THE TYGRRRR EXPRESS

I wrote a column awhile ago praising a certain political woman for being gorgeous. Conservative women were amused and the subject was flattered. Liberal women acted like themselves, which meant complaints. One Ioana Stoica needs to have the Stoica removed from her backside.

She complained to me privately, and I told her to go public with her complaints. So she complained to my editors.

Here is what I said:

“Please post your comment publicly if you feel that strongly. Maybe others will agree with you.

After all, given that you are most likely a liberal and a feminist, hypersensitivity comes with the territory.

My inbox has been flooded by conservative Republican women who loved the article.

So do not think for one minute you speak for all, or even a majority of women.

I did not mention rape or violence against women, and your extrapolating such information from thin air is simple feminist hysteria.

I am against rape and violence against women. I am in favor of men complimenting hot women on their beauty. This bothers liberal women because unlike the conservative women I cited, fewer men are admiring them. After all, hot women don’t need feminism.

I am not interested in being sensitive. I am still right.

Challenge me in the court of public opinion. Post your comments publicly.

eric  :)  aka the Tygrrrr Express

P.S. Feminists do not care about women. They care about a left-wing political agenda. Until George W. Bush and Sarah Palin are considered feminists and Hillary Clinton is not, then feminism is worthless.”

Her screed was lengthy and boring, even by hyperfeminist crybaby standards.

“To the Editorial Board at the Washington Times,

I was disturbed to read Eric Golub’s derogatory article on women from March 4, “The Reason Governor Scott Should Resign Now,” http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/tygrrrr-express/2011/mar/4/reason-governor-scott-walker-should-resign-now/, and wrote him a letter to express my outrage at his sexist comments.  (Though I do appreciate it is his First Amendment right to be as hateful and as sexist as he deems necessary in order to get his “humor” across). I am not writing to complain about the original article, but rather about his correspondence with me since.

Mr. Golub replied to my email quickly (but unfortunately I did not receive it until today, upon cleaning out my “spam box”). I am including his message below so you may deem for yourself if his conduct is indeed what you expect from your newspaper if indeed you have any pretense at actually being a major newspaper with some sort of credibility.

Also to note, Mr. Golub wrote me back to ask me to please post my comment publicly, which I appreciate. It is very appropriate that a journalist would want criticism as well as praise to be published, and I would have truly appreciated if Mr. Golub was actually open to other opinions being discussed on his blog. However, what Mr. Golub does not say below is that I DID comment on the website, in fact, before my email, but that he deleted or otherwise “moderated out” my post. Two months later, looking at the comments on this post, I find only ones that agree with him, and others that I had seen there in the past that disagreed have been deleted, including my own post (which, because it has been deleted from the website and because I used the website form to email Mr. Golub, I do not have a copy of. However, you should still be able to find it in your records of either website comments or emails, unless you have deleted these. I have nothing to hide, as my initial email/post was certainly outraged but not unprofessional or childishly immature, as Mr. Golub’s comments to me. The original email was written by myself from my other email account, [email protected])

My concern is that Mr. Golub is unprofessional beyond plain sexism, bigotry, or otherwise inappropriate comments. His email to me, ranting about liberal women not being “as hot” as “conservative women” who agree with him, about his not caring what I/one say/s because he “is right” (even though clearly he is expressing an opinion) and otherwise calling me a “hysterical feminist” (he claims if I was “hot” I would “not need” feminism) are outrageous for a person employed by a major newspaper. I would not expect correspondence like this coming from ANY professional organization.

Civil dialogue between adults I would understand–also, disagreement, or respectful opinionated replies. However, inane commentary of an ignorant and petty nature that serves only to further personal attacks should be beyond the pale for a professional news organization like the Washington Times.

I wanted to point out this inappropriate email so that Washington Times has a better idea about the emails their employees are sending out to customers and readers. I urge you to take this into consideration as you consider your national image and reputation. I WILL be posting this insensitive and ignorant email of Mr. Golub’s around to various sites and blogs, and will be sending it along to other media outlets to showcase the type of unprofessionalism supported by the Washington Times.

Sincerely,
Ioana Stoica

WOW. I am going to be sending this message around the blogosphere and also to your editors and boss. This is pretty low, even for a misogynist womanizer…

“hot women don’t need feminism”??? liberal women are less attractive which is why they need feminism? if your comments were not insensitive and completely out of line before, they are now.

