Is A Simpler Tax a Better Tax?

John McCain, in his traditionally maverick role, used to be against tax cuts. Of course, that was before he got the memo that Republican nominees have to be against taxes all the time - at least until they get elected.

Today the AP reports that McCain actually has a decent idea - a federal gas tax holiday during the summer months. According to the article, the current gasoline tax is 18.4 cents for gasoline and 24.4 cents for diesel. With gasoline prices at nearly $3.48/gallon nationwide it's not much relief, but it could be if the states follow suit. If we pull out of Iraq and reduce the amount of oil the US Military is buying on the open market - then we might have something.

The AP article also mentioned a McCain proposal to give taxpayers an easier option to pay and file with a standard deduction. This idea I think is kinda stupid. The problem with taxes is that they are a) too high, and b) are wasted, prompting high taxes. It wouldn't take much convincing to gather acceptance for the option of more forms in return for lower taxes and/or higher refunds. Plus market solutions like CPAs, tax software, and tax prep offices take the burden of filing complicated forms off the tax payer for a small fee.

If McCain wants to help poor people, the gas tax holiday is a good start, but getting us out of Iraq and forgetting about ethanol would actually get the economy moving.

Bill Cosby - My New Hero, Again

Bill Cosby hasn't stopped preaching about pound cake. He has taken the message of personal responsiblity and cultural advancement to black communities across the nation. The Atlantic has a great article talking about his message. (h/t/t The American Conservative Blog)

However there are some detractors.

The strain of black conservatism that Cosby evokes has also surfaced in the presidential campaign of Barack Obama. Early on, some commentators speculated that Obama’s Cosby-esque appeals to personal responsibility would cost him black votes. But if his admonishments for black kids to turn off the PlayStation and for black fathers to do their jobs did him any damage, it was not reflected at the polls.

Just so you know, I can't stand some commentators.

Missed The GOP Debates? Nice Work!

Dan McCarthy has a great liveblog and analysis of the latest GOP Debates over at Wash U For Ron Paul. Unfortunately, I missed the debates too - although I think I might have puked at the support for corn ethanol subsidies.

Sometimes, I Wonder If They Expect Us To Believe Them

Personally, I get offended whenever politicians say things that are patently untrue or make no damned sense. This is why the only political news show I can watch without puking is The Daily Show. I'm no liberal, but Jon Stewart seems to be the only major "newscaster" not willing to accept lies and complete fabrications. Just in the last week at least four presidential candidates make statements that make absolutely no sense.

For my own health, and your edification I have created The Reality Check. This new blog is designed to debunk and delouse the complete inventions that politicians make expecting the American public to swallow as gospel. Like McCain's assertion that the Constitution establishes the US as a "Christian nation." Nevermind the Constitution does the exact opposite. Pandering might equal "sweet nothings," but someone with McCain's reputation should know better. Maybe his reputation (and the rest's) should be debunked too.

Ron Paul, Today's Davy Crockett

Today Dr. Ron Paul has an article on Lewrockwell.com discussing GWB's veto of federal funding for stem cell research. His general point is this - pay for it yourself. While his argument is much more nuanced than that, the general idea is that the dichotomy of "subsidize it or ban" stem cell research doesn't help anyone, and hurts all tax payers. To paraphrase Davy Crockett, if the Congressman and Senators who want this legislation to pass simply took up a collection of a week's pay - that would go a long way towards furthering the research.



Ron Paul reminds me a lot of Davy Crockett, especially the story of how Rep. Crockett helped shoot down a bill authorizing Congress to pay a monetary gift to the widow of a naval officer. Here is the key quote.

Mr. Speaker--I have as much respect for the memory of the deceased, and as much sympathy for the sufferings of the living, if suffering there be, as any man in this House, but we must not permit our respect for the dead or our sympathy for a part of the living to lead us into an act of injustice to the balance of the living. I will not go into an argument to prove that Congress has not the power to appropriate this money as an act of charity. Every member upon this floor knows it. We have the right, as individuals, to give away as much of our own money as we please in charity; but as members of Congress we have no right so to appropriate a dollar of the public money. Some eloquent appeals have been made to us upon the ground that it is a debt due the deceased. Mr. Speaker, the deceased lived long after the close of the war; he was in office to the day of his death, and I have never heard that the government was in arrears to him. Every man in this House knows it is not a debt. We cannot, without the grossest corruption, appropriate this money as the payment of a debt. We have not the semblance of authority to appropriate it as charity. Mr. Speaker, I have said we have the right to give as much money of our own as we please. I am the poorest man on this floor. I cannot vote for this bill, but I will give one week's pay to the object, and if every member of Congress will do the same, it will amount to more than the bill asks.

