Thanks Anyways Titans, It Was A Fun Year.

Well, the improbable playoff run that the Titans have been a part of the last few weeks is officially over, as the Patriots came in and played mistake-free playoff caliber football for 60 minutes and ended the Titans chances for a post season, 40-23. Belichick had a little something extra for Jeff Fisher and Co. as he subbed in the immortal Vinny Testaverde for a late touchdown pass with under 2 minutes leading by 10 so Vinny could keep his consecutive season touchdown streak alive at -what is it- 87 years Vinny has been playing now? Ugh. A hearty fuck you too Belichick.

Not Vince's best game, but he didn't get much help from his receivers either. Plenty of blame to go around on this loss, starting with Reynaldo Hill in the secondary (why wasn't Finnegan playing in his spot?), and ending up with Vince just not getting it done. It will be interesting to see what happens in the offseason now that Vince has officially been welcomed in to the NFL. The Patriots exposed him a bit today and did a great job keeping him from scrambling.

Either way, I just want to say thanks to the Titans for a hell of a year. We haven't had a decent season in two years, and until Vince Young came in this year it didn't seem like things were going to change. I got to give it up to Vince for turning the season around and lighting a fire in the clubhouse. That kid is going to be some fun to watch for the next few years, and I have every reason to believe we'll get a few shots at some real playoff runs with him at the helm.

Now it's time for me to go send off 2006 with a bottle of Moet and some friends.

Happy New Year Everybody!!

The Poll Is Closed..

The Official "How should the Iraqi's execute Saddam?" poll is now closed.

Because Saddam's dead.

I was a little disappointed that "Forced to listen to John Tesh albums until he kills himself" didn't have a stronger showing.

Maybe more people like John Tesh than I thought. Oh well.

The winner, with 43.9% of the final vote- undisputed champion of the "How should the Iraqi's execute Saddam?" poll is-

"Drop him off in downtown Kurdistan armed with nothing but a spork!"


Here were the final numbers-

Saddam's Execution Method How should the Iraqi's execute Saddam?
Drop him off in downtown Kurdistan armed with nothing but a spork	43.9%	36
Get drunk with Teddy Kennedy on the Vineyard and have Ted drive him home	22%	18
Just shoot him already!!	14.6%	12
Death by chocolate	6.1%	5
A long walk off a short pier, Jersey style-I know some people	4.9%	4
Clone his DNA, and then kill one clone for every death he's responsible for	4.9%	4
Forced to listen to John Tesh albums until he kills himself	3.7%	3
total votes: 82
powered by blogpoll

HotAir has video links to various eyewitness accounts.

Good Riddance.

The world has one less scumbag to worry about.


It's nice to kick off the new year on a clean slate, isn't it? You kids have fun...

Sixty Years Later We Still Have To Deal With These Assholes...

At Hyde Park, NY, on September 17, 1944 Churchill sent over to Roosevelt a draft telegram typed on No. 10 Downing Street notepaper.

He suggested they send it to Stalin. It recalled an earlier Churchill draft approved by the Moscow conference of foreign ministers that preceded Teheran.

His September 1944 memorandum recommended "local punishment of war criminals ... at the scenes where their atrocities had been committed."

But what should be done with ringleaders, like Hitler, Himmler, Göring, Goebbels, and Ribbentrop, " whose offences have no particular geographical localization"? To Churchill the method of trial, conviction and judicial sentence seemed inappropriate.

Closely following Morgenthau's infamous loose-leaf "book" Churchill's draft would have inquired of Stalin,

"Would you consider whether a list could not be prepared of say 50 to 100 persons whose responsibilities for directing or impelling the whole process of crime and atrocity is (SIC) established by the fact of their holding certain high offices?"

The United Nations should declare the lives of these "world outlaws" forfeit. "The nearest General Officer," was Churchill's suggestion, "will convene a Court for the sole purpose of establishing their identity, and when this has been done will have them shot within one hour."

Source: "Draft of a suggested telegram to be sent by the President and the Prime Minister to Marshal Stalin," September 17, 1944. FDR Library.

Saddam will join his compatriots shortly.

Lest those in the US wonder why the Bush Administration and the US Congress voted to use our military force to dismantle his regime, here is a reminder.


SADDAM HUSSEIN AND TERRORISM.

Happy Eid everybody!

Vince Young Is Rookie Of The Year. End Of Discussion.

So I returned from a triumphant Titans road trip yesterday, and I was awash in Christmas spirit along with a victory buzz from the Buffalo game. Once again, Vince brought along his bag of magic dust to sprinkle on the field at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo and the Titans emerged victorious with a 30-29 victory. If you are interested, we had a running photo journal of our trip from a cellphone camera which documented our adventure- view it here at Buffalo Soldiers. Yes, we do like our Jager and Guiness. And Yes, limos are the only way to go to a Bills game. Sorry Buffalo, but that place is a dump. Despite the surroundings I did meet some decent Buffalo fans at the game who were downright respectful of the Titans, and most especially Vince Young.

Which brings me to the title of this post- why Vince Young is the hands-down-no-brainer Rookie of the Year. If you hadn't heard, there is an NFL analyst at ESPN named Merril Hoge who doubts Vince and his abilities in ways that defy logic. Despite the heroics Vince continually displays, Merril continually grasps at the shortening list of deficiencies that Vince has like a dying man choking on his last breath.

Here is a post with a great video from the AOL/NFL Fanhouse as to why Merril can't seem to let go of his illogical hatred/jealousy of Vince's abilities. Watch the videos as the author puts together clips of Merril saying Vince can't do something, and then a clip of Vince doing exactly that. Merril needs to buy a clue, or get a new job because Vince is making him look like a complete idiot, which apparently was not all that hard to do.

As far as the Rookie of the Year discussion, I think you can make decent arguments for a number of rookies this year. Maurice Jones-Drew is having an incredible run, Demeco Ryans has been terrifying offenses and putting up pro-bowl caliber numbers at Linebacker. Reggie Bush and Marques Colston are putting up great offensive numbers and wreaking havoc in the NFC. Devin Hester is the most dangerous return man in the game (besides Pac-Man of course).

But the main argument for Vince is the simple fact that he just wills his team to WIN GAMES. He is the undisputed leader of the Titans, a title which none of the other rookies could claim about their respective teams. When he got clocked running out of bounds in the Giants game earlier this year, every single player on the Titans rallied around him afterwards and began making plays on both sides of the ball.

The fact is that there are things about Vince that make him so valuable to a team that simply don't show up statistically. During the Buffalo game, I watched Vince on the sideline a few times talking up his offensive line, or going over routes with his wide receivers while listening to each of them. He was also cheerleading the defense as if he was on the field with them. He shows poise during high pressure situations that we in Tennessee have begun to call his fourth quarter heroics "McNair-Esque". And we have seen enough of those from Big Mac to know what we're talking about. Vince is everything and more he was cracked up to be in the lead up to the draft, and as a Titan fan I can't imagine a more exciting player that we could have drafted.

The one stat I will use though is this: In his 12 starts, Vince has led his team to FOUR FOURTH QUARTER comebacks. And he did this by literally putting the team on his back. As good as the other candidates are, none of them can claim to have single-handedly led their teams to victories in the fourth quarter the way Vince does.

Vince Young should be Rookie of The Year because he WINS FOOTBALL GAMES.

Bring on the Patriots.

This Is What I Call Dedication......TITANS!!!!

Hey folks, hope everyone is enjoying their holiday festivities and sharing good times with friends and family, and also I want to give thanks to all the military guys and gals overseas fighting for our survival- you deserve the best, and I deeply appreciate the commitment and sacrifice that you give for us to be safe.

Now on to the title of this post. On Monday night, my bud Fin and I were talking over a few beers at the Trace about what we were going to do for Santa day since neither of us were doing the family thing this year. After a minor deliberation, we thought about how cool it would be to go see the Titans in Buffalo (again, this was after several beers, and two or four Jagers). Once we decided to look for tickets, we turned to the TV at the bar and sure enough, they had an ad for the Music City Miracle in reference to the Titans-Bills game this weekend. We took that as a sign that we had to go.

