More On Justina Pelletier

There oughta be an investigation into what happened to Justina Pelletier. Just in case there's no bull shit political power game going on. What Massachusetts did to this family is disturbing.

Shoot, someone should do a documentary on it. Get to the bottom of why DCF and Boston Children's did this. Why the governors of Connecticut and Massachusetts remained silent. And so on.

World Cup: Officiating Continues To Stink

I'm currently watching the 1/16 match contested between France-Nigeria. I have a huge problem with the officiating at the WC and this match is no different. We were told that once studs go up it's an automatic dismissal as was the case with Italy's Marchisio. Yet, in today's match a more more serious challenge by a French player was shown a yellow? The injury to the Nigerian was significant since he had to to be subbed off. Marchisio's play was unintentional and far less egregious.

Meanwhile, in the Costa-Rica-Greece game, the ref seemed bent on sending Costa Rica off the field. While the yellow on Duarte was justified, the ref missed a clear and deliberate hand ball by the Greek player. Had he positioned himself properly he would have seen it and we're spared the travesty of extra time and penalty kicks in that game.

The Netherlands against Mexico wasn't without its own drama. The irony in that game is that one of the game's most notorious cheat and diver in Arjen Robben was actually fouled twice in that game with the second coming in the controversial penalty call late in the game. Holland won 2-1 as a result.

Now, while it was heartbreaking for Mexico, what was Herrera thinking taking off Dos Santos and Peralta? Managers sometimes over manage and it bites them in the arse.

Nice sum up here at The 3rd Team.

I, Robot

"AP will announce Monday that it plans to use automation technology from a company called Automated Insights to produce stories about earnings reports. The software means that “instead of providing 300 stories manually, we can provide up to 4,400 automatically for companies throughout the United States each quarter,” AP Managing Editor Lou Ferrara writes in a Q&A."


Fair warning shot to workers in the restaurant business. Don't price yourself out of a job.


Or else, here come the robots.

Heroes!

You know, cops beating people into oblivion has become a serious human interest story.

Check this story out of two San Antonio cops beating an elderly man senseless who had gone into diabetic shock.

They were, of course, cleared of any wrong doing.

Perhaps it's time documentarians or journalists investigate the investigation process.

I have a feeling they'd find, erm, stuff out.

Heroes!

Words. Escape. Me.

Hey, Police Chief. How come delivery and milk men never had a problem with dogs?

Worse, cops are now entering private property without warrants and probable cause and have a right to shoot down dogs who most cases aren't even dangerous?

Wow.

The police deserve every single criticism they get. They're like Luis Suarez: Incapable of culpability. To me, reading this story all I can see is the cop committed a crime. A crime any of us would be sent to jail for.

Get a load of Chief Burbank:

Suarez Is A Funny Guy

Suarez wrote: "After the impact... I lost my balance, making my body unstable and falling on top of my opponent. At that moment I hit my face against the player, leaving a small bruise on my cheek and a strong pain in my teeth."

But the seven-man panel ruled that the bite was "deliberate, intentional and without provocation."

Suarez played this all wrong. Completely all wrong. He knows what he did was deliberate. He knows there's precedence seeing he did this twice before. So him playing this game is not only incredibly hilarious, it points straight to the heart of the matter: He's unrepentant. If he's unable to apologize (just like Zidane) he's likely to repeat this action again.

Uruguay's president and coach should be even more embarrassed for defending his actions.

I can't comment on the ban itself. Figuring out FIFA logic is like trying to understand a progressive (whoa!) or how the NHL doles out suspensions. It's erratic at best.

For his part, Chiellini thought the suspension excessive. Imagine that. He's the victim. Didn't receive and apology and still stood by a fellow footballer.

As for Uruguay today in their match against Colombia. Their excessive, physical tactics didn't work against a very strong opponent as they bowed out of the WC following a 2-0 loss.

Obama's Economy; Stock Market Activity Is Not An Indicator Of Overall Economy

2.9% growth.

Wait a sec, that's not right.

-2.9% for the first quarter of 2014.

By now, Americans were told and reassured all of Obama's measures and suggestions (no budget (because GOP), stimulus, pay your fair share tax rhetoric, increase minimum wage, and Obamacare) were supposed to repair the economy.

There's still the rest of the year to turn things around. Though I wouldn't hold my breath. Obama is not a free-market President. Simple as that.

But, T.C., what about the stock market! Corporate earnings are up!

I love when progressives - who hate corporations with a mad passion - single out just corporate earnings as proof of something to push their hopelessly inept point of view on matters of finance and money. As if corporate earnings is the 'only' measure of how the markets are doing.

'Free shit' people shouldn't be commenting on stocks I say!

Anyway. It's been quite some time stock market activity doesn't necessarily reflect the health of the overall economy. A stock market is a market where people go to trade company stocks. It's not unlike, say, Amazon where people go shop for products looking for deals. We're not necessarily too worried about whether the GDP is up or if unemployment is down or that nonfarm payroll is stagnant.

We exist in our own private free-market sphere with our own set of criteria.

Now with that bit of rant out of the way Money News explains three reasons why stock markets and the economy are two different things. 

Obama has pointed to the stock market as proof that his economy is healthy. This is not only misguided but either an outright lie (to the extent he knows this to not be the case) or he's just plain clueless on economics.

Making Libertatian Inroads

More and more libertarians getting elected.

"Godzilla is that blundering monster that our governments have become, with their hands in our pocket and noses in every room of our house.
 
I (David Leyonhjelm) am the first politician elected to an Australian parliament on a purely libertarian platform, with a mission to lower taxes, remove regulation, and put an end to the nanny state."

Hopefully, Canada gets off its ass and starts doing its bit.

"But of course, Parliament House is only the nerve centre of the monster. According to the latest figures, Australia has 1.9 million public servants – as many people as there are men, women and children living in Perth. Their salaries alone amount to $134 billion, or more than $100 dollars a week from each person in Australia. Much of this could be more prudently spent by individual Australians for their own purposes. It never seems to matter how much money is taken from us, it is never enough to satisfy the beast or those who believe they are entitled to it.

Public servants are mostly dedicated, well-meaning employees who spend their days in busyness. But the public service also tends to attract people who think they know what’s good for us, and are intent on delivering it whether we need it or not.

When there are so many people being busy on our behalf, they start to encroach on our lives; drafting laws we don’t need, spending money on things we can do for ourselves, spending money telling us what to do, and finding new ways to collect the money so they can do it all over again."

"...How does this happen? It is simply, as the economist Milton Friedman put it, what happens when people are allowed to spend money in the worst possible way – by spending someone else’s money on somebody else. "

Reigning In The IRS

The IRS a renegade outfit.

I can just imagine the abuse of power that goes in within its walls.

More here.

Learn To Read Between The Lines

The language of despotism from Hoover:

"....At the heart of the White House report is the oft-repeated 2007 statistic that 20 percent of female college students have been victims of “sexual assault,” which most people will understand to mean rape or sexual battery. Yet as many critics of the study have pointed out, that preposterous number––crime-ridden Detroit’s rape rate is 0.05 percent––was achieved by redefining “sexual assault” to include even consensual sexual contact when the woman was drunk, and behaviors like “forced kissing” and “rubbing up against [the woman] in a sexual way, even if it is over [her] clothes.....”

