Friday, November 28, 2008
"Scoring is soaring in the NFL, with the league coming off its highest-scoring weekend ever. The rate at which points are piling up undoubtedly delights the game's rule-makers, who rarely have hidden their conviction that fans want to see passing wizardry and electrifying offense and lots and lots of points. "
So, by some interpretations, in the last five years the league has made it tougher for defenders to cover receivers in the secondary, and tougher for defenders to hit quarterbacks without being penalized or fined.
Do you like the offense-oriented rules or would you like to see more "let them play" calls?
Greed Run Amok
This is not a story about Wall Street.
- A Wal-Mart worker was killed Friday after an "out of control" throng of shoppers eager for post-Thanksgiving bargains broke down the doors at a suburban store and knocked him to the ground, police said.
Consumption Economics
I'm not at all convinced that Americans will learn that constantly spending more than you make (and not saving, either) is unsustainable, but the bursting of economic bubbles and the difficult economic times ahead may help.
- This is the first occasion when declines in both quarters will have exceeded 3 percent. The current consumption plunge is without precedent in the modern era.
- Consumers are now abandoning the asset-dependent spending and saving strategies they embraced during the bubbles of the past dozen years and moving back to more prudent income-based lifestyles. This is a painful but necessary adjustment.
- "...net equity extractions from United States" tripled between 2000 and 2006. "This newfound source of purchasing power was a key prop to the American consumption binge."
- The United States needs a very different set of policies to cope with its post-bubble economy. It would be a serious mistake to enact tax cuts aimed at increasing already excessive consumption. Americans need to save. They don’t need another flat-screen TV made in China.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving!!!
I'm in Asheville, NC for the holiday with the family, but I wanted to wish everyone a great holiday.
Take some time and enjoy what's really important to you today...
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
A Great Choice
Some on the left don't like having Gates staying on. They are really missing the point that he is the anti-Rumsfeld and the perfect inoculation against early criticism of the Obama administration on defense. And if you disagree, who would be a better choice for the first year or so? And Why?
Sunday, November 23, 2008
No Tie This Time Donovan...
McNabb Benched.
- Pulled at halftime after a second straight dreadful performance, a perfectly healthy Donovan McNabb was asked the last time he left a game under similar circumstances.
- McNabb was 8-for-18 for 59 yards with two interceptions and a fumble in the first half -- a miserable 13.2 quarterback rating. One week earlier, he threw three interceptions and lost a fumble in an overtime tie with Cincinnati.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
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Friday, November 21, 2008
The Gates Question
I like the idea of Obama asking Gates to stay on for at least a year as Secretary of Defense.
"Gates is a great choice because of the respect he has gained from all quarters after the fiasco that went before," says Anthony Zinni, a retired four-star Marine who once headed the U.S. Central Command. "He would also provide continuity at a critical time." The key to Gates' sticking around, Zinni suggests, is how many Pentagon political appointees Obama would let Gates keep if he stays, which would deny Democrats those crucial national security positions. "I think he won't stay without his team," Zinni says of Gates, "and the [Obama] Administration can't let him keep them." Then, uncharacteristically for this particular parlor game, Zinni adds, "But what do I know?"
I have read that Gates really want to keep Gordon England as his Deputy. The Obama transition team wants to have their own guy in the room with Gates (Richard Danzig or one of his minions). I hope they work something out.
To round out your week...
...a musical tribute to Joe Lieberman.
"Backstabbers" by The O-Jays
Politics aside, this song friggin' rules!!!
Sarah Palin pardons turkey...as others are slaughtered right behind her!!!
Now that's a photo-op we can all believe in!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Mike Mussina: Hall of Famer?
I'm torn.
The positives
Excluding his rookie season, (in which he only pitched in 12 games) the guy
He logged a lifetime .638 winning percentage. Wow.
The negatives
He only had one 20-win season.
He never won a Cy Young Award.
At no point in a nearly 20-year career did he ever seem like the dominant pitcher of his time.
In my mind, too many players get into the Hall of Fame. I say NO to Mussina...
GOP Congressman explains the Republican economic philosophy...
...in terms that make it very obvious why his party has gotten its ass kicked in two straight election cycles.
Rep. Zach Wamp gives the big "F YOU!" to workers in his home state of Tennessee...
In summation:
Low wages = Good
No health care = More gooder!!!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
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GOP bigot engages in some decidedly non-Christian sour grapery...
Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO) has spent the last 6 years doing her best to outlaw gay marriage, injecting her religion into all aspects of public policy and accepting cash from Tom DeLay's shady PAC.
For her troubles, she got her ass kicked two weeks ago by a staggering 12 points to Democrat Betsy Markey in the 2008
Sadly, it seems that the uber-holy Rep. Musgrave isn't a very gracious loser...
