What Is the "Matter"?

To say that Slade Leeds is a piece of shit....is flat-out an insult to feces. And, yes, my friends, the prodigal and asinine nature of it, too, I'm saying - damned if those alone shouldn't buckle your knees/your kneecaps. Of course, the best advice of all would probably be to just steer clear of Leeds/Leeds's aura, his singularly stinking "infrastrucure", etc.. THAT....and a clothespin from Sassy's, too, for Christ!

A Little Plain-Speak For the Oil-Leak, Please

The only thing that I can state categorically about the oil-leak is that each side is shamelessly and moronically blaming the other FOR IT. The left is blaming the the right for its propensity to deregulate. The right is blaming the left for its ties to the environmental movement. In the now famous lyrics of Becker and Fagen (i.e., Steely Dan), "They go back, Jack, do it again, wheels turning round and round. They go back, Jack, do it again."..........................................................................................................In all seriousness, though, we all know what we have to do here. 1) We have to continue to drill (this, in that we'll still need to have an oil supply - not just for energy, but for manufacturing, too). But 2) we also have to take further measures to prevent this from EVER happening again. And, yes, folks, this in fact may preclude us from further drilling in waters this deep (and, yes, this may indeed call for BOTH the environmentalists AND the oil companies to compromise). There, now if we could only get the politicians/pundits to take a powder on this finger-pointing shit. That, in my mind, would be a majorly healthy positive.....And, no, not a bad frigging start, either.

The Only Thing We Really Have to Fear....

Frank (Henry Fonda's character in "Once Upon a Time in the West"), when asked why, rather than simply scaring the people, as he was asked to do, he decided to kill them instead, responded first by uttering, "People scare better when they're dying"....and then, me-buckos, by killing, additional killing. Of course, it wasn't until those last few "utterances" from Frank himself (this, after his finally getting plugged by Mr. Bronson) that it/the truth of his theory here, truly blasted him, and the rest of 'em, home. And, yes, by then, it was way too late even for irony.

The Harsh Cost of Success

I'm just going to flat-out say it. Jim Calhoun....has done one of the greatest program-building/coaching jobs in the history of intercollegiate athletics. He took a UConn basketball program that, while it always had a tremendous level of fan support, never really did much, and quickly turned it into one of the top 5-10 programs in the country. And if you don't believe me, here are the numbers. In his 24 years as the UConn coach, he's won a total of 575 games (he won 248 prior to at Northeastern) and 6 Big East titles. He's taken the Huskies to 12 Sweet Sixteens, 8 Elite Eights, 3 Final Fours, and, yes, 2 National Championships (1999, 2004). And, yes, just take a look at the list of players that Calhoun has sent to the NBA; Clifford Robinson, Tate George, Chris Smith, Scottie Burrell, Donyell Marshall, Ray Allen, Kevin Ollie, Travis Knight, Rip Hamilton, Jake Voskuhl, Khalid El Amin, Caron Butler, Emeka Okafor, Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva, Hilton Armstrong, Josh Boone, Rudy Gay, Marcus Williams, A.J. Price, and Hasheem Thabeet. Unbelievable...............................................................................................................But, folks, just as it is with virtually everything, everything isn't as rosy as it seems. Jim Calhoun, for all of his success on the court, has certainly made a lot of enemies during his tenure. A driven man, with a vicious temper, Calhoun has repeatedly berated his players and mistreated the press (just ask the Hartford Courant's Jeff Jacobs what it's like to be on coach Calhoun's shit-list). He's also pushed the envelope when it comes to recruiting. Well, guess what, folks, that little envelope may have finally fallen off the table. Yeah, that's right, the NCAA has just slapped the Huskies with 8 major recruiting violations (most of these charges involve a piece of shit by the name of Nate Miles - a player who, ironically, never even got a chance to play for UConn; legal problems, ultimately kicked out of school, etc.). Yeah, huh? Not that Calhoun is necessarily going to suffer, mind you. This, in that the guy has just signed a 13 million dollar extension. I'm serious here!!

