Self Reliance

Ah, Election Day. A day that I usually look forward to, because it is our chance as citizens of this country to let our voice be heard from all corners of this country. A day that we get to stand up and let our politicians hear us loud and clear, more so than any other time possible. On Election Day, we have the opportunity shape the way that our government runs and to shape the future of this country. On this Election Day though, I am not that excited.

And I say that not because of Obama or McCain, Chambliss or Martin, etc. I say that because I am scared of the people of this country more than the leaders we are about to elect. I am scared that our vast electorate has somehow transformed itself into a pitiful lot that needs and craves more dependence on our federal government with each passing day. I am scared that we have transitioned from self-reliance to self-pity. No longer are we asking what we can do to improve our situations in life. We are asking now how the government and taxpayers can help us. It seems like a small issue, but it is life-threatening to the sovereignty of this nation and our ability to freely pursue life, liberty, and happyness. And this problem goes across both aisles, Democrats and Republicans alike.

If I could ask every citizen one thing, it would not be to vote for McCain, or here in GA to vote for Saxby Chambliss, etc. I would ask each man or woman to look in the mirror and ask,

"What can I do to make my life better? How can I take more responsibility for my own actions and decisions and put less burden on those around me?"

If we could all take a few minutes and really examine the strengths of self-reliance, this nation would grow and prosper in ways that our generation has never experienced. But sadly, most people cannot even begin to accept responsibility for their mistakes, their decisions, the things that have directed the course of their lives, and instead look to a dependence on others in the form of big government and redistribution of wealth as the easy way out. And the easy way out is going to cost us everything in the long run.

Someone please explain this to me

I found a news story this morning that came out of Murfreesboro TN, saying that vandals who had been harassing the Republican Campaing HQ there finally actually vandalized the building, throwing a brick with an anarchy symbol on it through the window... So let me get this straight. Vandals who want less government control over their lives (hence, heading towards potential anarchy in a very convulated way) decide to target the party that promotes less government intervention into our lives. That makes no sense. But, I am applying a logical thought process to idiots who throw bricks through windows, and that is my fault.

But it brings up why I support having a test that qualifies you to vote in our federal elections. We have too many morons in this country that help put freedom-takers into office based on nothing other than campaign rhetoric. I listen to all of these Obama supporters that really have no clue what he brings to the table. I'm not saying that these people are idiots b/c they support Obama (even though I think that they are, but that is a different argument), I am saying they are idiots because they don't really know why they support him, which is the worst kind of idiot. People who don't know what they don't know scare the crap out of me when it comes to choosing leadership of our country. Not just for the president, but also for the Senate and the House. We have a looming super majority of far-left, individual rights hating lawmakers, ready to take a filibuster proof ride into socialism. And all because we have a voter base that has no freakin clue what they are about to do.

Chicago Marathon

For any of you looking for a way to challenge your mind, body, and your resolve in a way you have never before, I have three words of advice.... Run a marathon. I ran the Chicago marathon last weekend, and I have to say it was one of the toughest, but most rewarding physical challenges I have had. I have been training since early this year for the race, so I felt I was prepared to go out there and get it done. But in the course of training, I never once had the feelings in my legs, and my mind for that matter, that I did over the last few miles of that race.
I read over and over about 'hitting the wall' around mile 22. It is what occurs when your body's carbohydrate store becomes essentially empty, and you are left with 4 or 5 miles to go and the honest desire to just fall flat on your face on the pavement and not move for three days. It hit me around mile 21, when the heat really starting get to me as well. My time slowed considerably, but I was able to push on through and finish the race. I came in under my goal time of 3 hours, 45 minutes, but the last 25% was quite a bit slower than I had been running.

The course was flat, much better than running here in the foothills of GA. This is a course that usually produces outstanding times for experienced pro runners. In fact, there were quite a few Olympic athletes running this race. Ideal race temp for one of these: 50 degrees. High last Sunday in Chicago: 84. Little toasty. And that made a huge difference towards the end of the race.

Best part of the whole thing was having my wife Summer there as well cheering me on. Here is a link to her site and the pics from the weekend. http://joshsummerandmaddux.blogspot.com/2008/10/marathon-man.html She had me prepared with plenty of Gu and energy packs and a great t-shirt she wore as well. Every time I passed her on the streets, I got a little more energy to finish up. That is until I saw her at mile 25, where she was screaming at me to pick it up and finish strong. At that point, I almost threw my last Gu pack at her from across the road. Kidding. sort of. So a big thank you to her for keeping me going strong....

As for the crowds, they were unbelievable. The energy of the crowd was amazing, they were constantly cheering us all on, and there were literally thousands of spectators everywhere. I hope one day to do this again.

Top 5 List

Ok, so anybody that reads this blog with any regularity (all two of you) should know my stance on the upcoming election. I don't see this as an election choice that I would prefer in my ideal world, even though I am ardently supporting John McCain in his bid for the White House. McCain's campaign rhetoric has left a lot to be desired by us in the conservative end of the Republican Party, but our choice is critical to the direction of this nation. I. like many of you, will be watching the debate tonight, and in honor of the occasion, I am laying out my top five reasons to oppose Barack Obama for Prez. And guess what, none of them have to do with race. Unbelievable isn't it, that I oppose him and don't care that he is black??? Its apparently an impossible feat, but I assure you I have accomplished it. And it is that argument that Obama supporters keep making that made me want to create this list: To legitimize my opposition and fear of his presidency, based on facts and logic, not emotion and hate.

5. Obama has done nothing to bring the coutry together and unite our divided parties. In his illustrious 143-day US Senate career, Barack Obama's voting record shows that he voted along party lines 97% of the time. And he accuses John McCain of being 90% with GW. Side note: GW doesn't vote in the Senate, but I digress. "Change we can believe in"??? That's not change, that is Washington as usual. Nothing about Obama seems any different that any other leftist idealogue serving (I using the term 'serving' very loosely here).

4. Foreign policy experience and knowledge. Obama requested from our Iraqi government to hold out on any troop withdrawal plans until after the election, presumably to get the credit for doing so. Despicable if you ask me. And he accuses our troops of atrocities and killing civilians, then says he would make a strong commander in chief? He scares the crap out of me in charge of the most important piece of our federal budget: the military.

3. Higher taxes on the rich does not stimulate the economy. Studies conducted over the past ten years have shown conclusively that our economy is best stimulated through business growth, not government growth. High-income earners create jobs, and job creation keeps things moving forward. The government does not create jobs, unless you count the thousands of desk jockeys that collect a federal paycheck to do nothing that effectively promotes economic growth.

2. Universal health care is not the answer. Our health care system is amiss, to be sure. But making all things health care under the care of our lovely federal government will lead to a catastrophic change in our system. I don't know about you, but I don't want to wait 5 months on an x-ray for a broken bone, or have to take certain medicine b/c that is what Congress says I have to take. Critical difference b/w the two candidates: McCain says health care is a responsibility of the citizen, Obama says it is a right. If it is a right, then the government has to back it and enforce it. Obama can say what he wants about choice of coverage, etc., but bottom line is that the gov't will enforce it and do with it as they see fit.

1. America is great because of its government, not its people. Or at least that is what Obama would have you think (Refer to earlier post about Obama's visit to Letterman). The US is great in spite of its government at this point. Our federal government needs to relinquish power back to the states and to the people, and only step in when absolutely necessary. Free market activity promotes competition, whether that be a furniture store choice or school choice with a voucher system. Survival of the fittest makes us all work harder and smarter, and that is exactly what this country needs right now.

If you want less choice in how to run your life, if you want to give more liberties away to our federal government, if you want more redistribution of your wealth given away to those who haven't earned it, if you want to lose any choice in which doctors you see, if you want our foreign enemies to be renewed in their sense of victory over us, if you want weakened sovereignty, then by all means, vote for Obama.

If the shoe fits....

Foxnews.com today reported that two terrorists were arrested in Germany while on board a flight headed to the Netherlands. Apparently, the Netherlands is a prime target for Islamic terrorists, in part due to a film created by a Dutch lawmaker, Geert Wilders. According to the article, his film "Fitna", sets 'Koranic texts against a background of violent images, which the agency said "is considered a major insult and provocation" by terrorist groups'.

