MLB Announces Acceptable 2007 WS Matchup!

Betcha the NHL had wished they thought about this before Ottawa vs. Anaheim? If you like sports it is worth a click.

MLB Announces Acceptable 2007 World Series Matchups

MILWAUKEE—Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig announced the acceptable matchups for the 2007 World Series yesterday, insisting that...

More on Gore

Here is another commentary about Al Gore by Dave Johnson at the Huffington Post. What I find particularly intriguing is he is saying that not only is Bush and Company responsible for the mess we find ourselves in today, but in fact WE are all responsible. The media for not questioning presidential policies more thoroughly, Congress for believing without sufficient proof and we the people for allowing our elected officials to go along on this folly.

Gore says our country's problems go beyond the manipulations and corruptions of Bush and Cheney. He talks about what has happened to this country that we could have ever allow a Bush and Cheney and their lies and evasions and incuriosity to take the reigns of our government - and allowed them to stay there after it became clear what they are about. And he has some very insightful things to say about the historical forces that brought us where we are, and how they might guide us through this.

At times he sounded like a guru, talking about "truthforce," about how honesty enables us to see clearly without the distortions and distractions that come from constant TV exposure to trivia like gossip about Paris Hilton and Britney and work to push deadly situations like the Iraq war and global warming from our discourse. This is a man who has thought about what is happening to us, and who has the vision and experience to come up with some answers.

He asked how could not just the President, but the Congress, the media and the rest of our system of checks and balances and watchdogs have let Iraq - which he called the worst strategic blunder in our history - happen? How could he public have been fooled into thinking that Iraq had anything to do with 9/11? It's not just Bush who did that - it's all of us. Bush is just a symptom. We are ALL responsible for the decisions our country makes. So we all have to get involved and start fixing this broken system. Democracy is not a spectator sport.

Indeed Mr. Vice-President, Democracy is not a spectator sport and it time for all of us to get more involved in what we believe. Go volunteer for a candidate, talk about politics amongst your friends and have an open discussion about this issues. The more people that are involved the better our country will be moving forward.

I have to admit I am glad to hear Gore talking about being honest, truthful and upfront on what he believes and looking at the genesis of where we are now. Not just saying what potential constituents want to hear, like many Democratic Senators who once voted to support the war in Iraq and now to explain the difference in their opinion. To have any politician or national leader talk about honesty and truth, regardless of them running or not is refreshing. Whether or not you believe or agree with Mr. Gore's political believes and positions, I would hope we can all agree that we can go much further with an open and honest dialouge of issues and positions, rather than simple 30-second sound bytes, which is what we are generally force fed even if we want more information.

Does Mike Mussina Suck?

So after watching part of last nights game, I have come to the conclusion that Mike Mussina officially blows. He is no longer a premiere, top of the rotation starting pitcher. I think he is at best a lower tier, bottom of the order pitcher who is coming to the end of a mostly mediocre career.

I came across a new blog (to me), called Was Watching, who was also asking the same questions:

Since August 1, 2006, and to date, batters are hitting .294/.327/.454 against Mike Mussina (in 313 AB).

From April 2006 through month-end July 2006, batters hit .227/.268/.363 against Moose (in 564 AB).

Clearly, since August 2006, Mike Mussina has not been the same pitcher that he was during the first half of last season. This begs the following questions:

If Clemens joins the Yankees and pitches well, and if Clippard/DeSalvo/Hughes do a decent job in the rotation (in addition to Wang, Pettitte and Clemens), and if Moose continues to pitch this poorly, does Mike Mussina then become the fifth man in the Yankees rotation (when they line-up again after the All-Star break)?

Further, if Mike Mussina pitches his way into being the 5th-worst starter on the Yankees staff, and if the Yankees make the post-season this year, should the Yankees remove Moose from the rotation in the post-season?

Back in October of 2006, I was against the Yankees re-signing Mussina. When Mussina signed with the Yankees, I was OK with it from a money standpoint. Looking at the numbers now, I'm beginning to wonder if I was right the first time and wrong on the second one.

