Kansas: This is what happens when the Tea Party gets in power

Kansas-Come for the 16th Century approach to civil rights, stay for the bankrupt government.



http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/06/08/kansas_governor_sam_brownback_threatens_to_defund_judiciary_if_it_rules.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/05/kansas-furloughs_n_7523496.html

Brady Suspension

I was really surprised, I figured 1 game.  But you know if this was an NCAA program they'd be severely sanctioned for "Lack of Institutional Control"   This was real cheating. Premeditated violations of rules to impact the outcome of a game.  The product on the field.  A playoff product.  that's BAD for the NFL and in the end he had to be shown to be not above the law (don't worry the NFL will go back to penalizing any defender who gets anywhere near him just like it has for years).  

You may say it's small, but this was a playoff game, it's like changing the height of the basketball hoop or doctoring all the baseballs you're going to pitch with ahead of time.  

This isn't like "cheating" they talk about in college football or even the Patriots spying scandal this was changing the equipment of the game on the field to give an advantage.  Pete Rose has a lifetime ban and he never cheated in that way, hell he never cheated he was dumb but his punishment isn't for cheating during games.  

The NFL can NOT have it's product tarnished, even if Goddell didn't want to suspend Brady he had to to product the credibility of the league and the BILLIONS of dollars riding on fair contests. 

Guess what, you're not being oppressed

Give it a rest with the war on Christmas bullshit.

When I was growing up I remember getting Christmas cards that said, "Season's Greetings" and "Happy Holidays" and no one was oppressing Christians.  No one complained, but then again there was the Fox News/Right Wing outrage machine to convince people that everyone hates Christmas.  (I guess all those Christmas decorations in the stores at the same time the Halloween candy goes on sale is proof how oppressed you are)

So, if someone happens to wish you a "happy holidays" before you assume that person is taking a dump on the sweet baby Jesus take a look at your calendar. If the person saying this is saying it at the end of November, they're talking about Thanksgiving, Christmas and maybe even some other holidays.  They're not oppressing you, so put away your fake outrage.

If they are saying it to you in December, again before you assume that they want to burn down your church, again look at a Calendar.  7 Days after Christmas is another big holiday, it's called New Years.  Maybe, just Maybe when someone wishes you a Happy Holiday they might be talking about that other big ass holiday a week later.

And I know this one probably goes right to your sense of persecution, but I once worked in a retail establishment that served a large Jewish clientele (this was before Hannity and O'Reilly declared that a war on Christmas existed).  We said "Happy Holidays" to everyone to cover Hanukkah, Christmas and New Years.  GASP.  Heaven forbid we INCLUDE anyone else in your little War on Christmas pity party.  But there are actually people who aren't Christian, even some Jews...like your friend Jesus.

So, instead being outraged about how oppressed you are when EVERYWHERE you turn in this country it's NON-stop Christmas from Nov 1 through Dec 31, go work on some real social injustice in this country.  Stop complaining about immigrants and how horrible taxes are and why the benefits of those taxes you receive are so much different than the benefits others receive, go behave like your hero Jesus would.  Go wash some feet, go feed the less fortunate than you. YOU go celebrate the real lessons of Jesus instead of complaining about how much everyone hates his made up birthday.

And we all know how likely that is to happen..

Chronology of "the US doesn't torture"

So, I think it goes something like this over the past 13 plus years

US Authorizes torture
Publicly Government States "We don't torture"
Pictures come out, testimony of Torture
Publicly Government States "That's not really torture"
More evidence of torture
Publicly Government States "America doesn't torture, and we surely don't have our allies torture for us"
Everyone in the world accepts as fact that the US did torture, outsourced our torture and probably did more than we'll ever know.
Fast forward to today
Senate report proves we tortured and it didn't work
Publicly Government States "We don't torture, well maybe we did, but we got all kinds of great information out of it (even if we didn't), but we certainly don't talk about it"
Media is outraged that "Holy Shit, the bad guys will know that we tortured because they didn't know it before"
Media has no problem that the Government lied, continued to lie, possibly acted illegally to thwart the Senate investigation, but is really concerned that the people that have hated us for a long time, have engaged in terrorism for decades are going to find out that America tortured their friends, (because they didn't know it before?), but now they're going to be really angry at America.

