A Designated Hitter for Most Valuable Player?

I've never believed a DH should be MVP. After tonight, I have to reassess my stance on this argument. David Ortiz is the American League MVP as it stands right now. Ortiz demonstrated why he deserve to be MVP even though he doesn't play a defensive position. Wow! No player is more responsible for their teams success than Ortiz no matter how well they play defense.

Here is a misleading headline

Consider this headline:

Key Republican breaks with Bush on Mideast

Who would you consider a key Republican Senate majority leader Bill Frist, Speaker of the House Hastert, VP Dick Cheney? Turns out this article is referring to Sen. Chuck Hagel. Chuck Hagel? Heck, I'd consider any of our township commissioners to be a key Republican before Hagel would come to mind. For the last five years the easiest way to predict Hagel's position on an issue is to figure out the administration's position and assume the opposite. Just as Hagel wants the U.S. to leave Iraq and declare the terrorists the victors there, he is now calling on the Israelis to agree to a ceasefire because he is afraid they may actually succeed in putting down the rabid dog called Hezbollah. What is amazing is this fool thinks he has a chance at the presidency in 2008. Put me on record as willing to vote for any Democrat before I'd consider voting for Hagel.

Monday's news and links

What are the chances that these Boston police officers are doing a good and fair job enforcing the law?

75 officers failed city drug tests

The Wall Street Journal takes the American Bar Association (ABA) to task for their partisanship.

Maybe Democrats have realized that filibusters of presidential nominees aren't popular with voters.

Schumer Says Bolton Won't Face Filibuster

Jeffrey Lord of The American Spectator has a stinging rebuke to Sen. Kennedy's recent op-ed regarding the process of nominating and confirming judges. Every time Ted Kennedy speaks the people of Massachusetts should hang their heads in shame at having repeatedly reelected that buffoon.

Maybe the Browns don't have much chance to get to the Superbowl, but there is some good football news from Cleveland.

NFL eyes Cleveland lawyer as next boss

Thursday's links and comments

This is amazing.

A seven-year-old girl narrowly escaped death when a powerful lightning bolt struck her bedroom, burning her pyjamas as she lay in bed. Little Emily Holland was asleep when a shaft of lightning blew a hole in her bedroom ceiling, sending part of her nightclothes up in smoke.

This is funny. I guess you shouldn't take bribes from people entering bankruptcy court.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's brother Anthony D. Rodham has been barred from accessing his bank account while a bankruptcy trustee demands that he repay more than $100,000 in loans from a carnival company whose founder was pardoned by President Clinton, filings in federal bankruptcy court in Alexandria show.
Mr. Rodham, one of Mrs. Clinton's two brothers, received $107,000 in loans from United Shows of America Inc. after its owners obtained the presidential pardon over the objections of the Justice Department.

This is sad. Browns center Bentley hurts knee first day of camp. I saw that headline ten minutes after reading this article discussing how critical Bentley's presence was in upgrading the offensive line.

If true, this is a shame. Tour de France winner failed drug test in race.

This is stupid. Cincinnati should ban handguns. Besides completely ignoring the 2nd Amendment, the writer of this editorial gets most of his arguments wrong. Areas with strict gun control end up with much more confident criminals as they can be certain that good citizens won't be armed.

This is odd.

Norm Coleman Sr., the father of Minnesota's junior senator, was cited for lewd and disorderly conduct Tuesday after police officers reported finding him engaged in a sex act in a car near a pizzeria.

I would assume an 81 year old would be able to afford to rent a room. Or was it a case of too much urgency?

Wednesday's notes & links

This headline from the San Francisco Chronicle is more proof that a computer spell check function shouldn't completely replace editors.

Diary cows dying; many ripening crops at risk Farmers fight to protect animals and crops from the heat

Teenage girls have diaries. These are dairy cows.

A few days ago I lamented President Bush's decision to speak to a racist hate group (NAACP). Today, Jeff Jacoby of the Boston Globe takes a closer look at how the two major political parties are perceived on race matters in an article titled "Demonizing the GOP at NAACP."

