It's A New Year. Let's Go To Wal-Mart

At 3:55 this afternoon I was headed out of Wal-Mart and saw a mob of people going into the store, lined up like Vegas conventioneers at an open bar. What's the attraction? Maybe the Electronics area was going to drop a lighted ball later on. Actually, it's a pretty good bet that something lit would drop in Wal-Mart.

Anyway, I had just been there and let me tell you it is no picnic. Not only are there many shoppers per aisle in there, but there are also at least 2 employees per aisle trying to get the store recovered for what I can only assume would be year-end inventory.

Happy New Year! Now go straighten a jam-packed Wal-Mart as it's being shopped.

Oy.

All Favre, All The Time

It is probably a myth that fierce Nordic explorers of yore would burn their ship once they were ashore in a new land in order to prevent retreat. Today's NFL namesakes, the Vikings, have commenced burning the team ship with a third of the season to play and everyone still on board. Talk about poor clock management!

Just a few plays away from last year's Super Bowl, Minnesota has fired the coach, Brad Childress, as of Monday. What has gone wrong? ESPN.com's Gregg Easterbrook has a thought:

"Surely, the Vikings' problem is that they have not bowed low enough before Brett Favre! Childress only drove to the airport to pick him up. Why didn't he offer to fold Favre's laundry too? If only the Minnesota Vikings would show Favre some respect!

Favre leads the league with 17 interceptions -- and maybe he wouldn't be throwing to the wrong place so often if he'd bothered to attend training camp for the past two seasons. Favre also has lost five fumbles; 22 turnovers in 10 games by the starting quarterback would doom any NFL team. The Vikings are last in the NFL in turnover differential -- and Adrian Peterson hasn't fumbled this season! Yet Childress is scapegoated while Favre floats above it all. The Metrodome crowd chanted, "FIRE CHILDRESS!" They should have chanted, "PROTECT THE FOOTBALL!"

In 2007, Green Bay wanted to be rid of Favre because the team was sick of his attitude, which boils down to: me, me, me and have I mentioned me? Sunday, Green Bay's judgment was vindicated in emphatic fashion.

In 2008, Favre single-handedly blew up the New York Jets, leading to a fired head coach and bitter recriminations all around. In 2010, Favre has blown up the Vikings, with a fired head coach and bitter recriminations all around. This must be some inexplicable coincidence -- it can't have anything to do with Brett Favre."

Raise Your Own Taxes

From Gregg Easterbrook at ESPN.com:

"Last week a group of millionaires, including the musician Moby, urged Barack Obama to raise taxes on the rich. Taxes on the rich should indeed be raised, though that alone would be far from sufficient to fix the national debt -- a combination higher middle-class taxes, Social Security reductions, defense-spending cuts and increased economic growth is required to fix the damage done by a decade of reckless spending by Democrats and Republicans alike.

Last week's group, and rich people such as Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, who say they favor higher taxes on the wealthy, should bear in mind that they can tax themselves immediately. Right now the top rate for federal income taxes in 35 percent; Obama has proposed raising the number to 39.6 percent beginning in 2011. Nothing stops Gates, or Moby, or any other rich person from simply calculating an additional tax of 4.6 percent, and adding it to the check they send to the Treasury. If you're rich and say you believe the rich should be taxed more -- then tax yourself! Otherwise you're just patting yourself on the back for claiming to want to be taxed, but never actually parting with the money.

And if the president is sincere, why hasn't he already taxed himself to the same extent that he wants to tax others? Filing jointly in 2009, Barack and Michelle Obama had an adjusted gross income of $5,505,409, and paid $1,792,414 in federal taxes. Had the top-rate tax that Obama advocates been in effect they would have paid an additional $253,249. Why didn't the president set a leadership example and tax himself by sending an additional $253,249 to the Treasury?"

Well, why not indeed? I'm not persuaded that taxes need to go up on the rich. I am of the opinion that removing more capital from the private sector and dumping into a rathole the size of a galaxy, i.e., the Federal Treasury, is bad for the economy.

But it would be wonderful to see these "higher taxes" nabobs put their money where their mouth is. But I'm not going to hold my breath.

