By John Y. Brown III, on Tue Mar 20, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET  ”You know it’s time to change your Facebook profile information when (fill in the blank).”
I just had a ski trip cancelled…which forced me to also reconsider my FB profile information.
I list skiing as my favorite sport. When I filled out my FB profile a couple of years ago, it seemed like a good idea. Skiing as my “favorite sport” made me sound sporty and interesting–and I even believed it at the time.
But today’s cancelled ski trip got me thinking. I’ve actually only been skiing twice in the past 28 years. I really don’t think that should qualify as a “favorite sport” —even for a person who has been deceased for 3 decades.
I’ve spent more time playing skeet ball the past 28 years!
So, in a flush of full disclosure, I’m getting brutally honest and changing my favorite sport from the cosmopolitan sounding “skiing” to the more mundane but factually correct “taking the stairs” –which I’ve done more than 3 times the past 28 years.
I think.
By Kristen Hamilton, RP Staff, on Tue Mar 20, 2012 at 10:00 AM ET
Have you always envied Rihanna’s style? Envy no more: Rihanna has her eyes set on her own fashion line. [The Cut]
An oh-my-gosh video: The making of the iconic Chanel jacket. [Fashionista]
The collaborations continue for “Mad Men”: the AMC hit show teams up with Estée Lauder for a makeup collection. [SheFinds]
Part II of the season finale of Project Runway All Stars debuts this Thursday. If you missed Part I, check out this recap: [The Cut]
By Artur Davis, on Tue Mar 20, 2012 at 8:30 AM ET  If you believe Reuters and Pew, Barack Obama is in a strong, improving position to win reelection, with a 50 percent approval rating and a double digit lead over his likely opponent, Mitt Romney. If you believe CBS/New York Times and ABC/Washington Post, Obama has lost ground and has fallen back to even with Romney. It’s an unusual divergence, and a reminder that an electorate that has swung so wildly in the last two cycles remains cryptic.
But putting aside the horse-race, something seems to have been drained out of this presidency. Since the start of 2012, it has been curiously devoid of an economic agenda, preoccupied with interest group politics, deliberately unwilling to assert much of a long term priority list. The administration has spent inordinate time on two causes, mandating Catholic institutions to cover birth control in their employee insurance plans—an issue few Americans had stressed over prior to this year—and challenging state voter ID laws, which 70 percent of the country support.
Read the rest of…
Artur Davis: Obama’s Very Quiet Year
By John Y. Brown III, on Mon Mar 19, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET Motivational timeline
7:15 am –read inspirational quote
“Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them”. –Shakespeare (Twelfth Night)
1:15pm –Start revising downward
Be not afraid of mediocrity; some are born mediocre; some achieve mediocrity and some have mediocrity thrust upon them.
5:45pm Begin suspecting…
Be not afraid of failure; some are born failures; some try but always fail and some have failure thrust upon them.
By Robert Kahne, RP Staff, on Mon Mar 19, 2012 at 10:00 AM ET  I love church. As a 25 year old American, that’s a weird statement to type. Many people in my generation either have a strongly negative to church. To those who do not subscribe to Christianity, church is a place of intolerance and judgment—and who can blame them, as churches throughout history have slipped into those evils. However, even those who do subscribe to Christianity still don’t like church—it seems like an antiquity to many in my generation, a relic of a former time whose importance has been transcended.
But I love church. Church has been part of my life since before I was born. I can’t think of a time when I missed church three Sundays in a row—church is something that I’ve always been expected to attend, and once I reached a certain age, it became something that I felt worthwhile to attend of my own volition. I love church because it’s a place to come together as similarly valued people and work through each of our struggles with the holy, and discern how God wants us to work in the world in which we live.
Up until about 6 months ago, I’ve attended conservative to moderate Baptist churches who were certainly less fundamentalist than what “Baptist” currently connotes, but who were (and continue to be) considerably less liberal than me. Six months ago I began attending Highland Baptist Church, and for the first time in my life, my faith has been challenged from the left. I’ve been left wondering more than once “is this stance too liberal for me?” That answer has not yet been ‘yes’; but I am glad to be in a place that necessitates the question. Prior to Highland, I attended two fantastic churches which I love dearly. They are the places where I found God and where I began my life-long struggle to comprehend my place in God’s world. In infinite ways, those churches have helped me along to become the person that I am. However, when I made the decision to go somewhere else six month ago, there was a specific reason
Read the rest of…
Robert Kahne: We Must All Find Our Way
By Jonathan Miller, on Mon Mar 19, 2012 at 8:30 AM ET  The No Bracket, No Pay NCAA hoops contest has gotten off to a rollicking start.
Sheila (identify yourself!) is in the lead of the field of 77, while my sister Jennifer’s dog is tied for second. (And not the dog named after a UK/NBA star, but the one referred to in Harry Potter books.) Tied for 5th is contributing RP Rod Jetton, RP writer Jeremy Morris and No Labels staffer David Asche. Of course, I’m stuck in a tie for 60th.
