Smoking is a nasty, expensive, dangerous, and frankly quite offensive habit. Cigarette smoke everywhere, butts on the ground, the lingering smell, etc. etc. Uhhh! Guess what. It is also pretty enjoyable and I am poisoning the air as I type. Having a grand time too I might add. What of the effect of second hand smoke to those around me you may ask. Politically motivated crap "science" would be my response to that.
Houston, like a lot of cities, has banned smoking in all restaurants, most public places, etc. etc. That sort of pisses me off, even though I certainly understand the motive behind it. Many people understandably find the smell of smoke offensive and bothersome, but does that alone give any government (state, local, federal) the authority to arbitrarily tinker with the society and pass asinine laws and ordinances that affect a good many tax paying citizens? No! I personally do not like to look at people wearing Dallas Cowboys or Atlanta Braves gear walking around this fair city, but I do not scream for some kind of ban. Perhaps I should. I don't like to see young males walking around with pants hanging so low that you see their boxers or worse; their butt crack. I think an ordinance is in order. Now, young ladies wearing tight hip huggers and bending down to expose their butt crack is a different thing entirely. I am a fan of that!! You see, the point is that government should not be able to just make up silly laws as they go along just to please and appease a certain segment of society.
Not so long ago I was listening to Lance Zirlien, a local sports talk radio personality. He was making a case for the anti smoking ordinance that was about to be enacted in Houston. He said that he has a right to go into a restaurant, bar, etc. and not have to be subjected to the smell of smoke. Wrong Lance! You have a right to not go into any establishment within which smoking is permitted. In a sane society, the issue of smoking, yea or nay, would be determined by the management of the establishment. If they (establishment management) believe that allowing smoking is good for business, then they should have the right (yes the right) to allow smoking. Conversely they could also have a non smoking on premises policy. They could even do it the old way and have smoking and non smoking sections in their business abode. Now I like Lance, he is one of the best sports talk guys locally, but he is wrong on this subject. Incidentally a few years back Lance and John G. were broadcasting from the Shell Houston Open and unfortunately someone left a mike open and Lance broadcast "J.F.C." across the air. I am surprised that he was not canned for that. That is a huge no no in the broadcast biz. I laughed out loud in my car as I was driving to work that morning and thought of the time that I was working as a night DJ for KZMZ Radio in Louisiana. I had an intern with me who left a mike open and dropped an F bomb in conversation. The phones lit up. I was suspended for one week and lucky I did not lose my job. I wasn't too concerned as I also sold furniture at the time and the DJ work was mainly a hobby, but I was still glad that I did not get the axe. I digress. I forgive Lance for his opinion on the subject of smoking (even though he is wrong) mainly because I like him. Now if Charlie Pallilo, another local sports talk guy, had said something like that on the air, I would have had to give him a call. I believe that I would have had to tell Charlie that I find offense with his opinion on smoking and that I would respond by calling for a citywide ban on loud mouth, jock sniffing, pencil necked geeks who are usually wrong from being allowed in public places. I guess that Charlie would then have to stay in his house. Boy if "sports journalist" John Mclain had said something like that on smoking, I would call for a ban of loud mouth lushes who are always (yes always) wrong, being allowed out in society. Maybe that would shut him up. He and Pallilo would have to stay at home. Of course I jest, but again, just because you don't like something does not mean that you should be able to force government into enacting silly laws to suit you. That is populism and perhaps fascism running rampant.
I would really love to see a someone with the balls to just tell city government enough is enough and do as they like in their business. Hats off to management at the Busy Bee Cafe in Alvin (A southern suburb of Houston) for basically doing that a few years ago. They still allow smoking in what they designate a smoking area despite a ridiculous, restrictive, city ordinance. If smoking bothers you, then you don't have to eat there.
You see, the smoking issue is just a small thing. The major problem is intrusion by government entities into your daily life. Unfortunately this is just getting worse and we have only seen the tip of the iceburg. Watch and see.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
We Call It A Christmas Tree
The decorated trees that people see all over the country this time of year are called Christmas Trees. Damn you if you call it anything else. Enough said!!!!
