Sarah Palin: Hypocrite

Eventually, Palins rabid pack of groupies have to realize she's a total fraud, right? It should be a done deal by now. Her entire story since she burst on the scene has been one long essay in hypocrisy (note-some of these are hypocrisy but some are also just plain lies):

• She first burst on the scene as the over-enthusiastic attack dog whose sole purpose was to constantly gripe about Democrats, yet no one has played the victim card to the extreme like she has,
• Accused Obama of "pailing around with terrorists" while failing to mention any of McCains own nefarious connections,
• Hauls children to every public appearance yet no one is able to acknowledge their existence,
• Enthusiastically supports abstinence and family values while own daughter is a bit of a family value train wreck,
• Claimed her stance was "Thanks but no thanks" in regards to the "Bridge to Nowhere" despite the fact that she campaigned for it as governor,
• Claims to be an honest public servant despite a history of firing and harassing people with whom she has taken issue,
• Is a staunch anti-socialist despite an awfully suspicious profit sharing system from Alaskan oil,
• Has a track record of criticizing "elitists" and thinks herself exempt because of poor grammar despite pulling in six digits for speaking, high fashion tendencies, and, from multiple witness accounts, behaving like a spoiled pampered diva,
• Took a consistent stance against big-government despite Alaska pulling in more federal money than any other state,
• Claimed to have rejected Federal stimulus money despite the fact that it was not 100% true,
• Claims that quitting as governor is a testament to her dedication of serving the people,
• Criticized Hillary Clinton for complaining about media coverage while she herself whines about media coverage,
• Continually criticizes the media for "making stuff up" despite the fact that she, herself, engages in serious revisionism every time she speaks publicly,
• Believes that name-dropping the military at every oppurtunity is the equivalent of support even though she thinks that the USA should invade every country that looks at us funny,
• Also believed that her support for the troops was more relevant than Biden despite the fact that he too had children serving,
• Continually claims that Obama is "in over his head" as President despite the fact that she has never gotten specific on policy, no matter how cushy the interview,
• Turned the health care reform proposal of "end of life counseling" in to "death panels" despite the fact that she herself supported such counseling only a couple years ago.

Although I could go on, I just wanted to set up Palin's most recent exercises in hypocrisy by showing that this has officially become a body of work for her. This is what she does, and criticism on the right is few and far between.

• Palin recently attacked Rahm Emanuel for his of the word "retard" while criticizing liberals speaking up against the Obama administration. Palin was deeply offended as there is some baby with Downs Syndrome in the family. She went to her fucking Facebook page and posted a whole diatribe on how Emanuel should step down or be fired for making this comment. I can not understand how a comment made on facebook can cause such a shit storm over something as inconsequential as this. Facebook? We're talking about.... facebook. My brain hurts from even trying to comprehending this. In the wake of that, Rush Limbaugh went off throwing down the dreaded R-word like it was going out of style. In response, Palin defended his usage of the word. So, when Emanuel (Democrat) uses the word "retarded" behind closed doors it is cause for him to be stoned to death. When a radio host loud mouth uses the word on public radio, it's ok because he was referring to "kooks" and he was only using satire.
  
• Finally, Palin has gone out of her way to be extremely condescending about Obama using a teleprompter. This has been a favorite of Republicans and has been a source of annoyance for a number of Democrats. Here's the real punchline though: teleprompters have been used by presidents for years, including Bush and Reagan. That's what makes it so friggin annoying. But because the annoyance is obvious it only encourages it. Palin herself has used teleprompters. HOW DOES THIS MAKE ANY SENSE?!? Anywho, the criticisms are now even extra RETARDED as Palin was caught with notes written on her hand while giving one of those $100,000 speeches at a Tea Party Convention. This just goes beyond ridiculous.
  

Palin has had a long standing loose relationship with the truth and reality, and yet she is champion of conservatives big and small. At some point, the long list of hypocrisy would have to catch up with her. Unfortunately, in the meantime, Palin will continue to run her filthy mouth at every opportunity with her new found employment at FOX News where she can expect a number of safe interviews and softball questions.

Charismatic and motiviational? No doubt about it!

Deceitful and a soul condemned to hell? You betcha!

To close it all out, here's SNLs take on the Rahm/retard situation. This shit is funny.


"You come after me on facebook? What are your fourteen? Here's a status update: Grow the fuck up! Poke me again, and I will write shit on your wall so obscene your computer will cry. Go back to the tundra, you fucking gimmick!"

Classic. I enjoyed that like no other.

2010 Fantasy Baseball Preview

As you can probably tell, fantasy baseball has been on my mind lately. I'm constantly looking for news of who's going where and who's recovering from off-season surgery and who's winning the position battles and all that junk. So, with spring training on the horizon it's time to do an early preview.

Now, the main league that I play in is a little different from others. The traditional scoring is 5x5 (Hitters: R,HR,RBI,SB,AVE/ Pitchers: W,SV,K,EAR,WHIP). The scoring in this league is 8x8 (includes K,OBP,XBH for hitters and L,HR,CG for pitchers).

