Sunday, December 31, 2006

Happy New Year!

I just want to wish everyone a happy, safe and blessed new year! Again, I want to ask all of you to continue to visit this site often. Put it in your bookmarks! Make it your homepage! Tell all your friends about this site. I look forward to informing everyone about the upcoming events in the 2008 U.S. elections and Tennessee Tech sports, among other events.

Stay tuned and God bless you in the upcoming year!

Saturday, December 30, 2006

Looking at 2008-Democrats

On November 11th, I put together a list of potential Republican contenders, which can be viewed here. At the end of the post, I said I would do one on the Democrats and the Constitution Party. I will now to the Democrats list, as it is overdue. Is it a good time to post it now, since John Edwards has made his intentions known, and a lot of eyes are now on Hillary and Obama. As with the Republican list, I will rate the Democratic candidates according to my research on them, and the rating will be judged by my conservative standards. The rating by no means shows who the frontrunners are. The ranking is more-or-less a personal feel into how conservative or liberal the contenders are. A one will be the most liberal rating, while a five will be most conservative (although a conservative seems not to be found among the major contenders). Again, an * will mark announced candidates.

CANDIDATE - RANKING - QUESTIONABLE ISSUES

Democrats

~Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware - 1 - (Social Issues, Second Amendment, among others)

~Former General Wesley Clark - 1 - (Social Issues, Welfare, among others)

~Sen. Hillary R. Clinton of New York - 1/2 - ( THAT IS A ONE-HALF RATING, SHE IS THAT LIBERAL! Social Issues, Welfare, Illegal Immigration, these are only the surface of the issues here!)

~Citizen Randy Crow (State Unknown) - 5 - (Issue stance unknown on most issues)

~Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut - 1 - (Social Issues, Second Amendment, among others)

~2004 VP Nominee John Edwards of N.C.* - 2 - (Social Issues, Welfare, Global Warming, among
others)

~Former Sen. Mike Gravel of Alaska* - 1 - (Social Issues, Repealing Electoral College, Federal
Funding of Education, Universal Health Care, among others)

~Sen. John Kerry of Mass., 2004 Nominee - 1 - (Social Issues, Second Amendment, stance on
Capital Punishment, support for Trade agreements, among other issues)

~Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio* - 1 - (Death Penalty, Universal Health Care, Social Issues,
among other issues)

~Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois - 1/2 - (ANOTHER SUPER-LIBERAL! Social Issues,
Second Amendment, Illegal Immigration are only surface of my questionable issues on
this possible candidate, as well.)

~Gov. Bill Richardson of N.M. - 1 - (Social Issues, Illegal Immigration, among others)

~Former Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa* - 1 - (Social Issues, Illegal Immigration, Taxes, among
other issues)


I am unsure when I will post the Constitution Party list, as contenders have not made their plans known. I plan on posting a list after several condtenders announce their plans. I, also, plan to update the Republican list within a few months. Stay tuned!

Eventful Week To End 2006!

It has been an eventful week to end 2006. In the last seven days, we have witnessed the passing of a major entertainer of the middle part of the last century, and the passing of a man of great integrity who served as President during the remainder of Richard Nixon's 1973-1977 term. The world witnessed the execution of an evil dictator as Iraq now seems able to execute justice. A Presidential contender from 2004 announced he will try it again in 2008, and he will arguably be the Democratic Party's frontrunner. A major Western city was hit again with another snowstorm, a week after receiving over a foot of snow. That storm has, also, caused snowstorms across much of the Central region of our country and severe weather in the Deep South. Meanwhile, the Dow Industrails reached another all-time high and the country's largest telecommunications company (AT&T) officially got bigger by finalizing a purchase of a smaller rival (BellSouth).

We look to be setting up for an exciting and eventful 2007, so stay with the "Conservative Statesman". I intend to be here, Lord willing, posting on whatever seems interesting all through the year. We are going into the year before what is likely to be one of the biggest, and most important, Presidential elections in our history and I hope to report on this event as it unfolds. So, please stay with us and tell everyone you know about this site. I am not writing only for myself!