Thanks for giving me the perfect email to send to your boss as well as around the net. Beautifully done!

PS: you don’t know JACK about feminism if you think it’s a “liberal agenda” of “unattractive women.” But it’s not my job to educate you and I am not going to waste one more minute on this email and connecting with such an immature and laughingly ignorant human being.

To recommend some reading to assuage your blind ignorance, only a little bit (there’s so much out there): try bell hooks, Audre Lorde, Simone DeBeauvoir, Henry Giroux and Michael Apple, Nel Noddings… many many men and women of all political stripes are ‘feminists’ because they fight for equal opportunities for men and women, including opportunities to NOT be sexually harassed and intimidated by people like yourself.”

My response to her is simple. I WANT this woman to publish my comments. Her threatening to give me more publicity would only be better if she promised to keep her own trap shut.

She is a liberal feminist crybaby, which means she is boring and wrong.

The subject of the column loved it, and thought it was hilarious.

This harpie does not speak for all women, just the leftist ones who are man-hating hags too hideous to have a man ever compliment them.

So keep the hate mail coming you hysterical shrieking shrew.

eric  :)

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has just announced that he is running for President.

In 2007 when he was contemplating a run, I wrote one of my very first columns about him. It was entitled:

“Newt Gingrich: If only ideas and solutions mattered.”

https://tygrrrrexpress.com/2007/03/newt-gingrich-if-only-ideas-and-solutions-mattered/

Newt Gingrich has always been a man with serious policy ideas and solutions in a nation unwilling and unprepared for them. In 1995 he tried to reform medicare. The Demagogic Party demagogued. He was accused of “cutting” and “gutting” Medicare. His proposal was actually slowing the rate of growth. Yet the left lied solely to stay in power.

Yet in 2011, a new question must be asked.

What if ideas and solutions finally actually do matter?

The left is going to carpet-bomb Mr. Gingrich with his very messy personal life. It will be up to him to answer questions about his past morality and conduct.

(Those claiming hypocrisy over his adultery while Bill Clinton was being impeached should get over it. Gingrich did not lie under oath and subvert the Constitution.)

Mr. Gingrich also has to show that he is not the same person who used to lob verbal grenades that only gave his political opponents ammunition to destroy him.

Yet a Gingrich candidacy does offer the nation a very rich debate. Even Newt’s strongest detractors concede that he is a serious intellectual heavyweight when it comes to discussing policy.

One does not have to agree with Mr. Gingrich to admit that a race between him and Mr. Obama would result in debates worth watching.

The left will try to make Mr. Gingrich out to be a racist, sexist, bigoted homophobe. This is what happens when a white conservative male disagrees with Mr. Obama for any reason. It will be up to Mr. Gingrich to not back down when the race card is inevitably dealt from the bottom of the deck.

The left will try to use his sister Candace Gingrich against him. Ms. Gingrich is a lesbian. Despite the 2004 backlash when John Kerry and John Edwards tried to exploit Vice President Dick Cheney’s lesbian daughter Mary for political gain, the left will get in the gutter if it proves beneficial.

Mr. Obama cannot run on his record. So demonizing an opponent is the only strategy to win. Mr. Gingrich is not a difficult man to demonize.

Yet one moment in the 1990s shows the strength and weakness of Mr. Gingrich. When Bill Clinton was asked if he wore briefs or boxers, he laughed and answered the question. When Mr. Gingrich was asked the same question, he dressed down the questioner for asking a stupid question.

It was a stupid question. Just because Mr. Clinton chose to lower the dignity of his office did not mean Mr. Gingrich needed to do likewise. The weakness in this approach is that it allowed another opportunity for leftist critics to refer to Mr. Gingrich as “mean-spirited.” The strength was that if enough politicians would do this, we would slow the descent into becoming a nation of imbeciles.

Mr. Gingrich wants to have a serious conversation about issues. If the American people are finally after all of these years are finally ready, the 2012 election could end up being about things that actually matter, from the scope, size, and role of government to the approach America should take in foreign affairs.

With Mr. Gingrich, America would finally be able to possibly win the war against nonsense. We would be forced as a nation into adulthood. Outside of Congressman Paul Ryan and Governor Chris Christie, very few politicians ever put policy at the heart of politics.

