Indians win remain tied for Wild Card

The Cleveland Indians go into the final weekend tied with the Boston Red Sox for the American League Wild Card. When Bartolo Colon was traded in 2002 the team's announced goal was to be in serious contention again in 2005. I'd say that goal has been met regardless of this weekends results. This weekend has Cleveland hosting Chicago for three games and New York visiting Boston for three games. There are about a dozen different scenarios for how this could play out. Bottom line is we need to win our games. If Cleveland sweeps all three games from Chicago then they are the Wild Card winner. If Cleveland wins two of three from Chicago they likely are the Wild Card. Anything less than two wins this weekend and we need the Yankees to sweep.

More Charlie Rangel

Last week I posted my opinion of Rep. Charlie Rangel (M-NY). Turns out Charlie has been goofier than I thought. Betsy Newmark links to a Deborah Orin column which documents some of Rangel's hate filled rants. Here is a sample:

Rangel raised eyebrows by saying the Iraq war to topple Saddam Hussein was as bad as the Holocaust — "This is just as bad as the 6 million Jews being killed" by the Nazis, he said in June.

What slippery slope?

Liberals (and a few conservatives) laughed at Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) when he asserted that gay marriage would be a slippery slope leading to other goofy stuff like polygamy. Well, the Dutch have taken the lead in these social matters. How's it working out?

Smart beer mat orders refills!!!

Here is a proper use of scientific effort instead of the goofy stuff some scientists do. Smart beer mat orders refills

A beer mat that knows when a glass is nearly empty and automatically asks for a refill has been created by thirsty researchers in Germany.

Andreas Butz at the University of Munich and Michael Schmitz from Saarland University came up with the idea while out drinking with their students.

The disc-shaped mat can be attached to a normal beer mat so that it still soaks up spilt liquid and displays an advertisement. But it also contains a pressure sensor and radio transmitter to alert bar staff of the need for a refill.

Wow, definitely more impressive than making a better mousetrap.

Need some time at the shooting range?

Sounds like some of New York's finest could use some target practice.

Six officers from Manhattan's 23rd and 28th Precincts fired at least 77 rounds at Rooks in two bursts of gunfire, said Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Browne. Rooks, who was on parole for a robbery conviction, was hit in the hip, neck and shoulder in front of 5 E. 115th St. He was in stable condition yesterday at Harlem Hospital. No cops were wounded.

If you shoot 77 rounds at a bad guy he should be dead when you're done. I'm tempted to call the Fraud, Waste and Abuse Hotline to report the waste of ammunition which will saddle the taxpayers with a trial that could have been avoided.

Newsflash - Roberts confirmed as Chief Justice

To the surprise of no one, Judge John Roberts was confirmed to serve as the 17th Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court this morning. 78 senators voted on his qualifications. 22 senators voted as instructed by the liberal special interest groups. From ConfirmThem comes this list of Democrat senators who voted against Roberts confirmation:

Evan Bayh of Indiana
Joseph Biden of Delaware
Barbara Boxer of California
Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York
Jon Corzine of New Jersey
Mark Dayton of Minnesota
Dick Durbin of Illinois
Dianne Feinstein of California
Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts
John Kerry of Massachusetts
Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey
Barbara Mikulski of Maryland
Barack Obama of Illinois
Harry Reid of Nevada
Charles Schumer of New York
Debbie Stabenow of Michigan
Jack Reed of Rhode Island
Tom Harkin of Iowa
Daniel Inouye of Hawaii
Paul Sarbanes of Maryland
Maria Cantwell of Washington
Daniel Akaka of Hawaii

None of these come as any great surprise. Some (like Kennedy) wouldn't vote for any Bush nominee.

Delay indicted

Tom DeLay stepped down as House majority leader today after a Texas grand just indicted him on charges of conspiracy to commit campaign fraud. Here is the essence of the charge:

"The defendants entered into an agreement with each other or with TRMPAC (Texans for a Republican Majority Political Action Committee) to make a political contribution in violation of the Texas election code," says the four-page indictment. The indictment accused DeLay of a conspiracy to "knowingly make a political contribution" in violation of Texas law outlawing corporate contributions. It alleged that DeLay's Texans for a Republican Majority political action committee accepted $155,000 from companies, including Sears Roebuck, and placed the money in an account. The PAC then wrote a $190,000 check to an arm of the Republican National Committee

DeLay has denied committing any crime and accused the Democratic district attorney leading the investigation, Ronnie Earle, of pursuing the case for political motives.

Let's see what happens. An indictment is not a conviction. An attorney once said something along the lines that you can get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich. In other words, the grand jury set up leans heavily towards to prosecution. Obviously a much higher burden of proof will be needed to obtain a conviction. Having said all that, Tom DeLay knows whether he is guilty. If he is guilty he should resign from congress now rather than wait for the conviction. If truly innocent he should fight to the end.

Ben Affleck to run for Virginia Senate Seat?

The Virginian-Pilot is reporting that Ben Affleck is considering moving to Virginia and running for the senate seat currently held by George Allen. Affleck may have instant name recognition but that is insufficient to unseat an incumbent senator. Both Affleck and Allen were born in California but the similarities end there. Senator Allen has lived in Virginia for decades, played quarterback for the University of Virginia, served in both houses of the Virginia legislature, was a successful governor of the state. Affleck was raised in Massachusetts and has appeared in a numbers of films some good ones and some flops. Buying a house and running for office may work in New York but not Virginia.

Invasion of privacy

There has been a story festering about some underlings of Sen. Chuck Schumer (M-NY) using the social security number of Maryland GOP Lt. Gov. (and potential senate candidate) Michael Steele to access his credit record. Michelle Malkin has an update on the story which includes the tidbit that the New York Times (supposedly the paper of record) has not run a single story about this crime. She also has the funny news that other Republican senate candidates are sending Schumer letters asking for assurance that Chuck's henchmen haven't accessed their credit reports.

This story would be even better if the lamestream media actually shared it with their audiences.

Ho-hum, Atlanta Braves win their division again.

In what has become as predictable a feature of Fall season as the leaves changing color, the Atlanta Brave won their division again last night. That makes 14 seasons in a row that ended with the Braves as division champs. To put that in perspective, in that span the Indians have gone from being lousy to having a mini-dynasty (5 straight AL Central division titles) back to lousy and back to contention again this year. Players have come and gone for the Braves but the manager and the pitching coach have remained the same.

Republican Party Census Document

In yesterday's mail I get this official looking envelope from the Republican National Committee. I open it up and it contained a survey and a four page letter explaining how important the survey is developing a blueprint for the Republican party. What are the important questions they need input on? Here are a couple:

Do you think Congress should focus on cutting the federal budget deficit by reducing federal spending?

Do you think U.S. troops should have to serve under United Nations commanders?

Those are just a couple of the dumber questions. Everyone thinks the government should reduce wasteful spending. The issue is deciding what spending is wasteful. I doubt any decent American would want our military under U.N. control. The choices were Yes, No and Undecided. They didn't even bother asking on a scale of 1 to 5 what issue is most important.

Of course the survey is not really intended to solicit my views. It was intended to solicit my money. On the back it says:

Will you join the Republican National Committee by making a contribution today?
YES, I support the RNC and am enclosing my most generous contribution of
$500 $250 $100** $50 $25 Other $____
** A gift in this amount pays to mail 250 more CENSUS DOCUMENTS to registered Republicans.
Yes, I support the RNC, but am unable to participate at this time. However, I have enclosed $11 to cover the cost of tabulating my survey.

