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    Monday, April 25, 2011

    Trump.

    Donald Trump is sucking all the current air out of the 2012 Presidential Race these days.

    Bottom Line Up Front:  Trump is using this to promote his current Celebrity Apprentice run and himself.  With Trump, it's all about Trump.  He's not going to run for President.

    But, because everyone else is doing it, let's play a mind game and pretend that Trump is serious.  After all, Dick Morris thinks he is. And I love Dick Morris.


    Dick thinks Trump makes it to a final two against either Michelle Bachmann or Newt Gingrich, and that he will bring new voters to the GOP fold.  I may agree with that, and would find that a good thing, and the assurance of GOP victory in 2012, which is looking even more possible, as gas prices rise (with the Emperor Obama doing nothing to stop them), and Obama's popularity plummetting to Bushian levels.

    I like Trump.  He's not a conservative in the traditional sense, but, like many ambivalent Independents, and social Democrats, he's sick of the fiscal irresponsibility that the Obama administration has foisted upon us. He's seen as a strong leader who won't take any crap from anyone, and that is certainly not something the current president is doing.  People like that.

    For you Dems who pass by this space, I want you to understand two things:

    1. Obama is a far-Left ideologue, who thinks it is his mission to radically reconfigure the United States as a left-wing paradise, run by the super-intelligentsia, represented by Obama.  He has none of the blind ambition of a Bill Clinton, but he's imbued with the arrogance of Woodrow Wilson.
    2. You could tax every person making over $100k every penny above $100k and you wouldn't even pay off the deficit for this year.  So, the class warfare card sounds appealing, but it's not the problem.
    Back to Trump.  He could bring even more of those fiscally conservative Independents and Democrats into the GOP fold, even if not the nominee.  For that, the GOP would be eternally grateful.  The danger is that he loses the GOP nomination in a close race, and then decides that he's the answer to Obama, and runs as an Independent, assuring Obama's victory.

    But, I don't think he's in it.

    Tuesday, April 5, 2011

    Koran Burning

    The Florida preacher decides to go ahead with the Koran burning and a bunch of Islamist nuts decide to use it as an excuse to murder.

    General Petraeus says this was unnecessarily provocative and places our troops at risk. I can understand his position here since it is unnecessary. To truly show the nature of Islam, I have said before that we should be READING the Koran not burning it.

    But, the general needs to also understand he took an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States, and preeminent in that is the first amendment where we give special protections to speech. Specifically political speech, which, if you are being critical of Islam, you are exercising. Islam can not be separated as a religion and ideology. They are two parts of the whole.

    General Petraeus would be wise to remember that many of us who served and continue to serve pledged to defend the Constitution and the right of idiots to exercise their freedom to be, well, idiots.

    What we should NOT be doing is bending over to please a two bit corruptocrat (Karzai) who wants us to apologize for some nut desecrating their "holy" book. Nor should Congress be passing laws forbidding the burning of Korans or any other religious text. Like that kind if stuff, go to Saudi Arabia.

    Anyway, Sean Hannity needs to shut up over this.

    Monday, April 4, 2011

    NASCAR quotes

    On my drive home last night I was catching up on Jayski podcasts and there were a couple of good examples of why these guys aren't getting PHDs.

    Denny Hamlin trying to explain why he is so good at Martinsville despite being there in numerous cars "There's one thing in common, my crew chief, the team, and me.". Heh?

    You always hear some good mixed metaphors from racers, Richard Childress on Kevin Harvick, "he rolls with the flow."

    Gotta love these guys.

    Friday, April 1, 2011

    Happier News! Baseball's back!

    After a long wet, coldish winter, baseball is back and all is right with the world once again.

    This season is full of hope here in Atlanta, because most of us believe the Braves will improve on last year's Wild Card record.  With the addition of Dan Uggla, Freddie Freeman, a healthy Chipper Jones, plus the National Leagues 3rd best rotation, arguably the best bullpen, and new manager Fredi Gonzales, I predict the Braves will win 95 games this year.

