Those I Hate the Most

The Jews who support Bush.

Took this from Talking Points Memo:

Two influential leaders in the traditional-values policy arena have launched a new effort to promote a Jewish-Christian partnership in support of Israel.

Rabbi Daniel Lapin, head of Toward Tradition, and Gary Bauer, former GOP presidential candidate, will co-chair the American Alliance of Jews and Christians, or AAJC. A statement released yesterday calls the effort "a unique synthesis of Jewish authenticity and Christian grass-roots muscle."

"Let us remember that friendship is a two-way street," Lapin said in the statement. "American Christians consistently stand by Israel, and while they ask nothing in return, they deserve friendship and support from American Jews. Christians seek an America that is strong both morally and materially, as do Jews, and such an America is the best friend Israel can have."

The new cooperative, headquartered in Washington, D.C., will have an immediate constituency via Bauer's approximately 100,000-strong e-mail list. According to the statement, the advisory board of the organization will include Dr. James Dobson, Charles Colson, the Rev. Jerry Falwell, the Rev. Pat Robertson, Pastor Rick Scarborough, as well as Rabbi Barry Freundel, Rabbi David Novak, Rabbi Meir Soloveichik, Michael Medved, John Uhlmann and Jack Abramoff.

If that doesn't say everything about conservatives, I don't know what does.

Vince

When it comes to sports I'm usually on the money about most things that I know about. Occassionally I'm wrong, and sometimes I'm even waaaaay off, like I was when I believed Vince Carter would be a NBA bust.

Well, now there's another Vince being touted as the next superstar: Vince Young.

This guy is a giant killer. In the last two years he has beaten Ohio State, Michigan, Oklahoma, and now Southern Cal. Pretty good resume. But this is college, not the NFL. So while he can kill these giants I do not believe he will ever kill The Giants, per se.

The NFL is a different ball game, and while the guy has ridiculous athletic abilities, he cannot throw the ball that way. In fact, he's actually a poor thrower. NFL guys will eat him alive. Some say it's the sidearm delivery, but I'm not even sure that's the case. Bernie Kosar, Rich Gannon, and Drew Bledsoe all have somewhat of a sidearm delivery. It's the fact that he just isn't accurate.

I do believe that solid coaching could change his delivery, and that would take his game up another level, but it may be too late. In college there was no reason for Coach Mack Brown to change what Vince does because what he does in college works. In order to improve his accuracy he needs to get his arm up, more so like Tom Brady or Byron Leftwich.

Speaking of Leftwich, he had this to say:

Around the N.F.L. on Thursday, Young was the topic on many tongues even as teams prepared for the playoffs. Byron Leftwich, Jacksonville's quarterback, was asked whether Young was ready to turn professional.

"That's a crazy question," Leftwich said. "That man was in a league of his own out there. What he did, if he's not ready, nobody else is. That's what an elite athlete looks like. That was special."

Yeah, it was special, and yeah, he is ready to turn pro, but not as a quarterback, but rather, a wide receiver. And if anyone knows it's Byron Leftwich because his teammate Matt Jones was the quarterback at Arkansas, and like Young has freakish athletic ability. Jones too couldn't throw a great pass, but had uncanny ability to lead his team, and run from defenders. Vince Young should follow in Matt Jones' footsteps.

Even if Young stays another year in college it's not going to make a bit of a difference. The guy will never be a great NFL Quarterback.

And I don't want to hear the black QB thing becuase I just mentioned Jones who is white, and had the same problem. Plus, I loved Steve McNair and believe Ohio State QB Troy Smith is going to be a serviceable NFL QB as well.

So, that's my prediction on Vince. Frankly, I hope I'm wrong because he seems like such a good dude, I'd like to see him succeed.

Jeb!

Gotta love this guy. And more importantly, you have to love the news. I know I do.

Florida has been pushing for vouchers for the longest time, and yesterday the State Supreme Court rejected their use on the grounds that they don't allow for equal opportunity of education for all students. Now anyone that knows anything about the Florida school system understands it's the biggest shitbox on the planet. This is a state which has no property tax, and in the end it leaves the school system struggling. For the same reason people like Bernard Ebbers, Scott Sullivan, and OJ maintain homes down there.

