Guess Where I'll Be for Christmas!

Santa is bringing me plane tickets this year! My family is taking a trip over Christmas. 

My parents picked the destination, and it’s a surprise to me and my brother. We’ll find out our destination when they hand us our boarding passes on Christmas Eve in Hartsfield-Jackson Intergalactic International Spaceport Airport.

The parents did tell us a little to help with packing. Here’s what I know:

• We leave from ATL on the morning of Christmas Eve. 
• Our first scheduled activity is Midnight Mass.
• Temperatures will range from the mid-40s to mid-50s. I was convinced we were headed to Montreal until I found out this piece! It also rules out places with more extreme temperatures like Boston, New York, Chicago, or Miami, plus anywhere in Alaska or Hawaii.
• We will spend a lot of time sightseeing outside.
• Christmas dinner reservations were made months ago and I’ve been told to pack a nice dress for it. 
• Mom and Dad already planned the first couple days, but Bro and I will get to pick some activities for the last two and a half days of the trip. Hotel arrangements are TBD for those days, in case we want to check out somewhere nearby.
• When asked “Is it a place that both of us [kids] have been before?” my dad said “Not together, no.” This rules out Charleston, Los Angeles, and Nashville.

I’m positive it’s not a ski trip since we have only one skier in the family. Europe wouldn’t make sense considering we leave in the morning and will be on the ground somewhere for Midnight Mass (unless we’re on a flight that has SkyMass, which is an in-flight service for Catholics that I just made up).

It’s also 99.9% likely that we’re on a domestic flight. My mom asked if I had a valid passport a few months ago and had Bro got his renewed, but I think that was before planning started. Nobody has mentioned passports since. I always bring mine with me as backup ID, but if I really needed it I’m sure my mom would be telling me to pack it / keep it accessible / duct tape it to my body so I don’t lose it.

Weather has been the most interesting clue. It narrows us down to a band across the bottom middle of the country, minus Savannah and New Orleans which get into the low 70s this time of year.

I can’t figure out what destination fits all the above criteria. Asheville, NC, makes sense, except there’s not much to plan in terms of sightseeing. Dallas and Austin are in the temperature range – but while I’ve technically been to Texas, it was only for a layover so I have no idea how much of an outdoorsy place it is, or what sightseeing we could do there. San Francisco seems to make the most sense in terms of weather and tourist stuff, but that’s ruled out since we’re going to Midnight Mass (and given the time change, it would feel like 3:00 AM Mass to us).

My bags are packed and I’m excited to find out where we’ll be…just four more days till the big reveal!

Michelle Obama's State Dinner Gowns, Ranked

A not-so-small part of the First Lady's role is wearing dresses and being photographed in them. It's especially visually important at State Dinners. The President hosts a foreign dignitary, but all eyes are on the wives. Suits don't allow for much in the way of variety. Dresses are more fun. That's just how it is - I don't make the rules.

In exchange for having our taxes used on huge parties for the wealthy and powerful, we the people get to look at photos of what they wore. It's not a fair deal, but it's what we've got, and I'm going to run with it.

Michelle Obama is great at wearing gowns. That's not a political statement. So don't even start with the "but WORST PREZ EVERRRR" noise. If you don't like Barack Obama, you're in luck, because this post is 100% not about him.

Point is, no matter what happens on November 8th, we won't have a First Lady like Michelle Obama come January. Bill Clinton won't be donning couture gowns, and if Melania is First Lady I assume she'll just plagiarize everything Michelle wore. Yawn.

Here are the most memorable gowns:

1. 2012, UK Prime Minister David Cameron

The color is perfect. The necklaces look...heavy. Especially on such a sleek gown with dainty pleats. The big beads just don't match.

2. 2016, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi

This dress says "It's senior year and I'm a style icon, in a few months it's MICHELLE OUT." It's way flashier than her other gowns. But let's think about what's goin on in the country. If I was a passenger on the Titanic and watching two angry, incompetent captains compete for which one gets to steer it directly into the iceberg...I'd wear a YOLO dress, too.

