Independence

"Posterity, you will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it. If you do not, I shall repent in heaven that ever I took half the pains to preserve it." - John Adams

If there is one thing above another that I can point to as the driving force in my sudden change of mind regarding Grad school, it is the previous quote. The John Adams miniseries on HBO made me realize hos much History we have, and can teach, but we don't because it is not convenient for whatever agenda the medium in which it is taught holds.

I'm finding myself more and more each day desiring to teach History. It's not my major, but that's okay; it is my minor, and I'm fairly well versed in a wide swath of History. Also, I can teach Lit and Writing if necessary. I can tell you without hesitation that this blog does not represent the pinnacle of my writing ability.

I've written semi-historical posts before. I simply find history fascinating. They say, and again, who is they?, that if we fail to learn the lessons of history then we are doomed to repeat them.

I fear that the United States, as a nation, is headed for such a failure, if we haven't reached it already. Many scholars have been attributed the following quote, but who said it is far less important than the truth behind it:
"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largess of the public treasury. From that time on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the results that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's great civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence:from bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to great courage; from courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance; from abundance to selfishness; from selfishness to complacency; from complacency to apathy; from apathy to dependency; from dependency back again to bondage."

The United States is already over 230 years old, and it seems that each year the only candidates who gain election are those who offer more and more money from the public treasury. Let's break down the quote just a bit.

from bondage to spiritual faith: the original colonies, bound to Great Britain, rallied around their desire for religious freedom.

from spiritual faith to great courage: those Colonies, with their spirituality intact, began to rise up, rallying around the militias and the Continental Congress

from courage to liberty: That support of the militias, and the unfettered outrage of the Colonists over unfair taxation, led to irrevocable separation from the power of the Crown

from liberty to abundance: at first, the States were not exactly prosperous. They slowly gained their financial freedom, gaining true self-sufficiency over time.

from abundance to selfishness: The self-sufficiency grew to greed, as is common among man as they gain wealth. The same goes for power, and for that I point to Washington D.C. as an example. Politicians, and those with extreme wealth, will do all they can to both hold on to their status of wealth and power, and to accumulate more.

from selfishness to complacency: The greed of those with power led to a state in which the US thought it was free from intrigue or attack. This step has essentially happened twice, once on December 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor, and later on September 11, 2001, when Al Qaida launched the worst terrorsit attack in history. Both of these incidents are considered wake-up calls for Americans.

from complacency to apathy: Even though we've been "woken up" to the events of the world around us, we seem to quickly fall into an apathetic state. Already, even though we know that radical terrorist groups exist, the belief that ignoring the problem, or simply appeasing the problem, will make it go away. The lesson of Hitler has already been lost, in just 70 short years.

from apathy to dependency: As the nations waxes apathetic, we grow dependent on government to sustain us. The more liberal aspects of the Democratic party would create and mostly socialist state in the country, causing total dependency on government. The Republican party fares no better on the government dependency test. The original founders saw a nation with a strong central government made up by strong state governments. Currently, the state governments are growing weaker and weaker and the people are becoming more and more beholden to the federal system.

from dependency back again to bondage: I can't say where the bondage would come from. I don't know if the people would be bound to the federal government, or if a rival nation could gain enough global strength to overcome our great nation. I do know this: the quote is so far ringing true, and this last step is seemingly inevitable.

I guess you're thinking that this is depressing news, eh? It doesn't have to be. We simply have to recall the lessons of history. We must know why Rome, Greece, Babylon, and Macedonia didn't survive as nations? We have to recognize that appeasing an enemy only emboldens them, it does not make them stop.

We also have to recall the lessons of our Founding Fathers. Unfair taxation led to revolution. The next revolution in this country will probably not be as bloody, but the lessons are there to be learned, and I think my calling might be in teaching them.

The John Adams quote at the beginning of this article hit me very hard. This nation has lost sight of what was done to give us freedom. Hopefully we have not lost so much that Adams has already repented...

The Are You Smarter Than the Surreal American Deal World

The precipice is upon us, or rather, we are upon it.
I know what you're thinking. Jeez, Blake's making a big deal out of this graduation thing, isn't he? Yeah, I am. I'm about to be like the thousands who have come before me, but I'm different, as is everyone, in that unique "we're all snowflakes" sense of grandeur. But, the picture speaks volumes.

I've gone farther than anyone else in my family. And now, I'm at that precipice that Robert and so many others have already crossed. It's been an almost Indiana Jones-like journey. I've had to steal idols from the booby-trapped desks of professors (not really). I've had to pass mutliple tests to prove my academic worth (really). And now I've made it to here. I've got to admit, this little rickety rope-bridge spanning the gap from college to the "real world" doesn't look too secure. I'm wondering if it's there to help you cross, or to hang yourself with.

I've changed over the last two semesters. I've changed a lot. Just since Valentine's Day I've lost nearly thirty pounds. I've gained loads of confidence in myself thanks to three very lovely women and a very large man with a goatee (no, Colin, you're not very large, I just used very to describe them, felt I should use it on you as well). These people have been instrumental in my change.

I've cruised this semester, taking only one class, the only class I need to graduate. I can feel it, now. It's just another date on the calendar, one that, for millions of people will go by without much fanfare, but for me, it's huge.

I've fought for years to get here. I've basically crossed mountains and rivers to find my way to a small stage in a not-very-big gymnasium on a Friday night in May. Two of the four people mentioned above will cross that stage with me. They're not English majors, but I've forgiven them for that. Then comes the summer...

Summer 2008 should be full of surprises. That whole new job hunt thing begins in earnest. And Robert's gonna say "I told you so.." but I am truly starting to consider grad school as a possible future. Although, I'm not sure exactly what I'd do. If I were to go after a teaching job, it would not be in my major, but rather my minor: History.

I still want to get into sports PR work, or even eventually have my own radio talk show. Who knows, I may even try out for Jeopardy?

I know one thing for certain: I'm not going to work at Hallmark or at a Pet Hospital. Robert, you know there's humor there... I'm also not going to work at Best Buy. I'm not saying I'm better than these jobs, but I think at college diploma says rather well that I am, in fact, better than these jobs. There's nothing wrong with working them, but they are not my career ambition.

Career ambition is really not something I've ever had, until these last few weeks. I think I want to make the Right Wing into a radio show, covering sports and politics. The mixture would work, as that is all talk radio is, essentially.



So change is coming, it can't be avoided. We all go through it. Robert survived, so did Grubbs, or at least we think he did. Now, I face the trial. Robert, you're prediction may come true. Grad school could be in the future, but right now, that's all it can be, the future. Change is coming.

Change is coming.

Strumsticks: New Bands in my Life

As most of you will have realized by my last post, I play guitar. I've always talked about playing guitar, and I've actually had a friend who thought I was one of those guys who always talked about guitar, and actually owned one, but never played.

Well, now I've picked up a new instrument: the strumstick. It's a member of the guitar family, though far smaller and has only three strings. The sound is distinctly folk, almost country, but in the right hands the strumstick might as well be an angelic harp.

That's not to say that mine are the right hands, they're far from, but I can rip a fierce "Scotland the Brave" on it.

So, the strumstick is new to me, but it feels right.

So, new bands in my life...
Sparky's Flaw: These guys opened for O.A.R. the other night at the concert at the college. Really awesome stuff, and the guys were pretty cool, too. Check 'em out on YouTube. The songs "All That I Am" and the new song are particularly good.

Something Corporate: True, mainstream pop rock, but just let the piano kick in and you'll understand why...

White Stripes: I don't listen to a lot of FM radio, and apparently this group's been kicking around for a while. But I happened upon the video for "You Don't Know What Love Is" the other day and fell completely and totally enamored.

Okay, short post, but you'll get more later...

Graduation: The Rift of Rock Awesomeness

Graduation looms. Two weeks from today, actually.
I've been in this game a long time. Now, the end draws near, and I'm not sure if I want to welcome it or run and hide from it.

So, I'm sitting here looking at the calendar (not literally) and wondering where all the time went. It seems like just yesterday that I was walking across the stage and being handed my High School Diploma. Now that's ancient history.

So Wednesday I had nothing to do in class. I didn't take any books, just my guitar. Now, I'd like to think that most college students are at least somewhat educated, so it came as a bit of a surprise when I heard this question mutliple times:
"Hey, is that yours?"
"Nope. Took it from a guy."

But really, I found a nice quiet place on campus, lightly wooded, bit of a hill, and I just sat on the grass and began playing. The only thing I can figure is that the exact location I chose was a Rift of Rock Awesomeness.

I came to this conclusion because everything I played got better and better. I could do no wrong. I could hit no wrong note. I've never played so well. I walked around all day playing, and it was a beautiful day for guitar. The sun was shining brightly, the birds were sing annoyingly. The breeze was blowing just right.

Rock Awesomeness was achieved.

So, Graduation. Two weeks. Fear and excitement. Dread and utter joy.
I'm going to miss the people I've been with for the last few years. I really will. These last few semesters have been the best I've ever had. I have the best friends a guy could possibly ask for. And now things are going to change. I'm staying here, and watching the world go around me.