What a bunch of horse hockey! They're spending $11 per survey to tabulate the results? No wonder we have an outlandish national deficit. This outfit is run by the same morons throwing away taxpayers money. If they had sent me a letter saying they need money to run ads explaining stuff to people who get their news from leftist goofs like Katie Couric and Chris Matthews I might have listened. But if you tell me you need $11 per survey to find out if registered Republicans think we should be for or against terrorism, then you can go piss up a rope. My wife and kids can waste my money, I don't need Ken Mehlman to do it.

I wonder if Ken Mehlman actually read the letter his signature was stamped on. The most important thing to do when sending correspondence is to read it as though you are the recipient before you send it.

Which party has race issues?

For decades it has been an accepted truth that the Republican party is the party of racists. Intelligent people rejected such nonsense but the myth lived. Here is an article which refutes that lame point of view.

Common sense questions would be: If Southern bigots fled the Democrat Party to the Republican Party during 1964 and following, why was it the Republicans who fought for civil rights? Why was a Republican president (Richard Nixon) responsible for affirmative action? Why do Republicans have the stellar record of meritocratic inclusion in the highest echelons of their administrations? Why did Democrats led by Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., bitterly oppose the nomination of Thurgood Marshall, Clarence Thomas and Janice Rogers Brown? Why did the Democrats sit silent as Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell and Janice Rogers Brown suffered vicious ad hominem attacks based on their race? Why was it the Democrats who opposed every civil-rights bill introduced in Congress (by Republicans) from 1856 well into the 1970s? Why do Democrats today support measures that retard self-sufficiency pursuant to blacks and the so-called poor, while Republicans champion the exact opposite.

Claiming Democrats are helpful to minorities is like saying Ted Kennedy is good for women. Sure he only killed one directly. Who knows how many deaths he contributed to with his support of infanticide. And remember, every time someone claims abortion is a women's issue, half of the babies murdered are girls.

Don Adams - AKA Get Smart's Agent 86 Died

Don Adams the actor who is best known for portraying Agent 86 in the TV show Get Smart passed away yesterday. I didn't know he was a Marine during WWII.

"When you're only 16 and waiting to die --- you're scared," TV star Don Adams told The ENQUIRER. It was 1943. Adams, who had enlisted in the Marines, had caught blackwater fever on Guadalcanal in the South Pacific. "After being flown to a hospital in Wellington, New Zealand, I was told nothing much could be done for me," he recalled. "I was just left to die. "That's when I started praying. I prayed night and day that my life might be spared. "Five days later I woke to find the fever and all its symptoms completely disappeared.

Don, Rest in Peace and thanks for your service.

(H/T The Corner at NRO)

What's to blame for Democratic nuttiness?

Tony Snow today addresses how the Senate degenerated to its current state. He uses Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid as an example.

Reid's performance raises an interesting and vital question: What on earth would persuade a naturally nice man to behave in such an inane manner -- and why would a majority of Democrats join him in voting against John Roberts, who may be the strongest high-court nominee in a century?

As usual complicated matters can be answered with simple answers. MONEY.

Here is the two-word answer: McCain-Feingold. The McCain-Feingold campaign-finance reform bill, designed grandly to "take money out of politics," predictably produced the opposite effect. It sucked in a flood of cash, gutted the major political parties and made poseurs more unaccountable than ever before.

The old villain, "soft money," merely changed names under McCain-Feingold. Lawyers now call it "527 money." Wealthy activists can spend like crazy through 527s. Democrats find themselves beholden to a batch of petulant billionaires, led by George Soros, Peter Lewis and Steven Bing. That trio alone contributed nearly $65 million to Democratic candidates and causes during the 2004 election cycle.

And what does this get us?

Harry Reid has to act like a nut in public because money talks. As Senate leader, Reid has to tilt at every windmill, charge into every fusillade and dip his head into every wood-chipper just to please his billionaire bosses.

He's not alone. While the Senate approved Justice Antonin Scalia by a vote of 98-0 and Ruth Bader Ginsburg (with arguably the dottiest paper record of any recent court nominee) sailed through by a 96-3 tally, Roberts will be lucky to break 70 votes. Worse, Democrats have all but promised to subject the president's next high-court nominee to an exuberant character assassination, likely culminating in a filibuster.

In 2008 if John McCain or Russ Feingold make an attempt for the presidency remember this:

This is what McCain-Feingold has wrought: Nasty commercials, incoherent attack politics and ill will on Capitol Hill. The eccentric rich call the shots. Mild-mannered politicians behave like Batman villains -- and none of it will improve until Congress finally declares that it's time to un-reform the reform before someone really gets hurt.

Are there two Americas?

Using the tried and true Democratic strategy of attempting to divide us, John Edwards claimed during last years presidential election that there are two America's. Turns out he was unintentionally correct. From an article in Human Events Online.

In New Orleans, beginning Tuesday morning, August 30, I saw men in helicopters risking their lives to save stranded flood victims from rooftops. The rescuers were White, the stranded Black. I saw Caucasians navigating their small, private boats in violent, swirling, toxic floodwaters to find fellow citizens trapped in their houses. Those they saved were Black.

I saw Brotherhood. New York Congressman Charlie Rangel saw Racism.

Yes, there are Two Americas. One is the real America, where virtually every White person I know sends money, food or clothes to those in need -- now and in other crises -- regardless of color. This America is colorblind.

The other is the America fantasized and manufactured by Charlie Rangel, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, who constantly cry “racism!” even in situations where it does not exist, even when undeniable images illustrate love, compassion and concern. These three men, together with today’s NAACP, want to continue the notion of Racist America. It is their Mantra, their calling card. Their power, money, and continued media appearances depend on it.

Read the rest.

Woman marries judge who presided over her divorce case

Something just seems unethical about this story. Woman divorces a billionaire and then marries the judge who handled the divorce case.

Sheila Crump Johnson, who made her fortune with her ex-husband as co-founders of the BET cable network, married the Hon. William T. Newman Jr., the Arlington judge who presided over her divorce.

Sunday links

Despite making several big errors (two fumbles inside Iowa's 10 yard line) Ohio State decisively beat Iowa 31 to 6.

OSU had a staggering 530-177 edge in total yardage — with a preposterous 331-13 advantage in the first half

It wouldn't be Sunday without Hal McCoy's Baseball Insider column. Today he finds some historical comparisons for the White Sox collapse.

Here is the Scouting Report on the Indianapolis Colts the Browns opponent today.

Of the 16 NFL teams Manning has faced three or more times in the regular season, only two have never given up a 300-yard game, a three-touchdown day or a 100+ passer rating game. Those teams? The Browns and the Denver Broncos.

My guess is after today it will only be the Broncos. I'll, of course, root for the Browns today but I do NOT recommend anyone put any money on them.

The Cleveland Indians continued their winning ways last night beating Kansas City 11 to 4. Magic number for winning the Wild Card is now 7.

George Will gives us a history lesson on Chief Justice John Marshall.

In The Hardball Times, John Brattain has an article arguing that Curt Flood should be enshrined in the Hall of Fame because his efforts to change the labor landscape of baseball should be considered along with his efforts on the playing field. I strongly disagree. Flood was a good player who had a couple very good seasons. His career batting average was .293 which if it was accompanied by a great power would be fine. However, he only hit 88 home runs in his career. For those who say "but he would have better numbers except he selflessly sacrificed his career, blah, blah, blah" all I can say is you get in the Hall of Fame based on what you do not what you might have done. Separately, there has been a movement in recent years to push former labor leader Marvin Miller for the Hall of Fame. I understand he ensured utility infielders are now richer than some third world nations but it is highly questionable whether that is good for baseball. Put both of them in the Organized Labor Hall of Fame but don't send them to Cooperstown.

