Richardson @ MindSay

            I’ll probably vote Republican for president next year.  No big deal.  I’ve done it for the past three, and the so-called “top tier” Democratic candidates haven’t done a thing to convince me to do otherwise.

            We’ve got Hillary Clinton, the former first lady who rode her husband’s coattails to a Senate seat.  If eight years on the sidelines in the White House qualifies you for the U.S. Senate, that elevator operator who was there for 40 years should be King of the World.

            Then there’s Barack Obama.  Many of the very people who claimed George W. Bush wasn’t qualified to be president after only six years as governor of the second largest state in the nation think this guy is the second coming of George Washington after only three years as one of 100 senators.

            And don’t forget John Edwards.  He did so much for North Carolina, after all, he surely deserves a shot to screw up the whole country.  He gets $400 haircuts and claims to relate to the poor.  I had to roll up some pennies to pay for my last $12 haircut.  That’s relating to the poor.

            There is, however, one Democrat who has been shut out by the national media’s fascination with the aforementioned three stooges.  The more I learn about him, the more I like him.  New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is the one Democrat I could support, and I’m beginning to think he, more than any other candidate of either party, has the right stuff to go all the way.

            Richardson has 15 years of experience in Congress, something the Big Three, particularly Obama, cannot boast.  Prior to his election to the House in 1980, he worked at the State Department, and then was a staff member for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

            As a congressman, he met one-on-one with Saddam Hussein in 1995 to secure the release of two American civilian aerospace workers held prisoner in Iraq after accidentally crossing the border from Kuwait.

            In addition to Iraq, Richardson has also negotiated the release of hostages, American servicemen, and political prisoners from North Korea and Cuba.  Earlier this year, he traveled to Sudan and brokered a cease-fire between President Omar al-Bashir and various rebel factions in Darfur.  While that effort was to prove unsuccessful—through no fault of Gov. Richardson’s—I can’t help but think that a man who has earned the respect of even rogue dictators can surely restore the world’s faith in America as an international leader.

            In 1997, Richardson was able to capitalize on his foreign policy experience when President Clinton appointed him U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, where he served for a year before becoming Secretary of Energy.

            As secretary, he implemented tough efficiency standards that saved consumers billions of dollars in energy costs.  As governor, he has required energy companies to produce 10% of all energy from renewable resources, while reducing carbon emissions; and the state is moving toward 20% by providing incentives for solar, wind, and biofuels.  He has promised to do the same as president.

            Since being elected governor of one of the poorest states in the nation in 2002, Richardson has cut taxes, balanced the budget, and created 84,000 new jobs...all without the benefit of a $400 hairdo.  His efforts have led right-of-center and libertarian groups to praise him for reforming New Mexico’s economy.  The libertarian Cato Institute calls Richardson “one of the most fiscally responsible Democratic governors in the nation.”

            Gov. Richardson has worked to provide affordable healthcare to all people in his state, and has cracked down on illegal immigration across the New Mexico border.

            It is noteworthy that while Democratic frontrunner Hillary is as polarizing a figure as the current President Bush, Gov. Richardson commands respect on both sides of the aisle.  He was reelected in 2006, with 40% of the Republican vote.  He had a good track record of getting things done in a bipartisan fashion while in Congress, and he’s worked with both parties in the New Mexico legislature to improve their state.  His is the kind of leadership we desperately need in Washington.

            It’s been said that Hillary and Obama are riding high because people want to say they made history by electing the first woman or the first black president.  Okay…if you’re so shallow that that’s the only reason you’ll vote for somebody, issues be damned, vote to elect the first president of Hispanic descent.

            You not only will have made history, you’ll have voted for someone who knows what he’s doing, isn’t on an ego trip, and has the experience and leadership to restore pride at home and respect around the world.

© 2007 by J.D. Lewis

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If you have net access, http://impact.myspace.com is the place to go to discover the "twenty-first century" comfort level of those who would be our next President. Here�s a quick first day, and week later, snapshot:

Well, that�s the skinny on the new http://impact.myspace.com standings. As online polls go, MySpace is about as good a benchmark as any. Consider it insight into how the organizational skills, and general net public contact savvy of the respective candidates will play out among the young.

When I first heard about this story I was horrified.The first newspaper articles reported a triple homicide,with the teenage daughter Jasmine Richardson missing.It was only a few hours later that was updated.As it turns out Jasmine who is 12 years old,was found with her 23 year old boyfriend Jeremy Steinke.They were found hiding out in Leader,Saskatchewan.Hiding out because they had just commited murder.Marc Richardson 42,Debra 48 & son Jacob 8 were murdered in their home sometime on April 23rd.

The R.C.M.P are not releasing details on how the family was murdered, but according to some of the duo's friends the family were killed with a knife.Apparently the two had been planning this horrific crime for sometime.They told friends what they were planning,but nobody took them seriously.

