This Game is Out of Hand

This is getting ridiculous. I don't know a better way to put it. Democrats and Republicans are coming together to promote breaking the law, ridiculous. Where are the people? When did we start electing, funding and campaigning for complete imbeciles? (Awhile ago, obviously) What I'd like to direct your attention to is the Senate's idiotic vote on Rand Paul's Amendment 1739 today. The bill was tabled at a vote of 13-86. Now if you don't know what the amendment is you can go here for a broader scope of the amendment but I'll sum up the most important parts.

First off the amendment would force the government to begin following the laws of this country again. America has a law that prohibits the government from aiding a country that has had their "duly elected head of government deposed by a military coup" until a new head of government has been elected. However, Congress has yet to do anything about stopping military funding to Egypt. Rand Paul's amendment would cut that money (some 1.5 billion dollars in aid) from military spending, something that Democrats have been raving about cutting for years. Not only would the American government be following their own laws again (I know, shocking) but the Democrats would get their military spending cut. Instead, the bill is tabled.

Now, we aren't a country to just cut stuff out, unfortunately, so where would this $1.5 billion being going if not into the military? Good question. Rand Paul's idea and the entire context of this amendment was that the money would be spent here at home instead. To be more specific the money would be going to the "Bridges in Critical Corridors" fund. I don't know how many of you use bridges to get anywhere (job, sporting event, school etc.) but to me, bridges are pretty important.

Before the vote was taken today, Senator Paul gave an approximately 15 minute discussion on why this should be passed and why the amendment should matter to places like Detroit and Chicago. His most pointed statements came when he got to the topic of the actual vote and laws in place.

The law is very clear. Everyone here in Congress can read. They recognize, they recognize that the law says when there is a military coup, the aid must end. Today we will vote on whether or not they will obey the law or whether they will openly flout the law and disobey. When a military coup overturns a democratically elected government, all military aid must end. That's the law. There is no presidential waiver.

He goes on to address where the money should be going instead of overseas.

I propose that we take the billion dollars that is now being illegally given to Egypt and spend it at home. We have bridges crumbling at home. Can't we fix some of our problems at home? We have had a bridge collapse this year in Washington state. We had one collapse in Minnesota a few years ago. We have a bridge in northern Kentucky that is becoming increasingly unsafe, and yet there is not enough money to repair our bridges because your politicians are sending the money overseas. It's unwise, and right now it's illegal.

Finally, he addresses the Egyptian point one last time.

Meanwhile, they (Egypt) recently let a mob advance on our embassy, climb atop our embassy and burn our flag. I say not one penny more to these countries that allow mobs to burn our flag… I think it's unwise to send arms, particularly advanced arms, into the chaos of Egypt. I fear one day that someone may arise in Egypt who says let's attack Israel with these planes. I fear these weapons that we are giving to Egypt may someday be used against America and our allies. Even the Egyptians don't want our aid. There was a Gallup poll last year that showed 70% of Egyptians don't want the money we're sending them. To understand why, you have to understand that American aid doesn't go to the Egyptian people. It goes to the despots and the dictators that run the place.

So is what Rand Paul saying actually true? Is the money we are sending over there actually just going into the pockets and military of dictators and despots?

Well considering that most of the aid is in the form of jets, tanks and military spending I think it's safe to say that the average Egyptian doesn't get much out of our aid. In fact, 1.3 million dollars of aid is sent to Egypt in military spending, that's 87% of the total aid going to this foreign country. Another 250 million is sent in economic aid to be spent on things such as healthcare, education and democratic processes.

Once again, why are we sending so much money to foreign countries (Egypt is not the only one getting aid at this level) when we could be using that money to fix this country? When Detroit collapsed, did it suddenly become my generation's responsibility to pay for foreign nations AND the resurrection of American cities and states? Unfortunately for my generation, yes it did. Taxes are simply going to increase rather than having the government restructure taxes and spending.

