More stunning revelations about the massacre at Benghazzi on September 11, 2012 has left even the most grizzled Washington observers slack-jawed and speechless. Even as the main stream media continues efforts to divert attention away from the story, the story itself apparently has enough energy to run right by the cover-up and barge headfirst into America's living rooms.
Today it was learned that repeated calls for military help on the day of the massacre were turned down by officials in Washington. These calls came from Americans on the ground in Libya, and apparently included calls for help from the besieged ambassador and the other three Americans, including two Navy Seals, pinned down by Al Qaada terrorists in Benghazzi. It had been revealed yesterday that the four Americans offered resistance for between five and seven hours, and that at least two Americans were alive until well into the final hour of the siege. Another report today revealed that American Military assets were ready, willing and able to intervene and even went so far as to request permission themselves to intervene. They were turned down. CIA sources said that permission was denied agents seeking to intervene several times during the siege. The siege itself was caught on video, which was being shown in real time at the White House, the Pentagon, the State Department and at Langley, Virginia where the CIA is headquartered.
It is unknown how much, if any, of the video was viewed by obama, who was busy preparing to fly to Las Vegas for a fundraiser. It is still unknown when obama met with top White House advisers to concoct the "spontaneous demonstration turned deadly" story that they used for ten days to two weeks to coverup their role in the catastrophe. obama and his top functionaries apparently believed that they could pull off the coverup with the expected help of the main stream media, which has played a compliant and active role in his re-election bid. The coverup included the jailing of a California man who was a key figure in creating a short film about islam that obama has publicly blamed for the four deaths. obama knew before making the charge the first time that it was not true. He made it anyway.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Sequestration and an end to Bush Tax Cuts are obama's second term promises
Just days after promising he would not implement sequestration on the defense budget, obama has told the Des Moines Regester that that is exactly what he is going to do. This economic plan will cut an estimated $1 trillion from the defense budget, a figure many say will devastate the military and force it to reduce troop strength, weapons developement and maintenance, and leave it barely able to defend the domestic borders. In the meantime, he has also told the liberal Iowa paper that he will completely end the Bush Tax Cuts, meaning all wage earners will get a huge tax increase.
obama told the Regester this during what was originally said to be an off-the-record interview conducted by the paper as part of its endorsement process. But the paper came under fire when it was learned that its plan to endorse obama as the candidate most serious about dealing with the budget deficit was based on an interview readers could not access. Others had speculated that these were in obama's plans all along but that he would not reveal them prior to the election. Rush Limbaugh was one who claimed obama would use the sequestration to radically cut the defense budget. However, at Monday night's debate obama said he would not implement sequestration. Eventually, obama placed his plans on his reelection web page. and the Regester printed the interview verbatim on its website.
obama told the Regester this during what was originally said to be an off-the-record interview conducted by the paper as part of its endorsement process. But the paper came under fire when it was learned that its plan to endorse obama as the candidate most serious about dealing with the budget deficit was based on an interview readers could not access. Others had speculated that these were in obama's plans all along but that he would not reveal them prior to the election. Rush Limbaugh was one who claimed obama would use the sequestration to radically cut the defense budget. However, at Monday night's debate obama said he would not implement sequestration. Eventually, obama placed his plans on his reelection web page. and the Regester printed the interview verbatim on its website.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
The awful truth of Benghazzi
The more the truth of Benghazzi is learned, the more the behavior of obama looks like the behavior of someone who put his own self-interest above the lives of the four Americans, including our ambassador to Libya, who died a terrible terrible death while obama did nothing. What's worse for obama, it looks more and more that obama did nothing when there was plenty of life-saving steps at his disposal, plenty of military assets able to carry those steps out, and plenty of time to order action to save lives.
New information today shows that the attack that killed the four Americans lasted from five to seven hours and that at least two of the Americans were still alive well into the final hour of the well-orchestrated Al Qaada assault. Other information shows that Hilary Clinton, the Secretary of State, contacted LIbyan authorities to inform them that American Military assets might be brought to bear on the situation in Benghazzi in order to save American lives. What the response was of the LIbyan "authorities" is still unknown. A president acting to save lives wouldn't allow that response to hinder a decision to act.
With each passing day the administration takes steps to quash the budding controversy and, even as it appears they are succeeding, new revelations by sources within the State Department and Military add new details making the administration's coverup more difficult. Pundits such as Rush Limbaugh believe the revelations are coming from persons who are not willing to be part of the coverup, especially if obama loses the pending election. There is also growing evidence of fracturing among the so-called mainstream media, most of whom, until the Benghazzi incidents, were acting as virtual DNC assets working openly for obama's re-election. obama continues to be heartened that the people holding the top positions in the media - the publishers of the New York Times and the top authorities at the leading television networks - continue to strangle the story at the precipice of publication. Even while the dispatches of CBS reporters covering Benghazzi continue to poke holes in the administration's desperate coverup, top CBS officials prevented the network news from using a portion of a videotaped interview with obama broadcast on 60 minutes very early in the coverup from being used. But in the field, certain reporters, a growing number, apparently, are not willing to play a part in the coverup of actions which well may be illegal or of the sort the still prevents those thought to be "guilty" from holding positions of authority.
This is the story that is emerging from Benghazzi and other locations where people in authority are charged with dealing with such incidents. On the day of the incident, but before any attack started, the American ambassador and three others moving with him, were already greatly concerned about their ongoing safety. Intelligence told of planned actions against American-controlled locations such as the American Consulate in Benghazzi. Despite the intelligence, repeated requests for enhanced security; i.e., military protection, had been forcefully rejected by Washington. The three people with the ambassador included a computer expert and two Navy Seals who volunteered to accompany the ambassador when no other official security was available.
When the attack started, armed Libyan guards accompanied the ambassador and the other three Americans to a safe house. The guards then told Al Qaada where the Americans were holed up.
All sources, both identified and unidentified, assert that obama's story about the attack being something that morphed out of a spontaneous demonstration is completely false. All of these sources say that there was no demonstration for the attacks to morph out of.
Not long after Al Qaada redirected its attack to the location where the Americans were "hiding," requests went out for help. American military sources say a special operations unit was sent from bases in central Europe to another US facility in Italy, just one hour away from Benghazzi. Sources also say that among the military assets put on alert for immediate action were fighter jets and helicopter gun ships with crews trained to disperse gatherings of humans, such as Al Qaada fighters surrounding a US consulate.
The Secretary of State contacted the Libyan government in Tripoli to alert them that the USA was actively contemplating military action to save the pinned down Americans.
But with the American military poised to act, no one in a position to launch the life-saving action would give the go-ahead. Instead, obama's plans to fly off to Las Vegas for a fundraiser, and then for an appearance on David Letterman and at a party hosted by rap star JayZ, went ahead as planned. In fact, obama did fly off to Las Vegas, he did appear on Letterman and he did show up at the party hosted by JayZ.
He did not authorize the life-saving military mission, nor did he order a reprisal action. Instead, after returning from his social outings, he helped orchestrate the coverup which was built around the concocted story about a spontaneous demonstration sparked by supposed outrage over an old Amerian film. There never was a demonstration in Benghazzi. More and more it appears absolutely certain that obama and his top functionaries were aware in real time of the five to seven hour assault, but never seriously contemplated taking action to save the ambassador and his three associates.
New information today shows that the attack that killed the four Americans lasted from five to seven hours and that at least two of the Americans were still alive well into the final hour of the well-orchestrated Al Qaada assault. Other information shows that Hilary Clinton, the Secretary of State, contacted LIbyan authorities to inform them that American Military assets might be brought to bear on the situation in Benghazzi in order to save American lives. What the response was of the LIbyan "authorities" is still unknown. A president acting to save lives wouldn't allow that response to hinder a decision to act.
With each passing day the administration takes steps to quash the budding controversy and, even as it appears they are succeeding, new revelations by sources within the State Department and Military add new details making the administration's coverup more difficult. Pundits such as Rush Limbaugh believe the revelations are coming from persons who are not willing to be part of the coverup, especially if obama loses the pending election. There is also growing evidence of fracturing among the so-called mainstream media, most of whom, until the Benghazzi incidents, were acting as virtual DNC assets working openly for obama's re-election. obama continues to be heartened that the people holding the top positions in the media - the publishers of the New York Times and the top authorities at the leading television networks - continue to strangle the story at the precipice of publication. Even while the dispatches of CBS reporters covering Benghazzi continue to poke holes in the administration's desperate coverup, top CBS officials prevented the network news from using a portion of a videotaped interview with obama broadcast on 60 minutes very early in the coverup from being used. But in the field, certain reporters, a growing number, apparently, are not willing to play a part in the coverup of actions which well may be illegal or of the sort the still prevents those thought to be "guilty" from holding positions of authority.
This is the story that is emerging from Benghazzi and other locations where people in authority are charged with dealing with such incidents. On the day of the incident, but before any attack started, the American ambassador and three others moving with him, were already greatly concerned about their ongoing safety. Intelligence told of planned actions against American-controlled locations such as the American Consulate in Benghazzi. Despite the intelligence, repeated requests for enhanced security; i.e., military protection, had been forcefully rejected by Washington. The three people with the ambassador included a computer expert and two Navy Seals who volunteered to accompany the ambassador when no other official security was available.
When the attack started, armed Libyan guards accompanied the ambassador and the other three Americans to a safe house. The guards then told Al Qaada where the Americans were holed up.
All sources, both identified and unidentified, assert that obama's story about the attack being something that morphed out of a spontaneous demonstration is completely false. All of these sources say that there was no demonstration for the attacks to morph out of.
Not long after Al Qaada redirected its attack to the location where the Americans were "hiding," requests went out for help. American military sources say a special operations unit was sent from bases in central Europe to another US facility in Italy, just one hour away from Benghazzi. Sources also say that among the military assets put on alert for immediate action were fighter jets and helicopter gun ships with crews trained to disperse gatherings of humans, such as Al Qaada fighters surrounding a US consulate.
The Secretary of State contacted the Libyan government in Tripoli to alert them that the USA was actively contemplating military action to save the pinned down Americans.
But with the American military poised to act, no one in a position to launch the life-saving action would give the go-ahead. Instead, obama's plans to fly off to Las Vegas for a fundraiser, and then for an appearance on David Letterman and at a party hosted by rap star JayZ, went ahead as planned. In fact, obama did fly off to Las Vegas, he did appear on Letterman and he did show up at the party hosted by JayZ.
He did not authorize the life-saving military mission, nor did he order a reprisal action. Instead, after returning from his social outings, he helped orchestrate the coverup which was built around the concocted story about a spontaneous demonstration sparked by supposed outrage over an old Amerian film. There never was a demonstration in Benghazzi. More and more it appears absolutely certain that obama and his top functionaries were aware in real time of the five to seven hour assault, but never seriously contemplated taking action to save the ambassador and his three associates.
With Debates Over, candidates hunker down for home stretch;Romney's leads by a working margin
It is often thought that the debates between the the GOP nominee and the Democratic nominee were the one pre-planned and built-in opportunity for a presidential candidate to alter the course of an election campaign. There are, of course, a number of ways that a campaign can change course, but only the debates are planned in advance and shine forth on the calendar as a possible turning point. And it is not a figment of some campaign manager's imagination because we all can recall several times when elections and campaigns turned on something said in a debate. Remember Michael Dukakis' cold answer to the question about how he would react if his wife was raped? Do you recall, still, Gerald Ford's admission that he wasn't aware that Poland lay behind the Iron Curtain? How about Al Gore's incessant smart ass answers and the treatment he gave George Bush? How many votes did Gore lose by failing to keep his ego and 'know-it-all' personality in check. In the Carter-Reagan debates, there wasn't a single moment that jumps out at you. But taken as a whole, Reagan showed America just how human he was and how logical and full of common sense his approach to national government was. Those debates were one of the cornerstones for his landslide victory. Now it is 2012 and the country - for the first time since the War of 1812 - actually has its future and continued existence hanging in the balance. One candidate wants to take the country out of the superpower category and leave it, when he is done, among those countries that play but bit parts on the world stage. Even if that were a legitimate goal of a president, it is not that simple. The US churns the world economy and the world economy "needs" the engine of prosperity to keep it in balance, working, and vibrant. Take the USA out of world markets and the world economy fails, crashes, and sends the whole Earth, along with all four corners of it, plunging into economic oblivion.
