As you know I am a huge baseball fan and I am a big St. Louis Cardinal fan.
The Birds have been playing mediocre ball for about a week and half. Yesterday the team lost a game in extra innings that it should have won easily. Jason Isringhausen blew a save in the ninth, but he should have never been in that position to begin with. The Cardinals ran themselves out of the inning in the fifth when they pulled a bonehead stunt and passed each other on the base paths. It could have been a big inning, but it wasn't because the screw up ended the rally and they only got one run off of the Pirates. Consequently the lack of scoring came back to bite them in the butt.
The Cardinals media machine keeps talking about what a great team this is and how it will not be happy unless it wins the World Series. Championship teams do not play like the Cardinals have been playing for the past ten days. They played poorly in Tampa Bay but were lucky to sweep three because Tampa is so awful. They lost two out of three to a crappy Cincinnati team, and split a four game set with the Pirates. Ugghh!
This is not a championship team. At least at this point. Somebody needs to kick start them and get them playing again. Or, that media machine and it's promise is going to be just more baloney.
June 27, 2005
June 23, 2005
What were they thinking???
The Supreme Court in it's infinite wisdom today decided local governments may now take property from individuals so corporations may use the property. Stop and think about that a minute. The Supremes say it is okay for your local municipality or county to take your home and give it to a developer so he can put in a shopping mall or high dollar real estate development. It scares the bejeebers out of me.
John Paul Stevens, wrote the majority opinion and said that it is in the best interest of local government to develop property for the benefit of the community. In other words, "the ends justifies the means". Gee, isn't that what Karl Marx wrote about a hundred years ago?
I exaggerate to a certain extent, but no one is safe in their property. Let's say Mega Corp wants to build multi-million dollar condos and that my piece of property stands in their way. Not a problem, the city condemns my home and property and hands it over to the developer and they make big bucks. But, what about me? Not a problem because the Supreme court says it's all OK! It's now the "law of the land".
The minority opinion was written by Sandra Day O'Connor. O'Connor criticized the majority for "abandoning the conservative principle of individual property rights and handing 'disproportionate influence and power' to the well-heeled." She also wrote..."Any property may now be taken for the benefit of another private party, but the fallout from this decision will not be random. The beneficiaries are likely to be those citizens with disproportionate influence and power in the political process, including large corporations and development firms. As for the victims, the government now has license to transfer property from those with fewer resources to those with more. The Founders cannot have intended this perverse result. "(T)hat alone is a just government," wrote James Madison, "which impartially secures to every man, whatever is his own."'
In what may be a silver lining though, the Supreme Court left open the option for states to restrict local municipalities in what they may do in the taking of private property. Let's hope the state legislatures show more wisdom than Justice Stevens.
John Paul Stevens, wrote the majority opinion and said that it is in the best interest of local government to develop property for the benefit of the community. In other words, "the ends justifies the means". Gee, isn't that what Karl Marx wrote about a hundred years ago?
I exaggerate to a certain extent, but no one is safe in their property. Let's say Mega Corp wants to build multi-million dollar condos and that my piece of property stands in their way. Not a problem, the city condemns my home and property and hands it over to the developer and they make big bucks. But, what about me? Not a problem because the Supreme court says it's all OK! It's now the "law of the land".
The minority opinion was written by Sandra Day O'Connor. O'Connor criticized the majority for "abandoning the conservative principle of individual property rights and handing 'disproportionate influence and power' to the well-heeled." She also wrote..."Any property may now be taken for the benefit of another private party, but the fallout from this decision will not be random. The beneficiaries are likely to be those citizens with disproportionate influence and power in the political process, including large corporations and development firms. As for the victims, the government now has license to transfer property from those with fewer resources to those with more. The Founders cannot have intended this perverse result. "(T)hat alone is a just government," wrote James Madison, "which impartially secures to every man, whatever is his own."'
