I Was Thinking

Wait....wait and more waiting

2004-12-08T09:24:00.000-08:00

Wait, wait and more waiting. I do more waiting for doctor appointments than anything else. And you know what, haven't heard a thing what the heck's wrong with me. All I know is that I am being poked and prodded do enzyme tests, MS, MD and anything other muscular and nerve diseas there is. Maybe, one more day. Two at the most. I have a paper to write. I miss school. It's the only thing I have in my life going for me. Forty-six years old. My first career is awashed because of illness. Geez. Here I go, feeling sorry for myself when there are people who have a lot more wrong than I do. It's just that one gets tired of being in a clinical atmosphere. Too steril. Too impersonal. Too much psychological turmoil. Lots of quetsions. No answers. My patience is melting like an ice cube on the desert. Slowly, the mind turns to mush. Turns into every direction and becomes entwined with turmoil. I hate waiting.

A season for meditation

2004-12-02T09:20:00.000-08:00

The week before Thanksgiving, I spent three days at the Mayo Clinic. They thought they found what my problems were and I was happy. There was good and bad news. I could handle it. It seemed fair and balanced. Nothing to complain about. I received the written report a week later. Still, the news seemed a bit harsher than what the consultation provided me, but still I remained calm and upbeat. A week later, I received a box in the mail (Tuesday morning). I was to take it to St. Mary's and have the test tubes enclosed filled and sent off. Did what I was told. It seemed like an awful amount of blood, 26 tubes. But the nurse said it equaled about six tablespoons. Still, it seemed like a lot but nothing to worry about. Then, I get a call. More tests are needed. So, I am off at the beginning of next week. For just a couple of tests they said. I should be home quickly. Don't worry they stressed. At least these can be done in Duluth and will be networked with the Mayo. Nothing to worry about. That's easy for them to say.

Hail to the Vikings

2004-11-29T07:53:00.000-08:00

What a 27-16 win over the Jaguars Sunday for the Vikings. The best part of the game was watching the big-guy, Williams, pick up the fumble and run like Hell toward the goal line.

Risky communication

2004-11-24T07:17:00.000-08:00

Talk about dangerous. That's what could happen if you use a cell phone.

Some thoughts on embedding reporters

2004-11-23T13:14:00.000-08:00

I can't believe the Pentagon ever allowed embedded reporters to tag along with our military in the first place. To me, this showed stunningly bad judgment. It's hard to imagine a more anti-American, anti-military group of people anywhere on earth — outside of the United Nations building, anyway. How can anyone be surprised that they are producing what they know to be biased reports, which will only help the terrorists? Also, I don't recall NBC, ABC or CBS — all of whom seem to be playing that Marine video around the clock — playing any of the videos showing these monsters chopping off heads and shooting prisoners.

Embedding reporters with active combat units is a recipe for disaster. Not only do they put soldiers' lives at risk, but their lack of military education and judgment mislead viewers and readers. They often end up helping the enemy. This experiment in political correctness should end.

Commissioner went too far

2004-11-22T09:22:00.000-08:00

NBA Commissioner David Stearn has a right to be tough. A right to put the hammer down on people who abuse their place in their sport. But the Commissioner also must deal with issues fairly and what he dealt to the Indiana Pacers was a far cry from fairness. His judgement was clouded by the previous rebel, Ron Artest. His punishment was based on the past and not the present. he gave Artest a 73-game suspension, while giving a Piston, who helped instigate the riot, a six-game suspension.In an interview the Commissioner said he was the one who made the decision for the proper justice. But what the Commissioner did was too swift as he listened to all the sports zealots and experts thats aid throughout the last couple of days, "The Commissioner" has to show some balls and do something. The Commissioner played with the crowd and made the decision to punish with his heart and not he head. Everyone was at fault for the riot. veryone. The Pistons, the Pacers, the fans, the officials, the law enforcement and crowd control people, the beer industry...everyone. But the Commissioner seems satisfied to blam Artest. He did that with a 73-game suspension. I thought the Commissioner was supposed to be fair and deal with issues on an individual basis, noit all together. Artest got a raw deal. And Commissioner Stearn used blinders by too quickly acting and quick to judge that it was the fault of one man. Ben Wallace got away with murder Friday night and David Stearn was an accomplice to the fact.

A win is a win

2004-11-22T09:11:00.000-08:00

The good thing is the Vikings snapped their losing skid. The bad thing is they have to improve their defense and intestinal fortitude. Theyw ere very fortunate to come away from the Detroit game with a win. It had to take a team effort, because individually they all stunk up the place. Culpepper may have deserved the gameball but even he made some bonehead plays as did the rest of the offense. And it took the defense almost an entire game to wake up and play an unyielding style of defense to stop the Lions.

Sports are stressful

2004-11-21T05:02:00.000-08:00

Go ahead, Ron. Take a good, long time off. You earned it.

Last week Ron Artest asked for a month off to rest up from a grueling schedule that included producing a rap album, providing the most outrageous basketball quote of the year that was not spoken by Kobe Bryant or Shaquille O'Neal: "I've been doing a little bit too much music, just needed the rest. I've still got my album coming out Nov. 23. After the album comes out I'm going to make sure all of my time is focused on winning a championship.''

Artest received a two-game suspension instead and he deserves another far, far longer suspension for his behavior Friday night when he charged into the stands after fans and later punched one on the court. Teammates Jermaine O'Neal and Stephen Jackson likewise slugged fans.

The whole melee began when Detroit's Ben Wallace gave Artest a hard, two-handed shove in the chest and face after being fouled with 45.9 seconds left in the game. That started a scuffle between the two teams that ended with referees calling an end to the game. Everything seemed to be calming down when someone threw a full cup on Artest, who was inexplicably lying on the scorer's table, and that's when everything went to hell. Artest and Jackson went into the stands swinging for fans and fans spilled onto the court trolling for lawsuits.

Why everyone should get so upset, especially about an NBA game in mid-November, is unclear. Evidently, Detroit fans are going through withdrawal because of the NHL lockout. The only thing they didn't throw at the Pacers was an octopus.

How ugly was this fight? So ugly that Rick Mahorn and Rasheed Wallace were the peacemakers.

The fans in Detroit are equally at fault here. They crossed the line further than if they had Pittsburgh Steelers blocking for them. They inflamed a situation that was about to end peacefully. What we can see them doing is bad enough; what we can't hear them shouting at the players can only be imagined.

Without question, the fans deserve severe punishment. But other than taking away their season tickets and banning them from games, there isn't much the NBA can do about those morons. Their punishment must be handed out by the justice system, which should not only charge each one involved with assault but also reject any possible lawsuit directed at a player's checkbook.

The NBA, however, does have jurisdiction over its players and should throw the book at the three Pacers who fought with fans.

Artest went charging into the stands, looking wildly for the fan who threw the cup. It isn't clear whether he knew who actually did it, but he did shove down one fan he suspected. Then Jackson came up and drilled another fan who threw another beer at Artest.

After that settled down and security and teammates separated everyone, two fans came strutting onto the court toward Artest, essentially asking to be clobbered. Artest obliged them, as did an unidentified assistant coach and O'Neal, who all threw some very violent punches.

While the fans clearly asked for it, that in no way gives the players permission to give it to them. The players must be mature enough to let security and police officers handle such situations, if only to protect their bank accounts. Fan behavior can be ugly. It always gets much, much uglier when players respond.

As NBA commissioner David Stern said when announcing the indefinite suspensions, "This demonstrates why our players must not enter the stands, whatever the provocation or poisonous behavior of people attending the games."

There have been a lot of a distressing number of such incidents recently -- the father-son morons attacking a first base coach in Chicago, Frank Francisco tossing a chair in Oakland -- and the only way to end it is to get tough. Prosecute the fans and suspend the players without pay long enough that they have to take notice.

The NBA is already dealing with falling popularity and a perception that it has lost control of its players. To rescue its image, it has to come down hard -- the minimum suspensions should be 20 games. And Artest, whose record demonstrates a profound lack of control, should face a season-long suspension.

If Artest wants to record an album, fine. But the NBA can't tolerate him fighting everyone as if he's in the audience of the Vibe magazine awards.

Thieves hit McDonald's

2004-11-12T07:04:00.000-08:00

One of the infamous McDonald Hamburger icons was stolen.

Everyone upset at CBS

2004-11-12T07:02:00.000-08:00

Apparently, one should never interupt someone's TV program with a news-breaking story. Especially, since it was only about Arafat's death. This makes bloggers very angry.

A jilted woman

2004-11-12T07:00:00.000-08:00

Never get in the way of an angry woman.

Yeah! Santana wins Cy Young

2004-11-11T13:23:00.000-08:00

Johan Santana of the Minnesota Twins was a unanimous pick for the American League Cy Young Award on Thursday, rewarded for a stellar second half that helped his team win its third straight division title.Santana went 20-6 and led the AL with a 2.61 ERA and 265 strikeouts, going 13-0 with a 1.21 ERA in 15 starts after the All-Star break.

He received all 28 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers' Association of America, becoming the first unanimous Cy Young winner since Arizona's Randy Johnson two years ago and the first in the AL since Boston's Pedro Martinez in 2000. He is the 18th unanimous winner overall, the seventh in the AL.Curt Schilling, 21-6 with a 3.26 ERA in his first season with the Red Sox, received 27 second-place votes and one third for 82 points. Voting was conducted before the start of the postseason, when Schilling pitched despite an injured ankle and helped Boston win the World Series for the first time since 1918.

Schilling, who led the major leagues in wins, has never won a Cy Young Award. He was runner-up for the third time, tying Johnson, a five-time winner, and 1957 winner Warren Spahn for the most second-place finishes.Mariano Rivera of the New York Yankees, who led the major leagues with a career-high 53 saves, received the other second-place vote and 24 thirds for 27 points.

Santana, the first Venezuelan to win the award, had a breakout season after going 12-3 for the Twins in 2003. He is eligible for free agency after next season.Santana lost in salary arbitration last February and earned $1.6 million salary with no bonuses. Schilling, who had a $12 million salary, earned a $400,000 bonus for finishing second.

Houston's Roger Clemens won the NL honor Tuesday, his record seventh Cy Young Award.

Network TV affilates are idiots

2004-11-11T09:00:00.000-08:00

Some ABC TV networks won't show Saving Private Ryan tonight because of the violence and language. These guys have a lot of guts taking this off the air for those reasons. I've seen them put worse stuff than this on the air. Come on. It's Veterans Day. This is real-life stuff. It actually happened. It's not some action hero crap with Arnold "The Girly Man". There's a lot of vets in this country and many WWII guys are dying every day. There's not too many left. This picture honors them. Too bad affiltaes don't know history because eventually with an attitude like that their TV affilate could soon be history, too, if it doesn't start making better decisions.

