The Wingman

The Wingman, you know him, you love him hell you might even have been him but never did you think the Washington Post would do an article on him. Here it is a sign of the times, click the link to be amused. WINGMAN!!

And heres an interesting little quote I found that relates to a wingman, I enjoyed it, I hope you do too.

"My brain's wingman is my penis. My penis will be like, "yo, lets see what she's got goin on" and my brain is like, "are you serious...look at that girl, you're unbeleivable."

The Bandwagon

How quickly people hop on and off the band wagon.

Upon the Detroit Pistons dispatching the young and tough Cleveland Cavaliers everyone decided that they were the pick to win the Eastern Conference championship over the well rested adn rebuilt Miami Heat. The overwhelming majority of analysts on all the sports networks had the Pistons chosen as their team. Then Detroit and Miami played game one. A tough game in which Miami came out well rested and rolling and the Pistons looked the part of a team that had played to game 7 and arrived in the conference finals on weary legs putting up a terrible performance(39% shooting as a team) and losing by 5.

After the loss many in the media wrote Detroit off, some even suggested that they may get swept, well as I sit and watch game 2 as there are two minutes left in the third quarter and the Pistons are up by 18 with Sheed knocking down two cbig three pointers they look pretty good. Hardly the type of performace that you expect from a team about to be swept. Add to this that even the announcers sound like they are rooting agains the Pistons as I just watched Chauncey make a great steal at the end of the third to hear the announcer grudgingly say "yeah, thats a good play." Everyone wants to hate on the Pistons jsut like with all Detroit teams, god it must hurt to see them step it up year after year.

The Pistons are a high energy team and as such expelled alot of that energy in game 7 of the semis. No one wanted to accept that after game one, but the question now is that Detroit coming out rested and energized, looking like the Pistons everyone has come to know over the last 4 years how many analysts will call for a five game series for the Heat now and how many of them are gonna sprain their ankles switching band wagons. Although this is a potential 7 game series either way, I still like detroit to take it and I will even say tehy will do it in 6.

On a sidenote Id like to send out a big FUCK YOU to all the new "Tigers Fans". You dont like the Tigers assholes, you like a winner. Sure its easy to say your a Tigers fan when they have the best record in the Majors, but where were you for the last 10 or more years. Ragging on the team on the organization on everything Tigers. Now that they are rolling everyone wants to be part of the ride and everyone wants to make the claim. Dont get me wrong I love seeing the crowds and the enthusiasim for the team, but dont tell me youve always been a fan and dont act like you've loved the team every step of the way. A real Tigers fan can tell a fairweather fan from a mile away, theres no real joy in your eyes to follow all of the years of sorrow. Rejoice, its a good day to be a Tigers fan, let the good times roll and lets stick with the team. Remember a real fan doesnt dissapear at the first losing streak or when it gets tough. For this team to keep it up the fans need to stay behind it and keep packing the park...every little bit helps.

Post was written during third quarter of the game, man did Miami make it interesting there, but the post still holds true.

Israel and Apartheid

Israel, what we consider a modern state and a great ally. With views similar to ours, a friend to turn to in a pinch that will offer support.

Reality, an apartheid nation full of segregation and human rights violations.

Sure, everyone sees the rosy side of Israel, everyone sees their brave fight for exsistence, but no one wants to look past the rosy veneer and see the real country. I have railed against the Israeli "state" numerous times, I dont really care for it and I think they do alot of things wrong that bring trouble to themselves and those who support them. However we the United States stand blindly by an ally that has become more of a liability than a resource.

The most recent bone I have to pick with Israel is their policy on marriages between Israelis and arab citizens of the west bank. In any normal country when you marry somone, they can move in with you share a home and sahre a life, thats the whole big thing with marriage. However in Israel you cant do this, you marry a non israeli, there is a very large cahcne you cant even live with your spouse in Israel because its to much of a threat. This is bullshit, there isnt a group of people on earth more kept an eye on than the Palestinians, they have seperate licenses plates, select border crossings controlled by Israelis and no freedom of movement. Not to mention their wonderful security wall which is for their own defense, but stretches well into the Gaza Strip and West Bank to secure isolated Israeli settlements as well as take huge swaths of land from the palestinians. The last time I checked the last country to build a wall for purposes of seperation was East Germany and we had a huge problem with that. If all the policy by Israel is really that much different from what used to occur in South Africa, I'd like to know how.

