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10) Enjoyed the debut of HBO’s new series Luck last night. Though I needed to see it twice to make sure I caught everything.   Great cast, great acting, but I just can’t by Rain Man as a mobster; especially with Dennis Farina playing his driver. 9) Hope our boy Gronk is close to 100% for Sunday.   If not, Pats will need to come up with Plan B.   Things to watch for: turnovers, 3 rd down conversion rate on defense, field position. 8) Romney’s negative numbers continue to worsen as he runs a negative campaign.   Recovering from bad negatives is a lot harder than carpet bombing a nomination rival.   He will find out how difficult it is when the real campaign begins. 7) Boston Bruins goalie Tim Thomas has every right to say what is on his mind.   But when he turned an honorary visit to the White House into a political statement he made the story about him and not the team.   That’s not what a team player does.   Further, if you are so opposed to the ...

1)       Today on CBS’ Face the Nation Reince Priebus called President Obama Captain Schettino on multiple occasions and then laughed.   The utter lack of respect from the head of the RNC is appalling. 2)       The Tennessee Tea Party wants to revise textbooks and curricula because of criticism of the Founding Fathers.   Yes apparently it is improper to teach “an awful lot of made-up criticism about, for instance, the Founders intruding on the Indians or having slaves or being hypocrites.”   In other words, Palin-Bachmann revisionist history. 3)       Newt Gingrich alleged that Mitt Romney lies.   Still no stunned silence from the people in response to the allegation. 4)       Jan Brewer took the heat off fellow Governors Barbour, Christie, Walker, and Scott thanks to her finger pointing at President Obama.   Ugly and mean as a Javelina. 5)    ...

To Whom It May Concern, I have been a faithful viewer of your program for a number of years and have always commended host and moderator Bob Schieffer for his performance.   I also realize that news stories and current events will dictate the show’s guests in any given week.   So while I was disappointed to see no coverage or analysis of the President’s State of the Union address, I did understand the need to cover the crazy and wild rollercoaster that the GOP primary season has become. That being said, I find it inexcusable that your guest, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, was allowed to call President Obama ‘Captain Schettino’ on multiple occasions without a single rebuke from Mr. Schieffer.   Worse, Mr. Priebus seemed to enjoy the moment as he laughed at the notion of the comparison.   I do not need to explain to you the overt allegation made by Mr. Priebus, but what I expect from you is condemnation and apology for allowing a political operative to accuse our Preside...

Baby faces vs. heals?   Cowboys vs Indians?   Good guy always where the white hat.   “Dig is he a good guy or bad guy?”   Bad guys always, looked, well, bad. You’re either with us or you’re against us.   Iraq, Iran, and North Korea are the axis of evil. Americans, for the most part, have a pretty simple outlook on conflict: just tell us who the bad guys are and we’ll know who to root against.   We tend to lump similar races and peoples into larger buckets, mostly due to the media’s inclination to treat us like potential Jeff Foxworthy competitors.   But the world is anything but simple and as I have written previously, the Middle East is as confusing and confounding place as you can find.   During the Iran and Iraq war of the 1980’s most Americans took the position that “…as long as they kill each other, I’m good.”   When civil war ravaged Afghanistan, we joined the side of the Mujahedeen because they were fighting the Soviets and the Soviets...

So Gingrich likes to call the President the ‘Food Stamp President’.   I am not going to comment on the veiled racist tone of this charge, but instead look at the facts.   Yes facts, more people were put on food stamps during the Bush administration.   By the way Newt, when an economic disaster happens due in part to the policies you now espouse driving more people into poverty, yes that does result in more people going on food stamps.   And quit making food stamps into this vile and detestable program.   When failed millionaires like Donald Trump can frequently file for bankruptcy protection thanks in part to this nation’s safety net program it is troubling that a candidate for President would deny a similar safety net to regular Americans.   Newt is bad for America. Jan Brewer succeeded in getting back to the majors.   Her behavior during President Obama’s visit to Arizona proved once again that this cabal of Republican politicians wants to deny the P...