Mr. Gingrich is all about policy.

So if ideas and solutions actually do matter, Mr. Gingrich could very well win the nomination and provide for a worthy general election for Americans everywhere.

eric

The union bullies are at it again. They will not be happy until every business in America is destroyed. Somehow the union bosses think that they will get a larger share from a pie that ceases to exist. Then again, union leaders are leftists, and leftists are fine with shared misery rather than anybody having more than anybody else.

The newest victim of union thuggery is Boeing. Boeing has decided to build a new plant in South Carolina. For the environmentalists in this country, a plant in this case is not greenery. It is a place where people can do business.

The National Labor Relations Board has decided to block the ability of this plant to be built. The NLRB is arguing that this is not the creation of a new plant, but a transfer of workers from Washington State. Washington is a labor friendly state while South Carolina is a right to work state.

While the NLRB is wrong, many people may wonder why it would even matter if the NLRB was right.

Logic would dictate that businesses want to do business in business friendly climates. This is not a revolutionary concept. Businesses are leaving California for Texas because California is anti-business and Texas is pro-business.

Unions can protest all they want. In fact, that is all they seem to do lately. Maybe if they spent less time protesting and more time actually working, they would not be seen as the obstructionists that they are.

The bottom line is the bottom line. Business are in business to conduct business. If they were meant to be charities they would be called charities. Everybody outside of unions seem to understand this.

The idea that the NLRB can tell a business where in America they can operate is insane. Make no mistake about it. President Obama could end this controversy by putting a leash on the NLRB. Given his ideological blindness, siding with a business over a labor group in any situation is unlikely.

Boeing is a legitimate company. They put out a legal product. They do so in a legal manner. Since no laws are being broken in any part of the supply chain, the NLRB has no justification for blocking Boeing.

This is another example of where the left is too smart and smug for its own good. They think that by bullying Boeing, other companies will be afraid to move. Failed (blue) states like New York, California, and Washington cannot compete with successful (red) states like Texas and South Carolina. The left is doing what liberals always do when they fail to compete. They sue for the sake of suing.

Yet Boeing has a third option. Being unable to move to South Carolina does not mean staying in Washington.

Boeing could do what many companies are doing. They could leave America entirely. They could move to China, India, or any number of countries where the wages are lower and the regulations are fewer.

This will lead to cries that these companies are being unpatriotic. This is hypocritical given that the unions are attacking their fellow Americans to begin with.

How many companies have to leave before liberals finally understand that if you chase people away, they will leave?

The solution is not to harass states that “get it.” The solution is for the unions to realize that they are the problem.

Unions exist today because they scare the daylights out of the American people. They manage to convince Americans that we are one day away from going back to the Gilded Age where workers were used and abused. Like aging revolutionaries who refuse to accept that they are an anachronism, union members refuse to concede that they won the battle ages ago and have long since shifted from defense to offense and greed.

Liberals need to answer very simple questions.

What will they do if American businesses leave?

If those businesses are somehow forced to stay, how do they prevent the higher costs from being passed on to consumers?

How can union members get any wages much less higher ones if the companies they work for lose money or worse go bankrupt?

How can a regulatory agency step in to block a business move by a company when not one aspect of the company, the product, or the business decisions and actions are illegal?

Boeing has every right to build a plant where ever it pleases. If Washington is upset with losing, then Washington should stop being a place for losers. The same goes for California and every other failed liberal experiment.

Spouses don’t like to be married to serial abusers and companies don’t like to be located in places where they are hated. South Carolina rolled out the red carpet. Who would you want to do business with, the suitor bringing flowers and candy or the one bringing union members wielding threats and baseball bats?

Being pro-business helps companies and the workers. Being anti-business hurts everybody.

Unions do not exist to help the companies. They exist to help themselves. Somewhere along the line they helped themselves to too much. The companies produce the stuff. The unions do not.

The NLRB has turned into the mother of all union bullies, led by one particular bully behind his presidential pulpit. The NLRB needs to be slapped down hard.

Boeing has every right to do business in South Carolina. The sooner this happens, the better.

eric

Tuscaloosa, Alabama now looks like a war zone. A tornado destroyed 15th street.

Now the Mississippi River crest is overflowing, and attacking Memphis, Tennessee.

