Just after I went to Sue's blog and ranted that "everyone" (meaning "Republicans") seem to have really lost their minds and let this election turn into a complete freakshow....
There comes Meghan McCain. Proof that not everyone in the GOP has moved to the lunatic fringe. On This Week with Christiane Amanpour , Ms. McCain was one Republican who stated something so obvious that anyone with a fully functioning brain should understand....that Christine O'Donnell, the Tea Party/Republican candidate for the Senate in Delaware, is unqualified to be elected to the US Senate.
"My problem is that, no matter what, Christine O'Donnell is making a mockery of running for public office," I said. "She has no real history, no real success in any kind of business... [the message] that sends to my generation is: One day you can just wake and run for Senate, no matter how [much of] a lack of experience you have. And it scares me for a lot of reasons."
The next day she woke up to alot of anger directed at her from the Tea Party and from some in Republican circles. Click here for Meghan McCain's rebuttal to her critics.
But next will Meghan talk about Levi Johnston, the Wannabe Mayor of Wasilla, who's lack of credentials make Christine O'Donnell look like an overachiever? Talk about a campaign about nothing.
Hey ladies and gents. I took a couple of days off for football (first) and then for some family issues- nothing serious, but just a few things that needed some attention.
So I now find myself in a situation where I want to talk about a variety of issues in a short space of time.....how about some Quick Hits?
(1). The sign in the end zone said it all; In Dodd We Trust. And then some. Chas Dodd, the 18 year old true freshman quarterback for Rutgers University started in place of the injured Tom Savage, and the South Carolina native made a spectacular debut on national TV last Friday night. Dodd passed for 322 yards with two touchdowns in leading Rutgers to a thrilling 27-24 comeback win over UCONN.
It was a wild night at R House to be sure, with Dodd hitting Mark Harrison with a TD pass to tie the game at 24 with just 3:53 left in the game. After UCONN went three and out, Rutgers drove the UCONN 17 yard line where San San Te drilled a game winning 34 yard field goal with 13 seconds left in the game.
It wasn't quite "Pandemonium in Piscataway" but it would do quite nicely for the RU fans.
And I know what you must be thinking....Chas (pronounced "chase") looks more like one of Frodo's mates in Lord of the Rings than an NCAA quarterback. But the diminutive #19 is one of those players that has a bit of magic in them. And he looks good in Scarlet.
(2). And to the 10,000 or so of the 48,000 plus who left early with six minutes to go to beat traffic....shame on you! It's Rutgers-UCONN. And something always crazy happens in the last couple of minutes to win (or lose) games; muffed punts, field goals hitting uprights, 81 yard TD receptions with seconds to go.
By the way....looking at the UCONN message boards- it's amazing how many fans up there want to dump Coach Randy Edsall....and that's just stupid. Last year Edsall held that team together after the murder of Jazz Howard, and a slew of heartbreaking last minute losses to get them to a bowl game, where they soundly beat Steve Spurrier's South Carolina Gamecocks. And didn't those guys beat #1 Alabama last Saturday?
So go ahead and fire Randy Edsall, oh sons and daughters of Huskyland...he'll stay unemployed for about ten seconds
(3). It's Columbus Day! And The History Channel celebrated the day by giving us hour after hour of Pawn Stars.
And History International? Almost the same....no mention of the day and it's significance. You can talk about the genocide that happened to the Native Peoples in the Western Hemisphere after the arrival of the Spanish in 1492, and yes it was horrific and brutal. But no one alive today cam fathom the courage those mariners, led by their captain from Genoa, Cristoforo Colombo. And if not for him, would there not be a Columbus, Ohio? And then where would the Blue Jackets play?
(4). New Jersey governor Chris Christie recently said it's time to pull the plug on the $9 billion rail tunnel that would connect northern New Jersey and Manhattan because New Jersey cannot afford to pay $2.5 billion in overruns that Christie says the state does not have. But then Christie met with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, and decided to put a two week hold on the cancellation while project is reviewed. I think there is a couple of things at work here.....first, the project would create thousands of jobs, perhaps as many as 40,000. The existing tunnels are nearly 100 years old, and will need to be replaced sooner or later. And also....the feds have already spent $600 million on the project, and New Jersey would have to pay back $300 million of that total.....money that New Jersey does not have. So the choice is spend more and create jobs and have a new tunnel or don't build it and give $300 million to Washington and have nothing to show for it. Maybe if Mr. Christie would stay home and take care of business here.....and do the job we're paying him to do.....he'd know what's going on. But Oprah and GOP fund raisers beckon.
It's so nice to have a rock star in Trenton......I think?
(5) And in closing, we've talked about Christopher Columbus, Chris Christie.....but what would a QUICK HITS be without a mention of the newest Chris on the block, Christine O'Donnell.
How can you tell you've "made it", in a manner of speaking?
When Saturday Night Live! starts doing send ups of you. Below, from MORNING JOE, is SNL's take on Christine's "I'm not a witch" ad.
Delaware Republican Senatorial candidate Christine O'Donnell has told the world....
"I am NOT a witch!
But through our very thorough search of YouTube (so it must be true) we found this O'Donnell ad with proof of the contrary.
I dunno. Maybe it's a Halloween thing. Anyway, it's back to YouTube. Here's a tried and true method to determine if Ms. O'Donnell is, indeed, a witch.....courtesy of Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
If she can float.....she must be made of wood. And if she's made of wood....she can float like a duck. And if she weighs more than a duck.....
