Newt Gringrich for President?

Seriously? Really? Could General Ripper's conspiracy theory linking "fluoridated water" with a Communist plot to weaken American society be true? Every time this blogger reads about the candidate's recent surge in the polls, a single rhetorical cliché best describes my thoughts regarding Newt's book selling run for the White House:

Can you say "Lipstick on a Pig"?

Despite Newt's well-documented, extremely checkered political record, a growing number of Republicans actually believe he's the best candidate to beat President Obama in 2012.

Good luck with that one!

Perhaps Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, who's NOT known for her intellectual prowess or problem solving skills, put it best. On CBS' Face the Nation, Bachmann stated, "He's the 'King of K Street. For a person who's been influence peddling for over 30 years in Washington, D.C. - to think that Newt Gingrich is somehow an outsider, when he is the consummate establishment insider?"

Hopefully, between now and the Iowa Caucuses and the New Hampshire Primary, GOP voters will WAKE UP and take another look at Jon Huntsman and Buddy Roemer. Otherwise, Republican voters should be prepared for the GOP to suffer its biggest Presidential defeat in its long, proud history. In terms of Jon Huntsman, he has an extremely strong foreign policy background (which during the Cold War actually meant something with Republican voters). As far as supporting a candidate like Buddy Roemer, well, GOP voters could walk away from a 2012 defeat with dignity and some glimmer of hope for the Party's political future.

Political Quote of the Week:
"If a corporation is a person, I can't wait until they get drafted in the next war."
~ Buddy Roemer on MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan Show
December 8, 2011



Photo Credit: Peter Rimar's wife in an art gallery located in Beijing's 798 District (May 2008).
Reference Links:
Lipstick on a Pig
Dr. Strangelove

‎"It is a well know fact that reality has a liberal bias" ~ Stephen Colbert

Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann's call to ABOLISH the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and allow corporates to police themselves is like firing every correction officer and placing the inmates in charge of guarding the prisons. READ MORE...

For a majority of Americans, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq (along with the follow up extended military occupations) were viewed through the abstract lens of our digitally connected, 24/7, talking head e-world. Some people learn about American foreign policy from reading a book or from watching CNN. This blogger was lucky enough to get my first taste of our wonderful geopolitical world sitting inside a sandbagged CONEX (shipping storage container) at the Port of Mogadishu, Somalia. After 9-11, I took several taxpayer funded vacations to Kabul and Baghdad.

After more than 26 years in uniform, I retired and moved to the People's Republic of China. For six weeks (July & August 2008), I taught summer school in the city of Huadu. After just a few days, my wife and I started developing serious, painful skin rashes from the local water supply. After looking at the arms and legs of my students, it was visually evident that EVERYONE in the city had some degree of skin problems. Indeed, EVERY DAY, one or two students would cry from the rashes. Why?

Well, the Communist Party's version of the EPA has no real authority. Second, and perhaps more importantly, the world continues to ship its e-waste (along with its dirty industries) to China. Unknowingly, my wife and I had moved downstream from an e-waste generated ecological disaster.

Can you say "Love Canal"?

Thankfully, once we relocated to the city of Shenzhen, our skin problems quickly cleared up. So, when a candidate talks about "abolishing" the EPA, I question that individual's political motives. Are guys like the Koch Brothers pulling the candidate's strings? Anyhow, this blogger asks this simple question, "what kind of world do we want to leave our children's children?"
Biologic Pollution Mask

"A hypocrite is the kind of politician who would cut down a redwood tree, then mount the stump and make a speech for conservation." ~ Adlai Stevenson

...another perspective...

If you're a Ron Paul for President supporter, please stop reading this post. For this blogger, this Libertarian's continued misguided belief that corporations will somehow police themselves in a pure free market economy is Utopian lunacy.

If you're a Newt Gingrich for President supporter, PLEASE see a doctor. Poor students cleaning up rich kids urine and shit is a jobs plan? Having children competing with their parents for the handful of jobs in poor neighborhoods will somehow "morally" fix the country? WTF?