Today I am flying from Louisville, Kentucky to my home in Los Angeles. Yet my stopover is in Memphis.

My biggest worry is that my flight will be delayed and I will have trouble making it home. Yet when I eventually arrive in Los Angeles at least I will have a home. The same cannot be said for those affected by the recent storms.

It is moments like these that me and many others realize how fragile everything we cherish truly is. Self-reflection and even self-criticism can be very healthy, and with that it has resulted in me deciding to make an alteration with the Tygrrrr Express blog. The change will be negligible, but it needs to be done.

It is time to give the Tygrrrr Express more “meaning.” No, this does not mean it will become boring. It just means that there is plenty of time to discuss foreign policy and presidential candidates. Right now people are suffering, and we all need to pitch in and help. In many cases people want to help but do not know how. So when I find out how, I will do a better job of disseminating that information in a quicker manner.

A brilliant article in the Wall Street Journal (redundant, I know…we get spoiled by how the brightst minds on Earth seem to keep the intelligence bar higher than everybody else.) tells the story of people helping others and how we can as well.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703992704576306903995203790.html

Clear Channel Radio in Tuscaloosa has a mainly white, conservative audience. Yet apparently that has not stopped the community from helping their liberal black brothers and sisters. Christian “zealots” are practicing their typical “religious intolerance” by loving their neighbors, and feeding and sheltering those in need.

Make no mistake about it. This is churches and churchgoers helping people out of love.

Clearchannel Tuscaloosa has removed Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and other national figures from the airwaves. Instead, the entire station is now a conduit connecting people who need with people who have and are willing and able to give.

Now I am continuing the pipeline by getting this information to all of you.

Gigi South is the station manager. God bless this woman. It was her decision to alter the programming. It comes at significant financial cost to the station but the human cost of not doing so would be greater.

People are dropping food and clothing off at the station, and others are getting it out to the people. In some cases people are just calling the station to say where they are and what they need. Then minutes later others call in to say they can deliver it.

This is what religious Christians in Alabama are all about.

Everybody is pitching in. From the Greek fraternities to the historically black Stillman College, students stayed and cooked over 7000 meals.

As expected, “evil” Walmart is stepping up bigtime.

The phone number of the radio station is 205-344-4589.

The fax is 205-366-9774.

The address is 3900 11th Ave North, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401.

Other organizations that I trust that I know will get the job done are Chabad of Birmingham and the Alabama Republican Women. I have dealt with people running these organizations personally, and they love their community and have the manpower and womanpower to help effectively.

Chabad of Alabama is located at 3040 Overton Rd in Birmingham at the Beis Ariel Cultural Center.The phone number is 205-970-0100.

The Alabama Republican Women have all of their information on their website.

http://www.afrw.org

As always, B’Nai Brith and the Red Cross continue to excel at relief efforts.

The Alabama Republican Party is offering constant updates.

http://algop.org/node/1303

I am more than happy to take information from people besides Republicans and Jews. Yet since those are my circles, I have better contacts, who get back to me quickly. I want everybody, everywhere to help.

Ok, I spoke too soon. One of my sources is an Alabama Christian Democrat  who also happens to be gay. Tornadoes don’t care about sexual or political orientation.

He told me that a group on Facebook called “Toomers for Tuscaloosa” is worth checking out.

He also told me to emphasize that many other towns got belted hard. Hackleburg, Sawyerville, and Phil Campbell are among them. Because these are small towns that are lesser known, it took days before people knew that cell phones were dead and power liens were down.

Let this be a call to action. Everybody get me information and I will get it out.

Raging Southeastern waters have caused devastation, death, and pain that will be lasting for a long time after the media moves on to the next story.

Yet if we all roll up our sleeves, we can help. Use Facebook and Twitter. Continue the chain. Let people know about the situation and the sites I mentioned.

For those of you who can, send money. Every bit helps.

We are Americans. We rise to the occasion when our neighbors are hurting.

We can do this. Time to roll up our sleeves and get to work.

eric

With the presidential race slowly taking shape, South Carolina has become ground zero for political junkies.

This past Saturday I had the pleasure of attending the 2011 South Carolina GOP Convention.

Pleasure is an understatement. This was one of the best state conventions I have ever attended.