It’s no surprise Rep. Marilyn Musgrave is taking her recent loss to Betsy Markey really, really hard.November 4th was a good day on so many levels!!!
Musgrave, a Republican who’s been representing Colorado’s 4th District since 2002, became part of the Republican Casualty List when she lost in a landslide, even after the National Republican Congressional Committee doled out almost a million bucks (reportedly $900,000) for her campaign.
Two weeks after the brutal loss, Musgrave still hasn’t called her opponent to concede or to congratulate the victor, as is not only textbook but also mannerly to do.
Moreover, Musgrave’s ill manners bleed into her own team. Rumor has it she still — 14 days later — hasn’t even thanked her campaign staff. (Again, textbook.)
Sorry about going AWOL...
I've had no time to post anything, but I should be back in the game shortly...
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
If Sarah Palin Was A Football Player...
This is the sort of intelligent comment she'd likely make:
- "I hate to see what happens in the Super Bowl and I hate to see what happens in the playoffs, to settle with a tie,'' McNabb said.
Monday, November 17, 2008
It's About the Dollars
The main reason we have the BCS and not a playoff in college football is dollars. Too many people would stand to lose to much if the current Bowl system was changed. To hell with what is more fair or fans prefer! It's the dollars, even if Fox decides it cannot afford the BCS games, ESPN is there to shell out to the NCAA. But this post isn't even about college football. It's about the NFL. When bad calls cost games during a regular season, the NFL has the Competition Committee talk about it next year. When gamblers lose millions on the Steelers game , the NFL takes a whole day to announce that it may change replay rules before the playoffs.
The score made a difference in the wallets of a lot of bettors on the Las Vegas Strip. "Anyone who had a bet on the Pittsburgh side and thought they had won weren't too happy," said John Avello, director of the race and sports book at the Wynn resort.
Avello said there might have been $10 million bet on the game statewide and many times more than that in illegal bets around the country and in offshore Internet betting sites. There was more money bet on Pittsburgh, he said, especially in parlay bets.
Do What the Generals Say...
More than 100 call for repeal of military's 'don't ask, don't tell' policy
- "As is the case with Great Britain, Israel, and other nations that allow gays and lesbians to serve openly, our service members are professionals who are able to work together effectively despite differences in race, gender, religion, and sexuality," the officers wrote.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Still In Denial
"We're here not because of what the auto industry has done," he said. "We're here because of what has happened to the economy."
This sort of view from within the industry is a great indicator that a bailout is useless. If the Big 3 and their workers cannot agree that they have to make better cars and make less money, then they should head straight to Chapter 7. Not 11, 7. Liquidate. Yes, the loss of jobs and the cascading effect will hurt, but a $25 billion "bailout" will only prolong the inevitable and add to the price tag. And the unions are completely unwilling to accept that to keep jobs, workers will lose pay and/or benefits. Pleasant? No. Better than unemployment? I'd say yes.
Let GM go. I t can't or won't make cars better than the Chevy Cobalt and has an impossible financial future with retirees' pensions and health care. We can spend billions to keep this train wreck on life support at the cost of tens/hundreds of billions...but for how long is it worth it?
UPDATE: Clout Has Plunged for Automakers and Union, Too
- Some Congressional support has also dwindled because the automakers closed plants in other states, like Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Delaware, and consolidated their operations closer to home. Meanwhile, foreign auto companies have built plants across the South, picking up lawmakers like Senator Richard Shelby, Republican of Alabama, who now are more allied with the foreign car companies.
- ...one of the U.A.W.’s most prized accomplishments — winning income security for its laid-off members — is not helping the union as it argues for money to help protect its workers at a time when employees across other industries are facing layoffs.
If you were a bank, would you loan GM or Ford money?
Friday, November 14, 2008
Enjoy a mellow groove on a rainy Friday...
The road to 3,000 is paved with mid-90's gold...
"Deeper Shade of Soul" by Urban Dance Squad
Your douche chills will get goosebumps...
Not since the Senator's daughter in Silence of the Lambs has anyone been so in over their head...
Thursday, November 13, 2008
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Finance...2008 Style!
If you had purchased $1,000 of shares of Delta Airlines one year ago, you would have $49.00 today.
If you had purchased $1,000 of shares of AIG one year ago, you would have $33.00 today.
If you had purchased $1,000 of shares of Lehman Brothers one year ago, you would have $0.00 today.
But, if you had purchased $1,000 worth of beer one year ago, drank all the beer, then turned in the aluminum cans for recycling refund, you would have received $214.00.
Based on the above, the best current investment plan is to drink heavily & recycle.
It is called the 401-Keg.