"...What matters more than protecting college women against a phantom epidemic of rape, then, is the need to expand government power into the social lives of college students, empowering the federal bureaucrats, university administrators, and ideological programs like women’s studies that all stand to benefit by this sort of coercive intrusion. This enshrining of racial and sexual ideology into law through the abuse of language has had damaging consequences, whether for the minority college students mismatched with the universities to which they are admitted, thus often ensuring their failure and disillusion; or for the young women encouraged to abandon their autonomy and surrender it to government and education bureaucrats who know better than they how to make sense of their experiences and decisions..."

"...That’s why, to this day, the 2009 murders of 13 military personnel at Fort Hood by Muslim Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan are still classified as “workplace violence” rather than an act of terror. This despite the fact that Hasan––whose business cards had the initials “SoA,” “Soldier of Allah,” on them––shouted the traditional Islamic battle cry “Allahu Akbar” during his rampage. Or that in a presentation at Walter Reed Hospital, Hasan had put up a slide with the great commission to practice jihad that Mohammed delivered in his farewell address: “I was ordered to fight all men until they say ‘There is no god but Allah.’” This command to wage jihad was echoed in 1979 by the Ayatollah Khomeini, revered as a “Grand Sign of God” for his theological acumen, and by Osama bin Laden in 2001. Those ignoring this venerable jihadist tradition must use verbal evasions like “workplace violence” and “striving in the path of God” to hide the indefensible––and failed––tactic of appeasement that prevents us from accurately understanding the religious motives of Muslim terrorists, and the extent of the Muslim world’s support for them..."

Friday Night Music

Irene Daye and the Gene Krupa Orchestra



Martha Tilton and the Slate Brothers:

Source Of Mid-East Mess?

Climate change naturally.

Yes. Thousands and thousands of years of empires, dynasties, kingdoms, religious and cultural wars are all due to....climate change.

/drops cigarette from mouth.

Heroes!

Bullies at school?

Try cops.

This time from Indiana.

Pigs.

Good Going British Columbia

"The Supreme Court of British Columbia has ordered Google to remove entire domains from its search results—a decision that could have enormous global implications on free expression. This is the latest of several instances of courts exercising dangerous jurisdictional overreach, where they have applied local laws to remove content on the Internet. Not only did the Court order Google to delete the site from its search results on the Canadian “Google.ca” domain, it went even further by demanding it censor the domain worldwide by deleting every instance of the site from its global index."

Assholes.

Quote Of The Day

From comments:

"Nothing "happened" to the Arab Spring, because the Arab Spring was as fictional as Margaret Mead's anthropology; a creation of outsiders substituting their hopes, desires, and dreams upon a half-understood and fully misinterpreted phenomenon."

Amen.

Creepy Drawing

That's some scary artist sketch.

Obamacare: Oops

Mistakes were made.

On the bright side, Bin Laden is dead and GM is alive!

In her defense, what difference does it make at this point?

"Former Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius acknowledged Friday that she made mistakes leading up to the rollout of the Affordable Care Act, worrying too much about whether there’d be a market for Obamacare and spending “too little time clearly on the technology side.”

I want people to focus on this remarkable statement. It's so incredible it nakedly exposes what 'extremists' have been saying all along - bureaucrats don't understand markets. It's not their fucking jobs to understand them. That's what the free-market is for. It gauges demand better than government ever could.

Yet, we're led to believe there is no free-enterprise system without these dopes.

Not only that. A private enterprise would have BOTH sides covered. They'd know if there was a demand for their product or service and they'd have the technology side already in place. Why? Something called incentive. If they mess up, they lose clients and go out of business. There are all sorts of motivations and incentives to get things right on the private side. Money is scarce after all.

Not with the government. They just throw bad money after bad money until they get it right. 

If she spent so much time worrying about it, then they clearly didn't understand what they were getting themselves into.

Blog Of The Moment

Jim'll Paint It.

Italy Remains A Great And Evolving Culinary Society

If you have significant allergies, I understand it can prevent you from traveling too foreign places since you don't know how how the locals deal with allergies.

My wife has severe allergies and it pretty much ensures I will have to travel on my own to exotic places. However, there is one place I have absolutely no worries visiting (outside the USA of course) given her condition. That place is Italy.

Having visited Italy on three occasions, I can confidently tell people with allergies you're safe to go. Italians are so progressive and sophisticated on their views of food and diet it literally leaves you stunned and amazed.

I dare say, my culinary experiences in Italy were far more memorable than they were in France - and I enjoy French food.

There's a certain under stated rustic realism, beauty and incredible ability to adapt in Italian cuisine I respect and admire.

"And so, at first thought, my plan for an Italian vacation bordered on insanity. "

That's the misconception North Americans have about Italy. Its cuisine and diet is so much more than pasta. So much more. It's just that pasta is incredibly popular people think Italians just eat pasta all day which is simply not the case. It's part of an overall Mediterranean diet.

"To our surprise, we found it to be closer to heaven. Wheat’s prevalence in Italian cuisine has made Italians especially conscious of celiac disease and Italy one of Europe’s best destinations for food-conscious travelers avoiding gluten."

Which confirms my experience. Italians, moreover, won't make you feel bad either for having intolerances and allergies.

Article on gluten-free Italy from the NYT:

"many of the world’s leading experts on celiac disease are Italian."

Not surprised by this at all.

"Underlying that sort of flexibility is an emotional resonance you may not find elsewhere. We found that Italians responded to the magic words “senza glutine” not with exasperation or annoyance but with genuine concern, verging on pity. In Italy, not being able to stomach wheat is more than an inconvenience or fad diet."

As I experienced and mentioned. They're awesome that way.

"That resonance has translated to an institutional empathy that might shock Americans. For example, the first stop for Italians avoiding gluten (or travelers hoping to cook for themselves) isn’t necessarily the supermarket, but the local pharmacy. In central Turin, I asked a bespectacled pharmacist what packages of corn pasta, rice-flour cookies and specially formulated focaccia were doing hanging next to his dark wood counter. It turns out people with celiac disease are given a monthly allowance of about 100 euros (about $135) from Italy’s national health system to buy specially formulated gluten-free products. “In Italy, this food is medicine,” the pharmacist said.

I think it would shock my wife as well. I got a glimpse of the depth of Italian food when I visited the SIAL in Paris (the world's largest) in 2004. No one, and I mean no one not even the French, matched the Italians in the sheer size and scope of products. The French take food seriously, but the Italians are on another planet.

I desperately want my wife to experience Italy.

"When Jen got to the front of the long line, she hesitantly mentioned she’d like a cup, not a cone, and asked if the apricot gelato was senza glutine. The busy server’s eyebrows shot up. In what was clearly a well-rehearsed ritual, she went to the back and washed her hands, then lifted the steel canister of apricot gelato aside to reveal another — uncontaminated by cone crumbs — underneath. A spoon, carefully folded in a clean napkin, was procured from a sealed tub in the back of the shop.

