Another cog in the wheel known as the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy to combat the Extreme Left-Wing Media.

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Konerko Re-signs with White Sox

Defending World Series champion White Sox (and that's the last time I'm typing that) today announced that they have re-signed free agent First Baseman Paul Konerko to a five year deal. If he and new teammate Jim Thome (obtained from the Phillies) are both healthy the White Sox will have tremendous power in the middle of the batting order. That is a big "if" and a big risk financially. Thome only played 59 games this past season, batting .207 with 7 homers. Konerko has been healthy, playing 150 or more games 4 of the last 5 seasons. However, there are rumors of an arthritic hip condition.
Stoneman declined to comment on Konerko, nor would he address a report in the Sun, citing an unnamed source, that Konerko has an arthritic hip condition. An Oriole official told the Sun the club was aware of the condition, which was apparently diagnosed years ago, but was not deeply concerned about it. The White Sox declined comment on Konerko's hip, but one club official privately told the Chicago Tribune that the team was upset that the information had become public.
Kind of weird that the Orioles would be so unconcerned about offering a 5 year - 65 million dollar contract to a player with a hip condition since they had Albert Belle under a similar contract when his hip condition ended his career (but not his pay checks). I won't criticize this signing (Chicago can spend their money however they want) but will say that it won't matter if their pitching isn't a great as it was this past year.

Who are you calling angry?

In this article, Michelle Malkin puts into words something I've thought for a while. Simply put most of the claims the left makes about conservatives is really nothing but projection of how they feel about themselves. She was prompted by Janeane Garofalo going on TV last week to angrily talk about angry conservatives.
Like CNN executive Jonathan Klein, who derided Fox's audience as full of "angry white men, and those men tend to be rabid," and liberal comedian Bill Maher, who also railed that "Republicans need anger management" and are possessed with a "vein-popping, gut-churning rage that consumes the entire right wing," Ms. Garofalo crossly blames the Right while denying the pathological wrath and fury that characterize the unhinged Left.

Who are you calling angry, Ms. Garofalo? You want political road rage? Let's start with Al. Take your pick: Sharpton. Gore. Franken. Yearrghh!

More troubles for General Motors

Things have gotten so bad for General Motors that they have hired an ex-con to help them sell Buicks. How the mighty have fallen.

Stupid Advertisements

Am I the only one who is really bugged by stupid ads? It might be the fact that you see the same one over and over, but what really gets me is when they say something that just doesn't make any sense. Lately, there has been one for a credit card that goes something like this:
Wife: Hi honey, I'm home.
Husband: Have you seen the credit card bill.
Wife: I might have thrown it out.
How could she say that? I might have thrown it out. MIGHT HAVE!?
What? You either did or you didn't and why the heck would you throw a bill away?

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Congress living high on the hog

Yesterday, we had the sorry story of Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-CA) pleading guilty to accepting bribes. His offenses were mainly centered around a shady housing deal where he sold his house to a defense contractor for a lot more than it was worth.

Today, we hear about Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL). Rush is being sued for failing to pay his mortgage since July. The article says Rush has a mortgage for $334,600 on a home valued at just over 200 thousand dollars.

I believe the connection between these stories is the desire to live beyond ones means. A person who makes $162,000 a year (current congressional salary) will be poor if they are spending $200,000 each year. Conversely, someone making $60,000 a year can become rich if they spend $45,000. We wonder why we have a ballooning national deficit? It shouldn't be that surprising when you realize they can't balance their own household budgets without accepting bribes.

The foreclosure action against Rep. Rush is a cautionary tale for many Americans. People are taking second and third mortgages out with adjustable rate loans which will get a lot more expensive as interest rates continue to climb.

A Hero Speaks

In FrontPageMagazine.com Jamie Glazov interviews a true American hero, COL. Bud Day, USAF(ret). Most of his interview is about his experience as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam but he also weighs in on today's political landscape in regards to the war effort. Definitely a must read.

Monday, November 28, 2005

Obit for a great practical joker

Not in a hurry to have my obit written but would want someone to remember my doing something this funny:
O'Meara's love of a good joke was well-known in West Hartford. O'Meara dragged a friend who had passed out from too many martinis onto a Ridgewood Road lawn, strapped a parachute to his back, and called local police, telling them "something fell out" of an airplane "and it landed on a lawn near my house."
(h/t FARK)

Before you bet on the Colts tonight . . . . .

A little something to think about before you bet big on the Colts tonight. The Steelers are the team with the best record all time against the Colts (17 and 4). The Colts have not beat the Steelers since 1984. That means that Bill Cowher has never lost to the Colts and the last 6 Colts coaches have been unable to beat the Steelers. Having said all that, I still think Indianapolis will win tonight.

Another case of the wrong guy getting fired

Today the Detroit Lions fired coach Steve Mariucci. In my opinion this is just another case of the wrong guy being fired. I'm not contending that Mariucci did a great job but rather that Matt Millen should have been fired a long time ago. Matt Millen is generally regarded as the worst general manager in the NFL. Millen hired Mariucci (and his predecessor Marty Mornhinweg) and drafted the lousy players Mariucci was unable to lead to victory enough to keep his job. This situation happens often in baseball and football. A general manager senses the heat is getting turned up so he pushes the manager or head coach under the bus to buy more time. When Millen was hired the Lions were coming off a 9 win season. Since then they have the worst record in all of football. Inexplicably, Millen was given a five year contract extension earlier this year.

David Duke imitates Jimmy Carter

The following statement by Ku Klux Klans leader David Duke in Syria doesn't sound all that different than recent Carter speeches on U.S. foreign policy.
At a press conference in the Damascus' Rawda Square, Duke said, "I have come to Syria to express my support for the Syrian people.... It's the duty of every free man to reject the conspiracies and threats Syria is exposed to." Duke charged that pro-Israel neo-conservatives in the US are controlling American foreign policy and that "Zionist-controlled mass media" are hiding "the reality of Israeli terrorism against the Arabs."
I get more sure of my position on an issue when I see loons like Duke or Carter on the opposite side.

Sunday, November 27, 2005

Sunday links and musings

Clyde lost to Columbus St. Francis DeSales in the state semi-finals Friday night. It was a good run while it lasted. Good luck next year.

Today the Browns face a Minnesota Vikings team that has won their last four games. However, I feel good about the Browns chances to day considering how they played last week and the fact that the Vikings played on Monday night. Take the Browns and the points as this should be a close fairly low scoring game.