I would say that if Moose is the 5th best Yankee starter (or worse) come August or September, which is not a stretch, that he either should be used out of the bullpen for long relief or perhaps left off the playoff roster altogether if he is unable to work out of the bullpen. I also might suggest is if it is looking like this is a possibility after the All-Star break and if 2 of these 3 (Clippard/DeSalvo/Hughes) perform above expectations, then perhaps Mussina is sent packing to the ben earlier to see if can even perform in that role.

Though The Soul of Baseball believes he is on the cusp of the Hall of Fame, though he thinks the writers won't vote him and I think he is a definite reach and not deserving of a plaque in Cooperstown.

Mike Mussina. Maybe I'm underestimating Moose ... if he can put together another good season or two, he's definitely on the Hall of Fame cusp. Is that the right word: Cusp? He has 241 victories and 2,600 strikeouts, so could certainly still get his numbers up there in Hall of Fame territory. His number one comp right now is Hall of Famer Juan Marichal. ... But for some reason, I just think he will fall short. He's never won 20, never come particularly close to winner a Cy Young Award (he did finish second in 1999, but Pedro got all 28 votes that year) and despite the dazzling winning percentage and six Gold Gloves, I just don't think most writers view him as a Hall of Famer. We'll see, I guess.

Looking for Substance

"I'm getting just a little bit concerned about the 2008 presidential election. Election Day is only 19 months away and I hate to say it, but there doesn't seem to be a clear cut winner yet. Come on, media. It's your job to preemptively anoint someone so we all know who to give our money to." - Unknown

Kudos to former Vice President Al Gore for calling out Diane Sawyer, and the whole media establishment yesterday on Good Morning America. Gore, who may or may not be running for President next year was on the show to promote his new book "The Assault on Reason", but apparently he spent a fair amount of time ripping the media for focusing more on celebrities and sound bites rather than investigative reporting and making politicians explain in details their policy and plans. He also chastised Sawyer numerous times because she repeatedly (3 times) asked him if he was planning on joining the (horse) race, rather than just allowing him to push his book. He also asked what the difference is today between entertainment and news, and quite frankly I would say the line is now so transparent it almost does not exist.

The sad part is he is correct. Most modern day politicians spend most of the their time looking for the ideal sound bite that plays well in a 30-second spot or will get them on the evening news and cable news networks rather than spending time explaining their positions and how we as a nation will benefit by voting for them. The news media is more obsessed with ratings and feeding the masses pounds of garbage (Paris Hilton), rather than being spending their time investigating and reporting on the government and community, both positive and negative.

But I am guessing that is too much to ask for anymore. What do you think?

From ABC.com

The media, particularly television, is strangling democracy by not allowing the average person to get more involved in the political conversation, former Vice President Al Gore told "Good Morning America" anchor Diane Sawyer.

As TV news becomes more and more obsessed with shallow topics such as Paris Hilton, politicians talk in sound bites recommended by media manipulators, Gore said, which causes democracy to lose its muscle as the public becomes virtually hypnotized by four-and-a-half hours of passive TV viewing every day.

"Democracy is a conversation, and what made American democracy in the first place over 200 years ago was a new way of communicating that involved average people in the conversation," he said. "People listen, but they don't have an opportunity to take part in the conversation, and one of the principal reasons why Americans feel they don't have a role to play, their vote doesn't count, their voice isn't heard is because it is mainly a one-way conversation over television. It's beginning to change, and that's the good news."

Gore even evoked chickens becoming paralyzed by fear and repetitive motion and said TV makes people passive. "Being in the television business… one of the most
valuable things you can have is a time slot following a hit show because even with a remote, there [are] millions of us who'll sit and watch a show and be sufficiently immobilized by it that you can't even move a thumb muscle," he said. "Anybody who has spent time growing up on a farm has probably had that experience [of hypnotizing chickens with repetitive movements], but the… point is larger than that. The point is that instead of engaging in a free and vigorous discussion that anybody can take part in, instead now candidates for office and those who want to influence public opinion use these sophisticated propagandistic techniques to try to give emotional impressions and sort of, you know, try and herd people this way or that."

Then Gore turned the tables on Sawyer, asking her the difference between news and entertainment. She replied that news educates and illuminates.

"Wait a minute, this is the headline here, that you agree with what I'm saying," he responded.

