Why do I hate party politics

The story about Scooter Libby boiled down to this: Someone leaked information that MAYBE was illegal to leak.

The latest story about the wiretaps is boiling down to this: Someone leaked information that MAYBE was illegal to leak.

The reactions are the same...one party wants an investigation and the other is silent.

What the hell is the difference? NONE.

So the Scooter Libby story had the Democrats screaming for an investigation. Holier-than-thou in nature, they bitched about an illegal act (the leaking of information that MAY have been illegal to leak) had occurred and dammit, someone should fry for that. The resulting message of the leak, a conflict of interest by Joseph Wilson and the CIA who pushed for Wilson to be sent to Niger. The fact that Valerie Plame was both an employee of the CIA and married to Wilson MIGHT have been an important detail behind Wilson's appointment.

And the wire tap story has the Republicans screaming for an investigation. Holier-than-thou in nature, they are bitching about an illegal act (the leaking of information that MAY have been illegal to leak) has occurred and dammit, someone should fry for that. The resulting message of the leak, there are wiretaps occurred for intelligence gathering (not prosecuting).

The Democrat response to the wire tap story: focus on the resulting message from the leak and illegal acts in this matter don't matter.

The Replican response to the Wilson leak: focus on the resulting message from the leak and illegal acts in this matter don't matter. To be fair, AFTER indictments came out some said those crimes should be prosecuted...but that was not said DURING the investigation.

The truth is both stories should be focused on AND both matters should be investigated AND all people involved in leaking illegal information should be prosecuted.

Right and wrong has nothing to do with the party a person is in. I wish the parties would learn that.

Tice to be fired

(H/T: The Sports Pulse)
According to a WCCO breaking story Mike Tice is done.

WCCO Radio is reporting Vikings Coach Mike Tice may be out of a job.

Tice's contract is up after this year and WCCO Radio's Dark Star said sources close to the story told him Vikings owner, Zygi Wilf, will relieve Tice of his duties Monday.

A meeting is scheduled between Mike Tice and Zygi Wilf for Monday.

WCCO-TV's Mike Max spoke with one Vikings coach Friday afternoon who said if that is the case, Tice is not aware of it.

You almost have to feel sorry for him. Is he really that clueless?

Maybe he is. He was on KFAN this past Wednesday talking about this past season. It was a successful season, they pulled out of a 2-5 rut and he was calling them a 9-7 team (thus predicting a win against the #2 team in the NFC, Chicago). They were in the playoff hunt up to last week.

So I called. "I understand you're saying this is a moderately successful season since you were mathmetically in the playoffs up to last week. You're 8-7, but would you comment on the fact that 6 of your 8 wins were against teams that were mathematically in the hunt for the #1 pick?"

His reply was completely clueless to the point that they could only beat the absolute worst of the league. "I don't want to get into a debate with you, sir, about the schedules. Everyone plays bad teams..."

True, but it is the ones that beat the mediocre and good teams that can call themselves "successful".

"...and Chicago had the same schedule as us."

The host then completed my point (I couldn't since they hung up on me as Tice began talking)..."Yeah, but coach Chicago is beating the other teams also. They're beating the good teams." Tice replied, "Well we can't do anything about the schedule."

Is he really that daft? Is he really that unable to assess the situations around him? If so, then the Vikings have no choice but to fire him.

2005 in Review

These things are so cliche, so...well, they are like a train wreck. We really don't like to be the cause of these but we'll look out of morbid curiosity. The Year In Review.

What were some of the stories that could be considered "The Top"? Terri Schiavo. Katrina. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. Martha Stewart. Pope John Paul II. Deep Throat. Tookie. Michael Jackson. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Chief Justice William Rehnquist, John Roberts, Harriet Miers and Samuel Alito. Sadaam Hussein. Scooter Libby. Dean and Durbin and Democrats. London, Iraq and Al Qaeda still.

Remember the people who left us this year? Johnny Carson. Richard Pryor. Rosa Parks. James Doohan. Pat Morita. Anne Bancroft. Peter Jennings. Johnnie Cochran.

The top movies in a horrid year of movies...this is tough. Screw It, how about movies either good or bad from 2005. Batman Begins. Chronicles of Narnia. The Excorcism of Emily Rose. Coach Carter. Hitch. Star Wars III--Revenge of the Sith. War of the Worlds. Cinderella Man. Legend of Zorro. Weather Man. Harry Potter 4. King Kong.

Oscar Winners (I am pretending the Oscars are based on merit). "Best" Picture-Million Dollar Baby. "Best" Actor-Jamie Foxx (Ray). "Best" Actress-Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby). "Best" Supporting Actor-Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby). "Best Supporting Actress-Cate Blanchett (Aviator). "Best" Director-Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby).

Did I miss anything?