Grow up idiots.  The Government tortured people, it didn't work, probably created more terrorists.  The outrage should be that we tortured and lied about it, not that this report proves it and was released.

ASU beat ND

I love to see Notre Dame get beat, especially after being so highly ranked despite beating no one worth mentioning.  Look at the records of the teams they beat if you don't believe me.  Nice job eeking out that win against Navy.

Anyway, the ASU coach once again got all preachy about God and how God has his hand on the ASU team.  No first of all, all of that God talk in sports is stupid and frankly should be an insult to anyone who believes in God, it assumes that God really gives a shit about who wins a football game.  But lets run with that idea for a moment.  Let's say God does care who wins a late season American college football game, what would it say about God that he favored Arizona State University over Notre Dame.  I don't know much about ND, but I do know that they have a lot of faculty and students who feel pretty close to God.  Ever been to ASU?  It's one of the most wild places in collegiate America.  Drinking, Sex, Drugs, while I"m sure exist at ND, ASU crushes ND in those areas.  It would seem like a stretch to me that if God was picking sides, he would pick Arizona State to win football games as ASU doesn't seem to follow a whole lot of the teachings in the Bible on a regular basis.

But hey, what do I know.  Maybe God IS a Sundevil

Robin Williams

I didn't really think I'd take to the Social Media to comment on Robin Williams death, but here I am.  As others have said he was always a part of my life.  From the time of Mork and Mindy up to literally 3 days ago when my kids were watching a replay of "Good Will Hunting" he seems to always been entertaining as long as i remember.

It seems that he might have killed himself and had been battling depression and as someone who has dealt with Depression a few times in my life, to the point of taking medication, I guess to some extent I identify with that battle, but clearly I never got to that point.  I never felt really suicidal so I don't pretend to know the extent of what he was going through.

I found Williams tiresome at times, those times when he was always on.  He didn't need to be, but I think fans expected it so he was always over the top, but he was a smart guy and was so funny just being funny straight without the wacky voices and sheningans you'd see in his late night TV interview appearances.

Another connection to him I felt was the movie Aladdin.  Not even my favorite work of his, but at the time this movie came out on VHS I was managing a Blockbuster Video in Massachusetts.  The movie Aladdin was played on the big screen and throughout the store daily.  Multiple times daily.  I ended up seeing that movie over 100 times, I've never seen another movie anywhere close to that.  I knew every word and to this day Williams' Genie makes me laugh.

I'm sad that a guy with so much going for him decided that dying was his last option.  I've known other people who've killed themselves and to this day their suicide makes me angry.  I'm sure the people that know and love Williams will be angry too as will all his fans all over the world.

RIP Mr. Williams

Ann Coulter rehashes some (most) of Chuck Klosterman's ideas from 10 years ago, Conservatives rejoice at her brilliance

A Tea Party acquaintance of mine sent me this article by Ann Coulter.  It sounded awfully familiar.

"Coulter's" piece
http://www.anncoulter.com/columns/2014-06-25.html#read_more

Compare this to Klosterman's essay in "Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs" called ""George Will vs. Nick Hornby" 


Although Coulter's xenophobia and dislike of people with dark skin is on full display, Klosterman's essay is free of that.

Where is the outrage?

http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/index.ssf/2014/05/joe_flacco_working_under_impression_ex-rutgers_star_ray_rice_wont_be_suspended.html

Joe Flacco refers to a suspension of Ray Rice for knocking out a woman in an elevator as "Crazy" and he's not too concerned about it.  Come to think of it, no one seems to concerned with this football star commiting violence against women, but when a senile old racist makes racist comments in his own home the Sports Media machine talks about it nonstop for weeks?

Why is there NO outrage for an athlete committing actual violence against women?  Why?

ESPN?  CNN?  NFLPA?

It just seems less earthshattering

Yesterday, Oregon started allowing marriage equality.  As I tweeted, my kids are the same.  My youngest asked me in the car "Did Oregon start allowing gay marriage today?  Didn't that happen a long time ago?"  I said a judge found the law unconstitutional.  His response, "oh".  He could have been asking if it was going to rain tomorrow.  Clearly he doesn't understand the struggle that's go on over the past 40 years, but I think he looks at it like we look back other wrongs from the past, that it just seems so foreign to him to him.  As if "how could people think that way?".