Now the debate time has passed for this election cycle. Did they affect the coming election? There is every chance that they did. Prior to the first debate the polls were close but many of them, most of them, to be honest, had obama in the lead. They also had obama with a significant lead in a few of the most important swing states. Then came the first debate, the one when Romney skunked obama. It was so bad that obama joked later that he had slept through it. Many people think that summary is way too mild. Many think obama was revealed, or, to put it into today's jargon. "outed." Outed? Outed as a what? obama was outed as an impostor to the country's highest office. His answers were not the kind of thing that come from the mouth and mind of a president. obama look tired, disinterested, even, heaven forbid, burned out. But he also looked put upon, angry that he had to be there, irritated that he had to debate with "that kind of person." In short, obama acted like no one had a right to question him. in a democracy? In the USA? Romney had a right and a duty to be there. The audience at the debate didn't seem to mind that obama wasn't acting like a president. They came to see the president debate and they did, more or less. On this night, the man who would be president sounded an awful lot like somebody who should be president and is ready to hit the ground running come January. His answers were thoughtful, well-reasoned, and grounded in reality. He wasn't blaming other people for the problems he wants to fix. I will bet you $100 that Romney will never blame obama for the problems he confronts. How nice will that be? Hearing the president speak and not hearing him blame President Bush for all his failures. I know that growing up a Christian I was taught that you don't blame others for your shortcomings. I guess obama missed that lesson. Missed it? Hell, he used a chainsaw to cut that lesson out of the growing up curriculum.
Well, anyway, the second and third debates were of a different ilk. It was as if the two candidates weren't playing the same game anymore, or maybe they were playing the same game but with different rules. obama spent debates two and three trying to make up for the catastrophe that was debate no. 1 (for him). He had a ton of lame one-liners and worn out punchlines. Romney, on the otherhand, was determined not to get into the kind of gutter brawl that would only benefit someone familiar with the genre. He displayed an almost mind-boggling breadth of knowledge about almost every topic thrown at him. It seemed that every focus group and every undecided voter interviewed said they were stunned at Romney's ability to explain the economy and its current problems in a succinct, fascinating and understandable manner. And be sure, that spell-binding explanation included a stinging indictment of obama's policies and decision-making methods. It is a gift to be able to do what romney did when you are the only speaker on the stage and you have no real time limit. But Romney did it in a debate with the president, and the president and his functionary in the moderator's chair were constantly interrupting him and, in the case of Ms. Crowley, pushing the flag toward obama with absolutely no hesitation or pangs of conscience. Many of the people interviewed said, in so many words, that Romney looked like a president. obama didn't. By the end of the first debate the languid polls, weighted down all summer by ridiculous over-sampling of democratic voters, began to boil. First one, then another, suddenly reported that Gov. Romney was picking up steam, picking up support. From a few points behind nationally, Romney lept into the lead and actually carved out a working lead in most polls. In key swing states that were reporting - in some cases - a double-digit lead for obama, new poll results showed the obama lead gone and the race either tied or tilting toward Romney. Supporters of obama were more heartened by the second and third debates. They interpreted obama's interuptions, "zinger" lines and taunts of Romney as signs he had won a great victory. They proclaimed it loudly until fresh poll results came in. The country, it seemed, did not share their opinion of the outcome. The thing that these insiders were missing was the substance of the policies they were debating. Romney was proposing plans that had a history of success. Many are the same ones President Reagan used to lead the country out of the economic malaise of the Carter years. Well, interest rates were ridiculously high. That was good if you were getting 9% and 10% on your passbook savings account, but terrible if you were borrowing money for an on-going business, terrible if you were a bank trying to pay that interest every day to each customer even though your investments weren't quite so dependable. Unemployment was very high - not as high as it is now, of course; it's never been this high during my lifetime. The markets were in the doldrums, and these doldrums seemed so interminable that some believed this is how it was going to be. Sound familiar? How often have we heard that 8% unemployment is the "new norm." Bush's unemployment rate was about 5%. How terrible. Everything was Bush's fault. During the Carter years (there were only four of them, but many remember them being longer. That's not a joke; it is merely true.) we were introduced to a new economic kind of misery. They were called "gas lines." In gas lines, people lined up bumper to bumper at the gasoline station, waiting for their turn to pump gasoline. People got surly in those lines. Nobody blamed the ones losing their tempers. Everybody loses their temper when they have to wait hours to pay way too much money for something. The Carter years also introduced us to runaway petroleum prices. When President Carter took office in the years immediately after Watergate, the gasoline prices at that time were below $1 per gallon. It didn't last long. Along with the lines came the wildly higher prices. Suddenly, 100% increases were commonplace.
So a lot of people are recalling Carter in the wake of the debates. For obama and the functionaries, this is not good. if they recall Carter in the debates, they recall the end of the Carter presidency and the landslide defeat.
Now the debate time has passed for this election cycle. Did they affect the coming election? There is every chance that they did. Prior to the first debate the polls were close but many of them, most of them, to be honest, had obama in the lead. They also had obama with a significant lead in a few of the most important swing states. Then came the first debate, the one when Romney skunked obama. It was so bad that obama joked later that he had slept through it. Many people think that summary is way too mild. Many think obama was revealed, or, to put it into today's jargon. "outed." Outed? Outed as a what? obama was outed as an impostor to the country's highest office. His answers were not the kind of thing that come from the mouth and mind of a president. obama look tired, disinterested, even, heaven forbid, burned out. But he also looked put upon, angry that he had to be there, irritated that he had to debate with "that kind of person." In short, obama acted like no one had a right to question him. in a democracy? In the USA? Romney had a right and a duty to be there. The audience at the debate didn't seem to mind that obama wasn't acting like a president. They came to see the president debate and they did, more or less. On this night, the man who would be president sounded an awful lot like somebody who should be president and is ready to hit the ground running come January. His answers were thoughtful, well-reasoned, and grounded in reality. He wasn't blaming other people for the problems he wants to fix. I will bet you $100 that Romney will never blame obama for the problems he confronts. How nice will that be? Hearing the president speak and not hearing him blame President Bush for all his failures. I know that growing up a Christian I was taught that you don't blame others for your shortcomings. I guess obama missed that lesson. Missed it? Hell, he used a chainsaw to cut that lesson out of the growing up curriculum.
Well, anyway, the second and third debates were of a different ilk. It was as if the two candidates weren't playing the same game anymore, or maybe they were playing the same game but with different rules. obama spent debates two and three trying to make up for the catastrophe that was debate no. 1 (for him). He had a ton of lame one-liners and worn out punchlines. Romney, on the otherhand, was determined not to get into the kind of gutter brawl that would only benefit someone familiar with the genre. He displayed an almost mind-boggling breadth of knowledge about almost every topic thrown at him. It seemed that every focus group and every undecided voter interviewed said they were stunned at Romney's ability to explain the economy and its current problems in a succinct, fascinating and understandable manner. And be sure, that spell-binding explanation included a stinging indictment of obama's policies and decision-making methods. It is a gift to be able to do what romney did when you are the only speaker on the stage and you have no real time limit. But Romney did it in a debate with the president, and the president and his functionary in the moderator's chair were constantly interrupting him and, in the case of Ms. Crowley, pushing the flag toward obama with absolutely no hesitation or pangs of conscience. Many of the people interviewed said, in so many words, that Romney looked like a president. obama didn't. By the end of the first debate the languid polls, weighted down all summer by ridiculous over-sampling of democratic voters, began to boil. First one, then another, suddenly reported that Gov. Romney was picking up steam, picking up support. From a few points behind nationally, Romney lept into the lead and actually carved out a working lead in most polls. In key swing states that were reporting - in some cases - a double-digit lead for obama, new poll results showed the obama lead gone and the race either tied or tilting toward Romney. Supporters of obama were more heartened by the second and third debates. They interpreted obama's interuptions, "zinger" lines and taunts of Romney as signs he had won a great victory. They proclaimed it loudly until fresh poll results came in. The country, it seemed, did not share their opinion of the outcome. The thing that these insiders were missing was the substance of the policies they were debating. Romney was proposing plans that had a history of success. Many are the same ones President Reagan used to lead the country out of the economic malaise of the Carter years. Well, interest rates were ridiculously high. That was good if you were getting 9% and 10% on your passbook savings account, but terrible if you were borrowing money for an on-going business, terrible if you were a bank trying to pay that interest every day to each customer even though your investments weren't quite so dependable. Unemployment was very high - not as high as it is now, of course; it's never been this high during my lifetime. The markets were in the doldrums, and these doldrums seemed so interminable that some believed this is how it was going to be. Sound familiar? How often have we heard that 8% unemployment is the "new norm." Bush's unemployment rate was about 5%. How terrible. Everything was Bush's fault. During the Carter years (there were only four of them, but many remember them being longer. That's not a joke; it is merely true.) we were introduced to a new economic kind of misery. They were called "gas lines." In gas lines, people lined up bumper to bumper at the gasoline station, waiting for their turn to pump gasoline. People got surly in those lines. Nobody blamed the ones losing their tempers. Everybody loses their temper when they have to wait hours to pay way too much money for something. The Carter years also introduced us to runaway petroleum prices. When President Carter took office in the years immediately after Watergate, the gasoline prices at that time were below $1 per gallon. It didn't last long. Along with the lines came the wildly higher prices. Suddenly, 100% increases were commonplace.
So a lot of people are recalling Carter in the wake of the debates. For obama and the functionaries, this is not good. if they recall Carter in the debates, they recall the end of the Carter presidency and the landslide defeat.
Monday, October 22, 2012
A dirty trick by obama and crowley?
It has taken me - and everybody else - more than a few minutes to figure out that a key portion of last week's debate between obama and Gov. Romney was rigged. It seems incredible to even suggest such a thing, and maybe that is what kept me from seeing what, in retrospect, seems very very obvious.
You will recall that so much of the post debate talk was about the exchange between the Governor, obama and crowley about obama's failure to characterize the attack that killed the American Ambassador and three other US citizens as a planned Terrorist Attack. obama tried to say that he had called it an act of terror the first time he spoke publicly about the incident. That was in the Rose Garden one day after it occurred. Romney, on his turn to speak, turned to obama and said "Really? You called it a terrorist attack in the Rose Garden the first day? Really?"
obama was ready. It didn't catch me as to how ready he was until hearing the tape of the exchange for about the fifth time yesterday. He shot back to Gov. Romney's statement, "get the transcript!" The reason that statement didn't slap me in the face right away was because I thought he was referring to a running transcript of the debate. I did not know at that moment that he was referring to a transcript of the Rose Garden media opportunity from two weeks prior. But crowley did know. She stated immediately. "I have that."
And therein lies the rub. Why, among all the hundreds of things Ms. Crowley could have had at her disposal, was the transcript of the Rose Garden tet -a-tet laying on the desk next to her? It could not have been a coincidence. She did not have a transcript of any other obama talk on the subject. She did not have a transcript of any of the Governor's speeches or talks. But she had that one transcript, the very same one now being called for by obama.
How stupid of me? She had the transcript because somebody from the obama campaign told her to have it. Somebody with a bit of foresight and with the knowledge that the regime and campaign were going to try to tell America that a general referral to all terrorism was, in fact, a direct reference to this act of terror knew that they might just be able to pull it off if the "moderator" had a supposed transcript and would state immediately that "yes he did call it an act of terrorism." Sure, the GOP and others with a sense of fair play would argue that it was just a general referral and that it took the White House the better part of two weeks to back away from the concocted tale that the fatal attack morphed out of a spontaneous protest about a film some American guy made about the prophet. But by then millions of Americans would hear obama and the "moderator" say that obama had it right all along and that all this talk about a coverup was just another example of right wing over-the-top extremism.
Give them credit, if only the kind of credit you give a bank robber with a foolproof plan. With a perfectly straight face crowley tried to say - later, of course - that Gov. Romney had it right all along. Nobody, by comparison with the number of Americans tuned in to the debate, heard that "correction" by the uber-left Crowley. More than a few morons now believe that obama has been right all along in calling the incident a pre-planned terror attack.
Crowley has tried to say that she made the decision to order the transcript of the rose garden chat because the whole libya thing has been in the news. Sure. I believe that. I believe that of all the things said about libya by hundreds of persons over the last two weeks, she just happened to order a transcript of the president on day one. She doesn't say why she chose to get a transcript of that statement out of the thousands of things she could have taken with her to the obama chair, er, ah, moderator's chair, she picked that. And it was all strictly a coincidence that obama asked her for that transcript when the Gov. made his point about the coverup. It was a coincidence that there was a transcript of the one time during those two weeks that the word "terror" crossed obama's lips and she was right ready for him. He asked for something out of the blue. She had it.