So, let me get this straight. Islamic terrorists don't like being depicted as religiously violent people, so to protest this, they commit terrorist acts against the nation that this author lives in. I may not be the smartest man in the world, but I can see that this may not be the way to show the world that Wilders is wrong. Just a thought. But then again, I am trying to provide logical thought process to people who obviously threw logic out the window a long time ago....

A little ironic?? Don't ya think????

So, it was announced today that JP Morgan Chase is buying Washington Mutual Bank. WaMu is now known as the greatest bank failure in the history of the U.S. For those of you who don't watch as much tv as I do, this is the bank that in its own commercials makes fun of the all of the old school banks, constantly making fun of the old white guys in their stuffy three piece suits and how they don't care about the common man. WaMu attempted in these commercials to be the new alternative for all of us.

The reason for their failures? If you said bad mortgage debts, then you guessed correctly. They had amassed billions of dollars in failed mortgage loans, and this was their only way out. The reason that this is worth blogging about is that this institution prided itself in serving the people that probably (ok, definitely) did not need to be purchasing a home in the first place. Not to sound cold-blooded, but they asked for it. You loan billions of dollars to unqualified borrowers and the writing should have been on the wall from day one. While the Democrat-led Congress of the late 80's and early 90's pressured lenders to get more citizens into home ownership (pandering to the masses as per usual), they also created this crisis that we are facing today. I am amazed that WaMu and the rest of the financial institutions, with all of their bright minds and great ideas, did nothing but go after short term profits when they had to have known that this would be the end result.

But don't get me wrong, this is not only on the shoulders of the lenders and the idiots in power of our federal government. Borrowers have to be held accountable for their decisions, as it is their signatures on the closing docs and their butts on the line when they bought these homes they could not afford.

Jim Martin for Senate in GA??? Yeah right.

So I saw this commercial on tv last night for our state's Senate seat challenger, the venerable Jim Martin, who is a Democrat. And like all the rest of the socialists, he equates his competitor, a Republican, with 'George Bush economics'. (On an aside, that is a great label, b/c we all, supporters included, that that GDub isn't the sharpest tool in the shed). My beef with the ad is that it claims we are in a recession. Doesn't sound too wrong, does it?? That is only because we have had it beat into our heads by the liberals and the media (is that a redundancy) that we are in a recession. By definition, a recession is a period of two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth, or a negative GDP. Last time I checked, we have had ZERO quarters of negative growth. Not one. Not two. ZERO. Which means, by definition, that we are not in a recession. I know times suck right now. I lost my job and I have been looking for one for over two months with little luck. But just because things could be better does not mean we are in a recession or heading for a depression. Its word choice and blatant lies like this ad that only exacerbates the problem. So, of course I emailed Jim Martin's campaign, and gave them the truth, and all I got was a lousy canned response saying that Jim Martin cares what I think. What a load of crap. If he cared, then he should stop insulting my intelligence and speak the freaking truth instead of manipulating the voters to think that we are in the gutter and only the Dems can get us out.

A break from the rants

Wanted to post a couple of pics of my nephew AJ from our trip to the Georgia Tech game last Saturday. Minus the sunburns, I think he had a good time, and GT trounced Mississippi State 38-7, so all in all it was a good day.

Pay Close Attention

The following is a quote from the Obama campaign taken yesterday, Sept 14th, in response to the Wall Street news of Lehman Brother's bankruptcy and Merril Lynch's sell-off to Bank of America.

“I certainly don’t fault Senator McCain for these problems, but I do fault the economic philosophy he subscribes to. It’s a philosophy we’ve had for the last eight years – one that says we should give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else. It’s a philosophy that says even common-sense regulations are unnecessary and unwise, and one that says we should just stick our heads in the sand and ignore economic problems until they spiral into crises.”

At first glance, it just looks like typical campaign rhetoric. But pay close attention to the word choice that Obama uses to describe the economic system we have. He says that the Republican philosophy is to "give more and more to those with the most". Give??? Really??? Last time I checked, that wealth and income has been EARNED by millions of hard-working Americans who have made good decisions with their money and resources. These citizens have CREATED jobs for the middle and lower class. The government has not given anything, only taken away. Wait, let me correct myself. The government has created... it has created giant beauracracies that operate completely inefficiently, it has created a deficit/debt like none we have ever seen, and it has created a dependence by the lower class on a system that doesn't work because it punishes those who have the most success.

Look at any objective economic modeling/history and you can see that our private sector creates the jobs and the success of the economy, not the government. This is a critical difference in philosophy, one that can have major impact on the future of the US. If you are seriously considering Obama as your guy for the White House, at least think about these facts for a few minutes. And think objectively.

9/11

Sitting here watching one of the many 9/11 specials on tv tonight on the History Channel, and it just serves as a reminder how vigilant we must remain against the enemies of this country. Seven years later, it still sends chills down the spine to know that there are individuals, groups, and entire nations that want to bring us down to our knees, literally.

Politics aside, I am very fearful that most of this nation does not realize how likely it is that this will happen again and they live in this false sense of security that it will never affect them. For all of our sakes, I hope they are right, but I don't feel that confident.

So make sure to say a prayer for the families of all of those who lost their lives and to those that gave their lives trying to save the thousands of people in the buildings and in the planes. We owe them all a debt of gratitude.

Obama on Letterman

Freaking hysterical. The man repeats the same mantra (lies) over and over and just hopes that somebody believes him. He uses the term John McCain's 'failed policies.' He is blaming McCain/Bush for foreclosure rates, health care coverage, etc, etc. Guess what? The Dems have been in power of the Legislative branch for a few years now, and they haven't passed a meaningful law yet regarding any of these critical issues that we as citizens are facing. I can't believe no one is talking about that. And if I hear that it will be 8 more years of the same thing one more time I will vomit on my tv.

He just said that the government creates jobs, that the government stimulates the economy. This is the fundamental problem I have with liberals. We are not a great nation because of our government. To quote Ronald Reagan, "government is not a solution to our problem, government is our problem." We have succeeded in leading the free world because our citizens have established a free market system that works!! It has ups and downs, but that is a natural force of economics and nature. Our big government philosophy seeks to keep things always great for everybody (sound a bit like socialism, anyone?) which is IMPOSSIBLE. Its an ebb and flow, and we will right the ship through hard work and effort, not through higher taxes and government programs.

And David Letterman could be a fifth grader tonight with these questions. He should just ask if he can get Obama a drink and leave stage right. I don't think it is possible to tee up more softball questions than I have seen tonight.

Back in action

2 months off of the blogging circuit has left me with plenty of intemperate thoughts that need to put onto paper, so to speak. We'll start tonight with this one....

I am in line at Publix (great grocery store, by the way, especially their bakery) today and see the cover of US Weekly staring at me while in line. The headline story is Sarah Palin, and the headline reads, "Sarah Palin: Babies, Lies, and Scandal." I just about ripped the magazine to shreds right there in line. When did it become so fashionable for the media, especially the ones that supposedly support the push for women and their continued push to "equality" with men, to completely rip apart one of their own? Oh wait, I forgot, Sarah Palin is not one of them.

Apparently these groups, such as the feminists, the NAACP, the enviromenalists, et al, aren't fighting for their cause so much as they are fighting for a political agenda that keeps leaning further and further to the left. I would think that working women everywhere would be ecstatic about the prospects of Palin's rapid ascension to the 2nd in line on a presidential ticket, but apparently it depends on which ticket she is on. Rather than talk about Palin's credentials, all US Weekly and Time and the other elite news outlets want to bring out is alleged scandals and the fact that yes, Palin is a mother of five and works. I thought that was a good thing in their eyes. I am embarrassed for these news outlets, and I am even more embarassed that our citizens read this crap and continue to support their business by buying their BS magazines and newspapers. Have any of these guys put Obama on the cover to talk about his connections to known terrorists and money launderers? Please tell me soon, because I am holding my breath in anticipation.

We are moving further and further to a national mindset that it is the celebrity status, not the actual issues, that drive discussion and decision making regarding support for a candidate or a party. I am ashamed of this, and I hope the people of this country wake up and realize how warped of a society we are becoming.

Random Thoughts for a Wednesday night

So everyone hates GW, but isn't it a bit ironic that according to Rasmussen polls, Congress has its lowest approval rating in history? Only 9% of Americans think that Congress, widely controlled by the Democrat party, is doing a "good or excellent" job. GW's ratings are quite higher than that.
http://rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/congressional_performance/congressional_performance

As of right now, the Braves are having a perfect game pitched against them by Derek Lowe of the Dodgers. Last night, they scored 9 runs. The night before, the Dodgers pitcher took a perfect game into the 8th inning vs. the Braves, and they ended up with one hit. Feast or famine, kind of typical for the season.

