Passover is Coming

A group of leading medical researchers have published data indicating that Seder participants should NOT partake of both chopped liver and charoses. It seems that this combination can lead to Charoses of the Liver.

At our seder, we had whole wheat and bran matzoh, fortified with Metamucil. The brand name, of course, is..."Let My People Go.

"Old Jewish men in Miami get hernias from wearing chai's which aretoo heavy. This condition is called chaiatal hernia!

If a doctor carries a black bag and a plumber carries a tool box,what does a mohel carry? A bris kit!

JEWISH JEOPARDY We give the answer, you give the question
A: Midrash
Q: What is a Middle East skin disease?

A: The Gaza Strip
Q: What is an Egyptian Belly Dance?

A: A classroom, a Passover ceremony, and a latke
Q: What are a cheder, a seder, and a tater?

A: Sofer
Q: On what do Jews recline on Passover?

A: Babylon
Q: What does the rabbi do during some sermons?

A: Filet Minyan
Q: What do you call steaks ordered by 10 Jews?

A: Kishka, sukkah, and circumcision
Q: What are a gut, a hut, and a cut?

And speaking of circumcisions: An enterprising Rabbi is offering circumcisions via the Internet. The service is to be called..."E-MOIL

His and Her Perfect Day

The Perfect Day - Her
8:45 Wake up to hugs and kisses
9:00 5 lbs lighter on the scale
9:30 Light Breakfast
11:00 Sunbathe
12:30 Lunch with best friend at outdoor café
1:45 Shopping
2:30 Run into boyfriend's/husband's ex and notice she's gained 30 lbs
3:00 Facial, massage, nap
7:30 Candlelight dinner for two and dancing
10:00 Make love
11:30 Pillow talk in his big strong arms

The Perfect Day - Him
6:45 Alarm.
7:00 Shower and massage.
7:30 Blowjob.
7:45 Massive dump while reading USA Today sports section.
8:15 Limo arrives, Stoli Bloody Marys.
8:30 Butler Aviation, O'Hare Field, Lear Jet to Augusta, Georgia.
9:30 Front nine holes, Augusta National Golf Club.
11:30 Lunch - 2 dozen oysters, 3 Heinekens.
12:30 Blowjob.
12:45 Back nine holes, Augusta National Golf Club.
2:30 Limo to Augusta Airport, Bombay Sapphire Martini.
3:30 Nassau, Bahamas, Afternoon fishing with all female crew (topless). Sex for each fish caught. Catch 1249 lb. Blue Marlin. Grilled tuna and steamed lobster appetizers, six Heinekens, nap.
6:15 Blowjob.
6:30 Lear Jet return flight, total body massage in transit.
7:30 Shit, shower, shave.
8:00 Watch ESPN
9:00 Dinner at Ritz Carlton, Oysters Casino, 20 oz. Filet mignons (rare), Gorgonzola salad, Fettucini Alfredo, Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1963 (magnum) creme brute, Louis XII Cognac, Cohiba Lancero.
10:30 Sex with 3 women, all from different countries.
11:30 Whirlpool, steam and massage. Women quietly get dressed, hail cab and leave.
Midnight Blowjob Sleep

My Fantasy Baseball Team

I had my fantasy baseball draft last night, and here is my team:

C - Victor Martinez/Ronny Paulino
1b - Todd Helton/Ryan Garko
2b - Brandon Phillips
3b - Ryan Zimmerman
ss - Jhonny Peralta/Bobby Crosby
OF- Nick Swisher
OF - Pat Burrell
OF - Kevin Youkilis
U - David Ortiz

SP - Roy Halladay, John Lackey, Ervin Santana, Oliver Perez, Zach Duke, Randy Wolf
RP - BJ Ryan, Francisco Cordero, Jason Isringhause, Taylor Tankersly
2008 - Phil Hughes, Francisco Liriano

Looks like too many Starting Pitchers, and not enough OF. I think I will be looking to trade for some more OF depth. I also have 6 players that qualify at 1b (Martinez, Ortiz, Helton, Garko, Swisher, and Youkilis)

Pan Mass Challenge: Team T-Made

A very good friend of mine from college (some might even say she is my ex-girlfriend) has recently been diagnosesd with cancer. Some of her friends up in Massachusettes have decided to ride in the Pan Mass Challenge (www.pmc.org) in an effort to support her struggles and raise money to help find a cure.

Here is the email from Mike:

For those of you that don't know about the PMC it is a bike-a-thon and fund raiser for Dana-Farber/ Jimmy Fund. Last year over 27 million dollars was raised, and 99 cents of every dollar goes directly to the Jimmy Fund. This year the are expecting close to 5,000 riders. The main route starts in Sturbridge August 4th and ends 192 miles away in Provincetown the next day.

Cheri and I signed up to late so we are only going to be riding a one day 50 mile route.

Cheri and I are riding under the team acronym T-MADE (PRONOUNCED TEAM AID).

We are riding for Tracy, and in
Memory of my uncle
Artie, and Cheri's uncle
Dave and
Everyone else whose life has been or will be affected by this illness.

If everyone could just donate $20 dollars T-MADE would be well on its way to their goal. It would be great if you could donate $1 dollar a mile but any amount will be appreciated.

If you care to donate you can click on the link below:

http://www.pmc.org/mypmc/profiles.asp?eGiftID=TT0100

Click on the upper lift or lower right of the page, where it says make an e-gift and follow the directions and enter your credit card info.

Or you could send me cash or a check made out to PMC-Jimmy Fund.

all donations are tax deductible.

Thanks for your time and I am sorry if I'm babbling, I've never done this before.

If you prefer to mail a check, instead of donating online, then please let me know in the comments section and we can find a way to get you an address to mail the check.

Site Matches Voters With Candidates Based On Issues

Here is a site , that matches your issue preferences to a presidential candidate. Not sure how accurate the results are, but here are my results based upon my gut reaction to the questions, without putting much thought into the answers.

Take the quiz and let me know your answers

Percent Rank Candidate

(100%) 1: Ex-VP Al Gore (D) Information

(98%) 2: Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D) Information

(97%) 3: Sen. Barack Obama (D) Information

(93%) 4: Gov. Bill Richardson (D) Information

(91%) 5: Sen. Hillary Clinton (D) Information

(89%) 6: Sen. Joseph Biden (D) Information

(87%) 7: Gov. George Pataki (R) Information

(82%) 8: Gov. Mitt Romney (R) Information

(80%) 9: Gov. Tom Vilsack (D) Withdrew from race.

(79%) 10: Retired Gen. Wesley Clark (D) Information

(79%) 11: Sen. Christopher Dodd (D) Information

(77%) 12: Ex-Sen. John Edwards (D) Information

(74%) 13: Ex-Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) Information

(68%) 14: Ex-Rep. Newt Gingrich (R) Information

(61%) 15: Sec. Condoleezza Rice (R) Information

(55%) 16: Rep. Duncan Hunter (R) Information

(55%) 17: Rep. Ron Paul (R) Information

(53%) 18: Sen. Chuck Hagel (R) Information

(52%) 19: Sen. John McCain (R) Information

(44%) 20: Sen. Sam Brownback (R) Information

(39%) 21: Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) Information

(32%) 22: Rep. Tom Tancredo (R) Information

(0%) 23: Sen. George Allen (R) Withdrew from race.