This whole U.S. Israel alliance has cause much animosity between the U.S. and the rest of the middle east. No one wants Israel there, it is a bastard state created illegaly by eviction of its natural citizens. It has time and time again stirred the pot of the middle east and would no longer even be there if it were not for U.S. and other european arms. We allow them to have nuclear weapons as a detterent we allow them to run willy nilly over anyone else and we congratulate them for their efforts in the war on terror. The real question is how much do Israels pre-emptive raids and bombings and attacks help to creat new terrorists and further strengthen and embolden terrorist groups such as Hamas(who is a legit government now) and Hezbollah. Hezbollah which is in Lebanon even hates Israel, why A) because they are a bastard state and B) becaause Israel invaded lebanon in the efforto to eliminate a terrorist threat and instead prodded along the makings of a civil war and killed innocent civilians with questionable military moves(using white poshoprous shells on malls, restraunts and hospitals and also rebombing bomb sites 8 minutes after the first impact to eliminate support and rescue personel). Lets also take stock of the fact that more Palestinians have been killed in the "conflict" than Israelis and the Israelis have more sophisticated and accurate weaponry, kind of makes you think...which group of people should actually be living in fear? What a great ally to have, Im sure we wont have any reason to worry about our undying support for such a class act of a nation.

Post Script
Dont get me wrong I have no problem with the Jewish people, but one must understand and draw a line between identifying something as Jewish and something as Zionistic. I can do this and that is what I dont approve of, should the Jews have a homeland Im not the one to say and neither were the U.S. and British in 1948 when they made their move. We really need to take stock of the entire situation and decided what is worth sticking your neck out for anymore, is the cost of U.S. lives and resources really worth propping up a country that does nothing but create animosity?

Mexico and fairness???

Mexican president Vincente Fox has recently been paying his U.S. neighbors a visit and has some ideas of his own on how we should handle our immigration policy.

He urges the U.S. to give his people fair treatment, my question here is what are we doing that is unfair? SHould we erect a fence along the U.S. - Meixcan border how is that not treating people fairly. Is it unfair for us to prevent the unfettered flow of mexican immigrants crossing our borders illegaly everyday? Is it unfair to make it a much more difficult process to enter our conutry illegaly, like it or not a fence(if a good one) is a strong deterent. As Vincente Fox is quoted as saying

"We don't put up walls, that's not the way you're going to fix the problem. Walls that pretend to solve the problem only provoke distance between two peoples."

Well, last time I looked that is the exact reason we are putting up a wall, to cause some distance between these two peoples. If mexicans want to enter the U.S. they should be forced to do it legally, yes we should improve the process of citizenship by speeding it up, but a slow process is no reason to skirt laws, if it was I would rob a bank cause I'm broke. Apply for citizenship, learn the language and assimilate to the culture/country. We certainly need unskilled labor in an economy like ours, but we dont need it illegaly.

Dont wake the dragon

China, long seen as a potential rival to the U.S. on an economic and military level has now made that potential a reality.

With the recent Pentagon annual report on China's military capability, we the U.S. the power of all powers has been caught lagging behind. Never did we think that China would be able to exapnd its military so quickly or efficently. While on face value there is little reason to fear an armed conflict with China, there is one sticking point that looms in the near future. That point is the island nation of taiwan which China merely sees as a rebellious province. For years our naval presence in the area had been enough to deter any possible conflict between china and their friendly neighbor. However at this point with a highly sophisticated navy and 700 missles positioned across the sea from Taiwan that deterent is slipping. On top of that the Chinese have devoted much time and resources to their destroyer fleets now equipped with antiship cruise missles and a newer fleet of subs in the area, the Aegis class cruisers and destroyers which were long dominant still are, but are now operating with much less of a safety net.

With these huge advances in the military we can only expect that it is a matter of time before China which has ties across the globe begins to have its navy involved in all the 7 seas, not just off their border. They much like us have huge interests in the middle east(oil) and have as much of a right to protect their waterways as we do, this is not a case where we can bully an opponent down should they choose to send ships into the region.

While I find it almost impossible to believe that any large scale conflict or conflict at all with china likely, it is most certainly a huge potetntial problem. There need to be decisions made on what is worth defending is Taiwan should the Chinese decide they want it back worth starting a war that would more than likely turn into World War III really worth it? Are they that much of an ally, I think not. It is possible for two juggernauts to exsist, they both must be careful however, not to step on the others toes.

David Blaine and False Promises

David Blain...Ass Clown.

I mean yeah hes a "magician" or "illusionist" or whatever the fuck you want to call it and thats great, he probably scores lots of ass with his cheap little parlor tricks. But some of the stuff he does is stupid mainly this whole endurance stunt stuff. Hes all like "Hey look at me I can stand on stuff for a long time." who fucking cares? Then there was his whole "I'm gonna hold my breath for 9 minutes to break a world record." Well this whole thing was advertised and pumped up as a 2 hour event, first of all why when it jsut lasts nine minutes. I dont care about him or what he does. Secondly it was billed as the whole he will hold his breath for nine minutes or die trying. Well last time I looked A. He made it 7 minutes B. He didnt die. He lied on two accounts and the worst one is he didnt die. That was the big promise, break the record or "die trying" what a fucking liar way to mislead a trusting public who thought your shennaigans were going to come to end.

So, David Blaine now that your alive, go back to your stupid card tricks and stay out of the media. I dont care about you and I dont want to see you on my TV.

Comcast and False Promises.

I recently moved into a new apartment and as such was needing to get some cable lest I go insane. On tuesday of this week I went down to Comcasts Adrian office and signed up for their standard cable package. I was told that I would have my service connected on Friday between 1 and 5 pm.

Well, I am a trusting indvidual, when someone tells me they will be there at a certain time I believe them. Needless to say Comcast doesnt get this concept as I sat in my apartment for 4 hours and the cable guy never showed up. Not even when I waited until 5:30pm did they show up. This got my blood boiling and I went down to the office to inquire. Well the office is closed. I found the phone number for the office cause I could see there were still people inside but that was automated and of no help. In previous posts you will see that I hate talking to people on the phone, however this was a time I needed to.

What it comes down to for me is that Comcast screwed me over and essentially wasted half of a day for me. This is a very considerate company apparently. Not to mention that they are the only cable provider in the area which allows them to say "hey, you can be pissed all you want but we're all you've got." Well I say Fuck Comcast. If there was someone else I coudl get cable through I would as would alot of people I know but instead the have a monopoly in the area. Kudos to you comcast way to find a way to fuck the american consumer over. Not only do you not show up even if you do you charge 50.00 a month for basic service, your really good people.

When is Enough Enough??

Its a simple question, when is enough enough? When do you have to let a person go so that they can stand on their own two feet?

I ask this question in relation to an article in the Detroit Free Press today relating to tribal casinos and the funds which they are not returning to the state governments that allow their casinos to operate. The Free Press quoted something in the neighborhood of 300 million dollars in lost revenues. THis is an astounding number to say the least. The casinos have been able to operate under the radar as they garner little attention.

"The Free Press also found that the state's 17 tribal casinos -- now a billion-dollar industry -- attract almost no scrutiny from state or federal authorities.

State officials rarely set foot in the casinos. They almost never check to make sure tribes aren't hiring key casino employees with criminal backgrounds. And they only occasionally examine the books to ensure that tribes pay what was promised to neighboring Michigan communities when tribal gaming was approved in 1993.

Federal officials have never once audited a tribal casino in Michigan.

When gaming officials do take a close look, they sometimes uncover problems that mean thousands, even millions, of dollars to Michigan taxpayers."

Now I have gone to one of these casinos before, I made my donation to the wonderful chippewa tribe in Mt. Pleasant. The best thing about their casino was the 2.50 PBR on tap. My main dillema is why the tribes are even allowed to operate these casinos while others cant. We hear the same tired argument that they are impoverished and not give the same oppurtunities as everyone else due to the way they were treated in the past. This is garbage its been a long long time since native americans were forced to live on reservations, this isnt a matter of us holding them down anymore. Now it is a matter of greed and laziness. The adult members of the chippewa tribe make right around 50,000.00 a year in casino profits, this is untaxed income, yet the majority of the tribe lives in poverty and they fight over kicking tribe members out so that they can make even more money for nothing. This extra handout to them is what keeps them subjagated, the same money they make holds them back from bigger and better things. If you were making 50 grand a year for doing nothing you wouldnt be to motivated to achieve higher education or establish yourself in a career.

To step out from the shadow of being held down, native americans country wide have to take a look at themselves and realize that the hand that is currently feeding them has a nice strong grasp on their throats. Once the whole native american gaming industry comes to a halt than they will be in the position to raise the bar and that is the true benefit.

Detroit Lidowns

Well, another year and the same old shit with the Lions, at least it would appear to be that way from the players. Not even close to the begining of the season and we already see complaints from the Lions players about their coach wanting to make them better. This all comes in the form of complaints made by the players that from what I've been hearing they were made to perform full contact padded drills on the opening day of offseason training. Tough shit Lions, thats what you need a nice firm Marinelli kick in the ass to wake up from the lacksadasical last decade or so that you are mired in. Hard work is what wins championships not off days because offseason conditioning is to hard. I believe that Rod Marinelli has the disciplinary qualities to turn this around at least from an effort stand point, its just going to take some time to get rid of the people who dont want to be here. Its a process, and with some effort maybe we can even get to 8-8 this year, they might even throw a parade for that.

Sports Take

One city, at the moment 3 teams to speak of. Its a great time to be Detroiter right now when it comes to sports as ll teams from the city with the exception of the Lions have given us something to be proud of.

The Tigers are off to their best start in recent memory and look to have restored some of the pride in the Olde English D that is the finest logo in all of sports. At 18-9, Jim Leyland has them playing like champs. The bats are swining well the pitchers are hitting their spots and people nation wide will get to see what a great baseball town Detroit is. While Comerica Park will never be Tiger Stadium we can only hope these Tigers can replicate the success that was seen at Tiger Stadium. I was a firm believer when the Tigers brought Dave Dombrowski on board to fix the organization. While some said he was doing a terrible job you had to recognize that it takes 10 years to turn a baseball team around, 5 to restock the minors and then 5 to see dividends and with young arms like Zumaya and Verlander hitting the majors we're seeing the dividends.

The pistons are making their now familiar run at another NBA crown and looking good. The Red Wings gave us another great season and then collapsed to the eight seed in the NBA playoffs. This brand of Pistons team is an improved version from last years, both winning with defense and with a fast paced offense that can keep up with anyone. Flip Saudners took the staleness out of our offense and picked the pace up. Flip by the way should have been coach of the year, improving the NBA championship runner up by 10 games in the regualr season while the NBA's coach of the year was Avery Johnson who imrpoved a 4 seed in the west by 2 wins. IF the Pistons stay healthy and hit their marks the road through the East looks fairly soft. And the western conference is looking like all teams are going through a dog fight. I can only hope that I am standing in HArt Plaza this summer watching the victory parade while owner Bill Davidson says "bullshit" three times on the stage...good times.

While this has been a somewhat recent trend and while I am not even that big of a Red Wings fan, the series left me dissapointed for another reason. That reason is the one and only Steve Yzerman, the heart and soul of the Red Wings for the last 23 years. This is a 41 year old man who went out on tired and beaten legs suffering rib injury the whole series and seemed to be the only one with any guts on the ice. It is a sad testament to the Red Wings that there is such a leadership vacum after Yzerman, that no other play had what it took to put it all on the line. Surely Yzerman will be rememberd for all the great things he did in a hall of fame career and rightly so, but it is not right for him to go out like this. Now as it is with Yzerman, the Red WIngs always warned us that Steveie Y wouldnt always be there, but thats like your parents telling you they wont always be there...you just don't believe it. That is the time now, it is a long long long shot that Yzerman is back next year. I for one although not an ardent fan, recognize he was all things good about hockey and a team game. The city of Detroit and hockey would be lucky if they ever saw a leader like him again.

