Fleeing Thought: the Cubs

-The Chicago Cubs have the best record in baseball. The last time the Cubs had the best record in baseball on June 1st was in 1908. That was the last year they won the World Series.

Fleeing Thoughts: sports, politics and religion

-So, I turned on the Cubs game earlier this afternoon and they were stinkin' it up, losing 9-1 to the Colorado Rockies. They were playing like clueless punks with no sense of how to do anything right, arms flailing about as players tried to track down line drives, that sort of thing. I chalked it up to the age old piece of wisdom that you can't win them all. Well, maybe I was wrong. I turned the game on again, bottom of the 8th, surprise, surprise, Cubs are up 10-9. Kerry Wood proved himself valuable (and me wrong about his value) once again by shutting the Rockies down in the top of the 9th to give the Cubs their 5th win in a row. I think this is for real, the vibe is beyond good, this feels like the White Sox in 2005 (you remember them, they won the World Series?).

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Have you seen this video? If you watched the news at all in the last 24 hours, you've probably seen at least a snippet of the Rev. Pfleger acting like a jack-ass at Barack Obama's church. Thankfully, Cardinal George sat him down today, read him the riot act, and told him to stay apolitical as per church rules regarding priests. Hopefully the Cardinal also informed Father Pfleger that he is not a black preacher and should stop pretending to be one.

Harvey Korman 1927-2008

No Mustache Rides in the White House

This is Bob Barr. He's running for president. Of the United States. As a Libertarian. The Libertarian thing alone will ensure that he won't be elected , but there's also the issue of the mustache. No president since William Howard Taft has had a mustache (or facial hair of any sort), and he left office in 1913. Thomas Dewey and his crumb catcher camethisclose to being elected in 1948, but clean shaven Harry Truman, contrary to what the Chicago Tribune thought, prevailed. We, the people, apparently like our presidents whisker-free. Why is that? I'm sure there's a psychological reason of some sort, I just don't know what it is.

Happy Memorial Day

Alright America, start your engines, get your motor runnin', head out to the highway, or maybe just stay at home because you can't afford the gas for your car. Whatever, relax, enjoy yourself, watch some motor sports from the great state of Indiana, have a beer and a hamburger, think about Livin' in the USA, and remember those that gave all to make living in a free country possible. And while you're doing all that ruminating on God and Country and Beer and Open Wheel Racing, listen to the Cactus Cuties and wonder to yourself, or to someone else, a significant other perhaps, "How come professional adult singers don't sound this good when they perform the National Anthem?" And to top it all off, the Cactus Cuties are just plain adorable, too.

Kennedy

The article in the New York Times has the air of an obituary but, since Senator Edward M. Kennedy has not yet gone toward the light, the article is actually an appreciation. It's an appreciation of what Kennedy has done while in public service (he's been a senator longer than I've been alive, and I'm not all that young), but more tellingly about the man and his character, the article shows the appreciation Kennedy's colleagues have for him.

The emotion expressed by senators, both Republican and Democrat, was one of genuine sadness that their comrade might not be around much longer. Why is this, that a conservative Republican like Lindsay Graham might feel such a sense of loss at the thought of a liberal icon like Ted Kennedy no longer being around.

For one thing there is the reassuring continuity of someone who has been in the Senate since 1962, reassuring in the sense that, while power is fleeting and crises come and go, there are some things, like the presence of Ted Kennedy on the Senate floor, that remain a constant. And constancy is reassuring.

Even more important is the fact that Kennedy is an old fashioned politician, in the sense that he is always willing to give a little to get a little. He doesn't burn super hot, scorching the earth, like Newt Gingrich did in the House, taking no prisoners, giving no quarter, making no friends, all in the name of partisanship rather than genuine achievement for the good of all. Kennedy hearkens back to a day when, after the work in the public eye was done, senators could get together for a drink, hash out their concerns, come to an agreement, and when it came time to vote, stick to that agreement. I think the sadness Kennedy's colleagues feel is not just for Kennedy for himself, but for themselves because they know an era will be coming to an end, and that they, and perhaps the country, will be lesser for it.

My Thoughts on "thoughts and prayers"

We, as a people, need to find another expression of concern for those who are experiencing trying times. It came to a head for me today when, watching the news, I witnessed the outpouring of sympathy and compassion for Sen. Kennedy upon the release of the information that he has a brain tumor and quite possibly not a whole lot longer on this earth. Many of his fellow senators, including those three running for president, as well as Kennedy's constituents and many,many other people, mentioned that the senator and his family are in their "thoughts and prayers."

Whenever a tragedy strikes, the victim(s), be they a victim of random street violence or random natural violence, or the recipient of a death sentence medical diagnosis, or whatever, those people are always in the "thoughts and prayers" of others. The phrase, while well-intentioned, has become trite.

