Archive for September, 2010

September 11th, 2010–9 Years later

Saturday, September 11th, 2010

Yesterday was September 10th, 2010. It was Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. There was prayer and joy and talk of hope for a better future.

Tomorrow is September 12th. The National Football League begins the 2010 season with 15 games. There will be joy and celebration among many Americans across the nation.

Yet today, sandwiched in the middle of all these positive vibes, is the specter of September 11th.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/op_ed/view/20100911radical_islam_winning_clash_of_civilizations/

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/editorials/beyond_mourning_qPqXGbgFcDbaohqpCCSDEK

I have tried to “move on.” I can’t.

Every time I see those towers come down, I well up with rage.

I was just at Ground Zero a few days ago. I was also at the Ground Zero Mosque.

3000 of my fellow New Yorkers were murdered on that day.

The American way of life was attacked. Everything we believe in as creatures of God and lovers of liberty was under assault.

For those who want to understand why the Radical Islamists did this, it really is that simple.

They hate us.

They hate us because we are free.

They hate us because we are a beacon to the world. We provide freedom and liberty.

I said in 2002 and then again when I began blogging in 2007 that the way to fight back was to live our lives.

I fly every 9/11. I try to fly into or out of New York. I try to be in the air at 8:46am.

I stay calm, but inside I am shaking my fist. Third world genocidal Islamofascist lunatics decided that they prefer barbarism to civilization. They waged war on America.

Americans are a peaceful people. We hate war. Yet when the chips are down, Americans…and New Yorkers…will fight to protect what is decent and right in this world.

I will be beginning the day in New York. I will be flying from New York to Chicago, changing planes, and ending up in Omaha, Nebraska.

I will then drive an hour to Onawa, Iowa.

A multi-thousand person rally called “Freedomstock” will be taking place.

http://www.freedomstock.net/

After the rally I will be driving from Onawa, Iowa, back to Omaha, Nebraska.

I will then be flying in the evening from Omaha to Denver, changing planes, and then finally landing in Los Angeles.

On most days I prefer that the airplanes be half-empty. It provides me more room.

On 9/11, I want every plane packed to capacity. If that means I sit in the middle seat in the back row, then so be it.

When we fly, we are free. Some people have not flown since 9/11. I pray that these people one day spread their wings and fly again.

I cannot think of a more appropriate way to spend 9/11 then to fly coast to coast and stop in the heartland.

From New York to Chicago to Iowa to Nebraska to Denver to Los Angeles, I will salute soldiers, thank police officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians, embrace friends, shake the hands of new ones, and play a small role in helping preserve the American way of life.

Days before he left office, in his final televised address to the nation, President George W. Bush said, “Many of you went back to leading normal lives after 9/11. I never did.”

I never did either. I have tried, but that world is gone forever.

I cannot picture 9/11 without picturing remarks that President Bush made on 9/14. He picked up that bullhorn, and next to that firefighter, said “I hear you, the rest of the world hears you, and the people who knocked down these buildings are going to hear from all of us!”

Most importantly, I hear President Bush on 9/20, when he spoke to the nation. He delivered a message that should be replayed every day for as long as America lives.

“We will not falter, and we will not fail.”

Whatever one believes, today is a day to acknowledge that on one awful day, evil triumphed over good.

The final chapter of 9/11 has not been written yet. After 9/11, Americans of all stripes dug down deep and showed the world our very best.

Rudy Giuliani became “America’s Mayor,” and New York showed why it is comprised of the best people in this world. If any city represents the character of the best of the globe, it is New York.

From Brooklyn to Staten Island and Queens, people stood solidly with Manhattan. From Los Angeles to Australia and New Zealand, we were all New Yorkers.

Yet too many people went back to normal.

We have lives to lead. Yet we must never forget that day in 2001.

Freedom is not free. People have died for it. Those alive must fight to protect it.

On this day, our greatest responsibility is to again dig down deep, find out the best of what we are made of, and do whatever it takes…yes, whatever it takes…no matter what the cost…to give future generations what Ronald Reagan called this shining city on a hill called America.

So many people are doing much more important things than me. I am doing my small little part.

Radical Islam struck the first blow, but I know the character of the American people. I will bet on America…especially my fellow New Yorkers…every single time.

From coast to coast, and deep into the heartland, I am prepared to be one of many people who will remind the world one simple message.

These colors don’t run.

I am ready to fly.

God bless the U.S.A., now and forever.

eric

Rosh Hashanah 2010–A line of thought

Friday, September 10th, 2010

Today is the second day of Rosh Hashanah. Again I will be in Temple in New York.

This pre-written column is just my thoughts on one line of thought I have.

A recent experience had me thinking in ways that disappointed me. One person sent me an email wishing me a happy Rosh Hashanah. I thanked him for his support, and that I appreciated Christian support for Israel. He seemed confused, asking If I thought he was Christian. I have known him a few years, and always assumed he was. It turns out he is Jewish.