The President will be delivering the State of the Union Address on Tuesday night.  Here is some unsolicited advice of areas to focus on. Affordable Care Act The President should reinforce to the public the benefits of the Affordable Care Act already implemented such as: ·          Medicare is expanded to small, rural hospitals and facilities ·          Insurers are prohibited from dropping policyholders when they get sick ·          Insurers are prohibited from excluding pre-existing medical conditions (except in grandfathered individual health insurance plans) for children under the age of 19. ·          Dependents (children) will be permitted to remain on their parents' insurance plan until their 26th birthday and regulations implemented under the Act include dependents that no longer live with their parents, are not a de...

Myth: Charter schools are the answer to our education system woes. Myth: Tenure means we have the best teachers Fact: Public schools that reward the best teachers will yield long term results Myth: President Obama is a socialist Myth: Government determines what cars GM will make Fact: General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler all experienced double digit sales increases in 2011 Myth: Stimulus of 2009 failed Myth: No tax cuts were included Fact: Stimulus worked and we averted a depression Myth: President Obama has appeased Iran Myth: Iran wants nukes to threaten Israel. Fact: President Obama’s international collaborative approach has brought Iran to the table while keeping Israel under wraps. Myth: President Obama is not a US citizen Myth: President Obama is a Muslim Fact: President Obama is an American born to an American mother and Kenyan father in Hawaii. Myth: Dodd-Frank is a job killer Myth: Affordable Care Act is a job killer Fact: Jobs were killed because we had NO financial regula...

I am not naïve and I understand politics is a dirty game.   I refer to it as the politics of politics; the dirty unseemly underbelly where if you think Richard Hatch, Boston Rob, and Russell Hantz of Survivor fame were mean manipulative operators, you haven’t even stepped into the kiddie pool.   It’s a nasty game; it’s MMA with knives and chains and the California cop with the 1 gallon pepper spray can.     But still, there needs to be a level of class and respect.   Boxing is a vicious sport, but there are still rules.   Nastiness in politics is not a new phenomenon.     In 1964 the Johnson campaign ran the infamous mushroom cloud ad against its opponent Barry Goldwater. The ad ran once, and while the ad never mentioned Goldwater, the message was clear: Electing Barry Goldwater could lead to nuclear war.   Republican operator Lee Atwater dominated the 80’s in the attack ad world and went as far as to claim that voting for Democrat Michael Du...

I think I know why it is so difficult for me to like Republicans.   They’re unlikeable.   I know, you are probably saying “Wow, that’s some serious Socratic shit there my man”. There is a saying in business to the effect that people are best motivated through fear or greed.   Some managers believe threats of lay-offs will motivate people to work harder.   This is especially effective in down periods of an economy when it is an employer’s market and jobs are not plentiful.   Similarly, greed can also motivate through the form of exorbitant bonuses or one time awards to maximize performance in the short term or in a burst mode.   This is often seen in trading and never better exemplified than in the 2011 movie Margin Call where all of a firm’s traders will be out of a job at the end of the business day and in order to get them to dump some toxic mortgage backed securities, management incentivizes them with $millions of bonuses for one day of aggressive tradi...

Sunday Night Wrap Up Remember in GoodFellas how Paulie and company takeover & then milk the restaurant for everything then torch it? Sounds like Bain Capital to me. Thought I was watching CBS Undercover Boss but it turns out it was a 30 minute Super PAC ad about Romney. Sunday night was the Golden Globes night; brought to you by the Hollywood Foreign Press: The trinity of Conservative horror. Jim DeMint is chickenshit. He won't endorse before the South Carolina Primary. Does Nikki Haley have your balls Mr. Senator?   The so-called kingmaker must be waiting until after the coronation to endorse someone. Rick Perry's campaign is in so much trouble his Super PAC was downgraded to Mediocre PAC. Tim Tebow prays while Rob Gronkowski hangs out with strippers and porn stars. Devil had scoreboard Saturday night. Texas believes a woman should have an unnecessary ultrasound before having her legally protected abortion, proving once again that social conservatives want the biggest gove...