So we went online and found ridiculously cheap tickets on THE FIFTY YARD LINE FIRST ROW BEHIND THE TITANS BENCH. Needless to say, we snatched 'em up, and then realized we had to figure out how in the hell we were going to get to Buffalo. After ironing out a few details, we got everything worked out and we are indeed Buffalo bound for Christmas this year.

You'll be able to spot both of us easily if they show the crowd behind the Titans bench. We'll be the ones wearing santa hats and Titans Jerseys (Bulluck and Young) whilst getting pelted with beers by the people of Buffalo. I'm guessing they won't like the sign we're bringing-

"Santa Says: It was NOT a Forward Pass!!!"

We've put together a blog for the trip that will consist entirely of pictures taken with Fins cellphone. It will be a photo-journal, and each picture will be uploaded in real time so you can see what we see during our trip.

The blog is here- Buffalo Soldiers

Merry Christmas Everybody!!

Thanksgiving-Predators-Titanitacular Birthday Weekend Recap

That's right folks, this past week was my favorite holiday, and it was one for the ages as the Preds and the Titans were kind of enough to show some birthday weekend love by putting on some spectacular performances .

Thanksgiving has most of my favorite ingredients, food-football-friends-wine, and this year I was lucky enough to have them all. We watched the Joey Harrington lovefest in Detroit (that win had to feel pretty good for Harrington) while I cooked up a turkey using the following recipe I've been pretty successful with over the last several years. Each year the under-the-skin-rub gets a little more refined, here is this years version-

Take Turkey, stuff garlic cloves inside, outside, in the Turkey pan, and under the skin of said turkey. Lay entire Turkey on bed of Bay leaves, rosemary and whiter wine. Take the following ingredients in whichever amounts you feel comfortable with (no one ingredient should exceed a cups worth), mix together in to a paste, and rub generously under the skin, inside and around the Turkey-
Brown Sugar
Dijon Mustard
Olive Oil
Yes, More (crushed) Garlic
Rosemary
Saffron (hey, my mom brought me some back from Turkey-gotta use it sometime)
Thyme
Cumin
Cayenne Pepper
Garlic Powder (hey, why not?)
Salt and Pepper
Generous Amount of High Quality Whiskey-(this year it was Bushmills)

Here's a picture of this years bird-

I use Pepperidge Farm stuffing with some spices, it's the easy way for me to get that part done. The gravy that you get from the pan that the turkey is cooked in just heavenly, and accompanies the rest of the meal perfectly.

Here's my first plate from this years feast-

With the turkey and stuffing we had some sauteed broccolini and green bean casserole supplied by Farrah, both were a nice addition. I had a 2002 bottle of Stepping Stone Cabernet Franc to go along with the feast. We may not have had that extensive a selection of foods, but when it's just a few people you don't need to make that much stuff. Everyone ate and enjoyed it which is all that matters.

We watched the rest of the football games and had a nightcap or four at Jacksons before retiring.

Saturday night was awesome as we got to see a rare event in Nashville- a 6-2 thumping of the Detroit Red Wings by the Nashville Predators. The photo below this post is of that chick who can shoot a bow and arrow with her feet wrapped around her head. How this is useful as a talent is beyond me, but she was at center ice during the intermission and I was eating hot dogs and drinking beer ten rows back so what do I know. I was impressed with the Preds defensive play during the game, but what was probably more noticeable was the lower quality of play from Detroit. That was one of the worst performances by a Red Wings team I've ever seen in Nashville, and I've seen most of the Preds/Wings games either live or on TV. If the Preds can stay healthy, we may have a shot to make it past the first round this year. And how about Chris Mason stepping it up in place of the injured Thomas Vokoun? Gutsy play by C-Mase.



My birthday officially began at 12:00 midnight after the Preds game with a round of Irish car bombs chased with shots of Jager. Yes, I left few brain cells undisturbed this weekend. Fortunately, the Titans game on Sunday was moved back to 3:15 so I had plenty of time to shake off a nasty hangover in time to watch the first big time Vince Young Titans performance.


This particular Titans game will go down as a defining moment for this young team. The first three quarters the Titans were exposed as a young mistake-prone team that couldn't stop the Giants on offense nor could they do much on offense themselves. Travis Henry was shut down early and the Titans had to get away from their run-first mentality to try and stay in the game. By the end of the third quarter at 21-0 the Giants had all but demoralized the young Titans, and I stood there shaking my head thinking how much it would suck to have my favorite NFL team get stomped on my birthday. All of the sudden Vince Young scrambles for the first down marker on a fourth and 10, and while he is out of bounds he gets viciously hit by the Giants safety. Vince bounced up roght away from the hit and next thing you know the entire momentum of the game seemed to start to turn around. The Titans went on to score a touchdown, followed by a few unbelievable plays from Pacman Jones, another 2 touchdowns, and yet another interception from Pacman and suddenly the Titans are looking at a 49 yard field goal for the win. The snap was low, but Craig Hentrich made a great pick up, got the hold down and Rob Bironas split the uprights for the win. Vince Young was shall we say -McNairesque- in his performance, and as Titans fans we have come to expect guys like this to step it up. I'd say this was the first time Vince proved to the Titans fans that he was truly worth the first round pick. I don't think a Jay Cutler or Matt Leinart could make the plays that Vince made in that game. And his poise for a rookie was truly outstanding. We will have many good times to look forward to with this group, and if they can keep their act together off the field, we could see a resurgence of playoff caliber football here in Nashville. Talk about a killer football b-day present!!

After the game I met up with a bunch of friends for dinner at Sperry's, a local tradition. The house specialty was the bacon-wrapped, bleu cheese stuffed filet which was all I needed to know. The bonus at Sperry's was the half price wine list, and my buddy Fin bought a bottle of 2003 Stag's Leap Artemis for my birthday with dinner which was spectacular.

As you can probably guess, I am now ready to fast for about a week or so, and probably avoid alcohol for a little while before I pickle my liver any further.

.....*cough*...........what? So what if O'Shea is working the Trace tonight with two for-ones?

....ahem....moving right along.

Thanks again to all who wished me a happy birthday, and thanks to the Titans and Preds for making it so enjoyable. It will be tough to beat this birthday weekend, I pretty much hit on all cylinders all weekend. Maybe that means good things are ahead for this new year? Stay tuned sportsfans!

You have new Picture Mail!

Just another night of great hockey action with your nashville predators!

Iraqi Judicial System: 1 Saddam Hussein: 0.

And this game ain't over yet folks.

Verdict: Saddam to hang
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) – Defiant, raging and arrogant to the end, Saddam Hussein trembled and shouted “God is great” as he was sentenced to hang.

“Long live the people and death to their enemies. Long live the glorious nation, and death to its enemies!” Saddam cried out.

Then bailiffs took the arms of Iraq’s once all-powerful leader, and the man the United States went to war to drive from power walked steadily from the courtroom with a smirk on his face.

The hawk-faced chief judge, Raouf Abdul-Rahman, sentenced Saddam to the gallows Sunday for crimes against humanity, convicting the former dictator and six subordinates for a nearly quarter-century-old case of violent suppression in this land of long memories, deep grudges and sectarian slaughter.

The Saddamizer received the death sentence for ordering the torture and murder of nearly 150 Shiites from the city of Dujail in 1982. I'm not normally one to trumpet the death sentence, and in fact I would rather it be preserved for guys like Saddam. Once you reach his level of evil, I don't see how you have any other choice but the death penalty. He's not getting a second chance, and every day he sits in a cell is another day people will have to wait to put the suffering he caused behind them. I realize that killing him is not automatically going to make everything better, but letting him become a rallying point for disaffected Sunnis while he rots in jail isn't going to help either.

And, I thought I posted some fantastic options for his execution in my poll to your right. Currently "Drop him off in downtown Kurdistan armed with nothing but a spork" is currently well ahead, with over 40% of the vote. You folks realize that if you choose the "Ted Kennedy drives him home" option would probably mean that Teddy wouldn't get re-elected, so you know, win-win. Just think about it.

I give you an oldie but goodie Cox and Forkum cartoon of the Saddamizer that hits ze nail on ze head.



Also, today is the day we vote for the folks who will go to Washington to make our lives more miserable. Honestly, I have no idea who I'm voting for this year in Tennessee because the choices are awful, and the candidates have done everything minus devour an infant on live TV to make me not want to vote for them.