Pawlenty puffs chest for no good reason

(H/T: Speed Gibson)
What really has Tim Pawlenty done for the conservatives?

Pawlenty spokesman Brian McClung said Pawlenty’s bold style puts him at greater risk for setbacks but also bears out a vision and maverick streak that will resonate with Minnesotans.

Since being elected, McClung said, Pawlenty has taken on "Big Pharma," through his relentless push for importation of cheaper Canadian drugs; "Big Oil," through his biodiesel and ethanol initiatives, and "Big Tobacco," by boosting cigarette prices to a level that lowers smoking rates.

"Most governors would be reluctant to take on one of those cartels, let alone all three," McClung said. "He’s a maverick. This is a governor who doesn’t shy away from a big battle with powerful opponents when he’s doing something he thinks is right."

I think that Speed Gibson and Our House sum up the problem with this best.

From Speed Gibson:

There's no real courage being shown here, confronting three unpopular businesses. Not opponents - businesses.

How about taking on Big Education, Mr. Pawlenty? Where were you when Cheri Yecke was under attack? Where was your outrage when she was ambushed by Senate Democrats? Why does your vaunted Q-Comp pay without any competent evidence of improvement?

How about taking on Big Entertainment, Mr. Pawlenty? Why are you campaigning to subvert a very reasonable State law in order to impose a tax that voters would otherwise not approve? Why are you supporting the Gopher football stadium, the weakest case of all?

How about taking on Big Environment, Mr. Pawlenty? There's no case for Ethanol or bio-Diesel. They don't save oil, don't reduce pollution, but do clog our engines. There's no competent research underlying and justifying these smoking bans, but you're ready to sign a statewide ban that will close out dozens more establishments, careers, and nesteggs.

And most of all, how about taking on Big Government? Why did you throw in the tax increase towel early last spring? What happened to the fiscal discipline of your first two years? What's all this talk of "fun" stuff that we now have to pay for?

Exactly!!

From Our House:

Why is it that when Republicans want to appear "bold" they begin to sound like Democrats? Big Oil, big Pharma, and Big Tobacco?! Who would have guessed that these were winning Republican themes?

Further, Pawlenty is not really taking on these big interests so much as harming consumers. Do you think "big tobacco" is paying those increased "health impact fees?" No, it is consumers. Why was the biodiesel initiative put on hold? Because the stuff was gunking up consumers’ fuel lines! Come on, how politically risky were these moves really, except insofar as they piss off his base.

Exactly!!

And why is it that the GOP should just hand over the endorsement again in 2006? I see no reason to endorse Pawlenty regardless of who challenges him. I vote no confidence if there turns out to be no one running against him in the GOP.

Reggie Bush Sweepstakes preview

Many of you visiting this site are wondering, "What does my team need in order to 'earn' the #1 pick?"

First you have to understand the tiebreaking process for the draft. The very first step obviously is the record. The worse the winning percentage the earlier the team will draft. Next is the strength of schedule (SoS). The lower the SoS the earlier the draft pick. This is simply the combined win-loss percentage of all of the opponents of the team this season. If there is still a tie then you go to head-to-head, division record (if in the same division), conference record (if in the same conference) which is also known as Wild-Card tie breakers and so on (percentage against common games, etc).

Now, for the team by team.
If Houston loses to San Francisco they get the #1. That win would be devastating pushing San Francisco to #7. If Houston loses they could drop as far as #4.

New Orleans has the inside track on anyone they tie with. Their SoS is .507 which is significantly lower than anyone else. If New Orleans loses and Houston wins then the Saints should have the #1 pick. A win could drop them as far as #6 pick.

Green Bay's only shot is if New Orleans beats Tampa Bay and Houston beats San Francisco and Green Bay loses to Seattle. The worst Green Bay can do is the #6 pick.

New York needs to lose against Buffalo while Houston wins, Green Bay wins and New Orleans wins. A win can push New York as far as the #7 pick.

San Francisco realistically can get #2 at best. For that they need to lose to Houston. At that point the SoS is too high to get #1 from anyone at 3-13 so they would need New York to beat Buffalo, New Orleans to be Tampa Bay and Green Bay to beat Seattle. By losing to Houston the worst San Francisco can do is the #5 pick. To get the #1 pick requires some horrific mathematics. While all of the other teams must win (New York, Green Bay, New Orleans and Houston) San Francisco's cumulative opponents must win 3 more games than Houston's opponents. (Indianapolis over Arizona would help this a lot, Pittsburgh over Detroit and Green Bay over Seattle would help the cause also.)

One thing to consider is which teams need something more than a running back. Hard to imagine, yes, but that is also possible.

St Cloud special election means...

The Democrat lobbyist lawyer beat the Republican talk show host in the Senate special election yesterday.

What does it mean?