Grom (which has two branches in New York, plus a stand in Central Park open in the summer) was a best-case scenario, but we found that even at small gelaterias and restaurants not on the AiC’s list, the servers knew their stuff. Ingredient lists were always close at hand, and sometimes prominently displayed."

Broken record. Not. Surprising.

Best meal experiences in my life was the one we had in Lucca. We were tired and hungry and were looking for something to eat. We settled on a place only to be told they were closing for siesta. Probably taking pity on us the woman made an exception. She warned it wasn't much but we were grateful she was making an exception.

Everything she brought out was simply divine as we sat out on a Lucchese terrasse overlooking the town. 

“What most Americans don’t know is that pizza and pasta are a big part of the culture in Italy, but they’re not the whole thing,” said Shauna Ahern, a Washington State-based gluten-free cookbook author and blogger who teaches cooking classes in Italy several times each year.

Hey. I shoulda written this article.

And this belief and perception runs deep. In a society obsessed with avoiding stereotypes, the idea that Italians only eat carbs is a strange one to cling on to. It's why I was annoyed and surprised to hear a Canadian Olympic athlete about to set out to winter games in Torino 2006 needing to prepare her food because of she worried about its carb-diet.

How splendidly parochial. It also reminded me how little we actually know about Italian food. 

Liberals Take Unfortunate Position On Rockland MD

I have a private file at Rockland MD so I'm thoroughly disappointed with the Liberals on this front. Though I can't say I'm surprised. All part of the rigid mindset we have here. We're comfortable in our splendid mediocrity.

"The decision not to renew an agreement that saw the private Rockland MD clinic perform 1,500 operations a year for the Sacre Coeur Hospital could inconvenience Quebec medical patients, according to the opposition CAQ party.

Liberal Health Minister Gaetan Barrette told a parliamentary commission Thursday that he had no intention of renewing the agreement, which expires on September 4, 2014.

Barrette said that the cost per surgery is more expensive at the Rockland MD clinic than within the public network; however CAQ MNA Eric Caire presented a study claiming the opposite."

 

I highly doubt it's more expensive than in the wasteful, inefficient and expensive public network. It's  outright laughable to believe this.

This is EXACTLY why we have a crappy health system. What is so wrong to with surgeries performed on the private side? It's sad and ridiculous how politically driven our system has become. 

"However Barrette said that the Fleury and Jean Talon hospitals would be able to help pick up the slack."

That's right. Hoard people like cattle right back into the over burdened public system. The use of the term 'pick up the slack' is impressive too.

 

In those four little words you see why we suck.

But.

Remember.

At least we're not American!

Me So Poor

What the heck are the Clintons trying to pull with their 'wes like you' tour?

Please tell me people are seeing right through this crap.

Right?

Bill said on Meet the Press he was one of the least wealthy Presidents in the the 20th century. Of course, no one did their fucking jobs and challenged him.

A simple google search immediately put things in perspective.

From 24/7 Wall St. :

"Secretary Clinton received an estimated $14 million advance on her new book last year, and she has earned hundreds of thousands of dollars for each speaking engagement, figures that rival her husband’s. In all, the couple’s net worth is estimated by 24/7 Wall St. to be $55 million, making it one of the wealthiest presidential estates in history.

Boy are these two some piece of work. List of wealthy presidents - Clinton ranks 11th. Real 'poor.'

But these days, you don't have to be 'poor, poor' to be hip. You just have to use all the progressive jargon and left-wing collective garbage and you speak truth to power and come off as 'common folk.'

Marxism and other diseased left-wing offshoots are making a comeback and have found their way in the classrooms of higher institutions. No wonder they want 'free shit.'

Wait.

You haven't seen anything yet.

Elizabeth 'Fauxcohontas' Warren hasn't even gotten started yet. The Clintons are just campaigning for 2016 and pandering to the Democratic base that eats that crap up. Warren, who is also wealthy, will make the Clintons look like disciples of Bastiat before she's done.

Is It A He, She Or An It?

I think The Onion got the gist of prog-thinking on child-rearing.

Gnaaarrrr!: "Hurray for all kinds of things!"

While New York voted for an utterly boring socialist hack in Bill De Blasio, Reykjavik went bold and elected an eccentric Mayor - Jon Gnarr - who has proven to be effective.

Among his slogans, there's the one mentioned in the title of this post and "More punk, less hell!"

And you gotta love this:

"We can promise more than any other partybecause we will break every campaign promise.»

Pretty much like mainstream parties anyway, right? Promise the moon like the PQ did to those dinky student protestors and then turn around and break it. The self-entitled, commie students lying in bed with the PQ learned a hard lesson best explained by Otter in Animal House when he told Flounder after they fucked up his brother's car: "You fucked up, you trusted us!"

Anyway.

New York. You're not so cool.

This story makes me think there's hope that one day paternalists like Bloomberg and De Blasio may one day be fired never to return. To be banished into the dark, unforgiving forests of Nunavut. There they could howl at the moon yelping about the fall of civilization for not listening to them.

Hey, a man-boy can dream can't he?

Soda Ban Canned By Courts: Give It Up Already New York

"By choosing among competing policy goals, without any legislative delegation or guidance, the board engaged in lawmaking," the court wrote in a majority opinion. "... Its choices raise difficult, intricate and controversial issues of social policy."

No. Bleeping. Kidding. It was pushed forward by unelected health officials. Bloomberg ridiculously thought this was appropriate.

"Indeed, debate over the soda size cap pitted health officials who called it an innovative anti-obesity tool against critics who considered it unfair to businesses and paternalistic toward consumers. Even a Court of Appeals judge, during arguments earlier this month, wondered aloud whether regulators would target triple-decker burgers next."

Well. I made similar arguments here.


"But city leaders signaled they might not give up the fight. Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city was "actively reviewing all of its options to protect the health and well-being of our communities"; officials wouldn't immediately specify what those might be. The city hasn't said whether it plans to try to appeal, but the case doesn't raise federal issues that would make it a likely choice for the Supreme Court."

Fuck off you insufferable assholes. You don't give one rat's ass about the well-being of people. In any event, they didn't ask for this. Of all the fucking things to fight over, this is these jerkoffs focus on? It will have ZERO EFFECT on the 'well-being' of people. How insipid can they possibly be?

Somebody is pushing this. But who? Cui bono?

"Due to today's unfortunate ruling, more people in New York City will die from obesity-related impacts," he said in a statement Thursday.

Ah, yes. The appeal to emotion. When all else fails, use fear. Just like how Obama mocks people who oppose climate change. Fear and mockery. It's what paternalists love.

And what a f lousy, liar Bloomberg is for actually saying this. I'm gonna go out on a limb and take the bet. No one will die.

Right there someone should pull him aside and tell him, 'dude. Really?'

Soda has been under fire for years from health advocates, who say the beverages are uniquely harmful because people don't realize how much sugar they're guzzling. A 21-ounce Coke, McDonald's medium size, has 200 calories and 55 grams of sugar, for instance.

Only TOP Men can tell people who much sugar they're consuming. They're completely incapable of figuring this out so...regoooolashuns!

I wonder. What about cafe shops like Starbucks? I mean, hypocritical rich folks love to go there. Seems to me you can pack a mean punch of calories at Starbucks.

