"...I Feel Like A Spinning Top Or A Dreidel....The No Spin Zone Serves It Up With A Ladle..."

Old joke.

The definition of mixed feelings.

Watching your mother in law drive off a cliff...in your new Lexus.

I'm reminded of that every night I catch The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News Channel.

There is something eccentrically, and intrinsically, charming about Bill O'Reilly.

At the same time, he annoys the bejesus out of me.

Primarily for two reasons.

First, he prides himself on "spirited debate".

But he, and almost all of his guest hosts, never let anybody finish a complete sentence when asked a question.

At worst, that defeats any chance that a full discussion will take place and is, at best, simply rude.

Second, and here's my real whine....he also prides himself on sub-titling his show "the no spin zone".

This is where the aforementioned "comedy" comes in.

Interrupting guests who move even an inch away from the answer that Bill and Co. are steering said guests toward hardly constitutes a lack of spin.

So, calling it "the no spin zone" is pretty funny, if you think about it.

Yo, Bill....

Here's something funny.

You present yourself as a "voice of reason" with no particular axe to grind.

Bullshit.

Now....THAT'S no spin.

"What We Wouldn't Give For Just One Good Old Fashioned Garden Variety Extremist..."

In 1964, as a wee lad in his early teenage years, I watched, with fascination, as Democrats did their very best to paint the Republican candidate for President that year as an extremist/maniac whose first act after taking the oath of office would be flipping the switch to blow up a couple of countries we weren't crazy about.

For generations after, the name Barry Goldwater symbolized extremism.

Nigh on fifty years later, we find the current group of first tier contestants in the 1600 Pennsylvania Sweepstakes stacking up like this...

A former pizza chain CEO whose current suggestion on how to deal with society's woes is to have the current President impeached...

A Mormon former governor whose primary appeal, at this point, seems to be that he's not John McCain...

A current Governor of Texas who believes that Al Gore is Chicken Little crying out "the globe is warming! the globe is warming!", Congress should have the power to override the Supreme Court and whose major selling point is his having been responsible for creating tens of thousands of jobs (if, admittedly, the bulk of said jobs involves the use of the expression "uh...you want fries with that..?")...

A Congresswoman who promises a return to two dollar per gallon gas without a real clue as to the financial ripple effect of such an accomplishment...who believes that homosexuality can be "cured" by heavy doses of "Our Father, who art in Heaven" and who can't tell difference between John Wayne and John Wayne Gacy...or the difference between the day Elvis was born and the day he died...

Some guy from Utah who means well but whose captive audience has, to date, grown to a size just a little less then the membership of "MENSA Members Who Love 'Keeping Up with The Kardashians"....

And wandering around out there on the periphery...

The former governor of Alaska/2008 Republican VP candidate whose kid had done Dancing with The Stars, who wont be solicited to join the Paul Revere Trivia Expert Club any time soon and is currently hovering somewhere on the cat gut line between taking a stand/throwing a hat in and trying to get her political swipe card loaded up with another fifteen minutes....

Meanwhile, let us not forget, the current resident of the big house with the columns...three years ago's next big thing, a perceived cross between John F. Kennedy and Denzel Washington who has, to date, turned out to be more of a cross between Jimmy Carter and Billy Dee Williams...as the sun sets on Martha's Vineyard, while it, and the Dow Jones, sink slowly in the west....

In 1964, Lyndon Johnson and the Democratic Party did a textbook perfect job of painting their opponent as a nut job who would drag us all to Armageddon with his right hand on the nuclear switch and his left hand....well, they convinced America that he held everything in his right hand....

Looking back over that listing of the players in today's pageant, can't help but feel a little nostalgic....with one phrase turning over and over in my mind.....

Barry Goldwater, come home....all is forgiven.

"...Some People's Fifteen Minutes Needs To Be Four or Five, Max...."

Came across a well written op from Brent Bozell, the head of Media Research Center.

(CNN) -- It's time to weigh in on the Christine O'Donnell v. Piers Morgan dust-up Wednesday.


In short, O'Donnell's behavior was beyond indefensible. It was downright bizarre.


The questions Piers Morgan put forward may have been trite, even seemingly silly, but given to whom they were being posed, they were not inappropriate. He asked if in her heart O'Donnell has committed lust.


He asked her views on gay marriage. He asked her views on witchcraft and on masturbation. Titillating questions? Sure, but O'Donnell has staked out public opinions on all these fronts and it is those public statements she's made that invite questions like his. She had to know she'd be asked these things when she accepted the interview invitation. If she didn't then she's living in a parallel universe. Moreover, Morgan was neither Chris Matthews rude nor Keith Olbermann offensive. He simply asked the questions.


O'Donnell had no right to reject the questions. Even worse, in declaring them inappropriate she made an ass of herself.


