What Happened While I Was Gone? NO New Contributions to CW for Romney?

There must be some problem with the campaign finance website--as when I viewed my dashboard last night it read the SAME FIGURE AS WHEN I LEFT FOR AFRICA!!!!  How can this be?  Romney has chosen wisely for VP, the President continues to be on the ropes, the convention is next week--EVERYTHING IS GOING OUR WAY!!!! Now is not the time to let up--now is the time to reach deep!  Won't you please make a contribution?  Click this link to make yourself heard in the chorus of voices that will send President Obama packing!  Don't forget to check the box that says you know your referrer. 

Africa 2012

Ranger Amon and Me

Me, Amon, and Tubby

The trip to Africa was wonderful, a success in every respect.  Brother Tom--or "Tubby" as he insisted everyone call him--was the perfect travel companion, a gregarious conversationalist who gently forced me to be a bit more outgoing than I normally am.  I'm sure he wished that he had been more successful in his efforts, but they were appreciated nonetheless. Rather than bore you with some kind of chronological travel log, I will--as is my custom--deal in various random thoughts and insights.

Durban, from the first night's hotel

1.  Getting There and Back.  There simply isn't any really easy way to get to a game preserve in South Africa from Easton, MD.  My trip consisted of a drive to Dulles, a semi-direct flight to Johannesburg (17 hours) (a one hour stop in Dakkar for fuel, transfers, etc), a one hour flight to Durban and a three hour drive to Zulu Nyala--our home for six days.  Getting home consisted of the three hour drive to Durban, an hour flight to Jo-burg, an 8.5 hour flight to Frankfurt GE, and another 8.5 hour flight to Dulles.  A bit grueling all in all, but I can say without reservation that air travel provides me one of the few opportunities to be thankful about being modestly sized.  I would have hated to be a six footer or better during these long flights--though both South African Airways and Lufthansa had a pretty fair amount of legroom.  I was able to sleep relatively well in each direction, which cut down on some of the boredom of travel, and I had iPads and iPods full of books, movies, and courses.  Additionally, I had an aisle seat on every flight, which made get up and stretch opportunities more easily available.  One drives in South Africa on the other side of the road, with the steering wheel also on the other side.  Takes a little getting used to, but works out fine pretty quickly.  What I couldn't get used to were the hand controls, as I was constantly turning on windshield wipers when I wanted turn signals.  SA's roads were excellent, speed was 60-75 mph on the main highways,  Of interest, the shoulders were generally considered to be travel lanes, as cars would routinely pull over to the left to allow faster vehicles to pass.

Tubby

Tubby and Amon

Tubby and the Gate Guard

The Swaziland Border

2.  My Travel Companion.  People often say that Tubby and I are much alike, and until this trip, I generally agreed with them.  We have a passing resemblance, we both fancy ourselves as quick-witted, and we tend toward sarcasm in our humor.  That said, the single most interesting thing I learned on this trip was how incredibly different I am from him in temperament and gregariousness.  Simply put, Tubby is one of the most extroverted people I have ever been around.  This sets up an interesting parallel with my own life, in that people often comment that my sense of orderliness and organization was something I learned in the Navy--a statement which is patently false.  I had those things BEFORE I went in the Navy--and so perhaps they helped me thrive there.  Tubby's extroversion is clearly a boon to a medical device salesman (his job), but I find myself straining to remember him as this outgoing as a kid.  Perhaps he'll comment on it.  My suspicion is that he was this outgoing and friendly, just not to his little brother.  No one was immune to Tubby's charms.  Virtually every social transaction turned into an opportunity for him to tell a story or to solicit a story from his interlocutor.  He made friends wherever we went, considering himself  "an Ambassador of the United States."  We even made an hour's diversion from our trip to Pungola so that we could suffer four separate immigration processes to that he could leave South Africa and obtain a Swaziland passport stamp.  Four separate opportunities to regale the locals with the novelty of crossing a border simply to get a stamp.  There simply was never a dull moment in Tubby's company. Which is why I occasionally had to depart from his company, as I enjoy dull moments--I think probably more than he does.  I craved quiet sunsets for reading and solitude in our room, while he kept the bar entertained explaining America to anyone who happened by.  Bottom line:  I'd do it again in a heartbeat. 

The Game Lodge

Where we ate...and ate...

3.  The Lodge.  We stayed at Zulu Nyala Game Lodge, on the 1000 hectare (2.5 acres per hectare) Zula Nyala Game Preserve.  Everything--and I mean everything--was excellent.  Our room was spacious and well lit, with a big soaking tub and a stand up shower in the bathroom.  Three squares a day were provided, with coffee available seemingly round the clock.  Meals were hearty and primarily served buffet style, mixing in well known European cuisines with local dishes utilizing game stock for some of the choices.  I arrived with all good intentions of continuing to be a disciplined eater and failed miserably in the pursuit.  I mean, come on--buffet?  My kind of deal.  Meals were lengthy undertakings, as there were multiple trips to the buffet line, local entertainment (Zulu singing and dancing most nights), and interacting with our fellow guests.  Again--Tubby usually initiated conversation with the unsuspecting, and I joined in afterward.  The Lodge had a tennis court, a couple of great lounging areas with massive overstuffed leather couches, a great TV lounge, and a game area with Foosball and pool tables.  The ONLY thing lacking in the resort was an exercise area.  As we were prohibited from walking the grounds without a ranger, one generally went from bed, to a meal, to a game ride, to another meal, to a nap, to another game ride, to another meal, to post-meal relaxing/drinking, to bed.  Well, maybe not "one", but that's sorta the short hand of my trip....and I would like to have worked off a bit of the buffet each day.  The lodge is planning to build an exercise area in the near future.  The staff was unfailingly friendly and cooperative, and they did their very best to seem interested in whatever it was Tubby was telling them.  Bartenders were particularly drawn to Tubby, and their tips reflected their adoration. 