South Carolina dragged out the festivities by teaming up with Fox News to present the first 2012 presidential debate. That was on Thursday. Friday was the Silver Elephant Dinner followed by the convention the next day.

I came in a few days early and spoke throughout the entire state. I covered Hilton Head Island at the Southern tip all the way to Greenville up North.

I would like to thank Thomas Hatfield of the First Monday Club in Hilton Head, Rich Bolen of the Lexington GOP, Thomas Fort of the Midland Club in Columbia, and Dennis Saylor of the Aiken GOP for welcoming a complete stranger into their clubs and letting him leave a South Carolinian.

For those wanting to know anything and everything about South Carolina politics, Jane Page Thompson is the energizer rabbit of the state.

Yet if there are two people that will stay in my heart always, it is Claude and Sunny O’Donovan. Claude is the Vice Chair of the Aiken GOP. Aiken might be one of the most beautiful places on Earth. If it is not the Jewel of South Carolina, I do not know what is.

I arrived in South Carolina on May 1and drove from Columbia to Aiken where I met Claude and Sunny. That night we all watched as the news unfolded about Bin Laden’s death. I will always remember that when the worst of the worst died, I was spending time with the best of the best of people.

Much of South Carolina feels the same way, since Claude and Sunny won the annual volunteer of the year award. The GOP is lucky to have them.

Bin Laden’s death allowed me to immediately insert new material into my routine.

“Osama Bin Laden is now burning in hell with 72 Helen Thomases.”

“Osama Bin Laden did in death what none of us could do in life…get the Royal Wedding out of the news.”

“In further news, Osama Bin Laden is still dead and the Royal Wedding is still boring.”

“In conspiracy news, Donald Trump truly does dictate to Barack Obama. This is why the news of Bin Laden’s death was not released until after the Celebrity Apprentice episode that night had concluded.”

Thursday was more than just the debate. It was an entire day of festivities from morning until night, all in Greenville.

A luncheon honoring the South Carolina Republican Women was fantastic. I speak at many of these luncheons, but with 5 events in 3 days I was happy to be a quiet guest. Speakers included outgoing GOP Chair Karen Floyd, NFRW President Sue Lynch, and Senator Rick Santorum’s wife Karen.

Mrs. Santorum might be one of the loveliest people you will meet. They have 7 children, and their youngest is a miracle baby. The child was not expected to make it past one year, but recently celebrated a 3rd birthday.

Those who wish to demonize Rick Santorum for being a social conservative should get to know his wife.

As for Sue Lynch, she lit the room up. Although she has a folksy neighborly Wisconsin demeanor, she gets real tough when she gets to politics. She spoke about going to places in Nigeria to help them learn how to have free elections.

She also recently attended an AIPAC event, as well as a trip to Israel. She gave a full-throttled defense of Israel, and made it clear that Republican Women’s Federated ladies around America were going to learn and understand why Israel matters. The NFRW Convention in Kansas City later this year will focus on advocacy, and will have an Israel workshop.

After the NFRW luncheon came the Greenville Tea Party. Chris Lawton put the event together. For 4 hours before the debate, tons of speakers gave quick remarks. I gave a 3 minute speech, which is harder than speaking at length. 3 minutes was enough, and Chris kept the trains running precisely on time.

Governor Nikke Haley spoke for a few minutes at this event. The Tea Party backed her early on, and she continues to repay that loyalty. Governor Haley is a lovely person. She is kind and friendly. With many people, she prefers giving them a hug to a handshake. She is warm and down to Earth.

I met her a couple of times during this week. I told her that I disliked her stance on traditional marriage, that being that she was married to somebody not me. I also let her know that if she ever wants a pay cut and a loss of prestige, I will pay her flight if she will become California Governor over Jerry Brown. She declined my marriage and business proposals, but was good-natured about it.

The debate itself, unfortunately, was nonsense. Without Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, Donald Trump, Michele Bachmann, or Newt Gingrich, this really was the third tier in attendance.

The only candidate close to even having a chance at being 1st tier was Tim Pawlenty, who probably should have skipped it. Rick Santorum and Herman Cain are dark horses who perform well. Cain got the best one-liners while Santorum came across as very serious, sober, and statesmanlike. I felt he won the debate. Pawlenty meandered too much. He is a great guy, but took too long to make his points.

