News archives: 2013-12-19 to 2014-01-24

You pander to the American people, because you know they want things to appear free, even if they’re actually paying. So, you give them what they want. And now they don’t even like it! Not even the women? WTF? Despite what H. L. Mencken famously said, someone might finally have gone broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public. Unfortunately, it’s not the one who underestimated who’s going broke. It’s the public. — MC

Dennis Rodman is heading back to the U.S. from North Korea. His mission was possibly financed by Irish bookmaker, Paddy Power, whose executives I met with when I did a poker seminar on their behalf at historic Trinity College in Dublin. But that’s ancient history. This isn’t.

Today, Paddy Power seems to have divorced itself from Rodman’s efforts. It’s a strange story — especially since dictator Kim had his uncle executed only a week or so ago. They’re calling this “basketball diplomacy.” I’m calling it “nuts.” But, at least, it’s fun to follow. — MC

This is sad for me. I had my poker Cheater Monitor Service headquartered in a corner office at Hollywood Park Casino, overlooking the famous horse racing track. There, I plotted seminars that I delivered, also with the track in view.

The casino remains open, but without the track, it doesn’t seem the same in my memories. My then-wife, Phyllis Caro, ran poker operations at the casino until about a year ago. All has changed. We move on. Last race is today. — MC

Being barred is not a sufficient penalty for poker collusion and other cheating. I have often publicly stated that violators should be “boiled and eaten” — and they should certainly face serious prison time. The harm they do to honest players and their families is immeasurable.

For more than five years I’ve worked with my colleague Bill Handy to develop a state-of-the-art system for identifying online poker cheaters of all kinds — yes, even partnerships. Wish us luck putting this into effect. There seems to be industry-wide resistance, at least in the past. Maybe the time is now. — MC

Conversation is dying. It’s a cruel death by torture. The terrorists of political correctness wield sadistic weapons against random victims, just to see them suffer.

Justine Sacco, looks too pretty to be tortured in this way. (Yes, that was a deliberately provocative and politically incorrect statement. And, gosh darn it, I’m proud.) Anyway, she’s a PR exec for IAC (headed by Barry Diller) and tweets: “Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!”

Now, you’re welcome to do a double take and think, wow, I wonder what this probably liberal chick meant by that. But you’ve got to let people speak their minds. You’ve got to understand that things said or typed quickly aren’t always carefully structured. Nothing she said was untrue or unreasonable for a quick quip.

There is a terrible AIDS epidemic in Africa. It mostly affects blacks. Oh, wait, I meant African Americans. No, wait again, I guess I did mean blacks, because it’s Africa. Oh, shit! I don’t know what I mean.

And I don’t know what Sacco meant, either. Did she intend to make a sardonic comment about the world not paying enough attention, because the horror wasn’t happening to whites? Was she tipsy on wine and giggly about serious things? We don’t know. But it’s conversation, people. And when you talk, you say stuff. And you modify what you said. And you retract. And you rephrase. And you sometimes stick to you guns. You crawl out by amending. Or you dig your hole deeper. Or, like Sacco, you get scared and apologize to the torturers.

It’s time for us to stop yielding to the PC terrorists. I stopped a long time ago. — MC

Go figure. But probably not anymore. — MC

In the words of Nancy Pelosi, “We have to pass the bill so that the president can make it how he wants it” — or something like that.

Does President Obama have the legal authority to remold major legislation passed by congress, doing so without its consent? Why not? It was a personalized gift to him. It even has his name on it. — MC

You and I have both been bombarded with news stories about anti-aging and returning to youth. But there might actually be something promising in this one. I said, “might.” — MC

You might conclude that the author doesn’t have a clue about what’s really going on in the Christian community. But, wait! That’s my point.

Consider me religiously repurposed, which means I’m both not atheist and not religious. I’m open to anything, but closed to ignorance. So, although the writer’s perspective is wrong in several areas, Republicans need to understand what she thinks. I moved to the Ozarks from big-city California, and I can tell you that in my circles, Republican ideas wouldn’t even be considered by many, because of the Christian connection. This wasn’t anti-Christian so much as anti-preachy.

Republicans think the religious right is their base. It isn’t. The close association with those groups is precisely what keeps intelligent people from considering a break with the Democrats. Many could be sold on the concept of smaller government, but not if it comes with moralizing and restrictive social laws. Reigning people in and controlling them IS big government. — MC

So, was the GM bailout really worth it? Did taxpayers really get all their money back already, as we’ve been told? This opinion piece raises questions worth thinking about. — MC

You have no idea what’s happening at many college campuses, unless you get inside reports — like I do — from professors afraid to speak out. One told me that he was admonished by administration for including a question on a law test that talked about a 10 percent fee. That was math and, thus, deemed discriminatory against women. Yes, really.

