Archive for November, 2007

Shame on CNN, liberals…and me

Friday, November 30th, 2007

I wrote the following in my column yesterday, and I owe everyone an apology.

“The questions were fair, and not designed simply to humiliate republicans. I genuinely felt that CNN actually failed to get it wrong this time.”

I was not aware that several questions were planted by left wing activists.

However, the fact that the blogosphere lit up immediately says to me that no damage was done. So while they failed to humiliate the republicans, I was wrong to say they did not try. They remain the Chirac/Clinton/Communist News Network, and will continue to rot in the ratings for it.

I am disgusted with CNN and the liberals that have infected that network like a virus. I am also quite displeased with myself. I am my own toughest critic, and will publicly flog myself in the blogospere’s equivalent of the town square shortly.

First, the liberal media must simply stop it. It is not that the media is liberal. It is that the media is dishonest. To be more blount, most media organizations are lying, weaselly, phony (redacted), from Dan Rather and Mary Mapes trying to hijack the 2004 election with “fake but accurate” memos, to Carole Simpson finally admitting that she was a liberal shill. Yes, this is the same Carole Simpson in 1992 who looked at former President Bush in a debate and snidely said, “well, Mr. Education President?” This is what liberals refer to as a moderator, and the former President, gracious to the end, insisted on unilateral disarmament against those who wished him harm.

The questions from the You-Tube republican debate were supposed to be asked by people choosing between the various republican candidates. Apparently there were supporters of Edwards, Obama and Hillary that were allowed to ask questions.

Some see this as no big deal. These people are called liberals, many of whom could not care less about integrity. Bill Clinton actually lied, George W. Bush did not, but not in their world. The ends justify the means. So trying to cheat in a debate is just seen as their normal modus operandi.

Others feel that since the questions themselves were good, there is no big deal. I personally did not have a problem with the questions, although the brigadier general should not have been allowed to filibuster afterwards. CNN let him ramble. Other people feel that this was an issue of disclosure. As long as the people were upfront about who they were supporting, they could go ahead and ask their questions.

No. The questioners should not have been allowed to ask questions at all. For those who feel that since this is a democracy, anyone can ask anything, they are wrong. Political parties are clubs. Unless you are a member, you do not get to play in the club, be it the Mickey Mouse Club (aka the democrats) or a private golf club.

This was a republican primary debate. The people who should have been allowed to ask questions should have been restricted to those who were open to voting for one of the republican candidates.

I should absolutely not be allowed to ask a question at a democratic party debate because I am absolutely positive that I am not voting for any of the democratic candidates. I am closeminded on this issue. I have decided to vote for the republican nominee. Therefore, allowing me to ask a question at a democratic party debate would detract from allowing them to pick their nominee. The general election is one thing. I cannot vote in a closed democratic primary, and I should have zero say in helping them winnow their own field.

I have met Giuliani, McCain, Romney and Thomson, and have asked questions of all of them. However, at a republican debate, even I would not be sure if I should ask a question because I haver already committed to Mr. Giuliani. Perhaps if I rationalize the fact that I am looking at the others as Vice Presidential nominees, I can ask them questions that way. I would tread very respectfully.

It is about integrity. While it has not happened yet, the open primary in New Hampshire is ripe for abuse. If Hillary pulls far ahead, what is to stop democrats from crossing over and flooding the republican vote total with votes for Tancredo or Rupaul? If republicans choose to do so, they can flood the democratic primary with votes for Kucinich. Just because this has not happened yet does not mean it cannot and will not happen.

The democrats should have 100% of the say in who their nominee is, and the same with the republicans. By CNN allowing committed liberals infiltrate…yes infiltrate…a republican debate…is at best inept…and at worst sinister.

CNN is pleading ineptness because it is better to be seen as stupid than as crooked. As of now there is no evidence that CNN deliberately tried to go Rather-Mapes and engage in sabotage. There is no evidence that the Clintons plotted this. However, such thought processes are no longer farfetched. So even if CNN was merely incompetent, the question then becomes…how could this happen?

The amount of effort that it took bloggers to blow this scandal up was almost zero. CNN would have had to do no research whatsoever. This is like pushing a drug to market because it has a pretty color, safety and side effects be d@mned. How many times do liberal news organizations have to shatter their reputations before nothing is left? Whether it is the Jayson Blair Times, the Rather-Mapes imbroglio, or the CNN planted questions debacle, the fourth estate is despised. This is dangerous because if people give up on the media, it will allow politicians such free reign that they will be unchecked. Forget George W. Bush. A really great parallel would be LBJ and the Gulf of Tonkin. If the media is automatically seen as lying, then the politicians will be seen as telling the truth. This can truly threaten democracy.

Some cynical republicans might be delighted by this CNN debacle and self immolation. This is a mistake. It hurts us all, and a greater good requires an honest media, not an emasculated media. However, the goal is not to destroy and eliminate the media. It is to get it to simply stop lying, stop being lazy, and stop letting liberal bias poison their organizations. Fox News does not thrive because it is conservative. Many people who watch Fox News are not republicans. People watch Fox News because they believe they are getting a story not swimming in leftist bias. Yes, it is conservative by comparison, but most moderates are conservative compared to the Trotskeyites at the other networks.

A coworker of mine felt that this is a non-issue, because subterfuge is part of the game. I then played Socrates with him and proposed a scenario. I find out a book club has hot women in attendance. I pretend to be interested in the books they are reading so that I can enter the book club, get to know these women, and hopefully get to give them the ketchup bottle treatment. My coworker had no problem with this. His viewpoint is that all is fair in love and war.

No way. This is fraud. It lacks integrity. A club is set up for a certain purpose, and my stealth mission totally violates that purpose. Even if it does not violate the letter of the law, since nothing may ban me from joining, it certainly violates the spirit of the law. It is ethically flawed.

Lying is wrong. Medical ethicists have even rejected the concept of the “therapeutic lie.” Encouraging a Machiavellian “ends justify the means” approach destroys everybody.

I believe our system of politics is poisoned because too many on the left believe that lying is acceptable for a greater good. Republican say “these are the rules. These are the laws.” Democrats say, “but if the law is unfair, you have to break it.”

This is how Gavin Newsom can perform gay marriages. He believes the law is wrong, so he just breaks it. This is how Democrats can place candidates on the ballot in New Jersey and Minnesota after the deadline. They felt like it, so they did. This is how President Bush can be accused of stealing the 2000 election, when there was nothing he did that comes close to evidence of cheating. Irregularities occurred in Missouri, possibly costing John Ashcroft his job. Somehow the media did not have a problem with this. Going back to Gavin Newsome, gay marriage may or may not one day become the law of the land. If it becomes legal, those against it will not be able to stop the ceremonies. It is now illegal, and as painful as that is for some, change must be within the system. Otherwise, there is vigilantism.

The media has an obligation to report. Editorial pages can editorialize, but hard news organizations must offer a cold, detached, fair and even handed approach. If they are unable to do this, they must report their biases upfront.

I am a politically conservative blogger. I am biased. I vote republican. I am a fair person, but I am not balanced in my views. If I meet a liberal candidate, I will be respectful, but I will not lie to them or hide my affiliation. I value my brand. People who fiercely disagree with me know where I stand, and know that I am honest. It benefits my blog, and allows me to sleep well at night.

Yet I remain disappointed with myself for being guilty of the very things that I flayed CNN for with regards to this debate. CNN was lazy. Yet so was I.

Full disclosure: Giuliani is my first choice, McCain second. Only they can beat Hillary. I will vigorously support Romney or Thompson if they win the nomination, but think Hillary would beat them. Huckabee is being forced down republican throats by a liberal media that will later destroy him as a zealot in the general election. He is a good decent man that cannot win. Obama is a lightweight, Edwards is the strongest democrat in a general election (since Biden has no shot), and I am scared of Hillary the most. Yes, she can win, I want her the least of anyone.

As for my analysis, first of all, I am amazed at how differently other republicans viewed the debate. I stated that McCain won, Giuliani came in second, Thompson and Huckabee were neutral, and Romney was awful. Michelle Malkin saw it totally different from me, that Romney shined. Frank Luntz, a very respected pollster who conducts focus groups, stated that his group loved Fred Thompson and Romney, and thought Giuliani and McCain were awful. I hope I am not clouded by bias, but I did not see what Mr. Luntz or Ms. Malkin saw.

http://michellemalkin.com/2007/11/30/cnns-dont-ask-dont-tell-policy/

http://www.nypost.com/seven/11302007/postopinion/opedcolumnists/cnns_screwup_219339.htm

Maybe I am just missing the pulse of my own party. Michelle Malkin is a hardliner on illegal immigration. I am more of a “Wall Street Journal Conservative.” Is Lou Dobbs really the pulse of the republican party? I do not see it, but maybe I am the one who is blind. To me, cutting taxes and killing terrorists is what matters. Do that many people think illegal immigration, abortion and gay marriage matter more?

I ask this because if the people truly are screaming, and I am not hearing them, then I am failing as a blogger. I think the hordes of people ready to take to the streets on these issues is overblown, the same way the Rupaul supporters are overblown. Tom Tancredo has about 2% below zero in the polls. What about the “Buchanan Brigades?” In 1996 he won New Hampshire, but 4 years later was an asterisk.

I normally feel that I represent mainstream republican viewpoints, but after spending time criticizing the left for shoddy journalism, I completely missed the story of the insincere questioners at this debate. I did not bother to verify these people. It did not occur to me. I reported, but did not analyze or investigate. I did not scratch the surface.

Nothing…and nobody…should be taken at blind faith. Yes, some people are brilliant. I long ago accepted at face value the commentary of Charles Krauthammer, Thomas Sowell, and Ralph Peters. Yet blind following makes me one of the sheeple. I accepted that the debate was fair, and missed something that looks painfully obvious in hindsight. I know what people say about hindsight, but I still missed it.

I need to be a better blogger. I guess that is what separates me from CNN and the rest of the human disasters in the media. Unlike the leftinistras, I actually care more about my integrity than in speed. I can win without compromising what is right. I allow sincere criticism of my work, and do not confuse openmindedness with vaccilation or lack of conviction.

What CNN and the leftist media do is disgusting. They destroy themselves, and corrode society. If I am going to be part of the solution, I have to be more willing to analyze things with more depth. I am far from perfect, but I know I am on the right track. People trust me, and when I look in the mirror, I know I am doing my best. It is not good enough yet, but it will be.

eric

Super Bowl 41 3/4

Thursday, November 29th, 2007

I rarely post twice in one day, but then again rarely do events this significant occur.

Several weeks ago The Patriots and Colts played an epic battle that lived up to its billing as Super Bowl 41 1/2.

Today the 10-1 Green Bay Packers take on the 10-1 Dallas Cowboys in what has to be Super Bowl 41 3/4.

The only loss for the Packers was at home to the Bears, and they basically gave the game away with 5 turnovers. They dominated the game, and simply blew it. The Cowboys only loss came at home to the 11-0 Patriots, who simply had too much firepower.

Bottom line…these teams are d@mn good.

The last time a pair of 10-1 teams met was in 1990, when the Giants and 49ers met in one of the greatest Monday Night games ever played. The were both 10-0, got clocked a week before the matchup, and in the end San Francisco prevailed 7-3. The Giants won the rematch in the NFC Title Game 15-13.

The reason why this game is so special is because these teams, barring any surprises, will meet again in the NFC Title Game this year.

Both of these teams are considered inferior to the Patriots, and to the Colts as well. Time will tell. They are the undisputed kings of the NFC, and it could be a thriller.

