Why the Lions are going 0'fer-yeah baby!!

In a little over an hour that NFL team fielded by the pathetic ownership of the Ford's gets ready to make the worst history a team can have-not winning a regular season game...I know the players are embarrassed and in no way do they want to go 0-16, but they haven't even played well in 3/4 of their games. Every veteran on this team as given up and is simply collecting a pay check at this point. To be honest, I don't really blame them because they knew they had an owner who didn't care about wins and losses...When Millen got fired, the real problem with this team became blatant: that the Ford ownership is responsible for this mess. Millen's first draft was the only one he ever really had complete control of and he drafted 3 lineman with his first 3 picks. Unfortunately-at least in the here and now-they are OL's Backus and Raola and the often dominate-but now in Cleveland-Shaun Rogers. In sum, Millen knew how to build a Superbowl contending team-you start with your interior line play. It's no co-incidence that after Ford saw how much money he dished out on those 3 players-but got little 'bang' for his buck-that things changed..."Never mind the win loss column, let's try and puts butts in the seats!"... Obviously, the drafting stratedgy took a took a major u-turn and "Millen's" next 4 drafts featured 5 draft pics, all at 'flashy' (i.e. mustangs???) positions on the field-2 of them no longer play in the NFL, and 2 others are on their way out...And here we are, the Lions are on the verge of going to the NFL hall of fame in the worst way and everything is stacked against them winning. True, Green Bay has jack to play for, but the Lions haven't won in Green Bay in 16 years...Soooooo-Go Lions!!...Ooops...Go Green Bay!!!

Obama's first scandal

The guy hasn't even officially took office yet and already he is in the center of one of the biggest scandals in U.S. history. Is anyone really surprised? Can't say that I am...Whether or not Obama's "people" had any contact with the soon to be imprisoned Blagoblahblah (I would have masacred the name anyways) is up for the U.S. Attorney General and a Grand Jury to decide, but it does put the spotlight on Obama's sudden rise through the political ranks and that he did so by coming up through one of the most politically corrupt states in the union...Let's be honest about it: there is something fishy about his meteoric rise throught the political ranks. Obama basically went from a local/community politician to the President of the USA in roughly 6 years. Don't get me wrong here, I'm not trying to spin some stupid conspiracy theory worthy of those dirt rags you find near the Grocery Store check outs, no, I'm just pointing out that there is nothing normal about the sudden rise of Barack Obama. Who else in our nations history has climbed so rapidly and become president? Who else has risen to be our president while having to wade through such a corrupt political environment? None that I know of. Oh sure, there have been plenty of corrupt politicians who have been president, but none whose only national political experience is a mere 2 years worth of being a Senator from Illinois....Anyways, I digress...Back to Blagoblahblah (briefly)...What a moron this guy has to be. Who in their right mind says the things this guy is caught on tape saying, given their position as govenor? This guy had the balls to call people out left and right with no care of the political fall out as he attempted to sell Obama's vacated Senatorial seat. It's almost surreal that a govenor of this country would do and say such things. Unfortunately its just another black eye on American politics, culture and society for the global community to point at and laugh-much like the dead possum for a hair do Blagoblahblah has on his head!!! Now THAT is priceless!

Why Santa Claus really exists

We've all grown up hearing about the fat man with the long white beard, wearing the red suit and giving out gifts and coal to good and bad little girls and boys the world over...But alas, we get older and learn that this jolly man, who, as children, we all cant wait for, is nothing more than a made up story to get us to behave as children...Personally, I've never stopped believing in Santa and I think he exists...Don't get me wront, I don't think a fat guy with a white beard, a fat suit and driving a sleigh pulled by 8 magical reindeer is breaking into homes all over the world on one day a year to give out gifts to people. What I do believe, however, is that you get what you have earned-which is what the story of Santa Claus is all about. Everyone remembers the story: if you are good in school, do your chores and do as your parents ask, you will be rewarded. This philosophy, in many ways, applies to real life: if you work hard, obey the law and dont live foolishly (including how you spend your money) then you will have the ability to get whatever you want. This isn't a mind blowing realization for most people, I'm sure, but how many of us forget this all important way in which we should lives our lives? Most, I would say, and forgetting about it starts-and ends-with the myth of Santa Claus. Why? Well that's simple. We are told this story in an effort to make us "behave" as children, but then, as we get older, we are told that Santa doesnt really exist and it was all "made up" so that we wouldn't be the little tyrants and vagrants most of us are as young kids. Destroying this myth while we are still young is what (I believe) starts us all on the paths of forgetting what it means to earn what we want. By destroying this myth at a young age, it teaches us that how we really act doesnt really matter because, for at least once a year you get whatever you want-whether you have earned it or not. It's sad-and pathetic-really that we should toss away so important a lesson so early in our lives. In doing so we start ourselves on the self destructive financial paths so many of us end up on as we grow older...Well, I for one believe in Santa-and the important lesson his story tries to teach us...Of course, this doenst mean I can't still be "bad" if I want too .

The demise of America's Big 3

I'm not proud to say it, but I've seen this coming for 5 years. You can ask of my friends or family who have listened to me rant and they will tell you I did. It was pretty obvious, really, that the Big 3 were failing. They were producing a sub standard product and charging too much money for it too boot. Add to it their inability to match the warranty policies, reliability of vehicles and gas guzzling engines compared to their foreign competitors and its surprising that they have lasted this long (to be honest about it)...Well, now here we are, nov of 2008 and the hands are coming out in earnst for a piece of the the Bush sponsored "Great American Bailout" (as I have dubbed it) and look who is at the front of the line: America's Big 3 Auto makers...These guys have to be on crack-or just plain stupid-to think that the American people are going to be all for handing over $25 Billion to them when they haven't been able to prove that they can compete in today's marketplace; not to mention, how about producing reliable cars which get superior miles per gallon of gasoline (better yet, how about fuel cell cars???) over their competitors. To make matters worse, the presidents of the Big 3 auto's and the UAW flew to D.C.-to give testimony before Congress to beg for money-on private jets, running up $20k tabs a piece in the process. Yeahhhhhh riiiiiiight, as if that shows fiscal responsibilty. Here they are, 3 of America's largest company's; hemoraging cash and teetoring on the brink of collapse and what do they do-they waste tens of thousands of dollars apiece by flying on the "corporate jet". Ya, that makes me really anxious to give them $25 Billion of the American taxpayers hard earned cash...Uh huh...Sure...If they believe that, then I have some beach front property they may be interested in the middle of the Sahara Desert...What a bunch of idiots these guys are-to be so bold as too flaunt their 'status' and gluttony when asking the taxpayers for a hand out. Every one of them should be fired on the spot in my opinion...I really shouldnt be surprised at their behavior. I did, after all, witness much of the same attitude when I caddied for many of their predecessors in the early and mid 90's. Even back then the (mostly) men who ran the Big 3 Auto's had no respect for the consumer and absolute distain for the UAW who are only all too willing to fleece the Big 3 for everything they are worth, without a care for their own union members, the consumer or the nation at large...So here we are, on the precipace of at least 1, if not 2, of the collapse of these iconic American businesses and what should we do? Should we bail them out? FUCK no I say. This is America. We are a free market, capitalist society governed by a Democratic Republic. Company's come and go all the time in our economy and the Big 3 should be treated no differently. If they aren't able to stay competitive and stay in business, then good riddance I say and so what to the 2-3 million who may lose their jobs because of it. For one, the majority of those that would lose their jobs would deserve it in my opinion because, of the 1000's of UAW and Teamster workers I have met in my life, MAYBE 10% of them deserved to be paid what they were paid. Regardless of this, the Big 3 Auto's are one of the last vestages of America's industrial age and they refuse to die. Whats more, their refusal to die has kept America from moving forward into the technolical and information age. In sum they are holding all American's back and it is either time for them to grow up or time for them to die. I'd prefer them to grow up and retake the lead of American Industrial might again, but they don't appear capable anymore, so I say to them: good bye-none of you have earned, much less deserve, a penny of mine, or any other Americans, tax dollars.

2.5 milliong jobs by 2011-Obama's challenge

I honestly wasn't very hopeful about having positive change when Obama became president elect, but, almost 3 weeks since his election, I'm sort of impressed. I've watched his cabinet selection closely and although I'm not totally shocked by any of them, they are a collection of people with a lot of impressive credentials in their respective fields. I don't like the idea of Skankzilla possibly being Secretary of State, but we can't overlook the Clinton's political clout-which they apparently have in quantity, but overall, his cabinet looks good. But, I was most impressed by the challenge he laid before his economic advisors literally the day after they were selected. Obama wants them to come up with a plan to "save and create 2.5 million jobs by 2011".
It's important to note the verbage on this. "Save and create". Those are big words. Obviously Obama wants the hemoraging of jobs to come to an end, but his challenge also includes creating millions of new jobs for the already unemployeed. There are 2 pretty obvious ways that Obama can do this. The first, is through big government. Big Govt=more govt jobs. The other is his supposed intention to provide big tax breaks and perhaps some subsidizing of the RDD of renewable energy for power and transportation needs. There are, of course, several other factors involved, but those are the main 2 paths he is too likely take. Being the obvious socialist that he is, I'm way afraid of how big Big Govt may get under Obama's presidency, but I'm am all for going Green. And if Obama gets the right advice, I'm really hoping that its for Obama decides to go more towards the subsidizing of an entire knew industry (which is one of a very few aspects to our Country that the Fed should be directly involved in) and go with investing in Green techs. For a society as large as America's, it takes a nations entire economic engine to make so huge a turnover in focus. And at this time, I believe most Americans-regardless of political affiliation-are feeling more "conservationist" about energy, transportation, and their related costs. Whether its about money or the planet, people seem to finally be "hip" about how important these things are to, not just themselves and their abilities to provide for a family, but their country and planet as well...I suppose we will find out soon enough what Obama's cabinet will recommend and I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that they think the Green route is the way to go...On a related note, not to brag, but I actually have a way to accomplish this task-The ATN...Hmmm...Wonder if Obama's cabinet can come up with something better???

