Carnival Of The Libertarians - Resurrected

I'm the proprietor of the "Carnival Of The Libertarians" franchise. 

I tried to keep it going for a year or so, but got so much non-Libertarian blogspam that I gave up on the project. 

Here's an attempted resurrection of Carnival Of The Libertarians.  If this gets any significant traffic, every few weeks I'll repost what I think are the best liberty-minded blogs, articles, essays and rants. 

*************

Brian Micklethewaite of Samizdata has an excellent idea about how to ensure that our governments have read the constitution. 

Guess who is the nation's largest drug smuggler?  The DEA.  

An investigation conducted in Mexico found the American government allowed that country’s largest drug cartel, Sinaloa, to operate without fear of persecution. That groups is estimated to be responsible for 80 percent of the cocaine coming into the country through Chicago. In exchange, the leaders of Sinaloa provided the DEA information on rival gangs.

 "But in a Libertarian society, who would decide which cartel gets to be the favorite?"

The Verge has a great piece on the irony of one Nobel Peace Prize winner hunting down another Nobel Peace Price nominee. 

If you've ever wondered about the ratio of legitimate constitutional legislation vs. bureaucratic "guidance" that you can be fined or jailed for not following, just go here. 

If you are a Libertarian, you are probably tired of hearing about the greatness of Sweden's healthcare system.  Well, Sweden's healthcare system is now moving toward what the U.S. system just abandoned, while the U.S. is moving towards what Sweden has given up on trying to make work.  Or something.

The main problem is naturally due to the central planning of health care, whether or not it is planned by regional “competing” governments. While access and quality are guaranteed by national law, Swedes usually have to line up for care. As noted above, wait times may be days or weeks for appointments with GPs while several (or many, and increasing) hours for ER care, but the real problem is apparent in specialist care such as surgery where wait times are not uncommonly several months, or even years.

Reason Magazine displays Hillary Clinton's abysmal ignorance on The Drug Trade, The Drug War, and therefore, just about everything else. 

Holy Nullification, Batman !!!  The New Hampshire Legislature is considering a bill that would mandate that juries be instructed that they could vote to acquit if they disagreed with a law. 

What's the difference in a Statist and a Libertarian?  Just 30 days of reading. 

I love me some NFL, and I look forward to the day when I can legally bet on some NFL.  But according to Reason Magazine, no city should ever do anything to attract the NFL. 

Sports stadiums not only appear to be a bad deal for tax payers, but having a franchise could also hurt loyal fans by making it difficult to watch their hometown team play thanks to the expansion of sports broadcasts and the complexities of NFL blackout rules. 

“If you have a team in Los Angeles and it doesn’t sell out, they can blackout the game in Los Angeles which means you often lose games…and as a fan there’s no payback in that,” says Daniel Durbin, Director of the University of Southern California’s Institute of Sports Media and Society. 

Though local boosters like LaBonge may continue to dream of having the NFL in the city, it’s becoming increasingly clear that not having a team may be the best deal for tax payers and fans alike. 

Go here and you'll learn that our government has spent $3,000 per American (i.e. $6,000 per taxpayer) to rebuild Afghanistan.  The article doesn't mention how much we spent to tear it down prior to the rebuilding. 

Here's something else on the NFL Cronyism Trifecta - tax exemptions on earnings, free stadiums, and to put some icing on the cake, the city and state provide them with free security guards. 

My father used to tell me that "even a blind hog can find an acorn every now and then".  That bit of wisdom even applies to Paul Krugman, the New York Times Obama apologist.  Go here to see him actually get something right. 

Colbert nails it on U.S. foreign policy. 

A professional drug warrior goes batshit crazy over the mere idea that he might no longer be paid to interfere in the lives of other people. 

Here's Barack Obama's best debate performance.  Ever.  He's debating some dude named Barack Obama. 

Finally (and yes, this is bait for an Instalanche) here's Glenn Reynolds comparing marijuana legalization and the dismal failure of Obamacare. 

That's all, folks !!






 

A quick prayer for The Super Bowl

God, I know that I am a sinner, and that I do not live according to your Word, whether it's the Torah, the Old Testament, the I Ching, the New Testament, the Book of Mormon, or Dr. Atkins' Weight Loss Revolution. 

But God, I'm just asking for one little thing.....

Obama's will give his State Of The Union Speech on Tuesday night.  His typists are working on it now. 

Please have the Teleprompter Programmers come down hard on Global Warming.  President Obama, much like Ron Burgundy, will read whatever the Teleprompter Programmer puts on the thing. 

Let Obama stand before Congress and the nation and ask for money to fight warming.  Let him denounce the internal combustion engine.  Let him lobby for windmills, recycling, green bullshit, and carbon taxes. 

And then..... let it snow. 

May it snow enough to ground the wheels of D.C. to a halt. 

