Month: August 2005

Posted on Baseball

an actual sports post

can it be possible that the mets are still playoff-chasing, even though they are dead last in the nl east??? i can’t believe it either.

from the “this doesn’t happen very often” department — the mets are actually playing better than the yankees. wouldn’t it be awesome if the yankees missed the playoffs entirely? YES.

speaking of the evil empire (and i was), isn’t it obvious that the yankees are a prime example of capitalism run amok? even the free market can’t prevent age and injuries, george. heh.

take heart, devil rays fans. yes, it sucks to be you. but at least you’re not royals fans and you have former met prospect scott kasmir. thanks for zambrano, by the way. please take him back.

anyone else ignoring the NFL preseason? proof that pre-season means nothing? cleveland browns 2 and 0.

so the president doesn’t believe he was wrong about iraq? (i agree) will he admit to being wrong about MLB’s wild-card?

i see playoff chokes from the white sox, cardinals, and braves. i would see one from the yankees, except they will choke before the playoffs. the playoffs are wide-open in my view. everybody in has a shot…and one fatal flaw.

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Posted on Random Musings

freedom vs. intelligence

freedom, even in america, doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want. there has to be some rules. the speed limit. laws about not killing people and/or taking their stuff. laws keeping the government from taking your property without just cause (and no, building a new condo or strip mall doesn’t count as a just cause). laws that make it wrong for you to be under the influence of any intoxicant when driving. these are sensible rules. there’s nothing intrusive about keeping people from following their innate self-destructive behavior.

smoking cigarettes and cigars is harmful and totally legal. crystal meth, marijuana, crank, etc, are also dangerous and damaging, but not legal. addiction to tobacco affects you differently than crystal meth. as far as i’m aware, crystal meth and the other illegal drugs affect you mentally, which ends up being more dangerous than the slow death caused by tobacco use.

peter jennings was admired for the way he handled his cancer. the death of peter jennings deeply affected a few media types, including msnbc’s keith olbermann, to plead with viewers to quit smoking. it’s a worthy goal, and those who smoke should stop as soon as possible.

there was another death recently –that of hunter s. thompson. i never knew the man, but i’ve read the glowing reviews of his life and career. it’s tragic that a man who was so talented and creative would kill himself. the gun directly killed him. his lifestyle shortened his life considerably. i find it amazing that anyone can glorify this kind of lifestyle, when we see how that life turns out in the end. there are many calling for us to quit smoking. i’m still waiting for the anti-drug speech from thompson’s admirers and colleagues.

is it possible that we don’t take drug use as seriously as smoking in this culture? i think so. i also think that this view is a mistake. drug users are parodied in comedy sketches and made fun of for the stupid things they do because of the drugs. maybe we would rather laugh at them than seriously consider what we can do to keep them from destroying themselves. it’s in everyone’s best interest to help drug users break the cycle.

in my view, there is no good reason to take drugs. none. there is also no good reason to remove restrictions from people who want to destroy themselves. so, libertarians, defend yourselves on this one. good luck with that defense.

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Posted on Random Musings

stories that will never be on the front page in your newspaper

here are some of my favorite stories of the last few days. hard news has been officially banned from this blog post. read at your own risk.

China gives ‘web addicts’ shock treatment
the first internet addiction hospital –wave of the future?

Stone the cows? Russia uses pot as animal feed
you just can’t make this stuff up.

DB offers free beer to celebrate birthday
which doesn’t sound too bad until you find out what kinds of beer that includes

Man robbed on sidewalk – of $2 and McDonald’s breakfast
truly pathetic soul. but what we really want to know is –what was the guy having for breakfast?

World’s Worst Driver?
collecting 20 tickets after being freed from jail…words can’t describe the stupidity involved here.

What else would you do with 15 million ice cream sticks?
having too much free time is dangerous. here’s exhibit a.

Police seek diaper-clad man who pesters women
only in london, kids. only in london.

read and enjoy.