Miscellaneous 10

1) O'Reilly always seems to be bitching and moaning about "The View", the fact that it only has one conservative panelist on it, etc.. And, yeah, he's right. "The View" clearly ISN'T a fair and balanced program. But, hey (Mr. O'Reilly), what about "Fox and Friends"? That show doesn't have ANY liberal panelists/co-hosts. Where in the hell is Mr. O'Reilly on THAT bias?....Yeah, I thought so....................................................................................................2) But like I've said before, O'Reilly can also be quite reasonable. He recently showed a clip in which Obama makes light of the fact that some of the tea party protesters have portrayed him in a Hitler mustache. When Dick(head) Morris goes on to say that that was a cheap swipe at the Tea Party, O'Reilly stops him and says, "Come on, Morris, if those folks ever put a Hitler mustache on you, you'd take a swipe at 'em, too." It's like, I don't know about you folks, but THAT I find to be a reasonable amount of independent thinking. It's just too bad that Fox can't get more of their anchors to act like that.......................................................................................................3) And then, of course, there's MSNBC. Those frigging folks in prime-time are OFF THE CHARTS! I mean, seriously, can you even begin to imagine how badly that Olbermann and Maddow would have hammered Bush if it was him who'd done a fund-raiser (in California, no less) during a national state of emergency. My God! They would have eviscerated (yes, justifiably) the bastard. But, no, nothing, not a word about Mr. Obama doing it. Edward R. Murrow, my ass......................................................................................................4) Yes, folks, it probably WAS a mistake for President Obama to bring up his daughter during the press-conference; "Have you pluggged up the leak yet daddy." But, I'm telling you here, for frigging Glenn Beck to go on his radio show today and mock the poor girl, THAT is far, Far, FAR, worse, in my opinion. And, yep, it's also a pretty damn good example of why he isn't taken seriously. Glenn friggingBeck, ladies and gentlemen.

Time-Machine Note to Former Heavyweight Champ, Primo Carnera

Primo, dude, the next time you get into the ring with Maxie Baer, two words, STAY DOWN!!!!! I mean, sure, you might want to get yourself up a time or two but, please, dude, come on here; twelve, thirteen times? That's just plain nonsense/insanity. Save the courage for the talented, I say.

No Reservation(s)

Chris Matthews has a new feature at the end of his show. He calls it simply, "Let Me Finish" (I guess that you could call it something akin to O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo"/Olbermann's "Special Comments" segment). And, yes, folks, it is often during this new segment that Mr. Matthews shows that he is absolutely NOT a carbon-copy of his MSNBC colleagues; Olbermann, Maddow, Schultz, etc......................................................................................................For example, just in the past several months or so, Matthews has defended Jim Bunning AND Lindsey Graham, lambasted Mr. Blumenthal, and, yes, has basically put forth an extremely well balanced agenda........................................................................................................And, yes, he goes off the reservation at various other points during the program, too. Just tonight, for example, he laid into President Obama for his "laid back" approach to this whole BP oil-spill disaster. Add to that the fact that he's also been critical of Obama's Afghan troop strategy/buildup (something, interestingly, that Mr. Olbermann continues to be very silent about)..........................................................................................................Look, folks, I know that Mr. Matthews alienated a lot of people with that "thrill up the leg" comment of his. But, please, PLEASE, I ask you here. Compare Mr. Matthews to Olbermann, Hannity, Limbaugh, Maddow, Schultz, Beck, etc., etc.. Does he not at least look somewhat good by comparison?....He sure as hell does to this damned blogger.

Different Trees, Different Woods

I just love the way that these partisan stooges (Hannity, Olbermann, etc.) totally ignore inconvenient (to them and to their agenda) stories. Hannity, for instance - not only did this stooge/simpleton NOT COVER the RNC strip club scandal, I don't even think that ever once acknowledged it. Pretty incredible, huh?...................................................................................................Of course, now that we have MSNBC to get our "information", we're also getting a lot of this same idiotic bull-shit from the lefties. Olbermann and Maddow, for instance - those two are just flat-out ignoring the Blumenthal story ; the fact that the fellow lied about serving in Vietnam, etc. (Hm, I guess that it just isn't as interesting when it's a Democrat misspeaking)..................................................................................................And the spinning!! Hannity, not at all wanting to give the Dems credit for winning that special election in Pennsylvania, underscores nothing but the fact that the victorious Dem actually opposes Obama on many key issues (ignoring, of course, the other issues in which he DOES agree with the President).....Turn the channel and, yeah, you got it, Olbermann is busy doing the exact opposite (focusing strictly on the fact that the guy had a D in front of his name and, yes, ignoring his inconvenient stances on the issues). I mean, seriously here, I might as well just go to the DNC and RNC web sites. At least there isn't a frigging retense there.

