Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer to Produce 83rd Academy Awards

Well, the Adam Shankman Oscar production stint lasted all of one year, unfortunately. Because, for all of his flirting and grind dancing with Miley Cyrus, Shankman did a terrific job in co-producing the 82nd Annual Academy Awards.

Bruce Cohen 

Now, a new team gets a chance: Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer were selected to produce the 83rd Annual Oscars. According to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science, the pair produced the Academy’s first Governors Awards last November.

AMPAS President Tom Sherak is happy

During the announcement AMPAS President Tom Sherak said, "I'm absolutely ecstatic that Bruce and Don have accepted my invitation to produce and direct the 83rd Academy Awards telecast. Their work in producing the Academy's inaugural Governors Awards was exceptional and I am confident they will bring their creative vision and extraordinary talent to produce (and) direct a most memorable Oscar show."

Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer are ready

Bruce Cohen, who won the 1999 Best Picture Award as producer of American Beauty, said "I fell in love with the Oscars as an eight - year - old kid, the night my grandmothers let me stay up to watch for the first time. It is a dream come true for me to now be producing the show with the phenomenal Don Mischer, whom I've had an incredible time working with in the past. We hope to create a show that celebrates what people around the world love about the Academy Awards year after year - the excitement, glamour and tradition of Oscar Night itself."

Don Mischer 

Don Mischer, who worked with Cohen in 2009 and who produced the incredible We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial, said "During my previous collaborations with Bruce, I have come to know him as a passionate, smart and creative producer, and I couldn't be more thrilled to now be working with him on the Oscars. As a producer and director, I have always been inspired by the live broadcast of major, high - profile events and when it comes to that, it doesn't get any bigger than the Academy Awards. The Oscars are truly 'appointment' television, they're eagerly anticipated around the world, and they offer a unique opportunity to celebrate the extraordinary artists who take us on a journey every time we step into a movie theater."

The Oscars will be presented Sunday, February 27, 2011 at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, and televised live on the ABC Television Network.

No word, as of this writing, on the show's hosts. But Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin (AKA Phil Tagami), did a great job this year.

Peter Orszag to quit Obama Administration: the Orszag sex scandal

The Office of Management and Budget Director, 41-year old Peter Orszag, the bespectacled, cowboy boot-wearing, double-chic banging star of the Obama Administration is rumored to plan to resign from his position in a few weeks, according to ABC News.

Peter Orssag and Bianna Golodryga

Before the jokes about Peter Orszag's sex scandals start, this space has to give him credit for steering the passage of the $862 billion stimulus bill, the Obama Health Care Plan, and President Obama's budget. Peter Orszag is the successful representative of our generation of well-trained, young, good-looking, smart, and fun-lovingly sexy professionals.

Any dude who can snag ABC newscaster Bianna Golodryga while banging wealthy shipping heiress Claire Milonas, and running the country's budget is a man.

A man, yes, but not a thoughtful man.

On January 7th Milonas and Peter Orszag announced that she had given birth to a child, leading to this statement by the couple:

"We were in a committed relationship until the spring of 2009. In November, Claire gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Although we are no longer together, we are both thrilled she is happy and healthy, and we would hope that everyone will respect her privacy."

Claire Milonas 

The truth is Peter Orszag met Bianna Golodryga at last year's White House Correspondents Dinner. Orszag then dumped the heiress Claire Milonas for Golodryga while Milonas was pregnant.

If it weren't for the pregnancy, Orszag would be just the White House stud. (Heck, considering Orszag's office has a fireplace, there's no telling how many women he's had in there during the winter.)

Instead, Orszag's a candidate for one of President Obama's lectures on Fatherhood. You know the one? The one where Obams says "any fool can get a girl pregnant."

As quiet as it's kept, you've got to believe Milonas isn't going to raise Peter's kid without his involvement. Moreover, Peter Orszag dumping Milonas, who then has his kid, as he's planning to marry Bianna Golodryga, has to set off Milonas' bells.

And set up more potential embarrassment for the Obama Administration.