She answered the gay marriage question by declaring, over and over, that the answer could be found in her book, which book she was there to promote, except she refused to discuss her position on gay marriage, which was in the book. She declared she was there to "talk about the issues I chose to talk about in the book," and when asked by Morgan, "Do you answer that question in the book?" she answered, "I talk about my religious beliefs, yes. I absolutely do." But she wouldn't answer his question about gay marriage, and instead accused him of being rude to her.


Nonsensical is too kind. She is a buffoon.


O'Donnell had no right to walk off the set. But in a sense I'm glad she did -- if it means she'll never come back. Conservatives do themselves no favors by defending this woman and she is doing conservatives no favors by going on national television programs to talk about -- God only knows what she'll talk about, or not talk about, next. Please, Christine O'Donnell, call it a day.

Well played, Mr. Bozell.

All I can add is this.

Christine O'Donnell is the Kim Kardashian of American politics.

People watch her and listen to her and she has a certain measure of celebrity.

And no one can really explain why.

"....Skip The Cheese, Man...We Don't Catch The Mouse Around Here....We Listen To What It Tells Us To Do...."

Mr. Spock got it all wrong.

As he gave his life to save his crew mates at the end of "Star Trek II", he spoke eloquently and essentially.

"The needs of the many...outweigh the needs of the few."

These days, apparently not.

These days, more and more of the few are calling the shots. And more and more of the many are capitulating to the few.

Latest case in point.

This tempest in a Tea Party pot regarding an album cover.


http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/upshot/steve-reich-pulls-image-9-11-wtc-attacks-192657601.html

Squeaky wheels are nothing new in this life. There are have been, and will always be, people who live to argue the point.

No matter the point.

And given that, per that classic American chestnut, "it's a free country", there's absolutely nothing wrong with allowing, even supporting, these folks having their say.

Listening to their picky picky is one thing, though.

Pandering to that picky is another.

The picture on the cover is a matter of recorded American history.

And it is not being used in any disrespectful or offensive way.

So, the bitching and moaning about it deserves to be taken as free speech.

It does not, though, deserve to be taken seriously.

The fact that it is being taken seriously is almost as scary as the image of that plane.

"...Think Huey P. Long...and Put Him In A Stetson..."

Today's insightful, prescient political perspective comes from a relatively unorthodox source.

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.

More on that in a moment.

In 2004, as George Bush was running for a second term with poll numbers than indicated a strong dislike of both his foreign and domestic policies, I remember making the following observation.

"The majority of voters obviously to want to replace George Bush....John Kerry ain't the guy."

History, in the form of the eventual election day results, bore me out.

Now, as the 2012 race come a rippin' out of the starting gate, I find myself, after just a few weeks of reading and following, (not to mention today's hammer wrapped in flag style rhetoric from the Texas governor... http://money.cnn.com/2011/08/16/news/economy/perry_bernanke/index.htm?hpt=hp_t2 ) ,moved to make the following observation.

The majority of voters obviously want to replace Barack Obama....Rick Perry ain't the guy.

We really do deserve better, incumbent and challenger.

And we have all been here before.

"...Bachmann Turns It Into Overdrive.....While Takin' Care of Business.......And, Yeah, Yeah, You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet..."

Pop quiz.

What do ocean liners turned upside down by a tidal wave and political straw polls have in common?

Either way, there's got to be a morning after.

The news channels and websites will be gurgitating and regurgitating the who, what, when, where, why, what does it mean, what does it really mean, what does it really mean to who and when will it mean it, et al, of Bachmann's first place finish in Iowa yesterday for days without end.

Or until the next poll/primary/state fair comes along.

And since I'm only an uncredentialed civilian with a dream, a song in my heart and a blog site to my credit, I'll spare you long, run on sentences adding more gurgitation to the gurgitating and regurgitating.

And simply offer these few quick observations on the straw poll, 2012 Iowa State Fair edition....

First, credit where due, first is first. And in the first "contest" of the 2012 electoral marathon, Bachmann came in first.

Second, like any reasonably savvy politician, Bachmann is taking that state fair ribbon and waving it around like a "we're number one" foam finger.

Third, there will continue to be, as there have already been, the inevitable observations that in one of the few big league countries left in the world that has still never elected a female leader, her future journey down that road most certainly owes any success it will eventually have to, at least in part, the plowing that Hillary did four years ago.

Fourth, it looks like the state fair was a lot of fun this year for kids of all ages.

That said, here are some thoughts regarding my observations.

Regarding number one...granted, she came in first...but looking at the numbers, I'm thinking that had just a few more folks, give or take, made it from the Tilt A Whirl to the voting tent in time, today's buzz name would be Ron Paul...

Regarding number two...again, congrats on being number one, there, Bachmaa'm, but a reasonable case could be that winning the Iowa straw poll is tantamount to winning the vice presidency of the United States which was described, many years ago by someone more insightful than I, as being "no disgrace...but no distinction, either..."

