One More Year!

This time next year we will be getting ready to vote a new president into office. And it can't happen soon enough. Just think about what has happened in the last 7 years. It has gone from great to awful. From care free to borderline depressed. Healthcare, Oil, College Tuition to name a few are spiraling out of control. Cost of living is exploding while wages are stagnate. Secrecy and corruption rule in DC where it is all about who do you know and how many millions are you sitting on. Meanwhile the world hates us. Russia is gearing up for another Cold War. China appears to be getting ready for something. While Washington is getting ready to go to war with Iran. Hopefully Bush doesn't have enough time to start another war. I could sit here and go on and on. But i will not because it is depressing. I remember how hopeless I felt when Bush was re-elected in 2004. Right now I sit here and I can't believe that the people of this great country could have voted that moroon into office. Remember he actualy lost in 2000 but that is water under the bridge.
The bottom line here is that Bush will be a lame duck this time next year and we can start to hope for a better future once again.

2007 METS -- Choke-Artist

It wasn't pretty. But it sure was fun watching the Mets blow a 7.5 game lead with 17 games left. Even better was the fact that Jimmy Rollins the Phillies shortstop called it in the beginning of the year. Saying that the Phillies were the team to beat in the NL East. I wonder how the METS and there second rate New York fans feel right now. Anyway they are home watching the playoffs and the Fightin Phils are still playing. The beauty of things.

The So-Called Race Card

It seems that every time somebody gives there opinion. Somebody has there feelings hurt. Somebody is always getting upset. Somebody thinks it is racial. Yes the race card is always brought up. I thought we were beyond that type of garbage. I am beginning to think that if the President said BOO during one of his press conferences there would be people out there who would be up in arms. He said BOO. He scared me. And of course you would have the perfect citizens out there who would say BOO is a negative word that is demeaning to Afro-Americans. Bull Shit. Lets get with it America. Fireman, Fire-person same thing who cares.
Yesterday Fisher DeBerry head Coach at The Air Force Academy said that Black Athletes can run, that his team needs to get some more color because it is too white. "… Afro-American kids can run very, very well," DeBerry said. "That doesn't mean that Caucasian kids and other descents can't run, but it's very obvious to me they run extremely well." He has received a lot of criticism for that comment. Why. Blacks can run and in most cases they can run faster than whites. And if you want your team to get faster why not recruit more Blacks for your team. Seems logical to me. If anything it is praising the black athlete for being fast and putting down the white athlete as being slow. So what. This proves my point that people are too sensitive. These people out there who are calling for his job should be happy that he is calling for his team to take on more Afro-Americans. He is not a racist and his comments are not racist. He is telling you how he feels about his team. People need to relax.
Last summer Dusty Baker made similar comments. But he was referring to his own ethnic group. So he did not receive much criticism. His were in reference to playing baseball in the heat of summer. "Most Latin people and minority people do. You don't find too many brothers from New Hampshire or Maine, right? We were brought over here because we could work in the heat. Isn't that history? Your skin color is more conducive to heat than it is to the lighter-skinned people. I don't see brothers running around burnt. That's a fact. I'm not making this up. I'm not seeing some brothers walking around with some white stuff on their ears and noses.'' Now there is a lot of people who did get extremely upset about that comment. Why? It is not racist. Read it again if you thought it was. He is giving his opinion. I know both Black and White Athletes, and guess what blacks do like the heat more than whites on a whole. I am not saying that whites don't like it hot but most don't. Although it is not completely fact it is not false either. The guy had something on his mind and he said it. So why do people get so upset?
This past summer Mexican President Vicente Fox made a comment, that of course people thought was, you guessed it, Racist. He was discussing the role that many Mexican immigrants occupy in the U.S. economy. Speaking in Spanish, he said, "There is no doubt that Mexicans, filled with dignity, willingness and ability to work, are doing jobs that not even blacks want to do there in the United States." Well guess what? It is mostly true. I say mostly because there are some whites who work some of those jobs too. But on the whole, Fast Food is a minority based job market. All you have to do is watch a McDonald's Commercial. McDonald's targets hiring minorities here in America. Now that being said. Why are people getting mad? He is right Blacks don't want to work in McDonald's anymore. Wouldn't that be considered a positive. They are not settling for jobs at McD's. They want better jobs. they are attaining higher paying jobs. So when that happens, Mexicans fill their spot. Everybody wins. Yet everybody wants to get made at the truth. Mexicans are taking the jobs Blacks don't want. Yes they are. Accept it. It is reality. Not racist.
The Truth Hurts. People want you to put a smile on your face and say what is politically correct. Whatever. Not me. Not this American. I say what is on my mind all the time. So what if you get upset. Wussy. It is your fault that you don't understand the big picture. The three examples above are about three guys who spoke there mind. When people don't understand they immediately say you can't say that. Why? Because you did not understand what they were saying in the first place. These cry babies out there, hear Black, White, Brown, Yellow and they want your job. Or more importantly they want you to apologize for your comment. Fuck You Girly Man. And like I said before BULL--SHIT. So, You Can Stick That Race Card Up Your Politically Correct ASS.

The Bird Flu

If you watch the news you hear it everyday. The next pandemic, and we are not prepared. Worst case scenario here in the US, 2 million people will die. 18-40 year olds are most vulnerable. Etc. Etc. I am sick and tired of hearing about it. The news always hits you with the worst and never the best. They want us to keep watching. They need us to keep watching. The best possible scenario will not attract viewers. They want us all to think the Avion Flu(bird flu) will hit this winter and hit hard. But lets get one thing straight first. The Avion Flu has to mutate for it to be spread from human to human. This has not happened yet, they say it could happen this winter. They say. All the same it has not happened yet. It may never happen.
Lets say for a minute that they are right. The avion Flu mutates and spreads from human to human this winter. And that we get hit as hard as all the doomsayers out there are predicting. Ok 2 million Americans will lose there lives. When you do the math, its only 0.6% of the US population. During a normal winter around 45,000 people die from influenza. In a bad year 150,000 could die from the Flu. So yes in terms of the regular flu the number of deceased would be exponentially higher. But when you look at the numbers your chances of dying from the Avion Flu are still not that good. For instance 2.1 million people are seriously injured from a car accident each year. I don't know about you but I might know one person my whole life who was seriously injured in a car wreck. How does that translate? It doesn't but it gives you an idea of your chances. Now, that is all considering that we get hit with, for the lack of a better word, a 'Perfect Storm' of the Avion Flu. Because the most likely scenario will have the death toll somewhere around 300,000 deaths in the US. Only double the rate of a bad year for the regular flu.
So look at the brighter side of things. Wash your hands. Eat right. Exercise. Take your vitamins. Sneeze into your elbow. And stop shaking hands with everybody. Remember to also be positive. Always be positive. Good Mental health always equals a good immune system. Because things are never as bad as you think they are. Well the flip side of that is that they are never as good as you think either. It is normally somewhere in the middle. Well anyway. Don't count on the serious Bird Flu Pandemic to hit as hard as they say this winter after all.

Food For Thought

No fear can stand up to Hunger, no patience can wear it out, disgust simply does not exist where hunger is; and as to superstition, beliefs, and what you may call principles, they are less than chaff in the breeze.

LOST

I don't really think the people on the show are lost at all. Call me crazy but there is more people on that dammed pacific island than in most small towns in the Continental U.S. Every time I turn on that darn show there is somebody else looking more confused than I am. They all have the same reaction, "Who are you? What are you doing here? Are you Him? Yes sure, I am him. Whatever. My question is what the hell are all these people doing here and where do they keep coming from? Three or four more seasons down the road the whole city of LA will be on this supposed remote island. At this point I am waiting to see the Beatles show up and start playing Yellow Submarine. Drugs maybe we should abuse them while we watch. All the symbolism, all the back story, come on, get with it. The first two episodes this season ended completely the same. Perplexing isn't it. After next weeks show the tenets of the island will have to conduct a consensus. I love the boatload of white trash turned special forces riding a Boston whaler and out looking for kids to steal. At first i thought they were excommunicated priest from the US. The shark, with the octagonal darmatistic wheel of Buddhism complete with its own serpent protector tattooed on its torso. Come on you didn't see it. Snap out of it. You have to watch this show. You have to kind of read between the actual speaking lines, if that is at all possible. Now if you have no attention span you are in luck. Because there is a timely 2 mins worth of commercials every 7 min. 14 seconds. Why can't they just show us what is going to happen next before another intermission. Oh I forgot nothing happens, ever. Then about the time you start to get into the 108 different paths of life this show is spitting out to you the network will air two months of, you guessed it commercials. Then when you started to really believe that they were Lost they are back on your TV. And now since you completely forgot who the main characters are ABC will help you out by showing this horrible summary show that will have your brain hemmoraging just in time for the new episode. Now forget all that mumbo jumbo and fast forward to lets say 2013, the apparent last season of LOST. The teasers will be telling you the Show you have waited nine years for...all questions will be answered. So after watching the newest and latest Sopranos you decide you want to actually get those answers that the show promised. And at the end you find out that they really are not Lost at all, it is all just some big fucked up sadistic wet dream that Jack was having after seeing that hot number Evangeline Lilly walk onto the plane just before he passed out. Then after the disappointing end you get previews for next seasons spin-off FOUND. Even better news it will air immediately after Survivor part 108 (The Phlx Floor). So... Lost.. Found... And Lost again. Well, unfortunately that is the way TV wants it. So save yourself now before you really get LOST.

Spanish MP Out-Ranks Americans in New Orleans During Time of Need.