Let it snow some more. 

There is already a good chance that the Super Bowl will be postponed.  (Here's what the Meadowlands stadium looks like today.) 

 God, I ask this in your son's name, and in the name of Allah and Mohammad and Buddha and Dr. Atkins.  May the rescheduled Super Bowl also be postponed because of snow and cold and freezing and ice. 

May the Gore Effect make itself known throughout our land, and may your people break out in giggles.  Because it'll be so damn funny. 

Amen, Ameen, Shalom, Namaste, and we all bow to the Buddha nature that is within you. 

*******************

Everyone but God,  please go here for a few weather predictions and possibilities. 

Bootleggers and Baptists at the Super Bowl

This was the most inspiring commercial of yesterday's Super Bowl.  It shows Budweiser heroically overcoming the nanny state, bringing the people the Budweiser that they deserve. 



This is a link to a site showing how much money Budweiser has given to "Partnership For A Drug Free America", the liquor lobby's anti-marijuana political action committee.  They spend most of their time lobbying for marijuana prohibition. 

Here's a video of a guy discussing how it all works. 




Hit the "Bootleggers And Baptists" Post Label below for more info on the concept. 
(Budweiser sells a vice.  They are the bootleggers.  "Partnership For A Drug Free America" represents the Baptists.  Both sides need each other for support and funding.)   

More pictures of our ESPN set for the Super Bowl in Indianapolis

Several days ago, I posted some pics of the ESPN set that my employer built for today's Super Bowl in Indianapolis. 
It is AWESOME. 

Here are a few more shots of the completed product. 

(That's the "Mike And Mike In The Morning" group on the far right.) 

This isn't a working fireplace, but it plays one on TV.  Those are clear acrylic cubes with lighting beneath. 
Once again, totally awesome. 

Here's a pic that I found on another site.  I think that's Jon Gruden on the far left, Steve Young in the middle, Jerry Rice second from the right (?), Michael Strahan on the far right,  and I'm not sure about everyone else. 

If you need to dress up your retail store, your shopping mall kiosk, or your broadcast stage for the greatest athletic event in the world, call Infiniti Decor in Godley, Texas. 1-800-810-9971


Go Giants.  Go Eli Manning.  Defeat the forces of evil.  (Preferably in digits ending with 3 for the Giants and 0 for the Pats.  Long story.) 

The ESPN set we built for the Super Bowl in Indianapolis

My employer owns a subsidiary called Infiniti Decor.  They specialize in retail and convenience store custom design and millwork.  (Hit the link to see more of their fine work.) 

Here are a few generic samples:

They can do "theme" stores, featuring the location of the store, Mississippi Delta Blues, NASCAR, fresh produce, the local university, or in some situations, beer. 

They've done these types of installations all over the United States. 

Last year, ESPN contacted Infiniti to design and construct their downtown Fort Worth booth for the Super Bowl.   Despite all of the ice and snow, the thing held up well. 

Then Infiniti Decor built the ESPN set for the Indy 500. 

They did a good job on the Indy 500, and this year's Super Bowl just happens to be in Indianapolis. 

Here's what ESPN is bringing to the table for this year's Super Bowl:

■More than 110 hours of television and radio programming;
■More than 25 on-air commentators (hosts, analysts, reporters and contributors) on site in Indianapolis – in all, an analyst team of former players and coaches with a combined 19 Super Bowl rings in 29 appearances in the NFL’s biggest game;
■Content across 18 ESPN platforms: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Classic, ESPN HD, ESPN2 HD, ESPNEWS HD, ESPN Deportes HD, ESPN International, ESPN.com, ESPN Radio, ESPNRadio.com, ESPN Deportes Radio, ESPNdeportes.com, ESPN The Magazine, WatchESPN, and ESPN Mobile properties;
■Super Bowl XLVI aired live in more than 68 million households in 162 countries and territories via ESPN International.

The on-site operation includes:

■A 62-by-40-foot outdoor set, enclosed in glass and overlooking Lucas Oil Stadium;
■A 24-by-48-foot demo field;
■Aerial views via a “flycam” that spans 300 feet and is suspended 30 feet in the air;
■Two 16-by-9-foot LED screens for fan viewing of ESPN’s on-site programs; and
■Two pod camera locations at Pan Am Plaza that showcase the downtown skyline, Union Station and the stadium.

And we're building a lot of it !!!

Here are some pics of the framework.  I'll post more as they dress it out with footballs, memorabilia and Talking Heads. 
I love this stuff.  Love it, love it, love it. 

If you need to dress up your retail store, your shopping mall kiosk, or your broadcast stage for the greatest athletic event in the world, call Infiniti Decor in Godley, Texas.  1-800-810-9971

One other thing....GO GIANTS !!!  GO ELI MANNING !!! 

