Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Saturday, April 26, 2008

4.7 Earthquake! We Run Into 45, State Republican Convention Recesses Zimbabwe Style, Governor Moves Out of Mansion, Prepare! 7 Plus Quake Imminent!

Walking out of our favorite sports book in Reno, we ran into 45. He was coming into the Peppermill Hotel and Casino to address the Nevada Republican State Convention. We were tempted to ask him how he liked Utah's chances in the NBA Playoffs - but we just got out a feeble "Hey dude, you look a lot like Mitt Romney."

Mitt (or as we like to call him, 45) was there to address the Republican State Convention on behalf of John McCain. Mitt won the most delegates but because he is out of the race the Convention was just supposed to be an endorsement of Senator McCain. But after Doctor Ron Paul showed up, the trouble started. The delegates burnt the script and took over. 45 left before the fracas started. The Reno Gazette Journal reported:

After a super-majority of Ron Paul supporters captured control of the Republican state convention Saturday, state party officials abruptly canceled the event without electing delegates to the national convention.

The GOP State Convention Chairman Bob Beers was seen racing out of the building escorted by Peppermill security after announcing their time in the facilities were up. Seems like Zimbabwe under President Mugabe is not the only place having their electoral problems.

Before the revolution, Governor Jim Gibbons addressed the convention. He has made the move back to his house in Reno, moving out of his official residence in Carson City. Apparently the Governors Mansion is not big enough for him and his wife Dawn. We suggest the state moves Dawn into an apartment and then board up the Mansion as a budget saving measure.

But welcome back to Reno Governor Gibbons. You are just in time for the 7.0 plus quake thats coming. Your experience will be sorely needed to direct rescue operations. Friday night we had the biggest quake since 1953, a 4.7. There are many small quakes coming from the same location, shallow quakes practically under the city. The Great Reno Quake is imminent. Prepare.

Just in case you think I made all this up:

Wacky Paultards Ruin Nevada GOP Convention
Nevada GOP and McCain try to steal Nevada from Ron Paul - Ron Paul Forum
Wonkette
Chaos over Paul cut shorts convention
Convention reveals party in disarray
Writer slams "Ron Paul losers" - from Chuck Muth's blog
Marian's Blog
Marital problems causes governor to move out of mansion
Update - Governor Jim Gibbon files for divorce, asks back into the mansion
Dozen of small quakes follow the major 4.7 quake
Reno Gazette Journal Pictures of the Republican State Convention
Map of Recent Earthquakes in Nevada and California
List of Recent Earthquakes in Nevada and California
Prepare for the Great Reno Quake

Media coverage of the Nevada Republican State Convention:


More than you ever wanted to know about the Nevada Republican State Convention fracas (part 1 of 6):

Part 2 of 6 video
Part 3 of 6 video
Part 4 of 6 video
Part 5 of 6 video
Part 6 of 6 video

GOP State Convention Chairman Bob Beers Statement

What are the plans now? From GOP State Convention Chairman Bob Beers:

  • This delay (of probably more than a week) will give the nomination committee time to produce a comprehensive list of national delegate candidates
  • The same credentialed delegates who attended the meeting in Reno, and only those credentialed delegates, will be called back to order and quickly vote for the remaining 22 national delegates.
  • The re-convening will be held in Las Vegas, so that those who already paid to fly across the state once won’t have to do that again this year.
  • The elections committee can come up with a system to rapidly and transparently count the ballots under the watch of all concerned parties
  • We will finish up whatever few minor agenda items remain and adjourn the convention so we can move forward together to elect common sense, limited government, pro liberty Republicans up and down the ballot.
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Update:

Chairman Sue Lowden's Statement on 2008 Nevada Republican Party Convention:

I would like to thank you and everyone who attended last weekend’s Republican State Convention in Reno. We had a record turnout and we are pleased that so many Nevada Republicans chose to participate.