General Stanley McChrystal: Obama should fire him for Rolling Stone blast

Stanley McChrystal thinks he can beat you up

General Stanley McChrystal is the worst kind of military official a president can have: a person who shakes your hand, pretends to like you, then talks about you behind your back and to the press. That's what General Stanley McChrystal did to President Barack Obama in the Rolling Stone Managzine article called "The Runaway General", and exactly why Obama should fire him.

For all of his military accomplishments, General Stanley McChrystal is obviously just one man who must learn that in politics people don't have to take your advice all the time, but it's important that they listen.

McChrystal obviously does not know how to cultivate power. It's not being heard or having your ideas adopted, but giving others the impression that the people who matter the most listen to you, even when they don't. That's something this blogger learned working for the last two Mayors of Oakland before the current Mayor Ron Dellums. It's something McChrystal does not know.

According to the New York Times which has excerpts from the Rolling Stone article that was written by war reporter Michael Hastings, the segments' comments were and are damning. Here's a set of them:

Stanley McChrystal, Obama’s top commander in Afghanistan, has seized control of the war by never taking his eye off the real enemy: The wimps in the White House.

Then, according to the New York Times, McChrystal's whining about having to attend a dinner with NATO Allies in Paris in April. This is what went down:

"The dinner comes with the position, sir," says his chief of staff, Col. Charlie Flynn.
McChrystal turns sharply in his chair. "Hey, Charlie," he asks, "does this come with the position?" McChrystal gives him the middle finger. [...]

"I'd rather have my ass kicked by a roomful of people than go out to this dinner," McChrystal says. He pauses a beat. "Unfortunately," he adds, "no one in this room could do it."

Already, we see a thread here: General Stanley McChrystal thinks he's King Kong: the one person who can beat up anyone. McChrystal was probably your schoolyard bully, and it looks like he's not done pushing people around.

People like that often get punched in the mouth either figuratively or literally. It's a good thing General McChrystal didn't say to Vice President Joe Biden "bite me." as an aide suggested he do if asked about Biden's comments. While VP, Joe Biden's just ask likely to tell General Stanley McChrystal to f-off and then give him a good one. Of course, Biden wouldn't actually do that; he would figure out a way to do it politically, where the impact is far more lasting than a punch in the mouth.

And then there's this installment from the Hastings article, one that takes direct aim at Obama:

Even though he had voted for Obama, McChrystal and his new commander in chief failed from the outset to connect. The general first encountered Obama a week after he took office, when the president met with a dozen senior military officials in a room at the Pentagon known as the Tank. According to sources familiar with the meeting, McChrystal thought Obama looked “uncomfortable and intimidated” by the roomful of military brass. Their first one-on-one meeting took place in the Oval Office four months later, after McChrystal got the Afghanistan job, and it didn’t go much better. "It was a 10-minute photo op," says an adviser to McChrystal. "Obama clearly didn't know anything about him, who he was. Here's the guy who's going to run his [expletive] war, but he didn't seem very engaged. The Boss was pretty disappointed."

Translation: McChrystal's insulted the President didn't treat him like a rock star. Well, that's just too bad for McChrystal. It also illustrates my central point: McChrystal's too much the pugilist to understand how to build and cultivate power. His ego is so large that it blinds him to the need to form power relationships.

McChrystal's schoolyard bully view of the World cost him a chance to build a good relationship with President Obama. McChrystal certainly has one with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is reported to have said "Give Stan what he wants", and that's only because she feeds his towering ego. Can you imagine what McChrystal would have said about Hillary Clinton if she didn't?

While Obama may not do it, the best move is for him to sack McChrystal. Then he will have time to reflect on his mistakes and learn that in politics, the guy who can beat up everyone in the room is often the one who's the weakest person in the room.

Tom Hanks films Larry Crowne; Larry Crowne script was leaked

Three days ago, this space featured a photo of Toy Story 3 actor, the Legendary Tom Hanks, looking at playback from his upcoming movie Larry Crowne, co-starring Julia Roberts. In the process of researching for that blog post, at least three sites have it, two for free and one for pay.

