Wanna Buy Some Government Cheese?

This administration is so incompetent that it's getting hard to take them seriously. They, along with a stooge-esque Congress, spent most of today scrambling around trying to keep the albatross in the air.

The details are so simple. The government would give you a $3500-4500 credit if you brought in a gas guzzler and traded it in for a new, gas efficient model. They would then destroy the gas guzzler. The government set aside one billion dollars for the effort.

After four days the program was suspended. Then restarted, then suspended then who the hell knows. By the end of the day, Congress was calling for billions out of TARP money to make the program stable.

What could have caused such a commotion? The program was too much of a success!

The computer clearing system designed to approve/reject applications crashed leaving dealers unable to proceed.

Dealers who could submit applications were waiting for responses that just continued to backlog.

The rules proved idiotic as cars 15 years+ older didn't qualify for the program.

And the biggest joke of the whole ordeal? The government couldn't figure out how much money was spent or had been committed to be spent.

They couldn't keep track of a measly billion dollars.
They couldn't keep track of a relatively small group of peoples paperwork. Small as compared to other government agencies.

In short, the government proved incapable of administering even the simplest of programs without massive confusion, backlogs and bureaucracy that led to a double or tripling of the cost.

The good news? This proves yet again that the best stimulus is money in the peoples hands, not doled out to government cronies. Can we all say tax cuts/incentives, etc.? Imagine how well we'd be doing if we had across the board tax cuts and spending freezes at the beginning of the recession. It'd be over by now.

The bad? This program only exists because: 1) Obama wants to throw yet another bone to his friends at the UAW and 2) This is all part of a grand scheme of Obama's to get you to drive little crappy microcars like they do in Europe. Even a program cloaked under the veil of consumer interest is really just a tactic to alter your behavior forever.

All that is trivial compared to the real message sent loud and clear; that the government can't manage anything properly.

They can't keep track of a billion dollars, how about trillions.
They can't approve or decline a thousands of applications for credit, how about tens and hundred of millions of highly detailed digital records?
They can't design a website that can be used. Remember the crashed mortgage assistance website, another debacle. Think they can build a reliable one if your life depended on it?

Any reasonable person should conclude that they can't do any of these things and aside from the constitutional issues, this is reason enough not to let them anywhere near healthcare. Imagine the disaster when every Americans records get digitized and processed by the gov. Yikes.

Luckily, there are companies that process these types of records every single day, approving credit, filing paperwork, tracking the flow of money etc. There are occasional hiccups but remarkably few considering the amount of data tracked. We need these people desperately but who could they be?

It's called the private sector and it works every time. You know it, I know it, Obama surely knows it, so why won't he use it?

Because his goals aren't our goals. They aren't even what he says his goals are. He doesn't give a crap about actually ending the recession. Not until he has fundamentally changed the economic system of this nation.

So when Obama forms a committee to examine what went wrong or appoints Dealin Doug or Diamond Jim Brady as the new federal Used Car and Pawn Czar, just file it away and remeber that your being lied to by the Keystone Kops of politics. Next election is in in 2010.

Finally A Reason to Relive the Past

As a Yankees fan it's been difficult to stomach the resurgence of the Red Sox over the past decade.

Especially since they exercised their demons at the expense of the Yankess, humiliating them after being down 0-3 in the ALCS on the road to the first World Series since the Babe picked up his first working girl.

Since then we've had to deal with never ending stories about the goofballs, cowboying up, Schillings ketchup soaked sock, what a leader Varitek is, which he better be since he no longer excels at "playing baseball".

From the depressing Generals to my beloved Yankess Globtrotters to Americas fun loving favorite bandwagon to jump on. Every casual jackass sporting a new Manny or Ortiz jersey, everybody talking about Noh-mah (for awhile anyway), every pink ladies jersey or or toddler romper made the Sox incredibly insufferable to deal with. They had to publish an Idiot's Guide to Bill Buckner & The Curse, just to catch all these late arrivers up. They were as pleasant as a Boston winter. Or Spring, or fall or summer. Or really anytime in that State except for the few good weeks when the leaves turn.

Now it's my turn to have some fun, so let's have it.

CHEATERS! JUICERS!!!! FRAUDS FRAUDS FRAUDS!!!

Whew! That was all right. Time to fire up a menthol and just soak in the experience. Lest anyone not know, ESPN reported today that both Manny & Ortiz were on the same list of positive tests for PED's in 2003 that A-Rod was on.

What? You don't think it's suspicious that a double stroking fat body in Minnesota could turn into a homer machine just by playing at Fenway or that a moody, dim bulb outfielder who tanks games when depressed suddenly turned into the greatest right handed hitter ever? No, not suspicious at all!

Wanna know who isn't on that list? Jeter*. Rivera*. Posada*. Bernie Williams.*
Suck on that Nation.


*list subject to change pending further reveals by the New York Times.

Further Down the Rabbit Hole

Our ever vigilant President is on the road again campaigning for his policies and crying about distortions. I would classify this as the pot calling the kettle black but I don’t want to confuse Skip Gates into thinking it’s a racial issue.

Anyway, back to Obama. During his speech (heard audio on the radio, looking for transcript to link to) he claims the same people who left him a 1.3 trillion dollar deficit are the ones complaining about spending now. He is blaming this on the Bush tax cuts and the Prescription Drug Expansion by Republicans a few years ago. The tax cuts helped jump start a post 9-11 economy and Obama’s attacks are just class warfare politics and while the prescription drug plan was an abomination, only true conservatives were opposed to that at the time, liberals, including Obama, were just mad it didn’t go far enough so he can’t claim the moral high ground on that issue either. In fact, Obama and liberals have been the chief architects of the deficit. Since the libs took over in 2006, they have increased the deficit at a break neck pace. While Bush was the President, Pelosi was Speaker when the House devised and passed the first two stimulus/bailout packages that effectively nationalized the auto industry and the banking & lending industry.

So rather than a victim of tough circumstances, Obama is a willing participant in its creation. Besides, nobody ever gave him the mandate to eliminate the debt in six months. His complaint that Republicans are screaming because he hasn’t paid it off is absurd. Everybody knew and knows that getting out of this hole would be a long drawn out process. What Republicans are screaming about Obama, is the fact that you and your administration are hell bent on turning an economic nightmare into a national catastrophe. While nobody expected you to pay off the deficit in six months, nobody authorized you to double it in six months either, which is where it’s going now. You’re claims about 95% of the people getting tax cuts is an outright lie, especially given the mass inflation and devaluation of the dollar that is coming. All of this is before his plans for socialized healthcare and cap and trade plans are passed into law with all their tax and fee hikes that will impact everyone, I assure you. When that happens a simple doubling of the deficit will seem like a rosy condition compared to the tens of trillions of dollars of debt and destruction of constitutional principles those plans will entail.

So stop running for reelection and deceiving your audiences. You’re no victim. The Bush recession ended already and this nightmare we are being forced into is completely your making.

You made it, now own it.

NFL Preview: Minnesota Vikings

QB: D+ Now that the great gray menace has decided to stay in Mississippi, the Vikings have to deal with the hard reality that all they have is Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels. That’s not going to be good enough to win the Super Bowl and maybe not even make the playoffs. What they need is a dynamic (Vick) playmaker to take pressure off (Vick)the RB’s either with his feet or arm. (Vick) I wonder if anybody is available. (Vick !)

RB: A+ Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor are as good a two back combo in the league. The only concern is the durability both backs so look for them to share more of the load this year. FANTASY TIP: Peterson should go in the top two picks but be wary of the split load and lack of receptions if you are in point-per-reception league.

