A new Rasmussen poll released today shows Governor Rick Perry over Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson by 11 points among likely GOP primary voters. The poll results stand as following:

Perry: 46%
Hutchinson: 35%
Medina: 4%
Not Sure: 14%

The poll also shows the approval rating of Governor Perry among Republicans in the state, and a solid majority of GOP voters approve of the job Perry has done as Governor of the State of Texas. 73% of polled Republican voters said they believe Perry has been doing a god job (either strongly agree or somewhat agree), which again raises the question of why we should fire the CEO when the company has been running strong? We are in a time of economic woes and our state has one of the healthiest economies in the United States as well as one of the best job markets. We have a governor willing to stand by fiscal conservative values in a time when they are needed most as opposed to KBH who has had a inconsistent record backing policies that look after conservative values throughout her three terms as a U.S. Senator including approving the $700 billion bailout package passed late last year.

Everyone should check out this footage from the Glenn Beck show on Fox News. It is a message on where political correctness has taken our country. In an effort to avoid offending Muslims the White House has refused to label Nidal Hasan a radical Muslim fundamentalist or extremist despite the fact that he is. We know from intelligence gathered that Hasan was a Jihadist who massacred thirteen people and injured countless more because he believed it was his duty as a Muslim. We have evidence that Hasan attempted to get in contact with Al Queda . We have factual evidence that proves that the shooting in Fort Hood a week ago was not just an act of a mentally imbalanced individual who was depressed and didn’t want to be deployed. Nidal Hasan wasn’t just a gunman, he was a domestic terrorist, and a coward.

Our society is becoming more and more politically correct, and in the pursuit of trying to please everyone and not offend anyone the White House has decided that calling this man an extremist might be too much. However, the liberal viewpoint on political correctness is also a double standard. It is not okay to call the religious fundamentalist an extremist, but it is okay to call members of the Tea Party movement extremists and spread lies about them. For instance, President Obama wants you to believe that individuals who have participated in nationwide Tea Parties have physically assaulted elected officials. Really? This must be something only the White House knows, because no reports have surfaced anywhere to indicate that any elected official has been attacked anywhere by anyone who affiliates themselves with the Tea Party movement.

The White House also spoke of burnt effigies of congressional leaders. What? President Obama continues to live in his own fantasy land where he has his own perception of how things play out. Did Barack Obama publicly condemn the ultra-liberal protesters who burnt troop effigies in Portland or any other anti-war protest nationwide a couple of years ago? No, because they were just exercising their constitutionally protected right to free speech. The only difference is participants in nationwide Tea Parties haven’t done anything so radical. However, the people who conduct civil public protests to Democratic big government policies are labeled the extremists, and the people who call for the death of our soldiers and burn effigies of them are civil protesters completely justified. Are you kidding me?!?!

Nidal Hasan wasn’t just a gunman, he was a domestic terrorist. He was an extremist, and a coward. Hasan was a radical Islamic fundamentalist. Is there anyone offended by this? It is the truth. Nidal Hasan should be condemned to death and if there is a hell he will certainly burn in it. What I am saying is not considered politically correct, and I do NOT care. It is the truth, but there are some who will try to convince you that for the sake of political correctness we should hide the truth. The White House wants to sweep the truth under the rug for the sake of political correctness as does every single member of the radical left in Washington. Political correctness in this country has gotten out of hand.

Governor Rick Perry was at the Midland Republican Women’s weekly meeting yesterday along with Lt. Governor David Dewhurst. During his appearance he spoke before the crowd of GOP women regarding the current state of Texas and the impact the Obama administration is having on the State of Texas and the nation as a whole. During the speech Perry remarked that this administration is “hell-bent on taking America towards socialist country.” When leftists hear this claim they are quick to go on the attack calling such views ‘extreme’. To them, it unreasonable and irrational to make the assumption that a President who wants to expand the overall size of government, overstep his Constitutional boundaries, and put government regulations on businesses in the private sector on top of promoting universal health care is promoting a Socialist agenda.

