GUNS DON'T CAUSE VIOLENCE....

.....conservative political policy causes violence.

Congratulations

Congratulations to Bert Blyleven and Roberto Alomar for their much deserved election to the Hall of Fame. I was surprised, last year, when Alomar wasn't elected his first year on the ballot. With a lifetime 300 batting average and the sure hands of one of the greatest defensive second basemen of all time he seemed like a lock to me. I grew up in western Pennsylvania and had the privilege of seeing Bill Mazeroski play, and Alomar was every bit as good as Maz in the field and a far better hitter. If Maz deserved election (And I believe he did) for his defensive skills, as important a part of the game as batting, then Roberto deserved it more.
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Bert Blyleven played for several teams, including the Pittsburgh Pirates which always earns the benefit of the doubt with me, but how the Baseball Writers could wait 14 years to put him in the hall...well, it's all part of the lunacy of the writers. 287 wins, and had he played for better teams, he would have easily gone over 300. But it's being in the top ten in both strikeouts and shut-outs that's really amazing. I would love it if he went into the Hall as a Pirate, but I'm sure he'll go in as a Twin.
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Now let's get into the hypocrisy of baseball. There is no way in hell that management didn't know about PED use. Baseball players get multiple physicals every year. Teams have training staffs that monitor fitness every day of the season, and those trainers report to management. Baseball didn't care about steroids until congress came snooping around the game looking for illegal steroid use. So why are players like Rafael Palmeiro not getting their due? We know that Palmeiro used steroids toward the end of his career, and might have used them earlier as well. Probably did, as a matter of fact. But, he was facing pitchers who were also juicing, and he did hit over 500 home runs and over 3,000 base hits. He should have been a first year lock. Mark McGwire is a far more problematic choice even if he had been clean and needle free. Big Mac did hit 500 + HR's, but beyond that...a good though not great fielder, oft injured, and a not very good batting average. I wouldn't have any problem one way or the other with McGwire. Great power, but a one dimensional player.
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There are a number of deserving players that have survived to be on the ballot another year, but I'd like to signal out two who I feel should get in. Fred McGriff with 493 home runs. Come on, are we going to keep the guy out because he was seven short of 500? And Tim Raines...great all around player with no personality.

Save Me From Myself

I sometimes listen to the Thom Hartmann show on the radio. On Fridays he has as his quest in the first hour Senator Bernie Sanders, the liberal independent from Vermont. It never fails. At some point during the hour a listener will call in and ask about the filibuster system and whether it can be changed so that the Republican minority can't block everything it disagrees with. Sanders will then explain about the importance of respecting the opinions of the minority and about how it isn't democratic if the majority can ride rough shod over the minority. Too, someone will call and ask about a liberal solution for some pressing problem. "In my opinion that doesn't go far enough," Sanders will reply. "But, they are (Fill in the blank with whatever special interest is being discussed.) just too powerful. There is nothing we can do."
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It seems to me that the House is passing liberal legislation that then goes to the Senate where liberal Democrats don't have the spine to stand up for what they profess to support. Then when President Obama steps in and salvages whatever he can from the mess that's been made, those same liberal Democrats criticize him for selling out. "Oh please Mr. President, save me from myself," they cry. How pathetic.

Poor Cindy

I feel sorry for Cindy McCain. I think she made a bad marriage, and I think she knows it. A few hours after her commercial where she, for all intent and purpose, condemned the government's DADT policy, she repudiated her stance in what can only be described as a humiliating act. More than a few of John McCain's colleagues have described him as a bully, and I have to wonder if he called her up and told her she had no choice but to follow his lead and come over to the conservative dark side or else.
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Now, Obama is against DADT but wants congress to overturn it so that, as a written law, the next president can't just come in and reverse things again. The Joint Chiefs don't seem to care, with the exception of the Marines... not too surprising. Secretary Gates wants it reversed and only 40% of actual military personnel think it's a good idea, which means that 60% either don't care or want it reversed. When it gets right down to it, it's only the right wing moralists, the Repug constituency, that cares, and John McCain, a man of no real integrity, follows the political advantage. Poor Cindy. It's time to make the big decision. Stand by your man or D-I-V-O-R-C-E.