Because most of your traditional rankings from sites and magazines aren't set up for our scoring system, I've made it my mission to construct the perfect Excel spreadsheet that could do all of these rankings right. Letting this be done by nothing but pure numbers and a couple of adjustments from me (who's on the rise, declining, streaky, contract year, etc.) let's me get a good look at everything without being swayed by names and teams. I use nothing but the last 3 years of stats with the weight being .5 for last year, .3 for 2 years ago, and .2 for 2 years ago. When I list a statistic it will be that weighted average.

So, without further ado, here are my top ten hitters and pitchers:

1-Albert Pujols, 1B, STL, Score:100
No surprise here. Pujols has been the stud of studs for a few years in a row now. He's dominant in 7 of those 8 categories and was actually solid in the 8th (stolen bases) last year, as well. In 5x5 he is a beast enough, but with our 3 added categories his dominance is enhanced in that the guy never strikes out (59 weighted ave) is an OBP machine (.455!!!), and leads in XBH (84). It's not even a question that Pujols should be the first guy off the board. First base is perhaps the deepest position this year but giving up this much production for the sake of position scarcity is silly. The next closest guy is an 86. That shows how ahead of the pack Prince Albert is.

2-Hanley Ramirez, SS, FLA, Score:86
As I said, The drop-off from Pujols to everyone else is pretty significant. But just as Pujols is a no-brainer for #1, HanRam is great at #2. The distance between Albert and Hanley is kind of what the distance is from Hanley to the next best shortstop (Rollins, if you can believe that). There is no category that Ramirez is weak in. He does strike out a bit much (18%) and he could hit a few more XBH, but you're still getting a young stud capable of going 30/30 who posts an OBP of close to .400. He's also at the magical age of 27. The top 2 picks are easy, after this it gets difficult.

3-Prince Fielder, 1B, MIL, Score:83
Fielder was a beast last year, and actually a steal in the second round for me. He had a down year in 2008 but bounced back with a vengeance and has managed to hit 130 dingers in the past 3 years. That's alot. He also is a lock for about 100 runs per game and last year tied Ryan Howard for first in RBIs at 141. He's no drag on the batting average either at .290. Fielder is still young and, although I think 2009 is his ceiling, may not have reached his ceiling yet. His down year makes me hesitant to take him this early in a draft, but the numbers don't lie.

4-Ryan Braun, OF, MIL, Score:83
Quite a 1-2 punch they have in Milwaukee, eh? Braun burst in to the bigs in 2007 and hasn't stopped mashing since then. He's hit at least 30 HRs each year and is also averaging a little more than 15 SBs as well. There's really nothing bad to say about this kid. He'll help you in every category and still has room to grow. Nice.

5-Jacoby Ellsbury, OF, MIL, Score:82
What?!?! This one surprised me more than anything on the list. Ellsbury will give you speed, speed, and more speed (65 SBs). He'll also score a whole pile of runs (100 Rs) and even knock in a few to boot (59 RBIs). The one thing you won't be able to count on too much would be power, although he could still manage close to 10 HRs. Considering this is his peak year he could get 15 but that might be a wishing a bit much. I'm guessing that one of the reasons Ellsbury gets so high a score is that 625 ABs would only get you about 65 Ks, which is fantastic. So in this guy you have a kid playing for a great team who can carry at least 2 of your categories without hurting you anywhere at all. The new Carl Crawford perhaps? Nope, I say he's even better. On a side note, I hate the fackin Sawx.

6-Alex Rodriguez, 3B, NYY, Score:80
A-Rod makes a rise back up the ranks after showing himself to be pretty well recovered from the surgery he had last year. He missed a big chunk of the season and managed to come back and have one of his most productive and, more importantly, his most clutch season to date. He shrugged off alot of the criticism he received for not performing in September and October and just went out and played ball. Rodriguez gives you across the board production and should be higher except for the fact that his ABs over the last years have been decreasing (583-510-444). There's also this matter to consider but it should be no surprise to anyone that this guy is a fruitcake. If I ended up with the #3 pick there's a good chance that I may go with Rodriguez simply because I am concerned about the depth at 3rd this year.

7-Ryan Howard, 1B, PHI, Score:80
I do not like Howard. Perhaps I should give him a shot some day, but those Ks scare me. In a 5x5 league he's a great pick, but in this league anyone who averages close to 200 strikeouts better have a "SP" next to his name. That being said, you know that with Howard you are going to get 40 HRs and 130+ RBIs in the bank. He isn't even that big of a drain on the average at .269. Another thing going in his favor is that he is a monster when it counts (1.060 OPS in September). So you can snag Howard feeling safe in the power numbers, but you might need an Ichiro or two to make up for his deficiencies.

8-Dustin Pedroia, 2b, BOS, Score:80
Seemingly overhyped after his 2008 MVP season, Pedroia quietly posted an almost identical year in 2009. He won't knock your socks off in the power department but he will keep you afloat in every single category. My weighted averages have him at 112 R, 14 HR, 72 RBI, 47 K, 18 SB, .309 AVE, .372 OBP, 65 XBH. It is said that doubles can often translate in to HRs as a player reaches the peak ages of 27-28, and Pedroia has been hitting as many doubles as guys like Hanley, Teixeira, Miggy, and Holliday. I don't see Pedroia having a 30 HR power outburst, but it's quite possible that he could put together a 20/20 season this year. If not, you still have a guy who contributes everywhere and never strikes out. Pay for the safety and consistency, hope for the breakout.