I'm still waiting on one person to tell me how Obama is going to live up to his campaign promises, as he keeps changing his stance now that we are in the general election. Gun control, foreign policy, tax policy, campaing finance, yada yada yada. It seems that Mr. Obama and his message of a new type of politics and campaigning is turning into another typical Washington candidate.

Can John McCain really pull this off? I am supporting him 100% over the most liberal Senator in the United States senate, but every time I see him I want to vote for him less and less. I am not really excited about this November.

On a lighter note, my wife and I are racking up the W's in our mixed doubles tennis league. Heading for the city semifinals. Who cares that we are in the lower division, 2.5. In our first season, we have managed to win matches and not kill each other. So far, so good.

How words can be a bit deceptive

Go visit this site, just to see how easy it is to manipulate words and meanings to create an image of someone that simply is not accurate.

http://www.jamesdobsondoesntspeakforme.com/. I wanted to punch through a window after reading this last night. Obama's folks have set up some nice Dobson vs. Obama comments into simple columns that make you think that they actually have relevance to each other. Here is my favorite:

JAMES DOBSON: Claim #5
“I'd just like to ask your viewers if they've heard a single comment made by the three Presidential candidates on any occasion that even mentioned the well-being of this most basic, social institution (family)” (CNN).

BARACK OBAMA SAYS:
“Of all the rocks upon which we build our lives, we are reminded today that family is the most important. And we are called to recognize and honor how critical every father is to that foundation… But if we are honest with ourselves, we'll admit that what too many fathers also are is missing – missing from too many lives and too many homes. They have abandoned their responsibilities, acting like boys instead of men. And the foundations of our families are weaker because of it” (Father’s Day Speech, Apostolic Church).

First off, let's look at the timing of the statements. Dobson's comments came when there were still 3 candidates left in the race, so this statement was made prior to June 7, 2008, when Hillary withdrew from the race. Obama's comments came at a minimum 8 days later, on June 15, 2008, when he was speaking to a Father's Day crowd at a Chicago church. So what does that prove about Dobson's statements in the past? Its easy to throw up a statement after the fact and claim that has been his position the entire time!! But what do I know. Obama's only been doing this the whole campaign.

Now let's analyze what Obama said. He claims the foundation of families are weaker because of missing fathers. But how do his policies reflect that statement? He doesn't believe in empowering families, he believes in empowering government. More social programs, more taxing, more government powers to wield, creating even more of a nanny state than we already have now. He is enabling family and individual dependence on government rather than self-reliance. And if our government can solve all ills, why would anyone, fathers included, want to take any responsibility for their actions? Hell, the government can fix it, I don't have to. He is not enabling family development, he is disabling it.

You can argue that these social programs and his other "change" mechanisms will provide relief to those in need, but sometimes the struggle is what makes us the best that we can become. Its a father's duty, not the federal govt's, to provide for their families, and fathers and husbands need to feel the urgency in that. I am embarassed for Obama and his crew that they think that they can throw statements up like the one above and we will all just believe because we are supposed to. This man is a manipulator of our ill-informed society that believes everything it hears.

Oil and Gas and the mania

As gas prices hover around $4/gallon, this is all anyone is talking about. News updates every 15 minutes on the radio, commercials on tv, news events, and the like. Everyone is railing on the oil companies and their "excessive" profits. And to be honest, I am tired of it. Tired of the bill I pay every time I fill up, and tired of the constant whining of everyone about the prices. The media feeds us that we can't get by like this, and that oil companies are the enemy here, so we should just put a new tax on them. Let's look at that option.

Oil companies on average gain about a 9% profit margin, which is average for any Fortune 500 company. They make more money, but they are spending more money to make it. And don't forget that many, many pension and 401k plans are heavily invested in these companies. These 401k's represent Middle America, guys like me and you that are not ultra-rich CEO's. So the company has a fiduciary duty to shareholders to earn a solid profit and keep the stock price stable and growing. So if we cause "Big Oil" ( I hate that term) to fail, then we are hurting not just the oil companies, but all of us with our funds invested across these companies. But Obama and Hillary keep pontificating about how bad they are.

Our biggest problems are not the oil companies, they lie in the fact that our entire economic delivery is based on a product that we have to import from other countries. We have to become energy independent, with both oil and new technologies. We need to drill for more domestically, and we have the technology to do this efficiently without destroying vast amounts of our environment. And for the record, I don't care if we cause the destruction of one species. Our planet is in a state of constant chaos, not equilibrium, and our impact on that is not measurable, but that is an argument for another post.

Dobson v. Obama, Round One

Ok, so its been a few weeks. Lots of things keeping me from putting pen to paper, so to speak. But this topic just gets me fired up.

So there is a little feud brewing between James Dobson and Barack Obama, and it seems that Dr. Dobson has been highly critical of Obama's view of Christianity, or should I say spirituality. Obama claims to be a man of faith, and I am not in a position to judge that. But I do have a problem with his desire to translate spiritual issues into a "universal language." Does he really believe that he can heal the divide between religions that have been waging war on each other for milleniums? I don't think so. All I think he is doing is pandering to as many voters as possible, especially those who think Christians are fundamendalists and backwards. I am not a theological expert, so I am in no position to preach from a soap box here. I just have no confidence that Obama is honest in his "preachings." When it comes down to it, there is very little common ground between religions. We can choose to live in peace and harmony when able to, but we essentially have severe differences that one man cannot mend. And this universal language he is preaching is synonymous with appeasement, which history shows has a very low success rate, regardless of the topic.

Ye ask and ye shall receive

One of my loyal readers wants some Braves road woes talk, and I am happy to oblige. They suck on the road. End of story, sort of. They are 7-18 on the road this year, near the bottom of the league in that category. Everyone except Chipper stops hitting on the road. The real issue is that they have lost 17 straight 1-run games away from the Ted, which tells me that two things... bullpen has been unsteady and clutch, late inning hitting has been non-existent.

Good news though. The Braves decided to go with the all-navy hats yesterday with the grey unis, something I have been hoping for all year, and it paid off with an 8-1 win. They better have the same look going tonight vs. the Reds in Cincy. And does anyone else love the navy blue jerseys as much as I do? I wish they didn't get beat every time they wear them, b/c Bobby will probably hang those up for good if they can't bust a win out in 'em sometime soon.

And these days, no Braves post can go without a Chipper update. After 54 games (50 for him), he is hitting .420. Not a typo folks. The 36 year old is crushing. A couple of interesting items when you dig into his stats. (If you are interested, espn.com has a great stats page full of drillable statlines with a huge array of ways to sort and filter. And I just gave away the fact that I am a geek with no life) Chipper is hitting about .430 from the right side, .415 from the left. Unbelievable consistency from both sides. He leads the NL in walks for the month of May, but is not even in the top 25 for the year, which means pitchers are just now starting to pitch around him... fools I tell you! In addition to his walks, he ranks in the bottom 20 of all qualifying hitters (3.1 AB/game) in strikeouts, with a lowly 18. Unreal. And since this time last year, he has hit a cool .378, obviously best in the major leagues. Any MVP talk that starts developing this summer had better include alot of Chipper talk. Without him, these Braves are 8 games under .500 at best.

Instant Replay Anyone? Not me.

Welcome back loyal readers. I apologize for depriving so many(I mean both) of you of my rants and raves for a few weeks. With a busy work schedule and some travel mixed in, I had to put aside the soap box for a bit... But I'm back with a vengeance.

First topic of note: not the election, GW's former press secretary ripping him a new one (although I will get to that one sometime soon), or stupid stories about our needy population demanding more of my paycheck to buy cell phones and tv's. No, this post is about the new push in the sports media to bring in the dreaded, bring-the-game-to-a-snail's-pace instant replay in Major League Baseball. The all-american pasttime, the grand ole game, whatever you like to call it, has long been the bastion of tradition and americana. Aside from a few bogus updates to the game (the DH, for example), baseball has remained much the same as it was back in the late 1890's when it became part of our national culture. Players have gotten bigger, bats have got more pop, and the stadiums are now multimedia events for a family, but the rules of the game have not changed much.