Thursday, December 3, 2009
What Do You Call Such Folk?
I have (for the most part) refrained from writing about contemporary issues of any real importance during the college football season and am hesitant to pontificate on an issue right now that my "blood is up." I would much rather focus on the big game tonight pitting Oregon and Oregon State; the Civil War I believe they call it in the great NW. This one is for the Roses.I am almost just as interested in the outcome of the Arkansas State/Western Kentucky match up. Will the Hilltoppers (what a great name) pull one out of the hat to gain their first win of the season. Will the Indians, sorry I mean the Red Wolves, cap off their disappointing season with a victory. We will know tonight. I am not real interested in Tiger Woods apparently getting himself a little strange, but it is kind of funny. What does interest me is the fate of our troops in harms way in Afghanistan, Iraq, the Persian Gulf, etc. etc. I am also interested and appalled at some of the attitudes of American citizens toward those same service people. I will try to refrain from using insultingly foul language when I get to that point in my diatribe.
The President of the United States has apparently authorized a troop build up in Afghanistan, but I fear that it will not be enough. Think about it. 30,000 troops would not even begin to fill up by half a good many stadiums in major college football. That is not a lot of people. If the troops authorized are combat troops, and allowed to fight properly, then perhaps they will be able to get the job done. What job? Killing the Taliban and Al Qaeda. I did not say converting them or capturing them to be tried as "battlefield suspects." I said killing them. As many as possible by whatever means necessary. Does that bother you? Sorry. Battlefield suspects? Does that phrase bother you? I actually heard a television "journalist" calling these vermin that. Have you ever heard of such a thing? Taliban and Al Qaeda forces, along with Hamas, etc. etc. do not even qualify as legal prisoners of war in my book. What a crazy time we live in.
Michael Moore has predictably said that President Obama is straying from his base and that we should pull out of Muslim lands. That is predictable as I just now stated. President Obama has probably learned by now that his so called "base" is seen by the vast majority of the people in this nation as childish fools. Putting his eggs in their basket is a sure way to lose any minute hope he may have of being elected to a second term. Now that is all well and good, but what is bothersome about Moore and his ilk is this. Do they not remember people jumping to their deaths from the Twin Towers to escape being burned alive? What a choice they faced! Does Moore and his type not want revenge (yes I said it) on those responsible for their deaths and those that supported the guilty? Apparently not. I wonder what Moore's attitude would be if it was one of his loved ones that faced the choice between burning or leaping to their death. Mr. Moore you might be an idiot and you most certainly are a pussy. I knew I would have to use that word at some point. Nothing else would do.
Now we come to Chris Mathews. Did he not call West Point enemy country? He did and the evidence is readily available. Now the question remains - Did Mathews mean that the military was the enemy or just that they are perhaps the political enemy of Obama? If he only meant that the armed forces are the political enemy of the President, then he chose his words stupidly. That is not too hard to imagine as Mathews is a stupid man. If he meant that the military is the enemy of this country then he goes far beyond stupid. Either way Mr. Mathews is a fool and a pussy to boot. There's that word again.
