On President’s Day, the POTUS sexy ranking (plus, the 5 scariest people who never became president)
President Obama makes the top 5 in Nerve's sexy presidents list.
Because really, what is more important than that? [Spoiler alert: you get points for having mutton chops, dating or being a Hollywood celeb, or wrestling an alligator, none for being jowly, fat or just plain mean...] Enjoy, courtesy of Nerve.com. Meanwhile, here’s the ReidReport list of the top 5 scariest people who never became president … Read more
On King day, a chance to be great
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. famously said that “all can be great, because all can serve.” On this MLK Day, every American can be proud of this country’s humanitarian gestures to the people of Haiti, including the fine work being done by our military and government personnel, and the generosity of purse and spirit demonstrated by millions of every day citizens. I think Dr. King would be proud. The brilliant simplicity of giving is that everyone can play even a small part in helping their fellow man. Whether or not you choose to give to Haiti relief, or to another charity, or to your church, or a few minutes of your time to a senior citizen, or a few extra hugs to your kids, or to a friend, you can be great today. Not a bad deal. God bless.
- Holiday read: King’s “I have a dream” speech: Text | Video
- President Obama’s MLK speech at D.C.’s Vermont Ave. Baptist Church
Bill McCollum’s Martin Luther King Jr. problem
[UPDATED with response from the McCollum campaign.] Bill McCollum is part of a small, elite circle of politicians. Back in 1983, when Ronald Reagan was president and unicorns with cotton candy hooves scampered through the twilight dreams of American conservatives, he was one of just 90 members of the House of Representatives to vote against the establishment of a holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr. (338 House members voted yes.) When that same bill, HR 3706, made it to the Senate in August of that year, it’s chief opponent was Jesse Helms. Helms, of North Carolina, tried to get the FBI to unseal its wiretaps of King because Helms wanted to prove the civil rights leader was a Communist. (The bill had been introduced repeatedly since 1968 by Rep. John Conyers, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference had obtained 6 million petition signatures supporting the idea of a holiday — petitions presented to Congress by Coretta Scott King and Stevie Wonder. In the Senate, Helms’ main opponent was the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, while the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously grabbed a dossier on King that Helms wanted read into the record, threw it on the ground and stomped on it.) Read more
Happy holidays from the Reid Report!
Whatever you’re celebrating today, be it Christmas or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or just the fact that you lived to see today, here’s hoping you’re enjoying it with beloved family and friends. And especially to those who cannot be with their loved ones, our men and women in uniform in particular, Godspeed, and God bless.
Stay classy, GOP
It took about one minute for Indiana Congressman Mike Pence’s GOP Thanksgiving address to shift from “support the troops” and “give thanks,” to “Attack President Obama.” Per Raw Story:
“We have much to be thankful for,” Pence began. But his holiday sentiments quickly turned into an attack on President Obama’s recent announcement of a “jobs summit,” to be held in December to address the problem that “the economic growth we’ve seen has not yet led to the job growth that we desperately need.”
And if your heart wasn’t warmed enough by that, Pence had more to say:
Pence went on to claim that “the Obama administration and the Democratic majority in Congress have taken our economy from bad to worse with their failed economic agenda and big government plans. And if all this wasn’t enough, Democrats in Washington continue to push for government-run insurance.”
Pence concluded his message by calling for solving the problem of joblessness through tax cuts and “fiscal responsibility.”
Meanwhile, the president kept it classy in his address, acknowledging the struggles people are facing this Thanksgiving, without attacking the rogues gallery on the other side of the aisle that got us to where we are, and vowing to turn the jobs picture around. Watch the two addresses. They couldn’t be more different.
Happy Thanksgiving! … unless you’re a turkey, in which case, never mind
The turkey has been pardoned, the guest lists set, and now, all that’s left to do is get ready for some football (and pie). This year, the Reid family will be doing something we haven’t done in a while — have Thanksgiving away from the homefront. We’ll be at a friend’s house, kind of the way my mother used to have a house full of people on TG (complete with the combo West Indian-traditional American food), only in reverse.
Anyhoo, hope you all have a wonderful long weekend, a happy Thanksgiving, and that whatever team you root for wins (unless they’re playing my team.) — BTW, my NFC and AFC teams square off tomorrow. It’s a painful choice, but I’ve got to stay true to the O.C. Go Broncos!!!
Enjoy!
A somber Veterans Day
The memorial marking the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima, World War II -- though Veterans Day was meant to mark the previous war -- the "war to end all wars."
With the country having just memorialized those murdered at Fort Hood, and with our troops dying in increasing numbers in Afghanistan, and still dying in Iraq, it’s another sad Veterans Day. Still, here’s to all of those who have served, in wars past and present (including my next door neighbor, who returned not too long ago from his latest tour and is now enjoying civilian life.) To the old, and the young, the grizzled veterans and those just returning from war (and those still there) thank you and may God bless and keep you and your families.
Meanwhile, if you’re a history buff like me there’s more after the jump. Read more
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