Of the free websites, one is a Julia Roberts Fan site called AboutJulia.com, and the other is the beloved Awards Daily.com.

The third site is called "The Tracking Board" where you can get it for $59.

With all the Internet exposure, I figured Tom Hanks deliberately leaked the November 2009 draft of the script to create buzz before Toy Story 3. So, why not put it on Scribd to generate even more buss, right? After all, what's the passive aggreession for?

Well, someone managed to convince the dude at Scribd that having the script on Scribd was a copywrite violation. But if Tom Hanks' people are really that concerned about having it out there, why allow all of the links?

A team of people could give Playtone Productions a lot of headaches by just posting and reposting the script. That leads to one question: who leaked it?

Someone out the script out there for view. If I were running Playtone Productions, I'd have done it on purpose, then altered the movie here and there just to add some twists not in the script.

Whatever the case, Larry Crowne's being tossed around and why not?  It's a good script.

Stay tuned.

FIFA punishes Koman Coulibaly for USA vs. Slovenia World Cup call

Koman not in World Cup

After much anticipation over the weekend, FIFA officials failed to announce a real review but they did punish USA vs. Slovenia World Cup match referee Koman Coulibaly for his non-call, call that prevented the United States from winning Friday's epic battle.

FIFA has dropped Koman Coulibaly from the World Cup by not assigning him to the next round of World Cup matches (33 - 40), according to Sports By Brooks.

If you happened to miss the kick and the call - let alone the outpouring of comments, some defending Koman Coulibaly, most not - here's my video:



FIFA defends referees

According to ESPN.com, Jose-Marcia Garcia-Aranda, head of refereeing for FIFA, said "We are very, very satisfied with the performance of the referees."

You've got to be kidding. If Jose-Marcia Garcia-Aranda's and FIFA are happy with the "performance" of referees like Koman Coulibaly, it's obviously a cover for the real story. If FIFA were really "happy" with the refs, Koman would have been assigned to another match.

Not so.

You've got to give FIFA credit for political head-fake that's a thing of beauty. The sports' governing body essentially affirmed Coulibaly's mistake by action, while allowing its words to indicate that Koman would not be punished.

Maybe FIFA officials learned this form of passive aggression after an extended stay in the SF Bay Area?

Blogger News: Oakland Bloggers for Libby Party at Era Art Bar

Relax at Era 

This Wednesday, June 23rd, a group of Oakland friends, boosters, and bloggers (and some combinations of all three) are gathering at Era Art Bar and Lounge for Libby Schaaf.

The event starts at 5:30 PM, in Oakland's Uptown District. The Era Art Bar and Lounge is a new venue, growing in popularity due to it's warm, inviting, large interior and fun atmosphere.

And if that reads like a commercial, well, it is. But really, come on down. You don't have to be an Oakland blogger or a blogger for that matter to join us. But we do ask that you donate $30 to Libby's campaign for the Oakland District 4 City Council Seat.

So, see you Wednesday, June 23rd at 5:30 PM, at 19 Grand Avenue, Oakland, CA‎, (510) 832-4400, and near the intersection of Grand Avenue and Broadway in Downtown Oakland. ‎

Fatherhood.gov: a new website about Fatherhood by the Obama Administration

Fatherhood.gov: a new website about Fatherhood by the Obama Administration, is the cyber representation of an objective President Barack Obama set on two years ago.

When President Obama was running for the office, one of the best speeches he delivered was on Father's Day, July 15th, 2008, at Apostolic Church of God in Chicago, IL. In that speech, President Obama delivered a tough, yet compassionate speech on being a father in the 21st Century.

In that speech, Obama said "of all the rocks upon which we build our lives, we are most dependent on the family. The family is that most important foundation. We are called to recognize and honor how critical every father is to that foundation." Obama said that some fathers were "acting like boys instead of men" and pointed directly at African American men as the one group that most needed to step up to their responsibilities. Here's the video of that speech:



Obams said he wanted to "bring about change" in this area, and in an effort toward that objective, and with the Department of Department of Health & Human Services, established Fatherhood.gov.

