Will Rogers on the Income Tax

Wounded Warriors Ride into the White House

For the seventh year, the Wounded Warrior Project's Soldier Ride started from the South Lawn of the White House.  

The Wounded Warrior Soldier's ride is an annual, nationwide event which allows veterans and wounded servicemen to bond by cycling.  It was conceived in 2004 by Chris Carney, a Long Island bartender, in order to raise money and support our wounded warriors through a coast-to-coast bike ride.  Today the Wounded Warrior Project can claim 68,000 alumni who have found some solace from their injuries by cycling with their Warrior comrades.

For the White House stop, over 50 riders from all branches of the armed forces took the three day, 60 mile cycling challenge. Many of the participants rode adapted bicycles.  

h/t: White House

      USA Today

Lincoln Chafee's Revanchist Run for the White House

During an appearance  on CNN's State of the Nation, former Senator and Governor Lincoln Chafee (R, I, D-RI) launched himself into the fight for the Democrat nomination to deny former First Lady/ Senator/ Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (D-AR, NY) a simple coronation. It seems that former Governor Charlie Crist (R, I, D-FL) was unwilling to play the part of a foil.  It should be noted that
 Chafee somewhat walked back his announcement during the show, noting that he only opened an exploratory committee, but that is merely  a pro forma legal nicety.

Cynical political animals wonder what propels a backbench politico into a Sissiphian contest with a prominent and well funded candidate.  Unlike former Senator Jim Webb (R, D-VA), Chafee is not hawking a current book to bolster his contender image.  Nor is Chafee likely to secure a spot as a Hillary 2016 Drug Czar.   Chafee's quixotic campaign seems to be driven by revanchism over Iraq.



While Senator Webb gained some notoriety during his time on Capitol Hill for sponsoring a bill to cut off funding for the War in Iraq, then Senator Lincoln Chafee voted against it as a Republican in 2002; whereas Senator Hillary Clinton voted for the war.

 Progressives may pine for Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) to throw her headdress into the ring, the Bay State junior Senator has declined to do so.  That leaves Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) potentially holding the progressive standard. But the 73 year old socialist Senator is not seen as a serious contender to quash the coronation.

So Lincoln Chafe's revaunchist run may have him serve as the  anti-war challenger to force Hillary to run to the left before she pivots to the center for the general election. It is questionable an anti-war animus will be a uniting force among Democrat voters, particularly if President Obama feels compelled to send combat troops to a trouble zone before the July 2016 Philadelphia convention.

Despite the slim chances that Chafee has of securing the nomination, at least his inchoate campaign is more substantive that the Hillary 2016 listening tour road trip to Iowa in the "Scooby" Mystery Machine. 

Martin O'Malley on Marriage Equality

 

  

 Governor Martin O'Malley (D-MD), a prospective challenger to Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) for the Democrat Presidential nomination, come out strongly for same-sex marriage.  O'Malley was wont to claim it as a human right (akin to those inalienable rights annunciated in the Declaration of Independence), not a state (or federal) right.  

 O'Malley's quip is also a chip against Mrs. Clinton, who went from calling traditional marriage being a fundamental bedrock principle of society to being all in for gay marriage.

Pope Francis on Gender Theory

 Pope Francis has been expressing his faith based perspectives on Gender Theory and the basis of a covenantal sacramental marriage.

  


These pronouncements may cause a media metanoia tamping down euphoric expectations of alternative lifestyle advocates for the October 2015 Synod on the Family. Moreover, it would seem that The Advocate may rue naming Pope Francis the person of the year in 2013.