It would not be accurate to say that I’m officially and completely off of the Herman Cain train, but put it this way: The train is in the station, the doors are open, and my hand is on my bag. And it is absolutely nothing to do with today’s breaking story about alleged sexual harassment in the 1990s. That may well be a contemptible smear; nothing is easier than launching such stories, and nothing is more difficult than substantiating them (or, indeed, defending oneself against them).

Herman Cain is hated and feared by liberals because he is a conservative black man. And the natural instinct of conservatives is to support him in the face of attacks by enemies who are so nasty, incoherent and just plain wrong. But that noble reflex should not blind the same people to the legitimate problems Herman Cain has from the opposite perspective. I’ve already expressed serious concern about his garbled answers on life issues, i.e. abortion. Yesterday on the CBS show “Face the Nation” he was given a chance to spell out his position. From the transcript of the interview conducted by old Bob Schieffer: [Read more →]

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From section: 2012 CAMPAIGN, Commentary, Politics by Sean Curnyn

In honor of the day that’s in it (as they say in Ireland) here’s one of the niftier versions of “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” from YouTube, even if they only sing two verses: [Read more →]

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From section: Shorts by Sean Curnyn

It’s 33 degrees Fahrenheit at this moment in New York City, on the afternoon of October 29th, and the weather service says that it “feels like” 28. Having been outside quite a bit today in the torrential wet blowing snow, I can attest that it is not pleasant at all. My post from yesterday remains apropos: Occupy Wall Street: getting cooler, but not in the way they’d like.

…

And I like this:

(from Ben Lansing)

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From section: Shorts by Sean Curnyn

In the case centered around atrocities which took place for many years in the abortion clinic of Dr. Kermit Gosnell in Philadelphia, two of his former employees today pleaded guilty to murder. One woman, Adrienne Moton, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder for picking up an infant that had been born alive and snipping the baby’s neck and spine with a scissors. The other woman, Sherry West, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder for administering a fatal overdose of anesthesia and painkiller medication to a woman who had come to the clinic for “treatment.” The infant who was killed was not named; the name of the adult victim was Karnamaya Mongar, who had arrived in the United States from Nepal only four months earlier. [Read more →]

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From section: Commentary, News by Sean Curnyn

Those in the Republican establishment who believe that Mitt Romney is the most electable (in November 2012) candidate currently running for the GOP presidential nomination ought to consider the following scenario extremely carefully and seriously: Ron Paul, after losing the GOP nomination, decides to run as a third party candidate. Ron Paul has all the things necessary to do so: a committed base of supporters across the country, a decent amount of money and the ability to raise more, and a good beginning at national name and face recognition (thanks to what he’s stirred up during the GOP contest). Plus, you can be sure that whatever he lacks in general name recognition will be amply supplied to him by those many in the media establishment eager to help Obama get reelected in whatever way possible. [Read more →]

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From section: 2012 CAMPAIGN, Commentary, Politics by Sean Curnyn

At Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan this morning, the New York City Fire Department moved in and removed generators and gasoline from the small encampment of protesters which has been hunkering in that location for about five weeks. Naturally enough, the tiny public plaza was never intended for the kinds of activities taking place, and fire codes were being violated all over the place in the name of heating and cooking. Until now, a blind eye had been turned to it. It is an interesting time to now turn an unblind eye towards it, one must say, with temperatures having just plummeted in the New York City area, and with actual snow being predicted for tomorrow night. [Read more →]

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From section: Commentary, New York interest, News by Sean Curnyn

Where is this increasingly zany GOP presidential nomination campaign?

Mitt Romney made an enormous flub the other day in Ohio, saying he had no comment on Republican Gov. John Kasich’s bid to limit the power of public service unions. Really? And he’s running for the nomination of the Republican party in 2012? But yesterday he made a correction, saying he favors it “110%” after all, and Romney being Romney, maybe that’s all it takes. He always sounds so darned sincere when he retracts or contradicts the thing he sounded so darned sincere saying the day before, or the year before, or the decade before.

Rick Perry hit a solid double this week, at least, with his flat tax plan, which seems to be attracting more solid support on the substance than Cain’s 9-9-9 plan, and appears more achievable (especially since it doesn’t include the terrifying national sales tax). It remains to be seen whether it’s too late for Perry to get to home plate. He obviously doesn’t think so. Perry is also said to be preparing a scorched-earth campaign against Mitt Romney, via television and radio ads. Some Republicans have expressed fear that this tactic will “jeopardize the general election,” but I don’t remember such worry about criticism of other candidates. I haven’t been a fan of Republicans attacking Republicans, in particular during the debates when there are more important things to be said and a candidate should personally project positivity. However, as Yogi Berra said, sometimes it gets late early around here. I don’t know about you, but I’m a little fed up with this senseless sense of inevitability around Mitt Romney. And attacking Romney is not necessarily the same as attacking a fellow Republican, after all. Romney has gotten away with a whole lot, and has all kinds of support and apologists in the Beltway. The prediction is that Perry’s ads against Romney will “make your television bleed and beg for mercy.” At this point, I say, bring it on. If Romney actually is the nominee, it’s not like the Obama campaign is going to hold back one iota. And if Republicans really want to make Romney the nominee, they should do so with eyes wide open, knowing that they are nominating someone who has been all over the map on basic issues, and about whom we can only really be sure of one thing: He really really wants to be president. [Read more →]

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From section: 2012 CAMPAIGN, Commentary, Politics by Sean Curnyn

From a performance in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1981, the YouTube clip below features Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and Carl Perkins performing “I’ll Fly Away.”

Carl Perkins died in 1998. Johnny Cash in 2003. Elvis Presley, the fourth member of the famed “million dollar quartet,” passed away back in 1977. That’s the genesis of the title of a recent Jerry Lee Lewis album, namely Last Man Standing.As one of those latter-day albums of aging-stars-singing-duets-with-younger-stars goes, it’s not so bad at all. [Read more →]

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From section: Commentary, Faith by Sean Curnyn

The new biography of Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson, which is not exactly official but with which Jobs cooperated in every way possible, has some revelations which might not sit too well with some of his fans who are manning the barricades at Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan (or manning the barricades in their own heads as the case may be). [Read more →]

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From section: Shorts by Sean Curnyn

Half a billion dollars in federally guaranteed loans from the Obama administration to a company which is manufacturing its electric cars (called “Karma cars”) in Finland. Oh, America, what did you do?

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From section: Shorts by Sean Curnyn