Imagine being stranded in the New Orleans Convention Center. All around you is death violence and human waste. Then when hope for a rescue is fading. The National Guard comes in and escorts a Spanish MP(Member of parliament) and her family out, right in front of your eyes. Meanwhile you just sit there wondering what the hell is going on here? Is this happening?
Imagine that scene. Once again I can not. Since when did American citizens become second class to foreigners in there own country. I am sick of hearing about shit like this. Since when did Spain do anything to deserve special treatment from us. This goes to show you how messed up our system is right now. If you are rich and powerful, you can get rescued in front of tens of thousands in broad daylight at the New Orleans convention Center, in what is supposed to be, a hard to reach location in New Orleans. Absolutely amazing.
Those people should have been evacuated with everybody else. When it was their turn. I mean really, What was that supposed to be? The modern version of Saving Private Ryan. I am positive, there were people who desperately needed help and may not have received it.. Because some high and almighty piece of garbage Spaniard and her snob family needed to get home to their borderline third world country in time for dinner.
Our governments priorities are so screwed up. That in the middle of all this devastion our government cuts a deal with Spain to bring their MP home. The hell with the Spain and every other country, and the hell with what they all think. Right now we need to worry about #1------The United States Of America.

New Orleans: --The Horror--

I saw a picture of one of the police headquarters in New Orleans, it had a sign hanging on the front. It read Fort Apache. That is insane. Considering the circumstances, I liked it. But Could you imagine walking through your neiborhood and seeing that same sign hanging in front of your police station. I can't. Life or Death? The police were forced to turn into the people that they were defending themselves from. People do things they would not normally do when they are under stress. The cops made their decision they were going to live. They were not going to fall victim to the criminals who were trying to reek havoc on the drowning city.

When bad things like this happen I always try to think about how I would act. I don't think anybody knows for sure how they would act during a crisis. I know one thing for sure. I would choice Life over Death every time. In a way, I think I would find it acceptable to hang a sign out front of my house that states ,Fort Apache, beware. The reason. I think I could be as evil as the most evil person in order to survive. When bad things happen like this, it brings the worst out in people before it can bring out the best. Because in order to survive you have to be prepared to do what ever it takes. Sometimes that may mean doing something that you never thought you could do.

Last week New Orleans reminded me of something that I never thought I would see in our country. It reminded me of a book I once read. The book was Heart of Darkness. For those of you who familiar with it will agree with me. For those who are not. I recommend you read it. All I could think of everything I watched CNN last week was Kurtz, at the end of the book, splashing water on his face, saying "The Horror, The Horror, The Horror."

Don't Worry New Orleans, Halliburton and KBR, Are Here To Save The Day.

Don't worry the Vice Presidents company Halliburton will fix New Orleans. Also Kellogg Brown & Root(KBR)a Halliburton subsidiary has also picked up a significant contract to help restore New Orleans. Why get anybody else to do it? Some people might say that they are the only company who can do it. How do we know that? How can we take there word for it. When it appears to me that nobody else was even considered. I just love how slow it took the government to act following the Hurricane on trying to save peoples lives. But I find it equally astonishing how fast it took the government to award two major contracts in New Orleans to VP Cheney's companies. I am curious on how this makes people feel? I will tell you one thing it doesn't sit well with me. In the W years Big Business and Big Oil equals multiple Big Contracts. I am sick of it. Tell me, How does this make you feel?

Hurricane Katrina

On Sunday when I woke up and put on the Weather Channel I knew the Gulf Coast was in for something very bad. On Monday from watching the news it did not appear to be that bad. Then on Tuesday I started to see how bad it really was. Then came the frustration of watching people who were pretty much helpless. From Tuesday on I could not get enough of CNN. I was absorbed with the human drama unfolding. It has been very tough to watch and at times down right depressing. But I could not change the channel. On Wednesday I kind of became a little surpised to find that other than the News channels(CNN,FNC,etc), programming was continuing as normal. I was telling people all week that when this is over it could be more devastating than 9/11 was for our country. Yet on regular TV Kelly and Regis are laughing it up about some moron reality show, or on Extra Extra they are talking about how bad the box office is suffering this summer. Any time I turned the channel I felt guilty I was watching something artificial. I mean there is this mass tragedy going on literally right in front of our eyes and the TV world is going on as usual. Now I am no angel because when the weekend rolled around I needed a outlet, so I watched College Football, but I was constantly flipping back and forth with CNN.

I remember how during the weeks following 9/11 TV wasn't the same for a while. And rightfully so. It just seems to me that for TV it is business as usual. As if nothing is going on down there. I may be wrong, but I just feel awful right now. I can't stand knowing that fellow Americans are starving to death while the Big Networks are promoting there shows for the coming fall season. I don't want every channel to put all there time into covering the aftermath of the hurricane. I guess I just want some of these shows to show a little more Compassion.

If anybody agrees or disagrees feel free to comment please?

FEMA

Lets get it right, FEMA. Lets stop contradicted ourselves. I watched a piece on CNN today, it focused on FEMA (Federal Emergency management Agency.) Every instance was documented since it was broadcasted on CNN. The first was of the Dir. Of FEMA on Friday before the storm was to hit,3 days before landfall. He was talking about how severe Hurricane Katrina will be, he even said that it will hit the New Orleans area at a minimum Catorgory 3 and probably a Cat. 4. He then went on to say that it could produce a devasting effect to the whole area. --------The same guy appeared on CNN again on Wedsnday, 2 days after lanfall. And this time he was saying that they did not think this storm would be that bad before it hit. Amazing. Don't you think that somebody would have told him what he said so the Government would not look stupid. He also said how FEMA did not think the storm would be bad enough for the Levees to break. Ok. EVERYBODY knows that the New Orleans levee system was not built to withstand more than a Cat 3 hurricane(Katrina Cat.4). This is the same guy who told us days before that this storm could hit as a Cat 4. I don't think I have anything more to say about this other than we have moroons running FEMA.

I don't know about you but I don't feel that safe right now. What if something even more horrible were to happen. Like say, a terrorist detonates a dirty bomb in one of our cities. Man it could get ugly. Real ugly. If there is any lessons to be learned from this whole debacle, catastrophe is that you can't rely on anybody helping you but yourself. So My Advice, go out get a gun, lots of ammo and enough food so as to buy yourself some extra time. Because if you want help from the Government, you will be waiting a long time, while FEMA tries to figure out how bad things are first, then they will act, and only, after they know how terrible things are getting. And by that time it is to late.

Meanwhile the President is telling us everything will be alright instead of being the president and sending help immediantly. But that is another Blog for another day.

AMERICA OR THIRD WORLD?

Well which is it? I am sick in my stomach right now. I can not put in words how bad things are right now. I don't live in the affected areas, but I feel there pain. I have so many questions that need to be answered, but I don't know where to start. One would think that living in this country would guarantee you help no matter what the circumstances. I am now questioning that sense of security I grew up knowing. When I watch the TV I can not help but think, When did our country start looking like The Third World. Now, I know that may be a little extreme, and this was a serious natural catastrophe, but where is the help. Or better yet, what taking them so long. We need to get those people out. Every last one of them.

This isn't the third world. Our government needs to get with it. I thought 9/11 was our ultimate wake up call. We were told then, we would be better prepared to handle any type of crises. Doesn't look like that to me. I thought The Department of Homeland Security was created to tackle a situation of this magnitude. I guess not.

People are dying right now. Children, Mothers, Fathers, Grandmothers. Worst of all they are dying without dignity. The ones that are still there are have no hope. I don't care what the cost is or how impossible it seems somehow we must find a way to save these people. All of them.

I saw the President and the First Lady shaking hands and smiling and shedding tears today on TV. What does that accomplish? Nothing. Talk is cheap. And Guess what? The situation is still getting worse by the moment. The President wants to say "We will build a Greater New Orleans" Excuse me Mr. President, But the hell with that right now. I want to hear you say that we are going to get everybody out today, tonight. Get the job done Mr. President. Don't talk just do. Actions speak louder than words.

It sounds like an impossible feat. To fix things in the Bayou, But as far as I am concerned nothing is impossible. Because, THIS IS NOT THE THIRD WORLD THIS IS AMERICA AND WE DO NOT LEAVE PEOPLE BEHIND. We are the best for a reason, no matter who our President is...

Temple finds a new home ?

While nothing is "official" it appears that your Temple Owls have quickly found a new nest. Slated to play as one of four independent division 1-A teams this year. It's becoming more likely that the Owls will set up shop in the MAC conference this year. Reportedly, the MAC informed Temple that if they could switch their schedule to play 4 Mac opponents that Temple would be granted membership for the 2005 season. It looks like that is do-able and if you look @ some of Temple's opponents websites there are several discrepancies w/ each of their schedules. In fact One Mac members athletic directors has already said "it's a done deal"! Basically it appears something up! Although Temple & the Mac are yet to confirm these reports. Some of the delay may be caused by Temple having to negotiate buy-out(s) with teams they'll have to nix from their original schedule. (N.C. State & Middle Tennessee st.)

Temple QB Senior- Mike McGann

This schedule juggling will include Temple going on the road on Sept. 10th to take on the Big 10 power-house Wisconsin. (originally 9/10 had Temple playing a home game vs. NC State) While Temple's schedule will be even tougher than seasons past (which is saying A LOT) the Big East gives them a fresh start & new life! They start anew After years of being the Big East Doormat before being evicted this past year.

Temple hopes Winning ways await them in the MAC

Confirmation of this move seems likely to come in the next few weeks. Let's hope it goes through and Lets go Owls!

