Red And Yellow Then Came To Be

Cult of Personality

A little over a week ago Pastor Robert Jeffress made news with his introduction of Governor Rick Perry and his subsequent remarks when questioned by reporters at the Value Voters Summit. The meat and potatoes of Jeffress' comments was his classification of Mormonism as a cult. This remark would land Jeffress his fifteen minutes of fame and he would spend the next week making his rounds on many of the media outlets.

This might comes as a surprise to many of you but I'm kind of a political junkie. The truth of the matter is I am a psychology junkie and that in turn leads to being hooked on many different subjects, politics one of them. So I'm not a political junkie in the sense I know all of the ins and outs of sausage making (that's political jargon) but I do consider myself more informed than the "average" person.

In the run up to the presidential elections in 2008 it became fairly clear to me several months out that Obama was going to become the next president. I can vividly remember having lunch nearly four years ago at Round Table (why isn't the lunch buffet pizza as good as the regular pizza I have delivered?) with one of my best friends, a moderate liberal that has his finger on the pulse of politics. Two things were on my mind that day when it came to picking his brain: I wanted to know what he thought was going to happen to the Republican Party after they lost the election and what he thought about Romney and his Mormonism for the election in 2012.

I mention this lunch meeting because I want to establish some credibility when it comes to the way I try to understand the psychology of our society. I don't just look at any one situation and form some knee jerk reaction as to what I think about it. I often times find myself predicting where we will be on issues one hundred years in the future and then try to imagine the chain of events that will lead to the evolved mindset.

A good example is the gay marriage issue. I'm fairly confident in one hundred years this will be a non-issue and gays will long for the day when we prevented them the opportunity to make the expensive mistake of marriage (that's sarcasm for all of you happily married readers). This is the point that I am always trying to hammer home, it's not about the issue, it's about the way we think about it. What draws me to these type of subjects is the process that is evolving right in front of our very eyes. We are learning to see things a different way and that is fascinating to me. There are many things that are going to be different in the future, but most of them are unknowable right now. So when we have obvious things in our lives right now that we can be fairly confident will be different in the future lives of American citizens I love to examine them and learn about them. If nothing else it just helps us understand how we tick.

Having a modest comprehension of the history of politics and the election process it wasn't a stretch to envision Mitt Romney as a likely front runner for the GOP ticket at lunch with my friend. There are a lot of obstacles that are trying to prevent this from happening but the most likely predicable scenario from four years ago is playing out today, Romney seems to be the guy to beat on the right. And much credit goes to Romney and his campaign team. There is a large block of people in his party that are seeking a different type of conservative. The Republicans had control of the country for several years when W. Bush was president and things didn't work out so well. These conservatives weren't happy with their government and they went more to the right. What else were they going to do, go left? All of this leads to an enormous task for Romney. If it wasn't for this riff in the GOP Romney would have had this thing locked up long ago. He has done everything right in this election cycle and has taken his weak points and turned them into strong points. He is more well rounded than any of his competitors in the GOP primaries and even though liberals might disagree with every one of his policy stances they would certainly admit that they could stomach his as president if he were elected. That is more than they could say about every other candidate on the right.

This brings me back to Robert Jeffress. Even Jeffress admitted he would vote for Romney, a non-Christian in his view, over Obama, a Christian, if these two were facing off in the general election. But he doesn't want to have to make that choice. What he would rather do is vote for a conservative Christian over a liberal Christian instead of a "conservative of convenience" non-Christian. And he's not alone.

Jeffress' comments, calling Mormonism a cult, occurred on a Friday afternoon. Monday he landed the top spot on Hardball with Chris Matthews and the first twenty five minutes of the show focused on this topic. Friday night he capped off his busy week by being the lead interview on Bill Maher's Real Time on HBO. What was terribly disappointing about both of the interviews I watched with Jeffress was the person conducting the interview. What an amazing opportunity to have meaningful dialogue about a very serious subject matter. Instead, Matthews and Maher couldn't help but waste time delivering monologues and one liners when they had a man that was more than willing to shoot them straight about what he believes.

Robert Jeffress doesn't seem crazy to me and he doesn't seem to be representing some fringe element. He is a pastor and understands what his specific doctrine teaches. He is portrayed as some "nut job" that is spouting non-sense and this seems entirely disingenuous to me. He isn't saying Romney or other Mormons are bad people (he would even vote for him if he had to), he's just saying their religion isn't the same as his. This normally isn't a point of contention amongst religions, very rarely do we observe one religion claiming to be the same as another and the two disagreeing on this topic. He simply feels he isn't doing a service to his Messiah, Jesus Christ, if he allows his teachings to become tarnished or misrepresented.