In what may be a silver lining though, the Supreme Court left open the option for states to restrict local municipalities in what they may do in the taking of private property. Let's hope the state legislatures show more wisdom than Justice Stevens.
SBC wants your information!
I get home from work and what do I find. A bulk rate letter from the phone company telling me they are going to share my "proprietary network information" with their other business enterprises.
My response is hell no you aren't giving out my personal info to your other flunky companies. So, I tried to call their toll free number like nine times in a row and got a busy signal. Gee do you think some rocket scientist marketing type decided to set up one phone number and all of the company's customer have to go through that one number to stop this private information sharing? Can you say "yes".
But, you know what really sucks. The phone company can behave boorishly like this, because Congress put the burden of proof on the customer to have to manually opt out, rather than making the big corporation get my permission. Nice job Congress!
My response is hell no you aren't giving out my personal info to your other flunky companies. So, I tried to call their toll free number like nine times in a row and got a busy signal. Gee do you think some rocket scientist marketing type decided to set up one phone number and all of the company's customer have to go through that one number to stop this private information sharing? Can you say "yes".
But, you know what really sucks. The phone company can behave boorishly like this, because Congress put the burden of proof on the customer to have to manually opt out, rather than making the big corporation get my permission. Nice job Congress!
Fast response from Congressman
Last week, I wrote about efforts by Congress to cut funding for the CPB. And when I told you to write your congressman I did the same. I wrote my rep, Russ Carnahan, who represents Missouri's third district. Here is his response:
Thank you for contacting me regarding the recently proposed cuts for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. I appreciate hearing from you.
For decades, the CPB has provided quality television programming for America's families. Shows such as Sesame Street have entertained and educated generations of American children. We must ensure that public television has the funding it needs to continue to air it's wonderful programs.
As you know, the House Committee on Appropriations authorized a $100 million funding cut for the CPB. Please be assured that I will fight to restore funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Once again, thank you for contacting me. Please do not hesitated to contact me again on this or any other issue.
Sincerely,
Russ Carnahan
Member of congress
Well, he is supportive of restoring the funding, but I would be more comfortable if he had said something about Public Radio and NPR in particular. But, still I liked the response.
Stay tuned for later details. Carnahan is a democrat so his response does not come as a surprise. It will be interesting to see what my two Republican Senators, Kit Bond and Jim Talent have to say when or if they respond.
Thank you for contacting me regarding the recently proposed cuts for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. I appreciate hearing from you.
For decades, the CPB has provided quality television programming for America's families. Shows such as Sesame Street have entertained and educated generations of American children. We must ensure that public television has the funding it needs to continue to air it's wonderful programs.
As you know, the House Committee on Appropriations authorized a $100 million funding cut for the CPB. Please be assured that I will fight to restore funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Once again, thank you for contacting me. Please do not hesitated to contact me again on this or any other issue.
Sincerely,
Russ Carnahan
Member of congress
Well, he is supportive of restoring the funding, but I would be more comfortable if he had said something about Public Radio and NPR in particular. But, still I liked the response.
Stay tuned for later details. Carnahan is a democrat so his response does not come as a surprise. It will be interesting to see what my two Republican Senators, Kit Bond and Jim Talent have to say when or if they respond.
June 18, 2005
Local? TV News
I had to laugh this morning. I usually don't watch TV on Saturday mornings, but I had to work this afternooon and I turned on the local CBS affiliate KMOV. I thought maybe I would see something from overnight that had happened in this metropolitan area.
Instead, I saw one local story in the 50 minutes I was watching. One freakin story in almost an hour that pertained to the St. Louis area. The Saint Louis metro area has a population of 2.6 million people and they could find only one story to report.
Oh and the story was about the sale of the Saint Louis Blues hockey team and who might buy them. And guess what? To top it off the story was reported in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Friday morning. So, in effect KMOV read Friday's paper and then put it on as news a day later. I guess absolutely nothing else happened in the whole region. Sheeeeesh!
