Sunday, December 18, 2011

What I Learned From Newt Gingrich

            Newt Gingrich is a lot like a nearly washed up boxer. He’s not as light on his feet anymore, he’s slower to get up after being knocked down and he’s not the one to come out swinging anymore. But even though his agility has failed him and his right hook isn’t what it used to be, he’s always had a puncher’s chance because he knows the game. Gingrich is a lot like a nearly washed up boxer because he’s not done yet, and he might just make you pay if you bet against him.
            Newt has taught us a lot over the past few months. He’s taught us that it doesn’t matter how smart you are. That it doesn’t matter how many times you’ve fucked up royally in your past. That the number of wives, mistresses and affairs you’ve had really don’t matter when the chips are down. That no matter how many times the experts say you’re doomed to fail, you can still laugh and tell them to eat shit. Gingrich has taught us no one is taller than the last man standing.
            His has been a career highlighted by minuscule achievements and crushing defeats. Sure he served as United States Representative for 20 years, and he was even Speaker of the House for four of those years. But he went toe to toe with Clinton and lost almost every time. His small victories came only when he broke down and compromised. He shut down the government and suffered because of it. He had 84 ethics charges filed against him for his term as Speaker. When things got bad, Gingrich packed up camp and moved out. The smartest thing he ever did was to quit before the House could kick him out.
            And yet for all his failures, for all his colossal disappointments and monumental betrayals, here he is at the front of the GOP pack. He’s leading the polls ahead of Vegas favorite Mitt Romney and Texas embarrassment Rick Perry. He swooped in and took the support that Herman Cain once proudly boasted. He’s picked up key endorsements along the way, and stands secure enough to probably win Iowa in a short matter of weeks, barring any setback. How is this possible? It’s all thanks to that puncher’s chance. Veteran experience goes a long way, regardless of how much of an asshole you are.
            Gingrich is a lot like a virus. He’s resilient. He’s adaptive. He knows at some point he’ll have to make changes, or else he’ll face extinction. And he spreads like wildfire. He was there when all the other candidates fell, slowly picking up the pieces not at all once, but gradually so that no one would see him until it was too late. Now he’s not just the common cold of the GOP; he’s influenza, contagion in all sense of the word. Oh sure, he’ll probably get beat sooner or later. But how many innocent will fall before experts find the cure?

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

The Little Engine That Could: The Last Tango for Herman Cain

Herman Cain may be out for the count. The pizza mogul turned politician told senior staffers at a conference call this morning that he is reassessing his campaign and will decide whether he stays or goes in the next few days. Cain has been plagued by numerous accusations of sexual harassment, womanizing and extramarital affairs in the past few weeks. A woman named Ginger White told Fox 5 Atlanta that Cain ended their 13 year affair shortly before he began his campaign. His numbers have plummeted and his base has seemingly disappeared. How did it all unravel so fast for the little engine that could?
            His was a political rags to riches story that even Horatio Alger would marvel at. A man with no real political background who shot to the forefront of the GOP race seemingly from nowhere. He portrayed a more common man than Romney and a more daring man than Perry. Republican voters could identify with him because, while he wasn’t exactly like them, he wasn’t a politician either. He was some kind of strange middle ground, but it’s obvious now that his luck is just about run out.
            It all started just as soon as it began. At least four women – two who chose to remain anonymous – have come forward with claims of sexual harassment from the candidate. Ginger White is the only person to claim a long lasting affair with Cain. Throughout October he was leading the Republican polls, but towards the end of the month the allegations began to come forward. One he could hide from, two he could settle. But when the third and fourth came, Cain started to sweat around the collar. Ginger White was the proverbial nail in the coffin.
            The really disturbing part about all this is that the support that Cain once had now belongs to the next Republican flavor of the week: Newt Gingrich. The thrice married adulterer Gingrich, a would-be career politician if he hadn’t been voted out so long ago, stands to profit from the sexual misconduct of Herman Cain. If that’s not irony, I don’t know what is.
            Regardless, the Cain Train has run its course right off the tracks. He seldom really knew what he was talking about (see his thoughts on Libya), he worked his hardest at eradicating the middle class and he believed with all his might that he could get away with anything. And while it’s not official yet, Cain is sure to throw in the towel and call it a day.  The little engine that could found out the hard way what happens to people who think they’re invincible: they get crushed and tossed aside like an empty beer can you see lying in a gutter. 

Monday, November 21, 2011

A Debt Deal That Never Was: How No One Cares About Congress Failing Anymore

A deal was in place. Two sides that have been biting and clawing at each other’s necks seemingly since 2008 were acting bipartisan and agreeing. The finish line was in sight. Then, for no particular reason at all, the deal came crashing down and everybody involved just shrugged their shoulders and went back home.
            It was another deficit deal that should have happened but just didn’t. Members of the special Congressional committee on deficit reduction – including at least one Republican siding with the Democrats – had all tentatively agreed on a plan that would cut trillions of dollars from the national debt by means of tax rates (including raising taxes), revenues, spending cuts and changes to Social Security and Medicare. This supercommittee fell short just before the deadline, and decided to throw in the towels and blame somebody else.
            Worst of all, the two sides couldn’t even agree on where the talks went wrong. Democrats say the Republicans backed away from their initial willingness to accept revenue increases in exchange in cuts in the growth of entitlement projects. Republicans, who seemed to be in agreement with the framework of the deal less than a week ago, point their fingers at the Democrats for being wishy washy and never really committed to a plan.
            Maybe we shouldn’t blame Congress for failing to a reach a yet another debt deal. Maybe we need to blame ourselves. For being overly optimistic that anyone in this Congress could agree on anything and for giving them yet another chance. Because time and again every elected official has proven to us that the last thing they deserve is one more chance, but somehow they keep getting it.
            A key aspect of the breakdown was the Jason Voorhees-esque Bush Tax Cuts. They’ve been slated to die for years now, but somehow keep coming back for sequels. They’re slated to expire in 2012, but some 11th hour deal will most certainly come through for the salvation of the legacy of George W. Bush.
            Democratic Senator Joe Macnhin said of the deal “We cannot accept failure.” But somehow that’s all we’ve been asked to accept for quite some time. I think by now we’re used to the flavor of defeat. Of the negotiation breakdown, John Kerry said “If this weren’t so serious I might laugh.” Honestly, Kerry I’d go ahead and laugh if I were you. By now it couldn’t really hurt. We’ve reached a critical moment in our history, and we stand at a fragile crossroad. Never before have elected officials done more harm to their own country, and never before have the voters cared less.
            It’s tough to place the blame here, but it’s no longer a simple Democrat-Republican divide. Now it’s between the powerful and the powerless. It’s an us against them situation, and it doesn’t look good for us. Because we’ve given away any power we had by being indifferent. We’re headed for a crash, and we really only have ourselves to blame. 

Monday, November 7, 2011

The Rep Who Cried Wolf: Catching Up With Joe Wilson, America's Cleanest Dirtiest Politician

            Turn back the clocks to 2009. Newly christened President Obama is giving his address on healthcare reform to a packed Congress. The President says “There are also those who claim that our reform effort will insure illegal immigrants. This, too, is false – the reforms I'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally.” A matter of fact statement that everyone knew was true but that some pundits kept refused to believe. Then a voice rings out like a catfight in the night. “You lie!” The heckler was Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina’s second district, a Republican lovechild who favors arming airline pilots, giving tax credits to living organ donors and federal prohibition of online poker.
            Fast-forward to today. Anthony Weiner has been cast out of the House for sending pictures of his junk to consenting women. Neither of the acts is illegal in the letter of the law, but Weiner became a martyr while Wilson got a slap on the wrist. That’s right, the Representative who showed ignorance and insubordination towards the President of the United States got off scot-free. All he had to do was issue a half-hearted apology towards Obama. “This evening I let my emotions get the best of me when listening to the President’s remarks regarding the coverage of illegal immigrants in the health care bill. While I disagree with the President's statement, my comments were inappropriate and regrettable. I extend sincere apologies to the President for this lack of civility.” Even in his apology he said that Obama was wrong.
            This is not the first controversy that Wilson has been involved with. In 2002 Wilson and Democratic Congressman Bob Filner were discussing Iraq weapons of mass destruction on C-SPAN. When Filner said that the US had supplied Iraq with “chemical and biological” weapons, Wilson said point blank that Filner was wrong, that he had made that up. “This hatred of America by some people is just outrageous. And you need to get over that.” When it turned out Filner was right, Wilson was forced to issue an apology. In 2003 it was revealed that the late Senator Strom Thurmond had a child out of wedlock with his black maid. Wilson adamantly said that girl’s story was not true, and that even if it was true, she should never have revealed it because it was a “smear” campaign and would “diminish” Thurmond’s legacy. When the Thurmond family came forward and said the girl was in fact the Senator’s illegitimate lovechild, Wilson again had to apologize but said he still didn’t believe that she should have come forward with the truth.
            Joe Wilson is not so much a statement of his own perseverance but rather the lack of balls the Democrats continue to show. Weiner was thrown out like a disease ridden dog who growled one too many times. A shit storm rose up and he was caught in the crosshairs. Wilson, on the other hand, got to point his finger square at the President and laugh at his face. And nothing came of it. Time after time, Wilson has been able to stir up controversy and make us forget about it. Where others have fallen, he has remained. He is apparently a lot like the character Andy Dufresne from Shawshank Redemption when he escapes from prison. Joe Wilson, the man who crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side. 