He has never hid his Judaism, but I always assumed he was Christian. For one thing, he is Republican. For another, he is very tall. Also, most people in America are Christians.

Yet the real reason I thought he was Christian was that he is overwhelmingly pro-Israel.

Despite the fact that I am a Jewish Republican who is staunchly pro-Israel, I still figure that when I meet somebody who is Republican and pro-Israel, that they are Christian.

That is a sad commentary on my part, but maybe if more Jews were loud and proud I would feel differently.

I hope on this Rosh Hashanah Jewish pride flies loud and proud.

Happy Rosh Hashanah to all Jews and thank you to others for your support.

eric

Rosh Hashanah 2010–The endless sports dilemma

Thursday, September 9th, 2010

Today is Rosh Hashanah. I will be in Temple in New York.

I am under no illusions that I fall way short on so many levels. I also know that even the tiniest sliver of decency is better than zero.

Anyway, this column is pre-written.

I wrote these words a few days ago. I decided to write them again because the dilemma between religion and sports will never go away. I will make my decision at the 11th hour.

http://www.rjchq.org/Blog/blogdetail.aspx?id=bf976ea1-a6ba-462e-a7b1-bb460639dc93

Next week is Yom Kippur, where I apologize and try to do better. I hope I do not have to add to the list before then.

A peaceful Rosh Hashanah to the Jews of the world.

I am hoping Brett Favre has a great game tonight, and the Vikings beat the Saints.

(Saints favored by 5.5. They win but fail to cover.)

Of course, good Jewish boys will be in Temple and not watching the game.

eric

My visit inside the Ground Zero Mosque

Wednesday, September 8th, 2010

As Rosh Hashanah and Ramadan are in the news (not to mention the NFL Kickoff of the NFC Title Rematch between the Vikings and New Orleans Saints, including # 4 Brett Favre), some Jews and Muslims are hopeful that a peace process most sure to be a complete waste of time somehow turns out otherwise.

Before getting to the main event, I am forcefully condemning the decision by a Florida church to burn the Koran.

This is stupid, reckless, disgusting, and morally repugnant. I despise Radical Islam, but burning the Koran is an affront to the many decent Muslims worldwide who also hate Radical Islam.

Everybody from General David Petraeus to Bridgitte Gabriel has harshly criticized this potential act.

There is still time for the church to back down. They should.

Also, if they do burn the Korans, and the Middle East explodes in violence and murder, that violence and murder will be unjustified as well. Responding to the burning of books, no matter how awful, with killing human beings…the killing of humans is worse.

As for the burning of the Korans, just because somebody has the legal right to do something does not mean it is morally right. This brings us to the Ground Zero Mosque.

As 9/11 approaches, I decided to take a trip to see the Ground Zero Mosque for myself. I went with an open mind. This was done several days ago on September 2nd.

I stopped by Ground Zero first. The mosque never would have been an issue if ordinary New York bureaucracy and turf wars had been put aside and allowed something…anything…to be built in the 9 years since the deadliest attack on the America mainland in many of our lifetimes.

Nobody is questioning that the Ground Zero Mosque is legally allowed to be built. The issue is a moral one. Islam has a history of conquering lands and building mosques at sites of conquest. Many see this mosque as a celebration of an Islamofascist triumph on 9/11. The left is concerned about insensitivity toward Muslims. The insensitivity is being shown to the 9/11 families.

We also have no idea exactly who and how this mosque is being funded. If this was being funded cleanly, disclosure would have been done already.

I went to the building. It used to be a Burlington Coat Factory. You can still see those words in the cement, although the block letters have been removed.

The building is only four stories tall. It is perfectly big enough for a mosque the way it is. If it were to remain such a small size, opposition to the mosque might lessen. Yet the notion of tearing down the building and replacing it with a gigantic building will only harden the opposition.

There is an Irish pub nearby, and an Indian restaurant. Yet like the mosque building right now, they are all inconspicuous. The builders are going out of their way to build a building to attract attention.

I walked up to the building. A gigantically large man was inside, staring out at the public through a large glass front door. He looked like a bar bouncer. I asked him if it was permissible to come in. He granted that permission.

This man asked me to take off my shoes. I complied. Personally, I have zero problem with that request. This was not a public park. It was private property. I did not consider myself surrendering to the Caliphate. It was a matter of politeness. I ask people to remove their shoes when coming in my home, and I am not Muslim.

He then asked me to turn my pager off because people were praying. I again complied with his request, finding it reasonable and appropriate.

Then something dawned on me. If people were praying, that meant that the mosque already existed.

