Can America sell Hollywood to France???

There's been a few things I've seen and/or read recently that have really irritated me. Yes, I know...I really need to stop watching the news.....it's bad for my blood pressure. Here's a sampling of the nonsense that's ticked me off in the last week or so....

• Richard Belzer, best known as Detective John Munch in NBC's Law and Order series (maybe his first name should be Butt, rather than John) appeared on HBO's Real Time With Bill Maher. Bastion of patriotism that Mr. Maher is, even he became disenchanted when Dickie Belzer referred to our troops in Iraq as "uneducated" and "stupid", citing that the whole reason they're fighting for his freedom is because they are a bunch of "19 and 20 year old kids that couldn't get a job" over here. He then went on to state that they (the troops) don't have any right to have an opinion on the war because they "don't read 20 newspapers a day" to tell them what to think about it. Wouldn't I just LOVE see Belzer on the front line in Iraq. Naturally I wouldn't give him a gun....he's so intelligent he wouldn't need one....he could just threaten to read the New York Times to the bad guys.
• From another Tinseltown Turd....one of my ABSOLUTE favorite actors (didn't you just LOVE him in Fun With Dick And Jane? Wait....you're not one of the THREE people that went to see it???), Alec Baldwin, has been at it again....still.....yet.....he REALLY needs to come through on his promise to move to Canada if George Bush got elected. They probably don't want him either. Anyway, Baldwin got in a verbal feud, and a pretty heated one at that, on WABC radio with Sean Hannity recently. Now, this story isn't quite as bad as the Belzer story, but Baldwin's still a boob, nonetheless. Basically, Hannity asked some very relevant questions in an effort to get Baldwin to explain his previous statements about Dick Cheney being a terrorist, our President being a "mass-murderer", and that they should "stone Henry Hyde". Granted, everyone is entitled to their opinion, but all Hannity wanted was an explanation as to how Baldwin felt those comments were necessary in a time of war with our troops in harm's way. Naturally, Mr. Baldwin gave a calm, succinct, eloquent explanation of what he meant......NOT! He immediately began calling Hannity names, insulted his previous profession (construction work), and eventually stormed out of the studio, cutting the interview short. He's spoiled....should be in France....
• Speaking of France.....how 'bout those riots over there this week?!?!? Makes me proud that I have no French roots in my family tree. In case you missed it, here's the abridged version. A half million French folks, mostly youth, gathered in numerous riots over a potential labor law that may be passed. Essentially, the law would remove a lot of restraints that businesses there currently deal with that hold them back from growing and often having productive employees. In particular, part of the law would state that businesses can hire or fire anyone at anytime for any reason, similar to the laws we have here in America. The rioters are seeking protection in employment that would forbid a company from firing someone within the first two years of employment. Yup...they want guaranteed employment. The real kicker is that most of these spoiled brat kids don't want to WORK....they just want the guarantee of a job. Go figure. The rioters attacked police, ransacked a McDonald's (so much for the burger flippers' jobs), and did other fun stuff, and finally the riot police had to turn the water cannons on them. Good. Maybe they'll smell better now.

Alright....I guess that's enough for now. I was also going to add something regarding the 7-year old African American girl that writes racist poetry, but I'll save that for another time. There's too much to take on at one time there.

The San Francisco Witch Hunt

OK, you already know I'm a baseball fan. As I've stated, I'm one of about 17 true Pirates fans left in the city of Pittsburgh. Yes, it's true that thousands of people turn out for each game at PNC Park, but I think most of them are fans of the ballpark, the atmosphere, maybe even the nachos and beer. But not many real Pirates fans. As a matter of fact, many would say that there's not a whole lot of true baseball fans left out there. Ever since the strike in the early 90's, the game has suffered in popularity. The Mark McGwire/Sammy Sosa home run race a few years ago helped to bring some interest back to America's Pasttime, but it's not the same as it used to be. "Fans" complain about the large contracts the players are getting, such as A-Rod's $250,000,000 over 10 years. They're complaining about "unfairness" in the game because small market cities "can't" compete and put together successful teams. I could spend a large amount of time writing about just those two complaints, but my main concern is over the latest "scandal" within the game.....steroids.

Let me get this out of the way....I believe steroid use in sports is wrong because it's illegal. If a player gets caught using ANY type of illegal substance, they should be punished severely. If they get caught twice, they should be banned from the game. Period....end of discussion. Naturally, these punishments should only be dished out if there is unarguable proof that the player is guilty.

All that being said, I'm really concerned over the negative attention that is falling on one of (maybe THE) greatest baseball player in the history of the sport. Barry Bonds. Now there's a book being published that says Bonds began using steroids after the 1998 season and for the next few years after. Bonds has filed a lawsuit against the authors and publishers in response, but the reality is that it's just another bell that can't be unrung. Bonds, of course, has been at the center of this steroids circus for several years now, and it doesn't appear that that will change in the near future.