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

The Perry Plan: A Bad Attempt at Hiding Tax Breaks for the Rich

            Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry has finally come forward with his own version of a tax plan: an optional 20% flat tax. Under President Perry, Americans would have the option of choosing this flat tax over their current tax rate. Perry claims that his proposal will not only put Americans back to work, but will balance the federal budget by 2020. But somehow his math just doesn’t add up.
            In addition to the optional tax system, Perry proposes several minor personal tax revisions including abolishing taxes on Social Security (he just couldn’t stay away from it). The Perry plan also calls for lowering corporate income tax to 20%, down from the 28% it currently stands at. His defense is that this rate is well above the global average and that he wants to keep America competitive in hopes that companies will locate their industries here in the United States. This section of the plan also calls for large tax cuts on profits that corporations make overseas in hopes that these same corporations will reinvest in the American economy.
            In order to compensate for the lower corporation taxes, Perry advocates eliminating all tax loopholes that allow companies to get out of tax obligations: namely bailouts. His justification is that these loopholes put the burden on American tax payers and are too complex to fully understand. And while this section of his plan offers no specifics on how he will eliminate these loopholes, Perry’s plan says they will be “phased out over time.”
            It’s easy for Perry to say that he will eliminate these bailouts because it is incredibly doubtful that he’ll ever have to deal with that kind of situation. And as for the rest of his plan, the slash and burn tactic will do much more harm than good in attempting to balance the federal budget. But the worst part is the 20% flat rate, a thinly disguised tax break for the rich. As the rates stand, the wealthier Americans generally pay higher percentage in taxes than most others. But under a flat 20% tax rate, the rich, for the most part, are given a substantial tax break percentage wise. And those Americans who are the worst off financially will be asked to shoulder even more burden by having their taxes raised.
            Perry says he’s trying to balance the scales while having his finger pressed down firmly on one side the whole time. He’s trying disguise himself as a man committed to the people, when in actuality he’s just a hack who has no idea what he’s doing, but is still trying to fuck the middle class for the fun of it.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

The End of Donovan McNabb

            Time betrays all athletes. But there is no position more susceptible to the wears and tears of time than quarterback. They spend their professional careers being targeted by 300 pound gorillas who drool at the chance of ending a quarterback’s season. A broken wrist or a severe concussion will do just fine, but the goal is always something more sinister. Ending a quarterback’s season or career is proof that heroes can be broken and that the NFL thrives as a league of villains.
            This season has shown many good quarterbacks being battered and hitting the ground hard. It seems like Jay Cutler spends more time on the ground than on his feet. And defensive linemen seem to be lusting to end Michael Vick’s season, if only to wash away the memory of his previous MVP caliber season. But there is no greater tragedy among quarterbacks this season than the case of Donovan McNabb.
            McNabb is on his third team in three seasons. He was a franchise god in Philadelphia, but he wrote his own obituary there when he pleaded that the ownership make a gamble and bring in the troubled Vick. And while he was never intended to be used as more than a third string ever again, Vick took the reins and has become the prophet that McNabb once was.
            McNabb was traded to Washington last season, and had his troubles. He was benched at key moments and seemed lost in the offense from time to time. The end of the 2010-2011 campaign also marked the end of his time as a Redskin. McNabb then was traded to Minnesota to take over where another tragic quarterback, Brett Favre, was defeated. Now, halfway through the season, McNabb finds himself in an uncomfortably familiar situation: being benched
            We may well have seen the last of Donovan McNabb as an NFL quarterback. The Vikings waited until after the trade deadline to reveal that McNabb was longer the starter, meaning they probably dangled his contract out to teams in need of a quarterback but found no takers. McNabb in his prime was a fine quarterback. Never an MVP, but he racked up some impressive stats and even lead his wayward Eagles to the Super Bowl, only to lose to the New England Patriots.
            Apparently Minnesota is where the careers of veteran quarterbacks looking for one last shot at glory go to die. McNabb has put up some unimpressive numbers this season, but he is not the only one to blame here. He didn’t deserve what he got, but it is proven that the NFL is no place for old men. 

Friday, October 14, 2011

The Godfather: How Herman Cain is Trying to Kill the Middle Class

            As of now, Herman “Deep Dish” Cain is being heralded as the frontrunner in the GOP’s race for the White House. His unlikely rise through a field of more qualified politicians, as well as his defeat over stage IV colon and liver cancer, makes him shine like gold in a room filled with rusted tin cans. In addition to this, Cain has a serious set of cajones in dealing with anyone who tries to bring him down with paltry facts. This is perfectly evidenced during the New Hampshire debate when Bloomberg TV questioner Julianna Goldman brought up a study that found that Cain’s “9-9-9” tax plan wouldn’t keep the country economically stable. Cain’s response?  "The problem with that analysis is that it is incorrect," he said.
            The problem with that diagnosis is that Cain is the one who’s incorrect. His economic plan would, in practice, effectively destroy the middle class and keep the Occupy Wall Street protests going until the end of time.
            The plan itself calls for 9 percent tax on wages, 9 percent tax on businesses and a 9 percent federal sales tax. It’s short, sweet and to the point (Jon Huntsman even ventured the guess that it was based off the price of a pizza). The problem with this plan is that it makes those already burdened with high taxes (the middles class) have to shoulder more, while effectively ending taxes on inheritance and capital gains (otherwise known as taxes on the rich). The flat-tax plan, as Cain calls it, is far from fair. It would “drastically increase taxes on the working poor and middle class, and reduce taxes going forward on the rich,” said USC tax law professor Edward Kleinbard in Tax Notes. Kleinbard goes on to say that 90 percent of taxpayers would find themselves with a “vastly increased tax bill” thanks to the 9-9-9 plan.
            Cain'sbusiness flat-tax actually works out to be an increased payroll tax on workers, and Kleinbard cites that the three 9s working together would be the equivalent of a 27 percent uncapped payroll tax. The only benefactors from Cain’s plan are the already wealthy, the less than one percent of Americans who control more than half of the investment income. With Cain in charge, almost a quarter of a million millionaires would find themselves no longer having to pay federal income tax. You heard me right. No income taxes on the super rich whatsoever.
            Then comes the inheritance tax, or lack thereof. Currently, estate can reach up to 35 percent on estates of $5 million or more. Under President Cain’s plan, this would be reduced to zero. This means that the super rich would pay absolutely nothing in income tax and then get to deliver a tax free inheritance to the beneficiaries. Not a bad deal for less than one percent of Americans.
            Under Cain’s plan there is also no method to raise more revenue. He seems perfectly content to sacrifice 99 percent of the American workforce; just so a few billionaires can keep every penny of their estates and inheritances. It’d be a shame to see those trust funds taxed unfairly, or at all.
            The scary part is that Herman Cain actually is the GOP frontrunner, at least for the time being. He may know how to run a chain of pizzerias, but this guy has no clue how to run a country. 