Gore believes that what will return the conversation back to the general public is the Internet.

"The great virtue of the Internet is that individuals have open access to it, not only to take what they are interested in but also to contribute their own ideas," he said. "We've shut ourselves off from that source of strength that's made this nation the greatest nation on Earth, and instead we've been making a series of catastrophic mistakes that have left our troops trapped in Iraq, that have created this climate crisis that's so threatening to the future of civilization, and instead we're hearing these slogans and buzz words instead of looking at what the facts are."

See transcripts here and here

David Ortiz needs to learn to keep his mouth shut

From Buster Olney's blog on ESPN:

Said David Ortiz: "We don't need to worry about anybody; everyone needs to worry
about us."

Now, I will be the first to admit that the Yankees have looked awful so far this year. I will also begrudgingly admit that the Red Sox have looked amazing so far this year. They have cruised through the first quarter of the season without any blemishes. Josh Beckett on the DL with his old recurring blister problems is about the only hurdle they have encountered so far and quite frankly good for them. Theo Epstein has put together a wonderful team, and they should feel a bit arrogant and cocky. However, quotes like the one above have a history of coming back to haunt players later on down the line.


If you have read any of my stuff in the past you know that I have enormous respect for David Ortiz and what he has been able to do with the bat, and how at times he has single handily won games for them in the past. However, last year as the Red Sox were fading and he was injured down the stretch, he opened his mouth and said he deserved to win the MVP over Derek Jeter (though both lost out to Justin Morneau) because he is a power hitter and Jeter is not. He said this things as the Red Sox ultimately finished 3rd behind the Yankees and the Blue Jays. I opined at the time why Ortiz should not win the MVP.


Now I am seeing a disturbing trend from Big Papi, that Red Sox Nation should be concerned about, and that is getting too cocky too early in the season and ruling the Yankees out too soon. It is often better in sports to keep one's mouth shut, rather than give your opponents motivation or worse having to eat crow later. Needless to say, I am certainly hoping for the latter.


Someone told me this weekend, that the Yankees need to go about 77-42 for the rest of the way in order to get to 97-65, and finish in the thick of the wild card and perhaps the divisional title depending on the bumps that the Red Sox encounter between now and September. Now, while this would be amazing run, I believe the Yankees are capable of such a run with the way the offense and pitching is constructing.


The Yankees have been devastated by injuries to the rotation, have a weary overused bullpen and an anemic offense outside of Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada and Derek Jeter. If Roger Clemens returns and can keep his ERA under 3.50, and Phil Hughes can be a solid 5th starter and the rest of the offense (Damon, Giambi, Matsui, Abreau, Cano) can get back on track, then this team could go 77-42 or better. They have the tools to do it, the question is now, do the have the heart to suck it up and give everything they have to get there?

Now the flip-side is, if the Yankees remain in the tank and are still reeling by the middle of June, I don't foresee a repeat of 1978, when they battled back from 14 games out in July to beat the Red Sox in the infamous Bucky Dent Home Run Game.

Then again, maybe it is the curse of Zim

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ARod in the Clutch (late innings w/ RISP)

So in case you have not noticed I have been busy and not been able to blog much, nor have I been able to track how Alex Rodriguez has done in the clutch for the past 2-3 weeks. I have to assume he has not been very clutch, since the Yankees are now 3 games under .500 and 10 games behind the streaking Boston Red Sox. He is also mired in a 8 -49 slump, quite a slow down from his torrid April, well I guess he had to come back to reality eventually. I have not updated the AROD clutch tracker on the left hand side in a while, since I am not aware of any situation where he came up late in a game with the ability to win or tie the game. If you are aware of any in this time frame, please let know.

As many of you know, I am not a crazy sabremetric statitician or anything, (like some of the Yankee sites I link to on the left) but since I said I was going to pay more attention to see what is fact and what is fiction. On the flip side, as I was researching this today, I saw some interesting splits on Rodriguez at ESPN, that shows that he has been succeeding more this when he bats with players are on base, than with the bases empty.