Meanwhile, Colin and Lauren are going to Grad School, ostensibly. Heck, Michele is leaving the country (albeit for only six weeks, but still). Angela will be far away, most likely. There really is no possible way for me to express the love I have for these people. They've been there for me when no one else seemed to be... and I can only hope I was able to be there for them.

Now it seems like the calendar is turning it's pages faster than ever. If this were a ship, I'd be fighting some serious waves at the moment. I'm torn between wanting this ride to end and wanting another run at it. Robert over at Skewed says I'll be in grad school within five years. Who knows? At one time I could say with a fair amount of certainty that I wouldn't ever go, but now I can't.

But I realized a need a cause. I've not really stood for anything in my 26 years. I mean, I've got my politics, and my religion, and my own desires, but as far as a cause, I'm fairly causeless.
So that seems to me my next task. I'll find a "real" job, I'll get an apartment, a new car, all the typical stuff that, but I'll look deep within myself, and find that thing that I need to stand for.

I'll gain my purpose, in essence.

And since it fell unto my lot,
that I should rise and you should not,
I'll gently rise and softly call,
Good Night and Joy be to You All.

Really....?

The Greatest Generation

For those of you who have no memory of either history or taking history classes while in school... or if you never saw the movie Saving Private Ryan... I'd like to take a moment and discuss with you the Greatest Generation.

World War II was fought, from an American perspective, from 1941 to 1945, although the Europeans mostly consider the start date to rest in 1939 and the Asian Theater began operations as early as 1935. Millions died. Millions were wounded. What is essentially the single most devastating pre-9/11 terrorist attack is what drew the United States into the war, as 2,700-plus Americans were killed at Pearl Harbor.

As the soldiers of the United States rose to meet the call to arms, the nation rallied behind them. While the Big Red One was marching through Kasserine Pass, men and women from all across the nation were descending on Mobile and other port cities to help build ships for the war effort.

I've said before that if the United States armed forces had carried embedded reporters as they do now, the Normandy invasion would likely never have happened, especially after everything fell apart so horribly on Omaha Beach. As it stands, D-Day can be considered the turning point of the global conflict.

So, back to the Greatest Generation. This title has been applied to those who lived through the second World War, those who fought, died, survived, worked, farmed, those who kept this nation afloat during great calamity.

I understand the meaning behind it, and I really don't have a problem with it per se. The principle of the matter, though, is as follows: We've been told for the last few years that, since the World War II generation is the greatest generation, that we can never match up with them. Essentially, entire generations since then have been told "you'll never be as good."

I can't support that sentiment. Sure, the World War II generation deserves loads of respect. They were still battling out of depression. Then, war came. So, yeah, they did great things.

But to label them as the "greatest generation" is akin to insulting every generation before and since. Thank you, soldiers in the "war on terror," but you'll never bee what these people were. Thanks, founding fathers, for having the bravery to stand up to Britain, putting your lives on the line and declaring us free, but it still doesn't amount to what the World War II generation did. Nice try, though.

The Reagan babies, no chance. You tried a trickle down economy, not even close to defying a global evil. You don't even get an A for effort.

What I'm trying to say is this: let's hold off calling any generation the greatest. It tells every other generation that, no matter how hard they try, they'll never be good enough.

From the Mouth of Babes...

I go to a small Baptist church. Occasionally we plan a church-wide lunch or dinner after the service. Last Sunday was one of those days. We had a huge lunch planned. Some friends of mine showed up with their two kids, the youngest of which is a scant two months old.

Now first understand this: I’m usually pretty good with babies. I’ve actually already been told that I’ll make a good father, but I don’t want to think about that right now, and while I thank those who say that… well, let’s hold off on the father talk, okay?

Anyway, I’m standing around when they walk in and shortly thereafter I find myself holding two-month old Ethan. It’s at this point that a series of fun events began to unfold around me.

First, two of the younger adults I go to church with walk in with a friend of theirs, a nice looking young woman, probably no more than 25 or 26 years of age, who is holding one of those baby carrier things. She sees me holding Ethan and, I can only guess that this is what goes through her mind, thinks: hey, someone like me, I should talk to them. I need to say this as a caveat to the rest of this story: I get nervous when single women talk to me, not because I don’t know how to act, but rather there is someone I care about and I think we may have something with each other and I sure as heck don’t want to screw it up.

So, she walks up and looks first at Ethan, then at me, as if trying to determine familiar relation, and then says, “He’s adorable. How old is he?”

I stammer out the reply, “He’s two or three months…” To which she gives me a look of semi-abject terror and says, “You don’t know how old your own child is?”

I chuckled and responded, “Oh, he’s not mine.” She smiled, seemingly ashamed of having leapt to the conclusion, but I didn't mind. Marcus, the guy I go to church with who had invited her, stepped up and said, "Well, you do look natural with him."
The only reply I had for that was: "Yeah, but there needs to be a girlfriend and a wedding, and probably a few years of a well-paying job before kids come along."

We laughed off the incident and went about our day. Well, moments later Ethan begins to cry. I’m not talking about your everyday run-of-the-mill baby crying either; this was full-on sobbing. This was the crying where every other cry doesn't even make a sound. He began to work his mouth in a way that suggested he was hungry.

Now, being a man, I am not equipped to provide this child with the needed sustenance. I even said that to his father, who said in return, “Okay, give him to me.” To which I said, “I’m pretty sure you can’t help him, either.”

He replied, “No, but I know who can.”

And that, kids, is my baby story for the world...

The Right Wing Mix CD

Okay, here's a challenge for our one reader... you know who you are... you challenged us to update the other day, well, now we challenge you back.

You know you're going to be stuck on a deserted island. You have the essentials to survive, but you are also given a CD player and one mix CD to take with you. You can pick the ten to fifteen songs that appear on the disc. What songs do you choose and why?

The Right Wing mix:
1. The World has Turned and Left Me Here by Weezer. This is, quite possibly, my favorite song of all time. The rythym and the lyrics just work.
2. Until the End by The Nightwatchman. Tom Morello has so much talent he should be two people. The man can do things with an acoustic guitar that just aren't natural.
3. The Parting Glass by The High Kings. This song, to me, symbolizes the end of an era, but also the inevitable coming of something better.
4. God of Wine by Third Eye Blind. Nice pacing, good music, solid song. You can't beat this song for relaxing.
5. Loch Lomond by Runrig (feat. the Tartan Army). If you aren't moved by this song, you should seriously re-examine the condition of your immortal soul.
6. Stockholm Syndrome by Blink 182. The only caveat with this song is that the album version requires the intro, which is the reading of an old war letter. You might cry.
7. Orion by Metallica. This is one of the best instrumental songs ever. It comes from the Master of Puppets album and is one of the last songs Cliff Burton recorded.
8. Overture 1928 by Dream Theater. Again, instrumental, but then again, I do play guitar, and anything that has as much guitar as this song is a magnet for me.
9. Sadbhb ni Bruinn Ealla by Liam O Maonlai. This recording comes from the Highland Sessions. The entire song is in Gaelic, but that means nothing to me. I can scratch by on Gaelic and Liam O Maonlai's voice actually qualifies as a musical instrument.
10. Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton. Again, more guitar, and Clapton is amazing. Sad song, but every album should have a melancholy moment.
11. If Everyone Cared by Nickelback. Great pseudo-protest song. In fact, the video is what makes it a protest song. Otherwise, it's a wonderful song that lifts your spirits without necessarily being upbeat.
12. Shooting Up in Vain by Eagle-Eye Cherry. Solid outing from the son of Don Cherry. The song captures the desire of a drug addict to shoot up, even thought he knows it won't last. We're all addicted to something, this song tells what happens if the addiction overcomes you.
13. The Devil is a Loser by Lordi. Finland makes an appearnace on our album. Lordi is Finland's version of Gwar, only, Lordi is actually good. They are scary looking, and they speak only Finnish in interviews, but their songs are all in English, so that's helpful.
14. If I Could be Like That by Three Doors Down. Great song, one of my favorites. Upbeat, but sad at the same time. Truly the perfect balance. Great way to round out the album.

Alright, Skewed. It's your turn.

Things I Never Knew About the Second President...

I'm an English major, which will prove to have absolutely nothing to do with this post. I am also, however, a History minor, which has almost everything to do with this post. In fact, I probably should've been a History major, but I didn't want to teach, and I do like to write. Anyway, on with the show.

HBO is running a seven part historical miniseries called John Adams. I have to say immediately that John Adams is one of the finest made miniseries you will ever see. The show stars Paul Giamatti as John Adams. For those of you not in the know, let me explain some things.

John Adams was the second President of the United States. He was also bald, but he wore a wig. He also defended the British soldiers after the Boston Massacre. Now the HBO film shows all the soldiers being tried at the same time, and all being acquitted, but in reality the Captain, a man named Preston, was tried and acquitted a month before the other soldiers, and two of the British were condemned of murder, but Adams successfully had their charges reduced on a loophole. The men were branded on the hand for their actions.
John Adams later became a member of the Continental Congress, and was a driving force for separation from England. He strove for Congress to adopt the Massachusetts militia, which they did, appointing the Colonel George Washington to lead.