Monday, October 10, 2011

Sarah Palin, the Ultimate Political Cock Tease: How She and the Rest of the GOP Might Just Assure Obama a Second Term

            And so ends the inevitable truth that we all knew was coming. On Wednesday Sarah Palin officially announced that she was not running for president in 2012. This comes as no great surprise to anyone who had been watching the race; Palin hadn’t done a single thing toward making a run outside of collecting donations and forming an exploratory committee.
            After what she called “much prayer and serious consideration,” Palin said that her “family comes first.” Many thought she would come around and make the run, but Palin must have known all along she wasn’t going to try. She would have had to give up her cozy multi-million dollar deal with Fox News in order to campaign and come back into a public forum and debate an armada of challengers (instead of just Biden).
            Her announcement came almost immediately after New Jersey Governor Chris Christie announced that he would not be running for president either. The loss of these two would-be challengers – while not ultimately surprising – continues to leave the GOP field weak for contention. As of now, the GOP’s sideline looks a lot stronger than its starting lineup. Pawlenty, Barbour, Huckabee, Daniels and the other other Bush are among those not running. This list also includes every sitting Republican Senator and the self congratulating young architects of the House Republicans. Even Florida Senator Rick Rubio says he wants nothing to do with a GOP ticket.
            Obama is hurting right now, and if the GOP put in even half an effort they’d stand a good chance to unseat him. They’d even have numbers in the House and be close to having a majority in the Senate again. However, Republicans have fielded their thinnest group in years to try to ascend the White House. We are left wondering why no one in the GOP seems to care about this election. Maybe they’d just rather let Obama win so that he can keep shouldering the blame for the problems that they all helped create. Or maybe we’ve reached the point where even politicians really don’t care about who becomes president. 

Friday, October 7, 2011

Can LeBron be King Again?

            Never before has an entire nation rallied around the miserable defeat of a team like we all did watching the Miami Heat fall to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals. We cheered and jumped for joy at the sight of LeBron James and company walking off the court in utter disgrace: another moment of coming up short for the King.
            It’s unlikely that the hatred surrounding James will have dissipated in just a year. And we are all still quick to point out his shortcomings: he has no fourth quarter; he never comes up clutch, etc. And it’s undeniable that he stood no chance of winning the league MVP this past year (he was the bad mouthing pariah who ditched his home team for warmer weather and super friends going against a young and humble hometown hero in Derrick Rose). But now, one year removed from everything, can LeBron James carry the Miami Heat to where they need to be?
            He can only if he does carry them, like he carried the Cavaliers for seven years. He’s no longer on a team of nobodies, and if free agency ever begins the Heat can only improve. They’re still weak at the point and center positions, but James has consistently made up for that. He has the sheer power of any center in the league and the passing skills of any point guard (he often runs the point, as a matter of fact). He’s a rock on defense (have you seen the chase down block from behind?) and a stone cold killer on offense. Except for his less than average performance in the Finals, James put up astounding numbers in the playoffs, knocking out the Sixers, Celtics and Bulls. It wasn’t that he lacks the ability. Most likely, the hatred and loathing finally caught up with him. It’s his misfortune that it caught up then.
            This season, James should be able to get past all that. Up until last year, he was adored worldwide. He was idolized by a legion of fans who all wanted to “Believe.” He was 250 pounds of sheer God-given talent who could not be stopped. He wasn’t human. He was Jordan incarnate. Then he made the move to South Beach, and all that glory went out the window. He was no longer adored. He was no longer a hometown hero. He became an outcast, and thieving freak who deserved nothing more than to be beaten and ridiculed. And so he was.
            James has a sterling opportunity now to get past all that. The hatred will be slow to disappear, but James and Heat can now begin to really take off. It’s unlikely that they’ll stumble out of the gates again whenever this season kicks off. Assuming they make at least a few decent free agency signings, the Heat will still be heads and shoulders above everyone in the league. James can begin to ignore all those hateful wishes of failure he hears day in and day out. Because by now he’s heard them all, and they’ve already become reality. He can now begin to play basketball the way he was born to play and without distraction.  
            James has been beaten twice in the playoffs now. He’s constantly put himself in the shadow of Michael Jordan, and that may have lead to his failures. But now that all his enemies have wished him beaten and seen it happen, James can begin to move past it. He doesn’t have to care what any fan (or anti-fan) thinks of him anymore, because they’ve got what they wanted. And the player who doesn’t care, who is immune to the outside world, is 100% lethal in the NBA.
            I’ve tried my hardest to hate LeBron James. But try as I might, I cannot hate the player the way I hate the individual. He is simply too good to hate forever. I’ve never been able to take down the number 23 Cavs jersey that hangs in my bedroom because that is the LeBron James I remember; the inhuman being that defied all conventions. The Decision is over, and James can finally begin to get back to the way things used to be. He is honestly too good for American sports fans to despise him forever. Even Kobe could get past the rape allegations because he was the best at the time and figured out that people love a winner. And that’s LeBron right now. He may be a bad person, but he’s too goddamn good at basketball to be hated forever. And as much as it pains me to say it, he’s still the best player on the best team. Someday, maybe in 2012, the Heat will win the Finals. And if LeBron plays the way he’s meant to, he’ll win league and Finals MVP. But first he has to stop worrying.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Who is the Republican Savior?

            Lately, the GOP has been turning to any new face to be the savior to the Republican Party. In the beginning it was Romney, with his savvy business skills and presidential smile. Then came Bachmann with a win in the Ames straw poll. After that came Perry, who was a late addition to the race but who stampeded to the front in record time. These days, Republicans don’t know who to turn to. Some say Herman Cain, especially considering his victory in the Florida straw poll. Others say Chris Christie, the New Jersey governor who still insists that he’s not committed to running. But who really is the GOP savior? For a group of people so dedicated to the cause of making Obama a one term president, Republicans and the tea party alike have done themselves no favors with this flavor of the week nonsense.
            Romney still seems like the smart money in this race, but that’s only if Christie keeps his word and steers clear of this mess. The two of them would clash all over the East Coast while Perry could clean up in central and western America, thereby winning the nomination. Christie also doesn’t fit in well with this current group of GOP hopefuls. He believes that “climate change is real” and “human activity plays a role in these changes.” He also nominated a Muslim to be a judge, one who defended 9/11 terror suspects (who were later cleared) and simply said he “tired of dealing with the crazies” and that “this Sharia law business is crap.” Not your typical dialogue for a GOP savior.
            Perry meanwhile has suffered a small series of setbacks. After have convinced the American people that he has what it takes to run this country, he was beaten like a dog during a televised debate. Whereas candidates like Romney and Cain presented actual economic plans for their hypothetical presidencies, Perry has simply pointed fingers and claimed that he wasn’t as gifted a smooth talker as Romney. All that he has proposed is “low taxes” with no actual plan (which is still better than Bachmann’s “no taxes” plan, if you could call it that). Perry still has a lot of work to do before he can call himself the savior.
            Bachmann has apparently lost momentum just as soon as she gained it. She’s been suspiciously quiet these past few weeks, aside from her comments on taxes (and retraction, saying that people would have to give something back to keep the government running). Perhaps her lack of Constitutional knowledge caught up with her. Maybe it’s all the stupid things she says in general. Or maybe she’s just hunkered down and licking her wounds, watching and waiting to come out swinging for real when the Primaries start.
            Romney has a long history as a chronic flip-flopper, most notably with his stance on healthcare. He was also once a supporter of abortion rights and gay rights, two things that most GOP contenders have been getting very hot and bothered about. But he has the strongest rhetoric to keep his head above water.
            Regardless, there is no clear Republican savior for this race simply because there is no savior to the Republican Party. They are a tired group of people who have split into factions: the tea party, the Fox News conspiracy theorists and the unclaimed. Each faction has their own idea of what a savior is and what that savior should look like, but none of those versions match up. They’re all too drastically different, and no one is willing to compromise. And if they can’t, they’re not only doomed in this race. They’re doomed forever. 

