Gods and Mortals

APNewsBreak: Pawlenty memoir highlights faith
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Republican Tim Pawlenty, trying to carve out a national identity as he tilts toward a Presidential Campaign, sculpts an image as a faith-based politician in a memoir infused with Bible verses and the flavor of his blue-collar upbringing. The former Minnesota Governor is out with "Courage to Stand: An American Story," a 301-page Autobiography that concludes with a stinging critique of President Barack Obama and a glimpse at what can be viewed as a 2012 platform. "If I ca...

Pawlenty Isn't Worrying about Sarah Palin
(Credit: AP Photo/John Watson-Riley) Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty insists that the kick off of his book tour is not the start of his Presidential Campaign, but his interviews -- and the content of his book -- seem to suggest otherwise. "There is no doubt in my mind I'd be prepared to be president," Pawlenty said in an interview with ABC's "Nightline" in which he discussed his new book. He says he'll probably make a final decision about running for president around March or April. If he...

Truth and Liberty and Freedom: The Journey Of My American Odyssey As An American In This Great American Land Of Ours. Also. Free
If you’re like me, you are very excited that Tim “Black Hole of Charisma” Pawlenty has a new book coming out that, aw shucks, may or may not be a harbinger of his inevitable failed run for the presidency. An Evangelical Christian who has been an outspoken voice for the GOP, Pawlenty sat down exclusively with “Nightline’s” Terry Moran to talk about running for president in 2012, his chief potential rival Sarah Palin and President George W. Bush’s legacy...

The Fix: Pawlenty defends Palin
Tim Pawlenty takes aim at critics of Sarah Palin in his new book, which is set to released Tuesday and a copy of which was obtained by the Fix. And in doing so, the former Minnesota Governor seems to be saying something about his own blue-collar appeal as he weighs a run -- perhaps against the former Alaska Governor and 2008 vice presidential nominee -- for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. The book, called " Courage to Stand," represents the latest in a series of steps ...

Ted Nugent Is Livid At The Rotten, Soulless Parents Of Blubbery Kids
It seems that Anderson Cooper can’t get enough of hunter/rocker Ted Nugent on his special edition of 360º, and, as an opening act, Nugent sure is giving Piers Morgan a run for his money. After mocking CNN for hiring Eliot Spitzer earlier this week, Nugent went all out against a less risky target on a topic near and dear to his heart: Obesity. Nugent, who has advertised his love of fitness and is a well-known advocate of keeping healthy, took a detour from criticizing last year’s hea...

Chilean miner celebrates Elvis birthday at Graceland
The Elvis-loving survivor of a Chilean mine collapse celebrated the birthday of his idol Saturday on the snowy grounds of Graceland, the Memphis mansion of the "King of Rock and Roll." As a crowd of several hundred people watched, a puckish Edwin Pena cut into a four-foot high layered cake embedded with two television sets that played black and white footage of Elvis. "Love Me Tender" was emblazoned in icing in a remembrance of the singer, who would have been 76 on Saturday, enlivened by the p...

ANN WAGNER SURGES IN RNC CHAIR RACE Picks Up Major Endorsements
Ambassador, Proven Republican Leader, Visionary, and “West Point Mom” — Ann Wagner is running for RNC Chair. Ann Wagner stands with the Troops - and keeps a Glock pistol at home in her gun cabinet. Ann Wagner picked up two new Endorsements today in the race for RNC Chair. “Ann Wagner came to Maine in the middle of a snowstorm to ask for my support and this is exactly the kind of dedication and Work Ethic she will demonstrate in Fundraising and winning Elections if ...

RNC Chair Race Update
A majority of the 168 RNC members (88 of them) have now publicly endorsed a Candidate in the Chairman/woman race. Hotline has the updated counts, and I’ve included in parentheses the gains for each Candidate over the past week: 1. Priebus - 34 (+4) 2. Steele - 17 (+2) 3. Wagner - 14 (+2) 4. Anuzis - 14 (+4) 5. Cino - 9 (+3) Despite 15 new Endorsements over the past week, no one Candidate seems to be enjoying overwhelming momentum in this race. The most inter...

