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Monday Night Open Thread

Big surprise: Sarah Palin is joining Fox News. Like no one could have foreseen that.

Colorado Rep. Ed Perlmutter says he won't run for Governor. With Interior Secretary Ken Salazar out, it looks like the job goes to Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, if he wants it.

Mark McGwire admits using steroids. Simon Cowell is leaving American Idol. There were 444 DUI arrests in Colorado over New Year's Weekend. The Denver City Council is meeting tonight on an ordinance regulating medical marijuana.

After six weeks of extensive debate, the Denver City Council is considering an ordinance regulating medical marijuana dispensaries within city limits. The bill sets a 1000 foot distance requirement from schools and other dispensaries, limits certain felons from operating dispensaries, bars onsite consumption of marijuana, and sets fees and security measures for the businesses.

I'm watching the faux drama unfold on The Bachelor. This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

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    In a nod to kdog (5.00 / 1) (#1)
    by CoralGables on Mon Jan 11, 2010 at 09:52:41 PM EST
    amd keeping people out of cages....Pahokee High School and University of Tennessee wide receiver Nu'Keese Richardson, originally charged with three counts of attempted armed robbery, pleaded guilt to robbery today and with a break from the prosecutor and Judge gets a second chance tomorrow.

    Three years probation and he has to stay in school or have a full time job allowing him to enroll at Hampton University for classes tomorrow and join the Division 1-AA Pirates and play football again in the Fall.

    This kid should count his lucky stars right now.

    Helps to be an SEC footbal player (none / 0) (#2)
    by oculus on Mon Jan 11, 2010 at 10:11:22 PM EST
    I gather.

    Parent
    He's not (5.00 / 1) (#3)
    by CoralGables on Mon Jan 11, 2010 at 10:27:51 PM EST
    anymore. He is now at Hampton University with an enrollment of 4886 undergrads and plays in the MEAC Conference. His competition now consists of Norfolk State, Bethune Cookman, and Morgan State. But Hampton does have a famous grad...Booker T. Washington.

    Hopefully Nu'Keese gets his act together and takes advantage of this break.

    Parent

    I thought you were going to say (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by Steve M on Mon Jan 11, 2010 at 10:40:32 PM EST
    Good call (none / 0) (#6)
    by CoralGables on Mon Jan 11, 2010 at 10:54:13 PM EST
    but I can't find anyplace that mentions if he actually graduated. (as Rick is much larger than I am, my apologies if I'm mistaken).

    But as the first ever Hampton player drafted by the NBA, he does deserve mention.

    Parent

    Seriously lucky. (none / 0) (#23)
    by Fabian on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 06:31:10 AM EST
    Sometimes I wonder wonder why people who have worked hard for everything they have risk it all for something so incredibly foolish.

    Parent
    Cool... (none / 0) (#26)
    by kdog on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 07:55:29 AM EST
    I hope he doesn't blow this opportunity for himself and the next guy/girl...good on the prosecutor and judge for thinking outside the cage...how refreshing.

    Parent
    I can't believe (5.00 / 4) (#15)
    by shoephone on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 01:27:18 AM EST
    I just posted two sports comments in a row.

    What is happening to me?!!

    BTD poisoning. (5.00 / 4) (#19)
    by Ben Masel on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 01:56:30 AM EST
    It must be. (5.00 / 2) (#21)
    by shoephone on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 02:53:22 AM EST
    I actually looked in my coat closet to see if he was hiding there.

    Parent
    I don't know if it is BTD poisoning (5.00 / 1) (#24)
    by vml68 on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 07:27:38 AM EST
    or TL addiction...
    I don't follow football, baseball, etc. I don't know much about these sports nor do I care to and yet I read every d@mn comment posted here... :-0!

    Parent
    Ditto on everything (none / 0) (#28)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 08:22:50 AM EST
    I've actually digressed so far that when I get frustrated by something like say the health care bill, there is this little voice in my head that says, "If only you liked sports more you could have something else that could be healthier to focus on at this time where what a person/players put into the game actually has everything to do with their success".  I don't know how much longer I can hold out.

    Parent
    Confess, please. Have you ever watched (none / 0) (#87)
    by oculus on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 11:27:09 AM EST
    any part of a Gators football game?

    Parent
    A few very tiny segments (none / 0) (#92)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 11:34:55 AM EST
    Only because a party came attached to the games :)  Sometimes you just get sucked in when there's a giant big screen taking over the room and everybody is yelling at it.

    Parent
    A friend offered me her HD 42 inch TV (5.00 / 1) (#95)
    by oculus on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 11:45:41 AM EST
    as she is upgrading.  I sd. "yes."  But now I am rethinking, as I don't want a TV in my living rm. and don't want to sit in my back room staring at the wall.  

    Parent
    Isn't it hilarious how we all need to (none / 0) (#100)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 12:04:48 PM EST
    upgrade from 42 inches?  It's such a small screen :)  We had a 42 inch in the living room go down.  We had had it for about a two years so the warranty had expired.  My husband talks me into a 50 inch something, claiming that the price for the screen size just could not be beat.  If he missed this opportunity he would hate himself for the rest of his life.  So I said yes.  The new GIANT television even more giant than the previous one arrives.  Things settle back into dullness and eventually nobody realizes the screen they are staring at is any larger.  Then suddenly UPS shows up delivering a 42 inch television set.  I call husband at work, the heck is going on?  Oh he says, I just found out that our old television had been recalled and they are replacing all of them due to some faulty circuit in all of them.  So I ask if the other television is being sent back.  Oh No, that purchase was done well over a month ago and surely it is way too late to take the television back.  So I ask what I'm supposed to do with this other television...and silly me, it is for my bedroom and will replace that 32 inch piece of junk that used to proudly be my livingroom television at one time.  He is a very honest man until electronics are involved.  He scammed me, says he didn't...I don't believe him.

    Parent
    A good friend and neighbor finished (5.00 / 1) (#104)
    by oculus on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 12:17:22 PM EST
    remodel of her family room.  Then huge TV arrives, courtesy of her long-time boyfriend who has lived w/her for probably 20 years.  She hadn't planned on that particular feature--but is a Notre Dame football nut, having grown up in South Bend, so she has adapted.  

    Parent
    Turn over a new leaf (none / 0) (#107)
    by jbindc on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 12:22:10 PM EST
    Take the TV and put it in your living room.  Think about watching "Great Performances" in the comfort of your own home.

    Parent
    All men have the same motto (none / 0) (#130)
    by jimakaPPJ on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 01:48:05 PM EST
    He who has the most toys wins.

    Parent
    Well he pretends to be enlightened (none / 0) (#141)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 02:48:03 PM EST
    sometimes.  His wife rewards desired behavior.

