THE TYGRRRR EXPRESS

Rico is not just the guy that wore a diamond and killed Tony at the Copacabana.

RICO stands for the 1970 Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

http://www.ricoact.com/

The original purpose was to break the Mafia. In recent years, it has been used to prosecute terrorists.

Yet terrorism has come a long way from the stereotypical Italian portrayals glorified in “The Godfather.”

We now know that people are capable of hijacking airplanes, and using them as guns to destroy buildings, businesses, and economies.

Yet one type of terrorism is not given media attention, and that is political terrorism. So why does political terrorism get ignored?

Because the terrorists are on the left.

If I believed what I read in lamestream media, I would think that every Evangelical Christian in this nation is bombing abortion clinics. The incredibly few individuals that commit such horrid acts are charged with domestic terrorism under RICO. Eric Rudolph hid in the woods in North Carolina, but he was caught, and punished.

Yet left wing terrorism goes unabated. Ecoterrorism flourishes. ELF, the Earth Liberation Front, commits violent bombings. Animal rights activists put our lives at risk when they free wild animals into society. Entering fur coat stores and using spray paint on an expensive mink coat is terrorism.

Now Gay America has picked up their pitchforks, and are using mob violence to obtain what the ballot box would not.

I have often complained that since liberals fail in the free marketplace, they then turn to the legislature. When that fails, they turn to left wing activist judges to overturn the rule of law. Yet even judges cannot completely wreck a society when enough people stand up.

This brings us to California. Although I live here, I am a New Yorker living in California. I am not a Californian. This once great state truly has been overrun by left wing lunatics that impose their will on everybody else. If you want a decent steak, move to Texas. Hot dogs and hamburgers can be found in New York and Chicago. California has all the juice bars and coffee shops one could possibly want.

Yet this is not about disgusting food and beverages. It is about freedom, mainly the freedom to live and breathe without being assaulted.

California has become ground zero in the battle over gay marriage.

For the sake of full disclosure, I largely stay out of the culture wars. If gay marriage were to be legal or illegal, I would respect the rule of law without giving it much thought. Proposition 8 sought to ban gay marriage in California. I remained neutral on it and left it blank. If I were in Minnesota, election volunteers would be trying to determine my “intent.” I left it blank. Period.

Before getting to 2008, it is important to analyze 2004. Gay marriage bans appeared on 11 state ballots in 2004, and passed in all 11 of these states. Many attribute these initiatives to the reason President George W. Bush won reelection.

What they miss is why these initiatives came out. It began with some criminal activity in San Francisco. Mayor Gavin Newsom presided over illegal ceremonies. We can argue until the end of time whether gay marriage should be allowed. Yet at that moment, in San Francisco, they were illegal. Many Americans that were open to gay marriage looked at San Francisco, concluded that Gavin Newsom broke the law, and were pushed in the other direction.

In 2008, the fighting has escalated, with fighting being the key word. Gay America, like most predominantly liberal activist groups, want respect and tolerance for only those that agree with them.

I personally have been confronted by angry activists against Proposition 8. When I stated my neutrality, I was yelled at. I was not even against them! I was neutral. While I try not to let emotion affect my voting patterns, the hostility of the anti-8 crowd certainly pushed me away from them.

Had Proposition 8 gone down to defeat, I would have accepted the decision with grace and dignity. I voted Republican for President. The Democrat won. I could have rioted in the streets, but I have a day job. Even if I did not, I still have decency.

This is lost on many basket cases in Los Angeles and San Francisco that are turning the Golden State into the Wild West.

http://patterico.com/2008/11/18/mob-anger-and-violence-by-proposition-8-opponents/

http://www.ncregister.com/daily/proposition_8s_hateful_aftermath/

http://cbs5.com/local/sf.excelsior.violence.2.793621.html

My main concern about legalizing gay marriage is one of lawsuits. I want lawsuit protection in place that gives religious institutions absolute discretion to refuse to perform any ceremony for any reason. Orthodox Synagogues and Strict Catholic Churches should not be forced to perform ceremonies that violate their own doctrines. Some say this lawsuit protection is unnecessary because the laws are already on the books. This has been exposed as a lie. Legal businesses are under assault.

One victim is the internet matchmaking site E-Harmony.

http://michellemalkin.com/2008/11/20/eharmony-forced-to-offer-same-sex-dating-services/

E-Harmony is run by Neil Warren, an evangelical Christian. Unlike other websites that focus on everything from friendship to dating, E-Harmony is specifically set up to introduce people that are looking to get married. E-Harmony has rejected many people on the grounds that it is not a “hook-up” service. It is not a dating service. It is a matchmaking service.

Gay marriage is not legal in most places. Therefore, E-Harmony has no reason to assist gays. Even if gay marriage were legal, E-Harmony is owned by a man that does not believe in gay marriage. It is his company. He has every right to keep his business model.

We live in a world where leftists want to force fast food joints to offer health food. They want to force oil comanies to invest in alternative energy, and automakers to build “green cars,” regardless of whether or not those cars will sell. Liberals sue, and businesses go bankrupt.

Now the gay community has engaged in boycotts of certain companies. That is fine. Boycotts are freedom of speech. However, boycotting E-Harmony would not work because they could not join anyway. So the gay activists will boycott some companies, but fight for the right to join others that do not want them.

E-Harmony caved under the pressure of threats and class action lawsuits. Instead of some enterprising Americans setting up  website specifically designed to introduce marriage-minded gays to meet each other, they forced an already existing one to alter its own business model.

Yet as thuggish as the tactics used against E-Harmony were, they were legal. What should concern all Americans is the illegal and dangerous behavior. In a cruel irony, people that are against gay marriage are being “outed,” by gays. These anti-gay marriage voters want to stay in the closet, but are being publicly humiliated.

A pizza shop owner voted for Proposition 8. He was outed, and his store has been vandalized. A young Christian missionary in San Francisco was beaten up.

Some say a Christian Missionary should know better than to go to San Francisco. Yeah, those black men should know better than to kiss a white girl in Alabama. They deserved the beating that Bobby Joe and Billy Ray gave them. Yeah, those gay people should know not to dress provocatively at the football game in West Texas. Matthew Shepherd? He should have known better than to breathe in the wrong neighborhood.

Violence is violence is violence. If gay people want equality on all levels, then equality of responsibility must be included. If you assault somebody, you are a criminal. If you use violent threats and intimidation, you are a thug.

The police have stayed on the sidelines because they do not want to be seen as anti-gay. This is not about gay vs. straight. It is about the rule of law vs. anarchy.

