VoteKansas.org

NEW YORK — The number of American mosques has increased dramatically in the last decade despite protests aimed at Muslim houses of worship in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, according to a new study.

Researchers conducting the national count found a total of 2,106 Islamic centers, compared ...

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — People jumped off - or rather leaped off -tall buildings all around the country Wednesday, parachuting down to the ground in honor of Feb. 29.

It was all part of a leap year promotion for an energy drink.

In Atlantic City, two parachutists jumped off the ...

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana Senate on Wednesday passed a diluted version of a statewide ban on smoking in public places in hopes that lawmakers can forge a stronger ban in a conference committee with House lawmakers, who have passed a more restrictive version of the bill.

The Senate voted ...

LISBON (AP) — Portugal won't extradite American fugitive George Wright to the United States for crimes he committed there four decades ago, after the U.S. ran out of possibilities to appeal the decision to let him stay, a Portuguese court official said Wednesday.

Portuguese police captured the 68-year-old Wright near ...

Server Woes

Due to the web server crashing and burning, and then repeating the crash and burn, this site has been down for most of the last week. I’m working on getting things restored from backup. Your patience is appreciated. Everything should be smoothed out within a week.

This also means that our email has been missing in action. So if you tried to write during the last week and didn’t get a response, resend now and it should get through.

Meanwhile, back on the ranch, we’ve had an even dozen litters of new piglets and there are about 15 to 20 more sows who will farrow soon. Piglets are popping out all over the place. The sap is rising. The sun is warming the land. Maybe in a month we will be mostly free of snow.

Tomorrow is Leap Day so get something extra done!

Cheers,

-Walter

*Obama: "We can't drive our SUVs" "Threatened" polar bears actually on the rise *Al Gore's personal green portfolio *Edwards joins Obama "hate America First" campaign *Bill Gates on the next 10 years 05.18.08 Briefing • Steve Elliott, Grassfire.org • Subscribe here • RSS Obama's view of your economic future: "We can't drive our SUVs" Buried in the sea of Obama's largest crowd (what Drudge calls the "Obama Mass") is the economic ramifications of his latest pronouncements on global warming : "We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times ... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK.... That's not leadership. That's not going to happen." Let's break that down. First, under an Obama administration, "we can't drive our SUVs," which begs the question: "What precisely qualifies as an 'SUV'? Is my family minivan an SUV? Perhaps any vehicle that doesn't deliver 30 miles per gallon will be a banned 'SUV.' Let's move on. " We can't... keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times." My home was set at 70 degrees last night and my office is at 72 degrees all ...

*ICE raid nails 300 illegals; will employer be next? *Dems' problems only grow *Minutemen sign dumped in San Diego *TV and time shifting 05.13.08 Briefing • Steve Elliott, Grassfire.org • Subscribe here • RSS Time to lock up employer who hired 300 illegals nailed in ICE raid Reports coming out of Waterloo indicate that at least 300 and possibly as many as 600-700 illegal aliens have been arrested in the largest immigration raid in Iowa's history . Glad to see that ICE followed the lead and did its work. But let's hope ICE doesn't stop until the owners of that meat packing plant are facing charges as well. If a handful of that company's 1,000 employees happened to be illegal, that would be understandable. But when 30-70% of your workforce is illegal, no excuse will suffice. Dem's problems only grow Today will continue an odd and difficult stretch of days for the Democrats. Somehow, Barack Obama and the media managed to spin last Tuesday's results -- a split decision in North Carolina and Indiana -- as the coronation for Obama. Time magazine proclaimed him the winner and almost simultaneously Obama wrote off today's West Virginia and next week's Kentucky primaries. ...