    Parent
    All females do (none / 0) (#146)
    by jimakaPPJ on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 06:33:03 PM EST
    Yes Jim, only people with ovaries (none / 0) (#149)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 09:20:30 PM EST
    reward good behavior....sheeesh!

    Parent
    Miep Gies, who found Anne Frank's diary, has died (5.00 / 5) (#20)
    by caseyOR on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 02:22:08 AM EST
    Miep Gies, the last remaining of the group that helped to hide Anne Frank's family from the Nazis, has died at age 100.

    Gies was the person who, after the Nazis found and hauled the Franks away, found the writings that later became known as The Diary of Anne Frank.

    I was in the 5th grade the first time I read that book. It had a huge effect on me. Before that I'd heard stories from my dad and my uncles about WW II and fighting the Germans and the Japanese, but it was all ancient history to me. Until I read Anne Frank's book. Reading that book made me aware of just how cruel and evil the world could be. And, in a way, it personalized the war for me. I wondered just how brave I would have been in the same circumstances.

    I'm grateful to Gies for saving those writings all through the war and giving them to Otto Frank, Anne's father, when he returned from the concentration camp after the war. He was the only one in his family to survive the camps. I can only imagine his emotions when Gies gave him that part, the only surviving part, of his daughter.

    Here is a link.

    The book had a huge impact on me (5.00 / 1) (#85)
    by Cream City on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 11:20:25 AM EST
    as a girl, too.  And then came the day, well into my adulthood, when I got to Amsterdam and got to go to the site, now the Anne Frank Museum.  We got off the tram, turned the corner on the canal -- and there it was, clearly, with the long line of other visitors queued to be admitted (as so small is the building and especially the hidden space within it).

    The impact was huge again; I had to stop and sit.  I had to go down the street to a cafe on the canal, get a coffee, and compose myself before getting in line, too.  And then the impact of winding up the narrow stairway, of actually going into the hiding space . . . and then, at the end, of actually seeing the diary itself (under glass, of course).

    I hope that you get to do the trip someday.  Anne Frank lives, thanks to Miep Gies, so she lives on, too -- as does her late husband, an unsung hero of the resistance and the incredible legacy of the Netherlanders and other Righteous Gentiles who still teach us so much for our world today, because evil lives on as well.

    Parent

    The size (5.00 / 1) (#97)
    by CST on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 11:58:41 AM EST
    of the place is very shocking to the senses.  It's so small.  Something you can't really absorb before you are inside.

    Parent
    A couple of Supreme Court decisions (5.00 / 1) (#29)
    by jbindc on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 08:26:58 AM EST
    from yesterday:

    Supreme Court rejects appeal in child pron case.

    The US Supreme Court on Monday rejected the appeal of a Virginia man who claimed a First Amendment right to superimpose the faces of real children over those of adults engaged in sexually explicit activity.

    The man, Christopher Allen, had asked the Supreme Court to overturn his conviction for producing child pornography on grounds that the images were protected by the First Amendment because they did not involve any actual sexual activity by minors.

    Mr. Allen is serving a 17-year prison sentence following his conviction on five counts of producing child pornography.

    The trial judge and appeals courts in Virginia rejected his appeal, noting that the faces in Allen's child pornography all involved real children.

    Allen ran a computer-based graphic design business from his home. He also cared for his niece at night and coached his stepdaughter's soccer team in a league for girls under the age of 10.

    According to a brief filed in the case, Allen used computer technology and his graphic design expertise to take the faces of his stepdaughter, his niece, and several girls on the soccer team from ordinary photos and "morphed" them with pictures of adults engaged in sexually explicit acts. The resulting photos are described as "extremely graphic." The depicted girls were about seven years old, and their faces are readily identifiable, according to court briefs.

    And, Supreme Court refused to challenge school dress code

    The US Supreme Court has declined to take up the case of a Texas high school student who was barred from wearing a T-shirt to school with "Freedom of Speech" printed on the front and the text of the First Amendment on the back.

    At issue was whether a public school dress code that bans all printed messages except those approved by school officials violated high school students' free speech rights.

    The high court dismissed the case without comment. That leaves in place an appeals court ruling that upheld the school's policy, expanding the power of school administrators to ban student speech in instances where the restrictions are deemed content-neutral.



    What a bummer.... (5.00 / 2) (#30)
    by kdog on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 08:27:07 AM EST
    Broadway Joe's daughter got locked up for reefer after some cop pulled her over for going a measley 8 mph over the limit.

    I apologize to Olivia and Joe on behalf of a tyrannized nation.

    I'm so tired of the war on weed (5.00 / 1) (#32)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 08:32:02 AM EST
    And it consumes how much of the taxpayer moola?  And everyone but me is smoking it.

    Parent
    That means a lot sister... (5.00 / 1) (#37)
    by kdog on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 08:42:11 AM EST
    coming from a non-smoker...its up to people like you to end this war because the prohibitionists close their ears to people who can't pass a urine test without a trip to GNC.  

    They are a closed-minded tyrannical breed.

    Parent

    It's so wierd to me (none / 0) (#39)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 08:53:00 AM EST
    My dad smokes a lot of things.  My father needs to.  It works better than any damned thing that soothes him, alcohol makes him intolerable.  My twenty year old daughter tells me I have no idea how accomplished my father is, I hold up my hand....I desire to remain completely stupid here thanks all the same.  Let's just put it this way, my mother killed every plant she ever touched and I can grow almost anything you can imagine.  I wonder where I got those skills from because I've obviously been born with them.  I think I killed my coffee tree though, didn't get it indoors in time.  When my daughter was fourteen my father attempted to explain to her also the enormous benefit that comes from cloning (or reproducing from cuttings) desireable plants instead allowing for a brand new genetic lottery that could end up in a decrease of desired traits.  He did finally quit when he could no longer endure my frosty stare :)  Cuz I know I ain't talking about cloning avacado trees :)  I'm certain he had a lot of fun living in Alaska twenty years ago.

    Parent
    Harold Ford (5.00 / 1) (#33)
    by lilburro on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 08:32:49 AM EST
    I'm just beyond disgusted with him.  At least Gillibrand had some thin rationale for changing all of her positions.  

    And the really worrying thing is that (none / 0) (#35)
    by tigercourse on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 08:39:35 AM EST
    this full court press tells me he actually must have a decent chance at beating her in the primary. New York politics went from zero to ridiculous in no time flat.

    Parent
    Harold Ford, who when running for Senator (none / 0) (#74)
    by MO Blue on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 10:49:03 AM EST
    in Tenn. made some Republicans look liberal, is suddenly pro-choice and pro-gay marriage. Maybe he should take a page out of Obama's play book and have Donnie McClurkin do a gospel fund raising tour for him and then give a speech to the LGBT community on how much he supports them.

