TresSugar

Say What? Nancy Reagan Gets Spooky

TresSugar — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 09:08:46 -0700

"It sounds strange, but . . . I see Ronnie. At nighttime, if I wake up, I think Ronnie's there, and I start to talk to him. It's not important what I say. But the fact is, I do think he's there. And I see him."

- Nancy Reagan, in a Vanity Fair interview speaking about missing Ronald Reagan and seeing his ghost.

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Reagan's Birthday! 7 Things You Didn't Know About the Gipper

CitizenSugar — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 03:00:31 -0800

Today Ronald Reagan would have turned 98-years-old! The 40th President of the United States lived a full life, and he played many roles - on-screen as an actor, and in public life as CA's governor and a two-term US president. Perhaps you're not aware that his role as George "The Gipper" Gipp in the 1940 movie Knute Rockne, All American got him the lifelong nickname "The Gipper." In honor of his birthday, find out what else you might not know about Ronald Reagan!

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Half of House Democrats May Vote Hillary at the Convention

CitizenSugar — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 03:00:51 -0700

1976? Do I hear a 1976? According to Rep. Loretta Sanchez, as many as half of the House Democrats may indeed vote for Hillary Clinton during the state by state roll call since allowing the vote was decided last week. I don't want to rock the boat, but come on! Let's have it out!

Hillary getting votes and making it a re-do of the 1976 contested convention between Ford and Reagan would be ridiculously exciting - and give the 1,800 delegates Hillary earned a real voice at the end of the road - a redemption of sorts from the seven-year-long campaign we've been through. A return to purity if you will. Karl Rove has laid out a whole plan on how to win a contested convention, let's do it?

As I'm sure many of you, lots of superdelegates disagree with me, and are a little squirmy about the vote. To see why, read more.

Under the convention bylaws, delegates have a mandatory duty to register their votes on a tally sheet with the convention secretary so everyone will know who Hillary'd and who didn't. According to a former delegate counter, “By putting her name in nomination, you’re putting people on the spot.” Others would prefer to cast their vote for the obvious nominee but feel beholden to reflect the vote in their districts. (Imagine that.) On staffer commented on her boss’ position: “My boss is conflicted about it – and pissed Hillary is putting us in this position.” Still, 30 to 40 percent of the New York delegation will go for Hillary.

Is this "convention about nominating Barack" as one Democratic delegate says, or is it about really making a decision? Could a contested convention be the best and fairest culmination of a race so close, or should the convention just be a formality?

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Just Like Reagan's Kids! Obama's Girls Are Featured in People

CitizenSugar — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 09:00:42 -0700

The more things change, the more they stay the same, huh? This week in history, waaaayyy back in 1980, then-presidential candidate Ronald Reagan's children were featured in People magazine - fast-forward to 2008, and while Obama is in Israel meeting with top Israeli and Palestinian leaders on his plans for containing the nuclear threat from Iran and building peace in the Middle East, his daughters are getting their time in the mag.

In the Reagan kids' profile (which has a hilariously vintage feel) daughter Patti scandalously admitted to the question of whether she would vote for her dad, "gee, uh, I don't know - maybe I wouldn't vote for anybody. I'm really kind of antipolitical. I just get the newspaper and turn to the comics." Gee? Too good. In the profile, Patti, 27, was living at home "until I can find a new apartment."

Michael on the other hand was fully engaged as a campaigner for his dad, despite that his age (35) made his dad look ancient - and scandalous with his blended family. He said, "I suppose it makes Dad look old, having older children. Headquarters may feel it's embarrassing if Maureen and I are in the forefront, and the real kids [the two by Nancy] are not. Sometimes I've felt like I was fighting to volunteer."

And this! After talking about Ron's love of ballet, the piece included the quote from dad, "he's all man-we made sure of that," and the article goes on to say, "in fact, young Reagan seems thoroughly heterosexual." Oh, 1980. You're so cute!

All in all, it's kind of a shock to see how unmuzzled the kids were during the campaign - not produced in the least.

Though the Obama girls are decidedly younger than their Reagan predecessors, they gave out the goods, too. To see what they said, read more.

The magazine said that the girls have a "youthful zeal" and "manners" and though there was no talk of ballet; Sasha takes tap and gymnastics to Malia's soccer and drama.

They have to make their own beds, mom says, "doesn't have to look good, just throw the sheet over it," and the big rule, "no whining, arguing, or annoying teasing." Moooooooommm! What fun is that?

For chores, the girls get $1 a week, which dad has to pay back wages on sometimes, "I'm out of town for weeks at a time, so Malia will say, 'Hey you owe me for 10 weeks.'" All in all, Obama says the girls "have a wonderful life in Chicago. So I'm sure there's a part of them that won't be heartbroken if things don't work out."

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He's Unstoppable Now - But Is McCain Too Old?

CitizenSugar — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 00:00:36 -0700

Yesterday Democratic Rep. John Murtha said that Sen. John McCain is too old to be president. Murtha might have a unique perspective on the age-factor: Murtha himself is 75, four years older than McCain. He says the rigors and stress of running the country is too much for guys their age.

"I've served with seven presidents. When they come in, they all make mistakes. They all get older. This one guy running is about as old as me. Let me tell you something, it's no old man's job."

That "one guy" running, if elected would be the oldest man to become president at age 72. McCain's take-it-easy, senior citizen's schedule in the past few days has included a wild turn with Chris Matthews on Hardball, a big announcement about cutting the gas tax for the summer, and a slot as the cover boy for New York magazine. That's more than I've done in the past 48 hours, for sure.

Ronald Reagan may have famously quipped while campaigning for a second term at 72, that he was not going to exploit his opponent's "youth and inexperience" when the question of his age surfaced - but is Murtha right? Is McCain the answer to the question, "How old is too old?"

