Friday, March 30, 2007
Moving
Well I Finally decided to buy a house. It's a long overdue decision and I am looking forward to getting settled into my new place. Because of the move this weekend, I am going dark as I have not switched over my internet provider to my new house yet. When I get back on-line next week I will post some pictures.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
King Maker
I just read an interview with James Dobson in which he expressed concerns over Fred Thompson because he is not a Christian. Apparently Dobson doesn't think Thompson talks about his faith enough in public. Who is Dobson to judge whether or not someone else is a Christian? Especially someone that he doesn't know on a personal level. Even if Thompson isn't a Christian when did a person's faith become a prerequisite to running for President?
Not only does he attack Thompson in the interview but then he goes on to talk about how much he likes Newt Gingrich. I like Newt a lot as well but wasn't it Newt that just admitted his affair with his staffer on Dobson's show? If Dobson's intent on supporting the strongest Christian, Newt would be an odd choice. Brownback or Huckabee would both be better choices based solely on that criteria.
I used to have a lot of respect for Dr. Dobson. I listened to his show every morning the summer I worked on the assembly line and he has helped a lot of families. He is a man of sincere faith but I am beginning to think he is becoming the next Pat Robertson. Surely Dobson is entitled to his opinion but it seems like he has traded a very good radio ministry for a seat at the political table.
The only reason he offered this unsolicited interview was because the recent poll that came out showed Thompson severely cutting in to Gingrich's poll numbers. Dobson's opinions on Thompson are nothing more than a political hit piece designed to help Gingrich. It's sad that he sunk to this level. I just hope that the many people who listen to him are willing to see through the charade and make up their own mind on all things politics.
Not only does he attack Thompson in the interview but then he goes on to talk about how much he likes Newt Gingrich. I like Newt a lot as well but wasn't it Newt that just admitted his affair with his staffer on Dobson's show? If Dobson's intent on supporting the strongest Christian, Newt would be an odd choice. Brownback or Huckabee would both be better choices based solely on that criteria.
I used to have a lot of respect for Dr. Dobson. I listened to his show every morning the summer I worked on the assembly line and he has helped a lot of families. He is a man of sincere faith but I am beginning to think he is becoming the next Pat Robertson. Surely Dobson is entitled to his opinion but it seems like he has traded a very good radio ministry for a seat at the political table.
The only reason he offered this unsolicited interview was because the recent poll that came out showed Thompson severely cutting in to Gingrich's poll numbers. Dobson's opinions on Thompson are nothing more than a political hit piece designed to help Gingrich. It's sad that he sunk to this level. I just hope that the many people who listen to him are willing to see through the charade and make up their own mind on all things politics.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Just another politician
During a speech Barack Obama gave at a church in Alabama he said the following:
"I'm in Washington. I see what's going on. I see those powers and principalities have snuck back in there, that they're writing the energy bills and the drug laws."
But as Paul Henry would say, here is the rest of the story: Obama actually voted for the Senate's energy bill in 2005 that he was criticizing and put out a press release bragging about its provisions.
What a hypocrite! It appears Obama is a regular politician after all who says one thing and does another.
"I'm in Washington. I see what's going on. I see those powers and principalities have snuck back in there, that they're writing the energy bills and the drug laws."
But as Paul Henry would say, here is the rest of the story: Obama actually voted for the Senate's energy bill in 2005 that he was criticizing and put out a press release bragging about its provisions.
What a hypocrite! It appears Obama is a regular politician after all who says one thing and does another.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Another reason to dislike Katie
The other night Katie Couric interviewed John Edwards and his wife about the recent announcement that her cancer had come back. Instead of being warm and understanding as you would expect from a former Today Show host, she went on the attack as if she was paid for by Sen. Clinton's campaign. I have no intention of voting for Edwards but he and his wife are decent people that deserve better treatment than what they received from her. Doesn't she have something better to do than badgering a cancer patient? Surely there is a celebrity trial that she could cover instead.
