Clunker

Wait! You're telling me a government program is out of money?

Hope and Change, Cardinal Style

I haven't had much to say about the Cardinals lately. Thank you for pointing out that I haven't said much about ANYTHING lately.

In any case, St. Louis upgraded their lineup significantly over the last few weeks. They have acquired Mark DeRosa, Julio Lugo and Matt Holliday and that's a lot of firepower infused into a lineup that was pretty pedestrian and lucky to be near the top of the division.

As it is, the owners should be commended for loosening the purse strings a tad so that these bats could be added. It's gratifying to see them recognize the opportunity that lies ahead for the club and authorize some moves to improve the Cards chances.

I watched two of the games over the last weekend with the Phillies and even though St. Louis got beat handily in both of the games, there still was the sense the club could come back. That wasn't true 3 weeks ago. Then, a five-run deficit would require you to turn off the TV and go do something else. This week, a five-run deficit is drama you don't want to miss.

Who's The Villain?

I heard today that Nancy Pelosi, technically still the Speaker of the House, said that insurance companies are "villains." This is her contribution to the national debate concerning health care.

Is she certain of this? Where did she get this information? A CIA briefing?

Insurance companies aren't villains. Pelosi is lying or misinformed (CIA?). They offer a service for a fee. Sometimes there's a lot of red tape and sometimes they don't pay as much as you'd like. But generally, most of us are glad about the insurance we have when we've got a bill to pay. And, right now, it's still my choice to get insurance or not. And which doctor I see is still up to me.

All that will change if Pelosi and Obama get their way on health care.

Here's the article about Pelosi. Her behavior is offensive.

Quiz Time

Who said the following?

"We may have to find some marvelous middle ground between capitalism and communism," (you know, like socialism, for example)

"the first priority of the new order must be a revision of the educational system to . . . guarantee that each of our citizens will have equal resources to share in the decisions of the democracy, and a fair share of the economic pie."

"we must strengthen the United Nations as a first step toward a world government" and that "Americans will have to yield up some of our sovereignty."

So, who was it?

Was it our president, Mr. Obama?

Or his friend Bill Ayers?

Or Comrade Pelosi from the People's Republic of San Francisco?

Or how about McGovern or Humphrey or Kennedy or Clinton?

Nope. None of these.



It was your beloved Uncle Walter Cronkite.

Fantastic Friday Facts

My number one son blogs occasionally and when he does, it usually has something to do with Graphic Arts, which he studies at school. His latest post pays tribute to Roger Federer's record-setting 15th Grand Slam title. He includes a bit of art that he created to commemorate the event. I think he did a great job! The post in it's entirety, if you want.

Bob Ryan is one of America's best sports writers and he weighed in on the classic match between Federer and Andy Roddick for the Wimbledon championship last weekend. It's a good article, with a terrific ending, which I give you now -

But, wow, what we had seen! There are times when it doesn't matter of the sport you're watching is your sport. All that matters is that you are a true fan of sport, and if you are, you don't have to be told when you are bearing witness to both legitimate greatness and history. And what does this say about Federer? This is two years in a row he has been involved in an epic match that will go down in the annals of his sport as among the very best ever staged. He is great, and he brings out greatness in others. On Sunday we were all reminded why we are sports fans. For the umpteenth time, I say that I am truly sorry for those among us who aren't.

Ryan says the truth here. Sports aren't everything, but they've never really pretended to be (it's people who foul that part up). Most games, like most days, are ordinary. But every once in a while you get something like Federer-Roddick for the championship and when you do, you are glad for the chance to see the extraordinary.

P.S. You want an application? OK, if you wander by the TV set and Albert Pujols is batting, stop and watch. Most of the time, you will see something you have seen before. But every once in a while, more often than most guys, Albert will do something special. He has, for example, four grand slam home runs this year. I think I've seen three of them. He's amazing with the bases loaded.

Obama and Biden - Hype and Charade

The economy is still wretched after Dr. Obama's prescribed stimulus. Joe Biden, the effervescent Veep said today that the economy was worse than they thought. Maybe, when they described the economy during the election campaign as the worst since the Great Depression, they were just lying. Maybe.

From Investor's Business Daily: Of $157.8 billion "made available" under the stimulus, only $56.3 billion has been paid out — or 7% of the total $787 billion. And according to ex-Treasury Department economist Bruce Bartlett, "just 11% of the the discretionary spending on highways, mass transit, energy efficiency and other programs involving direct government purchases will have been spent by the end of this fiscal year."

Based on this, there are only two possible conclusions: One, the stimulus has been the most inept public waste of money in history. Or two, it was a cynical attempt by the Democrats to vastly expand the scope of government during a time of crisis. Or maybe it's both.

Probably both. Oh, and they want to do another stimulus, too. Brilliant!

Read it all, if you want.

Two Movies For You

My bride and I watched a movie called "Last Chance Harvey" last night. She liked the movie overall, but felt it lacked certain elements that would draw the viewer emotionally, like other romantic-comedies do. I can see why she says that, but I liked the movie very much. Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson star. I liked many of the sets and the cinematography was great, I think. Shots inside Heathrow and along the Thames particularly stand out.

I say see it.

"Last Chance Harvey" was distributed by a company called Overture Films and they put out another film we saw not too long ago, called "The Visitor". It too is filmed differently, paced differently than major studio films. Maybe it has a more 'independent' feel. In any case, it too, is a good movie, though very different.

I say see it, too.

Here are the trailers, "Last Chance Harvey" and "The Visitor".

Remember when they were called 'previews'?

It Occurs To Me

It occurs to me that bazooka is a very funny word. Try to use it in a sentence today.

Pray For The Hondurans

I have not followed the events in Honduras closely, but I have the gist of what's going on. The good people there threw out the thug who used to be the leader of the country after he defied their Congress and Supreme Court. In other words, the people wouldn't let a dictator rule them and instead, preferred democracy.

And for their freedom-affirming actions, the entire rest of the world opposes them. From Investor's Business Daily:

"Nations aren't usually put to the fearsome test to "live free or die." But Hondurans are accepting it as the world pressures them to reseat a potential dictator in office. They aren't bending."

The Obama Administration, echoing the socialist/communist dictators it admires, has called for the restoration of the former dictator. Socialism is as socialism does.

Fortunately, the people of Honduras are holding firm. From IBD again:

"Hondurans, some 80% of whom approve of the Court action. "Everyone here is celebrating," a business leader told Latin Finance."

It wasn't too long ago that America came to the aid of countries which fought for democracy against totalitarian rule.

We don't see that from Obama.