That's All Folks!

          I would just like to start this entry by saying that this will be my last post.  Therefore, it is only proper that we start this with a small celebration.  I found out about his yesterday, but I watched the news story this morning when I woke up for the day.  On NBC News, I saw a story that said Anthony Weiner is resigning.  YAYYYYY!  It is about time.  Yesterday he held a press conference early in the afternoon, and he apologized for his actions.  He apologized to his wife, and publically announced that he was resigning.  Surprisingly, a lot of his constituents are sad and disappointed that he is leaving.  Many feel that he did not do anything that was that bad.  Well, first of all, he lied about his actions.  If he had just come out with the truth, this whole situation would not be that bad.  Do you want someone who is dishonest to make decisions for you…to represent you?  I wouldn’t.  Also, now that he is gone, the media can focus on other things (like the debt ceiling….I found an article on that!).  Politicians who were interviewed on the news commented on what a relief it is that he is gone because they, too, can focus on more important things.  I couldn’t have said it better myself.  He is no longer a distraction.

          So, that was just a small tidbit of a story that needed to die.  Moving onto more important things…like Libya.  Things in Libya are getting pretty serious.  As bombings continue there, politicians here still cannot make a decision on whether to prolong the conflict.  According to the New York Times, the White House supports the conflict in Libya and “asserted that President Obama had the authority to continue the military campaign without Congressional approval because American involvement fell short of full blown hostilities”.  Now, I know what that means, but we’re bombing another country.  Isn’t that hostile enough?  It is a foreign conflict in which the President sent a whole bunch of troops to Libya.  We shouldn’t try to find loopholes in the law.  Congress just needs to make a decision.  So, I don’t really know how I feel about the Whitehouse claiming that the War Powers Act doesn’t apply.  The act isn’t just this formality that we follow.  No, it’s a law.  Just follow the law.

          So, do you remember when I wrote my very first entry, and I talked about the debt ceiling?  Well, it only seems fitting that I end with the same thing.  (It’s all about things coming full circle.)  The debt ceiling issue is also becoming very serious.  As pensions begin to dry up and the nation discovers that it might not be able to “pay its bills”, there are a few doomsday scenarios that some congressmen have devised.  According to USA Today, they believe that jobs will disappear, the stock and real estate markets will plummet, savings bonds will dry up (or just take 50 years to mature), troops wouldn’t get paid, and the list goes on and on and on...and on.  Others, like Senator Pat Toomey, are under the impression that “drastic spending cuts” are the only real solution.  Now, we as a nation have never hit the debt ceiling before, we have never really been in this situation.  We don’t know what is going to happen.  Why don’t they just combine the doomsday predictions and the posed solutions?  This way we can remember what could happen and try to prevent it at the same time.  I would like to buy a house one day.  A solution needs to be developed.  This way there are no doomsday predictions that come true or any government shutdown scares when they have to vote on the budget again.

          Well, I am going to stop now.  Let me just say that I am happy that there are other things being reported on besides scandals and Sarah Palin.  Anyway, good-bye, keep ticking, and stay informed!

         

The Last Sources:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/16/us/politics/16cole.html?_r=1&ref=politics

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/16/us/politics/16powers.html?ref=politics

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/57015.html (this is about Libya too)

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2011-06-15-debt-limit-debate_n.htm?loc=interstitialskip

A Strange Day In News...

Alright, everyone, New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie says that he is “one hundred percent certain” that he is not running in 2012.  He is adamant about sitting out of this one.  Then again, he also said that he is more likely to commit suicide than run for president.  I think he believes that his job in the state of New Jersey is not finished yet.  However, he did not close the door to any future plans of running for president; it is just not his priority right now.  He doesn’t want to run because people are telling him to run, he wants to run when he feels the “time is right in his heart”. (He really said this in an interview…but I’m not judging.) I, for one, think that it is a really good thing that he has openly and publicly said that he will not run for president.  Although his usage of the suicide hyperbole was a smidgen dramatic, it is good that he has separated himself from the contenders.  This way he can support a contender instead.  As we all know, this is something that Sarah Palin refuses to do (at least according to her actions the past few months).  She has literally been posing herself in front of the cameras to receive media attention.  Therefore it is only appropriate that I say, “Kudos to you, Chris Christie”.

          So, I stumbled across the proposal of an “anti-groping” bill that would ban intrusive airport searches.  As we all know, after the 9/11 attacks, airport security has been “beefed up”.  Now there are scanners that pretty much x-ray you when you stand under them.  They still keep up the random searches, but now there are extreme pat-downs.  According to the New York Times, Texas Representative David Simpson (R) wholeheartedly supports this new piece of legislation.  He believes that it is a direct violation of the rights given to all American citizens under the Fourth Amendment.  The Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable search and seizure.  While he understands that it is perfectly fine to increase security to protect the American people, he does not think that it is appropriate for airport security to take such extreme measures.  The law would prohibit the touching of all private and personal areas during an airport search.  For me, just the thought of airport searches is daunting.  I have not yet had the pleasure of enduring the scanner or the pat downs because I have not been on an airplane in six years.  However, I have a trip coming up soon, and I really do not want to have to endure the new searches.  I feel like the airport security guards should at least take their “searches” out to dinner and a movie before touching them (although, this is highly unlikely).  I had a close family member endure a pat down at an airport.  She described it as uncomfortable and awkward.  I do not want to be put in that position, and I do not think there are many that do.  Therefore, kudos must go to both the House for proposing this bill and Rep. Simpson for supporting it.