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Class Warfare: The Quest for Kennedy's Seat

            When will people learn? The Kennedys are gone, lost to the ages. Jack and Bobby were gunned down long ago, and a lifetime of guilt claimed Teddy. It’s been a long time since we heard the Boston accent in the White House and we might not ever again.
            When Ted Kennedy died in 2009, Democrats all over Massachusetts wept but never worried; they had the audacity to believe that no Republican could ever win in that state, let alone take over for the last lion of the Senate. But that arrogance is exactly what did them in; Martha Coakley didn’t even bother campaigning. She simply yawned and honestly believed that being a Democrat in Massachusetts would carry her to the Senate. But then Republican Scott Brown, the proverbial underdog with a zero percent chance, pulled the rug right out from under Coakley and the Democrats. He won because he wanted it more and never pretended that he was entitled to it.
            With 2012 looming eerily closer, campaigning for the Doomed Season has begun. But it is not the Presidential election that has people talking right this minute; it is the fight for the seat that so many people still believe belongs to a Democrat. Elizabeth Warren, the Special Advisor for the United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, (what a mouthful, right?), has announced that she will be running for the spot currently held by Brown. But the issue is not whether who will win or who will lose; it’s the consistently arrogant consensus from the Democrats that Brown never really held the seat at all. To them, it’s still Kennedy’s seat and Brown was just a fluke.
            I’ve never been a supporter of Scott Brown. In my opinion he’s a politician who believes he has that presidential look and who doesn’t fully understand the immense responsibility that the Senate is supposed to hold. But at the end of the day, he won, fair and square. And truth be told, he not only earned the seat over Coakley but he also deserved it. He campaigned harder and fought tooth and nail to win a seat that no one said he could. The trouble is that no one will give him credit where credit is due.
            Elizabeth Warren may well win the seat back for the Democrats. She has name recognition in a state that overwhelmingly elects Democratic Senators. She has the resume to back up what she’s preaching, and she understands the economy and political world far better than Brown does. But at the end of the day, the seat is not rightfully hers just because she’s a Democrat. Ted Kennedy is dead, and while his legacy lives on, the seat is no longer his. There will always be the stigma attached for any Senator, knowing that that was the seat that the last Kennedy brother held before he died.
But to continue saying that the seat belongs to Kennedy is doing a great disservice not only to Scott Brown, but to the democratic system itself. Scott Brown won the same way the John Kennedy won the White House; through perseverance and an unwillingness to surrender. And in this democracy we call home, if someone gets 50% plus one, they win. And like it or leave it, Scott Brown won.
Chances are good that Scott Brown will be a one term Senator, that he will always be remembered as the fluke who somehow temporarily took Kennedy’s seat. But regardless of what he accomplishes or fails to accomplish, he deserves more respect than he’s getting. And more respect than he’ll probably ever get.
A nomenclature doesn’t entitle you to anything. Hopefully Elizabeth Warren learns this lesson, or else she’ll end up no better than Coakley. And this leads to this inherently entitled question: would it still be remembered as Kennedy’s seat if a Democrat had won? Or is this simply a narcissistic question of self worth?
Truth be told, there are no lions left here. 

Sunday, September 11, 2011

The Lone Ranger: How Rick Perry's Stance on Social Security Will End His Run

            Just by looking at him, Rick Perry seems like an utterly average guy; you could almost confuse him with fellow presidential contender Mitt Romney. Whereas Michele Bachmann seems insane in both speech and appearance, Perry gives off the façade of somebody who is cool, calm and collected. But the governor from Texas is something much more diabolical than what he appears. He may look like Romney, and he may even have a comforting accent, but Perry is a very different kind of candidate. He has the wildest dreams of Bachmann but stands a better chance to be elected, simply because more people think he is sane. And therein lays the problem.
            For some reason, Perry is widely considered a front runner in the narrowing Republican field. He, Romney and Bachmann round out the top three candidates, with Ron Paul and Jon Huntsman somewhere on the fringes. What really separates Perry from Romney is there view of the economy, specifically Social Security. Perry has threatened to abolish social security, and while he could never actually succeed at doing so, people are eating it up.
            Perry has gone on record as saying that Social Security is a “Ponzi scheme,” which goes to show more than anything that Perry has no idea what a Ponzi scheme actually is. Perry seems to gladly neglect the fact that those who receive Social Security have already paid into it and are just collecting the money they put in. While certainly some Americans would see an immediate benefit from no longer paying Social Security (they’d no longer be paying the 6.2% income tax), the economy as a whole would suffer. If the program were to suddenly end (in the event of President Perry) the effect would become a Ponzi-like scheme; people who have paid into the program wouldn’t get anything out of it. The effect on the economy would be the same as when any major fraud collapses; poverty would surge (in this case, among retirees).
            Perry may be toted as a legitimate contender right now, but his stance on Social Security will be the death of his presidential dreams. Already, other Republican candidates are ganging up on him, pulling the carpet out right from under him. Romney and Huntsman will hit him hard and often on this, much like the Democrats did in 2004 to Howard Dean and his antiwar stance. They will cast him as someone who cannot beat Barrack Obama, like Dean was cast as someone who couldn’t beat George Bush. Voters will then have to turn to the smart money, Mitt Romney (or whoever is left).
            Once there’s blood in the water, the other sharks will surge. There is no honor among presidential candidates.
            Whereas Perry seems to be the new poster boy for the ultra conservatives, Romney can gain serious ground by hammering him on Social Security. If he does, Perry will lose every vote of anyone who is even 10 years away from retirement. Perry will no doubt retain some of his supporters, but if the other Republicans keep at him, the fan base will deplete to the point where they will take the smart money over the easy money.
            But for now, audiences love the easy money in Perry. At the GOP debate, they roared for Perry’s record of putting more inmates to death than other governor in recent history. That’s a pretty strange thing for someone who is so adamantly pro-life to do. But Perry doesn’t have to make sense to be liked. He just had to retain the far right long enough. And maybe he will, but I doubt it.
            When you come out swinging at Social Security, chances are you’re going to miss.

Friday, September 9, 2011

The Lost Decade

            Yesterday was the first real day of football, but the moment was not as joyous as it should have been. Looming just days ahead is the ten year mark of 9/11, the single most destructive yet defining moment for our generation. The costs have been high and the consequences calamitous, but we have nothing to show except a few piles of rubble that we never got around to cleaning up; industrial reminders of what we lost so long ago.
            We had terrible fears stemming from that day. We believed that the end times were upon us. We huddled in our houses, too afraid to open the blinds. We believed the worst was yet to come, and we were certain that it would never be safe to travel again. All that we knew for certain was that the towers were gone, reduced to blood and burning steel that never really went away. We, as a nation, did not believe that we could pick ourselves up.
            But time went on, as it always does, and eventually those crushing fears turned into massive hopes. Hopes of unity within our country. Hopes that our strength would send a message to all evil doers around the globe. Hopes that, in time, the world would become safe again.
            Perhaps we were naïve in both our fears and hopes. Slowly we began to get back on airplanes and fly to all corners of the globe. Likewise, our dreams of unity began to fade. We all adopted a business as usual attitude for 364 days out of the year, the lone exception always being the anniversary of the day the towers fell.
            Ten years is a long time. In that time, we have successfully started two wars that seem to have no end in sight and a bill that has become increasingly harder to ignore; we have helped dispose of a handful of Middle Eastern dictators that we said was in the name of democracy; we have seen the genocide rage in Darfur and we have turned a blind eye. We have seen sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, husbands and wives sent to die in the desert for wars they didn’t ask for and didn’t quite understand. What have we learned in that lost decade?
            We learned that nothing has changed. More attack attempts came: an underwear bomber, a car filled with explosives left in Times Square, but we moved on because no one was hurt and failures are often easy to forget. Our politicians have brought us down into a hellish reality that we may never escape from; a world of two vindictive ideologies that will not rest until the other is destroyed for no good reason at all. We are impatient again. We are just as prejudiced as before, maybe even more so, and we still have no problem killing each other.
            All that we have to show is a largely unplaced hatred for anyone farther west than France. We have an ungrounded suspicion that all Muslims are up to something so sinister that they deserve to be sent to Guantanamo right now, no questions asked. We cannot go to the airport without random security checks and TSA pat downs. Throughout this decade in despair, we have not changed for the better. We watch TV, go on Facebook and order takeout to forget that we ever lost anything. Somebody else would eventually come along and start the long process of sweeping up debris.
            Eventually, even the rubble that was the towers and our loved ones became garbage, and had to be hauled out of sight and buried.
            Osama bin Laden is gone, and so are ten long years. But we are no different than we were on September 10, 2001. We are the same consumers who don’t look at price tags before we put something in our shopping carts. We are the same people who blame one president and exonerate another. We are the same people who demand blood for blood. We are still the same Americans.
            Maybe in another decade we will be able to fully absorb and understand what 9/11 meant. Or maybe we won’t. If that’s the case, at least we can adequately distract ourselves. 