To listen to her go on and on and on follow this link: http://www.ifilm.com/video/2836152
To listen to her go on and on and on follow this link: http://www.ifilm.com/video/2836152
Sunday, March 25, 2007
True March Madness
The division 2 championship game between Winona St. and Barton was a real classic. In fact, it might be the best ending to a basketball game I have ever seen. I would encourage everyone to watch the last minute of the game on youtube. Even non-sportsfans will enjoy it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFYnersg2Us
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFYnersg2Us
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Fred
A potential new candidate for President has many people a buzz in Republican circles. His name is Fred Thompson. Most people will not recognize his name but those same people will recognize his face because he is a moderately successful actor. He is a former senator from Tennessee and has starred in such movies as Hunt for Red October and In the Line of Fire. He now plays the D.A. on Law and Order.
The reason people are talking about him is that he is a conservative with experience in Washington politics but isn't necessarily a Washington insider type. He is charismatic, well spoken and would be attractive with southern swing voters. And of course he reminds people of the last actor to run for President who turned out to be a pretty good one.
If Thompson jumps in, I think he immediately replaces Romney or Gingrich as the conservative alternative. Because of his acting career he carries a sort of star quality that none of the other conservative candidates in the race possess. It remains to be seen if he could score enough conservative votes to challenge either McCain or Giuliani.
Despite the hype surrounding his candidacy a couple of things don't fit. First of all he and John McCain are close friends. Thompson was one of the few senators to endorse McCain in the 2000 campaign. I find it hard to believe that he would challenge his good friend for President. Second, he faces an enormous organizational disadvantage. Most of the top talent in the key primary states has already been hired by the other candidates. Third and most importantly he has younger children and is not seen by many to have the energy or commitment to run for President. He likes raising his family and a campaign would definitely cut into that.
Here is what I think is really happening; The McCain camp encouraged Thompson to throw his name out there to change the story away from Giuliani's rise in the polls and hopefully halt Giuliani's momentum. Thompson agreed because they are friends and he probably enjoys the favorable reaction he is getting but I doubt he is entirely serious about running. It is possible that Thompson could begin to coalesce conservatives around him without even running similar to Gingrich. Or he could run for a couple months then drop out and endorse McCain and hope that his conservative support follows over to McCain.
While we can hope that Thompson does run, my guess is that he is just acting.
The reason people are talking about him is that he is a conservative with experience in Washington politics but isn't necessarily a Washington insider type. He is charismatic, well spoken and would be attractive with southern swing voters. And of course he reminds people of the last actor to run for President who turned out to be a pretty good one.
If Thompson jumps in, I think he immediately replaces Romney or Gingrich as the conservative alternative. Because of his acting career he carries a sort of star quality that none of the other conservative candidates in the race possess. It remains to be seen if he could score enough conservative votes to challenge either McCain or Giuliani.
Despite the hype surrounding his candidacy a couple of things don't fit. First of all he and John McCain are close friends. Thompson was one of the few senators to endorse McCain in the 2000 campaign. I find it hard to believe that he would challenge his good friend for President. Second, he faces an enormous organizational disadvantage. Most of the top talent in the key primary states has already been hired by the other candidates. Third and most importantly he has younger children and is not seen by many to have the energy or commitment to run for President. He likes raising his family and a campaign would definitely cut into that.
Here is what I think is really happening; The McCain camp encouraged Thompson to throw his name out there to change the story away from Giuliani's rise in the polls and hopefully halt Giuliani's momentum. Thompson agreed because they are friends and he probably enjoys the favorable reaction he is getting but I doubt he is entirely serious about running. It is possible that Thompson could begin to coalesce conservatives around him without even running similar to Gingrich. Or he could run for a couple months then drop out and endorse McCain and hope that his conservative support follows over to McCain.
While we can hope that Thompson does run, my guess is that he is just acting.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Final Four
It was hard to decide on my final four this year. I am in multiple different pools and in every one I have some different picked to win. But when I first filled it out Sunday night, here were my initial teams and I am going to stick with my initial gut instinct.
Maryland
Kansas
Texas
Ohio St.
I like Kansas over Ohio St in the finals
Yeah I am probably crazy for Maryland over Florida but everybody is picking Florida and I am sick of Joakim Noah and his bunch.
Oh and my sleeper to get to the final eight. UNLV - Which means they will lose to Georgia Tech in the first round.
Maryland
Kansas
Texas
Ohio St.
