tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-107561882024-03-14T05:22:37.823-05:00BlackpotThe varied and random ramblings of a Brooklyn boy gone goodAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01248195916947908984noreply@blogger.comBlogger87125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10756188.post-27154662942690894762013-05-19T20:52:00.000-05:002013-05-20T05:59:46.877-05:00As always, BET will find a way to f*&k it up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.funcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Stevie-Wonder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="274" src="http://www.funcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Stevie-Wonder.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Good enough for the President, but not for BET</i></span></div>
<br />
<i>Warning; this post contains multiple profanities. </i><br />
<br />
As always, BET will find a way to fuck it up.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BET_Lifetime_Achievement_Award#BET_Lifetime_Achievement_Award_.26_BET_Humanitarian_Award" target="_blank">list</a> of artists whom have or will receive the BET Lifetime Achievement Award:</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">2001: Whitney Houston</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">2002: Earth Wind & Fire</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">2003: James Brown</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">2004: The Isley Brothers</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">2005: Gladys Knight</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">2006: Chaka Khan</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">2007: Diana Ross</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">2008: Al Green</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">2009: The O'Jays</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">2010: Prince</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">2011: Patti Labelle</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">2012: Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">2013: Charlie Wilson</span></li>
</ul>
Notice the lack of the gentleman in the picture above. No, the one with the sunglasses. <br />
<br />
Now, as you would guess, I'm slightly biased about this. I believe Stevie should be taught in the schools (6th period, between science and PE). Even with my bias, WHAT THE FUCK IS BET DOING?<br />
<br />
BET was doing a decent job choosing recipients through 2009. I understand why Prince got it in 201o; BET has missed the opportunity to give Michael Jackson<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(1)</span></span> the award while he was still alive and didn't want to make the same mistake with Prince<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(2)</span></span>. But since 2011, the recipients (while talented in their own right) don't stack up to what Stevie has done. I mean, I like Before I Let Go as much as any other black person, but (to pharaphrase a Chris Rock joke) if Stevie Wonder woke up and had Frankie Beverly's career, he'd kill himself.<br />
<span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="color: red;">(1)</span> Speaking of Michael Jackson and the BET Awards, the most heinous thing I've seen at an award show was BET letting Chris Brown, fresh off banging Rihanna's head off a car window, do his dance/crying jag/career recovery performance in 2010. The worst thing about it (and I knew it would when I watched it live and saw a female audience member cheer during the 'tears') is it worked. And<span style="font-size: x-small;">, </span>i<span style="font-size: x-small;">n what appears to be a receipt for the <span style="font-size: x-small;">effor<span style="font-size: x-small;">t<span style="font-size: x-small;">, Breezy <span style="font-size: x-small;">[barf<span style="font-size: x-small;">] has <span style="font-size: x-small;">performed in every aw<span style="font-size: x-small;">ard show since. <span style="font-size: x-small;">And<span style="font-size: x-small;"> is coming bac<span style="font-size: x-small;">k this year. T<span style="font-size: x-small;">here may be no Go<span style="font-size: x-small;">d.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: red;">(2) </span>If you are a fan of Aretha Fr</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">ankl</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">in, you should be as pissed as I am. She can't</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;"> have too much time left.</span></span></span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i></span></span><br />
<br />
Just for fun, here is an incomplete list of institutions that thought Stevie Wonder would positively contribute to their event in the last 12 months:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>The <a href="http://youtu.be/j0jhYZniYeo" target="_blank">Academy of Country Music</a></li>
<li>The <a href="http://youtu.be/d0j0VEDzwyI" target="_blank">Queen of England</a></li>
<li> The <a href="http://youtu.be/gMQ_Hj7_mxc" target="_blank">White House</a>. He may actually be a cabinet member, he's been there so much. And I'm okay with that.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
Yeah, BET. Why would you want to be affiliated with that?<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(<span style="font-size: xx-small;">3</span>)</span></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: red;">(</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">3</span>)</span> </span>Yes, I know he has honored at <a href="http://www.bet.com/video/bethonors/2012/tributes/stevie-wonder-bet-honors-tribute-2012.html" target="_blank">BET Honors '12</a>. How about letting him sit at the adults table? Or would that cut into <span style="font-size: x-small;">thi<span style="font-size: x-small;">s years Chris Brown performance? Or the <span style="font-size: x-small;">premiere of Young Jeezy's new banger 'Stick It In Her Ass Without Warning (feat. Plie<span style="font-size: x-small;">s)'?</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
I really don't understand. It isn't that BET is only honoring artists from who were relevant during the tenure of BET; they gave it to James Brown and Gladys Knight. The only acceptable answer would be if BET keeps offering the award to Stevie and Stevie keeps turning it down. If this is the case, whoever is running BET (from the basement of Viacom, I'm sure) should make that clear in a tearful (go as Chris Brown, he knows how to turn of the waterworks to save his ass) YouTube video, begging Stevie to take the award. <br />
<br />
I guess they are waiting for Stevie to die. It will be easier to have Chris Brown sing "Overjoyed' then.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01248195916947908984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10756188.post-34227571171144605142013-02-10T10:31:00.000-05:002013-02-10T10:31:26.154-05:00Waggle Room - Major League Expectations<span style="color: red;">Published June 14, 2011</span><br />
<br />
As the US Open approaches, three recent articles lament the performances of high profile golfers in majors. Not golfers who never won (like Kenny Perry) or one time winners (Davis Love III) or even two time major winners whose talent took a back seat to excesses (John Daly). Instead, the articles speak of the ‘failures' of <a href="http://primary.washingtonpost.com/sports/golf/ernie-els-will-return-to-us-open-at-congressional-vastly-changed-by-his-childs-autism/2011/06/02/AGD5LjJH_story.html" target="_blank">Ernie Els</a> (three majors), <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/golf/blog/devil_ball_golf/post/Curtis-Strange-Mickelson-s-Open-runner-ups-dis?urn=golf-wp2498" target="_blank">Phil Mickelson</a> (four) and <a href="http://www.golfchannel.com/news/jason-sobel/tiger-facing-legacy-of-failure/" target="_blank">Tiger Woods</a> (fourteen). What these articles forget are facts every one of us knows inherently but has been blurred during the Tiger era (4/10/1997-8/16/2009); golf is hard and winning majors is harder.<br />
<br />
For fun, I've looked at the major records of Mickelson and Els and pulled out every time they finished in the top five without winning to determine how many can be ‘blamed' on respective failures.<br />
<br />
<!-- extended entry --><br />
First, Phil Mickelson:<br />
<br />
<b>1994 PGA Championship (3rd)</b><br />
<br />
Nick Price, the #1 golfer in the world at that time, won by 6 shots. Mickelson was 24. He shouldn't have won.<br />
<br />
<b>1995 US Open (T-4th)</b><br />
<br />
Corey Pavin shot a 68 a Shinnecock, besting Greg Norman by two. Phil shot a 74, tied for the worst round anyone in contention shot that day with Tom Lehman. He could have done better, but I don't see this as a tournament he had and then lost.<br />
<br />
<b>1996 Masters (3rd)</b><br />
<br />
Mickelson was seven strokes behind Greg Norman after three rounds. I (and I'm certain Nick Faldo) sure you remember what happened next. This was the major Norman threw away, not Mickelson.<br />
<br />
<b>1999 US Open (2nd)</b><br />
<br />
The year Payne Stewart won his only major. When you shoot even par on an US Open Sunday and lose because the guy you are paired with in the final round sinks a 15-footer to win the tournament you didn't lose; the other guy won.<br />
<br />
<b>2001 Masters (3rd)</b><br />
<br />
The final leg of the Tiger Slam. I guess Phil had at that time the talent to beat Tiger, but who at that time thought Phil should have beaten Tiger. Phil shot two under during the final round; Tiger shot four under.<br />
<br />
<b>2001 PGA Championship (2nd)</b><br />
<br />
David Toms beats Phil by one stroke to win his only major to date. Phil was two strokes down to Toms going into the final round and bested his playing partner that day by one stroke (68 to 69). You can make the argument that a player of Mickelson's talent and pedigree shouldn't be losing to David Toms. That is if you ignore David Toms won four times on the US PGA Tour between 1999 and the 2001 PGA. For argument's sake, we will put this in the Phil should have won this category.<br />
<br />
<b>2002 Masters (3rd)</b><br />
<br />
Mickelson started four strokes behind eventual winner Tiger Woods going into the final round and finished four strokes behind Woods. As a fan of the New York Knicks in the 90s, I'm familiar with the ‘your direct competitor is one of the best to ever play the game and you can't quite get buy him' vibe Mickelson is suffering through at this point.<br />
<br />
<b>2002 US Open (2nd) </b><br />
<br />