Here's an idea:
Army Private Paris Hilton.

YES, there are real reasons why this country was a world leader in creating and then enforcing Child Labor Laws. The current GOP Flavor of the Month REALLY needs another HISTORY lesson.
Read More...

Anyhow, please forgive this blogger for temporarily straying away from the original topic of this specific post.

In the People's Republic of China, while the Chinese government claims goose stepping adherence to its version of Communist ideology (socialism with Chinese characteristics), when it comes to actually enforcing the country's weak environmental laws, the free market reigns supreme. Beyond the token measures taken by the Central Government prior to the Beijing Olympics in 2008, when it comes to protecting the manufacturing engine which drives the country's economic growth, both Chinese and foreign-based corporations enjoy a free market with ZERO environmental accountability. Can you say limited government in its purest form? Can you say profits before people?

With that said, it appears the Chinese people themselves are beginning to question the government's laissez faire response to the country's rapidity developing environmental crisis.
Read More...

Blue Beijing Skies?

March 2008

Photo by Peter Rimar

Update: (1/21/12)
Beijing releases pollution data after public pressure?
Read More...

GOP Flavor of the Month: Newt Gingrich?

Back in June, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann first captured the hearts and minds of the Christian Right. Then, Texas Governor Rick Perry rode onto the national stage only to quickly fall off his unsaddled horse. After drinking a six pack of Lone Star Beer while watching Faux News, hungry GOP voters ordered up a $9.99 pizza from Mr. Herman Cain.

Three political love affairs later (pun intended), the ANYBODY BUT MITT parade continues with former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich taking center stage. Seriously? Newt Gingrich? This blogger has two simple questions: who is answering the telephone when one of more than a dozen pollsters call? Do folks actually believe this man could get elected President?

Even the conservative sage George Will is shaking his political head,"Gingrich’s is an amazingly efficient candidacy, in that it embodies almost everything disagreeable about modern Washington. He’s the classic rental politician."
Read More...

At what point will Republican voters sober up, change the channel and take a serious look at Jon Huntsman or Buddy Roemer?

Gingrich Update:
November 27, 2011
Evidently, this blogger is completely out-of-touch with the winds of political change. The New Hampshire Union Leader, the only "Live Free or Die" state-wide newspaper, endorsed NEWT for the top of GOP ticket. NEWT?
Read More...

...Americana...

Cowboy Intersection, Gene Autry, Oklahoma (May 2010).

Pulp Fiction [Blu-ray]

Happy 125th B-Day Lady Liberty!

The New Colossus

by Emma Lazarus (1883)

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Enlightening the World: The Creation of the Statue of Liberty (Hardcover)

Tea party group to Bachmann:
Quit the presidential race?

Back in July, this blogger wrote:
"IF you want to sell books, land a job on FauX News, go Dancing with the Stars, earn six figures on the talk show circuit, use PAC money to finance a family BUS vacation & STAR in your own Reality TV show, RUN for President."


Evidently, I'm not the only one who reached the political opinion that the Bachmann campaign is about the candidate's own financial, self-promotion.


In a written statement issued by American Majority President Ned Ryun, he questioned the motives of Bachmann's continued run for the White House:

"In Bachmann's case, it is clear that the campaign has become less about reform and more about her personal effort to stay relevant and sell books; a harsh commentary, but true," Ryun wrote. "While other campaigns are diving into the substance, the supposed tea party candidate Bachmann is sticking to thin talking points and hanging on for dear life."
Read More...

This week in American History?

Poor Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann. Who actually remembers the Presidential Election of 1936? Alf Landon? Or his running mate Frank Knox? The latter of which went on to serve under FDR as Secretary of the Navy during World War II, but I'll leave this feel good political story for another bipartisanship kind of day.

So, what else happened THIS WEEK? The approval rating for the U.S. Congress, the bedrock of this country's democratic principals and ideals, is now in single digits. According to the latest CBS News/New York Times poll, only 9% of the American people think our representatives are actually doing a decent j-o-b. While GOP voters are still searching for a Presidential candidate to support, Congressional incumbents from both parties are wondering if they'll still have a j-o-b after the next election. Read More...