FYI

2004-11-10T09:40:00.000-08:00

There's a new website that helps patients learn about clinics they seek treatment at.

Don't drink the water

2004-11-10T05:49:00.000-08:00

At any time, this is the reason why I don't drink anything but bottled water.

It's always too good to be true

2004-11-10T05:43:00.000-08:00

I, like hundreds of others, used to see those ads for losing so much weight in so many days. I probably poisoned myself and found out almost too late that there is no magic pill. You just have to find something you're comfortable with and attempt to use it. But the safest and smartest way to lose weight is to exercise and watch what one eats. At least watching what one puts in their mouth is the best. It's hard to exercise if it's physically difficult. But every little step one can take helps out a lot. I just feel sorry for people when these ads for magic pills in dieting comes out. It's bad enough to be overweight, but to prey on someone's weakness is worse, yet. I'm glad they're cracking down on these people and companies who are promoting lose-quick schemes in weight-loss.

Can you believe this!?

2004-11-10T05:40:00.000-08:00

Why did the chicken cross the road? To hold up the grocery store, of course. Donald Haines, 39, of Hilliard, Ohio, admitted to a Columbus court on Nov. 1 that he had dressed up in a chicken costume to rob a Kroger (search) store the previous January.He pleaded no contest to 12 counts, among them aggravated robbery, kidnapping and receiving stolen property, reported WLWC-TV of Columbus.Police told the court that a man wearing a mask and a bright yellow chicken suit with orange chicken feet walked into the Kroger store just before midnight on Jan. 2.The chicken flashed a gun and asked for the cash from the store's safe."It's pretty extraordinary," Columbus police Sgt. Shaun Laird told the TV station. "We've had guys wear fake mustaches now and again, but nothing like this."Although the entire incident was captured on surveillance videotape, Haines was not caught until cops, executing a search warrant on his home, found the chicken costume.

Great Monday night game

2004-11-09T06:49:00.000-08:00

It didn't have the final result I would have liked, but Monday night's football game between the Colts and Vikings was won of the best Monday night games in the past couple of years. The Vikings did a heck of a job even though they lost. Offensive fireworks were expected when the league's top two offenses met on Monday Night Football and the Colts and Vikings didn't disappoint. Peyton Manning threw four touchdown passes and Mike Vanderjagt hit a 35-yard field goal with two seconds left to give the Colts a 31-28 win over the Vikings in Indy. Running back Edgerrin James added 179 total yards to help the Colts' effort.

This is God's country

2004-11-09T06:44:00.000-08:00

My wife wasn't very happy last night to hear Minnesota is one of the best state's to live in. She's always telling me why a prson with my health problems would want to live in a state that does more to harm him beats her. Physically, Minnesota may be a tough state to live in but mentally it's beautiful.

Weird soda flavors

2004-11-08T11:59:00.000-08:00

If you're tired of drinking the same-old flavors of pop start looking on the grocer's shelf for all kinds of weird flavors coming form the Jones Soda Pop Company like broccoli, carrots and peanut butter among others. Target has Jones Company pop if you'd like to sample the type of pop they produce.

Another price gouge

2004-11-08T06:58:00.000-08:00

More costs are going up for everything we consume. Here's a justification for the cost of shrimp skyrocketing.

Losing teaches a lesson

2004-11-08T06:56:00.000-08:00

It's good to know that since the Democrats have lost two-straight Presidential elections, it has taught them something. They are vowing to do better in 2008.

Stupid crook

2004-11-08T06:53:00.000-08:00

Geez, how dumb can you be. If you're ever going to rob a bank, the first thing you should do is to check to see if it has any money in it.

Reality check

2004-11-04T06:19:00.000-08:00

Sports mean nothing when someone dies. A player by the name of Zholtek, who played for the Minnesota Wild, died last night going into the lockeroom after playing a game. He was only 31. Geez, I'm 46. Does that mean my time is up soon. Everything is put into perspectoive when you read aboput people dying and a very young age. It just hits real close to him and makes you think just what is important. Life.

Look at this election junkies

2004-11-01T09:00:00.000-08:00

Election junkies will get another opportunity to view Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" on the eve of the elections when video-on-demand firm CinemaNow will make the controversial documentary available today via the Internet. The 122 minute-long movie will be available at US time 8 p.m. EST for $9.95. Additionally, EchoStar will make the movie available to its more than 10 million Dish Network satellite TV service subscribers, also for $9.95. "Fahrenheit 9/11" has grossed more than $119 million, a boxoffice record for a documentary, and it won best picture at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival."

Some medical wisdom

2004-11-01T07:00:00.000-08:00

As I sit here in the medical waiting room in Duluth's St. Mary's-Duluth Clinic, I realize how fortunate I am to be getting read to go to the Rochester Mayo Clinic. I have alread filled out hundreds of forms which specify my direct illnesses and medications, and now I am receiving tests to provide doctors with medical profiles and other body chemistry necessary to give me some of the world's best hopsital care. Another nice thing is clinics provide a communications room to patience to check email and surf for medical information and othe rinformation. All you need is a medical code to get into the system. I wonder if this means when you're a patient you can still blog from your room or do research. I know you can get, get-well cards delivered to your room via the Internet. I can see the program they use on this system. There is a lot of monkey-monkey associated with the Mayo, though. They have a lot of hoops you have to dance through. They have told me that just to do the tests it will take three to seven days. I am hoping for the latter because I want to get them done and over with. I am tired of walking in pain. I am tired of spending the winters in bed for days at a time bacuse I cannot walk. I want to do what it takes to get this done, but even I am impatient and hate the inside of a clinic when I am in them too long. I hate getting up early in the morning for Duluth. The ride isn't exactly a great one, especially between Grand Rapids and Duluth. Oh well. i am in the homestretch of getting my to-do list done so I can get to the Mayo Clinic and come home.

Just some thoughts

2004-11-01T03:20:00.000-08:00

After six months telling us that Tuesday is going to be tighter than Britney Spears’ pants, the murmurs from the cognoscenti during the network's so-called election rehearsal on Halloween (perfect time to do it) reflected a much older conventional wisdom: that incumbents never have tight elections, win or lose.

The bigger-margin-than-we-thought talk was not the result of the rehearsal. For the pure purposes of practicing, elaborate story lines are created (for the paranoid of both parties, it’s your worst fear come true: the same people who’ll bring you the election results are making stuff up on-camera). But even these were relatively balanced from a smorgasboard of scenarios: a big Kerry win, a big Bush win, lines of thousands waiting to vote and polling hours extended in a swing state, early reports of voters being blocked from the polling places - all that good juicy political science fiction stuff that, if we had been thinking, we should have recorded, edited down, and sold as a DVD.

The dead can speak....or at leastw rite

2004-10-31T13:03:00.000-08:00

I don't know how it's possible, but in some cases the dead will be able to vote in Tuesday's election.

Just a musing

2004-10-31T07:34:00.000-08:00

Yasser Arafat is going to France for treatment. The French government is sending a plane for him. If I were a French taxpayer, I'd object. The creep has embezzled hundreds of millions; I think he's capable of hiring his own medical flight.

I think I understand why there's still a chunk of undecideds. Lots of voters out there aren't wild about EITHER candidate. They're mulling whom to vote for as the lesser of the evils. Sure the diehard Repubs signed up with President Bush long ago, and tho' perhaps a bit unnerved by the war and various other aspects of his leadership, they remain convinced that he's the best of the two. Ditto for the Democrats re Kerry – they believe his stance on the war, social issues, or whatever is superior. Their minds are all made up. But there's a lot of Middle America out there that isn't firmly in one party or the other. They vote for the person, for the issues. No candidate is perfect on ALL the issues. Bottom line: The undecideds aren't wimpies in the middle. They're genuine voters truly troubled by the choices and struggling to determine what Doing The Right Thing looks like.

What if we could have a president as likable as Bush and as smart as Kerry? A guy who knows how to slash a budget deficit and keep Wall Street happy? A charismatic wonk whose ancient sins are obscured by the glow of a recent brush with death? Oh, c'mon, he's tailor made for the job ...

I've been reading and hearing a lot about the missing explosives from the Al-Qaqaa military installation in Iraq. It’s a disturbing story, but doesn't surprise me. Not one bit.

I don't know who is to blame for the materials not being safeguarded or destroyed at that location, or if they were actually still there when U.S. troops arrived on scene last April, but I do know this: a trip across that country revealed one huge weapons depot after another. There were more missiles, mortars, guns, grenades, and ammo in Iraq than you could ever possibly imagine. The stuff was everywhere: in schools, hospitals, mosques, bunkers, abandoned buildings, holes in the ground, and homes under construction. Locating, disabling, and destroying the stuff was a priority for the Marines we were with, but the task was ridiculously challenging.

A recent AP story quoted former U.N. weapons inspector David Albright as saying, "There was an utter lack of curiosity to follow up on what was well-known to the U.N.," calling it "...a systematic failure of the military, which overran the country and left all these explosives behind without protecting its rear...The military should have had the sense to either secure high explosives and armaments or blow them up as they went through."

Remember, Saddam was known to have collected large amounts of VX and other deadly chemicals and was thought to have experimented with arming missiles and other weapons with the poisons. For this reason, caches that were found had to be tested for the presence of the chemicals, adding another layer of caution, delays, and potential risk.

Mostly, it was the sheer volume of munitions that created a constant challenge, forcing difficult choices to be made on a daily basis. There were so many of these weapons caches in so many places that it appeared nearly impossible to handle them all. If there was no other duty except to locate, secure, disable, or destroy the stuff, then perhaps the Marines and other forces could've done it. But new piles were being reported and located constantly, even as authorities were trying to figure out what to do with the stuff they'd already collected. Much of it was stored by Saddam's forces in heavily populated areas, which created even greater problems. For example, the Marines took us to several elementary schools in east Baghdad where classrooms had been emptied of desks and chairs and filled with hundreds of cases of grenades, large caliber machine gun rounds, mortars, and RPGs, literally stacked floor to ceiling, filling room after room. Behind the school in the parking lot there were several large truck trailers also packed to the brim with cases of the deadly cargo.

