2005/6 NFL predictions and, Just one Question for opponents of the war...

Preseason rankings for 2005-

NFC: AFC:
PHI N.E
MIN IND
ATL PITT
CAR SAN DIEGO
SEA NYJ
DAL KC
JAX DEN
G.B. BUFF
N.O. CIN

(wish I could format it better, it's a little jumbled)

Philly beats IND in the Super Bowl, Indy just doesn't have the defense.

Okay, all those who support the American war in Iraq should make a deal with anyone opposed to the war. Offer to answer any 20 questions the opponents wish to ask if they will answer just one: Do you believe we are fighting evil people in Iraq?


That is how supporters of the war regard the Baathists and the Islamic suicide terrorists, the people we are fighting in Iraq.

Because if you cannot answer it, or avoid answering it, or answer "no," we know enough about your moral compass to know that further dialogue is unnecessary. In fact, dialogue is impossible. I pulled this from Dennis Prager's column today.

Our understanding of good and evil is so different from yours (liberal left), there is simply nothing to discuss. Someone who was asked a hundred years ago "Do you believe that whites who lynch blacks are evil?" and refused to answer in the affirmative was not someone one could dialogue with.
Here are the responses you are likely to receive:
1. The Bush administration is just as evil: for illegally invading a country that did not threaten us; for "lying" to get us into Iraq; and because it is a war for corporate profits.
2. Some of those we are fighting may be evil, but not all; some are simply fighting against foreign occupation of their country.
3. We cannot call anyone evil; only God can make such judgments.
I will respond to these "responses," but what is most important is to acknowledge that none of them actually responds to the question. Anyone posing this question to opponents of the war must not let them off the hook. They must answer the question: Do you believe we are fighting evil people in Iraq?
Regarding the issue of judging anyone evil, the best response is a question: Can we judge anyone to be good (not perfect, just good)? Of course we can. But if we can't call anyone evil, we can't call anyone good, and we certainly know that there are good people. If there are good people, there have to be not good, evil people.
Anyone who remains unable to morally judge people who slit the throats of innocent people, who place bombs in the middle of markets, and who murder anyone attempting to help women achieve basic human rights is a moral imbecile.
As for the Bush administration being equally evil, this, too, reveals the responder's values. It is one thing to believe the war was a mistake; it is quite another to regard it as a function of the administration's desire to enrich Halliburton or expand the "American empire," or because Jewish neo-conservatives pushed docile Gentiles -- Bush, Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld -- into waging it "for Israel." Such views are held by people who are so angry and so brainwashed about conservatives that they have lost the elementary ability to identify real evil, which is what Islamic and Baathist terrorists and "insurgents" are.
Finally, the people fighting us in Iraq hate freedom, hate women's rights, hate non-Muslims, and do all they can to murder innocent Iraqis and others in order to undermine the march toward freedom in Iraq. They are not fighting foreign invaders; they are fighting foreign liberators and domestic democrats.
It is worth again noting that none of those responses directly answers the question: Do you believe we are fighting evil people in Iraq?
It is one thing to oppose the war in Iraq; it is quite another to deny the evil of those we fight there. That is what the Left in America routinely does. And that is why the culture war in America is as important as the military war in Iraq.

Great column Mr. Prager!

Under the knife....

....well actually under the 'scope. Recuperating from knee surgery, large tear on meniscus, removal of Bakers cyst and a bone spur. Things are fine, except the bone spur is what is giving me a bit of pain, right under the knee cap, oh well back to work on monday, tuesday at the latest.

I've had time to read, finished Michael Medved's "Right Turns" and am just about done with Tom Clancy's "Clear and Present Danger", both are great reads.

Christopher Hitchens delivers a brilliant essay - in the Daily Standard called "A War to Be Proud Of." His positive accounting of our accomplishments in the Bush administration's proactive war on terrorism includes these items pulled from the article:

1) The overthrow of Talibanism and Baathism, and the exposure of many highly suggestive links between the two elements of this Hitler-Stalin pact. Abu Musab al Zarqawi, who moved from Afghanistan to Iraq before the coalition intervention, has even gone to the trouble of naming his organization al Qaeda in Mesopotamia.
(2) The subsequent capitulation of Qaddafi's Libya in point of weapons of mass destruction--a capitulation that was offered not to Kofi Annan or the E.U. but to Blair and Bush.

(3) The consequent unmasking of the A.Q. Khan network for the illicit transfer of nuclear technology to Libya, Iran, and North Korea.

(4) The agreement by the United Nations that its own reform is necessary and overdue, and the unmasking of a quasi-criminal network within its elite.

