no homes and next...no benches

Activist* Seeks to Eliminate Transient Loitering
Peter Feytser Thursday, Apr. 3, 2008
Community activist Esther Viti attempted to organize a group of volunteers to prevent the homeless from occupying benches in downtown La Jolla, ...by sitting on the benches themselves in three-hour shifts.

Promote La Jolla’s previous attempts to deal with the problem include installing metal dividers on benches to split the seats, but this tactic was unsuccessful because the homeless simply “perfected sleeping upright,” Marengo said.
Full Story

You would think someone with those sorta of skillz could find a job or three...

Why don't these worthless homeless people put on some heavy weights and walk into the Pacific Ocean? There, problem solved...

*"Activist"? Uh, i don't think so. HYOOOOooooooOOOOGE @$$HOLE, maybe...

this is k-mad's cat's brain not on caffeine

there he goes again (cont'd)

The Rev. Jeremiah Wright excoriated America as having "committed more war crimes almost than any nation in the world," saying "we are criminals in that war," and adding that "a nation that put as many Japanese in a concentration camp as they did in the '40s ... will put black people in a concentration camp. And I'm not interested in being in any concentration camp. I been on the reservation too long now." Then again, what would you expect from...

Wait. It was Martin Luther King who said that. Sorry.

On a lighter note, "the week before his death, he was planning a sermon for that Sunday titled 'Why America May Go to Hell.'" (from an email from Sojourners)

there he goes again

The Rev. Jeremiah Wright excoriated America as "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world" and a nation "founded on genocide." Then again, what would you expect from...

Wait. It was Martin Luther King who said that. Sorry.

what took them so long?

Original Schlitz coming back to Chicago
April 04, 2008
(Crain’s) — Schlitz, known as “the beer that made Milwaukee famous,” is bringing its original taste back to Chicago on Monday.

Woodridge-based Pabst Brewing Co. has recreated the original formula for the beer, which was a top seller nationwide in the 1970s before it was reformulated. The recreated beer will be sold in brown longneck bottles and labels noting the “Classic 1960s formula.”

“We are going after the baby boomers who remember Schlitz when they first started drinking,” says Jerry Glunz, the general manager of Lincolnwood-based Louis Glunz Beer Inc., which is distributing the beer in Chicago. “This is a different beer than the (current Schlitz line in the can), and this beer will stand up to its former glory.”

He says the beer will be available at about a dozen locations on the North Side of Chicago on Monday, the 75th anniversary of the end of Prohibition.

He says the locations will include: Schubas Tavern, Southport Lanes & Billiards, Cardinal Liquors, 1000 Liquors, Chicago Brauhaus, Sheffield’s Bar, the Long Room, Simon’s Tavern, Green Mill Cocktail Lounge, Glunz Bavarian Haus and the House of Glunz.

Pabst Brewmaster Bob Newman researched the old formula and interviewed previous brewmasters to find the correct recipe, Mr. Glunz says.

Mr. Glunz said the beer declined in popularity because of changes to the formula in the 1970s and a switch to cans in the 1990s.

hooray!

Stocks rise following report of large job loss
By Tim Paradis

Stocks moved modestly higher and Treasurys rallied today following news that the economy gave up 80,000 jobs last month, the biggest loss in five years. UPDATED, 2:05 p.m.

Worst lineup in the history of baseball?

San Francisco
D. Roberts lf
E. Velez 2b
R. Winn rf
B. Molina c
A. Rowand cf
J. Castillo 3b
R. Aurilia 1b
B. Bocock ss
J. Sanchez p

I count Winn and Rowand, at best, as average at their positions. Everyone else is well below. Maybe Molina is approaching average, but that's about it.

why can't we just kill all the birds and be done with them?

Couple forced to remove bird feeders
Apr 03, 2008 22:30 -0500

They say they just wanted to enjoy the freedom of watching birds feed outside their Prospect Heights home. Neighbors claim the bird feeders brought too many critters to the neighborhood, and a judge agrees.

* Should bird feeders be banned?
* For the birds? Vote

World's Awfulest "Newspaper" With the Tarrists

More America hating from the MSM.

which is more shocking?

Bluestem and Maddogs tied for 7th, or this?

1. Blue Ward Cyclones 197.5
2. shot_at_bill 179
3. Lord Viper Elefantes 171.5

unclear on the concept

News item: Fights disrupt anti-violence rally at Southeast Side high school

newest k-mad injury plague

Inability to breathe.

Conor Jackson left Wednesday's game in the fifth inning and later headed to the hospital because he was having trouble breathing after being weakened by an undisclosed illness this week.

Must not be a Chicken, Smelt, Horror etc.....

Johnny Cueto 7IP 1H 1R 1ER 1BB 10K 1HR 1.29 Season ERA

How to Suck at Baseball

After being one-hit yesterday, octogenarian Jamie Moyer proceeds to give five runs in the 1st today. Who do they think they are, the Cubs?

