Tuesday, July 29, 2008

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...

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

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.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

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'.

Friday, July 11, 2008

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?

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

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.

Sunday, July 6, 2008

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.