Beyond Lindsay Lohan posing nude for Playboy, the #Occupy Wall Street Movement and the ongoing trial of Dr. Conrad Murray, one story got this Blogger's attention. While it's a story which will never appear as some future newspaper sidebar highlighting this week in American History, it's a story which reminds us all, that during this specific week, the United States is still a country at war:

CBS News
Soldier in Afghanistan killed during
14th deployment
October 25, 2011
Read More...

...reflections...

IUC Nurse at the bedside of Medal of Honor Recipient 
Marine Corporal Jason Dunham 

Ibn Sina Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq

April 2004

Photos by Peter Rimar.

Should politicians wear uniforms like NASCAR drivers to identify their corporate sponsors?

The following is a man-on-the-street interview about the 
Occupy Wall Street Movement 
that DID NOT make it on Faux News:


Onion News: 
Rumors that Rick Perry invited Dick Cheney to go hunting are untrue?

Bachmann Update: 
Candidate runs out-of-gas in Iowa?
Read More...

Class Warfare Update: 
Buddy Roemer is the first & only GOP Presidential candidate to issue a statement offering his support for the Occupy Wall Street Movement.
Read More...

Happy World Teachers' Day!

Photo of Chinese Classroom in Changsha, PRC by Peter Rimar (July 2009).

Working Title: Two and a Half Brains?

Chuck Lorre & CBS in negotiations with Bachmann, Huntsman & Roemer for a new political sitcom? Rick Santorum slated to play the stalking neighbor and Herman Cain as the pizza delivery guy?





First Episode [Rough Draft]: Roemer helps Bachmann study for a test on the Founding Fathers. While delivering a pizza, Cain catches Santorum spying in Huntsman's bathroom window.

Winners Never Cheat: Even in Difficult Times, New and Expanded Edition [Hardcover]

Running for President causes Mental Retardation?

The Driving Mrs. Daisy Psycho Talk Express takes another WRONG TURN in Florida?



Vince McMahon is in backroom negotiations with Merck and Koch Industries for a WWE Raw Battle Royal featuring Crony Capitalism vs. Unscientific Rhetoric?

Herman Cain offered Iowans a Free Pizza with every Prostate Exam?

Ron Paul thinks Nuclear Proliferation is just like playing Call of Duty? It's just a video game?

After the recent Florida debate, Rick Santorum asked Jon Huntsman, "Who cut your hair?"

Newt Gringrich sold three more books on e-Bay to the John Birch Society?

Sarah Palin plans to introduce a Mama Grizzly fashion line at Target?

Thaddeus McCotter told Buddy Roemer a knock-knock joke about his dark horse campaign for the White House but forgot the punch line?

When Gary Johnson was queried by reporters about being locked out of the recent TeaPot Debate, the candidate replied "I have the munchies"?

...Americana...

Harley Dog ~ Edmond, Oklahoma (June 2010)

The Merck Manual of Patient Symptoms: 
A Concise, Practical Guide to Etiology, Evaluation, and Treatment

Gumby attempts to rob 7-Eleven?

GOP calls on President Obama
to put Seal Team 6 on Alert?
Bank of America requests the 27 cents left at the crime scene from Congress?
Pokey tweets Gumby despondent after being cut from Toy Story 3?
Michele Bachmann blames the EPA and says it's a sign from God?


‎"It's amazing that the amount of news that happens in the world every day always just exactly fits the newspaper."
~ Jerry Seinfeld

Gumby Costume (Adult)

The Psycho Talk Express Runs Out Of $2 Gas?

Ann Coulter called Ed Rollins. 
She wants her crazy-right-wingnut title back.

Actually, this particular POST is not about Minister Michele Bachmann's recent crash landing in various national polls. Yes, less than a month ago, she captured the Iowa Straw Poll. However, once Texas Governor Rick Perry stampeded his 527 herd into the race, even the early financial affection of the Koch Brothers couldn't save her campaign.