Longtime writer and presidential historian, Hugh Sidey died this week. Gerald Ford, the 38th President, wrote a nice tribute to Sidey.
It wasn't supposed to be this way. Like most men my age, I have given a thought or two to my funeral. Each presidential family is solicited for personal touches. Among these is a choice of eulogists. Thus it was, a few months ago, that I called Hugh Sidey.

We'd known each other forever, Hugh coming to Washington just a few years after the voters of Michigan's 5th Congressional District sent me there. Maybe it was our shared Midwestern background, his transparent decency or the tough but fair coverage he accorded me and nine other American presidents; in any event, I had always regarded Hugh as a friend. So I asked him if he would do me the honor of speaking at Washington's National Cathedral when the time came.
Read the rest. (H/T Betsy's Page for the link)

Terry Pluto concurs with my assessment of the Thome trade
. The White Sox got fleeced. Thome was one of my favorite Indians of the 90's, but he is coming of a season shortened by injury and I wouldn't have wanted to take on that salary for a player who may not be able to contribute at his previous levels. Pluto also has some insightful comments about the Browns comparing the Dilfer/Frye situation to Danielson/Kosar in 1985.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Friday he would consider granting clemency to convicted killer Stanley Tookie Williams, the Crips gang founder. Don't do it, Arnold.

If it is Sunday, we have to have an article about a senator hoping to be president. Today it is Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI). Apparently, his main qualification is he is from Wisconsin.
He put his chances of seeking for the nomination in 2008 at "probably higher" than one in 100 while saying it was too early to commit to the race. "But I do think one thing we can all agree on is that this country is overdue for a cheesehead president. We've never had one," he told ABC's "This Week."
The Akron Beacon-Journal could use a new fact checker.
Coming to Cleveland March 30 in a trade with the Denver Nuggets for defensive linemen Ebenezer Ekuban and Michael Myers, Droughns was deemed expendable because the Broncos crank out an endless stream of 1,000-yard rushers.
So, did the Browns get Droughns from the Nuggets or the Broncos?

Friday, November 25, 2005

Not all lies are created equal

Some in the blogosphere are all a twitter about a discrepancy that has been found in New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson's resume. Basically, for decades he has had a sentence on his resume that said he was drafted by the Kansas City Athletics in 1966. I think some of my friends on the right side of the political spectrum are over-hyping this partly because Richardson is considered a potential Democratic candidate for president in 2008. Personally, I think they are wrong on this issue because they are looking at the situation as though the baseball draft in 1966 was held like the football draft is today. Richardson by all acounts was a very good pitcher in college. He was scouted by several teams and had every reason to think he would be drafted. There was no internet in 1966. Newspapers did not put out a list of everyone drafted. In the early years of the draft there was no limit to the number of rounds as long as teams were still selecting the draft would continue. Teams routinely would draft a marginal player and then follow his career before making an offer. Well, Richardson hurt his arm and was no longer considered a pro prospect which would explain why the team never contacted him. I'm no apologist for Richardson but I find it very plausible that he was led to believe he had been drafted. Often scouts wouldn't communicate directly to players but would deal with their coach instead. I have no problem believing a coach was told "we're planning on drafting your guy" and instead heard "we drafted your guy." Compared to the many lies the last Democrat president told about a more serious draft I have to consider this much ado about nothing.

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Happy Thanksgiving!

Heading up to the in-laws today so let me wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving one day early. I would urge everyone to take time this Thanksgiving between football games to honestly consider all we have to be thankful for especially the love of friends and family.

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Failure to learn a hard lesson

Often when news reports someone doing something stupid and painful I'll remark "Well, he won't do that again." I guess based on this story I was underestimating the stupidity of my fellow man.
A man who was struck in the head by a train this weekend was also hit in the head by a New York City subway car three years ago, officials said Monday.
I wonder if this moron would stick his head in a teapot to see if the water is about to boil.

In related news:

Police Use Taser Gun On Naked Man 2nd Time In Week Just to clarify, it was the same guy twice in one week.

Monday, November 21, 2005

Chris Matthews: "They're not evil"

Chris Matthews erstwhile host of MSNBC's political talk show Hardball gave a speech to political science students at the University of Toronto this weekend harshly critical of President Bush. However, he wasn't as quite as critical of our nations enemies.
Matthews said."If we stop trying to figure out the other side, we've given up. The person on the other side is not evil. They just have a different perspective.
So according to Matthews, people who steal airplanes and fly them into buildings aren't evil. Neither are people who would walk into a wedding reception and blow up the celebrating family members. The scumbags in Indonesia who cut the heads off of school girls for being Christians just have a different perspective.

Does that clown have any idea how stupid he sounds to people with any sense of right and wrong? That point of view is why Americans don't trust Matthews' party with national defense.

How to Lose a War

HOW TO LOSE A WAR
QUIT. It's that simple. There are plenty of more complex ways to lose a war, but none as reliable as just giving up.

Increasingly, quitting looks like the new American Way of War. No matter how great your team, you can't win the game if you walk off the field at half-time. That's precisely what the Democratic Party wants America to do in Iraq. Forget the fact that we've made remarkable progress under daunting conditions: The Dems are looking to throw the game just to embarrass the Bush administration.
Read the rest.

The Pope was Jewish says historian

So a historian says Pope John Paul II was Jewish on his mother's side.
Yaakov Wise says his study into the maternal ancestry of Karol Josez Wojtyla (John Paul II's real name) has revealed startling conclusions.

Mr Wise, a researcher in orthodox Jewish history and philosophy, said the late Pope's mother, grandmother and great-grandmother were all probably Jewish and came from a small town not far from Krakow.
Does this researcher think this is a big deal? I have no way of knowing if his findings are valid, but as a Catholic who thought John Paul II was a great Pope it makes no difference to me. Heck, wasn't the first Pope a Jewish guy named Peter? In fact, if I remember correctly Jesus' mom was a nice Jewish lady. Maybe my apathy on this is for the same reason I'm so confused about people being anti-Semitic. Some of the most virulent anti-Semites are people who claim to be adherents of religions whose origins can be traced to Judaism.

Sunday, November 20, 2005

BROWNS Shutout Dolphins!!!



No, hell hasn't froze over, just seems that way. The Cleveland Browns recorded their first shutout in nearly 4 years (25 November 2001) in beating the Miami Dolphins 22 to zero. Reuben Droughns was clearly the player of the game as he rushed for 166 yards including an early 75 yards touchdown run. Also, notable in this game was quarterback Charlie Frye getting into a regular season game for the first time. Looked okay in limited action. He only was in for a couple drives and got the team into field goal range in one of them. Go Browns!