I don't think this is a matter of big government vs small government right now considering liberals seem to be the ones clamouring for a smaller military budget and more money spent here at home. This is a matter of pushing the imbeciles of Congress out of the way and working to improve our nation as is. That means stopping unneeded foreign aid, shutting down borders, improving education, pushing for more jobs and pausing ObamaCare's individual mandate.

"Woah, There Playa, You Sure You Want That Gender?"

We have a new baby this week! (Supposedly only one baby was born this week, given all the news coverage) Anyway, so British Royalty has birthed itself another heir to the throne. A king at tha- excuse me, my producer just told me that we shouldn't assign this new baby boy a royal titl- oh, wait, I can't say "boy" either? Ok, well I guess we shouldn't put this baby (is that an okay classification?) under the "pressure" of being a 'prince' yet, should we? That would just be horrible!

What exactly are we supposed to refer to this baby-born-with-the-genitalia-of-the-male-kind?

So, this week, people have taken to Twitter and other social media to chastise the Royal Couple for recognizing that their baby is in fact a boy, therefore a son and therefore a prince/ king. Others attack the media for attaching a "gender identity" to this newest member of royalty in Britain. These are just some of the fun, thought provoking tweets:

Has anyone asked the baby's opinion on it's gender? #RoyalBaby

Everyone keeps saying "It is a boy" but we won't really know until the child announces which gender they will identify as, right?

ISN'T IT A BIT TOO EARLY TO IMPOSE GENDER ROLES TO IT ALREADY?

It may be a boy - depends on how they choose to express their gender if at all

eh please do not try and force a gender on the royal baby already plz 

As if these weren't good enough, we have some people who not only think it's up to Kate Middleton to decide the baby's sex, but are rooting for the kid to be a Queen:

Birth of the #RoyalBaby exposes the media's love of patriarchy and #GenderConformity. I'm hoping Wills & Kate have a healthy trans baby.

Still could be future Queen. If he's lucky. #RoyalBabyBoy

Okay, so the #royalbaby's not a girl. Can I hold out hope he turns out to be gay or gender non-conforming? Otherwise, I'm bored now.

#RoyalBaby is a boy... Way to let #Feminism down Kate! Could have had a girl third in line to the throne, instead it's a sausage party. 

Anyway, enough from the twitter-heads.

Producer aside, we now have a new baby boy who is Prince of England and heir to the throne. I, for one, hope that he thrives into a healthy prince and someday King of England and does just what his great grandmother has done and keeps Britain as an ally of these United States and a formidable player in the world at large.

Congratulations to Prince William and Kate, Queen Elizabeth II, London and all of England.

One more tweet for y'all:

I think we should let the baby decide it's own name and gender #RoyalBaby

Derailing the Team's Train or Legit Concerns with Management?

Contracts are a tricky thing for many sports fans to understand. To most of us, one million dollars a year for five years would be a nice salary to go out and play a sport we love, heck most of us would do it for half that. However, when it comes to professional athletes, one million is often a small number for stars.

The average salary for Americans is around 32.4 thousand a year. It is almost laughable how much of a shadow professional sports put over that average. The average salary for a professional male golfer is just under one million. The average NHL salary is around 1.5 million. NFL players average 1.75 million every season. Then the average takes a big jump for baseball up to an average of 3.4 million a year. The largest average comes in at a whopping 5 million for NBA players.

Of course, those are just the averages. In the MLB, Alex Rodriguez rakes in $29 million a season from the Yankees. Four of Forbes "Highest-Paid Baseball Players 2013" are members of the Yankees staff (A-Rod, Derek Jeter, C.C. Sabathia and Mark Teixeira) totaling just over 100 million dollars, that's just under half of their entire team salary ($203 million).

During the All Star Break, a small controversy from last season was brought to the forefront again in the Cincinnati Red's clubhouse: Brandon Phillips was put on the backburner by the front office while they went after Joey Votto with almost everything they had. As a veteran player and not one to shy away from media, Brandon said the honest truth.