You know they wanted to move forward without actually reading from the statement. They wanted Gov. Romney to back down without having the transcript read. But they were ready even for that. With such an ambiguous reference to terror in that transcript, both crowley and obama were ready with their interpretation. Even though it sounded general, if you put it in context with his remarks, it was actually quite specific. Baloney. The context made it more general, but then they didn't have a transcript of the context, did they?
And still I'm shaking my head. How brazen! How low-brow! The president of the United States and a "respected" "journalist." getting together for a stunt like that during a presidential debate. I know obama is desperate. Defeat in this upcoming election seems like the end of the world to a man with such an overflowing and over-the-top amount of narcissism, arrogance and self-aggrandizement. He is apparently willing to try just about anything to get his four more years.
If you are one of the truly dense folk who cannot decide if obama deserves four more years, perhaps this incident will help you. But to be honest, I'm not counting on it. One scary thought that is becoming very clear is that obama knows that no matter what he does he won't be impeached. Do you think if Bush tried the same coverup that obama and functionaries are carrying out someone wouldn't be talking impeachment? I don't think it would be someone. I think it would be a rush to the impeachment procedures book. The scary thought? If obama can get caught in this coverup without consequence, what might he try in the second term, God Forbid?
You will recall that so much of the post debate talk was about the exchange between the Governor, obama and crowley about obama's failure to characterize the attack that killed the American Ambassador and three other US citizens as a planned Terrorist Attack. obama tried to say that he had called it an act of terror the first time he spoke publicly about the incident. That was in the Rose Garden one day after it occurred. Romney, on his turn to speak, turned to obama and said "Really? You called it a terrorist attack in the Rose Garden the first day? Really?"
obama was ready. It didn't catch me as to how ready he was until hearing the tape of the exchange for about the fifth time yesterday. He shot back to Gov. Romney's statement, "get the transcript!" The reason that statement didn't slap me in the face right away was because I thought he was referring to a running transcript of the debate. I did not know at that moment that he was referring to a transcript of the Rose Garden media opportunity from two weeks prior. But crowley did know. She stated immediately. "I have that."
And therein lies the rub. Why, among all the hundreds of things Ms. Crowley could have had at her disposal, was the transcript of the Rose Garden tet -a-tet laying on the desk next to her? It could not have been a coincidence. She did not have a transcript of any other obama talk on the subject. She did not have a transcript of any of the Governor's speeches or talks. But she had that one transcript, the very same one now being called for by obama.
How stupid of me? She had the transcript because somebody from the obama campaign told her to have it. Somebody with a bit of foresight and with the knowledge that the regime and campaign were going to try to tell America that a general referral to all terrorism was, in fact, a direct reference to this act of terror knew that they might just be able to pull it off if the "moderator" had a supposed transcript and would state immediately that "yes he did call it an act of terrorism." Sure, the GOP and others with a sense of fair play would argue that it was just a general referral and that it took the White House the better part of two weeks to back away from the concocted tale that the fatal attack morphed out of a spontaneous protest about a film some American guy made about the prophet. But by then millions of Americans would hear obama and the "moderator" say that obama had it right all along and that all this talk about a coverup was just another example of right wing over-the-top extremism.
Give them credit, if only the kind of credit you give a bank robber with a foolproof plan. With a perfectly straight face crowley tried to say - later, of course - that Gov. Romney had it right all along. Nobody, by comparison with the number of Americans tuned in to the debate, heard that "correction" by the uber-left Crowley. More than a few morons now believe that obama has been right all along in calling the incident a pre-planned terror attack.
Crowley has tried to say that she made the decision to order the transcript of the rose garden chat because the whole libya thing has been in the news. Sure. I believe that. I believe that of all the things said about libya by hundreds of persons over the last two weeks, she just happened to order a transcript of the president on day one. She doesn't say why she chose to get a transcript of that statement out of the thousands of things she could have taken with her to the obama chair, er, ah, moderator's chair, she picked that. And it was all strictly a coincidence that obama asked her for that transcript when the Gov. made his point about the coverup. It was a coincidence that there was a transcript of the one time during those two weeks that the word "terror" crossed obama's lips and she was right ready for him. He asked for something out of the blue. She had it.
You know they wanted to move forward without actually reading from the statement. They wanted Gov. Romney to back down without having the transcript read. But they were ready even for that. With such an ambiguous reference to terror in that transcript, both crowley and obama were ready with their interpretation. Even though it sounded general, if you put it in context with his remarks, it was actually quite specific. Baloney. The context made it more general, but then they didn't have a transcript of the context, did they?
And still I'm shaking my head. How brazen! How low-brow! The president of the United States and a "respected" "journalist." getting together for a stunt like that during a presidential debate. I know obama is desperate. Defeat in this upcoming election seems like the end of the world to a man with such an overflowing and over-the-top amount of narcissism, arrogance and self-aggrandizement. He is apparently willing to try just about anything to get his four more years.
If you are one of the truly dense folk who cannot decide if obama deserves four more years, perhaps this incident will help you. But to be honest, I'm not counting on it. One scary thought that is becoming very clear is that obama knows that no matter what he does he won't be impeached. Do you think if Bush tried the same coverup that obama and functionaries are carrying out someone wouldn't be talking impeachment? I don't think it would be someone. I think it would be a rush to the impeachment procedures book. The scary thought? If obama can get caught in this coverup without consequence, what might he try in the second term, God Forbid?
Terps better be wary of sneak attaack
Sasho Cirovski is the coach of the USA's top-ranked college soccer team. He'll be earning his money today and tomorrow as the University of Maryland prepares for a game Tuesday night against Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks will take to the pitch at Maryland's Ludwig Field with an unimpressive 4-10-0 record, but in Lehigh's case, these numbers are deceiving. Three of the four wins are in Lehigh's last three games, including road victories at Yale and Navy and Sunday's 1-0 home win over Holy Cross. The fourth Lehigh win came against Penn State of the Big Ten. Left unstated is the fact that the Hawks are playing their best soccer of the season, and Maryland, coming off their biggest win and facing another emotional ACC contest Saturday night against Clemson, are going to be tempted to look past Lehigh, a team they beat soundly last season in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Considering their record, Lehigh's defense has been nothing short of amazing. Only twice all season has their opponent scored more than two goals, and one of those was a 3-2 overtime loss at St. Peter's. Two of their losses have been to Brown and Georgetown, teams that have been ranked in the Top 25 all season long. In fact, the Georgetown loss, by a 2-0 score, came in Washington, D.C. on October 9, and it was the last loss suffered by Lehigh. By the same token, the Mountain Hawks have trouble putting the ball in the net. Only twice have the Hawks scored more than once in a game. The first was the aforementioned 3-2 loss at St. Peter's. The second was the victory at Navy on October 13.
Lehigh's strategy will doubtless be to bottle up the Maryland offense by jamming the box with extra defenders. If the Mountain Hawks can keep the game scoreless they will look to score on a counter-attack, especially if the Terps midfield pushes forward with abandon. Hawk coach Dean Koski said after the win on Sunday that his team has spent extra time practicing 'front-of-the-net' scrum situations, and the practice paid dividends for the Hawks against Holy Cross. The winning shot in the 83rd minute came out of a mad scramble in front of the Holy Cross net.
Friday night the Terps edged No. 2 North Carolina, 1-0 in overtime. That game pitted the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country, and the first and second place teams in the powerful ACC. That Maryland even got the game into overtime is a testament to their Sophmore Keeper, Keith Cardona. Cardona stopped Tar Heel Senior Robert Lovejoy's penalty kick with just over one minute left in regulation to keep the game scoreless and send it into overtime. The save by the 6'4" New Jersey native was all the more incredible because the rebound of the penalty shot went onto the foot of Carolina's Verneri Valimaa, who launched a hard shot at the far post just as Cardona was scrambling back to his feet. Cardona, however, dove back into the mud in front of the Maryland goal and caught Valimaa's shot clean, sending the 7,000-plus Terrapin fans into a wild celebration. In overtime, and with time running out in the first stanza, Senior Patrick Mullins fired a hard shot to the left of Carolina Keeper Scott Goodwin, and Terp Freshman Tschillo Tshuma - running hard to the end-line after passing to Mullins - directed it into the back of the net, ending an extremely hard-fought, tense game in Maryland's favor.
Cirovski has to dig into his bag of Coaching tricks to get his lads up for the Lehigh game. Digging past the Hawk's won-loss record will help.
Considering their record, Lehigh's defense has been nothing short of amazing. Only twice all season has their opponent scored more than two goals, and one of those was a 3-2 overtime loss at St. Peter's. Two of their losses have been to Brown and Georgetown, teams that have been ranked in the Top 25 all season long. In fact, the Georgetown loss, by a 2-0 score, came in Washington, D.C. on October 9, and it was the last loss suffered by Lehigh. By the same token, the Mountain Hawks have trouble putting the ball in the net. Only twice have the Hawks scored more than once in a game. The first was the aforementioned 3-2 loss at St. Peter's. The second was the victory at Navy on October 13.
Lehigh's strategy will doubtless be to bottle up the Maryland offense by jamming the box with extra defenders. If the Mountain Hawks can keep the game scoreless they will look to score on a counter-attack, especially if the Terps midfield pushes forward with abandon. Hawk coach Dean Koski said after the win on Sunday that his team has spent extra time practicing 'front-of-the-net' scrum situations, and the practice paid dividends for the Hawks against Holy Cross. The winning shot in the 83rd minute came out of a mad scramble in front of the Holy Cross net.
Friday night the Terps edged No. 2 North Carolina, 1-0 in overtime. That game pitted the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country, and the first and second place teams in the powerful ACC. That Maryland even got the game into overtime is a testament to their Sophmore Keeper, Keith Cardona. Cardona stopped Tar Heel Senior Robert Lovejoy's penalty kick with just over one minute left in regulation to keep the game scoreless and send it into overtime. The save by the 6'4" New Jersey native was all the more incredible because the rebound of the penalty shot went onto the foot of Carolina's Verneri Valimaa, who launched a hard shot at the far post just as Cardona was scrambling back to his feet. Cardona, however, dove back into the mud in front of the Maryland goal and caught Valimaa's shot clean, sending the 7,000-plus Terrapin fans into a wild celebration. In overtime, and with time running out in the first stanza, Senior Patrick Mullins fired a hard shot to the left of Carolina Keeper Scott Goodwin, and Terp Freshman Tschillo Tshuma - running hard to the end-line after passing to Mullins - directed it into the back of the net, ending an extremely hard-fought, tense game in Maryland's favor.
Cirovski has to dig into his bag of Coaching tricks to get his lads up for the Lehigh game. Digging past the Hawk's won-loss record will help.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
No. 1 Maryland tops No. 2 North Carolina in OT
In a classic struggle between two of college soccer's very best teams, No. 1 Maryland defeated No. 2 North Carolina, 1-0, Friday night at College Park, Maryland. The scintillating match was decided by a golden goal near the end of the first overtime, sending thousands of rain-soaked Maryland Fans into a wild celebration. Impressive and determined Freshman Schillo Tshuma - who nearly cost Maryland the game when he took down Carolina's Robb Lovejoy in the penalty box with only 83 seconds left in regulation time, setting up a penalty kick - raced through the penalty box to deflect Senior Patrick Mullins 12 foot shot into the net in the waning moments of the first overtime, and the golden goal was all Maryland needed to beat back one of its arch rivals. Mullins worked his way free about 12 feet from the end line and near the post to the right of Carolina Keeper Scott Goodwin. His shot was directed at the far post, and it wasn't clear whether it would have found the net were it not for Tshuma's outstanding run to the ball. As Goodwin turned to his left to see if Mullins' shot was on goal he saw Tshuma streaking by and hammering the deflection into the back of the net. It was a fitting and dramatic end to an extremely hard fought game.