          In my final order of business for the day, I would like to talk about something that I saw on television this morning when I awoke.  I turned on my television to NBC, and heard that Mr. Boehner, our current Speaker of the House, is calling for the congressional approval of the conflict in Syria.  He predicts that if this action is not taken by the weekend, then there we as a nation will be breaking our own law under the War Powers Act.  The War Powers Act was created in 1973 to curb the President from creating foreign armed conflicts without the consent of congress.  The President is allowed to send troops to another country, but he must formally tell Congress within 48 hours.  Also, these troops can only stay in the foreign land for 60 days along with a 30 day withdrawal period.  The US is ever closing in on this deadline.  The bombings overseas are continuing, and Congress has not acted yet.  This is pretty serious.  This nation is now involved in three separate conflicts in the War on Terrorism, and one of them has not been approved yet.  Now, how do you think it would look if our country broke its own law?  How do you think this will look to other countries?  I can answer both of these questions with one simple answer—it won’t look good.  Therefore, I must give kudos (one last time) to Mr. Boehner for pushing the approval (or official disapproval) of this overseas conflict so the US doesn’t break its own laws.

          It is now time to say good bye.  So…keep ticking, and stay informed!

         

I am running out of things to type above my sources:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/15/business/15nasa.html?ref=politics

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/56996.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/16/us/16questions.html?ref=politics

Moving On This Week...

          I want to start off this entry with something that I stumbled across while searching for something interesting to write about.  Sadly, on AOL News I came across an article that thought it was necessary to tell the world that Anthony Weiner dolls are now on sale.  There are even atomically correct dolls being sold; however, you must be 18 years or older to buy one of those.  This is just sad.  The media is just enforcing Weiner’s bad decision.  It’s kind of like when a kid does something bad in class, people laugh at him, and he keeps going because he thinks it is okay.  Then, when you take away that kid’s audience, if he keeps messing around, he just looks silly.  Then, he usually stops because he realizes how ridiculous he looks and sounds.  We need to take away Weiner’s audience.  It’s time for the media to stop making him the center of attention and to move onto something new.  We cannot enforce Weiner’s actions by making a huge joke out of it anymore.  It was funny the first day, but once is funny, twice is not.  It really isn’t funny.  It is just sad.  The man destroyed his political career.  I personally think it’s a wonderful thing that he decided to stop working (even if it is temporarily).  The man is a disappointment to himself and the world of US politics.  He is one of the reasons that people are losing faith in the Federal Government.  He is yet another element in that leads to low voter turnout in the United States.  This needs to stop.  Of course, the fact that Weiner is a dishonest, scandalous cheater won’t go away, but the media can stop prolonging the agony.  It’s like ripping a band-aid off slowly.  When you do it slowly, you inflict the most possible damage.  When you rip it off army style (quickly and painlessly), there is minimal damage.  JUST RIP OFF THE BAND-AID, AND END IT ALREADY!!!!

          So, there was a debate last night (on Monday).  Yes, all of the potential GOP candidates (well, minus two) participated in the presidential debate.  According to the New York Times, they talked about things from Medicare reform to why Obama is not an effective president.  Although I have not had the pleasure of watching the entirety of the debate myself, my source tells me that there were no major “goofs” by any of the speakers on stage.  No one attacked Gingrich for his staff fiasco last week, and everyone proved themselves to be formidable opponents for Obama.  It is refreshing to hear that they pretty much stayed on the topic of “the issues”.  Things like health care and the economy were important topics last night.  It’s about time.  These are the things that directly affect the American people. Personally, these are the things that I want to know.  I want to know if there is going to be any future legislation to fix the economic crisis in the United States.  I would like to know if the standard of living index is going to go up ever.  I would like to know if Social Security is still going to be running properly when I get older.  It is good that people are finally taking these things seriously once again.  It’s as if the upcoming election has allowed all important issues to be put aside for the moment.  It seems that it has become a time that people are talking about what they want to do, but politicians aren’t doing anything about it.  Instead, they are stuck quibbling over execution while America sinks farther and farther into debt, and the American people slowly become more destitute.  I hope that all of this talk about things happening will actually generate some ideas for bills and legislation.  I know it will, but at this point not much is happening. 

Another interesting thing happened at the debate last night.  According to Politico, Tim Pawlenty gave “kudos” to Sarah Palin.  He said, “Palin would have been a great President.”  Does anyone know if she’s even planning on running?  Anyone?  No? *Sighs*  Why couldn’t she be like New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie?  He has a ton of people rallying for him to vote, but he just says “no”.  He doesn’t flirt with the cameras for media attention.  He excuses himself by saying that he is not done with his job in New Jersey, and he bows out gracefully.  I really don’t know what Sarah Palin is doing.  Politico gave her third place in the debate because she got a shout out, and they even had a brief discussion about her.  I think she should just make up her mind and end this madness already.  If she keeps hogging all the attention from the people who are trying to vie for the GOP nomination, then none of them will stand a chance against Obama.  If someone who isn’t running is more important than the people who are, what does that say about the GOP?  It certainly doesn’t look good (for lack of a better word).  She is in almost every story.  I don’t understand why.  I really don’t.  If someone cares to explain, please, I am accepting to any clarification.  If someone has gleamed some sort of insight into her thought patterns, that’s cool, too.  It’s not that I have a problem with her as a person; I have a problem with the way that she is acting right now.  If she is not running, she should use some of her star-appeal to boost another contender.  The GOP is going to need all the help that it can get in this election.

