mr. blackandwhite

I don't know what to write about

Well, here I am. It's Sunday night, the designated 'blawggin' night, my Wife's watching her Home Makeover show, but I don't have anything to write about. So this will be a scintillating post as I'm sure you can guess, right off the bat.

I guess I'll just run through a few things..

- Please bug the crap out of your congressperson/man/woman and tell him, her or it to support H.R. 1207, a bill introduced by Congressman Ron Paul to audit the Federal Reserve. All it takes is a second to e-mail these people, when they don't turn off the e-mail server because too many people are e-mailing that is.. but, anyway, I hope you will take action, bug your congressman and help spread the word!!

- The Pats.. It's the lull before the draft. Not much to say, really. In Bill We Trust.

- The B's.. The B's seem to be losing a lot of games lately, but they are pretty much a lock for the playoffs, so I am wondering if maybe they are just cruising on in. Hopefully they get that chip back on their shoulder for the playoffs. I'd like to see them make it past the first round this year.

- Spring is almost here. The snow is almost gone from my yard. I can't wait till it is all melted. This has been, unquestionably, the worst Winter I have ever had to endure. It's been frikkin' 10 degrees since November, then the ice-storm in December, that sucked.. It didn't crack 20 degrees for four months and we've had like six feet of snow. So, I'm pretty much ready for Spring. Really ready.

- The Sox.. I don't really get into Spring Training that much, I just kinda watch from afar, but I do like to hear the sound of Jerry Remy calling a game, even if it is a game that doesn't count. It reminds me of the fact that warm days are ahead. I watched some of the Sox / MFY game the other night. What was with those MFY uni's with the shinny shinny 'New York' and the weird letters.. [insert derogatory remark here]

Aright, they are movin the bus out of the way on my Wife's show. And I am outta here for this post. See ya!

The dirty little bailout secret

Sorry but I just had to post this. I can't let it go and I will continue to put this stuff up here and try to help make people aware of this f-ing SHAM that has been perpetrated on us.

From The New York Times story So When Will Banks Give Loans:

"...the dirty little secret of the banking industry is that it has no intention of using the money to make new loans. But this executive was the first insider who’s been indiscreet enough to say it within earshot of a journalist.

(He didn’t mean to, of course, but I obtained the call-in number and listened to a recording.)

"Twenty-five billion dollars is obviously going to help the folks who are struggling more than Chase," he began. "What we do think it will help us do is perhaps be a little bit more active on the acquisition side or opportunistic side for some banks who are still struggling. And I would not assume that we are done on the acquisition side just because of the Washington Mutual and Bear Stearns mergers. I think there are going to be some great opportunities for us to grow in this environment, and I think we have an opportunity to use that $25 billion in that way and obviously depending on whether recession turns into depression or what happens in the future, you know, we have that as a backstop."

Please click on the link above to read the whole story if you think you can stomach it.

I would encourage you to look into your representatives' voting record. By the way, my rep, who voted for the bailout twice, even though he was instructed not to by the majority of his constituents, (before they turned off the web server that lets you e-mail your rep that is,) is running un-opposed. That really pisses me off. Unfortunately I learned about this too late this time around. I admit it, I was not paying close enough attention before. But they have my attention now and this situation needs to change in 2010.

Have a great day!

All over the place..

It's October? I am completely blown away at how fast the month of September went by. It was probably the busiest month we've ever had since the kids were born. There were weeks when we had something going on every single night; soccer, cub-scouts, brownies... stuff I don't even remember. Things will start to calm down in October. There will be a brief lull for a few weeks near the end of the month for us to catch our breath before things gear up again for the crazy holiday time of year. My Wife is already buying X-Mas presents!

I don't know if anybody cared about the posts I had written about the economic bailout recently. I'm just going to say that this issue is being voted on in the U.S. Senate today and I would urge you to contact your Senators and let them know your thoughts about it. I would also urge you to contact your U.S. Representative as well and tell him or her what you think about the bailout plan, as well as anything else you have on your mind! THEY WORK FOR US.

Mission 11W: The '08 version. It's kicking off tonight in Anaheim. I expect this will be a good series. The Angels pretty much owned the Red Sox during the regular season and the Sox will come into the series with some key players dealing with some nagging injuries. In the end, as always, it will come down to pitching and with Jon Lester, a.k.a. Red Sox Ace 1A, taking the mound tonight, I think the Sox are in a good position to come out of the gate strong. A Game 1 win for the Sox would be huge and would mean there would be at least 2 home games at Fenway. Mission: 11W. GO SOX.

The Patriots week off is over and there's thirteen games left to play. The Pats will start October off with two back-to-back West Coast games, starting in San Francisco this weekend. San Fran lost to the Saints last week but have shown that they are a team that can move the ball down the field. I think this upcoming game may show us a lot about the '08 Patriots as we start the 2nd quarter of the season. Lets hope that the week off did the team some good. Time to get down to business. GO PATS

Oh it's really a 'Rescue Plan' not a bailout? Whew! I feel so much better now.

