Up and Running: Martin O'Malley

Martin O'Malley, former Maryland governor, is running for President. He joins Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton in the race for the Democratic nomination. So please, tell me more about how Republicans are all old white people. 

The good news is that O'Malley has lots of experience, not only as a governor but before that, as mayor of a major city. The bad news is that city is Baltimore...not exactly a model of good governance.

O'Malley is a fairly standard Democrat, in that he supports gun control, raised taxes, and referred to illegal immigrants as "new Americans." He does bring his own special brand of crazy, however. As governor of Maryland, he taxed the rain. The rain tax was based on how much of a property was covered in surfaces "impervious to rain" - like a roof, driveway, patio, sidewalk, and so on. This tax only applied in certain counties, and each county calculated it differently, and that level of unevenness and complication is exactly the opposite of what should be happening to our national tax laws.

So, O'Malley is a little nuts - all politicians are - but he has an important role to play in this election: Proposing a credible (not Bernie Sanders) challenge to the Queen Bee (Hillary, but you knew that). Hillary is notoriously bad at speaking unscripted, and if O'Malley could force her to debate before the primaries, that could show her weaknesses as a candidate - no Republican effort required.

Friday Fun

Another week down, and I am officially halfway through my intensive summer class! It's a good one - very current topic, great prof - with a schedule of 2 hours every morning for 4 weeks. So, why did I do this to myself? Well, without the morning class, I'd have to take a second class at night - and I think most summer nights should be reserved for drinking on rooftops, thank you very much!

ANYWAY.

Summer is finally here and it is off to a sunny, happy start. The graduation madness has come and gone...the tan lines are here to stay! Here are my favorite things this week:

1. Are you bikini-body ready?

Whew, I am so glad I checked this chart before throwing on a swimsuit! (Click before you judge, pretty please :)

2. Florida Man for Google Chrome

This browser extension will change every mention of Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio to "Florida Man," or vice versa. "Florida Man wrestles alligator" is an everyday news item at this point, but "Jeb Bush wrestles alligator"? That's just perfect.

3. The National Spelling Bee...

...wrapped up last night. This quirky annual competition took place just outside of DC, and this town - where everyone is competitive over everything - embraces the bee in all its dorky fun. This "Best of the Bee" video captures the nerves, the drama, the humor, and the "can you use that in a sentence?" from this year's event.

4. A brilliant charity campaign

Meet Wendy Molyneux Drake. She's a writer for Bob's Burgers, and she really hates Entourage. With the Entourage movie coming out soon, Drake decided to monetize this loathing for a very good cause. She set up a GoFundMe page and said she would see the movie if the page raised at least $10,000 for cancer research. The campaign reached that goal in a matter of hours - even if you don't love Entourage, you have to love Drake's creative way to rally people for a cause.

Up and Running: Rick Santorum

You didn't have to do this, Rick Santorum. You already had a solid career - what with twelve years in the Senate, and four before that in the House. But then you got kicked out of the Senate, in spectacular fashion (winning only 41% of the vote) in 2006. Six years after that, you ran a failed campaign for the GOP presidential nomination. And now after another four years of doing...I'm not really sure, honestly...you've decided to jump back in and run for president. Again.

My main issue with Rick Santorum is that he's not very fiscally conservative, but very socially conservative. Social issues matter, don't get me wrong - but Santorum is more known for his views on gay marriage (anti), pornography (anti), and teaching Intelligent Design in schools (pro) than he is for anything like foreign policy, immigration, economics, and the like. He's like Huckabee Lite.

And what are Santorum's views on those big issues, exactly? To put it plainly, they're wrong. Santorum voted to give taxpayer-funded benefits to illegal immigrants, but voted against hiring more border patrol agents or immigration case investigators. He voted in favor of a steel industry bailout, and in favor of raising taxes on gasoline to help fund Amtrak. It gets worse: Santorum voted against creating an independent board to investigate the IRS, and against welfare and Medicaid reform. (source)

So, Rick Santorum joins an already crowded GOP field. He brings years of experience...in propping up a big government that we just can't afford. His stance on gay marriage is going to alienate young GOP voters. His stance on immigration (namely: let it happen, who cares) isn't going to win him any conservative friends. 2016 is not going to be Santorum's year. We will just have to watch what happens in the meantime.