Fatherhood.gov is a great clearinghouse of information for fathers and fathers to be. It has sections and pages like "being a dad" and videos like this one called "Cheerleader:"



Of course, this new website's going to have its detractors, but this is really a good, basic idea. One so simple and needed, it's long overdue. Share Fatherhood.gov with a father you know; it's good time well spent.

Albert Haynesworth is right to sit out; Ray Lewis is being a hypocrite

Albert in Wonderland 

Washington Redskins Defensive Tackle Albert Haynesworth has received a load of criticism for his actions in first asking to be traded, then taking the $22 million in contract money owed to him and failing to attend Redskins mandatory minicamps.

He's painted as one who doesn't love the game, as a quitter, and worse. Washington Redskins Head Coach Mike Shanahan is slamming him as is the Legendary Baltimore Ravens Linebacker Ray Lewis, who, sadly, is being a hypocrite.

But the person who really deserves the criticism and heat, and isn't getting it at all, is Redskins Head Coach Mike Shanahan. Moreover, Albert Haynesworth is quite correct that playing in a 3-4 will reduce his ability to be effective; the same skill than landed him a $100 million contract to start with.

Mike Shanahan should know better

All of this controversy would not have started if Mike Shanahan, who I'm personally not sold on as the answer for the Washington Redskins coaching woes, had not insisted on slamming a 3-4 down Albert Haynesworth's mouth. The way Coach Shanahan thinks about the 3-4 is not comforting; the best answer that would meet Albert Haynesworth's concerns is to have both defensive ends over the offensive guards, or at least one engaging in some kind of double-teaming action with Albert. But I've seen no evidence of Shanahan employing such hybrid schemes in the past.

Albert Haynesworth is a 4-3 three-technique tackle. Asking Albert Haynesworth to play the 3-4 as a nose tackle is like asking The Pittsburgh Steeler's "Mean" Joe Greene to do the same for the Steel Curtain Defense of the 1970s. You can bet Greene would have the same reaction.

The 3-4 is harmful to defensive tackles

Simple logic has it that asking one person to rush the passer or defend the run against three people is harmful to that players football life. When the nosetackle isn't double teamed, he (or she in some cases) is tripple teamed, when slide blocking - where the guard "slides" off the nosetackle and blocks the inside linebacker - is used.

So on an off-tackle counter play, we have the guard on the side of the play double teaming with the center on the nose tackle (and the inside linebacker on that side is blocked by the fullback), while the off-playside guard slides off the same nosetackle and blocks the off-side inside linebacker who's movement is slowed by the counter fake from the halfback.

In a 4-3 defense such games are impossible to play. Both offensive guards have to deal with the defensive tackles and the center helps on a double team of the off-side defensive tackle. The resultant hole is one the middle linebacker can plug, take on the fullback, and with the onside defensive tackle stop the play.

Ray Lewis is being a hypocrite

Ray Lewis says he can play well in either a 3-4 or a 4-3, and takes time to slam Albert, according to The Washington Post's Dan Steinberg. Lewis said:

"The response is, whatever you want me to do coach, let's get it done. If you want to switch the defense because you think it'll work better in a 3-4 -- I played in a 4-3 my whole life, but we switched up to a 3-4. 'Ok, Ray, you're gonna have to take on more guards, you're gonna have to do this and that.' Ok, coach, I'll adjust. Do I like it? Hmm, nah. But I'll adjust, so let's do it, you know what I'm saying? And through that process, I won the defensive player of the year in the 4-3 in 2000, and in 2003 I came back and won the defensive player of the year in the 3-4. So it don't matter."

But here's where Ray's not saying what he really thinks. For that, we have to go back to 2005 and S.I.com, when Ray Lewis openly expressed joy over the news that he was going to be featured in then-Ravens Defensive Coordinator Rex Ryan's 46 Defense, after playing in Mike Nolan's Ravens 3-4 Defense. In 2005, Lewis said:

"That's like telling your premier running back that you're going to make sure he's not going to be touched in a football game. To come into camp and have my defensive coordinator tell me I’m not going to be touched, I’m like a little kid all over again...It's tough, because you have to humble yourself and take coaching and do whatever they tell you to do," Lewis said. "Whether it takes away from your game or helps it, you just deal with it. That's what I did. It didn't alter how I prepared, it didn't alter my passion for the game. But at the same time, it alters how dominant I can be."