The Marines explained to us the dilemma they faced. They couldn't detonate the stockpile at the school because A) it would destroy the school and B) it was in a heavily populated neighborhood and many people would be killed and many homes and businesses damaged or wiped out. They couldn't simply drive the stuff out, either, without great risk. What if they hooked up one of the trailers to a rig and drove it out and down the street and they came under attack? If enemy fighters knew they were moving the stuff and fired on the convoy, the resulting explosion could kill dozens or even hundreds of innocent bystanders on the road or on the sidewalk or in nearby buildings. And the Marines were also worried about posting military guards at the school, for a similar reason. What if someone fired on the school, knowing the Marines were there, in an attempt to kill them? The result would be devastating for the community. There was also the issue of having enough trucks and manpower and time available to load up all of the thousands of cases and safely move them somewhere else. Remember, this was just one school. There were hundreds and hundreds of other sites just like it in and around Baghdad.

Also remember there was still a war going on. The military was still engaged in firefights on a daily basis. They were still trying to get the infrastructure working again, going to power plants and sewage treatment facilities, trying to deliver food and water to residents and get the garbage cleaned up. They were trying to clear roads and rebuild bridges and get schools and hospitals up and running, while also trying to track down and capture or kill Saddam and his top guys still on the run. The munitions dumps were one of many needs requiring attention.

This was a country that apparently thought it was more important to buy and stockpile weapons than food and water and medicine and learning materials. They had a seemingly endless supply of guns and ammo and explosives. The U.S. forces I observed were aware of the problem and gave it high priority. They were angry at all they found, and frustrated at the difficulties faced in getting rid of the stuff and making Iraq a safer place, but that's exactly what they were tasked to do.

Goodbye Bowl

2004-10-31T07:29:00.000-08:00

Dog-gone Gophers. They lost to Indiana Saturday and lost their attempt to go to a big bowl game. Always happens. Start the season in a flash and then putter out. They might as well start thinking baout next season.

Don't knock it until you've tried it

2004-10-31T07:21:00.000-08:00

I'm sick of people blasting the Atkins Diet. Unless you've tried it. Honestly tried it. Stuck to it. Were religious about it. Don't knock it. I've lost almost 250 pounds in three, almost four, years. It saved my life. i went from being an overweight, dying diabetic to a some-what healthy human being who has addeded some years to his life. Just because of the Atkins diet. Before you go on it, they tell you to read the book. Pick out the program you want and how much weight you want to lose. From there go to how many carbohydrates you want to limit yourself. I'm tired of all the namecalling. If it isn't for you, fine. if you need the carbs, fine. But don't knock someone who's found success with a diet plan they have stuck to.

Great movie for Halloween

2004-10-27T08:13:00.000-07:00

The Grudge is set in Japan but starring mostly American actors, has been remade by Takashi Shimizu from his original Japanese version. It loses intriguing opportunities to contrast American and Japanese cultures, alas, by allowing everyone to speak English; I was hoping it would exploit its locations, and become "Lost, Eviscerated and Devoured in Translation."

An opening title informs us that when an event causes violent rage, a curse is born that inhabits that place, and is visited on others who come there. We are eventually given a murky, b&w, tilt-shot flashback glimpse of the original violent rage, during which we can indistinctly spot some of the presences who haunt the house, including a small child with a big mouth and a catlike scream.

The house shelters, at various times, the mother of one of the characters, who spends most of her time in bed or staring vacantly into space; a young couple who move in, and an estate agent who sees that the bathtub is filled up, sticks his hand into the water to pull the plug and is attacked by a woman with long hair who leaps out of the water. This woman's hair, which sometimes looks like seaweed, appears in many scenes, hanging down into the frame as if it dreams of becoming a boom mike.

Various cops and social workers enter the house, some never to emerge, but the news of its malevolence doesn't get around. You'd think that after a house has been associated with gruesome calamities on a daily basis, the neighbors could at least post an old-timer outside to opine that some mighty strange things have been a-happening in there.

I eventually lost all patience. The movie may have some subterranean level on which the story strands connect and make sense, but it eluded me. The fragmented time structure is a nuisance, not a style. The house is not particularly creepy from an architectural point of view, and if it didn't have a crawl space under the eaves, the ghosts would have to jump out from behind sofas.

Sarah Michelle Gellar, the nominal star, has been in her share of horror movies, and all by herself could have written and directed a better one than this. As for Bill Pullman, the more I think about his opening scene, the more I think it represents his state of mind after he signed up for the movie, flew all the way to Japan and read the screenplay.

In a world of hurt

2004-10-27T07:47:00.000-07:00

Looks like I can start thinking about next year's baseball season. I don't think the Cardinals will be able to come back as they trail the Red Sox, 3-0. Looks like the ghost of Babe Ruth is dying and will be all but dead after tonight. okay, I guess the Red Sox deserve to win, but I don't like it. I think they still stink and the Cardinals couldn't have picked the worst time to go into the dump.

Missing explosives

2004-10-25T13:40:00.000-07:00

Oh, boy! Just want we want to hear that there are millions of tons of explosives misisng from a former Iraqi military base. I'm sure we'll know where they are pretty soon when they're used by the enemy against our troops. Someone is dropping the ball. It seems like people love watching people destroy themselves. Why didn't the US destroy that supply before it was stolen.The development immediately became an issue on the U.S. presidential campaign trail, with the White House downplaying the threat from the missing cache of weapons but Sen. John Kerry's campaign calling the disappearance a "grave and catastrophic mistake." The Iraqi Ministry of Science and Technology on Oct. 10 informing the US that approximately 350 (metric) tons of high explosive material had gone missing from the former Al-Qaqaa military installation. The sprawling site is about 30 miles south of Baghdad. There's the fear that these explosives could have fallen into the wrong hands. At the Pentagon, an official who monitors developments in Iraq said U.S.-led coalition troops had searched Al-Qaqaa in the immediate aftermath of the March 2003 invasion and confirmed that the explosives, under IAEA seal since 1991, were intact. The site was not secured by U.S. forces.

Who cares

2004-10-23T16:40:00.000-07:00

John Kerry was supposed to make a surprise appearance at the Red Sox game Saturday night.
Big deal! In an e-mail blasted to hundreds of campaign reporters, the Bush Presidential team lambasted Kerry as a ``so-called Red Sox fan'' who was ``against sports before he was for them.'' Bush's attack e-mail cited a list of Kerry sports idiocoes, including his comments in Michigan that he'd rather win the White House than see the Sox win the World Series. Wisconsin, which is a critical battleground state home to the Green Bay Packers, Kerry botched a reference a few weeks ago to ``Lambert field,'' slaughtering the hallowed turf of Lambeau Field. ``Lambert Field is the airport in St. Louis,'' White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card quipped.
A Kerry aide said, the Sox could figure prominently in the campaign's final days. If the Series goes seven games, it would end Oct. 31 - and a Boston victory celebration, drawing fans from battleground state New Hampshire, might be on Election Day. ``A Sox celebration could be a challenge for our get-out-the-vote operation in New Hampshire,'' the aide added.

Candidates find word usage tough

2004-10-23T15:39:00.000-07:00

Democrat John Kerry sought to undercut President Bush on national security today by charging that he was trying to scare voters with talk of terrorism. Bush portrayed his opponent as indecisive and suffering from “election amnesia” with conflicting stands on Iraq.Iraq and the war on terrorism dominated the campaign debate, reflecting voters’ anxieties as the election nears. For thousands of voters, the time of decision is over already. Thirty-two states allow for some form of early voting, either in person or by absentee ballot, and many voters are taking advantage of the opportunity.Bush mocked Kerry for criticizing him on Iraq, saying Kerry now calls it the “wrong war” after voting to authorize force and calling it the right decision when U.S. troops invaded.“Sen. Kerry seems to have forgotten all that as his position has evolved during the course of the campaign,” Bush said. “You might call it election amnesia.”Kerry opened the day in Pueblo, Colo., asking voters to choose what he described as his optimistic outlook. “Vote your hopes, not the fears that George Bush wants you to feel,” Kerry said. “Vote your hopes for our nation. Vote the possibilities of our country.”

Say it ain't so Joe

2004-10-21T11:41:00.000-07:00

COMMENTARYTHE Red Sox beat the Yankees for a pennant before the continents drifted back together. Did it with 98 percent of the sun's energy remaining, too, plenty of time to spare. After 86 years, they jumped up 8-1 by the fourth inning and we waited for the locusts and boils and The Flood coming from the Yankee bathroom when Kevin Brown, no fixture in Yankee fans' hearts for sure, battered the fixtures after lasting only nine batters. But it never happened. And the order of the universe as we knew it became forever altered at 11:01 p.m. And though the Red Sox, to what will be their everlasting satisfaction, took the most circular route in baseball history to win a series, who was really prepared from mid-summer on for the Yankees to meet their Doom exactly this way? Brown, a 39-year-old worry from the point of the season when the Yankees no longer were playing Tampa Bay every game, managed four outs. Javier Vazquez, the prize off-season rotation acquisition, immediately gave up a grand slam to Johnny Damon. It took almost two full series, 20 stranded runners left on base in Game 4, umpires twice correcting their own mistakes, but in end the Yankees met their end not by any reversal of karma but because they didn't have enough Yankees as we have known them. "We win because we pitch," Joe Torre always said. This time around they had a rotation of cranky backs, tired shoulders and tattered egos. Vazquez lost his release point at mid-season and Mel Stottlemyre couldn't find it. Brown lost his mind, breaking his hand against a clubhouse wall, when he had a last chance to find his old form. Five- inning pitchers were both Brown and Orlando Hernandez by the time the playoffs started, no guarantee even they could start them at all. All it took was only one blown save of one one-run lead by Mariano Rivera in Game 4 for this house of cards to begin its collapse. Tom Gordon, who was supposed to make it easier for Rivera, pitched through the playoffs to his previous post-season form, blowing a 2-run Game 5 lead. Jon Lieber, clutch against the Twins, brilliant in Game 2 against the Red Sox, wasn't bonus enough, making Torre entirely fallible this time, proving that not only are managers hired to be fired, but good ones succeed enough to inevitably fail. It may seem unbelievable that Torre, a manager not even George Steinbrenner could touch, has become the first to blow a 3-0 lead. But not really. Torre's track record and the new three-year deal he signed early this season will enable him to both survive and handle this unprecedented ignominy better than almost anyone who could have managed himself into such an historical corner. Basically, Rivera was lights out in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000, and the Yankees won. He gave it up in 1997 and 2001 and the Yankees lost, leaving last year the only exception to bullpens rule. Therefore, can any lingering notions that Torre ever been a genius because this time of year eighth innings open a can of worms. Most of us suspected the Yankees didn't have the tradebait this year to do better than this and that's how it turned out.

