Last Call

Newt has locked up the all-important Walker, Texas Ranger endorsement.

We agree with our friend and governor of the great state of Texas, Rick Perry, when he suspended his campaign and endorsed Gingrich, that Newt “has the heart of a conservative reformer.” We believe Newt’s experience, leadership, knowledge, wisdom, faith and even humility to learn from his failures (personal and public) can return America to her glory days. And he is the best man left on the battlefield who is able to outwit, outplay and outlast Obama and his campaign machine.

There is no snark that I can add here that will make this any more absurdly awesome than this already is.  Except for the fact that behind Chuck Norris's beard is a Newt Gingrich fan.

Another Win For The PPACA

The Obama administration released final rules on insurance coverage and birth control, mandating that employer plans have to provide birth control for women at no cost...including if that employer is a religious university or hospital whose primary function is not being a house of worship.  The US Council of Catholic Bishops is furious with the decision and vows to take it to the Supreme Court on First Amendment issues.

Col. Mustard thinks he's discovered the Kenyan's Master Plan.

The religious freedom objection masks the real problem.  No co-pay and no deductble isn’t free, it just means someone else is paying for it.

Destroying the private insurance market and pushing people towards single payer — it’s almost like it’s part of the plan.

And in that respect, he's right. (Stopped clock, I know.)   Yes, Bill, that's the plan down the road.  And it's about damn time.  Welcome to June 2010.

There Is Geekery Afoot

So, once in a while when writing, you have a good idea.  Once in a rare while, you will have a great idea.  Once in a lifetime, if you are lucky, you have a holy-crap-on-a-cracker idea.  I have had one of those.  Right now I am rapidly writing an outline for one of the coolest things I'll ever write.  I'm a fountain of useless knowledge, and in a weird moment four or five facts came together and my brain turned like an engine.

I am taking 2012 to research.  Along the way, I will be learning some cool things about history and exploring different caves around the country.  I will be talking with people who are familiar with the wilderness before the United States was born.  I am a proud Cherokee, and I know some legends from our history are going to merge with my fiction story.  At this point I need to see the land at these locations and let reality shape a few things.  There is also the wow factor of going so far below ground and letting that influence scenes.  It was always my plan to write a book in 2013, but I didn't expect the idea to come so suddenly and so completely.

In March, I am going to two different locations in Oklahoma.  One is the Heavener Runestone, the other is a cave in the Poteau Mountains.  I'm going to be working local caves between now and then to get comfortable with them.  You can expect the occasional cool picture or factoid that I pick up that is too good not to share.  Now you won't be wondering what in the hell I am occasionally blogging from the bottom of Marvel Cave getting soil samples.  Someday, when this novel is on the New York Times best seller list (hey, dream big, right?) you guys will laugh and point to pictures of rock formations taken back when.

I will create a tag so you can skip 'em if you like, there may be one or two a month about where I go and what I learn about our how the Midwest was about 500 years ago.  Any spelunkers who want to share tips, feel free to contact me so I can listen to your war stories.  If you know of a cave with a neat story or Native American tie, I would love to hear about it.  While I'm still working out details, the more possibilities the merrier.

While it is too cold to take any trips, I am going to start with a local cave and hitting the gym.  I need to build some stamina and upper body strength.  Heavener is a challenging hike but I was a smoker back when I survived.  The friend who went with me took one look and said screw it, he took a nap while I went all the way down to the bottom.  Funny story, not knowing what I would see would blossom into a story I forgot the damn camera. But the one I plan to see in May has a sixty foot shaft that has to be crouchwalked or crawled.  I'm claustrophobic and scared to death of spiders, so crawling is not an option.  One's gotta do some time on the elliptical to face that beast.

There is geekery afoot.  You have been warned.

StupidiNews! Science Roundup

Though there is no dates given as to when it might go into production, there is a suitcase on wheels that charges a portable battery.  So when you're stuck at the airport you can charge your devices instead of competing for a plug-in like the common folks.  It's pretty spiffy, you can see it here.  As we grow more and more dependent on technology, the power wars should start heating up.  Or someone smart will keep making gadgets like this that let us produce our own.

