Top Ten Things We Should Blog About More in 2015 (our tenth anniversary year!)........: Soccer and Politics

Greetings to our blog readers in the Czech Republic, Ukraine and Vietnam, three places where we are surprisingly more popular than we could have ever expected! Perhaps, you guys will catch up with Slovenia (for my fellow Americans who flunked geography that's a former Yugoslav republic, yeah, that probably doesn't assist you any.......)

For the 109th time this year, we once again make fun of Cong. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va; pict. top) who is apparently fighting for companies like Amazon who don't have to pay taxes. Assuredly, this means he will have to take Jeff Bezos out for pizza the next time he's in Washington, D.C., where one may also run into Vice President Joe Biden (pictured bottom, hopefully, those of you going to Princeton University know he's the second man in charge at The White House.).

The man in the middle is Chelsea star Didier Drogba, a star player from the Ivory Coast, who also had a stint with the Istanbul soccer powerhouse Galatasaray, our favorite team. And, since the men in red and yellow tied Ankara GB 1-1 on Thursday, we presume, he is greatly missed.

Here are the top ten things we SHOULD blog more about in 2015, a year in which we will mark our tenth year of blogging!:

1. European soccer

2. Fox News nonsense

3. Israel/Palestinian nonsense

4. Cong. Bob Goodlatte

5. The Rev. Johnny Robertson of Martinsville, Va. (our favorite crazy Baptist minister)

6. Joe Biden

7. Taylor Swift

8. "Family Circus"

9. Global Warming

10. The death penalty/doing my laundry (tie)

The DC List (3 of 3)..........Last Group of Republican Congressman.............and when they turn 103

Welcome to our beloved blog readers in Croatia, Costa Rica and Brazil!

For those of you who live outside America, the Republican Party is a far right wing coalition of Jump-4-Jesus evangelicals, Yosemite Sam gun nuts, fringe anti-government anarchists, rich greedy multimillionaires and war mongering radicals who like to see us invade the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.

Of course, in spite of this, we respect their members who serve in public office and the long hours they put in up in Washington, DC, and on the golf courses they play on for fundraisers.

Here are ten more Republican House members and the years in which they will turn 103, when their seats might become competitive again:

1. Cong. Rob Wittman (R-Va., pict. top) 2062

2. Cong. Richard Hudson (R-NC, pict. center) 2074

3. Cong. Mick Mulvaney (R-SC, pict. bottom) 2070

4. Cong. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) 2069

5. Cong. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) 2073

6. Cong. John Culberson (R-Tex.) 2059

7. Cong. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) 2063

8. Cong. Chris Smith (R-NJ) 2056

9. Cong. John Duncan (R-TN) 2050

10. Cong. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc., failed 2012 veep nominee) 2073

http://www.newsmax.com/ (Right wing journal we disagree with)

http://www.motherjones.com/ (Left wing journal we are more inclined to agree with)

http://www.politico.com

http://www.thehill.com

http://www.theonion.com/section/politics/

http://www.politicscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com  (for more GOP reps and they will turn 103)

The DC List (2 of 3): More Republican Members of Congress........and, when they turn 103

Greetings to our readers around the world, including those of you in Wales, Poland and Portugal.

Today, we continue making fun of Republican members of Congress (the House of Representatives) as we give you the year they will turn 103, which is when their comfortable perfectly gerrymandered seats might be vulnerable to Democrats, God forbid!!! (sarcasm intended)

There are actually two women on this list, including Cong. Ann Wagner (R-Mo, pict. bottom) and Cong-elect Mia Love (R-Utah), a black woman representing a 99-percent white district, who along with Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas proves that Republicans are actually better at affirmative action than Democrats (David Duke and Rush Limbaugh must be fuming!).

Here is your list:

1) Cong. Randy Forbes (R-Va, pict. top) 2055

2) Cong. Patrick McHenry (R-NC, pict. center) 2078

3) Cong. Ann Wagner (R-Mo, pict. bottom) 2065

4) Cong. John Boehner (R-Ohio, house speaker) 2052

5) Cong. Jeff Miller (R-Fla) 2062

6) Cong. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okl.) 2080

7) Cong. elect Mia Love (R-Utah) 2078

8) Cong. Austin Scott (R-Georgia) 2072

9) Cong. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala) 2050

10) Cong. Matt Salmon (R-Az) 2061

http://www.mallardfilmore.com (Right-wing comic strip we don't agree with)

http://www.townhall.com (Nope, we don't agree with them either)

http://www.thenation.com (More inclined to agree with them)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/politics/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/

http://www.politicscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com

The DC List (1 of 3): Meet Your Republican Congressional Members...........and, guess when they will turn 103

Greetings to our blog readers from Argentina, France and Malaysia.......we are coming to you live from the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC, well, actually, we just said that to get your attention!