Nice Guys Finish Last

Junior year in high school my football team had a new head coach. His name was Mr. D. He was a great coach and would lead us to a division title during my senior year. And after I graduated he became the best to ever coach at my High School winning 4 state titles. But before any of that happened, we have to talk about his first year as head coach.
We started the '91 season 0-2. Coach D's motto from day one was to be good people. No Problem I understood that. But he wanted us to be nice people on the field as well. This angered me greatly. Our team always played football the right way, and never acted inappropriately. I would go to him all the time and ask him what all this nice people on the field stuff was about. He would tell me that it is always important to be a good person. Yes I know that, But... He would never let me finish. Playing like nice guys wasn't working for us. We looked awful. After losing the first 2 games I had it. I could not take the nice stuff anymore, and neither could anybody on the team. Something had to be done. But what??
The Sunday after our second loss I was in my garage looking something when I found the answer to our problem. I came across a box of my fathers old books. And right there on the top, was a sports Classic. "Nice Guys Finish Last." By Leo Durocher. (It is quiet simply the best baseball book I ever read, but that did not happen until after the 1991 season.) I picked up the book and smiled. This is what I have been saying for the last month and a half. Nice guys finish last, no shit. I smiled knowing now that I wasn't the only one. So I skimmed thru the book and put it in my school bag. I had a plan for this book.
Early Monday morning I went into the locker room and took out my book with it's old fashioned yellow cover and I placed it on the ledge of the window looking into the coaches room so that all can see.
After Monday practice I went in to get my book when Mr D stopped me. He gave me the book and told me Ok I get you point. We will try playing a little nasty from here on out. Thank God. Finally. No more of that lets play like a school girl shit. Thank You Coach. We are all good people but the guys we play against just don't play like nice guys. We have to be just as mean as them or worse to beat them. Coach also confided in me that he read the book a few years ago and agreed with Leo. He told me that we needed to play with a little bit of an edge. I told all my buddies. And they were all instantly relieved that the chain around our necks would be loosened a little. We were all playing like we were on probation and we needed the green light. Thanks Coach.
The next morning I was watching the News before I left for school and I couldn't believe what I saw. Leo Durocher author of Nice Guys Finish Last, passed away last night. Unbelievable. I guess he had one last thing to accomplish before he moved on. The remarkable thing about this whole story is that we won our game that week, and it was the end of losing for our team. Off the field we continued to be Nice Guys while on the field we started to play with, lets say some nastiness. Thanks Coach for listening. Thanks Leo for helping me drive your motto home, "NICE GUYS FINISH LAST.-----ALL THE TIME."

Super Stan Spalding Living Legend

Stan Spalding. Who? Super Stan Spalding. What? Yes. You heard me right. This is about the guy I remember as Super Stan Spalding. Everybody knows one, a Super Stan that is.


Stan's Promise Land.

It was the spring of 93, it was the week before Easter break. I was sitting in physics class. I turned around in my seat and I asked Crazy Eduardo Simone what he was doing for break. "Beats me," he said. So I suggested he crash at my place, My place being a huge house that a few friends of mine rented for the week down in Cape Hatteras NC. He thought about it for a second and said "sounds good to me, I will be there." Cool.
About three carloads full of us arrived in Buxton Cape Hatteras around 5pm on April 9,1993. A week full of boozing and doing whatever we wanted to do. For a lot of us it was the first time being somewhere without any adult supervision. So we started partying almost immediantly. I can't lie the first night was kinda lame. At around 4 am everybody was either passed out or on the verge of passing out, when, Crazy Eddie showed up. Nice, But he had this gigantic dude with him. A motor head named Dan Spalding. I barely knew the guy, I might have said two words to him all four years in high school. But hey I don't care, I get along with almost everybody.
Right from the start at 4 in the morning you could tell this guy was about to be uncorked. The guy was a caged animal for the last six years of his life and all of a sudden he had all the keys in his hand. I only knew the guy for an hour and we had the whole house up. The party took off. Early morning turned into mid-day and mid-day turned into night again. The guy was so unknown Crazy Eddie and I had to reintroduce him to people like thirty times each. Finally this goofy drunk kid named Steve Minerals called him across the room, "Hey Stan" "Hey Stan" "Yo Stan" And instantly Dan Spalding became Stan Spalding and all of a sudden everybody knows his name now. At this point Stan was busting at the seams. He was oozing with confidence. The guy was doing keg stands for an unheard of 17 min. He was funneling beers one after another. He was easily the victim of peer pressure, but hey could you blame him and guess what he didn't care. He was Stan Spalding.


Super Stan did not resemble Sly at all but the BAW(BIG ASSHOLE WINDBAG)is a spitting image of Sly's opponent.

Somewhere during the next day I talked him into arm wrestling this Big Asshole Windbag(BAW)who was at our party, some local guy who thought he was tough. At this point Stan still had some doubts, but after a couple of minutes of hearing his name chanted. STAN called the BAW out. Honestly I thought the guy was going to kill him, boy was I wrong. Stan beat the guy so bad the first time the BAW said he wasn't ready. The second time was worse. By the time he smoked the BAW the third time, the word was out, He was now Super Stan Spalding. Now for the first time in his life women were fighting for his attention. This only made his head bigger he was now reaching a legendary status.


Super Stan standing up for the first time.

On the third day a bunch of us talked him into going surfing. Super Stan was in the water for 5 min and he almost drowned. The funny thing was that he kept going out. By the end of the session Super Stan was surfing. Now girls on the beach knew who he was. When we got back to the house that afternoon the place looked like media day at the Super Bowl. Broads were everywhere, and they were there to see this guy named Super Stan. By the end of that day I think Super Stan hooked up with at least 4 different girls. He told me in confidence that until that very day he had only hooked up with 2 girls in his whole life. Wow. He really is Super Stan. Before we knew it every hot girl in Hatteras was at our house. And they only cared about one guy, Super Stan Spalding.


Super Stan opted for the cannonball instead of the swan dive.

Later that night while we were on the back deck of our Bay front house somebody asked if anybody could reach the water below if they jumped. I said there is no way it would be suicide. It was at least a 30 foot drop and about 6 feet out to reach the water. Impossible. Before I knew it the house was once again chanting, Super Stan clap clap clap clap clap, Super Stan clap clap clap clap clap. Before I could tell him he was going to die if he jumped. He jumped. Guess What? He made it by about a 1/2 foot. And even more incredibly he was unscathed. Not even a scratch. And with one jump the guy had reached Greek God Status. I started to feel like I was in a movie. Super Stan was making out with every girl in the joint. I think I remember him telling me that he French kissed about 26 girls that night. Amazing, and who cares if he was exaggerating. Because I can tell you it was more than 22. Super Stan Spalding Living Legend.


This is how women saw Super Stan during those 4 extraordinary days in '93'.

Early on the 4th day I was awoken from a deep sleep. Standing there was Crazy Eddie and Super Stan. What? I asked. Super Stan and Crazy Ed had enough. It was time to go. What!!! You can't leave now. Super Stan extended his hand for me to shake and said Thx Bro it was the time of my life. Later Dan. See you in school next week.


This is how women remember Stan today.

Like most legends Super Stan Spalding was gone before any body even had a chance to ask him where he lived or if he had a phone number. When we all went back to school after Easter Super Stan was the center of every story told every day until we graduated. Stan on the other hand kept a low profile. He was never seen outside of school again. That only added to the legend of Super Stan Spalding. People still talk about him, every once in a while I will hear a story about that guy Super Stan who hooked up with over hundred girls in one night, the guy who jumped 63 feet into 40 degree water, the guy who surfed the humunga from down under, the guy who beat Sly Stallone in arm wrestling 6 times in a row. Amazing.
I ran into Super Stan about a year ago. He was exactly the way I thought he be. He is married and has 2 kids. He says he loves his life. He says most of all he has no regrets. The reason he has No Regrets, was because of those 4 days in Cape Hatteras. I told him he will always be Super Stan Spalding Living Legend. He said Thx. But I prefer Dan Spalding.

No problem Dan take care, and Thanks for the memories.

Raider Nation will Rule in '05

2004 did not bring much cheer for Oakland fans. With the addition of Randy Moss, 2005 will be a different story entirely. Collins has had time to get used to the offense and with Moss and Porter as targets, Oakland will be a dangerous team.

Enough said.

Osama In China? Maybe?

You don't hear to many stories about Osama anymore. Why? One of Two possible scenarios. 1. We have no idea were he is. I doubt it. 2. He is in the only place, where he knows right now, we can not get him. That place is CHINA.

China possesses a boat load of problems for our country right now. Many of which I will talk about at a later time. For the time being the US will not risk an all out war with the Chi-Coms. The main reason is, That I believe China is not even aware that the coward osama is operating in their country. How could that be possible? Another simple answer. China is very big and very vast. And since we can not prove convincingly he is within their border we do not have any leg to stand on. Even if we did, China would never buy it.

Ok so now you are wondering where in China, and how did he get there.

Before the trail ran cold. Osama was last seen in the Peshawar area just over the Afghan border in Pakistan. Peshawar unknown to most was one of the many pit stops on the Chinese Silk Road. And for those who don't know, it was the ancient route connecting China all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. Although it is not a paved 5 lane highway and in fact is nothing more than a yard wide path in some areas. It is still traveled today by some.