On the other side of that coin, you have Bryan Fischer.  He is so far removed from science that he believes AIDS victims can cure themselves if they stop having sex and doing drugs.  He also is "not convinced" that the HIV virus causes AIDS, citing Magic Johnson as an example.  So uh, I guess all those people who got it from blood transfusions or were infected by a straight but cheating partner just had it coming, right?  What a dick.

Zoe Saldana To The Rescue

An older (unidentified) woman was in a car accident.  She was injured (guessing by the photo it looked painful), and Zoe Saldana was in the crowd.  She and another bystander helped the woman to the curb and tended to her while they waited for the ambulance to arrive.  Witnesses said Zoe was very caring and quick to call for help.

The other cool thing?  Her rep didn't comment.  That means as far as celebrities go, this was a genuine act of awesomeness.  Saldana isn't trying to claim any reward or good publicity.  She did a  good thing for the sake of doing a good thing, and that's it.  A refreshing change.

The woman seems to be fine, there is no mention of any dangerous injuries.  I always liked Zoe, now I like her a little bit more.  I'd still snap her arms for a chance at Bradley Cooper, but it's nothing personal.

Nuked Gingrich, Part 15

Steve M. is pretty convinced that this week's ABC News story on Newt Gingrich's "open marriage" is only going to help him Saturday in the GOP primary in SC.  Considering how Gingrich drew massive applause for ripping into CNN's John King for even asking about the story with a "HOW DARE YOU SIR!" tirade, Steve is not only right, I have to think ABC News wants Gingrich to win in SC in order to extend the primary season.



Crazy stuff.  Oh, and PPP's latest SC poll shows Gingrich up by six points.  If he pulls this off, the primary season just got super crazy.

And that's music to my ears. Let them fight it out into June.

Fire Walker Chronicles, Part 9

Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker sure is endearing himself to voters this week as the recall effort has obtained nearly twice the signatures it needed to trigger an election.  His latest antics?  Becoming the latest GOP governor to turn down a federal grant to create a state health insurance exchange, all but assuring that the feds will have to step in and do it in 2014...if Walker's still in office, that is.

Wisconsin will turn down $37 million from the federal government that had been awarded to help implement health care exchanges under President Barack Obama's health care reform law, Gov. Scott Walker said Wednesday.

Walker announced in December that Wisconsin would not pursue implementing the exchange until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the constitutionality of the law.

But he did not say whether the state would take the money. On Wednesday Walker said he was notifying the federal government that Wisconsin was turning down the Early Innovator Grant, saying it didn't make sense to commit to reforms that could have a devastating economic impact.

"Stopping the encroachment of ObamaCare in our state, which has the potential to have a devastating impact on Wisconsin's economy, is a top priority. Wisconsin has been a leader and innovator in health care reform for two decades, and we have achieved a high level of health insuranEce coverage without federal mandates," Walker said in a statement.

The American Cancer Society called the Republican governor's action a move backward.

"A robust, consumer-friendly health exchange designed specifically for Wisconsin would greatly expand access to care to those who need it most, while preserving what already works. It's unfortunate the (Walker) administration is deciding to ignore this reality," said Allison Miller, Wisconsin government relations director for the American Cancer Society.

Walker and his Koch Brothers masters don't want to expand access to care to Wisconsin's poor.  There's no massive profit in keeping poor people alive through health care, you know.  The funny part is while Walker is screaming about a GUBMINT TAKEOVER, that's effectively what will happen if the exchange isn't created:  federal law means that Washington will step in and create and run the state exchanges if the states refuse to do it.  I guess Walker is counting on Republicans taking complete control in 2012 and repealing everything back to 1867, or at the very least defunding the PPACA along with most of the rest of the federal government.

Wisconsin would join Kansas and Oklahoma in that respect if Walker goes through with it.  Somehow I'm thinking he won't be around too much longer to make decisions like these.

StupidiNews!

• A NATO helicopter crashed in Afghanistan, killing six US troops, while in a separate incident, a gun battle in the country's eastern provinces claimed the lives of four French servicemen.
• US photo giant Kodak has finally declared bankruptcy, unable to leverage it digital camera patents into saving the company.
• Relations between Turkey and Iraq are rapidly fraying as the Turkish embassy in Baghdad was struck by rockets on Wednesday.
• Major League Soccer great David Beckham may buy a league franchise after his current contract with the LA Galaxy expires in two years, he says.
• The Feds went after Megaupload.com this week, shuttering the site for copyright violations and drawing the ire of hacker group Anonymous who shut the DoJ's own site down for a time.