WR: C Bernard Berrian, Bobby Wade and Sidney Rice are all average at best, although they do make big plays, usually off play action. No consistency or reliability in catching the ball though, partly because they aren’t very good and partly because the QB’s suck. Berrian is the only real fantasy option. Maybe a late round flyer on Rice.

TE: B Dirk Shiancoe exposed himself last year as an above average TE. Luckily he’s good enough blocking and catching where he doesn’t come off the field much although Kleinsasser is a potential red zone vulture.

OL: A McKinnie, Hutchinson and Loadholt are all excellent. Peterson is going to go huge again and whoever is the QB should have plenty of time to throw the ball. Any inflated sack numbers are due to the fact that Jackson likes to run around too much.

DL: B+ This unti depends mostly on massive DT’s Pat & Kevin Williams, if they aren’t suspended or busy in court then the DL will be fine. If not it could get ugly. Jared Allen is All Pro on the outside while Edwards and Udeze are good enough on the other side.

LB: B- Greenway, Henderson and Beber are all slightly above average. None of them are going put up big time sack numbers but they all will get a couple sacks, couple picks tons of tackles.

DB: B Winfield and Griffith are both excellent on the corners and Williams and Johnson are both pretty ok at S. The only concern is the size really, all of them are pretty small which could get to be a problem if some RB starts running wild, which probably shouldn’t happen so long as the DL’s aren’t MIA.

K/P: B Longwell is fine in a dome but a little weak in the elements. I don’t know who Kluwe is, which is always good for a punter.

COACHING: C- even without Favre, Childress seems content with Jackson & Rosenfels which is insane. This is a super bowl team if it had an average QB. They should have made a run at a Byron Leftwich type to run that offense, which is also devoid of a little imagination I must say. Probably Childress’s last go around if he doesn’t make a playoff run.

BEST CASE SCENARIO: 12-4, First in the North, Super Bowl Champions.

WORST CASE SCENARIO: 6-10, 3rd in the North. Peterson and the D will win them some games that the QB tries to lose. What we should all hope for is for Childress to suggest the team rent a boat and throw a party to try and ease some of the Favre saga. Hilarity ensues.

A Majority of Losers

I was listening to the Mark Levin radio show recently and I was introduced to some creature called a David Frum and a group for conservatives called the New Majority. Curious as always, I looked into the group and its founder, Mr. Frum, about whom Levin had some unkind things to say but I was willing to give a shot.

Now, the name Frum rang some faint bells but it wasn't until I saw his photo on the website that I realized that he was one of the weasels that worked for W. for a few years then stabbed him in the back to get a book deal.

Understandably, this revelation tainted my initial view of him but rather than throw him under the bus for that, I read some of his "work."

That's when I realized friends, that the biggest problem in this country isn't leftists but rather people like Mr. Frum. One of the few ultimate truths in life is that a liberal will always act and think like a liberal. Their views of human nature are maddening and their logic is suspect but ultimately they are predicable in their committment to collectivist ideolog. You can't blame them anymore than you can blame dogs for barking or babies from crying. It's in their DNA.

People like Frum are worse because they pretend to be something they're not while stealthily trying to destroy the very thing they claim to be, in this case Conservative.

The list of people in this group is large, Frum, Lindsey Graham, Colin Powell, Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe, Tom Ridge, Arlen Spector pre flip and on and on. These people have no more right to define conservatism than I do to claim the British throne.

The main tactic of these Frumians is to redefine what conservatism is to fit their own weak minded belief structure. According to Frum, instead of opposing blatantly anti-constitutional programs or laws, we should just offer alternative, anti-constitutional laws that are slightly less socialist. Why? Because some people want it of course. What a principled stand! We should just write a new Constitution every 8 years or just throw it away completely.

The problem is Frum doesn't see the problem with defying the constitution and ridicules people who "get emotional" or "angry" in its defense. I would argue that aside from ideology, this position is the result of cowardice, as people like Mr. Frum simply can't be disliked and would rather bastardize the Constitution than make waves.

Frum even questions if government control is tyranny. He sites Medicare and Medicade, which is socialist medicine for the poor or elderly, and questions if those two programs are tyranny. Of course they are jackass! What part of tyranny don't you get? An entire demographic that desperatly relies on health care for continued life is completely at the mercy of government whim. Their very voting rights are dictated by these programs. These people cannot participate in the franchise fully becuase they are dependant on government help for life, participating in any policy debate besides this would be a fruitless waste of time since their votes are essentially already cast for them. That is tyranny. It may be soft tyranny but tyranny nonetheless.

All you Frumians should really start your own party. You can call it the Moderates or the Progressive Conservatives. Your mascot should be something in line with your personal strength and power. I suggest a penguin or maybe a field mouse. Go preach your message of anti-intellelctual neoliberal conservatism and let the voters show you how irrelevant you are.

"Now get the hell out of here, you jerks!"

The Blind Squirrel Cometh

Poor Joe Biden, the man simply can't catch a break. Not blessed with superior intellect, articulation or sense of timing, our current Vice President has been a non-stop blunder machine since his improbable rise to the office.

The man his simply been unable to toe the party line on the stimulus, health care, Iran, Iraq or Afghanistan and now he has pissed off both the Russians and the Obama administration.

Shortly after Obama travelled to Russia to assure the Ruskies that we are going to let them do whatever they want, Slapstick Joe had to go and say that "They have a shrinking population base, they have a withering economy, they have a banking sector and structure that is not likely to be able to withstand the next 15 years, they're in a situation where the world is changing before them and they're clinging to something in the past that is not sustainable." in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

White house stooges led by the incompetent Robert Gibbs, displaying his customary lack of knowledge or ability to communicate with other humans, rushed around trying to reassure the offended Russians and leftist Americans that everything was hunky-dory and that America has nothing but respect for the great Russian Republic and Czar Putin I.

It's easy to see how Joe could get confused. After all Russia pretends to be democratic, which Obama hates, but they are really a reemerging. brutal despotism which Obama loves. Joe just forgot his talking points and relied on his own thoughts, which is always scary.

In this case though, the administration looking foolish again isn't the real travesty, the real travesty is the disservice done to Biden. For once in his long career, Joe Biden "Gaff Machine" was one hundred percent correct. Russia is a weakened nation with faltering signs for the future. We should be taking a harder line with them than Obama seems to want to do. Why we placate them is a mystery beyond contemplation unless, of course, you think Obama and his administration is simply longing for the good old Soviet Days when socialism was done right, like I do.

So here's to you Joe, you won't get the credit you deserve for accurately taking a position on a critical world issue. I'm sure Obama will put you even further in the closet than you already were for this transgression. Be sure and say hi to Hillary when you get there and take comfort in the fact that for one day, one glimmering moment in time, the United States of America would have been better served if Joe Biden had been President.

NFL Preview: Denver Broncos

QB: D+ I've said it once and I'll say it again, when you turn Jay Cutler into Kyle Orton & Chris Simms you've got serious font office judgment issues. Orton has proven himself to be average at best and injury prone, Simms has proven himself to be as durable as a dried up leaf and, you guessed it, very average. On their own this might be C, C- group but the fact that they let a 26 yr. old all pro go for this drops it down. Stupidity penalty.

RB: B Knowshon Moreno could be a a solid, everydown back but who can tell with rookies. He does run straight ahead so that should work with the zone blocking scheme. Otherwise you've got Corell Buckhalter with his replaced ACL's, Raiders/Patriots castoff LaMont Jordan, Ryan Torain and his torn ACL, former golden domer Darius Walker and glorified fullback Patrick Hillis. In other words, Moreno better stay healthy. FANTASY TIP! Don't pick any Denver back early but definitely draft Jordan and start him twice against the Raiders. Every former Raider torches them in payback games.