The Not So Forgotten Man

The greatest, most dominant, sports figures of all time - hm, let's see, in no particular order here, I would probably have to go with Jim Brown, Wilt Chamberlain, Muhammad Ali, Babe Ruth, Pele, Wayne Gretzky, Joe Louis, Michael Jordan, Martina Navratilova, Lance Armstrong, Barry Bonds (yeah, I know, the steroids), Ty Cobb, Roger Federer, Edwin Moses, Jerry Rice, Sugar Ray Robinson, Jack Nicklaus, Bill Tilden, Bill Russell (as a teammate and a winner), Mario Lemieux, Kareem Abdul Jabbar (his early years with the Bucks, especially), George Mikan, Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Rocky Marciano, Ted Williams, Lawrence Taylor, and Bobby Jones.................................................................................................Who, though, is the best of them all, you ask? Let's see, how 'bout - can you say, none of the above? Yeah, that's right, folks, the greatest, most dominant, most influential, athlete, in this blogger's opinion, is none other than Mr. Bobby Orr. Mr. Orr, in spite of his having to retire before the age of 30, dominated and revolutionized his sport (hockey) like virtually no other human being ever. He took a position, defenseman, and literally transformed it into a viable scoring option. Need some proof? Yeah, well, get this. In 1969, Orr set the NHL record for scoring by a defenseman; 64 points. And in 1970, he broke his own record - by nearly doubling it!! Yeah, that's right, he scored 120 points. Talk about some Babe Ruth type numbers, huh? And it wasn't at all a fluke either. This, in that Mr. Orr went on to crack the 100 point barrier FIVE more times. Seriously, though, can you imagine how great this fellow would have been if he hadn't fallen so prey to injuries?..................................................................................................And like I said before, folks, Orr was extraordinarily influential as well. Just in the state of Massachusetts alone, hockey rinks started springing up like wildfire. And, yeah, you got it, virtually every kid in the commomweath wanted to be like number 4. Before Orr, and after Orr. That, folks, is the history of pro hockey in a nutshell. Yep, even Wayne Gretzky says so.

An Aftermath and a Half

I swear to God, folks. The only thing that that young Retch could do at the end was frigging squat/pee-pee. And, no, me-buckos, the prettiest sight in Wellesley, IT WASN'T!! Of course, the fact that it was Bubkas who had dropped trow first, shat upon him, heavily, left upon him nothing but nastiness, paw prints, etc., damned if it all didn't make a little bit of sense, eventually......Well, at least it did to me anyway..............................................................................................P.S. Not that Retch necessarily feels all that fortunate about it. I can tell you here flat-out, me-buckos, HE DOESN'T!! Not even a little bit of a bit, for Christ.

Sorry Sean, I Drink Alone

Hannity, in spite of all of his partisan rancor and stupidity - he always seemed to be at least somewhat affable, a guy who you wouldn't mind having a brewski with. But now, I don't know, I'm not so certain about that anymore............................................................................................................Yeah, I'm talking here about the way that he's been treating the President. I mean, seriously, it's almost as if he's starting to despise Obama. And, please, PLEASE, don't get me wrong here. I myself have a lot of problems with the President and am NOT opposed to criticizing him. But, come on. The hyperbole that Mr. Hannity's been using of late has truly and utterly become obnoxious............................................................................................................For example, just the other night, he referred to the "blame America first chorus that Mr. Obama seems to have perfected." He also said that "the President will never let a good trash America first fest go to waste." And, yes, folks, these are just the ones that I can remember (trust me, though, pretty much all of his comments were like this). I mean, talk about a scoundrel (yeah, I'm talking about Hannity here and not the President), huh?

The Steep Price For "Principle"

I don't believe for a second that Rand Paul himself is a racist. He seems, to me anyway, to be a good and decent/principled man. But, BUT, what Dr. Paul also is, WHAT HE ALSO IS, is an example of just what can happen to a person when their devotion to a principle and/or philosophy becomes immutable and/or oblivious to the world around him. Yes, we absolutely want people to be free in their associations. But, back in 1963, black people were literally banned from bathrooms, couldn't frequent certain retail establishments, etc., etc......................................................................................................I don't know, to me, folks, this is a scenario that doesn't so much require a person to tap into their philosophy.....as much as it does their heart. And, besides, how much would Dr. Paul like it if it was him who had to piss in a frigging jar? Not a whole hell of a lot, I'm thinking.

