Rush was wrong.

You heard me. During Open Line Friday, he had a 19 year-old College Student on-Crystal was her name. Rush made (or came close to making) some good points on the war, but was hindered by the fact that both of them were shouting past each other.

In the course of the segment, Rush managed to insult her intelligence, saying that whatever money taxpayers were spending on her education were most likely being "wasted".

Is Crystal a leftist who doesn't have a firm grasp of the facts nor an understanding of how this nation became great and how it works? Yes. Does this mean Crystal and other young people will forever be that way? No.

Amazing things happen in many cases when you find out that you are the rich. After all, it's the rich who pay the taxes and college-educated people (unless they're majoring in Art History or Philosophy) get paid more than everyone else.

You also begin to respect family and tradition more when you have a family of your own. Studies have shown that over the course of life as people get married and have children they become more Conservative as they begin to deal with the realities of life.

Some of the same students protesting today will be voting Republican by 2020, as many liberals grow up and become conservatives.

However, those that get brow-beaten and treated uncivility may be a little less likely to make the switch. While we hope that people will make their decisions based on logic and reason, human beings are still human beings. How many people do you know who will go into one Target Store and have a negative experience after which they will refuse to go to any one of thousands of Target retail outlets around the country? How many people will have a negative experience with one of several million ministers in the United States and then decide that all ministers are frauds and crooks, and furthermore the church is full of nothing but charlatans and simpletons?

The right tact to take rather than seeking to totally destroy liberal college students, is to recognize them for what they are: products of a Public School propoganda machine that has robbed and victimized them. The public school system of this country has taken children born in the freeest, strongest country in the world: a land of opportunity, a beacon to the oppressed peoples of the world, and made them believe that this country is a fraud and a shame. History is taught to point out all that America's done wrong, ignoring or overlooking what we've done right.

Because of this progranda, high school students leave school with a sense of despair about their country and thus become open to the influence of Globalists and other liberal utopian quacks who inhabit college campuses. This ought not to be! I know this country has its problems, but I see the great principles it was founded on and see something worth standing up for, something worth holding onto.

They are the victims of the propoganda machine which has robbed them of the ability to be a proud American. For that, they deserve our patient prayers, and a gentle hand, not the insulting treatment Rush provided today.

I had a good time at the Lincoln Day Dinner in Flathead County. Governor Judy Martz (R-MT) was supposed to speak at the event but opted against it due to the ongoing state legislative session. As such, we were treated to an evening with officials from the County and Tri-city planning board, as well as Secretary of State Bob Brown.

Now, as boring as that may sound to some people, it really wasn't. Both of the Planning Board folks made their work sound interesting and it is vital to the Flathead Valley's future, though I must say that one guy from the cities managed to be "about finished" for ten minutes.

Bob Brown was a simple but powerful spokesman for the Republican agenda, encouraging us that we are winning because of what the Democratic Party has become and providing a solid and constructive agenda for Republicans to improve our state.

Few men have impressed me more during my time of following Montana politics than Bob Brown. I've spent hours talking with him on the phone (and when I was in Eureka, I ran up quite a phone bill). Since I first met him in 1993, when he was a State Senator from Whitefish he's taken an interest in me and what I was doing in life. Unlike some political leaders, he understands the importance of getting young people involved in politics. Because of that care and interest, I have a lot of respect for Bob Brown.

He asked me and Jesse Mayhew (a current FVCC student) if we were going to speak. I said, "No." believing he was joking but later found that two young Republicans from Missoula had been allowed to. I could have spoken but I had nothing really to say tonight, so silence is better than empty words. After asking us about our lives and what we were doing, Brown put his hands on our shoulders and reminded us that we were the future.

As for the night itself, I was blessed to end up at a talkative table where I was drawn into the conversation and actually managed to contribute something.

Perhaps, the one thing that makes me nervous about my plans to be involved in public service is my tendency to become very shy in public occassions when I don't know my role. It's very easy to be friendly and outgoing at my wedding reception, or even church events. I know who I am and that I have a right to be approaching people. In the case of an event like the Lincoln Day Dinner, who am I and what am I doing are primary questions that fill my mind.

Of course, this might be because I'm an INFJ personality type . The "I" stands for introverted and I've learned that while some of the temperment stuff is inaccurate, that trait is definitely predominate. Those who see me in my comfort zones won't believe it but take me out of those places where I know what I'm supposed to be doing, I'm incredibly shy. How I overcome that, or use that to my advantage, I don't know but God-willing I'll find away.

Heard the President on the radio tonight while driving to the Lincoln Day dinner and later on when going to work to pick up my wife from the Lincoln Day dinner. I hadn't understand what Sean Hannity had meant when they described our President as "magnificient". After listening to the president on the radio, I understand better than I ever have before.

One thing I've noticed is that the President has slowed down. When he speaks, every word sounds well-thought out and well-considered, perhaps because they are. He understands the task that is before him, the risks involved and he's made a decision based on what he believes is right for America. Listening to the president, I trust that whatever decision he makes will be the right one.

I've notcied that the far left has attacked our president for having no respect for the world community. If that were the case, wouldn't Bush have gone to war by now? The Pentagon has been slowly pushing back it's war plan in the face of the UN's unappeasable appetite for appeasement. The UN's patience with Iraq despite lying about its possession of missles in its first report to them.

President Bush will not delay forever, however. President Bush understands the apporance of alliances and of the international community, but the President believes America is more important and will not see havoc reaked on this country because of the cowards at the United Nations.

At Service yesterday, the strangest thing happened (not to say that strange things don't generally happen at our service in general), the topic of Mr. Roger's death came up and the whole fellowship spent about 10-15 minutes talking about this wonderful man who just recently went to receive his reward. Fred Rogers from all accounts was the same person everywhere he went, full of mercy, love, and holiness. He'll truly be missed. On my big future parent to-do list is getting copies of his show for my children when I have them.