3. 2010, Mexican President Felipe Calderon

It's blue and covered in sparkles. FLOTUS was the original blue and silvery princess, three years before Elsa.

4. 2016, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

I think the pattern is either flowers or fireworks? Either way, it is working. Also, her hair is the big curly hair to which every Southern girl aspires. I'm very jealous. The only reason this isn't ranked higher? I miiiiiiight like Mrs. Trudeau's dress even better.

5. 2016, Nordic countries

This dress looks like soft, rich, whipped buttercream frosting and I am HERE for it.

6. 2014, French President Francois Hollande

The French know fashion and Michelle Obama is seen here beating them at their own game. Lace? Check. Billowy skirt? Check. Color blocking? Also check.

7. 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping

You know how Audrey Hepburn is always remembered for that simple black dress from Breakfast at Tiffany's? How when you think of her, you picture her in that iconic dress? This is that dress for Michelle Obama.

Police Departments are Tweeting about PokemonGO Because Everything is Weird Now

Belarus President Tells Citizens to Work Naked

I was about to write on the Benghazi report - but then it was revealed that Hillary Clinton specifically targeted certain reporters by name - and before I had a chance to sit down and write about that - the horror in Istanbul unfolded. 2016 seems like a cruel joke.

On a personal level, I had to deal with the miserable maze of medical billing, and then my laptop died and could not be resuscitated, and it felt like I was behind on everything I need to do this week. (The old Lenovo served me well, may he rest in peace.)

So I needed to write about something good today, and it's coming in hot from Belarus - the country wedged between Poland and Russia. This is their President, Alexander Lukashenko...just a bucket of giggles!

It started when Lukashenko was speaking at a conference in Minsk. He tried to implore Belarusians to develop their technology skills and get to work.

The word for "develop" is very similar to the word for "get naked."

Mr. Lukashenko told the people to get naked and go to work.

And then they did it. The Russian translation of "#getnakedgotowork" was all over Instagram.

Is it a little weird that people took the joke far enough to get naked with their coworkers? Yes, very weird. But I'm not going to think too hard about it. Because this is fantastic:

 

Well done, Belarus.

BREXIT

What’s this about?

UK voters have decided in favor of the Brexit. The UK joined the EU in 1973, and is now the very first and only independent member state to check out from the EU.

Britain has always had a particular relationship with the EU. It never transitioned to the Euro. Nor did the UK sign on to the Schengen Agreement, which eliminated internal border controls between member states. 

Until now, the UK has enjoyed access to the European Common Market – but at a hefty price in terms of membership fees, and in tons of new EU regulations on trade.

What’s the case for Remain?

The “Remainiacs” think Britain is getting a good return on its investment in the EU. It argues that UK citizens benefit from being able to work in any other member state with minimal, if any, visa requirements. The remain campaign also contended that, without the EU, tariffs on traded goods would raise the prices of goods and pinch citizens’ household budgets. 

There’s also the enormously popular Erasmus Programme, which allows students in EU member states to study abroad and intern in other member states without any of the usual visa hurdles. At the most recent count, over 15,000 British students were taking part in the Erasmus Programme; the country hosts over 27,000 Erasmus students from other member states. There is a chance that the UK loses all access to this program.

But how do young Brits feel about this?

That’s a great question, me, thank you for asking. (I’m welcome.) Young people overwhelmingly wanted to remain. Or Bremain, if you like geopolitical puns, as you should.  In fact, only 33% were planning to vote Leave. But the young Europhiles didn’t turn out in large enough numbers to make the difference. 

According to CNBC, 1.5 million people under the age of 25 aren’t registered to vote.  Another 2 million voters between 25 and 35 aren’t registered, either. 

…and the case for Leave?

The UK sends 350 million pounds to the EU every week. The Vote Leave campaigners say that they’re throwing money away, and getting tons of new rules and regulations that they didn’t ask for.  They’re in a common market, they argue, but not a free one.