An explanation of the lyrics of "The Star-Spangled Banner"

Have you ever had the experience of growing up with a song, having it become part of your sub-conscious, and not understanding or even thinking about what the lyrics mean until you are much older? 
I think that's how a lot of people experience "The Star-Spangled Banner".  How many people still know what a "rampart" is? 
There's been a lot of buzz about the song ever since Christina Aguilera butchered it during Super Bowl Disaster Week in Arlington. 
As a public service, I would like to offer an explanation of the lyrics to our national anthem. 

The song was written by amateur poet Francis Scott Key.  He was held captive on a British warship during the War of 1812, and had a front row seat for the bombardment of Baltimore's Fort McHenry.  As humorist Richard Armour once explained:

In an attempt to take Baltimore, the British attacked Fort McHenry, which protected the harbor. Bombs were soon bursting in air, rockets were glaring, and all in all it was a moment of great historical interest. During the bombardment, a young lawyer named Francis Scott Key wrote "The Star-Spangled Banner", and when, by the dawn's early light, the British heard it sung, they fled in terror. 

The thing requires a vocal reach of an octave and a half.  As many a vocalist will tell you, if you start off in too high of a first note, you're going to be in big, big trouble when you get to The Land Of The Free. 


That's all the preliminaries you need.  Here are they lyrics. 

O! say can you see by the dawn's early light,

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,

It's morning.  The only light you have to see by is the dawn's, and the dawn's light is early.  Pointing out that the dawn's light is early seems redundant, but it was necessary for the meter and the rhyme scheme. 
We're looking for something that we saw last night, something that we were so proud of that we hailed it, even though it was dark (twilight). 
So an evening has passed.  Something was there last night, and we're wondering if it is still there the next morning. 

Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?

The thing we're looking for had stars and stripes, and it was capable of "streaming gallantly".  Do you know what the thing was?  Do you?  Give up?  Ok, the thing with stars and stripes, capable of streaming gallantly, the thing that was there the night before but could not be seen clearly the next morning, it was our flag !!

All through the perilous (dangerous) fight (for Fort McHenry), Francis Scott Key watched the flag from the other side of the ramparts (a type of defensive wall).  Got it?  The flag is flying on one side of the rampart, and you're on the other side in a boat with Francis Scott Key every time you sing this song.  You're taking part in an 1812 battle reenactment. 

Fans of the Dallas Stars hockey team put particular emphasis on the word "Stars" when singing the anthem. 

And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;

Remember, it is still nighttime but the bloody British are still bombing the daylights out of Fort McHenry.  What are they using?  Rockets.  Bombs. 
What do the rockets and bombs produce?  Glare.  Bursts. 
Why are the glare and the bursts important?  The rocket's red glare and the bombs bursting in air do nothing but provide enough light to prove to everyone on the ship that the U.S. flag is still flying over Fort McHenry. 
This couplet is a little jab at the declining effectiveness of British Sea Power, proven true later at Dunkirk and the overkill in the Falkland Islands. 

Fans of the Houston Rockets basketball team put particular emphasis on the word "Rockets" when singing these lines.  Fans of the Cincinatti Reds baseball team put particular emphasis on the word "Red" when singing these lines.  The remaining fans of the Dallas Cowboys football team put particular emphasis on the word "Bombs" when singing these lines, because that's what their team has done ever since coach Jimmy Johnson abandoned Jerry Jones. 

O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

The last two lines are less complicated.  The poet is simply asking if our flag with stars all over it is still waving over his country. 
And every time we sing the song, that's where we end it.  We never answer the question.  Francis Scott Key is stuck on the boat in Baltimore harbor, with nothing to eat but truly godawful British food, wondering if the flag is still flying. 
UNLESS YOU SING THE REMAINING VERSES, OUR NATIONAL ANTHEM MAKES NO FREAKIN' SENSE !!!! 

Look at the first verse of Martin Luther's "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God".  If you just sing the first verse, and nothing else, it's like you're singing a song about the power of Satan. 
Singing the first verse of The Star-Spangled Banner without singing the rest is like singing the Beverly Hillbillies song, but stopping before you get to the part where Ol' Jed's a millionaire. 

So why don't we ever sing the other verses? 
Give me time.  I'll get there. 
Here's the second verse, the one that ends the suspense. 

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,

Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,

I'm not sure if this verse is referring to the American army reposing or the British army reposing (haughtily).  I don't think it matters.  The important thing is that it's still misty and things are only "dimly seen". 

What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?

Now we're getting somewhere.  Something is blowing fitfully in the breeze on the "towering steep" hill.  Half concealed, half revealed....

Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:

we're getting ready for the big reveal here....what is it....what is it....???


'Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

I think I'm as patriotic as the next person, but I'm glad I got that over with.

So why don't we ever sing the rest? 
Because the third verse is kind of embarrassing, especially in light of the "land of the free" business. 