More on Brother Douche

The Florida Supreme Court struck down a statewide voucher system Thursday that allowed children to attend private schools at taxpayer expense — a program Gov. Jeb Bush considered one of his proudest achievements.

It was the nation's first statewide voucher program.

In a 5-2 ruling, the high court said the program undermines the public schools and violates the Florida Constitution's requirement of a uniform system of free public education.

Voucher opponents had also argued that the program violated the separation of church and state in giving tax dollars to parochial schools — an argument a lower court agreed with. But the state Supreme Court did not address that issue.

About 700 children are attending private or parochial schools through the program. But the ruling will not become effective until the end of the school year.

"I think it is a sad day for accountability in our state," Bush said. He said the voucher program had a positive effect because it "put pressure on school districts to focus on the underperforming schools."

The question should be, "Why are there failing schools in the first place?"

What bothers me about this story is they left out THIS PART! The fact that Jeb Bush had the state pension invest in failing Edison Schools, a for-profit school management company. The investment fund is actually controlled by Bush himself.

It's really great stuff.

Then worldview of Jeb Bush works like this: A state like Florida should not increase taxes on its citizens to pay for the education children. But, it's perfectly okay for the state to take the limited taxpayer dollars, funnel the money toward private school and management companies, where investors can then put their money into those companies and funds in order to profit. Whether or not they lose money isn't important, as long as they can do as they wish with "THEIR MONEY." People like Jeb don't seem to understand the longterm investment in the childrens' education, only the investments individuals can make to profit on these children, with taxpayer subsidized companies.

It's really great stuff. No, really, really, really great stuff.

And of course, lost in the news are these very important facts.

(not editing)

Whaaat?

President Bush is going to listen to former Secretaries of Defense and State. GOOD ONE!

President Bush promised to ''take to heart'' suggestions on Iraq he heard Thursday from former secretaries of defense and state who have disagreed with his approach there.

But Bush offered no evidence he plans any significant changes in strategy.

The president joined Gen. George Casey, the top American commander in Iraq, and Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador in Baghdad, to give a detailed briefing on Iraq to more than a dozen foreign policy leaders from previous administrations, split nearly evenly between Democrat and Republican. Current Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld also helped update the former secretaries.

Why do these people even provide him cover? As if he's really going to listen to them? By their mere presence it makes it seem as if he listens to people, when it's clear he so doesn't. All douchebags.

Btw, if you want to know about Iraq, the President has this to say:

''We're making darn good progress.''

That's the leader of the free world speaking.

Never Stops

First it was the Wetlands, and then it was Joe's Pizza, and then it was the Liquor Store, and then it was the Blind Tiger, and now it's the SECOND AVENUE DELI:

One of the most famous delis in New York City may have served its last corned beef on rye.

The owner of the 2nd Avenue Deli said he closed the restaurant Sunday after a lease dispute with the building's new owners.

"My current rent is $24,000 a month for 2,800 square feet,'' Jack Lebewohl told The New York Times. "They want $33,000. I can't afford that.''

Jonis Realty of Great Neck, N.Y., owns the building. The Times said messages left with representatives of Jonis Realty were not returned.

The deli has been a landmark in the Lower East Side ever since it opened in 1954, serving much-loved Jewish fare like chopped liver, potato kugel and hefty corned beef sandwiches.

And people keep telling me real estate prices and rents are going down. Good one.

When you can't operate a restaurant that's packed every day, or a bar that's packed every night, there's something seriously wrong.

Hebrewland

Israeli politics change every day. Just last year Ariel Sharon couldn't find strength within his own party having abandoned the Likudniks when he chose to negotiate with the Palestinians. Having somewhat rejected his own party by forming the more moderate Kadima party he seemed to be on his way to a landslide victory in late March. Amazing if you think about how crazy all this is. First the guy is hated within his own party, then forms a new party, receives broad support, and now he's ill to the point where he most likely won't be a player, or alive.