The Silk Road from Peshawar follows the Afghan-Pakistani border all the way up an into China (about 250 Kilometers). Once into china osama would probably want to go somewhere remote where he could run his gang of killers. That spot would likely be about 600 Klicks(from the China Border) up and along the Silk Road to an area on the outskirts of the Taklimakan Desert. The name Taklamakan literally translated means, if you go in, you won't come out. The Taklimakan is a bleak and uninhabited region, rimmed by many oases linked together by the old silk routes. In one of these very secluded yet very terrorist friendly oases may be the most sought after criminal in the world. The problem is the area is so remote the Chinese would never know if he was or wasn't out there. Which leads to a bigger problem how are we ever going to get proof that he is actually operating in Western China. In the mean time like every Dog he is collecting sand fleas in the middle of a Chinese Desert.


So I ask you, what do you Think? Is Osama in CHINA? Or do you have any better Ideas?

Sideways

I am so sorry. Sorry first of all because I am the first to write after the Eagles’ loss. Sorry ACE. The second reason I am sorry is because the majority of people out there will not like what I have to say. They will say it’s un-American. That it’s not patriotic. And I believe deep down in my heart that the people who say that are the “Un”Americans we have to be on the lookout for.
What we forget is that our country is based on revolution. Our country is BASED on ideas that are different. Unique. UNPOPULAR!
Here is more with "patriotic" thinking;

“People do not want to go to war but, after all, it’s the leaders of the country who determine policy and it’s always a simple matter to drag people along whether it’s a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a parliament or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leadership. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them you are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to great danger. It works the same in any country.”
-Hermann Goering, Nuemburg Trials

Have we become that which we loathe?!!!!!
When have ideas been our enemy?
When has a voice been beaten down with the uneducated, “If you don’t like it leave?”
That is the most unpatriotic phrase ever emitted by a man. For anyone with knowledge would know that our country, with its systems of checks and balances, it’s systems of popular voting was designed to be changed, in fact made to be. Our cry should not be, if you don’t like it leave, rather, if you don’t like it CHANGE IT!

Ideas cannot bring our country down!!!! It would be a sad day that the ideas of a professor in Colorado would rip the fabric of society. Rather I would ask, what of his speech makes you scared? What would make YOU say such things as

“F-----g Anti-American scum.” , “Imperialist Pig”, American hating, piece of slime, Motherf----r
You son of a bitch, I hope you rot in hell where you f----n belong! , You sick f-----g racist and anti American. F---k you sand n----r lover and parasite of USA. You suck c--k. DIE."-Responses to Churchhill's statements


Ideas have never threatened America!! We make America what it is and the people who try to quell speech only weakens America themselves. So be fearful not of the professors but the one’s who have authority over our rights. And at the end of the day, do not be sheep! Always ask why!!!!!

And remember, why did no one stop them? How could no one have stopped them?

America is Back on Top - King of the Crappers

Back in the day when I was riding my bike around the Arizona desert, my Dad would bitch about the American car industry. "So-and-so can't make cars like they used to" or "Mother F'ers in Detroit can't even weld steel any more." He never bought a foreign car, but 15 years later he stopped complaining. Why? The American car industry regained the reputation it had lost during the 1970s. Well-engineered quality machines were once again rolling off American assembly lines.

Although I am too young to fully appreciate Detroit's rebirth, I have experienced another return to glory - The American toilet. In the good 'ole days our toilets were among the most powerful on earth. Then, in 1992, Congress decided to cripple our toilets by passing a law that limited new toilets to 1.6 gallons of water per flush, less than half what the old toilets used.

The new toilets were supposed to save water and they do if you're a girl or you just have to take a piss. But if you've got to drop the kids off at school, they often must be flushed repeatedly, which actually wastes water. Check out the video link on this page to see what I go through at least once a week.

Now, thanks to the American Standard "Champion" line, we can be proud of our toilets again. The Champion features the industry's largest siphon outlet at 2 3/8". It's also fully glazed with no choke points so everthing leaves the bowl. What does that mean? It means the Champion can handle 29 golf balls in a single flush. If that's not enough for you, I suggest a visit to your doctor.



Now that this problem has been solved, I will wait for the return of the American stapler. If you have any news of its rebirth, please leave a link in the comment section.

Giving it a shot...

So this blog is being submitted from an Apple Macintosh. No, I'm not visiting the local elementary school, but typing from my own home. I've been on the IBM PC platform since it was first invented. Intel and Microsoft have always served me well, but last weekend I did something I never thought I would do: I bought a Mac. Thinking that only zealot graphic artists buy Apple's overpriced and underpowered machines, I've stayed away...until now.

This is Apple's new entry level model, the Mac Mini.



I'm going to give it a shot and report back in a couple of weeks on how I like it. If it sucks, I'm sure there are still plenty of rabid Apple fans who will take it off my hands via Ebay.

One City One Dream

Yes that seems to be the story line here in Philadelphia. Yes I am talking about the Eagles. Yes it has been 22 years since the last time we had a parade down Broad St. Yes we will be upset if we get let down again. Four years in a row in the NFC Championship Game, third straight at home. 0 for the last 3 years. Is this it. I hope so. I hope. I hope. I hope. The last time the Eagles won the NFC Title game was January 1981. It has been too long. Too many frustrating seasons ago. The Swamp Fox. The Fog Bowl. The passing of Jerome Brown. Randles' season ending injuries. Rich Kotite. Ray Rhodes. Mike Mamula. Jon Harris. Antoine Davis. Bobby Hoyne. Charles Shackleford "The Real Shack" OH sorry wrong sport, but this frustration does seep into our other sports teams. John Gruden. Warren Sapp. Troy Aikmen. Emmit Smith. The Flyers. Mike Irvin. The HOGS. LT. Bill Parcels. Eric Lindros. Jimmy Johnson. The Braves. Joe Gibbs. Barry Shitzer. The Devils. Neon Dion. Joe Morris. OJ Anderson. The Lakers. Phil Simms. Dave Megget. The Posse. Dexter Manly. The Phillies. Mike Strahan. Jon Fox. Even Mike Martz. Kurt Warner. Trent Dilfer arghhhh. Jake Del??? Something. The Cowboys, Giants and Redskins winning a combined -7- Super Bowls since 1980. Amending The Billy Penn Law. The Rams. The Bucs. The Panthers.-------------The FALCONS????-------NO WAY.......NOT THIS TIME. The Nitemare will end Sunday at about 7:00 pm EST. Then The DREAM will start. Two weeks of Super Bowl Hype. Two weeks until the sports moment all Philadelphians have longed for, even Concrete Charlie will smile. We will get our chance to win it all. Because in the land of Football any team can beat any team on any given Sunday. Now that statement may make your stomach queasy this weekend but don't worry the Hay is in the Barn. We are going to the Bowl. It is time to squelch all the Negadelphians out there. The only thing keeping us from winning it all is 60 minutes on Sunday and another 60 minutes on February 6. Sure we will be under dogs to either the mighty Patriots or the in your face Steelers, BUT, BUT, BUT,-----------NOW IS THE TIME------------


ONE CITY ONE DREAM.

Randy Is the Greatest

I thought that would get your attention. After Randy Moss' most recent bone head manuevers I thought someone should take him off the cross before he starts to smell. I know it was dumb and selfish to leave his team with 2:00 left on the clock. I know it was classless to depict a mooning (or defacation which ever story you believe), and the coup de grace? Saying, "Whats $10,000 to me. Maybe next week I'll shake my @#&**##."
Classless? sure. Dirtbag? hell yeah! A breath of fresh air? Absolutely.
When we realize that a large portion of proffesional athletes are dirtbags and have no class but get by on rehersed, "We played a good team today" bullcrap, someone like randy moss is great. He speaks his mind and gives you a glimpse into what a large percentage of players think and feel. Don't you and haven't you always known that some millionare players have a disdain for and feel superior to the "fans"?
I know it sucks, which one of us wouldn't want to have his talent? But we don't, and we should hold those people who do to lofty standards. But when all is said and done isn't it nice to know, really know what an elite athlete thinks? I love it. I'm sick of the pat answers, the softball questions, the "We're going out and play our best against a worthy opponent."
Besides, isn't it great to have a villain. Do you want a buch of Tom Brady's running around?

The most obnoxious team in sports

^Walking into the Yankees training room, Joe Torre and Mel Stottlemyre are concerned about an arm in a cast. This arm doesn't belong to their ace pitcher, however-it's George Steinbrenner's, whose injury was a result of signing too many checks.

When I think of the New York Yankees one word comes to mind. Obnoxious! How else could you describe a team that year in & year out continues to out do themselves in the way of gluttony & greed. The team payroll has gone from a lofty $75 million in 1998 to the current $225 Million.(& counting)
They had a higher payroll than BOTH of the teams they faced in the 2004 playoffs.....Combined! What's more outrageous is that the Yank's will pay more in LUXURY tax this year(25.1 Mil) than the Tampa Bay Devil Rays will pay in total player salary. (24.4 Mil)



Jason Giambi, A-Rod, Kevin Brown, Gary Sheffied Roger Clemens & now Randy Johnson.....Some of the BIGGEST names in the sport have all donned the pin stripes in the last few years. Now the talk is of super-star center fielder Carlos Beltran, who is looking for a long term contract @ about 17 million a year.

How can their be any competitive balance when you have one team that's payroll is 223% higher than the league average? If baseball doesn't recognize this as a serious problem than they are kidding themselves. How can baseball survive long term in places like Pittsburgh, Oakland, Cincinnati or Florida? (all teams that have a championship history)

There is only one saving grace in all of this. That is teams like the A's, Angels, D-Backs & Marlins have all recently beaten the Yankees and done so w/ MUCH lower payrolls.



