Yep, it's a happy day here in SC6 Land.... It's wasn't pretty, but our New York Giants came back, tightened up, and beat the New England Patriots 21-17. Not to brag, but we were dead on at the end. We got both conference championships right, and the Super Bowl. We'll be honest - we never saw this one coming. All year, we couldn't stand watching the defense (they still need to draft LB's), but they came through when it counted..
We noticed another long time trend.. It seems whenever we move, our teams win championships. 1986: we moved to North Carolina, the Mets and Giants win championships.... 1990: we move to Upstate New York for college, the Giants win again. 1996: we move to Florence, the Yankees start their 4 for 5 Series title run... 2009: we move back to New York, the Yankees win it all once more. Pretty good trend. Perhaps we can talk each of the franchises into paying us to move back and forth every year or two...
That's the good news. The bad news is that football is over until August... Hopefully, you are a NASCAR fan, because that is all that's around until baseball signifies Spring is here. Yeah, basketball is here, but you know what we think of the NBA, and when you're an Islander fan, hockey just isn't as fun as it was from 1979-83... For now, we'll sit back and savor the G-Men's 4th Super Bowl title. It's too early to be talking about Eli Manning in the Hall of Fame. After all, Ben Roethlisberger has 2 titles as well, but Eli's well on his way. Who'da thunk it? Not us...
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This Would've Bought New Meaning to 'CHARGE !!!!!' ...
Welcome to the latest installment of our Civil War rewind series, where we note important and not-so-important events during the war.... in chronological order , 150 years after they happened. But you know that already. Honestly, there wasn't much to note during this time. Why? Mainly it was winter... Armies don't like to wage war in cold weather - ask Adolf Hitler how Stalingrad went. Oh yeah, he's in Hell...
The main reason there was little to mark at this point was after Bull Run (Manassas), both armies realized two things: First, this war would not be a few weeks. Secondly, they both found out how badly trained and prepared they were. So, they kind of spent the winter training , drilling and getting ready for Spring, when the fighting would truly come...
Like most wars, other countries tended to take sides, although many remained neutral, like Great Britain... One country that sided with the Union was Siam, which became Burma, which is now Myanmar, which in 25 years will become....... Kidding. King Rama IV, aka Mongut, made a strange offer to the US - an entire division of War Elephants. Yes, elephants. We're not sure if he was willing to supply all the peanuts needed to power the big boys, but that wouldn't have been a problem - after all, the North was invading Virginia, the peanut capital of the US!
This is a well-known fact that King Rama made the offer. What is lesser known is that he accidentally wrote the letter to James Buchanan, the outgoing President. It is a pretty funny reply from Lincoln, who was very polite. It's almost like he had to make stuff up to keep it from just being "Excuse me, King - but are you F**king serious ???".... Here is his reply:
Great and Good Friend: I have received Your Majesty's two letters of the date of February 14th., 1861.
I have also received in good condition the royal gifts which accompanied those letters,---namely, a sword of costly materials and exquisite workmanship; a photographic likeness of Your Majesty and of Your Majesty's beloved daughter; and also two elephants' tusks of length and magnitude such as indicate that they could have belonged only to an animal which was a native of Siam.
Your Majesty's letters show an understanding that our laws forbid the President from receiving these rich presents as personal treasures. They are therefore accepted in accordance with Your Majesty's desire as tokens of your good will and friendship for the American People. Congress being now in session at this capital, I have had great pleasure in making known to them this manifestation of Your Majesty's munificence and kind consideration.
Under their directions the gifts will be placed among the archives of the Government, where they will remain perpetually as tokens of mutual esteem and pacific dispositions more honorable to both nations than any trophies of conquest could be.
I appreciate most highly Your Majesty's tender of good offices in forwarding to this Government a stock from which a supply of elephants might be raised on our own soil. This Government would not hesitate to avail itself of so generous an offer if the object were one which could be made practically useful in the present condition of the United States.
Our political jurisdiction, however, does not reach a latitude so low as to favor the multiplication of the elephant, and steam on land, as well as on water, has been our best and most efficient agent of transportation in internal commerce.
I shall have occasion at no distant day to transmit to Your Majesty some token of indication of the high sense which this Government entertains of Your Majesty's friendship.
Meantime, wishing for Your Majesty a long and happy life, and for the generous and emulous People of Siam the highest possible prosperity, I commend both to the blessing of Almighty God.
Your Good Friend, ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
Yeah, it's pretty funny when you have to explain the concept of steam engines and efficient methods of battle to a nation's ruler. Then again, kings are generally not the brightest of leaders. Lincoln was nice to Rama, and it reminds me of the reply letters Bobby gets from political leaders all the time, when he complains about EVERYTHING to them! Yeah, it would have been a pretty interesting sight to view a thousand elephants charging the Confederate lines.... until they all get shredded by canister fire. Anyway, that's how it happened, 150 years ago this week!
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"Government is instituted for the common good; for the protection, safety, prosperity, and happiness of the people; and not for profit, honor, or private interest of any one man, family, or class of men; therefore, the people alone have an incontestable, unalienable, and indefeasible right to institute government; and to reform, alter, or totally change the same, when their protection, safety, prosperity, and happiness require it."
- John Adams, 1776.
True to the last word.... No explanation needed on that one, right? Good, because we want to start watching football! All we want to add is this question: Did we ever tell you how much we love Kate Beckinsale???
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Less than three hours til kickoff, and we're pretty sure you aren't reading us right now.. That's OK, we don't want to be blogging at this point either, but it is Sunday, and there are a couple staple posts we do every Sunday.. So, we will meet our obligations to the readers - minimally!
The major topic around the political cartoon world was Mitt Romney's win in Florida, and his seemingly tight hold on the nomination. Conversely, Newt Gingrich went a bit off the beaten path to Looneyville with his 'concession' speech... The slightly cracked open door is getting smaller and smaller....
Meanwhile, in the world outside of politics, after years of speculation, Facebook finally made an IPO for common stock. Guess the website needed to monetized after all. Eduardo Saverin was right in the end....
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Forget the QB's, The Key to the Game Is a Tight End ??? Yep!
