Big Peach: IT'S ABOUT F'ING TIME - Derrick Thomas in the HOF!

QCI-ders... here's a special weekend update from QCI's Big Peach. It was announced today... Derrick Thomas will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. WOOT!

Dudes... this is huge and WAY overdue. You all know I'm a jihadist Chiefs fan... and #58 is probably one of my all time favorite Chiefs. His jersey was the first Chiefs jersey I ever had... you know... like the nice replica ones... before you could buy NFL jerseys anywhere but only in NFL cities... still have it.

Anyways... Derrick Thomas and the Chiefs of the 1990s were/are still my heroes... especially the defense... still have the bad ass "The Tribe" poster hanging at my folks... Man it was fun to watch them kick ass and take names... it was even more cool to meet these guys personally at football camps as kid... which brings on a few of my favorite stories...

MEETING DERRICK THOMAS - Dudes... my brother and I met DT at the Neil Smith Football Camp when we were kids... he was super nice and very gracious. But, the best was when my Pops came to pick us up from camp. So Dad, arrives at Rockhurst College (where the camp was)... we still had a couple of 7 on 7 games left so he found me and my bro... he wanted to hear all about camp, what we learned... then... my Pops freezes... "Hey... that's Derrick Thomas over there!" My brother and I had to go our final games and Dad just stood there... "I'll be right back," he said... DT was just leaning against the fence taking in some of the games... when my Dad came over and asked, "Mr. Thomas, sorry to bother you, but would you mind signing the back of my Chiefs sweatshirt?" DT smiled and said, "No problem." DT signed it and Dad was as getty as a 12 year old kid who just met one of his heroes.

WORST PHONE CALL EVER - I've told this story a million times... the worst phone call I have ever had to make. So I'm sitting in a deli in East Lansing with fellow Bush Staffers as we were gearing up for the Michigan Primary. ESPN News was on the TV when it broke... Derrick Thomas had passed away... it was like getting kicked in the stomach. After sobbing into my club sandwich... I knew I had to call my Pops... "Dad," "Yea, Grant... everything OK?" "Nah Dad... you may want to pull over on the highway..." "What's wrong?" "Dad, I don't know how to tell you this, but Derrick Thomas has just passed away..." After a 10 second pause... "NO!" "Sorry Dad, I... I'll just give you a ring later." "Alright." click...

I wish I could find the letter to the editor that my Pops wrote to the KC Star and DMR... it went something like, "Derrick Thomas was this family's best friend he never knew he had. While my kids were becoming teenagers, you would think that they would not want anything to do with their parents... but the Kansas City Chiefs were some of the best moments in our house. My kids even put temporary moratoriums on friends... no phone calls or guests during the games... it was our time to spend together watching Derrick Thomas and the Chiefs take care of business on Sundays in the fall." And so on and so on... turns out both papers printed the LTEs. Yea, we're that hardcore...

CHIEFS FANS CAN REJOICE - So today... I got to make a better phone call... "Dad, breaking news... Derrick Thomas is finally going to get inducted into the Hall of Fame!" "HEEEY!!! That's great! He's been due!" So all is looking up in the Chiefs Kingdom... new GM... new coach on the way... and Derrick Thomas is getting an honor that is WAY overdue... seriously, those HOF voters can sleep with a conscience tonight... #58 is headed to Canton!

Now... here's a pretty cool video... I think the Quote of the Day is from Former Coach Marty Schottenheimer, "Derrick, get on that quarterback's ass."

CC: Super Funky RNC Post

Let's start today off good... because I'm feelin' the funk and this always seems to treat Jim Rome well...

Oh yea… makes me want to bust out my British Knights… so let’s get to hip hop of randomnous that you CANNOT live without… Some observational randomnous for you… because we roll that way…