Did Bonds use steroids during his career? Who knows? I know I don't, nor is it likely that anyone reading this or sitting at home watching sports on TV knows. My argument is, why does this matter? First of all, Barry is being accused of using steroids during a timeframe where they were not outlawed in the game. You can't hold someone responsible for doing something against the rules if it wasn't against the rules when they did it. Secondly, let's leave Bonds out of the equation for a moment. I can't remember people writing anti-Mark McGwire or Sammy Sosa books, articles, or editorials in 1998 when they were battling for the home run record. Sammy Sosa hit 66 home runs that year, which was THIRTY more than he hit the previous season, and 26 more than he had ever hit in a season prior to that. McGwire hit 70 homers in 1998, coming off of 52 the previous season. There were no Sammy Does Steroids or McGwire On The Juice articles because Sammy and Mark were good for the game at the time. There may have been some limited accusations or suspicions, but nothing like we're seeing today. They went out, played the game, hit their homeruns, gave the fans a thrill, put @$$es in the seats, and boosted ratings for Major League Baseball. After that they went to the locker room and welcomed the media for all kinds of interviews and questions. Therein lies the difference. Barry Bonds has a history of being difficult to play with, difficult to coach, and certainly difficult, if not impossible, to interview. He doesn't like the media, and that's no good for him. Whether it's sports, entertainment or politics, we've seen a thousand examples of this....if someone in the public eye doesn't give the arrogant media what they think they deserve whenever they think they deserve it, they will trash that person's performance and reputation, both on a public and private level. Bonds hasn't been kind to the media, therefore he is a target.

So, what's the answer? I don't claim to be some super-genius on the subject, but I say we should let things happen on their own. If Bonds or any other player is using steroids illegally, more than likely under the new testing policy in MLB, they will get caught and pay the penalty. Look at the other penalties that have been paid....McGwire suffered career-shortening injuries that many say were related to steroid use. Sosa presumedly stopped taking them, and look what happened to his career. Oh wait, he doesn't have one anymore. He hit 64 home runs five years ago....now, no one wants him for a waterboy. And then there's two more words for you about what happens to steroid users....Rafael Palmeiro. If Bonds is guilty, he will pay the price, one way or another. However, he shouldn't have to pay by having his name dragged through the media. He's done too much for the game, and he doesn't deserve it.

And, oh by the way.....could we possibly even THINK about looking at some of the pitchers who mysteriously threw the ball 5-10 mph harder from one season to the next? No one talks about pitchers cheating.....but, that's for another post.....

R.I.P. Samson

It saddens me that one of the first posts on here is going to be about the death of our family dog, Samson, but it just happened yesterday, and we're all struggling with it.

Although we only enjoyed the company of Sam for the last three of his ten years of life, he was most certainly a loved member of the family. He was great with the kids, fairly well-behaved (I'll get to that in a moment), and was a faithful companion.

I spent most of my growing-up years wanting a dog, but never had one until a few years ago. My mom wasn't much of an animal person, so the closest I ever came in childhood was the never-ending parade of goldfish that rarely stayed around very long. In 2003 Charlene brought Sam into our home for a "trial stay". At the time, it was against my better judgment, primarily because I knew this day would come, and I never wanted to face it, let alone put my kids through it. I made up a bunch of stupid reasons that didn't hold water, but that was the reality. But, the trial stay turned into a permanent stay, and Sam quickly became a beloved member of our household (sometimes I think he ran it!)

The biggest problem we had with Samson is that he had this stupid habit of getting into the household trash cans. (We always said he was a dog of little brain.) If there was ANY possibility that he might find a snack in there, he was going to check it out. It got to the point where, if we left him alone in the house for a few hours, all of the bathroom doors had to be closed to keep him out, and my trash can in my office had to be placed on top of my desk where he wouldn't be tempted. Outside of that, along with the seemingly unlimited supply of black fur EVERYWHERE in the house, he was a joy to have around.

We're not 100% sure what happened or how it happened, but Sam contracted some type of food poisoning, possibly botulism, within the last few days, and the symptoms hit him hard overnight Sunday. I'll spare everyone the details, but it was a messy, sleepless night, and what we initially thought was just some type of stomach flu or virus turned out to be much worse. Over the course of only 12 hours, the disease started affecting his nervous system, causing him to shake and twitch, and made it difficult for him to ascend the steps, or even lie down comfortably. No one knows if and what animals think, but everytime he looked at me yesterday, I felt he was trying to say, "please do something to make me feel better." After consulting a local veterinary hospital, and after hours of painful deliberation, we made the decision to have Sam put to sleep yesterday. No question, it was one of the most difficult decisions I've had to make in my life. I knew how Charlene and kids would take it....heck, I knew how I would take it. Turns out I was wrong...I took it (and still am taking it) a lot worse. But, as I keep reminding the kids, his sickness and pain are gone, and he doesn't have to suffer anymore as he was yesterday.

No one knows for sure if there are any animals in heaven. I've always believed that they don't have souls, and therefore when they die, that's just the end. But, there's no way to know for sure. What I DO know is that if there are, Samson's among them.

Samson, you were a faithful companion and friend. I'm sorry I couldn't do more for you. Rest in peace, buddy. You will be missed.

Here we go.....

Well, this is it. I've finally broken down and started my own 'blog. This is something I've kicked around for awhile now. Those that know me well know that I almost always have something to say, so logic would dictate I should do this. The other side of me thought that I shouldn't waste my time. After all, isn't it a little presumptuous or arrogant to assume that there's anyone else out there that really cares what I have to say? (Hence the name of my blog). But, I've had some extra time on my hands thanks to my current (un)employment situation, and I've really felt like writing something, so this is as good as place as any to start.

So, what am I going to write about? Is this going to be something that I'm all fired up about out of the gate, then slowly dies as I find other things to grab my limited attention? I guess we'll find out. My family, friends and acquaintances know what things are important to me: my faith in Christ and things related to theology, my family and friends, politics and current events, and baseball.

Whether or not I stick with this, I suppose remains to be seen. But, at least I can try to have some fun with it in the meantime.