So now you are probably wondering how did they fill all of this time? Well they had a cute weather girl on about five times to tell us it was going to be a nice day. And they repeated their Blues story about five times. And they had Sports and they reported the Blues were going to be sold. And, they showed pictures of Interstate Highways 20 miles from downtown that were wide open and had no traffic problems. Oh, and I almost forgot they ran national news stories from places such as Florida and California and Europe, but not St. Louis. Yep, channel four was right on top of the whole metropolitan area. I would have learned more had I turned on an infomercial on any of the other St. Louis stations at that time. Yep good old channel four really had an award winning nine o'clock newscast!
Instead, I saw one local story in the 50 minutes I was watching. One freakin story in almost an hour that pertained to the St. Louis area. The Saint Louis metro area has a population of 2.6 million people and they could find only one story to report.
Oh and the story was about the sale of the Saint Louis Blues hockey team and who might buy them. And guess what? To top it off the story was reported in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Friday morning. So, in effect KMOV read Friday's paper and then put it on as news a day later. I guess absolutely nothing else happened in the whole region. Sheeeeesh!
So now you are probably wondering how did they fill all of this time? Well they had a cute weather girl on about five times to tell us it was going to be a nice day. And they repeated their Blues story about five times. And they had Sports and they reported the Blues were going to be sold. And, they showed pictures of Interstate Highways 20 miles from downtown that were wide open and had no traffic problems. Oh, and I almost forgot they ran national news stories from places such as Florida and California and Europe, but not St. Louis. Yep, channel four was right on top of the whole metropolitan area. I would have learned more had I turned on an infomercial on any of the other St. Louis stations at that time. Yep good old channel four really had an award winning nine o'clock newscast!
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
You know from reading here the media in Saint Louis are a miserable lot. If you look in the dictionary you will see St. Louis media next to the definition of mediocrity.
But, there are a few beacons of light in this world of darkness. One of them is KWMU Radio, which to be honest, is where I work part time when someone is sick or on vacation. Am I biased? Maybe. But, do any of the other radio stations in this market compare with news coverage? No way! Not even the archaic CBS affiliate downtown that considers itself "The Sports Voice of America".
KWMU is funded in part by congress and it's annual appropriation to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. A house committee has decided it would be wise to cut funding to the CPB by about 45 percent. Only ten percent of KWMU's annual budget comes from the CPB but still funding is funding. (And the less time the local NPR affiliates spend begging for money, the better off we all are).
So my request to you is to contact your congressman and Senators and tell them to put it back. After all it is only a drop in the bucket compared to what Dubya is spending in Iraq.
But, there are a few beacons of light in this world of darkness. One of them is KWMU Radio, which to be honest, is where I work part time when someone is sick or on vacation. Am I biased? Maybe. But, do any of the other radio stations in this market compare with news coverage? No way! Not even the archaic CBS affiliate downtown that considers itself "The Sports Voice of America".
KWMU is funded in part by congress and it's annual appropriation to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. A house committee has decided it would be wise to cut funding to the CPB by about 45 percent. Only ten percent of KWMU's annual budget comes from the CPB but still funding is funding. (And the less time the local NPR affiliates spend begging for money, the better off we all are).
So my request to you is to contact your congressman and Senators and tell them to put it back. After all it is only a drop in the bucket compared to what Dubya is spending in Iraq.
June 10, 2005
This and that
While I am thinking of it, the St. Louis daily newspaper was formally taken over by a new company this past week. Guess what? It's the same crappy newspaper it was. I guess it will take a long time to turn the Post-Dispatch into anything other than the poor excuse that it is for a newspaper.
