Welcome one and all. (My all time favorite election season advertisement is the Snickers ad when it was Gore v. Bush. "My dad and I wear the same size pants." "I invented pants." Still makes me laugh way too hard!) As you may be able to guess, based on my moderate absence that I've been gathering blog fodder. What would my regular readers do if I didn't start with sports? (order: Baseball, Fenway, Cable TV, the Presidency, monopolies, Senator Edwards, Sicko)
The thing that drives me most nuts about baseball (apart from players who fill their bodies with illegal performance enhancers in an attempt to break one of the games most sacred records) is the "Proximity out." This play occurs at second base during a double play. For some reason, whether it is the short stop or the second baseman covering, they aren't actually required to touch the bag before throwing to first. Whether they do or not, the runner headed in their direction will be declared (falsely) out. The most grievous of these calls was when the Red Sox were in Atlanta. Edgar Renteria grabbed a ground ball hit by Jason Varitek. He ran toward second base and clearly threw the ball to first before actually reaching second. Mike Lowell was called out at second and 'Tek (who beat the throw that was scooped out of the dirt by the first baseman) was call out at first. So, because of the proximity out, instead of first and second with one out, it was the end of the inning. (if Edgar had actually been required to touch second, there is no possible way the first base umpire could have blown the call as 'Tek would have already past first base before the throw arrived.) Can anyone (Apu) explain this strange exception to the normally stringent rules of baseball?
It's obvious to me that the words "Fenway Park" have gone the way of "Super Bowl." While listening to the Red Sox on WTIC AM 1080 here in CT (Where they break in with a recorded "WTIC" whenever the announcers at the game begin to say "WRKO" or "WEEI Red Sox radio network") I've heard many commercials that reference Boston's home field. However, not one of them mentions it by name. Kevin Youkilis has an advertisement where he talks about his "home park" and "Boston's ball field." Other commercials refer to it as "the home of the Red Sox," "Big Papi's House," and "Boston's landmark stadium." Why is that? Because, in an effort to bleed every dollar they can from the investment that is the Red Sox, the owners now make people pay to say the words "Fenway Park." First Friday Night Baseball, then demanding to own part of WEEI, the Theo issue, now this! How many more ways can the Red Sox front office find to piss off a life long loyal fan like me? Only time will tell.
Speaking of money suckers... Why are there commercials on cable TV? I understand why they are present incessantly on free TV; someone has to pay for the drudgery that's aired on the six stations I get. But if I'm paying a premium to receive cable TV, and the cable companies are paying the stations to have the right to carry their "crap that comes in better," why are the stations also receiving extra funds by airing commercials? Really, it should be one or the other. If I'm going to pay $60 a month for your "service" and you are going to pay millions to ESPN2 just so you can carry their coverage of the National Backgammon Championships, don't let them air commercials! Tell them you won't pay to carry them and nobody's gonna see their money machines. If they want you, oh mighty cable company (who charges the public way too much), to be their conduit into millions of homes demand they remove the commercials! (**sidenote** has anyone else noticed how the only programming out there that has every commercial narrowcast to the specific audience watching is golf?! Every ad during every commercial break has a golf theme. Doesn't even matter what they're selling! If it's an ad for NASCAR, Jeff Gordon and Rusty Wallace are racing in supped up golf carts. It's crazy! **end sidenote**)
I've been thinking recently, (a dangerous past-time, I know), many times the Queen of Hearts has told me that if I begin a career in politics that she'd leave me. Well, I started to think about the reasons that I'd want to be President. Here's what I came up with. The top ten reasons that I would want to be President:
10) To win a "popular election" because just over 20% of the entire US population actually voted for me. (Another 17% voted for the other guy, and 63% stayed home)
9) To completely embarrass my children
8) To ensure that my every word would be scrutinized by millions
7) To have every detail of my past on display for the American public
6) To hit the entire talk show circuit while campaigning (making sure to get on Oprah twice)
5) To be considered wrong by at least 50% of the US population
4) To have every one of my physical imperfections characterized by political cartoonists
3) To spend $5,000,000 to get a job that pays $250,000 per year with a $100,000 per year pension once I'm done. All the while I get to age thirty years in the course of eight. Sign me up!
2) To know that at all times there are at least four people plotting my assassination and one Vice President who wishes one of them would succeed.
And the number one reason that I would want to be president:
1) To be impersonated on SNL!
Really, we have to ask ourselves why anyone would actually want to be President! I say we ask all the candidates and then vote for the one who tells the truth (IE doesn't say "to help the American people.").