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Pawlenty, Perry and the Midwestern Swing

            Strange winds are brewing for the Republican race for the presidency. The standings are far from what many had initially expected out of the already watered down pool of candidates. The Ames Straw Poll (the presidential pre caucus vote held by Iowan Republicans) was held on August 13. Perhaps to no one’s surprise, Michele Bachmann won the poll, handily beating Ron Paul by 0.9%. Third in line was Tim Pawlenty, who many thought would have won or at least come in at a close second. But it was not the numbers that shocked the Pawlenty followers; it was the way he took the defeat. One day after the less than significant straw poll, Pawlenty dropped out of the race. One of the few agreeably sane contenders, Pawlenty gave up before he ever got off the ground.
            Pawlenty’s problem is that he made the mistake of thinking this was a meaningful vote. The only candidate in recent history to win the Ames Straw Poll and go on to win the White House was George W. Bush in 1999 before he ascended his throne in 2000. For example: in 2007 Mitt Romney won the Ames Straw Poll while McCain would get the nomination (and lose to Obama): in 1995 Bob Dole tied in Ames, won the nomination, but lost to Clinton: in 1987, Pat Robertson won the Poll, but George H. W. Bush won the nomination and the White House: in 1979 Bush won in Ames but Reagan got the White House. Pawlenty needed only look back at recent history to see that losing in Ames doesn’t mean shit and that his chances were the same as ever. But instead he hung his head and waved the white flag. So long, Tim Pawlenty.
            The day before Pawlenty’s presidential aspirations ended, Texas Governor Rick Perry’s began. While his name was not on the Iowa ballot, he formally declared his candidacy in South Carolina. A late addition to the contending race, Perry had adamantly denied for years that he would seek the office of the President. But like any other politician, he changed his stance and threw his hat in the ring. Perry is now considered to be in a three way race with Romney and Bachmann for the nomination, making up a kind of “Big Three” that will take on Barack Obama in 2012. Whether or not this is true remains to be seen; after all, Perry has only been a candidate for one week.
            The subtraction of Pawlenty and addition of Perry may spell some good news for Mitt Romney. He also was not on the ballot in Iowa, mainly because he feared that was a losing race. The Romney Campaign was betting that Pawlenty would win close to home, so they were concentrating more on the East Coast (Romney has been in New Hampshire seemingly all year). But with Pawlenty gone, perhaps Romney may reconsider the Midwestern states. Bachmann may seem to have the upper hand in that area, but Romney appeals to more voters than the conspiracy theory laden Bachmann (she recently said we have to fear the rise of the Soviet Union, in addition to her long list of people who are out get her). With Pawlenty gone, the middle ground in the Midwest seems up for grabs, and Romney could be the guy to grab it. 

Friday, August 5, 2011

How the Democrats Lost Big in the Battle of the Debt

            The debt ceiling deal has been reached and approved by both the House of Representatives and the Senate. It was a text book example of the something is better than nothing approach that the White House has been taking lately. Barack Obama surrendered complete control of the issue over to the far right, who somehow convinced everyone that they had bargaining power. But the power that the Tea party actually had was nothing short of a terrorist like plot: they threatened to let the government default if they didn’t have their demands met. But perhaps it is too flattering to liken the Tea Party to terrorists demanding some form of political retribution. The Tea Party is much more like a group of spoiled rich kids who use their parents’ credit cards and complain about their allowances. A deal was reached, but it was the wrong deal.
            Obama and the Democrats had to sacrifice everything they promised to get something passed by the deadline; the only silver lining for Obama is that the deal will last through 2012, so he won’t have to deal with it during the election season. But for all their power (they have the White House and the Senate) the Democrats simply rolled over on this debate and let the Republicans call the shots. The Democrats seem to have a very Stockholm-like Syndrome when it comes to fighting the Republicans and the Tea Party; rather than fight like cornered animals, they simply allow themselves to be taken hostage and victimized.
            The deal itself calls for spending cuts that will burden the disappearing middle class but adds no tax increases on the super wealthy. It was a bad deal that the Democrats shouldn’t have even considered, but because of their breathtaking lack of balls they felt they had to. The Democrats might be a weak party, but they seemed pitiful on the vote. The Republicans, for all their dirty tactics and complete disregard for everything except themselves, came out smelling like roses yet again.
            Since 2008, the Democrats have allowed the government to be hijacked twice by right winged financial thugs who promised to blow the United State to hell if they didn’t get everything they wanted. And the biggest problem is that we have no one standing up for us. We elected Obama to look those terrorists – those teenage brats – in the eye and call their bluff. But instead, he just sighed, signed the deal and gave them back their credit card. 

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Patriots Win Big Early

Earlier today I wrote about how the New England Patriots had landed Albert Haynesworth from the Washington Redskins. In accordance with their love of risk, the Pats have also landed celebrity wide receiver Chad "Ochocino" Johnson. This addition will help fill the void left when Randy Moss was traded last season. Also, the tandem of Ochocinco, Wes Welker and Dion Branch should provide Tom Brady with the depth needed to win big again. Stay tuned, there's more to come.

The NFL Has Returned

            After months of waiting and uncertainty, the NFL is officially back in business. The lockout that plagued the league for half a year ended last week, and the mad scramble of free agency has begun. There have already been noteworthy moves and trades, with every team trying desperately to put something together in the days before preseason starts.
            The first major move to happen was Hasselback leaving the Seattle Seahawks for the Tennessee Titans. Hasselback lead the Seahawks to a surprising first round playoff victory this past season over the 2010 champs, the New Orleans Saints. The soon to be 36 year old will replace the troubled Vince Young in Tennessee as both franchises try to move forward.
            The Washington Redskins then offloaded two unsurprising yet major deals. Donovan McNabb, whose time in Washington can be described as frustrating, was sent to the Vikings to replace Grandfather Favre. Then, Albert Haynesworth, the defensive tackle who never got off the ground in D.C., was shipped to New England for a 2013 fifth round draft pick. These moves were basically Washington’s way of saying “We bet wrong.” Both players are solid, and in the right environment can prosper. McNabb is ready for his last go round as a starter, and Haynesworth (assuming he passes the conditioning test) can thrive in the Patriots’ multiple fronts. Belichick loves to gamble. They have succeeded with Corey Dillon and Randy Moss, so this move should pay off.
            The Saints parted ways with their star running back, Reggie Bush, as he was shipped off to Miami. And finally, the Eagles dealt quarterback Kevin Kolb to Arizona. Keep your eyes peeled for the final moves of the offseason. Thank God for football.

The Battle for the Debt Ceiling

            There’s been plenty of action lately; the winds of change might not be category five yet, but things are getting exciting for the first time in a while. The big issue is the showdown in D.C. raging right now. A battle royale between John Boehner’s Republicans and Harry Reid’s Democrats. The issue is as basic as could be: how to best deal with our national debt. We are less than a week away from the painstakingly real possibility that the federal government will not be able to borrow any more money. But the two sides (or at least their figureheads) are offering very different answers.
            Boehner wants a short term fix. His plan would make $900 billion in cuts and would raise the debt ceiling for just a few months. Meaning we would have to revisit this whole debate again in the fall. Reid and other leading Democrats have said they will kill this bill immediately if it were to pass the Republican controlled House. Reid’s plan would call for the debt ceiling to be raised throughout 2012, while making $2 trillion in cuts.
            Both sides are having closed door, clandestine meetings for their parties, excluding opposition from coming in and making deals. At America’s most desperate time domestically, the leaders of the country continue to act like spoiled brats on the school yard at recess; they whine and moan and storm off when they don’t get exactly what they want. But at the heart of it, both sides want the same thing. Neither really wants some great victory for the American people; they simply want to see the other party lose.
            There will be a vote on Boehner’s bill tonight. And win, lose or draw, the politicians come out the same as ever; greased and grinning ear to ear, paycheck still in hand. As long as it looks like they tried, or even if it looks like they tried to make it look like they were trying to help the rest of us they can hang up their rock and roll shoes and call it a day.  No matter what happens tonight, they’ll still come out on top, and the rest of us will have to sigh and shoulder even more. 