Tiger Woods led wire to wire. Mickelson went 67-70 over the weekend on a very difficult Bethpage Black just to lose by three strokes. Once again I say this; was Phil <i>supposed</i> to beat Tiger?<br />
<br />
<b>2003 Masters (3rd)</b><br />
<br />
Mike Weir wins his only major to date in a playoff with Len Mattiace. Phil finished two strokes out of the playoff. Mickelson's personal boogeyman Tiger Woods was briefly a factor Saturday but a 75 Sunday reduced him to also-ran. Under the ‘your better than these guys' theory, we will reluctantly put this in the category of majors he should have won.<br />
<br />
<b>2004 US Open (2nd)</b><br />
<br />
Hoo-boy. Phil was leading the whole shooting match by one stroke over defending champion Retief Goosen when he double bogeyed the par three 17th, including 3 putting from 5 feet. Even with the USGA doing such a poor job maintaining the course they had to hose down greens during play to make them playable, this is a red letter example of Mickelson letting a major slip away.<br />
<br />
<b>2004 British Open (3rd)</b><br />
<br />
The only time in his career Mickelson finished in the top five in this tournament. He was one stroke outside the Todd Hamilton/Ernie Els playoff. It shouldn't have been that close; Hamilton bogeyed the final hole in regulation and Els had a 12 foot putt for birdie to win. His lack of success before and after in the British Isles would lead us to believe Phil wasn't supposed to win here.<br />
<br />
<b>2006 US Open (T-2nd)</b><br />
<br />
Hoo-boy part 2. Mickelson has won the previous two majors. After 71 holes at Winged Foot, Mickelson (who to that point had hit 2 of 13 fairways) needed par to win and bogey to force a playoff. He did neither, scoring a double bogey that will live in infamy. While both Colin Montgomerie and Jim Furyk also vomited over themselves on the final hole, Mickelson almost literally had the trophy in his hands and threw it away. <br />
<br />
<b>2008 Masters (T-5th)</b><br />
<br />
After a third round 75 put him nine strokes back, Mickelson was never a true contender.<br />
<br />
<b>2009 Masters (5th)</b><br />
<br />
Another backdoor top five as Mickelson was never in contention until a final round 67 shot him up the leaderboard.<br />
<br />
<b>2009 US Open (T-2nd)</b><br />
<br />
Mickelson was in contention for the breadth of the tournament but was never in a position of strength on the leaderboard where you could say he threw the tournament away. Lucas Glover wins at Bethpage.<br />
<br />
<b>2010 US Open (T-4th)</b><br />
<br />
Another backdoor top five as Mickelson was 7 strokes behind Dustin Johnson going into the final round and four strokes behind eventual winner Graeme McDowell. In fact, if Johnson doesn't fail spectacularly with an 82 in the final round on a course (Pebble Beach) he has been victorious on in 2009 and 2010, there quite probably wouldn't be a top five to talk about.<br />
<br />
So of the 16 times Phil Mickelson posted a top five in a major, only two were obvious choke jobs. Another two could either be considered Phil not playing to his potential or others playing past theirs. The other 12 were tournaments he would not be expected to win.<br />
<br />
As for Ernie Els:<br />
<br />
<b>1992 British Open (T-5th)</b><br />
<br />
The 22 year old future Hall of Famer, in only his second major (he missed the cut in his first British Open in 1989) placed a very respectable 5th. Consensus #1 Nick Faldo took the title. Not a major Els was at all expected to win.<br />
<br />
<b>1995 PGA Championship (T-3rd)</b><br />
<br />
After leading the tournament by three strokes after round three, Els shot a 72 on a day where the field shot under par (par at Riviera was 71), allowing him to be overtaken by both Colin Montgomerie and eventual winner Steve Elkington. Els' 72 was the second highest final round score of anyone why finished in the top twenty (Mark O'Meara shot a 73). While Montgomerie will be a Hall of Famer and Elkington was a very solid pro, Els (who by then had won his first major) let this one slip away.<br />
<br />
<b>1996 US Open (T-5th)</b><br />
<br />
Steve Jones. Steve Jones? I honestly don't know what to say about this major. There was nothing particularly outstanding about this tournament, outside it being a major. It looks like the winner was Oakland Hills, as only three players shot under par. Under those kinds of conditions, I am loathe to say Els lost it; Jones may have just survived it a little better.<br />
<br />
<b>1996 British Open (T-2nd)</b><br />
<br />
Tom Lehman won this tournament with a third round 64. And he needed almost every one of the six stoke lead (eight over Els) when he limped in with a two over par 73. Els shot a four under par 67 on Sunday. Els didn't lose this one.<br />
<br />
<b>2000 Masters (2nd)</b><br />
<br />
A poor third round (74) knocked Els four strokes behind eventual winner Vijay Singh, a deficit he was unable to overcome. This one is is toss-up; shooting 74s when you are in contention for a major isn't what you would call getting it done, but it isn't like the winner just picked up club a couple of years before.<br />
<br />
<b>2000 US Open (T-2nd)</b><br />
<br />
Tiger. Pebble. You could have taken the DNA of Bobby Jones and Jack Nicklaus and genetically engineered a golfer; no one was beating Tiger that weekend. Els gets a pass.<br />
<br />
<b>2000 British Open (T-2nd)</b><br />
<br />
That damn Tiger again. An eight stroke victory in St. Andrews to match the fifteen stroke victory in the previous major. If Earl Woods was a bowler, Ernie Els could possibly be working on his fourth major.<br />
<br />
<b>2001 British Open (T-3rd)</b><br />
<br />
No disasters as Els shot par or better for all rounds, including 67-69 on the weekend. David Duval just played better on his way to #1 in the world.<br />
<br />
<b>2002 Masters (T-5th)</b><br />
<br />
After a 66 in the third round by Tiger Woods (which put him in a tie for the lead with Retief Goosen), Els was four strokes back. This tournament I remember; Tiger put it in cruise control and told his competitors to come get him. On a day where the scoring was the hardest of the tournament (none of the players that finished in the top ten shot under 70), no one could. Once again I content that, while Els has bested Woods, I don't recall a time when Els was supposed to beat Woods.<br />
<br />
<b>2004 Masters (2nd)</b><br />
<br />
When Phil Mickelson had to birdie to 72nd hole of the tournament to keep Els out of a potential playoff, when Els shoots a final round 67 to put pressure on the 54 hole co-leader, you tip your hat to the winner and repeat the mantra; winning Majors is <i>hard</i>.<br />
<br />
<b>2004 British Open (2nd)</b><br />
<br />
On one hand, Els shot four rounds in the 60s and ran into the career tournament of Todd Hamilton (which included a 30 foot chip in for birdie on the par-3 14th Sunday). On the other hand, Ernie had a 12 footer to win the tournament on the last hole of regulation (after Hamilton made hash of the hole for bogey) and shot one over during the four hole playoff (allowing Hamilton to win with four pars). Since I do not have three hands, I'll put this one in the ‘Ernie should have won' group.<br />
<br />
NOTE: Els tore up his knee in July 2005 sailing with his family.<br />
<br />
<b>2006 British Open (3rd)</b><br />
<br />
Tiger Woods won at Royal Liverpool in a performance best remembered for his lack of use of driver. Els was one stroke behind Woods after the second and third rounds, but couldn't match Tiger's final round five under par 67 (although he did shoot under par in the final round). The fourth time on the list Tiger beat Els. When writers talk about how the current generation of golfers doesn't have the scar tissue of Tiger beating them the previous generation does, they should just show a picture of Ernie Els.<br />
<br />
<b>2007 PGA Championship (3rd)</b><br />
<br />
Stop me if you've heard this one. Tiger Woods won by two strokes over Woody Austin and three strokes over Ernie Els. A 63 in the second round gave Tiger a lead he would not relinquish. Els shot 69-66 on the weekend at Southern Hills, but it wasn't enough to catch Woods. Only the former Elin Nordegren can say Tiger did her wrong more times than Ernie Els.<br />
<br />
Of the 13 times Els contended in majors (not of course counting his three wins), two losses could be considered losing serve, five were at the hands of his personal Cablinasian bogeyman and the remaining six can be labeled ‘that's golf'.<br />
<br />
So, besides the fact I should have played with my kids more than Wikipedia the last two days, have we hopefully learned? That in golf, like life, nothing is guaranteed. That, in the current world where LeBron James is considered a total failure for only getting to the NBA Finals, we may have lost perspective. And that those who assume they know what should have happened aren't always looking at what did.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01248195916947908984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10756188.post-35856455292564773582013-02-10T10:25:00.000-05:002013-02-10T10:25:09.212-05:00Waggle Room - Golf Digest's Page 3 Girls<span style="color: red;"> Published February 26, 2010 (still waiting for the Jiyai Shin photos)</span><br />
<br />
Anna Rawson appeared in the pages of Golf Digest's February edition with advice for your game. The section included pictures:<br />
<a href="http://cdn3.sbnation.com/imported_assets/388404/rawson2.jpg"><img alt="Rawson2_medium" class="photo" src="http://cdn2.sbnation.com/imported_assets/388404/rawson2_medium.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://cdn2.sbnation.com/imported_assets/388401/rawson1.jpg"><img alt="Rawson1_medium" class="photo" src="http://cdn2.sbnation.com/imported_assets/388401/rawson1_medium.jpg" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.waggleroom.com/2010/1/10/1244736/anna-rawson-could-be-golf-digests">Some</a> in the golf blogosphere commented on the lack of Rawson's professional success in comparison to having a high profile spread in the most popular golf magazine in America. Insinuations were made that the only reason Rawson made the cut is that she is an attractive woman.<br />
The March edition of Golf Digest is out, and another LPGA member has a section:<br />
<!-- extended entry -->
<a href="http://cdn2.sbnation.com/imported_assets/388410/gulbis2.jpg"><img alt="Gulbis2_medium" class="photo" src="http://cdn1.sbnation.com/imported_assets/388410/gulbis2_medium.jpg" /></a><a href="http://cdn0.sbnation.com/imported_assets/388413/gulbis1.jpg"><img alt="Gulbis1_medium" class="photo" src="http://cdn2.sbnation.com/imported_assets/388413/gulbis1_medium.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Natalie Gulbis has an infinitely more successful LPGA career than Rawson; both on the course (Evian Masters win, multiple Solheim Cup apperances) and off (I don't think any of Rawson's modeling forays were as financially successful as Gulbis' calendars).<br />
