Just what we need:

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) – President Hugo Chavez on Sunday threatened to cut off oil sales to the United States in an “economic war” if Exxon Mobil Corp. wins court judgments to seize billions of dollars in Venezuelan assets.

Exxon Mobil has gone after the assets of state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA in U.S., British and Dutch courts as it challenges the nationalization of a multibillion dollar oil project by Chavez’s government.

A British court has issued an injunction “freezing” as much as $12 billion in assets.

“If you end up freezing (Venezuelan assets) and it harms us, we’re going to harm you,” Chavez said during his weekly radio and television program, “Hello, President.” “Do you know how? We aren’t going to send oil to the United States. Take note, Mr. Bush, Mr. Danger.”

Chavez has repeatedly threatened to cut off oil shipments to the United States, which is Venezuela’s No. 1 client, if Washington tries to oust him. Chavez’s warnings on Sunday appeared to extend that threat to attempts by oil companies to challenge his government’s nationalization drive through lawsuits.

“I speak to the U.S. empire, because that’s the master: continue and you will see that we won’t sent one drop of oil to the empire of the United States,” Chavez said Sunday.

“The outlaws of Exxon Mobil will never again rob us,” Chavez said, accusing the Irving, Texas-based oil company of acting in concert with Washington.

Exxon Mobil spokeswoman Margaret Ross said the company had no comment. A U.S. Embassy spokeswoman in Caracas did not return a call.

Venezuela accounted for about 12 percent of U.S. crude oil imports in November, the latest figures available from the U.S. Energy Department. The 1.23 million barrels a day from Venezuela makes that country the U.S.’s fourth-biggest oil importer behind Canada, Saudi Arabia and Mexico.

And oh, yes, about Exxon/Mobil:

HOUSTON – Exxon Mobil Corp. posted the largest annual profit by a U.S. company — $40.6 billion — on Friday as the world’s biggest publicly traded oil company benefited from historic crude prices at the end of the year.

Exxon also set a U.S. record for the biggest quarterly profit, posting net income of $11.7 billion for the final three months of 2007, beating its own mark of $10.71 billion in the fourth quarter of 2005.

The profits and politics of oil.

And all the other candidates.

I think we all have to understand it’s completely about manipulation, and who submits to and believes the soft serve-like, spoon-fed pablum/bullshit proffered. About manipulation both overt and covert, on both sides of the (ever-rapidly closing) aisle. If we didn’t believe it last year when these campaigns began, we oh-so-believe it now, do we not?

We’ll get to McCain in a moment. In the meantime, my take on:

The late, great candidate on whom so many placed such Dickensian-like Great Expectations. He waited too long to engage — at first because we thought and hoped he possessed some sort of super-secret, great Reagan-like Ultimate Plan. What we subsequently discovered was every bit a grand disappointment: he was pretty much what he’d been all along. Somewhat self-serving, self-assured, but lacking the fire we know is demanded by current campaigns. Campaigns are what they are unconsidering of candidates’ ages. And further examination revealed the soft white underbelly of Fred: too tied to lobbyists, too tied to the Bush Regime. Full of that slow, complacent Good Ol’ Boy. We momentarily admired him for his principled stands to “not quite so play along” but finally recognized things for what they were: HE wasn’t even convinced he wanted to be President.

Thereby killing any future political actions he may envision. Fool us once, Fred, but fool us twice?

I supported Giuliani for a time because I recognized some Leadership qualities within him. He was hated in NYC because he refused to kowtow to every faction. He refused to allow Arafat into his city. He provided great leadership following 9/11. He cleaned up the city but, of course, it was his way or the highway. Managers and leaders are like that. He too had “gun” issues, “immigration” issues and “abortion” issues. My first triage topic: SCOTUS judges. He said from the very beginning his would be Strict Constructionists. Giuliani spent $60 million and acquired ONE delegate. His campaign manager should be lined up against a wall and shot. Rumors are that his campaign manager’s pushing the “cheeseburger” icon on the register at an east coast McDonalds. Then Giuliani threw his support to McCain. So much for any political career in Giuliani’s future. Dude, you are so dead to me.

Romney provided his finest prose in his final speech. Hey, excellent speech but about a year too late. Timing is everything. Perceived as a flipper, known as a Mormon, supported and promoted to the Nth degree by Hugh Hewitt (and therefore damaging my utter confidence in Hewitt, sadly), Romney could simply not overcome his religion, his buckage, his perfect good looks. His hair was every bit as pre-formed as John Edwards. Almost like running Jay Leno’s jaw as a candidate.

But trust me: you haven’t seen the last of Mitt Romney. 2012? He is smart as well as perfect. He is a card player. And he still has a few decks left.

In a way, Huckabee frightens me more than any other candidate. Even Ron Paul is more of a Known Quantity than Huckabee. Because, let me be blunt: I don’t want Jesus as a candidate. I couldn’t give a shit less that he may be “revered” by so-called Evangelicals. Too much of any one thing is simply too much. Period. And when you let religion interfere with common sense decisions and judgments, in my mind you are gone. WWJD simply DOESN’T translate into good policy or common sense for me. In a Perfect World we’d let everyone into the US. We’d fund every social program, here and abroad.