Scoring Summary
Top 1st: Washington
- R. Zimmerman grounded into fielder's choice, C. Guzman to third, L. Milledge out at second, C. Guzman scored on second baseman C. Utley's throwing error
- A. Boone singled to center, R. Zimmerman scored, A. Kearns to second
- R. Belliard doubled to deep left center, A. Boone and A. Kearns scored
- J. Flores doubled to left, R. Belliard scored
Was 5, Phi 0

Cricket Invasion

Perhaps Sarge can go check it out...

A Sport With Balls And Bats, but No Pitcher

he is probably also a tarrist

For Little Children, Grown-Up Labels As Sexual Harassers
By Brigid Schulte
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 3, 2008; A01

In his seven years, Randy Castro has been an aspiring soccer player, an accomplished Lego architect and a Royal Ranger at his Pentecostal church. He also, according to his elementary school record, sexually harassed a first-grade classmate.

During recess at his Woodbridge school one day in November, when he was 6, he said, he smacked the classmate's bottom. The girl told the teacher. The teacher took Randy to the principal, who told him such behavior was inappropriate. School officials wrote an incident report calling it "Sexual Touching Against Student, Offensive," which will remain on his student record permanently.

Then, as Randy sat in the principal's office, they called the police.

"I thought they were going to take me to prison," Randy said recently. "I was scared."

I might need to raid my pension fund so I can afford a last visit to pay my respects

State's plan to buy Wrigley lands it on endangered list
While fans have been concerned about the possible renaming of Wrigley Field, some preservationists have been more worried about how the Cubs' park will look if the state buys the North Side stadium. The preservationist group Landmark Illinois put Wrigley Field on its most endangered historic places list Wednesday.

time to unload Z in Great Lakes

Cubs tell Carlos Zambrano to cut out caffeine

laws? we don't need no stinkin' laws (cont'd)

Post-9/11 Memo Indicates View Around Constitution
For at least 16 months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Bush administration argued that the Constitution's protection against unreasonable searches and seizures on U.S. soil did not apply to its efforts to protect against terrorism.

That view was expressed in a secret Justice Department legal memo dated Oct. 23, 2001. The administration stressed yesterday that it now disavows that view.

Stoopid Criminals (cont)

I saw this story on da news dis morning:

A pair of hoax ads on Craigslist cost an Oregon man much of what he owned.

The ads popped up Saturday afternoon, saying the owner of a Jacksonville home was forced to leave the area suddenly and his belongings, including a horse, were free for the taking, said Jackson County sheriff's Detective Sgt. Colin Fagan.

But Robert Salisbury had no plans to leave. The independent contractor was at Emigrant Lake when he got a call from a woman who had stopped by his house to claim his horse.

On his way home he stopped a truck loaded down with his work ladders, lawn mower and weed eater.

"I informed them I was the owner, but they refused to give the stuff back," Salisbury said. "They showed me the Craigslist printout and told me they had the right to do what they did.

"The driver sped away after rebuking Salisbury. On his way home he spotted other cars filled with his belongings.

Once home he was greeted by close to 30 people rummaging through his barn and front porch.

The trespassers, armed with printouts of the ad, tried to brush him off. "They honestly thought that because it appeared on the Internet it was true," Salisbury said. "It boggles the mind.

"Jacksonville police and Jackson County sheriff's deputies arrived but by then several cars packed with Salisbury's property had fled.

He turned some license plate numbers over to police.

Michelle Easley had seen the ad that claimed Salisbury's horse had been declared abandoned by the sheriff's department and was free to a good home.

"I can't stand to see a horse suffer so I drove out there and got her," Easley said. "The horse didn't look abandoned. She is in good shape for being 32 years old.

"But it looked odd, so she left a note on Salisbury's door explaining the ad. She then decided to call to make sure the ad was legitimate when the second similar ad appeared.

"I feel bad because I was a part of it," Easley said. "It felt right to call the police.

"Fagan praised Easley's honestly but said prosecution was likely for anybody caught with Salisbury's property.

Items can be returned with no questions asked, Fagan said.

Detectives have contacted Craigslist's legal team to try to trace the ad.

Meanwhile, Salisbury could not even relax on his porch swing.

Someone took it.

I can't find the update to the story, which is that them smart cookies decided to track down who had posted the listing. Led them to the real crooks, who had allegedly hit up the place first, got all the good stuff, then posted the Craigslist ad to have other people come in and cover up their crime. Actually, it's a really ingenious way of covering up a crime. Using a computer whose IP address can be traced back to you - stooooooooooooooooooooooooooooopid!