But they wouldn't touch that because they love going to pick up their choco-caramel-skim-milk-raw sugar-with a straw decaf cap grande on their way to figuring out ways to bust the balls of free citizens. Just like they're free to drink their wine (which converts to sugar), people have a right to their god damn 16oz drinks.

This ban is so stupid and incoherent I can't believe they're still on it despite people saying no. Who do these people represent exactly?

"Meanwhile, Coke and Pepsi have rolled out smaller cans and bottles, some as small as 7.5 ounces."

The MARKET ALONE will adjust to new tastes. It doesn't need Bloomberg and his gang of tyrannical hacks to tell it what to do.
 
Not surprisingly, the pearl clutchers at the New York Times chime in with their progressive drivel:

Might it not be healthy to put aside the rhetoric about saving lives, and speak directly to the issue: taxpayers foot the healthcare bills for many of those who, despite the facts, can't stop gorging on junk. We can no longer afford the "freedom to drink yourself sick." Thus, we must take action. 

Go fuck yourself. Short sighted and selective people like this should just...go fuck themselves. Man, does NYT suck worse than a bag of turnip chips.

And of course, some were push for a 'tax' on soda. Naturally. When all else fails tax the shit out of things and hurt the pocketbooks. That tax on foods actually hit the poor the most doesn't matter because what's important is they be taken care of by their masters. It's the last refuge of busy bodies.

Can't push a law no one wants through unelected bodies and scare tactics? Okay, assholes. We'll tax you!  Just like here in Quebec we did with gas. We complain about gas prices and stupidly only focus on the oil companies but rarely sit down, think and realize the real culprit are the excessive TAXES.

You really think the gas tax is for the environment?

Please.

World Cup Officiating Inconsistent

Why soccer sometimes annoys me to no end.

This incredibly reckless challenge by Cacares (I'm stunned that Uruguayans actually think Italy was playing chippy when that's the DNA of Uruguayan soccer) gets a YELLOW but Marchisio's unintentional awkward foul got him thrown out.

In fact, I've seen quite a bit of rough play from Brazil and The Netherlands to wonder how in the world they haven't got more cards than they have.

To be honest, I've lost interest in this WC. The officiating is way too inconsistent and have a feeling more teams will get screwed. Hopefully, the Brazil-Chile game will be free of nonsense and poor calls.

Canada's Public Health System: 'Borderline Third World'; Obamacare Will Not Save Money

One thing I like about my clientele is they're a well-traveled, experienced lot. Whenever we talk about the differences between countries one inevitable topic that comes up his health care. To the person, not one is all that impressed with our national health care.

To date, I have spoken to a Belgian, French, German, Italian, American and Australian.

The Australian comment was especially interesting describing Canada's archaic and rigid system as  "borderline third world conditions." According to this mate, what makes Australia works is the fact a private system co-exists (pragmatically) alongside a public one.

Having a 100% public system is just impractical. Because...altogether now...one size fits all is stupid and nothing in life is 'free!'

No kidding. Yet, in Canada, the 'P' word continues to conjure up all sorts of irrational and negative concerns. Try and have a reasonable discussion with a Canadian deluded by nationalist propaganda about our crumbling, cash-draining, bureaucratic system monstrosity.

Cost-centric rather than patient-centric, our public health system consistently ranks below other OECD members. Never mind about the lack of modern equipment and innovation.

Honestly, at this point, I don't understand people who either don't realize this or tolerate it because 'free.'

Canadians should demand more.

But hey.

Altogether now:

"We're in this together and at least we're not American!"

****

No shit, Sherlocks.

Sometimes I wonder if progressives have any real training in finance and math.

That Obamacare wasn't going to save money was pretty obvious to clear-minded people. Except those people were called 'extremists' and 'racists' by the dopes at MSNBC and the like.

When you lost Huffington and its commenters you know you pretty much fucked up.

Obama and the Democrats lied and now face the wrath of the people.

Comment: Did anyone seriously think that Obama care was good for anyone??

Did anyone really think it would save money? If they did, they were a sycophant or really terrible at math.

Progressive Americans seem to think single payer is the answer now. They've done enough damage and I hope they're ignored outright.

See above for what single-payer Canadian style is:

MEDIOCRITY, CORRUPTION AND CHAOS.

Uruguay Moves To Defend Its Son

Been reading the depraved and disappointing reactions from Uruguay.

Sometimes, it's all in how you react that can save you a headache and Uruguay is choosing instead to play the victim in this moment. With that, I've come to the opinion Uruguay should be removed from the World Cup simply by the fact it chose to engage in conspiratorial behavior. t won't happen but that's what FIFA should do. 

Enough of making mockery of the game in this manner.

That the leader of a country would get involved only threatens to make this a farce. It goes to show the unhealthy hypnotic grasp the sport has on people. They claim this campaign is being led by the Italians...and English.

Right, Dale Gribble. Whatever you say, buddy.

We're entering Zidane idiocy here. Remember when then President Jacques Chirac and la nation welcomed home their tragic, fallen hero? The French went into over drive protecting their thug? Or poor wittle-little Zidane. He was hurt by wittle wirds. He had to head butt another player to defend his honor!

In the end, once all the lying stopped (Zidane lied out of his ass), all it amounted to was a little trash talking not uncommon we see in all sports.

Idiots. Fucking idiots.

I asked someone who was acting like a complete fool tripping over himself - including using lies long since debunked - defending the violent actions of Zidane if he'd tell his kid to behave in that manner. He paused. I went further. "What do we teach our kids? To lash out and punch someone after hearing something we don't like on the field or do we ask them to be disciplined and show inner-mental fortitude?" Further,

I have ZERO tolerance and respect for people who defend Zidane. And so it is with Suarez. The excuses I'm hearing in defense of this buffoon is epic. Makes me wonder what the collective IQ, literally, is of these people who jump to protect him.

The thing that further perplexes me is, like with Zidane, there is precedence for his behavior. So, there's nothing really that can be defended. What's to 'investigate?' Chiellini had his back to the play as both were in the air and landing, Suarez went to bite him but it went wrong and came off looking like a headbutt. There was no shoulder movement. This thing of the shoulder got in the way is the defense of ignorant yokel or smart alec killer using a defense along the lines of 'but your honor, I didn't kill that person! He got in the way of the bullet!'

Suarez himself is completely unrepentant despite this being his third offense saying, 'things happen.'

They sure do. But no one expects two things: Getting spat at or on and getting bitten. Those two actions are about as low as you can get. When Francesco Totti spat at Poulsen at the 2004 Euros the Italian Federation sent him home. There was no defense of this vile action and he apologized immediately. Unlike Rikaard who spat a German player at the World Cup in 1998 or 2002 I believe it was. The Dutch, for their part, kept their player on the roster.

It's inconsequential what the player did to initiate such an action. In the end, someone must be held accountable. In the case of Totti, he spat at a notoriously troublesome player in Critstian Poulsen (the Ken Linseman of hockey). No one said, 'yeah well, he deserves it because he's a dirty player!"

Suarez bites someone in front of billions and it's the English out to get him. Riiight.