Yawns

Chillaxin'

Note the turtle

Note the bird

Very big animals

These guys were a favorite

A case of "blue balls"

Another favorite

Torsten, in the game spotter chair

4.  The Animals.  Obviously the reason one goes on a safari is for the animals--and we were not disappointed.  Zula Nyala has a great assortment including cheetah, nyala, impala, zebra, giraffes, baboons, monkeys, elephants, hippos, rhinos, wildebeest, cape buffalo, wart hogs....I could go on and on.  Viewing the animals is facilitated by your game ranger, and ours was amazing.  Amon was his name, and he knew has craft well.  He was very knowledgeable of the animals and their habits, and he REALLY went out of his way to take care of us.  Now--I think he probably does that for all his visitors--but Tubby and I greased him UP FRONT with what Tubby estimates to be a week's salary, and that seemed to motivate him accordingly.  Zulu Nyala is a relatively small preserve, and so we took a side trip to Phinda--a 68,000 hectare preserve abutting it.  In terms of game viewing, Phinda is the major league.  They have 30 lions, 30 leopards, cheetahs, a ton of elephants, giraffes, zebras--the whole gamut and a lot of it. Phinda has six different lodges, sandy, level roads, and the big cats everyone wants to see.  Our guide at Phinda (Sebastian) was superb--and our 3.5 hour tour was segmented by a nice stop in the bush for drinks and snacks.  This stop was rudely interrupted by a group of elephants seemingly uninterested in our libation.  We were joined on our tour by two others from our lodge, Torsten and Edmund, from Germany.  Both Tubby and I speak German, and they spoke perfect English, so we were a great group.  Torsten and Edmund were actually working--their job is to go around the world and rate resorts!  Tubby and I agreed that as far as jobs went, theirs were pretty good. 

Amon

Sebastian, from Phinda

Amon

5.  The People.  We were in the heart of Zulu Country, and the overwhelming majority of the people we interacted with were Zulus.  The culture, singing and dancing we were exposed to at the lodge was all zulu, as were the art/crafts available for sale.  We did not meet an unfriendly person, period.  Now, we were interacting with the tourism industry, and clearly they are paid to be nice--but this observation extends to everyone we met.  Now, most of you know that South Africa has had an interesting recent history.  Eighteen years ago, Apartheid officially ended and South Africa's peaceful revolution occurred, in which hundreds of years of minority white rule and decades of legislatively imposed racial segregation came to an end.  I took the opportunity to speak with black South Africans about the revolution, and they were uniformly positive about it--as one would expect.  There is a great deal of national pride in the country, and the country is beginning to come together culturally, as eleven distinct tribal languages are being nosed out by English as the official language.  White South Africans are not nearly as happy with life 18 years down the road, which also is to be expected.  Tubby and I had an interesting cultural exchange one afternoon in the town of Pongola, two hours drive north of our lodge.  We went there to break up the pattern of meals and game rides, and basically encountered a medium sized commercial district of no great acclaim.  After a meal of Kentucky Fried Chicken, we decided to head back to our lodge.  On a whim, I suggested we turn down a road in town to see where it took us, an on it, was the Pungola Golf Club.  Tubby smelled vodka, and so we pulled off for a snort or two. It turned out to be a small bastion of Afrikaner "whiteness".  There were about a dozen folks at the bar who had just completed an afternoon golf scramble, and the scene could have been the Burlington Country Club, 1978 with Jimmy wires holding court with Don Alvarez, Gordon Keanan, and Butchy Eckman.  Tubby of course, broke the ice, and after a time, we were being hailed across the bar in Afrikans as "two Americans who are all right".  Apparently, our political opposition to President Obama was a hit.  I asked some of our new friends about how things were going--and again, uniformly, they were negative.  The biggest problem?  Law and order...crime.  Their impression is that the old government provided it, and the new government does not.  On our first day in country back in Durban, we had breakfast with a white couple from Capetown--and they echoed similar views on law and order.  The man was in business, and he indicated that the trade unions and the government were cut of whole cloth, and I indicated it was moving in that direction under our current government.  Of note--the Afrikaners at the golf club were nearly as reverential to Nelson Mandela as the black residents I spoke to.  I found that encouraging.

First night sunset

Last night sunset

 No question--this trip was worth every penny, and more.  Definitely one to put on your bucket list--in order to remove it.

In Which I Feel Bad for Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Politico has a new e-book out today that has some priceless tidbits on, among other things, infighting among the Obama campaign team.  (More on the book later.)   One of the revelations, that the Washington Post has picked up on, is that Debbie Wasserman Schultz is increasingly viewed as a liability and ineffective spokesperson for Team O.    They allegedly reduced her TV presence when focus groups showed her faring badly in her appearances, and found other surrogates better able to sell Obama. (Don't really get this, because she shows up on my TV all the time). 

That hair!  Those hips!

Here's where I feel bad for her.  Yes, she is obnoxious, snarly and would benefit from some voice modulation lessons.  But she was hand-picked by Obama to lead the DNC.  Her style hasn't changed at all; they knew what they were getting.   She's expected to sell a product that is not terribly appealing.   One of the complaints on her in the WaPo article is 'struck too hard a partisan tone on the Sunday shows.'  She has always sounded like that!  If you're that unhappy with her, approach her and ask her to resign her position citing family or health reasons.  Don't trash her in a book or on the pages of the Post.   I've been hard on her, but this is O's mistake.  You can't blame her when presumably these are the qualities you were looking for in a DNC chair.