What is the role of government? That question, above all, separates the political silos that span the spectrum from communist to free market capitalists.   The communist model includes central planning and distribution where the government provides a societal pool of goods and services available to all no matter of rank or station.   Theoretically, the government makes sure all goods and resources are distributed evenly based on everyone contributing at government controlled wages and prices .   The communist government ensures wages are paid, healthcare, pensions, and education are provided, and production quotas are met.   The state owns all industry, controls the media, and will mandate birth and population controls.   In the free market, prices are determined by supply and demand and the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts. Property is privately held and all production means are under private control. In t...

Adam Sandler wins a People’s Choice Award for Comedic Movie Actor.   I guess that explains the Iowa Caucus. The Neocons led by the Family Cheney and John Bolton say President Obama has been a foreign policy failure.   That’s like saying Michael Phelps can’t do the dog paddle, Meryl Streep needs acting lessons, Aaron Rodgers throws too many interceptions, and U2 will never last. When Rick Santorum has sex, do you think he still wears the sweater vest?   And only the sweater vest?   How did that bile taste? When it snows in the Northern Israeli Golan Heights what do kids use for a yarmulke on their snowmen? So the Iranians have moved to Chapter Three of the instigation playbook: using speedy gunships to antagonize our bigger Coast Guard Vessels.   Fellas here some advice from my mom, ignore them and they will go away. So Tea Party mouthpiece, CNN rightie, and unabashed Progressive Hater Dana Loesch thinks criticism of the Marines who urinated on dead Taliban fight...

Did you know that Kim Jong Un is the younger son of the late Kim Jong-IL?   It seems the older son Kim Jong Nam was caught trying to enter Japan to visit Tokyo Disneyland   in 2001.   Nam now lives in Macau having a gambling good old time.   The issue isn't how Bain Capital makes money.   You may not like it, but that's what private equity does.   The issue is how Mitt Romney is trying to portray it as something completely different.   Can’t run from your pass and can’t run from who you are no matter how much you flip flop. Once again for those in the cheap seats: oil is a commodity traded in commodity exchange.   The price is set by global supply and demand.   Further, the U.S. hasn’t purchased Iranian oil since 1987, so when the issue about the Strait of Hormuz came up, it didn’t matter that we haven’t been buying Iranian oil, the perception was that supply could be adversely impacted and that drove the price up at the commodity exchange. ...

I hope President Obama takes the initiative for the next two years; don’t be a politician, be a leader.   Inspire the nation with a vision of social progress (DADT and Immigration Policy) while laying out the necessary policies to keep the economy moving (short term stimulus) while reducing long term debt (entitlement reform and discretionary spending cuts).   You must be transformational: change the tax code, enable technology development, and eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy.   It will be tough medicine for Americans, but it must be done.    Tell the nation what it needs, not what it wants.   If you own the tactics by not delegating the work to Congress AND don’t allow the Republicans to take control of the dialogue, you will be successful.   Be Obama the leader, not Obama the politician.  

Some Quick Romney Thoughts: ·          He is clearly the class of the field and will wrap up the Republican nomination quickly thanks to deep financing and well organized campaign.   That has helped him in the preliminaries, but how will it match up to the even better funded and better organized Obama campaign.   To be the champ, you need to beat the champ. ·          Romney is already getting bloodied for his Bain Capital ties and is already identified as a Richie Rich.   This will make it difficult for him to connect to the same lower/middle income blue collar workers with whom Obama struggles to connect. ·          Romney has been promoting his ability to accomplish so much in the democratically controlled Massachusetts legislature as a sign of his track record of getting things done.   This smacks of compromise, the four letter word that sends t...