Where has Mrs. Kerry been

2004-10-21T09:27:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Joh Kerry has apologized for telling a newspaper she didn’t know if Laura Bush had ever held "a real job." She said she forgot about the first lady's 10-year stint as a schoolteacher and librarian. Where has she been?In an interview published Wednesday, USA Today asked the wife of Democratic candidate John Kerry how she would be different from Laura Bush as a first lady. "Well, you know, I don't know Laura Bush. But she seems to be calm, and she has a sparkle in her eye, which is good," Heinz Kerry said. "But I don't know that she's ever had a real job — I mean, since she's been grown up. So her experience and her validation comes from important things, but different things." Mrs. Kerry said she sees her age as a benefit — she is 66 and Bush 57. "I'm older, and my validation of what I do is a little bit bigger — because I'm older, and I've had different experiences. And it's not a criticism of her. It's just, you know, what life is about," she said. Mrs. Bush worked in public schools in Texas from 1968 to 1977, the year she married George W. Bush. In a statement issued Wednesday, Mrs. Kerry said: "I had forgotten that Mrs. Bush had worked as a school teacher and librarian, and there couldn't be a more important job than teaching our children. As someone who has been both a full-time mom and full-time in work force, I know we all have valuable experiences that shape who we are. I appreciate and honor Mrs. Bush's service to the country as first lady and am sincerely sorry I had not remembered her important work in the past." Earlier in the day, Karen Hughes, an adviser to President Bush, criticized Mrs. Kerry's remarks as "indicative of an unfortunate mind-set that seeks to divide women based on who works at home and who works outside the home."

Back to work

2004-10-21T09:09:00.000-07:00

It's supposed to be business as usual for those 18 convey supply soldiers, but things can ever be the same again, without the stench they may complain about their jobs again. True, the equipment may have been needing some tending to, but good soldiers follow orders and do what they have to do. Don't question authority. But now how does it look for other soldiers in the same boat? Do they throw up their arms and refuse to do what they have to do. An example has to be set that a soldier goes through channels. They can't let everyone else down doing their job. It frazzles authority and brings down authority. Hopefully, though, both parties have klearned something from this.

Fair is fair

2004-10-21T08:47:00.000-07:00

I don't like doing it, but I have to set an example for bloggers to follow everywhere. I have to practice what I preach. In this instance, I have to link the front page of the Boston Globe because it shows the Boston Red Sox celebrating after completing their comeback against the Yankees Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium. I still don't like them and I hope the curse of Babe Ruth still haunts them and they don't win the World Series now or in another 86 years. I can be fair, but still not pleased.

Gymnast can still Ham(m) it up

2004-10-21T08:38:00.000-07:00

American Olympic gymnast Paul Hamm can keep his Gold Medal. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It would have been a crime had he had to give it up, but a Court of Sports ruled against the South Korean, who said he was robbed of the Gold medal when a judge miscalculated his degree of difficulty for an event, plus he was scored incorrectly. Geez, what a way to try to get a medal. Win it in the court. True, it may have been a not so right way of Hamm getting it, either. But at least he won it on the floor where it was supposed to be won. One can't help when you have scorers grading you on peformance. it's one of those intangibles you have to live with.

Damn Yankees lose

2004-10-21T04:47:00.000-07:00

I have to admit it was a great comeback, but it still stinks the Yankees lost, 10-3, and lost the chance to go to the World Series. At least I have one team left, maybe. They have to beast the Astros tonight. It was a good comeback but the Red Sox. But I still don't like them.

Is nothing sacred in war

2004-10-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

CARE International suspended operations in Iraq on Wednesday after gunmen seized the woman who ran the humanitarian organization's work in the country. The victim's Iraqi husband appealed to the kidnappers to free her "in the name of humanity, Islam and brotherhood." Which means these people really don't care about their people. Just themselves!Margaret Hassan was kidnapped on her way to work in western Baghdad after gunmen blocked her route and dragged the driver and a companion from the car, her husband said.

The Arab television station showed Hassan in a video. Another great weapon terrorists have decided to use.Many non-governmental organizations began withdrawing international staffers after attacks on foreigners and their institutions began in earnest in the summer of 2003.
Nothing like biting the hand that feeds them. I also was under the impression terrorists didn't kidnap women. I guess, they've changed their gameplan. Maybe we should start stopping to send supplies, and stop showing we care. Apparently, no one in Iraq cares whether people live or die.

Everything sounds good (NOW)

2004-10-20T04:45:00.000-07:00

Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards came to Minnesota's Iron Range on Tuesday night and vowed to defend the "rural way of life,'' including the rights of hunters and snowmobilers who are being feverishly courted by the other side. That's the way it always is. Every four years the candidates come to the Irone Range and make their promises. They know where the base is in Minnesota for the Democrats. If they get Rangers to vote Democrat, then usually the entire state goes that way. But don't take advantage of our tough economic times. Kerry-Edwards won't be able to take care of the economic depression on the Range. First, they have to quit importing foreign steel. Something they won't do because big business can't afford to pay for the steeel made in merica. Can't pay for the taconite pellets taken from the Range mines. What they need to do is to find a new source of economic development. Just don't let companies come in to the Range for a few years and take advantage of the taxes-free zones and then leave after they've used their funding and gifts up. Get some stability on the Range. Rangers lack stability in job growth and employment. We're becoming a zone for recreation and vacation fun. Nothing stable. We're an area of seasons, not stabilty 24/7 365 days a year. Look at how many jobs are created and business started, and then look how long they last. Not veyr long. Don't make promises of bringing economical stability when the economic development of the entire country is at a stand still!

shut-up about the flu already

2004-10-20T04:38:00.000-07:00

John Kerry keeps blasting George Bush about the flu vaccine shortage. I don't think it was Bush's fault that a company in England produced millions of vials of bad vaccine. Then why is Kerry making a political football out of it. it seems, now, he's not sticking with the issues and lambasting Bush about anything and everything. Geez, this is becoming pretty dirty. I usually am a staunch Democrat, but I'm getting sick of this political boxing match. No one wants to stay on the main focus of what America needs. The flu vaccination shortage just happened. Kerry is preying on the fears of the elderly. Just admit it's one of those things and move on. Let's just try to get some vaccination from Canada and move on. In the next couple of weeks focus on the issues and not the shortage of vaccine. We're losing sight of what really matters.

Quit picking on the old people

2004-10-20T04:31:00.000-07:00

Halloween, a week from Sunday, is a time for pranks — and John Kerry al ready is getting into the spirit, trotting out the Democrats' old "trick" of spooking seniors about Social Security. Beware of President Bush's "January surprise," Kerry warned in Ohio and Florida. That, says the Democrat, is when Bush plans secret cuts that could cost them nearly half their monthly Social Security checks Bush's evil plot, Kerry said, is to "privatize" the system. And it will mean "nearly $500 a month less for food, for clothing, for the occasional gift for a grandchild." Of course, the president has no such plan — and (somewhat surprisingly) several media outlets and fact-checking groups have noted this fairly. Kerry's claim is "false," notes the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center. The plan Kerry's referring to "would only slow down the growth of benefits, and only for future retirees." And that plan "was one of three possible 'reform models' detailed by a bipartisan commission." The government announced increases in benefits of some $300 a year, on average, set for January — to keep pace with inflation.

What has Bush really called for? A move toward the system many Americans long thought was in place — one in which funds deducted from your paycheck are put into an account for your retirement. Washington uses this money as it sees fit; your Social Security benefits are actually funded by other workers. And because the Baby Boom population bulge is nearing retirement age, there soon won't be enough younger folks to support all current benefit levels without massive payroll-tax hikes. Which is why it is Kerry's plan that is the scary one: He vows that as president, he "will not raise Social Security taxes, raise the retirement age, cut benefits . . . or privatize Social Security." Which sounds comforting — but assures the system's bankruptcy not far down the line.

Bush, by contrast, backs personal retirement accounts that let folks create "a nest egg you can call your own and the government can never take away" — just what many thought they had all along. And despite Kerry's hype, it would affect only two percentage points of a total 12.4 percent Social Security payroll tax. Actually, it's a shame Bush isn't urging a larger share, because his plan would also let folks invest those funds and reap returns far greater than they now get.

That would be a nice treat. Unlike Kerry's trick!

I'm just getting tired of all this political crap. FROM BOTH SIDES!

Damn Yankees

2004-10-20T03:14:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it! The Yankees took a 3-0 lead on Boston and can't finish them off. Now, they have to play a Game 7. What the heck is up with this. You win the first three gams and all you have to do is win one of the next four. Is that hard?

Crazy Don Imus

2004-10-19T08:38:00.000-07:00

In a bizarre occurence on Imus in the Morning, Don Imus related a story of how a dog he owned thirty years ago killed an elderly neighbor when it got loose in Imus' old neighborhood in Parma, Ohio. Imus claimed that he was unaware of the incident for six months until another neighbor informed him of the incident. Imus recounted that the dog, a mixed-breen Great Dane/Boxer jumped on the eldely woman in her backyard who went into cardiac arrest and died. Imus' brother Fred joined the discussion and reminded Don that the dog in question was not "Bingo", a dog Imus had in his childhood, but rather "Bear" a large dog that had a previous history of aggressive behavior. Upon hearing the name "Bear", Charles McCord added his recollection about the dog that confirmed Fred Imus' account of an aggressive dog that had attacked other people.

Note: Imus says no one from the family of the woman ever contacted him nor the police so it is safe to say he was never charged with anything.Anyone know what the statute of limitations is in Ohio for what sounds a lot like negligent homicide?

Still asking questions

2004-10-18T06:50:00.000-07:00

Bloggers are still asking questions what the bulge was behind President Bush's back during his debate with John Kerry recently. Rev. Jesse Jackson said the public has a right to know.

Worst city for women

2004-10-18T06:24:00.000-07:00

Colorado Springs is the worst city for a woman to live in. Just thought if there was anyone wanting to live there you might want to read this first.

A lot of happy sleepers

2004-10-18T06:16:00.000-07:00

No wonder it's easy to sleep while visiting Minneapolis. It was just voted the best city for sleeping, according to a USA Today story. If you're having trouble catching 40 winks, catch those and more in Minenapolis.