Jeffress doesn't just point out Mormons, he believes the Catholics have some things wrong too. That is the basis of the Protestant movement, it was a reformation of the Catholic teachings. However, Jeffress still states Catholics are Christian, just wrong on some things. He believes Mormons aren't Christians because they had their own reformation and it fails when it comes to the basic tenets of Christianity: Jesus is God and The Holy Spirit (the Trinity), Heaven is the ultimate goal, there is only one God. There are plenty of other differences but these are the main points that lead to the vast majority of Christians believing Mormons aren't like them when it comes to being a Christian. Seventy five percent of Protestant pastors believe exactly the same thing as Jeffress about Mormons.

It's hard to discuss this much religion and still lay claim to this piece isn't really about religion, but it's not. It's about how we think and how we use that thought process to coexist with one another. When we vote for elected officials, especially the President of the United States, we want those people to share our views on the most important issues in our lives. Religion is a very important issue to most people in our country. That's why it's not insane for Jeffress to make these remarks. Whether or not you agree with the comments or the sentiment doesn't mean it isn't reasonable to have the discussion.

One hundred years in the future I don't know where we will be as a country when it comes to our religion. But because I'm always looking at other areas where it is easy to observe the paradigm shift as it evolves I am keen to recognize moments that are defining and shaping us for our future society. This is one of those moments. And, again, it has nothing to do with religion.

The most notable, by far, situation that is happening is the awakening of a group of people. A group of people that have never sensed what it is like to go to the polls and vote for the leader of the free world and know his religious views are different than theirs. This is what inspires me to have this "Is Mormonism Christianity" discussion. It isn't me trying to pick on any one religion. I don't think one is "more right" than the other, they're just different. What I aim to gain from this discussion is knowing that people will be educated on the beliefs of each religion. Is that a bad thing? Does that make me offensive? It's made Jeffress offensive to many and that's all he's done. I'm confident most people, when given all of the information on Mormomism and Christianity, will come to the same conclusion as Jeffress, even if they aren't brazen enough to call one of them a cult. The more the reality sinks in that Romney will be the guy they will have to vote for the more this subject of his Mormonism will surface.

So many times we head to the polls and we know exactly why things need to be the way we want them to be. We have heard the other "side" and we have dismissed every one of their arguments. Fair enough. But rarely do we head to the polls and know what it feels like to be the other "side". And because we don't know what it feels like when we discover these untapped senses it generates new emotions and reactions, it develops perspective where a void once occupied. If Romney wins the GOP primaries I can guarantee you we will have all had enough of the "is Mormonism Christian" discussion we can handle. It will be inevitable because people will be overwhelmed by trying to adapt to this new sense and won't embrace a new perspective without a mental struggle. They will battle it every step of the way, they always do. It's the psychology of it all, not the politics, not the religion, that is amazing to watch.

There are millions of people that have never gone to the polls and ever felt what it is like to consider the fact the person they are voting for has different religious beliefs than they do. Just as they've never felt what it's like the be a minority, or had a different sexual orientation, or a necessity for alternative medical needs, or poor, or without health insurance. It's not just about coming to a different conclusion on these topics, it's about birthing a new perspective, what it's actually like to feel this way. That's an amazing occurrence from a psychological point of view. It's a mini-enlightenment. It's experiencing more of the "truth". I don't write on these topics to "stir the pot", I'm interested in how we all think so we can work together to solve real problems, to make the ride more enjoyable while we're on it and for those that will ride it in the future. The more common ground we share and realize we share it the more our perspectives are the same and the easier it becomes to work toward a common goal.

Symphony of Destruction

I asked some enormous American corporation that exists overseas a couple of questions ...

Me: What would it take to get you to bring your business back to America?

Them (Evil Corporation): We've got 1.2 trillion dollars already that's been earned by American companies overseas. If we had a zero percent tax rate on American companies that were willing to bring their businesses back to the States and create legislation calling this process Repatriation and then pass the Free Trade Agreement, permanently lower the tax code, repeal Dodd-Frank and repeal Obamacare then we would be willing to do it. It really isn't that tough if you try. It's easy to turn around this economy if you just have the backbone to do it.

Me: What do you think would be the best way to get the American economy back on track?

Evil Corporation: You want to talk about some powerful job creation, tell the trial lawyers to get out of your state and quit costing business men and women. That's what needs to happen in the States. And passing Federal Tort Reform at the Federal levels.

Me: Do you have any thoughts on medical care and how the U.S. Government should handle it in relation to how it impacts your business?

Evil Corporation: Making a difference in young people's lives is important. Cervical cancer is a horrible way to die. We would like to send a message to all the Children that they must be inoculated to prevent a sexually transmitted disease that can lead to cervical cancer in young females. Parental rights are very important and we would give the parents the right to opt out of this mandate. This should all happen through an Executive Order. At the end of the day this mandate is about trying to stop a cancer. We raise about 30 million dollars a year in contributions. Some people will try to persuade us to see things their way and not issue this Executive Order mandate with 5 thousand dollar contributions. If they think they can buy us for five thousand dollars then we'll be offended.