K-Mad, Smiff: we're here to help

7:19 PM Kevin: awful
7:22 PM me: what now? Phillies one-hit by TIM REDDING et al? or... Pedro out 4-6 weeks, which means 8-10 weeks?
7:24 PM Kevin: tim redding? awful
7:33 PM me: AWFULLLLL
7:37 PM me: Gomes benched (again) for...Nathan Haynes
Kevin: who?
me: Joe Maddon should be shot
i dunno, but draft him and his career over ASAP
7:38 PM Kevin: newest cherry
7:39 PM me: this just in: Larry Bowa BLEW UP and was suspended for 3 games
Kevin: rip them motherfuckers?
me: yeah
7:40 PM Al Reyes: LIT UP tonight
Kevin: in a good way?
me: no
Kevin: phokk
7:42 PM me: the INSANE Kevin O'Neill OUT in Arizona
7:43 PM Kevin: @#$&^% #@(*&&$ #&^#$*#@ #&#%*#@ 4&#!
7:43 PM Kevin: $^*#$!
me: yes#
Cubs lost again
also: White Sox
7:45 PM Smiff shocked:
Storm? What storm?
A woman bikes along Mission Bay, where bright blue skies rule the day. The storm that National Weather Service forecasters expected to arrive Wednesday afternoon has slowed and weakened and may not hit the county until after 10 p.m.“I don't think it has much chance of holding together,” forecaster Steve Vanderburg says. “There's a good chance it won't do a lot for us.”
Steve Vanderburg: FULL@SHIT
7:46 PM Kevin: he will be hailed as a liberator
me: on da udder hand, it's ridicurously chilly round here: 56 right now
7:49 PM Kevin: man that's rough... do you have an electric binky?
me: yes.
but first, i may have to put on pants
Kevin: i would set it on "thermonuclear"
7:50 PM me: noted
Kevin: and mittens
me: don't have any of dem
socks?
Kevin: go outside and kill someone for their mittens... it's every man for himself in situations like this
7:51 PM me: i would, if i could stand up
the Ernie Banks statue has a typo? dat's so Cub
7:52 PM Kevin: really? i didn't hear about that. ridikkerus
they just figgered this out?
7:53 PM me: left the apostophe out of Let's Play Two
Kevin: datz phokkin retardid
7:54 PM me: Yes.
7:54 PM me: watching Obama on The Insane Chris Mathews Show
Kevin: whats da deal wid dis phokkin twitter phing
?
7:55 PM me: whadya mean what's the phokking deal?
HARDBALL!
Kevin: http://twitter.com/kmaddest
7:56 PM how can i set dis up on my cell... ditn work for me
yeah i heard about dat
me: i don't have a cell, ask Rebecca
Kevin: duff
7:57 PM me: i let her know...she'll be very excited!
Kevin: that is so sad
7:58 PM me: Yes.
7:59 PM Kevin: i'll try to make it less negative from now on
me: really? can you?
Kevin: no
8:00 PM that marines commercial is phokking awful though'
obama da rock star
8:01 PM west chester -- rams?
me: haven't seen it
oh, dere in West Chester? just west of where i was born...in Chester
8:02 PM Kevin: west of there?
of chester?
me: yeah, dats why dey call it West Chester...duh
Kevin: philly sport magazine endorsed him
8:03 PM me: HYOOOGE
Kevin: i phink dat settles dat
me: Ollie Perez: DOMINATING tonight
Kevin: my hands are tied
8:04 PM all my drafts are over
8:04 PM me: trade? trade for him?
Kevin: dat might work
so it's west of chester? west chester?
8:05 PM me: no-IDIOT- West Chester is west of Chester
den we moved to Rochester
later, i lived in Chichester
Kevin: ro chester?
8:06 PM me: yes, ro of chester
Kevin: k
bluestem - last place
raise your hand if you're shocked
yooooooge night tonight though
8:07 PM me: \\|//
Phants in 1st? equally shocking
Kevin: the whole world has gone upside dowsn
down
8:08 PM me: speaking of Phants: Y Escobar (1, 8th inning off E Meek 2 on, 2 Out).
8:09 PM GUONE
8:09 PM Kevin: bluestem slugging 765 tonight
like i said............
yoooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOoooooge
8:10 PM me: could move up to 11th
Kevin: maybe!
me: Jair Jurrjens: why don't you have him?
Kevin: i know
it almost happened
8:11 PM me: FAIL
Kevin: datz a little harsh
8:12 PM obama prattlling on about green energy
do i look like an elf?
me: a tall elf, maybe
8:13 PM Top 2nd: Houston
- G. Blum homered to deep right
- T. Wigginton homered to deep left
8:14 PM me: Monk:
Bot 2nd: San Diego
- S. Hairston homered to deep left center
8:15 PM shteal
8:16 PM Ludwick: Triple
8:17 PM zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
8:18 PM Kevin: wi@@y!
8:19 PM he's a bluestem
ludwick: horror
callix crabbe: smelt
5 minutes
8:25 PM Kevin: i'm outta wine so i phink its bedtime
