...yeah who am I kidding, I'd get kicked out of BYU for a lot less. But if you're feeling generous, you can donate these lovelies (size 9) to my lustful feet or hit the shoe fund.
Rumor has it that former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich is going to make his big "I'm running for President" announcement this week. Yawn, we all knew this was coming. I liken Newt to President Clinton in two areas, skeletons and playing political chameleon. Neither is a compliment to the former Speaker. Let's take a look at Newt on the issues (I yield to Google on the skeletons), from Newt.org:
"We cannot merely shift resources from current activities. Instead, we must create a bigger national security system with a bigger budget and a more robust capacity to deal with multiple threats simultaneously."
Bigger, two; Robust Capacity, one; Efficient, zero
Limited Government: (heh, see above)
"An America marked by limited government, honest politicians, and a small bureaucracy, and which focuses on fairness and the rule of law, is the antithesis of a secular-socialist America dominated by political machines of big government, huge bureaucracies, and powerful politicians."
Prediction: Prepare to hear "secular-socialist" A LOT also heh.
Jobs:
"We should cut the corporate tax rate to 12.5% to match Ireland and match China on investment by eliminating the capital gains tax completely. We should also cut payroll taxes by 50% for both the employer and employee and provide a 100% tax write-off for new equipment. Eliminating the death tax would be both morally correct and a boon to economic growth."
APPLAUSE!!!
"We must repeal and replace the left’s big government health bill with real solutions that will lower costs and improve health outcomes."
Replace? That scares me. If you read his entire healthcare rant position, it sounds as if a democrat could've written it...minus the use of the word "miasma", of course.
"We need to break out of our broken and outdated education model by expanding the use of charter schools and embracing school vouchers (or Pell Grants for K-12) to give parents immediate options if their child is trapped in a failing school."
Blah, blah, blah. Applause.
"'Green conservatism' aims to bring about a cleaner, greener world while protecting the freedom and dignity of all people and ensuring their right to a better economic future"
Prediction: Prepare to hear "green conservatism" A LOT also world? heh.
"Any new worker visa program created to incorporate those illegal immigrants in the US with steady employment must be designed in a high tech way to make forgery impossible."
Sounds like somebody hearts an amnesty plan. R I N O.
Religious Liberty: (two parter)
"The secular socialist left – who hates the idea of an authority higher than the government - has used its domination of academia, the courts, and the media to twist the meaning of the first amendment from a right that protects religious liberty to prohibition on religious expression in the public square."
SECULAR SOCIALIST!!! R'rrrrar.
"To fight back, Newt and Callista have produced the Rediscovering God in America series (books and DVDs) to show how central religious expression in the public square was at the founding of America and throughout our history."
Rediscovery > Skeletons (also, I guess you're supposed to buy his books and DVDs)
And finally, my favorite category...
"The elected branches – the executive and legislative – have other recourses to serve as a check against judicial overreach, including limiting the jurisdiction of federal courts on matters where they have consistently overreached their constitutional authority."
Dude.
Dear Newt, please go away...unless you want to be the next Job Czar. Also, thanks for the material.
We are, almost, officially one year out from the first in the nation caucus which takes place in the great state of Iowa. Did I mention that I live in Iowa? The Iowa Caucus will take place Tuesday, February 6, 2012. This is a month later than it is usually held. According to The Washington Post, the RNC changed the date "to make it difficult for a candidate to rack up an insurmountable number of delegates early in the process, forcing candidates to campaign across the country." Perhaps taking votes away from someone like former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who is a very likeable guy that spent a lot of time schmoozing in Iowa.
The Iowa caucus is like the Iowa State Fair for political junkies albeit in freezing cold temps. News trucks line the downtown streets. The local economy gets fatter as familiar faces from television and the campaign trail feast on corn fed beef or pork at neighborhood eateries with dark bars. Restaurateurs and residents alike cheerfully take note of their famous guests, spreading the word of sightings as fast as their fingers can text.