Now, back to the HBO miniseries.
You will never see a miniseries so masterfully created. I honestly had times were, while watching the show, I was not aware that I was watching TV. The set design is fantastic, the costume fit perfectly into the period, and the actors are actually dirty, as anyone who lived at that time would be.
The actors are so well cast that you often fail to realize that you've seen them in other things before. As I said, Paul Giamatti plays wonderful John Adams, and Laura Linney co-stars as Abigail Adams. The interaction between these two really makes you feel like they've been married for years.

Dr. Benjamin Franklin is masterfully portrayed by Tom Wilkinson. The humor Wilkinson brings to the character really brings Franklin to life in ways you've probably never considered. Edward Rutledge, the representative of South Carolina, is played by relative newcomer Clancy O'Connor, and I truly cannot say enough about his performance.

Thomas Jefferson, played by Stephen Dillane, is the only character I really have any problem with, and it's only because he comes off as an angst-ridden teenager, always with his arms folded and staring at the ground. Otherwise, well acted. So far HBO has only aired parts one and two, but in part two you get to see one of the most beautifully acted parts ever, as Zeljko Ivanek bring Pennsylvania representative Mr. Dickenson to life. Ivanek's performance lends so much weight to his conviction that Adams is pushing for independence too soon.

This miniseries also contains a scene that I believe will go down in cinematic history as one of the best ever. Everything comes together so well in this particular scene, in which no dialogue is spoken, and no soundtrack plays. Georgia has just voted "yes" to independence, meaning that twelve of the thirteen colonies support breaking away from Britain (New York abstained from voting). The camera pans across the room, and each representative sits in awed silence, the full gravity of what they've just done seeming to hit at the same time. You have to remember, by signing the Declaration of Independence, these men were, in effect, signing their own death warrant in Britain's eyes.

In all, John Adams achieves what few miniseries events ever have: a sense of purpose, and of actually doing it right. I can't wait for the Part III.

A Demanded Update

That's right folks, the Right Wing is updating on demand now. Well, at least this once. Probably never again. I'm lazy.

I'm just gonna list some random things that have stood out to me lately.

1. Barack Obama's promises. He's promising change, which is not a bad thing. The trick is, if you listen closely to his speeches, he's pulling a Kerry on us and not truly revealing his plan. It'd be like going to your doctor, and suddenly a new doctor walks in and says "We're going to change the way we are treating you." You naturally ask how, and the doc replies, "It'll be positive change."
You inquire further, and he replies further, "We're changing it for the better." Not explanation, just rhetoric.

2. Neal Boortz actually had people believing that the governor of South Dakota was eighth in line for the Presidency as a result of a treaty signed when South Dakota joined the union. Funny.

3. The NCAA basketball tournament begins this week. I ran a simulation on ESPN to see how they say the bracket could play out, and I had Davidson defeating Texas A&M for the National Title. I don't see it happening.

4. My Final Four, by the way, is North Carolina, UCLA, Texas, and Kansas. North Carolina takes the big prize.

5. I walked four miles Monday, but in the grand scheme of things it's actually 6.6 Billion miles. I'll let you work out how I pulled that off.

There you go, Robert, I hope you're happy.

A History Lesson: This should NEVER be taught in class...

The Russo-Japanese War. Fought from February 1904 to September 1905, this bloody conflict stemmed from the imperialistic ideals of Japan and Russia, and their respective desires to dominate Manchuria and Korea. Russia sought a warm water port, and Port Arthur, on the Liadong Peninsula, would serve their purpose nicely. However, the Japanese were not going to let the Russians in, as they thought that Korea and Manchuria were rightfully theirs.

See, Japan is an island nation with few natural resources. The need for more land, and therefore more resources pressured the Japanese to seek control of the Korean peninsula.

The war dragged on through a brutal winter, and both sides suffered serious casualties, but neither was willing to back down. Ammunitions began to run low, and at one point it is reported that both sides had a vicious snowball fight over Vladivostok.

In reality, a political revolution was brewing in Russia, which had the cumulative effect on the Russian soldiers of forcing them, as they were firing at the enemy, to constantly look over their own shoulders to Moscow.

The desire for a peace treaty came in September of 1905. The Russians had been beaten back badly, and needed to retreat, so they sought the Japanese for a peace accord.

The Japanese agreed, and requested President Theodore Roosevelt to mediate the treaty. There is debate among many scholars that the Peace Treaty, signed in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, was only signed there because of a strong Japanese desire for pancakes, waffles, and syrup.

It is thought that the conversation went something like this:

Emperor Meiji: The Russians want peace, huh? Well, I want waffles.
Fleet Admiral Togo: You know, I'd like some syrup myself. Haven't had any since the Iwakura Mission.
Meiji: Okay, I'll call the States, see what we can do...
*Meiji picks up the phone and calls the White House*
Meiji: Okay, it's ringing. Guys, figure out where we can go. Get the map, look around Vermont or somewhere.
President Theodore Roosevelt: Go for Uncle Teddy!
Meiji: President Teddy, Meiji here.
Roosevelt: What can I do ya' for, Meiji?
Meiji: Well, you know we're fighting this war, right? The Russians want peace, and we'd all like for you to mediate the treaty.
Roosevelt: Sure thing. Let me check my schedule here... a-yup I'm free on the fifth, I think I can sail over and...
Meiji: No no no, no... no. We'd like to come over there. No sense inconveniencing you, right? How about, Portsmouth, New Hampshire?
Roosevelt: Well, New Hampshire's a long way from Japan or Russia. It doesn't really make any sense to go there...
Meiji: They have a new House O' Waffles, right? Downtown, next to the barber shop?
Roosevelt: Well, golly, they do. Okay then, peace and waffles, all around.

Of course, there is no historical evidence to back that up. But seriously, why else would you sign a peace accord between Japan and Russia in New Hampshire?

*The author of this article means no disrespect to New Hampshire, Japan, Russia, Emperor Meiji, Fleet Admiral Togo, or President Theodore Roosevelt. He does, however, mean complete and total disrespect to the downtown Portsmouth House O' Waffles.*

for the 113th time

Every time a sports season rolls around the Right Wing staff takes aim at predicting how things will go. Now, baseball is nearly upon us once more, and the boys wanted a crack at the 2008 season.

Predicted Statistical Leaders for 2008 (with total)
Home Runs: Alex Rodriquez NYY 57
RBI: Ryan Howard PHI 162
Hits: Ichiro Suzuki SEA 201
Wins: Daisake Matsuzaka BOS 19
Strikeouts: Johan Santana NYM 185

Order of Finish:
American League
EAST:
Boston, New York, Baltimore, Toronto, Tampa Bay

CENTRAL:
Detroit, Cleveland, Minnesota, Chicago, Kansas City

WEST:
Anaheim, Texas, Seattle, Oakland

National League
EAST:
New York, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Washington, Florida

CENTRAL:
St. Louis, Milwaukee, Chicago, Houston, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh

WEST:
San Diego, Colorado, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Arizona

Playoffs
NL: New York, San Diego, St. Louis, Atlanta(WC)
AL: Boston, Anaheim, Detroit, Cleveland(WC)

Championship Series
NL: New York over St. Louis
AL: Boston over Detroit

World Series
Boston over New York


Other Business

- During the last round of primaries, Barack Obama and John McCain further solidified their holds on their respective party’s nominations. The funny thing is, during their victory speeches neither man mentioned Hillary Clinton at all. The Clinton campaign is unraveling. If I remember right, Bill never had to write a check to himself during his campaigns.

- Barack Obama was given a standing ovation for blowing his nose… which was surprisingly more insightful than anything the candidates have said to this point.

- With McCain in a commanding lead on the GOP side, the NY Times decided it was time to move in for the kill. The launched a story about an affair that McCain had in 2000. The only trouble with the article is that it credits only an “unnamed source.” Apparently, unnamed sources rank as front page with the NY Times, especially when it comes to taking down a Republican. Remember, I have no particular love for McCain, I don’t trust the man. But I find it incredibly suspicious that this story breaks in the midst of an election cycle.

- Hillary Clinton, distraught over falling behind Obama, loosed a vicious tirade against free enterprise and capitalism. Apparently, when the mainstream goes with someone else, Clinton’s only fallback was the hardcore socialist lefties. Sad times, indeed.

- In NFL news, the Atlanta Falcons won a coin toss at the league’s scouting combine. This coin toss victory assures the Falcons of drafting third overall. Now comes the discussion of what to do with said pick. Do you draft a quarterback (Matt Ryan) if he is available, do you take Glenn Dorsey if his names is still on the board? Do you trade the pick away and garner more picks later on? The choices are endless.

-In related news to that, rumor is swirling that the NY Giants have offered Atlanta their first round choice (Pick no. 32) for DeAngelo Hall. We’ll see where that goes…

the year in PREview

Okay, three weeks behind us, roughly 50 to go. So here it is:

January: With less than a dozen days left in January, the political mud will continue to fly. On the GOP side Duncan Hunter and Fred Thompson will both kiss their campaigns goodbye. On the Dems side John Edwards and Dennis Kucinich should drop out, but Edwards will hang on to the bitter end, and I truly think that Denny K thinks that a cold snap must be due in Hades.

February: The Pats will knock off the Giants, Robert, you needn't worry about it. Your Pack shall be avenged. Elsewhere, people will continue to ignore the NHL, and also Dennis Kucinich. The local Georgia Primary will reveal Obama as the Dem winner and on the GOP ticket a very close race between McCain and Romney.