The scheme of defensive did matter to Ray Lewis, even though he says otherwise today. From another perspective, one that your more likely to get inside an African American family home (unless you live in Oakland, CA), Albert Haynesworth does not want to be treated like he's a modern day slave; black barber shop talk would place Ray Lewis in just such a category.

To be fair, Ray Lewis is a worker bee, but even he has to question a social system where the choice of football scheme is generally done without the consultation of the players that are to use it.

In an ideal world, Coach Mike Shanahan would have talked with Albert Haynesworth regarding the type of scheme he wants to play in and the two would have come to a meeting of the minds, but in the NFL, even in the 21st Century, there are coaches who can't resist the urges of their own irrational egos, even at the expense of intelligent thinking.

Summer Solstice 2010: first day of summer roundup

Today is Summer Solstice 2010, the first day of summer. According to Wikipedia, Summer Solstice, or the "first day of summer," is "when the Earth's axial tilt is most inclined towards the sun at its maximum of 23° 26'." It's the longest day of the year, with the shortest night, and thus the best reason to have a round up of what's happening. So, picking through the national and local issues and trends...

Oakland, CA

Oakland Police, who have gone without a cost-of-living adjustment for four years, are bracing for job cuts as the Oakland City Council sends signals that it is considering eliminating up to 200 jobs. Some officers say that they've given quite enough in adjustments and feel like they're being used as political footballs while the Oakland City Council tries to look like it can make tough decisions.

The best move for the Oakland City Council is to cut pay temporarily rather than jobs, as many officers would rather have a brief pay hit than a job elimination. Whatever the decision, the City Council should do it and communicate to police that they're more than valued, as many officers don't get that message.

Alameda, CA

Interim City Manager Ann Marie Gallant is under heavy fire for a consistent practice of hiring out of town contractors for work. According to The Island, Gallant ignored a local black financial advisor, Lonnie Odom, president of Stinson Securities LLC, and selected a firm, Westhoff, Cone & Holmstedt, that includes a person Gallant worked with when that person was with another firm, Westhoff-Martin and Associates, and Gallant worked in another city. Gallant selected Westhoff, Cone & Holmstedt without a competitive bid. The job is to have an underwriter for public infrastructure refinancing bonds.

From my experience in the Oakland Mayor's Office, that work is commonly subject to competitive bid because the bond dollar amounts are so large, generally in the millions and in some cases billions, no one in city government wants to be accused of favoritism or racism. Gallant is dealing with both perceptions. Given her years of experience, it's shocking for Gallant to take such a brazen action and doesn't say much good about her style or intent. If Gallant's not careful, the Summer Solstice could mark the beginning of the end of her employment with the City of Alameda.

Atlanta, GA

The sad top story at The Atlanta Journal Constitution is of Christa Scott, a 26-year old Midtown club employee, who left work with a blood-alcohol level of .229, three times the legal limit and up there in Chris Klein-territory, and smashed into a car driven by Jordan Griner, an intern for Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue. Scott ran a red light and hit Griner's driver's side door. He died at Grady Memorial Hospital.

San Francisco, CA

San Francisco Supervisor Chris Daly, portrayed as Godzilla on The Wall SF Forum, has floated a proposal to merge the San Francisco Police Department with the Sheriff's Department and placing control in the hands of the elected sheriff, thus eliminating the position of Chief of Police, and with it George Gasćon. Chris Daly needs six votes from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to get the proposal on the November ballot. Let's see if he gets them this summer.

More later...stay tuned.

Tila Tequila: 3 Adoptions in 1 year.. -- Nikky Raney

Kazakhstan Adoption Claims

Russian Adoption Claims:

Haiti Adoption Claims:

I have not edited any of the tweets posted. I have not added any of the text. The tweets are directly from Tila's twitter and sites that have archived her tweets.

