Tag: Tennessee

The Shelby County School Consolidation: A Lesson in Liberal Overestimation

On By kingsjesterIn Politics5 Comments

children41313I was entering the tenth grade in 1973, when forced busing began in the city of Memphis, TN. To say that it was a time of great upheaval would be an understatement.

In my Middle Class neighborhood, in my typical Memphis City School, our administration tried to make accommodations for the new students. They decided that there would be two Sophomore Commissioners on the Student Council, a White one and a Black one. I was elected as the White Commissioner, and the last I heard of the fellow who became the Black Commissioner, he was a Doctor at Johns Hopkins.

And now, 40 years later, students in the Former Shelby County School System, are beginning to enter their own “Brave New World.”.

You see, a couple of years ago, the then overwhelmingly majority-Black Memphis City School System was swirling down the ol’ porcelain receptacle at an alarming rate. Decades of poor management and fiscal irresponsibility had taken a fatal toll. The City School Board was besieged by parents and city leaders alike, wanting them to actually do their jobs, and turn the struggling school system around. Of course, neither they, nor the school system’s overpaid administration had a clue as to how to actually be fiscally responsible leaders.

So, one of the mountebanks on the school board had an idea: Surrender the System’s Charter to the state, thereby dissolving the System, and forcing a merger with the fiscally sound, White-majority Shelby County School System.

In fact, in the “interest of fairness”, they held a referendum to allow the citizens to vote on whether to merge the school systems or not. The motion overwhelmingly passed.

Of course, the fact that they only allowed Memphis residents, and not the entire county to vote on the measure, probably had something to do with the outcome, don’t ya think?

An Interim School Board was formed, whose make-up just happens to have more representatives from the city system on it than the county’s. (Yeah. I was shocked, too. …Not.)

Then a discussion was started as to which School Superintendent to keep, the City’s or the County’s.

They “compromised” and gave both of them the boot.

But, not so fast. Again, “in the interest of fairness”, an attorney for the City Schools was made the new Superintendent. (Are you catching on, yet?)

Sounds like things were going just as the City School Board’s Professional Politicians planned, huh?

Well, in every life a little rain must fall. The Tennessee State Legislature ruled that the municipalities in the county could form their own separate school systems, if their citizens voted for it.

They did. (Dateline: July 16, 2013)

Voters in six Memphis suburbs decided Tuesday [July  to start public school districts in the municipalities where they live.

Residents of Arlington, Bartlett, Collierville, Germantown, Lakeland and Millington overwhelmingly approved separate school systems in the second vote on the issue in less than a year. A federal judge invalidated the first vote.

More than 90 percent of voters in four of the six suburbs voted to approve new school systems, according to the Shelby County Election Commission. Eighty-seven percent of voters in Lakeland and 74 percent in Millington voted “yes.”

The suburbs want to avoid the massive merger between the struggling Memphis City Schools system and the more successful Shelby County Schools system. Suburban leaders and many parents fear that education quality and academic achievement will suffer if they join the huge merged system — known as the Unified School District — and they want control of their own school systems.

The merger, which has created a school system of 150,000 students, is to begin operating when classes start in August. Experts say the merger represents one of the largest school consolidations in decades.

But the makeup of that system could only last a year — the six new suburban systems could start operating in 2014.

Critics say the suburban separation will hamper the massive consolidation efforts, which have included intense budget battles and layoffs of hundreds of teachers and office employees. Some board members in the unified district worry about losing quality teachers and administrators to the new districts. They also stand to lose valuable tax dollars to the breakaway systems.

But the six suburbs have been galvanized in their efforts, spending hundreds of thousands in taxpayer dollars in a campaign that has included community meetings, public rallies and a bitter legal fight in federal court. All six municipalities already have voted to raise taxes to pay for schools.

A judge in November ruled that the earlier suburban schools vote in August 2012 violated the Tennessee constitution because it dealt with only one county. Lawmakers in Nashville wrote and passed a new law that applied statewide and allowed Tuesday’s vote.

