SEE POLL BELOW: A lot of buzz was created by the latest video released by the Herman Cain Presidential Campaign. It's a simple video that shows Cain's campaign Chief of Staff Mark Block speaking directly to the camera. What he says is not really so news worthy, but near the end he looks into the camera and puffs on a cigarette. You can see the Cain "smoking man" video here. You can also see Mark Block's explanation of the video on Fox News. Many are calling the video "bizarre," while some think it's brilliant. What is your opinion?

Who Won the Las Vegas GOP Presidential Debate on Tuesday, October 18?
This poll closes at 7:00 PM (ET) on October 19.

October 19, 2011 - Las Vegas - In an effort to be taken more seriously, Michele Bachman will be changing her wardrobe. Bachmann sported a "cruise ship captain" look (right) on stage at the October 18th GOP Candidates Pseudodebate on CNN. The change was fought for by Bachmann Campaign staffers immediately after tonight's Republican candidates debate in Las Vegas.

Here (below) is an artist's rendition (mine) of how she plans to dress in the future. Some of Bachmann's private campaign pollsters say that she is not being taken seriously by a many potential voters, and her wardrobe is the main culprit.

According to one of her polling staff, who requested anonymity, "She always looks like she's dressed for a cocktail party."

The staffer added, "Some of us thought her outfit tonight was more appropriate for a cameo on 'The Love Boat' than for a debate between candidates for the Republican Party's presidential nominee."

"We're not saying that she has to tone down her feminity," said another nameless staffer, "but if she wants to be one of the boys, would it kill her to dress the part?"

You might need to change your pants after watching this video. It's a montage of clips of Mitt Romney, stitched together and then dubbed over with words he never spoke. He might as well have said these things, however, because they make as sense as most of what he actually has said on the campaign trail (and before). The video is another masterpiece of political humor by YouTuber "BadLipReading." They've done this before. Previous victims were Michele Bachmann and Barack Obama. Oh, and Rick Perry.


Hat tips to @CO2HOG on Twitter and Hot Air Blog.

October 12, 2011 - Just when you thought the Obama Administration couldn't be any more corrupt - or stupid - along comes yet another incredible scandal.

As if Solyndra's demise in late August was not bad enough, news about an even bigger loan comes out.

SunPower received about twice as much federally guaranteed loan money as did Solyndra.

"What’s truly incredible," writes UFO Shock, "is that the White House seems oblivious to the mushrooming scandal that’s come from their failed bankrolling of Solyndra."

October 12, 2011 - It was 11 years ago today that a terrorist attack on the USS Cole killed 17 sailors in Aden , Yemen.

Justice in the case has been a long time coming. AFP reports that the main suspect in the attack of the USS Cole warship "will go before a judge for the first time at a Guantanamo Bay military tribunal on November 9, the Pentagon said Friday. Saudi-born Abd al-Rahim Hussayn Muhammad al-Nashiri allegedly planned and prepared the October 2000 attack on the US Navy destroyer in Yemen's port of Aden that killed 17 sailors and wounded 40 more."

October 10, 2011 - Herman Cain just keep rocketing upward in polls among likely Republican voters. Today, Bloomberg reported that "Cain Is Even With Romney on Economy Among Republican Backers." That, of course, is welcome news for Cainiacs across the USA. But the good news is even better than what the headline indicates:

"While Romney barely leads on the economy," notes Bloomberg's Mike Dorning, "he maintains his overall advantage as the candidate Republican supporters most want to see as the nominee, at 24 percent, with Cain second at 16 percent on the eve of a Bloomberg-Washington Post Republican presidential debate that will focus on economic issues, according to a national poll by the two news organizations."

Let's hear a collective "Wow!" That presidential debate, by the way will take place at 8:00 PM (Eastern) on Tuesday, October 10 at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. The Dartmouth College website has a good list of where you can watch or listen live, and even get your own two cents' worth in via social media.