    Parent
    And to think that HF (none / 0) (#114)
    by brodie on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 12:38:48 PM EST
    was once, in 2000, considered to be the rising minority star in the party.  Picked by Al Gore to be the Dem Keynote Speaker at the confab that year.

    How quickly things can change in politics.

    Parent

    Our little girl baby has abandoned her brothers (5.00 / 2) (#36)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 08:42:10 AM EST
    She has always been more interested in people than the daily pecking order that her brothers are trying to be the king of the hill of.  She tried though.  She tried to belong with them, but the people were always where she has felt like she belonged.  When we got up this morning she cried and cried and cried all morning to leave the chaos of jockeying for position and be with Josh and I, finally I couldn't deal with it anymore so I went and fetched her.  She went to school with us this morning...everything.  I do not foresee that she will ever want to be part of the pack again that she was born into either.  As she sat with us this morning wrapped in a baby blanket, finally happy, Josh said that it was time to name her.  I tried to think about what her personality was like and what would be appropriate but I couldn't think of anything that she had done yet that stood out in my mind.  Josh wanted to call her Delilah but I had to remind him that he named a Delilah about two years ago.  Cool name but not very original in our dog family now.  But the D stuck in my head as I continued to try to fish for a name, and then it occured to me that finally maybe I have a dog that the universe wants called Digby.  So we have Digby now.

    Great name! (5.00 / 1) (#44)
    by ruffian on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 09:06:19 AM EST
    And she sounds like a lovable pup. Just wants to be with the human pack.

    Parent
    Op-ed on prop 8 trial (5.00 / 1) (#51)
    by CST on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 09:28:11 AM EST
    in nytimes written by someone who I think supports prop 8.

    However, it's a very encouraging article for those of us who oppose it.  The title is "Stacking the Deck Against Proposition 8" - and goes into why we will probably win this round at the least.

    I am liking this judge.  Everything our op-ed contributer considers "disquieting" is something I would consider "encouraging".  Personally, I find the existence of bigotry much more "disquieting" than the exposure of it.  If you are so confident in your beliefs that you are correct, why the fear of exposure?

    I love that the writer uses the term "traditional marriage" to make bigotry less scary.  However, to me it just stands as a reminder that marriage used to be pretty racist and sexist too.

    I don't know (5.00 / 2) (#57)
    by lilburro on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 09:59:46 AM EST
    who else is live-blogging the trial but Teddy Partridge is doing so at FDL.  I thought his work yesterday was very interesting.  I want to get Nancy Cott's book now.  More commentary over at Pam's.

    Parent
    Another liveblog: (5.00 / 1) (#76)
    by lilburro on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 10:54:12 AM EST
    I kind of love (none / 0) (#79)
    by CST on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 11:00:35 AM EST
    that Arnold has refused to defend the case.

    If I were a gambler, I'd say we win this round.  What happens when it goes to the supreme court?  Who knows...

    Parent

    Reading the testimony (none / 0) (#93)
    by CST on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 11:40:29 AM EST
    this is powerfull stuff.

    I really don't get the opposition.

    What are people so afraid of?

    I think the human face to all of this is critical.

    Parent

    So it turns out that... (5.00 / 4) (#56)
    by desertswine on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 09:55:19 AM EST
    Neanderthals wore jewelry and make-up.

    This is why people get their eyebrows tattooed. Because you always want to look your best, especially early in the am.

    Cool! And they were into Glitter / Glam too ... (none / 0) (#80)
    by Ellie on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 11:05:46 AM EST
    from your link:

    "Glitter makeup," he says, "or shimmer makeup ... where you, over a foundation, you add shiny bits of something granular that shines and reflects. When light would shine on you, you'd reflect."

    I wonder what the Creationist/ID folks will make of this makeup preceding the dawn of humankind.

    Granted, glitter/glam is innately divine ...

    Parent

    Hmm, I would think (none / 0) (#117)
    by brodie on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 12:50:21 PM EST
    Neanderthals wearing makeup and glitter would tend to more upset the mainstream academics and their long-held and taught paradigm of the knuckledraggers who died out, or were absorbed (?) by the superior homo sapiens.

    Whatever.  I strongly suspect there's quite a bit about current and often dogmatically-held beliefs about the ancients and so-called "early" humans which will constantly have to be revised as new evidence comes along that can't be swept aside.

    Parent

    Seriously Disturbing (5.00 / 2) (#64)
    by CST on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 10:20:21 AM EST
    A Kansas judge has ruled that the killer of Dr. Tiller can "build a defense case calling for a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter because he sincerely believed the May 31 slaying would save unborn children".

    If he wins this case, he get's 5 years.  Basically saying abortion providers are fair game.  That's less than armed robbery in most cases.


    Beyond seriously disturbing (5.00 / 1) (#88)
    by nycstray on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 11:28:03 AM EST
    Yet more proof of (5.00 / 2) (#105)
    by shoephone on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 12:19:03 PM EST
    What's the Matter with Kansas.

    Parent
    Man, that's infuriating. (5.00 / 1) (#119)
    by Dr Molly on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 12:53:00 PM EST
    By that logic, someone could then get away with killing that killer on the grounds that it would save the lives of future abortion doctors, and so on...


    Parent
    Yes indeed (none / 0) (#122)
    by Steve M on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 12:57:02 PM EST
    al-Qaeda members could argue that they want to save innocent Arab and Palestinian lives by driving the U.S. out of the Middle East, and so on and so forth...

    Parent
    Nevermind Al-Queda (5.00 / 1) (#125)
    by CST on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 01:05:15 PM EST
    Anyone could use that logic to murder soldiers.

    I wonder what the response would be if the Fort Hill shooter tried that one.

    Parent

    I can never tell anymore (none / 0) (#127)
    by Dr Molly on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 01:17:28 PM EST
    whether you are being Sarcastic Snark Steve or Serious Sincere Steve. :)

    Parent
    I am sincere (none / 0) (#133)
    by Steve M on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 02:00:23 PM EST
    in the sense that I sincerely believe they could make an argument along those lines.  It's an illustration of how awful a mistake it would be to let the law go down this road.

    I hope there is some avenue to have this ruling reversed on appeal, it makes no sense to me.  Since when is a killer's belief that he's doing God's work any kind of mitigating circumstance?

    Parent

    He should plead insanity. (none / 0) (#134)
    by oculus on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 02:02:12 PM EST
    God told me to do it.

    Parent
    In Kansas (5.00 / 1) (#136)
    by jondee on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 02:06:32 PM EST
    thats like saying you've finally come to your senses.

    Parent
    Aha. (none / 0) (#138)
    by Dr Molly on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 02:20:21 PM EST
    That's what I hoped.:)

    Parent
    Have you read/listened to Jon (none / 0) (#135)
    by oculus on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 02:05:18 PM EST
    Krakauer's "Under the Banner of Heaven," non-fiction examination of the killing of a woman and her young child by a fundamentalist Morman?  Author raises the issue of how this man's belief his religion required him to commit the killings differs from the actions and beliefs of Arab suicide bombers et al.  

