Michael Steele to resign this Friday?

Over at the conspiracy website, AboveTopSecret, user WhatTheory reports that an inside source has disclosed information that Michael Steele, Head of the GOP, will resign this Friday, July 10th. To see the full post check it out at: Palin to replace Steele as GOP Chairperson. WhatTheory goes on to say that Sarah Palin will be appointed new chair of the GOP.

I have searched the Internet and cannot corroborate any of the above. However, some things to consider:

• Back in March, political insiders reported to Politics Daily that a Republican loss in the special election of NY's 20th district would result in Steele's ouster; the Republican, Jim Tedisco, lost the election to Democrat, Scott Murphy.

• Democrat Michael Quigley beat Republican Rosanna Polido in April's House of Representatives election to fill the seat vacated by Obama's Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel.

• Democrat Judy Chu leads Republican Betty Chu to fill the empty House of Representatives seat in California's 32nd Congressional district.
  

• Both New Jersey and Virginia have gubernatorial elections this year, each state is currently led by a Democratic governor.

• Republicans are neck-and-neck with Democrats in polling.

Given the current state of the GOP and Steele's inability to satisfactorily address these issues, a Steele resignation wouldn't be a major shock. However, a Palin appointment to head the GOP would certainly be surprising. Assuming any of this is true, couldn't she have served as governor until an appointment to head the Republican National Committee?

Whose that girl, what's her name, is she....Lindsay Pagano?

A new weekly segment has begun here at Mostly Politics: Phamous Philadelphians! It will profile those famous Philadelphians currently in the limelight, or have enjoyed such popularity/notoriety in the past. If you have any suggestions, please leave a comment and look for that person in the future!

And the first Phamous Philadelphian is....LINDSAY PAGANO!

Lindsay Pagano, born in Philadelphia, left the City of Brotherly Love while still a teenager to pursue a career in the music industry. While some may cast doubt about such a story: moving to LA in the hopes of making it big, Lindsay succeeded! She came out with the hit song, Everything U R:



Since then, Lindsay has disappeared. Wikipedia reports that she left Warner Brothers in 2003. One has to wonder why she left WB, given its track record at making stars. Since Everything U R, has she had many other hits? Nonetheless, the wikipedia link above states, "In 2008, Pagano decided to return to her love of singing. She is resurrecting her music career after taking several years off from the music business." Pagano's Myspace showcases her new #1 indie hit, I Gotta Stop, which you can also find on a Youtube search.



Check out her music and let's keep an eye out for this Phamous Philadelphian!

Two cases of big brother

Get into the working world and one quickly learns the definition of the term power trip. Governments increasingly do this, with two perfect cases this week.

In the first case, the Vatican launched an investigation into the various orders of American nuns. The government-style group which runs the Catholic Church alleges that the nuns stand too liberally on three issues: male-only priesthood, homosexuality, and the Roman Catholic Church as the only means to salvation.

Basically, the Church has done it again: cracking down on any group that threatens its ultra-conservative male chauvinism. With the addition of provisos and quid-pro-quos as necessities to daily life, and the inclusion of loony things like indulgences, the Church has made itself a pariah. Interestingly, such hostile views have caused a split within the Church such that today the Roman Catholic Church consists of modernists and legalists. The modernists focus more on the Bible, and suggest that one need only live a faith-filled life. The legalists focus on every letter of Catholic doctrine and dogma and live according to Catholic law. I see both as equally fine, except when one group imposes its dominance over the other. The Vatican, not a fan of the modern Catholicism practiced by most Catholics, deals with it via its Congregation on the Doctrine of the Faith.


In our second case of power domination, two members of the White House press corps accused the White House of fixing a recent townhall meeting. Helen Thomas and Chip Reid pointed out to a visibly annoyed White House Press Secretary, Robert Gibbs, that in pre-selecting both the participants and the questions the White House essentially barged right through the concept of a townhall. Traditionally, in a townhall, people just show up with questions. At times, depending on the engagement, this type of meeting has had to be amended, but in such the principle never changed. Chip Reid pointed out that in pre-selecting everything, all of which happened to make the president's healthcare plan sparkle, it decimated the idea of an open forum. Helen Thomas went even further, saying that in her history with the White House nobody has ever had the audacity to call up reporters ahead of time to let them know that they will be picked on. It all begs the question: how much free press exists in this White House?

You can watch it all here:

Obama FDA to pull Tylenol?

Got a headache? Take two tylenol and have a nap. --this conversation takes place regularly in hospitals, physician offices, and even homes. People associate acetominophen (brand name tylenol) with a safe and effective way to relieve pain. However, the FDA has called into question the safety of this compound and has created a panel which is set to vote today on the future of this pain reliever.

Any increased regulation of acetominophen and acetominophen-containing compounds will likely result in scorn from people already unhappy with the Obama Administration. After all, this president's administration has already lived up to the liberal stereotype of big brother- labeling its enemies (conservatives) terrorists, taking over private companies, massive government oversight, and so on. Increasing regulation on a drug currently sold without restriction will not help to deviate from this big brother image. How exactly might the FDA consider regulation of acetominophen? Will it simply make the drug makers change drug dosing guidelines, or are we looking at the moving of acetominophen products behind the counter--prescription only, or will it go to the extreme and pull tylenol altogether? Then the ultimate question: does America need such regulation?

Like all drugs, acetominophen has its side effects, most usually from an abnormal reaction. But one very serious side effect is liver damage, usually from an overdose of acetominophen (not typically when taking it as prescribed). Healthcare professionals have known this for years and even have a way of treating acetominophen overdose: acetylcysteine. The efficacy of this antidote depends on numerous factors, including the amount of acetominophen taken and the time between drug ingestion and acetylcysteine administration. To date, acetominophen is the number one cause of liver failure, which can cause death. To compound the situation, many other drugs either contain acetominophen, such as cough syrups and other painkillers, or interact so as to increase its toxic side effects, such as alcohol. Take home point: know what you are putting into your body!

In a letter released yesterday, the makers of tylenol suggested that they increase a campaign to educate the public on acetominophen. But it ultimately boils down to the consumer. If the consumer will not educate himself on this drug, and apparently misses or ignores the current education campaign, then does he need the FDA to step in to ensure hia safety? We generally don't need big brother in the private sector, but this might be situation where the benefits of regulation far exceed any possible detriment.

ACORN's "coi" maneuver

The presidential election of 2008 took the country by storm. The press did its part to inform Americans. We heard stories of Bill Ayers association with Obama, we watched Sarah Palin blunder an interview with Katie Couric, and we learned all about ACORN--a group accused of trying to swing the election. ACORN, which stands for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, has now decided to change its name to Community Organizations International, or more simply- COI.

To conservatives, the term liberal has come to equate to socialism; to liberals, the term republican has evolved to mean someone against anything beneficial to society. Thanks to the media, ACORN is a term associated with allegations of voter fraud. Stories about the likes of ACORN shook the foundations of democracy, appearing in both conservative and progressive media outlets these reports really took the nation by surprise:

Allegations of registering a 13yr old to vote


Woman claims ACORN workers harassed her into registering multiple times to vote


Meanwhile, former ACORN employees have come forth admitting fraud, including the registration of Mickey Mouse to vote! If such accounts are to be believed, this group, COI or not, has much explaining to do.

Nonetheless, the group formerly known as ACORN will have an even larger role in 2010: working the census, in addition to its typical role in getting people out to vote. Hopefully we will see some accountability by then, with COI responding to allegations and politicians doing more to stop voter fraud.