Posted on '08 Election, Random Musings

random thoughts on current events

here’s an unlikely pair teaming up in iowa — gov. vilsack of iowa and newt gingrich . gee…what’s newt doing in iowa? is he all of a sudden a fan of state fairs? 🙂

shocking news from the world of entertainment — deuce bigalow sequel fails to impress critics. here’s roger ebert’s scathing review . if you really value roger ebert’s view of all movies, read all the reviews here .

just wondering — when will america get over its fascination with bad movies and bad actors? i admit the application of the term is subjective. but we know them when we see them. speaking of bad actors…who missed pauly shore? anybody? even though he had a brief shining moment in encino man, his previous and future work should be fondly forgotten.

msnbc’s attractive and witty bow-tied pundit (otherwise known as tucker carlson) is taking some vicious licks from greenpeace , internet pollsters , and news wonks. rather unfair, if you ask me. i am, of course, totally objective and unbiased.

our favorite anti-war protester cindy sheehan plays hardball with chris matthews . draw your own conclusions.

do the republicans actually have any strong candidates to put up against the alleged democratic front-runner from new york? more on that later.

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Posted on Random Musings

AIDS in China

we all have our prejudices about AIDS– and the reason why it has started to spread across the world. in some corners of the world, specifically China, there are other contributing factors to this. in the current issue of the economist, the article “anatomy of an epidemic” brings some interesting new information to the debate. Read it here. for those who don’t want conservative or liberal filtering to world news…i highly recommend the economist. it’s worth the price.

i will refrain from commenting on the article here because it speaks for itself.

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Posted on Random Musings

80’s flashback

is anyone else cheered by the sight of toys we remember from our youth being popular again? i’m not that old…but seeing rubik’s cubes (take the stickers off..it’s easier), cabbage patch kids, and care bears brings back good memories. having said that, life before broadband internet, tricked-out computers and game systems and satellite tv/ radio couldn’t possibly have been as good. it probably wasn’t. but there was something very cool about the primitive computers and game systems. in case we plead intentional amnesia about the decade that was the 80’s…here’s a quick list of “totally rad” and simply awful trends that happened during those years.

Rad(not in any particular order)

  • pretty in pink (classic molly ringwald)
  • the princess bride (many quotable lines)
  • the atari 2600
  • the rubik’s cube
  • tasteful mesh
  • Ronald Reagan
  • the decline of communism
  • the cosby show
  • michael j. fox
  • fishnets

Awful

  • the mohawk (bad idea in any decade)
  • leg warmers and headbands
  • michael jackson’s one glove
  • the overuse of spandex
  • mullets

if you want to relive the decade, try some of these fun links.

http://www.80s.com/

You might be a child of the 80’s if…

http://www.fast-rewind.com/

http://www.80stees.com/

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Posted on Conservatives, Democrats, Liberals, Republicans

wanted: republican rock stars?

the republicans have an image problem. they are perceived as intolerant and shockingly enough, even uncool. we are trying to achieve coolness by hanging around the popular kids (loosely applied term) Giuliani and Governor Arnold. as we all know from our high school days, this hardly ever works. this is almost as ridiculous (but not quite) as Snoop Dogg and Iacocca playing golf together in that Chrysler commercial. should we as republicans reach out to everybody? to a certain extent, yes. but when a party ends up losing their core values by following the crowd, its soul is lost.

i think that republicans (with very few exceptions) care too much about public opinion to stand up for what they believe, especially those running for office. at least the democrats with their wild-eyed maniacal screamer-in-chief howard dean, say what they think and don’t apologize for it. if something is worth fighting for, fight for it. why are we as republicans ashamed of who we are and what we believe? our values are shared by quite a few people in this country. who cares if the Hollywood left or the mainstream media agree with us? why should Barbra Streisand be taken seriously on politics when she knows next to nothing about it? (more on this in a future post)

so to the republican leadership, i suggest this: quit trying to be cool. this isn’t high school. it’s a battle for the hearts and minds of the american electorate. we will win not because of our friendship with rock stars or Hollywood glitterati but because we have ideas that work for the people of this country. we might not end up at the prom with a cheerleader or a football player, but we will still be better off in the long run.

