By Artur Davis, on Mon Jan 23, 2012 at 9:00 AM ET  Artur Davis: Rebuttal #1
[The RP’s Provocation]
I’m a Tim Tebow fan–I like his tenacity, and his ability to consistently turn ridicule and derision into motivational points, and I think its good for football that he shows a path to win without the conventional quarterback’s skill set. He’s an underdog who makes good–that itself makes him a legitimate role model.
I’m untroubled by the intensity of his faith; actually, as a Deep South native, I don’t even find it terribly eventful. I come from a culture where the kids in the high school football game pray not just to avoid injury, but to win, and to let their individual talent shine, and see nothing sacrilegous about asking God to be a football fan for an evening.
But I recognize that there is a major segment of the national community that hasn’t seen Tebow style faith in action, certainly not by a pro athlete, certainly not by a 24 year old who is about to become fabulously rich and famous. If you are a conservative, its all good. The fact is that evangelical Christianity can use a voice that is conservative and relentlessly congenial and optimistic at the same time; its a helpful thing, that his faith seems as engaged with compassion for disabled children as it is with the pro-life life movement that he has embraced.
Read the rest of…
The RPs Debate Tim Tebow: Artur Davis Rebuts
By Jonathan Miller, on Mon Jan 23, 2012 at 8:30 AM ET Over the past two weeks, we’ve launched a new tradition at The Recovering Politician: a great virtual debate on the issues of the day among our recovering politicians; with provocations, rebuttals, responses, and defenses. Our first discussion focused on presidential leadership; our second on legalizing marijuana.
This week, the RP goes where no progressive has gone before: a liberal defense of Tim Tebow. The RP starts off with his provocative article from The Huffington Post. Tune in every half hour to read what other RPs have to say.
SPOILER ALERT: There will be fireworks.
 The RP‘s Provocation
Like much of the spiral-pass-challenged intelligentsia, I’ve held a high-school-rooted grudge against many of America’s handsomest sports heroes; they too often remind me of the spoiled jocks who applied wedgies, received special treatment in the classroom and always got the girl. Fortunately, Tom Brady (the supermodel-marrying quarterback of my beloved New England Patriots) helped relieve me of this affliction. (Click here to read my ode to pretty boys I begrudgingly admire.)
Tim Tebow, of course, presents a different and, indeed, unique case. (The 24-year-old virgin isn’t exactly stealing and breaking the hearts of other guys’ girls.) Tebow instead plays to a different one of my childhood insecurities — that of being one of the few Jewish kids in my Bible Belt home of Lexington, Kentucky.
Certainly, there’s no athlete in recent memory who’s worn his Christian faith more on his sleeve — and sometimes even his eyeblack — than Tim Tebow. Tebow’s constant public declarations of devotion to Jesus Christ remind many of us non-Christians and Christian liberals of the small — but much-over-publicized — collection of angry tele-evangelists and hypocritical politicians who manipulate religion to multiply support by fostering division.
Read the rest of…
The RPs Debate Tim Tebow: The RP Provokes
By Michael Steele, on Sat Jan 21, 2012 at 10:31 PM ET So it was supposed to end in South Carolina. In fact, it is just beginning.
For some time now many in the GOP Ivory Tower have whined, moaned and sighed heavily about the candidates, the process and the fact that they weren’t getting their way. From wishing for some super hero to climb into the ring to fantasizing about a brokered convention (word is some of the political intelligentsia are at this moment trying to figure out how that might work) those who fancy themselves smarter than the rest of us just knew South Carolina would be the perfect beach head on which to end the charade that anyone other than Romney would be the nominee. While Romney may still become the nominee, it was clear the base wanted all to know that this primary was less about who would (or should) win and all about sending the clear and unmistakeable message: “we got this.” It appears that’s exactly what they did.
The fight for the nomination now turns to Florida and with each passing day, the Establishment will get more restless and the base more empowered to assert control over this nominating process. For them, “We the People” still means something.
By Grant Smith, RP Staff, on Fri Jan 20, 2012 at 3:00 PM ET
Warren Buffett’s long quest to build a geothermal plant. [Forbes]
What is the point of private equity? [Fortune]
Why the Keystone Pipeline may still be built after all. [CNBC]
Rick Perr’s failed presidential campaign was just never quite ready for prime time. [The Washington Post]
By Chris Schulz, RP Staff, on Fri Jan 20, 2012 at 1:30 PM ET As cheap solar panels come in from China it is important to ask whether it is more important to be ‘green’ or ‘red, white, and blue’. [npr.org]
Many people have opinions on genetically modified vegetables and foods, but what about when it comes to liquors. Is it worth it for a distilled liquor to be organic?[grist.com]
How many parking spaces do we really need? We need to change the way we think about parking in the US. [nytimes.com]
The story of the Catalina Fox, near extinction a decade ago it is now thriving thanks to rehabilitation efforts. [latimes.com]
By John Y. Brown III, on Fri Jan 20, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET  I friggin’ love traffic jams.