NOT IMPRESSED – I’m a little behind on this one… but… Now… I figured. With all the hype surrounding the new POTUS… that he would be… you know a leader. Turns out, one of the first press things he’s doing is picking a fight with Rush Limbaugh… for real? Seriously? Not even Clinton paid that much attention… this is really f’ing stupid… all of the things going down in this country… and the leader of the Free World is worried about Rush Limbaugh… not impressed.
CHIEFS LOOKING FOR COACH – I have been very impressed with Clark Hunt and his ability to keep the lid tight over at One Arrowhead Drive. Also, nice to know Herm Edwards landed on his feat, he’ll be on ESPN as an analyst. As my brother toasted Edward last Friday night… “To Herm… It’s been real, it’s been fun… but it hasn’t been real fun.” Cheers…
HERE’S A QUARTER - …Call someone who cares… now, the RNC election is going on today… this is about the most hackish events of all hackish events… although important… but for some reason, this thing isn’t tripping my trigger as some may think it would…
THAT BEING SAID… If you have been refreshing your Twitters and Facebook statuses… or checking the around the clock coverage over at Krusty… you all know that Steele is the new RNC chair… neat… all QCI cares about is the First in the Nation Status… let’s hope it stays that way…
LBC IS STAYING – For a while… at least in its current format… if we think of something cool… we’ll do that. Plus… QCI-ders are emailing me and letting me know that you loves yourselves the LBC… not only are you peeps QCI-ders… but you are all in the LBC… GEEE-eah…
TRAIN WRECKS – Damn man… watched a little tube last night. Question, why are all the shows such train wrecks? Like… I caught a little of American Idol… and I couldn’t watch it… yea… I know… I should just stick to watching old Royals highlight tapes…

QCI FACEBOOK STATUS OF THE DAY
"So and So... finally did one of those notes. I guess I'm as cool as Miles Davis."

Huh?

SUPERBOWL ERR THE BIG GAME – Oh man… I loves myself some Super Bowl. Just everything around it. Media day… the build up… the hype… but as always… not so much on the game… I always have to recall back to my mother’s first email to me (she used to think the internet was evil until she figured out should could get some sweet ass recipes online…) Anyways… her first email to me was on the evening of the Super Bowl a few years ago… Here’s how the first from my Mom went… of course… it was in all CAPS…

HI GRANT! HOW ARE YOU? THIS IS MY VERY FIRST EMAIL. WHAT’S NEW? WE ARE GOING TO KANSAS CITY NEXT WEEKEND. HOW WAS YOUR WEEKEND? DID YOU WATCH THE SUPER BOWL? WHO CARES, THE CHIEFS WEREN’T IN IT ANYWAY! LOVE YOU, MOM

Yea… our family is hardcore Chiefs fans… don’t even get my Ma started on Larry Johnson… it’ll just make her pissed.
QCI SUPER BOWL PICK – Actually, I think its gonna be a close game… nut I’m always an underdog guy… I’m going Cards 21-20… seriously, Kurt Warner is the Rocky Balboa of the NFL… wouldn’t want to face him… sorry Steeler Nation QCI-ders… It’s just my gut… but again, as my Ma always says… “WHO CARES, THE CHIEFS WEREN’T IN IT ANYWAY!” Thanks Mom…

CC: Um... QCI is a year old?

Hey QCI-ders… long time, no post. I know, I know… but, you know… I think I was in Krusty’s state of mind for the past week… you know like on that one post. Then suddenly… he’s totally on his game. Also… thinking about getting rid of the LBC feature… and just links. While I like the live feed… it gives me an excuse to not post… which is what we don’t want here at the World’s Crappiest Blog. Anyways… Will kind of do a fast action… quick take kind of randomnous… let’s do this.

HOLY CRAP – Dudes… QCI is a year old… wow… when do I start potty training this blog? Wow… close to 30,000 stops? You people really have nothing else better to do.
BIG LUG – Man… you all heard about the melt down, right? I think Rs are semlling blood in the water…
CHET NOT STUPID – He’s back… yea… totally snorted when I read that.
RNC RACE – Man… have you been reading about this? Dudes… from sources close to QCI, this thing is like camping… intense.
BUH BYE BLAGO – So they finally did it… he’s out. Dudes… that was some funny shit. I smell some sort of screenplay for a HBO hit series here.
TWITTER ME THIS – So OK… kind of getting addicted to Twitter… actually it’s a pretty good tool for following the news. And thumbs up to local media types who are embracing it…its like a whole different view of the news… if you aren’t on it… your should give it a look.
SPEAKING OF SOCIAL NETWORKS – Is it me or are people all of a sudden joining Facebook? For real… this stuff goes in waves. What will replace Facebook?

QCI FACEBOOK STATUS OF THE DAY
“So and so… is contemplating cost vs. benefit of growing a super-sweet mullet.”

