1. This is supposed to be a Democratic Year. The congressional races show the Democrats with a double-digit lead. Yet, in the Presidential Race, Barack Obama only leads John McCain by a margin of 49% to 47%. Interesting...
2. In business, if someone screws up and costs the company thousands or millions of dollars, that person is usually fired and a more competent person found to replace them. In government, when Congress costs the nation billions of dollars, the nation doesn't fire Congress, they re-elect them and give them more money to fix the problem. My God, we are a STUPID lot.
3. The Phillies won.
4. Flogging Molly is Epic Win.
5. We still don't have a replacement for Sanjay yet. Thanks for trying out, Aaron.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Football Future-see Week 10
(15) Florida State at Georgia Tech
The ACC battle of the week pits the mighty Seminoles against the humbled Yellow Jackets. Tech faltered last week against Virginia, leaving them in a struggle for ACC supremacy. They still have one of the best defenses in the conference. Florida State has the ACC’s best offense. All of which means this game should be interesting at least. But we believe in the old adage that defense wins championships.
Final Score: Georgia Tech 24, Florida State 21
(1) Texas at (7) Texas Tech
The Big XII showdown of the week rocks two of the best QBs in the nation. Texas QB Colt McCoy has a completion percentage over 80. Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell is also high on the completion percentage, and he has one of the best WRs on his team in Michael Crabtree. The game’s in Lubbock, home of the Red Raiders, which will make a difference. The Right Wing is calling for the upset.
Final Score: Texas Tech 37, Texas 35
(8)Florida at (6) Georgia (in Jacksonville)
The SEC war of the week comes from Jacksonville, Florida. The Bulldogs of Georgia take on the Gators of Florida in the de facto SEC East championship game. The winner here will most likely play Alabama or LSU for the SEC Title. Florida is loaded offensively, but so is Georgia. Both teams are hitting their stride now, as Georgia just hung 52 on LSU and Florida is coming off a 63-5 beating of Kentucky. Quarterback play will be key in this match-up. Florida got surprised by Ole Miss, and Georgia’s defense is better than Ole Miss.
Final Score: Georgia 34, Florida 28
Washington at (5) USC
Our PAC-10 match-up looks to be a laugher. Washington is giving up points by the gross, and USC is a scary-good offense. Washington coach Ty Willingham announced that he is stepping down at season’s end, but that means nothing to the Trojans. USC might be able to break 100 points in this game.
Final Score: USC 72, Washington 10.
Northwestern at (17) Minnesota
The Big Ten comes in with a somewhat intriguing game. Minnesota went 1-11 last year, and this year they are already bowl eligible. Northwestern started out with five straight wins, and has since fallen off. But they’re looking to rebound in spectacular fashion, and upsetting a top 20 team is just what the doctor ordered.
Final Score: Northwestern 20, Minnesota 17
The ACC battle of the week pits the mighty Seminoles against the humbled Yellow Jackets. Tech faltered last week against Virginia, leaving them in a struggle for ACC supremacy. They still have one of the best defenses in the conference. Florida State has the ACC’s best offense. All of which means this game should be interesting at least. But we believe in the old adage that defense wins championships.
Final Score: Georgia Tech 24, Florida State 21
(1) Texas at (7) Texas Tech
The Big XII showdown of the week rocks two of the best QBs in the nation. Texas QB Colt McCoy has a completion percentage over 80. Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell is also high on the completion percentage, and he has one of the best WRs on his team in Michael Crabtree. The game’s in Lubbock, home of the Red Raiders, which will make a difference. The Right Wing is calling for the upset.
Final Score: Texas Tech 37, Texas 35
(8)Florida at (6) Georgia (in Jacksonville)
The SEC war of the week comes from Jacksonville, Florida. The Bulldogs of Georgia take on the Gators of Florida in the de facto SEC East championship game. The winner here will most likely play Alabama or LSU for the SEC Title. Florida is loaded offensively, but so is Georgia. Both teams are hitting their stride now, as Georgia just hung 52 on LSU and Florida is coming off a 63-5 beating of Kentucky. Quarterback play will be key in this match-up. Florida got surprised by Ole Miss, and Georgia’s defense is better than Ole Miss.
Final Score: Georgia 34, Florida 28
Washington at (5) USC
Our PAC-10 match-up looks to be a laugher. Washington is giving up points by the gross, and USC is a scary-good offense. Washington coach Ty Willingham announced that he is stepping down at season’s end, but that means nothing to the Trojans. USC might be able to break 100 points in this game.
Final Score: USC 72, Washington 10.
Northwestern at (17) Minnesota
The Big Ten comes in with a somewhat intriguing game. Minnesota went 1-11 last year, and this year they are already bowl eligible. Northwestern started out with five straight wins, and has since fallen off. But they’re looking to rebound in spectacular fashion, and upsetting a top 20 team is just what the doctor ordered.
Final Score: Northwestern 20, Minnesota 17
Monday, October 27, 2008
Football Future-see Week 9 Recap
Record
Week 1 .... 6-1
Week 2 .... 4-1
Week 3 .... 3-2
Week 4 .... 4-1
Week 5 .... 3-3
Week 6 .... 3-2
Week 7 .... 4-2
Week 8 .... 4-1
Week 9 .... 4-1
Overall .... 35-14
We're still looking for that elusive perfect week. We've now gone with only one miss five times in nine weeks. Next week's games look rough, especially Texas vs. Texas Tech and Georgia vs. Florida. UGA put up 52 on LSU two weeks after Florida rang up 51 on the Bayou Bengals. Florida is still mad about UGA's celebration last year. Oh, and if you got to watch the Georgia game Saturday, if you noticed near the end of the third quarter the Dawgs sacked Colt Brennan again.
Week 10 Games
(15) Florida State at Georgia Tech
(1) Texas at (7) Texas Tech
(8) Florida vs (6) Georgia (game played in Jacksonville)
Washington at (5) USC
Northwestern at (17) Minnesota
Week 1 .... 6-1
Week 2 .... 4-1
Week 3 .... 3-2
Week 4 .... 4-1
Week 5 .... 3-3
Week 6 .... 3-2
Week 7 .... 4-2
Week 8 .... 4-1
Week 9 .... 4-1
Overall .... 35-14
We're still looking for that elusive perfect week. We've now gone with only one miss five times in nine weeks. Next week's games look rough, especially Texas vs. Texas Tech and Georgia vs. Florida. UGA put up 52 on LSU two weeks after Florida rang up 51 on the Bayou Bengals. Florida is still mad about UGA's celebration last year. Oh, and if you got to watch the Georgia game Saturday, if you noticed near the end of the third quarter the Dawgs sacked Colt Brennan again.
Week 10 Games
(15) Florida State at Georgia Tech
(1) Texas at (7) Texas Tech
(8) Florida vs (6) Georgia (game played in Jacksonville)
Washington at (5) USC
Northwestern at (17) Minnesota
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Replacement? Part II
The search for a suitable replacement continues here at the Right Wing. Unfortunately, with the economy in crisis, we've started advertising the position as an "unpaid" opening, essentially an internship. Robert over at Skewed has already been on the phone with me talking about Fred and the new prospective intern who will take Fred's place not that he's (hopefully) off to (rot in) jail.
So our search continues. And thankfully we've received CVs and writing samples from a large number of people who have an already available source of income. Scott Ish MacDougal turned out to be a fraud perpetrated by some hacker calling himself Lake2500 or some such nonsense.
But now, here's out aspiring writer for this entry... Quarterback for the Green Bay Packers... ladies and gentlemen, I give you Aaron Rodgers...
Brett? Stop calling me. Leave me alone. Leave my family alone. Leave my cats alone. And for the love of God quit sending me pictures on MySpace. I know you have a great body for a senior citizen, but no one needs the mental image of you wearing nothing but a strategically placed Jets helmet.
I'm glad you've found a home with the Jets, Brett, I really am. But this stalking crap has got to stop. You did all you could to screw with my head while I was exercising futility as a back up while you contemplated retiring, decided not to retire, retired, but then backed out of retiring after having been retired for a full ten minutes, then retired, and then got mad because you were replaced, after you had retired. Oh, and nice job crying at the press conference. I'm writing you in for an Emmy, you jerk.
Well, now you're gone. Wasting away behind a pitiful offensive line while I'm in football Mecca and the fans love me. Suck on a cheese head, Brett!
So our search continues. And thankfully we've received CVs and writing samples from a large number of people who have an already available source of income. Scott Ish MacDougal turned out to be a fraud perpetrated by some hacker calling himself Lake2500 or some such nonsense.
But now, here's out aspiring writer for this entry... Quarterback for the Green Bay Packers... ladies and gentlemen, I give you Aaron Rodgers...
Brett? Stop calling me. Leave me alone. Leave my family alone. Leave my cats alone. And for the love of God quit sending me pictures on MySpace. I know you have a great body for a senior citizen, but no one needs the mental image of you wearing nothing but a strategically placed Jets helmet.
I'm glad you've found a home with the Jets, Brett, I really am. But this stalking crap has got to stop. You did all you could to screw with my head while I was exercising futility as a back up while you contemplated retiring, decided not to retire, retired, but then backed out of retiring after having been retired for a full ten minutes, then retired, and then got mad because you were replaced, after you had retired. Oh, and nice job crying at the press conference. I'm writing you in for an Emmy, you jerk.
Well, now you're gone. Wasting away behind a pitiful offensive line while I'm in football Mecca and the fans love me. Suck on a cheese head, Brett!
Friday, October 24, 2008
Replacement?
November is National Blogging Month or some such nonsense. Robert over at Skewed has already found himself in the spirit of the festivities, allowing the burro to write a blog post that blatantly offended everyone, and doubly offended the Welsh. In fact, the burro’s written antics were so over-the-top that readers have emailed me saying that they’ll never read Skewed again, and that they will stop reading the Right Wing if we don’t pull our link to Skewed.
Well, we at the Right Wing are proud to support Skewed View, even if one of their “former” employees is a psychotic murderer who has no problem yelling “Terrorist!” in a crowded casino, all while underhandedly stealing chips from the distracted gambler beside him. (That’s right, Fred, we got the security tapes. You’re going down!)
So all of that aside, I suppose the Right Wing should take résumés for a replacement for the late Sanjay. In fact, we received our first résumé today, although I’m not sure how this person knew we had a job opening. Hopefully we’ll be able to bring you a new prospective copy editor every week or so, until a suitable replacement is found… working, of course, under the assumption that Fred isn’t going to kill someone else. But don’t let that scare you.
Well, here goes. For your reading pleasure, I present to you the written stylings of Scott Ish MacDougal:
So I’m out walkin’ in the fields, aye.