Hey, Big Oil-can i have my money back?

Is it just me, or is something not right here? Gas prices spiked nearly $1.50 in about 18 months, and then fall back HALF of their high...And, in the midst of it all Exxon reports its biggest quarterly profit margin ever-over $14 Billion. Yup, that's a "B"...How does this work??? Something about this just effing reeks to me. For over a year we apperently overpaid for gasoline and oil at the pump (I havent looked but it wouldn't surprise me if home heating costs are being overpaid as well), what other conclusion is there? I'm fully aware of the huge fluxation in the price of a barrel of crude on the exchange markets, but the exorbitant profit they claim to be making don't add up. Assuming no drop in consumption, if Big Oil's costs were truly related to the cost a barrel of crude then how can profits go up without a major shift in profit margin. The total profit recently reported by Exxon doesnt seem possible to me given the high price of crude which is-so we are told-the majority contributor to the price of gas at the pump. Needless to say, I believe myself, and every other consumer, deserve to know exactly how much they should have been charging us at the pump for the last 2 years...Don't get me wrong-I'm all for captialism. But if what I believe to be going on behind closed doors in Big Oil is actually taking place, then I want every single penny they ripped off from me back! The effing thieves. Whats more, for once, I want the Fed involved-but with a new stance-the recognition that transportation is the lifblood of any stable and thriving economy. And, unfortunately, in Nov of 2008, oil is a huge freaking part of our transportation system. In fact, I would go so far as to say that oil is essential to our current transportation system, which makes it pretty relevant...Anyways, I digress...But not before I ask again "Where the #$% is my money Big oil?"

Obama elected our next president

This is why I refrained from commenting on the presidential race all these months-because I knew this was going to happen...Obama as our next president is the perfect storm here in America. If people thought "Black" American's were lazy before and felt entitled to everything, how do you think they will feel now that they are going to get what they aren't entitled too. But wait, before I get called an ethnicist (i.e. racist for all of you idiots out there) for pointing the finger at blacks, that goes for all the lazy leeching sheep in our country. No longer is there any reason for people to work hard and succeed, and why should they seeing has how if they were to bust their asses and become rich they are just going to have to give half of it back to people to haven't earned it and don't deserve it. This isn't fair, it's highway robbery, and socialism in its sickest form. With Obama in office why work? Whats the point in working if, every year, the Gov't is going to cut you a check for doing NOTHING. On top of that, you get free health insurance AND your mortgage paid for if you cant pay it, so why bother working that 40 hour a week, dead end job for $10-20 an hour, cursing your 'evil rich' bosses because they wont pay you more for no reason at all? Now all you have to do is quit, live on as the mindless sheep that you already are, and collect everything you dont deserve and havent earned for doing nothing but being a leech on society. And they call this "change"-I think not. Change, to me, is moving forward and socialism-being an 18th century ideology-is going backwards, NOT forwards...Fuck, if this is the change that most of the people want, then I want no part of it and I want out-now! So, to all of those of you who voted for Obama, I want from you what I haven't earned or deserved-a part of your income so that I can leave this country and build a new life somewhere else.

Iverson to the Pistons

What a move by Joe D! This is just another piece of evidence which proves that Pistons President Joe Dumars is the best at what he does-period. Not only did Dumars make a shock move in getting Iverson for Billups, Mcdyess and a 3rd meaningless player, but he also freed up minutes on a bench full of young players who are talented and hungry to prove their worth. Even more, he adds a first balet hall of fame player who still has the hunger and talent to carry the Pistons to another championship run. But, the coup de gra (I masacred that saying I know) is the salary cap room Dumars created in making the move. With this move, Dumars puts the Pistons in position "A" in 2010 when the likes of Chris Bosh and Lebron James become free agents, and when the talented youth the Pistons have now will be ready to lead the Pistons for another 5 years. In fact, he cleared so much cap room, that, should he choose too, he could sign both of the aforementioned players! Amazing...Now, if only our Federal Government were as savvy as Joe D is, then maybe we wouldn't be in the economic mess we are in now, eh? Better still, someone in D.C. needs to offer Dumars a job-A.S.A.P.

The eve of election day

I've been intentionally avoiding posting on the election because it all just changes to much from day to day. One day this is coming out on Obama, the next its something on Palin; then its Biden, and on and on and on...Ugh, For as important as these national elections are, the supposed 'pundants' and talking heads sure have a knack for making it a tiresome process. Yes, it's been entertaining at times, but, because of the all attempts to discredit each respective candidate and their running mates, the process just becomes a hassle to many-myself included. But this year seems to be different. People are actually waking to the realization that this year's presidential election is one of the most important in our history and the man we elect as president this go around could very well make or break the next 50 years of our country. Unfortunately, as with most past presidential elections, this is another one where one has to feel like they are choosing between the lessor of 2 evils yet again. With McCain we will get little in the way of energy relief except for drilling for more and more oil domestically, which, to be honest, we need anyways, but it should be coupled with an even bigger push towards green energy creation. Under McCain we will also get at least another 3 years in Iraq and Afghanistan. Neither of which I like, but at least I know McCain wont rest until Bin Laden's head is on a stick for every American to piss on-which I happen to like. With Obama we will get soaring taxes, high unemployment and "fairness"....Yeah right. Obama's idea of fairness is socialism and income redistribution and that is socialism. The last time I checked, this was America and America is a Democratic Republic with a Capitalistic economic structure which provides the freedom for people to pursue any goal and go from the poor house to the penthouse via drive, determination and hard work. Socialism lets lazy people be lazy while the "evil rich" support them by paying all the taxes and having the Gov't pay it back to the people to secure the 'necessities' of life. I may not be 100% sure of who I'm going to vote for yet, but I know who I'm NOT going to for and it's not the guy who is running on socialistic principles.

Culpepper bad move for lowly Lions

What is the organization (term used very loosely) behind the Detroit Lions thinking in signing Dante Culpepper to a 2 year deal? Whats the purpose? The guy retired because no one would give him a starting job because, well, he just isnt that good anymore. But, now here come the Lions, with their hand out and their tail between their legs looking for a savior that isn't out there and one they don't really need-if you ask me anyways. Believe it or not, Dan Orlovsky has performed pretty well for the Lions. Granted, he has a penchant for tossing as many picks as touchdowns, but, based on his stats (I honestly don't watch the Lions much anymore) he tosses the ball around pretty well and gets Calvin Johnson involved-which is a good thing since he is the best player on the team. Signing Culpepper sends a bad message to Orlovsky-who I think is coming along nicely all things being equal-and Drew Stanton-their supposed heir apparent-that the Lions are giving up on them both. This is the sort of attitude toward players that, early in their careers, ruins them, and its why the Lions' 'organization' has ruined so many careers. If you don't want to believe me just take a look at the failed top 10 draft picks over the last 20 years: Andre Ware, Charles Rodgers, Mike Williams...Ok, I'll stop there before anyone gets naucious, but you get my point I think...No, the Lions don't need help at QB, they need help on Defense. They need a true impact DE that can get after the opposing teams QB. They need a true shut down corner too, and they need an offensive line that can keep QB's upright and open holes for Kevin Smith-who I still think is a future star and a steal of last years draft. Most of all, what the Lions need more than anything else, is a new owner.

Baseball Playoffs-Go Rays!!!

Years ago I was a diehard fan of Baseball. I grew up watching the Detriot Tigers who, at that time, were the team to beat in Baseball. But when the 90's came along and brought with it 2 strikes motivated by obvious greed on the part of the players themselves, I lost all respect and interest in the sport I so loved in my youth...It wouldn't be until the Florida Marlins won their 2nd championship in 2002 that I started following baseball in any way again. Though I'm still not much a fan of the sport because of the greed that the players have displayed in their strikes over the last 15 years, I do enjoy the playoffs and this year what a great story we have in the Tampa Bay Rays. Formerly called the "Devil" Rays, this years Rays team is the epitome of why sports fans are sports fans. They went from last place in their divsion last year, to first this year and have shown the poise and patience of a team much more experienced than they are. And what about that Evan Longoria? Talk about a star in the making!!! The guy is a rookie and yet, watching him play, you would think he is a 10 year veteran who has been in this position so many times in the past that is like that old familiar "blanky" he cuddled up with as a child. In a word his performance this post season is WOW! Needless to say, I'm rooting the Rays on this year. Come on, who shouldn't be rooting this team on right now? After all, doesn't everone love to root for the underdog?

The Presidential debates

Three times in the last 6 weeks we've watched McCain and Obama debate, and in on those 3 occasions what did we, the viewers witness? NOTHING in my opinion. Sure, we saw a decent debate in their most recent face off last night, but, as with their first 2 debates, neither candidate gave us anything of substance. McCain, finally, went on the attack in last nights debate, but he is so far behind in all the polls, that all Obama had to do was sit there and take it-which is exactly what he did. But the bottom line is that neither of the 2 primary candidates for president have given us anything of substance as to HOW they plan to do what they SAY they are going to do if they become president. Neither of them seems to grasp just how bad our nations economy is right now. Neither of them have the right stance on the ongoing conflicts in Iraq or Afghanistan. Neither of them seem to have a clue on how to solve our growing energy crisis. And, even though McCain and Palin say they will, neither of them have shown, to me at least, to have the balls to stand up and clean out all the corruption that permeats Congress these days. Both of them say we need to do something about the ever growing federal deficit we are passing down to the next generation in this country and, in fact, both have economic, heath care and tax plans that would raise it by Trillions over the next 5-10 years! So what, exactly are we supposed to do? For most, it means another year of not voting, which is exactly how we got stuck with the idiotic politicians we have in office right now to begin with. But how can people cast a ballet on voting day when they feel forced to choose between the "lesser of 2 evils"? In sum, it's sad and it's a sad state we have found ourselves in this election year...No wonder most of the world looks at American culture and politics and giggles their silly asses off. As if they didn't have good reasons for doing so during both of GWB's runs-with the voting count scandals and all-now they look across the oceans and see a nation in complete turmoil, apparently on the verge of electing an inexperienced man with a muslim name who has socialist policies to rival those of Karl Marx, just for the sake of "change". Puh!-leeze!

