Let's face it, Newt Gingrinch nee McPherson will be our next POTUS. He is everything that republicans want in a leader, white (in his case he may have overcompensated), straight, Christian (and thus of high moral character) and he exercises his right to marry in that manly Christian "one man = one woman" kind of way. Sure, he's made mistakes, but can't you forgive him? He is after all, a great leader. His marriage motto: "if at first you don't succeed, try and try and try and try again, then ask your wife for permission to have sex with your mistress".

Newt takes full credit for writing the Contract with America while he was Speaker of the House under that horny President Bill Clinton. Newt also takes credit for convincing Ronnie Reagan to drive to Eastern Europe and knocking down the Berlin Wall, balancing the budget, reforming welfare, capturing OJ Simpson and writing and directing "Top Gun" with Tom Cruise.
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33 comments (Latest Comment: 01/23/2012 04:03:45 by livingonli)

Okay - I'll confess right up front: I only watched about 10 minutes of the Republican "debate" last night in South Carolina. I wanted to be able to write about my first-hand reactions, but I couldn't do it. The kicker was when John King - after asking Newt and Paul about 3 things they'd do to help the economy - asked Romney to rebutt a comment just made by Gingrich. That is what a debate is - a controlled discussion where participants provide their various viewpoints and counterpoints on one more subjects:

1. a discussion, as of a public question in an assembly, involving opposing viewpoints: a debate in the Senate on farm price supports.
2. a formal contest in which the affirmative and negative sides of a proposition are advocated by opposing speakers.

Romney's response? (paraphrasing here): "I'll do that in a minute, but first I want to answer the question you asked them, and then I'd also like to discuss this...."

Of course - King let him run with it. That is not a debate. It is an interview/press conference. There is no control. I've seen in previous debates where candidates would start arguing with each other and the crowd cheering like it's a WWE show. The audiences, too, are disgusting, cheering the most horrendous chest-beating bumper-sticker sound bites with bloodthirsty verve. Again, the WWE metaphor seems particularly apt.

But - I suppose I should post some of the more discussion-worthy points of the debate...
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93 comments (Latest Comment: 01/21/2012 03:34:23 by BobR)

For those that haven't heard, today is blackout day. To protest two bills in Congress (mainly SOPA, but also PIPA), several large websites are "going dark" today. They include Google and Wikipedia, among others. Here at 4F, we decided it was more important to get the message out as much as possible. We know how small we are; "going black" for us would not have made any impact. People who don't follow politics, however, DO use Google and the Wiki, and will notice the message.
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79 comments (Latest Comment: 01/19/2012 13:35:12 by wickedpam)

“Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter.”
“The Drum Major Instinct" Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr -
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58 comments (Latest Comment: 01/17/2012 01:12:20 by Mondobubba)

Good Morning!

Fairly early on a Saturday, but there's no blood involved today. I'll soon be off to Horn Pond to lead a birdwatching hike for a certain Mr. Bean.

But before I do, I want to take us far on the other side of the world. Over the last few weeks, as we've been focused on the beginnings of our election cycle, something remarkable has happened in one of the most isolated and closed societies on Earth.
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9 comments (Latest Comment: 01/14/2012 17:51:01 by Raine)