Number Four with a Bullet!

Yes, I'll admit it -- I'm slightly superstitious. I sit the same way and don't move my position during a crucial part of the game, as if it somehow helps my team. I only wear certain shirts while watching my team play, because I've worn shirts/jerseys before that always Always resulted in a loss for my team, so I don't do that anymore. And if I email some smak talk to my friends, my team always loses their next game. It's as if the Big Guy likes to feed that humble pie with authority, and with a sense of humor. Now, it's no secret amongst my friends and family that I am a staunch non-believer of ghosts or supernatural stuff or spirits or anything like that. I'm too much of an amateur scientist to believe in the human side of the unknown -- it's illogical to me. And yet I dread saying anything about my Sun Devils, because I fear they will lose their next game because of my bragging about them and their #4 ranking. In April of this year, I got on everyone about how I thought this was most definitely the year for my Dodgers, and they fell flat on their ass in September and not only missed the playoffs but were this close to finishing dead last. And around that same time in April, I was also boasting about how the Hurricanes would make it back to the Stanley Cup Finals, and they promptly missed the playoffs entirely. So there you have it. Don't expect me to say anything proud and loud about my Sun Devils. I'll let them speak for themselves.

Second Season

I'm a big baseball fan, and I love the Dodgers, thick or thin, but I still try to be impartial (except for those lowlifes in SF)...

Dodgers vs. Friars: Who's the contender, and who's the pretender? Consensus says L.A. is to be taken seriously as a WS contender. My feeling is they are a starter away from making it happen. Trading deadline is coming up, and everyone wants our young talent. We're not giving away the farm this time, we can be patient. Thank God Buehrle is off the market -- he's way overpaid for an underachiever. I'm sure one of our young studs is on the way out, I just hope they make the right choice. Then again, the farm system is the best it's been since the 80's, so we're back. Friars don't have Bochy anymore to carry them down the stretch, so I'm not threatened by them. That leave the D'Backs, who also need an arm, plus they need Ran-day to come all the way back (I'll take the latter, since he's on my Fantasy Baseball team). Come September, the Cardinals and Sun Devil Football will be on the front page of the sports section in PHX (same as it ever was). Dodger Blue will win out.

Reds: What sucks is that my local Turner South station has committed to showing the Reds' games this year. What did I do to deserve this?? Repeat after me: "Playing Out The String". 'nuff said.

YankMe's: oh, they're getting closer! They gotta jump over what,10 teams? Could it happen? Don't see how, but you can never fully count them and the Braves out of it. Yanks need consistent quality starts, don't see it on this roster. Again, July 31st is coming up, and Cashman is on the short leash...

Sawks: oh, another loss last night! To the lowly Jays! Is that a gag reflex I hear? Local sports radio dedicated Wednesday to all baseball fans, to get their prognostications for their fav teams in the 2nd half (remember, Charlotte is a melting pot thanks to all the relocated bankers from the north and west). Yanks fans were optimistic, Sawks fans were concerned. At 10.5 games out??? True, Manny and Papi haven't hit yet, but what if they don't? You gonna hitch your star on Kevin Youkilis? Francona sounds calm, but his team's fan base is starting to wring their hands, while A-rod and Co. are talkin' smak. My prediction? Wilbon will be hatin' life come September, cuz you know Mr. Tony won't let go of this story.

NL Central: The story will be LOU and the CUBS. All that crap we saw earlier this season, he was just being the Step-Dad marking his territory and erasing the crud from the old regime. Now his team knows what he expects from them. Prepare to see the Cubs make a strong move to the finish.

AL West: Of course I love the Halo's, but don't forget about the A's. As Vlad goes, so do the Angels. Billy Bean is a genius. Lost or dumped most of his starters and is still in contention. Love it.

NL East. Braves could make some noise, but the Mets are just too loaded. Barring a collapse, the wild card will again go to the NL West. Bravos don't have a bullpen, and that's what gets you into October.

AL Central: Tribe all the way, with maybe a push from the Twinks. Pale Hose will implode, and Ozzy will be managing in Florida next year...

Independence Day

I was listening to the local conservative newsradio pundit the other day, and he mentioned something that I found made sense. Even though I'm a registered 'publican, I don't always agree with the party line because I still believe the common people should be given some consideration from time to time. This makes me not always in lock-step with the constant dribble of fabricated urgency on such issues as immigration, foreign oil, immigration, the Iraq war, and oh did I mention immigration?
But I do agree with the sentiment that our national holiday in July has been compromised by way of what it's called and how it's marketed. The holiday is Independence Day, and the date is always July 4th. We don't wax on and on about "Dec 25th" or "Feb 20th" or "May 30th", we call them Christmas Day or President's Day or Memorial Day. Yet we see ads for July 4th, we talk about the July 4th parade, we get July 4th off from work. As the man on the radio says, this diminishes the true meaning of the holiday from what it represents -- it is quickly becoming a notable day off, a kick off to summer, but not enough emphasis is placed on what it really means to us and how it all came about. Maybe it's because school is out and we (parents and children) are more interested in the summer holiday mindset instead of using mental faculties to focus on the meaning of it all.
Independence Day is more than a Will Smith movie (although I do enjoy watching it every time it comes on). I don't think people realize just how tenuous and dangerous it was to create this country as an independent state. You don't get that message in grade school, you just hear about how we were created and the war that ensued. Let's not forget that people were killed, reputations and careers were lost or changed forever, and the world was never the same after that episode in history (because of the result).
I made a conscious effort this week to correct anyone that said "July 4th" in conversation to please say Independence Day. Especially my kids and their friends. And they reacted favorably and wanted to know more, which to me is always a good thing. It's the ultimate grass roots effort, but it's a start, and I'm motivated to spread the word, especially to marketing folks who run those ads on TV, radio and print: let's reprogram ourselves to call it what it is -- INDEPENDENCE DAY. And who knows? Maybe it will generate more creative thought as well as being an excuse to load up on hot dogs and beer and fireworks...