Even more of the great American financial bailout!???

I can't believe it! As each day passes, Congress wants to add more and more to the bail out package proposed to help secure Wall Streets financial stability. Now they are talking about paying off peoples car loans, student loans, home mortgages; it seems now, that if you owe it, Congress is willing to pay it off for you. You have to be kidding me!!!!???? Are they serious???? Hell, if they actually want to do that, why don't they just tell every American to gather all their charge card bills, car payment books and mortgage payment stubs, send them in with next years tax returns and just pay them off in full for EVERY American who pays taxes. I mean, hell, if they are going to go as far as to be willing to pay off the majority of debt which most people have, they may as well go the whole 9 yards and just say "If you owe any money for anything, don't worry, we'll pay it for you". Not only is this bad politics, its bad business and whats more, it reeks of socialistic policy. We ought to just get it over with and replace the Stars and Strips with the effing hammer and sickle...Jesus...Talk about going to hell in a hand basket...But this is no joke. This is some seriously bad stuff happening to our economy, and our country, right now, and everyone needs to wake the eff up and start paying attention. We all need to take some responsibility not only for our spending habits, but for who we elect to represent us as well, because if we don't, my little joke about replacing the Stars and Strips may just be a reality in a few years...Yikes...

Millen gets the sack

As any of my friends know, I actually liked Matt Millen (Detroit Lions' former GM and prez), but I can't say I was surprised that he got canned today-not after what Ford Jr said Monday, anyhow. The problem I have is, if he was going to be fired, why now? In doing so the organization pretty much declares that this year is over with. That there is no reason for the team to even take the field. And seeing as how this years team is made up of nothing but Millen's draft picks and trade acquisions do we really expect any of them to play hard for the rest of the year after seeing the guy who hired them get uncermoniously fired? It's not as if they were playing hard anyways-at least that is how it looked to me, but now, Lions fans will be privy to watching 53 guys, all of whom making millions of $$$'s a year, basically slacking their way through the remainder of the year. If the team weren't a joke before this event, just wait until we get through half the year. By weeks 9 and 10 this organization will officially be the worst in ALL of pro sports-at any level. The sad thing here is that firing Millen really won't accomplish anything. The real problem with this team is it's owner. You have to look no farther than the auto company the Ford family runs to see how good of business men that Ford Sr and Jr are. What really must happen for the Lions to ever be a good team is for the Fords to sell them to someone who actually cares to bring a winning product to the city of Detroit. So for all of you morons who actually got what you wanted-Millen being fired-I ask this: What are you going to say 2-5 seasons from now when the Lions are still the worst team in the NFL?

The great American financial bailout

What a sad state we have found our economy in. In the last week several brokage houses on Wall Street have declared bankruptcy, led by AIG. The result is a rush to judgement decision by our 'president' to propose a $700 billion bailout, with no plan of over sight as to how the money is spent. I am sorry, but this has to be one of the, if not THE, worst idea in modern US economic history.
For one, the money will have to come from the tax cofers, meaning that we tax payers will have to foot the bill for this. I dont know about you, but I have no desire to be 'part' owner of several companies that have no idea how to run themselves and make money when I, and every other tax payer, wont even have any say as to how they will be run. Secondly, where the fuck are they going to get all this god damn money?!!! I mean, hell, if they can come up with this much effing money to bail out Wall Street to "keep our economy from falling into a depression", then where the hell is all the money we need to repair our crumbling infrastructure? Or how about our public shool systems? I suppose they just plan on 'printing' it. Yeah, like that is a good idea. As if the dollar isnt weak enough on the global market, generating another $700 billion worth of it-with nothing to back it but our 'word' that we will pay it back-should do wonders for its value. Oh yeah, I can just see it now...falling into a bottomless pit so deep that the effing peso is worth more than the dollar on the global markets. Fortunately, it looks as though Congress is going to be smart about this one and tell Dub-ya to stick it where the sun dont shine-as they should...

Personally, they should just let all these companies fail. Yes, I know, allowing it to happen would most likely send ours, and the global, economy into depression, but to me the solution is akin to that required by drug addicts when they need help-most times they have to reach bottom before they will seek help. And by bailing out all these companies they learn nothing except that if they get into trouble the Fed will step in to save-the-day (trumpets please)! Give me a break...Supposedly we live in a free market capitalistic society, and compnaies fail all the time here. You dont see local governments stepping in to bail out small business owners when they have to close their doors do you? No, of course not. And this isn't any different. Sure these companies are much larger and they hold billions and trillions of assets globally, but we should just let them fail. It's not as if someone with the capital-i.e. Trump, Gates, Buffet, or someone over seas-wouldnt step in and start up another company to fill the void left behind. And, by letting it happen that way, Wall Street and our Fed Govt would learn their lesson about just letting anyone and (quite literally) anything have credit-no matter how trust worthy they are.

The pathetic Detroit Lions

Ok, I have to admit-I am a Detroit Lions fan. Yeah, I know, it takes a LOT of balls to admit it, but at least I can. At any rate, I have to do a little venting about them...I am effing sick and tired of all the losing. It's not just the losing, but the ways in which they manage to lose. Whether it's just getting out manned by the 49ers like they did this past weekend, or spotting a team 21 points only to come back, take the lead and then have their pathetic excuse for a QB toss 3 pick sixes. It makes me sick. Just to clarify I don't blame Matt Millen one bit. No, the fault for this sick excuse for a sports organization lies solely and completely with Bill Ford Sr. The sad state that the Lions are in is no ones fault but his own. You need look no further than the sorry state that his automobile company is in. Ford Motor Co. is pretty much days-if not hours-away from bankruptcy. But, if you need more proof than that, just look at the Lions record while he has been their owner for the last 40 something years: one playoff victory and the teams only winning seasons coming during the 90's thanks entirely to Barry Sanders-the greastest running back to ever play the game.
Barry singlehanded carried the Li-downs into the playoffs for 9 of his 10 seasons with the team. And when he realized he was never going to win jack shit as a memeber of the Lions and he couldn't be traded before his body gave out on him he took the only option left to him-he retired. Good for him I say. At least he left the game with his physicality still intact. At any rate, I digress...So long as Ford Sr. owns the Li-downs the team will forever be the regular laughing stock of the NFL. My only hope is that one day the league wakes up to the realization that one of its oldest franchises is pathetic because its owner is and that they force him to sell the team to someone who will make them a winner. I just hope that this happens while I am still alive so that I can witness their rebirth into, at the very least, a respectable and competitive team again.

Where have i been???

Well, it's been a long time since I last posted on my blog and for those who read it I apologize. September has been a crazy month for the me with many good things happening to me, but I have a dark cloud hanging over my head at the moment which has been taking away from all the positive things going on in my life right now. Needless to say this negative energy has distracted me from keeping up with my blog. But no more. I will be posting regularly again and you can expect the same, sometimes over the top-sometimes borderline psychotic-opinions by yours truely to appear again right here. So stay tuned, I will return later this weekend with more of my thoughts and opinions...

And the VP nominees are...

I've intentionally waited until both McCain and Obama were officially named their respective parties candidates and when they had their VP nominee's in hand before jumping in too the presidential race debate. Now that they have, game on...Since we've known for some time that Barack-i-have-big-plans-but-aint-going-to-give-specifics Obama and John "I'll probably die before my term ends" McCain were their respective parties nomination's to run for President, we got to listen to them drone on and on...and on...In that time we haven't learned much of anything new about either of these guys. The little we have learned: Obama, we can now say for certain, is nothing more than a great speaker with an uncanny ability to spin the political wheel better than most; it's also official that he can't make up his mind about anything and, based on the little history we know of him, appears to have been this way for most of his life. As for McCain, we have learned that he is definitely determined to win the war on terror. Oh, and McCain has NO idea what to do to help reduce our energy needs and dependance on foreign oil. Ah, but now the game gets fun. Now, its official between these 2 men, and now that we know who their running mates are we have a real picture of what each party is up too. Because, unfortunately, the presidential race seems more about the battle between the GOP and the Dems than about electing the people best suited at the given time to lead our nation. This year, however, is guaranteed (for the first time in my lifetime at least) to make history...So Barack takes Biden. Huh?!? Where the eff did this come from? These 2 guys are about as far apart from each other as they can be and still be in the same party! However, it does make sense when given that the biggest complaint about Obama-by most-was his experience level and did he have the experience to lead us and Biden helps balance that out quite a bit. Biden also seems to have a decent idea about what to do with the rapidly growing energy crisis in America (can you tell I consider that a major issue?). All in all though, a pretty boring pick, in my opinion...On the other, McCain-that guy who is probably going to die before his term ends-hit a home run with Governor Palin from Alaska. Wow. This was a real stunner. And here, I was thinking Romney would be the top choice! Boy was I way off. Palin, in my opinion, guarantees a GOP win this year. To be clear, I've never heard of this woman before (and, in case you don't know, im as far from being a republican as being a democrat), but I was fortunate enough to catch her nominee speach live on a news channel. This lady is the full package, and, with her background and relative youth, she covers a broad socio-economic and socio-political range. She appears to be intelligent, well spoken, and has solid beliefs which she actually lives by. Based on what I heard she seems to have solid ideas of how to fix many domestic economic and cultural issues. On top of it all, she is an attractive woman, with a good looking-and young-family, which is not only of native american decent, but of a blue collar, working class background....Hit the brakes for a second...Did I just use the words 'blue collar' with a republican candidate? Damn, I just did, didn't I? I guess 'these times they are a'changin'...fffff...Took long enough, in my opinion...Anyways, I digress...Regardless, of what Palin appears to be right now, I'm sure someone, somewhere, will dig up some dirt on her or her family. Whether any of it ends up being true or not and how damaging it could be only time will tell but at least we are guaranteed of history this election because there will be a first regardless of which parties whens either we will have our first female VP or our first black President...

