Don Roach

Republican presidential candidate, Newt Gingrich, is not the ideal husband. Affairs litter his past and who would be surprised if new revelations appeared in the tabloids news? But does this invalidate Gingrich for the presidency?

From a purely objective standpoint, it does not. In my opinion, there have been many great leaders of men who were horrible husbands of wives. They were unable to correlate their leadership abilities with their marriage responsibilities. It’s a sad and unfortunate fact – an issue worthy of study to be sure. Yet, I do not believe personal mistakes or the lack thereof are predictors of presidential accomplishments.

Having said that, Gingrich is in a slightly different situation. He was the one who led the charge against former President Bill Clinton and talked ad nauseum about family values. In instances where a politician stands for X publicly and seems to do Y privately, that definitely matters. It matters because it speaks to the honesty of the man running for president and how honest they will be with the American people. Are they able to rally the family values troops all the while conducting an illicit affair? That’s different than having the same affair while asking North Korea to halt their nuclear weapons program.

Catch the difference?

So as Gingrich’s ex-wife talks about his indiscretions, Gingrich needs to take care in his response. Because in this case his lovelife does matter.

As I said the other, I like Tom Brady. And yesterday he showed why. With a steel and coolness he & the Patriots destroyed Tim Tebow and the Broncos. I can hear some folks today saying, “where was Tim’s God in that game?” and  “I guess God likes Tom Terrific better than the Mile High Messiah”.

I’ve also heard things like ‘God doesn’t care about a football game.’ I’ve been intrigued by comments such as this as they show a different understanding of God than the one I have. I see God as a parent, one who has allowed us to build this world as we see fit. It’s like being a parent of a teenager and you give them the keys to your car to go out on their first date. You give them directions but when rubber meets road they are the ones making the decisions.

God as parent is interesting in everything that happens to us, in my opinion. That ranges from the mundane decisions all the way to major ones that affect alter the course of our lives. There’s only one reason: love. When you love someone or something they interest you and you take time to get to know them. I tend to think that with God He’s very much interested in all things human and seeing what new and interesting ideas we come up with.

So what’s His position on sports? Does God love Brady more than Tebow? Hardly, instead people need to remember how much freedom God has given us to determine our own future. We often blame God for the bad and forget about Him when things go well. And, in my opinion, we often eschew responsibility in either case. I believe it was Paul who said, “I give thanks to God in all things” – good or bad. Paul understood that good and bad times were temporary, the only constant was the goodness of God.

I believe Tebow understands that winning/losing isn’t the important thing but that how he conducts himself after a win or loss is. So while Brady’s Patriots move on to the AFC Championship, Tebow’s relationship with God is unaltered. And that’s the way it should be.

Go Ravens!

Count me among those considered Tom Brady fans. Don’t get it twisted though, I grew up in South Jersey and am a die hard Eagles fan through and through. But outside of that, I love players who are counted out and who show the resolve to come through in the clutch. What I love most about sports is that moment, the moment when it’s all on the player to make or not make a play. And in many of those moments throughout his career, Tom Brady has come through. I respect that and I like to watch it.

I recall back in 2001 when Brady took over the Pats starting job and he looked pedestrian, a game manager. I remember many people calling into talk shows saying the Patriots couldn’t win long term with Brady and the return of Bledsoe couldn’t come soon enough. Yet, as the wins mounted the tune of those same fans began to change.

11 years later we’re witnessing this decade’s Tom Brady. This one has the same drive, confidence, and competitive spirit. The difference. Tim Tebow praises God publicly and uses every opportunity do so. With Cranston’s prayer banner controversy in the background, it’s interesting to see how Tebow is showing the anti-Christian bias that exists amongst some media members. 11 years ago, Brady didn’t get panned for being a young 24 year old who believed in his skills and abilities. I didn’t see Charles Barkley calling him a ‘nightmare’. No, Brady’s worst critics said he couldn’t throw the long ball and that he was slow of foot.

It was about football.

Yet with Tebow it’s often not about football but about his Constitutional right to exercise his religion as he sees fit. I doubt if Tebow was an atheist the media would place such a focus on his religious beliefs or lack thereof. He’d simply be a football player – we’d judge him by wins & losses, by his skill set or lack thereof.

But, it’s always something else when someone professes a religion in a way that is outside the mainstream. I’ve often heard the phrase – keep your religion in your back pocket. What i hope Tebow is illustrating is that for some of us, our religion is what defines us. To secularize it and make it provocative, being a christian is like being gay for some – a key part of who we are. Perhaps seen in that light people may start to understand Tebow, but unlikely. I suspect he’ll continue to be a polarizing figure.

And if he keeps winning, a polarizing and well paid figure.

Alright, I have to admit that I am clearly a Maroon 5 addict and have a bromance with all members of Maroon 5. Sorry, honey, but I think I go all girlie for just about every song of theirs. Some are a bit more raunchy for my general tastes, but here’s a recent one that didn’t chart so well…but one I still like:

Runaway

It seems non-progressive movements are always quantified by the media. You hear phrases like “smaller than expected” or “organizers were frustrated by the number in attendance”. It’s as if the media is purposely trying to discount non-progressive movements. Take the headline:

Attendees fewer at annual Tax Day rally in R.I. but united in criticism of Chafee’s tax plan

The inference made is that less people are really concerned about a sales tax increase. I don’t buy it. In fact, I think we’re 1-2 tax increases away from people rioting in the streets refusing to pay. But the media just likes to focus on quantifying the numbers instead of addressing the issues.

