Happy Birthday, Shelly!

Look what I got her for her birthday! I found it on clearance.

Rick The Man

Whether or not Rick Ankiel becomes a Major League star, he is definitely more fun to watch than Juan Encarnacion.

Another Important Story

Folks, Global Warming isn't a liberal scare tactic. If you ignore the corporate shills, you'll find the consensus as universal as is possible in the scientific community.

Five Big Lies

This is an important story.

Unhappy Returns

Once again I return to work to find my cubicle vandalized. In May, I went to a conference and returned to find my cube defaced. Monday I returned to find it even worse. The Cub fans had turned my cubicle into a Wrigley Stadium replica complete with brick, ivy, and the basket that catches home runs. Of course I had to rip through a bunch of Cub banners to even see the Wrigley replica.



Luckily, one of the culprits is on vacation this week. The contractor is already working on his cube.

Gone Camping

We are headed off into the woods this week. We should have another Isa Report when we return. We are headed to Door County and Peninsula State Park on the peninsula between Lake Michigan and Green Bay.

The Lastest Isa Report

After her mother's bedtime prayer, Isa said that she wanted to say her own prayer. So she said, "Hey, God! Thank you for the new toilet. Thank you for the new children at church. Thank you for our new house."

"What toilet?" said her mother, Michelle K.

"Amen." Isa said quickly. "Is God in your stomach?"

"Yes." said Michelle K. "He is everywhere."

"Does he pull hair?" said Isa. Then she said herself, "Nooooooo. He loves you. Only big sisters pull your hair when she's mad at you."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I do not pull her hair.

**This Isa Report has been authored by Willa.

Sometimes when I'm Falling, Flying . . .

Did you see it last night? It was fantastic. The Library of Congress honored a hero of mine. Paul Simon was given the first Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. A fantastic array of artists from numerous genres were on hand to perform versions of Paul Simon songs.

Since my youthful discovery of my parents' "Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits" cassette, Paul Simon's music has been an integral part of the soundtrack of my life. I have sung Simon and Garfunkel tunes with many of my oldest friends. I sat in the very top row of the Fox Theater with one of those old friends while the songs from "Graceland" and the smell of marijuana washed over us.

A few years later, I went to what was then called Riverport with a bigger group of friends for the "Rhythm of the Saints" tour. My favorite song that day was a fantastic version of "An American Tune."

Now, I haven't seen Paul Simon live since that day at Riverport. But his last album has a song that really speaks to me. It's called "Father and Daughter."

I'm gonna watch you shine
Gonna watch you grow
Gonna paint a sign
So you'll always know
As long as one and one is two
There could never be a father
Who loved his daughter more than I love you

That's a Winner!

While I slumbered the Birds evened the season series with the Royals. I watched the bottom of the ninth, but couldn't stay awake for extra innings.

For one day, all is again right in the universe.

Is It Wrong?

Another note about last night's game: During Juan Encarnacion's at bats last night, I was rooting against him extending his hitting streak. Is that bad?

They flashed some funny numbers on the scoreboard when he batted. His average during the streak, .288. He had exactly 21 hits in his streak. I guess that's about as bad as you can hit and still have an 18 game streak. Sounds like a lot of 1 for 4 nights.

Anyway, last night I used Karma to put an end to the anomalous streak.

Cards Even Series

I was in the eleventh row of section 155 last night. My buddy Chuck scored some awesome tickets at work. We were between the end of the home-plate screen and the Royals Dugout. A perfect angle to see Chris Duncan' eyes light up on meat ball delivered by the Royals' Scott Elarton.

Ole' Abner delivered a perfect evening for baseball. The temps were in the low eighties at the first pitch. There was a bar selling Schlafly's near our section.

The game lasted only two hours and ten minutes. I was home and in bed by 11:30 pm.

I ran my record to 2-1 on the season.