(5) The craven admission by President Chirac and Chancellor Schröder, when confronted with irrefutable evidence of cheating and concealment, respecting solemn treaties, on the part of Iran, that not even this will alter their commitment to neutralism. (One had already suspected as much in the Iraqi case.)

(6) The ability to certify Iraq as actually disarmed, rather than accept the word of a psychopathic autocrat.

(7) The immense gains made by the largest stateless minority in the region--the Kurds--and the spread of this example to other states.

(8) The related encouragement of democratic and civil society movements in Egypt, Syria, and most notably Lebanon, which has regained a version of its autonomy.

(9) The violent and ignominious death of thousands of bin Ladenist infiltrators into Iraq and Afghanistan, and the real prospect of greatly enlarging this number.

(10) The training and hardening of many thousands of American servicemen and women in a battle against the forces of nihilism and absolutism, which training and hardening will surely be of great use in future combat.


Moreover, while it's not clear whether or to what extent the American public shares Hitchens' pride in what we've accomplished, Hitchens is undoubtedly correct that the public itself has displayed a fortitude of which it should be proud:

Faced with a constant drizzle of bad news and purposely demoralizing commentary, millions of people stick out their jaws and hang tight. I am no fan of populism, but I surmise that these citizens are clear on the main point: It is out of the question--plainly and absolutely out of the question--that we should surrender the keystone state of the Middle East to a rotten, murderous alliance between Baathists and bin Ladenists. When they hear the fatuous insinuation that this alliance has only been created by the resistance to it, voters know in their intestines that those who say so are soft on crime and soft on fascism.

Blogging sure is cool! More later..........

The Smart Guys.........

Who are they? They are John Eastman, Professor of Law at Chapman University and Erwin Chemerinsky, Professor of Law at Duke University, they are regular guests on Hugh Hewitt's (www.hughhewitt.com) radio program on 960 AM KKNT, I think every wednesday. Hugh's show is on from 3pm - 6pm daily, Hugh is arguably the best guy on radio. Mr. Hewitt has named these guys "The Smart Guys" because........well, they are smarter than hell! John is from the conservative side and Erwin comes from the liberal left and each week on Hugh's show, they battle it out over a variety of topics, it is great radio.

This story was in the news a couple of days ago, but it will be interesting to see how Erwin handles it when he appears on Hugh's show tonight opposing John Eastman.
Here's the story:

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Traditionally, witnesses taking the stand in court are sworn in by placing their hand on the Bible.
But when Muslims in Guilford County, N.C., tried to donate copies of the Koran for courtroom use, judges turned them down.
Chief District Court Judge Joseph Turner says taking an oath on the Koran is not allowed by North Carolina state law, which specifies that witnesses shall place their hands on the “holy scriptures,” which he interprets as the Christian Bible.
“We’ve been doing it that way for 200 years,” he said. “Until the legislature changes that law, I believe I have to do what I’ve been told to do in the statutes.”
But the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the American Civil Liberties Union are challenging the Guilford County Courts.
“This was the first time that we had a judge … going on record and stating unilaterally what is a holy scripture and what is not — what we believe to be a violation of the establishment clause,” said Arsalan Iftikhar of CAIR.
Their case is solid, according to one Duke University law professor.
“I have absolutely no doubt that higher courts, if it gets there, will say that persons of Muslim faith can swear on a Koran rather than a Christian Bible,” said Erwin Chemerinsky. “The case law is so clear here that a person doesn’t even have to swear on a Bible to be a witness so long as they’re willing to promise to tell the truth.”

So help me (insert deity here)? Who are they promising to tell the truth to that matters, Erwin? Under what moral authority are you as a witness being held to your promise to tell the truth?
If you are going to take an oath to the Supreme Being, as believed by a vast majority of Americans, and then suddenly take Him out of the equation, then what is the purpose of taking an oath at all? If the judge catches you, you go to jail?

What if your religion is a radical strain of Islam, and you believe strongly in the tenet of Taqiyya? For those of you who don't know, Taqiyya is interpreted by some sects of Islam as the acceptability, and sometimes requirement, of lying for the greater good of Islam or Allah.
Under this new bizarro-world of swearing in witnesses, a judge could preside over a trial, "swear" in a witness that happens to adhere to a virulent strain of Islam that believes strongly in Taqiyya, and see and hear this witness lie his fool head off. Would he have the moral authority to imprison him for perjury? The left could easily argue not, because punishing the act of lying in this case would violate his right to freely practice his religion.