We are now being bombarded with stories about the need for instant replay in the game. SI.com has a feature article right now about its imminent need to ensure the accuracy of the calls made. Sounds all swell, but that goes against the fabric of the game to me. Calls are going to be missed, as they have been for years. Calling a strike when a pitcher is throwing 99 mph is probably the most difficult task in all of sports officiating. Seeing whether or not a ball hit the chalk or just missed is right behind it. But 99.9 percent of the time, the call is correct. And when it is not, the players/teams deal with it.

The call now is for instant replays on fair/foul calls, home runs that hit/don't hit the foul pole, not necessarily for a computerized strike zone. But guess what: the New Deal in the 1930's was seen as a temporary fix to address the problems with the Great Depression, not send this nation into a feeding frenzy for billions of dollars every year in handouts, even almost 80 years later. My point being that it doesn't stop once the ball gets rolling. Replays for review will turn into replays for balls and strikes, which will turn into a digital strike zone. Heck, why don't we just get rid of umpires all together and call the whole game electronically?

Most of you probably think I am an idiot and should get with the times, much like the NFL, NBA, and other pro leagues have done. Have you watched one of these games though when the replay goes into effect? 15 minutes later, the ref in an NFL game comes back to say that the ruling on the field stands. Great. I just wasted 15 minutes of my life. Baseball is a slow enough game as it is, especially for the casual fan. And how much fun is it to watch Bobby Cox waddle out of the dugout to argue a call and get tossed? One of the great joys of life that is. What will he do now? Rip off a red stirrup from his leg and chunk it onto the field before the next pitch?

Keep the game the way it is. Missed calls have broken my heart, made me breathe a sigh of relief, and been a part of this game since day one. Let's not change that people. Just because we have the technology to be perfect doesn't mean its in the best interest to do so.

I love animals, but...

are you serious about this? Going through the AJC online this morning, and came across this gem of a story. http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/stories/2008/05/04/peta_0505.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab

For those of you too busy to click the link, PETA wants the jockey of the euthanized Kentucky Derby Runner Up, Eight Belles, to be suspended and have the $400,000 prize money revoked. They say that, and I quote, the horse was 'doubtlessly injured before the finish'. Really? Was a PETA psycho actually on the horse? Or wait, maybe they can read the horse's thoughts and sensed pain in those ankles. Either way, these guys are obviously way more intelligent than us mere mortals. I can't even tell what my dog is thinking. Actually that's a lie. He is thinking how much more he likes Summer than me, but that is another story.

These PETA clowns are a disgrace. Some of their causes may be worthy, but just like with the Democrat party, they have been hijacked by fools and nutjobs. This is a horse race. Been here for longer than your stupid organization. Will be around after PETA goes the way of the garbage can, I mean recycling bin. It sucks that a horse died, but we'll all go on just the same. It was an accident, and accidents happen.

NFL Draft Day!!

Does anyone else out there find it funny to see how much hoopla surrounds the NFL draft day? I was listening to Buck and Kincaid on 680 am this week and heard that they would be broadcasting live on Saturday from the Hudson Grille in ATL, 'so come on out and join us to watch the draft'... seriously? Anyone who wants to spend an entire Saturday afternoon watching a DRAFT has no life. period. Half the guys that get picked will never sniff an NFL starting job. I'm all for spending an afternoon watching actual football, but this is ridiculous. And for the record, the Hudson Grill will be packed today.

Anybody get to see Bobby Cox get tossed last night? It was his ever-growing record 136th ejection of his illustrious career. I know I am a homer for the Bravos, but I have to say Cox has to be the greatest player's manager ever in baseball. I think most of the guys on the team would take a bat to the head for him, b/c they know he would do the same. I love it, because the only reason he argued last nite was to keep his pitcher from getting tossed. Arguing balls and strikes from the dugout? What kind of view is that? But he kept his pitcher in the game, and the Braves came back for the victory.

I'm rooting for Hillary

That reads funny, coming from me. But in any case, I hope she wins PA tonight. I hope it empowers her to continue her futile campaign and further divide the Dems through the early summer. I watched some of that debate last week, and I have to say that I really believe those two hate each other. What was sad was listening to Charlie Gibson spend the first 30 minutes asking questions about 'God and guns' and Jeremiah Wright. Legitimate concerns for voters, but I wanted to hear some policy talk, but by 8:28 I was bored out of my mind and decided to watch some Family Guy instead.

That is kind of the story of this race. We are so inundated with coverage of their comments and relationships that I don't want to hear another word about Obama or Hillary. I think that is the media's plan: Let's talk about God and guns and Jeremiah Wright so much that it numbs the masses to a point that they don't care anymore that Obama is an elitist, pompous POS. We can now convince ourselves that these issues are no big deal because we don't want to hear one more word about them.

On a lighter note...

Congrats to John Smoltz of the Bravos for collecting K number 3000 tonight. I'm kicking myself for not heading down to the game. He got his first strikeout when I was 9 years old. He is getting old. But he still throws 93 with a sick slider and even nastier splitty. If you don't know what that is, I'm not going to tell you.

He has been the staple of the Braves since they began their run of success, and other than Chipper I say he is the crowd favorite. And just for the record, I wanted our dog's name to be Smoltz, but Summer wasn't a big fan. So I had to take Brave #2 instead.

And while we are on the sports topics, congrats to the Hawks, who looked like an NCAA team vs. the Celtics on Sunday night. Better luck tomorrow night. If you missed it, they lost by about 24.

Hawks in the playoffs?

Did I read that correctly? I believe so. Get excited Atlanta, because your 2007-08 Hawk team has finally redeemed all of the failures of the past 12 years, making Atlanta a basketball city once again!!!

Or has it? Truth be told, the Hawks backdoored their way into the 8th and final playoff spot this year, with a losing record to boot. Sure, they ended the longest current playoff drought of any team in the NBA by qualifying for the postseason, but does that mean this year has been a success? They improved by four games from last year, and last year they were... terrible. Good news is the Eastern Division holds arguably 2 of the best teams in the NBA and not much else. In the Western Conference, the Hawks would have finished in 11th, and about 12 games out of the playoff race.

I hope they can pull out a victory over the heavily favored Celtics in at least one game, and if they can make this series respectable it will give them all kinds of confidence going into next season. So good luck Hawks, make Atlanta proud, sort of.

Sunday night's game will be on TNT for those of you interested. I might catch a minute or two of the game, if only to see what hideous sport coat that moron Craig Sager is going to wear while doing his sideline analysis. Its sad when the only time the NBA is even remotely appealing to me is during the postseason. Actually just the finals. Then teams actually play defense, its amazing.

Bob Barr for Prez?

I need to expound a bit more on last night's post. As I said last night, Bob Barr may be making a run at the Libertarian nomination for prez this year. There are two reasons why at this time I will not be supporting his candidacy for president, despite the fact that I agree with him on many issues. He is a proponent of reducing the size of gov't, and getting rid of programs and entitlements that have negative impact on our economy and society. He is a staunch supporter of privacy rights, home schooling, and other 'individual' issues, promoting that America is great because of its people, and not b/c of its government. He is against the Real ID Act, and promotes states' rights. Good stuff. Back to the 2 reasons. 1, his (and Libertarians as a party) position on foreign policy, and 2, the current ineffectiveness of third-party candidates for the presidency.

Where I have issue with Bob Barr and the majority of Libertarians is in their view of foreign policy and truly recognizing what I believe to be a major threat: radical Islam. Now I know you are thinking that I have been brainwashed by my republican handlers and am just spouting the company line. (BTW: I consider myself a conservative, not a Republican. Big difference) Others will say that we haven't been attacked in six years, so it is not so big a threat anymore. I believe there is a reason we haven't been attacked, and that is because we have been attacking them on their turf and protecting our own.

The conundrum on this issue is in determining which ideal takes precedence: protecting our freedoms at all costs versus protecting our country, and this is a legitimate argument. Do we derive our decisions from our staunch support for privacy, keeping government at all levels out of our lives and potentially enabling outside invaders to take down our republic? Or do we protect ourselves at all costs, sacrificing personal liberties to keep our houses and jobs and hope that we can trust our government not to pull a Big Brother on us and run our lives? Honestly, I don't know the answer, maybe a mix of both. And I believe many true conservatives will have to make that decision if they honestly evaluate Bob Barr as a candidate come November, because he brings such a different view to the table.