Governor Perry began his speech talking about the Alien Transfer and Exit Program that the federal government is wanting to push on the State of Texas. Essentially what the program would do is transfer captured illegal immigrants to Presidio, TX instead of just deporting them directly, which is what current U.S. law says should happen. It is incomprehensible that the federal government continues to ignore the laws that are currently on the books. Political Science 101 teaches us that the role of the Executive Branch is to enforce the law, but what happens when we have an administration that doesn’t want to do that? Instead, President Obama is ‘punishing Texas’ as Perry puts it. Again, not such a radical idea if it is true. The problem with the Alien Transfer and Exit Program is that there is no guarantee that when the illegal immigrants are bused across the U.S.-Mexico border they will not just turn around and come back, which in all likeliness will happen except this time around they will find a new home, Texas. While this does not immediately create a burden for local communities, an increased influx of illegal immigrants certainly will.

Right now, Texas is a thorn in the side of the Obama administration. Why? It is because our state is not dependent on the federal government. With the strongest economic climate in the United States right now Texas has proven that responsible fiscal policies work much better than big government policies and excess irresponsible spending. It would be an irresponsible statement to say that President Obama and the radical left in Washington intentionally want to hurt this country, but it certainly does help their career. As long as people feel dependent on the government they will be able to push their own agenda. When Americans begin to feel dependent on the federal government Democrats in Washington can hold committee meetings behind closed doors without any accountability for disguising whatever it is they believe they need to hide from the people of this country. It might be irrational to say that the majority of Democrats want to intentionally do harm to our nation, but they certainly do not have the needs of the American people in mind, just their own agendas.

When there is zero transparency in government, and the Party in control of Congress and the Oval Office are scheming behind closed doors looking after only themselves and not what the American people need then, yes, it can invite Socialism into the federal government. It adds suspicion when President Obama promises bipartisanship and complete transparency and yet fails to deliver on that promise, and not by accident either. Barack Obama promised the American people that health care negotiations would be aired live on CNN and now congressional Republicans are not the only ones being shut out of these “negotiations”, but the people of this country as well. This is unacceptable. These examples are evidence that claims of Obama being hell-bent on taking the United States to Socialism are not radical or extreme, but true. If it were not true, what does Obama have to hide? If it were not true, what do congressional Democrats have to hide?

Governor Perry called for an increase in the Tea Party Movement, which has grown exponentially over the last year. This movement is important, because it shows the radical left in our nation’s capitol that there are many Americans who are not going to sit back and be silent as they continue to push through policies that do not help our country, but only hurt it even more.

Late last week Texas State Representative Chuck Hopson (HD-11) announced that he is officially switching to the Republican Party in the midst of political turmoil for the Democrats. There are so many Democrats and liberals who are making the claim that the results of the 2009 election meant nothing, and were not a referendum on Democratic leadership in Washington. If that were the case then why is Hopson and other Democrats now hiding in the Republican Party? When the national perception of President Bush declined Republicans lost seats in all levels and areas of government in 2006 and 2008. President Barack Obama has not even been in office a full year and the national perception of him and the radical left in Washington has dropped substantially. Democrats all over the country, including local and state officials here in the State of Texas see that the political winds are beginning to change quickly and they are in danger of losing their seats.

The Yong Conservatives of Texas, a independent, non-partisan, grassroots organization devoted to the preservation of conservative and Texas values quickly came out against Hopson’s decision to turn tail on his party and seek shelter in the Republican Party of Texas. Rep. Hopson’s legislative record shows that he does not belong in the GOP and in a time when the conservative revolution is taking hold once again in the Republican Party we do NOT want liberal Democrats like Hopson with a career YCT legislative rating of 39 claiming to represent the RPT. This score is unacceptable for a member of the Republican Party.

We are seeing a number of true conservatives emerge as rising stars in the Republican Party of Texas, and the last thing we need is an empty suit like Chuck Hopson who will only hurt the state GOP. The RPT issued a statement welcoming Rep. Hopson. To them it is one more seat for Republicans. The term ‘R.I.N.O’ would be too nice of a term to describe Chuck Hopson. He is a wolf in sheep’s clothing seeking safe harbor in the Republican Party in an effort to safe his own political career. Republicans in House District 11 should be well informed that Chuck does not represent true Republican values.