If you take a look at the breakdown for on Second, Second and Third, Men on, 2 Out, Man on 3rd <2 out, he is doing quite well. His worse situation seems to be None On with 1/2 outs. Not sure what to make of this, other than I found it a bit interesting. Although there is no breakdown for late innings, I am certainly impressed with the fact that he seems to be hitting much better with runners on, and in scoring position since that is exactly what you want out of your 3 or 4 hitter. Needless to say, I would be happy to have him back minding the hot corner in 2008.

Great Songs from the late 1980's??

So a few of us were having a discussion about what, if any, songs stand up to the test of time from the late 1980's. We were hard pressed to come up with a list of 20-100 songs from this era that are still great songs today, that when you hear it on the radio, or satellite or wherever that you say this song is really good. It is funny because the songs that most of us came up with were actually from pre-1985 (Time after Time, Don't Stop Believing, etc.)

Another friend once said that we relate to music from our formative years and remember it almost as much for nostalgia as anything else. So with that in mind, you have to seperate songs that were great because it reminds you of a girl, or a night out or whatever does not count. What matters is that musically it still rocks. So that pretty much eliminates all heavy metal form that era, including Def Leperd, Bon Jovi and Poision.

Dora listed some songs from the The Cure, or Siouxsie & the Banshees. I come up with REM and the entire Document album, but otherwise I cannot think of anything. Please let me know in the comments section if you have any suggestions to see if we can come up wtih 20 songs from 1986-1989 that still rock and can listen to today?

Links of the Day - May 18, 2007

The 18-20 Yankees Should Be on Pace for 94 Wins - Interesting theory. I would be very happy with 94 wins, since that should at least keep us in the Wild card race and be around if the Red Sox have a typical late summer swoon.

Giambi's comments to be investigated - This should be watched carefully as well. Where I have been a full supporter of the Mitchell Investigation, I think Giambi is correct that everyone involved, the league, the teams and the players association should at least admit that the whole steroid thing occurred and now they are doing everything they can to keep the playing field level. It will be a true shame if Giambi winds up getting suspended over these comments, since it is closer to common sense and closure, which might allow the fans to move.

Privacy and Security - A curious way indeed to fight the war on terror, once again warning us that Big Brother is out there and we bloggers need to be very careful about what we write with the understanding that it can and will be held against us.

Epic Alert 14.10

Links of the Day - May 9, 2007

Real ID Act Intolerable Threat To Privacy, Civil Liberties

Weren't the American Revolutionaries Disloyal? - from Free Association

The Great Oil Robbery -from the Populist Party

EPIC Newsletter 14.09

Why do we need a War Czar?

I realize this is a bit outdated, but really sums up the issue quite succinctly:

The White House says it wants to appoint a high-powered official to oversee the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and issue directions to the Pentagon and the State Department. This person would be called "the president of the United States."

7 Things about me, you may not know

So I just got tagged by The Holmes, who was tagged by Julie to tell you 7 things about myself (factoids according the Holmes) that you don't know about me. So here goes:

1. My parents owned a sail boat when I was a kid, so I spent almost all summer (at least the majority of weekends and most vacations) sailing along Cayuga Lake, or Lake Ontario. Today, I absolutely love the open water and enjoy it when the wind blows in my face off the Long Island Sound. I hate sitting on sandy beaches, even though almost every summer now we rent a beach house and sit in the sand by the ocean.
2. When I started 7th grade, I was 5'4" and weighed 165 lbs. The year I graduated I was 5'6" and wrestled in the 148 lbs weight class. So I grew 2 inches and lost almost 20 pounds over 6 years, which I quickly put right back on after I blew out my hamstring in a track meet and spent the summer rehabilitating by drinking beer at the local county park, with Tommy Boylan and Micki Ingram.
3. I was in the drama club in High School and got to kiss the best looking senior (in the Drama Club) girl for three consecutive years.
4. In college, my dorm floor in sophomore year was equally divided between intellectual thinkers (the dark side) who discussed everything under the sun and the party types (the force or peasant smell) who had no use for discourse beyond the latest Def Leperd video, girls and alcohol. Although I hung with both groups, I prefer discussion and philosophical discussions rather than just accepting the status quo.
5. Ithaca College was not a huge proponent of fraternities when I was there, which allowed me to be the ultimate social butterfly in college. I was not tied down to one set of friends. I enjoyed mingling with almost everyone regardless of which dorm they lived or which school they attended. If there was a party I wanted to be there regardless of who was going. I almost knew someone where ever I went. When I went back for my 5 year reunion and walked into a bar, it was as if I was Norm from Cheers, everyone knew my name.
6. I am still surprisingly fast for a short fat guy, and almost always amaze the guys on my softball team how fast I can motor around the bases.
7. I like to think of myself as being very loyal to my friends. I hope all my friends past and present know they can count on me to be there for them when they need someone. I see no reason to leave the room when the going gets tough. I also don't hold a grudge. I yell when I am mad, but once the emotion has passed the issue is done. There is very little long term value in holding onto negative feelings, except when your friends, money and gamblilng are involved.