Some will say that Brett Favre is 0-8 in Dallas. This is irrelevant, since six of those losses came over a decade ago, when the Cowboys were in the throes of their dynasty. Also, it seemed they always played in Dallas. When they finally played in Green Bay, the Packers throttled them.

Dallas will have the home field, and on paper they do appear to be a better team. Terrell Owens is playing well, and Green Bay has been accused of not having a solid running game. Both quarterbacks have been known to make mistakes and take chances, but both of them are successful and entertaining for the same reason.

Tony Romo in his young career has already been the goat, fumbling the snap in last year’s playoff loss to Seattle. He also has been an inspiration, coming back to beat Buffalo after throwing 5 interceptions.

I could say a million other things, and normally I would, but at this point I am so excited I will let the players do their talking on the field.

I predict Dallas wins, and it may not be that close. Either way, I look forward to the rematch, with the winner of that game going to Super Bowl 42.

For now, as Owens says, “Get your popcorn ready!”

Get ready for some football. It’s game time.

Let’s get it on!

eric

Republican You-Tube Debate

Thursday, November 29th, 2007

I am not sure what is a bigger disgrace, CNN or You-Tube. Some people found the guy singing the song to be downright charming. It was a bunch of nonsense. Nevertheless, at least he didn’t yell “wassup” like a frog or lizard.

http://www.urbanconservative.com/2007/11/28/you-decide-who-won-the-cnnyoutube-republican-debate-in-florida/

http://michellemalkin.com/2007/11/29/digging-out-the-cnnyoutube-plants-abortion-questioner-is-edwards-supporter/

Nevertheless, Anderson Cooper only made one or two smug remarks the entire night, an improvement for CNN. The questions were fair, and not designed simply to humiliate republicans. I genuinely felt that CNN actually failed to get it wrong this time. This was an adult discussion, which is to be expected from republican voters.

Rudy was attacked as having run a sanctuary city. He disputed this, stating that he only allowed children of illegal immigrants to go to school, and to give them emergency medical care. He also stated that the Federal Government provided no help.

Romney’s video was non-descript and bland. Rudy’s video was funny, hitting Hillary.

A question from a muslim about repairing America’s image was asked. It jumped to the conclusion that our image needed repairing to begin with. Giuliani would not back down. He emphatically made it clear that the USA had to stay no offense. He also spoke of maing sure not to blame all muslims for what the bad guys did, but stated that the democrats stick their heads in the sand by refusing to even use the word “Islamofacism.”

McCain reiterated his support for the surge, and promised to fight the democrats desire to surrender. He stated he was the only one on the stage who wanted a change in strategy. Hunter eloquently spoke about all the good things America does.

One person asked how others could support waterboarding whe McCain is against it. Romney said that he is against torture, but would not state if waterboarding was torture at all. Romney reiterated his support for Gitmo. McCain stated that waterboarding absolutely is torture. Romney’s reasoning for being coy so as ot not educate our enemies was solid, but McCain’s emotional argument simply carries more gravitas on this issue, even when one disagrees with him. On this one issue, Romney is right, but McCain looked more Presidential.

A very intelligent question asked about promising to stay in Iraq, a very different approach. Thompson said stay until the job is done, that some want us to fail, and we are winning. Rupaul said…oh, who cares. Actually, I tried to ignore him until he borught up Vietnam. McCain pounced, pointing out that public opinion lost the Vietnam War, not the troops. He also said that the Vietnamese wanted to build a country, Al Queda wanted to follow us home and destroy America.

Only Rupaul could make Tancredo seem reasonable, but he disagreed with Rupaul, although way too tepidly.

A question about Rudy using 9/11 to get elected was up next. Rudy spoke about stopping Haitian illegal immigration while working in Ronald Reagan’s justice department. He also spoke about going after Sicilian Mafia members. He spoke about his reducing taxes, spending, welfare, and abortions, while promoting policies to increase adoptions, and that this was all before 9/11.

One undignified question showing Cheney about to shoot someone was used to ask about Vice Presidential power. The fact that it was done in cartoon form did not make it any less distasteful. Thompson joked that the Cheney character looked like him. He then stated that the Vice President should have substantial authority. McCain stated that President Bush had to rely more on Cheney due to his own inexperience, which would not be an issue for McCain.

Hunter’s video emphasized his solid credentials, including an endorsement form CHuck Yeager, who is a lot more than a former spokesperson for A.C. Delco Parts. Huckabee’s video reemphasized his social conservatism.

A retired Brigadier General with Special Forces experience and 43 years of service powerfully pointed out that he is openly gay, and why we cannot lift the ban on gays in the military. In this case, it was the questioner who had gravitas.

Hunter hid behind Colin Powell and the cohesion argument. Huckabee correctly separated feelings from conduct, but then confused being gay with inappropriate conduct. Perhaps he did not merely get confused, which would be a bigger issue. Romney hid behind the fact that we are at war. He also mentioned that he thought “don’t ask, don’t tell” would fail, but in his estimation, 15 years later, “it has worked.”

The questioner took the candidates to task, and said the members of the military were professional enough to handle it. He claimed that “don’t ask, don’t tell” was destructive, and that gays are being kicked out not for bad conduct, but being gay. He was forceful.

McCain stated that generals such as Petraeus and Odierno are against it, and that the current policy is working.

A good question was asked about whether they supported the Log Cabin Republicans, and of equal importance, why the Log Cabin Republicans should support them.

Huckabee joked that he needed the support of anyone who can get. He stated that he disagreed with them on gay marriage, but agreed with them on other issues such as taxes. He would respect people with different convictions.

A question about the national debt and raiding the social security trust fund was asked. Thompson joked that we need to protect the young generation from the older generation. He then gave a non-answer answer. Romney rambled, praising Reagan and condemning Hillary. It contributed nothing.

A question about pledging space exploration to Mars by 2020 was a fair question, but not vital enough to be at the end of the debate. Nevertheless, it was an intelligent question in terms of significance. Huckabee wants to expand the space program, and very smartly related it to our technological needs today. He joked that Hillary could be on the first rocket to Mars. Tancredo stated we cannot afford some things, including going to Mars.

A very good question by a young black male brought up the notion that while many black people have culturally conservative views, they vote for the democrats. This fellow asked why. Giuliani said we have not done a good enough job as a party of showing that our solutions are right, especially on education. He cited moving people off of welfare as a way of reducing crime, and helping black America.

Romney then pounced, and promised to get tough on illegal immigrants.

Rudy retaliated that Romney had a “sanctuary mansion,” since his own helpers at his home were illegal immigrants. Romney got indignant, said he hired a company, and Giuliani said Romney was holier than thou, and Romney implied Giuliani was brown bashing.

It was a fiery exchange, and the next question dealt with a promise to veto any immigration bill that included amnesty.

Fred Thompson said yes, and claimed Romney was a flip flopper on the issue, and gave a very thinly veiled reference to Bernie Kerik when he said that “we all have all made mistakes in hiring.”

McCain said yes, and said the bill he took part in “never proposed amnesty.” He cited Mel Martinez, and said the American people do not trust us because of other failures such as Katrina and spending. He referred to the illegal immigrants as “God’s children,” and that he refuses to demonize them.

Tom Tancredo was challenged by a guy who supports guest workers that are vital to his business. Tancredo acted like himself, dismissing this small business owner’s concerns.

Duncan Hunter stated that he built the fence in San Diego, and it did work.

Huckabee was challenged about illegal immigrants getting college tuition breaks, and that children of military members should get those same privileges. He stated that it was a proposal that failed, as if that makes it better. He did say that it had to be students that had been in the schools their whole life, not just one year.

Romney compared Huckabee to a Massachusetts liberal, saying that Huckabee’s proposal took money from taxpayers. Huckabee said we do not punish children for what their parents do. Romney stated it was not punishment to enforce the law.

Ron Paul was asked if he was a wack job, more specifically if the USA would merge with Canada and Mexico. He spoke in a reasonable manner, but said nothing of value.

A question about reducing the national debt finally shifted the debate from immigration after over 30 minutes. McCain cited his credentials on fighting pork and corruption.

Romney echoed McCain, but seemed less passionate about the issue. Giuliani spoke of not replacing retiring government workers.

One person asked what 3 programs or entities would be killed. Thompson mentioned social security and medicare but then backtracked if they were the top 3. He mentioned the OMB list of 100. Rupaul mentioned the department of education, energy, and homeland security. He may be nuts, but he at least answered the question. Huckabee pandered by mentioning the IRS.

Another person asked about replacing the income tax with the fair tax. Huckabee does, McCain cited the Wall Street Journal and said no. He also stated that Rupaul’s isolationism is what caused World War II and brought Hitler to power. He further added that he just had Thanksgiving with the troops, and their message is “let us win.” Rupaul stated that McCain did not understand his military position. It was a ludicrous assertion.

The Grover Norquist pledge of vetoing tax increases was brought up. Thompson said he only made pledges with the American people. McCain echoed the sentiment. Hunter refused to take the pledge. The other said yes, and Rupaul actually correctly pointed out that cutting spending was vital as well.

A great question was asked about the gutlessness of free market conservatives when it comes to farm subsidies. Romney, desperate to win Iowa, supports the subsidies, and blamed our competitors for having subsidies we are forced to match to compete. Giuliani echoed Romney. He then answered a question about his security detail. Tancredo’s video was useless.

A question about toys with lead from China was asked. It allowed Tancredo to rail, and Hunter jumped into the China bashing. He implored people to “buy American.” I will when we make better products.

Thompson’s video hit Romney on abortion and Huckabee on taxes. Thompson jokingly replied that he wanted to “give his buddy a little extra air time.” Romney simply said that on abortion, that he “was wrong.” Huckabee actually sounded like Hillary in saying he was being attacked because he was doing well. Yes, he did it ina folksy manner, but perhaps something in Arkansas in the water does not allow the excuses to stay dead.

An NRA supporter asked about gun control. Hunter supports the second amendment. Giuliani was asked why he in 2000 said a written exam was required. He did say that government can impose “reasonable regulations” on guns. He cited background checks and banning mentally ill people from having guns, but other restrictions would not be ok. He said he would accept the Supreme Court ruling. Thompson contradicted Rudy, but Rudy said the DC law did not make things safer, while the New York laws made his city safer. He again said he believed the second amendment was an individual right.

When asked about their gun collections, Anderson Cooper smugly paraphrased the question to ask if the candidates had machine guns or silencers. Fred said he owned guns, but would not “tell where or what they are.” The crowd laughed. McCain said he used guns, does not own one now. Hunter was very specific. Giuliani does not own a gun, Romney has two guns in his home, owned by his son. I am not sure why that last part was thrown in, it was possibly a straddle.

A question about black on black crime was asked. Romney stated that the best thing was having a mother and father, and cited the out of wedlock birth rate among blacks. He cited Bill Cosby, and then mentioned education and policing.

Giuliani said that Romeny had a “mixed record” on crime, while he reduced murder in Harlem by 80%. He mentioned the “broken windows theory.”

A fabulous spin on the abortion question was asked. A woman wanted to know how we should punish the woman who has an abortion anyway if it becomes illegal, and how the doctor would be charged.

Rupaul, normally loud, seemed to want to run away from this question as much as the others. He said he was an OB doctor, and refused to specify precise punishments. Thompson said our # 1 focus should be to overturn Roe vs Wade, but did not specify exact punishments. Giuliani said he would not sign a law banning all abortion. He said Roe vs Wade was flawed because it took power from the states. Romney said he would sign the bill, but that the consensus does not exist to bring that bill anyway, which was not even asked at all.