And I see this bloke and I says, “Who are you?”
And he says, “I’m you, from the future.”
And I says, “You can’t be me from the future, we’re not there yet.”
And he says, “That’s what you think…”
So I says, “Well, if you me from the future, and I’m me from today… I think I’m gonna need a pint to wrap me head around this.”
So we goes to the pub I order a pint, he orders a pint. I’m thinkin’ if he’s me from the future, and I’m me from today, and if I’m drinkin’ and he’s drinkin’, is he getting double-drunk?
Then I think, maybe he’s an imaginary friend, I have been hitting the pure a bit hard lately. So I look over at him while he’s drinkin’, and I look down at the floor. Well, that could be beer, could be somethin’ else, I’m not really sure.
So I says again to him, I says, “Who are you?”
And he says, “I’m you, from the future.”
Only he’s a wee bit two sheeps to the wind at this point, and he actually says “Ahmyoo, fro da’ foosha.”
I stop drinkin’, hoping he’ll take the hint and begin soberin’ up. He does. I grab him by the arm and we walk outside.
I says again, “Who are you?”
He says, “I’m you, from the future.”
And I says, “If you’re me from the future, and I’m me now, what happens to me today?”
He says, “You get hit by a car.”
That’s when I realized we were standing in the road.
Well, we at the Right Wing are proud to support Skewed View, even if one of their “former” employees is a psychotic murderer who has no problem yelling “Terrorist!” in a crowded casino, all while underhandedly stealing chips from the distracted gambler beside him. (That’s right, Fred, we got the security tapes. You’re going down!)
So all of that aside, I suppose the Right Wing should take résumés for a replacement for the late Sanjay. In fact, we received our first résumé today, although I’m not sure how this person knew we had a job opening. Hopefully we’ll be able to bring you a new prospective copy editor every week or so, until a suitable replacement is found… working, of course, under the assumption that Fred isn’t going to kill someone else. But don’t let that scare you.
Well, here goes. For your reading pleasure, I present to you the written stylings of Scott Ish MacDougal:
So I’m out walkin’ in the fields, aye.
And I see this bloke and I says, “Who are you?”
And he says, “I’m you, from the future.”
And I says, “You can’t be me from the future, we’re not there yet.”
And he says, “That’s what you think…”
So I says, “Well, if you me from the future, and I’m me from today… I think I’m gonna need a pint to wrap me head around this.”
So we goes to the pub I order a pint, he orders a pint. I’m thinkin’ if he’s me from the future, and I’m me from today, and if I’m drinkin’ and he’s drinkin’, is he getting double-drunk?
Then I think, maybe he’s an imaginary friend, I have been hitting the pure a bit hard lately. So I look over at him while he’s drinkin’, and I look down at the floor. Well, that could be beer, could be somethin’ else, I’m not really sure.
So I says again to him, I says, “Who are you?”
And he says, “I’m you, from the future.”
Only he’s a wee bit two sheeps to the wind at this point, and he actually says “Ahmyoo, fro da’ foosha.”
I stop drinkin’, hoping he’ll take the hint and begin soberin’ up. He does. I grab him by the arm and we walk outside.
I says again, “Who are you?”
He says, “I’m you, from the future.”
And I says, “If you’re me from the future, and I’m me now, what happens to me today?”
He says, “You get hit by a car.”
That’s when I realized we were standing in the road.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Voting Irregularities
With the election roughly a fortnight away, I started thinking...
Recently, at work, I told one of our customers that I was going to vote mostly Libertarian, seeing as that is the party I most align myself with. She proceeded to say that a vote for anyone other than McCain would be a vote for Barack Obama. Now, I try to remain sensible about things, and I'd like to think that, when it comes to politics, I know a little more than the average bear, but I really had no clue that if you didn't vote for the Republican, your vote automatically counted for the Democrat. The way I see it, if I vote Libertarian, I'm telling both parties "Thanks, but no thanks."
Seriously, everyone on both sides of the aisle, get over this "if you don't vote for my guy, it's a vote for the other guy" crap.
Take the Georgia Senate race. Saxby Chambliss faces off against Jim Martin and Allen Buckley. Chambliss is the incumbent Republican, Martin is a Democrat and Buckley is a Libertarian. I'll be voting against Chambliss, because I plan to vote against all incumbents, regardless of party. But Jim Martin won't receive my vote, seeing as the man cannot properly talk about the Fair Tax in his campaign (yes, I know I linked a Chambliss ad, but it serves my purpose). I'll be voting for Allen Buckley, but according to my dear customer friend, my vote will apparently be counted for Jim Martin. (See, there's a Martin video, but again, he talks about price gouging by oil companies, who make roughly 7 cents on the dollar sold, while Washington is raking in 45 cents on the dollar sold, but the oil companies are evil, I keep forgetting that.)
In writing this entry, and the research I did for the writing of this entry, I came across something interesting concerning how votes are counted. It's actually in the U.S. Constitution. Amendment 34, Article IV, Section 19, Sub-section C reads: In accordance with state and federal regulations, in the course of state or national elections, all votes will be taken at a prescribed time, and once counted, all votes cast against my guy will automatically be counted for the other guy.
All I'm saying here is this: Think before you speak, and please, for the Love of God and all things Holy, think before you vote. If you cannot think of the name of your Senator or Representative, or even the Vice-President, please do the rest of us a favor and stay away from the polls in November. Go find a Vin Diesel movie to watch, or a coloring book to amuse yourself.
Thank You.
Good Night.
And may God bless.
I'm Blake Duncan and I approved this message.
Recently, at work, I told one of our customers that I was going to vote mostly Libertarian, seeing as that is the party I most align myself with. She proceeded to say that a vote for anyone other than McCain would be a vote for Barack Obama. Now, I try to remain sensible about things, and I'd like to think that, when it comes to politics, I know a little more than the average bear, but I really had no clue that if you didn't vote for the Republican, your vote automatically counted for the Democrat. The way I see it, if I vote Libertarian, I'm telling both parties "Thanks, but no thanks."
Seriously, everyone on both sides of the aisle, get over this "if you don't vote for my guy, it's a vote for the other guy" crap.
Take the Georgia Senate race. Saxby Chambliss faces off against Jim Martin and Allen Buckley. Chambliss is the incumbent Republican, Martin is a Democrat and Buckley is a Libertarian. I'll be voting against Chambliss, because I plan to vote against all incumbents, regardless of party. But Jim Martin won't receive my vote, seeing as the man cannot properly talk about the Fair Tax in his campaign (yes, I know I linked a Chambliss ad, but it serves my purpose). I'll be voting for Allen Buckley, but according to my dear customer friend, my vote will apparently be counted for Jim Martin. (See, there's a Martin video, but again, he talks about price gouging by oil companies, who make roughly 7 cents on the dollar sold, while Washington is raking in 45 cents on the dollar sold, but the oil companies are evil, I keep forgetting that.)
In writing this entry, and the research I did for the writing of this entry, I came across something interesting concerning how votes are counted. It's actually in the U.S. Constitution. Amendment 34, Article IV, Section 19, Sub-section C reads: In accordance with state and federal regulations, in the course of state or national elections, all votes will be taken at a prescribed time, and once counted, all votes cast against my guy will automatically be counted for the other guy.
All I'm saying here is this: Think before you speak, and please, for the Love of God and all things Holy, think before you vote. If you cannot think of the name of your Senator or Representative, or even the Vice-President, please do the rest of us a favor and stay away from the polls in November. Go find a Vin Diesel movie to watch, or a coloring book to amuse yourself.
Thank You.
Good Night.
And may God bless.
I'm Blake Duncan and I approved this message.
So Now We Know...
Sanjay is dead. We had figured as much when the fellow didn't show up for fourteen months. We haven't seen him since last August, not August '08, but August '07. I know that sometimes things come up here at the Right Wing (see, Fred, you jerk, it's italicized), and I also know that I sometimes have a problem with seeing the forest for the trees, but I really screwed up on this one.
A while back Sanjay went missing. I checked his computer, and found an email from retsderf, which I only recently figured out was fredster backwards. And then I check out Robert's blog today, and I see that Fred got a hold of the keyboard again and couldn't help bragging about orchestrating Sanjay's demise.
Fred, all I can say is, expect the police to be showing up at the Skewed offices sometime very soon.
Oh, and learn how to italicize the names of your fellow bloggers' blogs. Jeez, at least Robert has the common decency to not gloat over killing a rival. And we all know that Sanjay was a much nicer person than you.
A while back Sanjay went missing. I checked his computer, and found an email from retsderf, which I only recently figured out was fredster backwards. And then I check out Robert's blog today, and I see that Fred got a hold of the keyboard again and couldn't help bragging about orchestrating Sanjay's demise.
Fred, all I can say is, expect the police to be showing up at the Skewed offices sometime very soon.
Oh, and learn how to italicize the names of your fellow bloggers' blogs. Jeez, at least Robert has the common decency to not gloat over killing a rival. And we all know that Sanjay was a much nicer person than you.
Football Future-see Week 9
The slate of games this week might be my toughest ever.
Auburn at West Virginia
Seemingly a battle of the also-rans for this year, both teams entered the
season with high expectations. West Virginia has fallen from grace and
Auburn has looked more like "Aww-Burn!!!" as the SEC fans might say. The
Tigers have lost to Vanderbilt and Arkansas. West Virginia dropped a game
to East Carolina. Auburn fired their offensive coordinator six games into
his career at the school. WVU is still learning the ropes with a new head
coach. It's in Morgantown, so watch for the Mountaineers to step up a bit,
but we think a reeling SEC team is a dangerous thing.
Final Score: Auburn 26, West Virginia 21
(8) Texas Tech at (23) Kansas
Texas Tech struggled more than we had accounted for against Texas
A&M. Kansas is an up-and-down team, especially since the thriller loss to
South Florida. Jayhawk QB Todd Reesing is good, and might be able to lead
a charge against the Red Raider defense. But Graham Harrell and Michael
Crabtree are too much offensively.
Final Score: Texas Tech 35, Kansas 24
(7) Georgia at (13) LSU
The beginning of murderer's row for the Bulldogs as their next for are LSU,
Florida, Kentucky and Auburn, all away from the friendly confines of
Sanford Stadium. The Dawgs have been hit hard by the injury bug this
season, forcing them to operate a patchwork Offensive line. LSU will try
to exploit that weakness. But LSU is in one of those "Do we have a QB?"
mindsets at the moment. They played both quarterbacks against South
Carolina and barely took home the victory. Georgia's defense will be
mindful of the youthful inexperience in the LSU backfield.