Phil lights up Kobe

2004-10-18T06:14:00.000-07:00

Shaquille O'Neal isn't the only person with an ax to grind with NBA superstar Kobe Bryant. Later this month former Lakers coach Phil Jackson will add his two cents in "The Last Season: A Team in Search of Its Soul." In diarylike fashion, Jackson details Bryant's bad behavior, dishing on Bryant's feuding with O'Neal and the star's alleged egomaniacal demands. Jackson also says he had to see a therapist to cope with Bryant. "Phil had been dealing with a lot of drama with Kobe since the first day he began to coach [him]," says a source in the Lakers front office. "We're talking about a man who coached Dennis Rodman and [Michael] Jordan and [Scottie] Pippen. He thought he'd seen everything. And then he met Kobe."

How's Bryant taking the criticism? Those close to him say he's unfazed. "He's been through so much and come out ahead," says a friend. "He isn't going to let the talk get into his head. He figures that if the last few months didn't break him, why should this?" Bryant dismissed the book last week, telling reporters that the former coach was "just trying to sell books." Jackson's publisher, Penguin Press, says Jackson isn't doing interviews until the book is published

Are we really surprised

2004-10-17T07:42:00.000-07:00

Are Americans stunned by the news that Iraq doesn't continue to be safe, despite the United States puring in money like it is going out of style to make it safe and more sociable. The more we do, the more we are going backwards. Bush says we're making progress, but are we really. Everyday more people are being kille. Every day there's more bombins and violence. Every day, the very tghing we're helping to build is destroyed and we go back to the drawing board. We're in quicksand and we're sinking further and further into oblivion every day. We're not making progress. The money we're spending in Iraq can be better put to use in the United States with heatlthcare, creating jobs and educating those who have lost their jobs because of outsourcing. If this is progress, let me off at the next stop!

What are we thinking?

2004-10-16T08:57:00.000-07:00

We're scaring each other to death. With thoughts of something happening on election day, America is preparing for the worse. That's all we need. We are working so hard as a nation to get people to come out to the polls and now this crap is going to keep people home. From being afraid their votes won't call to attacks on Captal Hill, we're a nation that is being driven on fear. Every week we're being told there's an attack here and an attack there. It seems the the Bush administration is putting these threats out at very strategic times. Could this be an election ploy, too?

The draft is real

2004-10-16T08:40:00.000-07:00

Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry said Friday that there was “great potential” for a new military draft to replace overextended U.S. troops in Iraq if President Bush won a second term, despite Bush’s repeated pledges to maintain the all-volunteer service. Republicans rejected the suggestion as “fear-mongering.” I tend to believe Kerry. It's no secret we're running out f soldiers, and there's a question where we're going to get them? I tend to believe the draft will come back if Bush continues to be our president.

Is it worth it

2004-10-16T08:36:00.000-07:00

I had planned to write a blog today about Bill O'Reilly. I have some very strong feelings about the embarassing hypocrisy of Fox News and O'Reilly. But last night, as I was thinking about the "partisan worst" in broadcast news, I flipped on a program that has always represented journalism at its best— ABC's Nightline. There was Ted Koppel's team, along the most remote stretch of the Bay Hap River in South Vietnam... seeking out witnesses to a firefight from 35 years ago... a fight that has been called into question in our presidential election by a group called "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth." I'll leave it to ABC's web site for the details on what Nightline found about John Kerry's war record. But I was moved by something Ted Koppel said in his closing thoughts... and I want to repeat them here: "We didn't know what we were going to find when our crew went into Vietnam. You have the right to expect that we would have reported it either way. And we would. Because, not reporting something you know can be just as much of a political statement as reporting it... once we've checked things as thoroughly as we can, we're in the business of reporting what we learn, not concealing it."

"Reporting what we learn, not concealing it." For me, that declaration is the best way to end this week and think about the next two. Because despite the shallow approach in some quarters of the TV news business, there are still organizations that work tirelessly and with complete integrity to dig deep. That integrity, fairness, and dedication to letting the chips fall where they may, is what we all strive for.

Twins beginning to get cheap again

2004-10-16T08:15:00.000-07:00

The Twins are allowing Christian Guzman to hit the Free Agent market in an attempt to cut his salary. The Twins can sign him if any other team makes him an offer, but there are a couple of teams, especially, the Chicago White Sox, who are interested in him. It happens every year as the Twins lose players in a way to cut the payrool. I hope they are going to go after Radke and Santana. Without, pitching, the Twins don't have to worry about being a contender for anythng any longer.

Cat lovers read this!

2004-10-16T06:08:00.000-07:00

Here's an interesting story for people whose cats are a pain sleeping.

Closely monitor children

2004-10-16T05:57:00.000-07:00

When taking antidepressents, putting a waring label isn't just good enough. Kids, or anyone, should be constantly monitored to watch the affect these pills have. I know, there are times when I have thoughts like this and I am taking as strong of a dose of Paxil as you can take. But I am always monitored. At least once a month during my visit to the clinic. antidepressents aren't fun, but they do help maintain a blance in one's life.

For safety and professional reasons

2004-10-16T05:53:00.000-07:00

All my wife stressed to me before going into the outpstient center at Bemidji's hospital was to make sure they wouln't give her an inject to help cope with surgery in the back. She'd rather be put out. Dr. Kim came in and said that since my wife had a cold, they would have to give her the medicine in the back. My wife said she wanted it through the mouth. Dr. Kim said he couldn't do it, but my wife said she gave her permission to do it. Dr. Kim and I looked at each other and said it couldn't be done. My wife just wasn't thinking as Dr. Kim was not going to put his career on the line so someone can have what they want. Dr. Kim explained it was safe and has been done many times. So, my wife had to reluctantly agree. The surgery took almost two hours, which is about 1 1/2 hours longer than it should have because of the size of my wife's stone. It was the size of an orange. They got it out, but now my wife's pain is excrtiating and she's miserable. She probably knew best, but sleep medicine doesn't work on the operating table when you have a cold.

Hello Broadway

2004-10-16T05:49:00.000-07:00

As I sat in the waiting room waiting for my wife to come out of surgery for the removal of kidney stones Friday, I read an intersting front page story on one of my favorite football players while growing up, Joe Namath. It told of his battle with alcohol and how he has tried to overcome it over the last few years. Namath was one of the great players of his time and helped the game move forward so players today are treated better by the game.

A lot went on

2004-10-14T05:07:00.000-07:00

The fur was flying during the Presidential debate Wednesday evening. I think it was draw as both candidates made some very good points. It was interesting to see this debate really take off, unlike the others.

How about those Yankees

2004-10-14T03:45:00.000-07:00

The Yankees proved they still owned Pedro Martinez and received a great pitching effort from Lieber last night in going 2-0 on the Red Sox. The Red Sox are done. The Yanks are playing balanced baseball and are in their usual October form. The Red Sox just can't hit the Yankee pitching. Everyone in the Yankee lineup is making a solid contribution.

A real Donnybrook

2004-10-14T03:39:00.000-07:00

The third and final Presidential debate from Tempe, Arizona, last night was the best one of the three as both candidates took some pretty good swipes at each other.
President Bush and John Kerry clashed on health care, taxes and the role of government and each claimed t his opponent's record did not match his rhetoric.On health care, Bush said litigation abuse and a lack of consumer choice was at the center of increasing costs. Kerry pledged to offer health insurance to all Americans — which Bush said would balloon the federal deficit.

Kerry said Bush was "the only president in 72 years to lose jobs — 1.6 million jobs lost. He's the only president to have incomes of families go down for the last three years, the only president to see exports go down, the only president to see the lowest level of business investment in our country as it is today." Kerry said one percent of Americans got $89 billion in tax custs last year and said the minimum wage should be raised. "The president has denied 9.2 million women $3,800 a year, but he doesn't hesitate to fight for $136,000 to a millionaire.The two men disagreed over abortion. Kerry said the choice should be "between a woman, God and her doctor," and the president said he wants to promote a "culture of life."Asked about the Catholic bishops who have advised parishioners it would be a sin to vote for a candidate who supports abortion rights, Kerry evoked the name of John F. Kennedy, another Massachusetts senator and the first Catholic elected president.He quoted Kennedy's famous 1960 campaign statement in which he said he wasn't running to become a Catholic president, but the first president who happens to be a Catholic."My faith affects everything I do, in truth," Kerry said.Bush also mentioned his faith. "Prayer and religion sustains me," he said. "I receive calmness in the storms of the presidency."

Each repeatedly accused the other of hyperbole and dishonesty. When Bush said Kerry has voted 98 times against tax cuts, Kerry shot back, "Anybody can play with these votes. Everybody knows that.""One of those exaggerations," Bush said when Kerry charged that he had said he wasn't worried about capturing Osama bin Laden. Kerry's campaign quickly e-mailed reporters a comment Bush made in 2003: "I truly am not that concerned about him. I know he is on the run." Among the rulesfor the debate there would be no cutaway camera shots of a candidate's reactions while the other was speaking. A warning light would flash if either man exceeded his allotted time. The first debate would be on foreign affairs.

A great tool

2004-10-13T09:29:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks, I have purposely dove into the waters of the battle between blogging versus journalism for my project in Blogs and Wikis. The one thing I have learned is that the blog can be used as a great tool by terrorists to get their messages across. No message can be more vividly sent as to what these lonneys are like than to show a beheading. It's bad enough these guys hide in corners, now they're hiding behind the Internet. It's a terrible message they're sending. But they aren't getting their message into the papers and can't convince the journalists to warn people what happens when you make a terroist mad. But the blogging message is clear: Come over here and lose your head. Stay out of Iraq.

Using the Internet for suicide pacts

2004-10-13T09:24:00.000-07:00

Internet pacts, according to an October 13, 2004 (page A12) story in the Star-Tribune said people in Tokyo are leaving suicide pacts on the Internet and are worried because it is a disturbing trend. Many of the suicide cases involving people from distant parts of the country started from meetings on the Internet, prompting calls for the government to shut down suicide message boards. More than 32,000 Japanese committed suicide last year.

News organizations are both at fault

2004-10-13T09:20:00.000-07:00

The Star-Tribune's comparision of the Fox News bogus story and the CBS hoax was amazing in that the paper found more fault with Fox than with CBS News. Fox yanked the Web-stite only story within hours, admitted the story was fake and apologized. CBS did not apologize to the two Guard officers whom its story impunged and no one at CBS has been reprimanded. The only thing CBS and Dan Rather admitted was that it didn't receive sufficient verification, not that it had broadcast or presented viewers with a hoax.

Should there be concern

2004-10-13T09:10:00.000-07:00

Minnesota Senator Mark Dayton is being heavily criticized for closing his office on Capital Hill until after the November election because of terroristic threats. Many of the fellow senators say Dayton is giving in to the terrorists. But Dayton is being more safe than sorry. What happens if terrorists do strike Capital Hill. Who looks like the smart guy, then. Dayton is telling people to stay away until after the elections. That seems the smart move. Many experts believe that terrorists will attempt to do something to disrupt the elections. He just wants to be cautious. There's nothing wronf with that.