8:26 PM me: i got a cheap pinot here, if dat helps
8:27 PM Kevin: uhh no
i got whisky dough
me: what's da prollem den?
8:28 PM Kevin: i can't remember
8:30 PM me: i gots wine, beer, scotch, a cheap canadian whiskey, port (from kollyforniyah), gin, vermouth, bitters
and absinthe
8:32 PM Kevin: submitted for your tendention:
http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/food/873052,FOO-News-wine02.article
8:33 PM i phink da plutos just got one step closer to da windowledge
me: anudder reason to drink Kollyforniyuh wine
8:34 PM phokk does frenchy phokks
Kevin: yeah dats true... but i need da aussies
8:35 PM me: Kollyfoneeyuhh makes sum pretty good shirazez
Kevin: dat would be good news
8:36 PM west chester is in phact da rams
me: lots of rams in SE PA
Kevin: yeah dat is dere natural habitat an shit
me: dis Obama guy makes a lot of sense...too bad he's a darky
8:37 PM Kevin: yeah i don't phink america is ready for a president who knows what da phokk is going on
8:39 PM me: dats sum phunny stuff on Lattice ya phokker
8:40 PM Kevin: tough one tonight!
me: Obama gets the WYOMING GOVERNOR'S endorsement
phokk U
Kevin: you can't stop tim redding, you can only hope to contain him
8:41 PM me: we will stay the course
Kevin: the phigtin's will turn the corner
8:42 PM me: already turned dat mudderphokker
8:43 PM shit sandwich...dere wuz anudder corner
8:44 PM me: JR Towles: .000
Kevin: he might be a horror
me: you don't know?
Kevin: dunno man that was like last month or some shit
8:45 PM me: he is in fact AN Horror...R.I.P.
8:46 PM Kevin: well den i guess he is AN dead mudderphokker
i blame society
me: da Horrors have a grand total of EIGHT pitchers in the majors
8:47 PM Kevin: three starters and five relievers, whats da phokkin prollem gollum?
me: dat inc. John "Soon to be deceased" Bale
8:48 PM Pat Misch? not so much...
Kevin: not soon enough
me: also inc. a Smiff...
Kevin: misch... as in jealous much?
8:48 PM me: no, as in Fresno a lot
8:49 PM Kevin: well then... you've run rings round me logically
me: Yes.
8:52 PM Smiff muttering to himself...what is Hillary's experience Howard FULL@SHIT Fineman is talking about...
8:53 PM Kevin: what da phokk are you watching? or is it a bad hallucinatin
o
n
me: KO
Kevin: stay tuned for west chester
8:53 PM Kevin: not westchester
not chichester
west
wait for it...
8:54 PM chester
me: we're waiting
Kevin: he's wearing a necktie
like datz sposed to make us forget his wid da tarrists
or black
8:55 PM me: Smiff HATES neckties...stoopif phokking pfings
Kevin: sounds like a something the LAPD would phink up
"we were able to place the suspect in a necktie..."
8:56 PM "at which point we were able to subdue the suspect..."
chief gates where are you
8:57 PM me: all i gots to say:
more pinot!
Kevin: phokker
me: ha ha
8:58 PM you shoulda stopped at da booze store on da waz home and shit
8:59 PM Kevin: i phought i had enuf
8:59 PM me: wah roh - the game in LA is delayed DUE TO RAIN
Kevin: the end times will soon be here (wait they are here)
me: no shit, we're next
9:00 PM Kevin: what's it like to be dead?
i've always wondered
me: i'll let you now tomorrow
know
and shit
9:02 PM Kevin: k, but put "i am emailing you from the next world" in the subject line so i know it's worth opening
me: k
9:03 PM it will prolly start:
TOTALLY PHOKKED
here in Waco
Kevin: how can you be totally phokked in the next world if we are totally phokked here in this one?
9:04 PM me: it's just da next stage of being TOTALLY PHOKKED
dis just in:
9:05 PM Dick Cheney: A TOTAL FUCKING ASSHOLE
Kevin: dat is a surprise
me: yup
just came over da wires
9:09 PM me: GUMBO!
Kevin: whu?
9:10 PM me: dinner
Kevin: now? it's like... tomorrow
me: yes
9:11 PM Kevin: go eat your pokking guumy bear den... it's bedtime here in da real world
me: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Kevin: yes
also, this just in
horror: sucks
me: yeah, real world, where it's not about to drop water from the sky
9:15 PM Kevin: water from the sky? dat sounds pretty biblicamol.
9:16 PM if you get raptured up an shit be sure to say hi to billy graham for me... he's dead right?
me: Jehovah Jehovah Jehovah
9:17 PM Billy Graham is still dead..hallelujah
9:18 PM Kevin: he will be missed
i guess
k den
me: our work here is done
Kevin: no question

