DISQUS

I bet you’re a "HALO HERMIT™".

Thanks in part to the phenomena that is the Don't Taze Me, Bro!™ line of t-shirts and other merchandise (see these posts for all the details), I will appear on the nationally-syndicated The Mancow Show Friday at 6:10 a.m. Central.

The Mancow Show is hosted by Erich "Mancow" Muller (right), a longtime Chicago radio chart-topper and frequent guest on Fox News Channel's Fox and Friends show. Broadcast live from Chicago, The Mancow Show airs on more than 30 radio stations and via the internet, reaching 8-10 million listeners daily with a unique mix of news, humor, commentary and entertainment.

Be sure to wake up early and tune in to The Mancow Show Friday morning at 6:10 a.m. Central.

I read an article this morning which left me suspicious, wondering whether Paris Hilton's incarceration hoopla is actually part of a brilliant publicity stunt orchestrated by her father and others in the Hilton Hotels empire.

Published Thursday in USA TODAY under the headline, Jailhouses rock as overnight lodging, the article opens with the question, "Is going to jail cool?" -- an obvious reference to Paris Hilton's headline-grabbing in-and-out stints at the Los Angeles County Jail. The answer to the question came in the form of a pithy piece introducing readers to a trendy new adventure known as jailhouse lodging.

I didn't make it past the article's lead paragraph before THE question popped into my mind:

Could it be that the Hilton family is planning to buy the Los Angeles County detention center known as the Twin Towers, rename it The Paris Hilton and convert it into a trendy new jailhouse hotel?

Certainly, it's not beyond anyone's imagination in today's "Top This!" environment that The Paris Hilton would serve as the flagship property of a new jail-house arm of the worldwide lodging chain.

The lockup's cafeteria could be converted into a chic night spot. The medical/psychiatric section could become a posh celebrity rehab center for folks like Britney Spears, Mel Gibson, Lindsay Lohan and other so-called "Hollywood stars" to get away from it all after having "one too many" in public. In reality, the possibilities for expansion are endless as cash-strapped city, county and state governments face growing prison populations that require new and improved facilities, the likes of which Hilton money could surely buy!

Keep your eyes on this one folks...and, remember, you read about it first at Bob McCarty Writesâ„¢.
Bob McCarty Writesâ„¢

I watched the Republican Presidential Candidates Debate broadcast live from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., and was left thinking Newt Gingrich and Fred Thompson came away clear winners.

That’s right! Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House, and Thompson, the Law and Order star and former U.S. senator from Tennessee, can declare victory simply because both were smart enough to skip the event for two likely reasons:

First, because it’s taking place far too early to be remembered by voters 9 or more months from now; and

Second, because video clips and sound bites from the event will serve Democrat candidates’ needs more than Republicans, a result of the fact that many of the questions were “loaded” with liberal bias in a variety of ways.

Speaking of liberal bias, I must share my feelings about MSNBC’s Chris Matthews and his colleagues at the alphabet networks: In short, I’ve never been comfortable with the hiring of former Democrat speech writers and operatives like Matthews, ABC’s George Stephanopolous and NBC’s Tim Russert as news anchors and, in this case, debate moderators.

Hat’s off to all of the Republican candidates for their self-control in not reaching out to ring the necks of Matthews and his Politico.com pals for conducting themselves the way they did.

Wrapping up, I want to share my gut-instinct feelings about the ”performances” of all the GOP candidates — all of whom must secretly wish they were Reagan – tonight:

Sam Brownback: Good guy. Would make a great neighbor.

Jim Gilmore: Straight-shooter who backs promises.

Rudy Giuliani: Democrat in a Republican suit that didn’t fit.

Mike Huckabee: Honest and sincere.

Duncan Hunter: Tough on border security.

John McCain: Striving to produce sound bites, appear tough. Didn’t do either well.

Ron Paul: Most common sense and, at same time, darkest horse running.

Mitt Romney: Too plastic. Too polished. Looks like Lyle Waggoner of The Carol Burnett Show from the ’70s.

Tom Tancredo: Independent-minded but flustered by Chris Matthews repeatedly cutting him off.

Tommy Thompson: Trying hard to appear tough.

More later. We have miles to go before we vote.

Though few Americans have paid attention to what's gone on in Russia since the Reagan-era breakup of the USSR, they should have. President Vladimir Putin has been chiseling away at the foundations of democracy in the former Soviet republic -- limiting free speech among individuals and the news media and silencing critics of his administration through the use of bully tactics. Should we be surprised by the actions of a former head of the infamous KGB? Not at all. Let the world know you support those people fighting to see Democracy and freedom rule in Russia with one of the items from my online shop: http://www.cafepress.com/bobmccarty/2269968.