WR: A This grade is conditional on the mind set of physical SuperFreak Brandon Marshall. He says he wants out and he's such a headcase who knows what he might pull. Assuming he plays without another arrest and suspension, he should be awesome with Eddie Royal on the other side and Stokley in the slot. If Marshall goes AWOL, it could get real ugly, unless you see something in Jabar Gaffney & Chad Jackson nobody else sees. Didn't think so.

TE: C Daniel Graham and Tony Scheffler are both average at best. Scheffler the better pass catcher. Good fantasy value.

OL: A Clady and Harris are well above average and the interior is decent enough at pass blocking so they're not a liability. Another zone blocking team so the lack of interior talent matters less. They better give the QB's all the time in the world though, Orton and Simms aren't exactly known for lightning quick decisions.

DL: D Suck, suck, suck, suck, suck. Moving to the 3-4, Kenny Peterson is probably the most well known and he had a whopping 3 sacks. There's a reason Denver's D sucks.

LB: C They moved their best pass rusher Elvis Dumervil to OLB for some reason. maybe they're hoping at LB opposing teams won't notice the fact that he's 5-9. Other OLB's Robert Ayer and Jarvis Moss are fast and capable of making plays but we'll see. ILB D.J. Williams and Andra Davis both give up as many plays as they make. They are also a little undersized so the lack of talent at DL is more noticeable.

DB: Champ Bailey A, Brian Dawkins B-, Everybody else F Hopefully Dawkins can come in and make some tackles or this unit is going to get burned. Bailey is getting older and gives up some monster plays while S Renaldo Hill and CB Andre Hill are both short and unspectacular. If the DL/LB can't get sacks, look for high scoring games in the Mile High City. Good thing they have a gunslinger quarterback. . . . . .

P/K: B+ Prater has been above average and Kern is a punter that I've never heard of which is good for a punter.

Coaching: F Josh McDaniels hasn't coached a snap or graduated high school but has pissed off both Cutler and Marshall. What was the thought process? Lets irritate Cutler so we can bring in Matt Cassell? What's the point? Now you have neither. And why not kiss Marshalls ass a little after ripping his QB away from him? You think a nutjob like him was going to take kindly to the Orton era? Two strikes buddy.

BEST CASE SCENARIO: 10-6, Second in the WEST. They do still play the Raiders and Chiefs twice a year.

WORST CASE SCENARIO: 6-10, Third in the WEST. Hard to see both Oakland and KC jump them but Marshall might decide to go all Steve Smith and just start punching people out in practice. Denver isn't very talented so if he KO's Bailey, Moreno and Clady in a fit of rage after Orton underthrows him by 8 yards on a curl, it could happen.

Somebody Get A Tape Measure!

Our feisty Secretary of State declared that Iran would never be allowed to have nukes and that their pursuit was futile this morning on Meet the Press.

It would seem that Mrs. Clinton has bigger stones on this subject than our timid Commander in Chief.

It's hard to take this declaration by Mrs. Clinton seriously though. No Secretary of State has ever been as marginalized as she is now. Obama clearly uses other czars and microteams to truly handle his foreign policy issues. So far, Obama has shown no inclination to stop Iran from doing anything, let alone stop making nukes, a stated national priority for the Iranians.

This tempter tantrum is more likely the result of Hillary finally trying to exert some influence over world affairs. It's clear that Obama offered her that job as a way to remove her and her husband from the realm of international affairs. Job well done, I must say. Hillary has been near invisible in her role when I'm sure she thought she would be a major policy maker in the new Administration. Far from that, she spends most of her time apoligizing for American activities around the globe and getting lectured by the Indians and Chinese about how stupid global warming and CO2 emissions are. Rightfully so I might add.

I hope Hillary's supporters got a good taste of her this morning, I'm sure tomorrow she's off to Basque to apologize for the weather and Americans lack of interest in Jai Alai. With grace and dignity, no doubt.

NFL Preview: Miami Dolphins

QB: C+ I’m not sold on the Brothers Chad (Pennington & Henne) at all. Chad #1 still has a weak arm that will falter in the cold, playoff weather while Chad #2 hasn’t shown much of anything in college or the pros. The grade is raised slightly because both Pat White and Ronnie Brown run a descent wildcat offense which will surely be used. FANTASY TIP! Pat White could get some playing time this year outside the wildcat because of injury prone Chad #1. Good late round pick for this year or in a keeper league.

RB: B+ Ronnie Brown, Smokehouse Williams & Patrick Cobbs are dependable runners assuming they don’t get hurt, which they are prone to do it seems. Miami backs always seem to wear down over the year in that South Beach heat so look for a split in carries for fantasy purposes. Smokehouse might be called upon more often if Brown is called on to do more in the wildcat so lets hope he lays of the medicine this year.

WR: C- Ted Ginn Jr. & Greg Camarillo may be the only two wideouts on this team you’ve ever heard of, unless you’re a big Patrick Turner fan from his days at USC. What? Nobody is? Lets move on then. This unit is solid catching the ball but nobody but Ginn can make a big play. This unit is a fantasy anchor for QB’s but good for RB’s.

TE: B- Anthony Fasano is petty ok but don't look for big plays. Look to see if Earnest Wilford can make the switch from slow receiver to fast TE.

OL: B- Good franchise tackle in LT-Jake Long, above average in RT Vernon Carey, pretty average anywhere else. FUN FACT! C Jake Grove couldn’t consistently start for the Oakland Raiders(!) earlier in his career.

DL: B+ NT Ferguson and DE Merling are both above average while other DE Langford is good enough. All these guys do in the 3-4 is chew up blocker for the LB’s.

LB: A OLB Jason Taylor has finally danced his way back to Miami and if he’s healthy he should be a terror with OLB Joey Porter. ILB’s Crowder and Ayodele are both fast and good tacklers. This unit is awesome if the DL can keep them free to run and make plays and Jason Taylor can keep of his Boogie Shoes.

DB: C+ Jason Allen is an above average defender but the other three position are sketchy. Will Allen is getting a little long in the tooth and is only 5-10(probably 5-8), Gibril Wilson got cut by the Raiders for not making any plays, Again, cut by the Raiders for sucking. Scary. I’ve never heard of Yeremiah Bell or Eastern Kentucky so I can’t comment other than to say that both Bell and Wilson are only 6-0(probably 5-10) which is small when you’ve got a 5-8 corner to deal with. This unit also gets propped up by the LB unit.

K/P: B Carpenter and Fields are both fine if not spectacular.

Coaching: A You can’t argue with the success of second year Coach Tony Sparano. Everybody thought the Dolphins would suck last year and 11-5 shocked everybody. Even if Sparano loses his mind, Tuna is just a flight of stairs away to take control.

BEST CASE SCENARIO: 11-5, Second in the EAST.

WORST CASE SCENARIO: 5-11, 3rd in the EAST. The one year dream ends. Smokehouse and Tuna shoot up and recreate various scenes from Miami Vice. The Colin Farrell/Jamie Fox movie, not the TV show everyone liked.

NFL Preview: Oakland Raiders

Time to stop screwing around with world affairs, I can smell the gridiron and have 32 of these things to write before Labor Day, best to get going.