Some gays compare their struggle to the Civil Rights battles of the 1960s. Blacks in California voted for Proposition 8 by 70% to 30%, much more than their white counterparts. They understand that gay people did not come here in chains, nor did they have to spill blood to vote. Gays were never 3/5 of a human being.

Some gays compare this to the Holocaust. Then again, every left wing group from animal rights activists to environmentalists invoke the Holocaust. I don’t know any gay people that had Zyklon B shoved down their throat in 21st century America.

The gay leftists in America have become what they claimed to detest. They have become the bigots and zealots. Storming the Mormon Church and breaking things is intolerant and bigoted.

I want to make it clear that there are many good, decent, and honorable gay Americans in this country. The Log Cabin Republicans are a great group of individuals. Like most Republican organizations, they seem to be able to advocate fiercely for their viewpoints without burning buildings or hitting people.

So what is the solution?

Aggressive police action.

The moment somebody picks up a brick, they should be tasered. The moment they break a window, they should be pelted with rubber bullets.

As for the young people, I would proudly wear a t-shirt with the slogan “Kent State 2008,” to show them that uncivil disobedience must have consequences.

Those who commit violent acts against Republicans, conservatives, Christians, or any other human beings must be aggressively prosecuted. Although I am against hate crimes legislation, if it is good enough to protect blacks, gays, and Arabs as victims, it should be good enough to punish them when they are perpetrators.

The most violent of the 2008 gay mafia need to be prosecuted as would any other Cosa Nostra. They need to be pulled off of the street, remaned without bail, and charged under RICO.

Ghandi succeeded using non-violence. So did Martin Luther King Jr. If left wing terrorists cannot succeed using only the ballot box, than perhaps they need to revisit everything they stand for. Everybody they know agrees with them, but many others do not.

If Proposition 8 had failed, I would have told the Christian Coalition to respect the rule of law. This would have been easy, because in general religious people believe in God, who instructs them to love their neighbor and not kill their neighbor.

I am now telling gay activists and their fellow left wing cancer causing agents to obey the law. Fight for your beliefs legally.

Boycott the pizza place. Do not ban others from entering. Do not destroy the place.

Respect the right of other people to disagree with you without requiring a rabies shot.

Many people are wondering why an entire column is needed to explain concepts that five year old children can understand.

Five year children are apolitical. Liberals are not. They do need universal concepts explained to them.

Until left wing terrorists face RICO indictments, they will continue to terrorize.

eric

At the 2008 Republican Convention in Minnesota, I had the pleasure of meeting radio host Mike Gallagher.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Gallagher

http://www.mikeonline.com/

No, Mike Gallagher is not the comedian who smashes watermelons with the “Sledgomatic.” That is Leo Gallagher.

Mike Gallagher is one of the top conservative radio hosts in America. He was also married to a liberal for over 20 years. When people wonder how the Chicago Cannonball and I make it work, I just let them know that people do not have to love each others’ politics. They just should love each other.

http://mikegallagher.townhall.com/columnists/MikeGallagher/2008/07/14/good-bye_to_tony_snow_and_denise_gallagher

Denise Gallagher passed away in 2008 after a tragic battle with cancer. Mike Gallagher has lost the love of his life, but he soldiers on because that is all he can do. He knows that his wife is in Heaven, and still taking on conservatives.

With that, I present my interview with Mike Gallagher.

1) What are the most important issues of 2008?

MG: “National Security. The theme for this convention is ‘Country First.’ If you watched the Democratic Convention in Denver, they put country last.”

2) What issues are most important to you personally?

MG: “The sanctity of life, the War on Terror, and energy challenges that we face. We need to bring strong conservative values to DC. Sarah Palin will seal the deal in that respect.”

3) Who are your 3 favorite political heroes?

MG: “Ronald Reagan, Ronald Reagan, Ronald Reagan.”

4) Given that the GOP has John McCain, Fred Thompson, and Rudy Giuliani, and the Democrats offer Barack Obama and John Edwards, are the Democrats bigoted against the follically challenged? Can we finally crack the glass ceiling in the modern era and elect a bald President?

MG: “We most certainly can, we most certainly should, and we most certainly will. Republicans are more inclusive that way.”

5) What message should be communicated to all of America?

MG: “We have freedom of religion. The USA is a beacon to the world. We respect the rights of the follically challenged.”

6) How would you like to be remembered 100 years from now? What would you want people to say about Mike Gallagher the person?

MG: “I played a small role in helping shape the discourse. I am a member of the ‘Happy to be here club.’

Also, I deeply thank the many well wishers that have offered kind words regarding my wife.”

Mike Gallagher is a model of friendliness and dignity. Elton John has sang that “The Show Must Go On.”

I cannot imagine how he is able to laugh and smile ona  daily basis, or how he feels when the microphone is turned off and the lights are dim.

If there is one thing we can and must learn from Mike Gallagher is that we can fiercely disagree with people, and love them even more fiercely.

Life is too short for acrimony.

May God bless Mike Gallagher, and look after Mrs. Gallagher always.

eric

At the 2008 Republican Convention in Minnesota, I had the pleasure of meeting Tony Blankley.

http://townhall.com/columnists/TonyBlankley

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Blankley

Tony Blankley was the former Press Secretary for House Speaker Newt Gingrich back in 1994. The republican revolution that began under Ronald Reagan had just won a decisive mandate to rein in the democrats.

While 2008 was every bit as tough a year for the GOP as 1992, the hope among republicans is that 2010 will replicate 1994.

With that, I bring my interview of Tony Blankley.

1) What are the most important issues of 2008?

TB: “Obamanomics. It will be disastrous. It will drive businesses offshore. We must lower corporate tax rates to remain competitive in a global marketplace. Obama has a complete misperception of the international scene.”

2) Who are your 3 favorite political heroes?

TB: “I will offer more than three. My political heroes are Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan, Barry Goldwater, and Newt Gingrich.”

3) How would you like to be remembered 100 years from now? What would you want people to say about Tony Blankley the person?

TB: “I won’t be remembered at all. I am English. We do not even remember our kings.”

4) What should be the legacy of your former boss Newt Gingrich?

TB: “Newt Gingrich took back the Congress after 40 years of rule by the other side. He was the second tranche of the Reagan revolution.”

Not only was Tony Blankley gracious with his time, but he is also very funny. He had a very tough job as the spokeperson for a controversial figure that was constantly under the microscope. Mr. Blankley did his job well, as the Contract With America did get passed by the House in the first 100 days of that session.

Whether one agreed with the legislation or not, the republicans made promises and kept them. Tony Blankley constantly reminded the media that elected leaders actually did what they said they would do.