Unfortunately, we had to recess the convention without completing all of our work. This was done due to a rule change that took place early in the morning – which caused the convention process to take far longer than expected. Over 200 individuals’ names were submitted to the Nominations Committee for consideration to be selected as delegates to the National Convention. Once voting was opened to the floor, another 187 names were submitted. Although some names may have been duplicates, our Nevada Republican Party By-Laws allow delegates the opportunity to speak on their own behalf. Therefore, the process would have lasted well into the evening and perhaps early into Sunday morning. In addition, individual ballots for those names would have to be printed. Therefore, it was evident a recess was in the best interest of the State Convention and its attendees. This was done primarily due to time restraints and the fact that our contract with the Peppermill for the convention hall had expired.

Aside from delegate selection, I am proud to say that we completed all other convention business. We passed rules, bylaws, credentials, and adopted a State Platform which we hope all Nevada Republicans can be proud of. However, delegates still need to be selected to the national convention and we look forward to doing so in the very near future.

Currently the Nevada Republican Party is working hard to find the best possible way to complete our convention business with the selection of delegates to the National Convention. We will work from within our existing By-Laws, which state that the remaining business must be conducted in Washoe County. It is our sincere hope that once we determine the best way to complete our business for the 2008 State Convention, we will have maximum participation and the process will have taken its course in a fair and respectable manner.

Rest assured that once we determine the process by which we can complete our business, all delegates will be notified directly. We would like to thank everyone for their patience during this time.

Sincerely,

Sue Lowden
Chairman

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Clark County Republican Party

Las Vegas, Nevada

Chairman's Message

My Fellow Clark County Republicans;

Thank you for indulging me in this special message. I have just returned from the Nevada Republican Convention in Reno, and as a result of the events that unfolded there on Saturday, I was urged by many of you to write this message. The purpose is to inform you of what happened, but more importantly, communicate how we go forward as a unified Republican Party.

First, a little background. As you may know by now, the State Convention was recessed at approximately 6 p.m., after much work had been done but before we were able to finish all of GOP convention business. The reason for the temporary recess, which I have now confirmed with the State Republican Party Leadership, was due to the expiration of the contract with the hosting casino for the convention room space. The contract indicated that the room had been reserved until 5 p.m., and as there was still many hours of work that needed to be done, the decision was made by the State Party Leadership to recess the meeting to another time. As a result we failed to elect delegates to the national convention.

This action has left many delegates disappointed and angry. Some have suggested nefarious ulterior motives for the sudden halt to the convention. For example, some have claimed that it was an attempt by the Party Leadership to circumvent the will of the "Ron Paul" Republicans at the convention. Yet it was precisely our Party's leader, Sue Lowden, who brought Dr. Paul to speak at the convention. I, too, am disappointed today, as I am now seeing and hearing the emotional finger-pointing that is causing division and ill-will amongst our ranks, and that appears to be choking the life out of the party. Because of this, I write to you today and ask earnestly that you remain calm and unified while we await the decision by the State Party Leadership on how we will go forward and complete the work of the State Convention.

I realize the difficulty in requesting that you stand-by for further instructions, but that is precisely what I am asking you to do, because it is what we need to do for now. We need to stand-by, yet desperately need to stand unified and strong. I ask that you squelch any desire you may have to blame, impugn, or attack other, fellow Republicans. We cannot defeat the Democrats in November unless we are all working together with one, unified message.

Whatever problems we have right now, we will get through them, but we must endeavor to persevere. Keep focused on the fact that, we, as a united Republican Party are able to agree on many, if not most things, and those agreements are far more important than all of our differences. No small proof of this fact is more evident than our ability to agree on twenty (20) hugely important planks of our State Party's platform this weekend.

I promise you that, as quickly as information about how and where we will resume the state convention is passed on to me, I will communicate it to you. Please, stand strong, and stand unified as Republicans.