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Update

I know I have not been posting for about two weeks. I am currently visiting my native area of Berks County, Pennsylvania for Christmas week. I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas and be sure to have a good new year! I am watching for John Edwards's announcement expected on Thursday when he is likely to announce his candidacy for the White House in 2008. Also, I am looking forward to my Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles taking on two big name schools within the week. The men are to face the Tennessee Volunteers on Thursday, while the women are scheduled to face high-ranked North Carolina on Saturday. It looks to be a busy week! I expect to be back to my Tennessee ritual by New Year's Eve. Until then, take care, God bless, and happy new year again.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Yours Truly


I just thought all those reading might like to know who I am. This photo was taken last week in the Roaden University Center's lobby on the campus of Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, Tennessee. It was taken as a requirement of my website project mentioned in an earlier post. The project was part of my DS 2810 (Introduction To Computers In Business) course at Tech.

Sunday, December 10, 2006

Tennessee Tech Basketball Teams Back On Track

After a six-game slump, the 2006-2007 Tech Womens Basketball team is back to winning again. Marissa Hensley had 16 points and Kendall Cavin had 13 en route to a 59-58 Tech Golden Eagles victory over the visting Skyhawks of Southeast Missouri. Now the Lady Eagles are 2-6 (1-2 Ohio Valley Conference), and are still ranked number seven in most wins all-time with a 772-330 record since the program was established in the 1970-71 season. By that stat, they are one of the most successful women's Division I programs in the country.

The men followed soon afterward. Belton Rivers led Tech with 33 points, his career high, and the Golden Eagles ended a double-header sweep of SEMO with a 91-76 victory at home in the Eblen Center in Cookeville, Tennessee. The men are now 4-4 (1-2 OVC), and both men's and women's teams will be off for a week for final exams.

During halftime of the men's game, Cookeville native Watson Brown was named the new head coach for TTU's football program. See the below posting and links for more on this exciting announcement.

Saturday, December 9, 2006

Watson Brown Is The New Tennessee Tech Football Coach


Tennessee Tech may just be on its way to the college football map. Watson Brown is coming back to his native town of Cookeville, Tennessee where he will coach our Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles. Brown has spent the last 12 seasons at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, where he oversaw that program's move to Division I-A. He struggled through a disappointing 3-9 season for UAB and was expected to lose his job. A lot of UAB fans are highly negative towards him, although he has a fairly good track record. His all-time record is 94-151, but that doesn't show the whole picture. In 1983, he was head coach at Cincinnati, where his Bearcats beat defending national champion Penn State 14-3 at the beginning of the season. He was the offensive coordinatior at his alma mater of Vanderbilt from 1981-82, where he helped the Commodores to an 8-3 record in '82. From 1986-90, he was the head coach at Vandy.


Football runs deep in his blood, which stands as a Cookeville-born coaching dynasty. His brother, Mack, led the Texas Longhorns to a national championship this last year. His grandfather, Eddie Watson, is a high school coaching legend. He led the Cookeville High School Cavilers to a 106-51-13 record during his coaching days. Watson Brown's son, Steven, is a wide receiver for UAB.


I received the pleasure of meeting new Coach Brown after our mens basketball game Saturday night, and I am very impressed by him. Going into Saturday's announcement, he was the potential candidate that I was hoping would be chosen. After meeting him, I am looking forward to football season so much more. During his introduction Saturday night at halftime of the mens basketball game, he said he is looking forward to putting Tech on the "national map" and that he wants "to win immediately". Google's news section mentions 103 articles at the present time under "Watson Brown" pertaining to his announcment Saturday.


For more on this story, click on the links below.




Friday, December 8, 2006

Learn More About Me/ An Exciting Opportunity For Me Yesterday

As an assignment for my DS 2810 (Introduction to Computers in Business) class at Tennessee Tech, I have created a website about myself, and it is available for all to view by those with Internet connections. You can view it by clicking this link. You might find it to be a better description of myself than the description of me on this blog.