I like Kansas over Ohio St in the finals
Yeah I am probably crazy for Maryland over Florida but everybody is picking Florida and I am sick of Joakim Noah and his bunch.
Oh and my sleeper to get to the final eight. UNLV - Which means they will lose to Georgia Tech in the first round.
Friday, March 09, 2007
I hate Kroger
I went to Kroger last night to pick up a few groceries. When I got to the check out I realized that I don't have my Kroger card on me. I hate carrying those cards around and usually they just swipe a generic card if I don't have mine. Not last night. Instead the cashier tells me that I have to fill out a new application for a new card. After arguing with her for a few minutes, a whole line has settled in behind me and I am in no mood to fill out their stupid application. I was very tempted to just walk out and leave all the groceries there to make the point that I think having to use a card is stupid. But I was in a hurry and didn't want to have to drive to another store. I finally wrote some chicken scratch on the form with the wrong name and address and figured to heck with them. It is so irritating that they won't simply put their products on sale without having to use the card. Without the card the prices are much higher than say Meijer or Walmart. The only reason they have the cards is to keep track of my shopping habits. I wonder if their card is the forerunner to the mark of the beast. Well as of today I am officially boycotting Kroger until they change their policy.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
CPAC
Every year a large group of conservatives gather in Washington DC at a convention called CPAC. I used to attend these meetings in college and they are great fun. The conference usually draws the top Republican leaders in the country to give speeches and hold receptions. I have several great memories of CPAC but two stand out in particular.
My friends and I were on our way up to the hotel suite for Congressman Dornan's reception and we ended up sharing the elevator with Frank Gifford. At this time, Gifford was still on Monday night Football and still married to Kathy Lee. The only problem was he was with another woman which made us all a little uncomfortable. My friend CJ tried to make chit chat with him by talking about the Chargers but you could tell he wasn't interested in us.
My other memory involves CJ as well as he and I were running late for the keynote breakfast. I think Alan Keyes was the speaker. When we got there the whole room was full except for two seats near the front. So he and I head up there and sit down. Well up comes Tim Russert and Ted Koppel and apparently we had taken their seats. It was a little embarrassing to retreat to the back of the room in front of the entire crowd but to their credit both Tim and Ted were very nice about it.
Anyways this year's CPAC just finished and it was interesting to watch as most of the leading candidates for President attended. The conservatives are without a clear choice in the contest and this meeting was a good place for lower tier candidate to make up ground. What I noticed however, was that none of them took advantage of the opportunity. Instead the event was dominated by the big three including Romney, Giuliani and McCain. Romney did what he had to do as he won the straw poll. But he spent a lot of time and money on staff and volunteers to win that poll and he only barely beat out Giuliani. And for the record, the CPAC poll is not the best barometer of success as last year's winner was Sen. George "beaten incumbent" Allen.
Giuliani did okay as he stayed away from the topics that conservative oppose him on. He instead focused on the war and on school choice. That was smart but at some point, conservatives are going to want to know why he disagrees with them on abortion and gay marriage. Does he have contempt for people who are pro life and anti gay marriage or will he respect that opinion? We are still waiting to find out. But he finished second in the poll and got out of the conference without having to pander to the right and I think that's a good weekend for him.
McCain was the other story even though he didn't even show up to the event. The more I get to know McCain the more I don't like him. He turned down an invitation to speak but then went behind the back of the conference to try and schedule a private reception to woo conference participants. Basically he didn't want to be seen in public with conservatives but still wants their support. That is stupid politics for a Republican. Conservatives already feel disrespected by him and this just added fuel to the fire. Even though McCain has a huge institutional advantage, the end is very near for McCain.
But real loser over the weekend was Ann Coulter. She called Sen. Edwards a faggot and tried to pass it off as being a joke. I used to read her column and her books but frankly she doesn't really add anything to the political debate other than name calling and ridicule. I think she just uses the free publicity to advance her cause of selling more books and could care less what she does to the reputation of conservatives. CPAC should not invite her back next year and conservatives should boycott her books until she gets the hint that her actions are more trouble than what she's worth.
My friends and I were on our way up to the hotel suite for Congressman Dornan's reception and we ended up sharing the elevator with Frank Gifford. At this time, Gifford was still on Monday night Football and still married to Kathy Lee. The only problem was he was with another woman which made us all a little uncomfortable. My friend CJ tried to make chit chat with him by talking about the Chargers but you could tell he wasn't interested in us.
