Ron Paul took 1907 (52%) of the votes cast this weekend in the Illinois GOP Straw Poll. Cain was a distant second with 670 votes (18%) and Romney had 515 (14%).

The Chicago Tribne actually reported the results.

The StLToday.com web site (St. Louis) reported that "The Illinois straw poll _ at 3,649 votes _ surpassed such large states as Ohio, Florida and California that held straw polls earlier this year."

The main stream media would have us believe that Mitt Romney, or perhaps Herman Cain, are the front runners in the quest for the Republican presidential nomination. I beg to differ. As of October 22, 2011, here are the vote totals for Hermain Cain, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, and Mitt Romney from 33 Republican Straw Polls (see: Wikipedia):

I wanted to capture some of the all too common examples of really stupid government action - here are some of my favorites.

Career politicians are destroying our country. Career politicians are focused on the next election and how they can fund their campaign. This focus leads them to pander to special interests and to vote for issues supported by their political party to gain its support.

Politicians are the problem.
GOOOH is the solution.
www.GOOOH.com

I attended the Mock Candidate Selection session in Clear Lake, held at the Freeman Library at 7PM, February 1, 2010.

Imagine voting for a United States Representative that you had a direct role in nominating.

Imagine voting for a Representative that owes nothing to special interest groups.

Imagine voting for a Representative who has stated exactly how he or she will vote once in office, and has signed a binding contract to remove them self from office if they violate that contract.

Imagine voting for a Representative that will actually represent you, and not be pressured to vote according to the whims of the leadership of a political party.

Imagine voting for a Representative whose campaign is funded by a ordinary Americans, $100.00 at a time.

I was asked to prepare a short speech for the Jeff Daiell for Governor Reception and Fund Raiser held on December 5th, 2009. Here are my notes:

What is a Libertarian?

Bob Smither

I am not sure why Jeff asked me to talk on this topic to this group. Don't you guys already know what a Libertarian is? Many of you know better than I do.

Some things just can't be improved. DownsizeDC.org has provided the following letter to be sent to US Representatives about the 1900 page Health Care Bill:

"
Dear Representative ...

I object to the 1,900-page House healthcare bill precisely because it's 1,900 pages long. That's too much complexity.

I object because the word "regulation" appears in this bill 181 times, "tax" is there 214 times, and "fees" is used 103 times. I hate these words and I won't feel too good about you either if you inflict them on me.

On August 10, 2009, Speaker Pelosi co-authored an opinion piece with Majority Leader Steny Hoyer in USA Today. The title of their piece is "'Un-American' attacks can't derail health care debate." You can read it here:

http://tinyurl.com/mt2uvb

It is hard to know where to start in trying to counter the mis-information in this piece. I guess the first sentence is as good as any:

"Americans have been waiting for nearly a century for quality, affordable health care."

The Senate will soon vote on the confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Judge Sotomayor has repeatedly shown a disdain for our rights, especially those confirmed by the Second Amendment.

Using the FAX All Senators page at FaxYourOpinion.com I have sent a FAX to all US Senators with the following message. If you feel the same way, please let your Senators know. Feel free to cut and paste any of the following (except my name and address!) into your message.