Ho, Ho, Ho

Evidently, that phrase will no longer be appropriate for all of the Santas throughout the malls of Australia. It has been determined by a group of "experts" that this phrase could frighten kids and insult women..... ARE YOU FREAKING SERIOUS????? I am so sick of the political correctness that overwhelms us today. Luckily in this case, the wily old Santas are telling their recruitment firm to shove off, and it seems that the public agrees. Here is a link to the article.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22761386-2,00.html

You see, this is just a little symptom of a much bigger problem. We are now expected not to offend anyone, ever. Christmas lights? They might offend Muslims. or Jews. or Atheists. or Buddhists. Guess what? I don't care. One of the greatest aspects of this country is our ability to stand independently for what we believe INDEPENDENTLY. I don't need some moron telling me that I should be offended by a menorah because I am a Christian. This is all part of the 'groupthink' idea, that we should not be individuals that stand out differently, but we should all be the same. Everyone is not equal, and this differentiation is why our culture has been so strong for so long.

Glavine a Brave again?

Word on the street here is that today the Braves offered Glavine a $7 mil, one year offer today, and it looks as if Glavine's agent counterproposed something acceptable. Could have him introduced in his old braves uni on Monday. As a lifelong Braves fan, I'm cautiously excited. He fell off towards the end of the year this past year, but the guy logged over 200 innings and won 13 ball games... that's more than all of the Braves pitchers from last year not named Hudson or Smoltz. Great top 3 if this happens for '08. Add in Chuck James and Reyes to close out the starting 5, and we have a group that should all help alleviate the bullpen woes by keeping them out of the game until the 7-9th innings. And I have yet to mention Mike Hampton.

I'm watching a standup routine right now of Frank Caliendo live from Vegas. I can't stop laughing. I'll plug his show FrankTV, which starts Tuesday night at11 on TBS. Definitely my favorite comedian on the air right now.

Today is...

my wife's 27th birthday. Tonight, we are heading out to celebrate at South City Kitchen in Midtown. Should be fun. You can expect to read a review about it here. Never been there before, but I have heard nothing but good things.


My old boss told me on many occasions that I married way out of my league. After taking a look at this pic I'd have to say I agree. I don't know what she was thinking...

American Gangster (Spoiler Alert)

Took in the new Denzel flick, 'American Gangster' Sunday afternoon and I have to say it was pretty solid. Denzel plays the role of Frank Lucas, who basically single-handedly changed the heroin business in Harlem during the 1970's. The movie is almost three hours long, but definitely worth it. What makes the story so interesting is how Lucas was able to go under the radar of the NYPD and the feds for so long. If the movie is accurate, they really did not even know he existed until long after his product starting hitting the market. In a market dominated by the mafia, it was one single man from Harlem that altered the landscape of the industry. Just like a true entrepreneur, his decision to go around the middleman and buy direct from the manufacturer let him drop his prices and manage quality of goods... Sounds like a good story for a high school econ course, except for the whole heroin-smuggling-murder-embezzlement sidebar. Other than that, I have to say that Mr. Lucas was quite the businessman. Go to wikipedia.com and you can find all sorts of articles written the actual events that took place.

Friday Thoughts

Hillary gives the FairTax a second thought... Yeah right.

Hillary???
Could someone please tell me why the entire nation is so fascinated with Hillary Clinton? Every Republican debate is centered on Hillary, and how the particular candidate is her polar opposite. And the media eats it up. All of this is going to help her get elected next year, which is not exactly what I have in mind. We are being bombarded and brainwashed into thinking that she is actually qualified for the job at hand, and I don't think that a few years in the Senate after 8 years in the White House as First Lady makes her a good fit.
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DickMorrisandEileenMcGann/2007/10/27/what_shed_do_hillarys_hidden_agenda
Take a look at this article by Dick Morris that examines Hillary's "non-stances" and what she will likely be able to do if elected.

On a lighter note...
Its Friday, so no need to be dwell on the upcoming doom and gloom of Nov 08. Should be a good weekend coming up. Some great college football matchups on Saturday should keep me busy. At least I don't have to wait until Saturday to endure another Georgia Tech football debacle... I got to do that last night vs. VaTech. Great game, if you like watching your QB throw 17 interceptions. Basketball season starts soon.

Pats-Colts on Sunday will be a great one, and I am saying it here that Peyton and the boys will cool of the Pats with a 38-31 victory. I need Peyton to throw a few TD's to keep my fantasy football team going strong as well. Maybe I am biased on this one?

Gonna check out 'American Gangster' this weekend as well. Expect a full review coming shortly.

Take this test

http://www.speakout.com/VoteMatch/senate2006.asp?quiz=2008

When you get about 10 minutes of free time, take this quiz to see which potential candidate for the '08 Presidential race you match up with.

Without taking the quiz, my assumption was that I would match up well with Fred Thompson. After taking the quiz, my match was none other than... Duncan Hunter? Most of you have probably never heard of him, so that gives me little hope for my man. A Rep from California (yep, Cali) is my horse. Too bad he probably won't make it out of the year in the race.

Anyway, this at least gives you a pulse of the key issues out there now and who stands for what (if they stand for anything at all).