Charlie Rangel is an idiot

If I've never mentioned it before, Charlie Rangel is a complete idiot.

Comparing President Bush to the Birmingham, Ala., police commissioner whose resistance to the civil rights movement became synonymous with Southern racism, Rep. Charles Rangel said yesterday of the president: "George Bush is our Bull Connor."

Mr. Rangel's metaphoric linkage of Mr. Bush to the late Theophilus "Bull" Connor - who in 1963 turned fire hoses and attack dogs on blacks, including Martin Luther King Jr., demonstrating in favor of equal rights - met with wild applause and cheering at a Congressional Black Caucus town hall meeting, part of the organization's 35th Annual Legislative Conference.

Oh by the way, potential Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Hillary Clinton was also a speaker at that event and did not repudiate Rangel's racist remarks.

Carter: Georgia's Voter ID Law "Obnoxious"

Carter: Georgia's Voter ID Law "Obnoxious" No, Jimmy you're obnoxious.

Former President Jimmy Carter has some strong criticism of Georgia's new voter ID law. The state now requires photo identification in order to vote. Carter says the law is designed to prevent the old, handicapped, poor and minorities from exercising their right to vote.

No, Jimmy it is designed to keep deceased people from continuing to vote and to stop the practice of double voting.

Great outing by Indians number five starter

Not sure what happened but the long post I wrote last night on this subject is gone. Here is a quick version of the previous post. Scott Elarton pitched 7 scoreless innings to lead the Tribe over the White Sox last night (I suppose Travis Hafner's 2 homers helped). He is the Indians number five starter and got off to an awful start this season. In his first five starts he managed an ERA of 7.20. Most Indians fans thought he should have been released at that point. The club obviously saw something no one else did and stuck with Elarton despite his early troubles. Their patience has paid off as the season played out. After that miserable start here is his month by month ERA and won/loss record:
May 4.30 2/1
June 3.77 2/1
July 3.58 2/2
August 7.31 1/2
September 0.89 4/0

No one thing can explain the fluctuations he has gone through this year. However, my guess is he is still re-learning to pitch after his elbow surgury of a couple years ago. He missed all of the 2003 season and came back to have difficulty (like lots of pitchers) at Coors Field. Shapiro has a tough decision to make in the off season regarding Elarton as he can be a free agent.

Hurricane supplies stolen by city official

This is going to get ugly.

Police found cases of food, clothing and tools intended for hurricane victims at the home of the chief administrative officer for a New Orleans suburb, authorities said Wednesday.

Officers searched Cedric Floyd's home because of complaints that city workers were helping themselves to donations for hurricane victims. Floyd, who runs the day-to-day operations in the suburb of Kenner, was in charge of distributing the goods.

The AP article has no mention of political affiliation and since this is a negative story that indicates Floyd is a Democrat.

Molly Yard

My mother said "Don't speak ill of the dead." With that in mind, I have nothing to say about this obit. Since he had a different mother, Bob Bork can say what ever he wants.

Stuck on Stupid

I believe I'd lose my license to blog if I didn't mention this story. LGEN Honore addressed the media in the manner many people wish the president would occasionally.

“You are stuck on stupid, I’m not going to answer that question”

- - General Honore to reporter.

Political Teen has the video.

(H/T to every blog imaginable)

Problem with priorities at Department of Justice

Apparently, the Attorney General has decided not to waste all of his resources on the War on Terrorism.

Early last month, the bureau's Washington Field Office began recruiting for a new anti-obscenity squad. Attached to the job posting was a July 29 Electronic Communication from FBI headquarters to all 56 field offices, describing the initiative as "one of the top priorities" of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales

Maybe I'm a cynic, but it looks to me like Gonzales is attempting to burnish his conservative credentials in advance of a future Supreme Court nomination.

Mind you, I have no problem with local authorities enforcing community standards. I fully support any and all efforts to combat the exploitation of children by the porn industry. However, I don't think the feds need to be involved in policing adult porn. Sort of like my position on littering. If a cop sees someone littering by all means issue a citation but don't ignore a 911 call in order to track down litterers.

Global Warming strikes again!

How long before the enviro-wacko's blame this on Global Warming caused by gas guzzling SUV's.

A failure of the justice system turns fatal

If our courts did their job two people would be alive today.

A judge had given him a second chance after a dozen traffic infractions, felony drug convictions and probation violations.

Then, in August, with four years in jail for any probation violation hanging over his head, Crumbly allegedly got upset and hit his ex-girlfriend after she refused a kiss, according to court records.

While awaiting trial in that case, Crumbly, 30, was driving on Shore Drive early Saturday when he struck three pedestrians and took off, police said. Two of the victims died.

This scumbag was out on probation commits another offense and the criminal system doesn't lock him up. Result: two people are dead, one of whom was a young Navy officer with a bright future the other was a local high school teacher. Probation only works if the person on probation understands that any offense will result in application of the prior sentence. All of society pays when the criminal justice system fails.

NY Senate race

Now the NY Senate race is getting fun.Pirro: Can't trust Slick Hil-ly

ALBANY - Westchester District Attorney Jeanine Pirro stepped up the rhetoric yesterday in her campaign to unseat Sen. Hillary Clinton, likening the ex-First Lady's coyness about her presidential ambitions to a Bill Clinton fib.

Comparing Hillary Clinton to her husband is dirty pool. This race should be entertaining if nothing else.

Tuesday's must read

Thomas Sowell is always an enlightening read. Today he has one of his occasional "Random Thoughts" columns. Enjoy.

Students can graduate from even the most prestigious colleges and universities wholly unaware that there are not simply different opinions about particular issues but a whole comprehensive framework of ideas and analysis through which those issues can be seen in a way that leads to very different conclusions from the ones their professors have taught or insinuated.

US Government has competition in the money printing business

Isn't this wonderful?

North Korea's government is producing high-quality counterfeit $100 bills and is working with criminal groups in China to sell the fake U.S. money internationally, U.S. officials say.

It's not as if our own government isn't printing and spending enough of the green stuff on their own.

Simon Weisenthal

Captain's Quarter's brings to our attention the passing of Simon Weisenthal.

Simon Weisenthal, the man most responsible for forcing the world to confront the horrors of the Holocaust and living the pledge, "Never forget!", has passed away in his sleep. Weisenthal was 96 years old, or about 60 years older than the Nazi animals who once held him captive planned.

We are losing some of the WWII generation daily, hopefully we don't lose an understanding of the evil they fought.

There is a race in the AL Central

A week ago as the Tribe charged ahead in the Wild Card race I dismissed the sentiment expressed by a frequent commenter (Bob) that the AL Central was still in play. Well, Cleveland has won 13 of their last 14 ball games including tonight against the White Sox. I'm still expecting our route to the playoff to be via the Wild Card. However, winning the division is no longer out of the realm of possibilities. 12 games left and five against Chicago and only trailing 2 indicates that the division title is a reasonable goal. Gonna be a fun couple weeks!!! Go Tribe.

Monday stuff and Sunday leftovers

Chief Justice Rehnquist liked the movie "Old School" and other remembrances from his grand-daughter.

Hal McCoy's Baseball Insider column always has something interesting. This week is no exception.