If you haven't heard the Smart Guy segment before, tune in, because this should be quite interesting.

2008 predictions

Yes, it is early, but here we go.........

Republican nominees:
Pres. - Guliani
VP - George Allen, Bill Frist or Condi Rice.

Senator McCain and Senator Hagel have very little chance of being the GOP nominee because GOP primary voters will be very loyal to GW, and those two senators haven't been.

How's this for a possibility? Cheney will step down in 2007, citing health reasons, Bush will appoint Guliani as VP. Why? The 2008 elections would be the first time in over 50 years that the incumbent party would not have anyone running for Pres., and I don't think Cheney has it in him for another 8 years (even though I would vote for him).


Democrat nominees:
Pres. - Hillary
VP - Gov. Bill Richardson or Sen Evan Bayh

Richardson brings a lot of Washington DC experience, his recent moves on immigration may prove to a big plus for him, considering neither party has done anything on this all too important topic.

Many Democrats may see Evan Bayh as just the candidate they need in the wake of Kerry's recent loss. He is a strong Democrat from a solidly "red" state, i.e., he was overwhelmingly elected to a second term as senator even as George W. Bush overwhelmingly carried his state in the presidential election (as all Republican candidates have in recent presidential elections).

Can't wait to see Kerry, Gore, Howard Dean and John Edwards campaign strategy in 2008, what a pack of crap this group is.

Guliani wins. Hillary is too polarizing and a socialist.

Mark Steyn on Cindy Sheehan.....

Mark Steyn (www.steynonline.com) has another great column (typical), the linked article is at bottom, this one on the Cindy Sheehan circus in Crawford, TX. Here's a paragragph taken out from the article, just shows the hypocrisy and unfocused direction of the left....................

"They're not children in Iraq; they're grown-ups who made their own decision to join the military. That seems to be difficult for the left to grasp. Ever since America's all-adult, all-volunteer army went into Iraq, the anti-war crowd have made a sustained effort to characterize them as "children." If a 13-year-old wants to have an abortion, that's her decision and her parents shouldn't get a look-in. If a 21-year-old wants to drop to the broadloom in Bill Clinton's Oval Office, she's a grown woman and free to do what she wants. But, if a 22- or 25- or 37-year-old is serving his country overseas, he's a wee "child" who isn't really old enough to know what he's doing."

Great analogy Mr Steyn! Here's the whole article........

http://www.suntimes.com/output/steyn/cst-edt-steyn21.html

The Gaza pullout.......

The pullout of the Jews from the Gaza Strip will prove to do much more damage than good to the land of Israel. The argument can be made that protecting the 8,000 Jews living there from the 1 Million or so Palestinians is too costly, however, the last thing ANYBODY should do is give in to the blood thirsty Palestinians and provide them with land. What will happen now is that the Gaza Strip will now become a terrorist state, look for far more bloodshed in Israel.

Hell, thirty years ago, Gaza was just a strip of barren wasteland until the Jews moved in and built it up, providing themselves with a fruitful way of life. These God forsaken Arabs that live there continue to live in poverty, they really have nothing other than looking forward to killing and eliminating the Jews.

How about this? Soon all Jews will be gone from the Gaza Strip, there will only be the blood thirsty Palestinians there, this may be an easier, less intricate way of dropping a few bombs and show the future terror state that they mean business!

If you're going to Ruidoso, NM this weekend..........

.......watch out! Four Gunslingers, Mike Vinson, Chad Dean, Bob Interdonato and Wild Billy Marko from the Phoenix area are heading up to the Inn of the Mountain Gods this weekend for some serious golf, gambling and probably imbibe on some corn liquor as well.....probably? Hell, that's a given. These boys can hang with anybody, on and off the golf course. If you're looking for a game, look these boys up.

Mike Vinson, a solid 3, reminds you of Jay Haas, puts it right down the pipe with his controlled fade, may bore you to death with his lack of erratic shots, but next thing you know, you're 4 down, Bob Interdonato nearly a scratch (who can absolutley crush the ball, 350-380 yard drives are commonplace) is the splittin' image of Jason Werth of the LA Dodgers, Chad Dean has the swing/set-up of Adam Scott is about half club shy of Bob I is a stick as well, he comes in at a 3, and Billy Marko.....well, he's just Billy, the elder statesman of the group.......the silver haired deft shot-maker who will nickel and dime you to death!

So, if you're heading over to Ruidoso this weekend, bring 'yer $$$$, 'yer game and look these boys up!

JG

Back in Saddle.........Who the Blog Readers are.....