9-Mark Teixeira, 1B, NYY, Score:80
Two Red Sox and now two Yankees, and thus the balance is restored. Teixeira is a man beast and the move to NY has definitely agreed with him. He started off the year extremely slowly, as did just about all the Yankees, but once A-Rod joined the lineup, Tex exploded. The only thing not to like about him is having to hear Sterling yell "A text message!!! from Teixeira!!!" every time he goes deep. Anyway, snag Teixeira and pencil in 100/35/110/.300. Not too shabby. He doesn't even strike out a ton for a slugger and his OBP is close to .400.

10-Miguel Cabrera, 1B, DET, Score:79
As I said, 1B is deep this year with 5 in the top ten. There's also 3 more in the top 20 (Adrian Gonzalez, Kevin Youkilis, and Joey Votto). Cabrera's numbers are nearly identical to Teixeira. You get a little better average and a little less power so you can basically decide what you need more and go from there. Cabrera should have better numbers but he has shown a lack of maturity and Detroit was awful last year and provided him with no help. Their next best guy on the list is a tie between Ryan Raburn and Magglio Ordonez. Not good. Still, they may still have some surprises (watch for Raburn and Sizemore) and Miggy is turning 27 this year. He came under a lot of criticism for some drinkings issues last year so it's possible he may come out with something to prove. Hitting has just been so easy for him, perhaps he is getting lazy. Still, if the numbers he has been posting have been due to lazy, then I can't wait to see what he does when he gets motivated.

Now for the pitchers

1-Roy Halladay, PHI, Score:100
Toss up here between Halladay and Lincecum but Roy gets the nod due to a superior track record in September. After years of looking dominant every damn day while facing teams the beasts of the AL East you now get to see him face such juggernauts as the Braves, the Nationals, and the suddenly punchless Mets. Halladay has an amazing K/BB ratio of about 5.0 and keeps the ball in the park pretty well which will come in handy in Philly's little stadium. He also was averaging a record of 17-9 with the awful offense of Toronto backing him. So now we'll see if that gets better with Utley, Howard, Rollins, Victorino, Werth, and Ibanez for support. Halladay also gets extra credit for being a complete game machine.

2-Tim Lincecum, SF, Score:99
The new hotness is this guy. He'll get you close to 250 Ks and outstanding ratios. Also, he's most likely still improving. If he was playing for any other team the Wins would be 20+ but SFs lineup is so bad that DeRosa and Huff are considered improvements. It's possible that this guy could soon get hit with the inevitable trip to see Dr James Andrews with how hard he throws but that same story could be applied to every pitcher in baseball.

3-Zack Greinke, KC, Score:95
Greinke has always shown promise but just couldn't get his shit together until he finally did last year. Prior to that he was faced with erratic performances and anxiety disorders. I drafted this guy about 3 years ago. Where the hell was the good stuff then? Anyway, he emerged in a big way last year and absolutely dominated the league for the first half of the season. There was a little bit of returning to the mean in the second half but he was still an unquestioned ace. He's good for 200 Ks, an ERA around 3, and a WHIP under 1.20. I doubt he will be as good as last year, but anything close would be fantastic. The Win potential, like with Lincecum, will be hampered by a team that just signed Ankiel to start in their outfield. It's like they're trying to be awful.

4-CC Sabathia, NYY, Score:94
Sabathia is the definition of a workhorse. I keep thinking he's going to fall to pieces after all the overworking he has been put through but he keeps on trucking through. If any pitcher has a chance at 20 wins it's this guy with that Yankee lineup behind him, not to mention Hughes and Rivera to close out the game. The 200 K potential is there, as well as a good ability to keep the ball in the park which is especially handy considering the home run tendencies being shown in the new park.

5-Dan Haren, ARI, Score:92
I am not a big fan of Haren. The experts keep scoffing at his track record but it doesn't make it less true. Haren is a guy you draft, for sure. He strikes guys out, he doesn't walk anyone or give up home runs, and his command ratio is amazing (5.04 K/BB). However, if you draft this guy, you need to sell sell sell at the All Star Break. His ERA consistently gets worse by a whole run in his 1st half/ 2nd half splits. I'm sure the one year that I end up with Haren on my roster and trade him he'll end up going apeshit in the second half. That's just the way it works.

6-Cliff Lee, SEA, Score:90
Great pickup by Seattle who now gets to boast one of the best pitching duo in baseball. Lee's recent success is somewhat surprising. He doesn't exactly have a great strikeout rate (6.9 K/9) but he does have good control and doesn't seem to be prone to the "one bad inning" that gets guys like AJ Burnett. His move to the NL with the Phillies caused his stock to skyrocket. He now moves back to the AL, which could be a concern. He does have the spacious Seattle outfield to work with and a couple of the best outfielders as well. Also, LAA appears to have lost some of its' punch so the teams he will be facing may not be any worse than what he dealt with in the East. We'll see, but nothing scares me enough to keep him out of my top 10.