It means first and foremost that the endless conspiracy theories by the Democrats were off-base and 100% unfounded. What theories? That Pawlenty set this week's special election to disenfranchise college students. The ONLY reason for this claim was to put doubt on the legitimacy of the election. They fear an actual fair election and this is why election after election they do this. If the results are expected to be close they find any angle for false claims of illegitimacy they can create.

Dean Johnson claims that this election also proves that Minnesota wants [insert list of spending items]. As much as the Democrats would like to believe this pap, they are looking at illusions.

Special elections are about issues as much as Howard Dean is for permanent tax cuts. Special elections are about one thing...voter mobilization. The candidate that gets people out to vote for someone they know little to nothing about will win. The debates (if there are any) get little analysis, there is very little chance to examine candidate positions and the candidates are absolutely unavailable for platform scrutiny.

This particular special election the GOP failed. They did a piss poor job of utilizing resources and they did a piss poor job of understanding what the candidate wanted.

Resources...I live 35+ miles outside of the district. Why I and my wife (who is not a delegate/alternate) both got phone calls reminding us to vote in the special election is beyond me. It does show me a horrific wasting of people's time and energy. These phone banks are typically organized by the party or the caucus. Someone there failed miserably in this election.

Resources...While door knocking with Dan "Ox" Ochsner we came across sections that were already being door knocked on that very day. Why people were hitting the same precinct in the same 4 hour window is beyond me...but amounts to a wasting of resources.

Resources in this short of an election are finite. What the party did was target aggressively the strong Republicans. I think that was a huge mistake. Reminde those people of the election. Send them a flyer stressing how important this election was. Target with phone calls and door knocking the moderates and not so reliable voters. This election was 100% about voter mobilization. By wasting the resources there were fewer voters to mobilize. The difference in the election was 1100 votes...a good portion of this was due to poor use of resources.

What did the candidate want? I remember when I was gearing up a run for state Senate. The party told me to stay away from certain issues, downplay certain positions and avoid other beliefs. Screw that. Let the candidates be themselves. Ochsner's handlers should have had the candidate standing at the malls meeting people. A waste of his time because he would be hitting people not in the district? Maybe. But the impact on those that might not otherwise vote could have been huge. Especially since Clark refused to be interviewed by us...opportunity to go after her hiding behind position-less campaigning.

In a conservative district SOMEONE should have had a few billboards reminding voters to vote. That would have helped Ochsner as well.

Instead the party chose the "stealth" approach. It has failed and I am happy for that. Candidates and their positions should be plastered everywhere. People that care will absorb the information. People that do not care will get burnt out by the whole election and maybe they will even stay away from the polls...which I see as a good thing for society. Disinterested people should NEVER be encouraged to vote. (They should not be prevented, but they should not be encouraged.)

It is St Cloud's loss that they don't get Ochsner for their State Senator. It is Minnesota's loss as well...Ochsner would be less likely to be a party patsy...and can we say the same about a lobbyist, lawyer activist? I think not. The GOP lost out on this election because they lose more ground in the Senate balance which means that weak-spined Pawlenty will be more likely to turn his back on the fiscal conservatives. And how do you convince someone like Pawlenty, who governs strictly for the intention of maintaining electability with the moderates, that he must stand firm on his principles of fiscal responsibility and smaller government? Because of the GOP's failures in this race Pawlenty will do the GOP worse causing the GOP to suffer more from this loss than they otherwise should.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra blows the roof off

For those of you who have been wondering where the latest post has been I have to tell you that I have been incredibly busy at work and at home. Last night was one of the things that took up my entire evening.

The Trans-Siberian Orchestra came into Minnesota last night for their annual show. What can I say? It rocked. The band was made up of guitarists Angus Clark and Al Pitrelli, keyboardists Carmine Giglio and Jane Mangini (Pitrelli's wife), drummer John O. Reilly, bassist John Lee Middleton, violinist Anna Phoebe, vocalists Jill Gioia, Bart Shatto, Michael Lanning, Jennifer Cella, Kristin Gorman, Guy LeMonnier and narrator Anthony Gaynor.

Their opening number (Wizards of Winter) I can only assume was a tribute to the incredible publicity they have received via Carson Williams light display.

The first half of the show was their "Christmas Eve and Other Stories" performance...which if you pay attention will bring at the very least a tear to your eye.

The second half of the show was the "show off" part. Medleys that highlighted songs from their other albums including a forthcoming "Night Castle" were spectacular. My favorite was the medley of Requiem and Beethoven which included pyrotechnics of color...green fire, purple fire, blue fire, yellow and orange as well. The lights were, of course, great.

How great was the concert? The girls behind us were belting out (off-key) every word of every song...and no one cared. Two teen boys were around us whining about being dragged to the show...and left stunned (in a good way).

