Where’s the Outrage?

That is the headline of the New Hampshire Concord Monitor. There must have been an overwhelming amount of support for the paper to endorse what is a negative endorsement.

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Here are the highlights from the Concord Monitor:

If you were building a Republican presidential candidate from a kit, imagine what pieces you might use: an athletic build, ramrod posture, Reaganesque hair, a charismatic speaking style and a crisp dark suit. You’d add a beautiful wife and family, a wildly successful business career and just enough executive government experience. You’d pour in some old GOP bromides - spending cuts and lower taxes - plus some new positions for 2008: anti-immigrant rhetoric and a focus on faith.

Add it all up and you get Mitt Romney, a disquieting figure who sure looks like the next president and most surely must be stopped.

Now that is straight and to the point, the Monitor goes on (I have added emphasis):

As a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1994, he boasted that he would be a stronger advocate of gay rights than his opponent, Ted Kennedy. These days, he makes a point of his opposition to gay marriage and adoption.

There was a time that he said he wanted to make contraception more available - and a time that he vetoed a bill to sell it over-the-counter.

The old Romney assured voters he was pro-choice on abortion. “You will not see me wavering on that,” he said in 1994, and he cited the tragedy of a relative’s botched illegal abortion as the reason to keep abortions safe and legal. These days, he describes himself as pro-life.

There was a time that he supported stem-cell research and cited his own wife’s multiple sclerosis in explaining his thinking; such research, he reasoned, could help families like his. These days, he largely opposes it. As a candidate for governor, Romney dismissed an anti-tax pledge as a gimmick. In this race, he was the first to sign.

They finish up with the obvious:

When New Hampshire partisans are asked to defend the state’s first-in-the-nation primary, we talk about our ability to see the candidates up close, ask tough questions and see through the baloney. If a candidate is a phony, we assure ourselves and the rest of the world, we’ll know it.

Mitt Romney is such a candidate. New Hampshire Republicans and independents must vote no.

I’m looking forward to hearing from Romney’s supporters. How are they going to spin this?

Tags: Election 2008 by ecthompson
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I don’t know if Mitt Romney truly believes what he says or not. After several of the comments that I got on this story, I thought that I would post the video and ask those Romney supporters to defend this.

Tim Russert asks Mitt Romney about race and his faith. Romney supports his faith. This is good. Governor Romney could have stopped there but he didn’t. He added that his father marched with Martin Luther King. His father walked out the Republican convention in part because Goldwater was not embracing civil rights. He continued that his mother was also a champion of civil rights.

Let’s look at each of these points individually. First there is a claim that George Romney marched with Martin Luther King. A story in the on-line journal Politico states that several witnesses saw Martin Luther King walk hand-in-hand with then Governor George Romney. One witness, Ashby Richardson, states, “The press is being disingenuous in terms of reporting what actually happened. I remember it vividly. I was only 15 or 20 feet from where both of them were.” Then there is the account by David Broder of the Washington Post and Stephen Hess in the 1967 book, The Republican Establishment: The Present and Future of the G.O.P. On the other side of the coin where are the civil rights leaders. Where is Jesse Jackson and Andrew Young? They were there, weren’t they? They would know. There should also be some pictures. [Read more →]

 

 MTP - So was Romney truthful? [1:05m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Civil Rights, Election 2008 by ecthompson
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A cappella is a great form of singing.  Some groups can get old but most are outstanding.  The 12 Days of Christmas is a tune that we have all heard but not like this.

If you want to order a DVD of Straight No Chaser, you can order them here.  (I’m not affiliated with them in anyway.)

 

 12 Days [3:28m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Music by ecthompson
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With much discussion of the relative youth of Senator Barack Obama, who is 46, here is a list of U.S. Presidents who have taken office in their 40’s with their exact age and the year they were sworn in. Also included are the more notable aspects in the careers of our youngest Presidents to the point of reaching the White House.

The links are to the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. The information on the Presidents is first-rate and well worth taking time to review and study

James Polk, 49, 1845

Polk served two years in the Tennessee House, two years as Governor of Tennessee and 14 years in the U.S House. For four years Polk was Speaker of the U.S. House.

Polk was an aggressive President in terms of territorial expansion of the United States. He acquired Oregon by treaty and much of Mexico by force in the Mexican-American War. He was not very helpful if you were a slave or a Native American. Some say Polk was too quick to go to war with Mexico.

Franklin Pierce, 48, 1853

Pierce served four years in the New Hampshire House, four years in the U.S. House and five years in the U.S. Senate.

Pierce is considered one of our worst Presidents for his inability to deal effectively with the tensions between the North and South. 65 year old James Buchanan did little better as Pierce’s successor.

[Read more →]

Tags: Election 2008, Other Political Thoughts by Texas Liberal
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36 players from the Florida St. Seminoles have been caught up in academic cheating. These players will not be able to play in the Music City Bowl on the 31st.

Football players cheating. Who would have thought?

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From AP:

Thirty-six Florida State players won’t be going to the Dec. 31 Music City Bowl against Kentucky because of an academic cheating scandal, violations of team rules, injuries or other reasons.

Linebacker Dekoda Watson, cornerback Patrick Robinson, who had six interceptions, and three top defensive tackles were among the players sidelined either as a result of the ongoing investigation into an academic cheating scandal at the school or some other violation of team rules. (more…)

Tags: Sports by ecthompson
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DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince were funny.  They were new.  They were fresh.   Will Smith has taken his talent to new heights since his ol’ rappin’ days.  He has proven that he is a box office draw.  His latest movie, I am Legend opened last weekend.  He only drew $76 million.

Anyway, Parents just don’t understand.

 

 DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince - Parents just don't understand [5:09m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Music by ecthompson
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