Decision 2010: The Running Diary of a Liberal with the Flu

I love Election Night. Some more than others. This year, I've been home all day - possibly with the flu - dozing in and out of cable news coverage. With a stomach full of chicken soup (for the Democrats, who didn't have the testicular fortitude to run on their own accomplishments) and a head full of mucus (for the Republicans, cause, well, fuck them), I'm hopped up and ready to go. Let the games begin....

6:20 - This tweet from @HotlineJosh: Exit polls show Rubio +21 in #FLSEN pretty much sums up what type of night it's going to be. I know Rubio's going to take this down, the lovely Tea Party anti-immigrant Cuban that he is, but +21 is a bad, bad sign. 

6:22 - Memo to Lester Holt: Lisa Loeb would like her glasses back

6:40 - Chris Von Hollen (D-Ma) with his best "Baghdad Bob" impersonation by basically saying the pundits are wrong and there is no GOP Wave. Meanwhile, Mike Pence (R-IN), who's race has already been called is claiming that the people will be rewarded for their vote by having their favorite corporations and billionaires have their taxes cut. Maybe it will help the Texas Rangers keep Cliff Lee?  

6:48 - I'm very disappointed. I spent 5 minutes looking for FOX News on my television, and when I finally find it, it's a clip of Obama speaking with a massive "UNIVISION" logo emphasizing that this President speaks to Latinos. I was seriously expecting to see Britt Hume doing lines off of Ann Coulter's ass and Sean Hannity pouring champagne over a Ronald Reagan Collector's Plate. For what it's worth: Nobody on their "B" team expects Obama to be be as graceful and dignified as Bush was in 2006.  

6:54 - YES! The Bush Memoir leaks have begun!!!!! This suddenly brought me joy: "President George W. Bush considered dumping Vice President Dick Cheney from his 2004 reelection ticket to dispel the myths about Mr. Cheney’s power in the White House and “demonstrate that I was in charge,” the former president says in a new memoir." Now that's the petulant, spoiled little bitch I remember!

7:00 - OUR FIRST RESULTS. Rand Paul in Kentucky. Important to know this seat is not switching parties. Well, unless you wanna claim it's the crusty old angry party of Jim Bunning to the young, enthusiastic, stupid and racist party of Rand Paul. I'm actually looking forward to his career. Dan Coats in Indiana, that's technically a switch with Evan Bayh (D) retiring. Well, it's a switch if you ever really believed Bayh when he said he was a Democrat. Jim DeMint in South Carolina, easily reelected. His growing more entertainingly dangerous by the hour. Patrick Leahy in Vermont, old reliable. Even if he looks like a shady secret society master of the universe. Georgia, between Incumbent Republican Johnny Isakson and a black guy even I've never heard of is "too early to call". 
The Republicans, who need to pick up 10 seats, have picked up 1. 

7:08 Rachel Maddow just threw Evan Bayh under the bus. Love it. "The Democrats will miss Evan Bayh's senate seat. They won't miss Evan Bayh". Meanwhile, Howard Fineman's basically reporting Rand Paul spent lots of time in Mitch McConnell's bicycle shop.  

7:13 Seeing all these fancy high-tech polling/counting graphics and gimmicks makes me long for Tim Russert and his erasable white board. Then again, everything makes me miss Tim Russert.  

7:19 45% of Indiana voters support the Tea Party. I move that if any state breaks 50% on that issue, they have to secede. In other news, WHDH is reporting that Barney Frank's camp is "worried". That'd be a major score for the GOP along with MSNBC, cause you know that 11PM timeslot is being held for "Let's Be Frank". 

7:44 Rob Portman, former Bush budget guy wins Ohio's Senate seat. Bush's budget guy. Kinda like being Ghandi's chef, no?  

7:50 Comment of the evening courtesty of Paul Begala: We have a black president. May now get an "Orange Speaker."

7:55 MSNBC, you do yourself no favors by continuing to air those 9/11 Truther commercials for Building 7. Even if I agree.  