Final Score: Georgia 23, LSU 20
(6) Oklahoma State at (1) Texas
Texas faces off against another top-tier team this week, and they are
earning their keep atop the Top 25 and BCS Polls. The sixth ranked Cowboys
of Oklahoma State drop in at Austin this week, looking for a
game. Oklahoma State is averaging about 50 points a game. If Texas has a
weakness, it is their defense. If you can stop Texas from scoring, you can
beat them, because their "D" gives up points in bunches. They gave up more
than 30 to Oklahoma and Missouri. But, no one has yet been able to stop
the Longhorns' offense.
Final Score: Texas 42, Oklahoma State 31
(3) Penn State at (9) Ohio State
Penn State is the most well-rounded football team in the country, and
that's hard for me to say, being a die-hard SEC fan. But the Nittany Lions
can make anyone squirm. Ohio State played its best football of the season
last week against Michigan State. Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, someone
forgot to tell JoePa that he's 94 years old. The elder statesman of
college football brings his team to Columbus looking for a fight.
Final Score: Penn State 35, Ohio State 20
Auburn at West Virginia
Seemingly a battle of the also-rans for this year, both teams entered the
season with high expectations. West Virginia has fallen from grace and
Auburn has looked more like "Aww-Burn!!!" as the SEC fans might say. The
Tigers have lost to Vanderbilt and Arkansas. West Virginia dropped a game
to East Carolina. Auburn fired their offensive coordinator six games into
his career at the school. WVU is still learning the ropes with a new head
coach. It's in Morgantown, so watch for the Mountaineers to step up a bit,
but we think a reeling SEC team is a dangerous thing.
Final Score: Auburn 26, West Virginia 21
(8) Texas Tech at (23) Kansas
Texas Tech struggled more than we had accounted for against Texas
A&M. Kansas is an up-and-down team, especially since the thriller loss to
South Florida. Jayhawk QB Todd Reesing is good, and might be able to lead
a charge against the Red Raider defense. But Graham Harrell and Michael
Crabtree are too much offensively.
Final Score: Texas Tech 35, Kansas 24
(7) Georgia at (13) LSU
The beginning of murderer's row for the Bulldogs as their next for are LSU,
Florida, Kentucky and Auburn, all away from the friendly confines of
Sanford Stadium. The Dawgs have been hit hard by the injury bug this
season, forcing them to operate a patchwork Offensive line. LSU will try
to exploit that weakness. But LSU is in one of those "Do we have a QB?"
mindsets at the moment. They played both quarterbacks against South
Carolina and barely took home the victory. Georgia's defense will be
mindful of the youthful inexperience in the LSU backfield.
Final Score: Georgia 23, LSU 20
(6) Oklahoma State at (1) Texas
Texas faces off against another top-tier team this week, and they are
earning their keep atop the Top 25 and BCS Polls. The sixth ranked Cowboys
of Oklahoma State drop in at Austin this week, looking for a
game. Oklahoma State is averaging about 50 points a game. If Texas has a
weakness, it is their defense. If you can stop Texas from scoring, you can
beat them, because their "D" gives up points in bunches. They gave up more
than 30 to Oklahoma and Missouri. But, no one has yet been able to stop
the Longhorns' offense.
Final Score: Texas 42, Oklahoma State 31
(3) Penn State at (9) Ohio State
Penn State is the most well-rounded football team in the country, and
that's hard for me to say, being a die-hard SEC fan. But the Nittany Lions
can make anyone squirm. Ohio State played its best football of the season
last week against Michigan State. Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, someone
forgot to tell JoePa that he's 94 years old. The elder statesman of
college football brings his team to Columbus looking for a fight.
Final Score: Penn State 35, Ohio State 20
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Paradoxically Short-Long Post
I got to thinking about some things recently, I and decided to give this a shot. You've probably heard many of these already...
Q. Why do we drive on a parkway and park on a driveway?
A. Well, simply put, we must break the two words apart. Drive and way, or a path that gives way to driving. Park and way, a path that gives way to parking.
Q. Why will a dog stick its head out the car window at 55 mph but it gets mad if you blow in its face?
A. Again, it's a simple scientific answer. Dog's have a powerful olfactory system. They can smell something that we would never pick up. With their head out the window, they are greeted by a diffuse variety of scents. Blowing directly into their face, essentially causes sensory overload. Then again, they use their tongues as toilet paper...
Q. What if the hokey pokey really is what it's all about?
A. If you attack this question from the Freudian angle, then just say sex and leave it alone. But we'll forgo the Freudian in favor of the... well, the... um... anyway, if you think about the message hidden inside the "hokey pokey" you'll find that it's almost a coming-of-age adventure where the participant puts something of him or herself in and then takes it back. This is basically what we do over the course of our entire lives. We meet new people, and in the course thereof we surrender parts of ourselves, but as people come and go in our lives we gain things back, thus "hokey pokey"ing our way through life.
Q. Why do we drive on a parkway and park on a driveway?
A. Well, simply put, we must break the two words apart. Drive and way, or a path that gives way to driving. Park and way, a path that gives way to parking.
Q. Why will a dog stick its head out the car window at 55 mph but it gets mad if you blow in its face?
A. Again, it's a simple scientific answer. Dog's have a powerful olfactory system. They can smell something that we would never pick up. With their head out the window, they are greeted by a diffuse variety of scents. Blowing directly into their face, essentially causes sensory overload. Then again, they use their tongues as toilet paper...
Q. What if the hokey pokey really is what it's all about?
A. If you attack this question from the Freudian angle, then just say sex and leave it alone. But we'll forgo the Freudian in favor of the... well, the... um... anyway, if you think about the message hidden inside the "hokey pokey" you'll find that it's almost a coming-of-age adventure where the participant puts something of him or herself in and then takes it back. This is basically what we do over the course of our entire lives. We meet new people, and in the course thereof we surrender parts of ourselves, but as people come and go in our lives we gain things back, thus "hokey pokey"ing our way through life.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Football Future-see recap of Week 8
Record
Week 1 .... 6-1
Week 2 .... 4-1
Week 3 .... 3-2
Week 4 .... 4-1
Week 5 .... 3-3
Week 6 .... 3-2
Week 7 .... 4-2
Week 8 .... 4-1
Overall .... 31-13
Week 9 Games
Auburn at West Virginia
(8) Texas Tech at (23) Kansas
(7) Georgia at (13) LSU
(6) Oklahoma State at (1) Texas
(3) Penn State at (9) Ohio State
You remember a few weeks back I made a big deal about not having a perfect record? Well, I certainly don't make it easy on myself, do I?
And for your weekly F1 update... Go Lewis Hamilton! Winner of the 2008 Sinopec Grand Prix of China.
Week 1 .... 6-1
Week 2 .... 4-1
Week 3 .... 3-2
Week 4 .... 4-1
Week 5 .... 3-3
Week 6 .... 3-2
Week 7 .... 4-2
Week 8 .... 4-1
Overall .... 31-13
Week 9 Games
Auburn at West Virginia
(8) Texas Tech at (23) Kansas
(7) Georgia at (13) LSU
(6) Oklahoma State at (1) Texas
(3) Penn State at (9) Ohio State
You remember a few weeks back I made a big deal about not having a perfect record? Well, I certainly don't make it easy on myself, do I?
And for your weekly F1 update... Go Lewis Hamilton! Winner of the 2008 Sinopec Grand Prix of China.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Schrödinger's Cat Catches a Mouse
I just finished reading James Rollins's book Black Order, and one of the more interesting theories to spring from the book is quantum evolution.
The theory is fairly straightforward. If you've taken as basic chemistry class this has likely come up. An electron acts as both a particle and a wave. It's all tied in to the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, which states that two conjugate variable cannot be know with precise certainty. These variable are typically things like time and place. In relation to the electron, you can know where an electron is in the electron cloud, thus making it a particle, or you can know it's movement, in which case it acts like a wave.
Another example here would be Schrödinger's Cat thought experiment. Schrödinger wrote that One can even set up quite ridiculous cases. A cat is penned up in a steel chamber, along with the following device (which must be secured against direct interference by the cat): in a Geiger counter there is a tiny bit of radioactive substance, so small, that perhaps in the course of the hour one of the atoms decays, but also, with equal probability, perhaps none; if it happens, the counter tube discharges and through a relay releases a hammer which shatters a small flask of hydrocyanic acid. If one has left this entire system to itself for an hour, one would say that the cat still lives if meanwhile no atom has decayed. The psi-function of the entire system would express this by having in it the living and dead cat (pardon the expression) mixed or smeared out in equal parts. In layman's terms, the cat would be both alive and dead, and would remain as such until observed.
I know, I know, it sounds kinda confusing and downright boring. But the important part of quantum mechanics is a point Rollins raised in the Black Order. The mere act of observing dictates the outcome of what is being observed. For example, if one wanted to know where the electron was, they would view it as a particle and not a wave, because they would unconcerned with it's motion.
I know that a chemist would probably tear me apart, but I'm not shooting for exact science here. But let me get to the crux of my point. In the book, one of the main characters falls ill to a disease that devolves him, returning his cells to the primordial goop. A former Nazi experiment called "The Bell" is discovered to have caused the change, and the Bell is capable of saving the character. But another character points out that, according to quantum mechanics, the best way to save someone in this condition is through prayer, or rather, having someone in the Bell with the sick man, observing him, and thereby affecting the outcome of the experiment.
There's another branch of quantum theory that states that, in the model of the Schrödinger's Cat thought experiment, the moment an observes opens the box, reality splits into two separate and decoherent outcomes, a living cat, or a dead cat. Essentially this theory states that every choice we make causes a rift in reality, creating an infinite number of worlds and universes spread across the dimensional plane. Concerning this line of thought, Sir Roger Penrose, an English mathematical physicist stated, "I wish to make it clear that, as it stands this is far from a resolution of the cat paradox. For there is nothing in the formalism of quantum mechanics that demands that a state of consciousness cannot involve the simultaneous perception of a live and a dead cat." This line of thinking is another story for another day.
In 1998, Max Tegmark, a Swedish-American cosmologist, unveiled the "quantum suicide" machine, which examined Schrödinger's experiment from the point of view of the cat. More precisely, the quantum suicide machine involves an experimenter sitting in front of a loaded gun which will or will not be triggered by a decaying atom. Each time the experiment is run, there is a 50% chance of the gun going off. If the gun does go off, then the experimenter dies, right? Well, according to that whole reality splitting thing from earlier, every time the experiment is run, reality splits into two differing lines, one where the experimenter continues to sit in front of a gun that did not go off, and another where the experimenter's lab assistant is toweling brains off his computer. From the perspective of the experimenter, if the gun goes off, so likely does his head, but if the gun does not go off, and in the subsequent runs of the experiment the gun continues to not go off, the experimenter experiences a kind of immortality. That really is another story for another day.
