Strange Bedfellows - But They Picked 'Em.

As we promised at the beginning of 2012, we've generally stayed clear of the horse race that is the GOP Presidential primary, only touching on it here and there. However, after the series of comments, stumbles, backpedals, and seriously disturbing accusations by former U.S. Senator and current GOP candidate Rick Santorum this past weekend, and again on Monday, we felt we had to finally weigh in.

We've said for many years now that in politics, who you support, as well as  those whose support you accept, matter a great deal. Nowhere is this more evident than in Mr. Santorum's quest for the White House.

As we briefly pointed out yesterday, Rick Santorum recently made a series of gaffes that were serious, and should give anyone pause in thinking he should be anywhere near the Presidency. First, a video came to light making it clear that Santorum thinks Protestants are not Christians. Today another video came to light where Santorum claimed that the right to privacy has ruined everything. Mr. Santorum also made comments to the effect that President Obama isn't a Christian, and made a very clear analogy that President Obama is a modern-day Hitler. Santorum even went so far as to say that government, at virtually ALL levels, shouldn't be involved with education.

After some half-hearted double-speak apologies Sunday morning, on Monday, Santorum and his surrogates not only didn't seem at all concerned with their slandering of the President over the weekend. They continued the insane lies throughout the day, calling President Obama and the Democratic party "anti-science", while Santorum's own spokeswoman claimed his 'phony theology' gaffe was really referring to radical Islamic policies from the President - policies which don't actually exist.

All this happened while Santorum continued to press hard on the idea that government shouldn't tell you what to do - unless you're a woman, and then government shouldn't allow you to have contraception at all. Apparently, Rick Santorum wants to shrink government down to a small enough size where it will fit inside the private regions of America's women.

If all these things sound insane to you, we're glad, because it proves Rick Santorum's special brand of insanity hasn't infected you yet, and made you think what he's saying is acceptable.

Sadly, if you're a Republican - and we know some of our readers are - this man represents you and all those in your political party to the outside world. The face of your party is no longer Sarah Palin, or Karl Rove, or even Grover Norquist, who are all deranged enough in their own ways.

No, the man your political party has crawled into bed with appears to be far crazier than the former half-term governor from Alaska, at this point.

Even Ms. Palin never said anything close to the idea that Protestants are not Christians. Surprisingly, Ms. Palin also hasn't seemed to have invoked Godwin's law at the height of a major national campaign, like Mr. Santorum.

In short, the man who is currently leading some national polling in the Republican nomination for President is way nuttier than we once thought Sarah Palin was.

That is the current face of the Republican Party.

Don't blame us if so-called independents and moderate Republicans try to sneak away from the GOP now, if they hadn't climbed on the last bus out of crazy town already.

A Wave Of Hysteria

While our staff celebrated birthdays, and cleaned our offices and homes, a disgusting but sadly unsurprising amount of needless hype hit the media this weekend - and that's outside of the overblown coverage of Whitney Houston's memorial service.

One of those hysterical story lines focused on Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum, who whined and backpedaled his way through several interviews, trying to parse some video where he boldly, arrogantly, and ignorantly claimed that Protestants were not true Christians. Santorum even desperately resorted to throwing out the lie that's been disproved MANY times, that President Obama isn't a Christian, and that President Obama's political ideas are a "phony theology."

Another story that bored members of our profession were hyperventilating over this weekend was the price of gasoline, and the reaction of Iran cutting oil exports to France and Britain.

It's sad, really, that more of our colleagues either don't keep files on what's been recently produced in the media, or simply don't care to pay attention to what others in their profession have been doing. We addressed this very topic at the beginning of January, nearly a month and a half ago, along with journalists from Bloomberg and Reuters.

Once again, a desperate Republican field has already ginned up their propaganda machines, claiming that the same President Obama they say has overreached on subsidizing alternative energy is now "anti-American energy" as Newt Gingrich claimed over the weekend. Rick Santorum, already proven to be ignorant of basic facts about religion, also weighed in, falsely claiming that President Obama has made America more dependent on foreign oil.

The facts, of course, support neither man, and make them both appear to be chronic liars.

As Bloomberg pointed out in January, America's reliance on foreign oil - specifically from the Persian Gulf - is down to 9% and continuing to fall. In November of 2011, the Wall Street Journal - which is absolutely NOT a liberal media outlet - pointed out that America was a net EXPORTER of oil in 2011. That means America sold more oil to other nations than we imported last year. USA Today confirmed in December; for the first time since 1949, the U.S. exported more oil and oil products than it imported in 2011.