I hope this doesn't make me sound like more of a curmudgeon that I actually am. I would just like to hear someone, when asked by a media creature to comment on the victim(s) of an earthquake, a raging fire, a gunfight next door, make a statement from the heart rather than reciting the familiar line, and reciting it probably without much actual thought or emotion.

Fleeing Thoughs: Crimes in the News

-There is an arrest warrant being served on Drew Peterson as I write this. What is is that the authorities know now that makes them want to put the clamp on Peterson?

-I do not want to hear one more word about the R. Kelly trial until it's over. Nothing. No mas. No more about "It isn't me in the video" or about any distinguishing marks on Kelly's body, nothing, no more, none of it. Don't get back to me until there's a verdict.

Uhhh, I never finished college

It's May 20th and I'm calling it now.

Here's my electoral college predictions, barring any unforeseen insanity, such as John McCain strangling a reporter with his bare hands (which would help him win in a landslide of unprecedented proportions) or Barack Obama doing something really stupid, like making Hillary Clinton his running mate.

With my unrivaled and unequaled prognosticating abilities, I am calling the 2008 presidential election for Barack Obama. The Age of the Aged White Man will come to an end and the age of...of what...the Age of Change will begin.

Here's how I see the electoral map. I see it in Blue and Red.

Sorry.

Obama will sweep the West Coast from California to Washington state. Surprisingly, he'll also win in Idaho and Montana, two states one traditionally think of as bastions of Republicanism, but are now, I think, filled with independent thinking, Republican leaning voters who are fed up with what the GOP has become, and John McCain won't be enough of a maverick for them. To Obama those states will go.

In the West and South-West, McCain will take his home state of Arizona, as well as Nevada, Colorado, and Wyoming. Republicans will stay strong in the breadbasket states like Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. But their neighbors to the north will, oddly, go for Obama: Nebraska, North and South Dakota. Add to these the traditionally independent thinking Minnesota and you've got something going on. Also, the I's will have it: Iowa and Illinois will vote for Obama. Breaking up this patch of solid blue will be Wisconsin, a swing state that will swing to a Republican tune in 2008.

I think history will be made in the Deep South. Blue will cover Dixie from Louisiana through Mississippi and Alabama and into Georgia. Tennessee and Kentucky will stay Republican.

The Northeast will be solidly Democratic from Maine to New York. Maryland and Virginia will go for Obama, as will South Carolina but not North. Don't ask, I don't know why.

McCain will carry Ohio and Pennsylvania, as well as Florida and Michigan, states irredeemably pissed off at the Democratic party and their botched handling of the primaries. To no avail though. Obama will end up with 304 electoral votes, McCain 234, thus electing the first (semi-) black to the presidency. The Age of Change will be upon us. Thankfully. We could elect a goat to be president and have better results than we had with W.

Bear in mind, I predicted the Packers would win the Super Bowl, and my prediction for this year in baseball is for the Cubs to go all the way.

Think you can do better? Go to 270towin.com and crunch your own numbers.

Fleeing Thought: Dead Yankees

-The New York Yankees are in last place. Joe Torre should consider himself lucky to have been shoved from that sinking ship.

Fleeing Thoughts: Finally, the Democrats Call It What It Is

-Barack Obama wants to talk to Iranian leaders, I guess about their general nuttiness or the weather in that part of the world or the concept of countries as stinking corpses or whatever. There seems to be confusion over idea of chatting with nutbags; Bush calls it appeasement but it is what his own defense secretary says we should do, and there is precedent for it. The Soviet Union was an Evil Empire with enough nuclear missiles aimed at US to obliterate US many times over. Yet we never stopped speaking to them. We talked their ears off for over 50 years and, ultimately, we were victorious. The West, and quite specifically, the United States, won the Cold War. By contrast, like a young girl throwing a hissy fit, we stopped talking to Castro soon after he took over Cuba, and he retained power for almost 50 years. Talking works. It is not always appeasement. Sometimes communicating is effective foreign policy, but that's not something the Bush administration would know anything about. It mystifies me why McCain would attach himself to W on this particular issue, or any issue regarding the Middle East, a region where W has been spectacularly unsuccessful. It's these quirks of thinking on McCain's part that make me worry about his decision making abilities.

-Why did it take so many years for a Democrat to have the balls to call out Bush on his never ending stream of bullshit? Where have they been? Did Democratic leaders all of a sudden look down and notice they had a set?

