Larry Craig's Troubles Continue As Others Come Forward

While Senator Larry Craig has plead guilty to charges of lewd conduct in a Minnesota airport rest room, new allegations are being printing in the Idaho Statesman Newspaper which claim that Larry Craig either engaged in or tried to solicit sex from four different men. While I am no big defender of Senator Craig, it is becoming clear that Idaho's biggest newspaper is determined to bring him down one way or another. These latest charges that were printing in the Idaho Statesman were made by four different men that offered no conclusive evidence to prove their charges against Craig. However, for some reason this newspaper decided to publish their stories anyway which I believe is irresponsible for a major newspaper to do. The dumbing down of major newspapers in the United States has been a growing problem for many years now as many honorable publications have turned to the world of tabloids in order to stop their ever decreasing circulation numbers. Larry Craig has lied to the American people on many occasion about his intentions to resign his Senate office, so I have no patience with this man who says he is battling to get his reputation back. In my view his reputation is something he will never regain because of his inability to tell the truth.

In Senator Craig's twisted mind, he somehow believes that he will be able to convince the people back home in Idaho that he was railroaded into pleading guilty and in some way he really believes that the voters will redeem him if somehow his guilty plea is thrown out. That thinking on Senator Larry Craig's part is crazy because no one in the U.S. Senate or many voters back home in Idaho want to see or hear from Senator Craig anymore. In the beginning, if Senator Craig would have told the truth about the charges that were leveled against him in Minnesota, he would have had a better chance of redemption back home in Idaho than to have constantly changed his story about whether or not he would resign his Senate seat. Senator Craig has no creditability left with the American people or his colleagues in the Senate and his refusal to resign his office even after promising to do so on more than one occasion gives every U.S. Senator a bad name and it also reminds the American people about what they hate most in political leaders in Washington.

There is no way to know for sure if these four new men that have come forward to the Idaho Statesman Newspaper are telling the truth or not. They could very well be gay activist that want to make sure there are enough nails in the coffin of Senator Craig or they could be telling the absolute truth. However, without the Idaho Statesman Newspaper giving them a platform to voice their grievances against Senator Craig this new revelation would not be making news tonight and Larry Craig would just be one more day closer to his Senate term ending in 2009. I have not heard if Senator Craig is crazy enough to try and run for reelection, but my guess is that he will drift back into regular life in Idaho after his term ends and disappear from public life forever. In recent memory I have not been as disgusted with a Washington politician as I have been with Senator Larry Craig. His actions in that Minnesota mens room are not the cause of my feelings toward him, even thought I personally think what he did was disgusting, but it is the way he promised to resign his Senate office more than once and broke his word on all occasions. This case of Larry Craig should once again prove to all of us that we just can't judge a book by the cover and just because a Washington politician plays a role to get elected and reelected that does not mean that their own actions follow the political speak they used to get people to vote for them.

Read more about Senator Larry Craig:

Larry Craig Inducted Into Hall Of Fame
Senator Larry Craig Lies - Refuses To Resign Office
Senator Larry Craig Just Won't Go Away
Butt Of Many Jokes - Craig Resigns
Senator Larry Craig Resigns - Political Fallout

Mitt Romney Decides It Is Time To Discuss His Faith

Most Americans know that presidential candidate Mitt Romney is a Mormon and they have no problem with his faith. However, deep inside the religious right there are people that not only don't understand the Mormon faith, but some religious extremist view Mormonism as some kind of cult that should be avoided. With that in mind, Mitt Romney is preparing to discuss his Mormon faith next week in a very detailed and personal way. Personally, I think this move by Romney is a mistake that could do more harm to his campaign than good. People that suffer from religious bigotry are not going to be persuaded by anything he says and more than likely he will create more questions that answers when he tries to describe the feelings he has inside about his Mormon faith. All of this new talk about Mitt Romney getting personal with Republican voters about his faith got started when Mike Huckabee started leading Romney in recent polls out of Iowa. In my opinion, it is not Romney religious faith that is hurting him in Iowa against Mike Huckabee, but the conservative message that Huckabee is deliverying to audiences who believe him when he talks the talk.

