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This time, my lovely Venomites, there’s a $10 Amazon.com gift card at stake. So be witty. Be very, very witty.
(And be sure to leave an accurate email address with your caption, or you’ll never know if you’ve won!)
April 27th, 2011
Obama’s Long-Form Birth Certificate
The White House has released a copy of the long form of Obama’s birth certificate. Can we all shut up about this now and get to fixing the rest of the crap going wrong with this country?
January 19th, 2011
Is This What Obama Does On Vacation?
As with it’s similarly-titled predecessor Story of O (which I know some of you naughty folks read at some point, while the rest of you probably have a dog-eared copy in your nightstand), this week’s release O: A Presidential Novel has tongues wagging.
Who wrote it?
Naturally, pre-publication suspicions focused on Joe Klein, who penned Primary Colors: A Novel of Politics, the book that tipped America off to Bill Clinton’s true personality long before Bill Clinton’s own actions clued us in.
But Klein swears he’s not to blame for this tome, which is largely partisan and annoyingly sympathetic to the current administration.
Just how sympathetic?
According to Ron Charles, the book largely assumes Obama running as the uncontested Democrat nominee in the next election. If you listen/read the Dem press at all, you’ll know that’s not necessarily a foregone conclusion.
Then there’s this:
In fact, it suffers a bit in that the fictionalized Obama and his GOP opponent—a flattering blend of John McCain and Mitt Romney, devoid of demagoguery—are relatively respectful of each other. In a way, the book is “an uncanny response to this month’s call for a more civil political discourse.” (Newser)
Personally, I’m a fan of the Occam’s Razor approach. As in, now we know what Obama’s been doing on all of those taxpayer-funded vacations (including Obama’s multimillion-dollar vacation in his old Hawaiian stomping grounds). That “little break” he needed? Maybe it was because he was too busy in November to join NaNoWriMo.
January 14th, 2011
Michael Steele’s Well-Earned Standing O
Michael Steele, who’d once planned an “off the hook” PR offensive to give Republicans ‘hip-hop’ appeal, is finally stepping down as the RNC Chairman. This means, VH and I can start writing donation checks to the RNC again.
In Steele’s announcement — which was met with a standing ovation from the rest of the committee — he noted “It’s very clear the party wants to do something a little different and maybe a little better.”
All I have to say is: word.
November 1st, 2010
Mid-Term Elections: A Child’s View
Since I’m a self-confessed news junkie, it’s probably not surprising that my 10-year-old son gets exposed to a lot of TV news. Yes I know, there are some parents who feel that’s probably inappropriate; in our house it provides many opportunities to discuss some of life’s Bigger Issues. As I recently discovered, it also leads the Big-Eyed Boy to think about things we assume he’s not interested in.
Take yesterday, for example. I turned on CNN’s Headline News (which, on the weekends, is almost non-stop Clark Howard) to keep me company during a marathon cooking session. While having a snack at the table my son and I both had to hear one political ad after another, this being the final days before the 2010 Midterm Election. After the third attack ad my son reached for the remote and hit the Mute button.
“Mom,” he said, “all last week our school held assemblies about bullying because of those kids who got bullied and killed themselves.”
“Uh-huh,” I replied, only half-listening because I was busily measuring out various ingredients to make bread.
“They said bullying isn’t just punching or kicking,” he continued. “It happens when someone says or writes mean things about another person, or spreads rumors. There’s even a website about it.”
“That’s nice,” I told him, dumping ingredients into the stand mixer.
“So why is it okay for all of these politicians to bully each other?” he wanted to know. “Aren’t they supposed to be setting examples for us kids?”
“I, uh…”.
Really, what IS a parent supposed to say? I explained that adults know these ads aren’t telling the whole story, that they’re really designed to sell us on a candidate so their claims are often exaggerated, if not downright lies.
He thought about this as he polished off the last of his snack. Then he said, “Kind of like that Fushigi ball I ordered because they said it was magic but it turned out to be an expensive piece of junk?”
“Exactly like that, dear.”
Needless to say, the TV is off in our house until Wednesday. And I, for one, can’t say I’m going to miss it at all.
July 7th, 2010
Former RNC Chairman Helping Companies Go Green
It’s not often we get to read about Republicans doing great things to help the environment, so it’s heartening to learn that Ken Mehlman is overseeing the global external affairs at Kohlberg, Kravis & Roberts, Co. (KKR).
You may remember Ken Mehlman for his stint as the 62nd chairman of the Republican National Committee, or his 2001-2003 tour as the White House Director of Political Affairs under George W. Bush. So, what’s a former RNC chairman doing with KKR, and how is it helping the environment?
KKR, a global equity firm, has sunk 20% of its portfolio into a program that saves both money and the environment. The :Green Portfolio Program” was initially created in 2008 in partnership with the Environmental Defense Fund.
The portfolio highlights corporations that are improving their bottom lines “greenly” — by reducing their carbon footprints in the areas of paper waste, chemical use and consumption of both energy and water. The initial three companies which participated in the program, Primedia, Sealy and U.S. Foodservice, discovered ways to reduce their impact — while also improving profits — to the tune of $16.4 million. Not surprisingly, other companies paid attention. KKR now has a dozen companies participating in the portfolio program, and no doubt more will soon follow. After all, what’s not to like about saving green and going green?
Kudos to Republicans like Ken Mehlman and firms like KKR for leading the way to a new best practices.
October 26th, 2009
“Patriot” Games
Funny, but I was just saying to myself the other day, “Self, wouldn’t it be great to play a game that fuels your paranoid political delusions? Wouldn’t it be just swell to game out, say, a political revolution in response to the administration’s abrogation of the Constitution and efforts to turn the country into a socialist state?”
It must be my lucky day, because today I found out about US of Earth, a MORPG organized by a bunch of Ron Paul supporters. (Really.)
The website notes that this rudimentary World of Warcraft-type multiplayer game—titled “2011 Obama’s Coup Fails”—is merely “an action-packed, satire-filled” entertainment. But it does say, “If current events keep transpiring as they are, then 2011 Obama’s Coup may in fact become a dark chapter in American History.”
Politics Bite, Time Wasting Bites | 
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October 21st, 2009
Treasury Pulls Purse Strings On Bailed Out Companies
The U.S. “Pay Czar” is a title that should strike terror in those still foolish enough to think the government is here to help, especially those working at companies that received bailout money. What, you didn’t think there’d be strings attached?
The U.S. pay czar will slash compensation for the 25 highest-paid employees at seven firms receiving large sums of government aid and demand a host of corporate-governance changes at those firms, according to people familiar with the matter.
Kenneth Feinberg, the Treasury Department’s special master for compensation, will lower total compensation for 175 employees by an average of 50%, these people said. As expected, the biggest cut will be to salaries, which will drop 90% on average.
Oh, you don’t work at one of those companies? You run a small business, so you’ve got nothing to worry about? Riiiiiight. Guess who the government wants to help next?
What’s next? Anti-dog-eat-dog legislation?