Education, NOT Indoctrination

This is, as I'm sure you know Bill Ayers. He's an alleged confidant of Barack Obama (some say he authored one of Obama's many autobiographies) and is currently a professor of education at the University of Illinois. In a previous life he was fond of pyrotechnics in the service of the anti-war left (you all know the story). He escaped lifetime incarceration on a technicality but in truth his father was a well connected member of the Chicago establishment and arranged a pass for Ayers and his equally radical nutcase of a wife Bernardine Dohrn (presumably so she could resume her career as a tenured law professor at Northwestern). Now most of us know about these two killers and their criminal past with the SDS and Weather Underground. And most of us are appalled they are walking the streets rather than enjoying the hospitality of a Federal SuperMax. But what is particularly galling is these two cowards are well paid, well respected members of academia. And that kind reader is the problem.

The American education establishment has failed us. It has failed to convey our values. It has failed to teach the benefits of liberal (lowercase) democratic capitalism. It has failed to teach civic responsibility. It has failed to teach that freedom is just and good. Instead it has taught a mish-mash of pseudoscience and moral relativism. It has taught a deconstruction of the standards of truth and replaced it with a skepticism of Western values and traditions. It has failed to pass along our Judeo-Christian ethic and has been openly hostile to religion. As a consequence of the academy's failures, it has created a void into which any demagogue, any cult, any hateful ideologue may step in and corrupt the minds of vulnerable and inexperienced young people. This situation is unacceptable.

Our next President must confront the American education establishment and demand a complete reformation from top to bottom. A monolithic, liberal/leftist faculty at any institution will no longer be tolerated. Academic hostility towards conservatives (or any political persuasion for that matter) will no longer be accepted. Indoctrination is not the goal, critical thinking is. I do not advocate a political litmus test for any teacher at any lever be it primary, secondary or higher education, but when just about any school just about anywhere has a faculty that self-describes at 90% liberal, there is clearly discrimination.

The benefits of a diversity of views in teaching are apparent and the lack thereof equally apparent. In the interest of fairness, in the interest of a well educated populous, in the interest of the republic itself the "education" of our youth has to change.                

Give this man some money!

Using the link on the right, help turn Pennsylvania Avenue into Mittman Road.  And make sure you check the block saying you know your esteemed referrer! 

Every little bit helps, folks. 

Creepy Presidential Worship Alert

This is just icky.  A commemorative boulder has been established in a Chicago neighborhood to mark the site of the Obamas' first kiss.  Local residents think it's a real draw, are convinced people will come visit the site and it will become a popular first date/wedding proposal location.    The boulder reads:

   "On our first date, I treated her to the finest ice cream Baskin-Robbins had to offer, our dinner table doubling as the curb. I kissed her, and it tasted like chocolate."

Awww.  

IMMIGRATION (warnings and precautions): may cause alienation, disenfranchisement and/or loss of self-determination.

For thirty years now we've had de facto open borders. Legal, illegal, whatever; if you could get yourself to America you were in. 100 million immigrants have entered the United States of American since 1980. 100 MILLION! In 1980 we had a population of 226 million, today 314 million (at least officially: 10, 15, 20 million remain uncounted, nobody knows). NYC has 8 million people, 3 million are foreign born.

And who are these immigrants? Many came here for the same reasons as our ancestors; a better life, more opportunity, reward for hard work etc. But many came here to ride the gravy train. 70% of Guatemalans are on welfare, 60% of Mexicans. Go down the list and you'll find most Latin American immigrants are on some form of public subsistence or another. And I won't even get into healthcare, education, criminal-justice or the hundreds of other ways poor immigrants cost us dearly. Even those hard working laborers who pay their taxes and obey the law and otherwise costs us nothing, and God love them, even they send billions out of the country to prop up the MEXICAN economy, not ours!

Some of our newcomers have ideological or cultural bones to pick with America. La Raza (spanish translation "The Race"...and they call me racist!) has famously said as part of their mission statement "For the race everything, outside the race nothing". In speeches La Raza leaders routinely call for "reconquista" or the reunification of parts of the American Southwest with Mexico (Alta California, Santa Fe de Nuevo Mexico and Tejas, you stupid gringo). It appears they still aren't too keen on the Treaty of Guadalupe or the Gadsden Purchase (you might recall those from Mrs. Plumly's civics class). And with the help of our liberal friends these folks are voting! They have already turned several congressional races in California and Lord only knows how many down ticket or in other states. Our corrupt media refuses to report on such things.

But I don't want to just pick on hispanics, there are plenty of problems with other ethnic groups as well. There are East European gangs selling MDMA all across the country. There are Chinese "Triad" gangs running protection rackets. Vietnamese gangs are in New York City, Atlanta, all through the Gulf Coast and California. Haitian "Zoe Pounds", Jamaican "Shower Posse"; you name the ethnic group and I'll name you an organized crime component.

The facts are thus; millions of immigrants in our country today are poorly educated, much more likely to use social services, more likely to engage in criminal activity and have little commitment to assimilation. I don't deny many come here for the right reasons, but many are here because the pickings are just better than back home. These are not the people we want. We are not, or at least should not be a sanctuary nation. We cannot continue on this way.