Back to my original train of thought before we became so horribly derailed... If observation truly does change the outcome of situations, at the quantum level at least, then prayer does work. The unbeliever might say that prayer is useless, but if you believe that what you are doing will have some positive outcome, then why not go through with it? In the end, I guess you could view quantum theory, at least as proposed by James Rollins, as the ultimate optimism.
Author's Note:
Special Thanks to ye olde Wikipedia for the links in this entry.
No animals were harmed in the writing of this post.
The experimenter, however, simultaneously lived and died.
Have fun, kids.
The theory is fairly straightforward. If you've taken as basic chemistry class this has likely come up. An electron acts as both a particle and a wave. It's all tied in to the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, which states that two conjugate variable cannot be know with precise certainty. These variable are typically things like time and place. In relation to the electron, you can know where an electron is in the electron cloud, thus making it a particle, or you can know it's movement, in which case it acts like a wave.
Another example here would be Schrödinger's Cat thought experiment. Schrödinger wrote that One can even set up quite ridiculous cases. A cat is penned up in a steel chamber, along with the following device (which must be secured against direct interference by the cat): in a Geiger counter there is a tiny bit of radioactive substance, so small, that perhaps in the course of the hour one of the atoms decays, but also, with equal probability, perhaps none; if it happens, the counter tube discharges and through a relay releases a hammer which shatters a small flask of hydrocyanic acid. If one has left this entire system to itself for an hour, one would say that the cat still lives if meanwhile no atom has decayed. The psi-function of the entire system would express this by having in it the living and dead cat (pardon the expression) mixed or smeared out in equal parts. In layman's terms, the cat would be both alive and dead, and would remain as such until observed.
I know, I know, it sounds kinda confusing and downright boring. But the important part of quantum mechanics is a point Rollins raised in the Black Order. The mere act of observing dictates the outcome of what is being observed. For example, if one wanted to know where the electron was, they would view it as a particle and not a wave, because they would unconcerned with it's motion.
I know that a chemist would probably tear me apart, but I'm not shooting for exact science here. But let me get to the crux of my point. In the book, one of the main characters falls ill to a disease that devolves him, returning his cells to the primordial goop. A former Nazi experiment called "The Bell" is discovered to have caused the change, and the Bell is capable of saving the character. But another character points out that, according to quantum mechanics, the best way to save someone in this condition is through prayer, or rather, having someone in the Bell with the sick man, observing him, and thereby affecting the outcome of the experiment.
There's another branch of quantum theory that states that, in the model of the Schrödinger's Cat thought experiment, the moment an observes opens the box, reality splits into two separate and decoherent outcomes, a living cat, or a dead cat. Essentially this theory states that every choice we make causes a rift in reality, creating an infinite number of worlds and universes spread across the dimensional plane. Concerning this line of thought, Sir Roger Penrose, an English mathematical physicist stated, "I wish to make it clear that, as it stands this is far from a resolution of the cat paradox. For there is nothing in the formalism of quantum mechanics that demands that a state of consciousness cannot involve the simultaneous perception of a live and a dead cat." This line of thinking is another story for another day.
In 1998, Max Tegmark, a Swedish-American cosmologist, unveiled the "quantum suicide" machine, which examined Schrödinger's experiment from the point of view of the cat. More precisely, the quantum suicide machine involves an experimenter sitting in front of a loaded gun which will or will not be triggered by a decaying atom. Each time the experiment is run, there is a 50% chance of the gun going off. If the gun does go off, then the experimenter dies, right? Well, according to that whole reality splitting thing from earlier, every time the experiment is run, reality splits into two differing lines, one where the experimenter continues to sit in front of a gun that did not go off, and another where the experimenter's lab assistant is toweling brains off his computer. From the perspective of the experimenter, if the gun goes off, so likely does his head, but if the gun does not go off, and in the subsequent runs of the experiment the gun continues to not go off, the experimenter experiences a kind of immortality. That really is another story for another day.
Back to my original train of thought before we became so horribly derailed... If observation truly does change the outcome of situations, at the quantum level at least, then prayer does work. The unbeliever might say that prayer is useless, but if you believe that what you are doing will have some positive outcome, then why not go through with it? In the end, I guess you could view quantum theory, at least as proposed by James Rollins, as the ultimate optimism.
Author's Note:
Special Thanks to ye olde Wikipedia for the links in this entry.
No animals were harmed in the writing of this post.
The experimenter, however, simultaneously lived and died.
Have fun, kids.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Post Turtle
While suturing a cut on the hand of a 75-year old Texas rancher whose hand was caught in a gate while working with cattle, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man.
Eventually, the topic got around to Barack Obama and his bid to to be President.
The old rancher said, "Well, ya know, Obama is a post turtle."
Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him what a post turtle was.
The old rancher said, "When you're driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that's a post turtle."
The old rancher saw a puzzled look on the doctor's face, so he continued to explain.
"You know he didn't get up there by himself, he doesn't belong up there, he doesn't know what to do while he is up there, and you just wonder what kind of idiot put him up there to begin with."
Eventually, the topic got around to Barack Obama and his bid to to be President.
The old rancher said, "Well, ya know, Obama is a post turtle."
Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him what a post turtle was.
The old rancher said, "When you're driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that's a post turtle."
The old rancher saw a puzzled look on the doctor's face, so he continued to explain.
"You know he didn't get up there by himself, he doesn't belong up there, he doesn't know what to do while he is up there, and you just wonder what kind of idiot put him up there to begin with."
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Giving Up???
I have to announce that I’m giving up. Not my run for Agricultural Commissioner, no, that still exists. I’m giving up hope. Hope in the American people. I really want to give people more credit than they deserve. I truly hoped that people weren’t so stupid.
But they are. The American people are flocking to Barack Obama in droves, and it saddens me. I really can’t believe that people desire a Socialist state so much. Obama has even said that he wants to spread the wealth around. This means that, at a fundamental level, Obama believes that wealth is a possession of the federal government and that he can pick and choose how it is distributed.
I think what saddens me most about this reality is that people actually believe it to be the role of government to provide for them. Health care, retirement, the government should handle these things. What school your kid goes to? Yep, government can do that, too. God forbid an individual in this country take personal responsibility when you can let the friendly federal government to it for you.
Oh, by the way, to accomplish Obama’s plan to spread the wealth, we’re going to take money from people who worked for it and earned it and give it to those who didn’t. Your neighbor owns a business that clears $500,000 dollars a year and you’re make minimum wage at McDonalds… well, you’re neighbor doesn’t deserve all that money. We should take some and give it to you because we have to spread the wealth around.
Obama and Biden are putting a wonderful glass ceiling on the American Dream. Under the guise of a “tax cut” or a “tax credit” (depending on the day of the week and the IQ level of the audience Obama is speaking to), they will punish those who succeed and reward those who merely exist. It’s become a typical mantra for the far left lately. The path of least resistance. It’s easier to bring the top down to the level of the bottom than to bring the bottom up to the level of the top.
Now I realize that I’m not giving up. I’m angry. Beyond angry. Both candidates are terrible choices, and both will grow government by leaps and bounds, but only one is promising the Socialist paradise of “spreading the wealth” instead of “creating and earning the wealth.”
During last night’s debate, John McCain landed the best punch of the campaign so far. In what is being called a “slip of the tongue” he referred to Senator Obama as “Senator Government.” Classic. And true. But at the risk of sounding racist, it’s a case of the pot calling the kettle black.
McCain managed a semi-successful attack during the debate, asking Obama why he had yet to repudiate Rep. John Lewis for comparing the McCain/Palin ticket to George Wallace and the segregationist movement. Obama danced around the topic, but if you listened carefully, he never once repudiated Lewis. At least McCain has tried his best to keep his Republican colleagues from smearing Obama. He’s tried, but hasn’t always succeeded.
Obama is an eloquent speaker. And that’s what is so confusing. He speaks just well enough to hide his true intentions. He never truly commits to one thing or another. It’s a master stroke in politics, but if the American voter would open their eyes just a little bit, they’d see the truth behind what he’s saying. They’d realize that Obama is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Sure he looks good on TV, but we’re not electing a public speaker, we’re electing a leader.
And frankly, Obama is not that leader.
But they are. The American people are flocking to Barack Obama in droves, and it saddens me. I really can’t believe that people desire a Socialist state so much. Obama has even said that he wants to spread the wealth around. This means that, at a fundamental level, Obama believes that wealth is a possession of the federal government and that he can pick and choose how it is distributed.
I think what saddens me most about this reality is that people actually believe it to be the role of government to provide for them. Health care, retirement, the government should handle these things. What school your kid goes to? Yep, government can do that, too. God forbid an individual in this country take personal responsibility when you can let the friendly federal government to it for you.
Oh, by the way, to accomplish Obama’s plan to spread the wealth, we’re going to take money from people who worked for it and earned it and give it to those who didn’t. Your neighbor owns a business that clears $500,000 dollars a year and you’re make minimum wage at McDonalds… well, you’re neighbor doesn’t deserve all that money. We should take some and give it to you because we have to spread the wealth around.
Obama and Biden are putting a wonderful glass ceiling on the American Dream. Under the guise of a “tax cut” or a “tax credit” (depending on the day of the week and the IQ level of the audience Obama is speaking to), they will punish those who succeed and reward those who merely exist. It’s become a typical mantra for the far left lately. The path of least resistance. It’s easier to bring the top down to the level of the bottom than to bring the bottom up to the level of the top.
Now I realize that I’m not giving up. I’m angry. Beyond angry. Both candidates are terrible choices, and both will grow government by leaps and bounds, but only one is promising the Socialist paradise of “spreading the wealth” instead of “creating and earning the wealth.”
During last night’s debate, John McCain landed the best punch of the campaign so far. In what is being called a “slip of the tongue” he referred to Senator Obama as “Senator Government.” Classic. And true. But at the risk of sounding racist, it’s a case of the pot calling the kettle black.
McCain managed a semi-successful attack during the debate, asking Obama why he had yet to repudiate Rep. John Lewis for comparing the McCain/Palin ticket to George Wallace and the segregationist movement. Obama danced around the topic, but if you listened carefully, he never once repudiated Lewis. At least McCain has tried his best to keep his Republican colleagues from smearing Obama. He’s tried, but hasn’t always succeeded.
Obama is an eloquent speaker. And that’s what is so confusing. He speaks just well enough to hide his true intentions. He never truly commits to one thing or another. It’s a master stroke in politics, but if the American voter would open their eyes just a little bit, they’d see the truth behind what he’s saying. They’d realize that Obama is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Sure he looks good on TV, but we’re not electing a public speaker, we’re electing a leader.