You know , I saw yesterday where Nancy Pelosi and her Liberal brethren want to have a “National Conversation on Race”, in the wake of George Zimmerman being found not guilty of murder, in the case of Trayvon Martin.

This would not be a conversation, it would be a lecture, given by a bunch of didactic, pompous Liberals, who believe that they are smarter than average Americans.

Just like the Memphis City School Board thought that they were being smart by completely destroying what was once an award-winning school system, instead of taking responsibility for their own actions, or lack thereof.

Do you see the parallel, boys and girls?

Liberals overestimate their own intelligence…and nothing good ever comes from it.

Until He Comes,

KJ

US Attorney Warns Against Talking Mean About Muslims on the Internet

On By kingsjesterIn Politics5 Comments

obamabillofrightsIt’s not often that a meeting held in a small city like Tullahoma, Tennessee makes the national news. However, with Americans’ heightened sensitivity concerning the fear of their Constitutional Rights being taken away, when a U.S. Attorney says that if we talk mean about those who want to kill us infidels on the Internet, we could be jailed for it…well…that makes everyone stand up and take notice.

Here’s the story from tullahomanews.com:

A special meeting has been scheduled for the stated purpose of increasing awareness and understanding that American Muslims are not the terrorists some have made them out to be in social media and other circles.

“Public Disclosure in a Diverse Society” will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 4, at the Manchester-Coffee County Conference Center, 147 Hospitality Blvd.

Special speakers for the event will be Bill Killian, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee, and Kenneth Moore, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Knoxville Division.

Sponsor of the event is the American Muslim Advisory Council of Tennessee — a 15-member board formed two years ago when the General Assembly was considering passing legislation that would restrict those who worship Sharia Law, which is followed by Muslims.

Killian and Moore will provide input on how civil rights can be violated by those who post inflammatory documents targeted at Muslims on social media.

“This is an educational effort with civil rights laws as they play into freedom of religion and exercising freedom of religion,” Killian told The News Monday. “This is also to inform the public what federal laws are in effect and what the consequences are.”

Killian said the presentation will also focus on Muslim culture and how, that although terrorist acts have been committed by some in the faith, they are no different from those in other religions.

He referred to the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing in which Timothy McVeigh, an American terrorist, detonated a truck bomb in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995. Commonly referred to as the Oklahoma City Bombing, the attack killed 168 people and injured more than 800.

…Killian [also] referred to a Facebook posting made by Coffee County Commissioner Barry West that showed a picture of a man pointing a double-barreled shotgun at a camera lens with the caption saying, “How to Wink at a Muslim.”

Killian said he and Moore had discussed the issue.

“If a Muslim had posted ‘How to Wink at a Christian,’ could you imagine what would have happened?” he said. “We need to educate people about Muslims and their civil rights, and as long as we’re here, they’re going to be protected.”

Killian said Internet postings that violate civil rights are subject to federal jurisdiction.

“That’s what everybody needs to understand,” he said.

Killian said slide show presentations will be made.

Zak Mohyuddin, a Muslim Advisory Council member, said a shortened version of a documentary called “Welcome to Shelbyville” will also be featured.

The documentary, produced by the Public Broadcasting Service, spotlights recent demographic changes in nearby Shelbyville, with a focus on the growing number of immigrants from Latin America and Somalia with many Somalis from the Bantu minority ethnic group which practices Islam.

Mohyuddin said Muslims across the nation consistently issue press releases condemning terrorist acts, but the media usually does not pick up the information. He added that the apparent silence leaves the impression that Muslims do not condemn such acts.

Like Killian, Mohyuddin said word needs to be spread so more people understand the Muslim culture.

“It is in the self-interest of Muslims in the United States to counter violent extremism, because we and our children do not want to be viewed with suspicion,” Mohyuddin said. “The Muslim community is a vital resource in the fight against terrorism.”

Killian said he has made other presentations in the state about Muslim culture and civil rights laws, and the Muslims he’s become acquainted with are outstanding citizens.

“Some of the finest people I’ve met are Muslims,” he said, adding later: “We want to inform everybody about what the law is, but more importantly, we want to provide what the law means to Muslims, Hindus and every other religion in the country.