Boldness among politicians is in short supply in 2008, and those eloquent enough to adequately explain the message are even rarer.

Tony Blankley did his job with class, grace, and efficiency. It was a joy to let him know this.

One of the things that is killing the GOP is an inability to get the message out. It is not that the policies are wrong. We are right, the liberals are dead wrong, and yet the left is simply better at marketing. No matter how good the product is, without marketing, sales will die.

The GOP will get Congress and the White House back once the other side again proves that their abilities end with winning elctions. Republicans can actually govern. Yet to get over this electoral blip and continue the rightward drift of America, we have to do more than govern. We need to get the message out to the people past a hostile media.

We have the politicians and the foot soldiers. Now we need the best spokespeople.

We need more people like Tony Blankley.

eric

Bob Herbert is a black man whose hobbies include hating whitey. He works for the Jayson Blair Times, which exists solely to tell conservatives how evil they are.

Now Bob Herbert has his newest screed, a self-righteous lecture on why Washington, DC, should rescue Detroit. While there is nothing overtly racial about his most recent column, there are absolutely racial undertones that I will cover.

Short of sending General David Petraeus in to level the place like Fallujah and start over, this waste of a city is beyond hope. Not one dollar of tax money should be spent on General Motors, Ford, or Chrysler. I don’t care if the Japanese take them over. “Buy American” should not be an excuse to support mediocrity, although mediocrity might be too generous for these failed businesses.

Herbert starts out his liberal blustering by accusing conservative hardliners of “smug certainties.” Liberal columnists at the Jayson Blair Times have no business using the word smug unless they are looking in the mirror. Smug certainties are why the JBT keeps getting stories wrong.

“The ideological hard-liners have now cast their collectively jaundiced eye on Detroit’s automakers. Their response to the very real danger that General Motors might crumble into bankruptcy is: C’est la vie.”

No, that is too soft a response. A well placed F-bomb between the words “go,” and “yourself” would be a good start.

“I can agree that it’s impossible to make a positive case for the backward, self-destructive practices of the auto industry over many years.”

Yet he then goes on to justify bad behavior, which is what liberal apologists do.

“But in the current environment, allowing one or more of the Big Three to go bankrupt would be like offering up your nose to Sweeney Todd to spite your face.”

No, it would be offering up the bad companies’ heads on a silver platter.

“The U.S. auto industry is the cornerstone of American manufacturing. It supports millions of jobs, directly or indirectly, in a vast array of businesses.”

The U.S. automobile industry is the second most bloated, bureaucratic, and inefficient entity behind the federal government. Unions have destroyed the very workers they claim to care about, which is what unions do. Americans are not inferior to Japanese people when given a fair chance to compete. We do produce inferior products when we let unions and excessive regulations destroy our companies. For those who care about the environment, Toyota makes the Prius. While I detest that car, and occasionally fight the urge to savagely beat people who drive hybrids, the Japanese seem to be able to make better quality cars at lower prices. We deserve to lose and get swallowed up. I love America, but detest the fact that Americans should settle for garbage.

“It’s easy to demonize the American auto industry. It has behaved with the foresight of a crack addict for years. But even when people set their own houses on fire, we still dial 9-1-1, hoping to save lives, salvage what we can and protect the rest of the neighborhood.”

True, but we do not rebuild their house for them for free. We do not pay their medical bills or their rehab expenses. The rest of the neighborhood consists of the 49 states that are not as pathetic as Michigan.

“The government should craft a rescue plan that is both tough and very, very smart. That means dragging the industry (kicking and screaming, no doubt) into the 21st century by insisting on ironclad commitments to design and develop vehicles that make sense economically and that serve the nation’s long-term energy security requirements.”

Who enforces this? I say let these companies burn like Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns. In the same way smarter companies gobbled up these firms, smarter automobile companies should take the dead charred remains of these relics and recreate them lean and mean without an ounce of government help. The incentive would be profit. Propping up a failing firm is like trying to prop up a stock market with a disastrous bailout package, which coincidentally is what our government recently did. As expected, the market crashed anyway, with General Motors leading the race to the bottom.

“Let the smartest minds design a bailout that sparks a creative revolution in the industry.”

They are in the private sector Bob. They can do it without government help. In fact, without government help, it might actually get done right.

As for the racial aspect of an issue that does not seem to mention race at all, let’s be brutally honest. The real reason Bob Herbert cares about Detroit is because Detroit is a black inner city. If the automakers would have been located in the whitest and most conservative parts of Utah or Idaho, Bob Herbert would be encouraging their demise. For those who disagree, read his past columns and pretend not to manipulate them.

To discuss Detroit without mentioning felon Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is astounding. While he is not responsible for the pathetic Detroit Lions, he was the Chief Executive who allowed crime, drugs, and union thugs to continue the destruction of a once proud city that gave us Motown. For those who do  not know, the owners of the Detroit Lions are the Ford family. They run their football team the same way they run their automobile company…dreadfully.

The entire state of Michigan is a disaster from the top down. Governor Jennifer Granholm was born in Canada and should have stayed there. If there was ever a reason not to change the Constitution to allow foreigners to be President, this failed Governor is it. Only a city held hostage to union bullies could reelect a failed executive. After all, why hire a republican when a perfectly incompetent liberal is available?

Bob Herbert talks about cutting off noses to spite faces. That is what the JBT does. They would rather lose money and destroy their own paper rather than offer a fair quality product that would appeal to the reasonable masses. That is what Detroit does. They would rather allow failed liberals to destroy a once proud city rather than even attempt conservative solutions. After all, Detroit might become New York City, which was revitalized when a conservative Rudy Giuliani turned around a mess his liberal predecessor had left him.

Detroit is a place of high taxes, high regulations, and negative results.

Other cities in America, particularly in cities located in red states, are succeeding. Low taxes and business friendly climates work.

At this point Detroit should be shut down. I do not mean the automakers. I mean the entire city. If the city was a corporation, the shareholders would have fired the entire board.

If the shareholders of Detroit choose to keep the same board of misdirectors, then they deserve to have the value of their investment crash.

When an illness breaks out, the infected people get quarantined so that the entire world does not get infected. Let Detroit burn, and let the rest of the nation go about our business. When the value of Detroit finally reaches absolute zero, an enterprising American can build it again at a profit. Or, the city can just shut down permanently. Outside of the Red Wings, the country will be unaffected from a quality standpoint.

I have student loans. Until I get my bailout, Detroit needs to go down in flames.

http://michellemalkin.com/2008/11/17/road-to-gop-redemption-roll-back-the-bailouts-draw-a-line-in-the-sand/

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/opinion/19romney.html?_r=1&hp

The automakers need to drop dead. They deserve nothing.

