Month: February, 2008

God save the Queen and Matt Drudge is a douche bag

Matt Drudge is a douche bagMatt Drudge, founder of the Internet news site the Drudge Report ran a story on his rag of a website that told the world Prince Harry was fighting on the front lines in Afghanistan. Much of the British and American press knew he was over in Afghanistan, but they all agreed to keep the story secret until Harry and his regiment returned from Afghanistan. It was believed that if it was known that a member of the Royal family was in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban, it would create an extra risk not only for the Prince, but the rest of his unit.

Everyone was able to keep it a secret. Everyone except that douche bag Matt Drudge. He just had to let everyone know about it.

Because of Matt Drudge’s reckless disregard for the safety of Prince Harry and the rest of his unit, they are being withdrawn from Afghanistan. Their risk is just too high for him and the rest of the men in his unit.

My respect for Prince Harry is only matched by my contempt for Matt Drudge. Prince Harry didn’t have to put himself at risk and go to Afghanistan. His grandmother is the Queen of England and he is is third in the line of succession to the throne. Shame on Matt Drudge for putting his own desire for attention over the safety of Prince Harry and the rest of his unit.

24 Comments by Rick on February 29, 2008
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Michael George murder trial to begin today

From the Detroit Free Press:

Clinton Township police’s 17-year suspicion that Michael George killed his wife in the back of their comic book store finally reaches the courtroom today.

Jury selection is set to begin at 1:30 p.m. in the case, in which George is charged with the July 1990 shooting death of his 32-year-old wife, Barbara George.

Macomb County Assistant Prosecutor Steve Kaplan said he expects to call 43 witnesses in the reopened cold case. The trial could last more than three weeks.

Former Macomb County Prosecutor Carl Marlinga is representing George, 47. The case has garnered national attention. The NBC show “Dateline” is expected to feature it in a future episode.

One of my personal goals in life is to never appear on an episode of “Dateline”. No good can come of it.

1 Comment by Rick on February 26, 2008
filed in Books & Comics
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Republican congressman and John McCain co-chairman indicted

Republican Congressman Rick Renzi has been indicted for extortion, wire fraud, money laundering and other charges related to an Arizona land deal. The 26-page federal indictment accuses Renzi and two of his former business partners of conspiring to promote the sale of land that buyers could swap for property owned by the federal government.

Renzi was a co-chairman for Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s Arizona leadership team. Since the indictment has been handed down, Renzi’s name has been scrubbed off the McCain website. News that the FBI was investigating Renzi has been known for almost a year. Why then would McCain wait until now to distance himself from Renzi?

When asked, McCain had the following to say about Renzi:

“I’m sorry. I feel for the family; as you know, he has 12 children,” McCain told reporters on the presidential campaign trail. “But I don’t know enough of the details to make a judgment. These kinds of things are always very unfortunate…. I rely on our Department of Justice and system of justice to make the right outcome.”

Twelve kids? What’s Renzi trying to do, start his own country? The guy needs to go to prison for no other reason then to give his wife’s uterus a break.

We also now have one more reason not to vote for Senator McLovin. Not only does he make a man under investigation by the FBI a co-chairman for his campaign, he now can’t make a judgment concerning Renzi. Why not? One of the most important requirements for president is the ability to make snap decisions. A president doesn’t have the luxury of being wishy-washy when it comes to making decisions.

by Rick on February 23, 2008
filed in Politics
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Superbowl XLII swag proclaiming Patriots the champions ends up in Nicaragua


A while back I hypothesized that NFL swag incorrectly identifying the New England Patriots as the XLII Superbowl champs would end up in a village in Africa. As it turns out, I was actually right — sort of. It turned out not to be a village in Africa, but in Nicaragua.

Shirts and caps proclaiming the victory of the New England Patriots — when the American football team actually lost the latest Super Bowl — have ended up in the hands of poor Nicaraguan children.

That’s not to say some of this swag won’t turn up in Africa. I’m sure there is enough wrong swag for most of the third world. The Patriots were more or less crowned the Superbowl champs before the game was even played.

by Rick on February 21, 2008
filed in Sports
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Creepiest thing I have ever seen on the Internet


And I’ve seen quite a few creepy things on the Internet over the years. The music accompanying the video didn’t help.