QB: C- This grade is only this high based on the small potential shown by JaMarcus Russell at the end of last year. If he continues to progress it could be good but if he gets lazy again it could be an F, drifting into Leaf territory. Jeff Garcia continues to show questionable judgment latching on to another crappy team instead of retiring to Hef's mansion with his playmate wife. If he's playing their losing, simple as that. Andrew Walter, Charlie Frye and Bruce Gradkowski are all vying for the third spot. Maybe they should sign a backup kicker instead.

RB: A+ Justin Fargas and Michael Bush are studs*. Fargas and McFadden are made of silly string though so look for Bush to get more carries and yards than you would think. Potential goaline vulture for fantasy purposes. BOLD PREDICTION* - McFadden will be a bust. He was overrated in the draft and is overrated and injury prone now. Neal & O'Neal are both fine blocking FB's.

WR: D Oh boy, does this group suck ass. The Corpse of Javon Walker and Darius Heyward-Bey(DHB) are both hurt already which isn't good when Walker was already a ghost due to his pistol whipping in Vegas last year and DHB has "trouble catching the ball". Yikes. Backups Chaz Schielens & Johnny Lee Higgens are ok I guess but I've never heard anybody game plan for somebody named Chaz. The Raiders did draft the latest Florida bust in Louis Murphy so that should be fun. Basically, no fantasy value, everyone has bust potential. If you enjoyed the James Jett, Mervyn Fernandez era then tune in!

TE: B+ Zach Miller would be an All Pro if anybody could throw him the ball but needs to improve pass blocking to be a Gonzalez-esque player. John Paul Foschi is notable only in the fact that you can combine him with Johnny Lee Higgins in a weird six name parlay.

OL: D Good zone blocking road graders, absolute shit pass protection. Barnes and Henderson both went from being cut or inactivated to starting tackles, Gallery is solid in his new life as a guard but Green, Carlisle, Wade & Satele are all other teams trash.

DL: F Can't stop the run, can't rush the passer. Other than their solid. Warren is still a monumental draft bust, Kelly has been a bust since the big contract (shocker) Burgess wants out in the worst way, Sands can only play half time due to the fact that he weighs moe than an Sherman Tank. Richardson and Ellis are both solid but don't make any big plays.

LB: B+ Kirk Morrison & Thomas Howard are both tackling machines. Morrison isn't very fast but has good position and makes big INT's. Howard is a big time playmaker prone to big time lapses in coverage. You've never heard of anybody trying for the third spot. This group is highly susceptible to big plays by the TE or RB out of the backfield.

DB: Asomugha A+ Everyone Else: F Asomugha is so good nobody even throws at them and why should they? Everybody else is a matador. Nobody can tackle, Huff is a bust, and all the others are low draft picks who play only because they're fast. FUN FACT - Second round draft pick Mitchell was rated the 87th best safety by Mel Kiper yet Al Davis took him in round two after seeing an impressive YouTube video of him lighting up Division 2 players. Not invited to the combine. I was invited to the combine.

K: Incomplete You can never tell with SeaBass. If he can manage not to date rape himself he can be decent with no pressure. If the voices get to him and he drowns in sea of kielbasa then in can be Barrett Robbins-esque.

P: A+ Shane lechler is one of the best in the league. I should know, I've seen him average 28 punts a game since 2002. He might get fatigued though.

Coach: Al Davis - F Tom Cable D It's really not fair to grade Cable since he'll probably be fired by the time somebody reads this but he doesn't strike me a master schemer anyway. I suppose if the old line coach could get some of the players to actually try that might be worth something but we have to hold judgment on that. As always the team has no discipline, if Al Davis has his way, they still won't.

BEST CASE SCENAIO: In a shitty division? 7-9, 2nd in the WEST
WORST CASE SCENARIO: 0-16, Last in the WEST, JaMarcus Russell turns into C.C. Sabathia, Tom Cable resigns to become a waterboy for the Golden State Warriors and Al Davis pays a drifter to shank Marcus Allen. You know it could happen.

An Important Address

Last night's prime time address by President Obama was a painfully difficult thing to watch or listen to. It was at times condescending and spiteful, uninspired and uninspiring, full of child like attacks at his opponents, highlighted by a race baiting attack on a Cambridge police officer. All of this from the man who was "post-partisan".

However, The address may be the most important one Barak Obama ever gives us. All during the campaign, he was an enigma. Was he the charismatic leader who inspired a generation of new activists or was he the horribly over matched, easily confused, rambling lightweight that appeared sometimes during unscripted moments? Now we know. As all hard times do, this health care debate has laid bare for all to see the real qualities of our 44th President.

And after examination, the only conclusion to draw is that he isn't much of anything at all.

He isn't a charismatic, political survivalist like Bill Clinton; he doesn't have the steely resolve of George W. Bush; he doesn't have a great political mind like Lyndon Johnson or Richard Nixon, he's not an expert in any one area like Herbert Hoover, he isn't capable of defining an era or movement like FDR or Harry Truman and he doesn't inspire the masses like Kennedy or Reagan.

No, he isn't any of those things or much else. The health care debate was entirely defined and timed by Obama. He could've taken up this task whenever he wanted; taken all the time he needed to plan and execute it properly. His Presidential measuring sticks all had history foisted upon them and rose to the challenge. Even Bill Clinton faced an impeachment, Somalia and Monica and came out a hero to many. Obama had the opportunity to dictate history and came up horribly small. When faced with opposition he became a feckless liar. Despite having an iron grip on all of government, he reacts like a petulant child when faced with mild Republican opposition. With two of the weakest, intellectually deficient leaders in the House and Senate, he can't control his party. Worst of all, he falls back into the politics of victims and victimizers, oppressed and oppressors when unable to cope with the issue at hand.

Why should we expect any different? Obama has always been a committed Stateist, student of Alinsky, serving out Marxist populism and Black Liberation ideology to a niche voting block in Chicago. The community agitator has reemerged. Barak Obama is the perfect representation of Chicago politics in that he is simply a machine. He has his playbook and he executes it without passion or patience. He is what he has always been, a shell filled with the ideas of other, more respected minds.

The real tragedy doesn't reside in his destined to fail policies or the damage his identity politics will do to the nation. No the real victims are the new faces brought into politics by the Obama revolution. The youth, minorities and the disillusioned all became involved during the 2008 election. When these people begin to realize what little they invested themselves in, will they become more active, looking for the real McCoy or will they again retreat into political oblivion, bitten one too many times by hope not fulfilled? This would truly be a tragedy for all involved, even conservatives who are now engaged in a way not seen since Reagan, due to Obama's radical leftist agenda.

Who knows, maybe Obama will develop into something tangible. History does have a way with presenting Presidents with opportunities to transform from the mediocre to the memorable. Some grasp the opportunity, like Truman, some don't, like Carter. He might want to get started though, the clock is ticking toward 2010 and if Obama and his party don't get something going, they will find themselves where Clinton found himself in 1994, a leftist President watching history being made by a conservative revolution that he was instrumental in starting.

Quick Hits

Congressman nearly gets laughed off stage for lying to voters:

Pat Toomey is now tied with Arlen Spector in latest Quinnipiac poll. Toomey plus 4 over Sestak.

Yankees now 2 games up over the Sox.

J-Lo, Marc Anthony and Gloria Estefan now own part of the Dolphins. Dan Marino will now eat 100 stone crabs in a sad, silent protest.

In a related note, Terrence Trent D'Arby, Teena Marie and Positive K will be sponsoring Churro Night next Friday night for the Amarillo Dillas of the United League.

In another related note C.C. Sabathia will also eat 100 stone crabs just because it's Thursday.

A Mets - Nats game is a lot like a strip club during the day; no talent on the field, nothing but losers in the stands.