Me: I know Americans want their medical insurance premiums to be lowered but you guys still need to make a profit. What can be done to remedy this situation?

Evil Corporation: The reason health care is so expensive is because of the cost of providing care. And one reason for that is the person receiving the care in America generally doesn't care how much it costs because once they've paid their deductible it's free. What we have to do is make sure the individuals have a concern about how much their care costs. And for that to happen we need "health savings accounts". Give people a stake in what the costs of the insurance and the cost of the care is going to be. People should pay a share of the bill, that makes a difference.

Me: If we allow people to be free and not have health insurance if they don't feel they need it what should we do if someone gets into an accident and goes into a coma and they don't have insurance?

Evil Corporation: In a society where you accept welfarism and socialism this guy might expect the government to pick up his tab. He should take responsibility for his actions, that what freedom is all about.

Me: I get you but, seriously, this guy chose not to have insurance and now he's in a coma, what should we do then?

Evil Corporation: The churches should take care of him. Americans have given up on this concept that we might take care of ourselves. Our neighbors, our friends, our churches would help this guy out. That people have given up on this idea is the whole reason the cost of medical care is so high. America should legalize alternative health care and let Americans practice whatever medicine they want.

Obviously, I didn't conduct an interview with an evil corporation. And I confess I made up the questions. However, these are real answers that occurred when Wolf Blitzer asked the Presidential Republican hopefuls questions in the debate last night. The first response is by Bachmann. The second and third are by Perry. Romney is the fourth reply and Paul's response to how to treat a person in a coma occurs last.

I completely made up a bogus question. However, these answers are nearly verbatim to the replies given. The only real difference occurs when I mask the replies to make it seem it is coming from a different source. The meat and potatoes and the outrageous ideas are quoted exactly how the candidate responded.

I've mentioned this before but when I watch debates I truly attempt to become a blank slate and just listen to the words. This time I didn't even focus on the person that was saying it at all. I simply just listened. I know I was being facetious with the interview but I sincerely ask you to imagine how a corporation would truly respond if asked these same questions. Part of me doesn't even think they would be this bold in some of their demands if they had to publicly respond to these questions. But how bold they can be when they buy "grass roots movements" and pump nonsense into the heads of ignorant and angry people when they own the puppets on the stage.

On every single channel today where a pundit had to remark about certain outrageous remarks made by any particular candidate during last night's debate the same line kept surfacing: Most people don't care about politics at this point in the game, they won't get interested until the Presidential debates takes place between the GOP primary winner and Obama. Is there any denying this? It's very rare I agree with all of the pundits when they start chanting something in unison. However, I do agree with them on this. Our history tells us this is true and what's going on right under our noses doesn't seem to have the attention of the moderates in the GOP.

The fringe element of the GOP isn't "most people". However, even though they may not be a true representation of the conservatives on the whole, when the general election rolls around they will have a true representation of a candidate that reflects their corporate sponsored views. And what will moderate conservatives have to show for it?

Snopes

Big fan of Snopes.com. It's a site that works very hard to find the veracity of a claim. I can get lost for hours on the website and use it for many different things from countering ridiculous emails that get sent to me or posts on Facebook that warn of some new feature that will give away all my personal information or folk medical cures for an ailment or just about anything. Earlier today someone used it against me to counter a claim I had made about the origin of a saying. I decided to share a taste of the site with all of you. The site goes into great detail on each explanation, here I'm am just providing a few tidbits.

Claim: Dan White's legal team successfully used the "Twinkie Defense".
Status: False
More: Neither White nor his defense team ever claimed his consumption of any type of junk food lead to the murders of George Moscone or Harvey Milk. They quite simply stated he had suffered from depression for a long time and it made it impossible for him to distinguish between right and wrong. The jury did determine his actions weren't premeditated and that seems an odd conclusion.

Claim: Prostitutes can safely challenge John's with the question "are you a cop?" because law enforcement officers must answer truthfully.
Status: False
More: Cops can lie while performing their duties. I used to lie all the time when conducting interviews. The most common lie I told went something like this..."why would so-and-so tell me it was your idea and he just went along with it?"

Claim: Police have documented cases of people handing out poisoned Halloween candy.
Status: False
More: It's just an urban legend. There was a case were a man poisoned his own son and tried to say he was poisoned from trick or treating but the man was executed for the act.

Claim: The Bible says three wise men visited Jesus in the manger.
Status: False
More: "...there came wise men from the east..." that's it (Matthew 2:1). There were three gifts given. "...and when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother..." not even a manger (Matthew 2:11).

Claim: The term "Immaculate Conception" refers to the conception of Jesus to the Virgin Mary.
Status: False
More: The term is a special decree by Roman Catholicism that the Virgin Mary was preserved free from original sin by divine grace from the moment of her conception.