In America, we have laws against monopolies. And, unlike some laws, these are actually enforced! However, there is one huge, massive, gigantic monopoly that no one seems to notice. In fact, they are so oblivious to this monopoly that, not only do they look the other way when it swells, they actually want to bestow it with even more monopolies! And it's not even a successful monopoly! It's a business that loses the equivalent to a moderate nations GNP every year! It holds a monopoly on some of the services that our nation requires and it keeps trying to get more and more! So, if we have anti-monopoly laws that are designed to protect Americans from these very practices, why is it that the US government is allowed to be the largest monopoly in the nation and we want to allow it to control more and more?! If the government were a company, would anyone buy stock in it? Is there a more wasteful entity in the country? Just like politics that the only organization allowed to have a monopoly is the very one that is designed to destroy them.
Senator Edwards was on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (Probably the only thing that he and I have in common). Of course, he took the opportunity to spew some talking points. While being lobbed pre-discussed softballs from the host, he said "the war in Iraq has been a huge equipping tool for our enemies. The White House even admits that we now have more terrorists and [fewer] allies than we had before the war." (The senator actually used the grammatically incorrect term "less" allies. I have corrected it for his benefit.) His purpose with this statement was that these changes were simply due to the fact that we were in Iraq. When, in actuality, this statement simply proves that the strategy of the democrats has been successful: Oppose the war, convince enough people that it won't work, and it will fail. There weren't idealists flocking to join the Nazis when the US people supported their nation's involvement in "Europe's War." There wasn't nation after nation bowing before the altar of Communism while Americans backed their government's handling of the Cold War. However, the South was emboldened the more the Doves in the North protested the Civil War. The North Vietnamese recruited countless soldiers as our young people treated war vets like last weeks garbage. Of course there are going to be more terrorists when they think the US public is divided against itself! Hundreds of soldiers refused to reenlist after Valley Forge, but hundreds more signed up to serve when it looked like the fledgling Continental Army had a chance against the Red Coats. With the activities of the "we're not against the soldiers, we're against the war" lefties, no one should be surprised by the increase in the number of our enemies. Especially not those who were hoping for it.
Michael Moore's new movie Sicko opens in July. He, too, was on The Tonight Show (soon to be "With Conan O'Brien"). Brace yourselves: I liked most of what he had to say! While, on one hand, in pure Michael Moore fashion: He exposed a massive problem while either offering a completely ignorant solution or no solution at all. On the other hand: he did not make it political. He pointed out how Hilary was once a major stumper for Universal (read: governmental) Healthcare and now that she is a Senator, she receives the second most Pharmaceutical money from lobbyists in the Senate. Anyone hear her talking about Healthcare anymore? He also lobbed his attacks at Republicans as well, such as Bush II and Nixon. But his documentary is more about the problem then it is about his proposed solution. (**sidenote** one aspect of the solution must be a cap on malpractice suits. If insurance companies knew that they'd never pay more than, say, $1,000,000 per suit, they'd be able to lower their premiums. If physicians and hospitals that now had less insurance to pay weren't allowed to simply pocket that money as profit, then the cost of procedures would drop. If the cost of procedures fell, health insurance companies would either be able to offer more coverage, or lower premiums. Hence the cost of healthcare drops for all. But we'd rather just put a company that has a trillion dollar deficit in charge of the nations health. Good plan. **end sidenote**) I am actually looking forward to seeing Sicko.
Once again, I've bitten off a mouthful. And while chewing it all, I must admit that it's just my opinion.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Thursday, June 21, 2007
No opinions here
This post contains zero personal opinions. I am adding this post in the hopes that people will use it to comment on my new permanent Global Warming links located directly to the left of this post.
Have you taken the Global Warming Quiz? Comment on this post with your thoughts.
Have you visited the climatologists' website? Leave a comment with what you think!
I'm interested to hear all of your reactions. So, please, use this for its intended purpose:
Comment, comment, comment!
Have you taken the Global Warming Quiz? Comment on this post with your thoughts.
Have you visited the climatologists' website? Leave a comment with what you think!
I'm interested to hear all of your reactions. So, please, use this for its intended purpose:
Comment, comment, comment!
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Bonds, Pigs, Mayors...
Hurray! This post won't be nearly as long as the previous one. I've only three subjects to cover: Sports, a suggestion, and a logical conclusion.