In the War of 1812, the British augmented their army with divisions of mercenaries and freed slaves.  These slaves were promised an opportunity to shoot their former owners if they would help out the redcoats. 
Heck, that's a bargain I would have probably taken. 
Now, look at the third verse in that light: 

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore

That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.

The British army stunk up the place with their foul footsteps, but we used their blood to wash the place out. Kinda militaristic and barbaric, but we've all felt that way before, haven't we? 
Now for the money quote:

No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:

Yeah, if you try to create an army with hirelings (mercenaries) and slaves (ours), then you're going to get what you paid for.  But by contemporary standards, bragging about a military victory over an army of freed slaves makes the closing couplet into a freakin' joke:

And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Oh...The...Irony.

Let's move on again.  The fourth verse has created all sorts of mischief.  The sentiments have been inappropriately placed in the mouths of our Founding Fathers, created lawsuits about The Ten Commandments in our courtrooms, and have even shown up on our currency.  As far as I can tell, this is where one of our American slogans makes its first appearance:

O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand

Between their loved home and the war's desolation.

As long as the freemen are (ahem) white. 

Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!

That would be a strong Constitution, giving power to the people and acknowledging that we are governed by our own consent.  Our government works for us, not vice-versa.  If higher Powers were involved, it was in pounding that basic concept into some of our heads. 


Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,

I don't have time to deconstruct that one.  Gotta be at work in thirty minutes.  Let's just say that we've had a long, long run of Presidents who could find a "just cause" for war by looking into a kindergarten dispute about nappy time.   

And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."

It wasn't our motto until Francis Scott Key said that it was.  End of story.  Why couldn't the boys at Fort McHenry just sink his damn boat? 



And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave
Done.  Complete.  Explained.  Hope this has helped. 

"At the twilight's last reaming"

Most people secretly want their enemies to crash and burn. 
Then there's taking it too far by wanting to dance on their graves. 

That's kind of how I feel this morning.  I've been whining and griping and moaning about Jerry Jones and the City of Arlington stealing land for stadiums for a long, long time.  I'm going to say it.  I feel sorry for Jerry Jones.  Lord have mercy, what a mess. 

A few days before the Super Bowl, I posted pics of the disastrous weather, the unlikely rolling power blackouts, and all the other signs that Jerry and Arlington were sinners in the hands of an angry God. 

I suggested some purifying rituals that Jerry could undergo.  He apparently did none of them. 

Here's the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on the game day meltdowns.  Or lack of melting.  Whatever:

These weren't the text messages, phone calls and e-mails that Bill Lively had envisioned.

On Monday, the president of the Super Bowl Host Committee and his staff expected to revel in the afterglow of the region's first Super Bowl, which they had promised would be the "the biggest and best" ever. Instead, they found themselves among several entities facing a barrage of questions about what went wrong and who was to blame.

After more than 31/2 years of work and with a well-choreographed plan that was praised by National Football League officials, the Host Committee is under fire for a series of events that were out of its control during Super Bowl week.

For his part, Lively said he would essentially use the same approach, with a few refinements, when the region makes its next Super Bowl bid.

"The stadium is a great venue and it will get us another Super Bowl, whether it is 50, 51 or 53," he said.

Problems at Cowboys Stadium on Super Sunday and unexpected bad weather in the days leading up to the game have called that faith into question.

The biggest single-day event in the country once again set a record for the most-watched TV program of all time.

But a number of the 103,219 people in attendance Sunday might be wishing they had stayed home to watch. About 1,200 fans had to be moved just hours before kickoff because temporary seats in the end zone and on the main concourse were completed too late and judged unsafe.

And ice and snow on the giant domed roof prompted closure of some stadium gates, creating long delays for fans trying to enter. Six people were injured by falling ice on Friday. Even Lively felt the pain, waiting for two hours to get inside, a member of his staff said.

People waited outside for three freakin' hours to get inside of The Debt Star.  According to DFW talk radio, cops were instructed that if anyone left their place in line to go to the restroom, they had to go to the back of the line.  Half the gates were shut down because of ice overhanging the Dome Of The Wreck.  1200 people had no seats. 
The NFL offered 'em seats in the media area, out in the parking lot, in a bar someplace, merchandise, a chance to go onto the field after the game, 3 times the purchase price of their tickets, and a free ticket to next year's Super Bowl.  Yeah.  Green Bay and Pittsburgh fans are totally pumped about a chance to go see Tampa Bay and Arizona next year. 

For the sadists among you, here's some video of pissed off fans chanting "Jerry Sucks". Can you imagine flying or driving from Green Bay or Pittsburgh, having paid 3K to a scalper for a ticket, and being told "Oh, your seat isn't built yet"? It....Got....Ugly....



