August 13, 2007

This morning I took Evan to school, as usual, but then went on to Leesville to supervise the seniors and their decorating of the Senior Wall. When I arrived, I was informed by the other advisors that I was not scheduled to supervise today. I never received such an email. It would have been nice to know this ahead of time, but, oh well. I stayed until just before noon and left. I saw a few people, chatted, got caught up with some news, checked out my trailer and sized it up for shelves.

Once I got home I turned on the tube, watched some TV while eating lunch. I decided on treating myself to "the best home made grilled cheese sandwiches," as Evan calls them - of course, I made them myself. Evan had soccer practice this evening, it did not rain on him, thankfully. He did well. He is really starting to get after the ball. He still shows some timidness, but is getting a little more aggressive - we are working on it.

Today's Headlines:

Rove to Leave White House Aug. 31

After six-and-a-half years, one of the little voices whispering in the "President's" ears will be "leaving" the White House. That is right, the spin doctor himself will no longer be in the employ of Bush. The ramifications? None. Rove will continue to be a whisper in Bush's ear. In fact, I am willing to bet the speed dial #1 on the Oval Office phone will be Karl Rove's mobile. Bush seems genuinely upset by this move by Rove. I guess what he will miss most are the late night visits and moonlit strolls in the rose garden where most of the secret planning to take over the world take place. Of course Bush will continue to get the same information, but it means that any discussion will be subject to warrantless phonetaps and eavesdropping since they will have to talk by phone.

So what will Rove do next? He may not be leaving as much as we think. Instead, he will continue to play with smoke and mirrors and be an "authority" on Bush's "presidency." He is going to have to in order to cover up all of the unethical and possibly illegal actions orchestrated by Rove and Cheney during this administration.


Sources: Vick Suspension Near

Michael Vick, Quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons is facing possible, and as it seems, probable suspension from the NFL. Vick is accused of involvement in illegal dog fighting that took place on one of his premises. This harsh punishment is part of the new league commissioner, Roger Goodell's, decision to crack down on players and the law. This comes after the Cincinnati Bengals had more arrests than victories during the 2006-2007 season. It is clear that illegal dogfighting took place on Vick's properties, one that he said was the residence of a family member, and not his own home. In my opinion, as the owner of the property and it not being a landlord-tenant relationship, the owner (Vick) should be responsible for actions that take place there. In the same way that the parents of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold should be held responsible for the creation and ownership of weapons used in the Columbine High School shooting. Whether or not Vick actually took part in the dogfighting events at this house is, to me, another question altogether. Simply put for me: his house, his responsibility.

July 27, 2007

You know, there is a chance that Barry Bonds won't break Hank Aaron's record. July has not been a good month for Bonods, who only has 9 hits for all of July, 3 of them being homeruns. I guess at this rate he will beat the record in late August (Bonds is 2 short of tying and 3 shy of owning the career homerun record). I am still hoping that he pulls his hamstring and will be done for his career before it happens, but it seems inevitable that he will soon oen the record. I know that retribution will come in the same form as Mark Maguire - denial into the Hall of Fame.

I received another email from the chairman of the RNC. He is boasting about how the "President"'s polls are on the rise while Congress' is on the decline. What Mr. Duncan fails to point out is that there isn't much farther that Bush's numbers can fall. In other words, all he can do is go up. I think the latest polls will put him around 31%. Somebody needs to let Mike Duncan know that 31% approval rating is nothing to boast about. If this were an election year, Bush would find himself on the losing side (again!).

The polls that Duncan uses to illustrate support for Iraq are flawed (as are most polls). First, he considers anything coming out of Fox News as reliable. As any even semi-educated person knows is that Fox news is nothing more than the voice of the White House. I like to call it the "White House Press Release." Next, the questions are very leading (or misleading).

1) Do you support Americans leaving Iraq immediately? The problem is "immediately." Not even members of Congress opposed to American involvment in Iraq favor immediate withdrawal from Iraq.

2) Would Iraq be better or worse off if US left Iraq and how? This poll is based on Fox News data, therefore it is unreliable and biased.

3) Overall data on Iraq: A majority (51%) say that troop increase has improved Iraq. Again, Fox News data. Since this data is skewed, the 51% is inflated. So in reality, the actual data would be less than a majority.

4) Should Congress wait for General Petraeus' report before deciding on Iraq?
According to USA Today/Gallup 55% would prefer waiting while Fox News says 64% (see inflated). If I am correct, all proposals have to do with after September. So what does this question really mean to ask?

A quote I like to use regarding statistics: "There are three types of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics."

July 20, 2007

Pneumonia! Would you believe it? The doctor this morning said pneumonia! Well, he said that if what I have continues untreated it could become pneumonia. So he prescribed me some antibiotics and cough medicine with codine (a sense a good night's sleep ahead). This should take care of what is ailing me. On the other hand, I guess that means I won't be going to the Borders "Harry Potter Party" lasting until after midnight, I'll have to get my book tomorrow at some point. Yeah, like I was going? Besides, my wizard robes are at the cleaners.

Check out this video:

Just another political move for the Bush administration (you know what, I am going to start calling it the Cheney administration since Bush isn't smart enough to call his own shots). This is just an attempt to gain support for the prolonging of troops in Iraq. The video mentions how this will shield commanders from prosecution from war crime? We know that won't happen, the United States does not recognize the International Court of Justice as having any authority. Being an agency of the United Nations, it is another example of how the United States has made the UN obsolete, not the rest of the world. By the way, ever wonder why the US won't recognize the ICOJ?