You can read more about Cain's rising poll numbers at Citizens4Cain.com.

(Image: FOX News via Associated Press)

October 10, 2011 - Doug Ross posted some fantastic photos of the goofballs at Occupy Wall Street in New York.

Doug's post, "15 Photos from #OccupyWallStreet you'll never see in legacy media," highlights just how hateful and twisted the melange of messages coming from the bitter miscreants is. Doug's photos are great, and his captions are priceless.

What about Occupy Chicago? Friend John Ruberry of Marathon Pundit posted a great video that he made on Sunday morning.

John was in downtown Chicago on Sunday morning to cover the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, but he took time to interview a "protester" across the street from the Chicago branch of the Federal Reserve Bank. The protester, who has what sounds like a faint foreign accent, claimed that "basically less than one percent of the people own more than 99 percent of stuff." I'm not sure how that's possible, frankly, but that's the Left, for you: Mindless parrots regurgitating baseless talking points. Watch Marathon Pundit's video here...

October 8, 2011 - Herman Cain uploaded a new video today, in which he calls the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a jobs killer and promises to reign it in should he be elected president in 2012. He says the EPA needs "an attitude adjustment." The video has the simple title of "GOv GOne WIld.MOV." Watch the video below.

Cain stands on a dark street in Washington, D.C. It's either night or early morning. There is no description available. It seems that this video was uploaded to YouTube with no editing. The video is apparently intended only for campaign workers and supporters, as he thanks them for their work.

Here is a partial transcript of what Cain says in the video:

"Hello, I'm Herman Cain. I want to first thank all of you for realizing something that a lot of people in this country haven't realized yet, but you have and you have done something about it... As I'm on this presidential campaign journey, I have also raised the alarm about something that's happening in Washington, D.C. that's killing jobs and taking away many of our liberties. I describe it as government gone wild. Specifically, the EPA gone wild. One of the things that I'm going to do as president of the United States is to make sure that the Environmental Protection Agency gets an attitude adjustment.... We will transform the EPA from an organization that believes that the taxpayers work for them, to an organization that understands that they work for us."

Herman Cain has long been openly critical of the EPA. In a debate in September, Cain was asked which federal department he would eliminate first if he became president. He answered that he would "start with the EPA and start all over."

The video doesn't even show on Cain's YouTube channel "thehermancain" yet, and might never. As of 5:30 PM ET, the video information says it was uploaded "6 hours ago," which would have been 11:30 AM ET. In fact, this video is "unlisted." Only those with the link can see it. Of course, those who visit Chicago News Bench can also see it.

UPDATED, 9:45 PM - The Sun Prairie Cardinals varsity football team was unstoppable tonight, creaming the Beloit Memorial Purple Knights 50-0. It was quite a homecoming game for Sun Prairie.

The Cardinals play the Madison West Regents on Friday, October 14. Beloit Memorial's next game, the same day, will be against the Verona Area High School Wildcats. The Cats scratched the Cardinals on August 19 (see below), and the Regents turned out Knights' lights on Sept. 30, beating them 33-7 (making for a sad Beloit homecoming).

Beloit Memorial vs. Sun Prairie: Ashley Field, Sun Prairie - 7:30 p.m.

Sun Prairie, WI - October 7, 2011 - The local spirit is high as the Sun Prairie Cardinals hope for a big win against the Beloit Memorial Purple Knights at tonight's much anticipated Homecoming football game.

A funny photo manipulation by buddy "Irony Curtain" at the funniest blog on Earth, iOwnTheWorld. IC is poking fun at the pitifully misdirected saps who have fooled themselves into believing that they've actually "occupied" Wall Street, and that at any moment the bankers and moneylords will fall to their knees and give in to their fuzzy, ill-defined demands. Many of the participants, in fact, are paid to be there and don't really care about the purported goals of this bad imitation of a revolution.