Sports: As much as it annoys me, this sports section is yet again regarding Barry "Massive Noggin" Bonds (Anyone surprised he plays for the "Giants"?), however it is not about him. Allow me to explain. ESPN (not my employer) celeb Stuart Scott has repeatedly defended the cheater saying that there has been no proof that he actually has cheated. "Innocent until proven guilty" has been his mantra. Well, to that I would remind Mr. Scott (Who currently attends the church I grew up in) that Barry was suing the authors of "Game of Shadows." This is the book that used sealed court documents that were leaked to the authors who chronicled Barry's use of illegal (in regards to both the law of the land and the rules of the game) steroids and other performance enhancers. Now, if Mr. Bonds did not use these substances, he ought to sue for slander and liable. He did not. He sued because they were using sealed court documents. How interesting. His suit does not lead one to believe that their claims were false, but rather added credibility to them! After Mr. Bonds read my post: Dryer Lint, he realized that to sue for slander (meaning that the book was in error in its accusations) meant that he would be perjuring himself and would face jail time, but to sue for improper use of court documents was proving the book to be true and he faced a Pete Rosian punishment, he dropped wisely his suit. While Mr. Scott can ignore these facts as circumstantial, he cannot avoid the comments of Mr. Dan Parsons of Bellingham Washington who wrote into ESPN the Magazine. He writes, "Stuart Scott seems not to understand that "innocent until proven guilty" applies to criminal proceedings only. And to suggest that proof requires a confession or a "positive test" is ridiculous (many criminals would love that standard.) If Barry Bonds is charged with a crime, he will be presumed innocent until he is found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If he faces civil charges, the standard of proof will be a "preponderance of the evidence" (think 51%). But even if he never faces an actual judge, the court of public opinion has seen ample evidence to find that Bonds is a cheater." Said much better than I ever could have. I'd also like to remind Mr. Scott that a "reasonable" doubt is not beyond a "Shadow" of a doubt. Barry should face a judge. I have no idea why celebrities like Barry and Paris get special treatment but it is time for that, and for Barry's career, to come to a swift end.
Reason behind the Rhyme? We are all familiar with the little piggies. This one went to market, this one stayed home, etc. I submit to you that this rhyme is actually an anti-Communist pro-capitalist piece of propaganda. Consider this: What if Piggies 1 and 3 were the same piggy? And similarly, what if 2 and 4 also were not two different swine? The rhyme (which, as I now review it in my head, does not actually rhyme) would take on a much different feel. "This little piggy went to market." "Market," is, of course, a widely accepted symbol of capitalism, the free market, the world market, laise faire market, even the stock market. "This little piggy stayed home." Well, if he didn't go to market, if he did not embrace capitalism, he must have selected an alternate economic theory. Perhaps Socialism, but if this is propaganda, it is more likely to be aimed at communism. Back to Piggy 1-3: "This little piggy had roast beef!" Obviously a symbol of wealth and prosperity. This little piggy did not have Spam or even corned beef. No no, he got roast beef! He is basking the fruits of his decision to go to market. Meanwhile, Piggy 2-4 "Got none." Alternatively, he suffers the consequences of not going to market. He does not get the succulent roast beef that the other piggy so lavishly enjoys. The final piggy, the one who "Cried wee wee wee wee wee, all the way home." Is a piggy who is apparently choosing a stance of isolation, similar to the one that America held in the early days of World War II. He is running far from the other two piggies in the hopes that he can wait it out in the safety of his home.
Politics: The Mayor of New Haven Connecticut needs to be arrested. John DeStephano has gone too far in his desire to shield the illegal immigrants in his city from the law. He has, without question, conducted himself in a manner that is a bald-faced attempt to aid and abet and obstruct justice. What has he done? First, he has forced a bill through the city legislature providing "anyone" with photo IDs so that they can take advantage of the services of the city. While anyone may purchase these cards, they are completely unnecessary if you have a drivers license which means only those who are unable to attain a valid drivers license will be in line to receive these cards. It's been no secret that these cards have been specifically designed for illegals (I'll not even add the term immigrant onto the end of their title as that belittles the efforts of honest people to lawfully immigrate into this country). When the bill was passed, there was much celebration outside the government building with shouts of "Yes, we can!" ~ In Spanish, of course. (Anyone else feel like we are being invaded?) Opponents of the bill don't mention the fact that most of the people who will be carrying these cards are felons, they raise the equally valid concern that, with New Haven being the first city in the nation to offer this type of unlawful identification, illegals will now flock to the city and bleed it dry. These cards do nothing more than attempt to provide a safe haven in New Haven for people who brazenly ignore our country's laws. On count one: Aiding and abetting, Mayor John DeStephano is guilty. A few days following the passing of this law and before any illegals could get their government issued IDs (Which will make it easier to obtain drivers licenses which make it possible to attain other benefits they have no lawful right to) the Feds paid a visit to New Haven and rounded up 32 illegals. The Mayor was outraged, calling this a political move. Pardon? Arresting 32 felons is political? What ought we do with felons, then, Mr. Mayor? Let them roam free? What was your little "ID cards for all" campaign? Altruism? There wasn’t a shred of politics behind it? Well, a day or so later 2 more illegals were arrested. What did the Mayor do then? He demanded that the Feds cease and desist. He announced, "Do not conduct any more raids!" Why not?! And who are you Mr. Mayor of New Haven CT to tell the Feds what they can and cannot do while enforcing Federal laws? Perhaps you might want to look up the term "Jurisdiction." You have none over them. Get out of their way and let them do their job. Count two: Obstruction of Justice, Mayor John DeStephano is guilty. He can join his political buddies the former Mayor of Bridgeport and the former Governor of Connecticut in the big house. You are the Mayor, you are to uphold the law. You don't create it, you aren't over it, and you don't speak it into being!
