Michele Bachmann Wins in Iowa

Michele Bachmann won big in the Iowa Straw Poll and we had her here first on the Andre Controversa Show. Listen to the show and hear Michele espouse her conservative principles.

Listen to internet radio with Andre Controversa on Blog Talk Radio

Steve King Debates Illegal Immigration

Congressman Steve King from Iowa's 5th congressional district was a special guest last night on Libertarian Politics Live.  Congressman King entered the debate in the second segment, which was begun by Dan Gainor of The Business and Media Institute and Dee Dee Blase of Somos Republican.

The discussion was heated and emotional, and you can listen to it here en toto. Congressman King was very civilized and tried to bring rationality and clear headedness to a topic that seems to polarize many: The Arizona Bill SP1070.

The crux of the argument when congressman King entered the fray was what is reasonable suspicion? Dee Dee Blase seemed to think that there is no reasonable suspicion as she believed that anyone of color would be pulled over for that very reason, regardless of their citizenship status. Congressman King told the audience of his expertise and how it relates to his support of the law:

"Well, I have some experience with reasonable suspicion for one thing I drafted the work place drug testing  legislation in Iowa and it's been law since 1998. It's got reasonable suspicion in it and since that period of time we didn't rely on law enforcement officers to require that employees undergo a drug test, we just required that the employers set someone up that was educated in the standards that we had and for all these years now, it's 12 years it's been in place, we haven't had a single constitutional complaint or a single piece of litigation on reasonable suspicion...I am comfortable on the standards on reasonable suspicion."

Mr. King continues:

"As I read the Arizona law, it mirrors federal law, it supports federal law". "I cannot imagine a society functioning if local law enforcement just simply ignored or refused to enforce federal law of all kinds including immigration law...There's nothing about this that is draconian, but I do see that the intensity of the opposition to it is causing a problem with regard to race.  They are doing this on purpose. The left is ginning this up on purpose for political purposes. They are driving wedges between people and they are undermining America's unity and our unity should be behind the rule of law".

The argument ensued as to whether probably cause or reasonable suspicion is necessary to inquire about someone's immigration status. Dee Dee asked the congressman "What an illegal alien looks like" in regards to what reasonable suspicion or probable cause is when pulling someone over. She talked about beliefs, but not of the law, which she and the Mr. King obviously disagreed. Congressman King asserted that "this is not about race, but about the rule of law".

Dee Dee insisted it was about race, talking over the congressman. She wanted an example of how a police officer could ascertain someone's legal status without involving race. She wouldn't respond to his answer and he reiterated through continuous interruptions by ms. Blasé: "If an officer pulls someone over for speeding, a tail light out, for some activity that is clearly illegal, and that individual,  when asked for their identification, have probable cause at this point (the police. ed.), when asked for their identification, if their identification is not the identification of the typical of an american citizen, if it happens to be as I said earlier, a metricular counselor card, I say that's probable cause and goes above reasonable suspicion".  Dee Dee's response was "He  can't even articulate what an illegal immigrant looks like either".  He then asked her if she considered a matricular counselor card reasonable suspicion or probable cause or both. At this point, the air went dead and we actually thought that either she dropped dead, or was apoplectic at having to answer the question. May be it's just seminar caller tactics.

Touché.

What happened then was that she feigned, in my opinion, not hearing the question and asked the congressman to reiterate it.

Basically, she eventually said that she did not agree with the officer asking me,  based on reasonable suspicion, my immigration status". She then asked what should happen if she got pulled over as an american, but left her license home and only offered a matricular counselor card (such cards are not given to American citizens, but foreign nationals) as she goes back and forth to Mexico all the time. Forgive me here, but don't you need a passport to enter Mexico and then enter back into the US?

At this point it became a matter of personal opinion on the part of Dee Dee Blasé and informed opinion on the part of the congressman. Being a co-host on the show and being part of it and witness to the conversation, the a priori nature of ms. Blasé's position had become apparent: No matter what, anyone that is not white can and will be pulled over to check their immigration status. Since the hosts are white and the law doesn't affect us, obviously we can't understand. It's another version of the race card. What was is surprising to me, is that these types of arguments I heard from ms. Blasé are the typical emotional strawman arguments we hear from the left. I am surprised she calls herself republican and honestly, may be the tent is too big.

No long after this, because of being talked over by Dee Dee, congressman King left the show abruptly, as he felt Dee Dee was being rude. So did I.

Thank you for reading this blog.

Pet Peeves:Why I hate car companies like VW and Ford (and others)

I used to like VW, I really did. My first car was a 1969 VW Fastback, and I have owned a 1991 Jetta, and 2001 Jetta, which I still own.