(0%) 24: Sen. John Kerry (D) Withdrew from race.

(0%) 25: Sen. Russ Feingold (D) Withdrew from race.

Fallout from 1984 Political Video

This morning I was going to make another post about the Hilary/Obama 1984 video incident based upon other blogs that I saw and commented on at Pardon my French, Oval Office 2008, and Parislemon. Essentially, I am not convinced the Barack campaign did not know about the creation of the video, though I am sure it was never 100% sanctioned or approved by the campaign. Eric over at Pardon my French says that the agency runs the risk of losing the account, and this is definately true, unless the campaign knew this about this and planned for this behind the scenes, but insulated themselves in order to withstand the blow.

Also, I think we are going to be seeing a ton more of this type of guerilla marketing of the political candidates, primarily because the cost of distributing content via the internet is significantly less expensive than historical channels such as direct mail, television or radio. So this is just the beginning of a new way to market candidates.

There is one additional point that I still feel compelled to highlight about the video. Over at the Huffington Post, Martin Lewis wrote a post "Vote Different" Ad Maker Should ACT Different... and he makes a great point about the way the problem with the entire process, and something that I see that continually plagues the democrats; the ability to spend gobs of money tearing each other to shreds, and making the jobs of the opposing party that much easier. Lewis suggests how to channel the energy and creativity that went into the production of this video into a more positive experience. This is great advise, and I would love to see more of this kind of political advertising.

• Make ads or videos that promote the excellence of your preferred candidate - without disparaging other Democrats.
• Use your skills to make ads that attack Republicans.
• Use your skills to help swing voters realize how they were gamed by Bush and his Republican backers into voting for a bill of goods in 2000 and 2004.
• Use your skills to motivate the millions and millions of NON-voters who have abstained in past elections - to vote FOR a Democratic candidate. Or AGAINST Republican candidates.

I recently had a long discussion with a friend about the best way to get more people to register, take an interest in the election and get out and vote. Anyone out there have any suggestions on how to do this? I figure guilt is always good, but not sure how to implement this on a national scale. Let me know what you think.

However, as usual I am a day late and a dollar short, since in my opinion the news about John Edwards wife's cancer recurrance has become a bigger story today. I really think that Edwards could be a decent candidate and if is he not too distracted or if his wife, Elizabeth does not get worse or too sick, then he could be a serious contender, not a pretender. But maybe it is not meant to be for John Edwards. Time will tell

Links of the Day - March 22, 2007

Cardinals manager arrested for DUI in Florida - Could not have happened to a nicer guy. I said over on Draft Day Suit that I am smugly amused, since LaRussa is always protrayed as being one of the smartest managers in baseball (because he is a lawyer?) and now he does perhaps the dumbest thing I can think of, falls asleep in his car after drinking. Duh

A Scouting report on Roy Hobbs - courtesy of Rob Neyer at ESPN, here is an excerpt:

Strengths: Prodigious power. … Sweet left-handed swing generates unbelievable bat speed for a fairly small man. … Saw him hit the cover off the ball … Can’t throw a fastball by him … When he’s locked in, there seems no good way to pitch him. … Generally a pull hitter, but shows awesome power the other way. Hit the left-field clock in Chicago. … Hits righties and lefties equally well … Plus-plus arm in right field. May have been a pitcher. … Plays the game hard.

Cashman: Yankees won't sweeten pot to retain A-Rod - Good to know the GM is not going to overpay, and make A-Rod decide what he wants to do next year. If he wants to stay in New York, then honor the 3 years remaining on his contract, and also who do the Yankees have in line to replace A-Rod at 3b next year if he flees?

Who's on First? - Will Doug Mientkiewicz be the the worst hitting Yankee first bagger ever? A very good question, but what are the other options?

How True is this?

The Gallup Poll showed Saturday that the three leading candidates for president are a woman, a black man and a Italian New Yorker. It's fun. Every four years the media gets to play ‘Let's Pretend’ before the voters arrive and nominate the white Southern governor.

Orr vs Fedoruk Mar 21, 2007

Here is a great, though short fight from the Rangers/Flyers game last night.

This is dedicated to Squirrel

Vote Different

Here is the Hillary Clinton 1984 ad, that was put together by people who were working for Obama Barack, who may or may not have approved of this ad. Either way, whoever said there is no such thing as bad publicity was probably talking about this type of situation.

Links of the Day - March 21, 2007

Leader says Iran will retaliate if attacked - Really? No Shit? Lets just think about this for a minute, what exactly would our leader, our president regardless of the time or the political party, do if another sovereign nation threatened to invade the USA or attempted to limit our ability to excel or achieve equality of other sovereign nations in our region because we are told we are incapable of using that technology. We would tell the other country to piss off, sound familiar?

Homeland Security dismisses Real ID privacy worries - Does this surprise anyone? It certainly does not surprise me. I disagree, the government should not have a nationalized database that tracks this information. Find a private corporation to outsource this to, who can do the work independently and make it more difficult for government to monitor this database. This is similar to what Revolution Health is doing to help consumers track and manage their own health care. They are not waiting for the government to mandate and manage this process. Check them out, very cool.

Worker from firm with ties to Obama created controversial web ad - Uh Oh, bad Obama. How dare he, or someone associated with his campaign should malign another candidate. We are so puritanical sometimes, it is ridiculous. Eric over at Pardon My French, has an excellent analysis of this situation. Here is a link to the video, and I will probably put it up for your viewing later tonight or tomorrow, so you can decide for yourself

Constitutional Showdown Coming

So the Congressional Democrats are up in arms about the apparent putsch which Bush and Rove and Miers have orchestrated with the firing of 8 US Attorneys. The Democratic leaders in both houses are claiming that the firings were politically motivated, and the Republicans are saying the US attorneys serve at the pleasure of the president and he the president reserves the right to remove the attorneys as the president sees fit. (I want to know how the republicans are able to keep their people in line and on message, since almost every republican has been saying exactly the same thing, it is almost eerie and downright scary that they are not allowed to say or think anything outside the party line)

The presidents posse is claiming they were within their rights to do so, and are using President Clinton's similar maneuver in 1993 when he forced all 93 US Attorneys to resign, with no resistance at the time from the Democratically controlled Congress.