Guys and ladies, I know it's Friday and I know you when you come here you are probably not expecting to read about this kind of stuff, especially on a Friday, so I'll keep this short.. Just keep in mind that I wouldn't be posting about this topic if I didn't feel it's extreme importance.

Here are a couple links for you to read, watch or ignore, if you want to. Then take it from there.

An answer to the President from Ron Paul

U.S. Representative Marcy Kaptur: "They want Mama to bail us out."

Forbes: Bad News For The Bailout

The very fact that the 'bailout' was re-branded as a 'Rescue Plan' should clue you in to the tactics being used.. against you.

You may also be interested to know that 700 billion amount they've come up with?

"It's not based on any particular data point," a Treasury spokeswoman told Forbes.com Tuesday. "We just wanted to choose a really large number."

Here are some links to let you easily look up and contact your representatives in the U.S. Congress. Contact them and tell them your thoughts. Thanks.

Find your U.S. Representative

Find your U.S. Senator

Other useful sites: Gov Track, Congress.org

THEY WORK FOR US

Ron Paul: Time is running out

Hey all, I know I don't usually delve into this kind of stuff here, so maybe that will tell you how important I think this is. Take a few minutes out of your day to read the link I posted below and then take it from there. Thanks.

Letter from Ron: Time is running out

Additional usefulness:
Write to congress, write your senators and keep track of them.

Ka-Ching!

Dear Bank of America,

Fantastic news! As a taxpaying U.S. citizen, I recently had a major windfall occur and I became a part owner of not only an investment firm, a bank AND a mortgage company, but now I'm a part owner of an insurance company as well! Isn't that awesome??

Ok, enough about me, here's where it all comes together: I couldn't help but notice that you're in a buying mood lately, and I was wondering if you'd be interested in my newly acquired shares of these fine financial institutions as well. I'll trade ya what I've got in Fannie, Freddie and AIG straight up for the remaining balance of my mortgage. Heck, I'll throw in what I've got in Bear Stearns too.

What do you say?? It's a win win win for everybody all around! Let's make a deal baby!!

Just between you and me, I gotta tell ya, I think the poop's well on it's way towards the fan and I'd really like to get rid of this thing before something really bad happens, ya know? hahaha ;-)

Ok, thanks BOA!

Chat ya soon!

I often wonder, where is my mind, but then I remember it is way out in the water, swimming.

Ok. Happy Monday. Not. Nobody likes Monday. Unless it's a day off, then it's a different story.

I've got 10 minutes here because the skies are clearing and I'm going to try and get some fresh air. So let's see what kind of nonsense I can spew out here in 10 min..

Last weekend was cool. Me and the two older kids set up a tent and had our first ever back yard camp-out. I dug a fire pit and we had a small camp fire with toasted marshmallows and smores while we watched for bats in the sky and looked for fireflies.

Once it got to be late enough we got into the tent and went to 'sleep'. My daughter commented that the tent smelled like 'cow-poop'. I had no explanation for this phenomena, except that it wasn't me.

Around 1/2 past dark, my son woke us all up, yelling loudly, 'I need to open it! I need to open it!!'

Thinking he was having a bad-dream I asked him, 'open what??'

'The tent!! I need to open it!'

Trying to calm him down, I told him, 'We can't open the tent up because it will get all damp in here.'

'I NEED TO OPEN IT!!'

'Do you need to go to the bathroom??' I asked.

'YES!!!'

'Well why don't you just say that?' I said as I unzipped the tent.

He came back a few minutes later to tell me he was sleeping inside the rest of the night.

'Ok,' I said, 'You don't have to sleep in the tent if you don't want to.'

With that, my daughter sat up.

'Do you want to sleep inside too?' I asked.

She hesitantly said, 'Yeeesss.'

'Ok lets all go in then.'

So much for our first back yard camp out. It was fun, but A/C, lullaby CD's and electric night-lights are better.

--
4 min..
--

George Carlin passed away this weekend. RIP. Carlin was one of my all-time favorite comedians. I first heard him on the Dr. Demento Show as a kid. All I can say is he will be missed. George Carlin was tremendously funny, at all times. The man never failed to make me laugh, plus he was Rufus in 'Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure' and he did voice overs for 'Thomas the Tank Engine'.

'The Hippy-dippy Weather Man', 'The 7 Dirty Words', 'Baseball vs Football' and of course, 'Could be meat, could be cake. Meat-Cake!'

--
Time!
--

The Sox win after 13 innings yesterday. Now that there's no Football till Training Camp and the NHL and NBA are over, The Red Sox have my full sports-attention.

--
Two min over. Time to burn some fat.
--

These cars come with the pussy magnet, standard.

The SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) auto show was recently held out in Fabulous Las Vegas. This car show features some of the most tricked out, drool-inducing autos you're ever going to see, anywhere.

I was recently contacted by SEMA Insider to see if I'd be interested in sharing some exclusive photos from the show on this here website. Um, YEAH!

Here you go! Check out these awesome pics from the show and head over to SEMA Insider.com for more great content from the SEMA auto show!

Chevy Bel Air. Please try not to drool on the car. Thank you.

