China has great advantages. One is the U.S. is not standing in its way. And that's probably the most important. But is that good?

Second-handed stories about China.

Some one I knew visit China a couple years ago on an artistic excursion to see how vases are made.

Thousands of people are involved as he elaborated on the process. Some dig out the clay, others create the vases, others create the designs and so forth and finally, someone else fires the vases in the final step in the chain of production.

But where's the artistry?

Art is, I thought, an individual expression, not a group effort. Group expressions or expressions of a group are just propaganda. Right?

Let's put aside Chinese vases for the moment, and consider an anecdote about a night visit to a McDonald's in China, which city I don't recall.

Image people, Chinese people, most having a paper cup for a soft drink with them as they slept at tables. You have to have purchases something to stay at a table, but they are sleeping. Why? Well, no one asked them, and they didn't state their motivation either. They sleep at their chosen table at two o'clock in the morning.

Visitors to China enter with their caretaker, an escort. In the old Soviet Union the job of the caretaker was to make the country look good by avoiding issue which were ultimately political, because in a closed society driven by a totalitarian ideology everything is political, even the guy employed to give out the toilet paper at the public rest room, because everyone has a ‘right to work.'

So, the official escort leads the way into the golden arches franchise, and everyone orders, and sits and eats. All is quiet. Everyone concentrates on Big Macs and fries.

A young Chinese woman, somewhere in her early twenties, dressed in the signature McDonald's uniform with cap, commences the tasks of sweeping the floor. Inadvertently, she bumps into an older woman, rousing her from slumber, and the Kung Pow pork hits the fan.

In Western Societies, the demand for decades was to respect your elders, and as we all know that has changed. Violent crime against the elder in some urban areas has bordered on blood sports. The People's Republic of China, though a totalitarian or authoritarian construction depending on who you talk to demand that all are equal. Well, in China, the elder still demand respect for their age, a very noble idea, which the West should reconsider, but as I stated earlier: the Kung Pow pork hits the fan.

The elder Chinese patron, having been sleeping at the restaurant table foe who knows how long, is jostled from her slumber. She then stands and begins to scream at the young woman who was just doing her job, while also disturbing everyone else. Along with the screaming, the elderly Chinese woman blows her nose into a series of paper napkins, and after loading each one ups, lobs them at the young McDonald's employee.

This goes on for at least thirty seconds. Thirty seconds is a long time at two in the morning when you're a visitor to a foreign country and you're just trying to eat in peace.

One of the visitors escorted in by a Chinese handler, losses it. It is, of course, an American. The request is made loud, clear, and succinct, "Shut the hell up, I'm trying to eat.”

The snotty, verbal assault on the McDonald's employee ceases. The elderly woman is stunned. She does not utter a word to the American, but attracts the attention of a passing Westerner, a young man with a backpack and unkempt hair on his own tour of the People's Republic.

Offended old woman wants him to reproach the American.

He looks to the American, considers, and then says, "I don't know him,” and then goes on.

This scene may not seem like much when it has been reported that McDonald's restaurants in America have been turned into veritable arenas for brawls. But this incident says something about China, something that does not appear in the news, or in books.

Every country has a cultural history and not all of it can be wiped away with any revolution. China has cultural. Tattoos are not popular in China though many of the young do like them. The dislike is so much so, that only now, has the Chinese military wavered those with tattoos for military service.

In China, an intelligent young man in the military is considered a waste, nothing noble or honorable about service to the nation apparently. That's strange, considering in an authoritarian state, the state is the state, the end all, where the loyalty must be.

What will the parents of all these young men do when war comes? Tattoos or no tattoos, intelligence or no intelligence, loyalty to the state or not loyalty to the state, they're no protection against bullets and bombs. The Chinese people have never been involved in a major modern war. I'd like to know what the average citizen of the People's Republic of China thinks.

