Blue States verses Red States?

Statistics for [infographic] via Fox Business Report.

"Who would have thought after years and years and years, even decades in which the Republican right attacked old Europe, that they would embrace the economic policies of the Eurozone. Austerity and unemployment now at all costs. I mean after all, their unemployment rate's 11% and our unemployment rate is 8%. We can get right up there if we adopt there policies." 
~ President Bill Clinton

Mitt Romney ~ Serial Flip Flopper?

YouTube has changed forever how a campaign manages the theme and messages of a candidate. Love it or hate it, in 2012, every recorded word a politician utters in front of voters becomes part of the digital public record. In an exclusive news release to Reuters in January, Google reported roughly '60 hours of video is now uploaded to YouTube every minute'. The theory that a candidate can use an 'etch-a-sketch' to change political direction in the middle of a campaign is dead. Campaigns are no longer a debate over ideas but about the actual use of words. And yes, this blogger believes a politician's use of words reveals something about the person. Read More...

Betty White endorses Obama for re-election?
Read More...

It's all about selling SOAP?

In July 2011, Sarah Palin's documentary The Undefeated opened to an empty theater in Orange County (READ MORE). While on the surface, the movie's box office failure was rather humorous, unfortunately, a majority of journalists missed the point on why the film was released in the first place. It's the same reason why Newt Gingrich, despite getting destroyed at the ballot box, stayed in the race. 

When this blogger lived and worked in the People's Republic of China, I discovered that cigarettes and alcohol were used to bribe government officials. Indeed, the central government actually monitors the sell of expensive cigarettes to gauge the level of corruption in different cities. While the average price per pack was LESS than a dollar, several brands from Yunnan Province cost more than $110s a cartoon. 

Why? Well, cigarettes are a form of hard currency which cannot be individually traced by the government. Thus, local officials accept cartoons of cigarettes, as bribes, without drawing the attention of the central government. 

Economic crimes, such as tax fraud and corruption, routinely appear among the criminal dockets of those given the death penalty READ MORE...

Intead of cigarettes, in the United States, 527 special interest groups purchase books and DVDs (in bulk) to support politicians and so-called journalists who support their specific agenda. For example, the reason Sarah Palin toured Iowa during the primary season was to SELL books and DVDs. She earns more than six figures a year giving speeches. As long as she remains a political celebrity, she'll continue selling SOAP. While this blogger respects Senator John McCain, somebody spiked his political Kool-Aid in 2008.

Suggested Reading:
Money Unlimited ~ How Chief Justice John Roberts orchestrated the Citizens United decision.
Read More...
Covert Operations ~ The billionaire brothers who are waging a war against Obama.
Read More...

Mitt Romney saved GM and Chrysler?

Can you say [dih-loo-zhuh-nl]?

"Only in politics do people root for bad news."

~ President Obama

Rick Santorum changes his Facebook Status to 'Endorsing'?

Does Santorum believe his political future hinges on a Romney defeat?
Read More...

Sometimes 'FAIR' and 'BALANCED'?

People filter information based on their own belief system. For example, people who watch Faux News on a regular basis tend to be more conservative in their political beliefs. No problem (it is what it is).

However, despite it's political flavor (along with the countless number of daily editorial decisions supporting a specific agenda), should a media corporation (radio, television or print) be allowed to make direct campaign contributions? Could this sea of corporate money interfere with the political process? Do unlimited 527 campaign donations to a specific candidate endanger the foundations of a Free Society? Do you ever ask yourself, "why do I believe what I believe?" And yes, Karl Rove is on the payroll of Faux News.

"My choice early in life was either to be a piano-player in a whorehouse or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference."
~ Harry S. Truman
Fox News Reporting: The Right, All Along. The Rise, Fall & Future of Conservatism (DVD)

Heidi Heitkamp for U.S. Senate?

"All politics is local." ~ Tip O'Neill


Back in June 2010, this blogger went to Hillsboro, North Dakota to watch then State Senator Rick Berg address a small gathering of local Republicans. After listening to his speech, I quietly wondered to myself, 'how on earth were the voters in this state going to reward this man with a treasured Golden Ticket to Washington D.C.'?

Then in November 2010, with a passionate wave of anti-incumbency sweeping the country, Rick Berg won a seat in Congress. Today, less than two years after the election itself, with little to show for his time in office, this Congressman now wants the title of Senator.

Hopefully, this time around, North Dakota voters will actually put aside party politics and elect the right person for the job.

Economics 101?

How did Mitt Romney get Rich?


Is Romney the Wrong Kind of Rich?
Read More...

Gingrich campaign bounced $500 check in Utah?

Just when late night talk show writers were mourning the departure of Rick Santorum from the GOP's quest for the Holy Grail, Newt 'Quixote' Gingrich once again 'Saves America' from total comedic annihilation. Read More...