What do we know about Jeremy Steinke.Depends who you talk to.A quote from his mother. "He's not the man everybody thinks he is," Jacqueline May says."This is my son," she said, holding her favourite picture showing a clean-cut, smiling Steinke in his 16th year. "He has a heart of gold," May, 43, said Wednesday, sitting in her old trailer in a mobile home community on the edge of Medicine Hat near the airport. "We may not be rich, but we have a lot of love," she added.But a darker side of Steinke emerged across town, where two of his friends described how he professed to be a 300-year-old werewolf and that he liked the taste of blood. At the last full moon, Steinke warned an acquaintance not to come for a walk with him and a friend along the river. "He said, 'I wouldn't suggest it. We'll tear you limb from limb,' " said Daniel Clark, a 22-year-old who knew Steinke for about five weeks. "I said, 'Excuse me?' And he said, 'Yeah. I'll eat you.' And I said, 'You come near me, and I swear to God, I have a baseball bat in my shop. I'll beat you up.' " Clark never took the claim seriously, even though he once saw Steinke wearing what he thought was a small vial of blood around his neck. Steinke also referred to himself as a "lycan" -- short for lycanthrope, or werewolf. "I said, 'Yeah, whatever floats your boat.' " Jordan Attfield, 17, a former roommate of the accused killer, said Steinke once deliberately cut his hand with a knife and licked it. "He never drank blood out of a glass or anything. I never saw that, but he did when he saw it on himself. He'd lick it up," said Attfield, who said he, too, believes in lycanthropy. Despite Steinke's odd behaviour, Clark said he felt the accused killer seemed to be a decent person. "He was very respectful in me and my girlfriend's home. He never swore at us,".

We don't know a whole heck of alot about Jasmine.Her family moved to Okotoks,Alberta from Ontario a few years ago.They than ended up moving to Medicine Hat.I do know Jasmine loved the internet.She has public profiles at a few spots.Most have now been shut down due to requests from the police.

Depending on who you believe there are a couple of ways this duo were supposed to have met.Some say they met on a website called Vampire Freaks,others say they met at a local concert.Irregardless,they met,they killed.All in a very short time of meeting one another.

The website Vampire Freaks really concerns me,and should concern any parent out there whose children surf the net.I have spent a few hours reading comments on this site and it disturbs me.There are piles of comments about the murderers.For anyone who decides to go reading here be warned of graphic language.Most posters agree these two need to pay for their crimes.The scary thing in reading these posts are these kids spend no time feeling any remorse for what happened to this poor family.They feel mostly sorry for themselves.Once again their Goth lifestyle has been thrown into the limelight.Schools are banning their "look",people are under the assumption all "Goth's" are killers.This is just not true.You cannot blame a fad or religion on these crimes.You also cannot blame people for being scared.Ever since the Columbine shootings,we are more aware and leery of people who practice said cultures.

On May 2nd Jeremy was back in court,one his friends had this to say after his appearance."He's a good guy. I've known him for a couple of years. I went to school and high school with him. He's a good guy, a good-hearted individual who just cares about people,"

"I will support him 100 per cent along the way . . . He is amazing," she said.

He is so amazing this friend  Kacy Lancaster ,19,is now charged with being as an accessory after the fact to murder  and destroying evidence.Kacy lives right behind the house where the scene of the murder took place.She apparently helped get rid of the murder weapon,and drove the two to Leader.If convicted she faces life in prison.

If Jeremy is convicted he also faces life in prison.If Jasmine is convicted its a different story.She is a juvenile offender.Max she is looking at 6 years in a young offender centre,and 4 years of probation afterwards.It is scary to think by the year 2012 this girl who will than be a woman,will be walking the streets.And we will not have a clue who she is.I think our young offender program is a pile of crap,but thats another blog on another day

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I doubt we will ever have the answers to the questions about these murders.What makes a 12 year old girl want to kill her family?Supposedly they did it because they were in love.The Richardsons were trying to stop the relationship.In the eyes of the law Jeremy is considered a pedophile for being with a 12 year old,and new charges may apply to this as time goes on.The two were very upset,Jasmine was grounded to her room.The Richardsons had even contacted the police in hope of keep Steinke away from Jasmine.The only place the two had any contact in the end was at her school where he would go to visit her.

As of yet neither of them have any remorse whatsoever for what they have done to this poor family.At their appearances in court last week,they were both said to have no emotions.They stared at the judge stoically .Jasmine's lawyer says she is overwhelmed and does not yet understand the ramifications of her situation.Both have been sent to Calgary,Jasmine to the young offender centre to attend school,Steinke to the hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.Both will appear in Medicine Hat court again in June.

The only link that is still active to any of the accounts owned by Steinke & Richardson,is one at Vampire Freaks.Jasmine's account has been torn down somewhat,her journal has been erased.But the comments are still there.Here is the link for her account.Like I said above beware if you do not like to read graphic stuff.

Jasmine's VF Account-http://vampirefreaks.com/u/-x-killer-kitty-x-