Therefore I propose a twenty year moratorium on immigration both legal and illegal so we may digest the immigrants we have now. Possible exceptions may include those with extraordinary skills and family members of present immigrants as long as they meet certain criteria (sponsorship etc.). I propose strict enforcement of our immigration laws already on the books. I propose a clarification to the citizenship clause of the Constitution either by Congress or if need be amending the Constitution. I do not believe the founders intended to bestow citizenship on any and every person simply because they happened to be born on US soil. As a friend once said, "Just because a dog was born in a stable doesn't make him a horse".

If we do not address the issue of immigration we will lose our sovereignty, our God given right to self-determination and ultimately our country. In fact California may already be lost. We have an obligation to our citizens, OUR CITIZENS to defend and protect the Constitution and enforce the laws. If we do not control our borders we are not a country. We can no longer afford to be the "go to" nation for the world's overpopulation and social problems. Our next President must make this a priority or we are finished.

I've got nothing to say

It was just time for a new picture of Deb.

Unfit to Lead!

CNN, determined to keep their ratings in the cellar, brings us a hard-hitting piece of journalism that brings us the following breaking news:  Paul Ryan liked to wear turtlenecks in college.  OMG!  

Ryan in his college days.  Turtlenecks were in the wash that day.

 I find this encouraging...I guess reporters are now curious about candidates' college experiences.   I look forward to the investigative pieces on O's college years.   

A Fabulous Ad Writes Itself

Lookie here.  We have Erskine Bowles, former Clinton chief of staff and the 'Bowles' part of the Simpson-Bowles deficit commission.  The Democrat half.    In an appearance at UNC in the fall of 2011, he sings the praises of Paul Ryan...and describes the President's budget as not serious.   Watch this.  It provides great contrast between the two tickets, one as serious and earnest and the other as frivolous, and it'd make a fantastic ad.  (The Weekly Standard thinks so too.)

Separated at Birth?

Meathead, All in the Family, 1972




The Increasingly Angry David Axelrod, 2012





Legalize Dope, and Only Dopes Will Use It

It's time folks. The war on drugs is over, and we lost. There is only one society/country that I'm aware of that has ever eradicated widespread drug use once it became entrenched in the culture, and that was Communist China. Now if you advocate shooting drug dealers on sight without any of the rigmarole of due process and all that stuff, then let's have at it. But until such time as a sweetheart like Chou En-lai takes over America, I just don't see that approach working.

Need I go into the billions upon billions of dollars wasted in this futile attempt to control America's desire for drugs? Need I mention the consequences of enriching violent criminal gangs as a result of this ridiculous and pointless "war"?

But not only is this bad policy anyway you slice it, it's bad philosophically. Every individual has a right to do as they choose as long as they don't forcefully or fraudulently interfere with another's right to the same. If someone wants to throw their life away that is their choice, and if they're determined in their pursuit of death and degradation, there's not a helluva a lot you or the government can do about it. You cannot save someone from themselves.

I say legalize drugs, all drugs immediately at the federal level. Regulate them, tax them, but do not criminalize the sale or use of any drug. If the individual States wish to impose restrictions, penalties, prohibitions, rehabilitation; whatever, that's their business. But the D.E.A. is finished. The Feds need to get out of the drug business.

Elevating the Debate, Indeed

One of the best things about the Ryan pick is the fact that with such a wonky guy in the game, the debate should automatically be elevated.   Dana Milbank has opted to bring the elevator down to ground level with his first post-selection piece, writing about Ryan's...workout routine.  (Ryan's father, grandfather and great-grandfather all succumbed to heart disease in their 50s, so his daily P90X routines are smart for all kinds of reasons.)  Milbank, though, isn't giving Ryan credit for this, he's doing to get in the predictable shot:      

 It can only do us good as a nation to have as a role model such a fine physical specimen in high office. Hopefully, Ryan will inspire more Americans to get healthy. That's important, because if Ryan succeeds in ending Medicare, they won't be able to afford getting sick.

Thanks Dana - knew we could count on you.

Daddy's Out of Town and I Found the Keys to the Liquor Cabinet

I knew this day would come. Patience is a virtue I don't normally possess but I've been bidding my time, just waiting for the right moment to strike, the exact time to put the stamp of HAMMER on this rather cautious and dour blog.

So my day has finally arrived. While CW transverses the Transvaal in search of the ever elusive wildebeest, I shall start a new series entitled "Restoring the American Dream: A Post Apocalyptic Guide to Freedom, Capitalism and the Destruction of Statism". I will attempt to show the way back to an America of freedom, justice, prosperity and civic responsibility. I will, dear reader, show you the things we must do, the things we should do and the things that may not be so obvious but I think are necessary. I will do all this with not a thought for political correctness, prudence or deference as I owe you nothing but my honest thoughts and opinion.

So, while our esteemed colleague and leader is out on the Veld crapping in a slit-trench and getting eaten alive by Tsetse flies, let's have some fun.

Long, Gone, Daddy.....

Ok folks, I'm outta here.  Shutting down my part of the blog until the 20th or the 21st when I get back from Africa.  I leave it to my friends/co-bloggers to hold down the fort in my absence.

Great way to leave-- on the strength of the Ryan choice.  Let's hope the momentum keeps rolling!

Paul Ryan--An Excellent Choice

I am watching Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell introduce Mitt Romney and his Vice Presidential nominee, Paul Ryan. I think Mitt Romney has made an inspired choice, one I wasn't sure that he would make.  The choice has shaken the race up, it will raise the discourse (hopefully), but I'm not sure it is going to swing many votes in the direction of the ticket.  That's OK, because there won't have to be many swinging to make things happen.  If swinging votes had been the primary consideration, they should have picked Condi Rice.