Well, it may be earlier in the night than when I usually stop writing, but the time has come for me to shut down my computer.  So, I leave you with my customary farewell:  KEEP TICKING, AND STAY INFORMED! J

WHEEL OF SOURCES!

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/14/us/14repubs.html?_r=1&hp

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/56903.html

http://weirdnews.aol.com/2011/06/14/anthony-weiner-doll_n_876539.html

At least this isn't about Anthony Weiner...

                So, I know this has nothing to do with politics, but was anyone else a little too entertained by the Google Doodle for the past two days.  It’s this really funky guitar, and I swear I cannot stop playing it.  I even figured out how to play a few songs on it (these are the keys that play Do-Re-Mi from The Sound of Music… Asd adad  sdffdsf  dfgdgdg  fghhgfh  gasdfgh  hsdfghj  jdfghjk  kjhf lk a).  

                Alright, fun time is over.  It’s time to get down to business!  Oh, I’m just kidding.  Politics can be really fun if you make it that way.  For instance, this morning I was watching CBS, and I see Newt Gingrich all over the news.  I was like, “Hey, it’s not Anthony Weiner.  Maybe something new is being reported on in the political world”.  Apparently all of Newt Gingrich’s senior staff quit on him and left in mass exodus.  He and his workers were not seeing “eye to eye” with the direction that the campaign was headed.  It was reported that his entire team in Iowa also left the campaign.  If Gingrich can’t even get his advisors to agree with him, how is he going to run this country?  It’s not like the nation can afford to have the entire cabinet against the direction of the president’s vision.  I know that is a very highly unlikely situation, but I was just trying to exemplify what happened between Gingrich and his staff.  Now, Gingrich had a shaky start to begin with, and the fact that a ton of his advisors just up and left will not really help his cause.  I really do not see this man lasting for long.  He already had that glitter incident in which a homosexual man rained glitter upon the potential GOP nominee.  What the pranksters were aiming to achieve was indeed achieved.  They did make Gingrich look like a fool.  Did you know his wife left along with his advisors?  Yeah, apparently she was angry after she and her husband went on a private cruise with his friend who just so happens to not only be female, but a model as well.  Really?  When you’re in a race, you are supposed to be careful.  You can’t cover up your past, but by not doing the same dumb thing again; at least you can pretend that you’ve “changed”.  I really do not know what goes through people’s minds sometimes.

                Anyway, between 2012 election news, foreign relation problems, the debt ceiling, and Weiner, I haven’t really seen that much culture war buzz in the media.  I was a smidgen surprised to see an article about a workshop for aspiring gay politician workshop on the NY Times website headlines.  It wasn’t even one of those little blurbs at the bottom of the page.  No, it was almost the headlining story.  This was second to Gingrich.  Now, I am not going to talk about my personal views about the culture war out of this (in reality, I don’t want you to know whether I’m conservative, liberal, or whatever).  That is a can of worms that I choose not to open, and this is simply not the venue for me stating my particular political stances.  No, the thing that I will comment on regarding this article is my complete and utter shock that this was made one of the most important articles.  It’s not the fact that it’s about gay aspiring politicians; it’s the fact that it wasn’t a national issue.  It’s something that happened in Pittsburg.  The media has been pumping up a lot of scandal and potential, potential GOP nominees (*cough* Sarah Palin *cough*).  (Really, why did she make a movie to promote her image if she wasn’t planning on runnin?)  I am actually really proud that the media is moving away from scandal a bit and really digging into the issues that people care about.  Correct me if I’m wrong, but there used to be more of that, yes?  I know the media is just trying to promote what they feel the American people want to read about, but I’m pretty sure that people like variety, too.

                Okay, so I may or may not have spoken too soon.  According to POLITICO (and every other news source I looked at), Alaska released a bunch of Sarah Palin’s emails.  The e-mails are from the first half of her governorship.   The most interesting things in the e-mails are some death threats and a question regarding Palin’s beliefs in the dinosaur/human coexistence theory.  Overall, nothing juicy or scandalous was revealed.  At least there was nothing that was not already known by the public.  Ok, enough is enough.  Sarah Palin needs to stop mooching off the press and make a decision (or at least make her inevitable, probably-already-decided-upon decision known).  Seriously, is she the only thing that can be reported on right now?  Why is she the head story on POLITICO?  Now, I know that I rant about the media all the time, but it’s getting ridiculous.  The point of this blog is to update my followers on the day to day workings of the US government.  Seriously, is the Senate doing anything important?  Anything at all?  Something that the media wants to make a headlining story would be good.  How’s the debt ceiling crisis going?  I personally would like to know.  Is anyone reporting on it? No.  It just irks me.  Oh, well.  You never know.  Next week might be better.  I am really hoping that there will be some new policies.  That is the kind of stuff that is really important because it affects the common citizen.  Things like taxes affect the common citizen, not scandal.  That’s just gossip. *Insert disappointed sigh here*.

                Well, I am going to stop now.  Good evening, keep ticking, and stay informed!

Sorce-a-palooza!

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/11/us/11train.html?ref=politics

http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/56705.html

https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?URI=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/10/us/politics/10gingrich.html&OQ=Q5fQ72Q3dQ31Q26Q72Q65Q66Q3dQ70Q6fQ6cQ69Q74Q69Q63Q73

The Plot Thickens...

