Embarrassed

I guess if the Kansas State Wildcats, a team that is a member of Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) and plays in one of the toughest football conferences (Big 12), invites your school’s football team to come to their place and gives you a few hundred thousand dollars, it’s OK to beat the crap out of you.

I mean literally beat the crap out of you.

The Montana State Bobcats, a smaller school and a member of the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly called Division I-AA), played the Wildcats tonight.

And the final score was: Kansas State 69, Montana State 10.

The Bobcats are not Appalachian State and Kansas State isn’t last year’s Michigan.

I’ll bet the trip back from Manhattan (Kansas) will be a quiet one.

Up next up for the Bobcats is another Football Subdivision School – Minnesota in the metrodome. Minnesota is 2-0. They beat Bowling Green 42-17 today.

Rescued

With the Democratic National Convention over (as well as the need to act patriotic in front of the TV cameras), the Democrats discarded 12,000 U.S. Flags in the trash. According to this and several other stories, a vendor at Mile High stadium found them near trash bins after the convention was over. The flags were in garbage bags.

Not just a couple of garbage bags. There were 84 garbage bags full of miniature U.S. flags. Here are some photos.

The McCain campaign won’t do it, but yes I am questioning the patriotism of Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and those in charge of the Democratic National Convention.

Maybe if Obama and Biden and the leaders of their convention were Veterans, or just a little patriotic, they would know what to do with these flags. Better yet, what NOT to do.

Senator Obama and Senator Biden – Here is the U.S. Code section about the Flag of the United States of America. Read it. Remember it. Make sure your staff does, too. People died defending our flag.

Ironically, some voters were starting to believe that Obama was a little more patriotic after he started wearing his flag pin again. He’s also been seen placing his hand over his heart during the National Anthem. Now I believe we saw the real Obama when he did not wear a flag pin or place his hand over his heart. When you are trolling for votes, it changes a person.

Of course, the Obama campaign said the flags were stolen from the convention. They did not say why the flags were sitting beside the trash bins. I guess when you are caught being unpatriotic, they believe it is best to lie like hell to get out of it.

Fortunately, the McCain campaign found a great use for the “trash” the democrats left. They rescued the flags and used them at a rally in Colorado. Good for them.

We know McCain is the patriot in this race. He fought for our flag, our country, and shed blood in defense of our country. Obama? Well, he was a community organizer and he gave a speech in 2002.

Impressive (Part II)

John McCain’s convention speech last night was seen by 500,000 more viewers than Barack Obama’s convention speech last week.

According to Nielsen Wire, McCain’s speech was viewed by 38.9 million viewers. Last week, 38.4 million people watched Obama’s speech.

That kind of takes the wind out of Obama's sails...and it appears the voters are starting to grow tired of the rock star.

That's a wrap

The Republican National Convention ended last night. Last week we watched the Democratic National Convention. Millions of people watched each night and that is the good news.

It’s wonderful that these “Broadway productions” are out of the way. The Democrats have a leg up on the Republicans for their “Broadway production” at Mile High Stadium in Denver.

I’ve never been to a National Convention. I was invited to attend the one in Minnesota as a member of the media (blogger), but like many people, I don’t have the money to spend on a trip like that.

So I read articles and watched it on different news channels and on C-SPAN. I visited the convention websites often. Both websites were good, but I have to say the Democrats’ site seemed a little better and easier to navigate.

The Montanans who attended the conventions reported back to the media around the state and some blogged about the events. It seems the Democrats held the edge on this, too, during their convention. But since the Democrats have the “in” with the media in Montana and the Montana media believes all the Democrats are truly wonderful, this was really not a surprise. The Montana Democrats seemed to get a little more “love” from our media, but when you are in the spotlight, it’s important not to be long-winded.

As far as I know, MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann did not show up in Minnesota. I did hear the chant, “N-B-C sucks, N-B-C sucks” a few times. Olbermann has helped make NBC and MSNBC suck just a little more.

Olbermann’s people on the left tried to disrupt John McCain’s speech last night. So much for the Democrats supporting free speech. Very disrespectful. McCain has earned, probably more than most, the right to give his acceptance speech without the crackpots on the left disrupting it.

During both conventions, I caught myself thinking many times that those in attendance were the “haves” and many of us watching were the “have nots.” While I think that participating in a campaign is something everyone should do at least once, voting in an election is the most critical.

So now we are down to a couple months before the election on November 4. We’ve seen the media already take sides. It’s up to the rest of us to show our support for our candidates because in the end, our votes do count.