ALMOST LAUGHABLE

As a hyper-partisan news analyst, Keith Olbermann has certainly engaged in his own fair share of bullshitting. But, in one of his more recent self-promotional ad-pieces, let's just say that the fellow has amped it up considerably.....................................................................................................He claims, for instance, that the premise for the guests that he has is "often misunderstood". They are not on as a form of "political reinforcement". He also says that a lot of the questions that he asks are simply a means to find out "whether or not I am wildly incorrect about something". In fact, folks, Mr. Olbermann goes on to say that the very point of the show is "to illuminate, not to throw off heat, but to throw off light". And, yes, of course, he says it all with such a pleasant disposition (this, I'm saying, as opposed to the vitriol of his special comments). I mean, talk about being disingenuous. This, to me, is the pinnacle of it.............................................................................................P.S. Funny isn't it, but Mr. Olbermann never seems to be "wildly incorrect" about anything these days. The guy must be some sort of genius or something. Well, either that or lucky, maybe.

Greatest Back-Courts in NBA History

20) Andrew Toney and Maurice Cheeks (Philadelphia 76ers, 1980s)..........19) Derek Harper and Rolando Blackman (Dallas Mavericks, 1980s)..........18) Hal Greer and Wally Jones (Philadelphia 76ers, 1980s)..........17) Oscar Robertson and Lucius Allen (Milwaukee Bucks, 1970s)..........16) Dick Barnett and Dick McGuire (New York Knicks, 1960s)..........15) Reggie Miller and Mark Jackson (Indiana Pacers, 1990s)..........14) Clyde Drexler and Terry Porter (Portland Trail Blazers, 1990s)..........13) Pete Maravich and Walt Hazzard (Atlanta Hawks, 1970s)..........12) Jerry Sloan and Norm Van Lier (Chicago Bulls, 1970s)..........11) Oscar Robertson and Adrian Smith (Cincinnati Royals, 1960s)..........10) Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli (San Antonio Spurs, 2000s).....9) Danny Ainge and Dennis Johnson (Boston Celtics, 1980s)..........8) Dave Bing and Jimmy Walker (Detroit Pistons, 1960s-70s)..........7) Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton (Detroit Pistons, 2000s)..........6) John Havlicek and Jo Jo White (Boston Celtics, 1970s)..........5) Magic Johnson and Byron Scott (Los Angeles Lakers, 1980s)..........4) Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars (Detroit Pistons, 1980s-90s)..........3) Bob Cousy and Sam Jones (Boston Celtics, 1950s-60s)..........2) Jerry West and Gail Goodrich (Los Angeles, 1960s-70s)..........1) Walt Frazier and Earl "the Pearl" Monroe (New York Knicks, 1970s).................................................................................................Please, if you think that I've forgotten anybody, let me know. Due to a lack of prior research on this topic, I had to pretty much go by memory. And, yes, as all of my fellow middle-aged blogging friends are well aware, that can absolutely get dicey.

More So the Conscience

Of all the politicians who've switched parties (and/or who have become independents) over the past ten years or so, the one who I probably respect the most is Jim Jeffords. For those of you who don't remember him, Jeffords was a moderate Republican Senator from the state of Vermont. And, yes, back in 2001, the fellow switched his status to independent and started caucusing with the Democrats (he evidently felt that George W. Bush/the Republicans on the "Hill" were veering too far to the right). I say that I admire him most, not so much because he decided against being a Republican, but because of his good timing. He made the switch AFTER he was reelected - not before, and certainly not as a means in which to get reelected.........................................................................................................Now, this isn't to say that Mr. Jeffords didn't get a lot of criticism. He did, especially from his fellow Republicans (one of which, ironically, was Arlen Specter, by the way). Some of them even went as far as to call the Senator a traitor. But, like I said before, at least he didn't sell his soul in order to get reelected. That, I'm afraid to say, is far, FAR, more the domain of Arlen Specter. Opportunism, anyone?