March: The Hollywood Writer's Strike will finally end when Geraldo Rivera draws an intricate map in the sand outside Warner Bros studios. The map, when read backwards, reveals that the strike's mastermind was none other than Oprah. After less than six months, Apple unveils the Iphone 2.0. This new version of the insanely overpriced Christmas favorite will actually be able to tell you what happens next.

April: Baseball returns with about as much fanfare as it left with. The Yankees roll out there $7.98 Billion payroll. George Steinbrenner announces that the team has actually bought Central Park and, starting in 2009 will play all home games there.

May: International Politics, which apparently took the first four months off, return with a vengeance when insurgents in Iraq suddenly leave. Of course, this is short lived, as they are actually only taking a break for a light lunch. Iran's president claims, again, that the United States is the great Satan, again, and that we all deserve to die, again. The UN laughs at him behind his back.

June: Dennis Kucinich once again remains largely ignored. The NY Times goes on and proclaims Hillary Clinton the next President of the United States. Barack Obama calls their story a "contrived fairy tale." Fairies everywhere look to file suit against the Illinois Senator. Oh, and Ottawa wins the Stanley Cup.

July: Global Warming activists grow concerned over snowfall in Argentina in July. In a rare, and possibly debilitating move, Al Gore explains to them the concept of seasons. Quebec once again looks at breaking away from Canada. The whole of Toronto frowns in disapproval.

August: The US political races turn ugly... well, uglier. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton get into an actual fistfight when their campaign erroneously arrive at the same place at the same time. Dennis Kucinich's campaign is a half hour late. Mitt Romney and John McCain both receive verbal warnings from Mike Huckabee.

September: George W. Bush announces that he has an announcement to make.

October: The World Series features the Boston Red Sox against the National League All-Star team, only because it's fair that way. George W. Bush's announcement is that he is sending forces into Iran, just to let Hillary clean it up.

November: In a stunning move, Barack Obama wins the Presidency. The lesser-educated Americans are actually able to get past the fact that his middle name is Husayn (or a variation thereof).

December: Christmas and New Years Eve means everyone will drink a lot and actually forget the entire year. Except Dennis Kucinich.

A Quick Thought on Ron Paul

I like him. He makes more sense than any of the other candidates. I think he might even try to return some power to the states. He follows the Constitution, and he seemingly cares about his constituents.

So why do so many people dislike him?

I might be way off base here, but Ron Paul is viewed somewhat unfavorably by most because he doesn't sugarcoat his message with the nice little politically correct "what the government can do for you" lines. He comes out and says flatly that the government is not empowered by the Constitution, it is restrained by said document. The government is not meant to be the money tree that it has become.

Paul is also truly more conservative than any of the other Republican candidates. Yet John McCain and Mitt Romney are the ones held up as the sterling examples of the conservative ideal. McCain is, as I previously stated, untrustworthy in my opinion. Romney, much like Mike Huckabee, has based more of his campaign in religion than politics, which really does not sit well with me.

But Ron Paul is saying the right things at the right time. He, unlike other Republicans, has shown true disdain for the war. Paul balances his anti-Iraq War stance with other issues in the campaign, like immigration. The man is brilliant, and has truly won my support.

What saddens me is the level of depravity revealed by other Ron Paul supports. Watch the news and you'll see what I mean...

Eeney Meeney Miney Moe

The 2008 General Election is still over ten months away, but the candidates have been clamoring for attention since last July. While both major parties are currently entertaining about eight candidates each, there are only a few front-runners. The Democratic front-runners are John Edwards, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama. On the right side of the aisle (directionally, not necessarily right in the moral sense) you have John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, and Ron Paul. See, we’ve already narrowed the entire field by fifty percent.

You already know that I consider myself fairly Libertarian. I want the federal government reduced in scope and more power returned to the states. This is not too much to ask. After all, the original system was set up so that the government answered to the people, not the people answering to the government. Now, though, the federal government is so bloated and over-stretched that a collapse is not out of the questions.

Let’s take a look at the candidates for President, you know, the ones who think they can stop the bleeding. We’ll start the search by looking at each candidate individually, and just exactly how much I could consider voting for them:

John McCain. I have no moral quarrel (hey, good rhyme) about saying that I do not trust McCain. Something about the man just does not set right. I don’t know if it’s the horrid McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance reform act, or if it is the fact that the man looks more like a grocery store manager than a Senator. I have loads of respect for McCain, but I’d never vote for him. Likelihood of me voting for him: 2%.

John Edwards. The ambulance chaser himself, then again, what politician isn’t an ambulance chaser in some way. Edwards lost out on the vice presidency in the last election because his running mate was essentially a dressed up lapdog. Edwards tries to endear himself to the common voter by getting $2000 hair cuts and flying in private jets.
Again, not someone I could vote for. Likelihood of me voting for him: 0%.

Rudy Giuliani. As Robert said the other after watching the Republican candidate debate, about half way through any event he attends, Giuliani pulls out his 9/11 drum and begins beating it. We get it, Rudy. Find a new message. Likelihood of me voting for him: 5%.

Barack Obama. He’s got charisma, and youth, which equal big points with voters. Plus, he may actually change things. Still, he talks a lot about programs that would bring the country under a more socialist umbrella. But, he is the only Democrat that I’d vote for. Likelihood of me voting for him: 10%.

Hillary Clinton. I will march in the streets to keep her from reaching the White House. Nothing could be worse for the country than for this hardened Socialist to gain more political power. Hillary would socialize medicine, then expand the federal government almost to the point that individual freedoms ceased to exist. That’s bad, people. Likelihood of me voting for her: 0%

Ron Paul. Robert was telling me about watching this debate where all the mild-mannered Republican candidates were sitting around, mildly jabbing at each other, and right in the middle was Ron Paul in full tin-foil hat mode, yelling, “Oh my God! Run for your lives! The world is ending! Vote for me!” The problem is, I heard Paul speaking after the New Hampshire primary and he made a lot of sense. Phrases like “the Constitution was written for the sole purpose of restraining the federal government,” “the federal government should never impose on a state’s right to self-govern,” and a stern castigation of the Patriot Act really caught my attention. I could actually see punching a ballot for Ron Paul. Likelihood of me voting for him: 35%.

Mike Huckabee. There are moments where I support Huckabee, and moments where he frightens me. The ardent left (moveon.org, etc.) have fought vehemently against Huckabee because he is a Baptist minister, and they fear that his first step in the Presidency would be to evangelize the nation. Firstly, evangelizing the entire nation wouldn’t exactly be easy. Secondly, it is a sordid state of affairs when a man is more feared for what he does on Sunday than what he does on the other six days of the week.
Likelihood of me voting for him: 25%

Mitt Romney. The Mormon. Much has been made of his religious beliefs. Maybe I’m being hyper-critical since I do fall more into the conservative category, but it seems like more is made of a conservative’s religion than of a liberals. The last time a fuss was raised over a Democrat’s religion (other than Joe Lieberman) was JFK in 1960. Like all politicians, Romney has some good ideas and some really bad ideas. Likelihood of me voting for him: 5%.

So, mathematically, I’m still 18% undecided on where my vote will land. Not bad, considering I’ve got the primary season to get through still. The search will continue…

Changes is in the Air...

...But not the kind you think…
The Right Wing is not giving up its dedication to sports or politics, but we will try to focus on other things this year, which makes this post seem all the more ridiculous.

New Years Day is a haven for college football fans. The best games are usually reserved for the first day of January, or shortly thereafter. 1-1-2008 did not disappoint. Michigan took Florida to the limit before disposing of the Gators in Lloyd Carr’s last ride with the Wolverines. Texas Tech’s high powered offense was forced into a last second field goal to beat Virginia. Mizzou took out their frustrations on an unwary Arkansas team, beating the Razorbacks by 31 (a number that, give or take one or two points would be popular). Tennessee and Wisconsin battled in a tight game, the Vols emerging as the winner 20-17.

This brings us to the two BCS games played on the first day of the New Year. The Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl that respectively matched USC vs. Illinois and Georgia vs. Hawai’i. The case can now officially be made that two of these four teams deserved better fates than what they got.

Let’s first examine the Rose Bowl. USC knew they would play in Pasadena, but their opponent was, for a time, a mystery. Ohio State, who would’ve played the Trojans, was out because of a berth in the National Championship game. So the Rose Bowl got first selection of the at large teams, because of the rotation schedule. Immediately rumors began to swirl that the Rose was going to break tradition and select Georgia, creating perhaps the most intriguing bowl match up of the season. The Rose instead opted for its cob-webbed tradition and selected Illinois.

The game was a laugher. Illinois was overmatched at every turn. USC gave the Fighting Illini a steady dose of smash mouth football, eventually beating Illinois 49-17. For the record, the Right Wing prediction staff claimed that USC would win 45-17. Scary, huh?

The Sugar Bowl became a more intimidating match up as football fans in the southeast learned more and more about that Hawai’i could do. They averaged 46.2 points per game. Colt Brennan owned every passing record this side of eternity. They were the only undefeated team standing at season’s end.

All of which meant absolutely nothing to the Dawgs. Georgia was feeling slighted. They were being punished for not playing in a conference championship game while, they thought, Ohio State was being rewarded for the same thing. So you’ll forgive them if Georgia came in with a big chip on their shoulder.