Immigration is another key. The EU also wants the UK to accept more migrants, and give those migrants more benefits. Brexit fans want the UK to have total control over who they let into their country, and what benefits those people receive. You know…like, sovereignty over their national borders.

Who’s on what side?

Former London Mayor - and current hair icon - Boris Johnson is pleased with the result, while Prime Minister David Cameron is politically devastated. Perhaps the biggest personal political winner here is Nigel Farage, the head of the UK Independence Party. He’s hailing this as Britain’s Independence Day.

President Obama had urged British voters to remain. The royal family took no official position, but Liz Hurley, who plays the Queen on “The Royals,” wanted out. Keira Knightly and Benedict Cumberbatch wanted in. 

So, what happens next?

First, the markets go nuts. The British pound has already tanked. Markets will be volatile, and Brexit fans say it’s only temporary – the Remain crowd says this signals slowed economic growth, if not total disaster, for the UK. The real answer? Nobody knows – no country has ever left the EU before.

Britain now has to re-negotiate its current trade deals with the EU countries. This will take time, and it is unknown what kind of deals will result. But! The regulations go away, and the UK gets to hash out its own migrant policy. They also save major money on membership fees, which some Leave-ers want repurposed into funding for the NHS.

The idea of leaving the EU is contagious. The majority of Italian and French voters now want their own countries to hold a referendum on membership. Sweden is likely to hold a referendum now that they have seen the Brexit win with voters. There’s no telling which country will be the next domino to fall. Italeave? Swede-in or Swede-out? These events won’t nickname themselves, people!

This is only the beginning of the political fight between Euroskeptics and Europhiles.

Can we cancel the rest of this week?

You think I am asking that question facetiously. I am not.

The Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility goes like this: The first unit of any resource expended yields greater returns than the second unit, and so on. Think of it like beer - you might be craving that first cold one, then have a second that still feels pretty good, a third because why not, and so on...until you hit a point where each beer makes you progressively worse off. Depending on your age, size, and tolerance, keep drinking those beers and you'll eventually be worse off than where you started.

All of this is to say, there's a point in any endeavor at which you should just stop. When things are going worse instead of better, make like Liz Lemon and shut it down.




That's what we need to do with this week. We woke up on Sunday to the news that rising music star Christina Grimmie had been shot dead at her concert. She was 22. Not only that, but 20 people were dead and dozens more injured at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. By Monday, the death toll was 50. The injured, 53.

On Monday afternoon, it was announced that the Orlando shooting was the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil since 9/11. We learned more about the killer over the next day - that he was interviewed by the FBI three times, that his dad is an Islamist nutcase, that his wife may or may not have been in on the whole thing. On Tuesday night, a little boy waded by the water at Disney during a family vacation. An alligator dragged him into the water. On Wednesday afternoon, they found his body. The wreckage of the downed EgyptAir plane had been found just a few minutes earlier.

It has been one gut-wrenching story after another, and it's high time we just quit this week entirely. I'm not suggesting that we call tomorrow Sunday - that would mess up the calendar. Everybody could just go home and stay home until Friday at 5pm. Then, go about your weekend, hit the reset button, and we'll try this again in a couple days.

My home state of Georgia did this to all public schools one day. We were on the buses headed for home, when over the PA system was "The governor has declared all schools closed on Thursday and Friday of this week. School will resume on Monday." Governor Whatshisface (too lazy to Google it) thought we were on the verge of a statewide gas crisis. Everybody stayed home, no crisis occurred, and we came back to school on Monday a little happier, and much more well-rested.

Maybe the whole country can't do this - but given that these major tragedies are happening in Florida, the Sunshine State ought to give it a try. Keep the essential stuff open (hospitals, police stations) but close the stores, the restaurants, the car washes, and so on, and then tell everybody else to work from home. School is out for summer break, so that part is already done.

Things will get better eventually...but until then, I don't blame anyone who wants to hide out for a little while.

