I just arrived home from attending the local caucus at my precinct.  There were 89 people in attendance and everyone seemed eager to vote for their favorite candidate.  The town where I vote has a population of about 680 people, and about 25% of those people are farmers.  I would put the mean age of the attendees at the caucus at about 45.  

Now for the talley of votes:

Rick Santorum:        23 Votes

Rick Perry:               17 Votes

Newt Gingrich:           15 Votes

Ron Paul:                 12 Votes

Michele Bachmann:    11 Votes

Mitt Romney:            11 Votes

The bigger cities look like they are leaning towards Ron Paul and Mitt Romney.  But most all of the rural areas are strongly in favor of Rick Santorum.  I guess we'll see what happens in the next few hours.

I don't know all of the issues regarding this story, but what I have read, makes me sick.

Baby Joseph, is a Canadian infant whose medical care has sparked national controversy.  arrived at a St. Louis hospital Sunday night for treatment.

Joseph Maraachli is 13 months old and has a progressively deteriorating neurological condition. He had been receiving medical care at Ontario's London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) since October 2010 and has been on a ventilator and receiving nourishment from a feeding tube.  This hospital has performed repeated neurological assessments, and determined that the baby is in a vegetative state and will not recover.

In January, a Canadian Superior Court judge ruled that the hospital could remove Baby Joseph from the ventilator and issued a "do not resuscitate" order.  Joseph's parents have refused to consent, saying they wanted their son to receive a tracheostomy and be transferred home on a ventilator. 

I can empathize with what they are wanting to do.  In 1980 my brother was allowed to leave the hospital with terminal melanoma cancer and come home to at least be somewhere he felt comfortable.  He passed away in our home soon after this... but at least he was surrounded by loved ones.

Luckily Rev. Frank Pavone, director of Priests for Life, went to Canada on Sunday night and assisted in having Baby Joseph airlifted to Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center in St. Louis, which has agreed to evaluate him and provide treatment.

"If there is a chance this boy can live, we have to explore every option," said Pavone in a statement.

I most definitely believe in miracles, so if there is a chance, let's see what happens.

Unless you live under a rock you have probably seen the news regarding the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Japan. First of all, I wish everyone in Japan the best, and I know that they will recover and come back even better than before this terrible event.

I am certainly not an expert on nuclear power, but I do consider myself a thinker, and an intelligent person. I have some issues and questions regarding the issues in Japan, and nuclear design in general. The Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant is right on the coastline. Why is this? They must have known that a tsunami was possible in that area because they get earthquakes all the time. They also get typhoons every year between May and October. Did they actually think that this plant was impervious to these natural disasters? I'm not bashing Japan, or the experts that built this facility; I just don't know what their thinking was. But with my small amount of knowledge I can tell you that if water inundates this plant, or any plant, it will render most electronics unusable; and then what? Using sea water as a coolant was a great idea, and of course they have plenty of that around. I'm also sure that every expert in Japan and around the world has offered their expertise. I also haven't heard much about this, but there must be many employees at this plant risking their lives to put any and all ideas into action. These men and women are heroes just like any policeman, fireman, or serviceman.

I think nuclear power is a great thing, don't get me wrong. I live 25 miles away from the only nuclear power plant in Iowa and I have never given it a second thought. But now I have some serious questions about the design of nuclear plants. A few years ago there was a F5 tornado 75 miles north of the nuclear power plant in my area. What would have happened if this tornado hit this power plant? Not only can an f5 tornado chew up EVERYTHING in it's path, it can even tear up pavement from roads. So I have no doubt that it could rip a nuclear reactor core from the ground and throw it miles away. What are the contingencies for that?

Why don't they put them far underground? Not only would this muffle an explosion, but it's naturally cooler underground.

If the reactors in Japan are melting down as I'm writing this, why don't they just fill the whole metal containment structure with cement?

Why is water basically the only coolant used for cooling the core? Something as simple as dry ice, which is a solid form of carbon dioxide, has been used as a cooling agent in other areas for many, many years. And of course freon has also been widely used as a cooling agent.

Where does the sea water go after it has been in contact with the core? I'm sure that 100% of this sea water is not evacuated as steam. So where does the tainted water go? Back out to sea? What are the consequences of that?

So those are my concerns, anybody else wonder about this stuff?

I've been watching all of the happenings in Japan with great concern.  The scope of what has happened there is impossible to put into words.  I found a remarkable web page on MSNBC.com, which shows a before and after satellite image of many locations in Japan.

Let's take a moment and pray for everyone in Japan.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42064847/ns/world_news-asiapacific

I took a rather long vacation from blogging and politics for personal reasons.  Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck do 1 hr. of television every day along with 3 hrs. of radio, not to mention all of the research and time spent planning off of their shows.  Matt at Conservative Hideout and Steve at Americas Watchtower post every day, sometimes many times a day.  I really don't know how they do it, but I'm glad that they are out there spreading the Conservative word. 