8:03 POLL CLOSINGS. Ding Dong the Witch is Dead. Christine O'Donnell, you can go away now. Or, make a reality show about Alaska. It's up to you. Joe Biden's seat is safe. West Virginia is "Too Early To Call" with Joe Manchin in the lead. Pennsylvania is too close to call. And in other news, while recapping my day, my wife informed me that I've taken an unhealthy amount of Mucinex today. And Rachel Maddow is still railing against Evan Bayh. I'm beginning to think there's something more to this. If Rachel wasn't out of the closet and Bayh wasn't an android, I'd assume there was a tryst at one point in their lives that didn't end well.  

8:10 O'Donnell strikes again. Democrats took the lone Delaware House Seat. Incumbent Mike Castle left to run for senate, Sarah and her minions blessed the witch, the rest of the state told her to get the F out, and Castle's seat rode the mini wave. Lovely. Sarah Palin cost the GOP Delaware's Senate and House seat. Keep that in mind.  

8:22 More exit poll data. In 1994 and 2010, 56% of people thought the government was doing too much. In 2008, 52% didn't. OK, all you assholes in that 4%: WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT FROM YOUR FUCKING GOVERNMENT? Please stop hijacking our electorate and giving life to people like Sharon Angle and Rand Paul.  

8:25 First African-American Republican elected to next Congress -- AP calls #SC01 for Tim Scott (R).  So, um, does Tim have any nieces or nephews?

8:28 Linda McMahon's down for the count. It's refreshing that in this climate, and with the Democrats running a useless, sneaky, fourth rate candidate in Dick Blumenthal, the voters still can't bring themselves to vote for the woman who may or may not be responsible for the death of Ravishing Rick Rude.  

8:35 West Virginia goes to Manchin. By may calculations, the GOP's got to win basically everything else to take the Senate. In sadder news though, Alan Grayson's going home. That dude told it like it was. Could have used more of him.  

8:50 You know who's useless? Michael Steele.  

8:54 Chris Matthews is schooling Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on what exactly these phantom spending cuts will be. Per this twit: Not social security, not defense, not medicare, not medicaid, extend the Bush tax cuts. I'm actually getting pretty excited about this pending Republican House. My prediction: No Cuts, Lots of Gay Bashing.  

9:00 And we have an Orange Speaker. Another First. 

The Scale of Pretension

A rather enjoyable hillbilly once sang "I ain't big on social graces". I tend to live by that. I can't stand certain societal practices, especially anything that can be traced back to the Victorian era. I don't know if that's where the idea of a three-forked table setting where I'm supposed to start on the outside and work myself in originated or not, but nonsense like that just fills up what I assume is a finite capacity for knowledge. Remember your table-setting etiquette, forget how to change a tire. Or something like that.

I'm also not big on "Bless You". I think well-wishes and blessings should be reserved for severe illnesses and hardships, not allergies. And can we all agree buttoning the top button on dress shirts is not needed? It's awkward and uncomfortable, and it if everybody refused to do it, then it wouldn't look "sloppy". Don't believe me? Look at how every man under the age of 30 all of a sudden decided not to comb their hair anymore. It's no longer trashy looking, but rather the norm. 

I don't mean to be rude and I certainly appreciate the value of being polite. If your invited to somebody's house, you bring them food or drink. Excuse yourself when you burp. Or fart. I've never really seen an old lady struggle to cross the road, but if I did, I'd like to believe I'd help her. Though I ask, what makes crossing the street at a red light any more difficult than navigating a sidewalk with other pedestrians, pets, or bicyclists? Don't bore people. You want to hear about my fantasy football team as much as I want to hear about your kid's art project.

Then there's Pretentiousness. It's something that we're all guilty of. Sometimes we can't help it. Nobody's really immune to being being pretentious. Certainly not me. But if I can channel my inner Emily Post, maybe I can make a contribution to society by laying the groundwork for a Universal Scale of Pretension. (Which yeah, the irony of such a statement is not lost on me, thanks for asking).