Is this a new trend for the folks at Golf Digest, female professionals giving tips to the readers? I eagerly await the Jiyai Shin tips and pictures in the April edition.<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01248195916947908984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10756188.post-50970798198432694012013-02-10T10:21:00.000-05:002013-02-10T10:21:15.259-05:00Waggle Room - Robert Allenby Would Like Brian Gay to See the World<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: red;">Published November 22, 2009 </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Robert Allenby, on the heels of saying the Korean translation of "John Daly is Anthony Kim," has made a minor ripple in the golf world with his "American golfers are spoiled" comments. The comments have only made a ripple because:</div>
<ul>
<li>Other players have made similar laments that American golfers don’t travel</li>
<li>Allenby may be right</li>
<li>Allenby may be a bit of a jerk</li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Breaking down his comments shows a lack of understanding of the golf world today.</div>
<blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"You know, Americans play for so much money, and when you've got a purse where $1 million, a million plus, is first prize, not to say that they are spoiled, but it's a little bit that way. It's like, well, why would I want to travel, when I can make a million bucks instead of going to Europe and only making $500,000 or $600,000?"</div>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
Doing a job in America for one million instead of doing the same job in Europe for $600K isn’t spoiled. Greedy, perhaps. Sensible even.</div>
<blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
"The reason why I want to travel and play elsewhere is because I want my game to get better, and always, even at the age of 38, I want to get better. And the only way you can get better is to play different golf courses. If you're playing the same golf course every week, every year that you come back to, it just gets a little boring. For me, that's what I've found. I've got a little bit bored playing in America. I'll still play there full time, but I'm still going to try to play more tournaments in Europe at the same time and combine the two together."</div>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
I would argue you get better at golf by playing against better players regularly. And pretty much every metric shows the fields in the average PGA tournament is stronger than the fields in the average Euro PGA tournament. Why? See that $1 Million/$600K difference.</div>
<blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
"But I just think, you know, they have got it a little bit too easy. It's just everything is handed to them on a silver plate. And not to be rude or anything like that, because I'm very respectful for the amount of money that we do play for in America. We are very lucky and very fortunate. But I think the money that we play for in America, that's the reason why you don't see a lot of Americans or a lot more international players coming over and playing in Europe. They are in a comfort zone, and I think that's pretty much what it is."</div>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Allow me to compare golf to professional soccer. It is understood that the best club soccer in the world is in Europe. Leagues in England, Spain, Italy and Germany have the best players from around the world wearing their kits. They spend the most money and garnish the most attention. Outside of playing for their country, the majority of talented players would do almost anything to play for Manchester United, or Real Madrid, or Inter Milan.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If Landon Donovan publically complained that European players were spoiled because they didn’t have to leave their continent to play soccer at the highest level, while North and South Americans had to prove themselves in their home leagues to get a shot at the big time, he would be laughed out of the room. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That is where Allenby makes his mistake. He assumes the money makes the tournament, as opposed to the money following the tournament. The purses on the Fall Series are less than tournaments before the Fed Ex Cup because the world of golf has decided they Fall Series tourneys are less prestigious. The Scottish Open has more than three times the purse than the SAS Masters in Sweden not because the Scottish are awash with cash and the Swedes are paupers. It has been decided the Scottish Open is more important than the SAS Masters, so the people running the Scottish Open can demand more money from Barclays, ticket purchasers, etc. The fine southern gentlemen who run the Masters Invitational Tournament could cut prize money for 2010 in half tomorrow and not one eligible golfer would decide playing wasn’t worth his time.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At this point, playing in America is considered more prestigious than playing in Europe. Or Australia. Or anywhere else on the planet. Just ask Rory McIlroy, who will join the US PGA tour in 2010. Because…</div>
<blockquote>
I just feel I will become a better golfer if I also play in America. I will be playing in world class fields with more world ranking points on offer and the only way for me to get better is to play alongside better players.</blockquote>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01248195916947908984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10756188.post-57992682768328507832013-02-10T10:08:00.000-05:002013-02-10T10:12:12.230-05:00Waggle Room - Team Tiger's Sleight of Hand: For What Exactly is Tiger In Therapy?<span style="color: red;">Published February 28, 2010</span><b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>WARNING </b>– This FanPost has no facts, only speculation.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
It would appear Tiger Woods’ current situation (in a treatment facility, marriage in question, sponsors dropping him left and right, the butt of national jokes) couldn’t be worse. However it could be worse. And for all the criticism the Woods’ PR team has received; they may have made a decision early on that has lessened the damage the current #1 golfer’s image received.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I believe Tiger Woods is currently receiving treatment to break addictions to prescription drugs; Ambien and Viacodin if I were to guess specific medications. And I believe Team Tiger has allowed the sex addiction story to become the running story (if not quietly leaking it themselves) to give the media something to report instead of a possible chemical dependency.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Look at portions of his press conferenc<a href="http://www.trailingtiger.com/2010/2/19/1317873/full-transcript-of-tiger-woods" target="_blank"> public statement</a> (<i>emphasis mine</i>):</div>
<blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It's hard to admit that I need help, but I do. For 45 days from the end of December to early February, I was in inpatient therapy receiving <i>guidance for the issues I'm facing</i>. I have a long way to go. But I've taken my first steps in the right direction.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
...</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some people have made up things that never happened. They said I used <i>performance-enhancing</i> drugs. This is completely and utterly false.</div>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Notice two things; he doesn’t say he is getting guidance for sex addiction, but for the issues he is facing. He also vociferously denies using performance-enhancing drugs. People wondered why he would out that in the statement; I now believe it was there to get people off the scent of the non-performance-enhancing drugs he was taking. This may be dancing on the head of a pin, but if he is in treatment for substance abuse, everything said above is true.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Consider what was reported by Florida Highway Patrol on the night of the accident. According to police reports, Tiger had <a href="http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/1202092woods4.html" target="_blank">four collisions</a> the night of November 27th; with bushes outside the driveway, hedges parallel with the road from his house, and the well known hydrant and tree. Other reports stated that Tiger was shoeless and snoring when medical authorities arrived. The public has been allowed to run with the collisions and the unconscious Tiger are all due to a crazed Swede chasing the car down with a 9-iron (since it was before January 1, the new groove restrictions did not yet apply), but all the above can be due to someone in no condition to drive getting behind the wheel, turning on the ignition, pulling out of his driveway and falling asleep sometime after turning left from the hedges. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
See why Team Tiger would add this line in Woods' remarks? Because it is easier to them to recover from ‘Tiger really likes strange’ than ‘Tiger is an addict’. The current fervor aside, a professional male athlete having a lot of female accompaniment isn’t usually disastrous to their image (for example, Martin Brodeur cheated on his wife with her sister; he is still considered the best hockey goalie of all time and infidelity doesn’t come up immediately when you mention his name). Contrast that with John Daly, who is more known for his struggles with alcohol abuse then for being a two time major winner.</div>
This is not to say Tiger didn’t try to have a biblical relationship with every blonde in America in her 20s with a flat stomach and a lack of gag reflex. Nor is it to say Tiger’s marriage wasn’t/isn’t in jeopardy for his actions. What this says is the public and the media were so taken by the sexual scandal, they allowed Team Tiger to obscure a possible issue that, if it became public knowledge, would even further affect how we look at the 14 time major winner for all time<br />