Can we vote for Nicole Kidman as a write in? At least she would be nice to look at on the TV.

One more note, stay tuned to Tman in Tennessee for an upcoming super-secret-blogger-insider interview with someone who deserves more recognition for something he and someone else did to fool some people that definitely deserved some foolin'.

Or something. Either way just come back here to visit in a few weeks, and hopefully it will be done by then.

And one FINAL note, I will be posting the new blogs of two of my good friends who agree with me on just about everything except for politics. I know, hard to belivee that I would disagree with someone. Should be good for a laugh or two.

Rest In Peace Arnold "Red" Aeurbach, and Thanks For The Memories

Look carefully at the following picture, and you will see a sports legacy that has no peer.




Every single championship banner in that picture is a direct result of the genius that was Arnold "Red" Auerbach. The embodiment of the Boston Celtics for nearly 57 years. 16 NBA World Championships (nine as head coach, with eight of them coming in a row). Responsible for drafting Bird, Cowens and Havlicek. Made unspeakably brilliant trades that resulted in the Celtics landing hall of famers like Russell, McHale and Parish. He was the reason for Celtic pride, and for anyone who grew up in Boston prior to the 90's, Celtic pride was all we had. Boston may always be the capital of Red Sox Nation, but it was the Celtics who were the heroes.

I still remember Johnny Most screaming "Bird Stole The BALL!!!!" during the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals against Detroit like it was yesterday. I was but 15 at the time and the game had been played well past my bedtime. I went upstairs to listen to the rest of the game on my clock radio while my folks watched the game on TV downstairs. As soon as the play happened curfew went out the window and I raced back downstairs to watch the replay. That still remains one of my all-time favorite sports moments.

There have been many great things written about Red in the last couple of days. I'll list a few must reads here, with some of my favorite quotes about Red-

Memories of Red, By Bill Simmons

(after the Celtics win the title in '84) Everyone crams onto a makeshift podium so the commissioner can present the NBA trophy. He makes a little speech and hands the trophy to Red, who's sucking on a victory cigar, as always. And after hearing about the Lakers' "dynasty" from every broadcaster and writer for two weeks, good ol' Red can't resist rubbing it in.

"Everyone keeps talking about the Lakers dynasty!" Red yells at Brent Musburger. "Well, here's your dynasty, right here!!!!!!"

He holds the trophy up as the locker room explodes. He's holding it like a hunter would display a deer's head. Here's your dynasty. Right here.

Red Was Just Full of Color, By Bob Ryan

The Red Auerbach folklore is extensive: The seven basic plays, plus options. The victory cigar. The Chinese food. The legendarily bad driving. The way he protected the owner du jour's money even better than he did his own. The love of Asian art and furniture. The letter opener collection. The image of him with the rolled-up program battling such referee foils as Sid Borgia and Mendy Rudolph. The love of tennis and racquetball. The chutzpah to draft the NBA's first black player, Chuck Cooper, in 1950; the further chutzpah to start five black players in the 1964-65 season; and even more chutzpah to name Bill Russell his successor when he retired from coaching in 1966.

And more: The fact that during the Bird Era he was not to be disturbed between 4 and 5 in his office because that's when he watched "Hawaii 5-0." The cab driver who may have persuaded him not to leave Boston for the Knicks. The pioneering '50s and '60s State Department trips that spread the basketball gospel to Europe, Asia, and Africa. The ceaseless and touching devotion to George Washington University, his alma mater.

For you Titans fans out there, I'll relay a Celtics/Titans analogy that I think you'll appreciate.

Do you remember the glory days of McNair and Eddie when the Titans would run the ball 35 times a game, and still get over 100 yards on the ground despite the fact that the opposing team knew exactly what the titans were going to do? They would line nine guys in the box and Eddie would still rumble for 100 yards.

That's what Red did with the Celtics. Everyone knew all of the Celtics plays, but the beauty was they still couldn't stop them. In Red's own words-"An acre of performance is worth a whole world of promise."

Thanks for the memories Red, and thank god you never had to see cheerleaders at a home Celtics game.

One Of The Stinkiest Elections In Recent Memory.

Republicans who act like Democrats, and Democrats who act batshit crazy- what a spectacular choice.

PJ O'Rourke, in his latest column, discusses our wonderful options.

On Republicans-

Social Security privatization was presented to the electorate with a public relations and marketing flair not seen since New Coke. Intelligence collection has been given an additional bureaucracy to correct the problems created by too much bureaucracy in intelligence collection. "Homeland Security" sounds like a failed 1980s savings and loan. Didn't Grandma lose $20,000 when Homeland Security went under? Then there's No Child Left Behind. What if the child deserves to be left behind? What if the child deserves a smack on the behind? We have a national testing program to test whether kids are . . . what? Stupid? You've got kids. Kids are stupid. Immigration policy will fence the border, providing economic stimulus to the Mexican ladder industry. The National Guard is stationed on the Rio Grande--U.S. troops standing between you and yard care. President Bush said that if illegal immigrants want citizenship they'd have to do three things: pay taxes, hold meaningful jobs, and learn English. Bush doesn't meet those qualifications

Heh. Kids are stupid. I should know, I still act like one on occasion.

PJ does not hold back when pondering whether or not to support the Democrats-

There is also the problem of issues for the Democrats to run on. You're going to elect Democrats to control government spending? And you're going to marry Angelina Jolie for her brains. The privacy issue--government spying on U.S. citizens--isn't going to work. True, NSA has been collecting all our telephone information, but anyone who's answered the phone during dinner knows that every telemarketer on earth has that information already. Illegal immigration? When the Democrats were in charge, the illegal immigrants were from al Qaeda. And as for Iraq, the best the Democrats have been able to do is make the high school sex promise: "I'll pull out in time, honest."

Maybe I won't work for the Democrats. It's too much of a job. And jobs are not something the Democratic base is famous for having. Maybe I'll just act like a Democrat and stay away from the polls on November 7 and hang around the house drinking beer. In fact, I think I'll start practicing that now, so I'll be ready on Election Day.

Yes, practice does make perfect. And by any measure, I should be close to reaching professional status thanks to all the long hours of practice I put in.


You know who I rather would vote for before some of the talking heads on my ballot now?

This guy.



"This year, why not the worst?"

American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk

If you feel like helping out a good cause this week, please check out the following from someone close to my family.

Friend,

This year I am participating in the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk. Making Strides is a non-competitive five-mile walk that takes place in more than 100 cities across the country. Making Strides has no registration fee and no fundraising minimum, which means that more people can participate. However, the many breast cancer programs from of the American Cancer Society depend on the generous donations collected by Making Strides Participants, so I'm asking you to please support me with a donation of any amount. Whether its $5, or $500, every bit truly does help. We're making great strides in our fight against breast cancer, but I won't quit until we're done. Hope Starts Here... With Us!

I am joining up with Sarah and her team on November 18th to help with the ongoing fight against breast cancer. Give what you can and wish me luck!

Thanks!

Some quick facts about breast cancer from the American Cancer Society-

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, other than skin cancer. It is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, after lung cancer.

About 212,920 women in the United States will be found to have invasive breast cancer in 2006. About 40,970 women will die from the disease this year. Right now there are slightly over 2 million women living in the United States who have been treated for breast cancer.

The chance of a woman having invasive breast cancer some time during her life is about 1 in 8. The chance of dying from breast cancer is about 1 in 33. Breast cancer death rates are going down. This decline is probably the result of finding the cancer earlier and improved treatment.

If you are feeling generous, please click this link and help in any way you can.

Thanks!

CNN Reaches Bottom, Digs. Film At 11.

Perhaps you haven't heard of the recent controversy surrounding CNN's decision to air a video of an Islamic terrorist sniper killing a US soldier in broad daylight.

HotAir has the details, and you can go here to read Anderson Cooper's "painstaking" jusitification for deciding to run the video.

There is ZERO justification for airing this video. This is not a "newsworthy" item. We know that Islamic terrorist snipers are killing US soldiers. This is not news. We also know that these Islamic terrorists in Iraq cannot defeat our military, so they are trying to get our media to run videos such as this to get people in the US to drop their support for the war in Iraq. We've been through this before. The whole freaking purpose of terrorism is to scare people in to doing what you want them to do, and in this case CNN is providing an outlet for straight up terrorist propaganda videos.