Have you ever heard of a blog called Brilliant at Breakfast? It is a maddenly "progressive" (whatever that means) blog. Jill, the main contributor and the webmistress I believe is so liberal that it makes my eyes hurt. She is however infinitely more intelligent than either Mathews or Moore and makes a rational case for most of her arguments but she is usually so off base as to be unbelievable. (There is another contributor on her blog that calls himself "Jurassic Pork" and so far he has not posted anything concerning the troop build up. I put him in the same category as Moore, Mathews and Olbermann. He is truly a twit. Oh well, no matter.)Jill in her latest post is comparing Obama to Johnson and apparently comparing the Taliban to the Viet Cong. The inference here is of course that this is an unwinnable war and that Obama is making the same mistake that Johnson made when building up forces in the Vietnam era. There are a couple of things wrong with this scenario. The Viet Cong and NVA had never to my knowledge been responsible for attacking this nation on our home soil. Technically the Taliban has not either, but they sure supported those that did. I submit to Jill that there still is an awful lot of payback owed to those vermin. Jill has also mentioned in earlier writings that our military should not be used to kill "brown men." I assume she means Middle Eastern and Afghan Muslims. I submit to Jill that our military has not killed near enough of them yet. Jill apparently believes the war to be not winnable. I disagree. To my knowledge the Taliban have no commander as brilliant as the Vietnamese General Giap. Giap could be considered perhaps one of the premier military leaders of the second half of the twentieth century. He also had the advantage of jungle terrain to conduct operations. The two wars and the personalities involved can not really honestly be compared. Now it is true that the Soviets were not able to win in Afghanistan in the 80's. This may (or may not) be an anomaly. Soviet troops for the most part were unmotivated conscripts and American and Nato troops are motivated volunteers. Also I would submit that if there was committed political will in the Soviet Union during their "stay" in Afghanistan, then the outcome might have been different. It is also interesting that historically Russian and Soviet troops have been of no real account except when the fighting is on their soil and they have overwhelming manpower superiority. Now, no insurgency can ever be completely destroyed as long as there are those willing to fight, but it can certainly be brought down to very manageable levels with a pragmatic and quite honestly, a justifiably brutal use of military force. Now I must give Jill credit where credit is due. She may be right about the war being unwinnable considering the current political administration. Our troops must be given the tools and the green light to do what is necessary to win. If they are not, and I suspect they will not be, then I guess we should declare victory and bring everybody home. Then all those that died at the hands of the Mohammedans on 911 and the troops that have lost their lives fighting them since will have died in vain and we can all sit back and await the next 911.
The President of the United States has apparently authorized a troop build up in Afghanistan, but I fear that it will not be enough. Think about it. 30,000 troops would not even begin to fill up by half a good many stadiums in major college football. That is not a lot of people. If the troops authorized are combat troops, and allowed to fight properly, then perhaps they will be able to get the job done. What job? Killing the Taliban and Al Qaeda. I did not say converting them or capturing them to be tried as "battlefield suspects." I said killing them. As many as possible by whatever means necessary. Does that bother you? Sorry. Battlefield suspects? Does that phrase bother you? I actually heard a television "journalist" calling these vermin that. Have you ever heard of such a thing? Taliban and Al Qaeda forces, along with Hamas, etc. etc. do not even qualify as legal prisoners of war in my book. What a crazy time we live in.
Michael Moore has predictably said that President Obama is straying from his base and that we should pull out of Muslim lands. That is predictable as I just now stated. President Obama has probably learned by now that his so called "base" is seen by the vast majority of the people in this nation as childish fools. Putting his eggs in their basket is a sure way to lose any minute hope he may have of being elected to a second term. Now that is all well and good, but what is bothersome about Moore and his ilk is this. Do they not remember people jumping to their deaths from the Twin Towers to escape being burned alive? What a choice they faced! Does Moore and his type not want revenge (yes I said it) on those responsible for their deaths and those that supported the guilty? Apparently not. I wonder what Moore's attitude would be if it was one of his loved ones that faced the choice between burning or leaping to their death. Mr. Moore you might be an idiot and you most certainly are a pussy. I knew I would have to use that word at some point. Nothing else would do.
Now we come to Chris Mathews. Did he not call West Point enemy country? He did and the evidence is readily available. Now the question remains - Did Mathews mean that the military was the enemy or just that they are perhaps the political enemy of Obama? If he only meant that the armed forces are the political enemy of the President, then he chose his words stupidly. That is not too hard to imagine as Mathews is a stupid man. If he meant that the military is the enemy of this country then he goes far beyond stupid. Either way Mr. Mathews is a fool and a pussy to boot. There's that word again.