The reason I made this blog post is because I take adoption seriously. It's not okay to lie about adoption. If the adoption is 100% approved - then keep up with it and post more information. Adoption can be a long process. If these children are actually real;who she met and agreed to adopt; then I feel bad if she ended up decided not to. I would feel even worse if this was made up, because I am sure no matter what -- the child would be happy to be out of the current environment.

Celebwitter

Celebrity Tweet

Favstar

Celebrities Who Tweet

This will be the last post about Tila for a while. After the fiasco last night it is clear that my posts truly affected her, and that she was very upset by them. She made so many blog entries about how she doesn't care about "haters." She claims to love her haters, and she wants them to keep talking. Out of all the people who speak of her, there are many people who actually call her names & make wrongful assumptions about her. I have never directly attacked her or called her any derogatory names. I have never said anything that did not have evidence to justify it. I have many times said that I do not hate Tila, and that I was once a fan of hers. I do this all so that the lies will be exposed and I can shed light on the situations. It's strange that so many people constantly attack her, call her names and say such cruel things to her like telling her to die, etc. but all I do is comment about her tweets and assess her blog posts & I get attacked through her tweets & the Tila Army tweets. So for this blog entry the only evidence I am using will be from Tila Tequila herself. That way she cannot say I am lying, attacking, etc. Tila, I apologize if I hurt your feelings. I never meant to actually upset you. Maybe my posts will help you to come to terms with your lies and realize that you need to make some changes. You are almost 30, and I hope that you will realize all the potential power that you have, and how much you could accomplish if you changed some things about yourself. I hope that Dr. Drew can help you out, and I will be watching. I watched both seasons of Shot at Love, and I was in love with it. It was sweet, and you and Bobby were cute. So, I feel bad that out of all the mean posts, the one that affected you the most were the posts that were NOT mean to you, but the ones that exposed you WITHOUT being mean or calling names. I guess it's time to focus on Perez. I will probably do a Perez vs Tila post comparing the two. I am working on a Future of Journalism post dealing with Skype interviews for journalism. I do have to thank Tila. Your attention helped to promote me, had me gain more followers, and showed people how mature and how much of an impact I actually have. I have been complimented on my skills as a journalist & blogger and how I am able to criticize and expose without personally attacking. This however is a personal message to you. I decided to make it public like your posts to Lindsay, because I would like this to be read by all. By the way, I am listening to your song Paralyze at the moment - I love that song and I wish that you would record more songs like it. I wish you the best Tila, and I hope that you can see that I never attacked you or was "out to get you." I never even insulted you. Good luck with everything, and I hope one day you can look back and maybe thank me or maybe even apologize to me for all the things you said to me & all the tweets you made attacking me. Even attacking my weight when you said yourself we all need to stick together as women and support each other's bodies. I am not concerned with my weight, because I am not insecure and I am not fat. I do not comment on your blog by the way. My name "nikky" is not even able to be in your comments. So, I hope that one day you may actually apologize and realize I was never a "hater" and I never directly insulted or attacked you. Wish you the best of luck, and I hope that maybe you'll try to be more honest and live up to what you say. I still may make the occasional post if there are any new fiascos, but for now I will leave the investigating to Tila's Rot Spot - they are very good at what they do & they actually have tried to reach out and help you as well. I have respect for them. I will let them continue to do what they do, and if I see something really needs to be covered then I will assist. If you don't make anymore lies or actually adopt a child, create a charity, keep your stories consistent, stop contradicting yourself, fly a fan out to live like a celebrity, or create a web site that doesn't focus on yourself then I may even post about how you have changed & how you are living up to your words. Hope you read this & see where I am coming from. - Nikky Raney

Nikky Raney - The Future of Journalism

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Barton, Bachmann, and BP, oh my!

It's ironic that when voters think the President isn't getting enough done, they often use the off years to make it harder for him. Logic goes out the window - and if it happens this time...?

Veteran Texas Congressman Joe "BP" Barton is the ranking GOP member (and former chair) of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.  That means if the Republicans gain a simple majority of seats in the House, Barton is the heir-apparent for the chairmanship. You can bet your BP that big oil is looking forward to that day, even if they only make it partway in November of 2010.

