Programming Note

On election night next Tuesday, I will not be live blogging. I will be drinking, and drinking heavily. Carry on.

The Brewers Lost to the World Champion Philadelphia Phillies

I can live with that at this point in the franchise's progression.

Fisking A Reuters Reporter

I haven't been big on fisking (point by point rebuttals) over the year, but this Reuters reporter who has spent more time in Germany than the U.S. recently has my dander up, so here I go.

There may be no better place in the world to witness the shift in sentiment toward the United States than Berlin.

It was hard to imagine a more pro-American city when I first moved here in 1993, yet the wind has changed and the love affair is over.

America was at its peak in Europe in 1993. The Wall had fallen, but nobody was sure that communism and the USSR were completely dead yet. Yeah, I can imagine it was hard to find a more pro-American place at that point. We'd already saved it, but the lingering threat still hovered, and Europe was not yet ascendant. Europe, specifically Germany, and more specifically West Berlin, still felt vulnerable.

The infatuation with all things American has all but disappeared.

It was bound to disappear. For the entirety of the Cold War, Western Europe was essentially a ward of the United States. They were independent, yet they were entirely dependent upon the United State's military guarantee of their sovereignty. As Europe rose as an international competitor of the United States, it was natural that any infatuation that might have been would fade away. It is ignorant to think otherwise.

Perhaps it will change after the November 4 U.S. presidential election -- even though things will never be the same no matter who wins.

As in other countries, America's image has suffered. A June PEW survey found 31 percent of Germans had a favorable view of the United States, down from 78 percent in 2000.

Europe had yet to really feel its oats in 2000. I don't care who was President of the United States the last 8 years, that number was destined to plunge as the Euro, and as a result, the European Union, strengthened. And don't think that the Obamessiah is going to change that significantly unless Russian tanks begin to roll across the European plains.

Being an American in Berlin was once special. Not any more.

A city saved and protected by the Americans during the Cold War, Berlin was an island of overwhelming admiration for America, its presidents and above all the American way of life -- at least its altruistic, kind-hearted, justice-seeking side.

America was once special in Berlin because Berlin's very freedom was entirely dependent on the United States. It isn't all that uncommon for the dependent to chafe against those they are dependent upon as they become more able to fend for themselves. See teenagers.

Avenues were named after U.S. generals, schools after U.S. leaders and squares named after U.S. cities. American disc jockeys speaking mangled German were radio stars.

The U.S. ambassador's Fourth of July gathering was once the most coveted ticket on the garden party calendar. Not any more.

"Ways" and "Passes" were once named after triumphant Packers in Green Bay, Wisconsin. But as time moved on, so did the public.

Berlin mayors spoke American-accented English and everyone from children to the elderly had a twinkle in their eye when recalling the 1940s Berlin airlift, Checkpoint Charlie tank standoffs or John F. Kennedy's 1963 speech in the city proclaiming "Ich bin ein Berliner" ("I am a Berliner").

It isn't hard to be a big fan of the people that are currently pulling your fat out of the fire. That fandom is not destined to last when your own team has it's own strength, tough.

Probably the most moving assignment of my 18 years as a correspondent abroad was in 1994, when a district that hosted 6,000 U.S. soldiers who protected them from 90,000 Soviet forces stationed outside the Berlin Wall held a parade for the departing GIs.

Steglitz is a low-rise district with a small-town feel, and I had expected perhaps a few thousand to interrupt their Saturday shopping for a quick wave goodbye -- or good riddance.

Instead, more than 250,000 packed the streets on that sunny summer morning. As the soldiers marched, the Berliners cheered, and cheered, and cheered. They threw tons of confetti from windows and gave their departing heroes a thunderous send-off.

The reporter in question should not confuse a "thank you" with a "we love you so much that we want you to be here forever." Sometimes thank yous are synonymous with "good bye."

I was born 11 years after the airlift ended in 1949, was toddler in 1963 when Kennedy came, never served in the army and, frankly, never learned in school about the U.S. role in Berlin.

Obviously.

Even in a big city with its stressed and grumpy residents, Berliners always seemed eager to help when I opened my mouth and American-accented German came out.

While I have no doubt that Mr. Kirschbaum is thoroughly Deutsch-ified, I don't think, after all this time, he understands the long love-loathe relationship that Germans have for the United States.

At first, I wondered why I kept running into so many retired GIs in Berlin who stayed. There are thousands of teachers, mechanics, cooks, DJs, bakers, and many in other professions.

It did not take long to figure out why. And I stayed too, one of almost 13,000 Americans who live permanently in the city.

When I first arrived in 1982 as a student, I had the naive goal of losing my American accent. I feared a "foreign accent" would bring disadvantages -- as it might in the United States.

Fortunately, my language abilities are limited and the bad accent actually opened many doors. Years after I married a Berliner, my wife admitted the only thing she remembered about our first meeting was my accent.

I'm not really seeing the point of these paragraphs. Any time you bring new people into a new area, a certain number of them will fall in love with their new home. I did with an area that I still think is inferior to my hometown. Some people even fall in love with Detroit. The fact that a number of Americans fell in love with Berlin (and Berliners) means nothing.

I used to hitch-hike across Germany when I was a student and often felt a surprising warmth toward the United States. Strangers wanted to buy me lunch; for many it was a personal recompense for a piece of chocolate a GI had given them decades earlier.

During the 1990s pro-American sentiment was still high.

They appreciated George Bush's support for reunification in 1990 that overcame British and French reticence. And Bill Clinton got rock star treatment every time he came here.

Even in the wake of September 11 attacks, Berlin's support for the United States was special. More than 200,000 attended a pro-America rally in Berlin on September 14, 2001 to hear German President Johannes Rau say:

"No one knows better than the people here in Berlin what America has done for freedom and democracy in Germany. So, we say to all Americans from Berlin: America does not stand alone."

The author mistakes the transition from dependent to competitor for some nefarious shift of opinion from pro-'good America' to con-'competitor America'.

It was, of course, the dispute over the invasion of Iraq.

Before that, U.S. presidents had always been welcomed in Berlin. However, in May 2002 George W. Bush needed 10,000 German police to shield him from 10,000 anti-war protesters.

While Iraq played a role, Europe, Germany included, began a reflexive resistance against the U.S. this decade because it was no longer fully reliant upon the United States for its security because there really wasn't much in the way of threats. Instead of defender-defended, the relationship became that of more adversarial competitors.

It was difficult to believe that a U.S. president seemed to be avoiding the city that owed its very survival to America. There was a brief ray of hope a month later when Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama gave a speech in Berlin -- and 200,000 people showed up.

The response to Obama was not to Barack Obama. It was Europe's response against America. While I hold no doubt that Obama's yellow bellied ways will appeal to Europeans, he'll never be Jack Kennedy. And because of that, any hope that the author has of Obama reinvigorating the Cold War era relationship is grossly misplaced.

In case things don't change after November 4, perhaps it's time to try finally to get rid of the American accent.

Better get working on that, bud, because the days of the U.S. acting as benevolent host while Europe acted as the symbiotic parasite are long gone.

A Quick Question

If the half-Caucasian Barack Obama loses next week, am I, as a 3/4 Caucasian, supposed to go into a rage over the fact that my fellow mixed racial American was denied the presidency? Or am I an oppressor simply because that extra 25% of white genetics left my skin significantly paler than his? Can someone please tell me what makes us one race or another anymore, because I'm a little lost.

Where are the Obama Press Conferences?

Jay Leno brought up an excellent point in an interview with the raging lefty David Gregory tonight. He asked Gregory why it was that Obama had not held a press conference in a month and a half. They press has been obsessed with VP candidate Palin's accessibility to the press, but only Jay Leno, an obviously left-leaning guy, has bothered to ask why presidential candidate Obama is dodging direct press accessibility. Given how favorable the press has been to him, one has to wonder why he is restricting their access.

What does this mean, Senator Obama?

I encourage everyone to ask that of Senator Obama, multiple times if necessary, in the next 5 days. I'd like an answer to this prior to election day.