Finally, Some Intentionally Funny Analysis

Ben Stein came out with a good line on "Cavuto on Business" this morning. They were talking about all of those gold commercials that we've been seeing on television lately. When asked what his opinion was pertaining these commercials, Stein (in his inimitably dry delivery) responded by saying, "Hey, if you can't trust G. Gordon Liddy, who CAN you trust?" Wow/yeah, let's just say that I laughed, and laughed profusely.

Playing Politics With Dead People's Lives, Anyone?

According to Charles Krauthammer, the blame for the Fort Hood shootings can be squarely placed at the door-stop of President Obama. Not AT ALL to be outdone by this, Olbermann counters by painstakingly pointing out that the anthrax scare took place under the Bush administration. In the famous words of Sonny and Cher, 1965, "the beat goes on"....and on....and on....

The Names in the Games

There have been a lot of great nicknames in sports throughout the years; "The Sultan of Swat"/"The Bambino" (Babe Ruth), "The Galloping Ghost" (Red Grange), "The Mailman" (Karl Malone), "The Splendid Splinter" (Ted Williams), "The Kansas Comet" (Gayle Sayers), "The Round Mound of Rebound" (Charles Barkley), "The Yankee Clipper" (Joe DiMaggio), "Zeke From Cabin Creek" (Jerry West), "Bambi" (Lance Alworth), "Broadway" Joe Namath, "Pistol" Pete Maravich, "Bullet" Bob Hayes, etc.. I mean, just the stuff that ESPN's Chris Berman used to come up with; Wade "Cranberry" Boggs, Lyman "He Ain't 'de Rabbi He" DePriest, Tony Gwynn "One For the Gipper", Rick "See Ya' Later" Aguilera, and Jose "Can You See" Canseco - those alone are damned frigging awesome!....................................................................................................But, I'm telling you, in my humble opinion, the greatest nickname in sports history doesn't even go to a ballplayer. It goes instead to a coach. And it goes to a coach who wasn't even coaching when he got the name. He was broadcasting! Yeah, that's right, folks, the greatest (in my opinion) nickname in the history of sports goes to former Hawks and Grizzlies coach, Mike Fratello. According to his sometimes partner in the broadcast booth, Marv Albert, Mr. Fratello shall now and forever be referred to as (drum-roll, please), "The Czar of the Telestator". I mean, seriously here, how frigging good in that?

The Hannity-Malkin "Axis of Evil"

It seems to me as if Mrs. Obama is doing some fairly decent things as first lady. I especially appreciate the fact that she's currently shedding light onto the dangers of childhood obesity. Of course, instead of commending Mrs. Obama for trying to do a good thing, partisan hacks such as Hannity and Malkin are doing the opposite/what they always seem to want and do - embarrass the poor gal.....................................................................................................In terms of this case, it seems that, prior to Mrs. Obama becoming first lady, she served on a board of some company that manufactures/markets junk food. And, yes, it is THIS that supposedly 1) makes her a hypocrite and 2) disqualifies her from being a credible spokesperson for good health (never mind the fact that the woman herself is in excellent shape).................................................................................................I mean, wow, talk about a gotcha, huh? And, plus, the fact that she's essentially going AGAINST her former interests (ditto, her husband with City Bank) - as opposed, I'm saying, to lobbying FOR them - that, to me - I don't know, it almost seems somewhat noble (O.K., maybe a whiff of hypocrisy). It certainly isn't as bad as frigging Dick Cheney and Halliburton - something that neither Hannity nor Malkin had ANY problem with - apparently.

The Law of Infinite Regress/Redress

Yes, Slade, the Native Americans were screwed. Yes, Slade, the Mexican-American War was fought under bogus/false pretenses. Yes, Slade, that DOES sound familiar. But, come on here, fellow, because of these things we have to, what, completely surrender our sovereignty? Let's get real here.................................................................................................Oh, and before you start laying all of that racist crap on me, I am totally FOR a comprehensive approach to the immigration issue. I mean, sure, we need to secure the borders (this, Slade, to ward off drug violence, terrorism, etc.) and all. But we also need to develop a more humane system of dealing with those who are already living here, a sort of a guest-worker program, a path to citizenship, etc.. Hell, I might even goes as far as to liberalize the legal immigration from Mexico (this, in that, yes, overall immigration tends to be a good thing). But to (as you apparently are) suggest that we don't even need to know who these immigrants are, I'm not so sure about that. My guess is that isn't necessarily going to cut it in a post 9/11 mindset. I'm just sayin' here.