Bill Lively eventually offered up this classic line:
"I don't think it will be harder next time," he said, "when you consider that we were laboring under the deepest recession in 70 years."
I think Mr. Lively has seen too many of Mr. Obama's press conferences.

Here's The Startlegram on the seat problem....

Several days before the Super Bowl, the National Football League, the Dallas Cowboys and the city of Arlington knew that the installation of about 15,000 temporary seats was behind schedule, but they still believed that the seats would be finished in time.

Some of the bleacher seats were deemed dangerous and placed off limits during the game. On Monday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league will not only refund affected fans $2,400 per ticket but also invite them to next year's Super Bowl in Indianapolis.

"There were some very unhappy fans, but people went home safe," said Arlington Fire Chief Don Crowson said. "That is what matters to us."

Arlington fire inspectors had been monitoring the installation of the vertical metal bleachers for at least two weeks before the game, he said, and there was a concern that their completion "was going to be close." Contractors were working on the stands, set up in the end zones and along the main concourse, through the afternoon of game day.

But time ran out.

At about 2 p.m. Sunday, Crowson said he told the NFL that about 500 bleacher seats in the west end zone were not going to open. The staircases leading up to sections 425A and 430A, at either end of the stand and about 30 feet tall, didn't have guardrails and handrails as required.

"We were hopeful work would be completed, but it was not," Crowson said. "When it became apparent the stairs were not going to be completed, we told the NFL those seats were not going to be in use."

The NFL and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones wanted to break the Super Bowl attendance mark of 103,985, set in 1980 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. In the end, they fell short with a crowd of 103,219.

And then there was the national anthem.....Christina Aguilera has more talent in her little finger than most of us have in our entire 210-pound selves.  She has been on stage since she got out of diapers. 

I've heard Willie Nelson and Roseanne Barr botch the anthem, but they weren't laboring under the Jerry Jones Eminent Domain curse.  Aguilera left out lines, doubled up on others, and left us with the classic line "At the twilight's last reaming". 




So, one last time before next year's football diasters start to fall on the heads of Jerry Jones, The City of Arlington, and the Dallas Cowboys....
God doesn't like it when you steal somebody's land for a football stadium. 

An explanation of Arlington's Super Bowl weather disaster

I don't believe that God intervenes in human activity, or anything else. 
There are only three exceptions to this rule:

1) My blackjack games
2) My football bets
3) The life and works of Jerry Jones  

Let's concentrate on #3.  Jerry Jones and the City Of Arlington conspired to steal some peoples' houses, bulldoze them, and build a Pharaonic Pyramid of a football stadium on the site of the theft. 
It was all legal, done within the realm of Eminent Domain, and at least 51% of Arlington voters voted in favor of the theft. 
You can hit the Jerry Jones or Eminent Domain tags at the bottom of this post to read some older rants on the subject. 

Tomorrow's Super Bowl was supposed to be a week-long celebration of the crime, seven days of partying to reward the many who voted to rob the few.  Million-dollar parties, Concerts.  Swarms of media. 

Full Disclosure: My employer, Jukt Micronics, got a contract to build the ESPN booth that they're using in downtown Fort Worth.  Nice piece of work, but it's generally been too cold for ESPN to use it. 

But what has happened?  We've had ice storms, sleet, and snow.  The power companies have had to implement a rolling blackout system for businesses, warehouses, manufacturers and some residences.  Traffic has slowed to a crawl.  Or no crawl at all, because everyone has stayed home all week.  We don't do snow very well. 

DFW airport and Love Field have had to operate at a limited capacity when they could operate at all. 
Downtown Fort Worth was supposed to have crowds rivaling Disneyworld.  On my one trip downtown I saw a few drunken Cheeseheads wandering around, Wisconsinites who know how to deal with this kind of weather.  That was it. 

And then, this happened:

As bowling ball-size chunks of ice fell on him from the roof of Cowboys Stadium on Friday afternoon, Win McNamee said he didn’t think he would survive.

“Honestly, while it was hitting me, I was thinking I’m going to die here,” McNamee said. “It was pretty frightening.”
McNamee, a veteran photographer who works for Getty Images, was one of six people injured by falling ice outside the site of Sunday’s Super Bowl XLV in Arlington. He broke his left shoulder in four places and was planning to fly home to Washington, D.C., on Saturday and undergo surgery soon.
None of the other injuries were thought to be life-threatening, authorities said. One person remained hospitalized in stable condition Friday evening, officials said.

Lord have mercy, what a mess.  And why do I think that it isn't over yet? 

As for the economic impact of the disastrous weather?  Go here for ABC's evaluation of it.  We've got hotel cancellations left and right, retailers shuttered, and restaurants operating at 10% of capacity.  The national media is gleefully mocking Arlington's lack of preparedness for this kind of weather.  Especially the reporters who have been told by the NFL that their cities (Denver, Seattle, Detroit) aren't good Super Bowl locations because of their....weather. 

