The Onion asked the question many people are asking regarding Mitt Romney's flip-flops: Who is Romney Today? Some of their observations:
- In 1998 Romney said he'd been married to his wife for 29 years, but in a speech just this week, he claimed it's been 42 years.
- Said he didn't like eggs but then turned right around and ate half a quiche.
- Has made repeated claims on the campaign trail that he is the anti-Romney.
- Has been known to tan on one side of his body for a while, then completely turn over and let his other side face the sun.
- During the 2008 primaries, he leveled repeated attacks against Sen. McCain. This year, he has been almost completely silent on McCain.
Now to the rest of the news:
- Regarding this second shooting at Virginia Tech, it should not surprise anyone. Security at most colleges and universities is conspicuous by its absence. I doubt if there is a school anywhere in America where one cannot just walk on campus freely (I happen to like to walk around campuses if I'm in the vicinity of one. I like that entire atmosphere. I've never been asked by any security personnel to show an ID or anything. And I've walked on many, many campuses in my life). I understand it would be difficult to secure most campuses, because they are open. But someone has to come up with an idea to make those campuses more secure. This day and age demands it especially in the age of terrorism. On the other hand, if it's a student, faculty member or administrator that goes berserk, then that's another set of security concerns.
- "Gingrich is Inspiring---and Disturbing." Those are not my words (although I agree with them). That's the headline to a piece in the Wall Street Journal by Peggy Noonan. She wrote, "Ethically Dubious? True. Intelligent and accomplished? True...Can he lead? Yes. Is he erratic and unreliable as a leader? Yes....He's a human hand grenade who walks around with his hand on the pin, saying, 'Watch This!'" So the question remains for many Americans: Does this guy have what it takes to win the "general" election? I say no, but I was wrong about him in the past.
- By the way, since Herman dropped out of the race, where are all these women anyway?
- "Recession Is Over News:" According to the U.S. Treasury this week, the net worth of American households fell by almost $22 grand in just the last three years. Stock portfolios also dropped 5.2% in the third quarter and home prices slipped 0.6% in the same period.
- Know this, when Pres. Obama talks about everyone paying their "fair share," he means raising taxes on the rich, more government spending and more regulations. If you're okay with that, then he's your guy. If you're not, don't vote for him (remember, "rich" to these people is anyone making over $200-250k a year, not millionaires as they would want us to believe).
- A question I have for all those folks who want taxes raised on the rich. Why, when we all know the government wastes billions of dollars a year? The waste in Medicare alone is at least $50 billion a year (Business Insider). And, with the exception of the military and most federal law enforcement agencies, what does the federal government run well? The Post Office is a mess. ObamaCare appears to be a mess. The only other thing they manage to do well is collect our taxes. But then they turn around and mismanage that money.
Regular readers know I like to start my piece with some type of humor. Today, I'm merely going to leave you with this photo considering he put his foot in his mouth yet again:
- Baldwin's problem is not difficult to diagnose: he's infantile. But, knowing how Hollywood operates, this could have been all set up to get him more publicity. Who knows? Nothing should surprise anyone when it comes to celebrities trying to get more print.
- On the heels of Pearl Harbor remembrance yesterday, I forgot to report on a historic dumbass statement made by non other than Charles Lindbergh (he was a big anti-war isolationist and national hero). The nation had been assured by Lindbergh prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor when he said, "The Japanese had such bad eyesight that they could not fly aircraft effectively."
- Good news on the weekly jobs claims. Last week, ONLY 381,000 people filed for unemployment. That's a 9-month low.
- But investors will need to watch what is going on in Europe this week. Brussels is hosting a European Economic Summit and all eyes are on Germany. Ironically, Germany is being called to save Europe while just 70 years ago, they wanted to occupy all of it. The question I have (and I've been having a really hard time trying to find an answer) is what is our exposure over there? Since this is a global economy, would we suffer any collateral damage if the Euros can't solve this problem? If my understanding is correct, we still have some safe assets like U.S. Treasuries where investors could find a safe haven. I've really been nervous about Europe's problems and their impact upon us.
- Another classic NY Post headline regarding former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich receiving a 14 year sentence for corruption: "Blago Is Blagone." By the way, was anyone really surprised?
- While I'm on the subject of felons, there was more half-good news yesterday. That stinking cop killer, Mumia Abu Jamal, will rot in prison for the rest of his life. Unfortunately, he won't get the death penalty. And just a reminder who this thug shot between the eyes:
- And speaking of felons, doesn't anyone find it interesting that the Obama administration--on record for stronger gun control measures--let loose over 2000 weapons to Mexican drug cartels? Hey, just askin'. Even more disturbing, but predictable, that dick AG Eric Holder suggested Fast and Furious guns will be used in crimes for years to come. The damage this incompetent prick has done to the country is beyond the pale. Now put him and Pres. Obama together and you see why we're in so much trouble.