We apologize for not posting the last couple days, but we've been doing some traveling across the Pee Dee and Low Country since Friday. We're in Summerville at Bobby's, and as usual, I am babysitting a three year old! Luckily, it's naptime, so I finally have a minute to analyze the big game..
Yes, with all the talent on the field for Super Bowl XLVI, you would think the key to winning and losing rests on the shoulders of QB's Eli Manning and Tom Brady - but we disagree. How much / well Patriots' TE Rob Gronkowski can play will determine whether the Giants or Pats win. Real simple: Gronkowski at 100% can tear up the relatively weak Giants LB's, and both teams know it. When Gronko was listed as questionable, it says that basically he will play, but he is limited to what he can do. That, or Bill Belichick is playing head games. You never know...
The Giants will single team him early, and leave the extra guy to either double Wes Welker or Aaron Hernandez on the line. Welker could be trouble, so the G-Men need to beat the crap out of the little guy on the line, all game. He will kill them on slants if they don't, and it keeps the pass rush at bay...
Now, for the Giants, they are in decent position in this game. I have two things for why I'm going with the Giants: first there is reality. The Pats' secondary sucks with a capital S... Don't give me the junk about how much better the D is playing.. Thye played Tim Tebow and Joe Flacco. Everyone was nice to Flacco, because they showed three cases where Torrey Smith was open deep (like we said), and Flacco missed him. Eli doesn't miss deep, and the Pats can't double team both Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz. Eli WILL find the open man...
Now, a little history doesn't hurt either. The Giants have that as well, and not just that they beat the Pats earlier this year, and they won four years ago. Yeah, they are in the Pats' heads, but here is our history lesson for today. In 1986, the Giants won. Four years later, they won again. In 2000, they lost the Super Bowl to the Ravens. Then, they won SB XLVI... It's four years later, and like hurricanes flooding New Orleans, the cycle has come full circle. If this is true, I will be 53 when the G-Men make the Super Bowl again, and 60 when the win it...
Like all Super Bowls involving these 2 teams, it will be a good one. The Pats haven't lost since the Giants beat them, but the slight edge on defense will be the small difference between winning and losing. Eli gets his second, and Tom Brady thinks about how he'd be the only 5-time winner, if it weren't for Eli... Giants 28-24.
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No, The State Song Is Not Hootie and the Blowfish .....
Part of keeping fresh material on a blog is keeping your eyes open.. There is always interesting stuff to post about. Take last night.. I'm at the Sumter meeting.... I look down at the paper placemat - and there it is! A list of all the state symbols and emblems for South Carolina...
You might not have an idea of how many state things there are... There are lots of them. I know the obvious ones, but there's plenty. We have 16 listed here, so feel free to take the test. No, no multiple choice this time. We have a feeling that Miss June knows all of these - but please, no cheating!
1. State Bird
2. State Flower
3. State Tree
4. State Song
5. State Gem Stone
6. State Stone
7. State Animal
8. State Fish
9. State Wild Game Bird
10. State Dance
11. State Fruit
12. State Shell
13. State Beverage
14. State Dog
15. State Insect
16. State Reptile
Answers:
1. Carolina Wren 2. Yellow Jessamine 3. Palmetto 4. Carolina on My Mind 5. Amethyst 6. Blue Granite 7. White Tail Deer 8. Striped Bass 9. Wild Turkey 10. The Shag 11. Peach 12. Lettered Olive 13. Milk 14. Boykin Spaniel 15. Praying Mantis 16. Loggerhead Turtle
(0-4) Congrats, you are about as good as me! Yeah, I know the Shag and Striped Bass. Personally, I think the Insect should be a Fire Ant...and I thought Wild Turkey was the State Drink, not Bird!
(5-8) You likely know the Turtle and Peach, but don't be too proud. The guy next to you probably knows who led Clemson in rushing in 1977.... like Moye. Go back to the books and study.
(9-12) Pretty good, without making us wonder what you do in your spare time. Don't be embarrassed about not getting the Boykin Spaniel, who we thought was a Carolina point guard - right? Don't bother learning the rest, it'd just scare us...
(13-16) Unless you're Miss June, you're a liar.... If you didn't cheat, you need to get out of town at least for a day or two. If you even knew a Lettered Olive was a SHELL, you are a freak! Keep reading the blog, despite the insults from the staff..
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Sen. Phil Leventis (D-Sumter) Calls it Quits....
As usual, with our arrival back into South Carolina, Republicans in Sumter County got some good, long awaited news.... It was a pretty solid rumor last night, but with today's announcement, it became official: Long time Senator Phil Leventis is ending his 32-year tenure in the Senate. If her were a woman, and the Sumter GOP were munchkins, we'd be hearing 'Ding Dong, the witch is dead....'.
Like we said, the word had been running for a while, and the GOP seems ready whether or not Leventis stays out or changes his mind. Two candidates were at last nights meeting at the Elks Lodge... Local businessmen Tony Barwick and Eddie Drayton spoke for a few minutes to introduce themselves to the small audience. Thankfully, neither took it as an opportunity to debate each other, which reminds me of a Charleston senate race a few years back that made even Tim Scott ask me "When are these guys gonna shut up??'. Even Congressmen don't want to hear too much..
Also addressing the group was Debbie Bowen, who is intending to run for Mayor of Sumter. The mayor's race is non-partisan, so she is not running as a Republican, and the official period to run has not come yet... She seems like a good fit for Sumter as Mayor. She has lots of business success in town, mixed with a bit of maternal charm... Like many non-pro candidates, she needs a little polish, but she has some promise.
Tod Williams is the 4th County Chair since we came on in 2004... While few can compare to the Braden Bunch show, he seems to be doing a good job. At least he can keep his eyes open for pictures..
Next up for us is the latest Quorum of the Four Horsemen of the Political Apocalypse, tonight in Wyboo.. Unfortunately, Tom can't make it. Then, it's onto Lake Marion High in Santee, to scout a location for the 6th District Convention in April, where I will relinquish my Vice-Chair crown. Then, I'll just be a pain in the ass blogger....
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Yeti-Like Creature Sighted in Woods of Sumter County...