For what it's worth, the context is not necessarily that one enjoys these items, activities or beliefs, it's that when one openly and/or frequently discusses them that they warrant consideration on the list. 

1.0 The Flight of the Conchords. Ever get into a conversation with someone who watches this show? Then you tell them that you gave it a chance but it didn't really do it for you? They look at you as if you'd be better of spending your time playing the banjo on a dilapidated porch in Appalachia. Newsflash: This Show Sucks. Freaks and Geeks may also be substituted. 


2.0 Cause Ribbons. I can appreciate - to a degree - somebody who literally dons a legitimate ribbon. Your still probably an asshole, but I admire the effort of actually pinning the ribbon to your lapel, dress, shirt, whatever. Magnetic ones? Stickers, hats and clothing that has the image of a ribbon? Spare us all, please? "I love Children/Soldiers/Insert-Disease-Here Awareness so much that to help support/eradicate it I'm going to wear this shirt or spend $5 on a made-in-china magnet for my made-in-China car." Would that $5 not be better spent being donated to a charity for said designated issue? I thought so.

3.0 Ani DiFranco. I'm not too proud to admit I enjoy some of Ani DiFranco's work. Be you didn't know that. Know why you didn't know that? Cause I'm the one person who enjoys it that doesn't shove it down your throat and end every musical conversation with "Oh without a doubt, Ani DiFranco".

4.0 Aging Sex Symbols. Can we start treating people who talk about how sexy they find Sean Connery or Raquel Welch as what they really are: Borderline Necrophiliacs? Sure, Connery may exude a certain grace or dignity about him and all, but you know how you can cure these feelings? Get your physician drunk and ask him what an 80 year old man looks like naked.

5.0 Being Agnostic. Here's the ultimate irony about people who are agnostic: They're basically telling you they don't prescribe to any religious dogma while confirming in their statement that they in fact do. Agnosticism has gone from a theory to basically Buddhism without the rock gardens. What's wrong with the following answer: "I believe in God, I'm just not religious."

6.0 The Independent Film Channel. As soon as someone begins a sentence with "I saw this movie on IFC last night..." I immediately start thinking about what I'm going to make for dinner for the rest of the month. I'm a film buff to a degree. I like to think I have a pretty good idea of what's a good movie, what's useless junk, and what's a guilty pleasure. But I can't psych myself up for 3 hours of black and white footage of a man in a ladies' nightgown drinking table wine and smoking cigarettes while pacing across a room. In Estonian, with German subtitles.  

7.0 Your Blog. What? You think the rest of the world cares what you consider to be Pretentious?

8.0 Serving Only Hummus. It might be 2010, we all might be trying to eat a little healthier, but for crying out loud, some of us still prefer some onion dip or spreadable cheese product! I'm not saying hummus doesn't have a place on your snack table when you're entertaining guests. I know many people all of a sudden enjoy it. But some, if not most of us, still have a 2009 mentality. We like cheese with our crackers. Dips with our chips. Salsa. Spare me the chickpeas. I'll watch what I eat on my own time, it's not your job to worry about my cholesterol.

9.0 Having More than 1 CD Tower on display. Having one CD Tower says "I like to have my limited music collection easily accessible and near my home entertainment system. I have no need for an mp3 player when I only own 1G of music". Perfectly fine and normal. Having 2 or more says "Look at me! Look at how much music I have! Sure I could condense all of this into binders and books and tuck them away but then you wouldn't be able to see it!" On the same note, if you're under 40, you shouldn't even have a CD collection displayed anywhere except in a box in your closet in case your computer crashes.

10.0 White People using Chopsticks. In no way, shape, or form are chopsticks more utilitarian or easier than the standard fork, knife and spoon. None at all. People love to show it off as if they've won some culinary decathlon. In reality, it's the dining equivalent of being able to make fart noises with your armpits. You look like an ass and it's a useless skill.