1 Comment by Rick on February 19, 2008
filed in General
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Hagerstown Herald-Mail glorifies politician caught with kiddie porn

In today’s Herald-Mail, there was a front page article on Robert McKee. He is the state delegate recently caught with child pornography. Two weeks ago sheriff deputies obtained a search warrant to enter his home where they discovered a substantial amount of child pornography including computer images, video tapes, and magazines.

Did the Herald-Mail investigate the matter further and find out why it took two weeks for anyone at the newspaper to find out about this? Did they discover why McKee was allowed to continue working as the executive director of Big Brothers & Big Sisters?

No. They ran a story that glorified Robert McKee for all of the wonderful things he has done over the years. This man who possessed a substantial amount of kiddie porn.

The most revolting part of the article was where they talked about the wonderful things he has done for Little League:

Williams, the president of Williamsport’s Conococheague Little League, said McKee regularly volunteered to be a district representative at games.

“He was for the kids,” he said. “He was great for Little League.”

He was for the kids? Gee, I wonder why this sick freak was so interested in the kids.

4 Comments by Rick on February 17, 2008
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Chelsea Clinton gets snarky

Chelsea Clinton was out campaigning for her mother in Wisconsin when she fielded a blunt question from the audience. I thought he answer was not only snarky, it was quite telling. From the New York Times:

“Has your mother shown any remorse for the fact that her vote cost Iraqis a million of their lives?” a student asked Chelsea Clinton on Monday at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Ms. Clinton replied: “She cast a vote based on the best available evidence. Perhaps you had clairvoyance then, and that’s extraordinary.”

The fact of the matter is that Hillary constantly harps on the point that she has more experience then her opponent. I guess that would mean something if she had a track record of being right about things.

She has a lot of experience in being wrong.

She was wrong about her husband having a sexual relationship with a 22 year old intern. She blamed a vast right-wing conspiracy, not that her husband had resumed his adulterous ways. He obviously didn’t have a clue that her husband was getting it on with one of his interns. She was not only wrong, she lacked the imagination to even contemplate that something was wrong.  Remember, it wasn’t the first time her husband had strayed.

She was then wrong about Iraq. Not only was she wrong, she refuses to now admit her vote was wrong. The only thing worse then someone who gets something wrong is someone who refuses to admit their mistakes. You can’t learn from your mistakes if you can’t first admit — even to yourself — that you’ve made a mistake.

Hillary Clinton doesn’t seem to grasp that concept.

It seems Chelsea Clinton seems doesn’t realize some of us actually thought it was a mistake to invade Iraq from the very beginning. Twenty-one Democratic senators voted against H.J.Res. 114. None of those senators had magical powers. They were right. Chelsea’s mother was wrong.

We don’t need a president with experience in always being wrong.  I think we’ve had more then enough of that type of president.

by Rick on February 17, 2008
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Pride in a president

Conservative blogger Andrew Sullivan posted a letter from one of his readers explaining why they are supporting Barack Obama for president. It’s a powerful letter nicely sums up just why I voted for him earlier this week and hopefully will be voting for him again this November:

There’s one salient reason why people of my age are supporting Obama and that’s because we feel that Obama will finally show us what it means to be proud of our president.

I read more than I should about politics and US history and am always confused as to how Americans can love their president so. Intellectually I understand why Americans love(d) Lincoln and the Roosevelts but I never felt why they did.

Andrew, people my age are too young to remember Bill Clinton. All we have is George W. Bush. The office of the President to us is a mockery. We don’t link President Bush to concepts such as leader, we link it to ignorance and idiocy. Most people my age have never felt proud of our President. We grew up on the Daily Show, we only know how to make fun of him and mock him.

I attended an Obama rally a few days ago and was amazed at how filled up with emotion I was. Halfway through his speech, other 21 year olds just like that filled the Hall were screaming their heads off, waving banners, and grinning. Everyone was giddy, hell even I was giddy. I was smiling and chanting along to “Yes We Can.” I didn’t know what that feeling was because I had never felt it. But then I realized it. It was pride. I was proud of Obama.

I know you’ve felt proud of Reagan and others have felt proud of Bill Clinton. I can’t wait to actually know what it feels like to be proud of my President and not embarrassed by him. That’s why at least my generation is turning out in droves to make Obama president. We’ve finally got a taste of what it feels like to be proud of our President and we’re not giving that feeling up.