Let the fun begin!

Impressive

According to Drudge, 37.2 million people watched Sarah Palin’s speech last night. She has been on the campaign trail for less than a week.

After 19 months on the campaign trail and spending millions of dollars, 38.3 million people watched Obama’s speech last week. 24.0 million watched Biden.

We’ll see how many viewers watch the Obama interview by Bill O’Reilly tonight. Obama had been dodging the interview for months. And then there’s a speech tonight by John McCain.

And by the way, there’s football tonight.

Are YOU ready?

The long wait is almost over. NFL football starts tonight with the Redskins at the Giants. Then Sunday, the rest of the season starts. Monday night we have a doubleheader with Minnesota at Green Bay and Denver at Oakland. Heaven!

To prime the pump, I listened to a couple of high school games on the radio and watched a couple of major college games on TV. It’s a great feeling when the season starts – every team has a dream of going all the way. Every team is undefeated and the expectations are high.

As a Kansas City Chiefs fan, I am not expecting much this season. They were 4-12 last year, and while I expect them to improve by a couple of games, I am not expecting much this year. It’s the dreaded word, “rebuilding” which seems to be the story for the Chiefs in the last decade. So I may “crow” just a little louder when they actually do win a game. They start out playing at New England. Some folks consider the Patriots the best team in 2008.

I know predictions are like, well you know what, but here are mine:

AFC East: 1. Patriots, 2. NY Jets (Favre improves the Jets)

AFC West: 1. San Diego, 2. Denver (if injuries don’t hamper the Chargers, this may be their year)

AFC South: 1. Indianapolis, 2. Jacksonville and Tennessee will fight it out (If the Colts suffer some injuries, this could be the most exciting division)

AFC North: 1. Pittsburgh, 2. Cleveland

NFC East: 1. Dallas, 2. Philadelphia and NY Giants. (This will be a great fight)

NFC North: 1. Green Bay, 2. Detroit and Minnesota (This division will be tough)

NFC South: 1. Tampa Bay, 2. Carolina and New Orleans.

NFC West: 1. Seattle. This is probably the weakest division in Pro football.

In the end, I predict San Diego will be playing Dallas in the Superbowl.

The Palin Speech

Well, there you have it. Home run. The pressure was on and Sarah Palin delivered. Besides having more executive experience as a Mayor and Governor than either Barack Obama or Joe (she’s good looking) Biden, Palin can deliver a great speech – and she does not need a temple in which to deliver it.

Palin said, “I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a ‘community organizer,’ except that you have actual responsibilities."

Did that smack-down hurt, Obama? Your experience pales in comparison to Palin’s.

Or how about this statement: "I’m not a member of the permanent political establishment. And I’ve learned quickly, these past few days, that if you’re not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone. But here’s a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I’m not going to Washington to seek their good opinion - I’m going to Washington to serve the people of this country."

Wow, she is not an insider. That’s got to help her big time with real America.

Then she said, "Here’s how I look at the choice Americans face in this election. In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers. And then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change."

Exactly. We’ve seen how the democrat majority in the House and Senate have screwed things up in the last two years – record gas prices, approval ratings lower than ever, a housing crisis, food costing more than ever, airfares going up 200%, and a “let’s surrender” attitude. We really can’t have the democrats control the White House, too, or the United States will be in deep deep trouble.

So, let’s stop the sexist smears. Palin is very well qualified. She represents real America. Let’s stop the double standard. We’ve seen the likes of the Obama campaign including Joe Biden, their surrogates, Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews, Katie Couric, Campbell Brown, Alan Colmes, and many others try to damage her. The left doesn’t want her to do well for one reason – she has an “R” after her name.

But get this, one of the latest smears is they have asked the McCain campaign whether Palin’s amniotic fluid had been tested and whether she would submit to a DNA test to establish the child's parentage.

That’s cheap crap.

But, have they requested DNA tests on Obama’s children, yet? How about DNA tests for John Edwards’ girlfriend’s baby?

We saw the incredible cheap attacks and unsourced stories from the media here in Montana and across the nation in 2006. I believed then that the end was near for real journalism. Now it’s 2008 and I believe that real journalism is on life support and the families have been called to the bedside. The media would rather play “gotcha” these days. Most have agendas and it shows in their reporting.

Tonight Governor Palin gave a great speech. She deserves respect and to have the media concentrate on the issues she supports and does not support. Every female who has ever tried to climb the “all boys” ladder has lost a rung or two because of the reporting on Palin.

More Travels

It looks like Montana’s junior Senator, Jon Tester, is making his way across the United States campaigning.