Now there is some provisions in the Patriot Act, which allows the president to appoint new US Attorneys without Senate confirmation hearings. It is a bit annoying that even the most learned elected officials were not even aware that this provision was included in the Patriot Act. This is particularly disturbing to me, since it appears our esteemed leaders in Congress on both sides of the aisle don't know what they are doing. An excellent reason why some folks are pushing for the Read the Bill Act, which forces legislators to sign an affidavit that they have read and understand everything included in all bills before they are allowed to vote under penalty of perjury. This type of law, might help prevent excessive pork and secret last minute provisions. I don't think it is particularly enforceable, but a good idea all the same

The problem I have now is the constitutional pissing contest which is about to unfold. Congress has begun to issue subpoena's asking to speak with political guru Karl Rove (why he is on the government payroll supported by tax payers, and not being paid by the republican party payroll is another ball of wax that really bothers me) and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers, who yeah by the way was once upon a time Bush's nominee for the Supreme Court. Bush through his mouthpiece Tony Snow has said that Rove and Miers could conduct private interviews with Congress, but not under oath, behind closed doors (no media) and with no official record of the proceedings. This offer seems to me like a major waste of time. Bush is saying that these people have executive privilege and are not compelled to testify even if subpoenaed

If these dismissals were not politically motivated as the republicans are claiming, then they should have no problem rolling anyone involved out in front of Congress, in front of a national audience on C-Span to answer all questions about these dismissals under oath. If they feel they did not do anything wrong, why the need for an off-the-record discussion and the claim to need executive privilidge? The interivew provides about as much value as the same folks meeting in a bar over drinks to hash over the same topic.

The other question that is lingering over this issue for me, if this is not politically motivated, then why is uber-spin meister Karl Rove even involved in this process? Rove and his kind reminds me of the political officer from the Hunt for Red October that Capt Ramius needs to kill in order to steal his sub and defect at the beginning of the movie (BTW/, I have always preferred Alec Baldwin in the Jack Ryan role over Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck). According to the Tom Clancy book, a member of the Communist party was required on every Soviet ship to ensure compliance and allegiance of every man on board. That is how I perceive Rove, involved in every aspect of the government to ensure compliance and allegiance. It is very scary how it seems the Bush administration is moving towards the Soviet totalitarian state model of punishing those that politically cross the exalted leader.

Here is another opinion from Larry Kudlow at the National Review (via Ragged Thots)

Why the “U.S. Attorneys Eight”?

Unfortunately, President Bush’s news conference yesterday failed to answer the absolute key question for the public: Why did he fire the eight U.S. attorneys?

If you read the transcript, he talked about “new leadership.” He also said, “Neither the Attorney General, nor I approve of how these explanations were handled. We’re determined to correct the problem.”

But people watching Mr. Bush will still be wondering what his explanation is.
Of course, the President has the political and constitutional authority to hire and fire these prosecutors. But why were these eight dumped? Why not the other eighty-five?

It seems to me if you use a press conference event to go over the heads of the mainstream media, and broadcast to the American public, you have to deliver a clear rationale for your actions. Regrettably, I don’t think Mr. Bush did this.

And that’s one reason why he’s going to stay in hot water on the Hill, and probably remain in that hot water with the electorate.

Here’s my humble suggestion: Mr. Gonzales ought to be replaced by an eminent law school dean or college president—someone with enormous credibility and respect.

What comes to mind is President Gerald Ford’s decision to appoint University of Chicago president and former law school dean Edward Levi in the post-Watergate pardon period. Levi restored credibility for the Justice Department.

Just a thought.

New Avatar - Broome Dusters

So the wife has been giving me some grief about me using the kids picture as my avatar for this blog and the way I will be showing up on your sites for mybloglog.

The Broome Dusters were a hockey team from my home town of Binghamton NY, who played in the NAHL from 1973-1977 and they are rumored to be the inspiration for the Charlestown Chiefs from the movie Slap Shot. Some of the Dusters even did appear in the movie, with Rod Bloomfield even doing the skating in the long shots in place of Paul Newman.

Ken Holland, the current GM of the Detroit Red Wings, was also a member of this club.

I have been perusing ebay and the Internet looking for an authentic Dusters jersey, but have had no luck. So if any other Binghamton natives stumble across this site and knows how I can get my hands on an authentic jersey, please let me know.

So until I find a better representation of who I am this will be my symbol across the Internet.

Links of the Day - March 19, 2007

Police DNA collection sparks questions - I am not very fond of this precedent, and it just opens a ridiculous number of loopholes.

When a 60-year-old man spat on the sidewalk, his DNA became as public as if he had been advertising it across his chest.

Police officers secretly following Leon Chatt last August collected the saliva — loaded with Chatt's unique genetic makeup — to compare with DNA evidence from the scene of an old murder they believed he'd committed.

Leadership Crisis - Great Questions and lots points to think about to make us get up off our asses and do something, rather than being couch potatoes and simply shouting.

- Why is everything labeled a “crisis”? Why not “opportunity”? Why not “chance for improvement”? Easy, because those terms don’t strike people the same way “crisis” does. “Crisis” plays well in the media, grabs attention, points to a problem, no matter how truly large or small. It grabs headlines.

That is not activism. That is Vocalism with entitlement mentality. It sets the expectation that, because I am loud, someone will fix my problem. It’s the toddler with the temper tantrum. (Funny, I always learned to let the toddler work themselves out of the tantrum, instead of giving them what they wanted.) So, by using Vocalism, we allow the collective toddler to get the better of us, and we give them what they want.Vocalism does not work. Activism works. Let’s stop talking, and start doing. Otherwise, all we do is contribute to the problem of Vocalism – entitlement based collective whining.

Links of the Day - March 18, 2007

Here are some links that friends have sent in the past few weeks regarding internet marketing and deceptinve advertising practices.

Washington State Sues "Net Send" Internet Advertisers - The advertisers are accused of sending anonymous "Net Send" messages to consumers' computers that simulate Windows operating system warnings, transmitting bundled software that changes Internet browser home pages, and marketing registry-cleaner programs through the use of deceptive free scans

DirectRevenue settles FTC charges of deceptive use of adware - DirectRevenue LLC, a large adware distributor, and four of its principals have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they used unfair and deceptive methods in violation of federal law to download adware onto consumers’ computers and then obstructed them from removing it.


Here are some links to newsletters that I like to read, and hope you do to.

Populist Party Newsletter - March 15, 2007

Electronic Privacy Information (EPIC) Newsletter - March 9, 2007 (I am a little annoyed that they have not gotten back to me yet about the President's Privacy clearing the domestic spying program, but they are still doing good work.

My View of the World - Recognized

I was not planning making another post this weekend but Mihaela Lica, over at eWritings - Online Public Relations, has included My View of the World in this weekend’s blog recommendations and I wanted to publicly thank her for this recognition. I am honored to be singled out, and hope any of her readers enjoy what they read and see here.

On a personal note, I encourage you to read the next two posts here and here, regarding Refunds for Good and Revolution Health. They are both good causes and worth checking out.

Enjoy your St. Patricks Day tomorrow, I will be hoisting a few Guiness and wishing my nephew a happy 1st birthday and enjoying my own 38th.

Web Site Turns War Tax Into Peace Dividend

Today, American history is being made.

