Why Ted Mosby isn't dying/has Alzheimers

Besides the mother being dead, another growing How I Met Your Mother theory is that Ted himself is dying or has Alzheimer's. After all, why would he sit his kids down and tell them the story of how he met their mom if something bad wasn't going to happen to him?

But here's the thing: if Ted was dying or had Alzheimer's, why isn't he writing this story down? Or tape recording it? Or videotaping himself telling the story? The kids aren't taking any notes, and it's unlikely they will remember every little detail of their dad's incredibly long story. If Ted archived the story in some way then the kids could hear/read/watch it over and over again and also show it to Ted's kids, grandkids, great-grandkids, etc. Also, let's take a look at Penny & Luke's attitude. If their father was dying or had Alzheimer's disease they would be a lot more sympathetic.

As a beloved fan of the show, I have many theories about why Ted decided to tell his kids the story during that particular time in 2030. It could be that Ted and the mother decided to have Robin, Barney, Marshall, and Lily be their kids guardians in case something happened to both of them, just like Lily & Marshall did with Marvin. Or it could be Ted waited until Luke turned 13 to tell the story due to all the sex and drugs. Whatever it is, we'll find out in less than a week. 

Democrats Can Win in Kansas?!

Given how deeply red Kansas is, I was dead certain that Republican Governor Sam Brownback would easily win re-election this November, especially with an environment favorable to his party.

Turns out that's not the case. Polls show a tight race between Brownback and Kansas House Minority Leader Paul Davis. A PPP poll taken last month shows Davis up by two points, which is really bad news for Brownback, who was elected Governor in the Republican wave of 2010 after serving 14 years in the U.S. Senate.

What's even more troubling for the Brownback Campaign is another PPP poll showing a majority of Kansans disapproving of his performance as Governor. A majority of voters in the state disapprove of his job performance, and his 33% approval rating is even lower than President Obama's in the state. In the last presidential election, Obama lost Kansas to Mitt Romney in a landslide.

Brownback's sagging poll numbers are partly contributed to his declining popularity among Republicans in the state, whom a quarter now say they will back Davis for Governor. During his last three years in office, Brownback has alienated moderate GOP voters in the state with his administration's agenda, which includes drastic cuts to education, far-right anti-aboriton legislation, and the largest tax cut in the state's history.

Brownback was elected Governor in a landslide with 63% of the vote. If he loses this November, it could potentially send a warning signal to the national GOP on how far to the right the party can go-even in a state as red as Kansas. 

Why Republican Senate Victory May Be Short Lived

There's a growing consensus that the Republicans will gain control of the Senate again this November. But even if they do, they might have a hard time defending their majority when the next Senate elections take place.

While Democrats are defending seven U.S. Senate seats in states where Mitt Romney won in this years midterm elections, in 2016 Republicans will have to defend six U.S. Senate seats in states that voted for President Obama in 2012. Protecting those states will be a tall order for the GOP, especially with an electorate that is expected to be younger and less white than the last presidential election.

These senate races will take place in Illlinois, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, and Florida. These elections may be more than two years away, but already it is becoming clear that Senator Mark Kirk (D-IL) will have a hard time defending the seat that once belonged to a guy named Barack Obama. Though he is currently recovering from a debilitating stroke, Kirks approval ratings are stuck in the mid 30s, and his refusal to vote to extend unemployment benefits may hurt him even more. Illinois is a solid blue state that hasn't voted for a Republican presidential candidate since 1988, so expect this seat to be a prime target for Democrats when 2016 comes around.

Of the states listed above, only two of them-Ohio and Florida-are considered tossup states that could go to either party. Yet in 2012, the Florida electorate was 17% Latino, and African-Americans represented 15% of the electorate in Ohio. These numbers are expected to go up during the next presidential election, and the GOP isn't doing themselves any favors with these groups with their embrace of voter ID laws and their refusal to embrace immigration reform.

If all goes according to plan, this November will be a cause for celebration for the GOP. Yet even if they do get their victory, the party of Reagan will immediately have to keep their eye out for the next Senate elections that would be taking place right around the corner. 

Review of "Mr. Peabody and Sherman"

Based on the shorts that played during Rocky & Bullwinkle, Dreamworks Animations Mr. Peabody & Sherman is a great thrill ride for anyone who has a passion for history and a love of time travel.

