Blogging with AFRW

This is why people don’t run for political office.  Everything you have EVER done will be brought up.

Click here for article on Romney. 

Boston, MA - Today, Governor Mitt Romney issued the following statement on the United States Senate’s vote on the immigration reform bill:

"The immigration bill failed because the politicians in Washington are out of touch with the American people. The voice of the people is loud and clear - secure the border, enforce the law and no special deal for permanent residency or citizenship for illegals. America will always welcome legal immigration, but as a nation we also insist on the rule of law."

Boston, MA - Today, Governor Mitt Romney issued the following statement on the United States Supreme Court decision overturning a portion of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law:

"Score one for free speech. Today the Supreme Court reaffirmed the First Amendment by rejecting a key feature of McCain-Feingold. The law trampled the basic right of the American people to participate in their democracy. It also purported to reduce the influence of money in politics, but we now know that influence is greater than ever. McCain-Feingold was a poorly-crafted bill. Today’s decision restores, in part, to the American people a right critical to their freedom of political participation and expression."

Governor Romney: "I know that our liberal friends shake their head when a conservative talks of a nuclear Iran, or bio-terror, or global Jihad. But for conservatives like me, facing reality is not a source of fear. It is a source of confidence. I am convinced that America - and our friends - can overwhelm any threat, but only if we acknowledge it, confront it, and respond thoughtfully and strategically." (Governor Mitt Romney, Remarks At The AEI World Forum, Beaver Creek, CO, 6/21/07)

Governor Romney: "But the integration, sustainability, and breadth of this war against violent Jihad must now take on a new dimension. We must move from tactics to strategy." (Governor Mitt Romney, Remarks At AEI World Forum, Beaver Creek, CO, 6/21/07)

Governor Romney: "I believe America must establish a Special Partnership Force, with a core leadership drawn from Army Special Forces personnel training in working with civilian governments and Intelligence personnel. This force would work hand-in-glove with local host governments. Together, in partnership, they would seek to target and separate terrorists from the local population, and to disrupt and defeat them. They would have the authority to call in all elements of civil assistance and humanitarian aid. And, where they felt it was necessary, they could call in Delta and SEAL resources. Their goal is to build national institutions of stability and freedom, and to promote the rule of law and human rights." (Governor Mitt Romney, Remarks At AEI World Forum, Beaver Creek, CO, 6/21/07)

Click Here To View Governor Romney’s PowerPoint Presentation: http://www.mittromney.com/News/Photo-Albums/AEI_PowerPoint  

Governor Romney’s Global Initiative For Values And Freedom:

Today, Governor Romney Outlined His Global Initiative For Values And Freedom – A Comprehensive Strategy To Defeat Radical Jihad, Ensure American Security And Advance Freedom And Human Rights Across The Globe. To defeat the global jihadist threat, Governor Romney believes we must have a truly global strategy that combines our efforts with others, brings more tools of our national power to bear and implements specific, tailored strategies for every nation at risk. The strategy includes the creation of a new force to undermine jihadist efforts and win hearts and minds in contested areas.

Governor Romney Will Create The Special Partnership Force (SPF) To Mobilize All Elements Of Our National Power In Contested Areas To Defeat Jihadists. To meet today’s challenges, we must mobilize and integrate all elements of national power in unstable areas where traditional civilian agencies cannot operate effectively and traditional military power alone cannot succeed. The Special Partnership Force will integrate all elements of national power under a new force with leadership drawn from a core group of our Army Special Forces trained to work with civilian governments and intelligence personnel to form a new capability that is: 

- Focused On Locally-Targeted Efforts To Win Support In The Community While Identifying, Isolating And Eliminating Terrorist Elements. 
- Highly Integrated And Able To Mobilize All Elements Of National Power, Including Humanitarian And Development Assistance And Rule Of Law Capacity Building. 
- Closely Coordinated In Partnership With Local Governments. 
- Intelligence Driven. 
- Agile And Flexible In Its Operations. 
- A Sustainable Effort In Contested Areas And Sanctuaries Of Jihadist Groups.

The SPF Will Build On A Long History Of Successful Efforts Against Terrorists And Insurgent Groups. While a new capability, this force draws on the lessons learned from a long history of successful efforts against terrorist and insurgent groups, including U.S. efforts under the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in World War II, post-9/11 efforts in Afghanistan, and recent Special Forces efforts in the Philippines.