We have received reports from Republicans in Sumter County that a local legendary monster has been sighted in the area for the first time in a few years.... No, it wasn't Bigfoot, Hogzilla, the Chupacabra or Swamp Thing. Reportedly, it was Sixth District Vice Chairman, Mike Reino....
Rumors have abounded on his existence or location for nearly 2 1/2 years... Some thought that he had been swallowed by an alligator while searching for an errant golf ball in Meggett.. Others said he took his guitar, and currently the tambourine player in Florence and the Machine. Still some have said he went on a hunger strike and would not eat again until a Republican won the 6th District, and died some time later. Apparently, the rumors were all false....
We uncovered a shadowy, blue-shirted figure in the trees adjacent to the Sumter Elks Lodge last night. Though the grainy object does seem furry like Sasquatch, it appears to be about 2 feet smaller than previous sightings. Also, the dress shoes and slacks lead us to believe it is just Reino with some facial hair....
Some of the counties in the 6th District and Pee Dee have been safe from the Four Horsemen member and Vice-Chair for a while. However, with this most recent sighting, local parties must be on notice that they could be attacked by this creature at any time, anywhere... And they all thought it would be quiet since the Primary was over.
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OOPS!! Looks Like We Missed 'Projections' - Again !
We doubt you missed it, but for the 4th year in a row, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has estimated that our Federal Budget Deficit will exceed One Trillion dollars... Yes, trillion with a T. Yet again... As you can see from the chart above, the OMB had originally guessed - and that's what it is - in mid-2008 at $200 Billion.. Six months later, it rose to $300, and once the Obama Administration go a hold of the budget, it almost doubled from there, to $600 Billion. Well, they were off.. This time by another $500 billion.
The OMB thinks 2012 will show a $1.1 trillion deficit. To us, this stuff is getting out of hand. While we would prefer the budget deficit be at or near zero, we are realistic here. Could we at least try to get to the $300-400 billion area again for now? While we would like to see a 3-tier flat tax, with almost all deductions eliminated, we know we have to work within the framework of the existing structure. Whoa, way too many big words there... Here's some suggestions:
End the Bush Tax Cuts
End the Social Security Cap
Raise the Retirement Age
Put SSN Funds in Higher Earning But Safe Investments
Cut Medicare Fraud
End ObamaCare
Shrink Overseas Military
Cut All Dept Budgets 5-8%...
There you go... There's some suggestions. Of course, the Simpson-Bowles Commission gave them a bunch of suggestions - and Congress ignored them all. We doubt in this Election year, anything will get done. Of course, if they did do something, changes are they'd likely get re-elected. We know it's a foreign concept, but doing the right thing often gets you another term - but why do that?
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The Former Speaker Points Out the Only Area That He Won...
We were going to to say 'bitchslap' instead of 'smackdown', but we didn't want to offend anyone. Not that any Gingrich supporters will be happy with either, but that's the way it was.. After a couple days of looking like it may be close one, Mitt Romney pounded Newt Gingrich just as bad as the former Speaker did to him last week, but in a much more important state. As much as we like to say that South Carolina picks presidents, it looks like that streak may be well on it's way to ending this year...
Yeah, it's early, but Romney is clearly in the drivers seat. The winner take all Sunshine state gave Romney an 84-27 electoral vote edge, with caucuses in some pretty solid areas for him coming up. Newt Gingrich can't wait for the Deep South primaries in April and May to get here fast enough, but he may be dead politcally by then. There were stats that pointed to good news for Romney, and bad news for Gingrich. After getting his ass kicked by Tea Party supporters and Evangelicals in the Palmetto State, Romney actually beat Gingrich with TP supporters, and lost by only a few pts with Christians...
Gingrich's big problem? Women. Big Time.. Romney wiped the floor with Newt as far as the ladies go, to the tune of 51-29. This is not a subgroup, like Cuban Single Female Doctors above $150,000 and below 35 years old... This was ALL women. It took a week, but Newt's got a problem with the ladies - even worse than me! You run on your record, and his past is catching up with him, no matter how much Callista says he's changed..
What also hasn't changed is Gingrich's hubris... I'm not sure I've seen a stranger concession speech (if that's what it was) in my life. You get your ass handed to you, so what do you do? You don't congratulate the winner, you don't say what you did wrong or how you'll fix it. Instead, you send your supporters of to Fantasyland, describing what you're going to do in the first 2 hours on Inauguration Day??? Wrong time, wrong place, wrong message...
An interesting comment was made while I watched last night. With the writing being pretty much on the wall, will Newt Gingrich try to take Mitt Romney out with him, or will he take the higher road, and go back to being the Wise Father of the party? One of them said, "For someone who makes all his money consulting and giving motivational speeches to party members, he better!' True enough... Lots of things are never forgotten when someone does what's worst for the party in a campaign. What he does remains to be seen...
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South Beach and the Other 4 Florida's Make Their Choice Today
After 10 days of being the sole focus of the Republican Party, and two debates, the voters of Florida will give a clearer picture of who the nominee will be.. Yes, with a 50 delegate, winner take all primary up for grabs, whoever wins today will be the leader for the battle to take on Barack Obama in November...
OK, that's enough with the buildup... It's pretty obvious that Mitt Romney is going to win Florida today. The real question is by how much? Polls are showing Romney up by about 15 points over Newt Gingrich. At first , it looked like Gingrich had taken advantage of his showing in South Carolina, and had actually passed Romney. But there were a couple factors that turned the tide...
It appears that undecideds are actually watching the debates, because with each debate, the polls shift much more than they used to.. Gingrich wasn't his usual sharp self, while Romney righted his ship at the podium. Also, Gingrich's ties to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as a historian (or lobbyist, depending on how you look at it) did not play well in Florida, where foreclosures have killed the statewide economy. Compared to Mitt Romney being a venture capitalist, Gingrich's ties were more palpable and thus viewed as a worse sin...
While the calls for Rick Santorum to step aside, so Gingrich can take Romney more head-on continue, it may not play out as he hoped. A telling poll is that if Santorum were not in the race, Romney would almost split the vote, still winning 49-33. It shows us that the voters are really doing their homework, because the is not much difference between the two. In short, Gingrich is in trouble.