“It’s why we came here in the first place. In England, they were using Christianity to further their power in government. That’s why the First Amendment is there.”

I have a couple of objections for Attorney Killian and his friends…

First off…while I have met some very nice American Muslims, I have also delivered audio/visual equipment to a mosque where I was looked at as if they wanted to take a scimitar to my neck.

If Moderate Muslims are not behind their radical brethren’s eternal jihad against us infidels, they need to get their mugs in front of the cable news networks’ TV cameras and say so…because all I see representing them when I turn on the news, are the abrasive members of CAIR, blaming America for all the world’s troubles .

Secondly, about the First Amendment to the Constitution to the United States…

It protects my rights, also!!!

The most basic component of freedom of expression is the right of freedom of speech. The right to freedom of speech allows American citizens to express themselves without interference or constraint by the government.

If Mr. Killian were to bring a case before the Supreme Court concerning a blogger being mean to Muslims, the court would require him to provide substantial justification for the interference with the right of free speech in his attempt to regulate the content of the speech.

The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America reads as follows…

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

You know what’s so great about our country? Our American Freedom. Earlier this week, we remembered those who fought and died, so that we could remain free.

It is that same American Spirit which fuels a lot of Conservative Bloggers, Mr. Killian. Including me.

If I write that it was a bunch of cowardly Saudi Arabian Radical Muslim Terrorists, who killed over 3,000 Americans, in the biggest Terrorist Attack ever on American soil, on September 11th, in the Year of  Our Lord Jesus Christ, 2001, my freedom of speech would protect me for making that statement, because it has been proven to be the truth.

And, if I then write that, I hope that, when they arrived at their ultimate destination, they became extra crispy and were immediately surrounded by their 72 virgins, who all looked like Nancy Pelosi and sang like Roseanne Barr, then that would be my opinion, and would still be covered by my Constitutional Right to Freedom of Speech. 

The Constitutional Right to Freedom of Speech, as specified in the First Amendment, is unalterable and not subject to Political Correctness or Expediency.

It is that same First Amendment which allowed Presidential Candidate Barack Hussein Obama to call Americans “Bitter Clingers”.

Our First President, George Washington, said,

If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.

So, this American, born of the Greatest Generation, intends to keep speaking his mind concerning those Radical Followers of Islam who want to kill us.

You see…I’m rather fond of my head. And, I intend to keep it.

Until He Comes,

KJ

The War Against Christianity: Battleground Memphis, TN

On By kingsjesterIn Politics6 Comments

Last fall, I told you about the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s war against Prayer before High School Football Games in DeSoto County, Mississippi, where I presently reside.

Well, now this little group of Athiests is attacking my hometown.

WREG.com reports:

The Freedom from Religion Foundation believes Memphis is one of the worst offenders in the nation, when it comes to the separation of church and state in which the group believes.

The Memphis City Council has opened their meetings with a prayer since 1968.

Some council members say they’ve received complaints from the public about the prayers, but the majority of people in Memphis support it.

The Freedom from Religion Foundation says it doesn’t care how many people support the prayers, they believe it’s in violation of the constitution.

Others however point out the phrase never appears in the Constitution.

The Freedom from Religion Foundation says they get complains about prayer at government meetings from around the country, but they consider Memphis City Council to be one of the worst.

“Exclusively Christian prayers, goody bags to the ministers, giving them all kinds of attention at the meetings, turning it into kind of religious ritual,” said Annie Laurie Gaylor with the Freedom from Religion Foundation.

The Foundation believes some people are made to think they must pray also, or council won’t consider their requests.

Council Member Myron Lowery disagrees, “That has no effect at all on any of the decision we make or the deliberations we make. We accept things based on their merit.

Lowery says he thinks the Memphis City Council is a target, because it’s been doing it for so long.

He also says members promote diversity through the prayers and invite priests, rabbis and Islamic leaders to take part.

Regardless, the allegations could cost the city.

Lowery says he hopes the city’s attorneys will handle the case, but if they have to bring in outside attorneys to fight the suit, it could cost tax payer money.