Hillary's Nomination is not a Feminist Win

For the first time in American history, a major political party will nominate a woman to the presidency. I figured there would be more celebration around this milestone - like people running to the White House, filtering their Facebook profile pictures in recognition, plastering #ImWithHer stickers on everything, and so on.

Mass digital hysteria happens over things that range from "oh, that's terrible" to "this is the dumbest." A lion and a dentist, an ugly dress, National Talk Like a Pirate Day, Joseph Kony (where is that guy, anyway?) In theory, 51% of the population should be amped up about tonight's news - and yet there is no mass digital hysteria.

Why don't we care?

It's not a victory for women. It's a victory for one corrupt and powerful woman who got there by denigrating other women.

Hillary entered the public eye because of who she was married to. That's not necessarily wrong, but it's not breaking a glass ceiling.

When Bill cheated, which was often - and allegedly in the form of assault, Hillary responded by smearing his accusers as bimbos who nobody should believe. That's not how you do feminism, Hillary.

Then she accomplished next to nothing as a Senator from New York (after she was "dead broke" leaving the White House - so broke that she was caught stealing furniture, but was somehow able to afford a multimillion dollar mansion). She and Bill bought the New York house so she could meet the residency requirement to run for Senate. Nothing says "Independent Woman" like hauling in cash from your husband's speaking fees and using them to fund your political ambitions by funneling through a sham charity. Am I right, ladies? So relatable!

Hillary's failures as Secretary of State are so well-documented that they don't bear (heh) repeating here. Think about this the next time you have a bad day at work: If you have never endangered national security, committed a felony, and wound up under federal investigation, you have not screwed up your job as royally as Hillary Clinton.

And then she gave a speech about income inequality while wearing a $12K Armani jacket. That's just incredibly tactless. I want to see a classy lady make it to the Oval Office first - not a classist one.
 
The bar to run for president is low. There are only two criteria: A person must have been born on American soil, and must be at least 35 years old. I'm sure that you personally know more than one woman who can check both boxes and is trustworthy, ethical, and smart. I care about having a competent president more than having a female one. But selfishly, I'd sure like to see a woman president in my lifetime - as long as she's a good one.

Hillary is not the best among us. Not even close. She just happens to have gotten there first. If this milestone was reached by a woman who exemplifies the best of what women can be - capable, brilliant, honest, caring, creative, the list goes on - we'd be pumped. But instead, we are learning what it would feel like to watch Regina George win Spring Fling Queen. You did it...yay?

Cultures Clash at European Summer Events

Ahhh, summertime - if you're in the developed world, the arrival of warm weather means days at the pool, wearing dumb accessories to music festivals, and action movies that you know will be terrible but you still go see anyway. (Oh, and no school! And those ice pops that turn your tongue radioactive neon colors.)

It is around this time last year that the refugee crisis was building to a fever pitch. The refugees who made it to Europe have mostly landed in Germany or Scandinavia. More arrive every day, but most of them are settling in. Kind of. Many are still missing key parts of Western culture (or just choosing to refuse to assimilate), and it's causing problems as the weather heats up.

Several women were assaulted by 3 Pakistani men while at a music festival in Darmstadt, Germany. Three other suspects are still on the run. And if you're thinking "Wait, I didn't know that Pakistan had a refugee problem," well, you're right. Pakistan isn't a particularly nice place to live, but it's not in a civil war like Syria. Still, migrants from Pakistan got asylum in Germany and then started assaulting women.

Will these people get deported? Given how European governments have gone to crazy lengths to avoid being accused of racism, it's extremely unlikely. Did the refugees learn nothing from the Cologne New Years attacks? (The lesson in question is this: "Women should be treated with the basic decency that it requires to...not assault someone. Catch up, or ship out.")

Sweden is trying a preemptive strike on the collision of sexual mores in the summertime - several local municipalities have instated "women-only" swimming hours, in an effort to keep the growing Muslim population from being offended by men and women swimming together.

