Newt Gingrich ... the Einstein who wants to bring back orphanages to save money on welfare.

It’s Wednesday night. Since Sam will be at work until dawn tomorrow (seriously) and I’m 100% caught up with all my client projects, this is a perfect opportunity to spend a little quality time horsing around with the Howdygram! Other planned activities for the balance of the evening include: 1) finishing a mug of hot chocolate that’s no longer hot; 2) tackling a hangnail; and 3) making popcorn. These are not listed in order of importance.

I’m sure you’ve read the news that, due to a serious lack of funds, GOP whackjob Newt Gingrich has cut back on his campaign for the presidential nomination and laid off 30% of his staff. He’s basically crawling around in the gutter at this point, and I personally can’t wait until this disgusting loudmouth gets off the public stage. Gingrich is the Dickensian Einstein who suggested “bringing back orphanages” to save money on welfare to families with children and thinks the United States needs a “minimum voting standard” for native-born Americans ... a basic citizenship test to make sure people are smart enough to vote. Ever heard of the Voting Rights Act, Newt? Your idea is not only stupid, it’s illegal.

A few additional Gingrich brainstorms:

• Concerning the student loan debt bubble Gingrich discussed a small college where students get a break in tuition for helping to clean the campus, and his Republican audience gave him an ovation. Gingrich seriously believes this a solution to student debt and expects universities to fire their maintenance staff and force poor students into janitorial chain gangs. I’m wondering if he ever examined the ratio between the number of students and janitors in a typical college.
• We should grant citizenship to illegal residents by establishing local committees to figure out who they think is qualified. You know, a group of bossy white men who sit around deciding the fate of families. Because there’s no possible chance for corruption or bigotry with a scenario like that, right? Even worse is Gingrich’s insistence in checking if applicants “belong to your church.” Granting citizenship on the basis of religious affiliation happens to be illegal.
• Gingrich wants Americans to implode the fundamentals of Democracy by asking Congress to pass a law insisting on the centrality of God in defining American rights, legitimizing prayer in public places and rejecting judicial supremacy as a violation of the Constitution’s balance of powers. I kid you not. When the Supreme Court objects, he says, Congress should pass a second law “to define the court’s jurisdiction.” What he means is, the President should have the power to throw out the Supreme Court and impeach federal judges who don’t agree with him. Holy crap.

And finally, I’d like take a minute to recommend a VERY cute movie I saw today for the first time, a real charmer with Alexander Knox, Irene Dunne and adorable Charles Coburn called Over 21.

So here’s the basic story. Knox is 40 years old and managing editor of a major newspaper when he decides to enlist in the Army during World War II. His publisher (Coburn) desperately tries to stop him, and Knox’s wife (Irene Dunne), who’s a successful author and screenwriter, gives up their New York penthouse to follow her husband to basic training in Florida, where she lives in sweaty little bungalow with lots of other Army wives — all half her age — as neighbors. It’s a great screwball comedy with plenty of poignant moments and I can’t believe I’ve never seen it before. Too bad Sam slept through most of it.

Thank you for reading this.