The game was played in intermittent downpours, and the start of the second half was delayed for ten to fifteen minutes while members of the Maryland ground crew tried to improve the field after a drenching halftime shower. While the field was wet and certainly influenced both teams, they seemed oblivious. Maryland, despite the weather and the playing surface, was able to execute its precision passing game to set up numerous scoring chances in the opening half. But on each shot, Goodwin was equal to the task, and until Mullins and Tshuma's finish as time was about to expire in the first overtime, he had shut out the high-scoring and undefeated Terps. The second half featured more than one scuffle between the two teams, each struggling for the season's most sought-after victory. Both teams needed a win to leave the game in first place in the powerful ACC. But on this night, first place in the conference was only window dressing for the real reward: a no. 1 ranking amongst all Division I college teams.
Even though Maryland controlled the game, Carolina had several opportunities to grab the win. With about eight minutes left, Tar Heel midfielder Mikey Lopez managed to get a foot on a contested ball about eight feet beyond the 18 line. He quickly touched the ball to an open space, then ran onto the ball and launched a seering cannon shot at the Terrapin goal. Terrapin Keeper Keith Cardona was beaten, but the ball richocheted off the cross-bar, keeping the match scoreless.
But by far the best scoring chance for either team came with just over one minute left when Tshuma took down Carolina's Rob Lovejoy just inside the penalty box. He was awarded a penalty kick. The senior's penalty shot was a hard liner aimed at the post to his left and Cardona's right. The sophmore keeper made a save for the ages, getting his entire body in front of it and batting it off to his right. There, Lopez collected it and immediately launched a bullet to the far post. Cardona, still scrambling to his feet after diving to stop the penalty kick, nonetheless dove and caught the rebounded shot, sending the Terps and a crowd of over 7,000 into waves of ecstasy. But the best was yet to come. After Cardona's double saves, he threw the ball to his right and Maryland counter-attacked. As time was about to expire Mullins broke through two Tar Heel defenders and fired a rocket at the post to his right. Goodwin dove at the post but didn't touch the shot. The ball, however, banged off the post and the match went into overtime.
Both teams had chances in the overtime, but as time was about to expire Maryland launched a wave attack that finally did the Tar Heels in. Mullins got by a defender and fired his shot at the far post. Tshuma saw it and broke for it, catching it with his foot about a foot before the endline. The celebration that followed was inspiring, taking place, as it did, on a field littered with dejected blue-clad North Carolina players laying in the mud, unwilling to concede the defeat.
For the game Maryland outshot North Carolina, 16-6, and had ten shots on goal, compared to only two for Carolina. Both of those Tar Heel shots on goal came within about two seconds of each other, and Cardona saved them both. The Terps improved to 13-0-1 and 6-0 in the ACC. Carolina. the defending national champ, is 11-2-1 overall and 4-1-1 in the conference. They hold onto second place by just one point over Wake Forest, which is 9-2-4 overall and 3-1-3 in the ACC. Boston College is also a factor in t he race, with a record of 8-4-3 overall and 3-1-2 in the conference. Maryland has 18 points, North Carolina has 13 and Wake Forest 12 and BC has 11.
Maryland will have to gather itself and be ready for Lehigh on Tuesday night. The Mountain Hawks are another of those mid-week opponents lurking on Maryland's heels, looking to take a bite out of their undefeated record and number one ranking. Lehigh, of the Patriot League, is 3-10-0 overall and the loser of its first six games and nine of its first ten. But they have played some of the best teams in the country extremely tough, and now have won two in a row both on the road. Brown has been nationally ranked all season, but when they played the Mountain Hawks in mid-September, they struggled to a 1-0 win. In mid-October Lehigh travelled to Georgetown, now ranked in the top ten, and lost a hard-fought 2-0 match. Lehigh won at Penn State, at Yale and at Navy, the last two games coming just last week.
The game was played in intermittent downpours, and the start of the second half was delayed for ten to fifteen minutes while members of the Maryland ground crew tried to improve the field after a drenching halftime shower. While the field was wet and certainly influenced both teams, they seemed oblivious. Maryland, despite the weather and the playing surface, was able to execute its precision passing game to set up numerous scoring chances in the opening half. But on each shot, Goodwin was equal to the task, and until Mullins and Tshuma's finish as time was about to expire in the first overtime, he had shut out the high-scoring and undefeated Terps. The second half featured more than one scuffle between the two teams, each struggling for the season's most sought-after victory. Both teams needed a win to leave the game in first place in the powerful ACC. But on this night, first place in the conference was only window dressing for the real reward: a no. 1 ranking amongst all Division I college teams.
Even though Maryland controlled the game, Carolina had several opportunities to grab the win. With about eight minutes left, Tar Heel midfielder Mikey Lopez managed to get a foot on a contested ball about eight feet beyond the 18 line. He quickly touched the ball to an open space, then ran onto the ball and launched a seering cannon shot at the Terrapin goal. Terrapin Keeper Keith Cardona was beaten, but the ball richocheted off the cross-bar, keeping the match scoreless.
But by far the best scoring chance for either team came with just over one minute left when Tshuma took down Carolina's Rob Lovejoy just inside the penalty box. He was awarded a penalty kick. The senior's penalty shot was a hard liner aimed at the post to his left and Cardona's right. The sophmore keeper made a save for the ages, getting his entire body in front of it and batting it off to his right. There, Lopez collected it and immediately launched a bullet to the far post. Cardona, still scrambling to his feet after diving to stop the penalty kick, nonetheless dove and caught the rebounded shot, sending the Terps and a crowd of over 7,000 into waves of ecstasy. But the best was yet to come. After Cardona's double saves, he threw the ball to his right and Maryland counter-attacked. As time was about to expire Mullins broke through two Tar Heel defenders and fired a rocket at the post to his right. Goodwin dove at the post but didn't touch the shot. The ball, however, banged off the post and the match went into overtime.
Both teams had chances in the overtime, but as time was about to expire Maryland launched a wave attack that finally did the Tar Heels in. Mullins got by a defender and fired his shot at the far post. Tshuma saw it and broke for it, catching it with his foot about a foot before the endline. The celebration that followed was inspiring, taking place, as it did, on a field littered with dejected blue-clad North Carolina players laying in the mud, unwilling to concede the defeat.
For the game Maryland outshot North Carolina, 16-6, and had ten shots on goal, compared to only two for Carolina. Both of those Tar Heel shots on goal came within about two seconds of each other, and Cardona saved them both. The Terps improved to 13-0-1 and 6-0 in the ACC. Carolina. the defending national champ, is 11-2-1 overall and 4-1-1 in the conference. They hold onto second place by just one point over Wake Forest, which is 9-2-4 overall and 3-1-3 in the ACC. Boston College is also a factor in t he race, with a record of 8-4-3 overall and 3-1-2 in the conference. Maryland has 18 points, North Carolina has 13 and Wake Forest 12 and BC has 11.
Maryland will have to gather itself and be ready for Lehigh on Tuesday night. The Mountain Hawks are another of those mid-week opponents lurking on Maryland's heels, looking to take a bite out of their undefeated record and number one ranking. Lehigh, of the Patriot League, is 3-10-0 overall and the loser of its first six games and nine of its first ten. But they have played some of the best teams in the country extremely tough, and now have won two in a row both on the road. Brown has been nationally ranked all season, but when they played the Mountain Hawks in mid-September, they struggled to a 1-0 win. In mid-October Lehigh travelled to Georgetown, now ranked in the top ten, and lost a hard-fought 2-0 match. Lehigh won at Penn State, at Yale and at Navy, the last two games coming just last week.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Whiners and Whining and other Amazing Stuff (#1)
From time to time I will write a blog post under this title, with the number being sequential.
Put your glasses on, Mr. Umpire and Joey G., quit the whining: Anyone who watched the climax to the Oriole-Yankee series and then heard the Yankees whining about the umpiring in the Tiger series could not help but smile. Smack dab in the middle of Game Five in the Divisional Series, with the Yanks clinging to a 1-0 lead, Nate McClouth of the Orioles got a hold of a CC Sabathia offering and sent it far and deep into the gathering gloom for a game-tying home run. The ball deflected off of the "foul pole," meaning it was automatically fair and automatically a home run. So how could an umpire call it foul? Even more incredible, how could four umpires call it foul after viewing a replay? Because it was foul? Wrong. The magnified replay shows the ball changing direction, and changing its spin after hitting the pole. More damning to the way the umpires called the hit was the way the Yankee fans sitting around the pole reacted. Not one of them stood and motioned that McClouth's drive was a foul ball. Instead everyone of them sat there on their proverbial hands like children caught with their hands in the cookie jar. You could almost see their Cheshire Smiles and hear them whispering "are we going to get away with this? Tee-Hee, damn if we aren't." A TBS reporter who went to the section the next inning found plenty of fans who conceded the Yanks had again pulled one over on the Orioles (remember Jeffrey Maier?), and an usher who said he not only saw the ball hit off the pole, but heard it. For an admitted Oriole fan like myself, hearing Girardi carrying on after a couple on bone head calls in the Tiger series seems like music to my ears, played about two, maybe three days too late...
obama whines while Mitt moves by on the rail: Polls have the Romney lead nationwide and in the swing states growing. One leading pollster has actually pulled out of key battleground states like Florida, Virginia and North Carolina because Romney is so far ahead it no longer pays for them to be there. obama's functinaries continue to say that the vapid one was so effective in Debate #2 that he will regain the momentum, but polls in the wake of another dismal performance have proved them wrong. Now, there is but one debate to go and obama will have to really ramp up the lying to make a dent in the Romney momentum. The latest obama functionary play is some nauseating and totally ridiculous story about a time when Romney was Governor of Massachusetts and was trying extra hard to hire qualified women to decent jobs. Really, that's what they are trying to distort. Hey folks, look at the latest Gallup and keep it up!
The former boss sells out again. I used to really like Springsteen. His music seemed to speak to me as a kindred spirit. Families can cause pain but we stick with them because after all, they are us and they define us. Old Girlfriends do things to your mind. The country has flaws but it is our country. We have fought for it and died for it. And we've done it because we love the country, this special country, flaws and all. Eight years ago, though, Springsteen stabbed us in the back by endorsing Kerry and then, of all things, going on the trail with him, and talking like he was some really great man and perfect candidate. Kerry was a rich old hippie who never grew up, connived to marry rich women. never voted for even one new defense system in all his years in the senate, never introduced any legislation of his own and, generally, was a conceited, arrogant old fool. My favorite Kerry story was the years he was leading the anti-war movement and connived to be able to deliver mail to US POWs in North Vietnam. That was nice. But when he met with the famiies of the POWs before he went, he told them he would only deliver the mail to their loved ones if they made a statement against the war. Swill that one around, Mr. Bruce. He wrote a book back then promoting the anti-war movement, but it went out of print years ago. When he ran for president, opponents tried to get a copy of the book or even have it re-published, but Kerry and his functionaries did everything in their power to prevent it. Now, I suppose someone could write a book when they were young advocating something or the other, and then, as the grew up and matured, realized the thing they were enamored with as a kid was kind of stupid. So, as an adult, they denounce the book. But Kerry never denounced the book. He just didn't want it complicating his presidential run. So he and his buddies on the far left tried to bury it. What a guy! Besides that, Kerry was okay. And the Dems nominating someone so far out on the fringe in that post 9/11 time was the same as if the GOP had nominated Jesse Helms. But I didn't care one way or the other if the Boss decided to vote for Kerry, as long as he was realistic about who he was voting for. But Bruce acted like Kerry was the second coming. And the man who sings of being brave enough to look into your soul went out and worked for Kerry as if he was the real thing. I stopped buying Springsteen stuff and stopped listening to the ones I had bought, which was a lot. And then comes today. If you are so strongly in favor of obama and aren't his mother or wife or daughter then you have to have been living on another planet. Which initiative of obama's has you so enamored, Bruce? Was it the stimulus that ended up in union coffers? Was it obamamess, aka obamacare, that well over half the nation couldn't stand, and this is before they get gouged paying for it? Was it maybe his courageous work in Libya that has tickled your fancy? Will Neil Young be cutting an update of Ohio that goes "Four dead in Libya?" Or maybe, Bruce, you like the constant, mind-numbing lying? After all, old man, it's a special kind of man that can lie to your face even when he knows you know that what he is saying is not true? Just last week he was on "the View" and at the UN weeks after he knew the truth about the Libya massacre and kept saying it was all caused by a film on You Tube that was viewed by 19 people before obama coughed up $70 million US dollars to advertise it in the Middle East. Maybe, Bruce, you like his vigorous support of the First Amendment? Or did you like him flying off to Vegas for another fundraiser just a couple hours after the Libya massacre? And since you are suddenly so anti-war (that was what you said when you came out for Kerry), how do you like the half-ass war in Afghanistan? We're leaving, you see, and we're firing from unmanned aircraft, and Americans are being killed by the people we are training to protect themselves, but obama wanted this "just" war. It's the war with the important mission, so important, in fact, that we are going home long before we accomplish the act of winning. You, Mr. Bruce, are the poster child for the monied class being removed from the real world.
