Per my last blog entry...Senator Obama followed through. 

 

"For those like John McCain who have endured physical torment in service to our country—no further proof of such sacrifice is necessary," Obama said. "And let me also add that no one should ever devalue that service, especially for the sake of a political campaign, and that goes for supporters on both sides."

Separately, in a statement, Obama spokesman Bill Burton said, "As he's said many times before, Senator Obama honors and respects Senator McCain's service, and of course he rejects yesterday's statement by General Clark."

Here come the attacks on Johnny Mac's military record. 

 

Personally...I think John McCain is a true living American Hero.  I think if he weren't running for President, the rest of the country would agree with me.  He's a man who fought and suffered for his country.  He has served it loyally in both the military and in Public office. 

 

But, apparently, now that he's running for President, he's not the hero we all thought he was. 

 

I would first like to point out Wesley Clark's statement.  Pre-politics, I liked Wesley Clark.  Honestly...if he had won the Democratic nomination in 2004, I probably would have noted for him.  Recently, when asked about McCain's leadership of the largest fighter squadron in the Navy, he says, ""He hasn't been there and ordered the bombs to fall" as a wartime commander. 

 

So, wait...McCain hasn't ordered bombs to fall, so he's not qualified to be President.  Obama has 3 years of Federal Service and No military record and he is qualified to be President?  There is a logic problem here. 

 

McCain + No bomb orders = Not President

Obama + No bomb orders = President

 

Fuzzy math.

 

However, this is political speak.  Annoying, but obvious to anyone that pays attention.  It's the job of a man trying to be Vice President to make the opponent seem less qualified. 

 

More annoying, however...downright irreverent and despicable is crap like this: http://www.americablog.com/2008/06/honestly-besides-being-tortured-what.html and this: http://vietnamveteransagainstmccain.com/ and others. 

 

Jayne Lyn Stahl over at the Huffington Post is calling this the Swift Boating of John McCain.

 

I was not a fan of John Kerry, thought he was a horrible candidate and thought he would be a horrible President.  But, even during the 2004 campaign, I was saying the so called "Swift Boating" was reprehensible.  The man is a decorated war veteran and hero.  Criticize his politics, criticize his voting record, criticize his horrible hair-do and that stupid wind-surfing picture.  Leave his war record alone.  Especially since it was a million times stronger than Bush's. 

 

Can you remember which Republican came to the defense of John Kerry when this was happening?  I'll give you a hint.  His name rhymes with Ron McBain. 

 

I hate this side of politics.  I am expecting to see John Kerry step up, now, to defend his friend.  I am also expecting Obama to say something as Johnny Mac has publicly denounced the Rev. Wright ads as well as the Hussein Obama cracks. 

 

So, during my neglectful blogging time (please, oh please hurry, FY09), here is something to keep you entertained.  I've seen some of these before, and you may have gotten them in your e-mail, like I did...but, they are funny.  There are more, but these are my favs.

 

PS:  I am using the Xbox that we take with us to conferences.  Apparently, mine is still covered under warrenty (YAY!) so I am going to ship it off for repair and use the borrowed one until it gets back. 

 

    

 

 

 

Chances are...I won't be doing much blogging again this week.  So, I'll let Erik Deverics and David Horsey say what I was going to about Obama.  But, a little more artistically. 

 

 

 

 

Okay, okay...so I'm a little behind.  I've been focusing on earning my paycheck, lately.  It was a tough call this morning between Mr. "I know I said I would take Public Financing for my campaign, but I changed my mind," Obama, and Mrs, "I like to Crawl into Bed with Special Interests" Gregoire.

 

Gregoire wins because her issue came first.  And...you all know I am on the McCain Train, so it's time to tout my other main man, Rossi for a bit.

 

I had trouble locating the original PI article.  However, here is an Op-Ed from the News Tribune that pretty much sums it up. 

 

The jist of it is...in order to "curb gambling in the state," Queen Christine signed a pact with the Washington tribes that allowed them only 10,000 new machines instead of 20+ thousand.  In exchange, the State would take none of the gambling profits from the casinos.  This is potentially hundreds of thousands of tax dollars that could go to improving roads and education and anything else that is important to both Washington State residents and Tribal members. 

 

Oh...but, something else was received for this agreement.  Gregoire's re-election campaign has received $49,000 directly from the Tribes.  And the WA Democrats, who contribute to the Gregoire campaign, have received over $600,000 from the Tribes.