Placido Polanco has a question, a legitimate question in these days of interleague play. If a player is traded from one team to another in the same league, his statistics go with him. If he is traded from a team in one league to the other league, your statistics don't go with you. You start over. Polanco was traded from Philadelphia to Detroit this season. If you combine his at-bats for both teams, he leads the majors in batting average. But he won't win a batting title in either league because he doesn't have enough at-bats at either venue.

I didn't realize Polanco was having that good a season. This is just one more reason interleague play is wrong.

Chris of A Large Regular explains why Bill Clinton's lies on Sunday television won't help his wife in the long run.

More election fraud from last November.
http://www.mrc.org/cyberalerts/2005/cyb20050919.asp#1

Dante Culpepper single handedly ruined hundreds of peoples fantasy football teams.

If you can read Wazzadem without laughing you have problems. Today he lights into Tim Russert for being taken in by a lying con-man (or two of them).

Congratulations to Romeo Crennel

After over 30 years as an assistant coach, Romeo Crennel has his first win as head coach. The Cleveland Browns defeated the Green Bay Packers 26 to 24 this afternoon. Trent Dilfer played a very good game throwing for 336 yards and three touchdowns. The best part of the day is seeing that the winless Ravens are in last place.Hopefully, this is just the first of many wins for Romeo.

Donna Brazille reponds to President Bush's speech

Donna Brazille wrote an editorial that should be read wide and far.

New Orleans is my hometown. It is the place where I grew up, where my family still lives. For me, it is a place of comfort and memories. It is home.

Now my home needs your help, and the help of every American. Much of my city is still underwater. Its historical buildings have been wrecked, its famous streets turned to rivers and, worst of all, so many of its wonderful people -- including members of my own family and my neighbors -- have lost everything.

On Thursday night President Bush spoke to the nation from my city. I am not a Republican. I did not vote for George W. Bush -- in fact, I worked pretty hard against him in 2000 and 2004. But on Thursday night, after watching him speak from the heart, I could not have been prouder of the president and the plan he outlined to empower those who lost everything and to rebuild the Gulf Coast.

Mr. President, I am ready for duty. I am ready to stir those old pots again. Let's roll up our sleeves and get to work.

The writer, a Democratic political consultant, managed Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign.

This may be a small start but it is a start nonetheless. Wouldn't it be something if the rebuilding effort in the Gulf Coast causes some people to reassess their feelings about race relations and politics and reject the lies of the last few decades?

Tribe keeps on rolling

The Cleveland Indians continued their winning ways last night beating the Kansas City Royals 3 to 1. The teams number five pitcher, Scott Elarton gave another strong effort and was credited with his 10th win. Oddly that left Cleveland's best starting pitcher as their only starter with less than ten wins despite leading the American League in ERA.

Many different aspects of the team are cited to explain the improvement over last year. The most obvious change is the bullpen which is one of the best while last years was incendiary. Some people mention the fact that the young players have another years experience. To me, the most impressive thing has been the health and consistency of the starters. With a couple weeks left in the season there is a very good chance they could have all 5 starters get 30 starts. I don't know if any team has accomplished that previously but it would be the first time in Tribe history. Between injuries and ineffectiveness this would have to be an extremely rare event.

Who does Bloomberg think he is?

Who does Bloomberg think he is? Or better yet why does Reuters think the rest of us should care?

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Friday opposed John Roberts' nomination to be U.S. Supreme Court chief justice, making him the first noted Republican to break with the Bush administration over who should lead America's top court.

So Reuters considers Bloomberg a Republican? He is a lifelong Democrat who ran for mayor of New York as a Republican since he couldn't win the Democrat primary. Is Reuters going to ask the mayor of every city their opinion on John Roberts fitness to serve on the Supreme Court?

And just for the record why is Bloomberg against Roberts? Apparently, Roberts hasn't satisfied Bloomberg desire that all justices must be in favor of infanticide.

Bloomberg said Roberts had failed to show a commitment to upholding the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision establishing a right to abortion. "I am unconvinced that Judge Roberts accepts the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling as settled law," Bloomberg said.

According to dopes like Bloomberg the Supreme Court's only purpose is to rule on Roe v. Wade.

Something is missing

Here is an article about a couple crooked politicians arrested by the FBI.

An FBI spokesman says state treasurer Robert Vigil and former state treasurer Michael Montoya were arrested this morning as part of a corruption investigation. The arrests were part of a two-year FBI public corruption investigation, code named "Midas Touch."

A federal indictment says the two men threatened investment adviser Kent Nelson, who was involved in investing state funds, in order to obtain nearly $700,000. It says Montoya received about $632,000 while Vigil received about $54,000.

Agents executed federal search warrants at the New Mexico State Treasurer�s office in Santa Fe and at both mens residences. Both men are expected to appear before a US Magistrate later today.

What's missing? Oh yeah, there is no mention of their political party affiliation. If they were Republicans it would be mentioned in the headline.

Anyone still against profiling?

This is disconcerting:

When FBI agents walked into Mahmoud Maawad's spartan apartment at 3557 Mynders # 5 on Sept. 9, they found a desk, chair, computer and a Koran.

They also found an airline pilot's uniform, a chart of Memphis International Airport, and instructional DVDs, including one called "How an Airline Captain Should Look and Act."

A federal magistrate Thursday ordered Maawad, a 29-year-old University of Memphis student from Egypt, jailed until his trial on charges of wire fraud and fraudulent use of a Social Security number. "The specific facts and circumstances are scary," Asst. U.S. Atty. Steve Parker said, arguing against Maawad's release.

Since Maawad can't get a Social Security number, "he can't get a pilot's license, and can't go to flight school," Parker said. "But he wants to get behind the wheel of an aircraft."

U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Thomas Anderson ruled that Maawad be held without bond.

Though it's not illegal to buy aviation material, Anderson noted, "it is hard for the court to understand why he has a large concentration of those items, and nothing else to indicate Mr. Maawad plans to stay in the community."

Maawad has been in the country illegally since 1999, and has used a false Social Security number to enroll in schools and open a bank account, Parker said.

He's been working off-the-books for cash at a North Memphis convenience store, and was arrested by Shelby County sheriff's deputies last spring for selling alcohol to a minor.

Agents are downloading information from Maawad's computer and analyzing materials from his apartment in search of a terrorism connection.

"My school is everything," said Maawad, a clean-shaven man built like a weightlifter. "I stay in this country for seven years; I stay for the school." Maawad said he's studying science and economics at the U of M. Since Maawad can't work legally, he told authorities a friend would support him. When court employees tried to reach that friend, the telephone was disconnected. Between April and August, the penniless student ordered $3,000 in aviation materials, DVDs titled "Ups and Downs of Takeoffs and Landings," "Airplane Talk," "Mental Math for Pilots" and "Mastering GPS Flying," FBI agent Thad Gulczynski testified. He also ordered a pilot's coat and hat, and a chart of the Memphis airport terminal area from Spotty's USA in San Diego.

This situation raises dozens of questions. Here are just a few.
1. If he is penniless, who is funding his actions? Follow the money!
2. If he is here illegally and was arrested last year why is he still here???
3. Most importantly, how many other people like this character are here in this country plotting to do us harm?