    Parent
    One of my partners (none / 0) (#137)
    by Steve M on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 02:19:27 PM EST
    has been urging me to read it for years.  Maybe it's available for Kindle.  (Also, the correct spelling is Mormon.)

    Parent
    Ah I confused w/my mother's maiden name. (none / 0) (#140)
    by oculus on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 02:28:06 PM EST
    Krakauer reads the audio book.  Spine chilling.

    Parent
    I listened to the audio version too (none / 0) (#147)
    by ruffian on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 08:32:59 PM EST
    I share your assessment. The whole story is spine chilling. The story of that murder is actually in the middle of the 'disturbing scale' of the stories in that book.

    Interesting to view the history of the Church of Latter Day Saints, as Krakauer does, as a way to see how religions are formed, since the Mormon faith is new enough that we have the recorded history.  If Judaism or Christianity had started so recently, and those stories were new, would they seem any less bizarre to us than some of the basic tenets of Mormonism?  Not at all.

    Parent

    I saw a documentary (none / 0) (#139)
    by Dr Molly on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 02:20:52 PM EST
    that I think bore the same name.

    Extremely disturbing.

    Parent

    Whats Wrong With Kansas? (none / 0) (#128)
    by jondee on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 01:23:03 PM EST
    indeed.

    Sounds like a certain judge is worried about how the jayhawker Taliban would react to him just doing his job.

    I wonder how many threatening letters he's received?

    Parent

    Sarah the Quitter (4.33 / 3) (#7)
    by Pat Johnson on Mon Jan 11, 2010 at 11:03:51 PM EST
    Will she be uttering her own words or channeling God?

    I thought they had enough wingnuts and dingbats over at Fox but I guess there is always room for one more.  

    Just as they keep hauling that lying bag of manure, Karl Rove, to give his "opinions" they will be dragging her dumb butt out there by way of "contributing".  The only contributing she is interested in maintaining is what is being drawn in by her PAC and whatever she can roust from public appearances.

    My hope is that she is on long enough for the nation to really consider how fortunate enough we were to dodge this bullet.

    Pat, we dodged that bullet only to stumble (5.00 / 2) (#12)
    by tigercourse on Mon Jan 11, 2010 at 11:49:42 PM EST
    into the path of another.

    Parent
    Heh (5.00 / 3) (#22)
    by cawaltz on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 04:00:36 AM EST
    yeah, goodness gracious if she had been our VP we might have fumbled health care, expanded the war on terror, left guantanamo open, had our justice dept. defending DOMA, had our justice dept. protecting torturers, still been prey to the concscience clause or God forbid actually have seen an expansion on the effort to limit women's reproductive choices......I sure am glad we dodged that bullet........oh wait......whoopsie

    Parent
    Yeah man (none / 0) (#82)
    by Socraticsilence on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 11:11:40 AM EST
    Its just like Bush and Gore were totally the same man, we should vote Nader in 2012 man. Whoa Dude!

    Parent
    Where do I say Bush or Gore (none / 0) (#143)
    by cawaltz on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 03:07:39 PM EST
    anywhere in my post. Strawman much?

    Dispute what I say or risk sounding like a moron.

    Your choice since I'm democratic and all.

    Parent

    Your mind-reading abilities (none / 0) (#11)
    by gyrfalcon on Mon Jan 11, 2010 at 11:47:52 PM EST
    are astonishing.

    Parent
    I look forward to the day that Ferraro (none / 0) (#99)
    by Cream City on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 12:03:17 PM EST
    and Palin are together on the toob.  Ferraro will have her for lunch.  And there won't be any leftovers.

    Parent
    Ahh..but (5.00 / 1) (#103)
    by jbindc on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 12:14:15 PM EST
    maybe she'll be cowed by this

    Or maybe not as she will be useful to the administration in that case.

    Parent

    New Jersey passes Medical Marijuana. (none / 0) (#9)
    by Ben Masel on Mon Jan 11, 2010 at 11:19:47 PM EST
    Now in 14 States.

    The lame duck Assembly, in it's final day passed a considerably weaker bill than had cleared the senate a year ago, and adjourned, leaving the Senate with a take it or leave it on the Assembly draft. The Senate took it.

    Removed, provisions allowing patients to grow their own. Left in, non-profit "compassion centers," analogous top dispensaries. Gov Corzine will sign in the morning, before leaving office at noon, tho incoming Republican Gov. Christie has indicated he's sign what amounts to the final bill, tho he'd have vetoed the earlier draft.

    Next up, Wisconsin, where we're also hearing from legislators uncomfortable with the grow at home provision. While negotiations are still underway in relevant committees to iron out details, i'm still confident we'll get SOME bill passed before the end of the session in April.

    Correction, link, and more. (none / 0) (#10)
    by Ben Masel on Mon Jan 11, 2010 at 11:39:25 PM EST
    Corzine doesn't leave office until the 19th.

    Final votes, Assembly 48-14, Senate 25-13.

    Nj.com coverage



    Parent

    Mark McGuire is a d*ck (none / 0) (#13)
    by shoephone on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 01:18:16 AM EST
    He should be charged with contempt of Congress, kept out of the Hall of Fame forever, and prevented from holding any major league position -- whether it be hitting coach for the Cards, or Bud Selig's new bootlicker.

    The guy makes me sick.

    (I'll try to be more passionate about the issue in my forthcoming comments...)

    McGuire may be a d*ck, but after all (5.00 / 1) (#38)
    by Anne on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 08:49:20 AM EST
    the steroid use, well, I probably don't have to finish that sentence.

    I think the part that bothers me is the lying to Congress, and his explanation for why he lied to Congress is pretty galling, too: he was protecting his family.  Yeah, let's make it about them, and maybe he can pick up a few sympathy votes.

    I heard Tony LaRussa  - he managed McGuire in St. Louis - on ESPN Radio this morning, and he was doing a not-very-credible job of dodging the bullets Mike and Mike were firing at him.  Dick Vitale was livid about the whole thing - says that as a baseball fan, he feels completely cheated.

    Heard some clips from the McGuire/Costas interview.  McGuire is right that there is no drug or magic potion that can give someone the hand-eye coordination needed to hit baseballs, but...if you have that hand-eye coordination AND you have extra power thanks to the steroids, chances are you're hitting more home runs, aren't you?  Seems like a "duh" kind of conclusion to me.

    If Pete Rose can be banned from baseball for gambling, I don't understand why McGuire - and every other player who has admitted to steroid use - should not also be banned.  If I were a player and he was a coach on my team, I wouldn't want to be associated with him just for the conclusions people might draw about me.