There are only two improvements I would suggest. The first is to improve the showmanship. The "Prince of Peace" is a heavy gospel vocal. I would prefer a Nell Carter look/sound alike over the Britney Spears looking Lita Ford sounding singer. The second is a pet peeve of nearly everyone I have spoken to and is common in many concerts. Thank you for acknowledging the city. The anecdotal stories are fun. Please, please, please don't incorporate the city name into a song. Thanks.

Back to the good stuff...

What could be the highlight of the show (though there are so many to choose from) would be the Dueling Pianos. The duel included Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor and Vince Guaraldi's "Christmas Time Is Here". Trying to win larger applause than the other keyboardist was a great show. Then Carmine ripped his tuxedo off to reveal a Kevin Garnett Timberwolves jersey before ripping into "Linus and Lucy" which brought the whole band back onto the stage to enter into Franz Liszt's "Hungarian Rhapsody."

The best part was the encore...where we were told that if we pretend we had been cheering for 10 minutes they would simply launch into the encore right away. I agree...the idea of the encore is stupid.

Certainly the show is worth the annual attendance. I highly recommend it for next year.

NFL Playoffs

The playoff picture is becoming more clear. In the AFC there are only two questions...will Kansas City or Pittsburgh make the Playoffs and who will be the #3/#4 seeds? Pittsburgh controls its own destiny. If they win they will go to Cincinnati in the first round of the playoffs. (View all of the playoff scenarios here.) All of the seedings are otherwise set.
#1..Indianapolis (1st Round Bye)
#2..Denver (1st Round Bye)
#3..Cincinnati or New England (Home vs #6)
#4..New England or Cincinnati (Home vs #5)
#5..Jacksonville
#6..Pittsburgh or Kansas City

The NFC is a little murkier. There are 3 spots up for grabs between 4 teams. Carolina, Tampa Bay and Washington control their own destinies. If they win they are in. However, if Tampa Bay or Carolina lose then the Sunday night St Louis at Dallas game has meaning...if Dallas wins then they are in.

Tiebreakers...
Washington over Dallas (Head to Head)
Washington over Carolina (Conference Record)
Washington over New York (Conference record)
New York over Dallas (Division record)
Tampa Bay over Carolina (Division record)
Tampa Bay over Washington (Head to Head)
Dallas over Tampa Bay (depending on Strength of Victory)
Dallas over Carolina (Head to Head)
at 11-5 Carolina over New York (Conference Record), at 10-6 New York over Carolina (Conference record)
at 11-5 Tampa Bay over New York (Conference record), at 10-6 New York over Tampa Bay (Strength of Scehdule...assuming Strength of Victory is still tied)

The seedings...are still up in the air.
#1..Seattle (1st Round Bye)
#2..Chicago (1st Round Bye)
#3..Likely to be NFC South winner (home vs #6)
#4..Likely to be NFC East winner (home vs #5)
#5..TBA
#6..TBA

********** UPDATE **********
Made correction to AFC seeding.

Week 17 Playoff Scenarios

I left my spreadsheet at work and so Tuesday morning I will double check these. If you find mistakes please let me know.

Playoff scenarios...

---

AFC

---

SOUTH
(Ari)
Clinched Home Field, 1st Round Bye and Division Title

(Ten)
Clinched a Playoff Spot and will be the #5 seed. Will be at Cincinnati for Wild Card Round.

---

WEST
(@SD)
Has Clinched a 1st Round Bye and Division Title. Will be the #2 seed.

(Cin)
For Playoffs
Win AND Pittsburgh lose vs Detroit

---

NORTH
(@KC)
Has clinched Division Title
For #3 seed
Win at Kansas City
..OR..New England lose vs Miami

(Det)
For Playoff
Win vs Detroit
..OR..Lose vs Detroit AND Kansas City lose vs Cincinnati

---

EAST
(Mia)
Has clinched Division Title
For #3 seed
Win vs Miami AND New England lose at Kansas City

---

NFC

---

SOUTH
(NO)
For Division Title
Win vs New Orleans
..OR..Lose vs New Orleans AND Carolina lose at Atlanta

For Playoffs
Win vs New Orleans
..OR..Lose vs New Orleans AND Washington lose at Philadelphia AND Dallas lose at St Louis (assumes Carolina wins at Atlanta)

(@Atl)
For Division Title
Win at Atlanta AND Tampa Bay lose vs New Orleans

For Playoffs
Win at Atlanta
..OR..Lose at Atlanta AND Washington lose at Philadelphia AND Dallas lose at St Louis

---

WEST
(Ind, @GB)
Clinched Home Field, 1st Round Bye and Division Title

---

NORTH
(@GB, @Min)
Clinched 1st Round Bye and Division Title. Will be the #2 seed.