"There's a lot of change going on outside of the court. The judges have to essentially take judicial notice up, I mean you've got WW II, the doctrines of Nazism that we are fighting against that started looking uncomfortably similar to what's going on back here at home."

Details, Senator. Quickly, please.

Elizabeth Edwards: You Make Stupid Decisions

Elizabeth Edwards thinks you are too stupid to make your own decisions:

However, Edwards’ critique of Obama’s plan doesn’t mean that she’s saving any love for McCain’s health care proposals. Edwards – who has battled breast cancer since 2004 – said McCain’s plan fails in all important areas by leaving the decision-making process up to individuals, who can frequently “make stupid economics decisions.”

She isn't the only one. It is a hallmark of the left to think that the government makes smarter choices than you do. And by giving Democrats a historic victory with your vote next week, you'll be agreeing with them that you are too dumb to make choices for your own life (but somehow not too dumb to make a critical choice for the impending life of others).

Bud Selig Needs to Punch Back

Baseball has been the media's chew toy for longer than Bud Selig has been commissioner. Just the same, they seem to reserve a special, perverse pleasure in ripping any and every decision that he makes. Often, the man is in a no win situation. Take the World Series last night. The decision had already been made that no game would be rain shortened. It was exactly the right decision. As a result, Game 5 was suspended and would have been suspended no matter the score. Bud Selig cannot control the weather, and unbelievably, for the first time in World Series history, a game was threatened by weather after it already started. And the sports media jumped on the suspension. But had the game been called and a decision enforced with the Phillies up 2-1, the media would have compared it to the All Star game in Milwaukee.

Bud needs to start standing up to the sports media. Cut off access to idiots. Throw his weight around the way NFL and NBA commissioners do. Selig has helped enable this caustic sports media, and they know that there are no repercussions for continually lambasting baseball. While I think Bud Selig has been an excellent commissioner, he is notoriously poor at managing the press. While playing hard ball with them now will not help his cause, it will make the next commissioner and baseball in general stronger.

And just as a side note, suspended, tied games are not without precedent in baseball history. In fact, in 1984 during the regular season, a game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Chicago White Sox was suspended in the 17th inning because of a curfew. The game was picked up the next day, with the White Sox winning in the 25th.

Dean Barnett, 1967-2008

I first started reading Dean Barnett via Hugh Hewitt. It wasn't long before I looked more forward to Barnett's posts than even Hewitt's. He was an intelligent, principled, conservative read, and the right is reduced by his loss. I never had the chance to meet him, but my condolences to his family and loved ones. He will be missed.

Yet Another Observation on the 2008 Election

In sales, you should always ask for the sale. Likewise, in politics you should always ask for someone's vote. This year, I've been asked for my vote for Obama so often that it is actually starting to piss me off. I haven't been asked to vote for McCain once. Now there could be any number of reasons for this. For example, I live in territory the McCain camp may have already conceded. Additionally, it isn't like I'm unknown to the local Republican party, so perhaps they have just moved past me, better using their resources on individuals they are less certain about. Still, it is disappointing, and I hope the McCain campaign is doing a better job of asking for voters' votes elsewhere.

Where Do We Go Now

As I examine this election, I've decided that there will be one of two results:

1. There is a Dewey Defeats Truman moment. In other words, my few colleagues who target their fire at the polls are right, and McCain pulls out a most unlikely victory. And I am humbled as a commentator.

2. Obama wins with some varying but convincing margin.

I am of the opinion that #2 is most likely at this point. And if that does occur, we are at a 1964 moment. If we are lucky, this bottoming out will trampoline the right to new heights. Unfortunately, I fear that we are not in a 1964 moment when it comes to ideas. The right is not transcendent right now. Our ideas are in disarray, not at the verge of ascendancy. There are few natural leaders of any movement. There is nothing cementing the conservative-libertarian-evangelical alliance. The right is facing a reckoning. It is up to leaders at all levels to make sure that conservative/libertarian values come out the other side of this strong.

Reason has left the arena

John McCain's only hope this election was a strong, reasoned public. Then he began co-opting Obama rhetoric. In doing so, he ceded reason, and as a result, reason has left the arena. Emotion and rhetoric will rule this election, and that is going to leave John McCain wondering what could have been. If you think he is bitter now, imagine how bitter he'll be after Jimmy Carter the Second (history will determine if Obama is Jimmy Carter the Lessor, and may God help us if he is).

At What Point Does the SUV Become Cool Again?

Apparently, that point is when gas hits $2.50.

Face it, as good as it is to go green by buying a hybrid or gas-saving small car, there are just some things those cars can't do. Plus, because of their popularity, small car and hybrid buyers are now paying an extra premium for the honor of driving a little econobox that may not suit their needs. Before you fork over a lot of green to go green, check out five reasons why buying a large truck or SUV may still make sense.

All five are great reasons-and politically incorrect one month ago. If the economy continues to tank and oil prices follow, I project articles singing the praises of 1970's muscle cars by January.

Observations on Trick or Treating 2008

We have completed our annual exercise in keeping hoodlums off the street by giving all kids candy. I have a few observations from this year's event, and the observations come with advice for parents.

1. I had many kids tell me the pieces of candy they wanted from my bowl. Parents, that's rude of your kids, and I'm likely to deny their request and give them the crappiest pieces I have. If they ask with a 'please', I may be of a different mind.

2. I have a rule. If you are old enough to dress slutty, you are too old to trick or treat. If you are young enough to trick or treat, you are too young to dress slutty. In previous years, the offenders were older girls who were well past their trick or treating years. This year, it was the reverse. Don't let your little girls dress like that, moms and dads. There are a lot of sick SOBs out there, and while you may be allowing your little one their wants, you aren't protecting them at all.

3. Don't send your 4 year old to my door with two bags because you have a six month old in the stroller. I know that six month old won't be eating candy.

4. If your child has a cumbersome mask or is still working on his or her fine motor skills, don't send them up the stairs to my porch without any help. If they fall, I'll feel bad, but I'll fight your lawsuit with much ferocity because you were too stupid to know your kid needed help.

5. Don't walk the kids down the street with a beer in your hand. I have enough respect for your kids not to drink on a football Sunday, so you need to have enough respect for them not to get a snootful while taking them out. (Exception: Houses that offer parents a quick drink. Everything in moderation).

6. Do not drive your kids house to house in a dense residential area. They can make the walk just fine, and given the volume of candy that will be given them, they probably should. And yes, your little prince or princess can handle wind and cold. The only exception to this rule that I can think of came in the very first year I handled the candy doling duties. That year, we got over 20 inches of snow between October 31 and November 1.

7. If you are two houses down and I shut off my light, you have my apologies, but I've run out of candy. Don't send your kids up to the door, please.

The Right is a Mess

What a cluster. The Presidential and VP candidate are diverging. Fiscal, social, national security, and Reagan conservatives, along with Libertarians, are barely tolerating each other. Some are jumping ship for what they perceive to be the 'stronger horse'. Most conservatives can barely stomach the Republican label. A standard bearer of conservatism is awash in controversy created by its founder's son endorsing the socialist-liberal candidate for the presidency. We are a long way from the conservative ascendancy most of us foresaw 4 years ago.

No More Brett

But Days of Our Brett may never end:

Butler also said there are “other stories that are going to come out” about Favre.

“This is just the beginning,” (LeRoy) Butler said. “This is only the smallest one.”

Butler did not elaborate.

If there is a cascade of Brett Favre scandals, Wisconsinites may end up just as jaded as New Yorkers.

Two Years

I realize that I have been an electoral pessimist lately, and because of that I've decided to pocket a post I'd handwritten a couple of days ago. Instead, if the worst comes to pass on election day, I will re-write it with a more positive outlook. All I will say right now is this: My fellow conservatives, if this election gets ugly, we will have to fight like starving, wounded, cornered badgers for two years just to survive. But at the 2010 midterms, the momentum will swing back our way.

If this presidential thing doesn't work...