Wow. Nice Scion. That thing is cool. Maybe there is hope for my RAV-4 after all..

Mopar. {Swoon} I love car porn.

I wish I had been there for the show. Vegas baby. I could have done some gamblin', checked out the cars and maybe I could have gotten Chip Foose to Overhaul my RAV-4 and turn it into a Dodge Challenger. We could have called it the Challenger-4 or, even better, the RAVenger. That would have ruled. (Sigh.)

Thoughts of the day...

Like many other people I spent a lot of time today thinking about where I was and what I was doing on the morning of Sept 11, 2001. I spent time thinking about that day and it's aftermath.. Six years later the final outcome after the horrible events of that day is yet to be determined.

My thoughts and prayers have been with injured Bills tight end Kevin Everett who sustained a spinal cord injury in last Sunday's game vs The Broncos. Initially the prognosis was bleak, but ESPN is reporting that Everett now has 'voluntary movement' of his arms and legs and as a result his doctors are optimistic that he will walk again. That is great news and I hope he is able to fully recover from his injury.

One thing I never like to see is a player getting hurt, even if it's the opposition's player. I couldn't believe my ears when I heard Jets 'fans' actually cheering after their starting QB, Chad Pennington, was injured in Sunday's game vs. The Patriots. Nice way to support your team and let the players know you care Jets fans..

Meanwhile, my team, The Patriots, seem to have some splainin' to do regarding this whole drama surrounding the supposed videotaping of The Jets defensive signals on Sunday. This was a story that I initially blew off as nonsense, and I fully expected it to be yet another case of the media over-blowing a whole lot of nothing way out of proportion, but now ESPN has a report out that NFL Commish Roger Goodell has found that The Pats did indeed do the dirty deed. According to the report, there is 'visual evidence' to support this.

As a Pats fan, I think this video-taping story sucks. It is an embarrassment to the team and by extension to myself as a fan. Not only that, it is a distraction to the team as they prepare for another important game this Sunday vs San Diego, a game that, while only the second game of the year, could have reprecussions at the end of the season with playoff scenarios and potential tie-breakers on the line. I'm sure this is not what Bill Belichick wants to be dealing with right now.

It is unbelievable to me that Belichick could willingly allow something so stupid to take place during a game. Then again, I still find myself shaking my head in amazement over the Rodney Harrison HGH situation as well, so who knows what to think. Harrison and Belichick are men that I admire, or have admired, for their intelligence and their no-nonsense approach to playing pro football. These are not the guys that I would expect this kind of thing from. This is the kind of thing that other teams have to deal with, not The Patriots.

I guess this serves as an unpleasant reminder that nobody and nothing is perfect and I find myself shaking my head and wondering what's the next bad news story going to be and who's it going to involve? We're not The Cincinnati Bengals.. yet.

Regardless of Belichick's direct or indirect involvement in this video-taping shenanigan, something that as of now has yet to be determined, as The Pats top man, he will still bear the responsibility of violating league rules, should it turn out that is the outcome of this whole thing.

Call me crazy, stubborn or just stupid, but I am still holding out a dim hope that it will turn out that there is no truth to this video-taping matter, or that at least there is a reasonable explanation to the whole thing. I'm still not jumping to conclusions. So far all we've heard are reports from the media based on 'league sources' and more often than not these anonymous sources turn out to be wrong.

The Pats have yet to tell their side of the story and I am anxious to hear what they have to say about this situation. According to the ESPN report, The Patriots have not even been notified of Goodell's decision, but yet here is 'a league source' telling all on ESPN.com. How lame is that? Don't you think the team should be notified before ESPN? To me that is very lame and makes me slightly dubious about the accuracy of this report. The media is more worried about getting the story out first, not getting it right. Innacurate, blatantly incorrect reporting happens all the time, then there is some small retraction stuck in a corner as the last sentence in an article somewhere, once the whole story comes out.

Hopefully that will be the case in this instance.

Regardless of what happens, I'll still be a Pats fan and if this video-taping situation really does turn out to be true, I'll shake my head, take my lumps, be embarrassed and move on. We've still got a game to play on Sunday.

GO PATS

Shilling starts blog. Old Media dies a little more...

With Curt Shilling recently unveiling his own personal blawg*, 38 Pitches, we are are once again presented with another example of the continuing erosion of 'the old media'. I'm talking specifically about news outlets, print, television and radio, whose reporters and columnists make a living by twisting people's words and injecting their own bias into everything they write.

The old media is becoming a dinosaur and it is happening right before our eyes.

Sites like Shilling's are rare these days. Not too many athletes have the inclination or the interest to start up their own interactive website, where they share their personal thoughts with the world and trade comments with their readers, but I have to believe that there are other athletes and public figures out there who are tired of having their words and ideas re-interpreted and re-purposed by reporters and newspaper columnists. Once those people learn that they can talk directly to the rest of us without having to go though the dirty filter of the main stream press, sites like Shilling's will become more and more numerous.

As personal websites like 38 Pitches become more and more predominant, people will no longer need to rely on the the likes of The Boston Globe, whose columnists can't even be bothered to write an original article, for their insight into what athletes, politicians and other public persona's are thinking.