- Before I leave this "felon" thread---god dam, it's long today---you might have missed this little gem of a story that appeared in the NY Post earlier this week. Former Pres. Clinton and British ex-PM Tony Blair both sat on the advisory board of Teneo Holdings, which was paid to do consulting work for guess whom? None other than MF Global, Corzine's company. And the Washington Post is reporting today that Corzine said he has no idea where the customers' money went (he said the same thing about New Jersey's money when he was Gov. Stinking phony). And to think the Obama administration wanted him to replace the other fake, phony and fraud, Timmy Geithner, as Treasury Secretary. Folks, most of them are crooks, and America knows it. The problem is we just have to many people stuck on stupid in this country.
- Maybe then it should be no surprise that almost 900,000 voters in key battleground states have abandoned the democrat party since 2008 as reported by The Third Way. They are seeing an increase in independents.
- On the terrorism front (have you noticed there has not been much news about terrorism lately?), The Congressional Research Service identified 54 home-grown terrorist plots and attacks since 9/11. Thirty-three of those were targeting our military. Congressional sources indicate there is some concern that terrorists are trying to infiltrate our own military.
- And in keeping with the stupids, The Onion had a great piece today with the headline: "In Major Gaffe, Obama Forgets To Dumb It Down." A short piece from the article: "...President Barack Obama neglected Tuesday to simplify a statement to the point where it could readily be grasped by anyone with the vocabulary of an 8-year-old..."
Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941:
Pearl Harbor Today:
Today, we remember the attack on Pearl Harbor. I agree with the author of "Pearl Harbor," Steven M. Gillon, when he said recently, "Because of 9/11, all of a sudden, Pearl Harbor is more immediate, more tangible, more relevant." Please visit my Dedicated to Heroes blog today devoted entirely to honoring the heroes at Pearl and the survivors http://dedicatedtoheroes.blogspot.com/ And please share it with others.
The News Still Goes On and So Must We:
Wilmetter, IL. --"Super cool babysitter Liz Levy let the kids stay up late and drink."---from The Onion's National News Highlights.
- How appropriate! On this day of remembrance--a day that went down in infamy--WUSA out of D.C. is reporting that the school the president's children currently attend, Sidwell Friends School, is having Asian food for lunch. They claim it's just a coincidence. Yes, the school actually proclaimed today as Asian Food Day. I swear I think I'm living on another planet some days.
- Well, it appears even Hollywood has given up on Pres. Obama or at least that's what's being reported. UK's Independent (why do foreign papers always carry this good stuff?) is reporting much of the Hollywood liberal elite is extremely disappointed in Obama. Norman Lear said, "He {Obama} can't make up his mind about anything." Robert Redford is disappointed with the president's lack of energy policies. Jon Stewart said, "I thought he would do a better job." And Jane Lynch of Glee and a gay activist added, "He's a big disappointment to me." Having said all of this: where do they go instead? They really have no one right now. I'm sure many hope Hillary still might jump into the pool even if she keeps her pantsuit on.
- Christian Fawcett's letter to the NY Post editor today regarding Herman Cain, "...The left doesn't champion African-Americans, it only champions liberal African Americans." So in paraphrasing Maxine Waters regarding her statements about the Tea Party,; for the Left, conservative African-Americans can go to hell.
- Investment Watch is reporting today that Medicare has spent over a 1/4 billion dollars of taxpayers money on penis pumps. And it's relatively easy to get one. I guess I have to stop using my bicycle pump.
- I'm not always surprised when I'm wrong since I can have long stretches of being wrong, but I can't believe I blew this call on Gingrich by so much. Gallup is reporting today that Newt is leading Romney 37% to 22%. That's significant. Only time will tell if Newt can hold on to this lead considering he manages to put his foot in his mouth often. And the big money is still behind Romney. But the data also shows Newt does better among Conservative Republicans and Tea Party supporters. I guess the "Family Values" ticket has been torn up. But this one still mystifies me.
The good news is the unemployment rate dropped to 8.6%. The bad news is most of those {jobs} require a sack, a white beard and red suit.---Leno
- If you have any interest whatsoever, the celebrities referenced above were the most Googled in 2011. Now, let's move on.