giant sucking sound

PHILADELPHIA (AP)—Tim Redding took a one-hitter into the eighth inning and Ryan Zimmerman hit a solo homer to help the Washington Nationals stay unbeaten with a 1-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday night.

Anudder Nort'side Suck-Fest

Suppan?!, Kendall?!?! lead Brewers over Cubs 8-2 as Chicago loses 2nd straight
Preview Box Score Recap

CHICAGO (AP)—So much for the Chicago Cubs getting off to a fast start in their quest to win the World Series for the first time in 100 years. Jeff Suppan held Chicago to two runs and six hits in 6 1-3 innings, Rickie Weeks homered on the game’s first pitch and Jason Kendall reached base five straight times to lead the Milwaukee Brewers over the Cubs 8-2 Wednesday. Ryan Braun and ex-Cub Kendall—batting ninth—had three hits each in Milwaukee’s 14-hit attack. The Cubs were 8 1/2 games back of the Brewers in late June last season after a slow start before overtaking Milwaukee to win the NL Central. Chicago lost Monday’s opener 4-3 in 10 innings.
Suppan (1-0) gave up Derrek Lee’s home run leading off the fourth on a 41-degree day and left after allowing Geovany Soto’s (MONK!) home in the seventh. Salomon Torres relieved Suppan and, after consecutive one-out singles by Felix Pie and Mike Fontenot, retired Ryan Theriot on a flyout and struck out Alfonso Soriano—off to an 0-for-9 start. Chicago starter Ted Lilly (0-1) gave up four runs and five hits in 4 2-3 innings.
Milwaukee took a 3-0 lead in the fourth when Braun doubled off Aramis Ramirez’s glove at third, Bill Hall had an RBI single and Corey Hart delivered an RBI double. Lee’s first homer got a run back for the Cubs in the bottom half but Milwaukee drove out Lilly in the fifth when Kendall doubled, and Lilly hit Prince Fielder in the side with a two-out pitch. Braun greeted Kevin Hart with an RBI single for a 4-1 lead. Fans at Wrigley Field started to boo* the Cubs in the sixth when Milwaukee scored without a hit thanks to two walks, three stolen bases and a Soto’s error.
Notes
Longtime Cubs’ clubhouse manager Yosh Kawano, who joined the team in 1943, two years before its last World Series appearance, is leaving the job. He will stay with team in another capacity and be honored at a ceremony later this season. Kawano turns 87 in June. Dis poor guy has probably seen more losses in the history of losing dan anybody...

*Dose are da real Chicago fucking fans?...MY FUCKING ASS!!

Lolcat Special for Fung

if it's not one thing, it's another

News item: Mohamed ElBaradei, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), predicts that unless present trends are reversed, there will be more than 25 nuclear weapons states in a few years, many of them unstable and prone to takeover by extremists. The likelihood of the use of nuclear weapons would then be greater than at any time during the Cold War.

who's hating America today?

In somewhat of a surprise, it turns out to be senior Army and Marine Corps leaders.

Heavy Troop Deployments Are Called Major Risk
Readiness Is Dangerously Low, Army Chief Says

By Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 2, 2008; A04

Senior Army and Marine Corps leaders said yesterday that the increase of more than 30,000 troops in Iraq and Afghanistan has put unsustainable levels of stress on U.S. ground forces and has put their readiness to fight other conflicts at the lowest level in years.

In a stark assessment a week before Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, is to testify on the war's progress, Gen. Richard A. Cody, the Army's vice chief of staff, said that the heavy deployments are inflicting "incredible stress" on soldiers and families and that they pose "a significant risk" to the nation's all-volunteer military...

"I've never seen our lack of strategic depth be where it is today," said Cody, who has been the senior Army official in charge of operations and readiness for the past six years and plans to retire this summer (and hates America -- ed.).

K-Mad now affecting potassium levels...

Carlos Zambrano is expected to make his next start after leaving Monday's game with forearm cramps. "He's fine," manager Lou Piniella said. "His potassium level was a little low. I think that was the problem." Zambrano is scheduled to face the Astros on Sunday.

next thing you know, we'll all be smothering our hot dogs in ketchup

News item: All Blackhawks games to be on TV next season

Cook County: the system works

County’s new lobbyist throwing fundraiser for Stroger

(Crain’s) — Just months after receiving a pair of six-figure, no-bid contracts, Cook County’s new Washington, D.C., lobbyist is hosting a fundraiser for the official who awarded him that work: County Board President Todd Stroger.

Lobbyist Richard Boykin is holding the fundraiser for Mr. Stroger on Thursday evening at the Loop offices of Mr. Boykin’s law firm, Barnes & Thornburg LLP. Invitations for the event request donations of $250 to as much as $2,500...

Mr. Boykin says there is "no connection" between the contracts and the upcoming fundraiser, which will pull in a reported $30,000 or so for Mr. Stroger’s political campaign fund.