Check out the full scoreboard here.
You might have missed the deadline to join us. Or maybe like me, your bracket’s been busted in too many pieces that you’d like to start over again.
Worst of all, your team might have already crashed and burned amd you are looking for something else to occupy your time. (HINT: contributing RPs Lisa Borders (Duke), Jason Grill (Mizzou))
Well, The Recovering Politician is all about second chances. Check out our mission statement.
Accordingly, we present the Second Chance, No Bracket, No Pay contest.
In the Second Chance bracket, you start with a completely new slate, making your choices from the existing teams still remaining in the Sweet Sixteen.
Best of all, if you made the mistake of NOT choosing the Kentucky Wildcats to win — you have a second chance!
And don’t worry No Bracket, No Pay veterans. That competition will be ongoing.
Just click here to sign up before Thursday, March 22 at Noon.
It’s not often that you get second chances. So don’t miss out. Remember: No Bracket, No Pay.
By John Y. Brown III, on Fri Mar 16, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET Could dentists learn anything from Valvoline?
A lot of people hate going to the dentist, even for just a regular teeth cleaning every six months.
It’s that time again for me this week and although it’s a hassle, it’s important, and I can’t say I dread going–but admit that it could be a more upbeat experience. I think it’s because dentists, as a group, aren’t great sales people. And could learn a thing or two from Valvoline.
I’m also getting my oil changed this week at Valvoline. And what a contrast to my dental visits. I’ve never seen so much enthusiasm and activity over something so trivial.
When you pull into Valvoline for an oil change, you feel like you are about to get some sort of transformative car treatment –possibly one that could improve your overall quality of life.
You feel that somethng important and mysterious is taking place in the bowels of the service station where oil is being changed out for newer, clearner oil. There is clapping and shouting that is part military protocal and part circus troupe act.
I do love the enthusiasm and theatrics. And it’s good sales strategy. But I think Valvoline over does it. And I wish they’d just charge, say, $2 for the show rather than to fold in the performance price by trying to convince me every visit I need a new air filter.
My dentist, by contrast, is an uneventful visit. The dental hygenists don’t clap or bark orders back and forth in rapid fire style. It makes me wonder sometimes if they received as good training as the people at Valvoline. And they don’t create the sense that something urgent and profound is happening to me.
Mostly I just feel like I’m getting my teeth cleaned. And that’s it. And now that I’m adult, I don’t even get a free toothbrush when I leave.
Sometimes I wish my dentist were more of a showman and I felt like getting my teeth cleaned was going to be as memorable and as inspiring an experience as, say, getting an oil change.
And if it were I may not even mind having to buy an unneeded air filter at the end of my appointment
By RP Staff, on Fri Mar 16, 2012 at 10:00 AM ET Contributing RP Jeff Smith hit the national radio airwaves yesterday to talk about the advice he’s given to Rod Blagojevitch on his first day in prison.
Click here to listen to the NPR interview.
Click here to read his essay.
By Jonathan Miller, on Fri Mar 16, 2012 at 8:30 AM ET  Newt Gingrich shouldn’t drop out of the presidential race as long as he feels that he has something to say and to contribute, and he has the desire and fire in his belly to go through the process.
The GOP establishment hasn’t helped Gingrich in his race, and its calls for him to sacrifice for party unity are likely to fall on deaf ears. The amount of pressure these Republicans can put on Gingrich is marginal, since they are neither endorsing nor funding him.
Also, the idea that somehow Newt will lose his dignity if he stays in the race beyond his natural shelf-life…is, well, a bit absurd given who Newt Gingrich is and how he comports himself.
 The argument that somehow Santorum would dominate Romney without Gingrich in the race is also misplaced, for several reasons. Firstly, I am deeply suspicious of the underlying rationale of this argument.
It’s the same argument that suggests that Ralph Nader was responsible for Al Gore’s loss in 2000 and not Gore’s anemic campaigning that brought the race to the margin of error. This same argument falls flat with Santorum. Santorum is gaining ground, strength, and momentum from the way he is running his campaign.
Facts on the ground may conspire to make Newt largely irrelevant, as voters line up behind either Santorum or Romney. However, if Santorum loses to Romney, it’s his own fault. Not Newt Gingrich’s.
Read the rest of…
Krystal Ball: Only Newt Gingrich Decides When He Gets Out
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Thu Mar 15, 2012 at 3:00 PM ET
US e-voting system gets cracked in under 48 hours. “We successfully changed every vote and revealed almost every secret ballot.” Is it supposed to be that easy? [The H Security]
“Solar panel made with ion cannon is cheap enough to challenge fossil fuels.” Sounds good to me! [Extreme Tech]
Hackers (Th3 Consortium) are threatening to out government officials who used their .gov e-mail addresses to browse porn. [The Atlantic Wire]
An English college student is facing extradition to the US for violation of US copyright laws. [ars technica]
A new printer that reverses laser printing without damaging the paper. Neat-o. [Extreme Tech]
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