          Ah, the plot thickens.  According to USA Today, his wife, Huma Abedin, is pregnant.  The couple married in 2010, and they are not planning to divorce.  Even though this really has nothing to with actual politics, it is one of the top headlines on the site.  I suppose that this is merely an article to make him look even more like the scum of the earth that everyone knows he is.  The press wants to reveal things that make a scandal more scandalous.  It’s like adding fuel to the fire, and everyone knows what happens when you do that.  Also, on the same source, I found an article that highlights the fact that a lot of Democrats are asking for Weiner to resign.  Now, Weiner doesn’t want to resign.  In fact, he is now stating that he will not resign.  Then again, the whole world now knows how reliable his statements are.  The Democrats that are calling for his resignation said that there is no point in him keeping his job because he has lost his credibility.  However, the most surprising statement came from Rep. Joe Donnelly.  He said, “Enough is enough.  It's time for Congressman Weiner to resign. Everyone should be focused on jobs and the economy, and his refusal to do the right thing is a distraction”.  FINALLY!!!!  Someone has finally said what I have been thinking all along!!!  This is a distraction from things that are more important.  What about Libya?  Or even Afghanistan?  This should not be the subject of all the headlining stories on every news source in the nation.  When will this saga end?!?!?  (Sadly) The world may never know.

          I do believe that now would be an adequate time to talk about the 2012 election.  Now, I would be much happier to talk about this if this section of the new was not also plagued with the non-stop, ongoing story of Weiner.  According to the NY Times, Weiner’s scandal does not reflect well on the Democratic Party, and this could possibly affect President Obama in the upcoming 2012 election.  Really?  I had no idea that a bad reflection upon a party can affect the candidates within it?  I guess that’s why the Republicans didn’t do so well in the 2008 elections.  I know that when writing anything, one has to assume that the audience knows nothing, but…really?  Weiner needs to stop being the center off all political news topics.  The media has really found a way to spin this story in every way.

          Onto REAL news (because I want to stop talking about Weiner…but it’s the only thing that’s being reported on…I need to read about something different).  Alright, here is a name that has surprisingly come up A LOT in the 2012 election news.  According to POLITICO, New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie, is being urged by many members of the GOP to consider running for the presidency.  Now, considering that he is a first time governor that is not done with his term, he really does not have any intention of running.  However, the people that are desperately trying to persuade the man to consider their offer see him as a man that could really take on the Democrats.  I know that Governor Christie really is willing to stick to his guns and do what needs to be done (even though in his term as governor, he has managed to tick off the entirety of New Jersey).  In NJ, Christie has been cutting a lot of funding, but he is now notoriously known for his cuts in education.  This has made many educators become frightened for their jobs and students fearful that their precious activities will be eradicated.  I don’t think that he would win New Jersey if he ran, but other conservative states would love him, especially the ones that contain people who are concerned about the national debt.  New Jersey was a state that was seriously in debt, and Christie’s funding cuts (instead of tax hikes) let his true Republican colors shine.  This has caught the attention of Republicans around the nation, and they want him to run.  Will they get their wish?  I don’t know…no one does.  We shall see.

          Once again I find myself becoming ever more drained and starved for energy.  Now, folks, the only way to regain energy is for me to sleep, and I desperately need to sleep.  So, I bid you good-night along with…KEEP TICKING, AND STAY INFORMED!!!!

SOURCES!!!!!!!!!!!(a few more should do the trick!)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2011/06/anthony-weiner-scandal-photo-/1

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2011/06/anthony-weiner-scandal-resign-congress-/1

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/09/weiner-scandal-is-a-case-of-bad-timing-for-democrats/?ref=politics

http://www.politico.com/2012-election/

LIAR, LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE!

          I don’t know about you, but I hate it when people lie to me.  However, it makes me even more irate when someone lies not just to me, but also fibs to the people around me.  So…I suppose you can well imagine how miffed I become when someone lies to the whole country.  Not just a little, slightly unintentional lie.  I’m talking about a full blown, blatant lie that was planned out in advance.  If you do not know who I am alluding to, I will just tell you.  I am (of course) talking about the now infamous Rep. Anthony Weiner.  Anybody who has been following the sad, pathetic saga of Weiner knows all about his tragic performance on Monday during a disastrous press conference.  According to USA Today, finally, after days of denying that he had inappropriate relationships with a woman over the internet, he told the world that he was actually guilty.  I really do not understand how a person can just get on the air, proclaim to the world that he is not guilty, and then tell everyone two days later that he was actually lying.  As if the scandal wasn’t enough to destroy his reputation, he really smattered his name on Monday by admitting that he was lying all along.  He will never get reelected again.  He might as well resign.  He is now going into the same category as John Edwards and Arnold Schwarzenegger.  Nonetheless, according to the article, he is actually going to go up for reelection.  He even said, “This was me doing a dumb thing, doing it repeatedly, and lying about it.”  (Way to state the obvious, genius.)  Now, I know that it is said that any press is good press, well, that’s not entirely true in the case of Anthony Weiner.  Scandals, especially ones involving sexual lewdness, are not the best PR for someone looking to remain in their political position.