Rahm Emmanuel and Barak Obama are taking credit for rescuing the economy. I myself rescued a chicken from a long a fruitful life tonight at dinner.

California is shrewdly planning to release 27,000 prisoners early, hoping the ensuing gang wars will result in at least 27,000 dead gang bangers. Charles Manson will continue to live however.

There was a time when this great nation wouldn't put up with this crap.

Coming soon! NFL Previews

Goodell is spelled S-A-N-C-T-I-M-O-N-I-U-S

Well, Mike "Ron Mexico" Vick has finally served his entire sentence and is ready to rejoin society.

When he can rejoin football is another story that will be written by the defender of morality, virtue and chastity for all, Cotton Mather Goodell. Apparently Cotton feels that after 2 years in the clink, Vick still has to do some PR work with PETA and the Humane Society before his NFL suspension will be lifted.

Give me a break. What possible purpose dos it serve to have Vick fake false regret to bunch of yuppie activists? Despite your Puritanical leaning Goodell, your league is full of jackass, drug addicts, PED users, gamblers and other various criminals. You should be glad Vick didn't get drunk and kill innocent bystanders like Leonard Little or Dante Stallworth.

Now I don't excuse Vick, I'm just not a hypocrite. Vick viciously killed animals for sport, we do it for food. What, do you think all those veal calves are chained to the ground and smothered with love until they transform into veal like some culinary diamond? Hell no, those poor creatures literally die of sadness. According to the USDA, the sad is what makes them tender.* Foie gras is made by forcing a goose to eat until its liver explodes in his body. Very compassionate.

Look, Vick is an A-hole, he got caught, he went to the pokey and lost all his money. We can call it even now right?

In a related note, when Vick gets reinstated I have two destinations for him.

The first is Minnesota. Screw Favre. Go with exciting and upside. Vick and Peterson would be an awesome running combo and Vick should still be able to throw some bombs in the dome. It would even be economically beneficial, you can get Vick on the cheap given his baggage.

Second, the Miami Dolphins. I've seen Chad Pennington, Chad Henne and Pat White and if they're your starting QB's you've got trouble. Might as well take a flyer on Vick and hope Parcells can keep him in line. The real reason though is the TV possibilities of Vick in South Beach. Here's the setup, you get Vick, brother Marcus (the Vick brothers have the greatest potential for highjinks since the Canseco Brothers invaded Miami and possibly Madonna all those years ago) and some of Vick's posse from Virginia paired up with a camera crew. Then, every Friday you pay Vick his game check in cash and send him off to Miami's red light district chauffeured by Pacman Jones. You could measure the amount of time it takes to call the cops with a stopwatch. It would be the perfect combination of Hard Knocks, Cops, Cribs and Playmakers.

Must see TV.

*may not be an actual fact.

Not That Shocking, I Guess

I another gesture to signify that the United States now has no problem with dictators, the United States and Cuban military forces held joint exercises sometime last week at the Guantanamo Naval Base.

The exercises were to practice and gauge emergency response times in the event of natural disasters. I would venture to say that because Cuba is a dank communist hell hole and Guantanamo was built by Americans, any natural disaster would devastate all of Cuba except Guantanamo. That's besides the point though.

The real issue is that, apparently, I still can't buy a premium Cuban cigar legally but Cuban helicopters can fly all around our naval bases pretending to run some stupid disaster drill while spying on our military.

Am I insane? Does anything makes sense in this government anymore? Why are we running dills with communists? Why do we still have an embargo if we are this buddy buddy with the Flying Castro Brothers? Are we closing Club Gitmo for terroroists so we can give it to communists? Who the hell knows anymore.

This revelation is just another sick reminder about how stupid the embargo is, if we really want regime change in Cuba, fine. Do it the old fashioned way with exploding cigars, aids infested prostitutes or just a good old fashioned carpet bombing or bullet to the head. Otherwise, open the boarders, open the casinos and lets turn Havana into East Tiajuana. FYI, The prostitute one may not be real, i just like to think the C.I.A. can think that far outside the box.

Our whole foreign policy initiative is a complete sham. We play footsie all day with left wing nutjobs in Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Honduras, Russia, China, North Korea but we tell our long time allies the Bits and Jews to go F themselves. Diplomatically of course.

The only question left is whether or nor Obama does this intentionally as part of some left wing master plan or if Obama, Clinton, Emmanuel, etc. are just incompetent jackasses.

I could believe either at this point.



You can find the full story Here

MOVIE PREVIEW: I Love You Phillip Morris

Here is the new trailer for Jim Carrey and Ewan MacGregor's new pic "I Love You Phillip Morris". I can only imagine the box office returns for this here in the States. It'll probably do quite well overseas however.

Prince of . . . . . . . .Wisconsin?

I saw this photo of Jake Gyllenhaal in Entertainment Weekly from his new movie Prince of Persia and was a little perplexed. Now, I don't like to get all PC about divesity in hiring and all that but I am a fan of historical accuracy. I'm no world traveller but I always thought Persia was essentially Iran. They couldn't get Jake into a mystic tan or something before shooting this thing? This is like casting Lou Diamond Phillips as Blackula. Odd.

Mile High or Just High?

News from various sources today that the Denver Broncos are less than enamored with new coach Josh McDaniels. I for one am shocked that a Bill Belichek/Charlie Weis disciple has had trouble with interpersonal issues. Shocked! Nonetheless, I will regain my composure and attempt to carry on.

It seems that the team veterans simply don't trust the new head coach. I believe that team chemistry is a vastly overrated concept in sports but distrusting the coach is a serious matter indeed. What could have brought the team to such a precarious state?

Is it the youth and inexperience of McDaniel?
Did McDaniels install cameras in the locker room?
Did he invite players wives to stay at the team hotel for road games?
New G2 Gatorade without asking?

Maybe, just maybe it has to do with McDaniels shrewd maneuvering in regards to the quarterback position.

Maybe when a coach turns a young all pro quarterback like Jay Cutler into Kyle Orton and Chris Simms, perhaps there's bound to be some doubt. I know I was shaking my head. Seriously the only reason Kyle Orton is thought of as decent is because guys like Dan Orlovski are still playing. And Simms? The guy had his spleen liquidated and hasn't thrown a ball since. They literally could have removed his spleen with the same tube they use to inject breast implants through a womans stomach. (For all you curious readers, that's called Trans-umbilical Breast Augmentation or a TUBA incision. Google at your own risk.) So the master plan is to have a backup quarterback who's body is a brittle as a fake tit. Brilliant.

Nobody should trust you McDaniels, your decision making sucks. If you combine Orton, Simms and a jockstrap you might have one decent ball carrier.

You get what you deserve my friend.

Rip A Bong Load of Truth

It's being reported that California has looked into legalizing pot in an effort to level their budget. The tax revenue from said pot sales would be expected to exceed a billion dollars annually.

While this is no doubt true given California's long history of high taxes and willing pot heads, the whole discussion is illustrative of other things.

For the time being, we'll ignore the war on drugs. anti-pot arguments and focus on how legalization is being addressed from both ends of the spectrum. This may be more liberal versus libertarian but given that libertarianism and conservatism are different roots of the same philosophical tree, we can proceed without constraint.

The entire liberal argument lately has been that legalization is necessary to help empty prisons and provide tax revenue for their ill managed state.

The libertarian/conservative argument is that it never should have been illegal and decriminalization is simply restoring an original right.

This shows the difference between the two philosophies. Liberals would attempt to give you a right you have already by birthright for the sole purpose of exploiting it and controlling it though legislation and taxation. By controlling it they can, by extension, control you too.

