Ideologues vs. Partisans; Heroes Born Everyday; Sheen Is A Bust; Political Fake, Phonies And Frauds

• I went out with some friends last night, and I got a little s#!t faced. Instead of walking back home I took a cab. You know something? That was the first time I ever drove a cab. It was really a lot of fun.
• As I've gotten older, I've discovered something: I can tolerate ideologues more than partisans. I know where an ideologue stands. Partisans, on the other hand, have a tendency to compromise their core values. They shift their allegiance entirely for political reasons. Let me give you some examples. There's been a lot of criticism against the President for "dithering" when it came to deciding whether or not we should intervene in Libya. The criticism from the Right is that he was slow. Liberals, on the other hand, have not been critical of the time line and have generally supported the operation largely based on its humanitarian features. So I have a question: If Pres. Obama went into this operation 3 weeks ago, would the Republicans and the Right have said he moved too quickly? I have a feeling they would have. On the other hand, Democrats and Liberals appear to be very inconsistent in their support of this operation. They support the intervention into Libya but were very critical of the Iraq operation (after initially supporting. Pres. George W. Bush would never have received congressional approval for going into Iraq without support from Democrats). Yet, Democrats have to be challenged. If the Democrats and the Left support the overthrow of Gadhafi for murdering many Libyans, why didn't they have the same outrage toward Saddam Hussein who also murdered many of his own people? So, as one commentator wrote recently, "The American left is also making it abundantly clear it does not find all wars morally reprehensible--only those begun by Republicans."
• Regarding ideology, Michael Medved wrote a fascinating piece in USA Today {"Whose American Exceptionalism: On Government's Proper Role, Why Conservatives and Liberals Are A World Apart"}. He points out the clear differences between conservatives and liberals. I believe he's on target. In short, he says the Right generally views America as exceptional. They believe in the ideals of liberty, self-rule and free markets. The Left, on the other hand, has a tendency to view America as exceptionally guilty--for slavery, for genocide against Native Americans and for its perceived arrogant imperialism. This is not to say the Left does not believe the U.S. stands out from other nations; it's just that they believe it stands out for the wrong reasons, e.g. encouraging greed, environmental pillage and neocolonialism.
• Whatever one feels about the difference between Democrats and Republicans, one thing is certain: Democrats are always more focused than Republicans. When they are in charge--they charge. Look at Republicans. They have no cahones. They can't even find a microphone to air their views in a timely fashion. Democrats, on the other hand, are always at mics. When the Democrats were in power, Pelosi and Reid were on the airwaves every single day (Personally, it made me sick, but they knew how to get control of a room). Now that the Republicans are in charge, where the hell are they?
• How bad is the perception of this Libyan operation? Even Jon Stewart is not buying the claim that NATO will be taking over complete control of this operation. As one commentator said, "If Obama loses Stewart and Carrottop, the war is lost." Stewart's claim is also supported by the fact check crowd at AP News. In fact, there were many false and inaccurate statements made by President Obama in his speech a few days ago, according to AP. The latest news is that there is a delay in NATO taking over the operation.
• Regardless of what side you're on, it's not helping President Obama. The latest Quinnipiac University Poll shows the President's approval rating at an all time low.
• Speaking of partisans, I rarely watch the talking heads on MSNBC and Fox News (I do watch "Fox and Friends" in the morning. Occasionally, I will watch O'Reilly). I don't go to those news outlets that often because I know what they will say before they even say it. MSNBC, the "tingle" network, will fawn and grovel over almost anything the President does while Fox, on the other hand, will almost always be critical. However, the kudos I will bestow on Fox is that they very often have someone from the other political side as a guest on their show. That's rarely done on MSNBC. CNN, on the other hand, appears to be lost in network cyberspace.
• You may have never heard of a man by the name of Barragan Ferrer. Until recently, he was HBO's Sports executive overseeing boxing. What's so significant about Ferrer? He gave up a very lucrative career, and he joined the United States Army. He said in an interview, "I just feel that I owe this country a great deal. Whoooah!!!
• Charlie Sheen might not really be winning. In fact, the country might actually be sick of him already. It was reported he sold out all of his seats at Radio City Music Hall. He did. The problem is buyers bought the tickets in bulk when he was a hot property several weeks ago. But, now, they can't sell those tickets. One buyer said, "I'm worried. I need him to do something else stupid so I can unload all these tickets." Winning?
• Speaking of Charlie, there's another new sordid reality show coming to TV called, "Mob Wives." I couldn't help but thinking: wouldn't that be like having Sheen doing commericals for E Harmony?
• Some bad news for Republicans. Marco Rubio of Florida has ruled out a run in '12. But, mark my words, this guy is a rising star in the Republican Party.
• Seriously--do any of the anticipated Republican candidates now spark any interest? I don't think so.
• Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) Watch: How is it that this fake, phony and fraud is still in Congress and not behind bars? He "allegedly" dodged taxes. He had unreported assets and income. He was accused of failing to report income for some properties in the Domincan Republic and much more.
• Another fake, phony and fraud, Charles Schumer (D-NY) was overheard by reporters on a conference call to other Democrats that he would refer to the Tea Party as "extreme." Sure enough, in the following news conference, he and other democrats used the term "extreme" dozens of times to define Tea Party folks.
• Speaking of fake, phonies and frauds, you need to read Matt Taibbi's piece on Speaker Boener in Rolling Stone. Let me just put it this way, according to this piece (and it has multiple supporting references), Boehner is considered lazy, and he's a shill for corporate interests. Yes, yes, I know that can define most politicians, but this guy makes it an art form.
• By the way, Taibbi is an equal opportunity basher. He did a great piece on Pres. Obama for Rolling Stone entitled, "Obama's Big Sellout To Wall Street." A must read. No wonder the President is surrounded by so many Wall Street and banker types. This piece will open your eyes--even wider.
• Recent sports news from The Onion: "Man Arrested For Posing As Peyton Manning In Dozens Of Commercials."