
(Steve Breen- San Diego Union-Tribune)
Random musings on sports, geopolitics, current events, pin-ups and the railroad industry from a rank amateur blogger.
Getty ImagesSunday was a different story, with the Sox generating alot more offense in support of Jon Lester. In the top of the 2nd, Lester would give up an RBI groundout to Brayan Peña for Kansas City's only run of the day. In 7 innings of work, Lester would give up 4 hits, the one earned run, four walks and strike out five batters. Manny DelCarmen and Joe Nelson would close out the pitching for Boston.
1) Please outline your previous military experience.
2) Did you serve in Iraq or Afghanistan? Provide details.
3) What is your position on the war in Afghanistan? Similarly, do you agree or disagree with President Obama's surge of forces to Afghanistan in 2009? Explain.
4) What is your position on the war in Iraq and the 2007 surge of American forces? Similarly, what is your view of current American policy in Iraq?
5) Should the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba be closed? Either way, describe considerations and options.
6) Should the United States bring terrorism detainees to trial in civilian courts or in military commission courts?
7) Should Iran be allowed to procure nuclear weapons? Would you support decisive U.S. action--militarily or otherwise--to prevent a nuclear Iran?
8) What role should American power--militarily and economically--play in the world? Explain.
9) What is the legacy of America's post-9/11 warrior class? If elected, how do you plan to influence this legacy?
10) Why do you want to serve in elected office?
Micheal Dwyer/AP PhotoWell, after a week in which the Red Sox got convincing wins over the New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Phillies and managed to follow that up with a sweep of the first place Tampa Bay Rays....who could've foreseen the buzzsaw they'd run into that is the Kansas City Royals? And after Tim Wakefield's last start went so swimmingly (a phrase that I usually use dripping in sarcasm and bitter irony, but not in this instance) he gave up nine runs on 12 hits in 3 and 2/3rd innings in Friday night's 12-5 loss to the Royals at Fenway. Yuniesky Bettancourt's 4th inning grand slam capped the scoring for Kansas City in a 7-run 7-hit fourth inning that chased Wakefield off the mound that pur KC up for good. The beatdown comes one night after KC took the series opener at Fenway by a final of 4-3.
WASHINGTON -- Staff members at an agency that oversees offshore drilling accepted tickets to sports events, lunches and other gifts from oil and gas companies and used government computers to view pornography, according to an Interior Department report alleging a culture of cronyism between regulators and the industry.
In at least one case, an inspector for the Minerals Management Service admitted using crystal methamphetamine and said he might have been under the influence of the drug the next day at work, according to the report by the acting inspector general of the Interior Department.
The report cites a variety of violations of federal regulations and ethics rules at the agency's Louisiana office. Previous inspector general investigations have focused on inappropriate behavior by the royalty-collection staff in the agency's Denver office.
"Probation is no longer an option. The terms of your earlier probation no longer apply. That ship has sailed," Groner said. "This is all because of the actions of you, Mr. Kilpatrick. You were convicted ... all because you lied under oath. That lie ... was part of a broader attempt to cover up your misdeeds while serving as mayor.Kilpatrick will also lose his $120,000 a year job with Detroit-based Compuware Corporation, a medical security software company that hired him on as a salesman. It's been reported that in over a year on Compuware's payroll, Kilpatrick has yet to close a sale.
"You challenged this court's authority," Groner said. "You attempted to utilize semantics and exploit loopholes. The broader context of this issue is that your family living expenses -- including living in a million-dollar home, driving a brand new Escalade and purchasing elective surgery for your wife -- you have made it perfectly clear that it's more important to pacify your wife than comply with my orders."
Honolulu AdvertiserHonolulu City Councilman Charles Djou was declared the winner of a special election Mail-In vote in Hawaii's 1st Congressional District on Sunday. Djou resigned from his position on the City Council earlier today and is expected to be sworn in as early as tomorrow. The win comes less than a week after former Murtha aide Mark Critz defeated Republican Tim Burns in a special election in Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District to fill the seat left vacant by Murtha's death.
Dear Mayor Villaraigosa,
I was dismayed to learn that the Los Angeles City Council voted to boycott Arizona and Arizona-based companies — a vote you strongly supported — to show opposition to SB 1070 (Support our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act).
You explained your support of the boycott as follows: “While we recognize that as neighbors, we share resources and ties with the State of Arizona that may be difficult to sever, our goal is not to hurt the local economy of Los Angeles, but to impact the economy of Arizona. Our intent is to use our dollars — or the withholding of our dollars — to send a message.” (emphasis added)
I received your message; please receive mine. As a state-wide elected member of the Arizona Corporation Commission overseeing Arizona’s electric and water utilities, I too am keenly aware of the “resources and ties” we share with the City of Los Angeles. In fact, approximately twenty-five percent of the electricity consumed in Los Angeles is generated by power plants in Arizona.