The National Enquirer, who is on a current hot streak, <a href="http://www.nationalenquirer.com/tiger_woods_drug_addiction_rehab_meadows/celebrity/68216">says the same thing</a>.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01248195916947908984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10756188.post-52488526728611467572013-02-10T09:43:00.001-05:002013-02-10T09:43:30.354-05:00Waggle RoomFor about two years, I wrote posts on an SB Nation golf blog names Waggle Room. The blog has been discontinued, so I am copying some of my favorite posts here. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01248195916947908984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10756188.post-51724880967519196932013-02-10T09:41:00.002-05:002013-02-10T10:08:52.691-05:00Waggle Room - The Breakup<span style="color: red;">Published June 19, 2011 </span><br />
<br />
<blockquote>
<i>Dear Tiger:</i><br />
<i>I just wanted to get this off my chest. I know things haven't been great between us, so this shouldn't be a surprise. It's over. </i><br />
<i>I just can't deal with your moodiness, your inability to share, to really be a part of this relationship. I've tried and tried to get you to open up, to show you actually cared about me and the things I do for you. All I get are bland generalities and when I try to find out what is really wrong, you give me than death stare and shut down.</i><br />
<i>I want to be fair and tell you this before you find out from someone; I've found someone else. His name is Rory. I always thought he was cute, but he has opened up to me more in the last few days than you have in the last few years. I can just ask him stuff without it becoming a big thing. With you, I get more insight lately following your twitter feed than in person. And (I apologize if this sounds catty) he gives me what I need like you haven't in a long time.</i><br />
<i>I hope we can be cordial after this. Part of me will always love you, but I have to do this for me.</i><br />
<i>The Golf Media</i></blockquote>
<!-- extended entry -->The combination of Tiger's on-course irrelevance and Rory McIlroy's spectacular performance at Congressional has allowed the golf media to publically break off its love affair with Tiger Woods. Unfortunately, in some circles, it is being done with all of the maturity of the end of a high school fling. Examples include John Huggan's swearing <a href="http://www.golfworldmonday.com/golfworldmonday/20110616/?pg=13&pm=1&u1=friend#pg13">he won't miss</a> the three time US Open champion (and there is no better way to show you aren't going to miss someone who isn't competing that week than to spend 800 words proclaiming how much you won't miss him), Michael Bamberger's lament that being Tiger <a href="http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,2077669,00.html?cid=feed-tours_news-20110614-2077669&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter">isn't that cool anymore</a> (where he put Tiger's reluctance to be forthcoming to the media as a gateway drug to famous recluse Howard Hughes. If we have learned anything over the last two years, isolation from people is not Tiger Woods' problem) and Dave Kindred's <a href="http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-tours-news/blogs/local-knowledge/2011/06/mcilroy-filling-tigers-void-and-more.html">contrast and compare</a> of the former and current prodigy. Kindred's article included this illuminating passage:<br />
<blockquote>
There was a wonderful stammer to those words, a boyish attempt to say what he felt without saying it brashly. It was another reminder of what we have here and what we're not missing in any way. The first reminder came Friday evening, late in a press conference, when McIlroy told the assembled literati that he planned to go to a movie, "The Hangover Part 2." Of course, veteran movie-goers know that the new "Hangover" is exploitive dreck, a sequel unworthy of its parentage. But McIlroy's taste in film is not the point here. Point is, he shared a small slice of his life with reporters and when's the last time Tiger Woods did as much? Tiger, Tiger, out of sight. The greater point is, if anyone missed Tiger, if maybe millions missed Tiger, if all of freakin' Thailand missed him, I daresay this U.S. Open hasn't missed him a whit, iota, or even a tad.</blockquote>
The Hangover Part 2? THE HANGOVER PART 2?!? That is what you are looking for? So not only are the members of the golf media sixteen year old girls with low self-esteem, they are cheap dates as well. In all seriousness, this Oprah-ization of professional sports reporting, the idea that every emotion or random thought an athlete has should be laid bare or there is a problem, is not a positive advancement of the reporting profession. I'd hate to see Huggan or Bamberger reporting on hockey, boxing or football (round ball or American); the amount of rejection regularly received by reporters following those sports might cause mass suicides.<br />
To be fair, Team Tiger isn't without blame for the breakup. There is a famous saying that you don't get into a fight with someone who buys ink by the gallon. Someone had to be smart enough to tell Tiger to give the golf media just enough to keep them satiated and in love. Nothing particularly private, but something, anything to let them believe you love them a little. About your love of fly fishing for example. Or your preference for the blandest rock and roll possible (check out some of the performers at various Tiger Jams, Stevie Wonder notwithstanding). Or how about picking a couple of reporters and feeding them info. It wouldn't be the first time a newsmaker had a reporter in his pocket. Or how about this; either actually go ahead with the idea of treating those in the media better (something you included in your tearful comeback press conference public statement), or don't mention it at all.<br />
Finally, a warning to Rory McIlroy (who is showing more maturity at 22 with his play than some reporting on him right now). Be careful. The media definitely loves you right now. But this has the whiff of a rebound relationship. They wanted to be with Phil Mickelson, but he couldn't come through enough to make it viable. Westwood, Kaymer and Donald were nice, but not exciting. You have all the tools right now, young, exciting, winning. But if you don't make 2011 your version of Tiger's 2000 (or, if Tiger makes a comeback to form), the next letter may be delivered to your doorstep.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01248195916947908984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10756188.post-74965965491728789422012-03-23T09:32:00.001-05:002012-03-23T09:32:43.236-05:00Quick, Look Over Here (Brought To You By Fox News)!So Geraldo Rivera said something stupid today.<br />
On Fox & Friends (which leads the league in the ‘place where stupid things get said category’, Geraldo said the hooded sweatshirt Trayvon Martin was wearing was as responsible for his shooting as the guy who shot him:<br />
<br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="421" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://videos.mediaite.com/embed/player/?content=4KQX423FM4P1WG4W&content_type=content_item&layout=&playlist_cid=&media_type=video&widget_type_cid=svp&read_more=1" width="420"></iframe><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“I believe, that George Zimmerman, the overzealous neighborhood watch captain, should be investigated to the fullest extent of the law and if he is criminally liable, he should be prosecuted. But I am urging the parents of black and Latino youngsters particularly to not let their children go out wearing hoodies. I think the hoodie is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin’s death as George Zimmerman was.”</blockquote>
Told you it was stupid.<br />
<br />
But before the Twitterverse and blogosphere and Facebook Nation gets bent out of shape (not unlike Geraldo’s nose when he got hit by the chair that time; and yes, there will be more Geraldo jokes coming), people who care about Trayvon should see what is really going on.<br />
<br />
At this moment, emotions are running high against the lack of arrest of George Zimmerman. Equally as important, those emotions are being channeled in a way that is making things happen. The stepping down of the Sanford police chief. The Florida governor adding a new prosecutor. While I have my doubts that a suitable level of justice will ever be served (due to the amount of time that has passed since the shooting), pressure is being put on Sanford in particular and Florida in general (I’m sure the state would rather be known for South Beach and Disneyworld than where kids get killed for Skittles). <br />
<br />
And Geraldo just made himself a pressure valve.<br />
<br />
Instead of people horrified by this senseless killing aiming their ire to where it belongs, they can aim it at the Capone Vault Guy for his ‘the black boy in the hoodie was asking for it’ comments. And the people responsible get a little break. <br />
<br />
I’m not sure why Fox News is doing this. They knew this was Geraldo’s view; he was saying it on his Twitter feed before today (the stupid comment version of running a play off-Broadway). It is to generate publicity in hopes of increased ratings? It is to provide comfort and support to the Republican governor of Florida? It Fox News just that institutionally racist towards black people they can’t help it? <br />
<br />
I don’t know the answer. But I do know what the result would be; a diffusion of the righteous anger the country has over Trayvon’s killing. A diffusion of the larger message; that the lives of people of color are as valuable as anyone else and should receive the same respect from both individuals and the government (by the way, if investigations find the rumor that officers tried to convince witnesses they heard Zimmerman calling for help instead of Trayvon, shit is really going to hit the fan).<br />
<br />
