No jokes, this is a tragedy.  Darcy Burner, the democrat nominee to the 8th District Congressional seat, lost her home to a fire this morning.

The Burner's and their dog escaped injury, and their cat was lost.

As I said, this is every family's nightmare.  To be woken up at 7am by your child telling you his room is on fire is an experience I am happy to avoid.  Thank God they did waken and escape.

Now the cause is under investigation, with rumours off a gas main blowing and a faulty light in the child's room running forefront.

The fact it started in a child's room might lead to other speculation, as it would not be the first time that a child has done something tragically stupid.

Hopefully not.

What I was curious about when I read this story this afternoon was how long it would take our local loony left to blame this on the republicans.

As this election season drags on, and the GOP, lead by it’s new standard bearer, John “Maverick” McCain, lurches even further to the center-left than it had already been drifting; and given the near third party status of the Republicans in Washington State (after the Democrat party, and Really Democrat Party) , I am finding myself out in right field, without a Party to support.

I am not alone, by any stretch of the imagination.  There are many others out here.  We can see each other, and even converse with each other, commiserating in our sad new existence.

I blogged about this this morning, but the real scope of the ruling is just now being fleshed out, and a few things have occurred to me.

First of all, as I said earlier, this is a complete victory for common sense.  It just makes simple sense that if voting is the precious right and responsibility we think it is, it should be protected and cherished, and one facet of that is to ensure that only those eligible are allowed to vote, lest the franchise be corrupted by people who are not.

Some say that is exclusionary, but the fact is that voter criteria exists to protect the validity of the votes of all.   Protecting it by what seems to be the simplest method, checking ID, is a complete no brainer.

And yet there are the critics who decry this as unfair, as disenfranchising people, and targeted to eliminate minorities, also known as the race card.

The Latin American Press and some in Congress are calling Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's refusal to bring the negotiated trade agreement between Columbia and the US up for a speedy vote the "Hugo Chávez Rule". Although Speaker Pelosi's intention may be to kowtow to powerful US Trade Unions, the consequence of not ratifying the treaty after Columbia jumped through various hoops required by members of Congress in order for it to be considered may be severe.  Continue reading here. 

NW fruit producers are among those who would benefit from the free trade treaty.

Once again, the Patriot Post picks a winner…

“Each State, in ratifying the Constitution, is considered as a sovereign body, independent of all others, and only to be bound by its own voluntary act. In this relation, then, the new Constitution will, if established, be a FEDERAL, and not a NATIONAL constitution.”

– James Madison (Federalist No. 39, 1788)

In this year when we are getting ready to select another President via a vast popularity contest, it seems good to remember what the original purpose of our federal government was and why the founders chose the method of electing a President that they did.

Remember, our Founders sought to bind thirteen nations together into a single union for the purposes of mutual defense, and to ensure liberty. It wasn’t their purpose to eliminate the States, but to unify and defend them.

Since 1971, when the 26th Amendment to the Constitution was adopted, it has been legal for anyone of at least 18 years of age on Election day to vote (though that right had existed at the Federal election level since 1970, as a provision added to the Voting RIghts Act of 1965).

The result has been, to date, less than earth-shattering.

That may change this election cycle, with the first Generation X’er, Barak Obama, (though he is technically a tail-end baby boomer, having been born in 1961) with a shot at actually winning the White House.

Anecdotal ecidence suggests that Obama pulls vastly more young voters (17-24 range) than other candidates (way too many sources for this - here’s one). 

In the late 90’s and to the current day, evidence has mounted that the decision making capabilities of the average American are somehwat less than desirable until later than previously supposed.  One recent study suggested that while there is individual variation, :

The topic of possible running mates for John McCain is suddenly being discussed, of course.  Several are mentioned at the blog at Weekly Standard, including Gov. Palin of Alaska , seen left.  (She's been called the most popular governor in America).  The Red Marilyn favorite, so far, is former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele who currently heads up GOPAC.   Take a peek at some of the suggestions so far, here.  (Scroll down to Gov. Palin for Vice-President and Daily Blog Buzz).

Alternately, following his brilliant and statesmanlike speech at CPAC withdrawing from the race, some like the Beltway Boys are suggesting Mitt Romney.

At the conclusion of the Democrat Debate the candidates and Wolf Blitzer, the moderator, lit and smoked the same cigarette exhaling slowly while looking deeply and meaningfully into each others' eyes. The Hollywood types at the Kodak loved it like yoga in a hot room followed by a Malibu smoothie at Jamba Juice followed by…well you know, some good old fashioned political-style PDA. 

Cross posted at Red Marilyn.

Well, with Fred Thompson resigning from the race, I found myself groping around for a candidate to support.

John McCain is out.  For many reasons, not the least of which is that he is more of a Democrat than a Conservative, Republican, or Libertarian.

Likewise, Mike Huckabee is a liberal in conservative clothing.

I like Rudy Giuliani, but it just seems like he doesn’t want it enough.  This isn’t europe, and we don’t coronate a leader by virtue of his past service.

So, of the people left in the race on the Right, I find myself left with Mitt Romney.

What do I like about Mitt?  All of his stands today are pretty much my stands.

What DON’T I like about Mitt?  Many of his past stands are NOT his current stands.

Some people say that he has Grown In Office.  I consider it political opportunism at best; flip flopping at worst.

The Business and Media Institute has a report on a recent speach by former Secretary of State Madeline Albright (once seen dancing with North Korea’s Kim Jong Il, as he whispered into her ear that he wasn’t developing nukes)…

Quoth Albright:

Albright’s message centered on the need for equality – not just domestically, but also on a global scale.

“If we were all rich, that would be very nice,” Albright said. “If we were all poor, it would be too bad, but we would be the same. What the problem is now is the poor know what the rich have as a result of information technology and the spread, generally, of knowledge.  And, it creates a whole new host of problems in terms of disquiet and anger.”

I just don’t know what to say to that.  Let’s hear the money line again: