63-7

I can't believe my high school alma mater has become a football powerhouse. When I was in high school, we were middling to bad. Kimberly is a basketball town. But, in the past few years, fortunes have improved for Kimberly football, culminating in a state title run last season. But, they lost their top runner (who plays at MSU-Mankato). So, what do they do? They start the season by going to their archrival's home field and mutilating them by the score indicated above.

It's a weird new world in Kimberly, Wisconsin...

Sarah Palin

I haven't commented on John McCain's pick of Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his pick for VP yet. I think my brother had a pretty good assessment of the pick over at his place. McCain really shook up the game with this pick, and blunted a lot of the momentum Barack Obama had post-convention. There is an argument that it was a token pick, and I can why one could make that point. However, it's still a good pick. Honestly, I have not been enthusiastic about McCain, and a lot of me still isn't because of that wretched piece of crap McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill. McCain has not earned my vote yet. But, having someone like Palin makes the ticket more palatable for me. She is not going to wilt in front of Joe Biden, and she has a rep as a reformer up in Alaska. This goes well with the whole CHAAAAAAAAAAANGE thing that seems to be the thing in this election.

Hat tip to Power Line for the reference to the Heather MacDonald piece.

UPDATE: Apparently Hillary Clinton is not happy with the pick...which is to be expected. The money quote from that article is from John Kerry, who posited that women aren't going to be "seduced" by the Palin pick. Nice choice of terms there, Senator. Of course, no woman would vote for McCain/Palin of their own volition, so they have to be "seduced."

Russia asserts itself

New Russian president Dmitri A Medvedev outlined what will become his foreign policy in a speech on Russian television. He said that Russia will assert a "sphere of influence," which will come as no surprise to those in Georgia. The Russians have already demonstrated what they plan to do. South Ossetia, one of the breakaway regions in Georgia, has expressed its desire to be absorbed back into Russia.

If I am in Warsaw, Bucharest, Prague, Bratislava, Kiev, Riga, Vilnius, or anywhere else that enjoyed the last attempt by Russia to exert its sphere of influence, I am making every effort to make sure they don't decide to really execute that policy. In some cases, they are running to the United States for assistance (although the agreement with Poland is ostensibly for attacks by "rogue nations").

Maybe it's because I can still remember the end of the Cold War, but when Russia starts talking about its sphere of influence, I have an inclination to not trust them to play nice with neighboring countries, especially those who once were under the Soviet umbrella.

Mr. Gustav says we will bury you

The idea was that the Republican National Convention was supposed to start tomorrow. And it will, but John McCain has asked that only "essential business" happen. President Bush and others are not coming to St. Paul now. This is all because of Hurricane Gustav, which is bearing down on the Gulf Coast. I can see the reason for doing this, but I can't help but agree with this post at Power Line. I think the GOP has been shellshocked by the reaction post-Hurricane Katrina in 2005, where everything up to and including the storm itself was blamed on Bush. Because Bush and his handlers have done nothing to refute anything said about them, it's pretty much accepted as gospel that Bush screwed it up, while New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin and former Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco (both Democrats) largely escaped scrutiny.

Unfortunately for the GOP, and the Twin Cities, Mr. Gustav is burying the GOP convention.

The Welcome Wagon

Here is an article welcoming our GOP friends into town, from a media vehicle who is really enamored with Republicans. OK, as much as the linked article pretty much equates to a middle finger to our visiting elephants, I have to admit it is kinda funny. The idea of identifying a FBI mole by his/her constantly asking where to score a "doobie" is amusing to me.

A good synopsis

The hilariously-named columnist for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel turned in a good column about the summer had by the Milwaukee Bucks. I have posted on a couple of these things before, but this is a good summary. Basically, the Bucks had to make a lot of moves to give themselves a chance to improve rather quickly. GM John Hammond has done that. And, he brought in a real coach in Scott Skiles. I believe the Bucks are going to be better this year, which may get them an 8 seed in the weak-sister Eastern Conference.

Is anyone else amazed that, as bad as the Bucks were last season, they had two Olympians?

Things to Do in Denver When You're Dems

Today is day one of the Democratic National Convention out in Denver. Thus begins the coronation of Barack Obama as the Presidential candidate of the Democratic party, much to the consternation of those who believed that the presidency was Hillary Clinton's birthright. The nomination process for the Dems has been fascinating. I did not think Obama would have received the nomination this time around, but he did a great job creating a cult of personality around him. So, he's the man.

Given that his campaign has been slumping lately, I will be curious to see his acceptance speech and to see how much of a bounce he will get. I wonder if the speech being at Invesco Field is going to have an impact. I also wonder if they will actually fill the place up. I would imagine if they let people onto the field and fill it up, they can actually put over 100,000 in the stadium. They better fill it up, though. Anything less, and I think the perception will be that moving it to Invesco will have been a bad move.

Anyway, the countdown here continues until the elephants on parade show up here. While I will not be anywhere near the Xcel Energy Center, I will post any observations about the GOP convention that I have.

UPDATE: My apologies to the thousands, if not millions, who thought of this headline before me. But hey, the movie title this was jacked from was pretty good.

Runnin' around, robbin' banks....

A bank in Danbury, WI was robbed last weekend, and former Hopkins center Anthony Diloreto was implicated in the crime. Now, since he has not been convicted, it's possible he had nothing to do with this. Here are some other tall Caucasian people who either are from or lived in Wisconsin who could have done it.

1. Randy Breuer
2. Paul Mokeski
3. Jack Sikma
4. Kurt Portmann
5. Jim McIlvaine
6. Paul Grant

Those are just some of the people I would be investigating in this. You know, I would want to be sure before I ruin the life of a kid who was going to play college basketball at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo. I mean, that's an NBA factory!!

Say, you look good after a case

We can lament that this was studied, likely at taxpayer expense, but the news that "beer goggles" are real is outstanding!!! Unfortunately women will have to damn near get alcohol poisoning to find me attractive, but at least science has established at least a correlational relationship between alcohol consumption and perception of attractiveness. Yet another reason that there is always hope, even in the worst of times.

A blueprint for a McCain victory?

This is an interesting column from George Will about how John McCain can get the election to go on his terms. The crux of the column is that McCain can make Vladimir Putin's attempts to re-establish the Soviet Union into a winning issue.

The other thing is that Will acknowledges the probable reality that the Dems are going to still be in the majority in Congress. Having McCain as President to stop things like the disgusting measure to end secret ballots in union elections (I'll post on this later) is also something he can talk about.

Anyway, give the column a read. It may be wishful thinking for the GOP, but it lets us know that, despite current conditions (WE WANT CHANGE!!!!), it's not over yet.

Hat tip: Charles Sykes

Biden time...

So it looks like VP speculation is starting to veer towards Delaware senator Joe Biden. This is an interesting pick to me. Joe Biden became a senator when Barack Obama was 12, so he's been around. Biden spent his weekend in Georgia. There is a school of thought that Biden is too much of an insider, but I think Obama needs someone with more experience (especially on foreign policy) to run with him. I don't think Biden would be my first choice. But, Obama could have done worse.

The reason this is interesting though is because it does nothing to change the electoral math. Delaware was going for Obama anyway. I thought someone like Senator Evan Bayh (D-Indiana) would have been a better choice, if only because it potentially would have put Indiana more into play. Also, Bayh is not as liberal as Obama. He would have served as a balance in a different way.

As it is, if Biden is the guy, it gives more experience to the ticket, but not more electoral votes. It will be interesting to see who John McCain eventually picks.

