Dissatisfaction

What did they really think? Was the out and out pandering to the looney Religious Right really worth it? How about the thorough thrashing of the Reagan conservative principles?

“The basis of conservatism is a desire for less government interference or less centralized authority or more individual freedom and this is a pretty general description also of what libertarianism is.”

This quote was pulled from an Andrew Sullivan article which was referred to by a site I was not familiar with, but will now check out routinely. What go me clickin' was Totten's article on the perceived melt down of the Republican party. I'm in agreement with Michael on this. While I'm not a Repub, I just feel my skin crawl with their actions in the past week or so. Their beliefs are showing them to be no better than the Dems. It's Big Govt, pure and simple. They spout 'State Rights' like it's a mantra from the past. Yet, in every case, when push comes to shove, they fall back to Big Govt. Let's see... Gay Marriage, Medical Marijuana, Right-to-Die. So, much for the Sanctity of Marriage with the Schiavo debacle. Your rights now belong to Big Govt. Then there's Sullivan's point on the time honored local control of Education:

In the 1980s Republicans wanted to abolish the federal Department of Education, believing local control was best. Bush has all but ended local control, introduced national standards and added a huge increase in federal spending. No wonder Ted Kennedy, the arch liberal Democratic senator, voted for the bill.

The current spending by the Bush Admin is going through the roof with no end in site. This should give us all pause. Their version of Conservatism is a joke, it's just a one-off of the Democratic view, with just the 'right' touch of religious zeal.

Sad State of Baseball

I'm soooo burnt on the Schiavo case, I thought I'd touch on lighter fare....

As a forty-something male, baseball was my past time. From tee-ball to Pony League to semi-pro (albeit over 30 league), I've lived and breathed baseball for a vast majority of my sporting life. Don't get me wrong, I was a multi-sporting fool. I could hold my own in varsity football and basketball, but my love was baseball.

I've read and followed stats and box scores for as long as I can remember. One of my favorite games growing up with my one and only best friend (besides my lovely bride) was Strat-O-Matic.
In fact, during the early 80's we played our own form of rotisserie baseball by keeping track of daily player stats. My friend, Scribe, worked for a minor league team of the Dodgers and was given a Major League Baseball pass!!! All we had to pay for (really, it was my duty) was the parking!!! Granted it was the 300 level at Dodger Stadium, but dude... it was free!!! Man, the life... baseball, beer and bud. Sigh.......

Wha... oh, right where was I. Yeah, the state of baseball.

I don't know if anyone really saw the Congressional hearings on Baseball. It wasn't really on C-SPAN, but parts were shown on ESPN. I did catch just a bit in the morning session. I wasn't impressed by the ususal pomp and irrelevance. However, I did catch the 'lowlights' on ESPN. Needless to say I was saddened by Mark McGwire's lack of truthful responses. How pathetic was his resplies 'I'm not here to talk about the past'. What garbage. He's lost all credibility and by his inaction, it cannot be helped but assume his guilt by Canseco-association.

Sally Jenkins has an excellent article on the hearings.

A home run king basically pleaded the Fifth. Baseball officials thoroughly discredited themselves with disingenuous promises. Subpoenas showed MLB's anti-drug policy had loopholes bigger than Jose Canseco's biceps. Anyone still think the hearing was a farce? On the contrary, the hearing has been revelatory. It has revealed, among other things, character.

What the hearing has demonstrated, more than anything, is a pattern of arrogant duplicity and willful collusion that reaches throughout the game, from players to owners to commissioners to union officials, who would keep us all quiet and in the dark on steroid use. The evasive performances of some of the seven former and current major leaguers and officials before the committee last week simply begged more questions -- and that's apparently what they're going to get.

And this last paragraph in her column just wrenched at my inner being:

The hearing has uncovered something important: the extent to which the people in baseball believed they are above the law and accountable to no one. Baseball's passionate defenders have accused the committee of political grandstanding, exceeding authority, and witch hunting. But if the hearing has proved one thing, it's this: we need more hearings, because baseball is as sick as it is secretive.