In Republican unity,

Bernie Zadrowski

Chairman, Clark County Republican Party

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45 and the delegates mingling (From Marion's Blog):








Who is this Mike Weber guy? Seems all factions like him for his fairness and knowledge of parliamentary procedure:








Interview with Mike Weber on what really happened at the 2008 Nevada State Republican Convention (our prediction - this guy will be in Carson City filing for an assembly seat soon):


Why would you be a delegate to the Nevada State Republican Convention? Delegate JR Stephens gives his opinion:


More video:


It was all Congressman Dean Hellers fault (just kidding):


Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Governor Mitt Romney: Top Ten Reasons I Dropped Out


Governor Mitt Romney's “Top 10 Reasons for Getting Out of the Race"

10. There weren't as many Osmonds as I had thought.
9. I got tired of the corkscrew landings under sniper fire.
8. As a lifelong hunter, I didn't want to miss the start of varmint season.
7. There wasn't room in the campaign for two Christian leaders.
6. Word leaked out that nobody had bothered to search my passport files.
5. I'd rather get fat, grow a beard and try for the Nobel prize.
4. I wanted to finally take off the dark suit and tie, and kick back in a light-colored suit and tie.
3. Once my wife Ann realized I couldn't win, my fund raising dried up.
2. I took a bad fall at a campaign rally and broke my hair.
1. There was a flaw in our campaign theory that as Utah goes, so goes the nation.


Vice-President Dick Cheney Speaks at the Annual Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner:


Following is the transcript of Vice-President Dick Cheney's remarks at the 2008 Radio-TV Correspondents' dinner:

You'd be amazed at how many guys want to go fishing with me these days.

Well, thank you very much, Steve. Thanks for the introduction. Lynn and I have enjoyed ourselves very much this evening. We want to thank the Radio Television Correspondents' Association for inviting us, and we congratulate all the award recipients.

You all know how to make a guy feel welcome. Obviously, you're not the kind to look down on a "bitter" man who clings to his guns.

And I was just as surprised as you were to see Governor Mitt Romney. And though I enjoyed his props and slides, I won't be needing any myself.

I'm counting, as usual, on the power of my charm and charisma.

But Mitt was great, and I understand he's interested in running for vice president with Senator McCain. Mitt, let me give you a little nugget of advice. Never mind the resume, the policy ideas, or any of that stuff. Just get yourself on that search committee.

As the president said in his video message, he's hosting a dinner in honor of the visit of Pope Benedict, and I myself met with His Holiness this morning at the White House. So between that and this dinner with the media, it's been quite a day for me. I spent the morning with one infallible authority, and now I get to spend the evening with a thousand of them.

I was glad to talk to the pope. It's rare that I run into somebody who's heard more secrets than I have. When the moment was right, I even took the pope aside and confided to him that I'd been thinking a lot of unkind thoughts lately about the news media. I went on and on, and finally said, "Your Holiness, I just don't think they like me."

The pope replied, "So?"

It's always very exciting when the pope comes to town. And I am modest enough to realize that all of you would rather see the pope standing here than me. But instead of the successor to St. Peter, you're stuck with me, the successor to St. Al.

Speaking of Vice President Gore, I'm sorry to relate that he's a little bit sore at me. He's convinced that, on global warming, I just don't get it. But lately with every passing day, the evidence has been catching my attention. I have no doubt, none at all, that we are in the midst of a global warming, or as I prefer to call it, spring. And I don't want to sound like an alarmist, but it's going to get a lot warmer before it gets cooler.

But I want you to know I'm doing my part to meet the crisis by reducing my carbon footprint big-time. Every time I'm rushed to the hospital, I insist on a hybrid ambulance.

You heard it from the president himself tonight, that I'm the funniest guy he knows. I'll take that compliment, but I'll try to forget that it comes from the same fellow who thinks that 9 p.m. is late, who believes ginger ale is a night cap, and who thinks paradise is 40 miles west of Waco.