If you have a problem with men and women swimming together...that's a you problem, not a society problem. It's discriminatory to tell Swedish men, "Sorry, male half of the population, but you are now restricted from using a public utility, because of someone else's religious beliefs, in what used to be a secular democracy." Sweden prides itself on gender equality - at least, it used to. And if anyone is reaaaaallly so concerned about covering up at the swimming pool, she can try teaching the men in her life to not be total pigs - but since that would likely be a tremendously difficult task - she can don a burqini in the meantime.

These refugees can, and should, be able to preserve the best parts of their culture - the food, their holidays, their language and art. But the tacit acceptance of sexual assault has no place in any culture at all.

Chief Wana Dubie is a Missouri Senate Candidate to Watch

Seems like every election year, we get a few "rogue" candidates - like Vermin Supreme (who wears a boot on his head and carries a giant toothbrush) and Jimmy McMillan ("The rent is too damn high!")

This year is no different, and oh, does the Missouri Senate race have a gem. His name is Chief Wana Dubie. Born as Joseph Bickell, the 56 year old candidate is running as an Independent. He has a history of political activism, including a failed bid for MO House of Representatives in 2006.

Prior to that, Dubie was a marijuana activist. He hatched a plan in the 1990s to:

• Secede from the United States of America
• Grow marijuana in his front yard 
• Profit???

But, since you can't declare secession he was still very much in America, and then very much imprisoned for 5 years. Prison is where he got that nifty lil weed leaf forehead tattoo.

Dubie has been married twice, and when asked how many children he has, responded, "some." He believes in legalizing marijuana (who would have guessed?) and that marriage licenses should be subject to periodic renewal, like driver's licenses.

He recently responded to a candidate questionnaire saying, "I am a people not a puppet." So there you have it - he is a people. He's selling t-shirts to fund his campaign, but will not take donations. He is on disability and food stamps.

Dubie is likely to be defeated in the election by the incumbent Republican Missouri Senator Roy Blunt. "It's Dubie vs. Blunt in 2016," the former has said. 


Source: Inquisitr
Source: Fox4KC
Source: Ward 15 Democrats

Harriet Tubman on the $20

After years of deliberation, it's official: Harriet Tubman is going on the U.S. twenty-dollar bill.

This is the federal government's version of sticking a magnetic ribbon on your car that says "support our troops" or "save the whales" or "support our whales" - it's a nice gesture that doesn't change anyone's life. 

Source

And I am so glad it's happening.

First and foremost, because Harriet Tubman deserves more recognition. Maybe the buzz about her will get people to learn about her extraordinary life - Google Trends says that searches for "Harriet Tubman" grew by 4250% after the announcement was made.

Andrew Jackson is getting kicked off the twenty - well, not really, just bumped to a smaller image on the back. He opposed the national banking system, so I can't imagine he'd be too upset about not getting top billing on a bill. And even if he did, should we care? Andrew Jackson was hugely racist, even by 1830s standards; he signed the Indian Removal Act which created the infamous Trail of Tears, and was a staunch defender of slavery. He also founded the modern Democratic Party, a fact that is incessantly annoying to Democrats today, which is why I'm reminding them in this sentence.

Andrew Jackson did pull off a stunning military victory in New Orleans that helped the U.S. win the War of 1812. Past that, though, his best accomplishment was this glorious head of hair:

It's stunning.

Harriet Tubman, on the other hand, was a freedom fighter. She was born into slavery and not only figured out how to successfully escape, but ran at least 13 missions to rescue more people, and also built the Underground Railroad network of safe houses. And then she helped John Brown orchestrate his raid on Harper's Ferry. And then she was a spy for the Union in the Civil War. And then she fought for women's suffrage.

Right-wingers are abuzz that a gun-toting advocate for individual liberty is replacing a racist Democrat. But that's not the point. This is the point:

Harriet Tubman is an American hero who is entirely deserving of the honor of being on the money.

Snowflake Alert: Emory Students FLIP Over Pro-Trump Sidewalk Chalk

“It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love each other and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains,” is a real quote from a real college sophomore regarding a chalk drawing.