4 Comments by Rick on February 16, 2008
filed in Politics
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Maryland delegate under investigation for child pornography

From the Hagerstown paper of record, The Herald-Mail:

Maryland Del. Robert A. McKee, R-Washington, on Friday announced his resignation from the House of Delegates after information surfaced that deputies, acting on information that child pornography was in the residence, searched his Halfway home on Jan. 31.

During the search, investigators seized two computers, about 30 videotapes and a “significant amount” of printed material, including magazines, Washington County Sheriff Douglas Mullendore said Friday afternoon during a press conference.

No charges have been filed.

McKee, in a faxed statement, also said Friday that he had resigned from his position as executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Washington County, an organization he said he served for 29 years.

Yes, that’s right. When this asshole isn’t carrying out his duties as our elected representative in Annapolis, he is running the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Washington County. You just can’t make this kind of stuff up.

Even though authorities found a “significant amount” of child porn in the delegate’s home over two weeks ago, he remains free. He has yet to be placed under arrest. How much child porn does one have to amass before being placed under arrest? This asshat should have been forced to announce his resignation from the House of Delegates from a jail cell. This is why we have jail cells. Why hasn’t he been placed under arrest?

McKee was present when the search warrant signed by Washington County Circuit Judge W. Kennedy Boone III was executed, said Mullendore, who knows McKee personally.

I guess it’s safe to say if you are going to be a collector of child porn, it pays to be friends with the local sheriff.

1 Comment by Rick on February 15, 2008
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Jury in Michael George murder trial will be told of marital infidelities

Michael George MugshotThings are not looking good for comic book retailer and Pittsburgh Comicon promoter Michael George.

From this morning’s Detroit Free Press:

Allegations that Michael George cheated on the wife he is accused of killing will be allowed in his upcoming trial, a Macomb County Circuit Court judge ruled Thursday.

George, 47, is to go on trial Feb. 26 in the July 13, 1990, death of his wife, Barbara George, 32, who was shot in the head in the couple’s Clinton Township comic book store.

Judge James Biernat made several other rulings Thursday: He denied George’s request to exclude testimony about his behavior after his wife’s death — such as witnesses’ accounts that he wore sunglasses to and flirted with other women at his wife’s funeral. He also denied George’s request to quash charges of insurance fraud.

His own lawyers admit he committed acts of adultery with more then one woman. I would say this is a very bad development.

by Rick on February 15, 2008
filed in Books & Comics
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Coming to you from insignificant Maryland

From MSNBC’s First Read:

“Could we possibly have a nominee who hasn’t won any of the significant states — outside of Illinois?” Chief Strategist Mark Penn said. “That raises some serious questions about Sen. Obama.”

Significant states? Does that mean the only states Obama has won — such as Maryland — are insignificant?  At least we weren’t called poopy heads.

1 Comment by Rick on February 14, 2008
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Roger Clemens and his twerpy looking strength coach

Thanks to the fact that I felt like dog poo today and called off work, I was able to sit at home in my rbrian-mcnamee.jpgeclibrian-mcnamee.jpgner and watch Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee testify before Congress about performancing enhancing drug use. I would have listened to the hearing if I was at work, but I would have missed out on a lot of the details if I had only listened to it on XM.

I’m not even sure why Congress is investigating this. From what I can tell, Clemens either used or didn’t use steroids and human growth hormones before they were even banned by Major League Baseball. Plus, at least some of his supposed performance enhancing drug use happened when Clemons was in Toronto. The last time I checked, Toronto was in a different country.

I don’t know what a strength and conditioning coach is supposed to look like, but I’m pretty sure they are not supposed to look like this guy. Could Roger Clemens have found a bigger nerd then McNamee to be his strength coach?

I have no idea if Roger Clemens used steroids or human growth hormones or B-12 shots or egg white omelettes or skinless chicken breasts. I really don’t care. I do think he should be kept out of the Baseball Hall of Fame. The reason? For hiring an Ichabod Crane lookalike to help him lift weights.

For that, he should be forever banned from Cooperstown.

1 Comment by Rick on February 13, 2008
filed in Sports
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Yet even more fun with Psoriasis

I woke up this morning and felt like total crap. I’ve been taking the chemotherapy drug Methotrexate for my psoriasis. I take two pills Monday evening, two pills Tuesday morning, and two more pills Tuesday evening. I don’t take any more until the following Monday evening. The side effects of Methotrexate include among other things, anemia. I don’t know if that’s what I have now. I only know that I feel like shit.