Regarding number three...to paraphrase the legendary, cutting edge stand up comedy chops of Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, "we know Hillary, we're friends with Hillary....Congresswoman, you're no Hillary...."

And, finally, regarding number four....I'm not sure about the genuine clout value of anything awarded to anybody by a group of people who had just spent hours riding the aforementioned Tilt A Whirl, after which enjoying a repast from what they consider to be one of the two major food groups, deep fried sticks of butter.

An arguable point to be made about their ability to think and vote responsibly with that kind of cholesterol buzz working aside, it occurs that whatever support she received won't translate into votes next year at the actual caucus because those hearty and faithful will be deader than Newt Gingrich's campaign.

Like I said, the experts will offer much more insightful perspective on all of this than I ever could.

Then again, I'm guessing Bill O'Reilly wouldn't think to use the queen of Karaoke, Karen Eng covering Maureen McGovern playing in the background of the post game analysis.

Apparently, we all have our gifts.

"....Throwing The Bums Out Effectively Requires Having Something Other Than Bums to Replace Them..."

Old saying.

Be careful not to pick up a snake to kill a stick.

More on that in a minute.

Breaking news.

Michele Bachmann wins the Iowa straw poll.

Everything I read and hear indicates that while winning something is always more fun than losing something, this "victory" is more exciting, meaningful and worthy of analyzing and re-analyzing to the news channel round table crews than it is to any group or groups that will be pulling the lever in November 2012.

Meanwhile, couple of observations from the peanut gallery:

• Bachmann, admittedly, came out on top in the poll.
• Ron Paul, though, was a close enough second to make it a real horse race
• Rick Perry who wasn't even on the ballot got a healthy chunk of write in votes

Those facts taken in account, it occurs to me...

The lion's share of voters in this country (affectionately, if borderline patronizingly, referred to , as a rule, as "the American people) are pretty much fed up with the status quo.

The economy is in the crapper, health care issues bubble at the top of the volcano, our foreign enemies continue to pose a clear and present danger to our way of life and the political parties are too busy bitch slapping each other around the Beltway to notice that Rome is burning (metaphor mixing notwithstanding).

The American people want a change...a real, clean house, no more same old shit change.

And it is just that climate, that atmosphere of frustration and anger and determination to clean that house of the tried and true that provides an opportunity for the untried to make its way to the wheelhouse.

Whether they are, ultimately, the ideal choice to steer the ship or not.

Now, back up four paragraphs and read the lay of the land again (for those unsure as to whether single sentences constitute paragraphs, its the paragraph that begins "the economy is in the crapper...")

And that, friends and neighbors, was, give or take a socio-economic, geo-political factor or two, the way things were....summer and fall....2008.

The climate that provided an opportunity for an untried to make his way to the wheelhouse.

Barack Obama.

Fast forward nigh on four years and here we are again. Pretty much the same bleak house, give or take a socio-economic, geo-political factor or two.

And the opportunity exists for an untried to make his or her way to the wheelhouse.

Whether they are, ultimately, the ideal choice to steer the ship or not.

Michele Bachmann won the Iowa straw poll today.

And the word is that she has the makings of a real crown frenzy generator.

Whether she is, ultimately, the ideal choice to steer the ship or not.

If, as his critics fervently believe, the election of Barack Obama was a mistake of catastrophic proportions, then he should, obviously be replaced.

But not with someone whose main appeal is that they are anyone but.

That would be making the same mistake made four years ago.

And picking up that snake.

"Is Flip Sweat The Same Thing As Flop Sweat..."?

The term "flip flop" should be considered the free space on the bingo card of electoral politics.

Lofty ideals aside, it is impractical and unreasonable to think that anyone can be elected to office in this, or any other, for that matter, country without trying to find a way to be, at least in some small measure, all things to all people.

In other words, it's a necessary evil.

Even superstar bands shift the set list around now and then to cater to a particular audience.

And we're being naive' if we think a candidate can find the support necessary from the right,left and middle to get to the swearing in without shifting the set list around now and them to cater to one and/or the other.

"Flip flop" is a trigger too often pulled by opponents, pundits and commentators in knee jerk response to any change in the nuance of a candidate's position.

Does a candidate need to be held accountable for calling it "black" one day and "white" the next?

Of course.

Because a lie is a lie and a hustle is a hustle.

Those that can't tell the difference, though, between an outright reversal of position and the use of different shades on the philosophical/political canvas probably need to leave serious election day choices to the people at the grown ups table.

Then, again, those people are probably profoundly insightful.

Now, that's a flip flop.

"We'd Have....The Time of Our Lives...."

The anger and resentment is still echoing in neighborhoods and workplaces all over America.

People aren't going to forget, let alone forgive.