7-Adam Wainwright, STL, Score:90
I've always liked Wainwright. He's similar to Lee with a little more heat and a little less control. He also gets the benefit of working with Dave Duncan and an offense that now has Pujols and Holliday. It seemed at one point that Wainwright was going to get to the 20 win benchmark last year but he came up one short. For the last couple years you used to be able to get Wainwright late in drafts or off the waiver wire. His breakout season and Cy Young nomination of 2009 has changed all that. He's now catapulted himself in to the spotlight. I'll probably avoid him from now on as I would want to get a guy who gets more Ks if I am going to have to give up a as high a pick as I probably will now that he is getting the recognition, but it was a good run while it lasted.

8-Felix Hernandez, SEA, Score:87
Here's another guy with which I have a long history, having drafted him a couple times. Turns out I missed out on his breakout year in 2009. Can you believe this dude is only 23? He was born the same year as my fiance for christ's sake! Where he once exhibited some flashes of wildness and a control problem, he now has his walk rate down to 2.9 BB/9. He'll also get you to that 200 K range and a 3.00/1.20 ERA/WHIP. There isn't anything not to like about King Felix at this stage. Is it possible that, at only 23, he could get even better?

9-Javier Vazquez, NYY, Score87
Call me skeptical but I don't believe that Javier will be ranked this high next year. He has always exhibited superior control and skills (9.25 K/9, 2.10 BB/9, 4.41 K/BB) but he never could completely translate that all in to a solid ERA. The one skill he has lacked is keeping the ball in the park. Combine that tendency with his new home in NY and you might be asking for trouble. He has also shown that the AL gives him a much greater degree of difficulty. There's no question that this was a great pickup for the Yanks in which they gave up almost nothing (sorry Melky), but make no mistake that 2009 was a career year. You can still count on a pile of Ks and a great WHIP. You might even see 18 wins or so. But the ERA will probably be around 4. Good, but maybe not good enough for top 10.

10-Josh Beckett, BOS, Score:86
We're getting a lot of guys that I don't like at this point. Beckett is a frustrating pitcher. You know that at any moment he can throw a no hitter, but you could also end up with 5 runs and an early exit. He has a similar HR problem like Vazquez. In fact, he and Vazquez are very much alike, playing for two power house AL East teams. They're both going to strike out a lot of guys and get you alot of wins, but they both will be inconsistent for no rhyme or reason. They're also both in a contract year. Maybe that will squeeze a little extra effort out of them. As for me, I'd rather wait a bit and grab Verlander or Tommy Hanson.

So there's the lists. There's still a lot of room for tweaking and who knows what will happen in spring training. I'm fuckin ready for it though.

What lies in the shadow of the statue?

"Ille qui nos omnes servabit"

YaaaaaaaaaaaaHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Lost is back tonight. Fuck you if you don't like it.

Here's your recap to get you up to speed on the happenings...

Potpourri of politics & underpants

Well holy crap... I finally have a moment to breathe. Yesterday I was at work for about 12 hours and today I had another 8 insane crazy hours. Not leaving yet, but I just took a moment to peruse a few stories over at Huffingtonpost.com before getting back at it. Here's what stuck out:

Apparently, way too many Republicans believe stupid shit.

• 39% believe Obama should be impeached. Why?
  
• 36% believe Obama was not born here. Sigh...
• 63% believe Obama is a socialist. Awesome.
• 24% believe that OBAMA WANTS THE TERRORISTS TO WIN.
• 21% believe ACORN stole the 2008 election.
  
• 23% believe their state should secede.
• 53% believe Palin is more qualified.

This poll was conducted by Daily Kos, so it's possible that it's not completely legit. Being the open minded fellow that I am, I have listened to a number of conservative/ Republican pundits and have heard almost all of these points voiced on their shows at one point or another. The fact that, if this poll is correct, we can assume that at least 1 out of every 4 Republicans is firmly entrenched on the fringe is another reason why Democrats should abandon any hope they had of working with the Republicans.

The next article deals with underpants-bomber of Christmas '09. Obama administration opponents have had their panties in a bunch over the handling of the terrorist and believe that officials did everything in their power to protect that guy. The criticism lies in that this criminal was read his miranda rights before he had finished talking at which point he clammed up and ceased to give information. However, we have since learned that he was read his rights after he had finished talking. Guess how much that was discussed on conservative radio. Joe Scarborough? Pat Buchanan? Anybody?

In addition, we now know that the 2001 shoe bomber was also read his rights. Not only that, the man was read his rights 5 minutes after being taken in to custody. It's funny, I may have been drunk and fresh out of college at the time, but I do not recall hearing a Republican uproar about that event?

There isn't really too much to discuss about this, only one easy conclusion to make: The Republicans are apt at politicizing terror.

This is, of course, nothing new. That was the platform they ran on in 2004. They took a failed terrorism attack in 2009 and have done nothing but pile on Obama. What happened on 9/11 when the worst terror act in history occurred? The nation pulled together. What happened in 2009 when one man fails in an attack? Impeach the president!!!

Why? I don't think there is any particular reason other than how worthless our current politicians are. Everything is a game to get back in power. I'd like to think there was a time when these fools worked together to make the country a better place. For now, though, scorched earth tactics rule the day.

My final political story of the day is on James O'Keefe, of the ACORN pimp n' hoe fame. This is the fellow that broke open the floodgates on the community organization with only a ridiculous costume, a smokin hottie dressed like a skank, heavily doctored footage of ACORN offices, and the balls-to-the-wall enthusiasm of Beck, Hannity, and O'Reilly.