While I sympathize with those who suffer, and have hope that embryonic stem cells can relieve that suffering, I must agree with Dr. Paul. Don't ban it, but let the private sector and the market pay for it.

Better The Devil You Don't Know...

The more primary voters are learning about the top tier of candidates, the less they like them. John McCain has always had an uphill battle with his McCain-Feingold finance reform bill enraging lobbyists, his snubbing of CPAC and other right-wing institutions enraging conservatives, and his backpedaling on his previous stance against torture enraging everyone else. Mitt Romney, the son of another failed GOP presidential candidate, is a liberal governor of the country's most liberal state running as the poster child for social conservatives. And he is a Mormon. Rudy Guiliani, the failed mayor of 9/11, is increasingly being portrayed by the facts as a fascist (by those who actually lived under his rule) and a greedy fool by everyone else. People like what they hear about Ron Paul, but until he builds up the fundraising prowess and human real life grassroots operations that even Pat Buchanan had in 1996, he will not be considered a serious candidate by anyone.

Which leaves Fred Thompson. Fred Thompson is beloved by many people, including hot blonde country singers and hot blonde GOP operatives. Here he is with one of the latter, whom he married recently.




Certainly there is something exciting about a Southern "law and order" man (yes, literally in every way) who is a card-carrying member of SAG just like President Reagan. His conservative bona fides, while not nearly as extensive as Reagan's, are good enough for Craig Fields of Gun Owners of America (well to the right of the NRA) to give him a reluctant thumbs-up. Primary voters agree, Thompson has gained 7pts in the Cook poll - putting him in a statistical deadheat with McCain and Giuliani. This in spite of the fact that Thompson has not declared, and Giuliani put out his "12 Commitments" hoping to make some poll gains this week.

In a world where perception is the rule, and keeping your nose covered is more important than keeping it clean - you cannot count out Fred Thompson. The man looks and sounds presidential - minus any skeletons in his closet, that might be enough for a nomination.

Enlist Illegal Aliens + More Gun Control =

Invasion USA. Only by the time things go that far south, Chuck Norris might be dead. This article comments on the Army's DREAM plan, a part of the new Immigration bill currently under fire in the US Senate. DREAM stands for "Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors." The name fits, if the dream is to end up like Imperial Rome offering citizenship for spilt blood.

Ten Years For This?

Georgia is fucked up for a lot of reasons... Attorney General Thubert Baker has shown another reason yesterday. Most sane people agree that getting brain from a 15 year old is not that big a deal when you are 17. Certainly, angry fathers should have some recourse besides a shotgun - but no one thinks 10 years is appropriate anymore. Of course, when the 17 year old boy, Genarlow Wilson, is black, and the fifteen year old girl is white - the tempature down here changes. Maybe that is why the General Assembly elected not to make its new law decriminalizing (rather the oral sex is now a misdeamenor vs. a felony) this act retroactive.

Thankfully, a Superior Court judge came to his senses and allowed Wilson to appeal and reduced his sentence to timed served, with no requirement to join the sex offenders list. Two years for a hummer is bad enough (he was acquited on the drunken sex with another girl), although Baker disagrees. Even though Baker is black, the racial issue still looms. Why try to keep this kid in jail? It was all consensual, and the legislature agreed that the law he was tried under was wrong.

I can't help but identify with him. I'm black, and I remember the cute girl who used to give handjobs in the stacks at the High School library back home. The difference is that my parents and my uncles would have murdered me if I ever got caught messing around with her. Hell, my mom would have been able to tell by looking if I had just a little too much fun at school that day. There was no "boys will be boys" attitude in my home.

Attorney General Baker, Wilson may have been wrong, but two years hard time is more than enough compensation for his indiscretions.

Ron Paul: No Regrets

I fear there isn't much hope for Ron Paul, having spent some time among the schemers deep in the GOP machinery. It's one thing to light a fire in the grassroots, but if you can't get College Republicans, Young Republicans, the State Committees, the big activist groups, and other party folks on board - you're basically a salmon trying to conquer Niagra. But anything is possible.

I am with Ron Paul, and I can think of no other reason than one that was perfectly articulated over at The Crossed Pond.

Win or lose, this is a candidate I’ll never regret supporting. What a smart, realistic man he is, and a complete gentleman besides.