At any rate as even yack herders in Mongolia now by now there were mid-term elections to determine which party gets control of the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, and alas (yes, we are biased), the Republicans won. But, after watching "The Partridge Family" reruns for five straight days and getting mopped and depressed, we thought of what Mel Brooks once said: "The best way to get even with your enemies is to make fun of them."

So, as gerrymandering will assure that Republicans will hold their seats for years and years on end even if they smoke pot on a ski trip to Colorado or run over an old woman's foot with their Hummer in a Target parking lot in Florida, we thought we'd let you the voter know when your Republican Congressional member is scheduled to turn 103! Oh, and of course, we forgot to add if you are playing Angry Birds as bills are being voted on in the floor; it is actually an addictive game, we'll give you that!

And, of course, we once again, choose to make fun of our own Republican Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va) who was first elected to the House of Reps in 1992 during the infamous Newt Gingrich takeover of the house.

Here is when your rep turns 103 years old:

1) Cong. Virginia Foxx (R-NC, pictured top) 2046

2) Cong. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va, pictured center) 2055

3) Cong Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) 2070

4) Cong. Martha Roby (R-Ala) 2079 (she's a young one, especially for a Republican!)

5) Cong. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla) 2066 (whew! We almost didn't spell his name right....)

6) Cong. Darrell Issa (R-Cal.) 2056

7) Cong. Tom Graves (R-Ga) 2073 (that's also the year I turn 103!)

8) Cong. Steve King (R-Iowa) 2052

9) Cong. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.) 2058

10) Cong. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) 2053

http://goodlatte.house.gov/

http://foxx.house.gov/

http://chaffetz.house.gov/

http://www.c-span.org/

http://thehill.com/

http://www.rollcall.com/

http://www.theonion.com/section/politics/

http://www.politco.com

http://www.politicscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com    (for more reps who turn 103)

Sunday Comics Grand Slam (1 of 4)

Greetings to those of you in Poland, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, thanks for tuning in, and we regret your respective countries not being in the World Cup.

And, greetings to our readers in Belgium, Italy and Chile, and kudos for making it to the World Cup!

We are a week behind, so bear with us. We begin with a look at our favorite comic strips from the June 8th "Washington Post," be sure to go to our sister blog "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time" http://www.politicscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com for a look at our favorite comic strips from the June 8 issue of "The Roanoke Times."

Also, since we have a slight center-left political bias here at "The Daily Vampire," we wanted to mention that we are amused (for the moment) that Cong. Eric Cantor (R-Va) lost his Congressional seat due to a Republican Party primary which was won by tea party extremist David Brat, who will face Democrat Jack Trammell in November.

Two weeks ago, while in Richmond, Va., we saw 18 signs for Cantor and one for Brat, whom we mistook for a Democrat!

Cantor was also given the dubious Worst Week in Washington title by political reporter Chris Cillizza of "The Washington Post."

We personally think if there was a Best Week in Washington title that it should go to the Dutch ambassador Rudolf Bekink as The Netherlands shocked Spain 5-1 in World Cup play in Brazil.

Last week, our favorite strip from the Post belonged to "Dustin," a King Features strip which had a great take on the agony of remembering all 42 passwords for our respective Internet/social media sites. We are using an image of Sean Connery playing James Bond because we presume JamesBond007 is one of the worst passwords to use.

"Foxtrot" also delighted with us as the kids took in lots of ice cream, so much so that one of them actually wore a winter coat! Thus, we give the strip second place.

The bronze medal goes to "Prickly City," a strip which some times shows a conservative tilt, but this week cartoonist Scott Stantis had a great take on how cyber deities whose name we won't mention (Google, Facebook, Twitter) are inclined to watch us these days!

Here is our top ten list:

1) Dustin

2) Foxtrot

3) Prickly City

4) Doonesbury

5) Pearls Before Swine

6) Brewster Rockit

7) Lio

8) Sherman's Lagoon

9) Judge Parker

10) WUMO

http://www.washingtonpost.com/comics

http://www.dustincomics.com

http://www.foxtrot.com

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/worst-week-in-washington/

Tweets Considering All Things Washington DC (1 of 2)

Just because we have a photo of Sen. Ted Cruz, that does NOT we are endorsing him.