If an economic boycott is truly what you desire, I will be happy to encourage Arizona utilities to renegotiate your power agreements so Los Angeles no longer receives any power from Arizona-based generation. I am confident that Arizona’s utilities would be happy to take those electrons off your hands. If, however, you find that the City Council lacks the strength of its convictions to turn off the lights in Los Angeles and boycott Arizona power, please reconsider the wisdom of attempting to harm Arizona’s economy.
People of goodwill can disagree over the merits of SB 1070. A state-wide economic boycott of Arizona is not a message sent in goodwill.
Sincerely,
Commissioner Gary Pierce
Paterson explained that he decided to wait until November because he doesn’t think new electronic voting machines will be ready in some counties and because of the financial burden another election could have on cash-strapped local governments. He also justified his decision on the ground that voters in the military overseas might not get to vote in a specialI've probably said this before, but an unelected tax and spend northeastern democrat citing a possible financial burden in delaying the special election in a district where the Republican is favored to win would be laughable if it wasn't so insulting. There are also some legal questions in Patterson calling for a special election after July 1st.
“We have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam,” Mr. Blumenthal said to the group gathered in Norwalk in March 2008. “And you exemplify it. Whatever we think about the war, whatever we call it — Afghanistan or Iraq — we owe our military men and women unconditional support.”A combative Blumenthal shot back in a press conference held in the W. Hartford, CT VFW Hall earlier today.
"On a few occasions, I have misspoken about my service, and I regret that... [but] I will not allow anyone to take a few misplaced words and impugn my record of service to my country. I served in the United States Marine Corps Reserves, and I am proud of it.''[Y'know, Dick, I don't like it when somebody tries to impugn my record of service in the US Army, but I usually try and avoid that by NOT fudging my service record- NANESB!].
"I am unsatisfied with Attorney General Blumenthal's comments. While I'm not surprised that he 'regrets' that his misstatements have been called to the public's attention, what he owes is an apology to the veterans, who served and sacrificed in Vietnam."Truth be told, I wasn't going to make that big a deal out of it until I caught some of Blumethal's petulant, defiant, almost non-apology 'apology' on the news earlier today. It seemed to come off more as 'Yeah, I lied....whaddaya gonna do about it?'
Today, May 15th, marks the 61st Armed Forces Day. Prior to 1949, each branch had their own day but shortly after World War II, the Department of Defense decided to consolidate the observance for all 5 branches on one day at President Truman's insistence. However, it should be noted that the US Marine Corps 'Birthday' (November 10) nearly overlaps with Veteran's day and is still widely observed within the USMC. The US Army's 'Birthday' also nearly overlaps with another holiday- Flag Day.(Image: US DOD)
Billy DeVorss
(Image- Army.mil)Oh....and while everybody was looking elsewhere last week, the US Army moved in and occupied Red Square without firing a shot.
“We have some serious concerns about the financial impact that a special election could have on the county level, especially because those counties are facing the same fiscal crisis that the state is facing,” said Maggie McKeon, a spokeswoman for the governor. “Furthermore, the Governor has no interest in disenfranchising military voters who are overseas, and who may not be given adequate time to vote given the short time frame of a special election calendar. This is some of what is being considered, but no final decision has been made yet.”Ah yes.....those pesky concerns over the financial impact; Because nothing says 'deficit hawk' like a Northeastern Democrat.
"I would assume it’s for political purposes. I don’t understand it. The governor has already said he would call it as soon as possible,” Reed said of the delay. “Whatever the election results are, we’ve just got to get it done.”
WATERTOWN – Three Pakistani men suspected of providing money to Times Square car bomb suspect Faisal Shahzad were arrested by the FBI in a series of Thursday morning raids across the Northeast, law enforcement officials said.Wow- that sure is racist of the folks at ICE. Wonder if Representative Raul Grijalva (D- Sonoran Cartel) will call for a boycott against Massachusetts, Maine or New York.
The searches in Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey were the product of evidence gathered in the investigation into the Times Square bomb attempt two weeks ago, but there was “no known immediate threat to the public or any active plot against the United States,” FBI spokeswoman Gail Marcinkiewicz said.
The three men – two in the Boston area and one in Maine – were arrested on suspected immigration violations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Brian Hale said. They were not immediately charged with any crime, including any terrorism-related offenses.
Not just a perfect game, but Oakland starter Dallas Braden was throwing a perfect game against the white-hot Tampa Bay Rays. I mean, you gotta figure that it's difficult enough to get 27 straight outs against 'scrub' teams like the Orioles or Royals, but the AL-East leading Rays? Seems like a tall order. I was able to tune in in time for the top of the 9th at the Colesium and Gabe Kapler grounding out to short for the final out of the game and the 4-0 Oakland win.