 

While it's true that there are no laws prohibiting the Tribes to give to the party (the amount they can give to a campaign itself it capped through McCain/Feingold), this stinks of corruption.  The news papers, including the Tribune article, all cut her some slack by saying she's probably not "on the take."  But, I am not willing to give her this slack.  I think there have been way too many sketchy things going on in Washington since (before) she took office.  Let's start with the mess of an election in 2004.  Recently, we can look at the grant to schools that was rejected by the governor because the WEA didn't support the award scale as it wreaked too much of "merit pay."  Now, we've got this thing with the Tribes.

 

The state GOP came up with an ad that I think is brilliant.  It targets all the Obama Zombies that keep spouting the word Change like it's going to improve everything.  The ad is pasted below, but you can find it here as Spaces doesn't run videos very well.  It's brilliant because, while Obama is spouting his Change mantra, there sits Christine, right behind him, nodding and clapping while he talks about how government needs a new direction.  Then, the GOP reminds us in a caption that she was been in Olympia for 39 years.  Another term is hardly change.

 

The Mariners fire John McLaren.

 

 

I don't blame McLaren for the crappy performance we're seeing by the Mariners.  I point the finger more at Bavasi for being a bad GM.  And, I point the other finger (the middle one) at the players for being awful. 

 

Still...I can't say McLaren has done anything to help the situation.  And, the fact that he's being replaced by Riggleman only tells me the Mariners have acknowledged that the season is in the crapper.  I mean, the guys minor league managerial record is 50%.  Why not just hire Buddy Bell?  He's just as terrible. 

 

I'm glad these moves are happening.  Even if they are a year late.  2 years in the case of Bavasi.  Now, we need to start seeing some players held accountable.  Cut Sexson, cut Vidro, move Raul to DH, trade Bedard, and shoot Washburn. 

 

This season is over.  It was over a month and a half ago.  How depressing is it that Tampa Bay has a win % of 59% while Seattle's is 35%?

 

Alcoholism sounds pretty good right now.

 

(Editor's note: The author of Jason's Page of Love and Hate realizes that alcoholism is no laughing matter.  However, the pain caused to him by unworthy, crappy millionaires can only be eased through about 4 shots of Patron).

 

 

 

More politics, soon.  I promise.  I've been wrapped in crappy baseball land, lately. 

Mariners FIRE Bill Bavasi!!

 

 

About time.  They should have done this 2 years ago. 

 

Now, they need to start cutting some players.  Time to start holding these rich losers accountable. 

 

After the end of the Fiscal year, I am hoping things slow down enough for me to blog more, again.  Although, there was a beauty article in the PI on Friday about our dear Governor being in bed with Washington State Tribes.  Look it up.

 

For now, here is another great article from the PI that pretty much sums up how I feel about the Mariners, right now.

 

 

 

The sky was blue and the sun was bright, yet things couldn't have been gloomier for the Mariners on Sunday at Safeco Field.

The Washington Nationals, who began the weekend as the worst team in the National League, beat up on the worst team in baseball by completing a three-game sweep with a 6-2 victory.

Mariners fans have had almost nothing to cheer about this season, and they've had plenty to boo. For the most part, the booing has been muted, but Sunday it could be heard in a volume approximating that of a 737 landing at SeaTac.

"When we've played like this," pitcher Jarrod Washburn said, "we should be booed."

When the booing started Sunday, it wasn't directed at the Mariners. It was hurled instead at first-base umpire D. J. Reyburn after he signaled that Kory Casto's eighth-inning fly ball to right field was a home run.

It didn't matter that Reyburn was correct -- Casto's drive grazed the outside of the foul pole, making it a fair ball. The three-run homer broke a tie and gave the Nationals a 5-2 lead.

Mariners manager John McLaren said he couldn't see fair or foul from his spot in the dugout, but when all the other umpires agreed with Reyburn, McLaren returned to the dugout, the home run stood, and the boos rained down on Reyburn.

Games and series like this can cost managers their jobs. McLaren is aware of this, but to this point he has the backing of his general manager, Bill Bavasi, and the club's higher-ups. How long that will last is open to conjecture.

Mariners fans have spent the better part of a decade, starting in 1995, cheering teams that were fun to watch. That's gone the way of the dodo recently, and while the 2007 season seemed to signal a return to contention in the AL West, the 2008 season has been a boo-bird's paradise.