Someone please explain to me what possible purpose is served (other than the inevitable ratings bonanza for CNN) by airing a video of these scumbags killing our troops. The people in our Armed Forces are over there trying to help Iraqi's get on their feet and start a new prosperous life free from scum like Saddam. Now CNN is helping the terrorists who want to turn Iraq back to the dark ages?

Here was Anderson Coopers excuse for airing the video-

"Whether or not you agree with us in this case, our goal, as always, is to present the unvarnished truth as best we can."

Fuck you Anderson. We already know the truth. We already know that these scumbags are taking pot shots at US troops. We all know that US troops are dying over there on a daily basis. It's a freaking war. Soldiers die in wars.

You aren't presenting the truth, you are presenting terrorist propaganda videos that are made for the express purpose of breaking down our collective will to defeat these scumbags.

Uncle Jimbo from BlackFive gives you a soldiers perspective on the whole thing. He is not pleased, to say the least.

It's amazing. How many of you heard about this story?

ULTRASOUND MACHINES & MEDICAL SUPPLIES – AL QAIM IRAQ
Spirit of America responded to a request from 1st Lt Matt Thompson, USMC for an ultrasound machine and medical supplies for an Iraqi medical center in Al Qaim (near the Syrian border). In fact, two ultrasound machines were donated – one purchased by SoA and the other donated by Sonosite. Here is an email from Lt Thompson:

I hope you got the flag as a token of our thank you. What you have done is such a wonderful thing for these people in Iraq. Unfortunately, I have become the new Watch Officer and although this puts me at the helm of the ship per se, it also precludes me from going outside the wire any more. This makes it impossible for me to get back out to the hospital. I am hearing reports that they [the Iraqi medical staff] were ecstatic and that they are functioning like modern hospital now. You can be assured that you have helped save lives in western Iraq.

Truly indebted.
Lt Matthew Thompson

Here is the delivery of the ultrasound machines and supplies to the medical center:


Marines donate items to hospital in Al Qaim

Or this?

TOYS AND BOOKS FOR CHILDREN IN BASRAH
Marines Lieutenant Colonel Jim Wilmott requested school supplies, books, toys and recreational equipment for children in Basrah. In cooperation with US Regional Embassy Officer (REO), Mark Marano, Spirit of America purchased 350 soccer balls, 375 Beanie Babies, over 100 educational toys and 1,000 Arabic-language books. Those donations have arrived in Basrah and are being given to local children. Mark Marano emailed saying us:

Receiving and distributing these donations has been the best part of my tour here. These types of gestures do more to win the hearts and minds more than any of our other efforts.



Basrah schoolchildren receive supplies courtesy of Embassy & Marines

All these projects were made possible by your generous support. Thank you.

That’s all for now.

All the best,
Jim Hake and the Spirit of America team
http://www.spiritofamerica.net

Instead CNN runs the video of some scumbag murderer killing a US soldier in broad daylight.

By the way, if you want to donate to the folks helping our troops in Iraq, I highly recommend the awesome work done by the people at Spirit Of America. They are responsible for the above examples of the fine work being done by our soldiers.


Anderson Cooper, how do you sleep at night?

Nuclear Apocalypse And Livejournal. It Just Fits I Guess.

With the latest news of Kim "Sea of Flames" Jong-Il's attempt to test a nuclear bomb, I was hoping that the dear leader would have added a new entry to the Kim Jong Il (the illmatic)'s Journal. No such luck. In fact the latest entry was from July 8th. I guess he's really busy building all that stuff to make a "sea of fire" and whatnot.

Maybe he's just reminiscing about the good ole days-



Who knows. He's a busy man. And so, so Ronrey..

Here is his last post to Bush-I'm thinking Junior confuses him.





You may have heard about the campaign advertisement created by Hollywood producer and director David Zucker that was "supposedly" intended to be used by GOP organizations in the closing weeks of the 2006 campaign. Allahpundit over at HotAir has the rundown, links included. Some funny stuff, I command you to go there and check it out or I will turn YOU in to a sea of flames.

Ok, maybe not a "SEA" of flames, maybe more like a "large puddle" of flames.

For TC at Leather Penguin

And for my other friends who have unfortunately chosen to root for the Darkside aka the Chokees this year.



Now you Yankee fans who know I'm a Red Sox fan will probably say "well, at least we were IN the playoffs" and they will be right, but few things make me as happy besides aBosox win as a Spankee Choke.

And Choke they did.

So I will enjoy this spanking of the overpaid mercenary Spankees, and wallow in the suffering of the Chokee fans.

Vindictive? Me? Maybe a little. But hey, it's the Yankees we're talking about.

Go Tigers!!

You have new Picture Mail!

Next stop. Tunica!

The Vince Young Era Begins with the Albert Haynesworth Stomp.

Let's see which newspaper runs that headline on Monday.


Ugly day for Titans fans, as Mr. Haynesworth disgraced the uniform with his indefensible actions in the the third quarter of todays game with the Cowboys. There is no excuse, and Haynesworth isn't even trying to make one.

DT ALBERT HAYNESWORTH

(on his hit on Andre Gurode)

First thing I’d like to say is, nobody told me what to say. Nobody coached me on my statement or anything like that. It’s all coming from me. What I’d like to say is I’m very sorry. I apologize to Andre. What I did was disgusting. It’s something that should never happen. I mean I’m not a dirty player. I don’t play dirty. I have respect for the game. What I feel like is I disgraced the game, disgraced my team and disgraced my last name. I just don’t know what else to say to apologize. When I was sitting in here in the locker room when the game was going on, I was looking at my phone, which has my kids on it. I don’t want them to have my last name and to think their Dad was a dirty player because I don’t play that way. I play with a lot of heart. What I did out there was disgusting. It doesn’t matter what the league does to me. The way I feel right now, you just can’t describe it.

It should have been a day of hesitant joy as Vince Young showed glimpses of unlimited potential running the Titans Offense. Once he realizes that the defense is watching his helmet and learns how to fool them, he has the chance to become one of the greatest quarterbacks I've ever seen. There's something about him beyond the stats that gives you that same feeling that McNair did. That maybe he has the tools needed to carry a team over the hump. They may not win a lot of games this year, but I can tell you, with Vince on the field, the Titans will be in it.

Instead we have this Haynesworth madness. Should Albert be banned for the year? Answer in the comments.

Update: For the few hundred of you who have come here looking for the video to the play in question, it's available here at this ESPN page. And would it kill you to leave a comment about it? I don't ask for much. Really I don't.

A South Park Political Party? Count Me In.

I recently came across the following ABC interview with the creators of South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone (hat tip-the blogfather).

In the interview, which has many interesting points about the show and the latest season, Parker and Stone discuss the incredible levels of hypocrisy they are exposed to when trying to skewer the latest sacred cow.

Regarding their recent attempts to caricature Mohammed-

"People told us at the time, 'You can't really draw an image of Mohammed,'" Parker says. "And we were like, well, we can. We're not Muslim, so it's OK."

In 2006, however, when Stone and Parker wanted to depict Mohammed in an episode, Comedy Central wouldn't let them. After all, Muslims worldwide had rioted over insulting depictions of Mohammed in a newspaper in Denmark.

It seemed odd to the creators of "South Park," who had been and were still allowed to depict Jesus in any number of profane ways. In fact, the episode in question, "Cartoon Wars," shows a cartoon (supposedly created by al Qaeda) in which Jesus defecates on President Bush.

"That's where we kind of agree with some of the people who've criticized our show," Stone says. "Because it really is open season on Jesus. We can do whatever we want to Jesus, and we have. We've had him say bad words. We've had him shoot a gun. We've had him kill people. We can do whatever we want. But Mohammed, we couldn't just show a simple image."

During the part of the show where Mohammed was to be depicted — benignly, Stone and Parker say — the show ran a black screen that read: "Comedy Central has refused to broadcast an image of Mohammed on their network."

Other networks took a similar course, refusing to air images of Mohammed — even when reporting on the Denmark cartoon riots — claiming they were refraining because they're religiously tolerant, the South Park creators say.