On NFL draft news the Texans passed up Reggie Bush for a great defensive end in Mario Williams and now they are idiots. Name the last marquee running back who was on a superbowl champ, maybe Terrel Davis? Defensive ends like Mario Williams are on the field every play for the defense and can do alot more to disrupt the game than just sack the QB. Mario Williams made sense in a number of ways, Reggie Bush woudl have been a bitch to sign where as Williams came to terms. The afformentioned impact reason is another one. The Texans had alot more holes than running back to fill as they already had Domanick Davis who is an established quality running back, what the team needed was a fix on the offensive and defensive lines which is what they drafted. Next issue is Matt Leinart who I am predicting will be the next Scott Mitchell hes not mobile, not overly accurate and his arm strenght is decent. Not to mention hes already to holywood with the latest rumor being him dating Paris Hilton. As for the Lions good draft way to pick a 5'11" concussion prone outside linebacker. I dont know what I would have picked but it wouldnt have been that. THere is a team who has to many holes to fill from management down. FIRE MATT MILLEN.

But its from the EARTH!!

Just a random thought as I sit in front of my computer wasting space on yet another night. In my perusing of newspapers and online sources today I see that Mexico is making a smart decision in decriminalizing marijuana, a drug that used to be treated as harshly as heroin in that country.

The reason this piqued my interest is that Mexico finally figured something out before the United States did and that is that Marijuana should be legalized or at the very least decriminalized. Dont get me wrong this wont for any drug, but shit, its weed. Its about as dangerous as....I dont even know what to compare it with. And to begin with I know firsthand that it is much less dangerous than alcohol. I have never met someone that smoked themself to death or even close, but I know people that have come close to dying from consumption of massive amounts of alcohol.

Why criminlaize it, the answer is simple the government cant find a way to make a profit off of it. You know damn well if they could they would be selling it in drug stores nationwide. THe only thing illegla marijuana does is fill our jails with people who really arent criminals. Oh no, that guy got caught with an ounce of weed, lock him up throw away the key hes destroying the moral fiber of this country. BULLSHIT. Hes just smoking weed, If we want to run the prison population even higher than we can keep on that path, if not just decriminalize and let people sell it, its less dangerous than cigarettes.

Until then maybe we'll see some americans start crossing the border, hey if the price is right...why not?

Take the Power Back

Watching Fox News last night while I was trying to go to bed, one of their political talking heads said something that I found amusing and alarming. THe topic of conversation last night was the May Day boycott of the US economy by immigrants. The immigrants upporters and illegal immigrants themselves want to protest by taking the day off of work where I'm sure many of them arent even legally employed and by boycotting US business. They are doing this to show "the power illegal immigrants hold". Why on earth do they hold any power at all, they are illegal immigrants?!?!?!? Dont get me wrong Im all for legalizing the ones that are already here under the assumption that they all register, learn english and begin to pay into the tax system which they use. The big problem that needs to be corrected in terms of power is giving the power back to the United States to close our border to future waves of illegal immigrants. The argument that we need these illegal immigrants to take jobs that american citizens will not is bullshit, maybe if they werent hiring illegals for like 4.00 an hour then there would be a larger payscale for US workers to take those jobs. If the illegal immigrant problem wants to gain legitimacy then man up, register as a citizen with an address, make yourself known, pay your taxes then you can have a voice. Why they even feel they have the right to assemble and to protest reform on this problem is beyond me. The amazing thing about US citizens is that we protest reform by voting, thats how things work in this country, not by boycott protests from "citizens".

One last thing, if all of the immigrants wnat to boycott US buisness to shwo their power are they going to boycott US emergency rooms as well ore should we still expect them to take advantage of that system today? Are they going to stop using all government provided services as well?

Legalize the ones we have, make sure we know how many and where, learn english and pay your taxes and no one will care. Thats the solution be responsibnle for who you are and what you want, you cant have all the benfits without the responsibility. Only puerto rico can do that.

Also, am I the only one that finds it interesting that the rallies coincide with a communist holiday????