Like every other political junkie around here I been hangin' on the edge of my seat waiting to see if Karl Rove is actually guilty of anything.....not.....Now I been following politics since I was in 7th grade and watching Jimmy Carter do his level best to degrade this great country of ours. I've seen a whole bunch of tempests in teapots but if any so called scandal has ever shown the complicity of the media in protecting the left wing, this Rove affair is it. Either that or democrats are manifestly unable to read and comprehend the law. Hmmm...of course that last assessment is highly likely as well, after all what part of the Second Amendment is so hard to understand that we are continually combatting gun control initiatives? But I digress, back to matter at hand.
Karl Rove is the President's Senior Political Advisor. He does not occupy a Constitutional office. He is blamed by the democrats, the media and anyone to the left of Senator Olympia Snowe of having "outed" a covert CIA operative. That is against the law. The President has said that if anyone in his adminstration breaks the law, they would punished. Hence the left is salivating at the prospect of Karl Rove, architect of two of their worst electoral beatings ever, being dismissed and sent into political Siberia.

Of course the democrats, the left in general and the media, especially the print media are all overlooking the blindingly obvious. The supposed CIA covert operative was only undercover in the sense that since the Bush Administration had hit Washington, Joe Wilson and his faux heroine CIA Agent wife had been relegated to the "B" list of Georgetown cocktail parties. Wilson is a shameless self promoter, trying to eek out an existence in Washington officialdom by using his Ivy League background for personal gain. One look at this guy should convince anyone that the only thing he truly cares about is himself. Now that maybe severely judgemental but I tend to have issues with men over the age of say....oh....28 who refuse to get a haircut. I just can't take them seriously. Add to that the fact that the guy drives a convertible Jaguar and he really expects Joe Sixpack to believe that he wasn't all about drawing attention to himself. Did I mention that Wilson was also a heavy contributor to the Jean Kerry campaign?

None of these facts will get in the way of the media presenting its contrived left of center point of view though. Despite the fact that Valerie Plame nee Wilson has not been undercover in at least 5 years. Despite the fact that she had previously been outed some 7 yrs before and since all her friends and family knew she worked at CIA, the media will continue to portray her as a victimized agent. The tricky part for the dems though is that facts will eventually get in their way with any investigation. Unfortunately for the left, this is a specific intent crime the way the law is written and if they cannot prove intent they have no case. (Not that lack of evidence has ever stopped a good leftwing inquisition in the past.)

What this is all really about is trying to taint the Bush administration with scandal. In the first instance it creates doubt in the public's mind and makes body politic more malleable. Especially important considering the upcoming appointment of a Supreme Court Justice. Since the Republicans are now consigned to the defensive on this topic, it denies them the opportunity to move forward on their agenda, lower taxes, the War on Terror and Social Security reform. Every day's delay is another day closer towards lame duck status the President gets. Secondarily of course this is also an opportunity for the democrats to stain an administration which has been remarkably free from scandal. Nothing chaps the hides of the left more than the fact that under IMPEACHED ex-president Clinton, the country enjoyed one of, if not the most, scandal ridden administrations ever. For the last 5 years there has been nary a whiff of it. In the end, the real victim here is the President and the American people. The President is being denied the opportunity to advance his agenda by a set of trumped up and empty charges and the American people are denied the action that they elected this man to conduct. Thanks dems...

Smilin' Paul Villa U.S. Senate 2010
cyber-Congressman, R-Reno
Proud Member of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy and 2 SUV Family

Happy belated Independence Day. While out taking my morning constitutional on the 4th I began happily enough to track the number of American flags being displayed by my neighbors. Some 3 and a half miles later I had noted 21 homes proudly flying Old Glory out in front. Initially I was pleased until I had a second thought. Sure in California it might do one's soul some good to find 21 neighbors flying the flag on the Fourth of July but here in red country it strikes me that we should be doing better. I reckon it was about 1 in every 5 or 6 homes that had a flag out. It should be only 1 in every 6 that DIDN'T have one.

When I was a kid it seemed like every home flew the flag. Of course now folks are too busy to be bothered. What would our Founding Fathers say to the self indulgent mass of humanity we have become? It is far more important to head to the lake toting our boat or a pair of ATVs or driving off in our motor home than it is to simply contemplate the enormous dividends we have reaped in the 229 years since that courageous gathering in Philadelphia.

Evidence of this assertion is amply provided by a recent Discovery poll conducted asking Americans who the greatest 100 Americans ever were. As it turns out a great American was indeed listed first, Ronald Reagan. However, as much as I loved Ronald Reagan I could never have listed him as superior in greatness to that American who was "first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen.." George Washington. Think about that for a few minutes. Besides being the Commander of the Continental Army that eventually wore down the British, besides being a delegate from Virginia to the Continental Congress and being the first President, Washington was a compassionate and humble human being. Can any among you imagine where we as a nation would be now without the efforts of this most remarkable American. Each and every one of us and every American who has gone before and will come afterwards owes George Washington a debt of gratitude which cannot be calculated.

Of course the really silly aspect of the entire poll is the inclusion of people such as Oprah Winfrey, Lance Armstrong and Muhammed Ali. Wonderful entertainers and athletes all. Now tell me what lasting impact any of them has made on America? This should speak volumes about the state of the media and our pop culture overload. Even worse is that James Madison one of the authors of the Constitution was not on the list. I cannot fathom such an egregious error on the part of a so-called educational channel like Discovery. They are either devoid of any meaningful knowledge of American History or they possess an agenda so slanted that they are shameless in its promotion. Neither alternative is particularly attractive.

On the other happy hand, I have been cooking up a storm. I know a lot of y'all probably wonder what Smilin' Paul dishes up on Independence Day. Well how about a rack of perfectly crafted spareribs accompanied by home made potato salad, grilled corn on the cob and a fresh watermelon for dessert? Of course now y'all are probably drooling for some real BBQ and I don't blame you but I've already told you folks how to smoke ribs, how to build your own electric smoker and how to make potato salad. So get all that off your mind and let's talk about grits. Yep, grits. You probably know some snotty folks wouldn't get within a mile of a grit much less a bowl full of them. These same hypocrites would be the first in line at a polenta eating contest.

Anyhow you're probably wondering where I'm going with this. Last week I got a hankering for some bangers and mash so I went home and made my own, Southern style bangers and mash. Of course I replaced the bangers with grilled Louisiana Hot Links and instead of mashed potatos I whipped up a batch of Roasted Chile and Cheddar Grits. Oh my goodness...it was delicious. Cheese grits are wonderful to begin with, adding a little zip with roasted chiles just really brings it home so here is a wonderful supper side...

3/4 cup grits
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
5 oz can of condensed milk
1 tbsp of roasted green chiles, diced
1/3 cup of butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups water
1/8 tsp of ground black pepper

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Cook the grits in the water per the instructions on the package. Once they are cooked stir in the butter and condensed milk, mixing well. Now slowly stir in 1 1/2 cup of the cheddar and the chiles and pepper. Lastly, stir in the eggs. Do this slowly. If you add them all at once and the mixture is too hot you'll end up with scrambled egg chile cheese grits. Now grease a casserole dish and pour the mixture into it and top it with the remaining cheese. Bake it for 35-40 minutes or so until it's golden brown on top and slightly puffy. Let is stand for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. This dish will go with anything you would traditionally serve corn alongside. Now good eatin' on ya!!

Smilin' Paul Villa U.S. Senate 2010
cyber-Congressman, R-Reno
Proud Member of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy and 2 SUV Family