Supporting Dr. Paul is worth it, even to be able to make that statement with a straight face in 2008. Lord knows I could never say that before.

If 9-11 Doesn't Cause Terror, The Terrorists Have Won

Photo courtesy of the Onion. Read the hilarious article here.

Ron Paul Is Right.... Again

Rudy Giuliani tried to make Ron Paul sound insane last night by suggesting that 9/11 was a pre-meditated attack against the innocent United States. Unfortunately for everyone, Paul is right. People seem to forget the axiom - "terrorism is a poor man's war, and war is a rich man's terrorism." With our constant bombings of Iraq in the 90's during the Clinton administration, our near absolute support and favoritism towards Israel, and the propping up of weak, yet brutal monarchies in the Middle East, we have many enemies. Also there is the Ledeen doctrine, "every ten years America needs to beat up some crappy little country to show we mean business." America didn't deserve 9/11, but it would take a lot of ignorance and chutzpah to say we weren't asking for it. We can't keep kicking up shit in every flea-bourn corner of the world and not expect to track any home.

The worst of it is that not only that the war in Iraq is not helping, our efforts to frustrate Iran has led us to support radical Sunni Muslims, and the real crazies like the Muslim Brotherhood - who are actually in league with Osama Bin Laden himself.

So not only did we help inspire the 19 to attack us on 9/11, we are supporting their friends so they can help us against Iran. Oh, this makes so much sense.

Rep. Ron Paul - Straighten Up or You Are Outta Here!

Pajamas Media has a lot of nerve. It is one thing not to take a candidate seriously. Judging viability for a candidacy months before the first presidential debate is dubious, but everyone else thinks its ok. Punishing a candidate like a schoolmarm because of some over enthusiastic nuts is horribly insulting. PJM has taken to treating Rep. Ron Paul like he really is a redheaded stepchild. Here's the news.

We regret that Congressman Paul, a good and decent American with loyal motives and deeply held convictions, seems to have garnered among his supporters a small group for whom unethical conduct appears to be permissible if it gets him elected. We are certain he would disapprove of it.

Still, this behavior must stop immediately, as well as the rude and abusive messages we are receiving from these supporters. If they do not, Pajamas Media will have no choice but to remove Mr. Paul permanently from our poll.

In other words... tell your little friends to be good, or else.

PJM claims that they are being harrassed by Ron Paul supporters, and that there is blatant cheating in the Paul camp. The story about 200+ votes from one IP sounds dubious - the pod on the main page here closes voting immediately, and I don't see a way around that unless they mean a server IP, rather than a client one (which should technically still count).

Honestly, this pisses me off - but Ron Paul needs all the publicity and notice he can get, good or bad.

VA Tech - Not In The Playbook, No Manual

If you were to ask yourself last week what place in the US is most likely to experience the worst massacre in American history, what place would you pick? Certainly not a government building these days. Not an airplane anymore. Possibly a church, but only in the North. Most likely you would pick a school. Gov. Kaine places zero blame with the VA Tech administration, saying "nobody has this in the playbook. There is no manual on this." And of course there isn't. Legislation has drawn a strong boundary around schools across the country, forbidding weapons of any kind on campus. Hell, there have been stories of kids having trouble getting fencing equipment (often just called "weapons") on some campuses. And of course, many college campuses are bastions of ultra-liberal thought - the guys who rail against gun owners and ownership in the United States.

In the Art of War, Sun-Tzu said to always attack hardest where your enemy's defenses are weak. Cho Seung-Hui considered the women who despised him and the rich kids who ignored him as the enemy. And there is no greater undefended concentration of them than on a college campus... any college campus.

Next time a teacher, a professor, or a pilot suggests he be allowed to carry a sidearm - let's not dismiss him out of hand this time.

Lacrosse Players Innocent, America Still Hates Duke

Full exoneration and proclamation of innocence is a special thing coming from North Carolina's Attorney General. Now there is no question, no lingering doubt, no "maybe this rich fucks did buy their freedom." I pretty much predicted this outcome, figuring the dropping of the forcible rape charge was the tumbling of the first domino.

Although I am black, and I root against Duke - having been briefly falsely accused of sexual assault back in college I could only see things from the lacrosse players perspective. I still remember the sudden shock after hearing the accusation. Then the mind goes blank as you are drilled for an explanation. Then the horror you experience when you realize your protests of innocence are falling on deaf ears. Later comes the fear when you swear on your honor, on your mother, on your God that these accusations are lies - only those closest to you believe you, and even they hestitate. That is experience is just punishment if you are guilty, but horrible torture if you are innocent. Neither the Duke players nor I deserved it.

