The "Interim Leader" of Honduras Interviewed by Greta

Am I the only one? the only one who thinks this is important?

No, Greta, I also think this is very important.

John Finn, An American Hero

Meet John Finn. At 100 years of age, he is the USA's oldest living Medal of Honor recipient. He is a true American hero, despite his own thoughts that he summarizes in this article by saying, "That damned hero stuff is a bunch crap"

I've talked to a lot of WWII veterans, and to a man, they tell you, usually with tears in their eyes, that the heroes are the ones who didn't come home.

Ben Stein

What a talent. In just a few short paragraphs, the actor, writer, and economist, Ben Stein, who may be best known for his humorously monotonous voice in film and television roles, has written a brilliant thank you note to our President. Ben Stein says "Thank You, Mr. President" for reviving the Republican party. I say to you Mr. Stein, "Thank You!"

Our Nanny, Kathleen Sebelius

It has come to this. The federal government, that already controls too much of our lives, is now telling us how to cough and sneeze. Didn't your mother (your real mother, not the governmental mother) teach you this? Our former Kansas Governor is showing us how she carries out policy in her new job as Obama's HHS Secretary. Thanks, but I'll continue to cough and sneeze the old fashioned way...the way Mom taught me.

Tax Cheats

You've heard the commercials on TV. "I owed the IRS $3 million and the "Tax Advisors" got my payment reduced to $5,000!" Or how about this one, "I'm Roni Deutch (see photo) and I went to bat for this dumb schlumb and got his tax bill cut to pennies on the dollar!" Are you impressed? I'm not.

These scumbags are tax cheats and while we keep paying our taxes, in full and on time, they get away with flaunting the law. Every dollar they don't pay is one honest taxpayers must make up.

Honduras - Update

I'm captivated by the goings-on in tiny, poor Honduras. As this article points out, much of the Honduran economy depends upon trade and good relations with the U.S. and the brave Hondurans are willing to risk all of this in the name of freedom. Their democratically-elected President, Manuel Zelaya, violated the Constitution, was lawfully arrested and thrown out of the country. He appeared to be planning to convert Honduras into a socialist country with supreme powers being vested in him, ala his mentor, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. The U.S. has chosen sides in this dispute, and stunningly, the Obama administration has taken a position against the Honduran people. I'm with the Hondurans. And, yes, I can find Honduras on a map.

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Update: Finally, a Republican speaks up on behalf of Honduras and against the Administration's policies.

The Great White Hope

Anyone who has ever spoken in public has put their foot in their mouth at one time or another. I remember attending a luncheon honoring Topeka Capital-Journal columnist Zula Bennington Greene who was being honored for her 50 years in journalism. I was told she was retiring, and in my remarks, when I mentioned her retirement, she spoke up, with shock in her voice, and said "What? I'm not retiring. Am I being fired?" It took 5 minutes of cajoling and apologizing from the T C-J's publisher, John Stauffer, and me to assure her she was not being retired.

Well, Rep. Lynn Jenkins did it last week when she spoke at a forum in Hiawatha. Asked who the rising stars in the Republican Party were who might challenge Speaker Nancy Pelosi's leadership, Jenkins rattled off a few names but admitted, "Republicans are struggling right now to find the great white hope." She denied she was referring to Barack Obama and she plead ignorance as to the origin of the phrase that came into common usage about 100 years ago after the fighter, Jack Johnson, a black man, became the World Heavyweight Champion.

From Wikipedia: "The term, "the great white hope," reflects the racism and segregation of the era in which Johnson fought. It could be argued that Johnson, the first African American to hold the World Heavyweight Championship title, was the best fighter of his generation. Yet, white reaction against Johnson's win and his very public relationships with white women was so strong that, in 1912, the United States Congress, concerned that scenes of Johnson pummeling white boxers would cause race riots, passed a law making it illegal to transport prizefight films across state lines. "The great white hope" is a reference to the boxer whom whites hoped would finally defeat Johnson."

Perhaps even more embarrassing to Rep. Jenkins was the acknowledgment from her spokeswoman, Mary Geiger, that just one month earlier, Jenkins had co-sponsored a House resolution urging a presidential pardon for Johnson's crimes. The resolution included the offensive phrase, but stunningly, Jenkins' spokeswoman said the representative had not read the resolution before she voted on it.

I can excuse the representative's statement made off-the-cuff at a public forum, but is it a sound defense for her spokeswoman, with plenty of time for reflection, to admit she votes on measures without reading them---even resolutions she co-sponsors? Not reading the bill is what gets our elected representatives into trouble and it should not be tolerated. Another one who doesn't excuse Jenkins is Keith Olbermann who named her the Second Worst Person in the World on September 1, 2009 and interviewed Rep. Maxine Waters regarding her verbal error. The clips to Olbermann's show are provided since he is on MSNBC and you may not have ever heard of Olbermann.

Zack Greinke

Zack is the only reason to track the woeful Royals over the last month of the season. He should win his first Cy Young Award, unless he is jobbed out of it by the East-Coast bias of many of the baseball writers who vote on the award. Yesterday, Boston-based Jackie Macmullan, gave the East-Coast argument for CC Sabathia and against Zack. She said she excuses CC's ERA that is 1 run higher than Zack's because he pitches half his games in the Yankee Stadium homer palace. There are at least two problems with this argument.

No. 1. CC's ERA at home and away is virtually identical. It is 3.48 overall, 3.54 at home and 3. 43 away. Yankee Stadium has a miniscule effect on CC's ERA. BTW, Zack's overall ERA is 2.32.

No. 2. Zack's ERA would be even lower if he ever got to pitch against the most woefully inept offense in the League---the Royals. CC's ERA against the Royals this year is 0.00. 1 game, 7.2 innings, no runs.

Jackie also excused CC because he has to pitch in the "oh-so-tough" AL East. In truth, his ERA against BAL, BOS & TOR is lower than his overall average. His ERA against TB is 5.93 and it is over 6 against Florida and the LAAngels. In the reverse of Zack's situation, CC benefits ERA-wise because he doesn't have to pitch against the best offense in the League---the Yankees. Zack hasn't pitched against the Yankees this year yet, but they play 3 in NY at the end of September. KC should let him pitch in the Big Apple with the Cy Young Award on the line.