America's new minority

It was reported a couple of days ago that by the year 2042 "white american's" will officially become a minority in America. This both cracks me up and scares me. For one, "white's", relative to the combined numbers of "minorities" have been in the minority for at least the last 20 years. It's just sad that we have to actually have the Federal census bureau tell us that it will be official in 34 years. But what scares me more than anything is what this will mean to the laws we have on the books that guarantee rights for those we consider minorities today. Does this mean that these laws are going to have to be rewritten? Are us "anglo saxons" going to have to rebel against the "system" in 40 years so as to fight for our "rights"? What about getting jobs? Will companies have to start having a certain percentage of whites on their payrolls like some have to do with Black American's today? Having to ask all these questions makes me laugh, but it scares me too. As a white male in America, I don't want to ever have to feel like I'm a minority. Personally, I don't think anyone should ever have to feel that way. And that "whites" have forced people of other ethnic backgrounds to feel this way for hundreds of years, only makes it funnier in a way because, it looks as if in the year 2042 the proverbial shoe will be on the other foot...Too funny...There is a saying that goes something like "you reap what you sow" and it looks like all those morons who believe in ethnism and bigotry towards people of other ethnic and cultural backgrounds are going to have to eat their own words. The scary thing, however, is that these groups now have more fuel to feed their hatred and ignorance because now they will be in the minority.

The PGA Championship: Memories of the South Course at Oakland Hills

I consider myself lucky enough to have caddied for 9 seasons at Oakland Hills Country Club, the home of last weeks PGA Championship, so when that event was held there this year it was with great excitement that I was able to watch my favorite (and the hardest as myself and many see it it) golf course in the world humble the world's best golfers for 4 days. To be fair, the South Course at Oakland Hills is not an easy course by any means-even when set up for the membership. Its tight fairways, huge undulating greens with small landing areas and hundreds of bunkers are enough to challenge the most mentally tough of golfers-as proven by their scores last week. For me, it was simply nice to see my old caddy stomping grounds, grandly displayed for all the world to enjoy. It's rich history and knack for producing spectular finishes were only added to by Padrig Harrington's win as he needed to make what I knew to be a tough 15 footer for par on the 18th hole to secure his 3 major championship in his last 6 tries. Seeing the South Course on TV brought back many memories-like the time I caddied for Honda (yes the Honda, the one who founded the car company) and played a role in-at that time-was the largest parts deal between an American and foreign automobile company, and the time that I caddied for a scratch golfer who had never played the course before and thought he could break 80 in his first attempt, which was silly given that he earned his handicap playing public courses. After telling him his target should be breaking 90, he politely asked to "just carry my bag" and let him play his game. Well, after he 5 putted the 9th green for a 48 on the front 9, he finally was willing to listen to me, and, thinks to my advice and tips, shot a 41 on the back and managed to squeak in under 90. Those are just 2 of the many memories that the South Courses fabled grounds gave me in the almost 1000 rounds I caddied there. Watching it on TV almost made me miss where I grew, almost. Anyways, this year's PGA left me with more memories of the South Course. Like watching Sergio Garcia collapse in another major and a little known big hitter by the name of J.B. Holmes take the 54 lead into Sunday, only to watch "The Monster" rear its ugly head and humble him. Ahhh, the memories...

Marburg, Germany adopts law requiring solar cells on its buildings

You may have missed this story, but it was an hourly news headline on Yahoo a couple of days back. Anyhow, the local government in Marburg, Germany adopted a new agressive law requiring all new building and any building-including homes-installing new roofs or water heaters to put in solar cells. Of course, the citizens screams about it because it means more money out of their pockets for renovations and construction but I, for one, applaud Marburg's city government. This is an idea that I wholly support and it's one I wish more local and state governments in America would adopt. Especially in places like Florida, Arizona and New Mexico, I have felt that putting place new building codes requiring roofs to be covered in a certain percentage of solar cells would greatly benefit America's energy needs. There are already areas in Florida where people with solar cells on their roofs are being paid-that's right PAID-to sell the excess energy their solar cells produce back to power companies. In many cases this results in a profit for private citizens because they are producing more energy than they are using per month. What a great idea, and it's one I would like to see spread. As anyone who reads this blog knows, I'm no "tree hugging hippy", but to not utilize the most abundant power source we have-the sun-to provide our energy needs more so than we do now is rediculus. If 4-6 solar panels were installed on every home in the south, America would greatly reduce its energy dependance on foreign oil (and other imports) and drastically reduce the costs of heating and cooling our homes and buildings. But no, our politicians have to take huge monetary kickbacks from oil and energy companies whom have no desire to see the widespread usage of alternative energy sources because it means less profits for them and instead of getting on the "clue bus"-as one of my former teachers used to say-they would rather prevent us from utilizing alternative energy methods than to invest in them themselves and make a profit through them. How pathetic!...but I digress...I can only hope that, one day, America has leadership both in the White House and in Congress, which no longer is susecptible to big oil and traditional energy companies. Unfortunately, I just don't see that happening in my lifetime. But I'll still be keeping my fingers crossed that it does.

Favre goes too...the Jets??!!!!!

I actually had to wait a few days to digest this news because I was convinced Favre would end up in Tampa Bay...Wow! Of all the teams and all the places that I expected Favre to end up in, the J-E-T-S (Jets, Jets...eh, whatever...) were near the bottom of my list, and for a number of reasons. For one, the division he now plays in. Favre is no longer "the" quarterback within his division, and regardless of his many records, he is not Tom Brady and now Favre has to compete against him twice a year and go through him to get to the playoffs-ouch. More importantly, Favre now plays in New York City, and there is no other city in the country who scrutinizes its athletes more than NYC. No longer will Favre be able to get away with a bad game. We all remember them-the ones where he just can't seem to hit the broad side of a barn-and he has at least 2 or 3 of them a season. This will be unacceptable in New York, and moreover, Jets fans will be so stoked to have Favre that anything short of making the playoffs will be a disappointment to them, which is going to be difficult given the division and conference they are in, Favre or not. Now that it's all said and done however, I am of the opinion that Favre has tarnished is "rep" some in all this mess. The whole situation was a fiasco from the out set. Favre announced his retirement way back in January and the Packers organization took it in good faith and moved forward in the Aaron Rodgers era. But Favre's arrogance and his belief that he can 'still play' took hold of him, and in a twist befitting Hollywood script writers, Favre announces his desire to return to play with mere weeks before the season is too officially start...How said. Personally, the respect that Favre worked so hard to gain from me, in particular, is lost. For weeks, after annoucing his disire to return to the NFL and requesting reinstatement from the commissioner of the league, the Packers organization was held in limbo and who knows what sort of psychological damage was done to their new QB Rodgers. It's just lucky that the Packers traded him before the season really got going and Rodgers didnt have to worry about competing with Favre for the starting job. Unfortunately, there is someone who got stuck in the middle of all this-Chad Pennington. This poor guy-who has battled through numerous injuries, poor management, and abusive fans-is now on the open market, and who knows where he will end up. Hopefully he will end up somewhere that treats him better than the Jets did, because they basically left this guy out on a limb by himself without any help and now they are tossing him aside like old cloths...Ah well, at least the soap opera around Favre's return is over, but I have a feeling that Favre is going to find life a lot more difficult in New York, and, in the end, his decision to return will further tarnish the reputation he worked so hard to build...On a side note, can you believe the love fest by ESPN when Favre was finally traded?!!!! They devoted almost 2 entire hours of their programming to him and the trade involving him, including a package of Favre's "top 10 greatest moments". Sure, Favre has set some impressive records, the least of which being his consecutive games played streak, but, good grief, the guy isn't GOD or anything. Hell, ESPN was so sickening in their coverage, I was surprised they didn't rename themselves the "All Favre" network. I'm just glad it's over because I'm definitely ready for some football!!!!!!

Exxon Mobil nets almost $12 billion in 2nd quarter of this year

Did you miss this one? I nearly did. If it weren't for catching it as the final story of the hourly ABC news update on a local radio station, I would have never known because this story got buried in all the local media (for the most part). It seems that the big oil companies are trying to keep their profits as 'hush hush' as possible with all the anti-oil feelings out there these days. The actual number is $11.68 Billion-for ONE quarter of the year-in earnings. That number is the largest ever earnings by any one U.S. company-surpassing their own record set in the last quarter of '07. The people who watch such things said these earnings were expected because the price of a barrel of crude oil is nearly double what it was a year ago...Hmmmm...For some reason this doesn't add up for me. Don't the oil companies have to pay the going market rate for a barrel of crude oil, which is why gas is $4 a gallon right now? So, wouldn't that mean that their costs would go up too?...Ok, ok, before I go off on a rant here, this is just their earnings report, not what they pocketed. But it still leads me to question how just ONE oil company generated so much business when everyone-and I mean everyone-is cutting back on how much driving they do these days. People are consolidating trips and taking fewer liesure trips in their vehicles. People everywhere, of all economic ranges, are changing how they drive, and, I'm sorry, but with all that going on I have a hard time believing that this company was able to have such a high revenue number for one quarter-unless they are pulling an 'Enron'... Regardless, it will be interesting to see how much profit Exxon made off the nearly $12 billion they had in earnings this past quarter, because then we will get to see just how much they are 'raping' us at the pump.