“I just feel like they didn’t have to sign Joey (Votto) to that contract (10-year, $225-million extension). He still had two more years on his. And for (the front office) to go out there and sign him before they sign me, and they knew I was going to be a free agent? I understand Joey’s a good player. He’s one of the best players in this game. But I feel like I am too. I told them that this is where I wanted to be. I begged them. I told everybody I want to finish my career here. And then they give someone a contract who didn’t ask for nothing?”

“To this day, I’m still hurt. Well, I don’t wanna say hurt. I’ll say scarred. I’m still scarred. It just sucks that it happened, for (Castellini) to sign somebody for $200 million, there must be a new vegetable or fruit coming out that we don’t know about. For him to do something like that and tell me they didn’t have any more money, that’s a lie. But what can I do? I just feel like it was a slap in my face … But how can someone slap you in the face with all that money. It’s a nice slap in the face.”

Some people have come out and attacked Phillips for being a "crybaby" while others say he is slapping the fans in the face by saying that that 75 million dollar contract is a slap in the face.

However, I think he raises a valid point. Why was Joey sought after with such force when his contract was not about to expire and Brandon was left with the "scraps" from that deal when he was about to enter into free agency?

Before I dive into the heart of that question I want to say that I am a huge fan of both of these men. They are both tremendous athletes and quality guys. Both of them are talented and sure to be Hall of Famers down the road. These two players compliment each other better than any other 3-4 combination I've seen.

Now, as to why did Joey receive almost 150 million more than Brandon? Was it simply because first basemen are often the ones making the most money on any team? According to BusinessInsider.com, the top five first basemen make an average of 22.1 million a year whereas the top five second basemen are making 14.1 million.

Put aside the averages of the top positions for a second and look at the two players simply as athletes.

It is feasible to argue that Brandon Phillips is at the top of his position defensively. He is also so athletic that he can play shortstop, third base and the outfield if called upon (although I don't think he has ever played the OF in the majors). He is also one of the most entertaining athletes in the game making unbelievable plays all season, every season.
As can be seen by his numbers this year, batting fourth in the Reds lineup, Phillips is a guy who approaches the plate looking for any way to get runners across the plate. He won't hit for a high average (he owns a .273 average on his career) but he will put the bat on the ball and get runners home.

As for Joey, we have a premier first baseman. He's committed just 48 errors in his career and owns a .993 career fielding percentage. He's picked up some of the style and flair that his counterpart at second shows everyday and is routinely able to make double plays or catch a stray throw that would get by lesser first basemen.
His approach at the plate is far from what Brandon does though. He looks to get on base anyway possible and, from time to time, take the ball yard. He will hit for a high average (.316 career), get on base from walks more than he will plate runners (72 BB per year) and is a power hitter at first (launching an average of 21 bombs a year).

After this analysis of the top two Reds players (excluding pitchers) in the franchise right now, let's revisit the question: Why was Joey sought after with such force when his contract was not about to expire and Brandon was left with the "scraps" from that deal when he was about to enter into free agency?
We know that the top first basemen make almost 8 million more a year than the top second basemen which fits into the salary of these two (Brandon makes 10 million a year while Joey makes 18.9 million).
Because the market for first basemen is so high, it only makes sense that Votto would get a bigger contract than Phillips. However, how much bigger and longer should that contract be?
After looking at the two players, I would argue that Brandon should be making around that 14 million mark while Joey should be around 20 million. Of course this would mean a shorter contract for Votto that would look similar to Brandon's (6 years) possibly around seven or eight years instead of ten.

Of course, as a currently unemployed college student, $75 million over six years doesn't sound like a bad deal, but that's not the point. If you want to compare the two contracts you have to forget about your own situation and even about the money entirely. Is Joey Votto really better than Brandon Phillips by 200%*? For that matter is Joey Votto even 65%** better than Brandon Phillips?

I'll let you answer those questions yourself, but for Joey's part, he remained completely professional and understanding after hearing Brandon's comments.

From what I gathered, Brandon’s reaction was totally human. It’s a feeling I’ve felt before, it’s a feeling most people have felt before.