As Part Of His Strategy, Governor Romney Will Strengthen American Capabilities And Revitalize Partnerships. America must move beyond our response to 9/11 and build a foundation for future security by acting to: 

- Protect The Homeland: While there has been much emphasis on protecting facilities and responding to attacks, a key priority must be prevention. Today, protecting the homeland must begin far from home. Intelligence and law enforcement efforts able to address threats before they reach our shores must be a priority for U.S. and international action. This will demand new U.S. capabilities, stronger international alliances and integration of our federal actions with international, state and local efforts. 

- Strengthen Intelligence By Eliminating Bureaucracy And Moving Resources To The Field: During the Clinton Administration, our intelligence community was critically weakened. The CIA workforce was slashed by almost 20% and recruitment reduced dramatically, undermining effective human intelligence. We have started to restore resources but Washington’s response has focused on creating a new, expanded and duplicative bureaucracy in the Directorate of National Intelligence. We need to eliminate duplicative efforts, revitalize recruitment and prioritize efforts. 

- Strengthen The Military: The Clinton Administration also devastated our military capabilities and left us dangerously unprepared. Today we need to add at least 100,000 more troops and commit to spending at least 4% of our Gross Domestic Product to the defense of our country. Promises to support our troops mean little without devoting the resources needed for the equipment, modernization, training, and health care that is critical to our military and their families. 

- Strengthen Civilian Efforts And Strategic Planning: Many of our civilian national security and foreign policy structures were created decades ago. The lack of adequate planning and preparation for Iraq is one illustration of the breakdown of these Cold War capabilities. We need to ensure our civilian instruments have the ability to build joint efforts among our civilian agencies, and we need to empower Regional Deputies with clear lines of authority, budgets and responsibility to develop and execute regional plans and strategies. The National Security Council (NSC) needs strengthened capabilities to strategically integrate all elements of national power. NSC staff must be empowered and accountable for reaching out to divergent viewpoints and challenging policies and proposals. 

- Strengthen Global Alliances: The failure of efforts such as the United Nations Human Rights Council has given multilateralism a bad name. But America’s strength is amplified when it is combined with the strength of other nations. We need to expand alliances such as NATO and efforts among the world’s leading nations to face the new threat of radical Jihad and increase our homeland security. We need to build global and regional capacities and networks of law enforcement and intelligence officials to confront Jihadists and other transnational threats. 

- Launch A New Type Of Marshall Plan Unifying Non-Military Sources Of Power To Support Moderate Muslims: As President, Governor Romney will call together our Middle East allies and the major nations of the developed world to establish a Partnership for Prosperity and Progress. This Partnership will assemble the resources of all developed nations to assure that threatened Islamic states have public schools, micro-credit and banking, the rule of law, human rights, basic health care, and competitive economic policies. Resources would be drawn from public and private institutions, and from volunteers and NGOs.

Please, PLEASE read Peggy Noonan’s latest article. 

Governor Riley has called on the citizens to pray for rain.  Our state, especially the north central area of Alabama, is in the throws of the worst drought in our history.  It’s a wise man who knows where our strength and power comes from.  Call upon the Lord and let’s join the Governor in praying for rain.

Read the entire press release here. 

Of course the Siegelman/Scrushy case has made national headlines.  Read more here. 

It’s all very sad.  And honestly very humiliating to this great state we call home.  The judge in the case says that the actions of these two men hurt our citizens because it damaged our faith in state government.  And he’s right.  

It’s one of the reasons that our currently governor, Bob Riley, is so beloved by our citizens.  He has gone above and beyond the call of duty to re-establish ethics in state government.  It’s his administrations most important legacy. 

I suppose the thing that has endeared me to Governor Riley over the past years the most is when at a campaign meeting  he said (not an exact quote-this is just from my memory), "Never.  I mean NEVER lie for me. If I’ve done something someone doesn’t agree with, don’t lie to try and make them agree with me.  Always tell the truth and if they don’t agree with it, so be it. Never, and I mean never, compromise my integrity or your own integrity where politics is concerned.  If we stick to that, we can restore people’s faith in the goodness of what government can do." With a sigh of relief I thought, this is a man I can truly support.

As we’ve walked in this shadow of the previous adminstration’s corruption, it’s good to know that shadows have a beginning and an end.  We won’t walk in the shadow forever.  Thanks to Governor Riley, we will eventually be without the shadow.   