These days the accusations of rape, sexual assault, or even stalking tar a person for years, if not for life. In simpler times such accusations was an insult to reputation and honor that could only be remedied by a duel. These days, unless the woman immediately recants, there is no salvation for reputation.

Election Update: VOTE At Coletrain.org!!

Vote, or I'll forget my Valtrex on Saturday...

Thanks to PajamaMedia and the greatness that is me... Coletrain.org is now an official online presidential polling precinct! Just head over to the main page and vote. Vote early and vote often. Your vote counts, even if you are dead. Just remember, the eyes of the world are on the results, so make your vote count. Also, a vote for You-know-who is a vote for You-know-where.

I love pastries AND cartoons!


Happy Easter weekend everybody!

Which Gonzales Do You Prefer?

Seriously, what Gonzales would you rather hear about everyday? Do you want to here about Attorney General Gonzales latest power grab, or do you want to watch Speedy Gonzales defeat that silly gato?

And people wonder why grown men watch cartoons these days.

Eugenics, Dysgenics, and Body Shots

Hey baby, let me ride...

Sometimes I think were it not for my Christian upbringing, I would have evolved into some Genghis Khan type character. You know... the strong, silent type. Of course, when you are riding at the front of an angry and horny Mongol horde, and the object of your temporary affection is watching her husband and sons run for their lives - there really isn't any need to say much. This is pretty much how Genghis Khan got his women - he is famous for saying the best thing in life is to "vanquish your enemies, to chase them before you, to rob them of their wealth, to see those dear to them bathed in tears, to clasp to your bosom their wives and daughters.” Talk about a little less conversation and a lot more action! Thanks to that attitude, one out of every four men in Asia is a direct descendant of The Great Khan, and they may be all better for it. After all, the man who conquered a good bit of the known world, introduced diplomatic immunity to the world, and establised international trade practices still in use today couldn't afford to be dumb.

Making the world smarter (with my penis), one girl at a time!


Unfortunately, guys like Bill Gates, Sam Walton, or even Sir Richard Branson - corporate emperors all - didn't ravish the countryside raping every woman in sight and having hundreds of kids during the nineties. If you look at the declining birthrate in industrial nations vs. the birth rate in the Third World - you might see this as a problem. The non-ravishing that is.

All this actually came up last night, a Tuesday night, at a tequila bar in Atlanta. I was speaking with a girl from Michigan who has become a bit of a dysgenicist after 25 years in the Greater Detroit area. 8MileGirl subscribes to the idea that the Roman Empire fell because the smart and monied folks couldn't breed enough or outbreed the idiots/poor in the realm due to lead poisoning and other reasons. The lead issue has been thrown around awhile, but factors like decadence and dependence on foreign sources for soldiers and other infrastructure were the man reasons I learned the Empire fell. Nati was a classics major, so he would have a more definitive answer.

Yes, if I was in charge...

Of course all this is boring compared to (well, anything, but also) 8MileGirl's solution to the problem - sterilize the idiots. Rather than run into Nazi comparisons by making it compulsory, you offer long lasting yet temporary birth control paid for by the state (or Planned Parenthood) for free. And you would give $100 to the girls as a thank you. Since you would get murdered in the press if you went around offering birth control to only degenerates and crackwhores - you would have to make it available to everyone, including college girls who in all honesty would probably benefit society more (comparatively, of course) by getting pregnant.

All this hinges on the idea that intelligence, and the will to wield it, is hereditary. One need only turn on a TV set to know that isn't true. Conrad Hilton, a smart and industrious member of my fraternity built a hotel empire. His great-granddaughter is a racist idiot. Former President George H.W. Bush was a fighter pilot in World War II, a director of the CIA, and laid the smackdown on Saddam and Iraq with no significant loss of American life. President George W. Bush... well you get my drift. We all hope our children will be smarter than us - but even in the best of families in the best of environments - intelligence is a role of the die. You can only hope for your kids to be at least above a dropping average, and train them to make the most of it.

Even though the whole dysgenics thing is kinda dumb, one thing is for certain... If you aren't growing (as a population), you are dying. The main reason why we eat more agricultural products instead of hunted products is because farming produces more food and leaves more time for pumping out kids. Forget intelligence, raw numbers alone are alarming enough.