Still nowhere else in sports do you see such a have & have not situation No other sport where "team A" spends 10 times more than "team B"....No where. Whatever happened to an even playing field? Isn't that phrase derived from sports? Well wherever it came from one thing is for sure it didn't come from the Bronx.

A Positive Mind Set.

During the course of the day a lot of things could go wrong. Every thing good that occurs during a day is always countered by a bad thing. Every day is like a rollercoaster with peaks and valleys. Unless of course, you refuse to let the bad bother you. I am not saying to totally dismiss all the bad shit that happens. No. When something terrible happens, take a moment, learn from it, then on to the next. Life is to short to be bothered by bad in life. Most of the time it is bad because you are still thinking about it, let it go, move on to the next moment. My solution does not require you to take medication. It is simple. Think Positive. Think Positive. Yes, Think Positive. A positive mind set is the key to living a better life. For example, Every Winter when all the weak minded people are getting sick, all I keep hearing is "oh you going to get sick next" My response is always the same, "There is no way I am going to get sick, I will not allow it". Then they would tell me that I was crazy. Crazy. You want to know what is crazy? It is crazy that you would give in so fast and easy. I hate when people say I going to get sick next. No shit. With that attitude you are doomed, you will be as sick as a bird in no time at all. Think Positive.



The next time something bad happens, don't let it turn into a waterfall of dread. Wise up. Think Positive. It is so much more healthier, and it feels a lot better too. Take the good with the bad or more importantly the good with the good and the hell with the bad. You want to know what bad is, try living in China.



FEEL GOOD. LIVE STRONG. BE POSITIVE.

BOOM!

Watch closely as George W will go after our rights and access to the courts as he aims to curtail "frivolous" lawsuits. Lets not be naive about this. I know that there are silly and ridiculous lawsuits that make the front page, have Leno and Letterman guffawing and lead us all to believe that the system is in tatters. The truth of the matter is the courts are a great equalizer when a citizen has been wronged by a corporation. How else to penalize a company that was negligent?
And whenever new laws are introduced ask whom these new laws will benefit? These same corporations. Are these giants of capitalism going to pass these savings on to the consumer? Yeah right. Right after that CEO gets his 500 million (Sanford Weill, Citigroup, last five years) and the Chairman gets his new jet and new apartment in NY.
The kicker is who files frivolous lawsuits. Large corporations are responsible for four times the amount of lawsuits than individuals even though there are 40 times the amount of people. These lawsuits are often against customers, suppliers, workers, and competitors. Everyone knows how they intentionally drag their feet and prolong already lost litigation to make the litigant suffer. And remember that an attorney representing you and I doesn't get paid unless they win while corporations keep large amounts of attorney soldiers in their ranks or on retainer. The worst part is that these very same corporations are looking to be kept exempt from these new "reforms" thereby limiting our access to the courts but not theirs, in the name of protecting them.
I find it funny that GW gives us tax breaks, wants to privatize social security in the name of giving us more power in our lives. Why would he limit our right to sue corporations that harm or cheat us?
Sources: "Businesses file 4 times more lawsuits than citizens." Public Citizen press release, October 4, 2004. “Your Right to Sue” Jim Hightower, January 5, 2005.

A Ticking Bomb.

What makes an American tick? It is Simple. Being the Best. And the scary part is being the best isn't good enough anymore. We are a society that is constantly striding for perfection. We have adopted 2nd place is the 1st loser philosophy. We don't sit back and watch the paint dry. We keep going and going.


Just your average European lazy ass.

I had this guy complain to me about only having 15 paid vacation days a year. Why do you need more I asked? He told me that in Europe they get 6 weeks off a year. I told him to wipe the snot off his nose and suck it up. Why do you think we are the best I asked? He had no answer. Must I state the obvious. We don't go and lay on the beach in our speedos and work on our tans for a month and a half while the rest of the world gets stronger and more powerful by the second. We drag our asses out of bed every morning and go to work. Sure I would love to vacation more, but I am a realist, going to work is what makes us what we are. We don't live in snobby little France where they are required to take 2 months off from work a year. So they could sit their sorry butts in some posh cafe somewhere and talk about how cultured they are. I told that punk that if he wants 6 or 7 weeks off to go over to Europe and to have fun living in a country that is below us on the dept chart.


Typical American Hard Work.

A lot of people I have talked to lately have a lot on their mind. A lot of people are working extremely hard and are constantly striding to make things better not only for themselves but for all Americans. I know the world seems pretty unbalanced right now, but when I see some of my fellow Americans I feel good. I get the feeling sometimes that we are all Time Bombs set to go off at the same time. Something happens and boom. Lets fix this and lets go conquer the next obstacle. Every American has a Ticking Bomb inside them. When will you realize it? When are you going to do something about it? When are you going to learn something new? When are you going to put yourself out on a limb and take a chance? These are all an Americans options. The rest of the world either doesn't have the same choice or they refuse to respond to them. Remember we live in America. Home of the Brave and Land of the Free.



When is your Bomb, going to go off?

Alive in '05'

The New Year always brings new beginnings. At least that is how everybody in the US looks at it. I hope things continue to get better rather than worse. When I step back and look at the big picture I often wonder. What did people think about the world in January 1942? It probably looked pretty bleak. How about January 1968, things were already bad, then weeks later the TET Offensive in Vietnam, Before you know it sometimes you are knee deep in shit without even knowing it. January 1980, once again we were going in reverse. The Iranians had our Embassy held hostage. The economy was in the gutter, The Soviet Bear was waiting for us to stick our head between our legs and kiss our ass goodbye. Guess what not this country. It will be a cold day in hell before we cash in. Tough Times Don't Last, Tough People Do. We are a tough country right now. Things may seem like they are falling apart, but they are not. I have said it before so I am saying it again. We are the best in the world. You want to fuck with us. Bring it on. We will beat you with body shots. Yes I am talking to you China. You want to play with the big boys now. Bring it. We will bury you and your Yen right into the the ground. The United Nations wants to say we are not giving enough to the tsunami relief effort, when we already gave more than the whole world combined. They can go pound sand. We already proved we don't need those bunch of whinny little girls. Al Qaida wants to continue to take us on. Keep it coming towel heads. Because we are going to wipe all of you clean off the face of the planet when it is all said and done. Osama, you pussy, you are going to die this year, and if for some reason you continue to hide in one of your rat holes we will kill you next year. Remember it is never as bad as you think it is. Things will get better not because they have to but because we, you and I will make things better. So remember you are either with us or you are against us.

2005-------The year when the USA reasserts itself yet again.

Week 15 in the NFL

My biggest concern for week 15 is Andy Reid's handling of his team. Now this is a BIG RIVALRY game for the birds...the HATED Cowboys coming in to Philly for a game is usually a big deal. This time though, it's really an inconsequential match for the home team. I mean let's face it they will be the NFC's # 1 seed yet again and secure home field for this years championship game.(not sure if that's such a great thing)

My hope is that Coach Reid has some sort of script he plans to follow. I hope I'm watching Jeff Bake to Freddie "maybe the most over-rated player to ever play in this town" Mitchell. Not Mcnabb to T.O. trying to cash in on some STUPID cat-suit bet. Dorsey Levens should be the ONLY back to get the ball after half-time. If #36 gets the ball late in the game I'll be cringing w/ every carry.
Jevon "always 1 play away from the IR" Kearse should have his @ss firmly planted on the bench in the 4th quarter.

C'mon Andy be smart! The only game that's worth a damn is the one that you've failed to win the last 3 years. Your players aren't gonna volunteer to come out so you've got to make that decision for them. That's part of your job.
I'll be down there Sunday and I expect to see an Eagles win. How convincingly a win is of little consequence. After that I'm O.K. w/ the last 2 games of the year equating to nothing more than pre-season games. Let's go Eagles!

Now for my 4 star picks of the week in the NFL (last week 2 & 2)
1/ I like the Skins minus 5 over the 9ers
2/ I'll take Jacksonville plus the 3.5 against Green Bay
3/ Gimme the Bears minus the 1 over the Texans
And in what might be the "Game of the week"
4/ I like Cincinnati to win outright over the bills (& I'll take the point)

Carolina is Football Friday Pick of the Week

I know I took it on the chin last week with the Jets allowing the Steelers to score two late scores. But last week is last week. This week the game I like is Carolina at Atlanta. Atlanta is the home Favorite Giving 3.5. Atlanta needs a victory to secure that wanted first round bye. Carolina on the other hand needs this one and guess what they feel no pressure. Why? Because their season was over, dead in the water when they started 1-7. They were also devastated with injuries. They are currently a team that is on a mission from god right now. I expect this one to be close but I see Carolina pulling it out with a Field Goal in OT. 23-20 final.
For those of you who are interested. In the last nine games the money has gone to the under. My number is going to be just over for this one. One last note. THIS GAME IS A SATURDAY NIGHT GAME. So after you win with the Panthers you will have some money left to play with on Sunday.