Soup For Me

The best part of Progresso's chicken noodle soup is the noodles and the broth. The vegetables, carrots and some celery, have the flavor of the broth, basically, so getting that down is just a question of texture. You gaggers out there know of what I speak.

The chicken is OK but is often a little bit grainy, if that makes sense. But, if you eat the vegetables and the chicken first, you are left with the golden broth and tender noodles. And those goodies make the unappealing parts worthwhile. And if you've got some Keebler Town House crackers to throw in there, well, son! That's good eatin'!

I had the low sodium version today and noticed no real drop off in taste. Curious as I was to see what sort of sodium savings I was enjoying, I looked at the label. I guess 'low' has different meanings in soup-labeling land than it does in the English-speaking world. One serving of the soup had roughly 450 mg of sodium, if I remember correctly. There were two servings in the can. That means I ate 900 mg of sodium for lunch. Nine hundred mg of sodium does not translate as 'low' to me. I'm aiming for 1500 or so for the day.

I figure the way to combat all that sodium is a Snickers bar.

Crosswalk Pride

I have found that pride is much more subtle, devious, insidious than I had previously thought.

I think we can all spot with ease the person who must always have the spotlight or who constantly talks of themselves in conversations. Not having these particular flaws (I don't think!) I could mistakenly conclude that pride is not a big problem for me.

Or perhaps we've learned to spot a sneakier form of pride. This is the pride that exhibits itself as humility, or maybe false humility. Saying, "Oh, I'm not good at this!" when you really are pretty good at it. Or telling us you don't deserve any credit for some act of service. Repeatedly. The object is to be noticed while saying one doesn't deserve or desire notice.

I have discovered in myself another form of pride. Let's call it Crosswalk Pride. I have discovered that I don't really like rules very much. I have cultivated the appearance of being compliant over the years, I think. I'm a good boy and I don't get into much trouble. But recently a string of events has revealed that my depraved heart rebels against the rules. I'm talking about perfectly good rules for safety or for accomplishing things personally.

The crosswalk is a good example. Frankly, I don't want to wait for the light to change to cross the street. And, as I think about it, it's not about impatience, though, that wouldn't really be a justification. What I like to do is go to the corner and then walk along the street until I spy an opening and then dash across. I'm in control that way. I don't have to stop. Again, I'm not in a hurry - I just don't want to be told I can't go now. You're not the boss of me!

What I'm learning is that waiting for, ye even submitting to, the light is good for my soul. I need rules, boundaries, fences for my protection. Protection from speeding cars and from my own depraved and proud heart. Left to myself, I wouldn't set the borders because, as the pretender to the throne of my world, I want to do as I please.

Waiting for the light at the crosswalk is one way I can practice submission and thereby chasten my rebel's heart.

Regeneration

I have a little book called "The Valley of Vision". It's a collection of prayers written by Puritans and it is one of the most helpful tools for me in my ongoing effort to stoke the furnace of personal devotion.

I've copied here a prayer from it, called Regeneration, that I read yesterday and it fed me on many levels. It seems to me to be a prayer worth camping out on for a while. It strikes many chords that resonate with me in this particular time of my life.

O God of the highest heaven,

Occupy the throne of my heart, take full possession and reign supreme, lay low every rebel lust, let no vile passion resist thy holy war; manifest thy mighty power, and make me thine forever.

Thou art worthy to be praised with my every breath, loved with my every faculty of soul, served with my every act of life.

Thou hast loved me, espoused me, received me, purchased, washed, favoured, clothed, adorned me, when I was worthless, vile, soiled, polluted.

I was dead in iniquities, having no eyes to see thee, no ears to hear thee, no taste to relish thy joys, no intelligence to know thee;

But thy Spirit has quickened me, has brought me into a new world as a new creature, has given me spiritual perception, has opened to me thy Word as light, guide, solace, joy.

Thy presence is to me a treasure of unending peace;

No provocation can part me from thy sympathy, for thou hast drawn me with cords of love, and dost forgive me daily, hourly.

O help me then to walk worthy of thy love, of my hopes, and my vocation.