It's not to say it's not a big deal, even I find myself getting less excited about these things.  Maybe it's the inevitably of it, or that it just seems so obvious that it's the right thing and I believe the world sees it that way too,, crazy fanatics notwithstanding.  I'm happy, and I'll be really happy when everyone has equal rights to get married, keep their jobs, get housing, etc.  Maybe successes have made me unexcited about more recent successes.

It was the same thing with Michael Sam.  I'm glad he was drafted, but for me his sexuality wasn't the big deal the media made it out to be.  He's clearly not the first gay man to play in the NFL and he won't be the last.  His courage to come out was the story, because he's going into a place that may not welcome him, but for the most part people did.  I'm sure he'll be called names on the field and it will be a big controversy, but I bet he is called names every day but that doesn't make the news.

I sometimes get the feeling that the reaction to Sam and to gay marriage is straight people patting themselves on the back for being so "open- minded".

I know the struggle goes on and that there are lots of people with hate in their hearts (no matter how they justify it) and that will go on, but the fact that my 13 year old son thought that same-sex couples having the right to marry seemed like the most obvious thing tells how far we've come.  It's probably not something I thought about when I was 13.

Salon becomes more unreadable to reasoned liberals every day

http://www.salon.com/2014/04/08/gentrifications_insidious_violence_the_truth_about_american_cities/

Another example.

As soon the author claimed that buying a property is "violence" I was lost.  There might be some legitimate points in the piece but when you engage in ridiculous hyperbole it undermines the entirety of the argument.  Why not just scream "Nazi" or "Hitler"?

It minimizes real violence as well.  I seem to remember some Salon outrage a few weeks ago when Bobby Knight equated something to "Rape".  Why doesn't this author receive the same amount of outrage.

Trying to shock us into making something worse than it really is by equating it to scary words that you expand the definition of is the tactic of the right wing, but I see it more and more on Salon...the new voice of the Left Wing Tea Party.

Another "family values" Louisiana Republican having trouble keeping the standard he wants to impose on others by law

Man, those Louisiana Republicans have a hard time staying faithful to their wives while telling everyone how to live their lives , at least this one wasn't paying for it …that we know of

But he says he's "sorry"

Vitter Paid for it...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/2007/07/11/new-orleans-madam-says-sen-david-vitter-used-her-brothel/

Zealots strike again

http://www.salon.com/2014/03/22/a_terrifying_precedent_woman_to_be_tried_for_murder_for_giving_birth_to_stillborn/

So Mississippi is looking to try a poor black kid for murder based on dubious scientific evidence...does this really surprise anyone?  I mean, sure it does b/c when you read about it it's shocking, but that a Southern State would do this to a poor black kid, does that shock?

Can you imagine the outrage if some 30 year old housewife (let's call her White) in Connecticut was charged in the same way for those glasses of Chardonnay she had during her pregnancy?  You won't have to, because that won't happen. It sure as shit won't happen to a rich white woman in Mississippi.

The most shocking thing for me, is that this shit has continued to move through the courts over the past few years despite the dubious evidence and lack of scientific causation.  But according to all the Tea Party and Right wing fanatics, America isn't racist any more and we should all be free to do what we want without the government interfering.

Yeah right.

Ted Cruz is...the Canadian Candidate

Cruz says he doesn't work for GOP party bosses...

Of course he doesn't.  This foreign born Zealot has done more to damage America in his short time in office than most others have done in their entire careers.  Can you imagine if he had done what he's done and been a Democrat?  A foreign national in our Senate.  Fox would be outraged.  Asking for birth certificates and demanding he be deported.  It's also unclear as to the legality with which his father entered this country (Bribing officials to obtain a visa?).  Again, imagine if he was a Democrat and what Fox would be saying.  What GOP leaders would be saying.

Even if you leave all that aside.  Cruz is a zealot whose hatred for Obama is stronger than his concern for America's economy, even though he's actually a Canadian.

My random thoughts on Week 1

I posted these gems to my Fantasy Football message board, thought I'd share them to the 3 people who read this blog:

For the first part of his rookie season, I defended Suh. I said he wasn't dirty, but it's pretty clear by now that he's probably the dirtiest player in the game (Jeff Saturday called him out yesterday as Dirty and talked about the code of honor among players and they all understand this is their profession). He's always sorry or didn't mean it, but he is a total punk ass and I believe he is trying to hurt players. I have no respect for him and will shed no tears when some other teams takes him out.