In some ways it is hurting Mitt Romney more than helping him that he served for a short time as Governor of Massachusetts. In order to win that governorship, Mitt Romney was forced to moderate his conservative positions in one of the most liberal states in the country. In modern campaigns the ever present television clip is used well against Romney when comparing what he says now to conservative voters and what he told the people of Massachusetts when he was running for governor. All of the candidates for President have conflicting positions on a range of issues over the years, so what voters are left with is a situation of who do you believe in 2007? While Mike Huckabee has remained pretty conservative throughout his entire political career, Romney has flip flopped on some very critical issues involving abortion and gay married. No two issues will turn rank and file conservative voters against a candidate faster than for one of them to have supported gay marriage and/or abortion. Rudy Giuliani has been the exception to that rule because he has always been pro-choice and he has not changed his position just to win the GOP nomination. Mitt Romney has not been as firm with his positions and the image of a flip flopping politician is terrible in the Republican Party.

In a way I feel bad for Mitt Romney because I do not think that presidential candidates should have to pass a religion test in order to serve as our President. Not since the days of John F. Kennedy when his Catholic faith was challenged by protestant ministers throughout the south, has a candidates religion played such a big factor in an election season. Mitt Romney must believe he will not win the GOP nomination unless he explains his faith to conservative Christians that really are not going to vote for him anyway. I believe Romney would serve himself better if he just ignored this issue of his religion as much as possible and keep driving home the difference between he and his other Republican opponents. Religious faith is something that is very important to people and long standing religious bigotry lives in the hearts of many good people of all faiths. There is nothing Mitt Romney can say that will change opinions that have been developed over a lifetime about the Mormon faith. I have a bad feeling that once Mitt Romney starts opening his mouth and talking about his religious beliefs, he will cause even more people to question his religion and he could self inflict a wound to his campaign that he might not be able to recover from.

Read more about Mitt Romney:

Mitt Romney Overcoming Religious Bias In Election
Mitt Romney's Mormon Religion Hurting Him?

Read more about Other GOP Candidates:

Will Pat Robertson's Endorsement Help/Hurt Rudy Giuliani?
Media Loves Liberal Ron Paul In 2008 Race
Fred Thompson's First GOP Debate Tuesday Night

December 22 Dallas Cowboys Game On NFL Network

As if last weeks Dallas Cowboys/Green Bay Packers game was not bad enough for millions of fans that were unable to see it, this year the NFL has scheduled another Cowboys' game on a Saturday night and that game will take place on December 22 on the NFL Network. What a wonderful Christmas present, that was, for the the NFL to give Dallas Cowboys' fans. During last Thursday nights game against the Packers, people were lined up outside of bars and restaurants that had access to satellite television just to catch a glimpse of their favorite team playing what was one of the biggest games of the season. The ongoing battle between the NFL and major cable companies over how much money will be paid by those cable companies to carry games on the NFL Network has gone from bad to worse as big named NFL owners and coaches like Jerry Jones and Wade Phillips are running radio and television commercials encouraging fans to dump their cable television company and go with a satellite provider like Direct TV.

From the limited number of people I have talked to about this current NFL/Cable dispute, most people do seem to be blaming the cable companies for this current dispute and I really hate to hear that because I believe it is the NFL that is to blame for the current blackout situation in most cable homes because they are demanding too much money from cable owners and subscribers. On Saturday December 22nd, the Dallas Cowboys will play the Carolina Panthers in the second NFL Network game of the season for the Dallas Cowboys. On that weekend before Christmas, millions of people will be visiting family and friends and for many people that Dallas Cowboys Carolina Panthers football game would be a must watch game if it were being broadcast on regular television. However, the NFL in their infinite wisdom has scheduled that Saturday night game on the NFL Network which only has 35 million homes nationwide currently set up to receive the game.

