…Because she loves meat so much!

In Palin’s newly released memoir, she has confessed her love for consuming meat. Her philosophy is that, “If God had not intended for us to eat animals, how come He made them out of meat?” This is a real excerpt from her book; she really wrote this. The intertextuality with Jessica Simpson and “Chicken of the Sea” is uncanny. At least Simpson did not pursue a career in politics. Ms. Palin then continues to say, ” there’s plenty of room for all Alaska’s animals– right next to the mashed potatoes.”

It is easy to laugh at the lack of intelligence in her statement, but the context in which she uses it is quite funny. Ms. Palin’s statement is poking fun at hosting a vegan for dinner at her home. She says, “I could whip them up a salad, then explain my philosophy on being a carnivore.” Most people can appreciate the humor, however she surely has angered a few PETA activists who “would rather go naked.” She continues, “I love meat… I eat pork chops, thick bacon burgers… But I especially love moose and caribou.” At least she didn’t say she likes to hunt and eat polar bear. She might, but she didn’t say it.

This Thanksgiving, Palin and her family will gather around a feast, celebrating gratitude, and she will be thankful that God made turkeys our of meat… so that we can eat them. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

“What’s so crazy about that?” Lou Dobbs replied, when asked about the possibility of a presidential bid. Earlier this month, Mr. Dobbs amicably parted ways with CNN “to pursue new opportunities,” Mr. Dobbs says, “It’s one of the discussions that we’re having.” The last of the original CNN anchors, Lou Dobbs was released from his contract after 29 years. However, he continues to anchor The Lou Dobbs show, his daily radio broadcast.

A loyal supporter launched loudobbsforpresident.org last January, in an effort to rally supporters for a potential bid in 2012. The creator of the website, William Gheen says, “Lou Dobbs would make a good president because he is truly a man of the people.” In nearly three decades as anchor , Mr. Dobbs has cast himself as a “tough, relentless, independent,” however a possible presidential bid may require him to endure “partisan nonsense” and lean right or left. He says, “I just don’t even know what to tell you in terms of where I’m leaning.” He said, “For the first time I’m actually listening to some people about politics,” rather than being listened to.

Mr. Dobbs is a strong advocate for legal immigration which could make him a favorable candidate in conservative circles. Run, illegal immigrants, run! Three years left to find a path to citizenship with Obama in the White House. Legal immigration and the broken borders of the U.S. are issues for which Mr. Dobbs is most wholehearted. Maybe Dobbs will remain loyal to his Independent political position, however the likeliness of success for an Independent candidate is marginal.

Recently, Kate Moss interviewed with a fashion website WWD. In that interview, she was asked what her motto is, where she answered one is “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.” Certainly, Kate Moss has made a very lucrative living as a delicate looking supermodel, which established a sort of trend in the modeling industry. However, there is no reason for her to be publicly criticized for a belief which shaped her life and supported what she has become. There is nothing “very unfortunate” about her words as one eating disorder activist has said. What is unfortunate is the global magnitude of the obesity epidemic, in children and adults.

The number of lives at risk as a result of diseases induced by the state of obesity are far greater than the number of folks suffering from malnourished eating disorders. Yes, they are both clinically diagnosed diseases, however eating disorders can no longer hold a candle to the enormity of obesity. Look at it from the other side, if Kristie Alley were to say, “everything tastes better than being healthy” which as a result becomes a motto on obesity support websites, that is far more concerning to me. If I had an obese child, spouse, parent, brother, or sister living by that motto, I would be very, very concerned. Similarly, there would be mayhem from the “Biggest Loser” trainers in response to something like this.

This is not to determine one is worse than the other, it is just to reveal the bigger picture. Skinny is according to an individual’s state of mind. Skinny is unique to the individual, like fingerprints. If you think about it, Kate Moss’s message could possibly have a positive influence on those battling obesity. Moss’s motto is relative to everyone in their own sense. Personally, her motto is relative because no matter how good the taste of something, nothing is worth carrying an additional 30% or more of weight. The ability to be physically unrestrained, free of heart and blood pressure disease, and diabetes is priceless.

A year has passed since President Barack Obama stood before a crowd in Grant Park as the president-elect. After a long campaign for “hope” and “change” he made dozens of promises to the American people and mainly his supporters. In one year, of those promises, how many promises has Obama kept and how many has be broken? He announced to the emotional crowd, “The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term.” In a year since this declaration, it seems President Obama’s progress is off to a slow start.

The mostly “unchecked” list of promises include immigration reform, health care, and new financial regulations. Many of Obama’s campaign promises are marked as “in the works”, however time is slipping faster than the progress of “change”.

As Obama campaigned his presidency he promised to return the troops in Iraq home in 16 months, and “finish the fight against al Qaeda in Afghanistan.” Those 16 months have turned into 19, and as the troops remain on Iraqi grounds, Obama has deployed an additional 20,000 with consideration of sending thousands more. Obama also promised to oppose mandatory insurance and fining people who do not have insurance. The health care bill is “in the works,” however, both oppositions will likely appear in his health care bill and chalk up broken promises. President Obama also promised that lobbyists “will not work in my White House,” yet they are still present.

Of all Obama’s promises, kept, broken, or in the works, there are also dozens of promises receiving “no action.” Nearly a quarter of his term is complete, and there barely seems to be a dent in the list of promises Obama has made. His presidential clock is ticking and he has about 3 years to start taking action on his list of “no action” and “in the works.” How many promises of “change” will be kept, and how many will be broken? Or how many will receive any action at all at this progressive rate?

Is there really any chance at long term success for bribing the Taliban to join our forces?

Apparently President Barack Obama “hopes” there is a chance, since last week he signed a $680 billion defense appropriations bill to fund the military operations in fiscal 2010. The strategy of paying Taliban members to join American forces against the radical Taliban is an element of this bill to receive a piece of the payout. There is a popular Afghan phrase, “You can rent an Afghan, but you can’t buy him,” but the U.S. Government is willing to spend billions of dollars and try anyway.

The defense of the strategy reveals the Taliban members of Afghanistan are dissimilar to those in Iraq. They are less motivated by the extreme ideologies and religious fervor, and more motivated by employment or income. To them, their loyalty to the Taliban is conditional and can be reversed if their conditions from American forces are better. Senator Carl Levin said, “They believe an effort to attract these fighters to the governments side could succeed, if they are offered security for themselves and their families,” as well as granted amnesty. The offering of amnesty is not a new concept to separate Taliban members from their leaders, however offering monetary compensation is.

A similar tactic was applied in Iraq, however these “bribes” we called “employment opportunities.” Of the Taliban in Afghanistan, General McChrystal says, “Most are operating for pay; some are under a commander’s charismatic leadership; some are frustrated with local leaders.” Certainly, there is a lot of truth to this statement. However, relying solely on bribing the Taliban to join positive forces has little promise for long term stability for Afghanistan.

Long term success for Afghanistan and their people does not reflect some Blockbuster movie scene where some nations chalk up the “W” and others defeat. This has more to do with Afghanistan’s ability to maintain a stable government after the separated Taliban members are no longer on the American payroll. An expert on the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, Nicholas Schmidle, said “So long as the Americans are keenly aware of this, you’re buying a very, very, very temporary allegiance… If that’s the foundation for moving forward, it’s a shaky foundation.” At this point, there is a clear effort to rent some Afghans, however there is no promise we can buy them out permanently.