    Normally, that would win the NL East, but, with the Phillies historically good starting staff, they may win 100 games.  At 95, though, they are a Wild Card lock, and could take the division. The Phillies may be without Chase Utley for the year, and Brad Lidge is injured and not worth a crap anyway.  Jimmy Rollins is in decline and the Phils have outfield issues.  They're going to need that pitching staff to be good, because the days when they hammer teams into submission are probably over.

    As for the rest of the league, I don't really care.  I have a soft spot for the Reds and would like to see them succeed again.  The Mets are going to stink, and I will be thrilled to watch them lose 95 games and finish behind the Nationals, who may be good in 2012.

    As we sit here today, the Braves are 1-0 and destined to finish 162-0 and complete the first unbeaten season in ML history.

    On a happier note...Idol

    I haven't been religious about Idol blogging.  Honestly, I have been so time late watching them, there seemed little point in recapping.

    I spoke to my mother, who is one of the people still watching this, and we discussed these points:

    • Is there anyone Steven Tyler doesn't like?
    • The quality of contestants is decidedly better this year.
    • We agreed that the 2 to go this week deserved it, and Thia Meghia should have waited a year.
    • Paul's annoying.  Ok, mom didn't exactly agree with that, but I think he's annoying and should be next to go.
    On things we didn't talk about, now that we're down to the final 9, I don't think there's a clear favorite yet, but, I think Pia, Lauren, James, Scotty, Casey, and Jacob are probably the final 5.  The loss of 2 girls this week helps the remaining women.  More random Idol thoughts:

    • Haley and Paul are probably the next to go.  I agreed that Haley's performance was her best (it was not THE best of the night, that went to Pia or Lauren), and may save her for a couple of weeks.  If she can combine that raspy voice with some sexy clothing, she may be able to milk her way past Paul and Stefano and maybe Casey and get into the final 6.
    • I know James has Tourette's and all that great story, but his shtick and the tics are starting to annoy me.
    • Stefano is a good singer, but, haven't we seen this guy on Idol, oh, 10 times before?  And the eyes closed thing?  Scary.
    • Yes, Lauren is very young, so maybe I am encroaching into creepiness here (it's probably legal in Georgia, though), but, if she makes it far and gets an actual country music gig, hopefully someone will introduce her to Nutri-System.  Hey, it worked for Carrie Underwood, who you may recall being a little chunky.  Or, she could go the Kelly Clarkson route and just eat her way to stardom (laughing all the way).
    • I think Scotty's lying about his age.
    • Jacob is starting to annoy me, too.  But, he's got a spot on Glee (not that there's anything wrong with that).
    • Casey.  I like him with the trimmed beard.  He's becoming a bit of a drama queen, though.  Just get over it Casey.  You didn't deserve to be kicked off, the judges rightfully used their save.
    • If anyone still thinks the results aren't fixed, well, come on...

    Thomas Sowell Puts it to Obama...

    One of the smartest men in America, Thomas Sowell, rips Obama apart over Libya.  In so doing, I think he hits on the essence of Obama (see quote 2). From Sowell's column:

    "To attack him (Gaddafi) without destroying his regime is to ask for increased terrorism against Americans and America’s allies. So is replacing him with insurgents who include other sponsors of terrorism.
    "The most charitable explanation for President Obama’s incoherent policy in Libya — if incoherence can be called a policy — is that he suffers from the longstanding blind spot of the Left when it comes to the use of force.  A less charitable and more likely explanation is that Obama is treating the war in Libya as he treats all sorts of other things, as actions designed above all to serve his own political interests and ideological visions. 
    "As for the national interest of the United States of America, Barack Obama has never shown any great concern about that."
    I don't know what Obama's up to in Libya, or what the end game is, but I am never terribly opposed to removing a despot like Gaddafi, the rottenness of the replacements be damned.  But as I posted previously, we run a great risk here of losing (and, if the rebels don't succeed in taking out Gaddafi, we lose), and an even greater risk of winning (where the rebels actually turn out to be Islamists and turn Libya into another terrorist-sponsoring Islamic state, as opposed to Gaddafi's mad-man terror sponsoring).

    The real problem with what we're doing in Libya is...no one really knows what we're doing in Libya.  I can see it at the Bam White House:

    Advisor 1: They're all saying we must do something about Gaddafi.
    Bam:  Well then, do something.

     And that's just it, we're doing something, but no one knows what it is.