So while this discussion took place and I was rubbing 8MileGirl's leg, our waitress was letting her co-workers take body shots off her very slim stomach - and another girl was stripping and flashing for her friends. In a normal bar/restaurant, on a Tuesday night in ATL. And apparently every Tues night is like this. I am definitely going back. This little vignette has nothing to do with the rest of the post except for this one point... the waitress has a little girl.

Sen. Biden Hates Dirty "N-words"

I am not sure what world Joe Biden lives in. My first guess is the late 19th century, when it was still ok to hate black people - but you couldn't beat them anymore without a posse to back you up. So in private or in front of non-bigots you had to be nice.

Of course, Biden's attempt at being nice when talking about Sen. Obama is that he a "bright and clean" (and articulate, but that is not new) African-American candidate. I can only guess that he contrasts Obama to those dull and dirty darkies like Jesse Jackson, Alan Keyes, and Al Sharpton. I mean really... if this is the kind of stuff that comes out of a politician's mouth in public - what is he saying in private?

Never mind that Jesse Jackson performed better in the 1987 Presidential primaries than Biden, and that black people can't stand to smell bad or be around people who do. Sen. Biden has the wrong idea if he thinks that people are going to appreciate him because he praises Barack Obama for being new and unique. Smart and articulate black people have been around for a long time, many on the national stage. You are only gonna impress backcountry rednecks and MTV idiots who think Tupac Shakur is the premier black poet in American Literature by saying that Obama is impressive for looking well and talkin' good.

Just to show this is not an isolated incident, check out the video above talking about Deleware's rich heritage and how Biden wants to leverage that in his race for the White House.

Successful politicians are masters of watching what they say. What slips out is ALWAYS the tip of the iceberg.

GWB: "I Got 99 Problems But A Bitch Ain't One"

"W stands for Women. Especially this woman."

Anyone who still thinks politicians are dignified have got another thing coming. Check out this State of the Union video from KSTP-TV in Minnesota. After you click the link, check out the video where Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is feeling up the President of the United States. While Bush is enjoying public approval ratings as low as Nixon's were (33%) before his resignation - his body is 100% mantastic in Michele's book.

Katie Couric: One Too Many

Nice legs! Finger lickin' good!


I like Katie Couric for the same reason I don't take her seriously. It's not because she is a woman. I have met some very strong and inspiring women, and believe it or not, one of my favorite managers was a woman. She also used to be a spook, which made her wicked cool. It is not because she is bubbly. I know girls who can outbubble champagne, but are intensely serious when it came to their jobs, which they did well, and their family. Mainly it is because Katie trades on her looks and plays the feminist angle at the same time.

I remember back in 2003 when Katie was asked to trade places with Jay Leno. Jay would host Today, and Katie would host The Tonight Show. After a forgettable monologue, Katie sat at Jay's desk, and some construction worker guy came by with a power saw and cut off the front skirt of the desk so that you could see Katie's magnificent legs. My first instinct was to drop the remote - no Letterman tonight.

Contrast that with Katie's latest emotional blog about being the only woman/girl at the White House during a private Presidential press briefing. She then goes on to talk about how Rwanda and Sweden have nearly 50% female representation in their parliaments, while the US lags behind.

Little girl, cry me a river.

Honestly, I have nothing against more women in politics and business. Some of the worst bosses I have ever had were men - they were either spineless and inexperienced, or arrogant and incompetent. Don't even start with GWB. If a woman can improve upon that, I say let her - and most of the industrialized world agrees. But this business that women should dominate half of the top positions in society everywhere makes no damned sense.

Here's the news - women don't dominate the world because they don't have to. Every woman that is good looking enough to attract a successful man (and shrewd enough to keep him) doesn't have to work. Society proclaims that a real man can take care of his family financially - so a woman working for the next promotion is often optional. That's a fact even before kids are in the equation.

Let's add kids then. When a female professional gets knocked up, her company is obliged in the US to give her paid time to prepare for the birth, and care for the infant at least for a while. At the same time, the firm must hold her job or something at the same level until she comes back to resume her duties. While this doesn't hurt her current earning potential, she might miss out on opportunities to shine and make her case for promotion to senior management. Add to that the fact that many women, wholely on their own, decide to resign their jobs until the child is able to go to school or is at least old enough to be left alone after school. That age ranges from 10 or so and up. Ten years out of any industry, and it will be a tough road to make the boardroom. This scenario applies to a lot of women - women who may not be ruling a F500 firm, but are having a very fulfilling life nonetheless.