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Who Is Michele Bachmann, And Why Should You Be Afraid Of Her?

            Since the first Republican presidential debate was held, the race has quickly boiled down to a few chosen favorites to take on the task of making Barack Obama a one term president. Romney still stands as the clear cut favorite, a charismatic friend of big business who knows how to smile for the camera. But surprisingly other major candidates have seemingly fallen flat. The last anyone heard of Tim Pawlenty was after he was declared the loser of the second Republican debate. Tail between his legs and shoulders hunched, Pawlenty seems to have crawled back into the dog house reserved for likes of Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson: outcasts and freaks of the GOP. And Gingrich is cursed to be Gingrich – he’s been dead in the water for years now.
            Yet the most debilitating and reprehensible aspect of the second debate was that Michele Bachmann – the crusading calumniator who lacks any sense of American history – was declared the winner. Bachmann represents a large step backwards in American politics. She is a lunatic who believes that God handpicked her to be President of the United States. She is the face and voice of the Tea Party, while in her mind she is the right hand of God here to smite the sinners (liberals, gays and conscientious objectors) off the face of the planet.
            At face value, Michele Bachmann is a nincompoop who says whatever comes into her head and has never once even considered using a fact checker. But when one digs deeper into the heart of darkness that is the Bachmann America, one discovers something much more terrifying. When you look hard into the eye of that storm, you find something that is inherently racist and narcissistic, something that is both stupid and wrong, and something that gaining ground. The Bachmann train is a well calculated movement that eats the hearts of many, and shits on the foolish that stand against it. Not with facts, but with undeserving support and an unwarranted sense of accomplishment.
            Say what you want about the similarities between Bachmann and Sarah Palin, but there are key differences. Sarah Palin may be nuts, but Michele Bachmann is crazy. Palin likes to be known; it is doubtful that she really wants to be president, because she knows better than anyone that history would not be friendly on President Palin. She likes the money and the fame, but nothing else. Bachmann, on the other hand, believes with all her heart that she is supposed to be president, and will stop at nothing to reach that goal. And what’s worse is that people are eating this up. Those stupid enough to believe that Bachmann is a modern day prophet and weapon of God will go to hell and back just to see Bachmann make waves. And that is very scary.
            Bachmann is something new to American politics. Never before has someone so hysterically unqualified been pushed to such a national level that it makes the rest of us uncomfortable and legitimately afraid of the reality of a World War III. She would be the first president since Truman who wouldn’t have to think twice or bat an eye at dropping a nuclear bomb somewhere in the world, just to kill people who she doesn’t understand. After all, she answers to a higher power than we do, one that doesn’t approve of turbans or burqas.
            On a domestic level, Bachmann’s “politics” make little to no sense. She thinks that by destroying minimum wage, more jobs would be created. She believes that carbon dioxide is harmless. To her, the American Revolution started in New Hampshire, not Massachusetts (I guess historians meant the other Lexington and Concord). She believes that many Nobel Prize winning scientists believe in intelligent design. She refuses to fill out the 2010 census forms for her and her family. She believes the swine flu only comes out during the terms of Democratic presidents (Carter and Obama). For her, climate change is a laughable hoax. She believes there is some kind of dark and evil homosexual conspiracy out to get her (perhaps with Illuminati overtones?). She claims that Terry Schiavo was perfectly healthy when they pulled the plug on her. But at the bottom of everything, Michele Bachmann somehow thinks that either the gays or the blacks are the ones to blame in today’s America.
            Looking at her long list of character defects and simpleton expressions, it’s hard to see exactly how Michele Bachmann got to be so important that many will sacrifice their souls to vote for her on Election Day. Yet that is exactly what has happened. She has conned the American people into thinking they are in danger of a black extremist who will put together an army of terrorists, gays, socialists, communists, Marxists, Muslims, rapists and murderers who will come to their houses in the middle of the night to get retribution for crimes they have not committed. This is the America that Michele Bachmann represents. A nation of three hundred million lost souls who will do whatever it takes to get a better spot in heaven, even if that means damning their friends and neighbors to hell. The horror, the horror. 

Thursday, June 16, 2011

How Stupidity Ruined Anthony Weiner

            Anthony Weiner, the congressman who sent photos of his junk to any woman who cared to look, has announced that he will step down. Regardless of his actions, Weiner’s hand was forced on this issue. Democrats and Republicans were calling for his head, eager to prove something and looking for someone to make an example out of. This is, after all, election season.
            Wiener may be a lot of things. He may be an asshole. He may have the Brett Favre complex. And he may be a fiend and a hound. But at the end of the day, the biggest question should have been: was he a bad congressman? The answer to that question is undoubtedly no. Weiner’s sexting obsession is a problem, but a personal one that pales in comparison to what other elected officials do on the clock at Capitol Hill. After all, even Clinton got to stay in the White House after he had an intern polish his knob.
            When polled, more than half of Weiner’s district wanted him to stay in office, giving evidence that he could have won his reelection bid next year. The only people who clamored for his removal were other politicians, looking for someone to point fingers at and distract the media. The fact that Eliot Spitzer was calling him out should be enough evidence that this is not worth our time. Weiner is only guilty of being horny. Usually that’s a prerequisite for being a politician.
            Scandal is nothing new in the field of American politics. We as consumers like to have a good political scandal every few years, and the politicians love to see adversaries fall. But Weiner is different. Once he’s gone, the House will have lost the most electrifying and passionate orator that anyone has seen in some time. His only crime was being stupid. 
            Hunter S. Thompson said it best. “In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

The Offseason Has Begun

The NBA season has finally come to an end. The Dallas Mavericks won their first franchise championship as the Miami Heat came crumbling apart in Game 6. People rejoiced as LeBron James fell short of his goal again, and looked like a fool in the process. Cleveland is still a long way from title dreams, but at least their nightmares aren’t coming true; LeBron is still empty handed. A fitting ending to a turbulent season.
As for the rest of the league, the off season looks grim and the draft looks even worse. Cleveland is set to take Kyrie Irving, but his is no LeBron James. If anything, he’s another John Wall. There are very few key players coming into free agency this summer, so any spectacular moves would be beyond shocking. Dwight Howard and Chris Paul are staying put for at least one more season.
The Boston Celtics, already depleted in the center position, were given another blow as Nenad Kristic – a solid player who came in the Perkins deal – opted to play in Russia as the league is in lockout. This has raised some chatter over who the Celtics can sign to go along with Jermaine O’Neal. Sacramento’s Samuel Dalembert has been discussed, and I’ve even heard of a sign and trade situation where Glen Davis gets sent to the Clippers for Chris Kaman. However, these possibilities would eventually prove more problematic than helpful for the Celtics. Dalembart is solid, but not solid enough for his price tag. And Davis is far more important to Boston than a reject from the Clippers.
This leaves Boston with fewer options. The only great center who is a free agent this summer is Tyson Chandler from Dallas. I don’t see him leaving the champion Mavericks for a lot less money in Boston however. The Celtics could try and get Greg Oden from the Trail Blazers, but I don’t see the former number one overall pick taking a minimum contract. I also don’t see Portland letting him walk away; they’ve invested too much already. Boston could also try for Kwame Brown, another former number one overall pick. His price tag will be low, and I’m sure he’d relish the chance to play for a contender. The only thing Boston can really do is draft big men and hope they work out well. This might be good news for Troy Murphy, who never really got off the ground in Boston. If he works out and proves he can defend and grab rebounds (and maybe even get his jump shot down again) he could be back for another year. But that’s a big if for Dropkick.
Boston cannot afford to let Davis walk. He wants to be a starter, sure, but after his abysmal performance in the Miami series, it’s obvious he needs more work. And with Garnett likely to retire soon, he is already being groomed to take that place.
The wing position is still weak for Boston. There are talks about retaining Von Wafer for another year, which is not a terrible idea. Wafer had moments on the court where he proved his worth, but overall he wasn’t the spark Boston needed. Eddie House is set to be a free agent this summer, and was a proven provider during his tenure in Boston. He is essentially the same player as Delonte West, but could definitely hold down the point with West at the two-spot.
Unless the Celtics can lure away J. R. Smith or come up with some brilliant scheme to get O. J. Mayo in a trade, they're likely to remain weak the two spot for this coming season. The Grizzlies already tried to move his contract, but the Celtics don’t have enough to offer. Jamal Crawford is unrestricted, but his price tag is very high. This might a position that Boston drafts for and hopes it will pan out.
A couple of veteran players are available, and the Celtics could get them inexpensively. Tracy McGrady used to be a serious threat, and could be useful off the bench to relieve Ray Allen’s minutes. And based on Danny Ainge’s love of gambling, I could see a minimum contract being offered to Allen Iverson in hopes of providing some kind of bench run offense. These are all hypothetical scenarios. The certainty of the Celtics offseason is very murky right now.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