Clarett fires attorneys 2 weeks before court date. His lawyers must have committed the unpardonable sin of giving him good advice.

Why is it difficult to take seriously the assertion that Israel should only go after Hezbollah and leave Lebanon alone? How about this statement from the Lebanese president: "I support the Hezbollah because they liberated our land." If a nation allows a militia within their borders to attack another nation they forfeit the right to say "it wasn't me it was the other guy." That is terrorism boiled down to its most basic form. A terror group can attack without worrying about a counter-attack by pretending not to belong to any nation. Lebanon lost that shield by openly accepting Hezbollah into their government. Separately, is it too much to ask for one standard spelling for this group?

A Morning With Ken Blackwell is a transcript of an indepth interview of Ken Blackwell candidate for governor of Ohio. Read the whole thing, but here is a telling comment:

On Ted Strickland:

Blackwell pointed out that Strickland's Congressional voting record, "almost mirrors that of Nancy Pelosi, so this will be a campaign about Ohio values vs. San Francisco values." Someone pointed out that Strickland actually scores lower on the Club for Growth's scorecard this year than Pelosi, at which information Blackwell grinned-- wide.

"He hasn't seen a tax that he couldn't support...This guy is a government expansionist. The two principal drivers of his campaign cash are class-action litigators and public sector unions....I think...Ohioans will pick what they clearly see as a reform candidate."

Blackwell needs to focus his campaign on Strickland's voting record. Outside of Cuyahoga county Ohioans will reject San Francisco "values." Strickland can say he is a different kind of Democrat, but his voting record refutes his claims of being mainstream.

Rest in Peace, Master Chief Brashear

We lost a Navy hero today. Master Chief Navy Diver Carl Brashear passed away at age 75. The years weren't easy on Carl. Last time I saw him several years back I'd have sworn he was well over 80. His Navy career and struggles against racism were depicted in the 2000 film "Men of Honor," starring Cuba Gooding. Rest in Peace, Master Chief, your watch is relieved.

Dem's have a lot to choose from in Maryland

Sen. Sarbanes (infamous for the Sarbanes/Oxley legislation) is retiring from the senate after this term. A couple of the Democrats hoping to replace him have been in the news lately. They can choose this guy:

U.S Senate Candidate Charged With Rape And Assault

Or they can choose this guy:

Josh Rales, a Democratic candidate for Maryland's U.S. Senate seat, paid a drug-treatment center in Baltimore to drive its recovering addicts to last week's debate in College Park, where they held signs supporting his campaign.

To be fair, I should admit neither of these guys are likely to be the nominee. Right now this is considered a fairly close race between Ben Cardin and Kweisi Mfume. Mfume is a former congressman with a rather checkered past who was pushed out as head of the NAACP last year. Cardin is a ten term congressman notable for being wrong on nearly every issue. Neither should be elected in November, but I don't expect the people of Maryland to make a good choice.

Harold Reynolds fired by ESPN

This is surprising.

ESPN yesterday fired analyst Harold Reynolds from Baseball Tonight, sources told The Post. The reason was not immediately known.

I wonder what precipitated this decision. Reynolds wasn't perfect, but compared to the other ex-jock on Baseball Tonight (John Kruk), he was practically a genius.

Tuesday's links and comments

Thomas Sowell has a great column titled Then and Now. The United Nations was established in the aftermath of WW II, in the article he wonders how the current UN would have acted during that war.

Eventually, by 1945, allied armies had both Germany and Japan retreating. What would have happened if we had had Kofi Anan and the mushy mindset called "world opinion" at work then?

Kofi Anan would undoubtedly have called for a cease fire.

He could have pointed out that the American response to Germany was wholly "disproportionate" because the Germans had never landed troops in America or bombed American cities, and were certainly no real threat to the United States at that point.