The Freedom from Religion Foundation says they have not filed the lawsuit against the city yet, but they expect to very soon.

So, who are these people?

Discoverthenetworks.com tells us about them in great detail:

Founded in 1978, the nonprofit, tax-exempt Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) consists of more than 13,000 members and calls itself “the largest association of freethinkers (atheists and agnostics) in the United States.” Its mission is “to promote free thought and to keep state and church separate.”

According to FFRF, religion invariably has been a negative force in human societies. “The history of Western civilization shows us that most social and moral progress has been brought about by persons free from religion,” the organization says. “… In modern times, the first to speak out for prison reform, for humane treatment of the mentally ill, for abolition of capital punishment, for women’s right to vote, for death with dignity for the terminally ill, and for the right to choose contraception, sterilization and abortion have been freethinkers [i.e., atheists and agnostics], just as they were the first to call for an end to slavery.”

FFRF promotes its message through a variety of vehicles, including a weekly national radio program; a newspaper titled Freethought Today; a “freethought billboard campaign”; scholarships “for freethinking students”; high-school and college “freethought essay competitions” with cash awards; annual national conventions honoring a “Freethinker of the Year” for state/church activism; and the sale of educational products, bumper-stickers, music CDs, winter solstice greeting cards, and books promoting “freethought.” The Foundation also provides speakers for events and debates on subjects related to religion, and has established a “freethought book collection” at the University of Wisconsin Memorial Library.

Most significantly, FFRF initiates lawsuits that center around issues involving religion in the public square. As of mid-2009, the Foundation had filed nearly 30 First Amendment lawsuits over the course of its history. It also “keeps several Establishment law challenges in the courts at all times.”

…In a 1996 lawsuit, FFRF argued that Wisconsin’s observance of Good Friday as a legal holiday violated the First Amendment by “favoring Christianity over other religions or no religion.”

In 2002 the Foundation challenged in court the government’s funding of Faith Works, a Milwaukee organization dedicated to bringing “homeless addicts to Christ.”

In 2005 FFRF filed a federal lawsuit challenging a state-funded fundamentalist Christian prison-ministry program in New Mexico.

In 2006 the Foundation filed yet another federal suit calling for the discontinuance of faith-based prison programs at the Federal Bureau of Prisons. That same year, FFRF charged that “the pervasive integration of ‘spirituality’ into health care by the Department of Veteran Affairs … unconstitutionally promotes, advances and endorses religion.”

Other noteworthy FFRF lawsuits have challenged: the display of a manger scene at the entrance of a city-government building; the inclusion of the phrase “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance; a chaplaincy designed to bring “faith into the workplace” for state workers in Indiana; the display of a shrine to Jesus in a public park in Wisconsin; the presence of playground equipment resembling a biblical Noah’s Ark in another public park; the public financing of nativity pageants and Easter services; public subsidies to religious schools; and the recital of commencement prayers at a major university.

FFRF’s total revenues for 2007 were $2,408,730; its net assets at that time totaled $5,573,153.

The Foundation is led by its co-presidents, Dan Barker and his wife, Annie Laurie Gaylor. Barker was a Christian preacher for 19 years before renouncing his faith in 1984. Gaylor, who earned a journalism degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1980, co-founded FFRC with her mother and the late John Sontarck in 1978. She is author of the books Woe to the Women: The Bible Tells Me So (1981), and Betrayal of Trust: Clergy Abuse of Children (1988). She also edited the 1997 anthology Women Without Superstition: No Gods, No Masters. Today she edits FFRF’s newspaper, Freethought Today, which is published ten times annually.

So, a measly little organization of 13,000 people wants to take away the rights of the 92% of Americans, who believe in God, and  wish to exercise their Freedom of Religion?

Truly a case of, as I’ve labelled it before, “The Tyranny of the Minority”.

Rumble on the River, Part 2: The Citizens Speak

On By kingsjesterIn Politics1 Comment

I rarely write about what’s going on in my neck of the woods. However, as a product of the Memphis City Schools System (Wooddale  Class of ’76), I want to catch y’all up to speed on the biggest kerfuffle since forced busing was implemented in 1972.