Sometimes people do stupid things to which they are never called to task.  Other times people do really stupid things and get caught and end up SEVERELY having to pay for their stupidity. 

Sieglemen gets 88 months and no time for good behavior.  Scrushy gets 82 months and no time for good behavior.  They have immediately been taken into federal custody.  They have 10 days to appeal.

I’m blown away.  I didn’t think the citizens of Alabama would ever see this.  

We’ll hear that it’s a Republican guided sentence, but in all honestly it’s a good day for Alabama.  Perhaps we can now put the crap of politics behind us. It’s time that political figures realize that you can’t be crooked and get away with it.  It’s a really bad day for our ex-Governor and his friends, but it’s a good day for Alabama citizens.  Perhaps with this example, politicians will be less likely try this again.   

Is Senator Jeff Sessions the only sane mind in Washington these days?  I am quite sure Sessions’ head is hurting more than Lowell Barron’s on the Alabama senate floor because of all the political blows Sessions is taking for his stance on illegal immigration, but I hope he fully realizes how many of us, back here in Alabama, are praying for him and are proud of his champion- like attitude where "ILLEGAL" immigration is concerned.  Read more here.

My friend Will Anderson over at WVNN  called me "a voice of civility in politics" the other day in an email exhange.  Perhaps that is true.  There are worse things to be called I suppose! Friend Will and I have talked over the past months about various topics in which people act ridiculous about things they believe in. One of my key points has been let’s leave the name calling and personal attacks to the left.  That’s what Democrats and children do when they feel pushed into a corner.  They call people names and they start attacking them either physically or with nasty words.  It absolutely makes me sick to hear conservatives begin that tactic.  It deflates their ideas and words to meaningless garbage.  It lowers conservatives to the standards of the left.  It turns the right into the enemy.  That’s something I personally cannot stand.

So Ms. Ann Coulter, who I normally try to tolerate, has crossed the line.  She has ventured into the looney right category.  Let me just add here that I’ve purchased her books and read her stuff on a regular basis.  There are thing she says that I whole heartedly agree with.  But when she shemmies down the road of saying the ridiculous, I gotta leave her behind.  

Apparently Elizabeth Edwards did something some people are opposed to doing.  She confronted someone she preceived as attacking her.  Let me also add here that I don’t agree with Mrs. Edwards on much else, but with this, I agree with her. 

After the confrontation, Miss Coulter was interviewed on Good Morning America where she said this:

"If I’m going to say anything about John Edwards in the future, I’ll just wish he had been killed in a terrorist assassination plot," Coulter said Monday, picking up on remarks made by HBO’s Bill Maher. Maher suggested in March that "people wouldn’t be dying needlessly" if Vice President Dick Cheney had been killed in an insurgent attack in Afghanistan.  More on this article here.

So Miss Coulter had been backed into a corner because of her words and instead of saying she apologized for going to far, she went further and continued using the child like tactics of the left, even bowing to their EXACT tactics. 

Here’s my take on this.  Somewhere along the way in her career, she has been praised for her unkind words concerning others.  This praise and the almighty dollar have led her to do it more and more.  The power she feels has led her to use words that have become more and more personal.  She has begun to act more and more like the left.  She doesn’t believe in their political stances, but she whole heartedly believes in their tactics.  

So Miss Coulter, if by some far fetched chance you are reading our little blog, please hear this:  Stop.  Quit acting like the left and use your words to champion ideas and thoughts, not child like word attacks.  Let’s leave that to the looney left.  Let’s remember that the answer to the looney left is NOT the looney right.   

 Signed "The Voice of Civility in Politics"

Kelley Smith

Paul Newman is speaking on behalf of the leftist Democrats.  Please read here.  Next time you want to purchase something associated with Newman, rethink that decision.

Delphi Corporation, formerly GM Steering Gear, is closing their Limestone Co. plant which provides income for many local families.  The plant which borders Morgan and Madison Co. is located directly across the  highway from Calhoun Community College.  This is a devastating blow to the local economy.  Click here for more information. 

FEMA is awarding the Enterprise area 6 million dollars to rebuild after the March 1 tornado that destroyed much of the Enterprise community including the local schools.  This much needed help will go a long way to helping the community return to normal.  Several students and teachers lost their lives in this tornado.  For them life will never be normal, regardess of the money. Continue your prayers for these families. Additional story information here.