And the voices of protest that speak out, at first softly, but eventually loudly and proudly are going to be heard for days, even weeks or months to come.

Republicans and Democrats using the debt ceiling to play Russian Roulette while pointing the gun at us?

Nope.

Downgrade of the credit rating of the United States of America for the first time in history?

Uh-uh.

Unparalleled fluctuations in the stock market, putting major dings, dents and crumples in 401K's all over the country?

Nah.

Those are all just scrolls on the bottom of your personal favorite news channel compared to that which can only be described as unspeakable.

The pending remake of "Dirty Dancing".

Admittedly, in the great scheme of things, the news that the beloved 1987 coming of age film, starring a pretty much then unknown Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Gray, is about to get the "hey, we haven't had an original thought since, say, 1987" treatment doesn't, to paraphrase Bogey, "amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world."

Financial calamity, social upheaval, planetary disasters of one ilk or another really do trump any more than just a moment's dismay that the next time we see Baby having total faith that Johnny is going to catch and fly her, it won't be Gray having that faith in Swayze.

Kristin Stewart being taught to rumba by Robert Pattinson just isn't gonna make it.

Unless, of course, he rumbas her while saving her from that pesky outbreak of werewolves that Max Kellerman managed to keep in the cabana last time around.

You laugh now.

Don't put it past the Hollywood suits.

The problem with remakes is that they can really only fall into one of two categories.

Sacrilegious.

Superfluous.

If the original being remade has become iconic in the hearts and minds of the masses, then any re-do is going to be an affront to those masses, not to mention the talented people responsible for the original in the first place.

Imagine how Da Vinci would feel if somebody decided to remake the Mona Lisa with a Snooki-esque pucker and wink.

If, on the other hand, the original was mediocre, or even lame, to begin with, any re-do is going to inspire the obvious conclusion.

No matter how many times you crap it out, it's still a pile of poop.

There is, though, a third category of possibility that wanders around the edges of credibility.

What about the idea that had, and still genuinely has, the potential to be a masterpiece but just didn't quite come together the first time around?

Hmmm.

Now that brings to the table the fair argument that it might be worth taking the time and energy to revisit it, assess it, repair the flaws, remold, reshape and then re-issue it for the enjoyment and/or, dare we dream, benefit of the aforementioned masses.

Truth be told, at this moment, there's not a single movie or television series that springs immediately to mind that might fit that bill.

On the other hand, there is something else I think might benefit us all from a review, repair, remold, reshape and re-issue.

It would require a complete overhaul, though. Because a partial fix clearly never gets to the root of the problems that result in the original's failure to succeed time after time after time.

Something tells me, though, that the time might finally be right for just such a complete re-make because the latest surveys indicate that a vast majority of the viewing public think there was genuine merit in the idea while freely admitting they no longer think of the original as even close to sacred.

And the real beauty of this thing is that we don't have to wait for the Hollywood hustlers to come their senses and do this for us.

We can do it ourselves.

By replacing the entire cast of the original.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012.

http://youtu.be/WpmILPAcRQo

It's Horrific, Frightening...And Pretty Much Right On Schedule...:

Full scale mob violence in Britain.

The beginnings of random mob violence in Philadelphia.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/08/12/philadelphia.flash.mob.violence/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Many people under the age of forty are likely appalled and surprised at the sudden ferocity.

Many people over the age of forty are likely equally appalled.

But not necessarily surprised.

We've known that this kind of feral attack on our everyday societal life was possible for a long time.

The book was written in 1962.

The movie was made in 1971.

"So, Tell Me A Little About Yourself....You Know, Something I Might Actually Believe..."

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

So, here's a seemingly desperate measure for you.

Limit the process of nominating the major party candidates for President strictly to those individuals who have a minimum of five years experience as personnel managers.

Here's the madness behind the method.

Seasoned personnel managers, by training, experience, even instinct, have a grasp on something that those outside their profession do not.

The awareness that those who excel at the interview don't necessarily bring that excellence to the performance of the job itself.

Political campaigns, by their nature, are really nothing more, or less, than job interviews.

And if you take away the glam, glitter, frenzy and fracas that goes along with any major political campaign, what you are left with, at its essence, is nothing more than candidates who are trying to convince you that you should hire them for the gig.

Unless you were born into a wealthy family (and if you were, the odds on you being a reader of my work are fantastically infinitesimal or are under the age of, say, fourteen, then you have, at one time or another, been interviewed for a job.

And, let's cut the crap while cutting to the chase, we both (all) know that we have all conducted ourselves pretty much the same in that situation.

We have done our very best to portray ourselves in the very best light, done our best to convince ourselves that we answering every question honestly, regardless of consequence, while, if only subconsciously, inevitably telling the interviewer what we think the interviewer wants to hear and done our best to deal with any possible exposure of our weaknesses or lack of abilities by pivoting to the aforementioned best light and/or what the interviewer wants to hear.