The speech is now over--the choice was a good one.  Paul Ryan was superb in his approach, and hit all the right notes.

Here's why the choice of Ryan is important--currently, the President is trying to make the race about Romney--his time at Bain, his rich guy-ness, etc. He simply can't talk about issues and performance.  I hear all this talk about how Ryan's choice has the Dems "salivating" because of his leadership on issues such as the budget, debt, the economy and Medicare.  Bring it on.  IF they have the guts to turn this into an issues election, they will lose, badly.  Their only hope is to focus on tearing down Romney personally--and the pick of the Republican Party's number one idea man is going to make it far more difficult for them to pull off.

The other reason this is an inspired choice is this--the specificity many have been clamoring for can now begin to come forward...likely with water carried by Ryan.  No one understands what needs to be done better than Paul Ryan, and Romney has largely associated himself with Ryan's approach.

The choice of Paul Ryan was the choice of a man who is confident that he is going to win, and the choice of a man who is serious about governing seriously when that happens.  Condi Rice would have been the choice of a man concerned about being elected, and less so about how he will govern.  I'm onboard.  I hope you are too.

AFTERWARD:  I did not know that the USS WISCONSIN backdrop was going to be used for this announcement--I made some suggestions upward into the campaign that it might not be a good backdrop for what was going to be a "sequestration" defense spending speech. I could not have been more wrong on either account--it came off very well.

Mudge Forgot A Title, But Read Anyway!

I know CW has seemed like one of those panhandlers at most DC metro area intersections, always asking us for more money, but I thought you might like to see what a guy who is trying to take more of your money without even asking has to say about your decision to give to the Romney campaign.  Somehow reading this makes me want to give even more:

"Mudge -- The headlines are talking about how you and I got beat again by the other side in fundraising. Those headlines aren't going away. I will be outspent in this election. And we will not win the ad wars on TV and radio -- right now, the other side is outspending us on TV by at least 2-to-1 in most battleground states. And that's OK. But only if we're able to keep the spending gap close enough so that our investments in a truly grassroots campaign pay off. I believe in that model, and I'm betting that you do, too. It's moments like these that I need you to act on that belief. Can you make a donation of $3 or more today? https://donate.barackobama.com/ Thank you, Barack P.S. -- To say thanks for all you're doing for me and for this campaign, we're inviting a couple grassroots supporters -- and their guests -- to New York for a special event with some basketball greats. Even if you don't share my love for basketball, I'd love to meet you. If you're interested, make a donation here today, and you'll be automatically entered to join us. I may even challenge you to a quick shootaround." I'm pretty sure most analysts agree (even the left wingers) that Obama is outspending on the negative ads by almost two to one but why mince lies? Also, it's been a while since I played any basketball but I don't ever recall any occasion where any of my basketball buddies ever suggested we meet up for a "quick shootaround."  When I hear him say things like that, I can't help but think of CW's favorite picture of "Barack" on his bike. Yeah, he's so hip. Anyway, just so we can make Barak write even more of these pathetic notes to his dwindling base, may I suggest that you click on the "Romney for President" link at right to make a donation to a President who, just like every President before our illustrious incumbent, never associated with domestic terrorists, never abided by a preacher saying "God DAMN America," never denounced personal accomplishment, never made a world apology tour for his country and whose First Lady has ALWAYS been proud of her country.  Oh, and a President who actually knows what he's doing in the job. And remember to indicate that you know your referrer (CW).

A Word of Caution

With apparently little else to talk about (or maybe they're just tired with sore backs after carrying O for so long), the media is working themselves into a frenzy this week over VP speculation.  Will it be the safe, vanilla Portman or Pawlenty?  Will it be the energizing Rubio or Ryan?  Will it be the dark horse Christie or Jindal? 

Jeb Bush says Rubio.  Cheney says Portman.  The Wall Street Journal says Ryan.  The Conservative Wahoo (as much of a respected voice as those other ones!) says Condoleezza Rice. 

It's easy to get caught up into believing that one pick or another could spell doomsday or certain victory for Romney.  We all have our favorites, but we HAVE to remember something:  whoever is picked has fared well in the Romney campaign's internal polls.  Whoever is picked has been run by countless focus groups and came out looking good.  There are plenty of issues to have with this campaign thus far, but a VP choice that hasn't been thoroughly scrutinized and poll-tested won't be among them.   The selection will be a plus for the ticket even if it won't necessarily seem that way to us.

The Simple Truth of Charles Krauthammer

Dr. K nails it with this editorial in the Washington Post.  Romney needs to MAKE this ideological; he needs to run on Obama's poor performance--he needs to pound hard every day that the President's governing philosophy and ideology is behind what the media have called "gaffes".  Every single day.

So Close to $15K We Can Taste It!

Look to your right, folks.  $350 away from $15K....so close.  So close.  Won't you make your donation today?  Click this link and don't forget to check the block saying you know your referrer.

Big Fat Friday Free For All

Weight at start of diet (1 Aug):  192.0
Weight at last weigh in (3 Aug):  190.2

Weight today (10 Aug):  187.8

What's got you down, Bub?  Is even the pliant, mainstream media criticizing your ads?  A little pissed that you are the second fastest man on the planet and the second fastest man on your little island at the same time?  Share, people--get it off your chest!

Reading and Viewing for the Trip to Africa

I leave Saturday for a trip to South Africa; brother Tom and I will be on safari at the Zulu Nyala Game Lodge, a few hours from Durban.  We return on the 20th.