So what's going to happen? My bet is former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has remained solidly hawkish and against negotiations until arrests are made, will follow in Sharon's path, more or less. Netanyahu is an American-style politician who will do whatever it takes to be on top again. If that involves following Sharon to the left in order to assume the role of Prime Minister again I'd be willing to bet he'll do it. I view him as a typical "say anything" politician who while concerned with Israel's saftey and future seems equally concerned with his role. I'm sure he believes only he can lead Israel down the right path which is why he finds himself in this position to begin with. I don't know, and nor do I care.

I see Netanyahu as a retread, as will Palestinians. Any move to the left will be seen as politicking, and staying where he is won't help Israel anyway. In his heart of hearts he's against a Palestinian state, and that's what will rise to the surface.

Frankly, nothing ever changes over there, and nothing ever will. We can talk about this shit til the Jesus comes home, but it's not going to change. Some days will be better than others, and other days will see pizza parlors blown to smitherines. That's just the way it is.

Sharon lives, Sharon dies, the next person comes, goes, stays, whatever. Nothing is ever going to change in the Middle East until leading nations like Egypt start making structural changes, and by that I mean offering their citizens the chance to succeed in life. For those who look at Iraq as the example of this, stop kidding yourself. A longterm US invasion of a secular governed nation in the Middle East that was not considered a leader in overall Middle Eastern politics is not going to the do the trick, for a thousand reasons.

Now you want to nuke Saudi Arabia to get things going, well, that I could live with...

Comedy

Too funny:

Morgan Stanley (MWD.N: Quote, Profile, Research) has fired four employees, including a stock analyst, after they accompanied at least one client to an adult-entertainment club, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The newspaper said the stock-research analyst and three sales staffers worked in Morgan Stanley's institutional-stock division. All four were men, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the newspaper said the workers were technology-industry specialists who visited a strip club with one or more clients during a conference held by the firm in Phoenix, Arizona, in November.

A spokesman for Morgan Stanley could not immediately be reached for comment.

Because he was in the private room getting a lap dance by Sheila.

The ripple effect from this should be the firing of 90% of the men working on Wall St.

And a Followup

From SP:

I don't think he cares about jeopardizing the legal case. If you recall the whole Padilla "dirty bomber" situation entails labelling an American citizen an "enemy combatant" and locking them up for years without redress from the courts.

And now that this is may be overturned by the Supreme Court, Bush tried to move him into the regular court system so that there is no challenge to his "war powers."

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit (the most conservative in the nation) refused to allow prosecutors to take custody of Padilla from the military and rebuked the Bush administration for its handling of the case. The Bush administration took strong issue with the Richmond-based court's decision and appealed it to the Supreme Court.

Bush wipes his ass with the Constitution.

Busy as a Bee

And being that I don't have a guest blogger, instead you'll get guest thoughts.

Fat Serl:

Sorry but I'm just catching up on the board happenings these past few weeks. I'm not surprised how high that poll # is simply b/c it's a shitty way to ask the question (sorry...but the pollster in me cringes when I see phrasing like that).

No doubt though, that even without leading answer choices like that, more than 50% of the country thinks he should be impeached. So why isn't that being discussed? Everyone likes to argue that Clinton was impeached for a blowjob, when in reality he was impeached more for lying about getting a blowjob. So how is this not worse than what Clinton did? Why is nobody discussing the fact that this president has blatantly and ADMITTEDLY broken the law as it stands?

It's obvious he didn't go back to FISA to get the taps approved b/c he (or someone) knew they were questionable at best. Seems like if they were legit, going back within 72 hours is a VERY SMALL beuracratic price to pay to make sure that if you DO find something out, it can be used to prosecute?

Lawyers among us, a question...am I wrong that if any information they found via these taps, if NOT approved by FISA court, couldn't be used to prosecute? I mean, it seems fairly obvious to me that the information wouldn't have been obtained legally, and the government would have trouble making a case with all that "wartime privelege" shit the white house is always spewing, so aren't they shooting themselves in the foot? That is, unless they're not planning to do anything legal with the illegally gathered information and rather they're just trying to "foil the evildoers" and then they'll just get them out of the country via rendition and get what they want from other illegal means?

But that's a whole other can of worms...my only point here is why the fuck isn't anyone mentioning the I word with this president? B/c he's a "wartime" president? Fucking amazing that he's blurred even the simplest line of us being at war or not. Congress hasn't declared war, yet the whole country thinks the War on Terrorism is a real war that grants the president wartime powers.