Brandon’s a teammate I’ve played with six, seven years now and I love playing with him. I really have an immense amount of respect for him. Those comments have nothing to do with me. It doesn’t change a single thing, it makes me like him more, to be honest with you. Not many players are very honest, usually they give catch phrases, similar to what I’m doing right now. He’s a refreshing guy because he is honest and he does tell people how he feels. You can tell how he feels in that given moment and that’s a great thing. It’s great playing with someone like that. Variety is the spice of life and I love playing with Brandon.

The smiles and the high-fives and everything we share on the field are genuine. That’s how we feel about each other. That’s how it’s going to be going forward. We play together for this city, we’re tied together because of our contracts, because of the uniform we wear and because of the championship we’re trying to seek out for Cincinnati. I know Brandon feels that way and I feel that way also. That’s really all that matters.

Now, let's get back to baseball and make the push for October after the All Star Break.

Side note: 37 days until College Football! Who's excited?

*The percent of Brandon's contract that Joey is getting (6 years 75 million vs 10 years 225 million)
**The approximate percentage of Brandon's contract that Joey will be getting over 6 years (6 years 75 million vs 6 years approx. 124 million)

Off the Court and Into Port

In the past five days we have all heard about a North Korean ship attempting to hide "sophisticated" missile parts as they passed through the Panama Canal, a Judge in Texas being shot and Jodi Arias being back in court, right? Or did you only hear about the difference between 'nigg*' and 'nigg*r', the "fact" that George Zimmerman is white and Al Sharpton pushing for civil rights charges against Zimmerman? If you've heard about all six of these, thank you, I commend you for being an active citizen and you can probably stop reading. If you haven't heard about the first three but have heard the other three, well that might not be your fault... completely. If you haven't heard about any of this, well I will just assume you were in a coma, really drunk or live under a rock...

So, why is the country and media making a huge deal out the tragic death of Trayvon Martin after the man that killed him was acquitted of all charges? Why are there death threats being made to Zimmerman? Why were many cities from coast to coast up-in-arms after hearing about this verdict? What made the State of Florida v Zimmerman the "must-see" case of the year? Why was it so important that it took up the news channels for most of three days?

I have only one answer that isn't even a definite answer: people have listened to outrageous exaggerations of the truth pushed by those in power. Yes, Obama, I'm looking at you. You have no reason to involve yourself in state murder/ manslaughter cases. You have no reason to pull crap about gun control into this situation. If you are going to address this case, in the very least you should say something about Zimmerman being acquitted, but why would you do that when you can "honor Trayvon Martin" by pushing your gun control agenda? (Also, Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson should look to Allen West for some quality leadership...)

Anyway, what I would really like to talk about is this North Korean-Panamanian fiasco. So there's this ship that left Cuba and headed for the Panama Canal. Naturally, the Panama government flagged this ship as a suspected drug-carrying vessel. The ship was brought into port and Panama began to search the ship. Then, the captain of this ship decided it would be best for him to kill himself and the crew decided it was in their best-interest to start rioting. This, of course, raised concern by the leaders of the Panama search crew as they began taking sugar out of the cargo. Suddenly, they discovered containers that are suspected to contain missile parts.

The President of Panama, Ricardo Martinelli, came and tweeted pictures of the missile containers. Martinelli has declared that he and the Panamanian government will not allow for undeclared weapons to be transported through the Panama Canal and they will be taking an increased interest in the shipping between Cuba and North Korea.

The ship, Chong Chon Gang, has been suspected by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute of arms trafficking for some years. In 2009, the ship was attacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia. In 2010, the same ship was stopped in the Ukraine. Chong Chon Gang has been caught trafficking drugs and small arms munitions in the past.

Hopefully this was an isolated incident, but the pessimistic-realist in me has to say that this was not a one-time occurrence. Luckily for the entire world, this ship was stopped before it could get back to North Korea, but how many ships have made it through with similar cargo? This is definitely a wakeup call to the entire world that we need to keep a closer eye on suspected arms trafficking.

