Life's a Beach

For the record this is where we sometimes walk/run/stumble in the evenings after work. It's the beach near the Hollywood Riviera near Redondo. And trudging through that sand is one heck of a workout.

Meet the Mess

On a weekend that was "welcomed" by a Friday announcement that the deficit is at a new level of $1.4 trillion, triple what it was just a year ago, the big news at the Obama administration sponsored NBC's Meet the Press sunday talk show was a 40-minute piece on "women in the workplace". Seriously, with the healthcare debate in full throttle, an army general asking for more troops in Afghanistan for over three months now, the burgeoning deficit - and this show devotes almost it entire duration to this ground breaking topic. Astounding.

The show started and ended with the underwhelming comments from Senior White House Advisor Valerie Jarrett who was introduced to the show with a slew of softballs from man-boy host David Gregory that was just an embarassing display of journalism. Gregory did not care about any of her answers because he was never going to refute or respond to anything she said - he just wanted to get to that fabulous "women in work" segment with Maria Shriver. (who surprisingly was not on her cell phone).

GREGORY: How is the President going to increase jobs?

JARRETT: Oh well the President has a plan, he passed the stimulous and it is only half spent and we just have to wait until it works...he wakes up everyday trying to find new ways to create jobs.......

Of course this is all paraphrased from the real show but it was plain embarrassing. Why does the world and the main stream media continue to impughn Sarah Palin, who actually held a real goverment job, and this woman can come on, say nothing and be thanked for her "contribution to the show". This woman who helped Obama get elected (good job Valerie) but has not one original principaled thought in her head - or at least did not show it. (And was perhaps going to profit mightily from the Olympics coming to Chicago since she owned real estate that would have benefited from the Games).

But you know that is not really the point here. The point is Valerie Jarrett? - empty suit; same old cliched circular explanations of nothing. And Meet the Press? - the Sunday version of the View.

Embarrassing, America. Just embarrassing.

In the Neighborhood

It seemed everytime I looked up Vladimir Guerrero was striking out.

That was how long Game 2 of the ALCS (American League Championship Series) went tonight in the rain and howling cold of the new Yankee Stadium between said Yankees and the Los Angeles, nee Anaheim, Angels. Frankly, as much as I love playoff baseball (I comment to many that it is the most dramatic of ALL sports) I was getting quite bored with the playoffs so far. The previous series bored me to tear (Phillies/Rockies) - and I am fairly a purist - but I couldn't take it.

But during the 5th inning of this Angels/Yankees game it started getting good - and while making tacos and brownies and margaritas, the night was becoming grand. Then in the 9th inning, I think, something strange happened.

On what looked like a routine double play, 4-to-6-to-3, the play at second base was ruled safe. At first I was outraged (because I am rooting for the Angels) but replays clearly showed that the Angel shortstop, Eric Aybar, didn't touch second base as he threw towards first. In fact, he didn't even step toward the bag! He had both feet behind it like he was the friggin' catcher.

Well, God bless 'em, Angels skipper Mike Scossia came out and argued vehmently and then so did the FOX announcers Joe Buck and former major leaguer Tim McCarver. They reacted in a way I thought was somewhat unimagineable. While it was clear that the Angel shortstop Aybar did not touch the bag they claimed that everyone knows about the "being in the neighborhood" play - which means - that in most double plays the shortstop or whoever may graze the base as they fire to first base but the play may not always be synichronous with the ball in the mitt and the foot on the base. Meaning when he catches it from the second basemen the shortstop may be past the bag. That's "in the neighborhood".

And I understand that - but I never liked it. As long as I have watched professional baseball, I have always hated this slight of hand at second base. I can't tell you how many plays I thought have been wrong. But usually the instant replay shows that no matter how smooth, or bang-bang the play is - the umps usually get it right.

But on this play, the Angels player Aybar just stood behind the bag, took the flip from 2nd and then threw to first - without ever trying to TOUCH the BASE!!! But according to Buck and McCarver this is just normal stuff and "thank god the game wasn't determined on that play".