...Barack Obama may just have a place in the WWE as The Rock's replacement:

On Brett the Jet

The big news around Packerland is that Brett Favre spent an hour and a half discussing the Packer offense with the Lions prior to their game earlier this season. This brings two thoughts to mind.

1. What Brett did was not against NFL rules. That does not clear him, though. Many of us out here in fan land have jobs that are subject to confidentiality agreements and non-competes. If I were to do something analogous to what Brett did (and I have no doubt he did it), it would cost me in damages and legal fees. Brett should be grateful he doesn't work here in the real world, because that sort of activity is not taken as lightly as it is in the NFL.

2. Note to current GMs and future GMs: Never hire Brett as a coach. If that's the best he could do scouting his own old offense for the Lions, then he'd be a disaster as an actual coach.

RIP Zima

If I could find you, I'd pour a little of your clear, whatever-the-hell-it-was-you-were, liquidy, alcoholic somethingness on the ground in your honor. Actually, I'd pour all of you in your honor. I didn't drink you before, so no sense in starting now.

Now I Get It

Somebody had to spell it out for me, but now I understand why the Teamsters were burning up my phone line:

kf hears from a trustworthy non-Republican source (with access to actual insider information) that the Dems are getting set to pass "card check" legislation fast next year, right out of the box, assuming Obama wins and the Democrats get their expected big Senate majority. The legislation--which would eliminate the secret ballot in union organizing elections, allowing union organizers to gather signed cards person-to-person--is cheap, in budgetary terms. And it's very, very important to organized labor.

Nice to see the unions are using their members' money to buy a piece of the Presidency.

Anecdotal Observation

In 2000 and 2004, I found that when I ended up in political conversations (to put it politely) about the presidential election, I would either end up with people chiming in on my side or quietly telling me afterwards that they agreed with me. This year? Not at all. I've largely been arguing solo. I don't necessarily think that this has national consequences for McCain, but I definitely think it has consequences for him here in Wisconsin.

On the one hand, I want to be part of the optimistic McCain camp. Every vote he gets will be important, even if he loses. On the other hand, I'm becoming more and more sure that he's toast. In my everyday life, I see no evidence that McCain isn't trailing Obama by a significant amount here in Wisconsin, and I suspect that this is playing out to differing degrees in states across the country.

Wars Aren't Fought on a Clock...

...but political campaigns are. You can survive in war when fighting on your own turf if you can buy enough time. In a political campaign, if you are fighting on your own turf with the clock ticking down, you are in big, big trouble. And this Presidential campaign has moved fully onto Republican turf. It ain't looking good if you, like me, are dreading a Carter administration for a new generation.

Hell is a Jilted Comedian

I can't believe the McCain campaign is going through with this.

David Letterman and Sen. John McCain will get a chance to make up.

The Republican presidential candidate is scheduled to appear on Letterman's Late Show on Thursday.

It will be McCain's 13th visit to the CBS program but his first since he angered Letterman by canceling last month.

Letterman was unhappy when McCain sat for an interview with Katie Couric instead of him on Sept. 24.

Letterman may very well let bygones be bygones. Unfortunately for the McCain camp, angry comedians are more cunning and vicious than a cornered, wounded animal. Letterman could very well make John McCain look like an ass and a fool with just weeks to go until the election. Frankly, I can't believe they are willing to take that risk.

Rectum? Damn Near...

Some see hope in this logo. Some see propaganda. I see a bloodied bung. (I'm so going to regret the traffic this post brings.) I think the symbolism I see is more apt.

Cat Colds

I woke up at an unholy early hour today-3:30 am. Between then and when I left for work at 6:45, our cat sneezed no less than 10 times. When I got home from work, I was informed that she slept nearly all day. She clearly has a kitty cold. But what makes this post-worthy is that over the last 24 hours, we estimate that she has slept for approximately 21 hours. I want that ability the next time I get sick.

The Answer is No

The question is, "Wind turbine blades are heavy and huge. Could manufacturing them closer to the nation’s wind belt save transport costs and create much-needed jobs?"

I can see why an eco-unrealist could get excited, but let's be realistic here. Even if wind energy takes off, it will be no match for higher ticket, mass market products like cars. Secondly, wind energy is second only to nuclear energy when it comes to NIMBY-ism. The cap on this is going to be much lower than some people wish.

Fall Colors

Minnesota Foliage 003
Originally uploaded by Jibby7

When life gives you a crappy portfolio, take a little time off and enjoy nature's beauty.

McCain's Wandering

I just watched some late night television, and the shows are making John McCain look terrible for his on stage wandering at last night's debate. I am reminded of 1996 when Bob Dole leaned on the railing-that-wasn't-really-a-railing and fell off the stage. Fair or not, it made Dole look very, very old. In my mind, that moment was the beginning of the end for the Dole campaign. Hopefully McCain's wandering isn't a similar moment.

Best Blog Headline of the Year

No contest. Give the man his award.

Damn it Feels Good to be a Banksta

Brett Favre Just May Be a Serial Killer

That's what they say, isn't? That this kind of behavior is a sign? It would explain that streak-he obviously harvests ankles and thumbs and knees for his own personal use.

(Relax, Favre phanatics. I'm just kidding).

Human Psychology Enters the Economic Realm

Unfortunately, markets do not always act rationally. Human psychology occasionally kicks in and overwhelms logic. Greed can do that, and it creates bubbles. Fear can do it, too, and it can wipe out wealth in a heart beat. The fear has kicked in. If you have some extra cash, start considering when to buy in at the low ebb. If your cash is already tied up, all you can do is ride it out at this point. The herd has begun running toward the cliff, and if you join them in the sell off, enjoy your free fall, because the bottom is going to hurt.

Sigh

I really loathe this presidential election. I loathe the nominees. I loathe the campaigns being run. I loathe the brand muddling ads. I loathe the pandering. Make it end. Please. I'm going to be unhappy no matter who wins, so it really is a matter of whether I'm most unhappy or just unhappy.

How long until 2012?

Thoughts on a Wisconsin Sports Weekend

The one silver lining to this sports weekend was Saturday's Brewer victory, their first playoff win since 1982. Other than that, it was a big, steaming pile. Some thoughts:

Packers

This is turning into an ugly season, and it has nothing to do with Brett Favre not being in town anymore. A big part of the Packers' success last season was the defense. The play of the corners and Cullen Jenkins in the interior made the entire defense a better unit. We saw glimpses of how big a part of this team Jenkins in particular was. When he went down last season, the entire defense began a slide. The injuries on the defensive side of the ball this year have deteriorated the quality of that unit. They aren't terrible, but they aren't good enough.

As for the offense, we are seeing an undisciplined offensive line. They are not executing well, and they are committing a lot of foolish penalties. Their performance is a big part of the reason this running game is not getting on track, and that's holding back the entire offense. As for the receivers, they are still a formidable group that fights for the catch better than any group in the league. Their dropped passes is a concern, but not a major concern. It all comes back to the line play.

Brewers

It was a hell of a year with a lot of ups and a lot of downs. Their flaws were exposed in September and October, though. This is a team with poor plate discipline. And it isn't just about being more picky at the plate. If you watched enough games, you could see what the book was on some of these hitters. With Prince Fielder, the book was to get him to chase up and out of the strike zone. With Corey Hart, it was to get him to flail at low, outside breaking stuff. The point is, the Brewer hitters were well scouted and they did not make adjustments to what pitchers were doing. They just kept flailing. They gave defenses a lot of free outs over the last month.

Dale Sveum did a good job of managing the bullpen, but it is really impossible to say whether that would carry forward into next year. He had the luxury of a bullpen enlarged with September call ups and a post season pen augmented by starters. Still, the pen that Yost had for most of the year just wasn't good enough. This will never be a team that can afford to stack the pen with talent, but Melvin is going to have to find a way to reconstitute it for next year. The team is facing other holes, but that's another post for another day.

Badgers

What's there to say? This team just isn't as talented as we thought. Clay stands to be a star in the future, and that future may get kick started yet this season.

