It's Summer- Enjoy It While It Lasts

Summertime is finally here.
People wait for this time of year and many will complain about the heat and humidity as the calendar advances into July and August.
That's human nature and we will also (provided you live in a cold weather climate) complain about the cold and snow and ice come December and January.
That's a long way off so for now as we enter the longest day of the year in terms of actual sunlight on the earth, let us fire up the grills and enjoy a cold beverage and perhaps take in a ball game or pitch some horse shoes or throw a game of bags.
I remember as a youth getting out of school and enjoying the time off for the summer and playing baseball, swimming, fishing, etc.
This time of year is always an exciting time and it only gets better as I get older.
Sure, the work schedule doesn't allow for the leisure time that many of us Americans look forward to but, when they present themselves, take full advantage.
Besides, baseball season is in full swing and as usual the Chicago ball teams are struggling, though the White Sox have begun to improve and actually get back into contention in the American League Central in the past two weeks.
Football training camps are just weeks away and there is always an air of anticipation there as well.
But, let us look forward to (possibly) some vacation days and of course, the 4th of July holiday coming up in two short weeks.
Indeed summertime is always a great time, if we choose to make it that way.
Now it's time to pour a tall glass of iced tea and enjoy some quality time out on the deck.
Have fun everyone and enjoy the summer!

Whose Side Are They On?

The republican party show it's true colors today as they kissed the ass of BP CEO Tony Hayward via U.S. representative Joe Barton (6th District-Texas) and truly borderline insane congresswoman Michele Bachmann (6th District- Minnesota) and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
These republicans kiss corporate ass and side with big oil as Americans suffer the consequences of the biggest oil disaster ever in the history of the United States.
The people of the gulf states need relief and need it fast and then President Barack Obama showed some real intestinal fortitude and forced the oil giant to "pony up" 20 BILLION big ones and also apologize to the American public in the last two days.
Never saw George W. Bush or Dick Cheney doing that sort of thing and the way those two bozos handled hurricane Katrina was simply atrocious.
Actions speak louder than words and even though Obama didn't nail a lot of "talking points" in his Oval Office address to the nation Tuesday night, he produced and now BP has to fork it over.
But the republicans go on talk shows (Bachmann and Giuliani) and make excuses for the big oil giants.
Yeah, that's real patriotic!
You betcha!
Speaking of which Sarah Palin did likewise as she also went after the President of the United States and kissed the ass of big oil.
Americans need to wise up and eliminate these bozos who defend the corporate interest and to hell with the American people.
Ignore them and they eventually will go away.
That includes the aforementioned politicians of the GOP and goof balls like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, etc.
Obama put the boot to the neck of BP and now these people suffering in the gulf states will get their just due.
As for the GOP, hopefully people see them for who they really are and will knock them out of the box come November.
The United States of America CANNOT afford to have these kinds of people in the Congress any longer.

Wisen Up ... A Message to the Tea Party

Just curious about something.
Why is it that all these supposed right wing "tea party" groups have sprouted up over the last year or so and are so concerned about our country's government spending now that Bush and Cheney are out of office.
Our country has spent trillions of dollars on the efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan and the outcry by the teabaggers is that Obama's Administration is spending far too much on programs FOR THIS COUNTRY.
The Congress approves the spending by passing the bills proposed so they share in the blame as well.
It occurs to me that the Republican party controlled both the House and Senate during six of the eight years that Bush and Cheney were running things here in the United States of America.
The record surplus left behind by the Clinton Administration was turned into a record deficit in eight years by the Bush-Cheney Administration and that's what Obama's Administration inherited.
Is there racism involved here by these people or are there truly real issues they are concerned about?
Granted, unemployment has been high and the trade policies enacted by both the Bush-Cheney and Clinton Administrations include many bone headed calls that can truly be called anti-American WORKER because of the breaks given to the corporations that outsource the work while at the same time receiving tax breaks.
I would be pissed too if included with the teabaggers.
However, there are many positives the Obama Administration has enacted for this country during his first eighteen months in office, including the stimulus package as well as the health care reform.
These are the two biggest examples that the right bitched and bitched about but now that they are in place, not so much complaining going anymore as these people realize they really are benefiting the United States of America.
Chris Matthews of MSNBC is airing a documentary on June 16, 2010 about the movements on the right.
Seems that Alex Jones, he of the Bush-Cheney bashing for over a decade now (after all, Mr. Jones did break the Bohemian Grove secret ritual on video ten years ago) is not a right-winger!
Jones called many times for the impeachment of then President George W. Bush.
Matthews lumps him in with the birthers, the teabaggers, militias, etc.
However, this guy is simply anti-establishment and was on hand at both the Democratic and GOP National conventions in 2008 bullhorning that 9/11 was an "inside job".
Conspiracy theories?
Not too many teabaggers making that claim, they just oppose EVERYTHING Barack Obama proposes to do as the President of the United States.
Again, where were these people at when Bush and Cheney were running rampant with all their "tyrannical" policies (Patriot Act, the FISA phone tapping of Americans in this country as well as abroad just to name a couple of things) from 2001 up until the day they left office at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?
Don't buy all this phony crap on the right and being reported by the corporate media about how bad things are in this country.
Bush and Cheney made sure that protesters couldn't get anywhere near them while they were in office as the "Free Speech Zones" (remember those) were set up and people were forced to protest perhaps a mile away from the event where the dynamic duo was at.
Yet last summer, while President Obama was giving a speech, some loon was allowed to hold his sign in protest right outside the very venue while a hand gun was strapped to this person.
Had that happened during the Bush and Cheney era, that guy would have been ARRESTED ON THE SPOT, HIS HANDGUN CONFISCATED and he would have been pummeled as well.
So don't even go there with that crap about how we are "losing our freedoms" ever since Obama came into office.
Don't see anymore "Free Speech" pens around these days, do you?
I'm talking to the teabaggers here with this issue.
The corporate media seems to have forgotten about those damn "Free Speech Zones."
Show me one example where there was a "Free Speech Zone" established at an event where Obama or VP Joe Biden were appearing.
Again, give it a rest with all of this crap about Obama being a socialist and that he is a tyrannical leader.
Anything but that because Bush and Cheney were by far the real tyrants if you choose to go down that road.
All politicians are under the thumb of big money and the power brokers of the corporations, and that is no secret.
So, teabaggers, if you really want to go after someone, look no further than corporate America and the craziness that is called Wall Street.
They are the culprits you should target.
Wisen up!