Can you tell that I've been fuming over that for weeks?! Well, now that it's off my chest, I must confess: It is all just my opinion.
Sports: As much as it annoys me, this sports section is yet again regarding Barry "Massive Noggin" Bonds (Anyone surprised he plays for the "Giants"?), however it is not about him. Allow me to explain. ESPN (not my employer) celeb Stuart Scott has repeatedly defended the cheater saying that there has been no proof that he actually has cheated. "Innocent until proven guilty" has been his mantra. Well, to that I would remind Mr. Scott (Who currently attends the church I grew up in) that Barry was suing the authors of "Game of Shadows." This is the book that used sealed court documents that were leaked to the authors who chronicled Barry's use of illegal (in regards to both the law of the land and the rules of the game) steroids and other performance enhancers. Now, if Mr. Bonds did not use these substances, he ought to sue for slander and liable. He did not. He sued because they were using sealed court documents. How interesting. His suit does not lead one to believe that their claims were false, but rather added credibility to them! After Mr. Bonds read my post: Dryer Lint, he realized that to sue for slander (meaning that the book was in error in its accusations) meant that he would be perjuring himself and would face jail time, but to sue for improper use of court documents was proving the book to be true and he faced a Pete Rosian punishment, he dropped wisely his suit. While Mr. Scott can ignore these facts as circumstantial, he cannot avoid the comments of Mr. Dan Parsons of Bellingham Washington who wrote into ESPN the Magazine. He writes, "Stuart Scott seems not to understand that "innocent until proven guilty" applies to criminal proceedings only. And to suggest that proof requires a confession or a "positive test" is ridiculous (many criminals would love that standard.) If Barry Bonds is charged with a crime, he will be presumed innocent until he is found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If he faces civil charges, the standard of proof will be a "preponderance of the evidence" (think 51%). But even if he never faces an actual judge, the court of public opinion has seen ample evidence to find that Bonds is a cheater." Said much better than I ever could have. I'd also like to remind Mr. Scott that a "reasonable" doubt is not beyond a "Shadow" of a doubt. Barry should face a judge. I have no idea why celebrities like Barry and Paris get special treatment but it is time for that, and for Barry's career, to come to a swift end.
Reason behind the Rhyme? We are all familiar with the little piggies. This one went to market, this one stayed home, etc. I submit to you that this rhyme is actually an anti-Communist pro-capitalist piece of propaganda. Consider this: What if Piggies 1 and 3 were the same piggy? And similarly, what if 2 and 4 also were not two different swine? The rhyme (which, as I now review it in my head, does not actually rhyme) would take on a much different feel. "This little piggy went to market." "Market," is, of course, a widely accepted symbol of capitalism, the free market, the world market, laise faire market, even the stock market. "This little piggy stayed home." Well, if he didn't go to market, if he did not embrace capitalism, he must have selected an alternate economic theory. Perhaps Socialism, but if this is propaganda, it is more likely to be aimed at communism. Back to Piggy 1-3: "This little piggy had roast beef!" Obviously a symbol of wealth and prosperity. This little piggy did not have Spam or even corned beef. No no, he got roast beef! He is basking the fruits of his decision to go to market. Meanwhile, Piggy 2-4 "Got none." Alternatively, he suffers the consequences of not going to market. He does not get the succulent roast beef that the other piggy so lavishly enjoys. The final piggy, the one who "Cried wee wee wee wee wee, all the way home." Is a piggy who is apparently choosing a stance of isolation, similar to the one that America held in the early days of World War II. He is running far from the other two piggies in the hopes that he can wait it out in the safety of his home.