---

EAST
(@Oak)
Has clinched Playoff Spot
For Division Title
Win at Oakland
..OR..Washington lose at Philadelphia

(@Phi)
For Division Title
Win at Philadelphia AND New York lose at Oakland

For Playoffs
Win at Oakland

(StL)
For Playoffs
Win vs St Louis AND any of the following: Washington lose at Philadelphia; Tampa Bay lose vs New Orleans; Carolina lose at Atlanta

********** UPDATE **********
Corrected New England and Cincinnati scenarios.

Reggie Bush And the damn 49ers

Damn those Rams...they lost to my 49ers. And that happening made Houston a bit more of a lock for the #1 pick which is being presumed to be the USC phenom running back, Reggie Bush.

Truly, the Texans have bigger needs than a running back, but how do you pass up someone of Bush's caliber? I'm hoping the GM for Houston pursues an offensive lineman in their #1 pick...or maybe a replacement for Carr. The Packers don't need Bush and the Jets don't need Bush. The only teams that really do need Bush are the 49ers and the Saints. I'm hoping that no matter where the 49ers pick Bush will make it to them. That is the hope anyway.

Now for the updated positions.

#1...Houston (2-13) (Strength of Schedule=.556)
#2...New Orleans (3-12) (SoS=.507)
#3T..Green Bay (3-12) (SoS=.520)
#4T..New York Jets (3-11) (SoS=.547)
#5T..San Francisco (3-12) (SoS=.573)

As of this posting the Baltimore/Minnesota game is in the 2nd quarter. A Vikings win will increase Green Bay's strength of schedule, though not likely enough to move the 49ers up at all.

The Jets are playing on Monday night against a Patriots team that has nothing to gain by winning the next two weeks. New England can not earn a 1st round by, they can only improve their own seeding if they win 2 AND Cincinnati loses next week. A Jets win is not terribly out of the question.

Next week's game between Houston and San Francisco may not be as important as previously thought. For San Francisco the fact that Seattle keeps winning hurts their position while Green Bay is being helped by the abysmal performance of Detroit and Minnesota's mediocrity.

If Houston wins next week I would put my money on New Orleans getting the #1 pick. I do not think they can beat Tampa Bay when Tampa will be playing for the division title and the Saints Strength of Schedule is so low that any team tied with their record will lose out.

Damn my 49ers for winning...that moves them from a realistic #1 hopeful to a realistic #4 or #5.

********** UPDATE **********
The Strength of Schedules have been updated after the Sunday night games.

********** UPDATE **********
The Strength of Schedules have been updated after the Monday night game.

Merry Christmas

To all of my readers I want to wish you a Very Merry Christmas.

Christmas to many is but a time for gifts. For some it is family. For others it is about religion.

It is not those for me.

I would like the holiday to be about family for me, but it is not. My parents and my brother are all that is left of my family...none of them have visited in the past 10 years.

I would like it to be about friends. But I try to make the whole year about friends.

So what is Christmas to me?

Christmas to me is about humanity. It is the time of year when people seem to be a little more focused on helping a stranger. There is a little more greeting and cheeriness at this time of year. It is the time of year when my already somewhat charitible pockets open up a little more. The Salvation Army gets my spare change around the beginning of the month...but by this time I will drop a $5, $10 or $20 into the buckets.

But regardless of what it means it does still have that special something about it. I want to wish to all of you a piece of that special something.

Merry Christmas.

They are unhappy and I am happy for it

When I saw this story it made my Christmas season even better.

What Christmas cheer? Capitol Hill may be decked out with festive lights and an impressive tree. But under the big dome, a sour mood has settled over a Senate stuck in session with nothing but legislative stalemates standing between lawmakers and their holiday recess.

"Merry Fristmas," congressional aides muttered as they passed each other in the chilly hallways, taking a sullen dig at Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn.

For his part, Frist blamed the Democrats and their "childish antics" for the delay - three times in one press conference. For a while Wednesday, his spokesman sported a tie bearing an image of The Grinch (who stole Christmas).

Weighty policy matters hang in limbo on the eve of a midterm election year. A spending bill containing money for the military and Gulf Coast hurricane recovery also now includes a provision to allow Arctic oil drilling - a recent addition by Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, that has infuriated senators of both parties. The move would force lawmakers to vote for the package or be accused of withholding support for U.S. troops and storm victims.

You guys are blaming the wrong person. Well sort of. There are 100 people equally responsible for the blame. That is, all 100 Senators are to blame for their minisule amount of misery. If they would stop their grandstanding, stop their whining, stop their games and actually do their jobs they might actually be finished. Since they have been playing games they should not be whining about the games that are delaying them.