Also, this POST is not about praying for $2 gasoline or the record number of rigs drilling for oil in the United States (highest level since 1987). The oil companies are pumping MORE American crude than before Bush senior's administration (but let's not allow silly facts to get in the way of the GOP's talking points).

Last night on MSNBC (September 6, 2011), Rachael Maddox interviewed Buddy Roemer. Who is Buddy Roemer? Twenty-five years ago, there was this term widely used in the media to describe a specific group of below the Mason-Dixon Line politicians. They were called Southern Democrats. Basically, this wing of the Democratic Party identified themselves as foreign policy hawks and fiscal conservatives. After President Ronald Reagan, many of these Southern Democrats switched over to the Republican Party.

Despite being out of politics for almost 20 years, Buddy Roemer, one of these former Southern Democrats turned Republican, is running for President on the GOP ticket.

Why?

This man knows he has a better chance of landing on the moon than winning the nomination. So, why should folks listen to his thoughts about the current State of this Polarized Union? Well, instead of putting words into his mouth or trying to loosely paraphrase his remarks, here's an extended excerpt from that interview:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

In fairness to Comedy Central's Steven Colbert, the comedian has been working to educate Americans on the corrupting power of special interest money. In the case of Buddy Roemer, if given the opportunity, his campaign has the potential to expose the political onion to a wider audience. This blogger wonders if the American people are ready to listen?

“If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything.” ~ Mark Twain

Photo by Peter Rimar. Changsha, P.R.C. (October 2008).
Hostile Takeover:
How Big Money and Corruption Conquered Our Government
And How We Take It Back (Paperback)

A tightly closed mouth gathers no foot?

In a recent POST (read below), this blogger half-jokingly used the East Coast Earthquake to illustrate the level absurdity of some of the GOP's political attacks against President Obama. Evidently, Minister Michele Bachmann didn't get the memo.


On Sunday (8/28/11), just five days after my post, this candidate told a group of voters in Sarasota, Florida that GOD is sending a message:
"I don't know how much God has to do to get the attention of the politicians. We've had an earthquake; we’ve had a hurricane. He (GOD) said, 'Are you going to start listening to me here?' Listen to the American people because the American people are roaring right now. They know government is on a morbid obesity diet and we've got to rein in the spending." 
Read More...
While I haven't agreed with every decision made by President Obama, this blogger understands that there is NO secret magic economic pill to quick fix this economy. It will take time. But to blame President Obama for the recent earthquake or hurricane, perhaps John Wayne put it best, "Life is tough, but it's tougher when you're stupid." Speaking of which, WHO was born in Waterloo, Iowa?
Rooster Cogburn (DVD)

Post Apocalypse Reclamation Center

December 2009

Carrizozo, New Mexico

Foot-in-Mouth Update: Minister Bachmann now says her comments that the recent East Coast Earthquake and Hurricane Irene were a message from "God" was a "JOKE". Read More...

Joke of the Day: GE introduces the Michele Bachmann limited edition light bulb. Old ideas made new again. Burns out quick. 95% inefficient. Wastes all it's energy making hot air.

How to Ace Calculus: The Streetwise Guide (Paperback)

Gadhafi on the Ropes?

During the first GOP Presidential Debate in New Hampshire (June 13, 2011), Congresswoman Michele Bachmann questioned President Obama's actions over Libya. Last week on the campaign trail, Bachmann hammered President Obama on his so-called delay in taking action against the Syrian Government. 


Can you say political double-speak?
Why Libya? It's not complicated. America's NATO allies (who directly supported the U.S. in Iraq and/or Afghanistan) were afraid of a FLOOD of refugees landing on Europe's doorstep (i.e. hundreds of thousands of BOAT people). In the case of Syria, because of its geographic location, Turkey is the main regional player. The Turkish military is protecting the refugees crossing over its southern border. For folks who forget, the invasion of Iraq in 2003 damaged this country's relationship with this important NATO member. This time around, President Obama is working with the Turkish government in formulating actions against the Syrian regime.