A little something I penned this morning:

Cain has the brain to unplug the drain
of pain in Washingtain
Herman will roll like a Sherman tank,
take that to the bank,
he'll be the one to thank
when the rain begins again
to end our national drought.
That's what Cain's about.

~by T.H. Mannis

Video Below - Here's Herman Cain was assaulted after standing up to hundreds of yelling conservatives and Tea Party members on Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011 on the steps of the state capitol building in Madison, Wisconsin. Cain, a dark African-American Black Man, is running for the Republican Party's nomination to be their presidential candidate in 2012. This often forces Cain to brave mostly-white mobs of Tea Party members.

The rabid conservatives drowned out some of Cain's words as they loudly clapped and cheered for him repeatedly. After he finished his speech, Cain managed to get away from the evil white Tea Party patriots without injury, although many of the Tea Party people assaulted him by slapping his shoulders and patting his back as he walked through the crowd. Even more of the crazed reactionaries assaulted Cain by grabbing his right hand and repeatedly shaking it, uttering words of praise and admiration for him. "He was just damned lucky to get out here alive," said an anti-Tea Party woman standing across the street. "Me and a few of my union brothers were ready to kick the hell out of that Cain douchebag, but those damned fascist tea baggers got in our damned way."

October 3, 2010 - Yes, it's early. Perhaps it is too early to predict who will get the Republican Party's nomination to run for President in 2012.

I will risk ridicule, however, and go out on a limb right now to say that I believe Herman Cain will keep picking up steam and take it all. Cain is the boldest, straightest talking, most business-experienced one on the campaign trail. He can label an economic plan with "999" in its title and not be accused of devilry. That's devine.

He doesn't have crazy eyes. He has executive experience but no controversial elected office baggage. He's one of the most exciting speakers I've ever witnessed. It's Cain. Herman Cain. Oh yeah, he's the only candidate who actually looks good in a cowboy hat.

October 2, 2011 - I wonder if Herman Cain knows about a town called Nigger Corner in Jamaica? Even in 2011, there are a quite a few places in the world with "Niggerhead" or "Nigger Head" as part of their name.

Let me clarify something up front: I do not like, nor do I advocate, the use of the word "nigger." It's an ugly word, with an ugly meaning (even when rappers use it). But it's also an ugly reality that it exists, and that it's still used. Weirdly, there are many places on the planet with "nigger" as part of their name.

Cain is accusing rival Republican presidential hopeful Rick Perry of racial insensitivity. The accusation by Cain is that Perry allowed the word "Niggerhead" to remain painted on a large rock at an entrance to a hunting ground used by Perry since 1983. (See "Rick Perry's Niggerhead Headache.") Perry claims he painted over the offensive word. Cain does not dispute that, and admits that he doesn't know when Perry painted over it. The land's official name is not "Niggerhead," but has been known as that locally for decades. Texas, however, is not the only place on Earth where you can find an area called "Niggerhead." Sadly, there are others, and for some of them, that's the official name.

Here's a partial list:

Mount Niggerhead, Victoria, Australia"Mount Niggerhead is a mountain within the Alpine National Park in east Victoria. At about 1826m above sea level, Mount Niggerhead is the eleventh highest mountain in Victoria." More at bonzle.com... The mountain was renamed Mount Jaithmathang in 2008, but that outraged Aborigines. "State Environment Minister Gavin Jennings pledged last week to rename the rocky outcrop Jaithmathangs," reported The Age newspaper, "after one of the traditional languages of the Bogong High Plains. But another Aboriginal nation, the Dhudhuroas, says the peak is part of their country and the proposed new name is just as offensive to them as Mt Niggerhead. 'It's a bit like renaming Australia as England,' Gary Murray, co-chair of the Dhudhuroa Native Title Group, said."