Something good to say about John Murtha

Most of us remember our mother saying "If you have nothing good to say about someone then say nothing." This past week, Congressman John Murtha (M-PA) has been roundly criticized for suggesting we should surrender in the war in Iraq and abandon the country to the Saddam loyalists. I didn't have much to say about Murtha for a couple reasons mainly his past service to our country, his advanced age and the fact that so many others were already jumping on him. This morning I read an article which included a snippet about Murtha helping a wounded soldier. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jamie Dana was critically injured in Iraq and thought her military dog she had trained with for years had died. While recovering she found out the dog, although burned, had survived the blast. She wanted to adopt the dog and found out she can not because of the way the law is written.
Under Title 10, U.S. Code 2583, the Air Force says it cannot allow the wounded airman to take her combat dog home until the animal is too old to be useful. Rex, 80 pounds and brown and black with gold markings, is just 5 years old, not nearly the retirement age of 10 to 14.

It will take an act of Congress to pave the way for Rex to stay with Dana, 26. For the time being, he is with her on leave and will return with her this week to Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado, where Dana is stationed. Walking with a cane because of nerve damage in her legs and feet, Dana expects to take a desk job while military medical boards consider whether she should retire.

"He's my best friend," she said. "I thought he was dead, and I was almost dead, and that made the feeling to be with him a lot stronger."

In Congress, several lawmakers have taken up her cause, including Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.), who is working to attach to a Defense appropriations bill a provision that would allow Rex's adoption. The measure is expected to emerge from a conference committee by the middle of next month and must face votes in both houses.

"This young lady came as close to death as you can come and still be alive," said Rep. John E. Peterson (R-Pa.), who lobbied on her behalf. "She was extremely seriously wounded . . . and I think a person who came that close to death deserves to have the dog who went through it with them. . . . I think that's the least we can do for her."
Constituent services is what congressmen should be best known for not speeches on foreign policy disagreements. I understand that we need rules about giving out military property because without the rules there would be rampant abuse. Having said that, it shouldn't take congressional action to make an exception to the rules. Hopefully we can see some rare bi-partisan support to make an exception to reunite this wounded warrior with her partner.



UPDATE:
Not everyone is looking for Murtha's good side. Sweetness & Light reminds us that Murtha was one of the crooked congressmen caught in the FBI's ABSCAM sting in the late 70's. I assumed that voters would have had the decency to toss out all those dirtbags a long time ago. The voters in Pennsylvania failed this test.

Saturday, November 19, 2005

BUCKEYES 25 - TTUN 21

What a game! The Ohio State Buckeyes came from behind late in the game to beat That Team Up North (TTUN). Trailing by 2 with 4 minutes left in the game Troy Smith took the team the entire length of the field for a go ahead touchdown. As head coach of the Buckeyes, Jim Tressel is now 4 and 1 against TTUN. This great game was marred by the early loss of Bobby Carpenter and horrific officiating. Carpenter who was considered a potential first round NFL draft pick broke his ankle on the first play of the game. He was replaced by a freshman Laurinaitis who held his own. I hope Carpenter makes a full recovery and is able to get a shot in the NFL.

Now we need Michigan State to beat Penn State in order to be outright Big Ten Conference champs.

Friday, November 18, 2005

Sam Johnson - American Hero

I'm watching Rep. Sam Johnson (R-TX) speak on C-SPAN tonight and have to say I'm very impressed and wish more Americans could (or would) listen to this man explain what is at stake in winning the peace in Iraq. Sometimes when things aren't clear it is useful to consider who you are standing with and I'm damn proud to stand with a man such as him.

Ohio High School Football Playoffs Round Three

The Clyde Fliers beat the Springfield Shawnee Braves 7 to nothing tonight!!!

Here are a couple articles about the Fliers.
Clyde coach familiar with playoff opponents
and his players attend class:
Fliers football players achieve on field, in classroom

Great first year Marc!

Great photoshop of the day



Too funny, but sadly true.

(H/T Michelle Malkin)

Oops, sorry for keeping you in jail for a year.

I've heard that justice was blind and I suppose that's debatable. But what is a certainty is that justice is incompetent, at least it is in Mesa County, Colorado.
Woman's 'crime' was never illegal, judge says
Allysan Isaac, 24, was held nearly a year in work release for something that a judge said Tuesday was not even illegal. "You were incarcerated for a case that was not a crime," said Mesa County District Judge Brian Flynn, who presided over the case.

Flynn, the prosecutor and Isaac's defense attorney were unaware last year that the offense she was charged with was not a violation of the law. No one had noticed that a prescription drug found in Isaac's possession, an anti-anxiety medication called Buspirone, is not a controlled substance.

A new defense attorney did.
Turns out the case was only reviewed because she committed an offense while incarcerated for something that wasn't illegal. I wonder if Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald or Scooter Libby are laughing about this case?

Twelve Words for your Senators/Representative

Hugh Hewitt has 12 words for our elected representatives:
Win the war.
Confirm the judges.
Cut the taxes.
Control the spending.
Just like instructions to an employee who can't handle too much at once these are clear and unambiguous requirements. I've called my senators have you called yours?

Russert's Vendetta Against White House

Cliff Kincaid of Accuracy in Media takes a look at how the media has performed in the over-hyped alleged outing of an alleged covert CIA agent and finds their performance lacking in several areas. Most egregious is Russert continuing to cover a story in which he is a central character.
NBC's Tim Russert, whose credibility is on the line in the CIA leak case, is using his NBC Meet the Press program to make it practically impossible for former Dick Cheney aide Lewis Libby to get a fair trial. Russert, who has in effect accused Libby of lying, will likely be a prosecution witness in the case. But he's still covering and commenting on the case for NBC News. It's a new low in journalism.

Lincoln and Bush similarities

When talking about President Bush's penchant for disregarding popularity polls when making major decisions some of us have pointed out that President Lincoln was extremely unpopular while in office but his reputation is secure as a great president. Now documentary film maker, Yervand Kochar compares Abraham Lincoln and George W. Bush in the film “Wounded Warrior.”
“The similarities between Lincoln and Bush are impossible to ignore,” Kochar says. “Lincoln was the most disliked president of his time. His very election divided the society.”

Sound familiar? As president of the United States, Lincoln was attacked mercilessly by the press. Newspapers in England described him as an “egregious failure.” Domestically, he was portrayed as a dumb frontiersman, prone to goofy slips of the tongue. “And, also like Bush, he changed the objective of the Civil War right during the middle of the war,” he says. “At first, the war was about the restoration of the union. Then, (the objective) changed to the freeing of the slaves. People were angry. They claimed Lincoln had dragged us into war under the guise of keeping the union together and then decided to fight for these people – slaves – that 80 percent of Americans had never even met.”