Have you ever heard of a blog called Brilliant at Breakfast? It is a maddenly "progressive" (whatever that means) blog. Jill, the main contributor and the webmistress I believe is so liberal that it makes my eyes hurt. She is however infinitely more intelligent than either Mathews or Moore and makes a rational case for most of her arguments but she is usually so off base as to be unbelievable. (There is another contributor on her blog that calls himself "Jurassic Pork" and so far he has not posted anything concerning the troop build up. I put him in the same category as Moore, Mathews and Olbermann. He is truly a twit. Oh well, no matter.)Jill in her latest post is comparing Obama to Johnson and apparently comparing the Taliban to the Viet Cong. The inference here is of course that this is an unwinnable war and that Obama is making the same mistake that Johnson made when building up forces in the Vietnam era. There are a couple of things wrong with this scenario. The Viet Cong and NVA had never to my knowledge been responsible for attacking this nation on our home soil. Technically the Taliban has not either, but they sure supported those that did. I submit to Jill that there still is an awful lot of payback owed to those vermin. Jill has also mentioned in earlier writings that our military should not be used to kill "brown men." I assume she means Middle Eastern and Afghan Muslims. I submit to Jill that our military has not killed near enough of them yet. Jill apparently believes the war to be not winnable. I disagree. To my knowledge the Taliban have no commander as brilliant as the Vietnamese General Giap. Giap could be considered perhaps one of the premier military leaders of the second half of the twentieth century. He also had the advantage of jungle terrain to conduct operations. The two wars and the personalities involved can not really honestly be compared. Now it is true that the Soviets were not able to win in Afghanistan in the 80's. This may (or may not) be an anomaly. Soviet troops for the most part were unmotivated conscripts and American and Nato troops are motivated volunteers. Also I would submit that if there was committed political will in the Soviet Union during their "stay" in Afghanistan, then the outcome might have been different. It is also interesting that historically Russian and Soviet troops have been of no real account except when the fighting is on their soil and they have overwhelming manpower superiority. Now, no insurgency can ever be completely destroyed as long as there are those willing to fight, but it can certainly be brought down to very manageable levels with a pragmatic and quite honestly, a justifiably brutal use of military force. Now I must give Jill credit where credit is due. She may be right about the war being unwinnable considering the current political administration. Our troops must be given the tools and the green light to do what is necessary to win. If they are not, and I suspect they will not be, then I guess we should declare victory and bring everybody home. Then all those that died at the hands of the Mohammedans on 911 and the troops that have lost their lives fighting them since will have died in vain and we can all sit back and await the next 911.
Friday, November 13, 2009
The Mohammedan Major and Other Dudes
It appears that Major Nidal Hasan is now charged under the UCMJ and will have his day in court. I was pretty certain that somehow the DOJ would find a way to squirrel this up and move proceedings to a civilian court and I would not be surprised if that eventually becomes the scenario. I would not put anything past this administration. Now Major Hasan, being a member of the military and an American citizen, is entitled to the best defense that can possibly be mustered. That is his right as a citizen of this country. I also do hope that in the event he is found guilty that there is sufficient courage to send him to "meet the virgins." It will be interesting to see how this all eventually plays out. Contrast this case with the case of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and apparently four other defendants who will be tried in civilian court in NY. Why is this going to occur? These dudes should by now have been gone long enough to turn their virgins into streetwalkers. It can be argued that, unlike the good Major, these men have no rights as citizens of the United States and probably no rights under the Geneva Convention. They were not captured while under the direction of any legitimate leadership; ie a government or military entity, they were non uniformed, and were not fighting in a declared or even technically an undeclared war against any nation state. They should have been therefore considered from the start terrorists and insurrectionists and when captured quickly tried before a military court. Any information that they may have had at the time should have been extracted from them by any means expedient and necessary. At any rate hopefully the outcome will be the same for Khalid, his co defendants, and Major Hasan (if Hasan is indeed found guilty). The virgins are waiting on you fellows. You might want to consider bathing before you leave.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
BCS is Bullshit
I just read an article by Dan Wetzel that piqued my interest and ire. According to Wetzel, Boise State has been trying to schedule a non conference opponent from a "major" conference for an open date on Sept 3, 2011. So far no takers. Why? BCS schools do not want to have Boise come to their house and embarrass them. Then when it comes time to dole out BCS bids, the outcry is "Boise State does not play a tough enough schedule." That is crap. While true their schedule is not that tough, there is so much parity in the college game that a good WAC, CUSA or Mountain West team could easily surprise a top SEC team. I would put Fresno State up against anybody at this point and of course Boise can beat any team in the country on a good day. The Pac 10 and Big 10 are perhaps only marginally better than the WAC in talent level so what is the problem? It is cowardice and collusion. According to Wetzel; Mr Harvey Perlman of Nebraska dissed the University of Utah program when confronted with the BCS question before Congress. Apparently he insinuated that Utah did not deserve to play for the BCS championship because they did not play a tough enough schedule. Mr. Perlman should look around. The Big Twelve and Nebraska in particular is not all that special either. Mr. Wetzel also points out that Nebraska has an open date, ironically just when Boise is looking for a "quality" opponent. Here is your chance to prove your point Mr. Perlman; or are you just a loudmouth? Don't be a pussy Harv. Schedule up.