My other memory involves CJ as well as he and I were running late for the keynote breakfast. I think Alan Keyes was the speaker. When we got there the whole room was full except for two seats near the front. So he and I head up there and sit down. Well up comes Tim Russert and Ted Koppel and apparently we had taken their seats. It was a little embarrassing to retreat to the back of the room in front of the entire crowd but to their credit both Tim and Ted were very nice about it.
Anyways this year's CPAC just finished and it was interesting to watch as most of the leading candidates for President attended. The conservatives are without a clear choice in the contest and this meeting was a good place for lower tier candidate to make up ground. What I noticed however, was that none of them took advantage of the opportunity. Instead the event was dominated by the big three including Romney, Giuliani and McCain. Romney did what he had to do as he won the straw poll. But he spent a lot of time and money on staff and volunteers to win that poll and he only barely beat out Giuliani. And for the record, the CPAC poll is not the best barometer of success as last year's winner was Sen. George "beaten incumbent" Allen.
Giuliani did okay as he stayed away from the topics that conservative oppose him on. He instead focused on the war and on school choice. That was smart but at some point, conservatives are going to want to know why he disagrees with them on abortion and gay marriage. Does he have contempt for people who are pro life and anti gay marriage or will he respect that opinion? We are still waiting to find out. But he finished second in the poll and got out of the conference without having to pander to the right and I think that's a good weekend for him.
McCain was the other story even though he didn't even show up to the event. The more I get to know McCain the more I don't like him. He turned down an invitation to speak but then went behind the back of the conference to try and schedule a private reception to woo conference participants. Basically he didn't want to be seen in public with conservatives but still wants their support. That is stupid politics for a Republican. Conservatives already feel disrespected by him and this just added fuel to the fire. Even though McCain has a huge institutional advantage, the end is very near for McCain.
But real loser over the weekend was Ann Coulter. She called Sen. Edwards a faggot and tried to pass it off as being a joke. I used to read her column and her books but frankly she doesn't really add anything to the political debate other than name calling and ridicule. I think she just uses the free publicity to advance her cause of selling more books and could care less what she does to the reputation of conservatives. CPAC should not invite her back next year and conservatives should boycott her books until she gets the hint that her actions are more trouble than what she's worth.
Sunday, March 04, 2007
March Madness
I love this time of year. The tournament is about to start and I am finally getting into the basketball season. This past week there were quite a few good games and here are my thoughts a week before selection sunday.
1. Michigan's win against MSU was nice but the loss against Ohio St was more reflective of the true status of the team. They are mediocre on the cusp of being able to score the occasional upset. But they haven't scored that upset yet in all of Tommy Amaker's seasons. Who was the last top 10 team they have beaten? While it was disgusting to see them give away the game yesterday with Simms' missed dunk and Harris missing his free throw, part of me is glad that they lost. If they had won the pressure would be off to fire Amaker. Now there is really no excuse to keep him around. Unless they think making the NIT every year is the goal. If they do fire him, I hope they go after Tom Crean from Marquette.
2. Living in Lansing I have developed a lot of respect for Michigan State and Tom Izzo. But anybody who thinks they are a good team this year is sadly mistaken. They do have a couple of good wins against Texas and Wisconsin but both were at home. Unfortunately for the Spartans they have to play the tournament on the road and I fully expect an early exit if they get there at all. If they lose in the first round of the big 10 tourney they are firmly on the bubble and probably a 10 or 11 seed. The good news is that Raymar Morgan is a stud and if sticks around the future looks pretty bright for MSU.
3. It was sweet to watch Maryland beat Duke on their home court. At the game this week the cocky fans at Duke starting chanting the Maryland was not their rival. I guess the idea was to say that Duke was so much better that they don't even respect Maryland as their equal. In a sense they are correct in that Maryland Duke is a one sided rivalry but Maryland is actually the one who keeps winning. In fact they have beaten them 5 of the last 7. Take that you stuck up Duke fans.