Back from vacation in Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico (now doesn't that just flow off your tongue beautifully?), had a great time......as usual, could've spent more time there, weather was 65-85 degrees, rain during the sleeping hours, very fresh, low humidity, very green and beautiful! Here's some blog stats:

Blog visitors are 11 percent more likely than the average Internet user to have incomes of $75,000 or more, and are 30 percent more likely to live in households headed by someone between the ages of 18 and 34, the study found.

During the first quarter, the average blog visitor viewed 77 percent more Web pages than the average Internet user, and spent 23 hours per week online, compared with 13 hours per week for the average user, according to the study. Regarding e-commerce behavior, blog visitors are 30 percent more likely to shop online than the average user.

Proof of the rising popularity of blogs is that about 50 million U.S. Internet users (about 30 percent of all U.S. Internet users) visited blog sites in the first quarter of 2005, up 45 percent compared with 2004's first quarter, according to the study.

Joe Gringo goin' in the basement for 11 days..

Yep, I'm making the trip down to Guadalajara and then to Tequila, leaving tonight, so I'll be out of commission for about 11 days or so. I'll try to post something while I'm there, don't really have plans on what I'll be doing other than this sunday, Mis Suegros (in-laws) are throwing a Carne Asada fiesta at their uncle's restaurant up on a hill over looking Tequila....it is a beautiful place with a great view of Tequila and other mountains! We're planning on getting some horses and going on a camping trip near Tequila Mountain.....THAT will be fun!

Adíos mis amigos........vaya bien!

Joe Gringo

What do the locals drink in Tequila, Jalisco??

Having been to Tequila, Jalisco more than 10 times, I have had the pleasure of spending some valuable time in the local bars, hanging out with quite a few characters there, a lot with a gringo by the name of Allen Nardella. Allen is retired, built like a rock, he married a local beauty about 20 years ago and has lived in Tequila for about the last 17 years or so, just about the only gringo there. Allen was such a character, a full blooded Italian who could keep you up for days with stories of his life and what he was up to in Mexico. Unfortunately, Allen was diagnosed with throat cancer about 2 years ago. I went to see my friend this last April 16 in Tequila. I got to meet with him for about 2 hours on that saturday night, and about 3 hours later, my buddy Allen died.

Allen was so full of life, it really is incredible to see what cancer can do to a very healthy body, it just destroys it. Anyway, I am going to Tequila this thursday night to meet up with the wife and kids who are vacationing/visiting there to see her folks......and when I'm there, I will have one....or....two? of what the locals drink there. And just what is the local drink? It is called a "batanga". You take a tall glass, fill it a bit more than halfway with large cubed ice, fill the glass a little more than halfway with a good white (blanco) tequila, the next 1/3 with mineral water, and then top it off with a splash of coca-cola and a lime. Very delicious and refreshing!

If you get the chance to go to Tequila, go to the bar called "La Capilla" (the Chapel, how appropriate!) and go see Javier, he is the bartender/owner, great man. Tell him that "Negro's" son-in-law (me) sent you, (Javier doesn't speak english, so have a drink or two beforehand and bone up on your spanish). Negro is my father-in-law's knickname, most everyone in Tequila knows him, his real name is Francisco. And if you want THE BEST TACO's IN THE WORLD, you MUST go to "Taco's El Medico" (yah, I know, everyone has had the best taco's, but trust me, these babies are the real McCoy my friends, as much as I love to eat, these taco's are it). This guy has been making tacos in his elaborate cart for more than 25 years, they are awesome. He is usually across the street from the big church (where I was married).

Adios!

Joe Gringo

Al Gore's new debut.......

Al Gore debuts his new internet TV network today.......called Snore TV....err uh.......actually called "Current TV". This is sure to be a snooze-fest of a media source and is aimed at younger viewers covering topics such as jobs, technology, spirituality (??), current events and will be non-partisan (uh.....sorry, not buying that one Al). I bet if you polled everyone under the age of 22, more than 50% could not tell you who Al Gore is.

"We have no illusions about the fact that our product has to be compelling," said David Neuman, Current's programming director. Yah, well having Al Gore at the helm already puts you two strikes in the batter box there Dave, but then again, the creator of the internet may have something up his sleeve.

Remember when this delusional piece of wood told reporters that he and Tipper were the inspiration behind the novel "Love Story"? Turns out that the author, Erich Segal, promptly denied this. Nice try Al.

I don't know folks, a career politician venturing out into the "real world" of work would have me looking at this new venture with much guarded caution. More power to him if he is successful, but his track record over the last 15 years does not bode well for Al.