Shooting the breeze in Pennsylvania

Last time it was two weeks, this time it's 9 days, so I must say I've improved. I'm sure a lot happened in those 9 days, but what exactly? I feel I've been getting more out of watching baseball [3+hours for two days of the week] than watching the news for hours everyday. Stories have been repeated, distorted, and worn out until it is no long interesting. From my point of view, two things are being focused on by the [American] news outlets: the Pennsylvania Primaries and the Polygamists in Texas. I'll touch up on both later in the post. But one thing I've realized is that the boycotting of the Olympics [or just the opening ceremonies] has not been discussed a lot by the American media. Pelosi and Clinton both want Bush to boycott, but what good will that do? I suppose you can count those as teasers to what's to come.

I'm going to start off with a quick baseball update. The Red sox whooped the Yankees twice [on Saturday and Sunday] for which I am very grateful and happy. One thing I was not happy about was that Fox cut off the last couple innings because Nascar started [there was a rain delay so the game was from 12:30 to around 6]. The Mets haven't been fairing all that well, but I'm sure they'll turn it around. Boston Red Sox are now 8-6 whereas the New York Mets are 5-6.

Now diving into the yummy cupcake of politics [I've been obsessed with cupcakes lately?], the Pennsylvania Primaries are next Tuesday, and the candidates [Democratic anyway] are turning up the hot and the cold. I won't get into geography here but let's just say when a warm air mass and cold air mass collides, nothing pretty comes out of it. Obama is in the limelight once again [or still?] for saying something along the lines of Pennsylvanians clinging onto their guns and faith due to frustration. He has admitted that the words came out faulty, but Clinton of course took the opportunity to attack. She says it's offensive and demeaning to say these things about the people of Pennsylvania and even released an advertisement with dissatisfied citizens voicing their contempt. This seems like a perfect move and exactly what Clinton's campaign needs to excel. But knowing Clinton, she does something more ridiculous therefore Obama's story is shunted. She tried to appear as a 'working class' member by 'shooting' it up with a shot of some type of hard liquor [which she sipped and I think it was Crown Royal]. She then 'chased' that with a beer and I assumed she got pretty drunk after that. Oh wait, am I forgetting something? Oh right, she said when she was a young girl her grandfather took her 'shooting' [literally] in her backyard...to which Obama attacked and ridiculed. She also called him an elitist. Yes, everything is out of order and a complete mess because that is exactly how the Clinton campaign is right now. She just can't catch a break can she? Maybe she was reminiscing about the days when she was a young shooter during her landing in Bosnia? It makes sense...If you're using that Clinton campaign, let me know! I have copyrights on that!

Did I say I was going to talk about the FLDS story again? Well all they have now is information about around 20 girls in their teen years who are pregnant. And that many of the younger women want to go back because it's what they're used to. There's a whole brainwashing thing behind this and it's pretty messy. I really don't want to get into it because then I'll go on to define "cult" and I don't want to be O'Reilly now do I? [yes].

I'm actually just going to touch on the Olympics issue because I have a time restraint. I will share my view on it: let it happen! Don't bring negative politics into this traditional event. I'm not saying I don't care about what's happening between China and Tibet [actually I don't] but I really think it's being blown up by the Tibetans and the media. And people are being suckered into being on the side of Tibet because the Dalai Lama is from there. Ok maybe "suckered" isn't the word, but I just wish people would research about exactly what's happening before making a judgement and not just absorb what the media and the monks are saying [it's biased, it always is]. These athletes have been training all their life to be part of this massive event, and I really hate that their dreams are being ruined because of politics. Leave them be [for now!] and don't boycott it!

The Pope is in town [well the States]! Welcome to the land of the free?

That's all from me today! Gotta run! I'll be in Banff this weekend so I may not update, but we shall see!

I've caught the baseball fever

I admit, I have been slacking off. It's been almost 2 weeks since I last posted, and really, I regret it. But I'm here now so don't fret. It's a bit lame that I've been starting all my posts with an apology, but I'm really dedicated to this, I'm just a tad lazy/busy. Also, before all the news starts flowing, I have good news [for once]! A friend of mine, Stefano, is helping me make a website for me to blog and post my articles! I'll keep this blog still, but will link it to my site, and hopefully more people will read what I have to say =) Now on with the news!