The Clinton-Industrial Complex

Barely over one month into Hillary Clinton's campaign, and the following facts have been exposed:

• Hillary Clinton took donations from foreign countries while she was Secretary of State.
• At least one of those donations (Algeria) was in violation of her agreement with the White House.
• The Clinton Foundation is now re-filing the past five years of its tax documentation, claiming "mistakes" and "errors" on the initial copies.
• The Clinton Foundation is a sham, donating only 6% of its revenue to actual charitable causes.

Any or all of this could disqualify her from running for public office. Either Hillary doesn't know how to run her foundation (in which case she's a terrible manager), or intentionally decided to use her "charity" as a slush fund (in which case, she is also a terrible manager). If you can't run a nonprofit, we shouldn't put you in charge of the Executive Branch of the US government.

The IBTimes further elucidated the Clinton-Industrial Complex today with a report on how foreign governments committing human rights abuses "donated" to the "foundation," and in return received Hillary's approval on weapons sales. As we learn more about how Hillary sold the power of her office, I'll be charting it out here:

Algeria
Donated: $500,000
Received: Approval to purchase nearly 50,000 "toxicological agents," despite pressing human rights concerns in the country.
 

Colombia
Donated: At least $1,000,000
Received: Hillary conveniently switches her position on a trade deal.

Qatar
Donated: Somewhere between $1,000,000 and $5,000,000
Received: A huge increase in approvals of weapons sales, including the sale of $750,000,000 worth of helicopters.

Saudi Arabia
Donated: $10,000,000
Received: Approval for sale of $29,000,000,000 worth of American fighter jets

Boeing
Donated: $900,000
Received: Approval to manufacture F-15s for sale to Saudi Arabia

Lockheed Martin
Donated: $250,000 speaking fee to Bill Clinton
Received: Top billing on two weapons sales...which were approved just days before Bill's speech.

For the record, I am fine with the manufacture and sale of American-made weapons. I just think we should only be selling them to our allies. We have the best technology in the world, and we should supply it to regimes that will use it for good.

It is very sad that the Left's feminist hero can be bribed to allow some of the most oppressive regimes on the planet to obtain powerful weapons, knowing that those weapons will be used to help autocrats stay in power - and to help them continue oppressing vulnerable populations.

Because this is a developing story, I'm asking for your help. If you have more to add to the list, please tweet me - of course, I will credit you here for your info.

Friday Fun

This week marks the start of my summer grad school semester - I'd be lying if I said I wasn't totally exhausted! One of my classes is two hours every day for four weeks...one week down, three to go. It's all pretty interesting (the Arab-Israeli conflict, religion and politics in the U.S.) so I am happytired and ready for the weekend!

1. Clayton Kershaw speaks the truth

2. There's an app for that - Minibar

Think "uber for champagne." Enter your address and friends (or strangers!) can send you a bottle of bubbly with the touch of a button. The app doesn't share your address, and you can send champagne to anyone else who uses the app. 

3. A 93 year old Army veteran graduates high school

I can't think of a better way to start Memorial Day weekend than by highlighting a veteran who represents the very best of America. And how sweet is it that his wife made this happen?!

Wishing you a Memorial Day weekend full of sunshine and cookouts and all good things :)

-The Bear

Hillary's Record Doesn't Matter to Delusional Democrats

By now you've seen the headlines: Iowa Democrats Can't Name a Single Hillary Accomplishment. Hillary Supporters Can't Name Any of her Successes as Secretary of State. The video of Hillary's fans struggling to say something good she has done for the country is cringe-worthy.