You know, half of their problem is the filibuster. Again, sort of. Someone SAYS they are considering a filibuster and everything stops. You know how to end that? Make them get up and actually filibuster...keep on talking and the moment you stop the filibuster is done. That would end some of these threats of delaying votes. They might actually finish their work.

Oh, and if you are really that upset about being there in the Senate then resign.

Japan calls China 'considerable threat'

I told you so. China is the next enemy, after all the terrorist nations in the Middle East.

Here is what Japan says.

Japan's foreign minister has said China is becoming a "considerable threat" because of its increased military spending and nuclear weapons, in comments that have sparked a fresh row between the neighbors. China is "a neighboring country with one billion people and nuclear bombs whose military spending has been growing by two digits every year for 17 consecutive years," Foreign Minister Taro Aso told reporters.

"And the content of that is extremely unclear. If I say what this means, I recognize that it is becoming a considerable threat," he said.

Aso, an outspoken hawk appointed in late October, made the comment when asked about the recent remark by Seiji Maehara, the conservative head of the main opposition Democratic Party, that China is a "realistic threat".

"As Mr Maehara put it, it is true that (China) is stirring up a threat and worries," he said.

And China, of course, is upset.

China reacted angrily, saying its economic might was benefiting Japan.

"As a foreign minister, to so irresponsibly incite such groundless rhetoric about a China threat, what is the purpose?" foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said at a regular briefing.

Let me stop to answer that. The purpose is to come out and call a spade a spade, or in this case call a communist country a considerable threat.

Aso's remarks came just after the release of a new Chinese government paper reiterating that Beijing intends to become a peaceful world power.

Relations have been badly strained of late, with Beijing angry over Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visits to a Tokyo shrine that commemorates war criminals among the war dead.

If you want my opinion China is just getting ticked because they are being shown for what they really are...the threat on the horizon.

We must not make the same mistake that has been made historically. While fighting the Axis we really did not keep a strong enough arm around the Soviet Union...our next enemy. While fighting the Cold War against the Soviets we ignored terrorist nations and treated them as mere criminals instead of the evil thugs that they have always been. While we are eradicating the world of the evil that is "radical" Muslims we must keep one eye on China. Our nukes should be pointed over there as we speak.

Mark my words. And that war will cost a whole lot more blood than a mere 2000+. You liberals better start warming up to that fact.

Ridding of pollution quickens Global Warming

Can we now dispense of the moronic theories of human caused Global Warming? Global Warming will cause the Earth to have higher temperatures, but it will cause the Earth to have lower temperatures. Global Warming will cause droughts everywhere, but it will cause higher precipitation levels.

We must clean up the pollution or Global Warming will get worse. Now it seems that cleaning up the pollution will make Global Warming get worse.

Cutting air pollution could trigger a greater surge in global warming than previously thought, suggesting future rises in sea level and other environmental consequences have been underestimated, climate scientists report today.

The warning comes after researchers investigated the effect of fine particles known as aerosols on climate change. Aerosols - particles smaller than one hundredth of a millimetre - are churned out from factory chimneys, from the burning of fossil fuels and forest fires, although sea salt and dust particles swept up by desert storms add to levels detected in the atmosphere.

Because the particles are so light, they remain aloft for long periods, where they cool the Earth by reflecting radiation from the sun back out to space. Higher levels of aerosols lead to the formation of brighter clouds made up of smaller water droplets, which reflect still more of the sun's warming radiation. Cutting down on aerosols by improving air quality means that the Earth will in future be less shielded against the sun's rays.

Ah, so the Green-freaks are WRONG (big surprise).

You know why they seem to be all over the place on Global Warming? Because humans are not powerful enough to cause climate change (barring of course global thermonuclear war). Weather is erratic at best and climate takes a lot longer to change than we have been measuring.

There is no impact by humans on climate and that is all you need to know about that. So, you envrio-freaks, do the world a favor and shut the hell up.

Thank you.

Never, ever forget

(H/T: Garfield Ridge)

The picture is enough to choke you up...

...and that is all that needs to be said.

Challenger to Pawlenty

As some of you may know Andy has been in contact with someone who is seriously considering a run for Governor. The update (from various postings by Andy):

I’ve just caught wind that a person will be running for Governor as an independent from the right.

I cannot say who, but I can assure you that this person is on the right side of the political spectrum. The person is very upset with Pawlenty’s recent policy decisions, and has decided to challenge him for his job.
...
They have been waiting to see how certain things play out as far as the State Legislature goes, before they go public.
They are setting up a campaign team already, composed of people from all parties, independent, GOP, DFL. Truly non-partisan.
They will be trying to get the Republican endorsement, not just running in the general, like I had said.
This is not just a defeat Pawlenty mission as many in the blogosphere had feared, myself included.
The person strongly believes that they would be a breathe of fresh air in St. Paul.
From their years of experience in operating a business, they know how to make people work together which is definitely needed.
They do not want to defeat Pawlenty at the expense of getting a DFLer into office.
They actually want to win, and think they can.