Yesterday's Tech basketball games were exciting for me yesterday. Although we lost both games to Eastern Illinois, I got the chance to work with the stats crew during the mens game. Our sports information director, Rob Schabert, saw me watching the womens game and told me that the girl who was following the subs coming in out of the game was not going to be there during the mens game. He asked me if I would be able to rise up to the task. I accepted the responsibility, and although I was not able to follow the game like a fan would, I was more thrilled after being able to work in an exciting opportunity such as I did. I know Mr. Schabert because I asked him two weeks ago about the possibility of me helping with broadcasting on our Golden Eagles Sports Network on the radio. Although our broadcasting needs are pretty well filled, he told me that I may have an opportunity to do the PA announcing during at least some of the home games of our baseball season coming up in a few months. He told me that he would let me know in January. All of this could likely contribute to a possible career in broadcasting or journalism.

Tuesday, December 5, 2006

NFL: Iggles Still Alive And Flapping

No, that is not a misspelling. We Philadelphia sports fans call our Birds the "Iggles" often times.
Anywho, we're still as alive as the bald eagle is off the endangered list. After being down 14-7 at the half, and down 21-14 to start the fourth quarter, Philadelphia prevailed over Carolina on the national stage by a final of 27-24. Two fourth quarter interceptions were key in this game, one by Lito Sheppard with around a half-minute left. The other one came earlier in the quarter by Brian Dawkins, which ended in a field goal for David Akers to end the game's scoring and give the Eagles their first lead of the game. Akers was another key in this game. Philadelphia QB Jeff Garcia had a great performance, passing for 21/39 for 312 yards, 3 TDs and 0 interceptions.
That was his best outing since when he played for Cleveland against his current team in 2004.

The playoff picture in the NFC is now growing blurred. with the victory, the Iggles are among four teams with 6-6 records. Three more trail with 5-7 on the standings. As it stands now, New York and Philadelphia would be the two wild cards after all the tie-breakers are used. This is how the NFC picture looks:

Chicago NFC North 10-2
New Orleans NFC South 8-4
Seattle NFC West 8-4
Dallas NFC East 8-4
New York Wild Card 6-6
Philadelphia Wild Card 6-6
Atlanta 6-6
Carolina 6-6
San Francisco 5-7
Minnesota 5-7
St. Louis 5-7

Monday, December 4, 2006

WorldNetDaily: Constitution Party ready to challenge Dems and GOP

WorldNetDaily has published a good article today on the Constitution Party's plans for 2008. The article lists several possible Presidential candidates for the party in the next election cycle.
The article can be viewed here. At the bottom of the article's text, a link is shown that will take you to WND's poll of the day, where you can vote on the CP Presidential candidate of your choice. You must sign up first though. I am quite familiar with this party, as I supported their 2004 Presidential candidate Michael Anthony Peroutka.

Ultimately, I believe the party will nominate Minutemen Founder Jim Gilchrist and that he will have a very good showing for a third-party candidate. That all depends, though, on whether Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo jumps into the Republican race and wins the nomination, which can be done.

Positioning For 2008: Brownback and Bayh Closer, Clinton Taking Steps Toward Run

Today has been a busy day on the 2008 Presidential front. Yesterday, Indiana Senator Evan Bayh confirmed that he has set up an exploratory committee to test the waters for the Democratic nomination. He does not seem to yet have a website up for his committee. I have been saying for the last year that he is one of the "big three" who are more likely to win the Democratic nomination. The other two are 2004 candidates John Edwards and Wesley Clark.

A likely candidate who does have a website up is Kansas Senator Sam Brownback. He confirmed today that he has formed an exploratory committee to set up a run for the Republican nomination. You can visit his committee's website by clicking on the link posted here. My personal favorites for the Republican nomination (as it stands now) are Congressman Tom Tancredo first, then Brownback, followed by outgoing Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, although I have some serious questions about Huckabee's stand on taxes and illegal immigration. I have some questions about Brownback's stand on illegal immigration as well, but his strong support for the family certainly is enough to get me excited! As it stands now, I believe outgoing Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is in the best position for the GOP nomination, but I think Brownback can have a shot as well. I also think that Tancredo, Huckabee and Gilmore, among other so-called "longshots" have a decent chance as well.

Hillary Clinton, quite likely the most dangerous potential candidate, was in the news again this weekend. She met with incoming New York Governor Eliot Spitzer and a number of advisors to consider fundraising for a likely bid for the Democratic nomination. WorldNetDaily has an article here.