In February of 2011, I wrote:

After over 30 years of mismanagement, poor stewardship, and the downright dumbing-down of an excellent school system, the politicians of the city of Memphis, including the School Board, the City Council, and the Mayor, himself, have decided that they will surrender the charter of the Memphis City Schools System in order to merge with the Shelby County School System…by any means necessary.

After the citizens voted down consolidation of city and county services last November, the Memphis City School Board , in an attempt to save their failing school system and their phony baloney jobs, came up with the plan to surrender their charter, thereby forcing consolidation with the Shelby County Schools.

In the last few days, things have really come to a head in this scholastic soap opera:

  • The Memphis City School Board voted Monday night, December 20th, 2010 to let City voters decide on March 8th whether to surrender its charter.
  • On Thursday, February 10th, 2011, the Memphis City Council voted 10 – 0 to accept the decision by the Memphis City Schools Board of Education to surrender its charter, wiping out the city school board in one vote.
  • On Friday, February 11th, 2011, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslan signed into law a measure designed to delay any merger between the two systems.

And, through all of this, the wishes of the Shelby County School Board and the citizens that it represents have been tossed aside, because…wait for it…it’s for the children.

Well, the merger is now under way and the unified system is supposed to be in place by 2014.

On June 14th, 2012, the Transition Planning Committee released the following report:

After more than eight months of research, discussions, and planning, the Transition Planning Commission is confident that the talent and resources in this community will enable the merged SCS to achieve the vision in this Plan. The merger presents a unique opportunity to build from the existing strengths and emerging success of both systems, of which there are many. The merger also prompts this community to step back and ask, “Why not here?”, and adopt best practices in education from around the world. Both districts employ talented leaders, who are true experts in their fields. This merger enables these leaders to join forces to build a district that improves upon both districts today.

And finally, this merger presents an opportunity for community, business, philanthropic, faith, and government leaders to unite to guarantee the success of this system, for the benefit of all of Shelby County’s children.

Well…The  other cities in Shelby County aren’t too keen about allowing the clowns who ruined the Memphis City Schools System to gain control of their schools.

The Commercial Appeal Reports:

Declaring they want no part of a unified countywide school system, voters in Shelby County’s six suburban municipalities gave landslide approval Thursday to referendums establishing their own districts and, in every town but one, agreed to raise sales taxes to pay for them.

Measures to create school districts sailed through with margins ranging from nearly 2 to 1 in Millington to 7 to 1 in Collierville. Even in Lakeland, where a former mayor led a political action committee opposing municipal schools, the referendum was favored by almost two-thirds of all voters.

By somewhat lower margins, voters in five of the suburbs also approved separate referendums to raise municipal sales taxes from 2.25 to 2.75 percent to fund the districts. The tally in Millington, however, showed the measure getting three more ‘no’ than ‘yes’ votes.

“How does it feel to win?” Bartlett Mayor Keith McDonald asked a group of municipal-district supporters after the votes were counted showing a 4-to-1 approval margin. “It just shows what grass roots can do.”

In Germantown, cheers erupted at a watch party hosted by the My Germantown Schools group at Garibaldi’s pizza. With an 87 percent yes, vote, Mayor Sharon Goldsworthy called the citizen response a “mandate.”

But despite the resounding approval of the municipal school districts, the issue is far from settled. In a trial slated for Sept. 4, U.S. Dist. Judge Samuel “Hardy” Mays will rule on a suit filed by the County Commission charging that the state law allowing the referendums violates the Tennessee Constitution.

The battle over schools, which underscored urban-suburban and black-white rifts in Greater Memphis, began with the December 2010 vote by the Memphis City Schools board to surrender the system’s charter and force a merger with Shelby County Schools. Memphis voters endorsed that decision in a landslide of the their own in a March 2011 referendum.