The city of Detroit deserves even less for expecting the rest of America to clean up their failures.

eric

Barack Obama has begun assembling his staff. I will give the guy credit. He is no dummy. He saw the from 1992 through 1994, the Clintons were colossal screwups. Obama has no intention of repeating their incompetence.

He began by picking Rahm Emanuel as Chief of Staff. I for one thought this was an excellent choice.

For those in the Jewish community that are celebrating, let me be clear when I say that the fact that Mr. Emanuel is Jewish has absolutely zero to do with his selection.

For those thast complain that Emanuel is a thug, they are right. However, this is not a problem since the post of Chief of Staff is nnot about a public face or anything connected to policy. The Chief of Staff is a gatekeeper. He has to be a ruthless authoritarian that inspires discipline. In plain language, a “Son of a b*tch” is a good choice.

The democrats are a bunch of undisciplined children. Barack Obama wants to be seen as an adult. Rahm Emanuel will keep the trains running on time.

Additionally, Emanuel is many things, but he is no liberal. He is a moderate DLC. He wants to win at all costs, which means getting liberals in a room, and slapping them upside the head until they act normal. Emanuel understands that liberals lose elections, and that the only way democrats can win is to either be moderate or pretend really well.

One of the reasons the democrats took back Congress in 2006 was because Emanuel recruited moderates and conservatives. Right wing democrats were acceptable. Emanuel hates liberals almost as much as he hates republicans. He wants a Democratic Leadership Council White House.

The next decision would be to choose a Secretary of State. I personally do not care who he picks. Secretary of State is a job you give to somebody you hate, or at least have zero regard for. Condoleeza Rice had to settle for the job after being unable to get the Secretary of Defense job. She also wanted to be Commissioner of the National Football League, which might have caused her to forget the State job altogether.

Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State would be thrilling. Obama would like to keep his friends close and enemies closer. Hillary would have a role, yet be subordinate to him. Best of all, she would have zero say in domestic policy, and New York would be free of her.

Personally I would like to see her take the job, have her successor enter the Senate, and then have Obama turn around and fire her, but that is wishful thinking. Either way, she could go on junkets, sip tea with dictators, make speeches, accomplish nothing, and have Obama pretend to care what she thinks.

John Kerry would be a good choice because he would get rolled in negotiations. He would make his boss look weak and ineffective. Negotiations would be pointless, and absolutely nothing would get accomplished. When democrats are in power, this is success. If you want to fail to accomplish anything, give John Kerry the job.

The Secretary of Defense job does matter. The best thing Obama can do is leave Robert Gates in power for at least a year. Not only would it be bipartisan, but more importantly, unlike the State Department, the Defense Department actually does things. We are at war. The transition should be seamless.

As for the rest, I am a believer in Presidential prerogative. The President should choose whoever he likes. Just because liberals were spoiled brats in 2000 when President Bush chose his Cabinet does not make it right. The winner gets to pick his own people.

So unless Obama picks Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson for anything other than walking the new puppy he bought his daughters, expect good choices.

I have decided to get on the bandwagon. I filled out the 63 question questionnaire required.

I personally have zero objection to most of the questionnaire. People should be vetted. While there is an irony in that Obama himself would wilt under such scrutiny, in addition to Bill and Hillary Clinton being unable to satiosfactorily answer the questions, the validity of much of the questionnaire is acceptable. Obama wants to avoid embarrassing screwups early in his term. This should not be criticized. Is he a hypocrite? Perhaps. Yet he is still doing the right thing.

So in the spirit of the new administration, below are my answers to the questionnaire allowing me to work in the Obama administration. The only stipulation I have is that I be given Sundays off, and Saturdays as well during the NFL playoffs.

OBAMA CHECKLIST

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/11/13/obamaquestionnaire.pdf.pdf

1)    My resume is attached.
2)    I have stockbrokerage, commodity brokerage, and life insurance licenses in good standing.
3)    Due to the current financial crisis, some of these firms do not exist any more. In about 10 years there will only be one financial services firm. That is the one I worked for and will work for in the future.
4)    My brief stint as “Deuce Bigalow” proved unsuccessful.
5)    Other than lobbying my dad at age 10 for a raise in my allowance, I have no lobbying experience.
6)    I bought imitation silk sheets from a Chinese company through Ebay. The thread count made the transaction worthwhile.
7)    Those who love America should work here. I would never deprive my nation of money by working someplace else.
8)    Although pink shirt Thursdays usually pass without incident, attempts to implement “Commando Wednesdays” proved controversial.
9)    Bill Ayers, Jeremiah Wright and Radhid Khalidi are my references. I believe the FBI has their information.
10)    My screen name is blacktygrrrr. My blog is https://tygrrrrexpress.com
It is the Tygrrrr Express. My book “Ideological Bigotry: Tales of a politically conservative and morally liberal Hebrew Alpha Male” will be available in 2009.
11)    I have never testified before Congress, although I would not mind if they testified before me. I have many questions to ask them about what they are doing with my tax dollars.
12)    I speak all the time, but not enough people listen. This is why the 2008 election went wrong.
13)    Embarrassment requires a sense of shame. Perhaps much of my communication would embarrass Mr. Obama, but I would not be fazed.
14)    Any shame my family would feel from anything I do would have to wait until I become famous to maximize the effect.
15-19) N/A—My dreams of owning anything of value died on November 4th, 2008.
20) As a member of the Republican Jewish Coalition, I am actively working to prevent Mr. Obama from winning reelection in 2012. If this poses a problem, I can keep quiet about such work.
21) Mr. Obama I am sure has access to my tax returns. Duplicating any work by reproducing them would be inefficient.
22) Net worth? I can provide a blank piece of paper.
23) I ripped up all of my brokerage statements in frustration due to the recent crash. However, I have a lovely box of confetti I can provide for Mr. Obama if he wants a ticker tape parade at his inaugural.
24) I do not borrow or loan money. Unlike reputable established companies like General Motors, I do not have access to billions I would default on.
25) I do not have a trust. Trust me.
26) I do not own any real property, fake property, or ambiguous property. Some guy from Arkansas did try to sell me property in the 1980s, but then he ran for President and I never heard from him again.
27) No mortgage. I do not even own a tree house or a doll house.
28-31) N/A—Multisyllabic words have no effect on those without rich Chicago or Arkansas connections.
32) Who the heck are these families giving $50,000 gifts? My entire Bar Mitzvah may have netted $5,000, and the school took it all.
33-35) Taxes? Do I look like a millionaire? (Picture enclosed)
36) Paying taxes is a penalty, and my penalties will increase when Mr. Obama raises them again.
37-41) Are the Clintons required to answer these questions? Look, I am so clean that I make a baby’s @ss feel like sandpaper. I am not a politician. I obey the law.
42-43) I tried to sue Santa Claus when I was 8 years old due to anti-discriminatory practices. My parents quashed the lawsuit, but as a Jewish person, I still say that fat red b@stard is an anti-Semite.
44) I have never filed bankruptcy, but I suspect Mr. Obama’s policies may force me to consider doing that.
45-49) I used to be a thief of hearts and a gangster of love, but I have reformed.
50) As stated earlier, Commando Wednesday was nixed due to the overwhelming number of unattractive people at work that favored it. It was supposed to only be for the pretty people.
51) I was told by my parents that I completely lack civility and judgment. So this bad behavior benefits me now.
52) I have no children that I know of, and I check milk cartons frequently.
53) My parents told me as a child that they were not my maid. Since I am not a liberal, there is no sense of entitlement. I do my own chores.
54-56) I do not hire other people, and once Mr. Obama takes over, this will be impossible.
57) If they only live with me for the night, does that count? Also, isn’t living together before marriage against the wishes of God? Are we now a Godless society?
58) My Space and Facebook are for people that want to promote themselves to the world. I want to be left alone. I am not your friend and wish you would stop contacting me about Christian Viagra Refinancing or Lesbian Vegans for Libya.
59) None of your d@mn business. The Second Amendment is law. Go ask Carl Rowan if he owns a gun. Then inspect Ted Kennedy’s car.
60) I am in perfect health. I am only 36, and not looking forward to what doctors do to men when they turn 40.
61) No. I do not associate with people connected to the Obamas or the Clintons. There are lord willing over one billion degrees of separation.
62) I am a republican. Every member of Moveon.org, Daily Kos, and Huffington Post hates me without having met me. I suggest deporting them to Guantanamo Bay.
63) Again, I am not related to the Clintons or the Obamas, so unsavory associations should not be a problem. In case I do not get this job, please let me know who your strongest opponent will be in 2012 so I can find somebody respectable to work for.