Recently, my wife opined that we should replace the 2001 Jetta as it has gotten a bit long in the tooth. Our other vehicle is a 2009 Suburban (don't get me started on that vehicle and company, as I'd like to throw Mary Sipes under a moving bus), so for a second vehicle, we'd want something a little better on gas, but still had some capacity. My wife wanted something a cute factor too.

We've been satisfied with VWs so far, so I looked into to buying a Jetta TDI Sport Wagon. I wanted one with a manual transmission. Not a big deal I thought, I'll contact Lithia VW to see what they have.

It seems Lithia does not order cars with manual transmissions. WTF? It's a VW, and they make cars with manual transmissions. I would know, I own one. There are only two VW dealers in Iowa that I know about. I went to the website for the one in Cedar Falls, and no go, although I have seen them carry cars with manual transmissions before. Not so with Lithia.

Anyway, to make a long story a little shorter, I contacted VW to see if they could help me as well as complain a bit. You'd think they'd want someone to buy VW #4, wouldn't you? Well, below is the response I got from them:

Dear Jim,

Thank you for your e-mail asking about the availability of the Volkswagen brand in your area.  While our Volkswagen Information Center is available to provide general information on our vehicles, our system is not able to see which vehicles are in stock at individual dealerships.  It is for this reason that we encourage you to remain in contact with your dealer directly for updates pertaining to their

particular inventory.  Volkswagen dealerships are empowered to create policies and procedures suitable for their business needs, therefore, pricing, availability, and policies may vary.  

We truly hope that you are able to locate your model of interest, Jim.

Ieshia

Volktalk

Well, I have to say I was surprised. Then I wasn't, but I will explain a little later. I guess dealers are no more than glorified franchises like a local burger king. Still, it is in the best interests of the mother ship to make it's customers and potential customers happy. Telling me to work with a dealer whose only interest to sell me a car they have which is not one I want is the height of stupidity. I guess VW isn't hard up for business. It's their loss, but to be honest, none of the Japanese or American cars in this class do anything for me and it's become more and more for American cars not to come with manual transmissions. Most American cars are crap anyway, more on that later. Anyway, VW obviously doesn't want to sell me a car, and now I am reluctant to buy one from them.

As far as Fords go, when we were looking for a full size SUV, I wanted to get a Ford Expedition EL. Ford didn't take bailout money and that means something to me. I guess not Ford. No luck finding one then, and my local dealer, Stivers Ford, wouldn't try to locate one for me. Neither would the other dealers. So I bought a Suburban. I'd like to send Mary Sipes to Antarctica for eternity. This feminazi is responsible for taking what was the largest SUV extant, the car for big people and turned it into a car for women. Look her up. She made her male engineers wear skirts and heels when they were designing the 2007 and up truck platform so as the engineers to feel women's pain.

The result is a vehicle that is smaller inside than it need be. With the center console and door panel sticking out, I feel trapped in the vehicle. In fact, It I had an accident where I had to get out quickly, I'd be fucked. I have to duck a little to get in. Not so with older suburbans. Everything was scaled for smaller people. For a 4x4, it sits too low and has running boards (bad idea on an SUV or truck, take my word for it) and ground effects that make it necessary for me to jack up the vehicle to change the oil. I didn't have to do that with my 1984 K-10. Lets move on. It's a nearly 6000lb pig. It has inadequate gearing and an inadequate engine. The 5.3 has to be revved to get anything out of it and unless you do, it can't get out it's own way. A 6.2L engine should be standard with the duramax as an option. The transmission shifts like it has honey in it. Sloppy, not firm at all. 4L is a pain to get in. Lets be clear here: Whoever designed the electronic transfer case shift should be shot. A lever works every time. Not the dial. I have to put in in neutral, stop and hope it goes into 4L.

Interior. Cheap plastic, drab grey, chincy fake wood. The vehicle rattles in the winter like a tin can. Then there are the plastic bumpers that you have to worry about hitting snow banks when parking in the winter. Didn't need to worry about that with steel. I could go on. It wasn't worth the 40K+ I paid for it.

In an effort to make things easy or convenient, GM has made things worse, in some cases much worse, and it will get even more worse now that it is Obama Motors.

So here you have it. My guess in this case is that there is not enough competition in Iowa (this is a statement that can be applied to many things) and that businesses here have the false notion that people will buy local out of some sort of loyalty to local businesses. With the advent of the internet as a purchasing tool, they will find out that such an outdated and parochial attitude will go away and their competition could be anywhere in this country. That is my best bet if I want a particular car. Screw the local guy, as he doesn't want to earn my business. It's not guaranteed, and it shouldn't be.