Last Call

The final debate before the GOP primary in South Carolina was still uniformly awful, but if anything it shows that Mitt may end up being the weakest major party nominee in decades.

It was a huge shift for Romney, who’s emerged from more than a dozen debates as a winner, mostly because no one could land a blow against him. There have been gaffes a plenty, of course — from “I’m running for office for Pete’s sake” to the $10,000 bet — but Romney’s always had the air of a frontrunner, rather than the guy playing catch up.

That wasn’t true Thursday. After days of stumbling through stories about his tax rate and his resistance to release his returns, Romney’s bad few days came to a head at the debate.

When asked whether he’d release more than a single year’s tax returns, Romney said “maybe,” prompting boos and jeers from the audience. “I don’t know how many years I’ll release.”

“I’m not going to apologize for being successful,” he said. “I’m not suggesting these people are doing that but I know that Democrats will go after me on that basis and that’s why I want to release these things all at the same time. “

I honestly thought John King served up volleyball after volleyball just to see who could spike Romney in the head the hardest.  He got mauled by all three opponents, while Romney just fell apart, spewing vapid talking points while he searched in vain for a way out.

I'll tell you what, President Obama is going to make shredded wheat out of this guy.

Who Wants To Tax A Millionaire?

Mitt Romney says his effective tax rate was "closer to 15%" last year.  Who paid a higher tax rate than Mittens did in 2011?  If you made more than $50,000 in income last year, the answer is "You, sucker!"

Now that Mitt Romney's confirmed what we've long suspected about his effective federal tax rate -- "It's probably closer to the 15 percent rate than anything" -- we have a fact worth contextualizing. Though it could easily be less, assume Romney effectively pays 15 percent in taxes on all his income to the federal government. How does he stack up to the rest of us, most of whom are regular wage earners? When you account for the fact that most people also pay payroll taxes, and don't enjoy enormous deductions, credits or other benefits, you see that Romney's making out about as well as a taxpayer who makes $50,000 a year. Not bad for a man whose net worth is estimated to be in the neighborhood of a quarter billion dollars.  

And every single Republican running for President thinks Mitt Romney pays too much in taxes.  All of them want to sharply cut or eliminate totally the capital gains tax.  Meanwhile, nearly all of their flat tax plans would raise taxes on the poorest Americans while cutting them for those making six figure incomes or more.

That's what's in store if the GOP gets control, folks.

The Moose And The Newt

Newt must really think he has a shot in South Carolina.  The polls are tightening up in the state, cutting Romney's 20 point lead over the pack to just 10.  Newt's in striking distance and he knows it...enough that he's playing the Palin card.

If Newt Gingrich wins the White House in November, the former House speaker said Wednesday Sarah Palin may get a big seat at the table.


"I would ask her to consider taking a major role in the next administration if I'm president, but nothing has been discussed of any kind," Gingrich said on CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer."

His comments came one day after Palin urged South Carolina voters to head to the polls for Gingrich during Saturday's first-in-the-South primary.

She said a win for Gingrich would prolong the Republican primary and allow voters more time to vet the remaining candidates.

She's right, but not for the right reasons.  It'll extend the primary season alright, but it will weaken the eventual nominee.  I'm okay with that, and apparently so is Sarah Palin.  Way to go, dear.  Keep up your plan.

Blackberry Jam: Death Rumors

There is a rumor that Samsung is considering buying Research In Motion.  It seems Microsoft and Nokia took a pass, losing interest after the declining role of Blackberry products in the cell phone and tablet markets.  Amazon was another rumored buyer, but that fell through as well.  One article says RIM is greatly overestimating their value.  I agree.  Regardless, it makes sense to start negotiations on the high end and work down.

Recently, CNET published a story saying RIM hired Goldman Sachs to help them field potential buyers.  It makes sense, and it's the right time.  RIM has nothing but a slow decline to look forward to.  Their newest products are just a repeat of the same old stuff.  If you've had one Blackberry, you've really had them all.  They do not command development or attention like they used to, and businesses are flooding to Android phones because they mesh well with the Google palate of services.  Google has theoretically secured email and file sharing enough that a modest operator can control access and get the full benefit from the free options.  The exceptions are few and far between, and they aren't buying Blackberry phones.