I had to call in to work this morning and take 8 hours of personal time. To say this has been frustrating is a complete understatement.

My hands are still a complete mess. They aren’t getting better. I don’t feel or see any improvement. They are still severely cracked and the skin on my fingers is hard and inflexible. Some days at work I can barely hold tools. Yesterday I was installing a ribbon cable into a connector when I noticed red marks on the ribbon cable. I quickly realized it was my own blood. One of the fissures on my hand had begun to bleed.

This actually happens a lot.

I’ve read that the worse place you can get psoriasis is the soles of your feet. When the skin cracks, it becomes painful to walk. I’m not disputing that, but I honestly believe the worse place to get it is on your hands. At least if it was on my feet, I would be wearing socks and shoes. Nobody could see it. I wouldn’t have the never ending fear of bleeding on something. I wouldn’t worry about situations where I am expected to shake someone’s hand. I wouldn’t worry about a sales person reacting with revulsion when they hand me my change. I am just getting extremely tired of it.

I want to stop taking the Methotrexate. It’s not even working. Even if it did work, it’s not a long term, permanent answer to psoriasis. I can not take Methotrexate forever. From what I can tell from reading the literature, it would eventually destroy my liver.

4 Comments by Rick on February 13, 2008
filed in Psoriasis
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I voted

Today is the day Maryland, Virgina, and Washington D.C. hold their primary elections. People are calling it the Potomac Primary after the nasty, dirty river that runs through all three places. Here in Hagerstown, you couldn’t ask for a nastier day to vote. It has been snowing and sleeting most of the day.

Sheri and I voted at nearby Hagerstown Community College. There wasn’t that many people their casting votes. It was probably the smallest crowd I’ve seen voting at the college. I don’t know if it’s because of the weather or because most of the people living here are Republican. Maybe it was a combination of the two. I probably wouldn’t vote either if I could only vote for one presidential candidate.

Something funny happened as I was going over my ballot and double checking my votes. My cell phone started to ring. Are you even allowed to answer your phone while standing in the voting booth? They never covered that in my high school government class. That’s probably because they hadn’t invented the cell phone yet. I decided to go ahead and answer it. It turned out to be a taped message from Michelle Obama reminding me to go out and vote. As I was listening to her speak, I was looking at my ballot making sure the “X” was next to her husband’s name. It was a surreal moment.

by Rick on February 12, 2008
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Why was Keith Olbermann not suspended by MSNBC?

From Keith Olbermann’s Sept 20, 2007 “Special Comment“:

And in pimping General David Petraeus, Sir, in violation of everything this country has been assiduously and vigilantly against for 220 years, you have tried to blur the gleaming radioactive demarcation between the military and the political, and to portray your party as the one associated with the military, and your opponents as the ones somehow antithetical to it.

So why can Keith Olbermann use the p-word when describing a four-star Army general, but David Shuster gets suspended for using the word in connection to 27 year old Chelsea Clinton?

My guess it’s because General Petraeus doesn’t care what someone like Keith Olbermann says about him, while Senator Clinton chose to make a Big Deal out of Shuster’s comment. Playing the victim doesn’t look too presidential to me.  If she wants to be president, she needs to buck it up just a little bit. Chelsea Clinton’s not a 12 year old little girl anymore. She is an educated, grown woman that makes her own choices.  She agreed to personally call celebrities and superdelegates to ask them to vote for her mother.  No one forced her.

Hillary Clinton threatened to not participate in a debate sponsored by MSNBC later this month. We should be very leery of politicians that threaten news organizations.

2 Comments by Rick on February 11, 2008
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Why I hate New England sports fans

Evidently there are some New England Patriots fans that want the NFL to investigate the final 1:22 of the Superbowl. They contend that the clock was stopped when it should not have been. They have an online petition that so far as garnered 16,340 signatures. I’m not sure how many of those are fake. I’m sure quite a few people signed in jest.

I signed the petition as Nomar McWhiner.

Even if 10% of the signatures are legit, that’s far too many. It’s pathetic.

From reading the petition, it appears they want the game replayed. Like that is going to happen. If steroid junkie Rodney Harrison has made a play against David Tyree, Patriot fans wouldn’t be whining about anything. They certainly wouldn’t be asking the NFL to investigate so they can replay the game.