Played convincingly by Ty Burrell of Modern Family, Mr. Peabody is the world's most brilliant canine who lives with his adopted boy Sherman (Max Charles). Thanks to his WABAC Machine, Mr. Peabody is able to introduce his son to some of the greatest legends of history. But on his first day of school, Sherman gets into a fight with classmate Penny Peterson (voiced by Ariel Winter, who coincidentally plays Burrell's daughter on Modern Family) after she makes fun of him for having a dog as a parent. After being called to the principals office and learning about the fight, Mr. Peabody discovers that his guardianship of Sherman is in jeopardy. In order to set things right he invited Penny and her parents (voiced by Stephen Colbert and Leslie Mann) over for dinner, which leads to Sherman showing Penny the WABAC Machine and her getting stuck in Ancient Egypt. Sherman enlists his dad's help to save her, and from there the trio embark on a time traveling adventure that takes them through the Renaissance and Ancient Rome.

Despite this being an animated movie, I was actually amazed by the films architecture. The historical settings feel so grand, so majestic, that it's hard not to feel like you are not at that particular place at that particular point in time. Perhaps my favorite scene in the movie is when Penny and Sherman soar over 16th Century Italy on a flying machine created by Leonardo da Vinci. It was reminiscent of the flying hippogriff scene in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and gave a sense of wonder and excitement that is missing from most movies these days.

However, there are a few shortcomings that should be addressed, the first of which is Sherman himself. There's nothing wrong with the kid, and that's exactly the problem. The character is just way too good. I'm not saying the writers should have made him a bad kid, but I wish they would have spent more time making him more three dimensional. Although she is a supporting character, Penny is a more dimensional character than Sherman and experiences greater character growth than he does, going from being a self-centered bully to someone who encourages Sherman to believe in himself.

The relationship between Sherman and his dad could have also used some more work. While it's clear that Mr. Peabody truly cares for his son, there's no real sense of tension between them, so when they do finally get into an argument it doesn't pull at the heartstrings like it did in A Goofy Movie  or other films with a father-son relationship at its center.

In spite of its shortcomings, Mr. Peabody & Sherman is a thrill ride for people of all ages. I am hoping that in the next few years, Mr. Peabody and his adopted son will return to the big screen and take us on another time traveling adventure. 

Why We Don't Have Flying Cars

According to Back to the Future Part II we are supposed to have flying cars one year from now. Being able to fly our cars through the air has been, for such a long time, one of the primary things that come to  our minds when we think about "the future". Just recently a flying car has been invented and is awaiting FAA approval. However, unlike a lot of people who can't wait for flying cars, I am here to argue why flying cars are such a terrible idea and why the FAA should stop them from becoming a reality.

One of the biggest problems that come to mind when it comes to flying cars is what would happen if said flying car ran out of gas/battery. Does anyone seriously want to run the risk of being crushed by a few thousand pounds of metal just because a car ran out of gas or the battery stopped working? If there was a way to teleport the car to a cornfield as far away from civilization as possible in that situation then it wouldn't be a problem, yet we have as much chance of being able to teleport in the next five years as we are to seeing a pig fly. Also, what if a couple of flying cars crash into each other? Unless there was a way of keeping the cars floating in the air in that circumstance, both of those cars would fall to the ground, potentially creating even more casualties.

Another thought that comes to mind is how flying cars would be regulated when it comes to airplanes. We can't have cars flying straight towards an airplane in flight, because that would cause an even greater catastrophe than the ones I mentioned above. It would be hard to regulate how high a flying car could go up since airplanes start their descent even before they land at the airport. Limiting how high a car can go up to just a few feet off the ground might be the safest way to regulate it, but that would take all the fun out of flying cars since the point of flying cars is being able to go as high in the sky whenever you want to.

Back to the Future Part II predicted that one year from now we would have TVs that could play 6 channels at a time, 3-D images that would jump at us right outside the movie theater, and of course, flying cars. But I am happy to have flying cars kept in TV and the movies and away from real life. Because the last thing I want is a car falling down on me. 

Why the February Jobs Report is Good News

The U.S. jobs report provided much needed sunny news for a country besieged by wintry weather.

Despite the unemployment rate ticking up a tenth of a percent to 6.7% the overall U.S. economy added 175,000 jobs last month, beating analysts forecasts.

The unemployment rate went up slightly as a result of more people looking for work, bucking a trend of workers dropping out of the labor market.

But the best part of the labor report are the types of jobs that were created last month. While most of the jobs added since the end of the recession have been minimum wage, part time positions, at least 57% of the jobs added last month were in sectors that provide full time work and a living wage. These include professional and business services (+79,000), construction (+15,000), and manufacturing (+6,000).

This is the 41st consecutive month that the U.S. economy has added and not lost jobs. Overall about 8 million of the 8.7 million jobs that were lost during the recession have now been recovered. 