Back to the regularly scheduled programming... don't forget about the All Star Game tonight!

Keep on Choppin' Atlanta

As many other fans of the greatest pastime in America have done, my father and I have taken on the task of journeying to each field of dreams in this nation (and Toronto). So far we have made it to Cincinnati (both Riverfront and Great American), New York (Citi Field), St. Louis (Busch Stadium), Chicago (Wrigley Field) and, after this past Saturday, Atlanta (Turner Field).

Although I'm loathe to say that it was the best stadium I have been to in my 19 years of baseball-loving life, Turner Field was easily one of the most stunning baseball stadiums that I have ever seen. From the Braves fans and ushers to the accessibility of the stadium and the stunning art and history poured into the stadium, Turner Field is an extremely fun ballpark to go to watch a baseball game.

Braves fans were eager to interact with the out-of-town crowd before the gates even opened. Even after we sat down and were in the seats for near six full innings, a line of Braves fans were extremely courteous as they took their seats and informed my dad and I that we had been sitting one section over from our ticketed seats.
There was little to no animosity between the two teams, although I do have a feeling that there's a bitter taste in their mouth for the NL Central leaders headed into the All Star Break following last season's questionable Wild Card Game.
Also, I have to say that y'all get really excited on strikes, but the Chop, Wave and your "Freeman" chant definitely saved the fans from a big write-off from me. (Nothing against cheering for strikes, but when you cheer on every strike in the first five innings it does get somewhat old)

The ushers were attentive and, other than the friendly jibe, let us off easy for wearing the red and white pullovers and my Brandon Phillips #4 shirt. While the Reds were hitting batting practice, the centerfield ushers were eager to allow fans into the outfield seats in order to catch a homer or vie for Tony Cingrani's attention.

Except for the initial set-back of not being able to get to our seats for some unknown reason, the entire ballpark was an easy walk with ramps available at the two outfield corners and escalators running on the first-base side. Restrooms, something that is extremely important to baseball fans if you don't want to miss a homerun, were plentiful around the stadium and never seemed to be crowded with the 47, 000+ crowd.

The entire stadium was filled with artwork and history of the ball club. Every single season, I believe, was given a season recap on the walls of the stadium before walking to your seating section. The Cocacola cannons on the top level, third-base side, were an instant eye-catcher as I scanned the stadium from my first-base side seat for the first time. The cannons, however, seem to serve no purpose other than to look cool.
The view provided into the city of Atlanta was stunning to say the least. The entire city was visible from the left field corner terrace and three gigantic red seats provided for a good place to settle with any young ones that might need to be kept in eye-sight.
The JumboTron, which featured an amazing review of the Reds and Braves history prior to the start of the game, was a great way to watch the action on the field, get interesting facts about players from both teams and watch the Steve Miller concert after the game.

Cincinnati South, as some Reds fans refer to Atlanta, lived up to the name. Everywhere I turned I could see someone sporting a Reds jersey or Cincinnati ball cap. And on a Saturday that promised an exciting third installment of the four game series, it was no surprise the I-75 caravan was cheering with full-force.

The only complaint that I have with the game had nothing to do with baseball or the stadium. Instead, I just have to question the logic with which the city of Atlanta decided to force most traffic into the downtown streets and forced bumper to bumper traffic after the Steve Miller Post-Game Concert. Is this a regular ritual or something special for this particular Saturday?

All-in-all Turner Field is a great place to go with families and friends to watch a good game between the always fun Braves and any opponent that shows up.

The Other Team Punted Their Playbook

Texas has been at the forefront of national media attention for the past 3 weeks and once again made headlines this week with the House passing HB2 by an even wider margin than before (96-49). If you don't know about HB2 you can check it out here, but, basically, the bill would make abortion after the 20th week illegal and would force 'health' clinics to raise their safety standards, or be shutdown.

You have probably heard about Wendy Davis and her filibuster and the obscene actions taken by some Texas women after her filibuster was ended. What you may not have heard is the ridiculous rally-cry of one Texas man* who is speaking for ALL straight Texas men...