This comes after the news announced yesterday that the offical NBA rules have been amended to say that a player in transition can take TWO STEPS towards the basket. Of course that has been recognized for years now in the NBA but to acknowledge it in the rule book is another thing. Now LeBron can take five steps in order to be called for travelling I guess.

And a rule change I guess Buck and McCarver would applaud. I couldn't believe how they harped on this for every inning afterward as the game went into extra innings. Baseball men. Hardly.

Rules are rules. Play by them.

The Ego Has Landed

Irresponsible.

That is the only way to label President Obama's ill-conceived trip to Copenhagen and to give a campaign-style emotive speech to try to win his adopted home town Chicago the 2016 Olympics. This "presentation" occurs on the day that unemployment hit a 30-year high, while he has yet to "decide" on a strategy in Afghanistan, and also while he is apparently trying to rest nukes away from the Iranians - you know, the ones he thought he could placate by "talking" with them. And then a few hours later Chicago becomes the first City voted out of a four city contest.

Stupid.

That is what anyone had to feel when they heard Michelle Obama's speech to the IOC (International Olympics Committee) talking about how her Dad had multiple sclerosis and "she sat on his lap while watching Nadia, Carl Lewis and Olga". Well that is some long lap to last over those 12 years of Olympics (and she was 20 when Carl Lewis was wearing his pumps). And who sits in anybody's lap to watch the Olympics? The commercials are too long. (Of course, we also had to hear from Michelle how it was such a "sacrifice" to jet to Copenhagen with Oprah to give her little speech.)

Embarrased.

That is what this nation must feel as they watched their President trash the US again and say the only reason the Olympics should be awarded to Chicago is because 1) he had his presidential victory party there and 2)"he could take his daughters to see the games " at the end of his second term. What rubbish. One IOC member said "Obama's speech was high on emotion but lacked any detail". Well at least that is consistent - just like health care, just like the stimulus, and just like cap and trade. The man doesn't understand details.

I actually read two California papers this week that trumpeted how Obama's improved standing in the world and "overwhelming acceptance in the international community over Bush" would be just what was needed to get Chicago's bid. These articles just categorically assumed as fact that, since eveyone appeared to "like" Barry better, than people would fall over with their legs in the air and do whatever he wanted.

Well, the IOC isn't a host of deluded and ignorant elitist citizenery (and manufactured voters organized by ACORN) who respond to such emotional demogogory. And, in fact, in some circles it looks like this last minute trip, where it was just assumed that this mythical rock god imagery was just going to save the day, just simply backfired - and maybe even insulted the IOC.

And what is more important is you don't minimalize the office of the Presidency by going over and shilling for some contest. And you certainly don't do it unless you know it's in the bag. Talk about political miscalculation - you make a big show and go over there and trash your country and talk about sitting on laps and you get bubkus - and then you got to turn around and get tough with Iran?

Sheer idiocy my friends. I guess French President Sarkosy was right when he said this week that "Obama is extremely naive and has an endless ego". Well hopefully that ego has landed.

David Loserman

Okay, he's got in it now.

So glib, so on top of it. So pompous. Just last week he had his hero Obama on and drooled over him. Previous to that he made a lame joke about Sarah Palin's kids impugning their sexual imbiguity (i just typed that because I liked the word). Needless to say he was lambasted for that tasteless joke about a minor. And he wouldn't let that go - he insisted it was okay to attack someone in the media world view like they were fair game and it was really okay what he said because he was just joking.

And now he's porking everyone around him. And he was extorted - and he let everyone know on his show and still got laughs.

You know when I got out of college in the 80's Dave was the all the rage and I just loved him. He was a counter Johnny Carson, actually gave Jay Leno his big break (he would have him on the show all the time) and the band was fab also.

But now he is just a overly cranky and irritable liberal leftist. And now a whore. Who seems impelled to tell everyone on his show every bad thing he has done.

And still hasn't really apologised to Sarah properly.

Dave, just get the heck off the TV.