Saturday
8:30 PM W/L ATS O/U
Carolina 6-7 8-5-0 5-7-1
Atlanta 10-3 6-7-0 3-10-0

Recent Meetings Carolina Atlanta
Date Away/Home Line ATS
10/3/2004 ATL 27 - CAR 10 -3.5/38 ATL/U
12/7/2003 CAR 14 - ATL 20 1/42 ATL/U
9/28/2003 ATL 3 - CAR 23 -6.5/36 CAR/U
11/24/2002 ATL 41 - CAR 0 3/37 ATL/O
10/20/2002 CAR 0 - ATL 30 -4/36 ATL/U
11/25/2001 ATL 10 - CAR 7 3/40 ATL/U
9/23/2001 CAR 16 - ATL 24 -3.5/40 ATL/P
10/29/2000 CAR 12 - ATL 13 3/44.5 ATL/U
9/17/2000 ATL 15 - CAR 10 -5.5/48.5 ATL/U
11/28/1999 ATL 28 - CAR 34 -4.5/41.5 CAR/O


BIG ANT RECENT TRENDS FOR CAR. @ ATL.
• Under is 7-1-1 in the last nine meetings.
• CAR is 6-1 ATS in their last seven overall.
• Over is 3-0 in CAR last three road games.
• Under is 17-5 in ATL last 22 overall.
• Under is 6-1 in ATL last seven games in Dec.
• ATL is 8-1 ATS in the last nine meetings.


PANTHERS RB NICK GOINGS IS ROCK SOLID. HE COULD PLAY ON BIG ANT'S TEAM ANYTIME.

and the people of Riyadh dance in the streets

today the FCC gave an ok to wireless internet on planes. great idea to make it easier for terrorists to communicate with people on the ground. why dont we just give them security passes and make it easier? if you are flying, bring a magazine or a walkman. no need to allow terrorist to talk via email about executing a plot.

way to go mets, you morons.

i am a lifelong mets fan and this pedro martinez signing is retarded. i might root for the twins this year or the pirates. they blew it last year with vlad, letting him go for undervalue, and now they are trying to make up for it with a moronic signing. if it is your policy not to sign injury risks like vlad then stick to it and dont change your philosiphy because the media gets on you for one bad decision.
pedro is a dumb signing because:
1. 4 years is too long for a pitcher in his mid-thirties.
2. 14 million a year is way over market price for pitchers of his calibur (radke 9 million and had a better era, wright 7 million per and had a better era, odalis perez and matt clement expected to make 9 million per and #s are better)
3. he has a 90% tear in the labrum in his shoulder and refuses to get an MRI for the Mets.
4. they are a young team and need to be patient.
5. they now have a hole at first base and they already had glavine, benson, zambrano, and traschel.
6. they still have no bullpen.
bottom line is that this is a team that had too many needs to sign one star player. they needed to spread out there money and not go for the publicity stunt. omar minaya got scared that he would leave the winter meetings empty handed so just overpaid for whoever. the good news is that pedro will be reunited with his buddy mo vaughn in a long list of stupid mets moves.

Week 14 in the NFL

In what is the meteoric, talent-depleted league known as the NFL, something truly amazing happened this week. The 4 & 8 Arizona Cardinals sent out Playoff ticket invoices. The NFL okayed the move under reasons of mathematical possibility. As a BIG hockey fan I've had to listen for years that " everybody makes the playoffs in hockey!" Well this case ...Involving the Cards is an absolute Joke! What team in ANY league that's playing .333 ball ships playoff invoices? Someone needs to send one of those invoices to the Smithsonian for their upcoming "fleecing of the American public" display.
Now could the Cards maybe squeeze into the playoffs?...Sure if they win out their last 4 games & the PITIFUL Seahwaks & Rams continue to falter.
Well for sake of everything right in the world I hope they make it. I'd hate to see those invoices shipped in vain.

Which brings me to my picks for this week: (For amusement only)
1/ Cardinals minus 7 over the abysmal 49ers
2/ Jacksonville minus 7 over Da Bears
3/ Cincinnati plus the 11 against the Pats
4/ N.Y. Jets plus the 6 over the Stillers
^ In fact I like the jets strait up...Me & A.C. already have the usual Bala surf & turf lunch on it!

My Fantasy players for week 14 are: (SLEEPERS/2nd options)
QB - Daunte Culpepper Min. (Leftwich)
RB - Willis Mcgahee Buf. (Portis)
RB - Shawn Alexander Sea. (J.Jones)
WR - Reggie Wayne Ind. (T. Holt)
WR - M. Muhammed Car. (J. Smith)
TE - T. Gonzalez K.C. (Crumpler)
Def/ST - Buffalo Bills (Jaguars)
Kicker - (Who the hell knows but lets say) Steve Christie (NYG)

Week of the Underdog

This week I like the dogs. Jets Seattle Texans Cleveland Oakland New Orleans Washington Cinncy.

I don't think they will win but I think most will cover. I think Vegas is jacking up the lines based on teams "must win" situations. Take the dogs get the points.

Football Friday Pick of the Week

The game that I picked this week is the NY Jets (9-3) @ the Pittsburgh Steelers (11-1) 4:05 pm. This game could be a preview of a second round playoff game. The game also features two former MAC conference QB's in Pennington vs Big Ben. Both teams need the win but I think the win would be more important for the Steelers who are trying to hold onto home field advantage. The Jets and Steelers are both 7-4-1 ATS this season, with the Steelers 6-0 at home vs. the number. In their last nine meetings against each other Pitt is 7-2 ATS. The weather looks like it won't be a factor on Sunday with a high around 40 and Partly Sunny Skies.

The line opened with Pitt -4 and has moved to -6. So it looks like the betting public loved the steelers early, and it now seems that the money has settled down with a slight advantage towards the Jets side.

The Steelers last game was by far the most physical game of the year agianst the Jags while the Jets coasted to a easy win vs Houston. Both teams run the ball well and also are good at stopping the run. The QB's are both good and have great O-Lines to protect them. I will look for this game to be a close one with the Steelers pulling it out once again at the end. The Steelers win 20-17. But the money goes to the JETS. So if you want to eat well Sunday night go with the J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS.


Chad Pennington's Jets are looking to upset Pittsburgh, But Big Ant doesn't think so. (AP)

Baseball's Black Eye(s)

I think I speak for just about everyone when I say I'm completely outraged with this steroid issue in Baseball. How has this dirty "LITTLE" secret been allowed to continue for as long as it has? While baseball may have benefited by the excitement generated in the last several years, what toll has it taken on baseballs history?

If you look over the past ten years players like Brady Anderson, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Jason Giambi, Gary Sheffield & of course Barry Bonds have cheated this once GREAT GAME.

Without the juice is it conceivable that a "decent" player like Brady Anderson ever hits 50 homers? Or how about 2 players both hitting more than 61* in the same season, when that record stood for almost 40 years and no one else even got close. It make me sick to see Mark McGwire's name ahead of players like Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle & Mike Schmidt on the all-time homerun list. And then you have Bonds who is destroying records of the greatest players of all time. I think what's so disturbing about Bonds' usage is the feeling by many that it was unnecessary. He would have hit 500 home runs and would've been considered by most to be the best player of this generation. Why did he need to taint his own legacy? If only his father the great Bobby Bonds juiced up maybe he'd be in the "500 club". (Bonds senior hit 332 dingers)

With this cheating in the game not only do legitimate records fall but perhaps the course of games (regular season & post season) are altered.

Some may feel that's a stetch but consider this.... Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, Jason Giambi hit his second home run of the game about 4 inches over the outstretched glove of Red Sox centerfielder Johnny Damon. Without that second homer the Sox most likely win 5-4 and go on to face the Florida Marlins in the 2003 World Series. Did the human growth hormone in Giambi's system add just enough bat speed to propel the ball that extra few inches over Damon's glove?
Just imagine if everybody else stooped to Giambi's level. What if Bernie Williams hadn't been so concerned with playing strait up? Maybe his fly ball to the wall in Game 5 of the '03 World Series would have climbed over and lifted New York to a 3-2 series lead. What if Jorge Posada popped a little HGH this season? Maybe then that BOMB he hit towards the short porch off Schilling in Game 6 of this year's ALCS would have reached the seats instead of dying @ the warning track. While steroids can't help you hit the ball it can turn a "deep fly" into a homer.

Baseball NEEDS to act swiftly & judiciously in their investigation into what has transpired here. The guilty players need to be delt with harshly. The baseball fans & youth of America need to know that taking short cuts & cheating is WRONG. Not only in athletics but in life itself.

Security???

Just recently I was visiting some people who live in a apartment building in downtown Philadelphia. When the security people (4 total) at the front door would not allow me to enter because my friend was not answering his intercom, (party) I turned to plan B. I figured that I will find another way in. Due to past experiences I know that there is always another way in and there is never security guarding the B entrance. So I simply walked around the building until I found a service entrance which is only accessible by truck. Well I fooled them, I walked right up the service ramp, in through the service doors and onto the service elevator. Sometimes it is that easy.

I know since 9/11 the big thing everywhere is Security and rightfully so. The problem is most of it is a giant facade. Sure it looks good to see 4 guys sitting at the front desk with walkie talkies taking their jobs seriously. But is it any safer than before. My answer is NO. What is scary is the things we don't see. The unguarded back/side doors and how easy it is to enter a building through any service entrance. I know If I am going somewhere and I can't get in through the front door I will get in somehow, someway with little or no effort.

The building I used to work at in Philly implemented a new security system after 9/11. But it did not take me long to notice the flaws in the system. For example, We had two main entrances. If on a particular day I forgot my ID card instead of going thru the trouble of finding somebody to sign me in. I would try the other entrance and most of the time get in. Another tactic I used was to give the guards the old hold my hand up and briefly show them whatever I have in my pocket at the time, and believe it or not that almost always worked. And finally the last trick that always worked was to go around into the alley and knock on the service entrance door. Guess what? Somebody always answered and never, not once questioned me. Now I know that I am a charming person but come on now. Security looks good and sounds good but in reality it is no different.