What's In A Name?

I am confused.
The Big Ten Conference, which has eleven teams (and has since 1994) now has 12 teams but is still calling itself the Big Ten?
I am confused.
The Nebraska Cornhuskers are the newest addition to the conference, which welcomed Penn State back in '94 as the eleventh member.
Since Nebraska has left the Big 12 Conference along with Colorado, which joined the Pacific Ten Conference recently, should the Big 12 Conference still call itself the Big 12 Conference or should that distinction now belong to the Big Ten Conference, which now has 12 teams?
Confused?
I sure am.
Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State all are rumored to be headed west to the Pac 10 as well, which would form yet another "super" conference much like the Big East, which has 16 teams in it.
I don't get it, college athletics is supposed to be about the student-athlete, isn't it?
Right.
And BP is really concerned about all the problems they created in the Gulf of Mexico.
Gimme' a break!
This is pure greed and the corporate interference once again rearing it's ugly head.
Take a look around at sports these days, in particular college sports.
It's not about the college student-athletes at all and hasn't been for decades.
These hypocrites that call themselves NCAA officials come down hard on institutions for "illegal" recruiting of these players. Donations from boosters that are deemed as pay to the athletes while the NCAA condones this sort of activity with the corporations "sponsoring" everything from the pre-game on television to the statistical updates of the game at hand.
It really is ridiculous the way these schools just move around so they can form a new look for their conference and then have a conference "title" game (which no doubt will be sponsored by a corporation) to send that team to a corporate sponsored football "Bowl" game or the corporate sponsored NCAA Basketball tournament.
Sports fans seem oblivious to this gradual take over of college sports by corporate America that has been taking place over the last few decades.
The games people play, in particular college football and basketball, were just fine as they were without all the outside influences swooping in.
The games were played each year and of course there was coverage of the games in the media.
What is happening though is just pure greed and will ultimately lead to corruption and the demise of athletic programs throughout this country.
Wait and see.
That is NOT what college athletics is about.
They may as well PAY the "student-athletes" at this point with the recent activity that is taking place with these schools moving here and there and bowing to the corporate masters they serve.
As a person who played college football, I can attest this will hurt and possibly ruin the college athletics as we have known them throughout the years.
The bigger schools will survive (MONEY) and the smaller institutions will slowly disappear.
It's much like what is happening in the United States with the incredible shrinking middle class in this country.
Think about it.
Honestly take a moment and look around at what has happened to this society of ours the last 30 or 40 years and then look at the college athletic scene as well.
Corporate greed ruins everything.
Now it is happening before our very eyes in college sports.
The Big Ten Conference is now the Big 12 Conference and should change it's name to appease the greed they are conforming to.

This is a joke, right?

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If this is not a joke, then the voters in South Carolina need to make Alvin Greene into Republican Senator Jim DeMint's "Waterloo"!

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS WIN STANLEY CUP TITLE

The Chicago Blackhawks are the Stanley Cup champions for the 2009-10 season after Patrick Kane scored the game winner in overtime to give the Hawks a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. The win gave the Hawks a 4-2 series win for their first Stanley Cup title since 1961, when Hall-of-Famer Bobby Hull was the top Hawks' player.

A message for the White House

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