Claim: Cats can suck the breathe from babies and possibly kill them by doing so.
Status: False
More: Simply lore, nothing more.

Claim: Elephants are afraid of mice.
Status: False
More: They are one of the most fearless animals on the planet.

Claim: Multiplying your dog's age by seven gets you the human equivalent of its age.
Status: False
More: There is really no way to make this work in any perfect formula. Each dog is different based on its breed and size. Here is a chart that gives a better estimation if you are curious... 1 dog year - 15 human years, 2-24, 4-32, 7-45, 10-56, 15-76, 20-98.

Claim: A frog placed in a pot of water that is gradually brought to a boil will make no attempt to escape and will eventually die.
Status: False
More: Studies show this just isn't true.

Claim: A dog's mouth is "cleaner" than a human's.
Status: Never been a study to prove this but probably not.
More: A dog's tongue is its wash cloth and its toilet paper. Having a dog lick a human wound is not a recommended treatment.

Claim: Sylvester Stallone's first acting job was the leading role in a porn film.
Status: True
More: It was called Party at Kitty and Stud's and he made $200.

Claim: The briefcase in Pulp Fiction contained the soul of Marcellus Wallace.
Status: Undetermined
More: It was purposely written to be an unknown.

Claim: Al Gore claims he invented the internet.
Status: False
More: In an interview he did use some clumsy wording and stated he created the internet but he was explaining his initiative to move forward several ideas including: economic growth, better education standards, and environmental protection.

Claim: Puff The Magic Dragon is a song about marijuana.
Status: False
More: The song was written by a 19 year old Cornell student that passed it on to Peter Yarrow (the Peter in Peter, Paul and Mary). It was always about innocence lost.

Claim: Marilyn Manson played Paul Pfeiffer, Kevin Arnold's sidesick, on The Wonder Years.
Status: False
More: Not even close. Josh Saviano played the part and Brian Warner (Marilyn Manson) never did any acting.

Claim: Van Halen's standard performance contract required they be furnished with M&M's and all of the brown ones had to be removed.
Status: True
More: David Lee Roth stated this was done to see if all of the technical specifications of the contracts had been read and complied with. Pretty clever.

Claim: Refried beans are beans that have been fried more than once.
Status: False
More: The dish we enjoy in English called refried beans is called frijoles refritos in Spanish. Frijole means bean and frito means fried. In Spanish the prefix "re" is a point of emphasis and doesn't have the same meaning it does in English. The best translation would be they have been "well-fried".

Claim: The FDA issued a warning linking Hepatitis A and green onions.
Status: True
More: They did just that in 2003. They believe eating raw or lightly cooked green onions could lead to Hepatitis A outbreaks. See honey, I told you it was from the onions.

Claim: The Great Wall of China is the only man-made object visible from the Moon.
Status: False
More: A photo released by NASA taken from a distance of 180 miles above the planet shows the Great Wall is barely discernible and there are plenty of other objects (highways, airports, bridges, dams) that can be seen from this distance. Needless to say, at 237,000 miles (the distance to the Moon) the Great Wall is not visible.

Claim: The average person swallows eight spiders a year.
Status: False
More: Lisa Holst authored an article in 1993 talking about the fact people will believe anything they read, especially on the internet. She created the false "fact" and ironically it has lived on and many people believe it. It shows up all the time on lists of weird facts.

Claim: A person's fingernails and toenails continue to grow after they die.
Status: False
More: It's simply not true. However, we do dehydrate and our flesh dries and does pull away from the nails possibly creating this illusion.

Claim: Rubber tires protect a car's inhabitants during a lighting strike.
Status: False
More: The rubber tires have nothing to do with it. However, the metallic composition of the car does provide safety to the inhabitants by serving as a conductor that moves the amperage toward the ground and not the people in the vehicle. And it is true talking on a land lined phone can kill you if lighting strikes. Another true tidbit is being around water (doing dishes or taking a bath or shower when lighting strikes) can be deadly if lighting hits nearby. Still, being indoors is safer than being outdoors if lighting is around.

Claim: Casinos pump oxygen to the gaming floor to keep the players awake and feeling good.
Status: False
More. Simply not true.

Claim: The actor who portrayed the "Malboro Man" in ads died of lung cancer.
Status: True
More: However, many people have taken on the role of the "Malboro Man" but it is true one of them, Wayne McLaren, did die of lung cancer at the age of 49 and had a pack and a half a day habit.

Claim: Bill Cosby bought the right to The Little Rascals to keep them off of television because of the racial profiling in the show.
Status: False
More: King World Productions has always owned the rights and Cosby has never had anything to do with them.

Claim: Sesame Street is adding a muppet to the cast that is HIV positive.
Status: True
More: They did this in 2002 but the character only airs in South Africa and its a mustard color female.