East coast liberals will try to spin this as "look at the dumb flyover people, not smart enough to appreciate Hillary." But here's the thing - they obviously appreciate her enough to want her to be president. These Democrats seem to care only that she landed the Secretary of State job, and don't particularly care what she did with that opportunity.

They don't care that she deleted tens of thousands of emails (that were government property, natch) or that she took donations from foreign governments, in violation of an agreement she had with the White House. They don't care that she stood in front of four caskets and blamed the Benghazi attack on a YouTube video, which she knew was a lie. And they don't care that the State Department lost track of billions of dollars in contracts while she was Secretary of State.

Yet it's these same Democrats who love to tout that Hillary is the most traveled Secretary of State in US history. She visited 112 countries (smashing the previous record, 96, set by Madeleine Albright). Again, it's about her getting on a plane - not what she does or doesn't do on the trip.

They will give her the same leeway as president: they will care that she got to the office, and won't care what she does, or doesn't do, with the power afforded to her by the role.

The media covers Hillary's campaign relentlessly, from her Scooby-Doo van to what she orders at Chipotle - even though she went nearly a full month without answering a single press question (and when she did, it was with the smug attitude of someone who would barely deign to stoop to speak to a peasant). The left wing was so very happy that Hillary spoke with the press, that they gleefully reported on her taking questions from reporters...even though the Q & A offered nothing substantial, and lasted about five minutes. Yet again, all that matters is that she talks - it doesn't matter what she says.

Many of Hillary's supporters identify as feminists. I have no problem with this - who doesn't want equality? Hillary. Hillary doesn't want equality. The only reason she has a viable campaign is that her fellow liberal Democrats have so lowered the bar, that just simply holding an appointed office, getting on airplanes, drinking coffee with hand-picked Iowans asking softball questions, she becomes some kind of hero to them, the heir apparent to the Democratic nomination for the presidency.

This is how the Left has stacked the deck in favor of their Chosen One: Hillary doesn't have to answer questions. She doesn't have to answer to anyone. She just has to show up.

2015 Commencement Speeches: The Best Lines (So Far)

Congratulations to the class of 2015! This weekend marked the first big wave of graduation and commencement ceremonies - and the big-name college speakers certainly did not disappoint. Though I definitely don't miss spending hours in the heat listening to long speeches while slowly burning up under the long robe & goofy hat, I couldn't resist sharing my favorite quotes from the 2015 speeches (so far):

Maya Rudolph, Tulane University

“Families and friends of graduates, mothers, fathers, brothers, brothers from other mothers, sisters, roommates...and people who met on Tinder this morning, I thank you for having me here to join you on this special day in this incredible city. I stand here humbled, gracious and completely naked under this robe."

Bonus Oprah impression here 

Tim Cook, The George Washington University 

“For those of you with an iPhone, just place it in silent mode,” he said. “If you don’t have an iPhone, please pass it to the center aisle. Apple has a world-class recycling program.” 

Jimmy Buffett, University of Miami

"Be Santa Claus when you can. Just being a graduate of this great university makes you a lot luckier than most. Don't ever take this opportunity as something you deserved."

He also delivered the speech in aviator glasses, which is probably the most Jimmy Buffett thing that Jimmy Buffett has ever done.

Matthew McConaughey, University of Houston

"You know those No Fear t-shirts? I don't get 'em. Hell, I try to scare myself at least once a day."

Kanye West, Art Institute of Chicago

"George Bush...has some very cool self portraits. I didn't know he was an artist."

President George W. Bush, Southern Methodist University 

"Those of you who are graduating this afternoon with high honors, awards and distinctions, I say well done. And, as I like to tell the C-students, you too can be president."

=======
I hope you enjoyed these bits of humor and wisdom from this graduation season. And I hope you all are ready for Stephen Colbert to blow every single one of these speeches out of the water when he speaks at Wake Forest on May 18th!