Politics: The Mayor of New Haven Connecticut needs to be arrested. John DeStephano has gone too far in his desire to shield the illegal immigrants in his city from the law. He has, without question, conducted himself in a manner that is a bald-faced attempt to aid and abet and obstruct justice. What has he done? First, he has forced a bill through the city legislature providing "anyone" with photo IDs so that they can take advantage of the services of the city. While anyone may purchase these cards, they are completely unnecessary if you have a drivers license which means only those who are unable to attain a valid drivers license will be in line to receive these cards. It's been no secret that these cards have been specifically designed for illegals (I'll not even add the term immigrant onto the end of their title as that belittles the efforts of honest people to lawfully immigrate into this country). When the bill was passed, there was much celebration outside the government building with shouts of "Yes, we can!" ~ In Spanish, of course. (Anyone else feel like we are being invaded?) Opponents of the bill don't mention the fact that most of the people who will be carrying these cards are felons, they raise the equally valid concern that, with New Haven being the first city in the nation to offer this type of unlawful identification, illegals will now flock to the city and bleed it dry. These cards do nothing more than attempt to provide a safe haven in New Haven for people who brazenly ignore our country's laws. On count one: Aiding and abetting, Mayor John DeStephano is guilty. A few days following the passing of this law and before any illegals could get their government issued IDs (Which will make it easier to obtain drivers licenses which make it possible to attain other benefits they have no lawful right to) the Feds paid a visit to New Haven and rounded up 32 illegals. The Mayor was outraged, calling this a political move. Pardon? Arresting 32 felons is political? What ought we do with felons, then, Mr. Mayor? Let them roam free? What was your little "ID cards for all" campaign? Altruism? There wasn’t a shred of politics behind it? Well, a day or so later 2 more illegals were arrested. What did the Mayor do then? He demanded that the Feds cease and desist. He announced, "Do not conduct any more raids!" Why not?! And who are you Mr. Mayor of New Haven CT to tell the Feds what they can and cannot do while enforcing Federal laws? Perhaps you might want to look up the term "Jurisdiction." You have none over them. Get out of their way and let them do their job. Count two: Obstruction of Justice, Mayor John DeStephano is guilty. He can join his political buddies the former Mayor of Bridgeport and the former Governor of Connecticut in the big house. You are the Mayor, you are to uphold the law. You don't create it, you aren't over it, and you don't speak it into being!
Can you tell that I've been fuming over that for weeks?! Well, now that it's off my chest, I must confess: It is all just my opinion.
Friday, June 01, 2007
Marathon post
Guess what? Multi post again! Take a deep breath and let’s go!
Where to begin... Oh, I have an idea. How about sports? (I’m sure most of you will skip ahead... however, this one is more of a trivia question, so maybe you might find it interesting.)
Here’s our order: Sports, movies, theater, politics, controversy, outrage. Intrigued? Read on!
Sports: Any regular reader of JMO is fully aware of my ire with the Red Sox front office regarding the continuous dismantling of the team and the frivolous trading of minor league prospects. Some may believe that my feelings are not warranted, or, at the very least, are a bit out of proportion. Alright, chew on this: There are only six teams in Major League Baseball that do not currently have a former Red Sox player on their roster. Nearly all of the remaining 24 teams have a player on the active roster! Though I did have to delve into the 40 man roster for five teams. 19 teams have at least one former BoSox on their active roster! Here’s the question: Can you name the six Red-Soxless teams?
More Sports: This just in: Jason “The Huge Headed Cheater” Giambi has torn cartilage in his left foot and will not play in the upcoming series against the Red Sox! Looks like it’ll be more of a fair fight now. HGHers playing: 0. HGHers injured: 1. (I won’t mention the, now multiple, cheater A-Rod, who was caught cheating in 2004 when he slapped the ball from Bronson’s glove and is now denying that he cheated by saying “Got it” as he passed between Toronto’s shortstop and third baseman who was attempting to make a routine catch on an infield pop up that would have ended the inning for the Yanks, preventing Matsui from scoring. Mind you it was the shortstop who went after him and had to be restrained, not the man who was called off the ball. Providing some credence that A-Rod actually said something. The third baseman wouldn’t have known who called him off, but the shortstop would have know that he didn’t say anything and heard someone else call for the ball! But I won’t mention that...)