Prediction: An Obama Presidency Will Be Scandal Ridden

Why? Well, typically the presidential election process does a pretty good job of getting scandalous news out into the open before a person is elected. A candidate who seems scandal prone is a bit less likely to win than one who is not. And if the electorate is confidant that a candidate's scandals are confined to the past, they are generally pretty forgiving.

In Obama's case, the media does not seem to be digging all that hard. Most of the Obama scandals have been forced on the media, frankly. Don't be surprised if, in an Obama presidency, you hear casual voters saying, "why didn't I hear about that during the election?"

Bailout Passes

Blah. A necessary evil if there ever was one. Here's to hoping that entire thing results in us breaking even on the deal. No losses because we're all on the hook for those. No profits because government can't be trusted to do the right things with them.

The Juice No Longer Loose

13 is an unlucky number for OJ Simpson.

Thirteen years to the day after being acquitted of killing his wife and her friend in Los Angeles, O.J. Simpson was found guilty of robbing two sports-memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in a Las Vegas hotel room.

The 61-year-old former football star was convicted of all 12 counts late Friday after jurors deliberated for more than 13 hours. He released a heavy sigh as the charges were read and was immediately taken into custody.

Simpson, who went from American sports idol to celebrity-in-exile after his murder acquittal, could spend the rest of his life in prison.

There will be no tears shed here.

A Waste of Pixels

Sharon Theimer is way too literal, and because of this she writes and article on the non-existant Joe Six-Pack that is a complete waste of pixels.

And just for the record, Ms. Theimer, I consider myself and a lot of my friends to be Joe Six-Packs, whatever the color of our collars or persuasion of our politics. I will give you this-Joe SP's are in no way a cohesive voting block. But that doesn't mean they don't exist.

Misc. Thoughts

*I think Paul Ryan has been dead on throughout this financial mess. I was nervous of his opposition at first, but he has had a keen sense of the situation.

*I am soooo sick of both Presidential candidates. I don't think either of them are the best candidates for the job they face right now. Are they the right people for the job as it appeared to be 6 months ago? Probably. That world is no longer, though.

*Face it, the House has acted exactly as it was designed to act. The two year terms were designed to make the House more receptive to popular opinion. Unfortunately for our current mess, I don't think popular opinion understands how significant this problem is to Joe Sixpack, and it won't until somebody misses a paycheck.

*If somebody misses a paycheck, I'm sure the blame will be shifted from those greedy bastards on Wall Street to those worthless bums in Washington. Some fingers will need to be pointed inward, too, though.

*I am terribly excited about playoff baseball in Milwaukee, but I also approach it with trepidation. The Brewers are in a weak state, although some components seemed to be reviving near the very end of the season. I am playing all of my superstitions for an NLDS victory.

*I've seen and heard a lot of people marvel over Brett Favre's 6 TD's on Sunday, and with that some finger pointing at Ted Thompson. Sorry, folks, but you might have been able to throw 6 TD's against that Cardinal team on Sunday. And you're no Brett Favre.

*Can you believe those ugly assed wild card hats the Brewers wore on the field Sunday sold out so quickly? I guess I'm not the only one who saw some beauty amongst all that ugly.

*I stayed at a resort on Monday night, and I was more than a little stunned that there was no wi-fi (or even hard wired) internet access in the room.

A Dubious Number One

You are reading Jiblog, Google's number one search result for "German Kink". I knew I never should have married into a German family.

Brewers' in the Playoffs

That's the first time anyone could say that...since the internet came into existence. I was in a local watering hole when the Mets lost to clinch it for the Brewers, and I enjoyed the small roar that went up. I can barely remember 1982, which is more than a lot of Brewers fans can say. Tonight, I only want two things: One of those ugly assed hats the Crew wore on the field after the game, and a piece of confetti from the stadium.

The Risk of Protecting the Taxpayer

As distasteful as the pending bailout is, I'm hoping that House Republicans understand one thing, and one thing only. Right now they are trying to force a better bill and correctly saying that they are trying to protect the taxpayers. But if they are the reason a plan doesn't get done and things go to hell in a hand basket next week, they will have hurt the taxpayer more than they could have ever imagined.

2006 Wasn't as Fun as I'd Thought It Would Be

I wrote this in 2004:

2006 is going to be a fun year for historians and possibly for the rest of us, as well. Why? 20 million emails from the Clinton years will become available to researchers.

Remember anything from those emails? Nope, me either.

Okay, Maybe One More Political Thought

I was in my car on Wednesday and I was listening to WTMJ. I heard two political ads. In one, it was claimed that John McCain opposed stem cell research. In the other, John McCain's support of stem cell research was trumpeted. I follow politics closely enough to know the back stories. Most people who will vote in November do not, and I honestly wonder what they will be basing their decisions off of with all of this muddled, murky information out there.

Just one Political Thought

And with a big Brewers, Badgers, and Packers weekend on the docket, this may be my only political thought of the weekend: Neither of these Presidential candidates is ready for the America they are going to inherit. Can we have a do over and nominate Romney?

What debate?

I'm beginning to understand how sports like baseball were such a popular diversion in the 1930's. What debate? What economic problems? The Milwaukee Brewers are up a game in the Wild Card chase with two games to go!

Sometimes, it is good to be wrong

And right now, I very much am wrong.

When there are no experts

You know you have a mess on your hands when the number of 'experts' offering their opinion on a topic drops to nearly nil because nobody really understands what the hell is going on for sure.

Uh Oh

This isn't good.

Urgent efforts to lash together a $700 billion rescue plan for the national economy broke apart Thursday night, hours after key lawmakers had declared they had reached a deal.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke sped to Capitol Hill to try to revive or rework the proposal that the administration says must be quickly approved by Congress to stave off economic disaster.

Congressional leaders were to meet with the economic chiefs into the night.

This bail out not being done yet wouldn't have been a big deal if not for a cascading series of screw ups. The markets have been very panicky for several weeks now. This week, in an effort to force the bailout through, the rhetoric heated up with calls of pending economic doom, culminating with the President's speech to the nation. If this deal gets done smoothly, the rhetoric isn't a problem. But now that the deal has collapsed, the panic is due to hit a feverish pitch when the markets open tomorrow. And the worst part about it is the panic will be a self fulfilled prophecy from Washington. They have no choice but to find a way to salvage this overnight because they made this deal appear to be the only way to save the economy.

Update
I decided that this post needed one more thought to be more complete. I hope that I'm wrong about how I think the markets will react in the morning. Things like financial panics only require a speck of dust around which to begin quickly crystallizing, though, and this looks like a ripe speck of dust.

Eric Gagne a Good Guy

This is a hell of a nice thing for him to do:

Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Eric Gagne bought 5,000 tickets to tonight's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates and plans to give them away.

"Tonight we'll be playing one of the most important games in franchise history, and I can think of no better way to thank the fans than giving families an opportunity to pack Miller Park," Gagne said in a statement released by the team. "No matter what happens over these next four games, I want everyone to know that I think the world of Brewers fans. Three million times they have walked through the gates this year and none of us on the field takes their support for granted. We're going to have some fun out here, and I know that the atmosphere will be electric."

Brewer fans have booed Gagne with a passion this season. He didn't have to do that, and if I had been him, I don't think I would have.

If I had no other reason to not vote for Obama...

...this one reason would still be enough. The %&$#*@^ Teamsters are wearing my %&$#*@^ phone out with all their %&$#*@^ calls on behalf of Barack Obama. At first, it was live calls. After 3 calls, I started hanging up on them immediately. That seemed to make them call more often. We then told them to stop calling. They didn't, so we just stopped answering when the caller ID read 000-000-0000. Then we started getting recorded calls. And surveys. I will say, I stopped the surveys (they had horribly slanted questions) by answering with the most right wing answers I could. They are worse than any telemarketer I experienced before the no call list. They are on my last nerve. And finally, this is the most dogged they've been over the last three elections, and I don't trust the reasons why they are pestering for Obama.

I have no words for this accident

This is an unbelievable accident.