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Obama's Major Policy Address Mirrors Times Op-Ed on Iraq

LibertySugar — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 09:11:53 -0700

Moments ago, Barack Obama reinforced his plan for Iraq. In the major policy speech Obama said:

As president, I will pursue a tough, smart, and principled national security strategy. . . . I will focus this strategy on five goals essential to making America safer: ending the war in Iraq responsibly; finishing the fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban; securing all nuclear weapons and materials from terrorists and rogue states; achieving true energy security; and rebuilding our alliances to meet the challenges of the 21st century. . . It is unacceptable that almost seven years after nearly 3,000 Americans were killed on our soil, the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 are still at large.

McCain is set to answer the speech at a New Mexico town hall meeting at noon EDT.

The speech echoed Obama's op-ed in the New York Times yesterday. There, he repeated his belief that "we must be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in." In case you missed the piece, for some of the highlights, read more.

Obama would redeploy and remove combat brigades in 16 months (by summer 2010). Remaining forces would target remnants of al Qaeda, protect American service members and, so long as the Iraqis make political progress, train Iraqi forces.
Obama would pursue a diplomatic offensive with every nation in the region on behalf of Iraq’s stability, and commit $2 billion to a new international effort to support Iraq’s refugees. He would also add at least two combat brigades to Afghanistan, and would not pursue a "misguided desire" to maintain permanent bases in Iraq.

Here's how Obama contrasts himself to McCain and Bush:

Factors that still exist today led Obama to oppose the surge, including: the strain on the military, the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, the $200 billion more than budgeted spent on Iraq, and the lack of Iraqi political advancements.
Obama contrasted himself to President Bush and rival John McCain, by maintaining: "They call any timetable for the removal of American troops 'surrender' even though we would be turning Iraq over to a sovereign Iraqi government."

Regarding travel plans, Barack Obama will visit Iraq with Republican Senator and Iraq war critic Chuck Hagel. Hagel, the Republican incarnation of Joe Leiberman, voted against the invasion of Iraq and has refused to endorse John McCain. Perhaps the conservative Hagel is auditioning for Obama's Team of Rivals.

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10 Lefty Ladies

TresSugar — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 06:00:00 -0700

Since today is officially Left-Handers' Day, I decided to dig up a list of famous women who belong to the lefty minority. My research led me to some pretty awesome people and I must admit that I'm feeling pretty left out for being a righty.

The disproportionate amount of awesome lefties might not be a coincidence. Studies have found that there are more left-handed people with IQs over 140 (that's genius material). This might explain why there are more lefties in the creative professions and why so many past American presidents were left-hand dominant, including recent presidents like Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama. To celebrated Left-Handers' Day 2009, let's take a look at 10 lefty ladies!

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Book Bag: This Is Your Country On Drugs

TresSugar — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 13:00:00 -0700

Americans are so addicted to drugs that our government had to declare war on them! This Is Your Country On Drugs: The Secret History of Getting High in America, a new book by Ryan Grim, explores the unlikely consequences of the so-called War on Drugs. Some examples? Ronald Reagan may have inadvertently caused the crack epidemic. The fastest-growing drug today is a legal hallucinogen you can buy on the Internet. Past antidrug campaigns actually encouraged drug use. And, Americans have stopped using LSD altogether.

In fact the disappearance of LSD, or acid, prompted Grim to research US drug habits. In the book, he writes:

Strolling around Burning Man and being unable to find acid is something like walking into a bar and finding the taps dry.

According to one review of the book, Grim demonstrates how "the American passion for getting high turns enforcement-centered strategies into a vast game of Whack-a-Mole." As government policies target marijuana and cocaine, they end up encouraging the meth trade.

Meghan McCain Tells GOP to Go Gay!

CitizenSugar — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 06:00:14 -0700

Megan McCain knows how the GOP can become a more modern party: it should go back to its roots. In her column this week, Meghan argues that Republican resistance to gay marriage goes against conservatives' values, and their own self-interest. Plus! Ronald Reagan was totally pro-gay. Sounds like Meghan's appealing to the GOP's mind and heart.

On her own coming out as a pro-gay-marriage Republican, she writes:

Recently, I seemed to have rocked a few individuals within my party by saying that I am a pro-life, pro-gay-marriage Republican. So if anyone is still confused, let me spell it out for you. I believe life begins at conception and I believe that people who fall in love should have the option to get married. Lest we forget, our founding document, the Declaration of Independence, grants the same rights to everyone in this country-“All men are created equal.” If you think certain rights should not apply to certain people, then you are saying those people are not equal. People may always have a difference of opinion on certain lifestyles, but championing a position that wants to treat people unequally isn't just un-Republican. At its fundamental core, it's un-American.

Does Meghan sound like a true Republican to you?

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Does the Criminal Justice System Need Sweeping Reforms?

CitizenSugar — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 06:00:03 -0700

Jim Webb, the former Secretary of the Navy under Ronald Reagan and current Democratic Senator from Virginia, wants to rehabilitate America's criminal justice system. So he's proposed a crime bill!

Webb's plan starts with creating a bipartisan commission to study the system for 18 months and come up with a concrete legislative reform plan of its own.

Webb points out urgent reasons for the legislation, which include:

About 25 percent of the world's prisoners live in the US, which only has five percent of the world's population.
The number of drug offenders in prison has jumped 1,200 percent since 1980.
Four times as many mentally ill people are in prison than in mental health hospitals.
Post-prison re-entry programs are often nonexistent and threaten public safety.

The crime bill has begun gaining support from both conservatives and liberals typically afraid of being labeled soft on crime.

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