The people criticizing Israel and calling for a cease fire need to understand cease fires only benefit the aggressor who realizes they bit off more than they can chew. When they regroup (or reload) they will pick when to violate the cease fire.

Hidden in this article is a telling point which shows that Sen. Clinton is not as astute a politician as her husband.

"It's the American dream, stupid," said the former first lady in a riff on her husband's successful 1992 campaign mantra — "It's the economy, stupid." It worked — Democrat Bill Clinton served two terms in the White House.

What the senator (and whoever wrote this article) fail to realize is why the original version worked in 1992 for Bill Clinton. When Bill Clinton used the original term of "It's the economy, stupid" it supposedly referred to a sign in his office which was intended to keep him and his campaign focused on the economy. The word stupid was intended to be self-deprecating not an insult of his opponent. Bill Clinton understood that being angry and hurling epithet's at your opponent may thrill the people who already intend to vote for you but does nothing to garner more votes.

This is from yesterday but still wanted to comment on it.

NOBEL peace laureate Betty Williams displayed a flash of her feisty Irish spirit yesterday, lashing out at US President George W.Bush during a speech to hundreds of schoolchildren. "I have a very hard time with this word 'non-violence', because I don't believe that I am non-violent," said Ms Williams, 64. "Right now, I would love to kill George Bush." Her young audience at the Brisbane City Hall clapped and cheered.

This shows that the NOBEL prize lost its value long before they gave it to the likes of Arafat and Carter. This woman should not be in any position to influence impressionable children.

In local entertainment news: Winterfest canceled; attendance blamed. Hmmm, wonder why?

Some people complained about the $24.99 ticket price.

So, a family of four would spend 100 bucks to wander the park looking at Christmas lights. That means they were dependent on the very stupid or the very rich for their business.

Also today we get a couple reminders to pay our taxes correctly. Here and here.

If you're interested in the 2006 senate and house races then SIXERS at National Review Online is required daily reading. Today they have two items on James Webb who is challenging Sen. George Allen for the U.S. Senate seat from Virginia. I served in the Navy when Webb was SECNAV and I lived in Virginia when Allen was governor. Based on what I've seen of both men, this race won't be as close as the Dems are hoping.

Friday's various links and comments

Here is another example of a politician wasting other people's money.

Less than a year after Sen. Hillary Clinton was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame, the New York Democrat announced that she slipped $800,000 for the institution into a Senate spending bill.

While this article rips Sen. Clinton (C-NY) for wasting taxpayer money, you can probably find examples for nearly every senator. It might be more cumbersome, but what they need to do is vote on every expenditure separately. Then we would see who is for or against government waste. In the future, every time Clinton makes a BS comment complaining about tax cuts she should be asked to defend this wasteful spending. No better than a thief in the night.

Rich Lowry uses his column today to encourage Newt Gingrich to run in 2008.

Meanwhile, someone is looking presidential. Under media glare, Romney shines. This is why governors and not senators become presidents. Governors lead while senators argue.

Thursday's links and comments

Senator Voinovich now recognizes he was wrong about John Bolton. He explains his about face in an op-ed in today's Washington Post. One passage jumped out to me:

Ambassador Bolton's appointment expires this fall when the Senate officially recesses. Should the president choose to renominate him, I cannot imagine a worse message to send to the terrorists -- and to other nations deciding whether to engage in this effort -- than to drag out a possible renomination process or even replace the person our president has entrusted to lead our nation at the United Nations at a time when we are working on these historic objectives. For me or my colleagues in the Senate to now question a possible renomination would jeopardize our influence in the United Nations and encourage those who oppose the United States to make Bolton the issue, thereby undermining our policies and agenda.

Hey Senator Voinovich, your fighting his original nomination and forcing the president to send Bolton to the U.N. with a recess appointment had the same effect. Glad to see he changed his mind, but Voinovich should have given more thought to the nomination before he made a fool of himself on the Senate floor crying and blubbering about how he was opposing the nomination for his grandchildren. Hogwash.