That's Quebecois nationalist epic stupidity here whenever they defend OLF assholes who harass businesses. Apparently, that's ok. It's the Anglo media who make an issue of it. Never mind that it PISSES people off.

To end this post, I'll use a real-world example. At my daycare, the second a child bites another child, we must fill out a report and notify all parents. Biting is a serious offense. No one asks, what did the child who received the bite do? That's retarded.

So excuse me if I think Luis Suarez is a child with a problem. What adult behaves this way?

FIFA should settle this quickly. The entire world saw what happened and the longer it drags on, the longer Uruguay and its derelict defenders of this dope continues.

****

There are two types of people in this world. Those who defend the violent actions of people like Zidane and Suarez and those who don't.

I loathe the former.

Black And White

There are two types of people in this world.

Those who defend violent players like Zidane and Suarez (and OJ Simpson) and those who have the clarity of wit to not; those who can detect bull shit and those who can't.

In the latter, the politics of climate change for example.

Sports Corner: Cubist Italy Leaves World Cup; James Opts Out Of Miami; Duncan Stays With Spurs

Some quick thoughts on some stories in the world of sports.

Lebron James announced he will opt our of his contract with Miami leaving him an unrestricted free agent. This is the second time in four years this attention hogger decides he wants to try another team. Of course, it's his right as things are done in the modern NBA. Athletes of his stature do have the added dimension of thinking of their brand to consider. So don't fault him for it.

Pat Riley said as much but a few days ago he also said,  “You’ve got to stay together if you’ve got the guts. And you don’t find the first door to run out of.” I don't know if it was a last ditch pitch to keep James in Miami but there's some truth to it. As a great player, you're supposed to attract other players to come to you. You shouldn't be roaming around like an insecure latchkey boy looking to be with the cool kids.

****

Meanwhile, Tim Duncan opts to stay with the Spurs. No fuss, mo muss. Steady as she goes. No drama.

Quote of the day from ESPN's comments thread: American runs on Duncan.

****

It's now been 48 years since England has won the World Cup. This surpasses Italy's wait between WC wins (1938-1982). England's drought is even worse considering there was no WC between 1939 and 1949 having resumed in 1950. So you can remove 12 years from Italy's wait making it 32. Brazil waited 24 years between wins (1970-1994) and Germany is currently sitting on 24 as well.

I'm gonna guess they will both be waiting. Unless the officiating gets in the way.

****

My thoughts on Italy exiting for the second straight World Cup? Two words. Uncharted territory. Not since the 1950s and 60s have Italy gone through such a down spin. The loss to Uruguay has led to the resignation of manager Prandelli as well as the President of the Italian federation.

Prandelli never quite could figure out what style or tactics was best suited for the team. So confusing and absurd, it reminded me of a Picasso cubist painting (pic Femme en pleurs)

As for the bite by Suarez, that was a crucial non-call; especially considering the harsh sending off of Marchisio. The straight red for a player that doesn't play rough is especially irritating given how many players have gotten away with far worse including those from the Brazilian and Dutch sides.

Italy had the game under control until the sending off of Marchisio. Suarez's attack only destabilized the team further. I rarely see Italian teams lose composure like I've seen these past two tournaments. Unfortunate but it's the way of the soccer sword.

Still.

I've grown tired of the antics, drama and officiating to be honest.

Team USA Catches Attention At World Cup

24.7 million Americans (21% of households)  tuned in to watch USA and Portugal play to a 2-2 draw.

The games so far have been for the most part exciting. Goals are being scored at record pace.

If this keeps up, this World Cup has a chance to be the best I've seen yet. For now, 1986 remains at the top for me.

Cold Fun Facts

Coldest recorded temperature in Canada: -63c in the Yukon in 1947.
Siberia: -67.7c in 1933.

Yeah well, we won the gold medal in ice hockey on Russian snow in Sochi.

U.S. Cooling Since The 1930s

Oh my.

When Al Gore and the Envirapocalyptics speak I feel like Donald Duck rage:

It's Not Greed Money

Each time Harry Reid goes on one of his insane, irrational, old man 'get off my lawn' screeds about how money is ruining America with a special emphasis on the Koch brothers, I will post simple reminders about which party has more millionaires and billionaires.

Reid is the sort of miscreant politician that metaphorically screams 'leave the envelope on my desk.' 

They're All Jammin' Me

I haven't seen this video in 27 years. Bought the 'Let me up (I've had enough) album back when it came out in 1987. That year Petty was supposed to come to Montreal (I think it was the 'Full Moon Fever' tour) only to cancel after me and a buddy had purchased tickets. What a let down.

Nearly three decades later (yes, I'm not aging well psychologically) Petty is set to return in August but I'm hearing it's touch and go. Still put in a request through a contact for tickets though.

Too bad. He's one guy I want to see.

Anyway. Everyone's jammin' me with their bull shit these days. 

Obama's 'Operation Check Point' Cracks Down On Business

From Breitbart (cited by The Washington Post):

"The operation is headed by political operatives and career bureaucrats at the Department of Justice, the FDIC, and the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB"). It appears to be the latest example of the Obama administration's successful efforts to weaponize the apparatus of the federal government against people and industries it opposes ideologically. "

The CFPB goes after short-term lenders and has been expanding its powers in an outrageous manner despite not being elected or subjected to Congressional oversights.

Thus continues the theory that bureaucrats act like mobsters.

Basically, what they're doing is racketeering.

Aussie Colander Man Declared Sane!

Guy Albon is a legend.

This is hilarious.

Justice Is Two-Tiered

"A retired state trooper busted for allegedly working as a mob enforcer while on the job has cut a sweetheart deal with prosecutors that will keep him out of jail — and wipe his record clean, The Post has learned."

The Hatrocks Vs. The Gruesomes

Boy.

The Obamas and Clintons sure seem to hate each other don't they?

“...I hate that man Obama more than any man I’ve ever met, more than any man who ever lived,” Bill Clinton said to friends on one occasion, adding he would never forgive Obama for suggesting he was a racist during the 2008 campaign.

It's okay, Billy. Obama has went on to suggest America is racist as a whole.

"...On most evenings, Michelle Obama and her trusted adviser, Valerie Jarrett, met in a quiet corner of the White House residence. They’d usually open a bottle of Chardonnay, catch up on news about Sasha and Malia, and gossip about people who gave them heartburn.
Their favorite bête noire was Hillary Clinton, whom they nicknamed “Hildebeest,” after the menacing and shaggy-maned gnu that roams the Serengeti."

That's. Interesting. Let's leave it at that.

“And so Bill continued to talk about Hillary’s qualifications . . . and the coming campaign in 2016. But Barack didn’t bite. He changed the subject several times. Then suddenly, Barack said something that took Bill by complete surprise. He said, ‘You know, Michelle would make a great presidential candidate, too.’

You know what? Three of the four of these dopes and their 'qualifications' don't deserve to run a country. Holy shit, Hilary's recent stint on the talk show circuit should be enough for people to stay clear of her.

Bill may have been a mediocre President and a person of low character but he wasn't as incompetent as Obama that's for sure.

Of the two, if I had to choose, the Clintons probably have more real know-how than the Obamas.