NATO's continued military actions in Libya is/was intended to create & maintain safe havens WITHIN Libyan borders. President Obama supported the political leaders of France, Spain, the UK, and Italy to meet this specific military objective. Welcome to the reality of our geopolitical world! Prior to direct US involvement in Bosnia (i.e. with boots on the ground), it's how the Europeans (under a failed United Nations mandate) responded to the fighting (and genocide) in the Balkans. Unlike 1995, this time around, NATO (not the UN) brought enough firepower to the party which PREVENTED a Srebrenica-type massacre in Benghazi.

Former Defense Secretary Gates' public frustration with NATO was in response to the organization's continued inability to do the heavy lifting to meet a European specific military/political/economic objective without DIRECT U.S. support. 
Anyhow, could somebody PLEASE plug in Bachmann's brain? It's one thing to create some mythical fairy tale about the original intent of this country's founding fathers, it's quite another to create revisionist history from recent current events.

If you're an American against this country's continued membership in NATO, here are two regional issues which continue to have global implications: North Korea and the South China Sea. Confused? The United Nations is a paper tiger. Basically, folks need to remember that NATO's geopolitical influence reaches far beyond Europe's own borders.
Read More...

Arab Spring Update
October 20, 2011:
Moammar Gadhafi killed in Sirte.
Read More...

Photo of American Soldier on M-42 Duster, Fort Bliss, Texas (Summer 1982).

Bachmann WINS Iowa Straw Poll?

Do I BELIEVE that "she believes" she'll actually be elected President? No. Based on this answer, what's her agenda?

IF Congresswoman Bachmann wants to be elected to this country's highest office, she deserves the same level of professional & public scrutiny as President Obama (and ALL the Presidents before him).

The following stories take a hard look at this candidate's personal and political background:

The New Yorker
Leap of Faith ~ 
The making of a Republican front-runner.
by Ryan Lizza
READ MORE...

Rolling Stone
Michele Bachmann's Holy War
By Matt Taibbi
READ MORE...

The Los Angeles Times
Bachmann's had her share of government aid
By Melanie Mason and Matea Gold (Washington Bureau)
READ MORE...

Army Times
Bachmann plan would cut veterans benefits
By Rick Maze
READ MORE...

There must be a reason why 67% of "polled" Republicans DO NOT like the current field of TEN candidates. It's a bit curious that Texas Governor Rick Perry waited until AFTER the debt ceiling crisis to announce his run for the White House. Can you say Karl Rove?

Bachmann Update:
(01/04/12)
Game Over!
The Iowa Straw Poll's main goal is to help the local Republican Party raise money during each new Presidential election cycle. With Bachmann's rather poor Iowa Caucus showing, in four years, her inflated candidacy will give the 24/7 political pundits something to banter about on all the talking head news channels (CCN, MSNBC & Faux News).
Oddball Iowa: A Guide to Some Really Strange Places (Paperback)

Economics 101?

Mirror in a tattoo shop, San Antonio, Texas (October 2009)

IF you buy a home, a new car & max out your credit card on clothes & food, at some point, you have to pay your bills. How you pay those bills directly impacts your credit rating. It's not complicated.

Debt is debt. As a person, you have several choices. You can attempt get a second job to meet your financial obligations (i.e. raise revenue), cut back on spending (i.e. reduce the size of the government), do a mix of the two methods or just give up & file for bankruptcy (DEFAULT). Your individual credit rating depends on HOW you, as an individual, respond to paying off your bills. Ignoring phone calls from the bank & the credit card companies WILL NOT solve the long term DEBT problem.

When a Presidential candidate (i.e. Michele Bachmann) gets on Face the Nation & tells the reporter that the Treasury Department can just move around money to avoid a crisis, well, that way of thinking is just plain wrong (as well as stupid).



It's NOT 1773, 1776 or 1789. 