To all members of our armed services, to the men and women who are willing to sacrifice everything to defend our country from enemies both foreign domestic thank you for your service. You are willing to answer the call few are willing to answer. It is because of y’all that we get to enjoy the liberties and rights that we enjoy on the daily basis, and it is because of you that our nation remains secure. Too all of our troops from all branches of the military, and those who have served you are heroes and deserve to be honored as such. Thank you for all that you do!

ABC has come out with a pretty good remake of a television series from the early 1980s called “V”. “V” is about an alien race that comes to earth with promises of peace, hope, and the betterment of humanity as they attempt to receive help from mankind to get back home. The twist is that they are not good, and seek to annihilate the human race. The series stars cast members not new to the sci-fi genre including Alan Tudyk (3:10 to Yuma, Knocked Up, A Knight’s Tale) who is known by any fan of the Firefly series as Hoban “Wash” Washburne. He was also the voice of Sonny in I, Robot. Another familiar face from the Firefly series is Morena Baccarin (Heartland, Stargate SG-1, Firefly) who plays the head alien Anna. Other fairly big names in the series are Morris Chestnut, Scott Wolf, Christopher Shyer, and Joel Gretsch.

For the last week since the pilot episode aired on television there has been much speculation that the show has a right-wing agenda, because the “Visitors” or “Vs” as the aliens are called in the show come promising hope, change, and peace. At the same time they promise to provide things like universal health care, and technological advancements that would benefit all mankind. They present themselves to the world as non-hostile, tranquil beings that only want to help and garnish a cult like devotion among humans, but go around killing any human who suspects them of having an evil alternative motive. There are liberal bloggers in the blogosphere that are claiming that the Vs are a metaphor for the Obama administration.

Even if the show did have a conservative bias to it, does the show not convey an important message? President Obama promised hope and promised change in America without any substance to back up his eloquent campaign speeches in 2008. On the surface they were just words, but the lesson is not to take words on face value alone. Had the President done anything before to indicate that he would deliver on his promises? No, he hadn’t. He had no experience, and no accomplishes to his name. Yet, so many were willing to jump on the Obama bandwagon because of two words. He developed this cult like following built on devotion. Joel Gretch plays a Catholic preacher is the series, and in the pilot episode he is giving a sermon and he says something very interesting. He talks about how we should make sure the bandwagon is sturdy before we jump on it, because it could collapse and fall apart on us. The Obama bandwagon fell apart pretty quickly with failed economic policies, and unfulfilled promises. President Obama promised to bring change in Washington, but he has proven to be no different than any other liberal Democrat in our nation’s capitol. This is not change.

I am not totally convinced that V is meant to be a critique of the Obama administration. It is one of the few television remakes that can be considered good with a solid cast to provide its foundation. It is pretty disappointing that there will only be four shows this fall, and then the rest of the season will not come out until the Spring. Apparently there were some problems during the production which caused delays for the rest of the season. Even if V was a metaphorical critique of President Obama, and the radical left in Washington I would say it was a pretty accurate one. Besides, it is about time there was a show on ABC with conservative bias to it.

V airs Tuesday nights on ABC at 7 PM CST.

For the soldiers of Ft. Hood, the entire military, the city of Killeen, the State of Texas, and the entire nation this is a day of remembering those who were killed during the heinous mass shooting that took place at Ft. Hood last Thursday afternoon. Today there was a military memorial service for the fallen. It is hard to comprehend how something like this could have happened, what could drive someone to such a despicable act of domestic terrorism, which took the lives of many of our finest. These troops who were killed last Thursday were willing to serve their country, and sacrifice everything to defend it, and our liberties. These men and women deserve to be honored, and praised for their willingness to put their lives on the line for our nation.

We must remember that all of our troops are also someone’s son, daughter, sister, brother, husband, wife, mother, or father. These servicemen and women have families, they have a life outside the military, and yet they are willing to put all of that on hold when called to service, because they know they are fighting for something worth fighting for, defending something worth holding on to. It is a shame that those who fell late last week had their lives cut short in a despicable act of cowardice.