No. 1 Maryland plays North Carolina in soccer tomorrow night just a few days after beating back surging Colgate. Maryland's soccer team is still No. 1 and undefeated. Tuesday night they started a four-game homestand with a game against a Colgate team that had rocketed out of a miserable start to go 3-1-1 in its last five games. Maryland had a knack of not playing its best in these mid-week non-conference games, and this one had the look of a game that could really sting the Terps. To that end, the game was still scoreless at the half. perhaps due to the fact that Maryland Coach Sasho Cirovski started five freshmen and two sophmores instead of the usual array of highly talented upperclass starters. In the second half the usual starters returned, Schillo Tshuma and Patrick Mullins scored and the Terps, who took only five shots in the first half, outshot the defending Patriot League champs 12-1 in the second half. The 2-0 victory left the Terps at 12-0-1 going into the 6 pm Friday game against the Tar Heels. It also gave Maryland its second-best start, all-time, behind only the 1968 National Championship squad, which finished 14-0-1. Maryland is now 12-0-1, and 5=0 in the ACC. The Tar Heels, the defending National Champs, are 11-1-1, ranked no. 2 nationally and in second place in the ACC, where they are 4-0-1. A win for the Tar Heels would push them ahead of Maryland in the conference standings and, certainly, in the National Polls. ESPNU has the 6 pm game.
Put your glasses on, Mr. Umpire and Joey G., quit the whining: Anyone who watched the climax to the Oriole-Yankee series and then heard the Yankees whining about the umpiring in the Tiger series could not help but smile. Smack dab in the middle of Game Five in the Divisional Series, with the Yanks clinging to a 1-0 lead, Nate McClouth of the Orioles got a hold of a CC Sabathia offering and sent it far and deep into the gathering gloom for a game-tying home run. The ball deflected off of the "foul pole," meaning it was automatically fair and automatically a home run. So how could an umpire call it foul? Even more incredible, how could four umpires call it foul after viewing a replay? Because it was foul? Wrong. The magnified replay shows the ball changing direction, and changing its spin after hitting the pole. More damning to the way the umpires called the hit was the way the Yankee fans sitting around the pole reacted. Not one of them stood and motioned that McClouth's drive was a foul ball. Instead everyone of them sat there on their proverbial hands like children caught with their hands in the cookie jar. You could almost see their Cheshire Smiles and hear them whispering "are we going to get away with this? Tee-Hee, damn if we aren't." A TBS reporter who went to the section the next inning found plenty of fans who conceded the Yanks had again pulled one over on the Orioles (remember Jeffrey Maier?), and an usher who said he not only saw the ball hit off the pole, but heard it. For an admitted Oriole fan like myself, hearing Girardi carrying on after a couple on bone head calls in the Tiger series seems like music to my ears, played about two, maybe three days too late...
obama whines while Mitt moves by on the rail: Polls have the Romney lead nationwide and in the swing states growing. One leading pollster has actually pulled out of key battleground states like Florida, Virginia and North Carolina because Romney is so far ahead it no longer pays for them to be there. obama's functinaries continue to say that the vapid one was so effective in Debate #2 that he will regain the momentum, but polls in the wake of another dismal performance have proved them wrong. Now, there is but one debate to go and obama will have to really ramp up the lying to make a dent in the Romney momentum. The latest obama functionary play is some nauseating and totally ridiculous story about a time when Romney was Governor of Massachusetts and was trying extra hard to hire qualified women to decent jobs. Really, that's what they are trying to distort. Hey folks, look at the latest Gallup and keep it up!
The former boss sells out again. I used to really like Springsteen. His music seemed to speak to me as a kindred spirit. Families can cause pain but we stick with them because after all, they are us and they define us. Old Girlfriends do things to your mind. The country has flaws but it is our country. We have fought for it and died for it. And we've done it because we love the country, this special country, flaws and all. Eight years ago, though, Springsteen stabbed us in the back by endorsing Kerry and then, of all things, going on the trail with him, and talking like he was some really great man and perfect candidate. Kerry was a rich old hippie who never grew up, connived to marry rich women. never voted for even one new defense system in all his years in the senate, never introduced any legislation of his own and, generally, was a conceited, arrogant old fool. My favorite Kerry story was the years he was leading the anti-war movement and connived to be able to deliver mail to US POWs in North Vietnam. That was nice. But when he met with the famiies of the POWs before he went, he told them he would only deliver the mail to their loved ones if they made a statement against the war. Swill that one around, Mr. Bruce. He wrote a book back then promoting the anti-war movement, but it went out of print years ago. When he ran for president, opponents tried to get a copy of the book or even have it re-published, but Kerry and his functionaries did everything in their power to prevent it. Now, I suppose someone could write a book when they were young advocating something or the other, and then, as the grew up and matured, realized the thing they were enamored with as a kid was kind of stupid. So, as an adult, they denounce the book. But Kerry never denounced the book. He just didn't want it complicating his presidential run. So he and his buddies on the far left tried to bury it. What a guy! Besides that, Kerry was okay. And the Dems nominating someone so far out on the fringe in that post 9/11 time was the same as if the GOP had nominated Jesse Helms. But I didn't care one way or the other if the Boss decided to vote for Kerry, as long as he was realistic about who he was voting for. But Bruce acted like Kerry was the second coming. And the man who sings of being brave enough to look into your soul went out and worked for Kerry as if he was the real thing. I stopped buying Springsteen stuff and stopped listening to the ones I had bought, which was a lot. And then comes today. If you are so strongly in favor of obama and aren't his mother or wife or daughter then you have to have been living on another planet. Which initiative of obama's has you so enamored, Bruce? Was it the stimulus that ended up in union coffers? Was it obamamess, aka obamacare, that well over half the nation couldn't stand, and this is before they get gouged paying for it? Was it maybe his courageous work in Libya that has tickled your fancy? Will Neil Young be cutting an update of Ohio that goes "Four dead in Libya?" Or maybe, Bruce, you like the constant, mind-numbing lying? After all, old man, it's a special kind of man that can lie to your face even when he knows you know that what he is saying is not true? Just last week he was on "the View" and at the UN weeks after he knew the truth about the Libya massacre and kept saying it was all caused by a film on You Tube that was viewed by 19 people before obama coughed up $70 million US dollars to advertise it in the Middle East. Maybe, Bruce, you like his vigorous support of the First Amendment? Or did you like him flying off to Vegas for another fundraiser just a couple hours after the Libya massacre? And since you are suddenly so anti-war (that was what you said when you came out for Kerry), how do you like the half-ass war in Afghanistan? We're leaving, you see, and we're firing from unmanned aircraft, and Americans are being killed by the people we are training to protect themselves, but obama wanted this "just" war. It's the war with the important mission, so important, in fact, that we are going home long before we accomplish the act of winning. You, Mr. Bruce, are the poster child for the monied class being removed from the real world.
No. 1 Maryland plays North Carolina in soccer tomorrow night just a few days after beating back surging Colgate. Maryland's soccer team is still No. 1 and undefeated. Tuesday night they started a four-game homestand with a game against a Colgate team that had rocketed out of a miserable start to go 3-1-1 in its last five games. Maryland had a knack of not playing its best in these mid-week non-conference games, and this one had the look of a game that could really sting the Terps. To that end, the game was still scoreless at the half. perhaps due to the fact that Maryland Coach Sasho Cirovski started five freshmen and two sophmores instead of the usual array of highly talented upperclass starters. In the second half the usual starters returned, Schillo Tshuma and Patrick Mullins scored and the Terps, who took only five shots in the first half, outshot the defending Patriot League champs 12-1 in the second half. The 2-0 victory left the Terps at 12-0-1 going into the 6 pm Friday game against the Tar Heels. It also gave Maryland its second-best start, all-time, behind only the 1968 National Championship squad, which finished 14-0-1. Maryland is now 12-0-1, and 5=0 in the ACC. The Tar Heels, the defending National Champs, are 11-1-1, ranked no. 2 nationally and in second place in the ACC, where they are 4-0-1. A win for the Tar Heels would push them ahead of Maryland in the conference standings and, certainly, in the National Polls. ESPNU has the 6 pm game.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
The Top of the Eighth
It wasn't an easy call. Some of misinformed at the Game may have booed until they saw the replay. No one is sure if the umps this time had the same "magnified" shot available to them that TBS was showing to those in the TV audience. On that shot, the change in direction and spin are more visible. An inning or so after the play a TBS reporter - the dude with the horse blanket sports coat - went into the stands and interviewed some of the Yankee fans on the spot. Some didn't want to talk, still afraid the Umps might change the call from wrong to right. An usher, still professing to be a Yankee fan, revealed without hesitation that he not only saw the ball hit the pole, he heard it.
At any rate, the game progressed. I thought Buck Showalter should have stayed on the field a lot longer to emphasize just how wrong the call was. Earl Weaver would've made that argument last 25 minutes at a minimum, with the actual purpose being to get Sabathia and Girardi unnerved. By the time the Birds batted in the 8th, it looked like the Yankees had this one in the bag and the Orioles, finally, would go down without a fight.
If you were among the thousands of Yankee fans hoping that was true, you would have been wrong. All season long this Oriole team has started rallies when none appeared possible, and pulled out victories It happened so fast. Wieters singled and Machado, the amazing rookie, drew an unlikely five pitch walk. Lew Ford, the DH on this day instead of the veteran Jim Thome, then drilled a single past Jeter into left field and Wieters, faster than most catchers, raced home from second without even drawing a throw. Suddenly it was 3-1, the Orioles had men on base, and the pesky Robert Andino was striding into the batters box.
In just a wink Andino was quickly behind on the count. With nerves of steel, he somehow controlled his swing on a biting 0-2 Sabathia pitch in the dirt. He contained himself again on a nasty 1-2 curve and evened the count. Then Andino hit a Baltimore Chop, a high bouncing but slow ground ball that snuck past the mound on the left side of the infield grass. Sabathia retreated off the mound and caught the second bounce with his back to home plate. He turned to throw to third for a force, but no one was covering. He gathered himself and threw to second, but the still speedy 36-year-old Ford beat the throw with a hard gritty slide, loading the bases with only one out. Nate McClouth was next, with Game Four hero JJ Hardy on deck. The bad call two innings earlier now loomed huge, because the Orioles were still trailing by two runs on the scoreboard, a true outrage. You cannot give a class act pitcher like Sabathia a break like that and expect to live another day. The baseball gods simply won't go for it. Sabathia got McClouth to strike out, a huge huge out.
Like McClouth and dozens of other Orioles, Hardy also fell behind on the count and it looked like he was in huge trouble. During this series he was pulling off every outside pitch. It looked like a strike out, another strikeout actually, was looming. But Hardy had been fooling people with his clutch hitting since April and even here, with Sabathia in complete control, he managed to slap a terrifyingly slow grounder to the left side. That is Jeterland, and on almost any other night, it would be a ho hum out. But Jeter is hurt. He had left game four because of the leg injury. This, however, is the postseason. Hurt or not, Jeter charged the ball hell bent, made a clean pick-up and a crazy-great throw and that was that.
After the game some New York reporter asked Showalter if his respect for Jeter had grown in view of his willingness to play through pain. The taciturn Oriole manager might seem a quiet type, but in the same way that John Wayne was the quiet man right before he beat the You know what out of his prospective brother-in-law. "you know," Buck said, "I have about five guys hurt worse than that but you don't know about it because they haven't let on about it to the press." Buck stared the New Yorker in the eye for a bit, then continued on about how Jeter only had his injury outed because he had to limp a bit. Later on, hundreds, maybe thousands, turned out at Penn Station in Baltimore to welcome the Orioles home. After 15 years of losing, not many were happy this magical season had come to an end. How many times will the Lew Fords of the world challenge the big boys on so public a stage, and win the contest 11 out of 22 times. But there had to be game 23, didn't there?