And there are many people who are absolute masters when it comes to the "selling" part of selling oneself to others.

Whether or not they turn out to be abject failures once they make the sale.

Think about it.

If the ability to sell somebody on our virtues matched our ability to deliver on those virtues, one business would disappear overnight.

Divorce courts.

One, obviously, does not, in fact, guarantee the other.

So every four years, we find a line of applicants waving resumes' and posters at us and doing their best, via media interviews, town hall meetings, televised debates, et al to put themselves in the best light while convincing themselves that they are answering every question honestly, regardless of consequence, while, in fact, if only subconsciously, inevitably telling the interviewer what they think the interviewer wants to hear, at the same time doing their best to deal with any possible exposure of their weaknesses or lack of abilities by pivoting to the aforementioned best light and/or what the interviewer wants to hear.

Or as we have come to call it more commonly...

A presidential campaign.

Personnel managers are, by the aforementioned training, experience and/or instinct, are much better prepared to see through the interview razzle dazzle/bullshit and determine whether there is genuine potential for superior job performance.

So why not take advantage of those skills and let them weed out the weasels before putting a couple of names in front of us in the voting booth in November?

Depending, of course, on how the personnel managers themselves got their gigs.

There's that pesky "say what you gotta" thing again.

"Push.....Push.....Cleansing Breath....Push.....Vote.....Push......"

Today's offering from the "no shit, Sherlock" folder.

A new poll says that the number of American voters who want to, essentially, "clean house" of all the politicians is at a twenty year high.

Here's a link to the minutiae of the moment.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/poll-suggests-2012-change-power-washington-131541841.html

Even those in our ranks who pay little or no attention to the day in/day out trials and tribulations of the body politic would have to bury their heads in some pretty deep sand to not be feeling the overwhelming sense that enough may, in fact, be enough.

Don't count on it, kids.

Do "the American people" have every right to be pissed off at being forced to watch the same episode of "Benny Hill Goes To Washington" ad nauseumm?

Ya, you betcha.

Is is inevitable that the instinctive response to said slapstickery is an urge to re-do the entire cast list of the aforementioned sitcom?

Fer sure.

And is it just as inevitable that it's gonna happen?

Fuggetaboudit.

Because regardless of the obvious merits of a house(and senate)cleaning, there is no getting past one inescapable quality inherent in human beings.

The pain of being betrayed, misused, abused and/or mistreated by our elected officials is similar, in one critical way, to the pain of giving birth.

It is soon forgotten.

Otherwise, it would be one kid per customer and mama would adopt a permanent "not tonight, I've got a headache" headache.

And we might actually remember to hold the offending slapstickers accountable when the curtain on the voting booth shuts behind us.

"You Can Call Me Ray...You Can Call Me Jay....."

Red state, blue state.

Schmed state, schblue state.

The idea of a divided nation, at least in terms of "them vs. us" is a myth.

We are all, as human beings, as different as we are alike.

And vice versa.

In that spirit, when it comes to supporting or disavowing any one political philosophy, candidate or office holder, I don't think of myself or any opinion/perspective I might offer as adhering to one side or the other merely for the sake of adhering to one side or the other.

All of the preceding is provided as preamble to the point of the moment.

Barack Obama is, with each passing day, proving to be more of a disappointment as a leader, national, political, or other wise.

But let's be very clear about something.

His failure is not due to the fact that he is some kind of Muslim terrorist in disguse meets Damien from The Omen with a plan to bring us to the end of days in accordance with some dark Koran inspired apocalypse.

His failure is due to the fact that he's simply not very good at the job he was hired to do.

And no matter the supposed color of the state that you and/or I live in, we can all relate to, if not be all thrilled about, that very human failing.

Let the criticism that is justified be freely expressed by one and all, red and blue.

But, seriously, let's take our best shot at being grown ups and try to keep in mind.

He's not the Anti-Christ.

He's Jimmy Carter.

"...Actually, Two Words and A Conjunction.. But Who's Counting?...."

Before we agree to disagree, let's agree to avoid the 3.

Agreed.

Okay.

Now, let the games begin...

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Texas Governor Rick Perry, expected to enter the Republican race for the White House within weeks, offered a prayer for America on Saturday at a controversial religious rally that put the spotlight on his Christian faith.

Perry, who has made his religious beliefs a big part of his public image, urged an enthusiastic crowd at the seven-hour gathering to pray for President Barack Obama and other U.S. leaders.

"Father, our heart breaks for America," said Perry, who hatched the idea for the rally and brushed off heavy criticism for participating.

"We see discord at home, we see fear in the marketplace, we see anger in the halls of government. As a nation, we have forgotten who made us," Perry said in a prayer offered to a crowd estimated by organizers at more than 30,000 people.