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 Cain shot up the polling charts after the September Florida straw poll put him ahead of everyone. He stayed at the lead even after the pummeling damage dealt by sexual harassment scandal. After the last debate Cain's performance was what Cain usually offered, he defended, proposed, but offered no specifics on anything. He still stayed at the time.

Newt Gingrich is the candidate who shined in the debate. He rose to the top—literally in the polls. In the most recent polling, he now leads in Iowa, and other polls as well. A quick rise to the top, which is fine. He's earned it with his slow steady slog, and he has more experience and appreciation for the Federal system than Romney does. Over time that will be to his advantage.

Romney is finally dropping after hovering around 25% since he announced his run. He never broke the 30% and no one ever seemed to be confident that he would.

Cain stole any wind Romney might have gotten in his sail, and it appears, rather obviously, that Gingrich will finish the Romney ride.

Romney is in third, and now, will be dropping even faster—for real.

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The most visible weakness for Herman Cain is his foreign policy. Yes, he said he would surround himself with the best people, which any competent president should, but while out on the campaign trail every word said counts. He's stepped on his tongue again, show in an unedited video clip:

"The video is being taken out of context,” said Cain Campaign spokesman JD Gordon. "He was taking questions for about 30 to 40 minutes on four hours of sleep. He didn't say anything wrong or in accurate; it just took him a while to recall the specifics of Libya.”

Gordon added, "It just took him a while to gain his bearings.”

The point of the matter is the Cain Campaign is or rather was at a crossroad, and simply turned around and went back.

The sexual harassment issue can be dealt with simply because there is no evidence, just accusations. These kinds of errors, well, they can't be ignored, and if Cain wants to future in this presidential race, it better be the last.

If there is anything which is ironic, that is, if he were president it wouldn't matter. Now, Cain has to straighten this out, even though, it may already be too late. Nor many be not.

Remember Barak Obama is still president.

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If you're a conservative the most recent poll presented by the Politico is the most important one so far. At one time Romney lead, but between the rise of Cain who still ranks first at 20%, Gingrich is next at 19%, with Romney trailing at third with 14%.

Romney, statistically ranks second, but with these numbers that's not a comforting position for his campaign, but should make any conservative happy, and worry anyone the left and the Republican élite.

If you want to dig into the internals of the poll solid support is Cain's at 9% while Gingrich and Romney are at 8%. But voters don't look at internals, and that doesn't help Romney one bit.

I stated in an earlier post that Romney won't be getting the nomination. Now, keeping this in mind that we're dealing with a poll and the Iowa primary is a month out and things can change, but my guess is the change will be for Romney, and it won't be good.

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"Cain is innocent,” Private investigator TJ Ward announced after using analyzing software.

Of course, the MSM, the left and everyone would normally laud the results, if the subject where anyone but Herman Cain.

Cain came through this Wednesday debate. If he's not stronger, he's not out. Time will tell how the harassment accusation will turnout, but presently, Cain's accusers aren't fairing well under scrutiny.

From the debate Romney faired well, but he wasn't dynamic or interesting in any engaging way. He probably won't be the nominee.

The steady as he goes candidate is Gingrich, and the rate he's moving in the polls, Romney will soon be eclipsed. Cain, if he stays in the race, which he states he will, will probably be the one to overcome.

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Anyone who wants to be honest knows that Mitt Romney is a holographic image. He has no depth and his Massachusetts record is not sterling, and not even sterile, because RomneyCare, a failed, state indebting program, which he help create, support and put into law, is a massive embarrassment and huge red-light in the eyes of any thing America.

Romney's performance in last nights debate shows a man who can offer up prepped answers, but spontaneity and a real sense of personality are thin as light—that red-light. Too bad that red-light couldn't be matched up with a red state, any red state. Romney is not a rugged, independent American type, not even like the founder of his religion, Joseph Smith, Jr.

Even the embattled Herman Cain, who after yesterday's date may not be that embattled, has more presence of mind, character, and obvious enthusiasm for American, which the majority of Americans are looking for in a candidate. Romney is not.