During that holiday weekend, most likely I will be visiting my sisters house and her cable companies is one of the major ones that are blacking out the NFL Network because of money. Last Thursday night, my sister and her husband visited a local bar and luckily found a good seat to watch the Packers Cowboys game on HDTV. On the weekend before Christmas, I doubt if it will be as easy to find a seat in that same location when football fans will be competing with last minute Christmas shoppers for available seats. I have gone from excited that a settlement would be reached last week to a feeling that it might be years before an agreement is reached between the NFL and major cable providers. Hopefully, next year the NFL Network will pick another team to show twice during their shorten television season. However, I believe that will not happen and more than likely the next few years will provide at least two Dallas Cowboys games on the NFL Network and it is pretty easy to see two New England Patriots games there next year as well.

Read more about the NFL:

Pay Per View NFL Football Games Next?
NFL/Cable Money Feud Disappoints Football Fans
Packers/Cowboys 'NFL Network' Thursday Night Disaster
Tony Romo $67 Million Contract Pays Off
50/50 NFL Football Day - Cowboys' Win/Colts Lose

World Waits As Chavez Creates Dictatorship

If today's election in Venezuela is fair and the people there are stupid enough to vote for a dictatorship, then I guess they are getting what they deserve. Hugo Chavez is a very dangerous man that desires to spread his brand of dictatorial government to other nations in South America. My gut tells me that today's election to change the Venezuelan constitution will not be fair and most likely will go Chavez's way due to fraud. Hugo Chavez has already called citizens in his country that do not support his socialist platform, lazy spoil children because they do not want his brand of socialism running Venezuela for the rest of Chavez's life. Unfortunately, the mainstream media in the United States while coving this election inside their news programs are not really showing the full extent of the damage that could be done to other South America governments if Hugo Chavez gets his way.

In reality, hardly anyone would care what the people in Venezuela decide today in their constitutional election if not for the tremendous oil reserves that reside under that nation. Like many nations in the Mideast, Venezuela is flush with crude oil reserves at the very time the world needs as much crude oil as possible to fuel economic progress. Already, Hugo Chavez has threatened to cut off U.S. oil supplies from Venezuela if the United States government meddles in today's election. The funny thing about this treat is that almost everyone agrees that Chavez will fudge the election result in order to win a victory, but he is threatening the U.S. against doing the same thing. As some nations progress into democracies, others like Venezuela are wavering on the edge of granting a crazy man the ability to run their country for life. I cannot image a scenario where in a free and fair election any nation would knowingly vote to create their own dictator.

Hugo Chavez should scare all Americans not only over oil supplies that he controls, but also his ability to convince people that it is in their own best interest to vote for a dictatorship in their own country. While I believe the national vote in Venezuela today will prove that most people do not want a single leader for life, Chavez might just manipulate the results of this election enough to declare himself the winner, anyway. For my entire life there have been political problems in South America and most of those problems have revolved around dictatorships either from the left or right wing political point of view. Unfortunately, the liberal U.S. media is not crying fowl that loudly over this Hugo Chavez illegal grab for power as much as they would if his political leaning were to the right of center. To me, it really doesn't matter if a dictator is a leftist or right wing - in both situations the people of the country are effected a great deal and in the case of Venezuela the people of the United States have a vested financial interest in the outcome of this election, as well.

Read more about Hugo Chavez:

Citgo Boycott Talk - Chavez Insults Bush

Read more about Oil Prices:

Balancing Safety With Higher Gas Mileage In Cars
U.S. Dollar Plunge Leading To Higher Crude Oil Prices
$100 Per Barrel Oil - $3 Per Gallon Gas Prices
$90 Per Barrel Oil - $100 Price Next?

Mike Huckabee Could Be Dark Horse Winner

In political elections many times a person comes from behind to win it all. In 2007, that candidate could be Mike Huckabee as his true conservative platform is pushing him ever higher in the polls. This weekend I have heard several interviews of Mike Huckabee and this guy comes across well on television. The big question for me is, does he have the staying power to win against top candidates like Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney? A few weeks ago I would have said no, but after listening to Huckabee answer tough questions on television I am changing my answer to maybe. Mike Huckabee has not raise as much money as Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney and that fact could hurt him as the fight for the GOP nomination moves from small states like Iowa and New Hampshire to giant states like Texas and Florida.