We have seen this before. Don’t fall for the okey doke. <br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01248195916947908984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10756188.post-48083719528664373362011-04-08T01:58:00.002-05:002011-04-08T02:18:06.838-05:00Sittin' On Peas - Chapter Four: The First Full Day of Not Being Whole<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> 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mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p style="text-align: left;" class="MsoNormal">I may have overdone it.<span style=""> </span></p><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><p style="text-align: left;" class="MsoNormal">Didn’t feel any pain when I woke up this morning.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>That was a pleasant surprise.<span style=""> </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>So with that, I did normal household stuff, even though it was suggested I stay off my feet for a couple of days.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Which means carrying the two month old around, going to the store, bringing laundry from the bedroom to the washing machine, etc.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC24034skcJlKrgASQ1zdO7Tu6UlrgWNwAuBRjjshtDAeVWTiCS2MnGviPyaSgVebZ_xQhlQufZVdpYT2I6Z-0Mb07T70KG2MUMAWY9Yo8fKyHxqxBajCb1KAyb_31W7SFQ0GU/s1600/jack-lalanne_49550826.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 144px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC24034skcJlKrgASQ1zdO7Tu6UlrgWNwAuBRjjshtDAeVWTiCS2MnGviPyaSgVebZ_xQhlQufZVdpYT2I6Z-0Mb07T70KG2MUMAWY9Yo8fKyHxqxBajCb1KAyb_31W7SFQ0GU/s200/jack-lalanne_49550826.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5593108422865817906" border="0" /></a><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><p style="text-align: left;" class="MsoNormal">I don’t know if the lower abdominal discomfort I feel now (not pain, just enough to remind me I had surgery less than 36 hours ago) is due to the lack of support (I ditched the jock strap Thursday morning) or the increase of activity.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I fear wake-up time Friday will be more challenging than wake-up time Thursday was.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><p style="text-align: left;" class="MsoNormal">One last thing.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I didn’t plan this surgery to coincide with the Masters, that was a happy accident.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Unfortunately, the gentlemen who run the tournament decided not to let the cameras on until 3pm; by that time I was doing other things (like thinking of swapping my gas smoker with a charcoal one).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I’ll try to use (ahem) massive pain I am suffering to hunker down in the basement for a couple of hours tomorrow. </p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01248195916947908984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10756188.post-14847189288958715242011-04-06T08:39:00.004-05:002011-04-06T08:52:06.568-05:00Sittin' On Peas - Chapter Three: The Beginning of the Aftermath<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVXuLg55JQ16juOE3fl6v9gMj3i6EnPob6UxIZR9sbVj1gBnaszBpDt_0Cxatud4fXyPf9HY_qxDOtN7fiPqWe8i4hve7nJ0L8tbeFQVtTrsbND4HQgEh4yJYCk1clU-Er_J5k/s1600/cut+hose.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVXuLg55JQ16juOE3fl6v9gMj3i6EnPob6UxIZR9sbVj1gBnaszBpDt_0Cxatud4fXyPf9HY_qxDOtN7fiPqWe8i4hve7nJ0L8tbeFQVtTrsbND4HQgEh4yJYCk1clU-Er_J5k/s200/cut+hose.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5592465586562139458" border="0" /></a><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> 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mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]-->Well, that’s done. <p class="MsoNormal">The procedure took less than 30 minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I’m home in no pain currently; I’m sure that will change when the local wears off.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">I forgot to take the Valium (damn!), but I guess I didn’t need it.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I got a prescription for Vicodin, so I can fall even further down the road to chemical dependency.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I’ll try not to take any; hopefully Extra Strength Tylenol will be enough.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The only disconcerting part of the procedure was the smell of something burning.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>That something was me as the ends of the vas deferens were sealed.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I didn’t feel anything and I couldn’t see the doctor applying the soldering iron to my most delicate area, but intellectually I knew what was up.</p><p class="MsoNormal">As for what happens to the semen, it gets broken down and absorbed in the body.<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">At one point, there was a change in shift for the assisting nurse.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The change led to these comments:</p> <p class="MsoNormal"></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal">Assisting Nurse: I assume if you had fantasies of two women administering to that area, it did not look like this.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Me: The costumes were different.</p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Included in the post procedure instructions was the fact that it will take approximately 20 ejaculations to flush out any semen remaining downstream of the vasectomy (samples at 6 and 8 weeks will also be taken to ensure I am no longer firing live rounds).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>So basically I have a doctor's note to jerk off. I don’t know what kind of countdown clock I’m going to use, but whatever it is, it will have to be something benign enough to avoid an explanation to the four year old daughter.</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01248195916947908984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10756188.post-52450583865902942582011-04-06T05:11:00.002-05:002011-04-06T05:13:41.558-05:00Sittin' On Peas - Chapter Two<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv0ltFNr3WuVGFnawFuTudCauPUTwRVpvxJsm3chqnJZoG7679YgOjSiCc-gFRNDItJ_t6fWEBd2Anf2Wzl9Ubfi0iU3D4p0b-i69APVBaNyuzl_JGXmEAv69YrKIK0b7kKX4u/s1600/frozen-peas.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv0ltFNr3WuVGFnawFuTudCauPUTwRVpvxJsm3chqnJZoG7679YgOjSiCc-gFRNDItJ_t6fWEBd2Anf2Wzl9Ubfi0iU3D4p0b-i69APVBaNyuzl_JGXmEAv69YrKIK0b7kKX4u/s200/frozen-peas.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5592411637844132626" border="0" /></a><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> 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0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]-->Thought flowing through my mind a couple of hours before: <ul><li><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;" ><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>I could have negotiated this with the wife better.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We both knew The Peanut was going to be our last child, but I volunteered getting this done too quickly.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I don’t know what I could have gotten in the negotiation (French Maid outfit?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>More golf?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>A banishment of ‘Toddlers & Tiaras’ from the household?), but something could have been acquired.</li><li><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;" ><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"></span>Have to remember to ask where the sperm goes after the procedure.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;" ><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>I was given a Valium to take before to relax me.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It will be my first experience with the drug.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It would be sad if a vasectomy was the gateway to a nasty Rush Limbaugh-like prescription drug addiction.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></li></ul> <p class="MsoNormal">Packed and ready to go.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>See you on the flip side.</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01248195916947908984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10756188.post-69195049931518876842011-04-05T21:52:00.005-05:002011-04-05T22:01:32.356-05:00Sittin' On Peas - Chapter One<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFQFdeMyIb-bkWCdsvrgg-76_WfOaVzXFFFMsWVYs9Mlz04-IYbxN1bq2msp5Oemc44LqM6Gz8zX-eteNnN2HlWrZofLJwetuoAwnHJCe33sC9zSgC4eLZiu9XoQOtkNb5XoHz/s1600/Jockstrap.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFQFdeMyIb-bkWCdsvrgg-76_WfOaVzXFFFMsWVYs9Mlz04-IYbxN1bq2msp5Oemc44LqM6Gz8zX-eteNnN2HlWrZofLJwetuoAwnHJCe33sC9zSgC4eLZiu9XoQOtkNb5XoHz/s200/Jockstrap.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5592300297767639154" border="0" /></a><br />Things I’ve learned preparing for the procedure:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBrQ0Plt-rvnAhB_783k9VcOVXefTtQ9qdno113kHPhblj26ihBaLMVzJ8oFJh5MlUrWs5Zkai8ZKafkOBnqUMhaaIXOjsd4oMwOCgaALCKfCIR_mpzzYgn2EBVdNLLXR1sLRe/s1600/Jockstrap.jpg"><br /></a> <ul><li><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;" ><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>My wife has jokes.</li><li><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;" ><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>Target doesn’t sell jock straps.</li><li><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;" ><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>I won’t be in stirrups.</li><li><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;" ><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>The reason there is a fractional chance of regaining fertility is, instead of cutting out a section of the vas deferens (the tube that makes semen leaded instead of unleaded) and sealing the edges (forcing the sperm to make an Evil Kneveil like jump to freedom), there is just a snip and and seal with the end butted against each other.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;" ><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>Sterilization is a word used regularly.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I’m not terrible excited about that word.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Makes me feel like I’m a victim of the Tuskegee Experiment.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></li></ul> <p class="MsoNormal">Nine hours to go.</p><p class="MsoNormal">P.S. When you look for images on Google for jock strap, you see more scantily clad men with rippling abs than heterosexual men are prepared for.<br /></p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01248195916947908984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10756188.post-19652153579958975772011-04-05T16:07:00.005-05:002011-04-05T16:20:53.507-05:00Sittin' On Peas - Prologue<div>In under 18 hours, I will go in for a vasectomy. </div><br /><div>Since I found out I would be a father for a second time, I knew 2 was the maximum number of children I would want to sire. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizCcB00erdvb_ECBXV0BxeN2IF5ynUTPiVlGYShUzTjuJejA5Dgoz_wy6TZok53R3OHpUZzOelgJiRQV5Iw4gXJK0MpT-Opo-3jUu5Rtd6HfCPPLOfJrskYR5T5xkP9eRsJWHK/s1600/frozen_peas.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5592211851180988706" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 154px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizCcB00erdvb_ECBXV0BxeN2IF5ynUTPiVlGYShUzTjuJejA5Dgoz_wy6TZok53R3OHpUZzOelgJiRQV5Iw4gXJK0MpT-Opo-3jUu5Rtd6HfCPPLOfJrskYR5T5xkP9eRsJWHK/s200/frozen_peas.jpg" border="0" /></a>Combine that with my distaste with wearing condoms for the remainder of my life (which is about 7% of the reason I got married) made the choice fairly clear. </div><br /><div>I will be off my feet for a couple of days, it gives me a chance to write about the experience. Stay tuned… </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01248195916947908984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10756188.post-10489264313485057722011-01-11T17:09:00.003-05:002011-01-11T17:23:01.966-05:00The Unequal Comparison Between Harsh Political Discourse and Violent EntertainmentLike a broken clock, Rush Limbaugh isn’t horribly, pig-headedly wrong <a href="http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2011/01/rush-to-judgment.html">every once in a while </a>*:<br /><blockquote>Go out and try to tell these same people that one of their top grossing movies has influenced abject perversion or radical behavior and they will attack you left and right, saying, "That's entertainment. It stands alone. People know the difference." You go out and accuse them of engaging in work, their art, such as crucifixions in jars of urine or whatever other acts of perversion they engage in that they call "art" -- their movies, their music -- and you go try to tell them that their music is responsible for criminal behavior. Look at the reaction you get from that. You are considered to be a numskull, old-fashioned, out, and not with the times. They permanently, constantly insulate themselves from any influential behavior they might be responsible for and yet run off without any evidence whatsoever and admit they've got no evidence.</blockquote><br /><br />This was Limbaugh’s response to critiques of he and other conservatives’ coarse political discourse in the wake of the assassination attempt on U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. In a nutshell, Limbaugh tells the left you can’t say Sarah Palin love of guns is causing nuts to shoot people, then say Michael Bay’s love of guns or Young Jeezy’s love of guns doesn’t cause nuts to shoot people. Limbaugh is correct there, but he misses two important points.<br /><br />First, the threshold for our political leaders should be higher than our entertainment leaders. Sarah Palin, in particular, is considered a political leader. She doesn’t currently hold an office (this is where I remind everyone Palin quit her job), but she is considered at least the face of the modern Tea Party movement. There are things the average person can say that we don’t want our political leaders to say (Barack Obama calling Kanye West a jackass comes to mind, irrelevant of how true it is).<br /><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mJIH0obw3hs?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mJIH0obw3hs?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br />More important, the entertainment Limbaugh refers to isn’t real. The movies and music are realistic, but at some point a director says cut, or a music producer stops the recording and the artist goes back to a trailer and enjoys illicit drugs and casual sex a spot of herbal tea. It is the responsibility of society to ensure the less able members (the young, the mentally challenged) know this.<br /><br />This hits home for me personally as a fan of hip-hop and a father. I happily listen to songs with lyrics calling for the murder of rivals, the regular sale and/or ingestion of illegal drugs and a repudiation of sexual fidelity. I am also a (gulp) 40 year old man and know this isn’t real. And it is my responsibility to make sure my children understand the entertainment they take in shouldn’t always be taken at face value. <br /><br />If Pailn and Limbaugh want to admit their discourse is mere entertainment, I’d happily put them in the same category as ‘The Sopranos’, ‘True Grit’ and the latest Jay-Z album. I imagine they would both defend themselves and their comments as deadly serious.<br /><br />If that is the case, I refer to my comic book geek past: ‘With great power comes great responsibility.’<br /><br />* <em>The link is to Andrew Sullivan's blog referring to Rush Limbaugh. Rush sin't getting any pageviews from me if I can help it.</em>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01248195916947908984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10756188.post-62349086973160462902010-08-17T22:10:00.000-05:002011-01-11T17:36:56.522-05:00Delicious Desparation<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jQzI3k39Cfw?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jQzI3k39Cfw?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Barack Obama has claimed another victim.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Dr. Laura Schlessinger announced Tuesday she will not renew her radio contract that is up at the end of the year.<span style=""> </span>Schlessinger, who has helmed a successful radio show for decades, lit a firestorm by using the word nigger 11 times during a call on August 10.<span style=""> </span>She apologized the next day and now has decided to end her radio show as of the end of the year.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">What does this have to do with Obama?<span style=""> </span>Ever since January 20, 2009, there have been a small but vocal percentage of Americans who just can’t stand the fact the leader of the free world is, well, you know…<span style=""> </span>And every day he stand before the country as the political leader, every day he is seen making a speech to crowds of cheering supporters, every day the realization that this small minority of people are just that, a small minority, they get a little crazier until they burst like a pipe under pressure.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Whether is the Birthers, swearing Obama just can’t be President irrelevant of any facts, or people screaming at town meetings they want their country back (from whom I’d like to ask), to Dr. Laura doing her best Katt Williams impersonation, people are going crazy from the heat.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">And I couldn’t be happier.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I call it the delicious desperation.<span style=""> </span>The realization that the world has changed under the feet of this small minority; that their borderline overt racism has been rejected by the majority of voters on November 4, 2008 (happy birthday to me, by the way) and there is not much they can do about it.<span style=""> </span>The thought of them raging against forces totally out of their control gives me a warm feeling.<span style=""> </span>The mental image of this small minority yelling ‘who’s with me?’ and seeing the remainder of the country slowly step back as if they just dropped a turd fills me with delight.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">As for Dr. Laura, two other comments.<span style=""> </span>First, in announcing the end of her radio show, she mentioned she wants to “regain my First Amendment rights”.<span style=""> </span>That is a lie.<span style=""> </span>What she wants is to be able to <a href="http://www.drlaura.com/blog/what-i-ve-learned-from-the-events-of-the-past-week/36492">avoid consequences</a>:</p> <p class="MsoNormal"></p><blockquote>Now, what makes me sad...what pains my heart deeply...is that, beyond the reasoned letters which I continue to get, I have heard comments from some broadcasters and letters from some people that cannot be described as anything other than hate-filled diatribes. Hate-filled. This does not make me angry, but it hurts my heart.<br /><br />My hope with my apology, which was true and immediate and uncoerced, was that the silver lining might be that a dialogue be started to stop hate and bigotry. I still hold out some hope... but I am a realist and I fear that there are those who frankly want to encourage hate and anger.</blockquote><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Dr. Laura insulted people by using the word nigger.<span style=""> </span>She angered people.<span style=""> </span>It would be nice for everyone to forgive her for her transgressions, but some won’t, which is their right.<span style=""> </span>This is the bed you made Dr. Laura, and as uncomfortable as it is to lay in, whining about how uncomfortable it is doesn’t change the fact that it was all your creation.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Second if someone is paying you to talk, the speech is not free.<span style=""> </span>Dr. Laura would be hustled off the air if she decided to insult her syndication company or her sponsors.<span style=""> </span>I can say Comcast sucks (ask me about that company if you have an hour to kill), but I sure can’t say it if I have a radio show and Comcast is buying time.<span style=""> </span>If you want pure free speech (to her, um, credit, Dr. Laura is doing this) get a soapbox, go out to a corner of your local municipality, and free speech away.<span style=""> </span></p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01248195916947908984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10756188.post-14282933711900475622010-08-15T19:42:00.000-05:002011-01-11T17:36:56.548-05:00Stevie Wonder - Superstition live on Sesame StreetIt is Stevie. On Sesame Street. Singing Superstition. <br /><br />Stevie should be taught in the schools.<br /><br /><object style="background-image: url("http://i4.ytimg.com/vi/_ul7X5js1vE/hqdefault.jpg");" width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_ul7X5js1vE?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_ul7X5js1vE?fs=1&hl=en_US" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01248195916947908984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10756188.post-36025607813463372972010-08-15T19:34:00.000-05:002011-01-11T17:36:56.567-05:00Why Golf Is Fine and the Chicken Littles Are WrongGolf is an appropriate pursuit for someone as bourgeois as I. Writing about golf may cross the bourgeois line into stuffy. Nevertheless, I've done such a thing at Waggle Room, a blog dedicated to professional golf. I'm pretty proud of it so I will link to it <a href="http://www.waggleroom.com/2010/8/15/1624669/while-golf-is-fine-and-the-chicken">here</a>.