Niggerhead Rock, Virgina (Photo, top right) Incredibly, the American Studies Department of the University of Virginia refers to this formation as "Nigger Head Rock." Their website says this: "PENNINGTON GAP, 141.2 m. (I,460 alt., 1,553 pop.), is the trade center of a prosperous trucking country. Right from Pennington Gap on State 66 to NIGGER HEAD ROCK, 3 m., an immense rock jutting out from the mountain, which has the profile of a head, neck, and shoulders. JONESVILLE, 149.2 M. (384 POP.) (see Tour 7), is at a junction with US 58." (Photo credit: Wurlington Bros)

Niggerhead, New Zealand
Niggerhead, Canterbury District, New Zealand is described simply as "A natural elevation of the Earth's surface" by the Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), which is "a New Zealand government department responsible for land titles..." It's elevation is 4,049 ft. See this map and this map.

Nigger Cay, Turks and Caicos Islands
Geographic.org has this: "This page presents the geographical name data for Nigger Cay in Turks and Caicos Islands, as supplied by the US military intelligence in electronic format, including the geographic coordinates and place name in various forms, latin, roman and native characters, and its location in its respective country's administrative division." Curiously, they list the source as the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Bethesda, MD, USA. A search of the NGIA site for "Nigger Cay," however, found nothing. See a map of Nigger Cay. According to Gecko.go, "Nigger Cay is not much of a tourist destination." We understand.

Niggerhead Mountain in Los Angeles County, California

October 2, 2011 - Associated Press reports today that two Republican contenders for the GOP presidential nomination are having a spat over the racist name of a hunting camp in Texas. Herman Cain is criticizing Texas Governor Rick Perry for a the name of the park, and many of politically correct mainstream media (but not all) are reluctant to even print the full name. Chicago News Bench is neither mainstream nor politically correct, so we'll tell you that the name of the campgrounds in question is "Niggerhead."

Where is "Niggerhead?" The camp grounds are near Paint Creek, Texas, Perry's childhood hometown. Also known as "North Camp Pasture," the land is owned by the Hendricks Home for Children, a non-profit charity group in Abilene, TX. according to the Miami Herald. However, the media got it wrong: It's not "Hendricks..." but "Hendrick Home for Children." Abilene is about 10 miles from Paint Creek, TX (map).

Perry says he painted over the offensive word way back then. So, is Herman Cain unfairly rushing to judgment about this? By his own admission, Cain does not know when "Niggerhead" was painted over, as you'll hear in this video.

What the left-leaning Washington Post conveniently left out of their story today is the fact that the campgrounds was renamed "North Camp Pasture" about five years ago. The Telegraph UK reports this: "When the Texas Governor's family began using the ranch in his home state there was already a sign bearing the offensive word at the entrance.... The Washington Post spoke to seven people who remembered seeing the sign standing at the gate at various times in the 1980s and 1990s. One former ranch worker told the newspaper it was still there in 2008."

The Telegraph goes on to report that "Mr Perry denied that was the case, issuing a detailed response in which he said the sign was painted over as soon as he he began using the ranch."

So, there are conflicting stories. Perry says that the rock with "Niggerhead" on it was painted over way back in 1983. But there are, according to the Washington Post, several people who claim to remember seeing "Niggerhead" on that rock years after Perry says he painted it over. Perry says that they renamed the area "North Camp Pasture," but it's not clear when that renaming happened. In fact, even Herman Cain is not sure when the rock was painted over.

The Miami Herald quotes Cain as saying, “Yes, it was painted over, but how long ago was it painted over? So I'm still saying that it is a sign of insensitivity.”

Well hold on a minute. If Gov. Perry really did allow "Niggerhead" to continue to be emblazoned for years across that big rock by the entrance to his favorite hunting ground, then he deserves harsh criticism. However, if it was already painted on the rock when he started using the grounds, and if he quickly painted it over as he claims, then Herman Cain deserves a harsh slap for being overly eager to play the race card.

At this time, the facts are unclear. One thing is for certain, no matter what the truth is: Herman Cain just ratcheted up the Perry Pile On activity by several notches.