Mitt Romney

Could it happen?

A Mormon writes on Mormons in politics.

Kucinich Makes The Move

I found this bit, with handy links, at Slashdot.

I don't expect it to get anywhere, but hey, it's a good gesture. And the guy is smart-- he knows where the real power is.

Future President Thompson

Fred Thompson is coming out in support of gun rights, and he makes a pretty compelling argument. I honestly think he has the best shot at the presidency if he runs. Though a Newt/Kerry ticket would be greatly amusing, seeing Al Gore elected president a second time would be impressive, a black or woman president would be quite a thing, I don't think any of those are going to happen. As of now, I'm wagering my money on Fred Thompson who isn't even running for president yet.

Anyone else have any wagers?

Party Lines & Obama favouritism in the media

It's great to see all of the prominent presidential candidates stand up for their parties' beliefs. Guiliani, McCain, and Romney all support the full ban on partial birth abortions, while Obama, Edwards, and Clinton are all pretty stronlgy opposed to the decision.

The democrats seem to take issue that the mothers' health is not a factor. If it comes down to the mother dying or having a partial birth abortion, the mother dies. I don't know why they wouldn't just ban partial birth abortions when the mothers' health is not at risk...wouldn't that make more sense and make everyone happy? Can't we all just get along.

On a side note, if you read the linked article above, you'll see the media showing favour to Barak Obama over the other democratic candidates. He has the longest blurb and his reasons are the only one's we're actually given. The statements by all three of them seem to pretty much say the same thing to me, but it's interesting Obama's the one most fully quoted.

Fast and Loose

Adding to the other case I know, it seems that New Jersey's new Gov will need to deal with the fact that PA's smokies are just better drivers than his road trip buddies. Seriously. Worse roads, lower performance vehicle, higher speeds, and still no crashes for our Gov. Jersey drivers-- you need to think about this one a little.

So, how many other governors can we catch going too fast?

[Update: It's all so clear now]

Talking Head

I've accused Barak Obama of being nothing more than a pretty boy. This sort of lunacy helps me confirm my suspicion that he's all fluff in the head.

I'm all about big pictures, but when actions like wars are based only on big pictures we get results like bloody civil wars in unstable regions with American troops just stuck there dying at taxpayers expense. Big pictures need to be the motivation for plans, not the end.

When the best plan Obama can come up with is a love-fest about all the different kinds of bad things in the world and how they're all violence, someone really needs to pull the soapbox out from under him and give him a joint. Hope that sprang eternal never kept Casey from striking out. For that matter, while Flynn and Blake were as uninspiring as any hoodoo and cake, they at least got somewhere.

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright.
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light.
And, somewhere men are laughing, and little children shout....

Or maybe not.

Play ball.

Ideal 2008 Team

Apparently, John Kerry is re-opening the idea of a 2008 presidential run. I didn't bothe rto actually read the whole article, but the thought of it got me thinking! What am I thinking? I know you all want to know.

I've changed my ideal presidential ticket for 2008. I'm torn between two different tickets though. As global warming has become such a serious issue, I'm hoping now that we will either have a Kerry/Gingrich or Gore/Gingrich ticket. Given the Clinton-Gingirch lack of love, the chemistry between Kerry and Gingrich, and Kerry's trying to get McCain as his VP in 2004, I think a Kerry/Gingrich ticket is more likely. As neither will ever be elected by their respective parties this time around, I think they should run as Independents maybe with Lieberman backing them. Just a thought...

Barak Obama, Have a Heart, Forgive!

I no longer have any hope for Barak Obama. For a while I was ucnertain. He seems pretty good overall and I like the concept of a clean-cut and well-spoken black person running for president. Nothin wrong with that, but I wasn't quite informed enough to really have a strong opinion.

Apparently, and you can read about it here, he thinks Imus should be fired for his comments. I don't know where to start.

Referring to black women athletes as nappy-headed hos is definitely not an appropriate way to refer to them, which Imus has conceded and apologized profusely. He even went on Al Sharpton's radio show to beg forgiveness. The man is sorry. I don't think he's sorry because people are making a big deal about it so much as because he didn't realize people would take it SOOOOO damned offensively. Obviously, he's looking to piss people off and be shocking, but I don't think he intended it to be quite what it has become. Regardless, the man is sorry, he doesn't seem to be an actual racist, and he's apologizing out his rear. Cut the man some slack.

Obama said, "There's nobody on my staff who would still be working for me if they made a comment like that about anybody of any ethnic group. And I would hope that NBC ends up having that same attitude." What he fails to realize is that a candidate for President of the United States of America and a media company are very different entities. NBC has shock jocks like Don Imus; Sirius has Howard Stern now. Their job is to get people excited, to be controversial, and to piss people off. Politicians, esp presidential candidates, do the same thing, but they aren't supposed to piss anyone off. Obviously, presidential candidates would fire someone for making a remotely racist comment because they have to be all p.c. and pretend they really give a crap. They don't. And, if they did, they'd probably actually be forgiving if the person wasn't actual a racist but happened to make an off-coloured joke, assuming the weren't running for president and pretending to be something they aren't. I'm running on though endlessly, the point it that of course a presidential candidate would fire a staff member who made racist remarks, but a shock jock is kind of expected to be offensive now and again. Show some compassion and forgiveness.