The similarities between the presidencies of Lincoln and Bush are explored further in Kochar’s documentary “Wounded Warrior,” one of three films to be featured during the Abraham Lincoln Film Festival this weekend at the Lincoln Museum. Drawing parallels between the two time periods is meant to calm the fears of people in the United States today, Kochar says. “We want to tell people to not be afraid,” he says. “History repeats itself. We’ve already been through a war like this. We’ll be OK.”

The documentary’s inspiration comes from a speech Lincoln made on Sept. 11, 1858, in which he discussed his plan for preserving the spirit of liberty. Today, President Bush continues Lincoln’s vision, which is one of the reasons their presidencies seem so similar, Kochar says. “Anyone who is pro-Lincoln must be pro-Bush,” he says. “I’m not saying that Bush is Lincoln and Lincoln is Bush, but their policies are too similar to be ignored.”
Reading that article reminded me of this:
Similarities Between the Assassinations of Kennedy and Lincoln

First Nuclear-Powered Aircraft Carrier to be based in Japan

The Navy announced that the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS GEORGE WASHINGTON will be homeported in Yokosuka, Japan. Forward deploying a nuclear powered carrier has been inevitable since we have not built a conventionally powered aircraft carrier in the last 40 years. I guess they thought it would be in bad taste to station the USS TRUMAN in Japan.

Thursday, November 17, 2005

"Historian" arrested for being an idiot

I don't get this.
VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Right-wing British historian David Irving, who once famously said that Adolf Hitler knew nothing about the systematic slaughter of 6 million Jews, has been arrested in Austria on a warrant accusing him of denying the Holocaust. Irving, 67, was detained Nov. 11 in the southern province of Styria on a warrant issued in 1989 under Austrian laws making Holocaust denial a crime, police Maj. Rudolf Gollia, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said Thursday.
The guy is obviously ignorant of the history he claims to be an expert on but I have a problem with charging someone for denying something happened. His denial doesn't change history anymore than my denial would change who won the American League Central this year. This reaction gives him the notoriety he craves. It would be better to laugh at him or ignore him.

Today's Moron of the Day - Sports Edition

Did you hear the story of a high school football coach in Texas who told his team that their game was cancelled and then played the game with a group of adults?
Looking back now, it should have been obvious that something was amiss about the adult football team that Texas Christian School fielded three weeks ago in Austin.

Not to mention the tattoos
.

"Some of the guys had tattoos and full beards and looked like they were like 25," Not Your Ordinary School senior running back David Johnson said of his opponents that Oct. 28 afternoon. "At the time, we thought they were just sort of big. "Now we see why they looked so old."
What does this hypocrite say now?
"I believe those who know me and know me well know that I would never intentionally hurt my savior, my family, TCS or any team," Palmquist said.
A five game suspension is not enough. This guy should not be involved in coaching.

Today's Moron of the Day

An expert on electronic media says that restricting a youngster's communication options can creating lasting problems.
"If you deny a 14-year-old girl her mobile phone and MSN (Internet chat) access, it borders on child abuse," Elisabeth Staksrud told financial daily Dagens Næringsliv.
What a moh-ron! Does she have any idea what real child abuse is? It sure isn't just taking a kids cell phone. In fact, in my view giving a child a cell phone is closer to the definition of child abuse.

How long until this guy is called an Uncle Tom?

Maybe the tide is shifting.
For decades, Republicans have struggled to reach out to black Americans. But now in Orange County, the GOP has to reach no further than the NAACP. As of this week, Derrick Wallace, head of Orange County's NAACP, has switched parties -- to become a Republican.
Hope he is prepared for the vicious attacks that happen to black people with the temerity to think for themselves.

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Difference between French and US



(Shamelessly stolen from Curmudeonly and Skeptical)

Should Jay Rockefeller be charged with Treason?

Treason is an intentionally difficult charge to prosecute. It would do our country little good to have people convicted for merely disagreeing with the policies of one administration or another. However, when a politician leaves our shores and goes abroad more discretion is necessary. Senator Jay Rockefeller (M-WV) recently revealed that when he visited Syria in 2002 he told them that we were going to take military action against Iraq. Why is that important? Well, for the last couple years we have heard non-stop about not finding WMD in the quantities we expected. I have believed all along that the majority of Saddam's WMD were moved out of Iraq before we got there. Now, we're told that they didn't just have the small window of time to secret them out of the country that we thought they had but rather there was a period of over a year to move the WMD to Syria.

In the American Thinker, Matthew May argues for at least censure in the Senate for Rockefeller.

Terror Alert Modification

A little too true to be truly funny, but funny nonetheless.

This one is making the rounds on the Internet:

AP and UPI reported today that the French government announced that it has raised its terror alert level from "Run" to "Hide." The only two higher levels in France are "Collaborate" and "Surrender." The raise was precipitated by a recent fire which destroyed France's white flag factory, thereby disabling its military.


(H/T Don Surber)

Sadly, we have this joke on the same day our Senate chose to emulate France of the early 1940's.

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Political Correctness trend makes fools out of reporters

The trend towards being PC (politically correct) and trying to ensure they don't offend anyone has resulted in reporters making fools of themselves many times. The latest is in reporting on the riots in France. The reporters didn't want to offend the rioters with darker skin, so did they call them black instead of negro? Nope. They went a step further and called them African-Americans instead of black. Only problem is the people they were describing were not Americans of any complexion.

Michelle Malkin has links to other examples of this stupidity. Here's my favorite:
During the last Olympics, one of the network airheads referred to black athletes as "African-Americans from all nations..."

Mexico and Venezuela at odds - recall ambassadors

Hugo Chavez, the nutty President of Venezuela got tired of being ignored by President Bush and decided to start insulting the President of Mexico Vincente Fox. Chavez accused Fox of being a puppet of President Bush which is particularly ironic since Mexico opposed the Iraq portion of the War on Terrorism and has been less than helpful in stemming the tide of illegal immigrants into this country. Fox did not just ignore Chavez.
Fox retorted in an interview with CNN: "Other countries might accept (Chavez's) wording and the way he attacks everybody and he attacks institutions. We are not willing to do that in Mexico."

Venezuela called its ambassador home Monday rather than apologize for the remark, and Mexico responded by recalling its own envoy to Venezuela.

Fox said his government was mulling its next move. "We can't allow people to offend our country," he told CNN en Espanol.