Somebody asked what Jesus would do about enforcing the capital punishment. Huckabee supports the death penalty, but struggles with it as a human being. He contrasted the death penalty with abortion very ably, with aborted babies being guilty of nothing. Tancredo would pray to Jesus, and shockingly enough, did not accuse him of being an illegal immigration.

Somebody asked if they believe every word of the bible. Huckabee jokingly but arrogantly asked Giuliani if he needed help answering the question. Giuliani said he does not take everypart of the bible literally, with some parts being allegorical. Romney said he believes the bible is the word of God, but stumbled on the aspect of literalism. Huckabee tried to put a moderate face on a question designed to invoke accusations of zealotry, speaking of loving one’s neighbor.

While Giuliani got the better of Romney in their exchange on illegal immigration, he seemed to be given less opportunities to speak later on as Romney sparred with Huckabee. Thompson and Huckabee are folksy and funny, but did not offer much more, although Huckabee was eloquent at times, and again, arrogant when trying to needle Rudy about the bible. Romney seemed to be thrown off of his game by Giulinai on illegal immigration, and by McCain on torture. Again, even though Romney may be right on the issue, he still lost the battle on stage. McCain shined.

The candidates were all gutless on gays in the military and ethanol subsidies, but those are not the defining issues. The War on Terror was not brought up because the major candidates all agree, and their positions are well established.

This debate was more confrontational, and was specifically designed to see who could win debating points. After all, how can one lead a nation if they cannot defend their own beliefs on stage? George W. Bush is a good man, but his lack of articulation hurts him from a public relations standpoint. He is right, but he is not a salesman. Reagan was right, and sold himself well.

Also, since any candidate that attacks Rupaul does well, they should just compete to see who can verbally smack him the most.

All in all, Romney was flustered, Thompson contributed little, Huckabee was uneven, and Giuliani started strong enough to finish second.

John McCain won this debate.

eric

The Mideast Surrender Process

Wednesday, November 28th, 2007

Although I will not be mailing this letter to the President, I hope that somebody more eloquent than me sends him something similar.

Dear President Bush,

I voted for you twice. I pumped my fist in the air when you took the oath of office when your opponent tried to steal the election. I showed a steely eyed resolve when you spoke in the first few hours after the horrors of 9/11. I cheered and pumped my fist again with pride when you grabbed that bullhorn and stood with that firefighter on 9/14. When you spoke to the nation on 9/20, I looked in your eyes and saw the potential for greatness. When you beat the tar out of reporters in 2002, I said, “I love this guy!” In 2004, I prayed to God the night before the election for your reelection, the first time I have ever done so. While many have deserted you, I have not. I have disagreed with you and gave you the benefit of the doubt solely because I trusted you. I have taken delight in giving liberals conniptions by saying that you walk on water and turn it into wine.

The bottom line, Mr. President, is that I have been one of your biggest supporters, and I have a concern. With all due respect sir, if I have a concern, as one of your staunchest defenders, then you have one as well.

I believe you are a good man. I believe your vision of democracy in the Middle East is noble, decent and right. I believe when the history books are written, you will be vindicated. Unfortunately, I worry that the constant beating you have unfairly taken is finally taking its toll. I see a man who wants to shape his legacy right now, rather than let nature take its course. I am speaking about your desire to have a peace deal in place in the Middle East between Israel and the Palestinians before you leave office.

Sir…and I am treading very lightly because of the enormous respect I have for you…this is lunacy. It is sheer folly. It will fail. More importantly, it should fail.

You have been very gracious towards your predecessor, sometimes too much so. Let me show less class than you by saying that your predecessor was, while not a bad man, an irrelevant one. To call him peripheral was an understatement. The reason he was popular was because he followed rather than lead. His idea of bold leadership was mumbling about school uniforms. When he was in his last year of office, after realizing that he was the “Seinfeld President,” he became determined to ram through a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. He had no chance of succeeding, and I fear you might not either.

In 1993, an activist president forced Oslo upon the Jewish people. The Palestinians never lived up to their Oslo obligations, which was expected. In fact, I cannot remember the Palestinians ever keeping any promise they ever made, except for their vows to murder innocent Jews on a daily basis. After your predecessor lost the midterm elections in 1994, he played defense for the next six years, taking no chances. Then as the hourglass was running out on his time in power, he wanted a deal immediately.

Bill Clinton was about to leave office. Ehud Barak was about to leave office. Yassir Arafat was just getting started. Arafat held all of the cards. The other two men were so desperate to have a deal so that they could preen before the cameras for photo ops and engage in self congratulatory nonsense. Mr. President, I know you are better than that.

Even people who disagree with you believe that your time in office has been relevant. Your legacy is safe. You changed the Supreme Court, installing a giant in Justice John Roberts. The economy did well despite an early recession and the 9/11 attacks. The stock market hit an all time high, as did black home ownership. If you did nothing else, it would be, as Jews say on Passover, Dayenu (sufficient).

I know it must be frustrating to see others running for your job, and you being pushed to the sidelines away from the news cycles. This is not a death sentence. President Reagan shined in his last year in office.

You have done so much good sir. Please do not advance the Mideast surrender process. Do not spend your last year in office on a losing cause.

You are a good decent man, but the Palestinians by and large are not good people. They are portrayed as victims. They are not. They are bloodthirsty killers. Sure, we keep hearing how the leadership does not reflect the people. Yes, the reflection is perfect. 80% of the Palestinian people in recent years have supported homicide bombing as a legitimate form of political expression. Golda Meir said peace could come when the Palestinians love their own children more than they hate the Israeli children.

Some people believe that the Palestinians have finally gotten to that point. They have had enough of their miserable lot in life. This is false. They say that the strategy of trying to kill Jews is “not helpful” to their cause. That is not the same as saying it is wrong.

Yes, I am willing to concede that some Palestinians love their children, and just want a better life for their families. I sadly remain unconvinced that this view is anything other than an aberration.

I want peace, but not at any price. America can have peace with Afghanistan, but not with the Taliban in power. We had to root out the evil, and now we have a nation that is a democratic ally. Israel needs free reign to do whatever is necessary to root out terror in the Middle East. Only after this is done can dialogue be considered.

Israel gave up the Sinai. In return they received a “cold” peace, not a true peace. It is better than nothing, but far from a true peace. Israel gave up the buffer zone in Lebanon, and were rewarded with more terror. Israel gave up the Gaza Strip, and were rewarded with more terror. The only time things have calmed down even slightly was when Fatah and Hamas killed each other.

When Israel does prisoner swaps, one Israeli is traded for several hundred Palestinians. Could this be because only the Israelis value human life?

Some criticize Israel for continuing to expand settlements on what Palestinians refer to as occupied territory. It is not occupied territory. It is disputed territory. Also, when Palestinians refer to the illegal occupation, they do not mean the West Bank or Gaza. They mean all of Israel.

The Palestinians have not done their part. Militants roam free, and Israelis live in fear. What we call 9/11, they experience every day.

Mr. President, you know all of this. The only reason I see you going forward with a surrender process is because of either idealism or cynicism.

If idealism is your motive, I applaud your intention. Your idealism is right in Iraq. However, it is misplaced among the Palestinians. The Iraqis want a better life. They are slowly taking positive steps. This has not happened with the Palestinians.

I believe you are too good a man to be doing this out of cynicism. I just do not see you as a man who desperately wants a deal before you leave office. That is something your predecessor did. You are better than that.

Forget the lamestream media. You do not need this deal to be regarded as a great President. A successful deal will not help you, but a failed deal will hurt you. Again, this will fail. It is not possible to force foreign entities to operate on U.S. electoral timelines.

I am not against negotiation in principle. I am against forcing people to negotiate when any party believes that they have everything to lose by negotiating and everything to gain by belligerence. Putting these two very unequal parties on an equal plain is a reward to the murderers.

I applaud you for isolating Yassir Arafat, but Mr. Abbas is no better. First of all, there is no such thing as a moderate Palestinian leader. They are as fictional as the Easter Bunny and my pet unicorn. Even if Mr. Abbas completely renounced all violence on moral grounds, rather than just stating that it is not helpful, he would be shot to death the day after any deal was reached.

The people who want the deal to fail have all the power. They need to be forcibly disarmed. When the terrorists are dead, the Israelis can meet with Palestinian leaders who are against murder for the reasons civilized human beings should be against murder, and have the power to get a deal done, and keep it in force.

Mr. President, you have done too many things right for me to want to come against you on this one. I still feel I owe you the benefit of the doubt. Yet I remain worried.

I pray that at the first sign of Palestinian intransigence, that you and Dr. Rice allow Israel to get up from the table, and as a show of force, turn the table over.

Mr. President, you have been the best friend Israel has ever had. I know you must be frustrated that after everything you have done for the Jews, that 75% of them still act like ungrateful brats. I would be frustrated as well. However, alienating the 25% of Jews that do support you could set back republican inroads into the Jewish community for another generation.

This Mideast surrender process must be killed at the very first sign of failure. An escalation of commitment will only make things worse.

Good luck Mr. President. You will need it. You are trying to succeed where everybody before you has failed. If anybody can make this succeed, you can. However, even you might be overmatched this time.

Then again, if it was anybody else but you proposing this, I would be in open revolt right now. I will sit and wait, because I trust you.

I pray for you to succeed in Iraq, but I will not pray one minute for this summit to succeed unless success is seen as a total victory for Jewish civilization and a defeat for the terrorists that have fought for a homeland to launch more terror.

Respectfully,

eric

My Interview With Richard Baehr

Tuesday, November 27th, 2007

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Richard Baehr, the co-founder and political director of a website called “American Thinker.” As the name suggests, he prefers a civilized and cerebral approach to solving serious problems that America faces. From health care to foreign policy to the upcoming U.S. Elections, Mr. Baehr offers deep analysis backed by solid research.

Mr. Baehr also lectures around the country, speaking to audiences about the challenges we face, and how we can meet them.

I recommend people check out the American Thinker if they wish to learn more about issues, and discuss them in a sobering, dignified manner.

With that, below is the transcript of my interview with Richard Baehr.

 

1) You, Larry Sabato and Michael Barone are all very respected political analysts. What are your projections for the 2008 elections for President and Congress, and what factors could alter those projections?

It’s nice to be placed in the same company with Michael Barone, a giant in the field. Democrats will hold the Senate, and pick up seats in Virginia, New Hampshire and New Mexico (if Tom Udall runs). Colorado and Louisiana are tossups. Net, Democrats will pick up 2 to 5 seats. Minnesota is also close. Democrats will retain the House with the almost exact majority they do today (1/3 chance). About 1/3 chance GOP will pick up 5 or so seats, and 1/3 chance they will lose another 5 seats. .In other words, the democrats will retain the House too. Rudy Giuliani will beat Hillary Clinton in a very tight race. . John McCain would also beat her, and more easily, but he will not get nominated. Romney may be nominated, but probably will not be elected if he is. One of the allowable bigotries left in America is against Mormons. If Obama is nominated (25% chance) he would lose to Rudy, or McCain, and it would be a tossup with Romney. Thompson is going nowhere. If the economy falls into recession, there is a big run on the dollar, real estate prices fall further, and oil goes to $125-150, then the democrats’ chances to win the Presidency are greatly bolstered. There is maybe 1/3 chance of this happening. If there is a military action against Iran, the chance of an economic debacle is greater, especially a significant oil price rise.

2) A large segment of our society seems to have an irrational fear of anyone deemed “religious.” Do you feel this is true, and how do you balance your deep commitment to your faith with the fact that some Americans may unfairly consider all expressions of religion to be equated with zealotry and intolerance?