I swear this is not my status. You see, I told you… friggin Mullets are sweeping the nation…

BOBBY V – Campaign wise… this was the news of the week. Bob Vander Plaats is running for Governor… also, did you know the Pope is still Catholic? Will be interesting to see who else jumps in… hmm… Krusty did…. who’s next?
THEY BE SENDING ME STUFF – I mention this from time to time… but yea, the World’s Crappiest Blog ends up on “Press Lists”… which won’t get you the better table at 801… but might get you a pitcher at Flanagan’s… So… in honor of these fine kids… let’s do a quick wrap from press row… in the order I got them from now until I get distracted…

Nick Wagner wrote a newsletter…Steve King voted against the Pelosi Stimulus Plan….Chuck Grassley is investigating the naughty pictures being downloaded at NSF…the State House Rs held a joint presser…Paul McKinley is laying down some smack on the budget…House peeps react to Big Lug’s budget…BVP is runnin, again…Metallica Guitar Hero will be out soon…Chiefs fire Herm Edwards… and a… that’s all I got…

Mix Tape: Gunther to Detroit/Axel Foley

Sorry for the lack of posting QCI-ders.. to be honest the LBC has been covering most of what's going on... so... we just chill out... but, just like there's always room for Jello... there's always room for a QCI Mix Tape... So... former Chiefs Defensive Coor/fmr Head Coach is moving to Detroit... so that inspired today's Mix Tape... oh... and the editor of the World's Crappiest Blog can confess... I own this soundtrack... and actually listen to the entire thing all the way through... since Gunther is off to Detroit... we dedicate this to our favorite Detriot Cop... Axel Foley... hit it...

Hell yes!!!! Next... is an old tune I used to crank when rolling into a town for what every big event we were working on... yea... totally used and abused this song during BC '04... sounds perfect when you're getting off the interstate in Sioux City...

Then here's an OJ Simpson (guilty pleasure)... a good one from Patti Labelle...

Seriously, I could post the entire soundtrack... wait... No Pointer sisters?

Alright... we'll end this with a scene that got robbed... for not earning an Oscar...

Caucus Countdown: Inaugural Randomnous

HERE’S TO YOU PIC - With the all inaugural, all the time coverage we are getting… (and being a 2 time employee of the Presidential Inaugural Committee or PIC)… I thought I’d do a little QCI Tribute Post to this little historical event our country holds every 4 years... in a random way of course. It’s a very special event. I’ll always remember in 2001 what my boss at the time told me… “The most important event is the swearing in… no ifs ands or buts.” With all the balls, parades and parties… its good to remember that is the reason for the event.

Just 4 years ago… I was freezing my ass off parking buses and coordinating cars, living in a 2 bed room apartment with like 6-8 people depending on the day and giving the District of Columbia a little dose of El Camino Republicanism before the term was even coined. But to those of us who have had the honor to work for PIC… you are in the mindset of, “We’re freezin’ for a reason.” I could go on and on about all of the cool stuff involved with the planning… the VIPs… the Security… the military involvement… the boring meetings… the new friends you meet… all a part of a peaceful transfer of power. It’s pretty cool to be there in person… but more fun behind the scenes.

Special Inaugural QCI FACEBOOK STATUS OF THE DAY
“So and so… has figured out a stimulus plan. $10 for everytime I have to give someone directions or answer a stupid question. Recession averted. Thanks Obama.”

Looks like the locals in DC are saying “over it” with the Inaugural. I’m surprised that there hasn’t been anyone killed yet for standing on the wrong side of escalator. They take it serious out there people…

PIOLI FOR CHANGE? Yea… if you’re a Chiefs fan he is. The drama continues over at One Arrowhead Drive… thought you all would love that graphic that’s been surfacing up on Chiefs blogs and message boards.
SALUTE TO GEORGE W. BUSH – We say good bye to the Bush administration. You can say what you want about him… disagree with him… whatever you want… but of all the breaks I ever got in politics, he was one of them… and to this day I’m still honored to be associated with him and the years I spent working for his campaigns. Here’s a little video that I hope when its all said and done… how he is really remembered.

Mix Tape: Cold Tracks

Um... damn QCI-ders... its freaking cold here. Nothing wakes you up faster than -17 and -36 wind chill... so in honor... errr loathing of the cold... we bust out some songs associated with ice... like our first selection today... "Ice Ice Baby"... oh yea... I went there.

Next... we pun the name of the artist... can you guess which one? It's still in the Hip Hop genre... oh yea... Ice Cube. QCI-ders... we totally forgot how gangsta Ice Cube was... yikes... just check out, "Today Was a Good Day"... which you gotta like the gangsta outlook... the glock is half full of bullets... hmmm...

Good talk QCI-ders... good talk...

Caucus Countdown: Metallica, Chiefs/Hawks and I Don't Want to Miss What?