Rage For The Machine

I'm one of those fortunate 3 million Cablevision subscribers who's had the honor and privilege of getting caught in the middle of a pissing contest between two little pricks, Rupert Murdoch of News Corp. and Charles Dolan of Cablevision. Going on a week now, I've lost the freedom to watch 2 NFL Games (one of which was the Giants) and all five games of the National League Championship Series, not to mention a ton of useless juvenile programs like Glee and the possibility of seeing local news anchor Ernie Anastos telling folks to enjoy bestiality. Not that I ever watch Glee or any brand - be it local or national - of Fox News. But damnit I pay for the right to do so if I so chose. Almost $200 a month.

Truth be told, I'm pretty friggin livid at the whole situation. I know the "easy" answer is "Well you can go get DirecTv" and be all set. And that's true. However, not only is that rewarding Fox (whom I actually tend to blame a little more in this situation), but it's also forcing unnecessary inconveniences down my throat, be it locking into a long term contract with a company with a reputation for miserable customer service, or drilling holes in my roof, or placing an unsightly satellite dish on the log cabin that I live in, or taking time off from work to schedule service, installation and all that fun stuff that falls within a customer friendly 12 hour window. Just because a couple of billionaires are fighting over each others' millions, I have to be put out? F that.

All in all this just another version of the regular guy taking it on the chin from corporations, a glorious American tradition. I realize that puts me in the corner of about 75% of Americans who are fed up and have had it up to here with the fat cats, corporatists, and other powers that shit on our lives and leave us holding the pooper scooper. America right now is a nation of angry bastards. And not for nothing, we've got every right to be.

But here's the problem: By and large they're backing the same goddamn assholes who are making their lives miserable. It's no secret that in the coming weeks, our government is facing a radical takeover. Fueled by "Tea Parties", the Republican party's on the verge of taking over the House, and at the very least, cutting deeply into the Democrats' once solid majority in the Senate. I shed no tear for the unfortunately large sample of D's that have compromised their principles or sold out to the lobbies and special interests that have in turn soiled their brand and derailed an agenda that was more successful than any other electoral campaign in a generation just 2 short years ago.

Nor does my heart break for President Obama, who spent about 75% of his time in office trying to work with people who don't like him, think he's a Muslim and don't believe he was born in the United States. Could you imagine if George W Bush devoted such time and effort to the working class? Or science? Sorry Barry, tens of millions of young people and first time voters came out in 2008 because they wanted change. Not Bush Light.

The Democratic Culpability however is small potatoes compared to the pending surge of lunatics poised to be sworn in next January. The whole notion of these Tea Parties is both inherently flawed in their representation, and contradictory in what they stand for:

• Disguised as a people's uprising, what's consistently missed in their mainstream media portrayal is that they were organized and funded by the same corporate lobbyists that they pretend to so firmly against.
• Despite claims that their foundation lies in deficit reduction, per a NYT/CBS poll, 57% hold George W Bush in a favorable light, the complete opposite of how us civilians feel about him. And we all know how Dubya felt about deficits.
• They appear to hate big government but they insist that the President better keep his government hands off their medicare.
• The Teabaggers love them some liberty. As long as you're straight. 
• Worst of all, most of these stooges think that Obama raised their taxes!

Also, let's not act like this was some organic people's movement that arose from bailouts and healthcare spending. This was brewing since the moment it became obvious that Obama was going to be President. I can't help but think of an encounter I had in the parking lot of my local pharmacy with an older white woman, say, maybe 65 years old. The car I had at the time had a "New Jersey for Obama" sticker on it, and as I was walking out of it, she approached me. Let's call her "Crusty Old White Bitch". The conversation went like this:

COWB: What does Obama stand for? 
ME: A welcome change domestically and abroad for starters. Economically he says..
COWB: (Cutting me off) What does Change Mean?
ME: In what regard do you want to know? Economics? Health Care? Iraq? Afghanistan? Education? 
COWB: He's no good
ME: Excuse Me? As opposed to the asshole in office now?
COWB: He'll raise your taxes
ME: Yes, if I'm fortunate to somehow make 250G next year, he will. But I don't think that's happening. 
COWB: No, that's a lie. He'll raise all of our taxes
ME: Thats a lie? How many troops did Bush kill with his lies about Weapons of Mass Destruction?
COWB: Your wrong 
ME: Fuck you.