Let's get politics out of the way. Obama and Clinton still battling it out before Pennsylvania and McCain is telling stories of his life. Yes, it's been that boring. I don't want to say I've been losing interest in the race, but I'm starting to tune out a bit. Every week there's a new scandal on top of older scandals and whatnot. It's piling up into a large pile of Liberal Trash. I'm inclined to root for McCain because there's a slight chance he'll consider Mitt Romney as his running mate [if he cares about the conservative vote that is; otherwise it's Lieberman]. But breaking news is that Clinton's chief campaign strategist is quitting because he is linked to some Colombian free trade deal. Another slump for the Clinton campaign; it makes me almost feel bad for her. And the Clintons' tax returns have been recently released and they made a combined total of $109 million last year. Whoa! How is her campaign in debt? C'mon, be like Romney and pay for some of it yourself! Critics say this will detach Clinton from the middle and lower class voters because, well, she's bloody rich! If she cares about her campaign at all, she should use her money to trump Obama. It always works, especially in the States. Whoever denies 'money makes the world go around' is an idiot.

Hollywood lost a great actor yesterday. Charlton Heston died in his home last night. He was 84. He was in movies such as "Ben-Hur", "The Ten Commandments", "El Cid", and many more. It really sucks that so many Hollywood people are dying. It just seems they're so immortal yet they're humans just like us. It upsets me that no matter how great you are, you always get brought down by something like death.

Unfortunately, there have been more deaths since the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq. This afternoon in Baghdad, 3 soldiers were killed and 31 others were injured in rocket attacks. Along with this most recent attack, there have been 19 more deaths since the 4000 marks was reached. All I can think about after reading such things is, "What for?"

In Eldorado, Texas,  over 200 women and children have been taken away from a ranch in Texas that is the home of polygamists. These people belong to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, where the act of polygamy is heavily practiced [as opposed to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints where it is now condemned]. Girls as young as 13 years old are forced into an arranged marriage usually to a man much older. The best known case is of Warren Jeffs [52] who was convicted last year on counts of rape, incest, and sexual conduct with a minor. He was sentenced to 10 years to life. Sometimes religion is taken to the extreme, and that's when things get dangerous [and illegal]. I don't understand how marrying multiple wives is following the word of God. Adam was only allowed Eve, so why do people think they should get more than one?

A scary piece of news. A 3 year old girl found a gun in her home and shot herself in the head. She is in critical condition at this moment. I'm honestly surprised she survived, but I don't know exactly where in the head she shot. Maybe just scraped the side, but still, very scary. What are these parents thinking? "Let's put a gun where my baby can reach! But no, I refuse to buy toys from China because they have lead in them!"

Now onto the good stuff [referring to the title of the post]. Baseball season has started and I have grown quite fond of it. I first watched intently last year when the Boston Red Sox played the Colorado Rockies and owned them in the World Series. This season, I have made a promise to watch as many games of my teams as I can. I have chosen one team from each league: American League will be the Boston Red Sox [obviously because I always cheer for the Boston teams] and the National League will be the New York Mets! Even though both teams are one game behind [3-4 Sox and 2-3 Mets], I have high hopes for both teams and I know they'll do very well. This time if both teams make the World Series, I will NOT place a bet. I don't want another football fiasco to happen again [Patriots vs. Giants and I put money on the Pats -_-"]. So cheer for those two teams even if you don't watch baseball!

Oh I just received news of this. The Juno Awards were tonight [the Canadian music awards]. Feist won the most with 5. Other popular Canadian artists such as Michael Buble and Blue Rodeo picked up a few. Congratulations Canadian music!

I don't know when I'll post again, but I'm hoping sooner than I did last time. If things go well and I get my new phone, I may be able to blog more often because I'll be able to do it anywhere =) See you all next time! Good night, and good luck! [Haven't used that in awhile =) Oh! Congrats to Countdown for making it to its 5th birthday! Many more to come I hope!]