Because the Clintons were so lax in everything they did, I might have gotten the job in their administration. However, Obama’s people apparently actually read stuff, so I might not get the job.

Besides, working for Rahm Emanuel is not a form of suffering any good human being deserves.

eric

At the 2008 Republican Convention in Minnesota, I had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing Juan Williams.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Williams

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,2137,00.html

Juan Williams is a Fox News political analyst as well as a radio personality on NPR.

Juan Williams is a liberal. politically, I disagree with much of what he has to say.

Yet from a humanity standpoint, I admire Juan Williams. He is a decent, thoughtful, and kind man. Most importantly, he genuinely wants to improve this world. He seeks common ground. There is a middle ground between outright confrontation and complete capitulation and sacrifice of one’s principles. Juan Williams stays true to his beliefs without impugning the integrity or attacking the dignity of his opponents.

One issue that Mr. Williams is passionate about is improving the quality of life for black Americans. As a black man himself, this is understandable. He wants to see his community prosper. Yet he expresses himself without bitterness or rage. Things upset him as they do all people, but he is reasonable.

For being reasonable, he has been called an “Uncle Tom,” and much worse by other black Americans that want exacerbated racial tensions for their own financial purposes.

When Bill Cosby started getting vocal about problems within the black community, some criticized his bringing up dirty laundry that should stay within the family of black America. The theory was that Bill Cosby was just giving ammunition to white racists.

Yet Mr. Williams correctly understands that the reason why Mr. Cosby can say what he does is becasuse Bill Cosby is not speaking from malice. He genuinely cares.

Well Juan Williams genuinely cares. It pains him to see his own community hurting itself. At a great risk to himself, he speaks out.

At the Republican Convention, he was his typical decent self. I enjoyed interviewing him. Below is the interview.

1) What are the most important issues of 2008?

JW: “The war and the economy are most important.”

2) Who are your 3 favorite political heroes?

JW: “A Philip Randolph, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Thurgood Marshall.”

3) Much of politics is acrimonious. You do not take part in the acrimony. How can we all raise the level of discourse in politics today?

JW: “John McCain actually says it in the theme of this convention. We all need to ‘Put Country First.’ So much of politics is competitive. So much of politics involves vile attacks. The internet is part of the problem. There is no reporting, no fact checking, and no gatekeeper online. We need a national focus on what really matters.”

4) How would you like to be remembered 100 years from now? What would you want people to say about Juan Williams the person?

JW: “I would like to be remembered as an honest, cutting edge journalist in his time.”

5) Given how image conscious America is, especially in the television age since the Kennedy vs Nixon debates, can we finally crack the glass ceiling in the modern era and elect a follically challenged President?

JW: “Well bald does not mean unattractive. John McCain is a very attractive candidate from an image standpoint. While Barack Obama is more attractive in the sense that he has a charisma that draws people to him, McCain has a compelling life story that makes him an attractive candidate. Also, if we are talking physicalities, Sarah Palin is a very attractive candidate. She is pretty and she is telegenic.”

I would like to thank Juan Williams for his time, and more importantly, for hsi character. Character does matter. Too many people confuse opponents with enemies. Juan Williams knows the difference.

The last thing I told Mr. Williams was that my girlfriend is a liberal and an Obama supporter, and she listens to NPR.

With a wide smile, he replied, “Well I like her too! You tell her I said hello!.”

The world needs more people that can communicate passionately, but with civility.

I still disagree with his politics, but the world needs more people like Juan Williams.

eric

A couple of nights ago I witnessed a brilliant debate about God.

Once again arguing the Atheistic perspective was Christopher Hitchens.

http://www.hitchensweb.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens

In previous debates he has tangled with Dennis Prager and Dinesh D’Souza. This fine evening had him grappling with Rabbi David Wolpe.

(Full disclosure: Rabbi Wolpe was my professor in college)

http://www.sinaitemple.org/temple/staff_president_bios.php#wolpe

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Wolpe

In 1990 I debated Rabbi Wolpe, and I was definitely not the winner. I was an 18 year old freshman, and his exam had an essay question asking who was best equipped to run the Roman Empire. The choices were between men like Julius and Augustus Caesar or men like Horace and Cicero. While the question was subjective, “no one right answer” does not mean “no wrong answer.”