Want to know why taxes are high and government spending never slows down? Look at crap like this and you'll realize the biggest problem is those spending the money don't care how much they waste because it is someone else's money.

The city has been quietly settling cases with several dozen people arrested during the 2004 Republican National Convention. The plaintiffs are each being offered between $2,500 and $7,500, four lawyers who represent separate groups of plaintiffs said yesterday.

Speaking of lawyers trying to steal taxpayer's money, here is the winner of today's chutzpah award:

The family of a woman stopped for drunken driving who was hit and killed by a car on the Ohio Turnpike after escaping from a State Highway Patrol cruiser has sued the agency for failing to lock the car doors.

So, this goof dies while escaping from arrest and her family wants to be rewarded for her stupidity. Amazing! Why is her family doing this? Because by settling these cases over the years, corporations and government entities have taught these losers that it is profitable to sue even when your injuries were caused by your own misbehavior. The city should counter sue the attorney for filing a nuisance suit.

In his latest Impromptus column, Jay Nordlinger questions why President Bush has decided to address the annual NAACP meeting.

President Bush has agreed to speak to the NAACP, and I’m sort of sorry about it. For years, every president — every eminento — spoke to the NAACP, because, in doing so, they thought they were speaking to Black America. And that’s the way the NAACP thought too.

But, one day, an extraordinary president — George W. Bush — said no. He recognized, I believe, that the NAACP had become another left-wing hate group. This was especially evident in the television ad they ran against him in 2000. It essentially accused Bush of lynching a man. So Bush declined to speak to them, during his presidency. At least during its first five years.

Read the rest.

Bush signs first veto!!!

Nearly half way through his second term, President Bush vetoed a piece of legislation for the first time today. He vetoed a bill which would have allowed federal funding of research on embryonic stem cells. This will most likely be mischaracterized as a ban on stem cell research. Beyond the moral questions cited by the president in his news conference there is the fact that research on embryonic stem cells has yielded no scientific breakthroughs. There have been some discoveries through research on adult stem cells which can be harvested without destroying human life.

Now that he has figured out how to veto legislation hopefully he will use that power on some of the excessive spending bills.

Wednesday's notes & links

Jeff Jacoby writes today about the politics that led to the collossal mess known as the Big Dig.

The Big Dig is indeed a monument to O'Neill. It captures perfectly the costly big-government sloppiness for which he was the poster child. Only in the public sector, where market discipline is nonexistent and financial losses are the taxpayer's problem, would such mismanagement be tolerated for so long. Only in the public sector, where political considerations far outweigh the bottom line, and where consumer satisfaction carries little weight, is such shoddiness and lack of oversight routine. In the private sector, incompetent performance generally means lost business, reduced earnings, or even bankruptcy. Only in the public sector -- under Democrats and Republicans both -- are negligence and failure commonly rewarded with ever-increasing budgets.

Newt Gingrich sums up the hypocricy of some Americans saying we should restrain Israel from defending itself in a column titled: Now isn't the time for restraint.

Imagine that this morning 50 missiles were launched from Cuba and exploded in Miami. In addition to buildings and homes being destroyed, scores of Americans were being killed. Now imagine our allies responded by saying publicly that we must not be too aggressive in protecting our citizens and that America must use the utmost restraint.

If you need a laugh today read this article.

A Red Sox fan, Chris from A Large Regular has been ranking the top five baseball players born in some of the New England states today he posted Massachusetts. Here are links to Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Other than Massachusetts (where Jeff Bagwell couldn't even make the grade) these lists weren't very impressive. I'll have to come up with a list for Ohio. How would your state stack up?

The Indians continued their losing ways last night. Now sitting 21 games behind Detroit in the AL Central, the Indians should be let other teams know which players are available. There are very few players in their system who should be tabbed as completely unavailable (Sizemore, and ????).