At any rate, the game progressed. I thought Buck Showalter should have stayed on the field a lot longer to emphasize just how wrong the call was. Earl Weaver would've made that argument last 25 minutes at a minimum, with the actual purpose being to get Sabathia and Girardi unnerved. By the time the Birds batted in the 8th, it looked like the Yankees had this one in the bag and the Orioles, finally, would go down without a fight.
If you were among the thousands of Yankee fans hoping that was true, you would have been wrong. All season long this Oriole team has started rallies when none appeared possible, and pulled out victories It happened so fast. Wieters singled and Machado, the amazing rookie, drew an unlikely five pitch walk. Lew Ford, the DH on this day instead of the veteran Jim Thome, then drilled a single past Jeter into left field and Wieters, faster than most catchers, raced home from second without even drawing a throw. Suddenly it was 3-1, the Orioles had men on base, and the pesky Robert Andino was striding into the batters box.
In just a wink Andino was quickly behind on the count. With nerves of steel, he somehow controlled his swing on a biting 0-2 Sabathia pitch in the dirt. He contained himself again on a nasty 1-2 curve and evened the count. Then Andino hit a Baltimore Chop, a high bouncing but slow ground ball that snuck past the mound on the left side of the infield grass. Sabathia retreated off the mound and caught the second bounce with his back to home plate. He turned to throw to third for a force, but no one was covering. He gathered himself and threw to second, but the still speedy 36-year-old Ford beat the throw with a hard gritty slide, loading the bases with only one out. Nate McClouth was next, with Game Four hero JJ Hardy on deck. The bad call two innings earlier now loomed huge, because the Orioles were still trailing by two runs on the scoreboard, a true outrage. You cannot give a class act pitcher like Sabathia a break like that and expect to live another day. The baseball gods simply won't go for it. Sabathia got McClouth to strike out, a huge huge out.
Like McClouth and dozens of other Orioles, Hardy also fell behind on the count and it looked like he was in huge trouble. During this series he was pulling off every outside pitch. It looked like a strike out, another strikeout actually, was looming. But Hardy had been fooling people with his clutch hitting since April and even here, with Sabathia in complete control, he managed to slap a terrifyingly slow grounder to the left side. That is Jeterland, and on almost any other night, it would be a ho hum out. But Jeter is hurt. He had left game four because of the leg injury. This, however, is the postseason. Hurt or not, Jeter charged the ball hell bent, made a clean pick-up and a crazy-great throw and that was that.
After the game some New York reporter asked Showalter if his respect for Jeter had grown in view of his willingness to play through pain. The taciturn Oriole manager might seem a quiet type, but in the same way that John Wayne was the quiet man right before he beat the You know what out of his prospective brother-in-law. "you know," Buck said, "I have about five guys hurt worse than that but you don't know about it because they haven't let on about it to the press." Buck stared the New Yorker in the eye for a bit, then continued on about how Jeter only had his injury outed because he had to limp a bit. Later on, hundreds, maybe thousands, turned out at Penn Station in Baltimore to welcome the Orioles home. After 15 years of losing, not many were happy this magical season had come to an end. How many times will the Lew Fords of the world challenge the big boys on so public a stage, and win the contest 11 out of 22 times. But there had to be game 23, didn't there?
Friday, October 12, 2012
A Series for the Ages Must Conclude Tonight
Even as Robinson Canoe returned to the dugout in the bottom of the 13th inning, his 0-6 night in Game 4 of the Titanic Struggle between his Yankees and the insurgent Orioles now complete, his team mates facing the reality that the team they can't put away will be at them once more the following night, this time for all the marbles in their American League Divisional Series, it was plain that these Yankees are now wondering if the "baseball gods," as Buck Showalter calls them, are conjuring one of their most epic conclusions for two wonderful teams now locked in one of the great baseball series of all time. The issue on the table is whether - after splitting the first 22 games (imagine that, 22!) this season - the big bad Yankees are just not meant to put these tenacious and shockingly intense Orioles away. Game 23, today at 5 pm, will answer their question.
In Ray Kinsella's epic baseball novel, the Iowa Baseball Confederacy, two evenly matched teams play a game that will not end. The field in use was at the end of a railroad track that pushed into a green verdant Iowa farm field, into some cool mists and then off through time. It was quite cosmic and miraculously epic. Leonardo da Vinci and Benjamin Franklin were in the stands as the game played on through thunderstorms, long nights and sunny wonderful days. A series like this one, played between two of baseball's storied franchises, already has a place amongst the greatest the ages have ever offered up. But after game three went 12 innings and game four went 13, one wonders if a regular old nine inning affair will seem appropriate for the epic conclusion.
The Orioles had come back to win Game Four after suffering, in Game Three, from the most devastating defeat baseball can dish up, a defeat that saw them lead into the bottom of the ninth before losing in twelve. It didn't faze them even a little bit. After such a defeat, Oriole manager Buck Showalter tapped cool Joe Saunders to start Game Four, a game only the Orioles had to win. All Saunders did was allow one measley run while pitching into the sixth, and even that run scored on a weak ground ball to second base. But it did manage to tie the score, offsetting Nate McClouth's fifth inning homerun. For the second straight game the teams played on past the ninth. Showalter got two superb innings from Pedro Strop, who had struggled down the stretch. Then in the 12th inning fate sprinkled down on the Orioles, though at the time it didn't seem to matter. Leading off the top of the 12th, catcher Matt Wieters hit a broken bat opposite field single to left. Joba Chamberlain, the flame-throwing Yank reliever, turned instantly to watch the flight of the dieing quail hit. As he did so the corner of his eye spotted the barrel end of the bat heading right for him, but by then it was too late to dodge the object, which was the entire bat save for the handle left in Wieter's hands. The impact was to the back of Chamberlain's elbow, and within two minutes it had swelled significantly. Girardi allowed his pitcher to throw three warm-up pitches, two of which were nowhere near the strike zone, and sent him to the dugout. Out of the bullpen came David Phelps, but it was clear that this was deeper into his bullpen than Girardi wanted to go. Phelps, to his credit, retired the first three Orioles he faced to get the game to the bottom of the 12th, but the Orioles again retired the Yankees without a run and the game moved into the fateful 13th. This time, the Orioles were ready. Manny Machado, whose solo home run in Game Three had given the Orioles the lead they held heading into the ninth, led off with a double into the left-centerfield gap and raced to third on McClouth's grounder to second base. Up stepped JJ Hardey, one of many Orioles still looking for their first post-season RBI. His wait was over. He drove a Phelps offering deep to left, so deep the Ichiro Suzuki only turned to play a one-hop carom off the wall. The bounce hit the top of the left field wall, allowing Machado to score easily and leaving Hardey at second with a double.
The Yankees did avoid further damage, and they did have the meat of their batting order coming up, but on this night the fates stayed with the Orioles. Jim Johnson, their outstanding closer, retired Mark Texeria, Robinson Canoe and Eric Chavez (pinch-hitting for Alex Rodriquez) in order to earn his second save of the series. Johnson has saved both Baltimore wins, but has given up key runs in both of their losses. At 5:07 pm this afternoon, CC Sabathia will challenge Jason Hammel in a reprise of their Game 1 matchup, in what will be the deciding game, whether either team is ready for it or not. And really, the issue isn't whether they are ready for the game, it's whether either can ever be ready for this fateful series to end.
In Ray Kinsella's epic baseball novel, the Iowa Baseball Confederacy, two evenly matched teams play a game that will not end. The field in use was at the end of a railroad track that pushed into a green verdant Iowa farm field, into some cool mists and then off through time. It was quite cosmic and miraculously epic. Leonardo da Vinci and Benjamin Franklin were in the stands as the game played on through thunderstorms, long nights and sunny wonderful days. A series like this one, played between two of baseball's storied franchises, already has a place amongst the greatest the ages have ever offered up. But after game three went 12 innings and game four went 13, one wonders if a regular old nine inning affair will seem appropriate for the epic conclusion.
The Orioles had come back to win Game Four after suffering, in Game Three, from the most devastating defeat baseball can dish up, a defeat that saw them lead into the bottom of the ninth before losing in twelve. It didn't faze them even a little bit. After such a defeat, Oriole manager Buck Showalter tapped cool Joe Saunders to start Game Four, a game only the Orioles had to win. All Saunders did was allow one measley run while pitching into the sixth, and even that run scored on a weak ground ball to second base. But it did manage to tie the score, offsetting Nate McClouth's fifth inning homerun. For the second straight game the teams played on past the ninth. Showalter got two superb innings from Pedro Strop, who had struggled down the stretch. Then in the 12th inning fate sprinkled down on the Orioles, though at the time it didn't seem to matter. Leading off the top of the 12th, catcher Matt Wieters hit a broken bat opposite field single to left. Joba Chamberlain, the flame-throwing Yank reliever, turned instantly to watch the flight of the dieing quail hit. As he did so the corner of his eye spotted the barrel end of the bat heading right for him, but by then it was too late to dodge the object, which was the entire bat save for the handle left in Wieter's hands. The impact was to the back of Chamberlain's elbow, and within two minutes it had swelled significantly. Girardi allowed his pitcher to throw three warm-up pitches, two of which were nowhere near the strike zone, and sent him to the dugout. Out of the bullpen came David Phelps, but it was clear that this was deeper into his bullpen than Girardi wanted to go. Phelps, to his credit, retired the first three Orioles he faced to get the game to the bottom of the 12th, but the Orioles again retired the Yankees without a run and the game moved into the fateful 13th. This time, the Orioles were ready. Manny Machado, whose solo home run in Game Three had given the Orioles the lead they held heading into the ninth, led off with a double into the left-centerfield gap and raced to third on McClouth's grounder to second base. Up stepped JJ Hardey, one of many Orioles still looking for their first post-season RBI. His wait was over. He drove a Phelps offering deep to left, so deep the Ichiro Suzuki only turned to play a one-hop carom off the wall. The bounce hit the top of the left field wall, allowing Machado to score easily and leaving Hardey at second with a double.
The Yankees did avoid further damage, and they did have the meat of their batting order coming up, but on this night the fates stayed with the Orioles. Jim Johnson, their outstanding closer, retired Mark Texeria, Robinson Canoe and Eric Chavez (pinch-hitting for Alex Rodriquez) in order to earn his second save of the series. Johnson has saved both Baltimore wins, but has given up key runs in both of their losses. At 5:07 pm this afternoon, CC Sabathia will challenge Jason Hammel in a reprise of their Game 1 matchup, in what will be the deciding game, whether either team is ready for it or not. And really, the issue isn't whether they are ready for the game, it's whether either can ever be ready for this fateful series to end.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
When the closet is already empty, what will obama do to play catch-up?
Even as Gov. Romney begins to pull away from obama, even in polls controlled by the DNC, a desperate pack of obama advisers is left to contemplate retaliatory moves without a record of accomplishment to build them on. According to polls as disparate as the Pew Research poll and the Public Policy poll have Romney with a working lead, including in most of the key swing states. obama's functionaries, including those in the media, are left to push the ridiculous and quite pitiful line that obama was caught off guard by the brazen nature of Romney's "lies," during the first debate. That is how they explain the fact that the only person at the debate who seemed presidential was Gov. Romney.
What's worse for obama is that only one of the two "debaters" is also a good and decent person. If you need a hint, it isn't obama.
A huge problem for the obama functionaries trying to push this "Romney lied" line is that it wasn't Gov. Romney who was in the land of the untruth. Obama was the one spouting the incredibly lame argument that Romney was "lying" because he kept telling America that he could simultaneously cut taxes and raise revenues. obama was apparently on the golf course during the entire eight years of the Reagan administration, or was he in Indonesia then?
obama is in the process of cutting the navy back to pre-World War I strength, and when I say strength I mean number of war ships. obama has rules and regulations ready to issue that will virtually end so-called fracking, a new and safe method of drawing petroleum from rock formations far underground. obama has only recntly - and only because of the pressure brought about by the fall campaign - opened much of the Gulf of Mexico back up for oil production. He had arbitrarily shut it down for years after the BP disaster, even though over 90% of the oil wells are of a sort far different and far safer than the BP well that went bad. obama knows that the costs of obamacare will raise taxes for the average middle class family by hundreds of dollars per year, but won't admit to it. God will have to help us survive if obama is re-elected. Pray, fervently, that he isn't.
But back to the nonsense about Gov. Romney lying...
