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22 years, all with Detroit. Great guy, but it’s time.

Have fun in retirement, Steve, and thanks for all the memories.

Link

Face for radio? Hell no, that boy needs to be on TV.

Marc Miller, who pilots the #8 Carhartt CASCAR car, needs your help. Marc is trying to get on a new reality television show called “Racin’ for a Livin’” and you can help put him there. Go to www.voteformarcmiller.com and cast as many votes as you can; seriously, the rules allow that. Just don’t script anything to automate the voting process; I’m pretty sure they strap Marc to the hood of the Bad Driver’s car during the taping of the show if you get caught doing that.

Marc is an old friend of mine and a great guy. All the other people in that contest are Dixie Chick-lovin’, Jeff Gordon-supporting, latte-sippin’ posers. Ok, maybe not, but Marc is the best person on that list and deserves your vote. If you’re from New Orleans, Ann Arbor, or even San Diego, head over to www.voteformarcmiller.com and give some love to Marc.

For full disclosue, I’m what used to be called Conservative. With the political landscape what it is, I think I’m now more Centric or possibly even Liberal. It’s so hard to tell with “peacenik/hawk” and “treehugger/redneck” thrown around so casually these days.

That said, I’m nowhere near as bat-shiat insane as either side of the aisle when it comes to the blogosphere (yeah, I used that term; suck it). From Kos to Reynolds, Totten to Huffington, the vitrol and, dare I go for the trifecta, idiocy at either end of the pole is staggering.

Enter today’s example. Power Line, a decidedly right-wing blog, posted a photoshop image of what the New York Times would have looked like in 1776 in light of the present-day New York Times story on the governments plan to troll financial records looking for “terrorists”. (Link to editorial at IHT because the Times still doesn’t get the Internet.)

Go see the image here, but please come back for important information.

See it? Ok, it’s funny, satirical… good political cartoon. The fictional Times of ’76 is subverting the heroic rulers by exposing their super-secret plan. Good corollary to today’s situation, good tie in for Independence Day and the Founding Fathers, etc, etc, etc.

Except the whole thing is wrong. In 1776, the Colonies were still under the rule of King George. The Times wouldn’t have been subverting the government, they would have been helping the government by outing terrorists in the Colonies.

Just as the Times is doing today. They aren’t helping terrorists, they’re exposing (at best) questionable programs that take away your rights. The program in question is not warranted or sanctioned. It’s borderline illegal and a whole foot into immoral. When you see commentary like this picture, you start to understand why one side doesn’t get why programs like this, while potential effective, aren’t good for the country in the long run.

I just realized that the last two posts are about “idiots”. Apparently I’m feeling grumpy of late.

For the six of you who haven’t seen this yet, Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) was defending his vote the other day on the Net Neutrality bill (the bill that will allow Internet service providers the legal power to censor what you can and can’t see based on their profit margins). Sen. Stevens, (Idiot-Alaska) decided to give all of us a primer on how the Internet works. This is a gem, so get set for some good times:

I just the other day got, an Internet was sent by my staff at 10 o’clock in the morning on Friday and I just got it yesterday [The next Thursday].

Because it got tangled up with all these things going on the Internet commercially…

They want to deliver vast amounts of information over the Internet. And again, the Internet is not something you just dump something on. It’s not a truck.

It’s a series of tubes.

And if you don’t understand those tubes can be filled and if they are filled, when you put your message in, it gets in line and its going to be delayed by anyone that puts into that tube enormous amounts of material, enormous amounts of material.

If you think I’m joking, here’s a transcript and here’s the audio (mp3).

Next up, Fred Upton. Mr. Upton, for those that didn’t know, is an avid gamer. It’s true! Here, here’s a quote to prove it.

“I’m a gamer myself. I was an expert in Pong; that was a great game. (sounds of Pong ball being hit)”

Yes folks, during a sub-committee meeting being recorded by video and still cameras, audio recording devices too numerous to list here, and watched by millions of gamers (courtesy of the Daily Show and YouTube), the Representative from Michigan’s 6th district (thanks Kalamazoo) made the Pong sound. And, not only did he make the Pong sound, he made it in support of a statement that he was a gamer. Excuse me while I get an aspirin.

These are the people who make LAWS about new technologies, friends. These are the people sent to conceptualize a world different from today and then make rules and regulations that encourage innovation, advancement, and freedom. Time to keep closer tabs on your representatives, everyone. They’re taking away your freedoms and they don’t even know what they’re talking about.

Angel Maria Villar, the chairman of FIFA’s referees panel, is an idiot; starts to explain the officiating at this years World Cup. Bravo to the World Cup Blog for pointing out Villar’s latest attempt to smoke-screen the unbelievably bad performance of his refs.

In between hits of whatever drug he is taking, Villar described the situation in the Middle East as pleasant, credited Santa Claus for his on-time delivery rate this past Christmas, and predicted that typewriters would soon replace computers as the preferred workplace communication tool of the 21st Century.

One word for the Portugese.

Shameless.

I’m with Kottke on this one; this is a load of crap big enough to fill the stadium at Nurnberg.
Why Diving Makes Soccer Great – In defense of soccer’s biggest villains. By Austin Kelley

73rd minute.. this game is a farce. A fist fight almost broke out on the pitch.
Where the hell is FIFA? The ref just carded the POR goaltender while a POR player WAS DOWN IN THE BOX. This is absolutely rediculous.

77th minute… 16 yellow cards.

What the hell? Cocu earned that card, not Deco

(sorry to anyone who actually reads via RSS.. this suddenly became a live blogging)

Holy SAVE by Ricardo!

85: In answer to a question asked by the TV commentators; why would you throw Ruud into a game where yellow is raining down like candy at a parade?

87: Kuyt must be pulled; there is no excuse to have such an inexperienced player in a key spot at this point.
I retract my initial response to the commentators; Ruud should appear..

89: About time Kuyt turned for a shot.

90: That was NED’s last, best chance, blown by Kuyt. Normally, not a great attempt like that is awesome to see. In the 90th, down by 1, it’s essential. Someone with 21 caps should make that.

90+5: And the cards continue to fly. 16 cards, ties the record for most in one game.

90+7:  NED lose; POR are thru to face England. A great match ruined by terrible, awful officiating.

I realize that NED may lose this match, but for both teams let me say this. This is, without a doubt, the most poorly officiated game bar none. There have been 9 yellows and 2 reds and it’s not even the 66th minute. The Russian referee Ivanov has completely lost control of the game and is missing key calls in both directions.

That said, the Dutch have lost this game on their own to this point. Ruud is warming up, so here’s hoping something happens soon. Kuyt should have been pulled at the 35th minute; van Der Sar  deserves a medal.