Ten Years Gone

his was an American story, his was the story of America a difficult birth, a birth that left scars scrawny child, not much hope for success, no one looked at the child and thought it would amount to anything grew up without much except an innate confidence and a desire to succeed fed on the disdain of others, the other world, an older world worked hard, up from the bottom, got himself dirty had some success, people came around then more and more and more and then got knocked down, more than once and more than once people thought he was down and out for good came back stronger than ever down, never out, and never a look of fear in his eyes, only determination Francis was born of swagger and so was America Francis came back swingin' Francis was swingin' and so was America every day was a summer day by the pool with a cool martini he was the Boss, the Boss of Bosses, and so was America, so he was so we were, hate and love, extreme heat, blue cold, good cheer and dark thoughts, a warm embrace with a slight menace, an amorous prude, a rule breaking gentleman, so Francis was so we were, so went Francis and so went America what the world needs now is a new Frank Sinatra cuz there's still a fierce glimmer in the eyes of some, and I don't think it's going to go away



Quite frankly, I don't think anybody could have summed up things better than Bono at the 1994 Grammys:

Frank never did like Rock and Roll
And he's not crazy about guys wearing earrings either
But he doesn't hold it against me
And anyway, the feeling is not mutual

Rock and Roll people love Frank Sinatra because Frank has got what we want:
swagger and attitude
he's big on attitude
Serious attitude, bad attitude
Frank's the Chairman of the bad
Rock and Roll plays at being tough but this guy, well, he's the boss
The boss of bosses
The man
The big bang of pop
I'm not gonna mess with him, are you?

Who's this guy that every city in America wants to claim as their own?
This painter who lives in the desert, this first-rate, first-take actor
This singer who makes other men poets
Boxing clever with every word
Talking like America
Tough, straight-up, in headlines
Comin' through with the big stick, the aside, the quiet compliment
Good cop, bad cop, all in the same breath
You know his story 'cause it's your story
Frank walks like America -- cock-sure

It's 1945 and the U.S. Cavalry are trying to get their asses out of Europe,
but they never really do
They're part of another kind of invasion AFR -- American Forces Radio (sic)
Broadcasting a music that'll curl the stiff upper-lip of England and the rest of the world
Paving the way for Duke Ellington, the big band, Tommy Dorsey
And right out in front... Frank Sinatra
His voice as tight as a fist
Opening at the end of a bar
Not on the beat, over it, playing with it, splitting it like a jazz man, like Miles Davis
Turning on the right phrase and the right song
Which is where he lives, where he lets go, where he reveals himself
His songs are his home and he lets you in
But you know that to sing like that you've gotta have lost a couple of fights
To know tenderness and romance you've gotta have had your heart broken

People say that Frank hasn't talked to the press,
they wanna know how he is, what's on his mind
But you know Sinatra's out there more nights than most punk bands
Selling his story through the songs
Telling and articulate in the choice of those songs
Private thoughts on a public address system
Generous

This is the conundrum of Frank Sinatra
Left and right brain hardly talking
Boxer and painter, actor and singer, lover and father, bandman and loner
Troubleshooter and troublemaker
The champ who would rather show you his scars than his medals
He may be putty in Barbara's hands
But I'm not gonna mess with him, are you?
Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready to welcome a man heavier than the Empire State, more
connected than the Twin Towers, as recognizable as the Statue of Liberty, and living
proof that God is a Catholic!
Will you welcome the King of New York City, Francis Albert Sinatra!

Fleeing Sports/TV Thought: The Tools of Ignorance

At 3 a.m. I'm channel surfing and come across "The Tim McCarver Show." Who is allowing this insufferable bore, this former wearer of the tools of ignorance, on television? The only thing he has going for him is that he doesn't suck nearly as much as Joe Morgan.

Fleeing Thoughts: Blood Sports

-Cedric Benson says he wasn't intoxicated when he was arrested for drunken boating the other day in Texas. Dude, look at your mug shot. If this is your sober face, that explains your lack of production on the football field.

-Sports guy Mike North on Cedric and his water craft: "His boat only goes two yards, then stalls."

-Barack Obama says the gas tax holiday proposed by Hilary Clinton and John McCain would only save consumers about $25 over the summer. Yeah, well, that's 25 bucks I wouldn't have otherwise, Senator. And yes, the proposal is pandering, but it's the kind of pandering I like. Who says you can't have a short-term pandering solution while you go about figuring out a long-term solution? Go ahead and pander a little, Senator Obama. You might actually win the election then.

-It's all about legitimacy, who has it and who doesn't. Clinton and Obama both appeared on Bill O'Reilly's show on Fox recently. Why would they choose to legitimize someone who is nothing more than an angry liar? Neither of them are going to win over the average Fox News viewer. Bad move. Don't they realize how it makes their candidacies less legitimate? Ralph Nader is looking better all the time.

-Might it be time to start a serious conversation about the end of horse racing? With the death of another horse after a Kentucky Derby, it might be a time to re-evaluate whether this "sport" is really just another way of inflicting cruelty on animals. Dick Duchossois, who runs Arlington Park Race Track, referred to horses in a radio interview with WGN's Spike O'Dell as "athletes." Athletes they may be, but Kerry Wood never got euthanized after any one of his physical break downs.

Why Wasn't This Done Sooner?