Tuesday 19 April 2005

Washington Bombshell!
Gingrich To Bump Delay, Retake Top House Role
Loophole in warranty of his Contract for America Gives Edge; Never Cancelled

In a strong rebuke to the embattled Tom DeLay, Newt Gingrich announced yesterday that he will resume his role in Congress as House Majority Leader.

Gingrich, Time Magazine's 1995 "Man of the Year", charged that DeLay is "dragging down the Republican party" and that someone "needs to step forward and put an end to it"

Gingrich says he is invoking a clause, buried on the back pages of his Contract with America, that gives him the power to take such action. The clause was an Evergreen clause, needing one or two parties to cancel it within 30-days, in writing. Gingrich's Contract with America was never, officially, cancelled.

Capital Hill scrambled yesterday as the news reached Senators and Congressmen.

Voting in the House was suspended, as Speaker of the House Dennis Hasbert hastily called all committee chairs into an emergency session.

Senate Majority Leader, Bill Frist gave tepid and cautious statements. Insiders believe that Gingrich could be lining up against Frist for the 2008 Presidential race.

Gingrich rose to power in 1994, leading the Republican Party to recapture the majority in the House. His Contract with America, introduced in the weeks prior to the 1994 Congressional elections was a national conservative revolution, recommending specific actions to be taken, and was overwhelming endorsed by Republicans.

Within the first 100 days of the new Republican majority, 9 of the 10 points published in this contract were passed by the House. Many of the sections of the Contract failed to pass in the Senate, or to overcome President Clinton's veto however, Gingrich claimed victory as to delivering on the promise of introducing bills as outlined by the Contract.

Gingrich was a vocal advocate for the impeachment of President Clinton so his current move to retake his House Majority position has a certain amount of irony - Gingrich himself was chased out of office in 1998, by ethics charges, including having a extra-martial affair.

Tom DeLay is said to be stunned and livid at the Gingrich move. A House staffer said the DeLay was meeting with Republican leaders, including RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman and said DeLay expects the House Republicans to stand behind him and block the Gingrich move.

White House Spokesman Scott McClellan indicated the White House was monitoring the situation and had no comment.

Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the Democratic leader said that she was confident that the country could not take "both Gingrich and DeLay", adding that she doubts "there's enough soft money out there to keep them both happy"


McDonalds Celebrates 50th Birthday
Introducing New Finger Food Menu

The fast food giant McDonald's celebrated its' 50th birthday last week by announcing a new Finger Food menu to mark the occasion.

McDonald’s was founded by Ray Kroc on April 15, 1955 in the Chicago suburb of Des Plaines and has grown into an international
force, with 30,000 local restaurants serving nearly 50 million people in more than 119 countries each day.

Famed for its' golden arches, McDonald's has been the leader and trendsetter for the fast food industry.

To celebrate its' 50th birthday, Mike Roberts, President and Chief Operating Officer, McDonald's Corporation announced a new, diet-conscious menu of Finger Foods. All of McDonald's favorites, from Big Mac's to Chicken Nuggets and apple pie will be available in this new menu.

Industry analysts say the move to Finger Foods is a bold step by McDonald's, coming in the midst of the Wendy's controversy.

Last month, a woman in California charged that she discovered a partial human finger in her Wendy's food. As the investigation moved forward, evidence surfaced dismissing the credibility of the woman, suggesting she placed the finger herself. Wendy's recently increased its' reward for information about the finger to $100,000.

Said one analyst;

"They'll either hit a homerun and serve another 10-billion people, or it will be a bust"