Movies: I recently viewed the animated movie “Happy Feet.” I would say that this motion picture had some hidden agendas if they weren’t so blatantly obvious! Where do I start? The most apparent are the greenie tree hugging themes and the bull-horned anti-religion message. Mumbles, the main character, learned that the penguins shortage of fish was due to large “alien” (human) fishing vessels. He attempted to make the aliens aware of the penguins plight and was “Angered at their indifference.” Puh-Leez! Yes, yes, let’s stop fishing so the penguins can eat. Let’s stop feeding the humans so the animals can live. (Sound familiar?) He goes back to the Elders to let them know of his findings and to offer a solution. The Elders treat him as an outsider (because he dances rather than sings) and say that they must keep faith in their penguin “god” to save them. The lead Elder (Not coincidentally named Noah) shouts, “We must hold fast to our ways!” The underlying continuation of that sentence is that the end result of such a dogmatic stance is starvation. Therefore: Faith = Death. A few lesser emphasized themes were pro-illegal immigration and pro-homosexuality. Before I get a hundred comments saying that I’m reading too much into this; I admit, these are a bit of a stretch but they fall in line with the other viewpoints put forth by the movie makers (this is in no way a “film.”) I’ll support both with various plot points. Homosexuality: Mumbles can’t sing. He’s different. He’s not like the other penguins. So much so that his father basically disowns him (until his dancing saves the penguins, of course). What other type of “difference” are modern parents disowning their children for? I can only think of one... As if to highlight the fact that they had a sexual message, the animators chose to put the two main characters in three blatantly sexual positions as they “tumbled” out of the ocean onto an ice flow. All three position, by the way, could have been formed by either opposite or same sex couples. Illegal Immigration: Mumbles (an emperor penguin) meets up with other penguins (Rockhopper penguins) who accept him for who he is. He brings them to his colony. The colony immediately demands that the Rockhopper Penguins are not wanted and they need to go back where they came from. Oh, did I mention that the Rock penguins all have (again, not coincidentally) Hispanic accents? There was outrage over Jar Jar Binks and the “minority” hyenas from Lion King but this stereo-type manages to slip past those who love to be outraged? Maybe it’s because they like what they were hearing. I can think of no other reason other than a pro-illegal immigrant stance that would make the obvious racism suddenly vanish. (One more thing. Hollywood again promotes the one “ism” it believes in. Coming soon, the completely original “Surf’s Up.” An animated movie about penguins!)
More Movies: The Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer opens soon. I truly hope that I hear the same critique of this movie that Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace received. You see, I heard countless people complain that they like their heroes to be out numbered. The problem they had with SWEITPM was that there were two Jedi against one Sith. This small point was enough for them to discount the entire movie. TFFTROTSS has four heroes against one villain. Not only that, but in this episode, the four heroes have interchangeable powers! At one point, at least one of the heroes has multiple powers, being stretchy and flamey at the same time! Sounds like a crappy movie to me!
Theater: The Hartford Stage in Hartford Connecticut has pioneered a brilliant theatrical experience. They are calling it the “Freeview.” During lunch, people in Hartford can catch a portion of whatever play THS is performing at that time for free. They don’t even have to purchase lunch from the theater, they can bring their own. Hurray for a big theater in a *snicker* “big” town oing a big thing for theater!
Politics: At first I was pleased, but upon a second thought I’m somewhat disappointed that Cindy Sheehan (who was the subject of one of my first posts) has announced that she’s “stepping down from the public eye.” I was glad that I wouldn’t have to hear any more of her inane banter. But then I realized that her stance truly sheds light on the hypocrisy, and honesty, of some of the people protesting the war. In her “farewell address” Ms Sheehan writes: “Goodbye, America... You are not the country that I love.” Hey, tell me something I don’t know! She continues, “I finally realized no matter how much I sacrifice, I can’t make you that country unless you want it.” It’s tough to remain a country if you hate all that the country stands for, which is what would be necessary to be the country that Ms Sheehan would love. She did finally come to the only logical conclusion of her viewpoint. She cannot refer to her son (Casey) as a hero. She wrote, “Casey did indeed die for nothing... killed by his own country which is beholden to and run by a war machine that even controls what we think.” Obviously. It’s been so successful in changing your mind. I hope the family of the former NFL Player (who played for the Cardinals and really was killed by his own country) jumps all over her for this comment! Well, Ms Sheehan, JMO will miss you. One less piece of fodder for my blog.
More Politics: Here’s one I’m just throwing out there as the best of the best when it comes to bill passing! The Dems in CT want to decrease the income tax on the non-wealthy and increase it on the wealthy (And they mean wealthy! $250,000 annually and up get the increase, below, the decrease.). Gov. Rell (R) wants to temporarily suspend the 25 cent/gallon gas tax but doesn’t see why anyone’s tax should be increased as the state has a $9 million surplus. The Dems don’t want to touch the gas tax. Rell is promising a veto of any tax increase. The Dems put Rell’s gas tax suspension on their bill. If she vetoes their plan, she vetoes her own. I sit and marvel. I don’t know how I feel. I agree with Gov., why raise taxes with a surplus? But at least the Dems are true to their word. Unlike Gore and Kerry, when they say the rich, the mean the rich! Ah, politics at their finest!