Seeing "Trump" written in sidewalk chalk was so very offensive to some little Emory snowflakes that they promptly engaged their peers in intellectual debate lost their freaking minds and marched into the university president's office. What was in these chalk drawings? Um, "Trump" and "Trump 2016."

One writer, who was on Emory's campus at the time, said "It was absolutely intended to intimidate everyone, and it worked." "It was like a cross burning," he said, about the thing that was precisely 0% like a cross burning. Emory is a private school and does have rules about where people are allowed to chalk, because bureaucracy sucks the fun out of everything. Still - the grievances of the Snowflakes have nothing to do with sidewalk chalk and everything to do with a mentality that tells them "I'm so tolerant and everyone who disagrees with me is Hitler."

The student government appropriated "emergency funds" for events that counter the message which made people feel "threatened," proving once and for all that student government is hot garb and none of these people should ever be allowed to be in charge of anything.

I'm sort of hoping that more pro-Trump chalking pops up on campuses across America - just to watch the left wing crowd lose their minds. Do I know any Atlantans who would be willing to don a "Make America Great Again" hat and take a little stroll through Emory's campus? Do it. Film it.


Well done, Emory snowflakes, you played yourselves: Your little hissy fit, and ensuing media attention, is pretty much an in-kind donation to Donald Trump. His supporters contend that PC culture has gone too far, and now you're a perfect case-in-point.

Forgot About Che

We need to talk about the weird photos of President Obama in Cuba. First up, this one: The President of the United States, and the Secretary of State, standing in front of a giant Che Guevara mural.

President Obama has an advance team that is supposed to scope out his itinerary and make sure things like this don't happen. HOW did they miss this? Everybody recognizes Che Guevara's face, thanks to those dumb hipster t-shirts. And if you paid attention in school, or have ever googled "Che," you know he was a violent terrorist, a murderer, and a racist. This stuff is not a secret. So - there is no excuse to have the President of the United States stand in front of that mural.

The Cuban "honor guard" is an...interesting touch.

Then, Obama sat down with Raul Castro and two very shiny flags. The Cuban government seems to have hosted this event in a leftover set from Jurassic World. Cuba faces food shortages all the time, but at least there is no shortage of decorative ferns.

And then there was...whatever the hell this is.

Is every flag in Cuba made out of polyester?

What we learn from this image is: President Obama is probably capable of dunking on Raul Castro. I want to see it happen - that's at least one way POTUS could redeem himself on this trip.

For a trip that is kind of one giant photo op, you'd think they'd be better at arranging the optics along the way.

Hulk Hogan vs. Gawker: Media Ethics on Trial

The #HulkVsGawk trial is what happens when you combine a world-famous WWE actor/wrestler, a popular gossip site, and a sex tape. And then you drop this mess into a Florida courtroom, and let the public watch on a free live stream.

Gawker published a video of Hulk Hogan with the then-wife of Hogan's friend Bubba the Love Sponge, a Tampa radio personality (did I mention this is all taking place in Florida?) Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, claims that the tape was recorded without his knowledge or consent. He is suing Gawker for the damage he alleges was done to him by their publishing of the tape.

Photo via People

This trial is capturing the public's attention for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that the people involved are hilarious. The plaintiff fist-bumps his lawyers! Gawker witnesses have had to explain their crude inside jokes in front of a judge and jury! Last summer, Terry Bollea got a judge's permission to appear in court wearing his "dress bandanna." Who on earth wears a dress bandanna? And who on earth cares enough about said item to go before a judge and request formal permission to wear it in a court of law? Florida, you slay me.

This all goes to the larger issue that it's hard to tell where Terry Bollea stops and Hulk Hogan begins. I'm not defending either one of them here. He has previously come under fire for racist comments, and at the time the tape was made, he was married.

In this case, Bollea's character doesn't matter. The question at the center of this is: What counts as news?