Tuesday's links and comments

Sorry for the absence. Nothing motivated me to write. Israel is hitting back at Hezbollah and Hamas after they stirred up trouble at the behest of Syria and Iran. The stock market has been awful since the recent flare up in the Middle East, not that it was roaring before then. On the baseball front, the Indians have come out of the All Star break stumbling. Anyways, here are a few links and comments for a Tuesday morning.

The head of the NAALCP wants people to stop shopping at Target because Target didn't respond to some survey they sent them.

Of the 50 companies contacted by the NAACP, five ignored the survey, including four retailers: Dillard's Inc.; Kohl's Corp.; Sears, Roebuck and Co.; and Target Corp. All were given Fs for not answering. The other company that failed to answer was Excel, a telecommunications company; it also received an F. Gordon called on blacks to stop shopping at Target, in particular, until they answer the NAACP's questions - though he stopped short of calling the action a boycott. "They didn't even care to respond to our survey," he said. "Stay out of their stores." The NAACP focused on Target because they're one of the nation's most prominent national retailers, said John C. White, NAACP spokesman. However, the group does not plan to picket or leaflet Target, but will rely on word of mouth, he said.

Wow, does he sound like a petulant child or what? Target did respond to this threat.

A Target spokeswoman said via e-mail that the company opted out of the survey "because Target views diversity as being inclusive of all people from all different backgrounds, not just one group." The NAACP survey asks only about blacks. She added that minorities make up 40 percent of Target employees and 23 percent of all officials and managers.

I don't expect this undeclared boycott will have any actual effect, but who do you think would be hurt most if the boycott was effective? That's right, the lower level employees. However, the employees are of no concern to the NAALCP. They're only concerned with trying to intimidate a major corporation into tossing some cash their direction.

I don't often find myself in agreement with Clarence Page, but his column today is well worth reading.

Mark Steyn reviews Nicholas Wade's book Before The Dawn in a column titled: Before the white man came? War We've deluded ourselves into believing in the myth of the noble and peaceful primitive.

Someone is actually trying to clean up the mess called Detroit elections.

City Clerk Janice Winfrey is set in less than a month to eliminate from voting rolls the names of nearly 55,000 dead people and those who no longer live in Detroit, as she undertakes a blitzkrieg aimed at restoring integrity and respect to Detroit elections.

Winfrey, a political novice and former math teacher, was able to do in six months something her predecessor, Jackie Currie, didn't do for years. "It was very easy," Winfrey said, explaining she bought "death lists" from the state and city Health Department so the names of the deceased could be purged.

Yesterday, it was reported repeatedly that President Bush used an expletive in a private conversation. Unfortunately, almost no attention was given to what he said before the expletive. Here is the complete quote: "See the irony is that what they need to do is get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this s--- and it's over," Bush told Blair. The key point is if Syria wanted hostilities to end they could end it. Instead everyone has focused on the fact that he used a harsher word than crap.

Don't trade drunk

I know the more popular saying is "Don't Drink and Drive," but after seeing what the Reds did today I have to think there should be a campaign against general managers making deals while drunk. Today the Reds traded Austin Kearns and Felipe Lopez for a couple guys to pitch middle relief. Yeah, there were other players involved in the trade, but they were mainly included to distract people (including Wayne Krivsky) about how bad a deal this was for the Reds. Kearns is not a superstar and no player is truly untouchable, but two quality starting players should have garnered much more in return.

Congress above the law? Not hardly.

A couple weeks ago various congressmen expressed outrage over an FBI led search of the offices of an allegedly crooked fellow congressman. They went on and on about separation of powers and abuse of executive power, blah, blah, blah. President Bush ordered the documents sealed pending judicial review. Well, today we have a ruling from a federal judge basically saying that congress-critters are provided offices to conduct business on behalf of their constituents. They are not provided offices to act as a safe haven for evidence.

A federal judge on Monday upheld the FBI's unprecedented raid of a congressional office, saying that barring searches of lawmakers' offices would turn Capitol Hill into "a taxpayer-subsidized sanctuary for crime."

Let us all thank Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan for upholding the rule of law.