It's 2011 and ALL of us live in a Global economy. The sooner folks recognize that reality, the sooner this country will start doing what it needs to do to COMPETE in a GLOBAL MARKETPLACE. And oh by the way, the whole Boston Tea Party thing was NOT about paying taxes. It was about "TAXATION Without Representation". Walking away from the table (on EVERY ISSUE) is NOT Representation.

All financial markets (Bond, Stock, Currency & Commodity) are built on the foundation of "confidence". Don't fool yourself. The GOP's goal is the WHITE HOUSE & NOT fixing the budget mess or the overall economy. Guys like Karl Rove & the Koch Brothers know egg-xactly what they're doing.

Once a factory closes, it's closed. Those jobs may or may not ever return. What folks don't understand is that once a manufacturing job leaves our shores, it's only a matter of time before a corporation starts to trim its white collar staff (i.e. folks who were originally hired to support a larger blue collar workforce). This delayed process of corporate contraction causes a negative, slow moving, ripple effect on the entire economy. Simply put, like it or not, in the short term, there is NO quick fix (or voodoo magic) for turning around this economy.

Anyhow, driving the global economy off a cliff to pander to the narrow whims of the Liberatarian Wing of the Republican Party is just plain NUTS! Unless of course, that's the REAL economic & political END GAME. IF that's the case, then maybe it's indeed a good time for all of us to start praying.

The Wealth of Nations (Paperback)

Tea Party Congressman Deadbeat Dad?

Can you say hypocrite? If Representative Joe Walsh (IL-R) was from Texas, he'd already be in JAIL for failing to provide child support payments to his ex-wife. READ MORE...

In Other News: While a person can BUY & SMOKE hashish & marijuana in downtown Copenhagen, English Ovaltine & Australian Vegemite are now BANNED in Denmark. Since when did it become a crime to enjoy a simple "food additive" for breakfast? READ MORE...

Heinz Spotted Dick Sponge Pudding (Pack of 6)

Michele Bachmann for President? Why?

IF you want to sell books, land a job on FauX News, go Dancing with the Stars, earn six figures on the talk show circuit, use PAC money to finance a family BUS vacation & STAR in your own Reality TV show, RUN for President. For the record, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is NO flake. It's a real pain in the butt to file for Federal Aid every darn year. READ MORE...

‎...after a night of partying with John Quincy Adams, the other Founding Fathers (George, Paul, John & Ringo) helped Margaret Manny sew the Grand Union Flag...
‎John Quincy Adams, after helping George Washington chop down the cherry tree, sat down & wrote the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe".

Subliminal Message?

Dear Abby ~ I have this silly second cousin who drinks WAY too much TEA. He wears a FLAG, paints angry signs and screams at everyone in the family. What should I do? Signed ~ Mr. Coffee

Craziest Michele Bachmann Quote of All Time?
"Well what I want them to know is just like, John Wayne was from Waterloo, Iowa. That's the kind of spirit that I have, too."
~ June 27, 2011


Actually, the legendary movie actor John Wayne was born three hours away in Winterset, Iowa. John Wayne Gacy, the notorious serial killer, once called Waterloo, Iowa home.
Read More...

Message to Faux News

If a user LIKES a candidate on Facebook, it does not mean that person actually supports that specific individual. Don't believe me? Just spend a few minutes reading the comments left on Michele Bachmann's page.


Because of Facebook's technical architecture, in order to leave a comment on a candidate's page (either positive or negative), a user must JOIN that candidate's LIKE page. IF a journalist (and/or news agency) uses a candidate's Facebook LIKE page to gauge popular support, that journalist (and/or news agency) is an IDIOT.

FYI: The Facebook LIKE function does not represent a scientific poll or survey (even one funded by a special interest group). Anyhow, these days, this blogger watches Comedy Central for an insightful look at the news and laughs from watching Faux News.
Fair and Balanced, My Ass!:
An Unbridled Look at the Bizarre Reality of Fox News (Paperback)

Mural on Town Post Office

May 2010

Stromberg, Nebraska

"The Swede Capital of Nebraska"