And frankly, Obama is not that leader.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Football Future-see Week 8 and an F1 Update
When it comes to Formula 1, I was once a blinkered Philistine. Whenever Robert would talk about it, my eyes would glaze over, and then roll back in my head, and, in his words, I would fake seizures to make him stop talking about. Now, though, I’ve started to solidify my spot as a Formula 1 fan(atic).
Last weekends race at Mt. Fuji was televised live in the United States at 12:30am Sunday morning. I got home late Saturday night, wasn’t really tired, and decided to stay up and watch the events unfold. As the race kicked off I had a sense of dread that Robert would later echo in a telephone conversation. Something bad was going to happen in turn one.
Lewis Hamilton, who is my favorite driver, had a terrible start, dropping from the pole to 4th in a matter of .003 seconds, but he pushed his McLaren Mercedes hard into turn one, nearly decapitating his teammate Heikki Kovalainen, and bunching up the field behind them all. Kimi Raikkonen, driver of the #1 car for Ferrari, pushed to the lead.
Robert Kubica, who drives for BMW Sauber, sits third in the Championship points and was well back in the pack watching this develop. He came through cleanly.
Sadly, David Coulthard, who drives for Team Red Bull, had to be thinking, “Hey, this is good, I might have a chance this race. The season’s sucked out loud so far, you might even say it’s been chock full o’ fail, but this looks good.” Then his right rear suspension broke and he slammed hard into the outside retaining wall. Williams driver Kaz Nakajima followed him into the grass, losing his front wing but continuing on.
It was less than two laps later that Felipe “Hit-Everything-In-Sight” Massa decided to take out Championship rival Lewis Hamilton. In what is supposedly the more gentlemanly auto sport, the Ferrari pit crew celebrated wildly as Massa spun Hamilton around and forced him to wait until the rest of the field passed before falling back into line.
Fernando Alonso went on to win his second straight Grand Prix, but the focus was on Massa and Hamilton and their shared antics. Oddly enough, as the conspiracy theorist like myself are starting to believe, Massa spun Hamilton and drew a drive-thought penalty for his actions. Early on the first lap Hamilton had supposedly forced Raikkonen wide in a turn, causing the Ferrari driver to lose about 2/100ths of a second, but for his actions Hamilton also drew a drive-through penalty.
The conspiracy theorists are starting to believe that Ferrari as the FIA and the Stewards in their back pocket.
But Hamilton leads the championship standings by about 5 points, meaning that if he wins at Shanghai and Massa finishes outside the points, Hamilton could clinch the title before going to Massa’s home track at Sao Paolo.
Football Future-see Week 8
(16) Kansas at (4) Oklahoma
This game looks good on paper, but paper doesn’t play football. Oklahoma is mad after a 45-35 loss to rival Texas. The Sooners dropped a mere three spots after the loss, showing that there really is nothing fair about college football. Kansas is rolling into Norman at a bad time. QB Sam Bradford looks to bounce back from the loss in new and exciting ways.
Final Score: Oklahoma 42, Kansas 21
(12) Ohio State at (20) Michigan State
Ohio State hasn’t looked like the same old Buckeyes since crashing and burning against USC. Michigan State is a team on the rise, though. RB Javon Ringer is one of the best in the nation and can carry the Spartans far. Ohio State will try to rally around a relatively young offense. We’re calling for the upset, though.
Final Score: Michigan State 27, Ohio State 24
(22) Vanderbilt at (10) Georgia
Georgia just knocked off Tennessee last week while Vandy traveled to Mississippi State and lost, just as we predicted they would. Looking ahead, this game is Georgia’s to lose. The injury bug is doing its best to pick apart the Bulldogs. QB Matthew Stafford remains healthy, as does RB tandem Knowshon Moreno and Caleb King. Freshman WR A. J. Green has been spectacular in his “rookie” season. Close for a while, but Georgia pulls away at the end.
Final Score: Georgia 34, Vanderbilt 20
(11) Missouri at (1) Texas
Missouri is still smarting from a tough loss to Oklahoma State. The Tigers can rally around Chase Daniel, as the Heisman candidate QB is a miracle worker on the field. Texas may be carrying too much emotion into this game. It could be an upset, if it was played at Missouri, but since it is in Texas, we’re giving the benefit of the doubt to the Longhorns.
Final Score: Texas 27, Missouri 24
(7) Texas Tech at Texas A&M
Texas Tech is still one of the most potent offenses in all of college football. They’re averaging around 965 points a game, and QB Graham Harrell, also a Heisman contender, is throwing for about 6500 yards and 34 touchdowns a game. All joking aside, the Red Raiders offense is brilliant. Texas A&M would like to upset a top ten team, but this isn’t their year.
Final Score: Texas Tech 63, Texas A&M 13
Monday, October 13, 2008
The Revised Plan
Here's a revised form of the plan I proposed to fix this country and make everything right again. And no, it does NOT involve either Barack Obama or John McCain becoming President.
1. All incumbent candidates removed from office.
If we hope to create any change in the political climate of the United States, then those in power must be removed from power. This can take place either abruptly, which is not the best option, or over the course of six years, with elections occurring every two years. What worries me is the fact that two of the Senators running for either President or Vice President this year have been in office as long as or longer than I’ve been alive. Once the incumbents are removed from power true change can begin.
2. A 6-year term limit for all elected officials.
As it stands now, the President may serve for only 8 years, but a Senator or Representative can serve indefinitely. This practice cannot continue. The longer a Senator or Representative maintains an office, the greater the possibility for corruption to grow. By limiting every position in government to one 6-year term, the amount of time for corruption to grow is drastically reduced, and hopefully eliminated.
3. Once you serve your 6 years, you’re out.
This is really quite simple. After you serve your six years, whether as President or as Representative, you’re out of government. You can’t go back. You cannot run for higher office, you cannot run for lower office. Step 3 of the Revised Plan maintains the integrity of Step 1 by removing the possibility of incumbent candidates. Some people have said that you could return to Washington after being gone for a full 6 year term, but I disagree.
4. True Campaign Finance Reform
If you are anything like me, you’re tired of seeing candidates spend millions upon millions of dollars to get elected to a position that will at best pay $500,000 a year. Under the Revised Plan, if a candidate runs for a job that pays $3,500,000, that candidate may only spend $3,499,999.99 on their campaign. The fact that this is not already in practice reveals the corruption rampant in Washington.
5. No more lifetime appointments.
Again, this is simplicity in action. If the people at the local level can be trusted to elect judges, then we should be allowed to elect judges at the Supreme Court level as well. No member of Washington should ever be allowed a lifetime appointment.
6. Repeal the 17th Amendment.
Our nation was assembled as a Union of States. Up until the ratification of the 17th Amendment, the state governments elected Senators and the general populace elected the members of the House of Representatives. Simply put: both the people and the states had representation in Washington. Since the 17th Amendment was ratified, however, the states have had no representation. Repealing the 17th Amendment would be a return to the foundation set up by those who wrote the Constitution and framed our government, as it would once again empower the states.
7. Review the Powers granted by the 10th Amendment.
Government is restrained by the Constitution, not empowered by it. The original design of our Constitutional Republic was elegant in its simplicity. Nine basic powers were granted to the Federal level of government, and everything else became the jurisdiction of the State Governments. Slowly, but steadily, over the last two hundred years, and more prominently in the last seventy years, the powers granted to the States have been whittled away and replaced with more power at the Federal level. Reviewing the 10th Amendment would drastically shift power in this country back to where the founders intended.
8. End Federal Withholding.
An added caveat, but a necessary one. There are two basic schools of thought pertaining to the government’s involvement in the economy. One group thinks that the government spurns the economy; the other group believes that the individual spurns the economy. During the last economic crisis similar in magnitude to the one we are currently dealing with, during the Great Depression and entering WWII, President FDR decided that, in order to further the efforts of our nation to rebound, he would institute federal withholding to get money into government sooner. The belief was the federal withholding would end after the war, but FDR died in office, and his program lives on. One thing stopping the American economy from rebounding is the simple truth that individuals do not have enough money in their pockets. The solution doesn’t come solely from tax cuts, but from the end of federal withholding. Give the money back to the people who earned it.
9. Debate Structure.
One debate. One evening. Town hall style debate. Presidential candidates as well as Vice Presidential candidates would be on hand for the event. Allow the major national networks to bid for the rights to carry the debate.
1. All incumbent candidates removed from office.
If we hope to create any change in the political climate of the United States, then those in power must be removed from power. This can take place either abruptly, which is not the best option, or over the course of six years, with elections occurring every two years. What worries me is the fact that two of the Senators running for either President or Vice President this year have been in office as long as or longer than I’ve been alive. Once the incumbents are removed from power true change can begin.
2. A 6-year term limit for all elected officials.
As it stands now, the President may serve for only 8 years, but a Senator or Representative can serve indefinitely. This practice cannot continue. The longer a Senator or Representative maintains an office, the greater the possibility for corruption to grow. By limiting every position in government to one 6-year term, the amount of time for corruption to grow is drastically reduced, and hopefully eliminated.
3. Once you serve your 6 years, you’re out.
This is really quite simple. After you serve your six years, whether as President or as Representative, you’re out of government. You can’t go back. You cannot run for higher office, you cannot run for lower office. Step 3 of the Revised Plan maintains the integrity of Step 1 by removing the possibility of incumbent candidates. Some people have said that you could return to Washington after being gone for a full 6 year term, but I disagree.
4. True Campaign Finance Reform
If you are anything like me, you’re tired of seeing candidates spend millions upon millions of dollars to get elected to a position that will at best pay $500,000 a year. Under the Revised Plan, if a candidate runs for a job that pays $3,500,000, that candidate may only spend $3,499,999.99 on their campaign. The fact that this is not already in practice reveals the corruption rampant in Washington.
5. No more lifetime appointments.
Again, this is simplicity in action. If the people at the local level can be trusted to elect judges, then we should be allowed to elect judges at the Supreme Court level as well. No member of Washington should ever be allowed a lifetime appointment.
6. Repeal the 17th Amendment.
Our nation was assembled as a Union of States. Up until the ratification of the 17th Amendment, the state governments elected Senators and the general populace elected the members of the House of Representatives. Simply put: both the people and the states had representation in Washington. Since the 17th Amendment was ratified, however, the states have had no representation. Repealing the 17th Amendment would be a return to the foundation set up by those who wrote the Constitution and framed our government, as it would once again empower the states.