For libertarians and conservatives, it is simply restoring natural rights and individual liberties. No real right winger would ever dream of legalizing something just for the sake of taxing it.

Let this example simmer in your mind until the next time some politician promises you something that's already yours. Think of what your goals of freedom are and see if they jive with what said politician is selling. If the two don't square, send him packing.

It's A Pity Party, Bring Your Own Violin

I must say, liberal talk show callers must have gotten a new set of talking points this week.

Every third call seems to be some business owner calling to support socialist health care because their business, usually small, can't afford to provide health care for its employees.

Ignoring for the moment, the fact that maybe these business owners would be doing better if they weren't calling into talk shows during the work day and also ignoring the fact that all these tax hikes and penalties that will be used to fund the healthcare will wipe out small business owners and the employees they claim to care so deeply for, I have one answer for all these seminar whiners.

So what.

So what that you can't provide healthcare for all your employees?

One way you can tell that all these callers are leftists is the belief that every job should provide cradle to grave health care and enough money to raise a family of four. This is indicative of a certain detachment from reality.

No employer is obligated to do anything more for his employees than what is legally mandated plus whatever the terms of the work agreement are. Quite often, this doesn't include health care. This should only be an issue between employee/employer. If the potential worker is cool with the arrangement, then who are any of us to raise an objection?

It's bad enough that a large part of this country has decided that the primary responsibility for the providing of their general welfare belongs to somebody other than themselves, these chronic alarmists have apparently decided that any segment of the population that wishes to remain self-sufficient poses a serious threat to society. A threat to the fragile delusion of the nanny state is more like it.

This hysteria over health insurance is really just and extension of other alarmist threats such as second hand smoke, obesity, drinking, red meat, coffee, global warming and violent movies. It's hard to fathom how these people find the time to try and dictate the terms of our lives while simultaneously running their own lives. Multitasking indeed.

All of these things can be broken down to one fact; people in this country are getting weak in both mind and body. A little hard work, hard living and a good swift kick in the ass might be just the remedy. It might just be hard to find.

Not Just A Lucky Guess Friends

As this administration, with help from Congress, continues to speed down the path to big government mediocrity I find myself concerned about losing the big focus while trying to counter every insane thing the government does?

Stimulus II doesn't work? Let's do stimulus III!
The stimulus is working perfectly.
We underestimated the condition of the economy.
We wouldn't do anything different.
She didn't mean what she said she meant what she meant.
The CIA lies! Oh wait, they didn't? ......uh,.... all Americans need free health care!

And on and on and on . . . . until everything loses all meaning.

It can all be simplified very easily. I hate this government because I love Federalism.

Federalism is our system of separation of powers. The Federal government responsible for some things, the State responsible for everything else and an independent judiciary to uphold the Constitutional rule of law.

All of that is in the process of being destroyed. The role and Independence of the State is being depleted rapidly. This is partially due to weak state governments who would rather pass problems off to the Fed rather than deal with them but it also because the Fed is highjacking State roles by having agencies (like the EPA) manadate Federal standards for everything and by attaching so many strings to bailout money that the State is simply a marionette at the control of Congress and the White House.

The judiciary is an even bigger joke. A judge who is at best an activist and at worst a racist is going to be on the Supreme Court barring some miracle. Justices all over the country are admitting to deciding cases based on their own feelings of fairness or justice and finding laws to fit the ruling, even if they have to use laws from other countries. Law should be the easiest of all branches to control, it's words on paper, easily understandable, yet even that is in doubt as judges redefine words to fit their personal preferences. Judges who simply apply the law as its written are considered draconian or ultra right wingers but pointing out that all these activist judges are left wing radicals? Oh no! Conspiracy theorist!!! Please.

So now we have the most liberal Administration and Congress ever working hand-in-socialist hand working their hardest to consolidate power by taking it from the States and the People, we have States that are in cahoots or are too weak and stupid to resist. Whatever power the Fed can't get through these methods, the courts give them through judicial fiat.

This centralization of power is exactly why the founders of this country set up a federalism, to keep any one group of people from consolidating too much power. this was to protect us from the kind of passive tyranny we are experiencing now. Luckily, they haven't taken away elections yet, we can save our federalism in 2010 & 2012.

After that, who knows.

Really? Yeah!

Some things are just to good to be true.

Allen Iverson to the Clippers.

Ahhh, just to let that sink in feels great. It's not a done deal yet but oh sweet Jesus it would be sweet. It's almost like the Clips are trying to find new ways to wreck the franchise. Why in the world would the Clippers want a player like Iverson?

Lets see, they've got a good young guard in Eric Gordon, who needs time and the ball to develop...... so let's pair him with the black hole. Not a good idea.

Youngster Blake needs a practice role model.......nope.

Baron Davis is such a motivator and leader of men that he'll get the best out of AI? The Clips will be lucky if both of them show up in uniform.

Chris Kamen needs somebody to get high with? ........ Maybe, but he better be ready to hold the stash when they get pulled over.

The only possible reason for Sterling to sign AI is that he knows that the inevitable Dunleavy-Iverson explosion will make for some high theatre. All the Clippers hate the coach anyway and your just wasting your money anyway believing he can coach so why not try and see how tense and dysfunctional you can make a team. Say what you want about the JailBlazers, people were talking about them all year. That should be good enough for Donald Sterling to cash a few more checks and for season ticket holding Bill Simmons to write at least five 10,000 word columns.

This all assumes that the Clippers having a plan for something which is dubious but even unintentional drama is compelling enough for me.

It's Faaaaannnnnnnntastic!

Twice As Nice In Colorado

Sometimes the sun shines a little brighter, the air is a little cleaner and life is generally more pleasant.

And sometimes liberals do something so stupid that we conservatives/Republicans can exploit it for two different reasons. Such an occurrence comes courtesy of my own beloved Colorado and our hapless, unpopular Governor.

According to the Denver Post (I read about it on RedState), Gov. Bill Ritter (D) awarded a nice state contract to his former employer. A former employer who happens to have members who still contribute heavily to the Governor. If that kind of obvious favoritism wasn't bad enough, it seems Ritter is paying his former employer six times(!) what the Colorado Attorney General said they could do it for.

In this time of serious economic decline, how is it justifiable that the Governor could even try to pull this kind of thing? Well, Colorado AG John Suthers is an elected Republican so maybe Ritter just didn't want him working on a high profile assignment, one that might raise Suthers star just a bit.

And what, praytell, is so important that Ritter decided he needed high priced counsel to hash out? Oh that's right, it was how to handle federal bailout money. Of course you wouldn't a Republican involved with that.

Now we get to the second delicious irony. How exactly did Governor Ritter pay for these high-priced experts(cronies)?

He used the payment of Colorado federal bailout money.

Yes, the money that was supposed to put people to work, fixing roads, bridges, digging ditches or whatever the hell these leftists think this money is for. Nope, Ritter felt the first priority should be to unscrupulously give a big fat contract to his former employers/current cronies. All you people with shovel ready jobs can shove it and wait for the next round of money, assuming Ritter doesn't have any other friends who need a taste.

This event makes two things very clear. First, Ritter is a bad Governor and this new era of liberal transparency and compassion in government is a joke. Second, it shows that the whole stimulus is a joke. You think Ritter is the first politician who decided to play politics with that money? No way. He couldn't even wait until the stimulus money was flowing freely, he gave the handouts rights away. Pathetic.