Here are some tweets about Washington, DC, today, and not just Congress and the federal government (well, this entry is):

1. Politico: "Delay is not a major blow to Obamacare, exchanges for individuals are still expected to open on time."

2. Hunter: "Obama is supposed to negotiate with ppl who refuse to negotiate even with their own party. Yeah, that will work."

3. The Daily Show: "Ted Cruz cites a children's book about a stubborn jerk who decides he hates something until he's tried it."(They are referring to "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss)

4. Tea Party Cat/Top Conservative Cat: "#GOPDEMANDS: All liberals must watch all 21 hours of Ted Cruz's filibuster until they proclaim him as a savior."

5. Cong Virginia Foxx (R-NC): "Americans aren't interested in spin, they're concerned about whether they'll be paying more for health care on Jan.1"

6.The Onion: "It was a gamble, but 'it paid off'...............45th President of the United States: Ted Cruz."

http://www.politico.com/

http://www.theonion.com/

Tweets of the Day: "What Would Rodman Do?" (about Syria)

Full disclosure: NPR commentator David Brooks, who is known for his center-right politics, said that there seemingly few liberal hawks supporting military intervention in Syria, but I happen to be one of those people. Nevertheless, I am posting tweets from right, left and center, as well as many tweets which contradict my view of what Washington DC needs to do stop Syria's madman dictator Hafez al-Assad.

The images here are of 1) former NBA star/transvestite/unofficial diplomat Dennis Rodman (he has made several questionable trips to North Korea) 2) A tank in Syria 3) Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), one of the Senate's fiercest hawks who has always supported military action against the Damascus regime.

Let's go:

1) National Review @NRO (a conservative magazine): "Obama's #Syria strategy threaten, retract and wander about the stage."

2) Adnan Abdullah @adnanish1(a Muslim activist): "U.S. Military strike on #Syria will add fuel to fire in the Middle East. May God prevent it and bring peace to the whole nations of #Islam."

3) Chris Wallace @foxpokerfox (the poker player, not the Fox News journalist): "Where is Dennis Rodman when we need him? #Syria."

4) David Corn @DavidCornDC (a liberal journalist): "Fantastic debate (for the most part) w/n my Twitter feed re #Syria. I'll keep asking as we get closer to a vote. Le me know if you switch."

5) Washington Diplomat @diplomatnews: "US orders embassy workers out of Beirut ahead of possible Syria strike."

6) Today's Zaman @todayszamancom, a Turkish newspaper: "US envoy to UN says Syria's Assad barely dented chemical weapons stockpile."

7) The Hill @thehilltweets: "Fashion designer Kenneth Cole ripped over controversial Syria tweets."

8) Daily Kos (@dailykos): ""McCain,, John Kerry cite WSJ op-ed written by advocate for Syrian rebels."

9) Mother Jones @MotherJones, a liberal magazine: "Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.): Want my Syria Position? Wait Till Next Week."

10) TheAtlanticPolitics @TheAtlanticPOL: "Attacking Syria is the least popular intervention idea since Kosovo."

11) Sabrina Siqqui @SabrinaSiddiqui: "Cong. Gerry Connolly (D-Va) tells Bloomberg TV that Obama should hold of all military strike in Syria if Congress doesn't approve."

12) HurriyetDailyNews @HDNER, a Turkish newspaper: "#StateDepartment approves drawdown of non-emergency personnel who wish to leave #Adana (a major American military base in Incirlik, Turkey, is near Adana, which is Turkey's fifth largest city and fairly close to the Syrian border).

http://www.nationalreview.com/

http://www.dennisrodman.com/

http://www.washdiplomat.com/

http://www.todayszaman.com/home

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/

http://thehill.com/

http://www.motherjones.com/

Things We Learned on Bing Today_ All Things Washington DC

Hmm.........we suppose if Bill O'Reilly or some fringe right wing tv or radio personality is reading this, he might be wondering why we have a photo of President Barack Obama with Bulgarian Ambassador Elena Poptodorova; well, O'Reilly can read below to find out in this edition of 'Things We Learned on Bing Today.'

1) Elena Poptodorova, 52, is the Bulgarian ambassador to the United States; she took office in 2010.