The debate has been over whether or not to build a mosque. People are arguing over whether or not to build a physical structure. Even if building the mega-mosque is defeated, there will still be Muslims praying in this location. I am not offering commentary on this, just pointing out a fact. A mosque already exists there.

The upstairs room I walked into was an empty room. There was one Muslim praying by himself. The rest of the room was barren.

As I prepared to walk downstairs, I heard voices. Any reasonable person would think that it was more Muslims praying. To my surprise, the Muslim “bouncer” who let me in the building forbade me from going downstairs.

I was stunned. I told him that I wanted to see the downstairs. He told me that the downstairs was exactly like the upstairs, and that I had seen everything I needed to see.

I did not want to mess with this guy. I came back to the front door, put my shoes on, and left.

Is it possible he was worried that I would disrupt the prayers? Sure.

Is it also possible he was hiding something?

Absolutely.

Liberals will say that I have no proof of any illegal or untoward behavior.

Yet what was this guy hiding?

I was there. I was in the building. I know the difference between an empty room and a room with people.

Is it possible Jihadists were plotting to blow up parts of New York?

Yes, it is.

They checked me when I came in. They saw I had no weapons. I did not have a camera.

(I could have taken pictures with my cellphone, but would not have done so unless I saw something illegal. To take pictures of people praying would have been disrespectful.)

There were several people downstairs. I heard the voices. There was only one of me. Had I done anything inappropriate, they would have easily outnumbered me.

What were they hiding?

If all I saw was people praying, I would have reported that.

Why would they have prevented me from seeing what was down there?

Liberals will also argue that they had every legal right to keep me from going downstairs.

For the umpteenth time, none of this is about legality. It is about morality.

This is not about the court of law. It is about the court of public opinion.

By not letting me downstairs, my suspicions have only deepened.

I came in biased, but open to being persuaded. Instead I felt intimidated, as a big Muslim man was prepared to beat me to a pulp if I set my non-Muslim body on his territory.

This did not close the issue or put anything to rest.

People with nothing to hide do not act like they are hiding something. If they are bluffing so I jump to incorrect conclusions, that is their fault, not mine.

(Think Saddam Hussein acting like he had WMD. Whether he lied or was truthful, he got what he deserved.)

The man could have gone with me. He could have watched me downstairs. He could have installed cameras to make sure I did not break any rules. If I did, he could have shown that to the world.

Whatever is going on at this Burlington Coat Factory, I can confirm that the Muslims in that downstairs room do not want outsiders to know about it.

This could be completely innocent.

It is not. It is every bit as mysterious as the downstairs room of a “restaurant” where “business” is being discussed that has nothing to do with the restaurant.

With every other culture, it would be permissible to ask questions. Answers could have put my concerns to rest. Instead, my worries about this project have deepened to a chasm that will not be bridged.

I was there. I saw…and didn’t see…everything I needed to see.

The Ground Zero Mosque should not be built.

Not now. Not ever.

eric

Why I am a Bad Jew

Tuesday, September 7th, 2010

As Rosh Hashanah approaches, I had a pre-written column prepared to go. Yet minutes before I published it, I received an email with the words of somebody so much more eloquent than I will ever be.

At the last minute, I decided to shelve my own column and “outsource” my column today.

I have said many times that my father is a Holocaust survivor. His story is compelling, but he chooses to stay quiet and live his life his own way.

The writer of the column I am spreading is also a Holocaust survivor. He is choosing to speak out loudly.

I encourage Jews to do this while we still can. There is a very real possibility that one day we will never be able to speak up again. This is not crying wolf. The Holocaust did happen. The words “never again” mean something to me.

Today’s column was written by Rami Kaminski, MD, founder and director of the Institute for Integrative Psychiatry in New York City. I have never met him or communicated with him in any way.

His column is entitled “Why I Am a Bad Jew.”

With that, I present the heartfelt and important words of Dr. Kaminski.

“For centuries, we lived in Berdichev. In the brutal Ukrainian winter of
1941, SS soldiers arrived there and rounded up eighty-seven members of my family – babies, young adults, octogenarians – stripped them naked, marched them to a nearby ditch, and executed them. Their lifeless bodies fell silently into a mass grave.

Like most Jews in Europe, my family ‘cooperated’ with the Final
Solution. They did not resist or fight back. Six million Jews were
slaughtered in a period of four years. They received little sympathy
while they were still alive and hunted down like animals. There was no
public outcry because the Holocaust fit the world’s narrative for Jews
during the past 2000 years: a people destined to be persecuted and
slaughtered.

During their two millennia in the Diaspora, Jews were not known to
resist. There are few recorded instances in which Jews turned against
their host nations or retaliated against their murderers. Instead, the
survivors – if there were any – were expelled or left for another place.
The murdered were regarded as ‘good’ Jews They accepted their fate
helplessly, without resistance.
This narrative of the Jews has played out on the historical stage with
boring monotony: Jews get killed because they are Jews. Nothing novel
about it. After the Holocaust, however, the world, disgusted by this
particularly ghoulish period of history, accorded some sympathy for the
Jews.