All signs point to a significant Romney win... From here, Gingrich has to find spots other than a Deep South strategy. It's a nice block to begin with, but you need to win across the board. Santorum is praying (literally) for a Gingrich implosion, then a miracle. It's pretty doubtful, given that Newt's already fallen twice, then came back. Ron Paul makes nice window dressing and comic relief, but as far as winning, he is an afterthought.... Mitt starts to roll from here on.
Romney 44%, Gingrich 32%, Santorum 14%, Paul 10%.
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Senate to Vote on Insider Trading Bill This Week....
Thanks to our good friends at MegaVote, we got notification of impending bills coming to the House and Senate. Most of these are unrecognizable or inexplicable, so we can't normally post on them until after they are voted on. The good news here is we're pretty familiar with the topic, so for once, we can tell you about something BEFORE it happens...
This week, the Senate will take up bill S.2038, aka the Stop Trading On Congressional Knowledge Bill, or STOCK... Yes, Congress does love it's anagrams.. Guess Senate/House Insider Trading Bill (SHIT) wasn't considered..... What? Ohhh.... While it sounds like Congress doing something to fix itself would be a good idea, we have little hope.
For those of you unfamiliar with the issue, we'll briefly go over it. A few months ago, 60 Minutes did a piece on Congressional Insider Trading. Insider Trading is basically using private information to profit personally. Stock Brokers aren't supposed to use it, but of course they do. The part that people didn't know is that members of the House and Senate have been doing the same thing for decades. Don't act surprised...
As Gordon Gekko said, if you are not on the inside, you are on the outside. Well, there is no place more inside than being in Congress... Think about it, with all the regulation going on in DC, knowing what is going to happen is priceless. Let's say a certain airline had a crash, and a NTSB ruling were ready to come down. Or the EPA were soon deciding on Fracking for Natural Gas in an area that would benefit a particular company, how much money would that be worth? A lot...
Being in Congress is essentially being ahead of the curve on every aspect of the economy, and certain members of Congress have made assloads of money by buying or selling stock based on that advanced knowledge. It's an unfair advantage, and even Congress recognizes that. The question is, will they actually do anything about it? We don't know...
We have our doubts. The basic problem is there is no one to make rules for Congress but Congress themselves... So, the fox is definitely watching the henhouse on this one. They are very likely to pass some watered down, milquetoast bill that does little, but allows Congress to say it did something. Isn't that all that matters? Still, when Congress makes it's own rules, they very often stick little riders that allow themselves other rights more destructive than the reforms they put under themselves. In short, they very well could make things worse under the duress of 'doing something'... It happens. A lot...
Will it go to the House, then to President Obama to sign? We'll see.. It may not even last the week. The Gordon Gekko's of the world are interested to see how it goes. Until then, if you want a good stock tip, we have some advice: ask your Congressman.
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The Carolina Panthers Unveil Their New Logo ....
For those of you who are waiting for the Super Bowl, but sick of hearing about nothing but the Patriots, Giants, and reruns of Super Bowl XLII, the local NFL team has given you something to talk about.... or have they?
Yep, the Carolina Panthers have 'unleashed' their new team logo. As you can see, there really isn't much difference. The teal has been replaced by a slightly darker blue. Also, the whiskers and nose are blue, one eyebrow is raised slightly from a new cranial ridge, the jaw is more detailed, and there is one stripe at the bottom, instead of two... Uh, yeah.
The good news is that someone at the Panthers staff almost justified his/her pay. Maybe.. The bad news is that, unless the opposing team spends as much time looking at the new helmets on the field as we are here, it won't matter much... Too much is made of uniforms. The reason the Yankees won wasn't because the other team can't stop staring at the pinstripes - it's because they had Mickey Mantle. Somehow, we think having Cam Newton continue to develop will matter more than the new uniforms...
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We Have a Good Reason Why The GOP Can't Center On a Conservative Choice... There Really Isn't One.
For months now, there has been a central debate going on inside and outside of the Republican Party as the battle for the nomination has gone on: Where is the Real Conservative?? It seems like almost every candidate in the field has claimed the title at one point or another. Yeah, lots of Republicans are conservative to a degree, but conservatism is not 100% of being a Republican. While it makes some in the party cringe at not being Ultra Right (politically, that is), there is a solution - join the Conservative Party. Yes, one actually exists, although they usually choose the GOP candidate anyway. Then again, you can learn a lot about football by watching from the sidelines too. Eventually, you have to get in the game...
That gets me to my next point: those who have recently gotten into the game. Yes, the Tea Party movement is a subgroup within the party, but trust me, it is NOT the complete makeup of the party. It's kind of like the little brother in the family that yells and screams for attention, but doesn't have any power over it. Need proof? Listen to all the jeers when Newt Gingrich's supporters talked about beating 'The Establishment'... Uhh, Newt is pretty much as Old School establishment as you can get. It's all pretty laughable. My advice to the Tea Party is this: the sooner you realize that 'idealism' doesn't work in the real world, the better. Our government is a two-party system, and Democrats will NEVER do 90% of what you are demanding, and Thank God for that. Shelby Foote had a great saying.. "Many Americans like to think of themselves as umcompromising, but it is our ability to compromise that has been our greatness." True...
Back to our original point. Why has there been such trouble in finding the True Conservative. Simple.... There is none. Don't believe us? You don't have to. just look at the indecision in finding one. But, for those of you who prefer proof, we'll go one-by-one, and figure it out together...