          Anyway, in when it comes to Anthony Weiner, he has become another prime example of the media trying to set their own agenda.  They are digging up as much dirt as they can find on the man to make him look even more like an imbecile.  Actually, they are trying to make him look like a hypocrite.  If there’s anything that the world hates more than a liar, it’s a hypocrite.  According to the New York Times’ “Link of the Day”, Anthony Weiner had written something on a website entitled “Protecting Children on the Internet”.  It is a piece that defames and degrades sexual predators on the internet, calling for better laws to rid the world of said criminals.  Now, I don’t know about you, but if a child accidentally stumbles upon his lewd picture, I feel as if that goes in the same category as being a predator.  In doing so, one is potentially mentally scarring a child.  Images like that can be shocking to someone that is not old enough to understand it.  Oh, well.  It looks like the mass media really got me hooked on this topic this time.  Whatever they are doing to make the public care about this, it’s working.  I really do think that these cheaters and sexual predators do need to be exposed.  I just don’t think that it should be the cover story for a week on every political page on every news source.  That’s what really bothers me when it comes to the stories about people like Edwards, Schwarzenegger, and (now) Weiner.  It’s the fact that the media makes it seem more important than things like one of the three foreign conflicts that we are currently a part of overseas.  Even the debt ceiling should have precedent over some of the other stories that are posted.  Scandal is not the most important thing going on in politics.

          Onto 2012 Election news…it has been reported on Politico that Rudi Giuliani has decided to run.  This is now seen as a threat to the biggest contender for the GOP nomination, Mitt Romney.  It has been predicted that the two men would possibly duke it out over the same states and vie for the same voters.  I haven’t heard a lot about Giuliani in the news recently, so this is truly news to me.  I was under the impression that he was still in hiding because he received so much flack back in 2008.  I also thought that the GOP would be looking for someone that is a little bit more conservative than Giuliani.  The man is literally the most liberal conservative that I have ever had the displeasure to research.  Let’s take his stance on the culture war issue of abortion.  Conservatives generally have a Pro-Life stance, but Giuliani has openly taken a Pro-Choice position.  I really don’t think something like that will be okay with the Republican Party.  Yes, he is popular.  Yes, he has received a lot of media attention in the past and will get much more in the future.  I honestly see Mitt Romney going farther than Giuliani.  Let’s face it, even though three years have passed, the reasoning behind the flack he got in 2008 hasn’t gone away.  Who’s to say that he won’t get ridiculed more this time around?  No one.  That’s who.

          Well, it is now past my bedtime and I want to sleep.  Believe it or not, I have to get up in the morning.  Therefore, I will sign off saying, “Keep ticking, and stay informed!”

         

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2011-06-06-Anthony-weiner-sexting-twitter_n.htm

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/us/politics/08colleagues.html?_r=1&hp

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/56379.html

http://www.politico.com/2012-election/

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/56365.html

http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/07/explaining-anthony-weiner-to-children/?ref=style

This is a public service announcement...

WEINER ALERT!  I’m sorry.  I truly apologize, but it was far too tempting.  This is comedy gold people.  A lewd picture was mysteriously posted on Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner’s Twitter account.  The pictures of a man in his underwear were directed to a college student, and since the incident the man has received over 10,000 new followers on Twitter.  According to ABC Nightly News, he has not started any investigations on the matter and is claiming that the picture is a hoax.  However, when asked simple questions like, “Is it your underwear?”, he simply danced around the question saying, “That’s what we’re trying to find out”.  He claims that the photo may have been doctored in some way, and he has no idea whether it is actually him.  Now, he did not actually say this, but it was what he was implying.  Have you ever seen The Mentalist, Criminal Minds, or any other crime show ever?  On his interview, he played the part of stereotypical liar.  He skirted around the simplest questions and seemed to have a difficult time making eye contact at times.  Also, before he answered every single question, he looked down.  Someone that was telling the truth would look up because this stimulates recall.  So is the man lying or not?  Really, it’s up to your own interpretation at this point in time.  If you ask me it’s a little suspicious that he is not planning on starting up an investigation (at least not right away).  The whole situation is just strange.  Well, this is just another thing to add onto people’s reasons to mistrust the government.  The people vote, and then the people that they choose to be a representative turns around and does something like this.  This is one of the reasons voter turnout is so low.  It’s just sad and embarrassing.  Once again, this is one of the top headlines in the political news, not the debt problem.  Oh, well.

Anyway, that was yesterday’s Weiner news.  Today is a brand new day, and according to Politico, Weiner still is not talking.  He is still refusing to say whether or not it was his genitals that showed up on Twitter a few days ago.  Also, he is totally aware that the incident has ruined any of his political aspirations for the future.  However, I am not sure whether or not he knows that by not answering any of the media’s questions directly is what has put him in the hot seat.  People might actually believe him if he answered one single question.  So that brings me to my next point…of course his reputation is ruined.  How can you trust someone that lies to you, especially someone that helps to create policy that will impact your life?  The whole thing is just stupid.  He needs to either fess up like a big boy or formulate a defense.  He is floundering, and a characteristic like that put on display will not help anyone in future elections.  To think otherwise would just be stupid.  Really, if he doesn’t come up with a stance soon, he might as well resign and go take part in a local school board election or something like that…oh, wait, that’s probably not the best idea.  Ummmmmm…I’m at a loss as to what the man could do for a living in the future.  At least he probably has money.  It’s really hard to get elected unless you have some sort of small fortune.