Media commentary about the ongoing Gaza War reveals the world has now reverted to its pre-Holocaust perspective. Today, the only good Jew is a powerless Jew willing to become a dead one. The Zionist Revolution is to blame. It changed everything. Jews re-created their own country. The Arabs attacked the new Jewish state the day after independence and promised to complete Hitler’s genocide. In succeeding decades, the Arabs attacked again and again. Strangely, the Jews, many of them refugees from Arab nations, adopted a surprising, new tactic: they fought back.

With Zionism, the Jews stubbornly refused to follow the centuries-old
script. They refuse to be killed without resistance. As a result, the
world has become increasingly enraged at their impertinence.

The recent events in Gaza and Mumbai make this plain. In 2005, Israel
eliminated all Jewish presence in Gaza making it ‘Judenrein,’ and handed it over to the Palestinians. Left behind were synagogues and thriving green houses. The Arabs looted and destroyed them literally the day after Israel’s withdrawal was complete. Where these structures once stood, the Palestinians built military bases and installed rocket
launchers to shell Israeli civilians. To date, some 7,000 missiles have
fallen on Israeli cities and towns, killing and maiming dozens, and
sowing widespread terror. Medical studies reveal nearly all Jewish
children in the communities bordering Gaza suffer from serious,
trauma-induced illness.

The Gazan Palestinians then elected Hamas to lead them. Hamas proceeded to kill or imprison their political rivals, and its leaders, true to the Hamas charter, were unabashed in clearly stating their aims: they will not stop until they achieve their Final Solution, kill all the Jews,
take over the land of Israel, and establish a theocracy governed by
Islamic law.

As killing Jews for being Jews has been a national sport for centuries,
Islamic militants are justified in believing they are merely fulfilling
historical tradition in Argentina, India and Gaza. Surely the Jews in
Mumbai did not occupy Gaza. They were tortured and killed just for being Jews. And predictably, in the eyes of the world, they immediately became good Jews, just like my murdered family in Bertishev.

Good Jews would wait until Hamas has weapons enabling its members to
achieve their ultimate goal of absolute mass murder. Those enraged by
Israel’s defensive military action insist Hamas uses only ‘crude’
rockets, as if Qassams were BB guns, and military inferiority were
somehow equivalent with moral superiority. In fact, Hamas now has
Iranian-supplied Grad missiles which have landed on Be’er Sheva and the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

Westerners have had only sporadic exposure to the indiscriminant killing
in the name of ‘holy war’ which Israel has lived with for years.
Memories of 9-11, Madrid, and London have dimmed. This is not because
the Islamic militants made a careful choice of weapons. They simply have not yet acquired nuclear bombs. Once they do, the West will develop a less detached view about the Islamists’ professed intentions for the ‘infidels.’

The only enlightened people in the civilized world who actually get it
are the Israelis. They’ve not had time for detached philosophical
ponderings. They’ve been too busy confronting the reality of Islamic
fundamentalism.

Soon, Iran will have nuclear weapons. It will give them to Hezbollah and
Hamas. Today, Jews must take a position: either be ‘good’ Jews willing
to be slaughtered without resistance, or be “bad” Jews who defend
themselves at the cost of being pariahs of our enlightened world. Good
Jews would wait for another six million to be murdered, and pick up to
leave for another country to start the cycle again. The bad ones refuse
to go calmly into the ditch.

I confess: I’m a bad Jew.”

Rami Kaminski, MD, is Director and Founder of the Institute for
Integrative Psychiatry in New York, a not-for-profit organization aimed
at evaluating current psychiatric services and how they integrate with
medicine, such as the mutual effects between medical and psychiatric
conditions. Prior to that, Dr. Kaminkski was the Commissioner’s Liaison
to Families and Community and Medical Director of Operations at the New
York State Office of Mental Health. Dr. Kaminski also holds an academic
position as Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University. He
earned recognition in 1990 from Mt. Sinai Hospital as Physician of the
Year, and received the Exemplary Psychiatrist Awards from the National
Alliance for the Mentally Ill. Dr. Kaminski’s research explores
neuropsychiatric aspects of brain disorders, such as Alzheimer and
Parkinson’s disease and movement disorders, as well as
psychopharmacology of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. He
was for many years Director of The Schizophrenia research Unit at Mount
Sinai Hospital in NYC. Dr. Kaminiski also served as the Medical Director
of the PMHP and consultant to the committee in charge of developing the
Special Needs Program.

As a poem says, I will absolutely not go calmly into that good night.

My family did not survive the Holocaust and bring me into this world so my Jewish generation could be complacent and allow us to be exterminated like rats again.