After 109 years, the Phone Excise Tax (originally created to help fund the Spanish American War in 1898) is going away, and in its place is a unique, one-time opportunity to do some good for the planet.

Americans can receive a refund on their tax returns by checking a box or auditing their phone records for the past 41 months.

In February 2007 the IRS reported that one in three early tax filers was not even checking the box to get their "automatic" refund.To address this problem, two social entrepreneurs, Jonathan Gorham and Michael Swartz in Connecticut have launched a web site http://www.refundsforgood.org/ to help individuals and organizations get their full phone "War Tax" refunds.

The web site makes it easy for people to donate this "found" money to three worthwhile non-profits, working for sustainable development and renewable energy.

Thirteen Nobel Peace Prize Laureates endorse this web site, as well as Martin Sheen, Ed Begley, Jr., "JR," Larry Hagman and Nate Corddry.

The web site provides a complete on-line Wizard for businesses and non-profits to calculate their phone tax refund for free (it even prints onto form 8913 automatically).

The goals of the portal are simple:

1. To help Americans get their phone tax refunds.
2. To inspire taxpayers to donate some of this money to the three exceptional non-profits carefully researched and chosen to be on the Refunds for Good website.

Refunds for Good turns guns into plow shares by redirecting this unpopular "War Tax" to places where the Earth needs help the most.

I urge you to visit: http://www.refundsforgood.org/

Revolution Health

This is from my friend Suzanne, who wanted me to spread the word:

All - I hope this finds everyone well.

I've spent the last 5 months working on the marketing for a new company called Revolution Health that launched at the end of January. Founded by Steve Case, co-founder of AOL, it has the admirable mission of helping people take greater control of their health and of the health care system.

Revolution Health is currently offering their membership free to friends and family via a viral campaign in an effort to build their website's communities, doctor/hospital ratings and get users to experience the tools available on their site(www.revolutionhealth.com).

Membership will give you one-on-one phone access to a team of health professionals (Rn's, Nutritionists, and Claims Specialists), who are experts at navigating the health care system. They will be able to help in a number of ways including:

Answers to your health questions:
– Clarification of what your doctor told you so you can betterunderstand medical choices and treatment options
– Assistance finding a doctor/specialist. Plus they will even help schedule the appointment.
– Support with health insurance claims. They'll help you understand your coverage and even represent you directly to your insurance provider to ensure you're compensated fairly.

All, sorry for the mass email, but I think this is a worthy offer formany of you to take advantage of; whether you have kids, are a caregiver, have a chronic condition, or you'd just like a resource to get straight answers on routine questions such as a prescription's side effects, please go to:

http://www.revolutionhealth.com/member-central/

So, if you are interested in getting a personal resource for your medical questions, I'll encourage you to sign-up now and take advantage of their membership for the remainder of 2007. Free sign-up will only be available through April 18th.

And know only basic registration information is needed to get the benefits of this service. If you have time, please let me know what you think about the site and the membership experience. And please, pass this along to friends and family you think would be interested.

I hope it proves helpful to you all.

Thanks, Suzanne

Links of the Day - March 14, 2007

How Threadless Creates 'Online Awesomeness - How to build online communities

Pete Rose and Alex Rodriguez cannot keep their respective mouths shut here and here also- It would be best for their respective cases if they would just zip it. Figures one day after I try to get onto A-Rod's side. I love it how both of these guys are saying that it is about the fans. The fans will decide if A-Rod will come back next season, and the fans will be elated if Pete Rose's suspension is lifted. As a fan I say "What a Crock"

Pete Rose admits he bet on baseball every day - Big day for Pete, too bad he cannot keep his mouth shut long enough to make anyone think he is the least bit remorseful for his transactions. Quite sad actually.

Gary Matthews Jr. Denies taking HGH - I find it interesting that he specified that he never took HGH "during the 2004 season or any other time." I know this investigation centers on events that took place that year, but it is interesting because he had his breakout season in 2006. Time will tell what is truth and what is not, so stay tuned

Mistakes Made on Prosecutors, Gonzales Says

‘Mistakes’ Made on Prosecutors, Gonzales Says - Really? I love how this is being blamed on Gonzales' former chief of staff and Harriett Miers, yes the same Harriett Miers, that the President was ready to send to the Supreme Court.

Now the first Republican, Sen John Sununu, is calling for Gonzales head on a platter and here too. (Thanks to Ragged Thots for the leads.) Maybe we might see some justice in this whole ugly situation

With Democrats, including the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, nsisting that Mr. Gonzales step down, his appearance underscored what two Republicans close to the Bush administration described as a growing rift between the White House and the attorney general. Mr. Gonzales has long been a confidant of the president but has aroused the ire of lawmakers of both parties on several issues, including the administration’s domestic eavesdropping program.

The two Republicans, who spoke anonymously so they could share private conversations with senior White House officials, said top aides to Mr. Bush, including Fred F. Fielding, the new White House counsel, were concerned that the controversy had so damaged Mr. Gonzales’s credibility that he would be unable to advance the White House agenda on national security matters, including terrorism prosecutions.

An interesting observation from Chris Weigant from the Huffington Post titled, whose head will role next. Once you read it, makes you wonder where King George II is getting his rules from?

Some historical facts are necessary here. From Wikipedia's definition of lettres
de cachet:

In French history, lettres de cachet were letters signed by the king of France, countersigned by one of his ministers, and closed with the royal seal, or cachet. They contained orders directly from the king, often to enforce arbitrary actions and judgments that could not be appealed.

In the case of organized bodies lettres de cachet were issued for the purpose of
preventing assembly or to accomplish some other definite act. The provincial estates were convoked in this manner, and it was by a lettre de cachet (in this
case, a lettre de jussipri), or by showing in person in a lit de justice, that the king ordered a parlement (a court of justice) to register a law in the teeth of its own refusal to pass it.

The best-known lettres de cachet, however, were penal, by which a subject was sentenced without trial and without an opportunity of defense to imprisonment in a state prison or an ordinary jail, confinement in a convent or a hospital, transportation to the colonies, or expulsion to another part of the realm. The wealthy sometimes bought such lettres to dispose of unwanted individuals.

Now consider the following:
* The French monarchy had Justinian law, which clearly stated: "Rex solutus est a legibus" ("The King is released from the laws"). George Bush had legal advisors John Yoo and Alberto Gonzales insisting on the concept of a "unitary executive" (basically, "the executive, especially in times of war, is absolute and must not defer to the other branches of government").

* Pre-revolutionary France had lettres de jussipri. George Bush has "signing statements," where he explains why the law he is signing into effect doesn't really apply to him, or to his executive branch.

* King Louis XVI could, with a single piece of paper, send you for life to an insane asylum, or perhaps exile you to the countryside or even the colonies. George Bush has "extraordinary rendition."

* Louis XVI could chuck you into the Bastille for no reason whatsoever (other than his own whim), and he could keep you there as long as he wished, with no judicial oversight. George Bush has "enemy combatants," and Guantánamo Bay.

