August 11, 2026

Family Values, Newt Gingrich Style

For those media types who still want to jettison a closed primary and open a primary to anyone, let me present Exhibit A for why open primaries give bad results:

Newt Gingrich. He’s proof that a body of voters can choose the candidate least in line with his party and with more likelihood of getting in a “snooty” remark about the President than winning a general election.

Besides, how do we respect a man whose definition of “family values” includes trotting out his daughters to hide a lie about his infidelity? [cont…]

Pew Polls Mormons About Being Mormon.

With the contest for the GOP Presidential nomination leaving the more tolerant American northeast (New Hampshire) and heading back into evangelical territory, Mitt Romney’s Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint (“LDS” for short) faith (aka “Mormonism” or the “Mormons” in the popular press) is back in the news. The Pew Research Center, in anticipation, has released a new poll on Mormons.

…or rather, of Mormons. As in: how do Mormons see themselves?

I know. Interesting, right? Who doesn’t love a good case of ompholaskepsis? I mean, besides the Kardashian sisters and the Jersey Shore crew? (Yes, I did just manage to get a ten-dollar word in the same line as a reference to the Kardashians and Snooki. There’s got to be some kind of blogger bingo reward for that). [cont…]

The legal challenges to the health care bill

Apparently, there is some question about the legality of the bill recently (as in yesterday) signed into law by President Obama.  I’ve already discussed the questionable procedures used to pass it in the House.  But what about the bill itself?  Is it legal?  Is it constitutional? Let me just say at the outset that rational […]