Progressives Are Marxists

But I thought progressives hate it when called Marxists or Communists.

According to Salon, Marx has 'advice' for progressives.

Unbelievable.

All it boils down to is liberty and freedom must be destroyed because man is vile and he must submit to the state. That's it. That's the prog's wet dream. Nothing nuanced or enlightened in the ideology. Just force is needed. 

Beer And Running

Generally, I like to have a beer after a run or an excursion on the bike. Mostly because it's soothing for some reason. I don't know what the full effects may be but I don't care. It's fluids with barley, and hops and what not. So how bad can it be? Aside from, well, the alcohol.

It was the same thing after a hockey or soccer game. If it were a pick-up league, the losing team would have to buy. Nothing beat a long night in sub-zero temperatures playing hockey or a sweet, summer evening playing some baseball with beer.

Whatever. I hit the bourbon on off days.

I think if you feel like a coffee or an espresso or a beer before or after exercising, go for it.

Just make sure you replenish yourself with plenty of fluids be it water or Gatorade or whatever. I do that in consult with a cold one.

I came across this article delving into it a little more scientifically.

Wal-Mart Facts Checks The New York Times

You know a newspaper (the article was written by Timothy Egan) has reached new lows when a corporations hits back and obliterates their assertions rooted in falsehoods.

It was a matter of time before companies defend themselves.

The screeds against corporations has reached perk derp on the left. It's to a point they have irrationally spun things to claim companies are a drain on an economy.

At every turn they must be challenged.

Hey, Egan. What have you done for the economy besides scribble a few left-wing words to satisfy your daddy bosses?

Anyway. Wal-Mart's response is outstanding.

Bacon Prices Soar: Nooooooooo!

From Business Insider:

"According to the May consumer price index report from Canada, the price of bacon surged 9.3% month over month, or 20.5% year over year."

Eh?

Man Of Reason On Reason

Carolla must drive progressives nuts.

Good.

Cost Of Compliance In The U.S.

$1.8 trillion in 2013.

What's that, 11% of GDP?

Asinine as it is insane is it is unproductive and inefficient.

Food Freedom Eroding

Reason's Baylen Linnekin co-authored 'The Attack on Food Freedom' published at The Institution for justice.

What astonished me is the government shutting down businesses based on ill-conceived laws created, among other things, trough the will of cronyism. They take away a man's right to earn a living and destroy lives in the 'interest' of public good.

To me, they're a menace.

Hooter's Policy Must Submit To The State

Found this interesting. A commenter at Reason posted it:

"An Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) for the National Labor Relations Board recently ruled that a Hooters franchise unlawfully fired a waitress who complained that a bikini contest was rigged. The ALJ also struck down the company’s mandatory arbitration and nondisclosure agreements and nine employee handbook rules. The waitress was discharged for cursing at the winner of the contest, posting disparaging comments about coworkers and managers on social media outlets, and violating a number of work rules.

The ALJ found that certain of the employee handbook rules were overbroad and violated the National Labor Relations Act, including rules prohibiting staff from discussing tips with other workers and guests, prohibiting unauthorized dispersal of sensitive company material, and a rule forbidding employees from posting negative comments about the company and from posting any information regarding a coworker on social media. The ALJ also invalidated the company’s confidential information and nondisclosure agreement, finding the agreement impermissibly prohibited the disclosure of any information pertaining to terms and conditions of employment."

What's 'overboard' about it? Seems sensible to me. I forbid my employees to discuss wages with each other. If I hear it it's grounds for a reprimand - or worse. And I didn't just come up with that. It was based on experience. When employees discuss this it's poisonous and unprofessional.



 

The IRS Run By Scumbags

What a bunch of scumbags the IRS are.

Emails lost, data destroyed. They act like mobsters and corrupt corporate execs.

Meanwhile, our tax agencies demand we keep SEVEN YEARS of records. And if you don't have them they will destroy your life. But they can't keep emails?

Scumbags.

That's three scumbags in one post.

Must be a record of some sort.

20 Hot Libertarian Men Alive At This Moment

Just 20?

Most Popular Names In U.S. By Race

Courtesy of The Onion.

Woman Who Tried To Save Ducks On Highway Resulting In Deaths Of Two People Convicted

Woman who stopped in the middle of a highway to save ducks was convicted on two counts of criminal negligence resulting in the deaths of a motorcyclist and his daughter who was a passenger.

Sad. Tragic.

But a couple of things.

It's not clear to me how she stopped. Did she slam the breaks and the victims ploughed into her? Did she stop and have her hazards on at which point was the motorcyclist paying attention? Shouldn't some responsibility fall on the victim?

In any event, I don't believe this person is a criminal and deserves jail time. She did something stupid and thoughtless (even though she wanted to save animals - I wonder if the optic would have changed if it were a dog) but then again she's far from being alone when it comes to stupidity on the road. People cheat accidents and even death ALL THE TIME. I see inconsiderate actions on the road every single day. And even when people are being considerate they often do so in a dangerous and reckless manner. For example, people will stop without warning on a road with no stop just to let a person coming out of a parking or store in. If there are no stops then keep the flow going. It drives me nuts.

More importantly, Quebec has lenient laws against drunk drivers - even those who kill. We've let people back on the road despite over 15 DUI's in some cases. Yet they do no jail time.

That's retarded. They're the real menace to society.

Not this woman.

Eskimos, Redskins, Dumbasses

You know how I know the 'controversy' around the Washington Redskins is total and utter bull shit?

No one has said boo about the Edmonton Eskimos. That's how.

Eskimos is considered a derogatory term since they want to be known as Dene.

Sure, it's not scientific or anything but it's interesting. 

To our credit, no one has made a stink about it. Yet.

Unless I alerted the grievance shysters with this post and they're already on the case.

First the Edmonton Eskimos, then Eskimo pie!

As for Washington, how about the Washington Dumbasses in honor of everyone 'offended' by a word?

There I Said It

Washington Redskins.

Rick Reilly brings some much needed proper perspective in the hysterics surrounding the name.

Fact is, not many people are offended.

World Cup: Splendidly Parochial

"Suarez is not a world class player." England manager Roy Hodgson.

"We're a better team."* England captain Steven Gerrard.

Italy 2 England 1 (a score that flattered the latter)
Uruguay 2 England 1 (thanks to two Suarez strikers)

England wallows in mediocrity and its managers still manage delusional commentary.

* I loosely paraphrase from memory. But he did claim England are a better side.

Update:

Now that I'm less lazy here's the exact quote:

"I think we're a better team, I think we're a better squad, I think confidence is higher,"

You can interpret this as 'being better than we were' or as 'we're better than Italy.'

I'm leaning the latter.

Meet The Woman Behind The Prosecution Of Aaron Swartz: Carmen Ortiz

Prosecutors with political ambitions are the worst kind of miscreants willing to destroy lives at will. They're demonic dragons who possess a tad too much power.

So it is with Carmen Ortiz in the Aaron Swartz saga.

Government just loves beating the shit out of little people and turning a blind eye to the real criminals and crooks. It's a disturbing feature of AG Eric Holder's office. When Ortiz came under fire for over zealous, over reach in trying to make an example of Swarz, Holder defended her:

Attorney General Eric Holder defended Ortiz's aggressive prosecution before the Senate Judiciary Committee, terming it, "a good use of prosecutorial discretion."