Why the Mother in "How I Met Your Mother" is NOT Dead

The look on Ted Mosby's face at the end of last Monday's How I Met Your Mother all but confirmed many fans suspicions that the mother will bite the dust.

The episode starts off at the Farhampton Inn in 2024, where Ted tells the still-unnamed mother the story of how Robin broke a lamp on the day of her wedding, which results in her discovering that her mother (played by Tracy Ulman) decided to come to the wedding after all.

The mother doesn't see it as a big surprise since "what kind of a mother would miss their daughter's wedding?" But Ted's bursting into tears in response to that comment make it seem as if she herself will not live long enough to see her own daughter getting married.

However, after re-watching some of the early episodes, I am pretty certain that Ted's wife is still alive by the year 2030.

Penny and Like Mosby certainly don't act like kids whose mother has died or is on her deathbed. If she was, they would be more interested in finding out more about her, rather than acting like the typical bored teenagers that they are. Some fans have speculated that if the mother was dead it would explain why they sat for so long listening to their father's story, wanting to know more about the mother who was taken from them too soon. But what they have forgotten is that at one point Ted's kids get so bored that they almost leave their father's study go to watch TV.

Showrunners Carter Bays and Craig Thomas have also said that fans will get to see what happily ever after is like for Ted. Having the mother die would leave Ted open to finding someone else, which wouldn't make a whole lot of sense given that the series finale is supposed to coincide with the end of Ted's romantic journey.

There's no denying that the mother has some sort of health scare in 2024. But given the attitude of Ted's kids and the comment the creators said regarding Ted's future, I am almost certain that the mother is going to be just fine.

Why Democrats Should Head Down to Miami

Democrats should head down to Miami if they are interested in keeping Florida blue in 2016.

Miami is one of thirty-plus cities invited by DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz to host the next Democratic National Convention and one of only a handful so far to express interest.

With 29 electoral votes, Florida was the largest battleground state in 2012. President Obama won the Sunshine State by just 74,000 votes in part due to his 208,000 margin of victory in Miami-Dade County. Since 1960, no democratic presidential candidate has won Florida without winning Miami-Dae County by at least 90,000 votes.

Having been called the Latin American Capital of the U.S. and being the 2nd largest spanish-speaking majority city may also help Miami's chances. Latinos were critical to Obama's re-election victory in 2012, especially in Florida, where Latino voters made up 17% of the electorate, up from 14% in 2008. Obama increased his share among Florida Latino voters by three percentage points to 60% in 202, yet it was far below the 71% of Latino voters the President won nationally. Having a convention in Miami could potentially help Democrats mobilize Latino voters in Florida and across the country.

The last time Miami hosted a major national political convention was in 1972 when it hosted both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. 

Oscar Review: Degeneres is no MacFarlane

Anyone who knows that the Oscarts are an inside game could pretty much figure out who was going to win Sunday night. I knew that Matthew McConaughey would win Best Actor for Dallas Buyers Club, not because he gave the best performance but because he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Dramatic Actor and several awards thereafter.

But just because the Oscars can be predictable doesn't mean they can't be fun. While this year's Oscars hosted by Ellen Degeners was entertaining at times, it was extremely dry compared to the Oscars last year hosted by Seth MacFarlane. The creator of Family Guy brought fresh ideas and energy to the ceremony, making it excitable for the young demographic that Hollywood is desperately trying to reach. "We Saw Your Boobs" may have offended many women in Hollywood and across the country, yet there's no denying that MacFarlane is a creative genius. One of the skits included in last year's Oscars was a re-enactment of Flight made entirely out of sock puppets (which was the first time I ever laughed while watching the Academy Awards) and the every end of the show featured MacFarlane singing a song about the winners and losers, which was written on the fly as the winners were being announced.

That's not to say Degeneres did a bad job. I enjoyed her bit of ordering pizza and taking a selfie with some of the celebrities in the audience (but why she would take a selfie in the first place is beyond me. the fact that she hosted the Oscars proves that she was there). Some of her jokes I found clever, but none of them made me laugh. The set looked confusing with all those Oscar statues on the stage, and the only musical performance I enjoyed was "Happy" sung by Pharrell Williams.

What made the Oscars even more uninteresting was that there was no sense of drama. At least last year's ceremony was all about Ben Affleck's comeback, a fallen actor who transformed himself into a critically-acclaimed and Oscar-winning director. But this year's ceremony featured no underdog, no person to root for as the list of nominees were being read. Everyone who I expected to win pretty much did win, the only ones I missed being in the technical categories.

The Academy chose Degeners mostly because of her 25 million Twitter followers. But if they are interested in keeping young people like myself interested, they should call MacFarlane right away.