Barbie was right: Math IS hard

Apparently Barbie is a Democrat.

In the early 1990s, the Mattel toy company found itself in hot water when the phrases spoken by the "Teen Talk" Barbie doll included "Math class is tough!"

Mattel removed the offensive quote from Barbie's repertoire, but it looks like they may need to start manufacturing that doll again for young Democrat ladies.

Starbucks awkwardly takes sides in the #shutdown

I woke up this morning and found this email in my inbox from Starbucks, asking me to sign the "Come Together" petition:

In Texas, even the Governor's pocket tweets are awesome

Engaging in social media can be a double-edged sword for politicians (Exhibit A: Former Senator Scott Brown's infamous "bqwhatevr" tweets).

Texas Governor Rick Perry sent out a very concise one-character tweet this afternoon...

Immigration reform poll shows Floridians support secure borders and "registration for undocumented immigrants"

Public Policy Polling conducted a poll of Florida voters earlier this month regarding immigration reform, and there are a number of interesting results. I'd also like to highlight the specific wording used in the poll, because the actual questions asked have a big impact on how people respond to the very complicated issue of immigration reform.

First, immigration reform is definitely a priority for Floridians, with 86% of respondents saying that it's "very" or "somewhat" important to "fix the immigration system" this year. 

The poll also shows that Floridians want immigration reform to include secure borders and a process for people who are here illegally to register for legal status, with a "long list of requirements" to be met for over a decade before they could be eligible for citizenship.

LIBRE Initiative launches new Spanish TV ad in Orlando

The LIBRE Initiative, a conservative organization focused on Hispanic outreach, launched a television ad for Spanish television stations in the Orlando market during this last week before the election, with a simple yet powerful message:

Obama suggests "Secretary of Business," Romney suggests he get a clue [VIDEO]

A few days ago, Obama mentioned in an interview that if he wins a second term (heaven forbid! ugh...), he'd like to create a "Secretary of Business."

The Romney campaign responded this morning with a message that is spot on:

Coupon for 1 gallon of gas!

We all know gas prices have been much higher under Obama's presidency, so who wouldn't want a coupon?

New AFP Ad & Super Saturday Walk in Orlando

Americans for Prosperity launched a new ad today about what life is like around the dinner table for the more than 12 million Americans who are unemployed. AFP New Media Director Stephanie Fontenot described the ad as follows:

It's a common scene and, to some, an all too familiar situation. As a response to the jobs report released this morning, we've just launched our new ad, "The Dinner Table" online. It's uncomfortable, awkward, and a real-life example of the impact of President Obama's harmful economic policies and failing agenda.

You can watch the ad here:

Rep. William Keating (D-MA) compares America to dirty laundry

So much for American exceptionalism. Democrat Congressman William Keating, who's running for reelection in Massachusetts' Ninth District against Republican challenger Chris Sheldon, made some curious comments in a recent interview with the Patriot Ledger:

"Just Kidding"

Not sure if this is real or photoshopped, but it cracked me up:

Is the UPS Store using "You Didn't Build That" as a theme in their new ad?

I noticed this UPS Store ad about a week ago, and it stuck in my mind for some reason, a reason which didn't really make sense at first. 

Watch the ad yourself, and see if you notice the same interesting thing that I did about the ad:

Gators for Romney

Here's my new favorite logo:

Obama is better than the previous 11 presidents combined!

Oh yes, I am absolutely serious about that post title. Barack Obama is better than the eleven presidents who held the office before him. In fact, he's better than all eleven of them combined.

The unfortunate thing for Obama is the category where he is better than his predecessors:

Romney gets real about the "War on Women"

Here's a great new ad from the Romney campaign, striking right at the heart of the Democrats' "War on Women" attack:

Romney pollster: "Don't get too worked up about the latest polling"

Several recent polls claim to show Obama enjoying a post-convention bounce, and back on top over Romney. There are a lot of reasons to be skeptical of what RedState's Erick Erickson characterized yesterday as "the cymbal clashing wind up monkeys of the Gang of 500," as certain sympathetic media outlets attempt to declare the election a done deal before a single voter has cast a ballot.

After we move past distracting nonsense from nationwide polls (when it's the electoral college results that matter), and polls of adults or registered voters (as opposed to likely voters), there are a number of external factors that will affect the vote in November that are not fully reflected in the polls from the past few days. The Romney campaign released a memo this morning from their pollster, Neil Newhouse, on the current state of the race. Newhouse makes a number of points that should give Republicans hope:

Paul Ryan: "This is not even close to what a recovery looks like"

Paul Ryan gave an interview earlier this morning in response to today's jobs report, which he slammed as "the result of failed leadership in Washington [and] bad fiscal policies coming from the administration:"

Romney: "If last night was the party, this morning is the hangover."

The Democratic National Convention started as our national debt crossed the $16 trillion threshold, and the morning after it ended, we have yet another depressing jobs report.

Unemployment fell to 8.1% from 8.3%, but that number is not actually a measure of new jobs created (or "saved or created," as the Obama administration likes to say), but rather how many Americans have given up looking for work.

In fact, as Reuters reported, "the labor force participation rate, or the percentage of Americans who either have a job or are looking for one, fell to 63.5 percent -- the lowest since September 1981."

Mitt Romney released a statement in response to the latest jobs report, calling it the "hangover" after the "party" of the Democratic National Convention:

New Romney ad uses Democrats to hit Obama on welfare issue [VIDEO]

It's no secret to my readers that I think Barack Obama has been a colossal failure as a president.

Forty-one straight months of unemployment over eight percent is nothing to cheer about, but Obama seems to think that moving more people out of the job market and into entitlement programs is a positive development.

How else to explain his decision a few weeks ago to cut out the heart of the 1996 welfare reforms that were passed by Bill Clinton and a Republican Congress? 

The Romney campaign is seizing the opportunity, using harsh language from members of Obama's own party to tell the story in a new ad, just released late last night:

Oh, Canada!

Canada: Home of moose, hockey,
and well-capitalized banks

Looks like our neighbors to the north are doing something right.

Correction: they are doing a lot of things right.

Canada is succeeding by doing things "right," literally. They have implemented many of the same economic policies championed by fiscally conservative Republicans here in the United States, and swiftly began seeing positive effects.

Happy 100th Birthday Milton Friedman!

Milton Friedman, economic adviser to Ronald Reagan and Nobel-prize-winning leader of the Chicago school of economics, was born a century ago today, on July 31, 1912.

Thomas Sowell, who was lucky enough to be a student of Friedman's, wrote an article about his former professor at National Review:

National Review Online | Milton Friedman’s Centenary