Monday's news and links

Let's start the day on a good note. Here is an article by a Canadian columnist who starts with this sentence: "Thank God for Ronald Reagan." With North Korea testing missiles which could reach the left coast this is a good time to remember this speech by President Reagan that was derided by the intelligentsia at the time:

"I call upon the scientific community who gave us nuclear weapons to turn their great talents to the cause of mankind and world peace: To give us the means of rendering these nuclear weapons impotent and obsolete," he said.

The "experts" and the pundits instantly declared that SDI would never work and said it was needlessly provocative. No, what is provocative is the perception of weakness.

20 Hurt in Ohio Roller Coaster Mishap I like roller coasters, but like in any competitive industry they push the envelope to be able to claim to have something the other guy doesn't. Listen to this description of the ride in question and ask yourself if you're really surprised that a few folks got hurt.

The park's Web site describes the roller coaster as "the tallest, fastest and only looping wooden coaster on the planet" that hurtles down a 214-foot hill at more than 78 mph. The coaster, more than 7,000 feet long, features a 118-foot tall loop.

The Los Angeles Times was once a respected newspaper. That changed a long time ago. The latest evidence is Jonathan Chait's column on their editorial page today where he denounces President Bush as more dangerous than Osama bin Laden. Betsy's Page reminds us that Chait has a history of BDS (Bush Derangement Syndrome). She has links to the other articles.

Major League Baseball will hold the annual All Star game between the National League and the American League tomorrow night. That means every half-wit with a sport radio show will complain about two things over the next day or so. First, MLB has a rule requiring each team be represented which usually results in someone being selected who otherwise would not which in turn forces a deserving player to be left off the team. This year the Kansas City Royals have no deserving player but are represented by pitcher Mark Redman sporting an ERA of 5.27 while several deserving pitchers failed to be selected. That is a valid complaint. The second thing people complain about is that the All Star game, an exhibition game, will determine home field advantage for the World Series. Personally, I'm put off by the whining about the home field advantage angle. Do these talking heads remember how home field advantage was determined previously? I'm not thrilled with this way of choosing the home field advantage, but it used to be worse when it was simply every other year for each league. Ideally, it would be based on which team had a better regular season record. However, I don't want to hear outrage about the current system from people who had no problem with it being purely arbitrary in the past.

Robert Novak has a column today "GOP misreading political leader board?" that gets its title from a golf analogy provided by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).

His fellow Republicans remind him of a tournament golfer who ignores the leader board and thinks he is ahead going into the 17th and 18th holes, when he really is trailing. "It's like we think we'll get by with pars on the last two holes when we really need birdies," Graham told me. He referred to the 2006 mid-term election, where he sees a real danger of Republicans losing control of both houses in Congress for the first time since the 1992 elections.

Friday's news and links

Here is an example of why Republicans think the idea of Joe Biden as the Democrat nominee in 2008 would be good news.

Ranking Democrat in the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Joseph Biden, who has allegedly made comments belittling Indian Americans, has come under attack from an organisation representing the community. Senator Biden during his recent trip to New Hampshire told an Indian American activist that "in Delaware, the largest growth in population is Indian Americans, moving from India. You cannot go to a 7/11 (a chain store) or a Dunkin Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I'm not joking." Slamming Biden for making "ridiculous comments" about the community, the Indian Americans Republican Council (IARC) said "Joe Biden has a history of making insensitive and inappropriate remarks.

The article says Biden allegedly made the comments. Well, to remove any doubt, here is a link to a tape of his comments. To be clear, I don't think those comments were all that offensive, but it does point to Biden's biggest weakness - his mouth. He really likes to talk and doesn't always think before he speaks.

Is this even news: American injured in Pamplona bull run. No, it is news if no one get hurt in that ridiculous tradition.

I frequently criticize judges for misbehavior or for making ruling overly favorable to the criminals to the detriment of society. Well, today I want to compliment a judge who used some creativity in sentencing a loser who pretended to be a Marine Corps veteran to garner favor from his probation officer.