The consolidation of the MCS and Shelby County systems takes effect in the 2013-14 school year

Suburban reaction to the pending merger has been overwhelmingly critical, with municipal leaders and citizens chafing at the prospect of joining a unified district they said would be dominated by Memphis. County Commissioners, however, have charged there was a racial component to the opposition, saying the mostly white suburbs are seeking to carve out districts segregated from predominantly black Memphis.

Turnout for the referendums ranged from less than 31 percent in Millington to about 42 percent in Germantown and Lakeland. About one-third of the ballots were cast during the early-voting period that ended Saturday.

Throughout the day Thursday, the turnout in Bartlett was at best steady as voters and campaign workers sought relief from the heat. Supporters sat under umbrellas or tents and waited in their cars, emerging if someone approached the polling location.

There were few Better Bartlett Schools signs supporting the municipal school signs at the various voting precincts. Derek Venckus, spokesman for the pro-schools citizen group, said the main reason was supporters already had the bulk of the 1,500 signs ordered by the group in their front yards.

“We held a few when we started running out, just so we would have some at the polling places,” he said.

While there were few pro-municipal school signs in Bartlett, there were no opposition signs at a random number of precincts checked in the suburbs.

Across the suburbs, the most visible opposition group was in Lakeland, led by former Mayor Jim Bomprezzi

Leaders of suburban groups favoring municipal schools said they expected to win.

“I’m not surprised. Pleased obviously,” said Phillip Walker, one of the leaders of Better Bartlett Schools. ” … We pretty much were expecting a wide majority to vote for it.”

By comparison, the sales-tax referendums received tepid support, trailing the approval levels for the district referendum by 10 to 20 percentage points.

Suburban leaders had avoided using references to schools in the wording in the referendums so that all of the money was not required to go to education. Bartlett Alderman Emily Elliott, who worked early voting, said many voters were unclear about where the revenues would go, leading to some confusion.

In each suburb, however, supporters’ euphoria over the referendum results was somewhat tempered by uncertainty over the legal wrangling in the schools issue.

“Now we take a big deep breath, get up in the morning and move on with the business at hand, which is litigation,” Goldsworthy said.

Collierville Mayor Stan Joyner said he’s pleased about Thursday night’s outcome but it’s just one obstacle the town has to clear.

“We are like Olympic runners — we get over one hurdle and there’s the next one we have to clear. I’m still guardedly optimistic.

But Portia Scurlock, a Germantown resident with two elementary-aged children, said she wasn’t worried that her vote would later be ruled unconstitutional.

“If all the other Podunk towns in Tennessee can have their own school systems, why keep a larger municipality from doing the same? It doesn’t make sense.”

Ms. Scurlock, do not put anything past the hack politicians in Memphis, Tennessee.

There’s a reason I moved across the state line to DeSoto County, Mississippi back in ’97.

A lot of y’all may soon be joining me.

You eeevil suburbanites.

A Split Decision on Super Tuesday. A Conservative Light on the Horizon?

On By kingsjesterIn Politics3 Comments

As I sit down to write this blog, Super Tuesday has turned out to be the split decision everyone thought it would be.  Romney won his “home state” (another one?) of Massachusetts, along with Vermont, Virginia, and, barely, Ohio. Santorum took North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.   And, Newt Gingrich won his only home state of Georgia, decisively

Per the Associated Press:

Romney won at least 212 Super Tuesday delegates and Santorum won at least 84. Gingrich won at least 72 delegates and Texas Rep. Ron Paul got at least 22.

So far, Romney is winning 54 percent of the Super Tuesday delegates; Santorum is winning 22 percent.

A total of 419 delegates were up for grabs in 10 states Tuesday. A handful were left be allocated.

In the overall race for convention delegates, Romney leads with 415, including endorsements from members of the Republican National Committee who automatically attend the convention and can support any candidate they choose. Santorum has 176 delegates, Gingrich has 105 and Paul has 47.

It will take 1,144 delegates at the party’s national convention this summer to win the Republican nomination for president.

Does any one else see a regional pattern developing here?  Romney is hardly beloved in the Heartland, is he?