I sat on the sidelines for a few months, trying to decide if doing this is really making any difference.  During my hiatus the Republicans took back the house, Greece and Libya fell apart, and Obama has continued to act irresponsibly.  This evil administration has continued to try it's hardest to destroy our great country, and almost 50% of the people in this nation still think he is doing a good job.  So this means that almost 50% of our country is still mesmorized by Obama's smooth talking, big Government, free handout ways.  Which means that we as Conservatives have much work to do.

Donald Bomkamp. US Navy Corpsman, served in the Korean War.
An enlisted person in the U.S. Navy, serving either with the Navy or the Marines, who has been trained to give first aid and basic medical treatment, especially in combat situations.
This is my father, and the person that I am most proud of on this planet.


LEFT - Jesse Lopez. Purple Heart receipient, active duty, Sergeant in the US Marines.
This is my neighbor Pam's son, and is a living war hero.
RIGHT - Nick West. Jesse's best friend, US marines.


John Taschner. Former Sergeant US Army Reserve.
This is my neighbor Jim's son.


Herbert Taschner. Sergeant US Army, served in World War II.
This is my neighbor Jim's dad.


Harold Lester. US Navy.
This is my neighbor Pam's dad.


David Crowley. First Sergeant US Army. Currently deployed in Afghanistan.
This is the brother of a co-worker.


This is my tribute to the few Servicemen that I know.

It takes a very special person to serve this country in our armed forces. In most cases, they must leave their families and the comfort of home, and travel off to some turbulent country where they are needed. They encounter many hardships, and see things that most of us don't see in our nightmares.

So I say to all of you... Thank you. You are NOT forgotten.

Here is another great video:
http://www.military.com/VeteransDay/VeteransDayTribute.html

Ding dong the witch is gone. Which old witch? The wicked witch... Nancy Pelosi! A house fell on Nancy Pelosi, but it didn't fall from the sky. It was the House Of Representatives, and the people of this great country have spoken!

Democrats began Nov 2, 2010 with a 257-178 edge in the House and a 59-41 edge in the Senate. However the final results shake out, the Republicans will have picked up no fewer than 61 seats in the House and six in the Senate. The House pickups represent the best midterm performance by a political party since 1946.

Republicans also took control of nine state governorships and 19 state legislative chambers. These gains may prove to be more costly to Democrats in the long run, because the GOP will now be able to control redistricting in several key states.

Although I think this was an epic win for Conservatives, and a great first step toward taking back our country. I am concerned even more now that the Democrats could blame Republicans for future ineptitudes in Congress. I know that Obama is not coming over to the center anytime soon, so we have no choice but to stand vigilant against the Liberals and their agenda.

This is my question. Were voters genuinely opposed to the policies of the White House on principle? Did the Democratic leadership simply do a poor job of conveying their accomplishments to the American electorate? Or were voters really saying they have had enough of an economy that is at best recovering very sluggishly?



Something else to keep your eye on:

Even though I can't stand Nancy Pelosi, I think the Democrats should nominate her minority leader. This should then be intrepreted as a slap in the face to all Americans.



I think this was a great response by the Republicans:

I have been looking for someone to help out here at USAWatchmen.com.  Many people have said they would love to participate, but they never seem to have the time.  It's amazing how apathetic people are towards our country.

So I came across a bright young man with good Conservative values and a tremendous love for this great nation.  Not only does he admire Ronald Reagan but he also likes the Kansas City Chiefs, so I knew that he was the right choice.

So without further ado I give you Mark Weaver. 

Mark will be contributing to the blog here as USAWatchmen.com and you can also read his work at:

http://www.therightopinions.com/

You can view his profile by clicking the link below:

http://www.usawatchmen.com/blog/page/Mark-Weaver.aspx

CONGRESS

U.S. SENATE

Republican incumbent: Chuck Grassley

Democratic nominee:
- Roxanne Conlin of Des Moines

1st CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

Democratic incumbent: Bruce Braley of Waterloo

Republican nominee
- Ben Lange of Independence

2ND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

Democratic incumbent: Dave Loebsack of Mount Vernon

Republican nominee:
- Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Ottumwa

3RD CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

Democratic incumbent: Leonard Boswell of Des Moines

Republican nominee:
- Brad Zaun of Urbandale

4th CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

Republican incumbent: Tom Latham of Ames

Democratic nominee:
- Bill Maske of Truro

5th CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

Republican incumbent: Steve King of Kiron

Democratic nominee:
- Matt Campbell of Manning

STATEWIDE ELECTIONS

GOVERNOR

Democratic incumbent: Chet Culver

Republican nominee:
- Terry Branstad of Boone

ATTORNEY GENERAL

Democratic incumbent: Tom Miller

Republican nominee:
- Brenna Findley of Dexter

SECRETARY OF STATE

Democratic incumbent: Michael Mauro

Republicans nominee:
- Matt Schultz of Council Bluffs

SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE

Republican incumbent: Bill Northey

Democratic nominee:
Francis Thicke of Fairfield

STATE TREASURER

Democratic incumbent: Mike Fitzgerald

Republican nominee:
- Dave Jamison of Ames

STATE AUDITOR

Republican incumbent: David Vaudt

Democratic nominee:
- Jon Murphy of Des Moines