Big day… and QCI is on a roll… Rock ‘n Roll that is… but we totally have something you should know about…

YOU ARE NOT GOING TO WANT TO MISS THIS – Have you always taken some pride in that one song you discovered before everyone else did? Well… QCI-ders…. G$ is here to hook you up… but it’s not a tune… it’s a website… Go to the BeanWalker and sign up for the email list… seriously… do it. You are not going to want to miss out on this… it’s coming in February… sign up and stay tuned.
METALLICA TO BE INDUCTED – Woooot! Today the Rock n Rock Hall of Fame announced that Metallica will be one of the 2009 Inductees. Dudes… this is huge. But does this make me old? I mean… they made it in on the first time eligible… those folks in Canton should pay attention to their Cleveland bretheren… Derrick Thomas should be in the Hall of Fame.
SPEAKING OF THE CHIEFS – They made it official today…. Scott Pioli is the new GM in KC. Which will instantly start the Kirk Ferentz rumors… which will get heated… this is probably his best window to get in the NFL… Hunt doesn’t want a college coach… and now word is starting leak that Herm Edwards still has a pulse… he may stay to finish the last year on his contract.
…SPEAKING OF HAWKEYES TURN CHIEFS – So… Ed Podolak was partying… and got Facebooked…. Now he will no longer be on the broadcasts… this sucks. Bad move Barta… totally shitty move. The Marion Contrarian has a good bit on this. Seriously… this really sucks that he “HAD” to retire… Saturdays in the Fall won’t be the same… who do you think will replace him?

QCI FACEBOOK STATUS OF THE DAY
“So and so… just found out that Uranus was discovered on his birthday...let the jokes begin.”

Wow… the 3rd Grade humor part of my brain just exploded by thinking of the proper joke to insert here.

TWEET ME LIKE YOU MEAN IT – So looky, looky… ole Hershel Krustofski is on Twitter. Start following following him… no, don’t get into a whole “Who is Krusty” thing… that’s like listening to that Nickelback song… and getting annoyed because its on everywhere… then it sucks… its so 2006.
OH… IF YOU ARE EATING DINNER – Go ahead and get back to hitting the refresh button on Krusty. Because seriously… this is the most hideous things I’ve heard about eating. I’ve eaten wierder things… but something about this seems wrong.

Caucus Countdown: SOS, Paoli to KC & The Movie Mongol Was Right

Alright… we begin to dabble in the State Politics of Randomnous, QCI-ders. Don’t fake the funk on the nasty dunk… let’s get random.

STATE OF THE STATE – So everything is blowing up on Lug’s Condition of the State address… just look at the LBC… it’s burning… but as a sign of what to expect out of 621 East 9th… the Party Tweeted the the SOS… and the new Chairman came out swinging… check this out…

SOS?!?! It was suggested by a loyal QCI-der that the Supreme Court Justices should have come out in the chamber with Michael Buffer yelling, “Let’s get ready to RUUUMBLE!!!!!” I suggested that they could have hired our pyro guys that we use for our games in the Well… you know… explosions… the upper gallery rockin'… the leadership of both parties come out to “Back in Black” blaring… oh wait… can’t play that… with the ideas presented today… there’s NO WAY our state will be in the black…
VIDEO? REALLY? Condition of the state speeches are to show statesmenship… and leadership… new ideas… um, leadership… instead… Team Big Lug turned today’s SOS… into some sort of national convention production… with a video in the middle of the speech. I find it funny that we can abreviate the speech as S.O.S… yea… our state needs help.

QCI FACEBOOK STATUS OF THE DAY
“So and so… finds the Chad Barth and Grant Young brochures as they campaigned for College Republican chair and exec assistant. THAT is worth keeping for 10 years.”

Jungle Juice, trashing presidential suites, miller high life during official meetings, running up someone’s credit card, random hook ups... tommy boy speeches, kicking ass and taking names.... I think I'm going to cry...

PIOLI TO KANSAS CITY!!!!! At least that’s what ESPN is sayin’… Yup, as my Pops said, “It’s Junior’s time to run the show…” (referring to Chairman of the Chiefs Clark Hunt). Great move… does the Kirk Ferentz talk begin?
WARNER FEVER TO HIT IOWA – Former Barnstormer Kurt Warner is like on his 20th comeback… the CR Gazette has a great read on him today. Seriously… put this guy in Canton… you know, when he is done with is 21st and 22nd comeback.
MOVIE MONGOL IS ON HIS GAME – Lest you doubt the power of QCI’s official movie reviewer, The Movie Mongol, “Slumdog Millionaire” swept the Golden Globes, winning in every category in which they were nominated: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Score and Best Screenplay. Man he knocked out of the park with his last review that received 5 Burning Villages. So our weary warrior of a critic knows what he’s talking about. Mr. Movie Mongol… if you have some time in between making awesome food at HuHot or after you have finished burning another village… need to check out The Wrestler… that has QCI written all over it.
STAY TUNED… QCI-ders… there’s all sorts of stuff in the hopper… What are you hearing out there?