One more question.....is she responsible for turning this guy into a......
It's been a couple of days since my last post, and it's really time for me to say something to my legion(?) of followers....however, I really don't think I want to talk politics (at least not exclusively) or deal with anything of earth shaking substance, unless it concerns the National Football League. So I'll do what I always do in situations like this...I'll revert to QUICK HITS, a "Stream of Consciousness Edition"
(1) As I type this a monument is being unveiled in Monument Park in Yankee Stadium to the late George Steinbrenner. George's family is there, as are many dignitaries, and Joe Torre and Don Mattingly have flown in from Los Angeles. There was only one George...and for every crazy and irrational thing he did there were a dozen wonderful things he did anonymously for others. God bless...and part of him will always live on in Yankee lore.
(2). Lindsay Lohan has a warrant out for her arrest (for drug use while on probation) and Paris Hilton was sentenced today for possession of cocaine. Why am I not shocked by these two events?
(3). Back to the the Yankees and the Steinbrenner Monument....and it is spectacular, a large plaque rather than a free standing monument, a brass bas-relief. with George on the left, and a list of his accomplishments on the right. An awe inspiring ceremony. Kind of adrenaline flowing for the Yankee team, with the Tampa Bay Rays in for possession of first pace in the AL East. The ceremony closes with a recording of Frank Sinatra singing "My Way"....a song that sums up George better than any obituary could.
(4). The recession is OVER...so say the experts. I'll talk more about this in a day or so. You'd think Obama would get more credit for keeping the bus from falling completely off the proverbial cliff....but people want magical solutions to problems large and small. Maybe they should have Criss Angel as president.
(5). Head Coach of Michigan State Mark D'Antonio calls the college football play of the season (so far) with the fake field goal that was a touchdown pass in OT with the Spartans beating Notre Dame 34-31 on Saturday night. On Sunday morning, D'Antonio has a mild heart attack...he was treated, and will be OK. But are you still going to try to tell me that God isn't a Notre Dame fan?
(6). How about those Jets beating the Patriots? What a difference a week makes.
(7). How about those Giants stinking the place up against the Colts? What a difference a week makes.
(8). The one good thing about the Giants being blown out is that I had a chance to watch Boardwalk Empire with a clear conscience to change the channel. I'm sure the folks at HBO were happy for the blowout as well. "BE" was a must see....and watching it you had to ask....what were people in this country thinking by voting in prohibition? All that was accomplished was the setting in motion of the structure of organized crime in America for the next 60 years- Chicago was in the grips of rival gangs in the North and South sides (as was alluded to in the show), and New York had more than a few pockets of government corruption as well. Nucky Thompson was a fictionalized version of Atlantic City boss Nucky Johnson, but Arnold Rothstein, Charlie "Lucky" Luciano, Big Jim Colosimo, Johnny Torrio, and of course, Al Capone were real life gangsters of the era. And Torrio did order the hit on his own boss, Colosimo.....no one was ever prosecuted for Colosimo's murder.
(9).Madmen- Don and Faye are now an item....Joan and Roger had a relapse into a night of full throttle lust....Peggy and super lefty Abe hit it off, but it fizzles out quickly. Joyce seems to be getting close to Peggy. And I'm just wondering if Peggy, who is slowly turning into a Child of The Sixties, will "get adventurous" with gal pal Joyce? Also....poor Miss Blankenship! Roger hit it on the nose- her obituary should read "She Died At Her Post Taking Other People's Phone Calls". Her death on the job gave the episode a dark comic backdrop....with her body being taken out while the clients at the meeting had no idea what was going on.
(10). Is there any truth that Christine O'Donnell's campaign is dropping "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey as a musical theme for Season of the Witch?
Much has already been written about Tea Party candidate Christine O'Donnell's Republican Senate primary win in Delaware over establishment candidate Representative Mike Castle, a moderate on most issues. And the analysis seems to be clear- there is no middle ground left in the Republican Party for any "middle of the road" approaches to governance or reaching out across the aisle for voices of moderation.
I knew very little about Christine O'Donnell until yesterday, other than she is a protege of the famous half term former Governor of Alaska, the one and only Sarah Palin. And until it was brought up on the Rachel Maddow Show last night, I didn't know just how strong Ms. O'Donnell's religious convictions were- she is a Christian fundamentalist, and it's her right to worship as she pleases....this is America, where we are all equal before God, unless we are gay, lesbian, or face Mecca when we pray.
Christine O'Donnell believes in total abstinence before marriage....no sex please. OK, if that's her belief, so be it. But she takes it one step further; there should be no sex....well, you know.....with yourself. To be upfront, I already used the obligatory Seinfeld reference on Sue's blog. You know; the "Master of My Domain" stuff. I can't let that opportunity for a wisecrack get by.
But then I was reminded of another voice from the past when "the issue" was talked about - in a manner of speaking. Enter the famed gossip columnist and rock critic for L'Osservatore Romano- and later The Vatican Enquirer, the legendary Father Guido Sarducci.
Father Guido has some pretty upfront views about the meaning of life, the nature of sin, what is waiting for us in "the afterlife", and what God will do when we finally meet Him. And it all comes down to this....life is a job.
See video...........
35....35....35...35....let me know when I get to $3.50.
