If, as is widely expected, Senators
Rand Paul and
Ted Cruz should
both decide to
seek the
GOP nomination for
president in
2016,
the race will be a
battle for the
heart and soul of the
Republican party.
And, more importantly, it will deliver the most epic campaign surrogate match-up in American history.
Rand, a self-certified ophthalmologist, is the son of conspiracy theorist/Russia apologist Ron Paul, MD—himself a two-time primary loser.
The good doctor's experience with direct mail would certainly be a boon to Rand's minority outreach efforts; and he'd need all the help he can get on that front.
After all, Ted's outspoken father, Rev. Rafael Cruz, hails from Cuba (and later Canada), which makes Ted a bona fide minority—unlike Rand, who just plays a minority in urban settings.
Morning lineup:
Meet The Press: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; Chris Gunness (United Nations Relief and Works Agency); Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI); Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY); Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX); Roundtable: Judy Woodruff (PBS), David Brooks (New York Times), Nia-Malika Henderson (Washington Post) and Ruth Marcus (Washington Post).
Face The Nation: Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI); Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright; Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin; Roundtable: David Leonhardt (New York Times), Amy Walter (Cook Political Report), Anthony Salvanto and John Dickerson (CBS News).
This Week: Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX); Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX); Roundtable: Democratic Strategist Donna Brazile, Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), S.E. Cupp (CNN) and Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich
Fox News Sunday: Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA); Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; PLO Executive Committee Member Hanan Ashrawi; Roundtable: Brit Hume (Fox News), Kirsten Powers (USA Today), George Will (Washington Post) and Juan Williams (Fox News).
State of the Union: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA); Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC); Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT); Former National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley; Former Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA); Julia Ioffe (The New Republic).
Evening lineup:
60 Minutes will feature: a report on "Year Up," a program which trains thousands of disadvantaged youth for internships that often lead to corporate jobs (preview); a report on ALMA, a $1.3 billion radio telescope which is allowing scientists to see parts of the universe they've seen never before, offering insight into how it all began (preview); and, a report on Africa's Nile crocodiles, which can grow up to 20 feet long, weigh as much as a car, and bite as hard as a T-Rex (preview).
On Comedy Central...
Jon Stewart challenged Sen. John McCain to a "Wrong-Off."
The Daily Show
Monday: Author/Journalist Sonia Nazario
Tuesday: Sara Firth (Former Correspondent for Russia Today)
Wednesday: Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal
Thursday: Actress Aubrey Plaza
And Stephen Colbert weighed in on the rising calls for President Obama's impeachment.
The Colbert Report
Monday: Musician Beck
Tuesday: Band John Batiste and Stay Human
Wednesday: Actor/Director James Franco
Thursday: Campbell Brown (Partnership for Educational Justice)
Elsewhere...
A Florida state senator was so impressed by convicted felon Dinesh D'Souza's latest "documentary" that he wants it shown in every school statewide. 
Republican Alan Hays, inspired after seeing the movie in theaters, said he now plans on introducing a one-page bill in November which would require all 1,700 Florida high schools and middle schools to show the movie to their students, unless their parents choose to opt them out. The documentary film is a conservative-spin on American history focusing on elevating the "essential goodness of America" while discrediting criticisms about American's checkered history with civil rights and social justice. It's not completely inconceivable for the bill to pass the Republican-controlled Florida legislature and be signed into law by Republican Gov. Rick Scott.
"I saw the movie and walked out of the theater and said, 'Wow, our students need to see this.' And it’s my plan to show it to my colleagues in the legislature, too, before they’re asked to vote on the bill," Hays said.
Meanwhile...
Florida's newest member of Congress got lost in translation at a hearing this week. 
As first reported by Foreign Policy magazine, freshman Rep. Curt Clawson (R-FL) spoke to State Department official Nisha Biswal and Commerce Department official Arun Kumar as if they were Indian government officials at a House Foreign Affairs hearing on Thursday.
"I'm familiar with your country. I love your country. And I understand the complications of so many languages and so many cultures and so many histories all rolled up in one," Clawson said. He added: "Anything I can do to make the relationship with India better, I'm willing and enthusiastic about doing so."
When he asked the American officials for cooperation from "your government," Biswal appeared rather confused. "I think your question is to the Indian government," she said, "and we certainly share your sentiments and we certainly will advocate that on behalf of the U.S. government."
And, finally...
The godless heathens at the ACLU in Michigan filed suit in an effort to burn a theist mayor on the cross. Or something. 
The American Civil Liberties Union in Michigan and two secular groups are suing the city of Warren and its mayor, Jim Fouts, on behalf of an atheist resident who was forbidden from setting up a "reason station" alongside a long-standing "prayer station" in the City Hall atrium.
While Fouts has permitted a local church group to distribute religious pamphlets and pray with visitors in the atrium since 2009, he rejected a similar proposal by Freedom From Religion member Douglas Marshall to discuss atheism and freethought in April. [...]
Comparing atheists to Nazis and white supremacists, Fouts argued that Marshall's "reason station" would be fundamentally antagonistic to prayer.
"The city has certain values that I don’t believe are in general agreement with having an atheist station, nor in general agreement with having a Nazi station or Ku Klux Klan station," Fouts added. "I cannot accept or will not allow a group that is disparaging of another group to have a station here."
THE END IS HERE.
- Trix