When people say they want to wipe you off the face of the Earth, do not take the gamble that they are bluffing.

Iran must never…ever…ever…be allowed to have the bomb. Anything and everything must be done to prevent this.

May every Jew heed Dr. Kaminski’s words.

To those who oppose the right of Jews to exist, this Rosh Hashanah I offer only two simple words.

Never again.

eric

Labor Day lies and rumors

Monday, September 6th, 2010

As Americans get prepared to eat hot dogs and steaks on the grill, Labor Day represents more than a celebration of the American worker (especially ones not held hostage by union thugs).

Labor Day is the last Monday without NFL Football for 17 weeks.

Yet even on a day as important as this, some lies and rumors need to be debunked.

First of all, Labor Day has nothing to do with pregnancy.

More importantly, I am not in labor.

I know people have seen pictures of me, and know that my “diet” consists of buying bigger clothing. Some have pointed out that I am in my third trimester. If it is a boy, I am going to name it “gut.”

For those who think trying to birth a baby is painful, try getting out of bed in the morning when one is really tired and the sheets are really comfortable.

So Labor Day should honor people like me, because ending sleep and starting the day will be a labor in itself.

For those who think that Britain has anything to do with this, that is Labour. Elitists like to add extra letters to words for no reason. Average neighborhoods have harbors. Rich neighborhoods have harbours.

I would say more, but let’s be honest. Labor Day for most people is a day off and nothing more.

Ironically, obstetricians will be working.

As for me, I will be eating several hot dogs and hamburgers because if I have been wrong all this time and really am with child, eating for two allows me to expand the waistline.

Off to relax until the real pain hits on Pepto Bismol Tuesday.

eric

Raiders Recap–Preseason 2010 Week 4

Sunday, September 5th, 2010

Before getting to the Raiders, there is news around the NFL. In an unsurprising move, Commissioner Roger Goodell reduced Ben Roethlisberger’s suspension from six games to four. In much bigger and more surprising news, the Arizona Cardinals have released Matt Leinart.

While I initially found Leinart to be an overrated Hollywood celebrity more interested in chasing girls than championships, I was not expecting this. I thought Derek Anderson deserved to start, but did not see Leinart being cut entirely.

Maybe this will finally give Leinart the wakeup call he needs to focus on football.

Now on to the main event, featuring Leinart’s former college coach Pete Carroll.

The Oakland Raiders posted the Seattle Seahawks in their final preseason game.

While times have been tough for the Raiders over the years, fans should be pleased about the 2010 preseason and this game in particular.

Seattle failed to pick up a first down on their opening drive and the Raiders took over. On 3rd and 11 at their own 30. Bruce Gradkowski started for the injured Jason Campbell as a precaution. I will say it again and again until somebody in Oakland listens to me. Gradkowski is a leader. He makes players around him better. He went deep to Darrius Heyward-Bey. Heyward-Bey seems much improved since last year. The speedster did not catch the ball, but drew a 38 yard defensive pass interference call. Gradkowski then threw a 32 yard touchdown pass to Tonga as the Raiders quickly led 7-0.

Seattle again failed to pick up a first down and the Raiders took over at their own 36. Gradkowski again went to Heyward-Bey for a 34 yard gain. Al Davis was feeling vindicated, although an incomplete pass on 3rd and 3 to Heyward-Bey led to Waters connecting on a 41 yard field goal to put the Raiders up 10-0. Sebastian Janikowski will remain the starting kicker, but a little healthy competition will keep Seabass flying right.

Seabass is beloved for his booming kickoffs that lead to touchbacks. Waters kicked very short to the 15 yard line, and it was returned 54 yards to the Oakland 31. Yet with golden field position, again the Silver and Black rose to the occasion on defense to deny Seattle a first down. A 43 yard field goal by Olindo Mare had the Seahawks within 10-3.

The Raiders turned the table on special teams as Figurs returned the kick 34 yards to the Raiders 41. This time the Raiders failed to move on offense, but a booming punt by Shane Lechler was fumbled by Seattle and recovered by the Raiders at the Seahawks 16. Gradkowski hit Myers for 13 yards, and after a short penalty, Gradkowski hit Johnny Lee Higgins for the 9 yard touchdown pass. The Raiders led 17-3 after the opening quarter.

Perhaps the Seahawks really are that bad, but the Raiders dominated this game on both sides of the ball when the starters played in the first quarter. The defense gave up 0 first downs and Gradkowski had the 2 touchdown passes and moved the Raiders with ease.

The Raiders did get complacent in the second quarter, allowing Seattle to make a game of it. This team has not gotten to the point where they can do that in the regular season. Also, Charlie Whitehurst was playing as Matt Hasselbeck rested, which had to be taken into account.