There you have it. Hope you enjoyed the meme, now in order to keep keep it going I tag ELuv, Dtrain, Christy, Romesho, Digital Napkin, Lady Banana and Kyle.

Now, as an aside I agree with the Holmes that Tagging is a good idea since it gives me a good reason to write something, but I am also concerned when it comes to tagging others since it does certainly have the chain letter (which I absolutely despise) feel to it so let me know if you don't want to participate.

More thoughts on Eduction

Here is a reprint of something I wrote in December 2005 that I thought I would post again in lieu of the discussion from Brave Humans:

It must be my day for highlighting other peoples blogs, but my friend Dora's writes in her Confessions of a Soccer Mom how she is concerned about the amount of homework her 6 year old son gets in his 1st grade class. She is also concerned that teachers are strictly teaching to standardized tests, and not allowing their students a chance to learn to love to learn. This I agree, is a function of the nightmare that is "No Child Left Behind" another disaster sprung on us by President George W. Bush, which by the way CT State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has already challenged in court, since it is costs CT tax payers additional money, but that is a totally different story.

It struck a cord with me, that has left multiple lingering thoughts for the past few days. Nancy and I are now investigating if we want to send our son to a magnet school next year or should he go to his neighborhood school. A magnet school is either a school that focuses on a specific area (arts, social studies, international or technical) then focuses the students studies on that theme throughout their classes OR it is a place to achieve diversity set up by the school charter, that no school can have more or less than 10% of the city racial balance; so no school can have more than 45-65% white students. I have not yet figured out which it actually is, it depends on who you ask. It could all be a moot point if we don't get a good lottery number to determine who goes to the magnet schools, but I digress.

Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with his neighborhood school, but since the city of Stamford offers a magnet option for elementary and middle school, we want to see if there is a better option to meet his educational needs, whatever they might be at age 4.

What is wrong with today's education system and how can we change it for the better? I asked Nancy, a certified licensed teacher, to read Dora's blog and she said that is typical for the schools she has been to so far, and not unreasonable in today's age. In order to receive state and federal funding, schools needs to achieve certain levels on this standardized testing. In order to increase their averages, the schools push the kids who excel at test taking harder to achieve greater scores so they can push the schools overall average up beyond the required threshold.

So in the long run, this seems like a big game of how can we show progress without really helping the low achievers, and pushing the upper end of the testing spectrum until they broke, so all they know how to do is take and pass tests. The other point Nancy made is just because some student is or is not a good test taker is not reflection of intelligence or nor their ability to succeed in school or in life. Finally she said this is difficult if not impossible to change, since schools and administrators are stuck on this gravy train with no easy way to get off. I have two thoughts on how we can begin change, grassroots teachers/educators movement and asking those in powers superintendents, State and Federal Secretary of Educations that we demand a change.

First, I would ask teachers and education professionals to forget about funding and tell me how to solve this problem. Essentially, they would need to define the problem. If we can remove the walls and barriers and limitations of the current system and just talk about how to get kids interested in learning would be a start. Once you have the problem defined and some potential solutions, you can begin to factor in the existing limitations and find a way to work around them.

Second, we would need to contact all our local school administers, principals, superintendent, board of educations, secretary's of education, and everyone having anything to do with the education process and let them know there is a problem and we as tax payers and parents are unhappy with the current system. Bill Gates through his philanthropic foundation has made education one of his issues. He gave a speech in February 2005 to the National Education Summit on High Schools and he said:

America's high schools are obsolete.