LePage's Second Veto: Dollars are Better than People

            The human beach ball that is the governor of Maine, Paul LePage, has issued another veto this month. The bill in question was one that would have prohibited foreign loggers from coming into Maine to work on state owned land that is managed by the Department of Conservation. LePage vetoed the bill by somehow citing equal protection under the Constitution.
            The problem with this veto is that LePage cannot hide his hatred of regulations. He’ll gladly cut all the trees down without creating a single job for Mainers. His veto will allow for Canadian loggers to come in at presumably lower wages than local loggers, while deforesting the entire state. There is no chance of LePage regulating how many Maine trees are cut down by foreign hands and shipped out just as quickly.
            In a time when everyone is struggling, how can a man who is supposed to have our best interests in mind just give jobs away and send the forests to Kingdom Come? It’s easy for a man whose best friends are corporate assholes and money mongers. Eventually we’ll all have to take a long hard look at that dollar grubbing brute up in Augusta and wonder why we did this to ourselves. Good God, where will it end?

Friday, June 3, 2011

Romney's Run, Cantor's Ultimatum and Edwards's Indictment

            Yesterday marked another key moment for the GOP hopefuls for 2012. Mitt Romney, widely considered to be the frontrunner for the GOP, announced that he was running for president. Romney is a more charismatic figure than Pawlenty and a more down to earth politician than Palin or Bachmann. The only thing that could possibly hold Romney back from the nomination would be the health care system he initiated during his time as governor of Massachusetts, which is even more far reaching than Obamacare. Romney is even campaigning against Obama’s healthcare overhaul, so if anyone cares to look a little deeper under Romney’s skin, they’ll find a few discrepancies.
            But that’s not the point. Romney is a far better choice for the nomination than anyone else running. He’s the high water mark of the GOP’s race for the White House. He has the common sense that the rest of the GOP hopefuls lack. But his character assassinations of Obama will come back to bite him. If he keeps pushing, Obama’s going to push back hard. And that will unravel the Romney campaign. The only thing that’s really keeping that ball rolling is the public’s willingness to turn a blind eye towards Romney’s history of chronic flip-flopping.
            Other news of the day: former congressional Minority Whip Eric Cantor, a Republican from Virginia, announced that the United States government has an obligation to help the people of Joplin (and elsewhere) where tornados have ravished their homes. His only stipulation was that the government would have to make cuts elsewhere before sending aid. Cantor essentially continued playing partisan politics while the victims of natural disasters keep suffering.
            Also in the news is John Edwards, the former senator from North Carolina as well as Kerry’s vice presidential candidate in 2004 and was a candidate in his own respect for the 2008 election. Edwards was indicted by a federal grand jury over the massive sums of money he spent to hide his affair with his mistress during his run in 2008. Edwards is a low rent scumbag, a two-timing fiend who cheated on his cancer stricken wife. He deserves what’s coming to him.
            That’s all the news for today. It’s always an interesting day in America, especially with an election looming ahead of us. 

Thursday, June 2, 2011

The Big Finish

            After 19 seasons, Shaquille O’Neal has called it quits. One of the most dominant players and endearing personalities to ever play the game, O’Neal leaves behind a place in the league that will doubtfully ever be filled. While never having any one particular place to call home for very long, O’Neal made the best of every situation he was in, and brought a different caliber to the game. While it was undoubtedly time, it is certainly hard to see him go.
            In a prolific career that started in Orlando, Shaq then migrated to Los Angeles where he won three championships, then on to Miami where he won his final ring, stopping off in Phoenix and Cleveland before finally coming to Boston; Shaq seemed to be everywhere at once. He became a gun for hire in a league that seemed to be getting younger and younger for O’Neal. Yet never once did he complain. Shaq was a warrior who endeared it all.
            His stats will tell the story. Shaq is fifth all time on the scoring board (28,596 points) and twelfth in rebounding (3,099 rebounds). He made 15 All-Star appearances during his tenure. He is a three time Finals MVP, and was the league MVP in 2000.
            His time in Boston may best be described as frustrating. Constantly swapping injuries with Jermaine O’Neal, Shaq only appeared in 37 games during the 2010-2011 season, and only appeared three times after February 1. He did not play at all during the Celtics-Knicks series, and logged only 12 minutes during the Miami series, scoring just two points. Yet even though his time with Boston was frustrating, never once was it boring. He posed as a statue in Harvard Square. He dressed in drag on Halloween. He would constantly lend his time around Boston for charity work.
            Shaq’s legacy is etched in stone, and his contributions to every team were more than just for the game. He brought something to a city and its fans that no other player ever could. For the future Hall of Famer and his time in Boston, it was fun while it lasted. The Big Diesel has finally ended his journey, and we all enjoyed the ride.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

LePage's First Veto: A Giant Middle Finger to Everyone Around Him

            In a surprising move, Maine governor Paul LePage vetoed a health insurance bill that passed unanimously in the State Legislature. This puts the House Republicans in a precarious position. They will have to choose between either overriding a fellow Republican in LePage or changing their votes on the insurance bill. LePage’s veto came last Thursday, and by House rules the vote for overriding the governor’s veto must come within one week, so they have until tomorrow to make their decision.
            What’s interesting in LePage’s veto is not the fact that he wants to make it more difficult for the private sector to prosper (this bill is designed to prevent insurance companies from giving the best contracts – the “most favored nation” status – to the larger hospitals over smaller practices. This is essentially price fixing the market so that anyone in the private sector will lose). The real issue at hand is that LePage didn’t notify a single person about the veto. It was a total shock to everyone in the Maine State House, especially the Republicans who have now been put on the spot. This will be a test of their loyalty to authority or loyalty to the people.
            Republican Representative and Financial Services Committee Chair Wesley Richardson expressed his frustration with LePage’s veto.
 “It’s a good bill,” he said. “I am shocked the governor vetoed that bill and never notified anybody until it was on the House calendar today.”
If the House and its Republicans choose to override LePage’s veto, they would need at least a two-thirds majority in the House to send the bill to the State Senate where another two-thirds majority would be needed to officially override LePage’s first veto in office. LePage vetoed the bill without listening to private doctors and therapists who wanted to make their case for the bill. If the veto stands, the independent practices will surely find it more difficult to survive in an already trying time; many doctors have already had to close their private practices and work for bigger hospitals, as well as physical and occupational therapists in private practice are losing their jobs. This will undoubtedly put a bigger strain on the bigger hospitals services, and cause cost increases that LePage has clearly not considered. LePage seems more concerned with how he can best help lobbyists and big insurance companies than with jobs in Maine. In the simplest language, Lepage wants to keep the status quo, rather than permit the bipartisanship that occurred in the Maine State Legislature.
Business as usual in Augusta. 