Mr. Stroger’s spokesman says only that Mr. Boykin "can throw a fundraiser for whoever he wants..."

Crain’s first asked Mr. Stroger’s office for comment on this matter Tuesday afternoon. By mid-afternoon Wednesday, the president’s spokesman said he had not yet been able to reach the appropriate county officials to confirm that Messrs. Boykin and Burkhardt had been granted a second contract.

The spokesman added that he was aware of Thursday’s fundraiser but was not prepared to further discuss the matter.

Smiff beating Decker in yet another fantasy league

We were chatting last night and thought we would give ESPN a whirl since their game is free again. Who is shocked...SHOCKED!...that I'm in 2nd, Sarge is in 9th...

Senor Chico Standings
1 Team Ross
2 785 Smelly Hound Dogs
3 Team SENOR
4 kansas city kc royals
5 Skeetin on Ya
6 new york newyork bombers
7 Elgin Cell
8 Annapolis Crunchers
9 BROOKLYN Dogs of Yore
10cardington yankees

behold the flippity-floppery

KOREA FLIP FLOP: Although McCain is now fond of using South Korea as a model for the Iraq occupation, he had rejected such a framework as recently as last November. At that time, PBS host Charlie Rose asked the senator whether he thought "South Korea is an analogy of where Iraq might be...over the next, say, 20, 25 years," to which McCain replied, "I don't think so." Rose followed, "Even if there are no casualties?" McCain repeated "no," adding that because of "the religious aspects of it [Iraq] that America eventually withdraws." Just two months later, however, McCain emphasized that as long as there are no casualties, he wouldn't mind staying in Iraq for "one hundred years, one thousand years, ten thousand years or until the earth collapses under global climate change." McCain is now fully embracing the Korea model, remarking just yesterday, "We fought a war with Japan and Germany. Afterwards we maintained a military presence there, which we are doing today. We fought a war in Korea, we maintained a military presence in Korea, which we are doing to this day. The first Gulf War, we threw Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait, and we have a military presence there to this day." But as McCain himself seemed to recognize just a few months ago when talking to Rose, sectarian Iraq presents a very different situation than relatively ethnically- and religiously-homogeneous South Korea or Kuwait.

Smiff's new hobby

May also explain Roddick's hubby - Smiff took dis to the next level and modified a human...

Internet Miss Bimbo game for girls attacked by parents

Prairie Chickens: the system works

News item: Pedro Martinez added injury to a rough '08 debut, straining a hamstring in addition to allowing four runs over three-plus innings at Florida on Tuesday.

news flash!

News item: Fed Chief Warns of Possible Recession

Glad our boys are on this...

Decker betrothed?

Andy Roddick won at love – he is engaged to swimsuit model Brooklyn Decker.

The 25-year-old tennis star met Decker in New York last year and proposed to him in early March, his Web site said yesterday.

“With their hectic travel schedules, Andy and Brooklyn plan to enjoy their engagement and will wait to set a wedding date,” the site said. 

Roddick is ranked No. 6 on the ATP Tour and is competing in the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Fla. Decker has appeared in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue and is a New York City school teacher.I haven't seen Decker in a while, but either he has had significant "work done," or Sports Illustrated airbrush the shit out of their photos.  (And they must have caught him on a Monday, aka "shaving day.") And couldn't he have done better than a "never reached his potential" like Roddick for, say, Smiff? Brooklyn, call me!

Laws? We don't need no stinkin' laws!

U.S. to bypass 30 laws to build border fence
The Bush administration plans to bypass more than 30 laws and regulations to finish building 670 miles of border fence – including 30 miles of fencing and technology on environmentally sensitive land in San Diego County.

USA 2008: The Great Depression

News item: Food stamps are the symbol of poverty in the US. In the era of the credit crunch, a record 28 million Americans are now relying on them to survive – a sure sign the world's richest country faces economic crisis

You would almost think there had been a nearly decade-long effort organized at the highest levels to make life better for the rich at the expense of everyone else.

In Honor of April 1

10 stories that could be April Fools... but aren't

Smiff concurs

tough one today

Milwaukee 4, Chi Cubs 3, 10 innings

See also: the last century.

And Gagme gets "the win" - how stupid is that?

Woops...must really be off the roids

Chi Cubs Inning Summary
- E. Gagne relieved G. Mota
- D. Lee singled to right
- A. Ramirez walked, D. Lee to second
- K. Fukudome homered to deep right center, D. Lee and A. Ramirez scored

Woops...isn't he a Bluestem?

K. Wood 1.0 2 3 3 1 1 0 27.00

Can you hear the booing? I can...