Legalizing Marijuana

I was really hoping someone would give me a reason to cover my thoughts on legalizing marijuana, and thanks to Barney Frank, I finally get my chance. Earlier this week, Frank came out and said that the Federal government should not interfere in people's liesure activities and that the Federal government should decriminalize marijuana possessions up too 100 grams (or a quarter pound) where no evidence is found of attempted distribution and no profit was made from the sale of it's drug. As a proponent for the legalization of marijuana, it's nice to see someone make an issue of this again-I just wish it weren't Barney Frank. Frank's recent track record is, putting it politely, not very good, and as such of all the people in the U.S. Federal Government that we need on the side of legalizing pot, he would be near the bottom of my list. Regardless, I am happy that someone has decided to make an issue of this again during an election year. The laws concerning Marijuana usage in America are rediculus. There is no basis for its criminalization and many states and large cities within America have either decriminalized its use or legalized medicinal usage of it. Anyone possessing an ounce of logic in their heads can look at Marijuana-an illegal drug-and alcohol-a legal drug-and sees that there is no comparing the 2. Pot causes nearly no crime beyond that of usage, growth and distribution. You don't see people get high all over the place and then going home and beating their wives and children, spending themselves into debt, ruining their careers or slamming into innocent drivers because they are too high to drive. The medicinal properties of Marijuana are widely touted by many doctors and medical associations and, despite valiant efforts by pharmeceutical companies, no artificial substitute has yet been created which duplicates the medicinal properties of pot. On the economic side, the criminalization of pot costs local, state and federal agencies 10's of billions of dollars a year to police, and hundred's of thousand's of people every year are arrested for simple possession, costing them and the court system hundred's of millions of dollars and risking the livelihoods of these people all for simply have a little pot on themselves. I'll save my longer winded diatribe for another day, for now, I digress...Congress-just legalize the stuff already will you?

Baseball trade deadline

Wow! Was there some action at the trade deadline for Baseball this week. Normally, I wouldnt care so much about Baseball because I was soured on the sport after the strike in 1994 plus my hometeam-the Tigers-were sucking so bad for so long, that it was a pointless waste of my time to follow the sport. Anyways, back to the action of this weeks trade deadline...Headlining the list is the move of Manny Ramirez from the Red Sox to the Dodgers in a 3 way trade in which the Red Sox got basically nothing! I know that Ramirez wanted out of Boston, but how do you let a future hall of famer go for an average outfielder! And here I thought the Sox's GM, Brian Eckstein was the best in the business, apparently not anymore. Unfortunately for my Tigers their central divisional competitors, the White Sox, picked up Ken Griffey Jr., making an already excellent team, that much better-yikes. My Tigers didn't stand pat however, the traded Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez to the Yanks for reliever Kyle Farnsworth. As a fan of the Tigers, it's sad to see Pudge go. After all, the future hall of famer was the first guy who helped to bring the Tigers back into prominence in baseball. He was the only star in the league who was willing to take a chance on a team that hadnt won more than 70 games in a season in the 10 years leading up to his arrival. His affect of the team was instanteous. No they didnt win 100 games right away, but he brought leadership and a winning attitude to a team in desperate need of both. The result was that in 2006 the Tigers made it too the world series for the first time in 22 years. True, they got waxed by the Cardinals that year, but it put the Tigers back in the Baseball limelight, and for that, Tiger's fans around the USA should think Pudge. In return the Tigers got some much needed help in Farnsworth. The Tigers weakness all year has been in the bullpen, specifically at reliever. Injuries at that position only exaserbated their problem, forcing them to rely on 40 year old Todd Jones-who is well past his prime and has proven to not be able to hold leads in the most important games of the season. Even though I'm sad to see Pudge go, I'm glad that the Tigers at least got something of value at a position that they desparately needed to solidify, showing that they too have a management team in placd that knows what they are doing. I can only hope that this trade helps the Tigers out enough that they can make a run down the stretch and take the in the Central Division, despite their miserable start. Go Tigers!!!

Are you ready for some football?!!!!!

Hell yes! It's about time too...I know, I know, the season doesnt 'officially' start until september, but the first preseason game is this weekend, which means football season is just around the corner...Last year was the first year that I joined a fantasy league. I'm hooked, I'll leave it at that. Preseason football takes on a whole new meaning now though. And sorry ladies, if you cant at least get into rooting for your "home" team, or (by some gift of whatever god you beleive in) you actually enjoy football, then you are losing your significant other until the Superbowl...So whether you prefer the lazyboy and plasma big screen, or tailgaiting in the trailer with your pals at the arena parking lot, get ready for some football!!!
Heading into preseason the biggest story of course is Brett Favre and the Packers. I did a blog earlier this month on this, in sum he should have stayed retired. Now that he intends to come back, he gets what he deserves in my opinion and he is definitely tarnishing his image by continueing to force the issue of returning after Green Bay (the organization) moved forward with the Aaron Rodgers era...They are already too many rumor's and innuendo's to count: Will Peyton still be effective after surgury? Will T.O. and Pacman get along? Will the Lion's win more than 4 games this year (Please just sell the team Mr. Ford)? The Raiders: boom or bust with Russell and Mcfadden? The list is endless...ahhhh football season is here...

The (British) Open and some "bitching" at the race track

Wow! As a golf fan that's about all I can say about this past weekends Open Championship in England. It was some very good stuff-considering the weather conditions, course difficulty and the missing Tiger power. But poor Greg Norman eh? The guy just never seems able to win the big ones. For the 7th time in his professional career he leads a major championship after 54 holes, and for the 7th straight time he blows it. Yikes. I can't really say I'm all that sorry for the guy though. He is already filthy rich and respected worldwide within the global sports community for his accomplishments and his style of play. But, losing so often from a position of dominance makes you wonder whats wrong with him upstairs-if you know what I mean. Anyways, tough break Greg, there is always next year...Oh wait, you're 53 freaking years old! There may not be a next year! (doh!)...Before I forget it's always going to be the British Open to me. This whole "The Open" crap is ridiculous. All weekend they made a big deal about it and how it was truly a global event in that 30 something nations were represented. Well excuuuuuuseeeee me if the other 3 golf majors-which just so happen to take place in the US-are only represented by 20 nationalities. Jeesh, you English need to give it rest. When it comes to golf, you have never gotten over America taking over the sport and I suppose this is just your way of 'getting back' at us. Puh-leeze...It was hard to miss the female hormones literally raging this weekend in Ohio for the most recent Formula 1 race. The ever beautiful and highly talented Danica Patrick let lose a verbal assault on fellow female racer Milka Duno for essentially driving too slow and getting in her way during a practise run before the race. For one, when did another woman driver enter the F1 circuit? Hell I must have been comatose to miss that one happening. Anyways if ever there were a prime example for those who don't want women in sports, this has to be it. Personally, I'm all for equality, but this is just another of a long list of instances where Danica has lost her head and let her emotions get away with her and its her emotional instability on the track that I believe is the reason why she hasn't won more races in the years she has now been racing. Further, if she doesnt keep her emotions in check she is going to do something really stupid one of these days and set the woman's lib movement in professional sports back 2 decades. Give it a rest Danica. You aren't going to win any races with your mouth. Your passion for your sport is a great asset and it can be fairly argued that you are equally talented to any man in your field, but keep the passion and your point making to the track. Firing your mouth off from the hip just makes you out to be a whiny, bratty bitch. And bitches have no place in sports-just ask most of the wives out there lol.

The selling of America and the death of Industrialism

Last week, a 75% stake in the Chrysler building in New York was sold to investors out of Dubai in Saudi Arabia. This week, Anheuser Busch Breweries were sold to Swedish beer company InBev for a reported $53 billion dollar stock sell off. These are just 2 examples of the growing list of American companies and iconic buildings being sold to foreign investors over the last 2 decades and it makes a person wonder: What is happening to Corporate America? Our Mortgage industry is a mess and in dire need of Federal funds to keep it alive; ignorance and greed have nearly bankrupt all of America's Big 3 auto's; left and right our manufacturing sector is being depleted; and foreign investors seem to be buying up as much American property they can for fractions of what it cost just a decade ago. The depletion of the "great industrial empire" formerly known as America is what I believe to be responsible for many of our economic problems. Over a decade ago when Nations like India and China began moving forward into industrialism, American companies here took no actions to protect themselves. Instead they did just the opposite-they caved. They gave in to the realization that they couldn't compete against the prices that these nations could produce goods at, and instead of restructuring themselves and switching over to the Information age, they out sourced much of their production to these countries where they could not only get their base products cheaper, but also save on employee expenses as well. It saddens me to think of what America once was and what it has become in the last 20 years, but it is time for America, and American's, to move forward. This is still the greatest nation on Earth and if we act quickly and grasp the Information and Technolical age, we can once again reclaim our global economic dominance. But we must do so by letting go of industrialism and realizing that the time of America being the manufacturing center of the world is gone. China and India have taken that crown from us. But now is the time for us to take a new crown: the one as the leader of the Information and Technological Age.