O'Keefe was recently arrested for a plot that he and 3 others had to unveil the malicious reasons that N.O. senator Mary Landrieu for not responding quickly enough to her constituents. These four boneheads dressed up like telephone guys and lied their way in to her office where they attempted to tamper with the phones.

Since then, O'Keefe has enjoyed the full compliment of FOX News to speak up in his favor and speak about how wrongful the arrest of these 4 bright young flowery men has been. Oddly enough, it is the craziest of them all, Beck, who has backed away from these actions the quickest.

I can only imagine what the response of FOX would have been had these 4 been minorities, rather than 4 white boys of affluent backgrounds. You know it would be a shit storm. Call them what they are: criminals. Not only were they stupid enough to think a game of dress up would be sufficient, they brought this rookie shit to a government office. Again, change the skin color or religion of these children and there is no doubt that Rush Limbaugh would be on the radio crying about how weak Obama was in the face of a terrorist attack.

And finally, and perhaps the most important, we come to the last story of note. The February issue of Cosmo has declared that the thong is dead. I can't really tell why, and it will be a cold day in hell when I crack open an issue of Cosmo and try to figure out why. I just think they're wrong. A large segment of the female population hate the idea of visible underpants lines. I assume that many also feel that they make them feel sexy. And what will the strippers do without them? So fuck you, Cosmo. There's a good thing going on and your blatant use of propaganda and attempts to create a story will not be tolerated. So go back to writing stories about "100 ways to please your man" and leave the serious stuff for the professionals.

What kind of half-ass operation are they running over there anyways.

'til next time piiiiilgrims

Showdown in Baltimore: Obama vs "Jim"

Last week appeared to be a good one for the President. His State of the Union address went well, I believe. The entire concept is kind of silly, in my opinion, but I understand that it is just one of those things that we have to deal with. I'm most pleased with the fact that it didn't interfere with the season premier of Lost (back tomorrow baby!).

Back to the SOTU. Did you ever really notice how silly it is? The up and down of the VP and Speaker. The stony silence of the minority party. It's kind of funny.

Despite that, and within the context of the speech, though, I though Obama did alright. He is a charismatic speaker. He does well up there. I have to give him that. There was nothing in the speech that particularly blew me away, nor was there anything I took issue with. I would rather that he didn't mention the "inheritance" that the previous administration left him but he and his people seem to think it was necessary. It's at the point where the people who do not recognize that Obama was left with a mess are doing so of their own free will. It isn't for lack of information. Those who think Obama is responsible for all of the mess are doing it because they want. But that's their prerogative and they're going to do what they want to do.

The GOP response was laughable. Honestly, who designed the set? A black person behind McDonnell on one side and an Asian on the other. Christ almighty does it get any more transparent than that?

My favorite line was:

"We want cooperation, not partisanship."

Tell me, what about the actions of the minority party would indicate that they are interested in cooperation?

Tell me, when voting results in almost every single Republican voting the same way (that being against whatever Democrats are trying to do), how is that bipartisan?

Anyway, the biggest STFU moment of the entire event was Chris Matthews stating that he forgot Obama was black. What the hell does that mean? I'm not even sure what he was trying to say, but in the current political environment you need to be damn sure that what you are saying is not going to get you put through the grinder.

After the speech the news broke that the GDP had gone through a major uptick compared to the last year. This is kind of "so what" for me as a major increase after a an even bigger decrease is not so impressive as it sounds at first. However, we need all the good news we can get with the economy.

It would be nice if Obama's opponents would be as hysterical over the improvements in the GDP and the Dow as they were when these same economical indicators were sliding, but that would also mean there was an ounce of integrity in the political discussion these days, which I think we can all agree is not true.

In the grand scheme of things, the only thing that matters right now is unemployment. It would make no sense for businesses to start hiring before things stabilize, so it's understandable. However, positive signs are starting to appear, little by little. It would be perhaps too optimistic to think that unemployment will get back in the single digits during 2010. It's always faster to make a mess than it is to clean it up.

The last thing of note for the week that was: Obama's trip to Baltimore to take questions from the GDP. The idea itself, is great. Hopefully this is the start to a tradition of direct confrontation rather than speaking through twitter, politico, blogs, and whatever outlet our politicians can get their hands on.

If you don't think that Obama was impressive during that session, I would really need to hear why. He showed himself to be knowledgeable on just about everything that was thrown at him, and he certainly didn't take bullshit. At the same time, he was comfortable enough to be direct when necessary, and crack a joke afterwards.

The one thing I noticed him struggle on is trying to delicately explain to the GOP that Democrats were the majority party, and so Republican attitude that compromise means "their way or nothing gets done" is not an accurate representation of the democratic process. There were a lot more "mmmm"s and "ummm"s during that exchange. I can understand that since it should be common knowledge.

The biggest point Obama made is on the Republican attitude during Obama's administration. Obama has been demonized beyond the point of rational behavior. This tactic started before Obama stepped in to the White House as President. Everything he has done has been criticized as "ruining the country" and "government take over"; no matter how small the issue. To put it in numbers terms: Obama's actions have ranged from 0 to 100 on how far to the left, yet Republican response to these actions has consistently been in the 80-100 range in how they criticize them.

