Don't look surprised this time...

In 2004, it was a massive November offensive in Iraq, once the political pressures associated with high military deaths had passed.

In 2006?

A massive military call-up

I will say, I'm not that familiar with this news source, and this may not be 100% accurate, but it is alarming.

People have to stop being surprised when the same thing happens over and over again.

Its like watching Chris Capps play on Alabama's Offensive Line.

19 times last week (yes, really 19, someone watched the tape and checked) Capps was out maneuvered and the Defensive End for MSU quickly got pressure on John Parker Wilson. Yet every time Capps came away after the whistle looking like he couldn't believe the guy got by him. More irritating is that the guy used the SAME MOVE every time.

People have got to stop looking surprised when a Conservative leader (be it in the church, or the government) turns out to be a huge hypocrite who is involved in drug and sex scandals.

People can't look surprised in November when the GOP (should they retain control of the Congress) make some politically unpopular decisions that lead to more hard times for our country.

I am NOT Bill Maher, but if I were, my "New Rule" would be: When people continue to behave in the same way the always have, you're not allowed to look surprised.

Go vote tomorrow!

Stay Tuned...

Biggest mistakes I ever made v. 1

Working for Jerry Tingle's Alabama State Senate Campaign in 2002.

I admit it, I was sucked into the pre-war hype.

I admit it, I was sucked into the post-9/11 frenzy.

I admit it, I couldn't find the Tuscaloosa Democratic Party Headquarters, so I went to the Republican Headquarters instead.

I admit it, I worked on the campaign of a total douche, in the interest of gaining political experience.

I learned from this experience.

I learned:

(1) Don't put college students on your staff unless you know damn well what they believe in. Jerry put Robyn and I on his staff with no real inquiry into our politics, and he was oblivious to the fact that we were just along for the ride and wanted to get some campaign experience.

(2) Don't put college students in charge of the campus if you don't know what they believe. I'll put it like this, Jerry Tingle and his wife gave us a LOT of materials. Bumper Stickers, Flyers, Yard Signs, MAJOR signs (like you hold on the corner), flags, stickers, etc. They all found the ZBT dumpster instead of the hands of conservative students on the UA campus.

(3) Don't be a total dick. Jerry Tingle sucked, from day one. He was rude when we met him. He was nothing but a two-bit business man with a smalltime x-ray machine manufacturing business. Yet he had the audacity to walk around like he owned the town, and was running for the Governorship. This certainly didn't help encourage me to get him elected. Politics aside, if the man had inspired me I would probably have put some effort in.

Here's an interesting side note, the "Democratic Underground" recently named Jerry Tingle to its list of the "Top 10 Conservative Idiots". Thats right, #10 is my boy Jerry. He is in big company. Ashcroft, Cheney, Bush, Katharine Harris. That would probably make Jerry's day, regardless of the context.

Moral of the story?

Don't sell out your politics for a political opportunity, you'll never live it down.

To this day my friends, who know how liberal I am, throw it in my face that I worked for a "save our sundays" conservative.

Fuck Jerry Tingle.

I am pretty sure I still have some ponchos in my car from election day. I was raining and they gave me two cases of ponchos "for my volunteers." HA!

Stay Tuned...

Things that are wrong with America v. 6

The GOP has launched obnoxious pre-recorded "robocalls" pretending to be from Democratic campaigns in 53 close House races. The goal of these messages is to turn key "swing voters" off of Democratic Candiates.

Too strange and unbelievable to be real?

Story

This is so disgusting, I don't even know what to say. I will sleep on it and write a more complete story tomorrow.

Shame on you Republicans.

Shame on you.

Stay Tuned...

Good Work Iraq...

At first I was kind if irritated by the proceedings against Saddam Hussein. I thought that we ought to just take him out back and shoot him. Of course this was a major contradiction to my general "pro-process" attitude. It is Saddam though. His guilt is hardly in question. Certainly we can all agree he has done SOMETHING worth being executed over.