When the officer attempted to verify Horvath’s military service, the Marine Corps stated there was no record of him having served.

Horvath then presented evidence to the probation officer, including photographs and decorations. Representatives of the Marine Corps said Horvath’s uniform was worn improperly, decorations were improperly displayed, and equipment and uniforms in the photos did not fit with the era or were inconsistent with other items in the photos.

A veteran himself, Molloy ordered Horvath to perform 50 hours of community service by marching in front of the U.S. courthouse in Missoula during regular business hours. He must wear a sandwich board with large letters that will read, “I am a liar. I am not a Marine,” on the front. On the back will be: “I have never served my country. I have dishonored veterans of all wars.”

Since he was attempting to steal fame let his punishment be public infamy.

If you visit St. Minnesota watch how you park. City tells parking officers to issue 55 tickets a day. I don't know how much tourism they get but this can't help attract visitors.

This is kind of funny:

After nearly two decades of ridicule, a father has agreed to change his son's name from "Fined Six Thousand and Five Hundred" - the amount he was forced to pay in local currency for ignoring Vietnam's two-child policy. Angry he was being fined for having a fifth child, Mai Xuan Can named his son Mai Phat Sau Nghin Ruoi after the amount he was forced to pay - 6,500 dong (50 cents), said Dai Cuong village chief Nguyen Huy Thuong.

I guess that is one way to protest an immoral law - give your kid a goofy name that makes him miserable.

The Examiner asks a pointed question in the wake of North Korea's sabre rattling - Where are ‘Star Wars’ critics now? Read it all, it's a good review of who opposed developing this technology over the past couple decades.

Job opening soon - New Sports Editor needed for Cleveland Plain Dealer

I understand it can be difficult to fact check every aspect of every story your newspaper runs, but the Cleveland Plain Dealer ought to be able to do better than they did in this article.

"We despised the pinstripe," Rosen said. "Going down to the wire in September, it was always the Yankees and Cleveland."

Rosen was an almost-Triple Crown winner during a decade full of almosts for the Indians. In Rosen's 10-year career from 1947 to 1956, the Indians finished second to the Yankees five times and behind the Yankees eight times. The Indians finished in front of the Yankees in 1948, when they lost the World Series to the Boston Braves, and 1954, when they lost the World Series to the New York Giants.

Excuse me, but the Indians won the World Series in 1948. I hope it isn't asking too much to expect the Plain Dealer's sports writers to keep track of all of the Indians championships (1920 and 1948). If this was an article about the Yankees who have won 26 World Series titles I could understand forgetting whether they won or lost in 1926 (if you care they lost as Babe Ruth was caught attempting to steal second base to end the seventh game).

Be careful out there as you celebrate

I like fireworks as much as the next guy, but be careful and especially watch out for kids.

A 21-year-old man suffered injuries to his face in a fireworks accident in West Chester Township on Monday night, while two Mason children injured by fireworks Sunday were recovering at home. Around 8:30 p.m. Monday, the man, whose name was not available, was hurt by fireworks on Edgeridge Drive and was flown to University Hospital after initially being taken to Bethesda North Hospital.

This happened less than a football field away from our house. I hope the newspaper article I quoted is right about him being in the hospital, because when we got home last night someone told my wife that they thought the injuries were fatal.

The Declaration of Independence

Today we celebrate our nations independence from colonial rule of England. This is the 230th anniversary of when a brave group of men made public their Declaration of Independence which spelled out the specific grievances. We should pause to remember that the words on that piece of paper, while powerful and moving, did not assure freedom or victory. Those men and the thousands who followed their lead risked their lives and fortunes over the next decade. The real strength of the declaration is it's unifying force on the colonies by grouping the various complaints and concerns to demonstrate that this was not a matter only affecting one region but all the American colonies. Here is the first paragraph, read the rest and as you do keep in mind this action was not taken lightly as these words were written by men who all their lives considered themselves to be British.

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.