I think the militant secularists (e.g Chris Hitchens) are not that large in numbers, but are well positioned in influential areas–academia and the media, so their voices have outsized impact. Religious families are having more children then secular families. I am not worried that militant secularists will have a baby boom. They are too selfish in many cases for that. Many well educated secular folks look down on religious believers, as they do for those in the military. In part, this is because these people (religious and military) are foreign to them, since they live in a cocoon of similar thinking friends and family, who do not worship or have family members serve in the military.

3) What can ordinary citizens do, besides donating money and voting for republican candidates, to help win the War on Terror? What obligations do we have, and how can we help?

Write, as you and I do. Learn to be a public speaker. Look for opportunities to talk to and convert co-workers, friends and family.

4) It is one thing to ask people to have faith in God. It is much tougher to ask people to have faith in Government. What does our government do right, and what does it need to do better, so people can start believing in their government again?

The US military is a terrific fighting force–technologically sophisticated, well trained, and with high morale. It is also more integrated in its leadership and ranks than any other sector of American society. Certain programs such as Social Security and Medicare have enabled the elderly to have far more security in their now extended later years of life. There is high satisfaction with both programs, particularly Medicare. Many states and cities are well run in various areas–the New York City police are an example. Wisconsin had a very good welfare to work program.

5) Between teachers unions wielding power and mandatory standards being fought at every turn, should we all home school our kids and declare public schooling a lost cause?

More Americans now live in suburbs than in cities or rural areas. Many suburban school systems are quite good, particularly at the high school level (this is more likely in high income areas of course). Elementary schools have been very dumbed down, however, and become value neutral except for environmentalism. Teachers unions have had a more negative impact on elementary and middle schools than high schools. Home schooling is a growing option, with much more solid infrastructure to support parental efforts. Of course, private or religious schools are also an option. There is now a record enrollment at Jewish day schools for instance.

6) With regards to foreign policy, what have we done right, and what have we gotten wrong, in the last 8 years, and what steps can be take to improve the situations that require improvement?

The elephant in the room is whether the Iraq invasion was a mistake. I am not sure. There are about 4,000 dead, 25,000 wounded, and hundreds of billions in expenditures. Has it made us safer? Tough one to answer yes at this moment. The war to depose Saddam went great. He was a bad, dangerous guy. The surge is working. Yet, there were about 4 years where things went badly. US soldiers are a poor choice for a police force. They either need to be on the offensive, or get out (for the most part). When we succeed in a military mission, local forces need to be in place to start replacing our combat troops. The Afghan operation has been a success for the most part. US relations with Japan and India are very good. President Bush has done the right thing with regards to Israel–allow Israel to make the decisions and fight its battles. We have not been addicted to engagement (until the latest Annapolis attempt which will surely fail). Relations have significantly improved with France and Germany with their new leaders. We are rapidly entering into an economic dependency relationship with non-allied nations–China and oil producers who hold our huge dollar piles due to trade imbalances. This situation needs to be reversed. It will be painful I think for our economy while adjustment occurs. We will become relatively less rich as the dollar shrinks in value.

7) Your expertise is health care. What are your credentials in the health care field, what are we doing right, what have we gotten wrong, and what would make things better, or even more importantly, make matters worse?

I have been a management consultant in the health care field for 33 years. I have served as an advisor mainly to hospitals, on planning and financial matters. The big problem in health care is inflation, not access. In fact, there is far too much health care delivered, though it is mal-distributed to some extent. The HSA program was a good initiative– consumers need to think about their health care expenditures and not assume insurance makes it a free good. As insurers squeeze providers on price, providers respond by doing more. Consumers always want more health care. Some of the volume growth reflects defensive medicine practiced by providers to avoid litigation. This is a particular problem in the last year of a patient’s life. Insurers need to be allowed to create multi-state pools. I would consider guaranteed issue, or states filling in for those with pre-existing conditions that make them uninsurable. I know personally about this!

8.) Our country is incredibly polarized. You want to raise the level of discourse, eschewing the politics of personal destruction. Outside of another 9/11, is it even possible to unite Americans? What common goals and values do we share?

This is a big problem. The Clinton years were polarizing , as have been the Bush years. As to the latter, the Florida recount battle and the Iraq war are major reasons. Our country does not have enough Liebermans or McCains in leadership roles. The media likes food fights, and seems not to care if we win wars in which we are engaged. I am not optimistic on this front.. I think another 9/11 will not generate as much national unity as the first 9/11. I do not see a lot of value sharing. Belief in God, don’t burn the flag, do not discriminate against ethnic, racial or religious groups. Not much more than that.

9) The American dollar seems to be in free fall. Should government get involved, and is this even a problem at all? If so, what needs to be done?

See # 6 above. I think it is a big problem. Developing ANWAR is a trillion plus dollar hole filler on our foreign debt. It is insane not to be doing this. We have a consumer driven economy , and increasingly we are buying foreign made goods. The $700 billion annual trade deficits cannot continue indefinitely. Greater energy conservation, and more domestic supply helps. If the dollar keeps shrinking in value, eventually our work force will be cheaper than a lot of others.

10) Who are your three favorite American political leaders of all time?

Abe Lincoln, George Washington, third is a tie between Ronald Reagan and Scoop Jackson.

11) Who are your three favorite world political leaders of all time?

Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, David Ben Gurion.

12) The Supreme Court will be taking up two cases that go to the heart of the Second Amendment. Where do you stand on the Second Amendment, and are gun control laws by definition unconstitutional?

I think second amendment rights include personal gun ownership. I am pretty certain the Court will confirm this.

13) What would be the main qualities and criteria you would look for with regards to Supreme Court justices? Could they disagree with you on major issues, and still be qualified?

I want very smart justices, who really know the history of the Court and the issues that have come before it (Roberts is a good example of this). I prefer judicial moderates–those who do not seek to change society through the courts, but view it as the least dangerous branch, hence, modest in its intentions. I think justices who are concerned with original founder intent or legislator intent will be more likely to behave this way.

14) What is your main goal with regards to your website, American Thinker? What is your main goal when lecturing audiences around the country?

As for www.americanthinker.com, our goal is to provide thoughtful, serious discussion on a variety of public issues, and build support for our missions abroad, for the security of Israel, and for a domestic policy agenda that reflects conservative approaches to solving problems. When I lecture, I want to inform and provide my audience with arguments that they can use. I also want people to enjoy the talk, even if the subject matter is serious, so I try to be entertaining to the extent I can be.

15) Do you support the Bush Doctrine of pre-emptive action? Do you feel that it may be necessary to take pre-emptive action against Iran?

I think pre-emptive action needs to be an option, but not used very often. My concern is that Iran might be a better situation for it than Iraq was, and the problems in Iraq, post-invasion , may limit our options (make us more gun-shy) with Iran.

16) What Americans call 9/11, Israel refers to as every day life. Israel is then asked to show restraint. What is your view on Israel taking pre-emptive action, including a strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities if necessary? What about with regards to the disputed territories such as Gaza? What about against Damascus, who funds Hezbollah?

Israel will act against Iran, if the US does not, and if sanctions fail to make them change course, as I suspect they will fail. I am pretty sure of it. An Iran with nuclear weapons is an existential threat–they might use them preemptively. I think Israel will be forced to retake Gaza, or at least move the IDF back in certain areas to stop smuggling and rocket fire. I think Israel prefers to leave Syria alone. Israel should not surrender the Golan, and that is the price for a cold peace with Syria. War is probably not necessary, and would be costly, given Syrian WMD stocks and missiles. Iran is the real problem. Syria is a compliant satellite.

17) Is Iranian President Armageddonijad a terrorist? If so, should candidates publicly propose banning him from any functions not directly related to the U.N.? Can and should the U.S. Government prohibit such people from visiting American universities, and should universities face sanctions or pressure for hosting such people?

He is a terrorist, and his country is violating the UN charter by threatening another country with extinction. The US should move to have Iran expelled from the UN for this. It won’t happen, but would be embarrassing for Iran to have to defend themselves. Ahmadinejad should not be invited to colleges. Free speech does not mean a college forsakes judgment in whom they invite. At the same time they ban ROTC, and make life difficult for military recruiters.

18) Attempts to partially privatize social security have been met with hysteria about throwing old people on the street and leaving them to die. Do you favor any privatization of social security? If not, why not? If so, how can candidates you recruit and the party in general frame it in terms that do not frighten seniors?

I think privatization will have to be an add-on program, rather than a replacement, except perhaps for the very young, who do not fear losing a benefit they think they will likely never see anyway. Fixing social security is relatively easy, and takes only a few modest changes in retirement age, and annual inflation rate. Both parties are afraid to address it.

19) Medicare is a ticking time bomb, and when the baby boomers retire, the problem will explode. Politicians are scared to touch the issue because nobody likes being fired. Can the party work with the AARP? Given their favoritism of democrats, is working with them even a good idea? Can they be taken on if necessary, and can politicians be motivated to put the national interest above their own self interest?

See #7 above, Medicare and Medicaid are ticking time bombs. Private insurance inflation rates are making American business less competitive. This is a huge problem.

20) Without delving into your personal life, what would you want Americans to know about Richard Baehr the person? 100 years from now, what would you want people to remember about you, and what would you hope the history books say about you?

I do not expect the history books say anything about me or that anybody will remember anything about me. If I write a great American novel, maybe. But that won’t happen. That said, I have tried to be a decent person, raise my kids with good values, care for my family, and work for the things in which I believe. I have always tried in my professional life to be serious about serving my clients with the skills and effort I can bring to an assignment.

 

I would like to again thank Richard Baehr for his time, and for his ability to convey passion in a classy manner. He speaks to his audiences, not at them. He has convictions, but is a believer in reasonable discussion. He has already made the world a better place by offering solutions to complex problems in a manner that those who agree with him can understand, and those that disagree with him can respect.

eric

Hillary Clinton–Patriots Fan

Monday, November 26th, 2007

Hillary Clinton has decided that she has been a New England Patriots fan her entire life.

Ok, so that announcement has not occurred yet, but given that the New Hampshire Primary is going to be during the NFL Playoffs, she should be disclosing this shortly.

It’s a perfect match, Hillary and the Patriots. Let’s look at the similarities.

Both Hillary and the Patriots ruthlessly enforce discipline. Hillary rides roughshod on Bill and the rest of the Clintonistas, and so does Bill Belichick with his team. If you fumble a ball or a question, you get screamed at and thrown in the doghouse until you stop dropping the ball.

Both Hillary and Belichick have utter contempt for the media, and treat any question of them as an act of war. They treat opponents as enemies, with no mercy. Neither of them have a plan to deal with actual world enemies, but Belichick has not been asked to offer his thoughts on foreign policy as of yet.

Both Hillary and the Patriots have a haughty arrogance that is beyond off putting. This comes from being part of organizations that win two presidential elections and three Superbowls, respectively. Nevertheless, the sense of entitlement is nauseating. In fact, if Hillary and Bill (Belichick, not Clinton) had an offspring, it would be an ice cube.

Both Hillary and the Patriots have chips on their shoulders, which is odd considering they have so much. The Patriots feel they should have won the AFC Title Game last year, and Hillary takes every loss personally back to her husband losing the 1980 Governor’s race. Both bounced back, with Bill Clinton winning the Governorship again in 1982, and New England bouncing back from last year with a vengeance.

Both Hillary and Belichick were connected to early failures, with Bill Clinton’s first run for Attorney General and Belichick’s first stint as Cleveland Head Coach being less than stellar.