Friday Fun

Hey Everyone,

My whole neighborhood is celebrating this week...it's graduation time, the most hectic and happy part of the year in any college town. And I could use a little extra joy this week, since a restaurant accidentally gave me gluten a couple days ago - and I've been trying to get rid of the headaches and joint pain ever since :( Ugh! Anyway, lots of time recovering on the couch means plenty of time to find the most fun things on the internet. So, without further ado...

1. This weird food art project

I can't stop looking at these perfect cubes made out of food. The piece was made by a Dutch design company run by two gingers, for a Dutch newspaper. Most of the foods are pretty easy to identify...but what are all the white ones? And how did they get such perfect cubes? "Ginger sorcery" would be my best guess.

2. Vanity Fair's Best Dressed at Cannes

Honestly, I couldn't care less about the Cannes Film Festival. But gorgeous gowns? Now, that is a topic that is near and dear to my heart! Pictured above is Lupita Nyong'o, just reminding everyone why she is the undisputed queen of all red carpets forever and ever.

3. What would your name be, if you were born today?

This is so weird and you have to try it! My first name was the 59th most popular name for girls during the year I was born. So, if I were born in 2015, I'd be named Madelyn - the 59th most popular name this year. (Ehhhh. Parents, thank you for not naming me Madelyn.) The name generator tells you what your name would have been for each decade, all the way back through the 1890s. I would have been Opal in the 1920s...how cool is that?!

4. Makeup artists "age" a young engaged couple


It's cool to see how the makeup artists make these people look like they're 50, 70, 90. It's even cooler to see how excited they are about growing old together. There's a lot of love in this video.

5. Rounding out this week's installment of Friday Fun, we have the Discovery Channel throwing some top-quality shade on twitter:

  

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

-The Bear

I CANNOT with this Carafem Ad

Carafem is an organization that specializes in early-term abortions in a comfortable, almost trendy environment. I'm not going to make this a rant about whether abortion is right or wrong, or whether Carafem's "spa-like" approach to such procedures is good or bad.

What I am going to say is this: if you tell someone - anyone - that you think you might be pregnant, and their response is to text you a link to an abortion clinic, then they are a total moron who should be kicked out of your life, like, yesterday.

That person isn't concerned with how their friend feeling. That person doesn't want to help their friend make an educated, informed decision based on all available options. That person is texting them a link to an abortion clinic before they even know whether or not the person is pregnant!

The right response here would be some combination of the following: "Are you okay?" "I'm coming over, with ice cream" and "I am here for you no matter what." No matter what you think about Carafem - the ad is a perfect example of an ostensibly feminist organization displaying its total ignorance of how to actually support women.

National Women's Health Week: 5 Tips for TwentySomethings

Happy National Women's Health Week! It is oh-so-fitting that, as we celebrate our moms and grandmothers yesterday, we head into this week that is dedicated to promoting women's health.

The NWHW web site does a great job of covering the "big stuff" by each decade from your 20s through your 90s - getting annual check-ups, eating right, staying active, and taking ownership of your health.

Most of the things we can do to be healthy happen outside of a doctor's office: They happen in the kitchen, at the gym, with friends...you get the idea. Here are 5 easy things you can do today to kick off a healthy, happy summer:

1. Drinking water.

I'm so surprised that the web site doesn't list this one! You can do this in the next two minutes. As an added bonus, it can boost metabolism and help maintain clear skin. Sometimes I put lime or mint in my water bottle, because I'm fancy...and also because it gets me to drink more water, more often.

2. Taking breaks.

Sometimes I feel really guilty for taking time off, even if it's just a few hours, or for spending time with friends when I've got a school assignment looming. So I have to remind myself that taking a break > having a breakdown. Breaks are normal and needed and healthy. Your time to recharge could be wine night with friends, sleeping in on the weekend, a trip away...whatever it is, #treatyoself!


3. Watching sugar content.

I am so, so bad at this. I thought my beloved Starbucks green tea lattes were healthy...low calorie! Green tea! But turns out they're loaded with sugar. Reading nutrition labels can save you from consuming lots of unwanted sugar in hidden sources (salad dressing? what?) and generally steers you toward less processed, more natural foods as well.