How could something like this happen?  I mean, what are the freakin' odds? 

It's very simple, folks. 

God hates Jerry Jones.  The Lord God Jehovah hates Jerry Jones with the white hot passion of a thousand dying suns.  And Jerry must atone.  Now.  Unless he wants to spend another decade with fewer playoff wins than any current NFL General Manager over a ten year period. 

Here's the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel, speaking out on the subject of Jerry, The Cowboys, and Arlington:

Ezekiel 22:29 The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.

Ezekiel 22:31 Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD.

I don't think there are any Eagles, Redskins, Giants, or Packers fans who could've said it any better.
So what do we do? 

Here is a purification ritual that Jerry could undergo.  This comes from the Holman Bible Dictionary. 

A cleansing agent (to atone for sin) was required: water, blood, or fire (Numbers 31:23). Water, the most common purifying agent, symbolized cleansing and was used in the rituals related to a waiting period. The person was to wash the clothes and bathe the body (Leviticus 15:7). Blood was used to cleanse the altar and the holy place (Leviticus 16:14-19). It was mixed with other ingredients for cleansing from leprosy (Leviticus 14:1) and contact with the dead (Numbers 19:1).


The final element of the ritual of purification is sacrifice. Purification from discharges required two pigeons or turtledoves, one for a sin offering and one for a burnt offering (Leviticus 15:14-15,Leviticus 15:29-30). A lamb and pigeon or turtledove were offered after childbirth (Leviticus 12:6). Sacrifice in the purification ritual for lepers was quite complicated, indicating the seriousness of leprosy as a cause of impurity (Leviticus 14:1). The priest also touched the person's extremities with blood from the offering and with oil, cleansing and life-renewing agents. The poor were allowed to substitute less valuable animals for use in their sacrifices.

To cut to the chase:  If we're ever going to have a succesful NFL franchise in Tarrant County, Jerry Jones must strip down to his skivvies, wash one of his suits on the 50-yard line of his gaudy Temple Of Baal, mop the field with the blood of Wade Phillips, and perform a ritual sacrifice by slaughtering some of his worst draft picks in the City Of Arlington's luxury suite. 
That should do it. 

But what about all the little people, Jerry's victims, the refugees who were dispossesed by Eminent Domain ? 
Once again, let's see what the Holy Scriptures have to say:

Leviticus 6: 1-7 :   "The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “If anyone sins and commits a breach of faith against the Lord by deceiving his neighbor in a matter of deposit or security, or through robbery, or if he has oppressed his neighbor or has found something lost and lied about it, swearing falsely—in any of all the things that people do and sin thereby— if he has sinned and has realized his guilt and will restore what he took by robbery or what he got by oppression or the deposit that was committed to him or the lost thing that he found or anything about which he has sworn falsely, he shall restore it in full and shall add a fifth to it, and give it to him to whom it belongs on the day he realizes his guilt. ... "

It's fairly simple, isn't it?  Jerry and Arlington must determine the current value of the stadium, the parking lot, the team, along with the value of having God on their side.  They must give that amount of money, plus 1/5th, to the people they stole the land from. 
Until that happens, we will labor under an Old Testament curse. 

YOU HAVE VIOLATED THE DECREEES OF GOD, JERRY JONES, AND.... YOU.... WILL..... ATONE !!!!!

They might as well make it legal

From Radley Balko's Blog

Buy an Audi, and be more enlightened than your neighbors

Of all the ads ever written to take advantage of human ignorance, this is one of the worst. I first saw it during the Super Bowl. When the "green" Audi appeared, I threw party mix, beer cans and dachshunds at the screen until the rage subsided.



There are NO green cars. There are NO green manufacturing processes. Manufacturing Audis eliminates entire counties' worth of the symbolic gestures advocated in this ad.

There is only one green form of transportation, only one that leaves no carbon footprint. That's to dispatch yourself to your eternal reward in the next life. Your remains will still release carbon for a couple of decades, but then it will slow down.

Then there's walking. Or riding a bicycle.

Driving anything, anything at all, for a short period of time, is enough to negate all of your other "green" rituals. I'm not saying that we should stop recycling, or stop caring about the environment.

I'm saying that if you think you're accomplishing something worthwhile by driving an Audi, as opposed to something driven by the unenlightened Proles, you're mistaken.

This was a vile ad. The presence of the Gore Police made it even more so.

God, I hated this ad.

Geaux ye therefore into all nations....

Photographed outside the Saint Louis Cathedral in New Orleans last Sunday. Lord have mercy, this is going to be a good game.

Forwarded to me by The Whited Mama, who is rooting for Indianapolis because Peyton's grandmother used to help do legal work for our farm. IN SPITE OF THE FACT THAT WE'VE BEEN SAINTS FANS SINCE ARCHIE MANNING GOT DRAFTED BY THE SAINTS IN THE EARLY 1970's.