Even before the perfect game, Dallas Braden made some headlines when he called out A-Rod for breaking one of the unwritten rules of baseball when the Yankees were playing in Oakland in late April. When asked about the incident, Slappy McBluelips had this to say:
"He told me to get off the mound," he said. "I was a little surprised because I never heard that, especially from a guy with a handful of wins [17] in his career."Hmm....guess Braden's stock went up even further all around MLB. Well...since I am inherently biased towards Boston, this does remind me a little of Dustin Pedroia chirping at A-Rod when he threw an elbow at the Sox shortstop in a pretty weak effort to break up a double-play and the Yankees announcers saying something along the lines of "Who does this Pedroia kid think he is?". That was in 2007, the same year Pedroia would win Rookie of the Year. One sure sign that you've arrived is to earn the snide, dismissive contempt of the Yankees fans and media. Way to go Dallas.
The year was 2008. An obscure Presidential candidate named Barack Hussein Obama was on the campaign trail obfuscating his 20-year association with a bigoted hate-preacher and explaining the joys of wealth redistribution to an Ohio plumber. Elsewhere that summer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D- San FranFreakshow) appeared on NBC's Meet the Press in an attempt to singlehandedly rewrite Catholic Doctorine in order to mitigate her pro-abortion stance.
“… I would say that as an ardent, practicing Catholic, this is an issue that I have studied for a long time. And what I know is, over the centuries, the doctors of the church have not been able to make that definition … St. Augustine said at three months. We don’t know. The point is, is that it shouldn’t have an impact on the woman’s right to choose,”
This did not go over well with the cardinals, bishops and numerous practicing Catholics at the time. Look- it's one thing to claim to be both Catholic and pro-abortion, but it's another to flat out lie and tell everybody that most other Catholics and the church itself are 100% down with abortion just like you are. Or that the Church hasn't made up its mind yet. Or whatever.
In advance of the 2008 Democrat Party convention in the Mile High city, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Denver, Charles Chaput, issued a scathing rebuttal to Pelosi's opportunistic and selective amnesia on Church doctrine.
Abortion kills an unborn, developing human life. It is always gravely evil, and so are the evasions employed to justify it. Catholics who make excuses for it - whether they're famous or not - fool only themselves and abuse the fidelity of those Catholics who do sincerely seek to follow the Gospel and live their Catholic faith.
Why are you bringing this up now? you might be asking (and for good reason). I'm not here to singlehandedly fight the abortion debate [although I do find it amusing that the same women's groups who would shout "Keep your laws off of my body!" at pro-abortion rallies apparently have absolutely NO problem with 0bamacare- NANESB!] but it should probably be revisited now that Pelosi's trying to curry favor with the Church once more.
Lately, it seems the human lamprey known as Nancy Pelosi has decided to opportunistically attach herself to the Catholic Church once again, this time weighing in on immigration 'reform'.
"The cardinals, the archbishops, the bishops that come to me and say, 'We want you to pass immigration reform,' and I said, 'I want you to speak about it from the pulpit. I want you to instruct your' -- whatever the communication is," [emphasis mine- NANESB!] said Pelosi, who is Catholic, speaking at the Nation's Catholic Community conference sponsored by Trinity Washington University and the National Catholic Reporter.
And how would the human lamprey with the 28% Approval rating feel about those same Catholic leaders speaking out in opposition to same-sex marriage or abortion from that same pulpit? Or would the Speaker magically rediscover the separation of Church and State once the Catholic Church's opposition to those particular issues were clarified from the pulpit.
Can anybody else believe the unmitigated chutzpah of this caricature of a woman? Not even two years ago, she was on national TV telling the nation the Catholic Church's stance on abortion was uncertain and ambiguous, so her pro-abortion legislative views weren't in violation of the Church's teachings. Now we're supposed to believe that the same church she gave the middle finger to has come crawling to her to beg for her assistance on amnesty immigration reform.
Actually, that could be partially true. Why do I get the feeling that the church officials who visited Pelosi begging for some kind of amnesty immigration reform to pass would be considered 'Liberation Theologians'? For those of you who don't know what Liberation Theology is, think along the lines of Rev. Wright's Trinity Church of Christ or Jim Jones' People's Temple, but under the guise of Catholicism.
Lord knows I'm a far from ideal Catholic. Hell, the only thing that gets me showing up at Mass in the warmer months is the chance to ogle some of the sundress-clad female parishioners. But I'm not going to take the Nancy Pelosi way out and misrepresent my flaws and shortcomings as a Catholic as being representative of the Church and other parishioners in general.
Since you've suddenly and conveniently decided to find religion, Nancy, here's a little Matthew 22:21 for you.
Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God'sCatholics are supposed to be a forgiving lot. But Pelosi's cynical and one-sided use of the Church to try and further her own anti-Church legislative agenda is testing the patience of Catholics far more forgiving than myself.