Washington 9th Inning Summary
- T. Gordon relieved J.C. Romero
- L. Milledge singled to shortstop
- R. Zimmerman lined out to right
- N. Johnson doubled to deep center, L. Milledge scored, N. Johnson to third advancing on throw
- A. Kearns walked
- N. Johnson scored, A. Kearns to second on C. Ruiz's throwing error
- P. Lo Duca doubled to deep center, A. Kearns scored
- R. Belliard doubled to deep center, P. Lo Duca scored
- C. Condrey relieved T. Gordon (ya think?)
Was 10, Phi 6

This Can't be Good

- B. Hall picked off at second, pitcher to second
- C. Marmol relieved C. Zambrano
- C. Hart struck out looking

Speaking of Sucking (cont'd)

Your 2008 San Francisco Giants:
D. Roberts LF 1-1
R. Aurilia 1B 0-1
R. Winn RF 0-1
B. Molina C 0-1
R. Durham 2B 0-0
A. Rowand CF 1-1
J. Castillo 3B 0-1
B. Bocock SS 0-0
B. Zito P 0-0

Zito (125 MEEEEEeeellion $, or was it 127?) has only allowed 4 runs through 2 innings...

Bocock?

makes ya feel all warm inside...

This is what George Bush and his band of cronies have turned America into. This is on all of our hands, whether we accept it or not.

An innocent man loses 5 years of his life at Guantanamo Bay

Smiff is SHOCKED (cont'd)

So i ordered MLB Radio so i could listen to today's Phillies' opener (just as well, since Brett Myers totally sucks, and why isn't Hamels going anyway...), and guess what? Are you ready for this, are you sitting down, are you prepared to be SHOCKED?

IT DOESN'T WORK.

Much like Dumbya & Co., everything Bud Lite touches turns to shit.

Speaking of Sucking (cont'd)

Dere's Brett "HYOOOGE @$$#0LE" Myers:

Washington 5th Inning Summary
- W. Harris lined out to second
- M. Chico singled to center
- C. Guzman singled to center, M. Chico to second
- L. Milledge hit by pitch, M. Chico to third, C. Guzman to second
- R. Zimmerman hit sacrifice fly to deep right, M. Chico scored, C. Guzman to third
- N. Johnson walked, L. Milledge to second
- A. Kearns doubled to deep right center, C. Guzman and L. Milledge scored, N. Johnson to third
- P. Lo Duca safe at first on shortstop J. Rollins' fielding error, N. Johnson scored, A. Kearns to third
- R. Belliard popped out to second
- End of Inning (4 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Error)

Shoulda played the game in San Diego or somewheres wif a dome, like, say Milwaukee...

Here we go again

Live play-by-play of the Chicago Cubs' home opener against Milwaukee. A second rain delay has halted play in the bottom of the third inning.

Ozzie: unhinged?

Chi White Sox 2
Cleveland 7
Top 3rd

How Not To Start The Season

Cleveland 2nd Inning Summary
- V. Martinez singled to center
- J. Peralta singled to left, V. Martinez to second
- R. Garko singled to left, V. Martinez to third, J. Peralta to second
- A. Cabrera grounded into fielder's choice, V. Martinez scored, J. Peralta to third, R. Garko out at second
- F. Gutierrez homered to deep left center, J. Peralta and A. Cabrera scored
- C. Blake grounded out to shortstop
- G. Sizemore homered to deep right
- J. Michaels walked
- T. Hafner doubled to deep right, J. Michaels scored
- V. Martinez singled to center, T. Hafner scored
- N. Masset relieved M. Buehrle

Buehrle Throwing Like a Girlie?

Cleveland Inning Summary
- V. Martinez singled to center
- J. Peralta singled to left, V. Martinez to second
- R. Garko singled to left, V. Martinez to third, J. Peralta to second
- A. Cabrera grounded into fielder's choice, V. Martinez scored, J. Peralta to third, R. Garko out at second
- F. Gutierrez homered to deep left center, J. Peralta and A. Cabrera scored
- C. Blake grounded out to shortstop
- G. Sizemore homered to deep right
- J. Michaels walked
- T. Hafner doubled to deep right, J. Michaels scored
- V. Martinez singled to center, T. Hafner scored
- N. Masset relieved M. Buehrle

Or could it be:
Wind: 19 mph, out to center.

Ziggy brings it

The case for U.S. disengagement from combat is compelling in its own right. But it must be matched by a comprehensive political and diplomatic effort to mitigate the destabilizing regional consequences of a war that the outgoing Bush administration started deliberately, justified demagogically and waged badly...

In brief, the war has become a national tragedy, an economic catastrophe, a regional disaster and a global boomerang for the United States. Ending it is thus in the highest national interest.
-- Zbigniew Brzezinksi

Jesus is angry, my friends

Liberal evangelicals hope to link faith, social justice

"A whole generation of young evangelicals believes that Jesus would probably care more about the 30,000 children who died again today -- as they did yesterday and they will tomorrow -- from preventable disease than he would about passing a gay-marriage amendment in Ohio," Wallis said.