The "great" American mortgage bail out

It really pisses me off that our Federal Government is willing to bail out all this mortgage companies. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are only the latest in a series of mortgage companies who reportedly may need the Fed to step in and provide funds to prop up their mortgage division's due to their own ignorance and greed. For most of this decade Mortgage companies nationwide have been issuing home loans to people who don't deserve them or can't afford them and now that the ramifications of their idiocy are coming to life here comes the great savior-the Fed-to bail them all out. How pathetic.
Capitalism is a tough economic system, the smart and strong survive and thrive, and the weak, stupid and greedy go by the wayside. Small businesses come and go every day because of these very reasons and, billion dollar companies or not, these big mortgage companies deserve no more and no less than small businesses in American society. I realize and understand the ramifications of large mortgage companies going 'belly up', but to utilize valueable tax dollars to bail out greedy mortgage companies is ridiculous and foolish. If we don't let at least a few of them to go under, how do we expect to ever turn around the rampant greed which plagues this industry in America today? Now, to be fair, the individuals who took these mortgages are as much to blame as the companies offering them. How stupid do you have to be to agree to a mortgage that you know you won't be able to afford the second that your interest rates readjust and/or rise? The people who signed these mortgages and those that offered them are not only economically stupid but they lack common sense and deserve everything they get. The only good that will come from the mortgage mess is that all the large mortgage companies are in now is that we can only hope they wont repeat their greed in the future-and that people will learn how to read what they are signing and what it means before they sign 'on the dotted line'.

Fighting for "The Holy Land"

Since the birth of Christ over 2000 years ago the middle east (and the world for the matter) has fought countless wars over the same piece of land that today is occupied by much of Israel. All this fighting over a stretch of land that every one considers Holy Land is effing stupid. Think about it. Every major religion on the planet considers this same land "Holy", and yet, because of their own ignorance and arrogance they all claim it as their own, when in reality it is Holy land to EVERYONE...For all these years people have killed each other all in the name of their "God" in an effort to claim a piece of property that is of religious and spiritual importance to 90% of the people on the planet. I'm not here to give historical lessons, everyone who ascribes to any of the major religious beliefs on the planet knows what I am talking about. These countless wars and battles that have been waged for millenia have ruined civilization's, killed tens of millions and held back global societies and all of it in the "name of God". How freaking stupid. But what do we do to stop the violence now? How do we fix over 2000 years of war and disagreement over the same piece of land, which (ironically), is claimed for the same basic reasons by several different religions? Is there even a fix?...Unfortunately, I don't believe there is any fix to this problem short of every religion on the planet suddenly growing the fuck up and realizing that what they are all fighting for this land for the same reasons (yeah right, like that is going to happen). No, I don't think there is any fix to this problem...Well, perhaps there is one: enclose the entire land with a 50 foot wall and allow no one, and I mean no one, to live or work within its walls. Allow only religious and spiritual practice within this property under military protection so as to provide safe haven for all who wish to worship there. As extreme as this sounds, is there any other solution? Does anyone see a time-ANY time-when Israel, Jordan, Palestine, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, etc. won't be willing to go to war with each other for this land which most of is currently within the borders of Israel? I, for one, never foresee a time when this region will be at peace so long as this land is inhabited by just one religious group or nation. There seems to be nothing but ignorance and arrogance surrounding it's ownership, which is the fundamental problem. If the U.N. had the balls to declare this land the "Global Holy Land" that it is, and force everyone out so that those who wish to worhip and pray there may, then this land could be the spiritual mecca that it is meant to be. If this were done, this region of the planet could be something for all human beings to be proud of-a place of religious and spiritual significance for all. Something that all of us could rally around and unite through. But unfortunately this is likely to never be the case. The U.N. and the USA seemingly have no desire to take the tough steps needed to truly make the world a better place through such drastic action-even though it's obviously warranted. No, I'm afraid that we are all doomed to watch the world continue to fight amongst itself for "their" holy land, all the while doing so "in the name of God"...How pathetically ironic.

Iran's missle testing and the emminence of World War 3

For years I have said that World War 3 is upon us and that when it comes America-in the eyes of much of the world-will be considered the bad guy. I said also that I believed the 3rd world war will be as much a war of culture and economics as it will be a war of weapons and that the main battle grounds of this new world war would take place in the middle east-mostly centered around Israel's presence there and the USA's support of that country. When I first started making this claim-in the late 90's-I gave a time frame of 10-15 years before this war would be in full swing...I don't need to go into a history lesson of what has happened in the middle east (and especially Iraq and Afghanistan) since the World Trade Center was brought down by terrorists on 9/11-everyone around the world knows all too well of these things-but every single one of those events and conflicts were 'scirmishes' which I believed were precursors to start of World War 3, and now Iran enters the fray in a big way. Early this week, Iran's leader-Mahmoud Ahmadinejad-launched as many as 9 long and medium range missle's with ranges of as much as 1200 miles-long enough to reach Israel. According to media and military reports, these missle 'testings' were in response to a military excercise conducted last month by Israel that was said to be preparation for an air campaign agaisnt Iran in the near future to knock out Iran's nuclear facilities. Iran's desire for nuclear weapons is well publicized and Ahmadinejad has no problem hiding his desire to acquire and build nuclear weapons for the specific purpose of wiping Israel off the planet-which his long range missle's bring him one step closer too...What is now happening with Iran, Israel and, by extension, the USA is some very scary stuff. We all know the history of Israel in the middle east (and the desire of every other nation in that region to see Israel's demise), and it's obvious why Israel would want to make a pre-emptive strike against Iran to prevent them from acquiring nuclear weapons, hell the entire world should be willing to do the same. But, apparently, only Israel is willing to stand up to Iran-and the USA should let them have at it. Israel has proven more than able to defend itself over the years and if we (the USA) aren't financially or militarily willing to join them in going after Iran and Ahmadinejad (who, along with N. Korea are the biggest threats to the western world today) then we need to step aside and let Israel fire away. I say all this because it seems like the US government is doing nothing but giving Iran time to build nuclear weapons via the stupid and rediculus negotiation process going on through the U.N. right now in an effort to get Iran to stop its pursuit of nuclear weapons-what a joke! It sickens me that we have a bunch of pussies working for us at the highest levels of our government. No, I'm not saying we should be willing to drop the bomb for any reason at all, but when nations like N. Korea and Iran show blatant disregard for the rest of the world and openly declare their desire for nuclear weapons for the purpose of launching them at their enemies then someone needs to step in militarily and put a fucking stop too it. And since the U.N. doesn't have the balls to do it, then, it seems, it's left up to us here in the USA. We are, after all, the world's only current "super power" and even though we in the common public hate the idea of the USA being the world's "police force", someone has to do it, and who better than us? But the current issue with Iran is now out of our hands. GWB is about to leave office and has no desire to start yet another war that he cannot finish and Congress isn't willing to pass the serious resolutions needed to put in Iran in check. And even with much of our military in Iraq, the USA seems to not be in the right geographical or 'geopolitical' position to assist Israel with the military action they are obviously willing to take against Iran to protect their nation and its people, then the USA needs to be willing to step aside and let Israel do what it must to protect itself for the future...I started this blog out talking about my belief that World War 3 is upon us, do you see why now?

Stay retired Favre!

As a native of Detroit and fan of the Detroit Lions (yeah I'll admit it), I have more than enough reasons to have been happy when Brett Favre decided to retire after last season-the last minute playoff come backs, the embarassing regular season ass whippings, his overall dominance of the Lions throughout his career...But none of those are why I think Favre should stayed retired. There are nothing 'homer' about why, as a fan of one of his arch rivals, I think Favre should stay retired. Truth be told, I became a fan of his (only when he wasn't playing my Li-Downs) after he threw 30 something TD's in a season with a broken thumb on his throwing hand (2002 I think that was). How could you not at least respect the guy for that? It was amazing. Even more so was the now famous under hand 'flip pass' he made in last years conference finals. Brett Favre plays a passion and childlike glee that is infectious and his emminent retirement has been coming for years. But now, months after 'officially' announcing his retirement rumors are flying around that he may take it back and play again this year. As a fan, I can only hope that he stays retired...Favre should stay retired because his time is over, it's that simple. Does he still have game? You better effin believe he does! Last year is evidence enough. Can his body hold up? Again, look to last season. Does he have the mental toughness to play a 16 game schedule plus the preseason and all the training camps and practices? I'd say he does, but he did retire after last season didnt he? Favre needs to stay retired because it's time for him to move on. I know it's hard for athletes to admit when it's 'that time' but in Favre's case, now is "that" time. Green Bay needs to move on and allow Aaron Rogers to take the reigns of their team. After all, it is why they drafted him 3 (or was it 4?) years ago. By coming back Favre runs the risk of tarnishing his legacy-like so many before him did. By coming back, he risks permanent injury, which at his age is much more likely than it was just a few short years ago. Most importantly, by coming back he passes up the opportunity to set a good example for athletes as to when they should "hang it up". Favre's retirement forces every other athlete to reconsider how they may retire. Favre retired with class. He didnt leave football at the top of his game like Elway did, but he did leave near the top of it. What would be worse is, if Favre does return, it's more than likely that it will be with another team because the Packers look to have moved on to letting Aaron Rodgers take over the reigns of the offense, and how wierd would that be for us Football fans to see the iconic Brett Favre in another jersey?! No, Brett should stay retired. Keep your word Brett-don't go back on your word. It's not as if you will have nothing to do with the game now that you are retired because if the Packers don't offer you a position within the organization, ESPN is sure to hire you as analyst. Stay retired Brett and show the class and dignity off the field as an example to athletes around the world as to how retiring should be done-just like you did on the field of play.