Why read some newspaper or magazine columnist's edited and biased interpretation of what a public figure has said when you can go right to their blog-site and get it straight from the source?

The filters are coming off and the walls of the old school media are crumbling. Enjoy.

On a side note, I would love to see someone like Shilling keep their own recordings of their interactions with the press and then post the unedited version after the reporter's version has been published. I'm sure it would very interesting to compare the two versions of the same story.

*PS> I still hate the word 'blog'.

Feats of Strength to follow the Airing of Grievances...

Happy Festivus everyone.

A Festivus for the rest of us!

Rollins Dispatches: Letters from a soldier...

Hey what's up. No fun and games tonight. I am going to give you a link to one of Henry Rollins' dispatches. In this dispatch, Henry passes on several letters from a soldier who is currently putting his ass on the line for us over in Iraq.

I hope you will read this story and think about what it says.

When I read these kinds of stories I always feel so helpless and weak and impotent. I wish there was something I could do for those guys over there. It makes me feel ashamed for the problems that I complain about, sitting here comfortable in my cushy life.

I can't believe the shit our guys go through over there in Iraq.

This is the real deal, not the BS you get on the news.

Here it is: DISPATCHES: Letters From a Soldier

I would like to suggest that you check out the 'Worthy Causes' links down there to the right. There are several good links there that will help you support our Men and Women in the Service. Thank you.

WARNING: LOUD MUSIC CAN HURT YOUR EARS

From the completely asinine and ridiculous department:

Apparently, if you listen to your music too loudly, it's entirely possible that you can damage your hearing.

Somebody's going to have to pay.

If this guy has his way, that pay out will come from Apple computer, because I guess the company did not properly warn him that sticking headphones into his ears and cranking up the Mantovani can actually hurt your ears.

Fucking un-believeable.

That sad part is that this idiot probably has a good chance of winning his case. I mean, if you can sue Dunkin Donuts and win because you were not properly warned that drinking hot coffee can burn your tongue, and you can sue McDonalds and win because you were not properly warned that eating fries, burgers and shakes can make you into a fat fuck, why not sue Apple because you were not properly warned that sticking headphones inside your ears and listening to your music too loudly using your iPod could cause hearing loss.

Makes sense to me.

Personally, I just want my iPod back from the dang battery replacement service... Hey wait, Apple told me the repair job was going to take 2-3 weeks and it's been longer than that. Maybe I can sue!

Happy Festivus!

Enjoy Festivus everyone! A Festivus for the Rest of Us!

(Festivus Poles.com)

a small victory: posting good news in the wake of the hurricane...

Michele over at A Small Victory has been doing a great job of posting good news in the aftermath of the hurricane.

If you need a break from 24/7, wall-to-wall, hurricane horror stories on CNN, head on over there...

I take back everything I've said about Brett Favre... Donate to his Hurricane Relief Fund

It's no secret that I have not been very kind to Brett Favre over the years since he beat my team in Superbowl 31, but from this point on, I renounce all my bitterness towards him and I take back everything bad I have ever said about him.

Favre, who's own family has been directly affected by the hurricane, has set up a relief fund that will go directly to those who are affected by the destruction of Hurricane Katrina. You can learn more about it by going to his website. There is a link on the bottom right of the page where you can donate to his charity, The Brett Favre Fourward Foundation.

There is also a banner for the Red Cross over on the right that will bring you right to the Red Cross' donation page.

I know a lot of people are strapped for extra cash (myself included) but any kind of donation or contribution you can make, be it money, contributing to food or clothing drives, helping to get something going at your company, church, whatever, to help with the Katrina relief efforts, anything you can do, no matter how small, it all adds up and will go a long way to helping people who have literally lost everything.

Today is also Blog Relief Day. If you want to help out, go to this page at the Truth Laid Bear to learn more about what it is and how to sign up. Also, check out Instapundit's round-up page and The Truth Laid Bear's list of participants as well.

If you make a contribution, you can let people know about it, here.

Every little bit helps.

Technorati Tags: hurricane katrina, flood aid

Hurricane Katrina....

My heart goes out to everybody that has been affected by this horrible disaster. Watching the hurricane slam into Louisiana and Mississippi was truly frightening. It was an awful, helpless feeling to watch it happen and know there was nothing that could be done about it.

Watching the images of the aftermath and seeing the destruction of peoples lives has been terribly heartbreaking.

Like many people I wish there was something I could do to help the victims. Here are a few links from CNN and here is the link to the Red Cross.

At the same time, I can't believe that there are people actually looting. Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting. What kind of people are these? All I can say is, hopefully these people will be caught and get what they deserve.

Perspective...

We recently watched a movie called 'Gunner Palace', a documentary about the men and women serving in Baghdad, Iraq. In the movie, several of the soldiers wonder if people at home think about them or care about what they are going through and I wanted to write short post to say thank you once again to all people who are putting it on the line for us in our Armed Forces.

In my mind, I can't say thank you enough, especially reading back on my previous post and thinking how easy I have it while they are over there risking it all for us.