The Isa Report

June 18th, 2007 - Subject: Courage

Splinter Courage

Isa was brave (and squirmy and screamy!) when she had to get a splinter taken out of her foot last night.
Reporter Willa has all the details.
When I got there to do the weekly Isa Report, Isa was screaming.
I had to do this report on myh own, so I decided (since EVERYONE was busy) to not talk to anyone. It would bother them. I helped out too.
We FINALLY got it out. Isa refused a cookie. Was she sick?

The End

***This report has been brought to you by Willa. We are hoping this will become a regular blog feature. We encourage other young authors with siblings to write as well.

Cardinals 7, Royals 3

Looks like tonight will be the rubber match in the I-70 series. The Cards prevailed yesterday behind some solid pitching from Adam Wainwright.

Go tell Andy how it will turn out tonight!!

Check This Out

Wikipedia is the coolest!

I have to say this . . .

If you loved watching Magic and Bird play, if you loved watching Jordan, you need to be watching LeBron play. It is akin to watching a flower bloom right before your eyes.

LeBron is amazing. He is the next great player who can transcend the game and the league the way Jordan, Bird, and Magic did.

Tonight he scored 48 points including the last 25 Cavalier points. It was stunning.

Cards/Royals update

St. Louis 21 29 .420 6.5
Kansas City 19 35 .352 14.5

Notice the last column. The number is how many games out of first place the team is. A small number indicates a more meaningful season (or some might say, a weak division). No matter how you interpret the numbers, one team is still playing for something, and the other team is merely playing out the season.

Something Must Be Done

When the free market begins to work in favor of the consumer, something must be done. The Bush Administration will not allow the free market to take advantage of Big Corporations. As I have told conservative friends of mine before, small business and individuals both get the shaft from the Bush Administration. This is a perfect example of both groups getting the shaft.

The Wizard

A big group went to see the Cardinals Tuesday night to celebrate Dave's 40th birthday. We turned the Birds around that night. We stopped the six-game slide and had a blast.

Here are Willa and Isa hanging with the Wizard. I will post some more pics as soon as Dave sends me a few.

Baseball

In response to a loony commenter, I want to post the following:

Team Winning %
St. Louis Cardinals .419
Kansas City Royals .404

We will keep an eye on the developing situation.

Happy Birthday, Dave!

Here's a shout out to the newest member of the old man's club. Dave is still going strong at forty. He doesn't slide the trombone like he did when he was younger, but he didn't know what he was doing back then anyway.

The Bush Administration

The administration cares about nothing except political power. They have forced perceived political enemies from government. They will do anything to reinforce their political power.

The War

The next time I hear or read someone say that we are losing the war because of the 'Liberal Traitors,' I want them to read this.

More on Falwell

Here are some of Falwell's own words.

Falwell Dead

Our good friend Travis has an awesome take on this.

BBQ **UPDATED FOR CORRECT DATE**

It's that time of year again when I go out on limb and have a BBQ and hopes people will show up. The last two years have been great, but hot. This year Misti and I are hoping this will work with everyones' summer plans a little better by having it on Memorial Day weekend. More specifically May 26th. Golf will be in the morning and afternoon followed by a BBQ and live music that evening on Harper Hill overlooking the banks of the Cuivre river and the beautiful Davis skyline. Price of admission is merely a side dish. Misti and I look forward to this every year, and for some of you it is the only chance all year we get to see you. Just shoot us and e-mail and let us know if you can make it. Hope all is going well and we look forward to seeing you Memorial Day weekend.


Sweetlou.

Is This Child Abuse?

I returned to work after a conference in Milwaukee. My cubicle had been vandalized in my absence. I thought you guys might enjoy the pictures.

I attended the Brewers/Cardinals game at Miller Park Wednesday afternoon. Brewer fans are very nice. They seem to hate the Cubs as much as we do.

The Cardinals were terrible though. After Jim Edmonds and Chris Duncan our outfield is a complete disaster. We have a bunch of guys who either can't hit or can't field and in some cases, can do neither. We need to deal for a quality outfielder and get J-Rod up to the big club to strengthen the bench. And then we can start working on all the other problems.