*The disappearing marriage issue *How marriage dominated the 2004 elections *How the Left is avoiding/downplaying the marriage issue *Flushing your tax dollars down a Carbon Hole 05.09.08 Briefing • Steve Elliott, Grassfire.org • Subscribe here • RSS The disappearing marriage issue One of the big unasked questions of the 2008 presidential race is, "Whatever happened to the marriage issue?" It would be an easy question to answer if there was no controversy and nothing to talk about. But that is not the case. Vermont Strategy working for homosexual activists. For example, ever so steadily, the "Vermont" strategy is in full swing for the homosexual agenda. Simply put, the plan is to use Vermont as a foot in the door to other states by forcing other states to recognize same-sex marriages legalized in Vermont. This week, a New York court of appeals ruled that the state would recognize same-sex marriages from other states and countries (in this case, Canada) -- despite the fact that same-sex unions are outlawed in New York. This comes while the Supreme Courts in Vermont and Virginia are engaged in a legal tug-of-war that hinges on whether Virginia must recognize a Vermont same-sex union. That case is ...

*The disappearing marriage issue *How marriage dominated the 2004 elections *How the Left is avoiding/downplaying the marriage issue *Flushing your tax dollars down a Carbon Hole 05.09.08 Briefing • Steve Elliott, Grassfire.org • Subscribe here • RSS The disappearing marriage issue One of the big unasked questions of the 2008 presidential race is, "Whatever happened to the marriage issue?" It would be an easy question to answer if there was no controversy and nothing to talk about. But that is not the case. Vermont Strategy working for homosexual activists. For example, ever so steadily, the "Vermont" strategy is in full swing for the homosexual agenda. Simply put, the plan is to use VErmont as a foot in the door to other states by forcing other states to recognize same-sex marriages legalized in Vermont. This week, a New York court of appeals ruled that the state would recognize same-sex marriages from other states and countries (in this case, Canada) -- despite the fact that same-sex unions are outlawed in New York. This comes while the Supreme Courts in Vermont and Virginia are engaged in a legal tug-of-war that hinges on whether Virginia must recognize a Vermont same-sex union. That case is ...

05.08.08 Briefing • Steve Elliott, Grassfire.org • Subscribe here • RSS On the Web today: Illegal charged with raping 10-year old Illegals literally trashing our borders Coulter: Bill killed Hill McCain's courting of Latinos Grand THeft Auto IV rakes in $500 million in first week  

*McCain's amnesty agenda is baaaaack! *McCain's next stop: La Raza *Gas tax: to suspend or not to suspend? *Microsoft Surface: one big bleeping table! *Weather Channel founder: "No global warming" 05.06.08 Briefing • Steve Elliott, Grassfire.org • Subscribe here • RSS Cinco de McCain! On Cinco de Mayo, John McCain launched his Spanish-language website and began what will likely be his steady march back to his original and true position on illegal immigration. What is McCain's position today? In his words from yesterday's speech : "I believe that the majority of Hispanics share our view that the border must be secured, and the border must be secured first," McCain said. "But they also want us to have an attitude, which I think most Americans do, that these are God's children and they must be taken care of, or the issue must be addressed, in a humane and compassionate fashion. And I will continue to carry that message with the priority that we must secure our borders first." "Comprehensive" Once Again Most significantly, McCain came back to his "comprehensive" (i.e. amnesty) roots in a speech designed to cater to Latino voters. McCain said, "We get in this kind of a circular ...

*McCain's amnesty agenda is baaaaack! *McCain's next stop: La Raza *Gas tax: to suspend or not to suspend? *Microsoft Surface: one big bleeping table! *Weather Channel founder: "No global warming" 05.06.08 Briefing • Steve Elliott, Grassfire.org • Subscribe here • RSS Cinco de McCain! On Cinco de Mayo, John McCain launched his Spanish-language website and began what will likely be his steady march back to his original and true position on illegal immigration. What is McCain's position today? In his words from yesterday's speech : "I believe that the majority of Hispanics share our view that the border must be secured, and the border must be secured first," McCain said. "But they also want us to have an attitude, which I think most Americans do, that these are God's children and they must be taken care of, or the issue must be addressed, in a humane and compassionate fashion. And I will continue to carry that message with the priority that we must secure our borders first." And I suppose those who disagree with McCain's amnesty record are "inhumane" and "uncompassionate". "Comprehensive" Once Again Most significantly, McCain came back to his "comprehensive" (i.e. amnesty) roots in a speech designed to ...