Mix Tape: Gerry Rafferty

As you are getting the point now... we loves our selves some tunes here at QCI... that's why we decided to roll the Mix Tape feature into somewhat of a daily post all on its own... seriously dudes... today is a good one.. if you have any requests... message me up.

Today the mix tape is Gerry Rafferty... who is like OJ Simpson... say it together QCI-ders... because its such a quilty pleasure. We start off with a classic KIOA tune... "Right Down the Line."

Next... here's the Rafferty classic that was covered on the B-Side of the 1998 hit "My Hero" from the Foo Fighters... the song that got all the kids playing the sax in your high school band... "Baker Street."

Yea... I totally ruined this song for a former office mate back in the day... I played it like 10 times in a row... it's that awesome.

Caucus Countdown: The New Era Begins...

Alright… what a weekend! Tons of exciting things going on QCI-ders… let’s get, let’s get… (it’s the remix…) let’s get random… TO THE COUNTDOWN…
CHAIRMAN MATT STRAWN – Woot! A ginormous congratualtions to our new State Republican Chairman, Matt Strawn… you all are getting the deets from the L.B.C. (look to the right)… The blogs are filled with optimism and enthusiasm. Let’s crank up a Beatles album and Come Together… and START WINNING! Woot!
NEW GOP TEAM – Along with Strawny winning 10-7… there is some buzz about the leaderhsip team. I think it’s a solid team.
WHEN IN ROME - So, in honor and in the spirit of our new chairman, we’ve added some techie thingers here at QCI. Check it out on the right hand side of the blog. Add me on Facebook and MySpace… follow the World’s Crappiest Blog on Twitter… Then for you Facebookers out there… there’s all sorts of fun you can have… QCI the Group… QCI the Fanpage… QCI on the FB Blog Networks… oh yea… get your techie on.

QCI FACEBOOK STATUS OF THE DAY
“So and so… is on the train headed back to DC. Very good day with Clifford the Big Red Dog! :)."

I want roll with Clifford on the train!

CHIEFS TO GET PAOLI? Well he’s been to KC… rumor is Clark Hunt is chatting with him. KC Star has a good read on what to look for.
BLIZZARD?!?! Yikes…
SESSION BEGINS – The circus is in town everyone… let’s hope they get it right. What’s your predictions? You that comment section below…

Mix Tape: Feelin' Kinda Sunday

Alright... a little salute to the NFL as the season is closing soon... and we pay homage to one my favorite comercials on Sundays... it's just perfect. You know, if you're getting ready for your team... and got the food going... your pals are rolling in with beers, ect... Just feelin' kinda Sunday... here's the spot.

Yea man... I can predict I'll have that song in my head come April 4th... but Saturday of course... anyhow... in case you didn't know... that song is by the Chairman of the Board... nope not Strawny... but Frank Sinatra and his daughter Nancy... here's the full version... so you can hit the pause button and begin recording with your special QCI Ghetto Blasters...

All Eyes On 621 East 9th...

Today is the day... let us know what you're hearing... your thoughts... your take...

Register has some stuff...

Caucus Countdown: The Day Before...

Told you we were fixin ‘er up around here. QCI-ders… we’re trying to get back to the formality and a cleaner look. So when we are getting all random… we do the Caucus Countdown like we used to… a spruced up version of the old Grant’s Caucus Countdown. You know… like the new Knight Rider… except… better (secretly like the new Knight Rider)… but that’s neither he nor there. Let’s get random… here's a quick hit...
MATT STRAWN FOR RPI CHAIRMAN – We endorsed Matt on Wednesday… so maybe QCI is a biaed news source now… BTW, if you consider us a news source, put down the Drano… it’s for your sink, not drinking… OK? Matt posted another video on his blog, so check thisout if you haven’t already.