    As Dickie V said this morning, he only has one word to describe McGuire: "cheater."


    Parent

    I assume... (none / 0) (#42)
    by kdog on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 09:01:16 AM EST
    the league didn't know Rose was gambling on baseball...otoh, Selig and the league knew all about the 'roids and didn't care because the dingers were puttin' arses back in the streets after the strike.  

    The act all holier than thou now is a d*ck move...the same for sportswriters.  Dick Vitale is livid?  Please...Dick Vitale can see, can't he?  Anybody with eyes and half a brain knew Big Mac was roided up.

    Parent

    Err... (none / 0) (#47)
    by kdog on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 09:13:14 AM EST
    s/b arses back in the seats, and to act all holier...need more performance enhancing coffee!

    Parent
    There's a certain mystique (none / 0) (#66)
    by jondee on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 10:24:28 AM EST
    connected with baseball in the American consciousness that makes us want to keep it "pure"; otherwise, there'd probably be a reciprocal outrage about all those lineman in football who seemingly discovered miraculous new weight training techniques that allowed them to go from an avg weight of 270 to 320 in a period of twenty years.

    Also, people get upset when they discover they've had the wool pulled over their eyes -- "Say it aint so, Joe! -- though, it's hard to believe that ANYONE could've looked at that Marvel Comics physique of McGwire's back then and not known he was juicing.

    Parent

    I don't understand (none / 0) (#45)
    by lentinel on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 09:10:25 AM EST
    why Pete Rose was banned for gambling.
    As far as I know, he never bet against his own team while he was managing.
    So what is the big deal?

    Parent
    Not hold any position, assume the position (none / 0) (#18)
    by Ben Masel on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 01:55:35 AM EST
    as in "Mr. McGuire, assume the position. Place your hands on the car and spread your legs.'

    Parent
    I'm not sure (none / 0) (#25)
    by CoralGables on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 07:27:45 AM EST
    what surprises you here. Anyone that follows football or baseball knows steroids have been and likely still are a very prominent factor and have been for over 20 years.

    The list of acknowledged users is long. The list of those that haven't been questioned about them and use them extends deeply through every NFL and MLB roster along with NCAA and high school rosters.

    Parent

    Where did I say I was surprised? (none / 0) (#109)
    by shoephone on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 12:24:19 PM EST
    Not surprised at all. Listen dear, I've been attending MLB games since 1966. I've had the distinct pleasure of seeing greats likes Sandy Koufax play. I know what's happened to the game, and making excuses for the people who lie and cheat about steroid use just ain't my bag. They are still liars and cheaters. McGwire is a liar and cheater. And judging by his appearances on TV in the last two days, he's a big, fat, whiner as well.

    Don't tell me what I already know.

    Capiche?

    Parent

    Sounds like Big Mac (none / 0) (#112)
    by brodie on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 12:32:58 PM EST
    was trying out the But I Didn't Inhale excuse.  

    Didn't work for Bill, won't work for Mark either.

    Parent

    Whoa shoephone... (none / 0) (#27)
    by kdog on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 08:22:08 AM EST
    Tell us how you really feel about Big Mac:)

    I got no problem if the writers keep him out of the Hall...he was a one-dimensional player anyway, no Pete Rose...who should be in.

    Holding him in contempt of Congress is a little nuts...considering congress was asking questions they had no right to ask, imo.  Of the whole "steroid affair" congress made me a little sick, the willfully blind league a smidgen sick...not the players.  I'm a sharp enough fan to weigh the steroids in when factoring baseball greatness...and what a human being puts in their body is none of our business...in the case of ballplayers & ped's its between them, their fellow players, and their employer.

    Parent

    Um... (none / 0) (#41)
    by jbindc on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 09:00:52 AM EST
    Congress DID have the right to ask those questions.  Just because you don't like the questions being asked, doesn't mean they don't have the right.  And just because McGwire said he answered the way he did "to protect his family", he still did not have the right to lie to Congress.  He had legal representation, he was aware what he was doing was illegal.

    Parent
    They had the legal right... (none / 0) (#43)
    by kdog on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 09:03:36 AM EST
    to ask, they have the legal right to do alotta things they have no moral right to do.

    I don't put much stock in laws against lying to people who have every legal right to lie to us.

    Parent

    You be right (none / 0) (#54)
    by jimakaPPJ on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 09:47:38 AM EST
    But hey, steroid use by players is just such an important issue...

    (Sarcasm aside, I guess you're not coming down for the Really Big Shew???)

    Parent

    Sorry bro... (none / 0) (#59)
    by kdog on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 10:06:43 AM EST
    just can't gamble the get my arse to Mexico money...in the words of George Sr., "wouldn't be prudent".

    But you enjoy that big steak and take all the money home to the compound ya hear!


    Parent

    Hate to hear that (none / 0) (#60)
    by jimakaPPJ on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 10:08:29 AM EST
    and I will try to wine, dine and win in your name!

    Parent
    Values (none / 0) (#49)
    by lentinel on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 09:20:50 AM EST
    That McGuire.
    He told congress that he didn't use steroids when it turns out he did. Send him to prison and throw away the key.

    George Bush - lied to the entire country including congress on numerous occasions resulting in a million deaths - give or take.
    Oh well. Let's look forward.

    Parent

    I believe your memory (5.00 / 2) (#69)
    by CoralGables on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 10:33:54 AM EST
    is faulty. I don't think McGwire ever told congress he didn't use steroids. He said he wouldn't talk about the past. The fact that he wouldn't answer might bother but it's not lying.

    Parent
    Fair point (none / 0) (#71)
    by jbindc on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 10:37:18 AM EST
    In catechism class we heard a lot about (none / 0) (#84)
    by oculus on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 11:20:10 AM EST
    sins of omission and sins of commission.

    Parent
    There's no religion (5.00 / 1) (#94)
    by CoralGables on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 11:41:40 AM EST
    in baseball. But according to Annie Savoy there is a Church of Baseball.

    "I've tried 'em all, I really have, and the only church that truly feeds the soul, day in, day out, is the Church of Baseball."

    Parent

    O/T - Here is a Polanski item for you (none / 0) (#91)
    by MO Blue on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 11:32:30 AM EST
    That's old news. I am wondering (none / 0) (#96)
    by oculus on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 11:48:14 AM EST
    how a French court has venue for this case, where the complained of actions took place in Switzerland.

    Parent
    You're right (none / 0) (#144)
    by lentinel on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 03:13:16 PM EST
    My bad.

    What I meant to compare is the outrage being aimed at McGwire compared to that being aimed at Bush.

    Parent

    Nonsense. (none / 0) (#111)
    by shoephone on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 12:30:27 PM EST
    Your argument is about drugs.

    My argument is about baseball.