Here's a good list of potential GOP opponents for Ritter in 2010 by 5280.com

http://www.5280.com/blog/?p=7977

Voluntary Quagmire

Recently it has been in the news that American forces are turning over areas of Iraq to Iraqi military forces. Despite a predictable rise in insurgent (fanatical Muslin terrorist) attacks, the transition has gone smoothly.

While this is news now because the handover is becoming official, in reality American forces have been pulling back from some time now, allowing Iraqi forces to take the lead on and responsibility for securing cities.

Yet since the pull back began violence had started to flare up again, this time in Afghanistan. The Afghan war has been on the back burner for at least a couple of years but it seems Taliban/Al-Qaeda forces have decided that they have been regrouping long enough and have started the offensives again.

The real question is why NATO forces, especially with American forces from Iraq available, aren't kicking the hell out of these terrorists as we speak.

I know President Obama isn't exactly a warrior but the Afghan war was the one everyone agreed on in the beginning, so what's up?

I realize that chasing Ahmed through Waziristan isn't like invading a city but it seems that we know about where they are, after all, they have to be fairly close to kill U.S. soldiers.

Also, our forces obliterated that country with relative ease deposing the Taliban, even our limited forces should be kicking some serious ass.

I can't believe the problem is the military. Destroying things and killing people is what they do best. So the problem must be political and that problem lives in the White House.

After all that bitching from liberals about how W. forgot Afghanistan they are willfully doing the same thing. Why? Easy. Liberals in the American government have decided to burn all their political capital and our country's money on their social restructuring programs. If they committed to an Iraqi-esque surge or some special offensive, they would have to justify that to the American people. The administration has already burned every bridge with Republicans, even the moderate, sissy ones who became star-struck with Obama during the campaign. If they commit the money to really fight the war in Afghanistan, all the radical, anti-war leftists will be howling for their heads as well. Essentially, Obama decided turning our country into a European Socialism was a more pressing need than giving our troops the tools they need to fight the war and fulfill our promise to the Afghan people.

The second reason is Obama's warped foreign policy views. I'm sure he thinks his hands are tied given that many of the terrorists are in Pakistan now, specifically the border/Waziristan area. Following his pattern of letting unstable countries full of fanatics do as they please, he'll just wait until the Pakistan situation plays itself out then do something, maybe.

There are a few problems with that. First, Pakistanis lie to the U.S. all the time. They have no interest in clearing Waziristan. They can barely control the "civil" parts of the country. Besides, some Pakistani leaders like having those nut jobs around. They can be useful in the right circumstances. Secondly, they can't clear Waziristan if they want to. They have no control over that area. In reality, that part of the world is just a void. Not existing in a country, not sovereign, no recognized government. Just a black spot full of militants, plotting and planning their next violent action.

President Obama shouldn't give it any legitimacy by treating it as a territory issue with Pakistan. What he should do is break out the A-10's, B-52's and B-2's and give that a whole area an old-fashioned Dresden style bombing. Might as well see if you can bomb somebody back further than the stone age.

Putting this conflict on the back burner during the Iraq war is one thing but it's embarrassing that the Taliban has been able to regroup. The only reason Afghanistan is a third world country is because he we haven't defined a fourth yet. We should be mopping them up by now.

It's time to get it in gear, bloody some noses and let our troops put this thing to bed.


(Baitullah Mehsud, head Waziristan tribal terrorist. Planned assassination of Benazir Bhutto.)

Easy There, Big Guy

ESPN's Chad Ford came up with a list of NBA teams that had iproves themselves this offseason. At number six, Ford had the Magic, basically arguing that Vince Carter+Ryan Anderson would end up being better than Hedo+Courtney Lee. The one caveat Ford allowed was that Orlando would be hurting a little bit if they lost Gortat to the Mavs but Orlando still has a chance to match.

The Sports Guy Bill Simmons took a little bit of umbrage with that, declaring that the only two teams to get better this offseason were the Spurs and Clippers. Not only that, he had Orlando on his list of "definitely got worse."

Easy tiger, lets forget that Orlando knocked off your beloved Celtics (and they responded with Sheed) and look at some facts.

First of all, the Spurs absolutely got better but the Clippers? C'mon. The Clippers get worse everyday because they're the Clippers. Saying they get any better because they got Blake and traded Zack is like saying a forest fire is getting better because it's burning down ugly houses.

Second, no way is Orlando worse. Maybe break even but not worse. Vince for Hedo may be statistically a wash but one of Orlando's biggest problems was that nobody could attack the rim. Vince does that and shoots 3's, albeit not as well as The Turk. People remember Turk's big shots during the playoffs but he also choked away some big free throws in crunch time and really only has one move that should be easy to defend. I don't know much about Anderson but I know Lee bricked away a chance to beat the Lakers at the end of the game and went cold in the clutch. How much worse could Anderson be?

Worst case scenario, they get an erratic scorer and an unknown guard. Exactly what they had. Best case, they get the "I Need One More Big Contract Vince" and a serviceable guard. No harm done.

Now, I love the Sports Guy as much as anybody else but in this case maybe we should throttle back on the Twitter.

Speaking of Twitter, you can find the Sports Guy and his legions of followers at www.twitter.com/sportsguy33 and you can find me and my follower at www.twitter.com/paddymcgarry.

And yes, by follower I mean that one young lady trying to sell me cable.

The Cigar Review Page

Arganese Nicaraguan Full Robusto (5 x 50) - 72/100 - Smooth taste, even burn, average ash, burns hot. Medium-Full.
Arganese Connecticut Medium Petit Corona (5 x 42) - 69/100 - Burns hot and is a little bitter but pretty decent for a quick smoke. Medium.

Montecristo Original - Robusto (5 x 50) - 90/100 - Awesome in every way. A little flakey but who cares? Medium.

2010 United States Senate - NH

This is a good sign for Republicans. The GOP has had some success getting good candidates to run for House seats but this is a strong candidate to try and hold a Republican seat in the Senate. It's unlikely that Ayotte would give up a top spot as Attorney General if she wasn't confident she could raise enough money to win. ~ptm~

Story from the AP:
July 7, 2009
NH AG Kelly Ayotte resigns to explore Senate race

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - New Hampshire Attorney General Kelly Ayotte is resigning to explore a campaign for U.S. Senate.

Ayotte submitted her letter of resignation to Gov. John Lynch, effective Friday, July 17.

In a statement Tuesday, Ayotte says many people have urged her to run. She said she made her decision after discussing the matter with her husband, Joe.

Ayotte, a Republican and the state's first female attorney general, has served for five years under two governors.

Ayotte joined the state Department of Justice in 1998. She was appointed head of the criminal bureau in 2000 and earned renown in that post for negotiating guilty pleas with a pair of teens accused of murdering two Dartmouth College professors.

Last year she oversaw the prosecution of Michael Addison on charges of killing Manchester Police Officer Michael Briggs.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Link to Story

2010 United States Senate - FL

Given that it is another slow sports day, we'll keep looking into the 2010 elections by examining the Republican primary in Florida.

This primary is a good example of whether or not the party can look ahead to the future or will continue to be stuck in the past.

The two candidates are Governor Charlie Crist and State Representative Marco Rubio.

Crist is the typical McCain-esque Republican. Always interested in compromise, not especially principled when it comes to conservatism. He belongs in the Lindsey Graham, McCain, Tom Ridge, Colin Powell, RINO wing of the party. The Cuban-American Rubio, on the other hand was a consistent conservative during his time as Florida House Speaker, championing free market principles and low taxes to encourage expansion.

The Republican party desperately needs some new faces and people who are actually committed to conservative ideals. Rubio could fill both roles, educating the public about conservatism as he has done his whole career while simultaneously showing that the party isn't just for old white guys like Crist.