Controversy: I’m just gonna toss this out there: Many homosexuals like to say that it is genetic; they were born that way. Well, blond hair is genetic. Height is genetic. If homosexuality is genetic that means one of two things: either at least one parent of every homosexual in the world is secretly gay, or homosexuality is a genetic mutation. According to natural selection, nature would choose the mutations that better the species. If all homosexuals were true to their identity, none of them would reproduce, effectively removing the genetic mutation from the planet. Hence: Homosexuality cannot be genetic.
Outrage: On the national news today I saw a story about a woman who had HG. This is a “debilitating morning sickness” condition. Mind you, however, this is a treatable debilitating morning sickness. This woman didn’t want to be sick any more so she chose to abort the baby. You read that right. Her selfishness went so far as to put three months of illness ahead of the life of her unborn child! I think what made it harder for me to understand is that this woman was already the mother of two other children! Her husband stood beside her in this decision. How can a woman who already knows that blessing of child birth and the joy of child rearing and the unbearable love that one experiences the first time your child smiles at you, or reaches for you, or says “Mama” and knows that you’ll come running; how can that woman terminate a life because needs to care for it before it’s born? I simply do not understand!
Alright... so all of that is out of my system (And see, it wasn’t all bad stuff! It was, however, all just my opinion.
Where to begin... Oh, I have an idea. How about sports? (I’m sure most of you will skip ahead... however, this one is more of a trivia question, so maybe you might find it interesting.)
Here’s our order: Sports, movies, theater, politics, controversy, outrage. Intrigued? Read on!
Sports: Any regular reader of JMO is fully aware of my ire with the Red Sox front office regarding the continuous dismantling of the team and the frivolous trading of minor league prospects. Some may believe that my feelings are not warranted, or, at the very least, are a bit out of proportion. Alright, chew on this: There are only six teams in Major League Baseball that do not currently have a former Red Sox player on their roster. Nearly all of the remaining 24 teams have a player on the active roster! Though I did have to delve into the 40 man roster for five teams. 19 teams have at least one former BoSox on their active roster! Here’s the question: Can you name the six Red-Soxless teams?
More Sports: This just in: Jason “The Huge Headed Cheater” Giambi has torn cartilage in his left foot and will not play in the upcoming series against the Red Sox! Looks like it’ll be more of a fair fight now. HGHers playing: 0. HGHers injured: 1. (I won’t mention the, now multiple, cheater A-Rod, who was caught cheating in 2004 when he slapped the ball from Bronson’s glove and is now denying that he cheated by saying “Got it” as he passed between Toronto’s shortstop and third baseman who was attempting to make a routine catch on an infield pop up that would have ended the inning for the Yanks, preventing Matsui from scoring. Mind you it was the shortstop who went after him and had to be restrained, not the man who was called off the ball. Providing some credence that A-Rod actually said something. The third baseman wouldn’t have known who called him off, but the shortstop would have know that he didn’t say anything and heard someone else call for the ball! But I won’t mention that...)
Movies: I recently viewed the animated movie “Happy Feet.” I would say that this motion picture had some hidden agendas if they weren’t so blatantly obvious! Where do I start? The most apparent are the greenie tree hugging themes and the bull-horned anti-religion message. Mumbles, the main character, learned that the penguins shortage of fish was due to large “alien” (human) fishing vessels. He attempted to make the aliens aware of the penguins plight and was “Angered at their indifference.” Puh-Leez! Yes, yes, let’s stop fishing so the penguins can eat. Let’s stop feeding the humans so the animals can live. (Sound familiar?) He goes back to the Elders to let them know of his findings and to offer a solution. The Elders treat him as an outsider (because he dances rather than sings) and say that they must keep faith in their penguin “god” to save them. The lead Elder (Not coincidentally named Noah) shouts, “We must hold fast to our ways!” The underlying continuation of that sentence is that the end result of such a dogmatic stance is starvation. Therefore: Faith = Death. A few lesser emphasized themes were pro-illegal immigration and pro-homosexuality. Before I get a hundred comments saying that I’m reading too much into this; I admit, these are a bit of a stretch but they fall in line with the other viewpoints put forth by the movie makers (this is in no way a “film.”) I’ll support both with various plot points. Homosexuality: Mumbles can’t sing. He’s different. He’s not like the other penguins. So much so that his father basically disowns him (until his dancing saves the penguins, of course). What other type of “difference” are modern parents disowning their children for? I can only think of one... As if to highlight the fact that they had a sexual message, the animators chose to put the two main characters in three blatantly sexual positions as they “tumbled” out of the ocean onto an ice flow. All three position, by the way, could have been formed by either opposite or same sex couples. Illegal Immigration: Mumbles (an emperor penguin) meets up with other penguins (Rockhopper penguins) who accept him for who he is. He brings them to his colony. The colony immediately demands that the Rockhopper Penguins are not wanted and they need to go back where they came from. Oh, did I mention that the Rock penguins all have (again, not coincidentally) Hispanic accents? There was outrage over Jar Jar Binks and the “minority” hyenas from Lion King but this stereo-type manages to slip past those who love to be outraged? Maybe it’s because they like what they were hearing. I can think of no other reason other than a pro-illegal immigrant stance that would make the obvious racism suddenly vanish. (One more thing. Hollywood again promotes the one “ism” it believes in. Coming soon, the completely original “Surf’s Up.” An animated movie about penguins!)