Prop. 19

Make no mistake. Proposition 19 is not about marijuana. It's not about driving stoned or doctors operating while high. Prop. 19 is about the right of the individual states to overturn federal law.
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There are a lot of libertarians out there who would argue that that is a good thing. But, I would caution people to be careful what they ask for. While it is very unlikely that the courts will uphold 19, one can never be too sure. The conservative coupsters on the Supreme Court have ignored 200 years of case law to state that the second amendment is not about the rights of states to maintain militias but about the right of individuals to pack heat. They've ruled that corporations are de facto people with free speech rights, in other words, they have the right to spend as much money as they can to buy elections. If the same right wing five were to say, "Hey why shouldn't states be able to overturn federal law." Well let's see, there are law makers in Utah who have called for state seizure of federal lands. Bye bye Zion National Park. It wouldn't surprise me if Alabama would start putting certain people in the back of the bus. Texas isn't too fond of off shore drilling regs. And Arizona would happily ignore the Colorado River agreement and stop water from reaching California. That's no way to run a country!
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Another reminder that has little to do with my central argument against Prop. 19. I've had some discussions with friends who support 19, and when I make my point about states overturning federal law, the counter argument that I get is that the feds aren't in a position to enforce federal drug laws on a local level. Perhaps, but they can withhold highway funds, aide to education, and stimulus funds. Government by proposition is unworkable.

Independents Breaking Republican!

I keep seeing all these polls that show independents are breaking Repug. This reinforces my opinion that most independents don't have a coherent political philosophy. What independents do have is a sense of themselves as being thoughtful and intelligent. Lacking a real understanding of political theory and how it applies to government, they substitute a facade of anger and cynicism, and end up either voting for charismatic leaders or against whom ever is in power. And while that benefited Barack Obama, which I consider a good thing for the United states, they also were the same people who voted Nader and gave us our George.
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If the same independents who voted Obama actually had a political philosophy, they wouldn't now be breaking Repug. Their rather incoherent call for change for change sake, is leading them to vote for the obstructionist party that is doing nothing more than blocking any sort of real reform. If the senate didn't have this whole gentlemen's filibuster rule, which allows the Repug minority to declare their intention to filibuster, didn't exist, then the progressive legislation that has been coming out of the house wouldn't be stalled in committee, and we wouldn't be facing the possibility of Speaker of the House John Boehner.

World Series 2010

Even though I live in Los Angeles, I'm rooting for the San Francisco Giants. I grew up in western Pennsylvania (Officially and painfully, I am a die hard Pirate fan.) so I wasn't raised with the whole got to hate the rival Giants thing. I've been to Dallas; I've been to Fort Worth; I've been to San Francisco. No knock on the Texas twin cities, but I'll take San Fran any day of the week.

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It's tempting to hate the Rangers because they were once owned by our George, but that was a long time ago, and while it would have been nice if Junior had stayed in Arlington, today's Rangers have nothing to do with any of that. Too, I like that the Rangers didn't dump Ron Washington when he got caught with some cocaine. Classy. But, Freddy Sanchez was one of my favorite Pirates, and like all good Pirate players he ended up somewhere else, and that was S.F.

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I know it's fashionable for liberals to hate Texas, but sorry I can't. I do abhor the political atmosphere in Texas, but it also has one of my favorite national parks, and that gets a lot of credit in my personal ledger. I'm talking Big Bend, by the way. Guadalupe Mountains is a great park, but second rate compared to Big Bend. And while I prefer the bay, Pt. Reyes, and Marin, the gulf coast is great too.

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Okay, I realize that there aren't any real baseball reasons for my preference, but that's one of the nice things about baseball. It lacks the whole die for the team feeling of football. A very relaxing game. My prediction, Giants in six.