Claim: The winning pick three lottery numbers in Illinois after the 2008 election were 666.
Status: True
More: Shit happens

My Candidate

My candidate is patriotic and wants to save our country from losing its freedom. My candidate doesn't believe in socialism or Marxism. My candidate loves the troops and wears a flag pin. My candidate was born in America and has a right to be the President. My candidate doesn't believe in activist judges and wants to create Constitutional Amendments. My candidate won't raise their hand if asked if they believe in evolution or if they are willing to compromise. My candidate doesn't believe in murdering babies but supports the death penalty. My candidate believes in the right god that looks after this nation above all others on the planet. My candidate never takes a vacation and has never purchased a foreign product. My candidate only gives interviews to one news network. My candidate isn't going to make you feel warm and fuzzy and give you false hope with nice slogans. My candidate's name sounds American. My candidate won't try to be friends with the rest of the world. My candidate will give back the Nobel Peace Prize if it isn't earned. My candidate will get the Olympics here in America. My candidate will make sure we don't teach our children sex education in schools. My candidate will make sure gay people are discriminated against. My candidate will take this country back. My candidate has a lot of kids and owned a successful business. My candidate knows the poor people are much more of a burden to us than the rich people. My candidate knows corporations are people. My candidate knows allowing the Fed to print money is treasonous. My candidate will instill fear in the voters to get them to turn out at the polls. My candidate doesn't believe in death panels and the death tax. My candidate will bust your union. My candidate isn't an elitist. My candidate won't use a teleprompter or give speeches at halftime of basketball games. My candidate doesn't care about credit ratings of our country. My candidate doesn't believe in stem cell research or universal healthcare. My candidate doesn't think we should waste our money exploring space. My candidate doesn't believe in climate change. My candidate understands the Second Amendment is the most important one of all. My candidate wasn't born in a big city. My candidate will make sure we pledge allegiance to God and won't allow mosques. My candidate doesn't believe in entitlements and won't cut my social security or medicare. My candidate will fight a war on a tactic, not a country. My candidate will win the war on drugs. My candidate knows we can never ever raise taxes again. My candidate will sign pledges before being elected. My candidate will dismiss facts and just say the same thing over and over again until it becomes true. My candidate knows Acorn is a fascist organization. My candidate will make sure you can have the freedom to choose your own light bulbs without government intervention. My candidate knows the right of return...right of return... is something to look at down the road. My candidate was called on by God to serve.  My candidate knows "liberal" is a bad word. My candidate won't come up with any new ideas but will attack the other side for not introducing a plan. My candidate will never surrender or retreat.





My candidate is Homer Simpson. Doh! You thought my candidate was going to be a Republican didn't you?

Ron Who?

Ron Paul quotes...

*I have never met anyone who did not support our troops. Sometimes, however, we hear accusations that someone or some group does not support the men and women serving in our Armed Forces. But this is pure demagoguery, and it is intellectually dishonest.


*If you like small government you need to work hard at having a strong national defense that is not so militant. Personal liberty is the purpose of government, to protect liberty - not to run your personal life, not to run the economy, and not to pretend that we can tell the world how they ought to live.


*1913 wasn't a very good year. 1913 gave us the income tax, the 16th amendment and the IRS. 


*Believe me, the next step is a currency crisis because there will be a rejection of the dollar, the rejection of the dollar is a big, big event, and then your personal liberties are going to be severely threatened.



*Of course I've already taken a very modest position on the monetary system, I do take the position that we should just end the Fed.

*Our country's founders cherished liberty, not democracy.


*Setting a good example is a far better way to spread ideals than through force of arms.

*You wanna get rid of drug crime in this country? Fine, let's just get rid of all the drug laws.


*I'm convinced that you never have to give up liberties to be safe. I think you're less safe when you give up your liberties.


*Truth is treason in the empire of lies.


*Liberty is lost through complacency and a subservient mindset. When we accept or even welcome automobile checkpoints, random searches, mandatory identification cards, and paramilitary police in our streets, we have lost a vital part of our American heritage. America was born of protest, revolution, and mistrust of government. Subservient societies neither maintain nor deserve freedom for long.


*Failure of government programs prompts more determined effort, while the loss of liberty is ignored or rationalized away...whether is it is the war on poverty, drugs, terrorism...or the current Hitler of the day, an appeal to patriotism is used to convince the people that a little sacrifice of liberty, here or there, is a small price to pay...The results, though, are frightening and will soon become even more so.


* We cannot pat ourselves on the back for cutting a few thousand dollars from a nature preserve or an inner-city swimming pool at home while turning a blind eye to a Pentagon budget that nearly equals those of the rest of the world combined.


*Ideas are very important to the shaping of society. In fact, they are more powerful than bombings or armies or guns. And this is because ideas are capable of spreading without limit. They are behind all the choices we make. They can transform the world in a way that governments and armies cannot. Fighting for liberty with ideas makes more sense to me than fighting with guns or politics or political power. With ideas, we can make real change that lasts.

