Wealth Distribution

Which explains a lot about our society. Yeah, some redistribution is in order.

(H/T to Zandar Versus The Stupid)

Slightly Useless Views

Things that could make me change my mind: I'm usually liberal about equal relationship rights, but having seen the whole Palin-Bachmann lovefest, I now oppose same-sex marriage-at least for them.
For baseball fans: I'll be writing about a game tonight at http://www.azsnakepit.com/. I've always dreamed of being a baseball blogger.

The Stevens Retirement

Justice John Paul Stevens announced his retirement. Not a big surprise, as he's about to turn ninety, and has been on the court for 34 years.

This is a big reminder why presidential elections matter. As this will be the second Supreme Court appointment of this presidential term, imagine what the alternative might have been. If St. Sleazy McCain were in the White House, we would be looking at the "Extreme Court" for decades to come. Regardless of how you feel about Obama on other issues, at least his court nominees will likely maintain some moderation on the bench.

Stevens is considered a "liberal" giant (though he's actually very moderate, he looks liberal when compared to the conservative extremists beside him), and no new justice will be able to match his stature for many years. The court will still be dominated by the five conservatives, and the current congressional split guarantees that Obama's nominee wont be very 'liberal' in order to get confirmation.

Regardless of who Obama chooses, the political circus will be awash with overheated rhetoric. Expect a very loud, tough fight.

A Boobie for Friday

Friday already? This week went by too quickly.

I'm Offended

It's bad enough that I have to live with the insult that is Eugenio Velez playing for my beloved Giants, but then to see my home city miss-spelled on his uniform? Outrage!

Worse, he "took the news well", saying "No, no, I didn't know," Velez said. "That's the first I've heard."

San Francisco deserves better.

(OK, last time I complained about Velez, he had three hits. If I keep ragging on him, he'll probably make the All-Star team.)

Nicorette, Dude

Under the heading of "stupid people doing really stupid things" the latest winner is Mohammed al-Madadi, the third secretary at the Embassy of Qatar, who apparently trying to sneak a smoke on a plane and then joked about lighting his shoe on fire. Needless to say, this didn't go over well with the flight crew.
Here's a modern reality: If you are an Arabic looking man named "Mohammed" you cannot get away with joking about terrorism, even if you have diplomatic immunity. America has a certain level of paranoia about certain stereotypes. It's unfair, but it means that if you do something that foolish you will be arrested.
Smoking has been banned on airlines for many years. I admit that I'm a smoker, and it's another reason why I dislike flying. But that's what 'nicorette' is for; just chew some gum, and tough it out.
And if you're going to behave that stupidly, you probably aren't qualified to be a "diplomat".

Suggestive T-Shirts

I just don't feel like posting any serious political stuff lately. So here are some t-shirts I've seen around the web.

(yeah, I suppose some could be called 'sexist'; but if we weren't supposed to notice breasts, they wouldn't be right in front.)

A Truly Religious Holiday

For Christians, today is the holy day of Easter. I wish you all a happy one. And I failed the Jewish side of my ancestry by failing to mark Passover again this year. Ooops.
But for some of us, today marks a truly religious holiday: the first day of the baseball season. While tomorrow is opening day for most teams, the season starts tonight with the Yankees (Boo!) playing the Red Sox.
I am a believer in the words of Susan Sarandon from the movie Bull Durham that "The only church that truly feeds the soul, day in, day out, is the Church of Baseball." So today is a holiday for me, and I'll be celebrating with the traditional sacrament: beer. Cheers!




And please don't harangue me about the scandals in my church. At least we're not Catholic priests.
Added: Slightly off topic, here's a pictorial

histories of baseball and politics.