Also, Crist supported the Obama stimulus abomination, in case you needed any other reason to look somewhere else.

Rubio unfortunately lacks the party support and name recognition that Crist has, so it's a long shot but not impossible. Give him a look.

marcorubio.com

100 Innovative Ideas for Florida's Future

2010 United States Senate - AK

Since Alaska governor Sarah Palin announced her resignation, the media has been actively engaged in its usual cycle of cynical judgmentalism and insane speculation.

Most of the cynical judgments being cast about are that Palin ins somehow weak and stupid for quitting her job now. The inference being that she couldn't handle the pressure and collapsed and destroyed her political career.

The speculation runs a wide range of topics from her starting her 2012 campaign now to her being completely out of politics. As usual these speculations are based on nearly nothing. The one thing that should be easy to ascertain is that she isn't retiring. Her statement clearly states a political future of some kind. Andrea Mitchell may just have to go back and do some fact checking before breaking another story.

While her future may lie in a presidential run or some sort of fundraising/PAC capacity, I hope that she splits the difference and turns her eye to the United States Senate.

A Presidential run may be too difficult at this point to be considered viable. The media has an unreasonable hatred for her as do all Democrats and many elitest Republicans. That can be difficult to overcome. In Alaska though, shes still popular and should be able to generate some favorable press, locally if not nationally.

The timing of her resignation fits as well. Lisa Murkowski is up for reelection in 2010 and if Palin wanted to challenge her, now is the time to start.

Murkowski is the type of Senator that Palin would love to take out from an ideological standpoint as well. Murkowski isn't quite as far to the left as Snowe, Collins and the late Spector but she is close. This would be a good opportunity to clean up a little dead wood from the party while it's in a downward trend. Palin is used to this fight, she eliminated Murkowski's father in the race for governor.

While not the Presidency, a spot in the Senate still carries quite a bit of power with it. You have immediate access to the media, lobbyists, etc. No more draining flights from Alaska. In addition, Palin would be far more famous and influential than a typical newcomer given her name recognition and the weakness of the current Republican crop. She would be short on seniority but tall on influence.

Congressional experience would also put her in a prime spot for future Presidential elections or on the short list for high level Presidential appointments (State, Defense, etc.). This whole saga could turn out to be a win-win for everyone.

Oops, I mean everyone but Lisa Murkowski.

2010 United States Senate - CO

Newest campaign video for Ryan Frazier, a Colorado Republican hoping to unseat Michael Bennett.



www.frazierforcolorado.com

July 4th Miracle

Today, we celebrate our Independence with beer, steak and fireworks.

But this year, I'll be celebrating something special in addition to freedom.

Chien-Ming Wang's ERA dropped into single digits for the year.

Wang started this morning against Toronto and gave up 4 in 5.1 innings which, while not exactly a great performance, dropped his ERA to 9.86.

Much like the would be Americans punking the Brits all those years ago, Wang's milestone proves that underdgogs do win and miracles can happen in land of the free and home of the brave.

God bless this great land!

The Fuse Is Lit

Two of the NBA's most history laden teams are now engaging in some dubious behavior.

The Los Angeles Lakers have decided to sign The Motor City Madman Ron Artest (sorry Ted) and the Boston Celtics are actively pursuing career cancer Rasheed Wallace.

It's hard to believe these teams in particular would take a chance on these two wackjobs.

The Laker just won a title by surrounding Kobe with easy going, no ego types who constantly defer to him. Even Pau Gasol deffered to Kobe and he was the key to the whole run. If the Lakers needed any peices it was another outside shooter, not a defense minded, offensively challenged three. Especially now that they've lost Trevor Ariza. Now we all know Artest likes to go after Kobe, which should make Kobe happy dealing with that every day in practice, but Artest is mostly a moody, high energy type of guy. He is going to destroy everything about the laid-back Lamar Odom. C'mon, Odom said he never wanted to live anywhere but the beach. We all know that means "I smoke tons of herb." I don't think he can handle Hurricane Artest, who is due for a massive eruption. If he doesn't point it at Odom (no way it's Kobe or Gasol) I'd start keeping an eye on super-soft, lazy center Andrew Bynum or Sasha Vujacic.

The Celtics are just as baffling. They also recently won a championship with players like James Posey, Glen Davis, Leon Powe and Brian Scalabrine supporting the big three. Posey is gone and, once again, Ariza would have been a perfect addition but they are going after Sheed, who hasn't helped anybody in a really long time and is prone to bouts of quitting when not being used properly. How long until Doc Rivers screws up the rotation and pisses everybody off? Over/Under at 15.5 games. In addition, do you really want Sheed influencing Rajon Rondo? Rondo is already so hard to live with that they were trying to trade him after his triple-double playoffs. Now you want Sheed whispering sweet nothings in his ear? Crazy. Latly, how long exactly until hyper competitive Kevin Garnnett gets into it with freuently tanking Sheed. That pairing could just go nuclear.

It never ceases to amaze how teams sign names and talent without realizing that they can't chnage either one of these guys.

The one positive from a fans perspective is the possibility of Man-Ram and Artest being in the same city. I hope these two hook, become soulmates and hit the clubs every night. You think Plax shooting himself was the height of late night athlete comedy? These two could re-write the record books.

A Near Intelligent Moment

Arizona is quickly rising on my list of places I need to live at some point.

The State is on the cusp of passing legislation that will allow people with concealed weapons permits to carry firearms into establishments that serve alcohol.

You heard right friend, guns and booze, side-by-side as God intended. Dive bars? No longer scary. Sports bars? Let's see that arrogant Red Sox fab run his yap so freely now. Strip clubs? . . . . . hmmm. Well, no legislation is perfect.

This seems too good to be true! Has Arizona really become the last bastion of individual liberty in the country? Before I excite myself to the point of twin tubs on a cliff, let's give the situation a quick once over:

In Arizona, you can still go to a bar and -

1. Drink poison. Delicious poison.
2. Listen to loud aggressive music.
3. Try and have sex with strangers.
4. Chaw.
5. Eat the worst food on Earth. Seriously, Ethiopians wouldn't eat that crap.
6. Bring your cannon in case things get ugly or you're trying to impress somebody (see item 3.).

Awesome!! Hmmm, somethings missing . . . . . . The list feels incomplete.

Oh, that's right. YOU STILL CAN'T SMOKE in a bar in Arizona.

Heart disease, deafness, syphilis, alcoholism, lip cancer and getting shot are all acceptable risks to the good people of Arizona but apparently firing up a heater within 20 feet of the door and some little prick might faint while his old lady gets in your face about "killing" her with second hand smoke. I suggest you hold your stogie in one hand and your gun in the other and see what scares her most.

Oh, we were so close to a reasonable State. I thought that surely a State that allows people to engage in behavior that can actually hurt themselves and others must certainly have gotten past pseudo-science, liberal myths that can't hurt anybody, right?

Alas, second hand smoke has reared its ugly head yet again to scare the ignorant and/or weak into ruining a nearly free slice of life.

Maybe one day people will realize that all smoking does is potentially kill the smoker quicker. Maybe one day people will realize that that's none of their damn business. Hopefully it'll happen soon.

Until then, I commend thee Arizona, despite your hypocritical stance on smoke, you've still managed to fight back against the tyranny of those people who can't mind their own business. You've reversed a national tide of group think and collective mediocrity in favor of individualism.

As I watch things explode all over the place this 4th of July, I will think of Arizona and smile, content with the knowledge that there are still places in this country that get what the holiday is all about.

Almost, anyway.