Have It Your Way

Fox News, a network I'm not a fan of, does a wonderful job of conducting primary debates. Last night they held their second Republican debate and it was impressive to watch. They asked relevant questions and honed in on each of the candidates individual stances on the major issues. They allotted the time well and allowed a fair amount of time to each candidate to rebut another candidate. All in all, I'm very impressed with their debates and look forward to their next one in September. Not so impressive were the candidates.

The major moment of the event took place when Bret Baier essentially asked all of the candidates if they would walk away from a debt deal if they received ten dollars in spending cuts to every one dollar of taxes and all eight candidates raised their hand indicating such a deal would be unacceptable. There are only two ways to interpret this, either these people are complete idiots or they are totally lying. I suppose it could be both.



Primaries are a tricky thing. The candidate must win the support of their base to get the nomination. The problem with the GOP primary process is they have no ability to look at the overall goal of winning the presidency. If it's just about winning a primary then raise your hand when asked this question. In most respected generic polling any non-named Republican beats Obama in the 2012 election. But to show how out of touch with reality the Republican Party is at the moment, when a specific name is plugged in Obama beats all of the people currently vying to run against him on the right. Think about that for a second.

Last night was the first time a few of the candidates actually tangled with one another. It happens in every primary and is to be expected. The only surprise is how well the Republican field has done to this point of not turning on one another. I contend it's because no one has truly emerged as the clear cut front runner and no one has fallen far enough off the radar to feel they are endangered of becoming extinct. But this will change. And when it does (probably very soon with Perry entering the field) it will get ugly. It will get ugly because of the fringe element that has a lot of influence on the primary process.

To this point Mitt Romney as been perceived as the front runner. However, his numbers are far from impressive, he hovers around the 25% mark of party members that support him. Even though Romney has run a very impressive campaign to this point and maintained his front runner status, I suspect we'll see him collapse in the near future. His camp has handled him well and positioned him nicely for a run against Obama. He has held the high ground and not challenged his conservative opponents. In fact, he has done just about everything by the book to win the primary and I give a lot of props to his team. But he's going to have to find a new book as early as next week when Perry enters the scene.

Any other election cycle Romney would have already cinched the deal and basically been the nominee by now. What's different this go round is the Tea Party element. They want one of their own to get the bid (and there's nothing wrong with that). However, it is going to throw a major wrench in the process.  For months I have been predicting a Tea Party candidate will win the nomination and I see nothing to make me think otherwise at this point. By the end of the month, if not sooner, I suspect Rick Perry will be the clear front runner and his support will dwarf the 25% mark that Romney has maintained. The Tea Party group will rally behind him and peel off of the other candidates in the field they were backing just so they didn't have to back Romney.

When this happens we will see some real fireworks. Romney will be forced to position himself to the left of Perry and it will cost him. The candidates that are enjoying some backing by the Tea Party at the moment will be forced to prove they are worthy enough to represent the group and they are even crazier and more incompetent than Perry in an attempt to get back in favor. It won't work but it will be damaging to the GOP. This is the problem with the Tea Party in general. It's not that they exist, it's that they exist in the Republican Party. Their influence forced eight presidential hopefuls to raise their hand in a debate and admit they are ignorant or liars. The religious right has influence in the GOP, the last time the candidates had to raise their hand to acknowledge they didn't "believe" in evolution three of them did it. But not all of them. The Tea Party has greater influence on the GOP than common sense and moderation. They are willing to have the party cut off their nose to spite their face. It is a short term vision and one that will lose them the highest office in the land in fifteen short months from now. A remarkable feat considering everything working against Obama.

To add salt to the wound Sarah Palin will enter the scene and endorse Perry. She has done nothing but position herself to become "king maker" since damaging McCain's bid for president in 2008. I'm not knocking her for this, she was minding her own business in Alaska and this was thrust upon her. I'm knocking all of the moderate conservatives that have sat back and done nothing to prevent this from happening. In the last presidential election a chunk of the base jumped ship and voted for Obama. Instead of taking notice of this and trying to figure out how to rein in the moderates and independents the GOP decided to hop in the passenger seat and hand the keys over to a drunk driver. And when they made it to their first destination, the 2010 midterms, without running into something they began to feel confidence in the driver. But backing out of the driveway and making it down the straight road is not the same as negotiating through the gridlock traffic and passing the sobriety check point that is fifteen months down the road.

For all of Obama's shortcomings, and he certainly has them, they won't even hold a candle to Rick Perry's. And as nutty as Bachmann and Cain have been during their campaigns, they are relatively new to the scene and people on the right just deal with them and view their ideas (for lack of a better word) as refreshing and not inside the beltway. Perry is different. He has been around a long time and even though he definitely can boast of some accomplishments, his gaffes and horrible ideas, not to mention his ridiculous prayer rally held last weekend, will alienate him from the moderates and independents. And the desire to not appeal to this important group that decides general elections was never as evident as it was when all eight candidates raised their hand to suggest they would never agree to anything that wasn't one hundred percent their way all of the time.