I told them that I have been catching holy heck over this little secret, and that everybody wants to know and won’t stop asking me about it.
The person plans to make the formal announcement sometime next week.

I want it clearly noted...to the possible GOP challenger to Pawlenty...
...I want to help you on your campaign, so feel free to contact me.

Tony Dungy's son found dead

A very sad story indeed.

James Dungy, the 18-year-old son of Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy, was found dead in a Tampa-area apartment, police said Thursday.

In a news release on its Web site, the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office said it "responded to the Campus Lodge Apartments this morning at approximately 1:32 a.m. The girlfriend of James Dungy had returned to the apartment and discovered Dungy."

Police performed CPR on Dungy before he was taken to University Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The cause of death is pending an autopsy by the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's Office.

Tony Dungy has left the Colts and is in Tampa, according to NFL.com.

The coach and his wife, Lauren, have four other children: daughters Tiara and Jade and sons Eric and Jordan.

The Colts (13-1) are at Seattle on Saturday.

Fans posted prayers and messages of support for Dungy, who also coached the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, on a message board on a Colts fan Web site.

"Not only was he a great football coach for the Bucs, but he is an even better person," one Tampa Bay fan wrote. "It makes me sick that it happened at this time of year to a person that is so giving and caring."

Another person wrote for God to give strength to Dungy during this difficult time.

"When things like this happen it adjusts our perspective on life," one person wrote. "What was considered major yesterday doesn't amount to more than a footnote today."

A true tragedy. While the Colts have been my 2nd favorite team since drafting Peyton Manning and I hope this does not distract the Colts it really does put into perspective what is important and I understand that the Colts season is secondary to something like this. My condolences to the Dungy family.

Intelligent Design in the classroom

I am about to piss off the secular fanatics and the religious fanatics. Both of those groups are not capable of openly discussing the following topic and will maintain that anything but their own positions are immoral/wrong/etc. The honest and thoughtful ones will at least understand what is being said here.

I am tired of this discussion. The hypocrisy is maddening. The Right is wrong, but the Left is hypocritical in their position.

What should be taught in the science classes of schools? The Big Bang? Creationism? Darwinism? Intelligent Design?

The answer must be found in first understanding the Scientific Method.

The essential elements of a scientific method are iterations, recursions, interleavings and orderings of the following:

* Characterizations (Quantifications, observations and measurements)
* Hypotheses (theoretical, hypothetical explanations of observations and measurements)
* Predictions (reasoning including logical deduction from hypotheses and theories)
* Experiments (tests of all of the above)

The secularists and anti-religious people use this as the reason that Creationism should stay out of the schools. Nothing in Creationism is able to undergo the "experiment" step of the Scientific Method. They are correct.

Where their hypocrisy comes into play is they hold up the Big Bang and Darwinism as valid theories to be taught in schools. Sadly, these are also NOT able to be reproduced through the "experiment" step of the Scientific Method.

Which of these should be taught in science? None of these. None of these theories can be replicated thus rendering all of them unscientific. Where do they belong? Theology class, mythology class (sorry, but without evidence perhaps theology & mythology should be subsets of the same topic), anthropology class, archeology class, history class...but NOT in science classes. NOT in biology classes. NOT in astronomy class (and that means no Big Bang in astronomy!).

So, the courts are rejecting Intelligent Design in the school curruiculum. The courts may be a little overbroad in their ruling. Intelligent Design (and all of the aforementioned theories) have no place in a hard science class. They have a place in the other classes, the social "sciences".

So, the Right is howling and the Left is celebrating. But they are both wrong.

30,000 hits

This blog started on March 19, 2005. Tonight at 6:38 the 30,000 hit occured. That is just a shade over 9 months.

The 30,000 hit came from someone using Electric Lightwave through Elk Grove, California.

Thanks and keep reading!

Conservative Christmas

This song is great...

Lyrics...
So this is Christmas
Conservatives cry
Cause children are happy
And we want them to die

War mongering Christmas
We all had some fun
Bombing all the A-rabs
And starving their young

Conservative Christmas
Drive my SUV
Right over the homeless
Speed bump them with glee

Conservative Christmas
What a happy day
‘Cause we just stole 4 million
From your 401k’s

An intolerant Christmas
On the colored we spit
And beat them for crimes that
They did not commit

Conservative Christmas
Have a happy new year
Unless you’re a red man
Black, yellow or queer

There’s a new Christmas anthem
On this holiday
For all those who hate us
No matter what we say

A Conservative Christmas
Have a great holiday
Unless of course you’re a liberal
Or a conservative gay

A Conservative Christmas
And a write off next year
Pray for a bull market
And go kill a deer

We’re war mongers
Love no longer
White race stronger
Blah Blah Blah Blahhhhh

Playoff Scenarios

If you find mistakes please let me know.