It is truly time to remove this 'special status' Congress bestow upon baseball by granting them special Anti-Trust status.

And then we have Bonds, Barry Bonds. . . If there has not been a more less sympathetic soul in baseball, it would be a toss up between Barry Bonds and maybe Ty Cobb. In a word, Barry is an Ass. What is more sad is the fact that he once was an outstanding player; after all he won his 7th MVP award last year. But he's been in question for the last several years, questioned about Steroids. He's always been such an Ass that folks have been very reticent in giving him a break. Now, he's whining about being tired....tired about being hounded about `roids. But he can't justify anything. All he does is parade his son and complain about the media. But now he's broke. Not broke in a monetary way, but broke in a physical way.

Thomas Boswell has an excellent article on Bond's whine. At times, it's quite poetic. He starts:

Last Friday, in an online chat with readers, I wrote, "Did you see that Barry Bonds had another knee surgery yesterday? I've been saying to friends ever since his use of steroids -- the clear and the cream -- was leaked to the San Francisco Chronicle last winter that I thought there was a chance that he would never play another game.

"Just a gut feeling. Never pass Babe Ruth or Hank Aaron. Just a chance, not a probability. But it's increasing."

But he also note something I was wondering about after the spotlight becames so focused:

If you think that Bonds will ever play another big league game, just because he won the National League MVP award last year with the best all-around offensive season in baseball history, then you haven't been paying enough attention.

Bonds has never been a fan of the media:

That night at Shea, Bonds was asked if he was concerned that he might have perjured himself before a grand jury in the BALCO case. "You couldn't get me if you tried," Bonds shot back.

What if the Justice Department got ahold of past urine samples? "What do I care what they do? What do I care what you think?" said Bonds. "I don't have to prove to you or anyone else in this world. . . . When you come up with the truth, then you write your [expletive]. Until then, shut up."

[...]

Who knew a pendulum swing of pious reform would arrive so fast? The sinners of the '90s, plus a few scooped up in the seine by accident, are being humiliated these days. If powerful CEOs can be jailed or fired for infractions that practically drew praise in boom times, why can't we enforce the rules on a few jocks, too? Or, switch the rules, some of them might say. After all, who was praising Mark McGwire's 70th homer or Bonds's 73rd, if not the fans and media? Who was marketing them, if not baseball itself? And who was shielding them from tests to protect their own health if not their shameful union?

This is so poetic from Boswell:

Throwing down the gauntlet to a pitcher is pride. Throwing down the gauntlet to society -- criminal investigators, the judiciary, media and by extension the public -- is the kind of hubris that keeps all those old Greek plays in print. The pride that drives the rise is the pride, gone to excess, that precipitates the fall. Those whom the gods would destroy they first make great.

One could only hope Bonds will walk after dragging his son into the mess:

On Tuesday, the threads of the long, sad Bonds story seemed to weave themselves into what may be the first premonition of an ending. Before he answered questions, Bonds looked at the camera and said, "Can you get my son in this, too, not just me, so you guys can share the pain that you are causing my whole family?" The camera obligingly panned wider.

There was Nikolai, 15, heir to the bitterest tradition of glory in baseball history.

"Me and my son are going to try to enjoy each other," said Bonds. "That's all we've got. Everybody else has tried to destroy everything else." Then, turning to his boy, he said, "Let's go home."

They walked off camera together. You couldn't script it better. Or worse. All that was missing was, "The End."

The records of the `90s are now suspect which is a shame. I'm only glad my son is not into baseball. I'd hate to have to explain how the titans of swat were really the 'cheaters with `roids'.

Schiavo Debacle

At first I was going to resist commenting on the Terri Schiavo mess. After hearing so much from both sides, I just can't let it pass without commenting.