The start couldn’t have been better for UGA. Hawai’i was penalized twice before the first snap of the game. If Illinois was overmatched, Hawai’i was playing out of its league. By halftime Georgia was up 24-3 and not looking back. The balanced offense gave Hawai’i’s Defense fits, and the Georgia D made Brennan and the Warrior offense look like a Pop Warner team. 8 sacks and 4 interceptions later the bleeding was stopped. Georgia pulled off a stunning victory, taking down Hawai’i by the score of 41-10.

So let the argument and debate begin…
Was Georgia snubbed by the BCS because they didn’t play in their conference title game? It would appear that way. Nebraska made it to the National Title game once without playing for their conference title. Oklahoma made it to the Title game a few years back… after losing their conference title game 36-0 to Kansas State. The point is, from a Georgia perspective, it looks like a rule that doesn’t exist suddenly kept Georgia from playing for the National Title.

Also, there is math to be done. Missouri and West Virginia were ranked 1 and 2 going in to the last week of the season. Ohio State was three and Georgia was four. Georgia was already ranked ahead of Tennessee and LSU, even though the voters knew that UGA could not win the SEC. Then the unthinkable happened. Numbers 1 and 2 both lost. Logic would dictate that when 1 and 2 lose, 3 and 4 move up. But, under the BCS mathematics, when 1 and 2 lose, 3 may move up to 1, but 4 must drop to 5. I’m sure that, in somebody’s mind, this all makes sense. The Right Wing doesn’t get it.

Then came the January 2nd BCS bowl game between Oklahoma and West Virginia. WVU had just lost their coach to Michigan. The Sooners were poised to roll in this game. But, Bob Stoops (Head Coach – OU) has earned the nickname SpongeBob BowlFlop from a certain ESPN analyst. Oklahoma lost 48-28.

January 3rd brought about the Orange Bowl, pitting Kansas against Virginia Tech. VaTech looked promising over the last couple of weeks of the season, but a stingy Kansas defense held the Hokies to 21 points. The Jayhawks won 24-21.

The BCS National Championship game featured Ohio State and LSU. The Buckeyes came out of the gate strong, but LSU kept a steady course of SEC football all the way to a 14 point victory, 38-24.

The tricky point, as was pointed out by another ESPN analyst, is as follows: the BCS doesn’t tell you who the national champion is, it tells you who the BCS wants you to think the national champion is. Certain college football writers have stated that a true national title game would actually require seeding ad that, if there were any justice in the world, the four teams seeded for such a mini-tournament would be Ohio State, USC, Georgia, and LSU. Others argue for Missouri.

The point is there is NO consensus national champion this year. Everyone can make a case, and they all have valid arguments.

The Last First Day

This just in... I'm graduating after this semester. That's right, today is my last first day, as has been pointed out by many people. I really don't know what I'm going to do with myself after college.

I started out with a desire to do computer animation, something I had been working on for years in high school. Then I arrived at Gainesville College and was told that I would require multiple courses of Algebra and Calculus. Note, please, that these classes never entered into the equation in high school.

I became a Journalism major, focusing more and more on my writing. When I transferred to NGCSU, I learned the depth of inane stupidity of the journalism department. I switched to English Writing and have stayed there since.

Now I'm four months away from being handed a nicely rolled-up piece of paper and getting a handshake that says I'm ready to enter the real world.

What to do, what to do?

The Wacky Year in Review: 2007

The last twelve months have provided us all with some memorable moments. The Right Wing has seen fit to catalog these moments for you, in a series of “Top” lists:

Top Ten Sports Moments
As judged by the Right Wing staff:
10. The release of the Mitchell Report, documenting steroid use in Major League Baseball. Former Senate Majority Leader Mitchell’s report lists some very high profile names like Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire, and others, as well as former Braves players David Justice and Paul Byrd. The lasting effects of Mitchell’s inquiry are yet to be seen.
9. The Saints go marching in all the way to the NFC Championship game against the Chicago Bears. The return of the Saints revitalized New Orleans and was a true feel-good story for what some viewed as a down year in the NFL.
8. Bonds sets the record for all time home runs, finally overtaking Hank Aaron’s long standing mark of 755. Bonds chase of history, though, was marred by allegations of steroid use (see the Mitchell report), and he drew the ire of fans across the nation, except in the Giants’ home in San Francisco.
7. College goes crazy, leaving everyone to wonder what could be next. From opening day, when Appalachian State knocked off Michigan in Ann Arbor, to the last day of the regular season, when the top two ranked teams both lost on the same day, this season was one that most football fans will never forget.
6. Boise State stands tall for the non-BCS conferences. The Broncos won an invite to the Fiesta Bowl and managed to shock highly ranked Oklahoma with a series of trick plays that still show up on the highlight reels almost a year later.
5. The Colorado Rockies shock the world by reaching the World Series in dramatic fashion, becoming one of the hottest teams in baseball entering the fall classic. The Rockies were crushed by the Boston Red Sox, who won their second World Series title in four years.
4. Mark Richt goes Jekyll and Hyde on us, changing from the mild-mannered coach of yesterday to the pumped-up, charismatic coach of the Dawgs future. Around the halfway point of the season, coming off a brutal loss to Tennessee, Richt had his team draw a celebration penalty on their first TD against hated rival Florida, and then busted out the black jerseys for the Auburn game. The Dawgs responded by putting up 40+ points in both games, winning easily.
3. Doping allegations fly all around, hitting Tour de France winner Floyd Landis, and many other high profile athletes, most in the Track and Field area. This era of sports is sure to be remembered as the Steroid Era.
2. Kevin Everett. If ever there was a inspirational story, this is it. Everett was injured very early in the season. He was making a tackle and the player he was tackling hit him in such a way that it caused serious damage to Everett’s neck and spine. It was feared initially that the injury was life threatening, and then it was thought that Everett would never walk again. Everett now walks into the rehab center for therapy every week.
1. Trinity College, a Division III school defeated Millsaps College on a last second play reminiscent of “The Play” between Cal and Stanford. Trinity performed over fifteen laterals on one play to score the game winning touchdown.

Top Two Scariest Moments in Politics
As judged by the Right Wing Staff:
2. Hugo pushes for longer terms. Hugo Chavez, Venezuelan President and noted America hater, pushed for Constitutional Amendments that would allow him to serve as President for Life. He even took over a TV station to tell the people that if they did not vote “YES” for these amendments they were disloyal to the nation. The Amendments, thankfully, failed.
1. Vlad impales the Russian Government in one of the scariest political moves in history, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he had single-handedly dismissed a large portion of the Russian Government, clearing the path for those loyal to him to rise into powerful position. Putin’s reign as President was drawing to an end, but he also announced that he was going to run for the position of Prime Minister.

Top Three Moments in Entertainment
As judged by the Right Wing Staff:
3. Movies: Good or Bad? It was the year of extremes in Hollywood. Some movies, released to great fanfare, failed miserably. Others, released to little or no noise at all, found a niche in the marketplaced. (See top five movies of 2007)
2. The writer’s strike slows down Hollywood. The striking writer’s union brings Tinseltown to a stand-still, leaving many shows confused as to their own endings. Disgruntled fans of these shows have already started scouring the internet with angst-filled rhetoric.
1. The Sopranos blacks out, leaving many viewers in the dark as to what actually happened. The final scene showed Tony sitting with his family in a diner, and then suddenly cuts to black. Internet discussion claimed that Tony had been killed; others said that Tony won the day by surviving, and others claimed that the producers were the most sick and twisted people alive by not revealing what happened.

Top Five Movies of 2007
As judged by the Right Wing Staff:
5. Spider-Man 3 A bit slow compared to the previous two in the series.
4. The Simpsons Movie Funnier than the show has been in years.
3. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End Great film, nice conclusion to the trilogy, but did leave a nice opening for a sequel.
2. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Well executed, considering that over 800-pages of book were condensed into 138 minutes of film. Really showed the darkness creeping into the Potter saga.
1. Hot Fuzz Best Film of the Year. From the creators of Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz brought to the table everything you’d expect in a buddy-cop-action-thriller movie. I’ll say it again, from the moment the old lady gets dropkicked in the face, you will not stop laughing.