I would think the last thing any Patriots fan would want is the NFL to do any more investigating.

by Rick on February 10, 2008
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I guess the writers strike is over

The rank and file members of the Writers Guild of America still have to vote, but it appears the 14 week writers strike is almost over. From the Washington Post article:

The most immediate beneficiaries of a settlement could be the thousands of production workers — grips, caterers, camera operators, makeup artists — who were thrown out of work when the writers struck. Although movie production mostly continued during the strike, TV shows on both coasts quickly came to a halt when the strike began Nov. 5.

This has been precisely my contention from the very beginning; This strike was highly damaging to a vast amount of people that work behind the scenes on TV shows. People that never stood to gain a single penny from Internet residuals.

Also from the Washington Post article:

On the key issue of compensation for work streamed over the Internet, both sides gave a little. The studios and their network allies originally asked the guild for time to study the issue and declined to offer any residuals for digital media when talks broke off in early December. The guild, in turn, held fast, arguing that writers had to share in the profits of what may become the preeminent way to view filmed entertainment.

But the writers never wanted to share in the profits. The writers have always insisted that they be paid whether their work generates a profit or not. Their cut has always come from the gross, not the net.

by Rick on February 10, 2008
filed in Entertainment
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Redskins hire Jim Zorn as head coach

Redskins hire Jim Zorn as head coachWashington Redskins owner Dan Snyder interviewed ten candidates for the vacant head coach position. In the end, he decided not to hire any of them. Instead, he promoted the newly hired offensive coordinator Jim Zorn to be the head coach. I think this makes the 16th head coach the Redskins have had since Danny bought the team.

Coach Zorn issued a statement through the Redskins:

“I’ve always dreamed of being a head coach with a franchise rich in tradition like the Redskins,” Zorn said in a statement released by the team. “As a player who had to fight Redskins teams at RFK as well as at our home field, I know about the history of this franchise as well as the passion of its fans. I won’t let you down.”

I remember when Zorn played quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks. I didn’t know teams in the AFC West played that many games in the NFC East. It turns out he did play at RFK. Once. The Seattle Seahawks played the Washington Redskins in RFK on September 28, 1980. I looked it up. That’s the only time a team Zorn was a part of ever played in RFK. So what does Coach Zorn mean the he had to fight Redskins teams at RFK?

Great. He hasn’t even been introduced as the new head coach and he is already starting out by lying. He should fit right in.

by Rick on February 9, 2008
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Ron Paul quits

It appears Ron Paul is throwing in the towel. I’m not sure why. Just because he has no chance of becoming the Republican nominee shouldn’t stop him or his campaign. He never stood a chance to begin with.

I wonder how much of that money he still has. He very well might need it to win back his congressional seat. I’m not sure if his vanity run for president is costing him back home like it is Dennis Kucinich, but I wouldn’t be shocked if it was. Just because Ron Paul got real popular with guys on the Internet doesn’t mean he did with the folks back home.

What do the members of the Ron Paul cult do now? Scientology is always looking for people.

Here is a message he sent to his followers:

February 8, 2008

Whoa! What a year this has been. And what achievements we have had. If I may quote Trotsky, of all people, this Revolution is permanent. It will not end at the Republican convention. It will not end in November. It will not end until we have won the great battle on which we have embarked. Not because of me, but because of you. Millions of Americans — and friends in many other countries — have dedicated themselves to the principles of liberty: to free enterprise, limited government, sound money, no income tax, and peace. We will not falter so long as there is one restriction on our persons, our property, our civil liberties. How much I owe you. I can never possibly repay your generous donations, hard work, whole-hearted dedication and love of freedom. How blessed I am to be associated with you. Carol, of course, sends her love as well.

Let me tell you my thoughts. With Romney gone, the chances of a brokered convention are nearly zero. But that does not affect my determination to fight on, in every caucus and primary remaining, and at the convention for our ideas, with just as many delegates as I can get. But with so many primaries and caucuses now over, we do not now need so big a national campaign staff, and so I am making it leaner and tighter. Of course, I am committed to fighting for our ideas within the Republican party, so there will be no third party run. I do not denigrate third parties — just the opposite, and I have long worked to remove the ballot-access restrictions on them. But I am a Republican, and I will remain a Republican.