The sequelae of the Libyan disaster isn't just nipping at obama's heels anymore. Now, it has already rose up and bit him somewhere where it hurts. The Heritage foundation has an excellent timeline, I'm told, for those trying to get their arms around the breadth of obama's cover-up of his massive Middle East failures. In a nutshell, obama and his functionaries are pushing the line, in the fall campaign, that when obama "killed" osama, Al Qada was killed too. According to obama, he had cut off the head of the snake. Well, if Al Qada is, in fact, a snake (I'd always pictured it as an obscene Hydra, or something of that sort), it has many heads. In the days before the 9-11 attacks in Libya, the Hilary Clinton state department had actually withdrawn key elements of protection for Middle Eastern diplomats. She also rejected pleas for additional security and is said to have rebuked those diplomats who made personal appeals for help. And if you think for a minute that Ms. Clinton will come clean you are so very wrong. United States intelligence had many warnings of a planned 9/11 attack at diplomatic resources in the Middle East, but ignored all of them. Then, when the attacks came, they organized a huge and sinister cover-up, dispatching functionaries such as their UN Ambassador and White House Spokesman, in addition to obama and hilary, to tell anyone who would listen that the Libyan attacks were not planned affairs by Al Qada, but instead were unplanned mob reactions to some unheard of film that doesn't cast Islam in a rosy light. Until obama and friends began mouthing off about the film, nobody had heard of it in the Middle East. After over one week of solid lying, certain professional diplomats in the State Department had had enough and put out statements to the effect that there was no mob violence in Libya on 9/11, only well-planned Al Qada operations. The statements also said that those who were speaking out played no role in the coverup. obama was left with his proverbial pants down and his re-election campaign in even more trouble than it already so deservedly was. In Congress, the House opened an investigation and had witnesses already testifying by October 10. Those testifying now echoed the professionals in the State Department. Hilary was hung out to dry by elements in her own department. All wasn't completely clean at State, however, because when they planned a conference call for the compliant mainstream media, they intentionally forgot to call Fox News, the only agency likely to ask real journalistic questions.
Now, even some mainstream pundits are suggesting the scent of scandal is ever so pungent in Washington right now. obama lied and his campaign died. We can only hope.
What's worse for obama is that only one of the two "debaters" is also a good and decent person. If you need a hint, it isn't obama.
A huge problem for the obama functionaries trying to push this "Romney lied" line is that it wasn't Gov. Romney who was in the land of the untruth. Obama was the one spouting the incredibly lame argument that Romney was "lying" because he kept telling America that he could simultaneously cut taxes and raise revenues. obama was apparently on the golf course during the entire eight years of the Reagan administration, or was he in Indonesia then?
obama is in the process of cutting the navy back to pre-World War I strength, and when I say strength I mean number of war ships. obama has rules and regulations ready to issue that will virtually end so-called fracking, a new and safe method of drawing petroleum from rock formations far underground. obama has only recntly - and only because of the pressure brought about by the fall campaign - opened much of the Gulf of Mexico back up for oil production. He had arbitrarily shut it down for years after the BP disaster, even though over 90% of the oil wells are of a sort far different and far safer than the BP well that went bad. obama knows that the costs of obamacare will raise taxes for the average middle class family by hundreds of dollars per year, but won't admit to it. God will have to help us survive if obama is re-elected. Pray, fervently, that he isn't.
But back to the nonsense about Gov. Romney lying...
The sequelae of the Libyan disaster isn't just nipping at obama's heels anymore. Now, it has already rose up and bit him somewhere where it hurts. The Heritage foundation has an excellent timeline, I'm told, for those trying to get their arms around the breadth of obama's cover-up of his massive Middle East failures. In a nutshell, obama and his functionaries are pushing the line, in the fall campaign, that when obama "killed" osama, Al Qada was killed too. According to obama, he had cut off the head of the snake. Well, if Al Qada is, in fact, a snake (I'd always pictured it as an obscene Hydra, or something of that sort), it has many heads. In the days before the 9-11 attacks in Libya, the Hilary Clinton state department had actually withdrawn key elements of protection for Middle Eastern diplomats. She also rejected pleas for additional security and is said to have rebuked those diplomats who made personal appeals for help. And if you think for a minute that Ms. Clinton will come clean you are so very wrong. United States intelligence had many warnings of a planned 9/11 attack at diplomatic resources in the Middle East, but ignored all of them. Then, when the attacks came, they organized a huge and sinister cover-up, dispatching functionaries such as their UN Ambassador and White House Spokesman, in addition to obama and hilary, to tell anyone who would listen that the Libyan attacks were not planned affairs by Al Qada, but instead were unplanned mob reactions to some unheard of film that doesn't cast Islam in a rosy light. Until obama and friends began mouthing off about the film, nobody had heard of it in the Middle East. After over one week of solid lying, certain professional diplomats in the State Department had had enough and put out statements to the effect that there was no mob violence in Libya on 9/11, only well-planned Al Qada operations. The statements also said that those who were speaking out played no role in the coverup. obama was left with his proverbial pants down and his re-election campaign in even more trouble than it already so deservedly was. In Congress, the House opened an investigation and had witnesses already testifying by October 10. Those testifying now echoed the professionals in the State Department. Hilary was hung out to dry by elements in her own department. All wasn't completely clean at State, however, because when they planned a conference call for the compliant mainstream media, they intentionally forgot to call Fox News, the only agency likely to ask real journalistic questions.
Now, even some mainstream pundits are suggesting the scent of scandal is ever so pungent in Washington right now. obama lied and his campaign died. We can only hope.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
More stupidity
obama's functionaries were all over the Sunday shows with a new talking point: Romney came to the debate to "perform" and he did. But of course, obama doesn't need to "perform" because he knows how to do it when it counts. Again, they hope you are of the moron crowd who believes things so utterly stupid and vapid.
If you have more than a second grade education, you already know that obama has been the worst president in American History. Benedict Arnold was better for America than obama.
obama is a radical, anti-American uber Leftist. His idea of success is cutting the country off at its knees and forcing it to be humble. David Axelrod, the head of obama's functionaries, told the DNC's Bob Schieffer that Romney gave a great performance but did so by spouting dishonest statements. Are you one of the morons who believe that nonsense? If anything Gov. Romney said was a lie, why not say so? Do you need a functionary to come behind you and make the point? I remember obama saying Romney couldn't implement his tax plan without concomitant budget cuts or new taxes. Romney looked obama in the eye and said "i think you are forgetting about the millions in added revenue that comes with a rejuvenated private sector." Just ask President Reagan. He cut taxes and revenues soared. President Bush found the same thing worked for him. The crowd with the blinders don't want to admit that has happened over and over again. The choice for the United States is whether enough people are stupid enough to believe the lies and anti-American praddle that obama and friends have been pushing for four years. It's incredibly sad, but painfully true.
If you have more than a second grade education, you already know that obama has been the worst president in American History. Benedict Arnold was better for America than obama.
obama is a radical, anti-American uber Leftist. His idea of success is cutting the country off at its knees and forcing it to be humble. David Axelrod, the head of obama's functionaries, told the DNC's Bob Schieffer that Romney gave a great performance but did so by spouting dishonest statements. Are you one of the morons who believe that nonsense? If anything Gov. Romney said was a lie, why not say so? Do you need a functionary to come behind you and make the point? I remember obama saying Romney couldn't implement his tax plan without concomitant budget cuts or new taxes. Romney looked obama in the eye and said "i think you are forgetting about the millions in added revenue that comes with a rejuvenated private sector." Just ask President Reagan. He cut taxes and revenues soared. President Bush found the same thing worked for him. The crowd with the blinders don't want to admit that has happened over and over again. The choice for the United States is whether enough people are stupid enough to believe the lies and anti-American praddle that obama and friends have been pushing for four years. It's incredibly sad, but painfully true.
Resilience in the spotlight
It was a moment many missed. Brian Matusz had come out of the bullpen and pitched the Orioles out of a serious late-inning Yankee threat. Darren O'Day had done the same thing a moment earlier. Now, in the dugout, O'Day stood with starter Wei-Yin Chen as Matusz headed for the dugout. Casually, O'Day reached behind him and nudged Chen forward to where he would be the first to greet Matusz. It was just a bit different in Korea, where Chen pitched until this season. He didn't know that here the starters thank the bullpen for holding leads that turn into a win for the starter. And Chen had never earned a win of this magnitude. Tonight, he outpitched certain hall-of-famer Andy Petite as the Orioles evened the American League Divisional series at a game a piece with a 3-2 victory.
Now the teams head for the Bronx and the "new" Yankee Stadium. After the game, Joe Girardi tried to sound confident about the days ahead. Afterall, he was leading his team home for what now amounts to a best of three series. But Girardi knows that the Orioles and his team split 18 games over the regular season, and now have split two in the postseason. He also knows that in New York the Yankees lost all three series to the Orioles and trail the season series there, 6-3. Miguel Gonzalez will take the mound for the Orioles in Game 3. He is 9-2 with an ERA of under two and a half runs per game. Even though all of the remaining games are in New York, if Gonzalez can win in the Bronx on Wednesday night, it will be the Yankees who will have their backs to the wall.
Now the teams head for the Bronx and the "new" Yankee Stadium. After the game, Joe Girardi tried to sound confident about the days ahead. Afterall, he was leading his team home for what now amounts to a best of three series. But Girardi knows that the Orioles and his team split 18 games over the regular season, and now have split two in the postseason. He also knows that in New York the Yankees lost all three series to the Orioles and trail the season series there, 6-3. Miguel Gonzalez will take the mound for the Orioles in Game 3. He is 9-2 with an ERA of under two and a half runs per game. Even though all of the remaining games are in New York, if Gonzalez can win in the Bronx on Wednesday night, it will be the Yankees who will have their backs to the wall.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Amazing Orioles Back Home, ready for Yanks
They are the darling of the underdog, the torch bearers of the down and out, and the Rocky Balboa of the Diamonds. They are the Baltimore Orioles, the giant killers, and their next challenge is their hated arch-rival, the New York Yankees. In July, the Birds had battled and scratched, but fell behind the powerful Yanks by ten full games. Was it over?
Not for a minute. Back the Orioles came, eventually deadlocking the Bronx Bombers about four different times. On the final Sunday of the season they secured a wild card, but didn't back down. After the final Monday, they trailed by a single game. With two games to go they won an epic struggle with determined Tampa Bay by a 1-0 score. Fifteen Orioles stuck out, but still they won. They lost that last regular season game and finished second. That meant the Yankees went home and rested while the Orioles journeyed to Texas for a knock-out one-game playoff with the two-time defending American League Champs. But as they had done all season, they mustered together an amazing win. In front of over 40,000 rally-towel-waving fanatical Texans, the Orioles rode the outstanding pitching of veteran Joe Saunders and a trio of bullpen aces to a 5-1 victory. The win pushes them into the AL Divisional round and a best of five game series with the Yanks. Jason Hammel was the Oriole Ace by the time he was injured in the middle of July. He has started only twice since, the last time several weeks ago when he re-injured his knee and left in the fourth inning. Instead of moping, he went to the Orioles facility in Sarasota, Florida and rapidly rehabilitated the knee. On Saturday, Oriole Manager Buck Showalter announced that Hammel will start the 6 pm game at Camden Yards against New York Ace CC Sabathia.
Showalter has also announced that Wei-Yin Chen will start game 2 and Miguel Gonzalez game 3 for the Orioles. A fourth starter, Joe Saunders, and fifth starter, Chris Tillman are also on the 25-man roster. Saunders won the Texas game and, along with Chris Tillman, are likely starters if the series goes to a fourth and fifth games. Left off the roster is Steve Johnson, 4-0 for the Orioles as a starter during the stretch run. Several players other players also on the active roster for the Texas game are missing from the roster the Yankee series, including infielder Omar Quintanilla and pitcher Zach Britton, another starter. Nick Markakis, one of the Orioles best players, is still recovering from surgery for a broken hand and is also inactive for the Yankee series. The Orioles think - hope - Pray - that Markakis will be ready for the World Series if they are still alive. Less likely but not yet ruled out is the American League Championship series.