A 6-year-old girl is recovering after surgeons reattached her left hand, severed when it was caught in a loop of jump rope that had snagged on the axle of her mother's car.

Erica Rix underwent 10 hours of surgery after the accident in early September and spent nine days in intensive care before returning home.

Bravo to the surgeons. And as someone who hopes to be a parental type in the next year or two, I now understand even better why my parents were hard asses about the dumb things I did as a kid.

How I helped save the music industry

Hyperbole? I think not. Here is what I wrote on October 13th of last year:

Digital music is certainly a growth sector. People love buying music online. But there is an old school segment of the market that still isn't all that big on the internet. So for them, and for some who are internet savvy but love shopping at bricks and mortar stores, set up kiosks in record stores and big boxes. Partner with flash drive manufacturers, and at these kiosks sell flash drives filled with music that the user can sample and select from on the computer screen.

I had a more primitive version of this concept on May 4, 2006. So what's on the horizon? This.

SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) today announced "slotMusic," an initiative that aims to position its microSD memory cards as a new music medium. The vendor has partnered with the major music labels EMI Music, Sony BMG, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group to produce microSD cards preloaded with music free of digital rights management (DRM) copy protection.

The cards will be available from both online and retail stores including Best Buy and Wal-Mart, SanDisk said.

You're welcome, music industry (and memory card industry). If you'd have listened to me earlier, you'd be all the richer right now. You may deposit, out of goodwill, a small fee in my checking account at any time.

What is in that waterfall?

This just ain't right.

Nicole Kidman has credited a waterfall with bringing about a flurry of pregnancies - including her own - on the set of one of her films, Australia.

The actress said seven babies had been conceived during production of the film in a small town in Australia's outback.

"There is something up there in the Kununurra water", in which she and six other woman swam, she told The Australian Women's Weekly.

Strangely, all of the babies looked like Michael Phelps.

Rest in Peace, Bill Leinenkugel

Former President of the Leinenkugel Brewing Company, Bill Leinenkugel, passed away at his home Monday at age 87. I heard about this yesterday but did not have the time to put into the post I wanted to write. I never had the opportunity to get to know Bill, but I did get to know one of his sons and a couple of his grandsons. It is no exaggeration to say that his leadership of the company carried it through what was a very tough time for regional breweries and set it up to be what is now a quite strong subsidiary of SABMiller. What won't get mentioned as often over the next several days is the class act family that he helped raise. On behalf of the Ojibway family, I offer my condolences to the Leinenkugel family on their loss.

Wiseacre

I've decided to drop the word 'wiseacre' from my vocabulary. As I wrote it in the post below, I felt myself age 75 years-no mean feat for a 32 year old. And the scary part? Afterwards I went to the outhouse with a copy of the Saturday Evening Post. The lovely Mrs. Jib is going to be pissed in the morning.

Just the same, I wish I had those crazy moving picture skills of kids today, because I'd be the wiseacre posting a parcel to the intertubes. Dagnabbit!

Biden's Spaghetti Bowl History

Maybe this is a just condemnation of the quality of our U.S Senators.

Vice presidential candidate Joe Biden says today's leaders should take a lesson from the history books and follow fellow Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt's response to a financial crisis.

"When the stock market crashed, Franklin D. Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just talk about the, you know, the princes of greed. He said, 'Look, here's what happened,'" Barack Obama's running mate recently told the "CBS Evening News."

Except, Republican Herbert Hoover was in office when the stock market crashed in October 1929. There also was no television at the time; TV wasn't introduced to the public until a decade later, at the 1939 World's Fair.

I'm not a huge fan of jumping on gaffes because we all make them, but only politicians have the camera on them all of the time. This one is particularly absurd, though. I'm not sure Biden controls his mouth...I think it controls him.

I'm betting some wiseacre has a video of Roosevelt on TV in 1929 on YouTube in 5...4...3...

Advanced Notice on Talk Like A Yooper Day

A commenter on an old post asked me when Talk Like a Yooper Day will be this year. Set your calendars for November 30, 2008. That will be this year's Talk Like a Yooper Day as it is the date of the first home Packer game during the Wisconsin gun deer hunt.

And the there is the Milwaukee Brewers...

I remember how desperate I was for Packers' success in the late 1980's and early 1990's. I am nearly as desperate today for Brewers' success. Only with the Brewers, there is no "glory days" to fall back on. And that's why this month is so painful and so damn depressing. It looks like they are going to collapse on themselves to again miss the playoffs. If they do, I'm not sure that it is entirely a bad thing because the way they are playing, a first round sweep is a strong possibility. Unlike the Packers, there is no Ron Wolf, no Mike Holmgren, and no Reggie White for the Brewers. They may yet surprise me this year, but I'm prepared to have a season's worth of hope crushed yet again.

Man Candles? Really?

May God help us.

My foray into the world of "man candles" began almost accidentally. As the smell of fresh, black coffee wafted around my office one morning, I thought to myself, "Someone should make a coffee-scented candle."

Not a cappuccino or hazelnut or mocha candle. Just something that smelled like hot, strong, black coffee. You know, a candle that a dude could be proud to burn.

A quick Google search led me to two eCommerce sites that sell all sorts of man-themed scents -- like campfire, sawdust, pigskin, bacon, stripper and beer.

I just hope they don't come out with "jock strap" or "gym socks."

Hagel Said...Yawn

Chuck Hagel is doing everything in his power to marginalize himself. To wit:

Senior Republican Senator Chuck Hagel has voiced doubts about Sarah Palin's qualifications for the vice-presidency.

John McCain's running mate "doesn't have any foreign policy credentials", Mr Hagel told the Omaha World-Herald.

Mr Hagel was a prominent supporter of Mr McCain during his 2000 bid for the US presidency, but has declined to endorse either candidate this year.

He was opposed to the Iraq War, and recently joined Mr McCain's rival Barack Obama on a Middle East trip.

Hagel might have been a real force for the Democrats if not for the fact that he is canceled out by former Democratic Veep candidate Joe Lieberman.

Who Won't Be Voting for John McCain?

Well, Christopher Cox won't be:

Republican presidential candidate John McCain said on Thursday he would, if elected, fire U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox for failing in his oversight of Wall Street.

"The Chairman of the SEC serves at the appointment of the president and in my view has betrayed the public's trust," McCain told a rally in the electoral battleground state of Iowa. "If I were president today, I would fire him."

The comments by McCain, who portrays himself as a maverick in his bid for the White House, contrasted with the view of fellow Republican President George W. Bush, who appointed Cox to the SEC post in 2005.

Apparently, McCain also decided that there was at least one vote that he didn't need.

RSS Feeds Killed the Blogging Star

First, Let me make this clear. Calling myself a blogging star is a gross exaggeration but it was necessary to make the headline fit the song. Still, in all seriousness, RSS feeds have really contributed to my backslide as a blogger. It used to be I was a blogger first. I read media sources and opinion columns and commented from there.

Then I set up my RSS feed reader.

I began reading other blogs fanatically. At first, this barely made a dent in my blogging. Over time, though, I'd begin seeing posts that were similar to my thoughts on particular topics. I'd tweak my thoughts so they were a bit more unique. Then I started to get lazy. I'd start to Instapundit posts-you know, saying "heh" or "hmm" and then link to other things without any commentary. But that disgusted me, so I began to just let hundreds of topics go by without comment. After a short period of that, I realized that it was pointless for a blog of this size to blog like Glenn Reynolds, so I just withdrew from posting.

Of course, there have been other things that have contributed to my decline as a blogger. The more I devoted my brain to my profession, the harder I found it to switch gears to commentary. I also found that the more involved I got with my hobby of photography, the less creative capacity I had for writing. It has been difficult to shift the brain gears between the three very different mental tasks, but the RSS feeds remain the biggest challenge. RSS feeds have turned me from a blogger to a blog reader.

Given that, do I intend to give up blogging? Hardly. Just the same, I know that my place in the pecking order of blogs has significantly declined, and deservedly so.