Solid close… no matter what the result is tomorrow, Matt Strawn has raised the bar.
AND SO IT BEGINS… You can tell session is around the corner… the lobbyists are creeping back to town and are putting their livers into mid season form! (just kidding)…
QCI COMMENT POLL – Who’s wants to meet up for our very own formal QCI Ball on the 20th? Anyone? Make sure you vote in the comment section. I’m thinking some sort of salute to GWB. I have numerous buttons for party favors… who’s with me?
ALL EYES ON 621 EAST 9TH – Stay tuned here tomorrow. Make it like NFL Draft Day here at QCI… will have a post up for you all to chime in with stuff you’re hearing and to sound off.

Mix Tape: Coldplay and Rescue Me

Love Rescue Me... so given the high drama as SCC Members roll into town... we bring you a little Coldplay... combined with some Rescue Me. This is from the first episode... love this tune and the combination of scenes... enjoy.



BTW... the Rescue Me Soundtrack is a must buy. Just sayin'... do it.

QCI Endorsement: Matt Strawn for RPI Chair

Today… we endorse. I’ve really never sat down and done one of these endorsements here. So it will be completely random (as you expect). While this will be no surprise to anyone, QCI is endorsing Matt Strawn to be our next Chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa. “Whoah G$, this is earth shattering!” Yea, yea… keep it coming. “Real good Grant, endorse your boss.” That’s all you got? “Of course G$, you want a job at RPI!” Nah, good try… I work for the best organization… ever, do you have your season tickets yet? “This is just a Jeff Lamberti conspiracy!” Nope, if you want the exclusive… Jeff ain’t running for Gov. Anything else? “Oh… alright… let’s hear it G$... why Matt Strawn?” OK… you got it. While I have no illusion that many of you reading will take this seriously… let’s tell a story and why.
JASPER COUNTY GOP PHONE BANK – Since I have been in involved for the past 10 or so years… I have had a ton of mutual friends who knew Matt. I had heard about him… knew he was a rising star… but I didn’t meet him until final push in 2004… in Iowa. I had Central Iowa for BC ’04… and had to drop off more materials in Jasper County. “Hi, I’m Matt Strawn,” he said after finishing a call in the phone bank area. I’m thinking why is this high powered Hill guy who raises big dollars for the NRCC in Newton, Iowa a month before the general? Chatted a bit and got my answer. “Hey, I asked where I could be the most helpful. They said Iowa, and Jasper County. If help running a phone bank in Newton is what needs to be done, I’m not going to question it.” Or something to that matter… I was impressed and over time… we became great friends.
THE COMMUNICATION CHAIRMAN – I can vouch for his communication skills having worked with him directly with the team… but you don’t need to look further on his communication skills than what he has demonstrated during this race. While people were arguing, “Just because you have Facebook, YouTube and Twitter doesn’t mean you should be the chair…” Matt actually showed why technology matters and has effectively proven he can not only use these tools to get out a message, but how efficient it is… that’s real leadership and real communication. If we are to make a rebound and march our way back to the majority, we’re going to need a chair who can capitalize on the entire communication department. As Chair, I think the County Leadership will find that with Matt Strawn you are going to find good communication between the State and counties… something we have lacked for a while.
A GLIMPSE OF WHAT KIND OF CHAIR HE WOULD BE – Enter the Pizza and Politics Tour. If you want to be the leader of the party, you’re going to have to hit the road and sell it. He did just that. Never before has there been a race for chair where the Grassroots Activists have had a chance to provide their input… emails, websites and blogs… all candidates have been accessible, but Matt is the leader in this regard. With all of the distrust of RPI, Matt has proven his campaign to be accessible to all who are interested in rebuilding the party… from active bloggers to poll watchers, from donors to County Central Committee members… Matt has run a transparent campaign and shows what kind of chair he would be. He’s practicing how he’ll play the game…
A NEW FACE FOR THE PARTY – Way back when I was chiming in on what I thought was needed to rebuild the party… I mentioned someone who can unite all factions and faces of the party. Someone who is comfortable in their own skin and can communicate. I didn’t realize it until I thought about it later… this is totally Matt. He’s a guy who can effectively spread our message at a local county party meeting… the women’s clubs who meet in church basements… the young professional group at a chamber event… the guys from the 3rd shift at Firestone… a group of moms at a PTA meeting… to the average right leaning people who voted for Obama because they felt our Republican leaders failed them… the message is the same every time. Ours is a party of personal responsibility, individual freedom, being able to raise families with our values and tell the government to get out of our way.
LET’S START THE IOWA COMEBACK - I’m confident that with Matt Strawn as Chairman, he will make the necessary decisions to rebuild our party… and start winning again. This means bringing together a team that will put the cause before themselves… evaluate and revamp efforts in the operations of the party… communicate and listen to the grassroots suggestions… putting together a solid plan (his 100 day plan is a good indicator)… raising the funds needed to implement the plan… recruiting the candidates… unifying our messengers… the long and heavy laudry list of tasks that need to be done in our party. Knowing Matt personally, I can tell you that he is in this race with no other agenda or axes to grind… he wants to be a part of the solution to rebuild the party and start winning again. Which I find refreshing with all of the egos, cliques, venom being spewed on the blogs… he has the single focus. Nothing else.