By obsolete, I don't just mean that our high schools are broken, flawed, and under-funded Although a case could be made for every one of those points.

By obsolete, I mean that our high schools - even when they're working exactly as designed - cannot teach our kids what they need to know today.

Training the workforce of tomorrow with the high schools of today is like trying to teach kids about today's computers on a 50-year-old mainframe. It's the wrong tool for the times.

Our high schools were designed fifty years ago to meet the needs of another age. Until we design them to meet the needs of the 21st century, we will keep limiting - even ruining - the lives of millions of Americans every year.

I think this applies to the entire American school system, not just high school. More parents are going to need to stand up and make our the schools more accountable. I believe we are already living in the waning days of the American empire as the Indian and Chinese century is just beginning. We are going to need to do everything possible to improve our education system or else we will find ourselves in the position the French, a second rate power clinging to the ways of the past, attempting to stay relevant in a new changing world. The only way we will be able to compete in the future is to make sure are schools are doing more than teaching our kids how to take standardized tests.

Added May 9, 2007 - I am still in agreement with everything I wrote 18 months ago. As an update, Jacob was accepted into a magnet school and is just about finished with kindegarten. The teacher he had (she just left on maternity leave) was excellent and really helped make his first public schooling experience a truly positive one.

Public Schools - By Brave Humans

So, I was over at Brave Humans Blog again, and there was a great post asking about the state of public education and there is a pretty active discussion going on regarding what ails the current system. Needless to say, I felt compelled to add my $.02 and wanted to share it with you. Please feel free to join the conversation there, or comment here on your thoughts about the state of the American Public Schools

Elena,

It seems I came late to this party, but after reading (or skimming) the comments it seems that one major point is missing from this discussion. That is that the entire public school system is sadly antiquated and very out of date. The whole basis of September to June schedule is based upon a 19th century agrarian economy, not the 21st century information economy.

The semi-modern cirruculum, somewhat based upon the No Child Left Behind program, is based on teaching to a test in order to get the students scores where they need to be in order to continue to receive federal funding. This method fails to teach critical thinking and problem solving which is paramount in todays day and age. The American public school system is no longer producing the world's best scientist, engineers or doctors. Other countries are taking the lead in these fields and leaving us far behind. The idea that just 40 years ago that we were able to put a man on the moon and today we have trouble getting a space shuttle up and back successfully speaks volumes.

The solution is to review and overhaul the entire education system. This would be a complete redesign and would include a review of how it is funded, what we should be teaching, what children need to know in order to leave or graduate and become productive members of society, providing them with skills and knowledge that will be essential in the 21st century.

I am not an educator, but am a concerned parent. I want to make sure that my children are more prepared for adult life and responsibility when they graduate public high school then when I did 20+ years ago.

As an aside, part of the problem is the teachers union and the difficulty of removing a sub-par teacher because of the contract. However, I do believe that a teacher should be one of the highest paid professionals in our society, equal to doctors, laywers, CEOS and anyone else. At the core, they control the future and many great and brilliant minds (including myself) have chosen different career paths because teaching is not economically viable. If my taxes go to paying teachers salary and the teachers can show my children how to fish, rather than being given a fish then the taxes are worth it. A good teacher can make all the difference to a child. Likewise a bad teacher could do multiple harm to a childs learning and self confidence.

Finally, G-d has absolutely no place in public schools. There is a little something called seperation of church and state, and whether we like it or not, public school is a state function. If you want religion in your classroom, then send your children to a Catholic school, Bible School, Yeshiva, or whatever is appropriate for your beliefs. I have to admit I am a bit offended (appalled) that CT public schools offer a moment of silence after the pledge (don't get me started on this) to allow children to pray. But hey that is just me.