A military memorial service was held this afternoon to remember and honor the fallen. The memorial service was aired live on nationally televised news stations including Fox News and CNN. Lt. General Robert Cone began the service, and acknowledged that the men and women being honored today answered a call that few are willing to answer. They were willing to make the sacrifice that not many are willing to make. “Soldiers do what soldiers to best, take care of each other,” Lt. Gen Cone commented reflecting on the number of soldiers to put their training into action when it was needed most saving who knows how many more lives last week. These troops are heroes and deserved to recognized as such. All of the fine men and women in our armed services are heroes and always deserve to recognized as such.

General George Casey remarked on the connection that every soldier in the Army, and in every branch of our military has to each other. He quoted the Book of Isiah, Chapter 8, verse 6: “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” When our servicemen and women put on that military uniform every day they are reaffirming the pledge they made to defend our country, and when few are willing to stand and say “Here am I. Send me”, these men and women are.

President Barack Obama spoke before the army personnel, family, and friends of Ft. Hood. President Obama remarked on the fact that there are no words that could offer the amount of condolences to make the wrong right. He commented that the legacy of our troops is the domestic tranquility that we experience every day. The protection of the freedoms and rights that we enjoy, and often take for granted are the legacy of these men and women. President Obama spoke of all of the fallen from the tragic events of last Thursday. “Their lives speak of the strength, dignity, and decency of those who serve,” the President remarked. He also spoke on the fact that no faith justifies such an abhorrent act of violence, and no God who would smile down on it. The president’s words were eloquent as we come to expect from Barack Obama, and regardless of how you feel about the policies of Obama his words were appropriate and a testimonial to the strength, the courage, and the willingness to give all in the service of our country that our troops show every single day when.

Probably the most powerful part of the service was the final roll call. The names of the troops of Ft. Hood are called out, and when one of the fallen is called out a soldier yells out that they are no longer with us. It was a moving service, and a good tribute to our fallen troops. Our thoughts and prayers should continue to be with the soldiers of Ft. Hood, and the loved ones of the victims.

Late last night the U.S. House passed a comprehensive health care reform bill that was so broad and complex that it was 1,500+ pages long. The amount of bureaucracy involved in this bill is so massive that it is no wonder why the bill is so large, but the size of the bill is just a symbol of the massive expansion in government that will occur if this health care bill passes the Senate. The real test for the bill is going to be the Senate, because there are more ‘Blue Dog’ Democrats who have their head on straight in the Senate then there is in the House. It was a close vote in the House, 220-215, but it will be an even closer vote in the Senate.

There are two problem prevalent here. The first is that the bill is so large it makes you wonder how many Congressmen and women can honestly say they read the bill. We have congressional leaders, a Democratically controlled House that is willing to pass bills without reading them. These pieces of legislation have a huge impact on our country, and our nation’s future, and it will affect every single American citizen and our leaders on Capitol Hill are not even reading the bills they are passing. I am sure the minds behind the health care bill were well aware that not very many of the representatives were going to read it, and it was this ‘too big to fail’ mentality. Nancy Pelosi was ecstatic yesterday, because in the end she got her way regardless of what is best for the American people. The radical left in Washington are doing things their own way and are not looking after the needs of the taxpayer.

The second problem is that the majority of Americans’ chief concern is not health care. Health care is not at the bottom of the list of concerns, but it is not at the top. The people of this country are discontent over the state of the economy. They want solutions to the rising unemployment rate that Democrats promised would go down when the stimulus package was passed earlier this year. They assured Americans that millions of jobs would be saved or created every month, and instead of that happening the amount of jobs saved and/or created was no where near what they promised, and millions of people have lost their jobs. The stimulus package did nothing to resurrect the declining job market. The only thing the stimulus package has accomplished is adding more to our national deficit and debt, and the American people see this and they are angry.

Both Republicans and Democrats produce polls showing the majority of Americans either support or don’t support a public option plan, Rasmussen comes out with a poll that shows the majority of American people do not agree with the Democrats’ position on health care at the same time a Washington Post/ABC poll shows the majority of Americans want a public option. I am more inclined to trust Rasmussen over WaPo, because the Post has always had its own agenda, and is the biggest example of yellow journalism in the country. However, I would be willing to bet that regardless of the fact that the majority of Americans don’t support a public option plan most Americans are tired of the health care reform debate, because congressional Democrats are not focused on the needs and concerns of the American people.

