Caution, genius at work.

You gotta love Newt Gingrich.

You know Newt -- the candidate who preaches the benefits of personal responsibility; who thinks nine year old kids should mop the floors of their grade schools to teach them job skills; who thinks Occupy protesters should just take a bath and get a job (as if it were that easy to get a job these days); who thinks, because of his supposed enormous brain power, he can skip all those mundane rules lesser candidates must obey.

It turns out Newt won't be on the primary ballot in Virginia. Was this because of some archaic requirement hidden in the rule book? Was it the result of some nefarious Democratic plot to cripple his campaign?

No, it was because he could not find 10,000 people, including at least 400 from each of the state's eleven congressional districts, who were willing to sign his petitions. This is pretty basic stuff. I've worked on a lot of political campaigns over the years, including ballot petition drives. It's not rocket science, but it does require you to organize a cadre of people at shopping malls and other places where people gather and actually ask fellow citizens to sign up.

So, when the Republican Party of Virginia released its finding the other day that Gingrich failed to qualify for the primary ballot, you might expect the candidate of personal responsibility, who so often talks of his own competence and, indeed, brilliance, to admit he had screwed up. But you would be wrong.

No, this wasn't Newt's fault. It was the fault of a "failed system," as his campaign announced. The candidate who is so much smarter than the rest of us -- ask him, he'll tell you -- couldn't possibly be so incompetent as to fail at such a simple task. That's the kind of thing an ordinary, simple person might get wrong. Certainly a brilliant man, a man so often compared (at least by Gingrich himself) to Washington, Lincoln, and Churchill couldn't be this inept.

No worries, they'll organize a write-in campaign to get on the ballot. After all, according to the Gingrich campaign, "Voters deserve the right to vote for any top contender, especially leading candidates." But wait, that's against the rules, too. Virginia election law states, "No write-in shall be permitted on ballots in primary elections." You might think a genius running for the highest office in the land would know that.

Life is so unfair. If only those Virginia election officials could see it's Newt's destiny to lead the free world, they would ignore petty requirements designed for lesser individuals. This setback was, in the words of the Gingrich campaign, equivalent to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Seriously.

Of course, when you're talking about a candidate who plans to arrest judges who dare to disagree with him, this is really pretty small stuff. When you campaign on a platform of throwing the Constitution in the toilet, ignoring a few election laws is hardly even worth the mention. Until, of course, those little laws keep you from your self-inflated destiny.

Life's a bitch, isn't it, Newt?

Happy Christmas!

And so this is Christmas,
and what have you done?
Another year over,
a new one just begun.

John Lennon

Thus begins my favorite Christmas song. John Lennon, wishing us all a happy Christmas but also asking us to consider our behavior, and not just in the context of being worthy of gifts from Santa. What, indeed, have we done in the past year to make this world a better place for ourselves, our children, our fellow beings?

I'm starting this blog in order to share a few thoughts, ideas, stories, and photos with those who happen to find it. I have no illusion and make no pretense this will change any hearts or minds, but you never know. Time will tell whether this particular Christmas offering will be a gift to anything but my own vanity.

For vanity surely enters into the decision to start something this public, just as it plays a role in the production of any kind of art or the launching of a political career. Whatever the actual value of your work, you must have some ego to think your ideas, your words, your painting, or your policies are worth public proclamation. So be it.

Judging by some of the blogs I've read, mine certainly won't be the worst out there. I'll post whenever I have something interesting to share. That could be once a week or three times a day, we'll find that out together.

My background is rich in variety and experiences. My working life has included taxi driving, professional photography, writing and editing, and selling and marketing motorcycles. I've been to all but two U.S. states, all but one Canadian province, and a number of countries overseas. I've lived on both coasts of America, as well as in the middle. My favorite form of travel is by motorcycle, and you'll certainly see some commentary herein about that.

I intend to discuss my thoughts about politics, travel, motorcycles, photography, and anything else that grabs hold of my brain. If you find some of it interesting and worth reading, great. If you find some of it worth discussing, please use the Comments section (but keep it civil, please). If you find it all a bit boring, well, it didn't cost you anything but a few minutes, right?

Thanks for taking a moment to read this. I hope you'll come back for more.