Well, onto political news of merit…the 2012 election.  Yay.  So, Mitt Romney is finally putting his ideas out there, as well as formally submitting his candidacy for the GOP nomination.  According to the New York Times, the man made a 25 minute speech.  This speech did not mention his rivals for the GOP nomination; instead, he focused on what he called Obama’s “failed economic policies”.  Now, I don’t know about you, but that sounds awfully familiar to Tim Pawlenty’s stance.  For a long time Pawlenty has been crying out for economic reform and that Obama has been leading the country in the wrong direction.  Now, I’m not saying that Mitt’s a total copy-cat (especially considering that the conservatives need to stand on one front if they want to stand a chance against Obama), but he should spice up his message a little bit.  By adding a little pizazz he would stand out above the rest.  Of course, being the media addicts that they are, Rudi Giuliani and Sarah Palin had to put their two cents into the conversation.  They are both standing firm on the principal that they will not let Romney self-appoint himself as the GOP nominee.  I have two problems with this stance.  Number 1:  Is Sarah Palin even running?  Does anyone know?  Please, if you do know, tell me.   Number 2:  The whole point of a primary is to make sure that a person cannot self-appoint themselves a nominee.  Jeezums…that wasn’t even what the man was saying at all.  He was just announcing his candidacy for nominee.  Let the process happen.  Don’t worry.  I promise it will work out in the end.  It always does.

Well, my brain is now slowly melting away from exhaustion.  I am going to take this a sign that I should stop for the evening and retire.  So all, I must now part with you using my customary farewell: Keep ticking, and stay informed.

Sources of the day:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/56160.html

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/rep-anthony-weiner-denies-tweeting-lewd-photo/story?id=13736214

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/03/us/politics/03romney.html?_r=1&ref=politics

T-Paw

Right now, at this very moment in time, I would really like to just devote an entire entry to who I consider a very strong contender for the GOP nomination.  I have talked about him many times in this blog, and I have even quoted him once.  I am talking about Tim Pawlenty, or as I like to call him, T-Paw (this is his actual nickname…I am not making this up).  As mentioned in a previous blog entry, T-Paw is Minnesota’s former governor.  This man stands for the idea of freedom, right to life, and lower taxes.  Those are not his only stances, but you get the idea.  The man puts the serve in conservatism.  He wants to serve the people, and he feels that the Obama Administration has not been serving the people the right way.  The man even has his own PAC.  It’s called the Freedom First PAC, and it supports Republicans across the country in their endeavors to uphold conservatism.  Anyway, that’s just a little background on the potential candidate, but what I really, really want to talk about are his activities over the past few weeks.

According to Politico, when Pawlenty kicked off his campaign, he was excited to see who was going to run.  He anticipated the future debates and every potential nominee having to come up with a political stance.  He couldn’t wait to get his ideas about the deficit and spending reform out to the people.  In the process, he even chastised all of the potential candidates who were more caught up with bus tours and polls, especially Sarah Palin, a woman that has been flirting with the press.  You know what…good for him.  It’s about time that someone is getting their head in the game and actually thinking of making a difference in the country (for a change).  Tim Pawlenty is ready to take part in debates and stand up for the issues that are important to him.  He isn’t focused on the idea of becoming popular through stalking the press.  The best way to get press is to do something good and to let them come to you.  You have to make news in order to be on the news.  I really feel as if the mass media in this country has fallen away from that.  Gossip is now what is becoming news.  The news this past week has been all about Sarah Palin’s secret tour of the East Coast.  SHE ISN’T EVEN RUNNING!!!!!!  If she is, she’d better follow T-Paw’s advice and “get in if you’re going to get in”.

Over the past few weeks, T-Paw has been talking A LOT about Medicare reform.  He believes that the system is damaged and needs to be fixed.  According to ABC News, in an interview on This Week, he said that he would back the recently proposed Ryan Medicare Plan.  The plan that was formulated by Republican Rep. Paul Ryan would overhaul the existing Medicare program.  However, Pawlenty mentioned that if he were president today that he would support it only if a few addendums were added to it.  He said he would keep the whole plan, but he would push to have Social Security Reform added to it.  Pawlenty really cares about the idea of financial reform in the US, and it’s about time that someone actually does.  While the debt ceiling issue still remains, the press has been covering things like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Donald Trump as political news.  Also, fiscal reform comes with financial freedom for all US citizens, and Social Security and Medicare become part of this deal.  Pawlenty stands for freedom on all fronts, and he is adamant about making sure that everyone gets it.

Finally, I would like to talk about what this man did only yesterday.  As we all know, Sarah Palin has been gallivanting around the East Coast, looking for chances to be on the news, and hooking up with Donald Trump for a few minutes.  What Sarah Palin hasn’t been doing includes answering questions on important issues (i.e. the economy and immigration) and actually deciding to join the race.  For the latter, well, T-Paw accomplished that last month.  As for the questions…according to the New York Times, Tim Pawlenty spent the day yesterday in the northwest corner of Iowa actually getting to know his voters.  He answered all of their questions and proved himself to be a good contender to go up against President Obama in 2012.  In the article itself, his itinerary for the day was outlined.  It said, “By the time he arrived here [place not specified] to meet with 20 Republicans for afternoon coffee, he had already had lunch with 15 people in nearby Orange City, where his campaign picked up the tab for the all-you-can-eat buffet at the Pizza Ranch. He started his day at a bakery in Sioux Center, where eight people formed a semicircle around him. Along the way, he did interviews with local radio stations and newspapers, and also helped fill sandbags for flood victims in Sioux City.”  Okay, I know that this is a really long quote, but I just wanted to give you an idea of exactly what he has been up to.  He has been meeting with small groups of Republicans to discuss the nation’s issues, his stances on them, and his future plans to solve them.  He is simply not going to get up in front of a large, 1,000 person crowd every day and give the same spiel every time.  He wants to get to know his voters on an individual basis.  Now, of course, he cannot do this with every Republican in America. However, those people who he admirers can spread the word about T-Paw.  I’m telling you, this man is on the right track to become the GOP nominee.