4. On the issue of while Duke can anyone explain to me why they are in the top 25? They are a pitiful team offensively and their vaunted defense is based solely on the past reputation of other Duke teams. If this team wasn't called Duke, they wouldn't be ranked higher than forty. Maryland on the other hand is playing great basketball and they are not even ranked. It's a travesty but thankfully it doesn't matter what the polls say because unlike in football, basketball actually settles in on the court.
5. I have been a huge Greg Oden fan all year and have argued that he is better than Kevin Durant. Well I admit that I was wrong. After watching Durant play the past couple of weeks, I am amazed at how good he is. He probably the most dominant player I have seen in a decade. Yesterday he put up 25 in the first half against Kansas but unfortunately sprained his ankle and wasn't effective in the second half. If his ankle is healthy, book Texas in the final four. He's that good.
6. Big 10 basketball sucks. Period. Yesterday I was flipping the channels between Wisconsin-MSU and Texas-Kansas. The contrast in play between the two games was startling. Texas and Kansas are in a completely different league. They actually know how to shoot and score points. MSU Wisconsin was an awful game to watch. MSU had like 4 points after the first 10 minutes of play. How is that fun to watch and don't tell me it's because Wisconsin's defense is that good. The Big 10 is going down in the tourney this year. I don't expect any team to make the final four and this further illustrates just how crappy Michigan's season has been. If they can't win in this league, then what's the point?
1. Michigan's win against MSU was nice but the loss against Ohio St was more reflective of the true status of the team. They are mediocre on the cusp of being able to score the occasional upset. But they haven't scored that upset yet in all of Tommy Amaker's seasons. Who was the last top 10 team they have beaten? While it was disgusting to see them give away the game yesterday with Simms' missed dunk and Harris missing his free throw, part of me is glad that they lost. If they had won the pressure would be off to fire Amaker. Now there is really no excuse to keep him around. Unless they think making the NIT every year is the goal. If they do fire him, I hope they go after Tom Crean from Marquette.
2. Living in Lansing I have developed a lot of respect for Michigan State and Tom Izzo. But anybody who thinks they are a good team this year is sadly mistaken. They do have a couple of good wins against Texas and Wisconsin but both were at home. Unfortunately for the Spartans they have to play the tournament on the road and I fully expect an early exit if they get there at all. If they lose in the first round of the big 10 tourney they are firmly on the bubble and probably a 10 or 11 seed. The good news is that Raymar Morgan is a stud and if sticks around the future looks pretty bright for MSU.
3. It was sweet to watch Maryland beat Duke on their home court. At the game this week the cocky fans at Duke starting chanting the Maryland was not their rival. I guess the idea was to say that Duke was so much better that they don't even respect Maryland as their equal. In a sense they are correct in that Maryland Duke is a one sided rivalry but Maryland is actually the one who keeps winning. In fact they have beaten them 5 of the last 7. Take that you stuck up Duke fans.
4. On the issue of while Duke can anyone explain to me why they are in the top 25? They are a pitiful team offensively and their vaunted defense is based solely on the past reputation of other Duke teams. If this team wasn't called Duke, they wouldn't be ranked higher than forty. Maryland on the other hand is playing great basketball and they are not even ranked. It's a travesty but thankfully it doesn't matter what the polls say because unlike in football, basketball actually settles in on the court.
5. I have been a huge Greg Oden fan all year and have argued that he is better than Kevin Durant. Well I admit that I was wrong. After watching Durant play the past couple of weeks, I am amazed at how good he is. He probably the most dominant player I have seen in a decade. Yesterday he put up 25 in the first half against Kansas but unfortunately sprained his ankle and wasn't effective in the second half. If his ankle is healthy, book Texas in the final four. He's that good.
6. Big 10 basketball sucks. Period. Yesterday I was flipping the channels between Wisconsin-MSU and Texas-Kansas. The contrast in play between the two games was startling. Texas and Kansas are in a completely different league. They actually know how to shoot and score points. MSU Wisconsin was an awful game to watch. MSU had like 4 points after the first 10 minutes of play. How is that fun to watch and don't tell me it's because Wisconsin's defense is that good. The Big 10 is going down in the tourney this year. I don't expect any team to make the final four and this further illustrates just how crappy Michigan's season has been. If they can't win in this league, then what's the point?
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