https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvxDzS7B774

Our guest columnist is Theodore Roosevelt, speaking in 1910 at the dedication of a John Brown memorial in Osawatomie, Kansas. The speech, substantially written by Gifford Pinchot, was decried in some corners as “Communistic”, “Socialistic”, and “Anarchistic”. In a sign of how far Our Exceptional Nation has fallen, Roosevelt’s face has yet to be blasted off Mount Rushmore.

In every wise struggle for human betterment one of the main objects, and often the only object, has been to achieve in large measure equality of opportunity. In the struggle for this great end, nations rise from barbarism to civilization, and through it people press forward from one stage of enlightenment to the next. One of the chief factors in progress is the destruction of special privilege. The essence of any struggle for healthy liberty has always been, and must always be, to take from some one man or class of men the right to enjoy power, or wealth, or position, or immunity, which has not been earned by service to his or their fellows. That is what you fought for in the Civil War, and that is what we strive for now.

Read more »

You loved the badass Honeybadger? Meh. Kinda cute. This is badass. The streets of New York.

Thanks JMG for being you.

“A chief of staff to former Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich (R) was found guilty on Tuesday on four counts, including election fraud, for his role in setting up robocalls intended to surpress minority voting turnout in the final hours of Election Day last year.” [TPM]

As Newt Gingrich’s campaign catches fire, and the former Speaker of the House looks set to win the Gold medal at the Iowa Olympics for the Clinically Insane, it’s probably time for him to step up his game and take it to the next level. He’s clearly got the momentum, he’s scrambling for the money, now all he needs is a slogan, something short and sweet that will be as catchy and clever as Sarah Palin’s “Drill Baby, Drill” or Herman Cain’s “Nine, Nine, Nine!”

May I suggest:

Newt Gingrich: Because If Nancy Pelosi Reveals the Dirt She Has On Me She’ll be Breaking the Law.

Newt Gingrich, launching his campaign to put Dickens back in Christmas, used a curious phrase to express his demand that poor kids clean toilets: They need to learn the “dignity of work”.

Which led us to wonder: Has Newt ever worked?

And by “work”, we mean — well, the metaphorical equivalent of cleaning toilets. You know: A job. Like most people have. And most people hate.

By the standard most folks understand, Newt certainly hasn’t worked since November 1998, when he quit Congress after blowing the midterm election. He’s certainly been scheming, but he hasn’t been working.

Read more »

“Former Vice President Dan Quayle will endorse Mitt Romney for president in an Arizona event on Tuesday.” [Political Wire]