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Posted on Conservatives, Democracy

p.j. o’rourke’s take on the role of government

this linked article is long but it’s a message rarely heard by today’s politicians, whether liberal or conservative. i’ll post a couple quotes from it here, but the whole thing is totally worth reading. here’s the first of two —

“By observing the progress of mankind, we can see that the things that are good for everyone are the things that have increased the accountability of the individual, the respect for the individual and the power of the individual to master his own fate. Judaism gave us laws before which all men, no matter their rank, stood as equals. Christianity taught us that each person has intrinsic worth, Newt Gingrich and Pat Schroeder included. The rise of private enterprise and trade provided a means of achieving wealth and autonomy other than by killing people with broadswords. And the industrial revolution allowed millions of ordinary folks an opportunity to obtain decent houses, food and clothes (albeit with some unfortunate side effects, such as environmental da mage and Albert Gore).”

in America, you succeed or fail by your own hand. if we all came to grips with that concept, we wouldn’t require the government to take care of us. and by the way, it is OUR money that the government takes to finance all these bloated, ineffective social programs. if we truly realized this, we would junk this idealistic bent for the government to provide everything for everybody.

More P.J. —

“Government is an abstract entity. It doesn’t produce anything. It isn’t a business, a factory or a farm. Government can’t create wealth; only individuals can. All government is able to do is move wealth around. In the name of fairness government can take wealth from those who produce it and give wealth to those who don’t. But who’s going to be the big Robin Hood? Who grabs all this stuff and hands it back out? (Remember: even in a freely elected system of government, sooner or later that person is going to be someone you loathe. If you’re a Republican, think about Donna Shalala; if you’re a Democrat, think about Ollie North.)”

capitalism is not a zero-sum game. in the free market, everybody benefits. everybody gets a slice of the pie. the producers of the wealth always end up with more than those who sit on their couch and play xbox all day. the government cannot fix this. that’s just the way it is…and exactly how it should be.

read this brilliant explanation of conservatism for yourself.

Posted on Baseball

memo to T.O. and Gary Sheffield–shut up and play ball!

i am not a philadelphia eagles fan. if i were one, i would be sick of the constant whining of terrell owens. he is one of the many examples in sports today of talented athletes who think they are special enough to treat other people like dirt or to flame them in the media. it’s a joke. all of us want to make more money in our jobs. that’s understandable, except that the ink is barely dry on t.o.’s current contract. is he underpaid in his current deal? maybe. but he has only himself and his agent to blame for signing it in the first place. the eagles are exactly right in this case to take a hard line on owens and his idiocy.

as far as gary sheffield and his comments about the yankees are concerned, what the heck did he expect in new york? a team with a-rod and the overrated derek jeter will never give gary sheffield top billing, sorry. grow up, sheff. get with the long-forgotten team concept. they need you to help them stay in the playoff hunt and you’re not helping the cause.

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Posted on Liberals

air america’s bumper sticker contest and the naral ad against john roberts

i support air america’s right to exist. the marketplace of ideas should be open to every point of view, whether you agree with it or not. but air america has the inconvenient problem of promoting generally unpopular ideas on their radio network. this doesn’t help ad sales or ratings very much. if you don’t have either of these, like hannity and rush do, it’s hard to make a profit in radio. if a liberal radio network can be financially self-supporting like the conservatives mentioned above, we should welcome them to the debate. now serious questions have been raised about air america’s finances and these should be investigated just like any other company would be.

for those of us who disagree ideologically with air america, here’s a blog with some rather interesting proposals for air america’s bumper sticker contest.

Here’s my favorite.

ok. that’s rather cruel. i’m sure they are more popular than that tagline would suggest. i admit to listening to the rachel maddow show via podcast. but they need more listeners than they have, obviously.

on to another topic of the day somewhat related to my previous point about air america. should we, as conservatives, apply pressure to the networks not to show the naral ad against supreme court nominee john roberts? it accuses judge roberts of supporting abortion clinic bombers and excusing their behavior. it is totally inaccurate, based on his comments regarding that case. it is a dishonest ad. it reeks of poor taste and desperation by naral and other bush opponents.

even keeping that in mind, i still say let the people decide. let them see the ad. conservatives can put up their ads, liberals can put up theirs, and we’ll have the brawl everybody expected. the american people are smart enough to see through the lies once they have all the facts. you don’t legitimately win an argument by gagging the opposition, no matter who it is. until we have a “good taste” clause in network ad contracts, there’s no legitimate way to block this ad.

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