I know my words don't mean much but I just wanted to say it again, to all the people who have served or are currently serving in our Armed Forces, THANK YOU!

London

I just wanted to post something about the attacks in London today and say that my heart goes out to the people there and everyone that has been affected by this truly horrible act. I am feeling sad, angry and concerned all at the same time.

I'm sure this has been said by many people already but the 'people' that perpetrated this act today are not men. They are nothing but a bunch of cowards.

What kind of people attack and murder innocent civilians who are just trying to get to work? Only the very lowest of the low.

Fucking bastards.

I hope they are captured, tried and convicted to a life behind bars where they are given nothing to eat but ham sandwiches every day for the rest of their lives. I hope they rot in whatever their version of hell is.

Maybe this will send a wake up call to people who are confused about what an 'atrocity' is. Fyi, it's not using bad language around some 'holy' book, or taking a picture of somebody in their underwear.

An 'atrocity' is what was done to the innocent people in London today. They will be in my thoughts and prayers.

More on the New London Supreme Court decision...

I know I don't usually write about social issues and my opinions about them here, but I am so outraged by this event, in which "The Supreme Court ruled that local governments may seize people's homes and businesses -- even against their will -- for private economic development."

All I can really express on this subject right now is anger and absolute disgust.

I am learning about this too late, after the fact. I wish I had known this was happening before this horrible act occurred. I would have tried to add my support in some meager way to help these people.

I don't feel like I am going over board when I say that this is truly scary folks. YOU could be next, or me, or anybody that has property. After all, what do I do with my house? All I do is live here and cut the lawn and grow kids and flowers. What if some fast food chain decides that my front lawn happens to be the prime location for their expansion into my neck of the woods. Who's going to provide a better tax benefit to the town, me or some corporation?

Think I'm going overboard? Think that it could not happen you or me? WRONG. It just happened to some people in New London.

And look whos next... this is from the Washington Post.

"District leaders said a Supreme Court ruling yesterday that gives municipalities broad powers to seize private property will provide the city leverage in its goal to acquire land for two controversial projects, including a new baseball stadium."

"Any property may now be taken for the benefit of another private party, but the fallout from this decision will not be random," O'Connor wrote. "The beneficiaries are likely to be those citizens with disproportionate influence and power in the political process, including large corporations and development firms."
~ U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor

From The Day, New London's local paper...

"The decision concludes an exhausting legal battle that began in December 2000, when the Fort Trumbull residents filed suit to prevent the city from seizing their property to make way for offices, upscale housing and a hotel that would support the nearby Pfizer headquarters and help to reverse decades of economic decline."

I will be looking for ways to stand up to this and do something, starting with a boycott of all Phizer products, (not that I am a Viagra user). I also plan to write to Mark Martin, who happens to be my favorite NASCAR driver, and who's sponsor also happens to be Phizer, and ask him if he feels that his conscience can allow him to represent a company that supports the removal of people from their homes for the purposes of replacing them with 'upscale housing and a hotel'. I'll be writing to Jack Roush, Mark Martin's car owner, as well.

It may not be much, after all, I'm only one person, but it's something dammit.

Don't tread on me mutherfucker

SC rules in favor of land developer over private citizens... Holy !@%$!!

Read this: 5-4, For The Takings

This is one of the most frightening things I have ever heard. When I initially heard about this story my jaw litterally hit the floor.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a New London CT land developer to evict people from their homes and demolish their property for the purpose of economic development.

"Under the banner of economic development, all private property is now vulnerable to be taken and transferred to another private owner... Are economic development takings constitutional? I would hold that they are not."
~ U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor

This ruling by the SC basically means that if a developer targets your property and convinces the local government that they can make better use of your land than you do, provide more tax benefits, etc, your property can now be seized by the government to make way for a shopping mall.

I don't have the words to express my feelings eloquently on this subject. All I can say is, "Holy FUCK!!"

From the article...

"I don't think anyone can regard this decision as putting this issue to bed," said Timothy Hollister, a lawyer who specializes in eminent domain cases for the Hartford law firm of Shipman & Goodwin. "These issues will continue to be in play for years to come."

That is scant comfort to lead plaintiff Susette Kelo, a nurse who has been fighting tooth and nail to keep her home overlooking the Thames River since officials tacked a condemnation notice to her door in November 2000. Or to Matt and Sue Dery, who have long agonized that every holiday and anniversary in the house they restored with their own hands could be their last. Or to Matt's mother, Wilhelmina Dery, 87, who was born in the house where she still lives.

UN-AMERICAN!

R.I.P. Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

I read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson for the first time several months ago. It was one of the best books I have ever read; laugh your ass off funny and totally, utterly insane. I fucking loved it.

I was extremely saddened to learn that Dr. Thompson has apparently committed suicide. What a waste. What a goddamn mutherfucking waste.

People will be writing much better and more eloquent eulogies and accolades than I possibly can.

May you find peace (and a good time) where ever you are Doctor.

Managing Sox withdrawl and other things...

