It’s Monday, if you needed a reminder. Rather than having to use my brain cells one iota more than needed — like that was going to happen — I thought I would pass along a little interesting reading.
The Man Who Knew Too Much
A lot of stories are coming out about front-runner de jour of the GOP presidential pack, former House Speaker Newt “Newt” Gingrich. Many such articles deal with subjects such as his ego and pomposity. Those are not exactly high crimes and misdemeanors but for a party with a solid know-nothing wing it is uncertain how the Newt might fare against, say, a Mormon. As an article I read yesterday, sorry, I don’t remember where I saw it, pointed out, G.W. Bush had a bachelor’s degree from Yale and an M.B.A. from Harvard. Had that not been such public knowledge one would have never known it because he didn’t just play dumb, he played dumb to perfection.
Newt’s business dealings may be the one really difficult spot as a presidential candidate. Here is a Forbes article that examines “Newt as Sleazeball.” I think that in the end most Americans do not care for crooked politicians and many care even less for pompous legends in their own mind who think they are the slickest thing since Butch hair wax. Wow, do you know they still sell that stuff? This Christian Science Monitor piece looks at whether Newt would be the most formidable opponent for President Obama. Many Democrats would d0 the Happy Dance if Newt were nominated, then again, the Republicans will elect just about anything, and have done so.
Finally, Newt paid a visit to New York today to kiss the ring of The Donald. What’s that all about? A new reality show in the making? The Newt Towers. He’p us. He’p us, please!
Kepler 22b: A nice place to be from
Scientists are all excited about the discovery of Kepler 22b, the Earth-like planet with a surface temperature of 72 degrees. Sounds good to me if it rains there.
Some foots-ball talk
It seems as if every year the list of college football bowl games get longer and longer. Bowls are not just the destination for collegiate teams which win their conference but now second and sometimes third and maybe fourth place teams get a piece of the action. Plus adding the name of the corporate sponsor just about makes me throw up in my mouth a little. The Viagra Erection Bowl, the Little Friskies Killer Cat Bowl, the Cruex There’s A Fungus Among Us Bowl, the Amish Quilt Bowl … the list goes on and on.
Finally, the Houston Texans are now 9-3 after beating the Atlanta Falcons using their third-string quarterback T.J. Yates. The win came at the cost of three key players injured with one gone for the season.
It doesn’t matter what Texans haters or Texans self-haters say. It is quite an accomplishment to come so far under so much adversity, including the loss of starting QB Matt Schaub and backup Matt Leinart last week. Star receiver Andre Johnson, unfortunately, went out in the Texans 17-10 win with recurring problems to his Achilles tendon. Johnson may be back in a couple of weeks but punter Bret Hartmann is lost for the season after suffering a tear to his left anterior cruciate ligament. Inside linebacker Brian Cushing also left the game with a hurt knee but is expected to return next week against Cincinnati. The team has signed a couple of backups, the Cajun Man himself, Jake Delhomme was signed as second-string QB. Delhomme played college ball at Louisiana-Lafayette. He played for New Orleans as well as Super Bowl runner ups Carolina Panthers. Former Texans punter Matt Turk has been signed to substitute for the injured Hartmann.
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