Tensions between Fox and Chavez spilled over after the summit in Argentina, where Fox defended a U.S.-backed proposal for a Free Trade Area of the Americas. Chavez proclaimed the idea dead. They reached a breaking point late Sunday, when Mexico issued a statement saying Chavez's latest barb "strikes at the dignity of the Mexican people and government."
Over the course of history, more wars have been started over perceived slights to one's dignity than anything else. This could get interesting, but my guess is it won't. Neither country has a large military and Venezuela's economy would be severely hurt by any disruption in their oil exportation. Not to be flippant, but I expect a Mexican Standoff.

A fresh look at the United Nations and its problems

I hope George Voinovich doesn't hear about this and get all teary eyed and upset.
Ambassador Bolton Catalogues U.N. Problems
First step to solving a problem is admitting the problem exists. However, the problems at the UN are institutionalized in its fabric and I don't see change happening since the nations who contribute to its problems won't vote to fix the corrupt system. It would like asking the Mafia to be part of a civic league committee formulating ideas to end police corruption in a major city.

Here is another article on this
.

Monday, November 14, 2005

Browns - Week 9

Yesterday I predicted the Browns v. Steelers game would be a fairly close contest decided in the fourth quarter. I was wrong. Whatever problems Pittsburgh has with injuries they were not enough to make up for the difference in talent. At the start of the second half the Steelers were down to their third string quarterback. Tommy Maddox came into the game due to a hand injury to Charlie Batch who was filling in for Ben Roethlisberger. The people in the stands knew Maddox is no good. The people watching on television knew Maddox is no good. I assume the Browns had some inkling that Maddox is no good. Didn't matter. Everyone could know that the Steelers were going to stick to the run, but if you can't stop the run it doesn't matter. Some garbage time points made the game appear closer than it actually was. As much as the Steelers had their way running the ball it could have been different. The current version of the Browns can not expect to win if they make mistakes. Yesterday, the most critical mistakes were made by the wide receivers. Dennis Northcutt dropped several key passes. Antonio Bryant contributed a key fumble after a reception. Good teams take advantage of your mistakes and that's just what the Steelers did.

Sunday, November 13, 2005

Sunday's other stuff

Here is an uplifting story of a medical miracle. Let's wish them well as they continue to recover.

Confession from one of the murderers involved in the bombings in Jordan? This report says the woman is the sister of a Zarqawi aide and she was unable to detonate her bombs but her husband did explode.

Five questions non-Muslims would like answered
by Dennis Prager is a thought provoking article which unfortunately won't reach the right audience (the "moderate" Muslims).

Meanwhile, Al-Qaeda calls Queen an ‘enemy of Islam’ What a bunch of idiots. Do they actually think Queen Elizabeth has any control over British policy?

It is three years from the 2008 presidential elections but nonetheless this morning we have three articles discussing potential candidates:
Jeb Bush leaves open White House bid. Not gonna happen.
Joe Biden in '08? 'Nothing tells me I can't' Okay then, let me be the first. You can't.
Mark Warner - Is this the man to put the Democrats back in the White House in 2008? Of the various names I've seen discussed as potential Democratic candidates, Warner is the one most likely to bring back Democratic voters who left the party because of the extremists. He is one to watch.

For laughs, we'll finish with this: 50 Things You Can Do To Annoy The Politically Correct

Sunday's football stuff

The Clyde Fliers beat Dayton Chaminade-Juliene in overtime Friday night to advance to the third round of the Ohio high school football playoffs. It was a thrilling game as the Fliers were trailing 14 to 6 with the clock running down in the fourth quarter. They drove down and scored a touchdown and capped it off with a two point conversion to tie the game and set up overtime. In overtime, Dayton struck quickly and had a second and goal from the one. The Fliers stopped them on three straight plays and then won the game with a 41 yard field goal. The game was well worth the two hour drive to get there. The Fliers running back (Matt Guhn) is going to Michigan on a wrestling scholarship but don't be surprised if we end up seeing him playing on Saturdays.

On Saturday, the Buckeyes facing a Northwestern team with a very strong offense cruised to a surprisingly easy 48 to 7 victory. It was a great way for this senior class to go out in their final home game. This will be a tough group to replace as 11 starters are graduating this year. That group includes several players who will get drafted on the first day of the NFL draft next April, most notably A.J. Hawk.

Today is an odd day for NFL football. Only one game involves a match up of two teams with winning records. I'll admit to being extremely biased, but I'm predicting a Browns upset over the Steelers tonight. The Steelers are clearly a different team without Ben Roethlisberger. They barely got by a weak and stumbling Green Bay Packers last week. While the Roethlisberger injury gets all the attention, the Steelers are actually fairly beat up on defense particularly their linebackers which had been an area of strength. I expect a lot of running and a fairly low scoring game which will be decided in the 4th quarter.

Today we have more proof that clowns are magnetic. First Ralph Nader comes out claiming Terrell Owens' suspension is somehow a violation of his free speech rights. Now, a race baiting extortionist clown is coming to TO's "rescue."

Friday, November 11, 2005

Veterans Day

Today is Veteran's Day. There will be parades. There will be speeches by politicians. However, most of us will go about our day as normal. Stores and restaurants will go about their business. I don't have a problem with that. The freedom to go about our everyday life as we please is why those veterans we honor today served. Even if you're not standing watching a parade go by you can participate in a simpler fashion, just go up to a vet and say thanks. Whether it is a octogenarian who served in WW II, a younger senior citizen who served in Korea or Vietnam, a more recent veteran of the Cold War or someone currently serving there are veterans all around us.

Something more important you can do for our veterans is to find reliefs for those currently serving. In the military you are always training someone to take your place. So, I'd ask you to talk to the young adults (or soon to be adults) you know who would represent our country well and encourage them to consider military service. Just plant the thought.

Bush to respond to lies

Only one thing to say about this, about time! .
U.S. President George W. Bush will use a Veterans Day speech on Friday to fight back against Democratic charges that the White House misused intelligence to gain support for the Iraq war, administration officials said.

"The president is going to directly take on the false attacks that Democratic leaders have been making," a senior administration official told Reuters.
For a while now I've gotten the sense that this administration forgot the old adage that a lie left unanswered becomes accepted as truth.

A good guy from the world of sports

I've always liked Karl Malone as one of the genuine good guys from the NBA. Here is a another reason:
Excerpts from Malone's conversation with Roggin: "I wasn't going to just write a check, and I didn't want to go to New Orleans where all the celebrities were going (to grandstand). I wanted to go where no one was, and that's why we went to Pascagoula.

"We took six million dollars of equipment and most of the guys from my company (Malone Properties). But when we got there, they told us that because we wanted to work for free, we had to go home. That we needed a government ID number or a contract to haul out debris.