Whitehurst finally got the Seahawks going, leading an 11 play second quarter drive from the Seattle 17 to the Oakland 18. Another field goal had the Seahawks within 17-6. The Raiders reached midfield on their next drive but again had to punt. Seattle took over at their own 10. On 3rd and 10 from the 24, Whitehurst went deep to Obamanu for a 37 yard gain. He then hit Butler for a 26 yard touchdown and it became a 17-13 game.

The Raiders picked up a first down on their next drive before punting. Seattle moved from their own 10 to the Oakland 28 before Mare hit a 46 yard field goal as the Raiders only led 17-16 at halftime.

In the third quarter the Raiders dodged a bullet when Figurs fumbled a punt but the Raiders recovered at their own 3 yard line. Kyle Boller came into the game for Gradkowski. Boller also had Al Davis quietly pumping his fist as he threw a 62 yard bomb to Ford followed up by a 16 yard touchdown to Miller as the Raiders led 24-16.

After a Seattle punt, Boller led a staggering 16 play drive that lasted only 8 minutes, moving from the Oakland 14 to the Seattle 9 before stalling. A short field goal had the Raiders up 27-16. However, a 99 yard kickoff return and a 2 point conversion had the Seahawks within a field goal. This is not the first time in the preseason the Raiders have had a special teams breakdown in the return area.

The Raiders took over at their own 20 with 12 minutes left and Boller went to work. On 3rd and 6 Boller hit Figurs for 14 yards to keep the clock and the chains moving. The Raiders then went backward and faced 3rd and 25 at their own 28. Boller scrambled far short of the first down, but an idiotic taunting penalty on the Seattle defense led to an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and a first down. On 3rd and 11 from the Oakalnd 48, Boller hit Bodiford for 10 yards. With less than 8 minutes left, facing 4th and 1, Tom Cable decided to go for it. Boller picked up 2 yards.

On 3rd and 4 from the Seattle 34, Boller threw incomplete. However, another dumb Seattle penalty meant unnecessary roughness and an automatic first down. Bennett did the rest on the ground, but on 3rd and goal from the 2, Bennett only picked up a yard. Cable again decided to go for it on 4th and goal from the 1 with just over 3 minutes to play. Bennett got thrown backward and the Seahawks took over.

From the 2, a long defensive pass interference penalty on Oakland had the Seahawks at their own 27. J P Losman was in at quarterback, and he scrambled for 16 more yards. However, 4 incomplete passes later, and the Raiders had the ball at the Seattle 43. Cartwright picked up a first down on the ground and the Raiders ran out the clock.

The Raiders finished the preseason 3-1, with plenty of reason for optimism.

This team is far from elite, but in the past few years they have not even been competitive. The players are playing hard for Tom Cable on both sides of the ball. The Raiders open on the road at the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, September 12th.

It is time to get ready for some real football.

Raiders 27, Seahawks 24.

eric

The “Situation” in Afghanistan

Saturday, September 4th, 2010

I was watching the news when I heard the commentator discuss the situation in Afghanistan.

I kept hearing that phrase over and over when I drifted away from foreign policy.

What was the hidden meaning of “the situation in Afghanistan?”

Obviously people are finally taking my advice and sending the cast of Jersey Shore to dangerous world war zones where they can be eliminated.

Mike Sorrentino, also known as “the Situation,” is finally being sent to Afghanistan.

Now if only Snookie were sent to Iraq, pop culture would be slightly less vapid by an infantecimal amount.

(She spells it “Snooki” without the “e.” I am right, she is wrong.)

I have never watched the Jersey Shore. As a lifelong New Yorker growing up, I have nothing to say about New Jersey. Outside of Governor Chris Christie and a girl I liked at Summer camp in the 1980s, the state is worthless.

(Please do not cite Springsteen. He does nothing for me, although I did like Bon Jovi and Skid Row.)

The Situation in Afghanistan would be a great reality show. One minute he is flexing his muscles and preparing to fight, and then he realizes that the Taliban have guns and are unimpressed by his celebrity.

Snookie could finally get romantic with a goat. It could teach her Pashtun, and she could teach it…well, not everything has to be reciprocal.

She could show them the naked pictures she took of herself. They would then try to stone or behead her since even showing ankles is forbidden under Shariah law.

While it is tempting to have the entire cast waterboarded, coercive interrogation methods should only be used to extract vital intelligence information. I do not picture Snookie offering anything vital, informative, or intelligent, at least not from a security standpoint.

I do not know if any of these people are connected to Mr. Big (actor Chris Noth, not the 1980s rock band), although deporting the cast of Sex and the City would be fine as well.

So let’s have the Situation in Afghanistan along with the rest of them, and may none of them ever return.

America can be great again if we just dumb down the rest of the world to levels below us.

eric

Greeniac Rage and Lunacy

Friday, September 3rd, 2010

Once again the Greeniacs are going beyond the pale of sanity and reason. Even, better, leftist groups that are normally natural allies are again fighting with each other.