Consider the 2^nd District in Minnesota, where a below-the-radar Congressman, John Kline, is hoping nobody will notice how closely his votes parallel Bachmann and Barton's.  As his challenger Shelley Madore (a former MN House Rep) has been saying since she announced her campaign for U.S. Congress in January of this year, Kline is no less extreme than Michelle Bachmann of the 6th District if you look at his votes. Kline, on the opposite side of the Twin Cities metro from the infamous Bachmann, is just Michelle in sheep's clothing.

And I use "sheep's clothing" with all seriousness, because John Kline has done almost nothing but follow the GOP herd during his entire time in office.

We all know that the "off years" are when the party that doesn't hold the presidency traditionally gains traction. People realize the President can't actually get done everything they hoped he could, and so they decide to make it harder for him.

What? You were expecting logic from the voters?

Here's a simple truth: Most folks vote for a gut reason, not a head reason.  They can cite reasons that sound logical, but the truth is they mostly vote for politicians they like, or they think they'd like to have a beer with.

Here's more simple truth: The GOP is about to spend a lot of money in key races, including big oil money, and the more headway they make the less Washington stands up to Wall Street, big oil, big mining, the insurance companies, or any other big business.

The GOP has decided to prove that government is ineffective, as part of their "small government" platform that sounds so good until you realize that only our elected leaders -- our government -- has sufficient power to hold BP accountable.  The Free Market economy sure the heck can't do it, as we proved by deregulating Wall Street (with predictable, and now well-documented, results.)

Will voters pick the party of Joe "BP" Barton and Michelle Bachmann, with their faithful flock of followers such as John Kline to take on the aftermath of the disaster in the Gulf?  Opinions vary, but I'd rather see folks running the government who not only know how to get things done, but who believe there's more to being in Congress than saying the government should apologize and get out of BP's business.

That's why I like Shelley Madore's track record, and leadership, and her chances running against a "below the radar" extremist in Minnesota (where, let's face it, all eyes are on the Bachmann~Clark contest, and massive amounts of money are being raised and spent.) It's time for proven, effective leadership that knows how to partner with small businesses, not bail out and apologize for big business.

I hope voters like that kind of candidate this time around.

Thomas Hayes is an entrepreneur, journalist, political staffer, and photographer who contributes regularly to a host of web sites on topics ranging from economics and politics to culture and community.

BP Gulf Oil Spill - oil eating bacteria; Gov. Crist visits Osprey Biotechnics

This update to the blog post on the call for oil-eating bacteria to be used in the clean-up of the BP Gulf Oil Spill Disaster: Florida Governor Charlie Crist visited the firm that makes the oil-eating bacteria.

Crist needs to tell Obama about Munox 

According to The Bradenton Herald, Governor Crist was the guest of Sarasota, Florida-based Osprey Biotechnics and to see their product, Munox, first hand, last Thursday. Crist said he was "impressed" with the oil-eating bacteria product.

Crist reportedly met with Osprey Biotechnics officials for 40 minutes, and Secretary Mike Sole, of the Department of Environmental Protection called Osprey officials last Thursday.

Crist said he "may" mention Munox to President Obama in his weekly conference call. Governor Crist should change that "may" to a "will". The only logical reasons Governor Christ would stall on mentioning the Munox product to President Obams is, again, a lack of desire to have the BP Oil Spill problem quickly resolved, or because someone connected with the oil industry has said they don't want their oil assets destroyed.

Governor Crist's response should be not to care about the oil assets, or the oil that was spilled into The Gulf of Mexico. Governor Crists' first responsibility is to the health and welfare of the people of the State of Florida. And right now, both have been severely compromised.

Osprey calculates that 55 gallons of Munox could treat 36.5 square miles of water in the Gulf of Mexico. That's just a little more than about the amount of gas a large Ford F350 holds. That means Munox is powerful stuff. Governor Crist should hold Osprey to its performance claims and get that product into the Gulf of Mexico as soon as possible, like now.