Week 10 College Football Recap
Ok this week my record is 9 wins to 7 losses in predictions. Not good but better than last week where I had a losing record. The grand total stands at 102 to 60. There were some quite good games to watch this last week with a couple of minor surprises of note. I have noted that there is a lot of parity in the college game and that is holding true throughout the season.
The Sun Belt is still Troy's to lose. UlM and Middle Tn. the only two that may yet challenge Troy, were both victorious in conference action. The Trojans kept rolling with a victory over W. Kentucky. Next up on their slate is the University of Arkansas. That probably will be a loss, but will not figure into conference standings.
The Big Ten is now really intriguing. Iowa's loss to Northwestern and the Buckeye victory over Penn State throw this one up for grabs. Who will be the eventual conference champion? Iowa can not be considered for the BCS Championship Game, but still has a good shot at the conference championship. I did think Iowa would trip up before it was all said and done, but did not think the Wildcats would be the team to do it. It is easy to forget that Wisconsin is still technically in the mix also.
Over in the MAC it is still between CMU and Temple. Temple had some difficulty last week but did come out of it in the win column.
The SEC now is down to Florida and Alabama. They both clinched and will meet in the conference championship game. The season is not yet finished and one or both still may be tripped up, but they still will meet for conference honors regardless. The Hogs pulled off a minor upset against SC. LSU may still yet land in a BCS Bowl. At worst, they will play in an upper level non BCS contest. Most of the rest of the league played IAA opponents this week and there were no upsets. Furman did keep pace with the Bulldogs of Ga. somewhat. Memphis of CUSA did not fare well against TN. but that was to be expected.
Over in CUSA Houston pulled one out of the hat with a last second field goal that put them on top of Tulsa. I thought this would be a tough game and was right. U of H looked a little flat and Tulsa came to play ball. What is interesting is that some announcers have all but accused Todd Graham of having players fake injuries as time was running down. This is in effect a time out that Todd (allegedly) would use to give his offense time to score if U or H tied the game. If true, it bit him in the ass as the Coogs missed the two point conversion to tie. This apparently effectively ended the contest, but an onside kick recovery by Houston and subsequent long field goal put the Cougars in the win column. I put Todd Graham in the same column as "He who shall remain nameless" over at Alabama and that jerk over at Ole Miss. Graham screwed Rice University. That reminds me of something funny of note. When Graham bolted for supposed greener pastures after 1 year with Rice it was considered a slap in the face. When Tulsa and the Owls met at Rice Stadium the following year the MOB (Marching Owl Band) lampooned him viciously. Are you familiar with the MOB? They pull no punches. Often halftime at Rice Stadium is more interesting than the game. At any rate Graham demanded an apology. I do not remember if one was forthcoming, but I am not familiar with a case of the Marching Owl Band ever issuing one. Screw Graham.
Enough pontificating? I think so. Rice came pretty close to winning the game with SMU. This is the first time this season they have not been utterly blown out. Is that progress? The Coogs should be the winner of CUSA West but it is unclear who they will meet in the championship game. I think it will be ECU but it is still not settled. ECU did lose a contest with VA. Tech Thursday night but that was non conference and should not affect the conference standings.