Starting Lineup: Steelman Catches A Big Fish
Good Friday morning and welcome back to the Starting Lineup. Here's our take on the political news of the day. Steelman Catches A Big Fish: Former Missouri Treasurer Sarah Steelman picked up a big Endorsement for her Senate bid on Thursday: Gregg Hartley. Hartley is one of the top Lobbyists on Capitol Hill, currently working for Cassidy and Associates. He has deep ties to Missouri, having served as Sen. Roy Blunt's (R) Chief of Staff as he was ascending the leadership in the House. In an email...

Tiger Woods, Golf Digest End 13-Year Relationship
KAPALUA, Hawaii — Tiger Woods has one less Endorsement deal, ending his 13-year relationship with golf's biggest magazine when they couldn't agree on how many hours he should devote to the job. Golf Digest, with a circulation of 1.65 million, announced Thursday the mutual end of a relationship that began at the 1997 Masters. He made his debut in the magazine in June that year, and the Endorsement had been his second-longest, behind Nike. "We appreciate the insights Tiger has provided to ...

Roanoke Times Withdraws Endorsement of Greg Habeeb
Of course, as we pointed out Wednesday, the liberal Roanoke Times editorial board never should have endorsed a hard-right conservative like Greg Habeeb in the first place, but I'm glad to see they've belatedly come to their senses. Greg Habeeb, the Republican Candidate in the Jan. 11 Special Election for the House of Delegates in Salem, western Roanoke County and Southwest Roanoke County, has signed a "no Tax Increase" pledge. During our editorial board interview, Habeeb also said this: "Authe...

Tiger Woods ends 13-year relationship with Golf Digest
KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) — Tiger Woods has one less Endorsement deal, ending his 13-year relationship with golf's biggest magazine when they couldn't agree on how many hours he should devote to the job. Golf Digest, with a circulation of 1.65 million, announced Thursday the mutual end of a relationship that began at the 1997 Masters. He made his debut in the magazine in June that year, and the Endorsement had been his second-longest, behind Nike. "We appreciate the insights Tiger has provided...

US Chamber Endorsement of Daley Questioned
Washington, D.C. - Experts from the National Center for Public Policy Research are questioning the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Endorsement of Bill Daley, a progressive Banker who supports Climate Change policies, as White House chief-of-staff....

Sentence Of The Day
Ben must have enjoyed writing this: Last fall, Joseph Farah, the publisher of WorldNetDaily, which blends conservative news, UFO theorizing and a focus on President Obama’s Birth Certificate, emailed one of [CPAC organizer David] Keene’s deputies to suggest a panel on the birth certificate. There's some interesting background in the piece on the personal warfare at large in the ideological battles over CPAC and the gays as well: “There are a lot of Conservatives who see a larger prob

Florida Marks 150th Anniversary of Secession
Monday marks the 150th anniversary of Florida leaving the Union, a step in the coming of the Civil War. In early January 1861, leaders from across the state met in convention to debate what the state should do in response to the election of Abraham Lincoln, who wished to limit the expansion of Slavery in the territories and backed a higher tariff. The convention voted to leave the Union, making Florida the third Southern state to do so. The Secession measure, which passed 62-7, read as follows:...

Package ignites at D.C. postal facility
Source: WTOP.com WASHINGTON - At least one package has ignited at a D.C. postal facility, D.C. Police tell WTOP. Police say one or two packages ignited at a facility in the 3300 block of V Street in Northeast shortly after around 2:45 p.m. Friday. The building has been evacuated and no injuries have been reported. D.C. Police Officer Hugh Carew says they do not know if the package is similar to the two that ignited at Maryland State Government buildings Thursday. Read more: https://www.wtop.com/?...