Viet Dinh for the Supreme Court

If this weeks Supreme Court confirmation hearings in the senate for John Roberts wasn't entertaining enough for you, how about Viet Dinh for the other opening? As Assistant Attorney General during President Bush's first term, Dinh was largly responsible for drafting the Patriot Act. Imagine how Schumer, Kennedy, Feinstein and friends heads will explode if Dinh is the nominee. He is only 37 and could serve on the bench for decades. He is an escapee from communist Vietnam emigrating to the United States in the late 1970's. He did very well in school and ended up graduated magna cum laude from both Harvard College and Harvard Law School. He clerked for Justice O'Connor. Hey if Rehnquist's former clerk can take his place why not O'Connor's former clerk.

I think the only potential nominee who would drive the left further around the bend than Dinh would be Janice Rogers Brown.

The stakes are going up regarding "Able Danger"

There have been rumblings for the last month or so that Mohamed Atta was identified as a terrorist two years before the 2001 attacks. Two senior military officers have admitted to learning Atta's name in operation "Able Danger." Now we have this:

A Pentagon employee was ordered to destroy documents that identified Mohamed Atta as a terrorist two years before the 2001 attacks, a congressman said Thursday. The employee is prepared to testify next week before the Senate Judiciary Committee and was expected to name the person who ordered him to destroy the large volume of documents, said Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa.

Sometimes Congressman Weldon can be prone to hyperbole. However, if this is true, someone is in deep kimschee.

Feminists cry wolf

The Corner at National Review Online has a post which demonstrates that any Supreme Court nominee of a Republican president will be painted with the same brush regardless of facts.

1975: According to Nan Aron, then the president of the Women's Legal Defense Fund, John Paul Stevens should be opposed because had shown "blatant insensitivity to discrimination against women."

1990: With the nomination of David Souter, Molly Yard, then the president of NOW, declared that confirming Souter would mean "ending freedom for women in this country." NOW howled that his confirmation meant "Women will die."

What makes their ridiculous comments even more laughable is the fact that Stevens and Souter are two of the more liberal justices on the court.

AL Wild Card race - Good news/Bad news

Good news:

Continuing the different star each night trend, Jake Westbrook and Ronnie Belliard propelled the Indians to their ninth win in their last ten games.

Bad news:

The Yankees managed to beat the Devil Rays to stay one game behind the Indians.

The New York Times and Washington Post get together to decide what the news will be

Bizzyblog has the story of how for at least a decade The New York Times and Washington Post have sent each other advance copies of their next days headlines. For those of us who believe the media is operating with an extreme left wing agenda and conspires to tilt public opinion this story validates those beliefs. Also, I'm certain this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Are you still a “conspiracy nut” when the conspiracy is acknowledged?

Anyone need more proof that lawyers are ruining our society?

The 5-2 decision upheld an appellate court ruling that Louis Maisonave of Newark can sue the Newark Bears and its concessionaire, Gourmet Dining, for injuries he suffered while attending a game at Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium in August 1999.

Maisonave was struck in the eye by a foul ball while waiting to purchase a beer at a vending cart.

Frank Boulton, CEO of the Atlantic League, which includes the Bears and three other New Jersey teams, told the Star-Ledger that the ruling could force teams to put up more netting, and that will mean fewer chances to catch a foul ball.

Can you believe this jerk goes to a ballpark and gets upset when a foul ball hit him? I've been going to parks for decades have haven't had a foul ball come anywhere near me. He and his scumbag lawyer should forfeit their citizenship and be deported to a country where they call soccer football.

Indians rally late

Going into the 7th inning yesterday the Tribe hadn't scored in 17 innings and were in danger of a second consecutive shutout loss. Then with Ronnie Belliard on base, Ben Broussard stepped up to the plate and hit a homer to center to tie the game at two. One inning later, Broussard got another opportunity with runners on first and second and he hit a towering fly to right field. Must have been a favorable breeze because instead of being caught by the rightfielder the ball fell in the second row of seats to put the Tribe in front. Here is a description of the second homer:

This time Broussard worked the count, going to 3-1 before lifting a rain-making drive toward right field. No one in the park thought it was going out, but right fielder Nick Swisher kept going back. When he reached the wall, jumped and came down empty, the crowd of 21,564 gasped and cheered at the same time. "It hit it good, but I hit it straight up," said Broussard, who has 18 homers. "I didn't know if it was going out or not."

That game was a perfect example of how in baseball you can go from goat to hero in minutes. Broussard has been slumping terribly at the plate (batting .138 in September) and had made two errors at first base earlier in the game. His past failures are forgotten for a while (at least until 7:05 PM tonight) as he basks in the glow of recent success.

Unions using underpaid temp workers to protest Walmart

Unions have been anti-Walmart since Walmart is a non-unionized company. So in various areas unions have been hiring temp workers and paying them $6 an hour (and no benefits) to picket outside Walmart. Obviously, the unions know better than to waste money hiring union labor. John Hawkins at Right Wing News has a good run down and a link to another article on this subject. This excerpt sums up the situation:

Here we have a union picketing Wal-Mart. Yet, the union isn't using union labor for their picketing, because it's too expensive. Moreover, the union accuses Wal-Mart of having poor working conditions & pay. Yet, it's obvious that the conditions & pay at the Wal-Mart are far better than what the union is providing for the temps.

So, the United Food and Commercial Workers union wants to pay the least amount of money they can to get a job done. But then, when Wal-Mart does the same thing, the UFCW cries foul. Why? Because the unions and the Democrats want a slice of that pie.

How would that work?

Wal-Mart charges YOU more to buy things. Then they take that extra money they get from YOU to pay their unionized workers more. The workers then pay their unions. Then the unions contribute huge sums of money and manpower to Democrats who in turn favor laws that put more money in the pockets of the unions.

That's what these assaults on Wal-Mart we've seen of late are really all about.

The left wants you to think Walmart is evil. What they are is inexpensive. Last Saturday, before Notre Dame shellacked Michigan, I stopped in Walmart and bought a quality Notre Dame ballcap for $5. Good ballcaps can run as much as $20.

Maybe soccer players aren't wimps

I take back most of my previous comments ridiculing soccer after reading this.

A footballer had to have six stitches in his penis after it was ripped open in a tackle. Chavdar Yankow, 21, sustained a three-inch gash playing for Hamburg 96 in Germany. His shorts were "soaked with blood" but team doctors managed to patch Yankow up. Amazingly, after the painful incident Yankow returned to the pitch and played on. And the German went on to score in his side's 2-0 win over Frankfurt.

That is obviously the only scoring he is going to do for some time. Ouch.

(h/t Fark)

Playing to the cameras

To get an understanding how cameras have changed congressional proceedings one only needs to watch the current hearings on the nomination of Judge John Roberts to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Consider that less than a hundred years ago, nominees didn't even appear before the Senate for the hearings. In an article today about the hearings, Manuel Miranda gives us this little tidbit.

The hearing for Justice Byron White in 1962 lasted only 15 minutes and included just eight questions.

I'm definitely not thrilled with how it has gone from 15 minutes to several days and it is all attributable to senators playing to their constituencies through the wonders of television.

Andrew Chrenkoff's last report

An Australian named Andrew Chrenkoff has been compiling a report called Good News from Iraq published in the Wall Street Journal. His intention was to fill the void left by the mainstream media which seems content to only emphasize the negative. Unfortunately, he is unable to continue to devote the time necessary to put out the column and this weeks round up is his last. Give it a look.

Grilling Judge Roberts

Disappointed that John Roberts is well-prepared for his confirmation hearings and likely much smarter than his interrogators, New York Times columnist John Tierney has a suggested line of questioning which could be used to trip up the nominee.