On a second to last note, where are all the women's right activists? He called them "nappy-headed hos." Honestly, I think that if he called them a bunch of nappy-headed athletes, it wouldn't be nearly as big of a deal. I think people would have ignored it overall. Regardless of that fact, isn't referring to a bunch of college-educated women athletes as hos a wee bit sexist? Why isn't anyone jumping on this point? Of course, I would prefer people don't jump on either point and bitch themselves to death, but if you're gonna bitch, at least bitch proportionately.

My final note is that I don't even like Imus. I find him obnoxious, boring, and annoying. He screwed up and admitted it. Cut the man some slack. As for Barak Obama, I don't think I'll be voting for him....unless Santorum is somehow the oppossing candidate. Maybe Gingrich is gonna pull the liberal vote with her global warming spiel.

UPDATE: Imus has been fired by CBS.

Gingrich for President!

Gingrich is totally going to run for president. He's one of the first conservatives to come out of the closet and actually not deny global warming. Read more here. Not only did he admit that the world is getting warmer, but he also believes it has been caused by human activity. No conservative Republican comes out saying such things unless he's either crazy, sincere, or looking to run for president and he's certainly not sincere.

Political Cynicism

or: These Days vs. Those Days

I've learned a lot about politics in the past few years...

I've learned that the simple "Christian iff. conservative" relationship preached to me for years just isn't right. I can be a bleeding heart liberal to my conscience's content and know that Jesus hasn't left my heart, although it'll be a miracle if most of my church and/or James Dobson or Pat Robertson figure that out.

I've done some lobbying, even visiting The Hill personally, and have seen how much of this "Democracy" is just a big insider game. Have you ever tried to schedule an appointment with those people? Did you know how much crap paper gets passed around about who is already planning to vote for what, what those things are called, and how to go about finding which person on a staff takes care of them so that you know who your appointment should be with? Do you know that there is basically an ettiquite for lobbying, one that you'll only find by word of mouth, and if you don't follow it then your pitch is likely to be ignored? If you said no to any one of those questions, congratualations! Someone who is supposed to represent you just ignored your cause! But thanks for sending an e-mail anyway.

The people who run for offices are generally slimeballs. They all lie. They all manipulate. None of them are fit for the jobs they take. They all act like total dolts to anyone with two thirds of a brain. Well, maybe all of them except Tom Coburn and Bob Casey. maybe. Of course, they all can get away with this because even people with five thirds of a brain-- a whole brain more than you need to see the lunacy!-- have other things in their lives that need attention. I am lucky to have a position as haute academique, a position that gives me plenty of time to Think, an activity that is a danger to shallow anything, including all of politics.

So, then I am left to ask, why has politics gone downhill so much in the past few years?

This is a natural question, of course, but recently I've decided it isn't the correct one. I have a simple reason for that conclusion, too. People I talk to of all ages, regardless of their views unless they're stuck on some particular person like JFK or Reagan or Ike and "if only he were still with us...," often will have a number of years that politics has been going downhill. That number of years, when they have it, always seems to be their age minus about twenty.

My conclusion, then, is twofold. First, politics has always been going downhill. Second, you don't realize this until you're turning into something resembling a grown-up.

As with most things, I have no solutions, just a gripe in the bucket.

Stupid Italian-Americans...they're the ones that piss me off, not the intelligent ones

This is one thing I cannot stand about our country, particularly stupid dumbasses and their political correctness.

Rudy Giuliana seems to love the Godfather and enjoys doing impersonations of Marlon Brando's character, Vito Corleone. I gather that he feels comfortable doing this because he's an Italian-American and helped bust up the New York mob as a federal prosecutor. Apparently, Italian-Americans, or Eyetalian-Americans as Dona De Sanctis and those for whom she speaks deserve to be called, cannot handle the jokes Rudy Giuliani has been making regarding the Godfather. They think that the jokes "make light of a stereotype that creates a lot of discomfort for millions of other Italian-Americans." They don't find the jokes funny and they stopped laughing a long time ago. If Godfather references really make Italian-Americans uncomfortable, then I think they should probably go back to Italy. I don't really think most people go around suspecting all Itialian-Americans they see as being in the mafia. Somehow, I think the discomfort this small group of people feel is totally misplaced.

Fortunately, Dona De Sanctis does not speak for all Italian-Americans, just the shallow and mindless ones. Joseph Scelsa, president of the Italian American Museum in New York and the Coalition of Italian American Associations, wasn't offended and supports Giuliani. So, if there are any good Italian-Americans out there looking to honour their heritage, do me a favour, and avoid the Sons of Italy for whom Dona De Sanctis speaks.

As a good Irish-American, who doesn't drink much but has no problem with Irish stereotypes, I, of course, can't encourage anyone to vote for Giuliani. We certainly don't want a Dago, Guinea, Wop or any of his Greaseball friends running our country. My point here is just that I'm sick and tired of stupid people making an issue out of nothing. It's not Barak Obama's fault if he's the first clean and well-spoken black man. :-D