2) Cong. Ralph Hall (R-Tex.), 90, a former Democrat, is the oldest active member of the House of Representatives; Cong. John Dingell (D-Mich.), 86, is the oldest Democrat in the House.

3) Cong. Patrick Murphy (D-Fla.), 30, is the youngest member of the House.

4) Mayor Vincent C. Gray, 70, is the current mayor of Washington, DC. The office was previously held by Adrian Fenty.

5) Coach John Thomspn III, 47, has been the head coach of Georgetown University's men's basketball team since 2004. Thompson, the son of legendary Hoyas coach John Thompson, previously coached at Princeton University, his alma mater.

Links:

http://www.thehill.com

http://www.cq.com

http://www.c-span.org

http://www.bulgaria-embassy.org

http://www.guhoyas.com

Quote of the Day/Week- John Kerry

Today's quote of the day comes from Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) as we continue to profile party nominees who did not win the presidency, though Kerry came agonizingly close to winning over then-President George W. Bush in 2004.

Kerry, 68, was also the lieutenant governor of Massachusetts under then-Gov. Michael Dukakis, whom we quipped two weeks ago. Today, Kerry serves as the head of several key committees in the U.S. Senate. During his tenure, Kerry has made friends with Republicans, including Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) who we quoted last week.

Earlier in his life, Kerry was known for his active opposition to the Vietnam War, and he was ironically (given that he later became a senator), the first Vietnam vet to testify against the war in Congress in 1971.

Kerry supports gay marriage and gun control laws, and he is an opponent of capital punishment, which is reflected in this quote:

"The consequences of a crime should not be out of proportion with the crime itself."

The Short Answer from Doctor Oz

If you google any search engine right now, you will probably find a load of info about the Turkish-Armenian political squabble going on in Congressional halls in Washington, DC. And, if you want to find out about the matter, which I personally consider a 'Rashomon nightmare,' I suggest you go to Google.com right now.

But, we thought it would be more interesting to focus on the world's most famous Turkish-American since Joe Camel*, Dr. Mehmet Oz, (I am a Turkish-American too, but I don't have a syndicated talk show.)

In a response to a follower on Twitter, Dr. Oz answered the following two-part question:

"Are you from Turkey? How much turkey should i eat a day?" (the tweet had a lower-case i)"

Dr. Oz responded by saying: "Yes, and the less meat the better"

*-Dr. Oz has publicly said he will not treat any patient who smokes. I completely agree with him on that matter, though assuredly he would find a hard time developing a clinic if he worked in a place like Danville, Va. (where some 65 % of the population still smokes). And, smoking remains a major societal problem in Turkey as well though less of the population there smokes than they did when I lived there as a child 30 years ago.

Know Your Congressional Reps and Senators (16 of 21)- Frank Wolf

Those of who read this blog regularly know I'm a fairly partisan Democrat. In fact, we just endorsed Demcratic state senator Creigh Deeds for the Virginia gubernatorial race (see earlier entry).

But, I do happen to have many Republican friends and some of them are federal state representatives in Washington, DC, Richmond and Raleigh.

Cong. Frank Wolf (R-Va) is one of those friends, and I have tremendous respect and admiration for him.

Wolf, who was born on Jan. 30, 1939, in Philadelphia is the most senior of all Virginia's congressional reps. Wolf was elected in 1980 after narrowly defeating the incumbent Democrat Joe Fisher (1914-1992) who had served three terms in the house.

Wolf is co-chair os the Human Rights Caucus along with Cong. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), and he is also prominent in the fields of transportation and gambling.

Since 1989, Wolf has made five trips to The Sudan (according to Wikipedia) and he has advocated relief for the genocide in Darfur.

Wolf also formed the bipartisan Iraq Study Group in 2006 to access the war in Iraq.

But, Wolf is perhaps best known for vocally criticizing China's human rights record. During a visit to Beijing with Cong. Chris Smith (R-NJ) just prior to the 2008 Olympics, Wolf was not allowed to meet with local human rights lawyers.

He was last challenged by Democratic opponent Judy Feder.

Wolf represents the tenth district of Virginia, which includes mostly DC suburbs as well as the town of Front Royal and the City of Winchester.

Cong. Rick Boucher (D-VA), who was elected to office in 1984, is Virginia's most senior Democratic congressional rep.

I met Wolf while working for a weekly newspaper in Woodstock, Va., which is now in the sixth congressional district represented by Cong. Bob Goodlate (R).