Mitt Romney
At first, he tried to put his conservative street cred card out, but even he quickly gave up. Smart move, because the worst thing you can do is try to be something you're not.. Easy call here. Romney pushed through Universal Health Care in Massachusetts, which is diametrically opposite of Conservative thought. Fiscally, he had been slightly conservative, but that gets knocked out by being Mormon. If there is one thing Conservatives hate, it's a guy who believes in a snake and a burning tree... C-
Newt Gingrich
So, what exactly is a Reagan Conservative? It's a nice tag. Thats about it. A Reagan Conservative is about the same as a Reagan Democrat.. Compare a Reagan Conservative to a Goldwater Conservative, and there is a real difference - the difference between winning and losing. Gingrich has a few checks on his side for conservatives: his Contract With America, which cut welfare and helped balance the federal budget. Problem was, Bill Clinton got more credit for it than Newt. Add to that his moderate stances with Global Warming, Cap & Trade and Immigration (which is realistic), and the Real Conservative tag is BS. C
Rick Santorum
On social issues, Santorum's conservative base can't be questioned. He's not only talked the talk, he's walked the walk. Good enough, right? Well.... Yeah, he was in Congress when the budgets were balanced, but Gingrich was more in the leadership position then, so Santorum loses there. The bigger problem was he was in the Senate when the Republican Party lost it's way with spending. Things like Medicare Part D were part of 'Compassionate Conservatism', which basically was an oxymoron.. And even conservatives don't like when you lose by 18 points. Only in the 6th SC District do they put up the same loser over and over and over and over.... C+
Ron Paul
Paul drives me crazy sometimes... I listen to him on some issues, and he makes total sense. Small government, balanced budgets, keeping the lines of communication open with Cuba and Iran... He makes a lot of sense, which is a nice change of pace from the tough talk the others do, but have no idea how to do. Then, he goes off the ledge on The Fed, Income Taxes, Drug Legalization and ending almost every branch of government... Conservative? Not quite. Ron Paul is a strict Constitutional/Libertarian. Like most of them, they use the Republican Party becuase no one wants 4% of the vote. C-.
Now to answer the question you are asking: 'Hey Mr. Smartass, so WHO is the Real Conservative here? The answer is there is none... Why? Because you cannot be in a position to run for President without having some sense of moderation politically. Even Senators have to play the game from both sides... What about the rest? Rick Perry? Nope, check his immigration, then check to make sure you have a heart.. Herman Cain? No record whatsoever.... That leads us to our last choice, and our case in point: Michelle Bachmann.
Yep, if you were looking for a Real Conservative, then you should have voted for Bachmann. That's the problem. First off, Bachmann and the term 'bat shit crazy' seem to go hand in hand. Why, because Bachmann never had a real plan, except for nice 10 second quotes. That is why you never see anyone above Congressperson as part of the Tea Party movement - their views don't work for anyone that has to actually run anything. Strict Conservatism doesn't play on the large scale, which is why none of the field left quite fits the bill. None are abject failures, as evidenced by their grades, but none made the Honor Roll. It may not make some of you happy now, but it'll be a nice 'compromise' in November.... Can't stand that word, can you??
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"If there is a form of government, then, whose principle and foundation is virtue, will not every sober man acknowledge it better calculated to promote the general happiness than any other form?"
- John Adams, 1776.
Easy enough.. If our government has good ideals and is honest, they will naturally think of the general welfare in all their decisions, rather than special interests of a few. It seems to have been lost in translation recently..
Something that leads to general happiness here is Melissa Carnett.. Sober or Straight, she works for us!
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Since you've all been such good boys and girls lately, we decided to give you a treat - one that we've never done before - THREE Cartoons! What, were you expecting cash???? Like most people, we like having elections, but we hate campaigns. Why? Because campaigns suck.. First , you have the attack ads, like they're picking on above..
Then you have all the debates, which I think is up to 20 now... Yeah, they're starting to become repetitive at this point, but every state needs 2 debates, right?
So, to get away from the campaigns, we finally got to the bottom of Barack Obama and Gov. Jan Brewer (R-Az) this week. Never discuss religion, politics, music... or books!
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For those of you who haven't made your Super Bowl plans yet, and live in the Pee Dee, we have a suggestion for you: mix your Football and Politics into one! How? By coming to Andre Bauer's Super Bowl party in Florence....
Yes, the former Lt. Gov. and 7th District candidate is hosting a soiree at Alchemy on Dargan Street in Flotown. The good news is you can watch the game, and meet a candidate. The bad news is ..... wait for it.... it's a cash bar. With the good, you gotta take the bad.
We know what your question is: will WE be there? It appears to be no. Right know, our Super Bowl is filled with Manning's. Friday night will be at Moye's hut on the lake, then Saturday, it's off to Summerville to hang with Bobbo. Sunday, we will find a nice Giants bar in Charleston to watch the game with some old and new friends... It'll fall apart at some point. It always does, but we're not sure where it will deviate from plan. That's always the fun of it..
So, if you're unsure of what to do Super Bowl Sunday, you know have another option. Choose wisely!
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Survey Shows Chicks Would Rather Cheat With the Giants' QB Than With Pats' Tom Brady... and We Know Why.
Give him some credit.. Eli Manning does have a little of that Joh Kennedy Jr. thing going on here. OK, maybe more like the guy from Sixteen Candles.... It's Super Bowl week, and we do mean SUPER! Yes, our G-Men have pulled off what seemed impossible a month or so ago, and are ready to play Tom Brady and the Patriots. Now, onto the question all of America is asking.... Who Do Chicks Dig More??
No, we haven't figured women out at all. We leave it up to the experts - you know, people who actually talk to them... We don't know what the single women think, but we got some insight into how married women think. In a survey taken this week. Women say if they could choose, they would have an afair with Eli Manning over Tom Brady. Yeah, a bit of a surprise to us guys. Peyton's little brother won almost 3 to 2. But reading some comments gave us an idea..
Things like 'boyish good looks' and 'sweetness' made up for Brady's cool hair and style. Another reason? Brady is viewed as kind of a scumbag... Why? Well, most of us guys forgot that he dumped a pregnant Bridget Moynihan for his current wife, model Giselle Bundchen. However, women NEVER forget that stuff. It's kind of funny, because we don't see the correlation between ethics and cheating.. Seriously, if you're cheating on your husband, you're gonna care what kind of guy you do it with? Like it really matters...
We have a different theory... We don't think the reason would be as honorable as Eli Manning's boyish looks. We think it's his quietness. Maybe it's shyness, but Eli doesn't talk much, and that's what a cheating woman would want - a guy who keeps his trap shut. You cheat with Tom Brady, and there'll be 500 papparazi in the bushes outside your house... Next thing you know, TB's on with Jim Nantz for the 20th time, gabbing about it. That's when your hubby owns everything - except the kids. No guy can deal with that... It's the truth.