They found me

Back in the day, I always joked that I would be amongst the hardest people in my class to locate for class reunion invites. I hardly talk to any of my high school friends anymore, and I don't live in the Appleton area, where most of my class still seems to live. I live "all the way in Minnesota." But, one of my friends who I do occasionally talk to texted me saying she wanted my address for a reunion invite. Keep in mind that I graduated in 1994, so the 15-year reunion isn't until next year. But, being that my class managed to not have a 10-year reunion, I can see that we want to plan better this time around. She also pretty much demanded that I join Facebook.

So, as part of this effort, I set myself up on Facebook (to my everlasting shame as I have not historically been a fan of social networking sites). I am amazed at how quickly people have found me. Dammit, one of the reasons I moved to Minnesota in the first place was to escape Kimberly, Wisconsin. On some levels, I wanted there to be an air of mystery amongst my former classmates. "What happened to Mike?" Well, now they will know. Of course, part of me would rather people find me here.

But strangely enough, I am glad these people have found me. It allows me to remember that, despite some hard times in high school, I did have some great times and had some great friends. If it takes joining something like Facebook to remember this, then so be it. Also, it is confirming something I pretty much already knew...I am amongst the last single people standing. Oh well. Anyone who knows me had to be pretty certain that was going to happen.

One other thing: I am hoping to get back to more regular blogging. There is a lot to talk about, so now is as good a time as any to get cracking again.

UPDATE: I guess I will have to change my byline now. Dang, it was a good one.

When you're a Jet, you're a Jet...

...til your last cigarette. Or, in Brett Favre's case, when Deanna "Yoko" Favre tells him to stop being one. As everyone in the civilized world probably knows, Brett Favre was traded to the New York Jets for a conditional draft pick.

This was probably about the best possible outcome for the Packers. Favre goes to the AFC, the Packers can finally move on with Aaron Rodgers, and the Jets become...about a 9-7 team with a shot at a wild-card berth.

This whole Favre saga has really angered me. He never should have retired in the first place. And, the way he and his handlers tried to strong-arm the Packers was bush league. But, the thing that really pisses me off are the pseudo-Packer fans around the Web that are declaring that they are no longer Packers fans because of this. To them, I say you were never real fans in the first place. I will gladly take your tickets off your hands, because I am a Packer fan until I die. I will go see them regardless of who the QB is.

However, I do wish Favre well in the swamps of New Jersey.

Kinda quick takes

I am back...sorta. Still waiting for our cable company to come through for me, but in the meantime, a couple of things happening rate mention:

First, Brett Favre is back in Green Bay...for now. I am not sure how this is going to shake out, but this whole situation has been nothing but crap. I am convinced that Deanna Favre is behind Brett's return, as well as Bus Cook. I think both of these leeches realized the gravy train was about to end, so they nagged and cajoled Favre into coming back. While I don't think it will happen, if Favre forces a trade to the Vikings, Favre is dead to me. If NFL Commissioner Roger Goddell forces a trade like this, the NFL is dead to me...seriously. I have no interest in a league that would screw over my beloved Packers by handing a guy like Favre to our biggest rival (sorry Chicago, you are not it for now).

Second, some devastating news for Kimberly, Wisconsin, where I pretty much grew up. The mill that started Kimberly (a company town named after the left half of Kimberly-Clark) is closing. NewPage decided to close the mill because it didn't make its own pulp. Now, I am not personally associated with the mill, but I am positive I know many people who work there. 475 jobs are a lot in a town of 6,000. Thankfully, Kimberly is becoming more of a suburban town than a company town, but still, this is going to hurt for a long time. I'm sorry to see it go.

Third, the chess match in Congress over offshore drilling is fascinating. The GOP (including John Kline, R-MN2) is trying to demand a vote on a bill that would allow offshore drilling for oil, which is ostensibly being held up by Nancy Pelosi, who is apparently trying to single-handedly save the planet. Although, her efforts may not be enough according to the perpetually silly Paul Krugman. Oh well, at least Al Gore got his child off the planet. Seriously, I think that the idea that exploring energy alternatives and drilling for oil is a zero-sum game is ridiculous. Yes, we do need to find another way to power our world. But until then, we need cheaper oil.