I could go on and on about the inaccuracies in their foundations and beliefs, or talk about how they're basically a sheetless Klan, but that's not the point and what's been done, or is about to be done can't be changed. What we need to think about is why working class Americans appear to have the same psychology of battered spouses. Kick the shit out of us, we like it and we want more. That's the basic message of the Tea Party.

They want a return to the same rules and regulations that allowed corporate America, foreign interests, defense contractors and Big Religion to run rampant over America since 1981. This recession must not have been deep enough. The disparity of wealth must not be wide enough. Wall Street must not be rogue enough. Let's give our corporations even more power over us. 

And I'll still have no reasonable recourse against Fox and Cablevision. 












 

Eddie "Sez": Do The Right Thing Yanks

Tough season in Yankeeland. We lost long time Public Address announcer Bob Sheppard- the Voice of God who only happened to introduce every Yankee Great (and not so great) from the Mantle/DiMaggio era through the Jeter days. Immediately following Mr. Sheppard, George M. Steinbrenner III - he who's made all of this possible - passed away as well. For good measure, a few weeks later Ralph Houk, immortalized by the dude who played D-Day in Animal House in 61* also died. After the extravagant memorials and remembrances for Sheppard and the Boss, the Yanks really had no choice but to throw a black armband on the sleeve for Houk. (But where was the love for Oscar Azocar?)

And just this week, while the pinstripes are trying to figure out how to hit Cliff Lee (or hit anything for that matter) as their World Series title defense is about to come to an untimely end if things don't turn around quickly, we learn of the passing of Freddy Schuman, better known across Yankees Universe (and anyone that's ever seen the "Jump Around" video) as "Freddy Sez". 

Each death impacted the franchise and fans in it's own way. None was easier to absorb than any other (OK, sorry, I can't keep pretending Houk's was the equivalent of the other men, armband or no armband). But there's something about Freddy's passing that touched me, and many others. 

We heard Sheppard. His voice was comforting. It brought us back to our earliest visits to The Stadium, a stadium that doesn't exist anymore. 

We appreciated Steinbrenner. Depending on your age, you either marveled at his transformation from tyrant to patriarch, or you've only known him as the latter. 

But we knew Freddy. Everybody's got a story about "banging Freddy's pan", meeting Freddy in the upper deck, taking a picture with him, or countless other types of memories. I myself have more than I can count at the moment. Freddy was us. Devoted. Knowledgeable. Determined.

It's no secret that over past decade and a half, the Yankees have grown into a global empire: a corporate beast that prints money and fields a competitive, championship caliber team year in and year out. For the most part, we accept it and we like it. If you're over 30 years old, you remember a much bleaker time - the Stump Merrill Days of Andy Hawkins and Wayne Tolleson and a whole bunch of mismatched parts fighting to win 70 games. You much prefer the Empire. 

The trade-off though lies in what we sacrifice. The Old Stadium, where in 1996, you could drive up the day of the game and purchase a Main Outfield seat for $18 has been replaced by an extravagant, magnificent Taj Mahal across the street, where $18 doesn't even get you a parking spot six blocks away. Unless you're doing extremely well for yourself, you're not sitting too close to the action. More than likely, you need a Sherpa to bring you to your seats. A generation of kids from working class families have no shot to watch batting practice and collect autographs, as I did from the likes of Joel Skinner and Mike Pagliarulo. (And David Cone but jeez, looking back I was probably too old to be doing that).