Oh yeah:

Football Future-see Bowl Edition

BCS National Championship Game
LSU vs. Ohio State
The Match-up: LSU has been to the top of the heap twice this year, and both times the Tigers have stumbled, albeit in triple overtime each occasion. Ohio State happened to be number one on the day that counted. The Buckeyes played one of the weakest non-conference schedules in the nation, yet that made no difference with the voters. Last season Ohio State was favored against an SEC team that people said didn’t belong. Florida slaughtered the Buckeyes 41-14. Look for a possible repeat; LSU wins the National Title.
LSU 31, Ohio State 21

Rose Bowl:
Illinois vs. USC
The Match-up: For the last two weeks everyone in the nation thought the Rose Bowl would break tradition and take Georgia against USC. But, in a not so stunning move, the Fighting Illini are headed to sunny Pasadena to be crushed under the Trojan’s boot heel. Ron Zook’s Illinois team has turned their program around in the last two seasons, but USC is a different caliber team than any they’ve faced this season. Trojans roll.
USC 45, Illinois 17

Orange Bowl:
Virginia Tech vs. Kansas
The Match-up: Last week no one was sure if Kansas would get a BCS Bowl, or if they were destined for the Cotton Bowl. Now, the Jayhawks are headed for a collision with the ACC Champion Hokies. VaTech has been a true roller coaster team this year, winning their conference but losing to LSU by 41 points. Kansas played far better than anyone expected, and this BCS berth proves it. Look for a good game between fairly equal teams.
Kansas 24, Virginia Tech 20

Sugar Bowl:
Georgia vs. Hawai’i
The Match-up: The battle of at-large teams comes to New Orleans. This is the third time in the BCS era that UGA has gone to the Sugar Bowl. They beat FSU 26-13, and lost to West Virginia 38-35. Hawai’i makes their first ever BCS appearance. Matthew Stafford has progressed into the QB Georgia was looking for. Colt Brennan has broken almost every passing record in the NCAA, and ESPN has said that Georgia has yet to face a passing attack like Hawai’i brings to the table. Hawai’i, though, has yet to face a defense like the Dawgs. This may come down to special teams, and Mikey Henderson is one of the best return-men in the nation.
Georgia 34, Hawai’i 24

Fiesta Bowl:
West Virginia vs. Oklahoma
The Match-up: Oklahoma went into the Fiesta Bowl last year with hopes of a BCS win. Those dreams were crushed by Boise State, whose arsenal of trick plays caught the Sooners off guard and set the tone for a WAC BCS victory. West Virginia, by all accounts, is better than Boise State. WVU also lost last weekend to Pitt. Oklahoma has a better defense than Pitt. Watch for the Sooner D to keep Slaton and White in check.
Oklahoma 27, West Virginia 13.

The Other Bowl Games Predicted:
Poinsettia Bowl: Navy 30, Utah 20
New Orleans Bowl: Memphis 17, Florida Atlantic 10
Papjohns.com Bowl: Cincinnati 31, Southern Miss 17
New Mexico Bowl: New Mexico 24, Nevada 22
Las Vegas Bowl: BYU 27, UCLA 19
Hawai’i Bowl: Boise State 39, East Carolina 10
Motor City Bowl: Purdue 28, Central Michigan 20
Holiday Bowl: Arizona State 26, Texas 25
Champ Sports Bowl: Boston College 30, Michigan State 21
Texas Bowl: TCU 17, Houston 10
Emerald Bowl: Oregon State 24, Maryland 13
Meineke Car Care Bowl: Wake Forest 26, UConn 12
Liberty Bowl: Central Florida 44, Mississippi State 27
Alamo Bowl: Texas A&M 31, Penn State 26
Independence Bowl: Alabama 17, Colorado 14
Armed Forces Bowl: California 34, Air Force 31
Humanitarian Bowl: Fresno State 24, Georgia Tech 17
Sun Bowl: South Florida 28, Oregon 13
Music City Bowl: Kentucky 34, Florida State 17
Insight Bowl: Oklahoma State 42, Indiana 10
Chick-fil-A Bowl: Auburn 28, Clemson 20
Outback Bowl: Tennessee 30, Wisconsin 21
Cotton Bowl: Arkansas 24, Missouri 21
Gator Bowl: Texas Tech 45, Virginia 20
Capital One Bowl: Florida 31, Michigan 19


A Completely Unwarranted Look Ahead
2008 Pre-Pre-Season Top Ten (You know it doesn’t count for much when this Pre-Season Top Ten is out before the Last Season is officially over)
1. LSU
2. USC
3. Oklahoma
4. Georgia
5. West Virginia
6. Florida
7. Ohio State
8. Virginia Tech
9. Oregon
10. South Florida

Randomocity

1. So someone deserves to die because they named a teddy bear Mohammed? Peaceful religion, eh? A few years back someone in New York put a crucifix in a jar of urine and it was called art, you didn't see mobs take to the streets demanding the artist die, did you?

2. Hostage crisis at Hillary Headquarters. I truly hope no one was hurt, but I'm also waiting for Hillary to play the "Pity my Campaign" card over this one. If you think that's harsh, too bad.

3. As bad as everything is in the world today, I'm actually happy. I think I know why...

4. I'm going to try and briefly describe the possible outcomes of this college football season's race to the BCS: If Missouri and West Virigina both win today, they play for the national title. If Missouri wins and West Virginia loses, then Mizzou plays Ohio State for the national title, WVU likely goes to the Fiest Bowl against Oklahoma or Kansas, Georgia plays Boston College in the Orange Bowl assuming BC wins the ACC, if VaTech wins the ACC Georgia could land in the Rose Bowl against USC. Bowls notoriously dislike rematches from the previous year. If West Virginia wins and Missouri loses, then WVU and Ohio State play for the national title. If WVU and Mizzou both fall, and if Tennessee drops LSU in the SEC Title Game, then Georgia could play Ohio State for the national title. If LSU wins the SEC and WVU and Mizzou both lose then LSU plays Ohio State for the national Title, Georgia then goes to the Sugar Bowl, likely against Hawai'i. If you aren't thoroughly confused, then props to you. If Tennessee wins the SEC, WVU wins, and Mizzou wins, then Georgia is a lock for either the Rose or Orange Bowls, again depending on who wins the ACC. The vital piece of information here is whether or not the Rose Bowl is willing to part with tradition and go for the best possible match-up. If they go traditional, you'll see USC against either Ohio State or Illinois. If they go for the best match-up, you'll see USC against Georgia (and I'm not saying that because I love the Dawgs, watch ESPN) So here are your end of the regular season BCS projections:
National Title Game: West Virginia vs. Ohio State
Fiesta Bowl: Missouri vs. Arizona State
Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. Kansas
Rose Bowl: USC vs. Georgia
Sugar Bowl: LSU vs. Hawai'i

5. The Great Water Shortage of 2007

The Year of the Drought. That sums up 2007 for most of the southeast, and especially North Georgia. We’re over 20 inches behind on average rainfall this year, meaning that most area lakes are down anywhere from ten to twenty feet. But the drought has taught us lessons, and not necessarily about water conservation, but more about the operations of the Army Corp of Engineers.

This Cracker Jack group of guys notices the rapid pace at which Lake Lanier is dropping. Note before we go any further that Lake Lanier services a fairly large area with water. So the lake level is dropping fast. The key to saving water here is to limit the number of releases, and the duration of releases, at Buford Dam. Does the Corp of Engineers follow this example? No.

They maintained the regular release schedule for a rapidly disappearing lake. Their reason: fresh water mussels living on the Apalachicola River in Florida. I will repeat that. Their reason: fresh water mussels living on the Apalachicola River in Florida. It sounds even worse the second time.

Apparently, releasing water from Lake Lanier causes the water level on the Apalachicola River to rise. When the river level rises the mussels nest higher on the banks, and then when the water level goes down the mussels suffocate and die.

Now, maybe I’m not in the proper tree-hugging sacrifice my life for a squirrel mindset here, but it seems a tad bit ridiculous to take water away from a place that isn’t getting rain and sending it to a place that, although also in a drought has still received more rain than North Georgia.

But, the fresh water mussel industry must be maintained. Guess it's time for North Georgia to invest heavily in Dasani.

Quick Hit: Football Future-see record

Hi gang,
The college football regular season is nearly over, and as far as the Right Wing is concerned, it is. No more Future-see until bowl season rolls around.

Counting every score we predicted, in terms of winner and loser, the prediction staff here went 34-23 over the course of the season, a winning percents of .596, I think. Anyway, it's not bad for some guys who can't do math.

So, once we know who is in which bowl, the final Future-see will appear, predicting each bowl game.

Bye, gang.

Robert Hates Everything

The Internet responds to Robert's withdrawal:

I've been thinking a bit tonight about how Robert over at Skewed is pulling away from the internet. He claims that people should get in touch with him the old fashioned way, as friends are supposed to do, by calling him. Which is all well and good, except that Robert lives in Blairsville, the middle of east bumble, quite literally nowhere. That's long distance for most of his so-called friends. And email? IF Robert actually did check his email this would be a viable option. I'm looking through it now and there's unanswered crap in there from 2002. Oh well, it's his life I guess. If he wants to leave the internet, let him go.

No, no no no. This is an intervention. No one wants to see such a promising young online career go belly-up so quickly.

We're all your friends. We don't want to see you get hurt. Now that you're taking your frustration out on AIM, the poor program just can't handle it. Play nice, please.

Besides, pulling away so quickly isn't healthy. Studies have shown that "cold turkey" is bad for your way of life. What's so bad about Facebook or MySpace anyway, we're just networking tools. We can't help it if the programmer sells your info, we're just pawns in the evil game of life.

Robert, listen to me. I'm not a program, I'm a possibility. If you run away from the internet, you'll never get to play online games, or multi-player games like World of Warcraft. Also, how exactly are you going to check email without getting online, eh? So we're asking... please don't leave the internet.

Post Turkey Day Exertion

I'm at work, or more precisely sitting here at my desk waiting for one person to show up so that I can shut down the shop and go back home. I just got off the phone with Robert, and I learned that Skewed View is pulling the plug on their Facebook connection.