After weeks of non-stop, all Sox, all the time, it is a little strange not having any baseball games to watch. I think I am going through a withdrawl period. Unfortunately, there's not much to help me through it. The Pats only play once a week. Usually, the Bruins would help fill the void but there is no hockey. That makes me wonder, with no B's this year, what's NESN gonna do? Are they just going to show Fan Attic and Charlie Moore shows every night?

There's still the Celts I guess... Yeah... Right. Do I hear crickets chirping? Don't get me wrong. I still love the Celtics even though the NBA is, well, pretty much a wreck. The season is just starting. They've got a new coach and some new players. We'll see how they do I guess. I watched some of the game tonight and saw Waltah's 3 pointer to end the half, followed by Tommy Hiensohn's "I LOVE WALTAH!!!" That brought a smile to my face. I love that guy. "THESE GUYS ARE RIDICULOUS!!"

Things are not well in Patriot-land. I think everybody on the team is hurt. Ok, maybe I'm going a little overboard but the loss of the two Ty's is a difficult one. The backfield is definetely strapped and we are heading into a game against a good passing team. When I said it was ready to start a new streak, I did not mean going the wrong way. Asante Samuel, Wilson, Harrison and potentially Gay will be back there. Not quite as scary for QBs but still... not terrible either. Gay is the weakest link there. Will O.T.I.S be back? Bill (I should have written his name in for President) Belichick, Romeo and Charlie will think of something I'm sure. "In Bill We Trust".

[politics]
Speaking of the election, it's over and Bush won. Can we all move on now? It was not really a surprise Bush won but I thought it would be closer than it was. Folks at work were quite depressed. Not a lot of Bush supporters there. Personally, I'm not exactly a supporter of him either. I just thought the other guy was worse. Anyway, a lot of people were unhappy with the results, in my corner of the world at least. I thought some people went a little overboard with obnoxious pictures stuck on the side of their cubes and stuff... but I won't go into it.

Some of the blogs I read that have the Democrat point of view and support Kerry have really gone off the deep end. A lot of the sites that used to post rational, well thought out and well written opinions have really lost it today and they are already starting with the "Hillary in 08" stuff. Are they insane? I guess so, because they have obviously not figured out what kind of person the people in the U.S. are going to vote for. I knew over 2 years ago when this was all just gearing up, a liberal Democrat from MA would not win. Do they really think people are going to vote for Hillary? I know a lot of Democrats and even they can't stand her...

Personally I just hope somebody, from either side, can produce a candidate that I might actually be happy to vote for but that is 4 years away. Right now we need to do the best we can with the guy we elected and hope things don't get too fucked up. Postive thinking! Positive thinking!
[/politics]

The Election...

Quote of the Day:
"I voted for Bush. Deal with it!"

I got a full ration of shit today as the only guy at the Software Factory that voted for Bush. All the guys I work with hate him. I expected to hear it going in so I took it like a man. Now we'll see what happens...

That's what's great about this whole thing. You don't have to vote for my guy if you don't want to. Go vote for who you think is best. Whoever gets the most votes wins and we all move on together (hopefully).

Right now it's looking close. When I wake up, I'll find out what happened. For me, this was a choice between 2 evils. I tried to make the best choice. That's all we can do. The country won't implode either way.

Goodnight.

Finally watched Fahrenheit 9/11

So the wife and I finally got to see Fahrenheit 9/11 this past weekend. I did not shell out to see it in the theater, especially when at the time I hadn't seen Spiderman 2 yet. Hey, I don't get out much. When I go out to a movie I want to be entertained, not pissed off. I only get to see one or two movies a year in the theater.. So I added it to the ridiculously long Netflix queue and it finally arrived.

Anyway, some points:
I don't hate Michael Moore. I know a lot of people seem to hate this guy but I'm not one of them. He has an opinion and he's allowed. I have no problem with it. Do I agree with all of it? No. But I do admit I believed enough of it to be re-thinking my vote right now. This movie definetly made some valid points, in my mind anyway.

Having had some experience in 'the business', I know all about editing tecniques to manipulate a person to see things a certain way. None the less, this was an emotional movie. When it was over, I was saying to myself, "How can I be thinking of voting for Bush? This is a disaster!"

A few days later I've had time to think about this movie and let things sink in a little. The emotion is gone and I'm basically back on the fence. I'm taking one last hard look at both of these guys. I'm Jay Severin's worst nightmare I guess...

Bush's connection with the Saudi's and the Bin Laden family is disconcerting. And you have to wonder where would this guy be without his Dad's influence. He'd probably be selling cars or something like the rest of us working stiffs. But that is the way the world works. It's not what you know, it's who you know.

I was also bothered by what was shown of the terrorist reports prior to 9/11 being over-looked or ignored. I was bothered by the scene where he tries to get some congressmen to look at some enlistment info for their children, since there are very few of them with their own kids serving. I thought it was funny when he drove around in the ice-cream truck reading the bill through the loudspeaker.