Imus vs. Sharpton

Imus: What he said was stupid, especially on public radio/tv. But let's be honest. This is what happens when (1) old rich people get too comfortable in their daily lives and forget the everyday trials and tribulations of the poor and/or less fortunate, and (2) our daily lexicon is weakened from the constant bombardment of trivial and useless jargon, to the point of exhaustion, until someone decides to call "foul" and demands an apology or, even better, some one's head on a platter.

Sharpton: What a pompous, good for nothing hypocrite. I can't believe he has control of the African American voice of reason. Will anyone have the balls to stand up to this charlatan? All of NY knows what a fraud he is, and that's why he left that state, he has no support. And how dare he come down here, to NC, to publicly protest the THEN ALLEGED, NOW FALSE rape charge against the Duke lacrosse players. Imus is right to ask When will Sharpton apologize to the Duke players? This is bullshit at its finest. I'm sick and tired of never seeing anyone stand up within their own ranks to protest the crap going one within their own people, instead they want to focus on what other races are doing (are you paying attention, American Muslim leaders?). Where is the justice?

Imus was past his prime. But if he's smart, he can turn this around by making it a personal vendetta to expose Sharpton and Jesse Jackson and Anne Coulter and Rosanne Barr and Bill Maher for what they are: boneheads.

Life isn't' always fair, but it never fails that what comes around, goes around. 'nuff said...

Gen. Pace's personal opinion vs. America's

"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top U.S. military officer, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, tried on Tuesday to calm anger that erupted after he described homosexual acts as immoral, saying he was expressing only his personal views."

Reading the papers (and the comments from people across America), I see there's lots of strong opinion on this. Is there ever going to be a reasonable solution to this? Or is it no different that the Yes or No on going to war?

The Immigrant Solution

The buzz is all about how to keep the illegal aliens out of our country. The POTUS is in favor of a 9-foot wall along the US/Mexico border. Same with the VEEP and others in similar lock-step (yet no such talk for our northern neighbors, even though the 9/11 terrorists came thru Canada). Seems to me that the main reason illegals come here is for a better way of life. So, if that's the case (for the most part), then maybe we should look at what drives them here instead of staying home. After all, they leave most of their families behind, and Western Union is doing big business with international money transfers.

Here's an idea: how about investigating what makes their home country less desireable, and try to help change it? If we all agree on the above-mentioned main reason, then what can be done to make that happen in the motherland? Freedom is relative, especially if you realize that one has the ability to control their level of freedom when they can control their level of personal wealth.

Frost conditions in California had hit the citrus market hard. Expect higher prices on the consumer level...Frost conditions in Florida have also hit the citrus market hard. Tomatoes are the most expensive they've been in a very long time. Why not look at taking advantage of the warm weather in Mexico by way of fostering more crop production for human consumption? Get Big Agro to invest in Mexican farmlands for crop production. Get the Mexican government to sign off on it via "revenue allocation" to certain influential individuals. Establish committments and incentives to stay long-term. Get the IMF involved -- the IMF should be receptive to getting their loans repaid or (even better) get assurances that their loans will have a stronger liklihood of being repaid, and providing a biz plan for long-term revenue streams that are (on the surface) generated for politically correct crop production for global consumption should be a huge compensating factor.

Think about it. Get Dole or Del Monte or Hunt's or Heinz (Theresa!) or Contadina or Borden or Libby's or Kraft to work on NAFTA-enabled projects, and if managed properly, with UN or WHO or G7 support, you suddenly create an empire that can help feed the world (and make a little coin to boot). Nothing against CA or FL produce -- there's no taste substitute for their locally-grown produce, so they should keep on keeping on. We've got world hunger and/or portions of the world that do with less than the daily requirements of healthy produce because such items cannot be readily available. Here's an idea that gets everyone participating, and more importantly, creates a viable revenue stream that can produce a market with wages and taxes for local governments to help re-develop and recreate themselves as a place to stay and grow from within.

Yes, there's lots of details to work out, both good and bad, but I present to you this general idea for all to work on. Like the Gulf war, international support is key, because it helps to strong-arm the idea forward, especially when skeptics still can't see the forest from the trees. And when I say "support", I mean it in several ways: political, corporate, humanitarian, ecological, and monetary. Your thoughts are welcome -- let's discuss.

this war

what is it good for? Military Intel. Plain and simple. Strategery. Establishing a presence smak dab in the middle of the friggin desert. At the cost of 3000+ lives and countless new gimps with psychological impairments. All paying the ultimate sacrifice or very close to it. But it just amazes me that with all the techno brains we have in this country, we can't get any closer to resolution. Or maybe we have, it's just not public knowledge. And that wouldn't surprise me. There's a shitload we don't know about. Exit the old plan, enter Queen Nancy. Takes a visit to Iraq, and at the end of the day, what does she say? The same they all say after their first visit: "we've gained a newfound appreciation of what is going on here", or some bullshit line like that. And so it begins. Again. The more things change, the more they stay the same. But at least I'm glad to see her royal Frisco worshipfulness is allowed to see the light.

So what's the deal with negotiation? Do we not do that on a global level anymore? And what happened to the UN? Do they still exist? Well, I hope this is all worth it some day, if not for my sake, but for the sake and safety of my daughters as they assume this massive debt and international responsibility.

Welcome Back.