Both Hillary and the Patriots are seen as inevitable. This means people are waiting for them to stumble, whether it be flubbing a question about illegal immigrants and drivers’ licenses or barely surviving a game at home against a .500 Eagles team.

Both believe in scorched Earth tactics, whether it be Hillary trying to leak dirt on the drug use of her competitors or the Patriots keeping their starters in when up by 40 points. Both have crossed the line into paranoia and scandal, with Hillary hiring private investigators such as Terry Lenzner to dig through the garbage of Bill’s (Clinton, not Belichick) bimbos, or the Patriots being accused of cheating by videotaping the signals of their opponents. In both cases this was unnecessary, since Monica Lewinsky spent less time on her knees surrendering than the New York Jets.

Neither Hillary or the Patriots have ever apologized for their tactics, because they believe winning at all costs is justified. If they did apologize it would be insincere.

Both have been trailed by scandal for years, with Hillary’s scandals taking up too many volumes to discuss, and the Patriots defeating the Raiders in a blizzard known as the Tuck Rule game. I will go to my grave knowing Bill Clinton lied under oath, and Tom Brady fumbled that ball, with Charles Woodson delivering the blow and Greg Biekert recovering. Speaking of blow, Bill’s brother Roger Clinton was pardoned illegally after his coke dealing.

Hillary has her fake smile and cackle to hide her rage. Belichick has his fake hug of Eric Mangini. Both of them learned from cold, distant and powerful men, that being Hugh Rodham and Bill Parcells.

Both want to get through the regular season without injury and get to the playoffs. Instead Hillary has to share a stage with Kucinich, Dodd, and until recently, Gravel, while the Patriots have to host games against the Jets and Dolphins. Kucinich and the Dolphins cannot beat anybody, much less serious frontrunners.

Both have general election opponents that are supposedly seen as sacrificial lambs, an insult to Giuliani, McCain, Romney, Thompson, Favre and the Packers, Romo and the Cowboys, and Benny and the Jets (threw in Elton John to see who was awake).

They both could improve their team on offense and defense with Janet Reno and Madeleine Albright (ok, that was unfair and done to death).

Both have had run ins with foreign leaders that went badly, with Hillary kissing Suha Arafat and surrendering her soul, and Patriots Owner Robert Kraft surrendering one of his Superbowl rings to Vladimir Putin (Putin insists it was a gift, Kraft is too scared to say otherwise).

Both will be spending a significant amount of time in New England in January, with Hillary trying to win the New Hampshire Primary, and the Patriots enjoying home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Neither Hillary nor Belichick would understand any questions posed to them by Shannon Sharpe, although both of them would pretend to do so. Neither of them should or would be faulted for this.

Both Hillary and the Patriots are wrapped in a cocoon of secrecy, and have learned to operate better on the road.

Both Hillary and the Patriots began padding their record early in the 21st century against patsies (the original nickname for the Patriots for years, long since forgotten), ranging from Rick Lazio to the Buffalo Bills.

They both have had makeovers over the years, with the Patriots shifting from the red home uniforms to the dark blue ones, and Hillary shifting her hairstyles and pantsuits. Hillary forced herself to try and soften her image, while the Patriots hardened theirs.

The Patriots have a scouting department led by Scott Pioli that is constantly looking to find new talent and develop it. Hillary has a scouting team led by Lenzner and others that is constantly looking to suppress new “talent” that Bill (again Clinton, not Belichick) discovers and tries to develop.

Yet before Hillary holds that press conference, there is one major difference. As much as I detest the Patriots, they earned their success through merit. They have an actual record of success and accomplishment. Nevertheless, when one has no real significant life accomplishments, they can just piggyback off of somebody else, and adopt the other person’s successes as their own.

Both Hillary and the Patriots are beatable. It will not be easy, but to knock the smugness out of them is worth any effort.

eric

NFL 2007–Week 12 Recap

Sunday, November 25th, 2007

As I am now stuffed and still prepared to be mounted on the wall like an oversized television set, my love for the game allows me to stagger out of bed, crawl to my tv sets, and report on Week 12 in the NFL. Unfortunately, unlike most weeks, a majority of the early games were not competitive. Fortunately, bad football is still much better than most things on Earth. As for the late games, they were thrilling.

First, there was some action on Thanksgiving.

Green Bay Packers @ Detroit Lions–The myth that the Lions are a good team needs to be dispelled. They are not a bad team, which is what is expected of the Lions. They are improved. They are a long way from good. There was a time when going into Detroit on Thanksgiving Day was a loss for the road team. The old Pontiac Silverdome was a house of horrors for Brett Favre, second only to the Metrodome. Those days are gone. Yes, the first quarter was all Detroit, but their 6-0 lead was not meant to last. Favre had a 344 yard 3 touchdown performance, as Green Bay was cruising 34-12 in the fourth quarter. Detroit did cut the gap to 34-26, but a Green Bay field goal iced a game that was not as close as the score indicated. A preview of the NFC Title Game will be played on November 29th when Green Bay is at Dallas. Green Bay is 10-1. 37-26 Packers

New York Jets @ Dallas Cowboys–A very bad team played a very good team, and there were no surprised. Dallas raced to a 21-0 lead, and despite being bored the rest of the game, could not become so bored that giving the game away was a serious consideration. Dallas is also 10-1, and can now focus on their collision course with Green Bay. I still maintain it will not be Colts-Patriots, but it will be the best NFC game this year, and the first time since 1990 that a pair of 10-1 teams played. In that game the Giants and 49ers were both 10-0, and then lost badly in week 11. In this case, both teams are coming off of wins. As for the Jets…oh, who cares. 34-3 Cowboys

Indianapolis Colts @ Atlanta Falcons–The Colts are reeling from injuries, while the Falcons entire team has gone to the dogs. Yes, I went there. The Falcons did jump out to a 10-0 lead, but then reality set in. This Colts team does not panic. Why should they? They trailed 21-3 in the AFC Title Game last year, and fell behind in the Superbowl in the first 15 seconds. Peyton Manning is as poised as any quarterback, and Tony Dungy released pressure form his team by apologizing for the loss a week earlier when everybody else but him was to blame. At 9-2 the Colts are staring up at New England, but they are still better than virtually everybody else, including hapless Atlanta. 31-13 Colts

New Orleans Saints @ Carolina Panthers–Before the season started this game had the potential to be something extra special. The Saints were coming off of being one game short of the Superbowl, and the Panthers appeared loaded with talent after an injury plagued season. Instead, a pair of 4-6 teams tried to stave off playoff elimination. By the time Drew Brees ran in a 3rd quarter touchdown himself, the Saints were up 24-6, as the Saints retained a sliver of hope and the Panthers continued to be a head scratcher. Carolina has dropped five straight. 31-6 Saints

Buffalo Bills @ Jacksonville Jaguars–Old reliable Fred Taylor is still doing it, and a 50 yard touchdown run put the Jaguars up 7-0. Jack Del Rio’s defense had the Jags up 19-7 when a touchdown run closed the gap to five points late in the third quarter. Buffalo got no closer as Maurice Jones-Drew ran hard, and the Buffalo offense went nowhere. Buffalo fell to 5-6, allowing New England at 10-0 to clinch their division. The Jaguars are often overshadowed by Indy, but they are a solid 8-3 and one game back. 36-14 Jaguars

Washington Redskins @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers–Turnovers by the Redskins plagued them the entire first half, as Monte Kiffin’s Tampa defense harassed Jason Campbell and propelled the Buccaneers to a 19-3 lead. Campbell did throw a 40 yard touchdown pass to Chris Cooley cut the gap to 9 points in the third quarter. The Redskins tacked on a field goal, and were driving with 6 minutes left. The drive stalled, but Washington got the ball back again at their own 7 yard line with 3 minutes left. Campbell drove the Redskins all the way down the field, and with 20 seconds left, Washington had reached the Tampa Bay 15. Campbell was then intercepted in the end zone on the next play, the 6th Washington turnover on the day, The Bucs survived despite being outgained 412-192, and managing 15 total yards and zero first downs in the second half. Buc Ball…blah. 19-13 Buccaneers

Seattle Seahawks @ St. Louis Rams–The Rams came into this game a bad team, but also a team with a two game winning streak. A safety issue plus a 53 yard touchdown run by Stephen Davis had the Rams up 9-0. After a Seattle touchdown on an 89 yard kickoff return by Josh Wilson, a Marc Bulger touchdown pass to Isaac Bruce had the Rams up by 9 again. A field goal extend the Rams lead to 19-7, but Seattle clawed back with a field goal of their own and a touchdown to come within two points late in the third quarter. Seattle took the lead with another touchdown, but a chance to extend the gap to 8 points failed when a field goal with 2:44 left was no good. The Rams then marched down the field like it was 1999, getting to the Seattle 5 yard line with 1:21 remaining. On 4th and goal from the 1 with 29 seconds left, Frerotte took a timeout. With the game on the line, Gus Frerotte fumbled the snap. Seattle escaped by the edge of Holmgren’s tusks. 24-19 Seahawks

Minnesota Vikings @ New York Giants–Despite not having rookie phenom Adrian Peterson, the Vikings needed less than one minute to go on top 7-0, as Tavaris Jackson went to Sidney Rice for a 60 yard touchdown pass. Eli Manning threw his first touchdown pass to Darren Sharper, who unfortunately for Big Blue, plays for the guys in purple. While the G-Men did tie the game, Manning continued to throw perfect strikes to the Vikings secondary, propelling Minnesota to a 24-7 lead. Manning’s miserable day culminated in a deflected pass that was returned by Dave Dwight 93 yards for a touchdown and a 34-10 Vikings route. Chad Greenway returned another Manning interception for a touchdown. Three of Manning’s four interceptions went for touchdowns, with the other one being returned inside the 10 yard line. Give a team 28 points, and they will win big. Somewhere, San Diego was enjoying this. 41-17 Vikings

Tennessee Titans @ Cincinnati Bengals–Rudy Johnson ran it in from 5 yards out, as the Bengals moved out to a 7-0 lead. A chance to extend the lead was wasted when a 21 yard field goal was wide. Vince Young then immediately took advantage by throwing a bomb that went to the Bengals 7 yard line. It should have been a touchdown, but the wide receiver lost his balance and went out of bounds. Tennessee needed 2 plays to waste the opportunity and fumble the ball back to the Bengals. In the spirit of thanks and giving, Carson Palmer had a pass on the next drive deflected and intercepted, setting up a field goal by Rob Bironas.

A Palmer touchdown pass to Chad Johnson put the Bengals up 14-3, and again Ocho Cinco was flagged for excessive celebration. Marvin lewis laughed it off, given that 2007 has had little for the Bengals to celebrate about. By the time Palmer threw his second touchdown pass to Johnson, Cincy was completely in command. 35-6 Bengals

Houston Texans @ Cleveland Browns–This was the up and coming bowl, as both of these teams, while not “there” yet, are significantly improved. The Browns led 17-10 for much of the game, and a fourth quarter touchdown put the game out of reach. Touchdown passes by Derek Anderson to Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow powered the Browns, and Matt Schaub threw an interception with 8 minutes remaining to set up the final touchdown, a run from a yard out by Jamal Lewis. The Browns are 7-4. 27-17 Browns

Oakland Raiders @ Kansas City Chiefs–For more on the game of the day, go to

www.justblogbaby.com

In addition to being a disgrace of a football team, there is more turmoil in Raiderland. Lamont Jordan asked to be released this week when he was deactivated last week. He was supposedly demoted due to Justin Fargas running well, although he was active for this game.. First of all, nobody on the Oakland offense is playing well. Secondly, the Raiders refused to release him, and hopefully he will work his way back into the lineup soon enough.