How #HB2 Hurts Straight Texas Men 

Your girlfriend's/wife's life will be in danger. Making abortion inaccessible for millions of Texas women is going to put them in danger if they ever need to terminate a pregnancy. Black markets for unsafe abortions will emerge, and women will be pushed into potentially fatal back-alley abortions. That's your girlfriend's life we're talking about.

Your freedom to choose is at stake, too. While it is ultimately a woman's choice whether to have an abortion, many women choose to make that decision with the man involved. Do you want that decision ready-made for you by politicians in state government? Not if you value freedom, you don't.

You want to decide when and if to have kids. This bill will force thousands of Texas men into unplanned fatherhood by making it impossible for women to access an abortion in the event of an unplanned pregnancy. Even if you want to have kids, you probably don't want an accident to make you a father before you're psychologically ready and able to care for a child. If you don't want kids, you don't want the narrow, personal views of politicians in the state government to force you to have them.

Your sex life is at stake. Can you think of anything that kills the vibe faster than a woman fearing a back-alley abortion? Making abortion essentially inaccessible in Texas will add an anxiety to sex that will drastically undercut its joys. And don't be surprised if casual sex outside of relationships becomes far more difficult to come by.

Not only is this guy, Ben Sherman, completely ignorant of what this bill will do, he also seems to value sex life more than human life. Last I checked, abortion advocates were saying that the procedure would be "safe, legal and rare."Now we have men and women like Mr. Sherman opposing basic safety/ health  standards in these abortion clinics. Seems a bit questionable...

Also, according to Ben, my freedom to choose is at stake! Oh my word, not my freedom to choose! Wait! When did the legal system decide to recognize a man's voice in the life of their unborn child? Anyone mind checking my facts here? There are zero laws in affect that allow the man to have any sort of legal say in the life of their unborn child. But there are quite a few laws stating that the man is responsible for paying child support for this child after they are born. Seems like my "freedom to choose" already got thrown out the window.**

Now, Ben, let's get one thing clear, if you really REALLY need to have an abortion because you had an unplanned pregnancy (an idiotic reason, but I'll go with it for now) then you can drive to a clinic and have an abortion in the first five months of your child being alive. That's twenty weeks. Over a third of the year has gone by and you're going to tell me you didn't have a chance to go to a clinic to have an abortion?

Lastly, I can think of something that "kills the vibe" faster. The death of an innocent child that you and your partner made during consensual sex.

Maybe, just maybe, this will lead to an actual sense of responsibility for actions. Maybe you won't be able to have "casual sex" outside of a relationship. Maybe, you'll actually control yourself and wait till you have a committed relationship with someone and then have sex. Maybe, you should have to face consequences for your actions. Hell, you already would have to be paying child support if the woman decides to keep the baby, so why are you going around sleeping with people you aren't in a relationship with anyway?

Casual sex outside of a relationship isn't something that should be promoted anyway, but since men are now supposedly rampaging sex addicts that have to stick it into random women, at least we have some sort of law to prevent an easy out for the guy.

*Note- Don't bother clicking the link unless you really want to read all of this guy's stupidity...
**Note- I have nothing against child support laws although I do believe they should be reformed.

Calling for a Lineup Change

So many people across the world say that they hate America. Even here at home, people threaten to leave the country if a certain politician takes office or say that they wonder "What has America come to?" For the true believers in partisan politics who say they want to leave this country if a member of the opposing party takes the office of President, all I can say is, go right ahead, we really do not want you to be here anyway. You can also stop reading this now, it won't change your die-hard soul anyway. For the ones who have jokingly said those words, myself included, I have to say that it's a bit shameful to threaten such an act of "non-patriotism."