Room 714, I'll Be Waiting

Here are a few of my thoughts on this Super Committee ...

I could care less who is appointed by each "side". It's their prerogative to select their own members. I wish the two parties would quit whining about who the other "side" picked. They have a job to do, either they will do it or they won't.

Just by looking at the photo and not knowing anything about any of the members, I think it's funny the GOP picked all white guys. Again, they can choose any member they want and I'm not going to complain about it. However, simply from a public relations standpoint I think it's telling about the "big tent" of the Republican Party. I know it gets the ire of the conservative base when it is implied they are "racist", yet they continue to do nothing to change that image.

The question of the constitutionality of this "super committee" has been raised. From everything I've read and discussed with people whose political knowledge I trust, I don't think it's a violation of our Constitution. However, I'll stick to my original claim that our Founding Fathers would roll over in their graves if they learned this is how our branches of government evolved. Combining the two branches of the Senate and the House and limiting it to a select few and then making a recommendation that can't be amended by the other members seems hardly the original plan laid forth by the original designers. Ultimately the representatives will have their voice heard by a vote of acceptance or rejection but the political pressure will probably be too much and most members will feel the heat to jump on board. Maybe not though.

What I find comical is this "super committee" is tasked with finding a way to save, either by cutting spending or taxing or both, $1.5 trillion. If, and I stress the if, they are successful we will have accomplished lowering the total amount of our debt to roughly $10 trillion. Super.

I'm not suggesting we don't need to do something. However, I'm a big proponent of trying to identify and rectify the cause before treating the symptoms. It seems we make this mistake all too often in our political arena. We go to wars to wipe out the symptom and we don't deal with the original cause. We talk of building giant walls and rounding up and shipping out all of the illegal aliens and we ignore the cause. We fight a war on drugs and incarcerate millions of our citizens and don't address the cause and we simply ignore the basic principle of supply and demand. The education level of our students is on the decline and we talk of firing teachers and lengthening the school day, hardly the reason why we find ourselves in this situation. The cause for the post office losing money has been foreseeable for years but it isn't until they literally go broke that we begin to treat the symptom.  Our politicians are no longer working for us, instead they cater and pander to lobbyists, yet we run nothing but negative campaign ads and encourage an ignorant faction of our population to turn out to the polls in droves to ensure we stay on the same course. Super.

All six Republican members of the "super committee" have signed Grover Norquist's pledge to not raise taxes under any circumstance. That's a great way to begin negotiations. In fact, it's super.

If the resolution passed by the "super committee" is rejected then Medicare and funding of our national security will automatically be cut by $1.2 trillion. Super.

Are You Like Me?

I know many of you can relate to how tough things are here in America. Our Stock Market is crashing and our politicians have no desire to address the real problems. Gas is expensive and the interest on student loans and mortgages is going up. This climate made me want to share some of my troubles with all of you so we can see how hard times really are and hopefully it will inspire us to work together to make the world, and more importantly our country, a better place.


Just today I was trying to fast forward through the commercials and when I hit the play button the TiVo didn't respond and it went all the way to the end of the program.

Last night I specifically told the guy delivering the food to my front door I wanted two ranch dressings and he only brought one.

I put my left over pizza in the microwave and the timer is going out and it overcooked my lunch.

The nozzle on my shower is loose and the hot water doesn't come out at full force and causes me to take colder showers than I like.

My mail usually gets here by eleven and today it didn't get here until almost one.

I tried to sleep in but the lawn service guy was cutting my lawn right next to my bedroom window.

I couldn't find my favorite bowl to eat cereal in because my cleaning lady put it in a different spot.

I wanted to look up something on my cell phone but it was taking too long for the signal to travel to space and back so I gave up.

I turned on the radio to listen to music and then some commercial about the SPCA got in the way.

I tried to purchase some stuff on Ebay but my bank won't let me spend more than $400 online.

I went to the emergency room to check on one of my friends and couldn't even make it through lobby because a bunch of poor people made it impossible to get in. 

I went to the liquor store to buy some chew and some dude bothered me by asking me for change.

I went to post something wonderful about my life and how great my kids are on Facebook and someone ruined it for me by posting something about politics and compromise and I had to see it. It really bothered me that it had over 100 comments and I had to read them all. 

When the lady was done cutting my hair and took me to the sink to wash it I got a cramp in my neck.

The rack that holds my clothes in my closet collapsed from too much weight.

I went to Walmart and some retarded guy tried to talk to me when I entered the store.

I tried to call my buddy to shoot the breeze but he didn't answer because he has a job and had to work.

I had money saved up to pay for my health insurance premiums and now my government is trying to pay for it.