Playoff scenarios...
AFC
SOUTH
(@Sea, Ari)
Clinched Home Field, 1st Round Bye and Division

(@Hou, Ten)
For Playoffs
Win 2
..OR..Win 1 AND San Diego lose 1
..OR..Win 0 AND Kansas City lose 1 AND San Diego lose 2
..OR..Win 0 AND Kansas City lose 2

WEST
(Oak, @SD)
Has Clinched a Playoff Spot
For 1st Round Bye
Win 2
..OR..Win 1 AND Cincinnati lose 1
..OR..Lose 2 AND Cincinnati lose 2 AND Kansas City beat San Diego AND Jacksonville lose 1
For Division Title
Win 1
..OR..Win 0 AND San Diego lose 1

(@KC, Den)
For Division Title
Win 2 AND Denver Lose 2

For Playoffs
Win 2 AND Pittsburgh lose 1 AND Jacksonville win 1
..OR..Win 1 AND any 2 of the following: Kansas City lose 1; Pittsburgh lose 2; Jacksonville lose 2

(SD, Cin)
For Playoffs
Win 2 AND either of the following: Pittsburgh lose 1; Jacksonville lose 2
..OR..San Diego lose 2 AND Pittsburgh lose 2

NORTH
(Buf, @KC)
Has clinched Division Title
For 1st Round Bye
Win 2 AND Denver lose 1
..OR..Win 1 AND Denver lose 2

(@Cle, Det)
For Playoff
Win 2
..OR..Win 1 AND any two of the following: San Diego lose 1; Kansas City lose 1; Jacksonville lose 2

EAST
(@NYJ, Mia)
Clinched Division
Cannot earn 1st Round Bye

NFC
SOUTH
(Dal, @Atl)
For 1st Round Bye
Win 2 AND New York lose 1 AND Chicago lose 1

For Division Title
Win 2
..OR..Win 1 AND Tampa Bay lose 1

For Playoffs
Win 1
..OR..Win 0 AND any four of the following: Chicago win 1; Washington lose 1; Dallas lose 1; Atlanta lose 1; Tampa Bay lose 2

(Atl, NO)
For 1st Round Bye
Win 2 AND Carolina lose 1 AND Chicago lose 2 AND New York lose 1

For Division Title
Win 2 AND Carolina lose 1
..OR..Win 1 AND Carolina lose 2

For Playoffs
Win 1
..OR..Win 0 AND any three of the following: Minnesota lose 1; Carolina beat Atlanta; Washington lose 1; Dallas lose 1

(@TB, Car)
For Division
Win 2 AND Dallas beat Carolina

For Playoffs
Win 2 AND any one of the following: New York lose 2; Washington lose 1; Dallas lose 1
..OR..Win 1 AND any three of the following: Minnesota lose 2; Washington lose 2; Dallas lose 2; New York lose 1

WEST
(Ind, @GB)
Clinched 1st Round Bye
For Home Field
Win 1
..OR..Chicago lose one

NORTH
(@GB, @Min)
For 1st Round Bye
Win 2
..OR..Win 1 AND Carolina lose 1 AND New York lose 1
..OR..Win 0 AND Minnesota lose 1 AND Carolina lose 2 AND New York lose 2 AND Washington lose 1

For Division
Win 1
..OR..Minnesota lose 1

For Playoffs
Win 0 AND Washingtong lose 1

(@Bal, Chi)
For Division
Win 2 AND Chicago lose 2

For Playoffs
Win 2 AND any 3 of the following: Washington lose 1; Tampa Bay lose 2; Atlanta lose 1; Dallas lose 1
..OR.. Win 1 AND Washington lose 2 AND Dallas lose 2 AND Atlanta lose 2

EAST
(@Was, @Oak)
For Division Title
Win 1
..OR..Washington lose 1

For Playoffs
..OR..Lose 2 AND Philadelphia beat Washington AND Tampa Bay lose 2 AND Minnesota lose 1 AND Carolina beat Atlanta

(NYG, @Phi)
For Division Title
Win 2 AND New York lose 2

For Playoffs
Win 2
..OR..Win 1 AND any 2 of the following: Minnesota lose 1; Atlanta lose 1; Dallas lose 1
..OR..Win 0 AND Minnesota lose 2 AND Atlanta lose 2 AND Dallas lose 2

(@Car, StL)
For Playoffs
Win 2 AND Minnesota lose 1 AND Tampa Bay lose 2 AND Washington lose 1
..OR..Win 1 AND Minnesota lose 2 AND Washington lose 2 AND Atlanta lose 2