The New Orleans Saints will be in the Super Bowl ! !

THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS ARE GOING TO BE IN THE SUPER BOWL ! ! ! !
THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS ARE GOING TO BE IN THE SUPER BOWL ! ! ! !
THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS ARE GOING TO BE IN THE SUPER BOWL ! ! ! !
THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS ARE GOING TO BE IN THE SUPER BOWL ! ! ! !

Have I ever mentioned to ANYBODY out there that I'm from Drew, Mississipp? And that's the town that gave the world Archie Manning, who went on from Ole Miss to be drafted by the Saints in 1971 or so????? And that Archie went on to produce Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts AND Eli Manning of the New York Giants, and both of them have quarterbacked Super Bowl wining teams ??????

Have I EVER told anyone that? That Archie Manning came from a Mississippi town of 2,500 people? IS THIS GREAT, OR WHAT ??????

Note to self: write a post about the time you went to that meet and greet at Roger Staubach's house, and got to see a game from the Staubach skybox, and he told you that if he'd been drafted by the Saints and Archie had been drafted by the Cowboys, they would probably have had reversed careers. That's the exact same thing that every Archie fan said for years. Write about that. Be sure to write about that.

THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS ARE GOING TO BE IN THE SUPER BOWL ! ! ! !
THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS ARE GOING TO BE IN THE SUPER BOWL ! ! ! !
THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS ARE GOING TO BE IN THE SUPER BOWL ! ! ! !
THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS ARE GOING TO BE IN THE SUPER BOWL ! ! ! !

Can you imagine how conflicted Archie Manning must be? He wore won of the few jerseys that have been retired by the Saints. Pieces of his backside have been embedded into the Saints astroturf. He did play-by-play for them for decades. He lives in New Orleans. If he still has all the car dealerships, they're in New Orleans. AND HIS SON, PEYTON MANNING OF THE INDIANAPOLIS COLTS, WILL BE PLAYING THE SAINTS IN THE FREAKIN' SUPER BOWL ! ! ! !

THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS ARE GOING TO BE IN THE SUPER BOWL ! ! ! !
THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS ARE GOING TO BE IN THE SUPER BOWL ! ! ! !
THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS ARE GOING TO BE IN THE SUPER BOWL ! ! ! !
THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS ARE GOING TO BE IN THE SUPER BOWL ! ! ! !

The dream lives ! Come Super Bowl Sunday, Archie Manning is going to be the most conflicted person on this planet. He's rooted for Saints black and gold for 35 years, and now his son is playing against them.

THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS ARE GOING TO BE IN THE SUPER BOWL ! ! ! !
THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS ARE GOING TO BE IN THE SUPER BOWL ! ! ! !
THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS ARE GOING TO BE IN THE SUPER BOWL ! ! ! !
THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS ARE GOING TO BE IN THE SUPER BOWL ! ! ! !

Note to regular readers in England, Finland, Israel and Australia: This is a big, big deal. You know that game you people play in Europe and Mexico, the little game with the white and black ball, where you can kick it around, but can't use your hands? Take the biggest event in that game, like The World Cup (?) or something, and multiply it by 10. (We can use our hands, we hit each other, we kick field goals through openings higher than the TOP of a soccer goal, and WE HAVE JEREMY SHOCKEY.)

Drew, Mississippi, also produced Pop Staples (of The Staple Singers). Blues singer/guitarist Tommy Johnson lived there during the most creative time of his life. Three books have been written about Mae Bertha Carter, the African-American lady whose children integrated the Mississippi Delta schools because that's the way she wanted it to be.
No city is associated with their team like New Orleans is with the Saints. And more than anyone else, the Saints are associated with Archie Manning.

Old joke about Mississippi: Do you know the names of the two biggest cities in Mississippi?
Answer: Memphis and New Orleans.

Lord have mercy, this is great ! ! !

THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS ARE GOING TO BE IN THE SUPER BOWL ! ! ! !
THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS ARE GOING TO BE IN THE SUPER BOWL ! ! ! !
THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS ARE GOING TO BE IN THE SUPER BOWL ! ! ! !
THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS ARE GOING TO BE IN THE SUPER BOWL ! ! ! !

Super Bowl Picks

Okay, enough about politics and theology and other deep chin-stroking topics.
We have a football game this weekend.
Super Bowl 43.
The Arizona Cardinals vs The Pittsburgh Steelers.

The line opened with Steelers -6.5, and there was so much money wagered on the Steelers that they've increased the spread to Steelers by 7. Super Bowls are usually blowouts by the home team. The favorite usually wins. But I like the Cardinals to at least cover a 7-point spread.

And now, the fun stuff....