Some parts of the movie I disagreed with and did not like was what I thought was the portrayal of our soldiers in a negative light. The people serving in the military are doing an extremely difficult job under very difficlut circumstances. It is not right to undermine them. He showed no positive scenes at all. That bothered me, when there are a lot of good things happening in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. I also did not like his portrayal of the Marine recruiters, trying to make them out as some kind of vampire praying on poor people.

The whole thing with the Oregon coast being un-protected was a strech I thought, and this is not a federal issue, it's a state issue. (It is a little worrysome though...)

I felt especially bad for the mother who had lost her son. This was one of the hardest parts of the film to watch.

So, this movie definetely made me think. It made me think about everything that is going on in the country and the world and it made me re-think my vote too.

Supposedly there are websites that debunk a lot of the stuff shown in the move. I tried finding some of them but all I've found so far are sites with movie trailers trying to promote and sell their own movie. I don't get any info but I can watch a quicktime trailer and buy a DVD... real helpful.

Here's the big problem with Fahrenheit 9/11 in my mind. This movie brings up a lot of points but it seems to me a lot of it does not apply to today's situation, even though the film is only a few months old. What does the Gore/Bush election have to do with this one? I am not going to vote out Bush just because I may or may not be pissed about how he won the election. Especially not if the guy trying to replace him is a total stiff. Does the stuff about pre 9/11 terror reports bother me? Yes. Is it going to bring back all those people? No. What are we going to do about it now? What is Kerry going to do vs what Bush is going to do to make sure it doesn't happen again? Am I pissed there is no WMD found? Yup. But we are there now and can't just back out and leave it a disaster. We need to finsh the job and continue to protect the country. Who's going to protect the country better, Bush or Kerry? I still say Bush. I don't agree with Bush on a lot of things, the environment, free speech / censorcism (is that a word?), abortion, gay marriage amendments (it's a state issue, not a federal one), the whole religeous thing he has going on there with the Evangelists... but I do think he's better to lead in a time of war than Kerry. In the end that is what it keeps coming to. Those are minor issues if some kind of devistating attack happens again here in the U.S.

Kerry needs to show me he's going to kick some ass and not take a poll to decide what to do on the war. He needs to show me he's not going to gut our military. He's not doing it yet.

I have said before, this is a choice between two evils. Both choices are lousy. So congradulations Michael Moore, your movie definetly got me thinking and I guess I am back on the fence, but in the end I have to say I'm still leaning toward Bush. Then again, ya never know, I might just break for Kerry when the moment arrives in the voting booth. We'll see...

Stern is going to satelite radio..

Howard Stern signs multimillion dollar deal that will bring his show to entire nation

VP Debate...

Wow, maybe it's just me but it looks like Dick Cheney is pretty much kicking the ass of John Edwards here in the V.P. candidate debate...

Just another opinion... shred all you want.

Update:
Edwards seemed to make a come back when they got to domestic issues, especially in regards to the deficit and education. At various times, Edwards came off as smug and Cheney looked like a grumpy old man.

I'd have to say Cheney won overall. Edwards made a few good points, but not enough to change my vote.

I think both choices for President are pretty bad. Frankly, I don't like either one. Will the country implode if one or the other is elected? No, I don't think so, but there is not much to get excited about here. There's nothing to make me feel hopeful about in either candidate. It totally sucks for me because it's basically come down to trying to choose between the lesser of two evils.

The debate...

Well, it seems that any self-respecting blogger over the last few days has written about the debate, so I guess I'll chime in. Before I do, I will preface my thoughts with these tidbits of info:

I am a registered voter but I am not enrolled with any politcal party. I am fiercely independent. I vote for the person I think is going to do the best job, not the party.

I consider myself informed but I am not an 'expert' on current issues. I don't watch the news. I used to work in the television news biz and I know what it's all about. I know how slanted it is. 'If it bleeds it reads', sex and scandal sells and ratings are all they really care about. Trust me.

I read the local newspapers and I listen to the news on the radio on my way in to work. So, I have a general idea about whats going on, current events, etc, but I cant point out exact dates, times, facts, quotes.

I care deeply about our soldiers. I am too old to enlist so I can't just go pick up a weapon and help out directly. I feel that every soldier is personally protecting my family and when I think of what they are doing for me, it does bother me deep down that I can't do more to help in some way. I try to find ways help and support our soldiers in other ways, feeble as they may be, compared to the sacrifice they are giving for me.

There ya go.

All that being said, here's my take.

There are things about Bush I like. I feel he is a strong leader. I like his direct approach. I like that he cares more about what's best for the U.S. and less about what the rest of the world thinks about it. I voted for Al Gore in the last election but like a lot of other Americans on Sept 11th I was saying to myself, "Thank God George Bush is President".

There a lot of things about Bush that I do not like. There are a lot of things about Bush that I have a complete disagreement with. I am concerned about what I have seen as an erosion of free speech rights. I am in complete disagreement in terms of protecting the environment vs. drilling for oil, etc. I think that corporations are given way to many 'breaks' that wind up hurting the working class. The ever-climbing deficit is alarming, considering it was a surplus 4 years ago.

That being said, I can't really say what I like or dislike about Kerry. I have no idea where the guy stands on anything. Am I not paying close enough attention? I don't think so because I'm obviously not alone here.

