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!!!