But this isn’t a Perfect World. And it isn’t MY responsibility as an American taxpayer to Save The Planet. I have a hard enough time saving myself. Huckabee will spend and tax for what he perceives to be his religious duty. Globally.

Okay. I’ll admit it. I am not that altruistic. Not even close. And I submit that Huckabee, whilst motivated by “good,” is about the least practical candidate here. And I ain’t even going down that road if I can help it. Huckabee scares me, quite frankly, as an Islamist would scare me. And I’m still not convinced he’s motivated even by altruism. People voting for Huckabee are voting to have their taxes increased, their pockets turned inside out, and their sofas upended for every last bit of coinage.

One thing I must admire about Ron Paul: he is about the most base, clear, obvious and unpretentious candidate running. He is what he is, he states over-and-over what he is, he pulls no punches, he holds nothing back. He is every bit of what he is, on his face. I admire clarity and simplicity so, in a way, I admire Ron Paul on some levels that I don’t admire any of the above candidates. But I simply cannot support his current positions. Maybe he was a Man Ahead Of His Time. Give me four more years. Maybe I can support him then. Maybe I’ll have consumed sufficient vodka.

I think perhaps what concerns me most about McCain is his inner volatility. He seems to be motivated so much by inner vulcanism, retribution, arrogance, certainty and, I must admit it: anger. He is an angry, tempestuous, rash man. I think many of us objecting to McCain realize and recognize this, though we may not be able to coherently verbalize or publish these feelings.

Those dullards voting for McCain in the primaries are doing so after having seen only his First Coat. They are voting for the visual: clean. White. Male. Older. War veteran. POW.

They are not even remotely interested in digging a millimeter beneath the surface. My father, sadly, included. He is duped at his age.

If he would but declare what is so obvious: move to the Demorat Party, John. You are there. You are them. Simply declare the obvious and we shall have no argument.

But no.

Wow; it couldn’t happen to a more appropriate state.

Only months after a new state law effectively banned “mom” and “dad” from California schools, 600,000 students soon could be following them out the door because of what has been described as the “repudiation” of 2,000 years of Christian morality, according to leaders of a new campaign assembling education alternatives.

The campaign is called California Exodus and is being headed by Ron Gleason, pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church in Yorba Linda, who said while the country excels in social, economic, scientific and political accomplishments, it “gets low grades on the education of its children.”

“SB 777 will result in reverse discrimination against students with religious and traditional family values. These students have lost their voice as the direct result of Gov. Schwarzenegger’s unbelievable decision. The terms ‘mom and dad’ or ‘husband and wife’ could promote discrimination against homosexuals if a same-sex couple is not also featured,” she said.

Karen England, chief of CRI, told WND that the law is not a list of banned words, including “mom” and “dad.” But she said the requirement is that the law bans discriminatory bias and the effect will be to ban such terminology.

“Having ‘mom’ and ‘dad’ promotes a discriminatory bias. You have to either get rid of ‘mom’ and ‘dad’ or include everything when talking about [parental issues],” she said. “They [promoters of sexual alternative lifestyles] do consider that discriminatory.”

This is one of those times I am so glad I didn’t have kids in this state.

And yes, the Thought Police and Speak Police aren’t just around the corner; they’re present in California. Thanks, Arnie.

People, mostly on the Left, would have you believe a number of new concepts.

I repudiate these concepts.

The Demorats, Leftists and Socialists want you to believe in a New Paradigm because, as they are writing now:

Therefore, the GOP is striding boldly into a new, all-encompassing view similar to that of the Demorats. And John McCain is taking the forefront in leading the Republican Party to a newer, wider definition of itself because, after all, it has to.

The Mainstream Media (what Limbaugh calls the DriveBy Media, and I call the DEM: Defeatist, Elitist Media) say so. Newsradio says so. TV says so. Mainstream pundits say so. Leftist blogs say so. Newspapers say so.

The internal strife within the Republican Party, played out publicly for all to see and hear, heralds the true Death Knell of Conservatives and a New Day for the Grand Old Party.

The GOP desperately needs to be more accommodating, more inclusive rather than exclusive; it needs to move, first, more to the center. Then it needs to move further left which, after all, is the Natural State of Things.

In summation, it needs to be more like the Demorat Party; anyone can see that.

Because: why, then, have two parties? Why not have us all coalesce into not only a One World Barbeque, but a One Party American political system?

When compromises have to be made, when accommodations have to be made, I ask: why is it only that Conservatives must compromise and accommodate?

I submit: we should not.

The Left is declaring us dead, jejune, moribund, of no further consequence.

I submit: we are not.

But here are some telling stats: why the trouncing on Super Tuesday? Because 14.6 million Demorats showed up to vote. 8.3 million Republicans appeared. Disparity, anyone?

McCain is now our Front Runner.

Romney is out; Huckabee is soon to be. Ron Paul is a spattered fly speck on a windshield.

Here are my new thoughts: burblings indicate Huckabee is being groomed as McCain’s VP. I say: no, wrong. Once McCain has bled sufficient votes from Huckabee, Governor Michael will be kicked to the curb by the McCain Campaign, his usefulness over.

Just as Dewey defeated Truman, Leftists, Demorats and Socialists are declaring the death of Conservatives and Conservatism.

I would ask: are you dead?