After seeing a judge's robes in a Gilbert and Sullivan production, Chief Justice Rehnquist added gold stripes to his robe. If confirmed, will you keep the stripes, or do you have a whole new look in mind?

From your analysis of constitutional history, would you classify James Madison as a dog person or a cat person?

Suppose you'd been in Solomon's place when he proposed cutting the baby in two. And suppose neither woman objected. Would you have cut the baby? Flipped a coin? Or opted for foster care?

Would it be a violation of Lois Lane's so-called right to privacy if Superman used his X-ray vision to look through her clothes?

During the announcement of your nomination at the White House, your son distracted the president with an impromptu dance. When you got home that night, what happened to him?

When justices have birthday parties, should they invite all the other justices, or can they invite just the ones they like?

Ashley or Mary-Kate?

Your passion for correct grammar and syntax is well known, but you have yet to inform the American people of your position on the serial comma. In the phrase "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," should there be a comma after "liberty"?

How would you edit this sentence to make it grammatically correct?: "I swear I ain't never gonna overturn Roe v. Wade."

With the roster of clowns doing the questioning of Roberts, Tierney's line of questioning wouldn't be any worse than what he'll get and would probably be more entertaining. The above was just a sample, go read the rest.

Separately, when did the question "Mary Ann or Ginger?" get replaced by "Ashley or Mary-Kate?"

The slippery slope of the pro-death movement

Not content with killing little kids, one abortionist is suggesting killing judges (or at least one judge).

Westfall didn't mince words about the decision issued late Thursday by U.S. District Judge Sandra Beckwith in Cincinnati. That decision upheld a 1998 state law that requires teenage girls to obtain parental consent before getting an abortion. ``This ruling came out at quarter to five on a Thursday night. It was impossible to get a hold of these patients,'' Westfall said. ``My opinion is, the judge should be lynched.''

I suppose it is a small step from killing kids who have never done anything to going after judges you disagree with on a legal matter.

A heart breaking update to a previous story

In July I posted about Susan Torres, a severely brain damaged pregnant woman who doctors were keeping on life support until her child reached the point of viability. This morning brings news of more sadness in the Torres family as the little child died following an emergency operation. Please keep the Torres family in your prayers.

The federal response to Katrina was not as portrayed

The federal response to Katrina was not as portrayed

It is settled wisdom among journalists that the federal response to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina was unconscionably slow.

"Mr. Bush's performance last week will rank as one of the worst ever during a dire national emergency," wrote New York Times columnist Bob Herbert in a somewhat more strident expression of the conventional wisdom.

But the conventional wisdom is the opposite of the truth.

Here is the truth.

Jason van Steenwyk is a Florida Army National Guardsman who has been mobilized six times for hurricane relief. He notes that:

"The federal government pretty much met its standard time lines, but the volume of support provided during the 72-96 hour was unprecedented. The federal response here was faster than Hugo, faster than Andrew, faster than Iniki, faster than Francine and Jeanne."

For instance, it took five days for National Guard troops to arrive in strength on the scene in Homestead, Fla. after Hurricane Andrew hit in 2002. But after Katrina, there was a significant National Guard presence in the afflicted region in three.

Journalists who are long on opinions and short on knowledge have no idea what is involved in moving hundreds of tons of relief supplies into an area the size of England in which power lines are down, telecommunications are out, no gasoline is available, bridges are damaged, roads and airports are covered with debris, and apparently have little interest in finding out.

When I read this article my first thought was "How will the extreme left wing media spin this away?" Then I realized they don't have to spin it all they need to do is ignore the truth.

Live blogging John Roberts Senate hearings

I started to live blog the senate hearings on the nomination of John Roberts to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. However, I couldn't get through listening to Leahy bloviate without reaching for the remote. If I couldn't put up with Leahy then there is no way I could handle listening to Ted Kennedy lie and smear the nominee. If you're really interested watch it yourself. He'll get out of committee with a favorable recommendation and be confirmed with about 70 votes. The hearings are just a chance for the senators to play to their various constituencies.

Indians stick fork in Twins

As they say, "Stick a fork in 'em, they're done." The Twins showed up in Cleveland Friday needing a sweep to revitalize their dwindling Wild Card hopes. Instead they got swept and left town 8 1/2 games behind the Indians with 20 games remaining on the schedule.

This is a big week for the teams fighting for the Wild Card

The Yankees who are one game back play three games against the Devil Rays in Tampa Bay.
and
The Oakland A's trailing by 2 1/2 games visit Cleveland for three games.

Browns lose first game

I could have wrote nothing about the Browns loss yesterday and just avoid discussing the team until after they win a game. However, after my initial angst subsided, I came to the conclusion that it wasn't all bad. So lets look at the good and the bad, starting with the bad.
- Loss to an AFC North rival. Unlike the other major sports, each win or loss in football is significant. Compared to baseball a win or loss in the NFL is equal to 10 wins or losses.
- Several times the Bengals marched right down the field rather easily.
- I was asked Saturday what I expected from the Browns. I responded that I would judge progress this year by the level of discipline more than number of wins. In other words would we continue to kill ourselves with penalties. To answer that concern, they had two touchdowns nullified by penalties.
On the bright side:
- The Bengals were playing with essentially the same offensive unit as last year while the Browns are instituting a new defensive scheme and had an injury depleted secondary. It is obvious the Bengals experience together contributed to the ease with which they scored. In some ways the game should have been much uglier. Either the Bengals are not
- While the Browns did have two touchdowns reversed by penalties, it did seem like there were less overall penalties. I don't remember any penalties on the O-line. Also, even the announcers were unable to identify what was the penalty which wiped out the interception returned for a TD.
- The offensive line held up for the most part and gave the quarterback time.
- The new quarterback, Trent Dilfer, was NOT lousy. The record shows two interceptions but one went off his receivers hands and the other was because the rookie wide receiver ran the wrong route.
- Reuben Droughns rushed well with 78 yards on 12 carries and filled in for the kick returner when he went down with a knee injury.
- Frisman Jackson had a career high 8 catches for 128 yards.
- Coach Crennell's biggest job this year is to change the attitude and mindset of the team. Unlike the previous coach (Butch Davis), Crennell did not sugar coat anyone's performance.

``I'm disappointed in the way everybody played,'' Browns coach Romeo Crennel said after his coaching debut. ``You don't do good when you lose. You can't be happy about anything, can you?

``Put it this way: I'm not happy about anything.''

No organization is capable of positive change unless they are brutally honest about their current condition. Lets see what changes in the wake of this loss.

In someways people in Cleveland are not feeling as bad about their team as in some other NFL cities. We were expected to lose. We lost. Ergo, we met expectations. Some other teams fell well short of expectations.
Carolina was picked to win the Super Bowl by Sports Illustrated and lost to a vagabond team displaced by the hurricane damage.
Green Bay Packers and the Baltimore Ratbirds were completely inept on offense.
The Jets were expected to challenge in their division and they got stomped by the Chiefs.
Denver and St. Louis were picked by some to win their divisions and both got manhandled by the two worst teams from last year.

Major reform ordered by new Saudi king

The state of human rights in Saudi Arabia has been a subject of much discussion since they are considered a key allie in the Middle East. In light of that this reform ordered by the new monarch is welcome news.

New Saudi King Abdullah has effectively banned citizens from kissing his hand or that of any member of the royal family, saying only fathers and mothers deserved such reverence.

Sometimes change comes in baby steps.

Lebron pitches in

Too often all we hear about athletes outside the playing field is negative. The response to the destruction wrought by hurricane Katrina has shown the positive. Lebron James is the latest to step up to the plate in a big way.