Now, for everyone that is still reading, let me explain to you why people should not hate America and should not threaten to leave this great country. America is an amazing place, full of opportunity and means to make a hero out of even the simplest man. America is the home of the most wonderful military in the world, and I would like to thank every man, woman, horse and dog that has ever served this country for paying the price of freedom so that everyday civilians are not forced to pay it. America is filled with people willing to help each other. America is the nation where people are treated with respect and dignity. America is a people that have built, fought and died for much of the world outside our borders. We are a giving, loving and strong country. 
So don't leave this country or hate this people simply because of what governmental powers and partisan politics has done to this nation and this world.

If you have a serious problem with this country, look to the government. You, most likely, don't hate America. You probably 'hate' the government. I personally don't like the way this country is headed. I 'hate' the tax dollars that are taken out of my paychecks. I 'hate' the access and influence that the NSA, IRS and Justice Department have in this entire country's every day life. I 'hate' the way that people are pitted against each other simply because of party affiliation. I 'hate' the fact that we are the world's police force and yet we fail to protect our own people from riots and raids. I 'hate' the way the media portrays so much biased information, from polling to trial coverage. I 'hate' the lack of respect given to the Constitution and individual rights in the name of "national security" or "(insert 'minority' here)'s rights."

America is the greatest nation on Earth, but the government of this country has gotten to the point where every bill is thousands of pages and each Congressman has to be bought with pork. I don't think it's a matter of liberal or conservative anymore. It's a matter of Big Brother-esque, money-worshipping politicians or the common man's rights and the amount of money they can afford to pay over to this monster of a government.

This is why I proudly identify as a Conservative. Not a Republican. Not a Democrat. And not even an Independent, anymore. I believe that these parties and groups have gotten too out of hand for there to be any fair change and progress in either direction. There aren't enough common men in D.C. having their voices heard. There aren't enough men who know the burdens of modern-day taxes running this government. There aren't enough voices being raised in this nation's capital to be heard. I'm not talking about rallies for Pro-Abortion or Pro-Life or Pro-Gun or Pro-Gun Control or any other group that raises their voices on one issue.

We need people, in government  willing to change the way this government works. We need people in Washington who know what it's like to live day-to-day. We need people in D.C. with the power to effect real change to the foreign, economic, social and domestic policy of this great nation without the political partisan crap getting in the way.

Love America, love the People, love the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave.

All-Stars, Professional-Snubs

The MLB All Star teams have been announced and, as usual, there were some snubs that caught national attention.

The biggest snub of the entire All Star selection was undoubtedly the entire Oakland A's team. With a three game lead on Detroit in the American League, the A's were voted to one spot on the AL All Star team while Tigers fans will see six of their players in New York. Although the best player that the A's could have sent, Josh Donaldson, is a third baseman and there's already an overload of talented third baseman, Donaldson deserved a spot over Manny Machado of the Orioles. The A's will instead will be represented by their leading pitcher Bartolo Colon (11-3, 2.78 ERA), not a bad rep, but still a snub of the entire team.

Oh and the six Tigers involved in the All-Star Game include Miguel Cabrera, easily the best third baseman in the AL this year, Prince Fielder, a first baseman who is hitting .266, Torii Hunter and Jhonny Peralta, both hitting .307, Max Scherzer, the best pitcher in the AL at 13-0 and a 3.09 ERA, and finally Justin Verlander, a pitcher with a 9-5 record this year. Nothing against the Tigers but they are not deserving of six All Stars, of course with Jim Leyland being the coach of the AL All Stars, it's to be expected that they receive more spots than other teams.

As far as the NL team goes, there weren't any huge surprises. The Pirates were rewarded for attaining the best record for the first three months of the year with four All Stars (Andrew McCutchen, Jason Grilli, Jeff Locke and Pedro Alvarez). It's obvious that popularity won the heart of the All Star voting when a player (Bryce Harper) who missed 31 games is starting for the NL's team.

As a Cincinnati fan, I was surprised that both Shin-Soo Choo and Jay Bruce were overlooked for the team. Choo is second in the NL, behind teammate Joey Votto, in On Base Percentage (.418) and fifth in Runs with 57. Bruce lit up in May and June, producing 24 and 21 RBIs respectively along with 7 homers in May and 10 in June alongside a .292 average over those two months.

