It's just KICKBALL!!

For the past 4 years, I've been playing kickball on Thursday nights in the fall and the spring on a team in the World Adult Kickball Association (WAKA). Our team plays in one of the most competitive divisions in the nation... over the years a few of the national championship teams came from our division.

I know... you're thinking "Kickball???"

Yes, kickball. It's a great, fun game and it's something that you can definitely play after a few beers without risking too many injuries. And although some teams are very competitive, we're not one of them. That's not to say that we lose every game... we usually go about .500

Our team (Turn Your Head and Cough) considers itself a social team, with a goal of meeting new people, networking, and generally having a good time. It's supposed to be fun and relaxing.

Last night, that wasn't the case. We were playing the team who was in last place, so it should have been a very easy and relaxed win for our team. But instead, the game was marred by controversy... Two of our players were ejected for explicit diatribes directed at the ump, and one of those two had also physically assaulted the ump. And this was all within the top of the 1st inning!!!

Needless to say, after that we were a bit off of our game. In the end we gave up a 6-2 lead and allowed Irish I Was Drunk to score a tie out of us.

The only question now is... do we boot those two players from our team, or will the division do it for us?

And to think... it's just kickball...

Deep Thoughts

Wow... June 22nd was my last post. I'll tell ya', it's been a fast crazy summer!!

I know that I haven't posted too frequently in the past, but that's going to change. I'm going to try to post something every day... or at least 3 or 4 times a week. Feel free to blast me through comments if I don't hold up to my end of the bargain.

A few days ago, something happened that made me think deeply about what it is to be a friend, an acquaintance, or a family member. I read a post from Spicy Little Pi over at Adventures of a Cubemonkey... a sad post. As it turns out, her father passed away on Sunday night.

Now, I visit Pi's blog frequently, and we dialogue through her blog's comments, but I've never met her... I've never spoken to her on the phone... I've never even sent her an email. Yet I know who she hangs out with... I know what she likes to do on weekend (and sometimes during the week)... I know what the inside of her new condo looks like (and what it looked like before she remodeled some of the rooms).

So what does that make her? Certainly not a family member... sadly you don't get to choose those (*Note: I love my family and have nothing agaist any of them... I was very lucky when I was assigned a family. I wouldn't have asked for any different had I been able to). And I can't really call her a friend (at least not in the traditional sense of the term)... remember, I've never actually spoken to her. But acquaintance doesn't seem to fit either... I usually reserve that designation for people I know, but sometimes wish I didn't know ;) She's more like someone I wish I had a better opportunity to know, but circumstantially, it doesn't work so well... someone with whom I KNOW would get along well with and would have lots of great, fun, hilarious times with... but can't.

I think we need to come up with a new term for these types of people and interactions. People whom you've never actually met, but about whom you know a great deal and respect and admire enough to interact with them in some capacity (in this case through comments on her blog). And a special designation for those you know would make a great friend if only they were local.

Beyond all that, I was amazed at how much I was affected by reading her post about finding out that her father had passed. I'm sure she's still away from home dealing with the aftermath of his passing and I hope she knows that my thoughts and prayers are with her (okay, I don't really pray... but you know what I mean). After reading that post, I felt my mood change for the rest of the day. Maybe it was what she wrote... maybe it was the way she wrote it. Regardless, I was deeply moved and saddened for her and couldn't figure out how to convey this to her. Of course I posted a comment on her blog telling her how sorry I was to hear about her loss... but beyond that, I felt compelled to do something for her to help ease her pain.

But what can you do for a person who lives hundreds of miles away and with whom you've only communicated through blog comments??

Well I couldn't think of anything (at least nothing that the comments feature would allow me to do), other than resuming my blog by posting an entry dedicated to her and her father.

So Pi... this one goes out to you. I'm so sorry that your time with your father was cut so short... but remember all the good times you had with him... the holidays, the times growing up, the fatherly advice he gave you and you ignored :)

It's going to be a tough few weeks or months ahead... but know that there are people out there... people you've never met and probably couldn't pick out of a crowd... but they are out there. And they are thinking about you and pulling for you to help you get through. And if you need anything... any advice, any support... any place to crash to get away from it all... know that they will be there for you. And know that I am one of them.