Pragmatist

Pragmatist (noun)- 1) A free market capitalist who stands idly by as government gets ass deep in the financial markets knowing that without said intervention, the credit markets would freeze up like the pistons on a 1962 Dodge Lancer. 2) An individual who'd prefer to see an economy slowly float to its bottom like a feather on the wind to one that plunges to the ground like Michael Moore without a parachute.

I must admit, since I enjoy being employed and paying my bills, I'm standing idly by with my mouth firmly shut as the Feds muck around in the economy. Do I think it is a good thing? No, not really. Do I think it prolongs the pain? Certainly. Do I think that there are plenty of unforeseen circumstances to come because of the intervention? Without a doubt. Do I think I'm personally better off if this mess unfolds slowly rather than in a quick, violent seizing up of the economy? I do, and that's why I've yet to complain.

The McCain-Palin Courtship

This is pretty funny.

Great Speech By Sarah Palin

But I'm almost embarrassed to admit to what part relieved me the most. Can you guess just what that was?

Answer? No pants suit.

Airline to charge extra for butts in seats

(JNN) Welter Air today announced a revolutionary new plan to help it cope with high fuel prices. Starting on November 26, 2008, the airline will remove passengers from its flights to reduce the weight of planes, saving untold billions.

In a statement to reporters, Welter CEO Walter Flounder said that this lean operation plan should also reduce crowding on planes and help the airline return to profitability by 2012.

"Many of our loyal customers may see this as a negative, but in reality we are offering an incredible customer service.

"No longer will our customers have to worry about long lines, delays, cancellations, or unpleasant, crowded flights."

The company is assuring customers that pre-paid, checked baggage will make it to their final destination most of the time. Those customers who must actually fly to their destinations will have the option of paying a $300 butt-in-seat fee to be transported to the flight's destination.

Other airlines are closely watching Welter's plan and most are expected to eventually follow suit. Industry experts are hailing the move as a customer service and profitability model that will forever change the airline business for the better.

(This post is satire)

No identity politics here

The lovely Mrs. Jib is peacefully dosing through the Palin speech.

Update
I see Trig Palin is listening with the same rapt attention.

Thank you so much means...

Shhh! I'm ready to talk.

Watching Giuliani...

...and I'm beginning to think that he is a more valuable weapon in this role than he would have been as the Presidential nominee. They never could have turned him loose this way as the nominee.

Wisconsin Factoid

There is an Athens and a Marathon in Wisconsin. Distance, by road, between the two? Only 18.7 miles.

Also, Athens, Wisconsin has never been at war with Sparta, Wisconsin.

Future Lefty Political Attacks

Since the great 'Desperate Housewives political attack of 2008' on Sarah Palin has been snuffed out, I've decided to take a gander at some possible future attacks from those on the left with a very loose grasp on reality. Here are two attacks that I think very well may be forthcoming.

1. A double whammy strikes the Republican ticket. Sarah Palin has actually been possessed by demons, explaining how a woman could possibly be a Republican. At the top of the ticket, we find out that the man that returned from Vietnam isn't the real John McCain. Instead, we learn his real name is John Black when the real John McCain shows up. Interestingly, the real John McCain is a Kerry Democrat. (Days of Our Lives)

2. John McCain is really an alien from a another world who has hit his head so hard that he thinks that he is a U.S. Senator running for President. It is up to Al and Tipper Gore to bring back his memories so he remembers who he is and gives up on the U.S. Senator persona. (Alf)

3.

Palin to be a Grandmother

Guess what? Sarah Palin's 17 year old daughter is five months pregnant:

John McCain's running mate Sarah Palin said Monday that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter is five months pregnant, an announcement aimed at rebutting Internet rumors that Palin's youngest son, born in April, was actually her daughter's.

A statement released by the campaign said that Bristol Palin will keep her baby and marry the child's father. Bristol Palin is five months pregnant, and the baby is due in late December.

Makes that lefty, Depserate Housewives-esque smear look really stupid, doesn't it? Unfortunately for Bristol Palin, she's going to have to grow up in a hurry, because her teenage pregnancy will be the next thing the sewer dogs on the left will be attacking.

Update
Elliot makes an excellent point.

Might the Gulf be Spared?

Am I the only one who is starting to sense that Gustav might not live up to its pre-landfall billing?

I'm getting way ahead of things here as even a category 2 or 3 storm is serious, but logically it would seem that this storm will not be a replay (or worse) of Katrina. That is good. What concerns me is that if it does come ashore as a weaker storm than expected, given the 'storm of the century' buzz it has been getting, a false sense of security will be re-instilled in New Orleans.

Overheard About Sarah Palin

I've had a busy weekend. I've been out and about, and whenever political conversations have started near me, my ears have perked up. I'll be honest, I've eavesdropped on every one of the conversations. I've listened in on conversations at a barber shop, a couple of bars, and a restaurant, and here's what I've learned. In each and every one of those conversations, there has been both universal disbelief at the choice of Palin, and some very serious concerns about her experience. But that's when something interesting happened in each conversation. The topic moved from her inexperience to Obama's. The people in all of the conversations I listened to began to compare Palin's, the Veep nominee, experience to that of Obama, the Presidential nominee. And the reason that is so interesting is that it negates one of the complaints that I've heard that this choice restrains McCain's ability to question Obama's experience. Frankly, if conversations like this are going on across America, he doesn't need to push the experience topic so much anymore. Her presence on the ticket pushes the topic all by itself, and in a a way that involves the voters via their own conversations.

Thoughts on the Republican National Convention

The Republican National Convention has a thorny issue on its hands. While Republicans get ready to celebrate the nomination of a new Veep and Presidential candidate, the gulf coast of the nation is staring down a very powerful hurricane. While the weather in St. Paul will be beautiful this week, it will be very much imprudent to be celebrating a national event like a convention while a sizable portion of the nation is in the throes of a national disaster.

Logistically, the Republican party has little choice but to go forward with the convention, unfortunately. With all of the planning and reservations that go into a huge event like this, it is just not possible to put it on pause and say, "come back next week, everyone." Not only will key venues not be available, hotel rooms would be impossible to come by, and many attendees may not be able to get the time off/travel accommodations to come back at another time.

So if it is a given that a time sensitive event like a convention cannot be postponed, you can fully expect that Democrats and the media will be heavily critical of the Republicans for soldiering on. If the criticism is going to come, then it is up to the leadership of the party to manage the event in such a way as to mute that criticism. If they do not make wholesale changes to the event, they risk sinking the McCain-Palin campaign before it even begins.

The modern convention is part party & celebration, part PR event to launch a campaign with as much excitement as possible. To throw a modern convention next week will display the complete tone-deafness of the party's leadership. Therefore, the only choice is dial back the convention. It must be about the business of the nomination, and it must be done so in rather stoic manner. Parties must be tamped down. Speech schedules should be cut back. The media profile of the event must be reduced. In essence, the event must be about business, not about celebrating.

If the Republican leadership goes ahead with this event as planned while a category 4 or 5 hurricane is blasting into the gulf coast, the election may be lost before it even begins. If the leadership adjusts plans and creates a respectful, happy, yet somber event that is focused on the business of the nation right now, then they may just be able to throw some dirt on the party's Katrina reputation. It won't be easy, but in this situation, expediency is a losing approach.

Palin for VP

Tactically speaking, I like McCain's choice of Sarah Palin.  She just needs to hold her own in the debates against Biden.  There is some risk to this choice as she may not be the most qualified VP candidate in the world, but that is something that the Obama camp will have difficulties taking advantage of without highlighting their own Presidential candidate's experience short comings.

My Favorite Part of the Obama Acceptance Speech

During a portion of the speech when Obama was promising to cut taxes for a huge percentage of Americans while also promising to spend scads of money, the lovely Mrs. Jib said the following:

"Keep blowing that smoke up my ass. I'm still not voting for you."

My absolute favorite part.