Keep me, for I cannot keep myself;

Protect me that no evil befall me;

Let me lay aside every sin admired of many;

Help me to walk by thy side, lean on thy arm, hold converse with thee,

That henceforth I may be salt of the earth and a blessing to all.

You could order one at Amazon if you want.

The 'S' Word

As Forrest Gump's mama might say, "Socialism is as socialism does." And I would agree with her, if she ever said that.

For Americans in 2010, who is or is not a socialist is less important than the policies a person is advocating. Take our president (please). What he is is less important that what he is doing, or trying to do. So, I haven't been big on calling Obama a socialist, or using the word flippantly.

That being said, this interview is an eye-opener. Stanley Kurtz has written a new book called "Radical-In-Chief" about Barack Obama. Here is what he says about his journey in writing this new book:

"I traveled all around the country doing what scholars do when they want to write a biography of a president or any other important individual. They go into the archives of the organizations that these people worked with, are connected to, find out what the ideology, what the feel of things was among those intellectual environs. And that's what I've done with Barack Obama. And to my shock, as I began this process of searching through the archives, I was forced to a conclusion that even I had not been inclined to make, and that is Barack Obama really is a socialist."

And he tells you why he thinks so, based on what Obama has said and done, not on some bias or preconceptions. You may wish to read the whole interview.

Get All Excited

I am so geeked up about the coming week that I just about can't see straight. I don't usually feel like this unless Christmas is the next day or I'm going on a trip. I always get pumped for a road trip and, by the way, I'm headed to Tulsa in a few weeks. But that's not why I'm excited. At least not today.

Two reasons to be excited if you are me. Missouri football and mid-term elections. By themselves maybe, not so much excitement, but in context - we are off the charts pumped.

You may have noticed the results of the Missouri game over the weekend. The game where Mizzou whalloped the Oklahoma Sooners (formerly No. 1) for the first time in many years and for only the 5th time in many, many more. As a result, Missouri has moved up to 6th in BCS poll and is only one of a few unbeaten teams at 7-0. The Tigers will travel to Lincoln, Nebraska Saturday for a game with the 'Huskers, or, Bugeaters, as they were formerly known. If Missouri can win there, a big if, they would have a leg up on winning the Big 12 North and a clear shot at going undefeated going into the Big 12 title game. And, the team's performance thus far shows them to be the prohibitive favorite in the conference. But only if they win Saturday. And it won't be easy.

And I'm excited about the vote on Tuesday. I believe it will be a wave election of historic proportions. The Republicans are poised to reclaim the majority in the House and have an outside shot at reclaiming the Senate. Most expert poll-watchers believe the GOP will not only win the 40 seats needed to gain the House, but will take more like 50 or 60. One or two that I have read say they've never seen an election with these kind of factors before and it may be impossible to put a lid on what to expect. In other words, the gain of seats could go even higher. Much higher.

I hope so, for the country's sake. We cannot abide the size and fiscal insanity of the current track we're on.

What About Tony?

Update: I didn't even get this posted (I wrote it this morning, but had to wait til the afternoon to post) before things changed, which I feared would happen. It appears from ESPN that LaRussa and the Cardinals are working things out. If so, my hunch, below, was wrong.

Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa is in the midst of his, now regular, re-evaluation process concerning whether he wishes to return for another season in the St. Louis dugout. Most observers believe he will, but count me among the unsure.

A month ago, I was certain that Tony was done. I don't remember what he said or how he said it, but something about some comments he made caused me to think it was his last go around. Since then, I've heard all the commentators say they believe he'll return and I, more or less, acquiesced to the conventional wisdom.

But I'm back on the doubting side now. Here's this from a chat by Joe Strauss of the Post-Dispatch. A question asked was:

"Did you expect TLR to have made his decision by now?"

Strauss' reply:

"There are those within the organization increasingly concerned TLR is preparing to bolt. I'm not there yet."

And today, the Post-Dispatch's Bernie Miklasz made a list, all speculative, of reasons Tony may be hesitant to make a decision. Maybe he's tired, or maybe it's the organizational changes or maybe he's waiting to see if someone comes calling for his services. Whatever it is, Miklasz' overriding point is that it's taking an awfully long time to make a decision that he could have begun to process when it became apparent the Cards weren't going to the postseason, which was mid-August.