Barr's candidacy also brings up another issue, and that is the ineffectiveness of a third party becoming a major player in our political scene. In my naive and often idiotic opinion, I don't see this ever happening in this manner. All a third party does right now is essentially elect one of the major party candidates every four years. I don't see the Libertarian party becoming effective by nominating Barr for president. Much like most political efforts, this needs to be from the ground up. Harvey Birdman noted in his comments last night that its 'voters like you' who keep a third party from becoming viable. In some form, yes that is true, but I believe that a third party must grow its roots through local, state, and congressional elections before it will ever become a real challenger for the White House. And I am in favor of guys like Barr and Joe Liebermann breaking away from their former parties to support the people and issues that they believe in. But at this point, I don't believe that voting for a third party candidate for President will have any positive impact on the issues that are most important to me.

Watch out for the little man from GA

When I was a student at Berry College back in the late 90's, we had a guest speaker come into one of the economic classes I was taking at the time. He was a little man, which says alot coming from me. His name was Bob Barr, at the time a Congressman representing the 7th district of Georgia. He was an integral part of the Clinton impeachment proceedings, and has always been a staunch conservative, even if at times I felt that he was a grandstander that was always seeking the spotlight... which brings us to today. Reading an article from realclearpolitics.com (great site for real insight into politics from both sides) about Barr's pending announcement that he will enter the race for president as the Libertarian candidate. Many of us will think no big deal, but this could be a real challenge for John McCain, due in most part to the conservative voters who only will vote for McCain as the alternative to Hillobama. I personally would have a hard time voting for Barr, b/c all he will do is take away conservative votes, and as I said before, I'm not a huge fan of the guy. But his politics are closer to mine, which I think could really impact the election in November.

Anyway, enough of my thoughts, read the article, by James Antle of the American Spectator.

http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=13009

Greatest Day of the Year

Ladies and Gentlemen, its about that time. No, not the Final Four being set, which is great in itself. First time ever four #1 seeds have reached the Final Four. But I digress. Its Opening Night for Major League Baseball, and our beloved Braves our opening up the season with a game vs. the Nationals in their new home ballpark. Something about the opening of the season that brings out the all things good. Its springtime, a time for the rebirth of nature and a time to get outside and enjoy the warmer weather and all it has to offer. And accordingly, the marathon of the baseball season begins.

This year, the Braves have been picked by numerous experts in their preseason picks to win the World Series. As a native Atlantan and lifetime Bravos diehard, I am very excited about the possibilities the 2008 season brings. I won't bore all four of you that read this with details about the team (yet), but I will say that that the next six months, I will be consumed with the Bravos and will be posting regularly about the games. New unis this year, new hope for a championship. And I am not the only baseball junkie who feels great about the Braves. So here's to a great season.... Go Bravos. More updates during the game tonight.....

4th inning, Chipper just went yard. Nice start to his season. And as much as I support GW, he is possibly the worst booth guest in the history of ESPN. He gives 2 word answers to every question and sounds like he has no clue about baseball, even if he was once the owner of the Texas Rangers back in the day. Geez... "Mr. President, what do you think of the new stadium?"

"Its nice."

Mr. President, how do you feel about the Mitchell Report about steroids?..."

"Its a start." Anything else, sir? Would you like to elaborate? Please????

Who is responsible?

Reading through some news links this morning, and I came across an article on yahoo (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080327/ap_on_el_pr/democrats_economy) that describes how both Dem candidates for Prez claim that John McCain just wants to sit back and 'watch' our economy fall to pieces into a recession. They can't seem to understand why he would not want to regulate businesses even more to protect the people of this country.

Has it ever occurred to either of these deceivers that maybe that is the best way to lift us out of this mess? Let the natural forces of economic activity, specifically in the housing/lending markets, take effect and pull us out of the housing decline 'laissez-faire' style? The answer I believe is yes, which is why I call them deceivers. They are both more interested in appealing to the more asinine voters who have no concept of what drives our economy. Last month, the housing prices were down, but volume of home sales was up. This means that investors are once again gobbling up inventory, spurring the activity needed to pick up the market. Slowly but surely, and in a way that won't raise taxes or put government even deeper into our everyday lives.

What John McCain is advocating is not sitting and watching like an idiot, but sitting and watching the natural forces of the market rebuild itself without excess government intervention. Our federal government can do very little to positively impact economic and housing sector growth, except to stay on the sidelines. They can do alot to negatively impact this growth, and Obama and Hillary have made it abundantly clear what their role would be, and I have news for you, its not the right move.

CBS Sports needs to get a clue

Could someone please explain to me why I am watching UNC beat Washington State by about 65 with 4 minutes left, while Xavier and West VA are battling neck and neck with 2 minutes left??? I don't give a rip how many UNC fans are in ATL, switch to the better game... nobody likes a blowout. This is the greatest time of year in sports and its because of games like Xavier and WVU, two teams I would rarely watch in the regular season.

Getting this for Maddux

This might be the greatest invention ever. Now my dog will be able to entertain himself for hours.

Bracket Busters

Stephen Curry, my new hero. Photo courtesy

of davidsonbasketball.blogspot.com

Congrats to Davidson for their upset of G'town today. The boys from the NC hills can play. Same goes for West Virginia and their upset of Duke yesterday (got that one right, thank you). I can't stand Bob Huggins, but I can't stand Duke either (see earlier posts from Jan/Feb for further clarification on my general disdain for the boys in blue and white).



Its been a great tourney to watch so far with some quality upsets and a couple of great endings this weekend... anybody ever heard of San Diego University???? And Siena (great legacy for Paul Hewitt) made Vandy look like its football team, out of place representing the SEC. Looking forward to the next two rounds in a few days.



By the way, does anybody else think Bob Knight should get the heck out of the ESPN GameDay studios? I won't question his coaching ability (sorry haters, results speak for themselves), but his persona in the studio is about like mine at a karoke bar.... monotone and booooooring. Let's hope the brass upstairs doesn't keep him around too long.

Obama and Jeremiah Wright

Ok, I know I am a few days late on this, so no need to post links to the news stories about the situation. Now you only need my humble opinion to set you straight. I have no ill will towards Obama or his run for the presidency. He is a politician, and his true colors are finally starting to show. His platform of change and hope has been based on this ideal that he is different from the rest of the pack. He is not owned by corporations, he is not run by radicals wanting to implement their will on the people for their own good.... or so we thought. Actually it is quite a conundrum for the man. 2 potential courses of action:

1. Back away from Wright and his views, and the fact that he baptized Obama's children and led Barack's spiritual development for 20 years. Back away and call Wright out for what he is, which is a racist hate monger spreading vicious lies and deceiving a congregation that so obviously hangs on his every word. Back away and tell the world that you joined the church for its power in Chicago, that you don't believe the U.S. created AIDS to kill blacks, and that you no longer will associate with Wright b/c he defames the country that you love so much. Back away and be called a traitor by other minorities, back away and be called a POLITICIAN in the truest sense of the word.

2. Endorse Wright still as a friend an advisor. Make excuses for what he said, and tell the world that you don't believe everything that comes out of his mouth. Tell the world that you will not leave a friend behind. Then, explain to the world how Wright is any different than Don Imus, whom you demanded by fired for his Rutgers comments. Defend what you said about not having anyone on your staff that would express such hateful and wrong comments. Defend that you were the first to call his firing, yet won't do the same when the shoe is on the other foot.

Either way, I can't see that Obama is going to be able to lead the party forward. I don't care about electoral pledged delegates, I am talking about having the real backing of his party to face the dreaded Republicans in October. I would not want to be in his shoes right now.

US History 101

So I had an interesting argument with a neighbor the other night, and I thought it worthy for all six of you reading this. We talked about the difference b/w a republic and democracy, and how this country is not a democracy with majority rule (my argument).

The fundamental difference being that a democracy in its truest sense is governed by the rule of man, or mob rule. A simple majority vote decides everything. On the other hand, a republic is governed by the rule of law, on the foundation that we elect and are proportionately represented by a LIMITED government. A republic leads to greater stability, due to the controls in place on our government and its branches. The Constitution was written primarily to restrict the powers of the Federal Government, not enforce the will of elected officials. The power resides with the people.