Why is that?

Could it be that they intend to marginalize protesters who don’t fit into a progressive mold? I think so. It’s frustrating because in today’s world if you advocate for abortion, gay marriage, or workers rights the media doesn’t headline the size of the rally. But if you rally against taxes, abortion, or the like all of a sudden SIZE MATTERS.

I think it actually just shows media bias, but there’s a day of reckoning coming. And when it does, they won’t be talking about size. Because they won’t be able to number the angry masses.

Well folks, I lost my city councilman race. But I won a great deal of support from within the community going from a no-name to getting 36 percent of the vote against a very popular figure in the community. It wasn’t easy to do that! Spending weekends walking and some evenings calling for the last few months was hard.

Two things really hit home for me while campaigning. One, the folks on Lyndon road had a look of betrayal, feeling as though they had fought a fight but were sold out by their City Council. As I heard their stories, I was really moved by it.

Second, walking down Perkins avenue is an eerie experience. You see abandoned homes and you’re left in awe about how much these folks lost. I talked to some who are trying to get out as fast as possible and others who are refusing to leave.  I understand where each is coming from and not sure if I was in their position what I’d do.

I believe I was able to get my message of advocacy & citizen engagement to many residents and it resonated. My goal is to continue to build on this, helping residents in any way I can.

I’m grateful for all the support of those who met a guy that came knocking on their door talking about bringing change to the city. It’s not the end, only the beginning.

So I wrote a post for GoLocalProv suggesting that John Robitaille would win the race for Governor. Dan Yorke some how got wind of the story and asked, “Who is Don Roach?” So I called into his show, and his producer asked me a qualifying question…”What did you buy to get back in shape?” So they must have googled me and made their way over here.

Unfortunately with campaigning and establishing myself as a “key” political pundit on GoLocalProv, my personal website has not had the number of postings I’d like. Never fear, as the world gets to know Don Roach it’s good to know my weight issues will be there so I can let people know who I be.

Seriously, I almost busted a gut when he asked me that question.

…I’ll be running for City Council in Cranston Ward 1. I’ll post a link to my website once it’s up.

But it’s been kind of cool to get more traffic on this site as people investigate what I’m about. You’ll definitely get a flavor of who I am on this site, but please feel free to contact me directly at

donroach34 AT yahoo dot com

with any questions . Thanks to many of you who have supported me throughout the years in my blogging endeavors. Have some new things on the horizon that I hope to share soon!

Last night, I watched as a little known school, the University of Northen Iowa, took on college basketball juggernaut, Kansas, and whadya-know UNI won. Did UNI have better athletes? No. Did they have as many McDonald’s All-Americans? Uh, no. Were they the tournament’s overall No. seed? Come on!

What they did have was a collective group of players who acted as one. It was amazing to watch UNI impose it’s will against the best team in the country. They slowed the pace down and worked the shot clock. They hit open threes and even opened up a 12 point lead mid-way through the second half. I thought to myself, “this team isn’t going to implode. Kansas is going to have to take this game.” And they almost did, turning up the pressure.

But in the end, a dude named, Ali Farokhmanesh, hit a “I’m going to win this for us” shot that was the dagger. Great game to watch and it got me thinking…there is still hope for the little guy in America.

The game showed that hard work pays off and even if you don’t have the most talent, you can still win by working together.

Cheesy concept? Idealistic nonsense? Maybe. But for one night, I got to believe again, and that was a nice break from everything that’s going on in America today.

Today, the overconfidence of the Democrats will be put to the test in Massachusetts. Sentor Ted Kennedy – the Ted Kennedy – must be looking down on the situation with consternation. Martha Coakley who seemed like a shoo in for the seat only a few weeks ago has seen her lead evaporate to a pick-up truck driving state Senator.

In one of the most liberal states in the nation, a Republican has not only not lost ground but he’s made great strides against his opponent. Admittedly, I haven’t watched the race very closely and there are much more informed sites out there that can give you the play by play. What I will say is this, the theme of the “common man” resonates with voters especially during these unprecedented (at least for our generation) economic times. One of the reasons I voted for Obama over McCain was because I felt he related more to me than McCain.

Brown certainly comes across more “common” than does Coakley. Further, you know you have the opposition on the ropes when they try to rally the big guns at the last minute as evidenced by Obama’s impromptu arrival this weekend. What’s worse Coakley’s & the Democrats are pinning their hopes against Brown with Healthcare commercials and anecdotes. Healthcare? In a 2008 CNN Poll, the economy was the number one issue for Americans coming in with 49 percent while healthcare was far behind with 14 percent.

So if the Democrats are riding their healthcare pony, congratulations Scott Brown – your next US Senator from the state of Massachusetts. As savvy as Obama was in understanding the mood of the American people, it seems that Democrats have lost their edge and instead are seeking to push Americans into coming along with them as Democrats go much further to the left than Americans want to go. And that overconfidence will either be rewarded or sent a shocking blow today.