Not Enough

It's always nice to kick the crap out of Notre Dame, but honestly, it should have been worse. Charlie "God" Weis has his head in his ass:

With Notre Dame trailing 21-13 and the Buckeyes driving, Smith threw over the middle to Anthony Gonzalez, who dropped the ball at the Irish 12. Tom Zbikowski picked it up for Notre Dame and ran 88 yards to the end zone. An illegal block would have brought it back to the Buckeyes' 21, but a video review of the play determined Gonzalez juggled the ball and it was ruled an incompletion.

"That was THE play," Weis said. "What I said to the official on the field is I hope your guy upstairs was right because that changed the whole complexion of the game."

Yeah, sure, that was a BIG play, but it never happened, hence why so many guys on the field stopped running. Gonzalez would have made a play on the guy if he thought he caught the ball.

Anyway, Ohio State should have killed Notre Dame by even more than they did. Notre Dame is a pretty good team, but this Ohio State team is in my eyes as good as any team in the land right now.

Had Ohio State QB Troy Smith not taken money from a booster last season he never would have been suspended two games, and would have carried Ohio State over Texas early in the year. Instead, OSU ended with two losses, both which rest at the feet of Smith. I won't blame him for a bad season though because he really is a great person, and an even better player. Next year is going to be interesting.

Between USC having really close games with Notre Dame and Fresno, and then watching Ohio State manhandle ND and Fresno getting whipped in their bowl game by a bunch of scrubs, I expect Texas to physically wear down USC, similar to what Ohio State did to Miami in 2002.

I've been wrong before and maybe I'll be wrong again, but the Texas offensive and defensive line should get the job done in this game.

Then next year will come and presesaon #1 Ohio State will roll back into Austin for revenge.

Some notes:
* Someone kill Brent Musberger. I know that Tom Zbikowski is a fucking boxer! I didn't need to hear it 15 times. I know AJ Hawk is dating Brady Quinn's sister, and didn't need to hear it FIF-TEEEEN TIMES! No, Jeff Samardzija does not remind me of Ricky Proehl. Yes, I know they're both white and play WR, but one guy is 5'10" and the other 6'5"! One guy is a tall, rangy, deep threat, while the other is a great route running slot receiver. Please, ABC, fire this huge jackass, whose laugh is so fake his teeth must be as well.

* I'd like the commentators to correct their own mistakes rather than gloss over them by continuing to talk. Like when Craig James made the a comment confusing the two teams. Correct yourself, guy. Same goes for the radio broadcast where they went to do a profile on Troy Smith, but the reporter gave us one about AJ Hawk. People make mistakes, but acting like they don't happen makes the people doing the work sound like idiots.

* Notre Dame, please pull the commercial which tells us how revenue from football goes into building your new science center. It's not true, and granted, while I know the Catholic Church has made lying almost not a sin, lets be realistic. Money at universities is pulled away from almost every aspect of the school to pay for the sports program. Sure, boosters may give money because of the football program, but I'd be willing to bet that hardly any money goes from football towards academics. Maybe I'm wrong? I said it's possible, but to run a commercial like that is a joke.

Oh, I've got more, but I'll just be happy with the win.

Imagine how I'd feel if we lost and had to listen to my dumbass friend JD?

Wake Up Call

I attended the Black Crowes & Trey Anastasio concert last night at Madison Square Garden for the big NEW YEARS celebration. What a weird scene, I tell ya.

The only reason I went in the first place is because my boy TK had extras, wanted me to go, and we don't get to spend a lot of time together. So I bit, but not nearly as hard as Trey did.

It must have been so wierd for Trey to be on the stage at MSG because quite frankly, he ruled that place for years, and now he was a sideshow. There he stood, in a room which may have been 70% full, and 30% interested, playing boring ass music. Contrast this with what Phish has done over the years and it's beyond lame. Actually, it's more sad than anything else. To think, 10 years ago to the night, Madison Square Garden, Phish performed one of their greatest shows of all time. Now here was Trey, playing simple music with a band of nobodies.