More Movies: The Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer opens soon. I truly hope that I hear the same critique of this movie that Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace received. You see, I heard countless people complain that they like their heroes to be out numbered. The problem they had with SWEITPM was that there were two Jedi against one Sith. This small point was enough for them to discount the entire movie. TFFTROTSS has four heroes against one villain. Not only that, but in this episode, the four heroes have interchangeable powers! At one point, at least one of the heroes has multiple powers, being stretchy and flamey at the same time! Sounds like a crappy movie to me!
Theater: The Hartford Stage in Hartford Connecticut has pioneered a brilliant theatrical experience. They are calling it the “Freeview.” During lunch, people in Hartford can catch a portion of whatever play THS is performing at that time for free. They don’t even have to purchase lunch from the theater, they can bring their own. Hurray for a big theater in a *snicker* “big” town oing a big thing for theater!
Politics: At first I was pleased, but upon a second thought I’m somewhat disappointed that Cindy Sheehan (who was the subject of one of my first posts) has announced that she’s “stepping down from the public eye.” I was glad that I wouldn’t have to hear any more of her inane banter. But then I realized that her stance truly sheds light on the hypocrisy, and honesty, of some of the people protesting the war. In her “farewell address” Ms Sheehan writes: “Goodbye, America... You are not the country that I love.” Hey, tell me something I don’t know! She continues, “I finally realized no matter how much I sacrifice, I can’t make you that country unless you want it.” It’s tough to remain a country if you hate all that the country stands for, which is what would be necessary to be the country that Ms Sheehan would love. She did finally come to the only logical conclusion of her viewpoint. She cannot refer to her son (Casey) as a hero. She wrote, “Casey did indeed die for nothing... killed by his own country which is beholden to and run by a war machine that even controls what we think.” Obviously. It’s been so successful in changing your mind. I hope the family of the former NFL Player (who played for the Cardinals and really was killed by his own country) jumps all over her for this comment! Well, Ms Sheehan, JMO will miss you. One less piece of fodder for my blog.
More Politics: Here’s one I’m just throwing out there as the best of the best when it comes to bill passing! The Dems in CT want to decrease the income tax on the non-wealthy and increase it on the wealthy (And they mean wealthy! $250,000 annually and up get the increase, below, the decrease.). Gov. Rell (R) wants to temporarily suspend the 25 cent/gallon gas tax but doesn’t see why anyone’s tax should be increased as the state has a $9 million surplus. The Dems don’t want to touch the gas tax. Rell is promising a veto of any tax increase. The Dems put Rell’s gas tax suspension on their bill. If she vetoes their plan, she vetoes her own. I sit and marvel. I don’t know how I feel. I agree with Gov., why raise taxes with a surplus? But at least the Dems are true to their word. Unlike Gore and Kerry, when they say the rich, the mean the rich! Ah, politics at their finest!
Controversy: I’m just gonna toss this out there: Many homosexuals like to say that it is genetic; they were born that way. Well, blond hair is genetic. Height is genetic. If homosexuality is genetic that means one of two things: either at least one parent of every homosexual in the world is secretly gay, or homosexuality is a genetic mutation. According to natural selection, nature would choose the mutations that better the species. If all homosexuals were true to their identity, none of them would reproduce, effectively removing the genetic mutation from the planet. Hence: Homosexuality cannot be genetic.
Outrage: On the national news today I saw a story about a woman who had HG. This is a “debilitating morning sickness” condition. Mind you, however, this is a treatable debilitating morning sickness. This woman didn’t want to be sick any more so she chose to abort the baby. You read that right. Her selfishness went so far as to put three months of illness ahead of the life of her unborn child! I think what made it harder for me to understand is that this woman was already the mother of two other children! Her husband stood beside her in this decision. How can a woman who already knows that blessing of child birth and the joy of child rearing and the unbearable love that one experiences the first time your child smiles at you, or reaches for you, or says “Mama” and knows that you’ll come running; how can that woman terminate a life because needs to care for it before it’s born? I simply do not understand!
Alright... so all of that is out of my system (And see, it wasn’t all bad stuff! It was, however, all just my opinion.
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