FAIRLAWN — NBA star LeBron James used some of his muscle Thursday to help load up four semitrucks with diapers, school supplies, food and other items for victims of Hurricane Katrina.

The Cleveland Cavaliers forward spent about $120,000 in two hours at a Sam’s Club warehouse store near his hometown of Akron. The goods from his shopping spree will be sent to evacuees in Houston, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Good for Lebron!

Tribe in Wild Card lead!

With their win and the Yankees loss last night the Indians took over the Wild Card lead. I figured I better post this before Johan Santana takes the mound for the Twins against Cleveland tonight.Current Wild Card standings:

CLEVELAND 79-61
NEW YORK 78-61
OAKLAND 77-62

Cleveland: 22 games remaining, 15 home (34-32), 7 road (45-29)
New York: 23 games remaining, 10 home (45-26), 13 road (33-35)
Oakland: 23 games remaining, 10 home (41-30), 13 road (36-32)
(Above courtesy of CIR)

Obviously, being in the lead the main thing for the Indians is to ignore the out of town scores on the scoreboard and just tend to their own business. The rest of us can watch the scoreboard and root for Boston (over NYY) and Texas (over Oakland) this weekend.

Paris Hilton makes an incorrect assumption

In an interview in Vanity Fair, Paris Hilton discussed the only reason most people have heard of her:

Hilton is no longer as embarrassed as she once was by the sex tape made when she was 19 by then-boyfriend Rick Salomon. The tape first appeared on the Internet in 2003 and later landed in stores with the title, "1 Night in Paris."

"I used to think it was so bad, but it's like, everyone has sex. I'm sure everyone has filmed a tape," she said.

No Paris, not everyone has filmed a tape. I don't think even 1% of everyone has. This is actually rather revealing about the circle of people she knows.

(H/T Fark)

Scientists win right to create human embryo with three genetic parents

Anyone seen a slippery slope lately? First it was test tube babies, then artificial insemination, and surrogate mothers. Now on our inevitable downward spiral towards cloning we have this:

Scientists win right to create human embryo with three genetic parents

Anyone who decried the various new ways to make human beings have been called overly righteous religious nuts. We have ended up with over 6 billion people on Earth making babies the old fashioned way. Do we really need to make up new ways to create life? I feel really bad for infertile couples hoping to conceive but I don't think we need to make humans in a science lab.

How labor relations work

College analyst fired after tiring of 'second-fiddle' role

ESPN fired Trev Alberts on Sunday after the college football analyst failed to show up for work at ESPN's studios in Bristol, Conn.

First rule of negotiating is knowing if the other guy will blink.

In related news, college football fans around the country are celebrated no longer having to hear this pompous ass each Saturday.

Return of the Pueblo

N. Korea shows signs of willingness to return Pueblo

Nice thought but it is 37 years too late.

USS Pueblo and USS Liberty are but two examples of our politicians abandoning our Navy.

Just because I thought it was funny

Iraqi president: Saddam should hang "20 times"

Wouldn't the last nineteen times be kind of redundant?

Saddam deserves a death sentence 20 times a day because he tried to assassinate me 20 times," Jalal Talabani said in a lengthy interview on Iraqiya state television, recalling his own days as a Kurdish rebel leader fighting the Baghdad authorities. Saddam had confessed to crimes, he said in answer to a question, though it was not clear what details Talabani had of a legal process that is intended to be separate from Iraqi politics.

Shariah in our hemisphere?

McGuinty insists women safe if shariah allowed in Ontario

Toronto — Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty promises the rights of women will not be compromised if the province allows Muslims to use shariah — Islamic law — to settle civil and marital disputes.

Anyone believe him?

USS IOWA (BB 61) Memorial to San Francisco

A bad idea is getting worse. Some in San Francisco proposed bringing the ex-USS IOWA battleship to the city as a tourist attraction. Being one of the most left wing areas of the country, the city voted down the proposal. Now proponents have modified the proposal to make it more palatable to the city's Board of Supervisors.

The battleship's supporters now hope to gain the support of city leaders by turning part of the vessel into a museum about the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy and the contributions of gays, lesbians, ethnic minorities and women to the military.

The Board of Supervisors rejected the ship in July, and two supervisors explained their "no" votes by saying they objected to the military's policies toward gays and lesbians, while others opposed the war in Iraq.

The Navy should tell them "Thanks, but no thanks." Turning that great ship into razor blades would be more honorable than to let it be used in that manner.

If people want to tour an IOWA class battleship they can go to Norfolk, Virginia and see the ex-USS WISCONSIN. Wisky is berthed in downtown Norfolk as part of the Nauticus National Maritime Museum which is definitely worth the low price of admission. Also, while in town you can visit the MacArthur Memorial which is only a few blocks away.

Is Cliff Lee in the Cy Young race now?

Cliff Lee pitched 8 shutout innings tonight and got the win improving his record to 15 wins and 4 losses. Four years ago he was a small piece of the Bartolo Colon for Brandon Phillips trade. Now he is chasing Colon for Cy Young contention. I'm honest enough to admit that Lee is not the best pitcher in the American League this year but it is good to see that he is getting into the conversation. Lee should get 4 or 5 more starts so it could get real interesting if he keeps winning.

PS: Half game out of the Wild Card lead after the Yankees lose to Tampa Bay.

Taking the death penalty instead of 11 month sentence???

Too often fear of a temporary hardship causes people to make things much worse.

September 5, 2005 -- FORMER ESPN reporter Adrian Karsten, facing a prison tax rap, was found dead, an apparent suicide, in his Wisconsin home, officials said yesterday. Karsten pleaded guilty in July to failing to report about $607,000 in income he made as a sideline reporter for ESPN college football games between 1999 and 2002. He was sentenced to serve 11 months in prison and nine months home confinement. He was supposed to report to a federal lockup in Rochester...

In the Navy I saw guys desert to avoid a six month deployment. Never made any sense. Screw up the rest of your life over a short term concern. Having known people who were left to deal with the aftermath of suicide I feel just awful for his family.

Who should be backed in primary challenges to incumbents?

The default position in both political parties is to discourage primary challenges to incumbent senators. In the 2004 election cycle President Bush and Sen. Santorum supported Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania in his primary battle with Pat Toomey even though Toomey is considered a much more reliable conservative. Since then, Specter has performed as most of us expected and been more in line with Ted Kennedy than with Bill Frist. In 2006 we have a chance to see if Republicans learned anything from that mistake. Cranston, R.I., Mayor Stephen Laffey is expected to announce this week that he will challenge Sen. Lincoln Chafee in the GOP primary. Chafee is no more a Republican than I'm a Olympic track star. He went as far as publicly stating he wasn't voting for President Bush for reelection last year. However, the old boys club from DC is attempting to discourage Laffey from challenging Chafee.

Republicans in Washington for the past several months have sought to keep Laffey from challenging Chafee. Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) attended a fundraiser earlier this year for the Rhode Island senator. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.), chairwoman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, have consistently made it clear they would do everything possible to help Chafee win a second term.

Better to lose the seat to a declared Democrat than leaving the seat in the hands of one hiding his true self in our closet.

Why wasn't New Orleans fixed immediately?