* The French king handed out patronage jobs to political allies and close friends. George Bush hired plenty of people just like Michael "heck of a job" Brown (who headed FEMA even though he had virtually no qualifications), and had Alberto Gonzales fire his own Republican federal prosecutors for not being loyal enough (ironically enough, today's scandal du jour).

* There's one parallel that doesn't quite fit this mold, however. George Bush sent our country from being in surplus to being heavily in deficit in order to pay for a very expensive and risky war and (incidentally) to give lots of tax breaks to rich folks. France had a huge debt not (as you might think) because they were screwing poor people to make the aristocracy richer, but because they had just spent all their money financing a risky proxy war against their hated enemies, the British. The French, to a large extent, financed the American Revolution (it's true... we'd all still be drinking tea and singing "God Save The Queen" today if not for the French). The French Revolution may not have even taken place (or may have been postponed by decades) if their treasury wasn't bare due to footing the bill for America's war of independence.

Seperated at Birth?

Is it just me or did Aretha Franklin morph into Jabba the Hut, you decide and let me know!!

NBC switches Scrubs

So once again it looks like NBC is going to start screwing with my mind, by moving Scrubs to 9:30, and putting the critically acclaimed and ratings challenged 30 Rock on at 9:00. What I cannot figure out is why Television Networks cannot just leave shows that have solid fan base, with a decent time slot alone. These shows are getting a decent audience, building a fan base, then the networks start moving them all over their program schedule so it becomes next to impossible to find them on your dial (I know it is an antiquated term, but it still applies)


I am guessing that 30 Rock is produced in house at NBC/Universal that the network continues to make this stinker stick to their schedule, since their are obtained at a lower cost and keeping it on the air costs them less money. This is in spite of the fact that this program has been on a death spiral since it premiered in the fall and no one seems to care about this show except for the network itself. TV Squad, brilliant but cancelled and Vegas have all been speculating on when this turd will be flushed, so what does NBC do? They put Scrubs into the toilet spin with 30 Rock, since it looks like Scrubs might move to ABC next season anyway.

It is sad, and the networks wonder why no one is watching their programs anymore. Why audiences are fleeing to cable, or DVD or anything else but what drivel they are serving us. They just don't get it.

Shift Happens

I found this over at Carols - My View of It. A very interesting video that is worth a view. It is quite scary some of the projections and predictions that they are making. It just shows that the 2oth century was the American century and the 21st Century, will probably be the Indian or Chinese Century. There is also no doubt we have moved into the digital or information age based upon the rate that we are generating content. Let me know what you think.


Shift Happens - Click Here for more great videos and pictures!

Links of the Day - March 13, 2007

White House Said to Prompt Firing of Prosecutors and Resign, Gonzales- and so the plot continues to thicken, in the firing of 8 US Attorneys.

Gonzales rejects calls for his resignation and Justice aide resigns over prosecutor firings - The news keeps getting jucier and juicier as the day goes on, it almost makes hope he hangs in there, so we can see this fight until the end.

Why Yankee fans should root for A-Rod - found this from here and here - Caple raises some very good points, that maybe we should take him as he is, and just accept his personality flaws and let him play. There is certainly no better 3b available that the Yankees could easily obtain. And he is still one of the best players on the planet.


Starbucks to give away coffee Thursday - Free Coffee is always a good idea.


Online Eavesdropping Violates Privacy; Unlawful Wiretapping Punishable by Imprisonment in Israel - Good to know one country is still willing to punish those that violate our civil rights, and also good to know that even a backwards state like Florida still finds personal property (computers) safe from unreasonable search and seizure

Is Bush's G-d an Idiot

I saw this over at the Huffington Post, and thought I would share: Bill Cusack: Is Bush's God an Idiot? . It is an interesting concept that for thousands of years mankind has been waging war on behalf of some monolothic monotheisitic diety. I had honestly forgotten that GWB had said he had spoken with his diety when he decided to as the decider to invade Iraq, and he claimed the divine entity was with us on this endeavor.

Cusack builds a great thesis on when and why exactly we have been abandoned by the lord almighty. It is frightening how accurately he has documented the decline of the American Empire over the past 10 years or so, and how the republican establishment is primarily responsible for this downfall. Clearly a partisan article, but presented in a way that is unique and worth a read. Here are the excerpts I found most interesting. Let me know what you think!!!

People rely on an all powerful combination of corporations and government to run the world and provide them with order and protection. In return for giving up control of our lives to this authority structure we get someone to blame when things go wrong (think Katrina) and an expectation of safety and security so we can pursue happiness. With all the big stuff out of the way we get to be little kids who can afford to get upset when they change Coke's secret formula and when Simon Cowell gets too mean.

What we give up for this dubious warm and fuzzy sense of security is responsibility for our government's actions and for our society's decisions. They overthrow other governments, pardon themselves, meet with energy companies behind closed doors, rig insurance laws and we complain and rarely throw them out of office. Most Americans want health care, gun control and to end the Iraq war now. Fat Chance. Authority doesn't want those changes, and we don't want to give up relying on Authority to give us security. So we take the scandals and call them assholes and move on from O.J. to Anna Nicole to who ever is next.

We no longer get to have it both ways. Authority is no longer taking care of us. Jobs are leaving, cities are dieing, health care is beyond nearly everyone's reach, we can't secure enough energy without being in a constant state of war. Authority's way is failing all around us. Refusing to take responsibility for ourselves is creating too many problems around the world and is stunting our growth as spiritual beings. So we pray to God for a way out. Here's my question- perhaps God wasn't answering Bush's prayer at all. What if God was answering OUR prayer to find a way out from under Authority and still have security by answering Bush's prayer? Here's the evidence that the answer is "yes".

If God really does love America and Americans, and wants what is best for us, then God is going to make us responsible for our lives and the actions of our government. God is a good parent. If that is the case then the authority structure running the world has to be taken down.

Authority can only be brought down if it rots away from the inside out. What better place to start then with the Bushies? The Bush family does nothing if not embody the powerful combination of Corporate America and Government that comprises the worlds' Authority structure. So God planted a rotten apple in the Bush family and made sure he, not Jeb, got the Big Job at the right time.

Had a competent man been president on 9/11 we would have by now killed Bin Laden, protected our borders, secured Afghanistan and we'd all be sitting pretty. We'd have no debt, so we wouldn't be on the way to becoming China's play toy, Social Security would be in good shape, we could've focused on Afghanistan and Al Qaeda would be reduced to a nuisance, North Korea wouldn't have the bomb, and Iran wouldn't dare press on with it's nuclear program because we wouldn't be tied down in Iraq. Iraq is headed towards another dangerous dictatorship so we've wasted everything there. But a competent President would only make Authority stronger, and Authority is the problem.

