Pawlenty Loves Minnesota

So much he touts a Spam sandwich. Well I had some too when I was a kid but I preferred peanut butter for my regular lunch. The Minnesota governor and presumed Republican presidential candidate was in Chicago the other day and sat down with our favorite and reliably irreverent local conservative columnist, the Chicago Tribune's John Kass. Here you go.

Cold Water

Renaissance Woman:)

Sarah Palin continues to astonish. Some. Others know bone-deep she is a rare thing. Like me:)

Sarah the Lionheart.

Even gadfly Alaskan Dem Mike Gravel is impressed: Sarah America:)

She is who she is. (Even AP starting to get conflicted. Times of London.) The truth gets through.

Previous posts: Sarah Competitive with The One, Palin 2012?

--crossposted at BackyardConservative

Gray Lady Worried

The NY Times front page today features the rural elderly as the latest victims for them to exploit in aid of their big government ObamaCare agenda--which would actually harm most rural states and the elderly who inhabit them. Yet even in the Times own story is the real story. 80 year old Norma Clark slipped and broke her hip. She tied her legs together with rope and dragged herself back:

A dutiful farm wife, Ms. Clark somehow even got to her feet to latch the gate. And her first call when she got to the house was not to 911, but to a daughter 30 miles away.

A "dutiful farm wife"? How patronizing, how typical Times. How about an individual honed by a lifetime of responsibility and self-sufficiency? (This reminds me of a Times' reporter describing my dad as having a "bucolic twang" years ago. His dad was from New York and my dad spoke like Walter Cronkite.) People in rural areas primarily rely on family, friends and neighbors. Granted, Norma Clark now gets the help of a nursing assistant, but if ObamaCare passes she would probably be warehoused somewhere, on the road to the death panel. She would probably choose to move in with her daughter.

From the Washington Post comes the meme that the Tea Party movement is divisive and will rip the GOP apart. Dream on. Tea Party concerns permeate the party outside of the beltway--even in bastions of moderation, like Illinois' north-suburban 10th congressional district. And those who espouse common sense tea party reform are gathering broad support.

No wonder the Gray Lady is worried to distraction.

Pawlenty vs. Romney

On the Massachusetts health care plan, not a miracle upon closer scrutiny.

This is a key hurdle for Romney to overcome for 2012. Time will tell.

Meanwhile, Sarah Palin is making (good) headlines.

Geese in the Park

Hmm, home again. How about Egg Nog of the old Cajuns. It's getting cold around here. This is a warm recipe. And Red Stick Rant is skiing the decline:)

A Long Recession?

James Pethokoukis on the Goldman Sachs forecast.

Maybe I'll learn eBay.

Since I may not be able to sell my empty-nester house, auction it off little by little.

And plant a better garden next spring.

I'll keep my little dog, though. She's sweet but she has sharp teeth. Don't knock on my door, Barack.