In Honor Of William F. Buckley Jr.

November 24, 1925 –
February 27, 2008

William F. Buckley Jr. departs this world as an icon of political thought and informed, civilized discourse. Mr. Buckley's analysis of important political issues in the National Revue, his syndicated column and on Firing Line, encouraged us to be students of history, think "deeper" and never underestimate the power of wit as a tool to disarm ones opponents.

As a writer, Mr. Buckley's syndicated contributions to conservative thought would fill more than 45 average-sized books. He died as he lived, challenging us to shun political expedience in favor of intellectual integrity.

Mr. Buckley, it is my fond hope that you are now in a place that can only be described by someone with your eloquence. You will be sorely missed.

Push Polling Is A Blight On The Political Landscape

Push Polling is a blight on the political landscape. It's ridiculous to think that a candidate has no influence on the use of push polls by their supporters, despite the prohibition against coordination.

Want an example of disingenuous political double speak in action? This is how Common Sense Issues Executive Director Patrick Davis describes their activities:

"The type of calls that Common Sense Issues, Inc. is making into Iowa and New Hampshire are personalized educational conversations enabled by artificial intelligence. While some have suggested that these personalized conversations are "push polls," they are not as each one is unique based on the individual. Push calls are designed to be a one-way communication. During a personalized educational call enabled by our voice recognition artificial intelligence technology a participant has a two-way dialogue."

Give me a break! Do you really want to vote for someone who tolerates/tacitly endorses this kind of B.S.!? I sure as heck don't!

If you're a candidate running for public office, have the courage and integrity to voice any criticisms about opponent(s) yourself. Better yet, present people with the integrity, commitment, ideas, problem-solving, and leadership, that make people want to vote for you, without any need for negative campaign tactics!