HAPPY ELECTION DAY! WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR TONIGHT

Happy Election Day everyone!  Today is a big day with a major impact on Obama's final two years in office and likely also on the 2016 Presidential race.  The fundamentals to this election season are still the same as they have been all year.  We have an unpopular President, Republicans have an historical and geographical edge, and the economy and national security issues pit the Democrats in a tough spot.  All along, I will be looking for signs on what we can learn about our nation in advance of the all-important elections coming up in 2016.

Here is what I will be watching as the returns unfold tonight:

Early in the evening I will be watching Virginia.  I will be watching to see just how close Ed Gillespie gets to catching Mark Warner.  Some are making a bold prediction that Ed will win the upset of the night.  I will also be watching for signs to see where Va. is heading into 2016.  I will also be looking at N.H. and N.C. in the Senate races.  Should the GOP candidates in one or both win, the GOP will end this year's elections with more than a majority in the U.S. Senate.  I will also be watching the races for governor in some of the most left-voting states.  Those races in Md., Mass., Conn. and Maine are all competitive for the GOP to potentially win.  Md. is the most intriguing.  It was not competitive until recently, but it looks like a toss-up.  Naturally, I will also be watching close the two big races in Georgia as well.  If Perdue wins the Senate race tonight, the GOP will have an excellent night!

Also in the East, I will be watching several U.S. House races with the potential for some new blood into the GOP delegation in the House:
   -GA 10: Jody Hice is a minister and radio show host on issues regarding traditional values.  He
    would be a solid values conservative of which we really need more of in Washington.
   -NY 21: Elise Stefanik is running as a 30-year-old young conservative woman eager to replace
    Obamacare and stand on conservative values.  She is favored and would bring a fresh breath of air
    to Washington.
   -NH 2:  Marilinda Garcia is also running as a young conservative woman and also around 30 years
    of age.  She is also a state representative there and of Hispanic descent.  She is trailing in recent
    polls but should she win, imagine what that projects about conservatism, particularly to the youth
    and Hispanic vote.  (I don't particularly like hyphenating America, but people do look at these
    things.)

As the night continues on, I will look at how things develop in the South and Midwest.  I will be looking at Florida's race for governor and at the seat in Congress based in the Sunshine State's panhandle (District 2).  I will obviously be watching the U.S. Senate races in Arkansas and Louisiana.  In our home state of Tennessee, I am closely watching how ballot amendments 1 & 2 come out.

In the Midwest, the two major states I am watching are the adjacent states of Illinois and Wisconsin.  Watching the race for governor in Illinois and interested to see if embattled incumbent Quinn finally goes down.  Also watching 3 or so House races there, particularly in IL-12 where I spent time helping a candidate 2 years ago.  In Wisconsin, watching close the race for governor there.  Scott Walker looks favored for another term, and if he pulls that out will automatically be a seriously talked about candidate for President in 2016.  He would be one of the best candidates for the White House from my estimation.  Will then be watching Iowa and anticipating Joni Ernst picking up the Senate seat there for the GOP.  My eyes will also be watching Kansas and the tightly-competitive races for the Senate and governor there.  I believe Roberts will hold on and win another term in the Senate, and I am hoping Brownback gets another term as governor, but I am not so sure he will hold out.

As we continue westward through the night, I will turn attention to Colorado and the hard-fought races for governor and the Senate there.  Cory Gardner looks posed to enter the Senate from Colorado and would be a good one.  Bob Beauprez is also in a dead-heat race with embattled Colo. Gov. John Hickenlooper and I hope Bob wins it!  Also watching CO-6 and hoping Mike Coffman holds on there.  Also watching several other Congressional races, particularly in Arizona, Nevada, California and Hawaii, particularly Arizona's 2nd District.  Here, Martha McSally is in a close race to unseat Ron Barber.  McSally is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and Gulf War vet.  She would be a tough conservative in the House to take on the Dems.

Finally, I will be watching Alaska's close races for the U.S. Senate and for governor.  Sean Parnell has been a good governor in the Last Frontier but still is struggling there.  Dan Sullivan looks poised to take down Mark Begich and pick up another U.S. Senate seat for the GOP.  We won't know the results there until early in the morning.

I will be podcasting the returns tonight with Mark Holloway and Tyler Carr.  Listen in starting at 6 PM Central, 7 Eastern at http://www.podomatic.com/profile?public=1.

2014 ENDORSEMENTS COMING SOON!

Here we are, beginning another big-time election year.  With that being said, I don't believe I have made public here any endorsements in a few years.  That is about to change.  In the coming days, I will be making public my 2014 endorsements for various offices at this site.  It is another vital election year we are engaging in, so good men and women for office need to be supported.

A Basic Fact To Start Your Week

Ain't it the truth, ain't it the truth.  In no other country can you just waltz in and expect to change their culture like we are told to do here.  If our culture is in such need to change dramatically, then why is it that so many still want to come here to start a new way of life?

Restaurant helps stranded motorists in Southern winter storm

In a day in age where negative news seems the norm, here is some good news to start your day!  While many of us know of the chaos that hit the Deep South states Tuesday from a winter storm that was worse than usual, there were some that jumped to the aid of stranded motorists and helped make their day a bit easier.

A Chick-Fil-A restaurant in Birmingham, Ala. decided to close early and send the team members (Chick-Fil-A speak for staff) home.  However no one was able to get very far, so the restaurant helped by giving away several hundred sandwiches to those stranded, some there for over 7 hours with no food or water.
CFA did not charge a penny for them.

To read the whole account, go to the link here.