"I said to them, 'bullsh--', we took 30 pieces of equipment and traveled nine hours and we're going to clean up some lots before we leave. So I told them 'I'm getting on my truck, now try to get me off.' I had my security guys there and they tried to stop us but they couldn't - and we cleared 115 houses.

Thursday, November 10, 2005

Nothing like name recognition in politics


In politics you can have all the right answers but if the voters don't know your name you don't have a chance. So, if your father is a Hall of Fame football player for the local team and was the southwest Ohio regional head of President Bush's reelection campaign you may have an edge going into a local election. Earlier this year, Michael Munoz was not selected in the NFL draft and decided not to attempt to catch on with a team as a free agent despite several offers. Now just seven months later he has been elected as a Trustee for Hamilton Township where he has lived since July.

This could turn out to be a case of the father following the son as there is growing speculation that Anthony Munoz may challenge Sen. Mike DeWine next year in the Republican primary. Challenging an incumbent senator is usually a losing proposition but DeWine's popularity has taken some hits this year. Could be an interesting race.

Reassessing John McCain

Peggy Noonan has a column today discussing Tuesday's election results. In between touching on Warren Beatty, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jon Corzine and Mike Bloomberg she fit in a couple notes about John McCain. One item jumped out and made me do a little thinking:
I have been thinking lately, by the way, of this: When they ran against each other for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000, George W. Bush was the conservative and McCain the moderate maverick. Now, five years later, who looks more conservative? McCain, who worries about spending, regulation and immigration, or Bush? Funny how things change.
To me John McCain is really the story of two men. The first followed his father and grandfather into the Navy, served in a very dangerous assignment as a pilot flying missions over North Vietnam, and most honorably he refused special treatment as a Prisoner of War based on having a famous father when offered by his captors. I honor that man and as a sailor would have unquestioningly followed his lead. However and unfortunately, the second half of John McCain's life has been spent in Congress. He has mastered the actions and behaviors a politician must use to garner national name recognition and friendly press. He has gained the adultation of the media to the detriment of his reputation in his own party. His penchant for going on the Sunday morning talk shows and saying things critical of his party has lead many conservatives to say they would never vote for McCain.

Having said all that, I had to stop and consider Noonan's contention that Senator McCain now looks more conservative than President Bush. The flaw in her assessment is there is a big difference between being a candidate or one of a hundred senators and being the chief executive who has deal with the realities of a situation. It is one thing for candidate George Bush to sound much more conservative than President Bush is able to be in office. For example a conservative talk show host or a Republican senator can say "We need to close our borders." Sounds great in theory and people love it. However, once in office, actually securing the entire border is a whole lot harder than it sounds in a five second sound bite on the campaign trail. Controlling spending is an even better example. Everyone in the Republican party says they want to reduce government spending but it turns out they all want spending reduced in someone else's state. To me the jury is out on John McCain. I need more than Sunday morning sound bites to convince me he is right for the job.

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

San Francisco elections

In yesterday elections, San Franciscans demonstrated that they are opposed to defense on both a national and a local level. They showed their contempt for national security with this ballot initiative:
The military recruitment initiative won with 60 percent in favor and 40 percent against. The measure, dubbed "College Not Combat," opposes the presence of military recruiters at public high schools and colleges.
However, they are not only opposed to the military but also don't want their citizens to be able to defend themselves.
The gun ban prohibits the manufacture and sale of all firearms and ammunition in the city, and makes it illegal for residents to keep handguns in their homes or businesses.

Only two other major U.S. cities — Washington and Chicago — have implemented such sweeping handgun bans.
Hmmm, what is the crime rate in Washington and Chicago? Appropriately, the law goes into effect on April's Fools Day. If the law abiding citizens turn in their guns who will have fire arms? Oh yeah, the non-law abiding folks we refer to as criminals. Personally, I'd want crooks to be uncertain whether I have a gun in my residence or not. If guns are illegal then crooks have less to fear.

Dramatic shift in the political landscape

If you have been watching the mainstream news today you certainly aware that, in what has to be a referendum of the Bush administration, Virginia and New Jersey elected Democrats as their new governors in yesterdays off-year elections. You ask what is the net change nationally in governors? Oh, turns out it is no change. In Virginia, Democrat Tim Kaine is succeeding popular Democrat Mark Warner. In New Jersey, sitting U.S. Senator Jon Corzine is relieving another Democrat. Yep, real dramatic shift.

Oil "Windfall" Profits

Considerable whining has taken place in the last couple months about supposedly egregious oil profits. I think the majority of the complaints are born out of ignorance. No one, myself included wants to pay higher prices but the amount of noise over the fact that the higher prices somehow lead to increased earning is ridiculous. Historically, oil companies have had a lower profit margin than many other industries. People see numbers they don't understand and they believe it must be wrong and they get angry. This past quarter Exxon Mobil posted a profit of 9.9 billion dollars. Most of us have difficulty comprehending 10 digit numbers. Now consider that the 9.9 billion dollars of profit is based on 100 billion dollars of revenue. That obviously equates to a 9.9% profit. For comparison basis, lets look at another large company in a different field. Procter and Gamble had 7.29 billion dollars of profit on 57.79 billion dollars of revenue. That works out to about 12.6% profit. The biggest difference between the two companies is in how we tax the consumer for using their product. P&G sells consumables such as toothpaste and deodorant which gets taxes at the local sales tax rate. Exxon Mobil sells motor oil and gasoline which is taxed rather onerously at an average of 45.9%. This varies from state to state. Alaska is the lowest at 26.4% and New York is highest at 62.9%. If anyone is gouging you at the gas pump it's your friendly politician.

Can you pass the U.S. Citizenship Test?

You Passed the US Citizenship Test

Congratulations - you got 10 out of 10 correct!

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Student kills Asst. Principal in Tennessee

Today sadly brings another story of a student bringing a gun to school and wrecking havoc. This time 3 school administrators were shot, one fatally. As of now, we have no idea where the killer got the firearm or what his motives may have been. Regardless of that lack of information one thing can safely be predicted. The anti-gun nuts will blame the gun and the 2nd Amendment instead of the killer.

Wrong voters hearing the wrong message.

When trying to appeal to more than one constituency you have to make sure that only the right voters hear the right message. In Virginia the northern end of the state is much more liberal than the south and west portions of the state. Well, in today's governors race that problem has taken a new twist. People in northern Virginia are getting phone call ads paid for by the Republican Governors Association replaying ads run by the Democratic candidate Tim Kaine in other parts of the state. From the Commonwealth Conservative:
Based on what I’ve been able to find out, all the call does is replay a Tim Kaine radio ad! It is one of the ads that the Kaine campaign produced where Kaine attempts to portray himself as pro-life and conservative for Southwest Virginia audiences. The RGA is just playing the ad to an audience that Tim Kaine didn’t want to hear it, because he has told Northern Virginia audiences that he is pro-choice, and doesn’t dare mention the word “conservative” up there.

