its needed most, while Hawaii stays the same great game every week. The ability to adjust and play above their game will suit BSU who comes into this game fully healthy and a loaded depth chart. We still don’t know if Colt Brennen will play for sure, signs point to yes though. The first half will be close and distressing, but look for the Broncos to take over during the 2nd half. June Jones will have his typical ‘deer in headlights’ look that he has every time he plays Boise State.

And finally just to pile on…..

Utah State (1-10) and University of Idaho (1-10)- Ok, so the best of WAC plays each other, so why not the worst? It’s incredibly painful to comment on this game, but here we go. Idaho gives up too many interceptions (15) and points per game (38) to even be able to stay in a game with Utah State. Watch Jackson’s timing with Myers, they connected for two TD’s last week. This week is another chance to get some reps for next year. Hey Vandal fans- look at Boise State’s and the Vandals’ record~ who is really the ‘jackass’ this year? Tell your new coach to shut his fat yap and focus on winning some damn games. Unless you like playing at a Division II level…

Notre Dame at Stanford- Take the upset and Notre Dame will finish the season 2-10. No amount of money can be thrown at the BCS Committees to buy yourself into a bowl game with that record. Which begs the question: will Notre Dame give Weis one more season to find out if it is really just a ‘recruiting problem?’. I would be surprised if they paid him what would be needed just to go away. Weis had better land one hell of a recruiting class this off-season.

---

Did I miss the call? Register as a user and let me know! Register here.

 

Politico.com, although one of my favorite sites, often fails to get reporting right.

Such is the case with this story.

To start, let me provide evidence that DIRECTLY contradicts what political hack Ben Adler writes. For those to lazy to click the link above, Adler argues that younger voters favor Guilliani and he has one University sponsored poll to prove it.

Apparently he missed the numerous stores as of late detailing younger voters candidate of choice- Ron Paul. A simple Google search, as provided here, would have given him HONEST data to work with. But Apparently being a mouthpiece for the Rudy campaign was more important for this NY educated RINO.

He also DIRECTLY contradicts himself, here.

But those are just side notes. Here are my main beefs with the article:

1) He calls Rudy a ‘moderate’. Excuse me? How is supporting abortion, supporting gay marriage, supporting amnesty a ‘moderate’ position? Seems right out of the Progressive playbook to me.

2) He uses only one poll, a University of New Hampshire/MTV ‘Rock the Vote Poll’, as evidence. The ‘Rock The Vote’ poll is terribly biased- wow big surprise a liberal college teaming up with a liberal television network to produce a poll with liberal results. Sorry MTV, polling NY, Mass and New Hampshire is NOT the pulse of America’s youth. Next time, try spreading out your data over all geographic areas.

 3) He completely misses the point:

Younger voters are more likely to get their political information from television and less from newspapers than older voters, Smith added. Romney’s intense campaigning in New Hampshire has not had the same effect on them that it has had on older voters.

Younger voters don’t get there information from TV or newspapers because we were raised with the internet.

But that is not the point. The point here is that Adler is serving as another MSM trying socially engineer your vote DESPITE the facts! People like him don’t care that more young people have donated time AND money to the Ron Paul campaign than to the Rudy campaign. People like him only care about University/.Edu polling which no longer has dominance it once had in the youth market thanks to the availability of information on the internet.  Great a New Hampshire college campus is pro-Rudy, but that doesn’t represent America Ben. Look at the data.

It drives me stark-raving mad that that the media is playing up younger voters as uneducated, ignorant and socially liberal. It directly contradicts what many have noted as the ‘family time’ generation. The role of the internet in reaching out to younger voters cannot be overlooked.

Ron Paul hasn’t. That is were most of his support comes from.

But what is even more disturbing here is how the media, through the communist tactic of incrementalism is now referring to ‘gay-marriage’, amnesty, and pro-abortion as ‘moderate’ positions. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is an assault of accept political norms and it is a battle that conservatives cannot back down on. Simply accepting the liberal creep into the Republican midst is why so many people have turned against the Republican party.

We have to return to our values. Less taxes, less government, family values.

That means no socialized medicine, no gay-marriage, no amnesty and certainly no acceptance of abortion.

That also means no Rudy.

And for the record, I am a young voter. And no, I don’t lean moderate or for Rudy. But who asked me anyway??