This link discusses the difference of the two forms of gov't and links to some writings by John Adams and the Federalist papers as well. Boring reading, way above my intellect, but it differentiates the forms of gov't and the problems created by a democracy. http://www.lexrex.com/enlightened/AmericanIdeal/aspects/demrep.html

To put it in present-day terms, I don't think either party is fulfilling their duties of limited gov't or the ideal of a republic. Even GW has got it all wrong. We have created a state of handouts and gimmes, and our gov't has become its own worst enemy in providing effective leadership. I'm embarassed by many Republican leaders who in no way represent the conservative ideals that I strongly believe in. I'd like to see a mass exodus of current party leadership replaced with a new wave of truly conservative leaders focused on re-focusing gov't efforts on what it was originally intended to do under our Constitution.

Quick example of a democracy: 3 wolves and 1 sheep take a vote to decide whats for dinner. Majority rules

Weekend Hoops Edition

Huge Crowd taking in the SEC tourney, moved to GT b/c of the tornados
Tornado damage in ATL

What a crazy weekend of conference tourney basketball this weekend. As a GT fan and an ACC purist, I would usually sit here and write about the great games going on up in Charlotte, as it has been a great few games to watch, even if Tech did lose their Friday matchup with Duke. But the real fun has been here in Atlanta, with the SEC tourney. Due to the first ever recorded tornado to hit downtown Atlanta, the GA Dome sustained quite a bit of damage and they moved the games over to Tech's Cremins Court at Alexander Memorial Coliseum. That name is too long btw. GT holds 9,100 seats, the GA Dome hosts about 30,000 set up for basketball. That presents a problem. So only family, certain alum, and the media were allowed in to watch the games, amounting to about 2,500 people instead of 30,000. And to make matters even crazier, UGA was forced to play two games in one day, and they somehow won both of them. Kudos to Dennis Felton and his squad. The worst team in the SEC is now playing this afternoon for a chance to go to the Big Dance, and this Tech fan will be watching and rooting for them. On a side note, its really funny to see UGA football fans come out of the shadows now during basketball, now that their team is winning. I don't think most UGA fans could even name their starting five on the basketball team.

the dems and their problems

So I have been reading and trying to understand the Florida and Michigan democrat primary issues the past few days. For those of you unaware, the delegates in FL and MI will not be seated at the Democrat Nat'l convention in August b/c they each chose to move up the dates of their primaries against the will of the democrat national party leaders. So, they said if you move up the primaries, your votes will not be counted in nominating their candidate for president.

Now with the race so close, both states are crying foul and saying that its not fair that the votes are not going to be counted. Guess what? Tough. You should have thought of this when you changed the dates. And here is my favorite part of it: I found out today that in Florida, a state senator introduced the bill to the senate floor to move up the primary. This said senator is a democrat. Furthermore, all of the democrats voted UNANIMOUSLY to go ahead with moving up the primary against the will of the party. And now they are bitching and moaning that it was the Republicans who caused this.... Sound familiar? Do any of these idiots take any personal responsibility for anything? Just typical.

Seriously?

So I see the news tonight, and one of the top stories is about Trip Isenhour, the pro golfer on the Nationwide tour. He hit a hawk with a golf ball and killed it. Here is a link.
http://sports.yahoo.com/golf/pga/news?slug=ap-golfer-birdkilled&prov=ap&type=lgns

From a few hundred feet away, he kills the bird. Problem is, the bird is a protected species and he was aiming at it for screwing up his game during a TV shoot of 'Shoot Like a Pro.' For starters, he is an idiot for doing this on camera. What in the hell did he think would happen if he actually hit it? He'd get a high five from the crew? Moron. But that is not the point of this post. The animal rights groups are freaking out and calling for him to be suspended, fined, imprisoned, tortured, etc, etc. My favorite piece of the story is this:

Jethro Senger, a sound engineer at the shoot, said hitting the bird was “basically like a joke to (Isenhour).”
“He just kept saying how he didn’t think he could have hit it, which I think is a stupid thing for a PGA Tour golfer to say,” Senger said. “He can put a ball in a hole from hundreds of yards away, and here he is hitting line drives at something that’s, I don’t know, a couple hundred feet away?”

Really? You think that just because he is a pro golfer that he can hit a freakin bird from a few hundred feet away? How many PGA Tour pros can put the ball in the hole from a few hundred feet away? There is a reason why pitch-ins from 120 out are on the SportsCenter top ten every time they happen.... because they rarely happen!!!! Senger needs to get a better view of reality, which is the odds were that this bird was safe and sound from getting hit. It was pure luck (actually bad luck) that it got drilled in the head.

Anyway, I just find it amusing. Don't get me wrong, I love animals. But is this really a big enough story to find its way to the front page of the national news? Find me something a little more relevant to our lives as Americans.

Friday News Links

Foxnews.com reports that 1 in 99 Americans is incarcerated. We are the world leader in terms of % of our population in jail or prison! Hip hip hooray! That is something to be proud of, right?
Can you hear my sarcasm?

Andruw Jones reported to camp with Dodgers at a whopping 240 lbs. He told Joe Torre that he would lose the weight as the season progressed.... apparently he was too lean last year during his year-long slump...hmmmmm.

Listening to Herman Cain fill in for Boortz this morning, and if you have never heard him you should listen to his show on AM 750 weeknights from 7-9pm. He threw out this stat earlier today: 1/3 of US citizens end up owing zero taxes, and of the other 2/3, half of this group pays 97% of the annual tax revenue to the federal government. So let me help you. The top 33% of earners pay 97% of the tax revenues. Do you still think that the 'evil rich' don't pay enough. And I have news for you... the top 33% likely includes many people just like you, maybe even you. Gotta love it.

John Lewis (D-ATL) announced Wednesday that he would be using his superdelegate vote to back Barack Obama. This is only news because he had been supporting Hillary openly until now. 80% of his district voted for Obama in the primary. While it is in some ways good to see a congressman representing his district's wishes, it also scares me a bit to think that he can't think for himself and vote how he believes to be correct. Its a difficult issue: do you want a congressman who will stand for his beliefs, or do you want one that cater to the whims of his constituency? Bottom line on this one is that Lewis and others don't want to back a loser, and unless something miraculous happens this coming Tuesday, Hillary is going to be done... one socialist down, one more to go.

Semi Pro opens today nationwide. Will Ferrell as Jackie Moon looks pretty funny so far in the trailers and Old Spice/Bud Light commercials. Can't wait to see this one.

Ranting during the Tech-Duke game

Great call turning pro Javaris... thanks a million.

I hate to sound like a bitter loser, but I find it absolutely absurd that Georgia Tech is shooting their first free throws vs. Duke tonight with 9 minutes left in the game. 31 minutes played, and GT has 2 free throw attempts and Duke has 19. Coach K and his crew get so many calls their way it is sick. I have found myself rooting a bit for Duke this year, as they are on all the time and are a fun team to watch. Tonight just reminds me why I have hated that squad since I was four. They get every call. Oh, that and they dominate the Jackets.

So, they throw a stat up during the game, bragging about how the ACC has 7 black coaches out of 12, something unprecedented in college hoops. They start oooing and aaaing over these guys, and how great a job they have done. Of the seven, I'd say four are or will be very good college coaches. The others, not so much. It drives me nuts when race is an issue at all. There shouldn't even be a debate about this topic. Get the best guy to coach your team: black, white, asian, mexican, I don't give a rip.

John McCain yesterday denounced Bill Cunnigham's comments about Obama at a Cincinnatti rally in McCain's honor. Cunningham, a syndicated conservative radio host, has now stated that he would support Hillary's candidacy for president. Get a grip dude, and get your pride off your shoulders. You are a poor excuse for a conservative if you get your feelings hurt over that. Granted, McCain is playing the nice politician right now, and throwing one of his supporters under the bus. But get over it. He is still a better alternative regarding economic policy, health care, tax reform, and especially the war on terror than either of the two clowns on the left. Bill would serve his country best if he would forget about personal stuff and focus on the issues.

Ok, I am ranting, and this could go on all night. There is about 3 minutes left in the game and I am just pissed. GT has lost 4 games in conference by a total of 6 points. They just can't get it done late, and they again are letting this one slip away.

Newt on terror

Alright, so I can't post this video directly into the blog (thank you CNN), but I wanted to get this up for viewing. Click on the link and listen to a short speech by Newt Gingrich about the state of our foreign affairs and his fears about our appeasement approach to fighting the radical Islamic terrorists. The speech is from an address he gave back in August of last year.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2007/08/07/sot.newt.gingrich.cnn?iref=videosearch
Chilling as it may be, I hope it makes us realize the truly important issues we are facing and voting on this election year. Personally, I wish Newt had thrown his name into the hat for President.

