Today is Feb. 29 which means we are in a Leap Year, or as smart people call it; a bissextile year. Most people know we add an extra day to account for the fact that a standard solar calendar is 365 days, 48 minutes, 45 seconds or roughly 365 ¼ days.

What you may not know is our Gregorian calendar (instituted by Pope Gregory) requires losing 3 days every 400 years which means years ending in 00 don’t have a leap day, expect every 400 years when they do (got all this?).

I find it funny to note that the very first Playboy Club featuring waitresses in bunny outfits opened in Chicago on this date in 1960. Today is also Rare Disease Day, in honor (I’m guessing here) of today being a rare day.

Other famous happenings on this date happened back in 1504 when Christopher Columbus used a lunar eclipse to his advantage over the indigenous people of Jamaica and trick them into giving him food. Not to be outdone, the first warrants of the Salem witch trials were issued in 1692.

Ironically, Hattie McDaniel became the first African-American to win an Oscar back in 1940 for her role in Gone with the Wind (not to be confused with Gone in 60 Seconds).

Not so fast my friend

Thankfully, we have made a lot of progress with African-Americans being nominated since then.

The nomination for the Republican Party presidential candidate has been interesting to say the least. Much like Ted Cruz’s successful election when he ran for the Senate, the goal it seems is to “out conservatize” the other.

While many pundits have long predicted Trump imploding, he continues to defy the odds and befuddle the establishment of the party by continuing to win states. I don’t think many republicans thought he would be able wear the conservative label and even attract the coveted evangelical vote, yet as of today, he remains the front-runner.

The race grew even more personal in South Carolina. I always assumed the palmetto state was gentile and respectfully southern until I remembered that Francis Underwood, the fictional president in the smash hit “House of Cards” is also from there.

Watching all this reminds me of that famous scene from the movie “The Hunt for the Red October” when a Russian sub is blown up due to the arrogance of its commander. It seems the Grand Old Party could be headed down the same path.