Gawker is trying to give their answer, and as someone who studies media ethics, the answer is frightening.

• Former Gawker editor A.J. Daulerio said that the video was "newsworthy" because the person involved in it is famous. He didn't talk about whether or not Bollea consented to being filmed OR having that film distributed - just because the tape existed, Daulerio believes he had permission to make it available to the world.
• When asked when a celebrity sex tape would not be worthy, he said that only if it were of a child under the age of 4.
• One Gawker Media employee said that, if she was making this decision over again, she would still post the tape.
• Internal chat transcripts between Gawker employees show them gleefully talking about how many page views their Hulk Hogan post brought them, along with a post of topless photos taken of Duchess Kate Middleton (also taken without her knowledge or consent).

The jury still has to make their decision, but the evidence looks damning to Gawker's case. Preemptive congratulations to Hulk Hogan on his acquisition of Gawker Media. Good luck cleaning it up.

Nancy Reagan Dies at 94, Washington Post is Rude About It

By now, you've surely heard that First Lady Nancy Reagan passed away this morning at the age of 94. She is remembered as an icon of American political culture, a loyal adviser to her husband, and an advocate for anti-drug campaigns and Alzheimer's research.

There is much that can be said about Nancy Reagan, and plenty of people (with far greater historical perspective than mine) are saying it.

Then, there's the Washington Post. Oh, WaPo, you really messed up.

The Washington Post's obituary for Nancy Reagan was...scathing? It's weird to describe a news obituary that way, but it seems apt here. Take a look at this lede:

Ouch. Sure, Mrs. Reagan was controversial at times. But "controversy" isn't the defining characteristic of her life (nor is astrology). The public liked her: Nancy Reagan appeared 16 times on Gallup's list of "Top 10 Most Admired Women."

You wouldn't know it, though, if all you read about her today is the Washington Post.

This quote from a 1992 memoir might very well be true, but it's not the whole truth. Considering that Patti Davis and her mother "remained close in recent years," couldn't WaPo have found a newer quote? Instead, they capture Nancy Reagan's relationship with her daughter as it was 24 years ago. This is not how their story ended - but it's how WaPo chooses to memorialize it.

This is not the only example of how the Washington Post highlighted controversy and reduced the reconciliation to parentheses or a side note. Check out this description of the White House China controversy:

The "ostentation" and the steep price tag comes first. "No public money was spent" is relegated to the next paragraph. Nancy Reagan fundraised on her own, from private individuals, and got something done. It cost taxpayers nothing. It shouldn't have been a controversy at the time, and reviving it now seems utterly pointless - since no harm was done in the first place.

The article notes that Nancy Reagan's critics called her "Queen Nancy," an interesting historical note about perceptions of first ladies by the public. But on the day someone dies, to bring up the name that they were teased with, just seems tasteless.

Again, here the writer talks about Nancy Reagan not for who she was and what she accomplished, but for how other people talked about her:

She concentrated on her husband when he gave speeches? The horror! In what world is this some kind of a problem?

This is a news article, not a family-placed obituary. But like any news article, it should have been a comprehensive look at the event at hand. Instead, it makes one want to ask the writer, "What did Nancy Reagan ever do to you?"

I'm not calling on them to take the piece down. They are a private organization, and the right to a free press is crucially important. So, too, is our right to call them out when they commit the ethical violation of allowing a person's legacy to be determined only by her critics. Instead, we should remember Nancy Reagan for being famously graceful - at least one news outlet would do well to learn from her example.

The GOP Primary Take Home Test

Tomorrow, we'll tune in for another GOP Primary Debate - the tenth debate so far.

Much has been said about the format of each debate (timing! rebuttals! moderators!) but I have some issues with debates as a whole. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we have them. But they might not be the best way to assess competence as a conservative leader, and they're definitely not the only way.

A debate is like a group project presentation, when the group members are technically on the same team but really kind of hate each other (so, about 97% of all group projects). There's a time limit, and sometimes they even have to field questions from the rest of the class - Town Hall attendees, or video questions from Facebook and YouTube.

