Mongo’s Musings

Quick Hits on News (from 1/11/08) January 23, 2008

This is one of the first new entries in 2008 from my personal web page. I will eventually make the section I’m using on that page transition permanently over to this blog, but in the meantime I’ll have dual postings. Besides the usual goofy tidbits of info I usually post, much of it may focus some energies on reviewing some newsworthy items – politics, sports, local events, etc. Here’s a few things on my mind right now:

Primaries in Iowa & New Hampshire
While the Democrats seem to be making all the headlines, sadly the Republicans seem to be taking taking a back seat. I’ve always liked McCain and am definitely still on his side, but best to keep an open mind and see what crops up over the next few months. Dazzle me guys! Make me WANT to like you and vote for you already! Unfortunately Bush has done enough damage during his tenure to make the Republican candidates seem like nothing more than afterthoughts…in fact my wife had to ask me if the Republicans were doing anything right now! Well, come election time it will be interesting to see how much “change” our country is really willing to take. In terms of the Dems, Obama certainly has the charisma despite his unarguable lack of experience…but you have to like his attitude. He seems to be more of a moderate which will garner wider appeal, but somehow I don’t see the red states backing him. I still can’t figure out how Hillary Clinton became such a strong candidate. Sure, she’s got the Clinton name and tends to appeal to the most populous gender in our country – women – but do we really want THAT much change? AND, doesn’t she seem to have a track record of indecisiveness and saying very scary things about society and people’s rights? Besides, those emotional tears before the New Hampshire primary, then the obvious plants of people to chant “iron my shirt” to garner further sympathy (and in turn to make her look stronger) was nothing short of pathetic. All politicians pull stunts to get an edge, but c’mon Hillary, not all of us are that stupid to fall for this crap. Sadly, too many people are…

Recent Weather, and the tornadoes in Southern Wisconsin
It’s been pretty wacky in our area since the start of the year. First we get quite a bit of New Years Eve snow – some places 8+ inches – and for a couple days afterwards it gets bitter cold, below the average. Then what happens? Temps start to climb and as of Monday 1/7 hit 65 degrees in Chicago! As of this writing it’s getting colder again, and by next week we’re looking at typical winter weather again. Gotta love this part of the country! Unfortunately this very odd weather wasn’t all pleasant – Southern Wisconsin and some areas in west McHenry county were hit by tornadoes. In January? First time since the 50’s and there was quite a bit of damage to some communities. Fortunately (and amazingly) nobody was killed. Steve Dahl sends out a “thought for the day” before he starts his radio show, and here’s what he had to offer this past Tuesday: “Before I can really start feeling bad for the people in Wisconsin who suffered tornado damage on Monday afternoon, I’m going to need to see a “before” picture.” A bit cold perhaps, but a rather witty statement that really had me LOL!

BCS
Though it was nice to see Ohio State get pummeled in the championship game for the second straight season, I am so sick of this unbelievably ridiculous method of choosing a national champion. The only – and I mean ONLY – major sport that doesn’t decide who’s the best by the play on the field but by rankings and placement in bowl games. I’ve actually heard people defend the system, but I have yet to hear one valid, reasonable statement that justifies how this system makes more sense than a playoff. We all know it’s about tradition and the money involved with the TV and bowl contracts – as the old saying goes, “everything is about money, and if you say it’s not about the money that means it’s ALL about the money!” The one good thing is that there appears to be growing support for a small playoff system – anywhere from 4 to 8 teams – but none of that will happen for a few years, if at all. Anyway, I will probably write a more in-depth article on this in the future…but for now, congrats to LSU for their two-loss championship season.

Steroids – Roger Clemens
Sorry Roger, you are an extraordinary athlete but you’re simply not believable. There’s no doubt that hard work, keeping in shape and strong focus – along with being an extraordinary athlete – is what’s made you a success and helped keep you going into your mid-40’s. However, when your stats started to slide a few years back, and the body was getting older & not performing quite the same, who could fault you for wanting to do what it takes to keep that body in top form and extend your career? Of course I’m not stating outright that I know you took steroids, because I’d be really bummed if your legal team came after me (as you promised would happen for those who made those statements). J It just seems that so much makes more sense since you were accused of it. Barry Bonds was never officially caught either, but c’mon – even an OJ Simpson juror would admit he had to have been juicing for quite a while! Perhaps some of the damage is done by now, so the question that remains is will you go down as one of the all-time greats who made a few mistakes along the way, will you have an asterisk by your name like Barry Bonds, or will you just look pathetic like Mark McGuire. Things will definitely get interesting after the grand jury testimony…