It's easy to say Romney is a shadow, but he is not quite as bad as President Obama, who is a shadow, a conglomeration of random parts and unanswered questions, and a Harvard grade with no transcripts or respectable vitae.

Romney is nobody, and the majority of the American voters realize that one phantom in office is enough, putting a nobody in the same seat just won't happen.

When Obama's administration goes into the dust bin of American political history, Romney will not be elected to replace him. ‘Nobody' is not wanted.

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Cain vs. Sandusky: anyone with any modicum of objectivity should pause and consider the circumstances. There is a difference isn't there?

Sandusky has been arrested:

Seven counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse. That's what Sandusky was charged with Saturday morning when he was arrested. Also, eight counts of corruption of minors, eight counts of endangering the welfare of a child, seven counts of indecent assault and 10 other counts.

Apparently, Sandusky is a deviant and a predator, an authentic pedophile. This purulent behavior has gone on unchecked for at least a decade by Penn State officials who in aided and abetted a cover-up:

They were acting, if the grand jury is right, in the most cool, calculating, self-preserving way. Curley and Schultz were charged with perjury and failure to report for allegedly failing to alert police when they learned of the alleged facts pertaining to Victim 2 in a meeting with the graduate assistant. And late Sunday night, the two stepped down from their positions at Penn State.

[…]

They actually told Sandusky that he couldn't keep bringing boys from his charity onto the Penn State campus, into the football facilities, according to the grand jury findings.

Not that they told him to stop doing to those boys what is alleged.

This is heinous, and all done to "To protect a myth. To protect a football program. We've got to stop treating football as a religion.”

In the case of Herman Cain, Twenty year old accusations have been brought to the fore by the Politico, but the details of the accusations and the details of the settlements are shrouds in legal shadows. The accusers won't go public, even though they can, and, no doubt, are safe from any retribution, the MSM, Democrats, and, possibly Republican élites will make sure of that.

Gloria Allred's find, Sharon Bialek, made her Monday night début, providing numerous and sorted details, and of course, she said, 'I Was Not Paid to Come Forward.' But, in this cynical world, one wonders, ‘If not now, when?'

It is only ‘She said. He said.' There are no digital dots to connect, no corroborating witnesses. There are only the words of one person coming out of nowhere after ten years. But for Cain, the MSM and his opponents, his ‘He said' isn't enough. What really needs to be asked repeatedly is: Where is the cover-up?

The answer is: So far, there isn't one. That's fascinating considering that the 21^st Century American political landscape littered with cover-ups, and elaborately ridiculous excuses, and obvious lies. So, is that what makes it difficult for some Americans to believe one man who simply proclaims his innocence?

Hours after Gloria Allred staged the press conference for woman No. 4, Cain made a television appearance:

"I was listening very closely and then when it was all over with, I said, well I know what we got to do because there's not an ounce of truth in all of these accusations and my team is putting this stuff together," he said. "That is why I'm willing to do a press conference tomorrow to set the record straight."

It can be suspected that many don't want to get the record straight, and for some, it doesn't matter. Cain is the target. But Cain has an advantage, himself:

"I will talk about any and all future firestorms because here's one thing people know about Herman Cain: I'm in it to win it and I'm not going to be discouraged," he said.

And from the statement, it could be reasonably assumed that Cain and cover-up don't go together.

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A couple of 90s vintage sexual harassment accusations have been trumpeted by the Politico. The accusers go unnamed, and back in the 90s they did settle out of court for undisclosed amounts of money. Five figures. Whatever that means.

Doesn't this mean Cain did what they said he did? No?

Matter of fact, no one knows.

Herman Cain denies the allegations. He says he's never sexually harassed anyone.

We can look at it this way: Innocent people usually do deny wrong doing.

Cain has come out in full defense of himself. He's added to the story, in defense of himself, and the Politico offers nothing more.

What's going to happen? Only time can tell.

But I suspect that Cain may just weather this and it will only make him stronger. For him, it's better that this surprise came now, and not next November.

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