So that is my pet peeve for the day. Sorry for the rant, but I am tired of parochial attitudes, I am tired of big corporate isolationism from its customers, and I am tired of compromising and not getting what I want. Want the dealer wants, or the sales should always be second. If you disagree, whose hard earned money is it anyway? It's not theirs.

Thank you for reading this blog.


If you like this, please go to My Motorrad and What's Under the hood.

Government Bureaucrat Keeps Soldiers from Coming Home

According to an unnamed source: "Currently the deployed members of the 132nd are stuck in Germany. Weather delay? Not now. We are being held here because of one person. The customs agent in Des Moines doesn't want to come into work until 8 am. So, were here for over 24 hours because one man doesn't want to be inconvienenced.
Only with pressure from the media might this change, so I'm asking all of you to make a phone call to your local station to have them ask the question WHY can't a federal employee help troops returning from war? Why must nearly 300 families wait an addtional 12 or so hours because ONE man won't come in early? Thank you for your time." Anonymous

Is this ridiculous? Is this just a normal symptom of what government is, or is it a harbinger of things to come? The soldier in question shall remain anonymous, at least from my standpoint, but I will say this is reprehensible.

Thank you for reading this blog.

The Des Moines Register Doesn't Get It Again:Gun Rights are a natural right, not a states right

While they were on a roll, The Des Moines Register decided to take another swipe at the Right with an article "New Push by NRA in Iowa creates Firefight".   The author quotes some alleged gun rights people as being against the measures proposed by the NRA, which are to allow people that are legally entitled to carry a concealed weapon to be allowed to have guns stored in their cars at work or in a locker at work. The author continues and says that this violates a sheriffs discretion. First off, Iowa is not a shall issue state and in spite of the second amendment being a federal constitutional amendment, we have counties here where the sheriffs deny anyone a pistol license. As far as I am concerned, all states should be shall issue, which means that as long as a person is not a convicted felon or had spent time in a mental institution, they should be allowed to get a license to carry a concealed weapon.

Saying this violates property rights is a little bit of a red herring. Governments have no problem violating property rights with eminent domain, often arbitrarily and with disproportionate compensation. I have yet to see The Des Moines Register or any other rag come out against Eminent Domain, even in the cases where the property wasn't for development by the government, but by private companies. With the continuation of laws that are passed to restrict gun ownership and exercising that right, there is going to be push back. In my state, even people that are lawfully allowed to carry a concealed weapon cannot do so within 1000' of a school or government property. How does this make anyone safer? Someone intent on using a firearm illegally will disregard the law and those who follow it will be their mercy and be a victim. It is my assertion that the anti-gun crowd wish to create more victims as a way to crete fervor against gun ownership.



The Des Moines Register is just another left wing rag that is pro-socialist, pro-big government, and pro-abortion. While the article tries to pepper itself with quotes against the bill from gun rights people, I would bet most gun rights people want both Iowa to be a Shall Issue state and that we should be allowed to carry our firearms anywhere we are welcome. Let me ask you this: Should free speech be interpreted to be only in suitable places? What about the practice of religion? What about the right to be secure in our persons? All these rights the Left champions even to the extent with religion to give religious status to beliefs that are not religion, but when it comes to a constitutional right as to keep and bear arms, they are silent. Where do you stand?



Thank you for reading this blog.

The Fight For State Sovereignty: Nebraska is next

Nebraskan Legislators want to pass a resolution that asserts Nebraska's state sovereignty. The State Sovereignty Movement is an effort by the states to push back on an over reaching, overbearing and moreover a socialist government that is continually trying to control more and more of people's lives and direct what states can and cannot do. We have not seen such vigor since the first Civil War. I wish Iowa legislators would do such, but Governor Granstahl and his lackeys are too busy licking the hand from Washington that feeds them. It's 1857 boys, and the day is coming should the Mountebank in Chief continue on his socialist way.

Thank you for reading this blog.

Can The Talking Points Be Wrong?

There must be hope for Iowa with Harlan Muth show here with a Palin 2012 sign in his car. Contrary to the talking points being bandied about on blogs such as the Libertarian Republican, some people think Palin is still in the mix. While I found Palin's press conference a little confusing and not forthwith, I can't see the Sears Mannequin as the right substitute in 2012.

That you for reading this blog.