The Brewers look very good to me. If they can keep getting quality starts from the pitchers they will have a very good chance to win the division. They have terrific group of young position players on the infield including a third baseman who is still in the high minors. (Remember to click the photos to get the full effect.)

What You've Been Waiting For!!!

Yes!!!
The Drunken Haiku contest is back on the blog of Paul and The Violent Farmers!!!

Question . . .

Riddle me this. If the President can attend funerals for some of the victims at Virginia Tech, why can't he find time to attend the funeral for one of the thousands of Americans killed serving in Iraq?

Meet Joe Murray

Here is a fantastic interview with a man who used to write articles condemning homosexuals for the American Family Association.

Where was the Biblical authority for the condemnation that all homosexuals were to burn in the fires of Hell? In order to answer that question, I decided to take an in depth study of the Bible to determine if what these conservative theologians were preaching was sound.

As I studied the Bible, I found that the word "sodomite" that was used in Corinthians and Romans referred not to all homosexuals, but largely to the promiscuous behavior of the Roman/Greek bathhouses and the use of boy prostitutes.

Take for instance, 1 Cor. 6:9-10, a verse commonly referred to support the argument that all forms of homosexuality are immoral. As I understand it, the Greek word translated as "boy prostitutes" may refer to catamites, i.e. the boys or young men kept for purposes of prostitution and the term translated for "sodomites" refers to all homosexual males who engaged in such practices with such boys. In other words, the condemnation of homosexuality in that passage, thus, refers only to homosexual males who engage the services of boy prostitutes-it is a very narrow definition.

This guy is a wonderful example for us all. It is so easy for us to hold on to our opinions. It is hard to truly examine our positons with a critical eye.

Wrestling at the Chase

Thinking of Converting

Andy points out this amazing church!

Newest Cardinal Apparel

Al Franken? Michael Moore? Nooooo . . .

This man agrees with me.

"Congress abdicated its oversight responsibility," he says. "The press abdicated its responsibility, and the American people abdicated their responsibilities. Terror was on the minds of everyone, and nobody questioned anything, quite frankly."

Republican Senator Chuck Hagel agrees with me. We don't agree on much, but this is a definitely a big one.

Make sure to read this. This is fine profile of the Senator from Nebraska.

Down by the River

Look who came to Springfield!

Aunt Eva

Did any of you know this lady? I'll bet she had some good stories to tell.

Good Reading

Here is a fine column. If only we could redo that 2000 presidential election.

**UPDATE** It turns out the author of this fine column is one of the reasons why America lost the 2000 election.

Put me in, Coach!

River has graciously volunteered to keep Jimmy (Edmonds) company for a couple of weeks! Note that River has the ball in his left hand. That's the way Uncle Roy says to go, and it helps that River's mom is a lefty.

Condolences

On Friday, February 16th, my parents' household changed dramatically. After 20 years of being a big part of their lives, Chelsea Cat went to play with my grandparents over the rainbow. She will be missed greatly, but she will also be remembered with smiles and gratitude. I'm sorry, Mom and Dad. Isa will miss her napping partner. We love you!

Shelly :)!

"You Don't Have to Worry About Me. I Won a Contest."

Six weeks ago my coworkers and I began a contest. Not the kind of contest alluded to in the title. This contest was modeled after the Big Loser show on television. Basically, the contestants attempt to lose the largest percentage of their original weight. Being heavier than I wanted to be, I decided to let my overly competitive instincts serve me in positive way for a change.

I must confess that many things fell perfectly for me. Within hours of learning about the contest I discovered that our church would be putting together a basketball team to participate in a local church league. Also, a brand new fitness center opened about a mile from our house. I volunteered to play on the team and joined the fitness center.

Working out wasn't the only thing I did. I changed the way I eat. I increased the number of meals I eat. That's right: increased. Increasing the frequency of the meals helps speed up the body's metabolism. Of course these meals are much smaller than previous meals, and I also choose the foods more carefully. I will never eat fast food fries ever again.