I love the new Stadium. It's fascinating. I think it's an architectural achievement. I think it does a fantastic job blending tradition and modernity. I think it's a welcome escape from the 15 or so new ballparks with generic green walls and seats that tried to replicate Camden Yards and in the process made the retro-park a more aesthetically pleasing version of the 70's dual-use cookie cutter. But it's not my stadium. This stadium, and all that it offers, belongs to the fat cats. 

And that's why  Freddy was so important in these first two seasons of the new joint. Freddy was ours. Our spiritual leader. Our icon. Our memories. Most of all, he knew no income limitations. As Freddy himself said on his own website, "The first three innings I start in the Upper Deck because the fans are so enthusiastic up there."

For Game 3 of the 2010 American League Championship Series - the first home game since Freddy passed away, the Yankees honored him by displaying his pan & spoon, and observing a moment of silence before the first pitch. True class from an organization that is rarely anything but. However, the franchise should take it one step further. Freddy "Sez" Schuman should be honored with a plaque in Monument Park, as a tribute to not only his devotion and loyalty, but as a tribute to all Yankee fans, whom without our financial support and emotional investment, the Yankees would not exist. George Steinbrenner himself had said so on many occasions.

Make no mistake: It doesn't cheapen the legacy of any of the great men in Monument Park if the Yankees do right by Mr. Schuman and dedicate a plaque to him. Aside from the men who have taken the field in pinstripes, there are dedications to Mr. Sheppard, Steinbrenner, owner Jacob Rupert, and broadcaster Mel Allen. 

On top of that, three Popes who have said Mass at all three incarnations of The Stadium are memorialized. 

What's one more Spiritual Leader?

The Legacy of "Freddy Sez" should die with this current generation of fans. If the Yankees can sell a #4 T-Shirt with "S.Carter" on the back to commemorate a recent Jay-Z concert, surely they can find room in their cherished legacy to represent their greatest fan of all time.

-Ed

Let's make sure we get him 1 last ticket.

Imagine

Don't you ever wonder,
Maybe if things had been slightly different
You could be somebody else
Don't you wonder, maybe...
If you took a left turn instead of taking a right, You could be somebody different
-Dave Matthews Band

 Because I can be quite the downer, I just spent the better part of the last hour going through some emails I have filed away from nine years ago. Well, nine years and a day. There was nothing surprising in the folder. The messages basically cover all the necessary stages, from "What the hell is going on?" to "Are you OK?" to "Payback's gonna be a bitch?" to "Are they really canceling football this weekend?" 

What did strike me though, was some of the remarks at the time about The President. You all remember who was President on 9/11. The guy reading "My Pet Goat" with pee dribbling down his leg. Anyway, the people with whom I was exchanging mass-emails with that day, roughly 50-60 different folks on 3 or 4 different chains, they didn't vote for Bush. Didn't like him. Thought he stole it. Thought he was an idiot. Didn't trust him. Like me. And tens of millions others. 

However, on that day, when Bush was mentioned, it was along the lines of "Well, we have to stand behind President Bush now" or "Bush needs to be strong" or "Pray for the President". Generic platitudes. But positive nonetheless. 

Beyond that, I remember the conversations and the official statements. I remember the attitudes. Bush had a 92% approval rating that week (I wear my badge as a Proud Eight Percenter with honor - but not because I automatically distrusted him. No, he lost me with "Dead or Alive"). I remember how the Patriot Act passed the Senate by a 99-1 margin.

Then I started thinking about two separate, but very similar hypothetical situations. What if the Supreme Court had ruled to allow the votes to be counted, and Al Gore was President that day? Or, what if the attack happened in September 2009 instead, under Barack Obama. (Granted, that's a stretch because the events of 9/11 directly led to Obama's rise). But the point is - if the President during the attacks was a Democrat, would The Heartland, The Deep South, and The Republican Party stand so firmly behind the President in a time of such crisis? 