James Buchanan's Activist Blunder
Disunion follows the Civil War as it unfolded. Tags: Abraham Lincoln, james buchanan, South Carolina, the civil war President James Buchanan’s critics rightly condemned him during the Secession crisis of 1860-’61 — but they did so for exactly the wrong reason. The naysayers blasted the president for passiveness in the face of disunion, for failing promptly to reinforce endangered federal forts in the South. True, the president retreated from sending reinforcement...

GOP state legislators aim to redefine citizenship
WASHINGTON — A group of Republican State Legislators came to Washington on Wednesday to unveil a blueprint for state Immigration laws that might force a Supreme Court review of the 14th Amendment, which grants Citizenship to any child born on U.S. soil, regardless of the parents' legal status. The group is pushing Legislation that would take two approaches: It would create two tiers of birth certificates, one of which states would only produce for babies born to U.S. citizens and legal r...

China OKs JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley joint ventures
Hong Kong (Reuters) - Chinese securities Regulators on Friday approved the Joint Ventures of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) and Morgan Stanley (MS.N), bringing the banks a step closer toward operating securities businesses in China that they, and other banks, have long sought. The widely-expected decision will enable the two Wall Street banks to underwrite stocks and bonds in one of the fastest growing securities markets in the world. But the two banks will have to wait another five years b...

China says yuan not main cause of Sino-U.S. trade imbalance
Ministry spokesman Hong Lei also told a regular news briefing that China was committed to proceeding with yuan Exchange Rate reform. "China will unwaveringly advance reform of the Renminbi Exchange Rate formation mechanism based on the principles of maintaining initiative, control and gradualness," Hong said. "We will adhere to a managed floating Exchange Rate based on market supply and demand, maintaining the basic stability of the Renminbi Exchange Rate at a reasonable and balanced level." "A...

China confirms President Hu to visit U.S. from January 18
The brief statement from spokesman Hong Lei on the Ministry's website (www.mfa.gov.cn) gave no more details. The White House said last month that Hu would make the visit. China's announcement came a day after the U.S. Envoy for North Korea policy, Stephen Bosworth, finished two days of talks in Beijing. Washington has pressed China to apply more pressure on its long-time ally North Korea to resume Nuclear Disarmament and patch up ties with its neighbor South Korea. That issue is likely to be pr...

China confirms President Hu to visit U.S. from January 18
Beijing | Thu Jan 6, 2011 10:39pm EST Beijing (Reuters) - Chinese President Hu Jintao will make a state visit to the United States from January 18 to 21, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday, confirming the long-planned summit in which North Korea is likely to feature. The brief statement from spokesman Hong Lei on the Ministry's website (www.mfa.gov.cn) gave no more details. The White House said last month that Hu would make the visit. China's announcement came a day after the U.S. en...

China says yuan not main cause of Sino-U.S. trade imbalance
Beijing | Thu Jan 6, 2011 2:38am EST Beijing (Reuters) - The yuan Exchange Rate is not the main cause of the trade imbalance between China and the United States, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. Ministry spokesman Hong Lei also told a regular news briefing that China was committed to proceeding with yuan Exchange Rate reform. "China will unwaveringly advance reform of the Renminbi Exchange Rate formation mechanism based on the principles of maintaining initiative, control and gr...

China confirms President Hu to visit U.S. from January 18
Beijing | Thu Jan 6, 2011 10:39pm EST Beijing (Reuters) - Chinese President Hu Jintao will make a state visit to the United States from January 18 to 21, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday, confirming the long-planned summit in which North Korea is likely to feature. The brief statement from spokesman Hong Lei on the Ministry's website (www.mfa.gov.cn) gave no more details. The White House said last month that Hu would make the visit. China's announcement came a day after the U.S. en...

China says yuan not main cause of Sino-U.S. trade imbalance
Beijing | Thu Jan 6, 2011 2:38am EST Beijing (Reuters) - The yuan Exchange Rate is not the main cause of the trade imbalance between China and the United States, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. Ministry spokesman Hong Lei also told a regular news briefing that China was committed to proceeding with yuan Exchange Rate reform. "China will unwaveringly advance reform of the Renminbi Exchange Rate formation mechanism based on the principles of maintaining initiative, control and gr...