7. Review the Powers granted by the 10th Amendment.
Government is restrained by the Constitution, not empowered by it. The original design of our Constitutional Republic was elegant in its simplicity. Nine basic powers were granted to the Federal level of government, and everything else became the jurisdiction of the State Governments. Slowly, but steadily, over the last two hundred years, and more prominently in the last seventy years, the powers granted to the States have been whittled away and replaced with more power at the Federal level. Reviewing the 10th Amendment would drastically shift power in this country back to where the founders intended.
8. End Federal Withholding.
An added caveat, but a necessary one. There are two basic schools of thought pertaining to the government’s involvement in the economy. One group thinks that the government spurns the economy; the other group believes that the individual spurns the economy. During the last economic crisis similar in magnitude to the one we are currently dealing with, during the Great Depression and entering WWII, President FDR decided that, in order to further the efforts of our nation to rebound, he would institute federal withholding to get money into government sooner. The belief was the federal withholding would end after the war, but FDR died in office, and his program lives on. One thing stopping the American economy from rebounding is the simple truth that individuals do not have enough money in their pockets. The solution doesn’t come solely from tax cuts, but from the end of federal withholding. Give the money back to the people who earned it.
9. Debate Structure.
One debate. One evening. Town hall style debate. Presidential candidates as well as Vice Presidential candidates would be on hand for the event. Allow the major national networks to bid for the rights to carry the debate.
Football Future-see Week 7 Recap
Record
Week 1 .... 6-1
Week 2 .... 4-1
Week 3 .... 3-2
Week 4 .... 4-1
Week 5 .... 3-3
Week 6 .... 3-2
Week 7 .... 4-2
Overall .... 27-12
Week 8 games
(16) Kansas at (4) Oklahoma
(12) Ohio State at (20) Michigan State
(22) Vanderbilt at (10) Georgia
(11) Missouri at (1) Texas
(7) Texas Tech at Texas A&M
Week 1 .... 6-1
Week 2 .... 4-1
Week 3 .... 3-2
Week 4 .... 4-1
Week 5 .... 3-3
Week 6 .... 3-2
Week 7 .... 4-2
Overall .... 27-12
Week 8 games
(16) Kansas at (4) Oklahoma
(12) Ohio State at (20) Michigan State
(22) Vanderbilt at (10) Georgia
(11) Missouri at (1) Texas
(7) Texas Tech at Texas A&M
Friday, October 10, 2008
BREAKING NEWS!!!
Blake is running for Agricultural Commissioner for the State of Georgia.
Be sure to write him in on your ballot this November.
More on this story as it develops.
Agony and Ecstasy in Book Form
Have you ever read a book and found that, as the pages dwindled toward the end, you felt a sort of sorrow that the adventure was ending? That’s because a good author leaves you wanting more.
There are books with conclusions that tell you how a story ends and nothing more can be said on the matter. It’s over. Never to be revisited. And then there are books with conclusions that leave you thinking about what happens to the character next.
The latter form of storytelling is the kind that makes you want more. You feel sadness as you near the end of a book, because you want the adventure to keep going in some form. This all got me to thinking about the books that have left me with this feeling.
Map of Bones
by James Rollins
I just finished this book today, and I have to say that the sense of sorrow I was talking about was overabundant as I reached the end of this one. It’s about 520 pages, and follows an elite American force called SIGMA as they search for clues surrounding the bones of the Magi and the mysterious Dragon Court. James Rollins is one of our generation’s best storytellers.
Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy
Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, The Last Command
By Timothy Zahn
This is the nerd in me coming about full force. Published over two years, starting in 1991 and ending in 1993, Zahn’s efforts revitalized the Star Wars franchise. Picking up 5 years after Return of the Jedi, The Thrawn Trilogy reintroduces the original cast, sans Darth Vader and the Emperor. A new enemy, Grand Admiral Thrawn has brought Imperial forces back together under a single banner and pushed the New Republic to a breaking point. Each book averages 400 pages and is well worth reading.
The Dark Tower Series
The Gunslinger, Drawing of the Three, The Wastelands, Wizard and Glass, Wolves of the Calla, Song of Susannah, The Dark Tower
By Stephen King
A seven book series like this could lose the readers interest very easily, especially if a lesser author were at the helm. King masterfully navigates his own ship, though. This quickly became one of my favorite book series ever, and I can easily say that the sorrow and dread were palpable as the end of book 7 neared. The Gunslinger Roland, a type of knight/cowboy, leads a group through MidWorld, seeking the Dark Tower, or the nexus of the universe. King calls this series his magnum opus and one can hardly argue, as elements from multiple Stephen King tales appear throughout the series.
The Lord of the Rings
By J. R. R. Tolkien
I still remember coming out of the movie for “Fellowship of the Ring” and hearing someone say, “I can’t believe they just ended the movie like that!” Well, read the books. I had never read Lord of the Rings until 2001, and I was hooked immediately. As I reached the end of “Return of the King” I found myself feeling sad that it was almost over. Tolkien created a world of Orcs, Hobbits, Elves, Men, and Wizards. I enjoyed every moment of it.
Star Wars: Traitor
By Matthew Stover
Again, the nerd in me reaches full strength. Matthew Stover drew the somewhat unenviable task or relating the horrors of Jacen Solo’s captivity at the hands of Yuuzhan Vong. This book is part of a 19-book series called the New Jedi Order, but in a way, this book alone surpasses anything else the series accomplished. Stover’s portrayal of Jedi and Sith philosophies, as well as philosophy in general, give this book it’s power.
There are books with conclusions that tell you how a story ends and nothing more can be said on the matter. It’s over. Never to be revisited. And then there are books with conclusions that leave you thinking about what happens to the character next.
The latter form of storytelling is the kind that makes you want more. You feel sadness as you near the end of a book, because you want the adventure to keep going in some form. This all got me to thinking about the books that have left me with this feeling.
Map of Bones
by James Rollins
I just finished this book today, and I have to say that the sense of sorrow I was talking about was overabundant as I reached the end of this one. It’s about 520 pages, and follows an elite American force called SIGMA as they search for clues surrounding the bones of the Magi and the mysterious Dragon Court. James Rollins is one of our generation’s best storytellers.
Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy
Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, The Last Command
By Timothy Zahn
This is the nerd in me coming about full force. Published over two years, starting in 1991 and ending in 1993, Zahn’s efforts revitalized the Star Wars franchise. Picking up 5 years after Return of the Jedi, The Thrawn Trilogy reintroduces the original cast, sans Darth Vader and the Emperor. A new enemy, Grand Admiral Thrawn has brought Imperial forces back together under a single banner and pushed the New Republic to a breaking point. Each book averages 400 pages and is well worth reading.
The Dark Tower Series
The Gunslinger, Drawing of the Three, The Wastelands, Wizard and Glass, Wolves of the Calla, Song of Susannah, The Dark Tower
By Stephen King
A seven book series like this could lose the readers interest very easily, especially if a lesser author were at the helm. King masterfully navigates his own ship, though. This quickly became one of my favorite book series ever, and I can easily say that the sorrow and dread were palpable as the end of book 7 neared. The Gunslinger Roland, a type of knight/cowboy, leads a group through MidWorld, seeking the Dark Tower, or the nexus of the universe. King calls this series his magnum opus and one can hardly argue, as elements from multiple Stephen King tales appear throughout the series.
The Lord of the Rings
By J. R. R. Tolkien
I still remember coming out of the movie for “Fellowship of the Ring” and hearing someone say, “I can’t believe they just ended the movie like that!” Well, read the books. I had never read Lord of the Rings until 2001, and I was hooked immediately. As I reached the end of “Return of the King” I found myself feeling sad that it was almost over. Tolkien created a world of Orcs, Hobbits, Elves, Men, and Wizards. I enjoyed every moment of it.
Star Wars: Traitor
By Matthew Stover
Again, the nerd in me reaches full strength. Matthew Stover drew the somewhat unenviable task or relating the horrors of Jacen Solo’s captivity at the hands of Yuuzhan Vong. This book is part of a 19-book series called the New Jedi Order, but in a way, this book alone surpasses anything else the series accomplished. Stover’s portrayal of Jedi and Sith philosophies, as well as philosophy in general, give this book it’s power.
Thursday, October 09, 2008
NHL Hits
This couldn’t have happened at a better time. Finally, a reprieve from the dour economic news, and the horrifyingly boring election cycle.
Finally, large men with sticks will once again beat the crap out of each other. That’s right, hockey’s back!
The season is technically already underway, with the New York Rangers and the Tampa Bay Lightning squaring off in Prague and the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators venturing into SM-Liiga territory and playing a double-dip in Sweden.
The league saw a few changes over the off-season. The defending Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings made the biggest splash signing winger Marian Hossa. The Western Conference is stacked once again, and the East looks like a finesse league with Sid “The Kid” Crosby and Alexander “The Human Highlight Film” Ovechkin.
As far as the hometown Atlanta Thrashers… well, don’t expect much. They made few moves in the off-season, and only one move at last year’s trade deadline. And yet, GM Don Waddell still has a job. Oh well. Another year, another missed playoff.
So now, in true Right Wing fashion, we though we’d take a shot at predicting both Conferences in order of finish for the Playoffs, and then give you an off-the-cuff prediction on the Stanley Cup Champion.
Eastern Conference
1. Montreal Canadiens
2. Carolina Hurricanes
3. New Jersey Devils
4. Pittsburgh Penguins
5. Buffalo Sabers
6. Ottawa Senators
7. Washington Capitals
8. Philadelphia Flyers
Western Conference
1. Detroit Red Wings
2. San Jose Sharks
3. Vancouver Canucks
4. Anaheim Ducks
5. Colorado Avalanche
6. Calgary Flames
7. Nashville Predators
8. Chicago Blackhawks
Stanley Cup Finals: Montreal Canadiens vs Detroit Red Wings
Champion: Montreal Canadiens
Finally, large men with sticks will once again beat the crap out of each other. That’s right, hockey’s back!
The season is technically already underway, with the New York Rangers and the Tampa Bay Lightning squaring off in Prague and the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators venturing into SM-Liiga territory and playing a double-dip in Sweden.
The league saw a few changes over the off-season. The defending Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings made the biggest splash signing winger Marian Hossa. The Western Conference is stacked once again, and the East looks like a finesse league with Sid “The Kid” Crosby and Alexander “The Human Highlight Film” Ovechkin.
As far as the hometown Atlanta Thrashers… well, don’t expect much. They made few moves in the off-season, and only one move at last year’s trade deadline. And yet, GM Don Waddell still has a job. Oh well. Another year, another missed playoff.
So now, in true Right Wing fashion, we though we’d take a shot at predicting both Conferences in order of finish for the Playoffs, and then give you an off-the-cuff prediction on the Stanley Cup Champion.