The event was named "The Response" and billed as a day of prayer for a nation in crisis. It also gave Perry a national platform to sharpen his appeal to religious conservatives who play a big role in the Republican nominating race and have been unhappy with the current crop of contenders.

Sponsors of the rally included the American Family Association, whose leaders have condemned gays and Muslims, and the International House of Prayer, founded by an evangelist who warns celebrity Oprah Winfrey is a pastor in a Satan-inspired religion.

It also drew prominent religious conservative leaders such as Focus on the Family head James Dobson and Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council.

Critics condemned the event for excluding non-Christian faiths and blurring the boundary between church and state, as well as affiliating with controversial fringe religious groups and leaders.

"Governor Perry achieved his goal today -- he drove almost every religious right leader and group into his corral," said Reverend Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

Perry is poised to enter the 2012 Republican presidential race in the next few weeks. He already has shot into the top tier of contenders in opinion polls.

At the rally in Houston's cavernous 70,000-seat Reliant Stadium, home of the Houston Texans professional football team, Perry discussed his faith, read scripture and said a prayer.

"We know the greatest darkness comes just before the morning," he said in a 12-minute appearance, adding God was wise enough to avoid affiliation with any political party.

"His agenda is not a political agenda. His agenda is a salvation agenda," said Perry, who was criticized for blending politics and religion in launching the prayer rally.

'A CAMPAIGN PROP'

"This isn't the first time we have seen Governor Perry use a religious gathering or house of worship as a campaign prop," said Kathy Miller, executive director of the Texas Freedom Network, a nonpartisan watchdog on far-right religious groups.

Perry closed the event by saying he hoped it would begin a national renewal and "our willingness to stand in the public square" would inspire others to seek God.

The rally had a mix of Christian rock, testimonials and scripture from pastors and children, as well as numerous calls to end abortion but little other overtly political rhetoric.

Participants said they were praying to heal a troubled nation and politics was not their concern. Many in attendance, who came in church buses from throughout the region, praised Perry for leading the effort.

"He was brave enough to stand up and say, 'Hey, we've got to pray for the nation.' He's the governor but he's a Christian man," said Lonnie Lavender, a pastor at the War Cry Prayer Ministry in Venus, Texas.

Eddie Ellis, a delivery service owner in Conroe, Texas, who bused to the event with about 50 parishioners from his church, said Americans needed to "wake up."

"Perry is a politician but he says we've got to pray. He hits the right keys," Ellis said.

Perry invited all of the nation's governors but Republican Sam Brownback of Kansas was the only one to attend. Florida Governor Rick Scott, also a Republican, sent a video message.

The event was broadcast on the Internet to more than 1,000 churches around the country, sponsors said. Organizers draped black curtains behind the stage to hide empty seats, although the crowd was larger than predicted earlier in the week.

Perry's emphasis on his Christian faith could be a drawback in a general election when it could turn off moderates and independents, along with those of non-Christian faiths.

The aforementioned, previously agreed upon to be avoided 3 notwithstanding, there is, I think, an honest middle ground here that deserves some thoughtful conversation.

Because a knee jerk recitation of the 3 oversimplifies the matter.

And dismisses a reasonable question.

What's wrong with bringing God into the process?

After all, there's not a human being, possessed of any amount of common sense and/or intelligence who could convincingly dispute that we mere mortals have made a pretty marvelous muckety muck of it all.

And the whole notion that we must blindly and, without exception, adhere to the strictest letter of the law intended by the 3 has a few cracks in its metaphorical mortar, given that we are a society based on the freedom to express our religious beliefs, not to mention that "In God We Trust" is posted on everything from our currency to the walls of legislative chambers from Denver to Dakota to DC.

And let's not forget Kate Smith and/or Lee Greenwood's mass appeal.

Also, let's keep in mind that the founder's documented intent was not to prevent religion from being a part of the political process but the prevent government from interfering with religious freedom.

Ergo, the 3.

All of that said, here's where this theological work in progress thinks the wheels come off the wagon when it comes to the kind of "God Save The Republic" approach taken by Mr. Perry and his followers.

Our system of government, frustrating and flawed as it admittedly can be, is built from a template that includes checks and balances, points and counter points, a set of circuit breakers, so to speak, that while not stopping the lights from flickering frantically from time to time have, to date, prevented anyone from blowing the place up with too much power, regardless of their personal agendas and/or interpretations of the law.

Religion, as a practiced concept, on the other hand, has no such circuit breakers. What God says, goes. And that would be fine if God showed up, for example, once a week on God TV to give us an update on how we're doing, what we're doing right and what still needs a little, or a lot of, work.

If He threw in weather on the eights, we'd further laud and magnify....

Absent that, we are left with interpretations of God's wishes offered up by the aforementioned flawed mere mortal human beings who, for good or evil, right or wrong, sincere or psychotic, inevitably and unavoidably have a personal agenda.