I also have another priority. I have constituents in my home district that I must serve. I cannot and will not let them down. And I have another battle I must face here as well. If I were to lose the primary for my congressional seat, all our opponents would react with glee, and pretend it was a rejection of our ideas. I cannot and will not let that happen.

In the presidential race and the congressional race, I need your support, as always. And I have plans to continue fighting for our ideas in politics and education that I will share with you when I can, for I will need you at my side. In the meantime, onward and upward! The neocons, the warmongers, the socialists, the advocates of inflation will be hearing much from you and me.

Sincerely,

Ron

by Rick on February 9, 2008
filed in Politics
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More creepy Chris Berman videos

I normally try not to post too many YouTube videos, but that rule goes out the window if it’s something that makes ESPN’s resident blow hard Chris Berman look like the douche that I know he is.In this clip, we see Chris Berman get kind of creepy with a female named Rebeca on the set for Berman’s Monday Night Football half-time segment. He gave her a bottle of wine for Christmas and he is asking if she enjoyed it. “Did you think of me when you drank it? Did you squirm a little bit?” He asks while gyrating in his chair.

Squirm? I know I winced while watching this video.

I’m not sure, but I think Berman is trying to do an offensive Asian impersonation. Rebeca told Berman that she drank the bottle in a Japanese restaurant. Pay close attention to the video at the 35 second mark. I think that is Berman trying to do an offensive Asian impersonation.

It’s obvious Berman knows just a little too much about wine and it’s a miracle that he has never been the focus of a sexual harassment lawsuit. It’s also obvious with the way these videos are being leaked that someone over at ABC hates Berman more then I do.

I didn’t even know that was possible.

2 Comments by Rick on February 9, 2008
filed in Sports
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Now Congress is investigating baseball player wives

Wondering what Congress is doing about ending the war in Iraq? They are too busy investigating Major League Baseball. Specifically, they are looking into steroid and human growth hormone use by players before such substances were banned by Major League Baseball.

Not only are they sniffing around to find out what former players such as Roger Clemons were taking, they are evidently investigating baseball player wives.

From the New York Daily News:

Brian McNamee told congressional investigators Thursday that Roger Clemens’ wife took human growth hormone before she appeared with the pitcher in Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue in 2003, according to a Washington source.

I understand why Congress is looking into steroid and human growth hormone use by baseball players. The Constitution is quite specific that Congress is to provide oversight over professional sports leagues.* It doesn’t say anything about their wives.

* No it doesn’t. I was being sarcastic. I do that sometimes.

5 Comments by Rick on February 8, 2008
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You can now subscribe by email

I didn’t realize that Feedburner offered the option of email subscription until I subscribed to someone’s Feedburner feed today and I had the option of subscribing by email. It was then that I put two and two together. I guess I should go over to Feedburner every once in a while and check out what they have to offer.

So if you would like to subscribe to my blog’s feed by email, you may now do so.

1 Comment by Rick on February 7, 2008
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This cracked me up

I was checking out the forum over at Democratic Underground when I read this post from a Hilary Clinton supporter. She is planning on voting for Clinton not because she agrees with her positions or because she thinks Clinton represents the what we need in our President. No, she is voting for Clinton because the people at Democratic Underground have pissed her off.

From Democratic Underground user Writer:

You’ve done it. I can’t even begin to annunciate just how furious I am with many of the posters in this forum. I have never seen such hate. I have never seen such embittered enmity carried to the point where sexist insinuations are justified. You disgust me. You disgust me to the point where I absolutely, under NO circumstances, will vote for Barack Obama tomorrow in my state. And I will be sure that my husband does the same and that every caucus goer does as well.

The reasons for voting AGAINST Hillary Clinton are underwhelming, vindictive, and petty. To take pictures of her CRYING – showing HUMAN EMOTION – then using that as a reason for her somehow being UNFIT is despicable.

The reasons to vote FOR Hillary Clinton were made evident to me in the last debate.

You are an abomination to this party, to this era, and to women in this country.

I am now a committed Hillary Clinton supporter.

~Writer~

So not only will she be voting for Clinton out of spite towards the other Democratic Underground members, she making her husband vote for Clinton too. I don’t know how she is going to do this exactly, but she did refer to her state as having a caucus, not an election. It isn’t like he will be able to get into a booth and have some privacy from his wife and vote for who he wants to vote for.