And a special thanks to Charis for shooting this link over to me. Keep 'em coming...

Par for the course

This state senator from Wisconsin claims to be a 'big supporter' of Obama, but can't name on freakin thing he has accomplished in that illustrious career so far. Pretty much sums up every answer I get as to why someone supports this guy. Go figure. If I wanted a motivational speaker, Obama would be my guy. For president, not so much...

Bud Light Jackie Moon Commercial

Great stuff.

Interesting take

I had to get this article up and posted after I read it today. It is an opinion post from a writer at the Aspen Times Weekly, Gary Hubbell. The article is entitled, "In election 2008, don't forget the angry white man".
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/2008198091324

Don't want to cut and paste the whole article here, so just click the link and read it. You will find it sums up a group of people in this election year that the candidates, for the most part, take for granted. I will give you a quick excerpt here to pique your interest.

Each candidate is carefully pandering to a smorgasbord of special-interest groups, ranging from gay, lesbian and transgender people to children of illegal immigrants to working mothers to evangelical Christians.

There is one group no one has recognized, and it is the group that will decide the election: the Angry White Man. The Angry White Man comes from all economic backgrounds, from dirt-poor to filthy rich. He represents all geographic areas in America, from urban sophisticate to rural redneck, deep South to mountain West, left Coast to Eastern Seaboard.His common traits are that he isn’t looking for anything from anyone — just the promise to be able to make his own way on a level playing field.

I'd love to get some feedback from all three of you who read my blog.

Feb 14th is Valentines Day and....

The start of spring training for the Atlanta Braves pitchers and catchers. I've got to say that I am excited about the 2008 season and the expectations for this squad should be to win the East, and then see what happens in the postseason.

I'll fill many more posts throughout the spring and summer about the team, so today just a few thoughts about the man at the helm, Bobby Cox. They were discussing him and his accomplishments and failures today on sports talk radio, and I was shocked at the number of people here in ATL that think Cox is a failure and should be ousted if they don't win the division. Unlike most Atlantans, I am a born and raised second generation native. That means I was here for the 80's (all of them) and watched some of the worst baseball teams ever to step foot on a MLB field. Names like Andres Thomas, Brad Komminsk, and the like, all with high expectations and zero results. The Braves finished in last place virtually non-stop from '84 to '89, and the key to the change was Cox. He took over as GM of the Braves in '86, and began to build the Braves farm system from the ground up. He took over the managerial duties in '90, and for those of you who can remember '90, the Braves were led primarily by homegrown talent. Names like Gant, Lemke, Glavine, Smoltz (minor league trade a year earlier) were key players on the NL Champion and worst to first team.

Cox proceeded to lead the Braves to 14 straight division championships, 5 NL titles, and the World Series title in '95. Naysayers will say it is his fault they lost in so many postseason battles, but I will lay that blame on the players underperforming when it counted most. Bobby Cox didn't hang a slider to Jim Leyritz in '96 to begin the slide vs. the Yankees, and he didn't get faked out by Chuck Noblauch in the '90 series to negate what would have been the World Series winning run. (Mark Wohlers and Lonnie Smith, respectively).

Cox has won more games than all but three managers in the history of baseball, and his players stand by him through thick and thin. I have never heard a ballplayer ever say anything negative about the man, and players love getting traded to/signed by Atlanta. Bobby Cox deserves a tremendous amount of respect from this city, and he consistently gets the best from his players. Even at his ripe old age, he does his job better than most, and for that he deserves to step down when he wants to, not when the city demands it. I say this not b/c he is a legend, but because I trust that he will get out of the way when he can't do it anymore.

So here's to you Bobby, good luck on the upcoming season. And one more thing. He holds the record for most ejections ever... player or coach. Can't wait to see a few more of those this year.

Intemperate Thoughts

Overheard a very interesting comparison today on the radio between JFK and Obama. Back during Kennedy's term as President, he uttered the phrase 'Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.' Today, nearly every talking head has called Obama the modern-day JFK, capable of wooing crowds with an outstanding stage presence and charisma. They compare the odd couple's terms as senator and how closely they really do relate with each other. But I ask this: Does anything, and I mean anything, that Obama stands for have to do with putting one's country over self? Easy answer to that one, and if you don't know, I'm not going to tell you. Universal health care, tax increases, anti-war, among other things. Obama's campaign slogan should be 'Ask not what you can do for your country, but what your country can do for you'.

I just heard Kenny Smith from the TNT tv NBA pre-game show broadcasting in New Orleans (all star game weekend) say that the government was too slow to respond to the poor people in the 9th ward, so he decided to help them out himself this weekend with donations and rebuilding efforts. I say good for Kenny. That is what a rich guy should do. What he should not do is sit there on tv and blame the government for what happened. GW could not have prevented Katrina from happening. If he wants to bitch, do it about that freaking moron mayor they had down in the 'Chocolate City' (Mayor Nagin's words, not mine). His efforts have helped keep New Orleans from ever getting back the people that left.

On a lighter note, should be an excellent 'Lost' episode tonight. That show is the closest thing I have to a TV addiction. I can't get enough.

Super Tuesday? More like Dupe 'er Tuesday

So like many Americans in the 24 states holding primaries on this Super Tuesday, I headed to the voting booths this morning, trying to get in early and beat the rush. After reading some of my previous posts, you can safely assume that I knew well in advance who I would be voting for. Mike Huckabee on paper makes perfect sense for me. The fact that he fully supports and wants to push the Fair Tax is my primary reason for supporting him. Like many others, I believe this change in our tax policy would drastically change and improve our economy and the ability of many families, poor included, to move upward in the social classes while still providing the gov't enough revenue to operate. So of course I hit the touch screen by his name, happy with myself, and headed from the voting booth.

Being the political junkie that I am (or at least thought I was until now), I then tuned into the radio shows most of the afternoon and found some interesting reading about the candidates and their positions. Then I heard the results from West Virginia, and then things got interesting. Rumors floating around talk radio and the internet about a possible 'alliance' between the Huckabee camp and the McCain camp have been going around, but I have dismissed them casually until now. Huckabee probably can't win a general election, and all he is doing is splitting the social-conservatives up and getting more votes to McCain. This is bad news for the conservative base. When looking at the votes coming in, its quite clear to see that with Huckabee out of the race, Romney would get most of his votes, and I would much rather see Romney than McCain come November. I don't care of Huckabee gets the VP nod from McCain, it won't change his stance on free speech, tax cuts, or any other position in which McCain looks more like a liberal than a conservative.

What also distresses me is that people associate Huckabee with Christianity first, rather than his position on issues. Don't get me wrong, I am not in any way saying his faith shouldn't be an issue, but not THE issue. All these votes for Huckabee should be driving the talk of the Fair Tax, but no one is talking about this at all. This basically negates the vote of millions of us who support Huckabee based primarily on his economic stimulus and tax policy, the key issue determined by the thousands of pollsters throughout the election process to date.

James Dobson came out on the Laura Ingraham show and stated that he cannot in good faith endorse (or vote for) McCain under any circumstances. http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000006444.cfm Millions of social conservatives may take this same approach, thus opening the door for Obama/Hillary to get sworn in next January. While in the short term this may lead to an administration that will ignore the voice of the conservatives in America, it could also lead to a revamping of the Republican party over the next few election cycles, as they will finally realize that they cannot sweep their core voters under the rug. It may take a wake up call as drastic as this to make this happen. Republican leaders and strategists better get their ducks in a row and get it done fast.

How about fix a real problem!!

Reading the ajc.com tonight, and came across a story that the Georgia House of Representatives today pushed a resolution to the floor that stated the BCS (Bowl Championship Series for college football) was 'the greatest disappointment of the 2007 college football season.'...... House Resolution 1066.

Are you freaking serious???????????????
http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/metro/stories/2008/02/01/collegeplayoffs_0201.html On a side note, the article refers to House Resolution 1037, which is incorrect. HR 1066. Check it out at http://www.legis.ga.gov/legis/2007_08/search/hr1066.htm

What in the name of anything sacred is the state House pushing a resolution about college football for? I am beyond pissed off about this, and I am completely embarassed right now to call GA my home state.