Even the more dubious among us are willing to concede that God ultimately has our interests at heart.

Rick Perry?

Michele Bachmann?

Et al?

Maybe oui.

Maybe non.

God only knows.

And until we have a little better read on whether it's oui or non, the prudent move is to continue giving the passionate, fervent, cut no slack, take no prisoners proselytizers of God's holy word free reign behind the pulpit of the neighborhood church and/or synagogue.

And not a podium in the East Room at 1600 Pennsylvania.

The founders pondered the pitfalls and prepared powerful preventatives with just 3.

Church and state.

"Previously.....On........."

Reality shows aren't my bag, baby.

With the exception of Gene Simmons' little "Ozzie and Harriet Meets The Osbournes" offering, I've always felt like reality shows were nothing more than a quick buck for the producers and the entertainment equivalent of rice cakes.

And, seriously, here's a sure fire drinking game for you...every time you have one of those "wait a minute, that didn't just happen, that totally had to be scripted ahead of time" moments, take a shot.

Not to mention that I totally get enough reality hour after hour in my day without coming home and trying to relax by watching it on television.

That said, there's one reality show, already in "previews" that is shaping up to be a real barn burner come the first of the year.

"So You Wanna Be President?"

Week after week, we will get a glimpse behind the scenes at the plights and progress of the three main character clusters as they act towards us and interact with each other.

The Democrats...

...Barack... a guy who came out of almost nowhere as the next big thing,racial ceiling breaking Bill Clinton/JFK/Gandhi incarnate but who has, to date, pretty much made a lot of the faithful, formerly faithful and forever foes suspect that he will end up in the pages of history as Jimmy Carter portrayed by Denzel Washington.

The Republicans...

..."a guy named Mitt" wanders from primary to primary trying to find, and express, his own vision and voice, all the while saddled with the inevitable suspicion that he is just this year's version of John McCain...the guy called front runner while no one, for the life of them, can figure out why...not to mention those of us who weren't pumped about having a president named "Al" some years ago are less than pumped about having a president named after a baseball glove...

...a "handful of huck" as we watch Mike Huckabee tease and toy with us, having declared that he is not running, but never sufficiently shutting the hell up to convince us that he won't splash a little spoiler sauce in the machinery somewhere along the trail...

...Pawlenty...if there were any real comic justice in this life, he would run as a VP with somebody named Good....as in, Good and...."

...Newt...see the earlier comments about Mitt's name issues and try to envision the guy at 1600 Pennsylvania turning out to be an right wing, southern fried, slightly overstuffed version of Phil Donahue named after that tough little kid in "Aliens"...

...Rick Perry...George W. gets a makeover and is re-issued with a pretty transparent coat of Jimmy Swaggart...

And, then, last, but certainly not least...

The Tea Party...

...Ron Paul...sorry, don't mean to fixate on the name thing, but, really, can anybody ever take seriously a Ross Perot type whose name sounds like it could be either a French porn star or the company that brings us the Veg-o-Matic?...

...Sarah...one word says it all....and even a politically themed reality show has to have a Snooki, I guess...

...Michelle Bachmann...Eve Harrington to Sarah's Margo Channing (for the olders)...JWow to Sarah's Snooki (for the youngers)...from the garbled syntax to the marvelous malaprops to the already beguiling and bedazzling performance as a cross between Huey P. Long, Glenn Beck and Anita Bryant, this chick has all the makings of the break out star of the show..throw in that wacky husband, Marcus, add a little dash of their various and sundry financial and ethics issues and get ready to laugh with all of America as we watch them make that bully pulpit their own and convince the doubtful that you really can "pray the gay away...."

"So You Wanna Be President?"

Coming to your living rooms....on CNN, MSNBC and FOX, et al this fall...and this winter...and next spring...and next summer...and next fall.

Who needs islands and tribal councils?

"...At The Very Least, Let's Make Randy Secretary of HUD, or HOOD As The Case May Be..."

A TV season or so ago, I observed that it seemed like all of the competitors on that year's edition of "American Idol' had one, ultimately disappointing, thing in common.

They seemed to be less inspired to actually becoming the "American Idol" than they were merely becoming an "American Idol contestant".

And, once there, they simply put it in neutral and , week after week, offered up a predictable groove/rut combination of getting along by going along/same old same old.

I remembered that recently in the context of the next presidential race and the, to date, less than stellar list of potential candidates.

Including, but certainly not limited to, the incumbent.

Clear grasp of the historically obvious notwithstanding, I think a fair case could be made that American politics is stuck in the mud of a "the lesser of the evils runs against the very best of our most mediocre" part of the life cycle.

Admittedly, politics is, by its nature, very much like weather, as described long ago by Mark Twain.

Everybody talks about it, but nobody does anything about it.