4. Finding a workout you love.

The NWHW web site recommends exercising for 30 minutes each day, but with work and grad school, I only get the chance to break a sweat about 3 or 4 times per week. So I've got to make the most of it - and that means barre, running, yoga, swim, anything that I can get excited about instead of treating it like a chore. Your workout should be making you less stressed, not more!

5. Making breakfast smoothies.

Frozen fruit, one banana, a little bit of protein powder, and water. Zap it in the blender for a quick (and portable!) breakfast...no measuring or cooking required.


What are your top tips for building healthy habits? Comment here, or tweet me with your faves!

Friday Fun

Hey everyone,

It is FRIDAY! This week was a pretty big one for me personally...I finished up another semester of grad school (just two more to go) and turned 24 (two dozen years, whaaaat!) It was so much fun celebrating yesterday - and later today, I'm jumping in the car with some of my favorite people and road tripping to the beach. If there is one thing I've learned in 24 years, it's that my friends are the greatest. I am so ready to throw on a swimsuit and start the summer! (Memorial Day is nice and all, but it's been in the 80s all week, and summer starts when I say so.) In the meantime, here are my favorite things from this week!

1. Met Gala gowns
 

Photo via Harper's Bazaar

The Met Gala is a huge annual party benefitting the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute. This year's theme was "China Through the Looking Glass." Lots of the stars in attendance gave a subtle nod to the theme (Reese Witherspoon and Amal Clooney in red, Kim Kardashian's Chinese-style beading on her dress) and others just went full crazy (Beyonce and J.Lo's very skimpy shear beaded gowns, Solange wearing a flying saucer, Rihanna's huge long train). It's fun to see celebrities really go all out on the most extravagant red carpet of the year.

2. Chipotle's guacamole recipe

Photo via Fox News

Just in time for Cinco de Mayo, Chipotle released their guacamole recipe. It's pleasantly surprising that there are only a few ingredients, and they're all natural - definitely unexpected from a company that's owned by McDonalds.

3. Nihilist Arby's

Speaking of fast food...I have no idea why this twitter account makes me laugh so hard, but it does. Combining corporate tweets (which are totally meaningless) with Nihilishm (which says everything is meaningless) makes for a weirdly hilarious read.

4. A new royal princess!

Photo via haz.de

On a much lighter note, I can't get over Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana. LOVE how the middle names are a tribute to the baby's great-grandmother and late grandmother...and Charlotte is just a pretty, feminine name fit for, well, a princess. I think "Charlotte Diana Elizabeth" sounds better, but I don't get to name any royal babies (kind of a bummer since I'd clearly be amazing at it. Call me, Harry.)

That's all for this week - hope you all have a fun weekend!

-The Bear

Up and Running: Mike Huckabee

Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas, is running for president. He's a social conservative and I'm not psyched about his campaign. He ran in 2008 and didn't get very far in the primaries.

However, Huckabee does have the experience in government that the other GOP candidates - freshmen senators and private sector non-politicos - sorely lack. He was Governor of Arkansas for over a decade. Also - like another former Arkansas Governor, Bill Clinton - Huckabee was born in Hope, Arkasas.


Huckabee opposes Obamacare and has laid out a very strict, detailed, and solid plan for stopping illegal immigration. He also plans to defend Social Security, the national Ponzi scheme. In addition, Huckabee thinks we should spend a bigger percentage of our GDP on the military. Which is okay, I guess, if that's what it takes to keep America safe...but he's never explained why we should increase spending, except that Reagan spent a lot on the military. I saw Ronald Reagan wearing army pants and flip flops...so I bought army pants and flip flops. You should expect to hear next to nothing about these policy positions, though, because the media will seize on the least-political aspects of Huckabee's life: that he's a former Baptist minister, and a Creationist.

Huckabee far outpaces his GOP competitors in one category: offbeat celebrity endorsements. Chuck Norris, as well as Bob and Michelle Duggar, have pledged their support. Are there enough Duggar children to sway an election? We're about to find out.

