Which Governor Will Get the G.O.P. Nod? [Plus BOREF, BKUTK, Iraq] March 6, 2014December 27, 2016 So New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is not going to be the next president . . . and now, it seems, neither is Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. Chris Hayes reports in this four-minute clip. Amazing how callous people can be. E.g., the Walker aide’s reaction to an email comparing welfare recipients to dogs — “Hilarious.” Yes, there are lazy, poorly-raised, irresponsible people in the world, even in Wisconsin. They didn’t choose their parents or their circumstances; but for the sake of argument let’s assume they’ve failed society rather than that society’s failed them. In some cases that must be at least largely true. But the others? (A documentary I’ve previously plugged that shows the descent of responsible, proud, hard workers into poverty and onto welfare is American Winter. How do we get Republican lawmakers to watch? But I digress.) So which Republican governor will be the nominee? Former Texas Governor George W. Bush? Constitution won’t allow it. Former Alaska Republican Governor Sarah Palin? Kidding! (Though John McCain did put her second in line to lead mankind, and himself first.*) Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush? As I’ve noted, over and over and over, he found a way to cut taxes for the wealthy without cutting them for anyone else** — a wonderfully modern-day Republican thing to do — which he paid for in part by eliminating drug treatment programs in 51 of the state’s 55 prisons . . . even as he acknowledged the importance of drug treatment by footing its cost for his daughter. Could it be Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, who calls on his fellow Republicans to stop being “the stupid party?” Maybe, but how does that line play with the Republican primary electorate? Maybe it won’t be a governor. Herman Cain! *Sorry, but if you had to pick one person as having the most clout in leading the world, wouldn’t it still be the President of the United States? **Subsequently, Jeb cut what was left of that tax even further — to zero. # Now let’s talk about something important. BOREALIS WheelTug has a new partner, DSNA Services, as announced here. They are working, for starters, to see how the operations at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport would be affected by WheelTug-enabled planes. Over time, the hope is that with fewer vehicles running around the tarmac and faster turn-around times, airports around the world will grow more efficient, “expanding” without having to build more terminals or runways. And something else important: WHY WE +REALLY+ INVADED IRAQ Long-time readers of this page not only have purchased 50 shares of WheelTug parent Borealis (though only with money they could truly afford to lose), they know (over and over, ut I’m too lazy to find all the links) that 11 days after he took office — and more than 7 months before 9/11 — George W. Bush was planning action against Iraq. Tonight, Rachel Maddow reports on “Why We Did It.” Set your TiVo! Meanwhile: BUTT KICK In December, I said I wasn’t buying more BKUTK at $425 but was happily holding for the long term. Yesterday, after reading their annual shareholders letter and conferring with Aristides‘ Chris Brown, I did buy more at $420. Not because anything exciting is likely to happen. Only because it’s fun buying dollar bills for 60 cents and watching them slowly grow into, someday, maybe, six or eight years from now, two-dollar bills. Its not that simple, of course; but for 5% of the money you cannot afford to lose? Well, riskier than a savings account . . . but one key guarantee with a savings account is that, after taxes and inflation, its value will steadily shrink. That’s much less likely to happen with BKUTK. (Note: BKUTK trades very thinly. If you put in an order, use a limit — I used $420 because someone seemed to be offering some at that price — and make it “good til canceled” if you’re will to wait to see it filled.) # Try to find four minutes for that Chris Hayes report I led off with.