Ron Paul was actually not the biggest crackpot at this debate, which says a lot. He still has his cult following, but at least this time Dr. Paul made a very useful point that I was happy to hear. He has been criticized by some as anti-Semitic for wanting to cut off all aid to Israel. His defenders said that he wants to cut off all foreign aid to everybody.

So when Dr. Paul was asked if the United States should stop Israel from attacking Iran, he got it right. He unequivocally made clear that Israel has a right to defend itself, and that the United States has no business telling Israel what to do. I still disagree with Dr. Paul on much of his foreign policy views, but I can now clearly say that he has no malice in his heart.

New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson was on stage, which pretty much devalued the event. He is a nice guy whose supporters are known for wanting to legalize marijuana. The stoner vote hopefully is not that large a share of the GOP. When Johnson was asked what type of reality tv show he would want to star in, politics really had been dumbed down.

The candidates were all asked about the other candidates not in attendance, which was a backhanded way of implying that the men on stage did not matter. Rick Santorum did win, and he won the convention straw poll with 37% of the vote. No other candidate topped 11%. Despite having his cult following, Ron Paul only got 2%. His offbeat libertarian hybrid fusion whatever it is does not seem to resonate in the Bible Belt. In all fairness, unlike at CPAC, his supporters here were polite, friendly, and pretty normal for the most part.

While every other major candidate skipped the debate, most of the candidates at the debate immediately left. Only Senator Santorum stayed and did other events.  I attended a luncheon of his on Friday, and he was fantastic. He gave his word that when he gets demonized, he will fight back. George W. Bush allowed his critics to define him, and Senator Santorum will not do that. Senator Santorum is very socially conservative, but there is not an ounce of malice or bigotry inside him. People who disagree with him should do so without being vicious.

I asked Senator Santorum a question he will always remember.

“Senator, given your principled stands, would you still be pro-life if modern technology were to show that the child would grow up to be ideologically defective like Barbara Boxer or Nancy Pelosi?”

He was masterful, and replied, “I have hope for every single child.”

I asked Senator Jim Demint the same question at the convention and he replied, “Now that is a hard decision, you made it hard.”

Senator Lindsey Graham was there as well, and reminded him that I was very impressed with his role as one of the 1998 House Impeachment Managers. He had the best line of the entire impeachment when he seriously intoned, “The White House is a bully pulpit, but it should never be occupied by a bully.” That line certainly applies today.

Senator Santorum was also the keynote speaker at the Silver Elephant Dinner. I did sneak away from the dinner only because it was Friday night. I quietly slipped out and went to the Tree of Life Synagogue in Columbia, not too far from the convention center. I managed to catch the very end of the service. It is a lovely synagogue.

Saturday was the convention itself. A spirited race to become the next State Chair of the South Carolina GOP took place between Chad Connelly, Bill Connor, and Stephen Brown. I met them all throughout the week, and they are all good men with bright political futures. Chad Connelly was the winner, and South Carolina is lucky to have him.

The GOP is much more diverse than the stereotypes from know-nothings. The Second Vice Chair of the party is black, as is their National Committeeman.

The Congressmen of South Carolina are fabulous.

Tim Scott is a freshman rising star, one of two black conservatives along with Colonel Allen West. Mr. Scott is also very friendly, very likable, and very principled. The guy is simply fantastic.

Jeff Duncan is another one to be on the lookout for. Aiken takes pride in putting him over the top.

Veteran Joe Wilson has been caricatured simply as the guy who said “You lie” during the State of the Union. It is unfair to reduce a man based on that. Congressman Wilson is not only a nice guy, but a brilliant historian. He told me things about Judaism and its interconnection with South Carolina that I had no idea about. He also can tell you about the various rotary clubs set up in Russia. He really is an amazing mix of historical facts and figures. His historical intelligence is off the charts.

Strom Thurmond’s son is very well regarded in the state, and is successful.

On several occasions, I also met former Governor Mark Sanford. We all know what happened to him, and yes he did it to himself. He knows that. The guy is also a human being, and a very approachable one. He seemed at peace, and I had the chance to speak with him on three separate occasions. Those on the left who wish to ridicule him should get their own moral houses in order. Whatever he did in his personal life, he was certainly good for South Carolina politically. He left the state in good hands.