Eastern Conference
1. Montreal Canadiens
2. Carolina Hurricanes
3. New Jersey Devils
4. Pittsburgh Penguins
5. Buffalo Sabers
6. Ottawa Senators
7. Washington Capitals
8. Philadelphia Flyers
Western Conference
1. Detroit Red Wings
2. San Jose Sharks
3. Vancouver Canucks
4. Anaheim Ducks
5. Colorado Avalanche
6. Calgary Flames
7. Nashville Predators
8. Chicago Blackhawks
Stanley Cup Finals: Montreal Canadiens vs Detroit Red Wings
Champion: Montreal Canadiens
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Football Future-see Week 7
This is a big weekend for college football. This week the Right wing takes on a full slate of SEC and Big XII action. Basically, we’re discriminating against the lesser conferences in favor of the two strongest in the nation. The SEC and the Big XII dominate the Top 15 in both the AP and the USA Today Coaches Polls.
Most likely, no matter how well USC or the Big Ten champion plays, the National Championship game this season will feature the Big XII champ against the SEC champ. That being said, we now go into the picks…
(4) LSU at (11) Florida
The last two National Champions square off in the Swamp Saturday. LSU has already taken down one Top 10 team this year, beating Auburn 26-21. Florida stumbled last week against Ole Miss, dropping out of the ranks of the unbeaten. Bulletin board material is already jumping for this game, as one of the DBs at LSU has said that they plan to hit Florida QB Tim Tebow so hard that he’ll feel like he’s been in a car wreck. Florida is consistent on offense; LSU shows consistency on both side of the ball. But the Swamp is not an easy place to play.
Final Score: Florida 28, LSU 24
Nebraska at (7) Texas Tech
Bo Pelini has Nebraska looking up, but they still play in a loaded Big XII. This conference game features one of the nation’s up-and-coming defenses against one of the most powerful offenses in recent memory. QB Graham Harrell is a Heisman candidate, and I think he may already have about 4 Billion passing yards this season. Nebraska is looking for a breakout game, but I don’t think it happens this week. Watch for the Red Raider offense to continue flying high.
Final Score: Texas Tech 35, Nebraska 21
Tennessee at (10) Georgia
Georgia’s coming off a Bye week after a 41-30 thrashing at the hands of Alabama. Tennessee has yet to play up to their level of expectation going into this year. Coach Phillip Fulmer is possibly on the hot seat yet again. Georgia fell eight spots after losing to the Crimson Tide, and now hold firmly in the Top 10. Tennessee has won the last two match-ups between these two by the scores of 51-30 and 35-14. But Georgia’s looking to regain their early-season swagger. Watch for a big game from Stafford, Moreno and Green.
Final Score: Georgia 31, Tennessee 14
(5)Texas vs. (1) Oklahoma
Texas is good. Oklahoma is better. The Sooners’ offense is rolling over anyone who stands in their way. But the Red River Shootout is not to be taken lightly. Oklahoma knows that Texas can beat anybody in the country. Sam Bradford, Oklahoma’s QB, has the highest passer rating in the nation. Watch for the Sooner’s to air it out early, stretching the Texas D and opening up room for the running game.
Final Score: Oklahoma 38, Texas 26
(13) Vanderbilt at Mississippi State
Vanderbilt has never been this high in the polls. They just knocked off Auburn at home, and now go on the road for two weeks, taking on first Mississippi State, and then going between the hedges to take on Georgia. And that’s the problem with this game. This meeting has “trap game” written all over it. Vanderbilt could very easily get caught looking ahead to that game in Athens on October 18th. We already know that Mississippi State has a strong defense. They held Auburn to 3 points. (Of course, they lost 3-2, but that’s because Auburn has a strong defense as well.) Sylvester Croom can coach up a team as well as anyone in the SEC. I’m going out on a limb here and calling for the upset special.
Final Score: Mississippi State 21, Vanderbilt 20
(17) Oklahoma State at (3) Missouri
These two teams have one thing in common, besides both playing in the Big XII. Both teams are averaging over 50 points per game this season. Missouri QB Chase Daniel is making a strident case for the Heisman Trophy, and if the Tigers go undefeated, he just might pull it off. This has the making of a good, close game, which means that Missouri is going to run away with it.
Final Score: Missouri 35, Oklahoma State 13
Most likely, no matter how well USC or the Big Ten champion plays, the National Championship game this season will feature the Big XII champ against the SEC champ. That being said, we now go into the picks…
(4) LSU at (11) Florida
The last two National Champions square off in the Swamp Saturday. LSU has already taken down one Top 10 team this year, beating Auburn 26-21. Florida stumbled last week against Ole Miss, dropping out of the ranks of the unbeaten. Bulletin board material is already jumping for this game, as one of the DBs at LSU has said that they plan to hit Florida QB Tim Tebow so hard that he’ll feel like he’s been in a car wreck. Florida is consistent on offense; LSU shows consistency on both side of the ball. But the Swamp is not an easy place to play.
Final Score: Florida 28, LSU 24
Nebraska at (7) Texas Tech
Bo Pelini has Nebraska looking up, but they still play in a loaded Big XII. This conference game features one of the nation’s up-and-coming defenses against one of the most powerful offenses in recent memory. QB Graham Harrell is a Heisman candidate, and I think he may already have about 4 Billion passing yards this season. Nebraska is looking for a breakout game, but I don’t think it happens this week. Watch for the Red Raider offense to continue flying high.
Final Score: Texas Tech 35, Nebraska 21
Tennessee at (10) Georgia
Georgia’s coming off a Bye week after a 41-30 thrashing at the hands of Alabama. Tennessee has yet to play up to their level of expectation going into this year. Coach Phillip Fulmer is possibly on the hot seat yet again. Georgia fell eight spots after losing to the Crimson Tide, and now hold firmly in the Top 10. Tennessee has won the last two match-ups between these two by the scores of 51-30 and 35-14. But Georgia’s looking to regain their early-season swagger. Watch for a big game from Stafford, Moreno and Green.
Final Score: Georgia 31, Tennessee 14
(5)Texas vs. (1) Oklahoma
Texas is good. Oklahoma is better. The Sooners’ offense is rolling over anyone who stands in their way. But the Red River Shootout is not to be taken lightly. Oklahoma knows that Texas can beat anybody in the country. Sam Bradford, Oklahoma’s QB, has the highest passer rating in the nation. Watch for the Sooner’s to air it out early, stretching the Texas D and opening up room for the running game.
Final Score: Oklahoma 38, Texas 26
(13) Vanderbilt at Mississippi State
Vanderbilt has never been this high in the polls. They just knocked off Auburn at home, and now go on the road for two weeks, taking on first Mississippi State, and then going between the hedges to take on Georgia. And that’s the problem with this game. This meeting has “trap game” written all over it. Vanderbilt could very easily get caught looking ahead to that game in Athens on October 18th. We already know that Mississippi State has a strong defense. They held Auburn to 3 points. (Of course, they lost 3-2, but that’s because Auburn has a strong defense as well.) Sylvester Croom can coach up a team as well as anyone in the SEC. I’m going out on a limb here and calling for the upset special.
Final Score: Mississippi State 21, Vanderbilt 20
(17) Oklahoma State at (3) Missouri
These two teams have one thing in common, besides both playing in the Big XII. Both teams are averaging over 50 points per game this season. Missouri QB Chase Daniel is making a strident case for the Heisman Trophy, and if the Tigers go undefeated, he just might pull it off. This has the making of a good, close game, which means that Missouri is going to run away with it.
Final Score: Missouri 35, Oklahoma State 13
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
No Choice '08
So we’re less than thirty days out now, and apparently I ruffled some feathers over on ye olde Facebook the other day by proclaiming that I was not going to vote and that I was demanding a better choice. I was immediately told that my statement was “epic Fail” and that not voting just because the choices are bad would allow the “wrong choice” to walk into office for four years. I really don’t care who you think is the wrong choice, because this election is essentially Jack Johnson against John Jackson.
Candidate “A” is a big government liberal Socialist. He uses the trigger word “Change” although neither he nor his running mate has ever truly described the change they would bring to Washington. Candidate “A” has only served one full term in any political post he’s ever been elected to. Of interest with Candidate “A” is that, in subtle opposition to his “change” platform is his selection of a Senator who has served for 36 years.
Candidate “B” is a big government conservative hiding behind the maverick label. He served in Vietnam and spent five years as a Prisoner of War in Southeast Asia. He’s been in the Senate since 1982. His voting practices show a growing tendency to support the current administration’s policies. Candidate “B” selected a single-term governor from Alaska as his running mate. This selection could’ve been Candidate B’s moment in the sun, but campaign blunders and a lack of knowledge on her part brought that wave crashing down.
PRO: Candidate A selects an experienced member of the Washington scene as his VP candidate.
CON: The only problem is this candidate, who has been in the senate for 36 years, continually derides the opposing Presidential candidate for being in the Senate for 26 years.
PRO: Candidate B selects a woman has his running mate.
CON: He forgot to select a woman who understands politics.
PRO: Both campaigns have long-term political experience.
CON: Both campaigns have been in Washington for many years and have fallen out of touch with today’s electorate.
PRO: Candidate A claims he would cut taxes on 95% of working families.
CON: Candidate A also claims to have billions upon billions in government spending already lined up.
Candidate A, as previously stated, has only served one full term in any political position he’s been elected to. I raised this point to a friend the other day, and he countered with an interesting argument. There was once a man who ran for a seat in the Illinois Senate and lost. He ran again later and lost. He ran for a position representing Illinois in the US House of Representatives, and lost. He ran for State Senate again, and lost. Then he ran for President and won. He was Abraham Lincoln.
My friend’s point was that experience does not necessarily equal a quality job. I have nothing against Lincoln. He did the best he could under the circumstances. But the fact remains: this vaunted, well-respected President, who some call the Greatest President Ever, did something that no other President has ever done. He raised an army to invade his own country.
I’m not saying Candidate A is going to invade the United States; I’m saying that he cannot be compared to Abraham Lincoln.
The economy is in the tank. Candidate B wants both parties to suspend their campaigns and work together to fix it, which is basically saying that he wants to make face time at the Capitol Building. Candidate A says that the President should be able to handle multiple things at one time, which is his way of saying “I’d rather put myself on TV.”
The Republicans are blowing their own trumpets because they have a woman on the ticket. That may be the one positive going for the GOP at the moment. They’ve crashed and burned on the economy. They’re stubborn support of the Iraq War has caused many to lose faith in the party.