It’s beautiful: Dems are complaining about people hearing Tim Kaine’s own radio ad. (I’m told this ad is one of the ads on Kaine’s website.) Why the outrage?

Election day

It is election day today so go vote.

Monday, November 07, 2005

Why is President Bush honoring a draft dodger?

This is just wrong. It is on par with Carter giving amnesty to to the draft dodgers.
Muhammad Ali and Aretha Franklin among Medal of Freedom winners
This award, the Medal of Freedom used to have meaning as the highest civilian award our country gave out. In recent years, we saw presidents give this medal to all sorts of characters including Communists. However, I expected better from President Bush. I don't care how many people he was able to beat up in a boxing ring. When his country called him, Cassius Clay rejected that call.

How to lose your job through excessive arrogance

Terrell Owens lost his job working for the Philadelphia Eagles today due to excessive arrogance. Eagles Coach Andy Reid announced today that Owens will be suspended for the next four games without pay and will not play for the team again. With a grievance pending Reid could not go into the matter beyond the statement some weasely lawyer wrote up. However, I can say why he is no longer a member of that team. He was fired because he decided he is the most important member of his organization. It doesn't matter if the organization is a sports team or a corporation, no one individual can be bigger than the organization as a whole. Anyone of us could be hit by lightning tomorrow and whatever we were going to do someone else will fill the void. The Eagles played a football game without Owens last night. In the end, what started from a desire to be paid more resulted in him getting paid a lot less. When the Eagles are done with Owens he will have his wish of being a free agent but his dreams of a big contract just went out the window. There are only 30 teams in the NFL and three teams have already had the fill of him (49'rs, Ravens, and Eagles). Out of the remaining 27 teams I imagine more than half wouldn't want to deal with his immaturity and lack of team ethos. Add his recent medical history to his behavioral problems and you have a player that may not get any offers in line with what he believes he's worth. Closest comparison in sports would be Jose Canseco. Canseco believes he was blackballed and I can already see Owens reaching that same conclusion when no team decides to throw millions of dollars at him.

Sunday, November 06, 2005

Browns out of last place!!!!

Today's 20 to 14 victory over the Tennessee Titans coupled with the Baltimore Ratbirds losing to the Bengals, moved the Browns out of last place. To what do I attribute this win? I'll take the victory, but the main reason the Browns won this game was the Titans don't tackle worth a darn. Dennis Northcutt scored a touchdown despite having a defensive player on him when he caught the ball. Instead of tackling him the defender tried to grab the ball allowing Northcutt to get away. Several times Reuben Droughns got additional yardage after initial contact by the defense.

Tim Russert picks on the retarded!!!

Okay, the headline is somewhat inflammatory, but true nonetheless. On the Sunday TV show Meet the Press, Tim Russert made a complete fool of Sen. Ted Kennedy (M-MA). Here is just one example:
MR. RUSSERT: You talked about Iraq. There's a big debate now about whether or not the data, the intelligence data, was misleading and manipulated in order to encourage public opinion support for the war. Let me give you a statement that was talked about during the war. "We know [Iraq is] developing unmanned vehicles capable of delivering chemical and biological warfare agents...all U.S. intelligence experts agree they are seek nuclear weapons. There's little question that Saddam Hussein wants to develop them. ... In the wake of September 11th, who among us can say with any certainty to anybody that those weapons might not be used against our troops, against allies in the region? Who can say that this master of miscalculation will not develop a weapon of mass destruction even greater--a nuclear weapon. ..."

Are those the statements that you're concerned about?

SEN. KENNEDY: Well, I am concerned about it, and that's why I believe that the actions that were taken by Harry Reid in the Senate last week when effectively he said that we are going to get to the bottom of this investigation, this had been kicked along by the Intelligence Committee, by Pat Roberts for over two years. And Harry Reid did more in two hours than that Intelligence Committee has done in two years. And the American people are going get this information.

And it's important that they get this information about how intelligence was misused because of the current situation. It's important to know where we've been, but it's important to know where we are today, because we're facing serious challenges over in Iran. We're facing serious challenges in North Korea. And we cannot have a government which is going to manipulate intelligence information. We've got to get to the bottom of it, and that is what the Democrats stood for on the floor of the United States Senate last week. That was a bold stroke, one that has the overwhelming support of the American people. It's about time they get the facts on it. They haven't got the facts to date. They deserve them, and they'll get them.

MR. RUSSERT: But, Senator, what the Democrats stood for on the floor of the Senate in 2002--let me show you who said what I just read: John Kerry, your candidate for president. He was talking about a nuclear threat from Saddam Hussein. Hillary Clinton voted for the war. John Edwards, Joe Lieberman, John Kerry. Democrats said the same things about Saddam Hussein. You, yourself, said, "Saddam is dangerous. He's got dangerous weapons." It wasn't just the Bush White House.
Kennedy was so upset about being made a fool of that he responded by outright lying.
SEN. KENNEDY: The fact is--and I voted against the war, because every military leader highly decorated, military leader, said that it was foolish to have a military intervention at that. General Hoar, with the Marines--General Hoar, who has more Silver Stars than you could possibly count said if we go into Baghdad, it'll look like the last five minutes of "Private Ryan," so we know we had enough information to vote against it, I believe.
Well, General Hoar had a very impressive military career but according to his biography he was awarded a grand total of zero Silver Stars. Is Kennedy implying that Russert can't count to zero? Beyong that the quote that Kennedy cites is incredibly mistaken since the movie "Saving Private Ryan" was based on the D-Day invasion where the allies suffered around 10,000 casualties. Obviously the invasion of Iraq bore little or no resemblance to D-Day.

Friday, November 04, 2005

Help for the Shopping Impaired

Now this could come in handy.
Holland - A Dutch designer has created a wall of fake breasts to help male shoppers buy bras that fit their wives or girlfriends. The wall consists of rows of silicon breasts in all sizes. By look and touch, male shoppers can work out the right size, she says.