Not for a minute. Back the Orioles came, eventually deadlocking the Bronx Bombers about four different times. On the final Sunday of the season they secured a wild card, but didn't back down. After the final Monday, they trailed by a single game. With two games to go they won an epic struggle with determined Tampa Bay by a 1-0 score. Fifteen Orioles stuck out, but still they won. They lost that last regular season game and finished second. That meant the Yankees went home and rested while the Orioles journeyed to Texas for a knock-out one-game playoff with the two-time defending American League Champs. But as they had done all season, they mustered together an amazing win. In front of over 40,000 rally-towel-waving fanatical Texans, the Orioles rode the outstanding pitching of veteran Joe Saunders and a trio of bullpen aces to a 5-1 victory. The win pushes them into the AL Divisional round and a best of five game series with the Yanks. Jason Hammel was the Oriole Ace by the time he was injured in the middle of July. He has started only twice since, the last time several weeks ago when he re-injured his knee and left in the fourth inning. Instead of moping, he went to the Orioles facility in Sarasota, Florida and rapidly rehabilitated the knee. On Saturday, Oriole Manager Buck Showalter announced that Hammel will start the 6 pm game at Camden Yards against New York Ace CC Sabathia.
Showalter has also announced that Wei-Yin Chen will start game 2 and Miguel Gonzalez game 3 for the Orioles. A fourth starter, Joe Saunders, and fifth starter, Chris Tillman are also on the 25-man roster. Saunders won the Texas game and, along with Chris Tillman, are likely starters if the series goes to a fourth and fifth games. Left off the roster is Steve Johnson, 4-0 for the Orioles as a starter during the stretch run. Several players other players also on the active roster for the Texas game are missing from the roster the Yankee series, including infielder Omar Quintanilla and pitcher Zach Britton, another starter. Nick Markakis, one of the Orioles best players, is still recovering from surgery for a broken hand and is also inactive for the Yankee series. The Orioles think - hope - Pray - that Markakis will be ready for the World Series if they are still alive. Less likely but not yet ruled out is the American League Championship series.
No. 1 Still, now with six shutouts
Patrick Mullins scored his sixth goal of the season, and top-ranked Maryland gained its sixth shutout victory Friday with a 1-0 home win over Virginia. The win avenged a 2-1 loss last season to the Cavaliers, a defeat suffered when Maryland was also ranked no. 1.
Despite the tight score, Maryland totally dominated play, out-shooting Virginia, (5-5-1, 1-3-0), 17-4. Maryland now waits for always-tough Rutgers to come to College Park, which they will on Tuesday night. Last season the Scarlet Knights and Terps were tied late in the second half, but a big and physical Rutgers team was dominating play when they drew a red card. The Scarlet Knights then went into a defensive shell and played for the tie, but Maryland scored in overtime for the win.
Meanwhile, in south London Saturday, homestanding Crystal Palace allowed visiting Burnley to push ahead, 3-1, before storming back to win, 4-3. The loss leaves the Claret still at 11 points on the npower Championship table. The three points earned by Crystal Palace pushed them into a tie for third place with 19 points.
Despite the tight score, Maryland totally dominated play, out-shooting Virginia, (5-5-1, 1-3-0), 17-4. Maryland now waits for always-tough Rutgers to come to College Park, which they will on Tuesday night. Last season the Scarlet Knights and Terps were tied late in the second half, but a big and physical Rutgers team was dominating play when they drew a red card. The Scarlet Knights then went into a defensive shell and played for the tie, but Maryland scored in overtime for the win.
Meanwhile, in south London Saturday, homestanding Crystal Palace allowed visiting Burnley to push ahead, 3-1, before storming back to win, 4-3. The loss leaves the Claret still at 11 points on the npower Championship table. The three points earned by Crystal Palace pushed them into a tie for third place with 19 points.
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Shades of Weaver
It was a move worthy of Earl Weaver. On Friday morning, about ten hours before the start of the American League playoffs, the Orioles had to submit their 25-man roster to Major League officials. Unlike typical playoff series that are best of seven or best of five, this new round of the playoffs, the "Wild Card" playoff, is one game, winner take-all. On Buck Showalter's roster, there was only one starting pitcher. It was the man who would start and win Friday night's game, Joe Saunders. (The amazing Orioles beat the two-time defending American League Champions, the Texas Rangers, 5-1, behind 5.2 solid starting innings from Saunders and shut-oout relief from a bullpen that has to be the best in baseball. There were ten other pitchers on the Orioles roster on Friday, but they were all relief specialists (Steve Johnson, who starts and throws in relief, was on the roster) who were with the Birds throughout September's playoff run. Effective starting pitchers like Chris Tillman, Miguel Gonzalez and Wei-Yin Chen were not on the roster. Showalter has a well-earned reputation for winning close games and these Orioles were no exception. They were 29-9 in one-run games, they had won their last 16 extra inning games in a row and were an astounding 74-0 in games they led after seven innings. The Orioles would - will - submit a new roster for the Yankee series and it will be different than the one he had on Friday. It will have to contain at least three starters, and maybe four. Amazingly, Joe Saunders is not a lock to be on that roster because he won't be able to pitch for the next three or four days.
Back when Weaver was running the show and the rosters expanded in September, the Orioles always had some surprise waiting for the baseball gurus in the league office. One year, near the end of the splendid Mark Belanger's career, he was still the Oriole's regular shortstop but was hitting right around .200. When the rosters expanded on Labor Day weekend, the Orioles recalled a promising rookie by the name of Bob Bailor, who would go on to have a great career in Toronto which took Bailor in the expansion draft. But in that season when the Orioles were on the road in September he batted Bailor either first or second in the order to start the game. The line-up card given to the umpire would list Bailor as the Oriole shortstop. Bailor would bat in the first inning but never take the field. When the Orioles took the field in the bottom of the first, the public address announcer would inform the crowd of a change at shortstop, Belanger for Bailor. Bailor batted, Belanger played shortstop, and if another pinch hitter was needed later in the game, Weaver had his regular cadre of veteran hitters ready to go. This move of Showalter reminds me of Weaver. These are two managers who know the rules and how to use them better than the people who wrote them.
Back when Weaver was running the show and the rosters expanded in September, the Orioles always had some surprise waiting for the baseball gurus in the league office. One year, near the end of the splendid Mark Belanger's career, he was still the Oriole's regular shortstop but was hitting right around .200. When the rosters expanded on Labor Day weekend, the Orioles recalled a promising rookie by the name of Bob Bailor, who would go on to have a great career in Toronto which took Bailor in the expansion draft. But in that season when the Orioles were on the road in September he batted Bailor either first or second in the order to start the game. The line-up card given to the umpire would list Bailor as the Oriole shortstop. Bailor would bat in the first inning but never take the field. When the Orioles took the field in the bottom of the first, the public address announcer would inform the crowd of a change at shortstop, Belanger for Bailor. Bailor batted, Belanger played shortstop, and if another pinch hitter was needed later in the game, Weaver had his regular cadre of veteran hitters ready to go. This move of Showalter reminds me of Weaver. These are two managers who know the rules and how to use them better than the people who wrote them.
Are you a moron?
Are you an obama moron? Are you dumb enough, stupid enough, naive enough, to believe the unemployment rate has really dropped three tenths of a point from 8.1% to 7.8%? Would you believe such a dramatic drop could occur even though a paltry 114,000 jobs were created last month? Did you know that the reason the unemployment rate dropped was chiefly because obama eliminated over one million jobs from the number of available jobs in these United States? One pundit said it was the same as obama saying it was 75 degrees today, no matter what it actually was, because he changed the temperature scale. Did you know that one pundit, Mr. Limbaugh, said last summer that in the month before the election the rate would drop under 8%? He did. I was listening and I heard it. I saw the release from the Labor Department that said only 114,000 jobs were created last month, almost three-quarters of them being only part-time. But obama and the media are screaming the good news, trying like hell to drown out the catastrophe that was the debate with Gov. Romney.
If you actually think that the new numbers indicate an economic turnaround, you may be dumb enough to vote for obama. Of course, you might want to ask yourself what real economic news indicates that such a turnaround is happening. (I wouldn't waste my time. There is no good news in the real numbers. In fact, defense contractors are actually planning huge layoffs due to anticipated cuts in the defense budget, but the obama regime has asked (read: threatened) them to hold off announcement of the layoffs until after the election. If you are one of obama's minions, you might not want to believe this, but it is true, as you will see.
Remember when people like Dick Durbin were blasting Bush and telling the country that we were in a recession? That was when unemployment was near five percent and the debt was less that half of what it is now, and some companies were actually hiring? Dickie called that a recession. What does he call this awful mess? If you are a bald-faced iiar like that awful man, you call this a recovery. obama and his confederates are. In obama's america, you lop off the number of available jobs, for the hell of it, and use that awful reality to "cut" the unemployment rate. It is an evil trick, a trick meant to fool the extremely stupid, naive and moronic.
The election - despite all of the media hacks covering for obama - is still extremely close. We can end this national nightmare by kicking obama out. It is easy. It is the way we do things in these United States. As Mr. Eastwood said, when you fail at your job, we vote you out. No one has ever failed at being president like obama. No one. Ever. If we expect to survive as a nation, we must kick him out. If we do not, we get what we deserve, and it will be as awful as it can possibly be.
If you actually think that the new numbers indicate an economic turnaround, you may be dumb enough to vote for obama. Of course, you might want to ask yourself what real economic news indicates that such a turnaround is happening. (I wouldn't waste my time. There is no good news in the real numbers. In fact, defense contractors are actually planning huge layoffs due to anticipated cuts in the defense budget, but the obama regime has asked (read: threatened) them to hold off announcement of the layoffs until after the election. If you are one of obama's minions, you might not want to believe this, but it is true, as you will see.
Remember when people like Dick Durbin were blasting Bush and telling the country that we were in a recession? That was when unemployment was near five percent and the debt was less that half of what it is now, and some companies were actually hiring? Dickie called that a recession. What does he call this awful mess? If you are a bald-faced iiar like that awful man, you call this a recovery. obama and his confederates are. In obama's america, you lop off the number of available jobs, for the hell of it, and use that awful reality to "cut" the unemployment rate. It is an evil trick, a trick meant to fool the extremely stupid, naive and moronic.
The election - despite all of the media hacks covering for obama - is still extremely close. We can end this national nightmare by kicking obama out. It is easy. It is the way we do things in these United States. As Mr. Eastwood said, when you fail at your job, we vote you out. No one has ever failed at being president like obama. No one. Ever. If we expect to survive as a nation, we must kick him out. If we do not, we get what we deserve, and it will be as awful as it can possibly be.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Complexion Changed Dramatically
The complexion of the fall campaign has now changed in a most dramatic way. No longer will obama and his confederates be able to talk down to Gov. Romney. No longer will he be able to act as if his reelection is a given. An extremely poor debate performance by obama, contrasted with a stunningly strong one by Romney, all coming on the heels of a video of obama giving an under-reported race-baiting speech during the 2008 campaign, has either spirited Romney into the lead or made it seem that way, and it all happened so fast that the loser last night - obama - will have a difficult time figuring how to turn things around.
Had he merely performed badly, the answer would be to make sure he shines in the next debate. But that isn't the case. Romney proved his strategy of rigourous preparedness combined with a convincing presidential delivery will be extremely difficult to short circuit. In fact, obama now must deal with a new dynamic: the nation now knows that Romney can be president, seems like a president, and is fully prepared to be president. In short, Romney, in one night of work, virtually erased obama's built-in advantage, the one that comes with being the incumbent. And this outstanding performance by Romney was combined with a really bad performance by obama. In the same night, and to his horror, obama has put together in the nation's mindset the terrible performance of the last four years with a man whose demeanor and presentation gave explanation to the four years of failure. No longer will obama be able to sell the idea that he is a competent man who just needs a bit more time to succeed. Now, the nation has been able to see and hear a man whose failure seems predictable if not inevitable. All the talking points in the world won't change that.
Had he merely performed badly, the answer would be to make sure he shines in the next debate. But that isn't the case. Romney proved his strategy of rigourous preparedness combined with a convincing presidential delivery will be extremely difficult to short circuit. In fact, obama now must deal with a new dynamic: the nation now knows that Romney can be president, seems like a president, and is fully prepared to be president. In short, Romney, in one night of work, virtually erased obama's built-in advantage, the one that comes with being the incumbent. And this outstanding performance by Romney was combined with a really bad performance by obama. In the same night, and to his horror, obama has put together in the nation's mindset the terrible performance of the last four years with a man whose demeanor and presentation gave explanation to the four years of failure. No longer will obama be able to sell the idea that he is a competent man who just needs a bit more time to succeed. Now, the nation has been able to see and hear a man whose failure seems predictable if not inevitable. All the talking points in the world won't change that.
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