*Obama says Wright "legitimate" issue *Rev. Wright keeps on talking *Watch the controversial NC ad *Ethanol backlash continues to grow *U.S. Chamber's pro-illegal alien agenda *Miley Cyrus exposed in Vanity Fair 04.25.08 Briefing • Steve Elliott, Grassfire.org • Subscribe here • RSS Obama Admission on FoxNews: Rev. Wright "Legitimate Political Issue" Obama's pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright refuses to go quietly into the night. Over the weekend, he addressed an NAACP fundraising dinner in Detroit and today he spoke at the National Press Club. In that speech, Wright continued his rant, guaranteeing that he will be at the top of the headlines for a few more days. Meanwhile, Barack Obama -- making his first appearance on Fox News in 772 days -- finally admitted that Rev. Wright is a newsworthy issue. "The fact that he is my former pastor I think makes it a legitimate political issue," said Obama. Read the interview transcript here . Since many in the Democratic base agree with Wright (or at least accept his racist rhetoric), I'm not sure Wright can do much more damage to Obama in the nomination process, but it certainly will not ease what the New York Times is calling a " ...

*The real cost of climate alarmism *Petition reaches 100,000 *Is oil or food king? *My interview with Rep. Walter Jones on the border fence *Planned Parenthood "genocide" againt blacks? *Apple's Mac gains market share 04.25.08 Briefing • Steve Elliott, Grassfire.org • Subscribe here • RSS Ethanol, Food Shortages and the Real Cost of Climate Alarmism As Americans go to the grocery story and discover rising fuel prices to get there and rising food prices on the shelves, we have to thank in part Climate Alarmism. The push to turn our food into fuel has played a role in the rise of food prices here in the U.S. and globally. And it's only going to get worse as American farmers respond to the federal mandate and more and more of our farmland is committed to fuel and not food. With global reports of riots, food prices up 83% and starvation, the political reality surrounding ethanol may change quickly. Read this from the Heritage Foundation: "Second Thoughts On Ethanol" . MOna Charen chimes in with this article that questions at what price will we try to solve the so-called crisis of global warming. I'm thrilled to announced that our petition opposing the ...

*The real cost of climate alarmism *Petition reaches 100,000 *Is oil or food king? *My interview with Rep. Walter Jones on the border fence *Planned Parenthood "genocide" againt blacks? *Apple's Mac gains market share 04.25.08 Briefing • Steve Elliott, Grassfire.org • Subscribe here • RSS Ethanol, Food Shortages and the Real Cost of Climate Alarmism As Americans go to the grocery story and discover rising food prices on the shelves, we have to thank in part Climate Alarmism. The push to turn our food into fuel has played a role in the rise of food prices here in the U.S. and globally. And it's only going to get worse as American farmers respond to the federal mandate and more and more of our farmland is committed to fuel and not food. With global reports of riots, food prices up 83% and starvation, the political reality surrounding ethanol may change quickly. Read this from the Heritage Foundation: "Second Thoughts On Ethanol" . MOna Charen chimes in with this article that questions at what price will we try to solve the so-called crisis of global warming. I'm thrilled to announced that our petition opposing the coming $1.2 Trillion global warming tax (vote ...

*Churchgoers, gun owners leave Obama *The Dems' "General" Problem *PC Alert: Terrorists aren't "Islamic" *Bush pushes SPP again *How "Going Green" is killing people 04.23.08 Briefing • Steve Elliott, Grassfire.org • Subscribe here • RSS Church goers leave Obama CNSNews.com is reporting that one of the major turns in the Democratic presidential race revealed by the Pennsylvania results is that churchgoers are leaving the Obama camp. Exit poll results show that Obama lost all categories of churchgoers -- from occasional to more than weekly. This is a significant change from earlier primaries that saw Obama win the church vote. This may be one of the clearest readings on the impact of Rev. Wright and Obama's comments at the San Francisco fundraiser (Bittergate). Obama also lost white voters, gun owners and blue collar voters in Pennsylvania. Obama's General Problem is the Dem's Crisis So now the Dems have a real problem. Obama is consistently getting beat by Hillary in the key states as well as with the key demographics that will likely decide the election in November. Pennsylvania and Ohio could well determine who is the next president. So Obama is looking weaker in the general election. But are we to ...