While Mitt Romney may very well be “inevitable”, due to his unrelenting support for the GOP Establishment and his never-ending supply of Campaign Funds, he is hardly a “Consensus” Candidate.

Gosh, I wish that there was a candidate out there, who was a Reagan Conservative, who could relate to average Americans, and was so down to earth that they would even stop their campaign bus at a Walmart to pick up diapers for their baby.

Oh, wait…

Stand by for this “live” (last night) interview from CNN:

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Our Paul Vercammen is up there in Wasilla, Alaska. Remember, Wasilla, we heard a lot about Wasilla only a few years ago. Paul Vercammen is standing by with a very special guest – I’ll give you a hint, the former governor of that state. Paul, talk to her.

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I will, Wolf. By the way, Sarah Palin says hello. She just voted here in Wasilla. They expect 1,000 people to come through here.

And I think, Sarah, a lot of people are asking, who did you vote for tonight? Who would you like to see emerge as the GOP frontrunner?

FORMER GOV. SARAH PALIN, R-ALASKA: I would not tell you who I voted for in this presidential preference poll. I want to say hi to Wolf, though, and thank you guys for being up here in Wasilla and covering this, because every vote counts, and every district, every state matters. And that’s why I wanted to see this process continue because I want more people to have a say in who the nominee should be.

VERCAMMEN: But while you won’t say who you’re leaning for, are there any trends or is there something that you think is extremely important to the GOP platform this year that you want to see come to fruition?

PALIN: Yes. I want to see the process continue, more debate about who it is who can bust through the Orwellian Obama rhetoric and pandering that we see in the incumbent, who can bust through that with facts, with history, with logic, with common sense, in order for American voters to understand we do have a choice. There is a contrast between the incumbent, Barack Obama, and any of the four on the GOP ticket. Who best can bust through that rhetoric and express their ideas and their solutions to get our economy back on the right track, that’s the nominee I want to see forwarded (ph).

VERCAMMEN: Is there any fear that if this drags on for a long time, you are going to sap war chests and you’re going to cause a situation where the party becomes too divided?

PALIN: I am not a believer in that, not at this point. I do believe that competition makes all of our candidates better. Remember, there are five men running for president, and I think Barack Obama is the worst choice, is the last choice. So the four in front of him, as they duke it out in the arena of ideas and solutions to propose, the more of that, the better.

VERCAMMEN: Sarah Palin for president 2016, is it possible?

PALIN: Anything in this life, in this world is possible. Anything is possible for an American. And I don’t discount any idea or plan that at this point isn’t in my control. Anything’s possible.

VERCAMMEN: But would you seriously consider a run?

PALIN: I would seriously consider whatever I can do to help our country to put things back on the right track. Our economy, the foreign policy, proposals that we have to see put forward in order to secure our homeland, and the Americans, especially our brave fighting men and women who are overseas right now in places that perhaps we shouldn’t be right now. Anything that I can do to help, I will be willing to help.

VERCAMMEN: OK, one more question, from Wolf, if I can hear him. Let me try to relay it to you.

BLITZER: All right, Paul, I know there’s a delay between me and you, but thank the former governor, the Republican nominee for all of us. A quick question for her. I’m just curious how she’s been reacting to this whole Rush Limbaugh controversy with this Georgetown University law student, because there were some vile words that were uttered by some liberal Democrats as far as Sarah Palin was concerned, and I wonder if she wants to weigh in on this controversy.

VERCAMMEN: Wolf wants to know if you want to weigh in on this controversy. He says some vile words were thrown around, some of them directed towards you actually, the controversy involving Rush Limbaugh, contraception and the Georgetown student? Your reaction to some of those words that were used?

PALIN: I think the definition of hypocrisy is for Rush Limbaugh to have been called out, forced to apologize and retract what it is that he said in exercising his First Amendment rights, and never is that – the same applied to the leftist radicals who say such horrible things about the handicapped, about women, about the defenseless. So I think that’s the definition of hypocrisy. And that’s my two cents worth.

I wish we had some straight talk from all of the current Republican Candidates like that.  

It would certainly be refreshing.  And Conservative.