The winning coach usually gets a sideline Gatorade shower. Odds are 3-1 that the Gatorade will be yellow, instead of any other color. Load up on the other color. There's been so much publicity on this bet, I'm predicting some contrarians have stocked the coolers with the Red Fruit Punch flavor.

Here are a few others listed by Fox Sports:

Kurt Warner -23.5 passing yards over Ben Roethlisberger. If the Cardinals are going to at least cover a 7-point spread, it'll be because Warner throws at least 75 yards more than Big Ben. Take Warner.

Will Kurt Warner break Joe Montana's Career Super Bowl Record of 1,142 Passing Yards? Yes: +475 No: -700 (If you don't understand Money Line "Yes/No" bets, click here.) Take the NO, and quickly. Warner would need 364 passing yards to do this, and that ain't going to happen.

Total rushing yards by Willie Parker — Over/Under 75.5 The guys at Fox News don't like the odds of Parker breaking 75.5, and took the under. The guys at Fox News also didn't like the odds of Barack Obama being elected President. Take the over.

Total receiving yards by Larry Fitzgerald — Over/Under 83.5 Larry Fitzgerald is a beast. Larry Fitzgerald is not human. Larry Fitzgerald doesn't just bite, he also chews. Take the over.

Total kickoff returns by both teams — Over/Under 9.5 Remember, you have a kickoff to begin each half. That leaves you with only 8 more touchdowns or field goals needed to break this one. I think we'll have plenty of field goals. I like the over.

Total distance on the first punt of the game — Over/Under 41.5 yards Yeah, your typical NFL punter can boot it a lot further than 41.5 yards. But what if you're kicking from somewhere in no-man's land between midfield and field goal range? Go under.

Pittsburgh + Arizona total points -12.5 over LeBron James total points at Detroit For newcomers to Super Bowl betting insanity, you might need me to break this one down for you. Here's how it works. Add up the total points scored in the Super Bowl. Subtract 12.5 points. (The half point eliminates any chance of a tie.) Is this number higher or lower than the number of points that the NBA's LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers will score against the Detroit Pistons?
LeBron knows about this bet, right? LeBron will want to reward everyone who picked him to cover this, right? LeBron has been averaging 28 points per game, right? LeBron can control his own destiny in this thing easier than the Steelers and Cardinals, right? Take LeBron.

Pittsburgh + Arizona total sacks -0.5 over Ernie Els fourth round birdies (18 holes/Dubai Classic) It's golf, fer heaven's sake. Who cares? Take the sack total anway.

How long will it take Jennifer Hudson to sing the National anthem? — Over/Under 1:54 Just one minute and fifty four seconds? Jennifer Hudson is going to throw in more obligattos, fermatas, trills, shakes and shimmies than Francis Scott Key could have imagined. Yes, I know the music at these things is always pre-recorded. There are people out there who already know the exact length of Sunday's national anthem. But if you're singing at the Super Bowl, you don't sing it like a marching band plays it. Take the over.

What color will (Cardinals owner) Bill Bidwell's bow tie be? Red -600, Any other color +400 Cardinals are red. The team and the bird. Bidwell usually wears red bow ties, except for when he doesn't. He wears red so often that I think this one is fixed, simply because they're willing to take money on it as a competitive wager. I think someone has gotten Bidwell a good luck bow tie in a color other than red. Take the other color.

These picks have been brought to you by The Whited Sepulchre Sports Wagering Ministry.

Tiki Barber rips Eli Manning's Leadership

I've been meaning to post something about the Eli Manning / Tiki Barber controversy since last August, but haven't had a chance until now....The following links are from August of last year.

ESPN - Manning responds to criticism from Barber on TV halftime show - NFL

Tiki Barber, the New York Giants running back who retired from the NFL to enter the broadcast booth, has ripped Giants quarterback Eli Manning for his weak leadership skills.

Barber, who further demoralized his team by announcing his retirement decision in mid-season last year, declared that Manning's attempts at team meetings were often "comical".
A few days later, Tiki and his brother Ronde appeared on a Sirius Radio program, and mocked Manning a second time:

It was a constant barrage for almost two hours with Ronde making comments about Eli's "testes finally dropping" and Tiki adding that "Kerry Collins was a true leader," claiming the Giants "shouldn't have let him go." They also added that Eli's return-fire was "laughable" and that Tiki is part of the media now and it's his job to be controversial.

We can only speculate as to the impact that Barber's comments will have on the Giants in the 2007 season.

I've tried to contact Barber for updates on this controversy, but have been unsuccesful. His effectiveness as an NBC broadcaster has recently declined, since some viewers now have difficulty listening to him without laughing hysterically. If Barber continues to be a pariah in the broadcast booth he can always support himself with apperances at Fumble Recovery Clinics.

Eli Manning's answering service will only confirm that he's gone to Disneyland.