Top 10 Mickey Rourke Lines (Replete With Setup Lines) From "Barfly"

10) "Nothin' but dumb luck." "Yeah, but that counts, too!!".....9) "What's that, Henry?" "Ah, it's hatred!! It's the only thing that lasts.".....8) "What are we going to do about us?" "Us? Us is gonna drink!!".....7) "Who are you?" "Ah, the eternal question. The eternal answer - I don't know!!".....6) "Girls, girls, come on. There's no....there's no reality to any of this. Let's have some drinks, listen to some jukebox music.".....5) "Henry, come on, let's get a couple of hamburgers." "NO, I want a steak....soaked in whiskey!!".....4) "I had the flu the last time I fought you." "Oh, what's it gonna be next time, the AIDS?!!".....3) "Why did it have to be Eddie? He symbolizes everything that disgusts me; obviousness, unoriginal macho energy, ladies man!!".....2) "Are you Henry Jenasky?" "NO, I'm Leon Spinks!!".....1) "Eddie, your mother! She smells like carpet cleaner!!"

Anatomy of a Piece of Bullshit

When asked why he didn't vote for Elena Kagan the first time (back when she was nominated for Solicitor General), Arlen Specter says that it was because she didn't answer certain important questions of his. Hm, yeah, and if you believe that, folks, I got a shit-load of cold, hard currency for you - MONOPOLY MONEY!! In the words of Burt Lancaster's Mr. Merrill from "The Swimmer", Mr. Specter, "you're a liar, you're a God-damned liar!!".................................................................................................I mean, come on here, we all kinda' know why he opposed Ms. Kagan the first time. The frigging guy was trying to placate the Republican base/establishment (yeah, like that little ploy would have ever worked - the base frigging hated Specter). And, of course, now that Mr. Specter's a "Democratic Senator", dimes to donuts that this same fellow's going to be getting those answers. You just gotta love it, don't you?

The Pinhead(s) Cometh

One of the things about O'Reilly that really irks me is that he's constantly conflating MSNBC (the cable news network) with the NBC nightly news broadcast. Yes, I agree with him that the former has indeed become radicalized - especially in its prime-time broadcasts. But to say that the broadcast network's news telecast (ditto, its "Meet the Press" broadcast on Sundays) is equivalent to that of the cable shows....is preposterous. Now, this isn't to say that Brian Williams and company are perfect over there. But, please..............................................................................................And we know what all of this is about, right? Yep, you got it. It's Olbermann/Olbermann's constant ranting directed toward Mr. O'Reilly, the fact that O'Reilly doesn't have the cohonas to take on Olbermann directly, the fact that he evidently feels the need to shoot his buckshot at Olbermann's employer, co-workers (the next best thing, I'm gathering), etc.. I mean, I know that it would probably be a bad strategy, ratings-wise, to so publicize Mr. Olbermann (his MSNBC time slot competitor). But, seriously, the more that I think about it - it's got to be better than trashing folks like Andrea Mitchell and David Gregory. That, my friends, is totally bush-league.

Upwind, Please

I'm telling you, folks. If the Bush family.....or the McCain family.....or even the Reagan family, had ever strongly advocated for something and then, when it negatively impacted them/their various interests, said, "No, I don't think so, not in this instance", liberal voices in the media (Olbermann, especially) would have annihilated them. And, yes, they clearly would have been justified. BUT, when it's the Kennedy family, constantly advocating for clean/renewable forms of energy, only to balk when that source of energy (in this case, the Cape Cod wind farm) is proposed in THEIR backyard, engages in such hypocrisy, you hear nothing but crickets. I mean, I know that Palin's an idiot and all but, come on, wall to wall coverage on THAT (yes, folks, I'm talking about Olbermann again) and nothing on this - that's a little bit askew if you ask me....................................................................................................P.S. Yes, folks, even Teddy Kennedy (who, yes, I'll admit it, I still have a fair amount of affection for) was against the Cape Cod wind farm project (this, while the Democratic governor, Deval Patrick, supported it). I guess it just goes to show that we all have the capacity to say it, "Not in my backyard you don't."

