Archive → May, 2008
Review: Branson (MO) Getaways
With fuel prices out of control, it’s no longer easy to plan a vacation, and when the opportunity comes along, sticking closer to home always seems like the smarter option. That’s why I like the idea of a Branson, MO, getaway.
Thanks in large part to my parents’ musical tastes as I was growing up, I have a high tolerance for country music, and in the wake of 9/11, patriotic crooners like Toby Keith made for much better listening, to me, than most of the anti-American rockers out there.
Branson’s become famous as an alternative to Nashville as a country music getaway, and likes to bill itself as the “live music capital of the world.” But Branson offers a lot even for those who are not country music fans; attractions include a selection of theme parks, as well as magic, comedy, dance, acrobatics, and drama, all performed live on stage.
With most packaged ranging from $423 to $551, as well as a couple top-notch packages in the $623 to $925 range, there really is a package to fit most budgets; and while transportation down and back isn’t included, you can still get some reasonable air fare rates to Branson from most metro areas these days … it’s cheaper than driving, that’s for sure!
The WonderfulPessimist.com recommendation, though, has to go to the Great American Package (naturally). It features four days and three nights at the Welk Resort Hotel, and includes two adult tickets to the Magnificent Seven with Dinner, Legends in Concert and, of course, the Veteran’s Museum. Additonal activities are extra, but at $454 per couple, it’d be hard to find a better value.
J.C. Watts backing black news channel
J.C. Watts, the Oklahoma Republican who served at one time as the chairman of the House Republican Conference, has announced plans to start an all-black news network that will be carried initially in several major markets through Comcast, beginning in 2009.
Tentatively called the Black Television News Channel, in an interview with the New York Post, Watts said, “I’m not so sure that you see anything on CNN or Fox News that specifically targets the African-American community. Our community features millions of people with all kinds of backgrounds. There’s a much broader segment of the population than what we see in mainstream news.”
Given Watts’ solid conservative credentials, it will be interesting to see if the network he’s helping to launch with be just another liberal sound chamber, or a truly balanced news network that will reflect a wide diversity of views, not just ethnicity.
Thus far, no financial, executive, or on-air talent details have been announced. Personally, while an alternate-voice news channel’s a fine idea, I’d rather see Watts running for the White House alongside McCain, ready to step into the big chair once McCain leaves politics to hawk senior life insurance.
Unlike Obama, Watts is a man of wide and respectable experience and accomplishments, who is more than ready to sit in the Oval Office. And he’s a darn sight more conservative than John “Bradshaw” McCain will ever be.
From superbig to supersmall
The latest weapon in the battle against gas prices at the pump may be a new microcar concept; developed by Diamler of Germany, the new Smart-brand car is only eight feet, 10 inches long, about five feet wide and about five feet tall. It is reputed to get 50 miles per gallon on unleaded gas, or nearly 70 miles per gallon on diesel.
The supersmall car is ideal only for two passengers with no room for a backseat, which would rule out couples with children. Still, the Smart Fortwo is considered the top-rated traditional gas car on the market for fuel economuy, aside from hybrid vehicles. Although boasting solid front and side crash-test results, the Smart Fortwo is miniscule compared to most SUVs and it’s hard to believe it wouldn’t become a Coffin Fortwo in any accident.
Don’t quote me, but I suspect there’s some patio furniture that would fare better in a collision with a full-sized SUV. I suggest packing up Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham in one and setting them loose on the LA freeways for an extended campaign tour up and down the California coast.
Court throws out seizure of kids in Texas
According to the Third Court of Appeals in Austin, TX, “authorities had no right to seize more than 440 children in a raid on the splinter group’s compound last month. The Third Court of Appeals in Austin said the state failed to show the youngsters were in any immediate danger, the only grounds in Texas law for taking children from their parents without court action.”
This decision comes in the wake of a Texas raid on a polygamist sect called the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (“Fundamentalist Mormons” or “FLDS” from here on out). The ruling by the appeals court could force the state Child Protective Services to return the children to their parents, though that could be forestalled if the state decides to press the decision to the level of the Texas Supreme Court.
Although most kids worry about things like the school dance and acne treatment, Texas Child Protective Services claimed sexual abuse charges, using them to justify taking away all the kids from the FLDS, even those who were among traditional two-parent families.