So, as Obama says, it does not leave the Republicans much room to work with the President when they go and tell their constituents how fucking awful Obama is. When faced with that level of opposition, how can they expect Obama to want to listen to them? What does he have to gain?

We're currently in a situation where health care reform is being compared to Nazi behavior. Why? Here's how it should have been played out. Democrats, with Obama in office and a super majority in Congress should have started off with a heavy effort on single payer, doing everything they could do get it. If they were faced with stiff opposition, then they should have conceded to go with public option, and nothing less.

Instead, the level of demonizing rhetoric has been consistent throughout the process from start to finish. How is that not obvious to every person in the country that all the GOP cared about was stopping any and all reform? There is no room to negotiate, because only one side cares about getting this done.

Now, when public opinion on HCR tanks, the GOP spins it as the nation not wanting it when it's obvious that now the left leaning are also voting against it because the legislation is a joke.

What should happen now is that the whole thing should go back to the drawing board where they can go back to square one, go for universal health care, and say fuck you to the GOP. But that won't happen. Why? Because the Democrats in Congress are pussies.

The final question of the session was a man who just spouted a bunch of Hannity & Rush b.s. I'm pretty sure I learned something about Obama right there. The thing that has driven me nuts about Barry is how he stays quiet on a number of heated issues. The answer should have been obvious: It's because he doesn't really dignify fringe accusations with an answer. I'd say good for him, but in many instances certain people treat silence the same as admission of guilt. However, saying "with all due respect, Jim" would have been much more sincere if his name had actually been Jim, instead of Jeb.

It was an interesting dialogue on Friday. I loved seeing the piss & vinegar back in Obama, as I have been getting rather disappointed in his lack of involvement. This was the Obama that people voted for. Hopefully, this means a change in attitude. If there is one thing he could learn from George W Bush, it is how to handle Congress. I need a shower after that statement.

Despite my optimism in all of this, I am remaining extremely reserved in my attitude going forward. I will definitely need to see Obama continue with the attitude he displayed. It's one thing to talk a big game, it's another altogether to put that in to action. This country needs leadership right now. In a time when the loudest mouths on the right appear to be Rush and Palin, it should not be hard to take control and move forward. The next three years will be a test for Obama, and I hope for his sake that he's up to the task.

2009 Logjammin: A complete waste of a perfect alignment of the stars

A couple posts ago I was complaining about not winning in fantasy sports. It still completely baffles me that I could not win the league last year in baseball. This is a subject I fear that I will never be able to let go.

Purely for my own indulgence, I'd like to talk about my roster.

C-Pablo Sandoval-572 AB/79 R/25 HR/90 RBI/5 SB/ .330 AVE
I saw Kung Fu Panda as a huge sleeper last year. He finished 2008 with big numbers and a great average after being called up by the Giants at the end of the year. Sure, he might have been a fluke, but what I loved was that he was getting the full time gig at third base while still being eligible for catcher under Yahoo rules. A full time player that you can slot in at the C spot is a dream come true. My plan was to draft Pablo and Matt Wieters, the rookie sensation, and trade whichever one had the most value later on. Well, Pablo was awesome, having a great breakout year. Wieters ended up not being worth the hype, and I dealt him at some point.

1B-Prince Fielder-591 AB/103 R/46 HR/141 RBI/2 SB/ .299 AVE
Nothing like getting top 5 production from your second round draft pick. Fielder was, by far, the MVP of the team. Huge year, and consistent to boot. Other guys on the team had cold spells and hot streaks, but it was Fielder who was consistently ape shit every week. He was coming off a down year in which his transition to a vegetarian lifestyle was criticized, but he was still a monster bat at the position where power is needed. Good move there. I highly doubt he'll be available in the 2nd round this year.

2B-Chase Utley-571 AB/112 R/31 HR/93 RBI/23 SB/.282 AVE
Look at those numbers. Nice, right? How often will you find a 30/20 guy at 2B? I was able to snag Utley in the 3rd round due to concerns that his offseason surgery would cause him some problems. Even at that point in the draft I thought I was taking a gamble. It helped that Pedroia was coming off an MVP season and half the guys I play with are Sawx fans. Utley ended up being awesome. He's a bit streaky, but it was alright... until September, that is. As soon as the playoffs began, Utley went stone cold. On September 1st, Utley had an average of .304. He finished at .282. Over that last, most crucial month Utley went 22/108 (.204). And THAT is why I will not be drafting Utley this year, unless he falls, again, to the 3rd round.

3B-Miguel Cabrera-611 AB/96 R/34 HR/103 RBI/6 SB/.324 AVE
For the second year in a row I made Miggy my first round pick. There's something about him that is very un-exciting. I think it's his consistency that does it. He never has a huge week. Not much to say about him except he keeps almost every category afloat while the various other parts of the roster can blow up and suck at their own discretion. He ran it to some trouble this off season with a drinking problem. It's easy to forget that Miggy is very young. Hopefully he cleans up his act and takes things to the next level.