Leftists do this because they have no uniting philosophy. They hate the right, but disagree why. The right has principles. We do not always obey them. We sometimes betray them horribly, but at least we have them. The left has only rage, which they turn inward when they run out of Republicans to abuse.

This is why animal rights activists and AIDS activists will fight because those against animal testing prefer bunny rabbits to saving humans from deadly diseases.

This is why these same animal rights activists compare the slaughter of chickens to the Holocaust, lynching, and slavery, enraging their fellow liberals in the Jewish and black communities.

The animal rights activists are now at war with the environmental basket cases. While I would root for both of them to lose, this time it is the Greeniacs who are wrong.

Before getting to that, a leftist environmentalist nutcase (redundant, I know) went bonkers after reading Al Gore’s book and went on a killing spree at the Discovery Channel television station.

Wherever you are on the political spectrum, is there anything more non-controversial than the Discovery Channel? The only Discovery Channel that could offend anybody would be the dance song of the same name sung by Bad Touch where the music video has them dressing up as Teletubbies.

(Irrelevant tangent: the lyrics are hilarious.

“Let’s do the kind of stuff that only Prince would sing about.”

“Love…the kind you clean up with a mop and bucket…like the lost Catacombs of Egypt, only God knows where we stuck it…”

“You and me baby ain’t nothing but mammals, so let’s do it like they do on the Discovery Channel…”)

Anyway, Al Gore wrote a book designed to appeal to lunatics. One of his loyal followers then went and shot people. Therefore, Al Gore has blood on his hands, and all of liberalism is responsible.

No…of course not. The guy was a lunatic. Al Gore is no more to blame than the kid who killed people after listening to supposed subliminal messages in Ozzy Osbourne music.

(In another irrelevant tangent, a hilarious bit over 20 years ago by Rush Limbaugh had him convincing people that he was given orders to do evil by listening to Slim Whitman records backwards. You only could hear the voices if you had the special…and totally fictional…electronic decipher machine known as the ‘disgronificator'”)

All I ask is that the left stop blaming Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, and every other conservative voice for “spreading hate,” and “fomenting violence.” This is nonsense.

The left is so much more vicious than the right could ever be because the right still refuses to grasp the depth of hatred the left has for us. We disagree with them as opponents. They loathe us as enemies.

If the Discovery Channel killer was a conservative, this would be broadcast ad nauseum. Yet because he is a leftist, politics somehow has nothing to do with it.

No rational person would blame Al Gore for inspiring death, unless somebody is listening to him speak while driving on the highway, which would result in falling asleep at the wheel.

(Another irrelevant tangent…I wait until I get home to listen to President Obama speak, and avoid sharp objects like table corners when John Kerry drones on.)

While individuals other than the killer himself are blameless, leftism does pray on people who love railing about injustices. When you believe there is misery and hopelessness, you are more likely to take drastic action.

The Discovery Channel killer was a lone loonie. Yet another issue has leftists at war with each other.

I would like to thank Mark Steyn for covering a story I had never heard about before. I knew Steyn was intelligent, but had no idea how funny he was. He is riotous, and has an odd fascination with Uighurs.

He does sometimes cover non-Uighur issues, and one of them is the concept of wind farms.

I personally think that Obama, Gore, and Kerry should just all speak at the same time in the same place. They are the leading citizens in the nation of Gasbagistan. They could power wind farms far better than any actual equipment.

For the uneducated or those living in denial, wind farms are a politically correct way of failing to solve our energy problems while giving the appearance of caring.

Liberals like Ted Kennedy praised wind farms while refusing to allow them in his area of Nantucket because they blocked his view. John Kerry probably supports wind farms because strong winds can help power his yacht. His yacht does not have a motor that runs on oil because he would be a hypocrite to have such a motor. Motormouth power can only go so far. Petroleum still works better.

I could care less about wind farms either way. I think liberals should be forced to move their hands like propellors for hours on end, since if they truly cared about saving the planet, they would do it themselves until their rotator cuffs no longer rotated.

Apparently wind  farms, while non-controversial to me, are upsetting to the animal rights activists. The wind farms kill birds.

That’s right. Those evil, compassionless wind farm supporters are murdering sweet little birds. The propellors of the wind farms are hacking birds to death.

Sully Sullenberger saved a plane from crashing when birds got into the propellor. Yet I am sure animal rights activists were heartbroken over the dead birds and cursed the survivors of the plane flight for their insensitivity. They can rest assured that other flights did fatally crash, providing some solace to the bird killers.

Steyn even gave the tragedy a compellingly heartbreaking name: The Condor Cuisinart.

The only solution for those opposed to the Condor Cuisinart is to storm the wind farms of America will all the fury and vengeance of a Discovery Channel killer.