How do you feel about the security where you work or live?

Coming Soon to a War Near You...

Driving past Walter Reed Hospital earlier this evening reminded me of the human toll that Iraq has taken. Hopefully some day soon these badboys will be able to shoulder some of the load.

Next, hook them up to the internet with a Playstation controller and I'm sure that my nephews could take care of Al Qaeda all by themselves.

Settle a Bet

I picked up the Star Wars DVDs a couple of weeks ago and my girlfriend and I just got around to watching them. Aside from all the stupid animated shit that Lucas added, they look and sound very good.

So here's the argument that needs settling: I say that the R2D2 and C3PO that originally appeared in Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi are the same droids that also appeared in the earlier prequels - Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones.

My better-half thinks that the droids that appeared in Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones were really just generic models of R2D2 and C3PO rather than the "real" R2D2 and C3PO which were introduced beginning in Star Wars. Her argument is that they can't be the same droids because they would have known (and told someone) that Anakin Skywalker was really Darth Vader. Alternatively, the "old" Obi-Wan would have recognized them in Star Wars given that he had spent so much time with them when he was young, i.e., Ewan McGregor.

I don't really have a counter argument, other than it just seems more reasonable to assume that there's only one R2D2 and C3PO throughout the entire story.

The big loser has to pay for this year's Frazier Fir, so let me know what you think.

For What It's Worth

For What It's Worth
Buffalo Springfield



There's something happening here
What it is ain't exactly clear
There's a man with a gun over there
Telling me I got to beware
I think it's time we stop, children, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
There's battle lines being drawn
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind
I think it's time we stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
What a field-day for the heat
A thousand people in the street
Singing songs and carrying signs
Mostly say, hooray for our side
It's time we stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you're always afraid
You step out of line, the man come and take you away
We better stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, now, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, children, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down

Keeping my Fingers Crossed

I have a friend who has been placed in a difficult situation. He is a member of the Army Reserve…completed his training, served his allotted time and had returned back home in time to spend this past summer at the Jersey Shore. He began working for his dad who had a successful family business. He was working full time and learning a valuable trade, knowing one day he would inherit the family business.
In August, during his monthly "Army Weekend" he learned he would be sent to either Afghanistan or Iraq sometime within the next six months. This was no surprise to him and he proudly let us all know that he would be leaving. He was assigned this duty, and he would have to go. He never dwelled on the "what-ifs".
His deployment date was set for Monday November 27, 2004. He would be leaving behind a new girlfriend, all his buddies, but most importantly, his father who was quickly losing his battle with cancer. The cancer had only been recently discovered, so along with preparing for his deployment, my friend had been busy taking care of the business.
Unfortunately his father passed away on November 28th, 2004. He is waiting to hear about the status of his tour of duty. If they can assign another soldier, it may be delayed a few months, leaving him enough time to handle all the family business issues. I am keeping my fingers crossed that they find someone. He has not only inherited a business, but all the responsibility as well. He knows there is a great chance he will be sent ASAP, and he accepts this…but this is my question:
At what point, if any, should the U.S. Military change a soldier's orders, due to extenuating circumstances?

Business is Business

One day at kindergarten a teacher said to the class
of 5-year-olds, `"I'll give $2 to the child who can tell me who was the most famous man who ever lived."

An Irish boy put his hand up and said, "It was St.Patrick."

The Teacher said, "Sorry Sean, that's not correct. By the way, St.Pat was Italian."

Then a Scottish boy put his hand up and said, "It was St. Andrew."

The teacher replied, "I'm sorry, Hamish, that's not right either."

Finally, a Jewish boy raised his hand and said, "It was Jesus Christ."

The teacher said, "That's absolutely right, Marvin, come up here and I'll give you the $2."

As the teacher was giving Marvin his money, she said, "You know Marvin, since you're Jewish, I was very surprised you said " Jesus Christ."

Marvin replied: "Yeah. In my heart I knew it was Moses, but business is business."

A Hard Goodbye

Jason Gross holds his daughter Zaida, 1, as he says his goodbyes during a troop sendoff at Fort Hood, Texas. Hundreds of soldiers from the 725 MP Battalion and the 555 Forward Surgical team deployed from Fort Hood to Iraq. (AP Photo/Killeen Daily Herald, David Morris) (December 01, 2004)

The Top 100 Pop Singles of 1984

*1 WHEN DOVES CRY, Prince and the Revolution (Warner Brothers) (#1, July)
*2 WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT, Tina Turner (Capitol) (#1, Sept)
*3 SAY, SAY, SAY, Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson (#1, Dec 1983)
*4 FOOTLOOSE, Kenny Loggins (Columbia) (#1, March)
*5 AGAINST ALL ODDS (Take a Look at Me Now), Phil Collins (Atlantic)
*6 JUMP, Van Halen (Warner Brothers) (#1, Feb)
*7 HELLO, Lionel Richie (#1, May)
*8 OWNER OF A LONELY HEART, Yes (Atco) (#1, Jan)
*9 GHOSTBUSTERS, Ray Parker Jr. (Arista) (#1, Aug)
*10 KARMA CHAMELEON, Culture Club (Virgin) (#1, Feb)
*11 MISSING YOU, John Waite (EMI-America) (#1, Sept)
*12 ALL NIGHT LONG (All Night), Lionel Richie (Motown) (#1, Nov 1983)
*13 LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE BOY, Denise Williams (Columbia) (#1, May)
14 DANCING IN THE DARK, Bruce Springsteen (Columbia) (#2, June)
15 GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN, Cyndi Lauper (Portrait) (#2, March)
*16 THE REFLEX, Duran Duran (Capitol) (#1, June)
*17 TIME AFTER TIME, Cyndi Lauper (Portrait) (#1, June)
18 JUMP (For My Love), The Pointer Sisters (Planet) (#3, July)
19 TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP, The Romantics (Nemporer) (#3, Jan)
20 SELF CONTROL, Laura Branigan (Atlantic) (#4, June)
*21 LET'S GO CRAZY, Prince and the Revolution (Warner Brothers) (#1, Sept)
22 SAY IT ISN'T SO, Daryl Hall and John Oates (RCA) (#2, Dec 1983)
23 HOLD ME NOW, The Thompson Twins (Arista) (#3, May)
24 JOANNA, Kool and the Gang (De-Lite) (#2, Feb)
*25 I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU, Stevie Wonder (Tamla) (#1, Oct)
26 SOMEBODY'S WATCHING ME, Rockwell (Motown) (#2, March)
27 BREAK MY STRIDE, Matthew Wilder (Private I) (#5, Jan)
28 99 LUFTBALLONS, Nena (Epic) (#2, March)
29 I CAN DREAM ABOUT YOU, Dan Hartman (MCA) (#6, Aug)
30 THE GLAMOROUS LIFE, Sheila E. (Warner Brothers) (#7, Oct)
31 OH SHERRY, Steve Perry (Columbia) (#3, June)
32 STUCK ON YOU, Lionel Richie (Motown) (#3, Aug)
33 I GUESS THAT'S WHY THEY CALL IT THE BLUES, Elton John (Geffen) (#4, Jan)
34 SHE BOP, Cyndi Lauper (Portrait) (#3, Sept)
35 BORDERLINE, Madonna (Sire) (#10, June)
36 SUNGLASSES AT NIGHT, Corey Hart (EMI-America) (#7, Sept)
37 EYES WITHOUT A FACE, Billy Idol (Chrysalis) (#4, July)
38 HERE COMES THE RAIN AGAIN, The Eurythmics (RCA) (#4, March)
39 UPTOWN GIRL, Billy Joel (Columbia) (#3, Nov 1983)
40 SISTER CHRISTIAN, Night Ranger (Camel) (#5, June)
41 DRIVE, The Cars (Elektra) (#3, Sept)
42 TWIST OF FATE/TAKE A CHANCE, Olivia Newton-John (MCA) (#5, Jan)
43 UNION OF THE SNAKE, Duran Duran (Capitol) (#3, Dec 1983)
44 THE HEART OF ROCK & ROLL, Huey Lewis and the News (Chrysalis) (#6, June)
45 HARD HABIT TO BREAK, Chicago (Full Moon) (#3, Oct)
46 THE WARRIOR, Scandal Featuring Patty Smyth (Columbia) (#7, Sept)
47 IF EVER YOU'RE IN MY ARMS AGAIN, Peabo Bryson (Elektra) (#10, Aug)
48 AUTOMATIC, The Pointer Sisters (Planet) (#5, April)
49 LET THE MUSIC PLAY, Shannon (Emergency/Mirage) (#8, Feb)
50 TO ALL THE GIRLS I'VE LOVED BEFORE, Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson
*51 CARIBBEAN QUEEN (No More Love On the Run)
Billy Ocean (Jive) (#1, Nov)

* Song went #1

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Pact with the Devil

Yesterday, the DC City Counsel moved one step closer to bringing baseball back to the District when it voted to approve a publicly financed stadium. I can only take comfort in the fact that DC wasn't the first community to make a mistake like this and it certainly won't be the last.

When making an investment you expect a return. Whether you're buying stock, or a new piece of machinery for your business, or luring a baseball team, the analysis is the same - do the benefits outweight the costs?

Currently, the consultants hired by Major League Baseball have been able to convince six city council members that building a new stadium on the Anacostia River will result in an economic boon to the District. This is a total load of shit and here's why:

1. This will be the most expensive stadium ever built after its costs overrun the estimated $450M budget (on average public construction projects exceed their budget by 25%).

