LOL - I just signed Larry Holmes up to be a Rick Santorum Running Mate! I marked Larry Holmes as being interested in the "Jewish", "Seniors" and "Women" categories.

I am a huge fan of Larry Holmes who practically owns Easton Pennsylvnia. When I went on the Lafayette College tour in Easton with my niece and sister a few years, ago, I was annoyed because the snobs at Lafayette tried to pretend they didn't hear me when I asked about Easton's most famous and successful citizen, Larry Holmes.

I bet Larry Holmes would get a chuckle about being signed up in the "Seniors" category. Then again, maybe he wouldn't since he is only 57.

From the Official Larry Holmes website.

About The Heavyweight Champion

Larry Holmes
World Heavyweight Champion (1978 - 1985)
Amateur Record: 19 Wins 3 Loses
Professional Record: 69 Wins 6 Loses 44 Knockouts
Born: November 3, 1949 - Cuthbert, Georgia
Residence since 1957: Easton, Pennsylvania
Last Fight: July 27, 2002 - Norfolk, Virginia - Against Butterbean won 10 rounds

TALE OF THE TAPE:
Height: 6 feet 3 inches
Waist: 35 inches
Fist: 13 1/2 inches
Reach: 81 inches
Thigh: 25 inches
Wrist: 8 inches
Chest: 43 1/2 inches
Ankle: 10 inches
Forearm: 13 inches
Chest Expansion: 45 1/2 inches
Neck: 17 1/2 inches
Biceps: 15 1/2 inches

Larry Holmes still holds the distinction today of being the longest reigning World Heavyweight Champion in boxing history (1978-1985), second only to Joe Louis. Larry defended his title twenty consecutive times (all-in-all, fighting a total of twenty-six title bouts throughout his career) and held the record for forty-eight straight wins, next to boxing legend Rocky Marciano. Larry Holmes was always ready and eager to enter the ring, sometimes fighting nine times in one year. The "Easton Assassin" never backed down from any contender throughout his career. Larry Holmes is a proven Champion with a strong desire and heart to win.

Maybe I should write to Larry Holmes and ask him to campaign for Bob Casey. I could tell Larry Holmes about how the Republicans worked to promote apartheid in South Africa in the 1980s, twenty years after the Civil Rights Bill was signed. I bet that would get the attention of Larry Holmes, World Heavyweight Champion!

This is just too cool!

My order for two Larry Holmes tee-shirts got hung up in the system so I called customer service and you actually get the offices of Larry Holmes and talk to real live people. I have to wait to hear from "Jay" on Monday about my order.

I chatted a bit with a very nice and helpful lady and told her about me signing up Larry Holmes for the Santorum campaign. I said that I hoped Larry Holmes had a sense of humor and she said he does, sometimes.

I then told her about visiting the Lafayette College campus and how the folks pretended not to know who Larry Holmes was. She said some people portray "Mario" as Easton's most famous citizen.

I had to ask her who "Mario" was. "Mario" is Mario Andretti but the lady said Mario Andretti is really from Nazareth PA which is down the road a bit. I told her that the folks at Lafayette never mentioned Mario Andretti either.

Buying Larry Holmes tee-shirts turned out to be a fun and informative experience!

I wouldn't put too much stock in that theory. As the article goes on to state, Santorum is flush with funding so he doesn't need the cash as much as some other embattled candidates do.

I'm trying to think how I can get Larry Holmes to come out swinging for Bob Casey. I wonder if I told Larry Holmes heard about the Edison Schools Inc. scandal in Philadelphia, he might understand why charter schools are not necessarily the answer to better education.

I'll have to look in my files to try to find the reference to the $20 or $30 million Edison Schools "study" authorized by then governor, Tom Ridge. The multi-million dollar study purported to research and evaluate why Edison Schools Inc. would be a preferable alternative to the Philadelphia public school system.

I never read the conclusions of the Edison Schools study authorized by Republican Governor Tom Ridge but I doubt if it took into account that Edison Schools Inc. was run by a bunch of crooks. The company went down in flames after being investigated by the SEC for financial fraud.

The Edison Schools Board of directors reads like a who's who in education but apparently none of these geniuses knew fraud when they saw it. They must have been too busy counting their stock options to care about children's education.

Excerpted from the 10/28/02 Edison Schools proxy statement filed with the SEC:

JOAN GANZ COONEY - Chairman, Executive Committee, of the Sesame Workshop [Sesame Street], formerly the Children's Television Workshop

REVEREND FLOYD H. FLAKE - President of Wilberforce University, member of the United States House of Representatives, senior pastor of the Allen African Methodist Episcopal Church in Jamaica, Queens

BENNO C. SCHMIDT - President of Yale University from 1986 to 1992, Dean of the Columbia University School of Law from 1984 to 1986

Note that the Ridge administration did not encourage this grand experiment in privatizing education in more wealthy and more white school districts.