Is this really the Republican line coming out of their 2nd electoral ass-whipping in a row???
Conservative commentators are trying to claim that the results of last weeks election prove that America is a "center-right" nation.
Ummmm. How the hell is that?
Democrats now control:
The White House (which Barack Obama won with a whopping 365 electoral votes)How exactly is this a "center-right" nation?
29 of 50 state governorships
57 U.S. Senate seats (possibly more, depending on the outcomes in MN, AK and GA)
At least 257 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives (far more than the Republicans ever held during their 12 years in control)
It should also be noted that many conservatives are also claiming that Obama campaigned as a conservative...less than a week after claiming he was a socialist.
The verdict? Conservatives are morons, and their time in the political wilderness is long overdue...
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
A note to Governor Palin...
You lost the election in spectacular fashion. Why are you just now making yourself available for interviews?
Please get back to protecting the lower 48 from the impending Russian invasion...
My God, this guy shreds...
Extreme has a new album that I need check to out. It's good to see a unique band back together after so much time.
To get yourself going, check out this fantastic performance of "Rest In Peace" to see Nuno Bettencourt at his best.
The sound quality isn't perfect, but when you're this good, it doesn't need to be...
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Some of the coolest propaganda you'll ever see...
It doesn't get much more "old school" than this...
Monday, November 10, 2008
The Housing Bubble...It's Just a Story, It Happens to Other People...
Not to me.
- Dan Ariely, a behavioral Economics professor at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and author of "Predictably Irrational," said the "better-than-average" effect is at play. And knowing your next-door neighbors sold their house for $500,000 makes it even more imperative for a homeowner to top that price.
"We feel that we're better than other people. We're unique. We're special," he said. "It stands to reason that our houses are also special."
- "Owners are very concerned about how much they paid for particular changes, but buyers out there don't value them."
A funny side effect of the Phillies' World Series win...
The Eagles lost a heartbreaker last night to the Giants, and I must say, it didn't bother me a bit.
Last year, this outcome would've ruined my Monday, but this year (thanks to Brad Lidge and the rest of the 2008 World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies!) it didn't even cross my mind to be bummed out.
The Sports Guy had this to say about "grace periods" back in 2002:
After your team wins a championship, they immediately get a five-year grace period: You can't complain about anything that happens with your team (trades, draft picks, salary-cap cuts, coaching moves) for five years. There are no exceptions.Here's my question: Does a grace period carry over to the other teams you pull for?
Clearly, I'm in uncharted waters here. I'm not too familiar with successful sports franchises/programs.
I have no idea how to explain this phenomenon, but I do know that even if the Eagles miss the playoffs this year, I'll need only cue up Game 5 of the World Series on my DVR and I'll be just fine!!!
Sunday, November 9, 2008
New Narrative
Jonetta Rose Barras nails it.
- Obama isn't like the leaders who have traditionally spoken for black America. As president, he's unlikely to embrace the confrontational identity politics that have defined black activism for so long. He won't tolerate an African American brand of racism or a culture of violence. Nor is he likely to be patient with the long-standing narrative of victimhood that has defined black America to itself and to the mainstream for more than a century.
Obama is already constructing a new black political and cultural narrative -- gathering together the best of the past, including the coalition politics that characterized the early civil rights movement and an image of strong black males that doesn't involve bling-bling or hip-hop misogyny. He has decried the low-hanging pants fashion so popular with young black men, blasted rapper Ludacris for offensive song lyrics and called on fathers to take responsibility for their families.
Are African Americans ready to accept all this and respond positively? Are they ready for a truly post-racial America?
Saturday, November 8, 2008
The New Lay of the Land Up North
Alaska will also be staring down a budget crisis: crude oil slipped below $60 a barrel just before the election, and Alaska's budget balances only if oil is in the mid-$70 range or higher. The days of Palin's $1,200 bonus check to every Alaskan may be over, and if her popularity at home suffers, so does her national profile.
2 from the WaPo Limerick Contest
When engaged in a contest political
Running mate choice is most critical
Avoid giggles and winks
Pick a partner who thinks,
And possesses some skills analytical
------
No greater survivor there can surely be
than John McCain, Vietnam pilot and detainee
but even a veteran of crashes
couldn’t escape from the ashes
of the smoldering wreckage of Bush forty three
Friday, November 7, 2008
Looking A Few Months Ahead..
One sunny day in late January, 2009, an old man approached the White
House from across Pennsylvania Avenue, where he'd been sitting on a
park bench. He spoke to the U.S. Marine standing guard and said, "I would like to
go in and meet with President Bush." The Marine looked at the man and said, "Sir, Mr. Bush is no longer
president and no longer resides here." The old man said, "Okay" and walked away.
