Making friends and influencing people...

Today the US Secretary of State's motorcade was pelted with shoes and tomatoes in Cairo.  Hillary Clinton must of been cringing in the back seat because it is hard to believe that the Arab Spring has led to a Moslem Brotherhood state that takes $1.3 billion in US aid but clearly hates Americans.  The Libyan version of the Taliban is running things there and fortunatley Tunisa has always kept to itself.  Only in the Middle East can one try to help an turn things turn from bad to worse.....Of course, lecturing someone on how to run their country does not help relations.  If it makes anyone feel better, the Romans, Byzantines, Turks, and a number of Moslem caliphates have had the same problem.

The story for your consideration from Yahoo:

http://news.yahoo.com/clinton-talks-democracy-head-egypt-army-142600571.html

The future of football

Everyone who knows me knows I love football.  But I am worried about the future of the game.  The NFL is going to face a slew of lawsuits involving concussions over the years.  The best defense the league will have is something along the lines of "we were working with the knowledge and equipment of that time."  Seems true enough but it appears commissoner Roger Goodell, not that well liked by anyone apparently, appears to be hoping the issue disapears. 

It won't.

The wholesale change in the rules in the middle of the 2010 season indicates that the NFL knows something more about concussions and helmets that it says it does but that is another matter, perhaps involving a judge and jury.

The real problem is steriods and performance enhancing drugs.

Human beings are not supposed to be 350+ pounds.

This is what is causing injuries so catastrophic that many players won't let their sons play the game.

The answer is to not only ban steroids but actually enforce the ban.

Declare an amnesty for this year.  Have the players declare, freely and without penalty, what they have been taking and give them a year to clean themselves up.  Next year, enforce the rules with weekly drug tests and start handing out suspensions without pay and watch what happens.

Is this painful?  Certainly but it is better that what is coming down the pike.  If Roger Goodell and the NFL wants to stick its head in the sand, they are going to get hit by a truck.  It does not have to be that way.

Meanwhile, there might be more rule changes coming and I predict the NFL is going to look a lot like the CFL in a few years.  Would that be such a bad thing?

At least the players in those games are going to be able to remember their names the next day...

Happy Canada Day!

Happy 145th Birthday, Canada!

Wild week in DC...

It was a lunatic week in Washington.  First, the Supreme Court upheld but then declared Arizona's immigration law unconstitutional in one breath, leaving everyone with the impression that their side had won.  On one hand, the Supreme Court justice Anthony Kennedy declared that despite "understandable frustration" on the part of Arizona, immigration law remained a federal duty.  On the other hand, cops in Arizona were free to question anyone about their immigration status. 

Then Chief Justice Roberts called an audible and the Court upheld Obamacare while declaring the federal government could not mandate anyone to purchase anything, somehow seeing this monstrosity as a tax when its supporters said it was not.  Regardless, three states and counting have said they will ignore the Supreme Court and the increasing idiocy it supports.  Mitt Romney immediately announced that if he wins in November, he will repeal this mess.  Other congressmen have said they will break it down and repeal it part by part, which seems a better strategy.  Either way, it is not going to last.

Once again, how about go to socialized medicine?

Then Attorney General Eric Holder was held in contempt by Congress.  Despite an attempt by some in the media to make the vote seem like a straight party line affair, it soon came out that seventeen Democrats voted with their Republican counterparts to demand an answer to the moronic circumstances surrounding Fast and Furious.

Then a disaffected soldier gunned down his superior officer during a mass safety briefing at Fort Bragg.

Then a major heat wave has struck the East Coast and the thermometer outside says it is 106...

Never a dull moment but at least the Canadian Football League 2012 opener is tonight!

Is everyone in the Attorney General's office a nut case?

I have been waiting for the Supreme Court's ruling on ObamaCare but I am betting they are waiting until the very last Friday in June to reveal it....

In the meantime, I read about the contempt of Congress charge levied against Eric Holder.  I think it is deserved considering an operation he oversaw went haywire and led to the death of an American citizen.  If he refuses to cooperate, he should have the cuffs slapped on him...end of story.

And this guy is the highest ranking law enforcement offical in the United States....and you wonder why the American people hate their government....

I read the story and about the exchange between Congressman Daniel Issa and Eric Holder.  I asked myself, "When is the last time we had someone sane in the Attorney General's office?"

Between Janet Reno's wandering mind and Tom Ridge's attempt at a singing career and this current fruitcake, I am wondering if the Justice Department should not just be converted into a holding cell or better yet, serve the public as a take out pizza store.

Never mind...I can see a food poisoning epidemic breaking out....especially if "Fast and Furious" is any indication.

Is Romney the answer?  I don't know but can he be worse than the current set of idiots in DC?

Look at that picture again and tell me what you think.....

Ancient Greek and Latin

I am preparing for the PhD pursuit by studying both Ancient Greek and Latin.  Ancient Greek has the same basic structure as its Modern counterpart but the words have changed in 2500 years.  Like its modern day version, Ancient Greek has a dizzying number of endings you have to keep straight.  Lifelong experience with Greek helps but, remember, the words are still different.  It is interesting to know that is the language spoken by Miltiades and Xenophon and company...

Latin never died out.  It just evolved into Italian, Spanish, French, Romanian, and Portuguese.  No, I did not forget Catalan on the east side of Spain but I am not wandering into that debate!  Aside form the weird habit of placing the verb at the end of the sentence, Latin is not that difficult.  Again, there are a bunch of endings to memorize for the verbs but if you know Spanish, you see the link.

Back to Greece--Modern instead of Ancient--and the elections they are holding today.....but instead of 480 BC and battles against Persians, I am in 2012 AD watching battles against bankers.

I am not sure which is more vicious...

Thoughts on Wisconsin recall election

The state of Wisconsin is holding a recall election of its governor, Scott Walker. Although this seems to be a Wisconsin-specific event, the entire nation is watching.  There might be some ripple effects or maybe even none.  That might be why everyone is watching....

One thing everyone has noticed is the absence of the President.  Former president Bill Clinton seems to have taken the lead on the Democratic Party effort.  It is a win-win situation for him.  Success diminishes the current president he clearly dislikes and if the recall effort fails, he was there trying when Obama was not.

It is hard to say if this election is any harbinger of the November but it is noteworthy that no one is asking Obama to show up at his/her/its (hard to tell sometimes...LOL) election headquarters.  It looks a lot like the Republican campaigns of 2008 when no one wanted to be within a mile of then President Bush.

If History does not repeat itself, it certainly rhymes.