I also learned that Grubbs had to go in to work at roughly 3 am today. Which brings me to Black Friday. This is the evil day when everyone wants to go shopping for some ungodly reason. No one stays home, save the sane people of the world. I had to work today, because people want to move and they need rental trucks to do so.

But the thought process behind Black Friday is bothersome to me. Studies would probably show that more people suffer anger issues, heart problems, increases in blood pressure, and quite possibly crimes of passion (in the loose sense of the word passion) on this particular day. You just know that somewhere, someone is fighting someone else over the last Tickle-me Elmo doll in Toys-R-Us.

This post Thanksgiving day of rage doesn't exactly bring out the best in humanity. Thankfully, fot those among us with the slightest touch of sanity, the fact that we can go home, eat some leftovers, sit down in a nice plushy recliner and watch some college football later... well, that comes real close to Heaven on Earth.

New Topics for the Right Wing:

1. Dr. Who. I never watched this show before a couple of weeks ago. I can now say that it is the most amazing thing I've seen in years.

2. Crazy Football. That's all you can say. When Kansas and Missouri both have a decent chance at playing for the national championship... yeah, words don't even describe.

3. Standing up to Darth Jespersen. I made a comment in class the other day about an even in Japan, and I said "We all could've went." Jespersen, in front of the class, calls me out and says "Shouldn't it be 'we all could've gone'?" I replied, "Well, I was using the dialectical speech, something I assumed you as a writer would be familiar with." To which he said, "Well, you got me there."

4. Sterilization to save humanity. An "eco-warrior" has sterilized herself, because she claims that "Having children is selfish. It's all about maintaining your genetic line at the expense of the planet." Just when you thought the global warming nuts couldn't go any further, they now say that having babies is selfish.

Next year should be fun... wait, we've still got a month to go on this year. Fantastic.

Football Future-see End-of-Year SUPERsized Edition

(11) USC at (6) Arizona State: USC is so good they have two number 1s beside their name now. Actually, the Trojans are having a down year while the rest of the PAC-10 is on the rise. C’mon, USC, you lost to Stanford, you can’t expect too great of a bowl. Meanwhile, the Sun Devils are quietly having one of the best years in school history. If this game was in LA the outcome might be different, but Tempe is no easy place to win now. Arizona State 25, USC 21.

Arkansas at (1) LSU: The Tigers need a solid win. They need to put down McFadden and the Razorbacks, and then knock off whoever goes from the SEC East, to lock up a spot in New Orleans on January 7. Arkansas needs a big win to bolster their standing in the eyes of the pollsters. Darren McFadden is making his case for Heisman, but it doesn’t look to be enough to top LSU. Tigers 31, Razorbacks 17.

(7) Georgia at Georgia Tech: Mark Richt’s Bulldogs hold a six game winning streak over the Jackets, meaning that Chan Gailey is 0-5 against the Dawgs since taking over at Tech. This game means nothing to the Dawgs SEC hopes, but to the fans, this is a must win every year; it’s nothing but pure, old-fashioned hate between these two. Georgia needs an impressive win to ensure, at the very least, a trip to New Orleans on January 1. The Sugar Bowl is already looking toward Athens as an at-large team. Some people are saying this will be a close game. The Right Wing doesn’t see it that way. Georgia wins 34-14.

(19) Boise State at (15) Hawai’i: The only reason a WAC game appears on the Future-see is because of its bowl implications. The Sugar Bowl would love to match up Hawai’i and Georgia. Boise State wants to get back to a BCS bowl. If Colt Brennan is healthy Hawai’i’s offense is as good as any in the country. But Brennan has been banged up lately. Boise State brings a good team to the table every year. Everything points to this game being an offensive shoot-out, which means the defenses will show up. Hawai’i takes a close one 28-24.

(8) Virginia Tech at (16) Virginia: Boston College awaits the winner of this game in the ACC Title game. VaTech has yet to be truly impressive this year. Frank beamer appears to have taken on the old Mark Richt approach of “do just enough to win.” Al Groh is poised to finally take Virginia to the next level. As ACC games go, this one should be fun to watch. Virginia in an upset 20-18.

(18) Tennessee at Kentucky: Georgia will be watching this game with great interest. Should the Wildcats knock off Tennessee the Dawgs would play LSU for the SEC Title. Neyland stadium is a tough place to play, perhaps the toughest in the SEC. But this game isn’t in Neyland. Also, the Vols have beaten Kentucky 23 or 24 straight times. But this isn’t the Kentucky of two years ago. Georgia had scored 40 points or more in three straight games until Kentucky held them to a mere 24. The Vols want to play for an SEC Title. Kentucky wants to position itself for a good bowl game. Close game, but look for another upset. Kentucky 26, Tennessee 24.

Other Score Predictions:
Auburn 17, Alabama 10
Texas 27, Texas A&M 21
Kansas 24, Missouri 21 (OT)
Clemson 40, South Carolina 28
Oklahoma 17, Oklahoma State 15
Florida 35, Florida State 14

Suggestions for improving college football (not that any of these will ever happen):
1. The Big Ten needs to add another team, preferably Notre Dame. The conference could then form two 6-team divisions and have a championship game. The desirable conference line-ups would be:
Hayes Division: Ohio State, Indiana, Illinois, Purdue, Michigan State, Northwestern
Schembechler Division: Michigan, Penn State, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Minnesota, Iowa
The Championship game could be played in the RCA Dome in Indianapolis.

2. The PAC-10 should recruit Boise State and Hawai’i in the conference. The PAC-10 would then be the PAC-12, with two 6-team divisions, likely as follows:
PAC-12 North: Boise State, Washington, Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State, Cal
PAC-12 South: USC, Stanford, Arizona, Arizona State, Hawai’i, UCLA
The Championship Game could be played in Las Vegas every year.

3. College basketball has a thing every year called the ACC-Big Ten challenge, where teams from each conference face off against one another over a weekend. This would be amazing for college football, just imagine. The SEC-Big XII challenge. LSU vs. Oklahoma. Florida vs. Texas. Georgia vs. Kansas. Tennessee vs. Missouri. Alabama vs. Texas Tech. Auburn vs. Oklahoma State. South Carolina vs. Texas A&M. Kentucky vs. Colorado. Vanderbilt vs. Baylor. Ole Miss vs. Iowa State. Mississippi State vs. Kansas State. Arkansas vs. Nebraska. It would be amazing.

4. A Plus-One System. The top four BCS teams face each other in revolving bowl games each year. One plays four, two plays three. The winners meet in the National Championship game. It’s the closest DI will get to a playoff.

5. Could the SEC trade Vanderbilt to the ACC for Clemson and then trade Ole Miss to the Big XII for Oklahoma State. (This one was pitched to me by a friend, I’m not sure if it is viable at all.)

6. Bowl affiliations bother me. I don’t think it’s right that only certain conferences can go to certain bowls. You’re telling me that, if Ohio State went 8-4, but won the Big Ten, they deserve to be in the Rose Bowl more than a one-loss team from either the Big XII or the SEC. Wrong.

For the Hundredth Time...

(7) Ohio State at (21) Michigan: This is the first time in years that both of these teams enter this game off a loss. Ohio State was upset by Illinois and Michigan fell to Wisconsin. Still, with both teams losing, this game decides the Big Ten championship. Ohio State had their perfect season ruined by the Illini, and Big Blue, who had fought so valiantly to overcome losses to Appalachian State and Oregon saw their hopes dashed by the Badgers. A win likely puts either team in the Rose Bowl, probably against Oregon or Arizona State. Michigan knows how to beat Ohio State, if they watched the film. Pressure the QB, which Michigan has been inconsistent on this year. It’s close, but the Right Wing is calling for the upset. Big Blue wins in the Big House, 27-25.

(17) Boston College at (15) Clemson: This game decides one half of the ACC Championship game match-up. The Winner of BC/Clemson plays the winner of Virginia/VaTech. Matt Ryan and BC and fallen hard lately, dropping from 2 to 17 in two weeks. Clemson is trying to assert dominance in the ACC, a once powerful conference that has faltered in recent years. This game is at Clemson, which favors the Tigers. The fans will be purple and orange and loud, which favors the Tigers. All of this means Boston College will win, right? Maybe. This is the hardest game to predict this week, because the teams are fairly even. Clemson has the advantage of home field; BC has the motivation of two losses. Even if BC wins and doesn’t make the title game, there’s something to be said for conquering Death Valley. Tigers take it, though, 24-17.

(23) Kentucky at (9) Georgia: Kentucky has a hard time stopping the run, and if there’s one thing the Dawgs do well, it is run the ball. Knowshon Moreno is making a case for Freshman of the Century, piling up number not seen since the early 1980s. Kentucky has one of the nation’s best QBs in Andre Woodson, a likely first round pick in April, but lately Kentucky has been on-again-off-again offensively. Georgia still has dreams of and SEC Title Game berth, but the Sugar Bowl is already eyeing the Dawgs as an at large team. Georgia has put up 40 points or more in their last three games, hanging 42 on Florida, 44 on Troy and 45 on Auburn. Kentucky beat Georgia last year, making this a bit of a revenge game. Dawgs roll, 41-21.