However, I am happy to report that, for the fourth straight year, the National League could be holding home field advantage in the October Classic. With Yadier Molina and Joey Votto at the forefront of a very efficient starting lineup and the relief of Jason Grilli and Aroldis Chapman to back the starters up, the National League is easily set for a fourth straight All Star win.

I'll be taking the NL in a 6-3 game.

Field of Freedom

As Independence Day begins, I'd like to have anyone that reads this think about a few questions.

1. Who can you personally thank today for your privilege of being an American citizen? 
2. When did you first realize that you owed this country a debt that cannot be counted in dollars going to the IRS? 
3. Who in your life has made you proud to be a citizen of the greatest country in the world? 
4. When were you personally proud of America's successes? 
5. And finally, what are you going to do to make America that much greater in the future?

America is the greatest country in the world. Simple as that, if anyone out there argues with you on this point, put a boot in their ass as Toby Keith tells you! Okay, maybe not that extreme but don't talk to them again until they admit this fact. Seriously though, take pride in this fact (opinion).

I take pride in the many successes and creations that have come from this country. From the creation of the internet, baseball and hotdogs, BBQ and BBQs and Wikipedia to people such as Mark Twain, Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, Bo Jackson and General Patton to the music that is Country, Jazz, Hip Hop, Pop and Rock and Roll to movies like The Patriot, Apollo 13, Remember the Titans, Miracle and Act of Valor, America is an astounding country that has accomplished so much in 237 years of Independence. And even though we delegate July 4th to be Independence Day, we have been given 86, 563 days of Independence that should be celebrated just as much. Every day is Independence Day for these United States of America.

So many days throughout the year we think about the differences that divide this country.
We aren't rich vs poor. We aren't black vs white. We aren't democrats vs republicans. We aren't athletes vs geeks. We aren't men vs women. We aren't Catholics vs Protestants vs Muslims vs Atheists.

Today, thank a veteran. Today, thank a child selling lemonade. Today, thank a doctor. Today, thank a grocery store clerk. Today, thank a Democrat. Today, thank a conservative. For one day, forget about lines that divide us and reach out to someone that is on the other end of the line.

We are strong. We are brave. We are free. We are Americans.

http://romanticpoet.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/eagle-god-bless-america.jpg

Not Settling for Once

As I said in my intro, this blog is going to be a mix of politics and sports and as you have seen if you've visited my blog in the first week of publication there's been three political posts and zero sports posts. Admittedly I was waiting to write a sports piece until the MLB All Star break, but fortunately, circumstances in the last few hours have pushed me to the point where I have to break my fast.

In all of Major League Baseball history there have been 257 officially recognized no-hitters thrown during the modern era of professional baseball. In the history of professional baseball there were 279 no-hitters before tonight. Homer Bailey decided that he wanted to own the 279 and 280 spot on that list and threw his second career no-no tonight against the San Francisco Giants.

As ESPN points out, Nolan Ryan was the last pitcher to throw one no-no and then another before any other pitcher was able to do so. Ryan did it first in 1974 and then in 1975.
Coincidently enough Homer wears number 34 in tribute to the Strikeout King.

Bailey joined the short list of pitchers to earn multiple career no-hitters after he fanned nine Giants and walked just one through a nine inning, 3-0 win for the Reds. His first no-no came last season, 278 days ago, against the Pittsburgh Pirates when he struck out 10 men and walked one.

For the first time since Tom Browning threw his perfect game in 1988, Cincinnati was graced with a hometown no-hitter and the first at Great American Ballpark. Cincinnati also recorded their 16th no hitter in franchise history. Only the Dodgers (20), Red Sox (19) and White Sox (18) have achieved more no-no's throughout franchise history.

Homer is now 5-6 with a 3.57 ERA through 111 innings this season. He also owns a 43-39 career record along with a 4.90 ERA.

As the Reds look to continue their dominance over the visiting Giants, Dusty Baker will be sending Tony Cingrani (3-0) to the hill to face off against Barry Zito (4-6).