In the end however, the Iraqi's (and Americans) took their time, conducted an open tribunal and found Saddam guilty. Today they sentenced him to be executed. There will be an appeal of course, but the reality is, Saddam will be hanged in front of the entire world. Kudos to the coalition on this though. They managed to take their time and lend some credibility to the entire process. The kicking and screaming of Saddam and the steadfast resolve of the tribunal (in the face of family members being murdered, and threats against their lives) has allowed us to reach this point. So where do we go from here?

Within 10 days, the court will forward the cases of Hussein and three other defendants to the appellate chamber of the Iraqi High Tribunal. Appeals of death penalties and life sentences are automatic.

Within 20 days after the appeals are made, the prosecution and the defense must submit their documents to the appellate chamber.

A court official told The Associated Press the appeals process was likely to take three to four weeks once the formal paperwork was submitted.

However, there is no time limit for the appellate court to rule on the appeal.

Once the court does reach a decision, if the sentences are upheld, they must be carried out in 30 days.

CNN.com

So, sometime in the next 3 months we will know Saddams ultimate fate. And within a month of that, you can expect to tune in and see Saddam hang for his crimes. Something to keep in mind is, that image you see is the very reason that the American government has opted against signing the International Criminal Court Conventions. We are afraid that if we hand any portion of jurisdiction to an international tribunal, one day people will tune in and watch an American official hanged. I have to say, that would be a pretty bad thing for our country. There is another way to avoid it though, outside of just "stiff-arming" the international community. DON'T DO ANYTHING THAT WILL GET YOU HANGED IN AN INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT! Maybe its best if we just be protectionist. That way we can undertake all the crimes against humanity we want.

They do make for great pictures...


So, maybe they can plan the hanging during the Super Bowl halftime? That would be priceless.

I know I'll be DVRing it.

Stay Tuned...

The Wait is Over...SPAD T-Shirts have arrived!

Front of the Shirt (the letters will be the only white, not the block behind it)

Back of the Shirt

If you are interested (ABE) drop me an e-mail.

Estimated at $10. This will go down if I can order 10.




I feel compelled to point out this is a joke, however, should interest arise, shirts will be ordered

Stay Tuned...

Typical Hypocrisy...

"The president of the National Association of Evangelicals resigned Thursday after denying an accusation by a male prostitute that the pastor paid him for sex over three years.

The Rev. Ted Haggard said he is also temporarily stepping aside from the pulpit of his church in Colorado Springs, Colorado, pending an internal investigation by the church."
-- CNN.com

Its just no longer a shock when a leading member of the "christian right" is found out to be a hypocrite.

I find it amazing that the sheep continue to flock blindly behind these corrupt and disappointing leaders.

Surely the flock isn't just as hypocritical?

Are they?

Stay Tuned...

Grizzlies 2006-2007 Season Preview

So Pau Gasol is out until late December, or maybe even January.

That hurts, but it provides some very important opportunities for growth on a young and talented squad.

Hakim Warrick.

Rudy Gay.

Alexander Johnson.

Lawrence Roberts.

All these guys are going to get some serious minutes with PG out of the line-up.

We've got three distinct "starting 5"s...

Option 1:
This is the format that maximizes the experience on the court for a young team. This assumes that Gasol is healthy.

PG - Damon Staudamire
SG - Eddie Jones
SF - Mike Miller
PF - Pau Gasol
C - Jake Tsakalidis

Option 2:
This is the format that allows for (1) prime development of Rudy Gay, and (2) Mike Miller to be the 6th man, a role he excelled in. This also assumes that Gasol is healthy.

PG - Damon Staudamire
SG - Eddie Jones
SF - Rudy Gay
PF - Pau Gasol
C - Jake Tsakalidis

Option 3:
This option assumes that Pau Gasol is not healthy. Rudy Gay is the first man off the bench.