Second. Keep reading about how bad NFL officials are. After last year and EVERYONE complaining about replacement official, the officiating didn't get any better after the regular refs and now this week SI says the worst part of Week 1 was the officiating. I think EVERYONE owes the replacement refs an apology.

Finally, Chip Kelly's offense can work in the NFL. Eagles need to get in better shape to take advantage and not let the foot off the gas so soon. McCoy is PERFECT for that offense. He could have 2,000 yards this year in that offense.

Go Duck

My Manziel Theory

I'm probably not the first person to think of this, but I haven't heard it myself.  I believe now that Manziel is doing everything he can to not play another down at A&M while coming off as the victim.  He and his family haven't been quiet about how they dislike A&M and after watching Matt Barkley go from a top 3 pick to the 4th round costing him millions.  Texas A&M is not going to win the SEC, they are not going to the National Championship game, there is NO upside for the defending Heisman winner from playing one more year.  His father is too smart to let him make all these dumb "decisions".  They are small infractions, like underage drinking (repeatedly) the occasional bar altercation.  "Hey's it's just kids being kids"  They he goes and makes money he and everyone in college football knows he can't do, but the Manziels make Johnny out to be the victim.  It's perfect.  Johnny doesn't quit, they let the NCAA do the dirty work, but nothing horrible that would make people hate him.  He doesn't risk a season getting hurt and not winning a title or a another Heisman.  And he's the victim of the big bad NCAA.   

Eagles are still terrible, revisionist attempts won't change that

Quit defending the Eagles, they're still terrible.

I posted this on Facebook yesterday, because many of my friends know my distaste/dislike/hatred? of the Eagles music and pretty much everything they stand for.  But some of my friends were shocked by this revelation.  I'm not saying I know everything about music, but I do listen to a lot of stuff.  I own a few thousands CDs, and I even pay for Spotify.  I've got friends that know way more about music than I do, I mean savant types who are probably top 1% in terms of knowledge.  Nonetheless I think I have some credibility, even if there is some stuff I have trouble admitting I like.

All that said, I didn't respond b/c I didn't want to get in a little war of those tools, but in thinking of my responses in my head I decided I needed to get them out.  Here are those random thoughts.

- I liked the Eagles too when I was 14 years old.  I didn't know much.  Growing up listening to AOR/Classic Rock in a city with few music options you heard a lot of the Eagles.  I owned a few albums (on vinyl), but then I grew up.  I also used to think Bud was pretty good (not when I was 14, but probably at the same progression on my drinking journey) and actually liked the "flavor" of Milwaukee's Best.  Then I tasted something good (Black Butte Porter, in Eugene, OR August 1994).  I grew up musically too and realized that the Eagles sucked.  It wasn't a one time epiphany like the beer thing, but probably a slow evolution.

-The Eagles are like the Sutter Home of American Rock Music.  You can drink a lot of it, for cheap and it's not going to tax your palette.  It's not good, but it's made for mass consumption.

-I was going to say the Eagles are like the Bud Light of music, but they're not.  Bud Light (while not very tasty) is good at doing what it's supposed to do.  The Eagles don't even do that.  Are they are country rock band?  Well after you hear anything Gram Parsons was involved with you realize that they aren't even good at that.  Are they are "Rock" band?  Well, then they're even worse b/c pretty much everyone is better than them in that space.

- Go ahead listen to the lyrics of "Hotel California".  It's like the output of a 7th grade creative writing class.  Lyrically just weak.

- Musically?  Maybe some talent there.  Joe Walsh 30 years ago could play some guitar, but he isn't great.  actually, they aren't that solid here either.  (See the 3 note scales guitar solo in "Hotel California").  No Chops

- That's the music stuff, when the Eagles moved in to Musical Hell for me was their first "Hell Freezes Over" tour.  "Isn't it cute how we hated each other and swore we'd never play together again, but then when we needed some cash we came back and charged you all ridiculously high ticket prices to see our milquetoast peaceful, easy feeling music?"  Actually it wasn't, it was douchey.  Try some integrity you greedy tools.