Swarz committed suicide as all this nonsense of evil went on.

Read the links. See what type of individuals 'represent' the people:

Here.

Second link to Huffington.

A couple at Tech Dirt here and here.

Finally at Esquire.

Not pretty.

Really not a nice person.

Censor At Will!

  It's a good thing kids have responsible leaders in the communities or else, you know, mayhem.

"Principal Matt Munger ordered 13 offensive phrases censored, The Arizona Daily Star reports, and pinned the blame on the school's yearbook teacher, Thomas Knutson, for a lack of oversight.
"This falls squarely on the shoulders of the teacher," district spokeswoman Cara Rene told the Daily Star.
The students will not face discipline, but Knutson will for not passing the yearbook on to the administration for review before printing, Rene added."

Are they for real?

They're crazy.

Simple as that.

Fucking nuts.

Imagine authority figures going in and editing and censoring all the inside jokes and references that are a part of being in high school. Death of the inside joke!

Look, this is what PC in full flight looks like. It's a plague that's slowly eroding freedom of speech.

 

Redskins Nutty Name Change Campaign

Apparently, the Washington Redskins battle to keep their name just got a little more complicated as they lost their trademark by the U.S. Patents Office.

I think this is worth mentioning:

"Most Indians Say Name of Washington “Redskins” Is Acceptable While 9 Percent Call It Offensive."

People call this 'progress.' No, it's not and if you think it is, you need to rethink what progress is. Professional offenders are driving this non-story I bet.

No word on whether Redskin potatoes will have to change its name. 

In any event, not a big fan of intellectual property rights as well as it being enforced by an entity like the USPO. 

Carolla Tells It Like It Is

Wanna learn to hate government?

Start a business and try to fix something on your own property.

Carolla stole the words right out of my bacteria infested mouth.



I love the bit about how 96.6% of Californians buckle up and the guest politician justifies more measures and regulations to get it to 100%.

Despite having said all the right and sane things about business being over-regulated. But then he gets all derpy. Weird.

Anyway.

As long as there's Carolla, common sense will always have a chance.

You Think I'm Funny?

'Climate mafia.'

Super Bananas Expected By 2020

'Super bananas' can save African lives.

Left-wing, enviro-whackos will try and stop it. Because GMO. Labelzzzz!

Sounds better than the shit cavendish variety we're getting at the moment.

Justina Pelletier Home

But not before Massachusetts disgraces itself.

That's some sad story.

I doubt they really had her best interest at heart in this case.

Obama Wants To Bomb Iraq; Think Tank Cool With It

In the 'It's not the same when our guy does it' file, The Center For American Progress is supporting limited air strikes in Iraq.

Hey, they said 'limited.' What more do you want? It's not like they're adding boots on the ground or anything.

Besides. It's not his fault he's trying to fix Bush's mess even though he promised to...aw forget. Moving targets, paradigms, changing dynamics blah, blah.

Besides, again, air strikes against Libya was a bloody success!

Ah, that Nobel Peace prize is looking good every single day. I wonder if they're all sitting around talking Norwegish wondering if they made a mistake giving him a peace prize with scant a track record on, you know, actual peace progress.

Benghazi Suspect Caught; Does Obama Still Think It's The Video

Hang on.

I thought the perpetrator was the dude who made that obscure video!

But now the Obama administration suddenly found the true guilty person in Ahmed Abu Khattala?

And you gonna try and tell me there's no scandal with Benghazi? Holy crap, this is one cynical, incompetent and lying bunch. Either lied about their 'video memo' or they're just plain Keystone Kops with keys to the Bentley.

So. Will they release the guy they theatrically arrested?

And Hilary still can't bring herself to stand up and take full accountability and responsibility. Lotsa 'yeah buts' in her verbal waltzes. 

Unbelievable.

Heroes!

How many Livonia cops does it take to handle a mentally disabled person?

Four armed with hand cuffs.

Oh. The whole thing could have easily and humanely settled if A) the fuckers at Wal-Mart and the cops would take a second to read and B) count to ten and allow common sense to settled in.

"Me. So Enlightened," Michelle Obama: Face Palm And Repeat

I posted about Michelle's food crusade earlier but came across this:

“I thought to myself, if a Princeton and Harvard-educated professional woman doesn’t know how to adequately feed her kids, then what are other parents going through who don’t have access to the information I have?” she recalled."

Didn't realize there was a link to eating well to having a degree. My mother has no degree and has pretty much mastered the art of cooking, Michelle. So have millions of other mothers. Because you failed doesn't give you the right to condescendingly assume others did too.

Of course, let's project! Because I, an educated person with sooo much access to information, can't cook neither can you, you lowly uneducated shlepp.

My Lord, is there no end to her arrogance?

Look kids, change you can believe in comes through remembering the 4 P's of progressivism:

Dodge, dip, dive...Wait.

Puritanism, projection, presumptuousness, and paternalism.

The First Lady Talks Control

"First lady Michelle Obama on Monday blasted back at critics of her school lunch program, arguing parents should ensure their children eat healthy meals.

Obama said parents and school leaders can’t let children make the call to eat pizza and burgers for lunch every day.

“If I let my kids dictate what we have for dinner every day, it would be French fries, chips and candy, but we don’t run our households like that, and we can’t run our schools like that,” the first lady said in an interview with MSN."

Arrogance aside. Still. None. Of. Your. Business.

God, are these people insufferable in their paternalism? Unelected to boot!

 

And the projection. Outrageous.

 

My kid doesn't always ask for junk food and we do govern against this as I imagine the overwhelming majority of Americans already do. 

Why The Stanley Cup Is The Best Trophy In Professional Sports

Because...

As Iraq Descends

Before I rediscovered my classical liberal outlook, I wallowed around aimlessly (it turns out) between the traditional red and blue camps. I sat and listened to the narrative confined to a box set by top men.

So it was with Iraq. The arguments for invasion were put forth eloquently enough that I figured this time the Americans were gonna do it right. Their political interests merged with their moral visions of a free Iraq. Fix Iraq, stabilize the region seemed to be the big picture argument and it made sense to me.

But as some pointed out, you can't do stuff like that and it did give pause. Among all conservative (and even liberal) pundits, the only one who was against military invasion (to this very day) was Pat Buchanan. For his troubles, he too was chastised for his lack of patriotism.

Buchanan saw a modern Vietnam, whereas classical historians like Victor Davis Hanson saw a changing world. Indeed, I too thought we had arrived at a historical crossroads where the U.S. was going to finally bring peace, prosperity and democracy to a country that had an educated, seemingly willing population - to say nothing of its rich cultural heritage and history.

Of all the countries in the region, Iraq was the one that seemed primed for a-changin'.

This time the Americans were going to do it right.

They didn't. Not necessarily because they're failures but the task was to gigantic to handle. Americans are not specialists in building diverse countries from scratch. And that's fine. No country really is; except for perhaps the British but they too were imperfect having to face the full force of local customs and history eventually overcome imperialism and colonialism.