Contrast that with men. Men work. Men have always worked. If men don't work, they aren't considered men - especially in America (elsewhere, they are only expected to provide - nobility for example). Unless they marry money, or have a wife with a ton more earning potential, working is a certainty - never an option. If men want a bigger house, they need to work harder, get a promotion, rob a bank. There is no nagging the wife until she makes it happen, in most cases. Therefore, there is no break for men (generally) that would take them out of the running for top positions - so even if every company in the world was headed by a male feminazi, every board room would still be filled with men. For heaven's sake - MADD's boardroom is filled with men!

The long and the short of it is that women aren't in the highest perches of politics and government because a) they don't have to be and b) they have other priorities. Sure, sexism still comes into play, but even if it didn't the numbers would be much the same. As for the Swedish - there won't be one at the rate they are going, birth rate vs. death rate that is. So much for them as a feminist success story.

Happy Martin Luther King Day

Happy Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.


I hope you are reading this from home, rather than from some bs place that doesn't celebrate Dr. King's birthday. I should be at home, celebrating by sleeping off a hangover from a Sunday night party.

Instead, I started my work day with a discussion with the HR administrator about Baby Boy, the drama starring R&B singer Tyrese Gibson, my man Ving Rhames, and Big Snoop Dogg. Tyrese plays the main character Jody (originally written for 2Pac), a deadbeat living in Inglewood, CA who has a bad habit of cheating on his girlfriend/babymama Yvette and refuses to move out of his mother's house. After being confronted by Yvette's ex-boyfriend, Snoop Dogg's Rodney, Jody realizes that he needs to grow up and be a main - or get consumed by the consequences of his actions. Here is a juicy bit of dialogue.

Jody: What? This my phone, nigga! Don't call my house no more!
Rodney: How the *fuck* is that yo' house, nigga? You don't even live there. Is this Jody? The Jody that got my boo pregnant and can't take care of his responsibilities as a muthafuckin' man? Livin' at yo' mamma house? Walking around the streets like a little ass boy? Nigga, you's a *bitch*!
Jody: What? Yo' ass in jail! You can't say nothin' about me and mine, homeboy. Look, don't call my *fuckin'* house no more! My girl ain't feeling you. It's not happening, cuz! Concentrate on not dropping the soap, you bitch-ass nigga!
Rodney: *Fuck* you, cuz!

The big problem I have with this movie is that Jody "becomes a man" by basically being a more faithful deadbeat. He agrees to move into his girlfriend's apartment, fix her car (before driving it around to socialize), buy her a ring, and get her pregnant again. Certainly this was an improvement over living with his mother and banging every hoodrat who looked at him, but if this is the epitome of manhood - I am working too hard. In actually, the epitome of manhood in Baby Boy is Ving Rhames' Melvin, a doctoral graduate from the school of hard knocks who is one beatdown away from being a three-time loser.

My co-worker and I agreed that many black men are suffering from low expectations - they don't expect to do much in life, and people rarely ask more of them. One of the sadly unique things about my upbringing was that my parents forced me to accept that I could do anything I put my mind to - and damn anyone else who disagreed. It's just as true for anyone else as it is for me.

In other news, Michael Strahan got a huge MLK gift from a NYC judge. While the fact that his ex-wife is white puts just the right tinge of political incorrectness that you expect from The Tales... well, actually that is the only reason I am mentioning this story. I feel for Strahan, even through he did cheat on her relentlessly. Nevertheless, he should have remembered what will soon become an "old" adage - college players get the free pussy because of all the coeds, professional players will always pay.

Have a great MLK day!

Better Off Dead

Saddam Hussein was a thug. Pure and simple. He lived like a thug, but died like a martyr - thanks to the Bush Administration.

In life he was notorious for his disasterous war against Iran, the gassing of the Kurds in Northern Iraq, his heavy handed punishment of Dujail, and the torture his sons Uday and Qusay inflicted upon the Iraqi people.

In death he will be remembered for industrializing a once agrarian society, encouraging diversification in the domestic economy in order to limit dependence on oil, promoting women's rights, supporting religious tolerance, and keeping the peace throughout the territory while recognizing a right to bear arms.

The Exile's Gary Brecher already recognizes him as a genius in maintaining order, and others refer to the current mess in Iraq as the "curse of Saddam."

While Saddam was no saint, the Christians in Iraq felt protected in his time, Moqtada al-Sadr was hiding for his life, and no one was working over time trying to provide visas for Iraqis to leave the country.

Saddam was a distaster as a military commander, but he was no fool. Perhaps when reflecting on how the world would see him in light of the mess in the Middle East, there was a practical reason why he wasn't afraid to die. He must have known he would come out ahead.