L-O-V-E love ’em.
It wasn’t always this way, however. I use positive affirmations about being stuck in traffic to change my perception.
If you still get irritated with traffic jams, do like I did and think of the top 10 positive things you enjoy about being stalled in traffic.
Here’s my list that I keep handy so I’m not a grumpy guy just because a little traffic sets me back an hour or two:
- Patience. Traffic jams are a golden opportunity to practice patience.
- Fitness. I get to accelerate my heart rate by by 30% while sitting still and do so for a sustained period of up to an hour.
- Feeling Superior. I get to see people in other cars who have lower frustration tolerance thresholds than I do. (And sometimes wave to them. While smiling serenely.)
- Fun and Games. I make a game to see if I can get across the bridge before the song In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida ends.
Read the rest of…
John Y.’s Musings from the Middle: Traffic Jams
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Fri Jan 20, 2012 at 9:15 AM ET Two of the four quarterbacks set to play in the conference championship games have been under the weather. Eli Manning had some kind of stomach virus and Tom Brady was suffering from a left shoulder injury. Reports indicate they are both back practicing. The lack of practice time is unlikely to have any effect on these two veterans. However, both the injury and illness will be worth keeping in mind as we go into Sunday’s NFC and AFC championship games. [ESPN New York][ESPN Boston]
By Jonathan Miller, on Fri Jan 20, 2012 at 8:30 AM ET OK, The RP has gone ahead and done it. He’s crossed that sacred line that no columnist dares to even approach. His column this week for The Huffington Post touches on the one social taboo that is unthinkable for every true-blooded American. Read an excerpt yourself:
In my first full year as a recovering politician, I’ve capitalized on my newfound freedom to speak on the issues of the day without the restrictions of the typical partisan and special-interest handcuffs.
Best of all, I’ve finally been liberated to address — with detail, nuance, and unadulterated candor — some of the nation’s most controversial subjects: from gay marriage, to Middle East peace, to legalizing marijuana.
So today, I’m prepared to tackle the most polarizing subject of our modern era…Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow.
And I venture to do the unthinkable: try to convince liberals and progressives like myself to learn to love the latter-day poster boy of conservative Christian America.
We know you are dying to take a furtive peek at The RP’s rhetorical train wreck.
Click here to read the complete column, “The Liberal Case for Tim Tebow” at The Huffington Post.
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Thu Jan 19, 2012 at 4:30 PM ET
Surely by now you have heard that some sites around the Internet went black yesterday in protest of SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act. Here is a list of some major websites that participated in the protest. [Geek Sugar]
Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales spoke to CNN regarding his website going black in protest of the bill. [CNN]
Here is a photo gallery showing what the blacked out sites looked like. There are some pretty cool designs in there. [LA Times]
Results are in: SOPA blackouts led to 10 Senators withdrawing support of the bill. [NY Times]
Support for PIPA is also cracking. 18 Senators are opposing the bill after Internet blackouts. [ars technica]
Were the blackouts an “abuse of power?” [Twitter]
By Robert Kahne, RP Staff, on Thu Jan 19, 2012 at 3:00 PM ET
The polls were not kind to North Carolina after their shellacking at the hands of the mighty Seminoles of Florida State. North Carolina dropped 5 spots to #8. The most interesting state in college basketball is my home: Kentucky, which contains not only #2 Kentucky, but also the intriguing #10 Murray State Racers, who may finish the season undefeated (they play no team in the top half of Division 1 RPI), and the faltering #21 Louisville Cardinals, who will likely not be ranked after their loss tonight at the hands of Marquette. [ESPN]
USA Basketball announced its 20 man roster for the 2012 Olympic games. The roster must be cut to 12 before the games start, and that’s a shame, because this team is EPIC. [USA Basketball]
Dwight Howard is on that 20 man roster, and its almost a given that he will be on the 12 man roster, as he is the best big man in the world. He also desperately wants out of Orlando. He has stated that he is open to trades to a few very good teams (and the Nets), but now says he is open to playing for the LA Clippers. CP3, Blake Griffin, and Dwight Howard would be a very fun team to watch. [Deadspin]
Here is an interesting piece about Ricky Rubio and the translation of European basketball statistics into NBA performance. The post makes the case that Euro hoops are less about numbers and therefore opaque. Given Rubio’s stats for Barcelona and his play in the NBA this year, as well as the Brandon Jennings episode from a few years ago, I tend to agree. [Sheriden Hoops]
Last night, there was a battle between two top 10 teams in the Big XII(minus II), wherein Kansas shellacked #3 Baylor. That conference goes through Lawrence, Kansas, which is a shame, because that is a very boring place. [Rock Chalk Talk]
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