I wrote that Horace and Cicero were best equipped to run the Roman Empire. It is not just the notion of the pen being mightier than the sword (a stance I have since disavowed), encapsulated in the notion of “writers over fighters.” It is that “the warriors could make it work, but the intellectuals could understand and explain why it worked.” If there were problems regarding management and bureaucracy, it was necessary to have fine minds to fix and maintain the Empire.

Rabbi Wolpe gave me an A- on that question, explaining that “This was a very good stab at the question, but I do not need to know how to make my car run or understand the intricate nature of every car part that causes it to run. I just need the car to run.”

I was not a student that argued about grades, especially not high ones. I was very deferential, and explained that the grade was not the issue, just the idea that I disagreed with him. He allowed me to present my case. I explained to him that if his car breaks, he needs to know maintenance. He replied that his mechanic handles that. I took one last shot.

“Ok, but what happens if you are stranded on a cold winter morning?”

He calmly replied, “I have Triple-A.”

I did my best impersonation of a deer in the headlights as he calmly smiled and let me know that the discussion had reached its conclusion.

I am still humble around him, which is not a common trait for me. Perhaps the reason I am so deferential is that no matter how much time goes by, as I expressed to him on a couple of occasions, he will always be the teacher and I will always be the student.

Yet Rabbi Wolpe had a tougher task the other night than debating an 18 year old who only thought he knew everything. Christopher Hitchens might not know everything, but he sure knows a lot. I have met him once before, and met him again several minutes before this event started.

As he autographed my book, I said to him, “You enrage me, and yet I thank you for it.” He laughed, and let me know that he truly did like making people think. I told him that I walk away from his speeches having thought deeply. He told me that his father was named Eric, and that Eric is his middle name. He asked me if I spelled it the proper way with a “c,” and I explained that of course I did. He said, “good, because some people spell it with a “k.” I told him that “I am not a Viking.”

The last thing I said thoroughly amused him. “Mr. Hitchens, Rabbi Wolpe was my professor in college. He gave me an A- instead of an A, so please shred him this evening.” Mr. Hitchens then had some very complimentary words about Rabbi Wolpe.

The moderator for the debate was Rob Eshman, the editor of the Jewish Journal. While I have met Mr. Eshman personally and been in his office, his opening remark will be an entire separate column unto itself. In a debate about God, he opened his remarks saying that he “believes God exists, with the proof being November 4th.”

The audience, consisting of many elderly liberal Jews that still think FDR is God himself, reminded me of why I support euthanasia. They clapped wildly, reminding me that ideological bigotry is alive and well among those that have suffered the worst intolerance of life. As I said, I will address that remark separately.

Despite the fact that the Jewish community leans politically to the left, this was a debate about God, not politics. Both men left their personal politics out of the debate, which was most appreciated.

With that, below is the debate between Monotheist David Wolpe and Atheist Christopher Hitchens.

DW: “Sorry for the delay getting started. Backstage I almost persuaded him.

Being a non-believer does not make the world simpler. It makes the world meaningless. Free will comes from God. It is not from our genes. For a non-believer, the person next to you is a product of chemical accidence. There is not a soul in them or us. Belief not only makes sense…it makes us better. Believers give more blood and vote more often. Humans are meant to be noble. We are meant for better things.”

CH: “I trust when Rabbi Wolpe states that religious people vote more often that he is not talking about fraud. I suspect he means to say that they vote more diligently.

Life would be terrible if we were constantly supervised. If there is a just God, why do people tremble about things? If God was just, everything would be proportional.

Overcoming badness does not require religion. How do we end slavery? We invoke humanism. It is much more noble, logical, and ethical, as opposed to a supernatural totalitarian, a celestial dictator.

This week a 13 year old girl was beaten and sodomized in Somalia. She was then convicted of adultery, and stoned to death. Her abusers were not against religion. They were acting within their holy texts. With a celestial dictator, badness is required. Suicide bombers and genital mutilators act based on religion.”

DW: “Human society without religion leads to serial genocides. Rome fell because Christianity is too peaceful. Explicit murders of people occurred due to Stalinism and Nazism, whi9ch embrace secularism.

Fanatics exist inside and outside of religion. Humanism is not anti-slavery. Moses freed the slaves of Egypt. Abolitionist John Brown was an evangelical.

We are not animals. The 20th century tested the idea that power was more important than God. This led to the most awful century, filled with wars and savagery.”

CH: “Genital mutilation should not be taken lightly. Nothing about my penis should be taken lightly.

How much crime and misery has occurred due to sexual repression? Take out the word Facism, and you have Catholic Right Wingism, or Vatican Right Wingism. It is the same thing. From Franco to Mussolini, there was Catholicism. The Vichy regime had Vatican support. Hitler never renounced his Catholicism. Stalin graduated from the Seminary in Georgia.

You should not be a dictator if you cannot exploit. Stalinism was religious. North Korea is the most religious state in the world.”

DW: “Epicureus was a poet. Galileo was a believer. Religion did not invent otherness. The new kid on the playground is treated differently. This is built into the human system.

Why did religion need to be taken out of the equation to produce Hitler and Stalin? North Korea worships a person, not a God. South Korea is religious and democratic.”

CH: “South Korea has no official religion. North Korea is ruled by a dead man. It is a “necrocracy.” They have the father and the son, and are one short of a trinity. They also walking around thanking each other for everything.

When a non-believer dies, they can escape everything. When religious people die, God is just getting started with them.

Picture a Saudi Arabian child today. Is it better that they grow up a Wahhabiist or secular?”

DW: “I will decline your offer to defend the Trinity. The choices are not only between atheism and religious fanaticism. An average approach in the Saudi Arabian example is to be a moderate Muslim, and influence Saudi Arabia for the better.”

CH: “That is a warm and fuzzy sentiment.”

DW: “It is not just about atheism or being a conservative Jew. There are other choices.”

RE: What is wrong with liberal Judaism?

(This is about Judaism that is not Orthodox and doctrinaire. There is flexibility and a belief in an evolving Torah. It has nothing to do with political liberalism, although liberal Judaism is on the left politically. In Judaism, the Conservatives are the centrists, and the orthodox are on the right.)

CH: “For one thing, there is not enough to argue with.

Also, it is cowardly. Things may or may not be important. It is morally ‘slushy.’ This is equivalent to being a ‘Cafeteria Catholic.’ We simply pick the bits we like. Is this ethics or doing God’s will?”

DW: “The irony in this argument is that atheists say that fundamentalists follow everything in the bible. Then they turn around and say that they feel that religious people should follow everything in the bible.

Life is complicated and slushy. This is a partnership with God. Moses wrote the second set of tablets.”

CH: (After much applause, which both men received throughout the evening) “Rabbi, your congregation is in here somewhere.”