Sadly I believe -nay, I know - it wouldn't be the case. After 2 FAILED terrorist attacks last winter, Obama was accused of being soft on terrorism. Even though the towers fell on their watch, and even though they grossly and criminally mishandled the response to the attack, for some reason, these chicken-hawks think that they own the copyright on national security. They think they own it on the economy too, and they're track record is equally as disastrous there. So delusions of grandeur seem to be a necessary character trait for aspiring conservative leaders. 

Keep this in mind the next time some asshole like Glenn Beck or Sarah Palin talks about "Restoring" honor or dignity or patriotism - three qualities that they stand in direct opposition to. These people only care about their version of America. They stand behind the President only when it's the guy they voted for. They don't, have never, care about more than the bare minimum amount of Americans: however many it takes to get to 271 Electoral votes and/or House Districts.  

It's a well known, indisputable fact that Bush had a globe's worth of goodwill and unheard of levels of domestic support and he squandered it. But they don't care about that, because they don't care about you, or the globe, or the World Trade Center. Just their psychotic agenda, and nothing more. It's sad that 9 years later, on September 10th (or as it's known in the Giuliani household, "Christmas Eve") that this agenda, despite failing so obviously and in such a visible manner, is not only still breathing, but on the brink of a return. 

A mildly retarded man once said "fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again" 

Not the case.

Tony Dungy: Liberty & Justice For Some

I've never been a big fan of the New York tabloid media critics. Always seemed rather senseless to me growing up. I didn't need Phil Mushnick to tell me that Mike Francesa was arrogant or Ralph Kiner was senile. Every time I catch an interesting headline from them these days and see what they have to say, I usually feel the need to shower afterward. Except this time. I caught a piece where Bob Raissman (who looks like he's trying to sell me tickets to a 1932 circus in the dust bowl) calling out Tony Dungy in response to a little quarrel Dungy's having with a local blowhard. Raissman points out:

Dungy has a history of passing judgment on others and criticizing their life-styles. In 2007, the then-Colts coach came out against same-sex marriage, supporting the Indiana Family Institute, which sought to make gay marriage illegal in the state.


Back then, in an interview with USA Today, Dungy claimed he wasn't "anti-anything." He said: "We're not trying to downgrade anyone else. But we're trying to promote the family - family values the Lord's way....I'm on the Lord's side."

Personally, I think marriage equality is the defining civil rights issue of our day. I also believe it's inevitable. Conversely, I believe in this novel concept that people can worship whatever or whoever they want equally. Whether it's a distorted and manipulated version of Jesus that apparently hates gays even though he spent his last three years in the company of men, or some prophet while you're chilaxin in a former Burlington Coat Factory in lower Manhattan. Seriously, worship whatever the hell you like, just don't shove it down my throat (and tone down the bumper stickers too while you're at it).

Having said all that, it's 2010. It's allegedly an age of not only accountability, but (often over the top) political correctness. A few years back, ESPN kicked Rush Limbaugh and his drug abusing fat ass to the curb for inappropriate comments about quote-un-quote-black quarterbacks. Conversely, NBC's decided to prominently feature Dungy, who had the remarkable skill to win one lone Super Bowl with arguably the greatest QB of all time in his prime, as a key analyst in their crowded NFL studio show.

Yes, I realize that this happened almost 3 full years ago. Yes, I realize the whole point of the article is Dungy's ridiculous complaints about a coach using naughty words. Yes, I realize that for reasons unbeknown to me, certain sects of Christianity do more to combat homosexuality than they do child molestation. But just because this slipped under the radar doesn't mean it should be swept under the rug.

What Dungy was arguing for in 2007 was a law to actually prohibit individual freedoms. And they were freedoms enjoyed by every other slice of the electorate. We're not talking about the right to indulge in crystal meth. We're not talking about the right to drink and drive. We're talking about a basic fundamental human right enjoyed by hundreds of millions Americans - that harms absolutely no one . But Tony Dungy's Lord says no.