    Parent

    Is someone forcing you.... (none / 0) (#120)
    by kdog on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 12:53:16 PM EST
    to buy tickets?

    I hear ya shoephone...wouldn't be nice if baseball could be a shining example of all that is right and beautiful and fair...but as long as human beings are involved that ain't gonna happen. Cheating is as old as the game...I can't get worked up about 'roids.


    Parent

    Joshua agrees with you too (none / 0) (#31)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 08:30:25 AM EST
    Isn't that cute?  We were watching the news this morning.  A well known sports caster comes on saying that yes, many of them noticed that suddenly all the records were being broken by guys that were HUGE in size.  They all figured this involved steriods but they had no proof.  Then the news story spelled out more clearly that MM took steriods when he broke the Roger Maris record from 1961 (when such cheating was not even possible).  Josh was so disgusted.  He said that MM is a big ole liar, cheater, phony.  Then they cut away to MM getting all teary eyed and blaming it all on the time frame he played in, and that just made it all that much worse on his part in this house.

    Parent
    They were "cheating" in '61... (none / 0) (#34)
    by kdog on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 08:34:36 AM EST
    half the league was on Bennies.

    Parent
    Yer blowing my natural high this a.m. (none / 0) (#40)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 08:57:31 AM EST
    Everybody was weren't they?  Even JFK was getting "vitamin" shots, and he had terrible health problems....that's pretty scary when I think about it.  My father says that all the housewives went from being valiumed into zombies to the new improved Dexedrine machine and the laundry got folded again :)  You and my dad would be a pair together :)

    Parent
    "They went runnin' for the shelter... (none / 0) (#46)
    by kdog on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 09:10:51 AM EST
    of their Mother's Little Helper"

    Sh*t if you wanna get technical I'm on a ped right now...crappy tasting office java.  If I could get my hands on fresh coca leaves at the produce stand I might be chewin' on those.  It's a tale as old as mankind.

    Parent

    On the other hand... (none / 0) (#48)
    by lentinel on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 09:14:07 AM EST
    I understand that Mantle had a drinking problem.
    While it ultimately undermined his ability to play, maybe it loosened him up early on.

    America has gotten so uptight.

    We have to sing patriot songs at every fking game - twice.

    Parent

    Well, patriotism is the last refuge (5.00 / 1) (#52)
    by ruffian on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 09:44:03 AM EST
    of a scoundrel. The more corrupt the game gets, the more patriotic the music.

    Parent
    The story goes that... (none / 0) (#50)
    by kdog on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 09:23:59 AM EST
    the speed helped the hard-partiers play through the hangovers.

    Parent
    It really bothers you (none / 0) (#53)
    by jbindc on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 09:46:40 AM EST
    To sing patriotic songs?  You don't have to sing, you know. What's the big deal?

    I guess I'm weird - all that kind of music usually brings tears to my eyes. This country may have its issues, but I'm darned proud to live here and wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

    Parent

    I get angry (5.00 / 1) (#83)
    by Steve M on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 11:12:39 AM EST
    when they sing other than the national anthem at the start of a game.  I'm a traditionalist, I guess.  There's nothing wrong with "America the Beautiful," but just because you own a stadium doesn't mean you get to replace the national anthem.

    There was that one guy at Yankee Stadium who got arrested for trying to go to the bathroom during "God Bless America" when they told him to return to his seat.  Now that wasn't very cool.  But otherwise, you can sing whatever you like during the seventh-inning stretch and it doesn't bother me as much as trying to replace the national anthem.

    Parent

    I get mildly miffed when the (5.00 / 3) (#86)
    by oculus on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 11:24:17 AM EST
    solist with the mike "stylizes" the national anthem.  Just sing it straight.  

    Parent
    Many years ago (5.00 / 1) (#121)
    by Steve M on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 12:55:14 PM EST
    one of the biggest controversies in Detroit sports history occurred when Jose Feliciano sang his own version of the national anthem during the 1968 World Series.  People were outraged.  Personally, I find it beautiful.

    I guess I feel differently based on whether I feel like the singer is expressing their heartfelt patriotism, as in this case, or simply trying to show off.

    Parent

    I guess (none / 0) (#124)
    by CST on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 01:02:33 PM EST
    I don't mind if it's "stylized" as long as it sounds good.

    I find most people, professional singers included, butcher it horribly.  There are only about a handfull of famous singers (probably more in Opera) I can think of who can hit those notes.  But they all try to.

    Parent

    Reminds me of Roseanne's singing (none / 0) (#126)
    by oculus on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 01:13:49 PM EST
    of the national anthem here whilst scratching her crotch.  Really sorry I missed that.  Such a hue and cry.

    Parent
    That was a great world series (none / 0) (#132)
    by jondee on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 01:59:29 PM EST
    The first one I remember watching every game of and being completely riveted by.

    Gibson coming out in the first game "showdown" between him and McLaine and completely shutting down the Tigers with 17ks or whatever it was. And then the Tigers coming back and winning it after being down three games to one..

    I'll never forget my hyper-nationalist Serbian grandmother sitting in a lawn chair parked two feet in front of the t.v rooting on "that great(Slav) Micky Lolich", who WAS great in that series.

    Parent

    I agree with both Steve M and oculus (none / 0) (#89)
    by jbindc on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 11:28:54 AM EST
    Funny how I can be such a traditionalist when the tune for the "Star Spangled Banner" was from a men's club of the 18th Century:

    The Anacreontic Song was the official song of the Anacreontic Society, an 18th-century gentlemen's club of amateur musicians in London who gathered regularly to perform concerts. The song is commonly (albeit incorrectly) referred to as To Anacreon in Heaven, which is not the title, but rather the opening line of the lyrics. These barristers, doctors, and other professional men named their club after the Greek court poet Anacreon (6th century BC), whose poems, "anacreontics", were used to entertain patrons in Teos and Athens. His songs often celebrated women, wine, and entertaining, and today can be considered eroticism.

    The connection with Anacreon, along with the "drinking" nature of the lyrics, have caused many people to label The Anacreontic Song a drinking song. The chorus certainly suggests Bacchanalia with its lyrics "And long may the sons of Anacreon intwine the myrtle of Venus with Bacchus' vine." In all probability some drinking did occur at Society meetings, but the primary purpose of the Society (and its song) was to promote an interest in music.[citation needed] This absence of an official connection to drinking did not keep the song from being associated with alcohol, as it was commonly used as a sobriety test: If you could sing a stanza of the notoriously difficult melody and stay on key, you were sober enough for another round.



    Parent
    Ah, that explains it. I can only hit (none / 0) (#102)
    by Cream City on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 12:06:19 PM EST
    the high notes when I've had a drink.  Love the anthem, too, but its range is beyond the abilities of most of us!