I've spent the last day or so loading up the iPad with reading and viewing splendors to pass the time.  I thought I'd share the list:

Books
1.  The Admirals:  Nimitz, Halsey, Leahy and King--The Five Star AdmiralsWho Won the War at Sea--Walter R. Borneman.

2.  The Amateur:  Barack Obama in the White House--Edward Klein

3.  Barack Obama: The Story--David Maraniss
4.  The Real Romney--Kichael Kranish and Scott Helman
5.  Augustus:  The Life of Rome's First Emperor--Anthony Everitt
6.  Bailout:  An Inside Account of How Washington Abandoned Main Street While Rescuing Wall Street--Neil Barofsky
7.  Catherine The Great:  Portrait of a Woman--Robert K. Massie
8.  Nicholas and Alexandra--Robert K. Massie
9.  Peter The Great--Robert K. Massie
10.  Known and Unknown:  A Memoir--Donald Rumsfeld
11.  Ghost Train to the Eastern Star--Paul Theroux
12.  The Great Railway Bazaar--Paul Theroux
13.  The Pillars of Hercules: A Grand Tour of the Mediterranean--Paul Theroux
14.  Riding the Iron Rooster--Paul Theroux

Courses
Colonial and Revolutionary America (Stanford University--24 lectures)
History of the International System (Stanford University--24 lectures)
Financial Markets (Yale--24 lectures)

Movies
The Lives of Others
An Education
Open Your Eyes
The Sea Inside
Broken Embrace
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Melancholia
Rapt
Pan's Labryinth
A Beautiful Life
Prague
Paris
The Scent of Green Papaya


I 'spose that should be enough to keep me busy.

Dana Milbank Achieves a New Height of Ridiculosity

It is important that you read this latest piece of trash by Dana Milbank before you continue on with my post.

Go on.  Read it.  I know you don't want to, but for the purposes of this lesson, you need to.

There.  Finished?  Great.  What did we learn.  Well--what we learned from Dana Milbank is that MAKING MONEY IS UNETHICAL.  That's right.  UNETHICAL.

Let's review the bidding, shall we.  Here's the timeline:

1997:  Bain Capital leads a group of investors in buying a majority share of the company newly privatized Italian telephone directory company.  Bain invests 36M Euros out of the total 853M Euros.

2000:  As Milbank reminds us, "during the dot-com bubble" Telecom Italia bought back all the shares of SEAT that it didn't own--for 14.6B Euros.

2003:  SEAT value 3.7B Euros

2012:  SEAT value 57M Euros


That's it folks that's the timeline.  Here are Milbank's thoughts: "More troubling than the Bain windfall were the responses to Bloomberg from Bain and the Romney campaign. Bain noted that it was “in full compliance with all tax and reporting requirements.” A spokeswoman for the Romney campaign argued that Romney and Bain “partnered with a new management team to transform this company, and grow it into a tremendous success.” A tremendous success that quickly toppled, like a child’s tower."

So by my reading--THREE FULL YEARS after selling the company at the height of the dot-com bubble (isn't his what investors would want) and a year after leaving Bain for the Salt Lake Games, the telephone directory company was valued at a quarter of what it sold for--and this is somehow ROMNEY and BAIN's FAULT?  YGTBSM.  Did it ever occur to Milbank that maybe, just maybe at some Bain staff meeting, some young banker poked his head up and said "you know what--the internet and the mobile phone explosion is going to kill the manual phone directory business--we have got to get out of this.  We owe it to our investors"? Let us not forget folks, at the time of the sale, Romney was running the Olympic Games in Salt Lake--not Bain.  But that doesn't matter.  Bain made the right move, and it created value for its investors.  Did Telecom Italia make a bad move?  Of course--but they certainly had their own smart people advising them to PAY 14B Euros.

Milbank goes on to take criticize Bain's and Romney's ethics further, by criticizing them for knowing the tax law and following it in order to limit their exposure.  Again--it would be UNETHICAL to do otherwise, as Bain's ethics were bound up in returning investor value, not paying more taxes than it was legally obligated to do.

Which brings me to my final point--and that is, the inference made in this memorable paragraph: "
Romney almost certainly didn’t break the law by putting his money in Switzerland or the Bahamas, or by paying an income tax rate of 15 percent. He didn’t necessarily break any laws by creating a $100 million 401(k).  The question is whether such things are fair, or whether Romney has exploited a system that allows rich people like him to get richer at the expense of less wealthy taxpayers."

Well Mr. Milbank--is it "fair" for some to take a home mortgage deduction while those without mortgages are unable to do so?  Is it "fair" that certain people get to take the Earned Income Tax Credit while others are denied it?  Of course these things are fair, and one reason they are fair is that they are lawful, and they represent what is permitted under our system.  Romney's tax rate--largely due to investment income--is the result of our system's privileging of investment income as a way of incentivizing more of it.

The only ethically questionable thing about Milbank's column is the impact this ridiculous man will have on an eight year old child. 

Obama 2008/Romney 2012--The Fundraising Double Standard

Do you, faithful readers, remember that long-ago age, when candidate Barack Obama decided to forgo public financing of his 2008 Presidential Campaign (unlike his Republican opponent), and the Bought and Paid For Media (BAPFM) excoriated him for it?  Right.  I don't remember that either.  I remember story after story linking Obama's fundraising machine to the steady, efficient candidate, and the likelihood that this showing was a credit to his organizational skills--not to mention the high level of enthusiasm of young and charged up voters. We also heard about their mastery of technology and how the lumbering, stumbling Republicans had not figured out "social media". Yes friends, his fundraising acumen was routinely alluded to as a harbinger of great things to come in his administration, should one come.