Nope, you cheat with Eli, and NO ONE will probably know. Even if he did gab, who's gonna understand him - or believe him for that matter? Nope, Eli's the man... For more reasons than one!
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The Speaker's Leaving Too Many Spots Blank For The Nomination..
We're 2 days away from the Florida Primary, and although things are not crystal clear, they are starting to clarify a bit. No, we don't see anyone in the GOP wrapping up the nomination anytime soon. Newt Gingrich is running a close second to Mitt Romney, which is nothing to be embarrassed about. But second place is the first loser, and there is no Miss Congeniality in presidential races.. Candidates often try to minimize their weaknesses, and Gingrich has a major problem on his hands - his organization.
Mitt Romney's strength is that he has a nationwide organization, while Gingrich put all his marbles in South Carolina. It paid off well here, but to win, you need a lot more than South Carolina. It's a national race, and Gingrich simply has not put together a national team...and it may be too late.
It's all numbers. According to numerous sources, Gingrich has failed to qualify to be on the ballot all over the place. There are over 2000 delegates up for grabs, and you need about 1100 to win. Gingrich is giving up on 544 of those contested delegates. Simply put, Newt has no shot at almost 25% of the delegates. He's giving Romney half of what he needs to get the nomination. He'd have to win more than 2/3 of the remaining ones left to win, and with most of them being awarded proportionally by votes, that is almost impossible. Winning a winner take all state like Florida would cut about 10% of that off, but it's starting to look doubtful. If he loses Florida, then he is theoretically almost 600 delegates down. Game On? Nope. More like Game Over....
It all still has to play out, but organizationally, Newt Gingrich is behind the 8-ball... He's far from dead. If he can find that fire he caught in the SC debates, he could come back. Votes count more than money or commercials, but it takes an organization to get on the ballot, and Gingrich missed the boat when he lost his gang last Summer... It's gonna be a tough climb.
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Senator Kerry vs. Hockey Stick .... Stick Wins.
With the return of Congress, two things happened... First, President Obama got to do the usual White House visits for the winning sports teams, as both the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Bruins stopped by... Secondly, we get to see what the Congressmembers were doing while on vacation. Both crossed paths this week.
Since the Bruins are from Baaahston, the local delegates stop by for photo ops. One of the attendees was Senator John Kerry, and he was sporting on hell of a set of black eyes... Apparently, the Senator was back home, taking part in a pickup ice hockey game. Hockey is a tough game, and not everyone should be playing it - especially old guys. There's a reason people retire from sports - they get effed up. Kerry was no different....
Yeah, Kerry got Swiftboated all right (sorry!) - right in nose. I caught a knee there once when I was a kid... It sounded and felt like getting hit with a 2x4. My nose gushed blood everywhere, although it didn't break. Then again, I don't have a big chickenhawk nose like Kerry... His broke, along with the usual pair of accompanying black eyes. Word is, Teresa Heinz Kerry used $100 bills to wipe up the blood, but we can't confirm that....
Another great side story that day was the no show of Bruin goalie Tim Thomas at the White House. Why? He said it was no offense to Barack Obama in particular, but to DC on the whole. Thomas, like most of America, thinks that government spending is out of control. So, in protest of Washington, he skipped the ceremony. And they say hockey players are stupid... At least not compared to Senators, they're not!
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A warning before you read this post... We are going to be very honest and objective on this topic - almost to the point of being unfeeling. Yeah, we're going to be pricks on this one. It's not that we are bad.. We felt as sorry for Gabrielle Giffords as anyone when she was shot last year. In all honesty, we were suprised this hadn't happened before. With the lack of security that Congressmen have, it's been fortunate. The whole shooting in Tucson was a tragedy, and everyone has been pretty amazed by her progress...
Now that we have touched on that, please allow us to focus on what the people of Arizona's 8th District need - a working Congressperson. Forgive us for being realistic here, but Gabrielle Giffords did the absolutely right thing by resigning her seat in the House this week. She simply is not able to do the job, and she probably should have done it earlier...
From all reports, Giffords brain function is working well, but the part that works speech has been affected. A good example of this was the video her campaign put out this week to announce her decision. We didn't see the video. No, we did better - we listened to it on POTUS Radio. You could clearly tell that it was chopped and spliced together to form the speech. The vocal inflections were all over the range, where it was obvious it was done over and over and mashed into a speech. It sounded like a Customer Service voice machine, or Stephen Hawking's voice machine...
Politics is all about communication, and Giffords has a long road to rehab. As nasty as it may sound, it would have been unfair to the people she represents to have their district compromised by not having her there, fully capable of doing the job. It's sad, because she was considered a front runner to take Jon Kyl's vacant seat in the Senate. But, things don't always go according to plan. For now, she's doing the right thing. Her priority is to take care of herself, and the future will see where she can go from there... We wish her well, and congratulate her for ignoring the people asking her to stay, and making the right choice.....
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Anyone for fried chicken? Looks like someone would rather have it fresh... Of course, this does remind us of the Gamecocks and Tigers. Either the tiger is catching up to the bird.....or the Cock is leading the way. Depends on which side you're coming from.
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Aww, They're SO CUTE At That Age !!
Yes, we're a couple days behind on this one, but we didn't have time to blog... We didn't catch this as it happened during Barack Obama's State of the Union address. Hey, we can't blame The Whipper (or Ex-Whipper, as it were) for falling asleep on the job. We were promised by Jay Carney that Obama's speech would be full of meat. Instead, it had about as much meat as a Tofu Taco....
A couple things caught our attention on this pic. Of course, Jim Clyburn napping while everyone is in full standing ovation mode is classic! Dude, at least WAKE UP.... Then again, they do overdo the ovations during the SOTU's anyway... It gives you an idea of just how bored Clyburn has become during his slipping a notch or two during the past year. It seems The Sage has lost his luster, and his drive. It happens when you've already peaked, and you see the drop coming. Ask Lady Gaga...
