Walt Schmidt

Anyone who knows me will tell you there’s no ambiguity in how I feel about LeBron James. He’s right up there with the NFL’s #1 diva, Brett Favre. In a basketball world full of egos, he stands alone. Plenty of people excuse him because of how super-awesome he is. But that’s a weak excuse. Kevin Durant doesn’t need that excuse.

LeBron’s grin hasn’t charmed everyone, though.

Kevin Hench:

It’s like LeBron is a rock god, auditioning groupies to see which will debase herself most thoroughly for his gratification and ego satisfaction.

Gregg Doyel:

He hasn’t killed any man, any woman, any dog. He hasn’t been arrested on charges of domestic violence. He hasn’t brought a loaded pistol to the arena. So why am I starting to loathe LeBron James?

Bleacher Report:

There are “kryptonites” that every human beings share. Is LeBron James’ “kryptonite” his ego?

Adrian Wojnarowski:

All those teams that marched into the presentations and listened to some of the foolish and naive questions asked of them believed these kids had no idea what they were doing, or what they had gotten themselves into.

Marla Ridenour:

If there’s a happy ending to the 2010 free-agency frenzy, it will still leave the impression that the King’s head has gotten too big for his crown.

Bob Berghaus:

LeBron James, a free agent after playing seven years with the Cleveland Cavaliers, is just 25, but he’s taking this diva stuff to a new level.

So, goodbye LeBron. Or, welcome back. Doesn’t matter to me. Either way, I’ll always remember you for treating others with respect and your good sportsmanship.

Be sure to check out the Twitter account of LeBronJamesEgo.

Americans across this great land beamed with excitement when GM announced that they paid back their government loans ahead of schedule. Until, that is, someone had the nerve to ask where they got the money to pay it back. Turns out, GM paid back the TARP money using TARP funds from an escrow account at Treasury.

This must be a misunderstanding. Maybe GM can clear it up:

Question: Are you just paying the government back with government money?

GM Vice Chairman Stephen Girsky: Well listen, that is in effect true, but a year ago nobody thought we’d be able to pay this back.

Or, maybe not.

GM Pays Back TARP Loans With … TARP Loans

Thomas Jefferson wrote that all men “are endowed by their Creator with inherent and inalienable rights; that among these, are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Here in America, we’re in the midst of an intense, but quite healthy, debate over health care reform. Part of the debate is whether access to health care is one of those inherent rights.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich released a statement last month where he said, “I believe health care is a civil right.”

But if you think the health care debate is explosive, imagine a Congressperson trying to sell what Antonio Tajani is pushing.

Tajani, the European Union commissioner for enterprise and industry, said, “Traveling for tourism today is a right.”

The leadership in Brussels agrees. If you’re retired, young, or too poor to afford it yourself, you should have your travel subsidized by the government.

I think Glenn Beck’s head just exploded.

The percentage [of Americans who identify themselves as Tea Party supporters] holding a favorable opinion of former President George W. Bush, at 57 percent, almost exactly matches the percentage in the general public that holds an unfavorable view of him.

(source)

Is the Tea Party movement really an uprising born from the election of Barack Obama? Not if the majority hold a favorable opinion of George W. Bush. As evidenced by their actions, both President Bush and President Obama believed in increasing the size and reach of federal government. Both Presidents pushed reckless financial policies that included increasing debt. Frankly, they have more in common than most Tea Party supporters would care to admit.

If those in the Tea Party really believed what their signs said, they would hold similar opinions of Obama and Bush. Very little separates the political principles of these two men and of most elected Republicans and Democrats. Another reason why real alternatives brought by the likes of Ron Paul are so refreshing.