Cincy took down UConn over in the major Big East contest and most likely will land a BCS Bowl. They are a good team. I would love to see Cincinnati and Ohio State square off. WV still has a shot perhaps and were victorious in their contest. Same with the Pitt Panthers. This is a pretty interesting conference that does not seem to really get proper respect nationally. Frankly I would give Cincy and even chance against any other undefeated team in the land.
The Pac 10 just got more interesting with Oregon faltering against Stanford. Will Arizona be the top dog in this conference before it is all said and done? Why was Cal in the top 25? Tedford does a good job with the Golden Bears, but this has not been a good year for him. The rest of the conference (maybe even USC) is forgettable.
The WAC is still Boise's to lose. They did have some trouble against a pesky La. Tech team Friday night in Ruston. They came out victorious as usual however. Fresno State took down a vastly improved Idaho team last night in a pretty good game. It had all the earmarks of a complete blow out but Idaho kept is fairly close. Pat Hill's squad is under rated. They are a legitimate top 25 team. Tonight Nevada, which is still undefeated in conference play, meets SJSU and should have little problem with the Spartans. Nevada still has a shot but probably will not be able to get past Boise. The game next week against Fresno State will be a good game though. If Nevada wins, which would be a minor upset, they still have a shot. Their game with Boise State is their last of the season. This is an interesting conference and the top dogs should get a little more respect nationally.
The ACC is the ACC. Georgia Tech looks like they will represent the Coastal Division in the championship game. Miami took down Virginia and Clemson took out Florida State. The only other game of note was the NC victory over Duke. Not sure if any of the teams in this conference can be counted among the game's elite. Perhaps Ga. Tech. Look for Miami to be a power to contend with in the coming years.
Almost forgot about the Mountain West. TCU meets Utah next week and that should be the deciding factor in whether TCU (or for that matter Utah) is BCS qualified. This may well be the game of the week.
The Big Twelve should have Texas as the representative from the south. It is hard to see who in conference can beat the Horns at this point. The Big Twelve North is another matter. KSU is in the drivers seat and may well be the eventual winner here.
I will try to get week 11 predictions out at some point. Have a good and safe week.
The Sun Belt is still Troy's to lose. UlM and Middle Tn. the only two that may yet challenge Troy, were both victorious in conference action. The Trojans kept rolling with a victory over W. Kentucky. Next up on their slate is the University of Arkansas. That probably will be a loss, but will not figure into conference standings.
The Big Ten is now really intriguing. Iowa's loss to Northwestern and the Buckeye victory over Penn State throw this one up for grabs. Who will be the eventual conference champion? Iowa can not be considered for the BCS Championship Game, but still has a good shot at the conference championship. I did think Iowa would trip up before it was all said and done, but did not think the Wildcats would be the team to do it. It is easy to forget that Wisconsin is still technically in the mix also.
Over in the MAC it is still between CMU and Temple. Temple had some difficulty last week but did come out of it in the win column.
The SEC now is down to Florida and Alabama. They both clinched and will meet in the conference championship game. The season is not yet finished and one or both still may be tripped up, but they still will meet for conference honors regardless. The Hogs pulled off a minor upset against SC. LSU may still yet land in a BCS Bowl. At worst, they will play in an upper level non BCS contest. Most of the rest of the league played IAA opponents this week and there were no upsets. Furman did keep pace with the Bulldogs of Ga. somewhat. Memphis of CUSA did not fare well against TN. but that was to be expected.