"No you're not," Stone retorts. "You're afraid of getting blown up. That's what you're afraid of. Comedy Central copped to that, you know: 'We're afraid of getting blown up.'"

"At the same time, just like we always do, we managed to get something on and say something about how we can't say something about Mohammed," Parker says.

"South Park," from its very beginning has been about mocking that which is held most sacred.

Parker and Stone both appear to be getting burnt out in their non-stop efforts to defuse even the most politically charged issues.

"Going into the last run was the most sort of scared I've ever been," Parker says. "I went into the run just going, 'Wow, how many times are they going to tell us we can't do something before we bail?' Because we're ready to bail. We're ready. … We wanted to say some things, shake things up a bit. And I think we've done that, and I think we've done it in a bigger way than we ever will in the future. So it'd be nice to make some more shows and some more movies, but it'd also be really nice to go to a farm and raise some goats and have some kids. You know what I mean? I mean, that would be really nice, too."
"As soon as we can't make the show we want to make, we're not going to make it anymore. At the beginning of the last run I thought we were really close. I thought it was like this might be it. But then, you know, we were able to still do a Mohammed show and do it the way we wanted, which was to do it and then say, 'All right, Comedy Central, you're a network, you have a right to do with this what you want, so we're making it this way. And then if you want to take out the image of Mohammed, that's fine, you can do that, but we're also going to make the show about you taking out the image of Mohammed.'"

Parker and Stone have been co-opted by many atheists for their various stances against religious hypocrisy, be it scientology or christianity, but the fact is both Stone and Parker are not atheists. In fact, much like myself, they find the hardcore atheists just as hollow as the fundamentalists.

"All the religions are superfunny to me," Parker adds. "The story of Jesus makes no sense to me. God sent his only son. Why could God only have one son and why would he have to die? It's just bad writing, really. And it's really terrible in about the second act."

But Parker says atheism is more ludicrous to him than anything else.

"Out of all the ridiculous religion stories — which are greatly, wonderfully ridiculous — the silliest one I've ever heard is, 'Yeah, there's this big, giant universe and it's expanding and it's all going to collapse on itself and we're all just here, just 'cuz. Just 'cuz. That to me, is the most ridiculous explanation ever," he says. "So I think we have a big atheism show coming."

Perhaps the most illuminating aspect of the interview deals with the title of this post. With Southpark, Parker and Stone have done a masterful job of maintaining a sane, politically incorrect reason-based approach to the most contentious issues facing our world today. And they skewer both sides of the political fence without any pretension of a liberal or conservative bias. Southpark has rabid uber-religious conservative nutball characters, and equal amounts of fruity liberal PC yuppies as well. And it's the kids in the middle who usually sound the most sane.

Libertarian New York Times columnist John Tierney recently wrote that he had "bad news for the GOP regarding that promising new bloc of voters, the "South Park Republicans." It turns out they're not Republicans, at least not anymore."

"We would love to think that we could control a group of people and take over the country in a new political party," Stone says. But they have their doubts. And in truth, they say they're not necessarily all that conservative, it's just that they enjoying poking fun at liberal orthodoxies and celebrities, and it's far more rebellious to lean right in Hollywood than to lean left.

"We're probably more conservative than most Hollywood liberals, but that doesn't mean a whole lot," Stone says.

This resonates with me on many levels, mostly because of the fact that I am consistently regarded as a conservative republican Bush-apologist for my stances in the war against Islamic terrorists. The reality is quite a bit different. I don't really fit very well in to either political aisle, mainly due to the fact that I have conflicting views on the many of the main issues. I am pro-choice, yet pro-2nd amendment. I am for the war in Iraq yet critical of the way it has been handled by the Bush administration. I believe in a social safety net, yet also believe in privatizing social security.

The South Park creators resonate more with me from a political standpoint mainly because when the episodes they write deal with a contentious political issue, they always seem to allow reason to prevail in the argument. And too often in todays discourse, both liberal and conservative voices lean too heavily towards a fundamentalist attitude of self righteousness from each of their own sides of the fence. The simple fact is most americans, especially those within my generation, don't adhere to one side over the other. They are becoming more and more independent, and want political parties that represent a wider range of views, not ones that consistently berate those without their own views.

The end of the interview cuts to the heart of what South Park is all about-

"When the show first came out, there were a lot of people calling it 'Peanuts on Acid,'" Parker says. "I was a big Charlie Brown fan as a kid."



"And I was a big acid fan," says Stone.

The beginnings of the show focused mainly on "this is how kids talk," Parker says. "This is what four little boys do when left alone. These are the things they say. Here's how kids really are."



"They're selfish," Stone says. "They're little bastards. And society makes them better. It's not 'Society corrupts them.'"



"See," Parker says, "that's probably the most conservative viewpoint we have."

Do You Hate Cell Phones? Larry Miller Sure Does.

Me? I enjoy the convenience of ignoring people who call me away from home, plus if I happen to be waiting in line at the DMV, I can pull up the internet on my phone an ignore that obnoxious guy next to me who's "really really really mad about the direction our country is headed".

Larry Miller, aside from being the movie/TV actor that plays that guy you love to hate and one hell of a comedian, can also write a great column. You give him a pet peeve, and consider that peeve beaten senseless. This time, it's cellphones, and our dependancy thereof.

Cell Hell Phone Fun
Or, How I finally caved in.
by Larry Miller
09/15/2006 12:00:00 AM

I HATE CELL PHONES.

Well, hate is probably too strong a word.

No, it's not. I hate them.

I know they've become as essential for all of us as deodorant and bottled water, and that without our phones, we would all sit very still for half a minute or so, then begin drumming our fingers, then roll our necks a couple of times, take a deep breath in and out, quietly whistle a bar or two of "Arriverderci, Roma," then suddenly vault up, screaming, and dive out the nearest tenth story window......

Read the rest here....

In other quick news, the Titans suck. Bad. The Predators had their first preseason game this weekend, and the Red Sox gave me a consolation prize this weekend by taking three of four from the Hated Yankees.

I also will have a post coming shortly about the World Health Organizations reversal on the use of DDT. Better late than never I suppose.

Almost Week 2 And No Titans Post?

Yeah, I'm slackin'. I'll admit it. I will say that losing Steve McNair to the Baltimore Ravens has left a bitter taste in my mouth. There's no other way to put it. He was the face of the team, and until someone steps up to take his place *cough*Bulluck!*cough* things remain a bit off. I'll be cheering for Steve this year (except when they play the Titans of course) but it will have to be a sub-zero day in hell before I cheer for the hated Baltimore Ravens.

I hatessesess the Ravens I do. Even Steve won't wash away the aura of drug dealing murderers that that team represents.

But back to the Titans. I'm a realistic guy, and I'm aware of the fact that the 2006 Titans are not going to put the fear in to too many teams this year on paper. But I am impressed with the foundations we laid by picking up free agents like Chris Hope, David Thornton and Kevin Muwae. Add in the return of Robaire Smith to the d-line, and it shold finally give us a chance to return to the days of Titans smashmouth defense. If we can manage to keep Albert Haynesworth, Kyle Vanden Bosch and Keith Bulluck healthy, and Pac-Man Jones out of jail, we could send some teams a message that the Old Titans defensive attitude is back. And that is what is deperately missing from this team.


On Offense, I'm excited about Mr. Vince Young, but I realize that we can't expect a lot from him too soon. I think Coach Fisher knows what he's doing with Young, as Fisher did a tremendous job slowly bringing up McNair when he first came out. It will be fun to watch this guy grow in Norm Chow's offense, and with the young stable of wideouts as well as a young pro-bowl caliber tight end in Ben Troupe (when he CATCHES THE DAMN BALL), the future is certainly bright.

So I plan on taking some lumps watching these guys this year, and I don't have too many expectations for them other than bringing back some attitude to the defense. The offense will come together in time, and we could do worse having Kerry Collins mentor Vince Young.

I just still have trouble seeing a McNair in a Ravens jersey. It's like finding out the dog you raised since he was a puppy has decided to run away to another owner because they have better dog food.

We'll miss you Steve, thanks for the memories...



GO TITANS!!!

You have new Picture Mail!

Bottle conditioned honey rye @ boscos tough to beat

In Memory Of....

Some other important things to remember.