The candidates recite their stances, which are important, but what they don't do is demonstrate how they work through a problem.  That's why we need more than presentations: I'd like to give them a take-home test.

They'll have time to research, consult experts on each topic, and edit their plans into a final product. This is, after all, how an administration creates policies.


This is the #GOPtakehometest:


1. What government agencies and programs will you cut in order to make this country financially solvent again? Calculate how much you would save, and be sure to show your work.

Your generation has gotten us $19 trillion in debt. My generation is getting stuck with the bill. You can either tax us more (please no) or cut spending. Go look up the departments, agencies, programs that are sucking up money and not doing much good. Senator Flake (AZ) publishes a "Wastebook" can be a great* resource, and Congressman Posey (FL-8) also has a list of wasteful government projects.  Chop chop!

*It's a Star Wars-themed report on government waste, don't tell me your inner nerd doesn't want to jump all over this. 

2. What is it, exactly, that you will do about illegal immigration? This is a two-part question: What would you do to secure the border, AND what would you do about the people who are already here illegally?

There are an estimated 11.3 million illegal immigrants in the United States. Do they get permanent status? Green cards? Deported?

3. You and your fellow Republican candidates have all advocated for the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). What would you like to replace it with? Explain your answer in no more than 5 pages, double spaced, Times New Roman size 12 font.

Obamacare increased individual-market premiums by an average of 41% in its first year alone. Even before Obamacare, the U.S. spent more than any other country on healthcare - and didn't have great outcomes. We can get a better product for cheaper. Chart the course for how to make this happen.


4. To replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court, you would nominate _______. (Fill in the blank.)

5. True or false: You would issue a presidential pardon for Hillary Clinton, when she is indicted for her illegal handling of classified material in her email.

6. Bonus! Write the words "radical Islam."

President Obama won't say it - so if you will, you're already ahead of him.


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It's harder to write these answers than it is to write a stump speech, and that's the point. The test should be due a few days before Super Tuesday, so voters get a chance to evaluate each candidate's responses.

What would you add to this test? Tweet your questions with #GOPtakehometest.

Donald Trump, the Chaos Candidate

Photo via Business Insider

December 15th, 2015: The GOP candidates debate in Las Vegas. Jeb Bush calls Donald Trump the "chaos candidate."

Jeb intended this as a swipe at The Donald, but unintentionally highlighted the very thing that Trump supporters like best about their guy: Trump promises upheaval in Washington, DC.


This country is saddled with institutions that work against us instead of for us. The IRS targeted conservatives. Hillary's State Department "lost" $6 billion (not to mention her criminal mishandling of classified information). The VA is a national disgrace. The Department of Justice gave guns to Mexican drug cartels in Operation Fast and Furious.


We can't tear these things down...yet. But we can vote for a candidate who will disrupt things. Donald Trump, with his brashness, looks like the most volatile disruptor. Trump supporters, more than any other GOP voters, are craving change: A recent Harvard poll found that only 39% of Trump supporters believe that the American Dream is alive for them. (Next on the list were Rubio supporters, who were more optimistic by a margin of 20 points.)

That leaves 61% of Trump supporters who believe the American Dream is dead. For these voters, chaos is no guarantee of improvement - but since the status quo is so bad, massive upheaval at least presents a chance for things to get better.

The saying goes, "Desperate times call for desperate measures." Well, we are in desperate times now as a country. Millions who laughed off Trump in 2012 now see voting for him as a legitimate and appropriate reaction to the current state of the country.

A whopping 81% of Americans say they do not trust the federal government "always or most of the time." That's one of the highest rates of distrust in the past half century. The tides are turning so strongly that Jeb Bush is sunk, and Donald Trump is riding a tidal wave of support.

Republicans are split on whether this tidal wave will wash away all the government's unneeded debris, or whether it will cause massive destruction. Both groups might be right. But we're watching the wave build, and everyone - scared or not - is captivated.