Thursday, November 03, 2005

The O'Connor seat on the Supreme Court

Since Justice O'Connor announced her retirement several months ago, many on the left have claimed the president must name a like minded justice to fill the "O'Connor Seat." Of course that is nonsensical to anyone who has read the Constitution. No where in the Constitution is there a requirement to "maintain balance," "unite the country" or copy the retiring justice in the naming of a replacement. The American Thinker has an article today that shows the ludicrousness of that position by looking back at the justices who held "O'Connor's Seat" before her.
Pompous windbags like Charles Schumer and Joseph Biden think quite highly of themselves indeed, but it is still a tad shocking when they begin to imply that the history of the United States Senate and the Supreme Court began to be written when they took their seats in the Senate, and not a day sooner. It would behoove them to realize that there have been people who have occupied the now-solemn “O’Connor Seat” before 1981.
Regardless of your position on the political spectrum this article is a good historical review of the court.

Attack on the First Amendment

If there is an Attack on the First Amendment you can be sure it is either the Federal Elections Commission or the ACLU involved. This time it's the FEC once again involved in attempting to regulate speech.
Online political expression should not be exempt from campaign finance law, the House decided Wednesday as lawmakers warned that the Internet has opened up a new loophole for uncontrolled spending on elections.

The House voted 225-182 for a bill that would have excluded blogs, e-mails and other Internet communications from regulation by the Federal Election Commission. That was 47 votes short of the two-thirds majority needed under a procedure that limited debate time and allowed no amendments.

The vote in effect clears the way for the FEC to move ahead with court-mandated rule-making to govern political speech and campaign spending on the Internet.
How did your representative vote?

What a difference a week makes!

Ann Coulter explains why your average Democrat may seem a little bummed out.
Last week, liberals were expecting big things. They were counting on special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald and the White House to do their work for them.

On Friday, Fitzgerald was supposed to indict Karl Rove. Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld were going to be named unindicted co-conspirators. Maybe Condoleezza Rice, too. Who knew – maybe even Clarence Thomas. There was even talk of a posthumous indictment for Nixon. . . . . It was going to be Fitzmas Day!
Instead all they got was a Scooter.

Congratulations OMAR!



Congratulations go out to Omar Vizquel who earned his 10th Gold Glove award for defensive excellence.
San Francisco's Vizquel earned his 10th career Gold Glove -- with three different teams -- to become the oldest middle infielder ever cited for fielding excellence, headlining the veteran NL team assembled by a vote of managers and coaches.

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

This is no way to treat a child

Here is a story of a teacher who should not be involved in education.
A Tulsa parent is outraged over how her child was disciplined at school for wearing a costume. Crystal Harris says her 5-year old son was forced to take off his costume, and go through the entire school day with only his underwear on.
What kind of Mickey Mouse outfit are they running there. I suppose that is an inappropriate question since this incident happened at Walt Disney Elementary School.

2006 Ford C. Frick Award

Sports fans frequently disagree with awards decided upon by sports writers. For example, ten years have passed and I'm still angry that the BBWAA chose the wrong player (Mo Vaughn) for AL MVP in 1995. It was obvious to most fans that the clear choice was Albert Belle. Anyways, there is one award that the fans have some input in selecting, the Ford C. Frick Award. Click here and you'll be taken to the ballot. I strongly urge you to consider Herb Score for this award. Score entertained more than a generation of Indians fans across 38 states and half of Canada. Listening to Herb describe a ball game was like hearing an old friend talk about a game.

I bet Peter King hates archives

Just to be mean I thought I'd bring your attention to Peter King's pre-season NFL picks from Sports Illustrated. I'm sure he'd rather not be reminded that he picked Minnesota to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. Yes, Minnesota the team that was stumbling badly before they lost their best player for the rest of the year to a knee injury.
The Vikings play as well on offense as when Randy Moss roamed the tundra, and they're better on defense with Fred Smoot covering everything that moves.
Uh, maybe not.

Who is Ed Carafa?

Most people know Bob Dole. Dole the longtime senator from Kansas and husband of the current North Carolina senator (Liddy Dole) was the Republican nominee for the presidency in 1996.

Hardly anyone knows of Ed Carafa. However, if it wasn't for the heroism and actions of Mr. Carafa none of us would have ever heard of Bob Dole. Carafa who died Sunday saved Dole's life during World War II after Dole had been badly wounded in Italy.
The episode is recounted in Dole's memoir, "One Soldier's Story." It includes an account by Carafa of the day, praying and crying as he dragged the badly wounded Dole.

"His arm was outstretched, so I grabbed his arm and I yanked him," Carafa says in the book. "He gave a holler and passed out. I couldn't budge him. I was 5'5", 145 pounds. He was a six-footer and close to two hundred pounds. I just kept praying to God to help me. I finally got some strength, and I started dragging him. When I couldn't drag him anymore, I just shoved and rolled him along, down the incline. ... He was all shot up. His whole right side, from his shoulder down to his waist. But he was still alive. Face white, barely breathing, but alive."

Unhinged!

Now this is funny. Yesterday was the release date for Michelle Malkin's new book, "UNHINGED! Exposing Liberals Gone Wild." To commemorate the book's release, Sen. Harry Reid (M-NV) and the senate Democrats decided to hold temper tantrum/pitty party. Harry and his friends invoked a senate rule to hold a closed door session to protest against the intelligence which was used to make the case to go to war with Iraq.

All they did was demonstrate once again that their party can not be trusted with the defense of our nation. People vote for adults when it comes to important jobs.

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Quarterback Controversy

Like it or not, the Browns are well on the way to having a quarterback controversy. Last off-season the Browns traded a fourth round draft pick to Seattle for Trent Dilfer. At the time, the idea was that he would be a good caretaker QB while a young QB was developed. He had a reputation as a QB who played smart and wouldn't make big mistakes. So much for that theory. The team has five losses and in each of those losses Dilfer's fumbles and/or interceptions have been a key factor. Dilfer's poor play had already sparked media questions to the coach about playing the rookie, Charlie Frye. This morning, step two of a quarterback controversy arrived in the form of a teammate publicly suggesting a change.
Browns top pick Braylon Edwards said Monday that switching to rookie quarterback Charlie Frye -- which coach Romeo Crennel is contemplating -- would jumpstart the Browns' beleaguered offense. "I think Charlie would bring a little more life, because he's younger," said Edwards. "He's younger and he has more spunk. He'd be excited and jacked out of his mind to play, so if he came in there, it would be just a different attitude in terms of excitement and energy level, because he's a young guy [who] would be getting a shot. I think that would be the difference."

I've previously said I'd rather Frye spend the season watching and learning from the sidelines instead of flat on his back under a defensive lineman. However, the team is in danger of completely losing confidence in Dilfer. My guess is Crennel will give Dilfer one more start. A poor first half against the Titans and Frye will take over in the third quarter.

 

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