I guess this guy hasn't read his Bible lately... gay marriage stuff is all over the place in there, must be 100 times at least...

yup, he is a Prairie Chicken

3/31 7:03 am: Elijah Dukes has been placed on the 15-day DL, one day after his selection by the Prairie Chickens in the Burkholder Baseball League draft, according to MLB.com. Dukes said, "It's not getting any better by me going out there and still trying to run on it. I'm going to give it some time and let it heal properly so I can give 110 percent." Dukes has won the starting spot in LF.

From the idiots that brought you the Bush Administration:

“market discipline is the most effective tool to limit systemic risk”

They're saying this today. Right now.

Umm, boys? Can we take another look at what's going on? Market discipline? The mind reels...

So how much are the bastards in the finance game going to have to pay back again?

How long does this kind of stuff go on before people fight the huge amounts of power giving to assholes who don't deserve to lick the slime off the streets?

Katrina Victims May Have to Repay Money
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: March 30, 2008

Filed at 3:10 a.m. ET

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Imagine that your home was reduced to mold and wood framing by Hurricane Katrina. Desperate for money to rebuild, you engage in a frustrating bureaucratic process, and after months of living in a government-provided trailer tainted with formaldehyde you finally win a federal grant.

Then a collector calls with the staggering news that you have to pay back thousands of dollars.

Thousands of Katrina victims may be in that situation.

A private contractor under investigation for the compensation it received to run the Road Home grant program for Katrina victims says that in the rush to deliver aid to homeowners in need some people got too much. Now it wants to hire a separate company to collect millions in grant overpayments.

The contractor, ICF International of Fairfax, Va., revealed the extent of the overpayments when it issued a March 11 request for bids from companies willing to handle ''approximately 1,000 to 5,000 cases that will necessitate collection effort.''

The bid invitation said: ''The average amount to be collected is estimated to be approximately $35,000, but in some cases may be as high as $100,000 to $150,000.''

The biggest grant amount allowed by the Road Home program is $150,000, so ICF believes it paid some recipients the maximum when they should not have received a penny. If ICF's highest estimate of 5,000 collection cases -- overpaid by an average of $35,000 -- proves to be true, that means applicants will have to pay back a total of $175 million.

One-third of qualified applicants for Road Home help had yet to receive any rebuilding check as of this past week. The program, which has come to symbolize the lurching Katrina recovery effort, is financed by $11 billion in federal funds.

ICF spokeswoman Gentry Brann said in an e-mail Friday that the overpayments are the inevitable result of the Road Home grant being recalculated to account for insurance money and government aid given to Katrina victims.

Brann said there was a sense of urgency in paying Road Home applicants, and ICF and the state knew applicants would have to return some money.

''The choice was either to process grants immediately or wait until the March 2008 deadline (for submitting Road Home applications) before disbursing any funds,'' Brann said in her e-mail.

Brann pointed out that 5,000 collections cases would represent a 4-percent error rate for the Road Home that is ''quite good for large federal programs.''

Frank Silvestri, co-chair of the Citizen's Road Home Action Team, a group that formed out of frustrations with ICF, sees it far differently.

''They want people to pay for their incompetence and their mistakes. What they need to be is aggressive about finding the underpayments,'' he said. ''People relied, to their detriment, on their (ICFs) expertise and rebuilt their houses and now they want to squeeze this money back out of them.''

The prospect of Road Home grant collections comes less than two weeks after the Louisiana inspector general and the legislative auditor said they were investigating why former Gov. Kathleen Blanco paid ICF an extra $156 million in her waning days in office to administer the program. With the increase, ICF stands to earn $912 million to run Road Home, a contract that also sweetened its initial public stock offering, and helped it buy out four other companies. It now reaches into government contracting sectors that include national defense and the environment.

Paul Rainwater, executive director of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, the state body that asked for the Blanco-ICF investigations, acknowledged the collections could be painful for applicants, many of whom have used up their nest eggs to rebuild.

''The state must walk a fine line of treating homeowners who have been overpaid with fairness and compassion and ensuring that all federal funds are used for their intended purpose,'' said Rainwater, an appointee of new Gov. Bobby Jindal.

Upon receiving money from Road Home, grantees sign a batch of forms, including one that says they must refund any overpayments.

Melanie Ehrlich, co-chair of Citizen's Road Home Action Team, which has documented Road Home cases that appear littered with mistakes, said she had no confidence that ICF had correctly calculated overpayments. She charged that the company was more likely using collections as retribution against people who had appealed their award amounts in effort to get the aid they deserved.

''I think they are looking for ways to decrease awards and that's part of dissuading people,'' she said.

Brann said applicants are told an appeal could boost or diminish their award. She called Ehrlich's charge ''a totally unfounded assertion.''