The first sign of Authority's collapse was Clinton's impeachment- instead of paying attention to running the world Authority got caught up in a blow job and missed Bin Laden's gathering power. Instead of learning a lesson, Authority used their unnecessary and dangerous destroy Clinton campaign as sign of righteousness. That is some Vegas-Elvis rot. Then came Florida in 2000, the Patriot Act, and the big blow- Iraq. There were no WMD, which slapped the smirk of credibility off our government's face. Then Katrina came along and made their inner rot even easier to see and spread the rot farther and deeper. We had the Capitol Hill page scandals, Republican Faux family values, Scooter Libby, Walter Reed, 8 fired prosecutors- the scandals are as profound as they are endless. All these hideous scandals and one paltry, bullshit conviction. There is zero accountability. If that isn't rot then nothing is.

Now we have the news that Newt Gingrich was having an affair while he tried to take down commander in chief Clinton as Bin Laden prepared to attack this country. Talk about a bloated Vegas phase! Neo-Con Republicans- men who left stockpiles of weapons and billions in cash unprotected for our enemies to raid, men who created a terrorist haven in an oil rich country and destabilized the Middle East- men who refuse to care for our troops on and off the battle field- men who had no conclusive evidence of WMD yet made the world believe otherwise- men who have done more to harm this country than anyone since the secessionists- these men ignore their hellacious sins and instead of resigning in shame say those who oppose the greatest blunder in our history and its practitioners weaken our troops and embolden our enemies. Now that is some spectacular rot right there my friends- that is some of the most squalid, stenchy, worm-ridden Elvis-Vegas rot you will ever see.

Bush Pledges to End FBI Privacy Lapses

I found this online at the Herald Sun out of the North Carolina Triangle:

President Bush on Saturday pledged an end to FBI lapses that led to illegal prying into people's lives.

"Those problems will be addressed as quickly as possible," Bush said during a news conference in Uruguay, the second stop on his Latin America trip.

A new audit by the Justice Department's internal watchdog found that the FBI improperly used a tool called national security letters. The letters are administrative subpoenas that don't require judicial approval.

Agents sometimes demanded personal data on people without official authorization, and in other cases improperly obtained telephone records. Shoddy record-keeping and human error were to blame in most cases, the audit found.

"My question is, `What are you going to do solve the problem and how fast can you get it solved?'" said Bush, who was briefed on the report last week.

Bush said he was pleased by the response of FBI Director Robert Mueller, who has taken responsibility and promised to fix the problems.

Bush expressed confidence in Mueller and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

The president said that while the report by the Justice Department's inspector general "justly made issue of FBI shortfalls, (it) also made clear that these letters were important to the security of the United States."

Of course the president is upset, it is not the job of the FBI to illegally pry into people's lives, that is the job of the NSA.

Here is some additional information on this from OpEdNews.com:

...the Inspector General found the FBI misused Patriot Act powers to obtain information about US citizens and residents through “National Security Letters” or NSLs.

NSL’S are administrative subpoenas that allow the FBI to obtain content of transactions, like bank records, phone records or Internet providers.

They are controversial for a number of reasons, more notably, unlike a warrant or subpoena, no approval is necessary from a judge. In fact, an NSL only needs approval from the agent in charge at a local FBI office. Recipients of the letters are instructed to ‘keep quiet’ or risk the wrath of the law....

Worries of abuse by FBI agents sans judicial oversight had been one of the biggest fears expressed by civil libertarians opposing the patriot act. Warnings of warrant-less wiretapping, data mining and the misuse of electronic surveillance of citizens across the country ripped at the country’s soul as fears of terrorism competed with fears of big brother.

In prepared remarks to the International Association of Privacy Professionals Privacy Summit posted on the DOJ website, US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales noted that Inspector General Fine had acknowledged that NSL’s are a valuable tool in the fight against terror.

But he also acknowledged the FBI did not have “sufficient controls” and that “insufficient guidance and training” was partly to blame, as well as “some confusion in the field about the rules” regarding the misuses spelled out in the report.

Seems like more of the same crap, we need to take away your constitutionally guarnateed rights and liberties in order to protect you in our fight against terror. How many more days until a new administration?

Library Porn Ban Stands in Rochester

Library porn ban stands for now - I have no objections to library's banning porn on their computers, even if an adult requests access, or if viewed with a privacy screen. It is a public place, and they have the right to set their own standards of what content is available in their library. Does this mean that they would have to put Playboy, Penthouse, Juggs, or Shaved in their magazine section? No those who run the library decide what is acceptable for their users, not the government.

I do have an objection to elected officials trying to withhold funding to libraries because of the content that is available at the library. Library's are supposed to serve the common good and if there is going to be governmental funding, it should not be dependent upon the content of what is available at the library. Not everyone has a Borders or Barnes & Noble in their neighborhood, so library's offer another place to go and be exposed (pardon the pun) to additional reading material.

The Fading Freedom Mission

Saw this piece today written by David Broder in the Stamford Advocate. I found it interesting in a number of ways. The main things that I found interesting, I have highlighted below. Let me know if you agree.

When President Bush, in his second inaugural address, pledged to "support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world," he seemed to be speaking for the whole country.

But two years later, a disillusioned American public, sobered by the war in Iraq and still fearful of more terrorist attacks here at home, is ready to settle for a less idealistic goal: protecting the United States and its vital interests.

That is the main lesson of a poll that was released to me last week by the leaders of Third Way, a left-leaning Washington think tank (results are available online at http://www.third-way.com/).

It is something the presidential candidates might well read. The poll was done by a reputable firm, Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates, interviewing a sample of 807 registered voters between Jan. 30 and Feb. 4. The challenge the survey presents is a large one.

To be blunt, the Bush prescription for American foreign policy -- an aggressive effort to expand freedom and democracy around the globe -- has lost its credibility. But neither Republicans nor Democrats are widely trusted to construct a new policy.

Doesn't it make sense for a courageous candidate from the middle or a party advocating independent thinking to construct a policy that will appeal to these voters that have lost faith in both of the main parties? I would certainly get behind a candidate who can formulate and communicate this policy, regardless of party affiliation.

Two-thirds of political independents -- the swing voters -- agree with the statements that Republicans are too quick to use military force instead of diplomacy and are too stubborn in refusing to negotiate with hostile countries.

But by nearly as large a margin, those same independents agree that Democrats are not tough enough to do what is needed to protect America and that they are unwilling to use military force, even when it's necessary for national security.

This seems like the proverbial chicken and egg problem. If Republicans are too quick to use force, and Democrats are too willing to negotiate without the threat of force, what is the rock solid standard between these two extremes? Unfortunately in human history war is inevitable when it becomes necessary to defends ones property and sovereignty, but while I find the results of this poll interesting, these two results don't offer candidates any clear cut way to proceed. We all know every situation and crisis is going to be different and the length of time to be diplomatic versus when to use force is going to vary.

Overall, independents have moved closer to Democratic positions on foreign policy, meaning that the Republicans' almost-automatic advantage on national security issues may be a thing of the past.