All in all, the one thing that I can say about South Carolina is that it works. Politically, it is functional. From Governor Haley on down, it is a great place for a Republican to be.

More importantly, the people are just really fine people. It was an honor and a privilege to be a part of South Carolina political life for an entire week. I look forward to coming back many times over.

To the South Carolina GOP, and especially the Aiken GOP, I simply say thank you.

On to the next adventure.

eric

Francisco Franco is still dead. The Royal Wedding is still boring. Barack Obama is a Christian born in Hawaii.

We get it. Enough.

(Osama Bin Laden is still dead, but new information will immediately be reported. The GOP debate featured too many third tier candidates and not enough top tier ones. I will report on that waste of time over the weekend perhaps. I was there.)

Look, those trying to revoke statehood for Hawaii will not solve anything. Those born in Hawaii while it was a state get grandfathered in even if we remove it from the union.

Also, if the big earthquake in California finally makes it part of Russia, the people will have dual citizenship but not lose their California citizenship.

So now that all of that is out of the way, it is time to investigate Donald Trump’s birth certificate.

I like Donald Trump as a businessman and as a Celebrity Apprentice host. He is not my presidential candidate. It is one thing to speak truth to power. That can be debated. It is another to lower the dignity of the discussion. Why was Donald Trump channeling his inner Rahm Emanuel? Were those f-bombs necessary?

I have no problem with bellicose language with Iran. Blow it up, fine by me. Yet using curse words when dealing with the Chinese is a losing strategy. Militaristic language and actions are for murderous nations. The Chinese cheat at business. They do not try to bomb us. This is where diplomacy may not be worthless.

Anyway, the real issue is that Donald Trump has an issue in his background that should disqualify anybody from ever being the leader of America.

Mr. Trump claims to be a lifelong New Yorker.

I have discovered that he does business in…get ready for it…New Jersey.

It is one thing to do business with Chris Christie.

Trump has done business in Joisey for decades. This is inexcusable.

In fact, the hotels and casinos named after him are located in Atlantic City, which is in New Jersey.

Some people may say that this is smart business. New York does not allow gambling. That is an excuse. Trump should have used his forceful personality to make it happen.

How can he stand up to the Chinese when he could not stand up to David Dinkins?

How can Trump claim to be Mr. New York and then have business interests in New Jersey?

Next thing you know people will claim that the Jets and Giants play in New Jersey.

(Say that to an FDNY or NYPD guy and see how quickly you get beaten up. They both play in New York, and the Buffalo Bills play in Canada. End of discussion.)

I should have seen this coming. Trump owned the New Jersey Generals of the failed USFL in the 1980s. How could they have been the New Jersey Generals when they played in the Meadowlands and the New York Giants did as well?

(Let it go. The USFL went bankrupt so I am right.)

Who does Trump root for when the Rangers play the Devils in Hockey? What about the Knicks vs the Nets in basketball?

I am sick and tired of people claiming to be proud New Yorkers and then doing business with New Jersey just because New York is the worst business climate in the world outside of California?

Where is his sense of patriotism? Should a hostile business climate that makes it impossible to get anything done be a reason to just do business with the mistress across in the other room?

I suspect that Trump secretly was born in Hackensack.

Somebody find out if Trump prefers Six Flags Great Adventure over Action Park on Long Island. The fact that Action Park may not exist anymore is no excuse.

Mr. Trump, it was one thing when you built stuff in Florida. After all, Palm Beach is just New York relocated.

I hope that a thorough vetting of Mr. Trump will show that he is a New Yorker since birth.

Yet if he has ever set foot on New Jersey soil for commerce while people go hungry in the five boroughs, all hell will break loose politically.

Rudy Giuliani never would have put on a Devils’ cap. He knows that his beloved baseball team is the Bronx Bombers, not the Trenton Bombers.

Mr. Trump, you must put this issue to rest now. If you secretly have New Jersey pizza delivered to your apartment, you have to let us know.

(Also, for a man that rich, why is he in an apartment? With housing prices down, he should be able to buy one. Maybe Obama is worse than we thought.)

Mr. Trump, it is time for you to be vetted very thoroughly in a way Obama never was. I expect you sir to swear allegiance to a New York flag, with not a single Jersey star or stripe on it.

Anything less is unacceptable, and dare I say it sir…unpresidential.

eric