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01248195916947908984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10756188.post-75027956492230726702010-07-21T14:43:00.000-05:002011-01-11T17:36:56.586-05:00A Fire-able Offense<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.legaljuice.com/You%20Got%20Served%20you%27ve%20been%20service%20of%20process.gif"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 360px; height: 240px;" src="http://www.legaljuice.com/You%20Got%20Served%20you%27ve%20been%20service%20of%20process.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Shooting 106 at Poolesville this morning gave me a lot of time to think about Shirley Sherrod.<br /><br />For those who don't know who she is or what is the issue, here is my attempt to explain:<br /><br />Shirley Sherrod was the USDA's rural development director for the state of Georgia. A couple of days ago a video was released, championed by conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart and aired initially on Fox News, showing Sherrod, a black woman, stating she found it hard to help white farmers. The NAACP and the Obama administration (through Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture) immediately denounced her comments and she was forced to resign. <br /><br />Soon after the resignation, video of the entire speech became public. While Sherrod did say she initially found it hard to help the white farmer (in fact, steering him towards an white lawyer), she quickly determined the error of her ways, helped the farmer keep his farm and now she and the farmer are friends. In fact, the farmer in question has come out repudiating any bias against him and his family and <a href="http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2010/07/farmer-defends-shirley-sherrod-/1">called for Sherrod to be reinstated.</a> <br /><br />Now, everyone involved is scrambling for the lifeboats. Pundits on the left and right are clamoring for Sherrod's reinstatement. The NAACP has apologized for Sherrod. In an embarrassingly tone deaf statement, the Obama administration attempted to lay all blame on on the Dept. of Agriculture (as if it isn't a part of the Obama administration). Even Andrew Breitbart, who is pugnacious by nature (I'm trying to be nice and not call him a asshole) said the video was not released to get Sherrod fired, but to show the NAACP is the real racist organization and not the Tea Party movement, which the NAACP suggested a week ago. <br /><br />I couldn't care less what Andrew Breitbart does. I care slightly what Fox News does. but they are grown men and women and can run their network as they see fit. My ire is pointed right at the Obama administration and the NAACP. Someone should be fired from both organizations.<br /><br />The fact that no one in either organization thought to check out the whole tape before running to the closest microphone they could to denounce this woman is as close to dereliction of duty as you can get without leaving your post in Kandahar. The remarks were made an an NAACP function for crying out loud. Here, I'll write your comments for you:<br /><br /><blockquote>The Federal Government takes raced-based bias seriously. We will fully investigate the charges brought against Mrs. Sherrod and take appropriate action.</blockquote>Please give me the $200K job of the person who should have done the above.<br /><br />Not only is it a fire-able offense on its face, it speaks to the lack of readiness the two political organizations have against political opponents. If someone had done a bit of research before rebuking an innocent woman, we would be talking about how irresponsible Breitbart and Fox News are. Instead, we are talking about how reactionary and cowardly the Obama administration is. <br /><br />Someone messed up bad here, costing a low level civil servant her job. Whomever that someone was shouldn't get another chance to mess up. And those around that someone need to know that screw-ups on such a grand scale have consequences. This is the big leagues. Start acting like it.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01248195916947908984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10756188.post-42808768261457347092010-07-12T21:13:00.000-05:002011-01-11T17:36:56.606-05:00Wondering if the DeLorean can take us back to 1983<p><object style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: url(http://i2.ytimg.com/vi/aZEsHj66EBY/hqdefault.jpg)" height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/aZEsHj66EBY&hl=en_US&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/aZEsHj66EBY&hl=en_US&fs=1" width="425" height="344" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></p><p>This will be impolite, but when did Rev. Jesse Jackson regain national credibility?</p><p>Jackson, commenting on Cleveland Cavaliers' majority owner Dan Gilbert <a href="http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/news/gilbert_letter_100708.html">somewhat unhinged </a>complaints about LeBron James signing with the Miami Heat instead of James' home state based Cavaliers, went with what he knows; <a href="http://www.rainbowpush.org/news/single/rev._jesse_l._jackson_sr._reacts_to_dan_gilberts_open_letter">it's a black thing</a>:</p><blockquote>He speaks as an owner of LeBron and not the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers.<br />His feelings of betrayal personify a slave master mentality. He sees LeBron as a<br />runaway slave. This is an owner employee relationship--between business<br />partners--and LeBron honored his contract.</blockquote><p>Jackson is getting smacked around pretty good thanks to the above. And he deserves it. What I find lazy is the mainstream media is treating Jackson as if it is 1983 and he just got the pilot out of Syria. If Jackson had a sliver of juice left, didn't his 'cut his balls off' comment finish that off?</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01248195916947908984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10756188.post-63464687187176158612009-06-12T19:59:00.001-05:002009-06-12T20:05:51.772-05:00Obama is Failing the Gays“Doc, I sure hope you know what you’re doing.”<br /><br />I don’t know if Marty McFly said those exact words to Doc Brown in Back To The Future, but the idea of the hero trusting the eccentric inventor/doctor/risk taker when no one else does is a staple of dramas far and wide. In that vein, I say this to the Obama administration when it comes to gay rights:<br /><br />“Barack, I sure hope you know what you’re doing.”<br /><br />The gay community ranges from concerned but hopeful (<a href="http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/06/insult-to-injury.html#more">Andrew Sullivan</a>) to ready to go to the mattresses (<a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2009/06/12/mainstream-gay-groups-to-obama-fuck-you">Dan Savage</a>) over the actions and inactions of the Obama administration. Since Obama has been in office he has allowed members of the armed forces to be court-martialed under the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell statute. His administration has filed a brief in California in support of the Defense of Marriage Act; a law that decrees the Federal Government may not treat same-sex relationships as marriages for any purpose, even if concluded or recognized by one of the states. This is in sharp contrast to promises made on the campaign trail to the gay community.<br /><br />Until today, I was fully confident that Team Obama was working behind the scenes, making sure when policies and laws were changed; they were changed for good and not subject to crippling opposition. For example, he had to learn from President Clinton’s failure of fulfilling his campaign pledge of allowing gay to serve openly which lead to DADT in the first place. <br /><br />Now, I’m only partially confident. You can make the argument Obama has made more positive overtures to Iran than gay Americans; he surely has made more public overtures. If you want to be really cynical, you could say Obama is treating gay Americans like the Democratic party has been accused of treating African-Americans; giving them noting but lip service with the knowledge they have no where else to go politically. <br /><br />I still believe there can be a happy ending to this. It isn’t as hard as the Middle East peace processes and the Americans who would rally against DADT and DOMA were probably not voting for Obama in the first place. I just hope the happy ending happens soon, before I have to join the proverbial group that gives up on the Doctor.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01248195916947908984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10756188.post-85056105969966417122009-03-26T22:33:00.001-05:002009-03-26T22:36:12.592-05:00Robert Powell = Sista SouljahYou can almost set your watch to it. At some point during election night coverage on an 24 hour news network, a Republican operative will respond to a media exit poll stating African-Americans vote Democratic by a wide margin by stating the party has to do a better job getting their message out to African-Americans. I don’t believe it Republicans really mean it. Maybe not all Republicans (Gov. Chralie Crist comes to mind) but as a party, it doesn’t seem they want to do the heavy lifting (or any lifting for that matter) to repair this void in their electoral maps.<br /><br />Which brings me to Robert Powell.<br /><br />Officer (as of 11pm 3/26) Powell is now infamous for <a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/032609dnmetcopstop.3e9c080.html?nTar=OPUR">pulling over NFL running back Ryan Moats and his family as they rushed to the hospital to say goodbye to a terminally ill family member</a>. Video from the police car’s on board camera recorded Powell threatening to arrest Moats for running a traffic light as he and others in the car tried to explain their rush to the hospital and methodically holding the occupants there as hospital security guard confirmed the story to write a ticket. The family did not make it into the hospital in time to say goodbye. Because Moats is a football player in football crazy Texas, this has become news. The Dallas police chief has apologized to the family and Powell is on paid administrative leave.<br /><br />If Republicans were serious about the African-American vote for a moment, they would be tripping over each other setting up press conferences (with the Moats family in attendance) decrying this abuse of power and calling for the termination of the officer (which will probably happen anyway). They don’t even have to mention race, black people will get it. And this case is so egregious, only the most unrepentant racist would dare call this racial politics. Texas governor Rick Perry should be all over this, it is perfect. <br /><br />But that would mean Republicans actually care enough about the African-American vote to make their own version Sista Souljah. Sure worked well enough for Bill Clinton in 1992.