SS-Gordon Beckham-378 AB/58 R/14 HR/63 RBI/7 SB/.270 AVE
The biggest source of drama in 2009 was definitely my SS situation. I drafted Theriot, included him in a trade for Reyes, lost Reyes to a season ending injury, went through an assortment of Alcides Escobar/Erick Aybar/ Maicer Izturis/Jhonny Peralta/Everth Cabrera/and Elvis Andrus, and finally settled on Beckham who had a very good debut in the majors. Beckham started slow, got really hot in July, went cold in August, and finished nicely in September. If you take his numbers at 600 ABs you get a line of: 92/22/100/11. Not bad at all at SS. I'll take it, and Beckham will definitely be on my radar next year, even though he loses shortstop eligibility.

OF-Matt Holliday-581 AB/94 R/24 HR/ 109 RBI/14 SB/.313 AVE
I didn't draft Holliday but I did get him on a sweet buy-low situation. My OF was garbage at the beginning of the season but I was able to build something nice from nothing. I had Magglio Ordonez (big time slump), Ankiel (garbage), Snider (bust), and Maybin (still waiting for that breakout) to begin the year, but I ended up with a great squad at the end. Holliday was awesome. I got him near the time he was traded to St Louis where he really seemed to enjoy batting behind Pujols. He suffered a power outage and stopped running in September, so, like Utley, I am kind of pissed at him, but he was still batting .326 so I can't complain too much.

OF-Nick Markakis-642 AB/94 R/ 18 HR/ 101 RBI/6 SB/.293 AVE
I've had a man crush on Markakis for a few years and I was bummed when I couldn't get him in the draft. I was able to trade him off on another buy low where he started playing a little better. However, Markakis is now in the same doghouse as Utley as my 2009 fantasy killers. You think Utley was bad with his .204 September average? Well Marakis was even worse with a .198. He, also like Utley, came in to September with a .304 average. It was all downhill from there. I was especially surprised with this production as Markakis was starting to get a reputation for second half explosions. Well, you win some you lose some.

OF-Shin Soo Choo-583 AB/87 R/20 HR/86 RBI/21 SB/.300 AVE
Choo was another proud drafting moment for me as he was a guy I was definitely targeting. I got him in the 17th round and he was definitely worth it. His one bugaboo was injuries and he managed to stay healthy. He was a little heavy on the K's (our league counts strikeouts) but he was solid in every single other category. He also hit a bird one time on a shallow outfield bloop.

Util-Denard Span-578 AB/97 R/8 HR/68 RBI/23 SB/.311 AVE
Span was another guy I wanted to grab as a sleeper but he went before I could get him, where I settled on Maybin. However, he was part of the ill-fated preseason trade where I sent away my pitching staff for Jose Reyes. Span was perfect in this OBP/K league. He gave me a solid OBP, stole a few bases, and scored a bunch of runs. Not bad at all at the utility spot.

SP-Adam Wainwright-233 IP/19-8/212 K/2.63 ERA/1.21 WHIP
Wainwright has been on my team for 4 years now. I love this guy, he's been a sleeper every year while offering at least SP2 production. Unfortunately, his Cy votes finally put him on the map and I'll probably never see him again.

SP-Cliff Lee-231IP/14-13/181 K/3.22 ERA/1.24 WHIP
Another buy low steal. He was slumping at the time of acquisition, but shortly after he was traded to Philly and he exploded. I cant recall what I gave up for him but it was definitely worth it. Once he got out of Cleveland he reduced his walks (33vs10) and shaved a half a run off of his ERA. Nice.

SP-Ricky Nolasco-185 IP/13-9/195 K/5.06 ERA/1.25 WHIP
What can I say about Ricky? By every indication there is no way his era should have been as awful as it was. He started awful. His April ERA was 6.92. His May was even worse at 12.23. He still showed great control and had no problem striking guys out, but he was just plain too damn hittable. His BABIP was absurd at the time, around .350 if I recall correctly. I hung on to him though, as his numbers looked fine. He was sent down for a little while, and when he came back it appeared that he corrected his issues. His second go around showed significant improvement and was striking out 10/9 IP, which is great. So, I'll give Nolasco a pass on 2009 as he didn't really hurt me too much, and stuck around when it really counted.

SP-Tommy Hanson-127 IP/11-4/116 K/2.89 ERA/1.18 WHIP
I hate to wait forever for Hanson to get the call, but it was well worth it. He experienced some good luck, but I wasn't complaining. His debut went so well that a number of 2010 rankings have him among the top 25 SPs for the year. Apparently I'm kind of a sucker for these hot new rookies as I was also the guy who held on to Wieters forever. And a couple years ago I managed to get both Tim Lincecum and Yovani Gallardo as soon as they were promoted. However, I'm also the guy who drafted Alex Gordon, and look how that turned out. Sometimes it doesn't work, sometimes it does.

SP-Arroyo/Slowey/Baker/Kuroda/Kawakami
My other pitchers were hit and miss, for the most part. Arroyo, as it turns out, is absolutely money in the second half. He's the pitcher version of Adam Laroche. Slowey was a target of mine as he walks nobody. Unfortunately he had a season ending injury kind of early on. Baker I took a chance on when someone else cast him off. He's like Slowey, another Minnesota product. These guys have great control. Kuroda is a solid pitcher. Nothing fantastic. The downside is that he rarely gives you more than 6 innings. Kawakami... meh.