Hypocrisy Spill

I haven't picked on Hannity for a while. I probably should do so, huh? How 'bout we start with his wretched performance from last week? I cite, specifically, the way that he started (right out of the frigging gate, mind you) hammering President Obama over that nasty BP oil spill. Not only, folks, did he criticize the President's response to the crisis (I guess that he actually wanted Obama himself to plug the leak or something), he used the catastrophe as an excuse to start picking apart the President's overall energy policy. And then, THEN (yep, this is the kick-ass part), Hannity had the audacity to say that certain people are actually trying to exploit this tragedy for political gain. I shit you not, folks. Talk about the pot calling.....

Hysterically Speaking (This Time From the Left)

Look, folks. I am more than willing to concede that there are potential problems (racial profiling, for one) with this Arizona immigration law. But to constantly engage in the type of fear-mongering that Olbermann and Maddow have been doing the last couple weeks or so hasn't exactly been helpful, either. I mean, if you listen to them (activist journalism, at its worst), you clearly get the impression that the Arizona authorities are going to be shipping (after they round them all up willy-nilly/Gestapo style first, of course), not just illegals, mind you, but frigging ALL Hispanics to Auschwitz. It's absolutely preposterous (at worst, the illegals will be sent back to Mexico).............................................................................................................Of course, what really gets to me is the total lack of nuance (from people who obviously see themselves as intellectually superior). In fact, folks, I might even go as far as to say that these far-left ramrods are every bit as indecipherable as their far right counterparts; Limbaugh, Beck, Hannity (alright, maybe not Hannity), etc.. And, no, I couldn't care less that they're doing it for "our own good". Seriously.

Florida Politics - Shaken, Not Stirred

Just for the record, I think that Charlie Crist probably is being an opportunistic/typical pol (this, I'm saying, for his dumping of the Republicans/decision to run as an independent). And, yes/from what I can also gather here, the fellow isn't exactly opposed to flip-flopping on issues, either (this, ostensibly, in an effort to strategically reposition himself). But, folks, at least Governor Crist.....IS IN THE MAINSTREAM! That, and damned if he isn't a pragmatist, too........................................................................................................Compare these traits to the far more hyperbolic/hyper-partisan crap that been coming from those two main (and, yes, might I also add decrepit) parties in Washington. Could Charlie Crist possibly be any worse? I'm telling you here, folks, if I were a Floridian, I'd be taking a good and long look at him.

Robbery at the Top-Shelf

I swear to God, folks. There was nothing but pristine spearmint in that whole-leafed tea of McCready's. And, yes, the fact that it was seemingly grown over at Northworth and Chaffee's (long and properly/as a matter of due course, for Christ!) - damned, I'm saying, if that as well didn't make for a difference. Of course, the fact that Bubkas was always there trying (and, yes, sometimes succeeding!) to spike it all with HER sour-mash - neither, either, could you totally vouch for it, quality-wise, otherwise, etc.. I mean, come on, talk about a frigging shame, huh?

Can We Please Get Tangible?

Alright, here's a scenario for you. You're a cop on the border (with Mexico), and you see this dude at 3 AM going through a stop light. It looks like he's the only person in the vehicle. But, when you get up the vehicle, you see that there are an additional 5-6 Hispanic looking individuals hiding inside of it. Me - I personally don't have a problem with you, the officer, asking these 5-6 individuals for identification. That, in my mind, IS probable cause. And, yes, if in fact the new Arizona law were to have as its focus these types of scenarios, then, yes, perhaps I could eventually support it. IF, I'm saying........................................................................................................If, however, there continues to be a vagueness to the law (especially, I'm saying, as it pertains to this whole issue of probable cause), dicier scenarios, not only would be possible, but, HELLO, expected as well. For instance, what if a dude is just standing on the street corner (a day laborer, perhaps) - does the new law allow/mandate that the police officer go up and question HIM? How 'bout a Hispanic looking fellow who literally does nothing more than spit/flick a cigarette butt onto the sidewalk (the police, of course, ignoring the hundreds of whites who do literally the same thing) - does that same cop have the right to approach him, too?.........................................................................................................I don't know (about this Arizona law), folks. It really sounds like we might be needing a lot more in terms of specificity here.