Maybe we should start calling him “Traveling Tester.”

We reported earlier about Tester’s trip to Maine scheduled for this Friday. According to this story, Tester was in St. Joseph, Missouri, today to campaign for former Kansas City Mayor, the very liberal Kay Barnes. Barnes is running for Congress.

As with the candidate in Maine, the polls are not too favorable. Barnes trails the 6^th District Congressman, Sam Graves, by several points in recent polls. What’s ironic about Tester’s campaign stop is that he is campaigning against a fellow farmer. Congressman Graves is a sixth generation family farmer. Maybe Graves is not an organic farmer and that’s the reason for Tester’s campaign stop for Barnes.

Maybe it was a scheduling issue around barbecue fundraisers and getting to ride in Obama’s plane, but it would have been nice for Tester to schedule these events a little earlier during his 38 day paid vacation and take some time to stop off in Washington, D.C., for some honest and open debate about our nation’s energy problems.

Experience

It's easy to see why the left has been throwing so many cheap shots at Governor Sarah Palin - she has the experience that is unmatched by Barack Obama and Joe Biden. While Palin was running a state, Obama was campaigning (for 19 months). When she was running a city, he gave a speech in 2002. Even Joe Biden says that Obama is not ready to be President. Being President is more than giving a good speech - it's about experience:

Ouch

It looks like Montana’s junior Senator, Jon Tester, will be spending part of his vacation in Maine this week.

He is scheduled to campaign for Rep. Tom Allen on Friday, September 5. Allen is running against Republican Susan Collins. In an August 15 poll, Collins leads Allen 55-40.

The press release announcing the “event” concludes with:

And bring an extra pocket to give to Sen. Tester - I'm tired of seeing the photo of him wearing that jacket that is missing one. Have fun!

Ouch. Now that’s respect.

Go Somewhere Else

According to the Washington Post, U.S. Senator Charles Grassley, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, has written a letter to the University of Chicago Medical Center seeking “financial data, board minutes and other documents related to hiring, job promotion, business contracting and care for the poor.”

You can view the press release from the Senate Finance Committee HERE.

The hospital is non-profit.

Grassley wrote that he “was "troubled" by recent news reports about the hospital's efforts to steer patients with non-urgent complaints away from the center' emergency room to local clinics.” He also wants information of the hospital’s political activity, including fundraising.

Maybe they will check into earmarks the hospital received, too.

By the way, it is also reported, “Michelle Obama was a key figure behind the initiative.” She is the vice president of community and external relations. She has been on leave from her $317,000 a year job since the beginning of the year.

Presidential candidate Barack Obama promises to deliver healthcare to all Americans.

Healthcare for all? Maybe not.

In The Tank

The Montana media gushed with pride when their main man, Governor Brian Schweitzer, made a speech at the Democratic National Convention last week.

Maybe they should just go ahead and endorse him for Governor? I imagine the endorsements have already been written.

But what is not being reported much in Montana are the ethics violations by Governor Brian Schweitzer. These should have been investigated by our journalist friends. Of course, since many practice the MSNBC style of journalism, it’s doubtful this issue will get much attention in Montana.

But what is not being reported at all is that Schweitzer’s senior counsel might not even be licensed to practice law in Montana. At least some folks are writing about it, before the local media has hardly taken a look. Today, these ethics violations by Governor Schweitzer are getting a little national attention.

It appears it’s OK for the Montana media to look the other way when their favorite man and their favorite political party are having some problems. But since they buy ink by the barrel, this would be the time to use some before the national media train leaves the station on this issue.

Overwhelming Evidence?

The statement of the day:

“You can juggle a BlackBerry and a breast pump in a lot of jobs, but not in the vice presidency,” said Christina Henry de Tessan, a mother of two in Portland, Ore., who supports Mr. Obama. –New York Times 09.02.08

Of course, there have been so many female Vice Presidents in this country; the evidence must be just overwhelming. But, it’s great that the Obama supporters care so much about working women.

Keep Talking

It looks like the Democrats’ attack machine is out in full-force led by the lefty blogosphere, the former Democratic National Committee chairman, and Alan Colmes from the left side of Fox News’ Hannity and Colmes.

Gregg at the Electric City Weblog points out how “classy” they are, and how wrong they are.

Even Joe Biden, feeling lonely because his “drop dead gorgeous wife” had left the campaign trail, chimed in about his opponent’s looks.

Biden and his friends need to keep talking (and put their foot in their mouth more) so we can watch this gap widen.