The booing got to the point that in the ninth inning, on a foul popup by the Nationals' Lastings Milledge that landed about 30 rows foul, about half of the fans in the lower right-field seats stuck their right arms out in a sardonic "fair ball" call.

After that, the boos shifted to the hometown squad, which did its very best to deserve them. The Mariners lost games Friday and Saturday to Nationals pitchers who hadn't won this season, and then lost Sunday when Casto hit the first homer of his big league career.

It doesn't seem to matter who the opponent is or what qualifications he might have. As long as the Mariners are on the other side, everybody has a chance to be a star.

"Fans are coming to see us play and perform," center fielder Ichiro Suzuki said, "and we're not. It's not that tough to get booed.

"For us it's about the kind of performance (the fans) are expecting."

After winning 88 games last season, the Mariners strengthened their rotation with Erik Bedard and Carlos Silva, but starting pitching is still a problem. But it's not nearly the kind of problem the offense has been. The Mariners won two of three in Toronto last week while scoring just six runs. They scored just 10 runs in three games against the Nationals and lost all three.

"We're having a very tough time scoring runs," McLaren said.

The Mariners fired hitting coach Jeff Pentland last Monday, replacing him with veteran Lee Elia. But as if to accentuate that the problems weren't of Pentland's making, the offense has imploded. A team that ranked 13th in the league in batting average and 13th in runs scored when Pentland was fired hasn't shown any signs that things have changed. It's not likely that a week is going to change much, but it would be something if one of the hitters would step up and take some rips.

None has.

All of which means that if any other part of their game goes kaput, the Mariners are finished for the day. On Sunday it was Mark Lowe leaving a fastball up where Casto could get it. The left-hander yanked the ball down the line and caught enough of the foul pole to count, and little enough of it to send the fans into howls of protest.

"I thought it was foul," Lowe said, "but I heard that it hit the foul pole. The thing is I can't leave a pitch over the plate like I did. I can't let the hitter get a fastball up like that."

Not if the Mariners are going to turn this around.

"We're not playing good baseball," said Washburn, who left after six innings with a 2-1 lead but failed to get a win. "And we're not showing signs of turning it around."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

 

Yes, Yes...I've been hiding.  I know.  I owe a response to my buddy, Fred.  I'll get on that.  But, my posts will probably be limited for the next few weeks as work is kicking my ass.  Apparently, everyone I support thinks they need to hire someone RIGHT NOW or their open head will go away when the fiscal year turns over in July.

 

But...this issues has been chomping my bit since last night. 

 

About a week ago, I almost signed in to blog about how I hate Red Sox fans.  I hate the Yankees, but at least their fans are only slightly annoying.  Red Sox fans, I want to pick a fight with.  They show up in force at Safeco whenever the Mariners are playing the Red Sox.  This itself, I don't have a problem with.  I don't have a problem with cheering for the Red Sox if you are a fan and they do something well.  What I hate, is that you are in MY HOUSE and you act like an ass.  You start, "Let's go Red Sox" chants.  You scream things at MY players.  And, you just generally act freakin' rude.

 

Buddy...you're not in Boston.  You're in Seattle where we're glad you're here and we hope you're comfortable.  Have a cup of coffee and shut the eff up.   

 

But, that's also not what this blog is about. 

 

This blog is about how PISSED I am at the "Mariner's fans" that I was sitting by last night at the game. 

 

In case you didn't know...the Mariners suck this year.  I mean, S-U-C-K, suck.  They suck so bad that the entire population of Seattle is covered in hickies. 

 

Last night...it was game 3 of a home series with our division rivals, The Los Angeles, California Angels of Anaheim and the Pacific Coast region of the United States...or, whatever their name is.  The Angels had won the previous 2 games.  Going in to the 9th, the Mariners were down 5-4.

 

This is called RALLY TIME.  This is when everyone should be getting of their coffee coma butts and start cheering on their team.  Show them you support them and you want them to win.  Cheer!  Clap!  Whatever...just get out of your freakin' seat.

 

Well...this is Seattle.  People don't like to stand here, apparently.  Regardless...Kelley and I decided to stand and cheer. 

 

Now, I can get over it if you don't stand.  What pissed me off, royally...ROYALLY!!!...was when I was told to sit down.

 

W

T

F?