I knew it all along

2004-10-13T09:05:00.000-07:00

One had to be crazy if they thought there wsn't anything between Kobe and former coach Phil Jackson. jackson recently said that Kobe was a psychological challenge and in fact Jackson had hired a psychologist to travel with the team to keep things intact. Jackson also said Kobe and Shaq were like two little juveniles who were always bickering. Jackson admits he wanted to trade Kobe last January but the Laker owner wouldn't do it. As a result, Jackson was fired and Shaq traded at the end of the season. But Kobe was the catalyst in poisoning the Lakers and caused the breakdown in the playoffs.

An interesting piece of history

2004-10-13T09:03:00.000-07:00

I am excited to note that I have discovered a piece of history, when I was lookingfor material on John Steinbeck and LBJ, I found a poem Steinbeck wrote for LBJ's Inauguration. It's valuable bacuse the poem has gone unpublished. I think it's a great find. I also own a piece of history.

A treasure was discovered

2004-10-13T08:58:00.000-07:00

I was excited to find out the other day that amongst the material gathered for my thesis, I came across a poem by John Steinbeck which has never been published and very few, if any people, know that exists. But I found it amongst the research I did for my thesis project on Steinbeck and LBJ. It's valuable. Why? Because if it's rare to find, and few pwoplw want it or know about it, it is valuable. It's just an amazing find. And out of the two-page poem, LBJ used probably a paragraph. All that work for a couple of lines in his Inaugural address. But, hey, I have a keepsake.

He was such a good boy

2004-10-13T07:41:00.000-07:00

That's what an aunt said about her 16-year-old nephew after he was arrested at Harding High School for making terroristic threats.Thanks to a couple of nosy studentsthe school may have averted becoming another school scarred by violence.
The student threatened to bring guns to school and shoot staff members and students.
Deutsch's threats, which police say did not name specific students or teachers, were scrawled in his planner. It was left on a desk in a math classroom. Two students noticed it sitting there as they were leaving and looked inside to see who it belonged to. They found no name or identification, but saw messages threatening violence against black students. His aunt told KSTP News that her nephew was a good boy and he was frustrated. That's all that's needed for someone to go off of the deep end.

Democrats get pushey

2004-10-13T04:12:00.000-07:00

The rumors of a national draft that Ken Bode wrote and article on circulating draft rumors brining issues to the forefront are a possibility.Legislation in Congress is intended "To provide for the common defense by requiring that all young persons in the United States, including women, perform a period of military service or a period of civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, and for other purposes."Its sponsor is Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y. Companion legislation in the Senate is sponsored by Sen. Ernest Hollings, D-S.C. Every sponsor and co-sponsor is a Democrat.Bode reports the Bush administration denies having a draft plan. He just doesn't take the time to tell readers about the bills in Congress.The Internet bloggers and the rumor mills ought to be warning people of the Democrat plan to reintroduce a national draft. The fears of parents, grandparents and college-age men and women are misplaced if they suspect the president has a secret plan; they need look no further than the Democrat-sponsored legislation.

It didn't have to happen

2004-10-13T04:05:00.000-07:00

Three brothers. Three young men did because another young man allegedly was drunk, on the cell phone and in a huryr to pass to get somewhere. The end result: He went nowhere and the three brothers are dead, gone and their familt grieves. People just don't think when they drink and rive. On top of that, they have to use the cell phone and not use common sense in wanting to pass. What's wrong with these people. Now, a family grieves. Everyone loses and the young man allegedly responsible for the tragedy will live it for the rest of his life, while the parents of the victimes live and go day-to-day without their loved ones. Having to live with memories because of one stupid and careless moment on the highway because of an alleged drunk driver.

Holy cow! What a game!

2004-10-13T04:01:00.000-07:00

It wasn't what those rabid Boston Red Sox fans expected when their supposed savior, Curt Schilling, took the mound in the Bronx on Tuesday. A first-inning rocket into the left-field corner by Gary Sheffield. A third-inning bullet off the right-field wall by Matsui. Quite a fireworks display by the Yankees arsenal attack. A banner hanging from the upper deck: "Curt Shelling." Boston fans were expecting the beginning of the end of a curse, not the same old agony of another loss to the New York Yankees, this time 10-7 in a wild Game 1 in which a late-inning Red Sox comeback fell short.By the third inning, Yankees hitters were teeing off at will on Schilling, leading 6-0. And that was enough for Boston manager Terry Francona, who lifted his No. 1 starter, who had gone 21-6 with a 3.26 ERA in his first season in Boston, after three innings. Stats mean nothing when you play the Yankees or anyone in the playoffs.Schilling had looked forward to for a long time to this game and had boasted during interviews he had the remedy to silence 50,000 Yankee fans. He came to Boston as a free agent, adopted a proper Yankees-hater attitude, then relished his role as No. 1 starter in this series, which many people thought the Red Sox might win primarily because of the addition this season of another front-line starter.Instead, a big moment turned into a nightmare for Schilling.

In the first inning, he gave up three consecutive two-out hits, for two runs. In the third, he was shelled, the big blow a line-drive, three-run double by Matsui.Schilling has been wearing a T-shirt that reads "Why Not Us?" Tuesday, instead of providing an answer, his performance raised more questions.

Hold party animals accountable

2004-10-12T13:32:00.000-07:00

Parties are part of the college experience, but when the festivities infringe on peaceful residential neighborhoods, the problem must be addressed immediately. The raucousness is occurring in several neighborhoods, but I get sick and tird of being woken out of sleep in my neighborhood because there is no respect amongst student partiers. The late-night parties often include loud music, underage drinking, public intoxication and trash-strewn yards.What concerns me most is the imminent danger to students. Intoxicated students make inviting targets for criminals. Impaired students can make bad judgments. Ultimately, it is the students who must take responsibility for the actions of themselves and their friends. That would be the quickest and easiest way for the neighbors to get some sleep. Those who behave irresponsibly should be held accountable.

No surprise here

2004-10-12T08:51:00.000-07:00

It's hard for someone to believe that President Bush hasn't slipped in his approval rating rankings.President Bush and Sen. John Kerry head toward their third and final televised debate this week with voters increasingly pessimistic about the economy, the war in Iraq and the battle against terrorism. The country is going south and Americans are resting very uneasy. John Kerry has to hold a very decisive edge on the domestic issues that will be the focus of their last face-to-face encounter.
Among all registered voters, Kerry and Bush each had 48%. In the 17 states that both campaigns see as most competitive, Kerry was at 48%, Bush at 45%. Wednesday night's is the last chance for voters to see the candidates side-by-side — and the main chance for the candidates to change the dynamics of the campaign in its final, frenetic three weeks.There is a growing concern about terrorism, Iraq and the economy hasn't boosted voters' trust in Kerry to handle those issues. But Bush's approval rating — the most reliable measure of a president's re-election prospects — has dropped to 47%, the lowest since July. Anything below 50% is considered a red flag for incumbents.
•Attitudes about Iraq are as negative as they were in May, the previous low point — a time soon after photos of abused Iraqi prisoners had been released and an American contractor beheaded. A 54% majority now says the war wasn't worth it.
Confidence that the United States is winning the war on terror also slipped.

Hope Twins stay together

2004-10-11T13:11:00.000-07:00

It was a bad weekend. Instead of prepping for the next round of the playoffs, the Twins are prepping to go home. Around 10 Twins are going to be involved in arbitration. I hope Twins' owner Carl Pohlad is generous and wants to keep some of these guys together. We can't afford to lose Santana that's for sure. But that's the nice thing about sports. There's always next eyar and Twins fans can hardly wait for Spring Training to roll around.

My Two Cents Worth

2004-10-11T10:39:00.000-07:00

So the University of Notre Dame had Taco Bell removed from campus because workers in Florida were making a below-average living. So riddle me this, Notre Dame. How much money are the workers who are making those over priced green T-shirts you sell at your bookstore? I bet some of those students who complained about Taco Bell spend more on their cell phones in a year that what those workers make in a year.Can we say hypocrites?

Integrity
"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet". Fraud, deceit, and duplicity, although disguised by the name of "political spin," still has a stench! "The whole truth and nothing but the truth," regardless of the personal cost to the speaker, is integrity. Who among us can say integrity is the watchword of our presidential election? We promote and cherish integrity in our families and community, but how many times can we turn our heads and pretend that we do not see its lack in the political arena? Can it be that the professionals who run elections and cajole the candidates to "stay on message" believe we voters are so gullible and ignorant that we will vote for the candidate that best "spins" the truth and tells us what we most want to hear? The question begged is: Would you and I vote for a candidate who stood his ground and spoke with integrity? If "yes" is our answer, why then is political integrity so seldom seen? After all, campaigns are designed to capture our votes. Is integrity a death knell to a candidate's political future? The answer may well be "blowing in the wind."

Irish won!

2004-10-11T10:32:00.000-07:00

One of my college teams, besides the Gophers, are the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. I live and die with them on every Saturday. More than the Gophers. I especially loved them when Lou Holtz was the coach. God, I loved that guy. But I have liked all the Irish coaches. I love Blue and Gold. Everything about the Irish. They had a tough year last seaosn, but now look as if they've gotten things straightened out. I hope. Their coach, though, has done a great job despite being lambasted by the alumni for not coaching the way they feel he should coach. he's his own boss and there has to be patience. Football has seen a lot of parity these days and the Irish just can't go on the field and win like they used to.

Will the Twins stay the same

2004-10-11T10:25:00.000-07:00

That's the question everyone seems to be asking. Who knows? It may just be some sort of speculation one asks immediately after the Twins were eliminated. The Twins' owner pocketbook always seems to be the question and whether or not he wants to open it a little wider to keep the team strong. The Twins haven't ever let money get in the way of their putting a team on the field. Some how, though, I have the feeling no matter what happens there is enough parity in the division to make them remain a contender.

Vikings win in OT

2004-10-11T10:16:00.000-07:00

I thought for sure the Vikings weren't going to pull it off Sunday against the Texans. I thought for sure they were going to have one of their customary meltdowns, but they did stay to play in overtime. They snapped a six-game road losing streak. But there's a lot of the seaosn left, boys.

There's always next year, hum!

