Fire Hydrant of Freedom

I agree completely, and this has been going on for quite a while. With each generation, it seems to become more evident. If I can plug another website (I hope that is okay here, if not, please take the link down---I have no affiliation with them): http://artofmanliness.com/. Lots of great articles and a forum (community), but it tends toward the liberal side of things, so I don't spend much time there. Plenty of articles on manhood, old-style shaving, clothing, etc.

Crafty, I apologize for not getting this posted here sooner. Mike Pence:

Why He Matters
At a Glance
Current Position: House Republican Conference Chairman (since November 2008)
Career History: Chairman,Republican Study Committee, 2005 to 2006; Member, U.S. House of Representatives, since 2001; Radio Host, Mike Pence Show, 1994 to 2000
Birthday: June 7, 1959
Hometown: Columbus, Ind.
Alma Mater: Hanover College, B.A., 1980; Indiana University, J.D, 1986
Spouse: Karen
Religion: Protestant
DC Office: 1317 Longworth House Office Building, 202-225-3021
District Offices: Anderson, 765-640-2919; Richmond, 765-962-2883; Muncie, 765-747-5566
Though he’s now one of the most prominent Republicans in the House, Pence never forgot his radio roots. As chair of the Republican Study Committee (RSC), Pence worked to promote the conservative agenda. He is a popular guest on television and radio and  knows how to use a press conference to his advantage. Friends have nicknamed him “Rush Limbaugh on decaf.”(1)
Pence’s profile rose in the 111th Congress as he assumed the title of House GOP Conference chairman, a post to which he was elected in November 2008 after Republicans were thrashed in the elections. As the face of a new House GOP leadership, Pence is charged with resurrecting Republicans’ battered brand and trying to sell it to a broad swath of voters. The new role seems tailor-made for the media-savvy Republican, who has challenged the party leadership in the past. “If you can’t communicate, you can’t govern,” he told Biz Voice magazine in 2007.(2)
Pence was first elected to Congress with 51 percent of the vote in 2000, and has been reelected easily since. He was named "Conservative of the Year" by Human Events in 2007.(3)

Path to Power
Pence was born in Columbus, Ind., one of six children. As a teenager, he was a supporter of President John F. Kennedy, in large part because, like Kennedy, he was raised Catholic.

Pence received his undergraduate degree from Hanover College in 1980. It was at Hanover that he experienced a conversion of sorts — from Democrat sympathizer to Republican, and from Catholic to evangelical protestant.
He attended Indiana University law school, where he received his J.D. in 1986.

Pence started working as an attorney, but quickly found his way into the political spotlight. He ran unsuccessfully for the House seat he now holds in 1988 and 1990, losing both times to Rep. Phil Sharp (D-Ind.), a moderate Democrat.
After his second defeat, Pence wrote a piece called “Confessions of a Negative Campaigner” for the Indiana Policy Review. In it, he quoted St. Paul and apologized for accusing his opponent of shady business dealings. “It is wrong, quite simply, to squander a candidate's priceless moment in history,” he wrote. “It seems more grievous that I left my supporters so few clues as to how I would have governed differently.”(4)
After his second defeat, Pence took a break from campaigning, but not from politics. He was the president of the Indiana Policy Review Foundation, a conservative think tank, and the radio host of “The Mike Pence Show, a right-leaning talk program that was syndicated across the state from 1994 to 2000.

U.S. House
When then-Rep. David McIntosh (R-Ind.) left his seat to run for governor in 2000, Pence jumped into the House race. He defeated five other candidates in the Republican primary. In the general election, he was opposed by Robert Rock, an attorney and the son of a former lieutenant governor. At the last minute Bill Frazier, a former Republican state senator, also entered the race as an independent.

Rock attacked Pence for his lack of military service and Frazier argued that he would offer more relief for middle- class families. But Pence’s call for across-the-board tax cuts and Medicare reform resonated with voters. He won with 51 percent of the vote.

Leading House Conservative
Pence quickly became one of the party’s leading conservative voices, railing against the dangers of big government. In 2005, he was elected unanimously as chairman of the conservative and powerful Republican Study Committee. In that job, he vowed to put more conservative federal judges on the bench, limit abortion rights and cut spending and entitlement programs like Medicaid.

Pence ran for House minority leader in 2006, arguing that the party needed to return to its “small government ideology.” However, Pence couldn’t overcome Minority Leader John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) popularity and his own reputation for opposing Republican legislation. He lost, 168 to 27.(5)
In 2008, former rival Boehner convinced him to run for GOP conference chairman. According to Politico, Pence had promised Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Tex.) he would stay out of the race, but  changed his mind. He ran unopposed.  (6)
Pence declined a run for retiring Sen. Evan Bayh's (D-Ind.) Senate seat in 2010.