Well, I hope you enjoyed learning a little about the man whom I personally consider to be the coolest potential GOP nominee.  Not to mention, he also has a pretty good shot at ending up on the ticket November 2012.  This is me signing off saying, “Keep ticking, and stay informed!”

T-Paw approves these sources:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/02/us/politics/02memo.html?_r=1&ref=politics

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0511/55829.html

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/tim-pawlenty-back-ryan-medicare-plan/story?id=13712149

Let's Talk.

Tuesday May 31, 2011:  I hope everyone out there had a happy and safe Memorial Day weekend.  Now…onto better things…LET’S TALK ABOUT POLITICS!!!!!!  Yeah!  If the thought of that doesn’t pump you up, I don’t know what will.  Okay, now that I’ve added some spice to this, let’s get to it!

                So, New York Times (and every other major news outlet…this was just the one I chose) is reporting that the push to have the debt ceiling raised did not pull through.  In an overwhelming 318-97 vote in the House of Representatives voted down the proposal to once again raise the debt ceiling clean.  What this means (and I kid you not, this terminology was used in the article) is that it was proposed that the debt ceiling be raised without any attached plans to solve debt by another means.  This includes cutting funding to things like unnecessary programs and selling land.  No strings attached…clean.  Now, I have said this before, and I will say it again.  Simply raising the debt ceiling, so we as a nation can go on another hog-wild spending spree, is wrong.  Other solutions need to be found; otherwise the United States will find itself at the bottom of the same black chasm of debt once again in only a few years’ time.  Did you know that it was not just the Republicans that shot down this proposal?  No…there were a lot of Democrats that did not agree with it.  It’s about time that this country learns some responsibility.  In the words of Tim Pawlenty, “We’re not free when we’re $10 trillion in debt as a nation.”  Okay, so it’s a little more than $10 trillion right now, but the man has a point.  When normal, average citizens are in debt, they are not free to live their lives to the fullest.  People like this are bogged down with impending doom of the notice that will eventually come in the mail saying that you’re credit card bill is overdue.  They are not free because the bank could take away their property at any time.  Let me be the one to say, “America’s overdue notice has come.”  It’s about time that this country is forced to take decisive action against the problem that is at hand.  I foresee future legislation that will be a step in the right direction to solve the nation’s crisis.  Perhaps funding for ash-trays that strategically break into three pieces will be eliminated (but I am all for bringing back funding to the astronaut program in NASA.  We can’t just hitch rides with the Russians.  We made it to the moon first…let’s continue the legacy.)

                Alright, onto actual news…Sarah Palin visited Donald Trump in New York City on her super-secret tour of the east coast.  Donald Trump said (and I quote), “[Sarah Palin is] terrific woman and a terrific friend”.  He also hopes that she will join the pool of candidates who will fight for the Republican nomination.  Ugh…why is he still in the news?  He would be a joke in the GOP.  It’s kind of like when Sanjaya Malakar was on American Idol.  He couldn’t sing, and, yet, America kept voting him along because he was hysterical to watch.  Donald Trump cannot become the Sanjaya of the GOP.  It’s time that the media stops hyping him up and making the world care about him.  From the way the article sounded, it looked like Palin and Trump’s encounter was no more than a shake of the hands and a flash of the camera.  Why was that breaking news on USA Today’s Political page on their website?  So she went up in Trump Tower, had a photo-op with the man, the two said some nice words to each other, and Palin went on her merry way.  Things like the DEBT CEILING are more important.  Enough is enough.  Unless the man does something truly important, he is NOT newsworthy. Period.  And another for emphasis.  What the hey, I’ll throw in an exclamation just for kicks!  But seriously…no more.

                Finally, I move onto my last point of the evening.  I’M TALKING ABOUT 2012 ELCTION UPDATES!!!!!! (and the crowd goes wild *RAH*)  Alright, so this little gem that I just so happened to glaze over, does not have any potential GOP candidates as the focal story.  No this is about Obama.  Now, according to POLITICO, the people running Obama’s campaign were hoping that 2011 would be this great turnaround in the Great Recession.  I don’t know about you, but I really don’t think that that is the case.  Just the other day, I was watching CBS, and they reported that the prices on the real estate market have reached a new low.  I’m pretty sure that’s a sign that not all is fine and dandy with our economy.  Also, I’m sure that there is some poor, helpless Grandma somewhere that’s eating three month old cat food from a can that she had to chew open with her dentures.  Poor Grandma!  Anyway, his advisors are predicting that the ongoing recession is not going to help Obama in the polls.  Really?  I mean…REALLY?!?!?  Are we as a nation really that stupid that we couldn’t figure out something like that on our own?  Of course the economy is going to affect the man’s performance in the polls.  Money makes the world go round, and it’s something that everybody cares about. This recession has hit everyone in some way.  Obama had promised that he was going to do something about it, and it didn’t happen fast enough.  Now people are going to think he did not do anything to fix the problem at all.  Breaking something takes no effort, but fixing something takes time.  Our economy is not going to be fixed overnight, and Obama cannot fix it overnight.  Also, now that food and gas prices are going back up, he’s going to be hit extra hard with disapproval.  Something like this was bound to happen.