Those doubts leave Americans in a quandary -- and very worried about the future. Matt Bennett, a vice president of Third Way, told me, "Candidates need to recognize Americans have been shaken in their confidence."

The Sept. 11 attacks, more than five years old, remain a vivid threat. Large majorities -- including most Republicans -- reject Vice President Cheney's contention that the absence of a second attack means we are safer. Instead, they say that the threat of terrorism has increased since 2001, and they believe that the war in Iraq has made us less safe, not more.

I am glad that people are finally coming around to the fact that this debacle in Iraq has achieved none of the goals or objectives that were originally intended. All that our presence there is doing is further pissing off the people who hate us and giving them reason to get others to hate us.

One victim of that psychology is Americans' belief in the worldwide democratic mission that Bush invoked so powerfully on Jan. 20, 2005. Now, by 58 percent to 36 percent, the voters say that "it is a dangerous illusion to believe America is superior to other nations; we should not be attempting to reshape other nations in light of our values."

Although I solemnly believe that the United States is the best country in the world to live in, and I would never want to live anywhere else, not everyone in the world agrees with me, nor does everyone in the world want to be like us. This administration seems to have learned nothing from the British a hundred years ago. It is impossible to manage or administer another country that does not welcome your presence.

I have always been a big fan of the Wilsonian ideal of self-determination. For better or worse, if a general election or plebiscite is held and the people vote for their preferred style of government then we have no business interfering in those affairs. Look at Palestine, they voted for Hamas, now they need to live with Hamas. IF Hamas can show to their people that they are more than a terrorist organization and they can serve the people then good for them, if not then the Palestinians should vote in some new party during the next elections

By an even greater proportion -- almost 3 to 1 -- they say the main goal of American foreign policy should be to protect the security of the United States and its allies, rather than the promotion of freedom and democracy.

As I have been saying since 9/11, our national guard and armed forces are better served here in the states protecting our ports, highways and borders rather than fighting a difficult, perhaps unwinnable war in a foreign land that is only adding to the insurgency and increasing the chance for a future major terrorist attack within our borders. How would we feel if another sovereign country invaded our borders, put in a new government, then stayed to help enforce the peace? We would throw them out as fast as we could, not too different from what the Iraq's are doing. Let them solve there own post-Saddam problem, then we should come in to negotiate for the oil rights.

The impact of Iraq can be seen in another question. By 70 percent to 27 percent, they agree with the statement that "sometimes it's better to leave a dictator in charge of a hostile country, if he is contained, rather than risk chaos that we can't control if he is brought down."

Practicality now trumps idealism at every turn. Endorsements of U.S. policy by allies and international organizations are highly valued. By 58 percent to 38 percent, those polled agree with the statement that "if negotiating with countries that support terrorism, like Iran and Syria, will help protect our security interests, the U.S. should consider negotiating with them."

But practicality is far from a complete policy. What people really want is a way of looking at the world and understanding America's part in it -- a narrative that would replace the rejected Bush scenario. As William Galston of the Brookings Institution, who was a consultant on the poll, remarked to me, "Until now, most of the candidate-posturing has centered on Iraq." But this poll suggests a deeper need. "People are looking for a candidate who suggests a way to defend our essential interests while regaining some of our lost esteem."

Who is up to the task?

Who indeed? All the current crop of candidates seem to be pandering to the extremes of their parties rather than catering to the middle, where the real battle line should be fought. The person that is able to do that, will be well on their way to capturing the 2008 election. But hey, that is just me.

I am truly Independent

Your Vote Score: 41% Republican, 59% Democrat

You are truly an independent voter, and you don't fit well with either party. Maybe you should choose one issue to vote on - or look into third parties!

Should You Vote Republican or Democrat?

Privacy Board Clears Domestic Spying Program

Bush's hand-picked Privacy Board clears domestic spying program - The AP reports that this board has, perhaps unsurprisingly, reported to Congress that they've looked into the administration's domestic surveillance efforts and found that these efforts are lawful and have all of the requisite safeguards in place to protect Americans' privacy and civil liberties.

After a discussion with Eric at Pardon My French about how this report got swept under rug by the Main Stream Media (MSM) I sent an email to the Electronic Privacy Information Center inquiring why they did not even have a comment on this report. I will keep you informed when they get back to me

Libby + US prosecuters Fired + Walter Reed = Impeach

What in the wide world of sports is going on with this administration?

I know it is old news, but I. Scooter Libby, the former top aide to VP Dick Cheney has been found guilty on 4 out of 5 charges against him, primarily for Obstruction of Justice and Perjury. It is interesting that the majority of the jurors have cannot believe that this guy allowed himself to become the fall guy for his bosses. I know loyalty is a valued attribute, but this is crazy. Does Cheney Bush have the same control over Libby that Baroid Bonds has over his trainer Greg Anderson, who has gone to jail refusing to testify against his friend and client? The only question remaining is will the appeal process last longer than January 2009, when Mr. Bush surely will pardon Mr. Libby as he is exiting the oval office. From here it only looks like a matter of when, rather than if. The debate has already begun. The sad part is that those who committed a real crime, exposing CIA operative Valerie Plame are actually going to get away scot free, since Libby perjured himself.

In a separate seemingly unrelated issue, eight republican United States prosecuters were recently fired because they would not play along with republican colleagues in uncovering dirt on democrats and keeping dirt on other republicans in efforts to influence local elections. You can read about it here and here and here. It is especially appalling since Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is claiming these dismissals were performance related, not politically motivated. However, all the performance reports showed no dissatisfaction with the jobs they were doing. I think Mr. Gonzales is going to take significantly more heat for this issue than he ever had to deal with during the warrant less wiretapping issue. These are highly polished, very intelligent lawyers in their own political party that the Bush administration has tried to put out to the curb like yesterdays trash, then once again just try to sweep it under the rug, well I don't think it is going to work this time. This smells an awful like the Nixon Saturday Night Massacre, where the president is trying to extract political vengeance against all his rivals. This is just pathetic.

Finally, the absolutely most outrageous piece in this whole story, that the most well known Veteran Administration Hospital in the country, Walter Reed has been in the news because some of its wings were absolutely filthy and disgusting, and the great decider, our commander in chief has decided to try to pin this responsibility and this derelict to our soldiers on anyone but himself. Whatever happened to support our troops? I guess once they get home, all shot up and broken down that it is alright for them to live in squalor. This is a disgrace and the president should be ashamed himself and demand that the army get its act together and fix this problem rather than doing the normal political two-step and pass the buck. Where is Harry S Truman when you he need him? Just stand up and say mistakes were made a Walter Reed and I am going to make this right, that is all he has to do, and for once I would back him up. But no, he can't do that. Talk about an absolutely spineless move, it makes me stomach churn.

I think Arrianna Huffington may be right

"these scandals reveals how extensively the Bush rot has spread throughout the
Republican Party."