The American people are frustrated, and are tired of being ignored. That is why Democrats lost big on Tuesday, and that is why the Republican comeback is starting now. Republicans addressed the needs of the American people more than Democratic leaders have, and constituents all over the United States are starting to see that we were better off with Republican leadership, but more so than that we would be better of with economically conservative leaders. The majority of the people in this country want limited government and responsible spending, not the excess spending going on in Washington that does nothing to benefit taxpayers.

In the evening hours of Thursday it was reported that Maj. Nidal Hasan, the man responsible for the Ft. Hood shooting yesterday afternoon that has claimed the lives of about a dozen people, and wounding over thirty, was a desperate man at the end of his rope because he did not want to be deployed and he was constantly harassed on the military base by other soldiers. This was at least what Hasan’s cousin, Nadal, told reporters. However, the abhorrent act of violence that took place yesterday may have been more than the work of a mentally imbalanced soldier fearing deployment, but the work of a military jihadist.

This conclusion was not made solely on the fact that Hasan publicly identified himself as a devout Muslim, but from the events that took place yesterday. According to reports, witnesses reported hearing Hasan yell “Allahu Akbar!” before opening fire, which translates to “Allah is great”. It is hard to believe that someone who was just extremely depressed would yell this unless there was an alternative motive to his actions. It has also been reported that Nidal Hasan was calm, and took a ‘measured approach’ before opening fire. Hasan was shot a number of times during the events of yesterday, and he was originally reported dead, but it was later announced that the Hasan had not been killed and was still alive and in custody.

There can never be a justified reason for a horrific mass shooting like the tragedy that occurred yesterday. It was despicable, and Nidal Hasan is a coward. Whether it was because he didn’t want to be deployed or an act of domestic terrorism Hasan is a coward. He opened fire on an unsuspecting crowd with an M-16 assault rifle, the standard issued rifle to army personnel. Many of the soldiers who lost their lives at Ft. Hood were getting ready to serve our country overseas. They were willing to sacrifice their time, their energy, and their lives for the service of our country. These men and women should be honored as they always should for this.

All the victims from yesterday’s shooting should be in our thoughts and prayers. If you would like to give blood to help injured victims and you live in the Central Texas area please visit The Blood Center of Central Texas. If you do not live in central Texas then please visit www.carterbloodcare.org or call 1-800-DONATE-4. Donated blood is still needed.

Cross post from Under The Lone Star Sky.

Earlier this afternoon a mass shooting occurred on the Ft. Hood army base in Killeen, TX. It has been confirmed that at least seven have been killed. How many of those are soldiers and how many are civilians is unclear, but is also reported that up to thirty additional people were injured. The number has grown since the initial report so this is not a confirmed number.

There are still a lot of things that remain unclear about the shooting as details from the base have been limited. It is believed that there were three shooters involved. One of those shooters has been injured and is now in custody, and there are possibly two other shooters on the run. The identity of the men responsible has not been released by Ft. Hood officials. It is clear that the shooters could have been anyone, and not necessarily disgruntled members of our military.

According to military officials it is not that hard to get on the base. All you need to enter Ft. Hood is a driver’s license, and not every car entering the base is searched. The only time every vehicle would be searched is if the base was on alert, and vehicles that are searched are searched because of reasonable suspicion. This could have very well been a terrorist attack. More details will come as they are released. Our thoughts and prayers should go out to Ft. Hood and the citizens of Killeen.

UPDATE: 9 now reported dead, 27 reported injured.

One of the shooters was shot and killed. He was a soldier stationed at the base. There are two other soldiers in custody as suspects.

UPDATE: 12 confirmed dead, 31 reported injured.

The man behind the shooting has been identified as Army Major Malik Nadal Hasan, a military psychiatrist, who was injured during the shooting. Hasan’s cousin came out and said that he feared deployment.

Maj. Hasan wanted to be released before he was deployed overseas after the stories he heard of soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, and according to his cousin he was freqeuntly harassed on the military base.