I was watching a rerun of Two and Half Men and they broke in and interrupted it to talk about a helicopter crash where 30 people on the other side of the world died.

I wanted to travel to Los Angeles a while back but the government was working on the roads.

I wanted to cry but couldn't find my Restasis.

Do As I Say, Not As I Do

“During the last 100 days we have seen an orgy [of spending]. It would make any local smorgasbord embarrassed." ~ Michele Bachmann on the stimulus and auto industry bailout during a conference in Minnesota on May 4, 2009.


May 20, 2009, Bachmann wrote Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, asking him to look into an application for aid that the city of Big Lake, Minn., had made to "develop and finance the Big Lake Rail Park."


May 22, 2009, she wrote Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood asking for support for the St. Cloud, Minn., Metropolitan Transit Commission's application for federal funds.


June 4, 2009, she wrote LaHood again seeking grant funding to extend the Northstar Corridor commuter service from Big Lake to St. Cloud.


June 19, 2009, she made an "urgent" request to LaHood to reverse a decision by the Federal Highway Administration that undermined a project in Waite Park, Minn.


July 2, 2009, she wrote LaHood again, pleading for money for road improvements in Waite Park. She added that she was "pleased to learn" that Minnesota's Department of Transportation was not going to "pull the nearly $2.8 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding set aside for the project."


Sept. 15, 2009, Bachmann wrote six separate letters to LaHood asking for help funding six projects (the Northstar line among them) through the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program.


Oct. 5, 2009, she wrote Vilsack again, praising him for putting money into the nation's beleaguered pork industry and encouraging him to help "stabilize prices through direct government purchasing."


Oct. 10, 2009  "We hear about fantasy football games. This is fantasy economics," ~ Bachmann publicly speaking about Obama's "charade" of trying to quell the recession. 


"I would begin with the EPA, because there is no other agency like the EPA. It should really be renamed the job-killing organization of America." ~ Michele Bachmann in GOP debate


Feb. 2, 2010, letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Bachmann asked the agency (the job-killing organization) to support a $270,806 grant application (filed with the EPA's Clean Diesel Grant Program) that would help a St. Cloud bus company replace two older motor coach vehicles.


Minnesota's sixth congressional district received more than $234 million in stimulus contracts, grants and loans, according to the Obama administration's Recovery.org website. 

November 4, 2008

I know you didn’t do this just to win an election and I know you didn’t do it for me.  You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead.  For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime – two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.  


The road ahead will be long.  Our climb will be steep.  We may not get there in one year or even one term...


There will be setbacks and false starts.  There are many who won’t agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can’t solve every problem.


...I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it’s been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years – block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand. 


This victory alone is not the change we seek – it is only the chance for us to make that change.  And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were.  It cannot happen without you.


So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. 


...In this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.


Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.  

How About A Nice Game Of Chess?

Let's play a game. Match this statement...


“We lowered our long-term rating on the U.S. because we believe that the prolonged controversy over raising the statutory debt ceiling and the related fiscal policy debate indicate that further near-term progress containing the growth in public spending, especially on entitlements, or on reaching an agreement on raising revenues is less likely than we previously assumed and will remain a contentious and fitful process."

issued by Standard and Poor's after they downgraded the United States' credit rating for the first time in the nation's history, to the person that seems most in touch with the reason mentioned by Standard and Poor's.
***

“This president has destroyed the credit rating of the United States through his failed economic policies and his inability to control government spending by raising the debt ceiling... President Obama is destroying the foundations of the U.S. economy one beam at a time." ~ Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann


“America’s creditworthiness just became the latest casualty in President Obama’s failed record of leadership on the economy... Standard & Poor’s rating downgrade is a deeply troubling indicator of our country’s decline under President Obama." ~ Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney


“The S&P downgrade blemishes our free Republic’s revolutionary experiment in liberty and self-government; consequently, it heartens tyrants and terrorists... President Obama is inept when it comes to creating the conditions or job creation and economic growth." ~ Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty


“I guess President Obama is left to cling to the “hope” that a mathematical error caused this. Is that the ‘hope’ the president was talking about?” ~ Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum



"...the degree to which he’s (Obama) destroyed the United States is not only unprecedented, but is the very opposite of 'getting it done.'" ~ Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich


"...this is because the Obama Administration and Congressional Democrats never once demonstrated a willingness to propose its own ideas for meaningful spending cuts, something credit agencies signaled were necessary to redeem America’s financial standing in the world... Such a rating is unfitting of the greatest and most prosperous nation the world has ever known. And such a weak leader is, as well." ~ Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain


Republican presidential candidates Jon Huntsman and Ron Paul both released statements about the downgrade and neither of them mentioned President Obama (they made a pitch why they would be better for our country and mentioned we need new leadership).


"We must do better to make clear our nation's will, capacity and commitment to work together to tackle our major fiscal and economic challenges." ~ Press Release from The White House