Over in CUSA Houston pulled one out of the hat with a last second field goal that put them on top of Tulsa. I thought this would be a tough game and was right. U of H looked a little flat and Tulsa came to play ball. What is interesting is that some announcers have all but accused Todd Graham of having players fake injuries as time was running down. This is in effect a time out that Todd (allegedly) would use to give his offense time to score if U or H tied the game. If true, it bit him in the ass as the Coogs missed the two point conversion to tie. This apparently effectively ended the contest, but an onside kick recovery by Houston and subsequent long field goal put the Cougars in the win column. I put Todd Graham in the same column as "He who shall remain nameless" over at Alabama and that jerk over at Ole Miss. Graham screwed Rice University. That reminds me of something funny of note. When Graham bolted for supposed greener pastures after 1 year with Rice it was considered a slap in the face. When Tulsa and the Owls met at Rice Stadium the following year the MOB (Marching Owl Band) lampooned him viciously. Are you familiar with the MOB? They pull no punches. Often halftime at Rice Stadium is more interesting than the game. At any rate Graham demanded an apology. I do not remember if one was forthcoming, but I am not familiar with a case of the Marching Owl Band ever issuing one. Screw Graham.
Enough pontificating? I think so. Rice came pretty close to winning the game with SMU. This is the first time this season they have not been utterly blown out. Is that progress? The Coogs should be the winner of CUSA West but it is unclear who they will meet in the championship game. I think it will be ECU but it is still not settled. ECU did lose a contest with VA. Tech Thursday night but that was non conference and should not affect the conference standings.
Cincy took down UConn over in the major Big East contest and most likely will land a BCS Bowl. They are a good team. I would love to see Cincinnati and Ohio State square off. WV still has a shot perhaps and were victorious in their contest. Same with the Pitt Panthers. This is a pretty interesting conference that does not seem to really get proper respect nationally. Frankly I would give Cincy and even chance against any other undefeated team in the land.
The Pac 10 just got more interesting with Oregon faltering against Stanford. Will Arizona be the top dog in this conference before it is all said and done? Why was Cal in the top 25? Tedford does a good job with the Golden Bears, but this has not been a good year for him. The rest of the conference (maybe even USC) is forgettable.
The WAC is still Boise's to lose. They did have some trouble against a pesky La. Tech team Friday night in Ruston. They came out victorious as usual however. Fresno State took down a vastly improved Idaho team last night in a pretty good game. It had all the earmarks of a complete blow out but Idaho kept is fairly close. Pat Hill's squad is under rated. They are a legitimate top 25 team. Tonight Nevada, which is still undefeated in conference play, meets SJSU and should have little problem with the Spartans. Nevada still has a shot but probably will not be able to get past Boise. The game next week against Fresno State will be a good game though. If Nevada wins, which would be a minor upset, they still have a shot. Their game with Boise State is their last of the season. This is an interesting conference and the top dogs should get a little more respect nationally.
The ACC is the ACC. Georgia Tech looks like they will represent the Coastal Division in the championship game. Miami took down Virginia and Clemson took out Florida State. The only other game of note was the NC victory over Duke. Not sure if any of the teams in this conference can be counted among the game's elite. Perhaps Ga. Tech. Look for Miami to be a power to contend with in the coming years.
Almost forgot about the Mountain West. TCU meets Utah next week and that should be the deciding factor in whether TCU (or for that matter Utah) is BCS qualified. This may well be the game of the week.
The Big Twelve should have Texas as the representative from the south. It is hard to see who in conference can beat the Horns at this point. The Big Twelve North is another matter. KSU is in the drivers seat and may well be the eventual winner here.
I will try to get week 11 predictions out at some point. Have a good and safe week.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
OK Now What?
Well of course by now everyone is aware of the shooting at Ft Hood where numerous American soldiers and at least one civilian lost their lives. The alleged perpetrator is a Muslim (imagine that) and a practitioner of witch science (psychiatry). That is a double whammy! Now we have finally reached a conundrum in this nation with no real easy answer. Well, that is not the case really, the answer is quite easy, but it does go against some basic American "rules of the game."