And while it's a natural inclination to fill blog page after blog page with the "what ails and how to fix it" of our way of life, I've reached a point in life where simplification seems to trump elucidation more often than not.

So, in that spirit, consider this.

If we have an ice cube's chance of ever turning the system away from the icebergs, we need to find some way to supplant electability with accountability.

More importantly, we need to keep asking the question until we get the answer and not settle for the sound byte/catch phrase/stump speech excerpt that rolls out of pretty much every political mouth like yet one more chorus of any given Beatles tune on Idol's "Lennon-McCartney" night.

Given current DC brouhahas, it's small wonder that the phrase "the American people are frustrated" is going to be heard more and more often in coming days/weeks.

But maybe it's time to be less distracted by the frustration itself and work a little harder at exposing the true, root cause.

At this writing (and, please, friends, foes and/or family of any and all political persuasions, feel free to take your best shot at showing me the error of my ways), every political candidate wandering across and around my radar clearly, and obviously, has an agenda.

But, like those mediocre "candidates" of that forgettable Idol season, their agenda is not so much about getting the job done...

...as it is simply getting the job.

They won't give us the answers we want and deserve until we start asking the right questions.

Or, if all else fails, put Simon, Randy, Paula, Ellen, Kara, Steven and JLo in the Electoral College.

As a rule, they seem to be better judges of potential than the voters.

God bless America, dawg....

" Run, Forrest, Run....For Office....."

Today's words of insightful political perspective come from a character much beloved by many.

Forrest Gump.

Greenbow, Alabama's favorite son will favor us with a phrase momentarily.

Meanwhile....

New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie defended his decision to nominate a Muslim judge to the state Superior Court against conservative critics who warned that the new judge will implement Sharia law. The notoriously blunt-spoken Christie calling their fears "crap" and "crazy."

The appointee, Sohail Mohammed, is an American attorney who offered legal aid to New Jersey residents who were suspected after the 9/11 terrorist attacks but were later found innocent of any crimes.

Opponents of Mohammed's nomination have issued warnings, with no evidence, that Christie's nominee, if approved, would base his rulings on Islamic law. Christie was having none of it.

"Sharia law has nothing to do with this at all. It's crazy. It's crazy," Christie said at a press conference Wednesday. "The guy's an American citizen who has been an admitted lawyer to practice in the state of New Jersey, swearing an oath to uphold the laws of New Jersey, the constitution of the state of New Jersey, and the Constitution of the United States of America . . . .This Sharia law business is crap. It's just crazy. And I'm tired of dealing with the crazies."



First, you have to be impressed with any politician who calls himself a Republican and manages to find the center line of common sense in any given situation.

Second, no reasonably intelligent person (and, admittedly, there's a categorization that's going to cut a wide swath of elimination through the masses) can possibly believe that our judicial system could be infiltrated and/or upended to the extent that we would wake up one day to find ourselves finding "In Allah We Trust" being printed on crisp, new, albeit not so much worth a dollar, dollar bills.

This kind of ignorance and/or pandering to ignorance (the former usually exhibited by those who were raised in that kind of climate, the latter usually exhibited by those soliciting the votes of the former) is the kind of acid that viciously corrodes the struts and beams of the bridges that we try to build between our more reasonable differences and, while inevitably failing to prevent cooler heads to prevail, delays the process of getting us where we all deserve to be as human beings and citizens of the free world.

That's the verbose version of it.

Here are two more basic takes.

Chris Christie.

"....this Sharia law business is crap. It's just crazy..."

And Forrest Gump.

"...stupid is as stupid does..."

"...and that's all I(we)have to say about that..."

Honest to Allah.

"Pardon, But, If You Could Take Just A Second Before Our Stock Portfolios Evaporate..."

Dear Democrats, Republicans and Tea Party members...

We, "the American people" you all so righteously proclaim to be "looking out for" understand that it is inherent in your natures to bitch, bicker and squabble with each other.

We realize that any effort made to get you to stop behaving that way would be tantamount to getting someone with Tourette's to stop letting the expletives fly.

So, while life would be infinitely more pleasant were you to grow up, behave yourselves, we understand that the aforementioned bitching, bickering and squabbling is an inevitability to be treated in a "hate the sin, love the sinner" manner.

Simply put, we not only don't expect you to find common ground 99.9 percent of the time, we honestly don't even expect you to listen to opposing points of view.

At this time, however, we would appreciate it if you could put the propaganda on pause, do whatever is necessary to raise the debt ceiling to avoid the potentially catastrophic financial meltdown many fear, so that we, and you, may get back to business as usual.

For us...getting back to looking for work, trying to pay our mortgages and praying that our families will return safely from foreign battlefields.

For you...getting back to bitching, bickering and squabbling.

Thank you for taking just a few moments out of your day to actually serve our interests as opposed to your own.

Sincerely,
the "American people"