I saw the move "Hotel Rwanda" this week on DVD and I have to say it is one of the finest movies I have ever seen. Don Cheadle does an outstanding job and then on top of it, think about the fact he speaks in his lines in a clipped British accent. If you haven't seen it rent it. You know, to think that Sideways was also nominated for an Oscar is amazing. "Sideways" isn't even in the same class as "Hotel Rwanda". I also saw "Closer" the other night and liked it. It's an interesting story about two cheating couples that say they want the truth but wouldn't recognize the truth it it bit them in the butt. And Natalie Portmann is HOT! She and Clive Owen have a scene that is tremendous.
And finally while I am thinking of it, how 'bout them Birds. The Cards took two out of three from the Boston Red Sox this week. Woo Hoo! I know it doesn't make up for the World Series, but at least it shows the rest of the East coast media that the Cardinals can play. The Yankees are in Saint Louis this weekend, and I truly hope the Cardinals stomp the crap out of them just for good measure!
I saw the move "Hotel Rwanda" this week on DVD and I have to say it is one of the finest movies I have ever seen. Don Cheadle does an outstanding job and then on top of it, think about the fact he speaks in his lines in a clipped British accent. If you haven't seen it rent it. You know, to think that Sideways was also nominated for an Oscar is amazing. "Sideways" isn't even in the same class as "Hotel Rwanda". I also saw "Closer" the other night and liked it. It's an interesting story about two cheating couples that say they want the truth but wouldn't recognize the truth it it bit them in the butt. And Natalie Portmann is HOT! She and Clive Owen have a scene that is tremendous.
And finally while I am thinking of it, how 'bout them Birds. The Cards took two out of three from the Boston Red Sox this week. Woo Hoo! I know it doesn't make up for the World Series, but at least it shows the rest of the East coast media that the Cardinals can play. The Yankees are in Saint Louis this weekend, and I truly hope the Cardinals stomp the crap out of them just for good measure!
Aaaaargh...TGIF
Well as good as life was last week on vacation, this week has been major stress. I went back to work on Monday and it wasn't too bad as I started a new assignment. But, by the middle of the week the stupidity of some of my co-workers was just enough to make want to shoot one of them. But, I kept my mouth shut for the time being.
Finally, the weekend is here. You want to know how I started it, I laid down when I got home and slept for two hours because I was so tired. I just now went outside and picked up some branches that were downed by the thunderstorms of the last few days and the crazy old man and his wife who live in the house behind mine were out putting out there traps to catch squirrels and rabbits. This guy is loony tunes. He has put up boards around his yard to keep the water from running into it. His name isn't Gus, but that's what I'll call him. Gus puts out traps to get these "varmints and critters" as he calls them because he thinks they chew on his trees. His old lady who I will call crazy Mary is about the same. They both complain that their kids never call them. Duh??? I wonder why? Anyway, where the water drains from my yard into his he has put a big brick in place. This is an ongoing battle. He puts up the brick and I knock it out of place. I keep hoping the old son of a bitch, he says he's 78, gets sick and stays in his house. If I were the only neighbor who felt this way I wouldn't write this, but he and his old lady are a standing joke. Oh well, the weekend is here. Thank God It's Friday!
Finally, the weekend is here. You want to know how I started it, I laid down when I got home and slept for two hours because I was so tired. I just now went outside and picked up some branches that were downed by the thunderstorms of the last few days and the crazy old man and his wife who live in the house behind mine were out putting out there traps to catch squirrels and rabbits. This guy is loony tunes. He has put up boards around his yard to keep the water from running into it. His name isn't Gus, but that's what I'll call him. Gus puts out traps to get these "varmints and critters" as he calls them because he thinks they chew on his trees. His old lady who I will call crazy Mary is about the same. They both complain that their kids never call them. Duh??? I wonder why? Anyway, where the water drains from my yard into his he has put a big brick in place. This is an ongoing battle. He puts up the brick and I knock it out of place. I keep hoping the old son of a bitch, he says he's 78, gets sick and stays in his house. If I were the only neighbor who felt this way I wouldn't write this, but he and his old lady are a standing joke. Oh well, the weekend is here. Thank God It's Friday!
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