The Democrats are the party of “choice.” At least, they are when it pertains to abortion. Under pretty much every Democrat I’ve heard, you’ll find out that the party doesn’t want a person choosing how many guns to have in their own house, choosing what school their child goes to, or choosing what doctor to see. These are all issues that the government should handle for you, because you as a voter are too busy watching American Idol.
Truthfully, Americans are tired. We’re tired of a crappy economy that is the result of both parties trying to make themselves and integral part of a capitalist machine. We’re tired of a war that one side says is lost and the other side says can be won if we spend a little more money. We’re tired of gas prices going through the roof when we know that we have our own supplies but certain factions won’t let us touch them. We’re tired. Plain and simple.
The plain truth is that the Washington elite have no idea what’s happening on main street USA anymore. They don’t know what it’s like for a person to stare down this economy, and feel the threat that their own retirement might go away. Congress doesn’t have the same retirement set-up that most American’s have. They put no money into Social Security.
That’s why I’m not sure if I’m going to vote. There’s no choice in this election. It’s either one big government candidate or another.
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Football Future-see: Recapping Week 6
Record
Week 1 .... 6-1
Week 2 .... 4-1
Week 3 .... 3-2
Week 4 .... 4-1
Week 5 .... 3-3
Week 6 .... 3-2
Overall .... 23-10
It seems that the Right Wing staff will never have a perfect week. We'll always miss a game somehow. This week we missed two, but I'm hoping we go 5-0 at least once this season.
Week 7 Games
(5)Texas at (1)Oklahoma
Nebraska at (7)Texas Tech
Tennessee at (10) Georgia
(13)Vanderbilt at Mississippi State
(4)LSU at (11)Florida
Random Points:
-The economy sucks...
-I've watched more election coverage, both through serious news, comic news, and through the lens of SNL and I've come to a conclusion. John McCain is a crippled, retarded war veteran, Sarah Palin is a moron who escaped the asylum where she shoots babies after mistaking them for moose, Joe Biden is everybody's lovable grandfather, and Barack Obama is Christ incarnate come to save us all. At least, that's the portrayals I keep seeing. I really don't think I'm going to vote at all.
-Baseball is in the playof... oh, who cares...
-The economy still sucks...
Week 1 .... 6-1
Week 2 .... 4-1
Week 3 .... 3-2
Week 4 .... 4-1
Week 5 .... 3-3
Week 6 .... 3-2
Overall .... 23-10
It seems that the Right Wing staff will never have a perfect week. We'll always miss a game somehow. This week we missed two, but I'm hoping we go 5-0 at least once this season.
Week 7 Games
(5)Texas at (1)Oklahoma
Nebraska at (7)Texas Tech
Tennessee at (10) Georgia
(13)Vanderbilt at Mississippi State
(4)LSU at (11)Florida
Random Points:
-The economy sucks...
-I've watched more election coverage, both through serious news, comic news, and through the lens of SNL and I've come to a conclusion. John McCain is a crippled, retarded war veteran, Sarah Palin is a moron who escaped the asylum where she shoots babies after mistaking them for moose, Joe Biden is everybody's lovable grandfather, and Barack Obama is Christ incarnate come to save us all. At least, that's the portrayals I keep seeing. I really don't think I'm going to vote at all.
-Baseball is in the playof... oh, who cares...
-The economy still sucks...
Friday, October 03, 2008
Veep Debate... yeah... well...
Okay, so last night Sarah Palin and Joe Biden squared off in their first and only debate as VP candidates. Oddly enough, the moderator of the debate, who is supposed to be a neutral party, has a book coming out soon entitled "The Age of Obama." Switzerland just called you a poser, I think.
Anyway, this was supposed to be the night Palin lost it all. I'm reading other online writings, and watching various news shows this morning, and I'm growing physically ill at the duplicitous nature of the liberal aspects of the media. When Nancy Pelosi won Speaker of the House, liberals were thrilled that a woman was third in line for the Presidency. Now that Palin is running for the number two spot, they're scared. Maybe they're only proud of liberal women.
Democrats for the last eight years have complained about Bush's lack of ability when it comes to public speech. Last night I felt that Palin was more down to Earth and Biden was reading a series of liberal talking points, and yet, people are now upset that she didn't go the stiff, numbers and stats only route.
The problem for Palin is this: she can NEVER do enough to satisfy anyone on the left. The fact that she's a woman and a Republican instantly gets under the skin of some. For years it's been assumed that women and minorities would always vote Democrat, and now that women are rising to positions of power on the right side of the aisle, the left is backing off of their previous desires for powerful women.
I heard one commentator last night say that Palin came to the stage desiring to reach out of the people, and she did just that. Biden came to the stage desiring to connect John McCain to George W. Bush as much and as often as possible. And he did just that. So which would be better for a country, a VP who tried to connect with the people, or a VP who does nothing but take pot-shots at the other candidate?
Oddly enough, I've seen about ten different online polls today saying anything from Palin won 80% to 20% to Biden won 51% to 49%. This is strange to me because the pundits on ABC and CNN last night were going out of their way to praise Biden as the be all end all Vice Presidential candidate. Honestly, you would've though Palin just stood there shaking on the stage and eventually throwing up the way these pundits were handing the victory to Biden.
From my perspective, Palin won the first half of the debate, and then Biden drew even with here at the end. It was a draw at best.
I try not to criticize my fellow bloggers, and Robert over at Skewed knows I have complete respect for his positions and beliefs. But I have to disagree, bud. Sure Palin didn't answer many questions they way you would want her to, if at all. But then again, Biden couldn't answer a single question about his future policies without saying something about the Bush administrations failures. He was wearing that like a badge of honor, which made it even funnier to me when Palin admitted that the administration had failed.
Like I say, it was a draw at best. Neither candidate drove their ticket forward, and neither candidate collapsed under pressure.
Anyway, this was supposed to be the night Palin lost it all. I'm reading other online writings, and watching various news shows this morning, and I'm growing physically ill at the duplicitous nature of the liberal aspects of the media. When Nancy Pelosi won Speaker of the House, liberals were thrilled that a woman was third in line for the Presidency. Now that Palin is running for the number two spot, they're scared. Maybe they're only proud of liberal women.
Democrats for the last eight years have complained about Bush's lack of ability when it comes to public speech. Last night I felt that Palin was more down to Earth and Biden was reading a series of liberal talking points, and yet, people are now upset that she didn't go the stiff, numbers and stats only route.
The problem for Palin is this: she can NEVER do enough to satisfy anyone on the left. The fact that she's a woman and a Republican instantly gets under the skin of some. For years it's been assumed that women and minorities would always vote Democrat, and now that women are rising to positions of power on the right side of the aisle, the left is backing off of their previous desires for powerful women.
I heard one commentator last night say that Palin came to the stage desiring to reach out of the people, and she did just that. Biden came to the stage desiring to connect John McCain to George W. Bush as much and as often as possible. And he did just that. So which would be better for a country, a VP who tried to connect with the people, or a VP who does nothing but take pot-shots at the other candidate?
Oddly enough, I've seen about ten different online polls today saying anything from Palin won 80% to 20% to Biden won 51% to 49%. This is strange to me because the pundits on ABC and CNN last night were going out of their way to praise Biden as the be all end all Vice Presidential candidate. Honestly, you would've though Palin just stood there shaking on the stage and eventually throwing up the way these pundits were handing the victory to Biden.
From my perspective, Palin won the first half of the debate, and then Biden drew even with here at the end. It was a draw at best.
I try not to criticize my fellow bloggers, and Robert over at Skewed knows I have complete respect for his positions and beliefs. But I have to disagree, bud. Sure Palin didn't answer many questions they way you would want her to, if at all. But then again, Biden couldn't answer a single question about his future policies without saying something about the Bush administrations failures. He was wearing that like a badge of honor, which made it even funnier to me when Palin admitted that the administration had failed.
Like I say, it was a draw at best. Neither candidate drove their ticket forward, and neither candidate collapsed under pressure.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Football Future-see Week 6
I'm sick, so you'll forgive me if I don't go into a lot of detail...
Pittsburgh at (10) South Florida
South Florida is playing very well and Pittsburgh, after their stunning victory over West Virginia last season, has yet to find a true rhythm. Watch for Groethe to go all out against the Panthers.
Final Score: South Florida 37, Pittsburgh 10
Duke at Georgia Tech
GT is the closest school in proximity to UGA (who has an off-week). Therefore, the Jackets return to the FFS against Duke, who ran roughshod of Virginia last week. Tech is a different animal though. Their defense is ferocious.
Final Score: Georgia Tech 40, Duke 13
Kentucky at (2) Alabama
'Bama mauled Georgia for thirty minutes last week, but the Dawgs fought back and made the game somewhat respectable. The Crimson Tide is for real, as the UK Wildcats are going to find out this week.
Final Score: Alabama 35, Kentucky 14
(13) Auburn at (19) Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt is good, but they've yet to be tested. Auburn has been tested, coming up just short against LSU and then knocking off Tennessee last week. The Tigers will win the war in the trenches in this game, but Vandy should keep it respectable.
Final Score: Auburn 28, Vanderbilt 21
(23) Oregon at (9) USC
USC looks for redemption against Oregon after dropping last week's contest to Oregon State. The Trojans will come out firing on all cylinders, and while Oregon is good, they'll fall to the Men of Troy.
Final Score: USC 31, Oregon 19
Pittsburgh at (10) South Florida
South Florida is playing very well and Pittsburgh, after their stunning victory over West Virginia last season, has yet to find a true rhythm. Watch for Groethe to go all out against the Panthers.
Final Score: South Florida 37, Pittsburgh 10
Duke at Georgia Tech
GT is the closest school in proximity to UGA (who has an off-week). Therefore, the Jackets return to the FFS against Duke, who ran roughshod of Virginia last week. Tech is a different animal though. Their defense is ferocious.
Final Score: Georgia Tech 40, Duke 13
Kentucky at (2) Alabama
'Bama mauled Georgia for thirty minutes last week, but the Dawgs fought back and made the game somewhat respectable. The Crimson Tide is for real, as the UK Wildcats are going to find out this week.
Final Score: Alabama 35, Kentucky 14
(13) Auburn at (19) Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt is good, but they've yet to be tested. Auburn has been tested, coming up just short against LSU and then knocking off Tennessee last week. The Tigers will win the war in the trenches in this game, but Vandy should keep it respectable.
Final Score: Auburn 28, Vanderbilt 21
(23) Oregon at (9) USC
USC looks for redemption against Oregon after dropping last week's contest to Oregon State. The Trojans will come out firing on all cylinders, and while Oregon is good, they'll fall to the Men of Troy.
Final Score: USC 31, Oregon 19
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