DW: “They are all getting dues reductions.”

CH: “Liberal Judaism teaches that if you don’t like what you consult, just ignore it. It is easier to just be secular.”

DW: “I agree with Mr. Hitchens regarding his Talmudic citations.

Rebellion against God is impossible if there is no God to rebel against.”

CH: “That is like saying that my not believing in God proves that there is God I don’t believe in. This is logically fallacious.

Jews are secular worldwide since their own religion teaches them to be like the Greek Hellenists.”

RE: “Why is religion worse than other tools such as politics?”

CH: “Religion teaches compulsory love. You love what you fear.”

DW: “That describes Jewish mothers.”

CH: “God is not a father. Tyranny, unlike fatherhood, never goes away. You never break away.”

DW: “My congregation is charitable by nature.

God is not a human parent. God is a creator who loves us. This is consoling and meaningful, not terrifying.

People in the hospital crying their deathbed wishes do not hope for no God. This is the opposite of tyranny. This is love.”

CH: “Some say God is dead. Freud said God is dad.

How about evidence? Evolution does not know we are here. There is zero evidence to suggest otherwise.

It is immoral to preach to ill and dying people that Daddy God will care for them. I won’t listen to such rubbish.”

DW: “How can God be stern, and yet also point out that a loving God is wishful thinking?

We have consciousness. Consciousness proves that the world knew that we were coming, and made provisions, and is glad that we are here.”

CH: “Benevolence and dictatorship are not contradictory. We are not needed. We are just here to applaud God.

We may have something now, but there is a great deal of nothingness headed our way? This suggests that any creator of this is capricious, cruel, or incompetent. He did not leave a nice table spread.

Do you think the Jewish people have a covenant with God?”

DW: “Judaism does not teach quiescence. We are here to do good deeds. There is a moral order.

Eye rolling is fine, my congregation does it.

We are not here to just applaud. In 500 million years we may not be here, but that does not invalidate belief. Jews have a special covenant, but so do other religions. I argue Judaism’s excellence, not its superiority.”

RE: “Why do religions rely on stories over history?”

DW: “One does not preclude the other. They are interdependent.”

CH: “Hanukkah has been discredited as a historical event. Walking away from Hellenism was simply best.”

DW: “That brought slavery and the Pelopenesian War.”

CH: “The best achievements of the Jewish people have come during the Diaspora and secular society.”

DW: “What about achievements based on the Torah?”

CH: “Jewish achievements came after executing Spinoza, and leaving behind the Rabbinate.”

RE: “How did prayer affect 9/11? How does one explain the prayers of the hijackers? What should the victims have done?”

DW: “Prayer is not about magical intervention. It is not a slot machine.

You pray to not be alone. The Talmud states that there is no reward for Mitzvahs (good deeds). We pray to change ourselves, not God. There is good and bad prayer. The prayers of the hijackers distanced themselves from God. The prayers of the victims brought them closer to God.”

CH: “Faith is another form of fanaticism. It defies reason, and reduces us to primates. We are one half of one chromosome away from being a chimpanzee.

As for United 93, the three men that took back the plane did not pray. They acted. Had they been invoking God on their knees, the plane would have hit the Pentagon.

I am not saying Hitler shouldn’t be judged. I am saying he won’t be.

We tremble at the thought that God is not just. The irony is that we agree that the hijackers won’t get to paradise. I wish they could be like, ‘D@mn, there’s nothing.'”

We should be ashamed until and each and every one of us does something to help kill one terrorist. We should each contribute to killing one Islamofacist murderer.

(Yes, I clapped wildly, and only stopped when it was clear that the debate was continuing. Mr. Hitchens then went completely in another direction that was as out of left field as it was provocative.)

I did pray once…for a hard-on.”

RE: “Is there a middle ground?”

DW: “Pluralistic and democratic religious societies are good. They lead to more stable families and more charitable behavior. Religion works.

People speak of secular Europe, but the Swedes and Danes are Christians. They baptize their children. They are not secular.

We are all one people because of moral obligations due to being children of God. Why should I care about you if we are just chromosomes and not images of God?”

CH: “I have a challenge for you that I have presented before, that nobody has taken me up on. If you are a believer, I challenge you to think of one positive statement or one good action that I as a secularist cannot do. Yet many wicked deeds require religion.

I give blood, but I don’t lose it. They gain. Secularists have the Golden Rule. Human solidarity is not divine.

Divinity is needed to shed blood. Only divinity could make a people make their penis bleed.

I look for contradiction and polarization, not common ground. It is how we learn. Thinking requires confrontation, which brings intellectual combat. Heat produces light.”

(Rabbi Wolpe mentioned the word “Shiva” in his reply. After a person dies in Jewish culture, families “sit Shiva,” or mourn, for seven days. Every evening during those seven days a prayer service is held.)

DW: “Believers and non-believers have the same physiology. Yet Shiva meetings, as well as comforting the dying, helps the dying.

Religion has brought us beautiful religious poetry and religious music.

Heat is not the only source of light. There is non-chemical light. It exists inside all of us. Religion inspires. Atheism diminishes us. Feeling that our self is less than eternal makes us unnoble. Insulting our self is not permitted.”

CH: “Only religion can lead to beauty and aesthetics? Not so. Painters, writers, and thinkers who did not believe were murdered.

Praying at deathbeds is not a tautology.

The supernatural and the superstitious leads to the barbaric.”

After a well deserved standing ovation for both men, they went to sign autographed copies of their books. While neither man needs my help getting promoted, they both deserve it.

Christopher Hitchens’s book is, “God is not great: How religion poisons everything.”

David Wolpe, author of “Healer of shattered hearts,” has now authored “Why faith matters.”

(In college, a lighthearted mocking of David Wolpe as a seven year old budding intellectual has him hawking his book, “Healer of broken toys.” I did not participate in the mocking since I did not want to lower my A-. Rabbi Wolpe was a benevolent dictator. The mocking went unpunished, but I did get a better grade.)

Since I had already had Mr. Hitchens autograph my book before the debate, after the debate I sought out Rabbi Wolpe. I let others go in front of me since his Synagogue is one block from my home. I can see him any time. When he autographed my book, I told him “I will be at your Friday night service, but I was not going to ask you to autograph this on the Sabbath.”

He then laughed when I told him, “I told Mr. Hitchens that you gave me an A- in college instead of an A, and that he was to shred your arguments.” As expected, he had complimentary words for Mr. Hitchens.

On the way out, I saw both men sitting next to each other autographing their respective books. I simply told Mr. Hitchens that I found his arguments brilliant. He thanked me.