I don't care that much about Trey blowing these days. I don't goto his shows, and I don't listen to his new music. But there I stood in the 5th row staring at him, hoping he would look my way and notice just how uninterested I and the people SITTING behind me were. Don't think it happened. We have made some solid show eye contact in the past, but it was not to be on this night. However, I did spend 15 minutes with Trey's dad Ernest, a man who I've known since getting stuck together in Newark Airport in 1998. Great guy. Here I was, reminiscing with Mr. A (as I call him to avoid people freaking out), and his wife (not Trey's mom), talking about our lives, etc. Such a great thing to see him. Not a lot of people know this, but it was a conversation he and I had which made me pursue a radio career. Plus, he always took a liking to me and my ex-girlfriend for whatever reason, so this was truly nice.

So here we were, the three of us, watching Mr. A's son jam out on stage. I could tell Mr. A was not that interested. I had to feign enthusiasm, and actually try to dance a bit so it seemed like I was interested. I was really just counting the seconds for this guy to get off the stage. Finally, he did. Lights came on, and few cared. As opposed to the old days when the lights would come on and you'd look around for friends so you could say, "Dude, that was fucking ridiculous!" Not to be.

Finally, the Black Crowes, who I hoped would save the evening on some level. They did their part. Fact is, as Trey has lost his edge, Marc Ford seems better than ever. The Crowes certainly lost a lot in my book when Ford was last kicked out of the band. Think about this: Ford was tossed from the band because he was too big of a drug user! Nowadays he's on coffee and smokes, aka, The Rehab Crutch. Nevertheless, the guy is a badass, and the rest of the band was great as well. I looked around to see if Mr. A was still there, but he rolled out. Maybe he didn't want to hear a good performance, who knows? Even with the Crowes playing well it was all too obvious they weren't a band strong enough to sell the Garden on NYE, something Phish could have done 10 nights in a row if they wanted to. All very weird.

At the stroke of midnight both bands (and the North Mississippi All Stars) were on stage with family members (Kate Hudson included) to bring in the New Year. Finally, there it was, right before my eyes, a dream my friends and I had for 13 years: Marc Ford and Trey Anastasio, side by side. But guess what? It didn't matter one bit! That's where we're at these days. They did some kind of hallelujah New Years bullshit, but with 4-5 guitars and a host of other instruments on stage you couldn't hear a thing. More dreams fading into oblivion.

Again, the Crowes were great, but this was hardly about that for me. I never expected them to disappoint.

Digressing...

Somewhere during one of Trey's endless jams I thought to myself, "This must be what Phish sounds like to all the people who hate Phish." Granted, I think most of those people are retarded because Phish was that sick, but still, I felt what many of them have felt.

Rumors abound Phish has scheduled tour dates for October 2006, ending their supposed breakup. I certainly hope they can pull it together and make some inspiring music because between how Coventry ended and where they're at right now, this is not how it was supposed to end. I don't think I'll be one of those people going to see them more than once or twice, but still, it's not supposed to end with Trey playing to a half empty Garden on New Years Eve, opening for another band, who also can't sell out the Garden.

Sad shit.

At least I had The Wollesens and good friends to end the night. Now that's a good band, and it don't cost you 70 bones.

Happy New Year

To all.

Although, this month has been slightly bittersweet. Since finding out one dayin October the only bar I like to goto was closing I have spent at least 50% of my days with Louise, Dermit, Chris, Alan, Kate, and the rest of the bartenders celebrating the end of something that seemed timeless: The Blind Tiger.


"El Tigre" as it was known to our crew, was the first New York bar I would call "my bar." It was the place I discovered how good beer really is, and how great people can really be.

Hopefully the Tiger will open up somewhere around the corner, but I'm not that optimistic. Between the Liquor Store, Joe's Pizza, the Wetlands, and now the Tiger, it's just a slow spiral into genericism in the West Village and parts farther south.

Forget Ralph Lauren because I smell a Marc Jacobs. How fucking gay is that?

I'll leave you with the great joke one of the bartenders told during our last throws. Albeit, slightly racist, but it's more hilarious than anything else:

What did the black kid get on his SAT?






Barbecue Sauce.

Cheers.