Well, now he is getting his clock cleaned by the Romney Machine.  Are you hearing any stories about how Romney's fundraising talent is a harbinger of things to come?  Are you hearing stories about the whipped up enthusiasm of Republican voters and their desire to see Barack Obama defeated?  Are you hearing the fact that 95% of donors last month made contributions of less than $250 to the Romney Campaign?

Of course not.  You hear about Republican fatcats.  You hear this sense that evil money is making its way into the Presidential election (something you heard all the time in 2008, right).  In this Washington Post story, the writer even mentions Obama's 2008 success, without in any way bringing up the irony that Romney is doing it better.  Here's how Obama's 2008 effort was described:  Obama was a fundraising colossus in 2008 as he transfixed the country with his historic campaign, raising a record $750 million, including $150 million in September.  Are you hearing anyone refer to Romney as a "fundraising colossus"?  No. 

Just one more example of what we are up against, folks. 

What's This? CW for Romney Creeping Up on $15K!

That's right--another anonymous donor (don't worry--they are only anonymous to you, not the FEC) stepped up and knocked one out of the park yesterday, putting us in a position where $15K is in our sights.

Will you be the one to put us over the top?  Make your donation to the CW for Romney Fund by clicking this link.  Don't forget to check the block that says you know your referrer!

CW for Romney Approaches $14K!

Courtesy of a generous donation from someone who wishes to be anonymous, though I must say that he has been disproportionately influential in my life.

Had a nice talk with a woman yesterday with a solid background in DC Republican circles.  She said, basically, "be patient...we have a convention, we have a VP pick, and then the serious money gets spent". 

I can't wait.

Please consider a donation of your own to the CW for Romney Fund. Don't forget to check the box that says you know your referrer. 

OK, What's Going On?

Here's the situation as I see it. Obama's team have a problem. Almost all the advantages of '08 are gone, finito bandito, history, in the rear-view, over and done with...FRIGGIN' GONE! In '08 the ground was fertile for a Democrat. The press had hounded GWB mercilessly and he cooperated by not fighting back (just like his daddy). He was "old school", yesterdays news, button-down boring, so America was ready for "change". Along comes a black, post-racial, hip, cool kinda guy who hit the perfect note for the times. His persona and personality were overwhelming. AND he had the perfect candidate to run against; a '60 retread "war hero" (please!) who had been around forever, so Obama was elected in a landslide. Easy as pissing it was, only one problem, he was the least qualified, least experienced, least prepared candidate in the field... and now he had to deliver.

Fast forward to 2012. Your guy has made a dog's breakfast of the economy. The stuff he has accomplished is highly unpopular and things ain't getting better any time soon. Plus, he has almost none of the advantages he had in '08. The mainstream media, Hollywood and academia are still onboard, but they aren't enough by themselves. What to do? How do we dupe the white middle-class (at least to the tune of 40-45%) one more time?

No choice really, we have to use the Harry Reid model. A little background: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is an asshole. He made his bones (sorry, too many gangster movies lately) in Nevada politics as head of the Nevada Gaming Commission (no small feat) and later as Nevada's only representative in the House (they got two now). After one term he ran for Senate as the establishment's hand picked boy in Washington. So he works his way up and next thing you know he's the top dog in the Senate. Before long he made new friends and screw the gaming industry, ranchers and mining folks who put him in office. He's like ZZ top, he's "Nationwide" and you couldn't tell his squat. Everybody hates him but he's no fool and he's tapped in to tons of out of state money so when he gets hit by the Tea Party in 2010 he's ready. He brings in the A-team and they run a "I might not be perfect but this bitch is crazy" campaign against Sharon Angle. Plus he's passes out loads of cash for the "ground game". Every SEIU dishwasher, every illegal beaner busing tables and every "journalist" gets a little "walking around" money. Presto chango, Reid is re-elected. This, Damen und Herren is the Obama strategy.

Will it work? Not a chance in hell. Romney is a straight laced Mormon with no skeletons in the closet (unlike some some redneck bloggers I could mention) and he's running a "let's get back to normal" campaign. The Chicago crowd is throwing everything at him and up to this point, absolutely nothing is sticking. As with most cons, when the mark gets wise nothing will work and the American people have had enough. Obama is finished! Romney need do nothing but coast home. This will be a bloodbath election for the Democrats and unless Romney does something stupid, which I think is highly unlikely, the die is cast. It's over.

Take the Gloves Off, Governor Romney

Folks, I have a lot of respect for Mitt Romney.  I respect his judgment, his demeanor, his composure and his experience.  He has to this point, run a fairly good campaign, and he is in a good position to win  He is running on his opponent's record, something his opponent finds increasingly difficult to defend.  And so, the Obama Camp turns to reliable character assassination, lies and innuendo as their main lines of attack.  I am not writing to complain about these tactics.  They are part of the game and they are to be expected.  But they MUST be answered.  And they must be answered aggressively.

Some specifics follow:

1.  Romney's tax plan is being savaged by the President, as decreasing taxes on the wealthy by raising taxes on everyone else.  If this isn't true, Romney needs to say so, vocally, and through every surrogate he has.  So far...crickets.

2.  The Harry Reid "he didn't pay taxes for 10 years" line.  Keep tying this to the Obama Campaign.  Do not let up.

3.  Bain--he needs to put together 5 convincing minutes on the roll of private equity in our economy that makes sense to ordinary citizens, and he needs to say this as often as possible.

4.  Ideology--Romney needs to HAMMER at the President as an ideologue whose ideology failed everywhere else and is failing here.  His commercials should be a continuous reel of the literally scores of left of center things he's said as President and before, and we should be reminded that they weren't gaffes, they were what he believes. 