The following day, the same man approached the White House and said to
the same Marine, "I would like to go in and meet with President Bush."
The Marine again told the man, "Sir, as I said yesterday, Mr. Bush is
no longer president and no longer resides here."
The man thanked him and, again, just walked away.
The third day, the same man approached the White House and spoke to
the very same U.S. Marine, saying "I would like to go in and meet with
President Bush."
The Marine, understandably agitated at this point, looked at the man
and said, "Sir, this is the third day in a row you have been here
asking to speak to Mr. Bush. I've told you already that Mr. Bush is
no longer the president and no longer resides here. Don't you
understand?"
The old man looked at the Marine and said, "Oh, I understand. I just
love hearing it."
The Marine snapped to attention, saluted, and said, "See you tomorrow, Sir."
Thursday, November 6, 2008
It's official: I live in a blue state!!!
It looks like North Carolina has finally been called for Barack Obama, completing the Democratic sweep and bumping his electoral vote total to 364!!!
Also, Democrat Jeff Merkley has been declared the winner in the Oregon Senate race, supplanting phony moderate Republican, Gordon Smith.
The Democrats have now picked up six seats in the Senate with Alaska, Minnesota and Georgia still undecided...
A National Party No More
That was the title of turncoat Zell Miller's 2003 book, wherein he made the case that his party, the Democratic Party, had no appeal to large sections of the country.
Also, Miller said the only way Democrats could increase their appeal was by behaving more like Republicans.
Jonathan Singer from MyDD makes the case that it is now the Republican Party in danger of becoming a purely regional party:
...McCain carried only the South. I wrote about this predicament well before the election, noting that it would be extremely difficult for McCain to rack up 270 electoral votes winning only in the South but not in the other regions of the country. Indeed, while George W. Bush carried the Midwest in addition to the South in 2004, only narrowly losing the West by a single point, McCain won only the South, with Barack Obama taking 54 percent of vote in the Midwest, 57 percent of the vote in the West, and 59 percent of the Northeast.The elections of 2006 and 2008 have pleased me in many ways, but I must say I'm most pleased to see the political influence of the South diminished so greatly.
For far too long, political pundits have looked to the South as a microcosm for the rest of the country.
Politically, it just isn't...
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
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A few Republicans I'm glad to see get tossed...
1.) Elizabeth Dole (R-NC): Well, duh!
2.) Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO): One of the most anti-gay members of the House for the last six years got blasted by Democrat Betsy Markey, despite Musgrave's reliance on sleazy campaign ads.
3.) Robin Hayes (R-NC): A scuzzbucket who thinks liberals hate America lost to Democrat Larry Kissell. Go fuck yourself, guy with a girl's name.
4.) Chris Shays (R-CT): This phony moderate finally got exposed as a Bush-enabling tool, and now there are ZERO Republican members of Congress in all of New England.
On the flip side, what the hell is wrong with Alaska?
1.) They re-elected Don Young, a vile GOPer who actually violated the Constitution.I'll take a pass on any trips up into the lawless Alaskan wilderness any time soon, thank you...
2.) They seem to have re-elected convicted felon Sen. Ted Stevens.
3.) Sarah Palin is from there.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA!!!
I'd also like to congratulate Senator-elect Kay Hagan and Governor-elect Bev Perdue!!!
Monday, November 3, 2008
Official Donnybrook 2008 Election Prediction Thread...
Since I'm a big believer in early voting, we'll start this a day early.
Here we go!!!
President
Senator Barack Obama (D)
318 Electoral Votes
52.6% of Popular Vote
Senator John McCain (R)
220 Electoral Votes
46.2% of Popular Vote
Obama will win all the states that John Kerry won in 2004, and will pick up Iowa, New Mexico, Colorado, Virginia, Nevada and Florida.
Senate
The Democrats will pick up seats in New Mexico, New Hampshire, Virginia, Colorado, Alaska, Oregon, and North Carolina, but will fall just short in Minnesota, Mississippi, Kentucky and Georgia. The Republicans will pick up zero seats.
Democrats 56
Republicans 42
Independents 2 (Although you might see Joe Lieberman get the boot from the Democratic caucus)
House
The Democrats will pick up 23 seats, while the Republicans will snag 2.
Democrats 257
Republicans 178
UPDATE: Here's a helpful map that illustrates when the polls close across the country...
A good point about Catholic priests denying communion on the basis of abortion views...
"A bunch of old men that don't fuck deciding what young girls can do with their bodies."Discuss...
--The immortal Ron Bennington
Good boy, Chase...
Any time an F-bomb goes out over live air, I get warm and tingly inside.
When it's in this context, I'm just plain giddy...
WORLD PHUCKIN' CHAMPIONS!!!