2004-10-11T09:04:00.000-07:00

It's funny how quickly things can change. One minute I was optimistic about the Twins' chances of pulling off a first-round upset, and the next minute I'm eulogizing their season. One minute I was defending Ron Gardenhire's decision to leave Joe Nathan in for the 12th inning of Game 2 amidst an onslaught of dissenting e-mails, and the next minute I was screaming "why the hell did he take him out?!" when Gardenhire decided it was time to show off his quick hook with Johan Santana in Game 4.

While I understood Gardenhire's decision-making process with Nathan in Game 2 -- I agreed with him that his other available options, namely J.C. Romero and Jesse Crain, were not better than Nathan -- I have no clue what the logic behind removing Santana after five innings was. With the Twins facing an actual "must-win" game, and not just the cliche-driven use of the phrase that we hear so much come playoff time, Gardenhire made the decision to go with his ace, Santana, the best pitcher in the American League this year, on short rest. If Santana came through, the team would live to fight another day, likely sending Brad Radke out on short rest in Game 5, at Yankee Stadium. If the team lost, at least they lost with Santana.

So Santana started and, although he wasn't quite as sharp as he was during the second half, when he went 13-0 with a 1.21 ERA, he was about as good as could have reasonably been expected from a guy working on three days' rest for the first time in his career. His fastball was popping, his slider was breaking, and his changeup was as nasty as ever, a welcomed sight after Santana had to make due largely without his best pitch in Game 1.

After giving up a run in the third inning and getting into a little trouble in the fourth, Santana struck out Derek Jeter to get out of the jam. Then, after walking Alex Rodriguez to begin the top of the fifth, Santana struck out Gary Sheffield and Hideki Matsui swinging, and got Bernie Williams to ground out to end the inning. With the Twins' offense finally breaking through against Javier Vazquez in the bottom of the inning, Santana was rolling right along and suddenly had a 5-1 lead to work with heading into the top of the sixth.

Except he never made it that far. Gardenhire approached him in the dugout after the Twins scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth and told Santana that his day was done. After just five innings and 87 pitches, and having struck out three of the last four batters he faced, Santana was taken out of the game and the Twins' bullpen was given the 5-1 lead with four innings to hold it. And they almost did.

Grant Balfour was the first guy out of the pen and pitched brilliantly, mowing the Yankees down for two innings -- six up and six down with pure, mid-90s gas. With the score still 5-1 Twins, Balfour then turned it over to Juan Rincon for the top of the eighth, at which point everything fell apart. Rincon, who had a 2.63 ERA in 82 innings during the year, held opponents to a measly .181 batting average, gave up just five homers to the 327 batters he faced, and allowed more than two runs once in 77 appearances, was asked to hold the Yankees down for one more inning, before turning things over to Nathan.

Thirty pitches and just one out later, the game was tied at five. Sheffield led the inning off with a broken bat infield single, Matsui walked, and Williams singled to right-center, scoring Sheffield and putting runners on the corners with no outs. Jorge Posada struck out swinging on a slider down and in, and then Rincon left a pitch up and out over the plate on a 2-2 count to Ruben Sierra. Sierra destroyed the pitch, sending it into the folded up seats in deep right-center for a game-tying, momentum-changing, crowd-silencing three-run homer.

From there it was just a matter of time, and that time came in the top of the 11th inning. Kyle Lohse struck Jeter out to lead off the inning and then Rodriguez doubled to left. ARod then got a huge jump from second base and stole third base without a throw, allowing him to score the go-ahead run when Lohse bounced a pitch to Sheffield and 41-year-old catcher Pat Borders, acquired at the trade deadline from Seattle because of his experience behind the plate, couldn't stop it from bouncing away.

Mariano Rivera retired the Twins 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 11th without so much as breaking a sweat and, just like that, Minnesota went from taking their chances in Game 5 at Yankee Stadium to their season being over. It had a different feel from last year, when the Yankees knocked the Twins out of the playoffs three games to one, but really it was no different. Just like last year, the Twins took Game 1 to steal homefield advantage, dropped a heartbreaking Game 2 that they could have won, and then came home to Minnesota and lost two games in a row to end the series.

From winning Game 1 and being just three outs away from winning Game 2 to not even forcing a Game 5. It went amazingly fast, like getting run over by a pinstriped bus. There was no time to regroup and no time to settle in, because the Yankees just kept coming and coming, and the Twins just kept hemorrhaging runs. And yet, more than Nathan running out of steam in Game 2 or Rincon imploding in Game 4, what this series will likely be remembered for are Gardenhire's decisions. I'll defend what he did (or didn't do) in Game 2 all offseason, but I don't think I'll ever understand quite what went through his mind to make him take Santana out of Game 4.

There was no need for it. Santana was pitching well, he was showing no signs of getting into trouble, his pitch count hadn't even reached 90, and there was no chance of him contributing in Game 5 anyway. Taking Santana out and trusting the bullpen for four innings, even with a four-run lead, also meant that the relievers would be weaker for Game 5. It just made no sense. Gardenhire has said that Santana told him he was getting stiff between innings, but why not let Santana continue until he showed some sign of slowing down? With a four-run lead, Gardenhire certainly could have at least stayed with him until a runner got into scoring position, as I haven't heard anything about Santana actually asking out of the game.

And Gardenhire should have known better too. In Santana's last regular season start, against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium on September 29, he was lifted with a 3-1 lead after five innings so that he could rest up for the playoffs. Santana, who was in line for his 21st win of the year, handed things over to the bullpen, and after Balfour held New York scoreless for an inning, Romero and Rincon combined to allow four runs in the bottom of the seventh, as the Yankees came back and won 5-3.

It's ironic that after consistently disagreeing with and criticizing many of Gardenhire's decisions over the years, I found myself defending him against the majority of Twins fans just a day before perhaps his strangest and least defensible decision yet. It's like setting up a crazy buddy on a blind date with a girl, telling the girl "oh yeah, he's a great guy" against your better judgment, and then hearing that he murdered her dog when the dog barked at him when he picked her up for the date. If I'd have known Gardenhire was going to go and do this, I would have just shut my mouth the other day. Now here I am having defended a crazy dog murderer.

Debate this!!

2004-10-11T08:09:00.000-07:00

One of the interesting ways you can examine a debate is to break it down "by the numbers." And when we did that with this debate in St. Louis, I was even more impressed by just how much ground Charlie Gibson and his town hall participants forced both candidates to cover. There were 18 questions total: 3 were about Iraq (although a 4th if you consider the "mistakes" question that turned into a discussion about Iraq,) 3 questions about economic policies, 2 questions about health care, and one question each about abortion, stem cell research, the supreme court, the patriot act, Iran, the military draft, terror, and the environment. It meant that on many issues, both President Bush and Senator Kerry didn't get many "bites at the apple." That is an excellent test... and it was an interesting exercise.Anyway, the most revealing numbers about President Bush and Senator Kerry were the ones we totalled on key words or phrases. (These are words both candidates went back to over and over.) This was clearly a debate where John Kerry wanted to make the session a referendum on Mr. Bush. Kerry said "the president..." 68 times. Kerry also hammered the idea that he has his own solutions or "plans." He mentioned plan(s) 33 times. Kerry tried to highlight the President's economic record by mentioning "lost jobs" ten times. As for President Bush, his top buzz word was "taxes." He mentioned "taxes" 26 times, which is interesting because strategists in both parties say that any reference to taxes (higher or lower) is almost always good for the republican candidate and bad for the democrat. President Bush mentioned "terrorists" 17 times and "threat" ten times. How often did Mr. Bush refer to "Senator Kerry?" Not very often... in fact, the president said "senator" less than 5 times... and only said "my opponent" half a dozen. There was one word choice Thursday night that was a gaffe and immediately made me think of the first presidential town hall debate of the modern era 12 years ago. (That town hall debate was also in St. Louis, by the way.) Anyway, in that town hall, President George H.W. Bush had difficulties answering a question about how the budget deficit impacted him "personally." The president seemed confused. And fair or not, many viewers thought it showed he was "out of touch." Tonight, that President's son, George W. Bush, said "internets." I'm sure it was barely noticed by voters who are baby boomers or older. But I've already heard about the "bushism" from several younger voters. Their point is that if the President was trying to make inroads with college age voters or 20 somethings (two groups that polls show largely favor John Kerry,) saying "internets" didn't help the President.

Polls, voting and whatever

2004-10-11T08:07:00.000-07:00

I feel like we’ve been here before… a couple days after a debate, no one is calling a winner, slight if any movement in the polls and the same post debate rhetoric as before. Since the end of September the presidential election has been in this hamster wheel of politics. So here’s my proposal- let’s move the election up three weeks to this Tuesday and free ourselves of the same old stuff. Maybe it’s my young “Sesame Street” attention span but something needs to change in the tactics of these campaigns.Take the polls… each poll has a different winner with a different percentage and a different margin of error. What good does that do? Its gotten to the point were it’s not even worth looking at the polls because they don’t provide any insight into where this election is going. Even the debates are not helping the matter. After the past two Presidential debates and the Vice Presidential debate voters were still left questioning who won. None of the candidates left the debate floor with all their cards on the table nor did they strongly counter their opponent’s position. In the past three debates the candidates have done nothing but sling mud in the direction of their opponent and have in some way wrapped this up in some way to present it as the policies of their ticket. No clear policy has been presented on either candidates’ part- this does nothing for the voter and it has left the commentators and experts calling the debates as draws. Isn’t the purpose of the debates to help the deciding voters? But, in all fairness there is one debate left, so therefore, there is one more chance for these debates to live up to its purpose. If any voter is paying any attention to the campaigns- they just keep hearing the same message over and over again from every person involved in a campaign. Whether it’s the presidential candidate, the vice presidential candidate, the candidate’s wives, the campaign manager or the party spokesmen every person involved repeats the same message against the other candidate and obscurely presents their ticket’s policies. From the Bush-Cheney camp we keep hearing- “John Kerry Flip Flops”; From The Kerry-Edwards people over and over “It’s the wrong war at the wrong time” and even Nader keeps reminding us he’s “not here to take votes away from Kerry.” It’s the same message over and over from each of the campaigns. When are these campaigns going to figure out once they start laying their policies out there and stop attacking the other camp, they’ll start to get their votes? My solution- let’s vote tomorrow instead of November 2nd! Just joking- I know that can’t happen. All we can do at this point is just ride out the wave and be patient. The only problem is something tells me this wave is going to go beyond election day.
Here’s some other stories that catching my eye: Rumor of a Draft Touches a Nerve- Why is this still out there? In case you missed it- the House voted on this last week- House Voted 402-2 Against Reinstating the Draft Painting of Nude Bush Removed From Museum- Why was this painted in the first place? Frat Brothers Scrawled Slurs All Over CU Student's Body- Hate to tell you this… it happens on every college campus.