Proud of Chick-Fil-A for stepping in and making a rough situation a lot easier for many!  This is the kind of attitude by the Chick-Fil-A family that causes so many people to go out of their way to find a CFA restaurant for their meals.  This is the kind of attitude we need to see more of in the world around us today!

BACK TO BLOGGING!

Hello folks!  I understand that it has been a while since I have even wrote a post, much less regularly spent time sharing articles and my views through this blog.  That is about to change.  We are at a time in our nation and in our culture where those who have knowledge of the threats to our freedom and our values must keep people informed, and be involved themselves.  With knowledge comes responsibility to act!

I started this blog over 7 years ago for that reason, but have rarely posted and shared news in about the last 3 years since I have graduated Tennessee Tech University.  We are entering a huge year with big implications on the line for our nation, values, economy, and our future in general.

With that being said, this blog will again be a place where you can find information regarding current events, breaking news and analysis of the issues of the day.  I will be updating the links and features on the home page as well.

Thank you for your interest and I hope you will be back regularly!

SUPER TUESDAY UPDATES LIVE AS THEY HAPPEN - RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!

ALL TIMES CENTRAL

11:38 PM: FOXNews just now calls Ohio for Romney. A call that is not a surprise.

11:37: It is now Wednesday on the Atlantic Seaboard, and in the final hour of Tuesday in the Central Time Zone, and two states are still yet to be decided, but we do have several takeaways from tonight:

-This race continues on with all four candidates still soldering on.

-Regardless of the outcome in Ohio, Romney continues to appear weak, and that could certainly

hurt him in the upcoming primaries and caucuses where particularly Santorum and to a lesser

extent Gingrich appeal to many.

-Regardless of his huge victory in Georgia, Gingrich had a particularly tough night. He fell to 3rd

in Tennessee and Oklahoma, states in which he thought he had a strong shot. He also barely

registered support in Mass., N.D., Idaho and Vt. In Ohio, his support rests only in the upper

teens of percent. Super Tuesday was a critical opportunity at a turning point for him, and it

did not materialize. He would seem to have a final shot next Tuesday with Ala., Miss. and Kan.,

but Santorum also looks good in those states. The Gingrich campaign is probably at life support

right now.

11:05 PM: ‎91% of precincts in at Ohio, and Romney is on top with a slim lead of approx. 6,000 votes or a single percent.

9:25 PM: Now 71% of precincts in Ohio, and it is still 38% for Santorum, Romney with 36%. Santorum wins three states on the night, Romney also three, and Gingrich takes Ga. Gingrich has really suffered a tough night though with a distant 3rd in Tennessee, a crucial state for him, and potentially 3rd in Oklahoma, another state he was counting on. He is also drawing low single-digit numbers in the caucus states of North Dakota and Idaho and not even 20% in Ohio. Paul also will probably end the night missing his likely last shot to have any state wins. Romney up strong in Idaho right now and will probably claim the state has his 4th win of the night.

9:10 PM: BREAKING: CNN calls North Dakota for Santorum!

9:04 PM: Romney projected to win 2nd in Tennessee...Gingrich will fall in 3rd here and could fall in 3rd in Oklahoma. This marks a tough night for the one-time frontrunner although he wins huge in Georgia.

9:00 PM: With 58% of precincts in on the state of Ohio, Santorum still leads Romney by a count of 38% to 36%. Tight as a tick in the bellwether Buckeye State!

8:58 PM: Now 62% of precincts in on North Dakota and still the same numbers between Santorum and Paul (39%-27%). We are getting closer to a decided result there.

8:55 PM: Tweet from political analyst Nate Silver: "Pretty sure Santorum is a slight favorite in Ohio. He's maybe ~60%-70% likely to win."

8:50 PM: With 54% of precincts in for North Dakota, Santorum holds 39% of the vote to Paul's 27%. Looking like a two-person race for the conservative state in the northern part of the Great Plains!

8:47 PM: Watching North Dakota particularly close along with Ohio. Rick leads N.D. with 40% of the vote and Romney and Paul closely battling for 2nd, both with approx. 25% of the vote each. It will likely get closer through the night.

8:30 PM: With 33% of precincts in, Santorum leads Ohio with 39% of the vote to Romney's 36%. I predict when all is said and done, Rick wins by 2% of the vote in the Buckeye State. I make that call based on everything I am seeing and hearing there.

8:24 PM: This night is going to be bigger for the Santorum camp than the media have been predicting as of late, and it will be a tough night for Newt. Looks like this goes on officially now as a two-person race.

8:22 PM: A jubilant Santorum rally in Steubenville, Ohio after huge wins in Tennessee and Oklahoma, and things looking very promising in the Buckeye State of Ohio according to some analysts. North Dakota also looks good early on with Rick currently sitting at half the vote with 6% of precincts in. Side Note: Steubenville is the native city of legendary and all-time great singer Dean Martin!

8:19 PM: LIVE ON ALL NEWS NETWORKS: Rick Santorum in a victory speech from Santorum HQ in Steubenville, Ohio.

8:18 PM: Just coming in after work and listened to the ABCNews special report on WWTN-FM 99.7 Nashville, and was greeted with some awesome news! That is where I heard the call for our own Volunteer State and Oklahoma for Rick Santorum! Trey Harden, analyst on ABC, said he would be surprised if Rick Santorum does not win Ohio. Romney wins Virginia, Mass. and Vt. Gingrich wins Ga.

BACK AGAIN

I am back again and ready to post on happenings in this crucial Presidential election year. A lot of things have happened in this nation, and in my life, since I last posted after the 2010 midterms. I look forward to posting updates here as often as possible regarding the election year. Hope you'll stay tuned!