If any of this made sense to you… and you agree. Make sure you let your voice be heard and contact the State Central Committee. Tell them, while we have a GREAT field of candidates for Chair… there is one clear choice… Matt Strawn.

QCI Mix Tape: Bang Camaro

First, on the Mix Tape Feature... we're gonna just play tunes and tell you how awesome they are. And if you no likey... don't care.

MIX TAPE ALERT... Bang Camaro = Awesome

Hey, this is a little memo to all of my pals who are music snobs, indie connoisseurs, iTunes junkies... ect. When in the hell were you going to tell me about Bang Camaro? Metal/Hard rock sound... check. Great 80s sound... check. 17 lead singers and only sing choruses... um what? Yea... it's bad ass... check. Crank it! I have a feeling if you listen to this long enough, your mullet would grow more healthier. Turn it up QCI-ders!

Have no fear... large post en route....

QCI's Movie Mongol: Slumdog Millionaire

Hey QCI-ders… full disclosure… not much into going to movies… you know unless its huge or something my buddies heckle me about until I see it… then I quote the hell out of it. So as many of our loyal readers know… I have a guy who is so crazy about movies, he burns villages… and he’s Mongolian… hence the name Movie Mongol. Here’s his take on his latest pillage…

Your Movie Mongol took in a New Year's Day film, viewing "Slumdog Millionaire" and all of its glory.

This film gets 5 out of 5 burning villages.

All hype and award nominations aside, this film has the makings of a classic. The rags-to-(maybe)riches story is at once gripping and fluid as you journey through the streets and slums of Mumbai, India.

Mumbai was recently in the news for attacks on a luxury hotel. If these are the only visuals you have of this city, then you are missing a key part to the city and country's poverty-stricken past.

The journey is that of a dirt-poor child who weaves a narrative of whimsical observations, peers and a brother who are pure opportunists, and a love that he can't seem to shake out of his head. All of this is done in a flashback form, as the present-day has him sitting in an interrogator's office, accused of cheating his way through "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?"

What the viewer quickly learns is, this is no "Quiz Show." The young adult knew each answer to the questions, learned by growing up in the slums in which he dwelled. Pushing cheating aside, you are left wondering if somehow the host in fact did give him some of the answers, if he was just lucky, or if his destiny was "written."

The answer comes at the end, as you root for this young man who was led with a strict moral compass, having never had anything handed to him, working for everything he earned – and learned.

The film is a delight, and certainly worthy of the nominations thus far garnered. I recommend you get on your horse and see why the Movie Mongol is giving this movie five burning villages.

That was a scorcher Movie Mongol (oh I punned)… alright… we gots ourselves a big post tomorrow… stay tuned.

RNC Forum Scoop? Why not...

Hey QCI-ders… just go some fresh stuff from a QCI Correspondent at the RNC Chair Forum… I know I just said I don’t think about this race at all… but hey… if someone took the time to write it… and it’s decent… I’ll be your Huckleberry… here’s what the loyal QCI-der who was at the event sent me…

The Americans for Tax Reform hosted the RNC Chair debate with Grover Norquist moderating the debate. There was a large attendance with every major media outlet represented. It was held this afternoon at the National Press Club in Washington DC. C-span broadcasted the debate live The Iowa delegation was present with both Kim Lehman and Steve Scheffler interacting among the crowd. Iowa was also mentioned several times during the debate signifying how important the Iowa GOP is to the national party.

The RNC has five candidates that are viewing for the the Chairmanship, Saul Anuzis State party chair of Michigan, Chip Saltzman Former state party chair of Tennesse and Huckabee campaign manager, Micheal Steele former LT. Governor of Maryland and current chair of GO-PAC, Katon Dawson state party chair of South Carolina, and Mike Duncan Current RNC Chair from Kentucky.