The invasion of Afghanistan was justifiable. Few people were against it. Most countries knew that was the Medussa's head but Iraq was more complicated. There's no doubt the country had chemical weapons and it's very possible Hussein would have increased his lust for more destructive weapons. Links to terrorist organizations were around too. But if the U.S. wanted to put an end to countries who housed such entities, the biggest, baddest of all those countries was Iran. I suppose the thinking was secure Iraq and keep Iran in check because you can't invade the latter without major global implications.

Bah.

I think I'll quit here because a flood of thoughts are overcoming me too numerous to coherently jot down here.

The point of this was to highlight given the recent troubles in Iraq, it's amazing to think (maybe ironically?) this was once the 'cradle of civilization' (I can see Hanson's position viewed from this light) home to so many legendary and historical dynasties and empires including Sumerian, Babylonian, and Parthian.  It was 'supposed' to be a discussion on that.

Alas.

Tangents. 

Mr. Padre Dies

Baseball lost one of its all-time great - and classiest - hitters in Tony Gwynn.

He was 54.

/removes baseball cap.

Quote Of The Day

On the San Antonio Spurs obliterating the two-time defending champions Miami Heat four games to one:

"It's so nice that the Heat got to spend Father's day with their daddy, the Spurs."

Laughed at that one.

Those last three games were pure beat downs indeed.

Heroes!

Lemme me get this straight.

New York cops burst in the wrong house and accidentally shoot a terrified 22 year-old resident and the officer is 'cleared of any wrong doing'?

Are they for effen real?

You have to love the claim and excuse that she 'jumped out of the closet.' Yet, earlier in the article it was said she was hiding in fear thinking it was robbers. Yes, because any rational person would jump out if there were robbers in the house. Furthermore, imagine if she accidentally shot a cop for wrongfully barging into her apartment?

I think we all know what would have happened. They would have capped her.

Good for her she sued but she should have gotten way more than 650k. $1 million and work from there.

Fricken war on drugs are making fools of heroes.

Wait For It. Wait...For...Damn

I don't know if this is true but someone posted on The Telegraph BBC commentator Phil Neville's comments on the Italy-England game:

"70th minute: (2-1) "Plenty of time left on the clock..no need to rush"
80th minute: (2-1) "I always think there's no need to panic at this stage"
90th minute: (2-1) "5 minutes to go, plenty of time, take the extra pass"
95th minute: (2-1) "Just wait for their mistake.."

Funny stuff. 

Of course you don't panic but you do need some urgency and there was none with England.

Take the extra pass? England's passing game is average at best.

Waiting for 'their' mistake is so wonderfully delusional and arrogant only an English football pundit could muster.

***

It's not that hard to figure out England. There's a lot we can say about why England fails to impress but let's keep it short and say they're good players but their tactical abilities are suspect.

England's record at the World Cup is not on par with the great powers but it's not as terrible as portrayed either.

Oh, well. Carry on.

All Roads Lead To Pirlo And Stat Of The Day

Unbelievable performance by Andrea Pirlo.

Just pure elegance and brilliance. The game ran through him. He dictated everything.

I came across this comment at The Telegraph:

"Does anyone know how many cigars Pirlo got through in the game?
Coolest player in the WC since Socrates in 1982. Class."

Know what? He's right. He does remind me of Socrates. Great comment.

For the Azzurri, all roads lead to Pirlo.

Oh.

They, naturally, beat England 2-1. And the English and ESPN hype machine around the English was silenced.

***

Stat of the day.

Tale of two teams:

The last three major games against Italy has played against England (1990 World Cup, Euro 2012 and 2014 WC), the total score was been 4-2.

Conversely, the last three major games between Italy and Germany (1996 EC, 2006 WC and 2012 Euro) 4-0 for Italy. The gap widens to 15-5 if you throw in the matches at the 1970 and 1982 World Cups.

For some reason, Italy has a harder time against England - except for 2012. That was obscene how they man-handled England.

America Lost

This war on drugs.

It has to be rethought.

This thing of barreling through homes and shooting innocent people, injuring kids, and killing dogs demeans the United States. Taking lives and throwing people in jail for low-end drugs is insane.

The U.S. has 5% of the world population yet has 20% of the world's prison population.

That statistic alone is haunting, disturbing and points directly to a police state.

Bloc Quebecois: Hitching Rides To Clowns

The Bloc Quebecois must not be very bright. Didn't the province pretty much reject idiotic tribal nationalism? Yet, the party elected hard liner Mario Beaulieu as its leader. Beaulieu is a most unsporting personality linked to many typically populist comments.

Supporters chanted something to the effect 'we will overcome' (yes, they're that fucking delusional) harking back to the terrorism and murdering of the FLQ days.

Nice bunch of sad sack buffoons.

I'm gonna enjoy watching this party recede into obscurity slaves to its own outdated views of Quebec.

World Cup Jerseys By Brand

Breakdown of which companies have their logos on jerseys at the World Cup in Braaaaasil!

Nike (10) -Brazil, Holland, England, France, Portugal, Croatia, USA, Greece, Australia, South Korea.

Adidas (9) - Germany, Argentina, Spain, Mexico, Russia, Colombia, Nigeria, Japan, Bosnia/Herz.

Puma (8) - Italy, Uruguay, Chile, Switzerland, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Algeria

Five companies (1) - Lotto (Costa Rica), Joma (Honduras), Marathon (Ecuador), Uhisport (Iran), Burrda Belgium.

And now for something subjective. The ranking of each jersey kits.

Three familiar names not represented: Umbro, Reebok or Diadora.

Quote Of The Day

"There are some ideas so absurd that only an intellectual could believe them."
-George Orwell

Indeed, they're too smart for their own good. Problem is they're good at coming up with all sorts of sinister ideas for the good of all but once the unintended consequences kick in, poof! They disappear and run away like cowards or stand around pointing the finger at one another or come up with all sorts of excuses to explain why things didn't go as planned.

In other words, they ain't so smart.

Intelligent is no replacement for wisdom.

It takes a special kind of mindset to think otherwise. 

 

Zero-Tolerance For Brain-Dead Deadbeats

'Zero-tolerance' is perhaps the most destructive and idiotic idea ever devised by 'smart' people.

Think of how utterly stupid zero-tolerance is. We're always told life is not black and white (and for the most part this is true) yet here we are applying a retarded rule in the most innocuous of situations stripping people of their natural common sense.

What kind of people come up with shit like this and, worse, what kind of people does it take to apply it.

The Evil Side Of Soccer

Gruesome murder of a referee.

And no, it's not because they're passionate nor does it happen - ever - in North America in the main four sports outside soccer.

The other day I was watching a soccer program on GolTV. The panel assembled were talking World Cup and eventually came around to talking about Luis Suarez and his penchant, for a lack of a better word, for cheating. The host asked on of the panelist - a professional soccer player in the MLS - whether he would go as far as Suarez who is considered a national hero in his native Uruguay. The player said he would do what it takes to win because he's 'passionate.'

I have no clue what passion and cheating have to do with each other and I've always hated people who cheat claim they're passionate. 'Hey, I boinked her because I'm passionate! Ta-daa!' Try that with the missus.

Get back to me.