Hawks and Doves

Newt for President
Newt Gingrich is in. After flirting for years with running for president, the former speaker of the House officially declared on Wednesday that he is a candidate for the Republican nomination, claiming the mantle of Ronald Reagan and urging Americans to “talk together, work together and find solutions together.” (NYT, 5/11/11)

Years ago RedStateVT was talking to the Master and Newt Gingrich’s name came up. RedStateVT was dismissive of Gingrich only to be counseled by the Master. “Forget everything you have heard about Newt and listen closely to him the next time he speaks.” The Master - who knew Newt well - was right and RedStateVT has been an admirer of Gingrich since that time. Interestingly, the Left is very negative about Gingrich because of issues in his personal life. Similar issues with Bill Clinton, however, were not a problem for the Left. Clinton, who cheated before and during his presidency is not judged, but Gingrich who confessed his sins, asked for forgiveness and converted to Catholicism is condemned.

Piece
WikiLeaks' Australian founder Julian Assange, who enraged Washington by publishing thousands of secret U.S. diplomatic cables, was given a peace award on Tuesday for "exceptional courage in pursuit of human rights." (Reuters, 5/11/11)

Those whose lives were put in jeopardy by alleged rapist Assange could not be reached for comment.

Putting Out the Fire with Gasoline
With gas over $4/gallon and unable to blame Bush, Obama and the Dems are running scared. The Republican solution is easy, start drilling. Dems, claiming the mantle of environmental purity, forbid drilling anywhere in the U.S. (Apparently they don’t object to drilling in the Middle East, Mexico, South America or Canada because they never seem to raise any objections.) Using the type of reasoning by which great powers become also-rans, Dems say that we shouldn’t start drilling because it would have no immediate effect on the price of oil. Maybe they are on to something, what with the imminent arrival of the solar-powered automobile……….