If you couldn't tell already, I love the Iowa caucus. As an implant from the Washington DC area, the buzz leading up to the Iowa caucus gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside. You know that feeling that most people get when they smell their grandmother's chocolate chip cookies? I get that way when I smell Italian leather, cashmere and single malt scotch with a hint of smugness and nicotine.
My point is, we republicans have another year before we get to decide who we are going to put up against President Obama for the 2012 Presidential Election and in doing so, what platform we are going to support most. I am in favor of any candidate with a strong economical plan; plan being the operative word.
We must choose wisely and think in terms of putting forth a winner, a republican candidate with core conservative principles who has a specific economic plan that will lure independents who are fed up with rhetoric and ready for real change and growth. This candidate must campaign on issues that matter today, not issues of the past. And their campaign must go beyond talking points and one-liners.
The republican pool for the presidency is going to be bigger than ever. President Obama is a master campaigner who will likely have a billion dollars at his disposal. His oratory skills and charisma on the stump will be hard to match so we mustn't try. Facts, figures, methods and means are the only way to defeat Obama. So, I implore you to put your litmus tests away, social cons; a RINO in the White House > Barack Obama.
Cross-posted at Pundit League
This week's Sports Illustrated has a pretty scathing article about cyclist golden boy, Lance Armstrong. In short, Armstrong is under federal investigation and could face charges against him of conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering, racketeering, drug trafficking and defrauding the US government.
Yikes.
Directing the government’s investigation is the Eliot Ness of Performance Enhancing Drug (PED) inquiries, Jeff Novitzky. Remember him? He famously brought down BALCO Labs and Olympian Marion Jones.
If you haven’t read the article it's worth a read. Lance Armstrong maintains that he will be vindicated. But after reading all of the allegations from so many people closely involved with US Cycling and Armstrong himself, it's easier to believe that from 1990 to 2009 US Cycling was a very dirty sport and everyone that was affiliated with the teams is guilty. Armstrong and his lawyer would rather throw around words like "discredited" in the direction of anyone who is cooperating with the investigation or who has made public statements regarding his alleged use of PEDs.
I know, I know…but, Armstrong is a cancer survivor and his foundation raises so much money for cancer research. If he cheated, surviving cancer doesn't make him any less of a cheater. Also, Floyd Landis is quoted in the SI article as saying: "Lance told me that [Dr. Michele] Ferrari had been paranoid that he had helped cause the cancer and became more conservative after that". File that quote under: things that make you go hmmm. Also, yes, I’m aware that no one believes anything uttered by the "discredited" Landis.
This article confirms my feeling that Lance Armstrong is the Barry Bonds of cycling. Speaking of Bonds, Barry Bonds he’s facing perjury charges (thanks to Novitzky's BALCO investigation). If Bonds was a cancer survivor would baseball fans feel any different about him? No. We wouldn’t.
As a lifelong Orioles fan (go ahead, laugh) I grew up watching Cal Ripken, Jr. play. If the Orioles had a game, Cal, Jr. played in it. In good seasons and in bad, like when the O’s started their season 0-21 and his father Cal, Sr. was fired as Skipper…Cal, Jr. continued to play. He played in 2,632 consecutive games, all with the Orioles. Cal, Jr. played in all those games during the so-called "steroid era" in baseball and was never associated with the use of any PED. If he had been, my heart would have shattered.
Remember how outraged we were during the 2008 Summer Olympics when the Chinese girl's gymnastics team beat our girl's team with their toddler underage squad? They cheated. And while I do think that cheating is cheating, period; using PEDs in an endurance sport like cycling seems more beneficial than in a sport that also involves physics and hand-eye coordination like baseball. Seriously, anyone can ride a bike, including me. I've never tried hitting a home run out of Giants Stadium but I’m pretty sure that I couldn't even if I was on roids.
And while I understand that US Cycling isn't exactly Major League Baseball, Lance Armstrong has catapulted himself from US Cyclist to some kind of American hero. So while we as Americans may not care much about the ins and outs of cycling we should care about someone who may have duped us into thinking that he’s one of the good guys.
Cross-posted at Pundit League