So, I've come back to where I was about 6 weeks ago.

I think Tony is done.

The Penurious Pirates

See, all along, you thought the Pirates were in Pittsburgh. But no. The Pirates are from some place called penurious. You doubt me? I have proof. From the Minneapolis Star-Tribune in an article outlining the management changes of baseball clubs since the season ended:

"John Russell was booted by the penurious Pirates after 299 defeats in three seasons, which extended the woebegone franchise's consecutive losing years to a major league record 18."

The Penurious Pirates. As plain as day. Penurious must be in Minnesota and I say that for two reasons.

First, as odd as it is for a common sports article to whoop out the word 'penurious', the paper in Minneapolis' sister city, St. Paul, used the same word shortly thereafter. From the Pioneer-Press:

"For years these have been the lovable, do-no-wrong Twins who persevered despite a penurious owner, pathetic payroll and abominable stadium."

So the Pirates and the owner of the Minnesota Twins are from penurious.

Second, the Pirates were also called the 'woebegone franchise'. This must be the same part of the country that Minnesotan Garrison Keillor is always telling tales about.

So, the Pirates are from penurious, which is in Minnesota and this is why they play ball in the NL Central and not the East.

Class dismissed.

One More Time For Bobby Cox

I've been rooting against Bobby Cox for a long time, since 1990, at least. Rooting for your favorite team means your are rooting against everybody else. Rooting for the Cardinals means rooting against the Braves and Cox.

But with St. Louis all but out of it, it would be all right with me if the Braves were World Champs in Cox's last season at the helm.

You could read about what a classy guy he is, right here.

Death, Taxes and Ichiro

For the 10th straight year, Ichiro has reached 200 hits, a standard of excellence that can be written down in ink each February. Heck, you can etch it on a plaque and send it to Cooperstown.

His metronome-steady output has reached the iconic status of a Seattle archetype - the rain, the coffee, the flying fish at the Pike Place Market, and Ichiro's 200 hits.

It's too bad we don't see and hear more of Ichiro but with his team, the Mariners, being uncompetitive and being two time zones behind us, we miss out on what he's doing. Read the whole article to appreciate what he's accomplished in just 10 years here and wonder at what his career totals would have been had he begun here instead of Japan.

Cool Image Of The Moment

The Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League.

From sportslogos.net.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

One time Clint Eastwood made a movie. That movie had the same title as this post and more than one writer has leaned upon it as a device for outlining an article or essay or some such thing.

And who am I to let a handy device slip away?

The Good

The Seattle Seahawks who spanked the San Francisco 49ers 31-6 on Sunday. The Seahawks have embarked upon a renovation under the direction of new coach Pete Carroll who has churned the roster, jettisoning many veterans and bringing in fresh faces. It looks like the 'Hawks may be at least a bit better than advertised in 2010.

The Bad

I think the Christine O'Donnell victory in the Delaware Republican primary for the U.S. Senate is bad news. It does not appear that O'Donnell, the Tea Party favorite, is capable of garnering enough support in November in a decidedly blue state to defeat the Democrat and defeating Democrats is the point, not ideological zeal. Mike Castle, the man that O'Donnell defeated appeared to have had a relatively easy path to winning the seat for Republicans which would have been critically valuable if the GOP were to threaten the Democratic majority in the Senate. He's not a conservative as I would prefer, but beating Democrats is the name of the game. I think this is bad news. I would be glad to be wrong here.

The Ugly

How about them St. Louis Cardinals? Pennant hopes are on life support in St. Louis and there is not a decent chance to revive them. What a frustrating season it has been. And could the off-season be worse? We'll see. The Birds need to re-sign Albert Pujols, the best player on the planet. If he doesn't get signed there may be riots.

Well, not really. Maybe.

Finally, a clip from the Eastwood movie I mentioned before. It's the famous duel at the end. I had never seen this movie until a few weeks ago. Number One Son was home and we watched it. The whole movie is a bit tedious, but this scene is marvelous.