PG - Damon Staudamire
SG - Eddie Jones
SF - Mike Miller
PF - Hakim Warrick
C - Jake Tsakalidis

This is what he depth chart looks like if you take health out of the equation:

PG - Damon Staudamire, Chucky Atkins, Kyle Lowry
SG - Eddie Jones, Dahntay Jones, Terrance Kinsey
SF - Mike Miller, Rudy Gay
PF - Pau Gasol, Stromile Swift, Hakim Warrick, Brian Cardinal, Lawrence Roberts
C - Jake Tsakalidis, Alexander Johnson

So, lets talk about this seasons...

Most of the "experts" have us picked at the bottom of the West. This is based primarily on the absence of Gasol for the first two months, and the expectation it will take him some time to get back to his previous form even once he has returned to the court.

I think we will be competitive for the 8th and final spot in the West. I'm not sure we will get it, but I think that come April, we will still be in the picture.

Look at last nights season opener as an example of the kind of team Jerry West has put together...

The team was down 19 points in the 4th quarter. It would have been SO easy for the kids to pack it in. On the floor in the opening minutes of the 4th quarter? Lowry, Atkins, Gay, Miller, and Warrick. A small squad. A young squad. A fast squad. A determined squad. They scrap their way back in chunks. A 7-0 run...an 11-4 run...a few lucky breaks...and we're going to overtime. The group would not quit.

In the first OT we played from a 4 point deficit the entire time, and again we scraped together a run at the end and tied it up.

Second OT was the same. Hakim fouled out with 22 points, 12 rebounds. Both career highs.

In the third OT, we finally played with a lead. Until the end. Free throw shooting was our death in this game. We shot 60% from the line. The general rule is, 73% is the minimum to be competitive.

The thing is, this team played with grit, and poise.

Look at the stats:
Hakim - 22 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block
Chucky - 25 points, 1 turnover in 28 minutes
Rudy - 21 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks in 38 minutes
Lowry - 6 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists
Miller - 18 points, 6 rebounds

You're talking about a group that stars 2 rookies and 1 second year player!

If you put Gasol on the floor with this group, the sky is the limit.

There is a school of thought that says "maybe Gasol should sit all year, let him get healthy, a foot is a difficult thing to heal." Sounds crazy huh? There is some incentive to having a bad year. (1) The kids get some GREAT experience that will materially affect their production down the line and expedite their development, (2) Gred Odom Sweepstakes.

Odom, a freshman at Ohio St. would probably have been the #1 pick in last years draft if he had been eligible. According to nbadraft.net:

Incredibly fluid athlete for a 7 footer... Tremendous speed in the open court ... A center with his agility and talent comes along roughly every 10-15 years ... Extremely quick and explosive ... Enormous potential ... His game has improved significantly from his sophomore to junior seasons ... Starting to understand how to use his body and how dominant he can be ... Big defensive presence, and a terrific shot blocker with great length, timing and instincts ... Excellent rebounder ... Soft touch around the basket ... Has developed a decent turnaround hook with his right hand ... Very good passer with nice court vision (averaged 3.7 assists per game as a junior) ... Quality kid with a great attitude ... Very coachable, listens and wants to improve ... Team player with a winners mentality ... Improving on a daily basis ... Decent free throw shooter at 64% but needs to and should improve upon it (improved considerably from 51% as a sophomore) ...

He will be the #1 pick in whatever draft he enters. Most believe it will be next summer.

So, maybe this year is a lottery year...

I can live with that.

The 1996-1997 San Antonio Spurs had a lot of talent on the team but they weren't really contenders. David Robinson got hurt early in the year and didn't play the entire season. The result? In the 1997 NBA Draft, the Spurs picked up a skinny kid from Wake Forest named Tim Duncan. The rest is history as they say, the Spurs immediately became contenders, and the last 6 years have been NBA champs, Western Conference Champs, etc.

Sometimes it takes bad luck for good luck to happen.

All I know is, we've got a lot of young talent, and this team is going places in the next few years.

We just need the city to stick with them.

Or "Stand Up" as this year's slogan says.

So Memphis...STAND UP!

Lets Go Grizz!

Stay Tuned...