The Chiefs started a quarterback with virtually no experience in Brodie Croyle. With Priest Holmes retiring and Larry Johnson out, they also started a running back with almost no experience in Colby Smith. Unfortunately for the Raiders, they started the same people who have been losing week after week.

Early on Michael Huff intercepted Croyle’s 1st pass, and the Raiders started inside the Chiefs 30. Of course, it only led to a field goal. The Oakland defense then allowed Colby Smith to look like the second coming of Jim Brown, as Kansas City ran it down the field for a touchdown. Based on this season, 7-3 seemed like too much of a deficit to overcome. The Raiders did manage to get slightly past midfield on their next drive, but a 3rd and 5 pass from Daunte Culpepper to Ronald Curry was dropped. On the next drive, the Raiders had 2nd and 1 at the Chiefs 30. Culpepper was then sacked for a 9 yard loss, followed by a pass toJerry Porter that was first ruled dropped, then called a catch and a 16 yard gain, and then reversed on a coach’s challenge back to incomplete. A bright spot was Sebastian Janikowski drilling a 55 yard field goal, with drilled being an understatement.

A Kansas City field goal was followed by a Raiders fumble. The defense held, but a punt pinned the Raiders back to their own five yard line. At the two minute warning, the Raiders faced 3rd and inches from their 15. They did convert, but their attempts to run out the clock failed. The Chiefs decided to use their timeouts. However, a booming punt by Shane Lechler coupled with a holding penalty against the Chiefs had Kansas City pinned back. Herman Edwards decided to pass, and after he was sacked, the Raiders decided to use their timeouts. Never has a first half of football been prolonged with so little in terms of results. Since Oakland only had two timeouts instead of the full three, KC finally kneeled on the ball to end this awful half.

The third quarter finally saw a ray of hope for the Raiders, and it was delivered by Lamont Jordan, who ran it in 5 yards for a touchdown. The Raiders led 13-10 with 6 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. Next came the waiting game to see when and how the team would screw this game up. They obliged immediately by drawing a personal foul penalty for hitting Brodie Croyle after he was well out of bounds.The Raider defense continued to make Brodie Croyle look like the second coming of Len Dawson. Colby Smith ran for an easy 7 yard touchdown up the middle against a pathetic run defense. His second touchdown put the Chiefs back up by four near the end of the third quarter. The Raiders then dodged a bullet when KC missed a chip shot 33 yard field goal attempt with 11 minutes remaining. For any other offense in the league, this would be plenty of time to actually do something.

Out of nowhere, Culpepper showed what he can do when given time to throw and reasonable routes to go deep. The dink and dunk offense does not work for this team. A 30 yard strike got the ball to midfield, and another Culpepper deep throw, this time to Jerry Porter, placed the ball at the 14 yard line. Justin Fargas then ran it the final 14 yards on the next play. A stunned Kansas City team saw the Raiders go 78 yards in 3 plays. The drive was one minute long. The Raiders led 20-17 with 9 1/2 minutes remaining. This was a typical Chiefs Raiders game, which unfortunately over the last 17 years means the Chiefs would somehow win. One ray of hope for the Raiders was that Marcus Allen was not scowling from the sidelines.

With 4 1/2 minutes left, a 3rd and 5 catch was made by Eddie Kennison. He caught it between his knees, not with his hands. Kansas City called a timeout, and on 4th and 1 from the Oakland 23, they then challenged the spot. The spot stood, meaning KC had spent two timeouts. Kansas City eschewed a 40 yard field goal to tie the game and decided to go for it. Then, Colby Smith, who had been running up and down the field all day, was stoned in the backfield by the Silver and Black defense. The Raiders had the ball, a 3 point lead, and Justin Fargas running well. KC had only one timeout. Could the Raiders finally stop the bleeding?

After several successful plays, the Raiders faced a 2nd and 14 from near midfield at the two minute warning. Had Fargas not run out of bounds on a sweep, there would have been less time, but the Raiders cannot make things easy. Some would say it would be better to lose the remaining games and get a great draft pick to complement JaMarcus Russell, but I always support winning. Losing is nauseating. With 1:54 left, KC used their last timeout. On 3rd and 11 I was pleading with the Raiders to run the ball and punt. Any pass in this situation would be a mistake. From the KC 44, Culpepper handed off to Fargas, and he ran for the first down!

22 carries for 139 yards, and 9 straight losses to the hated Chiefs had come to an end. A six game losing streak in 2007 was over. A 17 game losing streak in the division was over. Yes, the team is 3-8, but today was a hard fought win. I detest everything about Kansas City, and I am changing Lame Kiffin’s name back to Lane Kiffin. He is now undefeated against the Chiefs in Arrowhead at 1-0. Now to hope that this game wrecked the season for the Chiefs. 20-17 Raiders

San Francisco 49ers @ Arizona Cardinals–Kurt Warner threw a touchdown pass to Larry Fitzgerald, but then Arizona turned the ball over a couple times, with Frank Gore capitalizing on the latter one to put the 49ers up 17-7. Warner came back with another touchdown pass, this one going to Anquon Bouldin. With just under one minute left in the half, Walt Harris had his second interception of Warner, setting up a missed field goal with seconds left in the half.

With time for only one play before the half, Kurt Warner launched a hail mary from midfield. Ignoring Tom Jackson’s advice to “Knock it down!,” Larry Fitzgerald outjumped everybody and caught it for a touchdown. He then left the ball on the field, ducked under a yellow police line tape, and went into the locker room. Unlike Bo Jackson 20 years ago, at least Fitzgerald left the ball behind so the Cardinals could kick the extra point. It was good, putting Arizona up 21-17. Nevertheless, when you score a touchdown like that, I guess you are entitled to an extra 60 seconds of naptime, or whatever players do during halftime.

Early in the second half, Arizona faced 4th and 6 in San Francisco territory. Out of the shotgun, the snap was low, rolled past Kurt Warner, and eventually resulted in a 30 yard loss and a turnover on downs. 3 plays later, a swing pass from Dilfer led to a 55 yard touchdown and a 24-21 49ers lead. The Cardinals again faced a 4th down, this time a 4th and 1 at midfield. This time they converted, although the drive stalled. On their next drive, Arizona faced 3rd and 2 at the San Francisco 5 yard line. A running play fell short, and after a timeout, on 4th and 1, a play action pass went for a touchdown and a 28-24 Cardinals lead with 10 minutes left. Kurt Warner looks young again, although that could be because he shaved his beard and mustache.

With 6 minutes left, it was San Francisco that faced a 3rd and 1 from the Arizona 27. For some reason, they tried a low percentage pass play. On 4th and 1, they ran off tackle, figuring that the straightest way t move forward was to move laterally. The play lost yards, and the ball was turned over on downs. However, the 49ers got the ball back, and Frank Gore rambled further than Al Gore en route to a 35 yard touchdown and a 3 point 49ers lead with 1:15 left.

Arizona then marched immediately down the field, and were in long field goal range when Warner threw another deep pass that was caught by Johnson in double coverage at the one yard line with six seconds left. Arizona had a timeout, meaning they could even run the ball on the next play. However, the Cardinals ended up using their timeout due to the play clock running down. The ball was placed at the one foot line after a booth review, and the Cardinals decided to go for the win rather than the tie. The 49ers then called a timeout. A quick pass was incomplete, but 2 seconds remained. The Cardinals set up for an 18 yard field goal, but the 49ers called another timeout, as if icing Neil Rackers on an 18 yard kick would work. The game went into overtime tied 31-31.

Arizona got the ball first in overtime, and despite not being able to move at first, were aided by a personal foul against the San Francisco defense. The Cardinals got to the San Fransisco 41, but on this 4th and one decided to punt. The 49ers failed to move, and on the next drive, Kurt Warner, who had 484 yards passing, set up Neil Rackers for a 27 yard field goal to win the game. A delay of game penalty on the kick pushed it back to 32 yards, where Rackers missed it. Kurt Warner would have been justified in shooting every member of his offense after that. 7 minutes remained in overtime.

San Francisco again could not move the ball, but the Cardinals return man inexplicably fielded the ball at his own one yard line. A return to the 15 was moved back due to an illegal block. Starting from their own one, a 99 yard bomb would make Kurt Warner the single game passing leader. Instead, he went back to pass, was hit, fumbled, and Santa Claus…make that Tully Banta-Cain… fell on it for a gift touchdown and the win. With nearly 500 yards passing, all the Cardinals could do was summon up 125 years of futility to somehow lose this game to a team that had lost 8 straight games themselves. At least by 4-0 the Cardinals won the turnover battle if one pretends that the higher number wins this statistic. 37-31 49ers, OT

Baltimore Ravens @ San Diego Chargers–The Ravens have Ray Lewis. The Chargers have Norv Turner. Shockingly enough, this was not an old AFL type shootout with 80 points on the board. I think the over-under was 10. The Chargers had a 3-0 lead when the Ravens shocked the football world by scoring a touchdown, a mighty one yard plunge by Willis McGahee. Nevertheless, Norvelous Norv’s boys scored a touchdown of their own, capping the drive with a botched snap on the extra point for a 9-7 lead.

With Kyle Boller filling in for Steve McNair, the San Diego defense teed off. Boller was hit, resulting in a fumble that San Diego recovered deep in Baltimore territory. The vaunted Chargers offense tacked on a field goal. A touchdown pass from Philip Rivers to Chris Chambers had the Chargers up 19-7 with 25 seconds left in the half. Baltimore then fumbled the ensuing kickoff, setting up Nate Kaeding’s 3rd field goal and a 22-7 lead at the intermission. San Diego coasted from there. 32-14 Chargers

Denver Broncos @ Chicago Bears–First the teams exchanged field goals, and then some replaceable part known as a Denver running back scored to put the Broncos up 10-3. After the Broncos fumbled deep in their own territory, the Bears turned first and 10 at the 16 to 3rd and 37 at the 43. A touchdown pass by Grossman was nullified by a penalty, and this was followed by a sack. A dump off pass set up a 44 yard field by Robbie Gould to pull within 10-6. With under a minute left in the first half, a simple swing pass from Jay Cutler to Andre Hall went for 80 yards down to the five yard line. However, Chicago held Denver to a field goal and a 13-6 lead for the Broncos at the half.

Luckily for the Broncos, the Bears do not have any game changing players. Oh, wait a sec. Devon Hester did it again, taking a punt return 75 yards, through the end zone, and into the tunnel himself. He hurdled a couple players to get their this time, and the game was tied 13-13 a couple minutes into the second half. Denver fumbled the ensuing kickoff, but fell on it. It was for naught as Jay Cutler threw an interception on the next play. With Chicago starting in the red zone, Rex Grossman was hit and fumbled, although he was ruled down by contact. Facing 4th and 2, the Bears first decided to go fir it, then opted for a field goal attempt, only to have Mike Shanahan throw a challenge flag before the ball was kicked. It was ruled a fumble, and a Denver recovery. Both teams struggled offensively, but with 2 1/2 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, a 5 yard touchdown run by Cecil Sapp put the Broncos back on top 20-13.

At this point Dan Dierdorf, the king of overstating things, actually had hyperbole that was within bounds when he described Devon Hester, who returned the ensuing kickoff 88 yards for his second touchdown on the day. One punt return and one kickoff return adds up to a nightmare for the other 31 teams. The game was tied 20-20. The defensive struggle turned into a pinball machine when Denver scored on the first play from scrimmage, a 68 yard pass play from Cutler to Brandon Marshall and a 27-20 Broncos lead. Three scores in 30 seconds had everybody wide awake, as Denver decided whether or not to kick the ball within 50 yards of Devon Hester. A squib kick was returned by Rasheed Davis 20 yards to midfield.