It's sad.  We all saw it coming, but I take no joy in watching Blackberry fall through.  They brought about a lot of changes and was a gateway to the smart phone lifestyle.  But they failed to evolve and stay on top, so their time is nearing an end.

What's In The Ba...OH MY GOD!

Two men were walking several dogs in a park in Hollywood.  They were at the bottom of the hill where the famous Hollywood sign stands.  The dogs found a discarded bag and started playing it it.  The two men weren't concerned at first, then the stopped to check out what had caught the attention of the pets.

It was a human head.

Of course, there is an investigation underway, and we'll surely post an update as more becomes known.  This type of thing is incredibly rare, despite what Hollywood would have you believe (sorry, couldn't resist the pun).  One has to wonder if it was intended to get attention or if it's just a coincidence.

Harry Bosch could tell us for sure.

But I Think It's Just A Matter Of Trust

The third annual PPP TV news trust poll is out, and the bottom line is Americans are just as polarized as their news sources.

Fox is the most trusted TV news source for 34% of voters, followed by PBS at 17%, CNN at 12%, ABC News at 11%, CBS News at 8%, MSNBC at 5%, and Comedy Central and NBC each at 4%.

68% of Republicans pick Fox as their most trusted source, with no one else even hitting double digits. Democrats split closely three ways with PBS at 21%, ABC News at 19%, and CNN at 17%. Despite having a reputation for appealing to the left MSNBC actually polls in only 6th place among Democrats at 8%, finishing slightly behind even Fox News' 9%. Independents split almost evenly between Fox News (29%) and PBS (27%).

Fox is also the least trusted TV news source for 34% of voters, followed by Comedy Central at 16%, MSNBC at 15%, CNN at 11%, ABC News at 7%, CBS News at 5%, PBS at 2%, and NBC News at 1%.

Democrats (53-17 over Comedy Central) and independents (44-13 over Comedy Central) both overwhelmingly say Fox is their least trusted news source. Republicans go for MSNBC by a 28-23 margin over CNN, followed by Comedy Central at 18% and ABC News at 10%. 

Those numbers are better than 2010 overall, but not by much.  Still, it's interesting to see that only PBS was trusted by a majority of Americans (52%) , and overall ABC News came in behind MSNBC in the trust department.

I blame George Will.

We'll Just Call It A Tie

In an example of just how terribly corrupt Republican party officials are, the official, certified results of the Iowa caucus are finally in and Rick Santorum actually won by 23 votes.  The Iowa GOP has decided to call it a tie instead.  Josh Marshall:

The rationale for calling this a tie, according to the Des Moines Register, which has the story as an exclusive, is that 8 precincts’ numbers are lost permanently and will never be certified. So in practice it’s a tie, too close to call, etc. That of course probably applies to pretty much all recount type elections — Bush v Gore, maybe Franken v. Coleman, etc. The vagueries of the process itself is too imprecise in some sense to tell you who ‘won’ in some Platonic (the other sense of the word) sense. But in normal elections where the people holding it aren’t deeply invested in not letting one guy win we have a name for that kind fo situation — Rick Santorum won.

Of course, it’s unlikely to do Santorum much good at this point. And he probably just was never a good enough, or viable enough, candidate to have truly shifted his fortunes even if it had come out on caucus night. But it’s worth speculating how the news would have affected Romney’s momentum. A win is a win, as the state GOP of Iowa seems to have a hard time now accepting. And even though it was razor close, Romney came out of Iowa with a win. And after a rout in New Hampshire he had two ‘wins’. And together those shifted where the race was pretty decisively by mid-January, finally forcing a lot of Republicans with Mitt-commitment issues to get on board.

In other words, the call in Iowa then made Mitt all but inevitable now.  It'll be interesting to see how the Republicans react to this on the road.  If Mitt wins Saturday, it's over.  But would he have still done the same if Santorum had been rightfully declared the winner in Iowa?

We'll never know.  Republicans aren't terribly interested in facts, just results.  Remember that the next time they play the ACORN/UNION THUGS/BLACK PANTHERS!!!!11!!one! card.