The Old Blog

Dayn Perry’s “10 Outrageous Prediction for the Second Half” (of the baseball season) may be the lamest non-Joe Morgan-authored article about baseball I’ve read this year.

In it, he argues that the D-Rays or Tigers will make the postseason (they are tied for ninth in a League that allows its top 4 teams to go on), that Brad Radke will finish with more wins than walks (even though he has twice as many of the latter as the former), Barry Bonds will draw 300 walks this year (the record is 198; he’s on pace for under 250), and Bartolo Colon will give up 60 homers (he’s not even halfway there).

Most of the predictions come with a “I know this isn’t likely, but it could happen” caveat, and two of them (Vlad Guerrero winning the triple crown and Ivan Rodriguez winning the AL batting title) contradict each other. Speaking of which, I-Rod is leading the league in hitting already. A prediction for him to win the title is no more “outrageous” than a prediction that the Yankees will win the AL East. This could have been an ok article if it was spun as “things to watch” rather than “guarantees.”

If Fox Sports is hurting for content that badly, I know plenty of bloggers who could turn out much better material.

Bush visited the Urban League in Michigan to try to woo black voters to the right side of the spectrum. Strangely, he failed to mention his opposition to affirmative action, despite the fact that without it, he very well might not be in office (Clarence Thomas owes a good chunk of his opportunities to affirmative action, and was one of the 5 Supreme Court justices who voted to end the recalls and award Bush the presidency in 2000).

Maybe he should just cut his losses and try to “suppress the Detroit vote,” as Michigan State Representative John Pappageorge so eloquently and racistly put it a week ago.

Why would you start believing in Jesus only after seeing a weird reflection in a True Value store window?

The fact that people like this can vote scares the crap out of me.

We’ve been at war for over a year, the 9/11 commission’s report just came out, and the economy, while slightly improving, is still on shaky ground. I have an idea: let’s devote our time attempting to take away rights from gay people!

“Marriage is under attack,” Republican Representative James Sensenbrenner said. It sure is. By Republicans.

So what is our “uniter, not divider” President doing? Oh yeah, strongly backing a bill that strips rights from 10% of US Citizens.

Looks like they’ll be switching countries for the 2005 season. And even though Major League Baseball has failed twice in the nation’s capital, it’s still the right decision.

Bat-Girl got linked in Eric Neel’s most recent “on baseball” column, and got major props from the man of words for her literary stylin’. She joins Aaron Gleeman as baseball/Twins bloggers who’ve received link love this year.

Another Twins Fan was quoted in a Jayson Stark column earlier this season, but, sadly, his link went unpublished.

Every corporation should require their higher-ups to spend a week at the bottom. Kudos to Chicago Aviation Commissioner John Roberson, who is making all assistant commissioners on up spend an 8-hour shift cleaning bathrooms, scrubbing toilets, and mopping floors, in an attempt to make O’Hare Airport a better place to spend your 6-hour layover. Double kudos for actually doing it himself, as well.

Bush today decided he wants to be called “the peace president.”

He’s launched two wars and referred to himself as “a war president” as recently as February.

The linked article above quotes Bush as saying “The enemy declared war on us.” When, exactly, was this? When, during Bush’s presidency, did Iraq declare war? When did Afghanistan declare war? (Not that I was necessarily against war with them; I just don’t recall a formal declaration.) And why haven’t we gone to war with Saudi Arabia, a country the vast majority of the 9/11 hijackers were from?

“The next four years will be peaceful years,” Bush said. Unless the “war on terror” ends in the next 100 days or so, that statment’s going to be proven wrong, no matter who wins the White House.

Oh yeah, and the 900th soldier died today–more than half of the fallen have perished since the “mission” was “accomplished” over a year ago. Good job, “peace president.”

The 9/11 Commission’s report is scheduled to be released tomorrow.

The scariest story I have heard so far is that of Niaz Khan, who apparently told FBI agents in Newark about his al-Qaeda training and plans for the group to hijack a US plane nearly a year and a half before 9/11. 17 months later, the city across the river bore the brunt of the most deadly foreign attack on US soil.

Fortunately (or unfortunately?) the rest of the report pretty much repeats what we’ve been hearing for the last 2+ years–including that the attacks were not necessarily preventable. And, in what is definitely a boost to the report’s credibility, it blames both the Clinton and Bush administrations.

As Mary’s husband, I would do all I could to make her absolutely miserable. I wouldn’t beat her (I reserve that for people I like), but I would pee on the toilet seat every morning, fart under the covers every night, and remind her at every opportunity that she’s the most despised American lesbian since Mamie Eisenhower.

-Dan Savage, on how he’d like to marry Mary Cheney, Dick Cheney’s daughter/campaign helper and uncloseted lesbian. Savage also says he’d be happy to wed Wonkette, due to their common love of ass-fucking.