Friday, May 27, 2011

The Vote to Kill Medicare

            Just months after losing big in the House during the midterm elections, the Democrats have come up with a few key victories that will seemingly take the wind out of the sails of power hungry sleaze balls like John Boehner and Tea Party buffoons like Michele Bachmann. New York Democrat Kathy Hochul won a surprising special election victory for a vacant seat in the House. Hochul won 48% of the vote, while her Republican opposition won 42% and the Tea Party candidate winning 9% and a Green party candidate rounding out the results with the last 1%. The district where she won has consistently been a conservative district in the past.
            But this victory is only a minor won; the real victory for the Democrats came a day later, when the standoff for Medicare was forced. This put Republicans in a predicament over the bill, authored by Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. In the end, five of the 47 Republicans in the Senate voted against Ryan’s bill that would have killed Medicare by subsidizing it for the private insurance market. This may be a sign that the cut and slash at all cost tactics taken up by the Republicans and Tea Partiers has not gone over well with the public, and that they have most certainly overstepped their boundaries.
            The budget is still high and there is not quality plan in place to fix that. But it looks like the message is finally getting through to our elected officials, especially after the surprising victory of Hochul: if you keep pissing us (the voters) off, you’ll be out of a job come next election. Or maybe even more importantly, a step towards bipartisanship has been taken. But I wouldn’t bet the farm on that one yet.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Trump, Gingrich and Everybody Else

            A few things have happened since the GOP debates were held not so long ago. First and foremost, Donald Trump announced he will not be seeking the Republican nomination, though he still contends that he could “win the primary and the general election.” This marks the end of the road for any fun to be had this election season; though he was hysterically unqualified, Trump was good for a cheap laugh in the sport of American politics. In the end it seemed even the Donald recognized his limitations, and decided to save his money for a future bankruptcy opportunity.
            Secondly, Newt Gingrich announced that he would be running for president, ending barely any speculation of the obvious. Given the choice, I would rather have Trump running any day of the week over Gingrich. Gingrich is the kind of person who has become far too common in Washington these days. He’s an immoral puppet to lobbyists and a chronic flip-flopper on issues like climate change and marriage. He can look Americans in the eyes and tell them they are living heathen lives, but probably doesn’t own a mirror because he can’t bear to look at himself for all the terrible things he’s done to the one who loved him. But at the same time he’s a narcissistic fiend the likes of which even Trump would have to dry heave over. Simply put, Gingrich lacks the redeeming qualities (if you can call them that) that made Trump palatable. He’s just not as fun.
            Another drop out of the Republican race is Haley Barbour, who had far too much baggage to hope to win any states other than Mississippi. If nothing else Barbour is a closet racist who is pretty bad at keeping secrets. His off color comments and his ties to the Klan (or at least reluctance to distance himself from them) would have made it impossible to win, or lose with grace.
            A third member of the non-contender party is Mike Huckabee, despite all the evidence that he himself presented that said the opposite. He made the announcement on his Fox News program, saying that “All the factors say go, but my heart says no; and that’s the decision that I have made.” This move effectively takes away the leader from the Bible-toting, finger pointing weirdoes who think they’re appointed by God to be President of the United States. If nothing else, the GOP has lost another candidate who at least made things interesting.
            Texas Representative Ron Paul announced he was officially running, apparently for one last run at making a real revolution. Outside of this, no one else has stepped forward to declare a run. We’re still waiting to hear from Romney, Bachmann and Palin. Hell, maybe even Giuliani will give it another try. Things are uncertain enough to probably give him some hope.
            It’s still a long way until November 6, 2012, but the climate is already changing. While nobody is off the ground running yet, at least the GOP aren’t at a standstill anymore. As for the Democrats, Obama needs to find a new Secretary of State, as Hillary Clinton is no longer interested in the job. Right now all fingers point at Senator John Kerry, but it’s doubtful if Obama wants to risk losing another Democratic seat in Massachusetts. Who knows, maybe people are fed up enough with Republican Senator Scott Brown that it won’t matter. For now, it’s all still speculation. 

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Celtics News

In my last post, I wrote that Danny Ainge would have to start looking for someone to replace Doc Rivers as the head coach of the Celtics. Turns out I was wrong. Today Rivers and the team agreed to a five year deal worth $35 million. He has the chance to become the coach with the second most amount of wins in Celtic history, behind Red Auerbach. Clearly the Big Three Era won't be around for five more years, but with the wily Rivers inked for that long, it looks like the entire franchise is looking at more than just the immanent future.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Where Did It All Go Wrong?

            When you gamble, you have to be prepared to lose at some point. Danny Ainge gambled big once before this and it paid off; he brought in Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to form the Big Three with Paul Pierce, securing the Celtics Banner 17. But when Ainge traded away the franchise favorite Kendrick Perkins, the gamble for instant success fell short, and the Celtics ended their season prematurely to the fiendish Miami Heat.
            It wasn’t just the trade that sent Perkins away that effectively ended the Celtics rule atop the Eastern Conference; it was a culmination of a series of factors. The Big Three has gotten old. The O’Neal factor didn’t pan out as the Celtics had hoped. The productivity off the bench came in waves; sometimes they’d come up big and sometimes they’d just fall flat. Glen Davis was pitiful in the Miami series, Jeff Green was uncertain of his role and Delonte West was injured. But the biggest pitfall the Celtics had was their inability to capitalize on their matchups. Rondo’s dislocated elbow effectively took him out, and somehow the Celtics centers got beat by Joel Anthony who never even had a worthwhile career. But most importantly, the Celtics couldn’t contain LeBron James or Dwyane Wade, and let them score in every way imaginable.
            Danny Ainge has one last shot at redemption this offseason. He has to sign free agents like Jamal Crawford or J. R. Smith to relieve Ray Allen, and add depth to the bench. Most importantly, Ainge has to lay the groundwork to be able to sign and rebuild around Dwight Howard the following year. He also has to begin imaging a world without Doc Rivers, since it doesn’t seem likely he’ll be sticking around forever. One bad trade doesn’t have to define Ainge, but unless he learns his lesson and gets Howard, this year’s biggest trade will haunt Ainge until the day he dies as Boston’s most hated man.
            As for the Celtics here and now, sadly they proved what everyone has been thinking for the past two years. The tank finally ran out, and they just couldn’t run on fumes anymore. Time betrays us all, and the Celtics are living proof of that. But time marches on, and so must the Celtics.

Friday, May 6, 2011

The Race Is On

            The first chapter in the long, cruel and terrible saga that lies ahead of us has unfolded; the first Republican debate was held in Greensville, South Carolina last night, hosted by Fox News and friends. This officially marks open season for campaigning, but the field was looking bare and empty last night. Of the five speakers present, only one is considered an actual contender for the nomination, and that’s the former governor from Minnesota, Tim Pawlenty. The rest of the participants were a bunch of has beens and hacks, none of which will be able to stir even the smallest whirlwind in the shit storm that’s about to come crashing through our televisions each night for the next eighteen months.
            To call this debacle a debate is nothing short of a crime; nobody was debating anything. It was a stage with five self congratulating nobodies who couldn’t muster up anything to say that wasn’t complete horseshit; it was basically a contest to see who could out-America the others. The judges were just Fox News pundits who threw out softball questions, hoping that someone – anyone – could hit a homerun. But they all fell short of the mark, even Congressman Ron Paul, whose days of promoting his revolution seem all but over thanks to his good for nothing son, Senator Rand Paul, tarnishing the name. All he could do was raise the legalization flag, but even that seemed empty and lonesome, like the very last dollar in a gambling man’s wallet; Ron Paul’s progressivity doesn’t seem so progressive anymore.
            The judges also did a colossal disservice to those candidates who actually showed up by constantly reminding the audience that the real heavy hitters weren’t there. Fox and friends were eager to point out that Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Donald Trump and Michele Bachmann (among others) weren’t in attendance. This should have been undeniably insulting to the five on stage, who should have pointed out that they were there to debate, not hypothesize over what Mitt Romney might say if he had actually shown up.
            The most laughable aspect of the debate last night was the fact that Herman Cain, whose largest political accomplishment up to this point was being the former chief executive for a chain of pizza restaurants, was declared the winner by Fox pollster, Frank Luntz. Cain declared that President Obama’s administration was the worst in all of U.S. history and applauded his own lack of political experience as his greatest strength. Cain, however, did agree with Obama’s decision not to release the photos of Osama bin Laden’s dead body, a decision most GOP hopefuls (like backwoods harlequin Sarah Palin) have called cowardly.
            Others in attendance were former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson and Rick Santorum, the former Senator of Pennsylvania. Santorum continuously tried to interrupt any form of praise being given to Obama, saying that “If you look at what President Obama has done right in foreign policy, it has always been a continuation of the Bush policies.”
            These are dark days ahead of us, especially for the GOP. No real contender has come forward, and it seems increasingly likely that many of them might back off and wait for 2016 when they don’t have to campaign against the man who killed Osama bin Laden. The severed head of bin Laden might as well be hanging outside the White House, rattling in the wind with the American flag flying proudly over it. Obama’s got the Republicans scared and running. It will be interesting to see who actually comes forward to fight for the nomination that already seems doomed to failure, to see who wants to be the next martyr of the GOP.
            Time will tell.