There are dozens of key issues right now facing the state of Georgia that need to be dealt with... drought problems, economic growth, housing issues, just to name a few. And our lawmakers choose to put this up for discussion? Go to a damn bar and have a few drinks debating this with your buddies, as me and my pals do. But do not under any circumstances use my tax dollars to put this up for resolution. House members who sponsored this resolution should be permanently barred from attending any sessions of the Congress and get the hell out of the Capitol building.

Just so you know, it was sponsored by Reps Steve Davis (R-McDonough), Matt Ramsey (R-P'tree City), Doug McKillip(D-ATHENS), Clay Cox(R-Lilburn), John Heard (R-Lawrenceville), Tommy Benton (R-Jefferson), and others. 5 Republicans!!! I thought we believed in less government interference, not more!!

This is absolutely, 100% infuriating to me.

And what makes matters worse, it is simply a case of sour grapes for these buffoons. I have no doubt that if UGA had not been partially in the national championship picture, this would never have come up. Well guess what UGA fans (state lawmakers especially), you shouldn't have lost to South Carolina and gotten destroyed by Tennessee. You didn't even win your division of the SEC, so shut the crap up. Great team, but you blew your chances. And these lawmakers making this a political issue???? I think I am going to vomit.

This just goes to show what power and authority in the wrong hands can lead to. If these idiots were concerned with fixing real problems, we wouldn't be facing a lot of the issues that the state government is trying to address. But heaven forbid that UGA get left out (due to their performance during the season, but I digress) of the national championship picture. That obviously means that the system is broken, not that the team should have played better. Typical group-think from the morons that are taking over our republic: Instead of working to achieve, let's fix the system to come down to where our constituency is.... Nobody is bitching to Coach Richt about why they played so poorly against Tennesee or South Carolina (2 average teams for you non-football fans), but our lawmakers (now that is hard to say and be proud) find it in the state taxpayers' best interest to waste time for a resolution like this. I propose a resolution that UGA should have had their A-game ready for all opponents, and that the reps responsible for this crap be banned for life from public office.

Our federal government, hard at work

So I am reading about Bush's economic stimulus package tonight (excellent Friday night reading for those of you wondering), trying to figure out just what our federal brain trust is going to do to help fix a potential recession. The Bush proposal originally called for tax rebates for all taxpayers, amounting to $800 per taxpayer or $1600 for a couple. Don't know the exact amount that would 'tax' the federal budget, but hey, its our money anyway. They should reduce their freaking spending in Washington, but that is a topic for another day.

So back on topic: Now, due to concessions made to House and Senate socialists ( I mean Democrats), the rebate has been trimmed to $600/1200, so that those who don't pay any taxes at all (low income wage earners) can get their share of the pie. So with that being said, let's call this what it is... not a rebate of individual taxation, but a redistribution of national wealth. This is absurdity, but I guess I should expect no less from a government that spends more than it should every day of the year. Teddy Kennedy and his goons have led this change, and I am more embarassed every day that some electorate votes him into office every six years. And add to that the senior retirees who think they should get some of this as well.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080125/ap_on_go_co/economy_stimulus

So now this has become the lottery winnings for those who have not contributed to their piece of the pie originally. I am all for the government getting money back to the hands of the people, but give it back to the people who gave it in the damn first place!! And I use the term 'gave' incorrectly. Give it back to the people who the fed gov TOOK it from. And no, I don't believe that we shouldn't pay taxes, but the spending programs that we have in place now would make any business in the world go bankrupt in months, if not days. I am sick and tired of the politicians thinking that the citizens of this country are here to give them what they need to stay in power. Its the exact opposite. And the sad part is that I see myself in the minority of this viewpoint when it really comes down to it. So I guess we will wait with anxious eyes to see what the final package looks like, and when it all gets passed. Not holding my breath though.

4 years!!

Celebrated the 4 year anniversary today with my wife.... I can't believe that we have been married for this long already. More importantly, I can't believe Summer has been able to put with me for this long. Seems like yesterday that we were walking down the aisle. Its been a fun and eventful four years, and I look forward to many more....

And a congratulations are in order to my brother Andrew and mother-in-law for their correct answers to the trivia question from the other night. The funny thing is that they knew for different reasons. My bro could quote Dazed and Confused up and down, but MaryJo only knew because Summer won't ever stop drooling over Matthew McConnahey.

And it so it goes...

Mr. Law & Order did as I expected him to today, by dropping his bid for the Republican presidential nomination. I am disappointed, but I don't think he stood much of a chance with his showing to date. So, now it looks like I am going to have towards Mr. Huckabee for the nomination. We'll see what happens in the next few weeks. And for the record, I think it is safe to say that Fred married up when he and Jeri exchanged vows... good for him.

Sitting here right now watching 'Balls of Fury', a classic ping pong movie... Actually, its probably one of the dumbest movies I've seen in a while but pretty dang funny. Christopher Walken is his typical goofy self, and there are quite a few cameos I didn't expect. Not a bad way to waste 90 minutes of my life. I'd give it a 2 out of 5, simply for the laughs.

I saw where Heath Ledger died this afternoon in his NYC apartment. Very sad news, as I think he was a great actor, and I am really looking forward to his role as the Joker in the upcoming Dark Knight movie (second in the line of new Batman movies). And as usual, the media can't stop talking about his death. Its been on the front page of every site I have visited tonight. Definitely a sad story, but I don't want to be bombarded with stories for the next week about him. Nothing against Ledger, but this celebrity worship culture we live in makes me want to vomit. Give his family some privacy and just report on news that will actually make a difference in people's lives. The family doesn't deserve the hoopla and I don't want to see it.

On a positive note, it appears that the Fed cutting rates by the greatest amount since 1984 may have averted a tumultuous slide of the global economy. Foreign and domestic markets rallied after the action, but who knows what will happen next. It will be interesting to see how this plays into the presidential race.

What the deuce???

I don't know about all of you reading this, but I have become a bit infatuated with Stewie Griffin and the rest of the cast of Family Guy. Not the most wholesome show on TV, but I can't stop laughing when I watch.

Does anybody else watch Law and Order? The real Law and Order, not SVU, CI, or whatever other edition that has come about. The new season that kicked off in Jan is not so bad, but it is not the same without Fred Thompson as the DA of NYC. Speaking of, I wonder what his camp is thinking right now with his disappointing third place finish in the South Carolina primary. I'm a big fan of his conservative record and his dry, witty responses in the debates I have watched, but he has not connected with the voters as of yet. Which is too bad, b/c I would love to have to choose between him and Huckabee on Feb 5th here in the GA primary. That would be a tough call for me, despite my earlier postings about Huck being my guy. I probably won't have the choice by then.

Trivia Question for the night: What actor played the role of David Wooderson, the city worker hanging with high school kids, in the classic 'Dazed and Confused'? Hint: My wife is in love with him... seriously. And if you have to look it up on the web, you are not much of a film fan.... "Alright, alright, alright." Answer to come in the next edition.

And for those of you interested in seeing a tiger attack a man on an elephant in the wild, check this out. (Not graphic, so don't be scared) If you can't spend 3 minutes and 18 seconds watching the video, just go to the 2:00 mark.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LjG7S8aqJg&feature=related

Global Warming???

Just had 2 days of snow here in Woodstock, GA in the last 4 days.... Each snow brought us a little less than 2 inches, which is more snow than we have seen in a while. I am shocked of course, that we are getting snow in GA with all of the global warming going on. I had actually planned on doing a little sunbathing at the pool this weekend, but the weather screwed it all up.

Sitting here tonight watching the Packers-Giants NFC Championship game, where the temp is a balmy -2, with wind chills nearing -30. That's NEGATIVE 30. Way too cold for me. Hoping the Pack can pull this out and get Favre back the Super Bowl.

But back to the weather in ATL. I think my favorite part of snow is the mass hysteria of the local population with the threat of snow comes. Packed grocery stores, drivers going 5 mph before the snow ever begins to stick, etc, etc. AM 750 made it sound like ATL was going to be wiped off the face of the maps with this "storm". And my biggest question is this... If we are expecting a few hours of snow and MAYBE one night of ice, why does everyone go and buy bread and milk???? That makes no sense. Buy something that you might want to eat for a night, don't stock up on rations for a two-week bunkering in. I can't believe that the biggest seller isn't beer and liquor. I'd much rather be stocked up on Miller Lites than Mayfield for a Saturday night snow-in.