Wednesday, October 29, 2008

The Bird Flu is Falling! The Bird Flu is Falling!

Nice to see that Glenn Reynolds is still paranoid about the bird flu. Logical advice, but sharing it on his stage seems awfully alarmist.

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.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

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.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

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.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

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.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

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:


Monday, October 20, 2008

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.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

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.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

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.

Monday, October 13, 2008

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.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

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.

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

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.

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

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?

Sunday, October 05, 2008

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.

Saturday, October 04, 2008

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.

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

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.