Carrying your gun and growing pot-Florida's 2 newest and wasteful pieces of legislation

Here in Florida last week, we had 2 interesting laws take effect. The first makes it now legal for Floridians to have a gun in their car. Some call the law The-take-your-guns-to-work-law because it was written under the premise that those traveling to work would like to be able to carry their weapon with them in their car for personal protection to and from work. There are exemptions within the bill as too what places of work you cant bring a gun too (schools, power plants, etc...), but on the whole if you have a job you can now bring your gun to work with you so long as you leave it in your car. On the same day that the new gun law became active a new law against growing Marijuana took effect as well. Florida's new 'grow house' law now considers it a felony and drug trafficking for anyone who is growing 25 or more Marijuana plants on their property. The old law had set the bar at 300 plants or more...I find both of these laws interesting and, more importantly, unnecessary...When it comes to gun ownership I am by no means a member of the NRA, but I am a staunch defender of the Constitution in which the 2nd Amendment makes it clear that we have "the right to keep and bear arms". But how far should that right extend? Should it extend beyond our home to our cars? Should the right to "bear arms" be extended so far that anyone who can buy a gun can carry it on their person, concealed, wherever they go? I firmly believe we have the right to keep and own a gun, but laws like this have come about due too rampant crime and violence nationwide. Statistics do support that in areas that have looser gun laws, violent crime is lower than in areas that have stricter gun laws. But where is the logic in this law? What purpose does this law serve? The CCW laws in Florida are already some of the loosest in the country and since they were changed shortly after the turn of the millenium, violent crime in many parts of state dropped way down (the 10-20-life law here helps a lot too). My question with this law is why? We already have CCW laws here, why do they not apply to having a gun in your car? Why did we have to spend countless time and waste millions of taxpayer dollars on what I see as pointless legislation that, on face value, should be covered within the states concealed weapons laws?...When I heard about the new "grow house" legislation I got a huge laugh. Anyone who knows me knows I am a supporter for the legalization of Marijuana, but at the same time I am against large grow house operations. Pot smoker or not, there is no need for anyone to grow large quantities of Marijuana in their own house unless they have the intention to distribute it for profit. I can see how many people-pot smokers or not-would like to grow Marijuana. As a plant its one of the neatest (for lack of a better word) out there and has an odor that even pot haters admit to liking. Grow houses, on the other hand, have no good intentions when it comes to Marijuana. As with all other current illegal drugs, grow house operations attract the seediest and most violent people in our society because they concentrate a large amount of valuable product in one location. It's not the drug itself that attracts the criminal element, but the value and quantity of it which does-but I'll leave my Marijuana propagation for another blog, right now the idiocy of this new law is the focus. Like Florida's new gun law, this new grow house law is unnecessary. Before this new law, grow house operations (and operators) weren't considered felonies unless they had 300 or more plants growing in them. Because of this, grow house operations of under 200 plants sprung up all over the state during the housing boom of the early part of this decade. Also, before the new law, grow house operations of under 300 plants weren't considered criminal enterprises or distribution centers...I take no real issue with either of these laws, the problem I have is why? Why were these laws needed? In the case of carrying a gun with you in your car, isn't that why we have CCW permits and laws? Since when is having your gun in your car considered beyond the traditional CCW legislation? Growing up, I had plenty of friends and relatives who owned guns and had concealed weapons permits so that they could have them in their car under their seat for protection. This of course was in Michigan where I grew up and I know laws concerning CCW's vary greatly from state to state, but why spends millions in tax payer dollars to write a new law when simply updating the current CCW laws on the books would have sufficed? All I can do is laugh about the new 'grow house' legislation. Talk about an a waste of legislation! I know it varies some from county to county within Florida, but where I live, if you are caught with more than 27 grams of Marijuana on you its a felony and you can be charged with attempted distribution. Common sense and logic can tell anyone that if you are growing it then you possess it and I'm pretty sure you can get more than an ounce off one Marijuana plant. If we take our laws literally as they are written that would mean growing Marijuana plants doesn't legally constitute 'possessing' it. So, if we follow the logic of our laws as they are written, we should all be able to grow a few Marijuana plants in our yards without fear of arrest or prosectution!...But I digress...Honestly, I really shouldn't be surprised. After all, state and local governments have been writing needless legislation like these for decades now, seemingly in an effort to make it look as if they are actually accomplishing something to their constituents. But, for those of us who actually pay attention, its obvious that all they are doing is guaranteeing that they have a purpose-that they are "serving" the community...More like bleeding us dry and wasting their time is more like it.

Catching up with Detroit Sports

As a native of Metropolitan Detroit, MI, I am a huge fan of all that area's pro sports teams, as well as a Meeeechigan Wolverine fan. The region used to have a pro Football team, err, player actually, but the organization has disappeared in recent years...Wow, what a year in sports Detroiters have had. The Pistons went 6 games with eventual NBA title holders' the Celtic's and now the Championship core seems on the verge of being blown apart; the Wings...Well, what can you say? They are the Red Wings baby!; the Tigers appear to have gotten off the schnide and are over .500 for the first time all year; and I can't forget that supposed pro football team-the Li-downs. It was revealed in recent weeks that their first 2 draft picks this year have 'issues with the law'...DETRRROIIIITTTT BASKETBALL!...The Pistons. I had so much hope for them this year. I really did, especially after the way their bench developed throughout the year. Stuckey was brilliant when he replaced Billups for 2 games in the series against the Magic, Maxielle was just a stud coming off the bench and Hunter is a freaking energizer bunny who still plays kick ass on-the-ball defense. I just figured with so much energy coming off the bench and none of the starters averaging over 35 mins a game during the season the Pistons were a lock for the Finals. Alas, I was wrong. After obviously quitting in the Eastern Conference Finals 'Sheed' will be gone soon. I was a fan of his until I witnessed his ECF performance this year. He was pathetic and disappointing. All that talent wasted for no reason at all. At least he brought us one title though. I'm not surprised that Billups is suddenly expendable. A lot of people were probably a little shocked to hear his name tossed around as trade bait. It didn't surprise me at all, however. The immergence of Rodney Stuckey made that obvious to me, I was also aware that Chaunce becomes an unrestricted free agent after next season-just like 'Sheed. Whatever happens, it's obvious that the team we have known for the last 5 seasons will be no more and I completely trust Joe Dumars to make the moves that will keep The Pistons one of the teams to beat in the Eastern Conference. Draft day was loads of fun because there were a ton of rumors floating around about trades-most of which involving the Pistons. In the end, Joe Dumars pulled a deal that looks good in my opinion. Dumars knows exactly what he is doing. He has never given us a reason to doubt his moves. The Pistons may not make the conference Finals again next year, but the fall off wont be very far. Detroit should still make the playoffs next year, but in a couple of years, the Pistons will be an elite Eastern Conference team again...GO WINGS!!!! Enough said. 4 cups in 11 seasons. 5 appearances in the Stanley Cup Finals since 1995-more than any other team during that stretch by-the-way. Why no one wants to talk about the Sports Dynasty that Steve Yzerman and Nicholas Lidstrom have going with the Wings I just cant figure out. Maybe it's because outsiders have forgotten that Stevey 'Y' is still a part of the organization and was the captain of 4 of those aforementioned teams. Or maybe it's because many sports fans don't feel Hockey deserves much conversation these days. Either way, the current Detroit Red Wings team and organization deserves to be considered a Sports Dynasty. It's not as if every pro sports organization can claim such dominance is it? And does anyone not see them in the Western Conference Finals next year?...As my family knows, I was a huge Tigers fan when I kid. But 2 strikes in 10 years ruined the sport for me. I just cant get over the 'whiny-rich-kid' show the players put on during both of their strikes and it didnt help that the Tigers sucked until 2 years ago when they surprised everyone and went to the World Series for the first time in over 20 years. Now that the Tigers are good, though, I do pay a little more attention to Baseball (the new playoff system is excellent too). Baseball is still a long ass season and I find it hard to pay day to day attention to it, but I hope Tiger fans every where can see there was never a real worry. There was way to much talent on the Tigers for them to continue such horrid play. I do find it as a funny conincidence that as soon Dontrelle was shipped to single A to fix his mechanics the Team took an immediate u-turn. Maybe it was more than just Willis' poor outings that were his problem, maybe he was a cancer in the locker room? Whatever the reasons, the Tigers are playing as they should be and should be in the Division hunt come late August...It's a good thing Detroit has 3 other pro sports teams, because so long as Ford Sr. owns them, the Lions will never be anything more than a one and done playoff team. If there is anyone that should pay attention to his peers, its Ford. Look around you Mr. Ford, do you not see what the other owners of pro sports teams in your town are accomplishing? You're supposedly smart enough to help run a mutli-billion dollar company, but seeing as how Ford stocks are down and the company appears on the verge of collapse (because the company refuses to grasp the future of transportation) it should be no surprise to us long time Lions fans that they never win anything. I don't blame Matt Millen for most the problems with the Lions. He has made his share of mistakes, but he is shackled by Ford's unwillingness to spend on players who dominate where the game of Football is won-in the trenches. And to think that Millen doesnt know where the game is won after winning 4 titles himself is just ludricris to me. Millen isn't perfect, but he is not as bad as most of his position-in my opinion. It's just too bad that Millen chose his first GM job to be for a guy who won't spend the money the right way to make the team a winner. Millen does seem to have effed up recently though. It was revealed within the last couple of weeks that both of their 1st and 2nd round draft picks from this year have legal issues. Fortunately for both of them the troubles began before they were drafted, so they, and the organization, wont be penalized by the NFL. I just question how Coach Marinelli-who is tough on decipline-signed off on 2 rookies who were already in trouble with the law?!...(sigh) I digress. The Li-Downs always piss me off...When it comes to Football, I root for the Patriots now adays anyways lol.

Goodbye Hillary!

Finally, the last nail has been pounded in to her coffin! History will remember June 30th, 2008 as "graffitti-gate", or more simply as the day Hillary Clinton went away for good. To me, Hillary Clinton is very transparent. Bill is a goofy, lovable guy who, as president, did a much better job than George is doing right now (my opinion), but Hillary is nothing short of the stereotypical Femi-Nazi. You can just tell she has this almost evil side to her, and she would have been hell for the military to work with. Although fun it would have been to have had Bill back frolicking about the Oval Office, 4 years under Hillary Clinton would have ruined what little there seems to be left of America. Under Hillary, it wouldn't have surprised me at all if nukes started to fly. Just the prospect of having her in office scared me senseless. She was smart, and had her merits, but damn that woman freaks harden felons out I bet. In a word "whew". To be honest we really shouldn't be surprised should we? She is a little whack herself, so she has to attract a lot of the whacko's out there. But I digress...Goodbye Hillary, at least you did some good during your attempt to be president-you scared some of us 'politically straight'.