These are leftists. This is how they behave. Condor Cuisinarts, Chicken Holocausts, AIDS sufferers being insensitive for wanting to live…it is evil, selfish human beings causing the problem.

The only solution is to have more of everything that bothers leftists.

The remnants of the Condor Cuisinarts must be put to good use.

Some of them should be barbecued. This will enrage vegetarians.

Others can be dropped on terrorists in the Middle East, which will enrage pacifists.

Some should be left in the blades to gum up the wind farms, ticking off the environmentalists.

The rest of them should be rolled up into the chicken equivalent of matzoh balls and meatballs and used by fraternity students to throw at leftists on campus.

(Irrelevant tangent: The movie PCU stands for Politically Correct University. In a great scene, the cool kids throw meatballs at feminist vegans from a highrise window.)

So for those of you who dare to attack wind farms, remember that they kill innocent birds. Therefore, they cannot be all bad.

Do I believe that?

Who cares? If it enrages liberals, it has to be good.

eric

Only Massive Palesimian Deaths Will Bring Peace

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

A couple of days ago some Palesimian savages (redundant, I know) murdered four innocent Jews, including a pregnant woman. These victims were civilians. After claiming responsibility for the killings, Hamas leaders celebrated their deaths with victory chants.

Everybody from Barack Obama on down to the most useless forms of life known as European United Nations diplomats lamented that this might disrupt the peace process.

I will explain for the millionth time why Palesimians do this.

The reason…just because.

That’s it. Palesimians murder Jews because that is what they do. I know many people truly wonder if water actually is wet, and actually, yes it is.

The Palesimians have never given up violence because peace has never been their objective. Their objective is the destruction of the state of Israel and the removal of every Jew from “Arab” land. When the Palesimians talk about “Palestine,” they are talking about all of Israel.

Their solution is to keep murdering Jews.

So again, for the millionth time and beyond, the only solution is for Israel to wage war and win.

I will say it again. There is no peace process. There never was.

A peace process is possible when both sides at war categorically renounce violence as a solution, lay down their arms, and refuse to pick them up again no matter how glacial the dialogue. Until violence is totally eliminated as an option, there can be no peace process.

Northern Ireland had a successful peace agreement because the Irish Republican Army stopped using bombs as an intermission between rounds of jawboning.

The Palesimians have never renounced violence. If they put down their weapons, there would be peace within hours. They know this. They refuse to do it for one simple reason.

The Palesimians do not want peace. They want the total and complete destruction of Israel.

When Palesimians say they want a homeland of Palestine, they mean every single square inch of Israel, not just the disputed territories.

Palesimians are nothing more than defective Arabs who need to be returned to the manufacturer who created them. That creator’s headquarters can be found several million feet below the Earth.

There is not a single thing that these savages bring to the world that can remotely be considered positive, unless one is a fan of senseless murders of innocent individuals.

80% of Palesimians support Hamas, so the ones not spending every waking minute trying to murder Jews are statistical aberrations. Even by Arab standards, they are outliers, the very definition of skewed.

The solution is for America to have a president who will support the Jews rather than try to be an honest and equal broker between vastly unequal parties. This American president will allow the Israeli Prime Minister to deport every Palesimian out of the land of Judea.

Where will the Palesimians go? Nobody should care, as long as they go. The ocean is lovely this time of year. That is where they want the Jews to go. Since they want the area occupied by the Jews, we should give them the area they want us to occupy in the future. Knowing them, they would probably try to take the ocean anyway if Jews built boats there and subsisted.

Palesimians are Arabs, mainly from Jordan, some from Egypt. America can provide Jordan with money to be used on Palesimian relocation assistance. America can then take steps to make sure that Jordan does not massacre them all like they did in the 1970s when they killed one million of them. We can watch carefully. Or we can pretend to care and let Jordan run wild. What would the U.N. do, something?

America pressures Jordan to take them in. Israel relocates them. Then the world worries about more important matters, such as…anything.

There will never be peace as long as Palesimians accept waging war as an option. They will never give up that option. Therefore, the only solution is to win the war.

While Ehud Barak is discussing giving up parts of Jerusalem, Hamas is calling any deal unacceptable. Abbas cannot control Hamas. Therefore, there can be no peace.

Israel is at war. It must win to survive.

There is not one single Jewish instance of murder against Palesimians. Everything Israel does is in self-defense. Benjamin Netanyahu has a moral obligation to defend his nation.

It is time for Israel to defend itself once and for all, and end this state of perpetual war with Palesimian barbarians.

If every single Palesimian has to die to prevent the murder of one more dead Jew, then let’s get to work.

My hope is that enough collateral damage will allow the statistical non-genocidal aberrations in Palesimian culture to surrender in peace while retaining their lives.

I am not optimistic.

eric