Presentation:

Micheal Steele was very engaging and presented himself well. He could take on Obama and the democrat machine. Katon Dawaon also made a great appearance being the only candidate to stand up and address the crowd. For and underdog he came across as confident and knew what he was talking about. Ken Blackwell came with a very impressive list of endorsements but sounded very dry and canned. He also seamed to be the favorite of the Christian Right. Blackwell was also very critical of the current administration's position on the bailout. Saul Anuzis did a great job talking about his background as a teamster and growing up in a working class family from Michigan. He could really help the party in the Rustbelt in the (eastern) Midwest. Chip Saltzman talked about how he led the Tennessee GOP in 2000 when the national party wrote-off Tennessee because Al Gore was from Tennessee and still led Tennessee to victory. Along with his work at the NRSC and as the Huckabee Campaign Manager he clearly has experience with campaigns. Mike Duncan the current Chair of the RNC, had the best handouts a full 20 book detailing his plan to change the party. (I wonder where this plan was last year) Duncan is also the only candidate that does not use Twitter or Facebook. Duncan was critical of the current administrations handling of the Iraq war.

All of the candidates were opposed to the bailout and had plans to reach out to various coalitions and hold republican candidates accountable to the platform. They all professed to be conservative, pro-life and Reagan was their favorite President. There was a general consensus that we need to reach out to youth and develop our technology beyond capturing e-mails and blasting a message out. Michael Steele came out swinging stating that we need to be a party of more than talk, we need to reach out on state and local levels to grow our party. Michale Steele and Katon Dawson put forthe the grestest and most compelling case to be Chair.

More can be seen at RNCdebate.org

No 'What'ing?

(full disclosure… been wanting to use this picture… it’s from Metallica’s show in Wells Fargo... click on the picture of Kirk Hammett and it instantly gets funnier) New year… new look (kind of) and the randomnous rolls on QCI-ders… we are still messing with the format… and will be revamping the links. As you can see, we’ve added a live feed from the L.B.C… which stands for “The Long Beach Crew” from Snoop Dogg… its just a little update from the blogs in the neighborhood who update their stuff more often. We will add new ones as we roll along… and remove the ones who go dorment… that’s not to say they could return. But enough about that, let’s get to it…
STATE CHAIR FORUM – All eyes were on 621 East 9th. I think just about everyone in the L.B.C. was there… as there have been numerous updates and recaps.
NO GAME CHANGES – There was no real earth shattering developments out of the forum. But the real story was who wasn’t there. As everyone is chriping...
KRUSTY KOMMENTS ARE BACK! The venom that is the comment section of the Heavyweight Champion of the Blogs has returned. Here’s just an observation… while everyone has their candidate for Chair… I think it’s kind of humorous that hypothetical questions of the candidates are asked… and conspiracy theories handed out with aluminum hats… why don’t you guys just contact the candidates? All have emails… some have websites… they are very accessible… just sayin’…
DEACE AT FORUM – Today’s Steve Deace show should be a must listen. He already blogged about the event… Love or hate ‘em… it will be an interesting show.

QCI FACEBOOK STATUS OF THE DAY
“So and so… needs a vacation from my Christmas vacation.”

Amen, sister… amen.

IOWANS ROCK TWEETS – Kudos to IR for tweeting the event Saturday. Great job… but wanted to answer one of them… Location of RPI? The committee picked that location because of the proximity to the Capitol. This way, legislators/leadership could utilize the resources there and not use the state dime for political purposes. It used to be on East 6th and Locust, above where Sticks is now… was there for the same reasons… but instead of paying rent… the party wanted to actually own its own building. I know there were a lot of first timers in the building on Saturday… so just wanted to give ya a little history.
RNC CHAIR RACE – Wouldn’t even have talked about this… because in all honesty, I could care less. I’d rather worry about Iowa first. But I found it interesting that I got an email from Ken Blackwell’s team today… if you think the RPI Race is a circus… then the RNC race makes Eastside Night at the State Fair look more like formal sit down dinner…
FERENTZ TO KANSAS CITY? Talk about tearing at my heart, aye? But, if Captain Kirk leaves Iowa, there’s no where else I’d like to see him go.

AND FINALLY… Let’s get 2009 rocking... crank it up!

HOW 'BOUT THEM HAWKEYES!!!

HAP HAP HAPPY NEW YEAR QCI-DERS! Here's a little song for all of the faithful...


And after watching Shonn Greene today... and after being mocked by our friends down South... Here's a little song that I thought was appropiate... Hey Sic, didn't you just love the Cornfed Domination?

That's right... Domination... the Hawks just rocked out those 'Cocks out!

HAWWWWWWWWWWWWWKS!!!!!!!