Women telling their husbands who they can vote for. That’s what I call progress.

by Rick on February 6, 2008
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Bob Knight throws in the chair

Bobby Knight
Texas Tech Basketball Coach and all around jerk Bob Knight has called it quits. Sources say that Knight told Athletic Director Gerald Myers that he was ready to quit and tired of coaching.

He didn’t even give two-weeks notice.

by Rick on February 4, 2008
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Hitler’s lost U-boat fleet found in Black Sea

During World War Two, Nazi Germany transported six U-boat submarines 2,000 miles overland from Germany to attack Russian shipping in the Black Sea. The subs operated out of Romania for over two years, hunting and sinking dozens of Russian ships.

When Romania switched sides and declared war against Germany, it left the remaining three subs – three had already been lost in combat – with nowhere to go. They were scuttled by their crew as the war neared its end.

The location of the three U-boats has been a mystery. Until now.

Selçuk Kolay, a Turkish marine engineer, has located one of the subs two miles off the coast of Turkey sitting 8o feet under the surface. He believes he knows the location of the remaining two.

I’ve always wanted to dive a U-boat. There are about seven that can be reached by SCUBA here on the east cost of the United States. I got to dive ship wreaks while I was in the Air Force and stationed on Guam. There is one Japanese tanker from Word War Two sitting atop a German cruiser from World War One. I once dove deep enough so that I could put one hand on the German ship while placing my other hand on the Japanese tanker. It turned out to be highly anticlimactic.

Guam had a lot of cool dive sites. It didn’t have any U-boats.

Link (Telegraph.co.uk)

5 Comments by Rick on February 4, 2008
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Do not forget to defrag

My PC has been running slow lately. When I would check out the performance in Windows Task Manager, the CPU would often show something close to 100%. I thought it had something to do with Firefox since it was when I had several tabs and even browser windows running when the problem showed up. Then again, my PC usually has a couple Firefox windows up all of the time.

It wasn’t until I tried setting up my new external hard drive that my PC was heavily fragmented.

If you are Mac user or a fake UNIX (Linux) user, you probably don’t even know what a fragmented hard drive is. It’s something only we Microsoft users have to deal with. I used to be hyper diligent when it came to defragmenting my hard drives. Over time I just got out of the habit of doing it. I guess one of the reasons I let the task fall to the wayside was because I don’t think I’ve ever fixed a PC problem by running Defrag. It was always just something I did before actually finding the real cause of whatever problem I was dealing with.

Since defraging my C: drive, I’ve noticed a remarkable difference. It’s ridiculously fast now.

1 Comment by Rick on February 3, 2008
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Local judge calls three black female lawyers ‘Supremes’

The SupremesWhat better way to celebrate the beginning of Black History Month then to read an Associated Press story about a local judge being reprimanded for making disparaging comments about three black female public defenders?

Last April, Washington County Circuit Judge W. Kennedy Boone referred to the three lawyers as “The Supremes” and told a defendant to get “an experienced male attorney.” He has acknowledged that his comments suggested racial and sexual bias. Boone said he was trying to protect the three public defenders from representing a difficult defendant.

But isn’t that their job? Women can do any job a man can do. That includes representing criminal defendants. Even if they are male.

I discussed this issue on a message board for people local to the Hagerstown area. Most people didn’t think this was that big a deal. Some said that it was actually a compliment since The Supremes are a famous singing group and maybe the judge was a fan of their music. I don’t agree. The only thing these three lawyers had in common was the color of their skin and their sex.

It would be like me referring to three black men as the Harlem Globetrotters. If I were to say something like that where I work, I would most likely be fired. This man is a judge.

It’s just another strike against Hagerstown concerning racism and how the rest of the country sees when they take a look at us. Things like this make me cringe. Recently our city got some negative exposure in the national media after the plan to rename a street after baseball great Willie Mays received negative response from some in the community and the plan eventually failed because of it. Mays played his first professional baseball game here in Hagerstown. Hagerstown’s former mayor William Breichner thought race was a factor in the public response that led to the end of the proposal.

I was embarrassed after the Willie Mays street renaming controversy and I feel embarrassed over this controversy. It makes us look like a bunch of ignorant racist hicks. Stuff like this only makes it harder to attract good companies bringing good wages to the region.

8 Comments by Rick on February 2, 2008
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