The Issues
Pence is one of the most outspoken conservatives in the Republican Party. He is a particular champion of controlling the federal budget and cutting government spending, and also supports free markets and “traditional” values.

His decisions are guided by his religion — he tells people “I am a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order.”(7)
Pence voted with his party 91 percent of the time during the 110th Congress.( However, he has opposed his party on some key measures when they don’t conform to his political beliefs. He voted against President George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behing, the 2003 Medicare prescription drug benefit and a bankruptcy bill because it included a measure supporting abortion rights.(9)
Pence gained notice (and was attacked by many colleagues) when he challenged former Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s (R-Texas) assertion that it would be impossible to compensate for spending in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina with budget savings elsewhere. Pence and his conservative colleagues proposed numerous ways to save money in the federal budget through an initiative called Operation Offset.

Though the House GOP leadership was furious, “Operation Offset” sparked a debate in Washington and ushered in a renewed effort to limit government spending.

"Katrina breaks my heart," Pence said in 2005. "Congress must do everything the American people expect us to do to meet the needs of families and communities affected by Katrina. But we must not let Katrina break the bank for our children and grandchildren." (10)
Immigration
Pence was at the forefront of the 2006 immigration debate. He worked with Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) to draft a plan that would appeal to hard-line Republicans and proponents of a guest-worker program. The legislation would have required illegal aliens to leave the country and then return on a two-year visa, which could be extended if the recipient passed an English proficiency test.

The measure also proposed creating a privately-run database that would match immigrants with openings companies were unable to fill with Americans.(11)
The proposal was seen as political blasphemy by many in the GOP base. Conservative commentator Pat Buchanan likened Pence’s involvement with the plan to a scene of betrayal in the "The Godfather". Team America, a conservative political action committee, launched a web site feature called “Pence Watch.”(12)The measure ultimately failed.

Protecting Journalists
In 2008, Pence surprised conservatives by supporting a federal shield law that would have protected journalists from revealing their sources to federal officials. “What’s a conservative like me doing passing a law that helps reporters?” Pence asked during a House debate.

He explained “the only check on government power in real time is a free and independent press … it’s about protecting the public’s right to know.”(13)

Pence works closely with other conservative members of the House. He is especially close with Hensarling and Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Tex.). He worked with Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) on the 2005 federal shield law to protect journalists and has allied himself with prominent senators such as Hutchison.

Pence was the only House member to file a lawsuit charging that the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law was unconstitutional. At the time, he said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) “was so deep in bed with the Democrats his feet are coming out of the bottom of the sheets.”(14) Their relationship has remained chilly.

Soiurce: http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Mike_Pence

Of all the perspective candidates for '12 that I see now, Mike Pence is my pick at this stage in the game. Very articulate, ultra-conservative, and very principled. I think he would make an excellent POTUS.

It is amazing how little press this is getting. Reverse the roles and have Muslims suffer at the hands of Christians and that is all the talking heads of the MSM would broadcast.

I think the tea party movement is alive and well, and spurred on by folks like Glen Beck, Sara Palin, et al. Another group that is gaining traction is Tim Cox's group, "GOOH---Get Out of our House". GOOH was began by Tim Cox and completely financed by him up to this point. He is well off financially, and does not want anyone's money until they reach 500,000 members, which they are well on their way to reaching. Once they reach 500,000 members, he has a plan to replace every member of the House of Representatives with folks from GOOH, who are tested and agree to vote by their stated goals. Their website is: http://goooh.com/Home.aspx. Very interesting concept, and there is a growing number of American's that are sick and tired of the liberal, socialist government now in place. 2010 and 2012 will be very interesting election years.

To me, it is a very simple issue. I believe that murder is wrong, justified killing is not (i.e., self-defense, war). I believe that life begins at conception, and abortion is murder. Murder is wrong so abortion is wrong. The right to live trumps the right of the mother to make a "choice". Simple, IMO.

Absolutely! You do not learn how to "do" intelligence by sitting behind a desk and analyzing things you know nothing about.

The problem is that in the U.S., we have traded security for the illusion of security by implementing measures that look good on the outside, but are weak on the inside. While TSA works within the constraints and restrictions that are imposed upon them by the federal government, the fact is what they are doing does precious little to keep us safe. We should learn from the Israeli's about how to detect and foil terrorism before it happens and put political correctness aside. Searching Grandma holding onto a walker is idiotic, as much so as not searching the guy behind her that is wearing a turban, reading a Quran, has no luggage, and is paying with cash. This PC is going to be the death of America if we do not wise up.