Chicago did not move the ball, and Denver responded with Cutler throwing a 41 yard strike to Tony Scheffler, followed by their 2nd timeout with 12 minutes left. Cutler then went to Scheffler, who caught the ball between his legs between double coverage. Denver, who did not have a 3rd down conversion the entire game at this point, led 34-20 with about 10 1/2 minutes left. Rex Grossman’s fumble on the next series seemed almost anticlimactic. It was the 4th Chicago turnover on the day.

Denver had the game well in hand when Charles Tillman blocked a Todd Sauerbrun punt, returning it to the Denver 18. This set up a touchdown on the ground, cutting the Denver lead to 7 points with 5 1/2 minutes left.

Chicago got the ball back with 3 minutes left, after what seemed like 10 minutes of strategy concerning the punt return. Devon Hester came into the game on offense. On 4th and 10 from their own 35, Grossman’s deep pass was incomplete. Unfortunately for the Broncos, an illegal contact penalty on Dre Bly gave the Bears new life. Grossman passed the Bears to the Denver 18, and a run by the other Adrian Peterson had the ball at the seven yard line with over a minute left. Chicago let the clock run down, but two running plays and an incomplete pass later, a fourth down pass was ruled inbounds for a touchdown with 30 seconds left. After a very careful review, it was deemed to be a spectacular reception.

In overtime, the Bears went straight down the field, and on 3rd down Grossman took a knee to position the ball in the center of the field. Shanahan did not call a timeout, since icing a kicker in Chicago is pointless. Robbie Gould nailed it, as the Bears erased a 14 point deficit with just over 5 minutes left to win in a stunner. 37-34 Bears, OT

Philadelphia Eagles @ New England Patriots was the Sunday night game. A.J. Feeley, filling in for an injured Donovan McNabb, needed only 90 seconds to throw his first touchdown pass to Asanti Samuel. Problem…Samuel plays defense for the Patriots. As my friend remarked, this could have been Andy Reid’s strategy to keep the Patriots offense off the field. If so, their Plan B was better. Plan B was a 14 play, 77 yard drive, including a 4th down conversion at the 15 yard line. Eating up almost 7 minutes of the clock, the score was tied 7-7 before Tom Brady even took the field. Although Brady did get belted for a sack during his first drive, it did not stop the team from getting to the Eagles one yard line, where Junior Seau lined up at fullback, setting up a touchdown run by Heath Evans for a 14-7 Patriots lead. Philadelphia kept fighting, and an AJ Feeley 28 yard touchdown pass to Greg Lewis tied the game 14-14 early in the second quarter.

Andy Reid then called an onsides kick, and David Akers executed it perfectly. AFter a nine yard loss, an offsides penalty was remarkable only in that it was the first penalty of the game among two disciplined teams. While the drive stalled, the Patriots again marched down the field. Jim Johnson’s defense stiffened inside the 10 yard line, and the Patriots had to settle for a field goal and a 17-14 lead. Jay Feeley continued to play with confidence and poise. After recovering his own fumble on one play, he threw another touchdown on the next play. With 3 minutes left in the half, the Eagled led 21-17 on the road.

At this point it should be noted that in 2004 Feeley led the 2-11 Dolphins at home against the 12-1 Patriots. Brady had a meltdown that game, throwing 4 interceptions, 2 late in the game, and the Dolphins won a 29-28 shocker. That game, several days before Christmas, was the one where a security guard dressed as Santa, when asked by a 6 year old girl for a Dolphins victory, replied, “Sweetie, Santa can’t work miracles.”

While an Eagles win in this game might be considered a miracle, or at the very least the upset of the year, what is overlooked in this “any given Sunday” league is that AJ Feeley, while not a superstar, is a very capable football player, more than just a serviceable backup. Besides, if the Patriots were to win 51-21, the first half would be derided as delaying the inevitable. As for inevitable, the Patriots went back down the field, and a very questionable catch in the back of the end zone for some bizarre reason was not reviewed. With eight seconds left in the half, New England was back on top 24-21.

If the Eagles were going to fall apart, it was not on their first defensive series. They sacked Brady for the third time, forcing a punt. The Eagles, coached by pass happy Andy Reid, inexplicably called a pitchout on 3rd and 2 from midfield.It was stuffed, and after a punt, the Patriots took over at their own 11 yard line. Facing a 3rd and 12, a quick screen pass to Wes Welker led to a long gain to the five yard line. A touchdown pass to Randy Moss was called back due to offensive pass interference. On the next play, safety Brian Dawkins dropped an interception, and the next pass was dropped by Wes Welker. The Eagles then got a major break when a chip shot 32 yard field goal was no good, hooked just wide. Feeley then continued to strike back with accurate passes, including a 2o yard completion on 3rd and 10. A flea flicker led to a 16 yard gain, as Feeley smartly saw that the deep ball was not available. Another completion took the ball to the New England 14 yard line. On 3rd and 4 from the 8, Philly took a timeout. In the face of a heavy rush, Feeley threw a touchdown pass to Reggie Brown, putting the Eagles up 28-24 with 3 1/2 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. The 10 play, 78 yard drive was all passes, no runs.

The Patriots had to punt on their next possession, until the Eagles jumped offsides on 4th and 3. This boneheaded move gave New England another shot, and is anybody surprised when these gifts get accepted in the form of a dagger returned? New England moved the ball to the Philly 33, but on 4th and 4 facing a heavy rush, Brady’s pass fell incomplete. The Eagles had held, but 13 1/2 minutes still remained, and the Eagles are not a running team by any stretch. Feeley kept throwing, but used up only 90 seconds of clock as some incomplete passes followed by a terrible punt gave the Patriots the ball back again at their own 31. With the Patriots on the move again, the Eagles on defense burned their second timeout. It didn’t help. With Randy Moss blanketed the entire game by Lito Shepherd, Wes Welker was catching balls early and often. Despite passing most of the drive, it was a 5 yard run by Maroney that put the Patriots up 31-28 with 7:20 left.

The Eagles started at their own 8 yard line on their next drive, and Feeley kept firing. Again he moved the ball, but with the team in field goal range from the 29, he went for all the marbles and was intercepted for the second time by Samuels. Four minutes remained, and the Patriots also kept throwing. On 3rd and one from their own 29, the Patriots were flagged for a false start, stopping the clock with 2:27. A completion to Gaffney at the 41 was enough for a first down, as Philly extinguished their last time out, and virtually any remaining hope. The Eagles needed a miracle, this was not the Meadowlands, and Herm Edwards is somewhere in Kansas City right now. The Patriots punted with 30 seconds left, and Devon Hester was in Chicago somewhere. Bryan Westbrook went back to try and pull off a shocker. He didn’t. With 19 seconds left, Feeley started at his own 26. One play was all he needed to throw his 3rd interception, this time to James Sanders.

There are no moral victories. The Eagles had every chance to win and didn’t get it done. The 11-0 Patriots escaped. 31-28 Patriots

Miami Dolphins @ Pittsburgh Steelers was the Monday night game. This was either the best or worst game ever played, or neither. Delayed by lightning, playing in a monsoon on a field so muddy the yard markers could not be seen, the Dolphins looked to win their first game of the year. The Steelers were in Dolphins territory 9 times, to no avail. Until 3 minutes remained in the entire game, neither team had reached the other side’s red zone. Each team missed a field goal. With 90 seconds left, the Steelers had first and goal. With 20 seconds left, Jeff Reed had a 24 yard field goal attempt. The fans indoors may have wanted overtime, but the fans in the stadium did not. Either way, the kick was good. The Dolphins can still match the 1976 Bucs. 3-0 Steelers

eric

Godspeed Mr. John Howard

Saturday, November 24th, 2007

Nothing lasts forever, and no one is indispensable.  Great men rise, and great men fall.  Today, a true giant has fallen.

Not since Lady Margaret Thatcher was brought down by a revolt in her own party in 1990 has conservatism…and the world…suffered such a blow. Nevertheless, it is the very freedom and democracy that civilized people everywhere cherish that forces us to accept decisions, no matter how horrible they may be. The people of Australia have spoken, and after four terms as Prime Minister, John Howard and his conservative ruling coalition were defeated by his opponents in Labour.

Make no mistake about it. This short, bald, undistinguished looking man who ran Australia was a giant. On economics, Australia’s budget was balanced during his reign. Australia has no deficit. The whole nation has a surplus.

On immigration, John Howard was a hardliner. Immigrants who came were expected to assimilate, and conform to Australian values. Those who refused to do so were to leave, with the help of the Australian government.

On the defining issue of our time, the War on Terror, John Howard was a staunch ally of America. He articulated the Bush Doctrine better than President Bush did. During his tenure, he, President Bush, and Tony Blair continued with what is known as “The Angloshpere.” With help from former Prime Ministers Aznar of Spain and Berlusconi of Italy, Australia was on the front lines as being an absolute and unwavering defender of American values.

Australian political analysts, who if they were any less qualified to do anything would be American pundits, kept predicting electoral defeat for Mr. Howard. He kept confounding them. What the pundits failed to understand is that like Ronald Reagan, Mr. Howard talked right past the media that looked down on him. He spoke plainly to the people. The more he was attacked for being a regular guy, the more regular guys liked him.

John Howard won elections because he got the job done. He managed Australia deftly through the Asian financial crisis a decade ago. He went after regulations the way he went after Al Queda, vigorously. He condemned the nightclub bombings in Bali, and kept pointing out that those bombings occurred well before the war with Iraq. He did not offer excuses. He simply condemned barbarism in the strongest possible terms, whether it be 9/11, the Bali bombings, or the attacks on Israel that Mr. Howard understood were pure evil. He knew right from wrong, and he expressed it with a bullhorn.

So why did Mr. Howard lose? Because he was a victim of his own success. When there are no more perceived external threats to conquer, be they Islamofacists or inflation, people gaze inward. This is why the Roman Empire fell, and why lady Thatcher was brought down. When people are happy, they become complacent, and laziness leads to a yearning for more. Governing is not sexy. Mr. Howard was not sexy. He simply did the job in an unflashy way. For many people, peace and tranquility is equated with stagnation and boredom.

In America, presidents only get up to two terms. Despite leftists howling over a loss of civil liberties, George W. Bush does not seem to be trying to extend his stay into a dictator for life reign of terror. That would be Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. While Mr. Chavez started out this way, many leaders start out good and then stay in power too long. Sure, they can cling to power or try and rig elections, like Pinochet in Chile, but in a true democracy, they are simply fired. Winston Churchhill was fired, again proving that even the very best of the best are replaceable.

Today is a day of joy and mourning for people all over the world. The joy comes in the form of a free and fair election, where after ruling for so long, a prime minister will relinquish his seat with no bloodshed, and without lawyers contesting the results and crying about fake fraud. A peaceful transition of power will occur, and Australia will continue to go about daily life. Some say things are so peaceful that the difference in power will be negligible.

The mourning comes in the form of seeing one of the greatest world leaders in the history of government go down to defeat. John Howard was one of the very best, and his electoral loss is a loss for the world.

From one American citizen, I say thank you Mr. Howard. Thank you, and may God bless you for your fine principled leadership. The 21st century has gotten off to a brutal beginning, and very few people could have navigated through such torrentially monstrous waters. Thank you for being one of them. You will be missed.