"Above My Pay Grade"

I hope the McCain camp understands how powerful those words can be for them. Obama's "Above my pay grade" was a complete cop out, and it was one that opens up for questioning whether the presidency is above his pay grade. The McCain camp wants to show Obama unqualified for the presidency, and Obama gave them a gift with that answer. If they can't capitalize on it, we may be looking at an election where neither candidate deserves the office.

Of course, when Republican VP hopeful Tom Ridge is saying that a pro-abortion VP is acceptable to the Republican base, perhaps we are looking at an election where all common sense is turned on its head. If McCain were to go with Ridge, I'd instantly understand his strategy: Get all conservatives to stay home while trying to win as many Rockefeller Republicans and Democrats as possible. Unfortunately for the Original Maverick, that's a losing strategy.

May God Help Us

Because, apparently, Democrat politics are going Chicago-style:

2008 is the Year of Chicago.

The core of the Democratic Party is shifting to Chicago where our ruthlessly pragmatic style of politics and governing has produced the next presidential nominee. Only our unique political culture where the patronage-fueled organizations traditionally embrace intellectual reformers at the top of the ticket could have allowed a law professor and progressive legislator's campaign to beat the entrenched status quo of the Democratic Party and produce a stronger message to win in November.

The politics and culture of Houston that generated the current president and holds such a disproportionate impact over the nation's political culture is likely giving way to the politics and culture of Chicago.

I hear the zombie vote will be huge in November.

I must admit that I find it amusing that Johnson-Weinberger is so oblivious to the faults of politics in his city that he chose to flaunt it. I'm sure Obama, faced with the choice, will distance himself from Chicago politics as much as he can.

Be proud of your city, Dan. Just be more aware of its shortcomings.

San Francisco, American Bangkok

It seems that San Francisco will have a measure on the fall ballot that will decriminalize prostitution. I respect the fact that rational people can differ on the best means to control prostitution, but it seems this measure has a dangerous loophole for minors.

Yet the San Francisco ballot measure completely ignores the prostitution of children. The measure simply states, "Law enforcement agencies shall not allocate any resources for the investigation and prosecution of prostitutes for prostitution." Astonishingly, there's no exemption that encourages police to enforce the law for minors.

If the measure passes, the city is likely to become an international haven for pimps who peddle girls and boys, and perverts seeking sex with minors.

And where does that leave Bay Area youth? "They want new and young," Jasmine, a former teen prostitute from Oakland who now volunteers for the nonprofit SAGE Project, which fights sexual exploitation, explained to me.

On the one hand, I want to believe that there is no way that San Francisco will pass this measure. On the other hand, it is San Francisco. The city is the capital of unintended consequences. One can only hope that there are enough people in that city who still have a command of logic to defeat this measure.

Weak Criminals

It isn't everyday you hear about a robber armed with a rifle getting overpowered by a female clerk.

A female convenience store clerk wrestled away a robber's rifle Friday night and chased him into a nearby woods near Lake Wissota before police caught up with him a few miles away, according to Chippewa County Sheriff's Department reports.
[...]

The clerk told deputies a man entered the store with a rifle and was dressed in dark clothing and wearing a mask. He confronted her while she was stocking coolers near the rear of the store.

The suspect pointed the rifle at her and demanded money from the cash register. He then pointed the rifle toward a wall and fired a round into a display of soda.

The clerk went to the cash register at the front of the store where the suspect gave her a bag and demanded only paper money. She gave the suspect the bag with the money inside and he turned to leave the store.

As the robber began opening the door, the clerk came out from behind the counter and physically confronted the suspect, who had lowered the rifle to put another round in the gun's chamber.

During the struggle between the two, the clerk removed the man's mask. They continued fighting in the parking lot and the live round the suspect was attempting to put in the rifle fell to the ground.

As the struggle continued, the clerk wrestled the rifle and bag of money from the robber. He picked up the rifle and fled into woods behind the store. The clerk identified Larson with yearbook photos.

I love it. I've been at that convenience store a number of times, and I can envision his butt whupping in my head.

A plurality is not a minority

I hate stories like this because they are just plain stupid.

Ethnic and racial minorities will comprise a majority of the nation’s population in a little more than a generation, according to new Census Bureau projections, a transformation that is occurring faster than anticipated just a few years ago.

The census calculates that by 2042, Americans who identify themselves as Hispanic, black, Asian, American Indian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander will together outnumber non-Hispanic whites. Four years ago, officials had projected the shift would come in 2050.

The main reason for the accelerating change is significantly higher birthrates among immigrants. Another factor is the influx of foreigners, rising from about 1.3 million annually today to more than 2 million a year by midcentury, according to projections based on current immigration policies.

“No other country has experienced such rapid racial and ethnic change,” said Mark Mather, a demographer with the Population Reference Bureau, a research organization in Washington.

This means nothing. Why? Well, because you'll never see all of America's "minorities" line up completely and uniformly against whites. And that kind of unity is the only way you can consider white America a minority. But hell, here's to the elites' dream of putting whitey in his place.

Trip Wires

From Austin Bay:

Moving Georgia’s Iraq force home in US air transports was a reminder of US strategic reach. That was a military option and it has been employed. WHo knows? It may have given Moscow some pause. We’ve already seen at least one quasi-military option employed. Using USAF cargo planes to bring humanitarian supplies is standard policy – but a C-17 is a US military plane. That is a message, a limited, careful, but calculated message, and constitutes a low-risk option that, well, the order has been given and the transports are flying. The presence of US military training forces in Georgia is a message — one Russia chose to ignore. Beefing up the training and support mission is a military option.

Georgia cannot be a member of NATO without significant U.S. presence. Why? Because it is impossible to defend without trip wires that, if tripped, Russia would know would trigger a major conflict. Prior to this event, the U.S. could not have begun to place these trip wires because it would have been castigated for its bellicosity and passive aggression towards Russia. Russia has now given us the cover for setting up those trip wires that will allow for Georgia's admission to NATO. I know that a lot of people are comparing this to the old USSR, but make no mistake, the USSR would have dealt Georgia a quick and fatal blow that would have prevented it from falling within the West's sphere of influence.

If You Are Going To The Democrats' National Convetion...

Watch your ass...

Police confirmed Wednesday that they found about a pound of sodium cyanide in a Denver hotel room where the body of a Canadian man was discovered earlier this week.

Police spokesman John White identified the white powder as sodium cyanide, the crystal form of cyanide. Fire officials say they found a bottle containing about a pound of the white powder, or between a pint and a quart by volume.

An expert told the Denver Post that the amount of cyanide is enough to kill hundreds of people.

I'm not trying to be an jackass here-after all, I passed on a food color joke. Seriously, watch your butts, guys. Same to those of you headed to St. Paul.

Thank you, unnamed campaign!

Dear Unnamed Campaign-

Thank you for inviting me to your conference call today. 15 minutes wasn't a lot of notice for a guy who works for a living, and unfortunately I don't get instant email updates. Perhaps that was what you wanted, who knows?

Sincerely,
Jib

Georgia Left to the Whims of Russia

President Bush warns Russia:

President Bush on Monday demanded that Russia end a "dramatic and brutal escalation" of violence in Georgia, agree to an immediate cease-fire and accept international mediation to end the crisis in the former Soviet republic.

Almost immediately after his return from the Olympics in China, Bush warned Russia in his strongest comments since the fighting erupted over Georgia's separatist South Ossetia region last week to "reverse the course it appears to be on" and abandon any attempt it may have to topple Georgia's pro-western government.

"Russia has invaded a sovereign neighboring state and threatens a democratic government elected by its people. Such an action is unacceptable in the 21st century," the president said in a televised statement from the White House, calling on Moscow to sign on to the outlines of a cease-fire as the Georgian government has done.

Unfortunately, there is little that can be done for Georgia outside of pressure on Russia. Russia can swallow Georgia before any outside defense could be made. Tactically, there is no good place to stage troops. But most importantly, going toe to toe with major, nuclear tipped power like Russia is a recipe for disaster.