- And they're at it again.  Is this one called "Hell Freezes Over 5"?  or whatever number tour it is after they said they'd never play together again.  Someone must need a new pool or Ferrari.

- Just yesterday is was talking trash about Steely Dan.  I just can't listen to them.  I had a 6 month window about 20 years ago when I could, but that passed.  I get it, I understand what they do and technically they're good at it.  It's just not for me, it's for 65 year old White Male College Professors.  But unlike the Eagles, I do have some respect for them.  I just can't listen to it.  Not so with the Eagles.  And don't think I can only listen to artists that I respect b/c I'll listen to a great song even if I don't respect the artist (to a point), those are called guilty pleasures.  Eagles don't fit that category either.

They don't bring anything to the party and I wish they'd go away, but more importantly as this article points out, I wish people would stop trying to rehabilitate their reputation.

Take it away Gram http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PytxPaU6k4

Old White guy review of Kayne and JayZ's new albums ...or "The Student becomes the Master"

I'm not sure if "Watch the Throne" was supposed to be a passing of the torch, but maybe it was.  We'll see.  The comparisons between Kayne's and Jay-Z's new albums are inevitable given their history, their position at the top of the Hip Hop Music scene and the release of albums so close (reminds me of when Blur and Oasis released albums at the same time in the 1990s to the same type of comparisons although those groups were "enemies" it seemed).

My thoughts boil down to this.  I really liked Kayne's album even though I didn't want to and I was completely underwhelmed by Jay-Z's.  A friend pointed out that Jay seems to be trying to be like Kayne versus being the guy that he's been forever.  Same friend pointed out that singing about all the expensive art you have doesn't have the same resonance as "99 Problems".  Obviously artists evolve, but sometimes the change isn't for the better.

Speaking of the differences between these two guys I was struck by Jay-Z's ode to a fashion designer (to some extent) "Tom Ford" contrasted with Kayne's "New Slaves".  I've read on-line that as a white person I can't understand what Kayne's talking about in this song and maybe I can't but it seems to me that's a rant against the consumerism that turns people in to New Slaves.  So, while Jay is reveling in that very thing.  Don't get me wrong, Kayne lives in the very world he seems to be deriding (Kardasians anyone?).

Musically, I found Jay-Z's album somewhat boring.  Kayne's is anything but.  The angry industrial beats make you take notice, make you listen. You're drawn to it even when those beats are some "repulsive" (at least it's not Dub Step).  I have a feeling that in 12 months an awful lot of Hip Hop is going to sound like this with beats by Marilyn Manson and Ministry.  By then Kayne will probably on to the next thing.

I only hope that Jay-Z's next album he isn't playing catch up to Yeezus.  

Microsoft gets a clue

This didn't take long.  Made me wonder if the fine people at MSFT have been taking pages from the Netflix school of pissing off your customers.  They must have also learned from them when you're wrong you make changes.  Should have never been an issue though

http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/19/tech/gaming-gadgets/xbox-drm/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Wilco...SO BORING. It's gotta be said.

It's gotta be said, Wilco sucks. Seemingly every music critic and too many music fans love these guys like they're the second coming of the Beatles and it's just been accepted as conventional wisdom.  I never got it, but just figured I was missing something, but it's time to say something.  (apparently I'm not the first person to say this...the obligatory Google search returns 4.3 Million hits for "Wilco Sucks").  I think I even bought it for a minute or two until I realized that the ONLY time I found Wilco palatable was "Mermaid Avenue", but  without Billy Bragg and the words of Woody Guthrie, Wilco is mind-numbingly boring.  They aren't even a good  "Alt-country" band, if they are classified as such.  Uncle Tupelo was better...maybe that is why everyone wants Wilco to be so good, to rekindle what they lost when Uncle Tupelo broke up

Anyway, I feel better.  

Do you even know what "Humbling" means?

"Famous" people need to stop saying everything is a "humbling experience". It's become the go-to reaction to anything that happens to anyone in media's eye. Getting busted cheating..."It's been a humbling experience". Win an Academy Award "This is a humbling experience". Wha? It's getting nearly as bad as the overuse of "Surreal" to describe every little thing.

NHL Player "humbled" by award

TO Humbled by Prison Visit to see Chad Johnson