Arab and Iranian Reaction to 9/11


And never forget-

Godwins Law Needs An Amendment

I've had it with the Hitler/Nazi analogies.

Humanity as a whole has managed to forget what the Nazi's did. It's as if we as a society have become so intellectually lazy that we have lost touch with the lessons we learned from WWII.

Bush, Conservatives, liberals, Republicans, Democrats, Arabs/Muslims and or Israel/Jews, or Michael Moore,........

ARE NOT NAZI's.


THESE ARE NAZI's.






THIS IS WHAT THEY DID.

Auschwitz camp on 26 May 1944, where the Nazis chose whom to kill immediately and whom to use as slave labor or for medical experimentation. The entrance to the main camp is in the background. Between 1.1 and 1.6 million people were killed at Auschwitz alone; over 90% of the victims were Jews. Picture taken by SS Oberscharführer Bernhard Walter or SS Unterscharführer Ernst Hoffmann.

Show me where the American Imperialists, or the Islamic fanatics, or the Israeli Mossad, or the Hindu Peshmerga are lining up people IN FRIGGING BOXCARTS TO TRANSPORT TO SLAUGHTER or SHUT THE HELL UP WITH YOUR NAZI COMPARISONS.

Iran should be liberated, and their regime eliminated......Part VIII.....

I am not a George Bush hater. I am not a George Bush fan.

Do I listen yearnfully to John Howard from Australia talking about Islamic terrorism when he makes his point in Guiliani-esque fashion?

Yep. It would be nice if Bush was a better public speaker/entertainer like Clinton was. I wish he was as eloquent as Blair.

History will judge each accordingly.

The Bush Doctrine is responsible for removing two oppressive regimes, and scaring the ever-living shiite out of the other ones. Say what you will about his lack of public speaking skills, putting the Taliban and Saddam out of business counts for something.

The individuals among us who wish to see the world become either Islamic or dead lost two big time sugar daddy's when Saddam and Mullah Omar (remember him? yah.) went away. And that Osama guy, who is too busy to take a picture of himself in front of a newspaper to remind us he's still alive like Fidel just did, he's been awful quiet lately. We didn't get the usual "and in today's news, there was a tape released purportedly from Osama Bin Laden which referred to the great victory of the Islamic warriors in Lebanon".

Maybe he's out of batteries or something.

Maybe he knows that Hezbollah is screwed now that they finally pushed Israel too far.

Maybe he's dead.

Which brings us to #2 in the "Axis of Evil".

I am now up to Part 8 of the "Iran should be liberated, and their regime eliminated" series.

For those who wish to read the previous episodes, here they are.

"Iran should be liberated, and their regime eliminated"
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7

It is now more evident than ever before that the Iranian Regime is the biggest obstacle to peace in the region and the rest of the world. The two biggest hot spots in the middle east right now are in Lebanon and Iraq, and in both places the Iranian Regime is the state sponsor of those trying to kill innocent people ON PURPOSE. Every other surrounding Arab state except for Syria is ready to recognize Israel and end the pointless struggle over a bunch of freaking rocks.

This will never happen with the Iranian regime still in power.


Those of us who do not wish to "submit to God" involuntarily agree that these freaking nutjob Islamofascists trying to either convert the entire world to Islam or put the rest of us to death need to be stopped.

President Bush stated the following quite clearly after 9/11 that

"Our enemy is a radical network of terrorists, and every government that supports them.....Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists. From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime.

Fast forward to the present. Hezbollah, the armed thugs whose salaries are paid by the Iranian Regime, have been trying to bleed Israel to death for over 20 years. They've wacked our US troops in the process. Today Iranian troops are fighting side by side with Hezbollah in Lebanon, just as they are with Al-Sadr in Iraq.

Sooner or later, if freedom for all from relgious persecution is to prevail, the Islamic Regime in Iran will have to fall. The sooner the better.

I end with a message from my friends at Cox and Forkum.

"Hey There TMan, How Are You Doing Today?"

I feel a little like this...


(Courtesy Of Don Hertzfeldt and YouTube)...

.......but thanks for asking.

There are many things in life about which I know little to nothing about. Of these things, it is women that most certainly top the list. At this point in my life I think it is literally impossible for any one man to have had as much experience with women as I have had yet still be so utterly helpless when it comes to understanding them. It appears that the more I date them, the less I understand them. Addition by subtraction, negative osmosis, I'm not sure what to label it.

Either way, it appears that monkdom is becoming a more viable option with each passing day.

I shall return to my regularly scheduled witty and inciteful political ranting soon, I apologize for the recent diversions. Again, if you provide a self-addressed stamped envelope, I will refund your subscription fees in full. And by "in full" I mean "nothing".

VIVA EL PAPI!!!!!!!!!!

That's Bostonian for baseball happiness. True story tonight: I'm at Jacksons with my buddy Fin, and we watched the Red Sox come-from-behind victory with three week-old Bostonian-to-Nashville transplants. They seemed a little suprised at the amount of Bosox fans in the audience.

This



















equals this.
















Now, go be an anti-Fascist and buy some of these guys stuff. Because Che Guevera was a murdering punk-ass bastard, but David Ortiz is is like chocolate syrup on an ice cream sundae.

VIVA EL PAPI!!!!

When The Bully Finally Gets His

Top Hizbullah official: Group Didn't Expect Israel To React So Strongly

A senior Hizbullah official has said the group did not expect Israel to react so strongly to the capture of two Israeli soldiers. (AP)

Guess what stupid: you keep pushing around this tiny country in to a corner, keep lobbing rockets filled with ball bearings in to their kindergartens during UN -approved "cease" fires, don't be suprised when the tiny country decides to take the gloves off and stomp you like a grape.

I read an exceptional post today from the Treppenwitz blog entitled "A difficult lesson". The post specifically puts the situation in Israel and the Middle East in the terms that many of us will understand on a simpler level, the bully and the little guy.

If you read one short article today, make it this one.

I must be drunk and blogging haiku.

So I will westernize haiku.

A' la the bicycle-

Argument: The average English word has 2.5 syllables. It is a constant that a haiku stanza has 17 syllables. This means that the average haiku written in English will have in the environ of seven words. I have no idea how many syllables the average Japanese word contains, however, I do know that variety exists between the languages.

Armadillo's talk a whole lot of shit.

Sleep with Ann Coulter? You must think I'm desperate.

How many armadillo's do you know?

Thoughts On The Latest Violence Escalation In Israel, And "Nashville Is Talking"

Those five of you who read this here blog know that I am not one to pull punches. I have an opinion. I write my opinion about certain things on this blog. If you agree or disagree with my opinions, you can comment below the particular opinion I wrote. Not terribly sophisticated, but the older I am getting the less I seem to desire sophistication.

Occasionally, I like to read Nashville's first (and only) major news network blog aggregator with full blog posting and commentary- Nashville Is Talking (NIT). NIT was created by Mike Sechrist, one of the directors of NewsChannel 2 here in Nashville, and Sechrist selected one of Nashville's longest running bloggers to "man (woman?) the posts" so to speak, Brittney Gilbert. Ms. Gilbert is a very nice woman. I have met her before at the very first Nashville Bloggers meet up. Ms. Gilbert is unabashedly liberal and progressive. I don't think she'd mind me stating this as fact. If she doesn't, well, you'll probably hear about it on NIT.

Because of Ms. Gilbert's political slant, the majority of the political posts at NIT tend to be liberally biased. I will admit that she doesn't seem to consciously attempt to be biased, and she does try at times to throw some balance in. But I have stopped visiting as much recently at NIT because the quality of debate there between opposing viewpoints has continued its downward spiral towards "either you're a liberal and hate Bush and his neoconfascistoilgrubbingwarmongerers" or "you're an idiot Coulter/Limbaugh fellater." Used to be a little more broad, now, not so much.

I recently couldn't resist commenting on a discussion Brittney posted about one of the latest cartoons from my favorite political cartoonists- Cox and Forkum.
The comments immediately descended to the following-these are the first three.

"Continuing the myth of Israel's Victimization with quality artistry."

"The most hilariously disingenuous misrepresentation here is the pope: "You're hurting civilians."

Israel isn't hurting civilians -- they are killing them."

You show me a Cox and Forkum cartoon, and I'll show you an unlikely victim. What a tired formula."