Our campuses are so focused on banned words and inappropriate ideas that they have little similarity to their original perceived purpose.

This article talks about another insanity that grew out of the feminist and politically correct movements — that it doesn’t matter whether what you do or mean, it’s how the woman perceives it. If she’s unreasonable in her interpretation, that’s no defense. And you often can’t cross examine in a campus trial. Finding this hard to believe? Research it yourself.— MC

This kind of thing simply doesn’t bother me. People should wear what they want and expect compliments or consequences. Inappropriate? Probably in many places, but maybe that’s the message. Sometimes inappropriate can be cool. Are there limits? Yes, but this isn’t one for me.

I have to confess that I almost wore PJs to the World Series of Poker in 2006. I decided against it and planned a bathrobe instead — with regular clothes underneath, just in case there was a fashion ruling against me. PR stunt? You bet! It just never happened. — MC

This story hurts my heart. Sometimes crushed expectations are more painful than a long spiral downward. She thought she might get a $25,000 bonus for selling a winning lottery ticket. But, while being interviewed on CNN, she was told she would get $1 million. Both she and the interviewer were wrong. She gets only heartbreak.

Personally, I don’t care much about the lottery, considering it a government scam. They take half off the top, you’re taxed up to half of the remainder, and you jump up and down celebrating your good fortune if you win. Me? I’ve never bought a ticket.

One of the most obnoxious TV advertisements I’ve ever seen came from the promoters of the California lottery. It said something like, “How would you feel if your numbers came up and you didn’t buy a ticket?” But I’m thinking more along these lines: “How would you feel if your numbers came up and you didn’t get paid?”

That’s the reality, right? When you take half the jackpot money, it’s like excluding a second winner. — MC

This poll kind of surprised me and kind of didn’t. When you examine results like this rationally, you’ve got to stop and think, hey, Chris Christy has 15.72 percent, Ted Cruz has 15.58 percent, and Rand Paul has 14.45 percent.

But, wait! Let’s focus on this the “Mad Genius” way. Then I’ll tell you why this is actually bad for Christie.

There were only 710 polled, so let’s do some mathematics. What’s 15.72 percent of 710? It’s 111.612. So, we can assume that Christy got 112 votes. Huh? That’s 15.77 percent, so already we know there’s a disconnect between the supreme accuracy reported and what is possible, at least the way the poll was discribed.

Anyway, let’s skip forward and see what the poll means, if accurate. It means Christie isn’t doing that well in Mississippi, just the opposite of the seeming thrust of the article.

Why? It’s because both Cruz and Paul, as well as five others who received votes, are more conservative than Christie. Their votes are split. Together, they represent more than an 84 percent non-Christie vote.

Sure, you could say that about any of the other candidates, but Christie stands alone as a moderate, so it really is them against him. And “them” wins in a landslide. Yes, some of the other votes would peel off in a two-person, Christie vs. conservative poll. But I’m guessing Christie would be swamped. — MC

We regress — all of us, sometimes. Nobody can be completely trusted to perform competently. One of the lessons I teach is that brains are fragile and seemingly solid neural connections can be dislodged at any moment. This story is pretty sad. One day you’re the pinnacle of military decorum and the next day you’re just Michael Carey. Think about it. — MC

Mine will. — MC

There’s much more to this story on the horizon. Minimum wage — good or bad — doesn’t just specify what an employer must pay; it also forbids people from freely accepting a job.

If I took a homeless person into a shelter and provided food, that person might help out. But if I provided pocket money, say, $4 an hour in addition, I’d be breaking the law, right? Make sense? What about the Visa violations? Well, millions of people cross the U.S. borders and don’t even bother with that — and they’re championed in some circles.

So, I’m wondering if this international incident, involving arrest, jail, and potentially years in prison is a bit overblown. I don’t have all the facts, so who knows? — MC

Interesting. Nothing to add. — MC

So, Phil Robertson says, in a GQ interview, “It seems like, to me, a vagina — as a man — would be more desirable than a man’s anus.” Hey! That goes for me, too — and I’m a gay rights advocate.

When did we stop letting people speak their minds and deciding for ourselves what to make of it? — MC

I’ve never used illegal drugs. But that’s just me. I’m for government getting out of the way and letting people make choices — and giving them the freedom to destroy themselves. So, I’m with Barack on this one.

That’s more information than you want about me, right? But when you come to this page, that’s what you get. Sorry. — MC

Shocked? Well, the Los Angeles Times and other newspapers have announced a ban on skeptics from their letters to the editor columns. Whatever your beliefs on global warming or climate change, you should worry about this trend.

Don’t believe me? Read this one:
→ Los Angeles Times endorses censorship — MC

Actually, there are many more examples of this that you can find by searching the web. Be careful, though. Some reports are accurate and some are not. Overall, yes, they’re cooking the books. — MC

They were off the reservation! — MC