What am I talking about? I am talking about the role of Mohammedans in this nation's security services. As most of us know, this is not the first time that a Muslim serving in the armed forces has killed their comrades in a cowardly treasonous fashion. A similar incident occurred a few years ago when a Muslim Sgt apparently rolled a live grenade into a tent, killing and injuring the inhabitants. Is it now time to ask ourselves if Muslims belong in the armed forces of this nation? That is a very tough and touchy question. Even just asking such will bring forth cries of "Islamophobia." Islamophobia? Damn right! What thinking person, at least in the back of their mind, harbors some distrust for the followers of the Prophet. This is nothing to be ashamed of. While it is undeniable that there are Muslims who are Americans first, but due to the age old low intensity war with Islam (let us call it what it is), there is distrust. Is it wrong to put the welfare of the nation above personal religious convictions? Probably not. Most of us would be in favor of some decidedly Un-Christian like tactics from those whose job is to protect us if it would prevent another 911. Should we expect and demand Muslim Americans put this country above religious beliefs? Yes we should.
Now let us come back to the question of what to do concerning Muslims in the security services. Perhaps the time has now come to ban them from military service. That is hard and perhaps unconstitutional but it must at least be looked at. Can you imagine what damage an active duty Sailor, Marine or Coast Guardsman could do to a ship at sea? There is no place to run. I am sorry, but if I were the commander of a naval vessel I would be very leery of Muslims aboard my ship. Again that is hard, but nothing to apologize for. It is common sense.
Should this country go further? I am not talking about WWII internment camps that our government subjected Japanese Americans to. I am talking about taking a hard look at sensitive services and Muslims therein. Would it not be prudent to also look at Muslims in our nation's civilian police and fire services? Yes it would be prudent; every bit and perhaps even more so than the armed forces. Every police officer has ready access to firearms; something that not every military member has. It would be damn prudent to take a close look at Muslims in the civil emergency services.
What about private security? A very good many private security companies are under contract to protect some extremely sensitive installations such as chemical plants, water works, etc. etc. It would again be prudent to take a close look at Muslims thus employed in the private security industry. Sorry, but again this is nothing more than common sense.
It is a shame that it has come to this. It makes me feel sad to think this way but it is nothing to apologize for. Therefore I will not.
What am I talking about? I am talking about the role of Mohammedans in this nation's security services. As most of us know, this is not the first time that a Muslim serving in the armed forces has killed their comrades in a cowardly treasonous fashion. A similar incident occurred a few years ago when a Muslim Sgt apparently rolled a live grenade into a tent, killing and injuring the inhabitants. Is it now time to ask ourselves if Muslims belong in the armed forces of this nation? That is a very tough and touchy question. Even just asking such will bring forth cries of "Islamophobia." Islamophobia? Damn right! What thinking person, at least in the back of their mind, harbors some distrust for the followers of the Prophet. This is nothing to be ashamed of. While it is undeniable that there are Muslims who are Americans first, but due to the age old low intensity war with Islam (let us call it what it is), there is distrust. Is it wrong to put the welfare of the nation above personal religious convictions? Probably not. Most of us would be in favor of some decidedly Un-Christian like tactics from those whose job is to protect us if it would prevent another 911. Should we expect and demand Muslim Americans put this country above religious beliefs? Yes we should.
Now let us come back to the question of what to do concerning Muslims in the security services. Perhaps the time has now come to ban them from military service. That is hard and perhaps unconstitutional but it must at least be looked at. Can you imagine what damage an active duty Sailor, Marine or Coast Guardsman could do to a ship at sea? There is no place to run. I am sorry, but if I were the commander of a naval vessel I would be very leery of Muslims aboard my ship. Again that is hard, but nothing to apologize for. It is common sense.
Should this country go further? I am not talking about WWII internment camps that our government subjected Japanese Americans to. I am talking about taking a hard look at sensitive services and Muslims therein. Would it not be prudent to also look at Muslims in our nation's civilian police and fire services? Yes it would be prudent; every bit and perhaps even more so than the armed forces. Every police officer has ready access to firearms; something that not every military member has. It would be damn prudent to take a close look at Muslims in the civil emergency services.
What about private security? A very good many private security companies are under contract to protect some extremely sensitive installations such as chemical plants, water works, etc. etc. It would again be prudent to take a close look at Muslims thus employed in the private security industry. Sorry, but again this is nothing more than common sense.
It is a shame that it has come to this. It makes me feel sad to think this way but it is nothing to apologize for. Therefore I will not.
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