I know I have advocating in the past to be very cautious when it comes to talking about impeachment of the president, but these recent events have really made me begin to rethink this position. I think it is possible that this presidency could go down in history as one of the worst ever and putting this man in the company of Richard Nixon, Herbert Hoover, Warren Harding, James Buchanan, Franklin Pierce and Andrew Johnson is not pleasant company, but he certainly deserves to be with them.

Links of the Day - March 7, 2007

Moose Brings down Helicopter - Instead of slowing down after being shot with a tranquilizer dart, a moose charged a hovering helicopter used by a wildlife biologist, damaging the aircraft's tail rotor and forcing it to the ground.

John Rocker denies being prescribed HGH - "I never had a prescription for any HGH. If somebody's got a beef to make with me, show me a prescription," he told guest host Erik Kuselias on ESPN Radio's "The Herd."

John Rocker on HGH or a Moose, you decide?

Killing off TV Characters

So I was over at Parislemon today and reading that Starbuck on the new Battlestar Galactica was apparently killed. I don't watch this program, but I have heard a ton of good things about and really should watch it, but that is another story. I was always a fan of the old Battlestar Galactica with Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch and of course Dirk Benedict as the original Starbuck. many other people will remember him as FaceMan from the A-Team. Either way the idea of killing off a major character on television series is a rather novel idea, and one that is not often used to further a story line.

Their only a few instances of actually killing a character that readily come to mind, Henry Blake on M*A*S*H, Tasha Yar on Star Trek: The Next Generation are the first two I can think of and I am sure in 50-60 of TV that other major characters have died a most unfortunate and tragic deaths. Why am I thinking about this now? Recently two shows I do watch have had their main characters go through the death throes for the purposes of boosting ratings during the February Sweeps. One show did it well, the other had a chance to do it well, but really missed the mark and has left me questioning the credibility of the show for the duration of its hiatus. So what shows am I talking about? Heroes and Grey's Anatomy

At the end of the last Heroes episode the bad guy Syler had captured super hero Peter Petrelli and was in the process of dissected his brain in order to absorb Peter's powers, which is the ability to emulate the powers of other genetically altered heroes. It is implied by the NBC promotional machine that Peter is going to die, but since he had contact with Claire the cheerleader he should be able to regenerate. The point is although it was a great cliff hanger you kind of have to figure that Peter is not going to die, since he is the central character to the show and is going to be responsible for either causing or preventing the explosion which have been bringing the characters together for the entire season. Somehow killing him would seem like a bad move, since there are still too many questions and not enough answers.

On the flip side on Grey's Anatomy, the writers and producers could have done something unique, groundbreaking and original that would have driven the viewership through the roof, something that to the best of my recollection has never been done before on TV; kill off the title character, Meredith. Long story short they went through a 3 episode arc where she was thrown in the water, practically drown and then resuscitated after numerous attempts where the entire senior medical staff is about to give up on her and let her die.

In the end she lived and that could be a tragic mistake. Grey's has an abnormally large cast, and ridding themselves of the most annoying and least likable characters would have been a step in the right direction. Having the rest of the cast dealing with the loss of their lover, student and colleague would have kept viewers compelled through May sweeps and would draw additional interest in the proposed spin-off show next season.

The other thing that bothered me about this story is that if she was so close to death for so long then she should have suffered some brain damage or other long term effect that would have prevented her from continuing her medical career. But since this is TV and all problems are solved in 60 minutes (or 180 for this 3 hour arc), it seems that even after this experience that Mer is all fine and dandy. It just seemed very fake and contrived after the episode concluded, leaving a very bad taste in my mouth.

Lets face the fact that in spite of the show being named for her, I have never particularly cared for this character and honestly I would not have missed her. And can anyone think of another show where the title character was killed off? That would have been truly unique.

How much TV and Computer Time or A lesson in Branding

This rant that started with a comment I made over at Dave Chronic Malcontents, regarding children's time spent in front a computer or on a gaming system, and thought I would share it here as well.

Dave has an excellent review of ClubPenguin, an online community for tweeners (ages 7-12) and wonders about the notion of socialization and activity, and how modern kids are missing this when they spend time on the computer and gaming systems (Ninetendo, XBox, Wii, etc.).

Here is the comment:

My question is how do we get kids off the computer and gaming systems and back into the yards and streets playing hide and seek, freeze tag, kick the can, basketball, riding bikes, or any other physical activity. Too much time is spent on idle activity, and this is one (of many) factors which is leading to childhood obesity.

Don't get me wrong, I am just as guilty as the next with my kids. It is easier to plop them in front of the TV or computer then take them outside to play, but I know that idle time like this needs to be limited and other free play encouraged.

Luckily, my kids are still a bit too young and have not found Club Penguin yet. However I do know that they have been playing Playhouse Disney, NickJr, and PBS kids online, and that my kids are also exposed to annoying ads and pop ups, which daddy needs to come and get rid of so they can keep playing. If that kind of annoyance is avoided at Club Penguin that it is almost worth it. The funny thing about these sites is that after any show on these channels there is an advertising telling the viewers to go to their website to get more information, so often my son is singing about NickJr on CBS,

I was initially impressed with the above mentioned sites in the way they got my son interested in being on the computer and using the mouse to navigate around their sites. They offered some quasi-education games that taught him some basic skills about language and math. Now, as my son approaches 6, those sites do not offer a more advanced and difficult functionality that meets an older childs needs.

From a marketing perspective they are missing the boat. Because they have built a very strong brand awareness among the toddler set and are not extending that very well to the pre-tweeners (5-7 year olds) They are no longer offering quality content for my son, we have had to purchase software and seek other sites that will challenge my son. It is a shame since they have begun to develop a brand that could grow with the child, but now Disney and Nick and PBS is allowing these kids to slip away to places like Club Penguin.

I kind of view this strategy they way GM marketed their brands in the 50's. Your first car would be a Pontiac, very young and sporty. Next you would buy a Chevy, a nice family car. Then you move up to a Buick or Oldsmobile as you become a bit more prosperous. Then finally the Cadillac to mark the pinnacle of your career or retirement. It makes sense, there is a logical progression that was supposed to take place that would keep you with the brand throughout most of your driving life. It makes me wonder why these companies are not doing this here.

If you are going to drill my kids with your brand, lets face the face that it is inevitable, then you should also have a brand strategy that allows my child to stay with your brand throughout their online experience at they grow older and develop age appropriate interest. These new, more age appropriate sites would allow the children to expand their skills and minds online while I know they are still at a reputable and acceptable site. That would be a very good use of marketing dollars. Now, we parents are left to fend for ourselves to determine who owns this site, what information is being gathered, what are they doing with this information, who can access my child while they are online, what is the content of the games, is it appropriate for my child, etc.

I am glad I have a friend who has an older kid, so I can follow some of the trends and know what to look forward to in the coming years. Thanks Dave.

Then again, lets just do as I said earlier, shut off the TV and Computer and go outside and play. Nah, that is too difficult. What do you think?