Foremost, I feel sorry both the Schiavos and the Schindlers. The Schindlers are doing what most parents would do and try to protect their daughter and still hold out hope. No matter what the Right Wingnuts say to cloud the issue, the husband has been consistent in his belief he is carrying out Terri's wishes.

No matter what hope the Schindlers hold out for, barring a Lazarus-like miracle, Terri will never improve. The Wingnuts can site example after example til the turn into a blue stater. It's not going to change anything. Dave at Justus for All has a link to a site which shows her CAT scan compared to a normal brain. It leaves no doubt.

I don't know whether or not the feeding tube should be removed allowing her to slowly die or not. Although I'm a strong believer in a person's right to die, I don't know enough about this case. I think if I was in Michael Schiavo's position, I'd sign over the power of attorney to the parents. They want to take care and love their daughter. Even though, if she really is 'alive', she'd be confined to a living hell. A prison only Kafka could imagine.

Now, what is just amazing to me is all the hypocrisy being shown by our Federal Govt. How in the hell can these Bozos think they take this action with a straight face and say anything about the Marriage Act or State's Rights? This case has been through 19 judges and the Florida Supreme Court, yet they want to complain about 'activist' judges??? They are pathetic. ESPECIALLY, in light of this site by News Hounds I stumbled upon today. It truly shows the hypocrisy of Bush, DeLay and their ilk. After all, Bush signed into law in 1999, a bill allowing hospitals to remove life support even over the objections of the family! So, if you run out of money or Medicare runs out, you get 10 days to find a new home or the plug gets pulled. The law was then modified in 2003 to allow this kind of Republican sympathy to be extended to children.

States have passed Right to Die laws and Medical Marijuana laws and yet the Feds will not recognize those state rights...But abortion and gay marriage?? Oh, these are states rights all the way!! The Left is just as ridiculous since they've encouraged the abrogation of right to the Feds. Now they want to take it back. Well good luck. This is just a mess and it shows our leaders to be puppets to special interests overriding the Federal principles they so often hide behind.

Cleft Palate Abortion

I was absolutely amazed with the Crown’s decision to not prosecute the appalling abortion of a fetus diagnosed with a cleft palate recently in the news. How can anyone with a conscience even begin to believe being born with a cleft palate can be described as a birth defect much less a ‘serious birth defect’? This is nothing short of elective abortion of a near term (+ 24 wk) baby. My own son was born at 30 wks, fullly formed and now a beautiful, healthy young man.

What is the next step in the evolution of abortion? I can understand the first trimester limitation. But now we have Partial Birth abortion, which as a father I don’t know how anyone can condone such an action unless the mother is in dire peril. After all, at this point it’s not a fetus but a real live baby. Otherwise, why was Connor Peterson even considered in Scott Peterson’s murder trial.

Now, as feared by many, we have elective abortion. This one was because of a cleft palate. Let me repeat, a bloody CLEFT PALATE!!! At what point do we draw the line? With modern medical procedures today, we are often able to predict how our children will turn out. Do we have positive AFPs aborted on the possibilities of neural defects? What about other genetic tests such as Tay Sach or Fragile X?

As a male, I feel I don’t have the right to tell a woman what to do with her body. As a converted Liberal, I’ve grown up all my life with the thought of a woman’s right to choose. However, after participating in both my children’s births, I have changed my position on a personal level. But I still do not feel it’s right to tell women what to do. However, I won’t even go into parental consent now that I’m a parent of a young lady (tattoos require parental consent yet abortions do not ?!?!?!?) .

This action taken ( or not taken ) by the Crown in England borders on criminal not to mention the physicians involved.

Misplaced Responsibility

The parents of Rachel Corrie are suing Caterpiller for its 'part' in the death of Rachel. This is on top of suing Israel. The only folks they've forgotten are the petrol companies that provided the fuel for the bulldozer. Oh, wait that would be asinine, wouldn't it... This is truly sad. They refuse to be accountable for their own actions in raising a terrorist enabler.