 

Did you just tell me to sit down during Rally Time?  What is wrong with you? 

 

I said, "You should be standing!"  Which was met with "Settle down.  Take your seat." 

 

Seriously...I mentioned I wanted to fight a Sox fan.  I totally wanted to punch this so called Mariner's fan.  I'm a bloody season ticket holder you old fart!  I cheer for my team when they still have a chance to pull it off.  What is wrong with these people?

 

Look...I hate the Mariners right now.  I think they have no fight left in them.  I hate the fact that, not only does Richie Sexson earn $12 million dollars a year to play a ball game for a living, but he makes $12 million a year to play it badly.  I hate that we ever picked up Vidro.  I hate that Jarrod Washburn is a whiney bitch who blames his catcher for not being able to divert his 85 mile per hour fastball off the center of the plate. 

 

But, I still support them.  I still cheer for them.  I am still a fan. 

 

And, as a fan...I stand during rally time. 

 

Bitches

 

PS:  The camera adds ten pounds.  This picture makes me look fat...but, I'm actually at a pretty comforable size, right now.  Pregnancy is supposed to add sympathy weight to the dad, I've heard. I'm down 10 pounds, suckas.  Probably because the wife has me running up and down the stairs 10 times a night to get her ice cream and pickles. 

 

So...our neighbors were kind enough to have us over for dinner, last night.

 

I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but my neighborhood is a very highly Democratic one.  They would like to say that they're Independent, but it's not true. 

 

Involved in dinner, were a few drinks.  Anyone that has been around me while I am drinking, particularly in an election year, knows that, if the conversation turns to politics, I can be very loud. 

 

Well...the conversation came to politics. 

 

An interesting comment was made by my neighbor, who is an Obama supporter.  I asked him, "What, really, do you know about John McCain?"  His answer..."I know he's a Republican."

 

Now, this is a sign to the Republican Party.  One I have been holding up for years.  They don't let their candidates be their own people.  Everyone has to tow the party line.  The Trent Lott years were particularly stupid.  I can remember as far back as 1996 when Lott and Newt were ganging up on my man for standing up to the tobacco industry. 

 

Back then, Democrats, Independents, and even many Republicans were cheering John McCain.  He's a "maverick," he stands up for what he believes in, even when his party disagrees or when it's not popular.

 

When did this change?  When did he become just another Republican?

 

The answer...he didn't.  He is still John McCain.  He has some moments early in the campaign when he worried the faithful by courting certain religious conservatives...but, we saw how that turned out when his campaign almost fell totally apart.  But, he came back to what he does best.  Straight Talk.  This is what I think.  I will listen to your concerns, and I will seriously consider them (how many politicians actually change their mind on something when the people convince him that he was wrong?  McCain did this on Immigration).  But...I may not agree with you.  And, if I don't, I will tell you exactly why. 

 

McCain is indeed a Republican.  The GOP has a great history of some GREAT Republicans.  Lincoln, Ike, Roosevelt, Reagan.  Because he's a Republican is a dumb reason to discredit someone.  McCain could be another great leader to bring the GOP back to where it should be.  If you're not going to vote for him because you don't agree with his policies, fine.  But, don't knock him out because you think Bush and the Party screwed you over.

Remember Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.  It's kinda like that.  Meaning, it makes you think less of the movies that came before it. 

 

George Lucas needs to take his Bazillions of dollars and go retire on his ranch.  I mean, seriously...how could 3 supposedly great film makers make something so crappy.  Spielberg...I used to like him.  What happened?  Harrison Ford...you created Indy.  How could you forget who he is. 

 

Why, really, was Karen Allen in this movie?  She and Shai Labeouf were clearly there simply to set up potential sequels involving Labeouf's character. 

 

I could tell you a million things wrong with this movie.  But, I'm just going to focus on the main problem.  The Story.  Temple of Doom was previously considered the worst of the Indy movies.  The story wasn't as exciting and the adventure wasn't as thrilling. 

 

This one...worse.  No kidding...I dozed off at one point.  Indiana Jones is always seeking something.  The quest this time involved something more Sci-Fi than archeology.  The quest was lame, the find was stupid, and so much made no sense.  Now...I don't go to a movie like Indiana Jones expecting everything to be provable.  That would be stupid.  But, this was beyond the Holy Grail or the Ark of the Covenant.  I won't spoil it as I'm sure most of the world hasn't seen it, yet.  But, it's lame. 