Tweet of the Day?

Where is K Street?

"Power is crack. Money buys crack." ~ Self


Congress approves wide-ranging ethics rule?
Read More...

Mitt is 'Marvelous" after Wisconsin Win?

The Cayman Islands Department of Tourism unofficially endorses Mitt Romney for President?
Read More...

Is it just me or does Congressman Paul Ryan resemble a young President Richard Nixon?


Snooki announces Congressional bid to represent the moon colony? Governor Rick Perry declares the 'vulture capitalist' a protected species in Texas? Newt Gingrich's Think Tank Files For Bankruptcy? Read More...

The POTUS doesn’t control the price of gasoline?
Read More...

Religion in Politics?

The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

My Dog Is On The Roof? I Love Cars?

In 50 years, how will future historians and political scientists judge the impact of social-networking and unlimited Super PAC money on the ideological battles being waged in 2012 and beyond?


"Few businessmen are capable of being in politics, they don't understand the democratic process, they have neither the tolerance or the depth it takes. Democracy isn't a business." ~ Malcolm Forbes

The Propaganda of Politics?

"I have been thinking that I would make a proposition to my Republican friends - that if they will stop telling lies about the Democrats, we will stop telling the truth about them." ~ Adlai E. Stevenson

President George Bush never gave a 'Mission Accomplished' speech on the USS Abraham Lincoln on May 1, 2003? What if the Navy Seal mission into Abbottabad had failed? Would the Republican Party had made a repeat of a Desert One type failure a campaign issue in 2012?

Between the Eisenhower Administration and right up to the preemptive war in Iraq, the Republican Party was seen as the foreign policy leader on national security issues. This is no longer the case. While I have the deepest respect for John McCain, his recent statements about staying in Afghanistan forever completely lacks long term vision or insight.

Additionally, for as long as this blogger can remember, there has been an unwritten political rule NOT to attack or criticize the foreign policy efforts of a sitting President when he's not on American soil.



Update: Obama Needles Romney on Old Bin Laden Quotes?
Read More...

"It was luxuries like air conditioning that brought down the Roman Empire. With air conditioning their windows were shut, they couldn't hear the barbarians coming."
~ Garrison Keillor

Political Joke of the Week:
“I see that both Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum now have Secret Service with them on the campaign trail. And in Santorum’s case, I think it’s the first time he’s actually ever used protection. You all know that Newt Gingrich wants to build a colony on the moon. Forget the moon – I think he should build it whatever planet Ron Paul’s from.”
~ Senator Scott Brown at Boston's annual St. Patrick’s Day breakfast

Where's George?

Every Sperm is Sacred?

Rick Santorum sweeps Missouri, Minnesota & Colorado?

Up to this point, this blogger has avoided writing anything of substance regarding this specific GOP hopeful. Why? To be honest, I've always considered the former Pennsylvania Senator a one-dimensional candidate.

Basically, his key political talking points are centered around three main social-conservative issues: abortion, same-sex marriage and birth control. On this last point, the candidate is on record as saying that states should have the right to ban all forms of birth control.

At a time when the 2012 election should be about jobs, jobs and jobs, this candidate continues to attract voters with a theocratic agenda regarding the role government in the private lives of its own citizens. Read More...

Limited government? Really? A woman who is raped should be denied the option of taking the morning after pill (a form of contraception)? A daughter, wife or mother must carry around her pain and shame for nine months to fulfill some religious, moral obligation to society? A zygote has more rights than a victim of rape or incest? Since when did an acorn dipped in water become a tree?


Morality? What morality?

And condoms, which have helped turn the tide against the human tragedy of the AIDS pandemic, should be outlawed? Believe it or not, banning condoms will not stop people from having sex, so why even go back down this rather dangerous public health road? The Vatican and the Catholic Church? Humanae Vitae?

Is it really 2012? Read More...

This whole political mythology that the Republican Party somehow holds a monopoly on so-called Family Values is completely absurd. Read More...

Update: In 2009, by it's own published estimates, Catholic Charities received 67% of its funding from "Government Revenue". Read More...

If a so-called religious organization receives more than 50% of its funding from the government, should it still be allowed to call itself a religious charity? When did a hospital become a church? Why is the government giving taxpayer money to religious institutions in the first place?

In Florida, Mitt Romney destroyed Newt Gingrich with $15,000,000 worth of negative TV and radio ads. No matter what this blogger thinks or writes about Rick Santorum, it's clear that Romney's Restore Our Future Death Star is already preparing to put down The Alliance to Restore the Republic rebellion in Arizona and beyond. While money "can't buy you love" (or votes), it sure helps when you're a Presidential hopeful battling all sides of the political Force.

Special Note to Dr. Ron Paul Supporters:
Speaking of liberty, Viagra is sold as an over-the-counter drug in China.