    Parent
    I disagree... (none / 0) (#98)
    by kdog on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 12:00:14 PM EST
    I like it when the performer takes liberties with the anthem...whats more American than taking liberties?

    Yeah, I'm thinking of Jimi @ Woodstock.  The most beautiful version I've ever heard.

    Parent

    Haha (none / 0) (#106)
    by CST on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 12:19:18 PM EST
    It always makes me think of this.

    Poor video quality.  But if you've seen the skit, it's hilarious.  And spot on.

    Parent

    Brings a tear to my eye too... (none / 0) (#61)
    by kdog on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 10:09:44 AM EST
    but for different reasons...thinking of how the land of the free, home of the brave morphed into the land of the nannied, home of the cowards.

    Parent
    Sometimes (5.00 / 2) (#62)
    by jbindc on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 10:12:06 AM EST
    You just need to enjoy the songs for what they are and not your very jaundiced view of the world, kdog.  The world is not out to get you at every turn.  :)

    Parent
    Me, no... (none / 0) (#63)
    by kdog on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 10:17:03 AM EST
    but our society is always out to get somebody...thats make me sad and in no mood to stand and sing.

    Parent
    Maybe you need to change your perspective (5.00 / 1) (#65)
    by jbindc on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 10:21:05 AM EST
    Lots of people (including the government, in some cases) are really trying to help people - whether trying to locally help poor people find shelter, or bulding nice parks for people to gather in, or finding justice for victims who absolutely deserve it (you know, the other side of the coin in your argument about locking people up - sadly, I never hear you talk about them).

    It's not all bad out there. And I still am proud of my country, warts and all.

    Parent

    Of course... (none / 0) (#70)
    by kdog on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 10:34:58 AM EST
    its just kinda hard to see past all the obvious senseless bad news...I do believe in the basic goodness of people.  

    And I do love me some America, in spite of the people we elect to lead it, its still the cool place to be compared to most of the world. But we're not close to our full potential...singing "God Bless America" just ain't my bag, and the beauty of living here is thats ok, or supposed to be ok.  

    Parent

    Sorry kdog (5.00 / 2) (#73)
    by CoralGables on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 10:38:28 AM EST
    but the end of the National Anthem has the greatest line in song..."play ball"

    Parent
    Good call CG... (none / 0) (#75)
    by kdog on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 10:52:40 AM EST
    can we officially add it?

    Parent
    A little too much rocket's red (none / 0) (#77)
    by jondee on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 10:56:49 AM EST
    glare, bombs bursting in air, for my taste.

    Interestingly -- or not -- Key's son was murdered by a soldier.

    America the Beautiful is a much better song.

    Parent

    America the Beautiful... (none / 0) (#81)
    by kdog on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 11:07:23 AM EST
    is a better tune...and I always thought Cole Porter's "Don't Fence Me In" would make a fine anthem.

    I want to ride to the ridge where the west commences
     And gaze at the moon till I lose my senses
     And I can't look at hovels and I can't stand fences
     Don't fence me in, no
     Pop, oh don't you fence me in

    That or the B-Boys "Fight For Your Right"...:)

    Parent

    Check. The NA (none / 0) (#108)
    by brodie on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 12:22:36 PM EST
    is a bit too militaristic and doesn't offer a very deep melody, and ATB is much better both musically and in the lyrics.

    The NA also suffers from overexposure.  When exactly did TPTB etch it in stone that this difficult and unmelodious song had to be played before every flippin' sporting event in America?

    Save it only for the biggies -- Super Bowl, World Series.  But, preferably, dump it altogether.  

    Parent

    I assume, then (none / 0) (#113)
    by jbindc on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 12:35:33 PM EST
    You think Canada should stop playing "O Canada" before sporting events, or maybe we shouldn't play the national anthem of the gold medalists at the Olympics?

    The first performance at a sporting event: Baseball Opening Day in Philadelphia, 1897

    Oh, by the way

    Have you ever wondered why The Star-Spangled Banner is always played before ball games? Well even if you haven't, you're going to find out now.

    In 1918, the United States was fighting in World War I. With American soldiers facing intense combat in France, baseball officials considered canceling the World Series. But then they heard that the soldiers were looking forward to hearing about the series-that it would be a huge boost to their morale. So the officials compromised, and they went ahead with the games, but as a patriotic gesture, they played The Star-Spangled Banner during the seventh-inning stretch. Everyone stood and sang along.

    Eventually, The Star-Spangled Banner became a tradition at baseball games, and before every other major sporting event as well.



    Parent
    Well thanks and it helps (none / 0) (#115)
    by brodie on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 12:42:36 PM EST
    make my point -- save it for the World Series and major sporting events, but not every sporting event every day.

    Parent
    ATB is better for sure. (none / 0) (#110)
    by brodie on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 12:28:00 PM EST
    So is This Land is My Land.

    Don't Fence Me In, though a quality song, has too much of a libertarian ring to it.  

    Then all that business about Oh give me land lots of land.  Problem there is that the places where there's still lots of land -- the empty arid states of the interior West -- the land couldn't naturally support all those extra people we have in the 21st C.  

    Parent

    "All Along the Watchtower" (none / 0) (#116)
    by Steve M on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 12:50:08 PM EST
    is also a better song, but there's only one national anthem and that's what I want played before sporting events.  "White Room" by Cream, another personal favorite, also not my first choice for the ballgame.

    Back in college, my friends and I used to sing the Canadian national anthem as well as our own before all the hockey games, in recognition of all the Canadian players on the team as well as the fact that it's a really good national anthem.  People are often shocked that I know all the words to the Canadian national anthem, but really, it's not very hard, and when you grow up in Detroit you hear it on TV all the time.

    Parent

    Ah (none / 0) (#118)
    by jbindc on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 12:52:51 PM EST
    But can you sing "O Canada" in French? ;)

    (I only ask, because I worked with a guy from Brooklyn last year on a project who, on a dare, DID sing it entirely in French for all 4 people in the project room).

    Parent

    It's so lovely in both languages (none / 0) (#123)
    by Cream City on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 01:01:05 PM EST
    isn't it?  There is a version on Youtube in both languages, sung by many different voices, and with gorgeous views of that wonderful country of my foremothers.  When I teach about my region's years as Nouvelle France and our marvelous French Canadian heritage here, I play that Youtube for students -- and yes, we all learn to sing it so easily in English and at least hum along in French!

    Parent
    Always happy (none / 0) (#129)
    by CoralGables on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 01:39:52 PM EST
    to listen to the anthem from the north

    Oh Canada

    Parent

    It's (none / 0) (#142)
    by lentinel on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 02:54:31 PM EST
    a baseball game.
    A sporting event.
    I feel the obligatory patriotic singing to be an unwelcome intrusion by the government into our lives.