So prior to the debate I was on the fence, kind of leaning towards Bush, kind of hoping Kerry would come out with something solid that would tell me what his plan is and maybe give me a reason to vote for him. I had very little idea what this guy planned to do, should he win the election. I know he wants to roll back the tax cuts on the 'richest' Americans, which I find a bit suspicious. Lets face it, democrats dont have a history of lowering taxes. I know he wants to be more involved with the U.N., another area I find dubious, since I don't think the best interests of the U.N. are necessarily the best interests of the U.S.

The debate pretty much solidified my vote for Bush based on three things that Kerry said.

Kerry said,
"You don‘t send troops to war without the body armor that they need. I‘ve met kids in Ohio, parents in Wisconsin places, Iowa, where they‘re going out on the Internet to get the state-of-the-art body gear to send to their kids.  Some of them got them for a birthday present.

I think that‘s wrong.  Humvees -- 10,000 out of 12,000 Humvees that are over there aren‘t armored.  And you go visit some of those kids in the hospitals today who were maimed because they don‘t have the armament."

When he made this statement, I literally got pissed off and shouted at the T.V. "Ya just lost me right there." Not because I think the soldiers don't need more armor, (obviously). I got pissed off because it is my understanding that he has voted against funding that would provide this armor as well as other resources to our soldiers. Wether this vote was a symbolic gesture or not does not matter to me. He voted against providing more armor.
Strike 1.

I completely disagreed with him when he said, you have to pass the "world test" if you are going to act pre-emptively to protect yourself. I just did not agree with this at all. I feel the U.S. should participate in the U.N. and be part of the world. I obviously want the U.S. to have good relationships with other countries. But the concept of having to get the permission of the U.N., to do what we think is right to protect our country? Nope. Total disagreement there. Sorry.
Strike 2.

Resuming bi-lateral talks with N. Korea. A bad idea, in my opinion. Further, he again confused me by somehow stating that he was going to return to a bi-lateral dialog with North Korea but at the same time, continue to have multi-lateral talks. Huh?

LEHRER:  I want to make sure—yes, sir—but in this one minute, I want to make sure that we understand—the people watching understand the differences between the two of you on this.

You want to continue the multinational talks, correct?

BUSH:  Right.

LEHRER:  And you‘re willing to do it...

KERRY:  Both.  I want bilateral talks which put all of the issues, from the armistice of 1952, the economic issues, the human rights issues, the artillery disposal issues, the DMZ issues and the nuclear issues on the table.

What? I admit I'm not the smartest guy in the world. What did I miss here?
Strike 3.

Some other things that annoyed me.

To solve the issue of extracting ourselves from Iraq he is going to have a Summit meeting with other countries? What good is that going to do? Didn't we try to get as much help as we could before we went in? Don't we already have the help of other countries? What, it doesn't count unless one of the countries is either France, Germany or Russia? Great Britain, Australia, Poland and the other participants are totally dismissed and don't count?

Yes, I realize we bear most of the cost for this war and I'm not happy about that but I don't see how having a summit is going to somehow convince other countries to provide more help.

Didn't the President recently speak before the U.N. and talk about getting more involved in fighting terrorism or was I not paying close enough attention?

Kerry says he's going to do a better job training Iraqis. How? Is he going to fire all the Generals doing it now? How is he going to do it? He just says 'I'm going to do a better job'.

How does he plan to pay for all this stuff he's going to accomplish in 4 short years?

So there you have it. Take it for what it is. They say opinions are like assholes. Enjoy the shredding.

September 11, 2001 - Never Forget

Darryl Worley - Have You Forgotten Lyrics


I hear people saying we don't need this war
I say there's some things worth fighting for
What about our freedom and this piece of ground?
We didn't get to keep 'em by backing down
They say we don't realize the mess we're getting in
Before you start preaching
Let me ask you this my friend


CHORUS 1
Have you forgotten how it felt that day
To see your homeland under fire
And her people blown away?
Have you forgotten when those towers fell?
We had neighbors still inside
Going through a living hell
And you say we shouldn't worry 'bout Bin Laden
Have you forgotten?


They took all the footage off my T.V.
Said it's too disturbing for you and me
It'll just breed anger that's what the experts say
If it was up to me I'd show it every day
Some say this country's just out looking for a fight
After 9/11 man I'd have to say that's right


CHORUS 1
Have you forgotten how it felt that day
To see your homeland under fire
And her people blown away?
Have you forgotten when those towers fell?
We had neighbors still inside
Going through a living hell
And you say we shouldn't worry 'bout Bin Laden
Have you forgotten?


I've been there with the soldiers
Who've gone away to war
And you can bet they remember
Just what they're fighting for


CHORUS 2
Have you forgotten all the people killed?
Some went down like heroes in that Pennsylvania field
Have you forgotten about our Pentagon?
All the loved ones that we lost
And those left to carry on
Don't you tell me not to worry about Bin Laden
Have you forgotten?


Have you forgotten?
Have you forgotten?"

- NEVER FORGET