I am done attempting to have a discussion there about this issue, or any other for that matter. It is a pointless waste of pixels.

Here is my perspective on the situation in Israel right now.

Whatever Israel needs to do to stop the armed militias from Hamas and Hezbollah from killing their citizens, they should do. If that means forcing the militias to disarm by killing each and every last person pointing a weaapon at Israel, so be it. Israel has a right to defend itself, and even more so from people who rabidly preach that their entire country should be destroyed, that every last Jew be driven in to the sea.

I can tell you that the US wouldn't show as much restraint as Israel has if the US had to put up with the equivalent of an Oklahoma City bombing once a week. And yet we have US politicians openly calling for "Israeli restraint".

Screw That. Israel, do what you have to do.

The Sane people in the US are behind you full stop.

One of the links I posted at NIT during the comments back and forth hit very close to home for me. There was an 8 old year boy who was one of the victims killed on my birthday, November 26th, 2002, by a suicide bomber who killed 11 total that day. What freaks me out is that he looks JUST LIKE I DID WHEN I WAS 8. Say what you want about the equivalent palestinian 8 year old, the Israeli Defense Forces don't have suicide bombers. If they wanted dead 8 year olds, there would be piles of them.

That there aren't should tell you something. I wish for a speedy end to the violence, and a full recognition of Israels right to exist from the surrounding nation. I don't want to see any innocent life taken on either side.

But Israel is officially out of options.

As always, I defer to comedian Larry Miller to truly express in accurate terms the nature of the intifada- he's better with the words.

"Whosoever Blesses Them"

Some Of These 9/11 Conspiracy Theories Are Hilarious

Have you seen any of these lately? Here's one from the blog " Humint Events Online who claims that "The 9/11 hijacking attacks were very likely facilitated by a rogue group within the US government that created an Islamic terrorist "Pearl Harbor" event as a catalyst for the military invasion of Middle Eastern countries. This weblog will explore the incredibly strange events of 9/11/01, and other issues of US government responsibility."

Hopefully, My Last Analysis of the Flight 93 Crash: Where I Show the Official Story Is Simply Wrong Here is the official government version of the flight 93 crash (all of the details can be found in the book "Among the Heroes" by Jere Longman):

This particular rocket scientist also tackled the "conspiracy" behind the WTC collapse, using some very high tech equipment to prove -PROVE I TELLSYA! that the WTC was not brought down by the fire from the airplane crashing in to it, but in fact it was brought down by a controlled demolition.

Well, that settles it then. Bush must be stopped. He obviously has mastered the art of deception by simultaneously being the dumbest president in history AND the most devious. Because if two small slabs of concrete and some chicken wire can't convince you, then you are obviously part of the conspiracy.

Then there is "Loose Change:The Movie". According to Wikipedia-"Loose Change is a documentary written and directed by Dylan Avery which presents a possible explanation of events during the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks. The film attempts to compensate for the perceived inadequacy of government investigations and the 9/11 Commission Report. It alleges that the attacks were not the result of terrorism but a series of cleverly executed events carried out by the US government."

This movie is the video definition of the term "Stuck on Stupid". However, it did spawn Screw Loose Change- a blog dedicated to pimp-slapping the drivel presented in Loose Change, and the short yet entertaining Loose Trains-" The 9/11 Train Conspiracy-This website is dedicated to the truth about 9/11. That 9/11 was not caused by passenger airlines or even missiles, but TRAINS, as part of a government conspiracy to control the world's railways."

John at Wuzzadem also got in on the action with the post entitled -And Now, A Message For Aspiring 9/11 Conspiracy Bloggers. John is a funny bastard.

It was the TRAINS MAN!!! THE TRAINS!!!!!!!!DON'T YOU SEE????????

What Would Ralph Wiley Say?

Lebron signs wth Cleveland, all is well with the collective heart rates of 10,000 diehard Cavalier fans.....but as Bill Simmons says, where is the knight in King James' Castle?

Makes me think of a simpler time...when Ralph Wiley wrote about the passing of the torch between Magic and Bird to Carmelo and Lebron.....

This is why I mention the "Two On Two" program airing tonight. It's always good to interview men such as Magic and Bird and Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James, to see how they tick -- and from the league perspective, to see if such bounty as the Era of Bird and Magic spawned can ever be reproduced. David Stern would love it. Consciously or not, so would you. I myself once said on the L.A.-based show "Rome Is Burning" that everybody would probably get into it more if Carmelo Anthony, the foil for LeBron James, were a white kid instead of a black one. I didn't say it as an I-wish thing, or as a condemnation.


It is the first way people draw a rooting interest in our nation of fools.


But it is not the only way, as the Lakers joining the Pantheon of the Yankees, Notre Dame and the Dallas Cowboys as America's Teams shows.


Now we have Iceberg Jim asking Larry Bird, "Does the NBA lack enough white superstars, in your opinion?"


This, right after Bird is being one of the fellows, in his opinion, by saying he hated it when a white guy tried to guard him because he felt that was beneath him. There was laughter in this part of the segment, although it was nervous uncomfortable laughter from LeBron and 'Melo. Magic was laughing, but then he laughs at everything.


You know what's troubling about this? You and me. That's what the marketers think of us. Dangle the red meat of race in front of them, and they'll tune in and get the fruits and vegetables and all the stuff that's good for them but that they won't tune in for otherwise. That's No. 1.


No. 2, the timing. I mean, Gray asked this question, and elicits this answer, and there Luke Walton is! I mean, there he is, right in front of your eyes, as the only possible salvation of the Lakers in the NBA Finals! And you can't make a Luke Walton overnight. You can't I-wish up on one. It takes years and years and years of training, as well as many other variables falling exactly into place. It's just like when some of these know-nothings with ulterior motives ask, "Where are the American-born blacks in big league baseball?" And then I turn on the TV and there they are!


Somebody explain this to me.


It seems the only one who cares that Larry is white, is Larry.
No. 3, and somehow most disquieting: A couple of days before, in the run-up to Game 2 in L.A., Iceberg Jim Gray, who is a colleague of mine, a long-time acquaintance, was asking Shaquille O'Neal questions about the Finals and the Laker season, questions that don't get nearly as much media mileage as "Does the NBA lack enough white superstars, in your opinion?" Near the conclusion of Gray's interview with O'Neal, Gray asked O'Neal to characterize the Laker season; and O'Neal did, with the last word he used being "enigmatic."


Good word. O'Neal seemed to try to humorize his use of it by smiling and saying Jim might not feel the use of such a word was appropriate -- if, in fact, he knew what it meant. O'Neal was sort of diffusing his own use of the word, as if Jim would take it as inappropriate, not as a word -- it was exactly the proper word -- but inappropriate for Shaq to use.


The word seemed to throw Jim Gray, who said to Shaq, "Spell that."


I was stunned. Almost as stunned as when O'Neal almost defiantly spelled it perfectly. He's lucky Shaq responded. Responded? He's lucky Shaq didn't drill him. Luckily for Iceberg Jim, Shaq's not that type. Spell that? What is that supposed to prove?


Wait. Don't answer that. Somehow I think it's going to lead to a question about race. Iceberg Jim is not so innocent here; but then again, few of us are. I do wish we'd stop infecting others, though. The moral here, if we can find one under the pile of horsecrap: Don't ask people if they think there should be more white superstar ballers (when they are right under your nose) without asking if there should be more black superstar lawyers, doctors, and sports interviewers who can spell "enigmatic."


Good freaking word, Shaq. Thank you.

I realize I'm changing the subject but Shaq is freaking awesome in that story, Anyways.

Thank you Lebron, for not screwing over a city that doesn't deserve to be screwed over.

Happy Fourth O'July!!!!

Got lobsters, crab legs, Nathans hot dogs, case of Corona, some munitions, good friends to hang with, should be a great day.

How cool is it that the Space Shuttle went up today, huh? Quite a great present for America's 230th birthday.