    The additional requirement of singing America the beautiful came in after 9/11. An imposition by Bush to keep us riled up while he planned his invasions.

    That's the way I feel.

    But I understand others feeling differently.
    I used to.

    Now, when I see the flag, I feel sadness at what our government has done to our country and the flag that represents it. And I feel angry. I don't feel like singing.

    Parent

    That's how I feel about the additional songs (none / 0) (#148)
    by ruffian on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 08:43:07 PM EST
    too. I used to have no problem with the anthem at the beginning - well, I never really thought about it until, as kdog says, the part about the 'land of the free and the home of the brave' started to sound just ridiculous given what scaredycats we've become.

    The the Bush era added 'America The Beautiful' or  'God Bless America', depending where you are - and my friends are trying to tell me we always sang that during the 7th inning stretch. Sorry, not at Wrigley field we didn't. And various other songs get played during throughout the games until you don't know if you are at a sporting event or a political rally.  It just smacks of so much propaganda for the masses that it makes me sick.

    Parent

    I think America back then (none / 0) (#55)
    by brodie on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 09:50:09 AM EST
    probably had a drinking problem, which the ballplayers reflected in only slightly exaggerated form.

    And it's probably a fair point that the bennies they took probably just brought many back to a state of normal energy levels once we factor in the constant heavy drinking.

    Steroids and similar PEDs however are a whole nother kettle of fish.  We can appreciate the huge qualitative difference with these compared to the relatively mild bennies as we look at the power numbers in baseball and how they skyrocketed starting in the 90s.  

    Once steroids became popular, the game changed.  Not so with bennies.

    Parent

    My favorite part of his admission (none / 0) (#68)
    by Fabian on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 10:29:21 AM EST
    is that he says he doesn't know exactly WHAT he was taking.   I want in on that racket:
    I got yer latest greatest performance enhancers right here!  All for the low, low price of ___!

    Someone is making millions off of ignorant athletes.  

    Parent

    It's going to be interesting, thas for sure (none / 0) (#14)
    by shoephone on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 01:24:27 AM EST
    Much more drama than last season anyway. I do feel bad for Mora, however. He was not treated very nicely.

    At the very least, Carroll will add some spice to your old hometown. I'm already devising secret spycraft for getting invited to a Pete Carroll dinner. Will be sure to take photos with my camera brooch.

    Mora walks away w/$12 mil (none / 0) (#16)
    by caseyOR on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 01:38:01 AM EST
    I agree, Jim Mora is being treated very shabbily. On the upside for him, though, Mora's contract will require Paul Allen to shell out in the neighborhood of $12 mil. to Mora the Younger.

    That much money can buy a whole lot of solace. And, you know, Charlie Weis already has another job, so I expect young Jim will land on his feet.

    Parent

    He'll do okay in the $ department (none / 0) (#17)
    by shoephone on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 01:51:47 AM EST
    But that's what happens when the Geeky One breaks your contract.

    Meanwhile, back at the Paul Allen Ranch...

    Allen and his real estate development company --Vulcan Inc. -- will continue to bleed the citizens of this town dry, in the form of unending corporate tax breaks on development of all his properties. Not to mention the debacle known as his Toy Train -- the $2+ billion, one-mile streetcar with three passengers riding it each day.

    "Go Hawks!"

    Parent

    Administration considering taxing banks? (none / 0) (#58)
    by jbindc on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 10:06:30 AM EST
    Watch your services go down even further as they figure out how to pass this on to consumers.

    The White House is considering a tax on financial institutions to ensure that taxpayers who bailed out banks get paid back, a senior administration official said Monday.

    The law that created the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program empowered the president to ask Congress to recoup money if bailouts were not paid back in full.

    SNIP

    A spokesman for the White House's budget office would not confirm or deny reports about a possible tax on banks.

    "There are - and will be - a lot of rumors about what is in our budget - most of them wrong," said budget office spokesman Kenneth Baer. "We are not going to get into the game of ruling in and ruling out rumors about what is in our budget."



    Better banks... (none / 0) (#78)
    by kdog on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 11:00:27 AM EST
    than cigarettes...more cancerous:)

    Let the money addicts pay for a change...though I fear you're right, the tax will end up falling on those with 3 bucks in their checking.

    Parent

    Police Officer goes on trial today (none / 0) (#67)
    by Inspector Gadget on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 10:28:03 AM EST
    The case of the officer who allegedly assaulted the 15 year old girl goes on trial starting today.

    This will be interesting.


    His defense is ridiculous (none / 0) (#145)
    by Raskolnikov on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 03:19:07 PM EST
    'Schene, a training officer and eight-year veteran, said the girl's tennis shoe struck his shin, causing "bruising, bleeding and pain."'

    Its worth looking at the video, its an insane overreaction to her gently kicking off her shoe at him.  

    Parent

    Scott Brown (none / 0) (#90)
    by jbindc on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 11:30:05 AM EST
    More problems for Reid (none / 0) (#101)
    by jbindc on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 12:04:57 PM EST
    His own son.

    LAS VEGAS -- As if Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) didn't have enough problems, say hello to Rory Reid, his eldest son. Looks just like him. He's running for governor of Nevada.

    It will be Reid and Reid atop the November ballot in this state, the father running for his sixth term, the son making his first bid at statewide office. So far, this double bill is not going so great. Each candidate is dragging down the other, to look at the polls and listen to the Silver State's political oddsmakers. And neither is mentioning the other's campaign.



    W2 Time... (none / 0) (#131)
    by kdog on Tue Jan 12, 2010 at 01:55:24 PM EST
    just cranked out my 1040EZ, like to get my return in the mail asap to get that refund...I am very dismayed to discover I'm getting less than 1/2 back than I got last year...I'm gonna have to pull out last years return to figure out wtf happened.  

    I'm guessing it has something to do with the extra 3 bucks that appeared in '09.  Wage-earners who really count on the tax refund as income every year are gonna be pissed, and will blame the Dems.

    Anthems at games (none / 0) (#150)
    by DancingOpossum on Wed Jan 13, 2010 at 12:04:29 PM EST
    I have to say, they annoy me, because I dislike having my patriotism force-fed and I really dislike enforced adherence to corporate-sponsored jingoism. At Ravens Stadium we're lucky because the singer who does the NA is a professionally trained opera singer so he's lovely to listen to, but they also include this "salute to the troops" segment where a bunch of retired vets march around to that horrible Lee Greenwood dreck "God Bless the U.S.A."

    Again, it's not the event itself so much that upsets as the enforced "you-must-respect-this-and-conform" attitude. I hate it. I don't respect our endless wars, I don't respect our obsequiousness to the military, I don't respect our decisions to send our young men and women to be maimed, mangled, and murdered in foreign lands at the behest of our military-industrial complex, and I sure as hell don't respect the people who make those decisions, or think they should be revered and admired.