NINETEEN THINGS THAT IT TOOK ME 50 YEARS TO LEARN

By Dave Barry

1. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.
2. If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be "meetings."
3. There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
4. People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.
5. And when God, who created the entire universe with all of its glories, decides to deliver a message to humanity, He WILL NOT use, as His messenger, a person on cable TV with a bad hairstyle.
6. You should not confuse your career with your life.
7. No matter what happens, somebody will find a way to take it too seriously.
8. When trouble arises and things look bad, there is always one individual who perceives a solution and is willing to take command. Very often, that individual is crazy.
9. Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.
10. Never lick a steak knife.
11. Take out the fortune before you eat the cookie.
12. The most destructive force in the universe is gossip.
13. You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we observe daylight savings time.
14. You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests that you think she's pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment.
15. There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal about your birthday. That time is age eleven.
16. The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above average drivers.
17. The main accomplishment of almost all organized protests is to annoy people who are not in them.
18. A person who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter, is not a nice person. (This is very important. Pay attention. It never fails.)
19. Your friends love you anyway.

TWO OLD BASEBALL PLAYERS

Two 90 year old men, Moe and Joe, had been friends all of their lives. When it became clear that Joe is dying, Moe visits him every day. One day Moe says, "Joe, we both loved baseball all our lives, and we played minor league ball together for so many years. Please do me one favor, when you get to Heaven, somehow you must let me know if there's baseball there."

Joe looks up at Moe from his death bed, "Moe, you've been my best friend for many years. If it's at all possible, I'll do this favor for you." Shortly after that, Joe passes on.

At midnight a couple of nights later, Moe is awakened from a sound sleep by a blinding flash of white light and a voice calling out to him, "Moe--Moe."

"Who is it?” asks Moe sitting up suddenly. "Who is it?"

"Moe--it's me, Joe."

"You're not Joe. Joe just died."

"I'm telling you, it's me, Joe," insists the voice."

"Joe! Where are you?"

"In heaven", replies Joe. "I have some really good news and a little bad news."

"Tell me the good news first," says Moe.

"The good news," Joe says," is that there IS baseball in heaven. Better yet, all of our old buddies who died before us are here, too. Better than that, we're all young again. Better still, it's always springtime and it never rains or snows. And best of all, we can play baseball all we want, and we never get tired."

"That's fantastic," says Moe. "It's beyond my wildest dreams! So what's the bad news? Joe says, "You're pitching Tuesday."

(Thanks Len)

What I believe - Comment to Brave Humans

Here is a post based upon a comment I left over at Brave Humans the other day, and I thought I would share it with you and it should give you a small taste of what I believe ideologically speaking:

...the media only sees black or white (or red and blue as the case may be) and the talk show hosts need to consider their audience and ratings. I honestly believe that the Ann Coulters and Al Frankens (or whoever the left equivalent pig is) only says the most outrageous things because it gets them publicity and ratings.

I believe we as citizens should not be grouped directly for demographic purposes since we all have varying and often different opinions even within our own parties or ideologies. Since the media only wants to provide sound bites, rather than real news it is just easier to group us together like lemmings or cattle.

I believe a 3rd party could come out of no where and potentially steal or spoil the 2008 presidential election since most people are not enamoured with the status quo of business as usual and the dead end political rhetoric coming out of Washington. I am hoping that Joe Lieberman is no where near this 3rd party initiative but I know that slime bastard will probably be in the center of this new party. I hope this 3rd party can last longer than the Ross Perot and his Reform Party of 1992 and 1996.

I believe the 2008 campaign is already costing the economy too much time and money that can be better spent helping our community and citizens. It seems that at least $100-150 Million was spent in the first quarter alone to support the top candidates. This money could have been better spent feeding the homeless, or providing more money for the local schools, or to find a cure for cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's or some other deadly disease, instead of being pissed away via the political process. What a waste!!!

I myself am a social libertarian, who believes in a solid Jeffersonian model of government. In other words the fed has no role or responsibility to do anything not explicitly laid out in the constitution. If it ain't in the Constitution then it is the states role to deal with it. This means smaller more efficient federal government that is able to provide national security for defensive purposes.

This means leaving a decision on a woman's body and health in her hands, not in the hands of some men who have chosen a different path. Yes I believe that pro-life individuals have in fact chosen to be that way, and that is fine. They need to recognize their choice and allow other individuals to make their own choice regarding their bodies. Preventing unwanted pregnancies through birth control is a much better way of avoiding this situation, but accidents happen and sexual education needs not to be taboo in the home and in the schools.