And that's great. I'm glad Dungy has a direct line to his Lord and knows what side he's on. He may believe that he's doing the Lord's work but he's got to keep in mind, 60 years ago, people who fought tooth in nail believed that they were doing the Lord's work in an attempt to prevent Dungy's relatives from marrying white people.

For what it's worth, a decade ago, CBS knew enough to withdraw their NFL Coverage contract offer to another bigot hiding behind "The Lord" when he made equally offensive statements about gays and lesbians. 

I don't think Tony Dungy should lose his job. I didn't think Don Imus should have either. We're too quick to call for resignations these days. Freedom of Speech (and if you want to call bigotry "Freedom of Religion" fine) is not only meant for comfortable speech. It's up to the people to view who they want to view, listen to who they want to listen too. Plus, who the hell am I, just some clown with an opinion. I just don't think people really know the real Tony Dungy. They know how adherent he is to his faith, but maybe that's the bigger issue. Maybe we should focus less on what's being taught at a Madras in Indonesia and more on what's being preached in our own zip codes. 

The popular perception of Dungy is this wholesome, do-good, compassionate man and I believe in his heart that he is. He's mentored some of the NFL's problem children. He's counseled  prisoners and the downtrodden and that genuinely is good work and he's an example in that respect that you and I can learn from. But his views on equality and a truly More Perfect Union with Liberty and Justice for All is dropped pass in the end zone. It's not something we should elevate. It's not something worthy of celebration. And it's certainly not something we should consider compassionate.

Riddle Me This: Barack and Christlam

On the way to work this morning, for no reason whatsoever, I started to think about the countless questions that I have - many for some time now - that remain completely unanswered. At least in a satisfactory way. I remember as a youngling, when I found myself puzzled, I could do one of two things: ask somebody, or go to the library. 

Being raised in a Catholic home and having attended a Catholic grammar school, ask someone inevitably meant bracing for the response "Because that's the way God wants it". Looking it up usually meant referring to either my father's Encyclopedia collection (that, no lie, when listing the Presidents, had "John Fitzgerald Kennedy: 1961 -" and well, didn't refer to African-Americans in a way I'm comfortable repeating on the internet) or going to a slightly (not by much) more updated library. 

But the internet changed all that. Or, at least it was supposed to. Still, things remain that not even Google will answer. I'm not talking about the philosophical ("Why are we here?") or the conspiratorial ("Who killed Kennedy?"). Simple questions that nobody has taken the time to answer for me, despite my ranting, and what I believe to be sensible queries into the times we live in. 

So, in borrowing a phrase from my favorite villain on my favorite horrible TV show as a kid,  I ask you, The Internet.... 

Riddle Me This: How can the same people who decried Barack Obama's Christian Pastor Jeremiah Wright now say with a straight face that they believe Obama is a Mulsim? 

I'm serious. For years my wife's favorite gripe about BushCheneyCo was "their inability to hold an opposing thoughts". Well my dear, the right wing has finally taken "holding opposing thoughts" to the extreme.

They spent the better part of 2008 screaming about "Black Liberation Theology" that allegedly took place at these Christian churches in the inner city. Now, 33% of Republicans think that the President is a Muslim. 

I'm not stupid. I know these people treat Muslim as a derogatory slur that they're somehow - in ways that they're too feeble-minded to understand - allowed to say in public (as opposed to what you and I absolutely know they call him behind closed doors). It's part of the klan-sans-sheets nature of the Tea Party. But I would think that even these simpletons could think back to their outrage at Reverend Wright and realize "Hey? Didn't I kill this guy for baptizing his children in the fucking name of Christ Jesus in this man's church?" 

Obviously we're dealing with some low-dangling fruit here. The same folks don't believe he was born in the United States. And I get that there's some backlash because they may feel we disrespected their President who broke the whole world and all. But I don't ever recall anybody on the left ever saying "George Bush is a Genius" after years of saying the complete opposite. 

So "cowboy up" teabaggers. How can one man be simultaneously be a Muslim and a White-Hatin' Christian? 

At least one inquiring mind wants to know.