                Anyway, that is all for tonight.  So…so long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodnight...keep ticking and stay informed!

Check out my sources….

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/01/us/politics/01fiscal.html?_r=1&hp

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2011-05-31-palin-trump-meeting-new-york_n.htm?csp=34news

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0511/55943.html

http://www.politico.com/politico44/

Let’s Talk Media

So…lots of things have magically happened overnight in US politics.  Yes, it is true…after days of a lull in political news there is now a lot on which to report.  Let’s start off on some foreign policy issues.  Alright, so we have our Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, in Pakistan today.  It is not a surprise that she is over there considering all of the tension that has been occurring between us and them since the killing of Osama Bin Laden.  No…the real surprise is BBC News’ hook for the story, “Clinton Woos Pakistan Leadership”.  Now, of course being the curious person that I am, the hook worked, and I just had to click on it.  When I opened it up the headline was suddenly different.  It stated, “Clinton exonerates Pakistan to talk to leaders”, and, in the process of this conversation, she mentioned that she did not think that any senior leaders in Pakistan knew that Osama Bin Laden was in close proximity to Islamabad.  Hillary clearly stated, “[the US] had absolutely no evidence that anyone at the highest level of the Pakistani government knew where Bin Laden was”.  I don’t really see how she was wooing the Pakistani leaders.  In reality she was only giving information about what the United States had learned in regards to Pakistan’s knowledge of Osama Bin Laden’s whereabouts.  Remember, back on May 18 Defense Secretary Robert Gates had commented on the fact that there was evidence pointing to a lesser or retired official who knew Bin Laden was in Pakistan, not a high ranking official.   Hilary was only stating what she had learned in the investigation.  This is a prime example of the media trying to put a spin on the story.  BBC News was trying to make this encounter sound like Clinton was sugarcoating the situation and placating the Pakistani leaders.  Yes, it is true that we need to mend our relationship with Pakistan; however, Clinton was just stating the facts.

         

          Anyway, onto an update on the 2012 presidential race…Mitt Romney is officially becoming a presidential candidate contender…next week.  According to Yahoo News, after getting stomped out of the race in 2008, he has decided to go for the nomination again.  He has recently arrived in Iowa for the upcoming primary season even though Iowa was a key state where he lost the last battle for the nomination.  I don’t know how good the prospects look for Mr. Romney.  Yahoo had mentioned that he may find it difficult to get the nomination because there are other contenders who are considered better choices for the nomination.  I personally think that Tim Pawlenty has a shot.  He is pushing for Social Security reform.  He is proposing to raise the retirement age, and while I don’t necessarily agree with that (because I don’t want to be working into my 70s), there are a lot of people who are following him.  He is hashing out ideas that are a little radical for the Republican Party, and while he has moved farther to the right during his campaign for the nomination, he is still in 5^th or 6^th place.  Also, Sarah Palin has been getting a lot of attention from the media lately, and she does have followers.  She may not actually be running, but she keeps hinting.  I haven’t really seen Mitt Romney in the news recently, and he was in the same boat as Sarah Palin.  The media has been highlighting other potential candidates...and Donald Trump.  As of right now he does not seem like the most watched potential candidate.  I mean, people who aren’t even thinking of running, people like New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, are getting more attention in the 2012 race news.  I also feel as if this is yet another situation in which the media is trying to influence people’s opinions.  One of the most important things for a potential candidate seeking nomination is to get media time.  This way they can get free advertising and spread their ideas around.  Maybe Romney just needs to try harder.  Hey, maybe we’ll even see him in the news more often since he is going to put his bid in for the nomination.

          Speaking of Palin and media attention, who hasn’t heard about Sarah Palin’s new movie coming to a TV near you?  On every media source (at least on all the ones that I have seen) Sarah Palin: The Movie (I don’t know if it is actually called that) is being hyped up a lot.  It is going to be similar to a documentary and was made for PR purposes.  She is going on tour to promote it this Memorial Day weekend.  Also, The New York Times reports that Fox News analysts are expecting that she will form an exploratory committee and become a contender in the near future.  Alright, this feels like a situation of “so-an-so wanted me to tell you that who’s-a-what said his mother’s cousin’s aunt’s best friend needed to see your dog”.  Ok, so it’s not that serious, but the news is reporting on the news!  Well, I guess when you think about it, it’s more like a case of redundancy becoming redundant.  I know they are just quoting sources, but they are also quoting another news source’s speculations.  It’s not like they had their own analysts say, “Oh, I think Sarah Palin is going to try and become president”, because they totally could have.  I don’t know.  The media just gets really ridiculous sometimes.

          Ok, well, we are now coming to the end of what I consider to be a somewhat light news week.  Never take something like that for granted though.  It just means that the world was a smidgen calmer this week, and God knows we all need a little serenity in our lives.  So, without further ado, I bid you good day and must conclude by saying: keep ticking and stay informed!

SOURCES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13570803

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_usa_campaign_romney;_ylt=Ag6mDr1I814mxgrcKe4LZMSyFz4D;_ylu=X3oDMTJyZGhjZzI3BGFzc2V0A25tLzIwMTEwNTI3L3VzX3VzYV9jYW1wYWlnbl9yb21uZXkEY3BvcwM0BHBvcwMxBHNlYwN5bl9oZWFkbGluZV9saXN0BHNsawNyb21uZXl0b2VudGU-

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/26/palin-to-launch-public-tour/?ref=politics