Further, when the White House released its 2013 budget proposal last week, the President renewed his call for ending subsidies to Big Oil and natural gas companies, and doubled down on renewable energy investments – all while Congressional Republicans have been fighting him all the way.

All this adds up to reflect the fact that America is LESS dependent on foreign oil under President Obama, while Obama has been continuing to fight for America to generate MORE of its own energy needs.

It would be journalistic malpractice for us if we didn't note the Obama Administration IS concerned about the price of fuel and its impact on our economy. They and other nations are deeply concerned about rising gas prices, and have been for some time.

That's why, as we, Reuters, and Bloomberg noted back at the beginning of January, the Obama Administration and other leaders around the world have been planning and preparing for events like an international temper tantrum by Iran's leaders for some time. Obama and others already have several solutions to try and keep oil prices down, including tapping oil reserves in Europe, Japan, and the U.S.

If Republican candidates were being honest, they'd acknowledge that most world leaders - save those that are part of OPEC - have little control of the price of oil. The price of oil is determined by supply, demand, and oil futures trading. To that end, President Obama has already made plans to increase the supply, has helped America's oil producers make more oil, and had the Democrats in Congress pass more regulations to restrict oil futures traders. In other words, Obama has already done everything he can.

There may indeed be a wave of gasoline price hikes coming - but there is always a rise in fuel prices in the spring. Anyone who truly loves America should be hoping that this seasonal price hike won't derail the fragile economic recovery – not desperately reaching and failing to graft religion onto politics.

Friday Funday: Pros Know.

We're not sure how your week has progressed, but it's been a busy week for our staff, filled with a larger-than-normal number of local, regional and national news stories. Somehow, every member of our staff also snuck in an evening with our significant others.

While we're all tired, and generally happy, we realize some Americans have been shaken by horrible events, strange political debates, and surprise deaths this week, and they may not be in such a positive mood.

We know at least one friend who recently lost his longtime job, which is never easy to hear. Whatever you may have thought of her, the loss of singer Whitney Houston hasn't been easy for her family to deal with, either.

There was a loss that grabbed us and gave us hope, though, and it happened Thursday afternoon, in West Palm Beach.

Former Major League Baseball player Gary Carter, of both the Montreal Expos and the 1986 World Series chammpion New York Mets, died of brain cancer at the young age of 57. If you don't remember Mr. Carter, the catcher who could have been a designated hitter at one time, we recommend you go back and look at some old video of him playing the game.

There are few people who get to do what they love for a living. There are even fewer who seem to simply love living their life. Gary Carter seemed to be one of those people.

Whether you saw him on TV, or in the pages of Sports Illustrated, or in the pages of your local newspaper, he never seemed to stop smiling. Not a goofy grin, or a faked smile, but the well-worn smile of someone who loved life, and wanted everyone else to work together, count their blessings, and love life, too.

Keith Olbermann, already a well-known sports media figure in 1988, had an encounter with Carter at the National League Championship Series game that we highly recommend you read. In short, Olbermann was working the event as a sports reporter, and had a major guest cancel at the last minute. Carter was walking by when Olbermann got the news, and offered to pinch hit - to step in as a guest for a major league interview on a moment's notice - because Carter knew Olbermann needed the help.

As Olbermann said in his piece on Thursday, "Just like that. [Carter] overheard that a guy he barely knew was in a spot, and he managed to shuffle a few things around – an hour before a game that helped decide whether or not his team would go to the World Series."

What makes us smile about Carter's passing is that the kind of action he did for Olbermann seemed to be Gary Carter's default setting. As Olbermann notes, and as we heard from a few folks in the West Palm Beach area Thursday evening, nearly everyone who knew him had a similar story.

Carter was a guy who would have helped shovel your drive, or helped keep you from dropping your groceries in the parking lot when your arms were full. He didn't make a big deal about who he was. He'd help you out, wish you well - and then he'd go play Major League Baseball, at a World Series level.

Gary Carter LOVED living life, on and off the field. He was a real pro at it - and it showed.

If the rest of we Americans showed even half as much professionalism in our own lives, we think there might be more smiles on the faces of more people, like the one Gary Carter used to sport in all those newspaper photos.

Be a pro at life. Enjoy your weekend. Smile.