 

Dumb Dumb Dumb.  Way to ruin a good thing. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did you know that John McCain is older than the States of Alaska and Hawaii? 

 

So...my dad and I were discussing this the other day.  I thought I would bring it up in my blog.

 

Years ago, my dad introduced me to the book Ender's Game, which remains, even after Harry Potter, my favorite book.  It's a great story about a brilliant child who is essentially raised and developed to be the savior of the world against an alien species apparently intent on destroying humanity.  Yeah, yeah...how Sci-Fi, I know.  But, it's more than just Sci-Fi.  It's psychology, it's suspense, it's emotional.  It's overall a great book.  Even my wife likes it, and she's a sap.

 

Anyway, so you have this hero, Ender (nicknamed by his infant sister because she couldn't pronounce Andrew).  Ender survives all the tricks thrown at him.  Puts up with things that would crack the average adult.  And, by the end of the book, he saves the day.  If you haven't read it, you really should.

 

The Ender series contains 4 books.  Ender's Game is easily the best.  The sequel, Speaker for the Dead, is almost just as good, but the story is COMPLETELY different, with the exception of Ender being the main character.  The final 2 in the series were so-so. 

 

But, the final books aren't where the problems lie.  The problems lie with the "Alternate" or "Shadow" books.  Almost 15 years after he published Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card, the author, decided to publish an alternate version of the story.  Told through the eyes of one of the smaller (no pun intended, but if you haven't read the book, you won't even see a pun here) characters from Ender's Game.  Ender's Shadow is told through the eyes of Bean.  In the original, Bean is a soldier in Ender's army.  Occasionally, he serves as a confidant of sorts for Ender.  But, that's it.  That's the extent of Bean.  In Ender's Shadow, Bean is essentially the hero.  Ender's Shadow makes it look like Ender wouldn't have been the hero if it weren't for Bean. 

 

Let me liken this to something a little more familiar.  Imagine if, 15 years from now, JK Rowling writes a story that implies that Harry wasn't really the hero.  It was only because of things done by Neville Longbottom that Harry was able to vanquish Voldomort.  Sure, Neville is an important character, and one we love for his own reasons...but, he's not the hero.  Harry is. 

 

Similar with Ender vs Bean. 

 

After reading Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead, Orson Scott Card became my favorite author.  Now, that I am a little older and I have read more of his books, I wonder now if these stories were little more than a fluke.  I don't expect his other stories to move me the way Ender did...but, I at least expect them to have some kind of impact. 

 

Take Lost Boys, for example.  A large chunk of a chapter is spent arguing whether the plural form of Octopus is Octopuses or Octopi (for the record, he says Octopuses...also for the record, I have no clue, nor do I care). 

 

Now...I feel like OSC has realized that he hit the jackpot with Ender.  He is beginning to come out with some short Ender stories that he is releasing here and there.  I haven't read them all, but I have read a couple (Polish Boy and War of Gifts).  Polish Boy is about Ender's father and it's okay.  But, in War of Gifts, we see Ender again, and he's not the Ender I remember.  He's kind of a wimp.  The Ender I remember was indeed compassionate.  But, he was also a soldier.  He knew what his purpose was.  He wasn't a coddler.  He wasn't the type of person who would fake an injury just to get some time to talk to a person that wasn't even under his command. 

 

So...I am left torn at times.  Ender is the brain child of Orson Scott Card.  One would think that he knows Ender better than anyone.  So, did I misinterpret the character I met?  Because I feel like he's different than this new Ender.  And, I don't like this new Ender as much.  I mean...he seems like a nice guy, but he's not my hero, anymore. 

 

Or, maybe I did know Ender better.  And, my dad did.  And, millions of readers did.  Maybe OSC is now screwing him up.  If this is the case, I want him to stop.  I want Ender the way he was when he died, or whatever it was he did, in Children of the Mind.  I want the Buggers to be Buggers and not Formics (I seem to remember reading that this change was a response to the Starship Troopers movie). 

 

That's about all I got.  If you haven't read Ender's Game, it really is a fantastic story.  So is Speaker for the Dead.  If you get into Speaker enough, the last 2 of the series are good enough to finish the story line.  But, anything beyond that, stay away from.  Ender Wiggin is dead.  And, the person Speaking about him now didn't really know him. 

 

Ta-Ta.  More politics next week.