As for Rabbi Wolpe, he is giving his sermon tonight. It will involve the Jewish effect of the election of our next President-Elect. Even though it is a public speech, I was concerned about blogging about it since it might be off the record. Also, it will be given on a Friday night, the Jewish Sabbath. Writing is not allowed, so I would have to rely on my memory.

Rabbi Wolpe explained that a copy of the sermon might be on his website, and that I should check. I did have permission to blog about it, and he appreciated my ethics in checking with him first.

Smart aleck that I am, I asked him, “Am I allowed to manipulate it?”

He laughed, and I let him get back to the throngs of fans that engulfed both men.

I may have gotten the last word with both men, but that hardly means I “won” anything except significantly deeper insight into complex and important issues.

Besides, I will always have the A-. They both get an A+ from me. I disagree with them both on politics, but remain deferential. After all, students can disagree with their teachers, but must always respect them.

I have much in life to learn, and David Wolpe and Christopher Hitchens are both stellar teachers.

eric

At the 2008 Republican Convention in Minneapolis, I had the pleasure of meeting former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr.

Congressman Barr was the Libertarian Candidate for President of the United States.

http://www.bobbarr2008.com/home/skip/?s=0618

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Barr

His Vice Presidential running mate was somebody I have met personally and like, Wayne Allan Root.

http://www.wayneroot.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Allyn_Root

Although many republicans were not happy to see Bob Barr at the convention, there was no question that he was the darling of the media circuit, particularly along Radio Row. Despite being one of the first people to ever call for the impeachment of Bill Clinton, even Barr might have been surprised at the fact that his most positive reception came from those on the left. They were hoping he would be the difference in the election, in the reverse manner of 2000.

What is undeniable is that Bob Barr is a pleasant guy and a fun person to interview. Below is my interview with Congressman Bob Barr.

1) What are the most important issues of 2008?

BB: “The economy is most important. We have got to get the government out of the economy and out of our lives. We must have economic freedom. Government should get out of the way regarding our energy policy and stop blocking exploration. Government needs to stop managing housing. That is what contributed to the current climate. We need to stop bleeding the USA treasury dry with domestic expenditures and Iraq.”

2) Who are your 3 favorite political heroes?

“My political heroes are George Washington, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson.”

3) Your Vice Presidential nominee Wayne Root, who I have met, and personally like, made his money by building a sports gambling empire. Should this be a concern, or is it a non-issue for Libertarians?

BB: “It is a non-issue. He fits in perfectly with the Libertarian philosophy.”

4) How would you like to be remembered 100 years from now? What would you want people to say about Bob Barr the person?

BB: “I would like to be remembered as an outstanding President of the United States.”

Well the votes have been counted, and Bob Barr and Wayne Root are not residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Nevertheless, for those that believe that the two party system has failed, the libertarian philosophy of being conservative economically and moderate on social issues is an attractive one.

I personally am more of a pragmatist. I want to win elections and govern. Therefore, although I lean libertarian, I do vote republican. However, my parents have a different attitude. I expressed this to Congressman Barr, and he was happy about it.

“Congressman Barr, I just want you to know that my parents detest almost every politician, yet they like you. They think you are one of the only ones worth anything.”

Congressman Barr happily thundered back by saying, “Well tell them I like them too. I look forward to their votes, and look forward to representing them as President.”

He is brash, dogged, and yet very likable. I wish him much success, and hope that he returns to public service in some form, perhaps as a Senator or Governor of Georgia.

eric

At the 2008 Republican Convention in Minneapolis, I had the pleasure of meeting former Virginia Governor and Senator George Allen.

http://www.georgeallen.com/?page_id=2

George Allen is not only a darling of conservatives, he also is from a fabulous family for anybody intelligent enough to appreciate the National Football League. His father, the late George Allen, coached the “Over the Hill Gang” Redskins that made it to the Superbowl in the 1972 season. His brother Bruce Allen was a top executive with the Oakland Raiders before departing to become the General Manager of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The story of Senator George Allen has an element of tragedy to it. In 2006 he was coasting towards reelection to his Senate seat. He was being mentioned as a Presidential candidate for 2008. Given that there was no staunch conservative in the race at the time, he most likely would have been vaulted into a top tier contender for the White House. While many claim to be the heir to the Reagan legacy, George Allen could say this with credibility.

It all fell apart when he was videotaped making a joke that fell flat. You-tube was in its infancy, and Senator Allen referred to somebody as “macaca.” From now on every moment in politics is referred to as a “macaca moment.” Despite the fact that Joe Biden once referred to Indians and 7-11, and Hillary Clinton made her own Indian joke that bombed, life is not fair. COnservatives are held to unreasonable standards. The attack on George Allen over this moment was a complete hit job, and it wrecked his career. Although he lost his Senate race within a close enough margin to demand a recount, he refused to contest the results. His loss cost republicans the Senate, and the shellshock of the 2006 election was best represented by his stunning defeat.

I hope that one day George Allen is known only for his public service, and not for the fact that his political enemies felt the need to drag a good man down.

When I met him, I told him that I had always wanted to interview him because I was not only a conservative republican blogger, but a major NFL fan who liked his brother Bruce. He asked me if I was a Buccaneers fan. I told him I was not, that I rooted for the Raiders, and was sad that the Bucs took his brother and Jon Gruden from Oakland. He laughed and said that he liked the Raiders as well due to the family tie, even if it was no longer current.

We did a “walk and talk” interview, and that interview is below.

1) What are the most important issues of 2008?

GA: “The key issues are energy, security, and maintaining our economic competitiveness.

2) Who are your 3 favorite political heroes?

GA: “Ronald Reagan, Thomas Jefferson, and Margaret Thatcher.”

3) How would you like to be remembered 100 years from now? What would you want people to say about George Allen the person?

GA: “I would like to be remembered as a man who kept his word. I advocated principled conservatism. I stuck to Jeffersonian principles.”

4) How do you predict the Buccaneers and the Raiders will do in 2008?

GA: “The Buccaneers…10-6…The Raiders…8-8.”

As a die hard fan of the Silver and Black, I felt Senator Allen was being way too generous. Perhaps he was being diplomatic. Nevertheless, it is nice that somebody could muster something positive to say about the Raiders.

I let the Senator know one last thing.

“Senator Allen, I just wanted you to know that I thought that what was done to you in 2006 was a complete hit job. I appreciate your service, and know that you were right.”

It was a pleasure meeting Senator Allen. I look forward to seeing him achieve even greater success in life. The world…or at least my world…will be better when he returns to public service and his brother Bruce returns to Oakland.

eric