5.  Experience and Accomplishments--Romney must relentlessly remind us that we hired the wrong guy, on a flier.  That we can be excused for doing so, because it was tough times, and he gave a pretty speech.  Now is different.  We are heading toward an abyss and we cannot afford to get it wrong again.  He must be unrelenting about the President's lack of any real accomplishments before running for Senate.  That he is a man of the public dole, and not of private enterprise.

6.  He must pick Condi Rice as his VP.  She must accept.  He must say directly to the Conservative Base that THIS is how I will get more votes than the other guy, and this is the way we will make progress toward our common goals.  If George Bush has to make this case to Condi, so be it.

7.  Character and conduct--the President should continue to be hammered for his all golfing/no meeting approach to the economy.  Romney should begin to tie his WORK HABITS to what we saw from the CHOOM GANG Obama in his early years.  The Leopard has not changed his spots.  We need someone who knows how to put in a full day's work, every day. 

This approach will not be pretty, and it will require the Candidate--himself--to get a little dirty.  Voters want to see that he's got a little starch in his shorts.  They want to see the guy who came out of South Carolina and blitzed Newt Gingrich.  That is what is required, and it is time to get busy. 

Big Fat Friday Free For All

Yes people, it has come to this again:

Weight at start of diet (1 Aug):  192.0
Weight today: 190.2

The twin evils of lack of exercise and excess carbohydrates conspire with a sizable work load to result in a larger, more slovenly, less active CW.  I must turn this corner.

What is on your mind?  Are you sick of swimming yet?  Had your fill of synchronized diving? 

Share, people.  Share. 

Another Donation from My Favorite Lady in Wyoming!

That's right folks a great friend of the blog in Wyoming has passed along another generous donation.  Thank you!

UVA Football is Heard From in CW for Romney Fund

Just received a generous donation to CW for Romney from one of my favorite college football players of all time, a man who happens also to be one of the funnier men in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Let's keep it up, friends!  Dig deep and make your contribution to CW for Romney by clicking this link.  Don't forget to check the box saying you know your referrer!

Now is the Time to Name the V.P. Selection

Well folks, Mitt Romney took the show on the road to Europe and did not have that great a time of it.  Of course, it isn't anywhere near as bad as the Bought and Paid For Media would have you believe, but they have the narrative and the narrative seems to be that it was not a successful trip.  Most of the chatter stems from two statements--both of which were the truth, one of which was a self-inflicted wound and one of which is actually a plus.

Let's start with the self-inflicted wound.  It doesn't matter how prepared the UK is for these Olympic Games, and it doesn't matter how much experience Governor Romney has with running an Olympics--the only acceptable response to the question (which he answered honestly) about the UK's readiness to host the Olympics was "they appear ready and excited to host a very successful Games"--and that's it.  No one needed to hear the truth from a former Olympics organizer, because the question wasn't asked of a former Olympics organizer.  It was asked of a current candidate for President.

On the second front, Romney spoke approvingly of the cultural differences that seem to be at work in the productivity of the Israeli people.  Oh my...the Palestinians are beside themselves, some crying racism.  But you know what?  Mr. Romney isn't counting on a great outpouring of support from Palestinian Americans.  He is however, looking to court Jewish Americans, and there is little doubt that many greeted his comparison with approval.

All this said, the plain truth is that the echo chamber is reverberating with the "it was a disaster meme".  I don't think the campaign will be able to reverse this--so, change the story.  Announce the VP as soon as Romney lands.  Make THAT the story that they talk about.  Oh, and make sure the VP is Condi... :)

DDR Leben

This is East German swimmer Kornelia Ender. Fraulein Ender was the surprise of the 1976 Olympics winning four gold medals and breaking four world records (and sang a mean baritone from what I hear). She beat America's best, Shirley Babashoff in all but the 400 meter relay. Leading up to the games Babashoff had been hyped as the female Mark Spitz but ended up second time and again. Although it has been proven beyond question the East Germans were doping, the I.O.C. has never taken any action. Last I heard Babashoff was a mail carrier in California.

It seems we now have a Chinese phenom at the Olympics, Ye Shiwen. She broke the world record by a full second and her personal best by an incredible five seconds. She is faster than gold medalist Ryan Lochte. Not too shabby.

So, what are we to make of this? The Chinese weren't even on the radar until twenty years ago when they won four golds at the '92 Olympics and then 12 of 16 at the '94 World Championships. After these amazing performances there was a slight problem, they got busted for dihydrotestosterone. They've been viewed as cheats ever since, and with all those expatriated East German coaches hanging around justifiably so. If Ye ain't juicing I'll eat my hat.

Doping has been a problem for forty years now. There's only one sport I'm aware of that doesn't have these issues and that is soccer. FIFA has a zero tolerance policy and you can get yourself a two year suspension for testing positive for marijuana; hard drugs and you're finished. It's time the I.O.C. got off the dime and started enforcing their own rules. Doping can kill a sport, and with all the politics and professionals and all the other problems with the Olympics, they don't need this kind of trouble. And we don't need hopped up cheaters ruining everything.  

Our 55th Donation!

We received another donation today from the Old Dominion, the second donation from a kind gentleman inhabiting that great state (commonwealth).

I'd like to solicit your help--what should a good goal be for this Fund?  I've been using $25K--is that reasonable?  My sense is that it is, as few people are thinking very hard about the election, but that will change after the conventions.

What do you think?

Oh--in the meantime, please make a donation of your own to the CW for Romney Fund.  Don't forget to check the box that says you know your referrer.