- Are we at war with Iran? Many foreign publications are now asking that question. Iran claims to have shot down a U.S. drone and there was an explosion outside the British embassy in Bahrain. Many international observers believe we may actually be in a covert war against Iran right now. This should not surprise anyone. The West cannot allow these crazy ass bastards to get a full-blown nuke program going. The UK Telegraph is reporting Iran's Revolutionary Guards are preparing for war. Foreign papers have also reported there have been mysterious blasts at government and military bases in Iran suggesting a covert war by the West has begun (LA Times).
- Last week, I wrote the 8.6% unemployment number looked like a mirage to me. Well, it appears even the NY Times agrees. They wrote, "Most of the decline in November's unemployment rate was not because jobless people found new work. Rather it is because 315,000 people dropped out of the workforce." In other words, these workers were not counted as unemployed because, according to the Labor Department, THEY NO LONGER EXIST. It's that simple.
- Having said this, it's important to be a tad balanced. Remember that August jobs numbers---0, Zero, Nada, no jobs created.? Well, it was wrong. The Department of Labor reported last week that over 100,000 jobs were created that month. Apparently, they made a widdle mistake.
- I have a question: Where the f>ck is John Boehner, the House Speaker? I've not seen him in months. Has anyone seen this man?
- Know this, it's not only the democrats who are and will be hammering Newt, it's also the elite of the Republican establishment. Recently, George Will questioned Newt's "wisdom." John Podhoretz wrote that Newt would make a great target for Pres. Obama. In addition, hypocrisy raises its ugly head again. Dems are targeting Newt's previous ethics violations. This from a party whose core values includes violating ethics. Republicans and Democrats have a history of ethics violations, but Democrats raise it to an art form. I'll leave you with one name that makes my point: Charlie Rangel.
- My take on this is this. I sincerely believe any one of the Republicans running would do a better job than Pres. Obama. But I also believe Romney would do much better than Newt in the general election. While it's true Romney just does not have that "Wow" factor, the reality is he would be an attractive candidate to moderates and independents---those needed to win. The primaries, in my opinion, rely to heavily on emotion when it comes to choosing candidates. By the time voters get to the general, their head takes over. And if you want evidence how bad it is when voters choose someone with their heart rather than their head, you don't have to look further than who is sitting in the Oval Office today.
"There was a time in this country when an overconfident f^ckhead like me could graduate and skate right into a job he didn't deserve."---From The Onion about the difficulty young people are having finding a job.
- Allow me to get one important point out of the way right now. On this blog, we will refer to the Christmas Season as the Christmas Season not the holiday season. If that offends you, SI-O-FRIGGIN NADA!!!
- Speaking of SI-O-Friggin Nada, I could be referring to Herman Cain. Let's face facts. Regardless of the questionable claims against him, he was screwing up in the last month or more with some embarrassing gaffes. In addition, since he's a black conservative, he would never get the passes that the likes of Bill Clinton received from the media (as far as I can recall, I don't believe Herman was ever accused of using a vagina as a humidor). And, yes, Slo Joe Biden's gaffes stretch from here to Iraq. But, as they always say, that's just Joe being Joe. No, that's Joe being a democrat. The media would never tolerate the high number of gaffes from a conservative, let alone a conservative man or woman.
- If any Republican were president now and there was data like what is to follow, we would never hear the end of it. A report from Crain's NY Business, NYC has handed out $3.5 billion in food stamps, up from $1.5 billion in 2009. Also, the number of children living in families that are struggling with hunger rose 37% from 2008 to 2010.
- It's no secret that Alec Baldwin is a big time Hollywood Lefty (although he plays a great Republican on 30 Rock. I've always liked his acting). But perhaps hell has frozen over. "Page Six" in the NY Post is reporting Alec said, "If Romney is the nominee, we have to get behind him and support that person to be president and give him constructive criticism." (Alec, I'm sure you're not referring to the type of criticism you gave your daughter several years ago). It should take Alec's publicist just a matter of minutes to come out with a statement that might look like this, "Mr. Baldwin never made such a statement. He was taken out of context. At this time, he has nothing more to add."
- "Muslim Brotherhood Wins In Egyptian Elections," is the headline in USA Today. Don't say many of us didn't warn you. And why is that bad news? The Muslim Brotherhood inspired Osama bin Laden and many other al-Qaeda thugs. As I've written on countless occasions, the Arab Spring is a myth.
- The cost of the cleanup of Occupy Wall Street sites has cost cities and municipalities big time. In Philadelphia alone, it's estimated the cost amounted to over $17,000 a day. In other cities, the costs exceeded a million bucks. And who will pick up the cost for these bozos?---the 99% they claim they support.