Godspeed Mr. Howard.

eric

Black Friday–Calling Gloria Gaynor

Friday, November 23rd, 2007

Black Friday was a black as midnight hell for the Tygrrrr Express, seeing as my internet was down all day.

First of all, to those who find that on rare occasions I am slow to approve comments, don’t take it personally. We are all at the mercy of this dubya dot com gov org type stuff. If you are a liberal, knock off the conspiracy theories. I will not make any effort to prove to you that I am fair. I don’t have to do so. Your opinion will not change my blog. For those who are frequent visitors and commenters on my blog, I do regret the delay.

Just know that getting back online cost me a new modem, since the one I had was apparently FUBAR.

Yes, against my will, my desire to do my column forced me out of the house on a day when I would have rather stayed in and relaxed, which is almost every day. I had to go out on Black Friday. Like Gloria Gaynor, I survived.

I have learned several things about life since I first started going online.

One thing I am sure of is that it is not possible…repeat not possible…to have a serious conversation with a potential romantic partner over instant messenger.

Try it, and see the situation blow up like a liberal after finding out conservatives legally have a right to exist.

Instant messenger may be real time, but it is not real life. You cannot convey feelings, emotions, and facial expressions this way. The potential for misunderstanding is ginormous. I have had women get angry at me for everything from being too slow to answer (the phone rang) to being unable to answer (spilled a beverage, had to clean it up). Women who are pleasant on instant messenger can still be a nightmare in real life, but women who are hostile on instant messenger will not be normal or pleasant outside of the computer.

I received an im from one wack job who declared “I have reached a decision on whether or not I should get to know you. Call me or im me to know what decision I reached.” This was 24 hours after listening to her scream on the telephone about something that was consequential to her and nobody else on this Earth.

I responded by replying, “You were a complete b*tch last night. Take your decision and stick it somewhere tight. Done.”

Now as much as I do hate having to speak in such a salty manner, fighting with people over instant messenger is nonsensical.

Yet as awful as it is to have to deal with a progesterone attack by im, this is not nearly as bad as not having the ability to im at all. I need internet access to get done many things in my life. Some people ask what I do about internet access when I go camping, and my response is that while I have heard of this camping thing, I was unaware of what it actually is, and I have no desire to learn.

A power failure on Thanksgiving destroyed my internet access. After talking to people in India, I again began to get the feeling that maybe Lou Dobbs is not wrong. I pictured Purvez Musharraf of Pakistan releasing a mushroom cloud over all of India, forcing my ISP to hire American tech support people.

I am not proud of feeling this way. I just know that anybody who restricts my ability to use the internet in my own home must be shot on sight.

I hung out with my close friend today, and while we were hanging out I took the time out to hit on the girl at the next table. The woman was gorgeous, intelligent, and incredibly enjoyable to converse with. Even I was surprised at my ability to be a pleasant conversationalist given that the moment she left I went back to thinking about ways to ban all immigrants from working tech support jobs. If they want to pick vegetables, I can live with that. For one thing, I hate vegetables, so I would not be impacted.

For those who think this is immigrant bashing, just know that white Americans born and raised in America who speak perfect English will feel an equal amount of wrath if my internet access gets jacked up and they either caused the problem or are unable to fix it.

My plan was to go to the mall today, and observe soccer moms engaging in road rage with their shopping carts in an attempt to teach their children about peace and love by cursing each other out so they can get the last supply of a toy that they need to bribe their children with because the toy companies demand that this be done.

So yes, I was going to spend the day observing angry humans and their behaviors. I did not expect or desire to be my own case study.

The bottom line is that unlike other lucky individuals, I depend on the internet for much of my needs. Yes, the only reason I got internet access a decade ago was to meet cybersluts, and to try and turn them into phone sluts and real life humping around. However, going on Ebay allows me to avoid the malls (yes, the food courts are awesome, but my neighborhood just opened a Taco Bell today, so the food court has some competition). Jdate allows me to make sure that potential concubines are of the Hebrew faith. I can track my stocks online, and most importantly, analyze the National Football League before, during, and after the games.

At 6:45pm, I was able to check my email, which told me about a dinner party starting at 6:30pm. The world would have survived like Gloria Gaynor if my Friday night was pure suckville, but the world is better off when I am in a good mood. Trust me on this one. Luckily, the Hebrew community has something called “Jewish Standard Time,” which means running late is allowed.

I tried to stop at the 7-11 to get something for the dinner, and my desire to blame the clerk behind the counter for not having what I needed was overruled by the police officer hanging out stereotypically right near the donuts. To make the night complete, my former roommates showed up, and in 60 seconds reminded me why I evicted them. It was ironic I saw them on this very day, since I bought a new webcam to replace the one they destroyed. I would sell these two girls into slavery (yeah, I lived with a couple women, it was not fun, never again outside of romance), but there would not be any takers.

I got to the dinner in the nick of time, and was shocked to find out that they needed somebody to give a 5 minute lecture on any relevant topic. Given 5 minutes to prepare, I spoke about Jewish assimilation into American culture, and whether or not this was good or bad for the Jewish community.

The lecture went over well, and the night was complete with a Karaoke session. Although I did not pick the song, Gloria Gaynor’s “I will survive,” was sung by many in the room.

I did not sing or dance, because as the Kevin Kline movie “In n Out” reminds us, “Men don’t dance. They work. They drink. They have bad backs. Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn’t dance (True Lies notwithstanding). Arnold can barely walk.

The song is also used in the Keanu Reeves movie “The Replacements,” which is about football, making it one of the best movies ever made.

So while decent society benefitted from my suffering, I was just glad that Black Friday came to a miserable close without me going postal.

I know that other people worry about things like homelessness, hunger, and other issues that have nothing to do with my DSL connection, I am sure God will smack me around when it is time for him to do so. As long as I am on Earth, I am going to focus on my struggles.

Today was a rough one, and at first when my connection to the internet did not work, I was afraid. In fact, I was petrified. My ISP did me wrong, and I had no idea how I would get along.

Yet now I am back…in cyberspace. I need to find a cyberslut and get that look upon her face. I need to continue writing schlock, I need to continue babbling about me, I need to write about Iraq, and then scream at my ISP.

I still hate Al Queda more than my ISP, but it’s a close vote.

Then again, I did not have to brave the mall today. So between seeing my friend, meeting a hot girl, and having a lunch filled with red meat and loaded potatoes, the day could have been worse. Besides, despite the Indian conspiracy against me, my internet access is back.

Like Gloria Gaynor, I made it through the blackest of Black Fridays. I survived.

eric

What I am…and am not…thankful for

Thursday, November 22nd, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving.

Ok, enough sugary nonsense. I am thankful for some things, and less thankful for other things. Surely I can put aside partisan griping on this holiday. No, that is what Yom Kippur is for. Rather than give you something that flows, I feel you all deserve nothing less on this holiday than disjointed musings.

I am thankful for the fact that I have the best parents a guy could ask for. I am thankful that they bought as many groceries as necessary, and never complained that I nearly ate them out of house and home as a teenager. My nickname at the local deli was “The Great White Shark.” My parents fed me well.

I am not thankful for the fact that I have no discipline in a grocery store. My mom had 8 hands, and could put everything back on the shelf. I can’t. I only go grocery shopping 3 or 4 times a year, and how a guy can spend on $193 on groceries and then use his club card and only save $4 is a mystery to me.

I am thankful for the fact that there is a writers strike in Hollywood. Liberals cannibalizing their own is quite enjoyable.

I am not thankful for the fact that before, during, and after the strike, television was and remains garbage. Bruce Springsteen wrote “57 channels and nothing on.” I have close to 1000 channels, and outside of the NFL Network, it is slim pickings.

I was thankful that I could finally turn on the news and not have to read about Natalee Holloway.

I am not thankful that the circus started up again. Either find the girl, find some evidence, or leave me alone. Fox News has The O’Holloway Factor at 5pm, Holloway and Colmes at 6pm, and Greta Van Der Sloat at 7pm. I might be forced to watch CNN. I would rather leftist bias that I can filter out on news I care about than a friendly network wasting my time with moldy oldy stories.

I am thankful that I belong to a rich religion in Judiasm that has 6000 years of traditions.

I am not thankful for the fact that a bunch of crazy Arabs in the Middle East think they will get 72 virgins for blowing Jews up. Oh, and I wish we had the oil.

As awful as the Raiders are, I am thankful it is football season.

I am not thankful for the fact that I still get bored between February and September, mainly because baseball is boring. I say give the NFL players a month off, and have a second season.

I am thankful for the fact that any woman would want to sleep with me, and that enough have…well not enough ever, but enough for this moment.

I am not thankful for the fact that no woman I have ever dated has developed laryngitis. Can a guy watch the game in peace?

I am thankful for republican Jewish brunettes.

I am not thankful for the fact that their republican upbringing often involves being taught about chastity, abstinence, and other issues that make religious people zealots. It is also tragic that the women that want to get buck wild are liberal outside of the bedroom as well, and again, refuse to come down with laryngitis.

I am thankful to live in Los Angeles, where the weather is gorgeous, and the jacuzzi water is perfect year round.

I am not thankful for the fact that Los Angeles is the plastic capital of the world, where women visit my jacuzzi year round only because my dad is a movie producer (actually he is a retired schoolteacher, but mercenaries beget mercenaries).

I am thankful for the fact that I live in America, the greatest nation on Earth.

I am not thankful for the fact that half the population loves America not for what it is, but for what they want it to be. Their prescriptions may have us fleeing to Mexico for a better quality of life in a generation.

I am thankful for the fact that a guy with screws loose who has unhealthy fascinations with Bea Arthur and Monique from Showtime at the Apollo can become a successful blogger.

I am not thankful for the fact that this country has sunk so low on the lowest common denominator scale that people would spend one minute of their life reading about some blogger that has unhealthy fascinations with Bea Arthur and Monique from Showtime at the Apollo.

I am thankful that in America, anybody can become President, regardless of race, gender, or ethnicity.

I am not thankful for the fact that so many guilty white liberals will vote for empty suits whose only noticeable quality is their race, gender or ethnicity.

I am thankful that I understand the beauty behind Thanksgiving, and how it represents the spirit of harmony and the resilience of the American spirit.

I am not thankful that I live in a nation where public schools are declining so rapidly that in 20 years they might not know what this holiday is about.

I am thankful for the fact that I am free to practice my religion, even though I am not Christian.

I am not thankful for the fact that Christmas starts 2 months in advance, and that the day after Thanksgiving, mothers who preach about peace and love will be trying to kill each other with shopping carts to get the last Elmo, Furby, Garbage Patch Kid, or whatever toy the toy stores tell these sheep to buy.

I am thankful that Ebay and Craigslist allow me to avoid the malls altogether.

I am not thankful for the fact that hot women in their 20s have to go to the mall, rather than just try on their miniskirts in front of my home mirror, with a rose in their teeth, and my teeth through their miniskirts.

I am thankful that America has the military force to blow up nations like Iran and Syria that could use a good @sskicking.

I am not thankful for the fact that bombing these nations into the stone age will not improve them because they are already there.

I am thankful that circumstances have led to a holiday that is marked by sleeping in late, watching football, eating meat, getting stuffed, and then going back to sleep. Heck, we even have a food that is named after the concept of getting stuffed, aka stuffing.

I would like to thank God, my family, my friends, and my readers, for indulging me. I have a platform, and I am grateful that I am still liked even though I have never once used this platform responsibly or in a way that would improve society.

Happy Politically Incorrect Overindulgent Eating Meat and Watching Football Day!

eric