The most important thing I did was start drinking the recommended amount of water for my weight, and activity level. Your body needs to be well hydrated in order to operate efficiently. This includes efficient digestion and fat burning.

While this was a competition, the best thing about it was the camaraderie that developed. I have developed relationships with coworkers that I barely knew. Everyone sent out relevant web pages and articles that could help others. Everyone vocally supported other contestants. It helped create an environment of support and goodwill.

Our contest ended on Friday the sixteenth. We've decided to take a week off and start another one. This one will last three months instead of six weeks. We've added a twist. Anyone who loses at least five percent of their original body weight automatically gets half the entry fee back. We hope this will increase motivation for those who may not be near the top three money positions as the contest winds down.

Now, all of you who know me figure that I wouldn't have penned this post if my purpose was not to gloat. You know me all too well. I won the first contest by losing 21 pounds. I plan on losing 15 - 20 more in the next contest.

The gloating is secondary, though. I feel so much better. I enjoy the folks at the office more. And I scored a bunch of points in our basketball game tonight.

Hillary Should Have Listened

He was just a State Senator from Illinois at the time. If only some of our leaders in the Congress and the Senate had listened to his words.

Now let me be clear: I suffer no illusions about Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal man. A ruthless man. A man who butchers his own people to secure his own power.... The world, and the Iraqi people, would be better off without him. But I also know that Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors...and that in concert with the international community he can be contained until, in the way of all petty dictators, he falls away into the dustbin of history.

I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a U.S. occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaeda.

I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars.

Why the Anti-Hilary Venom?

Her speech explaining her vote for Senate Resolution S.J. 45 indicates to me very sound, conscientious reasoning on her part based on the information available at the time. Read it for yourself. Yes she voted for the resoultion, but she clearly calls for the use of force as a last resort and urges action through the U.N. . It now seems obvious that she, Congress, and Americans put too much faith and trust in the hands of the bumbling, semi-literate stooge that happens to be the 43rd President of the United States. She also makes the point that Saddam Hussein was a ruthless dictator that had murdered thousands of innocent people in Iraq and Iran, which I believe justified his removal from power.

As far as I can tell, she has been fairly consistent on the issue, more so than the current administration, and like most American citizens, believes it is time for the President to own up to the fiasco and focus on the War on Terror rather than pursue this dubious war in Iraq.

Iraq War Debate

It seems reasonable to me that the Iraq War Debate would be about the administration's new plan. The American people deserve to know what they plan to do differently to make this surge work. The majority of Americans believe we need to get the troops out of Iraq. They deserve a debate that explains why this surge would be a better plan.

This seems like a reasonable expectation to me. However, the Republicans believe differently. Here is a quote from a letter sent by GOP leaders to Republicans in Congress.

Democrats want to force us to focus on defending the surge, making the case that it will work and explaining why the President's new Iraq policy is different from prior efforts and therefore justified.

We urge you to instead broaden the debate to the threat posed to Americans, the world, and all "unbelievers" by radical Islamists. We would further urge you to join us in educating the American people about the views of radical Islamists and the consequences of not defeating radical Islam in Iraq.

A New Direction

Congressman Patrick Murphy of Pennsylvania is one of the heroes. Read what he had to say in the Iraq debate today.

Sad State of Affairs

Torture is wrong. It is devastating to the person being tortured. And as we see here, it is devastating to the person doing the torturing.

I have never said that the Bush administration is evil. This story, though, bothers me greatly. It is despicable to treat humans beings in this manner. It is despicable to force other human beings to do the dirty work. Behind them, this administration leaves broken lives, Iraqi and American.

Whether you believe we should have invaded Iraq or not, the conduct of this war is beyond incompetent. It is a disaster. It is a festering sore on America's soul.

She'll be missed

We lost one of the voices of reason in the media this week. These voices are dwindling. America will miss Molly Ivins.