Up and Running: Carly Fiorina

Like our last Up and Running candidate, Dr. Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina is a conservative who has never held public office. Fiorina has degrees from Stanford and MIT, and became one of the most powerful women in the tech industry as she rose through the ranks at AT&T and Lucent.

Fiorina is best known for her time as CEO of Hewlett-Packard. She made big cuts to the company - laying off 30,000 people didn't win her many friends - and also merged HP with Compaq in 2002. She ran for Senate in 2010 and was defeated by the incumbent, Barbara Boxer.

This brings me to the crown jewel of this story, the greatest thing Carly Fiorina has given her country...the "demon sheep" ad. Made with an estimated budget of $11, this acid trip through California politics is equal parts horrifying and hilarious. See for yourself:



Fiorina released her autobiography, Tough Choices, in 2006. Maybe that's where Hillary got the idea for her 2014 book, Hard Choices? HMMMM. Fiorina's time as CEO was widely criticized, but she was decisive in the tech industry in the aftermath of a bubble - and has tested leadership, even if it's not in the public sector.

Up and Running: Dr. Ben Carson

Ben Carson is good at what he does - he's a retired neurosurgeon and a bestselling author. Is he good at running a campaign? We don't know, because Ben Carson has never campaigned for anything before. He has never held public office.

Ben Carson was a neurosurgeon for years, and a very talented one: He successfully separated twins who were conjoined at the head, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in honor of this achievement. (This little snippet makes it sound simple...it wasn't. The surgery took 22 hours, and had Dr. Carson leading a surgical team of 70 people.)

Ben Carson wasn't a household name, though, until the 2013 National Prayer Breakfast. His speech at the event was a whopping verbal slap in the face about the reality of "political correctness," Obamacare, and education - among other things. I encourage you to read the full text here.

It's a darn good speech, but one speech does not a viable presidential candidate make. If he ran for State Rep, or even a House seat, I'd be so excited - but it's a huge risk to take someone who's never worked a day in government, and vote him into the White House.

Ugh.

And one more thing: I would be remiss not to mention the attempted terrorist attack that happened today in Garland, Texas. Do I support the "Draw Muhammad" event, or its organizers? Not really. But I know they have a right to do what they were doing - a right that doesn't change, no matter what you or I or anyone else thinks of them. That's how freedom works.

Kudos to the police officers whose quick thinking prevented a tragedy. Please say a prayer for them, and for those affected by this attack.

Friday Fun

Can y'all believe it is MAY? 2015 is going so fast! And while it's been a very good week here in my little bubble (hello, warm weather & sunshine!), it's been a rough time for the world - so I hope you'll join me in praying for Nepal and for Baltimore. When everything seems kinda grim, that makes this little dose of joy even more necessary. So that's what this week's #FridayFun is about - good things that are happening in the world, even if they don't make the front page news:


1. This perfect mint julep recipe

Tomorrow is Derby Day, and you know what that means! Dresses and hats and mint juleps. It's a distinctive Southern tradition, that once a year we have a horse race in the middle of a fashion show. Garden & Gun has a simple recipe for the Kentucky Derby's signature drink.

2. This dad, who took his kids out of school for all the right reasons

Matthew Rossi ran the Boston Marathon, and took his kids out of school for three days so they could be a part of this important life milestone and tour Boston's many historic sites. The school district sent him a letter chastising him for having his kids miss school...and his perfectly tactful response is a thing of beauty. He is the best teacher and advocate for his children - and it sounds like they had a fantastic trip!

3. Chris Pratt's hilarious, down-to-earth online interview

Chris Pratt (Andy from Parks & Rec) did a Reddit AMA a few days ago. It works like a crowdsourced interview - people submit questions and vote on them, and he answers the ones at the top of the heap. I've been a fan of his for awhile and this just made me like him even more - he seems really genuine, and you have to read at least to the part where he meets the guy who moved into his old house!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

-The Bear