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01248195916947908984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10756188.post-30481999658033971532009-02-01T15:11:00.002-05:002009-02-01T15:25:07.831-05:00Don't buy those Michael Steele commerative plates just yetI guess Michael Steele winning the Republican National Committee Chairmanship is historic, in the way Pumpsie Green being the first African American player to play for the Boston Red Sox (The Sox being the last MLB team to integrate) is historic. <br /><br />Frankly, if Steele <em>didn’t</em> win the post, it would have been a bigger story. Steele’s last opponent for the post (five other gentleman were up for the position, dropping out when it became evident victory was out of reach) was South Carolina GOP chief Katon Dawson, who dropped a membership of a all-white golf club in 2008. Other candidates were Mike Duncan, the then incumbent chairman (when your party get the national drubbing it did in 2008, the guy in charge of the party doesn’t really have a lot to base reelection on) and former Tennessee GOP chairman Chip Saltsman (who thought it was a good idea to send his associates a mix CD with the “Barack The Magic Negro” parody song for Christmas). If Steele, who is as bland as Oatmeal made with water, couldn’t beat these guys, it would signify the GOP is doubling down on the Real America/Not Real America that worked so well in November.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7wjJyMDUH0">And Steele loves puppies!</a><br /><br />Not to mention Chairman of the Republican National Committee barely gives him the prestige to ensure his regular table at the <a href="http://www.mrsks.com/">Mrs. K's Toll House </a>Sunday brunch. Current Virginia governor Tim Kaine is doing the job on the Democratic side on a part time basis until his current term ends in 2010). He moves up the list of people the 24 hour news networks call for punditry, but that is about it. <br /><br />What is more interesting to me is some conservatives consider his victory an <a href="http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_plank/archive/2009/01/30/the-gop-embraces-identity-politics.aspx">ode to identity politics</a>, as if Steele was any less qualified (he was the chairman for the Maryland GOP before becoming Lt. Governor) than anyone else for the post. While I am sure some of this was bitterness that their respective candidates didn’t win (PUMA’s anyone?), some of it has to be the idea the main reason an African-American candidate for anything wins is because of his or her race. Of course, this did not stop the GOP from giving Steele a speaking part at their national convention; it seems for the GOP, identity politics are okay as long as the identity in question doesn’t actually have any power.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01248195916947908984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10756188.post-82997863139848899732008-01-03T23:09:00.000-05:002008-01-03T23:27:17.145-05:00Damn<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/03/iowa.caucuses/index.html">Barack Obama wins the Democratic Caucus; Huckabee wins the Republican Caucus</a>.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5151472319333095890" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbShBtyYvOn5I4a5QFwi5iqraL9hqPxXmUHLSwX0P0szJCoysW4zVa-FBi86nz7hJHKmB9zYHhLTJzQMi9LKJjK-sKaSPULb3lgHppg7pZtmmxsfo0JvsKWfHJV1AGg9oLsoBs/s320/obama.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><div>He may be the next President. </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01248195916947908984noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10756188.post-28573164278800703952007-12-02T20:18:00.000-05:002007-12-02T20:22:52.424-05:00Somebody got some 'plaining to do<p class="MsoNormal">A victim of circumstance.<span style=""> </span>Sean Taylor was a victim of circumstance.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">It is becoming evident that the murder of Sean Taylor was due to nothing more than criminals wanting to rob his house while he was (unbeknown to said criminals) there.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>These criminals didn’t know <st1:city><st1:place>Taylor</st1:place></st1:City>; they seem to be friends of the boyfriend of <st1:city><st1:place>Taylor</st1:place></st1:City>’s half-sister, which is akin to being the guy who details <st1:city><st1:place>Taylor</st1:place></st1:City>’s barber’s neighbor’s car if you are looking for a connection between Taylor and his assailants.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <h1><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">What will the ‘the past came back to haunt him’ crowd have to say now?<span style=""> </span>If the only reason his house was targeted was it had valuables, what is the difference between the attack on Taylor that cost him his life and the attack on New York Times journalist <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/08/AR2006010801179.html">David Rosenbaum</a>, who died due to brain injuries stemming from a mugging in Washington DC in 2006? <span style=""> </span>Will there be a mea culpa from Leonard Shapiro (<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/27/AR2007112701111.html">Taylor's Death Is Tragic but Not Surprising</a>) for assuming </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Taylor</span></st1:place></st1:City><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"> somehow contributed to his demise due to anything more than owning a nice home?<o:p></o:p></span></h1> <h1><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">And what of people like Mike Wilbon (<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/27/AR2007112702680.html">Dying Young, Black</a>) and Jason Whitlock (</span><a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7499442"><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Taylor</span></st1:place></st1:City></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7499442">’s Death A Grim Reminder For Us All</a>) who speed past the tragedy of </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Taylor</span></st1:place></st1:City><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">’s murder to get their somewhat connected point across, as if the loss of live wasn't enough.<span style=""> </span>Whitlock in particular wins the ‘How can I connect this to my worldview?’ award for putting his disdain for the lyrics to a Soulja Boy song in his article as an example of the current black culture that killed Taylor, as if Taylor’s killers yelled ‘ youuuuuu!’ and did a nifty choreographed dance step after shooting.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></h1> <h1><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">There was a rush to judgment about this tragedy.<span style=""> </span>And it was unnecessary.<span style=""> </span>The tragedy of a 24 year old being gunned down in his home was enough to hold off on the speculation until at least Sean Taylor was put in the ground.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></h1>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01248195916947908984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10756188.post-70743671937979671762007-11-30T21:40:00.000-05:002007-11-30T21:43:45.835-05:00An Open Letter to Isiah ThomasDear Isiah Thomas:<br /><br />I have been in your corner for a while. When you traded for Stephon Marbury, I was down with it. When you traded for Eddy Curry, I was down with it. When you signed Larry Brown, I was down with it. When you signed Jared Jeffries, I was down with it (in fact, I was thrilled). When you signed Jerome James,….okay, my allegiance wasn’t blind.<br /><br />When people bashed you as a GM, I reminded them how irrelevant the team was under the Scott Layden/Howard Eisley/Clarence Weatherspoon era was. When people wanted to throw you over the side for Larry Brown, I reminded them of his insubordination (going behind the GM’s back with trade proposals) and asked what exactly Brown did so great in his first year to deserve more power.<br /><br />I’ve had your back for a while, but I can’t ride with you anymore. Not (and I know you have heard this phrase before) if you are going to go out like a punk.<br /><br />The same man who escaped the Chicago streets, who thrived under legendary coach/bully Bob Knight, who was the toughest man on the Bad Boys is now scared of Marbury?<br /><br />You were doing the right things early. You told Marbury, Curry and Jamal Crawford their defense was not acceptable in the preseason. You gave it a couple of games, saw that playing the Knicks was Christmas for opposing point guards, and decided to bring Marbury off the bench. He loses his shit, bolts the team at a time where Zach Randolph and Renaldo Balkman were out, leaving your team woefully shorthanded against Phoenix. If the reports are right, you went to the remainder of the team and asked them if Marbury should play in the next game, they unanimously voted no. And you played him.<br /><br />You took the path of less resistance. Sitting Marbury may have added to the circus atmosphere surrounding your club, but it would show Marbury in particular and the rest of your team in general that failure to meet the coach’s standards has consequences.<br /><br />Instead, you went out like a punk. And you probably lost the remainder of your team in the process.<br /><br />Fast forward to today. The day after your team suffered an historic blowout on national television against the Celtics, the day after you say the team’s performance was the most selfish you have ever seen, you run the same starting five out on the court to start against the Bucks. Once again, no consequences for failure.<br /><br />What does Marbury have on you? Did you and he double team and kill a hooker during the summer? Does he know you ATM card code? Are you a financial backer of his sneakers? What hold does them man have on you that you seem to be willing to throw everything away just to avoid conflict with a player who you would smash into a million pieces when you were playing?<br /><br />The Knicks becoming an embarrassment isn’t all your fault. But enough of it is your fault that I don’t want you as my coach, my GM or my President anymore.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01248195916947908984noreply@blogger.com0