Rachel burned an American flag (more like a drawing, but still symbolic) while screaming anti-American slogans in a 'war zone', yet thought standing in front of a bulldozer, with limited vision, was the ultimate act of heroism. It was her last stupid act.

North Korea appeasement?

This sounds like the LA Times... but I like the 'it's not our fault, it America's' tenor.

"There's never been a positive article about North Korea, not one," he said. "We're portrayed as monsters, inhuman, Dracula … with horns on our heads."

Or here's the closet Capitalist:

He said better relations with the United States were key to turning around his nation's economy, which has nearly ground to a halt over the last decade amid famine, the collapse of industry and severe electricity shortages. "For basic life, we can live without America, but we can live better with" it, he said.

And I like this one:

While Westerners tend to stress the rights of the individual, he said, "we have chosen collective human rights as a nation…. We should have food, shelter, security rather than chaos and vandalism. The question of our survival as a nation is dangling."

Or this, blaming this Admin for packs create in the `90s:

But he faulted the United States for the collapse of a 1994 pact under which North Korea was supposed to get energy assistance in return for freezing its nuclear program. The agreement fell apart after Washington accused North Korea in 2002 of cheating on the deal, and the U.S. and its allies suspended deliveries of fuel oil.

"Electricity is a real problem. We have only six hours a day," said the North Korean, who lives in an apartment in a choice neighborhood of Pyongyang, the capital. "When you are watching a movie on TV, there might be a nice love scene and then suddenly the power is out. People blame the Americans. They blame Bush."

But what get's me is the tenor of the article, I'd call it a bit soft or even sympatheic.

As for international negotiations aimed at getting North Korea to give up its nuclear arms program, he said he thought Pyongyang would probably show up at the next round of talks. But his country would prefer to negotiate directly with the United States, he said, rather than in six-party discussions that also include China, South Korea, Japan and Russia.

He said the Americans' insistence on including six countries had caused undue complications.

"If we sort out the problems with America, everything else will fall into place. The problems with Japan can easily be sorted out," he said.

The North Korean criticized some Japanese politicians' efforts to link the nuclear talks to the question of Japanese citizens kidnapped by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s.

"This was something done by a few overly enthusiastic people long ago," he said. "We tried to make amends.

"Now people like Shinzo Abe [deputy secretary-general of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party] are using it for political purposes and destroying the interests of millions of people."

The most important point the North Korean said he wanted to convey in the conversation was that his nation was a place just like any other.

"There is love. There is hate. There is fighting. There is charity…. People marry. They divorce. They make children," he said.

"People are just trying to live a normal life."

Honorable Sen. Byrd

Did anyone see or hear what came out of the Hon. Senator from W. Virginia's mouth? I was uncertain at first. I mean, let's have enough of PC already. Can't ANYONE say ANYTHING without it being insulting?

But then . . . I actually read what he said. Now, I know he's supposed to be the 'historian of the Senate' given his propensity for injecting history into his debates. But as a 'historian' one would think he's understand the implication of his words:

"We, unlike Nazi Germany or Mussolini's Italy, have never stopped being a nation of laws, not of men," Byrd said. "But witness how men with motives and a majority can manipulate law to cruel and unjust ends."
Byrd then quoted historian Alan Bullock, saying Hitler "turned the law inside out and made illegality legal."

I know he's a doddering old man of 87, but com' on. Was he subliminally still attached to the Dems thought that Bush was equal to Hitler? After all, what got me was this:

...Byrd's remark that "some in the Senate are ready to callously incinerate" senators' rights to filibuster.

He must be losing it if he's using 'incinerate' and comparing this administration to Hitler in the same speech.

And I'm not even going to bring up HIS past (OK, so I am now...), but it has nothing to do with this issue.

Miss Me??

Thought so . . . sorry but I've been immersed in Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) interfaces at the lab. A couple of Hospitals and Physicians later and I've survived . . . until next week!! It's an explosion of technology!!