Tim Griffin... you're outta here

Most of you probably don't know who Tim Griffin is. That's not surprising.


Well, take a few moments to read up on him.


Ok, so you don't want to do the research on your own, huh? Well, long and short of it, he was VERY closely involved in the 2000 Florida recount (on Bush's side of it all) and also heavily involved in the 2004 Presidential Election. Most notably, in 2004, he was caught red-handed emailing a "caging list" to Carl Rove with 70,000 names of students, military personnel and homeless voters, from predominantly black and Democratic areas.


He was later appointed the U.S. Attorney in Arkansas when Bud Cummins was forced to resign in the recent and ongoing scandal involving Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.


Okay, so now you're up to speed. Basically, he's a loyal bushie and is definitely not the most upstanding or moral individual.


Well, he resigned, effective June 1, to "pursue opportunities in the private sector" after all that finagling to get him the position in the first place. The timing of the resignation is especially interesting...


He resigned on the day that (just hours after, actually) Michigan Representative John Conyers asked for information regarding the emailed caging lists.


Those lists, by the way, were obtained by Greg Palast, investigative reporter and author of Armed Madhouse.

Please note that in the CNN article about the resignation (which was difficult for me to even locate after hearing the news) there is no mention of his background in any of these scandals.

But try to remember his name... I have a funny feeling he'll be popping up again... He's now looking to work for Fred Thompson's campaign... I guess that's as close to the private sector as he can get.

Thought you should know...

I don't know who you are planning to vote for in 2008.

If you're anything like me, you don't know yet either.

Good... then you have plenty of time to learn about the candidates.

Just so we're clear, I'm not advocating for ANY candidate from ANY party. I'm just trying to get the facts to the voting population so that they may make an educated decision.

Here's an interesting article on Hillary from The Nation...

Armed Madhouse

Have you ever heard of an "investigative reporter"?

Seriously... have you?

Have you seen one on TV recently?

You've no doubt seen "correspondents" for all different areas around the world. But when was the last time someone was introduced as an investigative reporter (except on your local news when dealing with auto repair scams)?

Greg Palast is a true investigative reporter. That means that he and his team of investigators actually goes out looking for information about the topics he's going to write about. They call people, they confirm stories via the informant's sources... they verify everything that they write about. They don't just ask one person and publish that person's version of events.

Anyway, my point is that Greg Palast has been doing A LOT of investigative reporting over the past few years, and I'd be willing to bet that you've never heard of him and probably haven't had the opportunity to read anything that he's written.

That's because the American Media conglomerates won't utilize his stories. But the BBC does... all the time. Now you might ask why the US media outlets won't use him... well, basically, it's because his stories are so "out there" when compared to the "official word" that the organizations have been fed by whichever single source they decided to go with that they don't have the budget to actually confirm his allegations. Now, Greg Palast has already confirmed everything he writes, but since the American Media can't afford (it would cut into the dividends paid to share holders) to fact check the pieces, they are simply tossed aside.

So what can you do about this?

I suggest you go out and purchase the audiobook of Greg Palast's most recent book... Armed Madhouse.

Currently it's #23 on the New York Times Best Sellers List for paperback nonfiction. Of course, there's no review of the book since it distributes information that the current administration doesn't really want you to know.

I never read this book... BUT I did get the audiobook and listen to the entire thing twice. It's a GREAT book. But it's an even better audiobook. It's read by the author, who incorporates his sense of humor with the facts and figures... so he delivers all the humor as it was intended, something that is often difficult to do if you've never heard a person speak, but yet try to read their jokes.

If you're not that into audiobooks... fine... go out and buy the "paper version". You'll seriously learn a great deal more after reading that book once, than you would if you watched any and all American news channels for 8 weeks straight.

And after you've read it, I strongly encourage you to spread the word... encourage your friends and family to read it too... Hell, lend them the book (if you think you'll actually get it back) so they don't even have to shell out the loot.

Then let me know what you thought. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the book, the contents, or even the author...