“Even if one views the FLDS belief system as creating a danger of sexual abuse by grooming boys to be perpetrators of sexual abuse and raising girls to be victims of sexual abuse … there is no evidence that this danger is ‘immediate’ or ‘urgent’,” the court said. “Evidence that children raised in this particular environment may someday have their physical health and safety threatened is not evidence that the danger is imminent enough to warrant invoking the extreme measure of immediate removal.”
Kinda brings Waco to mind, doesn’t it? Don’t expect Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) to be running for the White House any time soon, after this embarrassment.
McCain VP targets: Charlie Crist
There are two main reasons Florida governor Charlie Crist is being mentioned as one of the first three VP candidates GOP presidential nominee John McCain will consider to run alongside him in November. First, his predecessor Jeb Bush is too toxic in this Bush-weary nation to invite onto the ticket, and second, he’s the popular governor of a key battleground state that is a huge electoral jackpot in November that most analysts agree McCain will need to carry agains Obama to keep the White House in GOP hands.
Yet there are a world of troubles with Crist, and you can’t buy memory enough to forget these negatives.
First, Crist is nearly as liberal as McCain, although he has a shorter track record in public life; that wouldn’t sit well with party conservatives who are already turned off to the McCain ticket and would be likely to skip the presidential portion of the ballot, or vote Bob Barr on the Libertarian ticket, if McCain chooses another liberal as his running mate.
Second, Crist doesn’t have Romney’s fundraising acumen, which is not an inconsiderable factor.
Third, all Crist brings to the table is Florida, which although key, is pretty much his only asset.
In all, since I’d rather see Jindal mature a bit before being thrown to the wolves of the national liberal media elites, and since Crist is not enough of a balance to the ticket, in the end I think Mitt Romney makes the most sense for McCain, of the three candidates mentioned.
Of course, there are always more folks out there who could come into play down the line, if none of these three want it. But a McCain-Romney ticket wouldn’t be a bad idea, especially if it lead to a Romeny-Jindal ticket four or eight years from now.
McCain VP targets: Bobby Jindal
If I were a futures broker, I’d wager that first-term Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has a great future in the GOP as a future presidential candidate. He’s young, he’s quite conservative, and he’s well-liked. And as the son of India immigrants, he possesses minority appeal.
Of course, that’s why Bobby Jindal is one of the top three VP targets GOP presidential nominee John McCain is hosting in Arizona over the next few weeks. Although he has little in the way of experience or a fund-raising track record, and does no hail from a state that is a large electoral jackpot, Jindal’s biggest assets are that he would mollify GOP conservatives not enchanted by the liberal McCain, and that he is a bit of an Obama-solution, offering voters another non-white candidate with relative youth and charisma.
However, there are dangers in the Jindal strategy, and they are all at the cost of Jindal, not McCain. First and foremost, as a less-experienced politician, Jindal is untested on the national stage. While that works for Barack Obama, who has the liberal media on his side, that works less well with conservatives like Jindal, who the media would be out to embarrass, leveraging his youth and inexperience to make him look doltish.
If I were Jindal’s advisor, I’d console him to take a pass on running with McCain and concentrate on performing well as Louisiana governor and winning at least one re-election to that seat before moving on. Remember, Bush the Elder once selected a young, promising, very conservative senator as his running mate, and Dan Quayle as never lived it down. I’d hate to see that same vilefying happen to Jindal, whose chances will be much better four, eight or even 12 years down the road.
Finally, we come to my least-favorite name among the first three McCain is considering: Florida governor Charlie Crist.
McCain VP targets: Mitt Romeny
As far as I know, no diamond rings will be involved, but GOP presidential nominee John McCain will be meeting over the weekend with three potential vice-presidential contenders, any of whom he might pair himself with for the November race. Of the three names mentioned, however, I only like two of them.
The one who might make the most sense is former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who challenged McCain early in the GOP political process and seemed the presumptive nominee until a poorer-than-expected showing on Super Tuesday forced him from the race. Perceived to be more conservative than the liberal McCain, Romney’s biggest asset could be his fund-raising ability; since becoming the lone frontrunner, McCain’s campaign has shown weakness in its ability to build up a campaign war chest, an area of strength for Romney.
Younger than McCain, Romney would be an attractive choice among party conservatives who want to ensure the next GOP administration has an heir apparent ready to take office. As the man who came closest to McCain to garnering the nomination himself, Romney has all the right credentials.
Next we’ll take a look at the politically most-appealing VP target: Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal.