This means keeping their hands and regulations off our scientific community, so that we can again become a power in this arena.

This means allowing the states the freedom to set laws that they see fit for their citizens, and having the other states respect those laws, since isn't it easier to appease and provide for 50 individual heads instead of one 50 headed monster.

I believe our troops would be much better served here working to prevent terrorist activities at our ports and borders, not fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan where it seems we can accomplish very little in the big picture. (the big picture either bringing democracy to the middle east or the overall war on terrorism)

I believe the 2nd amendment has significant value, but the sale of automatic assault rifles serves no purpose for home protection or hunting wildlife. Nothing wrong with a .22 or good old fashioned shotgun.

I could go on, but hopefully you get my point of view. What do you believe?

Links of the Day - May 1, 2007

Another Historic Step on Impeachment - via My Adventures (I agree a day late and a dollar short). California is now the 2nd state, joining Vermont, to petition Congress to open an impeachment inquiry.

Sparked by an insurgency among delegates, the California Democratic Party has taken an historic step forward on the issue of impeachment. In a resolution affirmed by the full state party convention Sunday, the Democrats called on the U.S. Congress to use its subpoena power to investigate misdeeds of President Bush and Vice President Cheney – and to hold the Administration accountable “with appropriate remedies and punishment, including impeachment.” The delegate insurgency was coordinated by Progressive Democrats of America and its allies.

Forty-Three Groups Join Campaign to Stop REAL ID

Today, 43 organizations representing transpartisan,nonpartisan, privacy, consumer, civil liberty, civil rights, andimmigrant organizations have joined to launch a national campaign tosolicit public comments to stop the nation's first national ID system:REAL ID.

Republican Party abandons Liberty - via the Liberty Papers

Under Republican leadership, the federal government has expanded – without even including war-related spending – far more quickly than it expanded under Bill Clinton. And when it comes to security matters, Republicans have been zealous in giving the feds additional powers to trample our privacy and liberties. Republicans have been unwavering in their support for embarking on nation-building experiments of the sort that traditional conservatives would abhor. The presidential candidates most committed to a muscular central government – Rudy Giuliani and John McCain – are leading the pack.

Security emphasis seen as impinging on liberties

It is good to see (via Vicezilla at My View of It) that the nation is beginning to realize that this administration has gone too far in taking away personal liberties from its citizens:

Americans think the Bush administration has tipped the balance of security versus liberty too far toward security, a new poll shows.

But the public remains closely divided on President Bush's most contentious security programs, favoring by small margins warrantless wiretaps against terrorist suspects and the broad mining by federal agencies of personal data about U.S. citizens, according to the survey by UPI/Zogby International.

Thirty-three percent of the 5,932 persons polled said the administration had "found the right balance between personal security and personal freedom," and 49 percent said the administration had gone too far in its efforts. Seven percent said the administration had weakened security by tipping the balance too far toward personal freedoms.

It makes me wonder what exactly the remaining 7 % would like to see done since they feel that the government should take away more personal liberties in order to make the country more secure. I agree with Vice but some of the results also leave some additional questions:

Two-thirds of respondents said the U.S. government has the right to collect personal data about foreign airline passengers coming to the country, a source of ongoing friction with the European Union.

Makes you wonder if US citizens have no objections to the EU doing similar data collection on their travels?

55% percent said the Terrorism Surveillance Program is "a necessary and legal tool to protect Americans." Under the program, the National Security Agency conducts court-authorized but warrantless surveillance of international communications by Americans with terrorist suspects.

Awfully fuzzy logic on who would need a warrant and who would not. I much prefer a warrant for anyone suspected or under surveillance. What is the harm, if you have probably cause get the warrant. I believe the law allows 3 days post surveillance so if there is an immediate (gun to the head situation) need there is still an opportunity to get it done within our laws, or is that asking too much?

But 62% also said the "government should always be required to get a warrant or court order before monitoring the phone conversations or e-mails of American citizens or legal immigrants."

Good to see the majority of the citizens polled here waking up, smelling the coffee and seeing the light. Especially in light of last nights Heroes episode, which is exactly what can happen if the government is given enough power to take away our civil liberties in order to defeat terrorists.