Bring on the revolution.

If you have any awareness about you, you can see that we are living in a very interesting time in our history (by our I mean American). Oil prices are wrecking family budgets and leaving thousands of our 'old' collar work force unemployeed. The effect the price of oil is having on us are obvious and, for the most part open to everyone willing too use their eyes. Suddenly stauch republicans are throwing in the towel and going green and reaping the economic benefits. I am getting a feeling that there is a lot of social unrest from everyone-regardles of political ideogy. There seems to be much social unrest. No one seems to be happy, and money issues dominate more household discussions than did just a few short years ago. Everywhere-at least in my experiences where I live-people seem to be unhappy. It's not just the price of gas however, but America's economy in general seems to be going backwards as evident by a near 500 point selloff in the last 2 trading sessions of last week...It's many things...Left and right celebrities and sports athletes-Americans who are most recognized internationally-are making fools of themselves: getting caught drinking and driving; domestic violence; drug possession; and all in all just making us all look bad. Our nation's leaders fair no better. Corruption, back door dealing and lobbyist pandering seem at near epidemic proportions in our nations capitol. What little work they seem able to get done in D.C. tends to come out bad. Whether it's a natural disaster, immigration and border issues, the war in Iraq or soaring energy costs Congress and GWB seemed overwelmed. True, as of now, FEMA is handling the severe flooding in the upper midwest well, but you get the feeling that the wheels are about to fall off that wagon any second now. FEMA is now having to deal with the wild fires in the West and it's hurricane season to boot. With so much on it's proverbial plate FEMA is doomed to screw something up. And lets not get started with the idiocy of the Supreme Court decisions of recent weeks...Putting it mildly if there was ever a time for the masses to make their voice heard, to rise up and say "Enough is enough!"; To stand up and demand accountability from their political and entertainment leaders; To force Congress to think logically about alternative fuels and agressively pursue them; For American's everywhere to rediscover their heritage and what makes us the best nation on Earth-innovation, dedication, leadership, opportunity and the rights granted to us by the constitution, the things that make America great to call home...In sum, if ever the time was ripe for the revloution to start, now is perfect.

Supreme Court on crack?

This has to make it official, our Supreme court Justices have got to be on crack! They ruled by the slimmest of votes, 5-4, that Washington D.C.'s blanket gun ban was unconstitutional. I suppose we shouldnt be surprised, this is the same court which last week called the death penalty "cruel and unusual punishment" for child rapists, but have these men not read the constitution? Do they not know that the second amendent makes it quite plain: "the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." I'm no NRA member, but I do know my RIGHTS as citizen of the USA, and one of them is the right to bear arms...It's sickening to realize that its taken the Supreme Court over 30 years to hear the case against this law. It's even more sickening that 4...Yup 4!...of the 9 judges appointed to our Supreme court arent able to recognize a blatant disregard for the rights given to all US citizens in the Constitution. To vote in favor of D.C.'s ban you have to be on crack!...Then again, crack and D.C. do have some history dont they?...What's happened to the supposed 'supreme law of the land'? How could we allow so many be 'chosen' to our nations highest court who are so out of touch with most of Americana. There is little question that, today, most American's would prefer to see a little more use of the death penalty. "Vigilante justice" is accepted by most in America today I believe. Many feel as I do: why are my tax dollars keeping violent men alive? Why are we spinless when it comes to penalties for violent criminals?...As more and more people think and feel this way, and more and more of the far left-everyone-should-live-Liberals run their mouths and make themselves look stupid, the more stupid those look who follow them, and these 4 judges, in my opinion, bought into the 'everyone hug and get along' song spewed by Libs, and somehow these 4 don't think we should be allowed to own a gun!...But I digress...Unfortunately, these 4, like the other 5, are here to stay until they die or retire, which means we are stuck with them for a lot time to come, with most of them...I supposed we could get lucky though, and find out they were all on crack and shortened their lives by 20 yrs or so lol.

Welcome to America!!

Wow, we've had some real winner's in the news this week(and its only Wednesday!). Leading our headlines in the last several days we've had 17 girls seemingly make, and follow through with, a pregnancy pact in Gloucester, Mass.; Barack tosses out the first racial grenade of the years presidential race; and in the last couple of days 2 of America's most colorful characters got caught speaking their minds. Yup, I said it-they were speaking their minds...If you missed it, Imus is claiming to be standing up for the NFL's Adam 'Pac-man' Jones, and Shaq made up a freestyle rap in which he dissed Kobe Bryant...Well, dissing is being way too polite. It was more like a pimp slap followed by a punk kick lol. I was pretty surprised that Shaq let it out on Kobe like that, but I think he meant every word. As for what Imus had to say-I expect nothing less from him after the 'nappy headed hoes' fiasco. His biggest problem is that he misplaces his humor. Funnier about Imus though, is the response of his supposed target. Jones is claiming he will pray for Imus (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3458377&campaign=rss&source=ESPNHeadlines.
All of these recent headlines point to a real problem in America. All of these headlines are indicative of American culture. In ways, all of these things are representative to who we are as Americans...How sad that this is what we have become. In these stories can be found nearly every reason for why American's are viewed the way they are by other countries. Greed, arrogance, ignorance...All of these traits are present in each of these stories. The scariest of all of these is this supposed pregnancy pact in Mass. No surprise, really, that something like this should happen in one of the most liberal states in union, but this story points out just how bad America is getting...

A tribute to the 7 words you can't say on TV...

I heard some very sad news on my way home today: George Carlin-comic genius-passed away yesterday at the age of 71. Carlin actually had a rather profound affect on me as he was the first person I heard tell it like it really is. He had no problem calling it just like he saw it and I loved every word of it. He was brilliant as a comic and a real genius in my opinion...And so, in tribute, and in case you didnt know them, here they are...Those 7 little words you're not supposed to say on TV(don't forget to say them real fast lol): shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker and tits. As Carlin liked to complain "Tits doesn't even belong on the list"(I love that line)...The beauty of the internet is that these words we can use all the fucking time if we want lol...Long live George!

Going "Green"

In a way, I find it sad that it took more than $4 a gallon gasoline and soaring energy and food costs to get people too do something I think of as logical-be smart about their money. But at least people are catching on. Before I get jumped on and called a hypocrit, I am no 'tree hugger', but why wouldn't you do something that makes financial sense? Energy saver appliances cost no more than traditional ones-the new light bulbs cost more up front but last 10 times longer and claim to save hundreds of dollars a year; SUV's are not necessary for every day travel, but everyone has to have one even though they may not really need it. Those are just a very few things that someone can do that are considered Green. Changing to them cost's little to nothing to save possibly thousands of dollars a year for a family of 4 and there are dozens of other Green ways that would save societies billions and create new fields of work and enough jobs to replace those lost to the dying industrial age, which gets us to the real issue: We are at a unique place in history. We are watching the Industrial age die and sputter its life away before our very eyes as the Information age takes over, but the Industrial age doesnt want to go quietly. Part of the Information age is the social realization that going Green makes sense. Financially, socially, culturally, and of course ecologically, there are only positives for all of us by being smart and 'conservative' about our planet and how we use energy...Another but, well, actually, several wide 'butts'...The so called 'old guard' of the Industrial age still lives, and many have no desire to go quietly into the night. Most politicians-at all levels of government-are contributed too by businesses reliant on purely Industrial age mechanics and engineering, as such these old age businesses have all the politcal power still. As such, without the support of the vast majority of Americans, Green techs-the ones worth pursuing-have a huge up hill battle in front of them and to become what they can become to American society they must slay an old and resilient foe. Slay that foe they will, that seems eminent, I only hope it doesn't take $10 a gallon gas to get everbody on board, because unless the masses catch on quick the eminent change over to the Information age will only take longer and cost global societies much needed $$$$.

The greatest golf tournament ever played

For us golf lovers we got to see something amazing this past weekend at the US Open when Tiger Woods won his 14th major tournament of his career...We saw a man play some of the best golf of his career, grimacing with pain on nearly every drive, win one of the hardest sporting events in the world on what ended up being a torn ACL and 2 micro fractures of his left fibia. In a word, it was amazing and unbelievable...For those who don't golf or have never played, what he accomplished with these injuries is akin to the 32 touchdowns Brett Favre threw with a broken thumb, and in some ways, its even greater. For a right handed golfer all the pressure and torque of a golf swing as you follow through is placed on your left knee and ankle. That Tiger was able to walk, considering the pain he must of been in, is amazing. That he was able to compete at such a high level, in one of the toughest sporting events in the world, for 5 days is even more amazing. What those of us who watched him during that tournament witnessed was nothing short of the greatest golf we have ever seen. On one leg, Tiger was able to do something that every other golfer in the tournament failed to do-win. Torn ACL and all, Tiger was still able to stroke 300 plus yard drives, sink 40 foot putts and stick mid irons within 10 feet all weekend long. Not only did he play through the intense pain he must have felt, he lived up to every thing we have grown to expect from what can be arguably said to be the greatest athlete in the world, and he do so with class. He didn't complain. He didnt cry. He never quit. He simply performed at a level and with the grace that only he could play with. Given the pathetic attitudes and whiny ways of many of the top atheletes in the world, we should consider ourselves lucky that we have someone like Tiger Woods to watch and for our children to look up too. Unfortunately, Tiger's desire to win through the pain has caused him to miss the rest of the golf season, meaning will have to wait until next years Master's before we get to see his greatness again. His absence from the sporting world will be a great loss for all sports fans, and for me that time will not come soon enough because the world needs more Tiger Woods'-and less Micheal "dog fighter" Vicks-to look up too and idolize.