Vanderbilt at (20) Tennessee: Anyone who says the SEC East is down this year is either a PAC-10 homer or an Ohio State grad. Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida are playing as well as any other teams in the nation. Tennessee controls their own destiny, they need only win out and they play LSU for the SEC Title. Should UT lose and UGA win out, the Dawgs play for said title. Vandy is looking to play spoiler on somebody this year. They nearly took down Georgia a month ago, and beating the Vols would be a signature win for the school. Every Georgia fan is praying for the upset. Vanderbilt will have to be sharp, as Neyland Stadium is one of the hardest spots for the road team to win. Vols take it, but Vandy makes it close, 24-21.

(4) Oklahoma at Texas Tech: Well, Number 2 Oregon has already lost this week, who’s to say Number 4 can’t go down as well. Graham Harrell commands one of the nation’s most powerful offenses in the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Oklahoma could be caught looking forward to a match-up with either Kansas or Missouri in the Big XII title game. Scoring is up in the Big XII, as four teams have gone over 70 points at least one time this season. Look for a high scoring shootout, and as much as we want to call for an upset, Oklahoma looks to be too strong. Sooners 45, Red Raiders 39.

So, for a quick off the cuff prediction segment, we’re going to call the BCS Bowls right now:

Orange Bowl:
Clemson vs. West Virginia

Sugar Bowl:
Georgia vs. Hawai’i

Fiesta Bowl:
Kansas vs. USC

Rose Bowl:
Arizona State vs. Michigan

National Championship Game:
LSU vs. Oklahoma

A Few Random Thoughts to Celebrate 100 Posts:

-The Right Wing is proud to announce the candidate we support for President in 2008. It’s someone that really deserves the job, a candidate who has distanced themselves from all the rest. That person is… no one. There is not a single candidate worthy of the job.

-Skewed may have more posts, but at least we don’t flash children’s heroes… ahem… Fred.

-My last post was better than this one, but it turns out I do have a readership. Yeah!

99: Not My Computer

I'm sitting in the Great Room, typing on a computer that isn't mine, hence the title of this post. This is the first official Right Wing post ever typed completely on a laptop, meaning it's slighty better than the rest, also, we're on the cusp of the 100th Post in our history. Robert over at Skewed made a huge deal about his 100th post and Fred tore him a new one for it. Well, the only person here that could've said anything about our celebration is Sanjay, and as you know, Sanjay is still MIA.

So, onto the celebration. Our first thought here at The Right Wing was what we've accomplished over the course of these 99 posts. We started with some wacky stuff about politics, and some fairly mean-spirited stuff about Ray Nagin. Lately, we've been on a kick about predicting football outcomes (and failing miserably I might add). During that time, Sanjay appeared, brnging with him the Greater Good, a desire for mankind to make the world a little better for everone else.

It was just brought to my attention by the person whose computer I'm using that (though not by her, if that makes any sense) that my blog actully has a readership of somewhere between zero and nought, and that I'm therefore writing merely because I enjoy writing, If this is true, then too bad, I'm gonna keep doing it.

What else do I want to talk about.... oh, that's right, HOCKEY! The greatest sport rolls on, and you really should see it. She whose laptop I'm using went to her first game Saturday last and she was more excited than I was. It was a blast.

Life, it seems, goes on unburdened. Apparently, the purpose of a blog is to reveal your deepest, mostest intimate secret to the world. Mine is this: I love socks. They keep your feet warm, which is really all a person can ask for, if you think about it...

Or can a person ask for more? Expect more? Sure, but I don't take myself seriously enough to worry about it. It doesn't depress me to not take myself seriously... If more of the people who had taken themselves seriously had not taken themselves seriously the world would be a much better place. Prime example: Suicide bombers. If suicide bombers took themselves less seriously, they wouldn't pack explosives, they would pack confetti. Instead of dangerous, shrapnel filled explosions, the guy would stand up on a crowded bus, scream, pull a cord, and brightly colored scraps of paper would rain down on everyone. The only way that situation is funnier... muppets.

Really, mppets make everything funnier. Think of something horrifying, a plane crash, for instance. Now, think of it with muppets.

Well, that's it, I'm out of ideas. And I'm beautiful... wait, did I just lose control of my own blog? Maybe. Oh well. Goodnight, and may God bless.

Football Future-see Once More

(12) Michigan at Wisconsin: Wisconsin is no easy place to play, but Big Blue has its sights set on a Big Ten title. The problem with the Big Ten is easily solved: Notre Dame needs to give up its independent status and join the conference, allowing for a Big Ten title game. There are a lot of good teams in the Big Ten, a title game is only logical. The divisions wouldn’t have to be geographical either; you could have the Hayes Division and the Schembechler Division. But in this game, Michigan knows what it needs to do. Wisconsin is good, but just not good enough. Wolverines take a close one, 27-23.

Wake Forest at (21) Clemson: Riley Skinner is one of the best quarterbacks you’ve never heard of. He’ll lead the Demon Deacons into Clemson looking to upset the purple and orange. I’m no Clemson fan, but watching the Tigers run down the hill into the stadium is one of the best sights in the game. Wake is trying to make noise again in the ACC, they are defending conference champs, but Clemson would like an ACC title, and at this point they control their own destiny in the division. Look for the Tigers to win 24-21, but don’t be surprised if Skinner pulls the upset.

(18) Auburn at (10) Georgia: The oldest rivalry in the south. Often, the team with the most to lose in this game does just that. Last year Auburn was number 5 in the nation and dreaming of a national title berth, but Georgia, who had lost 4 of their 5, rolled in and crushed the Tigers 37-15. This season Georgia is on track for a shot at the Conference title and Auburn would love to ruin that for the Dawgs. But Georgia has a weapon that people are just now learning about: Knowshon Moreno. Moreno is over 1,000 yards rushing on the year, something only one other freshman in UGA history has done, a guy named Herschel. Georgia needs this more than Auburn, and they stand a good chance, but it’ll be close. Dawgs win 31-28.

(15) Florida at South Carolina: Spurrier welcomes his old team into Gamecock Country. Florida is coming off a tough loss to Georgia, and Tebow could very well still be roughed up. South Carolina lost their shot at the SEC title game by losing to Tennessee a couple of weeks back. Florida suffered a string of stinging losses. The Gators will bounce back, but they’re too far out of the game, and too much has to go their way, to reach the title game in Atlanta. Gators win, 34-18.

Arkansas at (24) Tennessee: UT has the inside track in the SEC East. All they have to do is win out. To do so, however, the Vols must stop Darren McFadden, who is looking to reestablish himself in the Heisman race. The old SEC scenario played out again this year, Georgia beat Florida, Florida beat Tennessee, and Tennessee beat Georgia, but thanks to South Carolina and Kentucky, the East remained wide open. Tennessee controls their destiny; Arkansas has a chance to play spoiler in the East. Here’s your upset, the Razorbacks ride into Neyland and knock off the Vols 26-22.

Shantytown

Last night was Shantytown, the annual event to raise money for Habitat for Humanity. Of course, jocularity ensues when you get that many college students together with that much duct tape, cardboard, and spray paint.

I wasn't part of the event itself, but I did donate some money and, with some friends, bought a lot and constructed a shanty. It was a good, clear night, perfect for stargazing. Colin and I noted at least two satellites, which was kinda awesome.

Once the actual shanty was done we realized that we had nearly half our cardboard left over. Davis proceeded to build a tower, which I eventually ended up in. By tower, I mean he stacked six boxes on top of each other, leaving the inside completely open. If you've never been in a cardboard box tower, it's loads of fun. Especially when you know you're going to fall, all the better.

It took about ten minutes for me to finally fall and nearly kill myself. I got some help from Colin, who, as it happens, was NOT in a cardboard box tower. I stayed on the ground for a couple of minutes, laughing so hard I thought I might vomit. Just kidding, but it was funny. Don't worry, Michele took pictures, and they'll probably show up at some point.

The evening wore on and the band kept playing. The intoxicating scent of spray paint fumes filled the air and nearly caused Lauren to pass out. A few shooting stars later it was time to depart. I'm glad I was there.

Football Future-see Returns

(4) Arizona State at (5) Oregon: Oregon surprised me last week by beating USC, and this week they face Arizona State, who is coming off a crushing win over Cal. Look for Oregon’s QB Dennis Dixon to have a good day. The Ducks will be tested, but I think they’ll overcome. Oregon wins 31-20.

Florida State at (2) Boston College: BC is coming off a big come from behind win over VaTech. Matt Ryan is making a Heisman push. FSU is searching for respect in the ACC. BC is too good for the Seminoles, though. Boston College 28, Florida State 13.

Troy at (10) Georgia: The Dawgs rocked Florida last week, and ticked off everyone by celebrating. This week, not-quite pushover Troy rolls into Athens. Troy put 30 points on the Gators. Georgia put 42. Look for something similar, Dawgs win 37-18.

(21) Wisconsin at (1) Ohio State: If this game were in Wisconsin, then the prediction might be different, but the Badgers are going to OSU, and it won’t be easy. The Buckeyes haven’t really been tested yet, and it is still the belief here that they will lose. This game isn’t it. Ohio State 24, Wisonsin 17.

(3) LSU at (17) Alabama: LSU is good. Alabama is good. LSU wants a shot to play for the National Championship in their own backyard. ‘Bama is looking for that signature win of the Saban era. Don’t get too happy, Tide. LSU rolls 34-14