The big issue to keep in mind when it comes to Mike Huckabee is the power of social conservatism in the Republican Party. Going back to the days of Ronald Reagan, social conservative voters have made the difference in GOP elections and next year could be the deciding factor as to whether the Republican Party will continue down the road of social conservatism or will it move more toward the political center? I believe the social conservative movement has already reached it's peak and is headed downward. However, there are still millions of social conservative voters in the Republican Party and if they band together and all support the same candidate, then that candidate could win the GOP nomination for President. Of all the GOP candidates, Mike Huckabee has the best chance of bundling social conservative voters together in order to win.

While I do not agree with all the positions Mike Huckabee has taken on the issues. I personally find this man a likable person who can take hard hitting questions and answer back with a joke or humor, instead of anger at the person asking the question. That ability to roll with the flow when it comes to answering reporters questions is something Hillary Clinton wishes she had. As a fan of the late President Ronald Reagan, he also had the ability to take tough questions from reporters and answer back with humor instead of anger. I believe it would be wise to keep an eye on the Mike Huckabee candidacy for President to see how successful he is at pulling social conservatives to his campaign. If he takes social conservative support away from Fred Thompson, he might just have a chance to win the GOP nomination after all.

Read more about Mike Huckabee:

Mike Huckabee To The Rescue For Conservatives?
Huckabee Catches Romney In Iowa - Can He Win?
Mike Huckabee Should Concern Giuliani/Romney/Thompson

Read more about 2008 Elections:

CNN/YouTube Debate Stacked With Planted Questions
Will Voters Buck Conventional Wisdom in 2008?

Keith Urban's Wife Nicole Praises Her Husband

In recent interviews, Nicole Kidman says that she has suffered from depression for many years and before she met current husband, Keith Urban, she poured herself into her work to escape the pain of depression. This new revelation from Nicole Kidman is the first thing that has come out of her lips in years that I truly do believe. Since her breakup from Tom Cruise and other assorted affairs in between, Nicole Kidman displayed all the classic signs of a person that was living with untreated depression. From my point of view it would be difficult to ever live with the likes of Tom Cruise and not get depressed. Cruise has a personally like a 'pitbull' dog where he believe he knows what is best for everyone else in this world because of his religious beliefs. Keith Urban, on the other hand, comes across as a really nice guy that has a few personal issues that need to be dealt with from time to time. While Urban has suffered with alcohol and drug abuse, he has never come across to me as wanting anything but the best for his wife, Nicole Kidman.

I was happy to hear these latest words of confidence from Nicole Kidman in regards to her husband Keith Urban. I have always thought that their relationship could flourish if given enough time away from the prying eyes of the Hollywood tabloid media. One of the best decision made by Kidman and Urban after their marriage was to decide to make Nashville, Tennessee their home instead of Los Angeles California. Yes, there is a lot of fun to be had in LA, but the downside of that fun is the ever present tabloid reporters that try and catch famous celebrities in moments of weakness. In reality, both Kidman and Urban are facing their own demons every single day and luckily they have each other to draw support from when these demons begin to take control of their life. Yes Nashville, Tennessee has plenty of tabloid reporters - but the reporters in Nashville seem mild in comparison to the young punks that pass as real journalist in LA.

The way the Hollywood tabloid photographers try to come across as friends to the rich and famous is so transparent to me as they follow Britney Spears and other brainless celebrities around the Los Angeles area. There is only one thing on the mind of Hollywood photographers and that is money for the shot of the day. With some photos selling for as much as 100 thousand dollars it is clear what members of the tabloid media are all about in Southern California these days. I have always thought that Nicole Kidman was lucky to snatch a good looking and decent guy like Keith Urban. While most Hollywood reporters never give country music singers much of a chance because of their bias against that music format, in reality there are many good guys and gals that travel the country music circuit to success and Keith Urban is one of the best. While some are quick to dismiss Nicole Kidman because of her Hollywood background and previous choices in men, Keith Urban seems to love her very much and in the end that true love is all that counts in relationships that are sometimes lived thousands of miles apart.

Read more about Keith Urban:

Keith Urban/Carrie Underwood Announce Co-Headlining Tour
Keith Urban Crashes Motorcycle in Australia
Keith Urban Expands 2007 Concert Schedule
Keith Urban's Wife Nicole - Secret Past
Even Garth Brooks Likes Keith Urban