2. The District of Columbia Metropolitan area will see no economic benefit. Studies have consistently shown that spending does not increase with the addition of a stadium, it only shifts. That is, $100 spent going to a baseball game is merely reallocated from a fan's local community where it would have been spent at a restaurant, the movies, or on some other form of entertainment.

3. The Anacostia neighborhood will not get any better with the addition of a stadium. Anacostia is not just a shithole, it's a war zone. I would feel safer in Fallujah. Proponants should take another look at the area surrounding RFK stadium and ask whether the Redskins were able to affect an economic renaissance. Browndog is a tough doberman, but I would not get off at the RFK metro stop after dark.

The District of Columbia faces huge economic and social problems. Building a new stadium is not the answer. If Major League Baseball wants to come to the District, then they should be happy playing in a face-lifted RFK stadium. If not, I hope they find some other community of sucker sports fans who are willing to bend over.

Another example of why the UN is a joke

John Kerry bitched and moaned that Bush didn't form a "coalition" with the UN to go into Iraq. How did Kerry expect Bush to find a coalition in a corrupt organization? It was recently found that Kofi Annan's son was receiving payments as part of the food for oil program with the UN up until last year. Do you think this affected Annan's decision not to support the U.S. in an attack on Iraq? I don't know if it did or didn't. However, it is clear that both France and the Annan family benefited financially from us not attacking Iraq. The fact that Annan denies that he knew of his son's relationship is a joke. Annan was receiving money for a "non-compete" agreement, which generally means he had to do nothing to receive the money. My guess is his only contribution to the company was at the dinner table saying, "Dad, pass the salt, and don't vote to invade Iraq". I don't know how much Annan can influence things in the U.N., but I certainly can't see this helping him be objective in a major world issue.

IRAN

If the current war is not enough for you well guess what? Iran may be next. During the last five years these smelly dust heads have been flying under the worlds radar. They have been extremely intent on developing nukes. And working in Iran's favor, were three huge distractions during the last three years. 9/11, Afghanistan and Iraq. Thus supplying the smoke that Iran needed and wanted to develop weapons of mass destruction. In the mean time our government has never discounted the fact that Iran wants a piece of us. After all we have fueled their need to be a nuke nation. Like in the 2002 State of The Union Address the President labeled Iran a member of the axis of evil, along with Iraq and North Korea, we were warning them to fall in line or get ready for war. Guess what, this asshole Islamic republic will never give in to a free country like ours. And they think the only way we will respect them is if they posses nukes. Here is a News Flash Iran. You will be dealt with before you are a full blown nuclear power. Not to mention all of the other juicy reasons we have to wipe your Persian ass of the face of the planet. Like the fact that you are a breeding ground for terrorist(many believe Osama Bin Laden is holed up somewhere in Iran).



The premise for war in Iran will be no different than Iraq. Go in wipe out some terrorist and destroy everything else. Their is a couple of negatives though. Iran is almost triple the size of Iraq with almost 70 million morons. The Iranian military will also be a little more fit for a war than the once defeated Iraqis were. I think the strategy for war in Iran will be very different that the one for Iraq. Since there is no personal vendettas with Iran, I foresee a war with Iran being very surgical like the first Persian gulf war. It will mostly be an air war with little or no casualties. A major plus for the Persian campaign is the fact that we could strategically open a two front war with them. Since Iraq borders Iran on the west and Afghanistan on the east. Not to mention US friendly countries like Turkey, Turkmenistan and Pakistan.



Ultimently for us to go to war with Iran the Iraq war would have to be over, but don't discount our president. He feels we need to get them before they get us. There is one wildcard for a war with Iran and that is the possibility of us giving Israel the greenlight,and that could be very dangerous.

All that said the handwriting is on the wall. And I don't think there will be any avoiding a confrontation with Iran. The President has a plan. Iran will be Phase Two of Three in teaching the Axis of Evil a lesson.

Why Are We The Best In The World?

I think the pictures below are self-explanatory.







FYI World. The B-2 Bomber is already old news in the US Air Force. I can't wait to see what is next.

Sunday at 1pm; Piano Lessons

I think I’m done watching sports the rest of this year…maybe even next year too. It’s not that I don’t enjoy athletic competition, it is just that I’ve become increasingly disgusted in the behavior of players and fans at every level. In its purest form, I hold athletic competition as the crowning jewel of our advancing society. Yet, in the United States, I’m seeing a slow regression and tarnishing image of our athletes and fans that can only be comparable to urban gangs and third world soccer matches.
Just in the past month I’ve seen a scorn former collegiate athlete admit of economic compensation and lavish luxuries he and his teammates illegally received while in college. I’ve seen several pre and post game fist fights at both the collegiate and professional football level. I’ve seen professional basketball players mixing it up with obnoxious drunk fans in the stands. I’ve seen New York newspaper referring to their rival as the ‘Boston Idiots’ and their fan base as the ‘Idiot Fans’. I’ve seen a skit where a the best WR in football was seduced by a naked woman jumping into his arms in the locker room moments before the game and him saying, ‘Awwww hell, it looks like they are going to have to win this one without me!’. I’ve seen a football player get hit so hard he lost consciousness for 10 minutes, and ESPN announcers laughing in unison say, ‘He got JACKED UP!!’ I even had a personal incident a couple weeks ago while my girlfriend and I went to the Steelers/Eagles game in Pittsburgh. Against my better judgment, I let my Eagles faithful girlfriend wear her #93 Eagles jersey to the game. Even with my Steelers hat on, I felt like I was going to get in a fist fight around every corner. It was constant, viscous, obscene comments and jesters…and I thought to myself, ‘You know what, these people are real losers.’ Never in a million years would I ever say anything derogatory towards somebody because they supported an opposing team. It is just dumb. I went to an Eagles/Redskins game also, and I continued to see this behavior in reverse. It is just embarrassing. As a nation we celebrate the touchdown dance instead on the efforts of 10 other people on the field, and I even heard a college band this weekend play ‘Another one bites the dust’ as an opposing play laid injured on the field. We have lost something very fundamental and special in this country and I’m afraid we will never get it back. Sports, in its purest form, is the physical and mental competition between two teams opposing wills to win, and the spectators cheer there own teams efforts and equally respects the others. And I’m not seeing it.
So I guess I let the losers do their thing, sports served me well but I no longer need it, I’m going to learn how to play the piano instead.

FORTUNATE SON

Some folks are born made to wave the flag,
Ooh, they’re red, white and blue.
And when the band plays hail to the chief,
Ooh, they point the cannon at you, lord,



It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t no senator’s son, son.
It ain’t me, it ain’t me; I ain’t no fortunate one, no,



Yeah!
Some folks are born silver spoon in hand,
Lord, don’t they help themselves, oh.
But when the taxman comes to the door,
Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale, yes,



It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t no millionaire’s son, no.
It ain’t me, it ain’t me; I ain’t no fortunate one, no.



Some folks inherit star spangled eyes,
Ooh, they send you down to war, lord,
And when you ask them, how much should we give?
Ooh, they only answer more! more! more! yoh,



It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t no military son, son.
It ain’t me, it ain’t me; I ain’t no fortunate one, one.

It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t no fortunate one, no no no,
It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t no fortunate son, no no no,

The Pacers Pistons Brawl.

All I can say is Wow. What is going on in our society? Our social norms are out of control. Now, I am all for a little blood and guts, but come on now. Fans and athletes should never ever mix it up. I don't want to hear an argument for either side. Both sides were wrong. You can not act like that. It is uncalled for. We are not animals. I understand we are a country at war, and people are a little peeped up. But we have to learn to control ourselves. There is no excuses for what happened the other night in Detroit.

The bottom line is cooler heads need to prevail. We need to be in more control. Not sometimes but all of the time. It is easy to act like a jerkoff. It takes a little self-control to act like a Man. Somebody once told me that, Character is what you do when nobody is watching. Guess what, that is true. And those who were involved in that melee in Detroit, in some form or another displayed bad character.

Wake up America and ask yourself one question. When is enough of this behavior enough? These things happen in scumbag countries like Russia, not here in the USA. Lets stop behaving like animals and start acting like the best country in the world. We set the standards for everything in the world. So if we start acting like assholes, the rest of the world will think it is ok for them to act like assholes. Then we will really be in trouble.

A True American Hero.

Vietnam War Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient
Lance Corporal Roy Mitchell Wheat, USMC




Rank and organization: Lance Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps, Company K, 3d Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division. Place and date: Republic of Vietnam, 11 August 1967. Entered service a*: Jackson, Miss. Born: 24 July 1947, Moselle, Miss. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. L/Cpl. Wheat and 2 other marines were assigned the mission of providing security for a Navy construction battalion crane and crew operating along Liberty Road in the vicinity of the Dien Ban District, Quang Nam Province. After the marines had set up security positions in a tree line adjacent to the work site, L/Cpl. Wheat reconnoitered the area to the rear of their location for the possible presence of guerrillas. He then returned to within 10 feet of the friendly position, and here unintentionally triggered a well concealed, bounding type, antipersonnel mine. Immediately, a hissing sound was heard which was identified by the 3 marines as that of a burning time fuse. Shouting a warning to his comrades, L/Cpl. Wheat in a valiant act of heroism hurled himself upon the mine, absorbing the tremendous impact of the explosion with his body. The inspirational personal heroism and extraordinary valor of his unselfish action saved his fellow marines from certain injury and possible death, reflected great credit upon himself, and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.


JUST ONE OF THE MANY WHO MAKE THIS COUNTRY GREAT.