One of my favorite descriptions of the take off procedures for the shuttle comes from the essay COURAGE written by the excellent author and pilot Bill Whittle over at Eject!Eject!Eject!. Here is the excerpt, and if you have the time, definitely read the whole essay, it will be worth your time-

Of course, the risks we private pilots face pales in comparison to our military fliers, and is absolutely nothing compared to that met eye-to-eye by men and women like Rick Husband, Willie McCool, Dave Brown, Laurel Clark, Kalpana Chawla, Mike Anderson, and Ilan Ramon; nor does it require the courage and skill of Dick Scobee, Mike Smith, Ron McNair, El Onizuka, Christa McAuliffe, Greg Jarvis or Judy Resnik. These are the last crews of Columbia, and Challenger before her, buried with their ships in the skies over Florida and Texas. But many, many others have taken that walk in those spacesuits, smiling and waving as they pass the cameras on their way to their seats atop 2 million pounds of explosives, and they took exactly the same risks and bore them with the same courage. It is fitting that we remember the names of those lost with their ships, but not fitting at all that most of us cannot name a single living crewmember, some of whom have taken that walk four or five times.

Story Musgrave was one of those people. He described the Space Shuttle as "a beautiful butterfly that's bolted to a bullet."

Here’s what he meant:

Your chairs are facing the sky as you crawl into the Orbiter. You can barely move anyway in your orange pressure suits – thank god for the technicians. They literally ratchet the five-point harness across your chest and legs. On a full flight, it’s four on the flight deck: Pilot and Mission Commander on the controls up front. Two behind him, three on the deck below.

You sit for hours like this – minimum of three hours or so, often longer. There is a lot to think about, and I have no doubt that since Challenger rose and then fell on that cold January morning not one of them has been able to avoid seeing in their mind’s eye that horrible forked smoke trail and raining, smoldering debris. No one talks about this. No one has to. There’s a lot of smiling and nodding, but the chatter is kept to a minimum since the intercom is dominated by call-outs from launch control to the crew, most often the Mission Commander and Pilot.

There’s a lot of built-in holds, chances to catch up and work minor, last minute problems. At the T-21 minute hold, the Flight Director polls the Launch Control Team to confirm we are go for launch. This is a solemn moment. It is, in essence, the passing of a cup of responsibility. Everybody takes a sip. It’s a little less dramatic than in the Apollo days (Telemetry? GO! Cap COM? GO! Booster? GO FLIGHT!), but it’s still where we sign the check.

They pick up the countdown. There’s another built-in hold at T-9 minutes. Any one of these can, and very often does, result in catching one or more of the one million components falling out of nominal status. That’s either more delay strapped into your chair, or a trip home for the night, or the week, or the month.

T minus 31 seconds -- OBS takes over, with auto-sequence start at T-28. Software is running the countdown from this point forward, but anyone at any console can stop the launch if they are not happy.

Computers are checking each system twenty-five times a second. The crew hears everything. Pilot and Mission Commander are busy as hell, but the other five are essentially passengers, and now they are scared. Now they are calling on all of their courage, reasoning with themselves. Smiling at each other. That helps a lot. That and The Nod. The Nod is untranslatable. It means, very roughly, that I know what you went through to sit here with me, and you know the same about me. It’s not something you and I can do. This is something reserved for the very best people we have as a species. That inner voice, the one we cultivate and nurture through untold hours of training and simulation, whispers to us, pushing out the fear: Those controllers are the best there are. The engineers too. The technicians. All of them. We don’t know if they can keep us safe but we know they’ve done their best, and that’s as good as it gets.

Ten, nine, eight…

Okay, head back. Here we go. On the flight deck, some orange gantry out the left window – everything else is blue sky. A butterfly bolted to a bullet.

At T-6 seconds, fire-hoses of fuel and liquid oxygen begin to flow to the three main engines at the back of the Shuttle. They only give us about a quarter of the thrust we’ll need to get off the pad. But they’re on fire now, pushing the Orbiter forward, giving the crew the sickening feeling that the ship is falling over. The vanes constrict and focus the thrust – we’re going to need it all now. Everything she’s got.

Come on, baby. Come on.

The entire shuttle assembly rocks back into place now, and even during these last five seconds, computers can catch a stray reading and shut it all down…

Three, two, one…

SRB ignition. The two flanking Solid Rocket Boosters ignite, pitching more than a million pounds more thrust onto the orange External Tank, the bullet that the butterfly rides into orbit.

And now you’re headed for space, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it.

The SRB’s kick in, and that is what it is, a hammer to the back. You were scared before; you’re terrified now. The SRB’s are horrible, they’re pigs, they scrape and hiss and rattle and they feel like they will shake that ship to pieces. Look at the cockpit cameras during launch, and you’ll see the crew battered like they’re taking speed bumps at two hundred miles an hour. Everyone hates and fears the SRB’s; you’ll never relax while they’re burning.

15 seconds in and you’re clear of the tower. The Shuttle rolls 90 degrees left, fast. You’re not only on your back now, you’re tipping over upside-down and it’s getting worse as you angle out over the Atlantic.

A few miles away stand the smartest men and women the human race has ever produced, and they are watching over you like a hawk. There’s just so goddam little they can do for you now. They’ve already done everything they can and they’re as much a passenger as you are.

You are probably too scared to think about it, and it is CERTAINLY too loud to hear, but further away, thousands and thousands more watched the glare as the SRB’s lit. The Shuttle rolls off the pad in complete silence at that distance. It’s surreal. There’s nothing to compare it to. People are usually kind of quiet.

Then the sound hits you: you feel it in your chest more than hear it, the sound of millions of pieces of thick canvas being torn all at once. And then a funny thing happens, because you’re surrounded by people but suddenly you’re all alone out there – sunburn forgotten, mosquitoes a memory from a past life. You’re ten or fifteen or twenty miles away, but it’s just you and the white butterfly now, that’s all there is. You’re crying and you don’t know it, you're screaming but you can’t hear it, you’re jumping up and down, and it’s every time a Gator wide receiver ever beat a Florida State defensive end and he’s just pulling away and ain’t nothin’ gonna stop him now – he’s going all the way.

Go, baby! Go! GO! Go you son of a bitch! Yeah, they say she burns liquid hydrogen and LOX, but that’s just camouflage. It’s pure love that keeps that ship in the sky.

And she is going. She’s going like a bat out of hell. And every traffic jam and dental appointment and blind date and income tax form is suddenly worth it to be able to see this with your own eyes, to live through a time like this…It’s a pillar of fire and a pillar of smoke, but it’s not God coming down to speak to us, it’s us going up to have a word with Him. Good GOD look at her go!

40 seconds. The mains throttle back. Nothing stops the goddam solids: they keep roaring and hissing and knocking loose your fillings if you're dumb enough or human enough to keep your teeth clenched. We’re at Max Q, and the Shuttle is experiencing the highest aerodynamic loads it can bear. We keep getting faster, but the air starts to thin. This is as hard as the air can push back, and if we do it at full power we’ll be blown to pieces.

Fifty years ago it took all the Right Stuff we had in the box to push a tiny orange glider level through the sound barrier. Now we do it in less than a minute, straight up, from a standing start, with a spacecraft the size of a ten story building weighing a few million pounds. Ka-BOOOM! Mach 1, baby, and you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!

A little more than a minute and most of the atmosphere is behind us. Main engines back up to 104%

"Challenger GO at throttle-up…"

73 seconds.

“Oh no—“

That’s as far as Challenger got that cold January morning. 73 seconds. End of story.

“Roger Columbia, we copy you go at throttle-up”

I know how they must have felt at 2:02 – a kick and a pop, and all of a sudden, the ride turns to pure velvet as the SRB’s fall away. I know one of them must have looked at another and smiled. We’re safe now.

Well, safer. Now a complete engine failure could result in a return glide to Kennedy. Forget all that nonsense about parachutes and escape poles. At mach 5 and climbing the air is as hard as concrete.

2:32 – we’ve been in the air for two and a half minutes, and we are high and fast enough now to glide to Africa.

4:20 – Two engine Abort to Orbit – if we lose a main engine now, the other two will get us to orbit. We can sort things out up there.

7:00 – One engine ATO. Even better. We’re gonna make it.

7 minutes, 45 seconds. MECO. Main Engine Cut Off. Welcome to by-God outer space! Everything is strapped down except your arms. They float in front of you like they do at the top of a roller coaster. Only this one is going to last for two weeks. You’re weightless.

Hope you are all enjoying your Fourth!!