Corruption at its best

2004-10-11T07:59:00.000-07:00

Are we, or should we, be surprised by the acts of corruption and misgiving in Iraq?

Even superman is mortal

2004-10-11T07:55:00.000-07:00

Heard on the news today Superman is dead. There was no kryptonite to be had, so I don't know what could have struck the superhero.

Creativity

2004-10-11T07:39:00.000-07:00

Dr. Morgan asked us to read and write pieces on creativity.
It's interesting to note that I have been reading on the very exact subject. It's interesting what Freud and Carl Gustav Jung have to say on creativiue. Jung says creativity is anything can be anything. The main thing is to achieve individualization and having a wholeness when you're conscious as well as unconscious. Jung found out that the important thing is to organize and symbolize the elements of unconscious and write about them. That's where the creativity is. Freud says creativity is how we draw material out of ourselves.He says there is an involuntary presence in our dreams, where we can have rational control over our imagination. Artistically or literary creativity occurs when reason increases to police the imagination and our productive fantasy is given a free reign. When we have a conflict in our lives, we sometimes go into an escape mode and make the conscious unconcious.

Finally found what I had been looking far

2004-10-08T05:18:00.000-07:00

Sounds like a U2 song, but I did find what I was looking for.
I HAVE FOUND THE QUOTE I WAS ASKING YOU ABOUT. IT IS FROM THE GRAPES OF WRATH AND WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD TELL ME YOUR OPINION IN WHAT THIS MEANT TO LBJ AND HIS SPEECH WRITERS. APPARENTLY, THEY THOUGHT ENOUGH OF THIS QUOTE TO USE IT IN A SPEECH.

''THE GREAT COMPANIES DID NOT KNOW THAT THE LINE BETWEEN HUNGER AND ANGER IS A THIN LINE. AND MONEY THAT MIGHT HAVE GONE TO WAGES WENT FOR GAS, FOR GUNS, FOR AGENTS AND SPIES, FOR BLACKLISTS, FOR DRILLING. ON THE HIGHWAYS PEOPLE MOVED LIKE ANTS AND SEARCHED FOR WORK, FOR FOOD. AND THE ANGER BEGAN TO FERMENT.''

This was the end of Chapter 21 from the Grapes of Wrath.

To me, it means that the hostility at this point of the book changes the migrants and unites them. I think that property owners were beginning to be afraid of these people, so they formed groups of thugs to terrorize them. The smaller farms were beginning to be overtaken by the larger farms, which made more people poor, hungry and unable to take care of themselves or their children. The migrants were more than willing to help the companies produce their goods, and is best described probably as the farmer who plants just a few carrots and turnips in a fallow field. Then, the Joads are also given a reality check in the era's Hoovercamps or Hoovervilles.

Great political satire

2004-10-08T05:16:00.000-07:00

If you want to see a couple of great political spoofs, go to www.jibjab.com. You'll laugh your butt off.

Some great Twins blogs

2004-10-07T09:59:00.000-07:00

Here some great blogging from Twins fans after Wednesday night's 7-6 loss to the Yankees.

Twins are all right

2004-10-07T08:58:00.000-07:00

I wish Sanatana could pitch every game the Minnesota Twins are playing against the Yankees. but that's can't and won't happen. So, we have to live with the 7-6 loss suffered in game two of the Division playoffs Wednesday night and hope the Twins can take the next two at home, without having to go back to the snake pit at Yankee Stadium.

Is it fact or fiction?

2004-10-07T08:51:00.000-07:00

Are we being told there's a shortage of flu vacine to scare us and make it more expensive, or can we believe what we hear and actually believe not all of us will have the opportunity to be protected from the flu. Where are those investigative bloggers when you need them? Geez, it's good to know someone is making the call for me and telling me it's all right if I ride out the storm of vomit, aches, pains and congestion so someone can be protected. I am not the most healthiest person on earth and I'll need that extra protection, but what about someone who hates throwing up all over the place? hpuldn't they be protected. All because a company who makes the medicine faied to have safeguards in place. What is this world coming to?

Are we headed for shock-blogging

2004-10-07T08:25:00.000-07:00

Radio shock-jock Howard Stearn's revelation that he'll hit the satellite airwaves in 15-months because of freedom of speech issues had me thinkng about "Shock-Blogging." Isn't that what we have now. We're able to say anything with disregard to ethics and etiquette on the Internet. Oh, sure, we can have a theory such as Rebecca Blood has about ethics and behavior, but that code of conduct isn't assumes by everyone. Will it be necessary to have a government code for Internet behavior in a few years as this new technology soars into the wilds of the technological universe. Will we have a set of seven dirty words or things we can't do or say on the internet. Will blogging come under governmental control because of the evilness that llurks in our society. Will there be blogger-stalkers and whatever society can be created of crazy people. Will we have to have Blogger police trolling the Internet and blog communities. We'll have to because TrustInCommunities will be a factor in whether or not we feel safe to be in a blogging community as much as we're out in the streets of the real world. Howard Stearn isn't dumb. He's getting out of Dodge before it's too late and trying to create a new audience. Just as blogging is trying to do. But what safeguards will help BloggingCommunities keep out the thugs and riff-raff we need to make it even more of a technological comfort zone.

More etiquette, less hot-headed lamenting

2004-10-06T08:08:00.000-07:00

I did learn something after reading Rebecca Blood's chapter on the proper etiquette. Too bad I didn't read it before I got a nasty insulting message the other day from a "troller". I won't blog anymore when I am angy. I'll sit down and do something else and then go back to blogging. I let my temper get the best of me, and that's not me. I had a Paxil moment. I was as they say, a nonprofessional in my mannerism on the blog. If someone wants to do the namecalling and bashing, I'll let them. Some bloggers think as Blood says, "We don't have to play by no stinin' rules." They kind of spoil it for those who do. But then again when you play by the rules, you make blogging really enjoyable and fun. And this is what it has ben for me. Dr. Morgan has been there when I needed help and he's also been there when I needed a kick in the butt. So, he can play good guy, bad guy. Although his demeanor is reall of a good guy. I think I may have made him a little frustrated. Nevertheless, I understand what he did and for the reason. A good reason.
The weblog's greatest strength, I agree with Blood, is its uncensored, unmediated, uncontrolled voice. But it is also its greates weakness.

Proud Twins Fan

2004-10-06T05:14:00.000-07:00

Yes.
At least the Twins have won a game from the "Damn Yankees" and it'll take more than a giant Yankee effort to cool the Minnesota boys down. A 2-0 win last night, thanks to the effors of Santana and Nathan. It's almost a give-me now the Twins will always win win Santana pitches. It shouyld be a great game tonight, too. Especially if the Twins can take another one and end the series Thursday night in Minneapolis.

Some Great Rodney Dangerfield

2004-10-06T04:48:00.000-07:00

I glanced through USA Today, this morning, and saw some great Dangerfield material I wanted to share. It's some great stuf!

Hail to Rodney

2004-10-06T04:35:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning, reached for a cup of coffee and satt down as I usally do channel surfing between WCCO News, Imus In The Morning and the ESPN Radio Network, when a voice from the office came, "guess, who died?" my wife said. "Who, I asked?" "She replied, "Rodney Dangerfield." "Geez, I said. Gosh, Bill," she said, "He ws 82." Yes, he was only 82, but a great comic. I hate death. I hate it. But it's something that's a part of life. We begin to die when we're born. But I liked Dangerfield's work. He got no respect. And there are days I feel like that, too. Even in sickness, his sense of humor remained intact. Asked how long he would be at the hospital recuperating, Dangerfield said, “If things go right, I'll be there about a week, and if things don't go right, I'll be there about an hour and a half.”I remeber watching him on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show. He delivered his jokes in an exasperated, staccato, gravelly voice. He would tug on his trademark red tie and was the butt of his own jokes and muttered about getting “no respect.”
He wrote a book: "It's Not Easy Bein' Me: A Lifetime of No Respect but Plenty of Sex and Drugs, he gave up $150,000 worth of Las Vegas gigs to take the Caddyshack role, which paid just $35,000. The movehelped to star in other movies like: Easy Money, Back to School and Ladybugs before accepting a dramatic role in Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers. Even when he was really ill, the yuks didn't stop. Dangerfield never went into the hospital without joking and never liked an interview to get too serious. “I'll tell you a joke I got here,” he said once, stopping a chat. “I'll tell you: My wife, she loves the Olympics. We have Olympic sex — once every four years.”
And with that I close.
Goodbye Rodney.

Minnesota needs a new stadium

2004-10-04T14:06:00.000-07:00

If ever Minnesotans needed a new stadium, Saturday afternoon was one of them. The Twins started their game around 11:20 a.m. and didn't finish by 2:30 p.m. when the game was halted in the 11th inning so the field could get prepped for football. Imagine that. Halting a game in the 11th inning, to get ready for another game. That's like going out to dinner and getting the appetizer and leaving before the maincourse. tw as stupid. The game was continued on Sunday where the Twins won in the 12th or 20 minutes after the game restarted. Then, the two teams played the seaosn-finale. This one is going to be talked about for a long time and you'll be hearing abut this thing forever. But we do need a new stadium.

Vice presidential debate Tuesday night

2004-10-04T13:57:00.000-07:00

There'll be another Donnybrook Tuesday night when Dick Cheney verbally spars with Democratic contender Edwards in a debate. Cheney, who's the voice of George Bush says that if the Democrats win in November, war will be a sure-thing. Everything in Iraq has Cheney's fingerprints on it. Everything in Iraq is Haliburton and Cheney's attention and money is still there and his stockpile of money gets bigger and bigger. he has had a nifty profit from the war as he gets kick backs from the Haliburton people. Sure, he may not get them in public. But somehow or anotehr everyone knows that money is sliding to him somewhere. Edwards will help the cause Tuesday night by exploiting Cheney for what he is...an asshole. Make that a crooked asshole. Cheney has spoken a lot from the two sides of his mouth over the past year and he keeps on doing it. He thinks since he's going to these town meetings with his wife, that it's a special thing the people are witnessing. He cracks the same jokes all the time and he never mentions anything more than the war and Kerry's leadership. There's more to this election than war. There's poverty in the United States, the economy, the middle class, taxes and health care among others. Cheney needs a little more education on the facts than looking down a long tunnel and seieng nothing but war and the prfits he's reaping from Haliburton.