*Barack Obama's most dangerous quote *Kristol, Leiberman: Barack the Marxist? *Border fence petition delivery *What is Al Gore's big secret? *Foreclosures up 57%; McCain announcing tax cut plam 04.15.08 Briefing • Steve Elliott, Grassfire.org • Subscribe here • RSS Obama the elitist... classic liberal.... Marxist? Barack Obama, who has not yet been able to escape the stain of Pastor Jeremiah Wright, is going to have a difficult time escaping the label of "elitist" as his April 6 comments at a San Francisco fundraiser continue to be exposed. For the record, here is the quote that is being discussed: "You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations." Here's the context. A person in ...

*Planned Parenthood's new Abortion Number *Absolut's Reconquista ad *Bush's endorsement of Reconquista *The Grid -- the future of the internet *The Coming Global Warming Hysteria 04.07.08 Briefing • Steve Elliott, Grassfire.org • Subscribe here • RSS 289,650; $336,000,000 The first number is the number of abortions performed by Planned Parenthood in their fiscal year 2006-7. It's a dubious record for the organization -- most ever. The second number is the amount of taxpayer funding the organization receives. Hopefully that's all the information you need to consider signing Grassfire's petition to stop our tax dollars from going to this group. Absolut's Reconquista Ad Michelle Malkin has quite a bit of information on her blog about Ablosute Vodka's new ad and billboard that promotes the "Reconquista" idea that much of the southwest and western United States rightfully belongs to Mexico. Grassfire has addressed this issue extensively . Some have questioned our reports, but the fact is there is an agenda -- a belief -- in some quarters south of the border that Mexico has been cheated out of its rightful land. President Bush even endorsed the idea of Reconquista in a 2004 campaign video for Latinos. We inclued a few segments from ...

*How "Rush The Vote" could be big story of 2008 *Michael Barone: Clinton is actually winning *Time to move Ramos and Compean while they await appeal decision *Charlton Heston, RIP 04.07.08 Briefing • Steve Elliott, Grassfire.org • Subscribe here • RSS Could "Operation Chaos" Be The Big Story Of 2008 Election? Several weeks ago, Rush Limbaugh launched "Operation Chaos: Rush The Vote" -- to encourage Republicans to register and vote in Democratic primaries and extend the building blood fued between Obama and Clinton. Already, it is clear that Operation Chaos has worked. Hillary Clinton survived her "last stand" in Ohio and Texas and now we are two weeks away from the Pennsylvania showdown. And what's happening? There's a "startling rise in Republicans registering as Democrats in Pennsylvania. Of course, the media is hesitant to give Rush any credit. USNews and FoxNews commentator Michael Barone showed recently that, based on the population and electoral votes of the states she is winning, Clinton will likely win the hypothetical popular vote and electoral college vote over Obama. I think this means Hillary definitely survives until the convention. And with polls showing Obama has peaked -- and with Operation Chaos in full swing in ...

*DHS authority on border fence expires 12/31/08 *Next president gets a "free pass" to NOT build a border fence *Grassfire's "Where's The Fence?" ad wins award 03.25.08 Briefing • Steve Elliott, Grassfire.org • Subscribe here • RSS Sun Sets On Border Fence On 12/31/08 According to our contact in Rep. Duncan Hunter's office, the fence-gutting provision that was put into the omnibus spending bill just before Christmas also causes the Department of Homeland Security's authority on constructing new border fencing to expire at the end of this year. In essence, the sun sets on the border fence on December 31 of this year! In fact, our contact tells us the bill language could be interpreted as a prohibition against any fence construction after December 31 of this year. Here's the exact provision from H.R. 2764: "In carrying out this section, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall -- "(i) identify the 370 miles, or other mileage determined by the Secretary, whose authority to determine other mileage shall expire on December 31, 2008, along the southwest border where fencing would be most practical and effective..." Next President under no legal authority to build any border fencing Consider what this means for the ...