Our other favorite on this is Nancy Pelosi... It would have been more appropriate if San Fran Nan had dropped her pantsuit (ugh, bad visual there) and donned a cheerleader outfit and Pom-Pom's...EVERYBODY UP, EVERYBODY DOWN !!!! 2,4,6,8 - RAISE THE RICH'S TAX RATE !! GOOOOOO, OBAMA!!!!
Yes, sometimes politics is simply laughable... Oops, time for our nap!
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If you've read us before, you know we are not unbiased when it comes to Joe Paterno and Penn State football... My dad grew up in Pennsylvania coal country, and I have more relatives there than you can shake a stick at. There aren't any major colleges in Long Island, so when it came to a favorite college football team, Penn State was it. Joe Paterno is a legend there, and always will be. History may not make him marbleized, like the South has done to Robert E. Lee, but even the best statues have a little tarnish on it...
There is no secret that Paterno wanted to die as PSU coach. Why? Because it was all he knew. There was a lot of irony is Paterno's passing. Just like Bear Bryant, Paterno didn't last long without football. At first, I thought Saturday would have been appropriate day for JoePa to pass away, but Saturday was the day he usually won on.... Sunday was a day of rest. God's day...
I thought at first that I might be the only who thought that Paterno died of a broken heart, but that went away pretty quickly... Matt Millen voiced that thought within an hour of the announcement that he died, and lots of others repeated it as well... JoePa didn't get his wish to leave this world as the Nittany Lions coach, but he got just about everything else..
No, you can't summarize Paterno without addressing the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal.. Like most fans, we're torn. Technically, Paterno did his job by passing the information to his superior. In hindsight, it wasn't enough when nothing was done. Maybe it was from a sense of loyalty to his longtime assistant, but JoePa let it slide in the hopes of it going away, and that was the wrong thing to do. Laws are there for everyone, without asterisks... Does it make him liable, or even worthy of his dismissal. No to use, but we don't thrive in the politics of big time athletics....
All in all, Paterno's legend will survive the slings and arrows of his mistakes. Like I said on my Facebook page, he WAS Penn State. We foresee tough times for their football program, but that wasn't always his priority... Joe Paterno ran a college football program like it should: he taught his guys about character, he graduated them - oh, and he won too. More than anyone.. Penn State will have their first new coach since three years before I was born.. For a lot of us, Joe Paterno represented what was right about amateur sports, and life in general.. Heaven will no doubt let him in - and surely JoePa will run right up the middle to get there!
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As you probably know, we are making the move back to SC tomorrow, so we are a bit short on time today, so we're just posting one cartoon, and skipping the Founders Quote. Forgive us... It was hard to tell, but Congress actually went back into session after their Holiday Recess, but they got right back to work.... Or did they? We didn't notice either...
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The 49ers Alex Smith Tries to Reach the Elite Air of Super Bowl QB..
Just like the GOP Primary, it's down to four.. There's no doubt who we're rooting for, but it sure hasn't helped our picks. Not that we have a great history of playoff picks anyway. Just like last year, we're 3-5 and searching for magic pixie dust. After thinking, we're going to be honest with ourselves, and just pick em... Onto the games!
Baltimore at New England
It's a pretty interesting matchup. The Ravens are a great road team, with a tough D and running game that often wins playoff games. On the other hand, The Patriots have an offense that even the Ravens might not be able to stop. Tom Brady is a big game QB (duh!).
The key we guess is how well the Pats D holds up against the Ravens. They stopped Tim Tebow, but Joe Flacco is a much better QB , though not super. They'll need to stretch the defense, and Torrey Smith, who is often invisible, needs a breakout game. But, the ability to put up 30 points, even against New England, is a tall order. Why 30? Because you CAN'T stop the Patriots offense.
Ray Lewis is out of his aging skill set here. Unless the Ravens can figure out how to double team Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez and Wes Welker at the same time, someone will be open - and Brady will find him.
Patriots 31-20.
New York at San Francisco
So, can my G-Men make it to their 5th Super Bowl, or do the 49ers return to former glory? We like history backing up today's guesses, and we have had plenty to justify the Giants improbable run... The Giants are hit or miss. they field plenty of good teams, but if they make it to the NFC Championship, they make it to the Super Bowl. Also, we go back to 1990, when the Giants took on a favored 49er team in San Francisco, and won 15-13 on 5 Matt Bahr field goals. Yeah, that one sticks out...
The 49er D-line scares the crap out of us, but the rest has it's spots to exploit. Face it, the Niners didn't stop the Saints, they just ended up with the ball last. Alex Smith has been playing up to his potential (or is it over his head), but here's what the Giants need to do: double team Vernon Davis - all game. The 49er receivers are not good, so taking Davis out, and neutralizing Frank Gore will make it tough for Smith to do much.
Eli Manning has been awesome this year, thanks to his best receiver duo ever in Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz.. It will be erratic, because he won't have much time often, but he will get his chances. They'll run a little, pass a little, and do just enough. We've been picking against them on purpose, but we believe now. One last stat: the QB pictured on our picks has been 0-7, which we have done deliberately. Malocchio !!!
Giants 23-20.
And now, the Patriots can try to have their Super Bowl 42 revenge...
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We Go Inside the Numbers, And See If This Is a Trend Or a Hiccup..
Like we said, it's gonna be a long race... Yesterday, South Carolina gave Mitt Romney a gigantic bitchslap, and handed Newt Gingrich a convincing win in it's GOP Primary. How dramatic was the comeback? On Monday, Romney led 30-22.... It ended with Gingrich winning 40-28. So, Romney did lose a couple voters, but essentially Gingrich got all the undecideds, nearly doubling his output..
How did it happen? Mainly, Gingrich kicked the crap out of Romney in the two debates, but there are a few stats from the voters that make us wonder what they were thinking. In short, SC was set up for Gingrich to win, much like New Hampshire was made for Romney... Before we get critical, let's go over the good points. What made us happiest is that endorsements essentially don't mean squat... Personally, we don't care who Nikki Haley, Curtis Loftis or any of our local Senators or Reps voted. We make up our own minds, and it appears they did. Good for you!