There are the courts, and then there is the law

I have been avoiding this issue on purpose. On one side, we have the religious zealots wanting to go back 2000 years, and on the other side we have gay rights zealots that want to circumvent the process and use an oligarchy to make law. What everyone seems to be ignoring in this struggle for cultural supremacy is that courts aren't supposed to make law. The Iowa Supreme court was in its right to declare an existing law unconstitutional that would define a marriage as between a man and a woman, but making that law unconstitutional does not create a new law that says gay marriage is constitutional. The legislature creates laws. That's where this argument should have gone back to. Instead, we have 7 people making law, 7 unelected people. This is a dangerous precedent that will effect everyone negatively eventually.

What should have happened was that while the law was overturned, the people should ask the legislature to pass a new law either banning gay marriage or affirming it. That way the people have recourse if an elected politician does something that his or her constituency does not agree with. To add insult to injury, the state attorney general ordered county clerks to obey the ruling. The AG does not have the authority to do that, it is the authority of the county attorneys, and honestly, the court can't make law for anyone to follow.

I am purposely not taking sides here. I believe that making law is a political process that should be left to elected officials where the people as a whole have a greater voice. It would be no different than if the governor enacted law based on executive order. On one hand he is elected, but on the other, the legislature is supposed to make law, and do you want your rights riding on the conscience of one person? We did away with that 233 years ago. The power should come from the people, not one elected person or seven appointed people.

Thank you for reading this blog.

Iowa Has New GOP Chairman

Another clueless snake oil salesman that will cater to the different republican constituencies, telling each one how he is on their side, he will take their money and when candidates do get elected, they'll continue to NOT to do what the party stands for or what its constituents stand for. That is why they have been losing in Iowa and elsewhere. The republicans can't win if what they believe, what they say and what they do are different things and going high tech isn't going to solve that problem. It sounds to me like a continuing dilution of the message and morals in the party in order to grab more people for their $upport. Good luck. 

Samuel Adams said "If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen."

The problem with modern politics is that to use Steve Deace's comparison, they are all gangsters and there's not a crusader among them. Steve, there are times I love your ass and as most of the time, you are right. They want the power (and money) and screw everyone else. I don't see things changing here for quite awhile, and the republicans will have nothing to do with that change. I've seen it happen in New York: The predominant party will become so entrenched and comfortable with their own power, that they will become so corrupted as to eventually be caught in broad daylight by their brazenness and laxity. Ask Tom Gulotta and company how it worked out. Look at Isaiah McGee's cheesy smile. He's one of my councilmen, and yes, a groupie. 

Thank you for reading this blog. 

Did you vote?

I did. If it's any indication, for the relatively small town I live in, the turnout was very high. Of course I was the first in line, and I arrived 50 minutes before the polls opened. Intuition, if that is possible for me, says this is bad for McCain, but I could be wrong. My synopsis is that McCain made the mistake of being republican. If he loses, it is a refutation of Bush, and he would have been better off if the republicans didn't have a candidate and McCain ran under a different party. BTW, I voted for Palin.

Thank you for reading this blog. 

Jim Leach - The Strunza from Iowa

Jim Leach, former republican representative from Iowa, endorsed Barack Obama for president. This turncoat, and he is, suggests that Obama is attractive because of a “ new era of non-ideological, bipartisan decision-making''. What this means is that rather than having a backbone, and values, he’d rather find new ways to make sure politicians like himself stay in power. Let me explain. If politicians “work together”, without ideology,  I can guarantee the only thing they will want to do is to get your vote by bribing you with your own money, or worse. Their perception is to get things done. Change. Give people what they want. The problem with that is it doesn’t matter what it is. Bipartisan means they don’t stand for anything. So out of one side of their mouth, they will tell you they are pro-life, but out of the other, they will fund abortion clinics. Guys like this just want to make double dealing more palatable. By having no moral compass, they can’t be pigeon holed and their appeal will be broader. Think of Bill Clinton. In the case of Leach, which is a fitting name, some say he is angling for the presidency of the University of Iowa. The democrats control the government in Iowa, so by endorsing Obama, he is doing them a great favor and possibly expects one in return. Leach was a RINO republican anyway (in reality, now he's a democrat), and this isn’t much of a surprise. His reasoning shows lack of principles, loyalty and a lack of common sense. Democrats do not do favors for republicans in this state, or any other. He’s in for a big surprise if he doesn’t get it, and if the republicans have any principles, they will tell him to go to hell. Strunza is a perfect word for him. Look it up. And with that, I leave with a quote from Samuel Adams:

If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquillity of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen. -- Samuel Adams

Thank you for reading this blog.