Not Enough to be 99.5% Truthful, Either

John Edwards is being challenged to back up his claim that he did not father Rielle Hunter's baby:

The family of John Edwards' former mistress, Rielle Hunter, is challenging the former senator to take a DNA paternity test after his claim that he did not father Hunter's 6-months-old child.

In the first reaction from Hunter's family, her younger sister Melissa told ABC News that Edwards should immediately follow through on his pledge to take a paternity test.

"I would challenge him to do so," the sister said.

"Somebody must stand up and defend my sister," she said. "I wish that those involved would refrain from bad-mouthing my sister."

I see a bidding war between Montel and Maury for the right to televise this one. If it does turn out that Edwards is the father, he'll become more politically radioactive than Gary Hart immediately after "Monkey Business," and if there had been a cabinet position waiting for him in an Obama White House, there won't be any longer.

Things that make you go...W...T...F?

Bizarre, bizarre, bizarre.

A woman who made news around the world when she had five pups cloned from her beloved pit bull Booger looked very familiar to some who saw her picture: She may be the same woman who 31 years earlier was accused of abducting a Mormon missionary in England, handcuffing him to a bed and making him her sex slave.

A paper trail of court documents and jail booking information uncovered by The Associated Press suggests 57-year-old dog-lover Bernann McKinney is Joyce McKinney, who in 1977 faced charges of unlawful imprisonment in the missionary case. She jumped bail and was never brought to justice.

What isn't crazy about this story? The dog's name of Booger was certainly weird. The cloning was strange. The fact that she was so easily recognized after 31 years is unusual. But I think the fact that a woman made a man her sex slave against his will puts this story over the top. The very possibility in the days before Viagra seems beyond logic.

Looking Back on the 4 War

I'm torn. On the one hand, I'm tired of the Brett Favre v. Green Bay Packers '4 War'. Virtually everyone's opinion is set, and nobody seems interested in making adjustments to their opinions. Every conversation on the topic devolves into the same people saying the same things, and I find that tiresome, boring, and tedious (Jiblog, your thesaurus for all things dull).

Still, I do want to look back on some items that I think have escaped attention during all of this. I've narrowed it down to three topics, and I really should do a separate post on each, but I just want to get this over and done with in one post. So bear with the slightly disjointed nature of this post as I look at the fans, the sports media, and the fact that this entire mess was destined to happen.

Okay, first the fans. Overall, I think all Packer fans have the best interests of the team at heart, even though there is a wide variety of opinions as to what those best interests are. I can respect those differences in opinion even in disagreement. Generally speaking, one class of those opinions fall into the area of "Brett was the best thing for this team this season." Of that class, a subgroup has formed. That subgroup is the "Love Favre/Hate Thompson More Than the Franchise" group.

I've come to find that subgroup very disturbing. If the Dan Devine dog murder story had been true (it wasn't), these individuals would have been the ones defending the dog killer. They have lost any grip on rationality, if they ever had one. They seem to enjoy being miserable, angry, and hate-filled more than anything else. In fact, they seem to stew in their own miserable attitudes towards Ted Thompson, Aaron Rodgers, Mike McCarthy, Mark Murphy, and the organization.

What really bothers me is how prevalent and large this subgroup of Packers fans is. Read the comments section to a Packer article, and they are there. Go to your favorite blogs, and they are either the bloggers or the commenters. Your favorite watering hole and water cooler? They are there, too. Packers training camp? They are certainly there. They see nothing wrong with going around puking their putrid attitudes out on anyone and everyone in the organization that they've pinned blame on in their own minds. As a Packer fan, I find myself extremely disappointed by this sizeable and idiotic subset of fans. If I were Ted Thompson, I'd send my dogs out of state, just in case.

***

Next, the sports media. I now have a much clearer understanding of the contempt that news journalists have for sports journalists. The last month has been filled with some of the worst reporting I have ever seen. Some sports journalists played this entire thing straight up the middle, and I'll give them credit for that. Most, however, took a side early on, and their reporting showed it. I can't count the number of times I read, watched, or heard something reported and then thought, "wait, that wasn't what was said/done at all." The reporters who not-so-subtly took sides molded many things to fit their views of what was going on in this mess. They read between the lines of things Brett and the Packers said and created stories out of whole cloth. And when they weren't doing that, they were just plain getting things wrong and also accepting what they were told by their side with blind faith. The communication between Favre and the organization was a mess, but the sports media amplified the issue and made it worse for player, team, and fans.

***

Finally, the ultimate problem in all of this comes down to two things: the Packers brass didn't want to look like asses even though they could look no other way, and they were squishy the entire month because of it; Brett Favre is about the most indecisive man there is off of the football field and that indecision put more roadblocks in his way than anything else. Both sides' biggest enemy in this mess was themselves, and the 4 War was destined to happen because of it. Because of that, demonizing either side is completely pointless.

But the kid is not my son...

I'm guessing John Edwards has been offered a cabinet position in an Obama presidency and is trying to clear his affair from the news well in advance. That baby is going to follow him for quite a while unless they clear up the paternity.

They see a salute...

...I see a hand signal calling Obama a giant a-hole.

On Brett

I was a homer for Packer quarterbacks for most of my first 14 years. By the time I got my temps, I had finally swore off my blind allegiance to Packer QBs. I bought several Packer jerseys since 1992, but I always refused to buy a Favre jersey. And I'm glad I did, despite the temptation over the past sixteen years. I am abundantly thankful for Brett Favre's career in Green Bay, and I have stories from that period that I will eventually annoy the hell out of my grandchildren with. But while Brett performed at a level his predecessors never did, he also ended up harboring a vindictiveness (his adjective) that none of his predecessors ever rose to, either. And I'm glad I never owned his jersey.

I am honest when I say that I wish Brett the best. I can't not offer him good wishes because he brought too much pleasure to me during my early adulthood years. Just the same, I really don't think the Jets are getting the player they think they are, and I think a lot of people are going to have to taste their own feet when it comes to Ted Thompson's decision making.

Thanks for the Memories, Brett (Again)

I've been very displeased with the way Brett Favre has handled himself this off season, but I do wish him the best. I've been confident since this mess began in July that Brett was due for a big drop in his numbers this year because of his motivation for coming back (sticking it to the Packers management), his unwillingness to put in the off season and Mon-Sat work necessary, and the effect of nature on an aging athlete. Having said that, I hope he has a decent season, after all. His days of free passes in Wisconsin are gone. He's a New Yorker now, and that media isn't as friendly as the Wisconsin press.

A Thought from the Awakened

There is a special place in hell for pre-dawn lightning storms.

What will be considered a success for the '09 Packers?

So Brett's back with the Packers. While they are saying there will be a competition for the job, the fact is that it will be the future Hall of Famer's job to lose. Given that, let's look five months into the future. Let us say that the Packers do not win the Super Bowl. If that occurs, was all of this worth putting the future off a year? In other words, is a good season with Brett at the helm enough for you, or does he have to lead this team to the promised land one more time?

If You Use IE 7.0, Sit On It

What do I have to lose, 4 readers? If you use 7.0, you obviously can't read this, but when you can again, do yourself a favor: Drop IE.

In all seriousness, I suspect that Sitemeter will fix whatever the problem is...after all, they are the ones losing as people drop their counters. And since I've afforded myself the luxury of barely ever checking my traffic anymore, I'm going to save myself the trouble of removing the re-adding the code for Sitemeter.

"The Guerilla Congress"

The Republicans who continued the conversation on energy in the House were in the sweet spot of governing. They were doing the right thing, they were being justifiably defiant, and their actions had resonance with the public. I just wish they would have kept it up, because, as is, all too many Americans will remain ignorant of this impromptu "Gorilla Congress."

Wisconsin Sausages Too Big for Japan

For the record, I'm not the one who said that, I'm just passing it along to you, my one remaining reader.

The Post That Will Go Unwritten

After reading this comment at the WSB, I thought up what was a pretty funny scenario for a Brett Favre induced civil war in Wisconsin and the U.P. of Michigan. So I cued up blogger to post it, but then I remembered this and decided that right now, it just wouldn't be very funny.