What did they say? A few things, and not all made sense... The telling stat was that 48% now viewed Gingrich as the most electable. How so? Much has been made of the debates this week, and that's the point. No longer is policy or platform the key to electability - it's the ability to stand behind the podium, next to Barack Obama, and tear him to shreds in a debate. Yeah, Gingrich threw red meat to the voters here by attacking the media, but you can't accuse the media of bias in a General Election debate. Still Gingrich can debate better than Romney..
Electability is a good point, but we found a couple things confusing. For starters, voters viewed Gingrich as the 'True Conservative', with Romney dead last in that category, when the truth is Gingrich has plenty of moderate legislation and votes in his closet. However, it's not what you are, it's what you are viewed to be. Strangest of all was Gingrich's strength with Evangelicals. Again, he thumped Romney and even Santorum, who earlier got the endorsement of a coalition of a national group earlier this week. It's seems a bit hypocritical for devout religious people to vote for a guy who's been married three times, and admitted to adultery, but they see it as foregiveness... If they were looking for the most Christian-like candidate, any of the other three would be better, but they looked past that, and patted themselves on the back for being so forgiving.. How do we know this? Only 2% of voters said Gingrich had the best moral character...
No matter the thought process, the best part is that voters thought for themselves, and ignored the white noise of all the ads, endorsements and chicken bog speeches. It's on to Florida now, and it will not be as easy for Gingrich there.. Northern Florida is a lot like South Carolina, but Southern Florida is New York South, where Romney will do better. Rick Santorum even has a shot to do well, but with the delegates being awarded all to the winner, both he and Ron Paul may skip it... As we know, then days is a lot of time, so we'll just wait and see what happens.
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We Finally Hit the Polls In the Palmetto State ...
We're going to be a lot different than other blogs about today's South Carolina GOP Primary. We are not going to mention any of the candidates here... Why? Because when it comes down to it, today isn't about any of the candidates - it's about us, the voters and citizens of South Carolina.
For most of us in the SCGOP, we've been preparing and working for today for over a year... Whoever we choose today will be a lot closer to the nomination in Tampa this Summer. Is it the guarantee lots of us here like to think it is? We're not sure it'll play out like every other time since 1980, but we'll see...
Basically, the pride should not be taken in who wins or loses today, but for those who have worked so hard for their favorite candidate - and maybe more so to those who aren't involved in the party, but tolerate all the robocalls, commercials, and signs, and vote anyway. All of you are the real winners today. What we ask for today is to see what happens, then go back to normal life, let it all play out, support whoever is the nominee, and prepare to take on Barack Obama in November...
So, get out the umbrella and vote today! That's all we ask, and you owe it to your country to do so. If you already have voted, thanks!
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Newt Gingrich May Not Do Goal Posts For Paper Football Correctly, But He May Have Enough Room To Sneak In a Win...
We're finally here... One day left, then South Carolina will direct a clearer path for the Republican nomination. Will it decide who wins? No way... Will the winner of the GOP Primary be the nominee? Maybe, but it will be a long time before it is decided... We very well could be going to the convention unsure of who it is. But, we go step by step here. We're at the plate tomorrow - then everyone will evacuate The Palmetto State for another 4 years like someone poisoned the Barbecue!
We've been pretty good at reading the tea leaves so far, thanks to some pretty accurate polling. So, we're not clairvoyant - we just see the wave right before it crashes. It's pretty easy. We had lots of questions going into today, where we wanted to see how the dominoes fell. It didn't look good for Mitt Romney, who was left banking on the ABC piece on Newt Gingrich's wife to have some credibility, and to clear the air on his taxes. Neither happened...
First off, Romney looked defensive and stuttery when addressing his taxes, which he has a habit of doing often. If nominated, he better get that damned stuttering crap fixed, or Barack Obama will wax him in the debates... As for Gingrich, the ABC piece looked like a hatchet job, and Republicans have actually come to his defense, strengthening his position on the old issue. He also was much better at addressing the tougher battle than Romney had. In short, the waves are crashing in South Carolina - and Mitt Romney is going under tomorrow..
Romney has essentially held serve on his supporters, but all of the undecideds are falling Newt's way. The 'podium vs. podium' question as to who would debate Barack Obama better is pretty clear. Does it mean he's more electable? Not necessarily, given Gingrich's baggage, but we're not there yet. The fight for third has been pretty dull.. Ron Paul is not turning any heads, and Rick Santorum has not gotten the evangelical vote that he banked on. It seems odd that he can't beat a Mormon, a guy married three times, and a Libertarian, but apparently the voters are not placing that as a primary requirement...
Gingrich 39%, Romney 35%, Paul 15%, Santorum 11%.
So, we will go onto Florida from here... Does this make Gingrich the man to beat? Not yet, not by a longshot. South Carolina was where he set his flag, and Florida will cost a boatload of money to run with Romney - money he doesn't have right now.. Northern Florida may go for Newt and Santorum, but South Florida, aka New York's Sixth County, is nothing like here. Totally different turf... The string of South Carolina picking presidents may come to an end this year, but we'll see...
We'd like to thank you for checking in here during the Primary. No doubt we have some new readers, as our hit count has almost doubled since Iowa. Hopefully, you'll stick around for more on the campaign, and the General Election. We don't sugar coat or give partisan, agenda-driven advice..... We call it like we see it. And, we have plenty of pics of hot women to keep you interested!
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"Government is instituted for the common good; for the protection, safety, prosperity, and happiness of the people; and not for profit, honor, or private interest of any one man, family, or class of men."
- John Adams, Thoughts on Government, 1776.
There was another part that we didn't quite agree with, so we cut it down a bit. It's our blog - we're allowed. Your local lobbyist will disagree, but government has lost sight of who they legislate for - the whole of society. When they work for the overwhelming majority of the citizens, it is better overall. When they specialize benefits to a select few, at the cost of the majority, then things go wrong - generally because those type of benefits come at an exponentially higher cost. Whoa, too many big words there....
One big word that doesn't give us headaches is Francoise - as in Francoise Bourdahl. She benefits all!
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