The title of the post "Why wasn't New Orleans fixed immediately?" seems to be the prevailing attitude of the left wing media. Molten Thoughts answers that stupid question very well. Here's a sample:

As a former Air Force logistics officer, let me clarify the following for the idiots in the Left Wing Media:

1. Things can get destroyed far more swiftly than they can get fixed.
2. The United States military can wipe out the Taliban and the Iraqi Republican Guard far more swiftly than they can bring 3 million Swanson dinners to an underwater city through an area the size of Great Britain which has no power, no working ports or airports, and a devastated and impassable road network.

Read the rest.

Various Supreme Court items

The Washington Post has a review of potential replacements for Chief Justice Rehnquist.

The Associated Press is reporting that sources indicate the president intends to nominate Judge John Roberts to fill the position of Chief Justice. I personally would have preferred Associate Justice Thomas be elevated to the Chief's seat. However, I understand that Thomas would have been the most contentious choice possible. Roberts nomination makes sense in if we have to have a vacancy when the court convenes it is better to be an associate justice seat than the chief's.

Betsy's Page points out a great Rehnquist tribute article by Wendy Long.

CNN has tributes from seven of the sitting Supreme Court justices. Oddly it states that no statement is expected from Associate Justice Souter.

My early money is on Judge Edith Brown Clement to replace O'Conner.

Chief Justice Rehnquist - Rest in Peace

Chief Justice William Rehnquist passed away last night. Chief Rehnquist was a valuable public servant having served a third of a century on the Supreme Court. However, beyond that he also served our country in the Army during World War II and as Deputy Attorney General. There will be time to discuss a replacement on the court. This is not that time. Now is time to wish his family well and to reflect on his career.

It will be interesting to see how Rehnquist and his court will be remembered over the next week or so. Today most news commentary has stated that he lead a shift towards a more conservative court. However, I'm not sure history will show that the court over the past couple decades achieved much more than a slowing of the extreme leftward drift of the judicial branch of government which began in the 1930's. On matters of criminal justice, despite Rehnquist's solid reputation of being a believer in law and order it is clear that the criminals have a upper hand on society in the legal system. A convicted murderer will spend nearly 20 years on death row as lawyers comb over every comma of the court transcript looking for a technicality on which to base a frivolous appeal. On the major social issue of the day, abortion, Chief Rehnquist dissented on the original decision of Roe v. Wade. Just as the Taney court was judged by Dred Scott and other immoral decisions holding humans are property the current court will be looked on in disdain for it's role in legalalizing infanticide.

Who is at fault for Katrina?

While many are doing what they can to alleviate the suffering of the people in the devastated Gulf Coast region some are more concerned with assigning blame. Andrew Chrenkoff has compiled a list of some of the silly statements from environmental nuts like RFK Jr., media goofs and others. Here is the worst.

8. The prize for originality in "blame the Republicans" stakes, however, goes to Russell Shaw at the Huffington Post, for whom basing the current Republican president is not enough:

Would New Orleans and the nearby Gulf Coast be suffering so terribly today if President Carter beat back Reagan in 1980?...

I am wondering if those voters in Louisiana and Mississippi who helped polluter-allied Reagan win in 1980 would have found themselves fated differently under a second Carter term. If Carter came in, we could have had an alternative fuels program and tighter auto emission standards in effect by now.

Are these nuts right? Is pollution and automobile emissions causing "Global Warming" and more hurricanes? Personally, I don't think so. The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration has records of hurricanes by decade. As you can see the cars in the late 1800's must have been even worse because there were more hurricanes back then.

Hurricanes striking US mainland by decades (Source: NOAA)
Decade - total/major (major=cat.3,4,5)
Decade = 1851-1860, 1861-1870 ... etc.

1850s - 19/6
1860s - 15/1
1870s - 20/7
1880s - 22/5
1890s - 21/8
1900s - 18/4
1910s - 21/7
1920s - 13/5
1930s - 19/8
1940s - 24/10
1950s - 17/8
1960s - 14/6
1970s - 12/4
1980s - 15/5
1990s - 14/5
2001-2004 - 9/3

The arrogance of people to think we can affect the weather to such an extent.

Which is stranger?

Got this weeks Sports Illustrated in the mail yesterday and after a quick perusal I was left wondering which of these two items is stranger. The fact that they included sports cards for the "Beer Referees" from the Miller Lite commercials or their Super Bowl pick.



The Panthers are not a lousy choice to be the NFC representative in the Super Bowl. They are heavily favored to win the weakest division in the NFC. However, I wouldn't give them the division yet, Atlanta's defense will keep them in the race and the Falcons play the Panthers 2 of their last 5 games of the season. Separately, if I had to pick a Super Bowl winner today there are several AFC teams I would pick before any NFC team.

Will she get a new roommate?

Student allegedly hit roommate with hot iron

The excitement of a Bowling Green State University freshman's first day of classes this week ended in a nightmare when her roommate allegedly attacked her with a hot iron.

UPDATE and BUMP TO TOP: Apparently, Ms. Haase is recovering okay.

BOWLING GREEN - A former Bowling Green State University student whose new roommate allegedly struck her on the head last week with a hot clothes iron said she has no idea what triggered the attack - and had no indication it was coming. Heather Haase, 18, recounted the incident by telephone last night from her father's McComb, Ohio, home, where she was recovering from a skull fracture, a burn on her arm, and 19 stitches on her head. Ms. Hasse said she and her roommate, Sharronda Barkley, who was released on a bond from the Wood County jail yesterday, had been getting along fine for the few days they had been roommates: They'd walked to the store and hung out in their room and talked.

Teri Sharp, spokesman for BGSU, said both Ms. Barkley and Ms. Haase had withdrawn from the university, although Ms. Haase said last night she plans to return to the university next semester and hopes to live on the same floor of the same residence hall, where she has made friends.

She said she is in good spirits despite the incident. She's also returned to campus and the residence hall several times since the attack for support, to see her friends, and to let them know she was recovering. "A lot of people were thinking my face was half-melted off and stuff like that," she said. "But I'm doing just fine. I'm healing up real quickly and if I was walking down the street you wouldn't know I've been attacked because it's in my hair."

Amazing. It is a scary world we are sending our kids out into.

Looting is nothing new

You may have heard that San Francisco had a terrible earthquake 99 years ago. The mayor of San Francisco felt the need to issue this proclamation:

Oyez Baseball

Oyez Baseball is an internet game intended to increase knowledge of the Supreme Court through baseball connections. For example here is the info provided if you correctly make the connection between Cal Ripken Jr. and Justice William O. Douglas.

S, b. 1960. These players were iron-men of their respective games. Douglas served for more years than any other justice, sitting on the bench from 1939-1975. Put another way, his tenure overlapped the presidencies of Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford. Ripken set what may be an unbreakable record by playing in 2,632 consecutive games, shattering Lou Gehrig's record of 2,130. In the age of free agency, Ripken's accomplishment is even more unlikely given that he played his entire twenty-year career for one team, the Baltimore Orioles.

(h/t HardballTimes' weekly column Ten Things I didn't know last week)

Job opening

Unemployment going up. At least for this guy anyways.

Arizona Rattlers coach Todd Shell was arrested early Tuesday and admitted he had been snorting cocaine, police said. During questioning, Shell looked off toward a tree, Gaffney said. “He said there was a man in the tree wearing camouflage,” Gaffney said. Police searched the area and found no one. Shell was taken into custody on an arrest warrant for probation violation in the nearby town of Gilbert. Court records showed Shell was arrested for extreme drunken driving on Dec. 27, 2003. Shell was taken to Gilbert, where he was released after posting $1,000 bond, Gaffney said.

I'm not sure what the difference between DUI and "Extreme DUI" is, but I'm assuming it isn't good.