It could also be that, by sending me here, the president's trying to soften up my image. After all these years, all the time we've spent together, he persists in thinking I come across as a cold, forbidding, even frightening man.

But the president's not alone. Even my wife seems to think my image needs polishing. At breakfast today I asked Lynn if, deep down, it bugs her that people have taken to calling me Darth Vader. She said, "Not at all. It humanizes you."

All the same, I'm very glad to be here tonight, in the president's usual place, and it's good to share the stage with so many dignitaries, including Majority Leader Hoyer, Minority Leader McConnell, Chairman Dingell, Minority Whip Kyl, and that great TV personality and blogger, Mo Rocca.

In case you don't know it, Mo's blog is titled "Mo Rocca 180: Only Half as Tedious as the Regular News." Among his other credits, Mo used to host a TV show called "Things I Hate About You." I'm sure I've seen that program. Only I believe it's now called "Countdown with Keith Olbermann."

Keith's not here tonight to savor my company, but we do have many big names from the broadcast media. And you could use a little good cheer, because these are tough times in your industry, in this age of YouTube and the blogs that threaten to overshadow the old media.

At times you must feel like you're at the center of events, but nobody's really paying attention to you. You understand the world better than anybody, but no one wants to hear it. Now you know exactly what it's like to be vice president.

But I've had frustrations of my own. I'm old news in this election, but I want a piece of the action. I'm fired up for my own candidate, but the feeling isn't always returned. I feel kind of like Bill Clinton.

But like you, I've been watching the campaign with interest, and I really want John McCain to win. I'm proud to support John, even though one of the Democrats running is a relative of mine. He's Senator Obama to you, but he's cousin Barack to me.

Amazingly enough, it turns out that Barack is also related to Brad Pitt. That means Dick Cheney and Brad Pitt are related, which explains what Angelina sees in that guy. In case you're looking -- in any case, you're looking at somebody who is just a couple degrees of separation from the sexiest man alive.

Barack Obama and I have had our disagreements, and, frankly, I do wish he'd keep these things in the family. For example, I keep telling him it's time to start thinking about a choice for vice president. He says he'll find a running mate just as soon as he's got himself a new pastor. I like that one.

I guess my cousin Barack has sat through some mighty riveting sermons over the years. If he gets elected, you're not going to want to miss those Washington prayer breakfasts.

Of course, there are two Democrats running, and they're still hopelessly divided over who's the real uniter. And you in the press need to go easy on Senator Clinton on the whole business about running and ducking from gunfire in Bosnia. She made an honest mistake. She confused the Bosnia trip with the time I took her hunting.

Did you see that footage of Hillary knocking that -- back that shot with a beer chaser? People say she did it like an old pro. I hadn't realized she'd been in the Senate that long. Looks like she replaced Mark Penn with Johnny Walker.

Apparently, it was pretty strong whiskey, and there might have been a few more when the cameras stopped rolling. When the 3 a.m. phone call came in, it went right to voice mail.

Maybe I've sympathetic to Hillary because I've had my own troubles.

The big buzz last week was about that picture of me fishing. In the reflection in my sunglasses, it looked like I'd reeled in something a lot more interesting than trout. You should have seen the one that got away.

I get asked a lot about that photo. The most common question is: what lure was I using? Anyway, that's the last time I'll go with an outfitter called the Emperors Club VIP.

With that, I think it's time for Mo Rocca and less Cheney. But before I turn over to Mo, I want to tell you that I like and admire the broadcast media more than I usually let on. I want to tell you how much I've come to appreciate the work you do, often under extraordinarily difficult circumstances. I want to tell you that you're here in Washington, because you're among the finest in your profession. You do hard work. And you do it well. I want to tell you all these things, but I just can't bring myself to do it. But since it is our last time together at this dinner, I think it's enough to leave you with words I once addressed to Senator Pat Leahy. Go straight home, have a good night, and thank you very much.

Earth Rise



Japan captures "Earth Rise" from lunar orbit