Closers-Bell 42 SV/Soria 30 SV/MacDougal 20 SV/ Gutierrez 10 SV
I learned a lesson about closers last year. Not going to share it, but I learned something. Anyway, I traded away a number of closers throughout the year in a number of those buy low deals. I'm the a-hole who picks up the closer-in-waiting the second that the grumblings begin on trade rumors. In review my end of year closers were either solid or garbage. Bell had a breakout year and I expect that he will be overrated this year and Soria had another great year despite an injury. MacDougal, on the other hand, is a WHIP killer and never deserved the job. Gutierrez didn't deserve the job either, and he no longer has the job.

So, in review, I had career years out of Sandoval, Fielder, Utley, Holliday, Span, Choo, Wainwright, Lee, and Bell. It was all kittens and rainbows for 95% of the year. When the playoffs came, however, it was like a completely different squad.

The guy who beat me had a number of spare parts, and it is especially painful in that I traded them to him:

C-Miguel Montero-this guy is actually really good, but he was a part-timer
1-Cuddyer-he had a career year, but no where as good as Fielder
2-Cano-solid, and unlike Utley, he didn't completely disappear in the playoffs
3-Reynolds-had a monster year, but he only batted 260 and set the record for Ks (223)
S-Alberto Callaspo-Who? Exactly. This dude went nuts in September with an ops of .970. In the week of our matchup Callaspo had 1/8 of his RBIs
O-Rajai Davis-another nobody known for stealing bases and nothing else. In that week he had 1/7 of his RBIs
O-Ludwick-he sucked last year
O-Matsui-I traded Matsui to him, hoping to cash in on the name and team. He thanks me by smacking a couple of dingers
Util-Jose Lopez-another guy I sent to him. At least he didn't screw me over.

Other than that he had no decent pitching other than Sabathia. His closers were nice though.

What it all came down to was that everything that could go wrong for me, did, and whatever could go right for him, did.

What are the chances of me ever assembling a team like this again, especially in a 14 team league? Zilch. Nada. It was a learning experience, at the least. It definitely forced me to pay attention to the September track record for players.

Pitchers and catchers report this week, so it's time to finalize my prep, and stop bitching about the past. But god damn that sucked.

Grammy review from a guy who didn't watch them

Fuck the Grammy's.

In fact, fuck all the music award shows. Somewhere along the way it became important for all of the elitists to jerk each other off over how much they like particular artists who they have decided it would be "cool" to like.

For example, it has suddenly become "cool" to think Lady Gaga is the tits. Why? Nofuckinidea. Her music is awful. Her outfits are not edgy, they're ri-goddamn-diculous. I'd comment on her equine-like face but looks should not matter in music. If you look at pictures of the music stars of pre-internet and media saturation times, you'll know what I'm talking about. I'm no fan of that Susan Boyle woman but you have to give her credit for shaming the world in to looking past her Jabba the Hutt-like exterior.

But Lady Gaga is everywhere. In the car she's on the radio. She's a guest on every talk show. I have to hear her at the gym. She's constantly in my head. And how can anyone take her seriously when she looks like this:





You'd think I would be a fan as she is one of those rare women who doesn't believe in pants. Ordinarily, that is something I can get on board. But this woman does nothing for me. Maybe it's the hermaphrodite rumors. Either way, her music is awful, she's obnoxious, and the people who celebrate her eccentricities are doing so in a self-serving way to make themselves think they are edgy.

My next beef is on that little starlet Taylor Swift. Now I hate country music, I think it's awful. Sometimes it can be funny when you have those songs that are just so redneck it's hard to figure out if it is meant to be satire or not. That being said, if I was a country fan, I'd friggin hate Taylor Swift. It's kind of like being really in to rock and having to deal with little bitches like My Chemical Romance and Death Cab for Cutie.

Swift's music is so far from legitimate country music it's barely recognizable. She's a blond Avril Lavigne, who's also annoying. Perhaps my problem is with these little starlets in general. Is there any other country which has to deal with them en masse like the USA does?

Speaking of which, OMGZZZ did you hear the whopper from Miley Cyrus??? She's going to call it quits on Hannah Montanna!!!

My guess is that she has just grown up too much for a show that caters to pre-teen girls. I'm not sure what's next for Miley but I have some guesses...


Now on a positive note, you won't hear me bitch about Beyonce and her shitload of awards. Good for her. That woman can sing, that woman can dance, that woman can do whatever she wants. The "Sasha Fierce" alternate personality bullshit that she's been talking about is lame but these rock stars these days always engage in a little bit of self-indulgence so I will give her a pass on that.

The lack of rock dominance is a trend that gets worse year after year, and that's a bummer. The crop of good rock musicians is just getting weaker. Green Day won, of course. So did Kings of Leon for the one song that people know. Whatever, it would have been nice to see Pearl Jam win something, but that is wishful thinking.

Is rock dying? Perhaps. The genre itself is getting pushed aside by the likes of Country, R&B, Rap, and American Idol-style pop. It took hippies to make it big in the 70s, glam and drugs in the 80s, and Kurt Cobain in the 90s. It will be interesting to see what it will take to bring it to the forefront in the future.

Now, in honor of Beyonce's record-breaking haul, get up and shake that ass.